September 23, 1915, was the Mid-Autumn Festival. On this traditional Chinese festival, the Japanese gave Zhang Zuolin a "big gift." The Japanese Consulate in Fengtian told Zhang Zuolin that the legal government of China was now the Sun Yat-sen government and demanded that Zhang Zuolin recognize the situation and obey the orders of the new government.

Even earlier, Zhang Zuolin had already received news. The Japanese troops stationed in Korea were gathering on the China-Korea border, ready to break through the border and invade the Northeast at any time.

"Motherfucker!" Just after sending away the Japanese Consul, Zhang Zuolin shouted curses in the room. The recent situation had been tormenting Zhang Zuolin. The destruction of the Beiyang government was not actually too bad a thing. If there were no other forces pressing in step by step, without the suppression of the strongman Yuan Shikai, Zhang Zuolin could have taken total control of the Northeast. But the People's Party had no intention of stopping at all. After destroying the troops sent by Zhang Zuolin at Shanhaiguan, they assumed a posture of constant advance.

But after cursing a few times, Zhang Zuolin shouted to the trembling servant outside the door, "Go, call everyone here for a meeting!"

Although Zhang Zuolin in 1915 had not yet reached the glorious moment of being awe-inspiring in 1925 in history, he was now also the Military Governor and Civil Governor of Fengtian, controlling the military and political power of the three provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning. However, Zhang Zuolin's footing was not yet stable. The population of the Northeast was originally small, and most of them were refugees or Manchus who ran here after the fall of the Qing Dynasty. If these people were willing to serve as soldiers, they would have joined the army long ago. The population of the three northeastern provinces was not large to begin with, and after Yuan Shikai's major military expansion, the number of troops under Zhang Zuolin was less than 100,000. As for the generals, most of them were officials from the former Qing Dynasty, and the number of real military academy graduates was very limited.

First explaining the latest situation to this group of civil and military officials, Zhang Zuolin asked everyone what they thought. Everyone naturally had ideas. The news from the Japanese was not the earliest to arrive. In early September, Duan Qirui, who had fled to Shanxi, sent an order to the Northeast in the name of the Deputy Minister of War, requiring Zhang Zuolin, the Commander of Fengtian, to accept Duan Qirui's command. For this Deputy Minister of War who fled to Shanxi in a panic, this group of people in the Northeast was extremely dismissive. They optimistically believed that the People's Party was bound to conflict with foreign forces. Didn't Duan Qirui abandon Beijing so quickly and flee to Shanxi just hoping that foreign forces would severely strike the People's Party in Beijing?

However, the subsequent news disappointed them all. The People's Party not only did not fight with foreigners but also sent troops out of Shanhaiguan, making a posture of attacking the Northeast. Just when this group of people felt terrified, the Japanese forced the Northeast to recognize Sun Yat-sen's "legal government." The civil and military officials of the Northeast were both fearful and found it laughable.

"What kind of thing is Sun Yat-sen? President Yuan flattered him and gave him the title of Deputy Minister of Railways. Now he dares to call himself the Great President. Give him an inch and he'll take a mile!" Zhang Zuolin's sworn brother Tang Yulin said loudly.

Zhang Zuolin's brother Zhang Zuoxiang was not so optimistic. He said: "Now that Sun Yat-sen has defected to the Japanese, this matter is not about what Sun Yat-sen wants to do, but what the Japanese want to do. Looking at the Japanese posture, I think they want to fight their way into the Northeast."

Tang Yulin did not reply directly but just glanced at Zhang Zuoxiang unenthusiastically. As Zhang Zuolin's savior and sworn brother and old comrade-in-arms, Tang Yulin had always believed that after Zhang Zuolin became the Military Governor of the Northeast, he would definitely reuse him. Unexpectedly, Zhang Zuolin had restricted him in many ways. Originally, Tang Yulin thought that as a veteran of the Fengtian clique, he should logically become the Commander of the 27th Army. Unexpectedly, Zhang Zuolin actually let his other sworn brother Zhang Zuoxiang become the Commander of the 27th Army. He also made Wang Yongjiang the Director of the Provincial Police Department but did not promote the big brother Tang Yulin. Regarding Zhang Zuoxiang, Tang Yulin had always spoken as little as possible.

"If we ignore the Japanese, what will they do?" asked Wang Yongjiang, the Director of the Police Department.

"Since the Japanese dare to propose this condition, they certainly will not let the matter drop. Everyone knows that the Japanese troops stationed in Korea have reached the border, and our troops have already begun to organize defenses. They are definitely not just simply scaring us." Zhang Zuolin had long known that Japan wanted to annex Manchuria and Mongolia, and even engaged in some "Manchuria-Mongolia Independence Movement."

Wang Yongjiang hesitated a little after hearing this before continuing: "Then are the People's Party and the Japanese joining hands to deal with us?"

This remark was very inspiring. The civil and military officials of the Northeast originally felt that the People's Party and Japan both harbored thoughts of annexing the Northeast. With a tiger at the front door and a wolf at the back, the turbulence of the situation made them all panic. Wang Yongjiang's words reminded everyone. Even with two threats, the Northeast side probably could not resist either side alone. However, whether there was a contradiction between these two forces was something that could be exploited. But this optimistic idea did not last long. The Japanese attitude was very clear. Zhang Zuolin's group had relatively smooth surface communication channels with Japan. The People's Party, however, had not established any diplomatic relations or diplomatic channels with Zhang Zuolin.

Even if they wanted to probe the People's Party's intentions, the Northeast had absolutely no way to achieve this goal. Given the difficulty of the current situation, all the high-ranking officials in the Northeast frowned. The ease with which they initially mocked Sun Yat-sen could not be seen at all.

"In my opinion, let's just fight. We'll hit whoever enters the Northeast!" Tang Yulin said in a deep voice.

"President Yuan's army of one million became like that after fighting for more than a month. How many soldiers do we have in the Northeast? How can we win?" Wang Yongjiang obviously opposed this straightforward idea.

"President Yuan might not necessarily be unable to beat the People's Party, it's just that President Yuan died early," Tang Yulin said unconvinced. The People's Party strictly blocked news, so the intelligence on the Hebei Campaign had only recently been transmitted back to the Northeast. "The army in Hebei was far more numerous than the People's Party. If President Yuan hadn't died, the People's Party would have been completely unable to fight once they reached the city walls of Beijing."

"Do you say Chen Ke knows sorcery? After he wrote something, the Empress Dowager and the Great President..." Zhang Zuoxiang was relatively superstitious. More importantly, the people who brought the news back tried their best to render the scene of the People's Party dropping leaflets from the sky.

There were not many people who were not superstitious in these years. The more status and position one had, the more fearful they felt of unknown forces when encountering difficult situations. When Zhang Zuoxiang said this, everyone's face became extremely ugly.

Tang Yulin was made uncomfortable all over by this heavy pressure. He simply stiffened his neck and said: "So what if Chen Ke knows sorcery? Let's find a few Shaman Lamas who have magic powers and let them cast spells. I don't believe Chen Ke alone can withstand so many people?"

Hearing Tang Yulin speak more and more evilly, Zhang Zuolin couldn't help but scold: "What nonsense are you talking about? It's getting more and more outrageous!"

Ignoring Tang Yulin's face full of unconvinced expression, Zhang Zuolin said to everyone: "The People's Party fighting in is nothing more than wanting to seize the Northeast. But we only have so many soldiers, and when we conscripted soldiers, President Yuan gave us pay. Now, with the money we have on hand, just paying these troops as before won't last a few months. My meaning is, we have to settle on one side. First, figure out what exactly the People's Party thinks. And it's going to be winter soon. At any rate, it's impossible to fight this winter. Stabilize the People's Party first and drag it out until next year."

No one opposed this opinion. In fact, the civil and military officials of the Northeast could not come up with any better solution. Finally, it was decided to send someone to contact the People's Party first to see what exactly the People's Party wanted to do to the Northeast.

The next day, the candidates for the negotiation representatives had not yet been selected. The Japanese Consulate continued to come to Zhang Zuolin's door, asking about Zhang Zuolin's attitude towards the Sun Yat-sen government. Having already cursed the Japanese and Sun Yat-sen's ancestors for eighteen generations in his heart, Zhang Zuolin still said with a smile: "Whether the one in Japan is really Sun Yat-sen or not, we still can't be sure. If it is really Mr. Sun, I think we might as well invite him here for a talk. After all, there are people among us who have met Mr. Sun. It wouldn't matter if we were deceived, but if someone impostered him and deceived the Japanese side, wouldn't it be a joke?"

The Japanese side had long expected that Zhang Zuolin would try every means to shirk, but he didn't expect Zhang Zuolin to actually find such a reason. If those "people who have met Sun Yat-sen" mentioned by Zhang Zuolin flatly denied that Sun Yat-sen was the person himself, Japan would have no way to prove that Zhang Zuolin was wrong.

"Mr. Zhang! Are you trying to oppose our Great Japanese Empire?" the Japanese Consul asked in a very threatening tone.

Zhang Zuolin chuckled: "I am absolutely doing this for Japan's good. Now that the Great President has just passed away, there are as many people fishing in troubled waters as you can imagine. Everyone has to be careful."

After saying this, Zhang Zuolin suddenly slapped his forehead. "By the way, actually, there are plenty of people who have met Sun Yat-sen at the place of Military Governor Feng Guozhang in Jiangnan. I think your country might as well let that Mr. Sun go to Jiangnan first. If Military Governor Feng Guozhang says that is Mr. Sun Yat-sen, and is willing to accept Mr. Sun's government, I will naturally resolutely support it."

Listening to Zhang Zuolin's words of trying his best to push the trouble outside, the Japanese Consul sneered. "Mr. Zhang! Whatever you say is useless. As a friendly neighbor of China, we Japan have the obligation to support Mr. Sun Yat-sen's government to restore the management of China. I think you should still conform to the situation, rather than act against the trend. That is not good for anyone!"

The anger in Zhang Zuolin's heart almost ignited his hair, but his face was still smiling. "This is a big matter; it needs to be treated with caution!"

"Then how long will it take for Mr. Zhang to give us a reply?"

"It's almost New Year's soon. How about next year?" Zhang Zuolin gave a reply.

The Japanese Consul was amused by these words. He laughed, "Three days. I'll give you three days at most."

After speaking, the Japanese Consul got up and took his leave.

The people around Zhang Zuolin were either angry or scared pale one by one. Zhang Zuolin did not look angry at all; he just fell into deep thought.

"Marshal!" Wang Yongjiang shouted softly beside Zhang Zuolin. "Are the Japanese really going to make a move?"

Zhang Zuolin turned his head and said in a heavy tone: "I'm afraid that is exactly the case."

PS: The next chapter will be updated tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock.