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

You know, being promoted to the position of military governor of Jilin is a joyous occasion. With his subordinates fawning over him and Gu Cheng and Zhang Tingshu flattering him, Sun Liechen was in high spirits. Seeing him trying to hide his feelings, he immediately said unhappily, "Jingchuan, you are being too formal with me! We are close relatives and juniors in private, and we are jointly guarding the Liaoxi border."

Now that you're facing difficulties in military affairs, you're hiding it all. Do you think I, your sixth uncle, am not worthy of your trust?

Zhang Tingshu, who was standing nearby, quickly chimed in, "Yes, Jingchuan, Sixth Uncle has always protected us. If you're really having trouble, just say so. There's no need to bear it all alone."

Seeing that the time was right, Gu Cheng first let out a long sigh.

Upon seeing this, Sun Liechen frowned slightly, then raised his hand to signal his subordinates to leave first.

At this moment, Gu Cheng slowly stood up and said with a very weak expression, "Since Uncle Liu has already said so much, then I will no longer hide anything."

To be honest, the biggest difficulty currently hindering the construction of the camp is not a lack of manpower or a shortage of craftsmen, but a genuine lack of funds.

Sun Liechen was startled: "What did you say? Even I've heard that the Marshal approved a special fund of 100,000 silver dollars specifically for the construction of the Jinzhou camp... This is just the first batch, and more will follow. How could you be short of money?"

"Yes, Sixth Uncle, nominally 100,000 was approved, but when it was actually delivered to our brigade's bank to be redeemed, we only received 60,000 silver dollars!"

Zhang Tingshu quickly added, "Tianqi said that a full 40,000 silver dollars disappeared without a trace. Jingchuan and I inquired from many sources and finally figured out the reason."

This shortfall in funds was misappropriated under the guise of an emergency need for funds at the Fengtian Arsenal.

"The arsenal?" Sun Liechen frowned deeply, instantly thinking of Yang Yuting, who controlled the arsenal. His face turned cold. "It's him again?!"

Gu Cheng was taken aback.

Originally, he only wanted Sun Liechen to speak to the general and help him recover the missing silver.

To his utter surprise, Sun Liechen blurted out such a sentence, leaving him momentarily bewildered: "Sixth Uncle, what are you saying...?"

At this point, Sun Liechen also got angry: "During this period of time, the brothers have been guarding the Shanhaiguan line and confronting the Zhili army, but the various funds that should have arrived have been delayed time and time again."

At first, I thought it was just a delay in the Ministry of Finance's procedures. After sending people to investigate secretly several times, I found out that all of it had been intercepted and misappropriated by that despicable Yang Yuting under the guise of managing the arsenal and expanding the armaments!

At this point, he became even angrier. "I have always thought that this man is highly valued by the commander-in-chief and is in charge of the arsenal. The reorganization of the army is indeed inseparable from him. So I have been holding back and not wanting to break off relations in public. I only thought that I should tolerate him for the time being."

Unexpectedly, he has become increasingly brazen, now even daring to openly intercept the special defense funds allocated for building the border defense camp in Jinzhou!

Gu Cheng immediately feigned indignation: "So that's how it is. This man, relying on his power over the arsenal and his important position in the central government, used the pretext of military reorganization to reach out and embezzle military funds from various places, completely disregarding the overall situation of frontline defense."

"Our main camp is now short of funds and construction is about to stop. Our craftsmen are demanding their wages, and our soldiers are not receiving any subsidies for their work. If this continues, morale will surely collapse, and it will delay the important task of defending western Liaoning."

Zhang Tingshu nodded in agreement, his face filled with righteous indignation.

Sun Liechen's initial joy had been largely overshadowed by his rage. The thought of the soldiers on the front lines working so hard to defend the border, having their pay and rations arbitrarily withheld, and the border defense funds being wantonly embezzled, coupled with his impending promotion to military governor of Jilin and the future control of the region's military and political power, made him determined not to allow such a trend to spread unchecked.

He immediately slammed his hand on the table and declared resolutely, "This matter cannot be tolerated any longer! If he dared to embezzle this defense fund, he must return every single penny!"

Seeing this, Gu Cheng whispered his advice: "Sixth Uncle, this person has a deep foundation. We juniors are really powerless to contend with him, and we dare not easily go to Fengtian to speak out and offend him. We can only worry about it in secret."

"You don't need to be troubled, leave this matter to me!" Sun Liechen stood up, his military uniform exuding an imposing aura. "In the past, I repeatedly tolerated him for the sake of the overall situation, which only made him more arrogant and domineering. Now he even dares to touch the construction funds for the important border defense area in western Liaoning, which has crossed the line!"

I will immediately set off back to Fengtian to meet with the Marshal. I will not only make him make up the missing 40,000 silver dollars, but also compensate you for all the lost work and losses caused by the shutdown of the camp, in accordance with the military supply regulations set by the army, and double the amount of this money!

This man is only concerned with expanding his own power, embezzling military funds for personal use, ignoring the suffering of soldiers on the front lines, and disregarding the safety of border defenses. Today, I will definitely report the truth to the Commander-in-Chief and thoroughly rectify this corrupt practice!

Gu Cheng was overjoyed, but still put on a grateful and moved expression: "With Sixth Uncle's words, the heavy weight on our hearts has finally been lifted. If it weren't for your high position, your concern for the big picture, and your willingness to step forward to uphold justice, we brothers would have truly been at our wits' end."

Zhang Tingshu was also full of gratitude: "Yes, it's all thanks to Sixth Uncle for standing up for us... Even my father said he wouldn't dare to step in, your magnanimity is truly admirable."

Sun Liechen stood up, patted the two men on the left and right before continuing, "Back then, I took the equipment from Fengtian from the 105th Regiment. To put it bluntly, it was because of this Yang Yuting that I was forced to do so!"

That bastard misappropriated the ordnance supply funds for my troops guarding the pass. The Zhili army is lurking across the way, and my brothers can't be without equipment. I had no choice but to bite the bullet and ask my old friend at the armory for temporary equipment to borrow as an emergency measure.

Seeing that the two of them were becoming increasingly unhappy, he said, "I've been keeping this to myself for almost half a month, and I haven't had a chance to tell you two yet—"

Upon hearing this, Gu Cheng hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Sixth Uncle, is that so? Sigh, when Ting Shu and I heard that you had taken the equipment, we were quite unhappy..."

Sun Liechen became increasingly angry as he spoke: "How could it not be? Fuchen called me twice, always saying that I wasn't being fair. Tingshu is in the 105th Regiment, we're old comrades, and I'm still trying to get things into his son's unit."

Zhang Tingshu quickly chimed in, "Now all the misunderstandings are finally cleared up! It turns out that the whole equipment allocation issue was orchestrated by Yang Yuting from the beginning. No wonder such a rift arose out of nowhere."

Sun Liechen sighed heavily, full of frustration and helplessness: "That's right! I've been accused of stealing military equipment from juniors for no reason, and even the assistant minister has some complaints about me. I'm full of grievances, but I can't tell anyone the truth."

Firstly, this matter involves the allocation of central financial power, and revealing it rashly could easily cause a major upheaval. Secondly, I don't want to easily expose the inside story and damage the harmony within the Fengtian Army. I can only bear all the difficulties myself.