Crimson Dawn

"Yo! Boss Xu, I've heard about you a long time ago, and I finally saw you today." Hua Xiongmao watched Xu Shuzheng being brought into the headquarters in handcuffs, got up and said with a smile.

Xu Shuzheng just snorted but didn't answer. In fact, he already knew that Hua Xiongmao was an "old gangster" in the People's Party, and it was the first time he saw it today.

Hua Xiongmao looked Xu Shuzheng up and down.Having worked with Chen Ke for more than ten years, Hua Xiongmao had never seen Chen Ke give orders because of personal feelings. However, before Hua Xiongmao took office this time, Chen Ke rarely talked about Xu Shuzheng with Hua Xiongmao.The People's Party has special information on the Beiyang generals, and after capturing most of the Beiyang officials, there will be more information.In the records, Yuan Shikai once commented on Xu Shuzheng in this way: "Yuzheng is a man with a small talent. If he follows the right track, he can reach it in the future. But he is arrogant and self-righteous, and he offends many people."

Of course, Hua Xiongmao didn't know that Chen Ke felt pity because of Xu Shuzheng's achievements in recovering Outer Mongolia "historically".Looking at Xu Shuzheng's still arrogant demeanor after being captured, what Hua Xiongmao thought of was Chen Ke's evaluation of Xu Shuzheng, "If a person has a little ability, he must show his sharpness in Beiyang, be too arrogant, daring, and make enemies. There are too many. We can’t set any precedent for Xu Shuzheng. There are quite a few such comrades in our People’s Party. Xu Shuzheng must have a way to kill him, but if he can’t kill him, don’t kill him. But if he should be killed, don’t let him go. "

Let Xu Shuzheng sit down first, Hua Xiongmao said straight to the point: "Boss Xu, I have a question. Do you think you have a reason not to die?"

Xu Shuzheng originally thought that Hua Xiongmao wanted to persuade him to surrender, but he didn't expect that it would be such a question of disarming him.Just as he was about to get angry, he calmed down quickly. He suddenly grinned, "It's useless to kill me, but it's very easy to find a reason to kill me."

Hua Xiongmao said with a smile: "Killing is useless? Let's not brag about it. Is it because I can't calculate it, or because I killed a lot of people. I think Mr. Xu is only afraid of the former."

Being ridiculed by Hua Xiongmao, Xu Shuzheng just sneered, but stopped talking.

Hua Xiongmao continued: "You kill me and I kill you in the war. This is my duty. I will never kill you because of this. As for you being hostile to our People's Party, it is not a capital crime. As for drinking the blood of soldiers, Empty pay. This is all about you Beiyang, we will not kill you with these reasons."

"Hmph! Since you said that these reasons are not the reason to kill me, then Xu has no reason to kill me." Xu Shuzheng sneered.

Hua Xiongmao smiled slightly, "Then let me ask you something. In Guisui, you ordered the killing of sixteen people who refused to pay taxes. This always happens? Do you think you should pay with your life?"

After Xu Shuzheng heard this, he was furious, "Why can't you kill people who refuse to pay taxes? Your People's Party has never killed such people?"

"Not a single person." Hua Xiongmao replied earnestly, staring into Xu Shuzheng's eyes, "Our People's Party never kills people for money, and it never kills civilians. I didn't even mention that when your Beiyang Army marched, it looted people along the way. I can tell you responsibly that officers and soldiers are sentenced to death for robbery along the way here. No one has ever escaped punishment for doing such a thing. In the past ten years since our army was established, there have been several incidents This kind of thing, everyone involved was shot."

Whether a person is lying can be seen from the eyes and expression. Xu Shuzheng looked into Hua Xiongmao's eyes, but saw that Hua Xiongmao showed no sign of lying.After a long confrontation, Xu Shuzheng finally said: "Then the People's Party must kill me."

"So let me ask you first, do you think you have any reason not to die." Hua Xiongmao said seriously.

Xu Shuzheng said loudly, "Because I didn't surrender, are you going to make an example of me?"

"Your words are illogical!" Hua Xiongmao couldn't help correcting, "We persuaded you to surrender, what are the conditions for persuading you to surrender? We won't kill him if there is no private blood debt. You kill people because of government affairs, this is not a personal blood debt , so it’s not within the scope of killing. But if you don’t surrender, the basis for not killing naturally doesn’t exist. One thing is one thing.”

For the People's Party, Chen Ke has worked hard for more than ten years to instill the modern concept of governing the country with equality before the law, so Hua Xiongmao's logic is very clear.For Xu Shuzheng, his way of thinking is still the traditional "good guys and bad guys" thinking mode. Good guys have the right to be treated differently, and bad guys can be executed even without committing a crime.Power is the highest criterion for determining good and bad people.In addition, although Xu Shuzheng was a warrior, he was literate at the age of 3, capable of poetry at the age of 7, a scholar at the age of 13, and a child prodigy at the age of 17.

"After all, you still want to kill me Xu." Xu Shuzheng sneered.

Hua Xiongmao was also a little annoyed. He sighed and said, "You just don't speak logic. If I want to kill you, what are you and I doing? Lock you up first, and after Yulin is liberated, open The court. Naturally, someone will prosecute you, and then you will be tried according to the law and finally sentenced. What are you and I doing all this talking about? Is it a sense of accomplishment for you to bow your head and plead guilty? I am a lazy person, and judicial matters are beyond the scope of my interference. So Let me ask you one last time, do you think you have any reason not to die."

Although Xu Shuzheng still couldn't understand and accept the idea of ​​the People's Party, he had at least understood one thing, Hua Xiongmao was neither trying to show his prestige, nor for fun.I'm afraid it's really like Hua Xiongmao said, looking for a reason for Xu Shuzheng not to die.No one wants to die, even if he feels great humiliation, Xu Shuzheng can't help but think about the reason why he can not die.

After thinking for a while, Xu Shuzheng finally replied: "If you follow the People's Party's standard of killing people, I have no reason not to die." My mind is not over yet. Over the past few years, I have planned a strategy for recovering Outer Mongolia, and I have almost finished it at this time. Since you have beaten the Japanese, you are not afraid of the Russians. If you have the courage to fight the Russians, you might as well take the strategy use."

Originally, Hua Xiongmao really wanted to kill Xu Shuzheng, not because he had any opinion on Xu Shuzheng. Between being able to let Xu Shuzheng go and not letting him go, Hua Xiongmao thought that executing Xu Shuzheng would be more beneficial to Chen Ke.However, after hearing Xu Shuzheng's words, Hua Xiongmao felt that Chen Ke was quite foresighted, and that after Beiyang fled to the northwest, he had no intention of making progress.Xu Shuzheng's original intention of trying to take back Outer Mongolia was probably to expand Beiyang's territory, no matter what his original intention was, if he really had such a plan, then this person's backbone is very unusual.

"This is the reason why you can not die." Hua Xiongmao said, "If a person has the thought and hard work to be loyal to the country, we still have to give the policy a way out."

Xu Shuzheng's last words were actually half-truths and half-false. Although he did make preparations to recover Outer Mongolia, this plan was just a plan.Limited by the strength of the remnants of Beiyang, Xu Shuzheng relied entirely on his own ability to manage this matter, whether it could be done or not was uncertain.The reason for saying this is because I want to ridicule Hua Xiongmao.

Unexpectedly, Hua Xiongmao didn't care about Xu Shuzheng's other affairs, and he praised Xu Shuzheng's attempt to regain the country, which made Xu Shuzheng feel that there was something tricky about it.

Xu Shuzheng looked at Hua Xiongmao for a long time, and then said slowly: "I'm just planning, and I'm not sure if it can be done. If you think my plan will definitely work, then you will think too highly of Xu."

Hua Xiongmao calmly replied: "There are many external factors that determine whether it can be done, but whether to do it or not is a personal attitude. This attitude proves that you are still a true patriot, knowing that the meat is rotten. In my own pot. Can you show me this information."

Xu Shuzheng naturally did not lie, in order to enter Outer Mongolia, he accumulated a lot of information.In addition to dictating his plan, the whole confirmation is very convenient.

In fact, Xu Shuzheng's method is not very subtle. Due to the "October Revolution" in Russia, the princes and nobles of Outer Mongolia headed by Jebtsundamba lost their backing, so they decided to return to China to protect their own interests.Xu Shuzheng has already been in contact with Outer Mongolia. He plans to lead the second infantry brigade and the first cavalry regiment to march out of the fortress to Kulun.At the same time, Shanxi merchants and other large business groups are invited to various places in Outer Mongolia to promote the economic construction of Outer Mongolia through business.Then find a way to put the "Cabinet Prime Minister" Badmadorji, the princes, and Jebtsundamba Living Buddha under house arrest.

Hua Xiongmao admired this plan, which can almost be described as risky. Compared with the remnants of Beiyang, the People's Party has far superior manpower and material resources.However, there is one thing that is not dominant, and that is the contacts in Inner and Outer Mongolia.

The biggest reason why Chen Ke did not want to immediately use troops against the Northwest was that there were not enough cadres within the People's Party, and a large number of systems were still vacant and urgently needed to be built.Another reason is that the People's Party has no influence in the Northwest.As the saying goes, "If you don't fight, you don't know each other." From a dialectical point of view, this fight is also a process of deepening understanding and testing the bottom line.If a new system is used to enter the Northwest, the contradiction between the People's Party and the old system may immediately become the main contradiction in the Northwest.

If it weren't for the good development of the situation, the people's party would have to look forward to Sichuan, hoping to take the opportunity to restore the old land cut off by Russia, and the mobilization of troops in the northwest would have to be delayed for a while.

After discussing with Xu Shuzheng and some of Beiyang's captured officials in Inner and Outer Mongolia, Hua Xiongmao reached a consensus with them.Pardon the crimes of Beiyang personnel in Mongolia, including Xu Shuzheng, who were willing to revolt and surrender, and these people joined the People's Party's military operation to recover Outer Mongolia.

Originally Xu Shuzheng wanted Shanxi business groups to contribute money and efforts to promote the economy of Outer Mongolia, but the People's Party is now shouldering the burden of economic construction.The troops that Xu Shuzheng originally wanted to mobilize had been defeated, and the People's Party's troops naturally became the only military force.What Xu Shuzheng and the others have to do is to use their contacts to assist the People's Party to complete the revised Xu Shuzheng plan and bring Outer Mongolia back to the embrace of the motherland.

Xu Shuzheng and the Outer Mongolian officials in Beiyang originally had limited enthusiasm for this change. After all, it has a taste of making wedding clothes for others.However, after learning from Hua Xiongmao that the People's Party's plan was far from this, and that the recovery of Outer Mongolia was only a part of the People's Party's recovery of the old land, Xu Shuzheng and others immediately became enthusiastic.

If only the plan to recover Outer Mongolia is completed, Xu Shuzheng and others are just a group of surrendered generals who are greedy for life and afraid of death.If they can work hard to recover the old land, Xu Shuzheng and others are real national heroes.There is no need to make "difficult choices" about where to go for the benefit of oneself and the reputation of the future generations.

Hua Xiongmao was also very happy when this matter was settled.Originally, he thought that Chen Ke might have some connection with Xu Shuzheng's family, but now he had to suspect that this was some trick played by Chen Ke.Hua Xiongmao has been on the sidelines in many domestic and foreign wars of the People's Party, and now being able to take on such an unprecedented important task is an excellent opportunity to establish Hua Xiongmao's military reputation.

As a result, the military plan was quickly sent to the People's Party Military Commission.Hua Xiongmao, adhering to the tradition of the strong offensive spirit of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, also began to make intensive preparations.

With Xu Shuzheng and others as the leading party, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army defeated the troops sent by Duan Qirui to meet them, and quickly liberated the entire Suiyuan.The captured soldiers naturally surrendered. After the captured officers were screened, those officers who could be rescued also surrendered happily after the "uprising" Xu Shuzheng and others advised them.

In the process of working together with the People's Party, this group of people discovered that the People's Party did things very differently from Beiyang and even the Qing Dynasty.Apart from the factor of being rich, there are two things that the People's Party gives Beiyang the strongest feeling.One is that the People's Party is really not greedy for money, and the second is that the People's Party really knows how to spend money.

Just like the wool business, the price of wool on the grasslands is very low, and the processing technology is poor, so it is actually not easy to do.The People's Party's handling method is not at all the bandit-like method of setting up card charges.Caravans formed by the army traveled on the grasslands, and when they encountered herdsmen, they began to publicize the existence of the People's Party caravan.

Due to the good firepower and large number of troops, large and small horse bandits are not afraid.In the transaction, the people's party's method is even more peculiar.In addition to the normal exchange of wool for daily necessities, the People's Party actually exchanged wool products for wool.Sweaters, woolen gloves, woolen hats, sheepskin jackets, sheepskin boots, and even exchanged felts for building yurts.The exchange ratio is about 1.5 to 1.

Xu Shuzheng was baffled by this clearly a loss-making business, "Commander Hua, is there no land for a lot of money? Why do you want to take advantage of these Mongolians?"

Hua Xiongmao explained: "How can this be called a cheap Mongolian? If the Mongolian compatriots don't know that their worthless things can be exchanged for these good things, how can they be sincerely willing to do business with us?"

Xu Shuzheng seemed to understand this, Hua Xiongmao had no choice but to explain further: "Do you think our products are much better than those produced on the grassland?"

"This is natural!" Xu Shuzheng definitely has the most basic vision.

Hua Xiongmao continued to explain: "Since the Mongolian compatriots have seen this fact, they can understand that the products on the grassland need our processing technology to become so good, and they have a demand for us."

Xu Shuzheng thought for a while, and then asked a new question, "What if they want to get these technologies from us, and then start their own production?"

Hua Xiongmao felt that Xu Shuzheng was really smart, and he was able to see this step. He smiled and said: "To learn from us, you must be able to speak Chinese, write Chinese characters, and accept Han cultural education and production methods. If it is a grassland The Mongolian compatriots on the Internet have learned all these, and they are Han Chinese. How wonderful.”

Xu Shuzheng was also known as a child prodigy since he was a child, he never expected that Hua Xiongmao would think so, he was dumbfounded for a while, Xu Shuzheng didn't know what to say.