In the city of Dandong, the guns shook the sky, and there were gunshots and explosions everywhere, and it was in this city on the banks of the Yalu River that the armies of the two countries were fighting to the death for the interests of their respective countries.

"Commander, is it really okay to fight like this..."Standing in the command headquarters, looking at Dandong, which was about to be beaten into ruins, Wu Zhiyi couldn't help frowning.

Although it is his duty to obey orders as a soldier, after all, he has been stationed here for a long time, and watching this city where he has lived for several years being smashed into ruins, Wu Zhiyi's heart really feels a little uncomfortable, so he can't help it......

Turning his head sideways and glancing at Wu Zhiyi, Feng Guozhang shook his head. Although Feng Guozhang was in his early sixties at this time, he still seemed very energetic. "I know what you're worried about, the president told me before I came, instead of worrying about the battle, it's better to worry about losing the battle, if the city is broken, we can build again, build a better one than the original, but if we lose......... Are you going to pay for the reconstruction?! ”

Wu Zhiyi and several other officers, who were listening, were dumbfounded for a while, and after being embarrassed for a long time, Wu Zhiyi coughed lightly in embarrassment, and then spoke. "This ......... I can't afford to pay this money..."The officers who followed Wu Zhiyi were all embarrassed.

Although Yan Shao has not treated the people below badly, he has investigated 'corruption' very strictly, especially after the Ministry of Integrity has been fully operational, and he has carried forward the words 'high salary and honesty' to his bones.

As the commander of a division with the rank of major general, Wu Zhiyi's monthly salary is also seven or eight hundred yuan. plus some other things, there are tens of thousands of yuan a year, and the salary is naturally much higher than that of ordinary people. It has even reached a hundred times that of ordinary soldiers, and it can be called a rich man, and ordinary luxury goods are not unaffordable, and because it is a legitimate income, there is no need to worry about the Ministry of Integrity coming to the door, at most, the newspaper or something to criticize it, saying that the people below are still very poor. These officials are enjoying themselves in poverty...

However, if you want to rebuild Dandong, the salary of 10,000 yuan is far from enough.

What's more, Wu Zhiyi and these people get dead wages, at most, some benefits from the government during the New Year's holidays. Of course, this does not mean that every official is so incorruptible――――――, but most of those who are not incorruptible have been arrested except for a few who have not been discovered. In this case, even the former Qing officials were cautious. I'm afraid that someone from the Ministry of Integrity will come to the door, let alone a soldier in the new era like Wu Zhiyi...

The most important thing is not high salary, but to maintain integrity...

Since you have a high salary, you must be honest, not just take a high salary and act arbitrarily. In fact, it seems that the government spends a lot more, but in fact, the private losses are less, so it is still very cost-effective. Naturally, the most important thing in this is after giving a high salary. It is necessary to ensure that officials will be honest, otherwise it is better not to raise them. Fortunately, Song Jiaoren's side did a good job, so Yan Shao was more worry-free...

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Seeing that Wu Zhiyi still didn't seem to understand, he shook his head, and Feng Guozhang continued to explain.

"In fact, Dandong is like this, I also feel distressed, but I think the president is right, Dandong must be rebuilt, but where should the money for reconstruction come from? Shall we take it ourselves? It's obviously something that someone else has broken, so why should we pay for it to be repaired ourselves? But if you don't convince the other party, can people happily take out the money for you? So the most important thing is to win, as long as the battle is won, we can make them pay twice or even triple the money of a city. On the other hand, if you can't win, the money will be given to us, so now you have to think about not other problems, but how to win! Saying this, Feng Guozhang looked full of neutrality.

"Yes!" After listening to Feng Guozhang for so long, Wu Zhiyi can be regarded as understanding.

The most important thing now is to win, and now Dandong is indeed broken, but as long as they can win, then they can ask for a sky-high price in the later compensation. On the other hand, if they lose, then it is already good not to pay compensation, and where can they get the other party to pay for them to rebuild the city...

So instead of feeling sorry for the ruined city, it is better to think about how to repair the Japanese on the other side.

After thinking about this, he looked at the devastated city, although he still felt a little distressed in his heart, Wu Zhiyi's heart was more or less comfortable.

Seeing that Wu Zhiyi understood, he nodded with satisfaction, and Feng Guozhang shifted his gaze to the battlefield again.

Although he is 60 years old, Feng Guozhang's spirit is still very good, and he has not declined at all. What's even more unexpected is that in real history, he died of illness in 1919...

It is not surprising that after the Xinhai Revolution, especially after Yuan Shikai ascended the throne, Feng Guozhang's old Beiyang basically did not go well, especially Feng Guozhang was often hit psychologically, and it is not difficult to understand that he lived a relatively short life under exhaustion.

Historically, during the period of warlord warfare, the president of the Republic of China was indeed not easy to do, because few local taxes were normally released to the central government, but there were many people who asked the central government for money. Due to the political instability, the government of the Republic of China managed to balance its expenditures for two years except for two years during the Yuan Shikai period, and most of the rest of the time it relied on borrowing to survive.

Feng Yuxiang recorded in his memoirs that Li Yuanhong often complained when he was president: "Alas, the president is really not a man, and I lost more than 30,000 yuan this month!" In this way, I will lose 360,000 yuan a year. In the long run, I really can't support it. Alas, you see, this month, the interest on my coal mine stocks and salt stamps has almost been discounted. The east also donated, and the west also raised money, which made it impossible for people to cope. Get 180,000 yuan a month, and just donate one item, which is not enough for expenses! ”

The unstable income of the government of the Republic of China will inevitably affect the personal interests of the president. When Feng Guozhang was a local magistrate. Always sensitive to financial matters, he knows that the president is actually nominally good, once the economy is scarce. If you don't have any money to spend, it won't taste good. Therefore, Feng Guozhang made a special condition to Duan Qirui before entering Beijing to act as president, that is, to put the post of Chongwenmen superintendent under his own name, because Chongwenmen superintendent is a fat shortage, and he can steadily receive 200,000 yuan of commercial taxes every month, which can be used for the expenses of the presidential palace.

However, a mere income of 200,000 yuan a month can certainly cover the expenses of the presidential palace. But for many national events, it is useless. Therefore, Feng Guozhang is inevitably like Li Yuanhong, sometimes he has to pay out of his own pocket.

Today, however, it is not the same as it was in history. Today's Feng Guozhang is only a minister of the army, but at least he doesn't need to worry about such things, plus a high salary, he is paid thousands of yuan a month. The power is not heavy. The position is high and the influence is great, and everyone in the government has to look at him to save face. Even because of the improvement of China's international status, even in the international arena, he can be regarded as a figure with some status, and in such an environment, Feng Guozhang is naturally much more comfortable. He was supposed to die suddenly in December 1919, and he seemed to be very energetic, not to mention living to 60. Even 70 is no problem...

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After looking inside the headquarters for a while, Feng Guozhang nodded.

After all, the Special Affairs Bureau has not been busy in vain over the years. Although the Japanese junior officers were secretly in the past, they could not transmit the information back to China in time due to time and other factors. But nothing else is fine, especially when Utsunomiya Taro decided to increase his troops in Dandong and completely take Dandong to occupy the initiative―――――― two of the large group of staff officers who obeyed the order at that time were spies arranged by the Special Affairs Bureau.

And after getting this information, Feng Guozhang did not wait to ignore it.

In fact, after taking the Outer Northeast, Feng Guozhang should have returned to Beijing to report on his work, after all, as the Minister of the Army, Feng Guozhang really shouldn't stay outside for too long. If it weren't for Cai Ye in the Urals and Jiang Baili in Europe, there were really no good candidates in his hands, and Yan Shao would not have let Feng Guozhang lead the troops.

Who knew that just when Feng Guozhang was about to return to Beijing, there was such a thing in the Northeast again.

Others may not know, but Feng Guozhang's heart is a little happy. After all, he himself knew that Yan Shao would not let him lead the troops all the time, although the position of the Minister of War was a high power, but it was just a means to appease the Beiyang faction in the first place―――――― the most important point was that it was difficult for the Minister of War to lead the troops.

And now, the country has basically stabilized, and the so-called Beiyang system seems to have disappeared almost now, to be precise, it has been absorbed by the National Socialist Party, Yan Shao doesn't have to worry about what waves they will make. In the future, I am afraid that he will stay in the position of Minister of War for a few more years, and it will be time to retire ...

And now that the war in Europe has been fought, Jiang Baili believes that he will return soon. There are only two places where China may have conflicts in the future, one is the Eurasian border of the Urals, and the main ones who may have conflicts are the Russians or Soviet Russia, after all, Yan Shao stabbed them in the back this time, but at least two-thirds of the territory was scraped off their bodies. Now that the Russians are in a state of civil war, naturally there is no way, but when they finish solving the internal problems, I am afraid they will not give up, but with Cai Ye in the Urals, I believe there will be no problems.

The other is Japan, after all, the relationship between China and Japan is not very good.

However, now the Chinese expeditionary force in Europe has begun to retreat one after another, and it is believed that it will not be long before Jiang Baili will return.

As for those in the south that may have clashes, even if they do, they will only be ordinary border skirmishes, which can be handed over to the local garrisons. As for conflicts in the South China Sea or the East China Sea―――――― this is for the navy, not the army.

If it goes on like this, it is estimated that when Feng Guozhang comes back from the Outer Northeast, he will not have to think about fighting in the future. Who would have thought that Jiang Baili had not yet returned from Europe, and the Japanese would stir up trouble on the border ...

He was overjoyed...

Ahem, it doesn't seem good to say that, but for an old man who is already in his twilight years and is still ambitious, he still wants to give full play to his residual heat, and the Japanese. Obviously gave him this opportunity...

So although on the surface, Feng Guozhang gritted his teeth at the sneak attack of the Japanese, but in private, Feng Guozhang's heart may not be so grateful to the Japanese...

It's them, after all. let Feng Guozheng usher in his second spring.

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After looking at the shape on the battlefield for a while, Feng Guozhang turned his head back again, and then spoke. "I'm going to go to other places later, if you have any requirements, tell me first, and I'll solve it for you as much as I can..."

"Yes..."Hearing Feng Guozhang say this, Wu Zhiyi, who had long wanted to speak, suddenly became a little excited. Commander, you know. Our division is a C division, and there is no equipment left in the division except for heavy machine guns. Not even artillery, just some mortars, so if possible, I hope that some artillery will be sent to me from the rear. There are also some machine guns......... Especially light machine guns..."After thinking about it. Wu Zhiyi added. "In addition, I heard that the troops are now equipped with submachine guns, I don't know if you can send some to our division, and there is also the problem of troops, you mentioned that the intelligence said that the Japanese are planning to increase the number of troops in Dandong......... These days, the casualties of our division are not small, if the Japanese increase their troops, I hope that the commander you can send more reinforcements over..."

"There's no problem with that." After listening to Wu Zhiyi's conditions, Feng Guozhang agreed without hesitation. "Except that the submachine gun is more troublesome. I'll send you the rest, including the light machine gun you wanted. But there is one thing I want to say first, you must hold Dandong, if the Japanese take it away......... There's no one on the president's side to speak for you..."

"Yes!"

A few hours later, Feng Guozhang left the gun-filled headquarters and went to inspect other directions―――――― Dandong was certainly the most important point for the Nationalist government, but other directions could not be ignored either, especially those troops who had already crossed the Yalu River...

Wu Zhiyi, on the other hand, returned to Dandong and continued to carry out his subordinates...

Feng Guozhang didn't lie to him, and what he needed was quickly delivered. First of all, light and heavy machine guns, Feng Guozhang specially sent more than 1,000 light and heavy machine guns from the stock of the Shenyang Military Region along with ammunition by railway, followed by more than 300 submachine guns, and a corresponding number of mortars...

In addition, several infantry divisions that were originally stationed in other positions also transferred a regiment of troops to Dandong for Wu Zhiyi's command, and the strength of these regiments added up to about 10,000 people.

The reason why he did this, instead of directly transferring an infantry division over, was mainly because he was worried that Wu Zhiyi would not be able to command.

Wu Zhiyi and his division have been stationed in Dandong for many years, so they are naturally the most suitable candidates here, after all, they know very well the mountains, rivers, grass and trees in Dandong. The problem is that Wu Zhiyi's division is only a C division, and it is the lowest one in the Wehrmacht's battle sequence―――――― to be serious, if it weren't for the Japanese opposite Dandong, I'm afraid that even this division would not stay, at most only one regiment, after all, an ordinary city does not need an infantry division to garrison.

And then the question arises...

If it is a type B or A unit that is transferred, although Wu Zhiyi, like them, all have the rank of major general, but the third-rate troops command the main force, it seems inappropriate to think about this, so it is better to make things simpler and only let some regiment-level troops come over.

In this way, although it is the main force, but the military rank is one level lower than Wu Zhiyi, it is naturally much easier to command―――――― the most important thing in the national defense force is to obey orders, so there is no need to worry about someone disobeying the law, if someone really dares to do this, the military court will naturally wait for them...

However, not long after the reinforcements arrived in Dandong, the Japanese reinforcements also arrived.

Fortunately, reinforcements had arrived at this time, and they also brought a large number of weapons and equipment such as light and heavy machine guns. Relying on the defensive lines built by Wu Zhiyi in the city earlier, although the Japanese army launched many attacks, they returned in vain each time, not only that, but they paid many casualties...

In the city of Dandong, with the only remaining buildings and many ruins, the Wehrmacht built very strong fortifications. Coupled with the more than 1,000 light and heavy machine guns that had just been reinforced, the Japanese army was almost wiped out, and even in the white-knuckle warfare they were best at, the results were not very many.

Although the Wehrmacht is inferior to the Japanese army in assassination technology, the physical advantage is too great, coupled with a series of new equipment, such as [pump-action shotgun] and [submachine gun], etc., those Japanese soldiers with bayonets sometimes have not even rushed to the front of the Wehrmacht officers and soldiers, they have been solved by the above-mentioned weapons, the angry Japanese officers scolded the Chinese on the opposite side are cowards, and they don't have the courage to fight with them with bayonets―――――― but if there are submachine guns and shotguns, How many people in these days would be stupid enough to fight bayonets with others? Just like in later generations, with the popularization of automatic weapons, even if there are still some automatic rifles that can carry bayonets, they are only incidental, and they are all daggers, which are basically used in critical situations, and there are really few people who usually use this bayonet...

Even so, however, the Wehrmacht's casualties were consistently high, averaging more than 1,000 casualties per day. Although there is no way to compare with the war on the Western Front in Europe, considering that the battlefield is only a city like Dandong, this number is already very considerable, naturally, compared with it, the casualties of the Japanese army as the attacking side are obviously greater, almost one and a half to two times that of the Wehrmacht, which makes the Japanese also bleed in their hearts...

After experiencing the Shandong Campaign, the Japanese Army's mind seems to be much clearer than in the same period in history, and the role of equipment is no longer as light as in the past, and at the same time, it is more concerned about the casualty ratio. This can be seen from the current equipment of the Japanese army, the grenade has been eliminated from the original horsetail grenade, replaced by the wooden handle grenade used by the Wehrmacht. At the same time, the army began to be equipped with a large number of machine guns, although the number is certainly not comparable to that of the Wehrmacht, but it is already a big change.

Historically, the Chinese army was too poorly equipped, and its combat effectiveness was also very poor, and the Japanese army, which could only be regarded as 'scum' in Europe, had a very full sense of superiority in the Far East. Since there is no pressure, there is naturally no motivation to change clothes...

But now the pressure on Japan is just too great. Today's Yama Prefecture Aritomo and even Katsura Taro, who just died of illness some time ago, also know that there is no point in one-sided admiration of bushido, so it has become inevitable to change clothes.

Today's Japanese Army may not be as well equipped as the Wehrmacht, but it is much better than it was in history. Yan Shao will take advantage of the topic this time, and he also has the idea of taking this opportunity to drag down the Japanese economy... (To be continued......)