Ye Qi couldn't help but smile bitterly when he heard this, and shook his head: "Duke De, what do you mean?" Even if we don't agree, don't hurt me. ”

"Where I hurt you, I'm pulling you ashore." A hint of cunning flashed in Li Zongren's eyes, he knew something about the situation in Hunan, but he hadn't figured out how to use this chess piece yet.

In order to take care of Song Ziwen and them, Li Zongren put a lot of thought into it, and specially found Huang Weilie, a foreign student from Guangxi, to hold it in a Western-style way, and there was a band during the banquet, and those who were interested could enter the dance floor at any time to show their skills, but he himself couldn't dance, and it happened that Zhuang Jihua didn't have the heart to dance, after seeing Ye Qi, he wanted to talk to Ye Qi or Li Zongren, but Huang Shaohong forced him into a young lady, he danced two songs at will and leaned over to Li Zongren, to be honest, his ballroom dancing is not good, he is best at jumping, Unexpectedly, while Song Ziwen sneered at his bad dance steps, he also recognized that he was indeed out of school because of poverty, because poor people don't have much time to dance.

Li Zongren couldn't help but be secretly happy when he saw Zhuang Jihua coming, and he was also about to talk to Zhuang Jihua.

Ye Qi is also a person who doesn't like to dance, he wanted to leave but was dissuaded by Li Zongren, so he had a casual chat with Li Zongren on the side, he had his back to Zhuang Jihua, so he didn't pay attention to Zhuang Jihua coming, and when Li Zongren greeted Zhuang Jihua, he wanted to leave but it was too late.

Zhuang Jihua sat down and talked with them casually, Li Zongren intended to lead the topic to the whole army, but Zhuang Jihua did not answer, but leaned on Ye Qi and Hunan, Ye Qi did not know what to do, as the topic of the two talked for a while, and then woke up, it turned out that the two people were intentionally getting together, so he got up to leave, but Li Zongren left him behind, and the three of them went to the small hall upstairs.

There were three sofas in the small hall, but after entering the door, I found Bai Chongxi sitting inside.

"Jiansheng, why are you here alone?" Li Zongren asked.

"It's too noisy down there, I want to be quiet." Bai Chongxi was interrupted by his train of thought, turned his head and saw the three of them, so he didn't tell the truth.

"It seems that they are all people with intentions, only I am reckless." Ye Qi laughed at himself and said that although he didn't know what they were going to talk about, he already understood it when he looked at this posture.

"What is unintentional, I want to talk about something with the Cultural Revolution, and I also invite you to come to the staff and staff, and at the same time talk about your affairs." Li Zongren planned to be open and honest, and he was going around in circles downstairs just now, and he already understood that this young man was too slippery to easily confide in what he wanted.

"To be honest, General Ye's matter is also something I care about, Duke De, please talk about it first." Zhuang Jihua didn't know if Bai Chongxi was here by coincidence or if they did it on purpose.

"Okay, everyone is open and honest," Li Zongren laughed twice, and then restrained his smile and said to Ye Qi: "Brother Ye, you have said a lot to me since you came, but Zhao Hengti is engaged in inter-provincial autonomy, we do not agree with this proposition, we think that inter-provincial autonomy is only to provide a reason for the warlords to secession, and only by implementing the premier's three-ming cooking righteousness can China become strong today, and can it be humiliated from the outside world and restore the right to restore the country." ”

"Degong is right, my generation has devoted himself to the army and fought hard and bloody battles for many years, not to save only Guangxi, but to save China." Bai Chongxi jumped up angrily: "The autonomy of the provinces is just to defend the land, which is not helpful to the country, if so, Bai might as well go home and farm." ”

Great, General.

"Governor Zhao made three requests, I'm sorry, I can't do it, if a war breaks out between Hunan and Guangdong, it will not be a dispute between Hunan and Guangdong, but a dispute between isms, a dispute between revolution and counter-revolution, since we promise the country with our bodies, we will never stay out of it."

Ye Qi smiled bitterly and patted his thighs with both hands: "I thought I could accomplish at least one mission, but I didn't expect ........., okay, now I can go back to my life." ”

After finishing speaking, he was about to stand up, Li Zongren hurriedly pressed him: "Don't be busy, the business is over, but the love of our classmates is still there, I encounter something difficult, and I ask Brother Ye to help me staff in front of my old classmates." ”

Maybe we blame our predecessors too much, they also want to save China; Zhuang Jihua had always been suspicious before, he didn't know why the three giants of the Gui family wanted to give Guangxi hands, but now he was vaguely sure, maybe it was they who said that it was because of the same political philosophy that prompted them to make such a decision.

"I'm afraid the difficult thing that Degong said is the whole army." Zhuang Jihua is no longer hiding: "I once reorganized the Sichuan Army in Guangzhou, and I have some experience, let's refer to it together." ”

Without waiting for them to express their position, Zhuang Jihua continued: "Guangxi's existing 60,000 troops are indeed too much, and they must be reduced to less than 30,000 so as not to cause excessive financial difficulties." ”

When Bai Chongxi heard this, he immediately wanted to refute it, but Li Zongren signaled not to be excited and continued to listen to him.

Zhuang Jihua nodded at Bai Chongxi and continued: "The number of troops has declined, is it weak? In my opinion, it is the officers and training that determine the combat effectiveness of the armed forces, and the purpose of disarmament is to save military spending, not to weaken the armed forces, so disarmament cannot be simply disarmament, but must build up the armed forces in the course of disarmament to make the armed forces stronger.

In the West, there is a theory of hard power and soft power, what is hard power, training, equipment, and funding; What about soft power, organizations, industry, people; Disarmament cuts the hard parts, but strengthens the overall strength of the armed forces by building up the soft parts. Reserve service is an important part of soft power, and Brother Ji Kuan believes that reserve service requires the cooperation of many administrative agencies, which is correct, but it is not right to think that Guangxi's current administrative organs are not sound and cannot implement reserve service. ”

Zhuang Jihua said this, Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi's expressions did not move at all, Ye Qi opened his mouth to say but closed it.

"Why not? Brother Ji Kuan sees the connection between the reserve and the administrative system too closely, and he looks at the problem in a static way, I see it this way, the reserve system and the civil affairs system have both overlap and separation, since this is the case, we can do a good job of separation first. ”

"How? China's administrative units are villages, and then townships, districts, counties, cities, and provinces, and we can set up a reserve command post in each county, and each township should set up a reserve command group, and select those non-commissioned officers who have a cultural foundation, are proficient in combat skills, and have rich experience from those who have been laid off from disarmament, and fill the command group, and the officers who have been laid off will be enriched into the command post. The work of the command post is mainly to organize and recruit reservists, and the command group is responsible for training reservists during the agricultural slack period, and at the same time grasping the situation of reservists in the area under their jurisdiction, including the number, age, etc., and also to carry out propaganda in the area under its jurisdiction, so that the people can understand the significance of reservists, and I think that a primary reserve system can be built in two years. ”

Li Zongren heard the term soft power for the first time, but after thinking about it, he thought it made sense, but he still had doubts: "The Chinese do not want to be soldiers, once they really call up the reserves, they will run away." ”

"This requires another supporting system, the first is punitive measures, and the second is incentive measures; The punitive measure is that all those who refuse to be called up are punished; All conscripts should be rewarded, such as preferential treatment for military dependents, and some preferential treatment or care for them in terms of economic and social status. The reserve command group can also take care of the families of the soldiers on the expedition, mainly to help them solve difficulties, such as the lack of labor, and the command group can call on the reservists to help the military families plow the fields and harvest wheat, and so on. This would alleviate the problem of reluctance to join the army. ”

"In addition, it is better not to dismiss the laid off soldiers on the spot, and when I reorganized the Sichuan Army, I changed the reorganized soldiers into engineering troops, so as to solve the problem of the soldiers' way out and not add chaos to society. Guangxi can also do the same, Guangxi also has a condition that it is adjacent to Vietnam, and it can organize some troops to go to the Sino-Vietnamese border to engage in reclamation, so that it can not only develop the frontier but also station a reserve force on the border, killing multiple birds with one stone. ”

"How much does it cost to build such a system?" Bai Chongxi was the first to discover the problem.

"It costs money to do anything, but it depends on whether the money is worth it, for the reserves, I think this money must be spent, so let's make another suggestion, the source of funding can be considered to apply to the national political axe, in the name of the pilot, but Minister Song is not a generous person, so the funds may only be given a small part, and the rest needs to be raised by Guangxi itself."

"Money, we can find a way, but the reserve must be established, which is a matter of benefit for a hundred years." Li Zongren made a decisive decision: "If you really can't do it, you can increase taxes." ”

"After the reunification of the two provinces, the central government will take back the tax power." Bai Chongxi reminded. Li Zongren suddenly remembered that in the future, the first-level management of tax rights would no longer be under their control.

Zhuang Jihua seems to be unsatisfied: "The construction of the reserve force also plays another role, Chinese society has always been like a plate of scattered sand, officials are lax, think about it, once the reserve is established in the village-level units, this is equivalent to the establishment of a provincial reserve as the center of the tentacles throughout all corners of Guangxi society management system, at that time, the monarchs gave an order, the order was transmitted to all corners of the province, commanding all strata in Guangxi is equivalent to an arm, Guangxi's war potential suddenly increased tenfold. ”

These words finally moved Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi, they were only considered from a military point of view at first, and after the establishment of the reserve, it could speed up the replenishment of the army and improve the combat effectiveness of the army in disguise; Zhuang Jihua reminded them that this system can be applied not only to the military but also to civilian management.

"Disarmament must be reduced, and the reserve force must be engaged in even smashing pots and selling iron." Li Zongren firmly expressed his position, and Bai Chongxi also firmly expressed his support.

Ye Qi looked at the ambitious Li Bai and sighed: "When I go back, I also suggest that Governor Zhao also have a reserve in Hunan." ”

Li Zongren looked at him with a smile, Bai Chongxi also looked at him with a strange look, their expressions made Ye Qi feel uneasy, he: "Degong, Jiansheng, what's wrong?" ”

Li Zongren waved his hand: "It's nothing, I just want to ask Brother Ye, is it possible for Governor Zhao to join the revolutionary camp?" ”

Zhuang Jihua immediately became alert, and he quickly made a judgment that Li Zongren had some kind of purpose for Hunan, and this Ye Qi might be the key.

Ye Qi was stunned when he heard this, Zhao Hengti has advocated inter-provincial autonomy for many years, and is currently the banner of inter-provincial autonomy, let him join the revolutionary camp? Undoubtedly, it is a fool's dream.

"I wonder what General Ye thinks of the revolution?" Zhuang Jihua asked tentatively.

Revolution, Ye Qi is also confused now, when he was in Hunan, he heard that Guangzhou had been red, and he was very disgusted by the implementation of communism; But after coming back for so many days, he found that the so-called communist wife was a rumor at all, but some new things that appeared in Guangxi aroused his great interest, such as peasant associations and trade unions; He was also surprised by the public's enthusiastic support for the political axe, which is not seen in Hunan. He also spoke at mass meetings and was enthusiastically cheered by the masses. It can be said that the vitality shown by Guangxi has a great attraction to him, otherwise he would not have followed Li Zongren to Wuzhou.

"I see Brother Ye, don't go back, stay, let's do it together." Bai Chongxi also persuaded that he thought relatively simply, Ye Qi was a talent, their friend, and a hot-blooded young man, so it was better for everyone to work together.

"What's the line? I am an envoy on order, and if I don't return, how will I behave in the future? Ye Qi hesitated and refused, and Li Zongren saw that there was a door.

"Brother Ye is embarrassed, I know it, don't rush at this time," Li Zongren's rather understanding tone made Ye Qi breathe a sigh of relief, he was most afraid that Li Bai would persuade him to stay, but Li Zongren's tone changed and returned to the question just now: "Brother Ye, do you see if Governor Zhao can join the revolutionary camp." ”

"Governor Zhao is old, and he only wants to protect the territory and the people, but I am afraid he has no ambition." Ye Qi shook his head and said.

"Oh, who is the ambitious one in Hunan?" Li Zongren asked again.

"Tang Mengxiao." Ye Qi replied without hesitation, Hunan Province is autonomous, and four provincial defense divisions have been established, with He Yaozu, Ye Kaixin, Tang Shengzhi, and Liu Wei as division commanders, among which Tang Shengzhi is the most ambitious, he is the supervisor of southern Hunan and the supervisor of Shuikoushan Mining, and the fourth division of the Hunan army under his jurisdiction is well-equipped and has a large number of people, and he has long been pitiful for the position of governor.

(To be continued)