"In the afternoon, there will be a murder drama in the West Estuary! We need to get a good seat sooner, it's not a common thing......"

"Happy! Those opium dealers don't know how many families have been ruined, and they deserve to die! ”

"It is said that the revolutionary army will openly burn the seized opium smoke, how much is that......"

"The Reading Force is a revolutionary team and a leader in the army, and it is not uncommon to have this money......

…… He Jing and Zhou Chongan, who were dazed by An Yi last night, got up early in the morning and packed their luggage, preparing to leave Kunshan after breakfast to return to their respective newspaper offices.

Zhou Chongan, who reacted quickly, immediately pulled He Jing out of the door of the hostel, squeezed into the crowd of onlookers, and carefully read the two notices on the wall.

Ten minutes later, the two people in complicated moods squeezed out the noisy and excited crowd, returned to the restaurant of the hotel, found a seat in the back, ordered two breakfasts and immediately discussed.

"Do you think it's legal for Xiao Yi to do this?" Zhou Chongan asked He Jing in a low voice.

He Jing nodded: "According to the relevant provisions of the wartime decree of the National Revolutionary Army, it is completely legal to do so. First of all, Xiao Yi's garrison area was only a few dozen kilometers away from the Anhui Sun Chuanfang army on the north bank, which met the basic conditions for the implementation of wartime compulsory military control.

Second, his unit is a regiment-level unit, and he himself is also a military chief at the level of a major general appointed by the National Political Axe and the Central Military Commission, so he also has the right to manage and punish the military and civil affairs in the garrison area, and before the formation of the local political axe formally appointed by the National People's Political Axe, a temporary military court can be established in accordance with the law to try all kinds of criminal activities in the garrison area.

From a certain point of view, Xiao Yi, as a general, already has the right to cut first and then play, and in this special period, his power is much larger than that of an ordinary county. It's just that I didn't expect him to make such strict and detailed rules on the parade, but fortunately this is not Shanghai, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Nanchang and other cities, otherwise he would probably attract public criticism and accusations from progressive groups, and I am really worried about him. ”

Zhou Chongan pondered for a moment and smiled slightly: "We don't need to worry about him at all, I know what Xiao Yi thinks, this guy is amazing, whether it is scheming or vision, he is far above ordinary people." He very skillfully made use of the power granted to him by the law of the national political axe, showed his intentions in a way that combined grace and power, established the prestige of the revolutionary army by burning opium and shooting criminals, and achieved the purpose of deterring potential hostile forces, and at the same time introduced ten wartime regulations to regulate all kinds of demonstrations and demonstrations that might come, laying a good foundation for stabilizing social order and maintaining the prestige of his headquarters during the garrison period, and bringing everything that could happen into his control in advance. ”

"I understand, it's still Brother Zhou's broad vision." He Jing praised in a low voice.

Zhou Chongan asked with some curiosity: "Has Xiao Yi's army always treated opium like this?" ”

He Jing nodded, and told Zhou Chongan about the strict measures taken by An Yi's department to eliminate opium, the means of selecting soldiers, the methods of political education, and some interesting things, and finally summarized with a sigh:

"To tell the truth, the various departments of the National Revolutionary Army are uneven, and in some respects, like many old warlords, the act of smoking opium and selling opium is almost open, only Xiao Yi's unit has never smoked or sold opium since its establishment, and their strict military discipline and strong combat effectiveness are all well-known in the army. Looking at the whole army, only An Yi has won the unanimous praise and respect of all factions in the party, otherwise there would be no title of model in the whole army, and there would be no 'model battalion spirit' known as a model in the army.

Secondly, he has done a very successful job in the transformation of prisoners, and you may not know that more than 80 percent of the officers and men of his Reading Force Regiment have been reformed through prisoners, including the regimental commanders Yang Bin, Ye Cheng, Qu Muchen, and those battalion and company commanders that we have interviewed.

Yue Fei and Wen Tianxiang are both models for them to respect and learn from, and the political teaching materials they have compiled are very distinctive, linking the profound suffering brought to the people by the European and American powers since the Opium War with the actual living environment, using simple and intuitive examples to clearly and unmistakably tell the officers and men the feudal colonial sufferings caused by the collusion between the reactionary warlords and imperialism, and then leave the officers and men a large number of problems for themselves to discuss. Two of the biggest questions are: What are our beliefs and goals? What kind of soldiers are we going to be?

It is precisely under this kind of uninterrupted education that his officers and men have formed a strong cohesive force and combat effectiveness, and there is no need for mobilization at all to fight a war. ”

Zhou Chongan sighed with emotion after listening to it: "It seems that what I have gained from a few days of interviews is really limited, and it is difficult to fully introduce An Yi and this model army to readers, which is really a pity!" ”

"I'm going to stay one more day and go back after covering the opium burning feat and the trial conference, which is the best and most exciting piece of news, and how can I miss it so easily? Judging from the strong reaction of the people at the gate just now, we can predict how big the shock this incident will cause among the whole [***] team and the people. He Jing quickly made a decision and politely thanked the waiter who brought the breakfast.

Zhou Chongan picked up the chopsticks and said with a smile: "Eat quickly, after eating, I will go to Xiao Yi's regiment headquarters with you to have a look, I hope he will not refuse our interview." If this happens, I don't think most of my colleagues in Kunshan City will choose to leave today. ”

Zhou Chong'an and He Jing, who rushed to the stationing of the Reading Force after breakfast, were quite disappointed, and like more than 30 reporters from various newspapers in China who had not yet left, they were unable to see An Yi, because An Yi went to the garrisons of the battalions early in the morning to inspect the defense. Thankfully, however, the two men, like other reporters, were given a temporary press card stamped with the seal of the Reading Force Regiment after presenting their ID cards for registration, and with this ID, they were allowed to film and observe the entire trial meeting at close range, and were cared for and protected by the officers and men of the Reading Power Regiment.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, the Xihekou Execution Ground was crowded with people, and tens of thousands of people from all walks of life gathered in front of the temporary high platform to listen to the decision and verdict shouted by Li Zhengming, a judge of the revolutionary army, with an iron horn.

An Yi, wearing a general's uniform, sat in the center of the rostrum, flanked by Hu Jialin, Yin Jinan, Yang Bin, Qu Muchen and others.

As Li Zhengming's order was issued, 147 boxes of opium worth more than 300,000 yuan were stacked on a huge pyre directly in front of the high platform, and four law enforcement officers with red armbands on their left arms picked up large barrels of kerosene and poured them on the top and around the pyre, and eight officers and men with torches stood far away in all directions of the pyre.

Subsequently, seven murderers and drug dealers who committed heinous crimes were brought to the tens of thousands of people, and one by one they were pressed in front of the pyre by a group of three law enforcement officers and soldiers, and seven black and shiny shell guns were slowly pressed against the hearts of the death row prisoners.

"Ignition! Execution-"

Eight torches flew neatly on the pyre, and with a "boom" sound, flames several feet high were aroused, thick smoke rose up, and the rich smell of opium smoke wafted to all directions, and the people were boiling and cheering, the slogan of "Long live the revolution with the elimination of opium" shouted by the student groups was echoed by the whole audience, and the railway workers' trade unions were not to be outdone, and the revolutionary slogans of "Long live the Northern Expeditionary Army," "Down with all reactionaries," and "Down with imperialism" sounded one after another. The earth-shattering cheers were heard after seven gunshots, and the trial assembly was now up to the top.

The fire was slowly extinguished, thousands of people shouted slogans with excitement and left the venue in an orderly manner, and representatives of various social groups on the rostrum warmly shook hands with An Yi and other generals and said goodbye.

After all, everyone needs a stable and orderly way of life, not to mention that An Yi does not prohibit the activities of social groups, but requires that all activities must be carried out under effective monitoring to avoid conflicts and even bloodshed and casualties between different forces.

The next day, the major newspapers across the country have reported on the righteous deeds of the Kunshan Revolutionary Army, and have given high praise and praise to the Revolutionary Army's Reading Force, Model Battalion, and General An Yi, and the Shanghai "Declaration" and Tianjin "Ta Kung Pao", which are famous for their steadiness and objectivity, have published the smoke burning charity of the Revolutionary Army's An Yi Regiment on the front page, accompanied by special editorials, An Yi's name is once again familiar to all walks of life across the country, and the halos of "model in the army", "revolutionary general", "famous general of the Northern Expedition" and so on make An Yi's heroic image appear extremely tall. An Yi has since become a famous figure in the country.

With the arrival of 500 non-commissioned officers selected by the divisions of the First Army, the model battalion stationed next to the regimental headquarters was lively with the Tongfeng battalion, and the loud military horns and majestic passwords sounded non-stop.

Since at this time, Ye Cheng, Qu Muchen, Yang Fei, and other five chief officers had already left for the Nanchang headquarters to participate in the all-army selection examination for studying at European and American military academies, An Yi had to personally concurrently serve as the captain of the training team and the training director of the non-commissioned officer training class when there was no one to replace him.

An Yi urgently appointed Hu Jialin, deputy commander of the regiment, and Yin Jinan, instructor of the regiment, as deputy directors and instructors of the training class, and transferred a number of military commanders with outstanding ability and great achievements, including Lieutenant Colonel Gu Changfeng, commander of the fourth battalion, and Captain Yan Kaitai, deputy commander of the guard company, to serve as noncommissioned officer training instructors.

What made An Yi extremely troublesome was that due to the continuous reports of the newspapers and the hot sales of the book "Model Camp", thousands of enthusiastic young people flocked to Kunshan in batches and gathered outside the gates of the Tongfeng Camp and the Youth League Headquarters of the Reading Force.

The girls, who had been waiting for three days, claimed that if General An did not meet them and approve their enlistment, they would go on a sit-in hunger strike in front of the gate until the matter was resolved.

…… On 3 April, Chiang Kai-shek, who had essentially broken with the Wuhan Nationalist Axe, called for a "special meeting of the Central Supervisory Committee of the Kuomintang," which was not recognized by law, at 29 Molière Road in Shanghai, and immediately and graciously invited Li Zongren, who was a powerful military force, to negotiate and discuss with Wang Jingwei, who had just returned to Shanghai from Paris, in an attempt to draw these two men into his camp, to confront Tang Shengzhi, Zhang Fakui, and others in Wuhan, and then to win the battle.

Li Zongren did not come directly to see Chiang Kai-shek, but drove to the former commander-in-chief of the revolutionary army in Longhua and the Songhu garrison headquarters to consult with Bai Chongxi.

The car was still a few blocks away from Bai Chongxi's headquarters when it was blocked by a crowded procession of tens of thousands of workers. Li Zongren happened to be not wearing a general's uniform, so he could only get out of the car and blend into the crowd after waiting for a long time, and slowly moved towards Bai Chongxi's headquarters under the escort of three personal guards.

Finally entered the headquarters through the side door, and Li Zongren saw Bai Chongxi's head splitting and asked:

"Jiansheng, what's going on? Why are tens of thousands of workers outside so excited? ”

Bai Chongxi replied quite annoyedly: "There was a small conflict between the military and the people in Shanghai, and the workers mobilized the people to come and ask the younger brother to come forward to meet and explain clearly, how can this be reasonable!" How could I, a dignified general of the revolutionary army, be coerced by this and surrender myself? ”

Li Zongren nodded and sighed: "It's completely out of control, out of control!" This is true not only in Shanghai, but also in Guangzhou, Changsha, Wuhan, and Nanchang, where all the workers' and peasants' movements are indulged by the leftists, and in the end they say that they have nothing to do but demonstrate and demonstrate, paralyzing all industries, and gathering crowds to threaten them at the slightest disappointment, and tens of thousands of people are not giving up at every turn, and even the two military stations of our Seventh Army in Changsha and Wuchang have been forced to close, and the rear supplies cannot be transported.

If it had not been for the timely relocation of the military headquarters of our Seventh Army to Hankou and live next to the central party headquarters, I am afraid that the officers and men stationed there would not even have anything to eat, and if they were not provided with timely assistance, the more than 40,000 officers and men of our army would probably fall into hunger and cold. ”

Bai Chongxi led Li Zongren into the inner room and served tea to the secret business. In the previous phone call, he already knew Li Zongren's intention, but he didn't expect Li Zongren and the Seventh Army that he relied on to reach such a point, so he asked in a low voice in surprise: "Aren't our two military stations in Tang Mengxiao's defense area?" How could it be forced to close? ”

"Hugh Ti Tang Shengzhi, a vengeful and sanctimonious hypocrite, if he hadn't secretly instructed and instigated, how could there be so many people who don't know the truth to surround our soldiers? These so-called revolutionary masses shouted slogans of overthrowing the warlords and expelling foreign troops, and from the initial demonstrations gradually developed to the cutting off of water and electricity, the cutting off of the supply of vegetables, rice, and grain, and forcing the evacuation of our military stations before they stopped...... I knew that I was going to say it now, why bother in the first place! Li Zongren said, shaking his head in pain.

Bai Chongxi's heart was full of anger, but at this point, he no longer had time to be angry and lament, so he could only quickly think about how to raise food and salary for his Seventh Army as soon as possible to tide over the difficulties.

(To be continued)