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

The official residence of Lu Yongxiang in the International Settlement.

This former military governor of Zhejiang, dressed in a long robe, sat behind his desk practicing calligraphy.

Although he had fallen on hard times and become a nominal envoy, his decades of experience and shrewdness in the officialdom were still etched into his bones.

Suddenly, the study door was pushed open, and Lu Xiaojia barged in.

"What kind of behavior is this, all this panic? Is the sky falling down?"

Lu Yongxiang did not look up, his brush steadily outlining on the rice paper.

"Father! Look at this! It's a telegram from Zhang Hanqing in Beiping!"

Lu Xiaojia, panting, spread the telegram on the table, her voice filled with barely concealed anxiety: "I really don't understand what he's up to. If he wants to see Lin Qi, why did he send me to deliver the message?"

Lu Yongxiang put down his brush, picked up his reading glasses and put them on, scanning the telegram twice with his eyes.

Gradually, a sharp, penetrating light gleamed in his cloudy old eyes.

"Hehe, Xiao Jia, you're still too green. You can't see through the intricacies of politics."

Lu Yongxiang threw the telegram on the table, picked up the covered bowl next to him, and slowly blew away the foam.

"Zhang Hanqing has encountered an insurmountable obstacle in Beiping, a dead end that he cannot resolve, and urgently needs to seek advice from Lin Tuozhi."

Lu Xiaojia looked utterly astonished: "Asking for advice? Why doesn't he just send a telegram to Guangzhou himself? Why bother me? Isn't this going the long way around? Given his relationship with Lin Qi, what could be so difficult about it?!"

Lu Yongxiang sneered, his words revealing a worldly-wise maturity: "Send it himself? How can he send it?!"

"Don't you even look at the situation now! The Fengtian Army is marching south in full force, and Zhang Zongchang's army is threatening the Yangtze River. Everyone in the world knows that the Fengtian Army is going to unify the country! At this critical juncture, although the Fengtian clique and the General Staff haven't officially broken ties, they are actually mortal enemies, ready to fight to the death!"

"If Zhang Hanqing, as the young marshal of the Fengtian Army, were to send a telegram to Guangzhou at this time to consult with Lin Tuozhi or invite him to a meeting in Shanghai, what would the world think? What would the rest of the Fengtian Army think?! They would definitely suspect that this young marshal had been brainwashed by the South and was secretly colluding with the enemy!"

Lu Yongxiang gave his simple-minded son a deep look: "More importantly, what is Lin Tuozhi's status now? If Zhang Hanqing sends the telegram personally, what if Lin Tuozhi refuses outright to avoid suspicion, or because of differing stances? Where would Zhang Hanqing, the young marshal, put his face? Wouldn't their brotherly bond be shattered by this official refusal?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiaojia felt as if she had been struck by lightning, and gasped.

"Father, you mean...?"

"That's right."

Lu Yongxiang nodded, his eyes full of calculation: "Zhang Hanqing asked you to deliver the message on his behalf, which is a good move. First, you are an outsider, and by issuing the invitation in your personal capacity, you can perfectly avoid political sensitivities and avoid triggering the already tense nerves of the Fengtian Army."

"Secondly, this is a buffer. If Lin Tuozhi really refuses to come because of the situation, it will be your personal invitation, Lu Xiaojia, that he is rejecting. It won't damage the harmony between the brothers, and everyone can save face."

Lu Yongxiang stood up, walked to the window, looked at the night sky outside, and his tone became extremely solemn.

"Xiao Jia, no matter what difficulties Zhang Hanqing encounters, this telegram is an opportunity for our Lu family! Being able to curry favor with both the young marshal and that military tycoon in the south is something others would kill for!"

"Go and do it immediately! Use your most polite and sincere tone to send an urgent telegram to Guangzhou in your personal capacity. Say that you are preparing a grand banquet in Shanghai to sincerely invite Lin Tuozhi to come to Shanghai for a visit and to reminisce. And at the end of the telegram, be sure to naturally and emphasize that Zhang Hanqing will also be traveling to Shanghai soon!"

"Yes, Father! I understand! I'll take care of it right away!"

Lu Xiaojia was overjoyed and rushed out of the study with the telegram in hand.

……

Thousands of miles away, in Guangzhou, at the Shijing Arsenal.

The deafening roar of the machinery seemed to shatter one's eardrums.

In the largest factory building, the newly built blast furnace is spewing out thick black smoke.

The air was filled with the pungent smell of sulfur, engine oil, and the burnt smell of metal being molten at high temperatures.

Lin Qi was wearing canvas overalls stained with black oil and a dust hat on his head.

He stood in front of an ultra-large precision hydraulic press that had just been secretly smuggled from Germany, his expression extremely focused.

Next to this behemoth stood a blond, blue-eyed German engineer.

The leader among them was the renowned mechanical expert Hans.

At this moment, Hans's face no longer bore the arrogance he had shown when he first arrived a few months ago, looking down on the backward natives.

His eyes were filled with undisguised fervor and admiration for the young factory director before him.

"Director Lin, regarding your proposal to modify the parameters of the hydraulic damping valve..."

Holding a thick stack of blueprints, Hans, in an almost questioning tone, shouted in English, "I and several engineers have calculated it repeatedly, and it's theoretically feasible, but it exceeds the safety limits set by the original manufacturer in Germany. If we force modifications, and hydraulic backflow occurs during the forging of the cannon barrel, the entire machine will be rendered unusable!"

Lin Qi did not look at the blueprints.

His mind was filled with countless mature data models accumulated from the industrial development of the next century.

Lin Qi casually picked up a rag, vigorously wiped the black grease off his hands, and then picked up a piece of chalk from the table.

Without hesitation, he wrote down a long string of complex fluid mechanics derivation formulas and ultimate pressure resistance parameters directly on the cold outer shell of the hydraulic press.

The sound of chalk rubbing against steel was particularly jarring in the noisy workshop.

"Hans, science is not about rigidly adhering to the dogmas on blueprints."

Lin Qi tossed the chalk aside, his gaze coldly fixed on the German expert: "In Germany, this machine might only be used to produce ordinary industrial bearings. But here, I'm going to use it to forge 75mm field gun barrels capable of withstanding extremely high chamber pressures!"

"According to the original manufacturer's specifications, the internal metal lattice arrangement of the forged gun barrel is not tight enough. Microcracks, barely visible to the naked eye, will appear before two thousand rounds have been fired. On the battlefield, this could be fatal for artillerymen!"

Lin Qi pointed to the formula on the machine casing: "Modify it according to my parameters! The hydraulic cylinder's withstand limit is 15% higher than your calculations! If any problems arise, it's on me!"

Faced with overwhelming industrial technology and undeniable dominance, Hans and several German engineers exchanged glances.

They no longer argued or questioned each other, because in the past few months, Lin Qi had repeatedly and thoroughly humiliated their academic pride with his actions.

"As you wish, Mr. Factory Manager."

Hans bowed respectfully and immediately directed the technicians to carefully adjust the scale on the hydraulic valve manually.

Half an hour later, the parameters were modified.

"Power on! Test run!"

Lin Qi issued the order.

"Buzz..."

With a deep hum, the hydraulic press, like an ancient behemoth awakened, began to operate.

The entire workshop floor trembled slightly under this force.

A thick alloy steel ingot, glowing red-hot and emitting a blinding light, was slowly fed into the forging table by a robotic arm.