Warlords: Rising from the Northwest Border and Sweeping Across the Powers

Chapter 366: Parting on bad terms, Chen Tong's persuasion

Lian Cheng frowned tightly, his expression extremely solemn. Although the Governor of Jiangzhou did not directly break off relations with Su Zhengyang like the Liang and Li families did, it could be seen from the expression on his face that Lian Cheng was also opposed to Wang Jin's sudden proposal.

In fact, Lian Cheng was not strictly speaking one of the old men who followed Yang Jiakai to build the country. The Lian family was originally a wealthy and scholarly family in Jiangzhou. Since the Shuiqing Empire, there were people in the court who served as third-rank officials. When Yang Jiakai shouted the slogan of overthrowing the Shuiqing Empire, Lian Cheng's elder brother Lian Hao responded actively and led three thousand Jiangzhou soldiers all the way north. After nine years of bloody battles on the battlefield, Lian Hao finally died on the battlefield, leaving behind only a tattered and blood-stained shirt.

Lian Hao's younger brother, Lian Cheng, who was then the communications platoon leader under Lian Hao, rose in status in the army under the special care of Yang Jiakai and others, and made many military achievements. After the establishment of the Northern Xinjiang regime, he returned home in glory and became the governor of Jiangzhou.

Lian Cheng is now only 41 years old, which makes him the youngest governor-general of Northern Frontier except for Su Zhengyang and Jiang Xuewen.

Liancheng was actually a governor without too many selfish motives. Under his governance, Jiangzhou was stable and prosperous. When the Northern Expedition Army attacked Jiangzhou, Liancheng personally led his troops to resist on the front line. He never complained to Yang Jiakai when he encountered any setbacks like other governors.

In Su Zhengyang's heart, he still admired Lian Cheng very much, but reducing local military power was an inevitable reform. If Lian Cheng insisted on hindering the promotion of this matter, then Su Zhengyang could only say sorry. Anyone who attempted to stop Su Zhengyang from carrying out reforms would be ruthlessly crushed.

"What Elder Wang said was actually not selfish at all. He was sincerely considering our Northern Frontier. I decided to adopt Elder Wang's opinion and return the local military power to the central government. Of course, Governor Liang, Governor Li, you are all heroes of the Northern Frontier. I will not force you. I just hope that you can carefully consider this matter for the sake of the overall situation and the future of the Northern Frontier, and give me a satisfactory answer in three days."

"This meeting ends here!"

"Xiao Fu! Arrange for someone to send the governors back to their palaces!"

"Yes, President."

After Liang Jiaman, Li Yukun, An Chengjie and others left one after another, only Su Zhengyang's die-hard supporters were left in the venue.

Jiang Yanlin said to Su Zhengyang who was sitting in the first seat: "Zhengyang, these bastards are the kind who refuse to accept a toast and drink a forfeit! Taking the military power from them is like taking their lives. You must not let the tiger go back to the mountain. In my opinion, it is better to go all out and keep them all in the capital to eliminate the roots!"

"Member Jiang, the fall of Huzhou has shocked these governors, and also made them alert. If tough measures are taken, the remaining forces of the several families may unite together, and war will be inevitable."

"Damn it! If this continues, we'll have to fight sooner or later. It's better to fight sooner rather than later. It would be best to just flatten them!"

Su Zhengyang waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, Uncle Jiang. I have my own way. In a month at most, I, Su Zhengyang, can solve this matter without any soldiers. Now the Northern Frontier can no longer withstand the consequences of a large-scale war. If a war really breaks out, I will not be afraid even if they join forces, but what I want is a peaceful solution."

Feng Changan, Jiang Yanlin and others looked at each other. Seeing Su Zhengyang's calm expression, it was obvious that he had already anticipated the current situation and probably had a solution in his mind.

"In that case, we will take our leave now and wait for President Su to put on a good show and solve the problem of returning military power to the central government!"

Feng Changan said to Su Zhengyang solemnly, "Liancheng's elder brother has a very close relationship with me and your father. He is not someone who doesn't know the difference between the important and the unimportant. I will go and have a good talk with him. If President Su wants to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys, I hope Liancheng won't be that chicken."

Su Zhengyang nodded and said, "I also admire Governor Liancheng very much. If he is willing to hand over his military power, not only will I not embarrass him, but I will entrust him with an important task. Uncle Feng, I will leave this matter to you."

In the Li family mansion, Liang Jiaman was constantly cursing Su Zhengyang.

"This little bastard is just trying to make things difficult for us. If we hand over our military power, how can we keep our positions? As a governor for more than ten years, who has a clean bottom? If Su Zhengyang brings up the old scores in the future, we won't even be able to protect ourselves. He still wants me to hand over my military power? He is just dreaming!"

Li Yukun's expression was also very gloomy at this time, but compared with Liang Jiaman, he was much more rational.

"Brother Liang, no matter what, we can't just get angry and really withdraw from Northern Xinjiang. Without the Northern Xinjiang government as a backing, what's the difference between us and rootless duckweed?"

"Besides, the old president also deliberately avoided us today. It's obvious that he is unwilling to support us out of old friendship."

"Humph! Yang Jiakai has ignored us old brothers just to pave the way for his son-in-law. He is unkind, so don't blame me for being unjust. At worst, I can defect to the Southern Government. I have soldiers and money, and I will be a local tyrant wherever I go. If you don't want me here, I will find another place to go!"

Li Yukun said solemnly: "Brother Liang, be careful with your words. Think about Qu Chen's end. His bloody head is still vivid in my mind."

After hearing this, Liang Jiaman indeed calmed down a lot. After talking with Li Yukun for a while, he left the Li Mansion.

On the other side, in the An family mansion, after listening to his father-in-law An Chengjie's specific experience at today's meeting, Chen Tong pondered for a moment, looked at An Chengjie with serious eyes and said: "Dad! No matter what, you can't jump out and oppose Su Zhengyang. Now the Northwest Revolutionary Army is too powerful, like a sword hanging over our heads at all times. Once Su Zhengyang is really angered, I'm afraid we will immediately follow in Qu Chen's footsteps."

Qian Haodong said, "We, Qian and An, have always been on good terms and have always stood together. Although Lizhou and Quzhou are located in the western region, they are also considered wealthy. Together, the two families have more than 450,000 soldiers. They are not as easy to bully as the Qu family."

Chen Tong shook his head and said, "The general trend is irreversible now. Instead of fighting against Su Zhengyang to the end, it is better to follow the general trend and try to gain benefits for yourself. Dad, Uncle Qian, according to what you said, Su Zhengyang has now won over most of the governors. In addition to the Northwest Revolutionary Army, he can mobilize nearly a million troops. It is not wise to go against the trend."

After An Chengjie pondered for a moment, he looked at Chen Tong and said, "In your opinion, how should I deal with this situation?"

Chen Tong said without hesitation: "Hand over the military power! After Su Zhengyang takes over the military power, he will definitely establish a complete military power system. As long as we can occupy a key position in this system, the An family will still be a wealthy family in the northern border, and you can temporarily keep your position as the governor of Quzhou, and we don't have to confront Su Zhengyang head-on. This is a good thing that kills three birds with one stone."