Volume 2 King of the Northwest Chapter 1 Stability (I)
After truly gaining control of Xi'an, Dai Jiliang discovered with a headache that he did not have enough power to control a province, either in terms of civil or military power. Therefore, he could only lower his proud head and actively ask for help from all walks of life in Shaanxi, the first of whom was Guo Xiren, the former chairman of the Shaanxi Provincial Advisory Council.
Guo Xiren was also one of the heroes of the Restoration of Xi'an. The proclamation on the day of the restoration was written by him. However, because he joined the Kuomintang and opposed Yuan Shikai's restoration, Lu Jianzhang ordered a warrant for Guo Xiren's arrest, so he fled to Shanxi in the spring of 1916.
Now that Lu Jianzhang has fallen, Dai Jiliang certainly hopes to welcome back this giant Buddha.
However, Guo Xiren was not so easy to invite. First of all, his identity as a Kuomintang member was an insurmountable obstacle. Although Dai Jiliang did not care, it was a question whether the other party would accept him as a remnant of Lu Jianzhang. Therefore, Dai Jiliang had to take a roundabout approach.
"Mr. Ziyi."
Seeing Dai Jiliang wearing the formal Beiyang general's uniform, the people in front of him couldn't help but be stunned. They thought that the other party certainly didn't expect that a senior Beiyang officer would come to visit him just after the artillery fire died down last night and this morning.
"Sorry Zhixiang, why don't you welcome me?"
Not welcome. Seeing the soldiers with guns behind him, Li Yuanding could not show it even if he was not welcome.
"Sir, please come in. What advice do you have for me?"
"You stay outside!"
Seeing Li's frightened eyes, Dai Jiliang gave these instructions. Sure enough, after he said this, Li Yuanding's expression looked much better.
When the guests and hosts were seated, Dai Jiliang waved his hand and presented them with a gift box.
"A little candy or food for a child is not a sign of respect!"
"You're welcome, sir!"
Li Yuanding originally wanted to refuse, but the item was really not worth much, and it would be a bit hypocritical to not accept it, so he nodded, and naturally a family member came out to take away the gift box.
"May I ask what the sir is?"
"My name is Dai Jiliang, and I am the commander of the Second Mixed Brigade of the Shaanxi Army."
Since you asked about Dai Jiliang, I will introduce myself .
"After today, you may be the general of Shaanxi, so I specially invite Mr. Ziyi to take charge of Shaanxi education again."
"Come back? What a joke, sir. I have been studying at home for a long time."
Li Yuanding shook his head and refused as a matter of course.
"I will never be an official again."
"Mr. Ziyi, do you think I am asking you to become an official? That's ridiculous!"
Dai Jiliang naturally knew that it is better to provoke an enemy than to please him.
"I am doing this for the future of the Three Qins. Japan is pressing our country very hard. Its strength is not its 200,000 elite soldiers, but the education of its 30 million citizens."
As soon as Dai Jiliang said this, Li Yuanding's face suddenly changed, and he listened to Dai Jiliang continue speaking.
"If I don't work hard on the young, the Japanese will become stronger and stronger, and my country will become weaker and weaker. This is the road to national destruction!"
Dai Jiliang said this while staring at the other person.
"Mr. Ziyi, you were in charge of education in Qin in the past. You didn't take a penny of the 3,000 silver coins, so Zhixiang was willing to entrust the education of the whole province to you. But when I met you today, you disappointed me!"
"I have two questions for you, General."
Li Yuanding was such a smart guy that he could not hide Dai Jiliang's tricks from him. However, Dai Jiliang was sincere in what he said, so he was tempted. However, he still wanted to ask clearly before that.
"First, I would like to ask General Dai, how can you be sure that you will take charge of Shaanxi?"
If Dai Jiliang cannot control Shaanxi, then why should he get involved in this mess?
"Second, my power is the greatest in Shaanxi right now."
Dai Jiliang raised his head proudly. "Political power comes from the barrel of a gun." Although the person who said this is still studying at Hunan First Normal University, the saying "whoever has a gun can be a king" has become popular.
"Third, I have a very good relationship with General Duan Qirui, the current Secretary of State and Chief of the Army. Therefore, I am basically certain that the position of General of Shaanxi is mine."
Of course, if Duan disagrees, Dai Jiliang doesn't mind coming to Shaanxi again to declare independence.
"So, General Dai, what do you think Shaanxi education will be like after you take office?"
Li Yuanding nodded, expressing his approval of Dai Jiliang's confidence, but he still doubted Dai Jiliang's assurance just now.
"Shaanxi has a weak foundation, and we should take the actual situation into consideration."
Dai Jiliang first suppressed the opponent and then praised him, almost scaring him.
"I think that each province should have one high school, one or two junior primary schools, and there should be at least four to five junior high schools, two to three high schools, and at least two normal schools in the province. As for universities, we will not consider them for now. We will have to make plans after the finances are improved."
"What a courageous general!"
You should know that the current school scale in Shaanxi Province is less than two-thirds of what Dai Jiliang described. Now Dai Jiliang's words clearly indicate that he will increase investment in education, which cannot but move Li Yuanding.
"But how can I be sure that the general is not talking nonsense?"
"It's very simple. Once the appointment from Beijing comes down, I will go to the Shaanxi Advisory Council in person to make a report on the work of the province."
Dai Jiliang responded to the other party's questions with a smile.
"Please ask Mr. Ziyi to draft the part of the report on education for me."
"good!"
Li Yuanding stood up suddenly.
"I promise you, I will be the director of the Education Department."
Since both parties have reached an agreement, and both the host and the guest are happy, Li Yuanding will naturally satisfy Dai Jiliang's small request on the spot.
Not only did he write an invitation letter to Guo Xiren on the spot, but he also wrote letters to the two brothers Li Yizhi and Li Yuezhi, Han Wangchen and other former leaders of the Tongmenghui, and Li Yuanding.
If Dai Jiliang hadn't been unable to hold on after a sleepless night, the two of them would have even forgotten to have lunch.
After rejecting Li Yuanding's invitation, Dai Jiliang rode his horse towards his next target, still thinking about his previous promise along the way.
Although he patted his chest loudly in front of the Li family, the fact is that the Second Brigade is now facing internal and external troubles.
Yes, Xi'an was taken, Chen Shufan was captured alive, but how to settle Zhang Binnan and He Oucai? Although the two people are now submissive to me, if I don't give them benefits when it's time to divide the bones, will there be hidden dangers in the future? You know, Lu Jianzhang is still staying in Shan County and refuses to leave.
Then there is Hu Jingyi. This Hu Liseng was the leader of a group of 300 people who defeated 3,000 people. If Zhang Binnan cannot be completely eliminated this time, there will be endless troubles.
"Commander , here we are at the telegraph office."
Dai Jiliang was awakened by the words of the horseman. He looked up at the building in front of him and got off his horse. Although the soldiers of the security regiment guarding the door of the telegraph office did not know Dai Jiliang, how many people in Xi'an now had gold stars on their shoulders? After hearing the guards' address, they stood up straighter with even more understanding.
"You guys can find a place to get something to eat. Just bring me some pot cakes and boiled beef."
Dai Jiliang handed the reins to the groom beside him and gave him instructions. He casually saluted the guard at the door and walked in. An officer who had heard the notification came out to greet him.
"Reporting to the commander, the first platoon of the third company of the third battalion of the Xi'an Guard Regiment has been ordered to guard the telegraph office. Today's order is to only receive, not send."
The officers thought Dai Jiliang was here for inspection, so they behaved in a very meticulous manner.
"Very well, Lieutenant, if you would please call the receiver, I need to send a few telegrams."
The Chinese believe that power is above law. Dai Jiliang is now the King of Shaanxi, so of course his orders must be executed immediately.
"I'll write down a few addresses and ask you to send them to me."
Dai Jiliang looked at the radio operator who was cowering in front of the armed soldiers and comforted him with a smile.
“Okay, okay!”
The radio operator nodded desperately, fearing that he would offend the Beiyang Army general in front of him.
However, Dai Jiliang's telegram was very simple. Although there were three recipients, the content was the same, "Come to Shaanxi as soon as possible." It was not because Dai Jiliang felt sorry for the telegram fee of 2 cents per word, but because he believed that after these people saw his telegram, they would understand what had happened in the Shaanxi telegram the next day.
Watching the radio operator busy sending the telegram, Dai Jiliang took out two Yuan Datou coins from his pocket with satisfaction.
"Sir, there's no need for so much."
The radio operator looked at the two dollars and responded honestly.
"Please wait a minute. I'll ask the accountant to find it for you."
"The extra is a reward for you."
Dai Jiliang smiled.
"The Second Brigade has military regulations that prohibit forced buying and selling. If I, the head of the family, don't follow them, how can I control the brothers below?"
As he said this, Dai Jiliang glanced at the second lieutenant of the security regiment. The second lieutenant was also a smart man, and he immediately stood up straight without looking around.
"By the way, pour me a cup of hot water. I'll borrow your place to eat a few bites of food."
Taking the food handed over by the groom who had just come in, Dai Jiliang casually gave half of it to the second lieutenant.
"Come, eat something with me."
"yes!"
The second lieutenant was so excited that his face turned red. Who was the person sitting opposite him? It was an opportunity he had never missed in his eight lifetimes to be able to have him eat with him. However, he was thinking in the wrong direction. In the Second Brigade, any senior soldier had the opportunity to eat with Dai Jiliang using the same spoon, and junior officers with good performance had the opportunity to have a special meal with Dai Jiliang.
"Let's go to the Provincial No. 1 Model Prison."
Dai Jiliang quickly devoured the pot cake and beef with boiled water. Of course, he also chatted with the second lieutenant about the security regiment while eating. After finishing his meal, he took out his pocket watch and saw that it was already two o'clock in the afternoon. He still had a show to do and had no time to spare.
"You are Deputy Director Guo, right?"
Looking at Lu Jianzhang's most vicious minion who was controlled by He Oucai in the first place, Dai Jiliang rubbed his brows. The sequelae of a sleepless night had already appeared. He was in a daze. It was time to end the battle quickly.
"Lu Jianzhang can't go back to Xi'an now. What are your plans for the future?"
"Is it Brigade Commander Dai?"
As expected of the spy chief in charge of reconnaissance under the big spy Lu Jianzhang, Guo Sinan recognized who the other party was at the first moment.
"The brigade commander arrested me, and now he wants to see me again. I guess he has already considered my future path, right?"
"Smart people, I like smart people."
Dai Jiliang clapped his hands, and the prison guard brought him two cups of hot tea.
"A regime, apart from its power on the surface, if it does not have hidden strength, is a flawed regime and will fall sooner or later."
Dai Jiliang looked at the thin man from Mengcheng gently.
"I believe in embracing all rivers. Are you willing to do it for me?"
"How?"
Guo Sinan asked back.
"You can still be the deputy chief of the provincial police station, but don't worry about public security. Set up a new department, just like the Japanese Special High Technology Department."
Dai Jiliang didn't smoke, but he still struck a match, perhaps the faint smell of sulfur could stimulate his already tired nerves.
"Do some Jinyiwei work for me, and never let other forces infiltrate Shaanxi."
"The activities of the Imperial Guards? Brigade Commander Dai is afraid that others will threaten his position, right?"
"Yes, I am afraid. All those in power are afraid of being betrayed. That's why Emperor Wu of Han had the Embroidered Robe Envoy, Emperor Taizong of Tang had the Divine Strategy Secret Guard, the Zhu Dynasty had the Three Factories and One Guard, and Emperor Yongzheng had the Sticking Rod Office."
Dai Jiliang was not surprised by Guo's frankness. Anyone with a large group of spies would have the confidence to do so.
"I see! Let me ask you one more question. Commander Dai, aren't you afraid that I will betray you?"
"I am afraid, but do you think I will trust only you?"
Dai Jiliang answered without hesitation.
"I guess that's it."
Having said that, Guo Sinan still stood up from his chair and bowed to Dai Jiliang.
"Guo Bingchang is willing to serve you, sir!"
"I told you, I like smart people."
Dai Jiliang nodded and stood up as well.
"Come with me."
