Under One Person: One Person Goes

Chapter 104 The war begins

It was the end of May and the beginning of June in the 15th year of the Republic of China.

The Northern Expedition began with the first battle of the Northern Expedition Army in the south, which defeated the troops of Sun Yat-sen, the Beiyang direct clique.

As soon as this news came out, whether it was the sects that had long since closed their mountain gates or the families rooted in the secular circle, they all felt relieved. Even Wang Yi, who had known the outcome long ago, was no exception.

The news of the Southern Expedition soon appeared in newspapers on the streets of the capital. However, as the straight-line distance between the two places was at least 2,000 kilometers, the people of the capital were not very optimistic about this Northern Expedition which seemed to have a huge disparity in military strength.

The troops under the command of Marshal Sun, the leader of the Zhili clique, suffered their first defeat, simply because they underestimated the enemy. The Beiyang clique had more soldiers and generals, and the Northern Expedition would end in failure in three months at most.

This is the view of many senior officials in the capital, even including Marshal Zhang.

Among the Beiyang faction, the Fengtian faction had the largest number of soldiers, the most sophisticated weapons, the most generals who could fight, and they were also stationed in Beijing, Tianjin, and a large area outside the Great Wall.

Marshal Zhang now even seems to be sitting back and watching tigers fight each other.

It seemed that he wanted to wait for the Northern Expedition Army to help him eliminate Marshal Sun and Marshal Wu, who were also members of the Beiyang clique. Then he would take action, defeat the Northern Expedition Army, and take over the entire Beiyang clique's territory, thus achieving true unification of the world.

It's a good idea and doesn't sound so unrealistic. After all, he has all the prerequisites, including a large number of soldiers and generals, and excellent equipment, so it seems that he can do it no matter how you look at it.

What Marshal Zhang didn't know was that in this era, on this land, what determines the direction of a war, apart from the superiority or inferiority of equipment and manpower, is more about people's hearts.

Marshal Zhang might still have a good reputation among the people outside the Great Wall. After all, they are his base, so it is impossible for him to make things so chaotic.

But inside the Great Wall, with the help of his cousin General Dog Meat, people's hearts are really like two different worlds inside and outside the capital.

In the study of Sichengjiao Bank, Wang Yi read the reports in the newspaper and also looked in the direction of the imperial city.

"This guy is sitting on the Diaoyutai, he is very carefree. Forget it, no matter what this general thinks, everyone, let's talk about the recent business of the foot shop in the city."

In the study, Liang Ting, the newly recruited sorcerer You Baiyun, the beastmaster Mendel, and the elder Mr. Qin Erye, opened the first meeting of the Four City Foot Tribe.

"There are now rickshaw shops all over the capital. We are not competing with the rickshaw drivers for jobs, so we are quite friendly in this regard. Recently, I have been thinking about whether we should cooperate with the rickshaw shops to extend our reach more widely in the capital."

"Do you have any ideas, Brother Liang?"

"It's like this. I've inquired about it. If you rent a rickshaw, the deposit is 8 to 10 yuan, and the monthly rent is at least 2 yuan. If you buy one directly, it will cost between 96 and 100 yuan. I've ridden in a rickshaw before. No matter how comfortable the passengers are, it's still driven by the driver. It's okay for short trips, but if the journey is a little longer, the passengers will be bored, which is also a good thing for the rickshaw driver.

So I was thinking, can I work with my fellow students to build a new rickshaw that saves time and effort to replace the current rickshaws? In this way, we can cooperate with the rickshaw dealers in Beijing and win the hearts of some rickshaw drivers, right? "

Everyone was a little stunned when they heard Liang Ting sitting there and putting forward his views from the perspective of a technical expert. But when they thought that he was a great master of mechanical devices and talismans, they felt it was natural.

"That's a good idea, Brother Liang. Do you have a rough design?"

Liang Ting also took out the sketch he had prepared earlier and handed it to Wang Yi. He was stunned for a moment. Isn't this a human-powered tricycle? There are no tricycles now? Don't they even have bicycles? Wang Yi was puzzled.

But he didn't know that bicycles existed these days. The problem was that they were considered high-end products, more expensive than a rickshaw, with a guaranteed selling price of 150 yuan, and he had to pay taxes regularly! Because there was no production chain for bicycles in China at that time, you had to rely on foreign countries to sell bicycles in China, let alone this kind of human-powered tricycle. You had no power to do it even if you wanted to.

"This..." Wang Yi looked at the sketch of the human-powered tricycle and hesitated to speak.
"I've inquired about it. We can make the frame, wheels, saddle, and chain. The gears are a problem. Both the steel and the shape are imported from abroad, so they are so expensive. But if we can make it ourselves, the price will be much lower. Besides, we have a ready-made rickshaw. I just need to modify it."

"Can it be done?"

"Have you forgotten that you told me that I am a grandmaster of both mechanical devices and talismans?"

Looking at Liang Ting's bright eyes, Wang Yi was silent for a moment before handing the sketch back.

"Brother Liang, I'm waiting for your good news, but even if it's really made, I'm not in a hurry to cooperate with the car dealership for the time being."

"why?"

"Because I don't trust these people. This is my personal intuition, but how to do it specifically, when it's really done, I can let Mr. Qin come in."

"Big boy, aren't you afraid that they will take advantage of you and rob you?"

"They don't dare to do that now. They will only discuss with me. We can discuss, but we have the final say on how to discuss."

Wang Yi didn't expect that during a meeting, he would accidentally make a historical product take shape in advance. As for whether it would appear in advance, Wang Yi himself was not sure. After being treated by Liang Ting, Wang Yi was much more energetic, but at present, only Liang Ting, the grandmaster of mechanical talismans, gave a good news. The foot trade is infiltrating little by little, but considering that the delivery of goods in the same city is still manpower transportation, it is difficult to extend it further. However, it can be regarded as a lot of well-known restaurants, wealthy families and roads in the capital. In the oral description and description of these foot trade guys, it has become a detailed map of the capital and presented in Wang Yi's study.

"The next step is to educate people about literacy. Let's see if we can get in touch with Mr. Li from here. After all, a footman who can educate his own people about literacy should be somewhat attractive..."

In the study, Wang Yi was looking at the increasingly detailed map of the capital city in front of him, and he was thinking about his next plan. Every step he took now was for the future. The more cards he accumulated now, the fewer people would die. In this respect, he was not much different from Zhang Huaiyi, the big-eared thief in Longhu Mountain. They were all thieves, and they all wanted to hide cards and store food.

But compared to how Lin Huaiyi hid his cards, he still had the capital to protect these cards.

While finalizing what to do next, Wang Yi suddenly seemed to remember something and cursed inwardly, "Tsk, I almost forgot something."

Having said that, he hurried out and went to the Yinghe Tower set up by Jianghu Xiaozhan in the capital to meet Liu Wei, the young manager.

"Brother Liu, we have another business for you."

"Come on, read the precautions first."

Liu Wei seemed to know what business Wang Yi wanted to do with him, and pointed at the signs hanging on his left and right without raising his head.

One sign reads: Don’t ask about state affairs; another sign reads: Just explore the world.

"Brother Liu, you are not kidding me like this, right?"

"Don't joke with me, Mr. Wang. Before, you asked our professional team to draw the map of autumn leaves and begonias. I can arrange this business for you because it is essentially drawing a map. You pay and we deliver the goods. After the payment and the goods are settled, how you use it is your business. Jianghu Inn will not ask. But now that the war has just started, you come to my door. Although I don't know what business you want to do with me, you and I know what you want to do. Some things should be made clear in advance."

After the servant served tea to Wang Yi, he tactfully closed the door, leaving space for the two gentlemen to have a private conversation.

Listening to Liu Wei's words, Wang Yi was not angry. He drank tea and looked at the two signs hanging in Liu Wei's study, and smiled knowingly.

"Well, I'll do business with you. You can't refuse that."

"explain."

"Please help me find two people. They are both extraordinary people who practice external martial arts. One is called Zhang Yi and the other is called Ma Feng."

As he spoke, Wang Yi moved his fingers slightly, and the tea in the cup flew out, turning into the words Zhang Yi and Ma Feng on Liu Wei's desk. Liu Wei looked at the two names, then at Wang Yi's calm appearance, and smiled helplessly.

"You really know how to take advantage of loopholes."

"You said they were just exploring the martial arts world, right? These two are indeed martial arts people, but their whereabouts are erratic. With the ability of your Jianghu Inn, and the target is an alien, it shouldn't be difficult to find them."

"Okay, what do you want?"

"After you find out the whereabouts of these two people, let me know every ten days. How about that in March?"

"End in March? Do you think this war can last long?"

"Brother Liu, the signboard has been smashed."

Wang Yi pointed at the sign that said "Don't ask about state affairs", which made Liu Wei laugh and cry.

When I came out of the Jianghu Inn, it was already night in the capital. The capital at night was much quieter than the hustle and bustle of the day. Or rather, it did have its prosperous parts, but those prosperous parts did not belong to the people of the capital.

Wang Yi was walking on the street, thinking about his next plan.

"If these two can really follow the tips I gave you before, I think you don't have to worry too much, but it would be best to meet them and get a general idea. I just don't know if Zhang Yi has achieved his wish and made a name for himself in the Northern Expedition..."

Thoughts were racing in his mind and his feet were moving non-stop, but when he was about to turn into an alley, Wang Yi suddenly stopped, turned around and raised his hand. An invisible force field unfolded and collided with a golden light that had touched his back at some point.

The golden light failed to hit the target and fled immediately. Only Wang Yi stood there with a look of surprise and uncertainty.

Because he seemed to see an old man smiling at him from the golden light that attacked him just now?

(End of this chapter)