The Anti-Japanese War Begins with the Northeast Army

“是人情World故。”

Marshal Zhang spoke the second half of his often-said sentence meaningfully, emphasizing each word.

Yang Yuting knew very well that Jiang Cheng's current move was to take advantage of the current conflicts and contradictions in Shandong and push the Zhili clique to the forefront.

The Japanese have suffered a loss now. Although they have given up on continuing to occupy Jinan, given their temper... they will definitely counterattack.

If the Zhili clan were used as a target to block bullets at this time, it would be extremely useful.

"That bastard is probably planning to attack Wu Peifu..."

After saying this, the Marshal suddenly pushed his chair and stood up. "It will be interesting if we go on further."

…………

While the Marshal was negotiating with the Japanese representatives, the Japanese representative in Beijing also went to the Beiyang Office to meet with Feng Guozhang.

The health of the great leader of the Republic of China was no longer as good as before. He was in a trance and listless for a while, and was slow to react when responding to the Japanese side.

In addition to Jinan, all conflicts that broke out in various parts of Shandong were "complained" by this Japanese representative, all of which demanded the stationing of troops and compensation for losses, etc.

The disastrous performance at the Paris Peace Conference had made the senior officials of the Zhili clique extremely embarrassed.

However, facing the relentless pressure from a powerful enemy, the Beiyang commander-in-chief, whose frail body was on the verge of collapse, collapsed mentally first.

At the end of the talks, he could no longer sit still and his whole body was shaking.

After all the Japanese representatives had left, the commander-in-chief suddenly shook and fainted on the wooden chair!
On the day Feng Guozhang suddenly fell seriously ill and fainted, Cao Kun received a secret telegram from the capital.

It was sent by a "fence-sitter" - seeing that Feng Guozhang's illness had relapsed three times and he was afraid that he would not survive this year, he secretly defected to Cao Kun, the "Prince of Baoding", who was the most powerful person in the Zhi army.

He had been staying in the capital so that if there were any changes in Beiyang and the capital, he and his generals would be able to respond.

"Father, the Japanese are taking advantage of the situation and the commander-in-chief has suddenly fallen ill. This seems to be a good opportunity for us to advance!"

After receiving the telegram from Cao Kun, Hai Pingchuan rolled his eyes and said, "If we seize the opportunity properly, we will surely stand out among the generals of the Zhi army."

In fact, when Cao Kun first received the telegram, his first reaction was the same as Hai Pingchuan's.

"The Japanese are pressing on us step by step. If we send troops from Baoding to Shandong, we will surely attract attention for stabilizing the situation."

Cao Kun clasped his hands behind his back, staring at Hai Pingchuan, and his eyes slowly moved to his trusted aides.

Almost all the subordinates who were optimistic about this matter were a little excited.

There were movements going on all over the country. If they were the one to stabilize the situation in Shandong, they would surely stand out among the countless troops.

Perhaps, their master Cao Kun will...

"I, Cao the fool, don't have so many tricks—"

His voice suddenly interrupted everyone's thoughts. Hai Pingchuan suddenly turned his gaze to his father-in-law, and faintly sensed a hint of coldness hidden under his gentle smile.

Is he... beginning to doubt his own instigation?

Suddenly realizing this, Hai Pingchuan continued calmly: "Father may have concerns--"

"For now, although the dispute between Zhi and Anhui has been settled with the intervention of our Fengtian clique, Old Duan and Little Xu have not completely faded out of the political stage."

"I think you should think carefully before sending troops to Shandong." After he finished speaking, Cao Kun looked up with a smile, then said, "Our Zhi army will not rush to Shandong at this critical moment."

"Let's just...quiet down for a while."

They started discussing some meaningless topics again. Hai Pingchuan felt that the other party was trying to expel him, so he quickly said some meaningless words and left with his men.

"Master Hai, I'm afraid this matter is..."

As soon as he left the house, Bai Haochen lowered his voice and said, "Did Mr. Cao notice that?"

This time he entered Tianjin with him, the garrison commander of Luanzhou, in order to ensure security.

Before he could finish his words, Hai Pingchuan gave him a look to stop him, and then raised his chin towards the aisle under the corridor.

But just after they left, the men guarding the door approached Cao Kun and said, "Third Master, Hai Pingchuan and his men have gone far away."

Unexpectedly, his expression changed in an instant: "Damn it! He came to me to sell fake medicine... Jiang Cheng, that bastard, is really cunning. He actually planned to use this trick to send us from Tianjin to Shandong!"

"The Japanese are now more anxious than a female monkey in heat. Where else can we rush to?"

After these words were spoken, all the subordinates in the hall responded in unison.

But what Cao Kun didn't expect was that Jiang Cheng's plan actually served two purposes -

It would be best if Cao Kun fell for it and led his troops straight to Shandong, then they could transfer all the conflicts to the Zhi army.

In this way, Jiang Cheng could at least buy the people outside the Great Wall ten years of peaceful life.

But Cao Kun was smart and soon saw through his idea. Hai Pingchuan then turned to another plan.
Everyone was present at the meeting to send troops to Shandong, except Wu Peifu.

In fact, to put it bluntly, it was a few sarcastic words said some time ago that made the arrogant Wu Yushuai leave.

According to the course of history, Feng Guozhang would ascend to heaven, and Cao Kun would be elected as the leader of the Zhi army, forcing Li Yuanhong to become the commander-in-chief again...

If the two could create a rift between them at this time, the man surnamed Wu would definitely turn his attention from the interior of the Great Wall to the outside of the Great Wall and start "killing all around" among the Zhi army.

As a result, Jiang Cheng and Jilin... can also live a peaceful life.

But this move would certainly arouse the vigilance of the Zhi army. Jiang Cheng also reminded Hai Pingchuan:
Once you notice something is wrong, you must immediately take your troops to Jinan Prefecture or Luanzhou.

That night, all his personal soldiers loaded their guns and sneaked into the city from the small station to provide support near Cao's mansion.

Hai Pingchuan was invited by several Zhi army generals to watch a play at Liyuanchun, a famous theater in Tianjin.

The elegant room was filled with distinguished guests, who were toasting each other with both men and women, fawning over this young high-ranking member of the Fengtian Army. Hai Pingchuan soon drank so much that his cheeks turned red and his eyes became blurry.

There were bursts of applause in the audience, and when the play "Silang Visits His Mother" was being sung to the fullest, Hai Pingchuan suddenly vomited all over the floor in a very unmanageable manner, and staggered out of the door, making the excuse of going to the toilet.

However, as soon as he left the table, his dazed expression regained alertness and alertness. He pulled out a Browning from his waist and quickly left through the back door with a few guards.

That night, the group left without saying goodbye and headed towards Jinan Prefecture...

…………

Only after receiving the news from Guo Songling that Hai Pingchuan had arrived safely did Jiang Cheng breathe a sigh of relief.

Cao Kun, the great warlord known as "Three Idiots", eventually saw through his plan. (End of this chapter)