Republic of China, 1922: Rise from the Post-Zhili-Fengtian War

Upon hearing this, Cai Changyuan's expression turned stern, but Gu Cheng calmly finished the second half of his sentence: "It's only a short distance; the cavalry can get there in a day."

He didn't say anything more, but the meaning was already quite clear.

Cai Changyuan didn't ask any further questions, but simply followed Gu Cheng's gaze to the playground.

After about half a minute, he said quietly, "Master Gu, we'll have to be careful from now on, with wolves in front and tigers behind us."

Gu Cheng sensed the emotion in his words, but did not rush to reply.

His gaze was still fixed on Li Dazhu—

He had just crawled out from under the barbed wire fence, his back was covered in cuts, and he was already in the final sprint. His steps were a little unsteady, but he was still pushing forward.

As he crossed the finish line, he lurched forward, braced himself on his knees, and lifted his head to catch his breath, his eyes still fixed on the track ahead.

Gu Cheng withdrew his gaze, lit a cigarette, took a puff, and the smoke was quickly dispersed by the wind: "There are wolves in front and tigers behind, you never know when. The key is whether we can stand firm."

The Zhili troops are keeping watch at Shanhaiguan, while Bearded Guy is waiting on the mountain. If these brothers can be trained, they can fight anyone who comes.”

Cai Changyuan was momentarily lost in thought.

Gu Cheng turned around and noticed his expression, then smiled and asked, "Brother Huisheng, what's wrong?"

Cai Changyuan snapped out of his reverie and laughed, "It's nothing. It's just that working under you is quite different from working under Master Tang before."

Gu Cheng raised an eyebrow: "Oh? I'd like to hear the details."

Cai Changyuan said sincerely, "Before, when I was under Master Tang, no one listened to me, and no one paid attention to my opinions. But when I came to you, I only mentioned the defense matter, and you immediately had Ting Shu and the others arrange it. To be honest, I never expected that you would take my words so seriously."

Gu Cheng stubbed out his cigarette: "If what you suggested is useful, I'll use it. If it's not, I'll tell you... Don't be surprised by this kind of thing."

After saying that, he turned and walked out. "Alright, that's enough looking. Back to headquarters, we have something to discuss."

Cai Changyuan followed, and the two crossed the dirt road beside the playground one after the other.

The morning light had dried the dew, and the soil under their feet felt a bit hard. The two of them got into the car and returned to the brigade headquarters. Zhang Tingshu had already entered and was working with Yang Hao to review the personnel list.

"Hey, Jingchuan, you're back?"

Zhang Tingshu looked up and said, "I have something to discuss with you. This time, a total of 896 people were recruited. I took a look, and most of them are between sixteen and nineteen years old."

Gu Cheng sat down opposite him, took the list, and glanced at it.

Indeed, the ages listed after the names on the list are sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, and the oldest is only in his early twenties.

He looked up at Zhang Tingshu: "What's your background?"

Zhang Tingshu first glanced at Cai Changyuan, who was following behind him, then shook his head: "They are mostly farmers, many of them are pale and thin, and it's obvious that they came to join the army because their families were so poor they couldn't afford to eat. As for their physical fitness, well, that's hard to say."

Gu Cheng placed the list on the table and tapped it twice with his finger: "Arrange for them to help out at the construction site first. The main camp is short-handed, so let them go there. Also, replace some of the brothers and send them back for training."

He then looked at Cai Changyuan and said, "Brother Huisheng, the first batch of barracks is about to be completed, and the brothers have missed too much training... It's time to send them back. You need to make proper arrangements for this."

Zhang Tingshu nodded, noting the arrangement in his mind: "How many people should be replaced?"

"Let's replace 300 first," Gu Cheng said. "We'll leave 300 people on the construction site to continue working, and the remaining 300 will come back to train. Once the first batch of barracks is completely completed, we'll replace the rest as well."

The newly recruited soldiers will work on the construction site first. They'll be fed and have plenty of meat; once they're physically fit, we'll talk about training later… Don't worry about money; I roughly estimate the Chamber of Commerce will have a good income before autumn.”

Zhang Tingshu responded and then turned to Yang Hao to say a few words.

Yang Hao was writing notes with a pencil on the side of the list when Gu Cheng gestured for them not to rush, and quickly changed the subject: "I received news today that is also related to this matter."

He took a deep breath and continued, "There's been some activity in Luanzhou, and the commander-in-chief has ordered us to keep a close watch on it; that's why I called Brother Huisheng here to discuss this bandit suppression operation."

Zhang Tingshu looked back at him and said softly, "The commander-in-chief has provided a lot of support, but that batch of equipment—three hundred rifles and tens of thousands of bullets—has been allocated."

But Jingchuan, as you know, Master Tang's legacy was too meager. Not only were there a shortage of guns, but even ammunition was scarce. After that batch of equipment arrived, it was used to replenish the existing stock, and some was given to the new recruits. What was left was indeed very little.

Cai Changyuan clearly saw Gu Cheng's concerns and continued, "Moreover, the fire at the construction site burned a small batch of ammunition. Although it wasn't main equipment, it still resulted in significant losses."

Zhang Tingshu continued, "The commander-in-chief ordered us to guard against the Zhili army. If we attack the bandits, after depleting our military supplies, I fear—"

Gu Cheng looked at the two of them and said, "I know your concerns, but if some bearded men cause trouble in our territory, it will ultimately be our own problem."

Of course, you don't need to worry about equipment. The compensation from the Japanese and the equipment we captured earlier are enough to barely set up the frame... There's no need to use the brigade's equipment.

Zhang Tingshu clearly wanted to say something more, but Cai Changyuan immediately said, "Master Gu, I think Mu Haisheng is a good candidate. He's a local from Jinzhou and knows the surrounding mountains well. When going into the mountains, a map isn't enough; you need someone who knows the way to lead the way, and I think he's the most suitable person."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Tingshu became anxious: "Brother Huisheng, what do you mean? Our brigade is in trouble right now, and instead of offering advice, you're actually—"

Gu Cheng remained silent, considering their respective proposals.

Zhang Tingshu was furious. He glared at Cai Changyuan and scolded him, saying that as a staff officer, he should care about the whole team. Cai Changyuan was just going along with his superior's words, which was a despicable act.

Seeing that Cai Changyuan was clearly losing face, Gu Cheng was about to stop him when the gatekeeper walked to the main hall entrance, stood at attention, and reported: "Brigade Commander, there is a man at the gate who claims to be Jiang Chaoliu and says he wants to see you."

The room fell silent instantly.

Gu Cheng was taken aback, but did not rush to reply. Instead, he turned his gaze to Zhang Tingshu, who was standing to the side.

With an unspoken understanding, the two stood up almost simultaneously.

Greatly surprised by their reactions, Cai Changyuan exclaimed in astonishment, "Master Gu, what's wrong with you—"

Gu Cheng had already walked around the table and was heading outside: "Brother Huisheng, please have a seat. We'll be back in a bit."

Before he could finish speaking, he had already reached the corridor.

Zhang Tingshu quickly followed, and the two walked side by side through the courtyard. The gatekeeper and sentry led the way, their pace quickening.