Chapter 171

Around six-thirty in the morning.

Zhang Ming brought Yu Zheng to the garrison headquarters and waited outside the main gate.

"You have to take a stand. If this continues, I won't be able to support you," Yu Zheng said sternly. "The people below are panicking. Comforting them with words isn't enough."

"I know," Zhang Ming replied faintly.

As the two were talking, the commander's guard came out and said expressionlessly, "Come in!"

...

Five minutes later, inside the headquarters' private dining room, Tan Hengqiang drank milk and ate fruit-flavored bread, his face betraying no unusual emotion.

Zhang Ming stood to the side, paused, and said, "Commander Tan, if there isn't a resolution to Zhou Peng's matter, I really won't be able to explain it to the association. We've only just started stabilizing the market, and Zhou Peng was arrested and killed. Now, the brothers below are terrified."

Tan Hengqiang frowned and finally asked his first question, "Has it been determined how he died?"

"The official story is sudden cardiac arrest, but as far as I know, Zhou Peng was beaten to death," Zhang Ming replied immediately. "He had already reached an agreement with me before he went in, and he was definitely on our side. He even accepted half of the operating expenses. So after he was arrested, Wang Daolin must have tortured him. I guess he used too much force and killed Zhou Peng directly."

Tan Hengqiang glanced at him and said indifferently, "Zhou Peng came from the streets. He's spent most of his life dealing with the police. Was he really that fragile, unable to withstand the first round of interrogation?"

"He has heart disease," Yu Zheng immediately added fuel to the fire. "His health wasn't good to begin with. When Wang Daolin arrested him, he and Wei Xiangzuo had already smashed him in the head seven or eight times with an ashtray. He was already dazed when he got into the car."

Tan Hengqiang was silent.

"Commander, we have to fight back! Otherwise, those fence-sitters in the association might get scared and defect to Lao Li's side," Zhang Ming said urgently. "If they organize a recall meeting and remove me directly, the association will be out of control."

"Alright, I understand. You can go," Tan Hengqiang waved his hand. "Continue doing what you're doing. As for Zhou Peng's matter, there will be an explanation."

The two exchanged glances. Zhang Ming reminded him once again, "Commander, if we can't overcome this predicament, my position will definitely be unstable. I'm counting on you."

Tan Hengqiang nodded slightly, without replying.

Zhang Ming winked at Yu Zheng, turned, and left the dining room.

"Damn it, you have to look at the owner before you beat the dog!" Tan Hengqiang wiped his mouth, got up, slammed the napkin on the table, and walked outside with a gloomy face.

...

Half an hour later.

In the headquarters office, Tan Hengqiang smoked a cigarette and stood by the window, looking at the scenery in his small garden.

On the lush lawn, lions huddled together, playfully nuzzling each other; in the woods, hyenas howled in their cages.

Not far away, two trucks drove into the center of the garden. At the driver's command, the electronic doors of the cargo boxes opened, and the animals inside were driven out with sounds: deer, antelopes...

The animals to be slaughtered rushed out of the trucks and scattered in all directions.

"Aww!"

The male lion roared loudly and began to charge with his pride, while the hyenas in the cages were also released, running wildly.

Tan Hengqiang watched the bloody animal world and frowned, saying, "The Hacker Association is still somewhat useful. Even if we disregard the Qing Yi Bureau's reputation, we have to protect Zhang Ming."

On the sofa, the garrison's chief of staff said while holding a teacup, "Zhang Ming may be exaggerating the facts. He's in a difficult position right now and secretly hopes that our garrison will intervene."

"Whether it's instigation or exaggeration, we have to intervene," Tan Hengqiang said, smoking. "Zhou Peng died in the police department. That's a fact. The Qing Yi Bureau has been driven away, Kang Dinghuang fled in disgrace, and Li Mingsheng has been continuously eliminating the leaders of the Wharf Association, completely seizing the initiative. If we don't give Zhang Ming a shot in the arm, he'll be out."

The chief of staff nodded in agreement.

"Lao Li knows very well that now that Kang Dinghuang is gone, Zhang Ming and the others have all turned to me," Tan Hengqiang said indifferently. "But even knowing this, he doesn't leave Zhang Ming any room to maneuver. He had to involve the police in a perfectly good dinner and even started hitting people on the spot. He really doesn't take Tan Hengqiang seriously at all."

"Lao Li has no choice. Wen Zhanbo is in trouble. If he doesn't attack, he's dead," the chief of staff analyzed very accurately.

"Dad, if you're going to do it, do it decisively." A lieutenant colonel, who had been sitting on another sofa, looked up at Tan Hengqiang and said, "They moved against Zhou Peng, so let's just make a general move. The introduction of Li Mingsheng's involvement in the Wharf Association was Wei Xiangzuo, so without this introduction, who else can he use?"

Upon hearing this, the chief of staff immediately echoed, "Mingchao is right. Lao Li is local power, and we are military power. We don't have an advantage when fighting with legal articles. They can arrest Zhou Peng with a single sentence, but we can't. So it's better to make it more direct."

Tan Hengqiang turned to look at his son, pointed at him, and said, "You handle this."

"Yes," Tan Hengqiang's son, Tan Mingchao, stood up and saluted. "I guarantee the completion of the mission!"

"Go," Tan Hengqiang waved his hand.

After the three finished discussing, Tan Mingchao turned and left the office.

Tan Hengqiang lowered his head and put out his cigarette, sighing and saying to the chief of staff, "Ah, I didn't want to get involved, but I still did."

"Dragon City has become the center of the game. As a military commander, how can you stay out of it?" the chief of staff said with a smile. "We guarantee our position, but we just can't cross the line."

Tan Hengqiang bent down and sat down, turning to look at the chief of staff and asking, "I'm not worried about anyone else, but An Zecheng is the only one I can't figure out. Do you think he really wants to be with Lao Li...?"

"Report!"

Before he could finish speaking, a guard walked in and shouted, "Commander, the head of An Zecheng's guard regiment is here."

"What for?" the chief of staff asked.

"He... he means that General An Zecheng wants to set up the second command headquarters next to our headquarters, and he's asking if we can vacate two empty courtyards. They're willing to pay rent," the guard looked at Tan Hengqiang with a dazed expression. "They said... General An Zecheng has already communicated with you."

The chief of staff was slightly stunned and turned to look at Tan Hengqiang. "He really wants to move the command headquarters over here!"

"Haha, speak of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao arrives!" Tan Hengqiang got up happily. "Notify the General Affairs Office to order the Second Army's office to withdraw from Courtyard No. 3 and make room. Let's welcome Lao An!"

...

Inside a warehouse in the Second Regiment's barracks directly under the garrison headquarters, Tan Mingchao walked in with his hands behind his back and turned to the deputy commander, instructing, "Find some elites."