The 21st Section: New Atmosphere of Small Town

  On the drill ground of Linglong Tower, Sun Congzhou, Kang Daxuan, Zuo Zhenyuan and the three battalion commanders Sun Congli, deputy commander Lü Gang stood on the earthen platform again. However, this time it was not just the eight connections that were inspected. Liu Mingjiu brought all the more than 500 subordinates of the security team who did not go to escort to the drill ground. After a day's inspection, Sun Congzhou saw a team that was more powerful and combat-effective than the main force of the 18th Regiment, and he laughed with satisfaction repeatedly. Kang Daxuan, Zuo Zhenyuan and others, who had been worried about Liu Mingjiu, also put down their worries and followed suit, laughing non-stop.

  "Good boy, you've really made me proud! You've managed to accomplish something in less than half a year, and it's quite impressive!"

  After dinner, Sun Zongzhou lay on the kang and looked at Liu Mingjiu, who was sitting under the kang with his dark bronze skin, and smiled.

  "This is not the trust and support of Captain, that's why I have the opportunity to lead this team. I just did what I should do." Liu Mingjiu still said expressionlessly, lit a cigarette and handed it to Sun Congzhou.

  "You'd better stop flattering me, I just gave you the power, this team can be brought to such a state, it has nothing to do with me, it's all your own credit." Sun Congzhou took over the cigarette gun handed over by Liu Mingjiu and curiously asked: "You don't like this taste? I heard that not only do you not like this taste, but also as soon as someone in your team smokes opium, you immediately kick him out of your troops, is this true?"

  "Report to the team leader, yes, the teams under me are all young and strong. Although opium can bring people pleasure, I've also heard that when they don't have opium, the pain of those who smoke it is unbearable. I don't want my team to lose their fighting power on the battlefield because they can't get their fix. You smoking opium is one thing, but these officers and soldiers below you only earn a small income each month, and if they indulge in this habit for a long time, I'm afraid they won't even be able to support their families, which would destabilize military morale. Therefore, I strictly forbid them from touching the stuff." Liu Mingjiu rarely showed a hint of a smile.

  "Yes, this thing is good, but once you get hooked on it, you really can't quit. You're right, from now on, the 8th and Lingtong Tower security teams will be our 18th team's reserve team, we really can't become a group of double-barreled soldiers." Sun Congzhou took a drag on his cigar and then asked Liu Mingjiu: "You little devil, you have so many ideas, do you know how to quit this thing?"

  "Report to the team leader, this thing is more addictive than physical addiction. There is a way to quit, but it depends on whether the person who wants to quit has the determination and perseverance to get rid of it." Liu Mingjiu regained his expressionless face and looked at Sun Congzhou.

  Sun Zongzhou looked at this subordinate doll and couldn't help but feel a little moved. He also knew that smoking wasn't a good thing, and he had been feeling the side effects of it lately. So he asked Liu Mingjiu: "Is there any way? Tell me. I've died so many times, can't I still make up my mind and determination to quit this stuff?"

  "The method is actually very simple, when you are having a withdrawal symptom, have someone tie up your four limbs and then use something to separate your upper and lower teeth. Tying you up is to prevent you from suffering too much during the withdrawal period and being tempted to scratch yourself wildly. Separating your teeth with something is to prevent you from biting your own tongue when you get anxious."

  "This trick really works? Tomorrow I'll go back and try it." Sun Congzhou looked at Liu Mingjiu with a mixture of trust and doubt, then continued: "I heard that you've done a great job with the 80 mu of land I assigned to you, and next year you'll be able to feed yourselves. What's the point of shouting 'self-reliance'?"

  "The team leader is wise, this is exactly what Biao Xia thought. Relying on the general's arrangement, one will delay the efficiency of replenishment, and two will also waste money in transportation. We can plant grain and raise pigs locally, and after the harvest in autumn, we can avoid those troubles." Liu Mingjiu smiled faintly again, looking at Sun Congzhou and Kang Daxuan and Zuo Zhenyuan who had just climbed onto the kang to smoke a water pipe.

  "Great, not bad. His mother's land was used for military food, but now it has completely changed with you. I heard that the brothers under your command are not only unwilling, but also eager to go to the military fields. You're really capable, really have a way." Sun Congzhou listened to Liu Mingjiu finish speaking, and laughed loudly, then looked at Liu Mingjiu and continued: "This time you've become the small wealthy owner of our 18th regiment, I'm going to promote your experience throughout the whole regiment, don't hide anything from me, bring it all out."

  "This, Captain, even if I were to organize the entire process for you, our current situation in the 18th Regiment, and the higher-ups wouldn't allow us to do it like this. At most, you can use my method when recruiting and training new soldiers, but that also depends on whether the officers in charge can persist. Liu Mingjiu naturally hoped that his newly trusted superior would use his own methods to strengthen the entire 18th Regiment. However, the fact that sixty percent of the regiment's soldiers were older, and the conservative high-ranking officials above, made it difficult for his methods to be fully implemented throughout the regiment."

  "Alas! It's indeed like that, we can only come up with something little by little. What good ideas do you have, young man?" Sun Congzhou also knew that Liu Mingjiu was right, his own troops had more than 30% of old brothers who were hard to compete with the young and strong men like Liu Mingjiu. It was impossible to eliminate them all at once, and it would take time. The biggest pressure on this plan came from the conservative high-ranking officials above, he himself was just a regimental commander, if someone above was not satisfied, removing him would be just a matter of a few words.

  Liu Mingjiu was very clear that Sun Congzhou had seen the effectiveness of his series of reforms and wanted to make a comprehensive change in the 18th Regiment: "This regimental commander doesn't need to worry, we can't complete it all at once, but we can do it slowly. Every year there are over forty old soldiers retiring from the army. Every year there are new recruits coming into the camp. You can completely reassign them after they arrive, first form a youth platoon, then a youth company, and then rebuild a youth regiment. In just a few years, won't our 18th Regiment become a force dominated by young and strong soldiers? However, you still need to add one more condition, that is, the age limit for soldiers. The soldiers in the 18th Regiment can stay in our troops until they are 25 or 26 years old at most, and non-commissioned officers can be relaxed to thirty years old. In this way, won't we be afraid of becoming a big burden soldier after many years?"

  "What a good idea, Xiao Jiu Zi! How did you come up with this brain of yours? Where did you learn these thoughts from? What a great idea, it's perfect!" Kang Da Xuan, who was standing beside him, couldn't help but interrupt and say.

  "You little rascal, you're my grandson's lucky star! Good boy, tomorrow I'll go to Chaoyang and report to Director Liang. If I don't take you with me, I'd be letting myself down!" Sun Congzhou couldn't help but laugh excitedly as he said this.

  Afterwards, Liu Mingjiu elaborated on the overall plan in detail to Sun Congzhou, Kang Daxuan, and Zuo Zhenyuan. The three men listened intently, nodding their heads repeatedly, growing more astonished as they listened. How did that mischievous youth who had just joined the army less than a year ago become so insightful and ingenious? Moreover, what surprised them even more was that Liu Mingjiu had also gained unexpected and practical insights into governing cities. The four men talked until midnight before dispersing. From this day on, the three leaders of the 18th Regiment were thoroughly conquered by their eighteen-year-old subordinate.

  The next day, Liu Mingjiu took the crowd to inspect the military farm, a new thing, and saw the bustling autumn harvest scene on the endless fields, where the security team's officers and soldiers and temporary short-term workers were loading car after car of grain, wheat, and rice onto horse-drawn carts to the west side of the Ba Lian exercise field. The crowd seemed to see batch after batch of new recruits walking towards them, seemed to see handfuls of silver coins flying towards them, and seemed to see large quantities of new weapons being distributed into the hands of their subordinates.

  Before Sun Congzhou and others left in the evening, Sun Congzhou called Liu Mingjiu to his side again: "Xiao Jiu Zi, the soldiers are well-trained for me, but the internal traitors have not been eliminated yet."

  "Report to the team leader, after our great general and the Feng army joined forces to attack Wang Xiaotiaozi, Zhao's family almost completely cut off contact with Wang Xiaotiaozi. So now it's really hard to pull out this nail." Liu Mingjiu said helplessly.

  Indeed, after Zhao Miao Sheng failed to find Deng Zhi Sui, he first had someone beat Liu Ming Jiu twice. Except for sending people to deliver money to Wang Xiao Jia every month, they did not have any other contact. Later, the Left Wuwei Army and the Fongjun Army chased Wang Xiao Jia from Chaoyang to Beipiao and then to Liaonan. The Zhao family even stopped sending people to deliver supplies. Therefore, although Liu Ming Jiu wanted to complete the punishment of internal traitors, he couldn't catch any concrete evidence, and it was difficult to thoroughly punish the internal traitors by acting rashly, so he hesitated and did not take action for a long time.

  "No way? You're the one with all the tricks up your sleeve, how could you be out of options? Not long ago, Jianping discovered that Wang Xiaozhu's team had gone to take revenge, and a wealthy family was annihilated by Wang Xiaozhu just like the Cao family." Sun Congzhou said coldly to Liu Mingjiu.

  Liu Mingjiu broke out in a cold sweat, could it be that Sun Congzhou knew that the Cao family was his doing? But it didn't seem like it, with his superior's temperament, if he had known that the Cao family's mansion was destroyed by the 8th company under his leadership and hadn't even been given an offering, he would not have let him off. After quickly thinking it over, Liu Mingjiu immediately calmed down, sneering as he looked at Sun Congzhou: "The captain means to say that Wang Xiaojiao should also appear once in the Linglong Tower?"

  "Haha, why must it be in Linglong Tower? Once we leave our territory, can't the Zhao family do business and transport goods?" Sun Congzhou said with a cold smile.

  "Understood, Captain. Don't worry." Liu Mingjiu also broke out in a cold sweat, daring to think that his superior was even more ruthless and cunning than himself.

  After exchanging a few words, Liu Mingjiu quietly handed Sun Congzhou a 15,000 yuan check. The two of them understood each other without needing to say anything, and they exchanged a knowing smile. Because this time when Sun Congzhou returned, he would definitely report back to Liu Mingjiu and ask for promotion, and in the Beiyang Army, if you wanted to become a mid-level officer, it was impossible unless you were from an official family.