Volume 2 King of the Northwest Chapter 63 Protest and Expansion
"On behalf of the Belgian government, I strongly protest against your actions that undermine our country's interests."
In the reception room of the Shaanxi Governor's Mansion, a bearded foreigner was roaring loudly at Dai Jiliang.
"I strongly urge you to immediately stop the construction of the Shaanxi Railway and resume work only after the Royal Government confirms that the construction does not violate the relevant agreements between the two governments."
"What is the Counselor talking about?"
Dai Jiliang looked at the furious opponent calmly.
“I don’t quite understand.”
Looking at the Belgian whose face suddenly turned red, Dai Jiliang smiled.
"I am a local government here. I have no right to have direct dialogue with you on issues between the two central governments. You should go to Beijing and consult with the ministers of the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs instead of coming to me."
Dai Jiliang seized the opponent's loopholes and attacked.
After 4 years and 3 months of fighting, with more than 30 million casualties and a cost of more than 500 billion U.S. dollars, the First World War finally came to an end. When the victorious old Europeans woke up, they found that their cornerstone in the Far East had been almost eroded by two emerging countries.
So the Belgians, as the vanguard, began to attack, and the easiest breakthrough point was Dai Jiliang’s Shaanxi Railway Plan.
However, faced with the separatist local regimes, the powerless central government simply kicked the ball out, which already hurt the Belgians in front of them. However, Dai Jiliang's indifference and his talk made him even more angry.
"I protest, you barbarian, you don't understand diplomacy at all."
In a hurry, the counselor uttered a string of Flemish.
"barbarian?"
Dai Jiliang was furious. Although he did not understand Dutch very well, he was proficient in German and French. The difference between these two languages and Flemish was even smaller than the difference between some Chinese dialects. Dai Jiliang could naturally understand it.
"Since you are willing to bring the sans-culottes' tricks to China as a diplomatic tool, then please go back to Beijing and show off your power."
Dai Jiliang spoke quickly alternately in French and German, then turned away, leaving the Belgians alone in the meeting room.
"What did I just hear? This Chinese, a Chinese warlord actually dared to give such an answer to the European envoy, he, he!"
Mr. Counselor has become incoherent.
"Mr. Counselor, I think you were indeed rude just now."
As the introducer, Bishop Fulgenzio Passini (1886-1984), Apostolic Superintendent of the Central Shaanxi Diocese, looked at the Belgian in front of him with a wry smile.
Bansini has lived in China for more than ten years, so he naturally understands what kind of people the so-called warlords are.
"As far as I know, Warlord Dai once studied in a military academy in Germany and has sufficient knowledge of the current situation in Europe. Your words hurt his self-esteem, so."
The bishop spread his hands helplessly.
"No wonder I smell the stench of Caesar."
The counselor made a self-righteous judgment and stood up suddenly.
"Thank you for the hospitality of the church these two days. I am going back to Beijing now. I will report to the Minister about the unfair treatment I have received. I will ask the diplomatic corps and the banking corps to severely punish this lawless guy."
"sorry."
Bansini looked at the severely mentally stimulated guy in front of him and waved his hands with a wry smile.
"I don't think you can do that, sir."
Looking at the surprised faces, the bishop explained.
"Do you think Warlord Dai is a reckless person? No, he has received a good education in Europe and he understands what diplomacy is."
The bishop explained further.
"This Xiyao Road has New World funds, and the Yaozhou coal mine he is planning has Japanese shares. Do you think the diplomatic corps will work together to deal with this problem under such circumstances? Or do you still think that the banking group will come forward to force the Chinese side to remove the warlord Dai from his post?"
The bishop shook his head.
"I don't think that's possible."
"Are we just going to watch the interests of the kingdom being usurped by the greedy warlord Dai?"
The counselor opened his mouth for a long time before he uttered a helpless cry of distress. Unfortunately, Belgium was still too weak, and he had no way of confronting the two emerging powers head-on on the China issue.
“Personally, I think there is a solution.”
The bishop hesitated.
But the counselor seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw and looked at it expectantly, so Bansini straightened his robe and spoke.
"Sir, why don't you consider cooperating with Warlord Dai?"
"Cooperate with warlord Dai? No, no, no! This is compromising with the devil."
The counselor looked at the bishop with fear, as if he was not the servant of the Lord, but the poisonous snake that tempted Eve.
"I would never make such a suggestion to your Excellency."
"Then there is no other way . Warlord Dai is preparing to survey the Tongpu Road, which will replace Xitong Road and Xibao Road. If your government doesn't care about this, then you can just turn a blind eye to it."
The bishop also stood up. Since the other party did not appreciate it, he had nothing to say .
"What? Tongpu Road? Is your information true?"
The counselor's eyes suddenly widened.
"I'm sorry, I have to go back to Beijing soon."
Although this was the second time the counselor mentioned it, the reasons were different.
"Your Excellency, how likely do you think it is that the Belgians will accept a railway loan directly provided to the Shaanxi government?"
As soon as the counselor's back disappeared from the conference room, Dai Jiliang emerged from the room next to it. It was obvious that he and the church had reached a tacit understanding early on, with one playing the good cop and the other the bad cop.
“Only God knows.”
The bishop looked at Dai Jiliang with a smile.
"But for the sake of profit, some people will trade even if they know the other party is a devil."
The double entendre really made Dai Jiliang laugh out loud.
Indeed, the counselor just compared Dai Jiliang to the devil.
"Please ask your Excellency to convey my regards to Bishop Xixian. I will always remember the help the church has given to Shaanxi. Please rest assured, Bishop! I will never change my promise."
The Central Realm Diocese was also making a deal with themselves, the devil in their eyes. With this in mind, Dai Jiliang made another promise.
"Calling everyone here today isn't just about having a meal."
In the dining room of Dai Jiliang's house, several of the most powerful people in Shaanxi sat down. After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Dai Jiliang began to talk about business.
"We have been struggling in Shaanxi for several years and finally have some assets. However, these assets can only barely support a force of 30,000 people. Now that the Zhili and Anhui sides are fighting each other, where should we go? I think there will be a big fight one day in this world, so we must be prepared to leave Shaanxi."
As soon as Dai Jiliang said this, everyone's eyes were fixed on Dai Jiliang's face. The so-called getting out of Shaanxi certainly does not mean being driven out, but actively developing outwards. Then the main point that Dai Jiliang wanted to say today was obvious.
"When you go out, you don't have to worry about how to go or where to go."
Dai Jiliang looked at everyone with a smile.
"What we need to consider now is how we can go out with our current strength."
Dai Jiliang picked up a few chopsticks and held them in his hand.
"We don't need to consider Brother Guangfu's 3,000-plus men. Not to mention whether these swordsmen can be used after they come back, given the current situation in the south, we won't be able to transfer this team back anytime soon."
Dai Jiliang dropped a pair of chopsticks on the table.
"So now we only have one division, two brigades and six garrison corps."
"Marshal, let me interject."
Wang Danping stood up and sprinkled water on everyone at the table.
"A few days ago, I talked with Director Wang of the Finance Department. With Shaanxi's financial resources, we can't afford to raise too many soldiers!"
Wang Danping was giving a preventive measure, but the faces of several brigade commanders were not happy. After all, the expansion of the army involved their vital interests. If Dai Jiliang had not been present, they might have confronted Wang Danping on the spot.
"That's why I emphasized the importance of the reserve team."
Dai Jiliang motioned for Wang Danping to sit down, and then glanced at everyone.
"It is impossible to increase the number of troops for the time being, but we can set up the numbers and the structure first."
Dai Jiliang's words surprised everyone. What does it mean to set up the number and the framework first? It seems that Dai Jiliang is still going to take action.
At the thought that there might be new division and brigade numbers, the faces of everyone present changed.
"I mean, the 14th Division will basically remain unchanged, but Brother Park Chu will no longer serve as the commander of the 28th Brigade."
Dai Jiliang, Zhang Zilii and E Tao had been planning this for a long time, and they just took advantage of the atmosphere of today's dinner to bring it up.
"Li Guo, you will be transferred in as the commander of the 27th Brigade. Your Second Brigade will be expanded into the Third Division, which will have the Second and Fourth Brigades under it. Ma Kang will be the commander of this division. As for Ma Kang's First Brigade, it will be expanded into the Second Division on the spot. Brother Binnan, you will be the commander of this division, and expand the First and Fifth Brigades under it."
"Thank you for your cultivation, Marshal."
The two commanders, who had just transformed themselves, looked at each other and immediately expressed their loyalty to Dai Jiliang.
"I will assign the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Security Corps to your two divisions respectively, but don't reorganize them now. I will coordinate with the directors to assign the special forces to each of your divisions and brigades. As for the combat troops, that's all we have now. We will directly fill in the corps before the war officially starts, and we will draw on local security teams to fill in the gaps."
Dai Jiliang smiled.
"That's why I asked you to help train the security team. They will be your own soldiers in the future."
Dai Jiliang looked at everyone who still had serious expressions and waved his hand.
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand now. Brother Park Chu and Brother Zhi will give you a combat training manual later, and you will understand after reading it.
Once the framework is set up, you should do more joint training, and pay attention to how to integrate the team in the shortest time possible so that you can go out and fight.
Well, that's all for today. Just remember one thing: we won't be limited to Shaanxi in the future!"
