The strikes in the concession area, the public trams and shops were closed, but it was not as convenient as life in Zhabei, Chen Zikun rented a spacious yard, hired two wet nurses, four servants, and Yao Yilei was confined here.

Zhang Xueliang had a light meal at Chen Zikun's house, four dishes and one soup, all of which were home-cooked dishes, and the young marshal sighed during the banquet: "I don't get tired of eating, I don't get tired of being fine, people are handsome, I can't wait to eat dragon liver and phoenix gall all day long, you are good, the diet is similar to that of ordinary citizens." ”

Chen Zikun said: "Compatriots have suffered miserably, even if there is really dragon meat, I eat it with the same taste as chewing wax, if it weren't for Lei Lei's confinement, I would like the whole family to change to vegetarianism." ”

Zhang Xueliang said: "Is the full moon wine still on display?" ”

Chen Zikun smiled bitterly: "If the national disaster is at the head, it will be avoided, otherwise if it is taken care of, it will be scolded again." ”

Zhang Xueliang was thoughtful and muttered, "I have to do something too." ”

The next day, Yan Su, chief of the general staff of the Jiangdong Army, walked into Chen's house and handed over a declaration, and Chen Zikun took it and saw that the headline on the front page was Zhang Xueliang's "Patriotic Student Telegram to Shanghai."

"It hurts my students, but they are destroyed. Reckless Shenzhou, where is the way of heaven? A country that is weak should know and work hard. I love the heart of the group, and I would like to donate 2,000 yuan with my incorruptible income. On the same day, it was remitted by the Bank of China to comfort the dead and injured. The cold light of the night candle is difficult to help far, and it is just a matter of doing your best to talk. ”

Chen Zikun flicked the newspaper and said with a smile: "Zhang Hanqing has a lot of pens under his hands, and he writes well, but when my actions come out, I am afraid that I will steal his limelight......

Yan Su said: "Dashuai, do we really want to act?" ”

Chen Zikun said: "Move, of course you have to move, what is the current strength of the Jiangdong Army?" ”

Yan Su said: "After the old, weak, sick and disabled are abolished, there are still 30,000 troops left, the weapons are mainly rifles and machine guns, the artillery is actually composed of two regiments, there are 36 mountain artillery field guns, several mortars, and two bases of artillery shell reserves. ”

Chen Zikun said: "What is the financial situation? ”

Yan Su said with a sad face: "Gong Zijun has a report over there, the provincial tax is just enough for basic expenses, and the soldiers are still raised by the private funds of the marshal, if we start fighting, we don't even have the money to buy bullets, and the American-style rifles used by our army, the bullets are all imported, as soon as the war opens, the import channel will be broken, and the rifle will become a burning stick, which is not important, those people in the province are also eyeing each other, Mai Zilong, Governor Liu, and Sun Kaiqin and his old subordinates, are always looking at opportunities, if the marshal starts a war with foreigners, If it loses, and then loses the support of the ruling government and the help of foreigners, Jiangdong Province is afraid that it will change hands. ”

Chan was silent.

Yan Su continued to pour cold water, "All of our artillery combined, is not as good as one-third of the firepower of a cruiser on the Huangpu River, even if it is the most elite anti-smoking law enforcement corps, the quality of soldiers is far inferior to the European and American marines, and the training level is barely on par with the merchant group, while the foreign ** team in Shanghai has tens of thousands of people, and there are dozens of gunboats with fire support, the difference in strength is too great, and the chance of victory is quite slim." ”

Chan still didn't speak.

"What do you mean, Dashuai?" Yan Su asked cautiously.

"In the name of maintaining order, two divisions were transferred into Shanghai to blockade the concession." Chen Zikun cut the railway.

Yan Su straightened his waist: "Yes!" "Turn around and go.

Chen Zikun said: "Xiao'an." ”

Yan Su turned around, his face expressionless.

"Xiao'an, do you think you shouldn't send troops?"

"Soldiers take obedience to orders as their duty, and besides, ......," Yan Su took a deep breath, "some things always have to be done. ”

The press quickly received the news that General Chen Zikun, the military affairs supervisor of Jiangdong Province, had sent a telegram to the whole country that two army divisions would be stationed in Shanghai to maintain order and demonstrate by force, and that the possibility of forcibly recovering the concession if the negotiations failed.

Half a year ago, Chen Zikun still strongly advocated the complete withdrawal of troops from the areas around Shanghai and make Shanghai the main initiator of the demilitarized zone; today, however, he went so far as to send troops into Shanghai, and as soon as the news came out, the people were boiling and cheering, and the concession authorities were like facing a great enemy; Britain urgently dispatched warships stationed in Hong Kong and Singapore to Shanghai, marines landed to assist in defense, and the United States, Italy, Japan, and other countries also strengthened their vigilance, or sent marines ashore, or sent troops from their own countries, and the atmosphere in Shanghai became more and more tense.

Not long after, Zhang Zuolin in Beijing announced that he would send Xing Shilian to lead the 1st Army Division into Shanghai and set up a Shanghai Garrison Command to maintain local order and mediate the conflict.

For a time, nearly 100,000 squadrons gathered in the Yangtze River Delta, bringing tremendous pressure to the concession authorities, not only military, but also economic and public opinion.

In the past, when there was a war, it was the people of the Chinese community who ran to the concession, but now it is the other way around, and the people of the concession dragged their families and led their mouths to the Chinese border, and at the entrances of the concession, sandbag fortifications were erected and machine guns were erected, and the soldiers of the British, American, and Japanese marines and the International Merchant Corps were on standby at any time.

On the Beijing side, the originally high-ranking legation also lowered its posture and agreed to start effective negotiations with the Chinese side.

During this time, Chen Zikun and Zhang Xueliang became the two most common faces in the newspaper, patriotic young generals, national heroes and high hats piled up like no money, the two earned fame and eyeballs, and if the patriotic speeches and charity sales held by the Chinese community could invite one of the two, it would be a great honor.

……

In Huajie, the barracks of the Wusong Anti-Smoking Law Enforcement Corps have entered a state of first-class combat readiness, the barracks are crossed by the barracks, the Makqin machine guns are hidden in the bunkers, the soldiers are waiting for the steel helmets on their heads, the bayonets are shining in the summer sun, and in the distance in the Huangpu River, a British cruiser and a Japanese destroyer have aimed their main guns and all the secondary guns on the side of the barracks.

Wusong Fort, the Chinese Navy's coastal defense forces stayed out of the matter, remained neutral, and in order to avoid irritating the British and Japanese warships, the fortress artillery was actually covered with gun jackets.

Zhang Xueliang, the commander of the Third Army Corps of the Feng Army, led his subordinates to visit the camp of the Anti-Smoking Law Enforcement Corps. ”

Chen Zikun said: "The eight-inch caliber gun on the warship, a shell down, my barracks will be turned into powder, I can't hold out for a second, there is only a dead end." ”

Zhang Xueliang was shocked: "Then as soon as they fire, won't we be all finished?" ”

Chen Zikun said: "Exactly, but they don't dare to open fire, now they are afraid of the two ends of the wolf, as soon as the foreigners start the war, Shanghai will be ruined, and thousands of innocent people will die, pay attention, it is the people of the Westerners, and they will lose a lot of property, the British are good at playing politics, and they have played the European continent for hundreds of years, because they judge the situation and know the proportions, they dare to shoot our people, but they dare not touch my barracks, this is the reason." ”

Zhang Xueliang couldn't help but feel ashamed: "Doesn't our army have any countermeasures?" ”

Chen Zikun said: "Good question, our Chinese army is not equipped to deal with foreigners, the heaviest weapons are nothing more than 75 caliber mountain guns, Makqin heavy machine guns, these weapons are not enough to tickle the heavy cruisers, and the planes cannot drop large-caliber bombs, they can only throw a few grenades to listen to the sound, only on land, can they fight to the death." ”

Zhang Xueliang wiped his sweat and said: "This move is a bit dangerous, what if they really shoot?" ”

Chen Zikun said: "There are dozens of soldiers running back and forth in my barracks, giving them a false impression, and they can't hurt the main force when they really fight, and besides, don't you have your 100,000 Feng troops as a backing." ”

Zhang Xueliang smiled at this time: "It turned out to be an empty city plan, Brother Kunwu is clever." Putting down the binoculars, his right hand subconsciously inserted into his trouser pocket, where there was a telegram sent by Zhang Zuolin, strictly ordering him not to engage in armed conflict with foreigners.

Chen Zikun smiled and said, "The great powers only respect their own kind with the same fangs, so I want to roar and show their fangs on behalf of the Chinese people, so that they know that the Chinese are not to be bullied." ”

Zhang Xueliang said: "I thought that Brother Kunwu really wanted to recover the concession by force, but it turned out to be a deterrent by force, and the soldiers who surrendered without a fight, this trick is really high." ”

Chen Zikun sighed: "The sad thing is that all we can do is to deter, if we really fight, I'm afraid we won't be able to support even one round." ”

Zhang Xueliang was speechless, he was also weighing the combat effectiveness of the Feng army, if it started, 100,000 people would not be able to bite a Shanghai, and then Wu Peifu and Feng Yuxiang and others would definitely take the opportunity to make trouble and stab them in the back, no wonder his father strictly ordered him not to use force, it was really difficult.

After inspecting the camp, Zhang Xueliang accompanied Chen Zikun to the hospital to visit the heroes who had been injured in the May Day massacre, and Tang Yan was among them, and when they entered the ward, they found that there were already two visitors, one of whom was the same young man who had given a speech in Zhabei last time and ridiculed Chen Zikun for making a full moon wine for his daughter.

The other person was dressed in a suit, with a chivalrous spirit between his eyebrows, at the age of thirty, when he saw two generals in military uniforms coming in, he was not stage frightened, but greeted him with a smile: "The two are the world-famous patriotic generals, General Chen and General Zhang." ”

Chen Zikun said: "Yes, I am Chen Zikun, this is Zhang Hanqing, may I ask who you are?" ”

The man said: "Cai Hesen, the secretary of the Shanghai Federation of Trade Unions, this is Zheng Zeru, my colleague." ”

Zhang Xueliang said in a deep voice: "You are **!" ”

Cai Hesen said calmly: "I am Chinese. ”