Chapter 41: Secret Negotiations

  "Reporting to the Deputy Chief of Staff, Wang Yuezhe (Wang Wei) reports to you!" Wang Yuezhe and Wang Wei, under the leadership of an officer, came before Jiang Yun and reported to him.

  "Haha! Yuze, you've finally arrived. The plan you proposed has really opened my eyes! However, our military fully supports your plan!" Jiang Yun laughed loudly and patted Wang Yuze's shoulder, his eyes filled with expectation.

  "Yes, Chief of Staff, I will try my best!" Wang Yuze nodded and said loudly.

  The staff officers who were originally working around them couldn't help but look up at Wang Yuze after hearing their conversation. As mid-to-senior staff members of the General Staff Headquarters, even if they hadn't met Wang Yuze before, they had long heard of his great name. Especially after Wang Yuze married Xiong Menghan and became the son-in-law of Chief of Staff Xiong Wu, his reputation within the General Staff Headquarters had increased significantly.

  Of course, everyone subconsciously thought that another flower was inserted into the cow dung, and it's a pity for Xiong Menghan. However, when Wang Yuezhe proposed a combat plan against Ma Jiajun, these staff officers who participated in this plan greatly changed their views on Wang Yuezhe. Soldiers are all eager for war, so they have the opportunity to make achievements. However, Sichuan and the Qing court had been at peace for over a decade, which made many officers feel suffocated. Now, Wang Yuezhe proposed a combat plan against Ma Jiajun, which immediately won over these officers. At the same time, they also recognized the strength shown by Wang Yuezhe. Many people think that Young Marshal seems to have more pioneering spirit than Big Marshal, and if Young Marshal leads Sichuan in the future, it will definitely be the golden age for these soldiers.

  Wang Yuezhe did not know that by throwing out such a plan, he would win the support of many officers. If he had known earlier, he would have done so long ago and would not have left such a bad reputation in western Sichuan.

  "Chief of Staff, what is my main job?" Wang Yuez asked.

  "Alright! You can temporarily be my assistant. As for Wang Wei, you can join their work!" Jiang Yun said.

  "Yes!" Wang Yuez and Wang Wei immediately took orders. Wang Yuez knew that Jiang Yun was indirectly teaching him, letting him gain more experience and insight. Here, his safety was not a concern, so Wang Wei could also do other work. Now the staff were starting to prepare, after the snow melted, the logistics department had assembled the largest transport capacity, and began transporting various combat materials to the 4th and 10th brigades. Next, these two brigades would be the main combat force against Ma's army. If the battle did not go smoothly later on, they would consider redeploying one or two more brigades from Sichuan to fight on the plateau. However, unless absolutely necessary, it was best not to redeploy more troops, otherwise it would attract the attention of the Qing court. In addition, the western Sichuan army had cavalry brigades in the 4th and 10th brigades. Infantry fighting on the grasslands would have their combat effectiveness greatly restricted, plus the roads were difficult to navigate, many heavy weapons could not be carried.

  "Alright, you two go rest for now! The messenger from the Green Horse Army is already on his way and will arrive in a day or two. At that time, we will make contact with them. Whether we can obtain the Green Horse Army at the smallest cost, and whether it's by battle or negotiation, will be revealed soon!" Jiang Yun said excitedly, seemingly also looking forward to the upcoming great war.

  "Yes, Chief of Staff!" Wang Yuez and Wang Wei bowed to Chiang and went downstairs to rest.

  However, afterwards, Wang Yuezhe also visited the commander of the 10th Brigade, Zhao Bowei, deputy commander Zhasi Duoji and chief of staff Li Zhuo. Last time he was serving in the 10th Brigade under an assumed name, now that he is using his real name, it's natural to pay a visit to these three main officials of the 10th Brigade.

  For Wang Yuez's visit, Zhao Bowei, Zhasi Duoji and Li Zhuo were all very happy. After all, Wang Yuez is now the staff officer of the General Staff Department, no longer their subordinate. At the same time, Wang Yuez's identity as a young marshal and future heir to Chuanxi made them attach great importance to it.

  Although Wang Yuezhe and Zhao Bowens conversation was very brief, it was just a courtesy. However, Wang Yuezhe saw excitement in their eyes. After all, they were about to go into battle, and the 10th Brigade would soon be put to use.

  Next, Wang Yuezhe also threw himself into the intense work. It has to be said that Jiang Yun was a very talented person, and by following him, Wang Yuezhe learned many things, which benefited him greatly.

  Two days later, on March 17th, 1891, the envoy of the Qing Ma Army came to Changdu again. However, this time the scale was much larger than before, with more than thirty people in total, led by none other than Ma Yuntao, whom Wang Yuez had met before. Wang Yuez thought to himself that this person named Ma Yuntao seemed to hold a high position within the Qing Ma Army!

  Ma Yuntao was also stunned when he saw Wang Yuezhe. Previously, Wang Yuezhe was just a lieutenant colonel, but now he had become a senior captain and was even participating in the negotiations between the Qing Ma Army and the Chuan Xi Army.

  "Mr. Ma, welcome to Changdu!" Wang Yuez saw Ma Yuntao and went up to greet him first.

  "Haha, Wang Lianchang, is this a promotion?" Ma Yuntao asked with a smile.

  "Isn't it thanks to you that our Qing Ma Army is blessed? The last big victory allowed me to be promoted one level!" Wang Yuezhe said with a smile.

  In an instant, Ma Yuntao's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot. Wang Yuezhe was saying that his promotion was achieved by trampling on the corpses of the Qingma Army! How could Ma Yuntao be happy about this?

  "Mr. Ma, this is Deputy Chief of Staff Cai, who is fully responsible for the negotiations with your Qingma Army!" Wang Yuezhe introduced. He didn't want to provoke Ma Yuntao anymore.

  "General Cai, I've long admired your great name!" Ma Yuntao hastily paid his respects. As the deputy chief of staff of the Western Sichuan Army, Cai Yun's reputation was indeed renowned throughout China, and had even spread abroad.

  "Hello Mr. Ma!" Cai Yun stretched out his hand and shook hands with Ma Yuntao. In other places, it was still common to use the fist-bumping gesture as a greeting, but in Chuanxi, shaking hands had already become the norm.

  "General Cai, let's get started right away!" Ma Yun-tao urged. Ma Qi had been detained by the Sichuan Army for several months now, and although he wouldn't be subjected to any abuse, who knows what problems might arise if they didn't rescue him soon!

  "Alright, let's go to the conference room!" Cai Yun nodded. He also hoped to start negotiations with Ma Yuntao as soon as possible and take action early. In this way, it would be best to make it a fait accompli before the Qing court reacts. If so, unless the Qing court wants to engage in an all-out war with Sichuan, they will have no choice but to accept it reluctantly.

  A group of people entered the small conference room of the Tenth Brigade. The interior was simply decorated, with only one long table and three stools on either side. Jiang Yun and Ma Yuntiao sat in the middle. Wang Yuze sat to Jiang Yun's left, while on Jiang Yun's other side was a senior staff officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel, named Wu Huiyao, who was about thirty years old and a very capable person.

  On both sides of Ma Yuntao were two robust men who looked like they had served in the military. After explanation, it was learned that these two men were the regimental commanders of the 12th and 17th Regiments of the Qingma Army, Bai Meng and Ding Zhongming. These two regiments were stationed in Qinghai's Ningxia and were directly opposed to the 10th Brigade of the Qingma Army. The Qingma Army had 36 regiments, with over a thousand men in each regiment, totaling more than 36,000 people.

  The vast majority of the Qinghai Army's forces are deployed in the border areas with Sichuan, such as Yushu and Maqin. This poses a serious threat to the security of western Sichuan!

  "General Cai, I believe you are already well aware of the purpose of my visit. Our young master has a reckless personality and often does things that are out of line. This time he joined forces with those bandits to attack your military outpost, completely under their instigation. The whole thing was just a misunderstanding. Fortunately, it didn't cause any losses for your army. Please release our young master, General Cai, and we will provide compensation to your army!" Ma Yuntao said straightforwardly.

  PS: The first update is here! This book may still have many loopholes and some places that haven't been fully considered, thank you to the book friends who pointed them out, Xiaoyu will improve on it! Thank you to the book friends for their support of Xiaoyu!