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

The piercing gunshot made Qi Fan freeze. He gripped the steering wheel tightly, jerked the steering wheel to stabilize the car, and quickly glanced at the rearview mirror out of the corner of his eye.

In the dim night, several black cars followed closely behind, their headlights piercing the darkness, the blinding beams of light locked onto the rear of his car. A dense barrage of bullets struck the car body, making a crisp "clanging" sound and scattering sparks.

Qi Fan raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, his heart pounding wildly, and couldn't help but complain.

"Damn it, I was too happy too soon! We've barely left Baoding, haven't even had a chance to catch our breath, and we've already been targeted. What terrible luck!"

Fortunately, he had practiced driving a lot during this period, and his driving skills were already quite proficient.

He pressed his foot firmly on the accelerator and skillfully maneuvered the steering wheel, the car twisting and turning on the rough road, dodging bullets fired from behind time and time again, barely maintaining a safe distance from the pursuers.

Qi Fan stared intently at the rapidly receding scenery outside the window, his eyes filled with urgency. He floored the accelerator, pushing the car to its maximum speed, while frantically chanting in his mind, "Faster! Faster! We're almost at the rendezvous point with Jia Xu, hang in there!"

But fate had other plans. Just as he finished praying, the car suddenly stopped abruptly, its speed plummeted, and the car began to shake violently.

Qi Fan's heart skipped a beat. He looked down and saw that the right rear tire was flat, obviously hit by a precise bullet!

The car, having lost its balance, slid erratically on the road, with the possibility of overturning at any moment.

Qi Fan gripped the steering wheel tightly, his face turning deathly pale, and he couldn't help but curse inwardly.

"Damn it! Just what I feared most has happened! The tire blew out, now there's really no escape!"

Now that things have come to this, any further struggle is futile.

Qi Fan simply swerved the steering wheel, and the car screeched to a halt, scraping against the tree trunks on the roadside and kicking up a cloud of dust.

He thought to himself: Anyway, his direct subordinates wouldn't dare to do anything to him. They only arrested him to blackmail his father, Zhang Zuolin. He might as well surrender and save his life first.

Qi Fan took a deep breath, pushed open the car door and got out, his hands subconsciously raised in front of him, making a submissive gesture.

When the pursuers behind him saw that he had stopped the car, they also slowed down and stopped. The car door opened, and a group of people dressed in black uniforms and holding guns surrounded Qi Fan.

The leader was a tall man with a sinister look on his face. He slowly walked up to Qi Fan and spoke with a forced smile, "Young Master Zhang, where are you headed in such a hurry in the middle of the night?"

Qi Fan forced himself to remain calm and gave a perfunctory laugh.

"I didn't go anywhere. I just bought a new car and came out to test its performance. I originally planned to drive around for a bit and then go back, but I didn't expect you all to be so responsible, following me and protecting me the whole way. You've really gone to a lot of trouble."

"Young Master Zhang is quite the joker." The man sneered, his tone carrying an undeniable force.

"Now that the test drive is over, let's invite Mr. Zhang to come back with us. Premier Duan is still waiting to see you."

Qi Fan sighed inwardly and was about to follow them back when suddenly a rapid sound of hooves came from afar, growing louder as it approached, causing the ground to tremble slightly.

Immediately afterwards, a crisp gunshot rang out, piercing the night sky once again!

The bullet struck the man who had just been talking to Qi Fan with pinpoint accuracy. His body jolted violently, the smile on his face froze, and he slowly collapsed.

Then, a rough roar exploded in the night: "Cavalry company! Charge with me!"

Qi Fan looked in the direction of the sound and saw a troop of cavalrymen, wielding sabers, galloping towards them with overwhelming momentum in the night. Leading them was none other than Sun Desheng, the cavalry company commander!

"kill!"

The cavalrymen roared in unison with Sun Desheng, their shouts shaking the earth. Their sabers gleamed coldly in the moonlight, and like an unstoppable torrent of iron, they charged straight at the pursuers.

The pursuing troops were clearly caught off guard by the sudden appearance of a cavalry force, and were thrown into disarray.

They had initially thought they had the upper hand with their numbers and superior firearms, but now, facing the oncoming cavalry, they were at a loss. In their haste to fire, they missed most of the bullets, only kicking up clouds of dust on the ground.

Sun Desheng took the lead, wielding his saber with great force. He encountered a pursuer who tried to resist, and with a flash of cold light, he cleaved the man's gun away. Then, with a swift stroke, the pursuer screamed and fell to the ground.

"Brothers, protect the commander! Don't let a single one escape!" Sun Desheng's voice boomed as he commanded and led the charge.

The cavalrymen were all well-trained, using their horses' speed to weave through the pursuers. The crisp sound of sabers slashing, the roar of guns, and the cries of the pursuers mingled together, and the pursuers, who had originally had the advantage, were instantly scattered.

Some tried to hide behind the car and resist, but the cavalry circled around to the side and slit their throats; others turned to run, but their sabers were already close behind in the dust kicked up by the horses' hooves, giving them no chance to escape.

Seeing this, Qi Fan breathed a sigh of relief, lowered his raised hands, and kept his eyes fixed on the battlefield.

He hadn't expected Sun Desheng's cavalry company to be so brave. He had thought it would be a fierce battle, but in just a short while, the pursuing troops were routed.

Before long, the battlefield fell completely silent. The pursuing troops were either annihilated or fled in panic under the cover of night, leaving only a few abandoned cars and a mess on the ground.

Sun Desheng reined in his horse, dismounted, and quickly walked up to Qi Fan, snapping to attention and giving him a military salute.

"Sir! The cavalry company has come to meet you; we're sorry to have startled you!"

"You guys arrived just in time!" Qi Fan patted Sun Desheng on the shoulder, his tone full of relief.

"Thank goodness you guys came in time, otherwise I really would have been kidnapped today. How did you know I was here?"

"It was Mr. Jia's arrangement!" Sun Desheng explained.

"Mr. Jia had anticipated that the Zhili clique might target you, so he ordered us to lead a cavalry company to lie in ambush at the rendezvous point outside Baoding. We were to arrive immediately upon receiving the signal. We had just arrived nearby when we heard gunfire, followed the sound, and arrived just in time!"

Qi Fan nodded, secretly grateful for Jia Xu's thoughtfulness. He glanced at the wrecked car beside him, then looked at the sky.

"We can't stay here any longer. Let's leave immediately and head back to Fengtian tonight."

"Yes!" Sun Desheng responded and immediately ordered his men to clean up the battlefield traces. Then he led over a strong warhorse and helped Qi Fan mount it.

"Commander, please ride my horse. I'll lead the brothers to protect you!"

The group sped towards Fengtian without stopping, avoiding the Zhili faction's checkpoints along the way, and had a smooth journey.

After two days and two nights of travel, we finally arrived at the gate of the Fengtian Marshal's Mansion.

At this moment, Zhang Zuolin was already waiting at the entrance of the Marshal's Mansion with Yu Fengzhi, Yang Yuting and others.

Upon seeing Qi Fan return safely, Zhang Zuolin's tense expression instantly relaxed. He quickly walked forward and patted Qi Fan's arm.

"You little rascal, you're finally back! Are you alright?"

Yu Fengzhi, her eyes also red, quickly stepped forward, looked Qi Fan up and down, her tone full of worry.

"Hanqing, you're finally back! Father and I have been so worried these past few days."

"I'm fine. Although there were some minor hiccups along the way, it all turned out alright."

Qi Fan kept the cavalry company's situation a secret; he still didn't want to reveal his strength to Zhang Zuolin.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zuolin smiled and said, "Alright, it's good that you're back safely. Go take a bath and get some rest."

And so, accompanied by Yu Fengzhi, Qi Fan returned to his room and took a nice hot bath.

Meanwhile, in Feng Guozhang's office in Kyoto, Feng Guozhang angrily smashed the cup in his hand on the ground.

"What did you say? You let Zhang Xueliang escape?"

"I'm sorry, Premier. Our men had already caught up with him, but suddenly a cavalry unit appeared and snatched Zhang Xueliang back."

Feng Guozhang's expression shifted between light and dark, his gaze gradually turning fierce.

An officer standing nearby asked.

"Sir, why don't we just start a war with the Fengtian Army? Zhang Zuolin has acted very unfairly this time. He took our weapons and then just sat on the sidelines watching the tigers fight without helping at all."

"Go to war? What do you have to offer him? Are you trying to push Zhang Zuolin to Duan Qirui's side?"

Feng Guozhang lit a cigarette, then exhaled a puff of smoke and spoke.

"Our most pressing enemy right now is that bastard Duan Qirui; we'll settle the score with Zhang Zuolin later!"