On the afternoon of the first day of the new year, Jiang Yun returned to Tongzhou, joined his "guards", stayed in Tongzhou for a night, and set off for Jilin on the second day, which was a month and a half. He first went to Fengtian to meet his deputies, Tian Shubang and Wang Yuechan, the head of the Fengtian Intelligence Station, listened to the overall report on the situation in the eastern part of the Kwantung region and the situation in the eighteen towns, and continued to go north accompanied by Tian Shubang, and came to the headquarters of the 36th Association of the 18th Town of the Changchun Hall on the 19th day of the second lunar month, where Lu Shan and the chief of staff Deng Qinghua happened to be.

At this time, Shandong is already the beginning of the sprouts, and the north is still a land of ice and snow.

"Ah, it's really you!" Seeing clearly that it was really Jiang Yun, Lu Shan ignored Tian Shubang, picked up Jiang Yun and turned around a few times, "Ha Luha, it's really you kid!" I want to die! There was irrepressible excitement in his tone.

The Sentinel's demeanor surprised the sentinels standing guard, who did not know the origin of these men who looked like merchants in bloated leather robes.

Deng Qinghua, who came out with Lu Shan, was also covered with water vapor in his eyes.

"Go back, go back and say, ah," Jiang Yun shouted, "Lu Datong, you have to break my bones." ”

"Okay, go back and say. Tsinghua, arrange a banquet, stew all the game that we hunted in the first two days, and let's have a drink at noon. In addition, call all the old brothers who can come here, and say that someone from their hometown is coming. ”

Lu Shan led the first batch of elites out of the customs to leave Shandong in the autumn of the 29th year of Guangxu (1903), only a finger counted, it has been three and a half years, between the headquarters sent several groups of personnel reinforcements, but they were all sent to Lu Shan's subordinates, the real "Qin Mission" is the first time to come to Kanto.

"Xiao Jiangyun, what's going on over there with the commander? At home, okay? "Back to Lushan's room. Lu Shan asked impatiently.

"Brother Lu Shan, when you ask the family, are you asking your sister-in-law and my eldest nephew?" Jiang Yun said with a grin.

In the second year of Lushan's exit, after the "Bailing Detachment" finished the Battle of Fengtian, Long Qian considered sending Li Wenxiu's mother and son to reunite with Lushan outside the pass. Similarly, Cheng Erhu, Xiong Xun, Sheng Guang and others also have this problem. However, Lu Shan replied that the situation outside the border was tense and the troops moved three times a day, so it was not suitable to send family members. Later, other factors were considered. That's it.

"Hey, hey. You kid is out of luck, dare to make fun of your old brother. Of course, what I am asking about is our hometown in Shandong, our old territory. Lu Shan smiled.

As he spoke, a crowd poured into the crowd outside. They are all the "old men" of the Mengshan Army who heard that Jiang Yun was coming. At the time of greeting with affectionate hugs. Jiang Yun noticed that their clothes were all dark blue thick woolen coats, obviously from Lao Maozi.

"Yes, just listening to the news from Lao Tian is always separated by a layer. Tell me, how is our hometown? "Nonsense.

"Brother Lu, brothers, everything is fine in Shandong, and so is the commander. You can't imagine how much has changed. Well, let's talk about it slowly. If you want to talk about it, you can't finish it in a day and a night. Before the commander led the main force of our Mengshan Army to the south, he decided to send me to take a trip outside the pass. Oh, this is a handwritten letter from the commander to you, written a long time ago. After the commander went south, he was worried that the imperial court would use force against our Shandong, so I stayed for a while, and I was sure that the imperial court had no intention of sending troops to Shandong for the time being, so I asked Commander Ning to come and visit your big brothers. Jiang Yun tore open the mezzanine of his underwear and took out a well-sealed letter from it, "It's for you." He handed the letter to Lu Shan.

In front of Deng Qinghua, chief of staff of the 18th Town, Cheng Erhu, commander of the 36th Association, Xiong Xun, deputy assistant commander of the 36th Association and commander of the 71st standard, and Tian Shubang, Lu Shan tore up Long Qian's letter and carefully read Long Qian's letter.

"What did the commander say?" Xiong Xun couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, the commander compliments us on a job well done! The commander was thinking about everyone, everyone asked, you see, no secrets. Lu Shan handed the letter to Deng Qinghua.

"After the news that the commander led his troops south came from Laotian, everyone was also worried about the safety of Shandong. After all, Ning Shijun and Ye Yanbing are all recruits in their hands, and they have not been tested by the fire. The brothers are clamoring to return to Shandong. Lu Shan recalled.

"There was a plan at home for you to make a gesture to the south to attract the Beiyang Army to go north to strengthen the defense of Shanhaiguan, but the commander did not agree. Now it seems that the commander's vision is still accurate. However, the family really didn't expect you to make such a big situation outside the gate, it's really good! Jiang Yun rubbed his hands excitedly.

"When we got out of customs, we didn't expect to be today. It was all the clever strategy given by the commander who took advantage of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of the Russo-Japanese War. Otherwise, it's not bad to pull up a thousand poles at most now, and it's a fart? Lu Shan sorted out his thoughts, "A few days ago, the War Department sent a guy named Liangbi to inspect and grant us the number of the eighteenth town of the Army, which is directly under the jurisdiction of the War Department. Bah! He's got a fart! Ha Lu Ha. Now Deping, Sheng Guang and others took the 35th Association to Heilongjiang, and the rest of the old brothers are here, and Shang Fengchun stays in Jilin, you will all see it. ”

"It's a nice job." Jiang Yun said, "The commander doesn't know how many times he has said that you have exceeded his best expectations. After the Battle of Heigoutai, the commander was extremely worried, for fear of losing his old brother! God willing, the brothers that the commander is concerned about are all in good condition. That's great! By the way, I heard that Little Japan has also sent people to assassinate you? ”

"It's all about the support of my hometown in Shandong." A contemplative look appeared on Lu Shan's face, "Several batches of people and horses sent are all good, supporting the table of the eighteen towns. It would be better if there were two hundred more people, by the way, Lao Tian, did you receive the letter? After the completion of the reorganization of the 18 towns, Lu Shan, together with Fan Deping, Deng Qinghua, Cheng Erhu, and Shang Fengchun, jointly asked Shandong for instructions, requesting that 200 to 300 more military academy graduates be sent over, especially officers who were studying engineering, artillery, and baggage troops.

"Received, it's been transferred back to Shandong." Tian Shubang put down the tea bowl and said.

"As for the assassination of the little Japanese, it is not worth mentioning, several killers have been killed. Fuck, the Japanese radish head is so tenacious that I haven't caught a single one alive. ”

"How do you know that Lu Michi is Japanese?"

"Hehe," Xiong Xun smiled, "just that lap legs, do you still need to ask?" ”

"Be careful, you've made little Japan suffer a big loss. It is said that Akiyama is very famous in Japan. His funeral was extremely solemn. Even the royal family sent people to participate. Can little Japan swallow that breath? The commander repeatedly reminded to strengthen security protection. Jiang Yun said solemnly, "Let's go back to the topic just now." I know your letter. However, there will be no more large numbers of personnel sent out of the customs in the future," Jiang Yun said in a low voice, "You are not pure here, the commander has clear instructions, and the relationship between the Eighteen Towns and Shandong should be kept secret for as long as possible." A large number of officers came, and they could no longer cover people's eyes and ears. Moreover, the commander believes. For the next period of time. The situation in the customs will be even more tense, and after the main force leaves Shandong, Shandong urgently needs a large number of officers to enrich and train new troops, so. I won't be transferring people for the time being. It's up to you...... That's right. How many people did Mukden send over? What is your role? ”

"I didn't give them any positions, most of them were staff officers, where can I let them lead the troops? There are two people who need to be mentioned. They all studied military affairs in Japan, one is called Jiang Fangzhen, and the other is Zhang Xiaozhun. They were all sent by Tang Shaoyi. Jiang Fangzhen stayed in the staff office of the headquarters, and Zhang Xiaozhun was in the engineer standard. Kong Xiangan said that this person can, there are two brushes. ”

"Well, that's a nice guy." Cheng Erhu said.

"What instructions do you have for us, the Commander?" Deng Qinghua forwarded the letter to Xiong Xun and asked.

"It's simple. Expand the troops, train the troops, and effectively control the troops so as to wait for changes in the current situation. But do not infiltrate the government, the focus is on the military. It is your task to grasp the army well. ”

"It's easy to expand the army, Beiman is full of beards, although it is sparsely populated, it is not a problem to pull up a few thousand more people. The key is weapons and salaries, the Russians are not fully supported as before, everything is on their own. Lu Shan smiled bitterly, "Now I understand the commander's difficulties at the beginning, it is much more difficult to raise and train soldiers than to fight." Raising soldiers for a thousand days is not enough for a while. ”

Some situations need to be communicated with Lu Shan privately, Jiang Yun diverted the topic, "How is the situation in the eighteen towns?" ”

The situation regarding the organization of the eighteen towns had been reported through the Fengtian Station of Tian Shubang, and Long Qian completely followed Lu Shan's opinion. But Lu Shan still reported the situation in detail.

"The Eighteen Towns are under my control, Tsinghua is the chief of staff, and Shang Fengchun is the deputy chief of staff and chief of staff. Fan Deping, the 35th co-ordinator, Sheng Guang, the deputy co-ordinator, the 69th co-ordinator, Zheng Shuangqing, the 70th co-ordinator, the 36th co-ordinator is the second tiger, and the deputy co-ordinator Xiong Xun. The seventy-one mark is Xiong Xun, and the seventy-two mark is Ding Xiaofu. There are many cavalry, and two standards have been made, and Lao Jiang has a standard, which is the main standard, and now he has entered Heilongjiang with Deping. The second standard of riding is the leader of the bearded surrender, called Duan Xingmao. The artillery mark is Huang Jinhui, the engineer mark is Kong Xiangan, he is the third batch to go out, and the baggage mark is Zhao Hongsheng, which is the first batch of us to collect, it turned out to be a horse gang, and Lao Zhao has made great contributions to the development of the army over the years...... By the way, Zhang Xiaoding became the director of intelligence, Ha Luha, is he at the same level as you? ”

"Oh, people are strong. By the way, what did Lao Xu do? Jiang Yun didn't answer Zhang Xiaoding's topic, but asked about another person. Zhang Xiaoding was originally a veteran of the establishment of the Beijing Intelligence Station, and was later transferred to Fengtian Station, followed the Lushan Department to the north to Jilin, established the Intelligence Section of the Lushan Department, organized the Eighteen Towns, and was approved to serve as the director of the Intelligence Division. This organization does not appear on the public establishment, the list is hung up in the staff office, in fact, it is a dual leadership, while helping Lushan collect intelligence, it is also responsible for monitoring the troops. Regarding Zhang Xiaoding's task, Lu Shanxia Cheng Erhu, Xiong Xun and others are all clear.

"According to Tsinghua's suggestion, a teaching team was set up to train junior officers, mainly platoon leaders, and Lao Xu volunteered to do this, receiving a standard salary."

Lao Xu is Xu Gongzhi. The earliest "old man" of the Mengshan Army, and the most famous sharpshooter, once competed with Long Qian in marksmanship.

"Eat and eat, Director Jiang, they are also hungry......"

After the meal, Jiang Yun, who had been poured a lot of wine, was quite sober and had a secret conversation with Lu Shan.

"The Commander asked me to convey his instructions to you, in addition to answering a few questions truthfully. First, on the issue of the stability of the troops, the command of the troops outside the customs department belongs to you, and it is not allowed to disperse. There are no non-stop orders or disobedience. Second, it is necessary to make an assessment of the combat effectiveness of the troops. You know, I don't really understand military affairs, and I still have you to do this assessment. The third is the difficulties faced by the troops, and I will truthfully report to the commander. Jiang Yun put on a posture of "Qin Cha", and the conversation took on a businesslike flavor.

"What instructions does the Commander have?"

"The commander asks you to occupy the two provinces of Jilin and Heilongjiang and completely eliminate the beards entrenched in the mountains and forests. Gradually build the two provinces into base areas that sincerely support our army. In the next step, Guannai will send some people who understand the economy and people's livelihood, and the commander said that Jilin, especially Heilongjiang, is vast and sparsely populated, and has a different geographical and popular situation from Shandong, and the biggest characteristic is that the control of the government is weak, and many counties do not even have county magistrates, and are in a state of anarchy to a large extent. Our army should make full use of this characteristic. Leave aside the government. With the support of the Eighteen Towns by force, we vigorously established our own lowest-level government. Send some officers who are not fit for war but are loyal to the army to do this...... In addition to military training, you will also have to study and study economic issues and strive to achieve self-support for the troops. Your enemy is Mukden. It is said that the imperial court was going to build a new town in Mukden. If the end of the war starts. Your mission is to lead your troops south. Defeat the enemy of Mukden, threaten Shanhaiguan and even the Beijing Division, and force the Beiyang Army to be attacked on both sides. If Shandong encounters an attack. Respond quickly. But if the situation is stable, let those Tartars of the imperial court continue to dream. ”

"Understood. This was the commander's plan when he was in Shandong, and I remember it. ”

"Now you're going to talk about the problem I have to bring back."

"Let's start with the difficulty. The key is the logistical problem, the soldiers in my hands are disposable, and they do not need to be fought at all. Although I have obtained a lot of weapons and ammunition from the Russians from last year to now, I do not have my own munitions factory, and every bullet fired is missing, so I dare not even let go of training. If the Russians don't give it, and the court doesn't give it either, things will be in trouble. When Liangbi came, I made this request, Liangbi is an expert, and carefully reviewed Xiong Xun's seventy-one standards, which is my most elite step mark. The weapons are all made in Russia, and the caliber is different from the German series of the imperial court, he said that it is difficult, and he hopes that I will be replenished by the old Maozi. It's a live story, it's not reliable. The situation in the country of the Russians has been very chaotic recently, and it seems that they are also making trouble with the revolutionary party, and most of the Russian soldiers have been transferred back to China, and the rest will also be transferred back. The Russians are also unreliable on that line, this is the most difficult. The industrial base of Jilin and Heilongjiang is not as good as that of Mukden, and relying on seizure alone is simply empty talk. ”

Jiang Yun nodded, his expression solemn.

"Regarding the quality of the troops, the two standards of seventy-one and seventy can barely be compared with the old troops of the Mengshan Army, they have fought Heigoutai and Shendanbao, and have seen the world. Sixty-nine and seventy-two are a bit worse. The actual combat experience of the artillery target is OK, but the shells have not been replenished, and the live-fire training has been stopped, so there is no way. The cavalry should be more powerful than the cavalry in Lao Chi's hand, and the bandits all rely on the cavalry, with experience, there are many horses here, in Shendanbao, we snatched a batch of war horses from the hands of small Japan and formed the earliest cavalry. The western part of Heilongjiang is close to the steppe, and it is very cheap to exchange guns and bullets for horses from the steppe, and I got about 1,500 good horses from the Mongolian herdsmen on the steppe last year, and the Russians still have a large number left, and to be honest, it is not a problem to form another cavalry standard. Now, in addition to the two cavalry standards, each association has also formed a cavalry battalion directly under it, and Zhentai also has a cavalry battalion. But cavalry is more expensive than infantry, there is no special cavalry gun, and the saber is also a bad one. ”

"Or is it a matter of weapons?"

"No, it's still the quality of the troops. To be honest, now I admire the commander's set of Mengshan's whole army! My troops are expanding too fast and lack solid training, especially discipline. Half of the soldiers came from the beards of the recruits, and the discipline was extremely bad. The day before yesterday, no, the day before yesterday, I also ordered the shooting of six guys who had seriously violated discipline and harmed the people. Since the withdrawal from Mukden, no less than 100 people have been shot in total! But the discipline is still not good, and it is not at all up to the level of Shandong. Those who smoke big cigarettes, those who go to kilns, and those who are drunk like mud are repeatedly prohibited. Some officers from Guannai were also dissatisfied with my strict military discipline, believing that this side was different from Shandong and could not copy the military regulations of the Mengshan Army...... In my opinion, if the Eighteen Towns fight against the commander's Old Five Towns, don't look at some troops who have fought Heigoutai and Shendanbao, they will still be completely defeated. ”

Jiang Yun's expression became serious, "That's what the commander is most worried about. It's really not like that, I brought the commander's blank warrant, I can transfer it back......"

"No, I have a way, but it will take time. On the whole, the main officers are fine, everyone is in tune, and there is no need for transfers. Like Shuangqing, it was hard to lower the sixty-nine standard of the gang of habitual bandits, and it was even more troublesome to change one. ”

"Understood."

"The last issue is the stability of the troops. In my opinion, there are both problems and problems. There are fewer problems at the top and more problems at the bottom. Although I am the supreme commander of the eighteen towns, I do not have the prestige of a commander. From Fan Deping, Cheng Erhu, Deng Qinghua, Xiong Xun and below, especially Shang Fengchun, they are more concerned about Shandong's orders, that is, the commander's orders. And. There is also the rule of the commander, and major matters can only be implemented with the consent of a majority of the military and political committees. ”

Jiang Yun blinked and listened carefully.

"According to the instructions of my hometown, the Youth Army Federation has been secretly established, with Shang Fengchun as the secretary general, and the officers who came from the Guannai naturally participated, and also absorbed a group of reliable Kwantung disciples, and now the number is about seven hundred to eight hundred. Therefore, there is basically no problem in the middle and high ranks of the troops. But on the other hand, due to the excessive beard that was recruited, the following still did not dare to pack the ticket. There had been a collective mutiny three months earlier, with the participation of the same mustache. There were dozens of people. escaped together, and according to the confession of the capture, the reason was that they couldn't stand the discipline. Although for these people, as far as possible, they were scattered and divided into battalions and companies. But for some of the poles who took the initiative to defect. It is not appropriate to do so. This situation will take time to change. I think it would be nice if I did Mengshan again. This is the problem of instability that exists at the lower levels. In addition, if the troops encounter an unexpected situation that is too late to ask for instructions. Perhaps there will be a situation of waiting for Shandong's instructions. I think it's dangerous. That's what I'm talking about as a kind of instability. ”

"Well, the commander expected this situation, and before I left, within a certain range, I meant to convey an order from the commander within the officers of our Mengshan military system, that is, in view of the changed situation, you are fully responsible for the military operation in the eighteen towns, and you can cut it first and then play it." Jiang Yun seemed to have heard something from Lu Shan's "report", but fortunately, when Long Qian decided to send himself out of the customs "labor army" in Shandong, he had already expected everything.

"Thank you to the commander for trusting ......"

"What is this called? If the commander can't trust you, who else can he trust? ”

"There is another question," Lu Shan lit a cigarette, which was a cigarette brought by Jiang Yun from Shandong, "The commander wants to expand his troops?" ”

"Expand, expand as much as you can."

"However, I calculated, now in addition to the old five towns, there is at least one town in Shandong, one town here, and our Mengshan Army already has three large towns. The commander has always advocated the line of elite troops, even if it is a war with Lao Yuan's Beiyang Army, we are at least fifty percent sure, right? Last time in Henan, didn't Zhou Yi's Tenth Association simply kill Cao Kun? In a town, the military salary alone is more than 100,000 yuan per month, and weapons are even more expensive...... Could it be that the commander is going to do something soon? ”

"This," Jiang Yun habitually glanced around, "I don't know about this." However, if the whole country is captured, where will three towns be enough? Three more won't make it. Moreover, the commander once told me that in a few years, the situation in the world will change greatly, and there may be a major war in the whole world, and that is not a small fight. The Russo-Japanese War was also far from it. If we don't start expanding the army now, especially training junior officers, it will be too late then. ”

"The Commander said that?" Lu Shan asked suspiciously.

"The situation is changing very quickly. You and I can't predict what will happen next year, but the commander knows. It's true. ”

"Understood. I'm trying to expand another town in a year's time. Lu Shan slammed the table.

"The last thing is the supply problem. The commander took into account the difficulties you said. A one-time army can never succeed, and soldiers must also be trained, and you have to think of a way. However, the commander believed that before the overthrow of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, Shandong did not have the strength to help build an arsenal outside the Guan, and that was too difficult. You know the way, you may not know the way, how much effort the commander has spent on this. Electricity and steel alone are a big scary number. We don't have the money to build a factory for you," Jiang Yun took out a silver ticket from his arms, "This is 500,000 silver dollars, leave it for you." That's the biggest number my hometown can make! In the future, I will give you at least 100,000 silver dollars a month, and you will have to figure out the rest by yourself. The commander said that the Russians' army is very corrupt and can spend money to buy what you need from the Russians, and this is the most reliable way to go now. In addition, with the help of the Russians, a bullet factory and a shell factory were built, and the machines had to be bought from the Russians, and Shandong could send people who knew how to do it. ”

"I've already started to do this, Zhu Jiabao trusts me very much, Jilin already has a small arsenal that can repair firearms, but can't make bullets and shells yet. With money, I can find a way with General Artemyev. ”

"Yes. Artemyev? Is it the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Russian Far Eastern Army? Does he still trust you? ”

"Yes, this man is very shrewd and understands the art of war, but he is not at ease, he always wants to cultivate an army loyal to Russia, he is now the commander-in-chief of the Russian army, and I am talking about the Russian army that remained in the Kwantung region. They couldn't find any other surrogate other than me. ”

"You're getting better." Jiang Yun said with a smile.

Lu Shan took the silver ticket, "Can you get money from Jilin?" ”

Jiang Yun smiled and said, "Shandong Commercial Bank will soon open a branch in Jilin, which is our own bank." Brother Lu, there is another treasure, guess what? Jiang Yun once again tricked out a cloth bag from his arms and opened it carefully, "See for yourself." ”

"Ahh Lu Shan exclaimed, "It's so big......"

"The child is fine, don't worry."

That's two photos! One is a photo of Lu Shan's wife Li Wenxiu holding her child, and the other is a photo of Li Wenxiu and Chen Shu with three children. The careful Long Qian arranged this matter, at this time, taking pictures was still a very fashionable thing, but there was already a photo studio in Jinan. Because Lu Shan's report that Li Wenxiu's trip to the northeast might attract the attention of the government and expose the relationship between Guanwai and Shandong, he vetoed his wife's plan to leave the customs, and also vetoed the possibility of other high-ranking officers' families leaving the customs.

Now, Long Qian has sent what he wants to see the most. (To be continued......)