Beiyang 1917

August 1917 was a relatively stable month for the Allied Powers. Although the third Battle of Ypres on the Western Front was still going on, Britain, France, Germany and Austria were a bit exhausted, or the confidence of both sides was a bit lacking. On the German and Austrian side, in early July, they met Russia’s desperate counterattack on the Eastern Front. After defeating the Russian offensive in mid-July, they began to counterattack. By the end of July, the German army occupied Riga, Russia’s second largest Baltic port.

Under the leadership of Kerensky, the Russian Provisional Government suppressed the Bolshevik demonstrations, Trotsky was arrested, and the revolutionary mentor left for Finland. The situation in Russia was complicated and precarious, and Petrograd was already under the threat of the German army.

August 1917 was a pretty good month for both the Prime Minister and the Superintendent of War Participation. In early August, the Fourth Division of the Participating Army was officially established. In the state autumn exercise, the red team composed of the first and second divisions of the participating army overwhelmingly defeated the blue team composed of the first, third and No.8 direct divisions.

For the first time, the model army emphasizing firepower and mobility let everyone see the development trend of modern warfare in the future. The trench defense line of the army is quite good. In terms of dredging, the recruits of the participating army are more proficient than shooting guns, and there are so many engineering vehicles converted from Ford TT cars to help.

The most beautiful thing in the exercise was not the two wheeled armored regiments. The Ford TT cars were welded with 3mm steel plates, not only steel hoops and wide tires, but also snow chains. It can be regarded as Wang Geng’s creation before the introduction of tracked tanks and armored vehicles. Although the wheeled armored vehicle equipped with only the Browning water-cooled machine gun stole the limelight, it did not convince the direct infantry on the opposite side. If you have the ability, you get out of the vehicle and let's compete?

In the exercise, Wang Geng’s First Division’s First Brigade stood out the most. At the beginning, the 16th Mixed Brigade kept the most veterans, and the first brigade was the first to be compiled and trained. The brigade commander Shi Jingting had enough confidence to defeat it with a mixed brigade. The army's No.16 division, which was changed by the Janissary on the opposite side, defeated the president's guard division in all aspects from firepower equipment to individual quality to commanding assaults.

Of course, Shi Jingting was also holding back his anger. The former head of the teaching regiment, the brigade commander of the first brigade of the first division, should have been promoted from the position of brigade commander to the position of division commander of the fourth division. Who would have thought that Guo Songling would come from behind? Shi Jingting, who has always been reserved and unassuming, tried his best to show his true skills in this exercise, and it really made him and the first brigade famous!

For Wang Geng, the formation of the participating army was to establish a modern armed force with strict military discipline. This army is a national army that defends Gyeonggi and frightens all directions. It should not only belong to individuals. When I met Duan Qirui once, I said that dictatorship is an indispensable stage, and democracy and republic are the goal and direction, but dictatorship can often shorten the distance and time to achieve the goal!

After China and the big powers reached the conditions for participating in the war, China officially entered the war, and thus started the currency reform away from the silver standard. This period of time is the golden time for the construction of harmony at home and abroad. The huge benefits China has gained from participating in the war are beyond anyone Neither can be slandered or slandered.

The railway and highway construction equipment purchased by borrowing from Japan has been continuously transported to Tianjin Port, and the arms and equipment purchased from the United States have also been continuously transported to Tianjin Port. A civilized and mighty division that sings the three major disciplines and nine points of attention Standing tall in the East in just 4 months!With Japan not making trouble and the United States, Britain and France fully supporting Duan Qirui's government, the authority of Lao Duan and the participating army is obviously not something that any warlord can stand up to challenge!

Wang Geng, the supervisor of the war, is the absolute spiritual leader of the model army, and this army is the guard of the cabinet and the government!The prime minister became the substantive national leader of the whole country. Although Feng Guozhang was the acting president, the responsibility cabinet system used by the southern party members to limit Yuan Shikai made Feng Guozhang gradually become a vacant president.

For the sake of the country and the nation is Wang Geng's righteous name, to build an army that is only loyal to the country, and to let every officer and soldier have the dignity and treatment of a soldier is Wang Geng's commitment to all soldiers of the participating army. The sweat they shed is directly proportional to their treatment income.

In addition to the 6 yuan for soldiers, 10 yuan for squad leaders, and 15 yuan for platoon leaders, which are the same as those in Beiyang, according to the conditions negotiated between Wang Geng and the United States, soldiers will be paid an additional 10 cents per day for participating in the war. Expeditions are raised to $1 per day, plus an overseas allowance of 25 cents.

This means that starting from April 4th, each officer and soldier participating in the war will receive an additional 18 yuan in the military salary for participating in the war.This kind of treatment is almost ten times that of the Beiyang Army standard!

Of course, this extra allowance was only deposited into the bank accounts of the participating troops before they officially went abroad to participate in the war. The salary account and the war allowance account, the participating army has become an army whose domestic military salary is not mainly based on the discovery of banknotes.Soldiers can take their military certificates, seals and deposit certificates to the bank to withdraw cash or deposit at any time.

The officers and soldiers of the participating army have the best military treatment, the highest military honor, the most arduous training, and the most advanced weapons and equipment. The promotion speed of the participating army officers is unprecedented. But at any time, it is possible to jump from a certain battalion commander of the teaching regiment to the battalion commander of the supplementary brigade, or even become the brigade commander of the fourth division like Bai Chongxi!

Feng Guozhang knocked his nephew Liu Xun on the head more than once and scolded him why he didn't stay in the teaching regiment of the participating army for a few more days. Maybe now he is mixed up as a division commander, or a brigade commander. The weapons and equipment are given to other places. My teacher didn't do it either!Even Wang Tingzhen's Sixteenth Division could not resist Shi Jingting's first brigade!

August 1917 was a difficult month for Duan Hongbing, who had graduated from Beijing Sacred Heart Academy in July. Before meeting Wang Geng, studying abroad was her only dream and wish. , going to the United States to study is almost her only choice.

Like most Chinese female students in this era, Wang Geng, who is young and handsome but has done so many things for the country, is the idol of every girl in this era. My father always said that Wang Geng is just like Xu Shuzheng back then. As Wang Geng's personal secretary and translator, Duan Hongbing witnessed how this idol strategized in front of the ministers of the great powers to defeat or persuade those difficult diplomatic opponents in the diplomatic field!

Duan Hongbing enjoyed every minute and every second of being with Wang Geng. It is common for young men and women in this era to get along with each other day and night. In front of Geng, a high-achieving student with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton and a graduate from West Point, Duan Hongbing felt uneasy, and Wang Geng's thoughts seemed to be tightly imprisoned or hidden by himself.

In other words, Wang Geng's physical reactions are often suppressed by his mental control. Four months have passed, and the distance between the two of them has always been close but at the same time distant. See how much worse you are.

Duan Hongbing didn't know what was going on, of course she knew that Lu Mei liked Wang Geng, and when the three of them were together, everyone could talk and laugh, but when she and Wang Geng were alone, they seemed to be in love with each other. The birth is a bit more dignified!

If he does not study abroad, Duan Hongbing will either continue to work as Wang Geng’s secretary and translator at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or he will study at the Women’s Normal University, which is next to Wang Geng’s home, and he can even move into Wang Geng without leaving the school. to live at home. . .

Wang Geng's mind is different from when he first returned to China. At this moment, the war supervisor and the prime minister have become the same kind of people. The love of children will always give way to national affairs, and the secretion of Wang Geng's youth hormones largely has his own family. After those five concubines, he gained temporary balance and tranquility. Wang Geng even admired those warlords in his previous life, whether they could tease dozens of concubines at home all day long with nothing to do.

The war supervisor was definitely one of the busiest people in China in 1917. It was a good opportunity for him to relax his nerves by spending an hour or two with Duan Hongbing and Lu Mei on weekends. Confident, what Wang Geng has done for the country, Lao Duan and the Anhui Department in the past four months has exceeded his own imagination, and also exceeded everyone's expectations.

Wang Geng's presence in the political and diplomatic circles of China at this moment cannot be ignored or easily shaken by anyone!Of course the Prime Minister is the most meritorious minister, and Wang Geng is a great horse. That's what Bole, the Prime Minister, discovered, right?Although in the eyes of the outside world, the prime minister is the biggest beneficiary!

The dispute with Li Yuanhong seems to have long been a thing of the past. In August 1917 and after, whoever said no to the cabinet and the prime minister had to weigh whether he would agree to join the war supervisor!