Master Yuan, start!

"What does the new telegram say?" Ma Anliang raised his head and asked.

The personal guard replied, "Master Dong said that the Republican government has given new conditions. If the Gansu Army is unwilling to accept the reorganization, it can retain its entire organization and march west to defend the border for the country.

If the Gansu Army agrees, the Republican government can negotiate with the Shaanxi-Gansu Governor in Lanzhou City to make way for the Gansu Army."

"Go west" Ma Anliang hesitated for a moment, then suddenly stood up:

"That President Yuan is willing to let us go to Xinjiang?"

Chapter 424: Ma's Army Advances Westward and Enters the Pass

Before Zuo Zongtang pacified the northwest, Christians accounted for a quarter of the population in Shaanxi province alone.

If we calculate based on the population of Shaanxi in the 1020th year of Jiaqing, among the 250 million Shaanxi people, nearly million were Christians, which is an extremely exaggerated and shocking proportion.

As for Gansu, further west, the proportion of Christians is even higher, reaching one-third. Among the province's nearly 1500 million people, there are as many as 500 million Christians.

However, after Zuo Zongtang led his troops to pacify the northwest, the proportion of local Christians declined rapidly.

Even in the 21st century, when Gansu's total population had increased 1.5 times compared to the Qing Dynasty, the number of Christians had dropped from 500 million to more than 120 million.

As for Shaanxi, the total population of all ethnic minorities in Shaanxi Province in the 21st century was only 22.

Therefore, the Northwest in 1898 was not very friendly to the Christians.

Most of the Han people who experienced the Tongzhi Hui Rebellion have not yet passed away, and the blood feud is still remembered by them.

Going to the northwest, to Xinjiang, to a place far away from the power struggle among the Han people, was not a difficult thing for Ma Anliang and his group of Ma family soldiers.

However, the so-called Ma family army today is not a formal name, but refers to the Christian soldiers in the Gansu Army.

Without the Gansu Army, the Ma family army would become a rootless drifting duckweed and would be unable to survive.

Of course, if the Christians in the Gansu Army immediately withdrew, then Dong Fuxiang's battle-hardened army would no longer exist.

The Han people and Christians in the Gansu Army maintained a delicate balance. Except for Dong Fuxiang, almost all the high-level commanders were Christian leaders.

Therefore, after receiving the telegram, although Ma Anliang was eager to advance westward into Xinjiang, considering the reality, he could only wait for Dong Fuxiang's return in Ningxia City.

Dong Fuxiang in Tianjin City was facing the same situation.

After receiving Yuan Shikai's promise to support the westward advance, Dong Fuxiang did not set off immediately, but discussed with the other two people traveling with him for a long time.

... 0

In the posthouse, Dong Fuxiang and his two companions sat opposite each other and drank.

After three rounds of drinking, Ma Haiyan, a general in the Gansu army, put down his glass and said:

“Ningxia called and Ma Anliang agreed to go west.

Hey, if President Yuan can really let the Chu army see us off, it would be a good idea."

As soon as Ma Haiyan finished speaking, Ma Qianling, a Gansu army strategist who was an imam, raised his wine cup and filled Dong Fuxiang's glass with wine, saying in agreement:

"The National Revolutionary Army is powerful. If President Yuan is willing to guarantee it, I believe the Chu army will not dare to disobey."

Ma Haiyan and Ma Qianling were both Christians and they wholeheartedly agreed with the westward expansion plan.

Their descendants in the original time and space, one became the leader of Ningma, and the other became the representative of Qingma.

Looking at the two people clinking glasses in front of him, Dong Fuxiang took the glass, shook it in his hand for a moment, but did not speak.

Dong Fuxiang is a Han Chinese, but he lives in the northwest where Christians gather.

He grew up in Guyuan (now Ningxia), an area where ethnic groups live together and there are more Christians than Han people.

He has been exposed to many Green Sect cultures and customs since he was a child, and even learned martial arts from a local Guyuan Christian martial arts master.

Therefore, he has no prejudice or discrimination against his fellow believers.

Dong Fuxiang initially joined the army under the slogan of "protecting the Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor", but when the Qing army was ordered to suppress the civil unrest in Shaanxi, he was able to unite with the Christian armed forces to fight against the Qing army.

Later, when he was besieged by the Chu army heading north, he chose to surrender to the Qing army and acted as a thug to fight against the believers.

Everything is for profit.

Therefore, when Yuan Xiangcheng proposed the "Westward Advance" plan to Dong Fuxiang, he immediately thought about how to maximize his own interests.

"Just letting the Chu army see us off is not enough, in my opinion!" Dong Fuxiang picked up the small wine glass, drank it all in one gulp, and wiped his mouth.

"We have to let Chu Junli escort us out of the country, and also provide supplies to our Gansu army along the way!"

Dong Fuxiang squeezed the wine glass hard, his fingers turning pale. "Before heading east to Tianjin, I heard the Chu army in Lanzhou called us bandits?

Bah! What bandits? If we are bandits, then the Chu army is also a bandit. At best, it is just a group of bandits occupying Lanzhou!

A few years ago, the Chu army seized our territory and drove us everywhere. How dare they slander us as bandits now? "

"Let the Chu army provide us with money and food." Ma Haiyan frowned and replied, "How can they agree to this? Is this possible?"

Ma Qianling was also a little worried when he heard this: "What if they get angry and block our way?"

In fact, as far as Dong Fuxiang's true inner thoughts were concerned, he felt that it was fine whether he stayed or went west.

However, no matter which one he chose, Dong Fuxiang wanted to maintain his position as the "Commander of the Gansu Army".

However, the situation is stronger than people.

Dong Fuxiang knew that if he wanted to continue to maintain his strong position in the Gansu Army, he could neither go against the believers and let the Gansu Army disband, nor completely follow them and let the Gansu Army become a believer's army.

Therefore, in Dong Fuxiang's view, it is okay to move westward, but this matter must be led by himself, not the Christians in the Gansu Army.

One of his strategies was to find fault with the Chu army.

Dong Fuxiang predicted that this group of believers would not want to clash with the Chu army, and in the end, the initiative to advance westward would naturally fall into his hands.

Looking at the worried expressions of the two people in front of him about his words, Dong Fuxiang revealed a barely perceptible smile.

No matter how the situation changes, having a team in hand is the capital to survive in troubled times.

Dong Fuxiang believed that as long as there was a chance to preserve the Gansu Army and use it for his own benefit, he would do everything he could.

No matter whether the opponent is Han Chinese or Christian, the president of the Republic of China, or Yang Changjun who once fought side by side with Zuo Zongtang.

Dong Fuxiang always felt that the world situation would fluctuate, and Yuan Shikai might not be the last one to succeed.

When the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom established its capital in Nanjing, it shocked the world, but wasn't it still suppressed by the Qing Dynasty?

The same is true of the Qing Dynasty. How powerful was its reputation since the Tongzhi and Guangxu periods?

First, they carried out Westernization, then defeated the French and barbarians, recovered Korea, abolished the feudal system and established counties. Everyone said that the trend of revival was on the rise again.

But in the blink of an eye, Yuan Shikai, the hero of the restoration, raised the banner of anti-Manchuism and established a republic of his own.

Dong Fuxiang did not believe that the National Revolutionary Army would always be successful. As long as they fought, they would inevitably be defeated.

When that day comes, perhaps China will be in turmoil again, with heroes vying for supremacy.

By that time, he had led the Gansu Army to recuperate in Xinjiang and accumulated a lot of strength, which was just right for him to march eastward along the Hexi Corridor into the Central Plains and show his strength.

After all, who says entering Jiayuguan is not entering the pass?

Chapter 425 Central Asian Supply Line

The Lantern Festival had just passed, and the people of Tianjin were still immersed in the joy that the National Revolutionary Army was about to unify the country.

However, unlike the optimistic attitude of the people, the atmosphere within the Republican government, especially among the senior generals of the National Revolutionary Army, was somewhat depressing.

Inside the Zizhulin Railway Station, all you see are young soldiers wearing the blue uniforms of the National Revolutionary Army. Each soldier carries a package on his back and a military blanket in his hand.

With excitement and enthusiasm on their faces, they were ready to take the train to Dagu Station on the coast of Tianjin, and then board a ship to the south or north.

Fengtian, Haidong, and Jilin outside the Great Wall had been governed by Yuan Shikai for nearly 10 years, starting with his term as Governor-General of the Three Eastern Provinces.

Even Zhili, Shandong, Shanxi, and northern Henan, which were within the Great Wall, were included in the rule for nearly five years.

Under the continuous and unremitting cleanup of the National Defense Army and the National Revolutionary Army, these places no longer had people picking up things on the streets or locking their doors at night, but at least there were no bandits looting the city or robbing the people.

As the security situation in North China and Northeast China improved, the Central Military Commission decided to adopt the policy of "focusing on the outside and weakening the inside".

The second-line troops of the National Revolutionary Army were stationed at various major transportation routes.

Within the city, the original patrol battalions and guard battalions were reorganized and eliminated and transformed into police forces to maintain order under the leadership of local Social Revolutionary Party members.

As for the front-line combat troops, some were transferred to the southern battlefield to prepare to quell the local unrest that occurred after the collapse of the Huai Army and to fight against France.

The other part was transferred to Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia to guard against the Russian Baikal Military District moving south.

When British Minister to China, Sir Claude MacDonald, walked out of the train station, he found that there were obviously more police officers on the streets, and there were also patrol troops with red armbands on their arms, inspecting everywhere.

Looking further ahead, many French businesses that were originally along the street next to the train station have chosen to close. Some have hung up signs saying they are temporarily closed, while others are deserted, clearly closed down.

The only thing still open was the bank.

However, long queues in front of banks do not always mean booming business.

Depositors were worried that war would break out between China and France, and that their deposits in French banks would be at risk, so they all wanted to withdraw their money, causing a wartime bank run.

After the Chinese New Year, as the news of the Sino-French war became increasingly real and there was less and less room for maneuver, French banks across the country were hit by runs.

Among them, the bank that suffered the most losses was the French Banque de l'Indochine. Under the intentional or unintentional instigation of Yuan Shikai through newspapers, hundreds of thousands of users who had deposits in the Banque de l'Indochine withdrew money from their accounts, causing the bank's reserves to shrink significantly.

If the French government had not been afraid of damaging its reputation as a "financial nation," it would have closed down like other French trading companies in China.

However, when the war came, the Bank of France still chose to redeem money for its Chinese depositors, which also meant a kind of confidence.

After all, a bank that can serve depositors in an enemy country during a war means that its credibility is very reliable.

As long as they can win, they will not only be able to recover the money lost in this bank run, but they can even go a step further and absorb more deposits from Chinese people.

9 Thinking of this, the British Minister to China, Claude MacDonald, could not help but sigh: France is indeed the usurer empire.

Dou Nale shook his head and put these thoughts behind him. He came to meet Yuan Shikai this time not to discuss the Bank of France.

Instead, he asked Yuan Shikai to change his military strategy and send an army to the northwest.

Although a telegram had been sent before and Yuan Xiangcheng had replied to agree, Dou Nale was still a little worried and decided to go there in person.

Intelligence shows that the Russian army seems to be active in Central Asia. They have now completely conquered the Central Asian steppes, and it is normal for them to want to continue expanding.

However, it is not known whether they want to invade Xinjiang to ease the situation in Vietnam for the French, or simply covet Afghanistan, or both.

However, Britain cannot tolerate either situation.

Dounal knew that neither Xinjiang nor Afghanistan could be controlled by the Russians.

Otherwise, the greedy polar bear will want to get his hands on India!