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

Su Zhengyang held a bowl of stew, squatted on the ground and started to eat, imitating the soldiers.

After finishing his meal, Su Zhengyang looked at Qin Huaiyi, who was wolfing down a steamed bun not far away. He walked over, squatted beside Qin Huaiyi and said, "You were a soldier before, right?"

With Su Zhengyang's keen eyesight, he had long seen that Qin Huaiyi was very opinionated and spoke clearly. Although he always looked lazy, his walking posture vaguely showed that he had received professional training.

Qin Huaiyi was slightly startled, then smiled and said, "I used to be the eldest son of the Du family, a company commander of the 358th Regiment under Du Xiaojun. Because I offended the deputy regiment commander for some things, I was expelled from the army and sent back. If it weren't for my battalion commander who insisted on saving my life, I would have been shot now."

Su Zhengyang nodded and said, "What do you think of the current situation in Sanjiang County?"

Qin Huaiyi ate up the remaining stew in the bowl in a few mouthfuls, licked the bottom of the bowl clean, and then said to Su Zhengyang: "This entire Linzhou Province is the territory of the Guo warlords. On the surface, they obey the orders of the Northern Frontier Government, but in fact they have their own troops and are constantly in conflict with the Zhao warlords in the nearby Ganzhou Province. There is a battle every three days and a big battle every seven days."

"Sanjiang County is located in the heart of Linzhou. Although there are no large-scale wars, there are several waves of bandits in the surrounding mountains. The people in the city have a hard time. The Du, Ma, and Guo families are the leaders. They oppress the people all day long. They are all bad people. Especially the Du family. They rely on their son being the head of the regular army of the Guo family and dare to do anything unscrupulous."

As Qin Huaiyi spoke, he took out a pipe, lit it, and looked at Su Zhengyang and said, "I think you, Captain Su, are different from the previous security captains. You want to do something practical. But in Sanjiang County, if you want to develop, you will definitely be suppressed by the Du family."

"In Fengshan, thirty miles west of Sanjiang County, there is a bandit group of more than 300 people. They specifically target the three wealthy families and rob them of their goods. The head of Fengshan, Liu Chengxu, was originally a wealthy family in Sanjiang County. Under the oppression of the Du family, his family was destroyed and he had no choice but to move to the mountains and become a bandit."

"The previous head of the security team, Wang Er, led the security team to suppress bandits, but he died at the hands of Liu Chengxu."

Qin Huaiyi tapped his pipe and said pointedly, "Captain Su, believe it or not, someone from their group will come to ask you tomorrow why you want to develop a security group. If you don't give them a reasonable explanation, they will definitely make things difficult for you."

"Let's not talk about anything else, just talk about the military pay. How long can you sustain it with just your own family assets?"

"Of course. I heard that you are a young master from a big place. If you do all this just to gild yourself, just pretend I didn't say anything."

Su Zhengyang pondered for a moment and then asked again, "The annual salary of the security team is eaten up by these few families, right?"

Qin Huaiyi sneered, "They not only ate the salary, but also the disaster relief funds allocated by the government during the drought last year went into their pockets. Also, do you know why there are so few soldiers in the security corps now?"

"They kept less than a hundred of us just for show and to keep up appearances. In fact, a large number of soldiers in the security team had already been forcibly pulled into Du Xiaojun's team. In addition, the Du family is ruthless. Even if we die on the battlefield, we won't get any pension. The local people are unwilling to let their children serve in the army."

Su Zhengyang talked with Qin Huaiyi for a long time and finally had an in-depth understanding of the current situation in Sanjiang County.

Qin Huaiyi suddenly patted his head as if he had suddenly realized something, and said to Su Zhengyang: "Captain, you just said that you want us to train, but there is no training ground in this security regiment's base."

Su Zhengyang also frowned. This base was only about 300 square meters in size. Let alone training, it would be difficult to even build dormitories large enough for the soldiers to rest.

"Two miles outside the county town, there is a large training ground. It is where Du Xiaojun trains new recruits every time he comes back. If you can greet the Du family loudly and gain their support, you can bring people to train here temporarily. The barracks, dormitories, and shooting ranges inside are all available. Du Xiaojun spent a lot of effort to build it."

The next morning, in the county government office, Secretary Yu frowned and whispered in Magistrate Ma's ear: "There's news from the Security Corps headquarters that the new commander Su seems a little restless. Not only is he calling on the soldiers to participate in training and reorganization, he's also paying the salaries of the Security Corps out of his own pocket."

Ma Jiawei was slightly startled, then smiled and said, "He accepted our money, which means he knows what's going on. I've already inquired about it. This Su Zhengyang is the eldest son of the Jiangbei Su warlord. Although the Su family has declined, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. We should not offend him easily. This second-generation idiot may just be in a momentary mood, so just ignore him. He is willing to pay salaries to those people in the security group, which is more than I can ask for."

At this time, Su Zhengyang, together with Liu Gangding, carrying several bags of gifts, came to the gate of the Du family's ancestral home on the old street of the county town.

Su Zhengyang looked at the Du family mansion with white walls and black tiles, which covered an area of ​​two to three thousand square meters and looked very luxurious. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart, wondering how much money the Du family had made in Sanjiang County.

In front of the Su family's gate, there are two stone lion statues standing on both sides. Two men wearing black coats and carrying old sleeves are guarding the gate. Compared with the security team's base, this place looks more like a military stronghold.

Liu Gangding walked up and said to a gatekeeper, "The new head of the security team, Su, wants to visit the old man of the Du family. Please inform him."

When the man heard Liu Gangding's words, he did not show a polite attitude, but responded impatiently: "Newcomer Su Zhengyang, right? I see. I will go and tell the master now. You guys wait here."

In the lobby of the Du family, Du Yuxin, wearing a brand new black coat, was leisurely drinking tea. Behind him, two girls dressed as maids were carefully massaging his shoulders.

Butler Qian Hui trotted into the lobby and said respectfully to Du Yuxin, "Master, the new head of the security team, Su Zhengyang, is here to meet you."

Du Yuxin put down the teacup, a look of surprise in his eyes.

"This little kid from the Su family came to visit us suddenly. I'm afraid he has something to ask for. A guest is a guest. Please invite him in first. I want to see if Su Yuting's legitimate son has the power of a general."