Song Tianyao, lying on the bed, mumbled an "Mmm" and Huang Liu stepped out of the room.
Outside room 309, Ah Gen and Ah Si, two of the Song Family's bodyguards, were guarding the door. Upon hearing the sound of the door opening, they both straightened up and reached into their robes. They only relaxed when they saw that it was Huang Liu who came out.
"Is Uncle Xiao in his room?" Huang Liu pointed to the room opposite Song Tianyao and asked the two of them.
With a hidden sum of twelve million, Song Tianyao couldn't afford to be careless. So now, the entire third floor of the Peninsula Hotel has been booked by Song Tianyao. Apart from a few empty rooms, the rest of the rooms are occupied by Yao Chunxiao and his men.
Ah Gen could only see with one eye; the other was a cloudy prosthetic. When Huang Liu asked, he first peeked into the room to make sure Song Tianyao was alright before looking back at Huang Liu.
"Brother Xiao took your Uncle Shun and Uncle Da to the rooftop for some fresh air," Ah Gen said slowly.
Huang Liu nodded. "I want to have a word with Uncle Xiao. Uncle Gen, please go inside and keep an eye on Mr. Song for me."
Ah Gen touched his prosthetic eye and chuckled, "I'm afraid my appearance will frighten Mr. Song. Let your fourth uncle go in; he won't disturb Mr. Song's rest. I'll keep watch outside."
Upon hearing this, Ah Si made a few hand gestures, grinned at Huang Liu, and revealed half of his tongue.
Chapter 535 Betrayal
Raise both hands!
In front of the row of tin-roofed wooden houses on Hanging Neck Ridge, Di Zhen, a former deputy platoon leader of the 47th Company and one of Han Chongshan's brothers, pressed a gun against the back of Sheng Zhaozhong's head and spoke in a gloomy voice.
Following behind Di Zhen were seven or eight Kuomintang remnants, all of whom were staring at Sheng Zhaozhong with hostile eyes.
Sheng Zhaozhong slowly raised his hands, his voice laced with laughter. "Brother, we're on the same side, be careful your weapon doesn't go off."
Di Zhen ignored Sheng Zhaozhong, still holding the gun in one hand, while the other hand slid down Sheng Zhaozhong's back, unfastening the pistol at his waist. He then patted Sheng Zhaozhong's legs to confirm that Sheng Zhaozhong was unarmed before continuing, "Turn around."
Sheng Zhaozhong turned around as instructed, and only then could he clearly see the face of the man behind him.
Di Zhen looked to be only in his early thirties. His long-term irregular meals on Hanging Neck Ridge had made him look rather thin, and he could barely fill out the patched Uniformed Branch he was wearing, which he had worn for who knows how long.
The only thing that could be clearly seen was the rank insignia with a plum blossom sewn on Uniformed Branch.
Sheng Zhaozhong narrowed his eyes and raised the corners of his mouth. "Major? I bet you don't have a certificate of appointment. Why don't you come to Taiwan with me, and I'll help you get a real position?"
After graduating from the Whampoa Military Academy, Sheng Zhaozhong and Tan Jingwei were both awarded the rank of major, which seemed to be the same as Di Zhen in front of them. However, in reality, Sheng and Tan received official military ranks, while Di Zhen received a position-based rank, and the two should not be confused.
During the war, the Kuomintang army was divided into two types of ranks: formal military ranks and job-related ranks. Although both were military ranks, there were actually many differences between them.
The so-called formal military rank requires the appointment certificate to be signed by the top Chairman of the National Military Council, while the procedure for granting rank based on position is much simpler, as the Chairman the Military Affairs Commission can simply issue an appointment order based on the position.
According to the Kuomintang law, only formal military ranks are considered military ranks. Although position-based ranks were also formally granted, the large number of officers above the battalion commander level within the Kuomintang at the time led to a proliferation of position-based ranks, with many people filling these ranks without proper authorization. This resulted in a popular saying at the time, "Major generals are everywhere, and majors are less than dogs," which satirized the system.
Then, at the graduation ceremony of the first class of the Kuomintang Officers Training Corps in 1935, the Kuomintang leader, Chairman Chiang Kai-shek, publicly raised the distinction between formal military ranks and job-related military ranks for the first time. This was tantamount to stating that only military personnel who possessed formal military ranks and had received appointment certificates personally signed by him were qualified to call themselves Kuomintang officers.
Since then, military ranks and positions have become increasingly worthless. During the War of Resistance against Japan, changes in unit designations, officer casualties, troop movements, and defections of puppet troops required frequent changes to military ranks and positions. To make things easier, the granting process was simply omitted, and each combat unit was allowed to appoint ranks and positions freely.
Sheng Zhaozhong was well aware of the chaos in Han Chongshan's unit back then. Even Han Chongshan himself, with the rank of lieutenant general, had not received his official appointment certificate, let alone the major standing in front of him now. It was precisely because of this that he was so confident in promising Di Zhen that he would help him secure a substantive position in Taiwan.
Di Zhen didn't speak, but carefully examined Sheng Zhaozhong. The person in front of him seemed somewhat familiar, but he couldn't quite place where he had seen him before.
"Have I seen you before?" Di Zhen tilted his head and looked Sheng Zhaozhong up and down.
Sheng Zhaozhong smiled but did not answer.
At this moment, one of Di Zhen's subordinates suddenly spoke up, "Brother Zhen! He came here with Tan Jingwei earlier, I remember him! He's the one who killed Brother Shan!"
When Tan Jingwei brought Sheng Zhaozhong and several clerical subordinates to see Han Chongshan that day, Sheng Zhaozhong and his subordinates did not directly contact Han Chongshan and his group. When Di Zhen heard that Tan Jingwei was an official from Taiwan, he became even more excited and focused all his attention on him, only glancing briefly at Sheng Zhaozhong, who was like an attendant. Now, hearing his subordinate mention it, it was as if a bolt of lightning flashed through his mind, and the blurry face of Sheng Zhaozhong in his memory gradually overlapped with the person in front of him.
"You're Tan Jingwei's man!" Di Zhen's brows furrowed, his face filled with anger. He raised the gun he had been lowering again and pressed it hard against Sheng Zhaozhong's forehead.
Tan Jingwei frowned slightly, glanced at the gun, and then focused his gaze on Di Zhen's face, his expression calm.
Di Zhen gritted his teeth and sneered, "Fine, I was planning to wait until Brother Shan's seven-day mourning period was over before going down the mountain to find you, but I didn't expect you to deliver yourself to my doorstep. Today, I'm going to kill you to avenge Brother Shan and the others!"
As Di Zhen spoke, his finger was already on the trigger. Only then did Sheng Zhaozhong speak slowly and deliberately.
Sheng Zhaozhong said with a mocking smile, "Kill me? Fine, go ahead and shoot. If I don't get back tonight to report, I guarantee that the entire Hanging Neck Ridge will be surrounded by Britain soldiers by tomorrow morning, and you and your brothers won't escape!"