Black Flag Army

At Xu Juren's welcoming banquet, Di Xiong had just had his first glass of wine when his secretary Huo Qingtong hurried over and whispered in his ear: "Russian envoys from the Bolshevik Party have come to Beitang City. They are very angry about the reduction of food supply by half and demand that the supply be restored immediately, otherwise they will send troops to the Beihai Lake area."

Di Xiong smiled bitterly and said, "Are you going to fall out so soon? I thought we could maintain peace for three years. It's really tiring! I have to go back after just two days in Daranza."

He apologized to Xu Juren and explained the reason, then hurriedly took Xian Yujie, Huo Qingtong and the guards back to Beitang City by plane.

At the Beitang Municipal Government Guesthouse, Wu Zhong and Le Hongmei, deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Department, had already begun negotiations with the Bu Party envoys.

"Mr. Wu, Ms. Le, let me introduce our negotiating representative." Su Chuizi pointed to the young man next to him and said, "This is Bei Liya. He will be my assistant and participate in this negotiation."

Wu Zhong looked at Bei Liya, feeling somewhat puzzled. This young man was thin and gloomy, and he did not look like someone who was good at diplomatic negotiations. In contrast, Su Chuizi seemed more stable and confident.

"Mr. Beilia, nice to meet you." Wu Zhong extended his hand politely, but Beilia just nodded slightly and did not shake hands with Wu Zhong. This made Wu Zhong feel a little embarrassed. He couldn't help but glance at Su Chuizi, wondering who this Beilia was.

The negotiations officially began, with both sides stating their positions and demands. However, Belia remained silent, just sitting there quietly listening to the others speak. Occasionally he would raise his head and glance at the other party with a cold gaze, making people feel very uncomfortable.

Wu Zhong shook his head secretly, and became more and more dissatisfied with this Belia. How could such a person become the negotiating representative of the Bu Party? Not only that, his presence also affected the entire negotiation atmosphere. The atmosphere that should have been serious and tense became unusually depressing because of Belia's presence.

At this moment, Belia suddenly spoke. His voice was low and hoarse, as if coming from the depths of his throat. "You Chinese people always like to talk nonsense. Real strength is the key to solving problems."

As soon as this sentence came out, the whole audience fell into silence. Wu Zhong and Le Hongmei looked at each other. They didn't expect that Beilia would say such a thing.

Wu Zhong took a deep breath and tried to ease the atmosphere. "Mr. Beria, we are not just talking nonsense. We hope to solve the problem through peaceful dialogue and achieve a win-win situation."

However, Belia didn't seem to buy it. He sneered, with a flash of disdain in his eyes. "Win-win? Only the strong can win, and the weak can only be eliminated."

Wu Zhong frowned, realizing that this negotiation might be more difficult than he had imagined. Belia's attitude was obviously different from Su Hammer's, and full of hostility. Was this Su Gangtie's strategy? He wanted to force China to make concessions through tough measures?

Regardless, Wu Zhong decided to remain calm. After all, he represented national interests and could not be easily angered by the other party's words. "Mr. Beria, we respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of every country and are willing to resolve disputes through equal consultation. However, if you take extreme measures, it will only lead to further deterioration of the situation."

Beria sneered again, his eyes revealing arrogance. "You Chinese always put yourselves on the moral high ground. But in fact, your strength is far inferior to ours. If you refuse to compromise, you will bear the consequences."

Wu Zhongqiang suppressed his anger. He knew that now was not the time to argue. He needed to think calmly and find a solution. At the same time, he also understood that this negotiation was not only about territorial disputes, but also a contest between the two countries.

At this time Di Xiong walked into the negotiation venue.

When the two sides met and introduced themselves to each other, Di Xiong heard the other party's name was Bei Liya, and his heart sank. This was the future head of the KGB! Bei Liya was probably here to monitor Su Chuizi, and at the same time to explore and identify people, paving the way for the next assassination. Di Xiong immediately asked Huo Qingtong to inform Lan Jinping and Xian Yuji not to come to the negotiations. They were originally prepared to participate in the negotiations.

Su Chuizi said angrily: "Commander-in-Chief Di! At the end of last year, Russia suffered a once-in-a-century cold snap, with temperatures of more than 70 degrees below zero. All the crops froze to death in the fields. We were planning to ask you to increase the food supply, but you actually violated the agreement and reduced the food supply by half. This is clearly taking advantage of someone's misfortune and adding insult to injury. You want to starve our Russian soldiers and civilians to death and force us to go to war!"

Di Xiong said: "If we really want to go to war with you, how can we supply you with a large amount of weapons and ammunition every month? How can we give weapons to the enemy? Didn't we use fruit wine to make up for the shortage of food?"

Belia said in a gloomy voice: "Fruit wine cannot replace grain. We Russians like strong liquor, not fruit wine. The monthly grain supply must not be less than 1,000 tons. Potatoes, wheat, and corn are all fine, but fruit wine is not!"

Di Xiong said sternly, "This is impossible! You in Russia have experienced a severe cold disaster, and we in China have also suffered from a severe drought. Thousands of people are starving to death every day, and food prices have skyrocketed four or five times. In some severely affected areas, prices have increased ten or twenty times. Although our Beihai Province's grain fields are irrigated with lake water and are not affected by natural disasters, we have to supply food to tens of millions of people in the province and welcome more than ten million foreign refugees. Food is very tight, and it is impossible for us to provide you with a thousand tons of food per month."

Belia said: "We are not here to negotiate, but to issue an ultimatum. If you refuse, you will choose war! The Baikal Lake area and the Amur Territory originally belonged to us Russians."

Di Xiong's eyes were firm and his tone was resolute as he said, "There is no doubt that our Black Flag Army has the ability to defend our national sovereignty and territorial integrity. If you want to resolve the issue through negotiations, we will open our doors to welcome you; but if you attempt to start a war, we will never back down and will fight you to the end!" His voice was so resounding that it seemed to penetrate the sky, allowing everyone to feel his inner determination and courage.

Belia stood up and said, "In that case, we'll take our leave!"

Su Chuizi also stood up and said, "Commander-in-Chief Di! You will regret your decision today. Don't think that we will not attack you because we are entangled with the White Bandits. Last month, we killed Yudenich, one of the three major bandit leaders, and the Denkin gang is about to be destroyed. We now have an army of more than two million people, and we can definitely send out a hundred divisions to destroy you. I know you are stronger than before, but you only have 40 field army divisions and 500,000 people."

Di Xiong sneered, his eyes flashing with confidence and determination. He stood up straight, stared at the other party sharply, and said with a mocking tone: "After this battle, you will know that you are the ones who regret it! Although we only have 500,000 troops, you will need at least 5 million troops to break through our defense line."

He paused and continued, "This is just a conservative estimate. If you want to defeat us easily, you will have to send more troops. And with your current strength, you simply cannot mobilize such a large army to attack us. So, put away your arrogance for now, and wait until you have enough ability to mobilize 5 million troops to attack, then come and talk to me about these big words!"

After saying this, Di Xiong raised his mouth corners, revealing a scornful smile, as if he was mocking the other party's ignorance and incompetence. The guards behind him also straightened their chests, their morale was high, and they were full of confidence in themselves. They firmly believed that as long as they were united, they could resist the enemy's attack and defend the dignity of the country.

Bei Liya, who had already reached the door, turned around and looked at Di Xiong fiercely, as if he wanted to imprint his appearance in his mind. He said nothing more and left with Su Chuizi.

Wu Zhong worriedly asked, "Do we really have to go to war with them? Our war with the Zhili Army has only been over for a few months!"

Di Xiong said seriously, "War means huge casualties. I am not a warmonger, and I don't want to start a war, but the Russians are really bullying us too much. Now we really have no other choice but to fight! Moreover, more and more refugees are pouring into Beihai Province. The refugee relief stations under Daranza and Saynshand consume dozens of tons of food every day! But our food reserves are limited. Tell me, should we give this food to the Russians? Or leave it for our own people?"

When Di Xiong returned to the office, he saw Lan Jinping, Tian Mengxue, and Xian Yuji talking nervously. Di Xiong's heart sank, and he asked, "What happened again?"

Tian Mengxue said: "Bai Yulian sent urgent intelligence from Tianjin. The Japanese Army has formed three divisions with about 80,000 people to form the Sakhalin Expeditionary Force. They will attack Sakhalin in ten days. They will also dispatch more than 60 navy warships for transportation and cover. They have also mobilized more than 500 aircraft and concentrated them in the northern part of Hokkaido, which is adjacent to Sakhalin. The navy, army, and air force will attack Sakhalin at the same time. A brigade of the Tianjin Garrison Army was also drawn to join the expeditionary force, and the commander Sato Kojiro was also transferred to serve as the chief of staff of the expeditionary force. That's why Bai Yulian knew this information."

Di Xiong was stunned when he heard this. After a long while, he asked, "How many submarines do we have now? How many planes?"

Huo Qingtong looked at his notebook and replied, "Five submarines and more than 400 aircraft. We could have had more than 500 aircraft, but unfortunately we lost more than 100 in the Battle of Lushun."

Di Xiong stood in front of the window, looking up at the sky, his eyes full of despair and helplessness. He sighed deeply, and the worries in his heart surged into his heart like a tide.

He said: "The Russians threatened to go to war aggressively, and their threats made Wu Zhong and his men terrified. But the Japanese said nothing and directly announced that they would attack in ten days! This caught us unprepared and off guard." His voice was filled with deep frustration and powerlessness.

Di Xiong frowned and continued, "The ruling Zhili Army in the country is not our friend at all, but our enemy. They are eyeing us covetously and are always ready to give us a fatal blow." He felt isolated and surrounded by enemies.

Finally, Di Xiong sighed deeply and said in a heavy tone: "What's worse is that the surging tide of refugees has forced me to be in a panic and at a loss. Why do all these bad things happen to me at the same time? Is fate really so unfair?" A bitter smile appeared on his face, as if he could no longer bear such pressure.

Lan Jinping glared and said fiercely: "Some things are completely your own fault! Take the refugees for example. If you hadn't sent those monks and Taoists there to make a big fuss, how could you have attracted so many refugees? These warlords know very well that they all hope to push these refugees to other warlords and let them deal with this mess. But you, you actually took the initiative to invite them over. Not only that, in order to prevent these refugees from starving to death on the road, you also airdropped dry food to them. Do you really think you are a saint?" Her eyes were full of anger and confusion, and she seemed very dissatisfied with his behavior.

Xian Yuji raised her eyebrows and immediately retorted: "How can you blame Brother Di for this? He was also trying to save people! Ninety percent of the current 500,000 Black Flag Army are former refugees. Without these refugees, where would the Black Flag Army come from? Now we are facing huge war pressure from two powerful countries, Japan and Russia. The situation is extremely critical. If we cannot unite and instead blame each other, how can we fight the enemy?"

Di Xiong said to Xian Yuji, "I was indeed wrong. I can't blame Sister Lan for blaming me. I didn't expect the situation to be so serious. I was too optimistic beforehand."

Lan Jinping said to Di Xiong: "The refugee problem should be left to nature. Even if you don't publicize it, there will be refugees coming, but not as many as now, which puts us under great food pressure. As for Japan and Russia, since you decided to recover the three northern provinces and defend them, our conflict with them has been inevitable. Let's talk about Russia first. No matter which party is in power, they will not give up the opportunity to seize Beihai Lake and Beiling Province. Whether you give them food or not, you must be prepared to fight them. As for the Japanese, they have been fighting for Sakhalin Island since 1840, for a full 80 years, and they will continue to fight in the future unless they are beaten to surrender completely."

Di Xiong frowned and said, "For Japan and Russia, the most ideal strategy should be to adopt the method of defeating them one by one and try to avoid going to war with them at the same time. After all, this way we can concentrate our forces to solve the enemies one by one. But the problem is that the rulers of Japan and Russia are not stupid! Once we go to war with one of them, the other country will surely pounce on us without hesitation like a hungry wolf. By then, we will be in an extremely dangerous situation, facing the dilemma of being attacked from both sides." He sighed deeply, as if he saw the thrilling scene on the future battlefield.