Chapter 88 Allied Forces

"Mm, that's indeed the case." Jiang Huaiyan smiled. He had been scolded, yet he seemed to be in a good mood.

Gu Zhen had no desire to waste more words with him. He shot him a look like he was a lunatic, then rolled the window up.

He rolled it up so fast that Jiang Huaiyan didn't get a chance to tell him that, in order to show respect for the Imperial envoy, the job of hosting the envoy hadn't been handed to a diplomat like usual, but was handled personally by Jiang Huaiyan, the director of the Resistance Zone Committee.

In other words, no matter how much Gu Zhen didn't want to see him, half an hour later, the two of them would meet again at the Resistance headquarters building.

"General Gu, hello. It's an honor to meet you."

As soon as Gu Zhen arrived at the Resistance headquarters building, the official in charge of reception came up to him.

"I'm Lin Wenyuan, Deputy Governor of the Resistance Zone. This is Director Jiang of the Civil-Military Joint Committee. You two already know each other, so I won't do the introductions..."

Governor Lin was in his forties, a bit younger than Tao Juan, wearing black-rimmed glasses. His tone was polite and gentle, which left a decent impression on Gu Zhen.

As for Jiang Huaiyan, who had also shown up, he was probably there just to get under his skin. That guy was a weirdo to begin with; no point letting him ruin the mood. The secret talks should be with Governor Lin.

"Governor Lin, hello." Gu Zhen nodded politely and shook hands with him.

After Gu Zhen shook hands with Lin Wenyuan, Jiang Huaiyan also extended his hand with a beaming smile.

Gu Zhen wasn't a kid who could just punch whoever he didn't like. Even if he had no idea what scheme Jiang Huaiyan was cooking up, he had no choice but to shake the guy's hand.

"Well, you two take your time," Lin Wenyuan stood up and smiled at Gu Zhen and Jiang Huaiyan. "I've got other stuff to do, so I'll head out."

"You two"? Gu Zhen was caught off guard. As the door clicked shut with a faint draft, the room was left with just the two of them.

Gu Zhen cursed under his breath. The office was a little stuffy, so Jiang Huaiyan took off his mask.

Gu Zhen warily stepped back: "Did you catch some contagious terminal disease and you're about to kick the bucket?"

"I don't hate you that badly," Jiang Huaiyan chuckled. "Didn't I just admit it? I got caught hooking up with someone's wife and her husband beat me up."

Gu Zhen frowned at him. After all this time, Jiang Huaiyan was still spouting nonsense—out of ten sentences, maybe one was true.

"Let's get down to business," Jiang Huaiyan said, glancing at him. His lips were a little swollen, like he had a heat rash. "What's your price for sharing intel? You want to trade Xiao Jin back?"

"You know the Empress pretty well," Gu Zhen said flatly. "But she's her, and I'm me."

"Got it. The military's in your hands. A general in the field can ignore the sovereign's orders." Jiang Huaiyan smiled with amusement.

Jiang Huaiyan was always smooth-talking—having military power meant he could ignore the Empress and the Prime Minister's orders. He made it sound so noble; Gu Zhen was always amazed at how slick politicians could be.

"So what do you want, then?"

"Before the Federation problem is solved, I don't want anything." Gu Zhen said succinctly.

"Meaning you've got a big appetite, and you're not ready to show your cards yet."

"Take it however you want," Gu Zhen glanced at him. "But for now, I'll hand over all the intel the Imperial agents have gathered in the Federation."

"The amount of useful intel an agent can deliver depends on how much time they have to run missions. The Resistance has only been established for a few years. The thing you're least confident in is probably your intel department. You've still got some people in the Empire, but in the Federation, it's hard for you to build your own intel network."

"Our people can't get into the Federation, and the Federation's people can't get into the Resistance," Jiang Huaiyan said with a somewhat mocking smile. "Infiltration goes both ways. While the Empire has an intel network in the Federation, isn't your side full of holes too?"

"On the fourteenth of next month, the Empire's going to launch a surprise attack on your western defense line."

Gu Zhen didn't keep trading barbs with Jiang Huaiyan. Instead, he just dropped some real intel.

He picked up the file and handed it to Jiang Huaiyan: "See for yourself."

Jiang Huaiyan was a little caught off guard by his candor. He dropped his guard and carefully went through the documents.

Before this, the Empire had only told them the Federation was making noise at the border, but they had no clue when or where the Federation would strike.

As Jiang Huaiyan read the documents, his face got more and more serious.

For a century, the Federation and the Empire had both cooperated and competed with each other. With the Empire in "internal turmoil," it would be just like the Federation to take advantage of the chaos and grab some benefits.

It wasn't just the Resistance's western front. Although the Empire's actual controlled areas didn't directly border the Federation, the Federation navy's troop movements showed they were planning a sea landing against the Empire.

Otherwise, Gu Zhen would've been too busy enjoying the Resistance's mess to bother helping them.

Compared to the current rivalry between the Resistance and the Empire, the war between the Empire and the Federation had spanned a century. The neighboring Federation was a true external enemy for both sides.

The Resistance was originally the Empire's special forces squad, which had earned its reputation through achievements in the war against the Federation; the Empire went without saying.

Anyone who didn't unite against the external threat at a time like this would go down in history as a traitor.

"So what are General Gu's terms?" Jiang Huaiyan took the initiative to ask.

"My terms aren't hard," Gu Zhen said. "First, a temporary ceasefire and real-time intel sharing on the Federation. Director Jiang shouldn't think that's too much to ask, right?"

"That works." Jiang Huaiyan replied.

"Second, unified battle planning so we're all on the same page. Set up a temporary leadership team, and I want in."

Jiang Huaiyan shook his head: "That'd be inefficient, with too many conflicting opinions."

He pulled up a file on his computer and shared it with Gu Zhen: "This is the unified battle plan we've already discussed and agreed on."

Jiang Huaiyan obviously couldn't make decisions for the whole Resistance by himself. The Resistance had definitely already talked about this and had plans ready.

Gu Zhen carefully went through the documents. The plan was detailed, with nothing vague or ambiguous that could be a trap.

"The entire allied forces under your command?" Gu Zhen looked up at Jiang Huaiyan after reading.

Those terms were pretty arrogant. Even if their interests lined up for now, it was basically stomping all over the Empire's pride.

"But right now, you're the ones losing on the front lines, not us. If the allied forces were under your command, would you have us keep losing battles with you?"

Jiang Huaiyan looked at him, totally unbothered. The most important thing in a negotiation was never the skills, but how many chips you had.

"Besides, the Resistance has no intention of reorganizing your troops," Jiang Huaiyan continued. "We only want strategic command on our side. We're not saying we'll control which unit of yours does what mission on what day."

"...Fine." Gu Zhen agreed after a moment of silence. He wasn't someone who couldn't read the room.

Based on the intel they'd gotten, the Federation was just trying to bite off a piece of Imperial territory and grab some benefits from the chaos. But if the Empire and the Resistance kept fighting each other and let the Federation eat away at their territory, the internally stable and peaceful Federation could definitely keep taking advantage of the situation.

Besides, the plan said the commander of the allied forces would be Zhu Shinian.

Even setting aside their past, based purely on character and ability, he trusted Zhu Shinian.

Relatively speaking, the rest of the plan seemed like small stuff. The Resistance had also made some concessions—they were willing to take a more proactive approach to defend their homeland and willing to buy some Imperial civilian goods as a thank-you to the Imperial intel system.

"Then we're all set. Please sign here, Mr. Gu."

Jiang Huaiyan handed him the pen and pointed to the signature line.

Gu Zhen nodded, took the pen, and signed.

The moment Gu Zhen finished signing, Jiang Huaiyan's mind drifted, and he didn't immediately take the agreement back.

He noticed a ring on Gu Zhen's left ring finger—a modest luxury brand, practically understated for someone of his standing.

He remembered it—a globally known trendy luxury brand that was a hit with young people.

It looked like... a limited edition from a few years ago.

Jiang Huaiyan could guess who Gu Zhen had been with when the ring came out years ago—and who had given it to him.

He stared at the ring, and jealousy swallowed him whole in an instant.

When Jiang Huaiyan didn't take the agreement right away, Gu Zhen naturally figured he was pulling the same old stunt again. He set the agreement on the table and stood up, unfazed.

"Mr. Jiang," Gu Zhen said, used to Jiang Huaiyan's habit of needling people. This time, he really didn't let it get to him, and his tone was almost calm. "The agreement's signed. I'll be on my way now."

"General Gu, until we meet again," Jiang Huaiyan snapped back to reality with a smile, his tone a little provocative. "It'll be... a while before I see you here again, General Gu."

Surrender ceremonies are usually held at a location chosen by the winning side. Jiang Huaiyan's comment about seeing him there again was a deliberate dig at Gu Zhen.

It meant that when the resistance and the empire went back to war, they'd fight until the empire surrendered.

Trading barbs was nothing new—the media on both sides had said way worse. Gu Zhen knew Jiang Huaiyan inside out and could barely even muster any anger at this point.

If someone had told Gu Zhen ten years ago, or even a year ago, that his forces would struggle to win a single battle and end up losing big, he would've scoffed and called them crazy.

But now, faced with Jiang Huaiyan's prediction of their defeat, Gu Zhen no longer had the confidence to argue back.

He gave Jiang Huaiyan a silent look, then left, closing the office door behind him.

He'd joined the military young, made a name for himself before he turned twenty, and became the empire's youngest major general.

He knew the military was rotten to the core—bullying among soldiers and people just coasting by were everywhere. He had intended to change that, to discipline his subordinates, to promote based on merit, and he had indeed forged his personal guard unit into a true elite.

He believed the empire was innocent; the guilty were the people, not the nation. As long as the system was drastically reformed and the rot cleared away, the empire would become better.

But the resistance didn't see it that way.

They would rather bleed, sacrifice, and endure turmoil than trust this nation again.

Author's note: