Volume 1: Laying the Foundation Chapter 61: Meeting Director-General (Three)

  It's still not satisfactory after collecting. Haven't you guys seen it and put it away yet? Brother updates diligently, leave some for me too! The first update is here!

  Establish the "Wu Tang", and the officers trained will be selected by his fifth division. This means that first of all, Chen Xiaoqi's plot was cut off, after all, as the principal of the military academy, Chen Xiaoqi was just a sponsor, and the officers would naturally listen to the principal. But what about shouldering the salary and weapons of the fifth division? That's a bit terrifying!

  If a division has 10,000 soldiers, the cost of guns alone would be tens of millions, and the annual military expenditure would not be less than 300 million. Adding other expenses such as uniforms, ammunition, etc., the total annual expenditure would be around 500-600 million. However, this is just an estimate on paper. In reality, at that time, most of the Northern Warlord Army's military expenditures were either not paid or underpaid. A considerable number of troops only had two meals a day and still couldn't eat their fill. Their uniforms were shabby, and they looked like beggars. The guns were also of poor quality, and it was difficult to assemble a complete set of equipment. Most of the money was embezzled by officials at various levels. In reality, the actual annual expenditure for a division was probably around 10 million, with the rest being pocketed by officials.

  This means that Chen Xiaoqi plans to give Zheng Shiqi 5-6 million yuan a year, and how to divide this cake is up to him. But in doing so, Mr. Zheng has made a fortune!

  If it were a direct check of one million dollars given to Zheng Shiqi, he might have turned his face immediately. He is also considered a military man with a head and a face who claims to be upright, so he can't do such a direct bribery. However, when others directly provide military supplies, this statement cannot be made, he can't say it! The current Beiyang government basically doesn't care about anything, each place raises its own troops and collects its own military expenses. Those who want to save face have no money, while those who don't want to save face do have money, but it's not certain that they can provide it for him to arm the troops. Therefore, the entire team is actually very hard-pressed, otherwise how could they not defeat the bandits?

  This great gift Zheng Ziqi had no way to refuse, he had to consider the tens of thousands of brothers under him. It's been a year and a half since they've received their salary, and it's not chaotic yet only because he, as an old officer, is holding everything together. With this money, he can let these people steadily follow him and be his backing force. In this era, everyone knows that having guns in hand means having no worries. Controlling a main force division means being able to exist as a dominant power, this is the real authority!

  But if he takes it, without saying, everyone will understand that this is the money from Old Master Chen after a long time. This is a typical case of buying people's hearts openly and fairly! If his brother doesn't agree, then he would be letting down his comrades. But if he agrees, then wouldn't this regiment belong to him in the future? What can be done about it?

  Although Zheng Shiqi is a talented person, he was quite frustrated at this time. How could things be so annoying? You say that Chen is really something, how come he didn't do it earlier or later? He definitely can't let this large sum of money fall into someone else's hands, otherwise with his vast financial resources, it's possible for him to directly buy a new person in Shandong province to become the boss! In these times, who cares about the authenticity of those scoundrels with backgrounds? As long as you give them money, they are the big shots. Not to mention that Chen Xiaoqi gave 5 or 6 million military funds, he can directly buy a whole troop number with his money and get it up and running in just one month!

  Zheng Sizhi gritted his teeth in anger, regretting that he had let Li Junfeng speak so recklessly. He slammed his hand on the table and stood up, shouting loudly: "What are you people doing? Privately embezzling military funds from Xiangyang, is this the kind of thing you do? What is your true intention?"

  Li Junfeng saw that he was out of sorts, and immediately felt at ease in his heart. This man was afraid of nothing but having no hobbies or bottom line. As long as he found his bottom line, there would be a breakthrough. Obviously, this clever move he had discussed with Chen Xiaoqi hit the mark, poking right into Old Zheng's weak spot.

  Li Junfeng's face remained unchanged, his heart unflappable, as he sat there as stable as Mount Tai. He said calmly: "General, our boss has no other intention. You and I both know the hardships of being a soldier. We eat military rations just to survive, don't we? Now, looking around the country, high-ranking officials are all busy fighting for fame and fortune, seizing cities and territories. Who among them cares about the nation's finances or the people's livelihoods? Who among them cares about the lives of these soldiers who have left their homes and families behind to fight on the front lines? Who among them cares about what we military officers are thinking? I'm just trying to show some concern for my comrades-in-arms, General. You're overthinking this."

  This sounds very grand and dignified, but Zheng Shiqi heard it very clearly. These are just idle excuses, making it clear that they are relying on their wealth to bully you. What do you think, brothers? He has also seen through the current national situation. From top to bottom, it's all a mess of incompetent people. Otherwise, with his prestigious North China Fifth Division, how could he let a bandit like this run amok and cause trouble everywhere? The great General Tian Zhongyu was dismissed from office because of this, isn't it just because they didn't have the money to maintain a strong army?

  Forget it! When parents are dead and remarried, everyone takes care of themselves!

  Zheng Shiqi finally agreed. Li Junfeng saw that the supervisor was having a hard time, and he was delighted! He didn't expect this trick to actually work! Li Junfeng believed that with his team's strength, Chen Xiaoqi would definitely be able to return tenfold on this investment. As long as Zheng Shiqi agreed to these conditions, there was no need to worry about those people who had taken the money not contributing to their efforts! He knew all too well the moral character of these soldiers in this era! Whoever gave them money became their "daddy", and they would only work hard for whoever gave it to them. Even if Zheng Shiqi tried his best to win them over, he was afraid that it would be impossible to change reality, unless they became richer than the boss, but was that possible?

  Zheng Shiqi seemed to have made a great effort, and finally nodded in agreement to the three requirements, on the condition that he could become the number one person in the Shandong military circle first. Li Junfeng also readily agreed, promising that in December, a batch of military equipment would arrive at Qingdao through the branch of "Mei Hua Trading Company" and then be transported to Jinan, where they would prioritize equipping Zheng's troops with the latest American goods - "Springfield 1903" rifles, along with some bullets, as well as 9mm "Black Star" pistols and an "M1923"-style submachine gun, all produced by their company, specifically for arming a personal guard unit for Zheng.

  These fine goods, Governor Zheng has seen them all before. These simple yet powerful firearms are well-suited for the Chinese army of this era, which is full of illiterates. Their performance is top-notch, and "MeiHua Group" has also promised that they will expand the Jinan Arsenal in due course, moving over a production line for these guns and ammunition. As such, Governor Zheng Shi-qi, the big boss of Shandong Province, will have his own military supplies, making him even bolder and more confident in his struggle for power!

  Both the host and the guest were satisfied, and Lord Zheng finally accepted this unexpected grand gift. He was preparing to show off his skills next year, reorganize his troops, and thoroughly train his fifth division. After getting new weapons and equipment, he would definitely make people see his true strength; otherwise, how could those big shots in Beijing be willing to spend money to win him over?

  Li Junfeng was also very satisfied, he completed the task entrusted by his boss without disappointing everyone, and it went surprisingly smoothly. He took advantage of Zheng Shiqi's daze to slip in a request that wasn't immediately apparent, which was to establish a school for training security personnel at the same time as setting up "Lecture Martial Hall", specifically to train internal security guards for the company, providing professional personal and property protection services for important personnel within the company and its current bosses, similar to ancient bodyguards or escort agencies. Moreover, as a business company, it wouldn't be good to have several armed soldiers standing at the entrance all day, would it?

  This requirement is not excessive, in this day and age, which wealthy family does not have a dozen or so armed men? Some large landowners with great grievances even have hundreds of armed men, building walls like fortresses, ordinary people can't get in. What's the point of training a few security guards? Military schools are already being set up, it's not lacking this!

  Li Junfeng was in a good mood after achieving great success, and as soon as he returned to Jinan, he threw himself into preparing for various tasks. As the number one member of this "general staff", he had become an all-around special envoy for the company, handling everything from business, trade, agriculture, industry, military affairs, and more. The talents under him were all multi-tasking, and later on, they had to start recruiting university students and high school students locally to train and join the workforce. Some purely commercial tasks that didn't require much sensitivity or human touch were handed over to these new recruits. As a result, the people Li brought back with him all became team leaders, and after the number of staff under him continued to grow, he had no choice but to rent an entire large courtyard directly. He then urged Wang Tianyun and the others from the "Xuanwu Department" to hurry up and get the office building and living quarters for the preparatory office ready first.

  No surprise, Zheng Shiqi soon received the promotion of Cao Kun who had successfully bribed his way to election, becoming a prominent figure in both military and political circles in Shandong Province. In terms of military affairs, Chen Xiaoqi's layout was considered successful. Later, Li Junfeng widely issued heroic posters, calling on his former classmates and teachers to come to the newly established "Lecture Martial Hall" in Jinan to restart their careers. At that time, they also recruited many talents. The new site of "Jinan Lecture Martial Hall" was located in the "Brocade River" valley in the southern mountains of Jinan, not far from the small base established by Mr. Miao. Meanwhile, the small base naturally became the newly established "Meihua Security School", which began to recruit students from all walks of society.

  After the military passed this level, it was much easier to deal with the government. Nowadays, those who are in politics are basically not upright people. As long as the money is spent properly, it's all green lights. Compared to Zheng Shiqi, the provincial governor and other related officials have a much smaller appetite and are easier to satisfy. In front of them, Li Junfeng never mentioned how big his group would be in the future, but instead seriously proposed an application for opening mines and factories, and then argued reasonably on various conditions. He openly mentioned that it would be an investment by American capital in China, and local families such as Miao, Zhou, Yuan, and Meng had also invested. Those politicians knowingly accepted the checks and signed the documents with their eyes closed, letting them do whatever they wanted.