Back to the Republic of China as a commander

"Great, it's too thoughtful." Zhang Taiyan was the first to agree.

Sun Wen and Huang Xing also nodded at each other, and Hu Hanmin couldn't make sense of it either.

But then, Wang Zhen's words made Hu Hanmin jump up again.

"What, participating army?" Hu Hanmin's appearance was struck by lightning.

"Zhantang, sit down, you are now the dean of the Tangtang National Government Administration Council, why are you still so impetuous." Sun Wen complained to Hu Hanmin, and Hu Hanmin had to sit down resentfully.

Zhang Taiyan said: "Wenzheng, continue talking."

"This should be what the British mean. These imperialist countries are rich now, so human life is also valuable. Their idea is to hire, yes, hire our army to go to war in Europe. We send troops, and they send equipment and money. .”

Hu Hanmin said angrily: "Using our Chinese soldiers to fight for the Europeans is an act of treason!"

"Don't label it indiscriminately." Wang Zhenyu was a little angry. This Hu Hanmin is very ungrateful. From the merger to the present, this guy has always opposed it.Grandma, why didn't you object when you were appointed as the head of the Government Affairs Council? "Our country has been bullied since modern times. If we don't pay a price, how can we rise from the east and how can we gain the respect of the great powers?"

Wang Zhenyu stood up and continued: "I must emphasize one point, the national strength of a country is ultimately the display of military strength. If we do not participate in the war, how can the Europeans allow us to obtain the best weapons, how can it be possible for us to benefit from the post-war dividends?" Dividends, and more importantly, everyone, according to my information, Beijing is already talking to the Japanese about participating in the war. They will fight us at the end by organizing and training the participating troops. It will not change whether we participate in the war or not. this point."

Hu Hanmin was still unconvinced: "We can object to the case of joining the war through President Li Da, and we can even launch the Northern Expedition."

Wang Zhenyu shook his head and said, "Launch the Northern Expedition? We don't have so much money. How do we solve the problems of industrial construction and land reform? Where does our money come from? My lord dean, don't talk nonsense here."

Wang Zhenyu went to the crowd and said: "My plan is to train 20 to 40 troops to participate in the war. The training equipment of these troops will be provided by Britain and France, and they will be rearmed in Europe. In exchange, we need a full set of industrial technology and equipment."

Hu Hanmin gritted his teeth: "Then how many of these young people will stay in Europe forever? You are taking the blood of your compatriots seriously."

Wang Zhenyu got up and said: "There will be many. If our nation is to rise, we must have such sacrifices and sacrifices. If allowed, I would like that person to be me."

Sun Wen had to sigh after hearing this extremely heroic words: "If this son is not a righteous person, then he is a big treacherous and evil."

Hu Hanmin saw that the big shots were silent, knowing that Wang Zhenyu's two words had already moved everyone, so he didn't want to say anything.He could only ask softly: "Then Chairman Wang, I would like to know if the Military Commission has a specific plan. Among other things, how many people will leave their homes and their wives and children will be separated after recruiting so many laborers."

Wang Zhenyu took a deep breath and said: "This is a crime. I am willing to take it on my own, but it must be done, otherwise it will be very difficult for the country to rise again after missing this opportunity. As for the plan, my idea is to start in May. Just reform the land, and my idea is to set up labor camps in Guangzhou and Shanghai, and recruit new troops at the same time. When the British and French arrive with the first batch of equipment, we will send the first batch of laborers on board. All the laborers will be shipped to Europe within a year, and all labor introduction fees will be invested in industrial construction.”

"As for the participating army?" Seeing that Hu Hanmin was about to speak again, Wang Zhenyu interrupted him directly: "My plan is to complete the training before December this year, and I will be able to participate in the war in Europe in March next year. Please believe that our Soldiers will definitely display military prestige and national prestige."

After several bigwigs had a private conversation in a low voice, Huang Xing said to Hu Hanmin: "Zhantang, your Executive Yuan should take the lead in this matter, and you must work with the comrades from the Military Commission to handle this matter well."

Wang Zhenyu said at this time: "The last thing I want to remind you is that all the heads of the national government here are. The national policy discussed tonight is related to the life and death of the nation. Please keep it secret, especially don't leak it to the Japanese. I think There's nothing wrong with that, right?"

Everyone, including Hu Hanmin, nodded in agreement. . .

Chapter 281 National Government (V)

At [-] a.m. on May [-]st, the Southern Nationalist Government issued a nationwide telegram, announcing the withdrawal of customs offices in nine southern provinces.On the same day, Wang Zhengting, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Southern Nationalist Government, signed the "Agreement on Taking Back the Customs of the Nine Southern Provinces" in Shanghai with the British and French consuls stationed in Shanghai on behalf of the Nationalist Government.According to the agreement, the customs of the nine southern provinces will be handed over to the Nationalist Government from today, and the Nationalist Government can set their own tariffs. At the same time, the Nationalist Government does not need to use the remaining customs to bear responsibilities such as Boxer indemnity.

When the news came out, the world was in an uproar.In Fuzhou, in Guangzhou, and in Shanghai, the customs handover ceremonies of the three regions were going on, and the patriotic crowd who watched were excited and burst into tears.The news media also wrote articles praising the national government's feat of fighting for national power, saying that the withdrawal of customs was a major diplomatic victory since the Opium War, and it was a sign of China's prosperity and prosperity.

The British Minister Zhu Erdian also became worried after seeing the comments in these newspapers. He told the French Minister Kant: "I hope that what we have opened this time is not Pandora's box."

Next, the issue of labor and the participating troops was naturally not discussed with Wang Zhengting, a diplomat who could not understand the situation at all. In fact, Wang Zhenyu's personal representative Yang Yongtai was in charge of the negotiation on customs issues before, including steel products. Military supplies are a series of transactions in it.But it doesn't matter, this does not prevent Wang Zhengting, a young foreign minister, from remaining in the history textbooks with a positive image.

Labor issues were directly communicated by the Consul General of France in Shanghai and Mr. Hu Hanmin, President of the National Government Administration Council.On the issue of the participating troops, the French Consul in Hankou secretly contacted Yang Yongtai, who had just been appointed governor of Hubei Province, and Zhao Hengti, who had just been appointed head of the European Military Observer Mission.

Some families are happy and some are sad. When the national government and Britain and France are fighting fiercely, some people have a hard time.

The first is Japan. Due to the successful secrecy work of the national government this time, the Japanese even learned from a British customs employee on the night of April 4 that the Chinese would withdraw from the customs the next day.Such a major event, the response of the imperial diplomats and spies in China was so slow.As the first person in charge, Hiki Masaki, the Japanese Minister to China, was recalled to Japan.At the same time, the secret service intelligence agency stationed in China was also ordered to reorganize, and Sakatoshi Nishihachiro was dismissed and recalled.And Kenji Doihara, who managed to infiltrate into the south under the pseudonym Wang Lewei, was also recalled to Beijing to participate in the reorganization. Despite his reluctance, Kenji Doihara did not dare to disobey the orders of his superiors.Many years later, Kenji Doihara pointed out at a symposium that the reorganization of the spy agencies this time was completely meaningless, and even helped the Chinese Communist Party to a large extent.

The most embarrassing thing is the central government in Beijing. The national government, as a regional government under its jurisdiction, only made a notification on May [-]st.Now there is a sharp contrast. On the one hand, the sovereignty of the customs has been taken back, and on the other hand, even Shandong is not allowed to return. How can you make the central government feel uncomfortable?

Army Minister Duan Qirui instructed his cronies to publicly build momentum, demanding that President Li Yuanhong and Premier Xiong Xiling punish this behavior for violating the armistice agreement between the North and the South regarding diplomatic power vested in the central government.Xiong Xiling said without showing any weakness: patriotism is not a crime.Li Yuanhong laughed and said nothing, the demeanor of the two made Duan Qirui obviously feel that these two bosses in his name were difficult to deal with.

It should be said that Britain and France's decision was a timely help. The Nationalist Government took back the customs of the nine southern provinces just a few days after its establishment. The huge political prestige generated here is extremely valuable.

After Wang Zhenyu was taken back by the customs, he finally left for Wuhan, and all the leaders of the Nationalist Government came to see him off in person.After Wang Zhenyu shook hands with them one by one, after thinking for a while, he shook hands with Hu Hanmin again and said, "Cousin Zhan, although you have different political views, you are all people who have the national interest in your heart. I hope that my brother can properly solve the problem in the interests of the nation, and I will wait for the good news in Wuhan."

After hearing this, Hu Hanmin nodded and said, "I don't have anything else to do, I just hope that the chairman will cherish the power of the people when making various decisions in the future."

Wang Zhenyu nodded, turned around and boarded the boat. . .

After returning to Wuhan, there are several things that need to be arranged by Wang Zhenyu.

The first one is the question of the military inspection team. The leader of the team has been confirmed, Zhao Hengti.For this foster brother, Wang Zhenyu still feels a little indebted, and he just gave him the post of secretary-general of a military committee.From the current point of view, this position is a post responsible for the daily internal work of the Military Commission, and strictly speaking, it does not have much power.So Wang Zhenyu thought over and over again and decided that Zhao Hengti should first be awarded the rank of general, and secondly, a deputy chief of staff should be awarded to him. Finally, after the awarding ceremony, he would be appointed as the head of the military observation team and take people to Europe to see the great powers. How to fight.

As for who should be selected by the military observation team, Wang Zhenyu's principle is that whoever wants to lead troops to fight in Europe in the future will go.

After thinking about it, Bai Chongxi is undoubtedly a must-choice existence. Looking at the whole army, this one can be regarded as a genius, and the future commander of the expeditionary force must be this one.Therefore, Bai Chongxi can choose other officers who participated in the observation team according to his personal habits. Anyway, they will be used in Europe in the end.

The second thing is the land reform. Wang Zhenyu only decided to pilot the two provinces of Hunan and Hubei, and the other provinces are postponed.After all, this involves the issue of people eating, if it is promoted all at once, it will be troublesome if something goes wrong.But now the specific work has been taken over by the national government and the National Socialist Party task force, and they have allocated enough funds and policies, so it is not a big problem.It is worth mentioning that in order to ensure the smooth construction of the military reclamation farm, Wang Zhenyu established the Huguang Agricultural Construction Corps, planning to resettle [-] demobilized soldiers. At the same time, the land acquisition of this military reclamation farm does not use land bonds, but cash.

The third thing is the armed mobilization and recruit training. Wang Zhenyu plans to recruit 20 young people, and then transfer 25 veterans and officers from 7 field divisions as the backbone, and then these 7 people will form the first expeditionary force. to the tenth division.Due to the enclosure movement caused by the land reform, it is believed that this force can be recruited before July.Then there will be several months of training before boarding a ship for Europe next January.At the same time, the matching requirement is that the French and the British must bring in 25 standard equipment before July, otherwise they will not be able to form an army.

What Wang Zhenyu didn't know was how much controversy this expeditionary force plan had caused in Europe.

The British high-level said very suspiciously: "We must be sure whether these yellow-skinned monkeys from the East will fight. If we only need numbers, we can recruit soldiers from India instead of recruiting from China at a higher price." .”

The diplomats and military attaches who returned from China argued with reason: "Please believe me, gentlemen. The combat effectiveness of these Chinese people is definitely not comparable to those lazy Indians with big beards and who haven't bathed for months. We are in China watched them for four months, and they were no better than soldiers of the British Empire, or even braver."

"Honey, civilized world wars are not the same as native wars, don't be misled by staged wars. And if we do arm so many Chinese and don't have their command, then wait damn After all the Germans have been wiped out, will the Chinese, with their mighty force, recognize our interests in China?"

This is also the most controversial part of everyone. The British insist that since it is an army hired by us with money, the command right naturally belongs to the noble British.But Wang Zhenyu didn't think so. First, China would also be a country participating in the war. Second, these expeditionary forces actually belonged to the participating army.The Allied Powers headed by Britain and France can issue tasks and orders, but how to execute and complete them should not be interfered by people who do not understand this army.

But at this time in Verdun, the war has entered a fierce state, and a large number of young lives are ruthlessly swallowed up every day.The French were the first to be anxious, damn the British, it's not your children who died, we need reinforcements, not some damn command.

And in Wuhan, on May [-]th, in the auditorium of Wuhan Army University, the National Youth Army Awarding and Honoring Ceremony officially started, hosted by Huang Xing, Sun Wen, Wang Longzhong, Zhang Taiyan, and Wang Zhenyu.

According to the recommendation of the preparatory group for the ranks headed by Zhao Hengti, all members of the Standing Committee of the Military Commission will be awarded the rank of general, and Huang Xing, Wang Longzhong, and Wang Zhenyu will be awarded the rank of general, and specifically Xu Chongzhi, Xu Yuanquan, Wan Yaohuang, Li Zongren, Li Liejun, Cheng Qian, Liu Xing, Chen Jiongming and Zhao Hengti will be awarded the rank of general.Sa Zhenbing was awarded the rank of admiral, known as the tenth admiral in history.

Yang Wangui, Ma Xicheng, Bai Chongxi, Tao Zhiyue, Zhu Zhixin, Song Xianfu, Hao Bing, etc. at the ministerial and military commander levels will be awarded the rank of lieutenant general, and the chiefs of staff of the army, such as Yu Zuobai and Li Hongkui, will also be awarded the rank of lieutenant general.

Other division commanders, commanders of provincial military regions, and commanders of the security corps were awarded to major generals, and division chiefs were awarded to colonels.

In addition, there were three other individuals who were individually awarded honors, Colonel Zhang Zizhong, Lieutenant Colonel Zhao Yong, and Colonel Wang Kewen. They were awarded the Bright Medal by Huang Xing himself, while most of the senior generals present were only awarded the Commemorative Medal for participating in the War of National Defense.

It should be said that the result of this awarding of titles and honors has greatly promoted the regularization of the youth army.It is worth mentioning that Wang Zhenyu used the blue sky and white sun badge that was said to be designed by Sun Yat-sen as the cap badge of the Youth Army, and the military flag still used the tiger flag, but Sun Wen was very satisfied with the respect represented by this move.

Chapter 282 Declaring War on Germany

In Beijing in May, the wind is smooth and the climate is pleasant.The Zhongnanhai Huairen Hall has changed to a new owner, and the troops that went south to suppress from Beijing have returned to Beijing one after another.After all, due to financial difficulties, it is difficult to pay the double salary for sending troops for a long time.Compared with the harmony of the southern Nationalist government, the central government in Beijing has great contradictions.

At present, Duan Qirui, the chief of the army, also has the first division, the third division, the fifth division, the sixth division, the tenth division, No.11 division, No.15 division, No.16 division, eight field divisions plus The total number of Dingwu Army and Anwu Army moved to Henan was about 20.Calculated on the basis of each soldier's salary of eight yuan per month, so many troops would spend at least more than 600 million oceans a month if they did not fight, which is 200 million yuan a year.And the central government's finances went bankrupt as early as Lao Yuan's time, all traffic tickets became waste paper, and the empty state treasury can be used as a mouse.However, the establishment of the national government in the south has little impact on the central government's finances. In the southern provinces, Lao Yuan did not pay taxes when he was alive.What is really terrible is that the customs of the nine southern provinces were taken back by the national government, and the central government lost 2000 million customs surpluses every year (while the national government gained [-] million Chinese yuan in customs surpluses after the tax increase), and the debts to be repaid each year remained the same , This will kill the government.

There is no way, the central government's own monthly expenditure is almost more than 200 million oceans, and the items that come with money, such as local taxes and transportation funds from the Ministry of Communications, are all in the hands of Duan Qirui.Xiong Xiling would be a bachelor if he didn't come back. With a swipe of a pen, he authorized the Ministry of the Army to raise military expenses from the railway and the local area. Duan Qirui was so angry that he secretly called Xiong Xiling an old fox.If it wasn't for Xu Shuzheng's dissuasion of the so-called international influence and southern attitude, Duan Qirui would have planned to let the soldiers who couldn't get the military pay go to the Prime Minister's Office to ask for money.

Duan Qirui, who still needs to buy arms after such a round of upheaval, can only pay [-]% of the army's salary, which also makes the subordinates feel a lot of resentment.

Qianmen Building, Yutai Teahouse, Wang Lifa, the shopkeeper, is counting money with his abacus!