"Baili, something strange happened." Zhang Xiaozhun broke into Jiang Fangzhen's house, and when he saw that he was the only one, he lowered his voice and said.

Jiang Fangzhen was concentrating on reading a booklet in his hand, "Hmm, Runnong." How did you get back? Jiang Fangzhen knew that Zhang Xiaozhun went to the survey site of the permanent military camp in Changchun, and returned to Jilin for some reason.

"I was sent back by Kong Biaotong." Zhang Xiaozhun snatched the thin booklet from Jiang Fangzhen's hand, "Did you hear what I said?" ”

"What strange happened?"

"A few days ago, a few strange merchants came, and they lived in the headquarters of the Qi Association, and Lord Lu was also in the Thirty-sixth Association at that time, they seemed to be unusual old friends, and they held a banquet in succession, and even the seventy-two standard Ding Biaotong rushed back. It's strange, what kind of merchant deserves so much attention from Lord Lu? ”

"Got the answer?" Jiang Fangzhen took back the book of "Infantry Artillery Coordination" that Zhang Xiaozhun was holding in his hand.

"Those people are from Shandong, and they have already left. I happened to see them as they were leaving. Kong Biaotong explained that he was Lord Lu's cousin, and I don't think it's that simple. ”

"Who do you think they are?"

"They're soldiers! And a military man with formal training! Even in civilian clothes, it is difficult to hide the temperament of a soldier. Zhang Xiaozhun recalled, "Also, they are from Shandong." I heard them speak, though I couldn't hear them clearly. ”

"What regular army does Shandong have?"

"You say they're from Fifth Town?"

"Of the eighteen towns, the fifth town has more people. Did you just find out? ”

"Who?" Zhang Xiaozhun became nervous.

"This tactical textbook, do you think you can make a beard? There are also those internal affairs regulations that are so numerous that they are even more detailed than those of the Japanese army. Can a beard be braided and strictly enforced? It's your sapper boss, do you think he's going to be from an average bearded background? ”

"Oh my God! You mean, most of the officers of the Eighteen Towns were sent by the Fifth Town? Oh, my God! Zhang Xiaozhun's face changed greatly.

"Runnong, how long have we been here?"

"It's been almost a month, right?"

"Thirty-five days. It took thirty-five days to discover this secret, and you really didn't do anything about intelligence. ”

"You've found out a long time ago?"

"Not really. I was only sure half a month ago. Jiang Fangzhen stood up, walked to the door and looked into the courtyard, "From the Lu Command below, Chief of Staff Lin." Deputy Chief of Staff of Shang. There are also Qi Xietong, all of whom are senior officers of the Fifth Town! Don't doubt that. Also, you didn't pay attention to their compilation? Chief of staff. Deputy Chief of Staff. There are no Beiyang armies. It seems that only Fifth Town has it. Moreover, the chief of staff has a particularly heavy authority and basically has the final say in the training and organization of the troops. As far as I know. The German Army is in this tradition. Shandong was the territory of the Germans, and the Fifth Town had more than one joint exercise with the Germans. Shandong arms, most of which came from Germany. I heard that there are many German instructors in the Shandong Wubei Academy. ”

Zhang Xiaozhun sat on the chair and thought for a moment, "My God, my God!" ”

"Right?" Jiang Fangzhen's expression was calm, "Actually, I found that they were not ordinary when I first came. At first I thought it was trained by the Russians, but later it turned out that it was not. A lot of their stuff can't match the Russians. The disciplinary rules, in particular, are the best and strictest I've ever seen, have you noticed? Their superiors and subordinates are extremely distinct, and their names are very formal, which is by no means something that the bearded team can have, let alone the level of training, to say that those officers have not received formal training, I don't believe it. ”

"But, but ......"

"You're saying that this team appeared before the Russo-Japanese War? Right? Why can't the fifth town of Shandong send troops out of the customs before the war between Japan and Russia? ”

"This is a bureau that Long Qian has set up a long time ago?"

"The court underestimated that Admiral Dragon...... It's really the strongest of the strong, and I can't imagine the domestic hidden dragon and crouching tiger...... Interesting, right? ”

"Long Qian led the fifth town south to suppress, Songpo didn't say ......" A few days ago, they received a letter from their old classmate Cai Yi from Nanchang.

Looking at Zhang Xiaozhun's puzzled expression, Jiang Fangzhen said affirmatively, "Don't think about it. Long Qian is by no means a member of your Alliance. Otherwise, Mr. Sun still needs to spend so much effort? Hunan and Jiangxi will not fail quickly. ”

Zhang Xiaozhun joined the League in Tokyo and did not hide it from Jiang Fangzhen. But Chiang did not seem to be interested in politics at all, he was only interested in military issues.

"Another ill-intentioned hero! Such a deep strategy, a far-reaching layout, Yuan Shikai, hehe, Yuan Shikai ......"

"Qin lost his deer, and the world chased him. What's so strange about that? However, since they are from the Fifth Town, your ambition is probably more difficult. Jiang Fangzhen smiled. He knew that Zhang Xiaozhun's purpose was to lead the troops and strive to master an army. Accepting Tang Shaoyi's invitation to join Tang outside the border is to have this intention. Because they inquired, the strongest Beiyang department in China just couldn't accommodate them as Japanese academy students. originally wanted to go to Wuchang to seek refuge in the eighth town of Zhangzhidong, where it was easier to stay in Japan, but received an enthusiastic invitation from Tang Shaoyi. The two broke up with Cai Ye and came to join the army outside the border.

The whole army in Fengtian was still without eyebrows, so that the Japanese suffered a big loss, and for a time the Manchurian infantry division outside the famous earthquake pass was incorporated by the imperial court into the eighteenth town of the new army, and they were sent to Jilin with seven other Beiyang officers. Jiang Fangzhen was curious about Jilin, an army that had suffered huge losses for the Japanese army, and wanted to see what was going on, while Zhang Xiaozhen felt that coming to Eighteen Towns might be closer to his goal.

"So, we people are not allowed to lead troops at all, we can only be staff officers?"

"Yes, yes. However, people also use it according to the measure. If you learn to be a sapper, people will let you work as a sapper. ”

"No wonder Cai Ye said that the fifth town is the best soldier in the world, and there are few opponents in China......" Zhang Xiaozhun muttered.

Jiang Fangzhen understood Zhang Xiaozhun's words. What he meant was that the Fifth Town sent a group of officers to pull up a team outside the pass, and the Japanese could be beaten all over the place, and it can be speculated how strong the Fifth Town headquarters should be. The Japanese army, the Japanese army defeated the Russian army......

"Do you regret that you didn't go to Shandong in the first place?"

Zhang Xiaozhun didn't say anything.

"Runnong, listen to me." Jiang Fangzhen stood up. Pacing on the ground, "Your ideal is to oppose the Qing Dynasty, Long Qian is by no means a loyal minister of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and you have almost the same position on this point." The eighteen towns are suppressing bandits and reassuring the people in Jihei and Hei provinces, and they are also doing things that benefit the country and the people, so we might as well stay in the eighteen towns. Don't think about walking away just yet. ”

"Oh, you're not going to study in Germany?" Zhang Xiaozhun knew that Jiang Fangzhen had been planning to go to Germany to study the army.

"Not for now."

"You say, what kind of calculation did Long Qian make?"

"It's definitely not for the Manchus."

But why did he lead his army to suppress the uprising? Isn't this cannibalism? If ......"

"What if? According to Shandong, raise the flag to rebel? Accept the leadership of the League? What kind of seats will your alliance give to people? Let Mr. Sun give up the prime minister? Jiang Fangzhen said. Now everything is clear. As long as you have a little brain, you can see it very clearly. The court's suspicion of that Lord Long was not under Yuan Shikai. This side received Yuan Weiting's military power, and there borrowed a knife to kill people and diverted the tiger from the mountain. The fifth town was transferred out of Shandong. Look at it. Next. The imperial court will inevitably take action against Shandong. It is said that Shandong has money and arms, and the imperial court has long coveted it. ”

"Then you say, Long Qian made this eighteen towns. What is the purpose? ”

"It's simple. If the Eighteen Towns go south to support Shandong, can Fengtian stop it? Fengtian fell, did the Beiyang Army in Zhili dare to go south with the whole army? In fact, the stay of the Eighteen Towns in Beiman is a deterrent, as long as they show their identities, the imperial court, or Beiyang will have scruples. ”

Zhang Xiaozhun thought about it and nodded involuntarily. Military science pays attention to the wonderful use of "momentum", and sometimes the momentum is more intimidating than the action. Moreover, the eighteen towns are going south, and the soldiers and horses of Fengtian cannot stop them. Zhang Xiaozhun has been in Fengtian for more than a year, and he is very clear about this, "Could it be that Long Qian saw this four years ago or earlier?" ”

"Then you have to ask Long Qian."

"Long Qian's suppression of the uprising is already the sworn enemy of our alliance. Mr. Sun has been plotting in the south for a long time, and now the fifth town is located in Jiangxi, one step away from Liangguang...... No, I have to go back to Japan. "Zhang Xiaozhun is a native of Hunan and a fellow villager of Cai Yi. Thanks to the efforts of Huang Xing, Liu Kuiyi, Song Jiaoren, and others, Hunan's anti-Qing forces have risen sharply. Now, however, there is an elite army squatting at the gate of Hunan and killing the revolutionary party...... The more Zhang Xiaozhun thought about it, the more he was not headed.

"Forget it. Sun Wen is not in Japan, Huang Xing has already learned the news, and he still needs you to report? What did you get when you went to Japan? "Jiang Fangzhen wanted to say that he was not optimistic that your alliance would be able to overthrow the Manchu Qing at all, but he never said this.

Almost everyone who has studied abroad is extremely disgusted with the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Jiang Fangzhen is no exception, but he is not optimistic about those who are hiding abroad and shouting big words in the League. The Manchu Qing Dynasty lost power and humiliated the country, and had already lost the hearts of the people. What Jiang Fangzhen hoped for was the establishment of a new unified country, and he himself would devote his whole life to the cause of national defense in New China.

"You say, the secrets of the Eighteen Towns, is it true that the imperial court knows nothing?"

"At least now I don't see any signs of them being aware. Otherwise, what would Liangbi do? I always felt that a town of army had been incorporated out of thin air, but I didn't expect to raise tigers, which was ridiculous to the extreme. ”

"Are you sure that Eighteen Towns will raise the flag of rebellion?"

"Is this still suspicious? As long as the identity of those people is confirmed. It's a matter of ironclad. ”

"When?"

"Hey, Runnong, are you in the wrong head? Does this need to be asked? They're going to have to wait for instructions from outside the customs. ”

"Long Qian's subordinates are only the soldiers of one town, and the strength of the eighteen towns is not inferior to the fifth town, right? Long Qian is at ease here? The emperor is far away, and even the imperial court can oppose it, so he is not afraid that these subordinates will have two hearts? ”

"That's a good question." Jiang Fangzhen sat back in place and pondered for a moment, "Runnong, I can see something in the staff that you can't see. The Deputy Chief of Staff also trusted me. The roster of officers is very detailed, do you know how many people are from Shandong? Hundreds! Almost all the officers above the platoon commander level are from Shandong. ”

"They are all from the fifth town of Shandong?"

"Nine times out of ten, yes. There are many ancestors of the Han people in the Kwantung region of Shandong, but the accents have changed. If you pay attention to the accent of the officer in the Eighteen Towns, you can see it. With so many subordinates sent over, it was much more difficult for the surnamed Lu to stand on his own. However, this matter is very strange, since Shandong is rich, how can these officers be willing to come to fight the world outside the border? This is enough to show that Long Qian has extremely strong control over his troops......"

"Brother Baili, you really should go and get intelligence."

"You can see it with a little bit of care, and it's not a complicated and mysterious thing. You just didn't pierce the window paper. Jiang Fangzhen smiled bitterly, "Seriously, I really underestimated the domestic heroes before." Long Qian actually adopted the strategy of uniting with Russia to resist Japan, which ordinary people really can't do. If they were on the wrong side, these people sent by Long Qian would never get to this step! You can't imagine how many weapons they got from Lao Maozi, the Japanese left them behind, hid in the treasury and watched tightly, robbed openly and secretly, and got more guns and ammunition from the Russians! Anyway, the Russians are all losers, and they withdraw their troops to save trouble, and even sell them on behalf of them, which is cheaper for this land commander. ”

"Well, you're the best at the big picture. You speculate, what is Long Qian's plan? ”

"Judging from the division of troops and training in the Eighteen Towns, Long Qian has no plans for the time being. Estimates are waiting for the right moment. Hehe, it's enough to hold your breath. If you are an ordinary person, you will never lead the army to leave Shandong. However, people probably have a perfect plan, and they don't worry about the safety of Shandong Laowo at all. When the eighteen towns began to assemble, there would be a big move in the pass. ”

"Long Qian wants to be the emperor?"

"Ha Lu Ha. I advise you to take refuge in him as soon as possible, and it would be good to change to a minister from the dragon. With my brother's ability, it shouldn't be difficult to be an assistant, right? Jiang Fangzhen seemed to think of something ridiculous, and laughed on his back.

"What are you doing here? It's hard for me to find. Kong Xiangan, the commander of the sapper standard, pushed the door in and shouted to Zhang Xiaozhun. To Zhang Xiaozhun's ears, Kong Biaotong's Shandong accent was so harsh. (To be continued......)