Chapter 67: Not Disturbing the People

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  Fang Zidao was in a hurry to go south, not only because of the central bank's coinage and financial rectification, but also for an important reason, which is the establishment of the national defense army. According to Fang Zidao's original plan, the Ministry of Land Warfare and the Ministry of Naval Warfare would be merged into the Ministry of National Defense, and all national troops would be reorganized, with the Beiyang Army as the foundation to build a new national defense army belonging to the state. This work was long and grand, not to mention other things, just the preparation work took at least half a year or more, and it would be good if it could start formally before the outbreak of World War I in 1914. However, the progress of this matter was unexpectedly fast beyond Fang Zidao's expectation. In less than half a month, Yuan Shikai decided to cancel the Ministry of Land Warfare and the Ministry of Naval Warfare after the Spring Festival, which is February 1st of the third year of the Republic of China, and establish a new Ministry of National Defense, starting the reorganization of the national defense army and the separation of military and political powers in various places.

  This matter, in truth, is entirely due to the credit of Yuan Keding, the eldest son of Yuan Shikai. Ever since Fang Zidao formally and sincerely proposed to Yuan Shikai at the Presidential Palace the importance of national defense construction and military-civil separation, this Yuan Daguizi, who was secretly called by people in Beijing, became excited as if he had been injected with chicken blood, and these days he has been busy running around, eager to complete the national defense army overnight and achieve military-civil separation in all provinces.

  Yuan Keding's mental arithmetic was naturally clear, and the words he had deliberately said to Yuan Shikai in front of Yuan Keding were actually also intended to use Yuan Keding to persuade Yuan Shikai. However, he never expected that this young master Yuan would have such great energy, and in order to inherit his father's position and maintain the Jiangshan of the Yuan family, Young Master Yuan was willing to go all out, privately visiting and colluding with various Northern Warlords, pulling strings, sending gold and silver, promising high positions... using every trick in the book. In front of his old man, he even used a big cannon to bombard him, finally persuading Yuan Shikai who had already been moved.

  Due to Fang Zidao's "contribution" to the Yuan family, and now that they are one family, Yuan Keding has thoroughly accepted Fang Zidao as his own. In his view, after Old Yuan passes away, when he, the eldest son of the Yuan family, ascends to the throne, this talented and loyal brother-in-law will definitely be a valuable minister given by heaven. Although Fang Zidao proposed that the Eighth Division be the first batch of troops to be reorganized, for the sake of national defense construction and setting an example, after Yuan Keding's machinations, even if the Eighth Division is reorganized, it will still belong to Fang Zidao's troops. This is because Yuan Keding has promised that when the time comes, he will definitely listen to Fang Zidao's "reasonable suggestions" regarding the reorganization and officer structure of the Eighth Division.

  This result was an unexpected surprise for Fang Zidao. Originally, he had planned to influence the lower levels from above and control the army through institutions. However, with Yuan Keding's private promise, Fang Zidao would not let go of these benefits. Moreover, the reorganization of the 8th Division after the new year was a big deal, and he must stay in Nanjing to prevent any unexpected events.

  "Zi Da, what are you thinking about?" Yuan Si Zhen opened her big eyes and saw Fang Zi Da staring blankly, asking softly.

  "I'm worried about the war in the northwest." Fang Zida smiled and said, "It's almost New Year's, I don't know how the battle is going on in the northwest. Didn't big brother say a few days ago that Father-in-law has decided to establish a new Ministry of National Defense and reorganize the national defense army? If the war in the northwest can't be resolved quickly, I'm afraid the reorganization of the national defense army will be delayed!"

  "I really don't know what's wrong with you men, everything is a national affair whether you open or close your eyes? Father was like this, elder brother was also like this, and now even you are like this. You're the governor of the central bank, why bother with military affairs?" Yuan Sizhen frowned slightly, somewhat resentful.

  He casually snuffed out the cigarette in his hand and chuckled, "Alright, alright, I won't worry about it anymore. Let's not talk about this, let's chat about something else instead. Ah, weren't you always wanting to hear about my time in Europe? Why don't I tell you some interesting stories from back then?"

  "Never mind, it's okay to talk about this later. You men are all supposed to do great things, and you're my husband." Yuan Sizhen's mouth slightly curved upwards as she let out a soft laugh. She wasn't some ignorant common woman; as the daughter of a noble family, Yuan Sizhen was very clear about what kind of person her husband was. Otherwise, Yuan Shikai wouldn't have valued her so much and deliberately married her off to him.

  Since getting married, Yuan Siqi still feels that she is very happy. Fang Ziduo does not have the bad habits of a spoiled son, nor does he have the overbearing temper of an average man. Having received good higher education, he is refined and courteous in his speech, respectful and loving to his wife, and has exceptional talent. From her father Yuan Shikai, who was president, and Song Jiaren, the premier of KMT, to ordinary government officials, everyone praises Fang Ziduo's character and abilities. With such a husband, what more could Yuan Siqi ask for?

  "Zi Da, actually don't worry, Uncle Lu leading the army is something that even Father has praised before. What's more, this time the country has mobilized 200,000 troops, and even if the rebel Bai Lang is formidable, he's no match for Uncle Lu."

  Lu Jianzhang……. Thinking of this person, Fang Zidao couldn't help but secretly sigh in sorrow. After Lu Jianzhang arrived in the Northwest, he first suffered a setback at the hands of Bai Lang, and when the reinforcement troops arrived, he immediately went crazy and started a frenzied siege. Earlier, news had come that the siege in the Northwest seemed to be going smoothly, but Fang Zidao learned from other channels that Lu Jianzhang had been indiscriminately slaughtering innocent people while pursuing Bai Lang in the Northwest, earning him the nickname "Lu Butcher".

  "Report to the supervisor, report to the traveling inspector, how to deal with the captured prisoners?"

  Lu Jianzhang, who was looking at the map, didn't even turn his head and waved his hand: "Do you need to ask about such a small matter? Kill them all!"

  "Yes! However... among the captives, two of them shouted that they are not from Bailing and were actually upright people who were visiting relatives but got caught up in the chaos. What do you think? Should we investigate before dealing with them?"

  "What are you looking for? Kill them! Kill them all!" Lu Jianzhang didn't even frown, waving his hand as if he was very impatient.

  By his side, a plainly dressed officer with thick eyebrows and big eyes couldn't help but advise: "Uncle, doesn't this seem inappropriate? In my opinion, it's better to investigate first."

  Lu Jianzhang looked at him and shook his head, laughing: "Huan Zhang! A military commander can't be so soft-hearted. You're also a brigade commander, you should know the principle of being decisive. If you encounter someone who speaks like this and you become softhearted and investigate, what if you let a traitor go? We've both experienced Bai Lang's cunning, whether it's true or false, once he joins the enemy army, he's a traitor, there's no other way but to kill him!

  "My uncle is right, I was wrong." Feng Yuxiang's face turned red with shame.

  With a smile, he patted his shoulder and said seriously: "It's better to kill one hundred by mistake than to let one go! Bailang has been causing trouble in the northwest for many days. This chaos must be quelled as soon as possible. Huan Zhang, you are my general and also my junior, don't make me disappointed!"

  "Yes! Uncle..." Feng Yuxiang hastily nodded, showing a deeply enlightened expression.

  These days, Lu Jianzhang's mood is still not bad. After adjusting the tactics, Bai Lang knew that his own strength was fundamentally unable to directly confront the strong armies of Beiyang, and had long since divided his troops, dispersing them into small groups to fight separately in the mountains and forests. After several days of repeated encirclement and annihilation, Lu Jianzhang's Seventh Division warned repeatedly. Just a day ago, Feng Yuxiang's 14th Brigade surrounded a group of over a hundred Bai Lang soldiers near Lantian, and after fierce fighting had thoroughly eliminated the enemy. Upon learning the news, Lu Jianzhang hurried to Feng Yuxiang's location, both to personally commend his nephew-in-law's military achievements and also to take advantage of victory to pursue and capture Bai Lang as soon as possible.

  Victory was won, but Bai Lang could not be caught in one day, and Lu Jianzhang was uneasy for a whole day. In Beijing, whether it was President Yuan or Premier Duan, they were all urging him to eliminate Bai Lang as soon as possible. But the northwest was so vast, who knew where Bai Lang was hiding? If they searched with a dragnet, not to mention 200,000 troops, even 1 million troops would probably be far from enough.

  However, Lu Jianzhang was no ordinary person. He was not only a general who led troops but also the only expert in intelligence in the Beiyang government. After establishing his foothold in the northwest, he sent out countless scouts to gather information everywhere. At the same time, Lu Jianzhang also wielded his butcher's knife, using bloody heads to warn the people of the northwest that anyone who surrendered to Bai Lang or failed to report would be beheaded once discovered. For a time, the entire northwest was terrified by his brutal methods, and many people voluntarily reported and exposed Bai Lang's army in order to protect themselves. This greatly accelerated the progress of the encirclement campaign against Bai Lang and also reduced his scope of activity.

  At the same time, during the suppression process, Lu Jianzhang did not forget to take advantage of the situation and gain some benefits for himself. Under the pretext of raising military expenses, he ordered his subordinates to extort and collect money from all over the place. Within a short month, the impoverished northwest region was actually squeezed out of 450,000 taels of silver in "military expenses", which can be said to be a clever way of making money!

  Of the 450,000 taels of silver, Feng Yuxiang's 14th Division contributed more than half. Lu Jianzhang was particularly satisfied with this nephew-in-law who could fight and make money for himself. Moreover, Feng Yuxiang had always been loyal, honest and obedient, and in Lu Jianzhang's heart, he even thought that one day when he was promoted, whether to hand over the 7th Division to him.

  After a bit of urging, Lu Jianzhang, who was somewhat tired, went to rest. Feng Yuxiang, who had just been very polite in seeing him off, immediately straightened his back and returned to his own headquarters, casually sitting down in the large armchair. He gathered his subordinates and asked about the progress of suppressing bandits and collecting taxes.

  "Director, especially for my 14th Brigade, specially entrusted to Yuxiang, the siege must be grasped tightly, but the preparation of supplies cannot be relaxed!" Feng Yuxiang said solemnly: "My troops came to the northwest for the country and the people, fighting and bleeding for the sake of bringing peace and stability to the people all over the world. My 14th Brigade is the people's army, not disturbing the people, loving the country! This sentence must be remembered in your hearts, do you all understand?"

  "I understand!" The battalion and regimental commanders shouted in unison, each looking dignified and upright, but everyone's heart was secretly pondering whether to send more people to impersonate the White Wolf bandits and plunder a few more landlords and rich merchants.