Chapter 127

Fifteen minutes later, Tan Mingchao's car arrived at the entrance of the First Army headquarters compound. It was already dark, and dazzling lights illuminated the entrance.

Two private cars were parked outside the compound. An Qiqi had already arrived, and to Tan Mingchao's surprise, Yu Mingyuan was also there, sitting in his car smoking.

"Mingchao! Wawa!"

They got out of their cars together, and An Qiqi was the first to greet them. Wawa immediately went over and stood beside her.

Tan Mingchao also got out of his car and reached out to Yu Mingyuan, who was standing nearby: "It's been a while."

Yu Mingyuan didn't look too good. He threw away his cigarette and reached out: "Yeah, I didn't want to meet this way."

The two shook hands. Tan Mingchao advised, "I'm representing the headquarters now. I'll go in and talk to General Jiang Yuanzhen. Don't rush this, stabilize Su Tianyu's side first. Wawa, you stay here too."

Everyone nodded. Tan Mingchao, with two guards, quickly entered the army compound.

...

About five minutes later, Tan Mingchao was invited to the office of the First Army's commander.

A guard gently knocked on the door and reported, "Commander, Young Master Tan has arrived."

"Come in!"

Hearing the voice from inside, the guard opened the office door.

"Shua-la-la!"

A noisy shuffling sound immediately came out. Tan Mingchao stepped inside and saw Jiang Yuanzhen in his military uniform, playing mahjong with the Seventh Garrison Division's Division Commander Yang, along with their respective chiefs of staff.

This Seventh Division was not in Jiang Yuanzhen's army's order of battle; it belonged to another unit. Seeing the two of them together made Tan Mingchao feel a little annoyed.

"One of Bamboo!"

"Pong!"

"Another pong? Lao Jiang, your luck is good tonight! Oh, Young Master is here."

"My luck is indeed good tonight." Jiang Yuanzhen played a card and turned to look at Tan Mingchao, saying with a smile, "Nephew is here?"

Tan Mingchao frowned slightly at the address, a flash of displeasure in his eyes. He walked to Jiang Yuanzhen's side and said in a calm tone, "Uncle Jiang, you're so free today?"

"Three of Characters!"

Jiang Yuanzhen casually played a card, saying casually, "I just had a joint defense meeting with Lao Yang of the Seventh Division. They haven't left yet, so we're just playing a few rounds. Nephew, do you need something?"

Tan Mingchao glanced at the officers present and said, "Uncle Jiang, don't you know why I'm here?"

"Red Dragon!"

Jiang Yuanzhen threw out another card, then turned to look at Tan Mingchao: "What is it? I really don't know."

Tan Mingchao knew he was pretending, but he could only adjust his emotions and reply, "Then I'll be blunt. Xiao Zheng messed with Kong Zhenghui of the Huatong Association. Something that was supposed to be over has been stirred up again."

"Ah..."

After hearing this, Jiang Yuanzhen didn't rush to respond. He played two more cards before saying, "Is this over? My nephew Xiao Wei went in, and there's no explanation. How is it over?"

Tan Mingchao frowned slightly. Division Commander Yang, sitting next to him, said softly, "Let's talk about serious matters, stop playing for now."

The other three stood up and sat down on the sofa next to them.

Jiang Yuanzhen remained seated at the mahjong table, reaching out to pick up the last card. He rubbed it hard in his hand for a long time, and his expression suddenly changed: "Damn it, fishing the moon from the sea, pure one suit!"

"Pa!"

He slammed the last card on the table, and Jiang Yuanzhen pushed down his tiles, shaking his head and saying, "You old fogeys, I was about to win big, and you stopped playing."

"This round counts as mine, I'll play with you." Division Commander Yang replied faintly.

Jiang Yuanzhen took out a cigarette, lit it, and then started talking about business again: "Nephew, don't worry about this matter. Let our First Army handle it."

Tan Mingchao suppressed his anger and said, "Uncle Jiang, I don't want to interfere, but what Xiao Zheng did was indeed excessive! It will lead to a premature break with the Administrative faction. If that happens, we'll be pushed away and won't have room to choose!"

Jiang Yuanzhen said with a smile, "Aiya, I understand what you're saying. But, it's not that simple. I've already told you the specific reasons last time, let's not talk about them today. It's about time, let's go have dinner together."

With that, Jiang Yuanzhen got up, patted Tan Mingchao on the shoulder, and was about to walk out with his hands behind his back.

Seeing that he was still being evasive, Tan Mingchao simply said directly, "Uncle Jiang, I'm here to represent the attitude of the headquarters."

Hearing this, Jiang Yuanzhen stopped and looked back at Tan Mingchao, still with a smile on his face: "I didn't see anyone from the headquarters? Or, you can call your dad and have him talk to me personally."

Tan Mingchao frowned.

Jiang Yuanzhen stared at him, saying slowly, "If you ask me, our Commander Tan knows better than anyone else. Everyone has been selling their lives for him for so many years, how could he not protect his own brothers?! Do you think he can?"

Tan Mingchao was speechless.

The smile on Jiang Yuanzhen's face gradually disappeared, and his voice became more and more serious: "Nephew, I have to say a few words to you too. You keep saying about escalating conflicts and being afraid of breaking away… I just don't understand, why must there be room to choose? Why must we be passive? If we can negotiate, we negotiate, and if we can't, we fight! Use military force to unify the Administrative faction, and we'll push Commander Tan to be the Chief Military and Political Officer of Dragon City!"

Tan Mingchao clenched his fists, feeling a surge of ignored anger in his heart. He was silent for a long time, and said in a low voice, "Are you determined to handle it this way?"

Jiang Yuanzhen returned to his previous smiling appearance, put his hands behind his back, and said, "Nephew, this is just a small matter, you don't need to worry about it. Just let the people below do it. Let's go, let's go eat together."

Tan Mingchao said expressionlessly, "I won't eat. I have to go back to the headquarters to report. I'll try my best to communicate with the Administrative faction."

Jiang Yuanzhen smiled and said, "You're leaving? Then I'll see you off."

Tan Mingchao waved his hand: "Don't bother, continue playing mahjong."

Jiang Yuanzhen's legs seemed rooted to the ground, and he didn't mean to see him off at all. He just watched Tan Mingchao turn around and leave the office.

Seeing this, Division Commander Yang sighed softly: "Alas, Lao Jiang, you've offended the young commander."

Jiang Yuanzhen put away his smile and said with a gloomy face, "What can I do? That's my damn nephew. If I don't fight for him, am I supposed to just watch him get shot?"

Lao Yang still wanted to persuade him: "Then this matter..."

Jiang Yuanzhen waved his hand and interrupted him: "The Administrative faction is waiting for our attitude, and we're all waiting for the attitude from above. What the hell does it mean? Just keep dragging it on like this. Friends aren't friends, relatives aren't relatives, we can't do anything! Alright, let's not talk about it, let's go eat!"

Seeing this, Lao Yang didn't try to persuade him anymore, and the few of them got up and followed Jiang Yuanzhen to the cafeteria.

...

Tan Mingchao left the office and waited in the courtyard for three or four minutes, quietly smoking a cigarette. The soldiers next to him didn't dare to disturb him.

After finishing the cigarette, the slightly angry expression on his face disappeared, replaced by a sense of calm.

Tan Mingchao returned to the gate and met with Yu Mingyuan and the others who were waiting there.

"Mingchao, how did it go?" An Qiqi asked anxiously.

Tan Mingchao said softly, "There may be negotiations. Their demand is to release Lu Guangwei. You guys go back first. I'm going back to the garrison headquarters now to talk to my dad."

Hearing this, Yu Mingyuan, who had been silent all along, suddenly said, "This Jiang Yuanzhen is too arrogant. He doesn't even respect you, the son of the garrison commander. What does he want to do?"

Tan Mingchao paused for a moment, then waved his hand gently and said, "Alright, you don't need to add fuel to the fire. I know what's going on."