There was silence in the north school field of Guangzhou, and at the gate of the camp facing south, the sentries with loaded guns and ammunition were still standing majestically, their postures straight and straight, but the gray military uniforms on their bodies had been washed white, their shoulders and elbows had been patched, and the sentries had no use in their eyes.

A blazing wind blew, and the wide field was covered with dust and smoke, and scattered dead leaves and shredded paper were churned in the wind, rushing to the barracks to the north.

The old windows of the barracks swayed in the wind, making a chirping sound of friction and constant crashing, and the filthy wind mixed with the thick smell of blood and pungent potions wafting from the barracks, steaming up and drifting in all directions.

The wind stopped and the trees were quiet, the groaning in the barracks became clear again, and more than a dozen Lang Zhong and pharmacy apprentices in civilian clothes were very busy, and one by one the wounded who had failed to be treated due to complications were carried away on stretchers made of door panels, and the suppressed crying finally sounded again.

Liu Bingxian and Chiang Kai-shek, who had returned from a meeting in the Marshal's Palace, stood at the door of the barracks and saw the bloodstained corpses of officers and soldiers being carried out one after another.

In these three days, no matter how Chiang Kai-shek and Liu Bingxian pleaded with all parties, not a single general or party veteran extended a helping hand, Sun Yat-sen's order to "make every effort to treat the wounded of the Guard Brigade" was responded to, but no department put it into action, except for countless words of sympathy and comfort, the brigade commander Liu Bingxian and the chief of staff Chiang Kai-shek, who were running up and down for the wounded brothers of the guard brigade, could not get a penny of appropriation and could not ask for a box of medicines. In the end, the two of them could only take out their remaining private money, and only then did they invite dozens of pharmacists in Guangzhou City.

Liu Bingxian looked at the two carriages that collected the corpses in the distance, looked at the corpses on the carriages that could no longer see their faces clearly, and finally couldn't suppress his emotions, turned to the wall and wept silently, and the chief of the guard and the adjutant beside him had already run to the big tree in the distance and wept bitterly.

Chiang Kai-shek held back his tears, pulled Liu Bingxian to the pool more than 30 meters away from the barracks, and gently patted Liu Bingxian's shoulder after standing still: "Zicheng, don't be too sad, if you let the brothers see it like this, this soldier will not be able to take it." ”

Liu Bingxian took out a crumpled handkerchief, lowered his head, carefully wiped the tears from his face, stopped for a long time, and slowly raised his head:

"This soldier can't be brought anymore, the morale of the brothers is gone, only the resentment of the sky is left, the base camp can't do anything about the person who stabbed the knife in the back, and he doesn't even dare to say a cruel word, Mr. has no way but to lose his temper, what can you and I do? Alas! I was still too naïve, before leaving Chengdu, Yiming had warned me, telling me to be careful of the infighting in the revolutionary party camp, and asked me to preserve my strength no matter what, otherwise once I lost the army, I would be kicked out of the core of the revolutionary camp, but I laughed at him at that time for being a complete conspirator, not understanding the beliefs and noble feelings of our revolutionaries......"

Chiang Kai-shek looked at the spicy sky, sighed, and shook his head again and again:

"Blame me, blame me, I'm too careless...... In the past few days, I have thought a lot, and instead of blaming and resenting those people, it is better to spend more energy on examining myself, so I have also seen the true colors of many people. Zicheng, now is not the time to shed tears, and we must not be discouraged, otherwise the only power we have in our hands will collapse.

"If this army in our hands is dispersed, we will really have nothing, and the revolution will really fail, I have decided to set up a recruitment point tomorrow on Jiangdi Road and Xiguan, and strive to restore our establishment within half a month, firmly nail it to Guangzhou, and firmly occupy the important position of Beixiaochang. Only in this way can we continue to struggle, and only then can we make the greatest contribution to Mr. and the revolutionary cause. ”

Liu Bingxian smiled bitterly: "It's difficult! Now that you and I are penniless, the 100,000 yuan that Yiming gave me when I left Sichuan has long been used up, and the Central Ministry of Finance and the Marshal's Mansion of Mr. have long been out of rice, and all the taxes from the gates, markets, wharves and shops of Guangzhou have long since fallen into the hands of the Guangdong army, the Gui army and the Dian army. Brother, let's wait for now, I'll try to calm the brothers down as soon as possible, and then think of another way. ”

Chiang Kai-shek asked in a low voice: "It's not impossible, you and I haven't reached the end of the mountain, why can't you take the initiative?" Do you and my brother have to endure a bunch of local snakes watching us laugh? ”

"Just see, I'll get them back one day...... Hey? Looking at you like this, do you think of any good way? Only then did Liu Bingxian notice the meaning of Chiang Kai-shek's words and the expression on his face.

Chiang Kai-shek nodded guiltily:

In the past few days, the brothers have been very angry, and they always like to compare the situation when they were soldiers in Sichuan, and it seems that almost all the brothers miss the time when they served and trained in the Sichuan army, and there are a lot of scoldings, the most of which is that they have never been so cowardly

"I heard a few company commanders privately say that if it was in the Sichuan army, even if the person who plotted against us was the king of heaven, even if it was the king of heaven, he would be retaliated against by Commander-in-Chief Xiao and the brothers of the Sichuan army tenfold, which shows that the brothers still miss the Sichuan army very much...... Tell me, should I call Yiming for help, or will you come? Or do we come along? ”

The look of surprise in Liu Bingxian's eyes flashed, and he struggled in his heart for a long time before he gritted his teeth and nodded heavily: "Let's come together!" I believe that Yiming will definitely help us, even if I beg him to help me recruit another brigade in Sichuan, he will not hesitate to help, just ......"

"Sorry? Zicheng, those who become big things are not informal, not to mention that Yiming has long regarded you as his eldest brother, and even I, an outsider, have become good friends with him, and have been cared for and inspired by him a lot, since we already owe him a lot, what will happen if we owe him again?

"In the light of the present situation, a split within our revolutionary party is unavoidable, and Sir is already reconsidering the relations with Sichuan and Hunan, and how to establish mutual cooperation, and perhaps we and Yiming will soon be in the same trench. So, we must recover as soon as possible and rebuild our confidence!

"Otherwise, we are likely to not be able to keep up with the changes in the situation, and once again become the object of dumping, and now the only one who can help us is Yiming, with his personality and wisdom, I believe that he can understand and support us." Chiang Kai-shek patiently voiced his opinion.

Liu Bingxian nodded thoughtfully: "Okay!" After visiting the wounded brothers, we went to send a telegram together, and Lao Tzu didn't believe what the snakes could do to us. ”

Chiang Kai-shek secretly breathed a sigh of relief and walked to the barracks with Liu Bingxian, who had regained his strength.

That night, Xiao Yimin, who accompanied Tan Yanmin and his entourage to the dinner, received a joint telegram from Liu Bingxian and Chiang Kai-shek, Xiao Yimin nodded to Bao Jiqing, who forwarded the telegram, and continued to toast with Tan Yanmin and others, until he returned home after the dinner, and then hurriedly discussed with Bao Jiqing.

After listening to Xiao Yimin's analysis, Bao Jiqing pondered for a moment, and asked with a smile: "If there is no benefit, you will not send money to Liu Zicheng?" ”

Xiao Yimin shook his head: "How can it be, whether it is good or not, he is my second brother, since he is under my name, I have to support him, not to mention Brother Kai-shek's ardent expectations." ”

Bao Jiqing said "um":

If the analysis of the General Staff is correct, Sun Yat-sen will not only not be able to command the troops gathered in various parts of Guangdong, but will probably have lost the support of the local warlords in Guangdong, otherwise Liu Zicheng would never have fallen into the situation he is in today.

"Yiming, since you already have a plan, and you have been quietly promoting your plan for the past two years, just persevere in doing it, as for the final result, I dare not say, at least you can get the support of Liu Zicheng and Chiang Kai-shek in the revolutionary party."

Xiao Yimin nodded with satisfaction:

"We have a good relationship between Sichuan and Hunan, and further cooperation has been finalized, coupled with Tan Yanmin's down-and-out talent, I believe that we will soon be able to get the benefit support we need in Hunan, so as to lay a solid foundation for us to move eastward step by step." If, during this period, the army led by my second brother and Chiang Kai-shek can play a certain role in Guangzhou, then it will be worth it to support him no matter how much we support. ”

"That's a good thing, but the key is Tan Yanmin's side, the situation in Hunan will soon change because of the cooperation between us and Tan Yanmin, maybe we will send troops to help Tan Yanmin eliminate dissidents and help him build a strong Hunan army, which will inevitably have a relationship with the Kuomintang, especially Cheng Songyun, who has high hopes for the Kuomintang, your old friend will definitely bargain with us, if Liu Zicheng and Chiang Kai-shek can say a few words in Sun Yat-sen's ear, things may be better."

Bao Jiqing thought further, paused for a moment, and asked again: "How do you plan to support Liu Zicheng and them?" ”

Xiao Yimin thought for a while: "Give the money, let Xiao Zhen rush from Shanghai to Guangzhou, bring a cash check of 500,000 yuan from HSBC, and then ask my second brother and Chiang Kai-shek what else they need, if you need to buy weapons and ammunition in Guangzhou, Xiao Zhen can also help through the British and American foreign firms."

"Judging from the actual difficulties they are currently facing, the guard brigade, which has half of the dead and wounded, will definitely have to be conscripted, and it will cost money on weapons and equipment, military uniforms, military shoes, and military salaries, and so on, and it is estimated that 500,000 yuan is not enough."

Bao Jiqing asked with a smile: "Do you really want to hold Liu Zicheng's army in your hands?" I'm afraid it's not easy, right? ”

"It's not easy, but it's even worse if you don't do it, anyway, as long as this army is firmly nailed to Guangzhou, we can do a lot of things through this army and prepare for our ultimate goal, which can't be bought for one or two million, even if it costs a little more, I'm willing I even want to ask my second brother, do you need me to help him recruit troops? If he wants, I will send him another brigade, it will be better than sending a force into Guangdong ourselves, right? Ha ha! Xiao Yimin was quite proud of his plan.

Bao Jiqing weighed for a moment: "If you really have so much confidence, you might as well do better, I think it should be like this......"

(To be continued)