All the women and children who were abducted from Xiaohuling Village have been rescued, but from now on, those who are missing are basically confirmed dead. Some of the bodies were directly thrown into the mountain stream, and there is almost no trace left.
The village had its own share of sorrows and joys, but unfortunately, by the time the villagers came to their senses, Commander Zhang and his guards had already left. They could only express their excited gratitude to Captain Hongmei and others. They also heard that a public trial of several bandit leaders including Liu Taisui would be held in the township in a few days. The excited villagers were even more eager to fight, wishing they could kill the devil with their own hands in a few days.
…
The Liu Family Mansion in southern Guangxi County, which was originally the three-story mansion of Liu Taisui, now hangs a sign that reads "Wanzhou Bandit Suppression Headquarters," commonly known as the Suppression Headquarters.
The headquarters is composed of four systems: security committees at all levels, security forces in Wanzhou, local agricultural guards, and the 302 Brigade stationed in Wanzhou by Ren Zhonglin. Commissioner Zhang serves as the commander-in-chief of the headquarters, coordinating and directing the four systems to work together.
The front and middle yards of the Liu family compound were turned into offices, and the back yard was turned into the dormitory for the main officers. Four families lived there: Commander-in-Chief Zhang, 302nd Brigade Commander Sun Pojun, 302nd Brigade Special Commissioner Sun Chonggu, and Wanzhou Militia Armed Forces Department Chief Ji Fukui. The house was packed with people.
Sun Chonggu was very resentful about this, thinking that Commissioner Zhang was deliberately treating him poorly. However, Commissioner Zhang also lived here, and he had no place to vent his complaints. For some reason in the afternoon, he slapped his wife in the face, and the fight became a big mess.
In the evening, in the small restaurant in the west wing of the headquarters' backyard, the round table was filled with people including Lu Ming, the second grandson of the 302nd Brigade, Ji Fukui, the Minister of the Civilian Armed Forces Department, and Jia Juan.
Except for Commander-in-Chief Zhang, the wives of the other three officers were all present. The seven of them sat around a small round table, which was a bit crowded.
The dishes were very rich. Lu Ming raised his glass first and said with a smile, "I paid for this meal out of my own pocket. I didn't use the funds for suppressing bandits. So, don't feel burdened. I especially thank Brigade Commander Sun and Special Envoy Sun for coming from afar to help. I also thank my sisters-in-law for taking the trouble and risking their lives to come here and take care of my brothers. Come, I'll toast to all the brothers and sisters-in-law. Let's drink first!"
Lu Ming tilted his head back and drank the wine in the cup.
Sun Pojun had a scar on his face and looked very fierce. He didn't say much and also raised his glass to drink.
Sun Chonggu secretly curled his lips. This Zhang guy, why are you pretending? It's just a meal, and you're treating me as if I didn't treat you. When you were in Nanping, it seems like you didn't get much. I'm afraid you secretly embezzled all the good things from Chen Rongfu, right? Including his concubines who are said to be very beautiful.
But seeing that Sun Pojun and Ji Fukui had finished their glasses, their two wives also drank their drinks, and even his own wife raised her drink. Sun Chonggu glared at the wife and finished the wine in his glass.
Lu Ming quickly filled his own glass and picked up the wine glass again, "For the second glass, I wish our bandit-suppression mission will be a success and that the bandit problem in Guishan will be eradicated within this year!"
Everyone cheered loudly and raised their glasses to toast Lu Ming.
After three rounds of drinking, Lu Ming raised his glass again and smiled at Sun Pojun: "Brother Pojun, I am very grateful to you! You can lead your troops to southern Guangxi to fight bandits with me. You are so broad-minded that I am ashamed of myself! Sister-in-law, you have worked hard too!"
Sun Pojun's face might have been expressionless because of the nerve damage caused by the scar. He nodded and said, "You're too polite, Commissioner. Since my unit has been stationed in Wanzhou, we have to ensure peace there." He raised his glass and drank it all with Lu Ming.
Sun Pojun's wife, Wang, was wearing a light blue cheongsam and looked like a well-mannered lady from a noble family. A beauty in her thirties, she also raised her drink and drank half a glass.
The 302 Brigade is the designation of the Second Brigade of the Third Front Army of Ren Zhonglin’s army.
Lu Ming didn't expect that Sun Pojun would really come to support him in suppressing bandits, although he did send lobbyists to provoke him.
Sun Chonggu firmly opposed it. He regarded the 302 Brigade as his own private army and certainly did not want to suffer any losses there.
But after hearing that the Black Mountain clique would send a tank company's equipment, including six tanks and two armored vehicles, to their headquarters after the bandit suppression was successful, he reluctantly agreed. However, when he just arrived in southern Guangxi this morning, he received a secret message from his father, scolding him and making him feel even worse.
Moreover, the Suppression Headquarters had two deputy commanders-in-chief, one of whom was Deng Youlin, commander of the Wanzhou Guard Brigade, who led his troops stationed in Guidong County.
The other deputy commander-in-chief was Sun Pojun instead of him, which made him even more unhappy.
Looking at Sun Pojun, he suddenly became very displeased.
Over there, Sun Pojun seemed to have sensed something and suddenly said, "Commissioner, our unit is currently led by Special Commissioner Sun Chonggu, so, if we talk about the commander of the Suppression Headquarters..."
Before Sun Pojun finished speaking, Lu Ming waved his hand and said with a smile: "Don't you make the final decision on the military decision of the 302 Brigade? The most important thing for our Suppression Headquarters is the coordinated military actions. To be efficient, we must be upright at this time. Brother Chonggu and I are old friends. He is broad-minded and won't mind. Brother Pojun, this is the first time we meet, and you are so narrow-minded!" He smiled at Sun Chonggu, "Right, Chonggu? Come on, Brother Chonggu, let me toast to Xian Kangli!" and raised the glass.
Sun Chonggu forced a smile. His father had said that military operations had to be under the command of Sun Pojun.
He winked at the yellow-faced woman, and he and his wife Yao raised their glasses to clink with Lu Ming.
After drinking the glass of wine, Lu Ming looked at Ji Fukui.
Ji Fukui stood up first with his glass of wine.
He is different from those two people. He is not only Commissioner Zhang's subordinate, but also his direct subordinate.
Because the current Militia Armed Work Department is under the framework of the Security Committee and is a department of the Security Committee.
Ji Fukui himself was originally the deputy governor of Mengdong County, and his main job was to develop agricultural guards in various parts of Mengdong.
Now that he was specifically asked by Commissioner Zhang to come, he was actually very nervous, because he was just a teacher in the countryside of eastern Meng, and had never seen the world before. However, he had a thorough understanding of the measures and related theories for developing the agricultural guards, and he had the talent for it. However, he was always unsure about his rapid rise to fame.
He was dressed differently from the other officers, in a grey cloth shirt, cloth pants and black cloth shoes, looking a bit like a peasant.
His wife, Liao, was very charming and pretty. She was originally the concubine of a military leader and landlord in eastern Mengdong. The military leader was killed and his property and land were divided. Liao then married Ji Fukui as his legal wife.
Judging from the review report of the Security Committee, Ji Fukui was originally a private school teacher in the family of the military leader. He might have admired Liao for a long time. Now that he got what he wanted, it was probably something he could not have dreamed of. Therefore, he simply worshipped Liao as a cult. The love he had for her was beyond words. He was only afraid that Liao would cheat on him, but he would not think there was anything wrong with it, because it was a daydream that he had never thought of in the first place that came true. What he feared most was that Liao would leave him when he woke up from the dream. He did not care about anything else.
Apart from this, Ji Fukui has no other problems and is very capable.
At this time, he and Liao both stood up first, "Boss, it's my husband and I who should toast you!" Ji Fukui raised his glass and caught a glimpse of the approval in Liao's charming almond eyes. Ji Fukui even half-bowed humbly to Lu Ming.
Among the officials and staff of the Suppression Headquarters, only Commissioner Zhang was respectfully addressed as "Boss". The two deputy commanders-in-chief, Sun Pojun and Deng Youlin, did not receive such treatment. In private, they were more often addressed as "Brigade Commander Sun" and "Brigade Commander Deng".
Lu Ming drank a glass with Ji Fukui and Liao, sat down and said with a smile: "Come on, hurry up, the food tastes good."
Liao asked with concern: "Boss, I heard that Madam is ill, is everything okay?"
Lu Ming smiled and said, "It's okay. I just have a cold and I'm afraid it will infect everyone. When I feel better, I'll bring her to apologize to everyone."
Everyone was a little curious, even Sun Chonggu blinked his eyes. This guy, I wonder if he became so successful because he married Lu Ming's sister. He is as ugly as a pig, so he dare not see people.
Lu Ming noticed everyone's curiosity and just smiled as he prepared food and drinks.
The so-called "Madam" was naturally Erika Ashikaga who was given this title first. It was impossible for such a prominent figure to remain unmarried. Otherwise, matchmakers would come knocking on the door, which would be even more annoying.
But I guess Erika doesn't like attending such occasions, so I used illness as an excuse to not bring her along.