The rumbling gunfire is still spreading along the Yangtze River, the southern provinces are still raging, and the news of Wu Luzhen's murder has also come out in the north, but in this context, Hubei, which had been fighting for days before, suddenly quieted down, but it was a silent contest ().

The first is the Beiyang Army. After receiving a telegram from the three provinces of Hubei inviting Sun Wen to enter Hubei to discuss state affairs, Yuan Shikai immediately asked the imperial court to reorganize the Hubei patrol battalion, which had not been long after the 25th battalion had only picked up the gun, into the Wuwei Right Army and transferred it to Xinyang, and also drew an association from the second town to rush to Wushengguan to assist in the defense. The remaining Beiyang Army of the Four Associations in Hubei was also reduced to Xiaogan under the command of Wang Shizhen. At the same time, he did not forget to put pressure on the Jinpu line, and on the one hand telegraphed Zhang Xun Tieliang stationed in Nanjing to let them wait for reinforcements, and on the other hand, he mobilized two targets from the most elite third town to be stationed in Xuzhou to prevent the Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai coalition forces from going north to Shandong.

Under the command of Yang Qiu, in addition to the 1st Division deployed in Xingou to confront Wang Shizhen's department, a brigade of the 2nd Division was also deployed to Anlu, ready to cut off the road home of the Beiyang Army in Hubei at any time. At the same time, the recruits of the 3rd Division and the 4th Division also stepped up their training and made preparations for going to the front, and the atmosphere of saber-rattling did not diminish in the slightest.

In fact, many people have a good idea in their hearts, the possibility of another major war in Hubei this year is very small, the fourth town was encircled and annihilated and lost tens of thousands of dollars to Beiyang, and it is only a matter of time before Nanjing is broken, and once the Jinpu line erodes for less than half a year, Beiyang will not be able to fight on two fronts at all. Although this is the most capable stage of the Beiyang Army at this moment, the number is too small after all. In the face of the fatigue of the national defense forces, not to mention the fact that more than 300,000 troops have been armed in Jiangxi, Lianghuai, and Zhejiang in the lower reaches, and the troops in Guangdong and Fujian are still moving northward.

After communicating with Yang Qiu, Li Yuanhong telegraphed Yuan Shikai that in order to negotiate peace, Wang Shizhen's troops must first withdraw from Hubei and hand over Wushengguan to the National Defense Army. Yuan Shikai's reply was also much more tactful, first continuing his "constitutional" proposal to stabilize Beijing, and at the same time saying that he would withdraw the Beiyang Army only after the conclusion of the peace talks between the north and the south.

At this delicate moment, the news from Zhihai made people feel a little uneasy. Chen Qimei and Wu Tingfang began to call for the provincial governors' congresses to be placed in Shanghai in a better position, and at the same time sent a telegram asking Sun Wen to return to Shanghai as soon as possible to discuss state affairs, and this appeal was also supported by Li Liejun (thank you for the mistake pointed out by the scholar Ziwei the Great) and Hu Hanmin, although Cai Ye did not express his position, but the representatives he sent were also stranded in Shanghai and were reluctant to come to Hankow.

When the Qing court was still in the past, the Beiyang horizontal sword, and the revolution had not yet succeeded, the battle for the center of the country in the upper and lower reaches of the Yangtze River was already full of gunsmoke. Even Yuan Shikai said through Tang Shaoyi that Shanghai was more suitable for negotiations to deliberately suppress the forces of Hubei and the National Defense Forces. In addition, whether or not to go on the Northern Expedition also caused a lot of verbal disputes, and the party forces represented by Shanghai constantly demanded that the National Defense Force take the lead in the Northern Expedition to set an example. The discussion of the General Staff of the National Defense Forces held that the Third Division currently had only one brigade that could carry out its tasks due to heavy losses in the Great War, that the Fourth Division also needed time to train, that the Fifth Division could not reach the whip, and that the two newly built brigades had just begun, so it was necessary to wait for Sun Wen to return and lead the Three-Way Northern Expedition in a unified manner, otherwise it would fall into the danger of fighting alone.

Yang Qiu sat at his desk, compiling the textbooks of the Army Accelerated School based on the memories of his previous life, while listening to Song Ziqing's report on the situation in the past few days, and after hearing what he said, he raised his head and asked, "This is the opinion of your staff?" ”

Song Ziqing said: "Yes, everyone is not in favor of the Northern Expedition now, at least not before the name is decided. ”

"Undecided? It seems that the issue of my identity is still hotly discussed. Yang Qiu put down his pen for the time being and smiled slightly: "How are you going to solve the third and fourth divisions?" ”

Yang Qiu always hoped that Cai Jimin would be a full-time staff officer, and the latter had agreed to this armistice, so the positions of commanders of the third and fourth divisions were vacant (). Originally, he was going to be selected from the brigade commanders such as Xiong Bingkun of the Third Division, but now it seems that none of these people can bring a division, so Song Ziqing suggested: "My opinion is to let Zhang Tingfu be the commander of the Third Division, Diao Shi Xiaolou be the commander of the Fourth Division, and Deng Yulin should be the chief of staff." In addition, the new Sixth Brigade of Hangzhi in Hunan has already been recruited, but Hunan is so big that it is not enough to rely on one brigade, and my opinion is that the Third Division and the First Brigade will be transferred to Hunan in advance to stabilize the situation, and the Second and Third Brigades will also be sent there after their training is completed. The 4th Division remained in Hanyang to intensify training as a reserve for the 1st and 2nd Divisions. Su Xiaohu's Fifth Division has completed the recruitment, except for the first brigade, all the rest are Sichuan Zhen Army, and the western Yunnan border guards have also selected 1,000 people, and the overall strength is stronger than the fourth division. But there were too many vices in the town, so he hoped to send some officers over as soon as possible. Makui's Seventh Brigade is full of peasant recruits, and now there are many young people who want to join us, and it is expected that the recruitment will be completed in three days at the latest. ”

Song Ziqing already faintly had the posture of the chief of the general staff, and his tone was steady and fast when he spoke, which made Yang Qiu very happy: "The third and fourth divisions will follow your arrangement." The Fifth Division left one brigade stationed in Chengdu, and the remaining two brigades were temporarily transferred to Chongqing and Ma Kui's Seventh Brigade to train together and receive ideological education. What happened to Rongxian and the artesian well? Mr. Cheng Cheng's railway company has been listed in Hankou yesterday, waiting for the rice to be cooked! ”

"Wu Yuzhang and his subordinates have promised to lay down their arms and accept the reorganization of the military government, Zigong and other salt wells are densely populated by Ma Kui have sent people to take over, and all salt merchants have been notified of our cooperation, and most of them have expressed their willingness to accept, only a few ......" Song Ziqing just paused, and Yang Qiu said solemnly: "There is no small part!" It's not a month ago, and since we are a revolutionary army, it is our duty to strike at the diehards who are desperate for the Manchus. Raid the house! All the property will be confiscated, and the salt wells held will be auctioned off to the merchants who support us! We need to give the people of the three provinces a clear idea, now is the new government! Let Su Xiaohu do this matter, send two battalions to Zigong to stabilize as soon as possible, and also pull out his teaching group to Yibin. ”

Yibin? Song Ziqing frowned: "The commander is worried about Cai Songpo? ”

Yang Qiu nodded, Cai Yi is not an ordinary person, in history, he sent troops into Sichuan to take advantage of the chaos to occupy Yanjing District, which laid the foundation for the growth of the Yunnan army, and even the sophisticated equipment that protected the ** later had something to do with the money in Sichuan. Now he is the first to take Sichuan, but with his ability, he will not be unaware of the importance of Sichuan. What's more, even if he doesn't make a move, which of these people is Tang Jiyao and Liu Cunhou is a fuel-saving lamp? Therefore, it is very crucial to seize Yibin as soon as possible and force the Dian army to not be able to go north.

Song Ziqing also agreed to control western Sichuan as soon as possible, but there was one thing that needed to be confirmed, and asked: "Commander, if the teaching battalion encounters the first () of the Dian army." What to do? "Call back!" Yang Qiu waved his hand without any scruples: "#阝孝可发出的军政府令已经说得很清楚四川境内所有武装都必须缴械, our national defense force is the only army!" ”

"I see."

After settling the affairs of the army and Sichuan, Yang Qiu suddenly leaned back and asked: Are you familiar with Ziqing Jiang Fangzhen? ”

"Brother Baili?" Song Ziqing was stunned, and he didn't know why Yang Qiu suddenly mentioned him, and said: "I saw him when I was studying in Germany, and I haven't heard from him since, until the end of last year, when the eight towns selected officers to watch the Praetorian Guards and the Beiyang Drill." He is a rare theorist, talented, and is ̈ ̈ ̈. ”

Looking at his face, Yang Qiu could guess that the two of them probably didn't spark, and said with a smile: "It's just too proud, right?" Ziqing, you won't quarrel with him, will you? ”

"Why, it's almost a fight." Speaking of the ugly things of the year, Song Ziqing said with a smile: "Don't you know, at that time, after watching the drill of the two armies, he scolded that this was acting, and a few of us went to persuade him and he was scolded by him, saying that we wore military uniforms in vain." Now that I think about it, what he said actually makes sense, isn't studying in Germany just to strengthen the army and serve the country? It's a pity that after coming back, Yue Peng and I spent a few years in a mess, if it weren't for the commander you to remind the soldiers to fight, I'm afraid one. has been decommissioned. ”

Song Ziqing was curious: "Commander, why did you mention him?" ”

I didn't expect the two to have such a story, Yang Qiu said his thoughts: "Brother Xiao is a good person, but the burden of being the chief teacher of the Army Academy is a bit big, I heard that Jiang Fangzhen is now serving as a military staff officer in the Zhejiang Governor's Mansion, so I want to invite him to be the director of our army's education and learning department, Ziqing said is there any hope?" ”

"Brother Baili has a solid theory and is a rare military talent, and the Teaching and Learning Office is indeed a place to give full play to his expertise. And now that Jiangsu and Zhejiang are in chaos, Tang Shouqian can't hold it down at all, and he must not be used to it with his arrogance. Commander, you are now famous, and it is the best time to dig him up, but how to let Tang Shou sneak and release people, how to block the mouths of the party ̈ one. ”

"So be it ()." Yang Qiu thought for a while and said, "You write a letter to Jiang Fangzhen immediately, saying that I am going to merge the Lu Shi Academy of the three provinces to establish Hubei Army University, and invite him to be the chief teacher." You told him that he was in control of all military school matters, and that I would not interfere! In addition, I will send someone to contact Tang Shouqian, as long as he is willing to release him and send Jiang Fangzhen over, I will immediately support him with 24 five-life Qishan guns, 4,000 Japanese Type 30 rifles and bullets, plus one or three French Haqikai machine guns. ”

24 cannons? Four thousand guns! Hehe. This is a strengthened hybrid association, Commander, you can be really generous. Song Ziqing smiled and did not stop it, since the first and second divisions officially changed their outfits a few days ago, the eyes of the national defense force have suddenly become a lot worse. Now there are more than 100 guns in the army, which can no longer meet the needs of future wars, let alone 24, as long as he is willing to come and send them all, it is worth it. Moreover, by aiding the revolutionary comrades, it was possible to tell others that the Wehrmacht was still the staunchest supporter of the revolution.

As soon as he took two steps after the record, Song Ziqing suddenly stopped and looked at the gate: "Commander, Shen Shukai brought the representatives of the Jin merchants and a few businessmen outside, you can see ...... ̈." ”

"It's been a long time since I've seen him. Let him in. Then let Guofu call Zhang Wenjing and bring the prepared things to use for a while. After Yang Qiu finished speaking, he picked up the pen again and continued to write the textbook. In fact, he wanted to invite Jiang Fangzhen because of this textbook, although he had the vision of later generations, he was not born in a regular military academy, and he was very deficient in some aspects. Xiao Anguo is a good person but his military ability is not good, and Yue Peng and Song Ziqing can't get out, so they want to try to recruit.

He wrote so earnestly that he didn't even look up when the door was pushed open. Shen Shukai pushed open the door, and when he saw him buried in his book, he didn't dare to disturb, so he hurriedly took the merchant representative to stand next to him and wait, quietly looking at this young man who is now famous all over the world.

Since the uprising, there have not been many opportunities for the two to meet, because of the last incident Shen Shukai was very afraid to see him, and at this moment, he seemed to have changed a little, if the first time the two met was fierce and mysterious, and the second time was evil, then after defeating the Hehe Beiyang in the bloody battle in January, he has completely changed into another person! Whether it is thinking with a pen or opening and closing the eyes of the stars, it gives people a feeling of not being angry and self-imposing.

It wasn't until Zhang Wenjing and Chen Guofu came in that the atmosphere was broken, Yang Qiu stopped his pen and put it aside, and pointed to the sofa: "Sit down." It just so happens that there are some things at hand to cultivate and you have been waiting for a long time, right? ”

"The commander is busy with military affairs and state affairs, and we should wait ()." A fair-looking man in his forties wearing a melon skin hat greeted him and opened the conversation box first, and several representatives of Jin merchants echoed with a smile. Seeing Yang Qiu paying attention to him, Shen Shukai introduced: "The commander is Brother Weirun of Hankou Xiechang Match Factory and Hanji Hydropower Company. ”

Yang Qiu remembered this person. When he first returned to Wuchang, he was very curious to see electric lights and running water, and after inquiring, he learned that a power station and water plant had been built in Hankou a few years ago, and it was the person in front of him who built them. Song Weichen, known as the first Chinese businessman in the three towns of Hankou, took advantage of Zhang Zhidong's support to snatch the construction rights of the Hankou power plant and waterworks from the foreigners, and there was a small machine bureau on the side of Parrot Island. Unlike Shen Shukai, who mainly focused on finance, he was a famous businessman who started in industry in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China. The other people are also representatives of Jin merchants, ticket numbers, and merchants of the three towns, which together basically include the Hubei business community.

"Brother Pei, what's the matter with me today?"

Speaking of business, Shen Shukai regained his shrewdness and ability, and quickly explained his intentions. It turned out that after the 8 million treasury silver that had been transferred to Chongqing was transported back overnight, he wanted to open the bank first, and since he had already prepared 7788 before, he brought Song Weichen and the big businessmen of the three towns to him. It is not that they need to agree to open a bank, but after opening a bank, they will definitely issue paper money, and if these big businessmen boycott the new currency, it will make people feel that the new currency is not credible enough, and if they actively promote it, they can quickly implement it in the three provinces.

The bank is the cornerstone of the development of industry and the three provinces, Yang Qiu is also very concerned about this matter, his idea is to wait for the completion of the transaction with the Germans, and then talk about it, and now he heard that it will be opened early, and he asked worriedly: "Cultivation, will the reserve of 8 million be too small?" ”

In financial matters, Shen Shukai currently has the most right to speak, explaining: "According to the calculation of one silver dollar for one yuan banknote, 8 million is already a lot. What's more, we still have more than 3 million in hand. In addition to sufficient reserves, opening a bank actually depends on creditworthiness! Now that the commander has defeated the Beiyang Army all over the world, the stability of the three provinces is just around the corner, and it is completely possible to avoid the method of issuing one dollar for one tael of silver, and in my opinion, even if it is a piece of ocean and two dollars, it is okay if the three provinces can be financed and taxed

Ten million may not seem like much, but if you can issue 20 million notes, it will be considerable. Moreover, Shen Shukai obviously wants to take advantage of the current status of the National Defense Force and Yang Qiu to position the bank as the central bank of the three provinces in one step (). If this is really done, not only can it supervise every tax in the three provinces, but also tens of millions of taxes will be used as the foundation, and the new bank will soon be among the top banks in China!

Ambition! Shen Shukai deserves to be the top in China in finance, but this kind of ambition is also what he needs the most, but this ambition must be monitored by Mei! So he immediately looked at Zhang Wenjing. The latter is the real "big treasurer" of the National Defense Army, he knows that his level in this area is poor, so he has also recruited a lot of professionals during this time, and there are even foreigners who are down-and-out in Hubei, who have made up some financial knowledge, and know that Shen Shukai is not a ghost in this matter, so he nodded quietly.

After getting the hint, Yang Qiu decided on the spot: "Then choose a day to open, the name of the bank will be China Southwest Bank." Wenjing, you immediately contact the three governors in my name to discuss the bank's affairs, this is our own bank in the three provinces, and everyone should support it. ”

Song Weichen nodded secretly, the boldness of Shen Shukai's proposal is simply to use a bank to hijack the three provinces, if it is someone else, I am afraid that he will hesitate, after all, Yang Qiu is still the commander of the National Defense Forces, and he cannot interfere in civil affairs at all, not to mention that he also heard that the relationship between Wuchang and Hankou is not good, but he still resolutely decided to open it, this kind of courage is really not like a young man in his twenties can do.

With such a big plan, Shen Shukai was afraid of attracting Yang Qiu's jealousy and speculation, but now he finally breathed a sigh of relief after seeing him pass, pointed to the representatives of the Jin Merchants and said: "Commander, these are all representatives of the Jin Commercial Bank, and they are here to talk about the bank's affairs. ”

"I know, that's the money. If it weren't for the fact that we had lent our Wehrmacht, the soldiers would not have been able to defeat the Northern Army. Yang Qiuluo's generosity was unabashed, and his words made those Jin Shang representatives listen very comfortably, and turned into heroes who supported the revolution. Before they could come out of the flutter, they were stuffed with IOUs stamped with the seal of the Wehrmacht and Yang Qiu's signature.

The representatives of the Jin merchants were dumbfounded, more than five million in exchange for these blank papers? Some of the breathless faces suddenly became gloomy. Zhang Wenjing didn't give him a chance to speak, and preemptively said: "This is an IOU, and the money is counted as what we borrowed from you, and it will be paid back in ten years." ”

In the past, it was okay to borrow money, but now the whole country is full of smoke, and in just one month, the semicolons of Jin merchants in various places have suffered serious losses, and everyone is waiting for this money to fill the loopholes, so the representative who is wearing a jeweled ring on his hand immediately said: "Commander Yang, didn't you say yes at the beginning?" It will be returned when the war is over, and now it will be returned as soon as it is (). ”

"yes, how can we cooperate with Southwest Bank in this case?"

"It's hard to explain."

"Bang!" Just when several Jin merchant representatives were muttering, Yang Qiu suddenly slapped the table and stood up, and Song Weichen, who had been paying attention to him, realized that the young man in his early twenties in front of him was a whole head taller than him, and his uniform was quite handsome and straight, and he looked even more extraordinary after standing up.

"This is the headquarters, not the vegetable market!" Yang Qiu swept the crooked Jin merchant representatives and reprimanded, "Do you think I don't know anything? In the past month of the revolution, the losses of Jin merchants in various places have been at least thirty or forty million, right? How many of these people have told me to do this to you? Come to me and pick and choose! Do you still think that it is the Qing Dynasty? Don't work with our Southwest Bank? Hum! I think it's dangerous to work with all of you who are already full of bad debts and maybe they're going to go out of business tomorrow! ”

Yang Qiu completely lost the kindness just now, and said coldly: "Do you want me to give an order?" You don't have to go to the three provinces in your life?! ”

The faces of several Jin merchant representatives turned green, but they didn't expect a few complaints to lead to such a big consequence! What a mouth! Seeing this, Song Weichen hurriedly got up and bent down and said, "Commander Xi Nu, these people also have some friendship with me, and they are really forced by the recent bad debts, so they ......"

"So you think we're bullies?" Zhang Wenjing's cold snort on the side made the Jin Shang representative shrink his neck.

Finally, someone who was willing to write a note admitting that the borrower was really going to be deadlocked, not to mention that the money and life might not be saved, so he hurriedly begged for mercy and confessed. As if he hadn't seen them, Yang Qiu turned his head to look at Song Weichen and several other Hankou businessmen: "Mr. Weirun, I don't know how much you know about the ash factory and the hydropower plant?" ”

Song Weichen couldn't understand why he said these two things, and said: "Don't hide it from the commander, Weirun has never made ashes." However, when building the power plant, hydropower was considered, and foreigners were invited to survey and map, but the price of hydropower equipment was too expensive, and the dam construction project was also large. ”

Zhang Wenjing knew Yang Qiu's thoughts, and said: "Mr. Weirun, the commander has purchased four hydropower plants from Germany, and they will arrive in early two months at the latest, so we are preparing to build a power plant in Chongqing and Chengdu, I don't know if you are interested?" ”

"Four hydroelectric motors?" Song Weichen stood up in surprise, this is a valuable thing! You can't buy it without a few millions. But if it is really built well, it will not only benefit the country and the people, but also make extremely considerable profits. When he thought that such a big business was in front of him, he couldn't help but nod his head immediately, but he also knew that there was no free lunch in the world, and asked, "Why did the commander choose Weirun?" And I'm one. I can't scrape together that much money. ”

"Daye Ash Factory is the property of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and we have taken it back, and the workers and machinery and equipment are all intact and can start work immediately. The water and electricity equipment are ready-made, and we can help you contact Mr. Zhan Tianyou for construction and site selection, if you can invite foreigners, it is the best. Of course, these are not given for free, we invest 50% of the equipment in the dry shares, and this investment is mainly to ensure the smooth operation of the factory in the future. We won't care about any business matters, but if you want to transfer the equity, you must inform us first, and in addition, ......" Zhang Wenjing glanced at the representative of the Jin merchants: "What the commander means is that you all know the turmoil of the troubled times now, if you think that our three provinces are good, then you might as well go back and raise funds to build the three factories with Mr. Weirun, of course, you can also exchange the arrears you just gave you for dry shares." ”

"To Jin businessmen are rich, Weirun's way of operation is one. The three provinces are not just power plants and ash plants. Zhang Wenjing threw out the big cake instead of Yang Qiu, and the Jin merchants who almost made a fuss just now were all stupid, they didn't expect things to suddenly take a 180-degree turn. If nothing else, just exchanging the arrears for the dry shares of the power plant is enough to ensure the safety of the funds! What's more, in the past few days, it has been rumored that the Hanchuan Railway will be rebuilt, if it can be ......"

"The Hanchuan Railway, the power plant dam and the ash needed by the three provinces in the future will be prioritized for the purchase of Daye Plant, and I can assure you that at least tens of thousands of tons will be needed in the next five years!" Yang Qiu smiled slightly, got up and put on his coat: "Everyone, Yang is still going to the British Concession to meet Minister Ge Fu, if you have any intentions in this matter, discuss it with Wen Jing and Pei Zhi, and say goodbye." ”

Yang Qiu walked out of the office with a smile, he believed that Song Weichen and the others would never sit idly by and watch such a big business, as long as these businessmen were united first, the three provinces would be truly included in their tracks......