Chapter 29: The Unexpected Test (Three)

  This sensitive topic made Song Zhe Wu's intoxication dissipate by half, and he found it difficult to answer. The reason for establishing such military discipline was absolutely the implicit meaning of his later generations' intentions. He couldn't express his true thoughts to this so-called Wen Jiao officer, nor could he say it to Xiao Guo Dong now. Taking advantage of the opportunity to drink tea to cover up his unease, he calmly said: "The task of the army is to defend the country and stabilize the local area. If military discipline is poor, disturbing the local area and causing the people to complain, how can we talk about stabilizing the local area?"

  "The security guards are well-trained and their weapons are excellent. In these two aspects alone, they can be considered a strong army in the country. Now that the warlords have been eliminated and the country has been unified, I don't know what Song Commander is thinking by continuing to expand his military forces." Wen Qing decided not to give Song Zhe Wu time to think, and continued to press him with even more aggressive language.

  The atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense, Xiao Guodong and Chu Feng looked surprised, they did not expect that Wen Qing would ask Song Zhe Wu so bluntly. But Song Zhe Wu, who had grasped the key point, was calm and composed. Wen Qing couldn't help but nod his head in admiration: "Although young, he has the demeanor of a great general who remains unchanged even when Mount Tai collapses before him, rare indeed!"

  Song Zhe Wu has now determined that Wen Qing is not an ordinary instructor at the military academy. He calmly and slowly said, "Instructor Wen's words are incorrect. Although our weapons are excellent and our training is rigorous, we cannot be considered a strong army. To be a strong army, one must have tens of thousands of troops and control several provinces, like the Guangxi clique, Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, or Northwestern Army. The Security Brigade is just a local force in Hebei Province, temporarily stationed in one county, following the orders of the Hebei Provincial Government to protect the border and maintain peace. How can we dare to call ourselves a strong army? Instructor Wen also said that 'the warlords have been eliminated and the country has been unified.' I do not dare to agree with this statement. What is unification? In my opinion, it means that the territory is intact, all factions are united as one, differences are resolved, and central government orders are implemented nationwide. However, in today's China, not only has Outer Mongolia not been recovered, but various factions are still governing themselves, and differences are increasing daily. It is also questionable whether central government orders can be implemented nationwide. As for the elimination of warlords, this is even more laughable. What are warlords? They are those who control troops, occupy a region, and become an independent entity. Many domestic factions meet these conditions, so how can we talk about their elimination? As for why the Security Brigade still needs to expand its military, I have already explained some reasons earlier. My goal is to establish an army that is not weaker than those of powerful countries, in order to protect our country and defend our nation. China is a great country with a long history of civilization, but due to various reasons in recent times, the country has become weak and its territory has been constantly lost. Japan's policy since the Meiji Restoration has been to expand its territory: first Taiwan, then Korea, and then Manchuria and Mongolia, with the ultimate goal of invading China. Now that Taiwan, Korea, and Manchuria have fallen into their hands, the next step will definitely be Mongolia. If war breaks out between China and Japan, our domestic factions' troops are no match for the Japanese military in terms of equipment or training, and we will certainly lose. If we only lose Mongolia, the central government still has room to retreat and can unilaterally refuse to recognize it, just like Outer Mongolia. However, the Japanese nation has always been strong and aggressive, and once they occupy Mongolia, they will definitely continue to advance and will not stop at that. The next step will be a full-scale invasion of China. Once the war begins, the government will have no choice but to retreat, and there are only two paths to take: surrender or all-out resistance. Surrendering would mean the destruction of our nation and the end of our civilization, which no Chinese with a conscience would do; resisting to the death would result in heavy casualties among both military and civilians. The Security Brigade is expanding its military for this very reason."

  Song Zhe became more and more agitated as he spoke, finally standing up and waving his arms excitedly.

  Song Zhe Wu's tone and actions made the three people in the house extremely surprised! What surprised Xiao Guo Dong and Chu Feng was not only Song Zhe Wu's shocking words, but more importantly, his expression. In all these years, they had seen a calm and composed Song Zhe Wu who handled changes with ease, but never such an agitated one.

  What surprised Wen Qing was that he had a new understanding of Song Zhiwu, who was not only a promising young man but also a passionate and hot-blooded youth. This young man not only had a deep understanding of military affairs but also had a strong sense of awareness of the overall situation at home and abroad. Japan's continental policy was no longer a secret, and most people in the party and the military believed that Japan would not dare to launch a full-scale war against China with just its dozen or so regular divisions. Moreover, if China and Japan went to war, the Western powers and the League of Nations would not stand idly by and allow Japan to dominate China alone. Song Zhiwu's analysis still made Wen Qing's heart tremble, as he knew that the Japanese nation could not be judged by ordinary logic, or else the Jinan massacre last year would not have occurred.

  Wen Qing now thinks that he has an objective and comprehensive understanding of Bao An Travel and its master, that is, they are a group of young people who are dedicated to the country with one heart, at least Song Zhe Wu is so, his expression just now was not intentional, but true feelings revealed, otherwise Song Zhe Wu would be a top actor.

  He now needs to clarify another issue, which is also the most important one, that is Song Zhe-wu's attitude towards the central government.

  Seeing Song Zhe Wu's expression had calmed down, Wen Qing slowed down his tone and smiled: "Wen Ge, your words just now can be said to have shocked me! Not to mention whether Japan will launch an invasion war in the future, I deeply agree with your views on the domestic situation. What do you think is the solution to this?"

  Wen Qing no longer referred to Song Zhiwu as "Commander Song", but instead used his courtesy name. This change was keenly felt by Song Zhiwu, who knew that the so-called Wen Qing had already identified with most of his views and had become closer to him. As for the question raised by Wen Qing, which required a clear stance regardless of how he answered, Song Zhiwu decided to give a clear answer and convey a clear message - that he was different from those who were self-serving and power-hungry, and that everything he did was out of love for his country and family. Most importantly, he supported the Central Government, which meant supporting Chiang Kai-shek in Nanjing.

  "The current situation in the country is a historical formation. When the Guangzhou revolutionary government was first established, it was relatively weak and small, and in order to launch the Northern Expedition, it had to rely on other local forces that were sympathetic to it, otherwise it would not have been able to survive. Due to this reliance, during the Northern Expedition, it was difficult to suppress their development, resulting in a situation where they became too powerful to control. Taking the Guangxi clique as an example, just one Seventh Army spawned over 200,000 troops. If all these armies had listened to central command, that would have been fine, but now the local factional forces are completely equivalent to private armies, and as long as the leaders of each faction do not give orders, the center cannot control them. To put it bluntly, this is completely equivalent to warlordism, or even new warlordism. This situation will inevitably lead to a prolonged period of domestic turmoil, with each faction fighting to preserve their existing interests and refusing to easily relinquish military power, all of which will lead to an extreme expansion of the military. A government that cannot fully control the country's armed forces is inherently unstable and lacks absolute authority, and in order to maintain its authority, the center must constantly increase its investment in personnel and weapons, leading to a vicious cycle of arms racing domestically, resulting in a huge waste of the country's limited human, material, and financial resources."

  Wen Qing couldn't help but shout in praise: "Wen Ge's phrase is great, especially the term 'arms race' which is used extremely well."

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