Respectfully

Returning to the Marshal's Mansion from the Gunpowder Bureau, Young Marshal Lou went directly to Marshal Lou's study, Li Jinyan was also stopped by Madam Lou.

"Mother, you want me to arrange the wedding of your two younger sisters?" Li Jinyan opened his mouth wide in surprise, "How can I?"

"Why not?" Mrs. Lou sat on the sofa and said with a smile, "It's not like I just let go, and besides, there is a housekeeper to help."

Li Jinyan scratched his head, asking him to set up a factory, a farm, and discuss business with foreigners is fine, but asking him to hold a wedding, he really doesn't have the talent.In case of messing up, it will be a joke, "Mom, I really can't make it."

"If you can't do it, you have to do it!" Mrs. Lou straightened her face, and there was no smile in her tone, "Sooner or later, Xiao'er will take over the position of commander-in-chief. This family will be handed over to you in the future. It's not that mother is making things difficult for you. It’s a responsibility you have to shoulder.”

"Mother, I..."

"Someone mentioned to me a few days ago that I wanted to give Xiao'er a concubine, but I pushed it away." Mrs. Lou said it calmly, not caring about Li Jinyan's surprised look, "When Xiao'er takes over the commander-in-chief position, there will be more of this kind of thing.”

Li Jinyan didn't speak, but felt a little blocked in his heart.He suddenly realized that to him, Young Marshal Lou was more than just a thigh that had to be hugged tightly.

Seeing that Li Jinyan's expression was not right, Mrs. Lou's eyes flashed with surprise, "Why, Xiao'er didn't tell you?"

"what?"

"He told the commander-in-chief that he doesn't take concubines."

"No concubine?"

"En." Mrs. Lou saw that Li Jinyan was indeed ignorant, and couldn't help shaking her head, "This child, a few words made the handsome man choke and threw the ashtray, and said..."

Speaking of this, Mrs. Lou stopped, and put her hand on her lower abdomen, "Forget it, you can ask him about this yourself. Anyway, according to my opinion, borrowing the marriage of two girls should always be taken care of by others." Keep your eyes bright, and stop thinking about things you shouldn't have."

Li Jinyan was persuaded by Mrs. Lou, and finally agreed.

Lou Xiao stayed in the study until late at night, and when he returned to his room, he saw Li Jinyan sitting at the table with his chin resting on one hand, lost in thought.

"You haven't slept yet?"

Young Marshal Lou went to the table and poured a cup of tea. The tea was a bit cold, but he raised his head and drank it in a gulp.

Li Jinyan turned his head: "Young Marshal, there is something I want to ask you."

"What?" Young Marshal Lou put down his teacup, unbuttoned his military jacket, and loosened the collar of his shirt.

"You told the commander-in-chief that you don't take concubines?"

Young Marshal Lou looked at Li Jinyan, "Mother told you?"

"En." Li Jinyan nodded and looked at Young Marshal Lou seriously, "Why?"

"I have a wife." Young Marshal Lou answered concisely.

"Don't you want children?"

Young Marshal Lou raised one eyebrow, "Can you give birth?"

"……cannot."

"Then don't." Young Marshal Lou stood up, took off his military uniform jacket, and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. Seeing that Li Jinyan was a little stunned, he rubbed his big hand on the top of his head twice, slid down his cheek, and wiped his thumb From the corner of his mouth, his voice was low, "I said I'm your man, don't think about it."

Li Jinyan touched the place where Lou Xiao's fingers had brushed, and felt the roots of his ears start to feel hot.

Seeing Li Jinyan like this, Lou Xiao's eyes became darker, and he leaned down and kissed Li Jinyan's forehead lightly, "I will protect you, but remember my words, don't lie to me."

Li Jinyan was startled, this was the second time that Master Lou had said this to him.

"Young commander?"

He suddenly realized that what happened at the Gunpowder Bureau must have made Young Marshal Lou suspicious, and he reassured himself too early.But he couldn't explain it to Lou Xiao, could it be pushed to Master Li Er again?This excuse is full of loopholes without careful thought. If Li Qinglong told him the explosive formula, why would he use the name of Qiao Leshan?

be honest?It's even more unreliable than relying on Master Li Er.

Li Jinyan frowned, his heart was in a mess.Young Marshal Lou let him go suddenly, "You don't have to say it if you don't want to."

Li Jinyan raised his head and looked at Lou Xiao, he subconsciously wanted to see if Young Marshal Lou was serious about saying this.

"Tell me when you want to talk." Young Marshal Lou flicked Li Jinyan's forehead with his fingers, "I'm patient."

Looking at Lou Xiao like this, Li Jinyan suddenly had the illusion that he was a fat rabbit being targeted by a tiger. The tiger was lying on the side, watching the rabbit jumping in front of his eyes, not rushing to speak, just waiting for this fat rabbit Enough jumping, I jumped into his mouth...

When Li Jinyan was distracted, Young Marshal Lou had already asked the girl to bring hot water and two bowls of steaming noodles.Li Sanshao smelled the aroma of the noodles, and suddenly came back to his senses. Seeing the appearance of Master Lou eating noodles, he couldn't help shivering, is it really a tiger?

Southern government, capital Guangzhou

Late at night, the presidential palace is still brightly lit.

Boom boom boom!

The door of the president's office was knocked three times regularly, and a slightly hoarse voice came from the room, "Come in."

President’s Confidential Secretary Guan Changjie opened the door and walked in. The white shirt and black trousers made him stand out even more. "President, Mr. Kawaguchi Imazo, the president of Kawaguchi Trading Co., is here."

"Chuankou?" Zheng Huai'en was working at his desk, and when he heard Guan Changjie's words, he raised his head, "He came by himself?"

"No, he also brought a middle-aged man named Imai."

"Imai?"

Zheng Huai'en frowned, and put down the documents in his hand, "Ask them to the reception room, I'll be right there."

"Yes."

In the reception room, Imazo Kawaguchi and Ichiro Imai were sitting on the sofa, whispering something in Japanese.Zheng Huaien walked in, and the two stopped talking immediately.

Kawaguchi Imazo stood up, bowed to Zheng Huai'en and said, "Your Excellency, it's really presumptuous to visit late at night!"

He spoke Mandarin very well, even with a slight capital accent. Imai Ichiro, who was sitting next to him, also stood up with a more humble attitude, "Your Excellency, President, it is a great honor to meet you for the first time! My sire Imai Ichiro."

Zheng Huaien nodded, smiled and asked the two to sit down, "You two are visiting late at night, what's the matter?"

"Your Excellency, President, you are a friend of the Empire of Japan!" Kawaguchi Imazo straight to the point, "Your Majesty and Imai are here this time to help the friends of the Empire!"

"Oh?"

Zheng Huai'en was pro-Japanese on the surface in order to borrow money from Japan to suppress the influence of Britain and France in the south.I have never been less wary of the Japanese.He also knew a lot of things that Kawaguchi Trading Co., Ltd. did in private. Now that these two Japanese came to visit late at night and said these words again, he had to raise his guard.

There is never a pie in the sky, and he has seen the greed of the Japanese more than once.

"Your Excellency, President, please allow me to introduce myself again." Ichiro Imai said, "I am the plenipotentiary representative of Taihei Group stationed in China."

While talking, Ichiro Imai took out a document from his leather document bag and put it in front of Zheng Huai'en, "A small gift is not a respect."

Imai Ichiro's words were a bit inconsistent. He just introduced himself and hurriedly took out these pieces of paper, as if his purpose was to hand this document to Zheng Huai'en.

Zheng Huai'en became suspicious, and glanced at the two Japanese, Kawaguchi still had a smile on his face, not like a Japanese at all.Imai was also smiling, even a little obsequiously.

Picking up the document, Zheng Huai'en glanced down, and his expression changed suddenly after seeing the contents of the document.

This is? !

Ichiro Imai has been observing Zheng Huai'en, and seeing his expression change, he was overjoyed. He exchanged a veiled look with Imazo Kawaguchi, and said, "Your Excellency, President, this is just a small gift." , and took out another document from the document bag, "This will bring you a big surprise."

After seeing it, Zheng Huai'en was moved again.

"Mr. Imai, are you kidding me?"

"No." Imai quickly shook his head, "Japanese businessmen are the most honest in the world!"

Although he was skeptical of Imai's so-called "integrity of Japanese businessmen", Zheng Huai'en was moved by the contents of the document.

Here are two contracts for the sale of weapons!

28-style rifle, with bayonet, scabbard, and spare parts, the price is only 120 yuan!The 540-type heavy machine gun only costs [-] and [-] yuan!Rifle bullets cost [-] yuan per [-] grains, which is cheaper than domestic imitations!

Moreover, there are 75-type tube retreat 120 field guns and [-] howitzers on it, and the price is ridiculously cheap!

Zheng Huai'en almost suspected that the Japanese sitting opposite him had a brain problem. As far as he knew, even Japan's own army didn't have all these weapons fully equipped. How could this Japanese sell them to him?And it is not second-hand eliminated, it is brand new!

"Mr. Imai, I still want to confirm with you, are you sure you are not joking?"

"No, Your Excellency the President, I will never joke about business! I can send you a batch of samples tomorrow!"

Imazo Kawaguchi interjected: "Your Excellency, President, please believe that Imai is an honest businessman, and the Taihei combination is even more powerful. You don't have to worry about any problems with this business."

With Kawaguchi Imazo's guarantee, Zheng Huai'en finally let go of half of his heart, but he didn't immediately agree, "I need to think about it."

"Okay, Your Excellency the President."

Ichiro Imai was not as eager as he had shown before. He knew that the fish had already been attracted by the bait and would take the bait sooner or later.

After leaving the presidential palace, Kawaguchi Imazo and Imai Ichiro sat side by side in the car. Imai seemed very happy. Once the deal is concluded, he will definitely get a lot of benefits.Kawaguchi's expression was serious.

"Imai-san, won't the Ministry of War retaliate if you act like this?"

"Don't worry." Imai said: "Even the Minister of War cannot do without the support of the chaebol. Without money, there will be no politics, let alone a future!"

At this moment, Imai doesn't have the philistine look in front of Zheng Huai'en. When he talks about the Minister of War, he doesn't even have the slightest respect on his face.

"Besides, isn't it what the Ministry of the Army hopes to bring about a civil war in China as soon as possible?" Imai Ichiro said: "So, Kawaguchi-kun, please help me a lot! Be sure to let Zheng Huai'en make a decision as soon as possible!"

Kawaguchi Imazo nodded and said, "Don't worry, Imai-san, everything is for the Great Japanese Empire!"

Two days later, an assassination case in six southern provinces shocked the entire China!

Song Zhou, the commander-in-chief of the six southern provinces, encountered a bomb attack on his way back from the military camp to his official residence. Three of the convoy's guards were killed and seven were injured.After Song Zhou got out of the car under the cover of his subordinates, he was attacked by unidentified gunmen. Although he missed the vital point, he lost a lot of blood and fell into a coma after being sent to the hospital.

A total of eleven unidentified men participated in the assassination, five of them were shot dead on the spot, three escaped, and the remaining three were captured by the convoy's guards on the spot and are being severely interrogated in the police station.

In the end, one of them couldn't stand the torture, and said that they were sent by the north just to assassinate Song Zhou and make the six southern provinces leaderless.

As soon as this confession came out, public opinion was in an uproar.

The southern government immediately condemned the behavior of the villain in the north fiercely, and the north bit back at the south, saying that it was a thief calling for a thief.The conflict between the North and the South has become more and more acute, and the atmosphere is tense.

Compared with others, the military and government officials in the six southern provinces were more concerned about Song Zhou's situation.The hospital where Song Zhou recuperated his wounds was tightly guarded, with almost five steps and one sentry and ten steps and one post. No matter who it is, even if you are the emperor, you have to get off the car and dismount when you are 50 meters away from the hospital, and hand over your gun. I can go in and visit.

This rule was set by Song Wu himself.Song Wu is Song Zhou's successor, and he will own the entire six southern provinces in the future. He has always acted decisively and fiercely, even more than Song Zhou.Who dares to object to his speech?

Not long ago, Sun Qingquan was promoted from brigade commander to division commander. It has been less than half a year since he was promoted to brigade commander, and the promotion speed is surprisingly fast.But because he is the brother-in-law of Marshal Song and he is capable, no one dares to make irresponsible remarks.

He got off his horse about 50 meters away from the hospital gate, handed over the reins to the guard, and unloaded his gun before Sun Qingquan walked into the hospital gate.

Although rumors spread outside and newspapers wrote that Marshal Song seemed to die soon, in fact Song Zhou's injuries were recovering very well.On the day of admission, it was true that she was in a coma due to excessive blood loss, but she woke up the next day after the operation.There was no infection in the wound. Except for a few people, even Wu Song didn't know about it. This was due to Sun Qingquan.

"Qingquan, are you here?"

Song Zhou leaned on the bed and read the newspaper. In the past few days, reading the news about himself in the newspaper has become the greatest pleasure for Marshal Song.

"Sir, how are you feeling today?"

"It's much better." Song Zhou laughed twice, "It's so written that I'm almost ready for the funeral. I really want to go out right away and let them see that I, Song Zhou, are still alive and well!"

"Marshal, it's better to be careful." Sun Qingquan sat on the chair beside the bed, "It hasn't been found out who did it, so Marshal shouldn't put himself in danger again."

"I know." Song Zhou put down the newspaper, pressed his hands on the wound on his abdomen, and a look of cruelty flashed in his eyes: "If I know who shot me black, I will kill him alive!"

Sun Qingquan stood up and went to the door, looked outside, and saw that there was no one else in the corridor except the guards, so he went back to the bed, whispered in Song Zhou's ear, "Marshal, I asked someone to investigate in private, Those arrested seem to have something to do with the Japanese.”

"You mean?"

"This matter is likely to be related to the Japanese." Sun Qingquan continued: "Although the north and the south are both suspects, after thinking about it, neither Sima Jun nor Zheng Huai'en should do it at this time. What's more, what if It's really Mr. Sima. On the day when the commander was attacked, Shandong and Hubei could not be silent. Even if Han Anshan didn't have that brain, Song Qining is not stupid! If Zheng Huaien... the north and the south may start fighting at any time, he is not self-inflicted Are you in a position? Zheng Dapao is not stupid enough for that."

Song Zhou nodded, "You're right. If you really wanted me to die, Lou Shengfeng wouldn't give you medicine in his name."

Suddenly, Marshal Song changed his tone, "Qingquan, your relatives are really interesting. Lou Shengfeng's son-in-law is actually your brother-in-law's nephew."

Sun Qingquan rubbed his hands, and smiled awkwardly, "Marshal, when my sister got married, the Qing Dynasty was still there, and there was nothing in the south or north. Today."

"Haha..." Song Zhou laughed, but accidentally touched the wound.

"Master, be careful!"

"It's okay." Song Zhou waved his hand, "Don't cut off contact with Lou Shengfeng, once the north and the south fight, it remains to be seen what the situation will be!"

"Yes!"

Marshal Song, like Marshal Lou, has spent decades in the battlefield and officialdom, and has a vicious eye for things, which is far beyond comparison.

He and Lou Shengfeng are in the same situation, they both hold a lot of power, and there is a big president on top, so it's no wonder that they are not taboo.They are the same heroes in the current world, but they are divided into different camps. They will never be friends.Whether it is Lou Shengfeng or Song Zhou, they both know that sooner or later they will have a battle. If they can't fight well on the battlefield, it will become a lifelong regret for each other.

"In the final analysis, I still owe a favor to Lou." Dashuai Song snorted, "This favor is not in vain, Qingquan, send Lou Shengfeng a copy of the information you have on the Japanese. We are in the north Didn’t your spies say that the Lou family recently captured a Japanese woman? This thing should be useful to him.”

"Yes, sir."

Song Wu stood at the door of the ward, and Sun Qingquan came out of the ward, almost bumping into him, "Young commander, why don't you go in when you're here?"

"Uncle, you should call me Ah Wu." Song Wu curled his lips, "Is father feeling better?"

"Marshal is much better, I was talking about you just now." Sun Qingquan smiled, opened the door, and pushed Song Wu in, "Marshal, Ah Wu is here."

Song Zhou raised his head and saw Song Wu, his expression eased a lot, "Ah Wu, come and sit down."

"Father."

Northern Six Provinces, Guanbei City

Li Jinyan didn't know about Lou Dashuai giving Song Zhou sulfa drugs in his own name.But judging from the numerous articles in the newspaper, it can also be seen that the situation is more tense than before.Young Marshal Lou is almost living in the barracks now, not to mention Li Jinyan, even Marshal Lou would have a hard time seeing him.

The first batch of lipstick that John brought back to China sold well. He told Li Jinyan that last week, during the women’s suffrage demonstrations in New York City, most people wore red plum lipstick, and some feminists even made public remarks , Said that red plum lipstick represents freedom and democracy!

Li Jinyan just found it incredible that a small lipstick can represent freedom and democracy?

"Dear Li, I hope to apply for a patent for Hongmei lipstick in the United States." John said: "Of course, it is just a 'small patent' for appearance design, and the protection period will not be very long, but it is enough for us in this period It made a lot of money in a short time.”

"Yes," Li Jinyan nodded and said, "You know, Huaxia doesn't have a patent law yet, and it's very difficult to introduce such a law under the current situation. Without your reminder, I'm afraid I will neglect this issue."

"No one is perfect." John said with a smile, "You make me feel like a normal person."

Li Jinyan: "..."