People in the Republic of China era began to rise from industry.

When two professionals are talking, Lin Yi, who doesn't know much about military affairs, can't get a word in edgewise.

However, he wasn't too worried about the question raised by Yang Zihui.

Sun Zhongneng must have given the proposal he put forward a lot of thought.

The problem that Yang Zihui could see at a glance, Sun Zhongneng must have already considered.

Sure enough, as soon as Yang Zihui finished speaking, Sun Zhongneng laughed and said, "Commander Yang, seven to eight days is the speed of an infantryman's rapid march."

"If it's cavalry, this time can be shortened to three days, and that's assuming the horsepower is guaranteed."

"You've probably forgotten that the Northwest has no shortage of horses."

Yang Zihui was taken aback, then slapped his forehead and laughed: "Right, right, I completely forgot, I can now form a cavalry."

"Killing horses to fight enemies might not be good, but riding them for travel is no problem!"

Sun Zhongneng smiled and nodded, then turned his gaze to Lin Yi: "Mr. Lin, so my plan is to send half of our forces to the Yimeng area to conduct harassment operations first."

"One person, two horses, and nothing but ten days' worth of rations and a basic amount of ammunition."

"This gives us five days, which is enough to reach our destination."

"Even if the Japanese marched at full speed, they would only be able to get here in five days at most."

"The next step is for my remaining troops to take Zhongning Ancient City with heavy equipment, then set up positions and prepare to meet the enemy."

"The Japanese have come from afar, so it's unlikely they're carrying heavy equipment. We can stop them without any problem."

Lin Yi nodded, then turned his gaze to Yang Zihui.

Yang Zihui knew what that glance meant.

He nodded and said, "Brother Zhongneng's judgment should be correct."

"As for Ma Yuanqing's attempt to retake Zhongning, I'll be responsible for blocking him."

"Setting up positions west of Zhongning in advance, and waiting for his cavalry to run into us, is advantageous to us."

"However, Brother Lin, once we engage the Japanese, we must consider how to clean up the mess."

"If the Japanese use this as an excuse to launch a large-scale military campaign against China, that would be a very serious matter."

Hearing his concerns, Lin Yi remained unconcerned: "My dear brother Zihui, if the Japanese want to launch a large-scale war, they will create their own excuses even if they don't have one."

"It's no big deal for us."

Then he changed the subject again, saying, "Of course, we should try to avoid it if possible, which is also the significance of Zhongneng's unit."

"We are not an army under the Nationalist government, so there is no such thing as the Nationalist government waging war against Japan."

"Or, we can just use any name we like."

"What kind of volunteer army or national salvation army spontaneously fought against the Japanese army? The National Government has no right to interfere, right?"

"In short, when the telegram reaches you, just say you know nothing."

"As long as we don't admit it, and the Japanese can't produce any evidence... Damn it, they're making it seem like we're in the wrong. What kind of situation is this?"

He lost his temper and started cursing halfway through his sentence.

No matter how you put it, when fighting foreign enemies on your own land, you still have to find all sorts of excuses to avoid giving them a handle to use against you.

There's no such logic in the world!

"Hehe, circumstances are beyond our control. Isn't there the story of 'sleeping on firewood and tasting gall'?"

"We are currently enduring hardship and biding our time."

Yang Zihui smiled and offered a word of comfort, but she herself felt uneasy.

What humiliation?

This is fucking humiliation, an utter disgrace!

Without waiting for Lin Yi to speak again, he rubbed his bald head and said to Sun Zhongneng, "Brother Zhongneng, let's do it this way."

"Let's get started and make preparations quickly."

Sun Zhongneng was prepared.

When they learned yesterday that the Japanese army had appeared near Chahar, both he and Lin Yi had already deduced that they were heading towards the northwest.

So once the plan was finalized, the two thousand mercenaries completed their departure preparations at an extremely fast pace.

As for the horses needed, there's no need to requisition them temporarily.

Longnan is a mountainous area.

Previously, when fighting against the Ma Clique army, the main force they faced was the infantry under Ma Yuanqing's command.

However, the Ma Clique army relied on cavalry as its foundation, and even its infantry had a considerable number of horses.

After more than two months of fighting, nearly 50,000 of Ma's army troops were annihilated.

The number of captured warhorses alone exceeded six thousand.

Afterwards, several counties in Ganwu followed suit and contributed more than two thousand warhorses, although they had not yet been battle-tested.

So it only took half a day for one person and two horses to be ready.

As the sun set, Sun Zhongneng, who was personally leading the team, solemnly bid farewell to Lin Yi and embarked on his journey with his large group.

The next day, the other half of the mercenaries, after a night of preparation, also headed towards Zhongning with their artillery.

As for Lin Yi, he took a plane to Chang'an early in the morning.

Yang Chenghu, the highest military commander in Shaanxi Province and the security commander, was a veteran of the Shaanxi Army.

Although they now obey the orders of the Nationalist government, they can only be considered as a miscellaneous force.

Lin Yi's trip to Chang'an was to meet with Yang Chenghu and request passage for Sun Zhongneng's army.

As fellow Chinese, this issue isn't complicated.

As long as the fighting does not take place within Shaanxi Province, Lin Yi is confident that he can persuade Yang Chenghu.

Especially when this tiger is very likely the same as that tiger...

As soon as Lin Yi left, Yang Zihui and Deng Jinkang also began to take action.

The two men split up into two groups. Deng Jinkang led the main force and headed straight for Jinzhou with great momentum.

Yang Zihui, on the other hand, planned to take a detour to the ancient Great Wall line west of Zhongning to set up defensive positions.

The terrain here is hilly, making it a good place for ambush.

Moreover, as Deng Jinkang's main force gradually advances towards Jinzhou, the two men's teams will eventually be able to join forces.

If we can defeat the Japanese forces heading northwest, and then advance on Jinzhou in a huge semi-encirclement, that would also be a good move.

Ma Yuanqing suffered heavy losses in the previous stage, and his troops were already insufficient.

At that point, he will only have two options left.

They were either trapped in the isolated city or abandoned Jinzhou and fled westward.

And this was precisely the battle plan that Yang Zihui had initially devised...

Airplanes are always faster than horses.

Mr. Lin arrived late but first; before Sun Zhongneng and his troops even entered Shaanxi Province, Lin Yi had already met Yang Chenghu, who was wearing glasses.

Things are going very well.

Commander Yang, who had been repeatedly calling the Nationalist government hoping for permission to send troops to intercept the Japanese invaders heading west, agreed to pass through Lin Yi's territory without the slightest hesitation after hearing his plan.

My initial resentment vanished in an instant, replaced by a feeling of great relief.

His adjutant, who was excitedly going to convey the order, turned to Lin Yi and said with a smile, "Mr. Lin, due to my limited status, without the order from the National Government, I really have no way to lend a hand."

"However, Mr. Lin, you can rest assured that your department's logistical support is entirely in my hands!"