People in the Republic of China era began to rise from industry.

"Mr. Lin asked about our recent situation in the telegram, and another thing he mentioned was whether there was any news about Liu Jing."

Upon hearing this, Fang Chang frowned.

He wasn't familiar with Liu Jing.

Or rather, within Lin Yi's small group, he was only familiar with Lin Yi.

At most, we can add one more driver, Ah Sheng.

As for the others, they simply nod when they meet.

Fang Chang refused when asked to keep an eye on Liu Jing's whereabouts or even to rescue him.

This is not what a killer does.

Moreover, saving a person is far more difficult than killing a person.

Seeing him frown, this subordinate, whom he had personally trained, mustered his courage and said, "Mr. Fang, this is the second time Mr. Lin has brought this up."

"He must value it very much."

As he spoke, he noticed Fang Chang glancing sideways at him, and the subordinate couldn't help but shrink back.

Fang Chang, having withdrawn his gaze, continued wiping the wine jar in his hand while saying in a calm tone, "Arrange for six people to be in charge of this matter."

"Any progress or news is up to them to handle."

"Do not contact us."

"Yes."

The subordinate, relieved, responded and then asked, "Should we mention this in our reply to Mr. Lin?"

"No need, just say we're all fine."

After dismissing his subordinates, Fang Chang wiped both jars clean.

After staring at it for a while, he muttered to himself, "I should buy some coarse salt."

……

In the late afternoon, Cen Jinsheng, the station chief of the Jinzhou station of the Special Service Department, came to the general store.

Cen Jinsheng was in his thirties.

She was petite and dressed like a local.

He walked into the grocery store and, like an ordinary customer, first stood at the door and asked if they had claw hammers.

Then, following Fang Chang as he got up, they walked to the shelf and began to pass on information.

"Two pieces of news."

"First, Liu Jing is still alive and is currently imprisoned in Jinzhou Prison."

"Secondly, Ma Jizu has been ordered to go to the front line to supervise the battle and will depart early tomorrow morning."

“He was accompanied by a company of cavalry guards, about sixty men.”

Fang Chang, who was searching for the hammer, paused, turned around, and asked, "Do you know where we'll be staying tonight?"

"The speed of the fast horse most likely indicates that it was in Longxi."

"However, it's hard to say whether he will travel overnight."

Cen Jinsheng stated his assessment, adding, "Team Leader Chang, with over sixty cavalrymen following him, no matter where he settles down, it will be difficult to succeed."

Fang Chang glanced at him, too lazy to say anything.

He casually picked up a stack of paper money and handed it to Cen Jinsheng: "Four cents."

Cen Jinsheng: "..."

Cen Jinsheng was a trusted confidant that Shen An had cultivated within the Special Service Department over the past year.

They were his former team members.

When Lin Yi first met him, Cen Jinsheng was one of the two subordinates who were put into the trunk of his car.

The Jinzhou Station of the Special Service Department was newly built three months ago, an arrangement made by Shen An, the deputy director.

The original purpose was to provide intelligence support as Lin Yi developed his business in the Northwest.

However, less than two months is still too short for intelligence work that is accustomed to long-term planning.

So it didn't play much of a role before.

It was only after the fact that they provided the news of the Japanese appearing in the Ma family compound.

For this, Cen Jinsheng was scolded.

This time, he received a secret order from Shen An to cooperate with the headquarters' special operations team.

In the telegram, Shen An specifically requested that he personally deliver the intelligence.

Shen An understood this point.

Upon first meeting with Team Leader Chang, based on his request, he deduced that the target of the special operation was the Ma family, father and son.

Of course, the fewer people who know about this kind of thing, the better.

Otherwise, if word gets out, Ma Yuanqing will probably dig three feet into the ground and find every single person in the Special Service Department.

However, this Team Leader Chang is too arrogant.

He muttered something to himself, then handed over a dollar and accepted the bill.

Without waiting for Fang Chang, codenamed "Team Leader Chang," to give him change, he left the grocery store.

Since his suggestions were useless, he stopped worrying about how the special operations team should proceed.

Regardless of whether the other side succeeds in this operation, Jinzhou will definitely be in a state of high alert for some time to come.

He needs to prepare to lie low...

The situation on the front lines is very unfavorable for the Ma Clique army.

In one month, a total of more than 20 regiments, nearly 30,000 troops, including local militias of a reserve nature, were deployed.

However, the Quchang-Lvmin line was lost one after another, and the entire front line advanced more than 100 kilometers northward.

Not only were the casualties heavy, but there were also constant calls within the troops to increase troop deployment, teach the Sichuan army a lesson, and boost morale.

Only family members know their own situation.

No one knows better than Ma Yuanqing how dangerous the Northwest is right now.

The Sichuan Army was just one example.

Defeating the Sichuan Army with all their might would certainly boost the prestige of the Ma Clique army.

However, killing a thousand enemies would result in eight hundred casualties on our own, and if it really comes to that, it will inevitably leave the Northwest vulnerable.

The Jinling State Government, which was still sitting on the sidelines watching the tigers fight, could not possibly miss such a golden opportunity.

Therefore, for him, the most advantageous thing to do in this war is to drag it out and prolong the timeline.

Once the Japanese have delivered the remaining weapons, and given another two months, it will be enough time to train the already expanding militia into a regular army.

Only with the addition of these 30,000 new troops can he have the confidence to take the next step.

Only then will they be able to meet the new challenges after driving out the Sichuan army.

This even made Nanjing hesitant to act rashly and dare not launch a military operation.

Otherwise, there is only one way out: death.

However, it is also necessary to give some positive response to these internal calls.

Otherwise, not only would the generals harbor resentment, but the continued unfavorable situation at the front would indeed affect the morale of the entire Ma Clique army.

Therefore, the young marshal Ma Jizu was assigned to the front lines to oversee the battle.

On this trip, in addition to bringing a reward, Ma Yuanqing also gave his beloved son personal instructions.

Some unimportant things should be abandoned.

Concentrate your forces to win one or two brilliant battles to boost morale.

It can also increase his capital for inheriting the family business in the future.

Once this step is achieved and all aspects are accounted for, the Longnan mountain area can be abandoned.

Yang Zihui was able to think of leveraging strengths and avoiding weaknesses, and planned to annihilate as much of the Ma family army's manpower as possible in the mountainous area.

Ma Yuanqing wasn't stupid either.

Mountain warfare was never the Ma Clique's forte, especially since the 85th Army, which had been stationed in Longnan and was relatively familiar with mountain warfare, had suffered considerable losses in the early stages.

Given this shift in power, he never considered repelling the advancing Sichuan army in Longnan.

The reason we're gritting our teeth and holding on now is because Ma Shaoqing, that good-for-nothing, lost so badly before.

If we don't regain some face, how can we lead this team?

The severity of this situation can be glimpsed from the current internal clamor.

Therefore, only by winning battles and establishing a certain level of prestige can we retreat and release the Sichuan army from Longnan.

Plains and hilly areas were the Ma Clique's advantageous battlefields.

Ma Jizu agreed with his father's arrangement.

So he was excited to go to the front lines to oversee the battle and was ready to make a name for himself.

We set off at dawn, riding swiftly all the way, and arrived near Longxi by evening...