Chapter 120 The Hardest Hurdle

In the conference room of the military headquarters, An Ze City sat to the left of Tan Hengqiang, his expression serious.

Once everyone was present, Tan Hengqiang began to speak: "Let's talk about how to handle this matter."

Silence. After a brief silence, the commander of the Fourth Division of the garrison was the first to speak: "I took a look at the transfer order. Commander, the General Staff, and Deputy Commander Zhang are all on the recall list. On the 55th Army's side, General An and the Chief of General Staff are also on the list. The council is essentially trying to directly control our top leaders. We can't refuse to go back, but it's too dangerous to go back."

"That's right!"

"This is checkmate. It's really difficult for us to deal with."

"My suggestion is not to go back. Even if it means a complete falling out, we have to negotiate in The Dragon City Rises."

"…!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a heated discussion broke out in the room, with many conflicting opinions and ideas.

Tan Hengqiang smoked his cigarette, watching the others expressionlessly, without saying a word.

After a while, Tan Mingchao raised his hand. "Let me say a few words."

Everyone turned to look at Tan Mingchao and fell silent.

Tan Mingchao leaned forward, looking at his father with a solemn expression. "We definitely can't refuse the Great District Council's transfer order. So many things have happened in The Dragon City Rises, and our garrison and the 55th Army have clashed with the 77th and 78th Regiments. At this point, even the smallest spark could potentially ignite a war in The Dragon City Rises. Let's make a judgment: the Great District Council already distrusts us, and they feel we're wielding too much military power and showing signs of being out of control. Does everyone agree with this?"

Tan Hengqiang nodded slightly, obviously agreeing with his son's assessment.

In fact, Tan Mingchao's analysis was very accurate. Looking back at the events, many of the investigation team's actions and the garrison's current situation could be traced back to their source.

Think about it. After the military supplies were hijacked, why did the Great District Council send in people from a third-party force to form an investigation team and deploy them to The Dragon City Rises?

After the conflict broke out, why did the Great District Council dare to issue orders allowing the 77th and 78th Regiments to open fire? Didn't they consider the relationship between the local forces and the higher-ups? Didn't they consider that this would harm the garrison's interests?

After the investigation team arrived in The Dragon City Rises, why did the Great District Council repeatedly add bargaining chips and power to Zhou Xian?

The reason is simple. To summarize, it's the four words Tan Mingchao used: wielding military power!

Tan Hengqiang had been the commander of the garrison in The Dragon City Rises for many years. His protégés and loyal subordinates had taken root in this army of more than 50,000 men.

As the situation in the Old Mo region became tense, the top priority was naturally the military security of The Dragon City Rises. But whether this city was safe or not wasn't up to the Great District Council or the Governor's Office to decide, but rather to Tan Hengqiang, the commander.

So, the knife that Zhou Xian used against the garrison was personally handed to him by the higher-ups. Why did Zhou Xian latch onto Xin Chaojie and refuse to let go? It was because he wanted to use the Third Division to deal a blow to Tan Hengqiang, take the opportunity to weaken his power, and install people from his own faction in The Dragon City Rises to keep him in check.

But after all the struggle, Zhou Xian still failed to accomplish his goal. The Great District Council must have been disappointed, but they couldn't do without Zhou Xian's old faction, so they came up with this checkmate move: recalling the top two leaders of the garrison and the 55th Army to Hua Fu for a work report.

This critical moment would show whether the old Tan and old An dared to return!

If they didn't, it would mean that the Great District Council could no longer control them and that they could mutiny at any time. If they did, then being in Hua Fu territory would mean being at their mercy.

What should they do? The Tan and An factions' generals were at a loss.

At the conference table, Tan Mingchao continued, "My idea is that we can't go back. Commander and General An can apply for sick leave, saying that they were injured in the conflict and it's not convenient for them to return to the First District to report, but they're always welcome to have relevant departments from above come down to inspect our work, and we will fully cooperate. We must negotiate on our home turf. Otherwise, if all the top leaders are transferred back, the Great District Council could play dirty, control them, and the outcome would be obvious. Losing power would be a minor matter; I'm worried that the Great District Council might completely wipe out the leadership of the garrison and the 55th Army."

Tan Hengqiang frowned slightly, but didn't interrupt.

"It's difficult not to go back," said Deputy Commander Zhang, who was sitting to Tan Hengqiang's right, frowning. "Not going back would mean we have a guilty conscience. The Great District Council won't allow the garrison to be on the verge of losing control. Once the higher-ups are determined, letting the old faction find trouble and start a fight, The Dragon City Rises might ignite a second war of independence."

"I don't think they dare," Tan Mingchao said immediately. "The situation in the Old Mo region is complex and already threatens the security of The Dragon City Rises' border. Plus, there's red capital secretly scheming behind the official army, so the higher-ups definitely wouldn't dare to fight a war at this time, at least not for five years."

"I agree with Mingchao's view. Our First District's deployments in the Fourth District and the Asian Alliance are not ideal, and there are constant frictions along the border between the First and Second Districts. There are no major battles, but small battles happen every day. At a time when Eastern and Western forces are clashing, the higher-ups definitely can't tolerate internal warfare."

"I think you're being too optimistic…!"

The two factions had different views and began to argue.

Tan Hengqiang looked at the people in front of him, slowly stood up, turned his head, and said to An Ze City, "Want to go out for some air?"

"Sure." An Ze City also stood up.

Everyone was stunned, thinking, 'We're in a meeting here. Why is the Commander-in-Chief going out for air?'

"You guys talk."

Tan Hengqiang waved his hand at the others. "Continue the discussion."

With that, the two of them walked out of the room together and went to the small garden.

Tan Hengqiang looked at his own little patch of land, sighed, and said to An Ze City, "If we can't get through this, our heads will be taken by the old faction."

An Ze City looked at the running elk with his hands behind his back and said softly, "Yes, this hurdle is very difficult."

"What's your opinion?" Tan Hengqiang asked.

"We have to go back!" An Ze City paused. "Putting aside the Third Division that ran away, you and I together have more than 60,000 men. If you and I imitate Little Zhang and stage some kind of change of banners, how would they handle it? The Dragon City Rises would be completely out of control!"

"You're saying that not going back might mean war?" Tan Hengqiang asked again.

"Very likely. Never doubt the decisive decision-making ability of this war criminal government. We can't afford to gamble," An Ze City said bluntly.

"It seems you and I are on the same page," Tan Hengqiang said, with his hands behind his back. "I've already sent someone to find Old Li."

"Find Old Li?!" An Ze City was stunned for a moment, then immediately smiled and said, "Brilliant!"

…

Inside the Municipal Building.

Old Li frowned as he looked at Li Yuan and asked, "The garrison's staff officer wants to see me?"

"That's right."