Chapter 1 The Dragon City Frontline

Ten thirty at night, Dragon City frontline command headquarters.

Several military vehicles stopped in the courtyard of the headquarters. Tan Mingzhao pushed open the car door, got out with his guards, and strode towards the operations room.

Outside the building, an officer from the headquarters saw Tan Mingzhao and immediately saluted him, "Commander Tan!"

Tan Mingzhao nodded, continuing inside as he asked, "The headquarters knows about Zhang Xunchen's betrayal, right?"

The officer immediately replied, "Yes, we already know."

Tan Mingzhao continued, "Then when does the headquarters plan to send people into the city? Relying solely on Su Tianbei's forces, they definitely can't withstand the rebel army's attack."

Hearing this, the officer couldn't help but fall silent for a long time, finally lowering his voice and saying, "They're arguing about this inside. General An had a bit of a conflict with the commander-in-chief regarding the decision... Our commander-in-chief's idea is to abandon Dragon City!"

Tan Mingzhao was stunned for a moment, subconsciously stopping, and replied with a gloomy expression, "Bullshit!"

The officer lowered his head, not daring to respond.

...

Five minutes later, Tan Mingzhao passed through the operations command room and arrived at the conference room inside.

At this time, the room was silent. An Zecheng sat alone at the conference table, frowning deeply in thought. Tan Hengqiang stood with his hands behind his back near the sand table, also silent. The atmosphere was somewhat oppressive.

Tan Mingzhao thought for a moment, then turned to An Zecheng and said, "General An, I need to speak with my father alone for a moment."

"Alright," An Zecheng slowly stood up, turning to look at Tan Hengqiang, saying meaningfully, "Since supporting the Guada region of Old Mo, I don't have many troops left in my hands, but I won't leave. Old Tan, war can't be without purpose, but it can't be too purposeful either!! Others shout slogans of sovereignty and independence, and there may be absolute reasons of interest, but... I always firmly believe that this is the reason why I and so many soldiers stay here, fighting a bloody battle for it!!"

After saying this, An Zecheng turned and left the conference room.

"Bang."

The conference room door closed gently, leaving only the Tan father and son in the room.

...

At the same time, Hua District, South Shanghai City.

Su Tianyu walked through the empty hall, looking at Qin Yu sitting on the steps below the portrait, paused slightly, and then walked over, softly calling out, "Commander-in-Chief."

Qin Yu slowly raised his head, glanced at Su Tianyu, and after a long silence, suddenly asked, "Got a smoke?"

Su Tianyu was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but say, "Commander-in-Chief, your health..."

Qin Yu waved his hand, "Too many people are watching me now, so don't you bother too."

Su Tianyu couldn't help but smile wryly, walked over, took out a cigarette case from his pocket, handed him one, and lit it for him.

Qin Yu took a puff of smoke, and patted the steps next to him, "Come, sit."

Su Tianyu nodded, bent down, and sat beside Qin Yu.

Then, the two fell silent, and the only sound in the hall was the burning of the tobacco.

After a long silence, Qin Yu looked into the distance, took a puff of smoke, and softly said to Su Tianyu, "Back then, before the unification of Hua District, my guiding light, Commander Gu, passed away. Internal integration also had problems. There were too many warlords and generals in the Third District, and there were many different voices. In the Northeast and South Shanghai, there was a million-strong army led by the Shen faction. Externally, there was the continuous division and reinforcement from the First District. At this critical juncture, the unification of Hua District was fraught with difficulties and obstacles."

Listening to Qin Yu recalling the past, Su Tianyu listened quietly beside him, without interrupting.

Qin Yu took another puff of smoke, his eyes becoming more profound, and continued, "It was in this difficult situation that the then head of the Gu faction, dissatisfied with the internal integration, raised his troops in revolt. At the same time, most of my staunch allies—the Chen faction—were also preparing to respond. At that time, I once felt that unification was hopeless, and I might even be defeated in the north, and be arrested as a war criminal, becoming a person of infamy in history. This was something I couldn't accept, because I had reached that position, and I couldn't allow myself to be judged in the enemy's court, this would be an absolute insult to my life and to those who supported me. To be honest, I even considered committing suicide after being defeated."

Qin Yu paused, Su Tianyu looked at him, and slowly said, "I know this history, you finally persevered and completed your ambition."

Qin Yu smiled, flicked the ash, and told Su Tianyu, "Bullshit ambition, you only know the written history. My anxiety at the time is hard to express in words. There were several people who were crucial for me to get out of this predicament. Two of them are right here—"

As he spoke, Qin Yu stretched out his hand and pointed to two black and white photos hanging on the wall.

Generals Chen Jun and Wu Tianyin were smiling gently, as if responding to Qin Yu's words.

Qin Yu's voice trembled slightly, and he continued, "When everyone was restless, it was Brother Jun who gave me his support. Also, General Wu would call me many times almost every day, and he kept telling me one thing—we started from nothing, all the way to where we are now, and to be able to carry the national responsibility on our shoulders is already a victory. We can't ask for more."

Su Tianyu looked at the photos of the two, as if he could feel that glorious era, and was also somewhat absent-minded for a while.

Qin Yu paused, took another puff of smoke, and then continued, "I thought about this carefully at the time, and I felt that he was right. I came out of a poor area to be planned, all the way to that position at that time, Heaven has treated me well. So, I decided to stake everything and fight to the death with the Gu faction rebels in the north! Even against opposition, I used myself as bait to change the situation of that war. Fortunately, I finally survived that period..."

Hearing these words, Su Tianyu did not speak, but slowly nodded.

Qin Yu reached out his hand, patted him heavily on the shoulder, and softly said, "Kid, sometimes in life, you have to fight for a breath! If you don't bring up this breath, it will be a black and white portrait. But if you bring it up, you will reach the end."

Su Tianyu nodded again, very solemnly saying, "I understand what you mean."

Qin Yu stopped talking, sat on the steps and continued to smoke the short stub of a cigarette.

At this moment, Su Tianyu knew that Qin Yu's words today were because he knew the huge disadvantage that Dragon City was currently facing, so he talked about his own predicament in the past to cheer him up and encourage him. The old man's words were not many, but every sentence was powerful and sonorous.

After a while, Qin Yu spoke again, softly saying, "Little Yu, our nation has a resilience. Even decades of the Little Ice Age did not bury our development, nor did it extinguish our race, let alone a mere military government? Even if we fight for ten years, Dragon City is still Dragon City. What can never be changed by tens of millions of overseas Chinese is that the same blood flows in their veins as in ours! Don't be afraid, and don't have too much burden, just do what you should do. Even if we fight for ten years, and I'm gone, the Hua District will still have people to continue to support you."

Su Tianyu's heart felt heavy, and he couldn't help but reply, "Thank you, I know everything."

Qin Yu extinguished the cigarette butt, slowly got up, and walked out with his hands behind his back. Su Tianyu also quickly got up and followed behind him.

The old and the young walked to the center of the hall, Qin Yu stopped, slowly turned his head, his tall body slightly hunched.

He turned back and gazed at the two black and white photos hanging on the wall, softly murmuring, "Old friends are gradually withering, like fallen leaves in the wind... I'm old, and it's hard to put on armor again. Fortunately, I have also watched this generation grow up...!"

Hearing this, Su Tianyu replied with a sonorous voice, "The armor will naturally be worn by future generations!!"