The Twenty-Fifth Chapter: Borrowing an Army

  Liu Mingjiu and others, after having dinner at Zhao's home, went to the homes of other seven families of the deceased and gave each 45 silver dollars. Then Liu Mingjiu and his party moved to Sun Congzhou's home.

  "Uncle Sun, the information Uncle Kang gave you, was it very useful?" Liu Mingjiu took a cup of tea handed over by the maid from the Sun family, took a light sip, and placed a document in front of Sun Congzhou on the tea table: "This is the latest one, take a look and see if there's anything you need."

  Sun took the file from Liu Mingjiu, opened it and said with a smile: "Haha, good kid! Those guys also sent troops to escort the convoy, and you also sent troops to escort the convoy. Is that okay now? Not only did you get the money, but this has also become a brocade guard. Tell me, where did you get all these intelligence from?"

  Liu Mingjiu took a light sip of tea, lit a cigarette and leaned back in his chair with a smile as he looked at Sun Congzhou: "Hehe, it's quite simple. I sent troops to escort the convoy, and naturally they would encounter many bandits along the way. They were afraid of becoming the second group of people on the Western Four Liangzi Mountains, so they could only give in to me. And among these merchants who helped with the transportation, which one didn't have some connections with the local powers? I just followed their connections and sent our brothers to investigate using various methods, and that's how you got all this information."

  "Damn it, you little brat are too damn good! After falling so far behind, I'm really starting to doubt that you're actually Little Jiu Zi. Take these moves and go back to organize them into a whole thing for me, then send it over after some time has passed. You didn't come just for this, did you?" Sun Cong Zhou also smiled as he looked at Liu Ming Jiu, continuing: "You little brat is now so cunning, even Gold Big Boss and the others were taken in by you, tell me, how do you plan to scheme against Uncle Sun?"

  Liu Mingjiu put on an innocent look: "How could I have schemed against them? I invested money to partner with them, and we all got rich together. Without me, they wouldn't have been able to expand the market so quickly either. And as for saying that I've schemed against you, that's even more wrong. When have I ever schemed against you, Uncle Sun? Not to mention that I haven't schemed against anyone, even if I dared to scheme against someone, I wouldn't dare scheme against you, Uncle Sun."

  "Consider you a good kid, tonight all of you stay here for dinner and then go to the team department to live. The kids in the team department have basically settled down now, except for those on duty, many rooms are empty." Sun Zongzhou looked at Liu Mingjiu's innocent face and couldn't help but laugh. He took out a cigar that was extremely rare in this era from his pocket and casually handed it to Liu Mingjiu.

  Liu Mingjiu took the cigar, looked at it with curious eyes, and then looked at Sun Congzhou: "This is a rare commodity, where did Uncle Sun get it from?"

  Sun Chongzhou looked at Liu Mingjiu's expression, which was completely revealing his true nature as a chain smoker, and burst out laughing: "You little chain smoker, don't your business partners always run to Beijing and Tianjin? How come they've never even sent you one of these?"

  "Haha, this is really rare. They only sent some cigarettes from Qingdao, Britain, Shanghai and other places, I've hardly ever seen this before." Liu Mingjiu held the cigar in his hand, smelling it repeatedly, looking like he couldn't bear to smoke it. In his past life, he was a heavy smoker, seeing the words "H.Upmann" on the cigar, he knew it was authentic Havana cigars, and naturally, he fell in love with it.

  Sun looked at Zhou and was even more delighted: "Alright, let's have a smoke. This time it was your aunt's brother who bought them for me from an American in Beijing. Take two boxes with you when you leave later."

  The Upmann brand was created when Herman Upmann, a German banker, used specially printed cigar boxes as promotional items for his banking business in 1844. The plan was successful and the H.Upmann brand continued into later generations. The brand was very successful, winning seven gold medals at international exhibitions between 1862 and 1893; these awards were still displayed inside the stone-printed boxes of the brand. The brand was first sold to the British company J.Frankau, then again to Menendez, Garcia & Cia before nationalization in Cuba. Later, it continued at the H.Upmann factory, named after Jose Marti. One of the most famous rumors about Upmann cigars is that in 1961, U.S. President John F. Kennedy instructed his press secretary Pierre Salinger to buy a large quantity of Petit Upmanns the day before he authorized the Cuban trade embargo. This speaks to the quality and value of these cigars.

  Liu Mingjiu heard that Sun Congzhou was going to give him two boxes of famous brand cigars that would be very rare in the future, and he was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth. However, he still didn't forget his true purpose: "Hehe, thank you, Uncle Sun. You're willing to give me such good cigarettes, then what about the things I applied for in the letter a few days ago? Are you going to give them to your nephew too?"

  "Damn it, you little brat still dare to bargain with me? Why do you need so many bullets at once? Do you think this is an ammunition factory? Didn't I tell you last time that if you take too much, what will I give to the other brothers when something urgent comes up?" Sun Congzhou's smile on his face disappeared instantly after hearing Liu Mingjiu's true intention.

  A few days ago, Liu Mingjiu came to the team department to handle some business and submitted a report to the team, applying for an increase in bullets. He wanted to conduct live ammunition field training before winter. However, the number was not much different from the last time it was rejected, enough to fight another battle like the one at Xi Si Liangzi. Therefore, Sun Congzhou did not agree and did not respond to Liu Mingjiu. But Liu Mingjiu did not want to have to pay for bullets himself from the small treasury of the 8th Regiment, in case Sun Congzhou and others found out that most of the 400,000 yuan from opening a commercial company and running an escort agency belonged to him, and he would have to bear all the expenses. That's why he took this opportunity to personally find Sun Congzhou and ask for it.

  Liu Mingjiu saw Sun Congzhou refuse him again, and hastily stood up to refill Sun's cup that had just been emptied: "Uncle Sun, if you don't give me bullets, how can I take the brothers out for live ammunition training? If we don't train with live ammunition in the wilderness, how will I know whether they can really achieve 'First battle use me, use me to win'?"

  "Damn it, just your new training courses are more ruthless than a military school, and you're still worried that those kids under you won't make it? What about Old Kang's nephew, the son of your former superior, the battalion commander, and those few company commanders' sons? They all went with high spirits, but when they came back, not one of them didn't say that your training was trying to kill people. With training like yours, are you still worried that those kids under you won't take shape?" Sun stood up from the side, pointing at Liu Mingjiu, and gave him a punch.

  "Ah." Liu Mingjiu dodged slightly, but didn't completely avoid Sun Congzhou's fist. It wasn't that he couldn't dodge, but rather he intentionally didn't, allowing Sun Congzhou's fist to land on his body, which didn't hurt that much: "Uncle Sun, even the eight consecutive training sessions and the security team behind me, those brothers can all complete it. And many people completed it with excellent results too. You can't blame me for this, I didn't invite those few young masters to my place, it was you and Uncle Kang who insisted that I take them in. How can you blame me now?"

  "Go to your mother! With a brain as clever as yours, don't you know to send them to the cooking class? Must they come back with injuries and grumble?" Sun Congzhou also knew that he actually couldn't defeat Liu Mingjiu, who was almost unbeatable in martial arts throughout the whole school. Seeing him intentionally not dodging completely, Sun didn't dare throw another punch, and could only sit back down on his chair, fuming.

  Liu Mingjiu looked at Sun Congzhou, who was furious, and continued to say: "But the eighth company has to follow the training of the cooking class too. Xue Damao's marksmanship and swordsmanship are among the top in the whole company. You want me to throw them into the cooking class, can't they bear it? Moreover, when Xue Damao is not cooking, he secretly engages in soldier-to-soldier combat, won't they be even more unbearable if they go?"

  "What's wrong with you? You're not going to let the cooking squad have a moment's peace, are you? Not only did you pull them out of the kitchen, but now they're farming, raising pigs, fish, and sheep, and even following along with training exercises! What do you think the cooking squad is for?" Sun Congzhou was furious.

  Liu Mingjiu said with a wronged expression: "Uncle Sun, don't be angry, little nephew is doing all this for our troops, isn't it? Yes, the cooking class is in charge of cooking. But they also eat rations and get paid, aren't they members of the 8th company and our 18th regiment too? They are members of our troops, once there aren't enough combat personnel, everyone has to go to the battlefield together, right? If they don't train, what if we really go into battle, I'm not protecting them, I'm harming them. As for those tasks, it's not just their class doing them, is it? Every day I transfer some people from other classes to help them with their work, sometimes I even help them myself."

  "What's wrong with these two again? Stop arguing, dinner is ready. Sun Chongzhou, didn't you say that Liu Jingjiu did a good job? Then stop arguing with him all the time." Just as the two were about to reach an impasse, Sun Chongzhou's wife walked into the room and interrupted Sun Chongzhou, who was about to speak again. She turned around and pulled up Liu Jingjiu's hand: "Let's go, let's eat first. Jingjiu, come with auntie to eat, auntie specially asked the chef to make pot-stewed meat and sweet and sour fish for you, and I personally stewed beef soup for you. Let's not argue with him anymore."

  Before Sun Congzhou rose to fame, his wife followed him despite her brother's opposition. Later, she helped Sun Congzhou take over the troops after her brother's defeat. The couple had a good relationship over the years, and Sun Congzhou's love for his wife was renowned throughout the Yi Army. Otherwise, it would not have been possible for other battalion commanders, even regimental and company commanders, to take concubines while Sun Congzhou remained faithful to his wife. When Mrs. Sun entered and spoke, Liu Mingjiu and Sun Congzhou stopped arguing, neither looking at each other as they followed Mrs. Sun out of the study and into the living room for dinner together.

  At the dinner table, after Madam Sun understood why the two were quarreling, she burst out laughing: "You two, still military officers leading troops. There's a ready-made excuse to let Little Ninth go practice his martial skills that you're not using, yet you two are fighting instead."

  "A ready-made excuse for training troops?" Sun Congzhou and Liu Mingjiu were both taken aback, speaking out in unison, their eyes fixed on the smiling Madame Sun.

  "Heh heh, Xiao Jiu Zi, Auntie isn't a soldier, but she's also been a military dependent for many years. Auntie asks you, what is the best way to train soldiers?" Sun Fu Ren looked at the two of them and asked with a smile, directed at Liu Ming Jiu.

  Liu Mingjiu thought for a moment: "I think there are two ways, one is to sweat more in peacetime, and the other is to practice with fresh blood in wartime."

  Madam Sun turned her gaze towards Sun Congzhou after hearing that: "Congzhou, isn't what Xiaojuzi said correct? Didn't you always say the same thing in the past?"

  "That's right, but this kid is now sweating a lot even in peacetime. Except for those tough soldiers he recruited, no one can withstand the training of his battalion. If we were to train on the battlefield, the war in the south has already been halted by President Xu, and even if it hadn't, our general wouldn't have participated, and we wouldn't have gone either." Sun Congzhou first showed a face full of anger, then stared at his loving wife with a questioning expression.

  Madam Sun looked at Sun Congzhou and gestured with her hand on the table: "The distant ones are big battles, even if you want to fight, it's just a matter of sending your entire regiment. But what about the close ones? You told me yesterday that Ma Hu Zi was causing trouble again?"

  "Haha, madam, you are indeed my good wife, my female Zhuge! " Sun Congzhou burst out laughing after hearing what Madam Sun had to say. He turned around and said to Liu Mingjiu: "Mingjiu, how about I let you lead the troops to the battlefield for training? It's better than your solo empty drills."

  Liu Ming immediately stood up with a smile after listening to Sun Congzhou: "That's great, but I don't know which group of people are causing trouble again. Is it the 'Xi Lin Hu' incident on White Horse Mountain? But isn't that just about running into the forest and robbing a wealthy merchant in Quanjiegou? Who let that wealthy merchant help others deal with 'Xi Lin Hu'? Moreover, Wangjiayanzhuang has always been unclear whether it belongs to us or the Fengtian Army, so we won't get into trouble if we go to fight, will we?"

  "Haha, don't worry about this kid. The other day, our superiors met with Yang Yuting from the Jinsiwei Army. Zhang Zuolin is also from our Wuyi Army, and we cooperated several times when fighting against Wang Xiaozhang. Now, we have a good relationship. Commander Liang and Mr. Yang have already discussed this, as long as it's just some bandits in the border area between our two territories, we can just send each other a telegram or make a phone call to avoid misunderstandings, and then we can go after them at any time." Sun Congzhou finished speaking and downed a cup of wine.

  Liu Mingjiu also picked up his wine cup and downed the old Longkou liquor from Sun's house in one gulp. He put the cup on the table and said, "Alright, I'll use this 'Xiulin Tiger' to practice my troops. With just his 60 or 70 men and guns, I estimate that the Eighth Company can wipe them out in less than half a day. But I have a request."

  "What the hell do you want again? Madam, are you watching? This kid does something and always has a request. "Sun Congzhou heard Liu Mingjiu had another request, smiled and pretended to be angry, saying to Sun's wife, then looked at Liu Mingjiu and said: "Speak up, little rabbit, what is your request?"

  Liu Mingjiu sat down, took a bite of the dish and swallowed it before saying: "Firstly, before this operation, don't notify anyone else, just send a telegram to the Fengtian Army side to let them know that we will be fighting at Baima Mountain soon, so as to avoid leaking information. Secondly, I'll take the long guns, big knives and hook sickle teams from the Security Regiment with me this time, you temporarily supplement 450 rifles for them, they all know how to use them, it's just that I don't have enough guns to let them use them for a long time. Thirdly, after the battle, everything on the mountain will be divided in half, and you'll also give me an additional company of rifles and bullets, my Security Regiment still has one-third of the men without guns."

  "Damn it, whether you go or not, it's up to you to train the troops. The higher-ups haven't given any orders, I won't be threatened by you." Sun Congzhou heard this and got angry again. The first two points were easy to discuss, but this last point was clearly intended to leave all the weapons that might be captured on White Horse Mountain for Liu Mingjiu alone.

  "Heh heh, Uncle Sun, don't get angry yet, let me finish talking." Liu Mingjiu didn't dwell on it and continued with a smile: "It's said that 'Zhen Sanjiang' in order to avoid trouble, had just thanked 'Xiao Linhu' for the mountain's righteousness, and sent that kid 100 rifles, 10,000 bullets, 100 big belly knives, 20,000 bullets, and four of Japan's light machine guns, plus 100 war horses. I only want his rifle, which is better between machine gun, handgun, war horse, and rifle, heh heh?"

  Sun listened to Zhou and burst out laughing for over ten seconds before staring at Liu Mingjiu and saying: "Good thing you're my man, if one day we were to clash, I'd be the first to take you down. You're too damn capable, actually managing to dig up the exact numbers. Alright, I'll keep my word, the rifle is yours, but return everything else to me."

  Afterwards, the two of them started discussing at the dinner table. From this conversation onwards, Mrs. Sun began to realize that this little Jiu was truly different from before. However, she felt happy for Sun Congzhou. Liu Mingjiu's father and uncle had risked their lives for the 18th Regiment, for Sun Congzhou, now Liu Mingjiu was loyal and dedicated to Sun Congzhou, with exceptional abilities and intelligence, it seemed as though she saw a future where Sun Congzhou would be promoted to a high position. From then on, whenever Liu Mingjiu had something he couldn't accomplish, Mrs. Sun would secretly lend her support, but that's a story for later.