Kunming, Wuhua Mountain, Yunnan Governor's Mansion.

As the four-day military and political meeting came to an end, more than 30 senior military and political officials in Yunnan who were full of fatigue walked down the wide stone steps, tightly carrying briefcases containing top-secret documents and important meeting minutes, and almost without exception refused the help of their adjutants or secretaries, got into a long car waiting in front of them, and left in a hurry.

On the high platform in front of the gate of the Governor's Mansion, Tang Jiyao, the overseer of Yunnan who personally sent the military and political officials under his command to the door, sighed leisurely, looked at the clear blue sky, and couldn't help but rub his sore eyes.

"Look, Shuai, the two things you ordered last time have been brought back."

Zhang Zizhen, the chief of the general staff of the Yunnan Army, who was short and thin, with two thick mustaches, pointed to the lawn directly in front of the steps, and on the edge of the lawn, which was slightly yellowed but had spit out patches of new shoots, a rare short-barreled artillery gun and a wide four-wheeled freight carriage stood solemnly on both sides of the cannon and carriage, and on both sides of the artillery and carriage stood eight young officers who were full of energy and eagerness.

Tang Jiyao looked in the direction of Zhang Zizhen's finger, and then strode down the steps, and Zhang Zizhen and several school officials hurriedly followed.

Tang Jiyao came to the front of the artillery and the carriage, nodded to the eight neatly saluted officers, stretched out his big hand to touch the spotlessly cleaned artillery barrel, and then slowly circled around the artillery, looking at every detail of the artillery one by one with sharp eyes, and finally squatted down next to the steel wheel on the left side of the artillery, carefully examining a few lines of inscriptions on the gun mount.

After a few minutes, Tang Jiyao turned his head and asked with some confusion: "Is it really made by the Sichuan Army Arsenal itself?" ”

Zhang Zizhen hurriedly pulled the young captain beside him: "Meng Zhen, this matter is handled by you from beginning to end, and it is up to you to report to Shuai in detail." ”

Meng Zhen, an intelligence officer of the Yunnan Army who looked ordinary and couldn't be distinguished if he threw it into the crowd, nodded gratefully, squatted down in Tang Jiyao's encouraging smile, pointed to the inscription that Tang Jiyao was most interested in, and reported in a low voice:

According to our multiple verifications, it is preliminarily concluded that the design of the gun comes from the German Krupp company, the prototype is very similar to the M1904 75mm camp gun produced in Germany, the caliber of the gun is also 75mm, the total length is 2870mm, if the shield made of thin steel plate is installed, the high and low firing angle is -10-70 degrees, the firing range is 45 degrees left and right, the total height is only 85mm, and the firing range is between 120-2800 meters. With an advanced tube retreat technology and a total weight of only 245 kg, it is so convenient to be able to pull away a horse with a single pull after installing this steel and rubber-edged wheel! ”

Tang Jiyao immediately attached great importance to it, and looked at the young captain who was quite emotional: "Has the Sichuan army been equipped with a large number of equipment?" ”

Meng Zhenjing's eyes darkened slightly, and he replied very ashamedly: "The specific situation has not yet been figured out, but this rare new artillery has appeared in the Phoenix Mountain Battalion of the Teaching Brigade directly under the Sichuan Army General Headquarters at the beginning of last year. ”

Tang Jiyao waved his hand generously, stood up and smiled kindly: "It's okay, the Sichuan Army's secrecy work and intelligence strength are well known, I can't blame you, I just want to hear your opinion." ”

Meng Zhen shook his head guiltily: "Humble position...... At that time, this kind of artillery did not attract the attention of our intelligence section, until the beginning of September last year, when the 1st Division of Lupingshan of the Guizhou Army suddenly pulled out 16 of these light guns in an exchange of fire with Liu Xianqian's 2nd Division, and soon won an overwhelming victory.

"After receiving the order in mid-September last year, the intelligence group led by the lowly post immediately launched an operation, and after more than four months of hard work and spent more than 30,000 oceans, it finally got it back, along with this four-wheeled carriage that the Sichuan army had been heavily equipped."

Tang Jiyao nodded with satisfaction, and walked with Zhang Zizhen to the luxurious wide carriage, and the adjutants behind him sighed, talking that they had never seen a carriage with so many steel skeletons, it looked not only wide and stable, but also very strong, at least able to hold 1,500 catties of goods, I don't know how much it would cost to buy one.

Meng Zhen on the side explained in a low voice:

"This special carriage uses old-fashioned car steel rims, solid tires and bearings, and is generally pulled by two horses, which we tried yesterday, and it is enough to load two thousand pounds and use two horses."

In the midst of the discussion, Tang Jiyao suddenly walked to a half-new and old Ford car in front of him, carefully observed the front and rear tires of the car, and quickly returned to the four-wheeled carriage, looked at it for a long time, and slowly straightened his waist, his face was full of surprise: "This tire is the same as Ford's!" ”

Everyone hurriedly compared, and Zhang Zizhen smiled bitterly after reading it: "The Sichuan army is rich and rich, and it is not strange to walk in front of us if you are the commander-in-chief who shouts all day long about learning, innovation, introduction and absorption." ”

Meng Zhen saw the melancholy in Tang Jiyao's eyes, took half a step forward, and said in a low voice:

"Marshal, chief of staff, this kind of carriage as early as a year ago was widely seen in the Sichuan army, and has been sold to Guiyang and Yichang and other places according to the humble know, the price of this kind of solid wheels that have been eliminated is not expensive, they are all eliminated goods from the inventory of European and American countries, Sichuan bought back a large number of horses and carriages, not only equipped with various departments of the Sichuan army, but also sold to the carriages and horses in various parts of Sichuan, the price is about two hundred and fifty oceans, two-wheeled is cheaper, the most expensive car is two sets of bearings, I heard that it costs forty-five oceans to change a bearing."

Tang Jiyao nodded silently, as if he was not in a good mood, but he still nodded approvingly to Meng Zhen, and then said to the adjutant beside him:

"Give Meng Zhen a promotion to the rank of one rank as a reward, and in addition, internally reward all the personnel who participated in this operation, and reward five thousand oceans."

The adjutant hurriedly recorded it, Meng Zhen looked at Tang Jiyao's back as he walked up the steps, and couldn't help but raise his hand and salute silently.

Tang Jiyao, who returned to the office, motioned to Chief of Staff Zhang Zizhen and Chief Think Tank Liu Zuwu to sit down, took out a few documents that had not been issued for discussion at today's meeting and put them on the table, patted them lightly twice, and said with emotion: "It seems that we are also going to change our ways!" ”

Zhang Zizhen smiled bitterly again: "That young teapot has never forgotten to calculate us all the time, we still have to endure it, what a fucking bag!" ”

Liu Zuwu, who also graduated from the Army Non-commissioned Officer School and was in the third year of high school compared to Zhang Zizhen, said with a smile:

"Qingpu doesn't need to be discouraged, anyway, Xiao Yimin is still an open-minded person, otherwise he would not have actively promoted economic and trade exchanges between the two provinces after the end of the battle between Sichuan and Yunnan, and in the second half of last year, he withdrew all the troops in the border areas of the two provinces, replaced by the local police and the newly established tax police, in the treatment of commercial disputes and various lawsuits between the two provinces, but also adhering to an objective and cautious attitude, in general, he has been showing goodwill to us, has been seeking mutual understanding and cooperation between the two sides, This is also deeply felt by our business and cultural circles. ”

Zhang Zizhen smiled: "Then, how to explain the infiltration of the military and political departments of Xichang in Sichuan into western Yunnan?" ”

Tang Jiyao waved his hand: "Qingpu, recently I have repeatedly considered the gains and losses of the administration of western Yunnan and northwest Yunnan in the past two years, and I feel that the Sichuan Provincial Political Axe and the Sichuan Army cannot be blamed entirely, the biggest reason is not Sichuan's infiltration of our border areas, let alone complaining about any economic plunder, in the final analysis, we have not done a good job."

"Otherwise, why can the military and political circles in Sichuan reduce or exempt the taxes of people in poor border areas, but we cannot? Why were our businessmen and mine owners able to organize themselves and prefer to pay for the roads to Sichuan themselves rather than accept the leadership of our local officials? Are our people blind? Are all so gullible to be deceived?

"There are many problems like this, not only involving our policies and the moral character of officials at all levels, but also involving the aspirations of the people.

Zhang Zizhen was just about to defend himself, Tang Jiyao waved his hand again, stood up and pointed sideways at the large map behind him, faced the two henchmen, and said earnestly:

"You have also seen more than a dozen small blue flags planted on it, unconsciously, the Sichuan army's menacing posture has been formed, but none of the spearheads are pointed at us in Yunnan, to put it mildly, the Sichuan army does not need to look at us at all now, look at ...... Wang Lingji's First Army had already secured the choke point of Yichang, and his first division of Yang Sen, Liu Xiang's second division, and Tang Shizun's third division were entrenched in Xiangyang, Jingmen, and Yichang respectively. ”

Tang Jiyao then pointed to the north and south of Wuhan on the map:

"You look at Xiaogan, Dawu and other areas, Wu Peifu gave these soldiers the place to fight, all to Liao Zhen's Sixth Army of the Sichuan Army, among them, Luo Zhihui's 16th Division quietly stationed in Xiaogan, the 17th Division led by the young Sichuan Army General Zongyi quietly drove into Dawu, the Sichuan Army veteran Sun Xueyuan was reused by Xiao Yimin, led by the Sichuan Army Teaching Brigade and two meritorious regiments of the 18th Division, entrenched in Anlu, completely controlled northern Hubei not to mention, but also formed a north-south echo trend with Wu Peifu in the Central Plains in the north, Its ambition is on the rise! ”

Tang Jiyao's hand moved: "Look here, in the southern region of Jiangxi, Wang Zhanxu's Fourth Army, in accordance with Duan Zhiquan's order, the three well-equipped main divisions that can fight well have already set off to Ganzhou in a high-profile manner, do you really think that the nearly 40,000 elite officers and soldiers of these three divisions are going to suppress bandits?" From here to the south is Meiling Pass in northern Guangdong, I see, I'm afraid that the people in Guangdong have already prepared a ticket to go to this vacation! ”

The more Tang Jiyao spoke, the more emotional he became, and his fingers slid to the northeast on the map: "The strongest Wang Jian Seventh Army in the Sichuan Army, the commanders of the three main divisions are all young Zhuang factions with great achievements, and they are all Xiao Yimin's brothers and students, from the army commander to a small platoon commander below, all of them are graduates of the Sichuan Army Military Academy, but now, they all put away their claws and lie quietly on the railway artery of Tongshan, Xianning, and Puqi, and the side is the surging Yangtze River, but as long as they move, It can be killed under the city of Nanjing in three days, and the weaponry and firepower of these three divisions are more than three times that of the Beiyang Army and any of the main divisions of our army!

"Guys, do you see the situation clearly? Under such circumstances, at the time of the great changes in the country, do we still regard Sichuan as our enemy? ”

Zhang Zizhen and Liu Zuwu saw Tang Jiyao so excited for the first time, and it was also the first time in more than a year that they heard Tang Jiyao express their will so clearly.

Liu Zuwu, who was steady, hurriedly stood up, ignoring Zhang Zizhen, who was secretly wiping his sweat and flushed face, and looked at Tang Jiyao with guilt: "Say so...... Settled? ”

Tang Jiyao returned to his position and sat down, raised his head, and showed an apologetic smile:

"I'm not busy, I just finished the meeting today, it's not good to step too fast, no matter what, Premier Duan and Xiao Dashuai also have to give us some 'encouragement', right? As for the group of people sent from Guangzhou, those who want to leave will be given a ceremonial send-off, and those who are willing to stay must also be well resettled, but they can't do nothing, first build up public opinion, in the face of the national righteousness, we in Yunnan can not lag behind, this matter has to be handled by you, I can rest assured, others can't grasp the proportion. ”

"Got it!" Liu Zuwu happily left.

Zhang Zizhen raised her head guiltily: "Handsome, little brother ......"

Tang Jiyao laughed, walked out of the table, and stepped forward to hold Zhang Zizhen's arm: "Needless to say, the situation is stronger than people!" Take me to the backyard for a walk, there's a lot of stuff waiting for you. ”

(To be continued)