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

Seeing that he did not interrupt, Gu Cheng told Yang Song to put away his weapon and continued, "In addition, all soldiers stationed in Jinzhou must strictly abide by military discipline, behave themselves, and are not allowed to run rampant again."

If you dare to cause any more trouble, I will show you no mercy and will report this directly to the Marshal's Office and the Army Reorganization Department for impartial punishment.

Upon hearing that he wouldn't have to embarrass himself in public, and only needed to hand over the offending soldiers for punishment, Tang Yulin felt as if he had been granted a pardon. All traces of his previous stubbornness and arrogance vanished, and he hurriedly nodded repeatedly.

"Alright! This...this is easy to handle, isn't it? Jingchuan, you're our advisor and also part of the organization department. Dealing with a few scoundrels should be a piece of cake, right?"

Then, fearing that Gu Cheng might say something else that would embarrass him, he quickly added, "Don't worry, from now on I will also enforce military discipline and restrain my men, and I will never let them cause trouble in Jinzhou again!"

At this moment, all he wanted to do was get through this standoff, and his back was already covered in a cold sweat.

Today I've completely lost, utterly outmaneuvered by a younger guy.

Gu Cheng waved for Yang Song to leave, then sighed and said, "Fourth Uncle, please don't think I'm making things difficult for you—"

Our Fengtian Army just suffered a defeat; even the Marshal changed the plaque in his house to "Never Forget the Shame of Wu." You know better than me how determined he is to reorganize and strengthen the army this time.

The atmosphere, which had been extremely tense, finally eased slightly.

Tang Yulin quickly followed up, saying, "Well... even if I'm confused, I understand this principle! But the brothers are used to freedom, and sometimes they act on a whim."

Besides, Jingchuan, you can't just let these troublemakers cause trouble. Gathering a crowd to besiege the regimental headquarters over such a trivial matter is far too indulgent of them!

His tone still carried a hint of resentment, and he continued to defend his subordinates, his inherently protective and domineering nature unchanged.

In the eyes of these old-fashioned bandits: what's the big deal if a soldier smokes a little cigarette, drinks a little alcohol, and casually plays around with a few women?

The common people are making a mountain out of a molehill by gathering crowds to cry out for justice. They are just making a fuss over nothing. If they are in a good mood, they can be dismissed with a few coins. If they are in a bad mood, they can be driven away with sticks. How can they possibly cause such a commotion?

Gu Cheng could see through his inner turmoil and understand that he was only verbally apologizing while harboring resentment and not truly caring about military discipline or the people's hearts.

He didn't want to argue with him any further, and shook his head slightly: "You can't say that. In times of war and chaos, people are naturally fearful... Now that we've finally achieved peace, stability is hard to come by."

We've stationed ourselves in the city to defend our land and protect our people, not to oppress them. If we treat this perfunctorily today and alienate the people, who will be willing to help us defend the city if war breaks out again?

The commander-in-chief is currently focused on strengthening the army and improving its military capabilities; what he values ​​most is military discipline and the support of the people. As commanders, we cannot allow our subordinates to act recklessly.

Having said that, Gu Cheng stopped arguing about these trivial matters, straightened his clothes, and prepared to leave. "Enough, there's no point in saying more. I'll head back to the regimental headquarters now, personally appease the people, and deal with those troublesome soldiers fairly to quell this turmoil."

"I also ask Fourth Uncle to remember his promise, to properly discipline his men, to keep them stationed peacefully, and not to cause any more trouble for Jinzhou, nor to invite further trouble for himself."

Tang Yulin, after being lectured by him, wanted to refute but couldn't find a reason to, so he could only sullenly hum and wave his hand reluctantly: "Go, go, you handle this matter. I know what I'm doing and will manage my subordinates."

At this moment, all he wanted was to get rid of this plague god in front of him as soon as possible and end this embarrassing situation.

As for advice or jokes, they all felt he was a plague god and wouldn't listen; instead, they harbored resentment and hatred.

How could Gu Cheng not know?

But he only glanced at him sideways before turning around and leaving the mansion in the south of the city with Yang Song.

Watching Gu Cheng's departing figure, Tang Yulin's polite demeanor vanished instantly, replaced by a gloomy expression that seemed to drip water.

He stood with his hands behind his back under the eaves, watching the figure disappear into the distance at the alley entrance, and muttered to himself through gritted teeth:

"Well done, Gu Jingchuan. You're not that old, but you've got quite the airs. How dare you lecture me like that... I'll remember this for now, and we'll see what happens next!"

He verbally agreed to enforce military discipline, but in his heart he didn't take Gu Cheng's instructions seriously at all. He secretly remembered the coercion and humiliation he suffered today, waiting for an opportunity to turn the tables and properly deal with this arrogant young man.

…………

As soon as they stepped outside, Yang Song quickly followed, his voice low and filled with resentment: "Master Gu, I saw it clearly. Tang Erhu agreed obsequiously, but there wasn't a trace of respect in his eyes."

In my opinion, he's probably still swearing in his heart, and he might just turn around and try to trip us up behind our backs.

Gu Cheng sneered and strode towards the regimental headquarters, saying with a cold laugh, "You figured it out too? But then again, I didn't expect him to genuinely back down anyway."

"Think about it, this old general, who came from humble beginnings and spent most of his life running rampant in the Northeast, always relying on brute force to intimidate others, has never been coerced like this before. To be publicly contradicted by a junior and forced to bow his head at gunpoint, he has lost all face and must hate me to the core."

Yang Song clenched his fist: "So we're just going to leave him like this? What if he agrees to enforce discipline but secretly allows his men to run amok, or he secretly sends a memorial to Fengtian to badmouth us? That would be a real problem."

Gu Cheng calmly looked toward the regimental headquarters, unhurriedly: "Why would I be afraid of him? We have real leverage over him now. Soldiers disturbing the people in broad daylight. If I just submit a document to the Army Reorganization Department... even if he has the title of sworn brother of the Marshal, he will not escape a reprimand and accountability."

When the Army Reorganization Office was established, this old guy was full of resentment and deliberately delayed attending the meeting; even after being reprimanded by the Marshal, he dared to dawdle, so how could he possibly respect himself as a junior?

But Zhang Zuolin didn't touch him. Instead, he transferred him to Jinzhou to assist in the defense. If he wanted to deal with him, he would have to accumulate more and more incriminating evidence against him.

"After the provincial autonomy was established, the commander-in-chief would have no choice but to continue using his old buddies, but he still acted recklessly in Jinzhou, which was just asking for his own death."

Gu Cheng lowered his voice, "I'll plant spies around the residence, and keep an eye on his 11th Mixed Brigade around Jinzhou... Once we catch him making another big mistake, we'll finish him off in one fell swoop!"

Yang Song was filled with respect: "Yes, as expected, Mr. Gu, you've thought of everything so thoroughly!"

Gu Cheng smiled and said, "Remember, you can't be tough or violent with these old guys. You have to be shrewd... You've been by my uncle's side for many years, so you should know how he behaves. Besides, even the head of our Northeast, the Marshal, doesn't resort to violence all the time."

Yang Song nodded emphatically: "Yes, I understand now!"

The two walked quickly, and after turning two streets, they heard cries and accusations coming from ahead. Even from half a street away, they could feel the crowd's passion and indignation—they did not disperse, but instead gathered in greater numbers.