Chapter Eighty-two Brothers

  Ouyang Yun quickly escaped from the teahouse with Jiang Shuren, heading towards the explosion site. When they arrived, they saw a burning Xuefeng car and two mutilated corpses. He sighed and said to Jiang Shuren, "I don't know who the dead are, I hope it won't cause too much trouble."

  Jiang Shuren said: "Let Feng Zhi'an's people handle this matter, we'll hurry to Nanyuan. Song Gong has been quite busy lately, don't want to miss him."

  Song Zheyuan saw the combat uniform designed by Ouyang Yun, and with the intuition of an old soldier, he immediately realized the great military value hidden in this small uniform. He immediately decided: This combat uniform is not only for the learning brigade to be equipped, but also for all units of the 29th Army to be equipped. Then let him open a military uniform factory as soon as possible and strive to equip the whole army as soon as possible.

  Ouyang Yun first lifted Song Zheyuan's good mood with a joke, and then took the opportunity to talk about the oil field and the inspection team. He said: "General, there is something that needs to be reported to you. A few days ago, my deputy was ambushed by the Japanese. These Japanese are really capable, they actually bribed Huang Dajiang of Lixing Company." He changed his tone, narrowed his eyes and said: "These little devils are really too arrogant, do they think Hebei is their territory? Hmph, do they think our 29th Army is easy to bully? General, this matter absolutely cannot be let go like this. It's hard to believe when I say it out loud, now they're even targeting the merchants of Beiping."

  Song Zheyuan was in a good mood, but when he heard that Gu Lianyun had been ambushed, he couldn't help but feel a headache. If you ask him what he's most afraid of now, it's that Ou Yangyun and the Japanese will clash. He knows the Japanese ambition best, and Tōyama Isaburō has already threatened him face-to-face to establish an autonomous government for the 29th Army, or else they would engage in a bloody battle; he is also very clear about the actions of the Japanese in North China, but from the perspective of "the bigger picture", he has been enduring and not speaking out. But Ou Yangyun is famous for his anti-Japanese stance, and he has always hated the Japanese to the bone, and being young and impulsive, it's inevitable that he would do something outrageous when provoked. Looking at Ou Yangyun's furious face, Song Zheyuan couldn't help but think: Tōyama, why did you have to provoke this killer? Isn't one 4-26 incident enough? Do you really think I, Song Zheyuan, am easy to bully?! Under my nose, you can make some small moves, but how dare you try to manipulate the merchants of Beiping! You know the importance of commerce, don't I?! If the merchants of Beiping are all taken over by the Japanese, then Beiping will become a dead city. At that time, what will the 29th Army rely on for salaries and to strengthen its own power?

  Thinking of this, Song Zheyuan could no longer hold back his emotions. He gritted his teeth and said: "What do the Japanese want to do?" He asked: "What are the thoughts of the businessmen?"

  "This matter is most clear to Jiang Shuren, who said: 'The Japanese used threats and enticements to get businessmen to join the Japanese or Manchurian nationality, promising them all sorts of preferential treatment, letting them go to Northeast China to set up factories and enterprises. The businessmen didn't know what attitude our 29th Army would take, and were also worried that we wouldn't be able to stay here for long, so most of them were in a state of indecision.'"

  Ouyang Yun said: "Military seat, agriculture is the foundation of a country, commerce is the basis for a strong nation. It seems we need to take some action, otherwise once Japan takes all the private capital from North China to Northeast China, no matter how advanced our technology is, without funds it's all in vain!"

  "What are you going to do?"

  "Three birds with one stone, first strengthen law and order in our controlled areas and crack down on crime; secondly, let some gang forces carry out assassination actions against the Japanese; at the same time, contact the special police brigade in Wing East to add fuel to the fire, making it less convenient for the Japanese to act in non-military zones." Ouyang Yun still remembered Yu Xuezong's entrustment and had been thinking of ways to contact the special police brigade in Wing East. He proposed this suggestion at this time in order to lay the groundwork for pulling the special police brigade into his camp in the future. Historically, after the July 7th Incident, the special police brigade in Wing East ambushed a group of Japanese devils passing through their jurisdiction and originally wanted to take refuge under the 29th Army, but for some reason was rejected by Song Zheyuan, resulting in them fighting alone and suffering heavy casualties under the Japanese army's superior firepower. He knew that Song Zheyuan was suspicious and had strong warlord thinking, being very concerned about his subordinates grasping too much power, and it was precisely based on this consideration that he had not let anyone contact Zhang Qingyu and Zhang Yantan in Wing East.

  Song Zheyuan furrowed his brow, weighing the pros and cons repeatedly, feeling that they couldn't indulge the Japanese anymore. Otherwise, the North China region would be turned into an empty shell by them. With a wave of his hand, he said: "Let's do it this way, the public security issues will be handled by the garrison troops in each location, those gang forces will be handed over to Guo Biao to contact, as for the special police brigade under Wing Dong, they used to belong to the 51st Army. Ouyang, have Li Tieshu handle it."

  Ouyang Yun nodded in agreement and exchanged a glance with Jiang Shuren, both of them bursting out laughing.

  However, as soon as this smile appeared on his face, Song Zheyuan glared at him and said: "What are you smiling about? You're only responsible for the security of Renqiu, don't interfere with Beijing's affairs. As for those merchants, if you have the ability, go ahead and bring them to Renqiu - the future of the 29th Army depends on it. Do a good job, but be careful not to make any mistakes. Currently in North China, the Japanese are powerful, so try to avoid them as much as possible. Don't create another disaster, or who knows how the Japanese will react? Hmm, go back and console your deputy officer for me, she's been troubled by the affairs of the 29th Army."

  Ouyang Yun heard him say this and knew that the opportunity for a big move was gone, so he nodded in agreement.

  Jiang Shuren and Guo Biao couldn't help but laugh at his pitiful appearance. Jiang Shuren, seeing that the important matter had been settled, began to recount his earlier experience at the Tianhe Teahouse as a joke. Song Zheyuan and Guo Biao burst out laughing upon hearing it. Song Zheyuan jokingly said, "It's great to be young, look, beautiful women are delivering themselves right to our doorstep."

  Guo Biao smiled and said: "That merchant wolf has some connection with me, Ouyang, don't take this matter to heart, I'll help you solve it."

  Ouyang Yun was so embarrassed that he was about to die, but when he heard this, he was overjoyed and said: "Then thank you very much, Brother Guo! You must help me solve this problem. That little girl is really a bit annoying."

  Kuo Piao smiled and nodded, then glanced at Sung Chih-yuan and said: "Ou-yang, that wounded deputy officer of yours should be K'u Yen-yun, shouldn't it?"

  Ouyang Yun was already extremely embarrassed, and upon hearing this, he responded with a single word: "Mm."

  "No wonder you're so nervous, many people say you have a beauty hidden in your house, it seems to be true."

  Ouyang Yun was terrified and hastily said, "Big brother, why are you also teasing me? With the national crisis at hand, I have one thing after another to deal with, where do I have the leisure for this?"

  Guo Biao laughed and said: "I'm not kidding, when a man grows up he should get married, and when a girl grows up she should get married too. This is nothing to be ashamed of."

  Song Zheyuan also smiled and said, "Yes, Ouyang, do you want me to be your matchmaker? Your deputy commander's superior Xiong Kun is an old acquaintance of mine, and you are my beloved general. If the two of us step forward, it should not be a problem."

  Ouyang Yun was stunned, feeling a bit disoriented - Song Zheyuan's attitude had changed greatly, and not long ago, he had even reminded him to be on guard against Gu Lianyun. Now, however, he was actually matchmaking for them. As the saying goes, "anything out of the ordinary must be suspicious", it seemed there was more to this than met the eye. He glanced at Guo Biao and said, "Thank you, General, but I'm still young and don't want to consider such things yet."

  Song Zheyuan waved his hand and said, "Just kidding, don't take it seriously. When are you going to start your military training? How's your relationship with Ji Xingwen? He's a veteran, there are some things you should learn from him."

  "We're leaving tomorrow, General Ji is a great advisor, we get along very well."

  "That's good, there are many students in the army who have knowledge and aspirations. If they are trained well, they can be of great use. After the National Government withdrew from Hebei, various government departments were severely short-staffed. Later, I will select the best from the army to fill the vacancies. Keep this in mind."

  "General, there's something I'd like to ask for your advice on. Agriculture is the foundation of our country, and if we want to truly turn Wingchak into a base area, we must firmly grasp control of the land, which will allow us to win over people's hearts. In both Wingchak areas, agricultural population makes up the vast majority, but they have very little land, so their enthusiasm for farming is not high. I've done some preliminary statistics, and one mu of land only produces 200-300 kilograms of grain, this yield is really too low. In America, one mu of land can produce around 500-600 kilograms..."

  This is what he called the "commercialization of agriculture" policy, and had communicated with Jiang Shuren last night. Before he could finish his words, Jiang Shuren interjected at just the right moment: "Ouyang, you're not thinking of using GCD to carry out land reform, are you?"

  Song Zheyuan was shocked and looked at Ouyang Yun's eyes with a complex expression.

  Ouyang Yun smiled and said, "How could that be? My method will absolutely not force anyone," then he explained: In order to mobilize the enthusiasm of the broad masses of peasants for farming, and at the same time create a good reputation for the 29th Army, they can use their advanced technology to purchase a certain amount of land from businessmen, and in exchange obtain a certain percentage of shares in factory and mining enterprises. The 29th Army will then contract out the land to the peasants, with both sides agreeing on a tax ratio, thereby maximizing the mobilization of the peasants' enthusiasm.

  Jiang Shuren nodded repeatedly and said to Song Zheyuan: "General, what a great idea! It can be seen that if this matter is really successful, then the 29th Army will definitely receive an unprecedented welcome wherever they go."

  Song Zheyuan felt a bit relieved in his heart, undoubtedly, this would indeed bring him good reputation and help the 29th Army control Hebei Province. However, thinking of some powerful forces in Hebei Province, he thought it wouldn't be that simple and said: "This method seems not bad, but those landlord masters are not fools, will they willingly sell their land? Moreover, the factories and mines we can set up are limited after all, how much land can we exchange for shares?"

  As soon as he finished speaking, Ouyang Yun looked at him with a face of admiration and said: "After all, Junzuo is far-sighted and thoughtful, it's my way of thinking that's not good enough." Then he pretended to think for a moment, shook his head and said: "Indeed, the two places are vast, and the factories and mines we can operate are limited. Junzuo, why don't we try to test run in Renqiu first and see the results before talking?"

  Song Zheyuan thought for a moment and felt it wouldn't have any particularly bad influence, so he nodded.

  Ouyang Yun said: "Then I will select some students who are proficient in government affairs from the student brigade, form a government affairs team to handle this matter. In this way, they can also accumulate some experience in government affairs and prepare for serving the local area. Commander, do you think this is good?"

  Song Zheyuan thought for a moment and felt that this idea was not bad, so he nodded in agreement.

  Ouyang Yun obtained the land reform policy of "using commerce to control agriculture" through a roundabout strategy, which also settled one of his concerns. The four of them chatted for a while before he and Jiang Shuren bid farewell and got into the car. Seeing that Li Shitou was not there, Ouyang Yun asked Liu Zhe-liang to go find him, then said to Jiang Shuren: "Mr. Jiang, thank you very much today."

  Jiang Shuren smiled and said, "It seems that our double reed today is still quite successful."

  Ouyang Yun burst out laughing.

  Two people were chatting idly when Guo Biao walked out. He went straight into the car and asked Ouyang Yun, "Ouyang, do you know why Junzuo wants to match you with Gu Liyun?"

  He came to find Ouyang Yun, apparently for this matter. Ouyang Yun was stunned after hearing it and shook his head.

  "The Japanese are forcing Junzuo to announce autonomy in North China, and now he's also in a difficult situation, so he actually hopes you can marry with Gu Liyun."

  Ouyang Yun was puzzled and thought to herself, "What does the matter between me and Gu Liyun have to do with the North China Autonomous Region?" She looked at Guo Biao and furrowed her brow.

  Guo Biao said: "Ouyang, it seems you still don't know the true identity of your Deputy Officer Gu? She is a high-ranking special agent belonging to the Chairman's Attendant Office. With her status, she qualifies to directly deliver intelligence to the Chairman, so Military Seat hopes you can talk to her and let her mention the difficulties faced by the 29th Army in front of the Chairman."

  Ouyang Yun only then understood why Song Zheyuan's attitude towards Gu Liyun had changed so much, even to the point of becoming a matchmaker, hoping that he and Gu Liyun would have a political marriage. Thinking about it, he felt very embarrassed, and he blurted out: "Damn it, what does he take me for?"

  Kuo Piao and Jiang Shuren were taken aback for a moment, then both of them turned their heads around at the same time, as if to say: I didn't hear anything.

  Guo Biao said: "Ouyang, as an elder brother, I'd like to advise you that you're not alone now, with so many brothers under your command. You should consider their well-being when making decisions and avoid being impulsive. It's a good thing that you've been transferred to Renqiu, the waters in Beiping are too deep. Ji Xingwen is a decent person, worth getting to know better. Mr. Jiang, my younger brother Ouyang is still young and inexperienced, please be patient with him." After finishing his words, he patted Ouyang's shoulder and nodded at Jiang Shuren before getting off the car and leaving.

  "My younger brother Ouyang", Ouyang Yun looked at his back, thinking of this title, the anger in her heart felt a soft warmth, and her eyes became moist - to think that he and Guo Biao were not close friends, but now it seems that he really regarded himself as a brother, how could this not move him?

  Jiang Shuren looked at him and then at Guo Biao, saying: "Ouyang, congratulations on finding a good big brother!"

  Ouyang Yun smiled and said: "Not only is there a good elder brother, but also a good husband."

  "Sir, I don't dare, Ouyang, if you don't mind, also call me big brother."

  "Yes, Brother Jiang!"

  "Older brother Ou Yang!"

  Two people exchanged a smile, and everything was understood without words.

  Yesterday's two chapters were written after drinking and had many awkward parts, so I'd like to apologize here!!!