The chariots and horses were rattled, and the whip was loud.

At the foot of the Tianshan Mountains, it is already autumn season. The high Tianshan Mountains, the bright and far-reaching sky, the endless golden grasslands and white clouds-like flocks of sheep, and the yurts dotted on the grassland everywhere make the whole heaven and earth like a pleasant landscape painting.

On the trade road leading to Dihua at the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains. A rather large team of horses and chariots was walking slowly. The horse-drawn carts were piled up with all sorts of miscellaneous items, and on top of them sat some ragged women and children, all of whom stared in horror at the Wehrmacht cavalrymen with large guns, large-brimmed hats, and khaki uniforms.

In the middle of the carriage procession, there were dozens of men on horseback, all tall and thin, each with a beard more than a foot long, a little white hat on his head, and all his body was washed white and patched robes, and at a glance he knew that he was a devout Muslim.

Riding at the forefront of these people was a man in his fifties, his face had turned gray, but his waist was still straight, and his eyes were shining, and he looked very extraordinary. Behind this man, there were three bearded young men with very handsome appearances, looking around with their chests and belly protruding, they all looked quite strong, I don't know if they were his sons and nephews.

Suddenly, a group of cavalrymen with short guns on their shoulders came running towards the carriage and horse, and after a few words from a Wehrmacht cavalry officer who was in charge of escorting, he came over to the men on horseback. At the head was a dark and strong young officer, no more than twenty years old. But with the rank of major general, it seems that he has some background. The young general grabbed the reins in front of the man in his fifties and threw his fist at him. smiled and said, "General Cabinet Minister, right?" My brother is Zhao Zongyang, deputy commander of the Fourth Cavalry Division of the National Defense Army, and he has been ordered to escort you to Nanjing. ”

The man known as the "General Cabinet Minister" was stunned for a moment, and before he could speak, one of the three young men beside him rushed to ask, "What are you doing in Nanjing?" Didn't you go to Yuhuatai to shoot targets? ”

"Zixiang, don't be rude!" The "General Cabinet Minister" reprimanded, arched his hand at Zhao Hu again, and said with a smile: "The child is rude." General Wangzhao should not be blamed. ”

This General Zhao is Zhao Xiang'er's younger brother and Zhao Hu, Zhao Sanmei's elder brother. Zong Yang is his name, or is it given by the chairman of the Standing Committee who accepted his sisters as concubines. Because it was quite easy to call, Zhao Hu simply used words in the world and called Zhao Zongyang. And the "cabinet general" is called Ma Qi, and the cabinet minister is also a trade name. It is the father of the famous Northwest warlords Ma Bufang and Ma Buqing in history. The young man who interjected just now was his second son Ma Bufang.

However, the father and son of the Ma family in this time and space are really not very mixed. Their Ma Jiajun was completely wiped out by the Northwest Frontier Army led by Mao ZD and Wu Peifu a few years ago, and the family and a group of backbone elements all became prisoners! Originally, according to Mao Zd's intention, he wanted to be suppressed by counter-revolutionaries, but Zhou Elai disagreed, so he left his life for labor reform. It is said to be a labor camp, but in fact it is exile, which is to find an oasis in the Taklamakan Desert and leave the whole family of Ma Qi's family and some henchmen there to fend for themselves, and no one will take care of them. Because that oasis is located in the depths of the great desert, there is no need to worry about them running out.

These people spend years in the desert oasis. I don't know what happened in the outside world, and when I thought I was going to die like this, suddenly a group of cavalry drove into the oasis and escorted them out, without saying where they were going. It wasn't until they arrived at Dihua, the capital of Northern Xinjiang Province, that a big official finally came to tell them that the purpose of their trip was Nanjing!

Although Ma Qi looks like a hero, after a few years of hard work, his bones have long been soft. Seeing that this young major general surnamed Zhao was smiling and looking very talkative, he stepped forward, took out a pendant of mutton fat and white jade from his sleeve and handed it over, with a smile on his face: "General Zhao, please send our family to Nanjing so far away...... A little gadget, let's talk about it. ”

Zhao Zongyang didn't take the pendant, just waved his hand indifferently: "No trouble, no trouble, I was going to Nanjing to see my sister and sister, but I just took your father and son on the way." ”

Ma Qi turned his head and glanced at Ma Bufang, who said with a worried face: "General Zhao, what are we going to Nanjing for?" Can you reveal it? ”

Zhao Zongyang was amused, and said to Ma Bufang: "Of course, I went to Nanjing to see the chairman, and the chairman knows that your father and son have the ability, so you have to entrust you with important tasks, and the days of soaring are ahead!" ”

"Entrusted?" Ma Qi took a breath, a surprise slipped across his face, and he said in a low voice: "Is it that Xining Zhenxing is unstable?" ”

"Xining Town? Oh, you mean Qinghai Province, right? Zhao Zongyang smiled at Ma Qi and said: "Qinghai's shape is stable, and there is no need for the help of the virtuous father and son." Let me tell you the truth, the chairman summoned you to send troops to the Persian Gulf, do you always know where the Persian Gulf is? ”

"The Persian Gulf?" Ma Qi thought hard for a moment, and a surprised expression appeared on his face. "It seems to be near the holy city of Mecca! It's the British's sphere of influence, and we're ......."

"It was the British who asked us to send troops to help fight Persia, and now our China, under the leadership of the chairman, is already a world power, and last year defeated little Japan and recaptured Taiwan, the Far East, and North Korea. This year, it has formed an alliance with the British Empire, and some time ago there was chaos in Persia, and the British Foreign Secretary personally went to Nanjing to ask the chairman for help, and the chairman had already promised to send troops. It's just that considering that it is the land of Muslims, I want your father and son to come forward and organize some Muslims to go to the Persian Gulf to help the chiefs there fight, and maybe they will stay there for a long time in the future. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and you have to take advantage of it. ”

……

"Sir, Zhao Zongyang reports to you."

Hearing the sound of someone shouting a report, Chang Ruiqing raised his head from the pile of articles in front of his desk. Seeing that it was his brother-in-law, he put down the brush in his hand and smiled at the other party: "It turned out that Huzi came, and he has been fortunate in the Northwest Army all these years." I've heard that you've done an excellent job with the 4th Cavalry Division. He shares weal and woe with ordinary soldiers, and is deeply loved by his subordinates. This is very good! Now that the Military Commission has decided to send troops to the Persian Gulf, I have decided to transfer you to the Chinese Expeditionary Force to command a cavalry division. ”

He was appointed by Chang Ruiqing as the commander of the cavalry division. also has to go abroad to make meritorious contributions, which makes Zhao Zongyang both happy and nervous, happy that he can finally be alone and can lead troops to fight, worried that his qualifications and education are not enough to serve as the head of a division, and he has not made any contributions, it turns out that being a deputy division commander has caused a lot of criticism, saying that he climbed up by relying on his sister's nepotism. Now that I have taken a step further as a division commander, there is even more gossip behind my back. In case something goes wrong in the division commander's appointment, it will be Chang Ruiqing's people who will be lost.

But he gladly accepted the appointment. Put a handwritten letter from Ma Qi on the table: "Chairman of the Committee, this is written to you by General Ma Gechen, and they are all words of loyalty. I see that he has suffered a lot over the years, and he is really afraid of us. It shouldn't be a bad idea to let him go to the Middle East. ”

Chang Ruiqing was not interested in Ma Qi's handwritten letter. He didn't believe that the leader of the notorious Ma Jiajun in history would be loyal to him, but he still planned to use the Ma family father and son to fight the world in the Middle East. "Huzi, do Ma Qi and his three sons have any thoughts on going to the Middle East for development?"

"Where there is any idea, all that is left is surprise." Zhao Zongyang laughed, a proud look appeared on his face. "They have been locked up in the desert for a few years, and they don't know that our country has become a world power under the leadership of the chairman! With our current national strength alone, these Hui sons will not dare to rebel! ”

Chang Ruiqing snorted and smiled, and beckoned towards Zhao Zongyang. Motioned for him to sit down and speak. "Huzi, I'll give you a thorough explanation. The Ma family father and son are likely to have a bright future after they arrive in the Middle East, and if they mix well, it is not certain to seize the country and claim the king, so you try to have a good relationship with them. By the way, the daughters of the Ma family are all good-looking, right? If you can see it, I'll be a matchmaker for you...... You're not young, it's time to marry a daughter-in-law and start a family. ”

Although he said vaguely, Zhao Zongyang knew very well that Chang Ruiqing wanted to marry the Ma family by himself, and after the Ma family's father and son arrived in the Middle East, they would definitely do something, and they would definitely not suffer a loss if they married them now! And he has seen several daughters of the Ma family, all of them can be regarded as flowers and jade (the people of the Qingma family are all good)! Thinking of this, he agreed to this family affair before quitting. But as soon as he opened the door of the office, he saw Wang Junhao, who had already extended his beard, walking in. Wang Junhao, who had been appointed commander of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, was soon to take up his post in Kuwait, and he grew his beard in order to appear more prestigious to the Arabs in the Middle East. Zhao Zongyang hurriedly saluted his immediate boss, and then hurriedly retreated. Vaguely, I heard Wang Junhao say: "Brother Yaoru, what is going on with this Muslim mercenary?" What exactly do you want from the Middle East? There was nothing but sand there. ”

Then Chang Ruiqing's voice came out: "Brother Jun Hao, don't worry, I know how to do things, there must be a lot of profit in the Persian Gulf, you just need to do what I tell you......"

……

At the same time that Chang Ruiqing was struggling to describe his Middle East policy to Wang Junhao, the Ma family father and son were visiting Nanjing City accompanied by Zhang Guotao.

Today's Nanjing has changed greatly compared to a few years ago, and the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, which spans the north and south of the Yangtze River, was completed and opened to traffic at the end of July this year. This is a dual-purpose bridge of railway and highway, which connects the Nanjing-Shanghai Railway and the Tianjin-Pudong Railway into the Tianjin-Shanghai Railway, which greatly improves the capacity of the entire railway and also promotes the development of the Jiangbei Pukou area.

At this time, Pukou was already one of the most important heavy industry bases in China, and when you look down from the Yangtze River Bridge in Nanjing, you will see factories lined with chimneys. As an industrial zone that the Nationalist Government has focused on since the establishment of the capital of Nanjing, Pukou has more than 10 large-scale heavy industry enterprises, including Nanjing Ma'anshan Iron and Steel Plant, Yongli Chemical General Plant, China Heavy Industry Pukou Tractor Automobile Manufacturing Plant and Central First Aircraft Factory, as well as hundreds of small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as four universities and more than a dozen junior colleges and technical schools. The annual output value of the entire Pukou Industrial Zone is as high as hundreds of millions of yuan, which is several times more than the city of Nanjing on the other side of the Yangtze River! At the same time, it also ranks firmly in the throne of the strongest economic county in Jiangsu Province.

"I didn't expect it, I really didn't expect that in just a few years, the country will be so strong!"

In a small courtyard belonging to the National Intelligence Agency, Ma Qi, who had just returned from a visit to Pukou, held a teacup with a surprised expression. Just muttered these words over and over again.

Zhang Guotao said: "Brother Gechen, Pukou is only one of the four major industrial zones in China today, and it is not the largest one. The scale of Shanghai Industrial Zone is several times larger than that of Pukou, and the output value is as high as billions of Chinese yuan! After waiting for a while, when the elder brother and son go abroad from Shanghai, they can still go and see. ”

"Going abroad? Director Zhang, what do you mean? Ma Qi was slightly stunned, as if he didn't quite understand Zhang Guotao's words.

Zhang Guotao glanced at Ma Qi and said with a faint smile: "It turns out that General Zhao didn't talk to you. Then I will explain it to the cabinet minister in detail. This time the British asked us to send troops to Persia to fight Lao Maozi, do the ministers and generals know? ”

"I know a little bit about it." Ma Qi said in a low voice.

Zhang Guotao said with a smile: "Of course the British can't ask us to help in vain, this time we will be paid for sending troops to the Persian Gulf to a small country called the Emirate of Kuwait." The country was originally a British protectorate, and now it has signed a protection agreement with us. And now the Arabian Peninsula is still divided by a group of powers, and the sheikh of Kuwait actually intends to chase the desert...... Therefore, the chairman of the committee wants to organize some Muslims in the northwest to help the sheikh of Kuwait fight the world! I wonder if the general has any plans to make a contribution in the Arabian Peninsula? ”

Ma Qi nodded slightly, but his face looked very solemn. He is a Muslim though. But nothing is known about the situation in the Arabian Peninsula. I don't know if the army there can fight, let alone how much oil and water there is on that territory? I only know that it was the territory of the Prophet Muhammad, and there are several holy cities, which were originally the territory of the Ottoman Empire, and then I don't know how they became the land of the British?

However, Ma Qi's hesitation did not last long, so he patted his chest and expressed his determination to Zhang Guotao. Although a trip to the Arabian Peninsula is uncertain, it's better than going back to that oasis in the Taklamakan Desert. He didn't want to live that day again!

Zhang Guotao said with a smile: "Since General Gechen intends to go to the Arabian Peninsula to make a career, it is easy to say." You will first recuperate in Nanjing for a period of time, and then the National Intelligence Agency will hold a training class after a while. The Arabic language and the general situation of the Arabian Peninsula are taught, as well as the tactics of the local armed forces, and the generals and the three princes can participate. In addition, if you have any powerful subordinates who want to recruit them back to the account, open a list and come out, and I will have someone to help you find them. Finally, there is the matter of recruiting troops, where do you want to use soldiers? Ganzhou soldiers or Xining soldiers? ”

……

Zhang Guotao's discussion with Ma Qi continued into the evening, and when he returned to the National Intelligence Agency building with a list of lists issued by Ma Qi, Chang Ruiyuan was sitting in the living room outside the director's office waiting for him. This Chang Erye has always been a member of Chang Ruiqing's intelligence system, and now he is the deputy director of the Intelligence Bureau, and he is Zhang Guotao's deputy. However, Zhang Guotao knew that the other party had a mission to monitor him, and he didn't dare to slack off when he saw Second Master Chang coming, so he raised his hand and smiled: "Second Mr. is here, do you have any orders from the chairman?" ”

Chang Ruiyuan smiled, took out an envelope from his pocket and handed it to Zhang Guotao: "Brother Kaiyin, this is my brother's warrant, from now on, all affairs related to Ma Jiajun will be taken over by me." As he spoke, he sighed again, shook his head, and said, "My brother himself is a hard worker, and he can't see me idle for a few days!" ”

Hearing Chang Ruiyuan's intention, Zhang Guotao laughed dryly, he knew that Chang Ruiqing didn't trust him very much and didn't want to let himself touch the gun. But thinking so in my heart, there was no half of it on my face: "I see, that relationship is good, brother has too many things here, and Mr. Two just helps me share one or two." ”

Chang Ruiqing curled the corners of his mouth slightly, how could he not understand the other party's thoughts, smiled and said: "Actually, the matter in the Persian Gulf was personally grasped by my eldest brother, and I was just a mouthpiece." To be honest, no one knows what kind of medicine is sold in his gourd, and it's the same as the Great Kanto Earthquake last time...... I can't care so much, anyway, what he says is what, I, who is a brother, will help pass the word. ”

Hearing him say this, Zhang Guotao also felt that it made sense, Chang Ruiqing sent troops to the Persian Gulf, and asked for the right to protect Kuwait as a reward, among the high-level figures in Nanjing, there were not many people who supported it, and everyone felt that there was not much oil and water in the Persian Gulf, and it was not worth taking the risk of fighting a full-scale war with the Soviet Union for that little profit. If it weren't for Chang Ruiqing's reputation being too high now, I'm afraid that this matter would be opposed by a crowd.

So Zhang Guotao immediately handed over to Chang Ruiyuan and handed over all matters related to Ma Jiajun. As soon as the matter was done, Chang Ruiyuan chatted with Zhang Guotao again, nodded and was about to leave, when a staff officer of the intelligence bureau hurriedly walked in with a telegram: "Director, deputy director, news from Siam, King Rama VI of Siam has just announced that he will abdicate to his little brother and is ready to go to Japan for exile by ship, and a Japanese light cruiser has gone to the port of Bangkok to pick up Rama VI!" ”

"What?" Hearing the news, Zhang Guotao jumped up, took the telegram and glanced at it twice, and shouted: "Damn little Japan, your hand is so long!" (To be continued.) )