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

The cold muzzle of the gun was pressed firmly against his forehead. Tang Yulin's pupils shrank, and his face was full of astonishment. He never expected that his seemingly naive nephew would dare to launch such a sudden attack.

After a moment of stunned silence, he suppressed his fear and gritted his teeth as he questioned her.

"Sixth Son, what do you mean by this? You think you can control the entire 53rd Brigade just by kidnapping me? That's wishful thinking!"

Qi Fan's lips curled into a cold smile, his eyes sharp as knives.

"Fourth Master, what I want has never been to control the entire 53rd Brigade. Controlling you is enough. The rest will be taken care of by others."

A fierce glint flashed in Tang Yulin's eyes, and he wanted to shout for help as soon as he moved his throat.

Qi Fan reacted quickly, instantly seeing through his intentions and pulling the trigger without hesitation!

"Bang!"

The gunshot was deafening, and Tang Yulin's thigh was instantly pierced by a bloody hole, from which blood gushed out, soaking through his military trousers.

The intense pain sent a shiver through his body, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back. A scream was stuck in his throat, and he could only let out a muffled groan of pain.

"Fourth Master." Qi Fan's voice remained calm, yet carried an undeniable air of authority.

"Nephew, I advise you to behave yourself. My marksmanship is so-so. If I accidentally discharge the gun and hit the wrong spot, it will be difficult to handle."

Tang Yulin was in so much pain that his face turned pale, but he still forced himself to endure it, staring at Qi Fan with a cold smile.

"You little brat, I really underestimated you! This is the Tang residence, my territory! Do you think you can lead me out unscathed?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a burst of rapid gunfire erupted outside the conference room. The sounds of gunfire rose and fell, interspersed with a few short screams, which were particularly jarring in the silent night.

The gunfire lasted for three or four minutes before abruptly stopping, as if it had never been fired.

As the gunshots faded, Tang Yulin's face gradually turned ashen.

The next second, the conference room door was pushed open, and Yan Shuangying, dressed in black, walked in with steady steps, carrying a faint smell of gunpowder.

He walked to Qi Fan's side and respectfully nodded to report.

"Hanqing, the entire Tang residence is now completely under our control. All the soldiers who resisted were killed, and all the officers of the 53rd Brigade have been subdued and are under our guard; not one has escaped."

"Impossible!" Tang Yulin was struck dumb, his body went limp and he almost collapsed to the ground, his voice trembling as he roared.

"I have an entire company of soldiers stationed at my residence! Every single one of them is elite. How could you possibly control them so quickly? You're lying to me!"

Qi Fan slowly withdrew the pistol from his forehead, his eyes filled with disdain.

"Elite? In my eyes, they're nothing but a bunch of cowardly good-for-nothings like you! When it comes to life and death, they'll run faster than anyone else!"

Tang Yulin then fully realized that he had completely lost all his bargaining chips and had no capital left to resist.

His arrogant and domineering expression vanished instantly, replaced by a fawning smile.

"Nephew, let's talk this out! Look, the Tang family is already under your control, and the 53rd Brigade can't cause any trouble anymore. We're family, there's no need to be so ruthless, right?"

Seeing Tang Yulin's cowardly behavior of being arrogant at first and then obsequious, Qi Fan felt a wave of nausea and a strong sense of disgust welling up inside him.

He finally understood why Tang Yulin, who commanded 200,000 troops, was able to lose the entire Rehe region in just three days. With such a cowardly and spineless general, how much courage could his soldiers possibly have?

As the old saying goes, a cowardly soldier is a coward, but a cowardly general makes a whole army cowardly.

This statement couldn't be more fitting when applied to Tang Yulin and his 53rd Brigade.

Qi Fan didn't bother to look at him again and turned to give Yan Shuangying a deep order.

"Go and make the arrangements. Use the Tang residence's communication equipment to issue orders that all units of the 53rd Brigade immediately lay down their weapons and cease resistance. Anyone who dares to disobey will be treated as a traitor and executed without exception!"

"Yes!" Yan Shuangying replied respectfully, turned around and left quickly, his execution swift and decisive.

After Yan Shuangying left, Tang Yulin slumped to the ground, the excruciating pain in his thigh and the despair he felt completely stripped him of his previous toughness, leaving him only with humble pleas.

He dragged his injured leg and moved with difficulty toward Qi Fan, his voice trembling with tears.

"Liu Zi! You can't treat me like this! Have you forgotten how much your Fourth Uncle doted on you when you were little? He always gave you the best things first. Aren't you afraid of what might happen if you treat me like this...?"

"Bang!"

The piercing gunshot rang out again, interrupting Tang Yulin's wailing.

Qi Fan was too lazy to listen to his spineless nonsense. His disgust for such a coward who fled without a fight and begged for mercy in the face of battle had already reached its peak.

He felt nauseous if this guy lived in his sight for even a second longer.

Even though he never liked to kill people on his own initiative, he didn't hesitate for a second when it came to scoundrels like Tang Yulin.

Warm blood splattered onto Qi Fan's hand, carrying a strong, fishy smell.

He was mentally prepared, knowing that this trip would inevitably involve bloodshed, but this was, after all, the first time he had personally ended a life since he transmigrated here.

A strong sense of physical discomfort welled up inside him, and his stomach churned violently. He barely managed to hold it in and not vomit.

Tang Yulin's eyes were wide open, his face still showing a pleading humility, and his body slumped down.

He never imagined that he would die at the hands of his beloved nephew.

Qi Fan frowned, took out his handkerchief and wiped the blood off his hands. He then stayed at the Tang residence for a while with a sullen face. After Yan Shuangying finished dealing with the follow-up matters such as issuing communication orders and taking over the troops, he left the Tang residence with him.

Outside the Tang residence, Qi Fan gave a few brief instructions, then had Yan Shuangying lead the Yan Ying Group away. He then turned around alone, got into his car, and swaggered off toward the Marshal's Mansion.

Qi Fan returned to the Marshal's Mansion alone. As soon as he stepped into the brightly lit meeting hall, he saw Zhang Zuolin sitting in a chair next to the main seat, waiting for him.

Yang Yuting stood solemnly on the left, Zhang Zuoxiang on the right, and several core military officers surrounded the conference table, all their eyes fixed on him.

When Zhang Zuolin saw him enter, his brows furrowed slightly, and he spoke first.

"Why did you take so long? How did your chat with your Uncle Tang go? Did things go smoothly?"

Qi Fan remained calm, a faint smell of gunpowder still lingering on his body. He nodded slightly to Zhang Zuolin.

"Successfully, everything is done."

Zhang Zuolin didn't delve into the extent to which he meant by "getting things done," simply assuming that he had completed the task of "smoothing things over," and nodded.

"Well done."

After saying that, he suddenly turned to look at the officers at the table, his voice rising abruptly, tinged with a deliberate sense of grief and indignation.

"Look at this, everyone! I, Zhang Zuolin, have been more than lenient with Tang Yulin, haven't I? But he turned around and joined forces with Feng Delin to send a telegram to Beijing, forcing me to step down! He was the one who started this complete severance of ties!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Zuolin slowly sat back in his seat, placed his hands heavily on the edge of the table, and swept his eyes over everyone with an authoritative gaze, issuing his orders word by word.

"To safeguard the overall situation in Fengtian Province and stabilize the morale of the entire city, I hereby order all brigades and regiments to immediately take up their designated defensive positions and be on high alert! Furthermore, I hereby order the 53rd Brigade to immediately withdraw from the provincial capital and garrison Xinmin!"

Qi Fan stood to the side, arms crossed, watching his father put on this "justified" act with a relaxed expression.

He knew perfectly well that even if Zhang Zuolin followed his original strategy, he would have needed a respectable pretext. These words were merely his father using a righteous pretext to justify his subsequent actions.

He understood but didn't say anything; this was the tacit understanding he had with his father over the years.

"yes!"

The officers all accepted the order in unison, not daring to delay for a moment, and quickly turned around and left to make arrangements.

Soon only the father and son remained in the meeting room.

Seeing Qi Fan standing still with a calm expression, Zhang Zuolin mistakenly thought he was stunned by the scene just now.

He got up and walked to Qi Fan's side, patted his son on the shoulder, his tone both comforting and full of pride.

"Little Liu, stop standing there, go back to sleep. Don't worry, when you wake up, Fengtian will still be Fengtian!"

As he spoke, he recalled his "strategic planning" and couldn't help but burst into smug laughter.

But the triumphant laughter had barely faded when Xi Shun, the steward of the Marshal's Mansion, rushed in from outside, his face ashen and his expression so panicked that he looked like he had lost his soul.

He didn't dare to speak loudly. He rushed to Zhang Zuolin's side in three steps, leaned down and whispered a few words in his ear that only the two of them could hear.

Zhang Zuolin's smile froze instantly, his eyes widened in shock, and his smugness was replaced by astonishment.

As if he hadn't heard clearly, he suddenly pushed Xishun away and exclaimed in surprise.

"What?! Tang Yulin is dead?! The 53rd Brigade... the entire 53rd Brigade surrendered?!"