At this time, almost no one in Kantung knew how long the Russo-Japanese War would last. It might be another three to five years, the Russians might fight back to Lushun, or the Japanese might fight to Harbin. No one could say for sure.

People are panicking everywhere, so the business opportunities here are certainly not small.

Now is a good time to make a fortune for the country. As long as this year's business goes well, Song Biao's Manchurian Infantry Division will not have to worry about military pay in the next five or six years.

After a short rest in the fort, they set off on the road again with the huge horse team, transporting 10,000 loads of grain to Fengtian Mansion.

Just when Xue Changqing and others had just left in the morning, that afternoon, Aoki Xuanchun came to Nandian Village in person to meet Song Biao again.

Song Biao knew that Aoki Xuanchun was here to discuss arms business this time, so he immediately invited him to the inn, and he hurried over to meet him. When Song Biao arrived at the inn, he saw Aoki Xuanzhun again in the reception room in the east wing.

Colonel Nobujun Aoki has put on the Japanese military uniform again. The inner part is a black military uniform, and the outer part is a large khaki woolen Japanese M1904-style coat with a hood. He also wears a saber.

When the two met again, it was not as awkward as last time, and they could both maintain their identities and talk as equals.

Seeing Song Biao come in, Aoki Xuanchun who was sitting on the chair immediately stood up, took out a small black wooden box and offered it to him, bowed and said: "Mr. Song, Aoki is here specifically to thank you for your life-saving grace.

I'm very grateful. This is just a little bit more kindness, and I hope you can accept it."

Nobuzumi Aoki did not mention his capture and release, but instead said it was a "life-saving grace". This seems to be the consistent style of little Japan, which is to save face even if it means dying.

Song Biao didn't argue with him and said with a smile: "Colonel Aoki is too polite. Why should I thank you for doing so little?"

Aoki Xuanchun said with a smile: "I have made my own decision. A few days ago, I recommended your talents to Yuan Shikai, the governor-general of your country. Governor Yuan was very fond of you and admired your bravery and talents, so he asked me to forward it to you.

Just a small gift to express his congratulations on your promotion to colonel of the Russian infantry."

"oh?"

Song Biao was very curious, so he took the wooden box over. When he got it, he knew that this thing was very heavy. When he opened it, he found that it was a pair of golden tiger charms, which weighed almost a hundred taels in total. The last tiger charm was

On it is engraved "Megatron Guandong", and on the next tiger talisman is engraved "Fuze Yifang".

This pair of tiger charms has no practical effect, it is just a pair of valuable gifts.

There is a letter outside the pair of golden tiger charms, which is Yuan Shikai's handwriting.

Song Biao opened the letter and read it carefully. It should be said that Yuan Shikai's calligraphy was also very good and neat, with rigorous composition and the style of a master of regular script.

Song Biao had never met Yuan Shikai before, and Yuan Shikai had never met Song Biao before. The two had no contact with each other.

In terms of identity, Song Biao was a little-known figure a few months ago. It is said that he studied in a Russian missionary school and learned history and war from his uncle.

He worked as a chore and cleaned the house, and when he was most proud of it, he inherited a few horses from his uncle and joined others in selling horse gangs to make a living. He was truly a person of low origin.

This is said to be true.

Yuan Shikai was already the governor-general of the Qing Dynasty. He held a heavy army and defended the capital. He was famous all over the world. He was in the temple and ranked first among the Han officials.

But in this letter, Yuan Shikai's words were very polite and complimentary, calling him brother-in-law with Song Biao.

The general meaning of this letter is this. Yuan Shikai said, I, Yuan Shikai, have been living in the capital for the past few years. I have little knowledge of the outside world. Even so, I have heard about your deeds of Song Biao, and I am very surprised.

It is said that you are not old and have gone through many hardships, but you are a man who is well versed in military literature and has great ambitions. He uses troops like a god and has a hundred thousand elite soldiers in his chest, just like Han Xin was alive; the Russians respectfully call you the Manchurian General, and praise you as the butcher of the Japanese army;

The Japanese respectfully call you the Tiger of Kwantung. You have defeated many famous Japanese generals in a row. You are so famous that after you arrived in Tonghua, the Liaodong bandits scattered in all directions, whining and wailing. They did not dare to offend you, and the Japanese army did not dare to invade Tonghua again.

, the Russian army sat back and relaxed, shouting luck.

Heroes have emerged in troubled times since ancient times. In the bitter cold land of Guandong, wars and wars are everywhere. Perhaps it is destiny that a hero like you stands out. I, Yuan Shikai, admire you very much and envy you for being able to achieve great things and have outstanding talents at such a young age.

I, Yuan Shikai, have no talent. I am just able to endure hardships and stand hard work. That is why I am appreciated by the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. I am ashamed to sit in the position of Governor of Zhili. What I envy most in my life is a promising young man like you.

Nowadays, the country is in turmoil, and foreign thieves are rising up to become enemies of China. It is the time for the imperial court to hire people. I have recommended you to the imperial court. After hearing about your deeds, the government and the public were shaken, and they all wanted to recruit you quickly and give you the title.

Reuse.

You are young and promising, have outstanding talents, and are a god in the military. You are really ashamed and envied by someone like me who has been leading the army for more than 20 years and has not achieved even a single achievement. However, you are young after all, and you do not think very carefully about some things. I, Yuan Shikai, take the liberty of

Let me ask, why did the Russians start a war in Kanto? These people are trying to carve up our land in China. Although the Japanese have selfish motives, they are still a way to form an alliance against the Russians. You rashly helped the Russians and gave Russia a great victory.

Their arrogance is even more arrogant, and I am afraid that our country will cede territory to them again in the future.

Everyone has their own ambitions. You are still young and can do whatever you want. Even if you make a mistake, you still have a lot of time to correct it.

I, Yuan Shikai, am not a person who likes to criticize others, nor do I like to impose my ideas on others. I think you may also have many difficulties, or you may hate the Japanese deeply. I heard that your uncle once served in the Qing Army and was captured by the Japanese.

When a person is defeated, he will be deeply humiliated from then on.

If this is the case, I think what you do is worthy of my admiration and understanding, and cannot be simply commented as right or wrong.

Since ancient times, heroes must have a broad mind and be able to tolerate things that others cannot tolerate in order to achieve great things. Now that things have happened, should you also reflect on whether you have helped the Russians too much and have harmed the country and the country?

Is there something wrong with the people?

You are now also a hero in one area, daring to exterminate the bandits, dare to fight against Japan and Russia, and protect the safety of the people of the area. This kind of ambition makes me, Yuan Shikai, feel inferior to me. When you were young, I was just an incompetent student.

You are an incompetent person who does not know how to fight. Therefore, if you can use your talents to serve the court and serve the people of the world, your future achievements will definitely be much higher than mine.

Although China and Japan have fought a war, I don't like them very much, but there are always sensible people in a country, and Mr. Aoki is such a person.

Mr. Aoki is an old friend of the imperial court and me. This gentleman has always been able to discern people and has an excellent eye. He can tell at a glance that you will be a person with a bright future. I believe he will not be wrong, and there is absolutely no mistake.

You may be wrong, so I hope you can cherish your future.

We have never dealt with each other before, so I am writing to you to express my admiration and admiration. I send you a pair of gold charms as a token of my gratitude as an old soldier, and I hope you can accept my advice.

, if you have the opportunity to come to the capital in the future, I will definitely treat you to a few glasses of fine wine, have fun over the wine, discuss important matters together, dedicate yourself to the court and the people of the world, and die for yourself.

Take a look...!

Yuan Shikai is indeed a very strange person. If Song Biao didn't know this person's life, he would definitely be very moved now. It is indeed remarkable that a governor of Zhili could write such a sincere letter to him in person.

Very rare.

Song Biao read this letter over and over again, feeling a lot of emotion in his heart. He felt that when our descendants look back on history, they always like to describe those who made mistakes and enemies as very low-level. For example, we have always described

The Japanese generals described him as very stupid.

What is the actual situation?

The Qing Dynasty has a population of more than 400 million. Does it have a strategist general or a short fat man like Dashanyan who is very good at using troops and people? Dashanyan was beaten like a grandson by Naofumi Hatemi before. It was very embarrassing.

, when Oyamayan was planning the Russo-Japanese War, he was able to defy public opinion and transfer opposition factions such as Naofumi Tachimi into the army as senior generals, and he led the most elite division. This kind of ambition was very common in the late Qing Dynasty.

How many Chinese military commanders are there at this time?

Did the Qing Dynasty at this time have generals like Naofumi Tachimi? Was there anyone like "Akiyama Haogu" in Sakagami's cloud?

No.

The Qing Dynasty was just a bunch of idiots.

As for Yuan Shikai, are those who one-sidedly and stubbornly interpret him as a vulgar idiot even more stupid?

Song Biao carefully folded the letter and put it together with the golden tiger talisman again. Even though Aoki Nobuzumi was accidentally captured, he was still a very intelligent Japanese, and he categorically did not mention Yuan Shikai's matter.

Instead, he proposed another list and said: "Colonel Song, this is part of the captured materials that our army has sorted out so far, as well as the captured materials that our army wants to exchange. Some of them may not be in your hands.

This may require you to take some special measures, but the guarantee I can make on behalf of our army is that I will never treat you as an enemy again, and I will never treat you badly."

"Yeah?"

Song Biao smiled as if he was dubious, taking the list from Colonel Nobujun Aoki and browsing it carefully.

The Japanese army's seizure of Russian supplies mainly came from two parts. The first was the Battle of Lushun, and the second was the Russian army's Liaoyang retreat. Especially the second time, it actually left the Japanese army with a large amount of supplies, so that the Japanese army was on the front line.

To a large extent, Russian military equipment is used in combat.

The quantity listed on this list is only a part of the materials surrendered by the Russian army. The total scale is already staggering, including 40,000 Mosin Nagant rifles, 12 million rounds of Nagant ammunition, 27 Maxim machine guns and 52

The Russian Army M1904 76mm field gun, the Japanese army requested a variety of materials in exchange, in addition to the Type 30 rifles, Hotchkiss machine guns and Trinity rapid-fire field guns equipped by the Japanese army, and even the details of the Japanese tents

, soldier rations, etc. This also fully illustrates the difficult situation of the Japanese army in this war. Their supplies are completely insufficient. In addition, new troops must be reorganized to go to the battlefield, which requires more

Temporary supplies for replenishment and re-equipment.

After Song Biao looked at it carefully, he confirmed that he could basically handle it, and said to Colonel Nobujun Aoki: "There is no problem, I will find a way to deal with it. So, when will your army plan to trade?"

Colonel Nobujun Aoki said: "The sooner, the better. If your confirmation is correct, I will transport all the goods submitted on the list to Jiangdian Town. This is the area where your two armies meet, and our army still retains its presence there.

A squadron of troops is stationed there. If we trade there, it will be suitable for both of us, right?"

Song Biao nodded and said, "Okay."

Colonel Nobujun Aoki said: "Our army has two other insincere requests, and I hope you will agree to them."

Song Biao said: "Please tell me."

Colonel Nobujun Aoki said: "First, the reason why our army also included machine guns and Russian field artillery in the list is that in addition to wanting to exchange machine guns and field artillery that our army has relatively abundant supplies, we also believe that these supplies will definitely be used

Stay with you, rather than become the equipment of the Russian army again, at least it will only become the equipment of the Russian army in small batches. Therefore, I am here to hear an accurate answer from you on this matter!"

Song Biao replied readily: "Don't worry, I will consider exchanging equipment for equipment only if I have to. And as far as I know, the Russian generals also seem to like rubles, not their weapons."

Colonel Nobujun Aoki seemed to have expected it, but he still smiled happily: "This is really good news for you and me."

Song Biao asked him: "What about the other thing?"

Colonel Nobujun Aoki said: "This matter may be even more shameful, because General Akiyama Yoshiko's parents are old, and he is a hero and legendary figure admired by our soldiers, because he was captured by you.

Yes, so our government would like to ask you to mediate with the Russian army and release General Akiyama early. Our army promises to retire him immediately and will never participate in the Russo-Japanese War again."

"Oh, that's how it is……!"
To be continued...