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

The group was having a good time when the assembly whistle suddenly rang out sharply, piercing through the entire campus.

None of the trainees dared to delay; they immediately straightened their uniforms and quickly ran to the parade ground to line up and assemble.

The platform on the playground was already full of people.

Zhang Zuoxiang, the principal of the military academy, was dressed in a crisp military uniform and solemnly organizing his speech. To everyone's surprise, Zhang Zuolin himself had come, sitting in the main seat in full military uniform, accompanied by several core generals of the Fengtian Army.

Qi Fan stood in the queue, looking up at the leading figures of the Fengtian Army on the stage, and couldn't help but complain in his heart.

"Although the personnel composition of this military academy is a mess and seems a bit unreliable, I have to say that my father really cares about this place. He even came to support us personally at this mobilization meeting."

The mobilization meeting officially began, with Zhang Zuoxiang taking the stage first to speak. Several generals followed, each emphasizing the importance of the military academy, urging the students to train hard, and promising to serve the Fengtian Army in the future.

The tedious speech made Qi Fan yawn repeatedly, his eyelids almost sticking together.

After a full hour, the lengthy speech finally came to an end.

Zhang Zuolin stood up and walked steadily onto the stage. He didn't say many polite words, but only gave a few words of advice in a deep voice.

"Once you're in this military academy, drop all your airs of being 'young masters' or 'masters'! If you dare to slack off, don't blame me for dealing with you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted from the audience.

With Zhang Zuoxiang announcing the end of the mobilization meeting, Qi Fan's intensive training at the military academy officially began.

The first lesson left Qi Fan dumbfounded. The instructor took all the students directly to an open space, and their task was to build battlefield fortifications.

This stumped Qi Fan, who had never done manual labor before. Although he was empowered by the system and could outperform others in strategic planning and tactical simulation, he had absolutely no experience in purely physical and hands-on work such as digging trenches and building bunkers.

The entire class huddled in a pit, frantically digging with shovels.

In an instant, dust flew everywhere, and sweat streamed down their faces, mingling with the dirt and leaving black streaks on their skin.

Qi Fan's mouth and nasal cavity were filled with sand, and even his breath had a pungent, earthy smell.

Finally, lunchtime arrived, and the hungry students lined up to get their food, carrying heavy iron basins.

The freshly cooked cabbage and glass noodle stew had a faint aroma of oil. Qi Fan filled a large bowl to the brim, found a small pit, and began to eat heartily.

It must be said that people have a particularly good appetite after strenuous work.

This cabbage and vermicelli stew, which he usually looked down upon, tasted exceptionally sweet to Qi Fan at this moment.

Actually, he didn't have any spoiled brat attitude. When he was a child, he often ate communal meals with Xishun and the others, and he was used to this kind of simple life.

However, he was indeed lacking in practical battlefield skills such as constructing fortifications.

Zhang Zuolin had previously hired many famous teachers for him, teaching him almost everything from combat and shooting to foreign languages ​​and strategy, but he had not taught him these basic battlefield skills.

This cannot be blamed on Zhang Zuolin.

When he first asked Guo Songling to teach Qi Fan, Guo Songling was so impressed by Qi Fan's talent after they went through several strategic planning exercises that he almost became his student.

After this news spread, no one dared to teach Qi Fan anymore. Even Guo Songling was ashamed of his own inferiority, so who would want to come here and make a fool of themselves?

Qi Fan sat between Lao Xia and Lang Xianpo, head down, wolfing down his food.

Xu Chengye, who was not far away, came over with his rice bowl and joked with Lao Xia.

"Old Xia, didn't you say even the old marshal had tried your braised sea cucumber with scallions? Show off your skills to the brothers today, and have some sea cucumbers to try!"

Old Xia shoveled a big mouthful of rice into his mouth and mumbled a reply.

"You think you can eat braised sea cucumber with scallions? You'd be lucky to get braised cabbage roots with scallions!"

The surrounding students were amused by the conversation between the two, and Qi Fan laughed along with them.

This kind of down-to-earth military life was something he had never experienced in either of his two lifetimes.

Although it was hard work, it had a unique sense of fulfillment and enjoyment.

If it were peacetime, he would really like to train and live with this group of people, without distinction of rank or social status, and get along well with them.

However, with the current turbulent situation, internal warlord conflicts, and external threats from powerful enemies, he simply does not have such a luxury opportunity.

From the moment he transmigrated into this body, Qi Fan secretly resolved: he must never let the three northeastern provinces lose an inch of land in his hands, and he must never let the iron hooves of the "little people" trample on the territory of China from the Northeast!

Lang Xianpo leaned closer and whispered in Qi Fan's ear.

"Don't underestimate Xu Chengye, he's shrewd and clever. He was officially recommended by the regimental commander. There's a story behind it. His sister used to be the top courtesan at Cuihong Brothel, but she's now married and is the regimental commander's third concubine. That's how he got in."

Qi Fan raised an eyebrow upon hearing this and glanced at Xu Chengye, who was still chatting and laughing with someone not far away.

"So you're saying none of these people got in through proper exams, and they all got in through connections?"

"That's not entirely true." Lang Xianpo shook his head with a serious expression, his tone earnest.

"I didn't get in through connections; I bought my way in with my own money!"

Upon hearing this, Qi Fan burst into laughter, almost spitting out the rice noodles in his mouth.

He had long known that the composition of the military academy was chaotic, with a complex web of relationships and few people with real skills, but he still couldn't help but find it funny that Lang Xianpo said it so bluntly and seriously.

This scene suddenly reminded him of a superhero movie he'd seen in his past life, with a classic line: "What's your superpower?" "I'm rich!"

Qi Fan secretly chuckled to himself: Sure enough, the poor rely on mutations and the rich rely on economics. This still applies in this era!

The group was enjoying their meal together in a lively atmosphere when a furious shout suddenly came from afar.

"Who dug those fortifications?! Get your ass over here!"

It was Guo Songling's voice! Upon hearing this angry shout, Chu Shixin's expression changed instantly. He stood up abruptly. The fortifications that Guo Songling mentioned were exactly the ones their class had been responsible for building that morning.

He didn't dare delay and immediately shouted to the entire class, "Stop eating! Come with me!"

Qi Fan had just swallowed the food in his mouth when he saw this and shook his head helplessly, thinking to himself: Well, Guo Songling is putting on his iron-blooded instructor act again, trying to show off.

Despite his complaints, he didn't dare to slack off and could only eagerly follow the group towards the direction where Guo Songling had spoken.

Upon arrival, Chu Shixin led all the students to stand in a neat row. Qi Fan, mixed in with the crowd, also straightened his back, imitating the others.

Guo Songling paced back and forth beside the fortifications with his hands behind his back and a livid face. When his gaze swept across the ranks, it suddenly fixed on Qi Fan.

His previously tense expression visibly froze for a moment, and a complex look flashed across his eyes—surprise mixed with a hint of "I knew it"—but this emotion was fleeting, and he returned to his previous stern demeanor.

He pointed to the uneven pit in front of him and questioned it angrily.

"What are you digging up here? Can someone step forward and tell me, is this what you call a fortification?"

A commotion broke out in the queue. Xu Chengye shrank back, but still gritted his teeth and took half a step forward.

"Sir! This is a machine gun emplacement!"

"Machine gun emplacements?" Guo Songling sneered as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world, and turned to look at Chu Shixin.

"Squad Leader Chu, you take two men and set up the machine gun for me to see! I want to see if this crater can fit a machine gun or if the gunner can crouch down!"

"Yes!" Chu Shixin didn't dare to delay and immediately called two trainees, who carried a heavy machine gun and ran towards the fortification.

The group squatted by the pit for a long time, adjusting the angle and digging two more shovelfuls, but the pit was too shallow and narrow, and the machine gun base could not be placed flat at all. The gunner could not even stick half his body in. They were sweating profusely from the ordeal and could only stand there with their faces red, not daring to breathe.

Guo Songling didn't even glance at them, but walked straight through the queue and stood in front of Qi Fan.

He first looked Qi Fan up and down, and his anger seemed to be extinguished by most of it, and his tone softened considerably.

"Hanqing, it's been quite a while since we last met."

Qi Fan's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't expected Guo Songling to speak to him alone. He didn't dare to put on airs and gave a proper military salute.

"Hello, Instructor Guo!"

Upon seeing this, Guo Songling's lips curled up almost imperceptibly. He took two steps forward, lowered his voice, and spoke in a volume that only the two of them could hear.

"Hey, stop with the nonsense. Do you think I don't know your capabilities? You definitely didn't dig this lousy fortification, did you? With this level of skill, even a random veteran couldn't have dug it."

Qi Fan was stunned on the spot. The image of himself digging blindly with a shovel that morning flashed through his mind. He had not only dug the fortification, but he had dug it quite hard.

Before he could explain, Guo Songling patted his arm again and continued to imagine the scenario in his mind.

"I know you're just here to kill time for a few days and go through the motions. With your strategic vision, what need do you have to learn these things at the military academy? But you have to cooperate with me today. I'm training talent for the Fengtian Army, and in front of so many students, I have to maintain the instructor's dignity. Give me some face and don't undermine me."

Guo Songling had a very shrewd plan in mind: Qi Fan, who was only ten years old at the time, could convince himself in strategic simulations. Such a prodigy was wasting his talents by learning to dig fortifications.

To put it bluntly, this isn't about him being taught; it's clearly the Marshal's Mansion sending this guy here to "inspect" him!

But as the head instructor, he couldn't show weakness in front of the students, so he could only ask Qi Fan to give him face and cooperate in putting on a show.

Qi Fan was dumbfounded, and his inner complaints almost overflowed: So Guo Songling thought he was a hidden big shot? He was originally annoyed by Guo Songling's showing off, but now that the other party had put a way out in front of him, why not take advantage of it!

He instantly concealed his bewildered expression, a subtle "I understand" smile appearing on his face, and nodded slightly to Guo Songling.

"Don't worry, Instructor Guo, I understand."

When Guo Songling heard this, he immediately interpreted it as "No problem, I'll smooth things over for you," and he breathed a sigh of relief, secretly praising Qi Fan for being sensible.

Little did he know, Qi Fan was secretly overjoyed: he was worried that he would be scolded for digging the fortifications poorly, but he didn't expect to run into such an imaginative person. This was a huge win!