Duan Qirui was undoubtedly a resolute and courageous commander-in-chief, and it took only 21 days from the formal confirmation of the union with Sichuan to the rapid completion of a dazzling series of military movements and decisions.

In just 21 days, Duan Qirui and many generals and think tanks under his command successfully suppressed the internal opposition's movements, and reached a behind-the-scenes deal with the Senate composed of various political factions in various ways, and even Liang Qichao, the leader of the opposition party who had taken refuge in Shanghai, stopped his attack on Duan Qirui's political axe, and successfully disintegrated Feng Guozhang's camp in both political and military aspects.

No matter how invish the leftist public opinion in the whole country was, and no matter how worried the centrists were, the "Duan-Hsao Coalition" was already in the boat, and militarily, the military strength of the two factions after the union of the north and the south was enough to sweep away all opposition forces, and the warlords of all sizes throughout the country deeply felt the shock of destroying their surnames.

Politically, the mouthpieces of the two factions exerted their strength at the same time, and the two sides worked closely together to set off round after round of public opinion waves, completely defeating the mouthpiece of the revolutionary party all over the country, and a large number of neutral newspapers, under the close ties and communication of interests between the two factions, successively moved closer to the mainstream direction, and the Guangzhou revolutionary party suffered the most violent political suppression since the founding of the Republic of China, almost to the point of crumbling.

On 20 December, a joint meeting of the Central Political Council, the Senate, and the Ministry of Military Affairs passed an important resolution: General Xiao Yimin, the Sichuan Governor, the commander-in-chief of the Sichuan Army, and chairman of the Chinese Ming Cooking Party, was appointed to the post of vice premier of the Political Council and vice minister of military and political affairs.

When the resolution was issued, people from all walks of life at home and abroad were extremely shocked.

The first reaction of the European and American powers was incredible, and then they jumped up and down in a panic, and this sudden change indicated that China's political situation and military map had undergone tremendous changes, and it had seriously affected the relations with China and the interests of all aspects in Europe and the United States.

Before the newspapers of the great powers in China could make a sound, the newspapers and magazines of nearly half of China's provinces were already cheering and enthusiastically supporting them, and Sichuan's development achievements since the founding of the Republic of China and the tremendous changes that have changed with each passing day are obvious to all, and the young Xiao Yimin himself has tremendous prestige, and his tremendous achievements in military reform, education for all, and the development of people's livelihood have always been talked about by the middle and lower classes of the people throughout the country.

The northern provinces under the rule of the Beiyang political axe, as well as Sichuan, Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Shaanxi, Xikang and other provinces are all voices of support, and the major mainstream newspapers have published Xiao Yimin's legendary resume, tirelessly publishing Xiao Yimin's achievements in all aspects and his well-known political influence at home and abroad, and Xiao Yimin's young and handsome large photos have once again appeared in front of the people of the whole country.

In fact, as early as two years ago, President Yuan Shikai repeatedly called on Xiao Yimin to go to the central political axe to take up important positions, Feng Guozhang acting as president, also repeatedly expressed the hope that Xiao Yimin will go to the central political axe and the Ministry of Military Affairs, and promote the successful experience of Sichuan to all provinces across the country.

Therefore, although Xiao Yimin is very young, only 28 years old this year and is still a virtual age, his age has not become a factor criticized by mainstream public opinion, on the contrary, he has won the strong support of the vast number of officers and men of the army and countless young intellectuals, and the only thing that worries the major political forces is Xiao Yimin's hard-line military style and ambiguous political stance that cannot be determined.

What is quite surprising is that no matter how shocked people from all walks of life at home and abroad are, and no matter how boiling public opinion at home and abroad is, General Xiao Yimin, who has been in the spotlight, has never made any response to the resolution of the Yanjing Central Political Axe, and European and American officials and Chinese and foreign journalists in China, who have been waiting hard but have not received any information, can no longer sit still, and hundreds of diplomatic officials and journalists from various countries have flocked to Chengdu, Sichuan, which has become a sea of joy.

On December 25, five days after the Yanjing political axe issued the resolution on Xiao Yimin's appointment, the Sichuan Provincial political axe and the Sichuan Army General Headquarters jointly held a grand celebratory parade.

A total of 35,000 soldiers and civilians from the Sichuan Army Military Academy, the main forces of the Sichuan Army, the garrison force, the police force, the public-owned industrial and mining enterprises, the cultural and educational circles, and the industrial and commercial circles attended the parade to celebrate Sichuan's completion of the first five-year plan of the 10-year development program two years ahead of schedule.

The 40 million people of Bashu have the right to be proud of their construction achievements:

In September, Sichuan University, with an investment of 1.25 million yuan, was completed and put into use, and the first batch of 1,500 new students was successfully enrolled. In October, the Yucheng Yangtze River Bridge, the Xufu Yangtze River Bridge and the Yucheng-Neijiang section of the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway, which lasted two and a half years with a total investment of 13 million, were completed and opened to traffic, and the provincial highways from Chengdu to Kangding and Chengdu to Guangyuan were completed. At the beginning of December, the Sichuan Provincial Department of Finance issued a statistical announcement to complete the annual construction plan and financial target one month ahead of schedule, and by the end of November, the fiscal revenue had exceeded 65 million yuan.

In mid-December, the Department of Education, the Department of Civil Affairs and the Department of Agriculture jointly issued a statistical announcement: 650 new primary and secondary schools were completed in the province, and the construction goal of "at least one middle school and three primary schools in each township and township" was completed ahead of schedule, and the first phase of the province's ten-year education plan was successfully completed; The four-year promotion of high-quality rice and subtropical cash crops was successfully completed, and the annual grain output increased by 17,000 tons compared with last year. The province's steel output exceeded 200,000 tons for the first time.

Throughout the second half of December, all outsiders were infected by the festive Chengdu and countless smiling faces, and although most of them knew that the grand parade and celebration initiated by the Sichuan military and political authorities were to build momentum for Xiao Yimin, they had to admit that Sichuan had made achievements in various fields such as industry, commerce, and agriculture that would make the Sichuan military and civilians proud, and Sichuan, which was developing rapidly and thriving, was undoubtedly a paradise on earth, and its impact on China, which was suffering deeply, was undoubtedly positive and far-reaching.

Just when many outsiders strongly asked to see Xiao Yimin, Xiao Yimin was still moving towards his intended goal in an orderly manner.

On the evening of the end of the parade and celebration, 120 officers from Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hunan who had been urgently recalled from various units of the Sichuan Army and the Xikang Frontier Army gathered at the General Headquarters.

Under the personal auspices of Commander-in-Chief Xiao Yimin, one hundred and twenty outstanding officers raised their right hands and revisited their oath again under the solemn military flag and the flag of the Chinese Ming Boiling Party:

"I volunteer to join the glorious Chinese Ming Cook Party, support the party's program, abide by the party's constitution, fulfill the obligations of party members, implement the party's decisions, strictly abide by the party's discipline, keep the party's secrets, and read for the country and national rejuvenation.

The strong and firm voice made everyone's blood boil.

Xiao Yimin, who was facing the military flag and party flag, turned around and raised his hand to signal, and the 120 outstanding officers immediately sat down neatly, and the more than 10 intelligence staff officers and operational staff officers around the conference room began to distribute confidential documents one after another.

Twenty minutes later, Xiao Yimin glanced at the young faces in front of him who were either stunned, excited, or slightly panicked, and began to explain the top-secret operation:

"The reason why you one hundred and twenty people have been transferred here is entirely because you are the most outstanding officers among the graduates of all walks of life in the military academy, whether it is in the Sichuan Unification War or in the battle against the imperialist invaders in the Western Expedition to Kangzang, you have made great contributions in your respective posts, as your commander-in-chief, as your principal, I am very satisfied with your performance, and I am extremely proud!"

The applause rang out loudly, for a long time, the young faces were full of excitement, the eager eyes were full of pride, and all the hesitation, panic, and fear disappeared at this moment.

Xiao Yimin took a deep breath:

"As everyone knows, thanks to the joint efforts and heroic sacrifices of all the officers and men of our army, the Lianghu region has moved towards tranquility, and as many as 50 million people have bid farewell to the smoke and flames of war because of our hard work, but the situation in the whole country is still very arduous, especially the people in the four northeastern provinces and the coastal provinces, who are still living in dire straits, and who are trampled on by the iron hooves of the invaders such as the British, and the French, and who are squeezed and ravaged by reactionary warlords and national separatist forces, every day and every minute, and we have a long way to go!"

After a pause, Xiao Yimin picked up the top-secret document with five stars on the cover:

"This is the most important and at the same time the most arduous part of our second-step strategic plan, which has an extremely important impact and great significance on whether our army and our party can unify the sacred land south of the Yangtze River within a year, so to speak, from this moment on, you will bear the glorious and heavy responsibility of our party and our army, you will take off your cherished military uniform, temporarily bid farewell to your military identity, have no opportunity to face your comrades-in-arms and relatives, and can no longer use your former name, At the risk of losing his life at any time, even without any bones...... Finally, I would like to ask you again, if you have difficulties and need to quit, please raise your hand, you will not be punished or discriminated against, and you can return to your original unit by staying at the headquarters for two years. ”

The one hundred and twenty elites in the audience all straightened their backs and looked at their beloved headmaster with great determination.

The look of pain in Xiao Yimin's eyes flashed:

"Good! Very good...... Please rest assured, no matter whether you successfully complete your tasks or not, your family will be taken care of by the permanent surname of the headquarters, and any other requirements can be written in the report later, and handed over to your direct leader, General Ma Gang, who will not only provide the greatest support for your actions, but also meet your requirements and wishes as much as possible...... "Everyone, you are not only my Xiao Yimin's best subordinates, the best students, but also my Xiao Yimin's best comrades-in-arms and good brothers, I am waiting for your good news to come, On the day of your triumphant return, I will personally hang you a first-class military merit medal! ”

After Xiao Yimin finished speaking, he solemnly saluted the one hundred and twenty students who were shouldering a special mission, and the one hundred and twenty elites immediately stood up and returned the salute to Xiao Yimin neatly, all of them were boiling with enthusiasm, short of breath, and unwilling to put their hands down for a long time.

(To be continued)