Chapter 36 Situation (First Update)

  Ding Xiaoya had been accompanying him all along, she was very polite and didn't interrupt, she remained calm until now. After her brother bid farewell and left, watching his figure disappear, Ding Xiaoya's eyes were slightly red as she said: "Brother has always treated me extremely well, if it weren't for his poor health, perhaps he would have taken over Father's position long ago! Feng Zhi, if you have the chance, please help support Brother more, okay?"

  Mao Feng felt quite good about Ding Zheng, and it wasn't a difficult task anyway. He nodded and said: "Xiao Ya, this is too much, now I'm also considered half a member of the Ding family. This kind of talk will be less in the future, if I can help, I'll definitely help! With me around, the Ding family won't be like before!"

  Ding Xiaoya nodded and then said in a low voice, "What I'm worried about is still the Huang family and the Dong family. They have always harbored evil intentions towards our Ding family, and one day they will make a comeback!"

  Mao Feng comforted him by saying: "There's no need to worry, when the soldiers come we'll resist them and when the waters come we'll dam them! There's no threshold that can't be crossed! At least for now, nothing will happen to the Ding family!"

  On January 6, Fujian Governor Liu Guanxiong telegrammed Navy General Du Xigui to inform the Beijing government that the Insurrectionary Army had been disbanded and Li Houji's position had been abolished. The governor-general was also abolished, with Liu and Sa Zhenbing jointly managing Fujian.

  On January 7th, Sun Chuanfang concentrated his troops in eastern Jiangxi and was ready to enter Fujian at any time.

  Chaozhou. Lin Hu summoned his subordinates to start a concentrated discussion in response to the current situation. Lin Hu's chief of staff explained the current situation. After finishing, Lin Hu looked at everyone and said: "Everyone, now is not waiting for me, if we don't respond carefully, then destruction will be right in front of us!"

  Lin Hu rarely says such words, but this time he said enough to show that Lin Hu is not optimistic about the prospects. This made the atmosphere suddenly heavy, and everyone present was silent, with no one speaking.

  Lin Hu said to Mao Feng: "Feng, you say something!"

  Everyone's attention suddenly focused on Mao Feng, these people were all envious and jealous, but they all knew that Mao Feng was now a popular celebrity, and would not openly quarrel with him. They were all cunning people who only cared about what would benefit themselves the most.

  Mao Feng has already stood up, and he said to Lin Hu: "General, I think that currently the main force is still from Guangxi's Yunnan Army and Fujian's Xu Chongzhi's remnants. The Yunnan Army's Yang Ximin and Zhu Peide have already captured Wuzhou in Guangxi, and the western gate has been opened. Chen Jiongming's main force is not enough to stop them. To be honest, Chen Jiongming is unpopular, and his troops are not enough to garrison so much territory. If it weren't for General defending the east, Chen Jiongming would have already collapsed! The two options in front of us are: one is to fight to the death, but if Chen Jiongming retreats from the west, we will face a pincer attack! The second option is to surrender to Sun Chuanfang!"

  As soon as the words fell, whispers broke out on both sides. Who didn't know that General and Sun were sworn enemies? How could General possibly back down? If it weren't for this, perhaps today's situation wouldn't have arisen. This path wasn't one that others hadn't thought of, but they didn't dare mention it in front of General. Everyone couldn't help but admire Maofeng's courage, but at the same time, they began to enjoy the show, watching how Maofeng would get out of this situation!

  Lin Hu's angry expression immediately rose, but then disappeared. Lin Hu knew that Mao Feng would not betray him, and he was very clear about this. So when Mao Feng said this, it meant that Mao Feng also did not think highly of the current situation.

  Lin Hu did not scold Mao Feng, he said lightly: "What is needed now is to teach them a lesson, so that they know our strength and don't think we are easy to bully. Let's see who can't take a beating! Xie Chongzhi of Fujian is the first target, and since Yunnan troops are far away from us, it's not necessary to deal with them for now. Now everyone thinks about how to teach Xie Chongzhi a lesson?"

  The direction has been decided, and that is to teach Xu Chongzhi a lesson! The commander of the First Division, Liu Yun, stood up and said: "General, what about the Fujian side? After all, we have to enter Fujian!"

  Lin Hu said: "I have already called Liu Guanxiong on the phone, and I have already greeted him there. Liu Guanxiong, the governor of Zhejiang Province, also has a lot of opinions about Xu Chongzhi. Otherwise, he would not ask for the dismissal of the Governor of Fujian Province, nor would he vent his grievances! The key is still us, if we can't win, what's the point of talking about other things?"

  Liu Yun continued, "General, Xu Chongzhi is now expanding rapidly in Fujian, with over 30,000 troops. We should not have let him return to his lair! Now he has a chance to catch his breath."

  "Now is the time to teach this person a lesson, let him know that not everyone can follow Sun Dapao with impunity, and not everyone can afford to oppose me, Lin!"

  "Commander, please give the order. The Second Division will take the lead and resolutely eliminate Xu Chongzhi's troops!"

  Liu Xu Guang also stood up and said: "There is no need to mobilize the troops to attack Sun Da Pao, my three brigades will follow the commander-in-chief to the death to punish the rebels!"

  Mao Feng stood up, from the moment he spoke until now, he had not sat down. He saw that everyone had already expressed their opinions and said: "The combat effectiveness of Xu Chongzhi's department is not weak. Although the Second Army was seriously injured at the beginning, its framework has not been scattered, which is also why the Second Army can recover quickly. After all, this is still our Guangdong civil war. I think that we must fight, but we cannot both be defeated and hurt each other. We should eliminate Xu Chongzhi without hurting ourselves!"

  Lin Hu's eyes lit up and he said: "Oh? Then what's your brilliant idea?"

  Mao Feng immediately replied, "That requires a two-pronged approach. On the one hand, Fujian must cooperate with us to put pressure on the Second Army. On the other hand, we must also launch a large-scale attack and win a few battles first, to intimidate them and make them feel hopeless about their future! As long as they are not willing to fight, we will have the upper hand. If Chen Jiongming suffers a defeat in the west, then our commander can retreat to Fujian and plan for a comeback. Although Sun Chuanfang is also eyeing Fujian covetously, isn't our commander on good terms with both Sun Chuanfang and Lu Yongxiang? It's not impossible to seek refuge with them if needed!"

  Lin Hu frowned and said: "Surrender? I will never do that. Even if it's surrender, it must be to the Beijing government."

  Mao Feng's words were: "General, the Beijing government is currently embroiled in internal strife and has no intention of marching south. Sun Chuanfang now holds great power in East China, and Fujian will inevitably be his target. He has many soldiers and generals, and his roots are also aimed at Guangdong."

  Lin Hu said disdainfully: "Sun Chuanfang is not so exaggerated, if he is really a hero, then he should take down Shanghai. But what about it? Shanghai is still the world of foreigners. If one day we can recover all of Shanghai, that will be the real rise of my China. Now Sun Chuanfang at most is just a local warlord, he cannot complete the unification of the country, and he does not have this ability!"

  Lin Hu paused for a moment, then said: "Alright, immediately pass on my orders. The First and Second Divisions will assemble, and after the New Year, we will launch an attack on Fujian with all our might to defeat Xu Chongzhi's troops. The Third Division will be responsible for guarding Meizhou and the outer lines of Chaozhou, while the Guard Battalion will guard the borders of Chaozhou. I will personally command the expedition! Liu Guang, commander of the division, and Mao Feng, commander of the regiment, your families are relying on you, so you must take good care of them. Any ammunition, food, or supplies needed must be replenished in a timely manner by you two. Your responsibilities are not light, so you must do well!"

  "Yes!" Liu Xuguang and Mao Feng replied in unison.

  After the meeting, Lin Hu left Mao Fengzhi behind. Lin Hu sat in a chair facing Mao Fengzhi and said: "The situation is now very unfavorable, and I won't hide from you that Lu Yongxiang and others have no opinion about me, but they are very dissatisfied with Chen Jiongming. If Chen Jiongming doesn't retreat, Lu Yongxiang and others will not deal with Xu Chongzhi. Xu Chongzhi has a good private relationship with Lu Yongxiang and others. Moreover, I heard that Lu Yongxiang and others have plans for autonomy in the three provinces of Fujian, Zhejiang, and Guangdong! Xu Chongzhi is also not willing to be inferior to others, and he doesn't seem to have much loyalty to Sun Daqiang. In the end, it's all about personal interests!"

  Mao Feng said: "But why did the commander still issue an order to attack Xu Chongzhi today? Why is the commander still helping Chen Jiongming?"

  Lin Hu said in a low voice: "Chen Jiongming is not the one, at least he won't claim to be king, his ambition isn't that big, he can only occupy one province. But Sun Big Cannon's vision is nationwide, this is someone who wants to be emperor! In my opinion, no matter how much you say, it must be beneficial to China. Look what he has done? What attitude does he have towards the foreigners? During his time in Guangzhou, when was he ever tough on the foreigners? In the end, he still relies on the foreigners to fight against the Beijing government! If this were in the past, he would be a traitor! He's helping the foreigners to fight us Chinese people! Such a person is not worth my loyalty!"

  Maofeng was stunned, he had no good reason to refute, after thinking for a moment, he said: "General, maybe this is just his temporary expedient, after he grasps the national power, maybe he will be tough on foreigners! After all, sometimes great things can't be accomplished without sacrifices!"

  Lin Hu sneered and said, "This is not a valid reason. Is there anything more important than national dignity? Should we be so shameless in front of foreigners? I think he has a good impression of Japan now! But doesn't he know that a tiger can be lurking beside one's bed? This Eastern country, Japan, is more dangerous to our country than Western countries and harbors ill intentions towards us. The harm it brings is even greater than that of Western countries!"

  After finishing speaking, Lin Hu looked at Mao Feng with a profound meaning and said: "From your words, it is clear that you have a very good impression of Sun Dapao. Is it because you have had private contact with this person?"

  Mao Feng immediately stood up and said solemnly: "General, I dare not, I will not do such a ridiculous thing. As long as I am under the General's command for one day, I dare not have any disloyal thoughts!"

  Thank you for the reward from Kaixin Flower, Shaoyu and Wencheng Yuji!