Chapter 1 The Dragon City, Frontline Command Post

In the enormous lounge, only Tan Hengqiang and his son, Tan Mingzhao, were present.

Tan Hengqiang looked at his son, his brow deeply furrowed, his tone filled with displeasure: "Didn't I tell you to stay in the city and not come to the front lines?"

Tan Mingzhao didn't answer the question, but anxiously asked, "I heard you're planning to withdraw the troops from Dragon City?"

Tan Hengqiang paused, then nodded.

Tan Mingzhao became even more agitated and immediately stepped forward, saying, "No! Dad! We absolutely cannot withdraw! If we leave now, Dragon City is finished!"

Tan Hengqiang frowned and said directly, "We can't win even if we don't leave! Mingzhao, you're a commander, don't let emotions control your decisions! Our current force, including logistics, is only sixty or seventy thousand men. Defending a city district with so few people is a pipe dream! Leaving now ensures the integrity of our troops. We can fight back after the Old Mo region stabilizes."

Tan Mingzhao shook his head. "Dad, that's not the way to look at it! We know we can't win, but the millions of people in Dragon City don't! They only know one thing: if you withdraw now, it's a retreat! It's cowardice, abandoning them!"

Tan Hengqiang waved his hand dismissively. "We can't worry about that now! I've made my decision. Don't say any more! Prepare to withdraw from Dragon City immediately!"

Tan Mingzhao grew anxious and exclaimed, "I'm not leaving! I'm staying! And it's not just me; our troops will stay and continue fighting!"

"Bang!"

Seeing his son's stubbornness, Tan Hengqiang became enraged and slammed his hand heavily on the sand table, roaring, "I've made my decision, don't say another word! I'm not dead yet, and it's not your place to interfere in military decisions!"

Tan Mingzhao argued vehemently, "Dad, you're wrong, and someone needs to tell you! In previous decisions…"

"Enough!" Tan Hengqiang waved him off, cutting him off. "What do you know? If we keep fighting and the Tan faction is wiped out, what will we have left? District One wants us dead, and the Hua District will treat us like insignificant pawns! Remember this: our only bargaining chip in this game is that we have troops, we have soldiers! So, we must protect our right to speak, understand?"

Hearing this, Tan Mingzhao looked at his father, a look of disappointment appearing in his eyes for the first time. He couldn't help but roar, "Your thinking is too utilitarian! The war has already reached this point; what's the point of talking about the right to speak! This war is a war where the military and government are hijacking the people. Do the common people of Dragon City have any say in this matter?! What about those who support you? Just to protect your so-called right to speak, those who support us will be mercilessly slaughtered! If that happens, even if you lead troops to District One's mainland and occupy Hua Fu, we will be infamous for ten thousand years, and the entire Tan family will be forever nailed to the pillar of historical shame!"

Tan Hengqiang gasped for breath, clenched his fists, his eyes filled with anger, and couldn't help but roar, "Enough!"

But Tan Mingzhao still didn't stop. He puffed out his chest, looked directly at his father, and continued to roar, "I've wanted to say this for a long time! Your actions have become radical, even distorted! Have you ever wondered why defections have occurred in the garrison again and again? One Jiang Yuanzhen's betrayal might be his own problem. The defection of the logistics support regiment may be because they are only interested in profit. But what about now? Even your chief of staff has defected. Have you ever considered that something is wrong with you? In previous events, you always wanted to exploit Lao Li, and exploit the competitive relationship between the Hua District and District One to profit from both sides! But look, what did you get in the end? Only a bunch of empty names and titles! Look back, how many people are still willing to support you! How many old generals have you disheartened! Zhang Xunchen would rather be a traitor than defect. He is certainly hateful, but have you ever thought about…"

"Slap!"

Tan Hengqiang couldn't listen anymore. He was furious and, almost without thinking, raised his hand and slapped his son hard across the face!

Tan Mingzhao staggered back a couple of steps, covered his face, looked at his panting father, remained silent for a long time, and then spoke again, "A soldier should have a sense of courage, that's what you told me! So, I will not leave here, even if I die, I will die in the defense of Dragon City!"

An unspeakable determination shone in Tan Mingzhao's eyes. He paused and said slowly, "You are not only my father, but also my idol. As a son, there is nothing I can do to repay you, but I will never let anyone say that my father is a short-sighted warlord, a cowardly fleeing general… That's all I have to say. Take care!"

After speaking, Tan Mingzhao turned and walked out of the conference room.

"Get back here!"

Tan Hengqiang shouted twice, but Tan Mingzhao ignored him and pushed the door open, leaving the conference room.

Through the glass in the door, Tan Hengqiang watched his departing figure. He was hunched over, his eyes somewhat aged. With a thud, he sat weakly in the chair behind him, recalling the words his son had just used to scold him, every sentence was truly ear-piercing.

After hesitating for a long time, Tan Hengqiang suddenly breathed a long sigh of relief, and that energy in his heart instantly dissipated.

A few more minutes passed, Tan Hengqiang took out his phone and called An Zecheng.

The call connected quickly, but neither of them spoke, remaining silent for a long time.

After a moment, Tan Hengqiang spoke first, softly asking, "Old An, this war… for us, is there still hope?"

"Of course, there is hope!" An Zecheng said without hesitation, "For us, the losses may be heavy. But I always firmly believe that the independence of Dragon City is unstoppable!"

After a long silence, Tan Hengqiang said again, "Okay, then let's talk about how to defend Dragon City."

"Okay, I'll connect Lao Li and Xiao Yu now."

…

Hua District, after Su Tianyu met with Qin Yu, he left the building alone.

Immediately afterward, he connected with Li Mingsheng, Tan Hengqiang, and An Zecheng via video call in his car, and the four parties began to discuss closely.

…

11:15 PM, Dragon City, military dependents' gathering place.

The battle was still raging, and the Independent Regiment led by Su Tianbei was struggling to resist the attack of the garrison rebels.

"Dilingling!"

Su Tianbei, who was commanding the battle on the front lines, suddenly received a call from Tan Mingzhao. He quickly took out his phone and asked, "Mingzhao, what's wrong?"

Tan Mingzhao told him directly, "Tianbei, withdraw from your side!"

Su Tianbei was stunned and quickly asked, "Have they abandoned Dragon City?"