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

Zhang Zuolin snorted, stopped arguing with Qi Fan, and turned around to take out a small, exquisitely carved wooden box from the bedside.

He opened the box and carefully took out seven brand-new silver notes, each printed with the words "Ten Thousand Silver Dollars".

When handing over the ticket, Zhang Zuolin's hand visibly paused, his fingertips clenching slightly, his eyes filled with reluctance, as if he were handing over not just a banknote, but his beloved child.

Qi Fan had no time to care whether his father felt sorry for him or not. He quickly reached forward and snatched the seven silver notes from his hand. As if afraid that his father would change his mind, he quickly folded them and put them in his pocket before letting out a sigh of relief.

Seeing his impatient appearance, Zhang Zuolin felt sorry for him and gave him some instructions.

"You brat, you'd better watch how you spend this money! This isn't military pay; it's my hard-earned money, every single penny of it is earned honestly!"

"I know, I know!" Qi Fan waved his hand, looking completely unconcerned.

"Don't worry, I'll definitely spend it wisely and not waste it on useless things."

After saying that, he pocketed the silver notes, turned around and walked out, fearing that Zhang Zuolin might change his mind again.

Having secured the initial funding, Qi Fan didn't waste any time. He immediately went to Dai Xiansheng and explained his detailed plan for establishing the Seventh Intelligence Bureau, along with his own ideas.

Having been involved in both official and military circles, Dai Xiansheng was very familiar with the ins and outs of the business. Qi Fan only needed to explain a few key points, and Dai Xiansheng understood them completely.

This is to weave a network of secret agents spanning various forces, with each node remaining hidden and independent.

"Hanqing, you can rest assured and leave this matter to me!" Dai Xiansheng's eyes were firm, and his tone was resolute.

"I guarantee that within six months, I will have the framework of Intelligence Bureau No. 7 in place for you, and the first batch of informants will be planted in key positions!"

Qi Fan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he understood quickly, and patted him on the shoulder with a smile.

"I knew I'd come to the right person. Remember, now that you're in power, you have to walk the straight path and not mess things up like before. This is your chance to start anew, and it's also a testament to my trust in you."

Dai Xiansheng's eyes instantly reddened, and he looked at Qi Fan with gratitude, nodding heavily.

"Don't worry! Having just escaped death, I cherish these days more than anyone else. You gave me this life, and I dare not betray that trust. From now on, I will definitely work honestly and never touch those crooked paths again!"

"Okay, I'm relieved to hear that." Qi Fan nodded in satisfaction.

"I've already secured the initial funding. If you need any more money later, just let me know. Don't hesitate to ask."

Dai Xiansheng nodded again, then seemed to remember something and softened his tone.

"But Hanqing, don't be too hasty. The most crucial thing for this kind of intelligence department is manpower. Their identities must be clean, their mouths must be tight, and they must be loyal. They must be strictly screened, and there can be no carelessness. So the initial setup will definitely be slow, and we have to take it one step at a time."

Qi Fan waved his hand dismissively, his tone relaxed.

"What's the rush? Good things take time. Just focus on doing it steadily and building a solid foundation; that's more important than anything else. I won't pressure you."

After explaining everything to Dai Xiansheng, Qi Fan turned and went back to his room.

He pushed open the door, lay down on the bed, stretched out his limbs, and let out a long sigh of relief. After working for most of the day, he had finally finalized the launch of Intelligence Bureau No. 7.

But he had barely relaxed for two seconds when the issue of funds weighed heavily on his mind like a stone. Today's experience served as an early warning: money is the foundation of survival.

He was calculating in his mind that supporting an army was an expensive business, and now, in addition to the children like Yan Shuangying and the cavalry company, there was also the Seventh Intelligence Bureau to spend money on.

Recruiting staff, procuring equipment, and paying salaries—none of these could be done without the money.

Most of the money I have now is my mother's savings, which is basically just sitting around and spending it all without earning anything.

More importantly, he knew that the system would distribute a lot more troops to him in the future, and the number of people he would have to support would only increase, and the expenses would multiply. He had to find a stable way to make money.

This was a turbulent era, and making money wasn't actually that difficult. Opening casinos, running opium dens, or even smuggling goods could quickly make you a fortune.

Qi Fan ruled out these options without even thinking about them. He was Zhang Zuolin's eldest son and the future heir to the Fengtian Army. Given his status, he absolutely could not touch these treacherous and disastrous schemes, as they would not only disgrace the Marshal's Mansion but also violate his bottom line.

Thinking of this, Qi Fan couldn't help but envy Zhang Xueliang later on.

He married Yu Fengzhi, a very wealthy woman. She had money and connections. More importantly, Yu Fengzhi was reasonable, shrewd, and capable. Later, a lot of the military expenses under Zhang Xueliang's command were earned by Yu Fengzhi managing her businesses.

With such a capable wife, there's no need to worry about money at all.

Now Qi Fan finally understood what it meant to be "even a hero can be brought down by a penny."

However, Qi Fan was not one to dwell on things. Since he couldn't think of a sure way to make money for the time being, he simply put it aside for now.

With the funds he currently has, maintaining the cavalry company and Intelligence Agency No. 7 for two or three years shouldn't be a problem.

In a few more years, Yu Fengzhi will be ready to marry me.

By then, with this "God of Wealth" as a capable helper, the money problem will naturally be solved. Right now, we just need to focus on doing our current tasks well.

In the days that followed, Zhang Zuolin did not relax his education of Qi Fan at all; on the contrary, he became even more attentive and wished he could invite all the most capable teachers in the world to teach him.

Foreign teachers who taught English, returned overseas students who taught Japanese, veterans who taught shooting, and martial arts masters who taught combat—all sorts of teachers came one after another.

Zhang Zuolin forced him to learn anything that could help him establish himself in the future.

Even those unorthodox self-defense techniques and the art of reading people, Qi Fan secretly learned a fair share of them by taking advantage of his interactions with his teacher.

My originally leisurely days were filled to the brim, keeping me so busy I barely had time to breathe.

Time flies, and five years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Qi Fan has grown into a tall and straight young man. The childishness in his eyes has faded, replaced by a more mature and sharp look, completely unlike his impetuous self back then.

That same year, the newly matured Qi Lao Er couldn't wait any longer and immediately took his cousin's wife as his wife.

Qi Fan also successfully completed the tasks issued by the system. He not only raised the favorability of the second and fifth concubines to over 80%, but also won over the people around him, such as Xi Shun and Zhang Tingshu, who were all convinced of his worth and considered him one of their own. Of course, there was also our most important cousin-in-law.

That year, the political landscape of the Republic of China changed dramatically. Zhang Zuolin was promoted to Military Governor of Fengtian, and the Fengtian Army's influence reached its peak.

Meanwhile, the boys Yan Shuangying used to take care of have all grown into capable young men.

After five years of rigorous training, they have all developed exceptional skills and their combat capabilities should not be underestimated.

Over the past five years, they have helped Qi Fan thwart numerous attacks, both overt and covert, especially the seven or eight assassination attempts launched against him by Xiao Rizi. They have all managed to defuse them silently.

Qi Fan gave this unit a resounding name: "Yan Ying Group".

The group consists of eighteen people, known as "Ten Swallows and Eight Eagles," each a top expert in assassination and infiltration, who became his most reliable trump card hidden in the shadows.