Section Thirty-two General Affairs Office

  "Are you all right? I heard that on the way, you encountered those Mongolian cavalrymen from the grasslands. Were you hurt?" Zhao Bi Lin saw Liu Mingjiu walk into the living room and immediately took a step forward, tightly grasping his hand and asking with concern. As soon as she finished asking, she discovered that Zhao Li Shi, Zhao Bi Zhen, Zhao Tai Xuan, and others who were following behind Liu Mingjiu, including Han Zhen and Geng Ji Lie, were all smiling at her, so she immediately let go of his hand and hid to one side.

  Liu Mingjiu was also stunned by Zhao Biling's actions, but immediately opened his mouth to break the awkward situation: "I'm fine, hehe, Auntie, this is the Changbai ginseng I bought for you from Chengde and the Snowflake Cream for Biling and Bizhen. These two fountain pens are for Bizhen and Tai Xuan."

  "Oh my, you're buying things again. You're such a spendthrift!" Zhao Li's mother glared at Zhao Bilin who was hiding on the side, but as the saying goes, "no one knows a daughter better than her mother", so she didn't say too much in front of everyone. Instead, she turned around and smiled at Liu Mingjiu, continuing to say: "I'm not even seventy or eighty years old yet, what's the point of spending money on ginseng?"

  Liu Mingjiu handed the thing in his hand to the maid who was walking over, and while walking with everyone into the living room, he pulled Zhao Li's hand and said: "Who says that ginseng can only be eaten when one is old? Why not take care of yourself ahead of time while you're still young?"

  "Hehe, Little Jiu is indeed eloquent. Your auntie hasn't become so old that she can't move around yet, and this time I heard you ran into the Kalaqin gang? Seeing that none of you are hurt, I'm relieved." Zhao Li's smile continued as she gently patted Liu Mingjiu's hand.

  After everyone sat down in the living room, Zhao Tai Xiu, who was only 16 or 17 years old, immediately surrounded Han Zhen and Geng Ji Lie, asking about the encounter with Hasbara on the road. Zhao Bi Zhen also curiously followed to listen to Geng Ji Lie's enthusiastic narration, while Han Zhen, not being good at speaking, only occasionally made some supplementary remarks. At this time, Zhao Bi Lin was also called over by Zhao Li Shi with a glance, but she sat down beside Zhao Li Shi with a bright red face and didn't make another sound, only occasionally stealing glances at Liu Ming Jiu with her eyes. Zhao Li Shi then asked Liu Ming Jiu about the events on the road, to which Liu Ming Jiu responded one by one.

  At noon, Liu Mingjiu and others went straight to the headquarters of the 18th Regiment after having lunch at Zhao's house. Sun Congzhou was already waiting at the door with Chief of Staff Kang Daxuan, Deputy Team Leader Zuo Zhenyuan, Third Battalion Commander Sun Congli, and several other battalion commanders from the headquarters and the third battalion.

  "Come, everyone welcome our 18th Regiment's new hero back home safely." Deputy Commander Zuo Zhenyuan shouted loudly as soon as he saw Liu Mingjiu. Instantly, the military band behind him played a military tune, and some civilians and soldiers also shouted out various welcoming phrases.

  Liu Mingjiu looked at the scene in front of him, feeling a bit embarrassed, and glanced at Sun Congzhou: "Captain, don't do this, I'm also a product of our 18th Regiment's training, and I have today because of that. No need to still give me a welcome ceremony, right?"

  "It's a must, our 18th Regiment hasn't had anyone receive more than two medals at once for many years. You're really something, General Shuai awarded you three medals all at once, and they're all third-class lieutenant generals! You've truly brought great glory and honor to our 18th Regiment!" Sun Congzhou pulled Liu Mingjiu's hand, telling him not to go back to the regiment headquarters.

  Kang Da Xuan also chimed in at this time: "Xiao Jiu Zi, I heard that the old merits have been rewarded and new merits have been established. Did you encounter bandits on the road? And you easily drove them away? Well done! You're really not ordinary, kid. Those bandits are all the beards and troops around here who can't do anything about it. This time, you'll make a name for yourself in the three provinces of the Green Forest Way again."

  "Haha, look at what Uncle Kang said, it's just a bunch of bandits. What Meng Huozi, Ma Huizi, after all, are just bandits. When can our 18th Regiment not drive them away? If we couldn't, wouldn't they have turned the world upside down already?" Liu Mingjiu humbly replied to Kang Daxuan with a smile.

  "You sent someone to attack but they didn't go, and now that we've encountered them, we've driven them back to the grasslands which have already been sealed off by heavy snow. For a while now, it's likely that we'll find it even harder to wipe out this despicable gang." Zuo Zhenyuan took over the conversation, continuing: "Before you ran into them, they had looted Lin Daxing's father-in-law's home in Pingquan 16th Regiment. Have you heard about this?"

  Liu Mingjiu had of course heard about this matter, but in fact it was done by Hasibala and his men on their way back after talking to him. However, since everyone had already agreed beforehand, the news was intentionally delayed from being released. By the time Lin Daxing led his men to chase them, Liu Mingjiu's men had just entered Pingquan County.

  "I heard about it, but it has nothing to do with our 18th Regiment, so I didn't follow them in pursuit. Uncle Sun, you won't be angry with me over this matter, will you?" Liu Mingjiu asked with a smile as he looked at Sun Congzhou.

  Son looked at Zhou and said, "It's good that you didn't go to Lin's place. We don't need to curry favor with him, he's not a good person anyway. I heard his father-in-law is almost sixty years old, and recently he went to Kalaqin to forcibly buy a 15-year-old girl as a concubine. If the family doesn't get rid of him, that would be surprising."

  "Hehe, Uncle Sun, this time I've also brought some good things for all the uncles." After entering the team leader's office, Liu Mingjiu gestured to let Han Zhen hand over a package of things, one by one, to everyone.

  Sun Congli had always been a hot-tempered person. He was the first to open the package: "Hey, little Jiu Zi, what are these things?"

  "Heh heh, Uncle Sun, haven't seen one before? Come, let me introduce you. This is called a lighter. Actually, some people in our 18th Regiment have already used it. You put coal oil inside and then when we smoke, we won't need to look for matches anymore."

  Liu Mingjiu finished speaking and took out the lighter he had brought with Han Zhen, which they had found after searching several foreign shops on Ban Cheng Street. He demonstrated it in front of everyone. The crowd was quickly attracted to these new things, although many of them had heard of them before, but this was really their first time holding them in their hands. Alarm clocks, Mongolian daggers, black-rimmed glasses, Parker pens... one by one, the eighteen team's local officers were completely won over by Liu Mingjiu again after taking these things.

  After sending the things, Sun Zong Zhou sat back in his own seat and said: "You young man are indeed quicker to accept new things than us old folks. Now let's not talk about these trivial matters, it's time for me to discuss the proper business with you."

  "Eighteenth Regiment, Third Battalion, Eighth Company Commander Liu Mingjiu, having taken office for less than a year, has cleared out bandits within the territory and actively carried out reforms. The results of his reforms have been quite significant, earning him the admiration of the military and civilians in Lingyong Tower. Now, he is formally appointed as the Deputy Battalion Commander of the Third Battalion of the Eighteenth Regiment and Company Commander of the Eighth Company, with approval for his request to reorganize his company into a cavalry company.

  At the same time, Liu Mingjiu is appointed as the General Inspector of the Military, Police, and Security Forces in the Six Towns of Jianbei, with control over the Third Battalion's Eighth and Ninth Companies, as well as the security forces in Lingyong Tower, Guchengzi, Shierdebao, Xiaodeyingzi, Erdao Bayan, Xishanggen, and other areas, including police stations.

  He is authorized to carry out reforms on his own without needing to report to the Eighteenth Regiment or the Second Division Headquarters and the Chaoyang Prefectural Government. He has full authority to appoint and dismiss personnel below the rank of Lieutenant in the Diligent Army, as well as Captains and below in the Security Forces and Police Stations.

  It is hoped that he can quickly quell the unrest and grievances in the Six Towns and restore peace and stability. Commander-in-Chief of the Second Division of the Diligent Army, Chaoyang Garrison Commander Liang Cunhua. Republic of China, Seventh Year, December 3rd."

  Liu Mingjiu was taken aback, what's going on with the six towns' patrol and management? The 8th and 9th battalions of the Garrison Brigade? The power to appoint and dismiss personnel for the six towns' police and guards has been returned to him? What's wrong with Liang Shizhong? A conservative and famous Yi Army general, how could he suddenly support his own reform? Liu Mingjiu's mind was filled with ten thousand whys, full of question marks.

  Seeing Liu Mingjiu stunned, Sun Congli lightly poked him and whispered in his ear: "What are you stunned for? Don't you hurry to receive the order?"

  Liu Mingjiu was poked by Sun Congli and came back to his senses. No matter what the reason was, he had finally risen half a grade again. Although he was still a captain, he had already gained control of six towns. After thinking for a moment, he gave another standard salute: "Ready to receive orders."

  Sun Congzhou looked at him dazedly after receiving the appointment letter from Kang Daxuan, and then smiled and stood up: "I damn want more elite soldiers like Bai Lian, Commander Liang also wants them, it's all up to you little kid in the future."

  "Mark my words, work diligently and complete the tasks assigned by your superiors and team leaders as soon as possible." Liu Mingjiu finally understood something. It turned out that Liang Cunhua had given him great power because he saw that his troops now had such strong combat effectiveness. These people are all waiting for an opportunity to strike. If it weren't for Jiang Guotie's meeting with him and the unprecedented award of three medals at once, I believe that even if the regimental commander was very bold, he would not have dared to give himself such great power, including personnel appointments and dismissals without needing to report to superiors.

  "You'd better not be complacent, or you'll be held accountable if things don't go well." Sun Congzhou interrupted Liu Mingjiu's thoughts and continued: "The situation in the south is not right now. Although we won this world war, various factions are also gearing up for a fight. That cloth seller Zhao Kun (who relied on selling cloth to make a living) and Wu Peifu have recently been competing with Premier Duan to expand their military. Once they start fighting, given our commander's relationship with Premier Duan, it's likely that we'll be sent to fight against those guys from the Zhili clique. You'd better quickly build a strong team for me, if you need anything, just ask, and this time I and the division commander will fully satisfy your needs."

  "Yes, I will definitely go all out to bring out a new reserve force for our army and the 18th Regiment as soon as possible, in order to repay the trust of Commander Liang and Colonel Sun." Liu Mingjiu understood even more this time.

  There is still more than a year to go, and Duan Qirui's Anhui clique will soon be fighting against Cao Kun and Wu Peifu's Zhili clique. Both sides are preparing for the first large-scale warlord battle in modern Chinese history, which is exactly one year ahead of schedule. Unexpectedly, the Yi Army also wants to join the war, and Liu Mingjiu has become the main trainer of the Yi Army's second division due to his excellent training methods. Liu Mingjiu now feels that he can't back down. If this war really breaks out, he doesn't know how many young men from Jiangxi will shed blood on the battlefield, and as the one who trained them from scratch to become soldiers, what kind of historical evaluation will he receive in the future? But for now, his priority is to protect his own life. Only by surviving to see tomorrow's sun can he truly make his rebirth worthwhile.