Black Flag Army

Di Xiong said, "Who said I'm not afraid? I'm just pretending to be brave. But the more afraid one is of death, the faster one will die. On the battlefield where two armies are facing each other, most of the casualties are not killed in battle, but are killed by pursuers while fleeing. Some people die even more miserably, as they are slaughtered as captives."

Di Xiong thought of the Nanjing Massacre. In that massacre, not only civilians but also tens of thousands of surrendered soldiers who were taken prisoner were slaughtered. This was a shame for the soldiers!

The next morning, Wu Chunlei took Di Xiong's recommendation letter and went to the Left Route Reserve Army Recruitment Camp in Nanyuan. Di Xiong and Bai Xiuling accompanied him to the city gate. Di Xiong handed Wu Chunlei a piece of paper with the names of 18 people written on it, and told him, "You may meet these 18 people in Captain Feng's army. They are all people who may have a promising future. You should accept them as much as possible, even if they are just soldiers now."

Wu Chunlei certainly didn't know that these eighteen people were the future Five Tiger Generals of the Northwest Army and Zhang Zizhong, Zhao Dengyu and other famous generals of the later period. He put away the note and smiled, "I didn't know that my brother could tell fortunes."

When Di Xiong returned home, Leng Hanbing was already waiting for him. There were more than 2,000 silver dollars on the table, some of which were stained with blood. Di Xiong smiled and said, "It seems that we did a great job last night. This time we have enough money to buy a textile factory. Are you guys hurt?"

Leng Hanbing said: "Only one brother named Zhang Kuwa was slightly injured. I cut off the right hand of the restaurant owner who stabbed him. The other brothers are fine."

Zhang Kuwawa and Wang Shitou were two relatively outstanding young men among the new recruits. They were originally beggars begging on the streets. When they were almost starving to death in front of the Weili Hotel, they were discovered and taken in by Di Xiong.

Di Xiong said, "Take 500 yuan as the bonus and share it with the brothers. Give Zhang Kuwa an extra 20 yuan for his medicine. The people who work with me must not be let down. Rewards and punishments must be clear."

In the evening, the "Beijing News" published the news that Fatty Huang was transferred from the Xicheng Branch. The new director was the former deputy director Ma Hong. After Bai Xiuling saw the news in the newspaper, she hurried to Di Xiong's office, showed him the newspaper, and then hugged him and jumped for joy.

She said: "Now I can go out without any worries."

Di Xiong said: "You are too happy too early, Liang Mazi is not dead yet!"

Three nights later, Liang Mazi went to Weili Restaurant again, but there was only one policeman following him. Knowing that Huang Pangzi had been transferred, Liang Mazi's confidants suddenly lost three people. They were stopped outside the restaurant by a waitress in a red cheongsam, who had a small black mole on the left corner of her mouth.

The waitress whispered mysteriously, "Officer Liang! I know where Bai Xiuling is. The boss didn't tell you the truth that day. You'll be disappointed if you go to the restaurant now. Neither the boss nor Bai Xiuling is here."

Liang Mazi asked: "Why do you want to help me?"

The waitress said, "I was beaten by the boss because I embezzled the guests' meal money. If you give me a dollar, I will take you to where Bai Xiuling lives."

Liang Mazi believed it and gave the waitress a silver dollar. The waitress took them to No. 21, Lane , Xihe Street, which was the headquarters of the Xihehui Action Group. After they went in, of course, they never came out again.

The waitress who risked her life to lure Liang Mazi to death was Chen Xianglian, who was only 16 years old. Among the eight waitresses at Weili Hotel, she was the first to request to join Xihe Club, and Wu Chunlei was her introducer.

The next morning, the bodies of Liang Mazi and his companions were found in the moat in the west of the city. They were swollen beyond human form. After a forensic examination by Director Ma Hong, it was determined that they had drowned after drinking. At that time, the public security in Beijing under Yuan Shikai's rule was very chaotic. His backbone Zhao Bingjun organized an assassination group and assassinated the backbones of the Revolutionary Party and the Royalist Party many times. The Revolutionary Party and the Royalist Party also hired assassins to assassinate senior officials under Yuan Shikai. People were assassinated in Beijing almost every day. In this context, the drowning of two policemen did not attract anyone's attention.

The plan to acquire the textile factory was very successful, and Boss Li lowered the price to 10,000 silver dollars.

Ten days after Liang Mazi's death, Weili Industrial Company held its founding ceremony in Nankou Town, Changping County. Lu Jianzhang, the commander of the Left Route Reserve Army, Ma Hong, the chief of the Xicheng District Police Department, the governor of Changping County and the head of the patrol group were invited to attend the ceremony. Of course, there were also shareholders such as Di Xiong, Lan Jinping, Li Jingfa, Leng Hanbing, Hong Tianlie and Wu Chunfeng. Weili Company has Weili Textile Factory and Weili Hotel under its jurisdiction. The total share capital is 20,000 silver dollars. Di Xiong holds 55% of the shares, Boss Li holds 20%, Ma Hong, Lan Jinping, Leng Hanbing, Hong Tianlie and Wu Chunfeng each hold 5%. Ma Hong took the initiative to invest, and Lan Jinping invested under the persuasion of Bai Xiuling. Of course, she had no money, and it was Lu Jianzhang who paid for it. Di Xiong originally planned to give some shares to Wu Chunlei and Bai Xiuling, but they thought they did not participate in the action of eradicating the Feiying Gang and refused.

Although Di Xiong had sent an invitation to Lu Jianzhang in advance, he estimated that such a big shot would not come. He originally only invited Lan Jinping to attend the ceremony. Unexpectedly, Lan Jinping persuaded Lu Jianzhang to attend, which made him overjoyed. Lu Jianzhang's reputation as a "butcher" virtually eliminated many troubles for Weili Company. The governor of Changping County and the head of the patrol group were invited by Boss Li. They were friends with Boss Li, but of course they were just drinking buddies. It still cost money to invite them to do things. After drinking, each of them received a big red. Lu Jianzhang had an old face and gray hair. He was not a good match for the young woman Lan Jinping. Many people thought they were father and daughter. Di Xiong also felt sorry for Lan Jinping in his heart.

After Lan Jinping introduced Di Xiong and Lu Jianzhang, Lu Jianzhang said to Di Xiong, "You are Di Xiong? You are younger than I thought. I heard that you used to be a detective, but after being fired, you became a small restaurant owner with tens of thousands of dollars in just a few months. I don't know where you got the money. If you put the money in a bank or money house, the interest would be enough for you to spend. If you save it, you can use it for a lifetime. Why do you want to open a textile factory? It's a big risk. The textile market in the north is basically dominated by Japanese businessmen and Shanxi merchants."

Di Xiong smiled and said, "As the saying goes, 'Fortune comes from taking risks'. Without taking risks, how can you get rich? I like taking risks. Even if I fail and lose tens of thousands of dollars, it doesn't matter. At most, I can start all over again! If General Lu didn't take risks, how could he have become a general?"

Lu Jianzhang smiled and said, "You are very courageous and bold. When Jinping wanted to pay the thousand dollars, I was a little hesitant, but now I feel relieved."

While Di Xiong was greeting other guests, Lu Jianzhang said to Lan Jinping, "Di Xiong will definitely have a bright future. It's a pity that I don't have a daughter and my three nieces are all married. Otherwise, I would have invited him to be my son-in-law."

Lu Jianzhang's three nephews-in-law are Yan Xiangwen, Feng Jishen and Song Zheyuan.

Di Xiong said to Ma Hong: "Thank you, Uncle Ma, for taking the time to attend the company's opening ceremony."

Ma Hong laughed and said, "This is just a small matter. I can become the director thanks to your help. If you hadn't given me the credit for destroying the Flying Eagle Gang, how could I have become the deputy director? Later, you asked the higher-ups to transfer Fatty Huang away, and then I became the director. I have already told the patrol captain Wang Hanchao, and he will talk to the Qinglong Society and the Ghost Shadow Gang and tell them not to cause trouble for your hotel again."

After the ceremony, a shareholders' meeting was held. Di Xiong was naturally elected chairman. He appointed Wu Zhong as general manager and Li Jingfa, the owner of the spinning mill, as vice chairman. Hu Lin, the director of the textile mill, was Wu Zhong's cousin recommended by him. He was a textile professional who had studied abroad and returned to China. Because he was too honest and dull, he did not know how to bribe after returning to China, and he was unemployed and penniless. Li Jingfa also recommended his younger brother Li Jingcai as deputy director, who was also a college student. Leng Hanbing, Hong Tianlie and Wu Chunfeng also served as department managers in the company. Among them, Leng Hanbing's position was the manager of the personnel supervision department, and his power was second only to the general manager. Since Di Xiong was busy preparing for the opening of the company, Wu Zhong was temporarily responsible for the lectures in the training class. Therefore, Wu Zhong was also regarded as a teacher of Hong Tianlie and others. His storytelling level was not inferior to Di Xiong. He also compiled the stories told by Di Xiong into a book, named "Five Thousand Years of Stories". That night, he was dragged to the town tavern by Hong Tianlie and Wu Chunfeng to drink to celebrate his becoming the general manager.

Nankou Town had been looted many times by soldiers and bandits, so it had less than a thousand residents. The houses in the town were very dilapidated and most of them were empty, with most of the owners becoming refugees in exile.

"Boss! This is the protection fee for Xihe Street last month, a total of 200 yuan!"

In the living room of an old-style house, a pockmarked man said to a pale-faced fat man. The pale-faced fat man was about fifty years old and had a pair of triangular eyes. He was lying on a chair. A young girl was massaging his shoulders with both hands. After hearing what the pockmarked man said, she immediately sat up and said angrily: "Wang pockmarked man! How come there is only this little money? Did you embezzle it?"

The pockmarked man said, "How dare I embezzle it? Since the rebellion in the first month of the lunar year, many shops on the street have closed down and business is slow. If you don't believe me, you can go and see for yourself. Four more restaurants have closed down recently."

The white-faced fat man said, "I know there is a low-profit restaurant on this street. It does very well and makes at least fifty dollars a day, which means one thousand five hundred dollars a month. According to the five-day-a-week rule, you can receive three hundred dollars in protection money from this restaurant alone. How much did you receive?"

The pockmarked man said, "I dare not hide anything. This restaurant is too powerful and we didn't receive a single copper coin. A few days after the restaurant opened, the bald man from the West City Branch brought four people to collect protection fees. The restaurant owner was called Di Xiong. He said that they had their own security guards and did not need our protection and did not need to pay us protection fees. The bald man saw that the boy did not know the rules, so he took action. Unexpectedly, he ran into a tough guy. The boss and the waiter were very powerful. The bald man had a disciple from Jingwu Sect under him, but he did not get the upper hand. All five of them were beaten and bleeding. I gathered dozens of brothers including Tietou and Changfa to prepare to teach them a lesson the next day. Unexpectedly, the first month mutiny broke out that night. The bald man saw with his own eyes that five chaotic soldiers rushed into the Weili Restaurant. In less than an incense stick of time, the bodies of the five people were thrown out. Not only were their guns and ammunition gone, but even their military uniforms were stripped off. It can be seen that there are masters in the restaurant! I dare not collect protection fees."

The white-faced fat man said, "Did you check who is behind him?"

Ma Lian said: "I have been investigating. A few days ago, an industrial company was established in Changping County. I found out that Di Xiong's backers are 'butcher' Lu Jianzhang and Director Ma of the Xicheng Police Station."