"There are big moves on the side, but we also have to take into account some specific situations." Ma Heng said to his staff officer. It did not seem to be very advantageous to fight southward, and they had to cross Nakajo Mountain first. And in the southern part of the Shangdang region, there are also a large number of mountainous areas. Combat in mountainous areas is very difficult, especially logistical supply operations.

The reason why the Republican Army was able to win the war was actually due to the victory of their logistical supply to such a point, so to speak, they had some luck in it, but now such a result does not seem to be a good thing for them. Because many things are still very difficult for them. In such a situation, it is necessary to complete the attack on the advantage of the more. Ma Heng is still very unconfident.

Li Jiazhuang, War Department.

"Most of the staff officers' opinions are here. If we make a strategic shift, the first difficult problem is the defense of the north. The situation with the defense of the north is not very rosy, there are not enough troops. At the same time, the construction of the militia requires a lot of capital investment, in addition to the improvement of more infrastructure, which requires a lot of money. Jia Xu said.

"The second is the issue of troop allocation. If there is a partial mobilization in Hedong and Shangdang, the strength can be requisitioned to seven infantry regiments. About twenty-three infantry battalions, as well as three artillery battalions. Although the number of troops is relatively sufficient. However, fighting in the mountains, it is impossible to carry out it. Jia Xu took the report and said.

"Finally, there's the channel. The southbound passage was almost entirely sealed. The imperial army controlled all the southbound passages. The east of the river needs to climb over Zhongtiao Mountain to go south, which takes a considerable amount of time. It's a tough one for us. We need to develop a channel. But this, in a few years, will not work at all. Jia Xu said helplessly.

Shang Wu nodded. Despite the fact that the IRA occupies a commanding height. Luoyang is right on the plain, and it seems that it can be impacted there from Taihang Mountain, but the situation is not like that. The IRA has not yet occupied the key passage there. And the mountains went south, into the plains, just a few mountain roads, but unfortunately, all the passages were blocked by the imperial army. The IRA could not move south.

There is another one, which is directly south from Handan, and it seems that this road is very smooth. But there are too many places to detour.

"Well, it looks like it's going to take a long time to sort out the channels that are extremely beneficial to us." Shang Wu seemed to have some self-talk. But it costs a lot of money to do so. This is a considerable financial expense for them.

"It's not just the finances, we need to consolidate a lot of things." Shang Wu came back to his senses and said.

"And the state military district sent a report on the investigation of some militias. There are a few things mentioned in the report. The militia is in a terrible situation. The firearms that were sent down quickly rusted and there was less time for training. A lot of people don't know how to do it. As for participating in the militia, it is far less good than our situation in Jizhou, Luzhou, Hedong, and Hexi, and in Bingzhou. The local population perceives the involvement of the militia as a burden. Shang Wu said about it.

"Yes, in these areas, our militia is the best treated, and when you enter the army, you go into the tax-free system. The benefits package you get is the best. Even the children of merchants were actively sent to the army. Especially military schools. It's very difficult to get a spot. And in the merged state. The only possibility is that our policies are not being implemented. In other words, the children of the militia did not get their tangible benefits. Jia Xu said.

"I'm not worried about these issues. Land. Land issues. You know? In the Handan stock exchange market, there are a large number of people buying land bonds. Although the price seems fair, from the perspective of investment returns, they receive the most long-term benefits, and behind each land bond is a large amount of land, as well as the acquisition of mineral resources. and the further expansion of their mining rights. It's for us. is a very large shock. Shang Wu said.

"And it is precisely because of this that we originally used for the distribution of land in the state were acquired by the banking groups from Handan and the Hedong merchant groups. The people of the annexed states did not directly benefit from it. Shang Wu said. Jia Xu nodded. The problem exists, and even, the entire IRA is aware of this situation and acquiesces in it.

The reason is simple, the IRA is heavily dependent on their logistical supplies.

Military uniforms, military boots, weapons, ammunition, food, medicine, transportation, there are businessmen involved in all links. The military operations of the Republican Army are actually no longer military operations. In fact, it was more of a commercial activity, and the large financial purchases of the ** group stimulated the local handicraft industry, as well as the rise of small factories. Various industries have also developed under such a big stimulus. A lot of people have made a fortune out of it.

The banking syndicates in Handan banded together to acquire land bonds and provide financial services to merchants in Hedong. And the Hedong merchants, the organizers of the handicraft industry, they were the participants who were directly involved in it, and they knew too well where the beneficial links were. A lot of people were quickly pulled up. Earn more money.

They quickly set their sights on a place, and that place was, and the state. In their opinion, it is not their business to expel the few nomadic tribes in the north, but more importantly, they can get more and more benefits. This is a commercial action. Coal, land. and many more trade opportunities. As for bringing more bad consequences, they don't care about that.

The Republican Army, in fact, sold the burden of the war to the merchants, who contracted all the costs. Therefore, the Republican army can have better supplies. But at the cost of greedy merchants wanting to eat more of the profits. They can't wait to turn the state into a big, big pie, and everyone can take a bite of it.

The secret of the logistics of the IRA lies in the businessmen, who have helped them achieve everything, so to speak, but the current situation does not seem to be very rosy. This is really a big problem for them.

"We mobilized the power of the merchants, but the whole state still needs to rely on them to rebuild after the war." Jia Xu said. Although some of the practices of the merchants have caused them a lot of trouble. But it's also a big boost for us. Jia Xu said.

"Hmm." Shangwu is undeniable, but how to develop and merge states, and put them in a favorable defensive posture, and mobilize merchants, this is almost a very big master's thing to do, and he needs to mobilize more forces to accomplish these things.

"There is no rush in this matter, we still need to do some investigations, but it is better to flatten the defense line in the north." Shang Wu said.

"At the very least, let's get a greater degree of defensive advantage." Shang Wu said.

"Yanmen is very important." Jia Xu said. The Republican Army did not regain Yanmen, in fact, the situation of Yanmen was very special, it was the junction of the Xiongnu and Wuhuan people. At the same time, it is also a place of Han self-governance, and the local area has entered a state of self-management. Coupled with the fact that the Republican Army was nearby, they did not arrive at = Dayanmen. This leads directly to the delicate posture of the Quartet's forces.

The only way for the Republican Army to save troops is to regain Yanmen. With the help of geographical advantages, it is quite difficult to achieve such a delicate balance, but it is actually quite difficult to achieve this kind of place. Because a lot of things simply can't do some of these situations.

"In that case, the north still has to fight?" Jia Xu did not want to continue fighting in the north. But there are some situations where they still have to do it.

"No, there are things. Money is also a good thing. Shang Wu said. He thinks that Yanmen can be bought for money. It's the best way to do it.

The reason is simple. Shang Wu thought of it. Alaska, that's what was bought. In the same way, they can buy such land. In the hands of the Wuhuan people, they will buy it from the Wuhuan people. In the hands of the Huns, buy from the Huns. Both sides have entered a very stalemate state. At this time, they need more supplies and more money.

Money, sometimes, works better than cannonballs. Shang Wu thought.

Handan stock exchange market.

The entire trading market has entered the hottest stage.

The IRA began to sell some shares in some of the large factories controlled by the IRA, allowing banks and private groups to enter them.

The news was shocking, because many people knew exactly what those big factories meant. That's the golden rooster that lays golden eggs. Naturally, this attracted the attention of many groups. They began to frantically buy any related stock that was sold in the market.

"The market is so crazy right now, you see, one price a day, even, one price an hour. I knew it was worth so much, at thirty dollars. I should have bought a few more. It's expensive, and I'm willing to do it. Now it has risen to an astonishing 90 yuan. Oh, my God. It's really crazy. It's crazy. An investor friend said to Li Li.

"Oh. Is it? Li Li disagreed, because he bought most of the money into related stocks. He had more than three hundred strands in his hands. Moreover, he predicts that the price will definitely break through a hundred. One hundred, this is an extremely large psychological threshold, once it is broken, everything is smooth.