The reason it was a "letter of recommendation" rather than an "order of appointment" was that Zhu Shiqing's actual military post still had to be determined by Song Zheyuan; the General Staff lacked the authority to parachute a lieutenant directly into the headquarters of the 29th Army, and doing so would have defied common sense anyway.
Under Ming Quan's handling, the "Red Party" incident within the Staff Corps gradually subsided, ultimately dissipating like a baseless rumor on the wind.
The day of parting drew near. In the late spring of late May, before the summer solstice had arrived, the vast majority of the cadets received their transfer orders one after another, preparing to rush to their second battlegrounds.
Fang Wenjian was chosen by Zhu Shiqing to be his deputy, heading north to Beiping-Tianjin together. Song Mingyang gave up the opportunity to transfer to the Central Army, resolutely throwing his lot in with the Sichuan Army instead. With his family's maneuvering and backing from the General Staff, Lai Tianyou was assigned to the Shanghai Peace Preservation Corps.
Zhong Yifeng secured the best posting of all, transferring nearby to an elite formation stationed in Suzhou: the 88th Division of the National Revolutionary Army.
As the crowds gradually dispersed, the Qingliang Mountain camp returned to its former loneliness. Close comrades throughout the camp gathered at small diners to drink heavily for an evening before scattering to all corners of the country, slinging their knapsacks over their shoulders the next morning and heading their separate ways.
On the final day of May, Zhong Yifeng arrived at Zhu Shiqing's dormitory carrying wine and food. The luggage in the room, big and small, was already packed.
"What wind blew you in?" Hearing the knock, Zhu Shiqing pulled the door open. The scene bore a passing resemblance to that day three months ago, except that Zhong Yifeng no longer had three lackeys trailing behind him. "Come on in, Young Master Zhong."
Zhong Yifeng's temperament hadn't changed much over the past three months. Whenever someone addressed him as "young master" or "lordling," he would merely chuckle and take it in stride.
"Where is everyone else?" Zhong Yifeng glanced around at the empty bunks. "I heard you're taking Wenjian to Beiping?"
"Sichuan is a long trek, so Song Mingyang set out two days early. Tianyou's post is nearby, so he left ages ago. Wenjian went back to Hubei the day before yesterday to see his family and will meet up with me tomorrow at Pukou."
Zhu Shiqing pressed down on his mattress on the bunk and suddenly looked up with a chuckle. "Young Master Zhong, you're as well-informed as ever. The others only just learned I was heading to North China, yet you already know I'm going to Beiping."
"Cut the lip," Zhong Yifeng scolded playfully, pulling out a chair and plopping down. He set two bottles of wine on the table and spread out roast duck, roast chicken, and some freshly sliced beef. "I also know you're departing tomorrow, so aren't I here to see off my good squad leader?"
Before Zhu Shiqing even walked over, the mouthwatering aroma had already reached him. Not wanting to refuse the gesture, he immediately pulled up a chair and joined Zhong Yifeng to eat.
"Not bad, not bad. Whatever you buy always tastes much better than what they serve in those small dives." Zhu Shiqing nodded with deep satisfaction.
"Truth be told, Ming Quan wasn't very fair," Zhong Yifeng said, curling his lip in a sour grimace. He stuffed a large piece of meat into his mouth, chewed for a while, and continued, "A lot of men in the camp were made captains, and some even get to be staff officers at brigade headquarters. You, Zhu Shiqing, are easily one of the top figures in the entire Staff Corps, yet they only give you lieutenant and ship you off to the local troops?"
Zhong Yifeng shook his head as he spoke, chewing enthusiastically all the while.
Zhu Shiqing was no longer the man he used to be. After months of being tempered and tested, he had long ceased to care about the presumptuous ambitions he had once harbored in Jiangning County. Hearing Zhong Yifeng complain on his behalf, he could only smile. "Young Master Zhong, what rank did you get, then?"
"Captain, of course!" Zhong Yifeng replied in all seriousness.
"I don't care about such things," Zhu Shiqing said with easy indifference, which only deepened Zhong Yifeng's admiration.
"Come on, here's to you." Zhong Yifeng snatched up a bottle and clinked it against Zhu Shiqing's. From the bottom of his heart, he said, "I'm a proud man, Zhu Shiqing. There are plenty of folks in the Staff Corps I wouldn't even bother looking at twice. But when it comes to you—you're the one man I truly respect."
The two bottles bumped together with a dull thud. Zhu Shiqing replied, "May we work together with one heart in the days ahead to wipe out the Japanese invaders."
"Take care of yourself on this journey north."
...
June 1, Pukou Station.
Two young men in officer uniforms boarded a special northbound train.
Their journey took them north along the Tianjin-Pukou Railway. Zhu Shiqing would first reach Tianjin before transferring to a military jeep to travel to Beiping and report for duty.
The magnificent landscapes of their motherland gliding past outside the train window were captivating. Departing from Nanjing and traversing the Taihu Plain and the southern Jiangsu wetlands to reach the North China Plain, Zhu Shiqing finally arrived after two days of travel in Beiping, the ancient capital of former dynasties.
The headquarters of the 29th Army was located here.
Song Zheyuan took no pleasure in Zhu Shiqing's arrival and was even somewhat apprehensive.
Inside army headquarters, Song Zheyuan pressed both hands against the long table in the center of the command room, his face frosty. Flanking him were his two deputy army commanders, Qin Dechun and Tong Linge, while division commanders such as Feng Zhian, Zhang Zizhong, and Zhao Dengyu also attended.
"I truly have no idea what Chiang Kai-shek means by sending two staff officers to the 29th Army at a time like this..."
The first to grumble was Zhang Boting, chief of staff of the 29th Army.
"What else could it be? Isn't Nanjing just playing that old trick of pitting one tiger against another?" someone chimed in.
As a veteran general who had risen during the warlord era, Song Zheyuan had initially been inclined to view this central government move as an encroachment on his power. But then he saw the telegram from Nanjing stating that only two junior officers were coming.
That dispelled his worries. Two junior officers hardly had the leverage to upset the balance of power in the Beiping-Tianjin region. At this point, he considered it nothing more than perfunctory posturing by the Nationalist government in response to public outcry.
"All right, all right. The issue now is that Nanjing says their placement is entirely up to us," Song Zheyuan said, waving a hand to quiet his subordinates' reproaches against Nanjing.
Zhang Boting's gaze was murderous; he harbored no fondness whatsoever for outsiders, especially those from Nanjing. As chief of staff, Zhu Shiqing would naturally fall under his direct command. Yet after pondering for a long while, he merely said, "In any case, they cannot stay at army headquarters."
This sentiment coincided completely with Song Zheyuan's own thoughts. As genuine local troops, their command headquarters was a strictly guarded circle, and almost everyone present was a trusted confidant. In everyday discussions, the topics might lean anti-Chiang or pro-Japanese. No matter how one looked at it, Zhu Shiqing could not remain at army headquarters.
Feng Zhian, commander of the 37th Division garrisoned at Nanyuan in Beiping, proposed, "Why not assign him to the 219th Regiment as a regimental staff officer?"
"Good idea. Yangzhi, putting him in your hands sets my mind at ease." Song Zheyuan offered a genial smile, but his expression soon tightened again. "Even though they're outsiders, we cannot afford to offend Nanjing either. Where care is due, look after them properly."
Feng Zhian rose, gave a salute, and quietly sat back down.
The 219th Regiment belonged to He Jifeng's brigade under the 37th Division. The regimental commander, Sun Yi, had followed Feng for many years and was an uncompromising hawk. In earlier years, he had charged alongside the Broadsword Unit into Japanese camps, lopping off heads; ever since the Broadsword Unit actions, the 37th Division under Feng Zhian had earned the formidable nickname of "Butchers."
That evening, after briefing Sun Yi on the matter, Feng Zhian personally traveled to the 219th Regiment headquarters stationed at Fengtai Station to host a welcome banquet for Zhu Shiqing.
Having just arrived in Beiping, Zhu Shiqing never even caught a glimpse of Song Zheyuan before a communications orderly from army headquarters escorted his vehicle out toward Fengtai.
Even Fang Wenjian could tell that Song Zheyuan held not the slightest shred of goodwill toward them, but under the circumstances, such a reception was only to be expected.
Chapter 29