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

"The three parties agreed that General Guo would lead the Third Army Corps out of Shanhaiguan, take over and govern the three northeastern provinces, while my Commander-in-Chief would lead the National Army to manage the Northwest and provide support to the two of you on the flanks of Beijing and Tianjin, never touching an inch of Zhili. As for Governor Li, not only would you firmly hold onto Zhili, but after the matter is accomplished, the entire province of Rehe would also be placed under your jurisdiction!"

Upon hearing Xiong Bin's words, Li Jinglin's eyes lit up instantly, and his heart pounded.

With Zhili and Rehe combined, Hebei and Rehe became one, bordering the northern frontier and the Bohai Sea to the east, and holding the wealth of Tianjin and tens of thousands of troops in its hands!

If it succeeds, Li Jinglin will no longer be a lowly supervisor under Zhang Zuolin who suffers mistreatment, nor will he have to pay a single penny in tribute. Instead, he will completely break free from the control of the Fengtian clique, truly establish himself as the King of Hebei and Rehe, and become a regional warlord!

The temptation was too great; he simply couldn't resist it.

Moreover, Guo Songling had the most capable Third Army Corps in the entire Fengtian Army, while Feng Huanzhang had 100,000 Northwest Army soldiers who had just been equipped with Soviet weapons.

If he doesn't agree to these two companies joining forces, he won't be able to get past this hurdle. Tomorrow, Guo Songling and Feng Huanzhang will join forces to eliminate him.

"Let's do it!"

Li Jinglin slapped his thigh and gritted his teeth, saying, "The old marshal listened to Yang Yuting's slander and has long since chilled the hearts of the brothers! Since Brother Maochen has such lofty ambitions, how can I, Li, stand idly by? You go ahead and confidently march out of the pass to fight Fengtian. Leave Zhili and Tianjin to me. I will not allow a single soldier inside the pass to hinder you. I will continue to supply you with provisions and ammunition as usual!"

"Good! With Brother Fangchen's words, the matter is settled!"

Xiong Bin was overjoyed. He took out a draft of the tripartite alliance document from his briefcase, spread it on the table, and handed it to Li Jinglin with a pen: "Director Li, to show our sincerity, please sign and seal this alliance document."

Li Jinglin looked at the written agreement and reached out to take the pen, but stopped in mid-air.

My mind works incredibly fast.

Although he had conflicts with Zhang Zuolin and coveted the throne of the King of Hebei and Rehe, in the end, there was no deep-seated hatred between them.

The worst part is that his elderly mother and his entire family, including his wife and children, are still in Fengtian City, right under Zhang Zuolin's nose, being held hostage!

If Guo Songling were to lose to Zhang Zuolin, or if the signed alliance were to leak out and fall into Zhang Zuolin's hands, his mother, wife, and children in Fengtian would all be dragged out and beheaded, with absolutely no room for maneuver!

"Well... I guess I don't need to sign this."

Li Jinglin withdrew his hand, a smile spreading across his face, and chuckled, "Brother Maochen, Mr. Xiong, we're both straightforward men from the battlefield, and we value keeping our word. Such confidential matters, if written down, might accidentally leak out someday, which would be disastrous. Don't you trust my character, Li Fangchen? I swear by my ancestors, this verbal agreement is absolute. Let's seal our oath!"

Xiong Bin frowned slightly, about to offer further advice.

Guo Songling waved his hand, eager to return to Luanzhou to raise an army. Knowing that Li Jinglin's mother had some concerns in Fengtian, he readily extended his hand and struck three palms with Li Jinglin and Xiong Bin.

"Very well, a gentleman's word is as good as his bond! Brother Fangchen, guard Tianjin well, and I will immediately raise an army upon returning to Luanzhou!"

After finalizing the verbal agreement among the three parties, Guo Songling did not linger in Tianjin for a moment longer, and took Xiong Bin back to Luanzhou overnight.

August 10th.

Outside Luanzhou City, at the Third Army Corps' training ground, the entire army was under martial law.

At nine o'clock in the morning, Guo Songling, dressed in a crisp Fengtian Army officer's uniform with a sword at his waist, strode onto the platform.

The audience was filled with over two hundred officers of regimental rank and above from the Third Army Corps.

The passageways and entrances around the drill ground were filled with heavily armed guards, all with their fingers on the triggers.

"Fellow soldiers! Brothers of the Third Army!"

Guo Songling placed his hands on the stage, his gaze sweeping across the audience, his voice booming: "Since entering the pass last year, the soldiers of my Third Army Corps have fought valiantly, capturing Shanhaiguan and Jiumenkou, securing half of the country for the Fengtian Army! However, the Commander-in-Chief is old and senile, misled by the treacherous Yang Yuting, resulting in unfair rewards and punishments, and nepotism! Yang Yuting and his ilk are cowards, suffering defeats and losses in Jiangnan, yet they occupy high positions. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of soldiers of my Third Army Corps have shed blood and sacrificed their lives, receiving no reward whatsoever. Now, Yang Yuting even intends to use the Commander-in-Chief's orders to disband our army, pushing us back into the flames of civil war!"

The scene erupted in uproar. The officers, who had been unaware of the situation beforehand, changed their expressions drastically. Liu Wei, Ji Yun, and other core confidants took the lead in slamming their fists on the table and roaring in anger.

Guo Songling pulled out a pre-written telegram from his pocket and held it high: "To save the 30 million people of Northeast China and to find a way out for our soldiers, I, Guo Songling, hereby formally announce that I will raise an army in Luanzhou!"

He glanced at the officers below the stage, whose faces showed hesitation and who were still mindful of their past relationship with the Young Marshal. He then changed the subject, loudly reading out the telegram's outline: "Our army's departure from the pass this time is by no means a betrayal! Nor is it to oppose the Young Marshal, but rather to demand that the muddle-headed old Marshal immediately resign, purge the court of corrupt officials, and execute the traitor Yang Yuting who has brought disaster to the country and its people! We respectfully request that the Young Marshal assume full military and political power in Northeast China, implement new policies, and end the civil war forever!"

This move, using Zhang Hanqing's name to oppose Zhang Zuolin, was extremely cunning.

Many junior officers in the audience who were initially hesitant felt their resistance vanished almost instantly upon hearing that the message was "support the young marshal's succession and only kill Yang Yuting."

"Purge the court of corrupt officials! Kill Yang Yuting!"

"We urge the old marshal to step down and support the young marshal to take charge of the Northeast!"

Liu Wei, Fan Pujiang, and others raised their arms and shouted, and the soldiers inside and outside the drill ground shouted in unison, creating a deafening roar.

However, not everyone is willing to follow Guo Songling down this dark path.

On the morning of August 11th.

Guo Songling began to take action within the army, forcibly renaming the entire army the "Northeast National Army." He also dispatched his guards to disarm all senior generals, including Zhao Enzhen, Gao Weiyue, Qi Enming, and Pei Chunsheng, who refused to sign the anti-Fengtian telegram, and imprisoned them in a temporary prison in Luanzhou City.

At 10 a.m. that day, a train traveling north from Shandong pulled into Luanzhou Station.

Sitting in the car was Jiang Dengxuan, a general of the Fengtian Army and the military governor of Anhui, who had just been defeated in the south of the Yangtze River and was preparing to return to Fengtian via Luanzhou to report on his duties.

Jiang Dengxuan, along with Yang Yuting and Han Linchun, were known as the new generation of the "Three Outstanding Officers" of the Fengtian Army. Jiang Dengxuan was usually very close to Yang Yuting and had always disliked Guo Songling's arrogant attitude. The two had always been at odds in the army and had a deep-seated grudge.

As soon as the train came to a stop, Jiang Dengxuan heard about the Luanzhou mutiny. Confident in his seniority and believing that Guo Songling would not dare to do anything to him, he got off the train with two adjutants and went directly to the headquarters of the Third Army Corps, intending to dissuade Guo Songling in person.

In the headquarters, Guo Songling sat on a grand chair, watching Jiang Dengxuan stride in, and waved for the guards to close the door.

"Brother Chao Liu (Jiang Dengxuan's courtesy name), now that we've arrived in Luanzhou, it's perfect timing. I have a telegram here denouncing the rebellion. You can sign it too, and we can work together."

Guo Songling tossed the power cord onto the table.

Jiang Dengxuan didn't even glance at him. He unbuttoned his military overcoat, pointed at Guo Songling's nose, and cursed, "Guo Maochen! Are you fucking crazy?! The old marshal has treated you well, entrusting you with the six most elite brigades of the entire Fengtian Army! Now that the front lines have just suffered a defeat, and we need capable men right now, you actually stab the old marshal in the back, colluding with outsiders to rebel?!"

Guo Songling's face darkened: "Jiang Chaoliu, I'm purging the court of corrupt officials; I'm killing Yang Yuting to save the people of Northeast China!"

"Bullshit!"

Jiang Dengxuan, with his fiery temper, slammed his hand on the table, spitting directly into Guo Songling's face: "Stop using the Young Marshal and the people of Northeast China as a fig leaf! Aren't you just jealous of the Old Marshal and Lin Ge because you didn't get the position of Governor-General in this merit-based reward ceremony, and you want to go back to Fengtian and become a local tyrant?! You ungrateful, treacherous bastard! Even if I die, I will never associate with a traitor like you! If you have the guts, kill me today, otherwise, as soon as I step out of this door, I will definitely send troops to skin you alive!"

Jiang Dengxuan's words struck a nerve with Guo Songling.

Guo Songling stood up from the armchair, his chest heaving violently, his eyes bloodshot behind his glasses: "Jiang Dengxuan! I think you're in cahoots with Yang Yuting, you're asking for death!"

"Someone come here!"

Guo Songling roared at the door.