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

Chapter 114 A private conversation with Duan Jinshu

Seeing Duan Jinshu fall silent, Han Jiwang began to get anxious, and said with red eyes: "I'm telling you, eight million dollars, not a cent more. If you don't let me go, I will fight to the death with your Northwest Revolutionary Army. I will order an all-out war when I return. You, Su Zhengyang, can't have a peaceful development."

Su Zhengyang looked at Han Jiwang who had almost lost his mind and sneered, "Start a war? I'll bury you, the old immortal, in Linzhou first!"

"Since you don't want to talk, then let's not talk. Let's start the war! Come on, take that old bastard Han Jiwang down and execute him!"

A large number of guards rushed into the meeting room and were about to attack Han Jiwang. Han Jiwang's personal bodyguard took out his gun, pointed it at the Northwest Revolutionary Army and said with gritted teeth: "Come on! I'll make ends meet if I kill one today, and I'll make a profit if I kill two!"

Suddenly, a teacup flew towards him and hit the wrist of guard Han Jiwang, causing him pain. He screamed and the pistol in his hand fell to the ground.

Yan Shuangying walked over slowly and said coldly: "In the territory of our Northwest Revolutionary Army, you don't even have the qualifications to resist."

Duan Jinshu also lost his temper, which was rare. He slammed the table heavily and said with a gloomy face: "What are you doing! Do you still respect me as the Prime Minister? Put down your guns!"

After Su Zhengyang thought for a moment, he signaled Yan Shuangying and the others to put down their guns. Duan Jinshu said to Han Jiwang in an unquestionable tone: "Mr. Han, go out first. Let me discuss this matter."

Looking at Duan Jinshu's livid face, Han Jiwang seemed to want to say something but stopped himself. In the end, he did not say anything. He snorted coldly and left the meeting room with his personal guards.

Duan Jinshu was furious, actually not at Su Zhengyang, but at Han Jiwang. Han Jiwang had obviously lost his mind. As an old man over 70 years old, he should have been mature and steady, but after coming to Yong'an City, he repeatedly spoke without thinking, which made the atmosphere between the two sides tense and made the negotiations fall into an even more difficult situation.

It can be said that he is anxious to save his son, but at present all the initiative is in Su Zhengyang's hands. If you make a fuss and confront Su Zhengyang like this, it will obviously only make things worse.

Since he came to ask for concessions, he had to act like one. Han Jiwang obviously didn't understand his current position. Perhaps in his opinion, Su Zhengyang was wrong, and all this was because Su Zhengyang was too greedy. However, he forgot that the fundamental reason for this incident was the wrong decision made by his beloved son, Han Jingting.

After Han Jiwang left, Duan Jinshu calmed down and said to Su Zhengyang calmly, "Zhengyang, old people like Han have worked hard for the development of our Northern Frontier government. They always think that they should be respected because of their seniority, so they spoke a little harshly. Don't take it to heart."

Su Zhengyang nodded and said, "No matter what, for Uncle Duan's sake, I won't do anything to him. Otherwise, with his old age and bullying attitude, I would have broken his old bones long ago. It was obviously the Han faction that was at fault first, but now his attitude is as if all this is the fault of our Northwest Revolutionary Army. I'm not belittling his contribution to the Northern Frontier Government, but these old people, relying on their past merits, think that everyone should give in to them and spoil them. In the long run, this is absolutely not advisable."

"Zhengyang, actually, before I came here, I have already discussed with the president and planned to make you the 14th member of the National Assembly of the Central Government, and also the youngest member of the National Assembly in the history of the Northern Frontier Government. What do you think about this?"

Su Zhengyang looked at Duan Jinshu staring at him, and was shocked, with a hint of imperceptible surprise flashing in his eyes.

Members of Congress almost represent the pinnacle of power in the Northern Frontier government. Every major decision must be approved by more than half of the members of Congress before it can be implemented.

Even in the election of a new president, the vote of a member of Congress is crucial.

However, among the thirteen congressmen in Northern Xinjiang, the youngest are all over forty years old. Reputation, qualifications, and contributions to the Northern Xinjiang government are all indispensable. Of course, more important is strength. Currently, Su Zhengyang is in Linzhou with a strong army and horses. In terms of strength, he fully meets the requirements, but qualifications and reputation require time to accumulate, and he is obviously not qualified enough.

After a moment of silence, Su Zhengyang slowly said, "I feel that my current qualifications are not enough to be a member of Congress. Thank you Uncle Duan and the President for your kindness, but I think I should continue to settle down and strive for this position when the time is right."

Duan Jinshu smiled slightly, and in his heart he had some respect for Su Zhengyang. This was a member of the National Assembly, a position that many warlord leaders had tried their best to achieve in their entire lives. Even Yan Baoguo of Yunzhou, Han Jiwang of Yongzhou, and other senior men with similar qualifications, including Su Zhengyang's father Su Yuting, had failed to become members of the National Assembly.

Faced with such a position, holding power, and being able to bring a series of benefits to the development of the Northwest Revolutionary Army, Su Zhengyang did not show much emotional fluctuation. Instead, he rejected the proposal very calmly, which made Duan Jinshu feel that this boy was definitely not an ordinary person.

In fact, the answer to the question of whether Su Zhengyang wants to become a member of Congress is beyond doubt. The only way for the current Northwest Revolutionary Army to achieve Su Zhengyang’s goal and unify the entire China is to constantly launch wars, annexations, and seize territory.

In the long run, the disadvantages will outweigh the advantages. Years of war will only make China poorer and more backward, and the lives of the people will become more unsustainable. Moreover, once the Northwest Revolutionary Army shows its ambition, it will continue to annihilate other warlord forces.

These warlord forces are likely to unite to target the Northwest Revolutionary Army, and the Northern Frontier Government will also regard the Northwest Revolutionary Army as a thorn in its side.

Once Su Zhengyang becomes a member of Congress, he can take a completely different shortcut and use the resources in his hands to accumulate fame. When necessary, he can naturally take over the entire Northern Frontier government. In this way, at least the northern part of China will fall under Su Zhengyang's control with the least cost and without having to resort to war.

The reason why Su Zhengyang refused was because he was not sure whether this was a bait thrown by the Northern Xinjiang government to judge its ambitions and thus hinder the development of the Northwest Revolutionary Army.

Duan Jinshu seemed to see through Su Zhengyang's thoughts, and smiled dumbly, "Don't rush to refuse. This is not a test from the Northern Frontier Central Government. We sincerely want you to take the position of a member of Congress. From the development trajectory of your Northwest Revolutionary Army, I can roughly guess your thoughts and the long-term goals of the Northwest Revolutionary Army."