The rallying horn sounded, startling the birds in the dense forest of Phoenix Mountain, and there was a noise in the barracks at the foot of the mountain, and 5,000 officers and men wearing gray old-fashioned military uniforms and big gray caps rushed out of the barracks and ran towards the barracks, and more than a dozen large and small military vehicles slowly drove into the barracks under the mountain amid the echoing horns.

Dozens of young soldiers wearing the uniforms of military cadets jumped out of the carriage and quickly lined up, and more than 10 Sichuan military generals and colonels came out of several cars and boarded the general platform under the respectful guidance of the officers of the barracks.

On the platform, Xiao Yimin's eyes crossed the 5,000 officers and soldiers lined up neatly in the field, and looked at the two airport runways that had already been completed in the south, with a worried face:

"It's another year in the blink of an eye, and I don't know when our airport will be able to use it!"

When Xu Xiaogang, the Minister of Military Affairs who was talking and laughing in a low voice with a group of generals, heard this, took two steps forward, stood beside Xiao Yimin, looked at the empty airport in front of him, and explained in a low voice:

"Commander, don't worry too much, I always feel that the Americans' default this time is a bit strange, it stands to reason that Britain and the United States will not be able to get together in the distribution of China's interests, and the Americans will not sell us planes because the British are in the way, judging from the commissioning of the Qijiang Iron and Steel Plant and the large investment of the Americans in the second phase of the project, the Americans will not let go of any good opportunity to make money, and it may be no problem to wait a few more months."

Xiao Yimin shook his head slightly: "No, this time it's a little different, since we occupied Lhasa and Chayu, the British have been calling the whole world like mad dogs, uniting the French and several small European countries to launch economic sanctions against us, plus he himself who hates us to the core, rushed to the front and forced the Beiyang faction to put pressure on us by cutting off the credit support of the Yanjing political axe and turning to the southern Kuomintang loans, if it weren't for the defaulting Americans to buy a large number of our Sichuan native products through agents, Maybe our businessmen in Sichuan will also make a fuss, alas! It can be said that the difficult environment in the past two months has far exceeded that of the previous ten years, and it is likely to continue for a long time, if we cannot solve the problem as soon as possible and get out of the predicament, maybe Sichuan will be in chaos, at least economic development will come to a standstill. ”

As soon as Zhong Ying's troops and Zhou Daogang's troops occupied Lhasa and Chayu areas, the British jumped up and down, like mad dogs that had been beaten, launched economic sanctions against China, and used diplomatic relations to force the United States to announce that it would stop implementing a series of contracts with Sichuan for aircraft, military vehicles, and special steel.

Although people from all walks of life in Sichuan launched a massive protest and criticism that spread throughout the country and won the support of the people of the whole country, they lost a large number of purchase and sale contracts, the political and economic situation quickly fell into difficulties, and the power of imperialism once again easily triumphed over justice.

On the second day of the wedding with Miss Liu, while the guests from all over the city and hundreds of Chinese and foreign journalists had not yet left, Commander-in-Chief Xiao ignored the opposition and dissuasion of the provincial political axe and nearly half of the officials of the parliament, ordered the whole army to enter a state of combat readiness, and at the same time forcefully announced the closure of the British consular office in Sichuan, and ordered all British diplomats to leave Sichuan within five days, otherwise they would be forcibly expelled.

When the news came out, the world was shocked.

The Yanjing political axe and the newly established Guangzhou revolutionary party and government axe both opposed Xiao Yimin, issued stern warnings to Xiao Yimin and the Sichuan military and political circles, and launched fierce attacks, and the literati of the two factions went into battle shirtless one after another, launching a huge crusade against Xiao Yimin.

Xiao Yimin, who was furious, immediately launched a counterattack through the public opinion under his control, angrily revealing the contents of the negotiations that the Beiyang political axe and local warlords were engaged in with Britain and Yueben, and that the right of way of the three railways and 17 rich mining areas in four provinces were about to be mortgaged to Yueben and Britain by the two major regimes in the north and south in exchange for huge sums of money, and the shocking news that it was used for civil war and political power struggle was revealed, which completely aroused the anger of the people of the whole country.

The Beiyang faction and the Southern Revolutionary Party were shocked and desperately denied it, but in the midst of opposition and condemnation from all walks of life throughout the country, all kinds of negotiations secretly held by various political forces in the country and the foreign powers had to be stopped, but Xiao Yimin changed from a "warlord who reads talents" condemned by the whole country to an upright patriotic general who worries about the country and the people.

What is even more astonishing is that Xiao Yimin did what he said, and as soon as the five-day deadline was up, the Sichuan army and police immediately surrounded the British Consulate in Yucheng, and in just one day, they put all the more than 10 British diplomats on the passenger ship and expelled them mercilessly.

The British political axe was extremely angry about this, and the European countries were boiling, and the conspiracy was defeated, and at the same time, the political axe of the British government vigorously supported the British allies, and issued all kinds of threats to the local political axe and Xiao Yimin in Sichuan.

Xiao Yimin immediately responded and solemnly warned the British political axe: We must give up the frenzied plundering of China's territory and respect China's sacred sovereignty, otherwise we will inevitably encounter strong confrontation from the entire Chinese people.

In the name of the commander-in-chief of the Sichuan Army, Xiao Yimin also solemnly issued a statement to add fuel to the intensifying confrontation: From now on, all the people and British who illegally entered the Kang-Tibet region will be arrested as soon as they are discovered, and they will be punished as spies.

Britain and the two countries quickly responded strongly, announcing the convening of a ministerial meeting to launch the most powerful and resolute arms embargo and trade sanctions against China, and announcing the immediate blockade of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, seizing all Sichuan ships and transport supplies, and not allowing a single bullet or screw to flow into Sichuan.

The Beiyang political axe and the Guangzhou political axe were so frightened that they were attacking each other and planning to conquer the two factions of the north and the south, and they were also helpless against Xiao Yimin, who was strong and strong, and both sides fiercely criticized Xiao Yimin for their own political interests and international image, but secretly sent competent personnel to Chengdu urgently to persuade Xiao Yimin.

But everyone knows that the whole Sichuan due to the rapid development of several years, gradually completed the establishment of its own industrial system, the vast majority of enterprises in the direction of business, in addition to foreign trade, almost not much damage, any sanctions for Sichuan, for Xiao Yimin, can not hurt the bones, and the European war has entered a white-hot stage, the center of the world's attention in the east and west battlefields of Germany, the warring countries with heavy losses, almost all of them have reached the critical point of life and death, at this time to sanction a poor and white China, it's all a matter of face.

The sound of passwords on the field sounded frequently, Xu Xiaogang shook his head, put aside all his worries, shook hands with Liu Bingxian, who came to his side, and gently took Xiao Yimin's hand and reminded in a low voice: "Zicheng is here." ”

Liu Bingxian smiled and asked, "Commander-in-Chief Xiao, are you willing to say a few words to our officers and soldiers?" ”

Xiao Yimin shook his head: "Don't talk about it, I'm here to see you off, are you ready?" ”

"Thank you very much Commander-in-Chief Xiao and all my colleagues for your care." Although Liu Bingxian's words were polite, anyone could hear the sincere gratitude in them.

Xiao Yimin was not ambiguous about his eldest brother in public:

"Don't forget to bring back the bills you owe, the cost of conscription and training for more than three months, the ammunition for food and drink, and the ammunition consumed for training, as well as the cost of clothing, shoes and hats specially made for you 5,000 officers and soldiers can not be counted as money, but 4,000 Mauser long rifles, 50 heavy machine guns, 32 mortars and ammunition still need to be counted as money, and we are here today in addition to seeing you off, mainly to remind you not to forget to pay back the money."

The generals looked at Liu Bingxian, who had a displeased face, and thought that there was a lot of excitement now.

Liu Bingxian pointed to the assembly team in the audience: "Don't talk to me about this, open your eyes and see for yourself, what are the four thousand Mauser long rifles and all the heavy machine guns?" None of them are new, all of them are old goods that you have redressed, although they look okay after refurbishment, but they are used old weapons after all, you are embarrassed to ask me for money? ”

"Why are you embarrassed? These weapons have all undergone precise repair and maintenance, and they are not much different from a new gun, both in terms of ability and quality, far beyond the similar equipment used by various armies in China, are you still not satisfied? Xiao Yimin also made a half-truth, causing laughter from all the generals.

Liu Bingxian felt guilty and wanted to argue a few words, but finally held back, sincerely thanked everyone, took the document handed by Xu Xiaogang and looked at it, and raised his head in surprise: "This route was arranged?" ”

Xu Xiaogang shook his head and said:

"No way, the gang of Yanjing Zheng Axe is very unhappy with the existence of your army, and their representative even found the commander-in-chief yesterday and asked us to stop you from leading your troops south to Guangdong. We don't want to stiffen the relationship, and for your safety, we have to use this reserve line.

"Don't worry, Ya'an has already made arrangements, as soon as you arrive, you will board the ship and take the boat directly to Luzhou, and then Commander Sun Zhaoluan will escort you into Guizhou, and General Lu Pingshan will wait for you at the junction of Sichuan and Guizhou, and be responsible for sending you to Hunan, from Hunan to Guangdong, you will go by yourself, it is estimated that no one will dare to stop you."

Liu Bingxian nodded gratefully, and saw that Xiao Yimin and everyone had no intention of making a speech, so he had to walk to the front of the stage and give a loud order.

Five thousand officers and men in gray uniforms began to set off, and there was no singing, no laughter, only short commands and dense footsteps, and the atmosphere was rather heavy and oppressive.

The generals and colonels on the stage walked down the field one after another, saying goodbye to their old subordinates and colleagues, Xiao Yimin took Liu Bingxian's arm and walked behind, quietly took out an envelope, and stuffed it into Liu Bingxian's pocket.

Liu Bingxian was stunned for a moment, and continued to walk forward with his head down, but he was reluctant to be quite sad in his heart, the third brother around him finally became his brother-in-law, and his sister is now very happy and happy, not only married to the person he admires and loved, but also can continue to study with the two senior professors of the medical school and engage in the career he likes.

"What's in the envelope?" Liu Bingxian broke the silence.

Xiao Yimin replied in a low voice: "100,000 yuan cash check, Standard Chartered Bank, the British are fighting with me, after the consulate is closed, many British companies have also moved out of Sichuan under the force of their political axe, Standard Chartered and HSBC have only left two branches in Chengdu and Yucheng, but the Bank of America is quietly entering Sichuan, it is estimated that in another month, Sichuan's external settlement can return to normal." ”

Liu Bingxian sighed: "You guy, this time is too risky, if it weren't for the strong support of Governor Zhang, I really don't know what the whole Sichuan would be." ”

Xiao Yimin waved his hand disappreciatively: "It's not going to be messy, I originally wanted to make a mess, look at how many guys who have a grudge against me jump out, and I can copy a few homes to alleviate the economic crisis, but the result is quite disappointing, no one came out to fight against me, but followed the people to cheer!"

"This diplomatic crisis is a rare touchstone, and the result has put me at ease, especially the performance of the army, which makes me very satisfied, and what I am not satisfied with is the performance of a large number of traitors in your revolutionary party, you must pay attention to it after you arrive in Guangdong, discuss it with Brother Kai-shek if you have anything, and don't be blinded by the petty profits of yourself and the Russians."

"Okay, you've said enough on this question, you've been instilling your political ideas in me for the past two months, do you have a premonition that something is going to happen?" Liu Bingxian was puzzled, Xiao Yimin's amazing foresight he had learned many times.

Xiao Yimin thought about it, and finally shook his head: "Don't say it, you will understand when you meet it, I hope you don't forget our discussion in the past two months...... All right! Don't talk about it, go and say goodbye to everyone, you go, I don't know when you can come back......"

(To be continued)