amaotonovel Chapter 1280 Lu Zhaopeng has been betrayed again.
Chapter 1280 Lu Zhaopeng has been betrayed again.
Chapter 1280 Lu Zhaopeng has been betrayed again.
Has the drought eased? In a sense, yes. But this life-saving autumn rain came far too late! It has long missed the planting season for all major crops. The moist, soft soil in the fields can only wait empty for the next spring.
Hunger has merely transformed from an acute threat of death into a slow, agonizing noose. Even more deadly is the fact that—winter is coming!
Even more critically, the highway that Qin Hao's team had spent six months building and was nearing completion was also facing the risk of becoming an abandoned project.
Once winter arrives and the land freezes, construction becomes impossible. Next year, the disaster situation will be alleviated, and these disaster victims will definitely be allowed to return home for spring plowing. Time is of the essence, so we can only rush to finish the work.
Finally, before the first heavy snowfall, the highway from Zishui County to Tongguan was repaired, and at the same time, disaster relief supplies from outside the pass were able to flow into the Guanzhong region in a steady stream.
The disaster was finally alleviated, and just as County Magistrate Hao was enjoying various commendations from his superiors, Qin Hao and Mr. Zhu boarded the carriage back to Bailuyuan.
After spending the Spring Festival in Bailuyuan, Qin Hao bid farewell to Bai Jiaxuan and Xiancao and went to Xi'an. Upon seeing her husband return, Leng Qiuyue could no longer hold back and rushed into Qin Hao's arms.
After school in the afternoon, Bai Xiaowen, Bai Xiaowu, and Bai Ling returned one after another.
During the meal, Bai Xiaowen complained that Qin Hao hadn't taken him along when he was doing such a big thing.
Bai Ling chimed in, "You? You're usually so lazy you can barely sweep the floor, let alone do disaster relief."
"Don't look down on me. I grew up in the fields too, and I can still wield a hoe." Bai Xiaowen was displeased when he heard that.
Bai Ling wasn't going to indulge him: "From now on, all the housework will be yours. Don't let your sister-in-law do it all by herself."
Bai Xiaowen rolled his eyes at the retort, and Leng Qiuyue quickly smoothed things over, which calmed the two down.
In the spring of 1931, the cherry blossoms on the campus of Guanzhong University bloomed as scheduled. Students strolled in twos and threes along the tree-lined paths, and the air was filled with the spirit of youth.
Qin Hao stood by the window of the principal's office, gazing at the familiar scenery outside. His appointment letter from the Ministry of Education lay on his desk, its gold-embossed seal gleaming in the sunlight—a reward for his recent disaster relief efforts.
"Knock, knock, knock." The knocking interrupted his thoughts.
"Please come in."
The academic affairs director walked in carrying a stack of documents: "Principal Bai, these are the enrollment materials for this semester's new students. Please take a look."
Qin Hao nodded and took the document. The dean of academic affairs hesitated for a moment, then said, "The students are very happy to hear that you're back as principal. Several students from the School of Literature have even spontaneously organized a welcome party for tomorrow afternoon in the auditorium."
Qin Hao said calmly, "Tell them I appreciate the sentiment, but there's no need for these formalities. Focusing their energy on studying is the proper thing to do."
After the dean of academic affairs left, Qin Hao began dealing with the mountain of documents. When he turned to the third file, his brow suddenly furrowed—the document had been tampered with. The folders were arranged slightly differently from what he was used to, and there was even a barely noticeable crease on the edge of the bottom folder.
He quickly searched the entire office and finally found a letter in a folder at the very bottom. The envelope was ordinary and unsigned, but Qin Hao recognized the familiar handwriting at a glance—Lu Zhaopeng.
Half an hour later, Qin Hao appeared at an inconspicuous mutton soup restaurant outside the school. He had been to this restaurant many times before; the owner was a deaf-mute old man who never inquired about the customers' affairs.
"A bowl of mutton soup and a steamed bun," Qin Hao gestured to the shopkeeper.
He chose a corner seat, the steam from the mutton soup rising gently in the early spring chill. Just as he lowered his head to drink, a deliberately hushed voice came from behind him:
"Time is of the essence, so I'll keep it brief."
Qin Hao didn't turn around and continued drinking his soup.
"The black market was raided, and our comrades suffered heavy casualties." Lu Zhaopeng's voice was filled with suppressed anger. "Now we have no choice but to withdraw from Xi'an and return to the people. We need a batch of weapons and ammunition; could you help us procure them?"
Qin Hao's spoon froze in mid-air. He had long anticipated this day, but he hadn't expected it to come so soon. Yue Weishan's actions were even more ruthless than he had imagined.
After a moment's hesitation, Qin Hao took out a small notebook from his pocket, quickly wrote down an address with a pen, and then discreetly pressed the note under the bowl.
“This warehouse has what you need,” he said in a low voice.
He heard the sound of a chair being moved behind him. Lu Zhaopeng picked up the note and got up to leave.
"Wait a minute," Qin Hao suddenly called out to him, "Be more careful this time, and don't let yourself be betrayed by these so-called 'comrades' again."
Lu Zhaopeng paused noticeably. He didn't turn around, but simply replied, "Thank you, I'll be careful."
Then he hurriedly disappeared outside the door.
After paying, Qin Hao got up and left.
As winter fades and spring arrives, the Guanzhong Plain is revitalized. In the fields, farmers bending over to plant rice seedlings dot the vast landscape, as if last year's terrible drought had never happened.
"Brother Hao! Brother Hao!"
The urgent shout interrupted Qin Hao's thoughts. He turned around and saw Lu Zhaohai running towards him in a panic, his military uniform soaked with sweat.
"What's wrong?" A sense of foreboding welled up in Qin Hao's heart.
Lu Zhaohai gasped for breath, his voice trembling: "My brother... my brother's been arrested! That bastard Yue Weishan is going to publicly execute him!"
Qin Hao's expression changed drastically. His worst fears had come true—Lu Zhaopeng had ultimately succumbed to his fate.
The two hurried back to the Qin residence. As soon as they entered, Lu Zhaohai said urgently, "Brother Hao, could you give me some weapons and ammunition? I..."
"Lu Zhaohai, are you crazy?!" Bai Ling suddenly rushed out from the inner room and grabbed Lu Zhaohai's arm. "You think you can storm the execution ground all by yourself? You're going to your death!"
Lu Zhaohai, who always obeyed Bai Ling's every word, suddenly shook off her hand: "It's none of your business! My life is my own!"
Bai Ling stumbled a few steps after being pushed, her eyes instantly reddening: "Fine, your life is your own, go die!"
After saying that, she wiped away her tears and rushed out the door.
Seeing this, Leng Qiuyue quickly chased after her, calling out, "Ling'er! Wait!"
Qin Hao gestured for Lu Zhaohai to sit down: "I can give you the weapons and ammunition, but doing this won't save your brother; instead, it will cause your mother to lose two sons at once."
Lu Zhaohai bounced up again as soon as he touched the back of the stool: "But I can't just stand by and watch my brother die, can I?"
Qin Hao nodded: "We definitely need to save them, but we can't act recklessly."
He poured a glass of water and handed it to Lu Zhaohai: "Yue Weishan could have killed your brother quietly, so why make it public? He just wanted to use your brother to expose the entire organization behind him."
Upon hearing this, Lu Zhaohai finally calmed down a bit: "Then... what should I do now?"
After a moment of contemplation, Qin Hao slowly said, "At least we need to confirm whether your brother has really been arrested before we consider our next plan."
How do you determine that?
"Of course, we should inquire with the organization behind him."
……
The next morning, a rather inconspicuous notice appeared in the classifieds section of the *Qin Feng Daily*: "Missing Person: Mr. Wang has lost a pocket watch with the words 'Tong Xin' (meaning 'Unity') engraved on the back. If found, please contact the Yangtang Restaurant on East Street."
Two hours later, a simply dressed middle-aged man wearing round-framed glasses appeared at a mutton soup restaurant near Guanzhong University. He ordered a bowl of soup but hesitated to eat, glancing at the door from time to time, looking preoccupied.
Just as he was wondering who was contacting him using the organization's code words, a familiar voice came from behind him:
Has Lu Zhaopeng really been arrested?
Han the tailor shuddered, seemingly recognizing Qin Hao's voice. He paused for a moment before replying in a heavy tone, "Committee Member Lu was betrayed and fell into Yue Weishan's hands."
Qin Hao then asked, "How do we rescue them? Do you have a plan?"
The tailor, Han, said with a bitter expression, "We just suffered a purge; we lost a lot of people and now we're struggling to even protect ourselves."
Qin Hao didn't ask any more questions and simply got up and left. The answer was clear—Lu Zhaopeng had been abandoned by the organization. The only way to save him was to rely on himself.
Back home, Lu Zhaohai was already waiting for him, anxiously asking, "Brother Hao, did you find out anything?"
Qin Hao nodded gravely and recounted the situation truthfully. Lu Zhaohai slammed his fist on the table in anger, cursing, "These bastards! My brother risked his life for them, and now they..."
"There's no use talking about this now," Qin Hao interrupted him. "Since we can't rely on the organization, we'll have to rely on ourselves from now on."
Hope rekindled in Lu Zhaohai's eyes: "Brother Hao, do you have a way?"
Qin Hao didn't answer immediately. Instead, he walked to his desk and took out a stack of newspapers: "Look, these are recent reports from major newspapers in Xi'an."
In the following days, a media storm swept through Xi'an. The Northwest People's Daily was the first to disclose evidence that an official from the Civil Affairs Department had embezzled disaster relief funds; the Qin Feng Daily followed suit, exposing the scandal of several officials embezzling relief funds to keep mistresses; and the Xi'an Evening News published three commentaries, directly targeting the top levels of the provincial government.
At first, the officials didn't take it seriously, thinking it was just the reporters making unfounded accusations.
But as more and more evidence emerged, students from various universities began organizing marches demanding severe punishment for corrupt officials. Angry crowds chanted slogans in the streets and alleys, and the situation briefly spiraled out of control.
The officials were furious and pressured the provincial party headquarters, demanding that Yue Weishan find out who was behind it all. Although Yue Weishan suspected that this was a smokescreen put up by Lu Zhaopeng's organization to rescue him, he had no choice but to obey orders because of his superiors' authority.
"Strengthen prison security!" Yue Weishan ordered his subordinates. "Especially Lu Zhaopeng's cell; it must be guarded 24 hours a day!"
However, for several days in a row, nothing unusual happened in the cell. Yue Weishan was completely baffled—if the other party wanted to rescue someone, why were they delaying their actions?
One week later, as Yue Weishan walked into his office one morning, the phone rang urgently.
"What? The higher-ups ordered a change of execution location?" Yue Weishan gripped the microphone, his brow furrowed. "Why the sudden change to Zishui County?"
The impatient voice of the superior came through the phone: "Xi'an is too chaotic lately. The higher-ups are worried that a public execution would cause even greater unrest. Zishui County is remote, so the impact will be less. Just follow orders! Why all the questions!"
Yue Weishan hung up the phone, feeling that something was amiss. But military orders were paramount, and he could only immediately begin preparations for the evacuation.
"Attention, everyone!" he ordered his assembled men. "The escort route will be kept strictly confidential. An armed vehicle will be positioned at the front and rear of the convoy, with sentries along the way. Anyone spotted suspicious will be shot dead immediately!"
The convoy slowly drove out of Xi'an. Yue Weishan sat in the middle car, cautiously observing his surroundings through the window. To his surprise, the journey was uneventful, and he didn't see a single suspicious person.
"Am I overthinking this?" Yue Weishan muttered to himself.
It was already 3 p.m. when we arrived at the Zishui County Government Office. A makeshift execution platform had been set up in the open space in front of the office, and soldiers armed with guns stood around it.
"Bring the prisoner in!" Yue Weishan shouted the order.
Bound hand and foot, Lu Zhaopeng was led to the execution platform. His face was pale, but his eyes remained resolute. When asked if he had any last words, he merely glanced contemptuously at Yue Weishan and remained silent.
"Ready—" The executioner raised his hand.
"put!"
Gunshots rang out, and a bloody flower bloomed on Lu Zhaopeng's chest as he fell to the ground.
Yue Weishan personally stepped forward to check and confirmed that the pulse and breathing had stopped. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief: "Finally, this major threat has been eliminated."
Come from desperation
An hour later, in a farmhouse on the outskirts of Zishui County.
"Brother! Brother! Wake up!"
Lu Zhaopeng slowly opened his eyes, and through his blurry vision appeared his younger brother's anxious face. He tried to speak, but could only let out a painful groan.
"Don't move! Your injuries won't heal anytime soon," a strange voice said.
Lu Zhaopeng then noticed that there was a doctor in a white coat standing by the bed.
"What...what happened?" he asked weakly.
Lu Zhaohai said excitedly, "It was Brother Hao who arranged it! The bullets were switched before the execution, and the blood packs were prepared in advance..."
Lu Zhaopeng then remembered that the soldier escorting him before his execution had said something like, "When the gun goes off, just fall to the ground and pretend to be dead."
Seeing that Lu Zhaopeng was struggling to get up, Lu Zhaohai quickly helped him up.
"Brother Hao said that your injuries will take at least a year or two to heal. We'll send you back to Bailu Village in a few days so you can rest and recuperate there."
Lu Zhaopeng smiled wryly: "I've caused him trouble again..."
"It's more than just trouble, brother. You have no idea how much money Hao spent and how many favors he used to get that County Magistrate Hao to cooperate in order to save you."
Seeing his younger brother's worried face, Lu Zhaopeng wanted to pat his head, but found that the other was already about the same height as him, so he could only pat his shoulder.
"Zhaohai, I'm sorry to have worried you."
Lu Zhaohai said somewhat embarrassedly, "Actually, I didn't do anything. It was all arranged by Brother Hao. To be honest, you really should thank him. Otherwise, you would be dead this time, and even I..."
The thought of the heavily guarded execution ground sent chills down his spine. Fortunately, he didn't act impulsively, or he would have been riddled with bullets by now.
"Oh no, Bai Ling... she must be furious..."