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

Wu Gensheng and Gu Jiting took General Ma to deduce the secrets of heaven.

From the outside world, this anti-Japanese turmoil is escalating.

Although the Battle of Jiangqiao has ended, its aftereffects are only just beginning.

In those days, information was often delayed. It wasn't until the war ended that the information spread throughout the country and became known to most of the people.

The people have suffered under the foreign powers for too long. Finally, someone bravely resisted. The people immediately hailed him as a hero. Every photo studio displayed his picture. General Ma cigarettes became incredibly popular, becoming the best-selling cigarette as soon as they were launched. He has become synonymous with the bloodshed and humiliation of China. Even in the conversations between Master Zhang Jingqing and Zhang Zhiwei these days, his name has frequently appeared.

However, unlike the fervent admiration of most people, Zhang Jingqing expressed concern.

Anyone with eyes can see that General Ma is now a lone army without any support, and can even be said to be out of ammunition and food.

No matter how high the public support is, it cannot be immediately converted into fighting power, and the situation there could deteriorate at any time.

Especially with the Japanese pirates and other extraordinary experts gathered there, if it weren't for those extraordinary individuals trying to lure out Zhang Zhiwei's true identity, he could have been assassinated at any moment.

How long will the Japanese pirates have patience?
If the Japanese pirates really lose patience, what will Zhang Zhiwei do?
Zhang Jingqing wasn't sure either, and he didn't ask Zhang Zhiwei.

This puts enormous pressure on the Northeast, and it's no less pressure on Zhang Zhiwei.
As his mentor, he certainly didn't want Zhang Zhiwei to fall into the trap of the Japanese pirates.

But from an official standpoint, he had no reason to stop it.

Therefore, he chose not to get involved in the matter and left it entirely to Zhang Zhiwei to handle.

Just as he was struggling with this decision, news came from the Northeast.

General Ma made peace with the Japanese pirates.

One stone stirs up a thousand waves; a national hero was elevated to a pedestal, only to fall from grace just as suddenly. The higher one is lauded, the harder one is to fall.

Even his son, whom he sent back to the interior of China, wrote to him saying, "You are not my father."

Zhang Jingqing stopped worrying about it. He sighed deeply, went to Tianmen Peak, and handed the newspaper to Zhang Zhiwei. The newspaper contained a photo of General Ma with the Japanese pirates.

Zhang Zhiwei glanced over, and the first thing he saw was not General Ma with a dark face, nor the Japanese pirate commander Honjo, but Wugensheng, who was huddled in the corner with only half his face showing.

It's clear that even the shameless Wugensheng is somewhat embarrassed in this situation.

"This is a heavy blow to the cause of resisting Japanese pirates!"

Zhang Jingqing sighed, saying that he had thought of many possible endings, but never this one.

Zhang Zhiwei looked at the newspaper without saying a word.

He has informants there; in the past, General Ma was always the one who raised his arms and shouted the rallying cry during every mobilization.

But now, he is very silent, unusually silent, as if he has made some kind of decision: either he will erupt in silence or he will perish in silence.

His informants were always there. During this time, many people left, the first to leave being Zhang Huaiyi, the head of the Gao family, and the Taoist priest Guo, among other extraordinary individuals.

They weren't unaware of how things were handled at the time, but they couldn't accept it; they even felt it was due to the bewitching of the Quanxing sorcerers.

However, given their previous camaraderie, they didn't cause any trouble and simply left.

Most of the Quanxing demons had also left. Perhaps Wugensheng had said something to them, because these reckless fellows didn't cause any trouble.

These people had joined midway through the process, and while General Ma felt some regret about their departure, it wasn't something that upset him too much.

What was most painful was the departure of his strategist, his Chief of Staff—Staff Officer Xie.

Staff Officer Xie was his close friend. There was a saying in Heilongjiang Province: "Ma has courage, Xie has strategy," which shows how close they were.

In the Battle of Jiangqiao, the reason why he was able to achieve far fewer casualties than the Japanese pirates despite having far inferior equipment was not only due to the bravery and tenacity of his soldiers, but also to the various arrangements made by Staff Officer Xie.

Jiang Qiao's troop deployment, luring the enemy deep into his territory, and logistical arrangements were all devised by Staff Officer Xie.

When the banner of resistance against Japanese pirates was raised, Staff Officer Xie was the first to support him.

After this incident, Staff Officer Xie was the first to leave.

He still remembered Staff Officer Xie's angry words when he left: "If we surrender to the enemy today, how will we face the elders of Guandong in the future?"

But if he were to lead tens of thousands of brave men to their deaths, would he be able to face the people of Guandong?
He was in great pain, his heart was breaking. The words of his friends, the people, and even his son were stabbing him in the heart, and all he could do was remain silent.

"I only understand dying for my country on the battlefield; why should I need to be wrapped in a horsehide to return home?"

He murmured this sentence softly; this was what he intended to do. If it were just him alone, he would not compromise in the slightest.

But the result of that divination was too tragic. He couldn't bring tens of thousands of brothers, or even the people who supported him, into an abyss for the sake of his own beliefs and his own reputation.

Meanwhile, the chief priest of Ise Grand Shrine, the karate master Funakoshi Kazuo, and other Japanese pirate masters were also suffering.

At this moment, a deep red glint flashed in Funakoshi Kazuo's eyes as he unleashed a furious tirade against Honjo Ta, the commander-in-chief of the Japanese pirates:

"Baka! Baka yarou! Who told you to stop the attack and make peace with them?!"

Honjo looked at the furious Funakoshi Kazuo, frowned, and said in a deep voice:
"Lord Funakoshi, please calm down. This war is over. I am also sorry that the little master did not fall for the trap, but we must accept the facts. There is an old Chinese saying that failure is the mother of success. We failed this time, but we will make a new plan next time."

Funakoshi Kazuo glared at Honjo Taru: "What failure? We haven't failed yet! Who gave you the right to decide to negotiate with those people on your own?!"

"Don't do that! Quickly send your men to attack, kill them all, leave no one alive, and destroy the cities along the way. I refuse to believe that the little celestial master won't appear!!"

Seeing that Funakoshi Kazuo was getting more and more agitated, Honjou also became somewhat annoyed.

He is the commander-in-chief of this place, a dignified lieutenant general in the army, with high position and great power. Looking at the whole of Japan, apart from those few idiots in the navy, who dares to be disrespectful to him?

He had already given the old man enough face, but he didn't expect the old man to be so unrestrained and instead take advantage of him.

"Mr. Funakoshi, please watch your words. This is my headquarters, not your karate dojo. This is not a place for you to run wild. If you continue to be so rude, I will have the guards escort you out!"

"you……"

Funakoshi Kazuo was furious, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Honjo Taru. As the god of karate in Japan, no one had dared to speak to him like that for many years.

"Alright, alright, Funagoshi, let's leave it at that!" the Grand Master suddenly said.

"Grand Master, do you mean this God of Slaughter Plan is just going to end like this?!"

Funakoshi Kazuo was still somewhat unwilling, and not only him, but also the extraordinary individuals from the Tsuchimikado and Minamoto no Yoriichi families were somewhat unwilling.

The Grand Master said, "Even if we don't want it to end, there's nothing we can do. From the previous situation, it's not hard to see that the Little Celestial Master is very cautious and won't descend easily. I originally wanted to use those people's lives to force him to enter." "If these people were to die rather than submit, there would be a high chance of luring him out. But now that they've given in, the Little Celestial Master has no reason to descend. Continuing is meaningless."

Upon hearing this, Funakoshi Kazuo glared at Honjo Taru: "So, why do you want to negotiate?"

"Alright, Funakoshi-kun, this matter ends here. Lord Honjo has made his choice, and we cannot force him," said the Grand Master.
Actually, Honjo Taka and Tamon Saburo had discussed this decision with him.

He did not agree, but it was a decision made unanimously by all the high-ranking officials, and even His Majesty the Emperor agreed. No matter how much he disagreed or how respected he was, he could not overturn their decision.

Therefore, even though he was just as unwilling as the other experts, he could only passively accept it.

"Yagyu-kun has already sacrificed himself for this operation. Not only have we failed to avenge him, but we have also ended the operation in such a dismal way. Without a reasonable explanation, I cannot accept it," Funakoshi Kazuo said in a deep voice.

"Lord Kōji, what do you think?!" Honjō Tadashi said, looking at the Grand Kōji.

The Grand Master was also furious and didn't respond to Honjo's words.

Honjo's expression was rather grim. Although he held a high position and wielded great power, these old guys had a very high reputation in Japan.

Moreover, he might need their help in the future, so he couldn't afford to offend them too much. He could only patiently explain to them the reasons for doing so.

Although the Jiangqiao battle was won, the Empire suffered many casualties.

Most importantly, the enthusiasm for resisting Japanese aggression in China was at an all-time high.

Although the Chinese leadership has no intention of using force, the will of the people is paramount.

They couldn't say for sure whether the Chinese leadership would remain weak or be swayed by the boiling public opinion and launch a full-scale war against them if the offensive continued.

If it's the first one, then that would be the best.

If it's the second option, then it's not worth the loss.

Because the empire was not yet ready for a full-scale war.

This action was a risky move by the younger generation; they were merely passively cooperating.

In reality, domestic war mobilization and preparedness efforts have not kept pace at all.

If the top brass of China were to act rashly and commit all of their million troops, their operation would be nothing short of a snake trying to swallow an elephant.

While it might not kill you from overeating, it could still cause you considerable discomfort, and there's even a risk of having to spit out the benefits you've already swallowed.

Moreover, there is a formidable enemy lurking nearby, ready to pounce. If we are truly dragged into this mess, they are very likely to follow suit, which would be disastrous.

After a lengthy meeting and careful consideration, the cabinet decided that it was better to stop while the gains were still available, rather than continue taking risks.

Negotiating with this isolated force would not only preserve our current interests but also prevent us from further provoking the top leadership of China, lest they resort to desperate measures.

In this way, there is no possibility of being stabbed in the back by a formidable rival.

It's fair to say that stopping here would be a complete win; continuing would result in very small profits and huge risks, making it a losing proposition.

Therefore, the high-level meeting decided to use force as a threat while simultaneously pursuing peace talks.

If they are truly determined to fight to the death, then we should spare no expense to annihilate them in the shortest possible time, demonstrating the empire's formidable military power while simultaneously employing both soft and hard tactics to deter the central leadership of China from easily initiating a full-scale war.

However, as long as this team sends out even the slightest signal that negotiations are possible.

Then they will have to negotiate peace at all costs.

Even during the peace talks, we should be courteous and humble, and we can meet any conditions.

This not only eased the situation, which could collapse at any moment, but also dealt a heavy blow to the increasingly intense anti-Japanese sentiment in the rear of China, achieving multiple benefits in one fell swoop.

As for the Little Celestial Master...

Although this person is despicable, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him the empire's number one enemy, his importance is far less than that of this major event that will affect the fate of the nation for decades to come.

Therefore, we can only give up for now and carry out a new hunt later.

The extraordinary individuals present have all weathered many storms. Their ability to reach this point is not solely due to their strength; they also possess the ability to prioritize and distinguish between what is important and what is not.

Funakoshi Kazuo sat down, disregarding tea ceremony etiquette, and began to gulp down the tea from the teapot.

At this moment, a skilled Onmyoji from the Tsuchimikado family said, "Could this so-called peace talk be a delaying tactic? What if we can't reach an agreement?"

Honjo said, "It's impossible that we can't reach an agreement. I'll agree to whatever conditions he has."

"The biggest lesson I've learned from here over the years is that what you say and what you promise are worthless, like a fart."

"Let's agree to his demands first and appease him. Once this period is over, we'll have plenty of ways to deal with him!"

With things having been discussed to this point, the experts fell silent, and the tense meeting ended hastily.

Immediately afterwards, Honjo Taka and Tamon Saburo went to see General Ma, and the two sides discussed the details of the peace talks and the contract to be signed.

When signing the contract, even though General Ma kept saying he was illiterate, a roughneck, couldn't write his name, and wouldn't sign anything, he wasn't angry and even happily took a photo with him.

While dealing with the Japanese pirates, General Ma was quite cooperative in all aspects except for being illiterate and refusing to sign documents.

This attitude lulled the Japanese pirates into a false sense of security, making them believe that General Ma refused to sign the document simply because he valued his reputation and didn't want to be infamous.

This is human nature and can be understood.

What they didn't expect was that during this time, General Ma had been secretly contacting his confidants, reorganizing his troops, and recuperating.

At the same time, they secretly transferred tax revenue and large quantities of weapons from Black Province.

After all, the Northeast had its own arsenals, which were all occupied by the Japanese pirates.

The thought that his own weapons would be used by the Japanese pirates to attack his own people was as painful as death, so he had to move them out.

At the same time, at Wugensheng's suggestion, he supported the anti-Japanese guerrilla forces while also talking to the Japanese pirates, saying that he wanted to suppress the anti-Japanese guerrilla forces and apply for subsidies for some useful equipment.

Honjo, seeing how cooperative he was, readily allocated him enough Japanese-style equipment to arm two thousand men.

Subsequently, General Ma, under the guise of suppressing "bandits," turned around and handed them over to the "bandits." (End of this chapter)