"Did you hear that?"

"Did you hear that?"

"The salary is going to be cut off..."

"That surnamed Yan is going to kill us..."

"There is also the emperor's annual offering, and the Summer Palace..."

"I thought that Yuan Shikai's living Cao Ying was ruthless enough, but I didn't expect this surnamed Yan to be even more ruthless than him..."

The capital was originally a city where news spread quickly, and the Manchu Zonggui who pushed Tieliang and Liangbi out at the beginning was behind it? Therefore, Yan Guang's determination to cut off the salary of the banner people soon spread throughout Yanjing.

And after learning the news, the flag people in the capital were naturally resentful.

As I said earlier, the vast majority of the banner people in the capital are not in production, and they are all lazy bones among lazy bones, and it is even more difficult to get them to stand up and work than to kill them. Therefore, the banner people in the capital, except for those who are rich and powerful and live a worry-free life, the rest of the ordinary banner people almost live on salary.

Of course, even so, many flag people still live a leisurely life of "bright inside and outside, walking the street with birdcages in hand".

It's just that now that Yan Guang has cut off their salaries, what is the difference between this and cutting off their lives?

The salary has been cut off, not to mention the life of running around with a birdcage in the past, I'm afraid the family won't even be able to eat...

In this case, the banner people in the capital are naturally angry, and many of them are naturally worried about their own livelihoods, but the Qing Dynasty has been established for more than 200 years, and although the younger generations are not angry, there are still some lonely ministers and evil sons. So in just a few days, many banner people found those Manchu nobles who were still staying in the capital again.

However, this time, these nobles did not come forward, some of them just persuaded them to fend for themselves, and not to make trouble, most of them were closed without a single door, but some of them pointed them out and asked them to go to the newly built Guoshe Avenue...

At this time, if you want to say that they are lazy, it is certain, but if you want to say that they are all stupid, it may not be. At least there are some smart people among the bannermen, so after listening to their words, these bannermen quickly understood what they meant...

"Troubles..."

This kind of thing is not only good at the soldiers of the provinces in the late Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, but even the banner people in the capital are also very good at it―――――― or it should be said that the flag people in the capital are better at this kind of thing than the soldiers in the hands of the warlords.

In troubled times, no matter how big the ambition in the heart is, even if he just wants to guard his own one-third of an acre of land to be the emperor of the soil, he must meet all the needs of the army under his command.

But the flag man is not...

First of all, since Gengzi, when has the Qing family ever been rich? After the Xinhai Revolution, Pu Yi and Yulong themselves were almost out of life, let alone take care of the more than one million banner people below. (It's just that if it's full, it's only about 1 million and tens of thousands, and if you count the Han military flag, it's about 1.5 million, this is the data of the three years of Xuantong, and I don't know if it's wrong...) ）

After a meal, many flag people are no longer in the mood to go shopping with birdcages, and the daily task is naturally to "make money".

This situation was not improved until Yuan Shikai came to power, and signed a large loan with the great powers for the aftermath―――――― and the aftermath of the large loan, Yuan Shikai was not only used to expand the army, many of which were also used to pay the 4 million taels of the Qing dynasty after the abdication of the bannerman.

Therefore, the Kuomintang at that time had already made a big loan to deal with the aftermath, which was somewhat vexatious. After all, everyone knows the situation in Beiyang at that time, Yuan Shikai only controlled the north, and he couldn't control the financial and tax land in the south at all, plus a bunch of messes in the north at that time, if there was no big loan for the aftermath, Yuan Shikai couldn't take out the 4 million taels of Yuan Shikai who abdicated the Qing Dynasty at all, let alone the salary of the banner people.

You must know that the 4 million taels of the abdication of the Qing family are not a total of 4 million taels, but every year...

Before he got a big loan for the aftermath, compared to the 4 million taels that Yuan Shikai thought of every time he wanted to give the Qing family, as well as the salary of the banner people, Yuan Shikai's head would hurt for a long time.

Incidentally, according to the exchange ratio at the time, 4 million taels of silver was equivalent to 6.88 million silver dollars, which was enough to form an infantry division of European standards. If you count the salaries of the flag men, it is enough to build two cruisers of 3 or 4,000 tons ...

If Yan Guang is willing to add another 20 or 30 million silver dollars, it will be enough to buy a Dreadnought-class battleship with a displacement of more than 30,000 tons with the British...

You must know that the battleship Admiral Latorre, which the Chileans bought from the British, started construction in 1911 and completed in 1915, only cost 2.5 million pounds, or less than 40 million silver dollars at the exchange rate at the time.

And the standard displacement of the battleship Admiral Latore reached 28000 tons, and the full load displacement reached 32300 tons.

The latest Armstrong-Vickers steam turbines are installed on the power plant, all boilers are replaced with oil-fired ones, the main engine output is 37,000 shaft horsepower, the oil load is 4,300 tons after the transformation is completed, the endurance is increased to 4,400 nautical miles / 10 knots, and the maximum speed is 22.75 knots.

In terms of armament, it is 10 MK.I 356 mm / 45 x caliber guns (5 twin turrets), 16 MX.xi 152 mm guns, 2 76 mm guns and 4 533 mm torpedo tubes...

These battleships were also extremely powerful at the time, and it was very easy for the Admiral Latorre to suppress the battleships of the other two South American countries, namely Brazil and Argentina.

Brazil and Argentina also had two classes of battleships, and both of these classes were of the Dreadnought-class. Among them, Brazil's Dreadnought-class battleship Minas Gerais-class was started in 1907 and completed in 1910, with a standard displacement of 19,281 tons and a full displacement of 21,200 tons. 12 305mm 45x caliber guns (6 twin turrets), dreadnought-class battleships with reciprocating steam engines instead of steam turbines.

Argentina's Rivadavia-class is a Dreadnought-class battleship that purchased the Minas Gerais class from Brazil and was stimulated by the purchase from the Americans. The Argentine dreadnought, which began construction at the time of the completion of the Brazilian dreadnought, was relatively new, with a displacement of almost 50% more.

Construction of this class of battleships began on May 25, 1910 and was completed in December 1914, with a standard row of 27,940 tons and a full row of 30,600 tons. It uses 3 Curtiss steam turbines, 18 Babcock-Wilcox boilers, a total power of 40,000 shaft horsepower, and a maximum speed of 22.5 knots. There are 12 305mm50x diameter main guns (6 twin turrets), 12 152mm/50x diameter secondary guns, and 16 100mm/50x diameter rapid-fire guns.

Chile's Admiral Latore was the latest to start construction, so the design was also the most novel, not only the displacement was greater than the first two, but even the caliber of the main guns was much larger than the first two, plus the speed was also higher than the two, and it naturally overwhelmed Brazil and Argentina on the battleships, which is why Brazil bought the multi-turret relic.

Here is another mention of the sacred relics of the Cult of the Multi-Turret, the battleship Ajinkul. The price transferred to the Turks that year was only 2.725 million pounds.

There are also Iron Duke-class battleships of the same tonnage but whose surname can be much stronger than it, and the cost of the Iron Duke-class battleships that began construction in 1912 was only 1,891,600 pounds, which is a standard row of 25,820 tons and a full row of 30,380 tons of Dreadnought-class battleships.

At 1,891,600 pounds, converted into silver dollars, it is less than 30 million silver dollars...

This is also why Yan Guang is reluctant to accept this matter, more than 10 million silver dollars―――――― if I have this money, wouldn't it be better to keep it for myself?"

Putting aside the reason for the time being, since Yuan Shikai came to power, after the big loan for the aftermath was signed, the life ―――――― of the people in the capital Zhongqi has not improved, after all, this group of guys who don't know anything are like this at any time.

But in any case, after the big loan for the aftermath was signed, at least the banner people's salary was still solved.

Therefore, many flag people have also regained the original scene of "bright inside and outside, walking on the street with birdcages".

However, despite this, in the chaos, the banner people in the capital often "make trouble" after all, so the ability to "make trouble" is quite skilled, or in other words, it is already a master.

Later, although the salary was no longer worry-free, the banner people in the capital did not choose to forget this "master-level" "salary skills", but just buried it deep and kept it until today.

So after getting the advice of those nobles, the banner people who were still worried about the salary quickly understood. Many of them even geared up, preparing to go to the newly built Guoshe Avenue to make a good fuss.

It's just that Yan Guang is the one who defeated Yuan Shikai's living Cao Ying after all, and when he visited those nobles, there were also many nobles who warned them openly or implicitly, so the bannermen who were ready to make a salary also understood.

If the activities are only scattered, it will definitely not work, and if you want to achieve some results, you must have some organization...

So after leaving the homes of those nobles, almost all the people who had a little face among the banner people gathered, and for a while...

This may be a bit cliché, but in the capital, there is a dark tide surging for a while.

And in addition to the bannermen in the capital, the great powers also learned about it.

Although they acquiesced in Yan Guang's violation of the Qing Dynasty's preferential treatment regulations, when the Qing Dynasty abdicated, they recognized the regulations on behalf of the Great Powers after all, so at this time, the envoys of the Great Powers in China could only watch silently from the sidelines, watching how the situation would develop and how Yan Guang would solve it.

Of course, among them, Minister Yumoto may be the most gloating, especially after Tie Liang went to his place, Minister Yumoto was even more excited.

"If it is really as Tie Liang said, Yan Guang will order a suppression, as long as there are more banner people, not to mention that the world will be shaken, and the enmity between the banner man and Yan Guang will inevitably be as deep as the sea, at that time, as long as there is a little agitation behind the back, coupled with the help of Tie Liang and others, many of the banner people who are still staying in Yanjing and Tianjin will go to Manchuria to do the restoration. At that time, if the matter is completed, the land of Manchuria will be owned by my empire, and if it is not done, the people of Manchuria will also be separated from Yan Guang, and I will be able to take advantage of it..."

Although the banner people at this time, even with the Han army flag, were only more than a million, there were not many people in the Northeast at this time. In addition, the Northeast is the hometown of the Manchus, and there were also some Han people in various parts of China at that time, and some Manchu magnates still had some great influence among these people, and many "old and young" still regarded Pu Yi as the main one.

Among them, the most famous is naturally Zhang Xun...

There are also the forbidden troops who have been demobilized and the first town of Beiyang that is still staying in Wuchang...

If Yan Guang really kills the flag man, I'm afraid there will really be a lot of chaos for a while. But if you don't do this, then you won't even think about the more than 10 million silver dollars in the future...

What's more, in a few months, there is an eighty percent chance that the Sarajevo incident will detonate the European War, that is, the First World War...

――――――――――

The banner people in the capital were busy "making trouble", but Yan Guang didn't have the time to worry about them.

In other words, there are four major events in Yan Guang's heart now, but none of them are related to these flag people―――――― even if these flag men are running around with each other, preparing to make a big fuss in front of his presidential palace in a few days.

"Do they think I don't know anything?"

Sitting behind his desk, Yan Guang was looking at a list that the Military Intelligence Agency had just provided.

On the list, there are not only the leading figures among the banner people this time, but also those Manchu nobles who instigated them to come out and make trouble, and even contacted themselves...

Yan Guang had already made up his mind that he would not follow the "Preferential Treatment Regulations for Clearing the Room" no matter what, otherwise he would probably not be able to get rid of this regulation for the rest of his life. Moreover, Yan Guang is also ready to take this opportunity to clean up the people who are related to Yu himself among the banner people...

Large-scale purge of flag men?

Nowadays, there are more than one million banner people in the country, and if you count the Han military flag, it is almost more than 1.5 million. According to the 40,000 people in China, more than 1 million cannot be said to be a drop in the bucket, but in fact, there is not much difference. It is easier said than done to purge more than a million people.

What's more, after Yuan Shikai usurped power, although many Manchu magnates still called Yuan Shikai brothers, how many Manchu magnates still lived in the capital? I'm afraid that most of them, like Tie Liang and others, went to the concession.

Two idioms.

Catch them all in one go, cut the grass and eradicate the roots.

If you can't eliminate all these people at once, then even a small part of them will be in trouble.

What's more, almost all of the bureaucracy in northern China was inherited from the former Qing Dynasty, in other words, the officials in these bureaucrats were also left over from the former Qing Dynasty. Although they did not continue to be loyal to Pu Yi because of the general situation, this does not mean that they have no thoughts in their hearts―――――― the term "old and young" is not only unique to this era...

If he really purged the flag people, I am afraid that the whole of northern China will fall into chaos because of this incident. Leaving aside how much trouble this will cause, with only a few months left to go until the European competition, the time wasted is by no means more than money can make up.

But...

If it's just to make an example of the monkeys, it's not impossible...

Proper, and selectively cleaned, can also make these bannermen quieter, lest they also make trouble for themselves in the event of a big war.

However, these old and young remnants of the Manchu Qing Dynasty have a lot of energy in North China after all, so they can only choose those with conclusive evidence to kill.

"But these guys don't have clean hands and feet at all, it's just a matter of connecting with each other, and they dare to show such big horses and feet when they contact me, so I really can't be blind?"

Yan Guang did not intend to attack those bannermen who "made trouble", and the targets he chose were only those bannermen who contacted him and planned to restore Manchuria.

However, looking at the names on the list that often flickered, Yan Guang finally had to laugh.

However, while Yan Guang was still laughing there, Yue Chang suddenly walked in from outside.

"Governor."

"Oh, you're here."

Seeing that it was Yue Chang who came in, Yan Guang threw the list in his hand aside.

Glancing at the list full of names, Yue Chang took his eyes back, but thinking back to the names on the list just now, Yue Chang was also secretly frightened, because the ones above were quite famous among the banner people today...

Yan Guangzhi didn't care if Yue Chang saw anything just now, he just asked with concern.

"How? How's it going? ”

At present, Yan Guang's heart is concerned about four major things, and almost all of these four major events are a hundred times heavier than the affairs of the flag people. And now what Yan Guang asked Yue Chang was the same as the head of these four major events.

Seeing Yan Guang's eager appearance, Yue Chang also hurriedly threw out the things he had just seen from his mind, and then hurriedly replied.

"Governor rest assured, according to your orders, Mayor Chen and Governor Liu have begun to transport the ammunition in the arsenal to Jinan. There is also Minister Wang Yaowu, who is still staying in Wuchang, and now he has also begun to move several main divisions to Shandong and Jiangsu..."

At present, Yan Guang is most worried about the four major events, namely, the war that is likely to occur in Shandong in a few months, the reorganization of the whole army and local warlords, the 10 million pounds of industrial equipment ordered from Germany, and the placement of these equipment.

The most important of these is the first point, after all, the war in Shandong is likely to happen in a few months, and Yan Guang has to prepare early. What's more, the opponent this time is very likely to be Yue himself, although with Yan Guang's understanding of the Yueben army in this era, he believes that the Yueben army in this era will not be much stronger than the Beiyang Army in the past. However, there are as many as 18 divisions and regiments that are stronger than the six towns of Beiyang, or each of the 18 standing divisions and regiments of the book is stronger than the six towns of Beiyang.

Moreover, it is said that Ben still has a strong mobilization capability, and it is not easy to mobilize the existing army units to 600,000. 600,000, this is the number after the full mobilization of the people in the European war, considering that the army was not sent to Europe to participate in the exhibition at that time, I am afraid that this number can be even more.

Coupled with the absolute superiority of the navy, although Yan Guang was very confident in the past National Social Army and the current National Defense Force, he also had to be cautious about this battle.

The war that will take place in Shandong may be defeated for me, but for myself...

"The best outcome may be just the loss of Jiaozhou Bay, if you are unlucky, maybe you will lose more places, even the lease period of Lushun and other military ports, as well as the rights and interests of Manchuria and other places......... In that case, wouldn't I, who had thought of being a hero, become a sinner in history? ”

Fortunately, just when Yan Guang was in deep thought, Yue Chang on the side woke him up.

“……… Although the time was still short, Mayor Chen and Liu Duli had already begun to transport ammunition to Nanjing by water, and then from Nanjing to Jinan by the Tianjin-Pudong Railway. At the same time, Minister Wang is also sending several main divisions to Shandong through the Jinghan Railway, although it has only been a few days now, but compared to the first batch of ammunition and troops should have arrived in Jinan. ”

Just as Yue Chang was speaking, an officer outside had already barged in.

"President, the news just came that the 21st Division of Commander Jin Yunpeng and the 25th Division of Commander Zhang Xun and Zhang Xun have arrived in Jinan, and now the second batch of troops has begun to be deployed..."

Hearing the news, Yan Guang's face was also happy, but he waved his hand in the end.

"Got it, you go down first."

Hearing Yan Guang say this, the officer replied loudly with both legs together.

"Yes!"

When the officer left the office, Yue Chang smiled on the side.

"Since the troops of Division Commander Jin and Division Commander Zhang have arrived, it will not take long for the second batch of troops to arrive in Jinan, so I believe that it will not take July, and all the troops required in June will be able to move to Jinan..."

When he said this, in fact, Yue Chang himself was a little strange, because he didn't understand, why Yan Guang had to move all the main divisions to Shandong and the provinces around Shandong?

"Could it be that you want to fight Qingdao? But didn't we already sign an entente with the Germans and exchange Jiaozhou Bay back when the war broke out in Europe? ”

It's no wonder that Yue Chang is so strange, in fact, not only Yue Chang, but many people in the army are wondering about Yan Guang's actions. After all, he had just won the battle, and Yan Guang not only did not seize the opportunity to stabilize his position, but also sent troops to Shandong?

Now there is no one in China who dares to oppose the existence of Yan Guang, especially in Shandong and the surrounding provinces. Who does he want to hit? It can't be to fight the Germans, right?

When Yan Guang made such a decision, people like Cai Yi, Jiang Baili and Song Dinghan had persuaded him, after all, the most important thing at this time was to recuperate and consolidate his power. And looking at them as if they were afraid that they would make trouble with the Germans, Yan Guang himself was secretly amused.

It's just that after swearing that it was useless to provoke the Germans, Yan Guang could only give the order to force it.

"Time is money, there are more than three months left, and we must make comprehensive preparations before the war."

As for Cai Ye and Song Dinghan? Yan Guang didn't blame them, in fact, they thought it was normal. After all, there are no opponents of the Wehrmacht in the whole country now, but Yan Guang has to transfer a few main divisions and 100,000 people to Shandong. For this reason, the German minister Marzan has been here several times in Yanguang.

Although he thinks so in his heart, in fact, Yan Guang himself also has some concerns, that is...

What if the Sarajevo incident doesn't happen? Or did it happen, but the European war didn't start? Isn't it a waste of money and a thankless effort to do it yourself?

It's just that I'd rather believe it than not, even if he loses millions, Yan Guang doesn't want to be defenseless in the middle of a big war, so...

"The whole army must be prepared for war, and if there is no war in Shandong, it is naturally the best, if there is......... I'm going to win..."

(To be continued)