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

The night was as dark as ink. Qi Fan accompanied Zhang Zuolin back to the Marshal's Mansion. The carriage was filled with the lingering smell of alcohol. Zhang Zuolin was already seven or eight parts drunk. He leaned against the carriage wall and suddenly spoke.

"Little Liu, this is the world of martial arts. All those sworn brothers who kowtow and pledge allegiance, all those life-or-death friendships, become insignificant and worthless when it comes to profit."

"You can't say that entirely. Didn't Uncle Ma, Ma Longtan, come all the way here to help you? If it weren't for him, Uncle Feng might not have been able to get his way so easily."

"Help me?" Zhang Zuolin scoffed, a hint of weariness and self-mockery flashing in his eyes.

"Do you think your Uncle Ma helped for nothing? That appointment order from President Yuan was bought by your old man for a full 100,000 silver dollars! Otherwise, do you think he would have traveled all the way from out of town for such a trivial matter?"

"One hundred thousand silver dollars?" Qi Fan's heart skipped a beat, his pupils contracted slightly, and he suddenly realized what was going on.

Before Qi Fan could fully process the news, Zhang Zuolin sighed heavily again.

"You think your father is rich? Supporting so many soldiers, every single one costs money! Our Fengtian Army may seem like a united front, but in reality, countless people within are after their own interests. Not to mention the 'little devils' lurking around, eyeing us covetously. One wrong step, and it's all over!"

Qi Fan quietly looked at Zhang Zuolin in front of him, the "King of the Northeast" who dominated the Northeast. He was usually a majestic and imposing figure, but now he was a drunken old man.

Zhang Zuolin suddenly turned his head and stared straight at Qi Fan.

Do you know why I insist you marry that girl from the Yu family?

"Because of your father, I'm broke."

"In this world, war is all about burning money. Without strong financial backing, even the most capable army can't hold out. The Yu family is wealthy, so marrying a girl from the Yu family will give you their financial support. Besides, I've already found out that the Yu family girl is a shrewd businesswoman. Marrying her will only give you an advantage, nothing bad."

Qi Fan understood, but his face remained expressionless.

He certainly knew the benefits of this marriage; he himself controlled the army and knew better than anyone how expensive it was to maintain an army.

Just like the A-level army card that the system rewarded him before, he still doesn't dare to use it easily.

Once activated, the card can immediately summon a well-equipped artillery brigade, but the cost of this unit's pay, ammunition, and provisions is astronomical.

The reason he hasn't summoned them is twofold: firstly, the current situation doesn't require such strong firepower, and secondly, it's too expensive.

No sooner had the father and son finished speaking than a loud "BOOM!" suddenly exploded beside the car!

The violent shockwave shook the car violently, and the windows shattered instantly, scattering shards everywhere.

happy Shun reacted the fastest; almost at the same time as the explosion, he lunged to the side of the carriage and yanked open the door.

"General! Hanqing! Get out of the car quickly!" He said, pulling the two men behind him and quickly dragging them to the side of the car for cover.

Qi Fan had just regained his footing when he saw more than a dozen assassins dressed in black and holding pistols emerge from the street corner. Gun muzzles flashed continuously, and bullets whizzed toward the carriage, hitting it with muffled thuds.

"Are they Feng Delin's men?" Qi Fan huddled behind the car, peering through the gaps in the vehicle towards the assassin, his brow furrowed.

Judging from this display, it was clearly premeditated.

Zhang Zuolin also recovered from his initial shock, squinted at the assassin's approach, and decisively shook his head.

"It wasn't him! The matter has been settled today. Even if Feng Delin hates me, he wouldn't choose to make a move at this critical juncture. That would be too stupid."

"Who could it be?" Qi Fan pressed.

"Who cares who it is! Let's run for our lives first!" Zhang Zuolin cursed, pulling Qi Fan into a nearby alley.

happy Shun then picked up the Mauser pistol from his waist, turned around and returned fire in the direction of the assassin. The bullets accurately hit the wall at the alley entrance, temporarily suppressing the enemy's firepower and buying time for the two to escape.

Qi Fan was dragged along by Zhang Zuolin, stumbling and running wildly towards the Marshal's Mansion.

But after running only a few steps, three more assassins rushed out from the alleyway in front of them and opened fire without saying a word!

In the nick of time, Qi Fan reacted quickly, pulling Zhang Zuolin aside and the two of them hiding at the corner of the alley.

With two sharp "whoosh" sounds, the bullets grazed Zhang Zuolin's scalp and struck the wall behind him, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Zhang Zuolin was so frightened that his heart almost jumped out of his chest. He looked at Qi Fan, panting heavily.

"Damn it! Little Six, you go first! They're coming for me, don't worry about me!"

Qi Fan felt a warmth in his heart when he saw his father's appearance. He hadn't expected that Zhang Zuolin's first concern would be his safety at this critical moment.

But he himself remained completely calm, only glancing meaningfully in the direction of the assassins.

Just then, a burst of rapid, precise, and ruthless gunfire suddenly rang out from the shadows not far from the two.

Before Qi Fan and Zhang Zuolin could react, the assassins at the alley entrance fell to the ground, lifeless.

The two cautiously peeked out and saw that all the assassins had been killed. Several dark figures flashed at the end of the street and quickly disappeared into the deep night.

Qi Fan knew immediately that it must be someone from the "Yan Ying Group".

Although he rarely met these people and didn't know exactly how Yan Shuangying trained them, these people had followed him silently like shadows for the past five years, appearing immediately whenever he encountered danger.

With them around, he naturally had nothing to worry about.

Zhang Zuolin stared in the direction where the dark figure disappeared, his brows furrowed in confusion.

"Whose men are these? When did such a powerful force emerge in Fengtian City?"

Qi Fan was afraid that his father would press the matter further and expose the existence of the Yan Ying Group, so he quickly tugged at his arm.

"Dad, don't worry about whose side they are! Let's get out of here quickly, or we'll be in danger if there's an ambush!"

"Yes, yes, let's go!" Zhang Zuolin finally came to his senses and, not daring to delay, pulled Qi Fan along and quickened his pace, running wildly towards the Marshal's Mansion.

Meanwhile, in a secluded Japanese-style meeting room within Fengtian City, the atmosphere was oppressively suffocating.

A dozen or so young men in military uniforms sat in a circle, with several Han Chinese men with queues standing nearby; they were descendants of the fallen Manchu nobility.

"So many people were sent out, yet they couldn't even kill Zhang Zuolin?" A Qing dynasty loyalist with a queue slammed his fist on the table and stood up abruptly, his eyes filled with rage, and questioned the Japanese man opposite him in a stern voice.

"What have you all been doing all this time? You're all so useless!"

The leading Japanese officer's face was ashen, his hands clenched into fists as he suppressed his anger.

He cursed inwardly: Old bastard, if it weren't for the need for you Manchu remnants to win people's hearts and stabilize local power, I would have dragged you out and shot you long ago!

No matter how intense the anger, one must still maintain a facade of peace.

He took a deep breath and spoke slowly.

"Please calm down, Your Excellency. We have dispatched an entire elite squad and made every effort, but Zhang Zuolin's bodyguards reacted swiftly, and an unknown force intervened halfway, which caused the plan to fail."

"Failure is failure! What's the point of making excuses!"

Another Qing dynasty nobleman snorted coldly, his tone full of disdain.

"We, as nobles of the imperial family, disdain to associate with bandits like Zhang Zuolin. If you want the full support of our Manchu nobility and to help us restore the monarchy as soon as possible, you'd better show us some real ability and not disappoint us again!"

A sinister glint flashed in the eyes of the Japanese officer, but he still stood up and bowed slightly.

"Please rest assured, everyone. Our Little Life Empire always keeps its word and will give you a reasonable explanation. As for Zhang Zuolin, we will replan our next steps and eliminate him as soon as possible."

After saying that, he stopped looking at the arrogant Manchu remnants, turned around and led his men out of the meeting hall. The door slammed shut, shutting out the angry shouts from inside.

Meanwhile, the main hall of the Marshal's Mansion was brightly lit.

Zhang Zuolin and Qi Fan had barely sat down and taken a sip of hot tea to calm themselves when Xi Shun rushed in from outside.

"Commander! We've found out!"

"Oh? Tell me about it." Zhang Zuolin put down his teacup, his expression instantly turning serious.

"The assassins used only Japanese-made firearms, and during our investigation of the scene, we discovered that their footprints had distinct characteristics, suggesting they likely wore wooden clogs regularly. Considering all these clues, it's highly probable that these assassins were sent by Xiao Rizi!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zuolin not only didn't get angry, but instead laughed heartily.

"What a leisurely life! You finally couldn't sit still any longer!" He paused, his tone suddenly becoming calm, and gave instructions to Xi Shun.

"Immediately pass on the word: keep the assassin's identity a secret for now, don't let it get out of hand, suppress this matter as much as possible, and don't let it escalate."

Upon hearing this, Qi Fan looked at Zhang Zuolin with a face full of doubt: "Father? You're just going to let it go like that? Can you swallow this insult?"

"What else can we do if we don't swallow it?" Zhang Zuolin sighed, his eyes full of weighing options.

"Right now, our Fengtian Army's foundation is not yet stable, and there are still many internal problems to be fixed. This is not the time to break ties with the Japanese. A small act of impatience could ruin a big plan. Let's swallow this anger for now!"