On 3 October, the officers and men of the four regiments of the former Zhejiang Provincial Second Security Division, which were officially renamed the Seventh Brigade and the Eighth Brigade of the Central Army, left Hangzhou by special train to assemble in western Zhejiang, and then set off on foot to Shangrao, Jiangxi.

Yu Jishi, director of the Zhejiang Provincial Security Department and commander of the Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, and Guangdong pursuit and suppression columns, took only adjutant Zhang Yingnian and two guards to Quzhou in advance by passenger train at half past seven in the morning, and met warmly with Fang Youchun, an old colleague who picked up the station, at 3:20 p.m., and stayed in the small building opposite Fang Youchun's house in the Fushan military camp that night, and had an open and frank long talk with Fang Youchun on how to deal with Wu Ming's resignation.

Fang Youchun has been having a hard time recently, although the taxing rights of the three counties in western Zhejiang have been successfully recovered, and the abundant tax revenue is expected to alleviate the financial difficulties of the Quzhou Administration, and Fang Youchun, who is upright and does not show favoritism, has also won the heartfelt respect and love of the people of Quzhou, but he and Wu Ming have become the same passerby, which makes him extremely painful.

In the face of Yu Jishi's concerned inquiry, Fang Youchun did not hide it at all, and after objectively stating the entire incident, he reviewed himself with self-reproach:

"Actually, I was too anxious to understand Wu Ming's inner feelings, although he was domineering and domineering, but it was also for the construction of the army, and there were many things that outsiders did not know...... To take the simplest example, the amount of training in the various units under Wu Ming's command is very large and very hard, at least three times that of other units of our Zhejiang army, and it is normal for the officers and men to wear a pair of clothes and shoes for two months, and in order to replenish the physical strength of the officers and soldiers and ensure the quality and progress of training, the officers and men of all units under his command have very good food, and these need to be supported by money."

"I once carefully calculated an account, just the consumption of food for training and the consumption of clothing, shoes and hats, Wu Ming's regiment must spend 12,000 yuan more than other troops every month, not counting the consumption of ammunition, if it is calculated in full, it is estimated that it will reach 30,000 yuan, so he is reluctant to hand over the right to collect taxes in the three counties in western Zhejiang."

Fang Youchun sighed, drank half a cup of tea, and continued:

"Initially, for the taxing rights of the three counties, he took the initiative to discuss with me, asking for permission to continue to collect taxes until the end of the year, I relentlessly resolutely opposed, he had no choice but to take a step back, proposing to pay half of the tax in the fourth quarter and keep half of the soldiers behind, I flatly ......refused because of too much pressure."

"This completely annoyed him, and the relationship with me was very stiff...... But even so, at the end of last month, he sent someone to hand over the right to collect taxes. I know what kind of person Wu Ming is, and I don't believe that he will damage the public and private interests, so on the day of the official handover, I grabbed his deputy chief of staff Zhang Dongning and asked, Zhang Dongning did not dare to hide it from me, and quietly told me that Wu Ming had already expected to be absorbed by the Central Army, and was worried that he would be transferred away immediately after the incorporation, so he desperately made money, the purpose was to order a batch of special steel for the manufacture of guns, as well as high-carbon steel plates imported from Germany for the production of steel helmets, so as to ensure that the production in the coming year will not be interrupted. At that time, I felt very bad when I heard it, alas"

Yu Jishi was extremely surprised, was silent for a long time, and asked in a low voice: "He had a premonition that he would be absorbed by the Central Army two months ago?" ”

Fang Youchun nodded: "In fact, as early as last year, when you asked him to help train the officers and soldiers of the three regiments, he expected it, and he told me about it at that time, and boldly predicted that the military and political circles in Zhejiang were already under the absolute control of the chairman, saying that you, the director of security, would return to the Central Army after completing the task, and jokingly asked me to go to Nanjing to run for the officer, so as to take over smoothly after you left."

"At that time, I didn't take it to heart at all, and laughed at him for talking about dreams, and he ridiculed me for this...... Looking back now, I have to admit that he saw farther than me. ”

Yu Jishi was stunned, not to mention that Wu Ming's bitterness was excusable, and even awe-inspiring, just Wu Ming's accurate observation and prediction of the current situation was enough to make Yu Jishi deeply shocked, what a mind and wisdom this is

Yu Jishi, who was silent for a long time and had an extremely complicated mood, sighed: "Old Fang, it seems that we have all made the same mistakes, from the overall situation, although Wu Ming's actions are arbitrary, but he is not for himself but for the army, it can be said that he is the same as you, he is also dedicated to the public, and everything he has done cannot be explained to the outside world, because whether it is the training of the army, or the production of weapons and equipment and the storage of materials, it involves military secrets, which shows how much pressure he is under."

Yu Jishi paused for a moment, and finally said what was in his heart: "I noticed Wu Ming when I first arrived in Zhejiang to take office, so I specially transferred him to lead his troops to Jiangxi to participate in the encirclement and suppression operation, first, to see if he is worthy of his name and whether he has real ability; Second, it is necessary to test whether he is loyal to the party-state. ”

"As a result, Wu Ming's performance was satisfactory, showing extraordinary talent in all aspects, and from then on, I made up my mind that I must not miss such an excellent talent, and then I continued to give him various tasks, and he completed them brilliantly, which strengthened my determination to take him away......

"It's just that I didn't expect that things would turn out like this, and now it seems that if I had talked to him openly and honestly earlier, maybe there would have been no misunderstanding later."

Fang Youchun agrees with Yu Jishi's opinion: "Wu Ming's personality is a typical character that eats soft rather than hard, and many things are better solved by directly picking out with him, but I didn't expect his reaction to be so fierce this time...... I guess, as you said, the pressure on him is just too much. ”

Yu Jishi nodded: "Old Fang, is Wu Ming really willing to let go?" ”

Fang Youchun was stunned for a moment, Yu Jishi's thinking jumped too much, which caught him off guard. After pondering for a long time, the most reluctant Fang Youchun still didn't dare to assert:

Although Wu Ming has many shortcomings, he attaches great importance to righteousness, keeps promises, and is very good to his subordinates, and he can do what he asks others, which is why he is respected by the officers and soldiers under his command...... It stands to reason that he would never be willing to leave the Second Brigade, which he had worked so hard to build...... However, many of this guy's ideas and practices, and even his morals and values, are different from ordinary people, and they are unpredictable. ”

Fang Youchun then gave an example: "For example, two years ago, Lu Zhongxiu gained a firm foothold, and began to suppress and weaken the local power in order to control the overall situation, which is understandable, every magistrate basically does this, but he chose to be wrong, and even took the hard-working Wu Ming's industry to start the operation, it is estimated that because Wu Ming's industry is not only large, but also each of them is the largest in western Zhejiang, Lu Zhongxiu may think that as long as Wu Ming is weakened, everything else will be easy to do." ”

As a result, Wu Ming responded with a very tough approach, and in just one week, he gave up all the industries he had worked hard to build, and hit Lu Zhongxiu by surprise, and Quzhou's industry, which had just improved a little, has since sunk, and there has been no development until now, and the industrial tax revenue is not even one-third of that year.

"When I went to Nanjing for a meeting last autumn, I heard that Lu Zhongxiu had talked about this matter in casual conversations with several party-state veterans, and he regretted it in his words, calling it the biggest mistake he had made in his life, and it was a fundamental mistake that could not be reversed."

Yu Jishi understood what Fang Youchun wanted to express very well, and suddenly felt a headache: "Old Fang, I admire Wu Ming very much, and once said that Wu Ming alone can top a division, because as long as there is Wu Ming, let alone the war, just Wu Ming's ability to recruit recruits and his unique high-efficiency and high-quality training methods can ensure that my troops can be continuously enriched."

"However, if Wu Ming is too tough, I have to give up, my chief of staff suggests that since Wu Ming's departure is an irreparable fact, we can only take the second brigade he left behind, after all, the military order is like a mountain, and no one can be sloppy."

Fang Youchun was very surprised, and after thinking about it carefully, he could understand it again, and nodded in agreement with Yu Jishi's opinion: "That's true, no matter what, you must obey the overall situation, revolutionary soldiers must focus on the overall situation, it is the duty of a soldier to obey orders and follow arrangements, since Wu Ming is unwilling, then let him leave."

"Although it is said that the officers and men of the Second Brigade will be affected by some influences and have some fluctuations, they are all temporary, and I believe that under the wise leadership of the department, they will be able to recover soon. To tell the truth, the quality of the officers and men of the Second Brigade is very good, and they are extremely combative, and if they are used well, they will not necessarily be worse than any of the main forces of the Central Army...... Over time, it will be a great help to the subordinates. ”

The look of shock in Yu Jishi's eyes flashed, and then he smiled and said goodbye with a few humble words.

Fang Youchun enthusiastically sent Yu Jishi to the small western-style building opposite, and said earnestly to Yu Jishi that if he needed the Quzhou Administration to do something, he would definitely give his full support.

Yu Ji, who entered the small western-style building, was alone in a daze with a cup of tea, Fang Youchun's uprightness was clear to him, but he didn't expect Fang Youchun's overall view to be so strong, so loyal to the party-state, between the interests of the party-state and personal interests, he chose the former without hesitation.

Fang Youchun's belief and excellent quality made Yu Jishi admire, but he also smiled bitterly because of this.

Yu Jishi's original intention was not to give up on Wu Ming, but to use the most formal and normal way to persuade Fang Youchun, who is Wu Ming's wife and brother, to come up with a better handling opinion, and at the same time, it was also a little tentative.

But Yu Jishi couldn't think of anything, Fang Youchun also did not hesitate to adhere to the principle on this issue, not only did not put forward a suggestion on how to persuade Wu Ming to stay, but also did not even say a good word to Wu Ming, this result made Yu Jishi, who was full of pearls, cry and laugh, and felt that it was so ridiculous for him to play with a loyal person like Fang Youchun, and he remembered an old saying in his hometown with emotion: An honest person cannot be bullied.

But the cruel words have already been spoken, and it is obviously unwise to go to Fang Youchun for help again, and Yu Jishi, who loves face, can't do it, so he is distressed, and he can't come up with any good way after thinking about it again and again in the middle of the night, but the four regiments under his command and the equipment took three special trains to Quzhou at this time.

Under these circumstances, Yu Jishi could only rush to the station to command the overall situation, and ordered the four regiments to drive to the Fushan camp, where he was temporarily staying, which was originally the base camp of the security forces in western Zhejiang, and the barracks were sufficient and relatively complete, so that the officers and men could rest, bury the pot and cook early tomorrow morning, and then rush to the Changshan barracks, 40 kilometers to the west, to rest and recuperate.

Fang Youchun, who learned the news, took the initiative to lead more than 100 policemen from the guard battalion of the administrative department and the Quxian County Police Station to greet them, and then quickly provided food and necessary supplies, and also assigned the policemen to go to the wharves and slaughterhouses, and as soon as it was dawn, he purchased fish, meat, and vegetables to deliver them to the friendly troops of the four regiments, and this busy work was busy until four o'clock in the morning.

After Yu Jishi thanked his old colleague Fang Youchun, he returned to the small western-style building again, and the adjutant Zhang Yingnian behind him muttered, "If Wu Ming is here, it will be worry-free", which suddenly made Yu Jishi sigh repeatedly, and felt more and more that Wu Ming was indispensable.

Don't talk about anything else, if Wu Ming is here, don't talk about the trivial matter of eating and sleeping, tomorrow's march doesn't have to worry about Yu Jishi and others, Wu Ming only needs to say hello, and all the high-horsepower transport ships can gather at the west wharf to wait, even if the number of officers and soldiers is doubled, they can be quickly sent to the Changshan barracks, and when they arrive at the Changshan barracks, they can live in comfortable barracks and eat delicious meals with plenty of oil and water.