Late October.

Gongchenqiao Japanese Concession, at night.

In late autumn, it rains continuously, the alleys paved with bluestones are very deep, and the road surface moistened by rain is a bit slippery.

Looking up and looking into the distance, there seems to be a thin mist of water in the depths of the alley, which is illusory and misty.

An elegant and quiet teahouse soon appeared in front of people. This was one of the few Japanese-style "Yichun Teahouses" in the Japanese Concession.

Go up the revolving wooden ladder from the deep side of the alley. The wooden ladder happens to be in a position where two people are side by side, but the ladder surface is a little slippery after the rain.

When going upstairs, Zhang Chuan supported Li Pinzhang, who was drunk, and helped him carefully walk upstairs in a half-supporting, half-supporting manner.

There is a special cave in the teahouse. A stage has been set up in the center of the lobby. Two oriental geishas in kimonos are twisting their waists and singing Japanese tunes.

In the elegant wing on the second floor, two Oriental men were kneeling on the tatami.

The one with a fair face is Section Chief Toyohiko Kagawa of the Cabinet Intelligence Department of the island country, and the one with a beard is Japanese military representative Colonel Hideo Fujita.

Their position is right opposite the stage.

When they saw Zhang Chuan and Li Pinzhang coming in, they stood up and saluted.

"Li Sang, you look good after a long time!" Hideo Fujita teased, raising his hand to invite the guests to sit down.

"Thank you Colonel Fujita for your kindness and your help in reorganizing the military affairs of the Zhejiang Army!" Li Pinzhang bowed in salute, then sat down on the table and knelt down.

Hechuan Toyohiko, who was watching with cold eyes, asked while pouring tea for the guests: "I heard that Li Sang has recently expanded the army to form an A-type brigade. Congratulations!"

"Yes, as soon as the appointment certificate was announced, I was dragged to have a drink by my brothers to celebrate. I also heard from Zhang Chuan that the two of you would like to invite me to tea. I didn't dare to neglect. I put down my wine glass and came over quickly and started to pick up your teacups."

Li Pinzhang usually smiles informally and has a serious expression, but today he still showed a hint of joy.

"Yo Xi! Congratulations to Li Sang for taking control of the Zhejiang Army and expanding the army to more than 40,000 troops!" Fujita chuckled slyly.

"Haha...Same joy, same joy..." The four of them laughed heartily.

Zhang Chuan took a sip of tea and said:

"The young marshal was very surprised when he heard that the colonel had shipped a batch of arms from the sea to support the Zhejiang army. Now the war is imminent. If we replenish the ammunition and increase the firepower, we can kill the enemy in an instant. Join hands with the southern Guangdong army to push forward

By pacifying the entire south, we can also capture the entire Jiangxi and Anhui provinces."

Looking at Li Pinzhang's eager expression, Fujita Hideo looked at Kagawa Toyohiko knowingly, and a sly smile appeared on the corner of his lips, as if he was holding an invisible shackle, waiting for the other party to stretch his neck to put it on.

"Li Sang! There is no problem with the arms. They can be loaded, unloaded and transported at any time. It's just that the military..."

"Oh, the Marshal said that this time the bounty will be paid at 50% of the original total price of the arms. Please don't worry, Colonel Fujita." Zhang Chuan hurriedly expressed his position on his behalf.

"Oh, Marshal, we are expanding our military and preparing for war. The military expenditure is not small. Our military is not friends enough. The bounty is waived. It is the military's duty-free warehouse approval at Ningbo Port in the East China Sea? I don't know..." Hideo Fujita

Pretending to be considerate, he said sarcastically.

"Oh! I heard my father talk about this before. I'm busy preparing for war, so I can't take care of it. The duty-free warehouse should be no problem. I'll take care of it. I'll go directly to my father tomorrow for instructions!

"

Li Pinzhang quickly expressed his stance.

The Japanese wanted to build a so-called duty-free warehouse in Ningbo Port, which was equivalent to a small concession. Of course, Li Cunzhi did not agree.

His grandma's, this is more than the bounty, the Japanese are just right. But they can't bear to let the child trap the wolf. Now it's a critical moment, and they have to fight with all their strength.

Chen Tianhua had no choice but to agree.

What free lunch is there in the world?

"Yo Xi! Li Sang is such a good friend. Let's have tea instead of wine and cheers for our in-depth cooperation in the future!"

"cheers!"

"Li Yan, as a friend, I have good news to tell you." Hechuan Toyohiko picked up the teapot and poured tea for Li Pinzhang, Zhang Chuan and others, while giving him a sideways glance and said:

"General Counselor Zhang Zhiqun, the plenipotentiary representative of the South, is currently in Shanghai and is negotiating with Mr. Chen Qimei, the commander-in-chief of the Shanghai Army. It is said that the two sides talked very harmoniously. He agreed to send troops to Fujian Province, but he has to borrow a way from Li Sang."

"Oh, it's a trivial matter to take advantage of the passage. It's okay even if we let the Zhejiang Army send some troops." Li Pinzhang said with a grin while taking advantage of the wine.

"Hey... there is no rush before the Zhejiang army sends troops. Wait until Chen Tianhua takes action before you take action. Now, you should not be exposed too early, Li Sang."

Hideo Fujita waved his hands lazily, raised the corners of his lips, and gave a pleasant smile, as if he had a plan in mind.

"Well, we will follow Colonel Fujita's arrangements." Li Pinzhang said with a flattering smile:

"I wonder what the current situation is like in southeastern Shandong? Once the Jiangnan Incident occurs, is it possible for Chen Tianhua to withdraw quickly?"

"According to our intelligence a few days ago, Chen Tianhua's troops were fighting fiercely with Zhang Huaizhi's troops of the Northern Army in the area of ​​Jinan Prefecture and Qingzhou Prefecture. The two sides were very tight. If he retreated in a hurry, he would be chased and killed by Zhang Huaizhi's troops. As the saying goes,

Well, if the army is defeated like a mountain and the whole army withdraws from the battlefield in a hurry, it is very easy to cause a rout. This is a taboo for military strategists. I think Chen Tianhua is familiar with the art of war and knows this truth."

"If Chen Tianhua dares to take a big risk and force the troops to retreat, in addition to Zhang Huaizhi's troops, the empire's marines in Weihaiwei will also attack the Southern Army from the side. Then he will face the possibility of losing troops and generals, and a major rout. Even if he

The breakout was successful, but there were very few 80,000 elite soldiers left. When he arrived in Su Province, he was unable to quell the uprising in the south of the Yangtze River. With Zhejiang, Shanghai and Guangdong, a total of 160,000 elite soldiers, and the navy, he could not cope with it."

Fujita explained patiently, with a proud expression on his lips.

"Oh! There are two such comprehensive plans. I think Chen Tianhua will be finished this time and the whole situation will collapse." Li Pinzhang showed great interest.

"Don't worry, Li Sang! Can the fish bite the hook and let it escape easily? This is too underestimated for our imperial soldiers." He Chuan deliberately showed off his side.

"What will be the situation in Jiangsu Province?" Zhang Chuan asked.

"Zhang Sang and Li Sang, please rest assured. Chen Tianhua only has more than 20,000 garrison troops under Lu Kaishan in Jiangsu Province. Jinling, Suzhou and other areas in central and southern Jiangsu have weak military forces. You should understand that we have two more troops in Ma'anshan.

All security forces are equipped with Japanese-made equipment, and the officers are all imperial soldiers. They will send troops when necessary."

Fujita laughed wildly with pride.

"Oh, this is great. Dr. Fujita is worthy of being a strategist. This layout method is too superb." Apart from admiration, Zhang Chuan also took the opportunity to compliment him.

"Brother Zhang, don't you really want to learn military strategy? You need to ask Colonel Fujita for more advice. You haven't had a teacher yet!" Li Pinzhang, who was sitting aside, lost no time in finding a military teacher for Zhang Chuan.

Zhangchuan naturally understood it. He immediately stood up, raised his teacup high, and bowed to Hideo Fujita:

"Student Zhang Chuan meets the teacher!"
Chapter completed!