Beiyang 1917

On October 1917, 10, Duan Qirui’s mansion in Beijing. Spread out on the large desk in the Prime Minister’s study was a newly surveyed map of China. There were only three people in the study, Wang Geng, Xu Shuzheng, and the State Premier. Strange to say, This map was actually obtained by Wang Geng from the assistant of Japanese Minister Lin Quan.

"Prime Minister, Brother Youzheng, you have been asking me what my next goal is. Today, let's close the door and let me tell you two, see if it works!" Wang Geng said solemnly.

"Okay! The army participating in the war has now grown to this point. If there is no support from the 3.8 million public debt and the new Zhongyuan is issued, the pressure on military expenditure will increase. Youzheng and I have been worrying about it. Feng Guozhang backed down like this , the Zhiwan family seems to be more united, but what is the next step? Wang Geng, you will not really send a few divisions to Europe to participate in the war?" The Prime Minister pondered.

"Of course! Prime Minister, haven't you seen that the Beijing-Suizhou Railway and the highway are desperately rushing to work? It is estimated that the entire line of the Beijing-Suizhou Railway will be completed in early November, and the 149.6-kilometer railway project from Guisui to Baotou will start immediately. It is estimated that it will only take three months. It can be repaired. In addition, the 318-kilometer survey in Suiyuan has been completed on the route from Ulaqab to Kulun on the Beijing-Suiyuan Line, and this railway has also started construction! However, the 816-kilometer section from Outer Mongolia to Kulun may be trouble."

Wang Geng took a pencil, and the map in front of the three of them drew this route.

"Wang Geng, don't you really want to go through Kulun and then go all the way to Lake Baikal to connect to the Siberian Railway?" Xu Shuzheng said with a smile while crossing his arms. The cooperation between the two parties has been fierce, the business is getting bigger and bigger, and the business is getting more and more prosperous. Everything is promoted by Wang Geng behind the scenes.

"Of course it needs to be repaired. China promised the Allied Powers to join the war. Now Russia has been beaten up by Germany and Austria, and even the port of Riga has been lost. There are more than 100 million parades on the streets of Petrograd every day. Nima, we What is the population of Beijing at the moment? 150 million? Where do you think that old man got so many people crowded together and making trouble?"

As Wang Geng said, he lowered his head and drew the railway line from Guisui to Baotou, and then drew a line from Baotou to the north and south, and then drew another long line westward along the Yellow River. On the left corner of the character "几", a line that is neither long nor short is drawn to the northwest.

"Wang Geng, what are you painting? It is also a railway project that is about to start? You haven't even repaired it in Guisui, let alone Baotou!" The Prime Minister asked curiously.

"These three lines are all main railways and highways that need to be repaired imminently. Once the railway from Guisui to Baotou is completed, the construction of railways and highways will start from Baotou in these three directions at the same time! The three lines go hand in hand! The branch line to the north of Baotou is about 120 kilometers away. , the distance to the south is 90 kilometers, and the distance to Bayannaoer in the west is 212 kilometers. After that, it extends to the northwest and is 75 kilometers. It is 680 kilometers from Bayannaoer to the south along the Yellow River. We have arrived in Lanzhou!" Wang Geng replied.

"Wang Geng, you know that the Prime Minister has entrusted the loan to Japan and the railway project to you, the railway supervisor of the Ministry of Communications, and we also know that the construction speed of the Beijing-Suizhou Railway from Zhangjiakou to Guisui has set a Chinese record. One kilometer can be repaired every day! You must know that Zhan Tianyou took two and a half days to repair one kilometer when he built the Beijing-Zhangjiakou section! But you don’t really want to use so many railways to deal with the envoys of the five countries?”

Xu Shuzheng frowned and said, Jingsui Railway Company's shareholding is also half of the transportation department and the revitalization department, and the remaining small part is the shares of other shareholders. Anyway, Wang Geng is worried about him, so he is happy to be the shopkeeper!

"Wang Geng, no matter how rich our finances are, building railways and highways is a bottomless pit of spending money. What are the few branch lines you built from Baotou used for? If you want to build Suiyuan, you can't forget about Chahar and Rehe? You are the military governor of three places at the same time! And the reclamation supervisor!" The Prime Minister was a little anxious.

"Baiyun Obo is rich in iron ore, niobium ore, rare earth ore and copper ore. It is an important raw material base for iron and steelmaking, and it is strategic! Ordos has coal mines with amazing reserves. The coal resources in Ordos are not only large, The distribution area is wide, and the coal quality is complete, including lignite, long-flame coal, non-caking coal, weakly caking coal, gas coal, fat coal, and coking coal. Most of them are shallow buried, deep vertical thickness, and easy to mine. There are also huge amount of trona and salt lakes”

"As for the Urad Rear Banner, the Morgan oil exploration team discovered a huge oil field there. The exploration has not yet ended, but at least hundreds of millions of tons of oil reserves! In these three places, the third division of the participating army stationed in Baotou The Sixth Brigade’s Han Fuqu Department has sent a regiment to garrison each, and a radius of tens of miles has been designated as a military restricted zone! As soon as the railway is repaired to Baotou, I will establish the Baotou branch of China Iron and Steel and the Baotou branch of Sino-US Petroleum in Baotou. An arsenal can be located in Baotou!" Wang Geng's tone was unhurried, yet revealing a hint of pride!

"God! Wang Geng, are you sure that those places have what you said? Which monk in the temple calculated it for you?!" Xu Shuzheng's eyes widened, and he couldn't believe that Wang Geng had laid out such a huge layout in advance. stall.

"Of course! Look at when I've joked with you. Can I joke about such a big thing!" Wang Geng said seriously.

Hearing this, the Prime Minister looked down carefully at the map markers drawn by Wang Geng. After a long time, he raised his head and said, "Youzheng, this guy Wang Geng is planning a strategic rear! Otherwise, he wouldn't have established the place in Xuanhua first." There is a steel factory, an arsenal, and an oil refinery! Isn’t it? Wang Geng!” Duan Qirui looked at Wang Geng’s eyes full of admiration, this child, when Erya comes back, he will become the son-in-law of my old Duan’s family, a rare talent ah!

"That's right, these railways will be completed by the end of next year at the earliest. The roads may be faster, and they will be repaired and widened in the second half of the year, but heavy equipment cannot be transported in, and they will not be effective until the railways are repaired. But in the year after The emergence of strategic materials such as coal, steel and oil can greatly enhance our ability to sustain war! Not to mention that it is a leap forward for the country's heavy industry! After oil, there are still many related chemical industries that can be developed!"

Wang Geng's tone was full of appeal. Duan Qirui and Xu Shuzheng nodded slightly when they heard it, and then Xu Shuzheng said hesitantly, "Isn't Renqiu's well still pumping oil? Don't you miscalculate? Such a big deal Investment, even if it is a loan, you have to pay back in the future!"

"It's okay. It's only over 2000 meters now. I estimate that it will take at least 3200 meters to produce oil. It will take about half a month. Anyway, the refinery and oil pipelines are all installed. After half a month Guaranteed to surprise the whole world! When our oil rolls in, this fiscal tax alone will be a lot more comfortable! Little Japan itself has almost no oil that can be exploited! Aircraft, ships, and power plants all rely on this thing Feed me full!!" Wang Geng said with a smile.

"Your next goal is the oil, coal, and steel in Suiyuan and Baotou?" Xu Shuzheng asked curiously. If these three places can be developed as Wang Geng said, the country's confidence will be much stronger. , but now the great powers are urging China to join the war in a substantial way. If you concentrate on your own construction, can the great powers of the five countries agree?

"Of course not, that's a later story. I'm here today to tell the Prime Minister and Brother Youzheng about the strategic goals of the next step of the war!" A circle is drawn on the north side of Heilongjiang and the east side of Wusuli River!Finally, another circle was drawn in Jiaozhou Bay and Liaodong Peninsula!

"Wang Geng, you're crazy, you're going to fight old men and little devils? We've just taken the first step in reorganization, and domestic unification has not yet been written off. What are you thinking?" Prime Minister and Army Deputy Minister Everyone was taken aback, and Xu Shuzheng yelled even more!

"Don't worry, Prime Minister, brother Youzheng, you listen to me first!" Wang Geng was unmoved, he got down and pointed at the map,

"The situation in Russia is unstable now, and the provisional government is likely to collapse. If that little man leads the Red Guards and the Bolsheviks to power, Russia is likely to announce the establishment of a new country!" Wang Geng raised his fist and hit Cullen hard for a moment.

"So what, didn't they announce the establishment of a republic last month? I heard that Lao Maozi has changed governments five times from March to now!" Xu Shuzheng asked puzzled.

"This time is different. If the small minority party comes to power, they will revolutionize the whole world. This is our best chance, so when I transferred Wu Peifu's third division to Guisui, I asked him to investigate Do more drills on the route, I am going to wait for the chaos in Russia this time, as long as Kerensky is overthrown, Wu Peifu's third division will rush into Kulun, force Outer Mongolia to cancel its autonomy, and ask to return to China!" Wang Geng The tone is very firm!