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

The key civil and military officials at headquarters argued for two whole hours, spittle flying everywhere, but they still couldn't come up with a unified set of rules.

"Sun Chuanfang is treating us like three-year-olds!"

Hu slammed his hand on the table, making the teacups in front of him clang loudly, his old face full of resentment.

"He's just a remnant of the Zhili clique of the Beiyang Army, constantly clashing with us. Now that Zhang Zuolin's army has pushed him to the brink, he's finally feeling the pain and wants to drag us down with him? No way! This alliance letter should be thrown straight into the trash!"

Sitting opposite him, Wang unfolded his ivory folding fan and sarcastically echoed, "What Lord Hu said is absolutely right. What kind of power does Zhang Zuolin have? Even Feng Huanzhang was forced to pack his bags and retreat back to Chahar. The Fengtian Army is currently riding high, and Zhang Zongchang's vanguard has already entered Shanghai. We have just pacified the Dongjiang region, and our foundation is not yet secure. To send troops to provoke the Fengtian Army at this time would be like inviting trouble! I strongly oppose sending troops!"

"However, if we sit idly by and allow the Fengtian Army to annex the five southeastern provinces, and Zhang Zuolin becomes the sole ruler, we will certainly be his next target!"

A pro-war Cantonese general, his neck red with anger, retorted: "Don't you two understand the principle of 'if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold'?"

"Fight? With what?!"

Wang Jingwei snapped his fan shut, pointed at the general, and demanded sternly, "Are we using the people of Guangzhou to fill Zhang Zuolin's cannons?"

The meeting room once again erupted into a cacophony of noise, like a bustling marketplace.

As the nominal military commander of the headquarters and the principal of the Whampoa Military Academy, all eyes would ultimately be on him, waiting for him to make a decision.

However, his mind was in complete turmoil, and he couldn't come up with any ideas at all!

Chang's gaze unconsciously drifted to Elinqi, who was sitting at the end of the conference table, looking completely calm and collected, as if he were watching a show.

The more he looked, the more hungry and miserable he felt.

Since Lin Qi began frantically expanding production capacity at the Shijing Arsenal over the past two months and secretly transported a large number of advanced fighter jets from overseas, Huangpu's apparent strength has indeed increased several times over.

However, paper strength does not equal combat power!

The newly recruited soldiers were still marching in formation on the parade ground, the newly formed artillery company hadn't even gotten used to the procedures yet, and the new aircraft had just been assembled. The flight cadets were barely able to fly and hadn't even practiced bombing a few times.

This half-baked army might be able to overwhelm Chen Jiongming with superior equipment, but Chang was very uneasy about going head-to-head with Zhang Zuolin's battle-hardened elite troops.

Moreover, the headquarters, in name only, still maintained a fragile North-South alliance with the Fengtian clique.

Lin Qi and Zhang Hanqing, the young marshal of the Fengtian Army, were even sworn brothers who had kowtowed to each other.

If we were to openly break off relations and send troops, it would be a lose-lose situation both politically and in terms of substance.

But what if we don't fight?

Chang's back was covered in a layer of cold sweat.

Zhang Zuolin had too big an appetite.

If Sun Chuanfang and Wu Peifu's defenses collapse completely, and the Fengtian Army seizes the entire middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, acquiring huge amounts of tax revenue from Shanghai and wealth from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the Fengtian war machine will expand to a hopeless degree.

At that time, Zhang Zongchang's armored trains will strike straight at Huanglong, launching a fierce attack on Guangdong and Guangxi. The headquarters will be facing the entire world with only one corner of the country. That kind of pressure will be enough to crush the newly established Whampoa Military Academy in an instant.

"Cough cough..."

Frustrated by his predicament, Chang coughed twice, signaling for everyone in the conference room to quiet down.

After a moment of complete silence, Madam Chang turned to Lin Qi, her tone pleading: "Tuozhi, this matter concerns the very survival of our headquarters. You hold the reins of the military industry in your hands. What do you think of Sun Chuanfang's letter of alliance—should we accept it or not?"

As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of eyes were fixed on Lin Qi.

Lin Qi put down his teacup, slowly straightened up, his posture upright, his eyes showing anxiety but not panic, revealing a composure that seemed to have seen through the world.

"Brother Chiang Kai-shek, fellow elders."

Lin Qi's voice was calm and even: "I have heard your concerns. You are worried that the new army will not be established, that you will not have a legitimate title, and that the Fengtian Army will become too powerful and then march south. These concerns are understandable."

As he spoke, he walked to the national military map on the wall and gently tapped the blue-marked direct defense zone in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

"However, you overestimate the Fengtian Army and think Zhang Zuolin is invincible."

Lin Qi turned around, his gaze sweeping across Wang and Hu's faces like knives, and uttered a statement that left everyone speechless:

"My answer is simple: reject Sun Chuanfang's letter of alliance outright. We don't need to move a single soldier from headquarters; we can just focus on training our troops in Guangzhou!"

"Because in this battle between Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the allied forces of Sun Chuanfang and Wu Peifu will surely win! Zhang Zongchang and the vanguard of the Fengtian Army will inevitably suffer a crushing defeat!"

These words immediately caused an uproar in the conference room.

"Victory? Lin Tuozhi, are you dreaming?!"

Wang was the first to jump up. He waved his folding fan wildly, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world, his face full of sarcasm and ridicule.

"Open your eyes and look at the battle reports from the front! Zhang Zongchang's troops have already entered Shanghai! Sun Chuanfang's frontline defenses are crumbling at the first sign of trouble! And the Fengtian Army has 300,000 troops continuously advancing south! How can Sun Chuanfang win? With his head?!"

Madam Hu sneered repeatedly, adding insult to injury with extremely malicious words: "Tuozhi, I remember you and Zhang Hanqing from Fengtian were sworn brothers, with a deep bond. Why is he so eager to ruin your brother now?"

Faced with the sarcastic remarks of the two pedantic politicians, Lin Qi didn't even have the interest to get angry.

"Lord Wang, Lord Hu, you two don't understand military affairs, so please don't meddle in other people's business."

Lin Qi coldly uttered these words, directly tearing off the masks of Madam Wang and Madam Hu.

Ignoring the two men who were furious and turned pale, he began to analyze the real mastermind behind the war from a God-like perspective.

"Lord Wang, Lord Hu, you only see the strength and power of the Fengtian Army, but you haven't seen through the true trump card hidden behind the Yangtze River basin!"

Upon hearing this, Wang and Hu were stunned.

Lin Qi's voice suddenly rose: "You think this is just a territorial struggle between two warlords, Zhang Zuolin and Sun Chuanfang? Wrong! Utterly wrong!"

"The essence of this Zhejiang-Fengtian War was a life-or-death struggle among the great powers for their interests in the Far East! It was a proxy war between Britain, France, and Japan for control of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River!"

Everyone in the conference room gasped. Chang Shi sat up abruptly, her eyes filled with surprise and uncertainty.

Lin Qi pointed his finger heavily at the word "Shanghai" on the map.

"This place! The Shanghai concessions, plus the vast inland waterway network of Jiangsu and Zhejiang! This is the most important economic lifeline for Britain in China! It is the foundation they have built up over nearly a century with their gunboat diplomacy! British investments in trading companies, factories, and customs in Shanghai have a significant impact on London's financial district!"

Lin Qi's cold gaze swept across the room: "Who's behind Zhang Zuolin? It's the Japanese. Zhang Zongchang's troops marching into Shanghai means that Japanese influence and capital will infiltrate the lower reaches of the Yangtze River without any hindrance! Will the British just stand by and watch the Japanese steal their treasure trove?!"

"Absolutely impossible!"

Lin Qi made a definitive conclusion.