"What? Is all this true? Are you sure? ”

Meng Xiang was looking at the financial reports of several surrounding counties that came up from the Second Newspaper. When he saw these taxes that made other people blush, Meng Xiang couldn't help but feel hot. The scattered tax revenues of the 12 surrounding counties exceeded one million last year.

It doesn't seem to be much, it's not as good as Meng Xiang's arms deal, but it's expensive in terms of lasting stability. This number is also counted in China, and there are large commercial ports such as Zhoucun that play a great role.

What Meng Xiang values more is not these places, but the entire Shandong behind it.

Han Fuyu raised an army of 100,000 people, and the money he needed was taken locally. The salt tax in Shandong listed by Rat Er alone exceeded 30 million a year in some years. Combined with taxes such as customs duties and excise taxes, which are more than salt taxes, it is definitely more than 50 million a year. In 1934, the central government's treasury revenue was 918 million, an increase for two consecutive years, making this value more conservative.

Of course, a large part of this piece has to be handed over to the state, especially the salt taxes and tariffs that the state focuses on. But even then, what is left is enough to support the expenses of a large army.

"Warlord!" Meng Xiang suddenly understood the factors behind the warlord, he held the money bag in his hands, and he was holding a gun, and he was not afraid of being criticized by others.

At this time, the central government's ability to exercise tax revenue has suddenly weakened a lot, and this tax is likely to be used

Meng Xiang counted with his fingers for a long time, and he was even more determined to hold Jinan and expand to the whole of Shandong. With the support of these funds, the development of the base is about to leap to a new level.

Seeing that Jinan fell into his hands, Meng Xiang couldn't help but set his sights on taxation.

At this time, Jinan City was already in chaos.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way! "The fleeing people were huddled together on several roads. The neighing of carriages and the honking of cars, mixed with the cries of children and the screams of women, poured into people's ears. The few trams and buses have stopped running, and the rickshaws are crowding forward. The left and right sides of the road all had no specific goals, and they were swept up by people and rushed out of the city.

Even the clone soldiers of the Vanguard Army strictly follow the rules, but they can't stop the people from falling into a kind of madness. Han Fuyu's army had already left, and Han Fuyu gave up Jinan. The clouds of the massacre more than ten years ago are still fresh in my memory, and the new report on Nanjing is even more shocking.

The importance of the surname is overwhelming all at once. Two battalions of less than 2,000 clones were swept away by this flow of people, and they couldn't find their shadows.

"A large number of people in Jinan have been evacuated, and there have been many cases of looting and other crimes!" Rat Er reported to Meng Xiang, who was still counting taxes.

"What? Squeezed to death? Robbery? Why weren't those two battalions managed? Meng Xiang said in surprise. He believes that the two clone battalions, which are heavily armed, should be able to temporarily calm the situation and wait for the arrival of the 41st Division! He didn't expect things to get so serious so quickly. There are so many things to pay attention to in the handover of a city. Meng Xiang, who obviously has no experience in this area, is a novice again.

He underestimated people's fear of death. The person who burned, killed and looted himself has been completely demonized in the circulation of the people. Under the pressure of fleeing, the evil in the hearts of people was released at once.

"Contact Rat Three to see what's going on?" Meng Xiang instructed. The county town near the base and the provincial capital have long been connected by telephone, and the base has also taken advantage of the situation to connect the line, making the contact more convenient.

"Order! Maintain stable order! He Siyuan, who had been protesting for a while standing next to Rat San, shouted to Meng Xiang on the phone. After hearing that the 41st Division chose to guard Jinan, He Siyuan, as the director of education, chose to stay and guard Jinan together.

"Jinan will become a battlefield, and people will reduce more losses when they leave." Hearing this somewhat familiar name, Meng Xiang couldn't help but explain his original intention. After Meng Xiang experienced Nanjing, he was very criticized for not evacuating the people, and at this time, the people ran out of Jinan City, and it would be better to directly transform Jinan into a big battlefield.

The voice on the other end of the phone was a little distorted, but Meng Xiang could still hear He Siyuan's anger: "It's not a question of whether you can go or not, but chaos has lost the hearts of the people." The people's hearts are unstable, what else are you talking about guarding Jinan? How to guard the Yellow River? ”

When Meng Xiang heard this, he suddenly realized that the feeling brought to the people by an orderly evacuation and an unorderly escape was different. We cannot ignore the role of the people just because the army is strong. A similar example was repeated a few years later, and it ended up bearing its own fruit.

"I know, it's just that there is a shortage of manpower, and my soldiers are not familiar with the local situation......" Meng Xiang was also a little embarrassed, close to two thousand clone soldiers, it was far from enough.

"Please authorize me, I need your soldiers to cooperate. I can handle this! He Siyuan unceremoniously interrupted Meng Xiang's words and directly asked to be responsible.

"Good!" Since it was said that this part, Meng Xiang did not hesitate, and directly issued an order to the rat in charge of Jinan, and fully cooperated with He Siyuan's work.

In later generations, Meng Xiang only vaguely heard of this name He Siyuan, but at this time he had great prestige, and he presided over the education work in Shandong for a long time, making him famous all over the world, and everyone in Shandong women and children. He stepped forward, relying on his prestige, and quickly organized manpower to cooperate with the clone soldiers to stabilize the situation.

Although the evacuation is still ongoing, at least there will be no more crowding of people.

"People's hearts!" Meng Xiang pondered repeatedly, this word seemed to be very far away, but sometimes it suddenly burst out with a huge power that terrifying any ruler.

If he wants to defend Jinan and Shandong, he must find a way to win the hearts of the people, otherwise his future future will only be another local warlord.

"The 41st Division has arrived in Jinan!" Rat II promptly reported a good news.

"Good!" Meng Xiang Huoran stood up, "Inform Niu Yi to rest the team directly outside the city, pull out the most elite troops, and prepare for a ceremony to enter the city!" "Rituals can be boring at times, but the message is enough for anyone to understand. A powerful and mighty army entering the city can not only calm the panicked people's hearts, but also deter the greedy hand that reaches out after the power vacuum.

When the sound of neat footsteps appeared at the gate of Xicheng, the evacuating crowd came to a halt for a moment.

A red flag fluttering in front of the line was exactly the same as the one flying at the head of the city.

"This is the Vanguard?" Someone asked.

No one answered, and everyone's eyes suddenly noticed the avenue ahead.

A long queue lined up in four neat rows directly occupied the center of the road, constantly walking forward in a neat pace. But the people on both sides did not say anything, but avoided it one after another. The long and heavily armed procession was invisible at a glance, the spears on their backs pierced the sky, and the standard World War II German uniforms were worn on the temporarily selected tall men, which looked particularly majestic and majestic. The helmets worn by the entire team came with the steel of the battlefield. Leather shoes and boots under their feet make a neat tartar sound when they step on the asphalt road.

"Cannon! That's a cannon! The muzzle of the black hole pointed upwards, causing the people passing by to take a small step back.

The artillery that had just been produced and came to make up the numbers caught everyone's attention at once.

"One, two, three...... Fifteen, sixteen! "Some of the good deeds began to count the artillery pieces that had passed, and there were only sixteen of those that had entered the city. This is something that most people have never seen before, and observing so many cannons so closely makes for a lot of boasting in a week.

The marching procession did not have the drums of military music, but the uniform pace made a sound of clanging in the face. For a moment, it made the talking crowd hold their breath.

"That's a machine gun! That's a lot! What a magnanimity! It's amazing! Finally, someone who boasted of knowing the goods saw the machine guns carried by the soldiers passing over, and shouted at once, breaking the silence. The common people did not know any guns, but they had heard of the power of machine guns. The legend of sweeping away has been heard.

Seeing the hundreds of machine guns carried over, everyone burst into deafening cheers.

It's hard to leave the homeland, with such a strong army, the little devil shouldn't be able to get in, right?

The collective appearance of just two regiments has greatly increased the confidence of the people. There were a lot of people who were carrying their burdens to the city.

The ceremony of entering the city this time was simple and very effective, and the city of Jinan was restored to its original peaceful order at once. These soldiers who passed by did not disturb the people, so that the vendors who had been watching for a long time also came out one after another, and began to earn every penny to supplement their families.

"Fathers and fellow villagers, the vanguard army is now responsible for garrisoning Jinan, and will never let the little devils come in easily. We ...... "At this time, the tweeter already existed, and as a communication equipment, the base could also produce it." Meng Xiang took the opportunity to set up a number of places in Jinan City and started a bombing broadcast. For the important surname of propaganda, Meng Xiang, who has experience in later generations, has a deep understanding.

As long as the people understand, many things can be implemented smoothly.

"The defense line along the Yellow River is still in our hands, and the devils from Qinghe Town have been driven back by us. Reinforcements from the central government will soon come, as long as we persist in the war of resistance, Jinan City will not be occupied by Xiao Yueben! ......" propaganda is naturally an achievement that needs to be exciting. The battle on the front line of the Yellow River was mentioned, but the results were not mentioned in order not to attract too much attention.

At this time, a battle of destroying 1,000 enemies is to boast for half a day, and it is too eye-catching for a division to destroy 2,000 or 3,000 enemies. After thinking about it for a long time, Meng Xiang still chose to keep a low profile. The 41st Division has not yet been digested, the city of Jinan has not yet stabilized, and even the county towns around the main base have just gained a foothold. His roots are still unstable, and it is really not easy to show off too much.

(3rd Update!) ）