Pressure placed on the Lanzhou government from foreign powers, most especially the French colonial authorities, could result in the walking back of the more overt declarations of support to the GMD rebels. This would ameliorate relations with the French, offering unique opportunities between Lanzhou and Saigon, but will no doubt infuriate revolutionary elements elsewhere. | The bare minimum of support offered by the Lanzhou government would be, naturally, the official recognition of the GMD as the rightful government of the southern provinces, as opposed to the dubious legality of the current French protectorates. This would please the revolutionaries, to the fury of the French, though much less so than any other form of support. | The most natural form of support for the Lanzhou government, and most especially advocated by the NRA, as with the beginning of demobilization, manpower is at a premium for the Republic. As such, the idea of utilizing Taiping armories, or simply using the weaponry of those demobilized soldiers to support the GMD uprising would be a popular one. They would also be helped with money and whatever supplies needed, a temporary strain on the Republic's finances, but no doubt a worthy investment. | The greatest form of support for the Republic to offer to their GMD allies, the deployment of NRA troops into Guangdong will assuredly secure the uprising in perpetuity, inviting the wrath of the French against the Republic directly. The NRA is confident that it would be able to hold off against French advances into the southern territories, but it would serve as another extremely taxing front of war for the overburdened military. In exchange, however, the GMD would be assuredly amenable to any conditions we add towards them. |