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

Qi Fan was immersed in the misty steam, and the fatigue of the past few days seemed to dissipate with the heat.

Yu Fengzhi walked in carrying a plate of calming flower petals, gently placed it by the bathtub, rolled up her sleeves, walked behind Qi Fan, picked up a bath towel, and gently rubbed his back.

Her movements were very gentle, with a careful and tender care. The bathroom was exceptionally quiet, with only the sound of water and the soft rustling of fabric.

Qi Fan closed his eyes and enjoyed the comfort. At first, he didn't feel anything was wrong until he heard a faint, suppressed sob behind him.

He suddenly opened his eyes and looked back. He saw that Yu Fengzhi's eyes were red, her nose was sore, and tears were silently sliding down her cheeks. The bath towel in her hand was also suspended in mid-air.

"Big sister, what's wrong with you?"

Qi Fan's heart tightened, and he quickly turned around, ignoring the water stains on his clothes, and reached out to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"Why are you crying? Did one of the maids in the manor bully you?"

Upon being asked this question, Yu Fengzhi, who had been suppressing her emotions, could no longer hold back. Tears streamed down her face like broken beads, and she sobbed out loud.

"What kind of father... what kind of father would use his own son as a hostage..."

She cried as she recounted her grievances.

"What if... what if you can't come back? You have no idea how scared I was when I heard you were being watched by the Zhili clique in Baoding and used as a bargaining chip to blackmail Father. These past few days I haven't been able to eat or sleep, and I've been waiting at the gate of the mansion every day, hoping to hear bad news..."

Seeing Yu Fengzhi crying with tears streaming down her face and looking worried, Qi Fan's heart was instantly filled with heartache.

He reached out and pulled her into his arms, letting her tears soak his chest. He gently patted her back to comfort her while carefully wiping away the tear stains on her face with his fingertips.

"Okay, okay, stop crying. I'm back safe and sound, aren't I? Nothing's wrong with me."

He paused, then explained softly, "Actually, Father must have his reasons for arranging things this way; he doesn't really use me as a bargaining chip."

Qi Fan knew perfectly well that the reason his father dared to let him go to Baoding was because he knew that Qi Fan had these private soldiers under his command and was confident that he could handle any unexpected situation.

Moreover, given the current special circumstances, the Fengtian Army has expanded from its original 100,000 troops to 200,000 by taking advantage of the opportunity to quell the rebellion and form alliances. The weapons and equipment promised by the Zhili and Anhui factions can just fill the equipment gap of the newly expanded troops.

If the father didn't make a show of "sending his son as a hostage" to put the other side at ease, how could the Zhili and Anhui cliques have willingly sent over a large number of weapons and equipment?

This was merely a risky move by her father after weighing the pros and cons, but he never expected it would cause Yu Fengzhi such anxiety.

Yu Fengzhi cried in his arms for a long time before her emotions gradually calmed down.

She raised her red eyes, hugged Qi Fan tightly around the waist, and pressed her cheek against his chest.

"Please...please don't take such risks again, okay? You don't know how terrified I was..."

"Okay." Qi Fan nodded vigorously, hugged her tightly, and said solemnly.

"I promise you, I will be more careful from now on and I will never let you worry about me again."

Then it was Qi Xiaofan's turn to work.

However, this time it was a battle on water! Qi Xiaofan was clearly not used to it and was forced to retreat under the fierce attack.

It didn't take long for Qi Xiaofan to be defeated.

Since then, life has gradually returned to normal.

With the support of the formidable forces of 200,000 Fengtian troops, Zhang Zuolin firmly secured his position as Commander-in-Chief of the Three Northeastern Provinces, continuously consolidating his power base. The Fengtian clique quickly became one of the most formidable forces among the various warlords.

Seeing this, Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang became even more wary of Zhang Zuolin.

Zhang Zuolin maintained a wait-and-see attitude, neither favoring the Zhili clique nor aligning himself with the Anhui clique. This exacerbated the conflict between the two cliques, leading to constant overt and covert competition and making the overall situation in China increasingly delicate.

Inside the Fengtian Marshal's Mansion, Qi Fan was living a very comfortable life.

That afternoon, he was lounging in a grand chair in the room, humming a popular tune and cracking sunflower seeds. A pot of freshly brewed hot tea sat beside him, and he was living a very comfortable life.

When he had nothing to do, he would sneak over to his cousin's wife's place for a chat.

Suddenly, Yu Fengzhi rushed in, her face showing a hint of panic. As soon as she entered, she went straight to the money box in the corner of the room and began rummaging through it quickly.

Seeing this, Qi Fan put down the sunflower seeds in his hand, raised his eyebrows, and asked, "Big sister, where are you going in such a hurry?"

As Yu Fengzhi counted the silver dollars out of the money box, she spoke without looking up.

"Some mothers invited me to play mahjong, so I came to get some money as capital."

Qi Fan immediately understood when he saw her flustered appearance.

He must have lost a lot of money playing mahjong with his concubines before, and now he's going to try to "win back" his losses.

He stood up, walked forward, grabbed Yu Fengzhi's hand that was holding the money, and took all the silver dollars she had just counted out.

"Alright, alright, stop taking it. With your mahjong skills, playing with my moms is like trying to find a needle in a haystack! You're just throwing money away."

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Yu Fengzhi's face, and she sighed helplessly.

"What else can we do? We'll just accept the loss and consider it my way of showing respect to our elders."

"This isn't how you show filial piety," Qi Fan said with a smile, weighing the silver dollar in his hand.

"Your fourth aunt is the best at cheating secretly. If you go up there like an idiot, you might just give away all our savings. Fine, I'll go with you."

Without saying a word, he grabbed Yu Fengzhi's hand and headed toward the courtyard where the concubines lived.

The mahjong table was already set up, and the four concubines were waiting for Yu Fengzhi. When they saw Qi Fan coming along, the fourth concubine's eyes lit up, and she teased him with a smile.

"Oh, Fengzhi, are you afraid of losing and have even brought in reinforcements?"

The second concubine echoed this sentiment, looking at Qi Fan and saying...

"Liu Zi, let's get this straight: we can fight, but if you lose, you can't go back on your word and ask for your money back!"

Qi Fan smiled, cupped his hands in greeting, and sat down.

"Don't worry, ladies, I'm just here to bring you some fun and make you happy. Please go easy on me!"

Amidst the laughter and chatter, the mahjong game began.

No one expected that Qi Fan was actually a hidden master of mahjong.

After several rounds, he not only didn't lose a single point, but actually won a considerable amount of money.

Halfway through the mahjong game, Zhang Zuolin came over, and his concubines quickly got up upon seeing him.

"Sir! What brings you here?"

Zhang Zuolin strolled around for a bit, then said with a smile, "I saw you guys playing mahjong, and thought I'd come and lend a hand."

The fifth concubine, being the most perceptive, spoke up: "Oh, Master, if you want to play for a while, then sit here. You have no idea how badly Liu Zi has been winning."

Zhang Zuolin then sat directly in the seat of his fifth concubine and asked her questions.

"How big is this?"

The fourth concubine spoke up from the side.

"We'll stick to the usual rules, five yuan per table."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zuolin immediately objected and spoke up.

"This is too small. If you ask me, it should only cost fifty yuan per table."

"Wow, this is way too big!"

Qi Fan, who was standing to the side, rolled his eyes. This old man was setting a trap for me again, but Qi Fan didn't care and said.

"As long as the mothers agree, what wouldn't I dare to do?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zuolin smiled and spoke.

"If you lose, I won't pay your bill."

"If I win, you'll have to pay the mothers in cash."

"Alright, let's begin!"

As the mahjong game progressed, Zhang Zuolin sweated more and more, never expecting his son to be such a good player.

He had originally planned to use this as an excuse to make Qi Fan lose more and then force him to go to his martial arts academy, but the more they fought, the more he lost.

Qi Fan was about to win more than two thousand dollars, and Old Zhang's heart was bleeding with worry.

Zhang Zuolin couldn't help but think to himself, "I wanted to set a trap for this kid, but it feels like I've gotten myself trapped instead?"