Republic of China, 1922: Rise from the Post-Zhili-Fengtian War

The handkerchief was smooth and slightly damp. She gently wiped away the bloodstains from his face, her fingertips occasionally brushing against his burning face. Gu Cheng shuddered and snapped back to reality.

He lowered his eyes, his gaze meeting her concerned look... Her long eyelashes fluttered, strangely suppressing the surging anger in his heart.

"Look at you, all disheveled." Jiang Yingrong's voice was low, carrying a hint of barely perceptible reproach.

Gu Cheng didn't speak, but his gaze remained fixed on her face, the fierceness in his eyes gradually fading: "Sister Rong, I..."

But when his gaze returned to the devastation before him, and he thought of the brothers who had sacrificed their lives, and the burned-out barracks and supplies, a chill instantly gathered around him.

He turned his head, his gaze landing on Cai Changyuan, who was resting on the ground not far away. His voice was filled with barely suppressed anger as he questioned, "Cai Changyuan! I clearly ordered you to be on high alert at the camp, especially to guard the sentry posts and thoroughly check suspicious persons. What exactly are you doing?!"

These words were like a thunderclap, shattering the deathly silence of the camp.

The soldiers who had been lying on the ground instantly came to their senses, raised their heads, and looked timidly at Gu Cheng, not daring to breathe.

Yang Song also quickly stood up and walked over, his face full of unease.

Taken aback by the sudden question, Cai Changyuan scrambled to his feet, ignoring the excruciating pain of his torn arm wound, and staggered to Gu Cheng, his face filled with bewilderment and grievance: "Master Gu? When...when did you issue this order?"

His voice trembled with anxiety. He reached out to grab Gu Cheng's arm, but fearing he would anger him, he froze in mid-air, desperately trying to explain, "Master Gu, you can't wrong me! Ever since you led your men to the camp construction site, I've been guarding the brigade headquarters and have never received any orders from you to strengthen the camp's defenses!"

Although I know that Tang Yulin's men are undisciplined and I have arranged for guards to rotate shifts, they are inherently unruly. They secretly switch shifts to gamble and sleep. I have caught them a few times during my patrols, and I have punished and scolded them, but they forget about it as soon as they are done. I... I really can't control them!

As he spoke, Cai Changyuan's eyes reddened even more, and blood seeped from the wound on his arm, dripping onto the scorched ground, but he was completely unaware of it. His voice was full of guilt and grievance, "It is my incompetence that I failed to keep an eye on those soldiers and failed to defend the camp, causing my brothers to lose their lives in vain and causing the brigade headquarters to suffer such a heavy blow. I am guilty!"

"But Master Gu, you really didn't give any orders to take precautions! If you had, I would have risked my life to prevent the camp from becoming like this!"

Gu Cheng was stunned, his brows furrowed even more, and the anger on his face was gradually replaced by doubt.

At that moment, he realized that the attack on the main camp might be a feint. In a moment of panic, he grabbed Gao Tianqi, who was about to go to the main camp, and sternly ordered him to immediately lead his men back to the brigade headquarters and make sure to convey the order to Cai Changyuan to "strengthen defenses and strictly check sentry posts". He even specifically instructed him to shoot any suspicious persons he encountered.

Gao Tianqi is always calm and efficient, and he never makes any mistakes in his work. In particular, he would never delay or leave his post without authorization, especially for such an urgent mission.

From the moment he led his men to reinforce the camp, to the end of the fierce battle, to the moment he fought to put out the fire, and now to the moment he questioned Cai Changyuan, he hadn't seen a single trace of Gao Tianqi!

"Tianqi..." Gu Cheng's voice was hoarse, and his doubts were instantly replaced by a bone-chilling cold. The ominous premonition tightened around his heart like vines, becoming more and more intense.

He suddenly looked around, his gaze sweeping over the soldiers lying on the ground, the brothers busy tending to the wounded, and even the civilians helping by the river. But Gao Tianqi was nowhere to be seen, nor was the team he had taken to deliver the message.

With the battles continuing until now, he couldn't even think of Gao Tianqi, whom he had sent out to deliver the order.

"Master Gu, you mean... Staff Officer Gao?" Cai Changyuan was taken aback by his sudden question, then panicked, quickly recalling, "I've been guarding the brigade headquarters the whole time, and I've never seen Staff Officer Gao, nor have I seen anyone come to deliver a message! If I had seen Deputy Officer Gao, I would have immediately followed orders to strengthen defenses, and I would never have allowed the camp to become like this!"

Yang Song looked uneasy: "Master Gu, when I led my men to surround and encircle them, I also checked the surroundings, but I didn't find Staff Officer Gao or the messenger brothers. Could it be... could it be that something went wrong on the way?"

Something went wrong on the way? Gu Cheng's heart sank even deeper.

The Gu residence is located south of Jinzhou City, some distance from the 11th Mixed Brigade's camp. However, the entire route was within the city... and even outside the city, there were scattered sentries. Logically, if Gao Tianqi was sending a message, even if he didn't reach the Mixed Brigade's camp immediately, he shouldn't have arrived in Gu City after the first time.

Unless... unless they were intercepted on the way!

Thinking of this, Gu Cheng's face turned purple: "Quick, go find Tianqi along the road—"

…………

Yang Song dared not delay. He immediately mustered twenty elite cavalrymen, mounted their horses, and galloped along the official road leading from the Gu residence to the camp of the 11th Mixed Brigade.

Horse hooves shattered the morning mist as the group carefully inspected both sides of the road, their eyes scanning every patch of grass and every fork in the road, leaving no stone unturned.

Less than half an hour later, urgent shouts came from the reed fork near the Xiaoling River bank.

Scattered on the ground were several spent shell casings, broken wooden sticks, and large patches of dark red blood that had already dried, spreading along the reeds, clearly showing the signs of a fierce fight.

"Master Gu! We've found it! There are signs of a struggle here!" Yang Song reined in his horse and reported loudly.

Gu Cheng's heart tightened, and he immediately spurred his horse forward.

Pushing aside the waist-high reeds, the scene before them instantly captivated everyone.

Seven or eight guards responsible for relaying the order lay sprawled on the ground, most of them seriously injured and covered in blood. Some were unconscious, while others clutched their wounds and groaned softly, their breaths weak.

In the center of the crowd, Gao Tianqi leaned against a riverside blue stone, with a hideous wound on his chest and shoulder, blood soaking through his clothes. His face was ashen, his lips were bloodless, and he was so weak that he could barely open his eyes.

Fortunately, the group was not completely wiped out.

Several tall figures, armed with guns, stood guard firmly around the crowd. They were Shen Yi and his brothers from the 11th Mixed Brigade.

Sensing approaching footsteps, Shen Yi immediately turned around. Upon seeing that it was Gu Cheng, he put away his gun and stepped forward, saying, "Master Gu."

"What happened?" Gu Cheng walked quickly to Gao Tianqi, squatted down and put his hand on his pulse. He felt the weak but steady beating and his heart, which had been in his throat, finally calmed down a little.