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

Just as Lin Qi had predicted.

After three cups of tea, the old general's smile faded slightly, and he gently set the teacup down.

He glanced at Lu Xiaojia.

"Xiao Jia".

The old general spoke slowly and deliberately, as if he were having a casual conversation.

"What brings your father to Fengtian from so far away?"

Lu Xiaojia's smile faded, he straightened his posture, and bowed to the old marshal.

Uncle.

Lu Xiaojia cleared her throat.

"The situation in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is critical. Qi Xieyuan has been holding out along the Songjiang and Baoshan line for two months, while Sun Chuanfang's troops in Fujian have been moving troops to the Fujian-Zhejiang border since the end of July."

"My father did the math and concluded that if a war really broke out, the Zhejiang army wouldn't last more than two months at most."

"If Jiangsu and Zhejiang are swallowed up by the Zhili clique, Fujian will inevitably follow suit. Once Fujian is lost, the Zhili clique will be left unchecked in the south."

"Therefore, for the sake of the Fengtian Army and for the sake of our Jiangzhe region, my father earnestly requests—..."

Lu Xiaojia swallowed, her voice trembling with tears, a stark contrast to her usual spoiled demeanor.

"I earnestly request my uncle to consider our past kinship and send troops to Shanhaiguan."

"Force Wu Ziyu to return to reinforce."

The hall was silent for a second.

The old general exclaimed, "Oh dear!"

He raised his hand to touch his head, then touched his chin, his round face scrunching up.

"Xiao Jia, about this matter..."

He let out a long sigh.

"Disaster."

Lu Xiaojia's face lost half its color.

"The three northeastern provinces have just caught their breath."

The old coach patted his knee with one hand.

"You know about the battle two years ago; the Fengtian Army was severely weakened. In the past year or so, we've expanded the army and produced guns, but our resources haven't increased much."

"Furthermore, the Japanese have added two more garrison units to Yingkou on the South Manchurian Railway in the past two months. If I make the slightest move, the Japanese will immediately send someone to inquire."

The old general smiled bitterly.

"Our Northeast is a great place, but there's one in the sky and one on the ground, sandwiched between them, it's tough."

Yang Yuting held the teacup, and the corner of his mouth curled up almost imperceptibly.

Lin Qi caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of his eye and sneered inwardly.

The old man's Tai Chi routine was one after another, and it was indeed "difficult," but the difficulty lay not in his unwillingness to send troops, but in his unwillingness to send troops for nothing.

After the old general finished recounting his "difficulties," his gaze slowly turned and landed on Lin Qi's face.

"Takumi."

Those small, walnut-shaped eyes softened a bit.

Lin Qi had seen through it all long ago; how could he be fooled?

He knew that hidden within this excavation was the old tycoon's real problem.

"I heard from Xiao Liuzi..."

The old coach smiled kindly.

"You're a child who grew up outside since you were little."

"The master sent you on this trip."

The old general picked up his teacup.

"What exactly are you planning? Why don't you just say it out loud in front of your uncle?"

The moment those words were spoken, the air in the entire hall seemed to drop in pressure.

Yang Yuting gently set down the teacup, his eyes already squinting behind his gold-rimmed glasses.

Tang Yulin's pipe stopped in mid-air.

Jiang Dengxuan slowly raised his head, which had been lowered.

Sun Liechen leaned forward an inch from the wall.

Everyone was waiting for Lin Qi to speak.

Zhang Hanqing tightened his grip on the teacup.

Lin Qi didn't speak immediately.

He glanced at the white porcelain teacup in his hand. A jasmine petal floated on the surface of the tea, already steeped and turning whitish.

I quickly mentally scanned the room full of people.

Yang Yuting was not convinced and would jump out to argue as soon as he said even half a word wrong.

Tang Yulin and Jiang Dengxuan watched the show with indifference, preparing to follow Yang Yuting into the cold wind.

Sun Liechen is an old-fashioned man, not on our side, but he won't make the first move.

Lu Xiaojia is a complete waste; you can't rely on her.

The young marshal looked on expectantly, waiting for his elder brother to show his true colors so he could save face.

The old general chuckled, his inner scales already weighing Lin Qi's worth.

Lin Qi knew this in his heart.

The gentleman instructed that the alliance be secretly presented, but the Marshal's Mansion is a place where things cannot be kept secret; the walls are thinner than paper, and words dissipate faster than smoke.

If he follows the gentleman's instructions today and invites the old marshal into his study for a private talk, the news will spread throughout the entire Beiyang government tomorrow.

It's better not to hide it than to conceal it, but to turn concealment into open concealment, you must first win people's hearts.

Otherwise, if he had just opened his mouth and produced the alliance document, Yang Yuting would have been in serious trouble.

Lin Qi gently put down the teacup, stood up, and walked to the center of the hall.

The old coach let out a "Huh?" and Yang Yuting frowned.

Lin Qi stood in the center of the hall and straightened the hem of his Zhongshan suit.

Then, as if to flirt with a non-existent hem of his dress.

With a "thump".

He knelt straight down on the wool blanket.

"Thump!"

He kowtowed repeatedly to the ground.

Underneath the blanket were blue bricks, making it solid and secure.

"Taku, what's wrong with you...?"

The old general was taken aback, and the teacup in his hand wobbled, spilling some tea.

"Thump!"

The second slap.

"Thump!"

The third slap.

The entire hall was completely silent.

Yang Yuting's eyes widened suddenly.

Tang Yulin's pipe fell to his knee with a "thud," completely unaware.

Jiang Dengxuan subconsciously sat up straight.

Sun Liechen straightened up abruptly from leaning against the wall.

Lu Xiaojia stood there, mouth agape, frozen in her chair.

Zhang Hanqing tilted his teacup, spilling tea onto his leg, but he didn't bother to wipe it off.

This is a great gift from beyond the Great Wall.

It's not the official bowing and scraping, nor the polite greetings exchanged in the martial arts world.

This is the etiquette people from outside the Great Wall observe when recognizing their elders, ancestors, and family lineage.

At the Marshal's Mansion, this kneeling and these three kowtows carried more weight than anything else.

The old general's smile froze completely, and he tried to stand up by supporting himself on the armrest.

"What are you doing!"

"You're the master's woman, I can't accept that!"

Lin Qi raised his head, and there was a faint red mark on the center of his forehead, which was from when he bumped his head earlier.

There was no pretense in his eyes; the young marshal was genuinely kind to him, and he could see that. Therefore, he also sincerely regarded the old marshal as an elder.

Those three kowtows were genuine.

Lin Qi's voice wasn't loud, but it was just loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

"uncle."

He spoke slowly and deliberately.

"I was representing you just now, sir."

"This kneeling is my own business now."

"Me and Hanqing—"

Lin Qi's gaze met the old marshal's small, walnut-shaped eyes.

"sworn brothers".

"According to the rules of our Lin family, the father of a sworn brother is also a close relative."

"It is only right that I kowtow to you, Uncle."

"This is the custom of the Lin family when a new member pays respects to their elders!"

The room was deathly silent.

The stiff smile on the old coach's round face slowly melted away.

It wasn't just polite talk that things were melting away; there was real movement.

He's been a bandit his whole life, so he's completely ingrained in this mentality.

He didn't understand or want to understand any foreign languages, blueprints, or MIT.

But the first thing a young man in his early twenties did upon entering the door was not to present his credentials, reveal his identity, or mention the name of that gentleman from Guangzhou.

Instead, she earnestly kowtowed three times to him, acknowledging him as her elder.

Now, the "envoy" sent by the master is indeed the "envoy" sent by the master.

Lin Tuozhi is Lin Tuozhi.

Two different things.

The old coach has always relied on this approach; it's the foundation upon which he makes his living.