Mei Xing was brought before Wang Zhenyu by Li Zongren and others, but instead of scolding him loudly, he spoke in a tone of sorrow and pity: "A good warrior will surely die under the sword, Commander Wang is indeed brave and wise. I, Mei Xing, will take my leave first, when I get to the underworld, I'll see what kind of ending you, Commander Wang, will have."

  Mei Xing's attitude enraged Wang Zhenyu's guards, who slapped her face with several palms, and one of them even stepped on Mei Xing's mouth. Mei Xing immediately had two front teeth kicked out, fresh blood gushing from her mouth, and the painful Mei Xing could no longer speak. The guards kicked her legs and abdomen one by one, Mei Xing knelt down on both knees, at this moment, the pain and spiritual humiliation intertwined, Mei Xing felt for the first time what it meant to be worse than dead.

  Wang Zhenyu did not stop the violent behavior of the guards, he looked at Mei Xing, the murderer who killed the Hunan governor, as if looking at a dead man. In Wang Zhenyu's view, this person must die, not entirely to avenge the governor, but because his death was necessary to intimidate all of Changsha. However, such an evil person was only executed by firing squad, which was too easy for him; if he was not given sufficient torture, there would be more ambitious people who would recklessly jump out in the future.

  He smiled and squatted down, looking at Mei Xing's already twisted face, and said in a low voice: "Mei Xing, a military officer of the Hunan Army, colluded with the remnants of the Qing dynasty, plotting to overthrow our government. I was ordered by the Governor's Office to arrest him, but unexpectedly he harbored evil intentions, led his troops in resistance, and was killed by our brave soldiers. His head will be displayed as a warning to others."

  Mei Xing was furious after listening, but she couldn't move at all. She could only spit a mouthful of blood towards Wang Zhenyu. Wang Zhenyu seemed to have anticipated this and dodged it by taking a step back.

  He didn't get angry, still smiling at Mei Xiang: "Actually, you killing the two marshals is a heinous crime, but it's just what you needed to advance, so it's understandable; likewise, I want your head now and that's also understandable, if you can't blame anyone, blame yourself for not being capable enough."

  "Mei Xiang Zhang mouthed unclearly and scolded: 'You and I had no grudges in the past, nor did we have any enemies today. You're harming me like this, if I become a ghost someday, I will definitely not let you off...'"

  Wang Zhenyu laughed even more happily after hearing this, and you should ask Niu Touge and Ma Miange for their opinions. He took out the handkerchief that Ye Ziyun had given him as a token of love, covered his nose with it, and waved his hand. Zhao Dongsheng and others immediately dragged Mei Xiang away. After a while, a gunshot was heard, and Mei Xiang, who had been famous in Hunan during the Xinhai Revolution, was hanged just like that...

  In the streets of Changsha's east city, in groups, the fifth division officers and soldiers with their hands behind their heads under the guard of the fierce tiger corps marched past in a queue.

  Zhao Hengyi and his company were extremely surprised, although they didn't have any hope for the fighting strength of the Fifth Division, but they also didn't expect their defeat to come so quickly. After all, the Fifth Division had a full 10,000 men!

  Zhao Hengxu showed his officer's badge to the troops in charge of the martial law, and since they were not from the Fifth Division, they did not make things difficult for him. They just asked them to wait a bit and let these captives go first.

  After great efforts, Zhao Heng finally found Wang Zhenyu, who was somewhat self-satisfied, under the guidance of the officers and soldiers of the fierce tiger brigade at the headquarters of the fifth division. This kid was wandering around in all directions.

  Zhao Heng saw him from afar and shouted his first sentence: "Wang, my brother, spare your strength, spare your strength! You absolutely must not harm Mei Shizhong!"

  Wang Zhenyu looked at this slightly rustic Zhao brother, with a somewhat exaggerated expression of surprise on his face, and two eyes revealing a bewildered color: "Master Mei, which Master Mei are you talking about?"

  "Mei Xing, which Mei Xing?" Wang Zhenyu replied lightly, as if such a person had never existed in this world. Zhao Hengyi was stunned, and seeing Wang Zhenyu's attitude, he immediately knew that Mei Xing was definitely out of the picture. People who do politics are always practical, since Mei Xing is dead, then his value automatically becomes zero. Zhao Hengyi immediately dropped the subject and asked in a low voice: "With such a big commotion, how does Young Brother plan to wrap things up?"

  Wang Zhenyu smiled in appreciation: "Brother, following Commander Tan's orders, we suppressed the fifth division of rebels and executed Mei Xing, that rebel. We've avenged Commanders Jiao and Chen. The matter in Changsha is naturally settled too! However, brothers, after exerting such great effort, Commander Tan can't possibly not show any appreciation, right?"

  Zhao Hengru naturally understood that this was a request for Tang Yulin to acknowledge the legitimacy of this military coup. This is easy to say, and Zhao Hengru has also come to understand Tang Yulin's character over the past few days - he is not someone who will suffer losses in front of him, and he won't care about his reputation at all. Since it wasn't Tang Yulin's doing, the biggest stone in Zhao Hengru's heart had finally fallen to the ground, and as long as they didn't take action against Tang Yulin, everything else was negotiable.

  "Brothers, this is to help Commander Tan with his work. Of course, we will have to reward them separately later. We can't let the brothers of the Fourth Division work in vain." Zhao Hengyu wiped the sweat from his forehead and continued.

  Wang Zhenyu also smiled and put his hand on Zhao Heng's shoulder: "Alright, Brother Zhao, let's not be so formal. That was official business, now let's talk about something personal."

  Seeing Wang Zhenyu still being so polite in front of him, Zhao Heng's heart suddenly felt a lot more at ease, and he nodded to indicate that Wang Zhenyu could speak freely.

  "This matter is too big, if I still want to stay in Changsha and not leave, I'm afraid Governor Tan will have to sleep with a gun under his pillow tonight. So I've thought about it for a long time, and I think we should find an opportunity to take the troops out of the provincial capital and go to a remote place to wait. From now on, you'll be in the provincial capital, and I'll be in the local area, but we brothers will still be as one, with the same breath and branches, supporting each other, what do you think, Brother Zhao?"

  Zhang Heng would not refuse, and this was exactly the situation he had been plotting for. In politics, if one relied solely on their superiors, they would not be able to stand firm. Many times, it still depended on one's own strength. So when Wang Zhenyu brought it up, Zhang naturally agreed and promised to go back and discuss with Tang Dudu immediately.

  In fact, he was also very confident that Tan Yankai would agree, because no matter what, the first division and even the fourth division in Changsha made such a big noise, if Tan Yankai still dared to stay by his side, then he must not be Tan Yankai, but a pig head.

  Just as he made up his mind, Zhao Heng suddenly thought of another thorny issue: Mei Xin was dead and gone, but the several thousand men and horses of his fifth division were still there, a force to be reckoned with. The question was how his sworn brother intended to deal with them. If these troops could be incorporated into his own ranks, that would be for the best.

  He thought for a moment and then asked: "Wang, what are you going to do with this Fifth Regiment?"

  How to deal with it? Wang Zhenyu thought, I killed their commander, how can I still take them as my own troops? I have only 4,000 men under me, if I swallow these 9,000 people, am I considered the fierce tiger brigade or the fifth division?

  Moreover, Wang Zhenyu really looked down on the combat effectiveness of this group of bastards from the Fifth Division. Zhao asked himself like that, it seems he has ideas about these bastards, then it's easy to handle, just take this advantage and continue talking. Once through this juncture, Wang Zhenyu smiled and pulled Zhao Hengru's hand: "Brother, no need to rush, let's go in, sit down and have a good chat. Besides, where is the Fifth Division of our Xiang Army now?"

  Zhao Hengru gave Wang Zhenyu a headache, this kid was completely a little rascal. Zhao Hengru shook his head with a bitter smile. The group of people began what they called "negotiations" at the headquarters of the Fifth Division.

  With common interests at stake, both sides quickly reached an agreement:

  (1) Tan Yanqian issued a supplementary order to disband the Fifth Division and execute Mei Xin, and publicly announced Mei Xin's crimes in the name of the Metropolitan Governor's Office.

  (2) Hold a state funeral for Zou and Chen, and worship with Mei Xing's head, while posthumously recognizing the two as revolutionary martyrs;

  (3) For the officers and men of the Fourth Division who participated in this action, or for all officers and men of the Fourth Division, each will be rewarded with 20 silver dollars, and their military pay for the past three months will also be supplemented.

  (4) The people of the Fifth Division, not a single one from the Fourth Division, all belong to Tan Du's disposal. Specifically, they will be handed over to the Tenth Brigade for custody first, and the captured equipment will be returned to the Fourth Division for unified handling.

  After the above four points are settled, the Fourth Division will leave Baoqing and set up a garrison in Jingzhou Prefecture. A new position of "Baojing Garrison Commander" will be established, with General Wang Long as its first incumbent. The local officials under his jurisdiction will be appointed by him, and the provincial government is not allowed to interfere.

  Tan Yanxin took the five conditions brought back by Zhao Hengti, let out a long sigh, and sent the Fourth Division, this unstable factor, to the local warlord, which was better than leaving it in Changsha. Tan Yanxin thought for a moment and then passed it on, after praising Zhao Hengti, he immediately stamped and approved it.

  At the state funeral of Generals Jiao and Chen, Tang Jiyao also presided over the ceremony in person. While mourning the two generals, he did not forget to portray himself as a righteous figure who had endured humiliation and avenged his enemies. He dramatically fainted from crying in public, which moved many onlookers who were unaware of the truth, saying that they had no idea that Governor Tang and General Jiao had such a close relationship.

  After the Changsha soldiers' riot, Tan Yankai dealt with inquiries from Beijing on one hand and summoned Cheng Qian who hid in the First Division and refused to come out at critical moments, and Zhao Hengti who made great contributions to calming down the riot, to discuss matters.

  The topic of discussion was simple, Tan Yanxin couldn't wait to get rid of the 4th Division, this tiger, out of Changsha as soon as possible. Otherwise, how could he sleep at night? He had been suffering from insomnia for several days and his hair had fallen out a lot. To think that he was only in his thirties! Even when he occasionally fell asleep, he would wake up to nightmares, dreaming that he had been beheaded like Mei Xing, with blood all over him.

  If the Fourth Master doesn't leave now, he reckons he won't be able to sleep soundly anymore.

  Cheng Qian also saw it in this military coup, the so-called fierce tiger corps is indeed a solid iron plate. He had planned to infiltrate and control this army, but fortunately, due to time constraints, he didn't have a chance to execute his plan. Otherwise, it wouldn't be just Mei Xing who died in the chaos, but also himself. It's said that the commander of this corps is highly valued by Huang Xing, so he'll try to find an opportunity to win him over through his relationship with Huang Xing. As for Tan Yanqing's suggestion to transfer the division out, he naturally agreed without hesitation. Jokingly, if there's another military coup, who can withstand it?

  Zhao Hengyu naturally passed with both hands and feet after reaching a gentleman's agreement with Wang Zhenyu.

  On April 6, the military government issued a formal order appointing Wang Long, commander of the 4th Division of the Xiang Army, as the garrison commander of Baojing.