Beiyang reactionaries

Cavalry is still an indispensable arm.

So Cao Kun also sent people to buy war horses from Hulunbeier, preparing to build several brigades of cavalry for himself.

As the Spring Festival approaches, although there are various contradictions, they have eased up a lot.No one wants to fight around the Spring Festival.Not to mention the warlords of the provinces, even the troops below did not have much morale when fighting during the Spring Festival.

But Duan Xun didn't think about the Spring Festival at this time.

Because there are more important things.

"Director Yan (Yan Shichao), you should have received information from the north."

"Yes."

"The victory of the new Russian government is already a certainty. Let alone other places, the Siberia region has no strength to stop the new government. Although Japan has many troops in the Baikal Lake area, it is estimated that it will not fight with the new Russian government. Fight. As for Semyonov, he is just a bandit and cannot hold back the troops of the new Russian government."

Duan Xun was a little nervous.

Impossible not to be nervous.

Because the Russian Civil War has reached its final moments.The Russian provisional government was established in Omsk, and Kolchak, who served as the supreme ruler, has been captured by the Russian Red Army, and it is estimated that the day of execution is not far away.

Kolchak is the biggest enemy of the new Russian government in the east. When it was the strongest, it had 60 to [-] troops.But with the arrest of Kolchak, this force has basically disappeared.

Without Kolchak, Semyonov is a stick, where is the opponent of the Russian Red Army.Also, Japan has tens of thousands of troops in the current Lake Baikal area, but Japan just wants to take advantage of the fire and will never fight the Russian army.

Of course, although he was a little nervous, Duan Xun was not afraid.

Because even if Kolchak is eliminated, it does not mean that all opposition forces in Russia have been eliminated.At present, the new Russian government is still fighting in Europe, and its opponents are also very powerful.

In a short period of time, even within a few years, Russia will not have too many troops in the Far East, that is, tens of thousands of people.Duan Xun is really not afraid of this strength.

But don't be afraid of returning home, some things must be prepared for a rainy day.No one can stop the establishment of the Soviet Union, although there are problems in Outer Mongolia, Hulunbuir, the Middle East Railway, and even the Outer Northeast.

But Duan Xun still does not want to fight with the Soviet Union now, on the contrary Duan Xun really wants to talk about cooperation with the Soviet Union.

"I want you to go north and get in touch with the new Russian government."

279 USSR

"So I want you to go north and get in touch with the new Russian government."

"General, I don't know how the general wants to deal with the new Russian government?"

Yan Shichao is currently the director of the Russia Department of Duan Xun's foreign affairs department. He is mainly responsible for researching Russia, collecting and analyzing Russian intelligence.Duan Xun's side is very short of talents in all aspects, and the lack of diplomatic talents is even more lacking.For example, Yan Shichao graduated from a Russian university, has dealt with Russia in Outer Mongolia for many years, and led troops to fight in wars and regained Tangnu Wulianghai. Yan Shichao's experience is definitely a rare talent for Duan Xun.In particular, Yan Shichao has the culture of a scholar and the spirit of a warrior, which Duan Xun appreciates the most.Therefore, Yan Shichao is not only in charge of the director of the Russia Department, but also cultivates some Russian talents in the foreign affairs department.Teach them Russian, teach them Russian culture and history, so as to enrich the strength of the Russian Division.

Of course it's not just that.Duan Xun is very optimistic about Yan Shichao, so besides being in charge of Russian affairs in the foreign affairs department, every time Duan Xun discusses work with the foreign affairs department, Yan Shichao will come.Let Yan Shichao understand the current operation of the foreign affairs department.

Yan Shichao will hear the news from Russia immediately.

Kolchak was captured.

This is a big deal.After all, Kolchak previously served as the supreme ruler of the Russian Provisional Government and the leader of the Russian Far East.As the Russian admiral, the Russian nobles who ran out basically lived here in Kolchak.Now that Kolchak has been arrested, it has shown that the troops of the new Russian government on the eastern battlefield of Russia have an absolute advantage, otherwise it would be impossible to capture Kolchak, the supreme leader.The White Russian troops retreated steadily, and soon the Baikal Lake area would be controlled by the new Russian government.

China and Russia have had too many entanglements since the end of the Qing Dynasty.

Mainly territorial.

Not only is a large area of ​​land occupied by Russia, but more importantly, Russia is not satisfied.Constantly inciting the independence of Xinjiang, Mongolia, and Northeast China, and also relying on the Middle East Railway to control Northeast China.So there are too many issues that need to be resolved between China and Russia.

Especially in the recent period, Duan Xun took advantage of the Russian civil war to successively control places such as Outer Mongolia, Tannu Wulianghai, and Hulunbuir.Now that the troops of the new Russian government are coming to the Far East, Yan Shichao wants to know what Duan Xun means.

How to deal with the new Russian government.

"Let's talk first."

Regarding the Soviet Union, Duan Xun had many complicated ideas.

Duan Xun doesn't want to fight the Soviet Union within ten years, even if he can, Duan Xun really doesn't want to go to war with a huge empire like the Soviet Union.Because the current China is not qualified to fight the Soviet Union, even ten years later it may not be the Soviet Union's opponent.In particular, the Russian civil war will be completely over within one or two years, and China will really not be Russia's opponent by then.Once Russia got angry and sent hundreds of thousands of troops to the Far East, Duan Xun's position became much more embarrassing.Although this is unlikely, Duan Xun needs to be thoughtful and not impulsive.

So Duan Xun is currently unable to go to war with Russia.But again, there are so many great places up north.

Duan Xun is unwilling to give up.

Therefore, at present, especially Duan Xun has not resolved domestic affairs, and Duan Xun is even more unwilling to have a military conflict with the Soviet Union.Moreover, Russia's power in the Far East is average, and even the combined population of the entire area east of Lake Baikal is only about 160 million.

It is impossible for Russia to station too many troops here in a short period of time.Too many troops, starve them to death.

So after much deliberation, in the current situation, Duan Xun wants to stabilize Russia.

"Leaving aside some territorial disputes. The Russian civil war is not completely over yet, and they probably don't want to have a conflict with us. And with their current strength in the Far East, it is impossible for us to have a conflict. So don't talk about territorial disputes in the outer northeast region , let’s talk to them mainly about Outer Mongolia, Tangnu Ulianghai, and Hulunbuir. Let them admit that Outer Mongolia, Tangnuwulianghai, and Hulunbuir are Chinese lands. Then talk about the Middle East Railway and ask Russia The rights and interests of the Middle East Railway must be transferred to China. Except for these, we mainly talk about trade with them.”

"trading?"

"Yes. When the Russian army came to the Lake Baikal area, the biggest difficulty was food. Their logistics relied on the Siberian Railway, which could not meet their needs at all. The war also caused great damage to the Lake Baikal area. They There's a lot of coal to go through the winter. And we can give them the coal and food they need. Let them trade other things for food and coal. Increase trade, get the frontier regions alive, can greatly increase our taxes, and can also Stay friendly with Russia for now."

Yan Shichao wrote down what Duan Xun said in his notebook.

Then he said: "But general, what if Russia takes a tough attitude? Outer Mongolia and Hulunbuir are just autonomous governments, but Tannu Ulianghai was controlled by Russia before. They must regain control of Tangnu Ulianghai. Response? War or peace?"

"war."

Before Yan Shichao left, Duan Xun wanted to tell him all about his bottom line.Only in this way can he know what he can agree to and what he cannot agree to during the negotiation.

"Tannu Ulianghai is China's land. There is no room for consideration on this point. If the new Russian government must take back Tannu Ulianghai, then there is no need to discuss it. Everyone will fight in Tangnu Ulianghai. Let's see who is stronger. But I believe that the new Russian government will not be so impulsive, and they don't have the courage. Within two or three years, the new Russian government will not have more than [-] troops in the Far East, because they don't have that kind of force Ability to support so many troops in the Far East. You can openly tell the new Russian government how many troops we have deployed in Outer Mongolia and Hulunbeier, and if they have the courage, they can come and try.”

"Yes."

"Other things you can take care of yourself depending on the situation."

"it is good."

"I will now appoint you as my special envoy in the capacity of the Border Defense Supervision Office and the director of the Mongolian and Tibetan Committee, with full authority to contact the new Russian government. According to the current intelligence analysis, the Russian army is estimated to be in control of Belga within a few months. Lake area. So you take the train directly to Beijing, and then take the car from Beijing to Kulun. I will let someone arrange it.”

Not the same as the army.

Duan Xun's army wants to use the railway to go north, of course Cao Kun will not agree, who knows what you mean.Therefore, Duan Xun's troops can only divert from Henan to enter Shaanxi, and then enter Mongolia from Shaanxi, which will take two months.But Yan Shichao is just a representative, and he can take the train freely.Then follow the route that Xu Shuzheng marched into Kulun, and enter Kulun by car.In this way, it doesn't take 20 days for Yan Shichao to reach Kulun.

If you want to contact the new Russian government, you have to go from Kulun to Kyakhta and enter Russia.

…………

"So many? Haven't we already got Guan Yu?"

end of January.

It should be said that after entering January, various departments began to summarize the previous year and plan for the new year.Duan Xun is busy with this every day, listening to the reports of various departments every day, and instructing various departments on their plans for the next year.Hearing Wang Yongjiang's report today, Duan Xun turned pale with shock.

Because compared with the year before, that is, 1918, Duan Xun's fiscal deficit in 1919 became more and more serious.