Chapter 118 Stalemate

Inside the interrogation room, the atmosphere was deadly silent. Wawa, supporting Kong ZhengHui, trembled with anger, glaring at Jiang Zheng.

Tan Mingchao turned to Wawa and said softly, "Calm down first, don't speak."

Wawa glanced at him, bit her lip, and supported the weakened Kong ZhengHui with both hands, saying nothing more.

After instructing her, Tan Mingchao turned to the drunken Jiang Zheng: "Come out."

Jiang Zheng thought for a moment, then stepped out of the room, standing in the empty corridor.

"Bang!"

The door closed, and the entire corridor fell into an eerie silence. For a moment, both of them were silent.

Tan Mingchao looked at this childhood friend he had grown up with and felt a little strange. After a long while, he spoke first, "Xiao Zheng, I don't want to say anything else to you right now. Let him go."

Jiang Zheng, reeking of alcohol, looked up at Tan Mingchao and asked, "You've always been our leader. I'll just ask you one question! Are you closer to the administration faction or to us brothers from the military compound?"

Tan Mingchao frowned: "These are two different things!"

"It's the same thing!" Jiang Zheng raised his voice a bit, responding with slight agitation, "Big Brother! They're shitting on my neck now, trying to kill my family! You know that Xiao Wei has been with me since he was a kid, and although we don't share the same surname, he's like my own brother! If I let Kong ZhengHui go, what about him? Do you want me to watch him get shot?"

This was the first time Jiang Zheng had directly confronted Tan Mingchao, expressing his doubts and dissatisfaction with this son of the military commander in an almost venting manner.

Tan Mingchao suppressed his anger and tried to maintain a calm tone, "Come on, let's talk this out! Lu GuangWei's matter has been pushed to the forefront and has completely fermented, and the charges have been confirmed! You arresting Kong ZhengHui won't save him; it will only further intensify the conflict. Understand? If you continue to do this, it will cause a fierce confrontation between the military and the administration faction. At that time, all the soldiers of the entire corps, and their families, hundreds of thousands of people, will be put in danger because of one Lu GuangWei! Because the result of the confrontation will definitely be war! Xiao Zheng, you're only thinking about your brother. Have you considered their families? Moreover, once we form an opposition with the administration faction, we will lose the space to choose and will be used as a knife by Zone One?! Do you understand?!"

"Don't lecture me with these grand principles! I don't believe it anymore. Can one Lu GuangWei really involve the lives of hundreds of thousands of people? It's just being too soft! As long as you fight for it, I don't believe Su TianYu dares to fire! The biggest reason you chose to back down is because the fire hasn't burned you!" Jiang Zheng shouted, clenching his fists, "I haven't considered that much, and I can't represent the military either! I have one attitude now. If Su TianYu releases the person, I'll release the person! Otherwise, Kong ZhengHui can forget about leaving this door alive!"

The other party's shouting echoed in Tan Mingchao's head. He looked at the other man in silence for a long time before stepping forward and saying, word by word, "Xiao Zheng!! You know in your heart whether things are right or wrong. What I want to say is... you can do whatever you want just because of Xiao Wei, but because of other things... don't end up wearing down the brotherhood between us."

Jiang Zheng was stunned in place, without a response.

After speaking, Tan Mingchao didn't try to persuade him any further, only turning around and walking back into the interrogation room.

He knew in his heart that Jiang Zheng's mentality was already unbalanced and had lost the judgment he should have had on this matter, and there must be someone else behind him giving him ideas.

The key to solving the problem was no longer with him; it was useless to say more.

"Ka-da!"

Tan Mingchao opened the door and shouted inside, "Wawa, let's go."

Wawa hesitated slightly, "He's still here..."

Tan Mingchao frowned and urged again, "Listen to me, let's go!"

Wawa bit her lip and thought for a long time, then turned to Kong ZhengHui and said, "I'll call my brother right away and have him find a way to get you out."

Although Kong ZhengHui's consciousness was a bit blurred, he still had a trace of reason left and said softly, "Listen to him... leave first..."

Wawa had no choice but to let go of Kong ZhengHui and left the interrogation room first. Jiang Zheng stared blankly at their backs, wondering what he was planning in his mind.

"Buzz buzz..."

Just as they left the regimental headquarters building, the phone in Tan Mingchao's pocket vibrated again. He glanced around, took out his phone, and held it to his ear, "Hello?"

"It's me, Su TianYu." A familiar voice came from the phone.

Tan Mingchao nodded slightly, "I know."

Su TianYu's voice was surprisingly calm, "Can you handle this?"

Tan Mingchao immediately responded, "Don't worry, I'm going to take care of this now. Don't act rashly, give me some time. Don't escalate the conflict like last time again... you understand what I mean, right?"

Su TianYu was silent for a moment and said, "Okay, I won't do anything now. I'll just wait for your call."

The two reached a tacit agreement and ended the call.

...

After thinking for a long time, Tan Mingchao took his phone and first dialed An Qiqi's number.

As soon as the phone was connected, the other side asked first, "Mingchao, why didn't you answer the phone just now? I heard about Kong ZhengHui..."

"I know what you're talking about. I'm dealing with it now." Tan Mingchao directly interrupted An Qiqi's words and instructed again, "The purpose of my calling you is just one thing. You must tell Su TianYu not to do anything during this time, and don't escalate the conflict. I already told him, but you know his temper best. I'm afraid he will still do something!"

An Qiqi thought for a moment and said, "Okay... By the way, is Wawa with you?"

Tan Mingchao nodded: "Yes."

An Qiqi immediately said, "Then let's do this. I'll go find you too, and we'll talk in person!"

Tan Mingchao agreed, "Okay, I'm going to the First Army headquarters to find General Jiang Yuanzhen. Let's meet at the gate there."

"Okay, no problem!" The two agreed and then ended the call.

...

Tan Mingchao loosened his collar and immediately dialed the second number.

"Dudu..."

After the phone rang twice, a familiar and steady voice slowly rang out: "Hello?"

This voice was like a calming influence, making Tan Mingchao's emotions calm down a lot: "Dad, I just came back from the 152nd Regiment. The situation isn't good. The conflict between the First Army and the administration faction has become very intense."

"Yeah." Tan Hengqiang said lightly, "I heard about it just now."

"I talked to Jiang Yuanzhen once last time, and his attitude..."

"I know, you can't suppress him." Tan Hengqiang interrupted his son's words and asked softly, "Then what do you want me to do?"

Tan Mingchao immediately said, "Have Chief of Staff Zhang go to the First Army headquarters with me."

"No." Tan Hengqiang refused directly without even thinking about it, "Chief of Staff Zhang won't go. You still have to handle things yourself. If you can't reach an agreement with him, it just means you're not capable enough. However, this time you're going on behalf of the military headquarters."

Tan Mingchao was stunned for a moment, thought for a while, and said, "I understand."

"Yeah."

...

Dragon City Military Headquarters.

Tan Hengqiang sat on the sofa in his office, slowly drinking tea.

Zhang Xunchen, who was on the side, looked a little worried and couldn't help but whispered, "Should I still go with him?"

Tan Hengqiang gently waved his hand: "If you go, and Lao Jiang doesn't agree, that's the same as directly challenging the military headquarters. What are you going to do then?"

Zhang Xunchen crossed his hands, his brow furrowed, "Kang Dinghuang's move is very vicious, killing multiple birds with one stone!"

Tan Hengqiang put down his teacup and said lightly, "There's no use in being anxious. Let's wait and see."