Newborn 1927

Jiang Tingxuan quickly replied to the telegram. In addition to borrowing one billion yen from the government, he also borrowed more than three hundred million yen from private sources through various channels.

To ensure the money could be safely returned to China, Yang Jiefang made thorough preparations, utilizing almost every available resource. Under the protection of both overt and covert forces, Jiang Tingxuan successfully returned to China.

Upon returning to Jinan, Jiang Tingxuan immediately met with Yang Jiefang to report on his work.

Yang Jiefang laughed and said, "Brother, you did a good job this time. I said before that I could give you one-thousandth as commission. Apart from that, all the money will be handed over to the Ministry of Finance."

Jiang Tingxuan replied, "I have already sent the money to the Ministry of Finance. As for the commission, as I said before, it has already been deposited into my sister's account." This commission amounted to more than 1.3 million, but Jiang Tingxuan seemed to have no concern for it at all.

Yang Jiefang knew that he hadn't reported the full amount of the loan he'd taken out from the private bank. Since he had no intention of repaying it anyway, Yang Jiefang didn't want to pursue the matter further. He changed the subject, saying, "News has come from Southeast Asia. Li Guangqian has contacted some wealthy Chinese businessmen there and is setting up a bank. I'm approving 300 million yen for you to take to Southeast Asia and invest in this bank. I want to use this bank as a foundation to penetrate various industries through investment and controlling stakes. I want to build a vast commercial empire, like the East India Company."

Jiang Tingxuan asked, "Do we need to form an army?" Southeast Asia is not a safe place. Without the protection of armed forces, it will be difficult to safeguard such a large fortune.

Yang Jiefang replied, "Yes. So, when you go south, I will also select a group of military talents to go with you."

After arriving in Southeast Asia, Bao Ziqiang, through his connections, obtained oil exploration rights in Dutch Sumatra. His methods were simple: he found a low-level Dutch clerk named Peter Debir to partner with him in the business. According to Bao Ziqiang's information, the surname Debir meant "farmer," and the name Peter was similar to common Chinese names like "Da Niu" or "Er Gou"—extremely rustic. In other words, Peter was a nobody in the Netherlands with no connections, making him easy to control.

Bao Ziqiang had Pete register and establish Debil Oil Company, and then forcibly acquired several oil wells. Pete didn't need to invest and could receive a certain amount of dividends every year.

Bao Ziqiang would certainly not be satisfied with this. In order to protect his vested interests and gain even more, it was imperative to form an armed escort team. With the protection of armed forces, Yang Jiefang could easily obtain large quantities of oil and rubber.

Jiang Tingxuan was already used to Yang Jiefang's extravagant spending and was very much looking forward to the trip to Southeast Asia. At the same time, he felt a little regretful that his Jiang family lacked military talent. Little did he know that it was precisely for this reason that Yang Jiefang had chosen him to go to Southeast Asia to lead this planned commercial empire.

The Spring Festival holiday had just ended when Jiang Tingxuan set off south with his wife and children. Ever since Jiang Xiaojun and Yang Jiefang became engaged, Jiang Tingxuan had been responsible for raising money for Yang Jiefang. In recent years, he had been constantly traveling, either raising money or on his way to raise money. Of course, he had also made a fortune from it.

Accompanying him was a corps of fifty officers. These officers, led by Gao Ming, were the leaders of the Nanyang Chinese Self-Defense Force selected by Yang Jiefang.

Gao Ming is Gao Huilan's cousin and one of the three most outstanding military talents in the Gao family. In terms of intelligence, he is not as intelligent as Gao Qiang; in terms of bravery, he is not as brave as Gao Meng. Gao Ming's strength lies in his calm and composed nature, his unhurried approach to tasks, and his unwavering loyalty to Yang Jiefang. His current position is the commander of the 1st Marine Division, while the size of the Nanyang Chinese Self-Defense Force is currently set at the division level. Due to his duties, he has been dedicated to researching island amphibious landing operations. Yang Jiefang's decision to send him south is exactly what he wanted.

No sooner had Jiang Tingxuan left than the Japanese army arrived. According to a secret agreement signed between Yang Jiefang and Japan, the Japanese 6th Division once again entered Chinese territory, stationing itself in Qingdao; the Japanese 4th Division was stationed in Yantai. At the same time, relevant information about these two divisions was presented to Yang Jiefang.

The current 6th Division is fully equipped and manned, with a total strength of over 25,000 men. Its commander is Lieutenant General Sadao Araki. The division comprises two brigades, each with two infantry regiments, as well as a cavalry regiment, an artillery regiment, a supply regiment, and an engineer regiment. Apart from the 8th Division, which is isolated in the Guanzhong region, other infantry divisions in the People's Liberation Army do not have cavalry regiments.

整个师团装备了12门105毫米仿M1925式榴弹炮，36门75毫米野战炮，16门75毫米山炮，24门70毫米步兵炮，432具50毫米掷弹筒。重机枪104挺，轻机枪360挺，步骑枪手枪近万支。另配备八九式坦克24辆，汽车262辆，马匹5800余匹。

The commander of the 4th Division was the newly appointed Lieutenant General Nobuyuki Abe. Its manpower and weaponry were comparable to those of the 6th Division. The fact that the Japanese military simultaneously transferred two fully-staffed standing divisions to the Jiaodong region demonstrates their high regard for and fear of Yang Jiefang's strength.

Meanwhile, Liu Zhennian's Fifth Army of the People's Liberation Army had been transferred to the Jiaodong region and its headquarters were located in Qingdao. The Fifth Army consisted of the Fifth Division, the Thirteenth Division, and the Fourteenth Division. The Fifth Division was reorganized from Chen Diaoyuan's Thirty-Seventh Army, and its current commander was Li Mei. The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Divisions were both reorganized from the Northwest Army, and their commanders were Zhao Dengyu and Hao Mengling, respectively.

Each infantry division was equipped with the following weapons: 12 105mm M1925 copy howitzers, 24 85mm M1925 copy field guns, 24 75mm field guns, 24 75mm mountain guns, 120 mortars, 276 rifle grenade launchers, 144 heavy machine guns, 324 light machine guns, and over 9000 semi-automatic rifles, pistols, and submachine guns. It also carried 36 Panzer I tanks, 200 vehicles, and over 4000 horses.

Although the People's Liberation Army had one less cavalry regiment than the Japanese army, and its Panzer I tank was inferior in performance to the Type 89 tank, its overall weaponry was superior to that of the Japanese army.

The newly developed Panzer III prototype has passed testing. Yang Jiefang has ordered the cessation of Panzer I production, with its production line being converted to produce Panzer III. Thanks to the continued increase in production capacity, it is expected that more than thirty Panzer III tanks will be produced each month. The Panzer III's performance is superior to the Japanese Type 89 tank, and it will partially replace the current Panzer I.

As for the superior Panzer II tank, the monthly production was around twenty vehicles. These tanks were being secretly transported by rail to Suiyuan, where Wang Xuncai and Gao Meng were tasked with forming the Second Armored Division.

Yantai and Qingdao each have one Marine Corps division. The main responsibility of a Marine Corps division is to conduct amphibious landings and establish beachheads to open up a path for subsequent troops. Therefore, a Marine Corps division is smaller than an Army division, adopting a three-regiment system, with a total of only over 12,000 personnel.

Yang Jiefang handed over the information on the two divisions to the General Staff, instructing them to formulate an operational plan. Yang Jiefang agreed to allow Japan to station troops in Yantai and Qingdao, not to invite trouble, but to trap and eliminate them. The 6th Division, in particular, was a major perpetrator of the Nanjing Massacre and could not be let off the hook. If they could be wiped out once during the Jinan Massacre, they could be wiped out a second time.

However, to Yang Jiefang's surprise, the unit stationed in Yantai was the 4th Division, the renowned Osaka Division of World War II. This wasn't entirely unexpected, as Yoshio Nakamura, who had been Yang Jiefang's earliest collaborator, was from Osaka. Many Osaka businessmen had also invested in factories in Yantai. Yang Jiefang pondered to himself, could this Osaka Division be dealt with in another way?

The sudden entry of the Japanese army, which Yang Jiefang accepted calmly, caused an uproar both domestically and internationally. Newspapers were abuzz with speculation, but one convincing explanation was that Yang Jiefang had clearly allied with the Japanese in order to counter Soviet Russia in the north. If his goal was simply to overthrow the Nanjing Nationalist government, he wouldn't have needed Japanese assistance at all.

Before the New Year, Ma Shangfei led the 1st Cavalry Division and the White Russian Cavalry Brigade towards Xilingol League. While organizing resistance, the German Prince protested to the Nationalist government. The fact that the dragon carriage was destroyed outside Datong City and that the German Prince was implicated was rather far-fetched. However, it was all in vain; resistance was useless, and in an era where strength mattered, protests were even less effective.

Although the Japanese believed they were responsible for the bombing of the dragon carriage, they did not publicly admit it. Furthermore, the Japanese were certain that Yang Jiefang knew it was Japanese, given that only one member of the Nakano group had returned. However, the fact that Prince De was now taking the blame led the Japanese to mistakenly believe that Yang Jiefang dared not completely break with them.

At this point, whoever takes the blame will have to bear the wrath of the young commander. As a result, although the coal bosses in Datong were implicated and suffered, the forces behind them showed great restraint.

Ma Shangfei's attack was very successful, utterly crushing the main force of Prince De. Under the protection of Damichusulun, Prince De fled in panic to Outer Mongolia. Another of Prince De's generals, Gongchukras, chose to surrender to Ma Shangfei, leading to the surrender of Prince De's remaining troops.

Yechikov led the White Russian cavalry brigade in hot pursuit, following them into Outer Mongolia. Meanwhile, Wu Zhichen of Baotou led the 3rd Cavalry Division into Outer Mongolia while pursuing bandits. Both sides encountered Outer Mongolian troops and easily defeated them.

At this time, Yang Jiefang was not yet prepared to advance into Outer Mongolia and ordered Ma Shangfei and Wu Zhichen not to go too far. However, this move provoked the dissatisfaction and protests of Soviet Russia. The Soviet Embassy in China issued a stern warning, claiming that Yang Jiefang's actions were an act of aggression and a provocation against Soviet Russia. Although Outer Mongolia was legally still part of China, Soviet Russia regarded it as its exclusive domain and would not tolerate Yang Jiefang's interference.

Despite the dissatisfaction and condemnation from domestic public opinion caused by the Soviet Union's overbearing attitude, the Soviet Union remained firm and issued a serious warning to Yang Jiefang that if the People's Liberation Army did not withdraw from Outer Mongolia, the Soviet army would intervene. Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that the Japanese occupation was linked to the war in the north.

Yang Jiefang's chosen ally was never Japan, but rather Germany, located far away in Europe. Gu Weijun, with the joint recommendation of Yang Jiefang and Xiao Liuzi, was formally appointed as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Nationalist Government. He lived up to Yang Jiefang's expectations, using this position to formally establish an alliance with Germany.

According to the message relayed back by Gu Weijun, Germany would officially send a group of experts in metal smelting and military manufacturing to assist Yang Jiefang in developing the military industry. This included the U-boat construction technology that Yang Jiefang had long anticipated.

Yang Jiefang was overjoyed but also troubled. Port cities like Yantai, Qingdao, and Tianjin were unsuitable for building U-boats. He had to find a new port to build a dry dock for U-boat production. The only port city he could realistically use was Rizhao. Currently, his plan for Rizhao was to develop its chemical industry. Besides the oil refinery, a series of chemical plants had already been built there.

Just then, an unexpected event once again drew national attention. On February 28th (the twelfth day of the first lunar month), President Chiang Kai-shek detained Hu Hanmin in Nanjing. His purpose was simple: to legally inherit the presidency. After the victory of the Second Northern Expedition, the Nanjing Nationalist Government officially replaced the Beiyang Government, becoming the only legitimate central government in China. However, two years had passed, and China still had no president. A group of Kuomintang veterans were fiercely vying for this position!

Hu Hanmin was a key figure in the Guangdong faction, and his detention immediately aroused strong dissatisfaction among Guangdong faction members. Chen Jitang, the leader of the Guangdong Army, publicly condemned the detention, which received a response and support from many anti-Chiang Kai-shek forces.

Although President Chiang Kai-shek achieved military victory in the Central Plains War, he was politically isolated. At this time, he became even more isolated.

Yang Jiefang was speechless. The Central Plains War had just ended, and he was just figuring out how to deal with the local troublemakers. Couldn't they just shut up? He had no say in what was happening in the south, nor did he intend to get involved. But Chen Jitang insisted on dragging Yang Jiefang into it.

Chen Jitang publicly telegraphed the entire nation, requesting that Xiao Liuzi and Yang Jiefang step forward to uphold justice. Did Chen Jitang not know the relationship between Xiao Liuzi and President Chang? His true intention was simply to win over Yang Jiefang to jointly oppose President Chang. Looking across the country, only Xiao Liuzi currently had the power to challenge President Chang. Therefore, Chen Jitang repeatedly telegraphed Yang Jiefang, asking him to speak out publicly and uphold justice.

Yang Jiefang, already scheming, wondered how he could gain some advantage from this situation. After careful consideration, he summoned Gao Yao. Gao Yao had been working hard to expand the cooperative's business into the prosperous south. Unfortunately, without the support of military force, his cooperative's business in the south hadn't been progressing well. Now, Chen Jitang, known as the "King of the South," had come knocking—wasn't this a perfect opportunity? Gao Yao readily accepted the task and immediately set off south, intending to have a proper talk with Chen Jitang.

Yang Jiefang temporarily set aside matters in the south, focusing his efforts entirely on preparations for the September 18th Incident. Starting in March, the weapons ordered by Xiao Liuzi began to be delivered in batches. First came light weapons, then heavy weapons such as artillery, and finally aircraft and tanks. All weapons were to be delivered by the end of May, allowing Xiao Liuzi three months for training.

At this time, Yan Donglai sent a telegram saying that he had subdued the four tribes of Lao Beifeng, Gai Zhonghua, Xiang Qingshan, and Su Baoshan.