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

"Humph! This is ridiculous!"

Feng Xi was at Cao Xin's official residence. After seeing the telegram released by Zhang Ye, the old man rolled his eyes in anger, kicked over the tables and chairs in front of him, and couldn't help cursing.

"You little bastard, you haven't even grown all your hair yet, and you're standing on the moral high ground, criticizing others!"

"What do you mean by a lackey of foreigners? Doesn't he have the support of foreigners behind him?"

"Did the armored brigade just fall from the sky? Hundreds of thousands of troops, without foreign support for food, drink, and defecation, how can they sustain themselves?"

"Damn it, he's still babbling and criticizing me. He's barely even remembered his own name after two days of eating free meals!"

"Brother, why get angry over such a small matter?"

Cao Zheng picked up the chair on the ground and persuaded him with a helpless look on his face.

"Zhang Ye is just a young man. He's in the limelight now, so he must be looking for reasons to establish his personal authority. This kind of nonsense is said every year. What's so annoying about it?"

"If you're a whore, don't pretend to be a saint!"

Cao Xin put his hands on his hips, panting like a cow, but he couldn't suppress the anger in his heart.

"He accepted funding from foreigners, yet he still had the nerve to scold them. This bastard deserves to be punished!"

"Isn't he an independent army? I'm going to make him completely independent this time. Notify the Zhijiang and Jiangyou provincial headquarters to start large-scale conscription. Even if it costs him a pile of lives, I'm going to take Wuyue back for me!"

"Notify all the troops stationed in Shanghai to gather. Once the Fengbei Army takes over the battlefield in Beijing, send troops immediately. I want to see how much money he has in his pocket and how long this battle can last!"

Cao Xin was ready to fight to the death.

He also knew that Zhang Ye was stronger than him in terms of military strength and equipment. If the two sides started to fight head-on, he would probably be defeated within a month.

Therefore, he has made a second plan, which is to fight a war of attrition with you. Hundreds of thousands of troops are blocking the gates of Wu and Yue. If you attack me, I will retreat two steps. If you don't attack me, I will go in and harass you. The main goal is to not let you live a peaceful life.

Aren’t you arrogant? Don’t you have a lot of people? Then just fight and see who can last the longest.

Cao Xin was very confident about this issue as they now had sufficient funds and food reserves.

Moreover, the battlefield is backed by Zhijiang Province, which allows him to attack or defend. As long as he can wait until the spring when the weather warms up, he is confident that he can take over not only Wu Yue but also Huishan.

Besides, he didn't think that this war could last that long. Judging from the current situation, Zhang Ye couldn't afford to fight. He had no money and not enough food and supplies as war resources.

Most of the grain reserves in the two provinces of Donglu and Huishan were taken away by the Duan faction as soon as the war broke out. Even if there was no war, the remaining grain would not be enough to last until the new year.

Even if Zhang Ye had the ability to go down and collect the food, he would not be able to find enough food to feed hundreds of thousands of people.

By then, whether he has food to eat or drink to drink, let’s see how this kid can still be so arrogant!

……

A week later, on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, near the end of the year, fine snowflakes began to fall from the sky again, as if covering the entire world in white.

In the temporary shelter for disaster victims in Qizhou, more than a dozen large pots were emitting steam, all filled with thick porridge made from refined rice, emitting an enticing aroma.

At this moment, the victims, who stretched as far as the eye could see, were lined up in a long queue, quietly waiting for porridge.

These people were wrapped in tattered cotton jackets, with disheveled hair and haggard faces. They all looked unkempt and unkempt. From a long distance away, you could smell the sour odor emanating from them.

However, for them now, it doesn’t matter what smell they have, and it doesn’t matter whether others dislike it or not.

For them, the only important thing is to have a full meal and a bowl of hot rice porridge in this cold winter.

As long as you can fill your stomach, everything else can be ignored.

Gululu...

In the huge iron pot, the rice porridge exudes an enticing fragrance and bubbles continuously.

At this moment, Zhang Ye changed into a thick cotton jacket, tied an apron around his waist, and personally carried a large iron spoon to stir the sticky rice porridge in the pot to prevent it from getting stuck at the bottom.

Beside him, Fang Yu was holding a large stack of documents, looking extremely busy, reporting various recent intelligence bit by bit.

As the territory grew larger, Fang Yu's work intensity increased again and again. Even though Zhang Ye equipped him with more than 10,000 subordinate office staff, it still could not relieve him much pressure.

After all, there were too many documents that required his decision and signing, and the people below him simply didn't dare to make decisions on their own.

"Marshal, three days ago, the Fengbei Army officially landed in the capital. Over 100,000 troops took over the Feng faction's garrison positions and formed a standoff with the Duan faction. Neither side has yet to open fire, and it seems they are engaged in peace negotiations."

"Huh, this Old Zhang is quite clever."

Zhang Ye stirred with a large iron spoon, chuckling as he worked.

"He promised Cao Xin to take over the position and delay the Duan faction. Now that he's here, he wants to delay through negotiations. He really has a good plan."

"The Donglu border defense positions are complete. General He Wei has personally called back, saying that 80,000 troops are currently on combat readiness. If the Wuyue side becomes stalemated and needs support, he can personally lead the troops south!"

"No, tell him to stay put and keep a close watch on the movements of Zhili Province."

Zhang Ye rejected He Wei's request without even thinking about it.

It now seems that there is no war in Donglu Province, but don't forget that the Feng faction directly under the neighboring Zhili Province still has nearly 100,000 troops stored and has just withdrawn from the capital.

Once the situation becomes really tense, this group of people might suddenly attack the border of East Lu and play the game of "Besiege Wei to Save Zhao" on you.

Therefore, in order to prevent them from taking desperate measures, we must not relax the defense forces on the Donglu side.

As for the current war situation, as long as the independent army does not relax its vigilance and strictly guards the Donglu Huishan defense line, Cao Xin will be helpless even if he gets angry to death.

"There are still several livelihood issues in the province to come."

The war report was almost finished. Fang Yu opened another document and continued reporting with a frown.

"Currently, Donglu Province is affected by heavy snow, and victims are appearing in various places. According to incomplete statistics, the number of people affected has approached 300,000. If the snow continues, the number of affected people will definitely increase."

"More than a dozen counties and cities have already asked the provincial government for assistance, hoping to receive some food and cotton clothing."

"sure, no problem."

Zhang Ye exhaled a breath of cold air and rubbed his slightly stiff palms without any hesitation.

"First, the number of people affected must be fully counted. No one can be missed!"

"Second, comfort the local disaster victims, especially the elderly and children. Don't let them flee for their lives. Remember! This is extremely important. Mark it as a red line and convey it to your subordinates. Even if the county magistrate refuses to eat, you can't let a single disaster victim starve to death!"

"If I hear that anyone enriched themselves during this rescue effort, fabricated information, concealed the truth, or starved the victims to death, I will enforce collective responsibility, and more than one person will be killed!"