Lucas's breath caught.
"You mean..."
"We have to make a trip to Manchuria."
Manstein rose to his feet and said firmly.
"If that Chinese general really has more advanced weapons, we're not going there to observe. We're going to buy them!"
"I want to see with my own eyes what kind of power could make the White Bear kneel."
Meanwhile, across China.
After the initial disbelief, the people who confirmed the news were utterly swept up in celebration.
The humiliation and fury they had endured for so long burst forth in that moment.
Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou...
Frantic cries rang through the streets of countless cities.
"Extra! Extra!"
"Great victory at Fengtian! Brigade Commander Zhang has annihilated the White Bear Far East Army!"
"The White Bear Country has bowed its head and admitted defeat! It's ceding territory and paying reparations!"
Newsboys waved freshly printed newspapers and shouted themselves hoarse, their voices choked with tears.
People poured out of shops and homes into the streets, snatching up newspapers, hugging one another, and weeping with joy.
Firecrackers roared through cities everywhere, one burst after another, deafening as New Year's celebrations.
Students took to the streets in marches, holding banners that read, "Glory to Marshal Xue!"
A nation weakened for a hundred years had desperately needed a sweeping victory like this to lift its spirits.
Kulun.
The boots of the Feng Army's vanguard struck this land, long battered by war.
Windblown sand carried the faint smell of gunpowder, announcing just how brutal a battle had taken place here.
Sun Lichen, travel-stained and weary, jumped down from the armored command vehicle and strode into the makeshift command post.
At a glance, he spotted the young figure standing before the map.
Straight-backed.
Composed.
"Brigade Commander!"
Sun Lichen's voice brimmed with barely contained excitement.
Zhang Xueming turned around. Seeing who it was, he smiled.
"Uncle Sun, you're here."
He pointed to the territory of the White Bear Country on the map.
"Pass on my order: all artillery units are to immediately stop extending their bombardment to targets inside the White Bear Country."
"Let's leave His Majesty the Tsar some dignity."
The order was quickly relayed.
Sun Lichen strode up to Zhang Xueming and clapped his enormous palm heavily on his shoulder, his eyes filled with admiration and pride.
"Xue Ming, you... you've brought honor to the Old Zhang Family and the entire Feng Army!"
"Annihilating the White Bear Far East Army, forcing that Tsar and his Old Maozi to kneel and beg for mercy—I've fought alongside the Marshal for half my life, and I never would've dreamed of seeing something like that!"
He grinned broadly, the wrinkles on his face smoothing out.
"Everyone back home is talking about you! They say you're the living Worship Star descended from heaven!"
"Your two fathers-in-law, the Yu Family and the Gu Family, are grinning so hard their mouths are about to split. Their newspapers are running at full capacity, printing papers about you and giving them away for free all over the place. They're calling you a heaven-sent hero, a god of war who protects the nation! That reputation—tch, it's even louder than the Marshal's title as King of Manchuria!"
Sun Lichen spoke with pride, as if he had a share in the glory.
He had watched this child grow up.
Zhang Xueming listened calmly, the weariness of war not yet fully faded from his brow.
The noise and praise from the outside world mattered far less to him than one person's attitude.
"My father..."
He paused, then corrected himself.
"What did the Marshal say?"
At the mention of Zhang Yuting, Sun Lichen's expression turned serious at once.
He leaned closer and lowered his voice.
"The Marshal sent a telegram. Just eight words."
"You have full authority over what comes next."
Zhang Xueming raised an eyebrow.
Sun Lichen continued, "The Marshal wants you to handle everything here properly, including the details of the negotiations with the White Bear Country. Then return to Fengtian at once."
"The Marshal said he has a major use for you!"
"A major use?"
Zhang Xueming's gaze turned intent.
Sun Lichen sighed and lowered his voice further, until only the two of them could hear.
"Xue Ming, let me tell you something from the bottom of my heart."
"You fought a spectacular battle this time, and your prestige is unmatched. The Marshal... I'm afraid he's thinking about marching through the pass again."
"With the Feng Army's momentum and your title, 'Marshal Xue,' the Marshal thinks this is a heaven-sent opportunity."
Meanwhile.
Thousands of miles away, in Shanghai.
The atmosphere in an elegantly furnished Western-style study was the complete opposite of the north.
Chiang Kai-shek held a translated copy of a telegram and paced back and forth, unable to hide his excitement.
"Excellent! What a Zhang Xueming! What a great victory at Fengtian!"
He slammed the telegram down on the table, and it cracked sharply against the wood.
"Heaven is truly helping me!"
Song Meiling sat on the sofa, holding a cup of black tea with elegant poise. At his words, she set it down gently, the cup and saucer chiming crisply.
"Zhongzheng, you seem very happy."
Her voice was calm, with a distinctive cadence.
"Are you planning to change your previous plans?"
"Of course I'm changing them!"
Chiang Kai-shek walked to the enormous map of the country and jabbed a finger at Beiping.
"That was then, and this is now! Before, I was racking my brains over how to deal with Old Duan in the north. Now, the opportunity has come!"
A light called ambition gleamed in his eyes.
"I'll immediately contact Zhang Yuting in the name of the National Government! We'll attack from north and south and topple President Duan from his seat!"
Song Meiling rose and glided over to his side, studying the clearly divided spheres of influence on the map.
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