Money, for the military, for the army, is simply more important than anything, if you have money, you can buy weapons, it is nothing more than a matter of spending more and spending less, even now, Beiyang can not do a lot of money to expand the army.

Some officers are thinking, why they can't meet such a gold master, if they change to the northwest of this position, what kind of situation will be, throwing artillery to the northwest without scruples, I heard that a qualified soldier in the northwest, the trained bullets, at least more than 5,000 rounds, more than 20,000 rounds, soldiers are nothing more than the profession of manipulating weapons to kill people, in addition to some real talents, more people are skilled, gradually mastering the use of weapons, to put it simply, Long-term, professional, and high-intensity training is the most fundamental way to enhance combat strength.

But this method may not be given by everyone, because the investment in training requires money, but how much can really be invested, before 1911, in the era of the Qing government, you can invest 200 rounds of ammunition, you can train a qualified Beiyang soldier, this is also Beiyang, the new army everywhere, may be less than 50 rounds, or even a gun, a few bullets, and then it will be pulled into the battlefield, for no other reason, many armies, there are so many guns, but bullets and shells are not, In the era when bullets and shells were expensive, hundreds or even thousands of rounds of ammunition could buy a gun, and poor China could launch tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of wars, but could not afford to fight training bullets.

That is, because of the emergence of the Northwest. The price of bullets has become cheaper, and so have weapons. Almost a fraction of what it used to be, or even a fraction of a tenth. But the use of Beiyang training bullets has only increased from 200 rounds to 500 rounds, because there are more people, hundreds of thousands, millions of troops, 100 rounds per person, that is, hundreds of millions of ammunition are played, and they are spent on the battlefield for victory. For the sake of benefits, this is no problem, but spending on the training ground, who doesn't have a heart, a little stroke, it's money, these, for Beiyang, is really an expert.

It's not that no one is speculating maliciously. The huge bullet consumption in the northwest, how many of them fell on the soldiers, but even if it was one percent, hundreds of rounds. Soldiers fed with thousands of bullets, as long as they are not stupid, have accurate marksmanship. It was this that made Beiyang desperate for the 4 million Northwest Army. It is not superior in quantity, and it is not superior in strength. How to fight this battle, in the hearts of most of the officers on the special train, the only reliance is on the millions of troops who take the initiative to take refuge, which may bring benefits.

The arrival of Zhangjiakou has made more people look beyond the carriage to discuss the problem of the node, and now it seems that it is just a joke, not to say what the node is, they are facing the northwest, they are not lucky, plus the node, the situation will be worse, rather than considering these problems, it is better to look at the scenery. As an enemy of the other side, there may be a chance to enter the city of Zhangjiakou, but there is no leisure, leisurely stroll like observing everything in the city, now, let go of the mood, simply look at the city seriously, the train did not stay in the city, maintained a speed of 120 kilometers per hour, quickly through the city, the same as watching the flowers outside the window, has developed Zhangjiakou, let the train from the train station to leave the city, it took 12 minutes.

This means that the 24-kilometer factory city, the 24-kilometer-long city, in 1911, or even before 1908, arrived in Zhangjiakou before the Beiyang officers, by no means a few, compared to the year, Lenovo now, especially in the city, a high-rise building rising from the ground, the city atmosphere and prosperity, let them understand that the northwest and the rest of China after all, are two worlds, are really different two worlds.

Next, more Beiyang Army's eyes are placed outside the window, although it is late, but the northern high latitudes are very long in the day, entering 7 o'clock, the sky is not dark at all, you can see the faint lights and scenery, and other railway lines, the same farmland and wilderness are different, here from time to time you can see the scenery of the city, every ten kilometers, along the railway line, you can see some small towns, twenty or thirty kilometers is a city, although the city is not large, the same reinforced concrete, the same layout, The bustling atmosphere comes from the pavement, especially when passing through those overpasses, and the mood of the citizens is overcome.

Feng Guozhang and Duan Qirui sat face to face, there was a Wang Shizhen next to them, the three heroes of Beiyang had already arrived, the three of them did not speak for a long time, or Feng Guozhang broke the peace between the two sides, and took the initiative to ask: "Zhiquan, have you counted, how many cities have you passed just now?" ”

Duan Qirui smiled slightly, being able to have today's status is inseparable from being careful and paying attention, others may be looking at the scenery, he is looking more at the northwest, the northwest under the fame, what kind of background does it have, most of the things he passed along the way, he summarized it in his heart, and said almost without hesitation: "Huapu, if I am not wrong, it should be 17!" ”

Feng Guozhang sighed and said helplessly: "In just 1 hour, in a distance of about 120 kilometers, there are actually 17 cities, and this density is too large, and the distance between each city is only a few kilometers!" ”

"What's the matter, as far as I know, most of the land in the northwest has been handed over to the agricultural reclamation company, which is planted by a few people using mechanized production, and the rest have gone to the cities as workers, and the added value of industry is obviously higher than that of agriculture!"

Can become the three heroes of Beiyang, whether Duan Qirui, Feng Guozhang, or Wang Shizhen, they are not only in leading the army, excellent quality, in recent years, but also step by step involved in the field of government affairs, no stranger to politics, they know very well that industry has higher added value than agriculture, but the premise is that the products you produce must be able to sell first.

At that time, Britain was the hegemon of the seven seas, the world hegemon, and the first to enter the industrial age, but in order to consolidate its position, how many wars were waged, it was not that he was born warlike, but that some markets had to be backed by war before they could be implemented.

Beiyang followed behind the Northwest, obtained machines from the Northwest, and set foot in light industry and some basic industries, to a certain extent, made some money, but more, just maintained, large-scale input, strong output, almost inevitably competed with the powers, and even the Northwest, they did not have this confidence, and only the Northwest had the ability to break the monopoly of the powers, and even let the powers pull down their faces and respond with trade embargoes.

"There are 17 cities in one line, and if I'm not mistaken, west of Zhangjiakou, in the past, was just a desert and grassland!" It was Wang Shizhen who spoke, he had never been to Baotou, but he had heard the name of Baotou, which relied on trade with Russia and Mongolia to start a small place, and it was also the west exit of Shanxi people to go west, countless Shanxi people started here, pursuing the pace of wealth, but most of the bones of the Gobi and grassland, why, on the one hand, the natural conditions are harsh, on the other hand, the people are fierce, bandits are rampant, if there is such an urban belt, bandits will definitely not be active.

Feng Guozhang nodded, as a general and politician, it is necessary to be familiar with geography, Feng Guozhang has also traveled all over the north of China back then, and even went to Baotou before his career, and he is very familiar with some cities in the north.

"Now you still believe that the Northwest does not have the ability to build so many node cities with strong defense?" Duan Qirui said sharply, although he participated in the discussion, he was more listening, watching, and did not speak, Feng Guozhang was the same, but they were familiar with each other, and it was obvious that they understood what kind of faction the other party was.

Duan Qirui's statement made Feng Guozhang stop talking, yes, can build a large number of cities on the Gobi, which has nothing, in the Central Plains, in the Central Plains where the transportation is more convenient, the geological conditions and population conditions are better, can't it be repaired? At that time, the revolutionary party and Beiyang, under the temptation of funds and profits, had the green light, otherwise, how could Shijiazhuang be established under the nose, and Shijiazhuang could be established under the nose of Beiyang, so other cities, is it still difficult, the northwest of the local tyrants, what else can not be spent!

When he thought of the more than 200 city nodes, like the interlacing of 200 grids, the big network formed throughout Beiyang and the revolutionary party forces was getting tighter and more terrifying, Feng Guozhang was a little breathless, the northwest was really too strong, the force had been formed, and it was impossible to deal with.

"Baotou has arrived!" At this time, a conductor wearing a uniform suddenly entered the carriage and said, starting from Beijing to get on the train, they entered two special trains, these conductors in uniform, did not bother them anymore, until now, but Sanjie was slightly surprised, didn't it mean that Baotou to Beijing will take 6 hours to drive, this is only a little more than 5 hours, is the speed just accelerated?

If the low-level officers still have a little doubt, the high-level, for the scenery outside the window to pay attention to them, it is obvious that the train is not speeding up, according to the previous calculation, it will take 6 hours to reach Baotou Railway Station, but you can see rows of buildings in front of you, but there is no trace of the railway station, reminiscent of the legend, for the description of Baotou, this is the world's largest, most populous city, the huge city inhabited by tens of millions of people, they have all understood, not Baotou Railway Station arrived, But Baotou arrived, this prosperous, may be a miracle city, will be in the eyes of most of the Beiyang Army, unveiling its mystery, this is known as the largest, most populous, most modern, and even rich city, what kind of style does it have, it is necessary to take a good look. (To be continued......)