Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sound of artillery fire spread around, causing the ground to shake.

In this battle, Chen Jie did not engage in positional warfare, nor did he order anyone to dig trenches or build defensive fortifications.

storm!

That's right, he directly adopted bulldozing tactics to launch a strong attack.

He didn't want to delay any longer; instead, he wanted to hold the main force of the Kwantung Army at bay and crush them head-on.

The first to strike was Liu Qi's heavily armed brigade.

Yan Chenghao led the Third Division to encircle the enemy from the left flank.

Huang Yaoguang led the Second Division to encircle the enemy from the right flank!

at this time,

Oyama Iwao ordered Sakata Takeo to lead an army of 100,000 to meet the enemy.

As a result, after the two sides engaged in a head-on confrontation, it almost turned into a one-sided massacre.

Ximentang's heavy armored brigade was led by tanks, with extremely fierce firepower, and completely ignored the enemy's counterattack.

One hundred tanks were like a sharp knife, piercing straight into the heart of the Kwantung Army.

Each tank is equipped with two heavy machine guns and four tank crew members, making its combat effectiveness beyond doubt.

It turns out that Liu Qi discovered that when using a heavy machine gun to fire wildly inside a tank, the destructive power is even greater than that of the main cannon.

then,

The number of heavy machine gun bullets inside the tank has doubled.

The biggest advantage of a heavy-armored brigade is its thick armor, which provides extremely high defense.

Not to mention that enemy heavy machine guns couldn't penetrate the tank, even artillery shells had little chance of damaging the tank's armor.

The Kwantung Army had not yet deployed armor-piercing shells, so they were completely unable to break through the tanks' defenses.

Therefore,
Once the tank corps was deployed, it swept through everything in its path, unstoppable.

Dozens of heavy machine guns opened fire, and any resistance would be destroyed.

In one charge, several thousand elite Kwantung Army soldiers were killed instantly.

Behind the tank corps, heavily armored soldiers pushed Vulcan cannons and heavy machine guns, taking turns to provide fire support.

As a result,
The crossfire of a heavy brigade is more terrifying than an attack using main guns.

As the heavy brigade charged, the Kwantung Army suffered heavy casualties and corpses littered the field when it was only one kilometer away from the main force of Ximentang.

They simply couldn't get within 500 meters of Ximentang's main force.

The heavy brigade's attack was like a mobile fortress.

The morale of the Allied Forces was already on the verge of collapse, and after being bombarded by Ximen Tang's heavy armored brigade, it was immediately crushed.

Wow——!
The Allied Forces of the East, including the elite of the Kwantung Army, turned and fled.

Can't fight!
Just as the Allied Forces of the East Asia scattered and fled, the artillery positions that had been lying in ambush opened fire fiercely.

The overwhelming barrage of mortar shells directly hit the main force of the Kwantung Army.

For a while,
The Kwantung Army's battle formation was completely thrown into chaos, and Sakata Takeo's troops had already been routed.

How could the soldiers of the Allied Forces of the East Asia dare to continue to hold their positions?
then,

The Eastern Allied Forces were in complete chaos, with no one even obeying Oyama Iwao's orders; they scattered and fled.

Beat up the drowning dog!
Upon seeing the chaos within the Kwantung Army, Chen Jie immediately ordered full firepower coverage.

Simultaneously,

The heavily armed brigade launched a rapid assault, charging towards the Kwantung Army.

The Kwantung Army quickly retreated, fleeing towards Suizhou.

Complete collapse, utterly vulnerable!
It was only at this moment that Da Shan Yan realized that the rebels of Da Qian were all just freeloaders.

Once you're actually on the battlefield, nobody's a fool.

In the past, these rebels might have been at the forefront, serving as cannon fodder.

There's no way they'll lead the charge now.

The source of the chaos in the Eastern Allied Forces was the Daqian rebels who shouted loudly and fled in panic.

Moreover, the chaos caused by these Daqian rebels also threw the Kwantung Army into complete disarray.

Less than half an hour.

The Kwantung Army retreated across the board, abandoning Xiaogan entirely!
-

The government office of Xiaogan Prefecture.

A Japanese major knelt on the floor of the council hall and kowtowed to Chen Jie, saying:
"Your Highness, I am Takahashi Morimasa, the captain of the personal guard under General Ōyama Iwao of the Kwantung Army!"

"I am very grateful to Prince Qian for giving me the opportunity to meet you."

Bang, bang, bang!
finished,

The Japanese major kowtowed three times to Chen Jie.

Chen Jie smiled calmly and said:

"Takahashi Morimasa, the Kwantung Army came to the land of my Great Qian, burning, killing, looting, and committing all sorts of atrocities. You are invaders. There is only hatred between us. What do you have to say to me?"

"If we meet on the battlefield, I would kill you with a single sword stroke and still not be satisfied."

"However, in war, messengers are not to be killed. Since you are here to deliver a message for Da Shanyan, I will spare your life today!"

"Speak, what does Da Shan Yan want from me?"

Originally, after Ximentang occupied Xiaogan, Chen Jie was preparing to take advantage of the victory and lead his army directly to Suizhou.

but,

To his surprise, Oyama Iwao sent Takahashi Morimasa to see him.

Takahashi Morimasa kowtowed to Chen Jie again and said:
"Thank you for sparing my life, Prince Qian. Actually, my coming to find you is beneficial to Ximen Tang."

Chen Jie did not tell the man to get up, but instead made him continue kneeling.

He said calmly:
"Benefit? What benefit could it possibly bring to our Ximen Hall? I'd like to hear it."

"Does Da Shan Yan want to reconcile with our Xi Men Tang?"

Just now, Chen Jie tried to listen to Takahashi Morimasa's thoughts.

Unexpectedly, this guy's martial arts skills are extremely high; he is actually a master of the Blood Refining Pill Realm.

Unless you directly destroy the opponent's martial will, it's easy for them to discover your thoughts if you try to listen to their inner voice.

Therefore,
Chen Jie gave up on the idea of ​​listening to the other person's thoughts.

Morimasa Takahashi took a deep breath, thought for a moment, and looked up at Chen Jie, saying:

“Your Excellency Prince Qian, in fact, your Ximen Hall has already recovered Hanyang, Wuchang and other places in Central China, which is enough to deter Prince Ning in the Northwest and Prince Shu in the Southwest!”

“You are now the most powerful person in the Great Qian Dynasty, but as far as I know, the Great Qian Dynasty values ​​the succession of the imperial throne.”

“Your surname is Chen. Unless you want to rebel, the throne of the Great Qian Dynasty cannot be passed down to you.”

"The Great Qian Dynasty was beset by internal and external troubles. Not only did the vassal kings rebel, but the Eastern Empire, the Western powers, and so on all coveted the Great Qian."

"Prince Qian, you should take advantage of this opportunity to gain some tangible benefits; that would be the best course of action!"

“I know that with your current status and position, you value your reputation and the greater good, and you would never do anything that would be considered outrageous by both gods and men.”

"But our Kwantung Army can serve you. Our existence will make your Ximentang even more important."

"General Oyama Iwao wants to cooperate with you—!"

Chen Jie smiled calmly and said without showing any emotion:
"Stop! I don't want to hear your nonsense. Tell me, what exactly does Da Shan Yan want?"

"Does he want us, Ximen Tang, to stop the pursuit and let him go?"

What are his bargaining chips?

Takahashi Morimasa was taken aback upon hearing this, and took a deep breath before saying:
"As expected of Prince Qian, he speaks so decisively!"

"General Dashanyan said that as long as your Ximen Hall stops attacking Suizhou, we are willing to hand over all the money we have plundered during this period, totaling three million silver dollars."

"In addition, we can return all the looted goods to Ximentang, just asking that you be lenient and let us leave Suizhou safely."

"If Ximentang cannot explain himself to the court and the people, General Dashanyan said he was willing to offer the heads of 10,000 rebels as a sign of sincerity."

It turns out that Dashan Rock was in Xiaogan, after being bombarded by Ximentang.

He then realized that even if he had many men, he had no chance of winning.

Don't be fooled by the fact that you have nearly 500,000 troops under your command.

But the truly elite force consisted of only a few hundred thousand of the Kwantung Army's elite troops.

The other nearly 300,000 Daqian rebels had absolutely no fighting capacity.

The key is,
He was so terrified by Ximentang's attack that he had no desire to continue fighting him.

His biggest worry was that Simon Tang was closing in.

Because he was carrying the silver dollars and supplies looted and plundered by the Kwantung Army during this period, even if he tried to escape, he certainly couldn't outrun Ximen Tang's elite troops.

He was unwilling to simply throw it away. So,

Oyama Iwao sent Takahashi Morimasa to deliver the looted supplies and silver dollars to Saimon-do so that the Kwantung Army could stabilize the situation and retreat to the northwest.

He had already figured it out: to deal with Ximen Tang, the Kwantung Army absolutely could not be allowed to fight alone.

We must cooperate deeply with either Prince Ning, Li Mu, or Prince Shu, Li Chuang.

Give them more advanced weapons and funds, and let them deal with Simon.

In fact, the Kwantung Army often adopted a cooperative approach with its opponents during the war.

As long as sufficient benefits are offered, success is almost guaranteed every time.

Whether it was Qi Zhentang in Shandong, or the cooperation with the powerful families in Liaodong after landing in Lushun, etc.

They paved the way with money and weapons, offered up profits, and sought cooperation.

This was also the most common method used by the Kwantung Army.

If you can't win a fight, talk about cooperation. If the other party agrees to cooperate, it means you won't continue to pursue them.

of course,

As for how to cooperate, both sides have room for compromise. It all depends on whether the conditions they offer in the end achieve their respective goals.

If the other party does not agree to cooperate, then continue fighting.

This phenomenon was common in the battles of the Daqian Dynasty.

This method was frequently used, especially in battles fought by the Ministry of War of the Great Qian Dynasty, allowing the generals leading the troops to reap numerous benefits.

After Dashan Yan led his army to the Hanzhong area, he used this tactic repeatedly and it never failed.

He not only cooperated with Prince Ning, Li Mu, but also with Prince Shu, Li Chuang.

in addition,

In Guangfu City, the same method was used to cooperate with the Ninth Prince, Li Hongyu.

therefore,

Faced with Ximentang's fierce attack, he knew that if he continued to fight, he would lose.

Therefore, Daisan Rock had no choice but to resort to this tactic.

However, he has lost the battle and has no trump cards left. Even if they cooperate, he will only have to pay more in return.

Because Dashanyan has been in the Hanzhong area for so long, he has acquired a lot of things through burning, killing, looting and plundering.

Now, take out some money, consider it as money to save a life.

It's much better than being completely wiped out by Ximentang.

then,

Before fleeing Xiaogan, he sent Takahashi Morimasa to act as a negotiator, hoping to cooperate with Chen Jie.

Chen Jie was originally going to refuse outright.

Are you kidding me? Cooperating with the Japanese at this time?
Cooperation my ass!
It would be good if we didn't annihilate them all; how could we possibly cooperate?

but,

He quickly calmed down.

We cannot refuse outright, lest we anger Dashanyan.

Suddenly, Chen Jie became wary.

Since arriving in the Hanzhong region, he has encountered two consecutive burnings of the city, so how could he dare to be careless?

Therefore,
We must keep Dashan Rock in check, lest that old bastard resort to desperate measures.

then,

After hearing Takahashi Morimasa state that Oyama Iwao had offered three million silver dollars, Chen Jie feigned a disdainful sneer and said:

"Three million silver dollars, and you think you can make me back down? What are you thinking, trying to fob off beggars?"

Although Chen Jie's attitude was disdainful, it was clear that he wanted to refuse.

but,

Takahashi Morimasa was secretly delighted.

Yo-shi—there's hope!
Judging from Chen Jie's tone, it seemed that three million silver dollars was too little.

As long as there is no outright rejection on the spot, there is a possibility of cooperation.

The interests of both parties can be discussed further. Three million silver dollars is too little, so let's make it six million!
Six million isn't enough, then ten million will do!

As long as we can talk, everything is fine; the worst thing is not even having the chance to talk.

Morimasa Takahashi took a deep breath and said:
"What does Prince Qian mean? How much do you want?"

"As long as you give me a price, I can go back and ask General Ōyama Iwao for instructions."

"I believe that if General Oyama Iwao can do it, he will definitely grant your request."

Chen Jie nodded, and seeing that the time was right, said:
“This isn’t business, and I’m too lazy to play any tricks with you. Go back and tell Da Shan Yan to revise the list.”

"If the benefits he offers are satisfactory to me, then we can cooperate once."

"If he still wants to bargain, I'm sorry, I don't have that much patience."

"Go back now. You must give me a definite answer by 10 a.m. tomorrow."

"If we can talk, we will talk; if we can't reach an agreement, we'll go to war!"

"Of course, if you want to flee Suizhou overnight, no problem. I'm just looking for a suitable opportunity to attack Prince Ning, Li Mu. If you head northwest, I'll thank you!"

finished,

To express his sincerity in cooperating, and also to reassure Da Shanyan.

He had someone summon Wen Kuan from the shore, as if to release prisoners.

Kishibe Fumikan held considerable prestige within the Kwantung Army and was a capable lieutenant under Oyama Iwao, serving as Emperor Meiji's eyes and ears around Oyama Iwao.

Chen Jie's decision to release Anbian Wenkuan back to shore was a show of great sincerity.

Takahashi Morimasa naturally didn't dare to say anything more, since he had already completed his mission.

then,

After leaving the military camp of Ximentang, he returned to Suizhou Prefecture with Anbian Wenkuan and reported the details to Dashanyan.

After listening to Takahashi Morimasa's report, Oyama Iwao's face turned ashen.

I never expected that the battle between Hankou and Xiaogan would end so badly.

He has no more bargaining chips left!

"idiot--!"

Da Shanyan smashed the teacup on the table, gritting his teeth in anger.

Prince Qian, Chen Jie, is too domineering!
Although he agreed to discuss cooperation, he didn't specify a price, leaving it to me to set my own.

How the hell are you going to ask for a price?
"If we can reach an agreement, we'll talk; if we can't, we'll fight!"

The initiative was entirely in Ximentang's hands.

In other words, if you want to cooperate, you must give us your bottom line; there's no room for negotiation.

Otherwise, war will be the only option!
damn it--

Isn't this just making things difficult for myself?

However, we have to talk about it now, because Da Shan Yan knows better than anyone else.

Once war really breaks out, the Kwantung Army will be unable to stop it!

If it were 500,000 elite troops of the Kwantung Army, a decisive battle could be fought.

but,

The Kwantung Army's elite forces numbered only a few hundred thousand; the rest were rebels from the Great Qian Dynasty, a bunch of useless wastes of food!

Thinking about this, Da Shanyan felt a surge of anger.

How to do?
He thought for a long time but still couldn't figure out what conditions he should offer to satisfy Simon.

therefore,

That evening, he convened a meeting with Kwantung Army generals including Takeo Sakata, Yutaka Oshima, Kenzo Sakuragi, and Asahi Yagyu.

Simultaneously,

He asked Ximen Tang, who had just been released, to meet with Anbian Wenkuan to discuss what conditions to offer next.
It has to be said that the cooperation conditions that Chen Jie directly proposed really gave Da Shanyan a headache.

There seems to be no price tag, but it's as if a price has already been given.

Chen Jie held the initiative in negotiating cooperation.

Simultaneously,

This gave Da Shanyan another glimmer of hope, preventing him from resorting to desperate measures. (End of Chapter)