The sun never sets

.

Hoover had experienced hunger this month. When a person is extremely hungry, all bottom lines will be broken. Just as he got up from the bed, footsteps suddenly sounded at the door, and then the two Irishmen came back and appeared in the room.

"You...what do you want to do?"

Hoover had become much darker and thinner, but he was a Stanford University graduate after all, and compared with the real working people, he looked fair and delicate. The Irish looked at each other, laughed and said, "Of course I'll fuck you!"

".......", Hoover yelled, jumped out of bed and ran out the door, but was caught by two Irishmen.

"No! No!" Hoover's voice was filled with tears, "No!"

The Irish laughed and stripped off Hoover's pants. One of them freed his brother and pressed down on the plump buttocks. "Ah!" Hoover screamed, and then a ball of mud was stuffed into his mouth, and the scream turned into sobbing and groaning.

In and out, there were clacking sounds. The regular in and out became rapid after a while, and the Irishman roared, sending shivers down Hoover's body. One Irishman left, and another Irishman pressed on, repeating the previous thing.

Ten minutes later, the two Irishmen left with satisfaction, leaving Mr. Hoover with no tears left. "Oh, Henry," Hoover called his wife's name, and a tear finally fell.

"Mr. Hu Hua! Mr. Hu Hua!"

A low voice called out, someone called out Hoover's Chinese name, followed by a cry of surprise, "What's wrong with you?"

Hoover raised his head with difficulty and saw that it was a strange young Chinese man. He quickly pulled up his pants and asked, enduring the pain: "Who are you?"

"Mr. Hu Hua, I'm Wang Hu! You called me by my name when we were at Kaiping Coal Mine."

Wang Hu? Hoover couldn't remember him at all. In his opinion, most Chinese people looked the same. But it was better to have someone he knew. "Ah, it's Wang Hu. I remember you. Are you here to bring me food?"

"Ah, what do you want to eat?" Wang Hu took out a rice bran cake from his arms, "This is all I have, do you want to eat it?"

Hoover snatched the rice bran cake, stuffed it into his mouth and started chewing, "Cough cough... cough cough cough..."

"Please eat slowly. Would you like some water?"

Wang Hu gave Hoover some water and patted his back. After a while, Hoover stopped coughing. Hoover swallowed the biscuit and licked his fingers with satisfaction. "Wang Hu, do you have anything else to eat?"

"Uh...no more." Wang Hu looked around and said, "I came here to rescue you."

"Go out?" Hoover ate a biscuit and regained some energy. "Then let's go quickly! By the way, can you rescue Henry as well?"

"Who is Henry?" Wang Hu's English was barely passable, not very good, and he could only barely communicate. "Is he your companion?"

"It's my wife. We were captured together, and I can't abandon her!"

"Um... the woman is locked up somewhere else, far from here..." Wang Hu hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'll go look for her first and come back to see you later."

".......etc!"

Hoover grabbed Wang Hu who was about to leave, grunted for a while, and said, "Forget it, just take me out first. After I get out, I'll think of a way to save Henry."

Oh, poor Henry, he must have been terribly abused in the hands of those savages.

Hoover felt his heart break when he thought of his beautiful wife being stripped naked and held down by the barbarians. But... but, he had to get out first. He didn't want to stay in this mine at all. Not only did he have to do heavy work, starve, and be whipped, but he might also lose his life. He saw several people suddenly fall down while pulling coal, and then never stood up again.

"Okay, sir, please follow me."

Wang Hu led Hoover into the mine and walked around in the narrow space. Suddenly, the guards shouted and the wolfhounds barked outside. Wang Hu became anxious and pushed Hoover into a passage, shouting, "Mr. Hu Hua, run! Run! Don't stop! You will be safe if you run out from here!"

Hoover was terrified and frightened, crawling in the mine using his hands and feet. The barking of the wolfhounds behind him came one after another, getting closer and closer. Sweat was flowing down Hoover's face and body, and he was covered with black dust. After crawling for a while, water drops dripped from his forehead, and he didn't know whether it was sweat or tears.

After an unknown amount of time, the road ahead finally became wider and wider. Hoover got up from the ground and came to the exit of the mine. His palms, knees and ankles were already bleeding, but he didn't care about the pain at this time, and he grabbed the ladder and climbed up.

"Mr. Hu Hua, here!"

A familiar voice came from the ground. Wang Hu stretched out his hand and pulled the frightened Hoover up. As soon as he climbed onto the ground, several burly guards rushed over and grabbed Hoover.

He was pinned to the ground. Two large wolfhounds also ran over and surrounded Hoover, barking wildly.

"Ah! Who are you?" Hoover raised his head, tears streaming down his face, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Why did you lie to me?"

Wang Hu said with a smile: "As for me, I am a Chinese."

Chapter 148 Studying

By the time Lin Yongchang summoned Mr. Hoover, the former Stanford top student had become a man with a fawning smile on his face and a hunched back when he spoke. He looked like a lackey, a traitor or an interpreter.

"Hey, Mr. Hoover, what's the matter with you?"

Hubbard Clark Hoover quickly and covertly glanced at Wang Hu, who was smiling beside him, and said with a nod: "What are you talking about, sir? I'm fine, very good!"

Wang Hu said with a smile: "He is very well behaved now. He will say whatever you tell him to say, uncle."

Lin Yongchang shook his head and said, "Mr. Hoover is a talented person. How can we let him dig coal in the mine? Let him be in charge of the coal mine in the future."

Wang Hu smiled and said to Hu Fu: "Hu Hua, why don't you kowtow to thank the Marshal? Do you want to eat corn again?"

"No Koreans! No Koreans!" Hoover shuddered all over and immediately knelt down, kowtowed loudly.

I don’t know what kind of things Hoover has been through. He now looks very much like a lackey, and he has learned to speak Chinese very well. Not only does he no longer have the arrogant tone, but he also speaks with the accent of Peking.

"Give him an independent house, let his wife live with him, raise his food rations to a higher level, and give him a salary of four dollars a month."

"Uh..." Wang Hu scratched his head and said awkwardly, "His current salary is 4 dollars."

"...Then give him another two dollars. Engineers are the intellectuals we need."

"Oh."

Hoover's work was just a matter of convenience. Before the Yankees gave money or were willing to export large quantities of machinery and equipment, those Americans who were not beheaded had to work under the threat of bayonets and whips, and the same was true for prisoners from other countries. In addition to these prisoners who were pulled to work, there were a large number of those who were to be beheaded or hanged, working in Beijing.

The prisoners' living conditions were much worse. They didn't even have rice bran cakes to eat. The accommodation and sanitary conditions were also very poor. Many people had already lost their lives due to disease and malnutrition. Even if they survived, they would be dragged to a public trial and beheaded soon after.

Unless the Eight-Nation Alliance invades Beijing again, those troops are doomed.

Among the Eight-Nation Alliance, the Japanese had the best discipline, followed by the Italians and Germans. The Italians had the least number of people, so they were not likely to participate in the battles, and there were no good opportunities for them to plunder. There were not many Germans either, and they were mainly guards to protect Marshal Alfred von Waldersee. Only about a third of them participated in war crimes such as massacres and rapes, so many of them were spared from beheading.

The British, French and Russian troops committed the most crimes, and basically none of them could be pardoned. The Americans and the Austro-Hungarian Empire did not have many troops, and most of them had already died. If another group of them were put on trial, almost all of them would be killed.

After Hoover left, Lin Yongchang frowned and said unhappily, "You are not doing your job, but playing these little tricks! Let me ask you, how is the infiltration of the remnants of the previous dynasty going? How is the united front work in the South going?"

Wang Hu is the deputy minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, specializing in matters that are not convenient to be made public. He said with a smile: "There are already some clues. I will go and get the summary!"

"No hurry." Lin Yongchang rubbed his brows, "First, introduce the situation in Shanxi and the grassland to me."

"Yes!"

Wang Hu quickly recounted the main situation in Shanxi, including banks, factories, agricultural taxes, commercial taxes, transactions with the Mongols, and the situation in Guihua City and Kulun. The situation in Guihua City was very good, and most of the Mongols in the south of the desert wanted to work for Marshal Lin or do business with the Ministry of Commerce.

The Ministry of Commerce raised the price of cattle, sheep and horses by one or two times, and built canning factories and wool textile factories in Zhangjiakou and Guihuacheng. The living standards of many Mongols in the south of the desert have improved a lot, so they are calm about the collapse of the court. But the situation in the north of the desert is different. The Mongols there have a strong tendency to independence.

Over the past 100 years, the several khanates established by the Mongols had lost their temper after being beaten by the Russian Empire. The Russians' prestige was more effective in the northern desert than the imperial court. Kulun had already been inclined to split away, and now that the imperial court was gone, they legitimately and openly joined forces with the Russians and began to work on establishing an independent country.

Wang Hu focused on the situation in Kulun, and then said with expectation: "Let me lead the troops to the grassland to fight the Mongols. I don't want to work in the Ministry of Internal Affairs anymore!"

He always wanted to lead troops to fight, not to do the work of the Jinyiwei. The idol of young people is Huo Qubing, not the head of the Jinyiwei. Liu Chengxiang, Li Dayan and others are now famous generals, but what about Wang Hu? No one knows what he does!

Oh, that's not right. Some people still know him, such as senior officials in government departments, the military, banks, factories, etc.

After he looked at the lake, he was like a mouse seeing a cat. Even if there was no problem, he had a natural fear and disgust towards the "Jinyiwei".

"Do you really want to lead troops into battle?"

"real!"

Lin Yongchang had already asked Wang Hu to do a lot of shady things, and it was not good to keep suppressing the young people and dampen their enthusiasm. So he said, "First, go and study infantry. If you can get the position of chief, I will send you to fight the Mongols in Mobei."

"Ah? Doesn't that mean we have to wait until two years later?"

The military academies in Baoding and Taiyuan had previously opened three crash courses as a compromise to deal with the war. Even for training low-ranking officers like company commanders and platoon leaders, it would take a year and a half of study, and the bloodline of the previous crash courses had to be retrained.

"It doesn't take two years, just one and a half years will be enough." Lin Yongchang said leisurely, "If you can get the position of the chief in a year, I will give you a troupe and let you eat sand in Kulun."

"That's too long! The people in Kulun are planning a rebellion, how can we wait so long? Uncle, we must put down the rebellion quickly!" Wang Hu shouted, "Can I go and kill those traitors first, and then come back to school? Besides, the registration period has passed!"

"You can be given an extra seat. If you don't want to, forget it. Just continue to work in the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

"Forehead........"

Wang Hu thought about it for a long time, and finally said painfully: "Then I'd better go to school. Li Dayan and the others didn't go to military school, so why should I go to school? This is too unfair!"

"kindness?"

Lin Yongchang was still looking over there, and Wang Hu immediately put on a smiling expression, "I'll go sign up now!"

Chapter 149 Question

Wang Hu has been clamoring to lead troops into battle for a long time. Lin Yongchang cannot keep detaining him from doing the work of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but the Ministry of Internal Affairs cannot be left without someone to take care of the affairs. Now that Wang Hu has gone to military school, who should be in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs' affairs?

In Lin Yongchang's opinion, the most suitable person is Wang Qi. Wang's second brother is deep and generous. He is good at leading troops in battles and handling government affairs. He can also be trusted to do things on the secret front. But Wang Qi is already the prime minister. He is busy every day and can't add more burden to him. And that's not good either. He has the power to handle government affairs and the secret police force at the same time. This power is too great.

It’s not that I’m worried, but it’s best not to test people’s hearts and not give others the opportunity to make mistakes. That is the best protection.

In addition to Wang Qi, his sworn brother Wang Zuolin is also trustworthy, but Wang Hu is Wang Zuolin's nephew, and for the same reason, it is best not to test people's hearts. It is better not to pass down the secret front's affairs in the family. Not only the secret front, but also any government department cannot adopt the inheritance system.

Lin Yongchang went through all the people in the government and the military and found that there were very few people who were suitable to take over the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Most of them were not suitable for one reason or another. In the end, he chose Yan Shuqin, the former leader of the Boxer Rebellion.

Yan Shuqin and Yan Shutang are distant relatives, and are elders of Yan Xishan. They are already in their forties, and they would not want to run away like Wang Hu did. The Ministry of Internal Affairs should also split up its business, and internal supervision and external intelligence work should be separated and not mixed up.

The battle in Guanzhong was still going on. Dorlot* Shengyun had led his troops to the city of Xi'an, but he had too few soldiers. Even though the Gansu army was brave and good at fighting, they could not completely defeat the Guanzhong army. The two sides had been confronting each other for a long time. Shengyun sent people to Mongolia to ask for reinforcements. The princes in the south of the desert were unwilling to send troops, so he sent people to the north of the desert.

The Mongols in the northern desert were very interested in establishing an independent kingdom, but had no interest in sending troops into Guanzhong to fight. Even if they wanted to send troops, the Mongols in the southern desert would not agree. They were not worried about anything else, but they were worried that the poor relatives in the north would come and destroy the grasslands in the south.

Sheng Yun was a Mongolian, but he did not get any reinforcements on the grassland, so he could only send people back to Gansu to continue recruiting soldiers. Yu Youren, Li Yunlong, Li Bingxin, Yu Minzhong and others in Guanzhong could not defeat Sheng Yun, so they continued to increase their forces and sent people to Taiyuan to ask for reinforcements.

Dong Fuxiang's troops stayed in Taiyuan for a few days. When they heard that the troops piled up under the city of Xi'an had exceeded 100,000, they wanted to rush over as soon as possible to resolve the situation. Dong Fuxiang was very disdainful of both sides of the war, thinking that they had so many troops but could not make a breakthrough and were all useless.

"Doruto* Shengyun is known as a famous general, but he is just so-so!"

Dong Fuxiang loudly requested to fight, "Let me lead the troops to capture Sheng Yun and present him to the Grand Marshal!"

"No hurry, let's get the soldiers dressed in winter gear first." Lin Yongchang said with a smile, "Give each person a wool sweater, a coat, a blanket, four pairs of socks and two pairs of boots, as well as weapons, equipment and draft horses. It won't be too late to go to war then."

Dong Fuxiang said: "We can't give the soldiers too many good things. If they live too well, they won't fight hard!"

Lin Yongchang said, "I don't agree with this. Providing soldiers with adequate food and clothing should not reduce their combat effectiveness. Besides, is General Dong afraid that the soldiers will not work hard?"

Dong Fuxiang was a killer who didn't care about the lives of his enemies or his own life. He would share rewards with his subordinates, but he would also chop off the heads of those who didn't fight well.

He said: "Speed is of the essence in war, we must deal with Sheng Yun and his men as soon as possible. If we delay for too long, I'm afraid..."

"What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid those Hui people in the northwest will cause trouble again."

Decades ago, the great turmoil in the northwest, the Hui people, the Nian army, and the Taiping army mixed together, and the Russian Empire was behind the scenes, almost cutting off more than one million square kilometers of land in the northwest. Dong Fuxiang was not worried about Sheng Yun's troops. In his opinion, Sheng Yun's army was far inferior to the Eight-Nation Alliance. Dong Fuxiang was still worried that the Hui people would start a rebellion again. The fighting power of those Muslims was not very good, but when it was related to religion, things would become very difficult to deal with. If the situation that happened decades ago happened again, the entire northwest would have to be cleaned up again, and the military expenses and time would be huge.

After listening to Dong Fuxiang's reasons, Lin Yongchang pondered for a moment and said, "General Dong is more thoughtful. I am too simplistic. The issues in the Northwest are not only military issues, but also religious and ethnic issues. General Dong, what do you think is the most important thing to solve the problems in the Northwest?"

Dong Fuxiang said: "First, we need to garrison important places with heavy troops. Secondly..." He paused and said: "Secondly, we need to solve the Muslim problem."

"Well, I also know that the Muslim problem needs to be solved. Does General Dong have any specific measures?"

Dong Fuxiang looked at Wang Qi beside him, and Lin Yongchang said with a smile: "This is the Prime Minister of our government. The food you eat is all allocated by Prime Minister Wang. If you have anything to say, just say it directly, don't worry."

"Yes, Marshal. I heard that the Western Regions were all Buddhist countries before, and Islam was introduced to the northwest later."

Dong Fuxiang said: "Can we start from this aspect? If those people in the northwest no longer believe in Islam, things will be much simpler."

"This is a solution, what do you think, second brother?"

After becoming the prime minister, Wang Qi became more serious. He thought for a moment and said, "It's difficult. The Hui people probably don't believe in the things of the Boxers. Buddhism is not doing well now, and Taoism is even worse. It's too difficult to get the Hui people to believe in something else."

It was very difficult. The new China in later generations had so many buffs that even imams could raise pigs in temples, but it still failed to completely eradicate the influence of Islam. After a few decades, when all the buffs disappeared, Islam made a comeback, and its influence in the northwest became stronger day by day, to the point that it was second only to the Tongzhi Hui Rebellion.

The riot was of course caused by the inaction of local officials and the deliberate indulgence of some people in the central government, but it was also related to the tenacious vitality of Islam. Since the emergence of the artificial Hui people, the northwest has never been truly stable. There is only the difference between turmoil and preparation for turmoil.

Lin Yongchang said: "I know it's difficult, but if we don't do it now, the problem will only get worse. We can't leave all the problems to future generations, so we should solve as many problems as we can."

Chapter 150: No Problem

Dong Fuxiang led the Gansu army and 5,000 Mongolian cavalrymen, as well as baggage artillery, engineering troops and other troops, totaling 25,000 troops, and quickly marched south. He first led his troops along the watershed valley to Linfen, where he received the last supply, then turned west, crossed the Yellow River, and entered the Guanzhong area.

Guanzhong has been a place where elite soldiers and generals have emerged since ancient times. Even now that the Green Camp is rotten, the Shaanxi-Gansu Green Camp is still famous and extremely fierce. Dong Fuxiang led the Gansu Army to fight a bloody battle with the Eight-Nation Alliance, and Sheng Yun led the Gansu Army all the way to the city of Xi'an... Hey, it seems that the soldiers in Gansu are better at fighting?

The swordsmen in northern Shaanxi are also famous, but they are not as fierce as those in Gansu. Dong Fuxiang has his own explanation for this. The more prosperous and peaceful the place is, the less capable the army is of fighting. It is in the poor and impoverished land that there are many soldiers who are hardworking, brave and fearless.

In the cold weapon era, the northwest and northeast were places where elite soldiers and generals were born. As long as they could mobilize 100,000 regular troops, they would be able to dominate the world. However, times have changed after all. The soldiers from Gansu are still fierce, but swords and spears are not as effective as muskets and cannons.

Dorote* Shengyun tried everything but failed to break through the defenses of the Guanzhong Army. Instead, he was beaten to a bloody pulp in front of the solid camp. He had been outside Xi'an for nearly a month. The army had almost run out of ammunition and food, but reinforcements and supplies had not arrived yet.

The Mongols in the south of the desert refused to come to Guanzhong to fight, and the Mongols in the north of the desert were the same. Only the Huihui in the northwest were willing to rush into Guanzhong to plunder. However, the fighting power of the Muslims was too poor. Without the military tactics, they were just a group of rabble and could only bully the common people. But Guanzhong is different now. Although the Guanzhong army is unwilling to fight Sheng Yun, they are still willing to beat up the Huihui who come to take advantage of them.