Courtyard House: Home Alone

"Old Master Tang," he turned to Tang Baolin, "before leaving, my superiors asked me to convey a message—'The matter of Beiping is entirely voluntary; there will be no coercion.'"

Tang Baolin nodded: "I understand the rules of your party."

"But—" Qingsong changed the subject, his gaze returning to Lin Yifan, "the higher-ups also said that if 'Ghost' is willing to be handed over, three things must be clarified."

"Please speak, sir."

"First," Qingsong held up a finger, "we need to find out the details of the agreement reached between 'Ghost' and the Japanese."

"Secondly," Qingsong raised his second finger, "whether it will be joint management or a complete transfer to our Party, and after the transfer, how will it be announced externally, and who will be responsible for the defense of Beiping?"

The main room suddenly fell silent. The chirping of sparrows came from outside the window, and in the distance, one could faintly hear someone hawking candied hawthorns.

Lin Yifan did not answer. He picked up his teacup, took a slow sip, and his gaze fell on the few unfurled Longjing tea leaves at the bottom of the cup.

"And the third one?" Tang Baolin asked.

Qingsong raised his third finger, but didn't speak immediately. He took off his round-framed glasses, took out a plain white handkerchief from his long robe pocket, and slowly wiped the lenses.

"Thirdly," he finally spoke, his voice a few decibels lower than before, "the higher-ups want to know why the Tang family suddenly decided to hand over the reins? In the past year, 'Ghost' has killed Japanese devils and eliminated traitors, turning Beiping into a 'clean' city—this foundation, are you just going to give it up like that?"

Tang Baolin's lips twitched slightly, the scar across his left forehead glowing dark red under the oil lamp. He didn't answer directly, but turned to Lin Yifan: "Brother Lin, you answer these three questions."

Lin Yifan put down his teacup, the porcelain bottom touching the wooden table with a soft sound. He looked up at Qingsong, his gaze as calm as a deep pool: "At that time, 'Ghost' put forward three conditions to stop the killing of Japanese military personnel: First, lift the blockade on the Beiping area to ensure the smooth flow of daily necessities and civilian supplies;

2. Establish buffer zones in Beiping and the areas actually controlled by the Japanese, including Zhuozhou, Langfang, Sanhe, Miyun, and Huairou.

Third, no diplomatic or intelligence personnel from any island nation may be present in the Beiping area, and no military personnel may be present within the buffer zone.

"This...doesn't this turn Beiping into a lawless zone? Would the Japanese agree to that?" Qingsong asked Lin Yifan in surprise.

"Grandpa, show Qingsong the Japanese reply. Since we're discussing cooperation, we must be honest with each other." Lin Yifan gestured.

"However, the Japanese added a clause: the term is three years, and we will discuss it again after three years." He then added.

The old man took out the letter that Qingshui Dongsan had sent from his pocket and handed it to Qingsong.

Qingsong took the letter, pulled out the paper, and read it carefully.

Qingsong's gaze moved slowly from right to left, his brows furrowing more and more deeply as he read. Only the soft rustling of turning pages filled the main room; even the chirping of sparrows outside the window seemed exceptionally clear.

"Shimizu Tosan..." he murmured the name at the end, his finger pausing for a moment on the words "three-year term," "'Advisor on Overseas Chinese Affairs'? Looks like someone important!"

"Exactly," Tang Baolin replied from the side. "This letter was delivered this morning. When I went to see him yesterday, 'Ghost' gave the Japanese three days. It seems the Japanese are getting impatient."

Qingsong didn't look up and continued reading. The second half of the letter was written in Japanese, the handwriting so neat it was almost rigid, and at the end was a vermilion seal—"North China Area Army Headquarters".

Qingsong folded the letter again but did not return it immediately. He stared at Lin Yifan for a long time, his gaze like that of someone examining an ancient piece of porcelain, trying to discern its authenticity from the glaze and patterns.

"The Japanese agreed to all three conditions."

He said slowly, "Lifting the blockade, establishing a buffer zone, withdrawing military and intelligence personnel—it's just a matter of adding a three-year clause… Young friend Lin, do you know what this means?"

"This means the Japanese need time."

Lin Yifan picked up the thread, "They have an even more important goal, because their forces in North China are stretched thin, and the fighting in the south is fierce."

They couldn't remove Beiping, this thorn in their side, and they didn't want to expend much effort to defend it, so they preferred to temporarily accept this 'lawless territory.'

"That also means," Qingsong added, his voice low, "that they will definitely come back stronger in three years."

"There's a saying from 'Ghost' that you might not have heard: 'We haven't killed enough yet.' If the Japanese dare to come, hehe! 'Ghost' has plenty of ways to make sure they don't leave alive."

"The 'ghost' is ultimately outnumbered and outmatched, so..."

Lin Yifan broke the silence, "That's why they want to cooperate with your party. Your party is good at doing mass work, has a good mass base, has armed forces, and has the ability to truly bring this city to life."

Qingsong handed the letter back to Tang Baolin, but didn't speak immediately. He picked up the now-cold Longjing tea again, took a sip, and his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

"Young friend Lin," he finally said, "what exactly do you mean by 'cooperation'?"

"Public security, civil affairs, finance and taxation, education," Lin Yifan held up one finger, "all will be taken over by your party. 'Ghost' will only retain the pharmaceutical factory and a dozen or so public-interest businesses, including those in Dongjiaomin Lane, for commercial operation."

"What about the city defenses?"

"The buffer zone and the main defenses within the city will be the responsibility of your party."

Lin Yifan looked at Tang Baolin, "Within the city, Old Master Tang's guard team can be temporarily retained as an auxiliary force for maintaining order. However, their main task is to guard the pharmaceutical factory."

Tang Baolin turned around, his scar particularly noticeable in the backlight: "Xiao Fan, are you saying that this old man of mine has to work for a few more years?"

"Old man,"

Lin Yifan laughed, "Your Xingyi School's name is more effective in Beiping than any official seal. Once the Red Party's manpower is complete, you can retire gracefully."

Qingsong put down his teacup, the porcelain bottom making a crisp sound as it touched the table. He took out the booklet wrapped in oil paper from the inner pocket of his long robe and slowly pushed it to the center of the table.

"This is the opinion from higher up," he said. "If 'Ghost' is truly willing to hand over, we can accept it. But there are three points to add—"

He raised his finger, the same gesture as before, but with a touch more solemnity:

"First, Beiping publicly declared itself 'autonomous,' without any party-affiliated organs, and governed under the guise of the 'Beiping Municipal Committee,' with our personnel remaining anonymous."

"Secondly, Old Master Tang's guard will be reorganized within six months. Those who wish to stay will be incorporated into our ranks; those who do not will receive severance pay, and a large number of weapons must not be retained (a small number of self-defense pistols may be retained)."

"Third," he looked at Lin Yifan, his gaze piercing, "'Ghost's' three-year agreement with the Japanese is not recognized by us. However, during this period, if the Japanese breach the agreement and invade, 'Ghost' must fight alongside us."

Lin Yifan and Tang Baolin exchanged a glance. The old man nodded slightly, the scar on his face twitching gently with the movement.