Chapter 212 Who are you trying to trick this time?

Chapter 212 Who are you trying to trick this time?

Chapter 212 Who are you trying to trick this time?
"Report to the commander, I'm back!"

Dong Fuxiang had already changed into the standard uniform of a new army general, with a peaked cap and an armed belt, and was carrying a revolver. His image and title had been assimilated into the Huai Army, and the "bowing" had been changed to a salute.

In the Second Battle of Taizisi, Dong Fuxiang personally led two infantry battalions of the Gansu Independent Mixed Brigade, crossed the steep mountains, and launched a surprise attack on the camp set up by Ma Zhan'ao in Taizisi. After achieving great success, he disappeared and did not participate in the subsequent campaign against Ma Guiyuan and Ma Wenlu.

Now, on the first day of the new year, he reported to Suzhou and brought back 7,500 new recruits from Shaanxi and Gansu. The Gansu Army has expanded to 13,500 people.

"it is good!"

Shao Quanzhong returned the greeting wearing a woolen military coat and white gloves, then stepped forward and patted Dong Fuxiang on the back affectionately, "Let's go and see the new brothers that Old Dong has recruited!"

Shao Quanzhong deliberately put on white gloves that he didn't usually wear. He was giving rewards to the soldiers on the huge playground.

After the destruction caused by Ma Wenlu's bandit gang, Suzhou has become so dilapidated that it cannot be described as "only one in ten remains". If you look deeper, it is "only one in twenty remains". The city is so desolate that rats can be seen everywhere.

Therefore, 80,000 troops were stationed in the city, the destroyed houses were razed to the ground, and a huge temporary training ground was built. The entire Suzhou City became the barracks of the Huai Army.

When Dong Fuxiang did not return with his troops, there were more than 60,000 people stationed in the city.

With so many people to reward, Shao Quanzhong could no longer distribute the rewards by himself. He could only give a few symbolically and then supervise back and forth, insisting on seeing with his own eyes that the silver was distributed to the lowest-level soldiers.

Lin Bozai's army lost 2,000 men in the first battle of Taizisi, and 1,000 men when attacking Bai Yanhu's army in Tarwan. Nie Shicheng's army lost 2,500 men when attacking Ma Guiyuan, and lost 200 men in pacifying the cities west of Jiayuguan. Shao Hengzhong's army lost 1,800 men when attacking Ma Wenlu independently, which was the smallest loss among all the armies.

The Huai Army suffered losses of approximately 14,000 men in the attack on Jinjibao, while the total losses in suppressing the bandits in all other areas of Gansu were only 75,000.

Shao Quanzhong did not order any replacement for these losses, but only ordered Wu Ziyi to balance the various units and appropriately reduce the establishment. The vacant establishment was given to Dong Fuxiang to expand the Gansu Army.

"All the new soldiers recruited by General Dong have undergone elementary militia training. It is said that those recruited from Shaanxi have been trained for more than a year, and those recruited from eastern Gansu have been trained for half a year.

From my observation, the temperament of these new soldiers is completely different from that of the southern soldiers of the Huai Army.

Southern soldiers were well-nourished, had fair skin, and were closer to the image of American soldiers.

These northwestern soldiers are more sturdy in build, their skin has been worn rough and dark by the northwest wind and sand, and their eyes are more simple.

When I met them, they had not yet changed into the new army uniforms and their clothes were ragged, but their eyes were full of hope for the future.

Accompanied by General Dong, General Shao inspected the new recruits and personally distributed the first month's military pay to them one by one.

There is no doubt that Shao is a domineering warlord who is cultivating his own power. But I think it will be a blessing for the Chinese people if Shao can come to power in China.

Shao's achievements in ruling his territory were so brilliant that they stood out even among the rulers of the first-class powers.

Our federation’s President Johnson, who is incomprehensible, does not have the temperament of a great man like Shao. The federation should reflect on our self-proclaimed superior electoral system, why such a mediocre ruler has emerged…”

Excerpt 75 from "Journey to the West in the Qing Dynasty".

"Old Dong, the soldiers from Shaanxi and Gansu are more suitable for fighting in the mountains and deserts of the northwest and the severe cold climate. They have already proven themselves in Taizisi. We will rely more on you for this western expedition."

Dong Fuxiang tapped his heels together and said, "I am willing to die for you, sir."

Shao Quanzhong raised his voice, "Brother Le - ahem, wrong, Yigu! Issue uniforms and equipment to the new recruits."

Hundreds of logistics soldiers ran forward and delivered new clothes to more than 6,000 recruits in batches.

Shao Yigu, the newcomer to the Huai Army, managed the logistics in an orderly manner, far better than Le Sen did when he was in charge of logistics.

New soldiers of different ranks were given their own uniforms and shoulder badges, officers were given woolen coats, pistols, and cross-body belts. The logistics soldiers also took a ruler of fixed length to measure the soldiers' feet and immediately selected the right military boots for the soldiers from several fixed sizes.

More than half of the new recruits were cavalrymen. The infantrymen were given muskets and the cavalrymen were given carbines. There was no mistake and everything was in order.

In a very short period of time, 6,500 new soldiers were given a completely new look. This required a very high level of organizational and dispatching skills. It seemed that in addition to the training factors in the Wen Group, Shao Yuan also had a superhuman talent in managing logistics.

"Assisted by Dong Fuxiang!"

"My subordinate is here!"

"The Gansu Army's Independent Mixed Brigade has been upgraded to an Independent Mixed Division. You will command a town of soldiers in the future. I will promote you to commander."

"Thank you for your cultivation, sir!"

Shao Quanzhong walked up to the reviewing stand, with his hands behind his back, and said, "Brothers, you have been fighting for a year and a half. You have worked hard! Today we will collectively improve our food.

Starting tomorrow, we will take turns to have a ten-day holiday. I appoint Shao Hengzhong as the commander-in-chief of the Suzhou front. After the holiday, he will be responsible for the military training and repair of the troops. Now, disband! "

The commanders of various departments conveyed Shao Quanzhong's order to all soldiers, and the troops lined up and left the training ground in an orderly manner.

For dinner, the troops had a snack.

The so-called improvement in food this time was not meat. The Huai Army had to eat meat twice a week on average, which had become a routine. When they arrived in the northwest, they ate a lot of mutton.

The soldiers from central Jiangsu ate the chrysanthemum and pork meatballs from their hometown, and the soldiers from Anhui ate fried cabbage.

It is not easy to eat green vegetables in the cold winter in the north, so they are specially transported by water.

Shao Quanzhong himself did not eat the vegetables, and neither did a few military policemen.

These vegetables were stored and frozen in the underground cold storage of Fengyang military camp to keep them fresh, and then transported here. Shao Quanzhong always felt that they tasted a bit strange.

Haiqing ate with great relish, not caring at all.

"Report, Charles Crocker, the construction supervisor of the Wen-Stanford Railway Company, wants to see you."

Are the foreigners here to eat for free?

Well, the foreigners really appreciated the off-season vegetables. They ate them with gusto and didn’t taste any strange taste at all. This was definitely Shao Quanzhong’s psychological effect.

"Shao, the biggest gain from my visit to Qing is that the food in Qing is far superior to that in America. I'm even considering immigrating here."

Mr. Crocker, who was invited by Shao Quanzhong to have dinner, wiped his mouth after finishing his meal and said, "Shao, I regret to inform you that after the evaluation of our American Central Pacific Railroad Company, our joint venture company cannot build the railway to Yili."

Shao Quanzhong smiled at the foreign foreman who had no gentlemanly manners while eating, "What? Are you going to give up the privilege of building railways in my area?"

"We are not abandoning the project completely, but only in Ili Province. We have a preliminary understanding of the population density and economic development west of Dunhuang, and the economy there is not enough to support such a railway to make money."

“You have to take the long view.”

"We have already taken a long-term view. In fact, to maintain an acceptable profit for us, the Northwest Railway you proposed can only be built to Lanzhou. Due to the large number of cheap slaves used, the construction cost is reduced, and this railway line can be extended to Suzhou. If it is extended to Dunhuang, we will not make any money from the Suzhou to Dunhuang section, which is a gift for the sake of our friendship. Building a railway further west will lose money, so we cannot do it."

After seeing off the foreign railway partner, Shao Quanzhong knocked his head.

The cost of building a railway is very low now, 200 kilometers costs 7 million taels of silver. But if it is built from Dunhuang to Yili, it will also cost 50 million taels of silver.

They are already bearing half of the expenses, and they still have nowhere to find a buyer. The rich people in the country are not willing to waste their money.

Now Americans don’t want to be taken advantage of, so where can they get the money?

(End of this chapter)