Beiyang reactionaries

Duan Xun understood what Xu Yongchang said.

What Xu Yongchang meant was, don't fight the Battle of Baoqing yet.First stabilize the current results, and then talk.Duan Xun nodded and said: "You have a point. Once these troops hinder us, it will be bad for us."

"Yes, teacher. We now control one-third of Hunan Province. Our troops seem to be many, but in such a wide area, our troops are nothing. In such a large place, even if there are [-] troops It’s not a lot. Once there is a disturbance inside Xiangxi, it’s not easy to suppress it. People like Tian Yingzhao, as long as they return to the Fenghuang area, they can easily get thousands of troops. What’s the matter? It looks like a big hidden danger. Once we are attacking Baoqing, this kind of rebellion will be very unfavorable to us.”

"Where are Wu Ziyu's (Wu Peifu) troops?"

"In Xiangtan and Zhuzhou."

"Didn't go south?"

"No. After his troops left Changsha, they were stationed in Xiangtan and Zhuzhou. They neither went south nor returned to Changsha."

Duan Xun walked to the front of the map and carefully watched the actions of Wu Peifu's troops.

Wu Peifu was the main force in the attack on Hunan.Before Duan Xun determines his military actions, he should also pay attention to Wu Peifu's actions.After confirming Wu Peifu's actions, Duan Xun can then determine his own actions.

"Where's Zhang Huaizhi's troops?"

"Having entered Liling, going south from Liling, it should be to enter You County. Afterwards, they will go directly south to enter Guangdong, or attack Hengyang, it is impossible to judge. But in my opinion, they should not attack Hengyang, but go directly south Guangdong."

"why?"

"Teacher, think about it. During the attack on Hunan, Wu Peifu's troops, Zhang Jingyao's troops, and our troops all successfully completed their missions and finally entered Changsha. Only Zhang Huaizhi's troops along the way showed nothing. Now Hengyang With the Hunan and Guangdong Army troops, it is not easy to take down Hengyang. It is much easier to enter Guangdong, and the influence will be great. If it were me, I would definitely go south and enter Guangdong."

Duan Xun closed his eyes and thought for a while.

Then he asked, "Cichen, what do you think of Zhang Huaizhi's troops? Once Cheng Qian and the others lead troops to fight back, will Zhang Huaizhi's troops be able to withstand it?"

"That's enough."

Xu Yongchang immediately replied: "Teacher, Zhang Huaizhi's army is the weakest among the three troops in the Southern Expedition. The main force on Wu Peifu's side in the first road is Cao Kun Zhili's direct line troops. There is a division in this part of the army alone." There are three mixed brigades with nearly 3 people. Few troops can stop them all the way south. And there are some other troops on Wu Peifu's side. As for our third road, there are also 4 troops, and we have never had any troops on this road What a powerful opponent. But Zhang Huaizhi is different."

"The army is too diverse. There are Zhang Jingyao's Lu army, Ni Sichong's Anwu army, Gan army, Feng army, and troops from four provinces. These troops are not under unified command and act independently. It is easy to be caught. loopholes."

"kindness."

Duan Xun nodded.

"That's right. Zhang Huaizhi had been standing still before, not being active at all. He waited until the major event in Changsha was settled, and then hurriedly dispatched troops to seize the fruits of victory. It seems that the troops are attacking very fast, but in fact, all the troops are completely dispersed now, and it is very easy They were defeated by Cheng Qian and the others. Wu Ziyu (Wu Peifu) is suffocating now, and he probably will not save Zhang Huaizhi."

Although the weapons and equipment of the Hunan Army are not good, the performance of the Hunan Army in this law protection war is still remarkable.In particular, the generals of the Hunan Army, such as Cheng Qian, Zhao Hengti, Liu Jianfan, and Lin Xiumei, performed very well.

Maybe someone will fight back and kill Zhang Huaizhi first.

"Okay. You can generate electricity for Ren Chao (Li Jishen). The troops can continue to go south, but the pace of attacking Baoqing can be slowed down. As long as Wu Ziyu (Wu Peifu) does not move, we will not move. First stabilize other places. Mainly Two things, one is to let Wang Zhengya establish the Xiangxi civil affairs department as soon as possible, so that the government affairs of Xiangxi can get on the right track as soon as possible. The other is to complete the reorganization of the Sixth Mixed Brigade as soon as possible."

"Yes."

"However, you must discuss with Wang Zhengya more about the reorganization of the Sixth Mixed Brigade, and fully respect his opinion. Tiao Tang Shengzhi used to be the brigade commander of the Sixth Mixed Brigade. Tell Ren Chao not to rush to reorganize the Sixth Mixed Brigade. The military police battalion and the logistics regiment were organized into the sixth mixed brigade, and then slowly reorganized the sixth mixed brigade. Let Meng Xiao (Tang Shengzhi) give full play to his contacts in the Hunan army. Now the Hunan army has been defeated. There are a lot of troops, and Meng Xiao will be handed over to reorganize these Hunan troops."

"Yes."

Duan Xun breathed a sigh of relief after the order was finished.

As long as Wang Zhengya and the sixth mixed brigade are settled, Duan Xun's rule in western Hunan will be much more stable.Duan Xun still values ​​Wang Zhengya very much.As long as Wang Zhengya can perform well in Xiangxi, Duan Xun can guarantee the position of governor of a province in the future.

And after stabilizing Xiangxi, Duan Xun's power will be very strong in the southwest.

"General."

Lu Zuofu, currently serving as Duan Xun's secretary, came to Duan Xun's side and said in a low voice, "The news from the Chongqing municipal government is that representatives from Britain, France and the United States want to meet with the general. The Chongqing side asked the general what he meant."

"Representatives of Britain, France and the United States?"

"Yes."

Britain, France and the United States, these are the current mainstream countries in the world, and they are the most powerful countries in the world.Duan Xun knew that with the end of the First World War, Britain, France and the United States turned their attention to the Far East and China again.

In the past few years, Japan has taken advantage of the opportunity of the First World War, and the opportunity of Britain and the United States to be stumbled by the First World War, to vigorously develop its own power in China.In just a few years, Japan's power in China has expanded very rapidly. Britain, France and the United States must not understand Japan's arrogance, and they must not want Japan to monopolize China.

Don't talk about other places, just talk about Sichuan.Originally, Sichuan, as a province on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, belonged to the British sphere of influence.Most of the foreign firms and foreign businessmen in Chongqing are backed by British people, or most of them are British businessmen.But after Duan Xun became the governor of Sichuan, he began to cooperate with Japan on a large scale.

At present, the Sichuan military factory that Duan Xun values ​​most has undergone two large-scale expansions since Han Linchun took charge.The machines needed are all imported from Japan.Also hired a large number of Japanese experts to help.Moreover, for the construction of the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway and the war to protect the law, Duan Xun borrowed more than [-] million from Japan, which was mortgaged by the Sichuan salt tax.

Not only that, but Duan Xun cooperated with Japanese businessmen in the export of many local products in Sichuan, crowding out those foreign firms controlled by Britain and France.Duan Xun even issued a license to the Bank of Japan, allowing the Bank of Japan to open a branch in Sichuan.

Anyway, Duan Xun has gotten very close to Japan in recent years.Japan also relied on the cooperation with Duan Xun to develop rapidly in Sichuan.

This is not because Duan Xun likes Japan, but because Japan is the closest to China and can really help Duan Xun.Especially during the First World War, countries such as Britain and France could not help Duan Xun, but Japan could.Japan wants to expand its power in China, and Duan Xun needs Japan's help, so Japan and Duan Xun hit it off.

But now that the First World War is coming to an end, Duan Xun knows that Britain, France and the United States will return to China sooner or later.Duan Xun is also unwilling to kidnap himself on the ship of Japan. It is also a good strategy to introduce the forces of Britain, France and the United States to balance the current Japan.

"Call the Chongqing municipal government and ask him to arrange it."

"Yes."

153 International situation 2

"Mr. Wood, I am Duan Xun."

"General Duan, I've heard of you for a long time."

Duan Xun met with Edward Dowood, the representative of the British businessman, in Chongqing.

Duan Xun checked Edward Dowood's background.This man's father used to be a senior executive of HSBC Bank in the UK, and later he also joined HSBC Bank and served as the head of HSBC Bank in Tianjin.Later, he left HSBC and started his own foreign firm to do trade in China.Because of his family background at HSBC, he has deep connections in the banking industry.After opening a foreign company, the business is getting better and better, and the relationship with major foreign companies in the UK is also very good.Including the iconic British foreign firm, Jardine Matheson also has many economic contacts.

Therefore, although this person is just a boss of a foreign firm, his relationship is very complicated and his background is very strong.He has been in China for more than 30 years, and came to China with his father when he was a teenager.The Chinese language is very neat.

Because I have been in China for many years, I have my own contacts with Chinese official figures, Chinese business celebrities, and major foreign firms.This time he came to negotiate with Duan Xun on behalf of a British businessman, or a British businessman in Sichuan and doing business in the southwest.

Although he is just a businessman, he is definitely a person with all-hands and eyes.Even people who can influence Britain's China policy.

"Mr. Wood, I won't say any more polite words. You know the situation in China now. My troops are still fighting in Hunan. This is the only thing I care about these days. Therefore, Mr. Wood, if you have anything to do, just tell me directly. Speak."

"General Duan, you are so happy, so I'll just say it straight."

"Please."

"General Duan, the British Empire proposed with the Beijing government last year to open a Chongqing Customs sub-customs in Wanxian to better promote the development of Sichuan and to promote the friendship between Sichuan and our British Empire. But General Duan, you It was very dishonest.”

Duan Xun scratched his head, showing a very puzzled look.

In fact, Duan Xun knew what Edward Dowood meant.At the beginning, the British opened the Chongqing Customs sub-customs in Wanxian for the local specialties of Sichuan.Especially tung oil for the growing world market.

Compared with other Sichuan native products, tung oil is the most concerned by British businessmen.Because with the development of industry, the demand for tung oil is amazing.At that time, the demand for tung oil in the international market was growing very fast, and the price of tung oil was also rising very fast.Therefore, British businessmen aimed at tung oil at that time, in order to monopolize China's tung oil.But while Duan Xun was negotiating with the British businessman, he handed over the export rights of tung oil to the Japanese businessman.

This time, the British were in vain.