The sun never sets

Hai’s main task is not to buy guns and cannons, but to buy food.

Britain, France and other countries have vast colonies in Southeast Asia and the South China Sea, and can bring in a lot of food. The United States is also a major food exporter. Although it cannot make excessive profits by transporting food across the vast Pacific Ocean, it can still make some money. The United States is now going crazy for the market, and it doesn't care whether it will aid the enemy or not. As long as they are paid, they will sell.

Countries like Britain and France are still very particular about their eating manners and have agreed not to sell large-caliber artillery to China. However, the Americans do not have such a tacit understanding. It's just that their asking price is too high. They rely on the fact that other countries are unwilling to sell large-caliber artillery and insist on making ten times the profit. This is outrageous.

Lin Yongchang seized a large sum of money, but that money was useful. He could not spend it all on dozens or hundreds of cannons. In the end, he only bought some machinery and old rifles, and the rest was food.

In addition to buying, selling and selling in Shanghai, Yan Xishan also hyped up rubber stocks. The prices of rubber stocks and futures have been rising for more than three months and are still rising. Yan Baichuan advocated the wide application and bright future of rubber in various public occasions.

He described the properties and uses of rubber with great enthusiasm: ... rubber is an unprecedented material that is wear-resistant, pressure-resistant and high-temperature-resistant; he said that rubber is not only insulating, but also very soft; he said that rubber is not only suitable for making tires, but also for making conveyor belts, wire sheaths, insulating gloves, children's toys...; he said that the future world is a world of rubber; he said that in the future world, rubber will be used in all aspects...; he said that now only the United States is mass-producing cars, and only the United States is purchasing rubber in large quantities; he said that in the future cars will be found in every country, and every country will purchase rubber in large quantities...; he said that in the next 30 years, the rubber business will flourish...; he said that the rubber business people see now is just the tip of the iceberg of this "big rubber business".

During the speech, Yan Xishan was full of passion, shouting "ecological counterattack" and saying that he would "take everyone to suffocate for the dream together". It was obvious that these words were taught by Lin Yongchang, but Yan Xishan thought that what Marshal Lin said made sense. There will definitely be more and more cars, and the rubber business will definitely be prosperous. Not to mention three or four years, even if it is fifty or a hundred years, the rubber business will not be outdated!

At first, Yan Xishan just read the script, but later he believed the rhetoric and invested a lot of real money. He also wrote a letter to his father Yan Shutang and took out all the money in the family. The rubber futures market in Shanghai is very hot now, and Yan Xishan has put a lot of effort into it.

He also hooked up with Li Hongzhang's second son Li Jingshu, and the two speculated on rubber futures and stocks together and made a lot of money. Li Hongzhang said that stocks could not make much money, but Li Jingshu disagreed. He made more than 100,000 taels of silver in one month. If he invested more money and speculated for a few more months, it would not be a problem to make millions of taels of silver!

Li Hongzhang sneered at his son's speculation in futures and stocks, and ordered Li Jingshu to give up the idea of becoming a Shanghai tycoon and go to Nanjing with him. In China, power is the first priority. With power, what else can you lose?

Li Jingshu thought his father was too feudal. What's wrong with being a Shanghai tycoon? Not only can you eat steak, but you can also ride a big horse. It's also for the glory of the country! You don't have to go to the battlefield to serve the country. Isn't it the same in bed?

But there was no way out. His father Li Hongzhang was too strong in front of him. Li Jingshu's resistance was suppressed, so he had to give up the foreign concessions in Shanghai and go to Nanjing. Before leaving, Li Jingshu secretly went out and invested all the money he had saved into the rubber business.

Yan Xishan reluctantly said goodbye to Li Ergongzi, saying that when Li Ergongzi came to Shanghai again, he would invite him to ride a big foreign horse again, black, white and spotted, and he would make sure that Li Ergongzi would have a great time. Li Jingshu said that with his status and investment in the rubber industry, playing with women was just a matter of a finger.

Mr. Li also said that when he went to Jinling, he would bring more people to trade stocks and futures and lead everyone to get rich. He was particularly interested in the term "ecological reaction" and thought that Yan Xishan was young but had put forward a great concept.

"Yes! Second Young Master, what you said is very good! I can't just focus on making money for myself, I should also lead my relatives and friends to make money together!" Yan Xishan said excitedly: "We must suffocate for our dreams together!"

Chapter 140 Confidence

Yuan Shikai rejected Lin Yongchang's goodwill and continued to expand his army and collect food and grass, showing a desperate resistance. Yang Du yawned and said tiredly: "Yuan Weiting said he has an army of 100,000. I think even if there is not 100,000, there are still 50,000 or 60,000. Wang Shizhen, Duan Qirui and others are also heroes of the time. The Marshal must not be careless."

He rode as fast as he could to Jinan, and then rode as fast as he could back, without a good rest along the way. He was just a scholar, and although he had good physical fitness, he was already exhausted after running around like this. If he hadn't come to report the situation, he would have slept in bed for a day and a night.

Lin Yongchang certainly knew that there were a lot of tough guys in the Beiyang Army, but the Beiyang Army only had more than 10,000 people. Even if the army was urgently expanded by tens of thousands of people, its combat effectiveness did not increase much. Now is the best time to annihilate the Beiyang Army. If we wait until Yuan Shikai buys a large number of guns and ammunition and arms the newly recruited troops,

If they get up, it will be difficult to fight.

Yuan Shikai was no longer President Yuan, who controlled most of China, nor was he the Hongxian Emperor. His territory was only Shandong. The great powers would not be willing to provide him with loans and arms aid. However, things that happen in the world are not necessarily rational. What if there is such a stubborn person among the great powers?

There have been countries in history that have made irrational actions. The most famous one is the Japanese. During the Second World War, they offended all the surrounding countries and fought against four countries, ABCD, at the same time. Apart from Empress Dowager Cixi, the only other country who did such a thing was the Japanese.

In order to avoid more trouble, Lin Yongchang decided to destroy the Beiyang Army first. The governors, warlords and those who rebelled in the south could be put aside for now, but the Beiyang Army entrenched in Shandong could not be left alone. Yuan Shikai was very confident, but Lin Yongchang was more confident. The Japanese army had withdrawn, and he could pull all the main forces to deal with the Beiyang Army.

The main force of the field army he brought was an army, which had three divisions and a cavalry division. Together with the army's artillery, engineers, communications, reconnaissance, logistics, field hospitals and other units, the total strength reached 60,000. This was the absolute main force of the new People's Republic government. Its combat effectiveness was absolutely sufficient and was no worse than that of the Eight-Nation Alliance during its period of complete victory.

The equipment is a bit mixed, with more than a dozen rifles and seven or eight cannons. The pressure on logistics supply is several times greater than normal. Even after adjustments, try to make each regiment use the same type of weapons, but it is still very troublesome. However, the problem is not big. Although it is a bit mixed, the soldiers don't need too much ammunition. A light infantryman carries 100 to 180 rounds of bullets, plus the ammunition carried by the regiment, which is enough to deal with a battle.

The bulk of the ammunition consumption is from machine guns, but the Republic has a limited number of machine gun bullets, and currently has no ability to manufacture bullets, so every round fired is one less. The performance of the reloaded bullets is impressive, and they will randomly drift after leaving the barrel. No one knows what they will hit if they are more than a hundred meters away.

The Taiyuan Iron and Steel Plant has not yet started production. The molten iron that came out of the furnace last time contained too much sulfur. After cooling, the steel was too brittle. Whether it was used for processing machinery or rails, it was unqualified and could only be used to make farm tools. But at least the steel was produced, which was half the battle. First solve the problem of whether there is steel or not, then solve the problem of whether it is good or not.

What Lin Yongchang wanted to do most now was not to fight, but to go to Taiyuan to build a steel plant. Steel was the lifeblood of the country, as well as three acids and two alkalis and various factories. The People's Republic government could only produce smokeless gunpowder in small batches, and the number of machine tools was pitifully small. If it hadn't robbed the foreigners' factories and rails, the industrial construction in Shanxi would have basically been non-existent.

But he had to deal with the Beiyang Army first. He didn't think Yuan Shikai was that powerful, but the great powers were really strong. The Germans had already entered the electrical age, while China was still playing with steam engines, and the number of steam engines was still small. There were 290,000 kilometers of railways in Europe, and the number of railways in the United States exceeded 300,000 kilometers. What about China? Did China build more than 2,000 kilometers of railways?

It is no wonder that so many people regard foreigners as saviors. The gap between China and the great powers is too big. If it were not for the distance, any great power would be able to crush China with half of its strength. It is only because China is far away from the great powers, and the great powers are restraining each other, that China has avoided the fate of being divided.

However, with the advancement of science and technology, the power of various countries will become stronger and stronger. If China cannot catch up, it will be torn to pieces by the great powers sooner or later. Falling behind will lead to being beaten, which is true in most of the time.

In order to concentrate on development, Lin Yongchang was ready to ignore Yuan Shikai's massacre of civilians in Shandong, but since Yuan Shikai wanted to fight, then let him fight. Destroy the old world and rebuild it. And he also wanted to know what Yuan Shikai's confidence was, was it just relying on his Beiyang Army?

The Beiyang Army’s combat effectiveness was good, but its numbers were too small, and it was far from being a behemoth with 200,000 soldiers in another time and space.

Or will the Japanese send troops to help the Beiyang Army fight? Other powers are currently unable to send a large number of troops to North China. The Russian army is still competing with the various volunteer armies in the Northeast. Britain is deeply trapped in the South African exhibition. France, Germany and Italy do not have enough transportation capacity. The Americans do have enough transportation capacity, but the combat effectiveness of the US military is poor and the number is too small. After all the calculations, only the Japanese are able to send hundreds of thousands of troops to China.

Perhaps the retreat of the Second Division of the Japanese Army was just a trick? Maybe Japan has already started emergency mobilization, and maybe several standing divisions are already preparing to load ships. But Marshal Lin has a cheat, and it is absolutely impossible to sneak attack him. If the Japanese army really plays the trick of playing hard to get, they will only find that they have kicked the iron plate.

"Marshal, Zhou Yi wants to see you!"

"Let him in."

Zhou Yi was from Shandong and had a deep hatred for the Beiyang Army. After fleeing from Shandong to Hebei, he joined Marshal Lin and wanted to fight back to his hometown in Shandong. He entered the inner hall under the guidance of the guards and said with joy: "Marshal, I contacted Ma San from the Zibo Patrol Battalion, and he agreed to fight!"

"Oh, Yuan Shikai took Ma San's sister as a concubine. Does he not care about his sister's life or death?"

Zhou Yi smiled and said, "The Yuan family is about to die. If Ma San doesn't want to be buried with him, he won't care about his sister's life or death. Besides..."

etc.

He looked left and right, took a few steps forward, and whispered, "In the Beiyang Army..."

Lin Yongchang leaned forward and asked, "Who else wants to turn from darkness to light?"

Zhou Yi reached into his sleeves and his expression suddenly turned grim, "And this!"

The sharp blade light flashed, and Zhou Yi, holding the poisoned dagger in his hand, stabbed it fiercely towards Lin Yongchang's chest.

Chapter 141: Overwhelming

There were many people like Zhou Yi who came from Shandong to seek refuge, and Lin Yongchang did not suspect him. Lin Yongchang was not prepared for Zhou Yi's sudden transformation into a killer. At this time, the two were very close to each other, and the guards were outside the yard. Logically, the unprepared Marshal Lin was dead.

but........

Lin Yongchang looked at the other person's wrist that he was holding, and asked with a smile: "When did you contact Yuan Shikai? Or did you plan to be an assassin from the beginning?"

After annihilating the Eight-Nation Alliance, Marshal Lin's prestige reached 100, the maximum, and he could send and receive freely, with great power and look no different from ordinary people. In addition, after occupying Beijing and taking over the entire Hebei Province, he got a lot of military points, and he had to use the points. Now Lin Yongchang has a lot of skills such as [Strong Body], [Innate Power], [Invulnerable to All Poisons], [Surprise Inspiration], [Bullet Time], etc. When Zhou Yi wanted to kill him, he felt it.

When Zhou Yi pulled out the dagger and stabbed at him, the passive effect of [Bullet Time] was activated, and the assassination became a slow movement in Lin Yongchang's eyes. Then he casually reached out and grabbed Zhou Yi's wrist, as simple as grabbing chopsticks to eat. Not to mention that Zhou Yi was holding a dagger, even if he was holding a pistol, it would be useless.

Zhou Yi's face was filled with horror. He felt as if his wrist was about to be broken. He struggled hard, but his wrist seemed to be stuck in steel and could not move at all. "You...you...ah!"

The guards outside heard the screams from inside and rushed in with rifles. When they saw the dagger in Zhou Yi's hand, they were shocked and angry, "How dare you!"

Lin Yongchang twisted casually, threw Zhou Yi to the ground, and said, "Don't hit him, just tie him up."

The guards kicked Zhou Yi several times in anger, and then they tied him up tightly. Zhou Yi looked pale, but he did not resist, and let the soldiers tie him up. Lin Yongchang shook his head, stood up, and said, "Let Liu Chengxiang take people to arrest Zhou Yi's relatives, friends, and subordinates, and give them a thorough trial. Don't wrongly accuse a good person, and don't let a bad person go."

Zhou Yi suddenly raised his head and said sadly, "There are so many people who want to kill you! I am not the only one."

"How dare you talk back!" The guard slapped him hard in the face.

Lin Yongchang scolded, "No hitting! Don't you know to treat prisoners well? It seems that you haven't learned deeply enough!"

Zhou Yi shuddered when he heard this. He had gone to see the captured foreigners before, and now he himself had become a prisoner. The concept of "people" was often mentioned in the "Appointment Daily", and many social phenomena were called "contradictions among the people". For "contradictions among the people", the policy of the People's Republic Government was "to punish past mistakes, prevent future ones, and cure the disease and save the people".

As long as it is a "contradiction among the people", it is mainly dealt with through criticism, education, and learning, and there is rarely killing. However, once someone is expelled from the ranks of the "people", it becomes a "contradiction between the enemy and us". The People's Republic Government has always been as ruthless as winter to its enemies.

Lin Yongchang reprimanded the guards for a few words, and then said to Zhou Yi: "I was wondering why Yuan Shikai suddenly became so brave. It turns out that he thought of assassination. Well, if I die, the new government will most likely collapse on its own. But the assassination is impossible to succeed. Fate is not on his side. You should eat and drink as you please in the next two days. You will have nothing to eat or drink in the underworld. Your Zhou family will probably go to the border to defend the country. I guess we won't have the chance to come back to burn incense and visit your grave."

Zhou Yi had his neck stiff at first, but after hearing these words, his body began to shake and he almost fell to the ground. He shouted, "A man should take responsibility for his actions! I did it, why should I embarrass others? Mr. Lin, if you have any tricks, just come at me!"

Lin Yongchang shook his head, not wanting to waste time talking to Zhou Yi. What was there to say? In this world, apart from death, few things were absolute. Right or wrong was more about one's position.

"Order! The Second Division will cross the Yellow River from Jianglou Town. The Cavalry Division will split up to capture Linzi, Qingzhou, and Yishui. Surround Jinan Prefecture!"

He was a little worried that Yuan Shikai had a back-up plan, and could turn the tables in desperate situations like he did with the Eight-Nation Alliance. Yuan Weiting did have a back-up plan, but it was not to mobilize the masses or to have the foreign powers intervene again, but to use assassination, a method that was not worthy of being shown on the stage.

Lin Yongchang did not look down on assassination. The Japanese reformists overthrew the shogunate by means of assassination. In another time and space, Chinese people of integrity also relied on assassination to create a significant impact on society. But in the final analysis, assassination is only a means and cannot change the most fundamental problem. The reforms in Japan and China both have deep political and economic reasons, and assassination is only useful at a specific time.

Assassination arranged by Yuan Shikai

Since the means have failed, there is no need to be polite next time. Let's fight, fight, and finish it quickly so that we can start construction!

Lin Yongchang now holds the power of an army in his hands. After the battle, it will be split into divisions and then transferred to the Henan mountains and other places. For a long time in the future, he will not have such a powerful force in his hands.

After the Republican Army started, it quickly rushed into the heart of Shandong. The Beiyang Army had good combat effectiveness, but their numbers were too small, and even after the expansion, they only had 30,000 to 40,000 people. The Republican Army alone had more than 50,000 troops rushing in from Hebei, and there were tens of thousands of troops surrounding them from Henan and Huaihai, which together were several times more than the Beiyang Army.

Lin Yongchang had no moral principles at all. He had an absolute advantage in military strength, but he did not fight the Beiyang Army head-on. He always divided and surrounded them, and then ate them up one by one. Only three days after the battle began, he had defeated the Beiyang Army's troops in Shandong.

The seemingly powerful Beiyang Army had no power to fight back in front of the People's Army. The frontal attack could not penetrate the Republican Army's defense line, and the detours would always run into an ambush. The Beiyang Army was really good at fighting those old ones. After losing thousands of people, Duan Qirui, Cao Kun and other brave generals were beaten to the point of losing their temper. They could only retreat to Jinan City with their remaining troops, and then ask for help from the south again and again.

"How could this be?"

Yuan Shikai had said this countless times, "How could this happen? The army that we trained with great effort was destroyed in just three or five days! My Lord, my Lord, have all our efforts over the years been in vain?"

Wang Shizhen said bitterly, "Lin Yongchang recruited several thousand Japanese soldiers as the vanguard, which led to our defeat. Alas, I really didn't expect this."

Apart from Lin Yongchang and the people of the People's Republic Government, few people believed that the People's Army would have infinite power. Even talents like Wang Shizhen did not realize this and only attributed their failure to various other factors.

Chapter 142: Pacification of Shandong

甲午战争后，中国给日本的战争赔款是2.3亿两白银，因为日方的克重胡搜段，实际上给了3亿两白银。这三亿两白银早就被日本人用的明明白白，赔款中的62.7%用于日本陆海军的扩军、购买新装备；21.9%作为发动侵略战争的临时军费；5.5%成为日本皇室的私人财富；3.3%用于日本殖民台湾的计划；2.7%作为救灾基金存在；0.9%用于日本运输通信建设；0.2%建成了日本最大的钢铁工厂八幡制铁所；用于教育的经费只占2.7%。

There is a saying in later generations that the Japanese invested most of the indemnity they received from the Sino-Japanese War into education. But that was not the case. The Japanese used most of the money to buy weapons and repair warships, and they did not pay much attention to education. All the statements that glorify the Japanese come from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and those public intellectuals who took money from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, such as Jiang Fangzhuo and others.

The Japanese government had already made clear arrangements for the huge compensation. Lin Yongchang was thinking too much to ask the Japanese to pay the ransom. The Japanese government did not admit that their generals and soldiers were captured. The samurai of Great Japan would rather die than surrender. How could they lay down their arms and surrender?

Impossible, absolutely impossible!

The Japanese government refused to pay the ransom, and Lin Yongchang could not support those Japanese soldiers and let them eat for free! After letting those people repair the road for more than half a month, Lin Yongchang asked Yamaguchi Sushin if he was willing to serve the Central People's Republic of China. Yamaguchi Sushin was unwilling. He was a lieutenant general in the Japanese army. How could he be a general of the Chinese government? At most, he could be an advisor.

It means taking money to do things, but not the title. Although the Japanese government was unwilling to pay to redeem them, Yamaguchi Sushin still had patriotic feelings. He was only willing to be an advisor and refused to accept a military position from the Chinese government. As for the officers and soldiers below, you and he can't control them.

The Japanese soldiers spent more than half a month repairing the road. Although they had no shortage of food, why not go somewhere better? Working for the Japanese government is working, and working for the Chinese government is also working. Moreover, the treatment in the Chinese army is better. Not only will you not be beaten, but you can also get a monthly salary of 4 oceans without discount.

Except for a few hundred officers and soldiers who preferred to repair the road, the other 2,000 Japanese soldiers joined the ranks of the People's Army. Their first battle was to fight the Beiyang Army in Shandong. Many officers in the Beiyang Army had fought in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, such as Wang Shizhen and Cao Kun. They had fought against the Japanese army and their fear of the Japanese army was ingrained in their bones.

After encountering the Japanese on the Shandong battlefield, the Beiyang Army quickly collapsed. The officers abandoned the army and ran away, and the soldiers followed. The Beiyang Army was as fierce as wolves and tigers when suppressing the Boxer Rebellion, but became weak chickens when facing foreigners. Whether it was Westerners or Japanese, the Beiyang Army did not dare to provoke them.

In the end, only 4,000 to 5,000 soldiers and generals retreated to Jinan. Although Yuan Shikai recruited young and strong men in the city, the number of troops increased to more than 20,000, but the combat effectiveness of these 20,000 people was questionable, and the people in the city were panic-stricken, and many people were looking for a way out. Wang Shizhen's killing spree stabilized the situation in Jinan.

Lin Yongchang divided his troops to liberate other parts of Shandong and led

The main force surrounded the city of Jinan. The Beiyang Army had not yet reached its strongest point in history, and there was no court to pay the Beiyang Army and buy equipment. Yuan Shikai alone had no way to arm tens of thousands of Beiyang Army, and he did not have the time.

Therefore, before Marshal Lin could even exert any strength, the Beiyang Army fell. The Beiyang Dragon, Tiger and Dog, His Royal Highness Duan Zhigui, Cao Kun, Lu Zhengxiang and others were beaten by the Republican Army and had no temper at all. They were all trapped in the city of Jinan, waiting for Zhang Zhidong and others in the south to come to their rescue.

The Hubei New Army did go out, but it was not to rescue the Beiyang Army in Jinan, but to suppress the uprising army in Hunan. Huang Xing, Tao Chengzhang, and Sun Yat-sen made too much noise, and after overthrowing the rule of the imperial court, they were not satisfied and were ready to sweep Zhang Zhidong, Li Hongzhang and other remnants of the previous dynasty into the garbage dump of history.

Under such circumstances, Yang Du went to persuade Yuan Shikai to surrender again. However, this time, there was no position for Yuan Shikai in the Ministry of Railways or the Development and Reform Commission. Yang Du passed through the Beiyang Army soldiers who were armed and full of hostility. When he saw Yuan Shikai who was getting thinner and thinner, he couldn't help but say: "Weiting, now that things have come to this, don't resist any more."

Yuan Shikai was originally a short, dark and fat man, but now he is not fat at all. On the contrary, he looks a little thin and looks more capable and energetic. "Xizi, go tell Marshal Lin that Yuan has given up. I will go to the Ministry of Railways. If I can build a 100,000-mile railway for China, it will be considered a contribution to the country."

"Hey, Weiting, it would be better if you agreed earlier. But now......"

"Marshal Lin has changed his mind?"

"It's a different time now. Six days ago, Weiting, you were the commander-in-chief of the Beiyang Army, with 30,000 or 40,000 troops under your command. Now you only have a few thousand defeated soldiers and an isolated city. It's impossible to get the conditions you had before."

Yuan Shikai was silent for a while, and the spirit and momentum he pretended to have were completely lost. He asked weakly: "What conditions does Marshal Lin offer now?" He said self-deprecatingly: "You don't want my head, do you?"

Half a year ago, the Beiyang Army slaughtered the Boxers in Shandong. The Boxers in Shandong could not defeat the Beiyang Army, so many of them fled to Hebei and joined Lin Yongchang. Now those people have fought back, and many of them are gnashing their teeth at the Beiyang Army, wishing to chop them all into pieces.

"Marshal Lin said that as long as you lay down your arms and surrender, the people's government will not pursue the past. Weiting, you can go to the south with no more than three kilograms of personal property, or become an ordinary citizen of the republican government."

"Ordinary citizen?" Yuan Shikai was stunned. "Can he trust Lin Yongchang?"

Yang Du smiled and said, "What are you worried about?"

Yuan Shikai could only sigh. Yes, what was there to worry about? He had 40,000 troops but they were defeated. What kind of trouble could he cause after surrendering? The Beiyang Army was actually defeated in three days. In the following days, they were chased all the way into Jinan City.

Alas, since we already have Yuan Shikai, why did heaven send down a bald Lin? If we already have Yu, why do we need Liang?

Chapter 143: Bloodless Opening of the City

Yuan Shikai really didn't want to lay down his arms and surrender. If the Hubei New Army could launch an attack, things would definitely be better! However, Zhang Zhidong's Hubei New Army was preparing to "recapture" Hunan. Regardless of the reason, Hunan is now one of the most civilized places in China, and many people have some understanding of the world situation. The more they know, the more they can't tolerate the previous corrupt court.

Zhang Zhidong and his people had some ability, but the Southeast Mutual Protection had exhausted their prestige, and everyone thought they were just dead bones in the grave. If the Hubei New Army dared to attack Henan, Huang Xing and his people would dare to rush into Wuchang City.

As more and more cannons were fired outside Jinan, Yuan Shikai finally laid down his arms and surrendered after holding out for another three days. He had no choice but to surrender. So many trenches had been dug outside the city and so many cannons had been brought in. The people in the city were in a panic. No matter how cruel and ruthless Wang Shizhen was, he could not stop the people's will.

The Beiyang Army had become a dog with a broken back. Even if they acted fiercely, they could not scare many people, but instead aroused more suspicion and doubt. Regional disputes were still very fierce. Yuan Shikai and his Beiyang Army were not from Shandong. This alone was enough to make the militia in the city divided, not to mention that the Beiyang Army had previously slaughtered local people in Shandong, which had long caused public outrage.

When the Beiyang Army was strong, the Shandong people could only bow down and obey. Now that the Beiyang Army, this vicious dog, has had its spine broken, what is there to be afraid of? It is right to take advantage of the opportunity to beat the dog when it is down!

For Yuan Shikai, it was better to surrender voluntarily than to be betrayed by his subordinates, at least he could save his life. If someone opened the gate and let the People's Army into the city, his head might be hung on the flagpole.

Jinan was opened without bloodshed, which was also a good thing for the People's Republic Government. If they had deployed their troops to attack the city, at least several thousand people would have been killed or injured. If Jinan was destroyed, post-war reconstruction would also be a big problem. The People's Republic Government cut a lot of agricultural taxes at once, and the income was not enough. There were so many places to spend money, so any savings were good.

Lin Yongchang was forced to sell "pounds" and make counterfeit currency. Wasn't it all because of money?

But then

On the other hand, if the burden on the peasants had not been reduced, how could the army have such high morale? The Chinese have always been brave and good at fighting, as long as they are paid enough. It cannot be like the previous court, where the military pay was deducted from the army's salary and only eight months' salary was paid a year. The army could not even feed itself, and the whole family was starving. It would be a miracle if the army could fight.