After the completion of the National Defense Force's awards, in accordance with the instructions of the Ministry of National Defense and the General Staff Headquarters, a number of middle and high-ranking officers left the army and entered the senior class of the Jinan Military Academy for a three-month short-term study. The list has been reviewed and approved by Long Qian, with a total of 41 people, with the highest rank being a major general and the lowest being a lieutenant colonel.

These officers came from all major military regions, and before they went to Jinan for training, they all arrived in Beijing to be summoned and lectured by the president.

Brigadier General Cheng Jianguo, commander of the 2nd Brigade of the 6th Division, was one of them. On April 14, he came to Beijing with three officers trained in the 2nd Division, and Cheng Jianguo was very excited to see the president and his family soon.

The three officers in the same group were all lower in rank than Cheng Jianguo. For Brigade Commander Cheng, who had participated in the Battle of Xigu, they were not unconvinced. The Battle of Xigu was an extremely important foreign operation of the National Defense Force, and in terms of scale, it was nothing more than a field duel between more than 1,000 people. But its influence should not be underestimated. Participating in the bloody battle of Xigu has become a kind of qualification in the Wehrmacht, and most of the pillars of the Wehrmacht who have just been promoted to general and lieutenant general have participated in that battle.

But the three brigade-level officers (one deputy brigade commander and two regiment commanders) did not know that Cheng Jianguo was very familiar with the president.

When they attended the welcome banquet held for them in Xiyuan, Long Qian held Cheng Jianguo's hand and chatted about family life, Long Qian talked about the meeting with his father two months ago, criticized Cheng Jianguo for not letting his wife and children save his relatives, and asked him to go back to visit his parents after studying. Only then did the three colleagues know that Brigade Commander Cheng was very powerful.

And Cheng Jianguo also met his former comrades-in-arms, Brigadier General Yan Shulin, who is now the commander of the main brigade. The two happily talked about the scene of the ambush and capture of Kuaima Taosan back then. At that time, the two were just deputy squad leaders and soldiers. Now they have both entered the ranks of generals.

Long Qian set up a family banquet and invited several old subordinates back then, including Yan Shulin, Cheng Jianguo and Huang Jinhui. Yan Shulin is a native of Shanxi and is considered Longqian's hometown, while Huang Jinhui and Cheng Jianguo both joined the army in the old base area of Zhengjiazhuang and are very familiar with each other.

Long Qian asked in detail about the troops' equipment, training, and morale, and said to several old subordinates: You are the first batch, and the training of middle and high-ranking officers should become the norm. What is normality? It's commonplace. The equipment of the troops is being updated, and the tactics must also be updated in a timely manner. You should forget your duties and learn what the teacher teaches you like a real student. The war of the future will not be the same as it was in the past. Not only is it different from our war against Xigu and against Li Chun's encirclement and suppression, but it is also very different from the anti-Qing war of the year before. If you can't keep track of the latest tactics and adapt to the war mode with new equipment, you will definitely lose the battle. Therefore study with an open mind. Don't put on a show. Don't be presumptuous. You, the young brigadier generals and colonels, are the backbone of the Mengshan Army. has an immeasurable glorious future, cherish the honor, don't eat the old book. It is necessary to make new contributions. When you graduate, you may be given a new unit, a new unit, or a new unit, or you may be appointed to the headquarters. The transfer of the generals of the Wehrmacht must become the norm, and one person will always be unable to do well in one unit, and he must be able to do it from all over the world.

Long Qian took a group photo with several old subordinates, and also presented each of them with a set of books selected by him, so that they could read carefully and understand deeply.

The heated discussion over the awarding of the title of the National Defense Force has not yet ended, and the diplomatic turmoil with Japan has arisen again. At noon on April 17, the General Administration of National Security arrested a Japanese military attache named Matsumoto Seiichi and a Chinese he spoke with at the Six Nations Hotel, where foreigners gathered, and Matsumoto was forcibly taken away.

On the same day, Japanese Ambassador Hikoyoshi Ijiin went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to make representations, protesting against the secret police's brutal restrictions on the personal freedom of Japanese diplomats (Matsumoto is a military attache in China, with the rank of Junior Attaché), and demanding that the Chinese side immediately release Matsumoto and make a formal apology. Otherwise, the responsibility for triggering a dramatic change in Japan-China relations must be borne by the Chinese side.

The ambassador was received by Wang Zhengting, director of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Wang Zhengting did not know the truth of the matter (the State Security Administration did not know the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), so he did not dare to slack off, and immediately went to Xiyuan to find Tang Shaoyi, who was discussing at the Prime Minister's Office, and reported the situation.

Tang Shaoyi was very angry and immediately called the State Security Administration to ask why the Japanese with official diplomatic status were being detained. Jiang Yun did not answer the phone, and the call was answered by Han Ce, director of the Fifth Division (Counter-espionage Division) of the bureau headquarters, who said that the prisoner was being interrogated and that there was conclusive evidence.

Fang Shengyuan, who had been listening to the conversation between the two, scolded recklessly.

Tang Shaoyi thought that arresting other people's diplomats without conclusive evidence was not reckless, it was simply a provocation. Even if the military attache of the other side is involved in espionage activities, after all, they are official diplomats, and isn't the State Security Administration doing this to add to the diplomatic situation that has been opened up with great difficulty?

"Brother Shaochuan, please go back to the town immediately. This Jiang Yun simply doesn't take the government seriously. I'm going to Haiyan Hall to meet the president. We'll call and don't let the situation escalate. ”

Fang Shengyuan went to Haiyan Hall depressedly, and it happened that Jiang Yun was reporting to Long Qian. Seeing the premier come in, Jiang Yun reported from the beginning the case against the Japanese diplomatic attache for spying on our army's equipment, and Fang Shengyuan was taken aback, and the person who provided information to Matsumoto Shaozo was actually a secret spy controlled by the State Security Bureau, and his person was indeed an active officer of the Joint Logistics Headquarters, who was ordered by the head of the Joint Logistics Headquarters to cooperate with the work of the State Security Administration. Now, ironclad evidence of Japanese diplomats spying on our military intelligence has been mastered, and there are not only photographs of the two men jointed, but also a handwritten list of Matsumoto Shosa's requests for information.

Fang Shengyuan breathed a sigh of relief. Then I felt worried again. The General Administration of National Security is clearly playing a trap and setting a trap to trap the greedy Japanese.

"Minggao doesn't have to worry. The Republic of China was not a Manchu government, so they could not be unscrupulous. This matter can be handed over to Tang Shaoyi in accordance with diplomatic practice. Long Qian saw Fang Shengyuan's thoughts and sneered, "The Japanese can't sit still, they are worried about the rapid development of New China. If I hadn't beaten them, they would have thought I was Cixi. ”

"President, we need a peaceful environment for economic construction......

"Yes. However, the environment for peaceful development cannot be given by others. It must be fought for with artillery. I know that Japan's overall national power surpasses ours, but don't be afraid. It's not the year of Gengzi. The Japanese are very realistic, at least their politicians are very realistic, and they will never start a war because of a small diplomatic incident! They are riddled with foreign debts, and their lives are no better than ours. Moreover, you must understand that China is far superior to Japan in many aspects of population and resources, and the reason why it lost the First Sino-Japanese War was because of the lack of a strong central government that can perceive the situation and unite the will of the military and the people! Now it's a different story...... They knew very well that I could not help it at sea. But land warfare. Even if he pours the whole country's troops here, he may not be able to please him. ”

Sure enough, when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs presented the relevant evidence of Matsumoto Seiichi to the Japanese Embassy, the Japanese fell silent. Secret negotiations are unknown. On the evening of April 19. Matsumoto Kiyoichi was released after two and a half days in detention. He was immediately repatriated. Matsumoto Seiichi became the first diplomatic attache to be expelled for "engaging in affairs incompatible with his status."

The Matsumoto incident has further cooled Sino-Japanese relations, which were already cold. The ongoing commercial negotiations on crude oil exports were halted by the Chinese side. With the steady expansion of Shandong oilfields, China has a certain capacity to export crude oil. Japan, which is short of oil, naturally hopes to import oil nearby, which can save huge transportation costs. From the early spring of 1911. The Japanese government sent a business delegation led by the Ministry of Finance to China to discuss the purchase of oil. Japan hoped that China would use oil to offset the war reparations owed to Japan under the Treaty of Shimonoseki and Xincho, but the obstacle was mainly in price. However, due to the Matsumoto incident, the Chinese side terminated the negotiations.

Japan's ambassador to China, Hikoyoshi Ijiin, ended his mission as ambassador to China on April 26, and was replaced by another veteran diplomat, Gonsuke Hayashi. It is not known whether the change of ambassador to China was due to the impact of the Matsumoto incident. After returning to China, Ijiin Hikoyoshi submitted a secret report to the cabinet, giving a comprehensive account of the political, economic, and military situation of the new China. It can be regarded as a comprehensive diagnosis of New China.

Hikoyoshi believes that the Longqian Group has succeeded in stabilizing the economy with the help of special loans from the United States, and there has been no economic collapse expected by the empire. The smooth implementation of its currency reform and the successful listing of Xinhua Yuan are the most significant signs. The stability of the economy indicates that Longqian Group has truly taken control of the situation in China. All overt and potential opposition has collapsed. With the Mengshan Army's severe crackdown on bandits throughout the country, the open armed resistance was basically eliminated. It is estimated that no fewer than 100,000 people were killed. The power of the traditional gang guild party has been dealt an unprecedented blow, and even Hongmen, which has been in operation for no less than 200 years, has been banned.

At present, there is no force in China that is strong enough to pose a threat to the Mengshan junta. The only unrest arose from the Land Law, which was imposed by the Longqian clique to dispossess landlords of their land, and there were riots of varying scales in Zhili, Sichuan, Anhui, Fujian, and Zhejiang, where riots were being suppressed, with some officials dismissed from their posts and warnings for failing to enforce the Land Law...... The fact that the Mong Son junta dared to call for mid-term elections in parliament is a testament to its confidence in managing the situation.

On the economic front, the Mengshan military junta has developed ambitious plans for industrial and transportation revitalization, with Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, Taiyuan and Xi'an becoming new industrial hubs. With the help of DuPont, Rockefeller and other conglomerates, Fang Shengyuan obtained a loan of $50 million to purchase equipment and technology. It is worrying that the mining, steelmaking, coal mining, shipbuilding, pharmaceutical, power generation, petroleum refining, cement, chemical and electronics industries are in full bloom. As far as iron and steel is concerned, the total output of the two major bases in Yizhou and Hanyang has exceeded the level of 300,000 tons, and new large-scale iron and steel enterprises are being built in Shanxi, Liaoning and other provinces. Considering the vastness of China's vast territory and abundant resources, once its industrialization is successful, the presence of a strong central government will inevitably affect the strategy of the empire in Asia and even in the world.

Ijiin Hikoyoshi also devoted a large section of the article to describing the military industry of New China. It is also worrying to admit its achievements in the field of military manufacturing. The Chinese took advantage of the U.S. loan, and the Mongsan military junta received sufficient funds and technology to build its military industry. The government is spending a lot of money to upgrade the production capacity of Jinan's military industrial complex and build more military factories in Xi'an, Taiyuan, Wuhan and other cities. They were already able to make general army weapons, and their production and quality were steadily increasing. Beginning this year, the troops of its Northern Military Region and garrison began to be equipped with new rifles. This is a completely new rifle that significantly surpasses the active rifles of the Imperial Army. The artillery construction of the Mengshan Army also progressed rapidly. Artillery has been generally established in its main divisions, and the main divisions of the army in active service have been equipped with an artillery regiment with no less than 36 large-caliber guns. There are also small-caliber short-range artillery and a large number of mortars at the brigade and regimental levels. According to reliable sources, they also finalized a new heavy machine gun that was much lighter than the existing Maxim and made significant improvements to the performance of the original light machine gun. These weapons greatly increased the firepower of the army units of the Mengshan Army. The Army Attaché at the embassy believed that the Mengshan Corps-level firepower had reached or exceeded the Imperial Army Wing firepower system, and that progress was still ongoing. As its production capacity increases, more divisions will catch up with and approach its main army divisions, the 1st, 6th, and 9th divisions, in terms of equipment.

In addition to foreign aid, the rapid improvement of the military equipment of the Mengshan Army also relied on its own research institutes. The General Administration of Ordnance Industry set up by the Mengshan Military Government is a specialized institution to lead the research and manufacture of military equipment, and it is said that more than ten research institutes have been established! Some of the research results were valued by foreign armies (mainly the German army), and the specific situation could not be fully grasped.

With regard to the military aspect of New China, Ijiin Hikoyoshi believes that the Mengshan Military Government has not openly expanded its military at present. The size of its army remained at the level of 1909. Comparable in number to the Imperial Russo-Japanese War. But it is more than the current armament of the Empire. In particular, the achievements in the construction of its reserve forces are obvious. In the winter of 1910, the General Staff Headquarters organized winter drills for reserve units in the Northwest and Southeast Military Regions and awarded the participating units official names. It is estimated that in the event of a full-scale war, China could expand its army by ten divisions and sixty regiments within two months. The construction of its military academies guarantees a large demand for officers. At present, there are eleven military schools of different specialties and sizes. In addition to the army's two comprehensive military academies -- Jinan Military Academy, the Baoding Army Non-commissioned Officer School, and one naval officer school -- Fuzhou Naval Officer School. This year, they will also set up a Nanjing Army Military Academy in Nanjing, with the main goal of training junior officers. Besides. They have also set up specialized military academies for the navy, communications, aviation, and engineering troops. It is estimated that there are more than 10,000 students enrolled in the school. I have consulted with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defence about this, and I believe that such a large number of reserve officers is not needed to maintain the current size of the army. Apparently. The Mengshan military junta has plans to expand its army on a large scale. But the government of China categorically denied it.

It must be explained that the Mengshan Military Government has a strong sense of secrecy. It was becoming increasingly difficult for the empire and other powers to obtain military information about China. They set up a special counterintelligence agency, the General State Security Bureau, which is an efficient and professional intelligence agency born out of the Mengshan Military Intelligence Department, and is said to have thousands of internal personnel. The Reich does not currently have such a specialized agency. Matsumoto Seiichi was targeted by the agency. According to Italian friends, almost all expatriates in China are under surveillance by the State Security Administration. This is by no means sensational. In Beijing, there are fewer and fewer informants we have bought, and some of them have disappeared and are suspected of being secretly arrested. The other part of the people who are still in contact have evidence that they have been "rebelled" and have provided us with some false information that the government wants to reveal in order to deceive us. The empire should step up its intelligence efforts in China, establish a special agency, and budget more money to keep track of the movements of this ambitious junta.

In other areas, such as in the field of education and culture, the Mengshan military junta has vigorously built a large number of middle and higher professional colleges while strictly implementing the five-year compulsory education law. The purpose is to cultivate much-needed industrial construction talents. Generally speaking, the inland provinces, especially those with a more developed economic base, have carried out this work better, but the border provinces have done much worse. Beijing is already preparing to build a university for nationalities to recruit students from other Han Chinese, and its intentions are extremely far-reaching.

The Mengshan military junta's attention and investment in transportation is also huge. It has been reported that the government will set up several new ministries, from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to the Ministry of Water Resources, and from the Ministry of Industry to the Ministry of Railways and Mines. The establishment of the Ministry of Railways will undoubtedly promote the construction of the China Railway. At present, the Tianjin-Pudong Railway has been opened to traffic, the Guangdong-Hanzhou Railway, the Sichuan-Hankou Railway are under intense construction, and the Guangdong-Hanzhou Railway is expected to be opened to traffic at the end of the year. The Longhai Railway (Haizhou to Lanzhou), which is included in the planning of the Ministry of Communications, has basically completed the survey, and the eastern half (Haizhou to Zhengzhou) will officially start construction next year. In addition, a new line of the Beijing-Fengzhou Railway (Beijing-Zhangbei-Chengde-Mukden) has been planned, and Zhan Tianyou, a first-class railway expert in China, has been appointed as the commander-in-chief of the construction headquarters of the line. For this. China has launched a total of 35 million new yuan in railroad construction bonds, half of which were raised by Americans in the United States and the other half in China. The railways from Xi'an to Taiyuan and Taiyuan to Guisui have also been approved and are expected to be completed in 1914~1915. The construction of these railways will greatly enhance the economic and national defense strength of China. In order to build railways more quickly, China has already prepared for the formation of railway troops. According to the information already available, they plan to set up three railway divisions, one of which will be reorganized from the active army, and the other two will be newly built. However, no definite information has been released yet.

China's achievements in mining exploration are also remarkable. The Shandong oilfield is one example. It is said that another large oil field has been discovered in Nanzhili, but it has not yet been conclusively confirmed. In addition to oil, iron ore, copper ore, aluminum ore and even tungsten ore are constantly being discovered. A large tungsten mine has been confirmed in the south of Jiangxi, and its ore is mainly exported to Germany. The export of oil and other minerals has increasingly become an important source of income for the government and has been financed for transactions with Germany and Austria.

The Mongsan junta diplomatically leaned toward Germany and the United States. More mainly Germany. Behind the attraction of the United States for economic assistance to China is the comprehensive cooperation between China and Germany in the military field. In addition to the transfer of military technology to China, especially the technology of artillery, explosives, pyrotechnics, shipbuilding, etc. They have instructors in all major military schools in China. All were outstanding officers of the German army on active duty. Some of the Wehrmacht's special forces, such as artillery and engineering units, were staffed by German advisers, but the number was unknown. The all-round help of the German army was undoubtedly an important factor in the rapid increase in the strength of the Mengshan army. Anglo-French. In particular, France was deeply worried about this, fearing that the increase in China's military strength would pose a threat to the security of French colonies such as Annam. Recently, the French ambassador paid a special visit to me, hoping to achieve good cooperation with the empire in some respects, so as to limit the increase of China's military strength.

Thankfully, China made little progress in the navy, and after taking power, they only added one American-made 4,500-ton cruiser and two 2,100-ton training ships. There is uncertain information that the government of China has purchased German submarine technology and is building submarines, but it cannot be confirmed.

Ijiin Hikoyoshi concluded that the new government in Shina had been in place for a year and had actually been in power for more than a year and a half. In my personal opinion, the new government in China has the following characteristics: First, it is clean, and perhaps it depends on the effective supervision of the Ministry of Supervision (the Ministry has investigated and dealt with dozens of cases against middle- and high-ranking civil servants in Beijing alone in the past year). Perhaps as time goes on, the insurmountable disposition of the Shina people will once again gain the upper hand. But for now, it must be admitted that the Mongsan military junta has temporarily created a team of incorruptible civil servants. The second is high efficiency. Due to the extreme reduction of the number of central ministries, the new government in China did not operate as efficiently as the Manchu government. The third is the promotion of the legal system. The supreme leader of China obviously despised the traditional Confucianism and advocated the concept of legalism in governing the country, and the popularization and enforcement of the law were relatively strict, even some small matters that were not worth dealing with in the past were dealt with strictly, which brought the people's reverence for the law. The new government in China has been so successful in cracking down on drug abuse, prostitution, gambling, and so on, that in Beijing alone, at least thousands of people (some speculate more than 10,000) have been sent to Manchuria for violating the law. However, because it is the capital, the implementation is relatively thorough, but its domestic cities are still not up to Beijing's Cheng dù.

Personally, I believe that the most worrying thing is not the recovery of the economy, but the upswing of public sentiment in China. The Mongsan military junta spared no effort in carrying out propaganda aimed at liquidating the history of the empire, the so-called patriotic education. Some examples of battles in the history of the Mengshan Army were compiled into the unified teaching materials of the school. This is a trend that makes the youth of China proud to serve in the army, and the award of the title of the National Defense Force has further contributed to this atmosphere...... The Imperial Government must face up to the growing economic and military strength of China, which has become, and is increasingly becoming a formidable adversary of the Empire, and must be taken seriously by the Empire.

The report of the ambassador of Ijiin was submitted according to the channel, and it was not known to him what the Imperial Cabinet and the Ministry of War thought. As a diplomat, he did his part. (To be continued......)