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

"What did you say? The Japanese military proposed to station troops in Jinzhou?"

After hearing Jiang Yingrong's words, Gu Cheng was taken aback.

At this moment, he was accompanied by guards such as Yang Song, with two girls walking hand in hand beside him. The news brought by Jiang Yingrong shocked Gu Cheng. "Do these bastards have no shame?"

The group had already traveled some distance from the construction site. The fields outside the city were a lush, green expanse, and the summer breeze carried the unique fragrance of plants. However, Jiang Yingrong's brow was furrowed with worry.

"Yes, the Japanese Army sent people to the Marshal's Mansion with a very tough attitude. They said that there are many Japanese residents and several Japanese businesses in Jinzhou City. The situation is still unstable, and they want to station troops to 'protect the safety of the residents,' saying that this is a necessary measure to 'maintain local order.'"

Gu Cheng sneered, his words laced with sarcasm: "So this is what protecting overseas Chinese is all about! How many overseas Chinese are there in the entire city of Jinzhou? Do we really need to station troops here?"

Jiang Yingrong also said, "Yes, as my brother also said, the Japanese clearly have ulterior motives! Jinzhou is an important town in western Liaoning, connecting Fengtian and Shanhaiguan, and is a strategic location that military strategists must fight for."

Under the guise of protecting overseas Chinese, they want to station troops, but their true intention is to interfere in the defense of western Liaoning, spy on our Fengtian clique's deployment, and thus increase their control over Northeast China.

Gu Cheng nodded, and Wang Yuyou, who was standing next to him, said, "Commander Gu, my father often says that the Japanese are always arrogant. Since they dare to make such a request, they must have come prepared."

If we allow them to garrison Jinzhou, they will inevitably hinder us in every way in the future. Not only will the construction of the main camp be affected, but the people of Jinzhou will also be harassed by them.

Gu Cheng turned to look at Wang Yuyou, seeing the worry in her eyes, and his tone softened slightly: "Don't worry, I won't let their conspiracy succeed. Jinzhou is Chinese territory; how can we allow the Japanese to act so recklessly?"

He then looked at Jiang Yingrong, "Sister Rong, is there any other news from your brother? What's the warlord's attitude? Has he said anything about helping that bastard? What will they do if we don't agree?"

Gu Cheng understood that Zhang Zuolin was known for his ruthlessness. It was possible for the Japanese to get money and benefits, but if they wanted to expand their interests in Northeast China... that was basically a pipe dream.

However, the Zhili-Fengtian War has just ended, and the Japanese, under the pretext of "sneak attack on Lianshan Fortress," are pressuring the Zhili army to cease hostilities and relocate their forces to Shanhaiguan.

They could very well use this incident to demand "benefits" from the commander-in-chief.

And that benefit is Jinzhou.

Damn those Japanese, they really know how to lose out if they don't take advantage of others.

Jiang Yingrong frowned and replied, "I heard that the Marshal is in a dilemma, after all, he is unwilling to offend the Japanese military easily... but if the Japanese are let in, there will be endless troubles."

Gu Cheng took a deep breath, thinking that there was still no news from the Marshal's Mansion, which meant that Zhang Zuolin was probably still at an impasse with the Japanese envoy.

Either they were weighing the pros and cons and hadn't made a decision yet, or they were still bargaining with the Japanese. After all, the Zhili-Fengtian War had just ended and the Fengtian Army hadn't recovered its strength. The commander-in-chief had to consider the power of Japan, but he was also unwilling to easily give up Jinzhou, the gateway to western Liaoning. It was inevitable that he would be caught in a dilemma.

"The fact that there's no news from the Marshal's Office isn't necessarily a bad thing—at least it means the Marshal hasn't given up yet, and we still have room to maneuver. Right now, the most important thing is to make thorough preparations. No matter what the Marshal's Office decides in the end, we can't let the Japanese take advantage of us."

After saying this, Gu Cheng led the two girls toward the construction site. "I think we should closely monitor the movements of the overseas Chinese and Japanese trading companies in the city..."

Also, a female spy previously targeted two of my brothers, and they still haven't been caught. From now on, we must be on high alert.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yingrong exclaimed, "These Japanese are truly despicable... They dare to act so brazenly near Jinzhou! But thankfully you already have a countermeasure in place. As long as we maintain strict defenses, the Japanese can't do anything about it."

While thanking them, Gu Cheng escorted them back to their car and told them to go home and rest early, and to come to his house anytime they needed him.

After politely seeing off the shop owners who had delivered the goods that day, Gu Cheng returned to his own house immediately.

He had set up the headquarters of the 11th Mixed Brigade at his home. As soon as he entered the main hall, he saw Sun Liechen, Zhang Tingshu, Gao Tianqi, and Yang Hao verifying the allocation documents, bank receipts, and loss details.

Sun Liechen was sitting in the main seat, checking the accounts with a slight frown, while several young men stood to the side, holding abacuses and occasionally leaning over to give pointers.

When Gu Cheng entered, everyone looked up at him.

Sun Liechen put down his brush, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. He waved to Gu Cheng, "You're finally back, kid. I've been so busy here, barely having a moment to breathe, and you, under the guise of official business, are out enjoying the scenery with two young ladies outside the city. You're quite the ladies' man!"

Zhang Tingshu chimed in jokingly, "That's right, Jingchuan! One of those girls is gentle and considerate, the other is cheerful and capable. They're truly devoted to you; you'd better cherish them!"

Gu Cheng walked forward with a smile, picked up a cup of cold tea from the table, took a sip, and half-jokingly said, "Sixth Uncle, Ting Shu, please stop teasing me. With the situation so tense right now, I have no time to think about such sentimental matters. I was just taking them back when I heard Ying Rong talk about some news from Fengtian. Things are quite troublesome."

Seeing his expression instantly darken, Sun Liechen also stopped joking and leaned forward slightly: "Oh? There's new activity in Fengtian? Could it be that that bastard Yang Yuting has stirred up some trouble again?"

Zhang Tingshu also stopped using the abacus, his smile fading as he stared intently at Gu Cheng.

Gu Cheng pulled up a chair and sat down, saying in a deep voice, "It's more troublesome than Yang Yuting's matter—Yingrong just received news from her brother that the Japanese Army Ministry has sent a special envoy to the Marshal's Mansion, proposing to station troops in Jinzhou."

"What?!" Sun Liechen's face instantly darkened. "These Japanese bastards, how dare they! Jinzhou is Fengtian territory, the gateway to western Liaoning, and they dare to demand the stationing of troops? They're simply pushing their luck!"

Even Gao Tianqi was astonished: "Japanese troops stationed here? What right do they have? Could it be some pretext they're using?"

"What other excuse could they have?" Gu Cheng sneered. "They said there are Japanese residents and merchants in Jinzhou, and the situation is unstable, so they need to station troops to 'protect the safety of the residents' and maintain local order."

But we all know that there are only a few dozen Japanese residents in the entire city of Jinzhou. Why would they need to send troops to protect us? Clearly, their real intention is not what they seem; they want to use the garrison to interfere in the defense of western Liaoning, spy on our deployment, and take the opportunity to increase their control over Northeast China.

He paused, then added, "There's no news from the Marshal's Mansion yet, so the Marshal is probably still at a stalemate with the Japanese envoy. As you know, Uncle Liu, the Zhili-Fengtian War has just ended, and our Fengtian Army hasn't recovered. The Marshal doesn't want to offend the Japanese military easily, since we might need to rely on them for future expansion of weapons and loans."

But the Marshal would never easily relinquish Jinzhou, as it was the shield of Fengtian (Shenyang). Losing Jinzhou would be tantamount to opening the gates of western Liaoning to the Japanese.