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

Chapter 193: To resist foreign aggression, we must first stabilize the internal situation. The respo

After the oath-taking ceremony, in Huang Guangtai's office, Huang Jingbin, the eldest son of Huang Guangtai, who was known as one of the four sons of the Republic of China, frowned and said, "Father, at this point in time, isn't it a bit of taking advantage of someone's misfortune for us to launch the Northern Expedition?"

"Fusang's evil ambitions are obvious. After losing the restraint of England and Tsarist Russia, they may send troops south at any time. The Northern Frontier Government has to divide its troops to guard against Fusang. In this case, even if we can achieve the final victory, the Northern Frontier Government may lose the entire Northeast and even more Chinese territory because of too much energy involved in the southern battlefield, and let our compatriots in the northern border of China sink into the clutches of Fusang. Please think twice before acting. I think that at present, the northern and southern regimes should unite to resist foreign aggression and take the opportunity to drive Fusang out of China first. This is the top priority."

Huang Guangtai put down the pen in his hand, raised his head, looked at his son with satisfaction, and slowly said: "I am very pleased that you have such foresight and ideas, but since ancient times, the winners are the kings and the losers are the bandits, and kindness cannot command the army. On the battlefield, we must grasp all fleeting opportunities. Any small detail may change the situation of the entire North-South War. While the Fuso people are eyeing them covetously and the Northern Frontier government is unable to split its efforts, our success rate of the Northern Expedition must be at least 20% higher!"

"But...."

"There is no but. You must remember one thing: to resist foreign aggression, you must first stabilize the country! Without a regime that can truly unify the entire country, China has no future! This is a period of change and pain that must be experienced, even if it costs some price!"

"As long as we can achieve the final victory! Even if Fuso takes advantage of the opportunity to occupy part of our territory, we will be able to take it back in the future! Without a truly complete regime, China will suffer countless humiliations in the future."

"Okay, go down. I already know all the problems you can think of. You don't need to worry about them. Just take care of your own business first."

Huang Jingbin turned and left hesitantly, in fact, he was also a passionate young man who hoped that China would rise one day. He was also dissatisfied with his father's decision, but unfortunately, with his current identity and status, he could not change any future trajectory at all.

In Beilong City, in Yang Jiakai's office, Duan Jinshu hurriedly pushed the door open.

"Mr. President, the Southern Government has officially issued a statement of conquest! They will raise four armies with over a million soldiers to launch a Northern Expedition against our Northern Frontier Government!"

Yang Jiakai's expression did not change when he heard this. The entire Northern Xinjiang government, from top to bottom, knew very well that this day would come sooner or later.

After a moment's silence, Yang Jiakai frowned and asked, "Where are their four armies heading?"

"According to the information sent back by our intelligence personnel, the first army has a total of 200,000 troops, the main force of which is the Bai faction of Huzhou. They will attack Bizhou with all their strength and capture Hucheng. The second army is the first and second corps of the Northern Expedition led by Huang Guangtai himself, and their target is the connection of Jiangzhou. The third army, which is also the one with the largest number of troops, is led by Song Yuanfeng, the deputy commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition Army, and their target is Dongzhou and Mingzhou. The last army has a strength of about 250,000 troops, and the main force is the Sun faction occupying the two provinces of Central and South China. Their target should be Hanzhou."

After thinking for a moment, Yang Jiakai stood up and said, "Lian Clan is the same as Feng Changan. They are both neutral factions in Northern Xinjiang. Yuan Clan and Chen Clan in Dongzhou and Mingzhou are both die-hard supporters of Zhang Chengxiang. Although Wang Clan in Hanzhou is not large in size, it is also a veteran force in Northern Xinjiang with amazing combat effectiveness."

"The threat posed by the fourth army is not that great. In Jiangzhou, the Feng clique stationed in Huizhou will never sit idly by. Even if Huang Guangtai leads the army himself, it will be difficult for him to gain an advantage."

"What really worries us is the three main armies of the Northern Expedition led by Song Yuanfeng, and the First Route Army led by Bai Qigang. Once Shanghai is lost, it will be a heavy blow to the morale of our Northern Frontier. Moreover, Shanghai is currently the economic center of the entire China and an important port city. We cannot afford to lose it. I don't know if the Skeleton Division under Zhengyang can withstand such a huge pressure."

Duan Jinshu said thoughtfully: "The Skeleton Division only has 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers from top to bottom. Facing an enemy force that is ten times their number, they may not be able to resist. Can Feng Changan transfer troops south to Shanghai to assist the Skeleton Division and resist the attack of the Southern Kingdom's first army?"

Yang Jiakai shook his head and said, "Huang Guangtai, the old fox, has long seen this. With only the connection in Jiangzhou, there is no way to resist the First and Second Corps of the Northern Expedition Army. While the Feng faction is providing assistance and connection, they also have to guard against the Southern Government sending troops from Huzhou to directly attack Huizhou. They can't take care of Shanghai at the same time."

"It seems that the Skeleton Division is a lone army defending the city. The pressure it faces will be enormous. Should we discuss it with Zhengyang first? After all, the Skeleton Division is an elite force that he has trained at great cost. If the losses are too severe, it will be an unbearable burden for Zhengyang."

"I'll call him in person later. After all, the Skeleton Division is controlled by Zhengyang, who is on the same side as us. Compared to them, the situation in Mingzhou and Dongzhou worries me more. Yuan Gongwang and Chen Jianshen are two cunning old foxes. Once the Southern Army becomes too powerful, they will definitely focus on preserving their own strength. Who knows, they may reach an unknown agreement with the Southern Government in private."

"Why not let the Lin faction of Jianzhou and the Yang faction of Suzhou go south to help them stabilize the situation while taking care of Hanzhou. At least Jianzhou and Suzhou are mostly our own people and should be reliable."

"That's all we can do for now."

Yang Jiakai shook his head helplessly. It was not until this moment that Yang Jiakai felt a deep sense of powerlessness. Facing the united and cooperating Southern Government, the major factions of the Northern Frontier Government, which was completely disunited and only cared about its own business and ignored the troubles of others, had already fallen behind before the war even started.

The root cause is that Yang Jiakai's methods are not strong enough and he is too concerned about the old friendship. He always can't bear to take action against these old brothers who followed him from scratch and conquered the empire. Facts have proved that it is easy to conquer the empire but difficult to keep it. How many of those old people who followed Yang Jiakai to rise up and openly resist the Shuiqing Empire have been able to maintain their original intentions in their long-term rich and stable life?

The Northern Xinjiang government is an oddity among oddities. Even if they make a big mistake, or there is a conflict between two major forces, the losing party only needs to announce its resignation to save its life. Although they have lost power, they can still live a stable and worry-free life for the rest of their lives. The cost of making mistakes is too low, which has led them to deviate increasingly from their original intentions and bottom line.

On the other hand, Huang Guangtai's methods in the Southern Government were extremely cruel. Any provincial governor or governor-general would be killed without mercy if they violated his bottom line or made a mistake of principle. Which governor-general of the provinces in the Southern Government dared to say no to Huang Guangtai?