Only one day later, Yuan Shikai arranged a meeting between Yuan Su and Cai E.
When Yuan Su received this news, he could more and more conclude that the idea of custom-made weapons coincided with the appetite of his uncle Yuan Shikai. As Yuan Shikai, who single-handedly founded the Beiyang New Army and used military power to gain the leadership of the Republic of China, he must value military affairs more than ordinary people.
When Xia Shoukang came to invite Yuan Su to meet with Cai E in the Beihai Army Department conference room, he specifically told Yuan Su that the president had handed over the drawings of the new rifle to Cai E yesterday. Cai E also thought that this was the case after reading it.
This rifle is far more refined than the rifles made in Hanyang. With Cai E's approval, Yuan Su has more confidence. After all, he has quite a bit of bragging about the new rifle and has not even conducted detailed research.
Military argument.
Arriving at the Beihai Army Ministry Office Yard, after some more twists and turns, I finally arrived at a quiet reception room.
Cai E, Jiang Baili and two other high-ranking officers from the military academy were having a discussion in the reception room. After Xia Shoukang brought Yuan Su in, everyone interrupted the conversation and stood up to greet each other. After Xia Shoukang introduced each other, everyone knew who was coming.
It was Yuan Su, the president's nephew and the governor of Shanhaiguan. Yuan Su also knew the identities of the other two people besides Cai E and Jiang Baili. One of them turned out to be Yan Xishan, and the other was the director of the Military Department of the Presidential Palace and a concurrent post of Zhili.
Fu Liangzuo, the garrison envoy of Jilin Province.
Yuan Su was very surprised why Yan Xishan was in Beijing at the moment, but it was not a big deal. Yan Xishan was known in history as a man who knew how to protect himself wisely. Now Shanxi is the third largest army in the Central Army.
Division, the Fourth Division is in charge, Tang Tianxi and He Zonglian are far more powerful than Yan Xishan himself, so Yan Xishan naturally has to behave more "loyal to Yuan".
"It turns out it's Mr. Yuan. He's so famous that it's better to meet him. I heard about Mr. Yuan's actions in the East Zhili area earlier. It can be said that he was foresighted. Yesterday, the President talked to me specifically. He never expected that Mr. Yuan would do anything.
Many of the young master’s views actually coincide with those of Cai. You really have the same views as a hero.” Cai E was the first to come forward and said with a sincere smile.
Yuan Su can still see to some extent that Cai E and Yuan Shikai are in their honeymoon period now, so the other party seems so open-minded and positive. Besides, there are not many people who can truly "coincide" these days. He can
If he puts forward similar military suggestions to Cai E, he can naturally be regarded as a fellow-minded person.
Immediately, he showed a humility and excitement, shook hands with Cai E politely, and said in a sincere tone: "I'm just doing my job, but I just said some whimsical words, at most I can't compare with Songpo."
The general's teeth are wise. I have little talent, little knowledge, and little qualifications. It is a great honor to be able to discuss military affairs with General Songpa, let alone discuss heroes with General Songpa."
Cai E and others have been in the Presidential Palace for some time, and they look up to the children of the Yuan family without looking down. However, they all generally think that most of the children of the Yuan family are arrogant or indifferent people, even if Yuan Keding is trying to win over his supporters.
First of all, he deliberately appeared to be courteous to the corporal, but that was also for the sake of being "courteous to the corporal", and being courteous to the corporal could be seen through at a glance.
However, when I met Yuan Su for the first time today, I never expected that at such a young age, the "Grand Governor" could control eight counties in East Zhili and two counties in Huaihe River. Not only did he not have the arrogance of a young man, but he was so gentle and courteous.
He has the air of a young military man in ancient times. Just this, he immediately increased the goodwill in everyone's hearts.
"Haha, Young Master Yuan is so humble that he treats us as outsiders," Cai E said with a hearty smile.
"I don't dare, I don't dare, I definitely don't mean to offend you with my words." Yuan Su said quickly.
"Come on, come on, sit down first and then talk."
Just chatting, everyone took their seats one after another. Cai E seemed very energetic and got down to the topic immediately. He did not discuss his long speech on national defense and military affairs with Yuan Su, but chose to start with more practical standard weapons. He
Let me first evaluate the new weapon design provided by Yuan Su, but because I have not seen the actual rifle, I cannot make too many assertions. Simply put, this new rifle does meet the needs of China’s current national conditions from a grand strategic perspective.
But standard weapons are not just rifles, but cannons, aircraft, heavy machine guns, grenades, etc., and they should all have a unified relationship.
Nowadays, because this new rifle is too new, many parameters cannot be confirmed, and it is still unknown whether it can truly be connected with other standard weapons. Therefore, if you want to promote this new rifle, you must produce a batch of test guns as soon as possible and conduct more detailed and more detailed tests.
In-depth demonstration and testing.
After listening to Cai E's words, Yuan Su felt a little guilty. He was indeed a true military strategist. He could not only express some complex ideas in popular language, but also express them to the point.
"What General Songpa said is absolutely true. I am currently arranging to rush to produce a batch of test rifles. At that time, I will have to trouble General Songpa to participate in the testing and demonstration of the new rifle." There was unconcealed admiration in his tone, and his words were full of admiration.
The posture is more respectful.
"It's all trouble. Cai E thanks the president for not disdain and assisting the government in reorganizing the entire army. Weapons are also part of the responsibility. I do hope that Young Master Yuan can put more thought into this and implement these urgent matters as soon as possible." Cai E
Said with a smile.
"Definitely."
Just after chatting about this matter, an attendant came out of the door and informed that the conference room was ready and that General Duan and others would arrive shortly. So Xia Shoukang called Cai E, Jiang Baili and others to the Army Department conference room, and at the same time
By the way, he invited Yuan Su to attend the meeting and said that this was a special order from the president.
Yuan Su felt very strange. He didn't expect that he could go with him to attend the meeting of the Army Department. But there was nothing going on in the past few days anyway. If he went with him, he might be able to get some inside information.
The group immediately stood up and followed the attendant who had come to report before, and moved to the large conference room of the Army Department.
As soon as he entered the conference room, he saw many senior officials from the Ministry of War waiting around the conference table. Xia Shoukang followed Yuan Su and gave Yuan Su some brief introductions in a low voice. However, these senior officials were not worth mentioning.
Most of the people mentioned were civilian officers, who actually did not have much power. The only person standing not far from the head of the conference table was Duan Qirui's right-hand man, Deputy Minister of the Army Xu Shuzheng.
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I highly recommend a book, "The Critical Biography of Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Kai-shek" by Li Ao, which is quite profound.dd