Chapter 5 Usurpation (Part 5)

  Expansion, this has long been rooted in Mao Feng's heart, and now is the most complex and opportunistic time. Even a shrimp can't be counted as a team leader or regimental commander, they are all small fish! Now is the best time to make a move, once the Northern Expedition succeeds, everything will be set in stone.

  Mao Feng himself knew he had ambition, otherwise he wouldn't have secretly escaped from his hometown in Zhejiang. If Mao Feng hadn't studied history so superficially, he might not have come to Guangzhou but instead gone to Shanghai.

  In that case, let's continue to develop, this is Mao Fengzhi's decision. With one glance, Mao saw that these dozens of people, although not soldiers, had enough courage and daring. Not everyone in this era dared to attack the army with big knives!

  No resistance was encountered, which also surprised Mao Feng. This also made Mao Feng think that these outsiders were very wise! Going with the flow and adapting to changing circumstances might be their plan.

  Following Mao Feng's words, he said to the villagers: "Those who want to join the army can sign up. There is a saying that good men do not become soldiers, but what kind of world is this? It's a chaotic world. If you want to have a future, come and sign up with me to join the army. Maybe this is an opportunity to change your fate! Who's going to sign up now? If no one does, then that's it. The opportunity has been given to you, if you don't seize it, that's your business!"

  As a result, in addition to the twenty or so outsiders, eight local people also signed up for the army! When they were halfway there, Mao Feng ordered them to stop. Mao Feng came to the front of this group of so-called bandits, that is, the outsiders, and said: "Are you supporters of Sun Yat-sen's Nationalist Party?"

  No one answered, and Mao Fengzhi didn't expect anything out of the ordinary. He smiled slightly and continued to say calmly: "You all know what will happen if you don't answer! I don't care whether you are Kuomintang or not, from now on, you are my people. Whoever dares to escape, their companions who didn't escape will be shot dead! Unless you can all escape together, unless you can rebel and kill me yourself!"

  Back to the troops, a row of more than 30 people, all with four limbs and healthy, this made the third regiment immediately sensational. In these years, everyone wants to accumulate strength, seeing that Mao Feng is like this, everyone's mind is on Mao Feng's head.

  But Camp Commander Zhao Pingzhou didn't make a move, and the reason was also very simple - he absolutely couldn't be the first one to do so! Mao Fengzhi was Lin Hu's man, and he had to know what Lin Hu meant by this. It was possible that this was even Lin Hu's intention.

  The report by Mao Fengzhi states that the defeated bandits were brought back, but they are not bandits, they are volunteers who signed up to join the army! Moreover, they specifically requested to join his own team! Because he happened to save their village, these outsiders were also kidnapped by the bandits and forced to surrender. They joined the army out of gratitude for saving their lives and to repay the favor.

  Huang Mingyang worriedly said to Mao Feng, "Squad leader, is this going to work? Privately expanding the army is a beheading offense, let alone these ridiculous reasons. This won't fool anyone!"

  Mao Feng said faintly, "Do I need to deceive? This is just an excuse, a reason that can be used to cover up, so he can step down and I can step down too! I am after all Lin Hu's man!"

  Mao Feng had no choice but to move out of Lin Hu's mountain, and pulling the tiger's skin was nothing more than that. Now his foundation is shallow, and he has no choice but to do so. He doesn't care about Lin Hu's past, at least he knows that for now, he must rely on Lin Hu. If one does not take care of oneself, heaven will destroy and earth will annihilate, survival is the top priority.

  Huang Mingyang also knew that Lin Hu Jun was a famous general, and he understood the principle of having a strong backing to achieve success.

  Mao Fengzhi saw Huang Mingyang's gradually stabilizing expression and smiled to himself, thinking that he would use Huang Mingyang's mouth to tell others that Mao Fengzhi was Lin Hu's man, and if they wanted to deal with him, they had better weigh their own abilities.

  Lin Hu's arranged informant naturally reported the situation, Lin Hu looked at it and couldn't help but praise: "Good kid, I'm going to take a closer look at him. He can still do this, and he even brought out my, Lin's, banner. He's got guts, privately recruiting soldiers... If the third battalion allows it, then what happens next won't be Mao Feng's responsibility, but the third battalion's! He's using unorthodox tactics, he's a talented individual, he knows how to get established quickly! I'm going to take a good look at him, see just how far he can go. If he does well, maybe even being the battalion commander isn't out of the question!"

  He then turned to his stunned deputy and said: "Pass on my order, promote Mao Feng as the commander of the Engineer Battalion, expand the troops under his command from one company to a battalion, and let Mao Feng recruit the personnel himself!"

  "Yes, General!"

  Lin Hu said in a low voice: "Don't call me 'General' again. I am not a general. If there is a next time, military law will be enforced."

  "Yes, sir!" The deputy officer responded loudly.

  Mao Fengzhi and Captain Dong Qigong stared at each other, with both sides in a standoff. Dong Qigong roared: "Mao Fengzhi, you little brat, how dare you treat me like this? Do you know what the consequences are for offending an officer? Now I order you to hand over these people immediately! They're all bandits! Traitors! It's possible they're even Sun Dapao's men! Harboring rebels is a capital offense!"

  "Traitors? Bandits? Ha ha, Captain Dong, you really know how to joke. They are all people with clean backgrounds, and I have already announced that they are my comrades-in-arms. They trust me and are willing to entrust their lives to my subordinates! If you just say a couple of sentences like this and want to arrest my men, then how can I lead the troops in the future? Should I also let you take over my platoon?"

  "Get out, Mao Feng! You've gone too far! Don't think that just because you have a powerful backer, you can do whatever you want. Here, there are only military rules, no personal relationships! Now I order you to immediately withdraw your men and hand over all the counter-revolutionaries to me. Otherwise, you'll be considered a rebel leader! When the time comes, it won't just be me who comes after you, but the entire battalion. At that time, with just this handful of men, you won't even be enough to fill a gap between teeth! You'd better think carefully!"

  Dong Qigong continued, "Feng's younger brother, if you insist on protecting these people today, won't that arouse suspicion? Are you also one of Sun Dapao's men? By then, you won't be able to explain yourself! So, it's still possible to retreat now. Everyone is struggling to make a living, no one finds it easy, but all this is based on having one's own life as the priority. Without your life, even if you have a lot of money, you won't have the good fortune to enjoy it!"

  Mao Feng smiled as he looked at Dong Qigong, and slowly spoke: "If it can't be said clearly, then let's not say it! How I am is unimportant. Since General Lin has recommended me to be the platoon leader, I must do a good job! Now is the time for strategy, if everyone were like Commander Dong, wouldn't that make our brothers feel cold? Who would be willing to sacrifice themselves for General Lin then? Some people's hearts are really despicable!"

  "You! You!..." Dong Qigong's face turned red with rage, his lips trembling as he could only manage to say these words.

  Maofeng has pulled out Linhu's tiger skin, he hasn't thought of taking it back. Since it's already been taken out, then let's thoroughly play with it! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Maofeng is very lively, and he also clearly knows that Linhu's troops are divided into factions, probably Linhu can't even control this so-called Third Army, isn't this his own opportunity? Betting on Linhu is a gamble!

  Mao Feng continued: "General Lin promoted me without regard to my humble status, as the saying goes 'a scholar would die for a ruler who appreciates him'. I only know how to make General Lin stronger, but not what is called personal gain! If you insist on this, then let's go together to General Lin and clarify!"

  There are distinctions between superior and inferior, and differences between high and low. In this era or since ancient times, China has always had such thinking, even abroad it is the same. So-called equality is just a joke! Mao Feng knows this very well. Now Dong Qigong uses Lian Chang to suppress him, now he is going with the flow, using Lin Hu to suppress him.

  Dong Qigong's patience was wearing thin, and he too was infuriated by Mao Fengzhi's words. As the leader of his own group, with more men at his disposal than this rabbit son, he had already given him face, but this rabbit son refused to return the favor. Fine, let's tear off the facade! He had been tolerating this rabbit son for far too long.

  When Dong Qigong was about to shout, he saw that Mao Fengzhi's gun had already been drawn and the black muzzle was aimed at his forehead. He felt a chill on his forehead and saw the calmness in Mao's eyes, like a pool of dead water that couldn't stir up any ripples. This shocked Dong Qigong greatly, as an old soldier, he knew that people with such a mentality were all blood-stained veterans, and they were the exceptional kind.

  Dong Qigong still shouted in a face-saving manner: "You actually dare to point the gun at me, put down the gun for Laozi!"

  "This is just a show of force," was Mao Feng's first impression, and then he became very certain because Dong Qigong did not pull out his gun to aim at him. Mao Feng calmly said: "Can the problem be solved without pulling out a gun? You are obviously here to pick a fight, if I'm easy to bully, what face do I have left to lead my brothers? They don't care about their previous identities, now they are all my people, as long as I, Mao Feng, am still alive. If they were traitors, if they were Sun Dapao's men, that was in the past, now they are my people, third army people, and also Lin Dashuai's people! Are you not a third army person? Are you not Lin Dashuai's person? If not, I'm afraid you're the rebel elements! Put down your guns!"