The sun had passed its zenith, but the drinking party continued. He Rui was cheerful, toasting the prominent figures of Siping one by one, draining his cup every time. Seeing that He Rui was very forthright, his attitude cordial, and his speech devoid of arrogance, the Siping notables all felt somewhat relieved.

Finally, he reached the table of the Siping Garrison Regiment officers. Commander Song of the Garrison Regiment stood up. "Governor He, this subordinate should be the one to toast you."

"Hey, Commander Song is treating me like a stranger. What kind of talk is this?" He Rui held his wine cup and smiled at the officers at the table. "Brother Song is a senior in the military, having served and eaten army rations since the days of the Green Standard Army [^1] in the former Qing dynasty. Your toil and merit are high; you are truly a model for my generation. As a humble junior, I truly respect you. This cup, I really must toast you!"

Commander Song never expected He Rui to give him such face. Flattered, he raised his cup and said with gratitude, "Lord He exaggerates! Since Brother He thinks so highly of me, I am not someone who doesn't know good from bad. In the future, whatever orders Brother He has, this subordinate will naturally obey. Come, Brother He, Governor He, this subordinate will drink first as a sign of respect."

The prominent figures of Siping felt relieved seeing both men drain their cups. As the saying goes, *one mountain cannot hold two tigers*. He Rui was a newcomer, and although he had the support of the Beiyang central government, the Marshal outside the pass, and the Japanese Kwantung Governor-General's Office, the Siping Garrison Regiment had survived from the former Qing dynasty to the present. Although most of them were soldier-ruffians and scoundrels, *even a rotten boat has three pounds of nails*; a few hundred guns were not to be trifled with. Moreover, Commander Song had operated in Siping for decades. If the two sides fought, it would be the people of Siping who suffered.

At this point in the banquet, everyone finally felt that Governor He was a reasonable person, and the atmosphere instantly livened up.

Someone immediately started heckling, "How is one cup enough? It must be three!"

He Rui laughed heartily. "It should have been three cups all along; what do you mean 'must be'?"

Commander Song's subordinates hurriedly poured wine. He Rui raised his cup to Commander Song again. "That was the entrance wine. The next three cups are to recount our camaraderie as brothers-in-arms."

After speaking, he cut the chatter and drank it dry. Commander Song hurriedly drank along with him. After finishing three cups here, He Rui spoke to Commander Song's subordinates: "Brothers, Siping is a strategic location in the Northeast. Although I am untalented, I have been entrusted by Director-General Duan and Marshal Zhang to guard this city for the nation. In the future, I hope you brothers will assist me greatly!"

The group of officers stood up in a clamor, speaking all at once. "This subordinate will definitely not let Governor He down." "This subordinate will surely be of service."

Just now, Major General Hamamo Matasuke, Chief of Staff of the Japanese Kwantung Governor-General's Office, had personally offered congratulations. The officers' hearts had been tight with tension, so they had no appetite to eat or drink. Their stomachs were empty, so after three cups of wine, everyone's face was flushed.

After completing a round of toasts, He Rui opened his pocket watch to check the time, then turned to smile at Peng Minsheng. "Mayor Peng, I have prepared wine, beef, and mutton, intending to reward the brothers of the Garrison Regiment this afternoon. I wonder if you have any advice?"

Peng Minsheng hurriedly bowed. "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare! This is urgent military business; how would this subordinate dare to say much? Please, Governor He, decide for yourself!"

As soon as his voice fell, the officials and gentry beside him bowed with clasped hands, stood up, and took their leave.

He Rui didn't try to keep them, ordering Chen Deli to see the guests off on his behalf. He himself pulled Commander Song and the group of Garrison Regiment officers down from Huaqing Tower. At the entrance, Zhong Yifu invited He Rui over and whispered a few words. A guard nearby handed over a bowl of milk. He Rui took it and drank it in one gulp. After drinking, he turned to Commander Song and said, "Commander Song, shall we call a few girls to pour wine and liven things up?"

On a normal day, Commander Song naturally wouldn't refuse such kindness. But right now, it was indeed inconvenient. Commander Song had to decline politely, though he felt much more at ease in his heart. An officer next to him misunderstood the intent and hurriedly smiled fawningly. "Tomorrow, Commander Song will definitely treat Governor He to flower wine [^2]."

Commander Song had drunk several cups on an empty stomach. His brain was a bit fuzzy now. Hearing his subordinate's reminder, he felt he understood and hurriedly said, "Tomorrow, this subordinate will definitely play the host and invite Governor He and his brothers to have some fun. It's also a show of our filial piety!"

"Excellent, excellent! Very good," He Rui praised.

The group left Huaqing Tower and headed straight for the Garrison Regiment station under the sun. The station was on the west side outside the Siping city walls. When they arrived, they saw several large pots set up in the open space outside the camp gate. The soup in the pots was boiling, large chunks of beef and mutton bobbing in the broth, the air overflowing with the aroma of meat.

Seeing Commander Song's group from afar, an officer hurried forward, glanced at He Rui with a face full of alertness, and reported in a low voice. It turned out that at noon, He Rui's subordinates had suddenly delivered a lot of meat and wine, saying the new Governor wanted to reward the troops. This officer had long received repeated instructions from Commander Song, so how could he dare let them into the camp? After arguing back and forth without giving way, they were deadlocked at the camp gate. He Rui's subordinates, being persistent, had actually set up pots in the open space outside.

After listening to the report, Commander Song smiled apologetically at He Rui, then turned and scolded, "Bastard thing, no sense of hierarchy! Governor He is a superior officer. Did you drink yourself stupid? You dare not to obey a superior's military order? Disgraceful thing, get out of my sight immediately!"

After speaking, he hurriedly apologized again, "Governor, this subordinate has failed in leading the troops. They offended Your Honor's subordinates; please punish them, Your Honor!"

"Not at all, not at all!" He Rui gave a thumbs up and praised, "Commander Song is indeed an old military hand. You lead troops with method, possessing the style of Zhou Yafu's Xiliu Camp [^3]. I admire you greatly!"

As they spoke, the group entered the military camp. Commander Song immediately ordered the wine and meat to be carried in.

The officers and soldiers remaining in the camp had long been drooling. Hearing this, they couldn't help but cheer in low voices.

Tables and chairs were quickly set up on the drill ground inside the camp. The soldiers and junior officers were hungry long ago. As soon as the wine and meat were on the table, everyone couldn't wait to start.

This military camp still had the layout of the late Qing dynasty: enclosure walls, a drill ground, a commander's platform, with the yamen and quarters in the back. Antique and rustic. From the perspective of a modern soldier, the defense was simply extremely lax.

Following custom, He Rui also went up to the commander's platform. Commander Song stood to one side acting as a vice-general, officers stood on both sides with arms akimbo, and the soldiers formed a rough formation, scattered below. He Rui, beaming with joy, spoke a few words briefly and then ordered the meal to begin. The soldiers cheered and immediately began to eat and drink heartily. Military discipline vanished during the feast; shouting, pushing, laughing, cursing, and screaming filled the air. Someone even started singing *Errenzhuan* [^4].

The Garrison Regiment officers were accustomed to this. They invited He Rui and Commander Song to sit at the officer's table with officers of company rank and above, and then started the feast.

Commander Song, his face red to his ears, clinked glasses with He Rui again and asked with a thick tongue, "Governor He, I wonder what instructions you have next?"

He Rui smiled, holding his wine cup. "Oh, Brother Song doesn't know. I feel that it's bitter cold outside the pass, and being a soldier in Siping is not a good job. I actually want to advise Brother Song to go to a military academy for some advanced studies, to gain some knowledge at least."

"Military academy? Hehe. Brother He, to tell you the truth, my brother, I've been in the camp eating rations since the Green Standard Army of the former Qing. It's been almost twenty years..." Commander Song spoke up to here when he suddenly felt something was wrong.

At this moment, a commotion suddenly erupted at the camp gate. The two sentries left to guard staggered back; their weapons had already been confiscated. Subsequently, a squad of soldiers marched in with neat formation, led by none other than Zhong Yifu and Zheng Silang.

*Ka-cha.* Several light sounds rang out. Everyone here was a veteran of the military; upon hearing it, they knew it was the sound of machine gun safeties being disengaged and rounds being chambered. Looking up, they saw that five or six machine guns had been mounted on the camp walls at some point, their dark muzzles aiming directly at the drill ground.

In Zhong Yifu's hands were two German Mauser automatic pistols with 20-round magazines, known in the Northeast as the "20-shot Mirror Box" or "20-shot Fast-Slow Machine." This pistol had a strong recoil and lacked accuracy at long distances, but its power was immense in narrow spaces. Once fired, everyone at the table would lose their lives in moments.

Zhong Yifu crossed his hands, holding a Mauser automatic pistol in each, the guns held flat and pointed at the crowd.

An officer suddenly struggled to stand up, reaching to draw his gun to resist. *Bang!* A wisp of blue smoke rose from the muzzle of Zhong Yifu's right gun. Half of that officer's skull was shattered, and white brain matter splattered all over the table. Looking closely, it was exactly the officer who had refused entry to He Rui's subordinates earlier.

Zhong Yifu shouted loudly, "Don't move! I'll shoot anyone who moves! Hands up!!!"

The other officers were all dizzy from drink. At this moment, everyone was terrified out of their wits. They all raised their hands, watching helplessly as He Rui's subordinates controlled the situation.

He Rui, smiling and beaming with joy, slowly put down his wine cup. He patted Commander Song on the shoulder and, under Song's gaze of grief and indignation, stood up and walked to the open space of the drill ground. He scanned the surroundings and saw that the main gate and key positions leading to the armory had changed guards one after another. Dozens of cultural instructors stood solemnly with guns, alert.

A cultural instructor at the side presented a 20-shot Mauser pistol. He Rui took it and tucked it into his waist. He made a gesture, and subordinates carried two heavy large boxes in. On the spot, they opened the wooden boxes on the platform beside the field and kicked them over. Amidst the clattering sound of metal colliding, shiny silver dollars covered the entire commander's platform.

Hundreds of officers and soldiers with raised hands instantly widened their eyes, their breathing rapid.

Just then, Xu Chengfeng and others took out two light machine guns from the bottom of the boxes and mounted them on both sides of the commander's platform. The dark muzzles pointed at the Garrison Regiment soldiers and junior officers below the stage, forming a crossfire.

He Rui checked the firepower configuration. Seeing that the infantry had already choked off the key points of the military camp and all machine gun teams were in position—although a bit unskilled, the tactical deployment was considered complete—it should be no problem to bluff these soldier-ruffians.

Under the terrified gazes of the soldiers, He Rui walked steadily onto the commander's platform and shouted loudly to the crowd below, "Brothers, I am the new Governor, He Rui. Today I want to give everyone a benefit. Being a soldier is a hard job, coming and going in the wind and rain. Now, you don't have to suffer like this anymore. Everyone take two silver dollars and go home."

The officers and soldiers never expected that He Rui actually wanted to disband the Garrison Regiment. They were stunned for a moment.

***

[^1]: Green Standard Army (绿营) - A Han Chinese military force during the Qing Dynasty.

[^2]: Flower wine (花酒) - Drinking with courtesans/prostitutes.

[^3]: Zhou Yafu's Xiliu Camp (周亚夫细柳营) - A famous historical reference to a Han Dynasty general known for strict discipline where even the Emperor could not enter without proper military protocol. He Rui uses this ironically here.

[^4]: *Errenzhuan* (二人转) - A genre of local folk dance and song from Northeast China.