Zhang Zuolin made a lot of money.

Although he was born as a bandit, he also has a set of business skills, otherwise a net worth of one million (this is Zhang Hanqing's rough calculation) is not obtained out of thin air. Zhang Hanqing revealed this business opportunity to him with his front foot, and he moved with his back foot. Tobacco, there are many in the Northeast; Cigarette and tobacco processing is also the specialty of people in this land, there are people who can do it, and there is no need for strong industrial strength, and the lack of sales in Fengtian and Rehe, a major tobacco-producing province, is sales. In just one month, a large-scale cigarette factory was built. By the end of the first round of price negotiations three months later, the first batch of 100,000 cigarettes had left the factory. This talent for doing business and a bold grasp of opportunities are very high-level.

Zhang Hanqing named this batch of cigarettes "Victory" brand, which means the victory in the European war, and also metaphorizes his father's victory in improving his economic ability. By selling Fengtian's worthless tobacco from the price of cabbage to the price of ginseng, Zhang Zuolin was impressed by the level of his connections.

China's "Shengli" brand cigarettes quickly won the love of officers and soldiers in the theater because of their strength and cheapness, and were hailed as "precious gifts." A Belgian soldier, Colin Weddorp, left a message on the postcard: "In today's bad weather, tobacco is very popular. In the trenches, you will never find any remnants of cigarettes scattered on the ground, as they will not be thrown away until they have burned to your lips. ”

Russia, also a member of the Entente, had easier access to such cigarettes, and likewise their desire for "victory" was beyond the limits of what could be imagined in a peaceful region. Journalist Dakyana Arkadyevna Smeryanskaya (female) with the army recalled: "I saw how a crate of tobacco flew into the swamp and caused a lot of scolding... Soldiers, cherishing ammunition, but also cherishing tobacco..."Tobacco, cigarettes, flint and steel, or matches, are truly the only source of solace for soldiers in a ruthless war."

Since then, tobacco has become an important part of the revitalization of the economy of Northeast China has been carried forward, until the post-war period, cheap and high-quality Chinese cigarettes have always been the favorite of European people, but also for the development of Northeast financial development to provide a steady stream of help, this is a later story.

Since Cai Ye agreed to provide contacts for Zhang Hanqing's tobacco plan, the relationship between the uncle and nephew has entered a new realm. It's not enough to be like-minded, but also to cooperate for mutual benefit, which Cai Ye has done very well, and he wants to use his practical actions to make Zhang Zuolin firm in confidence. How to communicate with the ministers of European countries through various relations, what are the requirements for transportation, and how much the price is, are all headaches.

But Zhang Hanqing is the one who solves big things, so he won't do those nerve-wracking things, these will be done by Nai's father, he is a businessman---- the roads are paved, if he can't even do this, he will despise that Fengtian King.

At this time, Zhang Hanqing had already thought of another matter, and he said to General Cai with a little crampedness: "Uncle Shi, there is something that the little nephew has hidden in his heart for a long time, I don't know if I can ask?" ”

Zhang Hanqing was facing Lao Cai's temper, and in line with the idea of promoting the backwards, Cai Yi generously waved his hand and said, "Of course you can." ”

"Is General Jiang Fangzhen really as powerful as the legend says?"

Cai Ye was stunned: "Uh..."

Zhang Hanqing said: "I want to go and meet Mr. Baili." He then smiled again: "I don't know who is more powerful in the 'Saber Three Heroes', Uncle Shi and General Jiang Fangzhen?" ”

This is a difficult problem, because there will be many disputes in later generations on the question of who is more powerful, Jiang Baili or Cai Yi.

In terms of military rank, before the war to protect the country and fight against Yuan, Cai Ye had already paid homage to the first-class general of the government of the Republic of China; And until ten years later, Jiang Baili still only had a lieutenant general, just a posthumous general.

In terms of martial arts, Cai Ye has experienced a hundred battles and made many meritorious achievements, and the Sichuan campaign he organized and commanded, whether in the formulation of plans, organization and coordination, or the implementation of command, were orderly, decisive and resolute, and in the entire war to protect the country, it can be called a wonderful scene. Cai Yi's fame was also a household name after this battle, and it was the pinnacle of his military career. In later generations, Commander-in-Chief Zhu De and Marshal Liu Bocheng were both a small general under him at this time: and Jiang Baili never had the opportunity to personally lead troops to fight in his life, and he made great achievements in tactics.

Strategically, it is Jiang Baili's strength, but I am afraid that it is due to his longevity compared to Cai Yi (although Jiang Baili only lived 56 years old in the official history, Cai Yi, who was 37 years old, has the advantage of time deposition and historical evolution, referring to Chiang's theory "On National Defense", the founder of the famous "protracted war" of "exchanging space for time" in 1936). His contribution is probably still his son in the army who is full of peach and plums.

With regard to operational guidance, Cai Yi said: "Strategy and tactics must be adapted to the conditions of the time, and the situation must be judged in order to be appropriate, and there can be no slight stagnation. Proceeding from this ideological principle, he did not completely affirm Zeng and Hu's idea of "defending rather than attacking," nor was he swayed by the idea of "extreme advocates of attacking" by Western military scholars at that time, but put forward a strategic plan to lure the enemy into depth in light of the Chinese army, military spending, transportation, and other conditions. He said: "If China meets other countries with arms within a few years, it is better to adopt the Boya tactic (referring to guerrilla tactics) than to make a desperate move, defend against danger, take precautions at every turn, and focus on the whole army and the old enemy's divisions, and annihilate them in one fell swoop if they go deep and have no success." From this point of view, Cai's understanding of China's national conditions is quite sophisticated and unique, no less than Jiang Baili's, or a supplement to Jiang Baili's later theory---- after all, Jiang Baili provided an argument for China's victory in the general direction, and Cai Ye guided China's difficult problem of how to win. The combination of the two is probably the main idea of Grandpa Mao's "On Protracted War" and "On Guerrilla Warfare".

It's really hard to answer the question of who is higher or lower between himself and Jiang Baili, and he has never made this comparison. He was in charge of the military of a province at a young age, and he also had a lot of research in military theory, while Jiang Baili made many achievements in military theory and the cultivation of military talents, and the two are the two major branches of military science in the strict sense. Cai Ye can be regarded as a military strategist, while Jiang Baili can only be said to be a military scientist.

Cai Ye is a righteous man and a gentleman, and he will never say that he is stronger than Jiang Baili, after all, he must be kind; But if you want to say that you are weak, you are unwilling, and you are afraid that Zhang Hanqing's shallow experience will really think that he is a little lost. There is no first martial arts and no second, and this face still has to be fought for.

After thinking about it, Cai Yi said: "You and Uncle Jiang Shi both graduated from the Department of Lu University in Japan, and we can be regarded as the same department, but later we developed different professional fields and different opportunities, how can we compare?" He smiled slightly, calmed down, pointed to Zhang Hanqing's nose, and said with a smile: "Hanqing, how did you think of asking such a strange question?" ”

Zhang Hanqing replied solemnly: "The Fengtian troops have always had problems such as low combat effectiveness and backward command ability, and when Xueliang came, he discussed with his father about the reopening of the Fengtian Lecture Hall---- but now I think about it, I am afraid that it has begun with great fanfare." However, Xueliang has always had a doubt: In view of the time and financial constraints for military training, Xueliang is still deliberating whether to give priority to combat and command capabilities or political work. The cost of training a hundred battles is definitely not small; If political work is given priority, Fengtian can use the funds invested in education to meet the investment of political work, and the cost is small. However, it is not yet known whether there are deficiencies in improving the combat effectiveness of the army. Needless to say, Jiang Shishu's attainments in the strategic direction also made good achievements in the teaching of the Baoding Army School. Xueliang wanted to ask for advice on this issue himself. ”

Cai Ye nodded, smiled and said, "Political worker, what do you mean?" ”

Zhang Hanqing said embarrassedly: "This is a new word that my little nephew came up with." Political work is to use the means of political education to make officers and men know what they are fighting for. Xueliang also privately believes that the combat effectiveness of the army is not only well-equipped and well-trained, but also has the most important morale. In addition, the political workers of the army must also change their tactics, and they must be integrated with the officers and soldiers and mingle with the common people. Xueliang once had a little experience with Uncle Shi's boya tactics, which can be summed up in another word: fighting the people's war. As long as we win the support of the people, we can continuously obtain logistical, material, and human support from the people, and we can integrate into the people to find protection. Xueliang believes that modern troops need a large number of such full-time personnel, and such personnel should be educated and thoughtful intellectuals, and only soldiers taught by such people can have spirit, spirit, and spirit. ”

Cai Ye stopped smiling. He stared at Zhang Hanqing for a long time, and said slowly: "Is this question your father's idea or your own understanding?" ”

Zhang Hanqing Hao Ran said: "It's just Xueliang's own speculation. ”

Cai Ye said quietly: "Han Qing is 15 years old this year? ”

Zhang Hanqing said: "I am 15 years old. ”

Cai Ye suddenly took Zhang Hanqing's hand and said, "I am not alone. I'll take you to meet Jiang Fangzhen now. ”

It is not for nothing that these words can resonate with our General Cai. In addition to some new-style terms, Zhang Hanqing's insights combined with the research results of Cai Yi and Jiang Baili for many years, and solved his doubts for many years, how could he not lose his temper? (Zhang Hanqing: Nonsense, how can it be wrong to build and strengthen the army in line with Chinese characteristics, which has been proven by practice?) ）

At that time, there was an upsurge of training the new army and reforming the military system in China, and military training was regarded as the "first priority" of saving the country. However, patriotic young people such as Cai Ye believe that martial arts not only need swords, but also need spirit, and royal insults not only need guns, but also need the soul of the country. It is proposed to conduct military education and training for the whole people in order to improve the quality of the people. Zhang Hanqing's idea of political workers teaching the spirit is exactly what he wants.

Moreover, Zhang Hanqing's proposal of "the integration of officers and soldiers" won his heart. Cai Ye has also always advocated "harmony" between officers and soldiers, so that soldiers regard the barracks as a "second family". He particularly admired Zeng Guofan's sentence that "leading soldiers is like a father and brother leading his children", and believed that if the leader of the troops "can keep this in mind, then the ancient and modern maxims of leading soldiers can be burned in a thousand words." Zhang Hanqing can have this kind of understanding at a young age, and he can't help but be impressed.