The Anti-Japanese War Begins with the Northeast Army

A crisis that had brought the Zhili and Fengtian families to the brink of war seemed to have been resolved with Duan Zhigui's departure.

But the confrontation between the two families seemed to have escalated to another peak because of this bloody incident.

In mid-December, the cabinet was completely replaced due to Jin Yunpeng's resignation, and Liang Shiyi, who was supported by the Marshal, officially took the stage.

This blood transfusion also announced the Fengtian Cabinet's entry into the historical stage.

On the day when the Rehe Army withdrew from Langfang, Cao Kun also ordered Wu Peifu to withdraw the Luoyang Army from the Jinan border.

However, Wu Peifu seemed to turn a deaf ear to it. After receiving the order from the joint telegram, he only slowly withdrew the two artillery regiments in Jinan Prefecture by thirty miles.

"It seems that Wu Peifu still wants to fight."

Hai Pingchuan, who personally led his troops to patrol nearby, found that the enemy had only withdrawn from the defense zone in a brief manner, and the entire army was still confronting Shandong in a pincer attack. He became more and more convinced of the enemy's hostility.

"You all, go back to UMC's headquarters and Mr. Jiang immediately... I will go and meet this Wu Ziyu in person!"

…………

After receiving the report, the Marshal threw the pile of papers on the table angrily: "Hehe, we have to withdraw the Rehe Army from Langfang as agreed--"

"Cao San'er and Wu Xiucai, they actually took a shit and sat back down! Damn it, how come these scholars talk like the waist of cotton trousers, so loose!"

Although his words were vulgar and funny, several staff officers present, including Yang Yuting, stiffened their bodies and could not laugh.

The siege of Shandong has not been lifted yet, and the capital is asking for military pay from the Northeast... They keep saying that they are relatives and that they are brothers and need a helping hand, and they ask for six million.

The whole Fengtian was in a state of worry because of Cao Kun's exorbitant demands, and the news coming back from Shandong was still extremely depressing.

"Sir, from my humble opinion, I'm afraid that the relationship between Cao and Wu is not as double-acted as you think, but Cao Kun is really unable to command his 'Jade Marshal'."

Yang Yuting slowly raised his head, revealing a calm yet profound smile, "Think about it, Jin Yunpeng was forced to step down, and Cao Kun, as the ruler of Baoding, is close to Rehe..."

"The Rehe Army's march south will certainly threaten him first - and Jiang Feilan's move just proves that there is already a rift between the two of them."

The Marshal leaned back in the high-back chair behind his desk, his chin supported by one hand as he coldly examined Little Zhuge, motioning him to continue.

Yang Yuting was even more arrogant at this time, lowering his eyebrows and smiling, "Haha, think about it, if we do what Jiang Feilan said and we 'swap homes' with the Zhi army, will the retreat of Haipingchuan be the same as Cao Kun's escape from Baoding?"

"Cao Saner will inevitably become a lost dog, and it will be difficult for him to gain a foothold in the Zhi army. As the leader of the Luoyang faction, Wu Peifu has also captured Jinan Prefecture, so his strength is bound to be greatly enhanced."

"When that time comes, it's not certain who will be the master!"

At this point, the Marshal of course understood.

He let out a long “hmm”, then straightened up and smiled, “Interesting… Then it seems I have to give you the six million!”

"Using this money to buy a fight between the two of them will be very beneficial to us!"

While Fengtian was busy dealing with the pressure from the capital and had no time to take care of the affairs of Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces, Jiang Cheng was continuously transporting various materials to Zhengjiatun. The railway connecting Kulun began to be prepared in July this year, and a large number of rails, sleepers, etc. were sent to... Jilin Prefecture issued a conscription order, calling on idle labor from all over the province to rush to Zhengjiatun to build the railway.

Jiang Cheng also personally set the conditions, providing food and accommodation, and six silver dollars per month.

The winter in Northeast China is long and cold. Often after the first snowfall, the whole family, young and old, has to enter the "hibernation" season, leaving a lot of idle labor.

Upon hearing such generous conditions offered by the governor, the whole province began a crazy road construction campaign. Even though it was freezing cold, people's enthusiasm for work did not diminish in the slightest.

"At this rate, the entire railway line will be connected in two years - of course, this also takes into account the shortage of labor during the busy farming season."

The road construction drawings, approval reports, and feasibility action plans were all produced by Yang Yucheng's research institute... He stood beside Jiang Cheng, but still maintained the posture of attending the military lecture hall, "In addition, the line from Kulun to Chita is also being renovated--"

"Because Mongolia built the line by itself, the design standard is different from our railway tracks, so it needs to be widened 30 centimeters... Shu Zheng received the report and started a full mobilization."

At this point, he paused for a few seconds before saying the second half of the sentence, "It's just that Master Jiang... Mongolia is colder than Jilin, and it's hard to recruit workers. I'm afraid it will have to be after the beginning of next spring."

Jiang Cheng shook his head: "No, the line from Kulun to Chita is as important as the line from Zhengjiatun to Kulun!"

"Think about it, all the equipment is routed through the Middle East route... and the Russians are cooperating with us, is it okay if there is no direct route between the two sides?"

"Railways are the fastest, safest, and cheapest land transportation. Controlling the railways means controlling the main artery of development. Think about it, although gasoline is much cheaper now because of Carter's cooperation, our heavy mechanized brigade and supply team are highly dependent on gasoline."

"The reserves must be left for the army!"

How come Yang Yucheng doesn’t know this?
But the situation in Mongolia is different from that in Jilin and other places. After years of development, especially the many tax cuts and farmland subsidies policies promulgated by Jiang Cheng, the people have a very high level of trust and love for the governor.

As soon as the word is spoken here, there are people willing to stand up immediately...but it's different in Mongolia.

Xu Shuzheng has only been in charge for a short time, and the people's loyalty to him is not high - now, no matter how much salary is offered, people will not take the initiative to come out to work if they don't want to.

"Send in the troops."

Jiang Cheng spoke briefly and knocked on the table, "Tell Xu Shuzheng that within two years - the entire line must be connected!"

"In addition, Mongolia's two power plants, mines, metallurgy, etc. will all be put into construction at the same time."

He held his chin and thought over and over again: another immigration action began to slowly brew in his mind.

Mongolia is a vast country with a sparse population. Without people, nothing can develop. And it is impossible to increase the population rapidly in the short term.

Jilin was able to develop rapidly in the past because it guided disaster victims from the inland areas to settle down.

What if we guide another group of people from the inland to Mongolia at this time?

At present, the only way to get to Kulun is by road. If he were to start an immigration drive, where would he get so many cars?

It seems that whether the railway can be built quickly is an important step for him to complete the industrial take-off of Mongolia in the future. (End of this chapter)