Chapter 874, Wei Rucong went south

The National Congress, which lasted for more than half a month, officially ended, and the Republic of China gradually recovered from the previous enthusiastic political events as usual. The people got what they wanted to see Wu Shaoting becoming the head of state. The Spring Festival, which was shrouded in the Qingdao War and the National Congress, was also considered to be over. Those who should go to work continued to work, those who should go to school, and those who should work continued to work. People just prayed in their hearts, hoping that Wu Shaoting could really lead China to prosperity and strength, at least make the food on their own dining table more abundant and the clothes they wore warmer.

Of course, the official end of the National Assembly does not mean that China has solved all problems, especially the universally worried diplomatic crisis of the Allied Powers. From the last month’s leak of Tang Shaoyi and Xiong Xiling’s incident to this day, diplomatic pressure from Britain, France, Russia and Japan has not been alleviated. The ambassadors to China of the four countries have not made any official announcements so far, supporting or recognizing the legitimacy of the Nanjing central government and the legal identity of Wu Shaoting. They only recognize the Republic of China’s countries and continue to maintain their daily diplomatic work.

Although the great powers bullyed people too much and were exaggerated by Chinese public opinion, fortunately, there is not a big crisis at present, and diplomatic work is not related to the common people. Apart from paying attention to the progress of the incident, there is nothing much difference between the rest of the work.

On the last day of February, Wei Rucong received an order to return to Nanjing to attend the first central government meeting. He arrived directly at Jinan by airship, and then transferred from Jinan to Nanjing by train.

Wu Shaoting sent Deng Keng and Long Yun to greet him. They waited early in the morning on the dock on the south bank of Nanjing until the speedboat of the Ministry of National Defense that Wei Rucong was on arrived. Wei Rucong arrived here for the second time after he moved the capital to Nanjing. At the end of the Civil War, he stayed in Wuhan to reorganize the Hubei army. Not long after, he was the chief of staff of the Central Second Army and Cai E transferred to Gansu to assist in the training of the Second Northern Army. During this period, he only stayed in Nanjing for a short period of time during the award ceremony.

After returning from the cold area of ​​Gansu, Wei Rucong seemed to have become much more vicissitudes and was somewhat uncomfortable with the weather in the south. When he got ashore, he only wore a single shirt and handed his coat to the adjutant to hold it.

Deng Keng and Long Yun went forward to pick him up. The two sides briefly talked a few words, then got into the car directly. The convoy immediately drove towards the Presidential Palace.

"The climate in Gansu is still very bad. I have seen several southern transport soldiers get sick from the cold. Even the officer supervision group we brought from Wuhan were forced to return to the south to recuperate." When the convoy started, Wei Rucong looked at the spring scenery of the Jianghuai area outside the window and couldn't help but sigh.

"The climate difference between the north and the south is really worrying. General Wei happened to be transferred to Gansu in the winter. I have to admire the hard work of the past three months." Deng Keng, who was sitting beside him, said sincerely. Although he rarely goes to the north, he remembers that when he went to Beijing Base Camp with Wu Shaoting to supervise work in two months, he could already feel the difficulties of climate difference between the north and the south.

"The remote areas in the northwest are also considered important areas for national security, especially the rebellion of Prince ***. If it is not solved every day, it will not make people feel at ease. Naturally, we must do our best to lay a solid foundation for stabilizing national security in the future." Wei Rucong said with a solemn expression.

"General Wei's ambition to defend his country is touched." Deng Keng sighed, then paused, changed his tone and asked, "General Wei, don't you know how good General Songpo will be recently?"

Wei Rucong glanced at Deng Keng. He guessed from the other party's serious face that this was actually a question Wu Shaoting wanted to ask. After sighing slightly, he said: "The few days before I set off, General Cai was still as usual. Except for his work, he would concentrate on his work, he was basically in-depth and concise at other times. I have visited General Cai many times, and he was not allowed to meet in the past few times. Later, he met a few times, but General Cai only talked about work with me."

Deng Keng nodded thoughtfully, secretly wrote down all Wei Rucong's words, and asked again: "Sir, General, what do you think General Songpo's mentality is now?"

Wei Rucong knew what Deng Keng’s question meant. He pondered for a moment and thought about how to answer it in his heart. Putting aside his political stance, he himself admired Cai E very much. During the Civil War, the southern government organized a division based on provinces, but Cai E’s 7th Division had no support from the provincial government. Moreover, all the soldiers were either miscellaneous soldiers or new recruits, but it was such a unit that eventually developed into the backbone of the southern army in Cai E's hands.

He sighed helplessly, unable to let go of his mind, and finally said, "However, although General Songpo is unwilling to talk about political matters, I can still see that he has some concern in his heart. After all, what happened in Nanjing is too sudden. But then again, General Songpo is definitely not a pedantic person. He can tell the difference between the current situation, but it only takes some time to clarify the clue."

Deng Keng nodded slightly and sighed in Wei Rucong's tone: "National Congress has just ended and the Nanjing Central Government has just settled. It is an extraordinary time, so he should be treated with an extraordinary attitude. I hope General Songpo can understand."

Wei Rucong said everything he should say. How to deal with Cai E depends on Wu Shaoting's idea. After a while of silence, he suddenly changed the subject and asked: "This time Tingshuai personally sent a telegram to urge me to come back to attend the government meeting. It should not be as simple as asking General Songpo's situation. What are Tingshuai's plans?"

Deng Keng lowered his voice and said, "Ting Shuai plans to use the government work meeting this afternoon to unify the opinions of the central government and decide to formulate a new Asian strategy."

Wei Rucong frowned and murmured: "Asian Strategy?"

Deng Keng nodded and continued: "At the end of last month, Ting Shuai held a preliminary meeting with the Ministry of National Defense, and the Ministry of National Defense is already preparing in advance. However, after this government work meeting, all resources from all over the country should be concentrated on the Asian strategy, accelerate the process of preliminary preparations, and transfer to the operation stage as soon as possible."

Wei Rucong had heard before that the Ministry of National Defense had abolished the "Night Falcon" group and replaced another group of core personnel to form a "shady curtain" group. However, in his understanding, the "shady curtain" group is only responsible for the political protection work before and after the National Assembly. Now a new "Asian Strategy" has emerged, and from the name alone is to expand China's interests in Asia. Recalling the recent diplomatic pressure from the Allies on China, perhaps this "Asian Strategy" is directly related to the European War.

"Does Ting Shuai plan to be strong with the Allies?" he asked intently.

"The specific situation is hard to say now. It is precisely because of this that General Wei needs to come back as soon as possible to discuss countermeasures together." Deng Keng said solemnly.

"I understand, but... I think Tingshuai should have made plans in his heart. This matter must naturally be taken seriously, which is a major event that directly affects the destiny of our Republic of China." Wei Rucong said seriously.
Chapter completed!