Chapter 14

One day later, on March 14th, New Era 66, the Slanica Ruler Army Base.

The smoke from the great battle had dissipated, and life in the town had returned to normal. The residents who lived here ate, did business, and many were even hired by the Ruler Army to scavenge the battlefield from the night before, collecting military supplies, including bullet casings, shell casings, supply boxes, and car parts.

For the residents of small towns like Slanica, this kind of work was undoubtedly a blessing. A bullet casing could be exchanged for a dime, and a well-preserved supply box could be exchanged for fifty yuan. As long as they were diligent, it was enough to live on for a while.

When the bottom line of human life is lowered to the extreme, having food and being alive is good enough.

On the endless wilderness, a group of Black children were completely carefree. They mingled with the adults, picking up battlefield garbage while chasing and playing...

For a war-torn area that had been fighting for decades, the people here were long accustomed to life with the sounds of artillery fire. Their resilience was like the black soil, full of wounds, yet so tenacious.

Inside the town.

Su Tianyu sat in the courtyard of the headquarters, smoking a cigarette, in a very bad mood. He hadn't even eaten breakfast.

Zhang Hao's death had greatly affected Su Tianyu. He even felt some self-blame, always feeling that he hadn't done his best, which led to something happening to his family. He was also reflecting and grieving in his heart.

"Tap, tap!"

A series of footsteps sounded, and Zhao Weihu strode over.

Su Tianyu turned his head to look at him, "Big Brother!"

Zhao Weihu, holding his signature large bowl, bent down and sat on the large stone next to Su Tianyu, like a farmer preparing to work at sunrise. He took a bite of garlic and a big mouthful of chili noodles, which made people's appetites increase.

"...Did your family lose a brother?" Zhao Weihu asked, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his wrist.

Su Tianyu was silent for a while, "...Yeah."

"No one can be perfect." Zhao Weihu said softly, "Last night, in the second battle of Slanica, we also lost a company commander. Although he didn't share my surname, he was no different from a biological brother."

Su Tianyu nodded woodenly.

"Alas, how can there be no deaths in war?" Zhao Weihu turned to look at Su Tianyu, "As long as you know why you're fighting and what you want to do, that's enough."

Su Tianyu looked at him, "Then what do you want to do?"

"In a foreign land, carve out a small place to live, build a second home, and let me and my brothers live a good life, that's all I want." Zhao Weihu said very simply, "If you don't want those bastards to be in charge, then take charge yourself."

Zhao Weihu's words were very clear in their purpose, and he had indeed been working hard in this direction, so he had a goal and a vision. Every step he took was moving forward towards the vision in his heart.

But Su Tianyu, from last night until now, had been thinking about one question: what exactly was he doing these things for?

For money? Actually, he wasn't short of money now. If he took the Tongji Association's share, he would at least be a millionaire. And as long as he sat in this position to amass wealth, he could completely satisfy the Su family within three to five years.

For power? Perhaps that was the initial vision. Su Tianyu had always been preoccupied with the deaths of his parents. He initially held his breath and wanted to enter the system, hoping that one day he could find out the cause of his father's death, find the mastermind behind the scenes to complete his revenge, and also let those who kicked him when he was down see that Old Su's son, the next generation of the Su family, had stood up again!

But so far, all of Su Tianyu's energy had been consumed by the internal affairs of Old Li's team. He simply had no free time to think about his own affairs. Instead, he was in a constant state of running, always following in Old Li's footsteps.

He was satisfied with money, and he had also grasped some power, but Su Tianyu began to feel confused. What was the goal of continuing down this path?

Was it the division of the world into three parts that Old Li talked about, or what Big Brother said about princes, dukes, generals, and ministers—is nobility inherited?

Su Tianyu was very seriously thinking about his own future, as well as the future of the Tongji Association, and he gradually had an answer in his heart.

...

In the courtyard.

Zhao Weihu's guidance to Su Tianyu always hit the other party's heart with just a few words.

"Yes, people have to know what they want to do." Su Tianyu took a long breath, "That's well said."

"You're a smart person. Once a smart person figures it out, they don't need anyone else to persuade them." Zhao Weihu took a bite of garlic and said, looking up, "Go talk to the Xin family. My staff went over this morning, and they're very emotional. You're the intermediary, so it's better for you to come forward."

"Okay." Su Tianyu responded, "Big Brother, how do you want to integrate them?"

"I've finished talking with Old Commander over there, it's a military designation." Zhao Weihu replied, "The military expenses and supplies will be given according to the military-level unit. Xin Chaojie will be promoted to lieutenant general, and all other officers will be promoted by one rank."

"What about the source of soldiers? Without a source of soldiers, isn't this army just an empty shell?" Su Tianyu asked.

"You've already taken the military pay, why do you care about those empty things?" Zhao Weihu smiled, "Hehe, but I've had an idea recently."

"What idea?"

"I've always adhered to the principle of pure bloodline in the troops, and I didn't want to absorb soldiers from other ethnic groups at all," Zhao Weihu paused and said, "But now I'm ready to compromise. Damn it, there are too few soldiers, and if we can't replenish them, then everything is in vain! So I'm going to take Slanica as the center and try to create two Indian regiments to test their strength."

Su Tianyu immediately nodded, "We should have done this a long time ago."

"It's not easy to manage troops with mixed ethnicities, let's try it first and see what the effect is." Zhao Weihu ate the noodles in two mouthfuls, "That's it, go and talk, I'm going back to the meeting to study the issue of abolishing the Slanica tax."

"Abolish the tax???" Su Tianyu asked in disbelief, "Then...then what are you going to use to support the troops?"

"Do you know how many people there are in Slanica now?" Zhao Weihu held up four fingers, "Including the elderly and children, there are only about 40,000 people. The warlords have been draining this place for many years, and the people have long been scraped clean. Go take a look on the street, many children don't even have shoes to wear. Even if I collect taxes, I have to wait for them to recover, right? What's more, we're outsiders, we just arrived, so we have to be polite. Not only do I plan not to collect taxes, but I also want to find a way to lead them in doing some business. There's labor here, if all else fails, we can make underwear, make shorts, and earn some money, right?"

"Hehe," Su Tianyu was amused by these words, "You really are a business genius!"

"Isn't that obvious? Such a large armed force, all the eating, drinking, and shitting depends on me doing diplomacy." Zhao Weihu replied proudly, "If I were in business, what would Baolong and Huihong be doing?!"

"Awesome!"

"Come find me after you've finished talking!" Zhao Weihu took the bowl to the sink, completely unpretentious, washing the dishes with cold water himself.

...

Dragon City.

After the great battle, the two divisions of the First District Chinese Corps were also stationed outside the city, no more than thirty kilometers in diameter from Tan Hengqiang's headquarters.

Inside the headquarters.

Chief of Staff Zhang walked in and said softly, "The District Assembly has ordered you to return to Washington within three days to report."