A Love Never Lost Episode 33 Recap
> A Love Never Lost Recap
Yang Kaizhi’s speech at the symposium received applause, but when it was time for others to offer critiques, no one stepped forward. One after another, people left the venue. That evening, Yang Kaizhi analyzed the situation with Gu Maichen, and they both suspected that there might still be an underground commander operating within the Sixth Town.
Gu Maichen also sensed that during the symposium, a few people flattered with clichés, while the majority remained silent, watching for cues from Zhou, the commander of the Twelfth Detachment. Even Wu, the commander of the Eleventh Detachment, deferred to Zhou. Gu Maichen added that some even referred to Commander Zhou as the uncrowned king of the Sixth Town. The next day, Yang Kaizhi went to inspect the troops personally, without any escort.
In private, Commander Zhou instructed someone to keep a close watch on Fang Quanlin, Xu Liqun, and especially Feng Hanhai, the commander of the 24th Battalion. As long as these individuals did not side with Yang Kaizhi, Zhou felt secure in his hold over the Sixth Town. The first unit Yang Kaizhi visited was Feng Hanhai’s. He found Feng to be straightforward.
Feng admitted that they had only done one round of target shooting so far and had never practiced building fortifications; all the tools—shovels and picks—were brand new and merely stored in the armory for show. The food in the soldiers' mess was all bland broth. Though there was meat, the quantity was insufficient. Twenty-one jin and four liang of meat weighed only fourteen jin on the scale.
At the subsequent meeting, Yang Kaizhi demanded that all supply and mess units in the town standardize their scales. Commander Zhou and Commander Wu colluded, one playing the stern role and the other the conciliatory one. Yang Kaizhi remained unfazed and immediately had the town office’s scale brought in to enforce discipline on himself first. Yang Kaizhi selected Ma Buzhou of the cavalry battalion to serve as head of his guard.
Ma Buzhou had been nurtured by Commander Wu, and Zhou instructed Wu to maintain a good relationship with him. Yang Kaizhi read a report by Feng Hanhai, which highlighted several key problems currently plaguing the Sixth Town. Feng also told Yang that Zhou was a tyrant—anyone under Zhou’s protection, no matter how corrupt or indulgent, was given important positions. If things went on this way, the town’s morale would completely deteriorate.
Feng Hanhai was merely reporting the situation, and it was up to Yang Kaizhi to decide on reforms. Without hesitation, Yang planned to dismiss Commander Zhou and appoint Feng Hanhai in his place to rectify the town’s culture. Yang sent a report to the Military Advisory Bureau, but since Liang Xiang was absent, the bureau forwarded the message to Minister Yin Chang at the Ministry of the Army.
Yin Chang, who was closely aligned with Commander Zhou, secretly alerted him that night. Yang Kaizhi soon learned of this. To prevent Zhou from retaliating in desperation, he instructed Ma Buzhou to remain vigilant but not to openly break with Zhou’s men. Zhou gathered his followers and tried to get them to sign a joint petition to Yang Kaizhi in his defense, but they were all opportunists unwilling to sacrifice their future for him. This greatly infuriated Zhou.
The next day, Zhou directly confronted Yang Kaizhi and brazenly challenged his authority. Soon after, the Ministry of the Army sent a telegram stating that Minister Yin Chang had decided to recall Zhou and appoint Li Renjun as the new commander of the Twelfth Detachment. Xie Shuhong had not yet replied to Yang’s letter, as Shanghai was undergoing an unprecedented stock market crash. Song Baoquan’s bank had been severely impacted, and Xie Shuhong had been busy assisting in the aftermath.
Everyone bore some responsibility for the first wave of the crash, but the second wave was entirely man-made. The Daotai of Shanghai, to spite the Ministry of Revenue, withdrew two million taels from Yuanfengrun Bank at a critical moment, causing China’s largest bank to collapse and dragging down dozens of its branches. The merchant corps faced dissolution, and Mr. Yu called Song Baoquan to discuss the matter.
