Chapter 7

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

"Who are you, what are you doing here?"

Over a dozen Merchant Corps soldiers had already rushed over; as the saying goes, a strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake, and several soldiers actually directly interrogated Chief Instructor He Yingqin.

"Are you stupid? One look at the uniform and you know they're Whampoa Military Academy students!" A student who spoke Cantonese replied directly.

The soldiers acted as if facing a great enemy, moving to take the rifles off their shoulders: "Found them, they're Whampoa School people!" One soldier spoke in Mandarin with a Cantonese accent, shouting loudly.

"Take their guns down!" He Yingqin realized things were bad and directly ordered the students to act.

Chen Geng kicked straight out at the nearest man, sending a soldier sprawling on his back.

Jiang Xianyun and the others quickly took down their rifles, worked the bolts to chamber rounds, getting the drop on these local soldiers, and pressed the muzzles against their skulls.

Most of these Guangzhou Merchant Corps soldiers were recruited hoodlums and ruffians, used as the merchants' private troops; they had not undergone strict training and were quickly subdued.

Lv Muzhi also, in the confrontation just now, smashed a soldier down with a rifle butt, incidentally knocking out two of his front teeth; this was the first time he had used force, and two teeth in modern times would meet the standard for minor injury, enough for a prison sentence.

But the current Lv Muzhi obviously did not need to worry about being sentenced; on the contrary, he felt a sense of release and pleasure after his blood surged.

Students from the other Groups One, Three, and Four also rushed over; seeing the situation before them, they were also baffled.

"Don't just stand there, take their guns, head straight back to Whampoa Military Academy, something big might happen!" He Yingqin said no more, leading the students back to Liede Battery, boarding a boat to return to the academy.

Outside the Whampoa Military Academy gate, the students were all armed with live ammunition, lined up neatly in formation.

Led by Chief Instructor He, Lv Muzhi and the others also took a shortcut back to Whampoa Military Academy, and were arranged together with all the students, carrying rifles, to assemble in formation at the school gate.

At the very front of the formation, the Principal stood straight, with He Yingqin and other instructors standing at his side.

Today's Whampoa Military Academy was very different; at the school gate and on the open grounds inside the school, there were long weapon crates everywhere, filled to the brim with weapons and ammunition.

A cargo ship was also moored at the wharf, flying the British flag, its hull painted with English letters; Lv Muzhi understood the meaning: Haver Ship.

The Guangzhou Merchant Corps had indeed come for Whampoa Military Academy — a full five hundred plus people!

However, Whampoa Military Academy sits on Changzhou Island, surrounded by water on all sides, accessible only by boat; the Merchant Corps soldiers dared not act rashly, and could only shout abuse at Yuzhu Wharf on the opposite bank, facing off against the Whampoa students across the Pearl River.

Because there is a battery on Changzhou Island, specifically tasked with river defense; anyone who comes by boat without permission would very likely be sunk by a cannon shot.

Finally, with permission, Merchant Corps Commander Chen Lianbo brought a few comprador merchants and a few individual soldiers, and came alone by motorboat to negotiate.

"Principal Chang, your students were exercising outside and beat my men; how do you explain this?" The speaker was the big merchant Chen Lianbo, wearing a crisp Western suit, looking very much like a British gentleman.

A beaten soldier was pushed forward; it was precisely the one Lv Muzhi had knocked down with a rifle butt, missing two big teeth.

The soldier looked left and right, spotted Lv Muzhi at a glance, and tried to lunge and grab him: "It's him, that tall one, the fairly handsome one! That guy smashed me with a rifle butt!"

But before the soldier could get close, Li Zhilong and Chen Geng stepped forward, scaring him back.

The Principal glanced sideways back at Chen Geng and the others, raised a hand to signal the students to calm down: "Mr. Chen, we were conducting exercises in the Liede and Shougou Ridge area, approved by the Grand Marshal's Office; you barged in without authorization, so the fault should be yours, no?"

Chen Lianbo flared up instantly: "Good! Since you mention the Grand Marshal's Office, I'll reason with you then — what do you mean by seizing the Haver Ship? That ship belongs to the Great British Empire; the weapons on board were all bought with real silver from the British, and have the Grand Marshal's Office approval documents; what right do you have to seize them privately?"

Before the Principal could reply, another local comprador merchant was quite furious: "Chang Kai-sheng, cut the crap; you soldiers eat grain, the military government operates — which of us Guangzhou merchants and gentry hasn't paid taxes? Now you've cozied up to the Soviet Union, oh, started giving us the cold shoulder, have you?"

The Principal looked back at the seized weapons, piled like mountains on the drill ground, his expression very ugly:

"Commander Chen, your paperwork is wrong; the approval document you gave the Grand Marshal's Office said you wanted to buy five thousand British scrap rifles for self-defense, but when I boarded the Haver Ship to inspect, there were actually a full nine thousand serviceable German rifles, forty machine guns, four million rounds of ammunition! Enough equipment to run several dozen Whampoa Military Academies."

On Chen Lianbo's side, a fat-headed, big-eared comprador merchant stepped out directly: "Damn your mother, a bunch of dead soldiers, spending my money and still this arrogant; I have money, I'll buy however many I want!"

The Principal was clearly angry, face slightly red; he raised a hand, and the five hundred plus Whampoa students behind him took rifles from their backs, the sound of bolts racking open clattering.

"May I ask, your Guangzhou Merchant Corps clearly has only three thousand plus men right now; bypassing the Grand Marshal's Office to purchase nine thousand rifles — what for? Planning a rebellion? If you want a showdown right now, my Whampoa Student Army will be the first to disagree!"

This scared Chen Lianbo and the few comprador merchants badly; one merchant pointed at the Principal and said: "Chang Kai-sheng! What are you doing? If you're not afraid of blowing things up, go ahead and open fire!"

The Principal stood with hands behind his back, chest thrust out: "Making a scene here is useless; I only obey the Grand Marshal's orders. The order I received is to impound the Merchant Corps' smuggled arms inside Whampoa Military Academy. If you want to rob them openly, ask Longzhou Battery and my students if they're willing first!"

Chief Instructor He Yingqin, seeing the atmosphere had reached this point, raised a fist and shouted: "Defend the Grand Marshal! Defend Whampoa Military Academy to the death!"

"Defend the Grand Marshal! Defend Whampoa Military Academy to the death!"

The students were united as one; the neat, thunderous shouts made Chen Lianbo and these merchant compradors dare not act rashly.

"Hmph! A bunch of soldiers, just you wait; so what if it's Sun Dapao? I have ways to make you spit out what you've swallowed!"

Chen Lianbo, belly full of fire, the Merchant Corps still not daring to directly break face with the Grand Marshal's Office, left Changzhou Island in a huff by boat, preparing to find another way to force the Grand Marshal's Office to compromise.

After the Guangzhou Merchant Corps on the opposite bank withdrew their troops, the Principal immediately had the students open the Merchant Corps' weapon crates for inspection.

German Mauser rifles and bullets beyond count — a full nine thousand rifles plus four million rounds of ammunition!

The Merchant Corps' impure purpose was obvious, but the Grand Marshal and the Principal could not act heavy-handedly; behind the Merchant Corps stood the Guangzhou Merchants Alliance, holding the purse strings; the Grand Marshal's Office's various departments and the army's expenses mostly came from them.

This is the Grand Marshal's Office's current predicament: on the surface it holds local political power, but military power consists of various loose warlords from all over.

To move against the Merchant Corps, they would still have to reach agreement with the various warlords inside the city, and ask them to send troops in coordination.

The Grand Marshal truly trusts only three forces: one, the five hundred Whampoa students under Principal Chang; two, the Grand Marshal's Office Ironclad Vehicle Squadron of over a hundred men; three, the Navy's four old ships.

Also, Yue Army Commander-in-Chief Xu Zhongzhi is trusted by the Grand Marshal.

Whampoa Military Academy's current weapons are only five hundred German 1907 pattern Mauser rifles copied by Guangzhou Arms Factory; the Soviet Union has only provided funding so far, and the promised weapons and equipment have not yet arrived.

Now even a civilian armed force like the Merchant Corps uses German-made Mauser rifles; both numbers and equipment suppress us.

The Principal looked at his students; his hope lay on them — once they graduate, and Soviet weapons support arrives, he must use them as the foundation to expand and form a new-style army.

This is the biggest gamble of the Principal's life; when the time comes, no one will dare call him by his given name again!

Lv Muzhi looked at the rifle on his back, worn until the paint was chipping, then looked at the Merchant Corps' new rifles seized; the difference was obvious.

According to his understanding from before crossing over, this Merchant Corps Commander Chen Lianbo already holds British nationality, is extremely wealthy; raw silk, mining, tea, papermaking, shipping... every profitable business in Guangzhou City has Chen Lianbo's holdings.

But Chen Lianbo is not content; he expands his Merchant Corps armed forces, purchases arms, and with British backing, wants to seize the revolutionary government in Guangzhou.

Thinking of this, Lv Muzhi shook his head: Historically, rebels are always farmers; never heard of merchants turning the world upside down.

The Guangdong warlords under Xu Zhongzhi in the city were still largely loyal; if Merchant Chen Lianbo went too far and tried to directly seize power, they would directly refuse.

"How are things, nothing wrong?" The School's Party Representative Liao Zhongkai hurried back to the School by boat; this was Whampoa Military Academy's Second Figure, second only to the Principal.

"Nothing, already drove off Chen Lianbo's Merchant Corps; what did the Grand Marshal's side say?"