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

As soon as the bell rang to signal the end of get out of class, Yang Jingzhen put down his book and gave a few words of advice on reviewing after class, and the children in the classroom erupted in excitement.

Feng Yong was the first to rush out, followed by Zhang Xuecheng, Zhang Tingshu, and Bao Yulin, while Zhang Shoufang leisurely gathered up her writing materials.

Qi Fan had just stood up when he saw the Third Concubine walk over from the corner, a gentle smile on her face.

He paused, then turned to greet her, blinking and asking in confusion, "Third Aunt, is there something you need?"

"It's nothing serious, I just wanted to talk to you."

The third concubine reached out and gently patted his shoulder, her tone full of relief.

"Liu Zi, you did a really good job at school today. You understood the classical Chinese that Mr. Yang was teaching very quickly and thoroughly. You are much more promising than that Feng Yong from the Feng family."

As she spoke, she couldn't help but sigh softly, a hint of melancholy flashing in her eyes.

"Sigh, if only my younger brother Dai Xiansheng were half as sensible and half as successful as you."

Qi Fan's heart skipped a beat, and he instantly realized that the Third Concubine was referring to Dai Xiansheng.

He thought to himself: That's right! If your brother hadn't gotten into opium, he wouldn't have gone crazy and knocked down streetlights, only to be shot dead by our father and end up with his head separated from his body.

Although he thought this in his heart, Qi Fan didn't dare to say it out loud. Instead, he followed the Third Concubine's words and sincerely comforted her.

"Third Aunt, I think my uncle is a good person. I saw him in the dining room yesterday, and he seemed very generous and straightforward, not like a bad person."

The third concubine frowned even more deeply at the mention of her younger brother, her tone filled with helplessness.

"He's fine in every other way, except he's got a bad habit of smoking opium! This stuff ruins people. I've tried to persuade him so many times, but he just won't listen."

Seeing this, Qi Fan quickly followed up with some advice.

"Third Aunt is right. Smoking opium is definitely not a good thing. It not only harms the body, but also easily causes trouble. You should try to persuade your uncle to quit as much as possible. If that's not possible, you should at least make him restrain himself and not cause trouble outside."

As soon as he finished speaking, a thought suddenly popped into Qi Fan's mind: That's right!

Dai Xiansheng was eventually executed by Zhang Zuolin. If I could find a way to save him, not only would Dai Xiansheng be extremely grateful, but the Third Concubine would also regard me as her savior!

Won't their affection level skyrocket then? Maybe it'll even reach 100% loyalty to each other!

The idea excited Qi Fan, but he quickly calmed down.

He clearly remembered that Zhang Zuolin later executed Dai Xiansheng precisely to establish his authority, rectify the atmosphere in Fengtian, and at the same time warn his relatives who abused their power.

At this moment, Zhang Zuolin is trying to establish his authority, and it would be extremely difficult for him to intervene and save Dai Xiansheng.

"This matter needs careful consideration; we can't act rashly," Qi Fan thought to himself.

"We have to find a way that won't offend my father, but will also save Dai Xiansheng's life. We can't afford to make a single mistake."

Seeing Qi Fan deep in thought, the Third Concubine assumed he was worried about her and gently patted the back of his hand.

"Alright, Liu Zi, let's not talk about these annoying things anymore, it's keeping you from having fun. Go and play with them."

"Okay, Third Mama."

Qi Fan snapped out of his daze, smiled and responded, but in his heart, he had already quietly added the matter of "saving Dai Xiansheng" to his agenda.

To Qi Fan's utter surprise, before he could even figure out the plan, an unexpected event caused an uproar the very next morning.

Just as dawn was breaking, Qi Fan was still fast asleep on the warm kang (heated brick bed) when he was jolted awake by a deafening roar of curses coming from outside the courtyard.

That was Zhang Zuolin's voice, more irritable than ever before, filled with a murderous rage.

"Dai Xiansheng! Dai Xiansheng, you son of a bitch, get out here! You son of a bitch! A little opium smoking has gone you crazy, huh? Damn it, you dare to blow up all the streetlights on my street last night!"

With a "whoosh," Qi Fan suddenly sat up in bed, his hand rubbing his sleepy eyes instantly freezing, and he inwardly cried out.

"not good!"

What's wrong with Dai Xiansheng? Why did he break the streetlights so quickly? Couldn't he have taken a couple of days to think of a solution before making a scene?

It's better to just cut down on opium and stay put than anything else!

Qi Fan was both anxious and angry, wishing he could drag out this incompetent teammate and give him a good scolding.

But it's too late to complain now.

If Dai Xiansheng were captured by Zhang Zuolin, given his father's current desire to establish his authority, he would definitely face certain death.

Since he had already decided to save the person, he couldn't just stand by and watch things happen.

Qi Fan didn't dare to delay. He quickly got out of bed, grabbed the cotton coat from the side of the bed and put it on without even buttoning it properly. Then he slipped on his shoes and rushed out of the yard.

As soon as he ran out of his own courtyard, he saw Zhang Zuolin leading Xishun and a group of his personal guards, rushing menacingly toward the Third Concubine's courtyard. Their faces were ashen, and their footsteps made a loud thud on the bluestone pavement. The servants around him were so frightened that they didn't dare to breathe.

"Damn it, Dai Xiansheng! You really think I can't handle you, huh?!"

As Zhang Zuolin walked, he cursed and spit, his eyes blazing with murderous intent.

"Dare to cause trouble like this in Fengtian City? I'll skin you alive today, or I'm not a Zhang!"

Qi Fan quickly followed, and just as he arrived at the gate of the Third Concubine's courtyard, he saw happy Shun, accompanied by two bodyguards, dragging the disheveled and haggard Dai Xiansheng out of the house like a chicken.

Dai Xiansheng's eyes were unfocused, clearly still under the influence of opium. He staggered several steps before regaining his balance after being pushed around.

"Master! Please spare Xiansheng!" The third concubine, dressed in her undergarments and with her hair disheveled, chased after him, crying as she lunged forward to stop him, her face streaked with tears and snot.

"He's only eighteen! He's still a child, please forgive him this time!"

As she spoke, she knelt down in front of Zhang Zuolin with a "plop," grabbed his trouser leg tightly, and cried her heart out.

Zhang Zuolin glanced down at her, his eyes filled with no pity, only a chilling coldness and resolute determination.

"Third brother, don't get involved in this today! You can't do anything about it anyway! I'm going to teach Dai Xiansheng a lesson today!"

The third concubine was trembling with sobs, completely oblivious to the murderous intent in Zhang Zuolin's eyes, and kept pleading.

But Qi Fan, standing nearby, saw it clearly: Zhang Zuolin was determined to use Dai Xiansheng's head to establish his authority.

By disciplining his "brother-in-law," he aimed to rectify the atmosphere in Fengtian, warn those relatives who abused their power, and incidentally establish his reputation for strict military discipline.

At this point, anyone who pleads for mercy is essentially walking into the line of fire!

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Zuolin suddenly swung his leg, forcefully breaking free from the third concubine's grip on his trouser leg. The force was so great that the third concubine staggered and fell to the ground.

He didn't even glance at the third concubine, but turned to Xishun and gave her a stern order.

"Xishun! Drag this wretched child out and kill him on the spot!"

"yes!"

Xi Shun didn't dare to delay and immediately responded, signaling his personal guards to help Dai Xiansheng walk out.

Zhang Zuolin stood with his hands behind his back, his menacing aura so intense it seemed to freeze the air around him. Behind him, only his third concubine knelt on the cold ground, weeping uncontrollably.

"My lord! Please have mercy! Xiansheng is still young, please spare his life!"

This sudden turn of events left Qi Fan's head spinning, instantly turning into a jumbled mess.

He knew that forcibly stopping him now would be like walking into the line of fire, but he couldn't just stand by and watch Dai Xiansheng get killed!

In a flash, he had a sudden inspiration. Even if he had to deal with it, he should first take the person outside. This would at least buy him more time to come up with a solution, which was better than taking action directly in the third concubine's courtyard!

Thinking of this, Qi Fan didn't dare to delay. He rushed to the Third Concubine's side, squatted down, and gently patted her trembling shoulder.

"Third Aunt, please don't cry! Crying won't solve anything. You wait here, I'll go and think of a way to stop Father!"

Hearing the sound, the third concubine raised her head through teary eyes and looked at Qi Fan, who was only ten years old, with her eyes full of confusion and despair.

Having been Zhang Zuolin's wife for so many years, she knew his temper better than anyone else. Once he made up his mind to kill, not even the King of Heaven himself could stop him, let alone a child.

But at this moment, this small figure became her only lifeline, and she choked back tears as she grabbed Qi Fan's hand.

"Liu Zi...you must save your uncle...I'm begging you, Third Aunt..."

Those hands were icy cold and trembling, conveying extreme fear and helplessness.

Qi Fan's heart sank, and he nodded vigorously.

"Don't worry, I will do my best!"

After saying that, he gently pulled away from the third concubine's hand, turned around and quickly chased after Zhang Zuolin in the direction he had left.