Republic of China, 1922: Rise from the Post-Zhili-Fengtian War

"When did Brother Chao Liu arrive? Why didn't you let us know beforehand?" Zhang Tingshu asked as he walked, his voice revealing a mixture of joy and surprise.

Gu Cheng first shook his head: "Sister Rong said earlier that Brother Chao was unhappy at the General Staff Headquarters, so I casually mentioned it to her, saying that if he was unhappy, he could come and join us... But he didn't even send a telegram before he arrived!"

As they were talking, they turned past the screen wall and saw a person standing on the steps at the entrance of the brigade.

He was tall and straight, wearing a slightly worn gray military uniform with the epaulets removed, revealing two empty buttonholes, but his posture was still that of a soldier.

He stood in the sunlight at the doorway, looking up at the sign above the door that read "Jinzhou Garrison Brigade Headquarters".

Hearing footsteps, he turned around and saw Gu Cheng and Zhang Tingshu, his smile deepening.

"Brother Chao Liu!"

Upon seeing him, Gu Cheng hurried forward and pulled him into a tight embrace. "Oh, I've missed you so much! I'm so glad you, such a talented scholar, have finally arrived!"

When Gu Cheng suddenly put his arm around him, Jiang Dengxuan was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and patted him on the back twice: "Alright, alright, you're a grown man, don't do this."

He said that, but didn't break free. Only after Gu Cheng released his grip did he take a half step back, glance at Gu Cheng, and say, "You're much stronger than you were in Fengtian! You, the governor of Jinzhou, a brigade commander of a mixed brigade, personally came out to pick me up. I'm truly flattered!"

Gu Cheng didn't care about anything else and had a long private chat with him. At this moment, Zhang Tingshu also came up and punched Jiang Dengxuan on the shoulder: "Chao Liu, you came here without saying a word? We could have prepared ourselves."

Jiang Dengxuan patted a non-existent speck of dust off his shoulder: "What's there to prepare?"

He pointed to the sign above the door, "I came to see this place, not to stay at the inn—you asked Yingrong to tell me that Jinzhou was short of people. I didn't have much to do in Fengtian, so I came to take a look."

Gu Cheng smiled, stepped aside to make way for him, and tugged at his sleeve as if afraid he would fly away: "Come on, let's go inside and talk."

As Jiang Dengxuan passed through the screen wall, his gaze swept around the courtyard, landing on the few half-withered flowers under the eaves, before he looked away without saying anything.

Upon entering the main hall, Cai Changyuan remained standing in place. When he saw Gu Cheng leading his men in, he bowed slightly, his gaze lingering on Jiang Dengxuan's face for a moment before shifting away.

Jiang Dengxuan glanced at him, but didn't ask any questions. At Gu Cheng's prompting, he sat down in the chair.

Zhang Tingshu poured him a cup of tea and pushed it in front of him: "Chao Liu, we've heard some things about what happened to you in Fengtian."

Gu Cheng didn't rush to express his opinion. He first glanced at Cai Changyuan, who looked curious, and then at Yang Hao: "Brother Huisheng, you and Yang Hao go and take care of the replacement list. We need it first thing tomorrow morning... Oh, and bring Lao Mu over first thing tomorrow morning."

Cai Changyuan understood and didn't ask any more questions. He nodded slightly to Jiang Dengxuan as a greeting, then turned and left the main hall with Yang Hao.

The footsteps echoed in the corridor, gradually fading into the distance until they could no longer be heard.

Zhang Tingshu then exchanged pleasantries with him about recent events, but when the topic turned to the General Staff Department, Gu Cheng calmly replied, "I heard from Yingrong about Yang Yuting making things difficult for you at the General Staff Department. What was his reaction after you left?"

Jiang Dengxuan picked up his teacup, took a sip, and put it down with a blank expression. "He couldn't be happier for me to leave. With me gone, he'll have one less eyesore in the General Staff. He's been looking for someone to take over my job in Fengtian for a long time. My departure just goes along with what he wants."

Gu Cheng nodded, offering no comment.

He flicked his cigarette ash and asked again, "What about Fengtian? Besides Yang Yuting, what other developments have they made?"

Jiang Dengxuan was silent for a while, as if he was thinking about something, and then said: "The commander-in-chief has been focusing on things in Luanzhou recently and has not paid attention to these intricacies within the staff headquarters."

The Japanese are also active. Although Kikuchi suffered a loss in Jinzhou, his connections in Fengtian haven't been severed. The Kwantung Army hasn't explicitly stated that you arrested Haruka Hiromi, but privately, people are already inquiring about it…”

After he finished speaking, his gaze fell on Gu Cheng's face. "So there's no point in me staying in Fengtian. Rather than being left hanging there, I might as well come over here with you."

Gu Cheng put down his cigarette and tapped it against the rim of the ashtray: "Come here, does the handsome guy know?"

Jiang Dengxuan shook his head: "I submitted a report saying I wanted to be transferred. The report has been submitted but there has been no reply... I suspect that someone deliberately intercepted it, but you know me, I wouldn't write anything irrelevant in the report;

Several days have passed without a reply, so I came over first... I thought I'd talk to them once I got here!

Zhang Tingshu, who was listening nearby, said, "Brother Chao Liu, if your report is not approved, then you have been unauthorized to leave your post."

Jiang Dengxuan looked at him with a happy smile, clearly having thought about this issue long ago: "Leaving the post without permission is fine, the commander-in-chief won't punish me just because I abandoned my post at the General Staff Department."

Furthermore, I've already submitted the report, and I also have my resignation to the General Staff Department; I haven't missed any procedures... I mean, you two aren't worried that I'll cause trouble after I arrive, are you?"

Gu Cheng laughed heartily upon hearing this: "Afraid of trouble? If I were afraid of trouble, I wouldn't have told Sister Rong that you were coming! Besides, you suffered at the General Staff Headquarters, wasn't it all because you helped me?"

Zhang Tingshu also looked angry: "That's how it is... Actually, my father is also on Jingchuan's side. He doesn't dare to target my father, and he can't touch Jingchuan, so he takes all his anger out on you."

At this point, he slapped his thigh. "Damn it, what a petty person! You watch, I'm going to tell my dad right now to have the commander teach him a lesson!"

Gu Cheng tossed them both cigarettes, laughing, "Stubborn, aren't you? Alright, instead of racking your brains to deal with him, let's make a name for ourselves in Jinzhou. Let's get down to business!"

Then, turning to Jiang Dengxuan, he said, "Brother Chao Liu, you can't come here without an explanation—I'll call the Commander-in-Chief within the next day or two; whoever dared to intercept your report wouldn't dare to stop a high-ranking official like myself… I will explain everything to the Commander-in-Chief about your matter. Also…"

He immediately stood up, walked to the Jinzhou defense map hanging on the wall, and tapped a spot on the map with the back of his hand. "You've come at the right time. Things aren't peaceful in the mountains after the autumn harvest, and the Zhili army is also making moves in Luanzhou. I'm short-handed here."

You've come at the perfect time; there's no need to wait for approval. Just start working, and we'll talk about the approval later. Once you've achieved some results here, I'll naturally consult with the Commander-in-Chief and arrange a better place for you."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Dengxuan stood up: "That's going too far! Jingchuan, I came here to join you. From now on, I'm one of your 11th Mixed Brigade members, and I won't mention any 'better place' anymore!"