Chapter 277: Passing through the Northeast (2)

In 1893, the population of Northeast China was 5.926 million, and in the last census at the end of the Qing Dynasty, the population of the three northeastern provinces surged to 19.77 million. Among them, Liaoning Province has a population of 11,049,600 in 1904.

Even so, the population of the Northeast is still small. In other words, there is a lot of room for development and improvement in the Northeast. A hundred years after the parallel history, the Northeast is an important granary of the country and the most suitable region for mechanized agriculture in the country.

Due to the sparse population, the control of local power by the governments of the three eastern provinces was concentrated in the cities and along the railway lines. During the reign of Yuan Shikai, the political structure of the Northeast was chaotic, and the Japanese and Russians were extremely active in the Northeast, and it could even be said that they walked sideways. The local bandits were strictly troubled, the officers and soldiers were completely unable to wipe them out, and the remnants of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, with the support of the Japanese, were rampant in their activities and clamored for independence. After the fall of Yuan Shikai, more than 100,000 national defense forces entered the northeast, and the local armed forces were either reorganized or disbanded on the spot.

After the Wehrmacht entered the northeast, the focus was on guarding against Japan, and it was not until the end of the Sino-Japanese battle of Qingdao that the situation eased somewhat. After the declaration of war against Germany, the main force in the northeast was transferred, and the B Division and the newly formed B Division were supplemented subsequently, and while actively training, the focus shifted to clearing out bandits in various places. For more than a year, beards from all walks of life in the northeast, under the encirclement and suppression of powerful troops, have either been wiped out, scattered, or run away and hide far away. Through the suppression of bandits, various units have gained a certain amount of actual combat experience under the conditions of the northeast, and have tested the actual combat results of some equipment under cold conditions.

Fang Jianxiong's trip to the northeast was with the intention of testing the new troops. After the end of the Sino-Japanese War, Japanese forces withdrew from Northeast China one after another, leaving only one Lushun. The Russian old Maozi is still staying in Heilongjiang, and he has no intention of leaving.

When Fang Jianxiong's special train arrived in Shenyang (Fengtian), Jiang Fangzhen, who had arrived earlier, was already waiting at the train station.

After the two met. It's not polite, just get in the car and go to the north camp of Shenyang. In the later stage of the Qingdao Campaign, the 24th Division was transferred north to Shenyang to catch up with the transfer of other main forces, and the division commander Lin Shuqing was also transferred, and the 24th Division stayed behind to be responsible for the defense of Shenyang. Division commander He Chong is the first student of the teaching team. The original chief of staff of the 1st Mixed Brigade of the Anhui Army. Because of his military exploits and the background of the Wuhu people, He Chong was promoted quickly.

Taking advantage of the new round of army expansion, a large number of first-term students of the teaching team have stepped into the position of division commander, and these people have extremely high loyalty to Fang Jianxiong, which is far from being comparable to those who stay in Japan. Now the division commanders of the Wehrmacht. It is broadly divided into three systems. The first is the teaching team system, in which nearly 60 of the 90 infantry divisions of the Wehrmacht are from the teaching team. Undoubtedly, the number one system. The group of people who took refuge in the early nineties of the second system, such as Zhang Zhenwu, Liu Yutang, Shen Tongwu and others, these people are also very loyal, after all, their own interests are tied to Fang Jianxiong. The third system is more complicated, there are the old Beiyangs. Local military officers in various provinces, and some from the Kuomintang. This miscellaneous system itself can't pee together, can you count on Xu Chongzhi and Xu Shuzheng to have one heart? Can you count on Wu Peifu and Li Liejun to have one heart? within this system. The division commanders are all famous tasks in history, and there are only 2 people who are still members of the People's Party, Li Liejun and Xu Chongzhi. Beiyang is slightly more, but also limited. Looking at the list of senior officers of the expeditionary force. It is not difficult to understand Fang Jianxiong's thoughts. In the expeditionary force, the officers who make up the majority. Aren't they just these people in the miscellaneous system? It seems that a lot of troops have been withdrawn, but in fact, when these people go to Europe, the threat that the so-called local powerful factions in the country can produce is greatly reduced. When the war in Europe is over, some people will be promoted and transferred directly to the General Staff or the Ministry of Defense, and it will be difficult to get in touch with military power. Those who succeeded these people, except for Fang Jianxiong's mind, who had no problem in history and were very capable, could only be replaced by people from the teaching team. Not to mention, there is still a group of Lu Dasheng chasing after him screaming.

"Baili, has Xu Shuzheng arrived at the place?" After Fang Jianxiong got in the car, he brought up this issue.

"Xu Shuzheng and Wang Tianzong's two armor divisions, Ma Qi and Ma Lin's two cavalry divisions, plus two engineer brigades, have all been assembled in Guisui (Hohhot). Supporting the country, is this matter a slowdown, and wait for the situation in Europe to become clearer. Jiang Fangzhen raised this question out of prudence.

Fang Jianxiong shook his head: "Now is the time, telegraph to Duan Qirui, now you can enter Xinjiang in a big way." Yang Zengxin refused to come to Beijing for a long time to take up his post, so he asked the officers and men of the National Defense Force to invite him. ”

Jiang Fangzhen nodded and said: "It can only be like this, this military operation, three directions and a game of chess." The key is still the Russians in Heilongjiang, how they will react. ”

Fang Jianxiong glanced at Jiang Fangzhen, who was worried, and was secretly proud in his heart, this chief of the general staff is very capable and has far-reaching strategic vision. But he is not a time-traveler and does not know what is coming.

"The Russians have nothing to worry about, there are not many Russians in Heilongjiang who can fight in total, and the Wehrmacht has a full ten B divisions and five heavy artillery regiments, what is there to worry about? Besides, if they don't move, we don't move. Kulen and Xinjiang are both Chinese territories, and our troops drove over, so there is no reason to pick them. If the Russians dare to tear their faces, then resolutely fight back. By the way, when it comes to this matter, Baili should pay attention. All units should be vaccinated in advance, and the surveillance of the Russian troops in Harbin should be strengthened, and once they dare to fire the first shot, they will be resolutely eliminated. Fang Jianxiong brought out a murderous aura when he spoke, and although Jiang Fangzhen was a little worried, he was still very excited.

"How can you explain such a big military operation, on the British and French side?" Jiang Fangzhen asked with a smile, Fang Jianxiong rolled his eyes and said, "Do you still need to inform Britain and France about the movement of troops in our country?" Yin Changheng sent troops to Lhasa in February, did he also want the British to reunify? I have never had a chance to settle this bad account with the British on the McMahon Line. ”

If you think about it carefully, there are no troops to reinforce Europe, but there are troops to sweep away the restless factors in the country. The French may be a little better, the British will definitely jump to their feet, and Nicholas II of Russia will probably go crazy.

Once Kulen is taken, it means that the waist of the Trans-Siberian Railway will be exposed to the Chinese, and the Middle East Road will also change. Since Europe, the Russians have not given up their interests in China at all, and Gengzi is still worried about the indemnity, and the government of the Republic of China has not paid the payment under the pretext that the cost of sending troops to Europe is too large.

"Fuguo, there is another thing, the two divisions of the newly formed railway corps, this time they will go to Xinjiang to build the railway, is there a lack of strength?" Of course, Jiang Fangzhen knew the importance of Xinjiang and Xinjiang, so he questioned it.

Fang Jianxiong didn't have the slightest intention of concealing it, and said with a smile: "There are two key tasks this year, the first is to solve the unstable factors in remote places by military means, you know this best." The second is to pass through the northeast and new and Xinjiang, of which the northeast is related to the country's future development strategy. I plan to immigrate 10 million people from all over the country to the Northeast within two years, vigorously develop the agriculture of the Northeast, and build the Northeast into an important granary of the country. In addition, the Northeast will be built into the largest heavy industry base in the country. If we want to carry out construction, we can't do it without roads, so we must issue railway bonds, and the current two divisions of the railway corps are just an attempt, and in the future it will be expanded to at least about 200,000 people. The plan is to build the railway from Tongdihua to Lanzhou and the railway from Kulun to Guisui within five to eight years. The role of the railroad soldiers is to go up to the top of the most difficult sections. After recovering Kulen, we waited for the change in Russia. If necessary, send a message to the Japanese that there is oil on Sakhalin. ”

Jiang Fangzhen was a little crying and laughing, and felt that the back was a little unreliable, so he quickly interrupted: "Fuguo, the state of your god stick has started again." ”

Fang Jianxiong laughed and said, "Brother Baili, if we make a bet, within a year, Russia will be chaotic, and there will even be a civil war." Jiang Fangzhen said without hesitation: "Don't gamble, I never gamble." Honestly, is there any new information? ”

Fang Jianxiong nodded at this time, and said in a low voice: "The Germans are secretly planning to send some exiled Russian political criminals back to Russia. At present, anti-war sentiment in Russia is rising, like a haystack, and a little Mars can be found. Coupled with the fact that the Russian offensive was devastated at the end of last year, Russia has now reached a critical point. If Tsar Nicholas II did not give up the war, only a revolution awaited him. ”

Jiang Fangzhen understood, and said with a knowing smile: "I see, once Russia has civil strife, withdraws from the war in Europe, or even breaks out of civil war, the Japanese will really go crazy if they want to know that there is oil on Sakhalin Island." ”

Fang Jianxiong patted his thigh and said, "When the time comes, we will join Japan in sending troops to carve up the Far East." ”

When Jiang Fangzhen heard this even more unreliable words, he said with a puzzled face: "Have you started to be in the state of a divine stick?" It doesn't make sense, does it? Fang Jianxiong laughed proudly: "You will know when the time comes, I am not absolutely sure yet." ”

"Okay, I'll be patient." Jiang Fangzhen also knew that if Fang Jianxiong didn't say it, he wouldn't ask, and sooner or later he would know.

On January 10, 1919, Fang Jianxiong returned from his inspection of the Northeast, with two cavalry divisions as the lead, two infantry divisions and two engineer brigades as the leader, and a unit composed of two infantry divisions and two engineer brigades set out from Guisui and went deep into the desert. On the same day, five cavalry divisions and two infantry divisions under the Lanzhou Military Region left Yumen Pass.

On the 15th, Fang Jianxiong returned to Beijing and sent someone to invite Zhang Jian to come to the house as soon as possible. Zhang Jian didn't know what was going on, but he didn't dare to slack off, and when he arrived at the palace, Fang Jianxiong didn't even greet him. Zhang Jian secretly screamed in his heart that it was not good, and he didn't know what was going on.