Just after the Lantern Festival, the business travelers who traveled to and from Pingshiguan, the junction of Hunan and Jiangxi, were shocked to find that this important commercial town connecting Yizhang, Linwu and Rucheng in Hunan Province and Lechang and Lianxian in Guangdong Province had undergone great changes.

Located on the north bank of the Wujiang River, Pingshi Ancient Town, known as the first of the eight towns in Guangdong, its affluence and the scale of more than 30,000 people, far beyond the general county seat, because of its commercial hub status formed since ancient times, the dangerous geographical environment, and the important military position of connecting the water and land transportation of Hunan and Hubei provinces, it has become a place where soldiers must fight. Jinji Ridge in the town, the cliffs are steep and wonderful, the inscriptions of the literati and ink writers of the past dynasties can be seen everywhere, and it is one of the four famous mountains in Guangdong.

Today, the military passes running through the north and south of the Jinji Mountains are being built on a large scale, and thousands of people are building fortifications and barracks under the command of officers and soldiers wearing pine green military uniforms; The brick and wood buildings on both sides of the Zhennan ferry and the commercial wharf have been demolished, and hundreds of officers and soldiers are building four huge fortresses with huge bases of steel, gravel, river sand and foreign ash, leaving only two brick and wood tax cards on the wharf, but at this time the tax collectors have become the Sichuan army with strict military discipline and heavy guns.

To the people of Pingshi Town and the past business travelers, it is very fortunate that the new regimental Sichuan Army is completely different from the previous high-flying and domineering Cantonese army, all the officers and soldiers can do nothing to the poor people, and they are also very polite to all the merchants and workshops, landlords and rich people in the town, and even the Bada Qinglou, the trade is fair and never in arrears, and there is no bullying and bullying of men and women.

What surprised the people even more was that the Sichuan army posted a proclamation to cancel the heavy money and harsh taxes that were pressed on the heads of all the people, and the commercial tax and agricultural tax were reduced to 1 per 10 taxes, but a strict military order was added: It is strictly forbidden to sell and transport agricultural products, forest products, and mineral products to Guangdong, and violators will be severely punished!

The same thing happened in six counties of Longnan, Xinfeng, Dayu in Jiangxi and Lanshan and Jiahe in Hunan, and the border checkpoints connected with Guangdong from east to west were all tightly controlled by the Sichuan army, and a large number of strong fortifications and fortresses were erected.

Immediately after that, the "Xiaoxiang Material Trading Company" and the "Ganzhou Material Trading Company," which were jointly established by the garrison and local political axes and wealthy businessmen and celebrities, monopolized all the grain, forest, and mineral transactions between Hunan and Jiangxi provinces and Guangdong, and the smuggling and trafficking of opium and tobacco were mercilessly attacked by the garrison; the bandit forces that occupied the mountains were either uprooted or disbanded on their own; thousands of green forest heroes and local young men were attracted by the favorable conditions of the garrison, and the military camps in Chenzhou and Ganzhou were expanded exponentially.

The recruitment announcements posted outside the county political axes and barracks, as well as the enrollment announcements of the Sichuan Army Military Academy, were crowded every day.

Just when the people in the border areas of Hunan, Jiangxi and Guangdong provinces sighed that "the sky has changed", Nanjing, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Anqing, Nanchang and other places suddenly broke out large-scale public tours. Demonstrations were held to strongly protest against the corruption and expropriation of the military and political axes in the provinces, chanting political slogans such as "reorganize the political axe, reorganize the parliament", "overthrow the warlords, and return the government to the people", and the workers and students went on strike and went on strike, and the merchants went on strike.

Immediately afterwards, another news that shocked China and foreign countries instantly spread throughout the country:

General Xiao Yimin, vice minister of the Central Military and Political Affairs Department and vice premier of the State Council, commanded 45,000 officers and men of the Seventh Army of the Sichuan Army to sail down the river on more than 30 transport ships in accordance with the order of Premier Duan Qirui.

In the early morning of 7 March, Wang Jianqin, a lieutenant general of the Seventh Army, led two divisions under his command to land in Nanjing, of which the 20th Division led by Li Jinglan, a general from Shandong, smoothly marched into Nanjing City with the cooperation of 2,000 police officers from the Jiangsu Provincial Police Department and the Nanjing Police Department. Lu Yixuan, deputy commander of the army and commander of the 21st Division, personally led two regiments to land in Pukou and quickly took control of the barracks, stations, wharves, ferries, and telegraph and telephone offices on the north and south banks of Nanjing.

At 10 o'clock in the morning of the following day, more than 14,000 men from the four brigades of Li Chun's troops stationed inside and outside the city of Nanjing laid down their arms surrounded by 20,000 officers and men of the Sichuan army and 5,000 officers and men of the Jiangsu police and security guards.

What is surprising is that until this time, Li Chun, the overseer of Jiangsu, and dozens of generals and colonels under his command still stayed in Yanjing, Tianjin, and other places for "business trips" and "vacations", and no one received an urgent report from Nanjing, and the 16th Beiyang Division led by Wang Tingzhen, Feng Guozhang's confidant general and deputy envoy of the Yangtze River patrol, not only did not dare to rush to Nanjing, but quickly evacuated Bengbu and went north to Xuzhou to "avoid trouble", and most of Jiangsu fell into the hands of the troops under the command of Jiang Zungui, commander of the Jiangsu Army.

At 3 p.m. on 8 March, the emergency special meeting of the Central Committee issued an announcement:

General Li Chun, former Jiangsu Overseer, was appointed as Vice Minister of Civil Affairs of the Central Committee, and General Xiao Yimin, Vice Minister of Military Affairs, temporarily assumed the post of Jiangsu Overseer, responsible for the reorganization, training, and equipment of the Beiyang Army units stationed in various parts of Jiangsu; Lieutenant General Jiang Zunwei was appointed as the office of the Jiangsu Military Affairs Conference and the envoy of Jiangning Town.

After the announcement of the central political axe was issued, people from all walks of life at home and abroad immediately reacted, and they all sighed for the tacit cooperation between Duan Qirui, the commander in chief of the Beiyang Army, and Xiao Yimin, the commander of the Sichuan Army.

The lament of the always tyrannical newspaper in its fast-moving special issue is very emblematic:

With the defeat of Li Chun, one of the banners of the Beiyang Army, the resignation of the unrecovered acting President Feng Guozhang was inevitable, and the position of Duan Qirui, the commander of the Beiyang Army, was thus more solid, and a new political pattern in China was formed. What is worrying is that the rise of Xiao Yimin, the leader of the Young Zhuang faction of the Chinese [***] team, has become unstoppable, and China's military secession status quo and all foreign policy are bound to undergo a dramatic change

March 14, the second day of the second lunar month, the Spring Dragon Festival.

Admiral Xiao Yimin, vice premier of the CPC Central Committee, vice minister of military and political affairs, commander-in-chief of the Sichuan Army, and acting overseer of Jiangsu, slowly approached Nanjing's Xiaguan Wharf on the large passenger ship "Yucheng" and escorted by four destroyers of the navy and six gunboats of the river defense unit in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.

Tens of thousands of workers and students who had been waiting for a long time, as well as representatives from all walks of life in Jiangsu, gave earth-shattering cheers, and a military band composed of officers and men of the Nanjing police and security forces blew in unison, and the five-color flag of Rulin and the flying leopard flag of the Sichuan army waved in the dense welcoming crowd.

Accompanied by Jiangsu Governor Han Jun, Navy Chief Liu Guanxiong, and Songhu Protector and Jiangsu Military Affairs Office Lu Yongxiang, Xiao Yimin shook hands with Jiangsu military and political dignitaries and celebrities from all walks of life who were lined up to welcome him.

In the large conference room on the first floor, Xiao Yimin, under the warm introduction of Governor Han Jun, met with Yu Jiqi, director of the Jiangsu Civil Affairs Department, Zhu Wenshao, Yin of Jinling Dao, Zhu Xi, director of the Police Department, Zhang Binglin, Gong Baoquan, leaders of the Liberation Association, and other military and political celebrities.

When he saw Mr. Zhang Jian, the famous pioneer of the Westernization Movement with a gray beard and strong spirits, the champion of Guangxu in the 21st year, the famous leader of the textile industry in China, and the vice chairman of the Jiangsu Provincial Assembly, Xiao Yiming stretched out his hands and was full of respect: "The younger generation has long admired the name of Ji Gong, and today it is enough to comfort his life at first sight!" ”

Everyone on the side laughed in unison, but they were very surprised in their hearts, although Xiao Yimin in front of him was polite and gentle, but he always stretched out one hand to shake hands with you, and it was Zhang Jian's turn He not only stretched out his hands, but his demeanor and tone were more respectful and humble.

There are also many people who come back to their senses and think of the Westernization Movement and the miracle of industrial and commercial development vigorously promoted by Xiao Yimin in Sichuan, and they are relieved.

Zhang Jian also thought this way, and suddenly felt like a confidant in his heart: "Don't dare to be, don't dare to be!" Compared with the grand cause created by General Xiao in Sichuan, he is old and self-ashamed! ”

"Ji Gong is polite! In the future, I would like to ask Ji Gong for more guidance and help, restore the provincial assembly and political axes at all levels as soon as possible, work together to stabilize the political situation, and make concerted efforts to develop industry, commerce and agriculture in Jiangsu Province. Xiao Yimin said sincerely.

Everyone was stunned, Zhang Jian looked at Xiao Yimin's eyes, nodded frequently and smiled kindly: "The general is really as the legend says, with the entire country and nation in his heart, which is admirable!" If it is useful to get the decayed place, please ask the general to order, right, general, during this time there is a rumor about the Shanghai Arsenal and the Jinling Arsenal in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, I don't know what the general thinks? ”

The officials in the hall immediately fell silent, and all eyes were fixed on the young general who held the military and political power of the provinces south of the Yangtze River in the center of the crowd.

Lu Yongxiang, the envoy of the Songhu Protector, saw Xiao Yimin looking over, and hurriedly snorted, stepped forward and explained loudly:

"Ladies and gentlemen, during this period of time, newspapers in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai and other places are indeed talking about the reform of the two major arsenals, but many of them are groundless, and some people even maliciously spread rumors, pointing the spearhead directly at the central political axe that is gradually on the right track, which can be described as ill-intentioned! In fact, the two arsenals will not be abolished, but will be expanded, this is not only a joint decision of the two central governments and two courts, but also a major measure to conform to the country's industrial development. ”

Xiao Yimin knew that Lu Yongxiang did not understand industry, so he had to give a brief explanation of this major initiative involving the interests of all parties and affecting many industries in advance:

"General Lu said it very well, this is a joint decision of the two governments and two houses of the central government, and it is a major measure to conform to the country's industrial development! The specific measures are: Separate the personnel and equipment of the Shanghai Arsenal from the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, which was heavily indebted and on the verge of bankruptcy, merge it with the Jinling Arsenal, which is stagnant and outdated, and better organize and use the limited funds, resources, and technical forces. ”

Seeing everyone's different faces, Xiao Yimin gave a little sweetness:

"Rest assured, the combined arsenal will not be reduced in size, but will be multiplied, and all the technicians and workers will not be reduced, but will be recruited as soon as possible to no less than 1,000 skilled and skilled workers. The current pattern of Jinling Arsenal is too small, has not adapted to the requirements of development, so it is necessary to build a new factory outside the city, only the first phase of the investment is not less than three million, I believe that the construction of the new factory and the subsequent development, can not be separated from your support and cooperation, will drive the industrial and commercial development of the surrounding areas of Nanjing, create one business opportunity after another, the economy of the entire Jiangsu and even the entire middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River provinces are a huge promotion. ”

The exclamations rang out, followed by thunderous applause, which lasted for a long time, and everyone's heads began to fly, and "support," "cooperation," "business opportunities," and "promotion," all of which were novel, appropriate, and touching words, clearly came out of the mouths of the young commanders who were in power over half of China, completely breaking the practice of officialdom over the past hundred years, and bringing a strong shock and temptation to the full hall of dignitaries.

In a pair of eager eyes, Xiao Yimin, who stood proudly in the center, was as radiant as the God of Wealth.

(To be continued)