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

The Governor's Mansion, Tiger Hall.

The atmosphere was extremely eerie.

Chen Cheng bent over, his mind racing.

While in Nanjing, Chen Cheng and the Chairman analyzed the situation in Northeast China together.

In their assessment, although Zhang Xueliang held military and political power in Northeast China, he was actually soft-hearted, indecisive, and easily swayed by others on major issues.

Although Zhang Xueming is currently enjoying great popularity, he is still relatively inexperienced, and his influence within the Northeast Army is far less than that of his uncles, who are veteran generals.

Therefore, Chen Cheng's core strategy for coming to Fengtian this time was very simple: bypass Zhang Xueming and talk directly with Zhang Xueliang.

As long as Zhang Xueliang can be persuaded, Zhang Xueming won't be able to cause any major trouble.

But now, Zhang Xueliang sat in the corner, not even giving him a second glance, and told him directly, "Xueming's meaning is my attitude."

On the surface, this statement means trust, and in practice, it means delegating power. However, to a politician like Chen Cheng, it meant something else entirely.

Zhang Xueliang's actual power in the Northeast Army was probably far less than that of his second brother.

Chen Cheng straightened up, took a deep breath, and adjusted his mindset in a very short time.

He turned around to face Zhang Xueming in the main seat, composed his facial expression, bowed slightly, and spoke with a more cautious tone than before.

"Ci Xiu pays his respects to the two officials..."

Zhang Xueming didn't even look at him. He pointed to the chair opposite him with the hand holding the cigarette, interrupting him.

"Sit down, sit down and talk."

His tone was cold and hard, not like he was inviting a guest to sit down, but more like a superior asking a subordinate to report on their work.

Chen Cheng's facial muscles twitched, but he held it in.

He walked to the chair, sat down, straightened his back, placed his hands neatly on his knees, and began to speak again.

"Commander Zhang, resignation..."

"What are you doing in Fengtian?"

This time, Zhang Xueming even skipped the word "please" and went straight to the point.

Chen Cheng's prepared opening remarks were cut off by this sentence, and he choked for a moment before recovering.

But he was a seasoned veteran, and his standard smile quickly returned to his face.

"Commander Zhang speaks frankly and directly, and Cixiu doesn't beat around the bush."

Chen Cheng leaned forward slightly, placed his hands clasped on the table, and spoke sincerely:

"The Chairman sent Cixiu to Fengtian in the hope that he could mediate the conflict between Fengtian and Japan, prevent the situation from escalating further, and maintain peace and stability in the three northeastern provinces."

After saying that, he paused for a moment, waiting for Zhang Xueming's reaction.

"Mediation?"

Zhang Xueming pronounced those two words very slowly, "How do you mediate?"

He paused for a moment, put the cigarette on the table, leaned forward abruptly, braced his hands on the table, and stared at Chen Cheng's face like two awls.

"Should we make the Japanese soldiers kneel down and apologize?"

Chen Cheng's smile froze.

"Should we make the Japanese compensate us for our losses?"

Chen Cheng's lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but Zhang Xueming's third sentence shut him down.

"Can you persuade the Japanese to apologize and pay compensation?"

Chen Cheng was completely dumbfounded.

He sat in the chair, his mouth slightly open, only one sentence repeating in his mind.

Have you, Zhang Xueming, gone mad from fighting? You want the Japanese to apologize and pay compensation? Do you think the Japanese are bandits from western Liaoning?

What was the strength of the Japanese? They were the strongest in East Asia and one of the world's great powers.

You, Zhang Xueming, killed someone's overseas Chinese, and now you want them to kneel down, apologize, and pay you compensation?

What can you offer to make them apologize and pay compensation?

With just your few dozen planes? With your air force that's only been established for a few days?

Do you know how many divisions the Japanese still have? Do you know that the losses of the Combined Fleet are only a part of the Japanese navy's losses? Do you know...?

Chen Cheng felt that Zhang Xueming was just an arrogant man who looked down on everyone after winning the airport.

But he was, after all, a seasoned politician, and the stiffness on his face lasted only a moment before he forced a smile back.

"Commander Zhang is joking."

Chen Cheng spoke softly, "It's unrealistic for the Japanese to apologize and offer compensation."

"But the Chairman's point is that things have come to this point, and continuing the fight would not benefit anyone."

"Perhaps... perhaps Fengtian would take the initiative to apologize and offer compensation, demonstrating its sincerity in negotiations, giving both sides a chance to withdraw gracefully, ending the fighting, and preventing further suffering for the people of Northeast China..."

"Bullshit!"

Zhang Xueming slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly.

The loud noise jolted Chen Cheng backward, his back slamming against the chair with a dull thud. The smile on his face shattered like a mirror that had been slapped.

Zhang Xueming braced his hands on the table, leaned forward, and stared down at Chen Cheng with a fiery gaze.

"The Japanese devils killed my people, bombed my city, planted explosives at Liutiaohu to frame me, and sent more than two hundred planes to bomb my Fengtian. Now you want me to apologize?"

"The Japanese devils killed first, framed first, bombed first, and invaded first!"

"Now they've been badly beaten, they're terrified, their main naval force has sunk to the bottom of the sea, and you come here asking me to apologize?"

"Whoever kills should apologize! Whoever fired the shot should pay compensation! This is a principle even a three-year-old understands!"

He took a deep breath and pointed his finger straight at Chen Cheng's nose.

"Chairman..."

Zhang Xueming emphasized the three characters, uttering a startling question: "Are you still Chinese?"

Chen Cheng's face turned pale instantly.

"Could he be a Japanese spy?"

These words were like a needle, piercing the very spot that Chen Cheng dared not let anyone touch.

His pupils contracted sharply, and his lips moved for a long time as if he wanted to say something, but only a series of incoherent breaths came out of his throat.

After saying this, Zhang Xueming straightened up, straightened the cuffs of his military uniform that were slightly wrinkled from excitement, and sat back down in his chair.

He picked up the unlit cigarette on the table, struck a match, lit it, took a drag, and slowly exhaled the smoke.

His face was blurred for a moment in the smoke, then became clear again. Most of the anger on his face had disappeared, replaced by an indifferent expression.

"Go back and tell the Chairman."

"The Northeast Army will not negotiate with the invaders. If the Japanese want a ceasefire, fine!"

"First, withdraw all troops stationed in North Korea and along the South Manchurian Railway, hand over the planners of the Liutiaohu Incident, and compensate the people and soldiers of Northeast China for all their losses."

"If you can achieve these three points, we can sit down and talk! If not, then let's continue fighting! Fight in the air, fight at sea, fight on land, we'll fight to the bitter end!"

He flicked his cigarette ash and gestured with his chin toward the door.

"see a visitor out."

Seeing Zhang Xueming's resolute attitude, Chen Cheng became anxious and stood up abruptly, wanting to persuade him again.

But at that moment, hurried footsteps suddenly came from the doorway.

Wang Yizhe rushed in, looking anxious.

"Commander, something terrible has happened! 100,000 Japanese troops are attacking!!"