"Again, Zhang Zhuo said that the general trend has been achieved. It will be a matter of time before we move to the Central Plains. People of our generation are destined to be eliminated, but you are still young and have a lot to do. This is a major change that has not happened in three thousand years. If you can't stay
Next time, I will pretend to be a man."
Duan Qirui smiled and said to Xu Shuzheng. He was able to jump out and attack Cao Kun first. In fact, he just wanted to win a favor. Even if he didn't come forward, as the heir to his mantle, Xiao Xu could still make a difference.
Of course Xu Shuzheng understood Lao Duan's thoughts and was very moved: "Zhi Weng, I used to think highly of myself and did not think highly of the world's heroes, but now in just a few years, Fengjun has undergone such changes, which is really shocking.
I don’t know if I still have any use for it.”
Duan Qirui smiled and said, "Zheng Zheng, if Zhang Zhuoyan has his ambitions in the world, he will not let go of any talent. All you have to do is wait for the opportunity to come."
Although Lao Duan has been out of office for many years, his reputation is still there. He was the first to raise questions. Others took notice and immediately called for re-election of the parliament. The governors of Shanxi, Gansu, Shaanxi, Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan and other provinces successively issued
voices, and the parliaments of various provinces also came forward one after another.
They pointed out that since the Republic of China, the electoral system has been increasingly impacted. Regular elections to the National Assembly and provincial assemblies have become ineffective. There is a huge gap in members, which is not enough to represent public opinion and cannot guarantee civil rights. As a result, all parties have acted recklessly, various regions have been segregated, and the country has been fragmented.
If he wants to reverse the situation, he must rewrite the rules, respect public opinion, and hold parliamentary elections. He can't wait. Cao Kun didn't expect that his actions would cause such a big stir. He couldn't hold it anymore, so he could only find someone to
Come to Wu Peifu for discussion.
"After all, it's just Zhang Tinglan who is behind the scenes. Some time ago, I felt there were some problems with the reorganization of the Democratic Party. Now it seems that it is just a trick played by Zhang Tinglan to resurrect the dead. He wants to control the parliament and then control the country.
The great government drove us away without bloodshed."
When Cao Kun heard this, he suddenly started sweating on his forehead: "Ziyu Zhang Tinglan is a fierce tiger, and he has the power to defeat Japan. Many people have taken the initiative to act as his minions and cheer for him. Now it is coming fiercely, and it is really difficult to deal with it.
!”
Wu Peifu also showed a hint of knowingness in his eyes. He and Zhang Tinglan had an agreement at the beginning that Feng Jun would not enter the border. In fact, Wu Peifu also knew that this was just a temporary agreement. He also wanted to use this period of time to organize the army.
Martial arts, enhance strength. Then compete with Fengjun.
But Feng Jun's development speed far exceeded his expectations, catching him off guard.
"Hey, I have long advocated following the example of Feng Jun and carrying out reforms. We should realize land for the tiller, and then concentrate our efforts to develop industry, fight for sovereignty externally, and eliminate bad governance internally. In less than five years, the country will definitely be greatly improved. But now, except for
In Henan and other places, no one has sincerely implemented my suggestions. The governors in various places are just perfunctory, and even the princes in the court have complained a lot. As a result, the trouble has reached the current situation, and it is really the fault of themselves."
These words have been in Wu Peifu's heart for a long time. Ever since he discovered the gap with Fengjun, he has strongly advocated reform. But it is easier said than done. If he wants to solve rural problems, he must go to war with the landlords. If he wants to develop,
Industry has to compete with compradors, but in the North Sea, these two types of people are mostly in power.
It is extremely difficult to implement any measures. Take Wu Peifu's base camp in Henan, for example. He has hundreds of thousands of soldiers, backed by the Gongxian Arsenal. He has implemented measures to clear the land and rezone the land with unprecedented intensity. As a result, The obstacles encountered were far beyond imagination.
First, the landlords resisted with arms, and Wu Peifu could only use the army. After seeing that they could not defeat them, these landlords began to seek connections and favors everywhere. In the end, some people simply took their property and ran to Beijing and Tianjin to cry to Cao Kun. What's more, The family property was directly put in the name of the church and became the property of foreigners.
As a result, diplomats from various countries frequently found Wu Peifu and put pressure on him, which made him very anxious. Cao Kun also knew about this, and he was one of the obstructive forces.
When I heard it now, I felt a little ashamed and could only say: "Ziyu, don't talk about the past things anymore. It's urgent. Let's look at the present first. We should think of ways to deal with the crisis in front of us."
Wu Peifu thought for a while and said: "The only solution for now is to use procrastination. Isn't the Washington Conference being held now? Our representatives are arguing hard to safeguard sovereignty, so they demand that elections be held after the conference."
When Cao Kun heard this, he also nodded: "Ziyu's approach is good. I have already received the news that the United States supports us in taking back Shandong. Once we can win back the sovereignty of Shandong, it will also be a diplomatic victory for us. You won’t be so passive anymore.”
…
The situation at home and abroad is turbulent, and Zhang Tinglan gathers his confidants together every day to closely monitor the changes in the situation.
"Commander, this so-called Washington Conference aims to limit the fanatical naval arms race. Once an agreement is reached, doesn't it mean that the conflicts between the United States, Britain and Japan will be eased. By then, I'm afraid we will have to bear the pressure of Japan alone. ." Yang Yuting said with some worry.
"There is nothing we can do about this. We have to be strong ourselves. Great powers cannot be relied upon. It's time for us to expand our military again."
In the past few months, Fengjun has been recovering from the trauma of the war with Japan, replenishing personnel, and strengthening training. After this period of hard work, Fengjun's combat effectiveness has basically returned to its peak state.
"We have started wars with Russia and Japan. We have to defend two huge fronts. We have to keep an eye on the Far East and defend the Yalu River. It is true that the current military strength is somewhat insufficient. It is just a large-scale military expansion. I am worried that the finances cannot bear it." Jiang Baili also said. of your own worries.
"Because of this, I am going to change my strategy and form a group of basic divisions."
"Oh?" Yang Yuting said, "What kind of trick is this?"
"The core of an army lies in excellent middle- and lower-level officers and a considerable number of veterans. As long as we have these and a little mobilization, we can immediately pull out a strong team. We should focus on forming a strong team. On top of the officer corps, this way we can maintain as few troops as possible during normal times, but in wartime, we can quickly increase the number of troops."
"Well, this is a good idea!" Jiang Baili nodded: "In fact, many great powers are like this. The United States, Britain and other countries actually don't have many standing armies. Even Japan only has seventeen divisions. It's just that we used to have The number of officers is insufficient, so we must maintain our numerical advantage. Now, after the training of war, a large number of outstanding officers have grown up. I think it is the right time to form a basic division."
Zhang Tinglan also smiled and said: "My idea is to extract some officers from the main battle division, and then recruit a small number of elite soldiers with high educational levels. The number of a basic division will be kept at about 4,000, and they will be trained according to the standards of officers.
Once wartime comes, if a few thousand new soldiers are stuffed in, it will be a complete division. I plan to form three basic divisions in advance and expand them if appropriate."
"Commander, I also have an idea." Jiang Dengxuan said with a smile: "Actually, the configuration of this basic division is basically equivalent to a reinforced regiment. We might as well use them as the main force to carry out small and medium-sized military operations. They must be able to quickly
Take action, get in position quickly, and strike quickly."
Jiang Dengxuan took this idea a step further. Zhang Tinglan only focused on raising fewer troops, but Jiang Dengxuan has begun to pay attention to the use of troops. After all, many military operations do not require the dispatch of several divisions at once. Normal border conflicts and small-scale rebellions,
It is enough to dispatch small and capable troops, but large troops will delay things.
Fengjun currently has more than a dozen main battle divisions for large-scale military operations, and special forces for small operations, but there is a lack of suitable troops for those in between.
This proposal just filled the gap. Zhang Tinglan said with a smile: "Then let's do this. We will first form three such troops and organize them into fast mobile brigades. During wartime, we can quickly expand them into divisions as needed."
"My humble opinion is that if we want to make this unit really fast, I'm afraid it will have to equip a lot of vehicles, and the cost will be quite staggering. I'm afraid it won't be much less than forming a real division."
"We cannot save money that should be spent. Moreover, we can basically produce our own vehicles. Whether they are jeeps, trucks, or armored vehicles, we all use our own. In total, it also nourishes our enterprise. This investment is still cost-effective.
.”
Jiang Baili also nodded: "But I am a little worried. In the long run, our army will use more and more motor vehicles. Two things will become the biggest constraints, one is oil and the other is rubber. The oil is okay
Yes, after all, we still have oil fields, and as long as they are developed, it will be enough, but rubber is a big problem. Even if the black soil is fertile, rubber cannot be grown."
"Brother Baili is planning ahead. Rubber is indeed a big problem. There are a lot of rubber plantations in Nanyang, but they are all controlled by the British and Dutch. They will get stuck at critical moments."
I have to admit that hundreds of years of colonial plunder by white people have occupied some of the best places in the world. Take Nanyang, for example, it is a huge treasure house of resources, and it is still on the lips of China, but there is no
Fa Xiakou.
"Commander, when you mentioned the rubber from Nanyang, I remembered a person. Recently, several overseas Chinese from Nanyang came to Fengtian. The most famous one is Tan Kah Kee."
As soon as Zhang Tinglan heard this name, a thought flashed through her mind and she hurriedly asked: "Is this the Tan Kah Kee who founded Xiamen University?"
"Yes, that's him." Chang Yinhuai said with a smile.
"It seems that the rubber problem must be solved by him!" Zhang Tinglan gradually outlined a bold and crazy plan in his mind.