Nantai is a poor place, the consumption power is very low, those squires and landlords save some money either to hide in the cellar, or to buy land in the countryside, rarely spend it on themselves, usually in the drunken immortal residence to eat a small wine is considered a luxury, so the business in Shanghai has been very poor since the door opened.

But after the Seventh Mixed Brigade was paid, the business in Shanghai exploded, and the CEOs who had received military salaries for several months were rich and wealthy, and they adhered to the habit of being bandits.

It was only at this time that some people who knew who the boss behind the scenes of Night Shanghai was suddenly realized, and they were waiting here with the military envoys, and the military salary was paid with the left hand, and the right hand was earned, this trick was really high!

The wheat harvest season has arrived, the land of Jiangbei is full of gold, and the poppies planted at the end of last autumn are also ripe.

On the eve of the harvest, the Overseer's Office sent an order to let the Jiangbei Protector envoy Chen Zikun report to the provincial capital, and at the same time, Zhang Pengcheng's secret letter also arrived, just three words: "Hongmen Banquet." ”

In fact, there is no need for Zhang Haipeng to remind him, Chen Zikun also knew that Sun Inspector was not well-intentioned, if he went to the provincial capital, he was afraid that he would not be able to come back, so he immediately revised a letter, saying that the bandits in Jiangbei had not yet been cleared, and he was too busy with military affairs to withdraw, so he sent Yan Su, the chief of staff, to report on his work.

Yan Su went to the provincial capital for a while, naturally sat on the cold bench of the Overseer's Office, and after the routine debriefing, he left the provincial capital, and walked around the neighborhood to inspect the economy and people's livelihood in the province.

The fields on the outskirts of the provincial capital are full of poppy fields all over the mountains and fields, and Sun Dujun is also a professional opium planter, the opium poppies are ripe before and after the wheat harvest, and the heavy dark green fruits are swaying in the wind, a scene of a bumper harvest.

Chief of Staff Yan lamented, but he also understood Chen Zikun's hardship, if you don't plant, there will naturally be other people's seeds.

After returning to Jiangbei, he received an order from the Overseer's Office that Sun planned to conduct military exercises in Jiangbei and ordered the 7th Mixed Brigade to participate.

This order is really fucked, I have only heard of the autumn exercises, how can there be a wheat harvest when the farmers are busy pulling the team out to practice, or in Jiangbei to practice, isn't this clearly going to do it.

The Seventh Mixed Brigade is subordinate to the Jiangdong Provincial Army, and nominally Chen Zikun wants to listen to Sun Kaiqin's orders, so he can't refute and disobey this order, you can not participate, but you can't refuse the provincial army to come to Jiangbei, besides, the Huai River is so long, you can't prevent it if you want to.

Without waiting for Jiangbei to respond, the second division of the provincial army and two mixed brigades had already left for the riverside to collect ferries and prepare to go north, Chen Zikun had to quickly make arrangements, the security regiment held the county seat, the first regiment was stationed in place, and he led the second regiment, the third regiment and the independent pistol battalion to rush to the exercise site.

The provincial army has established a landing ground on the north bank, the navigation of the Huai River has been temporarily suspended, and hundreds of large and small ships requisitioned by the army have come and gone, transporting countless soldiers, war horses, artillery, and baggage to Jiangbei.

Chief of Staff Yan Su put down the binoculars and said, "I've brought all the artillery over, is this a drill or a war?" ”。

Su Qingyan, chief of staff of the brigade headquarters, said: "Commander, let's fight, half-cross it, the chance of winning is very good." ”

Xue Bin rubbed his hands: "Dashuai, our pistol battalion is willing to take the lead!" ”

Chen Zikun said: "What to fight, the provincial army is here to exercise, you know no, it is to play war, so that the brothers can cheer up and play with them." ”

Although the words are awesome, Chen Zikun has no bottom in his heart, the commander-in-chief of this military exercise is Sun Kaiqin's brother, Duan Haixiang, the lieutenant general of the second division, and the commander of the second division, with 14,000 men and horses, heavy machine guns and small mountain artillery are all equipped, and they are the elite troops in the provincial army.

Although the second regiment is composed of bandits who have seen blood and has rich combat experience, the bandits are used to being free and casual, and it is okay to drill into the ravines to fight guerrillas, and if they really start training with the regular army, I am afraid that they will not be able to hold on, and the newly purchased American-made M1917 Maxim heavy machine gun and M1918 automatic rifle have just been equipped with troops, and the repeating weapons are relatively sophisticated and complex, and it is difficult for bandits with a very low level of education to master, and it will take some time to form combat effectiveness.

But the brothers of the second regiment did not have so many worries, and drove into the exercise area with a big grin, this place was drawn by Sun Kaiqin on the map, there are plains, hills and rivers, but it is also a good place to train soldiers and horses, the weather is hot and dry during the wheat harvest season, the second regiment chose a shady place as a camp, and was about to set up a tent, when suddenly a company of provincial soldiers and horses drove over to forcibly occupy this place.

The brothers of the second regiment rushed up and beat the provincial army to the ground, and the provincial army couldn't beat the opponent, so they scolded loudly: "You gang of bandits with thousands of knives!" Sooner or later I will destroy you. ”

The brothers were furious and wanted to step forward to beat them up, but they were stopped by Chen Zikun, who rushed to hear the news, and he said with a smile: "People are right, we are bandits, but whoever kills him is not necessarily." ”

More and more provincial troops landed on the north bank, Duan Haixiang arrived with a cadre of the division headquarters, the army was dispatched, the ground shook the mountains, and more than 10,000 troops, plus the livestock, tents, pots and pans, grain, hay, ammunition, and equipment, could not be transported for three days and three nights, the river beach was busy, the gendarmerie whistled to direct traffic, and the carriages and mules were busy coming and going, and they were in full swing.

Division Commander Duan was full of pride, looking at his army with his saber, he hadn't started a battle for a long time, and the brothers were idle, and this time he finally moved all his belongings to Jiangbei, so he didn't plan to go back.

The officers of the Second Division surrounded Duan Haixiang like stars and moons, and one of the young captains and staff officers was Xia Jingqi, Sun Dujun spoke and counted, and sent him to the Second Division as a staff officer.

Although Xia Jingqi is a staff officer, he has an elite special team under his command, and he is responsible for the investigation of Jiangbei, and all the actions of the Seventh Mixed Brigade cannot be hidden from his eyes.

"Division commander, the intelligence of the small ones said that it was the second regiment and the third regiment that were dispatched for the exercise in Jiangbei, and the first regiment of Chen Zikun's descendants stayed in the big camp and did not move." Staff Officer Xia reported.

Duan Haixiang laughed and said: "Chen Zikun is young in the end, no matter how he deploys, it will be in vain, as soon as my army arrives, he can only wait to be killed, where is the seventh mixed brigade, let him come to see me." ”

The order was transmitted to the garrison of the 7th Mixed Brigade, and Chen Zikun led his important officers to the provincial army camp for a meeting under the escort of the pistol battalion.

When they came to the entrance of the division headquarters, Staff Officer Xia greeted them at the gate and led everyone into a large tent, in which long tables and stools were placed, and military maps were hung.

After a while, Duan Haixiang entered the tent surrounded by the adjutant staff officers, he was burly and had a very loud voice, and when he saw Chen Zikun, he laughed heartily: "You are Chen Zikun, if you are terrible, you are about the same age as my son and he is a fucking major general, where can I reason, hahaha." ”

The officers of the provincial army all laughed, the faces of everyone in the Seventh Mixed Brigade were extremely ugly, Xue Bin's hands were pressed on the handle of the gun, but Chen Zikun was calm and said politely: "Elder Duan should be strong, admire and admire." ”

Duan Haixiang said: "Lao Tzu is not old at all, a descendant like you, Lao Tzu can deal with eight empty-handed." After that, the adjutant staff officers sat on both sides, and the guards stood behind them, with a menacing momentum.

The people and horses on both sides were eyeing each other like this, and the provincial army was all neatly dressed in blue-gray military uniforms, with box cannons hanging on both sides of the brown cowhide armed belt, leggings, leather shoes, and large-brimmed hats.

The appearance of the Jiangbei Army is almost the same, with a green hat, a black cardigan, a belt around the waist, a double gun hanging, a leather sheath and a machete on the back, and a bright red silk tied on the handle, which is as dazzling as a flame.

Duan Haixiang looked at the other party carefully, his words were rampant, but he did not despise the other party at all, Chen Zikun was young and heroic, and the momentum between his eyebrows reminded him of when he was young.

"Xiao Chen, let's introduce the old man to your subordinates." Duan Haixiang smiled and said with a smile.

Chen Zikun said: "Brothers, you should also meet Master Duan. ”

Yan Su, Gai Longquan, Su Qingyan, Xue Bin and others stood up one by one to introduce themselves, neither humble nor arrogant, and their words were moderate, Duan Haixiang smiled and said, "Good, good, good." ”

Xia Jingqi knew what to expect, quietly got out of the tent, gathered the division headquarters guard battalion, and took them to seize the weapons of the pistol battalion of the seventh brigade.

Inside the tent, the verbal swords continued, Duan Haixiang said: "Xiao Chen, your seventh mixed brigade is quite awesome, you disarmed my eleventh regiment last time, is there such a thing?" ”

Chen Zikun said: "Master Huiduan, there is such a thing. ”

Duan Haixiang said: "Then I'm going to talk about it today, you are not doing this authentically, the brothers of the 11th Regiment have made mistakes, and they have their regiment commander and brigade commander to deal with it, no matter how bad it is, I am the division commander in charge, why do you just say kill it, you are too crazy." ”

As he spoke, he slapped the table, and the ashtray and teacup jumped with him.

The guards of the provincial army took out their guns with a brush, and Xue Bin's subordinates were not ambiguous, they all had two guns on the left and right, and dozens of box guns in the tent pointed at each other, the nose of the machine was wide open, and the murderous atmosphere was high, but the officers were still sitting on the stools and silent.

Chen Zikun said: "I have already explained this matter to Sun Dujun, what do you mean by Master Duan, you want to deal with me?" ”

Duan Haixiang said: "What's wrong with you, little turtle calf, I'll handle you today, grass your mother's turtle calf." ”

Chen Zikun said leisurely: "Master Duan, if you grass my mother, then you are my father, it is natural for my father to do his son, as long as you do it, you can do it." ”