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

When Qi Fan arrived at the Baoding Military Academy with Feng Yong, it was just at the tail end of the exams.

The two didn't dare to linger and hurriedly entered the examination room after giving their names.

For warlord sons like them, the so-called entrance exam was just a formality. Their families had already arranged the places, and they only needed to put in a little effort in the exam room to secure their admission.

As expected, the two hastily finished their exams, handed them in, and walked out of the exam hall chatting and laughing. Just as they turned the corner of the teaching building, a postman in a dark green uniform quickly came up to them, his gaze sweeping over the two of them before finally settling on Qi Fan.

"Is this Mr. Zhang Hanqing? There is an email for you here. Please sign for it."

Qi Fan paused for a moment, then reached out and took the delivery slip from the postman, his mind filled with doubt.

He had only been in Baoding for two hours, and hadn't even gotten his footing yet. Who would bother to send him a letter?

Moreover, the envelope was spotless, without even the sender's signature or address, which seemed eerie.

After signing the email and receiving it, Qi Fan held the thin envelope between his fingers. Before he could think about it, Feng Yong curiously leaned over, put an arm around his shoulder, and teased him with winks and grimaces.

"Wow, Hanqing! You've only just arrived in Baoding and you're already getting attention? Which girl wrote you this love letter? I bet you're not exactly staying put either, are you!"

As Feng Yong's teasing words faded, Qi Fan couldn't laugh at all; instead, the heaviness in his heart deepened.

He ran his fingertips over the envelope, vaguely feeling that the handwriting was somewhat familiar. Sure enough, after opening the outer envelope, there was another plain white envelope inside. There was no signature on the seal, only two characters written in tiny regular script on the front: Jia Xu.

Jia Xu!

Qi Fan's pupils contracted slightly, and he instantly tensed up.

Unless something extremely urgent had happened, Jia Xu would never have contacted him in such a public way.

He suppressed the turmoil in his heart, turned to look at Feng Yong who was still joking, and quickly found an excuse.

"Stop guessing. My stomach suddenly feels a little upset, I need to go to the restroom. Wait here for me a bit, I'll be right back."

Feng Yong was a perceptive person. He hadn't noticed it before, but when he saw Qi Fan's tense eyes, he immediately realized something was wrong.

This isn't just a stomachache; it's clearly an emergency.

But he was sensible enough to know that some things shouldn't be asked, so he stopped teasing and nodded.

"Okay, go ahead, I'll wait for you here."

Qi Fan didn't say anything more. He gripped the envelope and quickly walked to a secluded corner not far away. After looking around to make sure no one was there, he quickly opened Jia Xu's letter.

The letter was extremely brief, containing only a few words: "There are people in the capital who have laid an ambush to harm the lord. Finish the examination quickly and return home. Fengtian will receive you."

Is someone in the capital trying to harm him?

Qi Fan's heart sank, and he instantly understood the cause and effect.

He realized that his father had tricked him again. He wondered why his father had suddenly made him apply to the Baoding Military Academy. Was he being used as a hostage?

When the Zhili clique entered the pass to suppress the enemy, his father promised to help. In order to appease the Zhili clique, he sent his eldest son to apply for the Baoding Military Academy. This was to tell the Zhili clique that he had sent his son there and that they could rest assured that he, Old Zhang, would not turn his back on them.

In other words, although he is in danger right now, he is safe as long as he stays in Baoding. If he leaves Baoding, his journey will definitely not be smooth.

He didn't dare to delay. He took out a match and lit the letter. He watched the paper burn to ashes on his fingertips, then crushed the ashes with his foot. After confirming that there were no traces, he turned back to Feng Yong's side.

"How are you? Feeling better?"

When Feng Yong saw him return, he asked with concern, his gaze sweeping over the man's face, still revealing a hint of seriousness.

"It's alright." Qi Fan forced a relaxed smile and took the initiative to ask, "Feng Yong, how many days does the entrance exam for the Baoding Military Academy last?"

Feng Yong frowned and thought for a moment before answering truthfully, "The exams usually last three days. Today is the first day. There are two more written exams and one physical fitness test afterwards. What's wrong? Did something happen in Fengtian?"

Qi Fan didn't want to involve Feng Yong, so he went along with what Feng Yong was saying, scratching his head and showing a helpless yet sweet expression.

"No, not really. It's mainly my wife who said she wants to go back as soon as she finishes her exams because she misses me."

"Hey, I thought it was something big!" Feng Yong breathed a sigh of relief when he heard it was about this, and patted him on the back and laughed heartily.

"A man like you can't be tied down by a woman when you're out in the world! As long as you can't see your own chimney, you're still free, Zhang Hanqing! Never mind her, come on, I'll take you to a good place!"

Qi Fan didn't really have a better solution at the moment, so he suppressed his sense of urgency and nodded in agreement with Feng Yong's words.

"Okay, let's go take a look."

The two got into Feng Yong's new car, which sped out of the city and finally stopped outside a luxurious manor nestled against the mountains and by the water.

As soon as I entered the manor gate, I saw the courtyard brightly decorated, and it turned out to be a lively social dance party.

Many young people in the venue were dressed in smart formal attire. At a glance, many of them were applicants for the Baoding Military Academy who had taken the exam in the same venue during the day.

In addition, there were many women with exquisite makeup and gorgeous clothes in the venue.

These women were either daughters of well-known merchants in Baoding or sons of warlords like Qi Fan and Feng Yong. They all spoke elegantly, but their eyes held a deliberate scrutiny.

Qi Fan instantly understood that the people who came to Baoding to take the exam were all future reserve officers of the Beiyang Army, with unlimited prospects. To put it bluntly, these women were all there to "marry into a higher social class," hoping to take this opportunity to win the favor of future officers and secure a good marriage for themselves.

As soon as he and Feng Yong stepped into the ballroom, they almost immediately became the focus of the entire event.

Qi Fan's identity was no secret among the applicants. As the eldest son of Zhang Zuolin, the warlord of Fengtian, his background was enough to make everyone take notice.

Before the two could even stand still, a number of women, holding wine glasses and looking shy, surrounded them, their words full of flattery, and some even throwing themselves into their arms.

In a short while, Qi Fan was surrounded by a crowd. In addition to women who took the initiative to strike up a conversation, many applicants and local gentry also came over, hoping to take this opportunity to get to know him.

Looking at the scene before him, surrounded by admirers, Qi Fan suddenly understood why the young marshal in the original story could be so charming and romantic.

The mere fact that he was "Zhang Zuolin's son" was enough to make countless women flock to him. Such proactive advances would be hard for anyone to resist.

Qi Fan decided to let loose completely. He figured that the more he acted as if he was indulging in pleasure and wanted to stay in Baoding, the less vigilant the enemy in the shadows would be, and the safer he would be.

After all, he was a hostage. If anything happened to him, his father would probably come all the way to Kyoto.

For the next three days, Qi Fan had a blast with Feng Yong. He spent his days dealing with exams and his nights at dances, never turning down any woman who tried to woo him.

He secretly mocked himself, saying that Qi Lao Er had just "grown up" and needed this kind of "real-world experience" to hone his skills. He couldn't waste such a good opportunity to accumulate experience.

Moreover, he doesn't have to take responsibility for these charades; once he leaves Baoding, he can simply pack his bags and walk away.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the office in Beijing was extremely tense.

Feng Guozhang sat on a large mahogany chair, a cigarette between his fingers, his expression shifting between light and shadow amidst the swirling smoke.

"How is Zhang Zuolin's son doing in Baoding?"

The officer standing to the side immediately stepped forward and replied respectfully.

"Reporting to the Prime Minister, everything is as you instructed. We have people monitoring him the whole time. These past few days, apart from taking exams, he has spent the rest of his time at social balls, mingling with the daughters of merchants and military officers, looking like he's having a great time."

"Hmm." Feng Guozhang responded softly, took a drag of his cigarette, and slowly exhaled a smoke ring.

"Then keep a close eye on him. As long as he doesn't intend to leave Baoding, don't act rashly. Remember, as long as we have him in our hands, that old fox Zhang Zuolin won't dare to make any rash moves."

Kyoto was the capital of China for hundreds of years and the central hub for the power struggles of various forces, making it a strategic location fought over by warlords throughout history.

Feng Guozhang knew that the Fengtian Army's power was already formidable. The Zhili clique had just recovered from the rebellion in Beijing, while the Anhui clique was watching him closely, always keeping an eye on his weaknesses.

If Zhang Zuolin were to suddenly turn against them at this critical juncture and lead his troops to attack Beijing, the Zhili clique army would be powerless to resist.

Therefore, Qi Fan has now become the center of this vortex, and everyone is watching his every move.