On the eve of the fall of Liaodong, he led his troops in a remonstrance against the young marshal.

The guards were deployed, and the entire Zhonghe Theater was sealed off, preventing anyone from entering or leaving.

Seeing that everything was settled, Zhang Xueming turned around and looked at Zhang Xue.

Zhang Xueliang remained standing there, and had not spoken since the series of lightning-fast disarmament actions.

It wasn't that he didn't want to speak, but rather that he was so shocked by what was happening before his eyes that he couldn't utter a word.

His bodyguards were all elites selected from the Northeast Army's guard regiment, who boasted extravagantly about their skills and claimed to be highly capable.

As a result, he couldn't even withstand a single move from his brother's group of brightly dressed soldiers.

"I had no ill intentions; I was forced to take you hostage by circumstances."

"Come with me, and I'll give you an answer."

After Zhang Xueming finished speaking, he turned and walked towards the side hall.

Zhang Xueliang did not move.

He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white, his chest heaving violently, like a wild beast trapped in a cage.

"You think I'll just go with you because you tell me to? Zhang Xueming, get this straight, I'm the one who..."

"You are a prisoner now, and I don't want to resort to violence. I hope you won't make a fool of yourself."

Zhang Xueming interrupted him, without stopping or even turning around.

Zhang Xueliang clenched his fist a little tighter, then slowly relaxed it.

He took a deep breath, bent down to pick up Tan Hai's military cap from the ground, dusted it off, and placed it on the table next to him.

Then he took a step and followed Zhang Xueming into the side hall.

In the side hall, several soldiers were busy.

A large round mahogany table was moved to the center of the room, on which a military map of Northeast China was spread out, marking the garrison numbers and troop distribution in places such as Fengtian, Jinzhou, Changchun, and Harbin.

Beside the table, a walkie-talkie and three portable telegraph machines were already set up, with antennas extending out of the window and pointing towards the night sky.

Two clerks sat at the table, their fingers on the telegraph key, waiting for orders.

In a corner, Zhang Xueliang's several secretaries and confidential personnel, their faces pale, were being guarded by two soldiers.

When one of the secretaries, surnamed Hong, saw Zhang Xueliang enter, he instinctively stood up to speak, but Zhang Xueming stopped him by raising his hand.

"Sit down, we'll need you in a bit."

Secretary Hong glanced at Zhang Xueliang, who nodded expressionlessly and then sat back down.

Zhang Xueming walked to the round table, picked up the first draft of the telegram that had already been prepared, and handed it to Secretary Hong.

"Immediately send the above content to Beidaying, Independent 7th Brigade, Wang Yizhe."

Secretary Hong took the telegram, her fingers trembling slightly.

He glanced down at the contents of the telegram, his eyes widened suddenly, his lips moved a few times, and he looked up at Zhang Xueliang.

Zhang Xueliang walked over with a frown, snatched the telegram from Secretary Hong's hand, and glanced at the words on it.

"Urgent telegram! To Wang Yizhe, Commander of the 7th Independent Brigade at Beidaying, Fengtian:"

"According to reliable intelligence, the Japanese invaders will bomb the Liutiaohu section of the South Manchurian Railway around 10 PM tonight, falsely accusing our army of sabotaging the railway and launching an attack, using this as a pretext to bombard Beidaying."

"Your unit is ordered to immediately enter Level 1 combat readiness. All officers and soldiers are to take up positions, load bullets, and fix bayonets."

"Once the Japanese pirates launch an attack, we will immediately and resolutely retaliate, not yielding an inch of land, and defend Beidaying to the death."

"If the Japanese pirates dare to come, kill them without mercy, without any negotiation. This order is hereby issued by Zhang Xueliang."

Zhang Xueliang's pupils dilated instantly.

"Are you crazy?"

He looked up, his voice hoarse, "Do you know what sending this telegram means? It means that Northeast China is going to war with Japan!"

"Do you have the authority to make such a big decision? Who gave you that authority?!"

"Power? My rights were given to me by the people."

Zhang Xueming turned his head, staring directly into Zhang Xueliang's eyes, a slow smile spreading across his lips. "And yours? Who gave it to you?"

"The commander of the 300,000-strong Northeast Army, one of the most powerful people in all of China, and the Japanese devils built railways, stationed troops, and mined mines right at your doorstep, and you didn't dare utter a single word."

"Tell me, what is your power for? To watch a play?"

Zhang Xueliang's lips trembled slightly, as if he wanted to retort, but the words stuck in his throat and he couldn't get them out.

Zhang Xueming no longer looks at him.

He turned around and handed the second telegram to Secretary Hong.

"To Liu Duoquan, Fengtian City Defense Command."

"Fengtian City Defense Commander Liu Duoquan: Immediately order the Public Security Corps, the Military Academy Cadet Corps, and the Training Regiment Corps to enter the city defense positions, with a total force of about 6,000 men, to deploy along the Fengtian city wall, close all city gates, and set up barricades."

"Immediately purge all Japanese pirates from the city, regardless of whether they are soldiers or civilians, men or women, young or old, arrest them all and await further orders!"

"If the Japanese pirates attack the city, we must defend it to the death and await reinforcements. We must not allow a single soldier to set foot in Fengtian City!"

"Send to Jinzhou, Independent 12th Brigade, Zhang Tingshu."

"Zhang Tingshu, Commander of the 12th Independent Brigade: Fengtian is in dire need of help. Your troops are ordered to set off immediately and march rapidly towards Fengtian along the Beining Railway without delay."

"Send to Panshan, Independent 19th Brigade, Sun Dequan."

"Send this to Changtu, the 20th Independent Brigade, Chang Jingwu."

"Send to Jilin, Provisional First Brigade, Zhang Zuozhou."

"Send to Taonan, 3rd Cavalry Brigade, Zhang Shusen."

Zhang Xueliang stood aside, watching telegram after telegram being handed out by Zhang Xueming.

He watched as those familiar names were written one by one on the telegram: Wang Yizhe, Liu Duoquan, Zhang Tingshu, Sun Dequan, and Chang Jingwu.

Those were all generals he had personally promoted; they were the backbone of his Northeast Army.

Now, his brother is overriding him and issuing orders to them in his own name.

He finally couldn't hold back anymore.

"That's enough!"

Zhang Xueliang strode to the table, slamming his hands on it, causing the paperweight on the map to jump. "Zhang Xueming, get your act together!"

"How many Japanese soldiers are there outside the Great Wall? Less than 20,000! How many of us are there outside the Great Wall? 190,000!"

"190,000 against 20,000, what gave the Japanese the right to attack?"

"They wouldn't dare! What you're saying about bombing the railway, framing someone, or attacking Beidaying—it's all your imagination!"

"You're going to drag the entire Northeast into war based on a single fabricated intelligence report? Are you insane?!"

His eyes were wide open, bloodshot, and the veins on his neck bulged out like earthworms wriggling under his skin.

Zhang Xueming slowly turned around.

He looked at Zhang Xueliang, sizing him up from head to toe.

From his sweat-soaked collar to his bulging veins on his neck, to his flushed cheeks, the focus finally settled on his wide-open eyes.

Suddenly, he smiled.

"yes."

He spoke softly, as if talking to himself.

"We have 190,000 men outside the Great Wall, while the Japanese have less than 20,000."

"Even if 190,000 fights 20,000, or nine people fight one person, there will still be one more person to take sides."

He stepped forward and stopped in front of Zhang Xueliang, the two of them less than a foot apart.

He was a little shorter than Zhang Xueliang, but at this moment he tilted his head slightly, and his aura seemed to be looking down on him.

"But why don't you dare to fight?"

These words were like a knife, stabbing straight into Zhang Xueliang's chest.

The color drained from Zhang Xueliang's face in an instant, then returned in a flash, alternating between red and white. His lips moved, and his teeth chattered, making a soft clicking sound.

"You..." He opened his mouth as if to say something.

"What about me?"

Zhang Xueming interrupted him, his tone suddenly rising slightly.

"Are you still thinking of waiting for Commander Chiang to mediate? Waiting for the League of Nations to uphold justice? Waiting for the whole world to help you drive out the Japanese invaders?"

He gave a cold laugh and said, word by word:

"Zhang Xueliang, you really are..."

"A piece of trash."