Chapter 1 Arrival in Your Honorable Territory (China)

  As for Chu Yuan, the master of this body under his eyes, he didn't have a good impression. From those documents and family letters, Chu Yuan had already gained a general understanding of Cheng Jiaji's basic situation.

  Cheng Jiaji is 23 years old and currently serves as the deputy director of the logistics department of the 66th Division of the National Revolutionary Army. He is from Nan'an County, Fujian Province, and coincidentally shares the same hometown as Zheng Chenggong, a renowned historical figure. However, unlike Zheng, Cheng Jiaji lacks any remarkable talent or charisma. Back in his hometown, he relied on his family's wealth and influence to indulge in drinking, gambling, and womanizing. He often caused trouble with his friends, getting into fights and causing disturbances, although never committing any serious crimes. This time, however, he got into a dispute over a female opera performer and ended up killing the only son of another wealthy family in Nan'an County.

  This time the money for the trip home won't work, although the other party in Nanan County is not as wealthy and powerful as the Cheng family, they still have some influence. The death of their only son must be investigated by the authorities, it's a matter of life and death, reason and emotion. The court summons has already been delivered to the Cheng family, and the old father, seeing that his youngest son has caused big trouble, hastily lets Cheng Jiaji hide in the military under his eldest sister's husband, Xia Weimin, commander of the 66th Division, to avoid the storm for a while.

  Cheng Jiaji had three sisters and two brothers, and he was the youngest of the six. His eldest sister was his biological sister, who was much older than him. She doted on Cheng Jiaji since childhood and was overjoyed whenever he came home. Although Xia Weimin was a notorious figure in the military, he was very respectful to his wife, who was six or seven years younger than him. At her request, Xia Weimin not only took in Cheng Jiaji, a fugitive wanted for murder, but also gave him a lucrative position as deputy director of the logistics department in his own army. From then on, Cheng Jiaji transformed from a wanted murderer in Nan'an County to a legitimate lieutenant colonel in the national army.

  Although he was in the military during wartime and had a homicide case on his back, Cheng Jiaji did not restrain his behavior, but instead continued to act as he pleased.

  The military supply department was originally a lucrative position in the army, and with his sister backing him up, he was even more reckless and made a lot of money. He had only been in office for less than a year and had already taken advantage of many benefits. The stack of fake reimbursement documents on the table can prove this, but it's likely that these are just the tip of the iceberg. This guy is also a lecher, and back home, apart from his wife and two concubines, he also has several mistresses from brothels. Back home, his parents still had some control over him, and sometimes Cheng Jiaji had to be careful and couldn't do whatever he wanted. Since arriving in Wu Town, although he couldn't bring his wives and concubines from back home for the time being, Cheng Jiaji didn't idle around. Earlier, when Chu Yuan was cleaning up his belongings, he found several receipts for Wu Town's prostitutes to accompany guests, clearly showing that this scoundrel was also a playboy during his days of resisting Japan in Wu Town.

  To sum it up, this Cheng Jiaji is really not a good guy. In 21st-century terms, he's a typical spoiled brat, a thoroughbred second-generation rich kid who has nothing going for him except for his somewhat handsome looks, decent family background, and some money. However, while Chu Yuan looked down on this guy, he couldn't help but admit that this 20th-century military academy student had it too easy, and deep down, he even envied the guy. It was just his pitiful yet admirable self-respect that wouldn't let him admit it.

  Just as Chu Yuan was thinking about what to do next, Ma Sanbao came in to report that several military officers from the Military Supplies Department had come to visit. He quickly gathered his thoughts and stood up to greet those who would be his subordinates from now on. After all, no matter what, he still had to live this life realistically, and other things could wait until he had a firm foothold in this time and space.

  Wu Town was the most prosperous place in the county during the Qing Dynasty, located at the intersection of north-south traffic arteries, it was the gateway to southwestern Zhejiang. The town was densely populated with merchants and wine houses gathered here. Although the county seat had a larger population than Wu Town, the prosperity of the market was not as good as that of Wu Town.

  Currently, the headquarters of the 66th Division is stationed here, with over a thousand people in the division's organs and directly affiliated troops. These people, especially the officers and men of the division, have a stronger consumption capacity than ordinary townspeople. The daily necessities of the entire 66th Division are also mostly purchased locally in Wu Town and the county seat.

  All this has made this small town in Jiangnan with a population of only tens of thousands of people appear to be full of vitality and present a kind of distorted prosperity in wartime. In addition to wine houses and theaters, there are also several newly opened brothels and casinos in the town, which naturally have the officers and soldiers of the 66th Division as their main customers.

  At this time, Chu Yuan was strolling with several colleagues from the military supply department on the only street in Wu Town that was filled with various cigarette advertisements from the 1930s. Along the way, they saw many soldiers and low-ranking officers who were not well-disciplined, gathering in groups, and although they did not openly rob people, there were many who bullied small vendors, shortchanged them for wine, food, and cigarettes. Chu Yuan and his colleagues had come out mainly to relieve their emotions and understand the current situation and their own circumstances. Along the way, he carefully asked questions of his colleagues, gradually learning about the current situation and the temporary circumstances of the 66th Division.