Volume 2 King of the Northwest Chapter 29 Judgment
"Zhisheng, look how thin you have become these days?"
Dai Jiliang stood at the city gate to welcome his brothers. The exploration of Xiyao Road was halfway completed, and the news from Shanghai Meihua had not been confirmed yet. Dai Jiliang was not in a hurry. The New Year was coming soon, so he had to give people a break, right?
"Brother, good news, there is coal in Yaozhou!"
Coal and railways are inseparable. Although Zeng Zhisheng is not a mining engineer, the small coal mines in Yaozhou have existed for hundreds of years. A quick visit will reveal the huge reserves there.
"When the railway is completed, this coal will be worth a lot of money."
“I know, I know!”
Dai Jiliang patted his brother's shoulder with concern.
"Okay, let's talk about it later. Go back and wash up first. My sister-in-law has already arrived in Xi'an. If you keep doing this, she will definitely resent me to death!"
When Zeng Zhisheng heard that his wife was coming, he was stunned for a moment. Then he looked at himself and saw how dirty he was. He screamed and ran out.
"Brother, I'm going to the bathhouse to take a shower first. You go back first, I'll come over later."
"You bastard!"
Dai Jiliang laughed and scolded Zeng Zhisheng from behind, then his face darkened when he turned around and looked at the several staff officers from the Survey Section of the Shaanxi Army General Staff Office who were accompanying Zeng Zhisheng on the survey.
"Dou Zhimo, the landowners along the route actually dared to attack the survey team. Why didn't you ask for instructions or report it?"
"Reporting to the commander, at first, a few landowners thought that what we did would ruin their family's Feng Shui, and they did attack the survey team, but General Manager Zeng did not allow the local police to be mobilized. Later, the governor of Sanyuan County also sent people to mediate. So."
Dou Guanwu, who graduated from Qinghe No. 1 Army Middle School, stuttered when he saw Dai Jiliang's gloomy face.
"So it's all right, right? Nonsense!"
Dai Jiliang was extremely furious. Not to mention that Zeng Zhisheng was his brother, even if this problem happened to an ordinary engineer, Dai Jiliang would also be furious. There were not many railway engineers in Shaanxi, not to mention in the whole of China. If the county magistrate failed to mediate or the villagers pretended to obey but actually disobeyed, Dai Jiliang could not afford the loss, let alone a small staff officer.
"You guys go back and ask the Chief of Staff for punishment."
"yes!"
Several staff officers knew they were in the wrong and dared not say much. They saluted Dai Jiliang listlessly and went to report to Zhang Zilii.
"Your Excellency the General is strict in disciplining the army. I really admire you!"
Guangye appeared from nowhere and suddenly appeared in front of Dai Jiliang.
"But can I ask you something? I seemed to hear something about a railway and a coal mine just now."
Dai Jiliang's brows were suddenly furrowed into a shape of a "川" (river).
"Isn't Hirono-kun too nosy? That's right! With the central government's approval, Shaanxi Railway has borrowed money from a foreign bank to build the Xiyao Railway. Now the basic agreement has been reached, and we just need the other party to sign it formally. As for the coal mines, there is coal everywhere in Shaanxi, but it's just a matter of whether it has commercial mining value."
"Oh, that's right. I wonder if His Excellency the Governor is interested in borrowing money from our foreign company to build roads and open mines!"
Obviously, Dai Jiliang's answer did not satisfy Guangye, so he made clear his request.
The Japanese have always been extremely greedy for China's resources, and Hirono's request does not deviate from their nature as an island nation at all.
Dai Jiliang's brows relaxed at this time.
"I'm so sorry, there's no way around the railway. The foreign bank in that country requested priority for building the road when it granted the loan. I'm sorry I can't discuss this with Hirono-kun anymore."
A hint of ruthlessness suddenly flashed across Guangye's not-so-handsome face. Dai Jiliang sneered in his heart. He didn't even eat what was in the bowl, but his eyes were already on what was in the pot. He was really insatiable.
"As for the coal mine, Hirono-kun, don't you think it would be better to finish our other deals first? There is a Chinese saying that goes, 'Without trust, there is no foundation.' There is also a saying that 'The first time is strange, the second time is familiar.' What do you think?"
"Hayi, I understand what you mean. I will urge the Kyoto head office again."
Guangye lowered his head, but his eyes were shining.
"Please rest assured, General. I will definitely do what I promised you."
Although Dai Jiliang sent troops to surround Li Genyuan's governor's office, he did not restrict the personal freedom of the people inside in order to appease some neutral factions. Therefore, the scene of his conversation with Guangye at the city gate was soon passed on to the ears of Li Genyuan and Han Wangchen by someone with ulterior motives.
"Brother Yinquan, why does this matter look so strange?"
When Han Jun heard that Guangye and Dai Jiliang had contact, he was immediately frightened and broke out in a sweat. You know, he had a secret agreement with the Japanese, but who can guarantee that the Japanese will not betray him behind his back? Han Wangchen, who once studied at Kyoto Imperial University, knew the character of the Japanese very well. That is, they would flatter the strong. Obviously, the strongest person in Xi'an at present is Dai Jiliang.
"Do you think Guangye might have betrayed us?"
"probably not!"
Li Genyuan was unsure and gave an ambiguous answer.
"Didn't our people vaguely hear the word coal mine? Guangye must have set his eyes on some resource in Shaanxi, but Dai Jiliang didn't seem to agree."
"Brother Yinquan, I'm not saying anything bad about you, but the last time they were the Japanese consultants, just agree to them."
Han Wangchen was so anxious that he didn't want to get anything but get into trouble.
"If we had the goods now, we wouldn't have to play coy with Guangye, the old fox."
"Brother Wangchen, you are confused. Sending Japanese military and mining consultants is something that was not agreed to in any of the 21 articles. Aren't you asking me to sell out my country?"
Of course Li Genyuan understood that Han Jun was just anxious at the moment and was also considering himself, so he stepped forward to comfort him.
“Brother Wangchen, don’t worry, the situation both at home and abroad is improving.
You see, although Duan Qirui brought a dozen military governors and military governors' representatives to force the President to declare war, President Li refused to do so.
Furthermore, anti-war demonstrations also broke out in Russia. It is obvious that Russia can no longer hold on.
By then, Russia will be defeated, and Britain and France will also negotiate soon. Once the war is over, the great powers will definitely not tolerate Duan Qirui, who advocates war. If Duan Qirui falls, will Dai Jiliang still have a good life? "
"Even if the Russian steamroller is broken, Germany will lose the war."
Li Genyuan was comforting Han Wangchen, who knew nothing about military affairs, while Dai Jiliang was chatting with Zhang Zili about the war situation in Europe in the Shaanxi Army Headquarters.
"I've been to Germany, and I know very well how powerful Germany is. Kaiser has spent too much energy on Russia, so he has not been able to break through the Allied blockade. This is the biggest weakness of continental countries. Napoleon also suffered from this in the past."
Dai Jiliang sighed.
"On the other hand, although Britain and France also suffered heavy losses, they still had considerable war potential because of the continuous blood transfusions from their colonies around the world. As one side gains, the other loses. Even if the United States does not join the war in the end, Germany will still lose."
“How could the Americans not join the war?”
Zhang Zilii graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in the United States. How could he not know the Americans' habit of taking advantage of others' misfortunes?
"American capital has made a fortune in the European war, and it still has huge debts to Britain and France. In order to prevent the huge investment from going to waste and to grab the war dividends, I am sure that the Americans will definitely join the war."
"Great minds think alike!"
Dai Jiliang's face turned slightly red when he said this. The other person had real ability, and he was just plagiarizing.
"However, no matter what, if Russia is finished, it will be a mixed blessing for China. The issue of Mongolian autonomy can probably be solved temporarily, but the Japanese forces are taking advantage of the situation. This is a weak country. It can see the benefits in front of it but cannot reach them. Ahem!"
"Don't sigh, Marshal. There is nothing we can do about it. However, the situation in the country will probably change drastically if this happens."
Although Dai Jiliang and Li Genyuan had different analyses of the trend and outcome of the European war, they both talked about participating in the war. This shows that in the sixth year of the Republic of China, the issue of participating in the war was the most concerned and widely involved topic among all Chinese classes.
"Brother Park Chu is right."
Dai Jiliang nodded, and the light-hearted topic turned serious.
"But no matter how the domestic situation changes, we must not relax. Shaanxi is our foundation. Whether it is the Kuomintang or the central government, if they want to snatch food from the tiger's mouth, they have to ask the guns in our hands."
When Dai Jiliang said this, the ferocity in his eyes scared Zhang Zilii, but this ferocity was fleeting, and if he didn't pay attention, others would have thought it was an illusion.
"Of course, our primary enemy now is the militia in northern Shaanxi. Brother Park Chu, have you made your plan?"
Having worked with Dai Jiliang for so many years, Zhang Zili certainly understood Dai Jiliang's character. He would never think that he had seen it wrong just now. Now that he had this understanding, Zhang Zili quickly closed the office door and spread out a top-secret military map on the large conference table.
"Marshal, please read this. This is the General Staff's Operation Plan No. 1 for 1917."
Zhang Zili pointed to the symbols on the map and explained.
"The General Staff Office plans to form a left-wing detachment consisting of the First Brigade and the First Artillery Regiment, and advance to Yaoxian and Yintai counties. Once the war begins, they will attack Yijun, Zhongbu, Luochuan and other counties in the north. If the attack goes well, they can further advance to Fuxian, Ganquan, Fushi and other places."
Zhang Zilii paused for a moment to allow Dai Jiliang to digest what he had said.
Next, he pointed to Chengcheng and Heyang on the other side of the map.
"The Second Brigade and the Second Artillery Regiment will form a right detachment, with Huanglong, Yichuan, Yanchang and other places as attack targets. If the progress is smooth, one part will be sent northwest to cooperate with the Left Detachment to attack Fushi , and the other part will continue to sweep in the direction of Yanchuan, Qingjian, Suide and Mizhi. In addition, the Seventh and Eighth Regiments of the Third Brigade will be stationed in Pucheng and Baishui as the general reserve to support the operations on both wings respectively, while the Ninth Regiment will be stationed in Xunyi to prevent the Shaanxi-Northern People's Army from attacking from the Gandong direction. The Cavalry Regiment will be moved to Baoji to prevent the People's Party from causing chaos in the western counties of Guanzhong. The New Regiment and the Guard Regiment will stay in Xi'an to ensure the safety of the provincial capital. The remaining three garrison regiments will be stationed in place to guard against possible support from the provincial people's army."
"very good!"
Dai Jiliang applauded, obviously approving of the work of the General Staff Office, but even so, he still found fault.
"Isn't it a waste of combat power to leave 2,000 people in Xi'an?"
Dai Jiliang naturally knew that Zhang Zili and others made such arrangements in order to learn from Lu Jianzhang's previous experience, but he was Dai Jiliang, not Lu Jianzhang. Once the two sides started fighting, he would never stay behind.
"I think one garrison regiment is enough in Xi'an. The frontline forces should be strengthened. Let He Guangfu lead the Tax Police Corps to strengthen the left detachment, the 9th Regiment to strengthen the right detachment, the new recruits to move to Xunyi, and the cavalry regiment to continue to move to Baoji. Either we don't fight, or we have to make a final decision."
"What about Governor Li in the provincial capital?"
Zhang Zili was still quite wary of his junior classmate Dai Jiliang, who had served as the commander of the Second Division of the Yunnan Army and the president of the National Army.
“Before the war begins, this factor will no longer exist.”
Dai Jiliang's cold words completely determined the fate of his opponent.
