Chapter 31

In the largest banquet hall in Jingzhou City, as soon as night fell, it was taken over by a security regiment's guard company, prohibiting all non-essential personnel from entering. The reason was that the commander of the Jingzhou City Security Regiment, Wu Baoguo, was celebrating his fiftieth birthday. He invited officers of the security regiment at the rank of company commander and above, as well as some officials and gentry from the city.

Everyone in Jingzhou City knew that Commander Wu was very concerned about his reputation, and his actual fiftieth birthday had already passed. However, for a while, Jingzhou City had been in a state of turmoil, making it unsuitable to celebrate his birthday. Now, with the regular army stationed in the city finally leaving, Jingzhou City naturally became the domain of his security regiment once again.

Upon learning that the regular army would return to the area near Tongdao the next afternoon, Commander Wu appeared very unhappy. Because once the regular army arrived, he, as the commander of the security regiment, would have to step aside. The military and political affairs of the city would largely be controlled by the commander of the regular army. After all, they were the regular army, while he was just the city defense force.

Seeing that their commander was unhappy, Wang Shirong, as his adjutant, suggested that they take advantage of the evening to make up for the birthday banquet. After all, Jingzhou City was still under the control of the security regiment tonight. Moreover, it was already well-known that the main force of the Red Army had retreated into Guizhou Province.

Considering that they were not far from the regular army, it was unlikely that anything would happen. It would be better to hold the birthday banquet before the regular army returned to the city, and at the same time, let the brothers of the security regiment have some fun. Wu Baoguo, who found this suggestion from his confidant very appropriate, quickly instructed the adjutant to arrange everything.

Upon receiving the news that their commander was celebrating his fiftieth birthday, both his subordinates and the officials and gentry of the city received notifications. However, they couldn't just drink the wine for free! They had to prepare some gifts and, of course, some cash as a token of respect. Thus, throughout the afternoon, many officers of the security regiment and officials and gentry were seen preparing gifts for the birthday celebration.

As the night fell, the banquet hall was brightly lit, and important figures dressed in official attire arrived with gift boxes or items carried by others to attend Commander Wu's birthday banquet.

Facing these gift-givers, Adjutant Wang, acting as the host, warmly welcomed them upstairs to have tea, informing them that their commander would soon arrive.

As the invited officials and gentry of Jingzhou City entered the banquet hall and waited for Commander Wu's arrival, some officers of the regular army, dressed in Hunan Army uniforms, also began to arrive. Compared to the officials and gentry, these officers mostly contributed their hard-earned military pay as gifts for the celebration.

When Adjutant Wang confirmed that all the invited guests had arrived, he notified the guard company soldiers at the entrance to escort Commander Wu, who was sitting at the security regiment headquarters and had dressed up, along with his favorite sixth concubine, to the banquet hall.

As the somewhat plump commander ascended the stairs, the officers of the security regiment and the officials and gentry naturally stood up to welcome him.

Some of the officials and gentry, with their sweet words, flattered Commander Wu, making him very pleased. He generously instructed Adjutant Wang to have the banquet hall staff serve the wine and dishes.

He intended to drink to his heart's content with his friends and subordinates to thank them for their support. Seeing the wine and dishes being served, the officers who had given generous gifts also felt they should eat and drink more.

The money was already given and couldn't be reclaimed, so they could only eat and drink more to make up for it. After all, it was their hard-earned 'blood money'!

As the officials and gentry and the officers toasted and drank, in the areas of the city guarded by the security regiment, horse-drawn carts began to arrive. Seeing these carts, the security regiment soldiers on duty naturally became more alert.

However, when they heard that this was to celebrate Commander Wu's birthday and that he didn't want his brothers to be too tired, Adjutant Wang had specially ordered some wine and cold dishes from the city to reward the security regiment soldiers. As long as they didn't neglect their duties, they could drink a few sips of wine to relieve their fatigue, which was a small benefit from their commander.

This naturally received cheers from the security regiment soldiers, who felt that while the officers could drink and eat meat, they could only drink the northwestern wind. Even some of the remaining officers who thought this seemed out of character for their commander, upon seeing the waiters from the city's several banquet halls and the tempting items on the carts, ultimately said nothing. They instructed their subordinates to carry the wine and cold dishes down and, after warning them not to drink too much, also began to drink.

Even the security regiment soldiers at the city gate received their commander's reward. At this time, Yao Shengjun, leading the independent regiment dressed in Hunan Army uniforms, had already infiltrated Jingzhou City under the cover of night.

After the guard company soldiers checked and overpowered the Hunan Army soldiers who had delivered the wine and food to the camp, they quickly led a detachment of the independent regiment to take over. They disarmed, bound, and gagged the sleeping security regiment soldiers and dragged them to a place to be detained.

All of this was completed smoothly under the meticulous planning of He Zhengdao. After all, at such a time, few Hunan Army soldiers would think that someone would dare to sneak into the city at night.

As for the independent regiment that had completely replaced the security regiment, they began to gather the city's transportation tools, open the Jingzhou supply warehouses, and quickly load the items onto the vehicles to be taken away.

Even if some passing civilians felt that the Hunan Army was moving things around late at night, seeing the soldiers in Hunan Army uniforms telling them not to linger in the military area, they didn't dare to say anything and quickly left.

From start to finish, no one suspected that the security regiment in Hunan Army uniforms had been replaced. So where was He Zhengdao at this moment?

He had already hidden the guard company soldiers near the banquet hall. When the security regiment officers and the city's officials and gentry were drinking merrily upstairs, He Zhengdao, who had scouted the area in the afternoon, had already sneaked into the banquet hall's storage room and placed the effective knockout drug he had bought in the afternoon into the jars of wine. He chose the jars that were easiest to move.

After completing this, He Zhengdao returned to the street and instructed a few guard company soldiers who had not yet changed their uniforms to accompany him, carrying a few gift boxes, and walked confidently toward the banquet hall.

Perhaps seeing that He Zhengdao and his companions were carrying items, the security regiment guards at the entrance did not stop them. However, when they approached, a lieutenant platoon leader, being responsible, stopped He Zhengdao and his group.

Upon learning that He Zhengdao was a merchant who had just met Adjutant Wang in the afternoon and had brought gifts to celebrate Commander Wu's birthday, and that he had been delayed due to his busy business, He Zhengdao did not forget to quietly slip a few silver dollars into the platoon leader's hand. With the money and a connection, the platoon leader's stern expression softened.

Just as he turned to lead He Zhengdao into the banquet hall, He Zhengdao gave the signal to act. The guard company soldiers who had formed a默契 (默契 means默契) with him immediately stepped forward and covered the mouths of the security regiment guards, silencing them.

As for the platoon leader who had just taken the money, He Zhengdao personally acted, quickly covering his mouth and cutting his throat, cleanly and decisively killing him. The other guard company soldiers waiting in the shadows of the street immediately came forward to drag away the bodies of the security regiment soldiers.

When He Zhengdao strode into the banquet hall, before the guard company soldiers who were taking turns drinking could ask, the guard company soldiers who had followed He Zhengdao already drew their pistols and opened fire.

In an instant, the entire banquet hall was filled with gunfire.

When Wu Baoguo, who was somewhat drunk, heard the gunfire downstairs, he was the only one with a gun. The other officers' guns had been confiscated by the guard company when they went upstairs.

As for the guns the officials and gentry used for self-defense, they were also all confiscated. This was to ensure the safety of their commander! Hearing the gunfire downstairs, Wu Baoguo's first reaction was that something had gone wrong!

Before he could draw his gun and order his subordinates to prepare for a counterattack, he saw the group that had been drinking merrily earlier start to fall over, passing out. The only ones who did not pass out were the people at his table!

Realizing that something serious was about to happen, Wu Baoguo, just as he was about to go upstairs, saw several young men with pistols in hand and a fierce appearance rushing up the stairs, ordering them to drop their weapons or be killed.

When He Zhengdao walked upstairs and saw that there was still a table of people awake, he calmly said, "Commander Wu, I heard it was your birthday today, so I brought you this birthday gift. What do you think?"

Wu Baoguo, who had been sobered up by the gunfire, calmly replied, "I wonder which group you belong to and why you are causing such chaos? Don't you know this is my territory? Once the gunfire started, my security regiment soldiers will certainly come, and then you will have no way to escape."

He Zhengdao, remaining calm, replied, "Is that so? Are you sure the ones who come when they hear the gunfire will be your men?"

Wu Baoguo, who had intended to test the situation, felt his heart turn cold upon hearing He Zhengdao's response. It seemed these people were truly here with ill intentions and had made thorough preparations to dare to open fire so openly.

However, to control Jingzhou City, which had over a thousand guards, these people must have a very complex background and means!