Did he trick the young marshal into becoming sworn brothers and then go south to Huangpu Military Ac

The special train that Zhang Hanqing brought was the Marshal's private train, and it was decorated extremely luxuriously.

The carriage was covered with Persian carpets and furnished with English leather sofas; even the tea set on the coffee table was imported from Germany and made of silver.

The wood carvings on both sides of the window frame were carved by craftsmen hired from an old shop outside Dongzhimen, one stroke at a time.

Lin Qi sat by the window, and Zhang Hanqing sat opposite him.

Lu Xiaojia was arranged to sit in another carriage by Zhang Hanqing, ostensibly so that "Xiaojia could rest after such a bumpy journey," but in reality, Zhang Hanqing wanted to speak with Lin Qi alone.

Outside the car window, the vast Northeast land stretched as far as the eye could see.

By the end of August, autumn was already in the air in Northeast China. Fields of sorghum stretched as far as the eye could see, and as the wind blew, the red ears of sorghum swayed in waves. Further on, there were several bare hills, and the leaves on the ridges were already turning yellow.

Zhang Hanqing took out a German pocket watch from his pocket and checked the time.

"Big brother."

"Four more hours to Fengtian."

"The Marshal's Mansion has prepared a welcome banquet for you."

Zhang Hanqing smiled, a smile tinged with pride.

"Brother, you don't know, but in the past six months, following the secret recipe you left behind, the production capacity of the Fengtian Arsenal has tripled compared to the beginning of the year."

"The monthly expenses for the arsenal alone amount to as much as 400,000 silver dollars."

Lin Qi held his teacup and smiled slightly.

"Well done."

"Still a long way off."

Zhang Hanqing shook his head: "The steel production of our three northeastern provinces is less than 30% of that of the Japanese Anshan Iron and Steel Works."

"What the old general is worried about lately is steel."

Lin Qi knew what was going on.

The Fengtian clique has truly invested heavily in expanding its military over the past two years.

Lin Qi put down his teacup.

"Hanqing".

"Your soldiers have been training quite a bit lately, haven't they?"

Zhang Hanqing didn't catch the underlying meaning. Upon hearing the question, he immediately sat up straight, as it was his most prized topic.

"Brother, you've come to the right person."

"Among the Fengtian Army, Mao Chen is the most skilled at training troops."

"Mao Chen?"

Guo Songling.

Zhang Hanqing laughed so hard his eyes disappeared from his grin.

"Mao Chen was someone I rescued from the military academy. He had taught at the Baoding Military Academy in his early years and later came under my command, personally leading the Third Army."

"My Third Army is now the number one in the Fengtian Army."

"The best equipment, the strictest training, and the most disciplined military personnel."

Lin Qi picked up his teacup but did not respond immediately.

Guo Songling.

A figure who cannot be ignored during the Republic of China era.

Zhang Hanqing's beloved general, who was promoted by him, was one of the true heroes of the Second Zhili-Fengtian War, and then...

Next winter.

He led 70,000 elite troops from Northeast China, rebelled against the old commander, and was defeated and killed at the Julu River.

Moreover, Lin Qi knew in his heart that the seed of betrayal had already been planted.

"Big brother."

Seeing that Lin Qi didn't speak, Zhang Hanqing moved closer.

"It's still early, and we'll have time when we arrive in Fengtian."

"My Third Army is stationed twenty miles outside the city."

"Brother, shall we go take a look?"

"I'll have Maochen personally introduce it to you. I've also heard about your tactics at Huangpu; they're very impressive. Please give Maochen some pointers."

Lin Qi put down his teacup.

"it is good."

After having lunch on the special train, the train stopped at a temporary station outside Fengtian City.

Zhang Hanqing's car was already waiting outside the station.

Thirty minutes later, Lin Qi, Zhang Hanqing, Lu Xiaojia and their party arrived at the garrison of the Third Army of Fengtian Army.

The garrison was located in a mountain valley about 20 miles north of Fengtian City.

At the camp gate.

Lin Qi paused for a moment as he got out of the car.

Two rows of Fengtian Army soldiers stood on either side of the camp gate, chests out and heads held high, uniforms neat and tidy, all buttons fastened, and each rifle gleaming in their hands.

What surprised Lin Qi the most was the look in the soldiers' eyes.

It wasn't the kind of numb, perfunctory, or blank look; it was a well-trained look, with a tension and sharpness that came from rigorous training.

Lin Qi thought to himself, "Huh?"

A person's reputation precedes them; this Guo Songling certainly has something special.

At this moment, a middle-aged officer in a yellow woolen uniform rushed out from inside the camp gate to greet them.

"Commander."

The officer saluted.

Lin Qi looked him over.

Around forty years old, tall and thin, with high cheekbones, sharp eyes, and a straight back. Every crease on his military uniform was neatly ironed.

Is this Guo Songling?

Zhang Hanqing smiled and pushed Lin Qi forward.

"Mao Chen".

"This is Dr. Lin, whom I've mentioned to you dozens of times; he's also my elder brother!"

Guo Songling turned around and saluted Lin Qi.

Ke Lin keenly noticed that Guo Songling's eyes lacked respect, despite the standard military salute.

Inside, there was scrutiny, suspicion, and a hint of disdain.

Lin Qi understood.

This person is arrogant, extremely arrogant.

What kind of person am I in his eyes?

Speculators from the South?!

Did he get to know the young marshal by sheer luck?

Did she corrupt the young marshal's纨绔 (spoiled brat) ways?!

Lin Qi sneered inwardly; this was basically how he was perceived by the old warlords.

This Guo Songling prides himself on being a true soldier, and such a person cannot tolerate someone like himself who "rose to power by talking."

Lin Qi's expression remained unchanged as he returned Guo Songling's greeting.

"Hello, Brigade Commander Guo."

Immediately afterwards, Guo Songling accompanied the group on a walk around the Third Army camp.

After walking around the area, Lin Qi's opinion of Guo Songling rose another notch.

That's really impressive.

The Third Army's artillery positions even had a makeshift telephone communication system.

Three hundred meters of wired telephone line were laid from the forward observation post to the artillery position, which was extremely rare among warlords in the Republic of China.

The infantry battalion of the Third Army was actually conducting live-fire training, with ordinary soldiers firing fifty rounds of live ammunition per month—a figure that was even higher than the training standards of the first class of the Whampoa Military Academy.

The Third Army's mess hall even had an assembly line operation, with dedicated personnel responsible for everything from washing and chopping vegetables and cooking rice to distributing it.

Lin Qi walked and looked around, nodding from time to time.

Zhang Hanqing, standing beside him, enthusiastically introduced it to him.

"Brother, look, Maochen has made this set up entirely according to the standards of European armies."

"This telephone communication system was purchased by Mao Chen from Japan."

"Mao Chen taught at the Baoding Military Academy for several years. His methods of training soldiers were unmatched in the Fengtian Army."

Lin Qi nodded.

"Brigade Commander Guo is indeed capable."

This statement is very straightforward.

But Guo Songling's expression turned sour upon hearing this.

He probably thought Lin Qi was just giving him the runaround. In his eyes, Lin Qi was just a "slacker from the South," and what could such a "slacker" know about training soldiers?

Guo Songling was unwilling to talk to Lin Qi. Every time Zhang Hanqing asked him, he would answer with just two simple sentences, and his eyes would sometimes wander away, as if to say, "There's nothing to talk about with someone like you."

As I walked to the edge of the Third Army's drill ground, I saw a company of infantry practicing bayonet fighting.

The instructor shouted commands at the top of his lungs, and the soldiers lunged forward and retreated to defend, the wooden spearheads piercing the red cloth on the chest of the straw man with a "bang, bang".

Zhang Hanqing stopped, and while Lin Qi was engrossed in watching the drill, he turned around, glared at Guo Songling, and muttered a curse under his breath.

"Mao Chen".

"Brother, you've come all this way, what's with this attitude?"

Guo Songling was taken aback.

"Hanqing".

"I meant no disrespect."

"Your face looks stiff."

Zhang Hanqing's face darkened: "Brother, you came on behalf of the teacher, what you're doing..."

At this moment, Lin Qi turned around and walked over, forcing Zhang Hanqing to swallow his words.

"Hanqing".

Lin Qi smiled.

"Brigade Commander Guo is a commander, and a commander should have the temperament of a commander. Lin is a machine operator, and he and Brigade Commander Guo are from completely different worlds."

"It's nothing."

Lin Qi turned his head and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Guo Songling.

"Brigade Commander Guo."

"Lin was physically weak and couldn't stand the smell of smoke and dust in the military camp."

"I'll take my leave now!"

Guo Songling paused for a moment, then gave a cold laugh.

That smile was full of "I knew it."

He really is a young master from the South who can't endure hardship.

He really is an opportunist who can't even stay in the military.