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

Qi Fan and the others were dragged to the police station by the police. In the chaos, Bao Yulin took the opportunity to break free and stumbled all the way to the Marshal's Mansion.

The boy was also badly beaten; his face was bruised and swollen, and tears mixed with blood streamed down his face. He looked utterly miserable.

He had just rushed into the gate of the Marshal's Mansion when he was bumped into by Xishun.

When Xi Shun saw Bao Yulin, who was usually mischievous, in such a miserable state, her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly went forward to help him up.

"Yulin? What happened to you? Who beat you up like this?"

Bao Yulin was sobbing uncontrollably and couldn't finish a sentence.

"Uncle Xishun...we were attacked by the Japanese...Brother Hanqing, Brother Tingshu, and the others...they've all been arrested by the police!"

"What?!" happy Shun's expression changed drastically, and his pupils contracted sharply.

The young marshal was bullied by the Japanese and even arrested by the police? This has caused a huge uproar!

He instantly flew into a rage, pulling out a pistol from his waist while yelling at the guards in the mansion.

"Get the hell out of here! Emergency assembly! Grab your weapons and follow me!"

After shouting the order, happy Shun suddenly realized: This matter is too big; we must report to the Marshal first!

He tucked the gun into his waistband, grabbed Bao Yulin, and ran wildly toward Zhang Zuolin's study, his steps as fast as if he were riding on wheels of fire.

"Master! Something terrible has happened!" happy Shun kicked open the study door and shouted at the top of his lungs.

Zhang Zuolin was studying military affairs with a map when he was startled by the shout. He looked up and saw Xishun looking flustered, dragging a child with a bruised and swollen face. His brows furrowed instantly.

"What's the panic? Is the sky falling down?"

happy Shun, panting heavily, pointed at Bao Yulin.

"Liu Zi got into a fight with the Japanese soldiers, got beaten up, and was arrested by the police! Yu Lin came back to report this!"

"What the hell?!" Zhang Zuolin's anger flared up instantly. He slammed his hand on the table, and the teacup on the table crashed to the ground and shattered.

Without saying a word, he grabbed a German submachine gun that was standing in the corner, slammed the butt of the gun on the ground, turned around and rushed towards the door, cursing all the while.

"That damn Japanese devil! How dare he touch my son? He's got a death wish! I'll beat him up myself, but nobody else is allowed to lay a finger on him!"

The fifth concubine happened to be bringing in ginseng tea when she saw Zhang Zuolin's desperate stance, grabbing his weapon. She was so frightened that she quickly put down her teacup and chased after him, shouting as she went.

"Master! Master, slow down! What's wrong? Don't act rashly!"

Zhang Zuolin didn't even turn around, and shouted at Xishun in his hoarse voice.

"Xishun! Pass on my order! Bring everyone you can from the manor to the South Manchuria Railway Station! I want to see who's so blind as to dare bully Zhang Zuolin's son in Fengtian!"

"Master! You mustn't!" Fifth Concubine hurried after him, grabbed his arm tightly, and pleaded urgently.

"South Manchuria Railway Station is Japanese concession territory! If you rush there recklessly with your men and a fight breaks out, it will be a huge problem! Once things get out of control, no one can suppress it!"

These words were like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing half of Zhang Zuolin's anger.

He stopped abruptly, his chest heaving, his mind racing: Fifth Concubine was right. Although he was a local tyrant in Fengtian, he was nominally under President Yuan's control.

Now that the Republic of China has signed treaties with Japan and Russia, it would be a huge problem if a war broke out in the concession areas.

He couldn't bear such a sin now! Besides, that old fox Feng Delin had been eyeing him covetously, just waiting for him to make a mistake so he could take advantage of the situation and reap the benefits!

Having figured out the crux of the matter, Zhang Zuolin took a few deep breaths, suppressed his anger, and glared at her.

"You're right! I can't touch the Japanese territory for now, but I can always go to my own, right?"

He turned to look at Xishun, his eyes filled with ruthlessness.

"Xishun! Go find Brigade Commander Tang right now! Didn't we just buy 200 heavy machine guns from Germany? Tell him not to go to Beidaying to test them, and move the troops to Baolin Temple near the South Manchuria Railway Station! Bring all 200 heavy machine guns over there and let them test them out!"

happy Shun's eyes lit up, and he immediately replied, "Okay! I'll get right on it!"

Seeing this, the fifth concubine added another sentence.

"Master, why don't you give Kikuchi a call? We give him so many silver dollars every year, he's not just sitting around doing nothing! Let's quickly ask him what's going on."

"Oh dear! Look at my brain!" Zhang Zuolin slapped his thigh, suddenly realizing what he had done, and said to his fifth concubine.

"You're so thoughtful! I'll call Kikuchi right now and tell him to get things done for me!"

While Zhang Zuolin hurriedly dialed Kikuchi's number, Tang Yulin received the order from Xishun and, without delay, immediately mobilized all the troops of his 53rd Brigade.

The entire brigade, carrying their weapons, marched in a grand procession to the outside of Baolin Temple. The densely packed troops lined up in the open space, with two hundred brand-new German heavy machine guns positioned in front of them, their dark muzzles all aimed at the center of the open space.

With Tang Yulin's order, the "test firing" officially began, and two hundred heavy machine guns opened fire simultaneously.

"Da da da!"

Gunshots rolled like thunder, shaking the ground slightly. The muzzles of guns spewed out a continuous stream of fire, and a dense rain of bullets poured down, sweeping dust into the open space in front.

The commotion was so loud that it could be heard clearly throughout almost the entire city of Fengtian.

Tang Yulin simply stood at the entrance of Baolin Temple with a heavy machine gun in his arms, pulled the trigger himself, and grinned menacingly.

"Hahaha! Give it your all! Plenty of bullets, don't worry about running out! Nobody stop firing, let the little devils hear what's going on!"

Baolin Temple is not far from the South Manchuria Railway Station. The deafening gunshots instantly alerted the police officers at the South Manchuria Railway Station.

When the gunshots rang out, the police officers in the station were terrified, thinking that Zhang Zuolin's troops had attacked. On the spot, the police officers, who were usually very timid, wet their pants and collapsed on the ground, unable to stand up.

The gunfire didn't stop once it started, continuing from the afternoon until evening.

The Japanese police officers in the police station were so frightened that they huddled in a corner, trembling and not daring to breathe.

Death itself is not frightening; what is most agonizing is this unknown wait. They do not know when the gunfire will stop, nor do they know if Zhang Zuolin is really going to rush in and mow them all down. This feeling of having their lives in someone else's hands makes them wish they could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Just when everyone was in a state of extreme fear and anxiety, a man dressed in a Japanese military uniform walked in.

He wore round-framed glasses and looked refined, but the rank insignia on his shoulders clearly showed that he held a high position.

The visitor was none other than Kikuchi, Zhang Zuolin's advisor.

When the police saw him at the police station, they rushed to him as if he were their lifeline, calling out "Lord Kikuchi" in Japanese repeatedly, their eyes full of pleading.

Inside the cell, Qi Fan was leaning against the wall, resting with his eyes closed. Hearing the commotion outside, he opened his eyes and caught sight of Kikuchi walking in. He immediately understood what was going on.

This kid is wearing a military uniform, so he must be of high rank. And he came in at this critical moment. He's probably sent by his father to get him out of trouble.

As expected, Kikuchi didn't even look at the police officers surrounding him. His gaze swept around the police station, and he raised his hand to give the obsequious Japanese policeman at the front a resounding slap.

"Snapped!"

The crisp sound was particularly jarring in the police station. The policeman was spun around halfway by the slap, and half of his face instantly became red and swollen. He was completely stunned, covering his face and staring blankly at Kikuchi.

"Lord Kikuchi...why...why did you hit me?"

Kikuchi's face was ashen, his eyes blazing with anger, as he demanded an explanation in a stern voice.

"What about the children?"

"W-what child?" The policeman hadn't even reacted yet, and stammered back.

"Those are the Chinese children you arrested!"

"They...they're still in the back cells! I'll go release them right now! Right now!"

"Let's go now!"

Kikuchi gave a cold shout, and the policeman scrambled towards the prison cell, soon bringing Qi Fan, Zhang Tingshu, and the others out.

The children, their faces still bearing bruises from the fight, couldn't help but frown when they saw Kikuchi.

Kikuchi walked past the policeman, quickly reached Qi Fan, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Hanqing, I think you know what to say after we get out, right?"

Qi Fan raised an eyebrow, looking at Kikuchi with interest, and feigned ignorance: "Oh? How should I say it?"

"This is just a trivial little dispute, isn't it?" Kikuchi lowered his voice, his eyes carrying a warning.

"Besides, we didn't know your identity beforehand. You're a smart kid, you should understand what this means. If things get out of hand, it won't benefit anyone."

Qi Fan knew perfectly well that Kikuchi's words were an attempt to save face for both sides; it was indeed not the time to completely break ties with the Japanese yet.

"Don't worry, I understand. When I get out, I'll say it was just a few kids playing around, it has nothing to do with the Fengtian Army or your lives."

After saying that, he gave Zhang Tingshu and the others a look and walked towards the police station entrance first.

The children immediately followed, without glancing back at the Japanese police.

Kikuchi stood there, watching Qi Fan's departing figure, his gaze gradually becoming serious. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly: This young man is so young, yet so insightful, and he can accurately grasp the situation... He will surely become a great man in the future. If things go wrong, he might become the biggest hidden danger to our empire in the Northeast!