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

Mu Haisheng broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing this and hurriedly agreed.

Seeing that he was in a hurry to leave, Gu Cheng called him back and said, "Also, please prepare 30 more cavalrymen for me. They must be skilled horsemen from the regiment... fully armed and in civilian clothes. They should assemble at the west gate of Jinzhou at 9:30 tonight and be ready for orders!"

Mu Haisheng was taken aback and quickly asked, "Commander, what do you need cavalry for? The defenses of Jinzhou are under strain right now, and the brothers are struggling to guard the city gates. Will it be... to send 30 cavalrymen?"

"Stop talking nonsense and do as I say."

Gu Cheng interrupted him sharply, "Right now, bandits are roaming outside the city, and merchants are gradually returning. These cavalrymen can be used to patrol the outskirts and protect the merchants, and also to deter any unruly bandits!"

Seeing that the guy still looked troubled, Gu Cheng's face darkened: "Remember, you have to choose reliable people. No shoddy work. If I find any old, weak, or disabled soldiers mixed in, you will be held responsible."

"Yes, yes, yes! I understand!" Although Mu Haisheng had some doubts, he dared not disobey. "I will make the arrangements immediately."

With that, Mu Haisheng quickly left the room, afraid that Gu Cheng would ask him any more questions.

After Mu Haisheng left, Gao Tianqi lowered his voice and said, "Jingchuan, I've found out more about Mu Haisheng: he was promoted by Brigade Commander Sun, he doesn't know many characters, and he earned his position as regimental commander through fighting all the way."

This guy seems honest, but he's actually quite cunning... I started with Yang Hao, intending to go over the accounts, and he hinted twice to Yang Hao not to tell the truth.

Zhang Tingxu, who had already lain down, sat up again upon hearing this: "What? This old bastard dares to obstruct the reorganization? Jingchuan, I think this guy can't be kept around, we should just replace him!"

Gu Cheng shook his head, took off his shoes, and lay down in a comfortable position on the kang: "It's not appropriate. We're new here and only have a vague understanding of the Jinzhou Regiment. Most of the brothers in the regiment were trained by Mu Haisheng. If we change leaders right after taking office, it will inevitably cause unrest among the people, and some people may even secretly oppose us. That would only make things worse."

Gao Tianqi nodded: "That's what I think too... He's still useful for now. However..."

Seeing his hesitation, Gu Cheng immediately smiled knowingly: "This is actually easy to handle—do you remember the platoon leader who was drinking with his men when we entered the city? I asked Ting Shu last night, his name is Li Dazhu… You can talk to him, it should give you some insights. Besides, the grain has been distributed, right? How's the situation?"

Gao Tianqi frowned: "I was just about to tell you this: the guy surnamed Mu said that the regiment is always short of food, so we should store what we brought first and distribute it to the brothers when the supplies from Fengtian arrive."

Gu Cheng was taken aback.

Zhang Tingshu frowned: "This old man, isn't he obviously going against us? We asked him to distribute the grain, but he's hoarding it... What for, is he planning to save it for having children?"

Gu Cheng rubbed his chin: "I don't think he necessarily saw through our test. He probably heard something and knows that Fengtian won't be sending any supplies for the time being."

He thought for a moment, then said, "Alright, I have a general idea of ​​the situation—let's deal with tonight's events first."

As they spoke, Zhang Tingshu beside him was already snoring loudly. Gao Tianqi looked at him, exhausted, and couldn't help but smile wryly: "Our Second Young Master Zhang really falls asleep quickly... By the way, what did you two do last night? Not to mention Mu Haisheng was worried sick, I was also terrified all night, thinking you two had been carried off by wolves."

Gu Cheng laughed and pulled back the covers to lie down: "Come on, the wolf that could snatch us both is probably not even born yet! Tianqi, I'm leaving the troupe's affairs to you for now. We need to figure out a way to drag some food out of the tiger's mouth—"

Gao Tianqi's heart tightened upon hearing this. Although he couldn't guess what Gu Cheng meant by "tiger's mouth," he roughly understood that it must be a dangerous mission. He immediately said in a deep voice, "Alright! You and Ting Shu can go and do it with peace of mind. I will keep a close eye on the regiment headquarters. If Mu Haisheng dares to play tricks, I will definitely be able to stop him."

Gu Cheng nodded in acknowledgment, said nothing more, wrapped himself tightly in the quilt, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

After a long and tiring journey last night, plus scouting locations in Japan, he was already exhausted and quickly drifted off to sleep.

They slept until noon, when the kitchen brought them coarse grain cakes and pickled vegetables. After a quick lunch, the two immediately began to allocate manpower.

That evening, around 9 p.m., Gu Cheng and Zhang Tingshu, fully armed, first went out and called Yang Song: "Leave four guards at the regimental headquarters to work with Staff Officer Gao to stabilize the situation. If there is any emergency, send a message immediately by fast horse... The rest of the guards, get equipped and ride out of the city with me."

Yang Song accepted the order and quickly arranged the manpower.

Before long, the sound of orderly hooves came from outside the west gate of Jinzhou—Mu Haisheng finally dared not delay and indeed selected thirty skilled horsemen, armed with rifles, to come.

Gu Cheng stared intently. The men's clothes were worn and tattered, but they all looked spirited and were clearly seasoned veterans.

Very good, they are still very obedient and have brought all the elite troops they can mobilize.

After roughly checking the equipment with Mu Haisheng, Gu Cheng immediately ordered the guards to distribute some of the bullets to them.

Clearly sensing the tense atmosphere, Mu Haisheng couldn't contain his curiosity: "Commander, what's going on here—"

Gu Cheng didn't answer, but instead gestured for everyone to mount their horses, then immediately shouted coldly, "Let's go! The commander will take you to eat meat!"

Zhang Tingshu flicked his riding crop, his eyes brimming with excitement: "I've been waiting for this moment!"

Under the cover of the deep night, the group rode their horses close to the barren meadows. When they were still half a mile away from the Manchurian Railway Station in Lianshan, Gu Cheng raised his hand to signal everyone to dismount.

Gu Cheng ordered the two men to keep an eye on the mounts, and then led his men to probe along the line.

At this time, the lights at Lianshan Station were on full display, consistent with the patrol the previous night: two Japanese soldiers guarded the outer perimeter, while two others guarded one side of the railway.

There were Japanese staff members moving around inside, and a handyman was cleaning up clutter.

"Old Yang, take ten men and secure the front and back doors; Ting Shu, lead your men to surround the back and subdue those Japanese soldiers... The rest of you, come with me and deal with the steward inside!"

Gu Cheng quickly gave the order, and Mu Haisheng, who was standing to the side, stared blankly, wondering several times if he had misheard.

No, are you out of your mind, young man? You actually...

Before he could say anything, the young man added, "These damn Japanese bastards have bullied people all the time in Northeast China. Today we'll teach them a lesson! But listen carefully, just knock them out and tie them up, don't kill them."

Upon hearing this, the group quickly exchanged glances and, led by Yang Song and Zhang Tingshu, silently made their way up.

Yang Song led two men along the railway. The Japanese soldier had just noticed the dark figure approaching and hadn't even given a warning when he was struck in the neck and fell to his knees, losing consciousness.

Just as the other turned around to call out, Yang Song calmly threw a palm-sized rock, which hit the unlucky fellow squarely in the face.

Blood splattered everywhere. The Japanese soldier covered his face, took two steps back, and collapsed directly below the platform.