On the morning of the next day, Long Qian listened to the reports of Lu Shan, Deng Qinghua, Shi Dashou, and Shang Fengchun on the military strength, garrison, and generals of various units in the reception room on the ground floor of the Haiyan Hall where he lived.

The Mengshan Army was on three fronts, and Long Qian was the most unfamiliar with the Northern Army. At the beginning, six batches of selected backbones were sent out of the customs, and now they have developed into a strong army of three divisions and one brigade (including Zhang Zuolin's 21st Division), and the original battalion commander and company commander are now brigade commanders and regiment commanders. Long Qian was extremely interested in the development of the Northern Army. Before, it was only a fragment report from the intelligence department, and it was last year that there was radio, so he asked Lu Shan to talk in detail about the development process of the Northern Army. So, Lu Shan started from going out of the customs six years ago, to connecting with Fengtian Station, Tian Shubang, Wang Yuechan and his wife, all the way to the present.

"Good, very good." Long Qian praised, "In terms of creativity, the Northern Army should be the first. You've achieved my best vision, no, better than my most optimistic outcome. The history of the Mengshan Army will be engraved with your great names, and the Mengshan Army has captured the world, and the three have made great contributions. ”

"This is all the commander wise," Lu Shan said with a smile, "When I first arrived outside the Guan, the people hated Lao Maozi so much, and even looked forward to the little Oriental devils sending troops to drive Lao Maozi away." Everyone, including me, was very skeptical of the commander's strategy of uniting with Russia to resist Japan, and always felt that it was the opposite. Fortunately, we resolutely followed the method explained by the commander. Since we got on the line with Lao Maozi, we have been relatively smooth. After the battle of Mukden, we retreated to Beiman, and the troops entered orbit. Think about it in the first place, if we were on the wrong side. It is absolutely impossible to occupy North Manchuria. ”

"The strategy is one thing, the key is that you do a good job. Beiman's beard is very famous, and it is not easy for you to sweep almost it. Long Qian praised.

"In fact, it is for the purpose of training. After fighting bandits for two or three years, the team has been trained, and the people have also been won over. Although the bearded men have these mountain rules and regulations, most of them are still harmful to the people, and we are determined to suppress the bandits, and we have won the support of the people and the Russian army. After beating the beard. The team was formed. ”

"Yes, yes. At all times, enlisting the support of the people is fundamental to winning a war, and you have done a good job of this. By the way, how is your equipment at the moment? Long Qian asked.

"The equipment is miscellaneous. Mainly Russian. The silver that the commander received. Most of them were spent buying weapons from the Russians. Russian troops withdrew to the country. A large number of weapons were sold to us at a discount, especially bullets, which they were reluctant to bring. There are also some Japanese-style. Mainly in Ding Xiaofu's 29th Brigade, his brigade is basically Japanese-style weapons. ”

"Shen Danbao made a fortune, right?" Long Qian asked with a smile.

"Yes. The guns and artillery captured by Shendanbao are still secondary, mainly because a large number of war horses were fished. The Japanese are all petty horses, but their horses are really good, taller than the so-called Don hippos of the Russian army, and their endurance is good. The year before last, Tsinghua University strongly established two military horse farms, one in Heilongjiang and one in Jilin, and there are currently about 6,000 horses raised in the military horse farm. ”

"Good, very shrewd. And what about artillery? I read your telegrams, there are a lot of cannons? ”

"It's all seized and bought. Before the Battle of Shendanbao, the Russian army gave us a few cannons, and later captured Shendanbao, and the captured Japanese artillery The Russian army complied with the agreement and did not ask for it, and left it all to us, enriching Huang Jinhui's artillery regiment, which is regarded as having heavy weapons. Basically no artillery was needed to suppress the bandits, and when the Russians withdrew, we bought and secretly stole them, and got 27 ...... from the Russians."

"Wait, steal? What do you mean? ”

"The Russians lost the battle, the chaos was very large, we assisted them to withdraw north to Jilin, and bought some at a low price along the way, the Russians were all losers, they just thought about going home, and the officials collected the money, and said that the cannon was broken and could not be moved, and the above did not care." Shi Dashou explained.

"Ha Luha, you can imagine it." Long Qian nodded, "What is the current deployment of the Northern Army?" ”

"That's right. The headquarters of the Northern Army is here, and two brigades are stationed in the city, namely Xiong Xun's 25th Brigade and Cheng Erhu's 28th Brigade, and the rest are outside the city. Among them, the 10th Division led Ding Xiaofu's 29th Brigade to Yangcun, Deping's 26th Brigade to Xianghe, and Jiang Cunxian's cavalry brigade to Fengtai. ”

"What is the full force rate?"

"Fortunately, in addition to the cavalry brigade, the 25th and 28th brigades participated in the Jinzhou Campaign, and the rest of the troops basically did not lose. After the war, it was replenished with prisoners, and now Lao Chiang's cavalry brigade has not yet been completely full, and the rest are at full capacity. By the way, the remnants of the Sixth Town brought back by Duan Qirui and the troops of the First Mixed Association are also under my control, and they are currently being trained in Xianghe, and Deping is grasping this matter, and Deping suggested that two more brigades be expanded, so that the 9th and 10th divisions will be organized into three brigade masters, and this matter will be decided by the commander. I suggest that at least one division be transferred back to Guanwai, and it is enough to leave one division in the Gyeonggi area at present. ”

"Well, well, we're going to study the reorganization of the whole army soon. Your opinion is very good, and the customs are very important. Long Qian seemed to be a little distracted.

"Exactly. Lao Tian sent back a piece of information, presumably the commander had already seen it, and Outer Mongolia was in chaos. Lu Shan changed the subject.

Long Qian's face sank, "Yes." It really doesn't give us a chance to breathe. These traitors and traitors in Outer Mongolia saw that we were busy with the civil war and that the Qing court had also fallen, so they took the opportunity to become independent. This is a big deal, and you just recognize the harm. In a word, the Mengshan Army will now be transferred to the position of the National Defense Force, and Outer Mongolia must be managed, and it must be fast! However, it must be kept absolutely confidential and not allowed to be disseminated. ”

On September 18, 1909, Outer Mongolia declared independence, and on October 1, a declaration of independence was issued, establishing the Great Mongolian State with the Living Buddha Jebtsundan as the emperor. The Tsarist Empire, which single-handedly planned the independence of Outer Mongolia, was immediately recognized.

Both the Outer Mongolian princes and Russia believed that this was the best time to pursue independence.

The Qing system, generally known as the south of the Hanhai Sea or the south of the desert is Inner Mongolia, that is, Neizasak Mongolia. In terms of geography, it is bordered by Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces in the east, Alxa Erlut Mongolia in the west, Shaanxi, Shanxi and Chahar Eight Banners in the south, and Khalkha Mongolia in the north. Inner Mongolia has 24 tribes, forming six alliances. They are the Jerim League. Zhuo Suotu League, Zhao Wuda League, Xilin Gol League, Ulanqab League and Yikezhao League. In the Qing Dynasty, all the leagues were supervised and governed by local commanders and generals.

The Outer Zasak Mongolia is the opposite of Inner Mongolia. The Qing system, generally known as the north of Hanhai or the north of the desert for Outer Mongolia, Outer Mongolia is also known as Khalkha Mongolia, initially divided into three parts, namely the Chechen Khan, the Tushetu Khan and the Zasaktu Khan. During the Yongzheng period, the Sainnoyan Department was added. In addition, there are Dzungaria, Heshute, Dulbert and Turgot, Huite, Alxa, Erut, Erjina, Qinghai Mongolia.

The feudal lords of Mongolia were based on the feudal ranks and titles of the Qing Dynasty. It is divided into princes, county kings, bailes, beizi, zhenguo dukes and auxiliary dukes. There are also 1st to 4th class taiji or tabu sacs. These feudal nobles are in high positions, some are the head of the league, the deputy head of the league, and some are the banner Zasak. That is, the length of a flag. This part of the people can be called the princes of the banner. The office of Zasak. From the prince to Taiji, he can hold office, and it is hereditary. Those who do not hold public office are called princes who are not in charge of the banner. Although also aristocratic. But the treatment is different from that of the prince of the banner.

In addition, the upper echelons of the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism (i.e., the Yellow Sect) were also an important ruling force in Mongolia. Outer Mongolia is represented by Jebtsundamba Hutuktu, and Inner Mongolia is represented by Zhangjia Hutuketu as the religious leader. The Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama are the supreme leaders of the Yellow Sect. Each living Buddha and monastery have a large amount of land and pasture under their names, because nearly half of the male population in Mongolia are monks, and none of the princes and nobles do not believe in the Yellow Religion, so the influence of the religious upper class is very strong, and the Qing Dynasty emperor usually adopts canonization, reward, tax exemption and other privileges to control them, and strengthen the rule of Mongolia from the religious aspect.

There is also a special territory in the northwest of Outer Mongolia, namely the Tangnu Ulianghai. The Russian name is Tangnu Ova, located in the northwest of Outer Mongolia, north to the Sayan Mountains, south to the Tangnu Mountains, is a basin surrounded by mountains, an area of 170,000 square kilometers, with a population of about 50,000 in 1912.

In the Tang Dynasty, the Tangnu Ulianghai was the capital of the Tang Dynasty, under the jurisdiction of the Anbei Metropolitan Protectorate, and was officially incorporated into the Chinese territory, and later under the jurisdiction of the Uighur Khanate. The Northern Song Dynasty was under the jurisdiction of another frontier ethnic regime, the Southern Song Dynasty belonged to the Western Liao, called Qianqian Prefecture, and the Yuan Dynasty belonged to Lingbei Province. Called Yilanzhou, the Ming Dynasty belonged to the Mongolian Warat Department, at the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the Tangnu Wulianghai area belonged to the Khalkha Mongolian Zasaktu Khan Department and the head of the Tohuit Chieftain, and was its permanent place. In 1655, the Qing Dynasty canonized the Khalkha Mongol Zasaktu Khan and the leader of the Tohuit Omburdeni as the Zasak (lord), and the Tangnu-Ulianghai region was naturally included in the territory of the Qing Dynasty. According to the provisions of the Treaty of Brischi in 1727, China and Russia were bounded here by the Western Sayan Mountains. The Qing government set up 5 banners and 46 leaders in this place, which were under the jurisdiction of General Uriya Sutai.

From the 17th century, Tsarist Russia attempted to annex the Tangnu-Ulianghai region, but until the mid-19th century, as the Qing Dynasty still appeared to be strong, Tsarist Russia was unable to succeed.

In 1860, due to China's defeat in the Second Opium War, Tsarist Russia forced the Qing Dynasty to sign the Sino-Russian Treaty of Beijing in the name of mediation, confirming its annexation of more than 1 million square kilometers of territory north of the Heilongjiang River and east of the Ussuri River.

On October 7, 1864, Tsarist Russia forced China to sign the Treaty of the Northwest Boundary between China and Russia, and occupied 440,000 square kilometers of territory in Xinjiang and Outer Mongolia in northwest China through deception, intimidation, and armed occupation.

In 1909, the domestic anti-Qing war broke out, and the princes of Outer Mongolia, who had long been coerced and lured by Tsarist Russia, took the opportunity to declare independence and establish themselves as Great Mongolia.

"For quite some time, we were faced with Tsarist Russia and Japan. Keep that in mind. The areas that were in direct conflict with Tsarist Russia and Japan were in the north, that is, the areas under the jurisdiction of the Northern Military Region that we had planned to set up: Mukden, Jilin, Heilongjiang, and Inner and Outer Mongolia. Now it seems that we have to react to the incident in Outer Mongolia......" Long Qian stood up and walked to the map, "Send an elite cavalry force, carrying enough food and grass, to attack Outer Mongolia, use thunderous means, defeat the separatists in one fell swoop, and take back Outer Mongolia, and even Tangnu Wulianghai for me!" ”

"Yes, leave this task to me," Lu Shan's eyes lit up, "I knew that Commander Lu Dao would do this!" ”

"Well, there are many cavalry in the Northern Army, and the troops are adapted to fighting in cold areas, as for who will be in charge, I will think about it again. What does Feng Chun have to say? Long Qian looked at Shang Fengchun and stopped talking.

"There are few soldiers in Outer Mongolia!" Shang Fengchun stood up, "I'm worried about the reaction of Tsarist Russia, to be honest, seeing the scale of the Russo-Japanese War, I really don't think we have the strength to start a full-scale war with Tsarist Russia." ”

"Well," Long Qian raised his hand to stop Lu Shan's speech, he knew what Lu Shan was going to say, "Feng Chun calmly judged that the strength comparison was right, and Lu Shan's proposal to send troops to quell the rebellion was also right. In this way, Feng Chun, you are the deputy chief of staff of the Northern Army, compared to the study of the internal and external environment of Tsarist Russia, you will take the lead and find a group of people to do a special analysis of Tsarist Russia, and see if it is possible for it to start a full-scale war against us due to the Outer Mongolia incident? Time, ten days! I'll hear from you in ten days. Isn't Tang Shaoyi in Beijing? You can ask him for his opinion and say that I gave it to you. Lu Shan was responsible for the troops, routes and logistics supply of the troops sent to Outer Mongolia. When the time comes, we will decide on a special topic. However, since we are in the position we are in today, we must take responsibility for history! It is necessary to safeguard the territorial integrity of the country! Even if there is a full-scale war with Tsarist Russia, Outer Mongolia must be taken back! If you don't do this now, it will be even more difficult in the future! In fact, most things in the world are like this, when the sprouts occur, it is easy to deal with, and when the seedlings grow into big trees, there will be more trouble. That's all for today, I still want to meet Shi Jun. By the way, I will give you a task to organize personnel to write out the history of the development of the Northern Army in the past few years, which is a part of the military history of our Mengshan Army, a very important part. It is also necessary to write about the important battles that have taken place in recent years. I am going to hold a seminar at an appropriate time, and the three armed forces will talk about their respective gains and losses, especially their lessons, which will be our precious wealth. In the afternoon, there will be a large-scale meeting to study the issue of the reorganization of the whole army, and you will all participate. Long Qian ended the small-scale meeting. (To be continued......)