Chapter 62 Negotiation (First Update)

  Mao Feng's face showed a smile, but that was all. This gave the envoy a feeling that Mao Feng was not someone to be taken lightly, and just because of this, he should reevaluate his attitude towards him.

  Following Mao Feng's words: "I have been in the army for less than a year, I dare not evaluate like this. There are many seniors in the army, and I am far from them! You can inform directly."

  Dai De's messenger smiled and said: "Before I left, Mr. Sun had already given instructions that if Commander Mao could turn over a new leaf, then Mr. Sun would not touch Commander Mao at all, and your unit would still be the Third Army, what do you think?"

  Mao Feng calmly said: "What about the territory?"

  Dai Jitao did not hesitate and said with relish: "It will be uniformly managed by the government, governed by officials appointed by the government, and Commander Mao will serve as the defense commander of Chaozhou! However, the military rank can only be that of lieutenant general!"

  Mao Feng's face broke into a smile, he calmly stood up and walked to the front of Detreps, extending his right hand. Detreps had already risen to his feet, seeing Mao Feng extend his hand but not yet understanding his decision. He was overjoyed and also extended his right hand, the two quickly grasped each other's hands tightly. Mao Feng said with a smile: "Pleasure doing business!"

  "It was a pleasure working with you!" said Deit, in high spirits.

  At the banquet, in the reception hall of the government office, Mao Feng hosted a dinner for Ambassador Dai and Yang Yongtai accompanied him. It was only then that Mao Feng learned that Ambassador Dai was actually Dai Jitao, who is now Sun Wen's secretary. This made Mao Feng feel a bit embarrassed, as he had not asked about his specific name, which seemed to be a bit of a tactical mistake.

  Yang Yongtai and Dai Jitao knew each other before, when Yang Yongtai was the provincial governor, Dai Jitao wasn't as glorious as he is now, he was still doing speculative business with Zhang and Jiang in Shanghai.

  Yang Yongtai's change surprised Dai Jitao, because he knew Yang Yongtai was extremely arrogant and could be so polite in front of Mao Feng, which also showed Mao Feng's ability to win over this person. Could an ordinary person do that? Although outsiders evaluated him as a speculator and a typical politician, Dai Jitao had asked himself: if revolution is not for power, what other motivation can there be?

  Dai Jitao's literary foundation is quite profound, and his elegant demeanor has a deep impact on Mao Feng. Similarly, Mao Feng also asked about Marxist thought, Dai Jitao is a person who has thoroughly researched it, he also shared his own insights, he self-deprecatingly said: "I am a member of the Nationalist Party, if I join this party faction, wouldn't that be betraying my party? Wouldn't that be disappointing Mr. Sun's trust? Currently, to quickly quell the unrest, we must first win over the upper echelons, only then can we unify the country from top to bottom! Otherwise, this goal cannot be achieved!"

  Mao Feng then asked: "But how many ordinary people are there at dawn? If they unite, the power is imaginable! They are the true representatives of the people's hearts."

  Dai Jitao said proudly: "A large number of people does not necessarily mean a lot of strength, now the local situation is chaotic, their strength is scattered! Moreover, most of them are struggling to make ends meet, illiterate, if they rise up, without sufficient prestige to suppress, then this is not a revolution, it's just chaos, at that time it will be a huge internal consumption, they will respond to our call, but how? Rebel? How to rebel? If failed, that's slaughter! If successful, it depends on whether the leader who emerges has ambition? Can he obey Mr. Sun's leadership? Otherwise, it will be another warlord! Now the war is fought for money, without the support of those rich merchants and celebrities, how can so many troops be established? Relying on those poor people?"

  Then Dai Jitao sighed and said with a bitter smile: "Feng Zhi, my brother, to be honest with you, even with such a small army now, Mr. Sun is having a hard time taking the first step, financially strained! Weapons need money, feeding the troops also needs money, and making sure the people are well-fed requires even more money! Without the support of those people, how can this work? Should we just kill them all? That's killing the goose that lays the golden eggs! It's not worth it!"

  Mao Feng indeed knows the power of the people uniting, but at the same time does not deny the truth in Dai Jitao's words. Now many ordinary people are ignorant and foolish, thinking back to the period of resistance against Japan, many ordinary people did not dare to resist, they just let the Japanese devils kill them, what a tragic and shameful thing!

  The atmosphere was a bit dull, and Yang Yongtai immediately changed the subject. He said: "After Mr. Sun stepped down as governor, he had deep contradictions with me. I just don't know how Mr. Sun will look at me this time."

  Dai Jitao listened and said with a smile, "This is one time, that is another time, it can't be talked about on the same day. Now Yang brother still puts great righteousness first, otherwise Yang brother wouldn't be here! Everyone is for the victory of the revolution, everyone is for the rise of China, this difference in idea should be normal, isn't it normal?"

  A bit bureaucratic, at this time can see Dai Jitao's bureaucratic habit, however, Mao Fengzi didn't mind much, isn't it the same with himself now? This is also what they call change.

  Then Dai Jitao seemed to think of something, he was a bit annoyed and patted his own forehead, saying: "Look at my brain, I really forgot one big thing!"

  Mao Feng and Yang Yongtai remained calm, looking at Dai Jitao. Seeing that the two did not respond to his usual inquiry, Dai Jitao felt somewhat helpless and continued: "Feng, my brother, you should also make your position clear! This is also beneficial for you!"

  Mao Feng pretended to be puzzled and said: "Haven't I already accepted Mr. Sun's leadership? Doesn't this show my attitude?"

  Dai Jitao pointed out in general terms: "Younger brother, you don't know! Mr. Sun naturally knows, but others don't know! The Beiyang government doesn't know, Chen Jiongming doesn't know!"

  Mao Feng suddenly let out a soft "oh" sound, and then he said: "This is easy, I'll just use Electric Countermeasure!"

  Dai Jitao slightly shook his head and said: "This is naturally necessary, but it's not enough. Mr. Sun means that he wants to be the introducer to introduce you into the party!"

  Mao Feng exclaimed in surprise: "Join the party?" In fact, Mao Feng had already thought of this situation, and Yang Yongtai had also mentioned it. The two had already discussed it beforehand.

  Mao Feng said with great pleasure: "Good! I have always supported Mr. Sun's proposal! To be recognized and promoted by Mr. Sun, Mao is deeply honored!"

  Dai Jitao was overjoyed and said: "Then it's settled!"

  After the banquet, Dai Jitao was drinking tea to sober up. Yang Yongtai received a hint from Mao Fengzhi and said: "Brother Jitao, now Xu Chongzhi's troops are still stationed on the border of Chen, still eyeing Chaozhou, shouldn't there be some changes?"

  Dai Jitao smiled slightly and said, "Actually, this is already in the past tense. When I set out to come here, Mr. Sun had already ordered General Xu Chongzhi not to act rashly. If one day of negotiations yields no results, General Xu will not launch an attack on that day. You can rest assured on this point!"

  Yang Yongtai nodded and continued: "So when will we launch the attack on Chen Jiongming? Before that, please ask Ji Tao to inform Mr. Sun, and also ask Mr. Sun to provide us with military supplies, as our current arsenal is insufficient, and so are our troops. Also, please ask Mr. Sun to telegram Xu Chongzhi to return all personnel of the Third Division!"

  Dai Jitao was taken aback, he had originally thought that this matter would go smoothly, but in the end it still had to come. Dai Jitao said calmly: "Don't hide from you two, before coming, Mr. Sun had already said that as long as Brother Feng's request is not excessive, everything can be agreed upon. As for the third division, to be honest, I don't know either, and I'm not in charge. However, I can express my attitude now, this matter is very difficult! Liu Xuanguang betrayed Lin Hu, how can he not be afraid? Moreover, Xu Chongzhi has already taken control of the third division, if you put yourself in Feng's shoes, how would you feel? As for Lin Hu, Mr. Sun also said that as long as Lin Hu steps down and guarantees his personal safety, he can stay in Chaozhou or go to Hong Kong! It's entirely up to him!"

  This is a big truth. As for the truth, Mao Fengzhi can understand it very well. If Dai Jitao says those polite words and those social niceties, then Mao Fengzhi will immediately turn his face.

  Mao Feng said: "I must have half of the Third Division, I don't believe all the brothers in the Third Division are willing to follow Liu Xuanguang. Many were unclear about the truth at that time and now worry that they will lose their lives if they return. So I'll take a step back, I want one regiment plus the weapons of another regiment, and an allocation of 1 million yuan for military expenses! As long as these conditions are met, I will immediately mobilize the troops to advance, and the entire Chao-Mei-Shan area will be opened up, inviting Mr. Sun to take charge of the province!"

  Mao Feng knew that Guangzhou had been captured, and Sun Yat-sen was determined to return to Guangzhou. This tide in Chaozhou is impossible to come over, but it also shows one's attitude! As for the whole territory being open, that means allowing Sun Yat-sen's troops to enter the border.

  Dai Jitao naturally would not give a reply on the spot, he needed to telegram Sun Yat-sen. After Dai Jitao left, Yang Yongtai said: "Commander, for now it seems that Sun Yat-sen is extremely resentful of Chen Jiongming, let's see how great his prestige will be?"

  Mao Feng said: "I think Sun Wen will not fully agree, he will agree on the issue of the Third Division, but as for that one million military expenses, I'm afraid he won't agree. His financial situation is currently very tight, and he would even want me to provide him with foreign currency."

  Yang Yongtai was not surprised after hearing it, but Mao Feng looked at the bottom of his heart and couldn't help laughing and crying. This Yang Yongtai is indeed testing everywhere, and has never relaxed his test on himself.

  Yang Yongtai continued: "Xu Chongzhi is probably going to hate his superior officer."

  Mao Feng disdainfully said: "This person is not worth worrying about, his current prestige is not like before, he has lost several battles and after that, his glory is no more! This person is more of a strategist than a great general! If I were to go to war with this person, I would only need one division of troops to defeat him!"

  Yang Yongtai smiled slightly and said: "But General Lin Hu was defeated before!"

  Mao Feng's smile was directed at Yang Yongtai: "If I were the commander, I would concentrate my forces and break through one route. If Xu Chong can defeat the commander, it is because he has more troops! The commander's forces are scattered, plus the commander underestimates Liu Xuguang too much! It can be said that Xu Chong defeated the commander, which is equivalent to burning incense!"