The old man said that a rumor, if heard a hundred times, would become a fact.

This saying is indeed true, especially in the political arena, because the people in this circle are more complex and their emotional relationships are weaker.

Before today, Zhou Xian felt that he and Kang Dinghuang only had different perspectives on problems, but as the rebel army's offensive efficiency became increasingly low and the rumors outside grew louder, his inner thoughts changed.

He really didn't believe that the rebel army, which had been preparing for nearly a week, with absolute superiority in troops, broke through a 150-kilometer defense line and, after fighting for five days, hadn't even managed to get a company of soldiers through.

What does this mean?

Did Kang Dinghuang feel that he had overstepped his authority, that he had encroached on his personal interests, and that was why he was engaging in this passive resistance?

Kang Dinghuang was dissatisfied, but these words were not for outsiders. The top priority now was to quickly resolve the issue of Bana City.

It couldn't be delayed any longer. The rebel army couldn't break through, the old Mo government troops could reinforce the Chi army at any time, and the government army warlords under his control might not express their support or take military action at this time.

What to do?

He had to raise the stakes!

...

After Zhou Xian ended his call with Kang Dinghuang, he immediately found Lumeini, the front-line commander of Zhan Chui (War Hammer), and the two began chatting in the camp.

"The rebel army's offensive efficiency is too slow. Even if they break through now and reach the Bana City battlefield, it will take at least three or four days. We can't afford to wait." Zhou Xian frowned and said, "My request is simple, just one sentence: find a way to continue to garrison troops in the direction of Bana City, and it must be sudden."

"Mr. Zhou, the elite of our Zhan Chui in the south have already gathered here. I really don't know where to mobilize more troops." Lumeini spread his hands helplessly and said, "Our group's size is limited."

Zhou Xian looked at him: "Increase the military expenditure by thirty percent, in cash!"

Hearing this, Lumeini leaned back in his chair and immediately said, "Then let's talk about the details...!"

...

An hour later.

Zhou Xian led his men toward the helicopter, preparing to return to Hua Fu.

"Dilingling!"

Just then, a phone call came in. Zhou Xian walked to the helicopter and pressed the answer button: "Hello? Uncle Liu!"

"Xu Zhou, Zhu Peng had an accident last night. He was kidnapped."

"...!" Zhou Xian was stunned when he heard this.

"Xu Zhou's severed hand was sent back. The bandits haven't explicitly stated their demands yet." The other party's voice was hoarse: "It must be aimed at Bana City."

Zhou Xian swallowed: "I'll go back immediately!"

"That's it."

...

Sri Lanka Chi army base.

Su Tianyu independently established a command headquarters for the attack on Bana City, and transferred Xin Xiaodong and his subordinate regimental officers.

Other participants included Jiang Zhou, Bruna, Da Bai, Hou Guoyu, Sun Wei, and Gu Baishun. Su Tianyu originally wanted to use Lao Fei, but considering that the latter's pneumonia had not fully recovered, and his troops were new recruits with low combat effectiveness, he did not force him.

Inside the conference room.

Su Tianyu asked Bruna, "Give me accurate information: if Bana City is lost, how much political power can you mobilize?! Note, I'm not talking about power that just cheers you on, but power that can actually take up arms and resist with you."

Bruna thought seriously for a moment and responded, "If we occupy Bana City, I can win over half of the political power; but if the First District occupies Bana City, then it might only be about thirty percent. And... this must be in a situation where Tagu and Booker cannot control the situation. You should know... our people and culture are closer to the First District."

Su Tianyu frowned: "What if you and Tagu resist together?"

"Then the proportion would be very large. At least the military units would listen to Tagu. As for the administrative organs, I am confident that I can lead three to four percent of the power." Bruna frowned and replied, "Su, this ratio must be in the case where I support Tagu, because many people still trust our Bernardo family, you understand what I mean? If I resist the First District alone, I don't have this influence."

"I understand."

Su Tianyu felt very conflicted after hearing the other party's reply.

After thinking for a while, Su Tianyu looked up at Jiang Zhou and said, "Come on, Brother, let's go out and talk."

Three minutes later, in the corridor of the conference room, Su Tianyu said, smoking a cigarette, "Obviously, Bruna's influence is too weak. If we want to support her, we must meet two conditions."

"First, briefly control Bana City; second, Tagu and Booker must all step down and lose control, right?" Jiang Zhou instantly understood what Su Tianyu meant.

"Yes!" Su Tianyu immediately responded, "As long as Tagu and Booker are suppressing Bruna, she will not be able to win more support. To put it bluntly, she is a woman, her political status is not high, and her family ranking is behind the two young masters. In addition, there are relatively few local people who are close to the Hua District... Looking at it this way, we are at a disadvantage."

Jiang Zhou pondered for a moment: "Then there's no way, we can only support Tagu to the death."

"It's too risky to do this! Tagu can't get out now, and he's being besieged by Zhan Chui. If we want to protect him, we can only fight into Bana City. But the battle in Xinaluo is so fierce, how many people can we send over? Once we can't protect Tagu, we'll lose everything. And there's a key issue, which is that we can't find Booker at all. If you can't kill him, it means that the political forces close to the First District won't die. Even if we can hold Bana City for a short time, we will face their constant harassment and rebellion." Su Tianyu said clearly, "And I'm still a little unwilling. Even if everything goes smoothly, the best result is that Tagu is in power, and Bruna is a politician representing our side. It will still be difficult for us to obtain the main power."

Jiang Zhou frowned: "The problem is, if you don't support Tagu now, there's no other way to go?! If he's finished, Booker can directly announce his succession with the cooperation of Zhan Chui outside and the politicians who support him internally. What can our troops do? We definitely won't be able to fight in!"

Su Tianyu blinked: "Like this, I'll contact Dragon City again. At the same time, I'll let my brother find a way to find Booker's hiding place. If we can kill this spokesperson of the First District, then there will be another turning point."

"That's okay too." Jiang Zhou raised his head and asked, "Is your contact with Dragon City reliable?"

"Reliable, we've talked." Su Tianyu replied softly, "Lao Tan is just pretending not to know, I can borrow some people."

"Why does Lao Tan want to do this?" Jiang Zhou didn't understand: "What benefits can he get?"

"Zhou Xian's failure is the biggest benefit to him." Su Tianyu replied in a low voice: "You don't have to win, but the opponent completely fails, and that's very valuable."

"Hehe, fuck, that makes sense too!" Jiang Zhou laughed sarcastically.