As a young marshal, it's reasonable for me to have 300,000 private troops, right?

Qi Fan was chatting with Zhang Xuecheng when he suddenly heard a noisy commotion coming from the direction of the mansion gate, even more lively than when Zhang Zuolin had returned earlier.

The two exchanged a glance, both becoming curious, and looked towards the gate of the mansion in the direction of the sound.

Then a man with long hair and an open military uniform collar strode in from outside the mansion gate, his posture very arrogant, followed by a squad of heavily armed soldiers.

As soon as he entered the mansion, he started shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Little Zhang! Where's Little Zhang? Get your ass out here!"

Qi Fan stood not far away, watching the newcomer's arrogant attitude, and couldn't help but lean close to Zhang Xuecheng's ear and whisper a question.

"Xuecheng, who is this? So arrogant? Daring to act so domineering in the Marshal's mansion, isn't he afraid my father will deal with him?"

Zhang Xuecheng pursed his lips and lowered his voice as well.

"You don't recognize him? This is Feng Delin, the current commander of the 28th Division! If we're talking about someone in Fengtian who your father truly fears, it's only him!"

"Feng Delin?" Qi Fan's heart skipped a beat, and he instantly realized that this was the enemy that Zhang Zuolin had suspected of sending people to intercept and kill him!

He watched as Feng Delin ignored all the servants in the mansion and rushed straight toward Zhang Zuolin's conference room, thinking to himself.

As expected of a warlord, he certainly has the air of a big shot! In Northeast China, he's probably the only one who dares to call Zhang Zuolin by his childhood name so directly.

Watching Feng Delin's figure disappear at the conference room door, Qi Fan's curiosity grew even stronger, and he tugged at Zhang Xuecheng's arm.

"Let's go check out the excitement."

Zhang Xuecheng, who had been eager to agree, nodded quickly.

Two teenagers crouched low, tiptoed, and crept towards the conference room, one after the other. They quietly hid behind a pillar by the door, holding their breath as they peered inside.

Inside the meeting room, Feng Delin acted as if he were a member of the group. As soon as he entered, he sat in the main seat, casually tossed his hat on the table, crossed his legs, and adopted the air of someone in charge.

Seeing that he was up to no good, Zhang Zuolin quickly glanced at his men standing on either side, and then slightly raised his chin. His men immediately understood and quietly withdrew, closing the door behind them.

Then, Zhang Zuolin put on a smile, walked quickly to Feng Delin, and spoke to him in a very warm tone.

"Third Brother, what brings you here? Why didn't you send someone to let me know beforehand? I could have prepared some good wine and food to properly entertain you!"

"Don't give me that crap!" Feng Delin snorted coldly, rolled his eyes, and spoke with obvious dissatisfaction.

"You little rascal Zhang, you went to Beijing without a word, and now you've got all of Fengtian under your control? How was it? Did you meet President Yuan in Beijing? Pretty impressive, huh?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zuolin immediately burst into laughter, then sat down on a nearby chair and waved his hand.

"Oh, my dear brother, please don't tease your younger brother! I'm not going there for glory; I'm just on orders to report on my work. President Yuan is most worried about the stability of the Northeast and is always afraid that those rebels will cause trouble. I had no choice but to make this trip."

"Don't give me this useless nonsense!" Feng Delin interrupted him impatiently, leaning forward and speaking in a serious tone.

"I've come today to ask you something important."

Zhang Zuolin's smile faded slightly, and his expression became more serious.

He secretly wondered if Feng Delin was going to use this incident to make trouble for him. After all, the two had been vying for control of Fengtian for quite some time, both openly and secretly.

He composed himself and said in a deep voice, "Brother, please speak freely. As long as it's within my power, I will do it without hesitation."

Unexpectedly, Feng Delin suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, his serious expression vanished, and he revealed a casual look as he asked.

"I heard you invited Yang Jingzhen to your residence and opened a school there, specifically to teach your sixth son?"

Zhang Zuolin was taken aback, then nodded: "That's true, what happened?"

"It's nothing serious," Feng Delin waved his hand, his tone a little embarrassed.

"I was thinking, could I let my brat Feng Yong attend classes with Liu Zi? Mr. Yang is a renowned teacher, so having the children learn together would give them companionship."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zuolin instantly breathed a sigh of relief, his heart finally at ease.

He thought it was something troublesome, but it turned out to be about his child's schooling! A look of joy immediately appeared on his face, and he slapped his thigh.

"Hey! I thought it was something serious! What's wrong with this? No problem, absolutely no problem! Let Feng Yong come as he pleases, he can attend classes with Liu Zi, food and lodging provided!"

"Okay! It's settled then!"

Feng Delin also cheered up, stood up and patted Zhang Zuolin on the shoulder, all his previous dissatisfaction gone.

Qi Fan, standing behind the pillar, watched the two go from being at each other's throats to chatting and laughing. He couldn't help but purse his lips. So all that fuss was about this.

He lost interest in eavesdropping and tugged at Zhang Xuecheng's arm, signaling him to leave.

Right now, the most important thing for him is to quickly complete the task given by the system to increase favorability; he can't afford to delay.

The two quietly slipped out from behind the pillars and brushed the dust off their clothes.

Zhang Xuecheng turned around and grabbed Qi Fan's arm, saying excitedly, "Come on! I'll show you around the Marshal's Mansion and introduce you to the people we know there, so you won't feel awkward if we don't recognize each other later."

Qi Fan stopped and quickly began to make plans in his mind.

He has recently figured out some of the tricks of this favorability system and discovered that the system actually has quite a few limitations.

For example, Zhang Shoufang and Zhang Xueming, these two siblings from the same mother, he couldn't see their favorability rating at all. It makes sense, since their blood ties are there, their favorability rating is naturally full, and the system simply ignores it by default.

In addition, people summoned by the system (such as Yan Shuangying) are not counted in the task count.

Excluding these people, the people in the mansion who have the highest favor towards him are his father, Zhang Zuolin, and Zhang Xuecheng, who is standing in front of him.

He still doesn't understand how Zhang Xuecheng could have a 60% approval rating after knowing him for only a short time.

After thinking it over, it's most likely because of the "accompanying student" status, plus the fact that the two are cousins, which naturally creates a closer bond.

Counting down, only happy Shun has a 40% positive impression of him.

"It seems that to complete the system's tasks, we need more people than just the existing ones; we'll need to get to know more people."

Qi Fan thought to himself, then nodded and replied, "Okay, I was just thinking of going out for a walk and getting familiar with the environment of Fengtian."

The two walked out of the marshal's mansion side by side, and as soon as they stepped onto the street, they were overwhelmed by the lively scene before them.

Fengtian, as an important city in Northeast China, was bustling with traffic. Vendors carrying their wares on shoulder poles hawked their wares along the streets. The sounds of mules and horses, the shouts of shopkeepers, and the laughter of pedestrians mingled together, creating a vibrant and lively atmosphere.

But amidst this liveliness, there was a sense of unease. On street corners, one could occasionally see arrogant Japanese soldiers dressed in kimonos. At present, China and Japan maintained a superficial peace, but their relationship was as sensitive as a taut string, and neither dared to easily break off relations.

Not long after they started walking, Qi Fan saw Zhang Xuecheng waving towards the street corner, then pulling two children of similar age over.

One of the children was slightly shorter with regular features; the other was tall and slender, exuding a cleverness.

Zhang Xuecheng took a breath and pointed to the short boy as he introduced him.

"The shorter one is Zhang Zuoxiang's son, Zhang Tingshu; the tall one is Uncle Bao Guiqing's son, Bao Yulin. They will both be our study companions from now on."

When Zhang Tingshu and Bao Yulin saw Qi Fan standing there, they immediately stopped and respectfully bowed to him, calling out in unison.

"Hanqing!"

"Huh?" Zhang Xuecheng immediately objected, frowning as he corrected him.

"Forget about calling him Hanqing! We have to call him Big Brother! From now on, we'll all follow him!"

Qi Fan's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly reached out to stop Zhang Xuecheng. Good heavens, he was counting on these two new acquaintances to build goodwill and complete his mission. Zhang Xuecheng's words were too impulsive. If he offended them, who would he be able to build goodwill with?

"Xuecheng, don't say that." He held Zhang Xuecheng's arm, turned to Zhang Tingshu and Bao Yulin with a friendly smile, and said gently.

"We're all brothers of the same generation, no need to be so formal. Just call me Hanqing, it sounds more friendly."

As he spoke, he glanced at the favorability ratings above their heads and was immediately stunned to find that they were both at 60%!

It was much higher than he had expected. "It seems that being easygoing really does have its advantages." Qi Fan suddenly had an idea.

He leaned forward and said sincerely, "Our fathers were all sworn brothers, renowned figures in Northeast China. Since we'll be studying and living together from now on, why don't we follow their example and become sworn brothers, supporting each other in the future? What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xuecheng's eyes lit up instantly, and he immediately nodded in agreement: "Great idea! That's a good idea!"

He was originally a child from the backyard, and to be able to become sworn brothers with Zhang Xueliang would allow him to hold his head high in the mansion and in front of the emperor. This was an immense blessing.

Zhang Tingshu and Bao Yulin exchanged a glance and nodded in agreement.

Their fathers had a close relationship with Zhang Zuolin, and being able to become sworn brothers with Zhang Xueliang was a good thing for both families.

The four teenagers immediately formed a circle, holding hands and hugging each other, tilting their little faces up, and shouting in unison with all their might.

"We don't ask to be born on the same day, month, and year, but we ask to die on the same day, month, and year!"

With just this simple oath and a simple ceremony, the four of them became sworn brothers.

Qi Fan was secretly delighted, thinking that his favorability rating would definitely increase significantly, and the mission was one step closer.

But when he looked down at the favorability ratings above the three people's heads, the smile on his face froze instantly. They were all still at 60%, without any increase!

"No way?" Qi Fan almost jumped up, his mind filled with shock and confusion.

"Such a formal sworn brotherhood ceremony, and it doesn't even increase my favorability rating?"