Chapter Thirty-Seven: Text Message

  The night falls, and the moon hangs in the sky like a bright mirror, pouring its clear and flowing light onto the vast land. The entire city of Nanjing is bathed in the soft moonlight.

  In the Provisional Presidential Palace of the Republic of China in the city, Gao Yang sat in his office browsing through the examination results of the Army Military Academy.

  This former Qing dynasty's two rivers governor-general mansion, after the Xinhai Revolution temporary presidential palace was called by Nanjing people as the best feng shui place in the whole city. Gao Yang although did not believe in Feng Shui, but Zhang Qian expressed hope that he would set up the patrol envoy official residence here and did not object.

  After more than three months of intense renovation, Gaoyang officially moved in a few days ago. The interior of this centuries-old building is extremely luxurious and exquisite, with high-rise buildings, pavilions, and waterside pavilions in the mansion's garden, reflected among the green pines and cypresses, fake mountains and strange rocks, flower beds and potted landscapes, wisteria and bamboo, dotted throughout.

  The garden is surrounded by a forest of strange rocks and artificial hills, embracing a pond of green water. A gentle breeze blows, dew on the lotus leaves like jade plates rolling back and forth, the pond full of lotus flowers swaying in the wind, the ancient charm of the garden scenery makes Gao Yang reluctant to leave.

  In the evening, after dinner in modern times and space, he came to the 1925 Procuratorate's office, quietly sitting in the office, flipping through the examination results sent by Colonel Brandt. In the quiet environment, only the sound of lightly turning pages was heard, and when he saw those familiar names on the list, Gao Yang couldn't help but laugh out loud. The laughter was so loud that even the birds on the trees outside the window were startled and flew into the sky in a flurry.

  Hao half a sound slowly passed, and Gao Yang picked up the water cup on the table and started drinking slowly to calm his emotions. The security inside the entire government compound was all biochemical warriors, so no matter what Gao Yang did, he didn't have to worry about leaking it out.

  There were many students from the fourth and fifth periods of Huangpu Military Academy in the original time and space on the list, those familiar names made Gao Yang very happy.

  For Gao Yang, party affiliation and ideology are not important; as long as you're Chinese, I'll take you in! Gao Yang's military path is similar to that of the modern US military, emphasizing overall strength and firepower above all else. Using overwhelming force to crush any opponent perfectly. So-called great generals usually excel in battles where the weak defeat the strong, but Gao Yang doesn't need that.

  As long as he has enough talent and wealth, Gao Yang can rely on the powerful industrial production capacity in modern times to arm his soldiers from head to toe, sweeping all armies in this time and space! Not to mention that Gao Yang also has the ultimate weapon of origin! What Gao Yang needs is a large number of ordinary officers.

  As for the officers pulling the troops to make a rebellion, Gao Yang was not worried at all. In Gao Yang's military plan, the ones who really played a decisive role in the army were the non-commissioned officers, they were the backbone of the army! The non-commissioned officers who had received education from the non-commissioned officer school and the ordinary soldiers who studied every night had at least some discerning ability. Making a rebellion must have a reason, right? Whether it was military pay or treatment, Gao Yang had never been stingy with his own people!

  But most importantly, the soldiers recruited by Gao Yang are mostly family men with good families, and their families also enjoy preferential treatment in Gao Yang! If it were just a matter of inciting soldiers to abandon their favorable treatment and abandon their families to rebel simply by talking, what would be the point of everything Gao Yang has done these days? If such a thing really happened, the most likely outcome is that the officers would take the soldiers to solve the military officers who wanted to rebel!

  Gao Yang gently put down the transcript and walked out of the office to the front courtyard. "The moon is really beautiful tonight." Gao Yang muttered to himself. After admiring the moon in the yard for half a day, Gao Yang returned to the office, picked up the transcript, and handed it to Ano, who had been following him all along. "Tell Colonel Brant to post the list tomorrow," he said, glancing at his wristwatch. "It's almost midnight? Oh no, I'm late today." Gao Yang hastily activated the time-space shuttle and returned to modern times.

  At this time in Nanjing city, not far from Xuanwu Lake, a Chinese-style courtyard. Former Sixth Army Regiment Commander Zhang Xinghai was preparing his luggage for school.

  "It's a shame, you were doing well as the head of the camp, but now you're going to be a student, it's really embarrassing to say it out loud." Zhang Xinghai's wife, Kong Shi, said to him while packing her luggage. Zhang Xinghai was busy sorting out his belongings and didn't bother to argue with her, ignoring her.

  "Can't you say something? Originally, the family business could barely make ends meet at home. You insisted on joining the army and becoming a soldier. Fine, be one then! As a man, you get to decide what you want to do. But what's going on now? A good company commander can make a lot of money in a month. And yet, you just quit without saying anything. What are you going back to being? An ordinary soldier?"

  "Shut your stinking mouth!" Kong's words were scared back into her belly by her husband's angry roar. At this time, the child sleeping in bed was woken up and started crying loudly, so the couple couldn't afford to quarrel anymore and hurriedly comforted the child first. When the child fell asleep again, Zhang Xinghai's anger had also dissipated.

  Looking at his wife, who was quietly helping him fold clothes with her head down, Zhang Xinghai let out a sigh and sat down beside Kong Shi, throwing all the clothes on the bed. He looked at Kong Shi and said, "You're also from a family of scholars, how can you be as ignorant as those foolish women on the streets?"

  He looked at the child and lowered his tone a bit more. "You don't know anything, yet you dare to talk nonsense like this. What do you mean by saying that a battalion commander can make a lot of money? Are you trying to get me killed? Do you know how many officers have been shot in the team recently? 17! All were arrested on the first day and tried in a military court, then executed on the second day! The highest-ranking officer was Colonel Li Zhengcheng, the logistics director of the 19th Division. He was a trusted aide to General Gao from Beidu, yet he was killed just because someone said so. What does my small battalion commander count for?"

  He took a deep breath, looked at his panicked wife and smiled, then continued to say "I'm fine, I've never taken a single penny from the team. Unlike those guys who are really bold, now all the money is controlled by the supervisor himself, they can't even deduct the military pay, and they dare to sell the military supplies of the team! It's really courting death. And two guys were the most unlucky, embezzling hundreds of dollars in food allowance, were also shot dead! I've figured it out, wanting to get rich from the team is a dead end."

  He lit a cigarette and continued to his wife, "I'm not stupid, I quit being a good battalion commander to take the military academy exam. It's because I figured it out early on, our Commander-in-Chief opened this military academy just to cultivate a group of truly loyal confidants. For us who followed Commander-in-Chief before, at most we can get more money and benefits, but in terms of career advancement... Ha! If I could become a division commander that would be like a miracle for my family's ancestors. Just you wait, after these cadets graduate it will be their world."

  "I took a deep breath of smoke. Why shouldn't I, with my thick skin, go to military school with those young whippersnappers? Isn't it all for our children?! In thirty years, these eyes have never misjudged anyone - High Commander is the kind of person who can conquer the world! He's got money, talent, decisiveness, ruthlessness... and most importantly, he's young! The only ones who could rival him are already gone: Sun Big Cannon is dead, Jade Marshal has no chance of turning things around, Zhang Big Marshal is old... his son, haha, isn't even half as good as High Commander! As for the others - Lu Yongxiang, Sun Chuanfang, Yan Xishan, Feng Yuxiang and their ilk - let's not even mention them. Once High Commander has sorted out all his affairs, it'll be time to take care of them!"

  He extinguished the cigarette and continued, "I, Zhang Xinghai, was 28 years old when I finally had a child. For our family's treasure, what face do we need to save?! Entering military school is like being born into royalty, among these younger brothers, I am the eldest! When our treasure grows up, will they not have a good future? In the future, those uncles and elder brothers who snatched away our family business will all come crying to beg me!" Kong's eyes widened in shock as she stared at her husband, clenched fist and unable to utter a word.

  Modern times, a small town in the mining area, villa. Gaoyang rushed into the bedroom and took out his mobile phone to start editing a text message. "How was your day? Are you still having fun? Where did you take that photo yesterday, I also want to eat ice cream?" The recipient is Xiaoshuijing!

  That's right, Gaoyang wanted to pursue Xiaoshuijing, and the method he adopted was to slowly win her over. Every day during the daytime in 1925, he would handle matters, and at night, he would return to modern times to have dinner. After 11 o'clock every evening, he would start texting Xiaoshuijing, no matter how late it got, they never interrupted each other. As time went by, the two of them became more and more intimate.

  In the waiting room of KBS TV station in Korea, Zheng Xiujing was sitting on a chair with nothing to do, occasionally taking out her phone to take a look. The captain of the same group, Song Qian, curiously asked "Little Crystal, who are you waiting for a call from? I feel like something is strange about you lately, is there anything going on?" Zheng Xiujing suddenly sat up straight and covered her mouth with a light smile "No, it's actually Sister Song Qian who's being strange. You haven't been living in the dorm for several days now." "Ah, no way! I go back every night, okay? How would you know if you don't live in the dorm?" Song Qian's face turned red as she hastily said.

  "Haha." A few girls burst out laughing. At this time, Zheng Xiujing's mobile phone vibrated slightly, and she opened it with a pretentious air of nonchalance, after reading it, a smug smile appeared on her face as she typed back "Hehe, I just lay down to sleep. Ice cream, is at the Western restaurant on the second floor of Seoul Tower Plaza, very delicious, but too expensive! OPPA, how was your day? Working till now?"

  Gao Yang lay on the bed, looking at Zheng Xiujing's reply to her text message and smiled lightly. She quickly replied back to Zheng Xiujing: "This delicious ice cream must be eaten, next time when you go to Seoul, you have to treat me. I just finished work."

  Jung Soo-jung received a text message and replied with puffed cheeks, "Oppa, why do I have to treat you? It should be the other way around."

  Soon Gao Yang's text message came back "Okay, since you've been asking for it, I'll treat our prettiest little water crystal to ice cream then."

  "Hmm" Zheng Xiujing's mouth twitched as she was about to reply to the message, when suddenly a chorus of gasps erupted beside her "Wow......the most beautiful little crystal!" Before she knew it, the few people who were originally playing around had all gathered around her, staring at her phone together!

  Jung Joo-ri hastily put away her phone, and Jung Soo-jung's cheeks flushed at a visible speed. "Wow..." Several members of the same group teased together.

  Gao Yang, who had waited for a long time without receiving a reply, sent another text message: "Asleep? Have a good rest, don't worry, I'll definitely treat you to ice cream. Goodnight, sweet dreams." After sending the message, Gao Yang turned off the light and went to sleep.