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

The old general sighed, stood up, walked a few steps to Lin Qi, and helped Lin Qi up with his thick hands: "Nephew, get up."

The politeness in his voice was gone.

"Nephew, get up quickly..."

Lin Qi stood up and said, "It is only right for a junior to give you this bow."

"Hey, what do you mean 'should'?!"

The old coach slapped Lin Qi on the shoulder with considerable force, making Lin Qi's shoulder jolted.

"Little Liu, you've got a good eye this time. This brother of yours is something else!" Old Liu

Shuai turned and yelled at his son, then turned back with a smile.

"Nephew, your kneeling has confused me. Let's get down to business."

Lin Qi was half-pushed and half-sent back into the chair.

He looked up, his gaze sweeping across the other side.

Yang Yuting's previous condescending disdain had vanished, replaced by a sinister stare that lasted for several seconds.

The disdain in his eyes disappeared, and he began to reassess.

According to him and the old generals of the Marshal's Mansion, Lin Qi was just a scholar who could read foreign languages, but that kneeling and those three kowtows just now clearly showed that he had grasped the old marshal's pulse and was still a worthless scholar.

Lin Qi sneered inwardly.

He made the right bet. Those three kowtows just now have shed the label of "spoiled brat from Southeast Asia" and revealed his identity as "Brother Hanqing."

If Yang Yuting were to speak out again, he wouldn't be criticizing the envoy from Guangzhou, but rather his own people.

Lin Qi raised the teacup in his hand, concealing the smile on his lips. In this round, Yang Yuting had lost.

The old general chuckled and sat back in the main seat, clearly in a good mood. He laughed loudly and said, "Let's have a proper welcome dinner for my nephew Tuozhi tonight."

Lu Xiaojia, standing to the side, was dumbfounded. This was the treatment he got after kowtowing three times? He should have kowtowed first.

Knowing the time was right, Lin Qi reached into the inner pocket of his Zhongshan suit with his right hand, pulled out a neatly folded, gold-flecked red Xuan paper, and handed it to the old marshal with both hands: "Uncle, this is a letter from the gentleman to you."

Everyone in the room followed his movements.

The old coach took it, but didn't look at it.

Lin Qi continued, "What you mean is that once the Fengtian Army leaves Shanhaiguan, the North and South will be sworn brothers and never invade each other."

The old general gave a short "hmm," his tone revealing neither joy nor anger.

Then it unfolded slowly; the old general read things slowly, a habit he had maintained for many years.

They watched for a full minute, and no one in the room dared to disturb them.

After reading it, the old general didn't say anything. He folded the red paper and handed it to the person next to him: "Lin Ge, take a look."

Lin Qi sneered inwardly: Here they come.

Yang Yuting took the red notice with both hands, glancing at Lin Qi as he did so.

He unfolded the red propaganda leaflet and scanned it much faster than the old marshal, scanning it once and then a second time.

The second time, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, then he picked up the teacup, blew on the floating leaves, took a sip, and remained unhurried.

"Sir, you have such a kind intention."

Yang Yuting spoke, his voice soft and indifferent.

"The Fengtian Army is deeply grateful, but..."

Before Lin Qi could do anything, Zhang Hanqing was already about to lose his temper. Lin Qi had already been slighted by Guo Songling that afternoon, and if Yang Yuting said anything unpleasant, he would lose all face.

"The Fengtian Army this year,"

Yang Yuting placed the teacup on the table and said calmly.

"With the addition of new guns and cannons, the resources of the three provinces outside the Great Wall may disappoint you, sir."

"This alliance is perhaps a bit too much for our Fengtian Army to achieve."

He emphasized the words "reaching high" very heavily.

Everyone in the room understood immediately: this wasn't a humble remark, but rather sarcasm.

This means that Mr. Ba's soldiers, Lin Qi, and that gold-flecked red Xuan paper were all trampled underfoot.

Tang Yulin chuckled, Jiang Dengxuan's lips curled up slightly, and Sun Liechen looked at the teacup without moving.

The entire room was filled with the smell of gunpowder, and it all instantly converged on Lin Qi's side.

Zhang Hanqing's face flushed red, turning bright red from the base of his ears all the way down to his neck.

He had barely managed to tolerate Guo Songling's cold attitude at the Third Army camp.

Yang Yuting's words "climbing the social ladder" are a direct slap in the face to him!

Zhang Hanqing slammed his hand on the table with a "bang" and stood up abruptly: "Yang Yuting! You give me your answer..."

Lin Qi raised his hand, signaling Zhang Hanqing not to get agitated.

"Hanqing, sit down."

Zhang Hanqing was taken aback and turned to look at Lin Qi.

Lin Qi looked at Yang Yuting, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Officer Yang is right."

Everyone in the room was stunned for a moment, and Yang Yuting narrowed his eyes.

He didn't understand and thought to himself, "Is this a way of admitting defeat?"

The old general squinted, watching the show with a smile, wanting to reassess the worth of his son's sworn brother.

Lin Qi remained calm, pausing for two seconds before saying, "This alliance is indeed an honor, but it's not with my uncle, nor with Hanqing."

As he spoke, his gaze shifted from the old marshal to Zhang Hanqing, and finally settled on Yang Yuting's face.

"You're the one who's above your station, Staff Officer Yang."

"Snapped!"

Yang Yuting slammed the teacup onto the table, splashing tea everywhere.

"good!"

Yang Yuting uttered each word carefully.

"Good... one... quick... tongue... sharp..."

He suddenly stood up, one hand on the table, the other pointing at Lin Qi.

"Vice Principal Lin! Tell me, how many infantry regiments can your headquarters mobilize right now? At most, can you muster 30,000 soldiers? And of those 30,000, how many are actually available for deployment? How many cannons and shells does your lousy factory produce a month?"

"Your Whampoa Military Academy!"

Yang Yuting sneered.

"Those few hundred student soldiers, after deducting those who beg for food, rations, and pay, how many companies could they possibly form?"

He spoke faster and faster, each sentence like a slap in Lin Qi's face.

"The Fengtian Army has 300,000 troops, and the three major arsenals outside the Great Wall operate day and night, producing 10,000 new rifles and 200 mortars in Fengtian every month. This Vice Principal Lin, tell me, who is trying to curry favor with us?!"

The room fell silent, all eyes turned to Lin Qi.

He remained silent, his walnut-shaped eyes half-closed, making it impossible to discern his thoughts.

Lin Qi didn't look at Yang Yuting. He slowly took out his cigarette case, pulled out a cigarette, and put it in his mouth.

He strikes a match, the flame flashes with a "snap," then bends down to light a cigarette—the whole process is excessively slow.

Yang Yuting's barrage of questions was still echoing in the hall when Lin Qi exhaled his first puff of smoke.

"Staff Officer Yang."

Lin Qi scoffed.

"Having more soldiers and artillery is a good thing, but unfortunately..."

"More than a year ago, the Zhili-Fengtian War."

"The Fengtian Army had a lot of soldiers and cannons. In the end, it wasn't Wu Ziyu who retreated all the way from Changxindian to Shanhaiguan, losing all his armor and weapons, and almost losing face in the three northeastern provinces."

P.S.: I'm begging for a five-star review! I'm almost at my breaking point; the data is ridiculously bad. Not only are there no gifts, but even those who just want to support me are getting very few. Please help me separate this post; I'm begging for a piece of my mind. It's so difficult! Any small gifts would be greatly appreciated.