Yuan Shikai's appointment of the head of the Sichuan military and political forces in desperation finally allowed Xiao Yimin, Zhang Lan and others to break free from the fragile "legal" rope that has always been around everyone's neck, and they could let go of their arms and govern Sichuan justifiably.

The second time the central political axe announced the appointment of Zhang Lan and Xiao Yimin, the Sichuan governor, Zhang Lan and Xiao Yimin, the overseer of Sichuan, immediately telegraphed the whole country to take office, and sent two telegrams to the central political axe and Yuan Shikai respectively "obeying the leadership of the central government and supporting the great president Yuan Shikai."

The Kuomintang newspapers took a cold approach to this result, which had already been guessed by the Chinese and foreign media, but the newspapers under the Yanjing political axe seized the opportunity to talk about it and praise it, and the offices of the great powers in China either watched in silence or made sour sarcastic voices.

The British's "Zilinxi Bao" and "Beijing-Tianjin Times" and the Frenchman's "Far East Post" began to vigorously report Sichuan's military and political news, and 14 newspapers in Northeast China, Beijing-Tianjin, Shandong, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, and other places, which were said to have been controlled and bought by him, followed suit, vigorously satirizing the weakness and incompetence of Yanjing and Yuan Shikai, criticizing the trade protection policy of Sichuan's new policy and the reckless secession of arms, and strongly demanding that Yanjing strengthen its leadership and restraint over Sichuan and abide by the provisions of all treaties. Ensure that the interests of all countries in China are not violated.

No matter what the outside world thinks, Sichuan has achieved reunification in the true sense, and it can be clearly seen from the news published in the Sichuan newspapers that the first plenary session of the Sichuan Provincial Assembly, which is being solemnly convened, has completed the reorganization of the political axe at the provincial, prefectural, and county levels, approved the appointment of officials in the financial and civil affairs departments at the provincial and prefectural levels, examined and approved the "Annual Financial Report" and the "Five-Year Financial Budget of the Republic of China," and brought out the "Ten Years of Economic Development in Sichuan Province," which is a huge draft of the "Ten Years of Economic Development in Sichuan Province."

Among the many new news, the most eye-catching is the "Five-Year Budget of the Republic of China," which is the first of its kind in the fiscal budget of the Republic of China, and through local legislation, it boldly sets Sichuan's "military expenditure at 25 percent of the annual fiscal expenditure, and on this basis, it is adjusted year by year according to the actual increase in the province's fiscal revenue."

Although in terms of proportion, Sichuan's military expenditure does not account for a high proportion of the province's fiscal expenditure, and it can even be said to be the lowest among all provinces in the country, but with the analysis of Sichuan's wealth close to that of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and the good financial and tax resources, it is undoubtedly a huge military expenditure.

Since Sichuan Province has been in turmoil for three consecutive years and has not released any financial figures, many media have pointed out that the Sichuan army will receive tens of millions of yuan in military spending every year, and if it is placed in other provinces, it will be completely possible to feed 200,000 troops.

None of the media reported on Sichuan's enlightened and open political affairs, the direction of unity and civilization, and how much the people of Sichuan would benefit from it, and rarely mentioned the 10 percent investment in education that was clearly stipulated in the "Five-Year Budget of the Republic of China", and chose to ignore the large-scale transportation construction and major measures to support agriculture in the "Ten Years of Economic Development in Sichuan Province". Call on the people to unite and work hard.

Through their unremitting efforts, the political axes at all levels in Sichuan have gradually won the support of the broad masses of people who yearn for tranquility and prosperity. The media across the country were in an uproar, and Chinese and foreign reporters flocked to Chengdu, Sichuan Province to cover and report on the situation, but the Sichuan army was quietly and silently carrying out a major readjustment.

Liu Bingxian, who had returned from his "inspection" at the end of June, rushed back to Yucheng immediately after attending the military conference held in the capital, and announced in a telegram on 10 July:

Formally assuming the post of commander of the Second Division of the Sichuan Army, the Fourth and Fifth Brigades of the headquarters were immediately stationed in Yucheng from Leshan, and recruited 5,000 soldiers in Yucheng and more than 10 surrounding counties to form the Sixth Brigade of the Sichuan Army, and the headquarters of the Sixth Brigade will be located in Guang'an, a strategic place north of Yucheng.

At the same time, Wang Lingji, lieutenant general and division commander of the First Division of the Sichuan Army, was electrified as the commander of the Eastern Sichuan Army Division, and still served as the commander of the First Division, commanding the first and fifth divisions of the Sichuan Army. Major General Deng Xihou, commander of the 1st Brigade of the Sichuan Army, was promoted to commander of the 5th Division. Section. In the county seat, the 13th, 14th, and 15th Infantry Brigades under the jurisdiction of the division were stationed in Dazhou and Fengjie respectively.

After Wang Lingji's 1st Division and Liu Bingxian's 2nd Division completed the handover of defense, they will all leave Yucheng and go to Wanxian to station, where together with the 5th Division, will be responsible for the defense of 16 counties in eastern Sichuan and the important task of security and defense along the waterway along the river.

Lieutenant General Sun Zhaoluan, commander of the Third Division of the Sichuan Army, was officially electrified as the commander of the Southern Sichuan Army Division, and still served as the commander of the Third Division, with the headquarters stationed in Syria; The Fourth Division of Wang Jian, which was stationed in Syria, was placed under the jurisdiction of the Southern Sichuan Military Division, and the Third Division left the camp in the eastern suburbs of Chengdu on 11 July and set out for Leshan to be stationed; among them, the Ninth Brigade of the Third Division, which had just completed its rearmament, went directly to Luzhou to be stationed, and the Reading Brigade of the Fourth Division, which was originally stationed in Luzhou, was renamed the 12th Brigade of the Sichuan Army, and the brigade will be stationed in Qijiang for a long time after completing the defense handover, and will assume the important task of defense in the border areas of Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou provinces.

On 14 July, Lieutenant General Zhong Ying, deputy commander of the Sichuan Frontier Army, was officially appointed commander of the Xikang Army Division, commanding the first, second, and third mixed brigades of the frontier army. Lieutenant General Zhou Daogang, former chief instructor of the Sichuan Army Military Academy, was appointed commander of the newly established Sixth Division of the Sichuan Army by telegram, and the 16th, 17th, and 18th Infantry Brigades, which consisted of the 3rd Battalion of the Teaching Regiment of the Sichuan Army General Headquarters, the Machine Gun Battalion of the Guard Regiment of the Sichuan Army Military Academy, and five frontier regiments, left Chengdu on 15 July and headed for Kangding, where the headquarters of the Xikang Army Division is located.

At the same time, "Sichuan Daily," "Huaxi Times," and "Huaxi Business Daily" all published in conspicuous positions the conscription announcements of the Sichuan Army General Headquarters:

From now on, 5,000 aspiring young people will be recruited from all over Sichuan to form a baggage corps directly under the General Headquarters, and the corps will be stationed in a large camp in the eastern suburbs of Chengdu, and young and strong people between the ages of 18 and 28 can sign up and pass the physical examination and political examination to join the Sichuan Army; in addition to receiving military training for half a year, the 5,000 recruits will also undergo a one-year professional and technical training in automobile driving, geological surveying, engineering blasting, and bridge construction.

In August, Xiao Yimin and his generals and colonels began to implement a series of action plans in full swing, and 12 chief and deputy directors of the Military Administration Office, Staff Office, Quartermaster Department, and Equipment Department of the General Headquarters, which had been strengthened and put on the right track, gathered at the North School Field.

At the end of the three-day secret meeting, the Military Affairs Department and the General Staff Department immediately launched a three-month army-wide discipline rectification and political education, vigorously commended a number of advanced collectives and individuals, and at the same time liquidated the illegal acts, leaked secrets, and hidden spies of various forces in the army.

The Quartermaster Department and the Equipment Department jointly formed 12 inspection teams, and together with more than 30 officials sent by the Provincial Political Axe Civil Affairs Department, they went to the three military sub-districts, the Sichuan Arsenal, the Dayi Chemical Factory, and the Ya'an Ammunition Factory to carry out a two-month investigation of equipment and munitions, and submitted a detailed and comprehensive report on the production and development of military enterprises for the Sichuan Army General Headquarters and the provincial political axe, close the relationship between the army and the political axe, coordinate the implementation and use of various special funds, and put forward opinions on the development of the Xikang National Defense Highway. Come up with a plan for the construction of an army transit station.

Xiao Yimin, together with Bao Jiqing, chief of the general staff, and Zheng Changze, chief of the general staff, began to reorganize the intelligence network under the responsibility of Fan Chunlin, deputy chief of the Chengdu Police Bureau, and Ma Gang, chief of the Chengbei Police Bureau.

Ma Gang was transferred to the deputy director of the General Staff Office of the Sichuan Army General Headquarters, and concurrently served as the chief of the Fifth Staff Section, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel.

The Nominal Fifth Section of the General Staff Office is actually a military intelligence bureau under the direct control of Xiao Yimin, which was initially designated as a regiment-level unit and is directly responsible to the commander-in-chief Xiao Yimin. The 800-strong staffing will be composed of Ma Gang's original intelligence personnel, intelligence staff officers drawn from various organs of the headquarters, and graduates of the military academy staff officers, and there will be six offices under it: political training, military, confidential, communications, economics, and technology, and the director of the office will initially be given the rank of major.

On 10 August, 370 intelligence officers who had undergone a week of closed political training officially took up their posts, of which more than 120 field intelligence officers will, in the capacity of military and political liaison officers of the General Headquarters, be sent to 16 counties, including Yucheng, Xufu, Luzhou, Neijiang, Wanxian, Dazhou, Guangyuan, Qijiang, Bazhong, Mianyang, Nanchong, Suining, Leshan, Dayi, and Ya'an, to coordinate with the Sichuan Provincial Political Axe and the special task force of the Police Department to reorganize and dismiss the militia groups in various counties, establish a police force subordinate to the local political axe, and serve as military technical instructors for the newly organized police. We will take this opportunity to establish long-standing liaison offices for the military and the administration in all provinces and districts.

The "Political Training Office" received 11 secret intelligence personnel who had been hidden in major newspapers in Sichuan, and were received by their old commanders Fan Chunlin and Ma Gang, and Liu Zhenhan, director of the office, respectively, to transfer their relations and establish a concealed and secure communication channel.

The vast majority of the intelligence officers who had been promoted to one level and whose income had doubled happily joined the new department, went to the North Campus General Headquarters in batches to fill in various detailed information, and raised their right arms under the Flying Leopard Battle Banner to solemnly declare: Loyalty to the country, loyalty to the people, loyalty to the organization, and never betrayal!

On the afternoon of 21 August, Harukawa Yoshira, a second lieutenant of the Marine Corps of the Yue Army, and Toshiken Nojima, a soldier of the Yue Army, who were stationed in the Wuhan Concession to "protect the overseas Chinese," beat Chen Jiafu, a rickshaw driver, to death at the Wuchang wharf, triggering strong anger among the dock workers and onlookers. When the warship arrived at the dock of the Mitsubishi Chamber of Commerce in Hankou, it immediately fired wildly at the people on the shore with machine guns, killing seven people and wounding dozens of others.

The "21 August tragedy" that occurred at the Wuchang wharf quickly spread throughout the country, and this was another major diplomatic incident after the bloody clashes between the Chinese and Chinese people who killed and injured five people each in Hankou on 13 May.

On 22 August, Lieutenant Colonel Ma Gang, deputy chief of staff of the Sichuan Army General Headquarters, personally led four elite officers drawn from Commander Xiao Yimin's guard unit to form a special operation group with three henchmen and intelligence officers, changed into civilian clothes, and rushed to Wuhan overnight.

That night, Xiao Yimin wrote two commentaries on current affairs in one go, and after discussing them with Bao Jiqing one by one, he immediately ordered Zheng Changze, chief of staff, to send one of them to Shanghai as soon as possible, and the other to be typeset by the "West China Times" overnight.

A storm of public opinion that swept the whole country and a diplomatic dispute involving the whole situation ignited the fuse under such circumstances.

(To be continued)