Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 529 Resignation (Part 2)

Outside Li Delin's residence, Mao Shanyu met Shen Shuyi again.

"Assassination mission canceled, all personnel withdraw."

"Director, this was personally arranged by the President."

"I am acting on the President's orders." Mao Shanyu gestured towards the intersection: "His market value is rising now, and the President's motorcade has arrived."

Li Delin greeted Chang Ruiyuan at the door, and the two exchanged a few pleasantries before entering the reception room.

After gesturing for the others to leave, Chang Ruiyuan finally spoke up to explain his purpose: "Delin, I'm preparing to retire. You'll be in charge of this situation and negotiating with the G Party."

“If you, Mr. President, cannot make peace, then I am even less likely to do so,” Li Delin said with a smile.

“I think you should come out. If you do, the G army’s attack might slow down,” Chang Ruiyuan explained.

"If I can ease his mind for three to six months, I may be able to train three million soldiers, which will still be more than the G army."

"Besides, isn't Brother Delin regarded by Ambassador Situ as a representative of democracy? Who else could it be but you?"

Although Li Yishou and Liu Ziliang of Zhucheng retreated to the south of the Yangtze River, the troop strength of the Yangtze River defense line was still severely insufficient, and he needed time to adjust and replenish.

Li Delin was somewhat tempted, but he ultimately did not agree.

"President, I fear I am not up to the task. If I were to provoke the G army to attack prematurely, wouldn't I become a traitor to the party and the country?"

"Please, President, find someone more capable."

Chang Ruiyuan was annoyed by Li Delin's refusal, but given the current situation, he could only suppress his anger and continue to persuade him.

But Li Delin, who had already made up his mind, did not budge an inch.

Before he sits on the presidential throne, even if the Heavenly King himself came, he would not step forward to negotiate.

In the end, seeing that Li Delin was completely unyielding, Chang Ruiyuan could only leave in a huff.

Watching Chang Ruiyuan's convoy disappear, Li Delin curled his lip.

"It's not that I'm incapable, it's that you haven't stepped down yet. Talk is cheap. Once you step down, I'll naturally be able to do it."

"Someone, go and invite Jiansheng and Ambassador Situ."

"Jiansheng, I am prepared to accept the presidency and then go to negotiate with the G Party."

"But it's not ready yet, we have to wait a little longer."

“No negotiation!” Bai Jiansheng said immediately. “The eight demands put forward by the G Party are too harsh; we simply cannot accept them.”

"Whether you can accept it or not, let's talk first." Li Delin waved his hand, knowing that as long as they talked, the Kuomintang would benefit.

"However, we should thank the G Party for these eight conditions. These eight conditions are a greater threat than our Guangxi clique's hundreds of thousands of troops, and they can force Lao Chang to step down."

"Ambassador Situ, what do you think?" Li Delin asked with a smile.

"To avoid a complete collapse, it would be best to resume peace talks." Situ Lei had always supported Li Delin.

Now that the opportunity has arisen, the United States should fully support him in dividing the country along the Yangtze River. If it could be like North and South Korea, that would be the most suitable scenario.

"General Chang Ruiyuan is the president of war, while General Li Delin, you are the president of peace."

Seeing Situ Lei's support, Bai Jiansheng also changed his mind. If they couldn't divide the country along the river, it would be good to buy some time.

Bai Jiansheng decided to fully support Li Delin's rise to power.

However, although Chang Ruiyuan said he would step down, he actually did nothing.

After waiting for two days, Bai Jiansheng couldn't wait any longer: "Call again!"

"Send him a letter every day, urging him to make a decision immediately, whether it is to make peace or to fight."

Chang Ruiyuan was furious upon seeing Bai Jiansheng's telegram. He knew very well that Bai Jiansheng was provoking him.

However, at this point, Chang Ruiyuan was completely helpless against Bai Jiansheng.

His elite troops were almost entirely wiped out, while Bai Jiansheng still had 300,000 elite Guangxi troops under his command.

Furthermore, even while the G Army troops in Jiangbei were resting, they continued to conduct small-scale operations.

He now has no choice but to step down and negotiate.

"Damn it! So what if I step down?! I'll just leave and let them clean up this mess!"

"President, you absolutely mustn't!" Chen Rongqing hurriedly interjected, "We can't let the Guangxi clique hand over the country to the CCP for nothing!"

Chang Ruiyuan sneered, "Hmph! Bai Jiansheng isn't stupid; he also knows that we need to resist the G army's crossing of the river."

However, although he decided to step down, Chang Ruiyuan did not simply leave.

Moreover, he only intends to resign from the presidency; he will retain his position as party president.

Moreover, before issuing the notice, Chang Ruiyuan assigned his trusted confidants to various important positions to ensure that he could remotely command the entire party.

"Mo San, withdraw all troops south of the Huai River to Jiangnan. You also need to train two million new soldiers as a second-line army as quickly as possible."

Although the United States has stopped providing aid, the Kuomintang still has hundreds of thousands of taels of gold in the United States, enough to buy sufficient weapons.

"Don't worry, Mr. President, I know what to do."

"Okay." Chang Ruiyuan nodded: "Liangzhen, call a meeting."

"president"

"That's it."

"Yes!"

Inside the meeting room, all the top leaders of the KMT were seated.

Chang Ruiyuan didn't waste any words and directly picked up the proclamation he had prepared: "In order to save the people from imminent danger, starting from the 21st of this month, Vice President Li will assume the powers of the President."

Chen Rongqing stood up urgently: "President, you can't back down!"

"I've made my decision! I'm leaving Nanjing today!"

"I have finished reading my statement. Meeting adjourned!"

After forcibly adjourning the meeting, Chang Ruiyuan chose to visit Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum again.

Inside the cemetery, Chang Ruiyuan and Li Zongren walked and talked, "Bai Jiansheng sent another telegram, did you know?" Li Delin shook his head blankly, "I don't know what Bai Jiansheng is thinking."

"Brother Delin, you don't know either?"

"I do not know."

"You must know that he sent Huang Jikuan to Hangcheng to contact Li Renchao, wanting to invite him to Hankou to take charge of the major plan."

Li Delin shook his head, still looking bewildered.

"What a pity, that Li Renchao has already gone north to join the Communist Party. Little Zhuge miscalculated." Chang Ruiyuan sneered, "Now he's contacting Cheng Songyun in Hunan."

"Their attempt to create a localized peace is detrimental to both of us."

Li Delin nodded: "The president is right."

Chang Ruiyuan didn't pay much attention to Li Delin's feigned ignorance; he had long seen through the good cop/bad cop dynamic.

Now that he has stepped down, let Li Delin negotiate first.

After leaving Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, Chang Ruiyuan looked back at the mausoleum a few more times, feeling genuinely saddened at that moment.

After Li Delin returned to his office, Presidential Office Secretary-General Wu Xin came to him with the article to be published the next day.

As his successor, Li Delin's approval is certainly required for the article to be published.

Holding the statement, Li Delin analyzed it word by word. He realized that he had been tricked by Chang Ruiyuan more than once or twice.

"This manuscript is rather problematic," Li Delin said, pointing to the words on it.

“You see, starting from the 21st of this month, Vice President Lee will act in his capacity.”

"What will Mr. Chang's future status be? It's not mentioned at all. The word 'retirement' should be added."

"Furthermore, according to the Constitution, if Mr. Chang resigns, I am not acting in his place, but should succeed him. The power of Vice President Li to succeed him as president should also be added."

"This"

"I'm not one to be petty about positions, but I know Mr. Chang's personality very well."

"But...this document was personally finalized by President Chang."

“If the name is not correct, the words will not be proper. I cannot have an empty signboard and let Mr. Chang manipulate everything behind the scenes.”

"Brother Liqing, take your time thinking about it. I'm leaving now." Li Delin got up to leave; it wasn't him who was in a hurry.

"Vice President Li, please wait a moment."

Wu Xin hurriedly called Chiang Kai-shek for instructions.

Chang Ruiyuan readily agreed to Wu Xin's request: "I understand. Revise the draft according to Vice President Li's instructions until he is satisfied."

After hanging up the phone, Chang Ruiyuan said dismissively, "You actually took it seriously."

On the other hand, upon learning that everything had been done according to his wishes, Li Delin was overjoyed and began to revise and deliberate on every word and sentence.

However, Li Delin was ultimately outmaneuvered by Chang Ruiyuan.

The next day, as Li Delin was touching this and that in the presidential office, he was surprised by the newspaper that his attendant brought him.

The newspaper report was based on Chang Ruiyuan's original manuscript.

"Someone! Go and fetch the Secretary-General here!"

"Damn it! What time is it already, and they still haven't forgotten about the scepter!"

Soon, Wu Xin ran over.

Before Wu Xin could speak, Li Delin slammed his hand on the newspaper and angrily shouted:

"What's going on?! Chang Ruiyuan personally agreed to revise it according to my wishes, so why is the published version still the old draft?!"

"Brother Liqing, isn't this a bit too unfriendly of you?"

"I had no choice; this was all arranged by President Jiang."

"This is outrageous! This position is illegitimate! I will not accept the job!"

“Brother Delin,” Wu Xin sat down, “as an old friend, I’d like to give you some advice: the guards around you are all Mr. Jiang’s men. You need to be clear about your situation.”

"In this situation, what are you still arguing about? You might not even be able to guarantee your personal safety."

Li Delin's expression changed slightly, but he remained defiant: "Anyway, I can't be a puppet!"

Just then, the phone on the table rang.

Li Delin walked over and answered it.

"I am Bai Jiansheng. Are you Lord De?"

"it's me."

"Lord De, if you're going to be an emperor, be a real one, never a fake one!" Bai Jiansheng was furious after seeing the newspaper.

"I understand, thank you for your concern, Jiansheng."

After hanging up the phone, Li Delin stroked the phone handle and the table again.

Although Bai Jiansheng strongly insisted on not being a puppet, Li Delin knew that he and Bai Jiansheng were still somewhat different.

Having already assumed the presidency, it was a difficult decision for him to move out again.

After a moment of silence, seeing that no one spoke, Li Delin found a way to save face.

"Never mind, never mind."

"With the Party-state in this state, what's the point of me arguing about a succession?"

"In this critical moment, to save the people from suffering, I will not wait for the inauguration ceremony and will start working immediately."

“Brother Liqing, write a letter in my name immediately, agreeing to conduct peace talks based on eight conditions.”

"Yes."

(End of this chapter)