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

Gu Cheng's smile remained unchanged, seemingly unaware of the deeper meaning in the other party's words. He even picked up his chopsticks to serve food to Tang Yulin: "Fourth Uncle, you've wronged your nephew. Although the battle is over, the Zhili Army is still confronting Uncle Sun at the Shanhaiguan line."

Besides, although there are brothers guarding Jinzhou and it's peaceful, the city hasn't recovered yet. Compared to Fengtian, it's quite desolate and boring. I'm worried that the women might not be used to living here when they first arrive."

Tang Yulin laughed heartily: "Heh, it's alright. None of them are pampered. They're used to traveling with the army; they're not that delicate!"

But since things had come to this point, he decided to be blunt: "Jingchuan, you know our commander's orders. He transferred my 11th Mixed Brigade to Liaoxi for defense, just to keep an eye on those bastards like Wang Chengbin."

I've decided to settle down here, so I don't have to travel between Fengtian and Jinzhou and worry about my family.

This sounds frank, but it actually reflects a tough stance.

The old man is using "settling down" as an excuse to completely establish his own power base in Jinzhou, leaving Gu Cheng no room to maneuver.

Zhang Tingshu couldn't hold back any longer: "I say, Fourth Uncle, this is inappropriate! The Marshal transferred you to lead the 11th Mixed Brigade to assist in the defense, that's so that you could guard against the Zhili Army;

"Whether it's the Marshal's order or the General Staff's regulations, there's no rule saying you should move your whole family to Jinzhou to settle down! If word gets out, people will inevitably gossip, saying you're using the guise of defense to seize Jinzhou's territory!"

Tang Yulin spoke frankly, and Zhang Tingshu naturally didn't hide anything either.

These words made the other party's face darken: "Ting Shu, I don't like hearing what you're saying. Who do you think I am? Do you think I would take advantage of you under the guise of assisting in defense?"

I was just thinking about reuniting my family so I wouldn't have to worry about either side, and I could focus on guarding western Liaoning. How did that become occupying territory?

The atmosphere became tense for a moment. Gao Tianqi sat to the side, barely daring to breathe, and subtly signaled to Zhang Tingshu with his eyes to say less.

It's one thing for Erhu to be reprimanded by the commander-in-chief, but Zhang Tingshu, being the most senior and highest-ranking person in the room, was somewhat impolite.

Being impolite only indicates a problem with the way you speak, not that there is anything wrong with the words themselves.

Even Tang Yulin himself knew that he had hit the nail on the head.

The atmosphere suddenly turned cold. Gu Cheng picked up a piece of roe deer meat and placed it steadily into Tang Yulin's bowl, smiling as he tried to smooth things over: "Fourth Uncle, we are all like Hanqing, we were all raised by your watchful eyes. Ting Shu is just that straightforward, you can't hold a grudge against him."

He then gave Zhang Tingshu a look, and took the opportunity to bring up the matter of "finding a home," saying, "There is an elegant residence in the south of the city, said to be the former residence of an official from the Qing Dynasty. It is spacious, airy, and quiet, and has been vacant for two years... How about you take care of this, nephew?"

Gu Cheng took the initiative to agree, giving Tang Yulin ample face, but also subtly defining the boundaries—

The residence in the south of the city was far from the regimental headquarters. In addition to preventing him from interfering in Jinzhou, placing him in the city also made it easier to observe him.

Tang Yulin chuckled, "Haha, Jingchuan is so sensible and understands the bigger picture! Well then... I'll have to trouble you to take care of things!"

The atmosphere instantly relaxed a bit, and Gu Cheng raised his wine glass, leading everyone to toast Tang Yulin: "Come on, let's toast Fourth Master Tang! We must fulfill our duty as hosts and not be impolite."

Several people toasted him, and Zhang Tingshu clinked glasses with them, saying, "I can't keep my mouth shut, please don't take offense, Fourth Master."

Tang Yulin laughed heartily and said, "Your father and I are brothers, how could I possibly hold a grudge against you, a junior? Come, let's drink and eat."

Before they'd even finished three rounds of drinks, Tang Yulin, chopsticks in hand, casually picked up some meat and said, "Jingchuan, my family is settled, but we can't neglect important matters. Shouldn't we discuss the defenses of Jinzhou?"

Also, my 11th Mixed Brigade was transferred here on orders to establish the Jinzhou Main Camp... Your 105th Regiment is the main force in the defense of Jinzhou, and also serves as the staff officer of my brigade. You must give me an explanation of all the big and small matters in the regiment, right?"

These words came out of nowhere. Ostensibly, they were discussing military affairs, but in reality, they wanted to seize control of the 105th Regiment and put the defense of Jinzhou in their own hands.

Gu Cheng glanced at him, his eyes filled with undisguised greed—moreover, this man was known as "Two Tigers," and years of ruthless killing had honed his intimidating aura. Anyone else staring at him like that would have felt their heart tremble.

Gu Cheng, however, remained calm and composed. He first smiled and said, "Fourth Uncle, don't put down your chopsticks." Then, he slowly added, "What you say makes sense. Although the defense of Jinzhou is under the jurisdiction of my 105th Regiment, I am still directly under the command of the 54th Brigade and report directly to Sixth Uncle Sun."

As for the specific defense deployment within the regiment... it's all done according to the orders of the 54th Brigade and the General Staff Headquarters.

Fearing that the old man would persist, he simply stated bluntly, "If you are interested in the defense of Jinzhou, you should discuss it with Uncle Liu—I am only responsible for carrying out orders and dare not make decisions on my own, nor can I casually delegate core matters of the regiment."

Tang Yulin was speechless and stared wide-eyed at him.

Sun Liechen was a core veteran of the Fengtian Army, with a status comparable to Tang Yulin. Moreover, Sun had made great contributions in the Zhili-Fengtian War. No matter how domineering Tang Yulin was, he would not dare to openly overstep Sun Liechen and interfere with the troops under his command.

"Jingchuan, what do you mean by that? You're both the staff officer of my 11th Mixed Brigade and the garrison commander of Jinzhou. I asked you about the defense of our regiment, and you're trying to brush me off with your sixth uncle? We're all working for the defense of Jinzhou, so why are you making distinctions between yours and mine!"

Seeing that Tang Yulin was about to get angry, Gu Cheng quickly put a piece of flying dragon meat on Tang Yulin's plate: "Tianqi, look, I told you we should still get some loose change, right? With your good wine, you've got our fourth uncle all tipsy..."

"Oh, my dear fourth uncle! We haven't even warmed our seats, haven't finished our drinks, and you're already rushing to military affairs? Let's drink and eat first, have a good rest!"

As he spoke, he winked at Zhang and Gao, and Zhang Tingshu immediately stood up: "That's right, Fourth Master, once you've rested enough, let's find another time to discuss this properly!"

Gao Tianqi, Mu Haisheng, and the others nearby quickly chimed in, "Come on, Commander Tang, let's drink first! This 'Burning Flying Dragon' is a rare delicacy, you must try it!"

"That's right, Brigade Commander, if you didn't eat and drink well today, it's because your subordinates didn't treat you well—"

Watching the group sing in unison, Tang Yulin knew they were just trying to fob him off, but he couldn't find any flaws in their words for the time being, and he couldn't overstep his authority directly.

Furthermore, the fact that he caused a rift as soon as he arrived in Jinzhou would be detrimental to him if word got out, and he might even be reprimanded by the commander-in-chief.

Thinking of this, he stopped talking and instead drank and ate meat heartily.

After sending someone to settle him in the Jinzhou Guild Hall, Gu Cheng called Yang Song over: "Go brew a pot of strong tea and send it to my office."

As soon as they sat down, Zhang Tingxu was the first to express his annoyance: "Look at this, just what I feared has happened! They just arrived in Jinzhou and they've already seized power, and they've brought their families with them. What are they trying to do?!"