Republic of China: German-equipped divisions massacred as warlords guarded the nation's borders

Who are the two good people from the tax police corps?

Are two brigades too many?

Chen Zijun simply said lightly, "Whose tax police regiment has two brigades? May I ask this reporter friend, our tax police regiment has publicly announced its organizational structure. There are only two regiments, the First Tax Police Regiment and the Second Tax Police Regiment, commanded by Zang Keping and Yang Yanzhao respectively. Both of them have been stripped of their major general rank by the central government and discharged from the military, so their current positions can only be considered as civil servants in Shanghai!"

"Commander Zang, Commander Yang!"

As Chen Zijun spoke, two middle-aged men walked over from the side. Dressed in black leather suits similar to policemen, they looked very imposing. They wore ties in their flat-lapels, and their belts were not carrying any weapons. But just by standing there, they exuded a long-lost aura of battle veterans.

It should be noted that both men were once famous generals in the Anhui clique. Zang Keping was known for his bravery and skill in battle, while Yang Yanzhao was known in the Anhui clique for his wisdom and resourcefulness. If the two had not been fighting in Fujian Province for many years, and if they had fought in other provinces, the Anhui clique would not have been so short of generals that the Zhili clique was defeated in one battle.

Both Zang and Yang's units were elite troops with extensive combat experience, and their combat strength was no less than that of the Central Army Divisions, given the same number of personnel.

Whose taxes is this tax policeman collecting?

"Look, none of them are wearing military uniforms!"

"Both of them are my elders, and according to seniority I should call them uncles. Since the late Qing Dynasty, they have devoted themselves to the revolution to expel the Manchus, restore China, and establish the Republic of China. For many years, they have worked tirelessly..."

"I won't go into the details of the internal strife in Fujian, as you all have your own understanding of it. However, my two uncles have been defeated and expelled from Fujian. Can you understand how two honest men who dedicated most of their lives to the revolution suddenly lost their homes and couldn't even return to their hometowns?"

Have you ever thought about them?

"They were chased from Fujian, then besieged in Jiangxi, dressed in rags, lacking food and clothing, coming to beg my father. They were comrades-in-arms back then. Must my father be a cold-blooded person, turning them away and watching them all perish in a foreign land before you are satisfied?"

"We're all Chinese, why make things difficult for our own people?"

"At this time, as a son, I am sharing my father's burdens; as a nephew, I am inviting my uncles, who have already renounced weapons and war, to come to Shanghai to serve as tax police. Is there anything wrong with that?"

……

After these words were spoken, no one could say anything more.

After all, Chen Zijun was telling the truth. He even said that before leaving Jiangxi and Yang's troops into Zhejiang, they really left behind all their weapons and armaments, which gave the military governor of Jiangxi Province a great advantage!

At this point, Chen Zijun spread his hands, looking quite innocent, and said, "So, that reporter just now, your question made you seem very unsophisticated!"

"Of course, on the other hand, what business is it of Zhejiang if I take over the tax police regiments of Zang and Yang in Shanghai?"

"What does the peace treaty he signed with Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, and Jiangxi have to do with Shanghai?"

"If we're really going to count, before the establishment of Shanghai as a special administrative region, it was part of Jiangsu Province. Shouldn't we then consider Jiangsu Province as having violated the Four Provinces Peace Treaty?"

"General Qi Yingcai is crying 'stop thief!'"

"As expected, what I said earlier was correct."

"One shouldn't be too much like Qi Xiucai!"

The "Qi Xiucai" refers to Qi Yingcai, the military governor of Jiangsu Province. Because he had been a poor scholar in the late Qing Dynasty and always considered himself a cultured person, many old Beiyang people jokingly called him "Xiucai" (a scholar who passed the imperial examinations).

Of course, Qi Yingcai was not a direct descendant of the old Beiyang clique; he was only a member of the late Qing dynasty's new army. However, after the establishment of the Republic of China, he continued to align himself with the Beiyang clique until after the Zhili-Anhui War, when he finally joined the Zhili clique.

Upon hearing this, Zang Keping and Yang Yanzhao couldn't help but laugh.

They were tax police, that's true; they gave up their weapons, that's true. It seems they lost a lot, but in reality, they gained even more...

For example, they discarded the old slide and acquired the German Model 1888 Commission Rifle!

For example, they discarded the designation of the Fujian New Army and obtained the nameplate of the Tax Police Corps!

For example, they abandoned... well, they didn't have heavy machine guns or artillery, but they got Maxim MG-08 heavy machine guns and even a Krupp 7.62 cm light infantry gun platoon!

Even in terms of organizational structure, they were given more personnel. Now their regiment has more than 3,000 men, which is close to the size of a brigade in most of the New Army during the Republic of China, but their combat strength is much stronger.

Just as Chen Zijun told them, don't care about your reputation, care about the actual combat power you have!

Only a dead enemy is the best enemy. It doesn't matter whether the enemy was killed by a Central Army Division, a newly formed local division, a security regiment, or a tax police regiment.

Chen Zijun was taking advantage of the fact that these reporters hadn't actually seen the true equipment and training of the Tax Police Corps; otherwise, they wouldn't have been so easily fooled by Chen Zijun.

Honestly, when the Jiangzhe War broke out, Chen Zijun led the 10th Division of the Central Army, the 6th Independent Mixed Brigade of the Central Army, and the newly formed 1st Division of Zhejiang in fighting against the armies of Jiangsu, Anhui, and even Hubei and Shandong in southern Jiangsu. The reason why he could feel at ease in Shanghai, the rear area, was because of the Tax Police Corps that he had taken in and reorganized!

Seemingly awakened by Zang Keping and Yang Yanzhao's laughter, the people below also began to notice the two, and couldn't help but start thinking about how to create a big news story!

These two were once formidable figures in the Anhui clique. Although they have "fallen from grace" now, they were still once celebrities. These kinds of people need to be reheated like old rice to become popular... and become a sensation!

His eyes darted around, and he couldn't help but turn to Zang Keping and Yang Yanzhao, shouting loudly to them.

"Commander Zang, Commander Yang, what are your thoughts on the transformation of former military personnel into tax police?"

"Please share your personal views on the years of internal strife in Fujian..."

"Gentlemen, may I ask you this: whose taxes are you trying to collect with your thousands of military-equipped tax police? Are you genuine tax police, or just a figurehead disguised as military force?"

This person's words were another bombshell, silencing the entire meeting room once again.

Others were just trying to make a big splash by targeting Zang Keping and Yang Yanzhao, but this guy has been keeping his eyes on Chen Zijun the whole time. This is going to be explosive news!

Upon closer inspection, he realized that the man was the same one who had just accused Zhejiang of being the first to violate the peace treaty, and he felt relieved.

This guy isn't brave, he just wants to become famous!

The man smugly adjusted his round, black-rimmed glasses, then nodded to the surrounding reporters with feigned composure, basking in their admiring gazes.

Hmph, this little trick might fool those fake foreigners, but it won't fool me!

Back when President Yuan Shikai recovered Tianjin, he had Zhao Bingzhi, who later became Premier, establish China's first modern police force. At that time, he selected the most elite soldiers and put on a good show right under the noses of those foreigners by combining military and police functions.

Haha, I, Huang Qiushan, have quite a long-term strategic vision!

Just as Zang Keping and Yang Yanzhao were about to answer, they heard Chen Zijun say loudly—

"My tax police, aren't they supposed to be collecting taxes?!"

"Why not levy taxes?"

"As for whose taxes should be levied?"

"Then we'll have to see who didn't pay taxes, who evaded taxes, and who avoided paying taxes!"

"After all, in Jiangnan, resisting and refusing to pay taxes is a tradition!"