Warlords: Rising from the Northwest Border and Sweeping Across the Powers

Su Zhengyang immediately asked one of the soldiers in the guard squad to drive the carriage slowly at the back, while he took the rest of the people on the military truck. In the truck, in addition to Cruz, there were three foreign soldiers wearing helmets and carrying rifles.

One of them was the truck driver. Liu Gangding, full of doubts, led the guards to climb onto the truck bed. Inside the truck bed were neatly stacked wooden boxes, and there was no clue at all from the surface.

The speed of the military truck was much faster than that of the horse-drawn carriage. An hour later, everyone had arrived at Sanjiang County, 60 kilometers away.

Looking at Sanjiang County surrounded by a two-meter-high dilapidated city wall, Su Zhengyang couldn't help but feel a surge of pride in his heart.

Sanjiang County got its name because it is located at the confluence of three rivers. Although it is located in the northwestern border, unlike the Loess Plateau and the landforms of soil erosion seen along the way, there is actually a huge oasis here, like the Jiangnan area in the Great Wall.

Sanjiang County is located in the center of the oasis.

The military trucks, which are rarely seen in the northwestern border, attracted a lot of attention as they approached the county town.

Su Zhengyang directed the truck to stop at the city gate.

Su Zhengyang jumped off the truck and said to an old man wearing a turban, coarse cloth and a basket on his arm, "Uncle, where is the Sanjiang County government office?"

The uncle looked at Su Zhengyang with a timid look in his eyes and said with a thick northwestern accent: "Go through the city gate, turn left two miles west, and you will find our county government office."

Su Zhengyang thanked him and got back on the truck. The truck drove slowly into the city. Su Zhengyang found that the main street in Sanjiang County looked quite prosperous. There were quite a few restaurants, shops and inns on both sides, which were lined up one after another, and there were many customers coming and going.

According to the location given by the old man, the truck soon stopped in front of the gate of the county government. This was a large courtyard with a very imposing gate. Two lifelike stone lions stood on both sides of the gate. On a black plaque were inscribed four large characters: "County Government Office".

Su Zhengyang and Liu Gangding jumped out of the car and said to the two men in black uniforms guarding the door, "I am the head of the Sanjiang County Security Corps appointed by the Northern Xinjiang government. I came here today to take up my post. Please inform County Magistrate Ma."

Hearing that the young man in front of him was the new head of the security team, the gatekeeper did not dare to neglect him and politely said to Su Zhengyang: "Please wait a moment, I will go and ask County Magistrate Ma to come out immediately."

Ten minutes later, a middle-aged man dressed very neatly in a navy blue Zhongshan suit, with a goatee and black-framed glasses, walked out hurriedly, led by a constable.

This person is Ma Jiawei, the current mayor of Sanjiang County.

Ma Jiawei saw the military truck parked on the side of the road at a glance, and a gleam of brilliance appeared in his eyes. He walked to Su Zhengyang very politely, stretched out his hands and shook hands with Su Zhengyang, saying: "You must be the new head of the security team, Su Zhengyang. You are indeed a handsome man, young and promising. Please follow me."

Ma Jiawei was extremely enthusiastic. He personally invited Su Zhengyang to the reception room in the office. After having someone serve tea to Su Zhengyang, he said to him, "Captain Su, can you let me take a look at your letter of appointment? It's not that I don't trust you, but it's my duty and it's unavoidable."

Su Zhengyang nodded, took out the letter of authorization from his arms and handed it to Ma Jiawei. After Ma Jiawei carefully checked the contents of the letter of authorization, he handed it back to Su Zhengyang.

Before Su Zhengyang came, Ma Jiawei had received news that the new security chief was just a young master from a ruined warlord family. Now it seems that even a broken boat has three pounds of nails. Su Zhengyang's identity and background must be extremely extraordinary, otherwise how could there be military trucks escorting him along the way.

After the two exchanged pleasantries, Ma Jiawei took the initiative to invite him, "Captain Su is new here, how about I prepare a banquet to welcome him?"

Su Zhengyang politely declined, "You are too polite, County Magistrate Ma. I still want to go to the security team's base to check the situation first."

Ma Jiawei nodded and instructed the official beside him, "You take Captain Su to the Security Corps' base in person. After he is settled, I will arrange a banquet at Hongyun Restaurant to entertain Captain Su. You can bring Captain Su over directly when the time comes."

After the constable agreed, Ma Jiawei personally escorted Su Zhengyang out of the office and watched him get on the military truck.

Twenty minutes later, Su Zhengyang looked at the extremely dilapidated security corps base in front of him with a look of surprise. Compared with the magnificent county government office, the courtyard in front of him, which was less than 300 square meters, was simply a slum.

On the plaque, the characters "Sanjiang County Security Corps" have become blurred, the gate is covered with mottled marks of time, and the steps are covered with dust.

What was even more outrageous was that two young men in patched coarse clothes were actually sitting by the gate, drinking as if they were alone. They looked dazed and staggering, and it was obvious that they had drunk quite a lot.

Not far from the two of them, two old rifles that had been worn out beyond recognition were placed casually against the wall.

The constable glanced at Su Zhengyang awkwardly, then smiled awkwardly, walked up, kicked a young man on the butt, and shouted with an unpleasant expression: "It's broad daylight, on duty, squatting at the gate drinking, how can you be so rude?"

The young man turned around and saw the official's appearance clearly. He was so frightened that he half sobered up. He said tremblingly with a pale face, "Hello, Secretary Yu..."

Secretary Yu whispered in his ear: "The new head of the security team is here. Hurry up and notify the people inside to cheer up."

After the two looked at each other, one of them quickly ran into the courtyard, while the other, led by Secretary Yu, came to Su Zhengyang and scratched his head embarrassedly, saying, "Captain Su, we Northwestern people like to drink a little. I really made a fool of myself today."

Su Zhengyang waved his hand expressionlessly, not caring about it, and said to him: "Take me in to have a look."

Walking into the front yard, I saw that it was overgrown with weeds and there were many cracks on the paved stone slabs. Across the front yard was the office lobby. Inside the lobby, there was a three-meter-long wooden table covered with wine bowls and bones that had not yet been cleaned up. It looked a mess.

A dozen or so dishevelled, bare-chested men, reeking of alcohol and with flushed faces, stood aside, carefully examining Secretary Yu's expression.

Su Zhengyang asked the young man who was leading the way, "Are you the only ones stationed in the entire security group?"

After hesitating for a moment, the young man slowly said, "There are less than fifty of us here, and the rest have gone back to work in the fields."

Su Zhengyang frowned. According to the regulations of the Northern Xinjiang government, although the county security corps was not a formal organization but only a local armed force, every household in the city had to send one able-bodied man to join the security corps. Normally, the number of people in a security corps should be around 1,500.

But the Sanjiang County Security Corps in front of them was not only disorganized, the soldiers inside were like refugees, and there were only two or three big cats and small cats. Every year, a portion of the local security corps' food and wages would be allocated from local taxes for special use. It seemed that there were a lot of tricks involved.