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

"You won't give it to me?"

Chen Cixiu leaned back on the sofa and asked in return:

"If you won't give it to Lin Feng, then tell me, who should take the position of Dai Zhuxi?"

Can our Central Army intervene in Jiaodong now?

Chen Cixiu's words struck a nerve with everyone.

"After the Japanese occupied Nanjing, their army had already formed a three-sided encirclement and suppression of the city."

Chen Cixiu pointed to the location of Jiangcheng on the map, his tone heavy:

"The reason why the Japanese have not yet been able to spare the resources to attack our secondary capital is that..."

It was entirely thanks to the troops of the Fifth War Zone holding the line at Pengcheng.

If we were to completely fall out with Commander Li over a title...

"If the front lines collapse, the Japanese army will advance up the river. How will Jiangcheng defend itself?"

Minister Song frowned, and said somewhat reluctantly:

"Then let's send a trusted official from the Executive Yuan who is experienced and has strong methods to the Executive Yuan."

Nominally taking over the administration of Shandong Province, but secretly undermining Lin Feng's military power.

Upon hearing this suggestion, Chen Cixiu let out a cold laugh.

"Minister Song, you're oversimplifying things."

Chen Cixiu mocked mercilessly:

"An official parachuted in?"

Do you think we live in a peaceful and prosperous era, where you can command a region just by holding an appointment letter?

Lin Feng now commands tens of thousands of elite soldiers who have just fought a bloody battle.

His armored vehicles rampaged through the streets of Qingcheng Port, and his planes could even sink Japanese heavy cruisers in the sky.

You send a commander with no real power to take over the administration?

Believe it or not, before that official even reaches the city hall gates of Qingcheng Port, he'll either encounter bandits on the way or accidentally fall into the water.

As you can see, even when Ma Zi, the leader of the gang, took office in Goose City, he almost got into trouble with Huang Silang, who caused a "bandit invasion and the county magistrate's sudden death."

Although Chen Cixiu didn't know that the movie "Let the Bullets Fly" would exist decades later, he was well aware of how rotten the Republic of China had become:

"Lin Feng is now the biggest warlord in Jiaodong; whoever goes there will die!"

Minister Song was speechless, his face turning pale and then red.

He Jingzhi sighed and picked up the conversation:

"Ci Xiu is right, forcing it won't work."

Moreover, Lin Feng's contribution this time was truly immense.

It has been almost a year since the start of the full-scale War of Resistance against Japan.

He was the first general to recover lost territory on a large scale.

He was also the first general to annihilate a Japanese division-level unit.

Newspapers across the country are now reporting on his deeds extensively, and the people regard him as a national hero.

With such great merit, if we don't give Dai Zhuxi a title, how can we reward him?

Are you trying to fool me with a few worthless medals?

Public opinion across the country would absolutely tear us apart.

He Jingzhi paused, a hint of worry flashing in his eyes:

"Moreover, the Japanese are not to be trifled with either."

What if the Japanese realize they can't defeat Lin Feng in a direct confrontation and instead try to appease him?

They promised him high-ranking positions and generous salaries, allowing him to establish his own independent regime.

Don't forget, the Japanese have already started working on the Shanxi faction in Shanxi Province. At the beginning of this year alone, many regimental commanders and troops from the Shanxi faction directly defected to the Japanese.

"If we push him out now, that would be a real disaster."

Silence fell over the living room once again.

Giving it to them is one thing, not giving it to them is another.

This became an unsolvable deadlock.

"Could we... use someone else to do the dirty work?"

Minister Song lowered his voice and made a sinister suggestion:

"We secretly leaked Lin Feng's deployment information to the Japanese."

Let the Japanese concentrate their forces and eliminate this troublemaker.

"It won't work."

It's obvious to anyone with eyes that the Japanese are no match for Lin Feng in Jiaodong right now.

So Chen Cixiu shook his head, directly rejecting this far-fetched plan.

His finger pointed to the map hanging on the wall:

"You see, with Lin Feng's current record, even though he lost some troops in the previous battles, the remaining troops are still formidable in combat."

In less than four days, they wiped out the remnants of the 5th Division.

In my opinion, unless the Japanese abandon the Central Plains battlefield and focus solely on Lin Feng, assembling four to six elite divisions, plus the main force of the Combined Fleet, to relentlessly attack Lin Feng, there's no way they can possibly eliminate him…”

He Jingzhi continued the conversation:

"But this is strategically impossible."

Compared to Lin Feng, who was confined to a remote corner, Pengcheng, the hub of the Central Plains, and our wartime capital, Jiangcheng, were the primary targets in the eyes of the Japanese headquarters!

After discussing it for a long time, everyone finally realized that they had no way to deal with Lin Feng.

a few days later.

Faced with the nationwide uproar and the strong recommendation of Commander Li of the Fifth War Zone.

And the terrifying air force that Lin Feng commands, which is renowned throughout the world.

The top leadership in Jiangcheng finally came to terms with reality.

They knew they couldn't touch Lin Feng at all.

In order to maintain the last vestige of dignity for the Central Army as the "National Leader of the War of Resistance".

The old man in the inner room could only hold his nose and sign his name on a letter of appointment.

A formal telegram was issued appointing Lin Feng as "Acting Governor of Shandong Province and Commander of the Provincial Security Forces".

In name, Lin Feng had completely taken control of both military and political affairs in Shandong Province.

But the higher-ups in Jiangcheng clearly wouldn't let it go so easily.

On the evening the letter of appointment was issued.

He Jingzhi, Chen Cixiu, and others devised a sinister countermeasure.

"We can give him the official title, but we must firmly block his real power."

He Jingzhi gave the order with a cold smile:

"Starting next month, citing the central government's financial difficulties, all military pay for the 33rd Army Corps will be gradually suspended."

In the first month, pay 5%, then 3%, then 1%.

The logistics department was also forbidden from providing them with even a single bullet or a rifle.

The Military Service Agency also found excuses not to allocate any new recruits to them.

On the Military Intelligence Bureau's side, they received orders to immediately select a group of capable agents and, under the guise of Central Military Commission inspectors and political training cadres, attempt to infiltrate Lin Feng's troops and various departments in Shandong Province.

The goal was to keep a close eye on Lin Feng's every move, and to seize the opportunity to win over his generals and divide and weaken his troops.

"I refuse to believe that if his supplies are cut off, and he relies solely on the devastated Jiaodong region, Lin Feng can still cause any trouble!"

-----

The higher-ups in Jiangcheng are racking their brains and secretly trying to sabotage Lin Feng in order to restrict him.

So what is Lin Feng doing right now, having just received his appointment letter and rightfully become the new "King of Shandong Province"?

He was looking at the sea.

Qingcheng Port, a deep-water military wharf in Dagang.

The entire naval port area has been completely cleared out by fully armed military police, with long cordons set up, so that not even a seagull looking for fries can fly in.

Lin Feng, wearing a woolen military overcoat, stood on the breakwater, the sea breeze making the hem of his coat flutter.

His gaze was fixed on the enormous vessel moored in the berth ahead.

That was a warship.

A large warship that is extremely beautiful and full of violent aesthetics.

This was the special reward given by the system after Itagaki Seishiro was captured alive—the White Eagle Fletcher-class destroyer.

Lin Feng smacked his lips, lost in thought:

Previously, capturing a Japanese regimental flag resulted in a Tiger tank as a system reward. The production cost of this thing was approximately 25 Reichsmarks, equivalent to over 8 Kelvin.

The captured Japanese Major General Sakamoto Jun was rewarded with a K5 railway gun by the system, which cost approximately 400 million Imperial Marks, equivalent to more than 130 million Dass.

The system directly rewarded the captured Japanese lieutenant general Seishiro Itagaki with a Fletcher-class destroyer, which he remembered costing over 1000 million dollars per ship.

Based on this ratio, if we could capture a Japanese general alive, wouldn't the system reward us with a war weapon worth around 1 million dollars?

What could possibly be worth 1 million dollars?

An Essex-class aircraft carrier costs only $8000 million.

The Iowa-class battleship costs 1 million dollars...

Lin Feng shook his head and laughed at himself.

Japanese generals were all army group commanders; they were very difficult to capture...

He refocused his attention on the beautiful warship in front of him.

The White Eagle destroyer, whose design was completed in 41 and whose construction officially began, had a long and graceful hull.

It is 114 meters long, with a standard displacement of 2,050 tons and a full-load displacement of 2,500 tons.

At the end of the 1930s, this tonnage and size were comparable to those of some countries' light cruisers.

You agree, right? Pinghai, Ninghai?

Most striking are the five single-mounted 127mm/38-caliber dual-purpose main gun turrets arranged in a staggered pattern on the warship's superstructure.

The two-forward, three-rear-back layout makes this warship look powerful, imposing, and majestic.

In addition to the main guns, two very conspicuous five-tube 533mm torpedo launchers were also installed amidships.

"Let's go upstairs and see our new toys."

Lin Feng rubbed his hands together, then, accompanied by several guards, strode up the gangway and boarded the brand-new warship.