Chapter 211 Yan Xishan's Choice

The spring snow that permeated the north also affected Taiyuan, and there were few people at the city gate until noon, and the soldiers standing guard hid in the entrance room to warm themselves ().

After Ma Kui and An Guoliang led the horse into Taiyuan City, they understood why they all said that the Jin merchants were rich, and their eyes were full of deep mansions of different colors, and there were many kinds of merchants on both sides of the street, although there were few pedestrians, but they could not cover the strong commercial atmosphere of Taiyuan.

After being injured in the raid on Mt. Kokura, An Guoliang seemed to fade out of the Wehrmacht, but in fact, after he recovered from his injury, he was ordered to form the first real cavalry of the Wehrmacht, for which he deliberately went to Sichuan to the northwest to select soldiers. Because the people in the northwest are strong, the land is vast and sparsely populated, and they all need to rely on horses, so there are many people with superb riding skills among the children of the Han people. In the end, 2,000 young men were selected, and after a whole year of arduous training with hundreds of good men selected from the Wehrmacht, it was not until the beginning of the year that the army was initially formed, becoming the first real cavalry regiment in the Wehrmacht.

Yang Qiu and the General Staff Department of this cavalry regiment also made great efforts, not only sending people to purchase fine horses from the northwestern Saiwai and Xinjiang, but also buying 300 Don war horses for the Cossack cavalry from Lake Berga last summer, and also setting up a special breeding base in Xikang, which cost even more than a guard division and brigade.

This was the first operation after the formation of the cavalry regiment, and he couldn't help but be nervous, and asked, "Commander Ma, do you think Yan Xishan will see us?" ”

Ma Kui was also very worried, he received a telegram from Hanyang when he camped last night, and the news of the sudden opening of the Yi army also shocked him, no matter what the Yi army wanted to do, this Beiyang peripheral armed force had thirty or forty thousand people, even if it did not go to the northwest as predicted by the General Staff, whether it was to stay in Henan or Shaanxi, it would be a big threat, so he was also anxious to see Yan Xishan as soon as possible, and then ensure that the cavalry regiment could go south to Sanmenxia without hindrance.

The two soon arrived at the Governor's Mansion, and when the guards trotted all the way to report, Yan Xishan was sitting in front of the brazier, wearing only a thin jacket, and a bowl of old vinegar on the noodles, eating with relish, and Rong Honglu, the confidant adjutant next to him, was reporting to him what happened during this time.

The Tianjin incident, the assassination of Song Jiaoren, the dispute between the north and the south was re-provoked, etc., these things seem to be far away from Shanxi, but Yan Xishan did not dare to be careless, compared with the two heroes in the north and south, he knew that his strength was not good, so he not only contacted Jin merchants all over the country to ask them to send the latest news back to Taiyuan, but also asked Rong Honglu to make a briefing and report every day, so that he could grasp the latest situation and seek more benefits for himself and Shanxi, so when the guards came to report that Yang Qiu had sent someone to come, or Ma Kui, his eyes were clearly full of surprise ().

Since Yang Qiu's rise, the people around him have been constantly studied, Ma Kui is not as powerful as Xiao Anguo, nor as famous as Yue Peng and Song Ziqing, a commander of the Chongqing and Sichuan Southeast Garrison Region can't even rank among the front line of the National Defense Army, but Yan Xishan still doesn't dare to underestimate it, because he is not only an old man who entered Sichuan with Yang Qiu, but also made a great contribution on the night of the uprising, if he hadn't led the baggage battalion to grab ammunition and rush across the river to help, it is still unknown whether the National Defense Army can appear, so this person is Yang Qiu's absolute henchman.

Rong Honglu was even more surprised, although he thought that both sides would come to woo him, but he didn't expect to send such a person, and so quickly! So he glanced at the small table and reminded: "Governor, do you want to withdraw first?" ”

Yan Xishan shook his head: "No need, bring them in." With this vinegar smell, I can still be more sober. ”

Soon Ma Kui and Xiao Anguo met the first person in Shanxi's military and political affairs, jackets, coarse noodles and old vinegar, if it weren't for the guards standing around and this magnificent governor's mansion, I'm afraid no one would think that this was an important person who held the power of a province. However, the two will not be confused by his appearance, you must know that he is not so kind as his appearance, as a member of the Democratic Party, he took refuge in Beiyang after the North-South peace talks, knowing that Yuan Shikai did not like the People's Party, and also gave a dead hand to the liaison offices and personnel of the Kuomintang in Shanxi. Since the voices of the two factions of Beiyang and Guoshe have strongly overpowered the KMT, there have been more than one news that he wants to quit the KMT.

He is not only politically skilled, but also has a set of business, after the revolution Jin merchants suffered heavy losses, almost all the branches were carved up, dozens of time-honored brands have collapsed, in the face of this situation, the remaining Jin merchants were matched, and the Shanxi Bank was opened to preserve the last trace of vitality. After becoming the governor, he attached great importance to the industrial and commercial development of Shanxi. After Xinhai, as a force, Shanxi's industrial and commercial development is second only to the southwest and Shanghai, as an inland province can surpass the coastal development speed, in addition to the relatively stable rule of officials, but also shows that he attaches great importance to industry and commerce, even Yang Qiu said, if the foundation is not too thin, the loss of Jin merchants is too great, Shanxi will become a major opponent in the southwest.

"I have heard the name of Commander Ma for a long time, and it is really Yan's luck to see it today." Yan Xishan was very enthusiastic, his eyes were almost smiling, he held Ma Kui's hand and kept greeting, and only after a long time did he glance at An Guoliang: "Who is this?" ”

"An Guoliang, colonel of the First Cavalry Regiment of the Wehrmacht, has seen Governor Yan."

An Guoliang saluted and greeted, and Yan Xishan also warmly greeted him to take a seat, but he muttered in his heart. He considered himself to have studied the Wehrmacht quite a bit, and in addition to some cavalry communications companies in various divisions and brigades, he was the first to hear of the existence of formed cavalry regiments. The National Defense Forces did not adopt the rank of general and colonel given by Yuan Shikai, but continued to use their own military rank system, most of the regimental level were majors, the brigade level was lieutenant colonel, and the division level was except for a few colonels such as Yue Peng who hung the rank of brigadier general.

But he actually has the rank of colonel! In addition to the fact that the cavalry itself is one level higher than the infantry, I am afraid that this cavalry regiment that suddenly appeared is not so simple.

After Yan Xishan pulled the two of them into their seats, he asked with a smile: "I don't know why the two of you are suddenly interested in coming to Shanxi?" We don't have good horses in Shanxi, but there are a lot of old vinegars. After he finished speaking, he deliberately took a sip of the vinegar bowl, and said: "For decades, I like this sour taste, which makes the two of them laugh." ”

Ma Kui said with a smile: "Yan Dudu is concerned about his hometown, and the two of us have seen the orderly development of various places along the way, which shows the merits of the Dudu, no wonder the Governor also said that Yan Dudu is a model for my generation." ”

Of course, Yan Xishan will not be fooled by this kind of compliment, but he is still more proud of the governance of Shanxi, and said with a smile: "Yan is as good as the Patrol Envoy, the Shengyuan Dongjia also told me in the last round that now Hubei and the southwest are changing with each passing day, more than 20 new factories can be added every month, and agriculture and railways are also developing rapidly, which really makes me envious." ”

It is not surprising that the two of them know about the development of the southwest of the country, Shen Shukai was born in the company, and the housekeeper of the embassy is also the old shopkeeper of the Hesheng Yuan in Sichuan.

Ma Kui said: "Governor Yan doesn't have to be arrogant, in fact, this time he came to Ma Mou to be entrusted by the Patrol Envoy and want to talk to you about cooperation, and the Lord hopes to work together to promote the industrial and commercial development of the two places." ”

Promoting business and commerce? Yan Xishan smiled (). He had already guessed that Yang Qiu would not let go of Shanxi, who made this place too important. As a Japanese Lushi student, he knows very well that Shanxi is rich in coal and iron resources, not to mention the geographical location, it is a strategic place to enter and exit the north and contain Zhili, Suiyuan, Chahar in the north, Zhili Jinggi in the east, the Yellow River in the south, and Shaanxi in the west is an important passage in and out of the northwest, as long as Yang Qiu wants to go north, Shanxi will inevitably become the key to the competition.

But he didn't dare to agree immediately, Yang Qiu's troops were still in the west of Wusheng Pass, although Beiyang was greatly injured, and public opinion unanimously fell to the south, but the foundation is still there, and those public opinions are not even a fart in the eyes of those in high positions, so it is unknown how long it will take for the National Defense Force to enter Henan, and it is not his character to make a decision so early.

Seeing that he didn't speak for a long time, Ma Kui knew that he had concerns, after all, Shanxi was under Beiyang's nose, so he simply took out the abdominal case that he had prepared earlier and said: "Before the Inspector came, I told the two of you that Yan Dudu has worked hard to manage Shanxi, so no matter what happens in the future, he will still recommend you to the post of governor of Shanxi." He also heard that Henan and Chahar had been plagued by bandits recently, and in view of the shortage of equipment and numbers of the Jin army, he promised that as long as the governor was willing to join hands, he would form the Sixth Infantry Division of National Defense on the spot, and all the funds and equipment would be provided by us from the southwest, and the governor could also select young talents from the Jin army to go to the National Defense University for further study. ”

Not to mention that Rong Honglu swallowed his saliva, even Yan Xishan was very moved after hearing these two conditions. Not to mention the governor of Shanxi, just the fact that the Sixth Infantry Division of National Defense was funded by the southwest shows the greatness of Yang Qiu's handwriting! According to the standards of the five main divisions of the known Wehrmacht, a division not only has three infantry brigades, but there are at least 36 artillery pieces of various types alone, and the Wehrmacht has completely eliminated the old-fashioned artillery and adopted the German-made or its own imitation of the 75-millimeter barrel artillery cannon, and recently began to manufacture several new cannons, including 105-millimeter heavy guns.

For any officer studying in Japan, he had dreamed of commanding a Japanese first-class division, and now the opportunity was in front of him, but he hesitated.

There is no free lunch in this world, Yang Qiuhua has worked so hard to form a division and it must not be controlled by others, with Jiang Baili and Song Ziqing may soon join Cai Ye These people will give him advice, and the military power will definitely be slowly transferred to him, so he said that he would keep his position as governor, obviously implying that he can only choose one of the fish and the bear's paw ().

What to do? Yan Xishan took the opportunity of holding a teacup to sneak a glance at An Guoliang, he could be sure that the other party's cavalry regiment was in Shanxi, and it would be easy for the huge Shanxi to hide two or three thousand people, if he didn't agree, would they start a war?!

This is not a joke, when Tang Jiyao in the southwest was so strong, he was wiped out, Lu Rongting claimed that the king of Guangxi was not obedient to Yang Qiu to show the door, if he refused, even if he could survive this time, in case Yang Qiu won after the war between the north and the south, did he really want to learn from Tang Hualong, and the whole clan was driven overseas, and there was a country that could not go back?

If Beiyang wins in the end, the end will be the same.

Thinking of this, he actually had an idea in his heart, but he pretended to mutter: "Don't hide it from Commander Ma, Yan wanted to go to Wuchang to visit the envoy, but unfortunately Henan and Shaanxi were sad, so they couldn't make the trip." ”

Ma Kui could hear the meaning of his words, because he was worried that after Shanxi stood on the side of the Wehrmacht, Beiyang would immediately kill him, so he took out the information he had just received last night and said, "The governor will take a look at this first." ”

Yan Xishan's face changed slightly after receiving the information and reading it, and Yi Jun moved! This force, which was pinched in Jiang Gui's hand by the inscription, from the first day of the war to the present, was regarded as the most important peripheral force by Yuan Shikai and actually entered Henan to suppress bandits?

The Yi army has long been rotten to the roots, selling big cigarettes, exploiting the garrison is countless, when Zhao Kui was sent to Shaanxi but was beaten out of Tongguan by the people's army with more than 10,000 weapons and insufficient weapons, it can be seen that the combat effectiveness is poor. Only Yuan Shikai will look at Jiang Gui's face and not move this army, this kind of army to suppress bandits? It's better to create bandits!

The question is, will this group of "bandits" flow to Shanxi? This is highly likely.

Yang Qiu is no longer a prince, he will not let the Yi army go to Shaanxi for the northwest of the country, his four divisions have been deployed in Guangyuan, Sichuan, as long as the Yi army has a little movement into Shaanxi, it will definitely send troops to Shaanxi to cut off Baoji and Xi'an, forcing them to be unable to continue to go to the northwest. In this way, Yijun will turn around and enter Jin, and go out of Suiyuan in Yulin, where the Tiangao Emperor even wanted to take it down at the beginning, not to mention that Jiang Guidi and Zhao Kui have been embarrassed, the former has also been in Chahar for a while, and it is normal for people to find a chance to go back.

It can be seen that Yuan Shikai's control over the army began to weaken, especially those peripheral troops that were attached to Beiyang. As long as he thought of tens of thousands of Yi soldiers wandering around, he shuddered, and finally stabilized Shanxi, if he was troubled by Yi Jun, who would listen to him in the future? Don't forget, Yang Qiu used this trick in Guangxi at the beginning, which made Lu Rongting suffer a loss and won the praise of the people of Guangxi, and it is not impossible to do it again.

Rong Honglu saw that Yan Xishan had been thinking for a long time and didn't speak, so he quietly bumped into his ear and said, "Dudu, it's not appropriate to go either way now, right?" ”

"I know what I know." Yan Xishan quietly replied, returned the information to Ma Kui, and sighed so embarrassed: "Our Shanxi is a poor place, and we can't afford to toss. However, please ask Commander Ma to tell the Patrol Envoy Yan that someone supports him. ”

That's it!

An Guoliang got up and said: "The governor is well aware of the righteousness, our regiment was ordered to go to Sanmenxia to intercept the Yi army, and I hope you will allow us to pass." ”

Yan Xishan scolded secretly in his heart, but he still admired him for daring to block tens of thousands of Yi troops with a regiment, stretched his waist and glanced at Rong Honglu and said, "I remember that there is our baggage battalion over there in Pinglu, right?" Go, instruct, there have been bandits in Henan recently, don't let the bandits take advantage of the loopholes and burn the grain! ”

Hearing that he deliberately pointed out the location of the baggage, Ma Kui smiled slightly, although he was afraid that the Yi Army would cause trouble to Shanxi, but it was good to be able to secretly help each other in this situation, and arched his hand: "The kindness of the governor, we in the southwest must remember it." ”

An Guoliang was even more excited, what he was most worried about this way was baggage, as long as he could solve the grain of the army and a cavalry regiment, it would be enough to turn the whole Henan upside down! Immediately saluted and turned away.

The prelude to the Great War of the Central Plains gradually kicked off with the sound of horses' hooves......

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