Chapter 40: The True History

  Tianjin, in the study of Song Gong's residence, Song Zheyuan paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, while Jiang Shuren stood beside him, also looking anxious.

  Kuo Piao stood at the door, his hands on his hips, and a calm expression on his face. Behind him in the great hall, several traitors were whispering among themselves, including that Huang Jiazi.

  They whispered to each other for a while, then stood up together. Huang Zongzi bowed towards the study and said loudly: "Mr. Song, I know you're inside. Since you don't want to see us, it's pointless for us to linger here. However, considering the overall situation, please think carefully about the future of the 29th Army's tens of thousands of soldiers. Don't take the wrong side!" After finishing speaking, he shook his head and turned to leave.

  Although his tone was polite, the words themselves carried a veiled threat. Song Zheyuan listened with only a slight frown and didn't take it to heart. However, Guo Biao couldn't hold back, turned around and glared at Huang Juezhi with a fierce expression, shouting: "Huang Juezhi, you stand still for me!" After he stood still, he took big strides forward, grabbed the other's collar, pulled his face in front of himself, stared into his eyes and said: "What kind of thing are you?! Daring to threaten our army commander?! Are you tired of living or have you been a traitor for too long, your brain is rotten?!"

  Huang Zongzi was startled, and hastily put on a smiling face, saying: "Commander Guo, please calm down. How dare I, Huang, touch Song Gong's beard? This is simply taking someone's money to help them avoid disaster!"

  "Get out of my sight, you disaster! Scram!" Guo Biao bellowed, his wrist flicking, and Huang Jiezi was immediately knocked to the ground, then rolled out with a rumbling sound, looking quite obedient.

  As Huang Qiu and others rolled out of the Song Mansion in disarray, Jiang Shuren said: "Biaozi, why must you lower yourself to their level? You'll only lose your own dignity."

  Kuo Pei-yu's anger had not dissipated, and he gritted his teeth as he said: "Mr. Chiang, what you say is very right, but I just can't stand the ugly sight of them being jackals for tigers. Damn it, if they provoke me, I'll learn from Ou-yang Yun and go crush their skulls in the middle of the night."

  Song Zheyuan walked out of the study, pointing at him with his hand and saying: "Biaozi, what's going on with you? Since Ouyang Yun came over, I've found that your bandit temperament has grown more pronounced!"

  Guo Biao scratched his head, smiled foolishly and said: "Commander, you've noticed it too. I think the prospects of our 29th Army are very promising, my back seems to have straightened up a bit without me realizing it."

  Jiang Shuren smiled and said, "Biaozi, you're speaking too soon. The prospects that Ouyang Yun painted are indeed good, but actually putting them into practice is not as easy as it sounds."

  Song Zheyuan sighed and said: "Yes, you say, how come there is still no news from the Beiping side?"

  "Will Ou Yang Yun have an accident? Yesterday I heard in the teahouse that the night before last, there was a whole night of gunfire and artillery fire on the south suburb side."

  Song Zheyuan was already seated in his chair, but upon hearing this he stood up and asked tensely: "Shu Ren? Is the news certain?"

  Tianjin's southern suburbs are where the student army is stationed. Guo Biao heard this and became anxious, saying: "The Japanese wouldn't dare to be so blatant, would they?"

  "It's hard to say," said Jiang Shuren with a frown. "The Japanese are ruthless and vengeful, capable of doing anything."

  Kuo Piao clenched his fists and shouted, "If anything happens to Ouyang, I'll fight to the death! I won't let Mei Zhen get away with it!"

  Song Zheyuan sat heavily in his chair and muttered: "If that's the case, then it must be that heaven is not helping the 29th Army!"

  He had just finished speaking when the phone suddenly rang.

  Three people heard the crisp phone ring, and they all paused for a moment. Then, Song Zheyuan suddenly stood up, grabbed the phone with both hands, and covered his ear with it. His movements were so agile that Guo Biao was stunned, thinking to himself that General Song wasn't rejuvenated or something, because just now...

  Song Zheyuan gripped the microphone tightly, his tense mood causing both of his hands to tremble slightly.

  "Is Director Song in? It's Xiao Zhenyin on the phone."

  Xiao Zhenying had been the chief advisor of the 29th Army, although he was arranged by Old Chiang to come and dig a hole in the wall, but after all, they had worked together, so he could be considered as one of their own. Song Zheyuan immediately recognized his voice and tried to calm down his emotions, saying: "It's me, is that Advisor Xiao?"

  Xiao Zhenyin was being driven crazy by Shi You San and others at this time, when he heard his words, it was like drinking a glass of iced sour plum soup on a hot summer day, his heart felt so refreshing, he hastily said: "General Song, I've finally found you, something big has gone wrong!"

  This remark pleased Song Zheyuan, who thought to himself that if things were not going well for the 29th Army, then everything would be all right. His emotions immediately stabilized and he calmly asked: "What exactly happened?"

  "Jun Ze, Shi You San and others have gathered a group of traitors and hoodlums in Wanping, saying they want to establish 'Beiping Autonomy', and are preparing to march on Beiping. Please quickly dispatch troops to intercept them!"

  "What? Such a thing has happened? Xiao Canyi, don't worry, I'll think of a way. Well, Feng Zhi'an's 37th Division is closest to Beiping, I'll order them to rush to Beiping immediately."

  "Alright, General, you can let them hurry up."

  "Don't worry, with our 29th Army soldiers here, those clowns like Shi You San can't turn the sky upside down!"

  "Oh, okay, then I'll hang up first."

  ……

  He hung up the phone, and Song Zheyuan burst out laughing three times. He immediately called Feng Zhi'an's 37th Division to order them to advance on Beiping at once. Then he said to Guo Biao: "Biaozi, hurry up and send someone to the training corps to take a look. If Ouyang Yun is fine, have him quickly gather his troops and head to Beiping... if not, think of a way to get his body out, we'll talk about everything when we get to Beiping."

  Guo Biao nodded and immediately went out to make arrangements. However, just a few minutes later, he came back, accompanied by the captain of a guard company sent to learn from the troops.

  The squad leader of the guards did not return alone, and all the other guards who were sent to learn from the troops with him were also sent back by Ouyang to report to Song Zheyuan.

  As soon as he saw him, Guo Biao immediately asked Ou Yang Yun if anything was wrong. Upon learning that the student army had been ambushed by the Japanese military, he couldn't help but feel shocked and outraged. If what the guard platoon leader said was true, then the combat strength of this student army was indeed terrifying. Veterans who had participated in the Great Wall War knew that when the National Army clashed with the Japanese military, they generally suffered three casualties for every one Japanese casualty. Yet, the student army, even with the assistance of the 51st Military's guard company, managed to annihilate over a hundred enemy soldiers while suffering losses so small they were almost negligible - this was simply unbelievable.

  Song Zheyuan was also shocked after listening to the squad leader's account. However, what he was most concerned about wasn't these things, and asked: "Have all nine of you returned?"

  Although these nine people were nominally wanted by Ouyang Yun, since Song Zheyuan had caught the opportunity to bury a thorn in the Academic Army, he would not let it go. Now that all nine people have been returned, it is impossible for him not to have a plan.

  The old squad leader of the guards team told everything that happened in the student regiment, and finally said: "Military seat, listening to the tone of the 51st Army Commander, it seems that he is quite respectful of Team Leader Ouyang Yun. He won't be trying to poach people, will he?"

  Song Zheyuan thought for a moment and asked Jiang Shuren: "Shuren, do you think Ouyang Yun will have two boats under his feet?"

  Jiang Shuren smiled and said, "This Song Gong doesn't need to worry. The 51st Army has already left Hebei, even if he wants to step on it, there's no way to start. You just need to do your best to doubt people and use them without suspicion. The learning brigade is just a small group of people, what big waves can they stir up? I can see that Ouyang Yun is truly willing to resist Japan, his admiration for you is also sincere. As long as the 29th Army's anti-Japanese flag doesn't fall, I guarantee that he won't have any other ideas."

  Guo Biao said: "Jun zuo, I think Mr. Jiang's words are very reasonable."

  Song Zheyuan thought for a moment and felt that was the case, asking the police squad leader: "You say Ouyang Yun is preparing to intercept Shi You San and others in Wan Village?"

  "Yes, before we came back, we attended the pre-war mobilization meeting of the student army corps. According to what Officer Ou Yang said, it seems that they want to give those Han traitors a good lesson."

  "Did you also participate in that night battle between the Student Army and the Japanese army? Was the outcome true?"

  "It's absolutely true, and after we participated in it, we also felt a bit unbelievable."

  "So if there was no help from the 51st Army, do you think the Student Army would have won?"

  The guard platoon leader said affirmatively, "Yes, most of the plans were made by Captain Ouyang. It seemed like a Japanese night raid at first, but later on, it turned out that the training troops had laid an ambush." Then he detailed some of Captain Ouyang's arrangements.

  Song Zheyuan and Guo Biao were both seasoned veterans, nodding in agreement to Ouyang Yun's arrangement. After listening to the platoon leader's account, Song Zheyuan asked Guo Biao: "Biaozi, if you were in command, could you have done it?"

  Guo Biao shook his head solemnly and said, "I couldn't have thought of the 'message tree' and searchlight idea. And I wouldn't have sent just twenty or so men to intercept after learning that the Japanese army had split into two routes. I think Ou Yang Yun's move is actually quite risky - although it guarantees the deterrent power in the main gate direction, the arrangement at the back door is really too adventurous. If the back door is breached, it would be a case of losing everything."

  Song Zheyuan nodded and smiled, saying: "I didn't expect Ou Yangyun, this little overseas Chinese, to be a good fighter. Hmm, if there's an opportunity, we can cultivate him well." Then he asked the guard platoon leader: "What is the evaluation of the 51st Army's Guard Third Company on Ou Yangyun? Do they obey his command?"

  "On the surface, it looks like absolute obedience, but whether or not that's true in their heart, I couldn't tell."

  Song Zheyuan was very satisfied with his answer and said to Guo Biao: "Biaozi, another talented general! It seems that our 29th Army is full of talents!" After finishing speaking, he laughed heartily.