Chapter 61: Military Power

A few days later, in the Jinling President's Office, Principal Jiang stood with his back to the window, watching the courtyard strewn with golden ginkgo leaves, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the window lattice, the sound regular and dull.

Jingxing arrived? He didn't turn around, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger.

The Adjutant standing beside him quickly bowed and replied, "Yes, Chairman, Chairman Li is already waiting outside."

Tell him to get in. Jiang's voice suddenly grew a few degrees colder, carrying suppressed anger.

Yes, Chairman. The Adjutant dared not say more, and slipped out quietly.

A moment later, Li Yuxuan pushed the door open and entered, still carrying the dust of Badong on his clothes, his military boots making almost no sound on the carpet. He looked at Jiang's tense silhouette, knowing the other was still angry, yet habitually tugged at the corner of his mouth: "Young Master, this temper could probably scorch the leaves of Zijin Mountain."

Jiang suddenly turned: "You still have the face to ask?" He slammed a telegram onto the desk, the pages rustling in the airflow, "We sent you to Badong to stabilize the situation, not to brandish a sword and fight warlords! You spread rumors of expansion, even resorted to force, fearing Jinling wouldn't know you were establishing an independent kingdom in Badong?"

Li Yuxuan was about to speak, but saw Jiang glare at the Adjutant: "What does this have to do with you?"

The Adjutant, startled, quickly bowed his head and said, "I will leave at once!" He turned and jogged out, gently closing the door behind him.

Everyone had left. Li Yuxuan shrugged, reached out to pull a chair, but was cut off by Jiang's angry shout.

You still have the nerve to sit? Damn it! Jiang pointed at his nose, his chest heaving violently, "Eight Great Armies! The council over there says I'm raising tigers as a menace!"

Li Yuxuan's hand paused in midair, he raised an eyebrow and said, "Then I'll stand and listen to the lesson."

Jiang was momentarily choked by Li's unyielding demeanor, his anger seemed to subside a bit: "Fine, sit down, I have something serious to tell you."

Li Yuxuan finally pulled a chair and sat, leaning his back against the seat: "Could it be that the Badong gentry have once again reported me for some crime?"

I will transfer your Third Division. Jiang got straight to the point, his tone calm to the point of coldness.

Li Yuxuan sprang to his feet, the chair legs scraping a harsh sound across the carpet: "On what grounds?" His voice rose sharply, eyes full of astonishment, "Those are the brothers I brought from Yangcheng, a force forged through eastward and westward campaigns! You say you can just take them away?"

Your Third Division already numbers eighty thousand, nearly the size of two armies! Yet you still secretly expand the forces—what are you trying to do?" Jiang cut him off.

The Badong gentry now each harbor ulterior motives; their private soldiers outnumber mine! Should I keep training troops only to be devoured by them? Li Yuxuan strained his neck in retort, "When you taught me about warfare, the nation's great affairs—were they taught in vain?"

Stop pulling me into this! Jiang slammed the table, water in the teacup sloshed out, "You can't fight a war; why keep raising so many troops? Just for show?"

Who says I can't fight a war? Li Yuxuan, as if his tail had been stepped on, raised his voice even higher, "Back in the Baoding Academy Tactics Course, how many times wasn't I among the top? The Berlin exercises and military texts—I devoured no fewer than you!"

Others may not know you, but I still don't? Jiang sneered, his eyes bearing a hatred that couldn't be forged into steel, "You have a method for training troops, you can hold the brothers' hearts, but you can't fight a war—you're too soft, can't stand bloodshed, can't bear sacrifice; that is fatal on the battlefield!"

Bullshit! Li Yuxuan cursed, the blue veins on his forehead pulsing, "Back at Yuzhang's city walls, I led a company to block a breach, repelling seven assaults; my brothers were living men, not pieces on your chessboard!"

Then tell me, how should a war be fought? Jiang stepped half a pace forward, the two locked eyes as if sparks might fly.

In large corps operations, discipline is paramount! Orders must be obeyed, movement orderly to form combined force; otherwise a million-strong army is just scattered sand! Li Yuxuan gave no ground.

Nothing left? Jiang raised an eyebrow, his tone laced with sarcasm.

Adapt to the terrain, assess the situation! Enemy intel, terrain, supply—none are irrelevant. Are you saying, like when you rushed a hundred men through the whole city, charging with a rifle and caring not for lives? Li Yuxuan gave no inch.

Fine, even if large‑scale corps operations demand strict discipline, have you yourself achieved that? Jiang shifted his tone, his gaze sharp as a blade, "When a soldier errs, you just lash a few whips and it's settled? If it were me, violators of military discipline would be dealt with by the Military Law Office! Is this military governance or a child's play?"

Which damn person filed a complaint against me? Li Yuxuan snapped to attention, his eyes instantly turning cold, "Wait—not that—you've placed someone beside me!"

Just that you put a few of your protectors into my troops. Jiang turned his face away, his tone a bit unnatural.

Is there a difference between placing a few people and planting a spy? Li Yuxuan laughed angrily, "We grew up together in Xikou, and you still don't trust me?"

None of those Badong folks are good; you cut off their financial channels, and those who want to assassinate you can line up from Badong to Jinling. Jiang's voice lowered, he avoided Li's gaze and looked out the window, "Without my planted men, you'd have died eight hundred times already."

The office fell into silence, only the ticking of the wall clock remaining. Li Yuxuan watched Jiang's tense profile; his anger gradually faded, and a complex feeling rose in his heart—annoyance at being watched, yet a faint, barely perceptible warmth.

Now that the storm has passed, come back. Jiang's tone softened as he sat down again, "Badong is too remote; it's not where you belong."

What am I returning for? Li Yuxuan turned his face away, his tone still firm.

Haven't you always wanted the German-Equipped Army? Jiang tossed a bait, "I'll give you funding, manpower, the best equipment, and let you train an Elite Army near Nanjing."

Li Yuxuan was tempted; the German-Equipped Army had been his long‑standing aspiration, but he still gritted his teeth, "Fine. But the Third Division cannot be moved."

I'm not negotiating with you. Jiang's tone grew cold again.

If I say no, then it's no. Li Yuxuan gave no ground; that is my Foundation.

The two stalled for a moment, Jiang sighed, seeming to compromise, "Then, I transfer from the Third Division?"

Li Yuxuan's eyes flicked, "Then I will go to Bashu to be Chairman."

No. Jiang bluntly rejected, "Bashu is harsh, the mountain roads are rugged—what would you do there?" He paused, then seemed to concede, "I'll transfer you to Qilu, Yangcheng, or Yuzhang, whichever you choose; those places are far better than Badong."

Li Yuxuan was silent for a moment; Qilu could both attack and defend. He looked up, "Fine. But the Qilu garrison must be under my control."

Damn it, Jingxing, don't go overboard! Jiang, again provoked, wanted both territory and troops, "Do you really want to become a warlord?"

If you don't give me an army, I won't leave. Li Yuxuan acted like a rogue, sat down hard on the chair, essentially planning to sit at the President's Office entrance to demand an explanation, letting all of Jinling see how you bully a childhood friend.

You… Jiang, too angry to speak, pointed at him, trembling for a while, then slumped heavily against the chair back, "Alright, alright! Consider me scared of you!"

He inhaled deeply: "The Qilu garrison will be under your control, but when the troops are trained, I require thirty percent of them to reinforce the Central Army. That's the bottom line; no bargaining."

Li Yuxuan looked at the fatigue in his eyes, his heart softened. He knew Jiang's concession to this point was hard‑won; in chaotic times, Military Power is the Lifeblood.

Fine, Young Master. He stood, his tone softened, "We'll do as you say. But those thirty percent must be the ones I select from the remainder."

Jiang glared at him, gave no further reply, waved his hand: "Get out, you're a nuisance. In a few days go to the Military Affairs Department to report, don't be late."

Alright then! Li Yuxuan laughed, gave an odd salute, turned and strode out of the office, his military boots tapping lightly on the corridor.

Inside the office, Jiang watched his silhouette, shaking his head helplessly, a smile tugging at his mouth. This Jingxing was still as stubborn as a donkey at heart, just like in childhood. He picked up the telegram on the desk, which read that the Third Division had cleanly and efficiently dealt with the warlord led by Yang Shen in Badong.

It wasn't in vain after all. He murmured to himself, his gaze deepening.

Li Yuxuan stepped out of the President's Office, looked up at Jinling's sky, the sunlight just right. He knew this contest with the Young Master had no loser. His battlefield would soon shift from the Badong mountains to the broader lands of Qilu, allowing earlier preparation for the Anti-Japanese effort.