Pursued by the Heavenly Dao, first level up in the courtyard.

The flames of war still burn fiercely, and the sounds of gunfire never cease day or night.

This war involved not only fierce battles on the front lines, but also undercurrents and conflicts in the rear.

The Japanese soldiers hiding in China are in contact with each other, and the remnants of the puppet Manchukuo regime are stirring up trouble, attempting to seize the opportunity to restore the regime. Meanwhile, unscrupulous merchants are taking advantage of the chaos of war to hoard goods, drive up prices, and try to make a fortune from the war.

The Xia Kingdom secretly established an organization, deployed personnel in advance, and waited for internal traitors and enemy agents to jump out.

As the war intensified and the demand for supplies at the front surged, the undercurrents in the rear also began to stir.

Unscrupulous merchants colluded to hoard scarce food, medicine, and weapons, selling them at exorbitant prices, completely disregarding the lives of soldiers on the front lines and the suffering of the people.

Japanese spies disguised themselves as ordinary citizens, businessmen, and even public officials to secretly gather intelligence on frontline deployments and transmit military information, attempting to coordinate with the coalition forces led by the United States.

The remnants of the puppet Manchukuo regime secretly contacted their former subordinates, spread rumors, and incited public sentiment, attempting to take the opportunity to overthrow the rule of the Great Xia and restore the former glory of the puppet Manchukuo regime.

However, their plot had already been exposed.

Those unscrupulous merchants, blinded by greed, were caught red-handed by investigators while hoarding goods and driving up prices. All sorts of substandard medicines were seized before they even began to be transported.

The gold and silver treasures found at the Prince's Mansion had long been sent to various parts of the planet and exchanged for various weapons, equipment, and supplies.

The Japanese spies who had been lying in wait were caught red-handed at a crucial moment in transmitting intelligence, and the secret letters and radios found in their possession became irrefutable evidence of their treason.

The remnants of the puppet Manchukuo regime, who stubbornly resisted, walked right into a trap while inciting public sentiment and contacting their former subordinates, and were all captured. In order to deter such villains and eliminate future troubles, there were no restrictions on interrogation methods.

With constant open and covert battles, treacherous forces were eliminated one after another.

In the courtyard house in the northern part of the city, He Yuzhu and his sister He Yushui continued to live a precarious life.

With scarce resources and soaring prices, the brother and sister scrimped and saved to barely make ends meet.

He Yuzhu relied on his culinary skills to occasionally cook for others in exchange for some food.

That day, the deaf old lady came to He Yuzhu's house with her cane and said, "Zhuzi, Xu Damao is a scoundrel. I heard he's not behaving properly at school and often hangs out with young girls."

He Yuzhu said speechlessly, "Grandma, what Xu Damao does has nothing to do with me."

The deaf old woman fell silent. She knew very well that smearing Xu Damao was not something that could be accomplished overnight and could not be rushed.

Xu Damao's character is neither good nor bad.

The deaf old lady smeared Xu Damao for two reasons: first, to make enemies of Sha Zhu, and second, to retaliate against the Xu family for not giving her a share of the meat.

She slandered Xu Damao as a bad person, making him an enemy of Sha Zhu. Once Sha Zhu suffered a loss at the Xu family's hands, she would then come out to help him. In this way, she would definitely get a share of Sha Zhu's meat in the future.

On the battlefield thousands of miles away, Qi Bing had long since shed his initial naiveté and become a wise and brave officer.

In every battle, the Qi soldiers charged to the forefront, their water-spraying pearls killing countless enemies.

Having made outstanding military achievements, he was promoted from company commander to battalion commander after his superior was killed in action.

When there is no fighting, promotions for officers and soldiers are often based on seniority; during major battles, promotions are primarily based on combat merits.

A regiment of soldiers was reduced to a single company. The regimental commander was gone, the deputy regimental commander took his place; the deputy regimental commander was gone, the battalion commander took his place; the battalion commander was gone, the deputy battalion commander took his place...

On the battlefield amidst the constant gunfire, some people were promoted one rank for answering a single phone call, and some even rose three ranks in a single day.

Qi Bing's only weakness is that he is too young.

Having joined last year, his membership is an advantage.

His numerous victories and military achievements were also a plus for him.

Currently engaged in a major battle, the Qi soldiers, with their outstanding achievements, exceptional combat power, and good fortune, are leveling up very quickly.

"Battalion Commander, the Regimental Commander has ordered us to hold the position for eight hours."

"Reporting to the commander, as long as my Qi soldiers are alive, we will never allow the enemy to breach our position."

After dismissing the communications soldier, Qi Bing continued to inspect the trenches and foxholes.

At this time, he was already the battalion commander of the second battalion.

The Second Battalion, which has been reinforced with many new recruits, now has 520 men.

Last year, a battalion consisted of almost 700 people.

Starting this year, a battalion will only have four or five hundred people.

On the enemy's territory, the trenches were dug in neat rows and columns.

The trenches dug by the Qi soldiers were winding and crooked. A relatively straight section of trench was less than five meters long. Even if a shell landed in the trench, the kill radius would be greatly reduced.

North City, Elder Mu's office.

"Commander, Comrade Qi Bing has performed outstandingly on the battlefield and has been promoted to battalion commander."

"Qi Bing has been promoted to battalion commander? Isn't he only seventeen?"

"Commander, according to the front-line statistics, more than two thousand enemies have been eliminated by Comrade Qi Bing."

"How did he do that?"

"On one occasion, in a close-quarters battle, Comrade Qi Bing single-handedly killed dozens of enemies... On another occasion, when the enemy launched a charge, Comrade Qi Bing killed more than 500 enemies by himself."

"One person killed over five hundred enemies? How is that possible?"

"Comrade Qi Bing's marksmanship is superb; his longest kill distance is over 800 meters."

The Poultry Courtyard, the Jia Family Residence.

"Matchmaker Wang, come in and sit down. Have you seen any decent girls lately? Introduce a good one to my Dongxu, and I won't treat you badly!"

Zhang Cuihua invited Wang, the matchmaker, into the house and made her a cup of tea.

"My son Dongxu is a worker, much better off than those unemployed bums. The Jia family may not be extremely wealthy, but they have impeccable family background. If a girl marries into our family, she's guaranteed not to be mistreated!"

Matchmaker Wang smiled, but her tone was somewhat troubled: "It's not that I don't want to help you, but the girl I introduced to your Dongxu last time was a teacher, pretty and kind. Why didn't you like her?"

Zhang Cuihua said irritably, "That girl looks frail. How will she have children in the future? With her delicate body, she doesn't look like she can give birth to a big, healthy boy."

Matchmaker Wang sighed: "Li, the girl from the next alley, is sturdy, knows how to sew, and comes from a respectable family, just a bit ordinary."

"From an ordinary family? No way!"

Zhang Cuihua waved her hands repeatedly, saying, "My Dongxu is a worker, how can he marry someone from an ordinary family? At the very least, she should be from a cadre's family, or a worker's family; otherwise, she'll just be a burden!"

The matchmaker, Wang, felt utterly disgusted. But to make money, she could only say, "Your family only has one worker, Dongxu, and you don't have much savings. Didn't your previous blind dates fall through because your standards were too high?"

"So what if they broke up? It just means those girls weren't good enough for my Dongxu!"

Zhang Cuihua, who considered herself from a wealthy and influential family, was arrogant and said defiantly, "I don't believe it! With my Dongxu's conditions, he won't have trouble finding a good girl!"

"Matchmaker Wang, go and inquire again. If you find a suitable girl, send me a message. If she's not good enough, don't bring her to me, so as not to waste my time!"

Matchmaker Wang shook her head helplessly. Knowing that Zhang Cuihua was stubborn and unwilling to continue to suffer, she agreed with her and turned to leave the Jia family.

The neighbors watching the commotion outside whispered among themselves. One of them said in a low voice, "The Jia family is poor, yet they have such high standards. If this continues, Jia Dongxu will never be able to get married."

"A toad trying to eat swan meat; the Jia family is overestimating themselves."

"She's too picky. In this chaotic world, it's good enough to find a daughter-in-law who can settle down and live a peaceful life. She's asking for so much. I'm afraid Dongxu's marriage will be difficult to achieve."

Hearing the gossip outside, Zhang Cuihua went out and cursed a couple of times. Seeing that everyone had left, she turned around and went back inside.

That night, while searching for treasure in Jambudvipa (the southern continent), Qi Bing found some century-old ginseng.

Using over a dozen century-old ginseng roots, over a dozen pots of pheasant were stewed, then decomposed and synthesized into pure silver, and the pheasant was vacuum-preserved.