The Great Hoodwinker did not follow Wang Yun, Ji Zi’ang, and the rest to the North this time as there was still plenty of intelligence-gathering to do once war broke out in the North. He also wanted to take advantage of the chaos to recruit more talent for the Northwest.
The Northwest’s field intelligence unit had already quietly started preparing a plan called “The Prosperous Northwest” that was aimed at recruiting more ambitious people to join in the developmental efforts of building up the Northwest after the war ended…
However, they would definitely not take any real action for now since they needed to stand united against a common enemy. The Great Hoodwinker was only making plans for the future.
Therefore, Wang Yun and the others still needed to find the person responsible for liaising with them after arriving in the North, and that person was Zhang Xiaoman.
As Wang Yun took in the sight of Stronghold 144 in front of him, he could see many merchants traveling back and forth through the open stronghold gate. Some of the merchants had just arrived from the Central Plains while others were preparing to return to the Central Plains with goods purchased in the Northwest.
Outside the stronghold where the original town stood, it had turned into a huge wholesale market after going through multiple expansions. There were people peddling their wares in the marketplace while shop owners from the stronghold came to replenish their goods.
The entire town was full of life and bustling with activity.
Ji Zi’ang viewed the sights and asked, “Have you been to the Northwest before this?”
“Yes.” Wang Yun nodded and said, “When I was still active in the field some years ago, I came to the Northwest to hunt down some traitors. At that time, the Zong Consortium was still in charge of this place.”
“And what did the Northwest look like back then?” Ji Zi’ang asked.
“At that time, I did not enter the stronghold and only stayed in town for a short while. Back then, the town was no different from those in the Central Plains. You could even say that the refugees here had it much tougher than those in the Central Plains. After all, there’s a lack of resources in this region,” Wang Yun recalled. “But it’s completely different now. Even the town in Luoyang City is not as prosperous as the Northwest.”
“Yeah.” Ji Zi’ang nodded. “How could this be the town we imagined? Perhaps we made the right choice after all.”
Wang Yun walked up to a hardware wholesaler and asked, “Bro, where do you come from?”
“Me? I was born and raised right here in the Northwest,” the middle-aged man answered with a smile. “Why do you ask?”
“We just came from the Central Plains, so we wanted to ask about the situation here. Bro, did you come from the stronghold?” Wang Yun asked. In his opinion, these people were likely to be stronghold residents. How could refugees possibly have the capital to start a business?
“No, I’m a refugee,” the middle-aged man said with a smile.
“Then where did you get your capital from?” Wang Yun asked.
“Fortress 178 approved of small, interest-free loans saying that it would help us start a business. I heard that refugees are also eligible to apply, so I went for it,” the middle-aged man explained with a smile.
Wang Yun was stunned. Even though all the consortiums’ banks provided loan services, they had to evaluate the borrower’s eligibility and ensure they had some assets to put up as collateral before lending the money.
But the refugee in front of them definitely did not have any assets that could be mortgaged. Furthermore, he had never heard of any consortium banks that would lend money to refugees, especially not interest free!
Although they were called loans, it was actually more like a subsidy. This was a sum of money that could help refugees turn things around in their lives.
The middle-aged man smiled and said, “There isn’t a distinction between refugees and stronghold residents here in the Northwest anymore. Everyone is free to enter and exit the city, so it’s not like the IDs of the refugees are any different from the ones that the stronghold residents are carrying.”
Wang Yun lamented, “Fortress 178 is so resolute and daring.”
When the Wang Consortium opened up a stronghold to refugees some time ago, the entire world felt they had made a very bold decision at the time. However, no one expected the Northwest would completely eliminate the class differences between refugees and stronghold residents.
Of course, the stronghold residents would definitely despise the refugees a little. But over time, since refugees essentially looked no different from stronghold residents, no one would be able to tell them apart.
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Wang Yun and the others were witnessing the enormous changes in the Northwest that had only taken a few months to implement. They were truly shocked, but for some reason, they also felt motivated. They were inspired by this vibrant scene as well.
They managed to locate Stronghold 144’s garrison troops later that afternoon. Wang Yun handed over a letter personally written by the Great Hoodwinker at the entrance of the barracks. “Please pass this letter to Regiment Commander Zhang Xiaoman.”
The soldiers at the entrance were taken aback. Then an officer ordered, “Go and send the letter to the brigade commander.”
When he said that, Wang Yun was taken aback as well. Didn’t the Great Hoodwinker say his son was only a regiment commander? It seemed like he had recently been promoted.
However, Wang Yun could understand that. After all, Fortress 178’s territory had suddenly expanded many times over after they took control of the entire Northwest. Hence, they needed more soldiers to guard this piece of land. That was why the veterans in the military would quickly be promoted to take the more important positions.
After some ten minutes, a soldier said to Wang Yun, “Everyone, please come in. Our brigade commander would like to meet y’all.”
When they entered the barracks area, Wang Yun noticed there were several hundred military transport trucks and even resupply vehicles parked along the road. This made for quite a spectacular sight to behold.
Wang Yun said softly, “It looks like the Northwest is preparing to go to war. Look at those trucks and the troops who are constantly moving supplies into them. If it’s not for the war, there wouldn’t be a need for such turnout.”
“War? With whom?” Ji Zi’ang frowned. “Could it be the Qing Consortium?”
At this moment, Zhang Xiaoman came over to welcome them. He looked at Wang Yun enthusiastically. “I read the letter. I welcome all of you in joining our Fortress 178. I’ve already sent news of your arrival to Wang Fengyuan. He’ll send someone to take you all to Fortress 178. Do any of you have any objections to this arrangement?”
Wang Yun shook his head. “No objections. Your father already informed us of the arrangements before we came here.”
“My dad?” Zhang Xiaoman was stunned. “My dad told you that?”
When Wang Yun saw Zhang Xiaoman’s reaction, he was also stunned!
Wang Yun looked at the letter written by the Great Hoodwinker in Zhang Xiaoman’s hand and probed, “The Great Hoodwinker was the one who said that. Isn’t the Great Hoodwinker your father? Zhang Husheng? Do you know Zhang Husheng?”
Zhang Xiaoman flew into a rage and threw the letter to the ground. “That old bastard is taking advantage of me again by going around and spreading lies! My father is working in a factory at Fortress 178 right now!”
Wang Yun was confused. Ji Zi’ang was confused too.
Honestly, Wang Yun could never have expected the Great Hoodwinker to even be spouting nonsense about something like that. And judging from Zhang Xiaoman’s angry expression, it was probably not the first time the Great Hoodwinker had taken advantage of him!
All of a sudden, Wang Yun did not even know how to criticize that Great Hoodwinker. It was true that not a single word of truth came out of his mouth, so one could only rely on themselves to judge whether he was lying.
Zhang Xiaoman calmed down and said, “Since Wang Fengyuan’s people will arrive at Stronghold 144 tomorrow, you all can stay in the camp today. I still have something very important to do, so I won’t be giving you a tour of the place.”
Wang Yun suddenly asked, “Is the Northwest getting ready for war?”
“I don’t have to hide it from you all.” Zhang Xiaoman said, “Our infantry brigade will also start heading north tomorrow to defend against the northern enemies together with the Central Plains.”
Wang Yun was stunned. “Are you all going to help the Wang Consortium and the Pyro Company?”
“No.” Zhang Xiaoman shook his head. “We’re not going there to help them. We’re doing it for the people of the Central Plains.”
Wang Yun and Ji Zi’ang looked at each other. There was nothing beneficial to the Northwest for supporting the Central Plains, yet Fortress 178 still made a decision like that.
Suddenly, Wang Yun said firmly, “We’ll go with you then. You’ll need someone familiar with the Central Plains, and I happen to already have all the maps of the Central Plains in my head.”
Zhang Xiaoman thought for a moment. “I’ve got to seek instructions from the higher-ups regarding this. However, you all have just been through an arduous journey from the Central Plains, so there’s actually no need for you to risk your lives with us Northwesterners.”
Wang Yun thought for a moment before replying, “We are also from the Northwest now.”