The Anti-Japanese War Begins with the Northeast Army

Jiang Dengxuan nodded thoughtfully: "That's true, but if Lu Yongxiang is so easily convinced by the plot to alienate us, isn't it too..."

Looking up at his brothers who looked uneasy, Jiang Cheng shook his head and smiled solemnly: "I think the best way to describe it is: seeing snakes in cups, and being startled."

Come to think of it, the Anhui clique suffered a series of disastrous defeats and was almost forced into a dead end by the Zhi army. Now the armies of Wu and Qi have reached He Fenglin and are about to head towards Shanghai.

In such an extremely tense situation, it is not surprising that Lu Yongxiang would suddenly become alert and react in this way at the slightest sign of trouble.

"Don't make this public yet...let Hanqing and the others relax for now."

Jiang Cheng rubbed his chin and carefully instructed Jiang Dengxuan, "By the way, tell the brothers to stay alert. Even though the Peace Hotel is in the concession, it is not completely peaceful."

"In addition, apart from the close guards, disperse our main forces to the outskirts of the city."

You know, Lu and He invited them here to "maintain order in Shanghai"... But Jiang Cheng ordered the troops to leave the city and head towards the outer edge of the city.

Although he didn't understand the purpose of his action, Jiang Dengxuan obeyed the order anyway.

That night, in addition to arranging close guards around the Peace Hotel, Jiang Dengxuan dispatched the entire army to station on the outskirts of Shanghai.

Zhang Hanqing and his companions stayed with the singing girls till late at night, and were unable to extricate themselves from their gentle embrace.

He slept until noon the next day, and Jiang Cheng took advantage of his sleep to send away the people arranged by Lu Yongxiang.

As he expected, Lu Yongxiang had become suspicious of them - the men he sent repeatedly sounded out Jiang Cheng's attitude, trying to find out their "real intentions".

Jiang Dengxuan was furious. They had come all the way across the ocean to support him, but he treated them as "old fishermen" who came to take advantage of him.

Such remarks were almost an insult to them.

Jiang Cheng, on the other hand, was not in a hurry. He answered the question calmly and sent the man away. Then he went to meet his young master with a profound smile on his face.

He had just sobered up, and besides the smell of women's perfume, he also smelled strongly of cigarettes and alcohol.

She washed up in the bathroom, changed her clothes and went out. After taking the cup of light tea handed to her by Jiang Cheng, she asked him blankly what was the matter.

As soon as the situation was explained, the young master became angry.

Zhang Hanqing was also angry as he had similar thoughts to Jiang Dengxuan: "What does this mean? If we hadn't come here to help...wouldn't we just stand by and watch in the Northeast, letting Qi Xieyuan and Wu Peifu beat him up?"

Jiang Cheng also smiled.

The Marshal is the one who pays for the trip south to help...but the cost of the warship going back and forth is astronomical.

"Indeed, Lu Yongxiang is just petty and is afraid that our Fengtian Army will come to Shanghai to take advantage of us."

Jiang Cheng smiled lazily, and then said to him, "Han Qing, since Lu Yongxiang doesn't trust us, do we need some public pressure?"

After that, he said that he had sent people to invite reporters from two major newspapers, and ordered them to come for an interview, so that he, the heir outside the Great Wall, would be dressed in new military uniforms... and pretend that he would not harm ordinary people and was only protecting and maintaining peace.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Hanqing smiled.

After all, he has seen all these big scenes with his father, so he should have no problem dealing with a few reporters from newspapers. It is indeed unlikely to reverse Lu Yongxiang's idea by relying on public opinion warfare, but once the gesture is made, it will definitely make Wu Qi and the others feel apprehensive.

By then they will definitely delay their attack on He Fenglin. Once the siege is lifted, Lu Yongxiang will naturally turn to their side.

"As expected of a warlord in Northeast China, this guy has a sharp mind!"

After saying this, Jiang Cheng immediately asked someone to make arrangements.

He arranged all the reporters for Huang Jinrong with just one phone call.

The next day, reporters from almost all newspapers in Shanghai, big and small, flocked to the Peace Hotel and surrounded the young Northeastern marshal who was meeting on the terrace.

For a moment, camera lights flashed everywhere. The reporters were relatively orderly, asking questions to their heir one by one.

"Feilan, is this...really possible?"

Gazing from the opposite window, Feng Yong finally came to his senses and looked back at Jiang Cheng with worry, "Just relying on these reporters, can..."

At this time, Jiang Cheng was writing a telegram at his desk. He shook his head and smiled at him: "Of course it is useful."

After saying this, Jiang Cheng screwed the cap on his pen, leaned forward and handed the written message to the signalman, then stood up, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked towards where Feng Yong was.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips as he passed by his hesitant friend.

Jiang Cheng slowly folded his elbows and lowered his eyes, as if talking to the reporters on the terrace not far away: "Han Qing is the future boss of our Fengtian Army. He is in the open, so naturally he has to do something 'legitimate'."

Only then did he turn around and sneer at Feng Yong, "He Fenglin has already started the fight, and Lu Yongxiang is waiting for us to take the lead—"

"Haha, how can we do a business that loses money? Doesn't Wu Peifu always like to start a war of public opinion? As long as Han Qing makes it clear that our Fengtian Army is here to maintain peace, we can gain an advantage before the war!"

The battle in Jiangsu and Zhejiang was inevitable, and within the "Anti-Zhi Triangle Alliance", as the party that was heading for the Northern Expedition, they also promised the Fengtian Army that once Wu Qi and the other two started fighting, the Fengtian Army would deal with it on the battlefields in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and they would immediately launch the Northern Expedition!
Fighting the war was Jiang Cheng's job, but gaining public support for the Fengtian Army depended on Zhang Hanqing.

"Feilan, do you mean... you still want to take action?"

Jiang Cheng didn't answer - the troops were already stationed on the outskirts of Shanghai, how could they not take action?
He is waiting.

On the one hand, they were waiting for He Fenglin on the front line to fight to the point of intensification; on the other hand, there was no order from the Marshal's Office to send troops, nor any news about the Northern Expedition...

If he suddenly sent troops to the battlefields of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, he would probably be known as a person who said one thing and did another.

"After all, we are peacemakers."

At this moment, on the terrace downstairs, there was a unanimous applause and cheers from the reporters. It was obvious that this elegant young commander had given them the news hotspots they wanted.

The next morning, all the newspapers in Shanghai were publishing interviews with Zhang Hanqing... Even in modern times, the young marshal was praised as a handsome man in the Republic of China. Once these newspapers with his photos spread throughout Shanghai, they immediately triggered a huge wave of public opinion.

However, Lu Yongxiang and others felt extremely complicated when reading these reports.

Damn it, who is the real turf of Shanghai? This young man named Zhang actually found a bunch of reporters to speak nonsense, as if he was taking all the credit for maintaining peace and regional stability! (End of this chapter)