Beiyang reactionaries

And the biggest problem is that China's political center at this time is in the north.The north is the traditional territory of the Beiyang army. When something happens, the Beiyang army is right in front of us, while the southern army is thousands of miles away, so it can't react at all.

Therefore, it can be said that the dispute between Li Yuanhong and Duan Qirui was not a heavyweight confrontation from the beginning.Once it really came to the point where the bayonet saw the red and head-to-head, most people believed that Duan Qirui would win in the end, but everyone couldn't guess what method Duan Qirui would use to win.

"The current situation won't last long. As long as Premier Duan returns to Beijing to take power, he will definitely carry out his policy of unifying the country by force. Of course, the troops in the south will not be captured without a fight. A war is inevitable. We Sichuan is on the southwestern front, and there will definitely be a war. Therefore, I have to prepare in advance. Whether it is to continue to stabilize Yunnan, or prepare to enter Guizhou, and to deal with future wars, I need to spend a lot of money on the army. Especially Now I don't have much ammunition in my hand, I need to buy ammunition from outside."

"General, when do you think the war will start?"

"There will be clues in two or three months, but the real war will be at least three months later, or four months later. So now the time is very tight. I am going to buy ammunition from Japan, and I will also think about it from the Hanyang Arsenal. way. So I can only misappropriate large sums of money.”

When Duan Xun said this, Wang Yongjiang didn't know what to say.

Wang Yongjiang is a scholar, not a nerd who is dead on reading.As an important minister in Duan Xun's camp, Wang Yongjiang understands better than anyone else the role of guns in this world.There is going to be a war soon, and Duan Xun prepares military supplies, which is a must.Don't say that it's just embezzlement of the original construction funds, even if it's a tax mortgage loan in Sichuan, it's nothing to say.

But Wang Yongjiang thought for a while and said: "General, if it is not a big war, more investment should be made in construction. Sichuan is the foundation, and once the financial system collapses, the provincial government will easily lose everyone's trust."

"I know."

Duan Xun nodded.

Duan Xun himself was born in the Beiyang Army, and his natural relationship with the Southern Revolutionary Party was not very good.Fortunately, after Duan Xun took over Sichuan, he did a good job in all aspects, especially stabilizing the situation in Sichuan, carrying out construction in Sichuan, and wooing the Sichuan Revolutionary Party.However, Duan Xun affected Sichuan's economy and construction in order to fight and prepare for war.Then it is easy to lose the support of these Sichuan Revolutionary Party and Sichuan celebrities again.

So Duan Xun said: "Sir, so I think about it and there is only one way. I need money now, and once I fight, the money I will spend will not be hundreds of thousands or millions, but millions or even thousands of dollars." Ten thousand. If I embezzle all of such a large sum of money, the work of the provincial government will not be easy. Therefore, I am going to sell all the properties in western Henan."

"General, are those industries making money now?"

Wang Yongjiang was very surprised.

Although Duan Xun is in Sichuan and no longer holds a position in Western Henan, he can still control the situation in Western Henan remotely.Because the current regular army in Western Henan is Duan Xun's cousin Duan Kan's army.Originally, Zhao Ti, the governor of Henan, did not want Henan to have a country within a country like Western Henan.

But no way.

Who makes Duan Xun's market very good now, he is Duan Qirui's niece and son-in-law, and even Duan Qirui's favorite general.He made great contributions in the War to Protect the Nation, and his status in the Beiyang Army is also rising steadily.In comparison, Zhao Ti is just a miscellaneous brand in the Beiyang Army, and Zhao Ti doesn't want to offend Duan Xun just because of a Western Henan.

So although Duan Xun himself is not in western Henan, Duan Kan, as Duan Xun's representative, still leads the troops stationed in western Henan.Duan Xun's industry in western Henan has flourished in the past two years.Because of World War I, the coal mines, tungsten mines, and gold mines controlled by Duan Xun in western Henan, as well as Chinese medicinal materials in western Henan, and the salt road in western Henan, all developed very fast and belonged to excellent industries.

The profit is still very considerable, and Duan Xun can earn millions of dollars a year.Especially for coal mines and tungsten mines, the demand for them in World War I was ridiculously high, and the prices were also ridiculously high.

And for these industries, Duan Xun invested a lot of money back then.During this period of time, the money earned in Western Henan was re-invested to expand the scale of these factories.At present, the coal mines controlled by Duan Xun in western Henan have the largest annual output among the coal mines in China.The tungsten mine controlled by Duan Xun in western Henan is currently the highest output tungsten mine in China.All very valuable.

"It is because of making money that it is worth money. It is estimated that there are many people who are willing to take over our industries, and Zhao Ti is probably very willing. As long as someone contributes money, we will sell them. If these industries are all sold, I believe we can raise a lot of money." A lot of money. Of course, it cannot be sold to foreigners, and it is easy to be scolded."

Although the Revolution of [-] looked like a dragon and a snake, its impact on Chinese history was absolutely huge.Although nationalism had risen in the late Qing Dynasty, it is a fact that nationalism rose after the Revolution of [-].

If you sell minerals to foreigners at this time, once it is disclosed by the newspapers, you will definitely be scolded by many people.

"General, it's too wasteful."

Wang Yongjiang is still a pity.

These industries are all money-making businesses, which bring Duan Xun considerable profits a year.Although making a move can raise a considerable sum of money in a short period of time, it is just a one-shot deal.

"No way, I need money now. Sir, let's sell these industries quickly. This way we can ease the financial pressure. I heard Dan Maoxin report that the business in Wan County is very good. He has already It is to control materials such as bristles and tung oil, and start negotiating with foreign companies, demanding that they must increase the price. If the negotiation is successful, it will definitely greatly increase fiscal revenue. Let’s wait until this period of time is over.”

"General, you can actually mortgage these properties to the banks and get loans from them. I believe that many banks are willing."

"Too little."

Duan Xun shook his head and said: "If the bank loans, the amount will definitely shrink greatly. Now we need money. As long as the following wars are fought well, it will be very beneficial to us. Sir, once we can control Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan, we can even Controlling Guangxi, these things cannot be measured by money.”

In front of Wang Yongjiang, Duan Xun did not hide his thoughts.

Duan Xun also wanted to complete Tang Jiyao's Great Southwest Project.Although Duan Xun does not even control Yunnan at present, Duan Xun's goal in this law protection war is to control the three provinces of Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan.

Wang Yongjiang nodded.

Wang Yongjiang fully understood what Duan Xun meant.Duan Xun is currently trying his best to expand his army and prepare for war, just to obtain the highest benefits in the coming war.

"Okay. General, I will immediately arrange for someone to deal with our property left in western Henan. What about Brigadier Commander Duan (Duan Kan)?"

"Let him continue to stay in Western Henan. Western Henan is a good place, and it may be able to play a very good role in the future."

As long as Duan Xun's status is stable, then Duan Kan will have nothing to do in western Henan.Although the west of Henan is poor, its geographical location is good. Let Duan Kan continue to lead the troops to stay in the west of Henan, and it may be able to play a big role at some point.

"Yes."

111 Guizhou Raiders 1

Guiyang.

The temperature in Guiyang in May is not low, it can even be said that the temperature is very high.The Guizhou Governor's Mansion in Guiyang was even more lively, many people were sweating profusely inside, and all of them looked heavy.Liu Xianshi, the governor of Guizhou, sat at the top, and below were Liu Xianshi's brothers Liu Xianzhi and Liu Xianqian, as well as Liu Xianshi's sons and nephews.

In addition to these Liu family members, Xiong Fanyu, He Linshu, Zhang Xielu, and Guo Chongguang, the "four pillars" of Liu Xianshi's subordinates, are also here.These few people are the four most important ministers Liu Xianshi relies on most.All four of them are close to Liu Xianshi, or the Liu family.Xiong Fanyu was the father-in-law of Liu Xianzhi's eldest son, Liu Gongliang, who was the father-in-law of Liu Xianzhi's eldest son, Liu Gongliang, and also the secretary-general of Liu Xianshi and the president of the Guizhou Branch of the Bank of China. The father-in-law of the second son, Liu Junzhuo, was once the director of the Guizhou Government Affairs Department; Zhang Xielu was in charge of academic affairs for the Liu family in Xingyi in the late Qing Dynasty, and was once the financial director of Liu Xianshi;

It is said that Liu Xianshi held a meeting at the Governor's Mansion in Guizhou, but in fact it was all Liu's family.This has something to do with Liu Xianshi's background.Liu Xianshi's father, Liu Guanli, started his career as a regiment to suppress the Hui uprising. He rose through the ranks and always had an army under his command.Therefore, the Liu family is the most prominent family in Xingyi, Guizhou, and many military officers are local gentry.Just like the Hunan Army, Liu Xianshi's Liu family relied on this relationship to maintain a very close relationship with the gentry in Xingyi, and they were almost overwhelming in Xingyi.

There were many various uprisings in the late Qing Dynasty. Liu Xianshi's troops fought non-stop, and finally changed from regiment training to a patrol battalion in Guizhou, and Liu Xianshi also served as the commander of the Guizhou patrol battalion.During the Revolution of [-], the governor of Guizhou worried that the revolutionary party would make trouble, so Liu Xianshi led the troops to Guiyang.Liu Xianshi took advantage of this opportunity to expand his army, but on the way to Guiyang, he contacted the revolutionary party and joined the anti-Qing revolution instead.At that time, the constitutionalists in Guizhou and the old bureaucrats did not like the Guizhou Revolutionary Party, thinking they were too radical.So they in turn supported Liu Xianshi, a general from the patrol battalion.

It is precisely because of this background that most of the officers in Liu Xianshi's army from top to bottom are members of the Liu family, either brothers or nephews.And Liu Xianshi's government officials are all well-connected local gentry.

"That is to say, Governor Dai has signed the agreement to establish the Sichuan and Guizhou Anti-smoking Supervision Office?"

"Yes."

Sitting on it, Liu Xianshi was not in a good mood.

Because Tang Jiyao, who had always been an ally with Liu Xianshi, was kicked out of Kunming, Guizhou lost its backing immediately.Although Liu Xianshi always wanted to get rid of Tang Jiyao's control, when Tang Jiyao was really kicked out of Kunming, Liu Xianshi was very flustered.

Worry.

With Tang Jiyao's strength, he was defeated so quickly.Qian Jun's strength is no match for Duan Xun.When Tang Jiyao controlled the Yunnan Army, the regular army of the Yunnan Army alone had nearly 5 people, which did not include the two divisions of the Yunnan Army in Guangdong, and the 8 or 2 troops of other local armies in Yunnan.However, the Qian army is weak, with only [-] regular troops, which is much weaker than the Yunnan army.The biggest problem is that, like Yunnan, Guizhou is also full of internal contradictions.

First of all, the biggest contradiction is the contradiction between the warlord and the governor.

After the war to protect the country, the Beiyang government, Duan Qirui, appointed Liu Xianshi as the governor of Guizhou, and at the same time appointed Dai Kan, who had made great contributions to the war to protect the country, as the governor of Guizhou.This made Liu Xianshi very unhappy.

After all, since Tang Jiyao left Guizhou and returned to Yunnan, Guizhou has been controlled by Liu Xianshi.Liu Xianshi served as the governor of Guizhou. Although Ren Kecheng served as the inspector of Guizhou, Ren Kecheng was born as a literati and a leader of the constitutional school. He is still very obedient.Guizhou's military and government still have to listen to Liu Xianshi's words.

But Dai Kan is different.

Dai Kan was a disciple of Liang Qichao.Although Liang Qichao had many students, the most famous ones during the Republic of China were Cai E and Dai Kan, both of whom were key members of Liang Qichao's Progressive Party.Dai Kan was a Guizhou supernatural power in his early years, and he worshiped Liang Qichao as his teacher when he was studying in Japan.After returning to China, Li Jingxi, governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, highly regarded him and appointed him to be in charge of the mining affairs of Yunnan and Guizhou provinces.After the Revolution of [-], he was in charge of the salt affairs in Guizhou, and then served as the observation envoy of central Yunnan, the civil affairs chief of Guizhou, and the patrol envoy of Guizhou.

In other words, Dai Kan served as the governor of Guizhou two or three years ago.Dai Kan is very powerful in Guizhou because he has served as a senior official in Guizhou's political arena for many years.Not only that, because both Dai Kan and Cai E are students of Liang Qichao, so they have very good personal relationships.Also relying on this relationship, he has a deep friendship with many generals of the Yunnan Army.

During the War to Protect the Country, Dai Kan led the Guizhou Army with [-] people to attack Qijiang, and performed very well.Even Cai E said: "It is possible to win by surprise, win more with less, cover thousands of miles, and restore famous cities, which will make the strong captives lose their courage and destroy the hearts of rebels. The merits of the country will last forever." This is what Cai E praised at that time. Dai Kan's words.It is definitely not easy for Dai Kan to lead troops to achieve such a reputation as a scholar.

Therefore, Dai Kan's appointment as the governor of Guizhou is not a polished commander.

Dai Kan had the support of Liang Qichao in the central government.After the War to Protect the Nation, Duan Qirui and Liang Qichao hit it off and are currently political allies.Having the support of Liang Qichao is equivalent to having the support of Duan Qirui.