Black Flag Army

Chapter 174 Two Submarines

Watching the plane take off, Lan Jinping smiled at Di Xiong and said, "You are really amazing. You used a broken envelope to cheat her out of the hundreds of thousands of dollars she worked so hard to earn."

Di Xiong smiled bitterly and said, "Don't say such harsh words, okay? She went to Beihai Province for a charity performance, and she was going to donate the proceeds from the performance. What I gave her was not a broken envelope, but a solemn promise from the Justice Party to her. In the future, in order to save her, it is very likely that someone will shed blood and sacrifice."

Lan Jinping said: "I noticed that there was something wrong with the way she looked at you. I have to remind you that if she really settles in Beihai Province in the future, you must not think of taking her as a concubine."

Di Xiong said: "They don't even like the four presidents, how could they like me?"

Lan Jinping said, "It's hard to say! After all, she is only 25 years old this year. The four presidents are all old antiques. The age difference between her and you is too big. It's understandable that she looks down on them. But you are much younger than those old guys! Moreover, you are a national hero she admires, and an honest official in the eyes of everyone. Logically speaking, my sister originally agreed with you taking a concubine, and I actually had no reason to object. But this woman is different. She has an extremely charming appearance. She is simply a peerless enchantress at the level of Mei Xi of the Xia Dynasty and Daji of the Shang Dynasty. If you let her become your concubine, I'm afraid you will be fascinated by her. Then my sister will be neglected, and you may even divorce her!"

Di Xiong said solemnly: "Don't worry, I will never take her as a concubine! A woman as outstanding as Liu Xikui should be a proper wife, not a concubine of inferior status. If she becomes a concubine of a man, I am afraid that man's wife will be jealous and may even want to strangle her. After all, how can such an outstanding woman be willing to be inferior to others?" His tone was firm, as if he firmly believed in this point of view.

Lan Jinping said: "I feel relieved that you think this way. This is my sister's luck. It is very rare for you to remain rational even in such a high position."

Di Xiong said: "If you can be a matchmaker and find her an excellent man in Beihai Province to be her husband, I believe she will have a greater chance of settling in Beihai in the future."

Lan Jinping frowned and said, "This matchmaking task is really too difficult! You know, this woman is praised by Beijing opera fans as 'the most beautiful woman in the world'! How many men in the world can match such a stunningly beautiful and unparalleled woman? I'm afraid there are only a few..." As she spoke, she shook her head slightly, as if she felt quite helpless about this matter.

In Tianjin, the Zhili Military Governor's Mansion was heavily guarded, with sentries everywhere and a solemn atmosphere. However, when Wu Peifu walked in with a swagger, a surprising scene happened - not a single guard stepped forward to stop him! Instead, they saluted Wu Peifu respectfully and called him "Jade Marshal"!

All this was not accidental. As everyone knows, Wu Peifu was the most trusted and trusted general of Zhili Governor Cao Kun. His status and prestige were unmatched here, so it was not surprising that these guards respected him so much.

Wu Peifu walked straight into the governor's office and saw the fat, bald Cao Kun lazily lying on the sofa, listening to the Peking Opera singing from the phonograph. The phonograph was playing "The Oil Seller and the Flower Queen" sung by the popular actor Liu Xikui. The melodious tune and the clear and melodious lines seemed to bring people back to the prosperous streets and alleys of ancient times.

Cao Kun squinted his eyes, immersed in the world of opera, with a satisfied smile on his lips. He seemed to have completely forgotten all the disturbances in the outside world, just enjoying this moment of peace and leisure. Wu Peifu stood quietly by, waiting for Cao Kun to come back to his senses from his intoxication.

Cao Kun finally saw the familiar figure. He immediately showed joy on his face. He quickly stood up from his seat, walked forward and said with a smile: "Zi Yu, you are finally here! I really waited for you! Now you have been promoted to the position of military governor, which is really a happy thing! I wonder when you will leave for the post? I have prepared a banquet at the Six Nations Hotel to see you off!"

After saying this, Cao Kun held Wu Peifu's hand tightly, his eyes full of appreciation and expectations for this capable general.

Unexpectedly, Wu Peifu said with a gloomy face: "I have officially submitted my resignation letter to the Army Department, and asked them to find someone with both ability and integrity to take this position! I am really not qualified for this position of governor." Cao Kun was shocked to hear this, and asked hurriedly: "Isn't this inappropriate? Last time you caused such a big trouble in Hunan, I specially asked President Feng to come out despite his illness, and President Xu mediated and finally calmed down the matter. But why are you unwilling to obey orders now?"

Wu Peifu said, "The Marshal thinks too highly of Duan Hefei. He appears to be reconciling, but in fact he wants to kill someone with a borrowed knife. Who is that Beihai King Di Xiong? Although I have never seen him, I know he is definitely a fierce general. He led thousands of people from Suiyuan to Beitang City, killing people along the way. When he led the Black Flag Army to recapture Outer Northeast China, hundreds of thousands of Russian and Japanese troops were defeated by them. I heard that more than 40,000 Japanese troops were killed by them alone. Duan Hefei is now asking me to seize his lair. Will he let go easily? It will definitely be a bloody battle. If I had the ability to defeat the Black Flag Army, I would have taken back Qingdao long ago, because the Japanese troops in Qingdao were only more than 40,000 people."

Cao Kun asked, "Are you just going to give up on the Beihai Provincial Military Governorship? I heard from Xu Shuzheng that the main forces of the Black Flag Army are all in Beiling Province and Outer Northwest. Beihai Province is very empty, with only three divisions, and all of them are new recruits."

Wu Peifu said, "Don't listen to Xu Shuzheng's bragging. Beihai Province is the Black Flag Army's headquarters. There are so many factories there. How could they only send new recruits? Moreover, once the fighting starts, even if the main army can't get back in time, their air force will definitely come back quickly. How can we deal with hundreds of their fighter planes with just a dozen of our broken planes? Isn't this just sending me to die in vain?"

Cao Kun suddenly realized: "So Duan Hefei is so sinister! I thought he was giving you a lucrative position!"

Wu Peifu said, "Besides, Di Xiong has just recovered the lost territory in the north and has been hailed as a national hero by the people. My dream since childhood has been to be Yue Fei, and I know the Man Jiang Hong by heart. If I attack Di Xiong, not only will I not be able to be Yue Fei, but I will also become the damned Qin Hui. Isn't this jumping into the fire pit?"

Cao Kun sighed heavily and said, "The halo of this national hero is so powerful? No wonder even my beloved Liu Xikui was willing to go to the distant Beihai Province to perform for them for free (charity performance)! It's really hard for me. I can't eat or sleep all day because I miss her. If I had known this earlier, I should have fought hard to regain the lost land and become a respected national hero." He murmured to himself and shook his head helplessly, as if he deeply regretted missing this opportunity.

Wu Peifu wanted to laugh after hearing this but held it back. He thought: No wonder others call you Cao Sanshazi, is it that easy to be a national hero?

At 8 o'clock in the morning on April 25, at the port of Vladivostok in Beiling Province, two black, sleek submarines, one large and one small, were parked in the water of the harbor. Accompanied by their German agent Martin, Di Xiong and Deng Haoxiong entered the hatch of the smaller submarine and carefully observed the engine and torpedo tubes.

Martin was the hero who bought the submarine back this time. He introduced: "This is a U-19 type submarine, displacement: 650 tons on the surface, 840 tons underwater, total length: 64 meters, maximum width: 6 meters."

Deng Haoxiong asked: "What is the power?"

Martin said, "1,700 horsepower on the surface, 1,200 horsepower underwater."

Di Xiong asked, "What is the speed?"

Martin said: "The fastest speed is fifteen knots on the surface and nine knots underwater."

Di Xiong noticed that there were two torpedo tubes at the bow and stern of the boat. After leaving the hatch, they went to the big submarine again. Martin said that this was produced by German talents at the end of World War I. Before it could be put into service, it was forced to be sent to the dismantling factory for dismantling. Martin spent money to open up the links and bought it at the price of scrap iron. This U-128 submarine is 85 meters long and 8 meters wide at most. Its power and speed are similar to those of the U-19. It also has four torpedo tubes. Although the engine power is higher, the weight has increased and the speed is not much faster. There are more than 60 crew members on the two submarines, half of whom are Germans and half are Chinese sent by Di Xiong to study.

Back at the port office, Di Xiong asked, "How much did the two submarines cost in total?"

Martin said, "Including the cost of getting through the links, the total cost was three million marks. After the European War, the mark dropped so badly that three million marks was equivalent to less than ten thousand yuan."

Di Xiong looked at Li Tianxing behind Martin and saw Li Tianxing nodded. He knew that Martin was not lying. Li Tianxing was from the Supervisory Department and had accompanied Martin to Germany. The funds for the activities had always been in his control.

Di Xiong said: "You have worked hard in Germany this time, I will not treat you unfairly."

He raised his hand slightly and waved to the guard Liu Zhennan standing beside him. Liu Zhennan understood and quickly stepped forward, gently placed a small and exquisite black suitcase with exquisite patterns on the table, and slowly pushed it in the direction of Martin.

Seeing this, Martin couldn't help but feel a surge of anticipation in his heart. He couldn't wait to reach out and quickly open the mysterious black box. The moment the box was opened, a dazzling light burst out from the box and pierced Martin's eyes.

Looking closely, I saw twenty glittering gold bars neatly placed in the box, each of which exuded an attractive luster. These gold bars were not only finely crafted, but even more amazingly, they were all super-large gold bars weighing one kilogram!

Martin's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief, as if what he saw was not real. He stared blankly at the pile of valuable wealth, and a low exclamation came out of his throat. After a long time, he came back to his senses as if waking up from a dream, and said to Di Xiong incoherently with excitement: "Mr. Di! You are really the most generous and magnanimous person I have ever met. I believe that God will definitely favor a kind and benevolent person like you. May God always bless you with peace and success, and may all your wishes come true!"

After Di Xiong and his group left, Martin felt uneasy. He knew that the gold bars were valuable and if they were left in the hotel room, it would cause unnecessary trouble or even danger. So he decided without hesitation to move them to a safe and reliable place as soon as possible.

After careful consideration, Martin chose the North Sea Bank as the preferred place to store the gold bars. This bank is famous for its high confidentiality and security, which can ensure that his wealth is well kept. He hurried to the bank, went through the relevant procedures for renting a safe, and carefully placed the gold bars in it.

Martin had just finished all the arrangements and had not had time to relax when his two good friends Sean and Baker came to his house. Sean was furious and questioned him angrily: "I heard that you made a fortune recently! How come you didn't even think of buying us a drink? You are so mean!"

Facing Sean's accusation, Martin felt a little helpless. He originally planned to share the good news with his friends after things were properly handled, but he didn't expect them to know the situation so soon. Looking at Sean and Baker's expectant eyes, Martin smiled and explained: "Hey, don't be angry! I just finished my work and haven't had time to catch my breath. How about this, I'll treat you tonight, how about we go out for a good drink?" Hearing this, Sean and Baker's expressions gradually eased and they all expressed their agreement.

That night, the three of them went to a high-end bar and enjoyed the good food and wine. They talked about the past and recalled the little things they had experienced together. Laughter continued to echo in the air. In this joyful atmosphere, Martin also revealed to his friends how he got the wealth and expressed his beautiful vision for the future life.

Martin smiled lewdly and said, "In addition to treating you to a drink, I will also pay for your stay at the Xiangyan Building after you finish drinking."

Baker sighed and said, "You have been gone for several months! The domestic situation is changing rapidly, and you know nothing about what is happening here! Take the once famous Xiangyan Building for example, it has long been closed to visitors! And your beloved confidante Maria, she has also gone like a yellow crane and never returned! Not only that, in Beiling Province and Beihai Province, all casinos and brothels have closed down!"

Martin was very surprised and disappointed when he heard this: "How can Mr. Di do this? This will result in a huge loss of tax revenue. Are we going to spend money at a brothel in Beijing?"

Sean said: "When the casino and brothel were first opened, Boss Di said it was a stopgap measure. Later, he robbed hundreds of tons of gold from Kolchak. When he had money, he closed the casino and brothel."