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

Qu County, the headquarters of the 20th Army.

back yard.

Under the scorching sun, Yang Zihui, shirtless, wielded a hoe, sweating profusely as he weeded the flowerbed.

A unique fragrance wafts from the colorful flowerbed.

Just smelling the fragrance, Yang Zihui frowned deeply.

He knew this thing was harmful.

I have always deeply abhorred it.

He had previously strictly ordered his troops to abstain from opium.

But there's nothing he can do now; Qu County is poor, and he can't even exploit the land.

The troops under his command have been receiving half pay for more than a year.

This was only after he sold several properties in Shancheng and Hepingdu that he managed to scrape together the money.

He considered other methods.

For example, they could learn from Nanjing and issue their own legal tender, printing their own banknotes.

Nanjing had its own legal tender; before the fall of the Northeast, the Zhang family father and son printed their own banknotes.

These are all good ways to make money.

Therefore, he wrote to his old classmate Deng Jinkang, proposing to work together.

He holds a small share, while Deng Jinkang holds a large share.

Spending the money on their own territory would at least solve their immediate problem.

After receiving the letter, Deng Jinkang went directly to Qu County, saying that he was already prepared to die.

I also explained to him the seriousness of the problem.

That would offend everyone.

At that point, his own men might not even need to lift a finger; they'll be shooting him in the back.

In the end, they had no choice but to give up.

But the issue of military spending still needs to be addressed.

Having no other choice, he could only follow the example of that bastard Luo Dingchen and grow opium to make money.

That bastard has been living a comfortable life these past few years because he grows opium.

They were buying guns and cannons.

Every now and then, he would try to bribe his subordinates to lead their troops to defect to him.

If we don't hurry, there's no way we can make a comeback.

I'm afraid that within a year, he will have emptied my savings.

"report!"

The adjutant dashed over, raising his hand in a crisp military salute: "Commander, we have a visitor!"

"Which one?"

"I don't know him. He claims to be from Shanghai and came specifically to visit the commander."

Hearing the adjutant's reply, Yang Zihui narrowed his eyes: "Opium dealers?"

The reason he asked this question was because he had inquired about it.

Luo Dingchen used some of the opium paste he made himself to offset military pay and distributed it to his subordinates.

More than half of them were sold to opium merchants from Shanghai.

He had never been to Shanghai, but he had long heard of its prosperity.

It is said that rickshaw pullers on the street can earn more than ten yuan a month.

His soldiers, on the other hand, only received a monthly salary of three yuan and six fen.

This demonstrates the wealth of Shanghai.

"The other party didn't say, only that they had important matters to discuss with the commander."

"Also, the other party arrived by car and was dressed in a Western suit, very impressive."

"They're probably opium dealers."

As Yang Zihui analyzed the situation, her eyes lit up.

Finally, someone came to deliver the money.

Although it's not opium harvesting season yet, they'll still have to pay a deposit once a deal is struck.

Thinking it over, Yang Zihui grinned and ordered, "Invite them to the reception room. I'll tidy up and head over."

"Yes."

……

The distance from Shancheng to Qu County is not far.

It's only 200 kilometers.

The reason it took a day and a night was not only because the road conditions were terrible, but also because there were too many checkpoints of all sizes along the way.

Although Liu Jing was very resourceful, he managed to obtain a travel document from the Governor's Office before setting off.

However, the 21st Army's defense zone only played a role in the vicinity of the mountain city.

For the latter half of the journey, the guards at the checkpoints didn't recognize anything; they only recognized the transportation tax.

This is not bad.

While passing through Luo Dingchen's defense zone of the 11th Independent Division at midnight, Liu Jing, who was leading the way to scout the way, was almost robbed by a group of thugs.

If it weren't for the gunshots and the timely arrival of Lin Yi and Fang Chang with their men, Liu Jing, who didn't survive the plane crash, would probably be dead in Sichuan Province.

In short, after stumbling and paying several rounds of transportation taxes, the group arrived at the headquarters of the 20th Army without any major incidents.

In the reception room, the adjutant settled the group in and then said he would go and inform Yang Zihui of his departure.

Fang Chang glanced at the two guards standing at the door and frowned, saying, "Lin Yi, these Sichuan soldiers have no manners at all."

"They are far inferior to the 19th Route Army."

"If we recruit our mercenaries from among them, I'm afraid we won't be able to find any qualified ones."

Lin Yi came to discuss business.

Besides ensuring his safety, Fang Chang's other task was to select soldiers in Sichuan Province to expand his assassin team... no, Lin Yi had just given this expanding team a new name: mercenaries.

As the name suggests, it means to accept a job and be paid to fight.

Fang Chang liked this very much.

When he was an assassin, he worked in a pay-to-work model.

Therefore, in Fang Chang's eyes, mercenaries are the same as assassins, only on a much larger scale.

The number of people killed will only increase.

As for the rest, there is absolutely no difference.

"Old Fang, do you know what kind of soldiers can be considered elite soldiers?"

"Good skills and a good shot."

Fang Chang gave the answer without even thinking.

Lin Yi smiled and shook his head: "That's too superficial."

Upon hearing this, Fang Chang immediately became interested.

He leaned forward and said, "Then tell me about it."

"What you mean by good skills and marksmanship is just the most basic requirement for an elite soldier."

"In my opinion, what's more important is a firm will and the ability to survive on the battlefield."

Lin Yixiu displayed his limited military knowledge.

During his middle school years, he was fascinated by special forces and had some knowledge of them.

"I know about unwavering will, but does the ability to survive on the battlefield simply mean just staying alive?"

"Correct."

Lin Yi nodded: "As you know, Sichuan Province has been fighting almost every day for years. Yang Zihui has also experienced many ups and downs and countless battles, big and small."

"When we entered the city, did you notice those old soldiers standing guard at the city gate?"

"Have."

Fang Chang nodded and smiled, "It's not just those few."

"In this Qu County, there are more soldiers than civilians, and among these soldiers, there are more old than young."

"The old, weak, sick and disabled people mentioned in the plays are referring to them."

Lin Yi chuckled: "You only see that they are old, but you overlook the fact that they have experienced so many wars, yet they have successfully transformed from young people into middle-aged people, or even elderly people, and they are still alive and well today."

"Of course, you might think they're just afraid of dying and trying to avoid bullets."

"But on the battlefield, bullets fly everywhere when two armies are fighting. You have to be skilled to walk around bullets."

"And this ability is what I just mentioned as battlefield survival ability."

"This ability can be barely developed through training alone; it can only be gradually cultivated by experiencing life and death on the battlefield."

Hearing Lin Yi say this, Fang Chang's face showed a thoughtful expression.

He was silent for a moment, then said, "I admit you have a point."

"But no matter how good their battlefield survival skills are, they can't hide the fact that they are afraid of dying."

"You said that our mercenaries will be fighting tough battles in the future."

"If so many of them are cowards who are afraid of death, how can we fight tough battles?"

"I've heard that in all the years that Sichuan has fought, there have been countless cases of soldiers defecting to the enemy on the battlefield."

Are the Sichuan Army soldiers afraid of death?

Lin Yi smiled and shook his head.

The bravery and courage of the Sichuan Army were written with the blood and lives of 300,000 heroes.

Only he knew about this, and naturally he wouldn't tell the Fang family.

Then Lin Yi said, "Right now, they are afraid of dying on the battlefield, but that's only now."

"With internal strife and meager pay, they certainly wouldn't risk their lives."

"But if they're willing to carry guns for us, as long as the salary is sufficient and the bonuses are high, are you worried they won't risk their lives?"

"Old Fang, if our mercenaries want to develop rapidly, Sichuan Province is definitely a treasure trove."