January 2, 1913.

"Scraps of paper are falling from the sky again! It's a piece of paper in the sky again! The cheers of children sounded happily on the streets of Kaifeng. This is the time for the BJP to airdrop leaflets every two days. The fluttering paper is of good quality and has interesting messages printed on it. After reading it, it is suitable to use the window or simply as a wrapping paper, so adults and children come out to pick it up.

Zhang Zhenfang sat in the lobby of the Henan Governor's Mansion, occasionally a few pieces of paper thrown by the plane flew into the courtyard in front of the lobby of the Governor's Mansion, Zhang Zhenfang would order someone to put away the pieces of paper and burn them a few days ago, and now he was indifferent at all. The news has already spread far enough that no amount of new news is likely to make the situation worse. Zhang Zhenfang didn't bother to take care of it.

Zhang Zhenfang, the strength of the People's Party, knows it, but he once thought that the People's Party is also a human being, and even if it is strong, there will be a limit. What's more, after all, the People's Party came to Henan from afar, and the strong dragon does not suppress the snake, and in Henan, where the people are not familiar with the place, the strength of the People's Party must be greatly discounted first.

However, the reality is always more bizarre than imagined, first of all, the People's Party's weapons that can fly in the sky scare the Beiyang Army. This weapon, which flew high in the sky and was able to drop bombs on the ground, completely frightened the Beiyang Army. The bombing more than half a month ago killed and wounded more than 200 soldiers of the Beiyang Army. If there were guns and shells on the battlefield, even if there were casualties, the Beiyang Army would be able to shoot and bombard the People's Party in the same way. Now it was a one-sided beating, and the morale of the Beiyang army was terriblely bruised.

Duan Zhigui did not talk about rectifying military discipline, and immediately ran to ask Zhang Zhenfang for money in the afternoon after the bombing. He said vigorously that he had no money and couldn't stabilize the army's heart. Where does Zhang Zhenfang have the money to give him? had to persuade Duan Zhigui to leave.

A few days later, the People's Party's planes began to drop leaflets into Kaifeng City. In the leaflet, the person named the tax police of the Guide Prefecture to make public the embezzlement of tax grain, and asked Zhang Zhenfang how much he was greedy in it? The most terrifying thing is that the People's Party also informed the Beiyang officers and soldiers in the leaflet that there is no silver in Kaifeng City at present, and the Beiyang Army may not have to go hungry, but it will be loyal to the Beiyang government in the absence of silver.

The Beiyang Army was immediately indignant, and Duan Zhigui came to Zhang Zhenfang every day to ask for money. Zhang Zhenfang was reasonable and affectionate to Duan Zhigui, but it had no effect at all. Duan Zhigui didn't advance, and said again and again, "If you don't give money, the Beiyang Army will mutiny." ”

On December 24, the Beiyang Army suddenly abandoned the city defenses and assembled outside the Henan Governor's Mansion to demand that Zhang Zhenfang pay money. Zhang Zhenfang was frightened, and there was a lot of noise outside the Governor's Mansion, Zhang Zhenfang ordered his own soldiers to persuade him, and the Beiyang Army outside did not urinate at all.

"How old are you!"

"Let Zhang Zhenfang come out!"

"Hand over Zhang Zhenfang's embezzled military salary!"

These unbridled shouts crossed the walls of the Governor's Mansion and could be heard clearly from inside.

After tossing for a while, the shouting outside changed to "If you don't give money to your brothers, you will starve your brothers to death!" "Go in and grab them!"

Zhang Zhenfang was frightened, if a group of rebels rushed into the Governor's Mansion, it would not only be to grab money, but I was afraid that even Zhang Zhenfang's life would not be saved.

Fortunately, Duan Zhigui appeared at this time, he first stopped the Beiyang Army, and then entered the Governor's Mansion to ask Zhang Zhenfang for money again. As a last resort, Zhang Zhenfang gave Duan Zhigui 300,000 silver dollars, which was barely enough to quell the riot. However, there were less than 200,000 silver dollars left in Henan's treasury. The huge treasury of Henan Province does not even have as much money as Zhang Zhenfang's private house. This can't help but make Zhang Zhenfang feel desperate.

Yesterday, Duan Zhigui began to mobilize people and horses to collect trains to take Beiyang Second Town to Anyang. Zhang Zhenfang asked Duan Zhigui why he abandoned the city and fled, and the response he received was "This is a military secret, if Zhang Dudu has an opinion, you can ask the president." ”

In the face of Zhang Zhenfang's inquiry, Yuan Shikai's reply was, "The situation in Anyang is tense, and the second town needs to be transferred to guard Anyang." Henan's defense can be coordinated by Zhang Zhenfang himself. ”

Seeing that he had become an outcast, Zhang Zhenfang was completely desperate. At present, there is no shortage of soldiers in Henan, and the tax police force, plus the local new army formed in various places, must add up to 40,000 or 50,000. However, this is all on paper, most of these units are newly formed, and the soldiers have never received formal military training, and they are not even fully equipped with weapons and equipment. Let this rabble fight against the People's Party, which has aircraft and artillery, Zhang Zhenfang has no confidence.

Faced with the current situation, Zhang Zhenfang's heart was like ashes, and he didn't even have any intention of trying to save it. Zhang Zhenfang even thought to himself that the People's Party was an "enemy" anyway, and if Zhang Zhenfang was caught, he would have to be courteous. If it falls into the hands of the Beiyang Army, God knows what tragic situation it will encounter.

The lesser of two evils, if you flee back to Beijing now, you will only be punished by Yuan Shikai. abandoned Kaifeng City and followed the Beiyang Army to Anyang, but he would only be constantly blackmailed by Duan Zhigui. As long as the People's Party and Beiyang have not completely torn their faces, then the People's Party will not be able to meet Zhang Zhenfang in arms. Then there is room for things. So after some ideological struggle, Zhang Dudu simply stopped worrying, and he shouted: "Come on, make me a pot of tea." ”

The Beiyang Army ran very fast, and Zhang Zhenfang originally thought that the Beiyang Army would be able to retreat in half a month, but he didn't expect the Beiyang Army to pack up its equipment and loot in Kaifeng City at the same time. But he was able to take the train to Anyang in less than six days. In the face of the cries in the city, and even the sporadic gunshots, Zhang Zhenfang pretended to hear and not listen. He sat in the hall of the Governor's Mansion and slowly sipped tea. The door of the governor's palace was closed, and no one knocked on the door.

On the morning of the seventh day, a group of People's Party cavalry entered Kaifeng and blocked the gate of the Henan Governor's Palace. In the afternoon, the brigade of People's Party troops swarmed in and completely occupied the whole of Kaifeng.

Of course, it is impossible for Zhang Zhenfang to commit suicide and martyrdom for Yuan Shikai, if there is such foolish loyalty, Zhang Zhenfang can be martyred for the Manchu Qing Dynasty. However, Zhang Zhenfang was not ready to surrender, and since he couldn't escape, he sat in the empty lobby of the Governor's Mansion with a big grin. Preparing to wait for the BJP's troops to rush in, he denounced the BJP's misdeeds.

The People's Party troops opened the gate of the Governor's Palace, and then walked in brightly. Zhang Zhenfang's denunciation did not start long ago. A few people dragged Zhang Zhenfang to the backyard and found a room where no one was around, and the executioners silently sentenced Zhang Zhenfang. After the corporal punishment was over, Zhang Zhenfang, who was in tears, was dragged back to the lobby and sat in the original Taishi chair.

A document was placed in front of Zhang Zhenfang, and the pen and ink were also prepared for Zhang Zhenfang. Above is a new list of government officials in Henan. The original head of Henan Civil Affairs was concurrently served by Zhang Zhenfang, and now the head of Henan Civil Affairs is Chai Qingguo, and the other positions are all a group of people that Zhang Zhenfang does not know, and I think they are cadres of the People's Party. However, in this series of names, Zhang Zhenfang saw a familiar name, the director of the Henan Taxation Bureau was actually Zhu Danma.

"When did His Majesty Zhu Dan join the People's Party?" Zhang Zhenfang asked with a sneer. Remembering that Zhu Danma patted his chest and promised to blow up the People's Party's arsenal, Zhang Zhenfang was furious.

"Hurry up and sign it." said the BJP torture officer.

Zhang Zhenfang refused to sign. The executioner waited silently for ten minutes, and then dragged Zhang Zhenfang to the backyard to continue the execution. In addition to the fact that the executioners were still silent, the punishment was completely different from the last time, the waterboarding with ice cubes, the electric torture with a hand-cranked telephone, and Zhang Zhenfang howled for more than an hour. He was dragged back to the lobby of the Governor's Mansion again.

Despite his hesitation this time, Zhang Zhenfang still refused to sign. This time, the torture officer pinched his watch and waited for 30 minutes before dragging Zhang Zhenfang to the execution.

From January 8 to January 9, Zhang Zhenfang's high-pitched singing voice sounded in the backyard of the Henan Governor's Mansion every once in a while. Although Zhang Zhenfang had already howled when he arrived, "Kill me!" "Let me die!" But the torture officers still didn't say a word, pinching their watches and conscientiously completing their work.

It must be admitted that these works are very effective, and Zhang Zhenfang's ankle is swollen like a calf. The place where he was tortured was shiny and shiny, but there was not a single broken skin. The executioners also extended the time interval between each execution to ensure that Zhang Zhenfang would not die suddenly.

By noon on January 9, Zhang Zhenfang finally gave in, and he signed his name with trembling hands.

"Stamp!" The executioner said in a cold voice.

The big seal is in Zhang Zhenfang's hand, and someone helped him get the ink mud. Zhang Zhenfang stamped the letter of appointment. Legally, members of the People's Party officially became officials in various competent departments in Henan. Because of mental tension, Zhang Zhenfang just finished using the seal, and his head fell forward and fainted.

When Zhang Zhenfang woke up, he didn't know when. Anyway, pain, soreness, burning, tingling, numbness. The feelings are almost completely different in the places where they have been tortured. But with the slightest movement, the painful sensation everywhere is either multiplied or simply transformed into a painful feeling. With a hard groan, Zhang Zhenfang, who tried to sit up, fell back on the bed. Only then did he realize that he was actually in his bedroom.

Hearing the movement, the door opened, and the soldiers of the People's Party came in to look and go out, and after a while, a man in a white coat walked in. Zhang Zhenfang looked at this person's clothes, but he looked like a Western doctor.

"Governor Zhang, I am a military doctor below, and I am responsible for your physical health." After the doctor finished speaking, he began to examine Zhang Zhenfang's various tortured parts.

After an examination, the military doctor said: "If you don't hurt your muscles and bones, you can get better in more than half a month." ”

Zhang Zhenfang suddenly felt a sense of shame, it was only half a month to be tortured, and Zhang Zhenfang couldn't bear it. However, this sense of shame made Zhang Zhenfang tremble again, and the memories of various tortures also returned to Zhang Zhenfang's mind. The soreness and itching, and the feeling of utter despair in the torture, instantly drove the shame away without a trace.

"What the hell are you going to do?" Zhang Zhenfang asked the doctor weakly.

"The Beiyang Army has just finished plundering Kaifeng, and we are restoring order and helping the victims to live a normal life. What are we going to do, you ask? We would like to ask what you want? The doctor replied coldly.

"If it weren't for your People's Party's misdeeds in Henan, the Beiyang Army would not have been able to do this!" Zhang Zhenfang tried to retort.

"I think we forced those people to do the embezzlement of food and wages?" The doctor sneered.

"I entrust this matter entirely to His Majesty Zhu Dan, and this is his responsibility. Eh! While accusing Zhu Danma, Zhang Zhenfang felt that his body was becoming more and more uncomfortable, and he couldn't help moaning.

"You need to recuperate now, don't get excited, don't talk, it's better to sleep. Otherwise, don't say half a month, you won't get better in three months. The doctor got up and said, and left without looking back.

Zhang Zhenfang was the only one left in the bedroom, and the silence made Zhang Zhenfang feel a strong uneasiness. He suddenly felt a sense of confusion. Why is this the way it is? The dignified governor of Henan became a prisoner in the blink of an eye. And the second town of Beiyang has become a group of bandits who robbed the people and brought disaster to the country and the people.

Everything was so sudden, everything was so logical. Even now, Zhang Zhenfang doesn't think anything earth-shattering has happened in Henan. According to the Manchu tradition, neither the Henan government nor the army did anything out of the ordinary. Everyone is just acting to protect their own interests, even now, in Zhang Zhenfang's opinion, Duan Zhigui is not a great crime. Even if Duan Zhigui is not the commander of this second town, if someone else is replaced, at most, he will grab more and grab less, do more and do less, and what he does will definitely be the same as Duan Zhigui.

So Zhang Zhenfang really wanted to figure out what the complete defeat in front of him was for. After thinking about it for a while, Zhang Zhenfang felt that it suddenly dawned on him that all failures were first of all military failures. Since Duan Zhigui didn't dare to fight the People's Party, the only way left for him was to loot Kaifeng and flee. Originally, Zhang Zhenfang thought that he and Duan Zhigui were not all the way, but Duan Zhigui's boss. But without Duan Zhigui's armed support, Zhang Zhenfang's Henan Governor is just a mansion in the sky.

"When the People's Party invaded Henan, I should have immediately mobilized all my forces to exterminate the People's Party. Since I didn't fight at the time, I deserve it now! Zhang Zhenfang summed up a conclusion.

Not far from Zhang Zhenfang, Chai Qingguo rubbed his red eyes, "The grain in stock is enough for Kaifeng and the surrounding people to survive this winter." The victim statistics have been completed and a table can be set out. ”

"Director Chai, the abbot of Daxiangguo Temple wants us to give them some food."

Chai Qingguo was furious after hearing this, "This group of monks still needs food? How much land outside Kaifeng City belongs to the old bald donkey, the abbot of Xiangguo Temple? Tell him that if he wants food, he can. Let him sell his land and exchange it for grain. ”

After saying this viciously, Chai Qingguo scolded angrily: "Damn." ”

"A monk can still open a sister-in-law's nunnery, what the is this dog monk." Gu Lu, whose eyes were red, couldn't help but scold.

The Beiyang Army not only robbed things, but also set fires. The brick houses where the wealthy families in Kaifeng live are relatively good, that is, they have lost some floating wealth. However, the thatched houses where the people lived, the Beiyang Army did not deliberately plunder them on a large scale. But once a fire starts, it's a piece of fire. By the time the People's Party took over Kaifeng, several areas inhabited by ordinary people had already burned to the ground.

Now we are about to enter the wax moon, and it is already freezing outside. Chai Qingguo immediately commanded the People's Party troops to restore order and took out the tents of the troops to house the people. Fortunately, the barracks of the Beiyang Army and the tax police school were still empty, and tens of thousands of people affected by the disaster did not sleep on the streets.

Scolding Beiyang's shameless cruelty and scolding the greed of the monks can't solve the problem. Chai Qingguo said: "While there is food now, let's immediately start recruiting people to start speeding up the construction of the railway." As soon as the railway is built, all problems will be solved. ”

The other comrades nodded their heads. With the railway, a large amount of materials can be transported from Xuzhou, one of the current industrial centers of the region. Not only materials, but also various machinery and equipment can be delivered. Based on the experience of Wuhan, Xuzhou and other places, it is certainly expensive to build a new city. But these expenses can also drive too many things. At least the renminbi will be able to gain a foothold in Kaifeng. With monetary support, the local economy will soon be integrated into the BJP system. The passage of money was even more efficient than military conquest.

And all this is based on industrial production, without which the efficiency of labor has been greatly improved, and relying solely on traditional manual labor, rebuilding a Kaifeng city will only make the People's Party economy completely bankrupt.

"Bring the aerial photos!" Chai Qingguo said.

A huge stitched photo was quickly taken, and many of the images were blurry due to the low resolution and the fact that the shivering problem was not solved when the shooting was taken. However, the image of the railway can still be distinguished from the photographs. A lot of photos are spliced together, although there are many problems, a picture of the Kaifeng Railway to the railway that has approached Shangqiu in the middle of the vast area is presented in front of everyone.

Pointing to the land west of Kaifeng, Chai Qingguo asked, "Who is the landlord of this land?" ”

After checking for a while, the clerk replied, "It's the land of Daxiangguo Temple." ”

Chai Qingguo raised his head and said with a man-eating tiger-like smile: "Send someone to get that old bald donkey for me." Didn't he want food? Let's talk to him about food. ”