In the city of Anqing, a group of soldiers in military uniforms walked through the streets with rifles on their shoulders, and their steps were steady and firm. When pedestrians look at them, they also nod their heads and smile in response.

Walking through the streets were the soldiers of the 1st Division and 3rd Regiment who patrolled the city, and their task was to maintain order in the city. Originally, this work should be in charge of the police department, but now that the Ministry of Public Security has been established, Qin Zhen does not know much about the situation of the police station in the city, so the issue of maintaining order in the city is temporarily in charge of the Ministry of War.

For the soldiers in charge of patrolling, this kind of work that did not belong to them did not cause them to resent it. Or should it be said that after so many years in the army, they found the meaning of life for the first time.

In the Xinhai Revolution, the New Army was undoubtedly the main force against the Qing Dynasty. It can be said that without them, there would have been no success of the Xinhai Revolution. The problem is that it is a small number of people who lead the revolution after all, although the quality of the new army is already the highest in the domestic army, but the number of literate soldiers is still only less than half, for most of the soldiers, they only receive a monthly salary of 7 yuan, and then live in a mess, and will respond to the uprising in the revolution only because of the instinctive antipathy to the Qing court and the blind obedience of the leader...

This situation did not appear in front of them until Yan Shao appeared in front of them, because Yan Shao did not tell them a bunch of big truths that many people did not understand, but only used a simple sentence to explain what 'revolution' is, that is, 'let everyone live a better life than in the past', and at the same time proved his words with a series of practical actions, that is, a series of tax exemption policies in the New Deal later.

At the end of the Qing Dynasty, there were dozens of large and small kinds of harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes. It touches on almost every detail of people's lives, and in some places they even issue smoking licenses to opium smokers, and even husbands and wives are punished for turning against each other. In the New Deal after the formation of the military junta. Yan Shao not only exempted agricultural taxes, but also exempted a series of harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes, such as rice donations, cloth donations, weddings and funerals, etc.

In a series of new policies, the common people tasted the benefits of the revolution for the first time, and some places even set up immortal tablets for Yan Shao.

On the other hand, like other armies of the same period, the Anhui army was also recruited from the mainland, that is, the new army and the patrol battalion. Even the people in the patrol regiment are all natives of Anhui, and they also have a real feeling for the changes brought about by the new policy, and these soldiers also have a sense of honor and mission. A sense of mission to make the life of the hometown parents better...

"Revolution is about making the lives of our fathers and fellow villagers better, that's what the president told us at the beginning," a reporter replied when a reporter asked a veteran if he knew what revolution was at the time.

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The changes brought about by the New Deal filled the soldiers of the Army with a sense of honor, belonging, and mission. It also made them more loyal to Yan Shao. This scene is naturally nothing in the eyes of ordinary people. But falling in the eyes of those who have a heart makes these people frown secretly.

Looking down at the patrol soldier who had just walked under the window with an inexplicable glory on his face, he threw the cigarette butt under his feet and stepped on it, Wang Zhuhuai glanced back. "This bribe-taker surnamed Yan has a hand in his heart, and even many people in the New Army regard him as an idol, if he doesn't want to stop it, I'm afraid Anhui will soon become his one-man Anhui..."

Glancing at Wang Zhuhuai with a calm expression, Li Guoyun said lightly. "You secretly called me here. Is that just to talk about it..."

Hearing Li Guoyun's words, Wang Zhuhuai frowned slightly. But it soon became apparent. "Or else? Deputy Governor Li, Wang is here to open the skylight and say something, you are the backbone of the constitutionalists, and what about me? It's the people of the League. The situation in China today can be seen by anyone with a discerning eye, although some time ago the Qing court promulgated the "Nineteen Articles of Faith of the Constitution" due to the situation, and issued an edict against itself, but with the example of the imperial cabinet and the state-owned railways, no one will continue to believe them, in other words, the collapse of the Qing court has become inevitable..."

"But after the collapse of the Qing court, there must always be someone who stands up as a leader, and our alliance is obviously Mr. Huang Xing on this side, and what about your constitutionalists, the one who is optimistic about Lu is the northern strongman who only came back some time ago and has now become the prime minister of the cabinet..."

"Anhui has an important geographical location, just between Jiangsu and Hubei, two important revolutionary places, and Hebei is only separated by Shandong. If Anhui is on the side of the League, then the three provinces of Hubei, Anhui, and Jiangsu can be connected, and if it stands on the side of the north, it will be a steel knife that splits the Southern Revolutionary Party.

Hearing Wang Zhuhuai say this, although Li Guoyun seemed to have nothing on the surface, his heart shook.

Just like Wang Zhuhuai said, Li Guoyun and these constitutionalists are not most optimistic about Yan Shao, but Yuan Shikai, the northern strongman who has just come back. In the eyes of constitutionalists like Li Guoyun, only Yuan Shikai can reorganize the mountains and rivers.

After his comeback, Yuan Shikai did not seem to live up to their expectations, first defeating the Hubei Revolutionary Party, and then secretly negotiating peace with the south, all of which made Li Guoyun and other constitutionalists feel that they are not wrong.

It was like this, and things didn't seem to be going to be anything. The problem is that at this time, Yan Shao's sudden rise made Li Guoyun and other constitutionalists frown.

Compared with other warlords of his time, Yan Shao had enough fame, financial resources, and strength, and from these perspectives alone, Yan Shao was even more suitable than Yuan Shikai to be the leader of China in the future. However, in the eyes of constitutionalists like Li Guoyun, he has a huge shortcoming, that is, he is too young and too immature.

Sure, he has a hand in business, but the situation in China is complex, and it takes a strong man with political skills, not a young man in his 20s.

In Li Guoyun's view, the most suitable position for Yan Shao in the future cabinet is the Minister of Finance. As long as there is Yan Shao's assistance. With his super earning ability, he will definitely be able to enable Yuan Shikai to solve all China's problems in a short period of time.

However, it is obvious that Yan Shao does not want to be limited to this, and the position of Anhui is very critical.

Of course. If it's just like this, it's nothing, after all, even if Yan Shao is rich and famous, the most important thing in this world is the barrel of a gun. Although Yan Shao's money bag was thrown out of Yuan Shikai a few streets, the gun was obviously not as good as the other party.

As long as Yuan Shikai is willing, tens of thousands of Beiyang troops can solve the problem in Anhui at any time.

However, as the deputy governor of the military government, Li Guoyun was very clear about Yan Shao's plan to expand the army. It is even clearer that he has reached a preliminary agreement with foreign companies in various countries to purchase 100,000 rifles, 5,000 light and heavy machine guns, and nearly 1,000 artillery pieces from foreign companies in various countries for more than 30 million silver dollars...

If Yan Shao's plan to expand the army was really completed, then he would no longer be an opponent that Yuan Shikai could easily solve. This is obviously not a good thing for Li Guoyun and them...

"What do you want us to do? Stand up against it? Or is it forbidden to finance the junta with private money? Do you think the junta's current financial situation can support so much of the New Deal? Calm was restored, Li Guojun said coldly.

As the deputy governor of the military government, Li Guojun is well aware of the current financial situation of the military government.

Seriously, after having the big taxpayer of Yushi Group. Anhui's financial situation is still much better than that of other provinces. The problem is that no matter how good it is, you can't help but spend it indiscriminately. At present, the exemption of fiscal taxes alone has reduced the military government's revenue by more than 5 million yuan every year, and counting some of the projects carried out by the military government at the local level, it is really impossible to make ends meet, not to mention the more than 30 million yuan of arms purchases that Yan Shao is currently undertaking.

If it weren't for Yan Shao's own subsidy for the junta, I am afraid that the junta would have gone bankrupt like the junta in several other provinces.

The only way to keep the junta from bankruptcy after banning strict private subsidies is to abolish the tax exemptions that have been enacted. However, Li Guojun believed that he announced it on the first day. The next day she would be torn apart by the angry populace, and the guards outside the Governor's Mansion would never stand up to protect her. Because the relatives of these guards are also civilians...

For ordinary people, they don't understand the importance of restricting the rights of rulers, nor do they understand what a republic is, let alone the 'good intentions' of Li Guoyun and others, and for them to fill their stomachs and eat enough is the only thing to consider.

Anyone who stands in the way of this, is their enemy...

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Wang Zhuhuai also knew the difficulties of Li Guoyun and these people, and understood that they wanted to restrict Yan Shao's rights, but they did not have enough reasons and methods, so he quickly chuckled when he heard Li Guoyun's words.

"Don't worry, I'm just here to reach a consensus with you on some issues, after all, we still have some common interests with you on some issues, so if you can make friends first, this relationship may play a big role one day in the future..."

Wang Zhuhuai told the truth this time, he really didn't plan to join forces with Li Guoyun to bring down Yan Shao this time, because this was too unrealistic.

However, after the alliance already suspected that Pei Junyuan and more than 10 others were probably killed by Yan Shao, they secretly regarded Yan Shao as an enemy. What's more, even if there was no such thing, it would be impossible for them to let Anhui fall into the hands of an organization that did not belong to the League.

Just as Wang Zhuhuai just said, Anhui's location is very important, just between Jiangsu and Hubei, two major revolutionary places. Whoever gets this land is equivalent to the initiative, and if it is the Beiyang or the Qing court, then they can split the power of the revolutionary party in the south in half. On the other hand, if the revolutionary party can take Anhui, then Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Jiangsu and other places that have been recovered will be connected to form a sufficient strategic depth—————— of course, the people of these alliances may not understand very well, but even if they just look at the map, they can see the benefits.

At present, the forces of the revolutionary party are mainly concentrated in Hubei and Jiangsu, and it is not yet possible to divide its troops into Anhui, and there is no reason to do so. So the meaning of Tokyo is to let Wang Zhuhuai find a way to use all the available forces to divide Yan Shao's potential forces as much as possible...

Isn't there such a saying, war is to strengthen oneself and weaken the opponent ...

Although Li Guoyun has no real power, he is the deputy governor of Anhui after all. The vice chairman of the Consultative Bureau is a leading figure of the Anhui constitutionalists. If he stood up against Yan Shao, at least some of the Anhui gentry would be on his side. And this is already a kind of differentiation...

On the other hand, although Li Guojun didn't think that Yan Shao had to be driven out of the city, but...

"If you just find a way to restrict the governor's rights, maybe the alliance will be a good tool, and with the pressure from the alliance, I can also ask the governor to find a way to throw himself into Yuan's mind. With the ability of the governor and the mind of Yuan Gongbao, I believe that the governor will definitely be able to be reused by the palace guard, which can be regarded as a little reward for his contribution to Anhui over the years..."

Come to think of it. Li Guoyun stretched out his right hand towards Wang Zhuhuai.

Although standing opposite him was the alliance that was on the 'enemy side', Li Guojun did not feel that he had done anything wrong. In fact, he also agrees with Yan Shao's strongman political philosophy, believing that China really needs a strong person to stand up in order to clean up the already chaotic rivers and mountains.

It's a pity. In the hearts of the constitutionalists. This candidate is not Yan Shao.

And although they agree with the idea of strongman politics, this strongman should be the president of the new Republic of China, not a local warlord. A powerful warlord like Yan Shao is, in Li Guoyun's view, the starting point of future chaos.

Therefore, after the recovery of Anqing, when it was discovered that Yan Shao wanted to rule Anhui by autocratic means, some constitutionalists abandoned Yan Shao and chose Yuan Shikai, who they had been interested in for a long time...

In the governor's yamen, Yan Shao didn't know about what happened in the city. The Special Incident Bureau is powerful. But it's impossible to know everything, after all, even the CIA and FBI and other organizations that were rumored to be miraculous in later generations. There have also been many mistakes, not to mention such an espionage organization that has only been established for a few years and is still relatively amateur.

At this time, Yan Shao's focus was mainly on the war in the two battlefields of southern and northern Anhui, and the negotiations to be carried out next.

On the periphery of Huizhou, more than 2,000 original patrol battalions under the command of Bai Runshan, now the Second Division of the Anhui Army, have been stationed not far from the city of Huizhou.

The reason why he did not attack immediately was only because many of the patrol battalions stationed in the city were his old friends. Although Bai Runshan has many bad habits inherent in the bureaucrats of this era, he still cherishes the soldiers under his hands.

So if possible, he is still more inclined to take Huizhou in a bloodless way.

And as one of the most important cities in Anhui, Bairun Mountain did not want it to be destroyed in the war.

Anhui, Anhui...

Anhui is called Anhui because of Anqing, the provincial capital, and Huizhou, which is located in the south.

Of course, in later generations, the provincial capital of Anhui has changed from Anqing to Hefei, and Huizhou has also been renamed Huangshan. However, in this era, the importance of Huizhou to Anhui is still very great.

A day earlier, after the Third Division arrived at the city of Huizhou, Bai Runshan sent a letter into the city to persuade the prefect of Huizhou and the acquaintances stationed in it to surrender.

However, a day passed, and there was still no movement in the city, which somewhat made the officers and men of the Third Division a little irritable.

"If you want me to say, don't talk about anything, just rush in..."

In one position, looking at the watch on his wrist, one of the soldiers said with a somewhat grumpy temper.

However, when they saw the soldier, the other soldiers felt as if they had known him for the first time. "Lao Liang, why did you suddenly become so anxious today?"

They are all from the patrol battalion, and they are very familiar with each other, and in the impression of these people, this veteran surnamed Liang is a standard soldier, that is, the so-called soldier ruffian. Every time you fight, you won't hide behind the most, but you will never rush to the front.

In the past, he was undoubtedly his favorite in the quiet waiting situation, but now he suddenly shouted to fight over, which inevitably made the officers and soldiers around him a little puzzled.

It seemed that he had also discovered his abnormality, scratching his head, and the soldier surnamed Liang laughed. "You forget, my hometown is in Huizhou, if Huizhou can be recovered earlier, won't my wife, wife and children enjoy the benefits of the revolution earlier?"

Hearing the soldier surnamed Liang say this, the people around him immediately burst into laughter.

"Let everyone live a good life..."

Yan Shao's explanation of the revolution was easy to understand, and the soldiers below could also understand it.

Especially after seeing the changes below, knowing that Yan Shao was not talking in vain, the officers and soldiers of the new army and the patrol regiment also had a stronger sense of honor and belonging, and even the soldiers from the patrol battalion of the Second Division also got a certain sublimation—————— evolving from a soldier ruffian to a super ruffian.

Even if he is a wicked person, he cannot be born very cruel, and correspondingly, a soldier ruffian cannot be born a soldier ruffian. It's just that in the past, I was influenced by my living environment and became drifting with the flow.

Now that the door to a new era has opened, not everyone wants to continue to sink...

On the other side, Bai Runshan, who had been waiting for news from the city, also became a little breathless, and at this time, the news from the communication soldiers outside became the last straw that overwhelmed the camel.

"Report to the division commander, the news just came that the people of the first division have captured Huainan..."

The capture of Huainan, that is to say, there are only two prefectures and counties in northern Anhui that have not yet been recovered, and with the strength of one division, it is obviously easy to capture the other two.

At the same time, the officers, who were already a little impatient, also broke out when they heard the news.

"Commander, let's go!"

"Yes, division commander, if we go on like this, we will fall behind the first division."

"That's right, people fight four, let's fight one, if we lose like this, how can we already have a face to see people, won't we let the other brothers drown with spit after returning to Anqing..."

Although they were already comrades in the military government, the old feud between the new army and the patrol battalion continued with the 1st and 2nd divisions. Even if they are already comrades, the people of the second division are not willing to lose to the first division ...

Looking at the angry subordinates, after bowing his head and groaning for a while, Bai Runshan finally made up his mind. "Wait another hour, and if the people in the city don't surrender after an hour, we'll do it ourselves!" (To be continued......)