Chapter 1 Overture

One o'clock in the morning, First Army Headquarters of the Dragon City Garrison.

The spacious conference room was filled with officers attending a war meeting.

Among the officers present were young and old, but regardless of their age, there was not a trace of sleepiness on their faces. They all sat up straight, listening intently to the army commander's orders.

Jiang Yuanzhen sat at the head of the table, dressed in a general's uniform, with no sign of fatigue on his face. Under his command, the staff distributed detailed plans and tasks related to the battle to the officers present.

Everyone in the room at this time was loyal to Jiang Yuanzhen. This military operation was also highly confidential.

When assigning the main attack mission, Jiang Yuanzhen turned his gaze to a middle-aged man on his left: "Old Chen, your troops are old acquaintances with the Third Division. You should have no problem with your men being the main force, right?"

"No problem!" Old Chen agreed readily: "I heard that Old Xin is gone, and now his son is leading the troops and has even become an army commander. I watched that kid grow up; he's still green."

Old Chen was the commander of the Second Division, and Xin Chaojie was considered an old comrade-in-arms. The two units often conducted joint training and military exercises.

It could be said that he was the most knowledgeable about the Third Division's combat methods, which was one of the reasons why Jiang Yuanzhen entrusted him with the main attack mission.

Seeing his confident demeanor, Jiang Yuanzhen reminded him: "Although he is young, he has made many contributions under Su Tianyu. He has ability, so don't be careless."

Old Chen immediately straightened his expression and replied loudly, "Yes, sir!"

"Well, the next task..." Jiang Yuanzhen continued to assign tasks to the remaining troops, fully mobilizing all the units.

The First Army used to be the largest unit in the garrison, with two divisions, one brigade, and three independent regiments under its command. Later, the defection of the Third Division greatly damaged Jiang Yuanzhen's strength, and it was only later that he slowly expanded the army to replenish it.

More than an hour passed, and the war meeting was coming to an end. Jiang Yuanzhen slowly stood up, looked around at his most trusted subordinates, and said in a steady voice: "No one is allowed to leak this attack plan. After returning, prepare and await the order to fire! We must also let the arrogant Su Tianyu know what the real First Army of Dragon City is!"

"Yes!" All the officers stood up and saluted, and then went to carry out their respective tasks.

Jiang Yuanzhen then left the military headquarters with his guard regiment overnight.

...

Half an hour later, the First Army's 133rd Regiment Headquarters.

This regimental headquarters was located on Mount Benal outside the city, surrounded by dense mangrove forests. Looking out, the entire mountain seemed to be wearing a red sweater.

The vicinity of the garrison was desolate, sparsely populated, and only a winding road provided access.

Following the rugged mountain road, Jiang Yuanzhen's motorcade secretly arrived at the regimental headquarters compound.

Half an hour later, several more vehicles quietly entered the mountain and drove into the regimental headquarters. Soon, four or five men in plain clothes got out of the vehicles and walked into the compound under the protection of soldiers.

These people were the representatives of District One. Two of them were chiefs of staff of divisions, belonging to the 3rd Armored Division and the 10th Infantry Division, respectively. Another person was a special envoy from the Qingyi Bureau.

Under the cover of darkness and dense forest, they entered a private reception room to meet Jiang Yuanzhen, who was waiting there.

After a brief exchange of greetings, they sat on the sofa and began to talk secretly.

Jiang Yuanzhen glanced at the group and said bluntly: "You all know the situation in Dragon City. Commander Tan is still hesitating, and it is unlikely that he will send troops. Therefore, I must take action first to turn the opposition between the garrison and the administrative faction into an irreversible fact. But now I only have one army, and I need your support."

Hearing these words, the representatives remained silent. The special envoy from the Qingyi Bureau made a gesture, indicating that he should continue.

Jiang Yuanzhen paused and spoke again: "To put it bluntly, I have some understanding of the voices within the garrison. Too many generals tend to listen to the orders of District One and continue to live as they did before. To put it bluntly, if it weren't for Commander Tan's suppression and his wavering attitude, the administrative faction led by Old Li would not have today's military accumulation; we would have eliminated them long ago. Based on the above reasons, we must set the pace. As long as the war starts, the upper echelons of the garrison will have no choice. Cutting off the First Army is absolutely unacceptable to Commander Tan. Therefore, at that time, the garrison and the administrative faction will be completely opposed."

The special envoy nodded slightly, seemingly in agreement with Jiang Yuanzhen's words. One of the chiefs of staff with blond hair glanced at his companion, then turned his head and said, "Yes, the higher-ups have now made it clear that they support your First Army. As long as you take action, our troops will immediately enter the country and resolve the Renmin Army's First Army at the fastest speed, completely controlling those rebellious elements in the city."

This man was the chief of staff of the 10th Infantry Division and a capable assistant to General Parker. The so-called rebellious elements in his mouth were self-evident.

Hearing their guarantee, Jiang Yuanzhen felt a lot more at ease and nodded, "Okay, I will take action as soon as possible."

The special envoy crossed his legs and interjected: "Commander Jiang, on behalf of the Qingyi Bureau, I also give you a promise. If your First Army can successfully complete this military operation, we will also help you secure a higher position. After Dragon City is unified, you will be promoted to Deputy Commander of the Dragon City Garrison and the second-in-command of the administration. At that time, your position will be second only to Tan Hengqiang."

Jiang Yuanzhen glanced at him and said lightly, "I am not doing this for fame or fortune, nor for official positions. I just feel that Dragon City needs stability and needs to resolve those boring factional confrontations as soon as possible! As for me personally, I just want to ensure the safety of my son and my nephew."

"Of course, these are no problem." The special envoy scoffed at these words, but still showed a smile: "We have a common goal, which is to stabilize Dragon City. To achieve this goal, we will give you the greatest help and support."

The group sat in the secret room and discussed for a long time. It was almost four o'clock in the morning when the sound of a rooster crowing was heard outside.

The special envoy stood up and smiled at Jiang Yuanzhen: "Tonight's conversation was very pleasant, and we will follow up on the subsequent work."

The blond chief of staff also followed suit: "We will also be waiting for your signal."

"Okay, you all go back and rest. I won't see you off." Jiang Yuanzhen bid farewell to everyone.

Before leaving, the special envoy looked at Jiang Yuanzhen with a smile and said meaningfully, "I hope that next time we meet, I can call you Commander Jiang."

Jiang Yuanzhen didn't say anything, just smiled and sent them out of the room. After everyone left, the smile on his face disappeared without a trace.

...

At dawn, Jiang Yuanzhen got into the car back. He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes to rest, and thought about the plan in his head.

After being jolted for nearly ten minutes, Jiang Yuanzhen opened his eyes, took out his phone, and made a private call.

"Hello, Old Jiang?" Yang Commander's voice came from the phone.

Jiang Yuanzhen's voice was low: "Old Yang, what's the situation on your side? Are you hesitating, or are you going to do it? Give me a straight answer!"

Commander Yang was slightly stunned, then immediately said, "I'm definitely going to do it with you. Two of my regiments have already moved."

Jiang Yuanzhen said slowly: "Okay, here's how it is..."