You were tasked with guarding the Sihang Warehouse, and you brought out a Tiger tank?

Quiet.

For a moment, no one could utter a sound.

The only sound in the entire conference room was heavy breathing.

Annihilate the entire 5th Division?

Capture Itagaki Seishiro alive?!

This was the first time since the outbreak of the full-scale War of Resistance against Japan that the Great Xia army had annihilated a fully equipped and manned standing Class A division of the Japanese army on the main battlefield!

Moreover, they captured the enemy's lieutenant general division commander alive.

What a glorious achievement!

"Good! Good! Good!"

Commander Li was the first to break the silence.

He was so excited that his face turned bright red. He grabbed his military cap and slammed it hard on the table.

Then, he seemed to feel that it wasn't enough to vent his anger.

He grabbed his favorite teacup from the table and smashed it on the ground.

"Snapped!"

The teacup shattered, and tea splashed everywhere.

"That felt great, so great!"

Commander Li laughed heartily, his laughter filled with the exhilarating joy of triumph.

The other generals and staff officers in the headquarters also jumped up excitedly, hugged each other, and cheered.

"Lin Feng is truly a genius in warfare."

"Even that old devil Itagaki has been captured alive. Let's see how arrogant the Japanese can be now."

After a brief period of ecstasy.

As a seasoned politician, Commander Li quickly calmed down and began to work at lightning speed.

He immediately realized that this unprecedented victory was not only a turning point in the War of Resistance against Japan.

It was also the absolute pinnacle of his personal military and political career.

With this great victory as a foundation, his prestige among the military and civilians across the country will reach an unprecedented height.

It's even enough to rival that one in Jiangcheng.

"Immediately send a telegram to the Jiangcheng Command Headquarters, reporting the victory to the entire nation!"

Commander Li placed his hands on the table, his eyes gleaming with shrewdness, and issued a series of orders:

"Make sure to spread the news of the complete annihilation of the Fifth Division and the capture of Itagaki Seishiro alive.

I want all the people in the country to hear this good news.

Commander Li paused, then revealed a sly smile:

"In addition, send another telegram to Jiangcheng separately."

General Lin Feng made an unparalleled contribution by recapturing Qingcheng Port and annihilating the Fifth Division.

His achievements were outstanding, and his power terrified the enemy.

In my capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth War Zone, I formally recommend General Lin Feng.

He temporarily assumed the position of Zhu Xi in the Shandong Provincial Government and concurrently served as the Shandong Provincial Security Commander.

To take command of the military and political affairs of Shandong Province, in order to reassure the people and benefit the overall war effort!

Upon hearing this order, the trusted generals around him exchanged glances and smiled knowingly.

They knew Commander Li's political skills all too well.

Commander Li's move of going with the flow was executed with unparalleled skill.

He's using Lin Feng's influence to force that guy in Jiangcheng to back down.

He knew that Lin Feng now had a strong and well-equipped army, commanded an air force capable of sinking Japanese heavy cruisers, and had just made such a tremendous contribution.

Even if Jiang Cheng was unwilling, he wouldn't dare to defy public opinion and suppress Lin Feng at this critical juncture.

Since that's the case, Commander Li might as well do him a favor.

He personally stepped forward to recommend Lin Feng for the position.

In this way, not only would they do Lin Feng a huge favor, but they would also completely bind Lin Feng's powerful armed force to the Guangxi clique's war machine.

This also provides an opportunity to thoroughly disgust that guy in Jiangcheng, which can be used to counter the expansion of the Central Army's influence in the Fifth War Zone.

Killing two birds with one stone, why not?

-----

On the other side, in Jiangcheng, far south of the Yangtze River.

Inside the villa on the mountainside of Luojia Mountain, the atmosphere was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

"Damn it!"

"Useless, they're all a bunch of useless trash."

The old man's angry roars echoed from inside the room, accompanied by the crisp sound of porcelain shattering on the wooden floor.

In the spacious living room of the outer room.

Several key figures in the military and political circles of the Great Xia Dynasty, including Chen Cixiu, He Jingzhi, and Minister Song, sat around the sofa.

The group looked at each other, none of them daring to provoke trouble at this moment, and could only look down at the tea on the coffee table in front of them, which had long since gone cold.

There was nothing anyone could do; everyone knew perfectly well that the Central Army had utterly lost face this time.

"It's understandable that the Chairman would lose his temper like that."

Chen Cixiu sighed, breaking the deathly silence in the living room.

He reached up and rubbed his throbbing temples, his voice tinged with undisguised bitterness:

"Our Central Army's most elite German-trained divisions suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Shanghai and the Battle of Nanjing, with hundreds of thousands of soldiers being utterly defeated and even losing the capital."

The results of it?

Lin Feng, a young man who was not even considered a regular soldier, led a legion composed of a motley crew and not only recaptured Qingcheng Port, a major coastal town, in one fell swoop.

They also annihilated the Japanese Fifth Division, the most elite unit, and even captured Lieutenant General Seishiro Itagaki, the division commander.

Once this battle report was published, people all over the country were criticizing our Central Army.

He Jingzhi pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, his expression equally unpleasant.

"Let's put the results aside for now."

He Jingzhi lowered his voice and steered the conversation to the core of today's emergency meeting:

"The most troublesome thing now is the telegram sent by Commander Li of the Fifth War Zone in plain text."

In his capacity as commander-in-chief of the war zone, he publicly recommended Lin Feng to serve as acting head of the Shandong Provincial Government.

What are your thoughts on this?

"Absolutely not!"

Minister Song, who held supreme financial power, waved his hand without hesitation, his attitude resolute:

"Giving him this title is like releasing a tiger back into the mountains."

Although most of Shandong Province fell to the enemy, the industrial base of Qingcheng Port and the Jiaodong Peninsula remained intact.

There is a population, tax revenue, and gold mines there.

Once Lin Feng rightfully takes over the military and political power in Shandong Province, it will be incredibly difficult for us to control him in the future.

He Jingzhi nodded, expressing his deep agreement.

He took out a troop deployment map of the Fifth War Zone and spread it out on the coffee table:

"Minister Song is right."

Look at the current situation in the Fifth War Zone.

That area was originally dominated by various miscellaneous armies, with the main forces being the Guangxi Army and the Yunnan Army.

Our Central Army is over there, and only Commander Tang's 20th Army Corps is struggling to hold on; it's a one-man show.

Lin Feng was originally from the Whampoa Military Academy and was from Fenghua, so he could be considered a close confidant of Chiang Kai-shek.

The Chairman had originally hoped that he could restrain Commander Li in the Fifth War Zone.

Who would have thought that this kid was actually in cahoots with Commander Li!

At this point, He Jingzhi snorted coldly, his tone full of certainty:

"Lin Feng was able to achieve such great results, annihilating the entire Fifth Division."

Where would his ragtag army get so many heavy artillery pieces and ammunition?

Behind this was undoubtedly the secret support of Commander Li of the Guangxi clique, who spared no effort in doing so.

They have definitely merged completely.

If we were to give the title of Shandong Province's bamboo mat maker to Lin Feng...

The Guangxi clique, this fierce tiger, is as if it suddenly gained a pair of wings.

From now on, most of this Fifth War Zone will be under Commander Li's control!

The fixed mindset of those in power makes it impossible for them to imagine the existence of a system.

In their minds, Lin Feng's rise to power must have been due to his association with a powerful political faction.

Currently, it seems that this faction can only be the Guangxi clique.