Black Flag Army

One day in February 1915, when the Justice Party leaders headed by Di Xiong sent their best fighters to assassinate the Japanese envoy, a meeting targeting them was quietly held in Kulun.

As the Black Flag Army grew stronger, their opponents increased in number and they took them more and more seriously.

Kulun has been quite unstable recently. Last year, Russian troops began to withdraw from Mongolia, causing power conflicts within Kulun to erupt. Defense Minister Danbijian and Commander Utai had an internal fight to become the new ruler of Mongolia. Both sides' armies suffered heavy losses, but the final result was inconclusive. The two chose a temporary truce under the mediation of Prime Minister Hangdado, and they found that the Black Flag Army to their west was expanding, which forced them to unite to deal with these enemies.

At the beginning of the meeting, Hang Dado took the lead in speaking: "Everyone, now is not the time for us to fight for power. Although the Russians have left, the Han people in the west are constantly expanding. Mulun and Dalanza City were lost one after another some time ago. Their jurisdiction covers tens of thousands of square kilometers! One of the princes died on the way to escape, and another prince became a prisoner. If we continue to ignore it, I am afraid that in a few months we will no longer be sitting here, but kneeling here. Our intelligence department has finally found out recently that the Han forces in the west have little to do with that idiot Huter. That guy is just a puppet of the Han people. The person who really holds power is not the princess Bian Caiyun, but a young man named Di Congmo. Bian Caiyun is just one of his subordinates. This guy is really a disgusting termite. Not only has he been constantly eroding our country, but he also sent people to assassinate my two sons. It's a pity that they died at such a young age at the hands of evil people. It's really too miserable..." Hang Dado suddenly burst into tears as he spoke, as if the pain of losing his son caused him to lose control of his emotions.

The commander of the armed forces, Wu Tai, lowered his head and said ashamedly: "Prime Minister, please accept my condolences. I am also very sorry for the loss of your son. At that time, I arbitrarily declared war on the Minister of Defense for my own selfish desires. It was really wrong to do such a thing when there are still foreign enemies. In order to express my sincerity, I am willing to personally go as a pioneer to attack Di Congmo, and I will definitely cut off his head to commemorate your two sons."

Defense Minister Danbijian seemed a little unconvinced. He felt that Hangdaduo's behavior was purely a show. This old man had many concubines and dozens of sons. He couldn't be sad for long because of the life and death of two children. Seeing that Wutai seemed to be cooperating with Hangdaduo, he said impatiently: "Prince Wutai, everyone can talk nonsense, but whether you have the courage to do it is another matter. I heard that Di Congmo's army has developed very rapidly, and he has also bribed our Mongolian people. The number of troops has expanded to more than 10,000, and the weapons and equipment are much more advanced than our army. I doubt whether you have the courage to fight a real bloody battle with them."

Hangdado seemed to have calmed down at this moment. He continued, "Please stay calm, both of you. This is not the place for you to quarrel. What Minister Danbijian said makes sense. Our negligence in the past has led to the continuous expansion of their army and territory. Now even if we unite together, our army is not much larger than theirs. What's more, they have the advantage in weapons and equipment, especially that airplane. The lethality is not actually that great, but it has dealt a heavy blow to the morale of our soldiers. Our soldiers are quite afraid of that weapon and often run away when they see it. The root cause of Prince Daranza's failure lies in this weapon. If we cannot solve the backwardness of our weapons and equipment, then our current situation can only be to passively take a beating. We have no ability to fight such an enemy. At the very least we must have airplanes."

Danbijian seemed to become less irritable and said: "In the final analysis, it is still a matter of money. If we have money, we can buy all kinds of advanced weapons. Airplanes have long been no rarity, but the key is that we can't get them. We don't even have the chance to touch the eliminated defective products."

Wutai suddenly interrupted Danbijian and said, "It's not that we don't have the opportunity to come into contact with airplanes. My army picked up a lot of airplane wreckage as early as last year, including an unformed old airplane, which was a defective product researched by the Tsarist Russians. But none of us can understand it. It's really too difficult for us, who can barely recognize a few Russian characters, to study airplanes."

Finance Minister Damu also spoke: "The financial situation of our Mongolia has never been optimistic. We were exploited by the Tsarist Russians for so long that the treasury has long been out of money, and we also owe a large amount of various debts. Oh, and there are a bunch of messy treaties, which are sucking the blood of our finances all the time."

Hang Daduo said: "Although the financial problem is a mess, it is not that there is no way out. If it really doesn't work, we can borrow money from the Tsarist Russians, or borrow money from the Japanese privately. Anyway, the debt is already enough, and it doesn't matter if it's more. In addition, we can find someone to pretend to be a horse bandit and go to the nearby city that still has some money to plunder some valuable things. There is also human trafficking, and it is also possible to use slaves to exchange for some money. If everyone still has private property, you can donate it. I will be the leader first. In a while, I will give the valuable jewelry and antiques in my home to Mr. Damu. I hope you can also take out some private property. Ladies and gentlemen, now is not the time to consider reputation or personal interests. Mongolia is now facing a crisis of survival. If it is left alone like this, the Beiyang government will sooner or later unite with Di Congmo, and by then the country of Mongolia will no longer exist."

Wutai seemed to realize the seriousness of the problem. He said: "I also know the current financial difficulties of the country, and I am willing to pay money to support the financial department. However, everything must be based on weapons and equipment. If we can buy airplanes, it would be the best. If not, we must at least buy a few anti-aircraft guns. I heard that the French and Germans have these things, and the Tsarist Russians should have them too. If we can buy them, at least we can sleep more peacefully. Ever since I learned about the airplanes, I have been afraid of being bombed all day long, and I am almost having mental problems."

Danbijian thought for a long time and said, "It's not just a problem with weapons. The problem with the army itself is also quite serious. Although I don't want to admit it, any army in our Mongolian country seems to be scared by planes recently. They are timid in fighting. With the current army, even if we have planes, we may not be able to defeat the Han people in Erdenet."

Hang Dado said: "I have also thought about the issue of the army. Although most of the Tsarist Russian troops have withdrawn now, I know that there is a Tsarist Russian horse bandit group of more than 10,000 people who may be near Harbin in the north of Mongolia. They are very fierce. Their leader is called Ungern, nicknamed the 'Bloody Baron'. It is said that he is a very cruel and bloody guy. It may cost a very high price to hire him, and it may bring trouble to us. But we are in crisis right now and we can't care about these."

Wu Tai said: "I have also heard of this person. I heard that he is quite good at fighting. At least he is more reliable than us. But no one knows where he and his army are now. Some say they are in Mongolia, while others say they are in Harbin. Not many people know his specific whereabouts. Besides, this man is a horse bandit after all. Maybe he has died in some place we don't know."

Hang Daduo said: "As long as there is still some hope, we must keep looking patiently. There are still some Russian advisers who have not left Mongolia. I can contact them. Some of them may know Ungern. We must also pay more attention to those Russian trading companies. Some of those businessmen may have dealt with Ungern. The relationship between Russian horse bandits and businessmen is often quite subtle."

Danbijian said: "We can't put all our hopes on the Russians. I think even if we can't find them, we can't be afraid of the Han people. We must fight them fiercely and never be cowards. Even if we really fail, the worst that can happen is we will go to Tannu Uriankhai. Anyway, there are many Mongols there and there will definitely be a place for us. I propose that the army should carry out a small-scale reform. At the very least, we must understand the organization of the army, and the problem of ghost employees must be reduced. Those division commanders and brigade commanders who don't have the right number of people under their command should be demoted, instead of making a joke of several division commanders having less than 10,000 troops combined."

Hang Daduo said: "Your Excellency's words make sense, but among the issues being discussed now, whether it is to find the bandit leader Enqin or to reform the army, I am afraid that we must make long-term plans, which will probably take several months. However, buying new weapons is imminent. Those Han people will not let us stay here obediently. We must buy planes or anti-aircraft guns before they attack us. Of course, we must not only be prepared militarily, but we must also resist those Han people economically and culturally. Recently, I am going to issue a ban to prohibit our merchants from doing any business with the Han people to prevent infiltration by enemy spies. Once anyone is found to be doing business with the Han people, he will be beheaded directly and the trade volume with the Tsarist Russians and Japanese will be increased as much as possible. No matter how heavy the price is, we cannot do business with the Han people. They should not think of making money from us easily. Also, haven't those Han people been publishing newspapers recently? We also publish newspapers and confront the Han newspapers in public opinion. It doesn't matter what we write, as long as we can let the Mongolians know how bad those Han people are. Even if it is a rumor, we must do everything we can to prevent our Mongolians from being sinicized."

Hearing this, Wu Tai started to think about it. He had no problem with publishing a newspaper, but he could not accept the ban on doing business with the Han people. Because both the Japanese and the Russians looked down on the Mongolians, and they often forced people to buy and sell. He had no say in the price. His long-term partner, Da Kuisheng, was a Han Chinese. He was very fair in doing business, and he bought a lot of cheap goods from them. Wu Tai felt that Hang Daduo was probably overwhelmed by the pain of losing his son. He planned to discuss this ban with other ministers in private to see if there was any room for maneuver.

At this time, the Prime Minister's secretary knocked on the door and came in. He reported: "Prime Minister! There is a Japanese woman named Xiangyue Fangfang visiting you. She said she can provide you with the aircraft, weapons and military pay that you need most."

Hang Dado was overjoyed when he heard this, and quickly said: "Is there such a good thing? Please invite her in!"

When Xiangyue Fangzi walked into the living room in a pink Mongolian dress, her beautiful oval face immediately attracted the attention of the lustful Danbijian and Wutai. The secretary introduced the two parties and then left. Xiangyue Fangzi smiled and said, "I am from the Japanese garrison headquarters in China. Our commander has always had a good impression of your government. I heard that you were in trouble and sent me here to help you."

Hang Dado said: "What help can your commander provide us?

Xiang Yue Fangzi said: "Twenty planes, five thousand rifles, fifty thousand rounds of bullets, and an interest-free loan of two hundred thousand yen."

Prince Uthai asked, "Don't you have to pay for twenty planes?"

Xiang Yue Fangzi said: "The planes and guns and ammunition are completely free, no money is required. We will also send instructors to teach your pilots."

Dan Bijian said: "Isn't it another obsolete wooden plane? Last time you sold thirty wooden planes to the Chinese warlord Yan Xishan, and they sent out twenty-four to attack Baotou, but they were all shot down by Di Congmo's air force."

Xiang Yue Fangzi said: "I guarantee that they are all metal planes. Our Great Japanese Empire's military industry is very developed and can produce a large number of metal planes."

Japan's military manufacturing industry was indeed the best in Asia at that time, and it also had a large number of supporting technical personnel in various links. After learning that Beihai Company had produced aluminum aircraft more than a year ago, it stepped up the research and development of aluminum aircraft, and produced the first generation of aluminum aircraft in just a few months. Now it has produced a large number of second-generation aluminum aircraft. The first generation is facing elimination, so it is just right to sell half of them and give them away, supporting opponents of the Chinese government and their puppets in various parts of Asia.

Hang Dado said: "Your commander is so generous, is there any condition?"

Xiang Yuefangzi took a contract from his assistant, put it on the conference table, and said to Hang Daduo: "Mr. Prime Minister! There is no free lunch in the world. Of course there are conditions, but they are very small. As long as the territory you control allows Japanese trading companies to open and operate, you can purchase the weapons, ammunition and other materials you need from Japanese trading companies. In addition, you must allow Japanese businessmen to open mines in your territory. Of course, 40% of the profits generated by the mining will be distributed to you, and we will only take 60%."

Prince Wutai said, "What if we sign the contract and you don't deliver what you promised? Wouldn't we be at a great loss?"

Xiang Yuefangzi smiled and said, "Within three days, the plane, weapons, ammunition and money will definitely arrive. I can stay here as a hostage. If they don't come, you can kill me. The contract is also here and you can tear it up. Is this okay?"

After hearing that Xiangyuefang was left as a hostage, Prime Minister Hangdado agreed. Then, Prince Uthai and Minister Danbijian started arguing again. They both wanted to take the hostage Xiangyuefang to live in their own houses, of course, because they coveted her beauty. Finally, Hangdado decided to give Xiangyuefang to Prince Uthai, who had a better relationship with him. Prince Uthai happily took Xiangyuefang away, leaving Minister Danbijian with a blue face due to anger.