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

Lin Qi held his wine glass and slowly took a sip.

"What would you like to talk about, bro?"

"Brother Lin, is it convenient for you to come to my room?"

Lin Qi nodded.

Lu Xiaojia's guest room was arranged on the east side of the Grand Marshal's Mansion. The two walked along the corridor, and the moonlight was already pressing on the eaves.

After entering the guest room, the door was closed.

Lu Xiaojia plopped down on the sofa, let out a sigh of relief, and ripped off his tie.

"Brother Lin."

"We brothers don't beat around the bush."

Lin Qi smiled and poured him a glass of whiskey.

"My brother said..."

"My father sent me here ostensibly to ask Guangzhou to send troops."

Lu Xiaojia took a sip and put the glass on the table.

"Actually."

He leaned closer, his voice low.

"It wasn't about those few soldiers in Guangzhou at all."

Lin Qi's eyelids twitched slightly.

"Oh?"

"Brother Lin, you're a smart man too."

Lu Xiaojia smiled, a smile that contained more sincerity and less ruthlessness than his father Lu Yongxiang's.

"My father knows the size of the troops in Guangzhou like the back of his hand. Add to that the Yunnan and Guangxi armies, and they only number a few tens of thousands at most. It would be good enough if they could hold off Chen Jiongming in Dongjiang. How could they possibly have the spare capacity to cross provincial borders to support Zhejiang?"

"What my father wanted wasn't soldiers, but the attitude of a teacher."

"At today's banquet, the gentleman expressed his opinion, and the publicity has been done. The Zhejiang faction has been connected with the first-tier cities in Guangzhou, so the matter is half done."

Lin Qi held his wine glass but didn't say anything.

Lu Xiaojia took another swig of wine, and the redness on her face began to spread down to the base of her neck.

"But there was something more important that my father didn't dare tell the teacher openly."

"It's my hope that you..."

"Brother Lin."

Lin Qiduan's hand stopped.

Lu Xiaojia stared at him with bright eyes.

"My father hopes you will personally make a trip to Fengtian."

Lin Qi: "..."

Lu Xiaojia continued speaking in one go:

"Brother Lin, you and Hanqing are sworn brothers."

"Now the Anhui clique and the Fengtian clique are in cahoots, and their common enemy is the Zhili clique. My father wants you to go and persuade Hanqing, who is encouraging the old marshal to send troops."

"Send troops to Shanhaiguan."

"If the Fengtian Army moves, Wu Ziyu will definitely return to reinforce. Once the main force of the Zhili clique is transferred north, Qi Xieyuan and Sun Chuanfang will not dare to exert their full strength to suppress Zhejiang."

"This is the real way to save Zhejiang."

Lin Qi held the wine glass and slowly turned the rim of the glass.

He spun a small vortex in the amber-colored wine at the bottom of the glass.

He didn't answer immediately.

Seeing that he remained silent, Lu Xiaojia added:

"Brother Lin."

"My father said that if you're willing to take this job..."

"The Zhejiang Governor's Office is open to negotiating any conditions."

As he spoke, he pulled out a $100,000 Citibank draft and shoved it into Lin Qi's pocket.

Lin Qi didn't refuse, put down his wine glass, and smiled.

"Xiao Jia".

"Let me think about it."

"These kinds of things can't be decided after drinking. You know this isn't just my business; I need to discuss it with my husband."

Lu Xiaojia nodded, unusually honest.

In the past, in a place like Guangzhou, he would have been clamoring to go to the brothels along the Pearl River to seek pleasure by nightfall.

Not a single word has been mentioned.

Lu Xiaojia saw Lin Qi to the door, but didn't see him off any further.

Lin Qi took out a cigarette from his pocket, struck a match, took two puffs, stubbed out the cigarette, and headed straight for his teacher's study.

It's 11 p.m.

The light in the gentleman's study was still on.

Lin Qi knocked on the door and went in.

The gentleman sat behind his desk, wearing a thin cotton robe, his face sallow.

Lin Qi hadn't seen him this pale the last time he saw him, but in less than half a month, his complexion had darkened even further.

The man himself knew that his liver disease was worsening.

Lin Qi didn't waste any words and repeated the conversation in Lu Xiaojia's guest room word for word, and also placed the $100,000 promissory note on the table.

The gentleman looked at the promissory note, but didn't speak immediately. He picked up the white porcelain teacup and took a sip.

a long time.

"Takuyuki."

What do you think?

Lin Qi smiled, a smile that rarely revealed his true feelings.

"gentlemen."

"There wasn't a single good one among the old warlords."

The voice wasn't loud, but it was very firm.

"Lu Yongxiang is like that, Qi Xieyuan is like that, Wu Ziyu, Zhang Laoshuai, and Cao Kun are all worse than the last."

"Only when they exhaust each other can we have the opportunity to reap the benefits."

The man squinted and looked up at his beloved general. Great minds think alike, but it was difficult to reveal his identity.

"The battle in Jiangsu and Zhejiang was just the beginning."

Lin Qi stared into the man's eyes.

"The real grand strategy was the Second Zhili-Fengtian War."

The man paused for a moment.

"Takumi, what do you mean?"

"Lu Yongxiang wants to send troops from Fengtian; the time is ripe."

Lin Qi took half a step forward.

"The Fengtian clique suffered a loss in the first Zhili-Fengtian War and held back for more than a year. Marshal Zhang had always wanted revenge. This time, the outbreak of the war in Zhejiang provided the best excuse for the Fengtian clique to make a comeback."

"Once Qi Xieyuan starts the war, the Fengtian Army will surely press down from Shanhaiguan, and the Zhili clique will be attacked from two sides and will surely be defeated."

"With the defeat of the Zhili clique, the entire landscape of the north was reshaped."

"Cao Kun will definitely step down."

"Wu Ziyu also had to leave for a distant place."

The man closed his eyes, the candlelight flickering on half of his face.

Lin Qi didn't urge him.

After a long while, the man opened his eyes.

"Takuchi—you mean we should sit back and watch the tigers fight?"

"Yes."

"No, not exactly."

Lin Qi placed the teacup back in his teacher's hand.

"The best strategy is to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight."

"But it can be done even more precisely."

The man leaned forward.

"How so?"

"If you trust me, sir."

Lin Qi bowed slightly.

"Let me accompany Lu Xiaojia to Fengtian."

"On behalf of you and the Grand Marshal's Office, I personally met with the Young Marshal and the Old Marshal."

"I'll give it a push."

"Make the Fengtian clique more determined to send troops."

"Let this battle between Zhili and Fengtian be fought even more thoroughly."

"Fight until Wu Ziyu is completely finished."

After listening, the man did not express his opinion directly. Instead, he said in a kind tone, "Tuozhi, please sit down and have a good talk with me."

Lin Qi nodded and sat down opposite the desk.

The gentleman did not speak immediately, but took a sip of tea.

"Takumi, answer one question for me."

"Why are you so certain that the direct line will lose this battle?"

Lin Qi's heart skipped a beat.

This is not a simple question. Sir, you are not a fool and will not be misled by your own words.

"Two years ago, the First Zhili-Fengtian War."

The man spoke, his voice low and deep.

"At the time, the Fengtian clique had superior weaponry and financial resources compared to the Zhili clique, but what happened?"

"The Fengtian Army was chased all the way from Changxindian to Shanhaiguan by Wu Ziyu's Third Division. The old commander was defeated and almost lost all face in the three northeastern provinces."

"Now the Fengtian Army is expanding its ranks and manufacturing guns, so on paper it is indeed stronger than it was two years ago."

"But that doesn't mean they can fight."

The man raised his eyes and stared at Lin Qi.

"Wu Ziyu's Third Division was known as the best army in the world. From the Zhili-Anhui War to the Zhili-Fengtian War, it never lost. This Marshal Wu Ziyu himself was a military strategist of his time. Even Yuan Shikai said that his military strategies were worthy of being a teacher for future generations."

"Takuchi, what makes you so confident that the Fengtian clique will win this time?"