Chapter 170 Preparation Before the War

The next morning at the Tan family villa.

As a professional soldier, Tan Hengqiang was not one for sleeping in. He always woke up at five o'clock every morning to practice Tai Chi in the yard to exercise his body.

But today was an exception. Tan Hengqiang didn't wake up until after six o'clock, looking slightly pale with dark circles under his eyes.

After exercising in the yard and having a simple breakfast, Tan Hengqiang went back to his study, sat down at his desk, and reviewed several recently delivered intelligence reports.

Around seven o'clock, the phone on the desk rang.

"Ring, ring!"

Tan Hengqiang picked up the phone, glanced at the caller ID, and answered, "Lao An, I've been waiting for this call all night. How did your negotiations go?"

"Lao Tan, don't be impatient." An Zecheng's voice came through the phone, "I've officially spoken with Su Tianyu and Lao Li. They still have some doubts about the current military situation, and I've also received intelligence that they've been communicating with the Hua District."

"Hua District?" Tan Hengqiang frowned.

"Yes!" An Zecheng said, "But don't worry, I'm confident I can resolve this issue, as long as you don't make any moves on your end. I guarantee that Su Tianyu will eventually compromise and hand over the person! Once they take a step back, the rest will be easier to handle. We can discuss the specifics slowly."

Tan Hengqiang pondered for a moment, "Lao An, don't drag me along. The longer this goes on, the worse things will get!"

An Zecheng quickly replied, "If a war breaks out here, my situation will be the most difficult. Lao Tan, you should know that I want The Dragon City Rises to happen even less than you do."

"..." Tan Hengqiang was silent for a moment before saying, "Hurry up and take care of it."

"Okay, I'll contact them again right away!" An Zecheng said before hanging up the phone.

"Good." Tan Hengqiang put down the phone, picked up the intelligence report on the desk again, and thoughtfully lit a cigarette.

...

At the same time, An Zecheng was sitting in the headquarters' small garden, placing his phone on the tea table beside him.

The various flowers in the garden were in full bloom, each one carefully cultivated by An Zecheng himself.

Since last night, An Zecheng had been staying at the military headquarters, never going out and never making any calls to Su Tianyu or Li Mingsheng. No one could guess what he was really thinking.

Sitting in the wicker chair, An Zecheng gazed at the flowers for a long time before quietly instructing, "Take a trip and bring Qiqi to me."

"Yes!" The adjutant saluted and turned to leave the small garden.

...

At noon, outside The Dragon City Rises, along the Dragon River, the People's Army's First Army had completed all of its battlefield offensive preparations and finished its assembly.

The approximately 25,000 troops were facing off against the garrison's First Army across the river, gun to gun and cannon to cannon. Both sides were poised and ready, awaiting orders to engage.

In the All-Systems Bureau's conference room, Su Tianyu sat in his chair, holding a meeting with Lu Feng, Gu Baishun, and other cadres.

Gu Baishun, holding a recently received intelligence report, spoke first, "Director Su, according to our intelligence, the Qingyi Bureau, as well as personnel from the 3rd Armored Division and the 10th Infantry Division, have secretly arrived in The Dragon City Rises and likely had contact with the Jiang family. However, we're not clear on exactly where they met or what they discussed. We're still investigating."

Su Tianyu sat at the table with his hands clasped, thinking for a moment before saying, "If there really was contact, then Jiang Yuanzhen is determined to make some moves. If that's the case, we need to prepare for battle as well."

Saying that, Su Tianyu picked up his phone and made a call, "Xiaodong, how are things on your end?"

"Reporting, Chief of General Staff, the troops have completed their assembly." Xin Xiaodong reported loudly, "Just waiting for your orders!"

"Okay, here's the situation..." Su Tianyu explained the movements of the two divisions from the First District and then instructed, "Keep an eye on the surrounding area and watch those two units. Also, make full preparations for a counterattack on the front lines, but don't let us fire the first shot. Only after the enemy attacks can we counterattack. We must maintain the initiative in terms of public opinion."

Xin Xiaodong immediately replied, "Understood! Don't worry!"

After ending the call, Su Tianyu turned to look at Gu Baishun, "The media, military supplies, and support from Panama City need to start moving now."

"Yes!" Gu Baishun nodded.

From that moment on, Su Tianyu had prepared for a prolonged war, including arranging battlefield reporters for a propaganda war, contacting the Old Triangle region to increase the shipment of military supplies, and putting the Blackwater Mercenary Corps on standby to assist The Dragon City Rises at any time.

After instructing Gu Baishun, Su Tianyu continued to assign other tasks.

...

The Dragon City Rises, headquarters of the Seventh Division.

Division Commander Yang sat in his office, smoking a cigarette and looking at a defense map hanging on the wall. After a while, he turned and asked, "Where are those two regiments?"

The chief of staff, sitting beside him, immediately replied, "They're almost at the Dragon River."

Division Commander Yang nodded, "Okay, have them set up camp nearby and await orders."

The chief of staff thought for a moment and couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Commander, I've been thinking about it all day. Aren't we being a little reckless doing this?"

Division Commander Yang glanced at him, "What do you mean?"

The chief of staff said earnestly, "Look, Jiang Yuanzhen has always been cautious. For him to dare to do this, it means he must have had contact with the First District, maybe even finished negotiating. But what about us? We don't know anything. What's the price? How will things develop in the future? We're completely in the dark, just blindly following Lao Jiang! To be honest, I don't feel comfortable with this."

Division Commander Yang nodded, "You're right, Lao Jiang did meet with them last night, and they've already agreed on the price."

The chief of staff hurriedly said, "Then we..."

Division Commander Yang waved his hand, interrupting him, "Lao Jiang told me everything in detail. He didn't hide anything from me on this point."

The chief of staff finally breathed a sigh of relief, "You should have said so earlier. That makes things easier. I was worried all night for nothing."

Division Commander Yang walked over, gently patted his shoulder, and smiled, "Hehe, right now, who knows how many people in the entire First District are watching The Dragon City Rises? These are all old foxes playing games. Since the situation is still unclear, how could I... blindly take sides?"

"Ring, ring!"

As the two were talking, Division Commander Yang's phone rang. "Hello?"

Jiang Yuanzhen's voice came from the phone, "Are you ready on your end?"

Division Commander Yang nodded, "Ready."

"Good!" Jiang Yuanzhen immediately said, "Tonight at eight o'clock, begin the operation!"