The Republic of China: A Letter of Appointment Creates the Most Powerful Warlord

About a thousand meters along the railway track, a passenger train stopped steadily. Many passengers were standing by the tracks smoking, waiting for the train to restart.

Zhang Ye put his hands in his sleeves, a smile on his face, and walked towards the crowd.

"Hey guys, how long have you been waiting?"

"When will this thing be fixed? It's freezing cold and I'm almost frozen!"

"Hey, brother, who knows when it will be fixed in this awful weather."

In the crowd, a middle-aged man wrapped in an old leather coat and holding a briefcase was smoking a cigarette so hard that he couldn't hold it in his mouth, but he was reluctant to throw it away and kept cursing.

"These railway maintenance people are such idiots, so lazy they know it's snowing so hard but they don't come out to check ahead of time. They're just wasting my time."

"Oh, you can't say that."

Another young man, wearing a fur hat and with a red nose from the cold, stamped his feet and laughed.

"No one wants this to happen. Maintaining the railway is not easy. In the past, even if we were frozen here, no one would come to clean up the mess."

"As a person, you should know how to be content. Look at the current environment. Everyone is so polite when speaking and doing things. In the past, those people would have arrested you and locked you up just based on what you just said."

"Who says it isn't? Ever since Marshal Zhang came, Donglu Province has been much better."

Once there is one, there will be two. Among the crowd of smokers, one person stood out. His fair face showed a scholarly air. He pinched the cigarette butt and chatted.

"Let's not talk about anything else. Just look at how well the public security on this train is maintained. Although there are still petty thefts, have you ever seen blatant robbery?"

"In the past, no one would dare to ride the train once it snowed. It would be filled with gang members, ready to snatch bags and things with knives. If you refused, they would bleed you and then throw you into the snow, where no one would notice you for the entire winter!"

"So, everyone is quite satisfied with the policies implemented by Marshal Zhang since his arrival."

After listening to what everyone said, Zhang Ye felt relieved. He then took out the cigarette box from his pocket and gave one to each of them, wanting to continue listening to how these people praised him.

"Satisfied, how could I not be satisfied? Without Marshal Zhang, we ordinary people wouldn't even dare to kill a chicken, and we would have to pay taxes even for farting."

The young man in the fur hat nodded in agreement. When he saw the cigarette Zhang Ye handed out, he looked at him with a little surprise.

This guy doesn't look like a rich man, but the cigarettes he smokes are pretty good.

There were many smart people in the crowd. The bookish young man saw the cigarette handed to him by Zhang Ye, looked at his clothes, and then smiled and joked.

"Brother, I see you're coming from behind. Someone just said there's a high-ranking official on the train behind. Is that true?"

"Oh, what's the big official, small official? Do I look like a big official?"

Zhang Ye held a cigarette in his mouth, hunched his neck, and stuffed his hands into his sleeves to keep warm. He looked like a country bumpkin, completely devoid of any aura.

This is because the train stopped and no one could leave. In the past, no one would want to pay attention to someone with his image.

"No matter how high or low your rank, the world has changed. Marshal Zhang has made it clear that we will never tolerate anyone abusing their power to oppress others. No matter how high your rank, you are here to serve the people."

"Oh, don't talk nonsense. You took the order seriously."

The young man in the fur hat quickly took two steps back and stopped trying to get closer to the circle.

At the same time, the expressions of the others also changed slightly, and they kept some distance from Zhang Ye.

This kid dares to say anything. If someone with ulterior motives hears it, it will be a disaster.

"Hey, these guys are so cowardly."

Zhang Ye watched them leave quietly because of his words, shook his head with a wry smile and sighed.

"It seems that in the public's mind, our people-friendly image still needs to be improved."

"How can you be so friendly to the people? I didn't even dare to let go of my hand on my waist, for fear that this group of people would do something bad."

Lu Shan, who had been standing behind him, holding the pistol tightly, persuaded him.

"General, have fun, but don't join in the fun."

"You kid, you just think too badly of people."

Zhang Ye rolled his eyes at him and continued walking forward with a cigarette in his mouth.

Because the road was blocked by heavy snow, many local people came up with baskets and sold food to the tourists.

This scene was very rare for Zhang Ye. He also wanted to see what the lower-class people here were eating.

"Sweet potatoes, hot sweet potatoes!"

"Cornmeal pancakes, freshly-made cornmeal pancakes, come and try them, come and try them all, and there are also the best green onions!"

After walking a few steps forward, I saw a dozen nearby villagers carrying baskets covered with a piece of white cotton cloth and selling their goods around the carriage.

"Master, would you like a bowl of hot water? It's freezing cold, and I don't know when this railway will be repaired. Drink some water to warm yourself up!"

As he was walking, Zhang Ye was stopped by a woman in her forties who tried to sell him hot water.

It was a very cold day. The old lady was wrapped in an old cotton-padded jacket full of holes, her gray and white hair was wrapped in a green headscarf, her frozen face was full of smiles, and her eyes were full of longing.

Seeing this scene, Zhang Ye felt very uncomfortable and nodded in response with the corners of his lips moving.

"One bowl, is there anything else to eat?"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

When the aunt heard that he was willing to buy, a bright smile immediately appeared on her face. She reached out and lifted the cotton cloth on the basket, and a stream of hot steam came out.

Taking advantage of this gap, Zhang Ye took a quick look and found that there was nothing in the basket. There were only two thermoses, a large pile of multi-grain pancakes, a few bowls of steamed sweet potatoes, and a few salted duck eggs.

"Sir, would you like some duck eggs? We pickle them at home, and they're guaranteed to be delicious and juicy."

The aunt put down the basket and poured water while introducing other food.

It's not easy for them. There is nowhere to work in the cold weather, so they rely on selling hot pancakes on the trains that stop from time to time to earn a little money.

"Okay, give one a try."

Zhang Ye accepted everyone who came and asked with a smile.

"Usually, would you be willing to eat it yourself?"

"Hey, I wouldn't dare to do that."

The aunt was also very honest. When I bought a salted duck egg, she gave me a pancake and a scallion for free.

"Isn't the purpose of raising ducks to lay eggs? I can give one to my children during festivals. I'm already half buried in the earth, so it doesn't matter what I eat. As long as I can survive, that's all I need."

"We were lucky this year. Marshal Zhang came to Donglu and stopped collecting grain. Otherwise, we wouldn't have any cornmeal left at home. We can still live to this day thanks to him. We are lucky to have happened at such a good time."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ye held the salted duck egg he had just peeled and couldn't open his mouth.

Even though there is no war now, the people are already living such a hard life. He really can't imagine how they are supposed to survive when there are constant wars.