With the signing of the armistice agreement by Duan Qirui, the Republic of China ushered in a dawn of peace. The nation's major newspapers actively broadcast this hard-won peace. In contrast to the activity of newspapers and civil society, the major forces have remained dull and have not made any remarks on this matter, not even the Beiyang government in Nanjing.

Southwest, Chengdu.

It has been more than a month since the end of the war in the southwest, and the social order in the southwest has finally been restored to stability, and the victory against Beiyang has made the nascent regime in the southwest much more stable. Unfortunately, the effects of the war could not be eliminated in a short period of time, and the entire southwest is still shrouded in a post-war depression. Even if Beiyang lifts the ban on the southwest, it will be difficult for the entire southwest to recover in a short time. After all, in order to win the war, the already weak finances of the southwest sold almost everything that could be sold, and a lot of resources, minerals, and even railways in the northeast fell into the hands of the northeast merchant groups, and it can be said that through the trade routes in the Anning area, the northeast controlled most of the economy in the southwest. Even so, the Southwestern government is still in debt. Of course, given that the southwest was not favored at the time, China's famous banks and banks certainly would not lend money to a government that was about to fall. A lot of the money borrowed by the southwest government comes from the private sector, which is a private loan, and the amount is not large, but the interest is quite large. Those wealthy merchant clans who were still able to work together around the southwest government during the Beiyang offensive would of course share the fruits of victory after the war. After the severe attrition of the war, the southwest market was depressed, and the already poor people had no money to develop industry and commerce.

The structure of the Southwest Governor's Palace, led by Cai Yi, has a posture that imitates that of the Northeast. But from the current point of view, there is a kind of posture that the tiger is not an anti-dog. The situation in the southwest is different from that in the northeast, Cai Ye has strong military capabilities, but his political means are much worse. Moreover, the Southwest New Army was not established by Cai Yi. It was developed on the basis of the Dian army of that year. Although the Dian army respected Cai Ye, this could not change the fact that the Dian army belonged to Tang Jiyao, the governor of Yunnan. In addition, the high-level leaders of the southwest government gathered because of Cai Yi's appeal are also complex factions internally, and they have long ceased to be united as they were in the past.

The complicated things in the southwest suddenly pressed on Cai Yi's shoulders, making it difficult for him to deal with them. In addition, there are many ethnic groups in the southwest, and ethnic relations are also very tricky to handle, and Cai Ye has no good way. There are a lot of things that can only be explored head-on. Naturally, there have been a lot of detours.

"General, you threw your entire official business to Vice Governor Tang today and ran to me to hide from me?" Peng Xinmin, a general under Cai Yi, asked.

"The affairs of the government are too troublesome, or the weather in the army is comfortable!" Cai Yi smiled absently. Now Cai Ye is dressed in a military uniform, and although his face is very thin, he is not as pale as he was during the war.

"How's the training of the New Army?" Cai asked. The armed forces are the foundation for the stability and development of a force. Without the bloody struggle of the New Army, the Southwest would not have been able to win the First World War with Beiyang. Cai Ye saw this very clearly. After several months of hard fighting, while winning the victory, the Southwest New Army also paid a heavy price of 80,000 killed and 50,000 disabled. It can be said that the power in the southwest has shrunk by more than half at once. Before the start of the war, the new army combined was about 200,000 men, and after the war, the number was less than 80,000. It can be said that it has broken its muscles and bones. Therefore, Cai Ye is particularly involved in the construction of the new army.

"Now the atmosphere of joining the army in the southwest is very strong. Moreover, some of the wounded soldiers have recovered and returned to the team one after another. But general, if our new army wants to return to the way it was before the war, I am afraid it will not be possible to achieve it in a short time. Peng Xinmin sighed and said.

"Is there any difficulty?" Cai asked.

"A lot, there is no problem with the morale of the soldiers, but weapons and ammunition, logistics and baggage are a big problem. Although Beiyang has withdrawn the blockade of us, it is impossible to transport things like weapons and ammunition in an open and honest manner. Even the transportation of machinery and equipment is subject to strict inventory by Beiyang. Even on the battlefield of the Central Plains, Beiyang was crippled by the Northeast. But they still haven't relaxed their surveillance of our southwest. General, did you say that the head of Beiyang is sick in the brain! Now the power of the Northeast is so strong, any of our forces in the south alone is not its opponent, at this time we should unite to deal with the Northeast together, why the high-level of Beiyang can't see this, and always guard us so closely! Peng Xinmin couldn't figure out Beiyang's thoughts. Peng Xinmin didn't believe that people like Feng Guozhang and Wang Shizhen couldn't see it.

"Didn't we open up a channel for purchasing weapons and ammunition from the Northeast? Although weapons in the Northeast are more expensive, we have not completely eradicated the source of weapons. In addition, it is unlikely that there will be a war in the southwest now, and weapons and ammunition can be slowly accumulated. The key is the training of excellent soldiers! Cai Ye comforted. At present, most of the entire southwest is surrounded by the northeast. If the Northeast wants to invade the Southwest, there are too many places that can be used as a breakthrough. Since the war between the Northeast and the Southwest, the Southwest has also changed its complete trust in the Northeast and has begun to send troops at the junction of the two forces, but in small numbers. Plus both sides are very restrained. At present, there are no conflicts on the border that affect the relations between the two sides. Naturally, trade between the two sides was not affected by the war.

"General, you don't know that now the northeast has stopped trading with our southwest's military supplies on the grounds of preparing for war! Now we can only buy weapons and ammunition through smuggling in Beiyang and a small amount from the territory of Liangguang! These channels are far from satisfying the scale of the expansion of the new army! Peng Xinmin said in surprise. It stands to reason that there is such a thing as the blockade of the southwest weapon channel, and Cai Ye will definitely know about it. But he obviously didn't know, and it was worth thinking about what was going on.

"Report to the general, Vice Governor Tang sent an urgent telegram." The herald sent an urgent telegram to Cai Ye's hands.

Cai Ye took the telegram, his brows couldn't help frowning, and then, his brows gradually relaxed.

"General, what's wrong?" Peng Xinmin asked.

Cai Ye said with a smile: "The Northeast and Beiyang have ceased war!" There is a dawn of peace in China! ”

"A truce? Is something big wrong? It stands to reason that the Northeast has always had the absolute upper hand, shouldn't it be so easy to be satisfied? Peng Xinmin said.

"It should be international reasons, now the international situation is unstable, the Japanese and the Northeast are facing off on the border, and a major armed conflict may break out at any time, and it may even lead to a national war. Judging from the closure of arms trade between the northeast and our southwest and the cessation of all exports of military supplies, the situation on the Korean Peninsula is even more serious than we imagined. There is even the possibility of skirmishes between the two sides, and the time for the outbreak of war is infinitely closer. Cai Ye said in a deep voice.

"Are you really going to war with the Japanese?" Peng Xinmin's face was very ugly. In the Southwest Governor's Palace, many high-ranking officers were military students studying in Japan. I have a deep affection for Japan. There are even many people who consider Japan their second home. If China and Japan really go to war, their thinking will be very passive.

"It can't be avoided!" Cai Ye and Jiang Baili had exchanged letters before the war. Of course, the conversation between the two will not involve the secrecy of the two forces. However, many things in the grand strategy have been discussed by the two sides, and coupled with the information obtained by the Southwest Intelligence Bureau in all aspects, Cai Ye can generally deduce the situation in the northeast.

Peng Xinmin pondered for a moment and said, "General, if the Northeast and the Japanese go to war, what should we do?" ”

"Let's take a look at the situation first! If the northeast can't bear it, we in the southwest must be ready to send troops. Cai Ye said in a deep voice.

"Why don't we send troops too? But our new army ......" Peng Xinmin was embarrassed. That's all the New Army in the Southwest is now. He really couldn't stand the toss, especially when he was still competing with the Japanese army, which was known as the first in Asia, even if Peng Xinmin had studied military affairs in Japan, he did not have the slightest confidence in victory.

"No, the country is in trouble, and the husband is responsible! Defending the homeland and the country is the mission of our soldiers, and we cannot be afraid of the enemy just because he is strong. Cai Ye said in a deep voice.

"Yes!"

"The training of the army should be accelerated, and I will solve the problem of weapons and ammunition, you just need to ensure that qualified soldiers are trained, everyone has seen it from the war in the Northeast and Beiyang. The Northeast Army showed not only strong firepower, but also elite soldiers. It was really hard to believe that Young Marshal Feng had trained hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers in more than a year. This kind of terrifying military training ability is really admirable. Cai Ye has always considered himself a person who knows soldiers, and the elite troops in the Southwest New Army are also very strong, but compared with the core elite troops of the Northeast Army, there is still a big gap. This also made Cai interested in the training methods of the Northeast. The training of the new batch of recruits is almost completely copied from the infantry training drills in the northeast.

"Yes! The subordinates must follow the new training syllabus and train these turtle sons fiercely! Gao Zheng sent the best soldiers to the general! Peng Xinmin said loudly.

Before the war with Beiyang, the Southwest New Army doubled its strength in just three months, but its combat effectiveness decreased a lot. If those recruit units were not commanded by a peerless general like Cai Yi, I am afraid that they would collapse as soon as they came into contact with the elite of Beiyang. Even with Cai Yi's ability, he only fought with Beiyang, and never changed his head-to-head with the Beiyang Army.

"The form of the southwest is not easy, but my generation should grit their teeth and die without regrets for the ideals in their hearts and the hope of this country!" Cai Ye said in a deep voice. The form of the southwest is not optimistic, and the form of the whole country is similar, and the Beiyang has experienced two major wars with the southwest and northeast, and its power has shrunk seriously. Since the early days of its establishment, the Northeast has never stopped fighting, especially after such a major war of hundreds of thousands of people, I am afraid that the internal situation is not optimistic.

(To be continued)