The backyard of Shengjia Salted Duck Restaurant on the banks of Xuanwu Lake in Nanjing is an extremely quiet and elegant place, surrounded by green trees and bamboos. The lake is as clear as a mirror, with stars reflected on the water, and the red walls and green tiles set off from far and near. The scenery is extremely alluring.
A group of soldiers wearing general school uniforms sat around in a spacious and simple grass pavilion. Everyone exchanged cups and cups and chatted happily, but there was no atmosphere of noisy.
It was originally just a dinner for Dai Li and An Yi, but in the end due to the in-depth cooperation between the two departments and the need to implement it one by one, several of their subordinates were called to attend. Dai Li was surrounded by Yang Xuancheng and Liang Qianqiao.
Two right-hand assistants, An Yi is surrounded by Liu Qing, who is also the chief of the second section (information section) of the fourth department, Zhang Yang, the chief of the first section (general affairs section), and Chen Yu, the section chief of the fourth section (technical section).
The two groups chatted while eating, and soon came up with a simple and practical cooperation plan and action liaison method in a tacit understanding. They did not leave happily until after ten o'clock.
An Yi and his brothers took a bus back to the Houzai Lane headquarters and saw that the lights in the lobby on the first floor were still bright. They were quite surprised. It was already past 11 o'clock in the evening. With the good living habits that Ou Yaoting and his wife had maintained for many years, this time
You should have rested long ago.
Careful Liu Qing took a few steps closer to An Yi who got out of the car, pointed at the car parked not far away, and showed a mysterious smile.
As soon as An Yi saw the dark and shiny latest Chevrolet limousine and the license plate, he immediately understood who was coming. He quietly climbed the steps with his brothers, walked into the hall, and looked at the guest sitting on the sofa with a cheerful face.
Song Ziwen, who was chatting cordially with Ou Yaoting, said hello:
"Minister Song is here. An Yi hasn't received any news and can't wait at home. It's disrespectful!"
As soon as Ou Yaoting saw An Yi, he immediately stood up with a smile on his face: "Just come back. Minister Song has been waiting for you for more than an hour. He said that he asked many people but they didn't know where you were. He also said that you were
I didn’t mean to avoid him!”
Song Ziwen didn't stand up, didn't even mean to move. He sat on the flexible sofa, looked at An Yi sideways, and continued to pick up the coffee cup and drink it slowly.
An Yi shook his head and smiled. It's strange to say that Song Ziwen was polite and polite to everyone, but he was never polite to himself. However, An Yi was already used to Song Ziwen's attitude and didn't take it seriously at all.
Instead, he sat down next to him very easily.
Shen Fengdao, Liu Qing and others finished greeting Song Ziwen and Ou Yaoting. When they saw An Yi nodded slightly, they left and went to their own residence to the west of the house.
"Zhang Yang, please stay for a while."
Song Ziwen seemed to have eyes on the back of his head. Without looking back, he stopped Zhang Yang who was tiptoeing behind him and trying to leave quietly.
Zhang Yang stuck out his tongue, walked to Song Ziwen's side with a smile, and politely asked Brother Shi if he had any orders. However, his eyes quietly looked at An Yi and made a face.
An Yi smiled slightly and didn't pay too much attention. He knew that the Zhang family and the Song family had been close friends for generations. Since Song Ziwen called Zhang Yang to stop, he must have something to tell him, so he just went with the flow.
Song Ziwen raised his head and looked at Zhang Yang, pointed to the empty seat next to An Yi, and motioned for him to sit down. After Zhang Yang sat down and the guards had finished serving tea, Song Ziwen asked An Yi:
"An Yi, you must know that Wang Geng of our tax police group was arrested by the Military Justice Division of the Military Commission, right? You, the former chief of staff of the former enemy in the Songhu theater and now the commander-in-chief of the former enemy in the theater, will never forget the one under your command.
The brigade commander who fought desperately but was wrongly accused, right?"
"Wang Geng?"
An Yi recalled briefly and immediately nodded cheerfully: "Of course I remember, but General Wang Geng is the chief of the Minister's Tax Police Corps. Although he entered the battlefield in the name of the independent brigade of the Fifth Army, his troops
At the minister's insistence, he was placed under the command of the 19th Route Army and directly took orders from General Cai. Therefore, I only met General Wang twice, once at a military meeting after taking over the defense, and once because he commanded the 19th Route Army.
The artillery support of the artillery battalion directly under the Ninth Route Army was excellent. I went to the artillery position to inspect the artillery position. While encouraging him, I personally declared the second-level military merit for him.
However, due to the busy war, I didn't say anything to him during the two meetings. He was also wearing a pair of myopia glasses that were thicker than the bottom of a soy sauce bottle, and he probably couldn't see my appearance clearly. On March 10, he was sentenced to military law.
Two hours before he was arrested on the charge of leaking secrets, the arrest document was delivered to me. At that time, I saw that General Cai and the director of the Political Department of the 19th Route Army had signed it, so I did not ask what important secrets he had leaked.
, after all, this matter involves the 19th Route Army, and I, the Chief of Staff in charge of operations, can’t say much."
As soon as Zhang Yang saw Song Ziwen, he knew that he was here for his favorite general Wang Geng. On the evening of February 27, Wang Geng was captured by the Japanese army in the public concession. The Japanese accused Wang Geng of being a spy, interrogated him, and shot him.
On the evening of the 29th, the Shanghai Municipal Government lodged a serious protest with the U.S. Consul General and the consuls of various countries. Under tremendous pressure from Britain, the United States, France and other countries, Wang Geng was released by the Japanese army on March 1. Recently, the media
Rumors spread that Wang Geng was visiting Lu Xiaoman, the widow of the poet Xu Zhimo who died in a plane crash. Lu Xiaoman, who lost Xu Zhimo, was in great physical and mental pain. Wang Geng and Lu Xiaoman lived in the same city and went to
It is human nature to visit and comfort one's ex-wife. However, the superiors and subordinates of the 19th Route Army did not think so. They accused Wang Geng of being suspected of betraying military secrets. Wang Geng was soon arrested by the General Headquarters of the 19th Route Army.
He was detained, dismissed from his post as the independent brigade commander, and transferred to the Military Justice Department for detention. Now the tax police group and Song Ziwen are under great pressure.
Zhang Yang is very aware of the ins and outs of Wang Geng's leak case. In addition, Wang Geng, who graduated from the artillery command major of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, has always been a celebrity in Shanghai social circles. He graduated from the United States and returned to China with Zhang Yang's cousin Zhang Yi twelve years ago.
Returning by boat, Zhang Yang has a very deep relationship with the Zhang family. Before Zhang Yang joined the army, he had dinner with Wang Geng at the same table more than once. Before Wang Geng's case, Zhang Yang had already introduced this person to An Yi in detail, but now he saw
When An Yi was calmly pretending to be confused, he wanted to laugh but didn't dare, so he could only endure it.
Song Ziwen frowned, glanced at Zhang Yang, whose face was flushed, and asked unceremoniously, regardless of An Yi's excuses:
"An Yi, do you also believe the overwhelming rumors in the newspapers that Wang Geng was caught by the Japanese because of his improper behavior and sneaked into the concession to have a tryst with his ex-wife during the war?"
"Minister Song, don't be anxious. Right and wrong will be decided by one's own authority. Skynet will not miss any omissions. I believe the Military Justice Department will figure out the problem.
The impact of this incident is really great. Rumors are spreading in the society. I heard that the principal was furious about this and personally intervened in the case. Even the Second Office of the General Staff Headquarters is not qualified to intervene. Even if I want to, I don’t have the ability! More
What's more, this seems to involve the interests of the 19th Route Army. As the chief of staff who coordinates the operations, I am even more embarrassed to ask, why doesn't Minister Song directly state the matter in detail to the principal?" An Yi finished slowly.
, don’t forget to ask.
Song Ziwen stared angrily: "What do you mean? Do you really think Wang Geng is such a ridiculous person? A top graduate of the West Point Military Academy, he is known to be generous to others, and is highly respected by all walks of life for his professional expertise.
Because he offended people by speaking out about the local mistakes of the 19th Route Army on the battlefield, some generals used his accidental capture with ulterior motives to add insult to injury.
Countless generals have been disgraced and imprisoned unjustly. You, a famous general in the army who has always known right from wrong and loved his soldiers like his own son, are you going to be like those vulgar mediocre people who watched Wang Geng completely unable to stand up and watch helplessly?
Are you bringing shame on the tax police force that I worked so hard to build?"
"Ziwen, calm down! Speak slowly, speak slowly..."
Ou Yaoting supported the long-necked vase that Song Ziwen slapped on the table and shook it, and turned to An Yi to advise in a low voice: "Yi'er, the matter is very important, please stop fighting, okay? We are all our own people, what's the point of being frank?
Tell me, I believe you will find a way."
An Yi nodded with some embarrassment: "To be honest, although General Wang Geng and I are not familiar with each other, I learned from the command of the tax police regiment led by Wang Geng who fought side by side with the Zhang Yan Brigade of the 19th Route Army on the Jiangwan front line.
, from the victory that the officers of the tax police regiment dared to fight with bayonets, from the fact that he assisted the artillery of the 19th Route Army in accurately bombarding the Japanese positions three times and successfully completed the artillery suppression task, it was judged that General Wang Geng was an outstanding general with real talent, practical knowledge and determination.
.
It is impossible for such an outstanding general and the head of the tax police group, the elite force of the army, not to know the confidentiality regulations, let alone to take the confidential documents issued during the afternoon meeting and go to the public concession where the Japanese are rampant.
Fooling around; I don’t even believe that he was captured by the Japanese army while having a tryst with his ex-wife Lu Xiaoman, who can draw, in the bed of the Licha Hotel owned by the British, because the Japanese simply cannot enter the British territory and they just want to arrest people.
The consent of the British had to be sought first, so the nonsense described in the newspapers was all nonsense.
However, I don't believe it's useless. No one asked me for my opinion on this case. They only reported it to me as the chief of staff as a routine matter when the charges were completed and the arrest was about to be made.
Furthermore, this case has nothing to do with my authority. Wang Geng is not under my jurisdiction at all and is not under my direct command. It is also vaguely involved in the issue of responsibility for the huge losses caused by the fierce battles in the temple in the later period.
In this case, Minister Song, what can I say?"
Song Ziwen was silent for a while, his face became much better, he nodded approvingly to An Yi, and sighed sincerely:
"If Wang Geng could hear these words of yours, I'm afraid he would burst into tears with gratitude. You are indeed an excellent commander, with a sharp vision, and you hit the nail on the head... Not bad! The biggest reason is naturally the relationship between our tax police group and
The conflicts between the Nineteenth Route Army, coupled with the fact that Wang Geng had a somewhat aloof character and could easily offend others with his words, laid the root of the disaster.
Wang Geng was released with the full mediation of the U.S. Embassy. After returning, he encountered the upcoming fierce battle in the temple. Wang Geng and his chief of staff Mo Xiong twice pointed out the loopholes in the formation of the 19th Route Army, believing that Zhang Yan
There was a serious mistake in the defense focus of the brigade. Perhaps the language was not very polite, and the two sides quarreled. Our tax police group inexplicably offended someone. As a result, something went wrong in the fierce battle a few hours later, and it was in Wang
Geng pointed out the problem in the wrong place. Seeing the critical situation of the battle, Commander-in-Chief Cai ordered Wang Geng to lead his troops to reinforce. However, Wang Geng did not obey. Instead, he led his troops to attack the flanks of the Japanese 27th Regiment. In the end, they fought hard for several hours to relieve the siege and attack
Although Zhang Yan's brigade finally withstood the enemy with the support of reinforcements, it suffered heavy losses due to the six-hour hard battle. This led to Wang Geng's remarks that he was unwilling to save his life and was greedy for success and speculation. Later, he was slow to
Wang Geng, who slowly became a prisoner of the Japanese army, was taken away from the defense map, which caused huge losses to Zhang Yan's brigade of the 19th Route Army.
Now think about it carefully, if a general of the 19th Route Army had not secretly reported this false crime to a reporter with ulterior motives, there would never have been overwhelming vulgar news, and Wang Geng would not have been exposed in the midst of angry accusations.
He was trapped in a cage and I couldn't save him even though I was jumping up and down. I even had a fight with your principal over this."
Everyone was shocked when they heard this. Chu Er, who had just heard the table being slapped and worriedly went downstairs to check, opened her beautiful eyes and opened her mouth slightly, feeling incredible. However, An Yi knew clearly that this was true. Song Ziwen, the uncle,
The fights with his brother-in-law, Chairman Jiang, happened not just once but twice. Every time they fought, Song Ziwen would suffer. How could he, a weak scholar, be a match for Chairman Chiang, who had been in the army for many years and had practiced grappling and fighting? But Chairman Chiang also had a hard time.
, his mother-in-law would be very angry every time he won a fight, and his wife Soong Meiling also blamed him for bullying, which made him miserable.
Among them, the most severe beating occurred not long after the establishment of the Tax Police Corps. The reason was that Song Ziwen looked down on Huangpu graduates at all. The Tax Police Corps did not want any Huangpu graduates. The officers above the head of the regiment were all elites who had returned from studying in the United States, middle and low-level officers.
Either the young officer of the Northeast Army whom he recommended to his brother Zhang Xueliang, or the military leader Song Ziwen made friends with in the Guangdong Army when he was the Finance Minister of the Guangzhou Government. The salary of the officers and soldiers was extremely high, almost higher than that of An Jiajun, who was the most well-paid in the army.
Double, American-style education and training are fully implemented, and the equipment is all German equipment. Even the imitations from the Jiangnan Factory are looked down upon. They have to be imported with original packaging. All officers and soldiers in the army are proud to join the tax police corps.
, the teachers and students of Huangpu were full of complaints and jealousy. How could Chiang Kai-shek, who was the principal of Huangpu and had always been proud of the teachers and students of Huangpu, not be angry?
It is precisely because of this that Chiang Kai-shek refused to allocate military pay and supplies to the tax police corps, and refused to give the tax police corps military establishment. Song Ziwen got angry and took the case, rushed to Chiang Kai-shek's house and had a quarrel. After turning over the table, the two started to fight.
In the end, Song Ziwen, with a bruised nose and face, left with hatred. He flipped his palms a few times easily. The Bank of Eight immediately gave Song Ziwen its full support and allocated part of the annual Nanjing government loan interest to return to Song Ziwen.
Now Chiang Kai-shek can't control it, because every year he has to borrow huge amounts of money from banks of eight countries through Song Ziwen to support the operation of the huge government and army. Without Song Ziwen, it would be impossible to do it. Moreover, the interest rates on each debt are different and the cycle is different.
Chiang Kai-shek couldn't figure it out even if he wanted to. In addition, he was scolded by his mother-in-law and wife, so Qi Qiran complied with Song Ziwen's request.
Although Song Ziwen couldn't defeat Chiang Kai-shek in a fight, he always became the essential winner, almost every time. Although these anecdotes are very secretive, they are not a secret to Principal Chiang's confidant An Yi
, there is no need to ask, someone with authority will tell him.
"Why are you laughing? Gloating?" Song Ziwen glared at An Yi angrily.
An Yi quickly put away his thoughts, chuckled, and said apologetically: "I was thinking that your tax police group may have gone too far. To put it more harshly, they are called unruly and domineering. Their combat effectiveness is not inferior to that of armaments.
It's better, but it's really unsightly.
Do you still remember that time when I came back from an overseas inspection and you asked me to inspect the training of the tax police group? They were all yellow-skinned and black-haired, and one-third of the officers and soldiers were from Guangdong and Guangxi. During the drill, they even shouted commands in English.
Even if you can’t speak standard Mandarin, you can’t speak English anymore, tsk tsk!
Fortunately, I, An Yi, am not surprised after seeing a lot, and I am relatively able to accept new things. It’s okay to smile at the moment, but do you know what the soldiers in the army will think? Even the principal has been angry about this many times. This time the principal
I'm afraid Wang Geng will be severely punished for this reason. There is also the fact that the 19th Route Army had just received 1,500 unarmed recruits sent by Li Zongren from Guangdong. Someone from the tax police group stabbed Mr. Guofu.
There, these 1,500 recruits could not get any equipment, but it made me, the chief of staff, miserable. I had to frugally squeeze out a regiment of equipment and send it over. Only then did the 19th Route Army and the
The Central Military Commission already has sharp conflicts.
This time the principal favored the 19th Route Army, probably to preserve the current hard-won situation and to impose a small punishment on the tax police group."
Song Ziwen nodded thoughtfully, picked up the cup and thought slowly.
Ou Yaoting was very surprised. It was difficult for him to understand that with Song Ziwen's prominent status, his son-in-law An Yi dared to speak to the God of Wealth in such a tone. Moreover, Song Ziwen did not seem to have any intention of blaming him. He was originally quite worried about his beloved son-in-law.
Let go a lot.
Zhang Yang kept grinning and snickering beside him, admiring his boss's ability very much, lamenting that An Yi was probably the only one in the world who dared to talk to Song Ziwen, the Vice President of the Executive Yuan and Minister of Finance, in such a humble way.
Only An Yi is very calm in his heart. He knows that Song Ziwen's attitude towards him is not as innocent as it seems. In fact, deep down in his heart, the two of them have long cherished each other and supported each other. As for why such a relationship exists with such an incongruous appearance.
, I’m afraid even An Yi himself can’t explain the reason, but An Yi enjoys this way of getting along very much, and finds it interesting and natural.