On the fifth day after the German mission left Qingdao and returned to Germany, the British and French consuls in Qingdao jointly sent a diplomatic letter to East China, proposing that they hoped to conduct bilateral trade negotiations with East China, eliminate trade barriers and obstacles between each other, and expand the scale of trade and economic exchanges between East China and Britain and France.

At the same time, the two countries also indicated that in view of the fact that the war in the Far East had brought great disasters to the Far East and caused heavy losses to the countries concerned in the Far East, in order not to repeat the mistakes of the past, Britain and France proposed that an international conference be held to discuss and determine the distribution of interests in the Far East, the code of conduct and norms between the countries, and to ensure peace and stability in the Far East. I specifically asked if East China would be interested in participating in such an international conference.

After receiving the diplomatic letter from the two countries, the Foreign Affairs Committee immediately reported it to the Executive Yuan, and after reading it, Wang Yunpeng said with a smile: "What does Britain and France mean by sending us this diplomatic letter?"

Xiao Jianjun said: "What else can it be about! It's not that we can't fight, so we just negotiate, make friends, and do business well in the future, which is also the normal operation of imperialism." ”

Xu Jichao said: "It is understandable to ask for bilateral trade negotiations, but what is the matter with convening an international conference?

Xia Bohai said with a smile: "Because we can no longer be suppressed by force alone, and Britain and France are afraid that our unlimited expansion in the Far East will affect their interests in the Far East, so they hope to convene an international conference and formulate international rules to restrict our behavior." ”

Wang Yunpeng nodded and said, "It should be almost like that, so what should we do? Should we attend this international conference?"

Xia Bohai said with a smile: "Of course, we should participate, although the purpose of Britain and France is to formulate international rules to restrict us, but we can also use the opportunity to participate in such international conferences to formulate international rules that are beneficial to us." War is a continuation of politics, and the competition between countries is not all solved by war, but more by making rules, so we must learn these ways to play in the future. ”

Xu Jichao said: "However, it is not easy to convene an international conference this year, and the preparation time will take at least 1 or 2 years, or even longer to be successful." ”

Xia Bohai said: "That's something that Britain and France should worry about, so we'll wait, and we can talk about trade first, which is also beneficial to us." ”

Wang Yunpeng also nodded and said: "That's right, if we also sign trade agreements with Britain and France, it will be of great help to our economic development, and it will be more useful than trade agreements with Germany." ”

Xia Bohai also said: "This matter will be handed over to the Commercial Committee, but Director Wang is staring at it a little." ”

Wang Yunpeng said: "It's nothing, it's also my job." ”

At this time, Xiao Jianjun said: "Now that Germany's visit has ended, then our military operation to attack Chifeng should also be carried out, this military operation should have been carried out two months ago, and the plan has been completed, just waiting for the approval of the Military Commission." ”

Xia Bohai nodded and said: "I think it's okay, if we finish this battle earlier, the matter in the northeast will be over, so that Lao Qin can come back as soon as possible, frankly speaking, we will face a complicated diplomatic situation in the future, and we need Lao Qin's wisdom." ”

Xiao Jianjun said: "Okay, I'll give an order to the northeast right away." ”

On the one hand, Chifeng will be used as a barrier in Jinzhou to block the intrusion of the Mongol separatist forces into the Jinzhou region; on the other hand, it is also an important step for East China to extend its influence into the Mongolian region, and it is also the last war of East China in the northeast region, unless it is after the People's Army occupies Chifeng, the Mongolian separatist forces are not willing to lose, but to continue to be the enemy of East China.

At this time, Wang Yunpeng said: "There is another thing, it is now late May, and there have been floods in some areas in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and it seems that this year's flood is even bigger than last year. ”

Xia Bohai nodded again, and said: "Well, this matter is very important, according to the information we have, this flood is very famous in the old time and space, and the duration is actually as long as 5 years, the affected areas include the entire middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, among which Anhui and Jiangsu provinces are the most seriously affected, and the total number of people affected has reached about 50 million, in short, it is a large-scale natural disaster in China's modern history, of course, this is also related to the Qing court's poor disaster relief, natural disasters are often associated with man-made disasters." Moreover, this disaster relief operation is a public welfare activity carried out after our victory in the Far East War, and it is also a great opportunity to expand our prestige. I think that after this disaster relief, no one will doubt our ability to replace the Qing court. ”

Wang Yunpeng said: "The first thing to do in this disaster relief is to set up a unified command center, and I think it is best to set up the headquarters in Shanghai, and Li Songchen will be the commander-in-chief of this disaster relief." ”

Xu Jichao also nodded and said, "I think it's okay, Shanghai's geographical location is indeed the most suitable for the transportation and preparation of materials for disaster relief, and the location as the disaster relief headquarters is the most suitable." Moreover, Mayor Li Songchen's ability in recent years is enough to serve as the commander-in-chief of disaster relief. However, this disaster relief mainly relies on the strength of Qingdao, and most of the materials may still need to be supplied by Qingdao, and the disaster relief is inseparable from the participation of the army, so the coordination work must also be done well. ”

Xia Bohai said: "Set up a coordination group in Qingdao to be responsible for the transportation and preparation of materials for disaster relief, with Lao Xu you as the leader of this group, and if there are any problems directly raised at the meeting of the Executive Yuan, it is best to send someone to be responsible for the army." ”

Xiao Jianjun said: "Now most of the army is still in the northeast, and the army's reorganization plan has not yet been determined, I think the navy and marines will be responsible for this disaster relief work, after all, ships are needed to rescue floods, and the navy and marines have their own advantages in this regard." I think it would be better to let Luo Yue serve as the deputy commander-in-chief of this disaster relief, and be in charge of this disaster relief work together with Li Songchen, so that it can coordinate the work of the army. ”

Xia Bohai said: "Yes, it's decided." ”

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The battle to attack Chifeng was still the responsibility of the Jinzhou Command, because this itself was part of the Jinzhou War, and the bandit army and the Mongol army that attacked Jinzhou were stationed in Chifeng, so only by capturing Chifeng could it be regarded as completely defeating the bandit army attacking Jinzhou.

In addition, Chifeng is located in the Inner Mongolia Zhaowuda League and adjacent to the Zhuosuotu League, so the People's Army can successfully enter the Mongolian region and expand its power into Mongolia when it captures Chifeng.

Of course, there were basically no military difficulties in this battle, because the bandit army and the Mongol army had already suffered heavy losses in the Jinzhou War, the bandit army was basically wiped out, and the Mongol army also suffered heavy losses. Of course, even if the strength of the Mongolian army is not damaged, and in the steppe, which is conducive to the cavalry to fight, it is impossible to be the opponent of the People's Army, Bi Jing has now entered a relatively mature era of ** weapons, and the machine gun is the most effective weapon against the cavalry.

And the only thing that needs to be vigilant is the intrusion and attack tactics of the Mongol cavalry, which is estimated to be the best tactic that the Mongol cavalry can use, if the commanders of the Mongol cavalry, Tao Ke Taohu and Bai Yin Da Lai, are not stupid. But it is not difficult to deal with such tactics, it is enough to strengthen the vigilance on the way to the army, and the Bijing People's Army also has cavalry troops, as well as warrior chariots, and is not afraid of head-on combat with the Mongol cavalry.

The real difficulty is that after the end of the war, Chifeng is about 240 kilometers away from Jinzhou, and about 160 kilometers away from Chaoyang County, the starting point of the offensive.

After consulting with others, Ouyang Longxing, the commander of the Jinzhou Command, decided to adopt the most primitive method, which was to establish a stronghold along the road from Chaoyang to Chifeng to ensure the transportation of supplies.

The distance between the strongholds is 20-30 kilometers, the scale of each stronghold is not large, just a fortress-like building with a side length of 40-50 meters, the parapet wall is made of sandbags and grating wood, about 3 meters high, about 1.5 meters thick, and a beacon tower is built, and the garrison strength of each stronghold is an army company and a cavalry platoon, plus two 60 mortar groups and two general-purpose machine gun groups, the total strength is between 180-200 people.

It does not require too many resources to build such a base, and it can be built in about 10 days with sufficient manpower and materials. Although the defensive power of such a stronghold is not strong, it is still completely sufficient to defend against an army like the Mongol cavalry, because the firepower of the Mongol cavalry is not strong, and the offensive power is insufficient, as long as there is enough ammunition, the strength of the garrison stronghold can withstand 1000, or even more Mongol cavalry attacks.

From Chaoyang to Chifeng, only need to build 5-6 such fortresses, you can basically ensure the safety of this transportation route, once it is found that there is a Mongolian cavalry to attack the convoy, the convoy can hide in the nearby fortress, and then raise fire to warn, and Chifeng or Jinzhou direction can send troops to rush to reinforcements.