Did he trick the young marshal into becoming sworn brothers and then go south to Huangpu Military Ac

In the afternoon, at the Grand Marshal's Mansion.

The room was filled with the faint scent of sandalwood.

Lin Qi sat opposite the desk, without any documents in his mind; all the numbers were stored in his head.

"Tuozhi, I heard you went to Zichao's place this morning."

The gentleman put down his pen and asked with a smile, "You two are from the same clan, and Zichao is overjoyed. He just came to tell me that the Lin family has produced an extraordinary young man."

Lin Qi bowed slightly: "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, sir. I dare not forget the rules set by my elders in my early years."

Enough with the small talk, let's get straight to the point.

"Sir, I've thoroughly investigated the arsenal. It's even worse than I expected."

His tone turned cold, and he went straight to the data: "Of the thirty-six machine tools in the factory, twenty are scraps bought during the reign of Emperor Xuantong of the Qing Dynasty, and their spindle precision is off by three millimeters."

The gentleman frowned as he listened.

"But don't worry, sir. These past few days, I've taken a few experienced technicians and completely disassembled the machine tool. We re-scraped the guide rails and replaced the bearings with our own. Now the precision has been restored to 80%, which is more than enough to process rifle bolts."

The man's expression softened, and a strange light flashed in his eyes.

Regarding ammunition.

Lin Qi continued his report: "The equipment for producing sulfuric acid using the lead chamber method was set up the day before yesterday, and the first batch of rudimentary sulfuric acid came out yesterday, with a purity that barely met the standards. We used this batch of sulfuric acid to acid wash the inferior nitrocellulose, and the effect was immediate."

Lin Qi took a bright yellow bullet out of his pocket and placed it on the desk.

"These are the first batch of bullets reloaded at the arsenal last night, filled with our own purified single-base smokeless powder. Five hundred rounds were randomly tested, and the rate of barrel explosion was reduced to less than five per thousand. The current daily output is two thousand rounds. Once the cutting tools and special crucibles from Germany arrive next month, the daily output will triple. In the next three months, I plan to set up a complete smokeless powder production line and trial-produce another batch of 60mm mortar barrels."

This series of extremely hardcore data hit the man right in the heart.

In just a few days, a rotten arsenal was revitalized.

The gentleman stood up excitedly and paced back and forth behind his desk.

"Great, that's wonderful."

Looking at the bullet on the table, his eyes welled up with tears: "With this ammunition, we can stand tall. Tuozhi, you are truly the cornerstone of the South."

Lin Qi smiled faintly: "It's my duty."

Just as Lin Qi was figuring out how to steer the conversation toward the selection of the military academy principal, the teacher suddenly stopped, turned around, and stared at Lin Qi with extremely deep eyes.

"Taku, Kai-shek told me that you two once talked all night long."

The gentleman's voice softened, tinged with probing and expectation: "He highly praised your military achievements, saying that you have the knowledge of 100,000 soldiers in your heart and are very familiar with modern infantry and artillery tactics. What are your thoughts on this military academy that is about to be established?"

Lin Qi's heart stirred, and without hesitation, he simplifies and refines the theory of "infantry-artillery coordination, logistics coordination, and the prototype of mechanization" that he had explained to Chiang Kai-shek, and presents it to him.

The more the gentleman listened, the more alarmed he became, and the more overjoyed he grew. After Lin Qi finished speaking, the study was quiet for a full half minute.

He took a deep breath, placed his hands on the desk, and solemnly dropped a bombshell.

"Tuozhi, every time I see you, you bring me a completely different surprise. Do you want to be the principal of the Whampoa Military Academy? If you nod, I will issue the letter of appointment immediately, and you will take on both the military industry and the military academy."

Lin Qi's mind jolted, he was shocked, and a cold sweat broke out on his back. This was not an act.

Would he be the principal of Whampoa Military Academy?

This means being completely branded with political influence, inevitably becoming embroiled in factional infighting in the future, and even more frighteningly, being completely hijacked by the capital of the Jiang-Zhe financial tycoons.

He wanted to build an independent heavy industrial empire, and he absolutely could not turn himself into a target for others to attack.

"Sir, you absolutely mustn't."

Lin Qi stood up abruptly, waving his hands repeatedly, his face full of fear and self-mockery: "Sir, you flatter me too much. What I just said was all copied from a few foreign military books. It was just theoretical talk. If I were really sent to the battlefield to lead troops, I'm afraid I wouldn't even be able to walk after hearing a volley of gunfire."

Lin Qi withdrew decisively. The teacher looked at him and was not disappointed. Instead, he felt a deeper respect for him. He was not arrogant despite his achievements and had no selfish desires or greed. This was truly a peerless national hero.

"If the teacher really wants to choose a principal."

Seeing that the time was ripe, Lin Qi immediately got to the point: "I dare to recommend Chiang Kai-shek."

The man was slightly taken aback.

"Kai-Shen was a graduate of the Baoding and Japanese Zhenwu Schools. He was strict in leading troops and extremely methodical in his work."

Lin Qi began to aggressively promote his idea: "More importantly, he has no roots or private army in Guangzhou. The new army he leads will only recognize you, sir. This is the real revolutionary armed force."

He paused for a moment, then unleashed his trump card.

"I have heard that you intend to have Commander Xu take on the role concurrently, sir. Commander Xu is senior and will naturally be able to command respect. However, he is too entrenched in the old warlord mentality."

Lin Qi lowered his voice, each word piercing the heart: "You know better than I do the atmosphere of opium smoking, ghost employees, and self-importance within the Guangdong Army. Military academies are places to cultivate pure revolutionary sparks, blank slates. If you let old-style officers lead them, in less than six months, this new-style military academy will become a training class for old bureaucrats tainted with opium and warlord habits."

fatal blow.

Lin Qi did not attack Xu Chongzhi's loyalty, but instead directly attacked the old military ecosystem behind him.

The study fell into a deathly silence. The gentleman's brows were furrowed as he fell into deep thought.

An hour ago, Lin Zichao, who usually doesn't interfere in military affairs, suddenly came to visit and strongly recommended Chiang Kai-shek. Now, even Lin Qi, who has excellent judgment, is making such a strong recommendation.

"Taku's words are thought-provoking."

The gentleman slowly exhaled, not immediately drawing a conclusion: "This matter is of great importance, concerning the future lifeline of our Party. Allow me to consider it further."

Seeing that the time was ripe and further words would be pointless, Lin Qi wisely bowed and took his leave.