In mid-May 1912, the Left Road Reserve Army completed three months of recruit training, and three of its battalions were ordered to go to Sanjiadian in western Beijing to guard the Ordnance Bureau and the Arsenal of the War Department, which was 50 miles away from the capital. The three battalions are Feng Jishan's front battalion, Lu Chengwu's rear battalion, Dong Shilu's left battalion, and Feng Jishan's one battalion is stationed in Sanjiadian's cemetery village. Seeing that there were many dilapidated and empty houses in the cemetery village, Feng Jishan organized the soldiers to renovate them, and set up three lecture halls: the squad leader's lecture hall, the officers' lecture hall, and the special soldier lecture hall, and set up two other training classes: the boxing training class and the sword skills training class. Wu Chunlei participated in the training of the squad leader's lecture hall, boxing class, and knife art class, and among the soldiers of his squad, Cao Fulin and Liu Ruming participated in the special soldiers lecture hall. Feng Jishan considered that most of the soldiers were literate, so he compiled a textbook of 800 commonly used words to enlighten the soldiers, and there were simple notes under each word, so that they could understand it at a glance. Due to the large number of bandits in the vicinity of western Beijing, Director Yuan of the Ordnance Bureau sent hundreds of repeating breech rifles to each of the three battalions for the safety of the armory and arsenal.

Among all the 25 battalions of the Five-Way Reserve Army, only Feng Jishan's battalion ran a lecture hall and a training class, Lu Jianzhang praised it after learning about it, personally went to inspect and observe, and sent some urgently needed equipment for the lecture hall, he asked his son Lu Chengwu's rear battalion to also run a lecture hall, Lu Chengwu is a boy who only knows how to eat, drink, prostitute and gamble, and he promised on the surface, but in fact he didn't do it at all.

"It's time to eat! It's time to eat! ”

With the sound of the military horn to open the meal, the soldiers flocked to the canteen, Wu Chunlei also entered the canteen with a lunch box, and the man Feng Zhi'an saw Wu Chunlei coming over, and hurriedly used a big spoon to scoop a spoonful of thick porridge from the gruel cauldron and gave it to him, and then gave him two yellow noodles.

Wu Chunlei sighed and said, "It's porridge again!" I don't have any oil or water, I'm tired of eating, and I can't eat anymore. ”

When the platoon commander next to him, Han Fuyu, heard this, and said angrily: "Wu Chunlei, how can you be such a picky eater as a squad leader?" In the barracks, it's good to be able to eat well, and Battalion Commander Feng eats the same as us, do you know? The commanders of the other two battalions of the Ordnance Bureau were full of fish and meat, but the soldiers under them could not eat enough at all, and they were all covered with skin and bones, and some even starved to death. If you dare to talk nonsense and disturb the morale of the army, beware of beating your military stick! ”

Han Fuyu served as a secretary under Feng Jishan during the Luanzhou Uprising, and he always looked down on people like Wu Chunlei who were born in the underworld.

Feng Zhi'an said: "Yes, squad leader Wu, if it weren't for your big brother Di who brought some millet when he sent the big knife last time, we wouldn't even have to drink porridge." ”

Wu Chunlei is a person who can bend and stretch, he hurriedly bowed his head to the platoon commander and said, "I'm sorry!" It's wrong! ”

After Han Fuyu left, Feng Zhi'an saw that there was no one around, so he took out two white breads and stuffed them to Wu Chunlei, Wu Chunlei was overjoyed and hurriedly put them into his arms.

Feng Zhi'an said: "Squad Leader Wu! Did you have any eyebrows about the correctors I told you last time? ”

Wu Chunlei said: "I have already reported your name to Company Commander Song, just wait for Company Commander Song's approval, you will be a regular soldier in our squad." ”

The soldiers of the Beiyang Army are divided into regular soldiers and auxiliary soldiers, and the auxiliary soldiers are also called servants, including men, horsemen, gunsmiths, porters, etc., a battalion has more than 200 auxiliary soldiers, and the auxiliary soldiers do more hard and tiring work than the regular soldiers, but the military salary and treatment are far inferior to the regular soldiers, and there are no weapons, if there is no regular soldier to protect the enemy in the war, they can only flee or be slaughtered. Therefore, most of the auxiliaries wanted to be converted into regular soldiers.

Wu Chunlei said: "I'll take leave to go back to the capital tomorrow, do you want to bring something?" ”

Feng Zhi'an said: "Don't you say that I can't remember it, I really want to buy something, I recently got a scabies on my leg, if you have time, buy me a box of scabies cream and two pairs of socks." ”

The next morning, Wu Chunlei took a small train from Sanjiadian back to Beijing, and as soon as he got off the station, he saw Chen Xianglian who picked him up, Chen Xianglian was wearing a new set of light yellow clothes and pants, a few months ago, her thin face became white and red, and she looked much more beautiful than before, Wu Chunlei felt a heat in his heart, and there was an urge to hold her in his arms.

When Chen Xianglian saw him, she ran over excitedly, punched him lightly in the shoulder, and said, "I'm back!" It looks like he's lost a lot of weight than three months ago, and this time I'll make up for it for you, after Mr. Di received the telegram, he originally planned to pick you up in person, but because he was too busy with the establishment of the Justice Party, he asked me to pick you up. ”

Wu Chunlei said: "What Justice Party? ”

Chen Xianglian said: "The Xihe Association has been renamed the Justice Party, with only more than 20 members, and there are two peripheral organizations: the Zhengqing Association and the Sharp Knife Association. You are not only a member of the party but also one of the eight ink masters, do you know what ink masters are? Just like the big guys in the Flying Eagle Gang, the status is very high. This time, I asked you to come back to go through the oath formalities for joining the party. ”

Wu Chunlei asked, "What do the Zhengqing Society and the Sharp Knife Society do?" Are you a member of the Justice Party? ”

Chen Xianglian said: "The full name of the Zhengqing Association is the Justice Youth Association, which absorbs young people under the age of 18 from the low-profit company to join, and after one to three years of examination, if they perform well, they can join the Justice Party; The full name of the Sharp Knife Club is the Sharp Knife Brothers Federation, and those who are not eligible for the membership of the Justice Party are all members of the Sharp Knife Society, and the dirty work of fighting and killing will be done by the Sharp Knife Club in the future. I joined the Xihe Club too late, and I could only be a member of the Zhengqing Association, but it was Sister Lan and Sister Bai who helped persuade Mr. Di to make me a party member. ”

Wu Chunlei asked, "Who are the other seven ink masters?" ”

Chen Xianglian said: "Mr. Di, the chairman of the party, Mr. Wu, the vice chairman, Sister Lan, the secretary general, and the other four people are Leng Hanbing, the chief of the supervision section, Wu Chunfeng, the chief of the intelligence section, Sister Bai, the president of the Zhengqing Association, and Hong Tianlie, the president of the sharp knife. ”

Wu Chunlei was surprised: "Sister Lan actually joined the Justice Party and became the secretary general? ”

Chen Xianglian said: "It took a lot of effort for Mr. Di and Sister Bai to persuade her to join, Sister Lan has a special status, and her joining the Justice Party must be kept secret. She saw that Wu Chunlei's hair was dirty and his beard was very long, so she took him to the barber shop to wash his hair, cut his hair, shave his beard, and she also used a comb to comb his hair neatly. Wu Chunlei looked at her serious and focused appearance, and thought: "If I can marry her as a wife in the future, I must be very happy." ”

Chen Xianglian took Wu Chunlei to No. 21, Lane 12, Xihe Street, which was formerly the headquarters of the Xihe Gang's action group and is now the office of the Justice Party. Wu Chunlei saw the party flag of the Justice Party here: the square flag with black and red borders, the flag is a white Big Dipper on the top, and there are two crossed white swords below, Wu Chunlei has listened to Di Xiong's lectures, these two swords are obviously the sword of justice that Di Xiong often says, and the Big Dipper is the pattern on the black flag military flag created by Liu Yongfu.

Di Xiong attached great importance to Wu Chunlei, and the seven ink scholars, including Di Xiong, were waiting for Wu Chunlei while holding a meeting in the office. The most eye-catching thing in the conference room is not Lan Jinping and Bai Xiuling, but Wu Chunfeng, Wu Chunfeng has shiny hair, wears a snow-white suit, a red tie, and his face is white, looking like a cream boy. Wu Chunfeng used to pay attention to dressing up when he was in the Flying Eagle Gang, but he was too poor to buy it, so he had to wash the torn clothes every day, and his clothes were the cleanest in the Flying Eagle Gang. Later, when he came to Xihehui and got money, this problem of dressing up was revealed, and he bought many sets of clothes under the pretext of engaging in intelligence work. After becoming the chief of the intelligence section, this problem is even more serious.

Di Xiong said to Hong Tianlie: "Although you are the president, you should listen to the opinions of the vice president Li Fei in case of trouble, Li Fei has been a patrol officer for many years, he is older than you, he is very clear about the three religions and nine streams in Beijing City, and he is also older than you. You have a problem with drinking and gambling, and you should drink less and gamble less money in the future, otherwise you will make mistakes or be taken advantage of, understand? ”

Hong Tianlie said: "Don't worry, boss, I will remember it." ”

In fact, in Di Xiong's mind, Hong Tianlie is not a suitable candidate for the head of the sharp knife, he has a violent temperament, acts recklessly, has too many problems, and has the advantage that he is very brave when he fights and kills, and he is absolutely loyal to Di Xiong. Leng Hanbing and Li Fei are the right candidates, but Leng Hanbing has already worn many hats, and he will definitely be the president of the Sharp Knife Club, he will definitely not be able to bear it, Li Fei joined the Xihe Club late, and he has no great merit, and it is difficult to convince the public.

At this time, Wu Chunlei walked in, shook hands with everyone warmly, and made noise. Di Xiong brought Wu Chunlei to the party flag, gave him a copy of the "Handbook of the Justice Party", and asked him to read the aims and objectives in the handbook to the party flag.

In the past, the purpose of the Mohists was to prosper the world, eliminate the harm of the world, and love not attack, and still be virtuous. Di Xiong changed the purpose of rejuvenating the world and eliminating the harm of the world to eight words: "Declare justice and eradicate evil." "It retains both love and non-attack, and Shangxian is not life.

Di Xiong said to Wu Chunlei: "Love and non-attack is: no distinction between high and low, everyone is equal, oppose the war of aggression, and the fate of the virtuous is to choose the sage as an official, do not admit the destined thing, and change the fate by yourself." You must remember the goal of the Justice Party: to drive out the foreign powers, recover the lost territory of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, overthrow the Beiyang government, and rejuvenate the Chinese nation! ”

Wu Chunlei said solemnly: "I am a squad leader of the Beiyang Army, but you want me to overthrow the Beiyang government, isn't this calling me to rebel?" ”

Everyone laughed when they said this, and after the meeting, everyone went to the Weili Hotel, where a sumptuous banquet had already been set up to wash the dust for Wu Chunlei. Wu Chunlei hasn't opened meat for a long time. devoured a lot of good dishes, and when he was half drunk, he pulled Chen Xianglian out of the banquet and went to the next bedroom to enjoy happiness with Chen Xianglian.

Hong Tianlie said with a smile: "Wu Chunlei is also too impatient, and he attacked Chen Xianglian before he finished drinking. ”

Tian Mengxue said with a smile: "This is normal, after three years of being a soldier, I returned my home, and when I saw that the sow was like a sable cicada, squad leader Wu had not left the barracks for a few months, and he had already been suffocated." ”

Tian Mengxue was supposed to be the head of the newly established intelligence section, but as there were more and more intelligence officers and the workload was getting bigger and bigger, Tian Mengxue felt powerless, so she took the initiative to let Xian give Wu Chunfeng, and she became the deputy section chief.

After the clouds and rain dispersed, the exhausted Wu Chunlei still hugged Chen Xianglian, Chen Xianglian wiped the sweat from her face with a handkerchief, and smiled at him: "I won't run again, why are you holding so tightly?" ”

Wu Chunlei said: "I feel like a dream, a few months ago I was a poor bastard who couldn't eat enough, but now I am not only an officer of the Beiyang Army, but also a boss of the Justice Party, and I also have a good woman like you, compared with those brothers before, I am really lucky." ”

Chen Xianglian said: "You didn't hesitate to borrow a lot of money last time to save me from the fire pit, I have long regarded myself as your woman, and I should be committed to you." ”

Wu Chunlei said: "But will your parents agree to our marriage?" ”

Chen Xianglian said: "Sister Lan said that she will make decisions for us and persuade them, you don't have to worry." In addition, Mr. Di said, you go to the army is sent by the company to send you, counting the business trip, the company reserves the position of department manager for you, and the monthly salary is still paid, and I will collect it on my behalf, I don't know if you have any opinions? ”

Wu Chunlei was overjoyed and said: "There is still such a good thing? You are now the person I trust the most, and I certainly have no opinion. ”

Chen Xianglian said: "Isn't Wu Chunfeng your own brother?" You won't let him pick it up? ”

Wu Chunlei said: "He is my distant cousin, when he fled from Henan, his parents starved to death on the way to escape, I saw him pitiful, so I took him to Beijing." ”

Chen Xianglian said: "I'm not provoking your brotherhood, your cousin is too attentive, and at the same time has an intimate relationship with several female employees of the company, spending money like running water, there are a lot of problems, you have time to talk about him, otherwise you will suffer a big loss." ”

Wu Chunlei nodded and said: "This is all a panic of burning money, when he was poor before, he didn't have so many problems." ”