Chapter 215 on the eve of the Republic
On December 10, on the streets of Shanghai Bund, a newspaper boy rushed from afar with his bare feet. The cold ground in the cold winter seemed to be low and burning, making him run like flying. His thin and tattered clothes fluttered in the wind like a dance dress. Perhaps because he was running, his little face was no longer as blue as before, but It becomes slightly rosy.
As he ran, he waved the newspaper in his hand, shouting in a joyful voice: "Outside, outside, Beiyang is about to wave the army south in the future!"
People on the street listened to his continuous shouting, and some ordinary people still walked their own way. Even if they looked up and didn't even have the intention to hear a word, but some people in glamorous clothes coincidentally slowed down. Soon the first middle-aged man in a horse coat came forward. , casually took out a few copper yuan: "A newspaper, I'll reward you more!"
The newspaper boy grinned, quickly handed over the newspaper, and then bowed: "Thank you for your reward!"
After selling today's first newspaper and getting the reward, the newspaper boy's face became more happy. He continued to shout the slogan taught to them by the newspaper: "Extra, extra, Zhao Dongyun issued a statement that the Tianjin talks have made decisive progress!"
At this time, a young man who was also wearing a suit and shaving the village like many young people came over. The newspaper boy skillfully handed over the newspaper, carefully took the copper dollar, and then trotted to another person named the newspaper.
According to this situation, it may not take a while to sell all the newspapers, and then you can go back and get another newspaper to sell, so that you can earn money that you can't make in the past three days.
The newspaper boy shouted and ran on the street, and his mind was already flying. Today, he wants to buy two steamed buns made of white flour and go back, eat half by himself, and give half for his sister, leaving one to eat tomorrow! No, I will give one for my sister today and another one for her tomorrow. I'm an adult. Just eat coarse flour steamed buns.
If only it would be good to fight every day, then I wouldn't have to worry about selling my own newspaper. I don't know who Zhao Dongyun is. Why did so many people buy newspapers when they heard his name?
The newspaper boy was thinking nonsense, and there were fewer and fewer newspapers in his backpack. His smile was getting fuller and fuller. When he sold the last newspaper, he ran to the steamed bun shop opposite. He was going to sell white steamed buns that he hadn't eaten for a long time!
The distance from the steamed bun shop was getting closer and closer, and the newsboy could even see the steaming steamed buns in the steamed bun shop. At this time, there was a sudden noise at the corner, accompanied by the sound of horseshoes. The newsboy turned around and saw a carriage coming straight to him. The next moment, he seemed to be As he flew up, all he could see was the blue sky, and the white clouds in the sky were like the white-faced steamed buns he thought about day and night.
At this time, the carriage had stopped, and the Indians driving had trotted down in a panic, and then opened the door of the carriage and kept saying sorry in lame English.
Then a middle-aged foreigner in a swallowtail dress and a top hat came down from the carriage. He looked at the newspaper boy on the ground, frowned slightly, and then took out a silver dollar from his pocket and flicked it casually. It was still on the newsboy, and then said to the Indian driver, "What are you waiting for? Go!"
The next moment, the carriage was far away, leaving only the newsboy who could not move on the ground. At this time, a Chinese man in a suit and a top hat quietly came up, stared at the newsboy several times, and then quickly squatted down and picked up the silver dollar beside the newsboy, and then He held his head high and waved his civilized stick again!
At the same time, Tianjin!
After Zhao Dongyun, Wang Yingkai, Duan Qirui and Wang Shizhen sat together again. After another unnutritious nonsense, Zhao Dongyun first talked about the business: "Yesterday, when Brother Shaochen talked about this matter of Shanxi, I'm afraid that the 7th Division here will not be able to catch up, and the 10th Division will also serve as a defense in the northeast. The importance of Japan and Russia can't be easily mobilized. Do you think it's possible to let Wu Fengling go to Shanxi!"
"His second division is also an old army. There is no need to worry about combat strength, and the situation on the side of Rehe is relatively calm now. It is too wasteful to put the second division there!"
As soon as Zhao Dongyun's words came out, several people present were silent again. Wang Yingkai's face changed. Needless to think about it, he knew that Wu Fengling must have reached an agreement with Zhao Dongyun, and may even have completely fallen to Zhao Dongyun. In his heart, he has secretly made up his mind: Wu Fengling is so ignorant that he has not responded to him for so many days. This neutrality is fine. Now he has fallen to Zhao Dongyun's side. If Wang Yingkai can make him feel better in the future, his Wang Yingkai will not be Wang Yingkai!
Just as he wanted to object, he suddenly heard Duan Qirui next to him say, "Old Wu still has the ability. If he goes to Shanxi, the situation can be controlled!"
After listening, Wang Yingkai's face changed again, but the next moment he heard Wang Shizhen say, "If Lao Wu protects my northwest wing, I will be more relieved when I go south to Huguang!"
At this time, Wang Yingkai's anger had directly emerged, but he still put up with it. He knew that Qi Rui and Wang Shizhen suddenly supported Zhao Dongyun at the beginning of today. There must be some agreement behind these three people, and this agreement will not be given up because of his opposition.
Because none of the four people here are his subordinates. On the surface, they are military allies, but to be honest, their relationship is actually 'competitors'.
They will never frown if they betray Wang Yingkai for their own interests!
Seeing that all three people here agreed to Wu Fengling's entry into Shanxi, although Wang Yingkai had the intention to oppose something, he also knew that he could not oppose it. This was a negotiation meeting between four people. All three agreed with what else Wang Yingkai could oppose, unless he could shout like Zhao Dongyun: Who wants to If you want to move into Shanxi, you have to step over the body of my Wang Yingkai!"
At present, Wang Yingkai, who is the great enemy of the south, is conceited as the leader of the North and will never easily destroy the Northern Military Alliance, so he will not be like Zhao Dongyun!
In addition, who is Wu Fengling? Judging from his previous series of performances, this person is a typical wall grass. Zhao Dongyun can give him benefits and attract him, and Wang Yingkai can also give him benefits to win him. In the end, who will Wu Fengling turn to?
So Wang Yingkai just silenced for a while, and then agreed to the proposal to let Wu Fengling stay in Shanxi!
At this time, Zhao Dongyun was also relieved. To be honest, he was really afraid that Wang Yingkai would resist and disagree. In this way, he had no good way to tell the truth. He could not attract Wang Yingkai like Duan Qirui and Wang Shizhen.
In order to attract Duan Qirui and Wang Shizhen, Zhao Dongyun sent someone to go there early this morning, saying that as long as they support Wu Fengling to live in Shanxi, Zhao Dongyun can sell them a batch of ordnance at a preferential price, 4,000 Fuyuan rifles and one million round-headed bullets.
Although this batch of ordnance requires Duan Qirui and Wang Shizhen to take out real gold and silver to buy them, to be honest, this is also a big deal. In the Far East, due to the Russorus War, the Northern Civil War and today's North-South Civil War broke out one after another, the price of this ordnance has not fallen after rising. Although there are many international arms dealers, as long as they can get it Basically, you can buy any ordnance by paying for it.
However, these warlords are not only in the hands of hundreds of thousands of people, but tens of thousands of warlords. In purchasing ordnance, they have to consider the extremely important issue of cost performance, as well as logistics and the unification of firearms models.
At present, there are about three kinds of ordnances used by many warlords in Beiyang, namely, guns and artillery made by Fuyuan, Japanese guns and artillery, and the rest are German artillery. In terms of artillery, basically, each family uses whatever it has. Fuyuan-made, Japanese and German-style, and firearms are relatively regular, including Zhao Dongyun's Fengjun, Duan Qirui's first army, Wang Shizhen's second army, Zhang Huaizhi's fifth division, Wu Fengling's second division, Wang Ruxian's The Eighth Division and other troops use all kinds of Fuyuan-made rifles.
However, there is an exception, that is, the troops represented by Wang Yingkai's first division and the seventh division. The predecessors of these two units are the Beiyang Standing Army Zuozhen and the Beijing Flag Standing Army. They have used Japanese weapons since the establishment of the army. After Yuan Shikai's death, Wang Yingkai bought a large number of second-hand 30 Annual rifles and ammunition, which led to the use of Japanese weapons in these two divisions and other auxiliary forces such as the Mixed Association under Wang Yingkai.
Although other Zhao Dongyun and others also bought ordnance from Japan, they mainly focused on those 30-year-old artillery. In addition, the British and German Maxim heavy machine guns that Japan urgently purchased during the Russo-Japanese War are also on their purchase list.
In the second-hand ordnance in my hands, the artillery began to be fully retired because of the withdrawal of the guns, and those Maxim machine guns, Japan has begun to fully imitate and equip the French air-cooled Hachikais heavy machine guns, so those water-cooled Maxim heavy machine guns urgently purchased during the Japanese War became Alien, it was sealed and retired as soon as the war ended. With the outbreak of the Chinese civil war, it was sold to the Chinese arms market with those 30-year-old rifles, 30-year-old wild guns and mountain cannons that were also retired.
Zhao Dongyun also purchased a large number of retired 30-year guns and German Maxim heavy machine guns from Japan. In addition, there are similar problems in Russia. A large number of German standard Maxim heavy machine guns that fired 7.92 mm bullets were also purchased from Germany and Zhao Dongyun during the war because of the The Russian-style 7.62mm heavy machine gun bullets were not universal, and they were forced to be decommissioned and sealed in large quantities, and then began to be resold to Zhao Dongyun.