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

Yang Yuting glanced at Zhang Hanqing with his triangular eyes, a mocking smile playing on his lips.

"Hanqing! I heard that Vice Principal Lin is now in a lot of power."

He deliberately dragged out his words, glancing around at the veterans.

"If we encounter this new army of peasants from the south on the battlefield in the future, I will instruct my brothers to spare the life of this Vice Principal Lin, and not to harm a single hair on his head, just to save face for Hanqing."

Yang Yuting first belittled Zhang Hanqing's description of the sworn brothers, then turned his tone to sarcasm.

Clearly, he didn't think Lin Qi was anyone special.

Unrestrained laughter erupted in the Tiger Hall.

Zhang Zuoxiang, Tang Yulin, and others laughed so hard they were doubled over, their laughter filled with contempt for the South and mockery of Lin Qi and Chiang Kai-shek.

Faced with Yang Yuting's public taunts, Zhang Hanqing stood still, neither refuting nor getting angry.

He even joined in the banter with the room full of veterans, laughing so naturally and without a trace of guile.

But beneath his lowered eyelids, a chilling, insane glint flashed.

Laugh!

Laugh to your heart's content!

He clenched his fist tightly inside his sleeve.

You bunch of old fogies sitting at the bottom of a well have no idea what kind of monster you're facing.

Second generation ancestor?

He recalled that snowy night at the villa in Beiling, Fengtian; he recalled the metallurgical formula that Lin Qi had casually written down; he recalled the new rifle that could fire continuously without exploding at the firing range; he recalled the red circle that Lin Qi drew on the map that would determine the fate of the world.

Once my sworn brother has truly established himself in the South and is working in concert with me from both the North and South, let's see where you can cry then.

Zhang Hanqing inwardly scoffed, thinking that the tide was in the south and the Fengtian clique's future depended entirely on this sworn brother whom they were mocking.

The more you laugh, the more stable my game will be.

While warlords across the country treated the Whampoa Military Academy's recruitment as a source of amusement, the wheels of history were turning with a dull rumble in Guangzhou.

Just three days after newspapers began to ridicule Lin Qi and Chiang Kai-shek.

On the surface of the Pearl River outside Cheung Chau Island, the water ripples.

Several ocean-going freighters flying foreign flags quietly approached the shore in the thin mist, their drafts extremely deep. They were clearly not ordinary merchant ships transporting raw silk and tea.

As the gangplank was lowered, hundreds of dockworkers, shirtless and chanting, carried heavy, long, narrow pine crates off the ship.

The box was clearly printed with Russian letters.

This is not a merchant ship; it is an arms ship secretly supplied by the Soviets.

The wooden crates were pried open on the dock, revealing neatly arranged brand-new Mosin-Nagant rifles wrapped in greaseproof paper.

The heavy machine gun barrels gleamed with a cold metallic sheen, and crates of brass bullets were piled up like mountains.

Besides the weapons, a group of people also disembarked from the ship.

He had a high nose and deep-set eyes, a burly build, wore a thick woolen overcoat and high-top leather boots, and had a cheap cigarette dangling from his mouth.

Soviet military advisory group.

In name, they were responding to the Grand Marshal's Office's request for assistance in building the school, training the army, and teaching advanced tactics.

In reality, they came with weapons and rubles to gain absolute control over this new army. They provided the guns, so the rules had to be followed.

When the news reached the Grand Marshal's Mansion, the headquarters was filled with jubilation.

With this batch of weapons, the students recruited by the military academy will no longer be mere decorations practicing with wooden sticks.

While he was excited, the gentleman also knew that these Soviets were arrogant and difficult to deal with. Those who understood politics did not understand military industry, and the old warlord generals who did understand military industry were easily intimidated by the foreigners' aura.

We must send someone knowledgeable, capable, and able to keep things under control to handle this.

He immediately ordered his bodyguard to drive to the Shijing Arsenal and urgently summon Lin Qi to the Marshal's Mansion, instructing Lin Qi to use his dual roles as vice principal and military expert to contact the group of Soviet advisors.

The Ford sedan sped along the bumpy streets of Guangzhou, its wheels kicking up mud and water.

There was a faint musty smell in the carriage.

Lin Qi leaned back in the back seat, closing his eyes to rest. Outside the window, he could hear the cries of vendors and rickshaw pullers.

His mind was like a clear, bright mirror.

Many people in the headquarters were grateful for the Soviet arms shipment, considering it a selfless aid from the proletarian elder brother and an act of internationalism. Even Chiang Kai-shek, who would later become known as Chiang Kai-shek, publicly praised the Soviet Union's generosity.

It's utterly ridiculous.

Lin Qi never believed in free lunches, nor did he believe in warm internationalism between nations.

He coldly reviewed the underlying logic of this history in his mind.

The Karakhan Declaration? The abolition of all unequal treaties? They were all just empty promises.

The first place the Soviets looked for was not Guangzhou, much less Mr. [name omitted].

They were looking for Wu Ziyu, a direct descendant of the powerful Wu family who held sway over the Central Plains.

Yue Fei arrived in Luoyang, sat opposite Wu Ziyu, and offered extremely generous military and financial aid.

What is the price?

Extremely harsh, it could even be described as taking advantage of someone's misfortune.

Recognize xx's independence and relinquish actual control of the Chinese Eastern Railway.

Although Wu Ziyu was a warlord of the Beiyang Army who suppressed strikes and killed students, he was more principled than anyone else when it came to upholding the bottom line of national territorial sovereignty.

He slammed his fist on the table and resolutely refused, saying he would rather give up guns and cannons than betray his country.

The Soviets, having encountered numerous setbacks in Luoyang, sought a proxy in the Far East to contain the power of Japan and Britain and the United States. As a last resort, they headed south and found themselves in Guangzhou, where they had nowhere else to turn.

In order to obtain the guns and cannons for building an army and for his grand ambitions, the gentleman gave an ambiguous and extremely vague answer when faced with the same issue of territorial sovereignty from the Soviets.

The tactic of delaying!

Let's get the weapons and money first.

What internationalism?!

It's all a naked exchange of geopolitical interests.

The Soviets came with guns, intending to seize control of the military in the south with just tens of thousands of Mosin-Nagant rifles. They had a very clear plan.

Now that Lin Qi has arrived, the military industry in the south, and the newly formed army, will not be allowed to be interfered with by any foreign forces.

Living off charity means you're ultimately a puppet in someone else's hands. They can give you a gun today, but cut off your ammunition supply tomorrow, forcing you to cede territory and pay reparations at the negotiating table.

An independent and self-reliant heavy industry base is the only capital that allows us to stand tall and argue back.

The car braked suddenly and stopped in front of the Grand Marshal's Mansion.

Lin Qi pushed open the car door and jumped out, straightening the collar of his gray Zhongshan suit.

I'm not wearing a long gown today. Long gowns are for socializing with intellectuals and politicians. To deal with this group of foreigners who came with guns and cannons to show off their power, a Zhongshan suit makes me look more capable and tough.

The guards led the way, their steps hurried, their foreheads covered in sweat.

"Vice Principal Lin, Chairman Chang is already inside. The other side is very arrogant and keeps finding fault. Chairman Chang is about to lose control."

The guard reported in a low voice.

Lin Qi nodded without speaking, and continued walking.

After passing through the corridor, I arrived at the reception room on the second floor. The door was ajar, and extremely harsh, loud Russian could be heard from inside, carrying obvious dissatisfaction and accusation.

Lin Qi pushed open the door and strode inside.

The reception room was filled with smoke.

Chiang Kai-shek sat on the sofa to the side, his face ashen, next to a sweating, stammering translator.

Three tall Soviet military advisors sat on the European-style sofa in the very center.

He wore a crisp wool coat and high-top leather boots, the mud on the soles of his shoes smeared directly on the carpet, and the cheap cigarette in his hand emitted a stench similar to that of sweaty feet.

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