A courtyard house; Li Yunlong, a subordinate of the deputy director of Harbin Military Engineering I

When Zhang Renfeng arrived at the Beiping Military Control Commission at the end of March, it was already 3 p.m.

This was his first time in Beiping. Even in his previous life, when he served in Hunan Province as a native of Guangxi Province, the only time he had been to Beiping was when he was selected to go to Beijing for the centenary celebration. Now, it seems that the changes are extraordinary!

Most of the shops on both sides of the street were open, and red paper slogans welcoming the People's Liberation Army into the city were still pasted on the walls. Some of them were blown by the wind and curled up, revealing the white plaster walls underneath.

Pedestrians wearing cotton-padded coats and gray cloth jackets, pushing bicycles and carrying loads, all consciously moved to the side of the road when they saw the cadres in military uniforms getting off the vehicle.

The Military Control Commission building was converted from the old government office. A red banner hung above the door, and two sentries stood ramrod straight at the entrance.

Zhang Renfeng got out of the car, dusted off the hem of his officer's woolen overcoat, and took a breath of the dry, cold air of Beiping in March, which was mixed with the smell of coal stoves and fried dough sticks.

As soon as I stepped onto the steps, a man came up to me. He was a cadre in his thirties, wearing black-rimmed glasses.

Zhang Renfeng recognized him at a glance; he was Mayor Ye's confidential secretary, surnamed Fang.

"Commander Zhang, hello there." Secretary Fang snapped to attention and saluted, a polite and warm smile on her face.

Zhang Renfeng raised his hand in return, his movements crisp and efficient: "Long time no see."

"The two leaders have been waiting for you for quite some time." Secretary Fang stepped aside and gestured for them to enter, lowering her voice by half an octave. "We've been waiting for you so long that we haven't even had a proper lunch."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Renfeng dared not delay any longer and raised his hand, saying, "Lead the way quickly."

The Military Control Commission and the Municipal Government operated under two names in one location, and both were under military control immediately after liberation.

Secretary Fang led Zhang Renfeng to a dark brown wooden door, stopped, knocked twice, pushed the door open, and stepped aside.

"Commander, Commander Zhang has arrived."

Zhang Renfeng straightened his uniform and stepped inside: "Report! Zhang Renfeng of the 9th Column of the Central Plains Field Army is reporting for duty."

Inside the office, a leader in military uniform and a leader in a Zhongshan suit were talking. Upon hearing the voice, the leader in the Zhongshan suit stood up, raising one of his arms slightly, revealing an old injury.

He was tall and thin, his face was pale from years of hard work, but his eyes were very bright, and he waved to Zhang Renfeng with a smile.

"Hey, our Comrade Zhang the Explosives is back! Come on, have a seat. We were just discussing when you'd be arriving."

Mayor Ye stood up from his chair. "Damn! Zhang Baopo is here. Have a seat, have a seat. You must be tired from your journey."

There's an unwritten rule in our army that anyone who had a nickname during the Land Revolution, the War of Resistance Against Japan, or the War of Liberation was definitely extraordinary; the earlier the nickname, the more impressive it was.

Zhang Renfeng settled into his seat, placing his hands on his knees. He sat upright, as those present were all renowned figures.

Mayor Ye sized him up, then laughed and patted Zhang Renfeng on the shoulder twice: "Handsome! You must be the youngest army commander in the entire army, right?"

In March, during the military reforms, Zhang Renfeng's corps was changed to the Fourth Corps, and the Ninth Column was changed to the Fifteenth Army.

He listened to Mayor Ye's words, his lips twitched, but before he could speak, Comrade Zhou interrupted:

"Indeed, Renfeng is twenty-nine this year, isn't he?"

Zhang Renfeng nodded: "Yes."

Mayor Ye put down his teacup, tapped his finger twice on the table, and got to the point: "Do you know why I called you back?"

Zhang Renfeng sat up straight: "To be honest, I really don't know."

After all, the leaders didn't say what to do specifically at the front lines.

He was quick-witted; though he said that, he had already gone over several possibilities in his mind: the engineering deployment for the Yangtze River Crossing Campaign? Or the establishment of a new engineering command in Beiping?

"Your fellow townsman, General Huang, will be one of the representatives in this negotiation. General Huang is a native of Guangxi Province. We understand that you have an elder brother named Zhang Rende..."

Upon hearing this name, Zhang Renfeng froze; he hadn't heard this name in almost twenty years.

His mind went blank for a moment, and the image of his elder brother, Zhang Rende, flashed before his eyes. He was tall, with a dimple on his left cheek when he smiled. He was only nineteen when he was conscripted, carrying a blue cloth bundle and following behind the Kuomintang soldiers. He turned back to look at Zhang Renfeng and called out, "Little brother, take care of yourself!"

Then there was no further news. Zhang Renfeng was only ten years old when he left with the old political commissar. In the years that followed, he assumed that his older brother had died in some trench during the Central Plains War.

"No, it's my older brother." His voice was strained, and his tongue was a little tied.

"Kid, calm down."

Comrade Zhou brought over a teacup and gently patted Zhang Renfeng's arm. His palm was warm. "Your elder brother joined the army in 1929 and participated in the Central Plains War with the Guangxi Clique in 1930. Afterwards, he served as a bodyguard for Huang Shaohong and Li Zongren. Especially Huang Shaohong, your elder brother saved his life."

Zhang Renfeng picked up his teacup, took a sip, and stared intently at the other person.

"Later, you heard he died in battle, right?" Comrade Zhou put down his teacup. "As far as we know, he didn't die, but lived in Beiping under an assumed name. He was seriously wounded in the later stages of the Central Plains War and was rescued by the local people. It took him more than half a year to recover. By the time he recovered, the Guangxi Clique had already withdrawn. He had nowhere to go and didn't dare to go back to his hometown, so he settled in Beiping, changed his name, and became a fitter."

"The reason we summoned you back this time is to use you to contact your elder brother and ask him to meet with Huang Shaohong privately during this negotiation. We understand that Huang Shaohong has anti-Chiang sentiments, but he has never been able to make up his mind. Your elder brother saved his life, and Huang Shaohong remembers this favor."

Hearing this, Zhang Renfeng was both surprised and delighted. Not only was his elder brother alive, but he had also had this glorious moment. He felt a lump in his throat and his nose stung. He quickly picked up his cup and took another sip of tea to calm himself down. When he looked up again, his eyes were already red.

"Then, where is my older brother now?"

"At Lou's Steel Rolling Mill, he is now a senior fitter."

"How is he feeling?"

Mayor Ye continued, "He's doing very well. It's just that after the Guangxi Clique's defeat, he was seriously injured and has been living in Beiping for over ten years. Now he has a wife and children, a warm bed, and a peaceful life. Our people have inquired around and found out that he's very skilled, his coworkers in the factory respect him, and he gets along well with his neighbors."

The tension that had been building up in Zhang Renfeng's heart for nearly twenty years finally eased considerably.

The new Guangxi clique was indeed remarkable. During Li Zongren's tenure, Guangxi's economy was among the best in the country. It was just that their ideologies differed.

Nearly twenty years ago, we finally heard news of my elder brother. Fortunately, he had long since broken away from the Guangxi clique and was living a quiet life as an ordinary citizen under an assumed name.

His heart was churning with a bittersweet feeling. He thought about how he had fought his way up from a lowly orderly in the Seventh Red Army to the deputy commander of the corps over the past ten years, braving gunfire and fire, crawling out of piles of corpses countless times. The person he missed most was the older brother who had turned around and called him "little brother."

Now that he heard that his elder brother was still alive and had a family and a career, his nose tingled again, but he forced it back.

Zhang Renfeng was born as a second-born child, and his feelings for his elder brother and family were genuine. It was just a pity that he was born in a time of war and chaos.

Comrade Zhou walked over and gently patted Zhang Renfeng on the back twice: "Renfeng, don't worry, your older brother is just an ordinary citizen now. He hasn't committed any crimes, he lives in harmony with his neighbors, his eldest son is fourteen years old, and his daughter is five. He stopped getting involved in those things a long time ago and is now living a peaceful life."

Hearing his words, Zhang Renfeng was genuinely happy. He grinned, and tears welled up in his eyes, one of which slid down the corner of his eye. He quickly wiped it away with his sleeve.

Mayor Ye continued, "There are five of us in this negotiation. The higher-ups have decided that you will be the sixth person. After all, back in the Second War Zone, you were Yan Xishan's deputy and served as the deputy commander. You were in charge of the engineering corps in the Taihang Mountains. They even sent people to learn from you. So, your participation will make things twice as effective. You understand engineering corps, demolition, and the methods of the Guangxi clique. You are also from Guangxi Province, which will make it easier for you to communicate with General Huang."

Zhang Renfeng nodded, his mind already understanding.

Huang Shaohong had a lot of dealings with the Eighth Route Army when he was in the Second War Zone. At that time, Zhang Renfeng was in charge of engineering troops in the Taihang Military Region. The two sides observed and learned from each other a few times. Although they never spoke to each other in person, Huang Shaohong must have heard of his name.

Adding to the fact that the elder brother is their savior, this combination of tactics is far more effective than simply sending a negotiator to negotiate.

Comrade Zhou gently patted Zhang Renfeng's head, his hand landing lightly and steadily, with the affection of an elder for a younger generation: "Hey, you little Red devil, when you arrived in the Soviet area, you were only ten years old, yet you were already a battle-hardened soldier. In the blink of an eye, you're already twenty-nine. I've practically watched you grow up, from a little devil carrying explosives to a commander leading an army. It hasn't been easy for you all this way."

Zhang Renfeng smiled. When the Long March began three or four years ago, he had a persistent high fever, and it was Zhang Renfeng's folk remedy that brought the fever down.

That folk remedy saved many elderly people.

Fifteen years have passed in the blink of an eye.

"You look much healthier than you did two years ago," Zhang Renfeng replied with a smile.

Comrade Zhou waved his hand: "Have you been practicing the Xingyi Quan I taught you properly?"