The former Hanyang Gun Factory has been hung with the signboard of the Hubei Industrial Company, including the gun factory, steel medicine factory and other subsidiary factories have also been merged, and a large number of people and refugees who have come down from the battlefield have a new job, that is, to level the land in the factory area and demolish unnecessary buildings according to Yang Qiu's plan to prepare for the arrival of new machines in the future.

On the wharf, two freighters arriving from Shanghai slowly docked, Jiang Tai and Cai Demao, who came after getting the news, looked at the ship with their eyes shining, and Xiao Anguo and Shen Shukai behind them were not as excited as them, but they were also relaxed.

As the cabin opened, a brand-new Krupp 75mm field gun was pushed off the deck, Cai Demao saw the boatman's carelessness, and immediately rushed up with a few artillerymen to take over the unloading in person, according to Xiao Anguo's later words, he was more attentive than his own girls.

These Krupp field guns are one of the agreements signed by Shen Shukai three months ago for the purchase of 100 cannons. This is the first batch of 36 guns, and the remaining 74 will be delivered in half a year, in addition to the cannons, there are 50 tons of yellow explosives, 15,000 Mauser 98s and the remaining fifteen radios, all of which were purchased after the last agreement, before Traun only half delivered, and finally arrived after emergency transportation.

Yang Qiu was not satisfied with the Mauser 98, mainly because of the recoil, but now his new rifle has just entered the imitation stage of the drawing room, and it will be handed over to the Mauser company to continue to improve, so he has to continue to use it.

Xiao Anguo was very happy, after the arrival of this batch of rifles, it means that the equipment of the core 1st and 2nd divisions is basically complete.

Yesterday, Yang Qiu had already decided that he would draw veterans from the third and fourth divisions to immediately replenish the two divisions, the third division had already suffered serious losses, and after being drawn away a large number of veterans this time, three thousand would be transferred from the recruits and the fourth division respectively, but because of the serious losses in the block, it would take at least half a year to restore combat effectiveness. Most of the Fourth Division were recruits, so they also needed to train in Hanyang for three months, and by the way, as a reserve to prevent Beiyang dogs from jumping off the wall.

In the next six months, the 1st and 2nd divisions will still be the main force, so they will all be replaced with Mauser 98 or M1888, which has an improved ruler and front sight that can fire pointed bullets. Even the 36 guns this time, plus the captured 54 cannons of the same caliber in the fourth town, and the artillery regiments of two divisions have also completed the replenishment of equipment. The 3rd and 4th Divisions will be temporarily issued with Hanyang-made, and in the next three months, all guns will be modified to fire pointed bullets, and the second batch of 75mm field guns will also be replenished to them.

It is not a simple matter to feed four divisions, not to mention that once Su Xiaohu takes Chengdu, the Pioneer Brigade will also be expanded into the fifth division. Moreover, according to Yang Qiu's plan, two independent brigades will be established with Changsha Hangzhi and Chongqing Makui as the team. The complete establishment of the first division and three brigades is about 1 person. However, because of the lack of war horses in the south, each division did not have a cavalry regiment and only assigned a small number of cavalry communication companies, so that each division had about one man. Even so, once formed, the total number of troops will be close to 100,000! After the increase in soldiers' salaries, it will cost 1.6 million yuan per month to raise the army.

Whether it is Hunan or Hubei, the tax revenue has not yet fully risen, let alone Sichuan. Tax stabilisation is tentatively expected until at least January next year. After the arrival of this batch of munitions, more than 1 million yuan will be paid immediately, and once the new rifles are finalized, in order to meet the needs of rapid equipment, they will also need to make up for their own lack of production capacity, and at least 100,000 units will be required to replace the equipment of the whole army, plus the matching bullets is an astronomical amount. Coupled with the gold-swallowing monster of the industrial company, there are already three million of the money left in the early stage, which makes Shen Shukai very worried about the broken capital chain.

In fact, both Hubei and Sichuan are provinces with an annual tax of 10 million on the surface, and Hunan also has at least 5 million, and many of these taxes are embezzled by local bureaucrats, and if they are all collected, they can reach at least 40 million, which is more than enough to feed the Wehrmacht. What everyone is really worried about is that Yang Qiu has not obtained civil rights for a long time, so even if the tax comes up, it will depend on the faces of the governors and civil affairs of various places.

"Cultivation ()." Xiao Anguo glanced at Shen Shukai, who was full of worries, and said that in addition to the beginning of the time, he did a really good job as the financial secretary, especially the procurement matters explained by Yang Qiu after the first uprising, not only brought a large number of urgently needed materials for the industrial company, but also solved the needs of the army, and even ordered soft steel from Sweden and found enough steel equipment from the United States. ”

After what happened last time, Shen Shukai had put away all his thoughts and honestly worked for Yang Qiu, and when he heard the inquiry, he hurriedly replied: "Thank you Commander Xiao for your concern, Shukai is all right, but I'm afraid that I won't be able to complete the commander's task." ”

Xiao Anguo knew that he was frightened when he looked at his face, and knew that there would be no way to change this matter for a while, so he simply shifted to the current predicament: "I heard Wen Jing say that the money has been a little short recently?" ”

"It's a bit of trouble." Speaking of business, Shen Shukai returned to his normal state and said: "The commander wants a large amount of mild steel, and this thing is expensive. The U.S. minister also replied, but he had to pay half of the money upfront, and I'm afraid it would be a ......."

"It's hard for you, too." The two walked side by side, and Xiao Anguo couldn't tell him about the money in Germany, because it was still a secret, so he could only comfort: "Don't be too anxious, maybe things will be fine in a few days." ”

Shen Shukai was still very worried, and was about to speak when he saw the staff officer running over, and hurriedly avoided a few steps. But before he could go too far, he saw Xiao Anguo suddenly laughing, and ran over to pull him: "Cultivate!" You see, you don't have to worry about it this time. ”

Shen Shukai was also stunned after reading the telegram: "Chengdu has been recovered?" Also one. Got 8 million cash! ”

"Huh! Let's go, go back, maybe what's going on over there. After Xiao Anguo finished speaking, he pulled him and walked towards Hankou. Shen Shukai was also very happy in his heart, eight million is enough to do a lot of things, and even the bank can open it immediately, but this kind of money is always dead money, and it will be spent after spending it, so after thinking about it, he still gritted his teeth and suggested: "Commander Xiao, this money can indeed solve the urgent need, but after all, it can't last long." You still have to persuade the commander to take back the authority as soon as possible, and you must not be led by the nose by others.

Hearing his words, Xiao Anguo nodded secretly, and being able to say it showed that he really regarded the Wehrmacht as his home, and said with a smile: "Don't worry, the commander will have his own arrangements." ”

When the two hurried back to the headquarters, Wuchang had already received the news of Chengdu's recovery, and Li Yuanhong, Huang Keqiang and others, who were conducting preliminary negotiations with Liu Chengen, were very excited, took the national telegram sent by Chengdu and smiled, and handed it to Liu Chengen and Cai Tinggan: "Haochun and Yaotang should also take a look." ”

Liu Chengen's face changed slightly after reading the telegram, and he hurriedly handed it to Cai Tinggan, whose face was not very good, but he didn't expect Yang Qiu to grab the lead again! After Chongqing and Chengdu were recovered one after another, Sichuan has basically been taken into his arms, so isn't it even more difficult to control?

Cai Tinggan was aggressive when he was young, and he was recruited by Yuan Shikai as a staff member after returning to China, because he was once the old unit of Li Yuanhong's torpedo battalion. The main reason for sending him here was to test the negotiation tone first, and at the same time, he also wanted to contact Yang Jingxiu and the others, who were still parked in Yangluo, to see if they could bring back a few warships. So after seeing the telegram, he knew that he was afraid that it would be difficult to contain Yang Qiu this time, so he glanced at Liu Chengen, who immediately said: "Li Du, I don't want to go around in circles when I come today. Gong Bao was also very remorseful about the battle of Hubei, and hoped that the governor would be considerate of his thoughts, after all, he was favored by the third generation, and he couldn't bear to push it to the Qing court with his own hands, so he sent me and the two of us to negotiate peace between the two armies. ”

Liu Chengen continued: "Now that the imperial court has issued an edict to condemn oneself and swore that the Taimiao will implement the constitution, and the goal of the revolution of Li Gong and Huang Gong to promote the progress of the country has been achieved, why not stop the war and truce the army?" To tell the truth that I don't like to hear, although Wang Yujia is reckless, we still have four soldiers and horses in Liujiamiao in Beiyang, and the second and third towns can also go south at any time. Commander Yang is brave and good at fighting, but after a long battle, I am afraid that there are not many soldiers available, right? Why not ignore the overall situation, lest lives be ruined? The imperial court has promised to form a cabinet by the palace guards, if the two of you promise me to reply to the palace guards immediately, and invite people of insight from all over the world to form a Han cabinet, so that the power can be held by my Han people, why fight to the death? ”

If Li Yuanhong was persuaded by this before the army pressed the border, but now he didn't want to reply so easily, not to mention that his current governor was completely empty, so he waved his hand and said: "Gong Bao's order for the two of them to come here to negotiate peace, not to dissolve the heart of our national defense army and make the provinces conflict, right?" Now Hubei and Hunan have been single-minded, and Sichuan will be attached sooner or later. What's more, Chen Hua has sworn that as long as the palace is full, he will definitely hand over all the military power! Why don't you go with the flow? Manchurian people treat us as meritorious Hanchen, since ancient times it is used to rely on Mount Tai, and the success is regarded as a mustard. Nian Qianyao's military exploits, such as Xu Qi's greatness, what is the result, has the palace guard forgotten? I don't think it's as good as the two of you to persuade Gong Bao to overthrow the Manchu Qing and build a republic with me. ”

Liu Chengen knew that there were still repetitions in this matter, not to mention that it was Yang Qiu who really held the power now, and he couldn't talk about this matter at all if he didn't come today, so he simply looked at Huang Keqiang and Song Jiaoren and asked: "Chief Rike Gong said that as long as Gong Bao persuaded the Manchu Qing to abdicate, then he would be supported as the president, I don't know if this matter is still valid now?" ”

Huang Keqiang's face changed, he didn't think that Liu Chengen would choke himself with words at this time. Everyone's eyes looked at him at once, especially Cai Jimin and several other military officers who came to observe the hearing. But when he said everything, he was also stabbed in the newspaper, and now it is difficult to take it back, so he gritted his teeth and nodded: "Keqiang has always said the same, please tell Yuan Gong, although there are still objections to this matter, but as long as he sincerely persuades the Qing court to abdicate, I am willing to be a lobbyist again." ”

"That's good." After Liu Chengen and Cai Tinggan learned their thoughts, they smiled and said: "Today, for the time being, the two of us will immediately tell the palace guard about this matter, and it is up to him to decide whether to fight or not." ”

After Li Yuanhong sent someone to send the two of them across the river, he suddenly glanced at Huang Keqiang: "Kegong, do you really want to hold Yuan Shikai as the president?" ”

Song Jiaoren said: "Why do you want to ask more, don't you have a bottom in your heart about this matter?" If you really want to fight again, what will we do to block Beiyang? ”

"Not necessarily, if we can beat the first time, why not a second time?" After Cai Jimin finished speaking, he looked at Li Yuanhong, who squinted his eyes and looked at Huang and Song, and said in his heart that they were getting farther and farther away from Hubei. No matter how much he and Yang Qiu earned, after all, it was everyone's consensus that Hubei was in power, so he smiled and took out a telegram that had not yet been sent, and said with a smile: "The day before yesterday, Chen Hua's class teacher, I discussed with him to prepare a telegram to send a telegram to the whole country, and invited Mr. Sun Wen to come to my Hubei to serve as the president, and now the two of them look at one." Is this telegram sent or one. What if you don't send it? ”

"Send it.

Before the two of them could come out of their stiff faces, a familiar voice suddenly remembered at the door, and when they raised their heads, they saw Yang Qiu walking in in a military uniform, and said with a serious expression: "This matter is absolutely non-negotiable, our republic is following Mr. Sun's will, who can serve if he doesn't become the president?" ()！ ”

Yang Qiu's words made Cai Jimin and others feel encouraged, but Huang Keqiang was dumb and couldn't say it, if he opposed Sun Wen as president, then he would definitely be detained as a big hat of Sun Zili, but if he agreed to one. Hubei is not afraid of the Beiyang, but what about Lianghuai? If Beiyang goes southeast from Shandong, who can stop Anhui and Jiangsu?

Song Jiaoren also had a bad face, he didn't expect Yang Qiu to be so aggressive, and said: "Chenhua, don't be rash, this matter is really important, not Hubei, now most of the armies of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai are trapped in Nanjing, in case Beiyang takes advantage of the situation to go south ̈ ̈ ̈ ̈." ”

Yang Qiu had been waiting for his words for a long time, and said with a firm expression: "Mr. Dunchu don't worry, I have just called back to Chengdu, the pioneer brigade will be reorganized into the fifth division of the national defense force, and at the same time, the Changsha Hangzhi Department will also be expanded into a brigade on the spot, and I am also ready to set up another brigade in Chongqing, and our national defense army can gather 100,000 troops in half a month at most!" If he Yuan Gongbao really wants to help him continue to fight, I will definitely wave the army to the Northern Expedition, forcing him to fight on two fronts and not be able to cope with it. At the same time, two brigades were sent down the river to support the Lianghuai attack on Nanjing, and see how he responded! ”

Huang Keqiang and Song Jiaoren really have a feeling of swallowing flies, Hubei has been troubled by him, and it is a foregone conclusion that the party will withdraw from the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and now they have begun to pay attention to the downstream! How can this work? In addition, the two of them originally wanted to go back to Jiangsu first and then make plans, so after glancing at each other, they immediately said: "Chenhua is commendable, but this matter is very important, we." 1. I was ready to return to Jiangsu for the time being, and I could only make a decision after discussing with Heqing and others. ”

"Since the two of them have important matters to do, Yang Qiu will not keep them, but the two Huai and Jiangxi seized the materials and ships of our army, and hope to release them as soon as possible!" Yang Qiu still wished that the two of them would leave, and arched his hand: "In addition, please take me to tell them that if Beiyang really takes the Jinpu line south, I will definitely personally wave the army to the south to support!" ”

Li Yuanhong narrowed his eyes. He understood Yang Qiu's thoughts, and now Beiyang obviously couldn't fight, so the two of them were in the way here, he was forcing the two of them to leave early! Seeing the two of them waving their troops south, their faces became worse and worse, and for some reason they suddenly felt the urge to laugh......