Chapter 13: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa Chapter 13 Suppressing the Merchant Corps

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

Hu Gongnan had originally wanted to go help He Zhonghan too; he was a loyal follower of He Zhonghan.

But after quickly calculating in his mind, Hu Gongnan also chose to leave first; if caught by the Merchant Corps soldiers and made a prisoner, he would no longer be able to get by at the school.

After weighing both sides, for the sake of his future prospects, Hu Gongnan chose to abandon He Zhonghan, closely following Du Yuming and Guan Linzhen as they ran into Dasha Tou Wharf.

He Zhonghan was left behind, held up by two Merchant Corps soldiers, awaiting disposition.

The scarred man stood up, glaring viciously at He Zhonghan: "Damn it, you actually dare to bump into me, you're tired of living, aren't you?!"

With a bang, a punch landed solidly on He Zhonghan's stomach.

"Captain, did those Whampoa Students all run away? Should we still pursue?" a soldier asked the scarred man, pointing in the direction Lv Muzhi had fled.

"Pursue! Why not pursue? Shut down operations at Dasha Tou Wharf!

Our regiment commander suffered a loss at Whampoa Military Academy last time; this time we've caught a Whampoa Student, he'll definitely be happy. Keep pursuing, catch a few more Whampoa Students back!"

On the steamship at the wharf, Lv Muzhi sat in a corner of the ship cabin, his face pale.

Just now, one of the scarred man's bullets had flown over his head; he had lost seven of his three souls and seven spirits, and was given a huge fright.

"Hurry up and set sail!" Lv Muzhi urged the boatman; he had to leave this place of trouble immediately, otherwise his previous life self might have died just like this.

Chen Geng stopped the boatman's movement: "Wait a moment, Du Yuming and the others are coming."

Lv Muzhi looked around; the loudspeaker at the wharf was broadcasting something in Cantonese, and the other boatmen at the berths were all leaving their own ships one by one; it seemed they had received an order for a forced strike.

Lv Muzhi realized things were bad and directly pressed down on the boatman: "You're not allowed to leave; if you dare to run, I'll throw you straight into the Pearl River to feed the fish!"

Sun Yuanlang was the first to leap into the ship cabin, panting heavily.

Following him were his fellow townsmen Du Yuming and Guan Linzhen, and lastly Hu Gongnan; all four crowded onto Chen Geng's boat.

"Go to Changzhou Island! We're returning to Whampoa Military Academy!" Chen Geng urged the boatman.

The boatman piloted the steamship, leaving the berth.

"Too late, go to the opposite bank of the Pearl River, head to the Grand Marshal's Office Wharf! I don't believe they still dare to assault the Grand Marshal's Office!" Lv Muzhi ordered the boatman to change course.

Chen Geng looked outside; the Merchant Corps people had also boarded several other motorboats, seemingly intending to pursue; Whampoa Military Academy was dozens of kilometers from here and would easily be caught up with.

The Grand Marshal's Office was located diagonally across from Dasha Tou Wharf; the land and naval headquarters were there, separated by a Pearl River, less than one kilometer apart.

"Listen to Muzi, go to the Grand Marshal's Office Wharf!"

Indeed, when the Merchant Corps people saw the Whampoa Students heading to the Grand Marshal's Office Wharf on the opposite bank, they all stopped and dared not advance.

Directly assaulting the Grand Marshal's Office; the Merchant Corps temporarily did not have that courage, only daring to express their dissatisfaction through a strike.

As soon as they approached the Grand Marshal's Office Wharf, other armed motorboats surrounded them.

Chen Geng and the others immediately declared their identities: "We are students of Whampoa Military Academy, students of the Grand Marshal!"

The guards had just heard a gunshot from Dasha Tou Wharf across the river, roughly understood that a sudden incident had occurred, had already contacted the police to go check, and incidentally picked up the students at the wharf.

The Whampoa Students who had escaped death sat on the wharf catching their breath; a young man with an elegant and scholarly aura walked out from within the Grand Marshal's Office.

"You are from Whampoa Military Academy?" The young man glanced at everyone's gray uniforms and asked.

Everyone thought this was an official of the Grand Marshal's Office.

Hu Gongnan directly ran up to the young man and saluted: "Student Hu Gongnan, encountered an attack by the Guangzhou Merchant Corps within the city, after enduring hardships, finally managed to escape."

The young man smiled and said: "I am Wu Instructor of Whampoa Military Academy, newly arrived; I will report to your school in a few days."

"Instructor, the Guangzhou Merchant Corps is lawless, launched a strike, the economy within the city has now come to a halt; just now at Dasha Chang Wharf they fired a shot; this is naked provocation." Chen Geng stated the Merchant Corps' crimes.

Du Yuming: "One of our companions has been captured; please request the Grand Marshal's Office to immediately send troops to rescue him."

Wu Instructor nodded: "The Grand Marshal and I both know; just now we witnessed everything that happened at Dasha Chang Wharf from the rooftop."

Saying this, Wu Instructor turned back and glanced at the rooftop.

Everyone followed his gaze; it was actually the Grand Marshal holding binoculars to observe the situation across the river; the silhouette of this supreme commander in the sunlight made everyone unable to look away.

"You still have one classmate captured by the Guangzhou Merchant Corps; this matter will be handled."

Wu Instructor said this, glancing at Hu Gongnan and the others; he should have witnessed the process of He Zhonghan being abandoned.

Guan Linzhen suddenly felt his face burning: "Instructor, please give us a gun; we will definitely rescue He Zhonghan!"

Wu Instructor shook his head, his gaze turning to Chen Geng and the others: "The relationships involved are very complex; you should return to school and study properly; the Grand Marshal will handle this matter."

"But the Merchant Corps just fired a shot; although it was only firing into the air and no bloodshed occurred, we should still give them some color in return; the Grand Marshal's Office should have a serious attitude toward this matter, lest the Merchant Corps gain an inch and want a foot." Lv Muzhi, having just felt the threat of death, couldn't help but be somewhat excited.

Wu Instructor glanced at Lv Muzhi; before he could speak, a train whistle came from across the river.

Woo~

"I have already proposed this to the Grand Marshal; the Grand Marshal's Office Ironclad Vehicle Squadron is in action; the Ironclad Vehicle Squadron will uphold the dignity of the Grand Marshal's Office and Whampoa Military Academy." Wu Instructor's voice was not loud, but it gave a feeling of softness with inner strength, gentle yet proud; this was probably what Wu Instructor was like.

The Ironclad Vehicle Squadron was a directly subordinate unit of the Grand Marshal's Office; a unit that rapidly maneuvered aboard armored trains, equipped with machine guns on the armored trains; the whole squadron had over a hundred men, well-equipped, able to reach any location quickly via the railway; it was the predecessor of Ye Ting's Independent Regiment.

Now the Grand Marshal's Office Ironclad Vehicle Squadron entered Guangzhou City via the Guangjiu Railway to suppress the Merchant Corps; this was the attitude of the Grand Marshal's Office.

Woo woo~

Another sharp whistle came from the river surface; it was actually the Navy's Yongfeng Warship that had been dispatched, currently patrolling on the Pearl River; over a hundred students of Whampoa Military Academy, fully armed, were demonstrating force to the Merchant Corps aboard the Yongfeng Warship.

"So the Grand Marshal's Office was prepared long ago." Lv Muzhi muttered to himself.

Wu Instructor pointed to Guangzhou City across the river: "Guangzhou City is now under citywide martial law; General Xu Zhongzhi has already led the Yue Army into the city to maintain order; the strike will soon be resolved."

"The Merchant Corps fired at you; this is Chen Lianbo bringing destruction upon himself, actively provoking; our Grand Marshal's Office is not an old warlord, merely passively counterattacking; the common people within the city will see this."

Lv Muzhi then realized that the tolerance toward the Merchant Corps was merely to catch them by letting them run; waiting for them to expose themselves; what the Grand Marshal's Office wanted was the hearts of the people within the city.

Wu Instructor then pointed to the Yongfeng Warship: "Get ready; the ship to take you back has also come; everyone leave your names; consider it an early introduction; in a week, I will take up my post at Whampoa Military Academy."

Chen Geng immediately stood at attention: "Student Chen Geng!"

"Student Song Xilian!"

"Student Lv Muzhi!"

"Student Du Yuming!"

"Student Guan Linzhen!"

"Student Hu Gongnan!"

"Student Sun Yuanlang!"

"What is the name of the student who was arrested?"

"Report, his name is He Zhonghan!"

The Yongfeng Warship docked at Tianzi Xing Daxiao Matou, the Principal stood with hands on his waist at the bow of the Yongfeng Warship, with Jiang Xiangyun and Li Zhilong standing beside him.

The Commercial Corps Soldiers on the shore saw that things were serious and hurriedly disappeared into the streets and alleys.

Replacing them were Yue Army troops entering the city, calling on merchants to resume business and live in peace, without having to obey Chen Lianbo's orders.

After a while, several Yue Army soldiers rescued He Zhonghan and sent him aboard the Yongfeng Warship.

Seeing that his admired student He Zhonghan was in such a sorry state, with a swollen face and bruised nose, clearly having been beaten up by the Commercial Corps people,

the Principal couldn't help but angrily say: "Damn It, Junshan (He Zhonghan) is incapable! Disgracing the school spirit!"