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

Lin Qi put down his teacup and began this monstrous logical dissection.

"Uncle, every secret in this world, as long as it's done by a human, will leave traces. You don't need an intelligence network; just piece together the chips that are publicly available, and logic will naturally give you the answer."

Lin Qi held up one finger.

"First, the internal conflicts within the Zhili clique are common knowledge. Wu Ziyu is arrogant and conceited. He controls the central government's finances, yet he tightly controls the non-direct-line troops. Feng Huanzhang's army is stationed in Chahar, a sandy and windy place where grain cannot be grown and taxes cannot be collected. They are extremely poor. Tens of thousands of people under his command need to be fed, yet Wu Ziyu has withheld his military pay for three consecutive months."

Lin Qi tapped his fingertip on the table, making a "click" sound.

"If soldiers don't get paid, they will mutini. Feng Huanzhang has been cornered. If he wants to survive and preserve his army, he must find a new master who can feed him. The Zhili clique can't provide that, the Anhui clique is declining, Duan Qirui himself is living in seclusion in Tianjin, and the South is too poor. Looking across the country, only your Fengtian clique has the financial resources."

The old general listened intently, his brow furrowed.

Lin Qi raised his second finger.

"Secondly, look at the person. What is Feng Huanzhang's true nature? He can be a Christian today and a Buddhist tomorrow. In his early years, he served Yuan Shikai, but turned against him during the Luanzhou Uprising. Later, he followed Duan Yufei, but turned against him again at a crucial moment. At heart, he is a three-surname traitor who would betray his master for profit at any time. As long as the stakes are high enough, he wouldn't even blink an eye if he were to stab Wu Ziyu in the back."

Zhang Hanqing gasped in shock. Lin Qi's analysis of the personalities of the Zhili generals was even more thorough than that of their Fengtian Army's intelligence bureau.

Lin Qi raised his third finger and looked directly at the old marshal.

"Thirdly, and most importantly, it depends on you."

"Look at me?"

The old general was taken aback.

"Yes, look at you, Uncle."

Lin Qi's voice was resolute: "The Fengtian Army suffered a crushing defeat in that battle two years ago. Uncle, you are a ruthless hero from the outlaws, and you value your reputation the most. In the past year or so, the Fengtian clique has been frantically expanding its army, with arsenals operating day and night, and you have bought airplanes and artillery. You are determined to fight back."

As he spoke, he leaned forward, exuding a powerful aura of pressure.

"However, you never fight unprepared battles. The Fengtian Army has many new recruits, while the Third Division of the Zhili Army is a battle-hardened elite. In a head-on confrontation, the Fengtian Army still doesn't have a sure chance of winning. Since you dare to prepare for a second battle now, you must have a trump card in your hand that can deliver a fatal blow."

"This trump card isn't outside the pass; it can only be within our direct line of command!"

Lin Qi narrowed his eyes slightly, and the chains of logic were completely locked at this moment.

"Wu Ziyu withheld military pay, forcing his subordinates to rebel; Feng Huanzhang, by nature, was indecisive and desperately needed a powerful backer; and you, Uncle, held a large sum of money and desperately needed an inside man. These three conditions combined..."

Lin Qi's voice echoed in the quiet study, carrying a chilling rationality.

"I don't need any spies to pass me notes. I only need to use my brain to figure it out—Uncle, the only trump card you have to dare to fight this second battle is that you spent a lot of money to bribe Feng Huanzhang and make him defect at the last minute!"

Dead silence.

A long, deathly silence fell over the study.

After explaining everything in detail, Lin Qi picked up his teacup, took a sip of Maojian tea, and looked as calm as if he had just solved an arithmetic problem.

Opposite the large mahogany desk.

The mighty and powerful Marshal Zhang, the "King of Northeast China," and the renowned young Marshal.

The father and son sat frozen in their chairs like two clay or wooden sculptures, their eyes fixed on the young man in his early twenties.

No intelligence, no mole.

Based solely on a few seemingly insignificant incidents that everyone in the world could see, and through their profound insight into human nature and cold, hard logic, they managed to expose the most closely guarded secrets of the Fengtian Army, which had cost them millions of dollars, leaving them with absolutely nothing!

Is this something a human being could do?!

This is a fucking monster that can see through the secrets of heaven and read people's hearts!

In the rising steam above the teacup, an indescribable fervor and deep apprehension suddenly erupted in the old general's previously cloudy eyes.

Faced with such a monster who can calculate the overall situation of the world with perfect accuracy, if we cannot completely turn him into a loyal ally and make him work for us, then if we keep him back in the south, what will the Fengtian Army use to fight such a god if war breaks out between the north and south in the future?!

The old general took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turbulent waves surging in his chest.

He had lived most of his life, fighting his way up from a bandit leader to the King of Northeast China, and had seen countless heroes and valiant men.

Yang Yuting's shrewdness is based on deductions made from intelligence and experience.

Guo Songling's decisiveness was based on his battlefield intuition.

Wang Yongjiang's composure is based on years of experience in officialdom.

But the shock he felt from this young man was completely different.

Lin Qi doesn't need any intelligence at all. He only needs to lay out what everyone can see, and he can dissect the situation like a master butcher, completely understanding every nuance and detail.

This ability goes far beyond what the term "strategist" can encompass.

The old general slowly put down his teacup, the porcelain hitting the rosewood table with a soft "click".

He stood up, put his hands behind his back, and paced back and forth in the study a couple of times.

"Nephew."

The old general stopped and turned to face Lin Qi, his expression more solemn than ever before: "Uncle wants to ask you a question from the bottom of his heart today. How old are you this year?"

He is twenty-three years old (by the traditional Chinese age reckoning).

Lin Qi answered calmly.

"Twenty-three..."

The old general murmured the number over and over again, shaking his head with a wry smile: "When I was twenty-three, I was still fighting for territory with Beard in the mountains and forests of western Liaoning. I didn't even know where my next meal would come from, let alone how to plan for the future."

Zhang Hanqing chimed in from the side, his voice still trembling: "Father, I am the same age as my eldest brother, but compared to him, I am just a baby who hasn't been weaned yet."

The old general gave Lin Qi a deep look, his eyes swirling with extremely complex emotions—admiration, apprehension, and a desire to win him over, as well as a hint of murderous intent that was so deeply hidden that even Zhang Hanqing failed to detect it.

Lin Qi, however, clearly sensed that hint of murderous intent.

His hand holding the teacup remained as steady as a rock, without even a ripple in the tea.

He knew perfectly well that the old general, this shrewd and ambitious man, was probably thinking: either he should keep such a person firmly tied to his war machine, or he should keep him shut up forever in this study.

Lin Qi calmly put down his teacup and took the initiative to break the deadlock.

"Uncle, I know what you're thinking right now."

The old general's pupils contracted slightly.

"You must be thinking, this kid is so talented, if he goes back to the south in the future, will he become a major threat to the Fengtian clique?"

Lin Qi smiled calmly, a smile that seemed to see right through people: "Since I dare to speak frankly in this study today, it's to put your mind at ease, Uncle."

The old coach's breathing visibly faltered, his gaze sharp as a knife.

"Hanqing is a brother I kowtowed to. After this kowtow, I, Lin Tuozhi, will never be an enemy of the Fengtian clique again in this lifetime."

Lin Qi's voice wasn't loud, but every word carried immense weight: "The affairs of the Southern Headquarters are my ambition. But the safety of the Fengtian Clique is my promise. These two are not in conflict."

The old general stared intently into Lin Qi's eyes for a good ten seconds.

In those weathered, walnut-shaped eyes, the murderous intent gradually faded, replaced by an almost greedy sense of satisfaction.

He suddenly burst into laughter, the sound so loud it made the windows of the study vibrate.

"Good! Good! Good!"

He said "good" three times in a row, strode over, and slapped Lin Qi hard on the shoulder.

"Takumi, you little rascal, you really see right through me!"

P.S.: It's a bit difficult. How about supporting me with your love and a small gift? Bonus chapter for a massage parlor visit, bonus chapter for a higher rating!