Except for Song Ziqing who learned about it earlier, everyone else frowned secretly. He just said that the troops were insufficient and now he was going to form a Northwest Army. What's the point?

Especially Cai E and Feng Guozhang frowned deeply. They knew the importance of the northwest, otherwise they would not have raised the problem of too few troops garrisons in the northwest alone. However, the northwest was different from the inner city. The Qing Dynasty did not do it, but the northwest built two major railway arteries running through the north and south, which ensured the possibility of long-distance troops and logistics transportation. (Baidu search, watch the latest update of this book) But there were few roads in the northwest, and the difficulty of military supplies was more than several times that of the inner city. Moreover, there were vast areas and sparse populations. The relationship between the Manchus and other ethnic groups and Han people was tense, and private troops were as numerous as cows. The Ma family, which was active in Gansu and Qinghai, was the most rampant. These people were all good at riding and flexible. If the infantry went up alone, they could not achieve the effect without a 10,000 or 20,000 troops.

Maintaining tens of thousands of troops in the northwest... This consumption is chilling to think about.

After Japan added two divisions, the Northeast has begun to be in a tight spot. Moreover, Tsarist Russia has always retained nearly 300,000 troops in the Far East. If there is no 4 to 5 divisions to fight, it will be impossible to stop it. Once chaos arises in the Northeast, the Bohai Bay and even Shandong are very dangerous. According to Cai E's idea, after all 22 regular divisions are formed in March next year, at least 10 divisions will be needed north of Xuzhou alone to deter Japan from the outbreak of war.

Since it is an army building, it is at least one division or more. Even if the minimum standards are calculated by four brigades, there are only 10 divisions and 3 ** brigades left in the south and the Central Plains hinterland. Even if the National Guard can help, it will not be able to meet national defense needs.

Song Ziqing cleared his throat: "We have been paying little attention to the Northwest issue. I personally think it is better to be early than late. The main reason for this is the interference of external forces and the proliferation of guns. Last month alone, Xi'an and Baoji reported that more than 1,500 guns of various types were seized and more than 100,000 ammunition was seized. Russian infiltration is becoming increasingly serious, and Russian troops are invading Northwest and Mongolia very frequently. As General Feng said, I also think it is necessary to immediately increase the force to the Northwest."

Cai E said: "Stable northwest is certain, and how to ensure long-term stability is the key. To achieve this goal, the number of troops stationed in the northwest cannot be less than 20,000, and a large number of cavalry will be added to meet the needs."

Yang Qiu nodded: "My idea is that the 6th Division moves northward to Baotou and Chicheng, 43rd Brigade and 151st Brigade, and adds the currently drawn cavalry of each unit to form a cavalry brigade with the cavalry regiment as the team to form a 121 mixed division, and form a Northwest Army with the 6th Division and 121 mixed divisions, and at the same time merge Chahar, Suiyuan, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang and Mongolia into the Northwest Military Region.\\.com First launch\\"

Feng Guozhang tapped the table with his finger and said the same thing: "There is insufficient troops! The seven northwestern provinces are larger than the eight southwestern provinces, and there is another Russian threat outside Mongolia and Xinjiang. The 6th Division is enough to control Suiyuan and Chahar to the north, and it can also shock Mongolia. However, although the 121st Division was organized, it is still the troops of the 4th and 15th Divisions in its core. In addition, tens of thousands of people in the cavalry brigade will be insufficient to control the four provinces. In my opinion, it is better to have two more divisions."

Yang Qiu scratched his head. Why did the old man still have the idea of ​​adding two divisions and smiled: "It is certain that the number of Northwest Army is insufficient, so the National Guard will also draw three brigades to Baotou, Yinchuan and Lanzhou to cooperate. I have called the President and requested the Prime Minister and the government to prepare the western section of the Longhai Line as soon as possible and extend to Yumen Pass, and the Beijing-Zhanghai Railway to Baotou. I never thought that I would become fat in one bite. The establishment of the Northwest Army and Military Region is a long-term plan. The Ministry of National Defense will set up a budget of 5 million this year to build three larger army advance bases in Baotou, Yinchuan and Yumen Pass, and use this as a basis to recruit soldiers in the northwest, and prepare to form two divisions in three years.

The Prime Minister also promised to recruit 200,000 refugees from all over the country to move to the northwest within five years, order 1,000 tractors and 30,000 livestock to them, and implement military management, and go to the northwest to pioneer the planting of cotton and sorghum and other crops to increase the local population."

Even the budget was made, it was obvious that I had a long history of my innocence.

This plan is also feasible. The 6th Division can fully rely on Shanxi and Shandong behind them to the north to enter Baotou and Chicheng, so the logistics consumption will not increase too much. The 121 Mixed Division is a new unit, but it is actually a combination of the 4th Division and the 15th Division. The vacancies of the two divisions require one year to train new recruits to be slowly filled, and the number of troops will not increase in the short term. The main problem is the stability of Shaanxi. Controlling Shaanxi can ensure the front-line military supplies, so the remaining two brigades of the 4th Division still need to be permanently stationed in Shaanxi for a period of time. As for the later generations of construction corps, the idea of ​​building a corps is even more novel. If hundreds of thousands of militarized management personnel who do not use guns within five years, it can not only increase the proportion of Han people in the northwest, but also accelerate the construction of the northwest and truly incorporate them into the management system of the Republic of China.

The construction of the Northwest Army and Military Region was quickly decided, with Shi Xiaolou, the former commander of the 4th Division, served as the commander of the 121st Mixed Division and the commander of the Northwest Army. Liu Yutang, the former deputy commander of the 4th Division, took over the position of commander of the 4th Division, and Xu Shuzheng was appointed as the staff officer of the Northwest Military Region, but the candidate for the commander of the 6th Division has not yet been decided.

Feng Guozhang recommended Chen Huan, but Chen Huan had been appointed as the commander of the 16th Division, so he chose Li Chun as the second best. However, Cai E believed that the 6th Division was the foundation of the Jin army, and even if Yan Xishan was not used, he should choose one from the Jin army officers.

"Let me think about it again." Yang Qiu did not give a reply for the time being. He actually had a candidate in his mind, but this candidate was still in jail and needed to be observed for a while. Fortunately, the formation of the Northwest Army was not very urgent. Tsarist Russia is still very powerful in the north, and it is too obvious that it will attract Nicholas II's vigilance.

After the meeting, everyone left one after another, but Yang Du was left. Seeing this, Mr. Cai knew that he had something to say to Yang Qiu, so he brought the door with him when he went out and took care of Lei Meng and did not disturb him.

Yang Du was not interested in military affairs and did not express any comments during the meeting just now. After seeing everyone leaving, he took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to Yang Qiu: "This is what Liang Shiyi asked me to bring to you."

The letter is very simple, mainly about handing over the Beiyang small treasury with Zhang Wenjing. In addition to the batch of gold that had arrived in Nanjing, the 1 million pounds British loan he controlled was also handed over to the Ministry of Finance. Not only that, he also handed over all the more than 20 million that Beiyang had accumulated in private over the years. The meaning of defection between the lines made Yang Qiu secretly funny. He really wanted to ask Fang Rui what he did, which scared the Beiyang God of Wealth to this.

As soon as Yang Qiu finished reading the letter, Yang Du took out another letter, which made him laugh: "Brother Xizi, why don't you take it out together?"

Yang Du smiled and said, "It was just a business matter, but now... it's Du's private matter. The Vice President has always been clear about public and private affairs, and Du should also abide by it." He was so good at being obedient, and he deliberately slandered the words "clear between public and private affairs", which made Yang Qiu not able to continue asking questions. After opening it, he found that this was something similar to an application for joining the party. Is this Yang Du actually going to join the National Society?

I still admire this handsome man Yang Qiu. The way of the emperor alone is enough to attract any future generations. Unfortunately, he was born hundreds of years later. In the previous dynasty, he must have been a person who became a father-in-law. But now... the emperor is absolutely impossible for him to come back. Wang Xue, who has been studying for more than ten years, is destined to gradually become lonely.

After putting down the letter, he asked, "I heard that Brother Xizi has a good relationship with the Democratic Party, and the former president also intends to hand over the Unification Party to you. Why are you suddenly interested in our country and society?"

Yang Du seemed to have expected him to ask this question, raised his eyebrows and said lightly: "The success is the king and the defeat is the enemy."

This guy is really straightforward. Yang Qiu said in a dark voice, but it would be a good thing if he could join the Guoshe Society. He is famous in Beiyang and has close ties with Liang Shiyi and other transportation departments. When he joins, he will definitely expand the Guoshe Society's influence in the north. So after putting away the letter, he said: "I will forward the letter to the Party Secretariat for processing."

Although he did not agree, the Guoshe Society had the final say except for Li Yuanhong and several executive committee members, so Yang Du did not ask much, but instead turned to government affairs: "Du and General Songpo came all the way from Tianjin to find that the northern provinces were still unstable, especially the serious bandits in Henan and Shaanxi had seriously affected the overall situation, and the Central Plains were unstable and the world was unstable."

Unexpectedly, he would suddenly turn to political affairs, so Yang Qiu was slightly stunned, but he also saw that he was very utilitarian and wanted to use this to open up his career. However, he did not like this kind of style and said, "Brother Xizi will say everything in the future. I don't have so many twists and turns here."

Yang Du smiled awkwardly and said, "The people's safeguarding action is a high pressure from top to bottom. At that time, the turmoil in various provinces was understandable, but Henan was different. The country had been unified, and the provincial governments began to gradually restore their functions. If they pressed them again, they might bring criticism to your reputation."

Yang Qiu would not care about this "reputation", but Henan is now inseparable from the people and bandits. Regardless of the severity, it will definitely lead to death and injury, which will affect the great cause. So I thought about it and asked: "What should I do between brother Yixi?"

"The root cause of bandit troubles in various places is not how many bandit leaders there are, but how many blind followers there are. Since it is easy to cause civil unrest from top to bottom, then from bottom to top! Not only do you have to beat those with evil deeds, but you have to beat those little evils..." Yang Du's eyes turned, and the corners of his mouth were cold: "Leave it to the people to fight!"

"People?"

"Yes! Kill out the big tyrants and bullies, divide the confiscated land evenly, and then post a list to inform the people of Henan that anyone who withdraws from the bandit gang or tries to fight against bandits and makes meritorious service... can obtain land!"

Yang Qiu's heart skipped a beat, and two words suddenly surged into Yang Du's mind.

"Land reform!"

Has this guy ever come into contact with the Bolsheviks? Yang Qiu thought to himself that he was actually unwilling to reform land in the way of later generations. That method was too destructive, but land reform was a process that must be taken. The southwest's people's peace action was just a brief taste, and the power of landlords and gentry in the southwest was far less powerful than that in the north. Taking Henan as an example, 80% of the land in the province was almost in the hands of the local tyrants and landlords, and this proportion was much higher than that in the southwest.

Moreover, the landlord class is not useless. All their children have received good education, and many people have also studied abroad. If they fight too hard, it will inevitably lead to these people losing hope for the country and eventually become another "revolution".

Yang Qiu frowned, his fingers hit the table one after another, and then slowly stopped after a while: "Half a month later, Henan will take the lead in banning guns, and the troops are also preparing to attack some criminal forces. Murong Han is preparing for this matter. If Brother Xizi is free, you might as well stay there for a few days."

Yang Du was overjoyed and nodded and said goodbye immediately, but Yang Qiu looked at his back and sighed deeply.

Reform... is not easy.

.

{Piaotianwen Thank you for your support, your support is our greatest motivation}
Chapter completed!