mtlumby2d Chapter 345: Ma Mansion Banquet Alliance
Chapter 345: Ma Mansion Banquet Alliance
At the same time, in the West Mountain District of Beilong City, in the Ma Mansion covering an area of six acres, a large banquet with a dazzling array of delicacies from land and sea was set up in the magnificent villa hall. Ma Changfang, the host, was wearing a red coat and looked very festive. He was toasting with the seven or eight governors present and drinking happily.
"Brother Ma, although you are not from Longzhou and you don't often go to the capital, the family business you have built in the capital is really enviable."
Houzhou Governor Liang Jiaman looked at this magnificent and elegant mansion, as well as the priceless antiques placed casually in the villa, with a hint of envy.
Li Yukun, the governor of Kuanzhou, said jokingly, "Of course. Everyone in the entire Northern Frontier knows that Brother Ma has always had a large family. More than half of the land in Xiazhou is controlled by the Ma family. Before Brother Ma became the governor of Xiazhou, the Ma family was the number one family in Xiazhou."
Ma Changfang waved his hands and said modestly: "No, no, I heard that Brother Li just married a beautiful young wife before the New Year. It is really a good thing to have a beautiful woman. He is over fifty years old and can still enjoy the happiness of a beautiful woman. Brother Li is the most enviable one..."
It was different from drinking fine wine with Yang Jiakai and others in the Su Mansion, talking about the past and looking forward to the future of China.
The picture here is completely different. The topics of these governors are always about beauty, power, money, etc. It can be seen that they are actually the same type of people as Zhang Chengxiang, and their minds have long been confused by the luxurious life.
After three rounds of drinks, Ma Changfang had the banquet removed and took everyone to the reception room on the second floor of the villa, where they continued to talk while tasting tea and smoking imported cigars.
Seeing that the time was ripe, Ma Changfang winked at Qu Guowei beside him.
Qu Guowei immediately said, "Everyone, I heard that this congressional meeting is for President Yang to confirm the specific candidate for the next president, and it is almost certain that Congressman Su Zhengyang will become the next president. What do you think?"
Liang Jiaman and the others were slightly startled. After a moment of silence, Liang Jiaman was the first to speak: "Now in the entire Northern Frontier, Councillor Su's strength is already the best, and he has accomplished the feat of recovering the lost territory of the three northeastern provinces, creating an unprecedented precedent. Although Councillor Su is still young and inexperienced, he is indeed the best choice for the next president. In addition, he is President Yang's son-in-law, so the matter has been decided."
Li Yukun continued, "Brother Liang is right. Although Senator Su is young, he is the pillar of the whole northern border. I am convinced that he should be the president."
Jiangzhou Governor Lian Cheng also nodded in agreement at this time and said, "It is a fact recognized by the entire Northern Frontier that Councillor Su has a close relationship with the Peace Company. If Su Zhengyang takes over, the Northern Frontier will see rapid development in the military level. At that time, we governors may also be able to benefit from it."
Seeing that the people present did not seem to object to Su Zhengyang's succession to the presidency, Ma Changfang thought to himself that it seemed that the achievements Su Zhengyang had accumulated and the strength he had demonstrated over the past year or so had been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, so that none of the governors present seemed to have any problem with Su Zhengyang becoming the next president.
In fact, Ma Changfang recently contacted Asano Onryo who was lurking in China. From Asano Onryo, Ma Changfang got an astonishing guess, that is, after Su Zhengyang succeeded to the throne, he would most likely follow the example of Huang Guangtai of the Southern Government and use tough measures to take back the military power from the governors of major provinces.
For Ma Changfang, if Su Zhengyang had this plan, it would undoubtedly affect his fundamental interests. Can a warlord without military power still be called a warlord? At least for him, without military power, he would be like a fish on the chopping board, at the mercy of others, and even his own life safety could not be guaranteed.
Ma Changfang believed that other governors had the same idea as he did. They had fought for the Northern Frontier for most of their lives, and now they held great power and lived a luxurious life. No one was willing to give up the power in their hands.
Thinking of this, Ma Changfang pointed out something: "Congressman Su is young and energetic, and he is very motivated to do things. If he becomes the next president of Northern Xinjiang and wants to take back the military power in our hands, how will you deal with it?"
Sure enough, Ma Changfang's words touched the sore spot of these governors. For a moment, everyone present fell silent in tacit understanding, and the atmosphere became very depressing.
After a while, Lian Cheng looked at Ma Changfang meaningfully and said, "Brother Ma, where did you get this information? I think that although Councillor Su is decisive and ruthless, that is when he is facing foreign powers and foreign enemies. When facing his own people, Councillor Su has always been very humble and knows when to advance and retreat. He would never do something that would offend the world easily."
Ma Changfang smiled and said, "As the saying goes, you should not have the intention to harm others, but you must be on guard against others. Although there is no news of this at present, we must be on guard."
At this time, Qu Guowei said in a muffled voice: "He dares! If he dares to do this, I will lead my troops to rebel! I have people and guns, and I am a powerful person wherever I go. Why should I be controlled by this young boy!"
"Brother Qu, please be careful with your words. The fate of Zhang Chengxiang and other traitors is a lesson for us. If someone hears you, they will accuse you of being a traitor, and you will not be able to defend yourself."
Qu Guowei snorted coldly, but ultimately did not say anything shocking.
"Brother Ma suddenly brought up this topic. What's the deep meaning behind it?"
Ma Changfang looked at Liang Jiaman who was looking at him inquiringly, and said calmly: "What I mean is, if Councillor Su has this idea, we can unite together and have a certain resistance. The combat effectiveness of the Northwest Revolutionary Army is obvious to all. If we are scattered and an unpleasant conflict occurs, no one can be a match for Councillor Su, not to mention that he has the support of the President's faction."
Li Yukun responded, "Brother Ma's words make sense. Let's take a step back. If Congressman Su wants to eliminate us old people from the Northern Frontier and replace us with his own people to further consolidate his power, we can protect ourselves if we unite together."
Ma Yufang was overjoyed. The purpose of holding this banquet was to win over allies to fight against Su Zhengyang. As expected, as long as the fundamental interests of these governors were touched, they immediately felt a sense of crisis.
Next, everyone began to formally get to the point and reached a formal alliance agreement, preparing to advance and retreat together in the event of any changes in the future. Admittedly, none of them could be a match for Su Zhengyang, but if they united together, their influence would cover half of the northern border, and no one could underestimate them.