On the evening of the first day of the Lunar New Year, it was already past 8 o'clock, and Zhao Daiwen, chairman of Chahar Province, who had returned to Taiyuan for the New Year, received a call from Yan Xishan and hurried to the headquarters of the Third Group Army where Yan Xishan lived, which was originally the Shanxi Governor's Mansion after the Xinhai Revolution.

Zhao Daiwen is Yan Xishan's old partner, but also Shanxi Wutai, the two joined the alliance at the same time in Yueben, and have been following Yan Xishan since then, successively served as the chief of staff of the General Headquarters of the East Route Army, the secretary general of the Shanxi Governor's Office, the chief of staff of the Shanxi Governor's Office and the envoy of the northern Jinbei Town, the commander of the Fourth Mixed Brigade of the Army, the general staff of the Third Army and the director of the Political Training Department, the Chahar Metropolitan Commander, and the provincial chairman, is the real veteran of the Jinsui system, and also Yan Xishan's think tank. After the Second Northern Expedition, he was elected by Yan Xishan as the chairman of Chahar Province, and his arrival was not stopped by the guards.

Entering the gate, it is the first courtyard of the East Garden. This is the largest courtyard in the Governor's Palace. Halls are built on all sides, with flower beds, rockeries and fountains in the middle, and surrounded by a circular road of cars and horses with decorative motifs paved with stones, pebbles and blue bricks.

Passing through the aisle in the middle of the east hall of the first courtyard, there is the second courtyard of the east garden. This courtyard is a little smaller than the first courtyard, but the architecture is more luxurious and elegant. Lifelike stone carvings, openwork carvings, wood carvings, as well as bright columns, drum piers, cornices, and bucket arches, are all typical palace-style architectural styles of the late Qing Dynasty. Behind the main hall of the third courtyard of the East Garden, there is also a relatively private side courtyard, which is where Yan Xishan often lives and works.

Zhao Daiwen nodded at the staff officer on duty who saluted him, and went directly into the room. The lights in the room are bright, but the interior of the room is still dark due to the dark color of the doors, windows, beams, columns, and furniture in the Chinese building. Yan Xishan was the only one in the room, his short and fat figure was obviously a little fat, but he didn't look bloated yet. At this moment, Yan Xishan had a gloomy face, his hands behind his back, and he was going back and forth in the room. Zhao Daiwen knew that something was annoying him, an old friend --- the de facto King of Shanxi.

"Cilong, the New Year won't let you have a good life, you won't blame Meng, right?" Meng is a dialect of the Wutai region of Shanxi, which means what I mean. As soon as he saw Zhao Daiwen come in, Yan Xishan immediately changed his smile. "Brother Baichuan is looking for me, don't say it's the New Year, it's the flower candles in the cave room, I have to come right away, where dare I blame you." Zhao Daiwen also replied with a smile, and found a chair to sit down on himself as he spoke. Yan Xishan smiled bitterly and said, "You are already the chairman of the Provincial Government, so you should pay attention to your speech and demeanor. As he spoke, he took a telegram and handed it to Zhao Daiwen. If it weren't for this telegram sent by Tong Xuan from Beiping, Meng wouldn't have troubled your brother! Yan Xishan rubbed his temples as he continued to spin in circles.

As soon as he heard that it was a telegram from Zhang Yinwu in Beiping, Zhao Daiwen first thought that Shang Zhen, the thorn in Yan Xishan's side, had done something taboo again. The telegram was sent by Zhang Yinwu an hour ago, and the more Zhao Daiwen looked at it, the more frightened he became, Shang Zhen knew about this Song Zhewu, and Song Zhewu's request to go to Laiyuan to train troops was originally Yan Xishan did not agree, but Yan Xishan agreed under his persuasion. He thought that it was best to put Song Zhewubu here, first, to disperse the power of Shang Zhen; Second, the Song Department is in this Laiyuan ravine under his nose, and once there is something, he can send troops nearby to solve it. But he didn't expect that Song Zhewu in this ravine would attract the attention of Nanjing, not only increasing the rank of official, allowing him to expand his rank, but also providing military salaries, and what surprised him even more was that this Song Zhewu actually made more than 100,000 people!

Zhao Daiwen asked with some suspicion: "With so many people he brought, is the news reliable?" ”

Yan Xishan stopped, frowned and said: "When he was recruited last year, he had 18,000 people, and before the Tianjin was moved, he incorporated some more people, and Yisheng told Meng about this at that time. Shang Qiyu prepared to expand the four supplementary regiments last year, because Meng did not approve it, he also handed it over to this Song Zhewu, and he recruited some when he arrived in Laiyuan. Meng thought he had no territory. Second, if there is no food supply, it will not be able to support so many troops, and if there is a shortage of food and salary, it will not take a few days for the troops to collapse. Unexpectedly, this Song Zhewu is a long-sleeved Tao Zhugong who is good at dancing, and he has run several factories prosperously, not only can he afford these hundreds of thousands of people, but even his military salary is higher than that of other troops. Shang Qiyu has always paid him military salaries according to the establishment of 18,000 people, and even so, he still owes him two months, and these military salaries are almost paid by himself. Nanjing is paying him all this time, this Song Zhewu is really like a tiger! Speaking of this, Yan Xishan couldn't help but sigh: "Cilong, it's a mistake, it's a mistake." At that time, not only should Shang Zhen not be allowed to be absorbed, but Yisheng should be allowed to disarm and dissolve him on the spot. Now it's a legacy of tiger breeding! Yan Xishan's face was gloomy, and he said hatefully: "Lying on the couch, how can you allow others to snore." Meng wanted to find a reason to kill him. I came to you today to hear what you mean. ”

"No." Zhao Daiwen was startled when he heard that Yan Xishan was going to make such a move! "This Song Zhewu has three immovables: first, this security headquarters belongs to the political axe of Hebei Province, and now although you are the commander-in-chief of the Third Group Army and have jurisdiction over the Jinsui troops, you are only the chairman of Shanxi Province in terms of civil affairs. Acting against Song Zhe's military department, the name is not right, and the words are not good. If you want to do it, you can only shake your hand by Shang, or at least ask him to speak, but he will never agree. Second, there are more than 100,000 people in the Song Department, and according to Tongxuan's telegram, the combat effectiveness is quite considerable, and we have to solve him, without 150,000 people, I am afraid that we will not be able to do it. However, now the whole province cannot gather so many people, and only the troops from Chahar and Hebei can be dispatched. And the troops in Pingjin and Tianjin must not move, otherwise they are likely to be exploited by Bai Chongxi. Even if there are enough troops, once the fight starts, in case it cannot be resolved quickly and the war drags on for a long time, it will be picked up. We have the Northwest Army in the west and south, and they have long been jealous of our Shanxi Feng Shui treasure, Shanxi is the foundation of our Jin Sui system, Pingjin, Hebei, Chahar, and even Suiyuan can not be wanted, but Shanxi must not be lost. Third, Nanjing has already given him an increase in official rank and military salary, which has obviously been included in the bag, and now although it is returned to Shang Zhen's moderation, it is just to make him look good, once we do something against it, Nanjing will never sit idly by, just give Lao Jiang an excuse to deal with us. ”

After listening to Zhao Daiwen's words, Yan Xishan's face was cloudy, and it took a long time before he sighed dejectedly, and said to himself: "It's all Mengyan's Fu Bo and Shallow Virtue!" First, Shi Yousan and Han Fuyu defected to Mongolia, and then rebelled against Mongolia; This Shang Qiyu since Shaanxi entered the Jin Dynasty, Yan treated him well, when Meng only had two divisions, he gave him the position of the commander of the first division, when he led the first mixed brigade out of Jin to fight, the whole army was annihilated, Meng did not blame him, he still trusted him, but now he is separated from Meng, and the old Jiang is hot. ”

Zhao Daiwen couldn't say anything on his lips, but he was thinking in his heart, it's hard to say whether his old partner is blessed or not, but it is certain that his virtue is shallow and the amount is small. After Shi Yousan and Han Fuyu failed in the Battle of Nankou of the Northwest Army, Feng Yuxiang had to go abroad to the Soviet Union. Because Shi Yousan had a teacher-student friendship with Shang Zhen, he contacted Shang Zhen, and Han Fuyu led his troops to take refuge in Yan Xishan. Although Yan Xishan gave food and salary, he was wary of the two of them everywhere. Yan Xishan is like this, the people below are naturally like this, constantly crowding out the two, and even privately calling them second-class Jin Suijun, like this, as soon as Feng Yuxiang returns to the country, it is strange that the two do not return to Feng Yuxiang's command? Shang Zhen was better, because when he joined the Jin Sui Army, Yan Xishan's power was not very strong and he still came with a team, but since the strength of the Jin Sui Army increased greatly, it was different. At that time, when there were only two divisions and two regiments in each division, because Shang Zhen was a member of the old league and had relatively old qualifications, Yan Xishan had no choice but to give him the position of commander of the first division. However, in the subsequent expansion, Shang Zhen's first division had only two regiments for a long time, and the second division was expanded to as many as 8 regiments in the same period. Zhao Daiwen privately persuaded Yan Xishan, but Yan Xishan believed that Shanxi was the Shanxi of Shanxi people, and only Shanxi people would really follow him. However, Yan Xishan can be said to care for the locals in Shanxi, not to mention Sun Chu, Zhao Chengzhu and other Baoding Phase I and II; It was Fu Zuoyi, Li Dasheng and other young low-level generals who were also promoted all the way, and now they are all generals on the commanding side.

After Yan Xishan turned around a few times, he touched his somewhat sparse hair, as if he was talking to himself, and as if he was asking Zhao Daiwen: "Could it be that the Mengdi who looked at Meng like this and planted this nail beside Meng, there is no way?" ”

Zhao Daiwen thought for a while and said: "There is a way, and you have to try it to find out." As soon as he heard that there was a way, Yan Xishan immediately came to his senses: "Cilong, Meng knows that you have a way, a way, you can say it quickly."

Zhao Daiwen thought about it and said: "Nanjing's old Jiang is the best at digging people into corners, but he always does it quietly, once things are clear, the people and troops who are poached will pass." But this time it was obviously a little different from his usual methods, and he publicized it with great fanfare early on, for fear that others would not know, which just showed that he had not really mastered this army. His purpose in doing this is nothing more than twofold: one is to tell others not to fight Song Zhewu's idea anymore, he is already my person. The second is to threaten us not to interfere when he cleans up Bai Chongxi. Based on the above judgment, since Song Zhewu has not completely fallen to Lao Jiang, we might as well fight for it. ”

Yan Xishan's face first showed joy, and then he frowned and shook his head: "It's not proper, it's not proper." Once this Song Zhewu really took refuge in Nanjing, Meng Ke would not succeed in stealing chickens, but would lose rice, and Meng's alliance would be jealous of Meng. ”

Since Xinhai, Yan Xishan has always been the first rat at both ends, and his surname is uncertain, and his suspicions are changeable. This is his biggest advantage, but it is also the biggest disadvantage, Zhao Daiwen has always thought that Yan Xishan is a very good politician, but not a qualified commander, he lacks the decisive spirit of a commander.

Zhao Daiwen sighed secretly, and then said, "So, I said I want to test it first. Spring is about to begin, and the army's summer clothes must be prepared, and Song Zhewu's cloth dyeing in the dyeing factory is really good, and it is said that they have been sold to Nanyang, and we will use his cloth to make military uniforms this year. Of course, since this cloth is very good, the price will be slightly higher. Seeing that Yan Xishan was thoughtful, Zhao Daiwen continued: "In addition, we can also buy some military rations in his flour mill, and we can also buy some goods in his soap factory. And then there is the fact that our arsenal can now produce bullets and shells of many calibers, and we can also sell them at a low price. It's just that the level of the person who went to Laiyuan to talk about business must be high enough, otherwise he may not be able to see him in person, once he sees this Song Zhewu, you can probe his tone first, and then we will make plans. Nanjing's current disarmament is to make it clear that it wants to weaken the dissidents, and now it is to take the Gui system, and once it succeeds, it will be followed by us and the Northwest Army, and then there will be these small forces, and I don't think he will fail to understand these truths. So, he ended up falling to us probably still has a big surname. ”

"Good! Good! Good idea! "Yan Xishan's eyes lit up excitedly, if he could pull Song Zhewu over, his strength would be the largest in the current Nanjing, Gui and Northwest armies, and then he wouldn't need to look at other people's faces to act, I was afraid that he would have to turn it upside down." Cilong, Meng sees that this Laiyuan is still the most suitable for you to go, you will work hard tomorrow, how about going to Laiyuan? Zhao Daiwen hurriedly shook his hand: "No." Seeing that Yan Xishan was a little puzzled, he hurriedly explained: "Brother Baichuan has a life, I don't dare not go to the ground, but we can't be too anxious, the people from Nanjing have just left, we will go immediately, the meaning of the envelopment is too obvious, once he asks for a price, we will be passive." I think it's not too late to go after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. After listening to Zhao Daiwen Zhengse, he said: "Brother Baichuan, I have something, and I ask you to agree." "Yan Xishan was a little surprised, the two have the closest relationship, Zhao Daiwen has always been a sincere assistant to him, he not only regards him as a confidant, but even a friend, with such a solemn expression today, he hasn't seen him for a long time." Cilong, you and Meng Ha are still polite, what do you have to do, just say. ”

Zhao Daiwen said: "Once this Song Zhewu joins the Jin Sui Army, I hope that Brother Baichuan can take the matter of Shi Yousan, Han Fuyu, and Shang Zhen as a warning." ”

Yan Xishan thought for a while: "Okay, Cilong, just do what you want, as long as he can take refuge in Meng, Meng will never treat him badly." ”

Although the collection of Deep Blue is not as many as the authors of the same group, it has been growing tenaciously and slowly, here, Deep Blue sincerely thanks all the friends who care about this book!