A heavy rain poured down at noon, and the Yichang wharf and the wide river were all shrouded in a heavy rain curtain, and Tanaka Yoshiichi, who came to Yichang on a 1,200-ton light destroyer of the Japanese Navy, could only continue to stay on the ship, looking at Yichang City in the rain from afar, and was silent.

Feng Guozhang, who arrived in Yichang ahead of schedule, strongly requested a grand welcome ceremony, but was forced to cancel.

On the wharf, Ogasa Yoshihara and Harukawa Masayuan, who were originally in the consulate in Yichang, led a group of consulate officials, 40 guards, and more than 300 overseas Chinese, insisted on waiting under the stormy grass hut, and Feng Guozhang, Xu Shuzheng, and other Beiyang generals stood on the city tower in embarrassment and watched.

The guard of honor served by Feng Guozhang's guards shrank into the hole of the city gate, wet like a chicken in soup, where is there still a little ceremonial posture?

Xiao Yimin, the Sichuan overseer and commander-in-chief of the Sichuan army, who was supposed to welcome Tanaka Yoshiichi's arrival together, had already left, and Xiao Yimin, who was wearing the summer uniform of the Sichuan army, ran to the river embankment on the left side of the wharf at this time, and together with more than 20 Sichuan army generals and engineer battalion brothers, braved the heavy rain to inspect the fortifications under construction one by one. A large group of officers and men did not prepare raincoats, and all of them were bathed in heavy rain, and from time to time they stopped to discuss countermeasures at important construction sections.

Feng Guozhang and others were quite unhappy about this, and many generals felt that Xiao Yimin, who was a general, was purely acting, and at the same time slandered Xiao Yimin's contempt and rudeness.

However, the deputy chief of staff of the Yue Army, who came to visit on the largest warship in the Yangtze River Valley, would not land for a while and a half, and the welcoming ceremony could not be completed because of the heavy rain, and everyone took shelter from the rain under the gatehouse, and the atmosphere became very boring and embarrassing.

As Duan Qirui's think tank and understanding Xiao Yimin's attitude towards Yue, Xu Shuzheng did not have any dissatisfaction, but was greatly admired by Xiao Yimin's demeanor of inspecting the fortifications under construction in the rain and cordially communicating with ordinary officers and soldiers under his command to share weal and woe, and he told Feng Guozhang and others:

"Brother Yiming attaches great importance to the construction of engineers, and in the past few years, nearly one-third of the dozens of military papers published involve defense, and he has very unique views on the construction of engineers and battlefield defense systems in various countries.

At the beginning of the reconstruction of the Sichuan border army, in order to calculate the assessment level of the soldiers' cross-country forced march with weight, Brother Yiming personally carried 40 pounds of backpacks and ammunition, and followed the ordinary soldiers for training with full armament, and worked for 15 days in a row before the assessment standard of the border army was found out and determined.

"So, it's not surprising for you to see Brother Yiming inspecting the construction under construction in the rain, he is such a real person, and he is young and has capital, haha!"

Feng Guozhang and the generals were very surprised when they heard these words, thinking of what Xiao Yimin had done over the years and the attention and praise he had received from both the military and political circles at home and abroad, and they felt that they seemed to have forgotten the other side of Xiao Yimin's erudition and talent, and then looked at Xiao Yimin, Wang Lingji, and the officers and soldiers of Sichuan who were getting farther and farther away in the rain, and everyone slowly felt a little better in their hearts.

Feng Guozhang nodded slightly and praised a few words, but he was puzzled about the relationship between Xu Shuzheng and Xiao Yimin.

Feng Guozhang knew that Xu Shuzheng, as Duan Qirui's special envoy, rushed to meet with Xiao Yimin, nominally to mediate the garrison of Yichang, and secretly asked for machine gun production drawings and technology for the Dagu Arsenal and Gongxian Arsenal, as for whether there were other secret missions, Feng Guozhang could not know.

Through the analysis of the subtle relationship between Sichuan and the central government, Xiao Yimin and Duan Qirui in the past year, the old and spicy Feng Guozhang is very sensitive to find that there are many tacit understandings and connections between Duan Qirui and Xiao Yimin.

Before Xu Shuzheng left Yanjing, Duan Qirui gave a detailed explanation of Xiao Yimin and Sichuan's military-political structure and political orientation, and told Xu Shuzheng not to be influenced by other generals, and to support the Sichuan army to manage Yichang on behalf of the Sichuan army, so as to crack down on Wang Zhanyuan, the representative of the internal separatist faction, and others, and only need to reach a tacit understanding with Xiao Yimin on a series of cooperation in the coming year.

The heavy rain that had been falling for more than an hour finally stopped, and the newly renovated piers and streets were already full of sewage and garbage.

When Yoshiichi Tanaka stepped off the warship and boarded the dock, he was still in good spirits, he didn't seem to care about these superficial articles, he still maintained an elegant and solemn military demeanor, and he was very cordial to Feng Guozhang and Xu Shuzheng, who had only met and chatted in Wuhan the day before yesterday, but he looked left and right, but he didn't see Xiao Yimin, the commander-in-chief of the Sichuan Army who he wanted to meet the most, come to greet him.

Feng Guozhang, who was accustomed to seeing big scenes, had to explain apologetically that General Xiao Yimin had been waiting with everyone at the beginning, and later because of the sudden arrival of heavy rain, he was worried that there would be problems with the project being built, so he had to leave in a hurry, and it was estimated that he was preparing for tonight's welcome banquet at this time.

Xu Shuzheng also explained that tonight's welcome banquet was presided over by General Xiao Yimin, and he would personally toast the distinguished guests.

Tanaka smiled heartily, and happily boarded the dock with Feng Guozhang, Xu Shuzheng and others, followed closely by a company of Yue Jun guards and hundreds of wet Yue Qiao, one by one bent down and bowed their heads, very respectful, but also very tiring to walk.

Outside the half-collapsed mottled city wall, there were two rows of Chinese officers and soldiers with loaded guns and live ammunition, lined up to welcome, the procession has been extending east along Linjiang Road from outside the city gate, and at the end of the procession is the consulate in Yichang and the overseas Chinese district.

Before Tanaka's visit, Xiao Yimin, as the highest military and political governor of Yichang, solemnly made a request to Ogasa Yoshihara and Harukawa Masagen:

In addition to Tanaka Yoshiichi, consulate officials, and accompanying officers of the Yue Army, the visiting soldiers of the Yue Ben Army, including a small group of Saiben marines stationed in the Yue Qiao District of Yichang, were not allowed to enter the city without the permission of the Provisional Command of the Chinese Defenders, and could only move around or stay in the Yue Gong Consulate and the Yue Qiao District.

After Ogasayoshihara Kyuden Tanaka asked for instructions and obtained Tanaka's permission, this regulation was strictly observed by both sides, otherwise, Xiao Yimin, who had a tough attitude, had the right to refuse Tanaka Yoshiichi's visit, and before that, Xiao Yimin and Sichuan Zhengaxe had refused to make any form of visit to Sichuan by the military and political circles more than ten times, and whether it was the original side or the Yanjing political axe, there was nothing to do with Xiao Yimin and Sichuan Zhengaxe.

Tanaka Yoshiichi, who has a dignified appearance and a straight figure, looks very personable, perhaps because he has been in the top position for a long time, Tanaka Yoshiichi's every move is full of a kind of confidence and majesty, and he stands upright on the spot when he boarded the dock, and salutes the Chinese officers and soldiers who are welcomed by the two lines in a straight line, and then strides forward along the two columns, and does not turn around when he encounters a waterhole with stagnant water, and his spotlessly polished and shiny military boots calmly step in the waterhole, which makes Feng Guozhang and others who accompanied him feel admiration.

Hundreds of people followed Tanaka Yoshiichi and Feng Guozhang and others halfway through, Tanaka Yoshiichi suddenly stopped, and under the surprised gaze of the Chinese generals, Tanaka Yoshiichi walked to an officer wearing a summer camouflage combat uniform on the side of the road, carefully observed the unique second lieutenant logo of the Sichuan army on the collar of the young officer standing upright, and then looked at the powerful military pistol and special dagger on the second lieutenant's waist, turned around with great interest, and asked Feng Guozhang: "Feng Jun, this second lieutenant belongs to the Sichuan army, right?" ”

Feng Guozhang nodded with a smile: "The general is really well-read and strong, haha!" Yes, it is the guard unit of the 1st Division of the Sichuan Army...... Colonel Janssen, tell General Tanaka about your men. ”

Yang Sen, who was at the back of the team, strode forward, saluted Feng Guozhang, turned to Tanaka Yoshiichi, and said loudly: "On the orders of Commander-in-Chief Xiao Yimin, the guard company directly under my 3rd Brigade lined up to welcome the general's visit and protect the safety of the general and his entourage. ”

Tanaka nodded with satisfaction, whispered "thank you" to the burly Yang Sen, pointed to the holster on Yang Sen's waist and the matching gun on the second lieutenant's waist, and asked kindly: "Do all your officers in the Sichuan Army issue this American-made Colt M1911 military pistol?" ”

Yang Sen hesitated: "General, our gun is produced by our Sichuan Arsenal, the shape is imitated from the American Colt M1911, but it has been improved in many aspects, we call it the 'Leopard brand' military pistol, which is the standard equipment of our officers above the non-commissioned officer level, and only the regiment commander or officer above the major can choose the gun according to their own hobbies and needs." ”

"Thank you very much Yang Jun for your introduction, your army is really as well-trained and well-equipped as the legend goes." After Tanaka finished speaking, he saluted the ensign who stood still.

The second lieutenant hurriedly returned the salute, and then put down his hand to return to his original posture, good quality and mental outlook, which made Tanaka nod frequently, and also made the group of military officers who followed behind Tanaka secretly awe-inspiring.

When Tanaka finished thanking him and bowed deeply to the hundreds of soaking wet overseas Chinese, the excited hundreds of overseas Chinese all bent down and could not stand for a long time, and when they raised their heads, the vast majority of the people had tears of gratitude and pride flowing on their faces, and finally left the consulate in a neat line under Tanaka's repeated thanks.

Seeing this amazing scene, Feng Guozhang and Xu Shuzheng and others were envious, and at the same time, they also admired Tanaka Yoshiichi who was in a high position but had the people in mind.

Half an hour later, Tanaka Yoshiichi, who had taken a shower and changed into a clean military uniform, stood behind the floor-to-ceiling window facing the river on the second floor of the consulate, looking at the Yangtze River flowing eastward, and asked the consul Ogasa Yoshihara who was standing aside for a long time: "Ogasa-kun, Yichang seems to be different from any city in China, and it seems that you have a great responsibility!" ”

Ogasa Yoshihara bowed: "Thank you, General, for your encouragement!" Before the Sichuan army occupied this ancient city that held the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River, the situation was completely different, and it can be said that it was not much different from any place in China, but in just six days, everything changed. ”

Under Tanaka Yoshiichi's inquiry, Ogasa Yoshihara brought together the strict military discipline and measures to reassure the people that the Sichuan army had shown after the occupation of Yichang, and made a special report on Xiao Yimin's banquet with local representatives from all walks of life and the changes since then:

“…… General, it seems that the intelligence units of the empire do not have a good grasp of the situation in Sichuan, and the commander-in-chief of the Sichuan army, General Xiao Yimin, lacks an in-depth understanding, so there are many misunderstandings and thoughts of underestimating the enemy, I myself often hear military attachés from all over the country joke, saying that the commander-in-chief of the Sichuan army is very bad, and even making jokes about his humble background, but I don't know that General Xiao Yimin, who has worked hard for ten years, has long been rich and rivals the country, but he has used his huge wealth to develop education, reward scientific inventions and promote advanced technology, Judging from the fact that General Xiao Yimin used all the 200,000 yuan he received as a gift to build Yichang Middle School and the trade market a few days ago, this person does have a high moral character. General, in the future, the long-term stationing of the 1st Division of the Sichuan Army in Yichang will be a huge test for our foreign affairs and economic expansion! ”

Tanaka looked at Ogasa Yoshiwara with great satisfaction: "Well said! Ogasa-kun, I will report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Cabinet members what I saw in Yichang. ”

"Thank you for the general's mercy, and I will not disappoint the expectations of the general and the country!" Ogasa Yoshihara bent down gratefully.

Tanaka nodded slightly: "You can follow me tonight, we will meet this young Chinese general together, if the exchange is pleasant, I suggest that you be transferred to the Consulate General in Yucheng." ”

Ogasa Yoshihara was pleasantly surprised, and bowed deeply again in thanksgiving, his voice already shaking.

(To be continued)