Under one person: I, Zhang Zhiwei, the arrogant Zhang.

Chapter 1001 Zhang Zhiwei's Vision
Liu Mang and Zhang Zhiwei then discussed the specific details in detail.

How to create momentum, how to "negotiate" with those landlords and gentry, how to ensure that this last sum of money can be obtained smoothly, and how "Zhang Mazi" should make a grand exit.

After finalizing everything, Liu Mang breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that the frustration he had been feeling these past few days had finally dissipated somewhat. Then, the group began discussing matters concerning Daxing City.

Liu Mang said, "I know the whole story. I even communicated with Commander Zhang by telegram. Although the outcome was relatively satisfactory, but..."

He paused for a moment, pondering whether he should say what he was about to say.

Zhang Zhiwei stood with his arms crossed, remaining silent. It was Fan Pengju who, unable to contain himself, spoke up:

"General, are you worried that the Chairman only made a verbal agreement without signing any documents, and that he might go back on his word?"

Liu Mang shook his head and said, "I'm not worried about that. Although Er Tuzi has done a lot of things that are inconsistent, even I can see that this is the general trend. If he still doesn't want to fight the Japanese pirates, similar things will happen again. He should take the opportunity to make this happen. What I'm worried about is, once the war starts, what are the chances of winning?"

"Why are you so afraid of everything? Didn't you say you wanted to fight the Japanese pirates before? General, are you... like Lord Ye who loved dragons but was terrified of them?" Fan Pengju said irritably.

Liu Mang flew into a rage: "You son of a bitch, Fan Ha'er, don't you dare use a few lousy words like that everywhere you go! Do you think I'm scared? I'm analyzing military strength and the situation. Before, when we weren't even fighting, what was the point of my analysis? Now that we're about to fight, that's why I'm analyzing! Do you think we can just jump into battle on a whim...?"

Fan Pengju kept his head down and didn't say a word, letting Liu Mang rant and rave about him.

Zhang Zhiwei remained silent throughout, only speaking after Liu Mang finished, saying, "General Liu is worried that the Japanese pirates have been plotting for a long time, are well-equipped, and highly trained. Meanwhile, our various factions haven't truly reached a consensus, and it's uncertain whether we can truly work together. He feels that fighting... will be very difficult?"

“That makes sense!” Liu Mang nodded.

Zhang Zhiwei nodded: "It's inevitable to have such thoughts, because it's a fact. Therefore, this battle is destined to be difficult. We can't just think that as long as we work together, we can easily take down the enemy."

"Sometimes, being too optimistic is a manifestation of pessimism. Just like some people who advocate quick victories, if they cannot achieve quick victories, they often turn into people who surrender."

"But being too pessimistic is also not good, as it will dampen morale. We should always think about things from a positive perspective. Anyway, I think it's pretty good."

“In the past, we had no choice. That kind of scene was like a group of people sitting on a sinking ship, not thinking about how to patch the holes, but fighting tooth and nail over who should sit at the bow and who should sit at the stern. At that time, I couldn’t see any hope, and I just felt that this broken ship was going to sink sooner or later.”

"But things are different now! Now, no matter what they're thinking, at least everyone understands one thing—if the boat sinks, no one will survive. They've finally put down their tools and started bailing water out together!"

"This is hope!"

Zhang Zhiwei said, enunciating each word clearly, "As long as we have this beginning, as long as everyone wants to survive, this ship won't sink! As for whether we can win or not..."

Zhang Zhiwei grinned, revealing his gleaming white teeth: "Although I, Zhang Zhiwei, am a compassionate monk, the amount of blood on my hands is probably unmatched by many."

"When I kill, I never ask if I can win the fight, I only ask... whether it's right to kill!"

"The Japanese pirates have invaded our territory and bullied our compatriots. Tell me, shouldn't they be killed?"

The passion and boldness in those words instantly dispelled the somber atmosphere in the room.

This is the style of a triad boss... Fan Pengju was so excited that he couldn't help but slap his thigh: "Little Master is right! Forget about whether we can win or not, let's just do it!"

Liu Mang pondered for a moment and said, "I understand what you mean. I also know that fighting a war is not simply about putting together and comparing paper data such as how many people you have, how many people I have, how many guns you have, and how many guns I have..."

Zhang Zhiwei nodded: "Yes, what you are worried about is 'force,' but what I see is 'momentum.'"

"Because of my limited strength, I am filled with anxiety; but now that the situation has turned around, I am full of confidence."

Zhang Zhiwei looked at Liu Mang and said, "General Liu, you are right. With our current strength, it would be like throwing an egg against a rock, with little chance of winning. But war is never a simple comparison of strength."

"Although the Japanese pirates are strong, they are like a mad bull that has broken into a porcelain shop. They seem fierce, but in reality, they are restrained at every turn. And we are the owners of this porcelain shop."

"Every inch of land beneath our feet, every compatriot around us, is our strength. They may be weak now, but as long as we can awaken them and unite them, this force, when gathered together, will be a vast ocean that can engulf everything!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Mang's eyes flashed with a sharp light. He said in a deep voice, "I know what you mean. You are more right. We should not be considering 'force' now, but 'momentum'."

"The events in Daxing City marked the beginning of a turning point in history. The will of the people is the will of the people, and the trend of the times is irreversible!"

"This momentum is more terrifying than any elite weapon. What we need to do now is not to calculate whether we can win or not, but to go with the flow of this momentum and push it to an even greater climax!"

“That’s right!” Zhang Zhiwei stood up, walked to the window, and gazed at the blast furnace roaring through the factory grounds, its flames reflecting on his face. “So, whether we can win or not has never been the issue. The issue is that we must fight, not only to reclaim our lost territories, but also to show the world that China has never fallen!”

The last six words were spoken with resounding force.

Upon hearing this, the worry in Liu Mangchang's eyes disappeared, replaced by a resolute light.

Fan Pengju also clenched his fists, but this time, he didn't shout in his heart that this was the style of a gang leader.

Zhang Zhiwei continued, "As for the outcome, we already possess two of the three factors: favorable timing, advantageous location, and popular support. The rest will depend on the swords in our hands."

He looked out the window at the bustling steel mill: "So, Commander Liu, I hope that every ton of steel produced by this mill, and every penny we've plundered, will be turned into bullets fired at the Japanese pirates. And what each of us needs to do is to do our best in our respective positions."

Liu Mang slammed his fist on the table: "Good! Since that's the case, my Sichuan army will go all out! We must let the Japanese pirates know that those who invade our land, no matter how far away, will be punished!"

…………

... Liu Mang and Fan Pengju left Tiantong Steel Plant in a great hurry.

Immediately afterwards, in his capacity as the commander-in-chief of the bandit suppression campaign, he sent people to issue emergency meeting notices to prominent landlords and gentry in Sichuan and Chongqing, with the agenda being "to completely resolve the Zhang Mazi bandit problem."

The meeting was to be held at his residence in Liziba.

Before the meeting officially began, several wealthy landowners who were usually very close to each other had a private gathering to discuss matters.

"Gentlemen, what's Commander Liu up to by suddenly summoning us all here?"

A gaunt old man wearing a silk mandarin jacket and sporting a goatee sipped his tea from a covered bowl and spoke with a furrowed brow.

A fat man with a bloated belly and several gold rings on his fingers sneered and said, "What else could it be? It must be Zhang Mazi's doing! How much 'bandit suppression sponsorship' have we donated to him? And what did we get in return? He just gave us a bunch of good-for-nothing bastards! That gang from Ma Niu Po, I even secretly supported them to help guard the salt road, and he wiped them all out, put their heads there, and said they were Zhang Mazi's core members! Isn't he treating us like fools?!"

“Exactly!” another lean middle-aged man said indignantly, “The few bastards I helped to guard the house were wiped out by him, mistaken for Zhang Mazi’s men, and then he came back and boasted to me about it! Isn’t this bullying honest people? I think it won’t be long before that ‘Zhang Mazi’ reappears, and then Commander Liu will find another excuse to squeeze more money out of us!”

At this moment, a bald landlord who had been silently smoking his water pipe suddenly said in a low voice, "Gentlemen, have you noticed that in the past few days, the news about Zhang Mazi's looting seems to have... suddenly disappeared?"

The room fell silent immediately after he said that.

Everyone thought back carefully and realized that, in the past, they would hear news of which village was robbed or which grain team was raided every few days, but these past few days had been unusually calm.

The bald landlord continued, "What if... what if this pockmarked face really never shows its face again?"

Everyone's heart skipped a beat. They exchanged glances, speechless, each silently calculating in their minds. What would it mean if Zhang Mazi really disappeared?
The side hall fell silent instantly, save for the gurgling sound of the water pipe. The men exchanged glances, their expressions turning subtle and unpleasant.

After a long while, the fat man finally managed to squeeze out a voice through gritted teeth, as if he had been choked: "Then...that means that from beginning to end, there might never have been a 'Zhang Mazi' at all! There was only...only a 'Liu Mazi'!" He ultimately didn't dare to reveal the name completely, but the meaning was self-evident.

"Isn't that unlikely?" the gaunt old man retorted instinctively. "Although Liu Mang is ruthless, this kind of thing... if you don't want people to know, then don't do it in the first place. Does he really dare to be so lawless and treat all the prominent figures in Sichuan and Chongqing like pigs to be slaughtered?"

"What if...what if?" The lean middle-aged man's voice trembled. "Then what should we do?"

The fat man's eyes flashed with a ruthless glint: "That means Liu Mang is unreliable! The situation in Sichuan and Chongqing is about to change. We need to make plans early. If we can't find a suitable backer in Sichuan, we should broaden our horizons and try our luck in Chengdu or even Nanjing! We can't put our lives and fortunes on his shoulders!"

"Be careful what you say! Be careful what you say!" The gaunt old man hurriedly waved his hand and said, "We can't talk about this kind of thing without real evidence! Right now, let's see what Commander Liu has to say today. Does he really want to solve the problem, or is he just trying to appease us again? As for... as for whether that pockmarked Zhang is 'Zhang' or 'Liu'... we'll find out in time."

After saying this, the group exchanged a knowing glance, and they all saw deep worry and fear on each other's faces.

These local bullies, who usually acted arrogantly and domineeringly in their areas, ultimately lacked confidence in the face of a powerful warlord like Liu Mang, who held considerable military power. It was best for them to avoid turning against him if possible.

……

The next day, in the council hall of the Liziba Mansion, prominent landlords and gentry from all over Sichuan and Chongqing took their seats in order of status and position. The host, Liu Mang, had not yet arrived, and they were whispering among themselves.

It was already time for the meeting, but Liu Mang had not yet shown up. Only Fan Pengju, with his large pregnant belly, was there, greeting the landlords. The atmosphere seemed warm, but undercurrents were swirling beneath the surface.

Finally, just as everyone was getting a little impatient, the banquet hall doors creaked open.

Liu Mang, dressed in a crisp military uniform, walked to the head seat with a solemn expression, placed his hands on the table, and scanned the entire room. The murmurs ceased, and the entire hall fell silent instantly.

"Everyone," Liu Mang began, "I've invited you all here today for three things: Zhang Mazi! Zhang Mazi! And damn Zhang Mazi!"

After he finished speaking, he paused and observed the reactions of the crowd. Sure enough, he saw many people with complicated expressions of "I knew it" and "Here we go again" on their faces.

"I know, I know, everyone has donated a lot of money to support the bandit suppression. You all feel resentful and frustrated, thinking that I, Liu, took the money but didn't do anything. But actually..."

He slammed his fist on the table: "I'm even more aggrieved than you guys! That Zhang Mazi is like a ghost, appearing and disappearing without a trace! My men have been sent out, and they can't even catch a hair on his head! On the other hand, my fifth uncle... suffered a terrible fate! Now he's like a fool, unable to speak, unable to even hold his own shit, and my men, especially Fan Ha'er..."

He pointed at Fan Pengju and said, "He was afraid that I would be heartbroken, afraid that I would blame him for not avenging his family. So he did the opposite of what he intended, killing the innocent but not the guilty, and wiped out all the bandits in our Sichuan and Chongqing area. He thought that after killing so many, there must be a group of Zhang Mazi's men."

"As a result, the money was spent, but the matter was not handled well. Everyone was complaining, and some even said that I was incompetent. I couldn't really defend myself."

His impassioned accusations and attempt to shift blame eased the tension at the scene somewhat.

At this moment, Fan Pengju, who had already made arrangements, knelt down with a "plop" and said:
"General, this matter was due to my oversight, causing you to suffer from rumors and injustice. I deserve to be punished, however you wish, I am willing to accept it."

Liu Mang shouted sternly, "You will definitely be punished, but the topic of today's meeting is to eliminate Zhang Mazi. We'll talk about your matter later!"

At this moment, the person who had been arranged beforehand spoke up at the head of the party: "So, General, how do you plan to eliminate Zhang Mazi this time?"

Liu Mang said, "This time I've seen it clearly. This group of Zhang Mazi are a group of extraordinary people. Soldiers against soldiers, generals against generals. To deal with extraordinary people, we definitely need to ask an extraordinary person with extremely strong skills to take action!"

"Even the Huode Sect chickened out. Which supernatural being has such ruthless methods?" the man asked again.

"Little Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain!" Liu Mang said, enunciating each word clearly, "Is it hard?"

“Hard!” the man replied.

Liu Mang looked across the room and asked loudly, "Is it hard?"

(End of this chapter)