"That makes sense, Xingru. I'm afraid we can't purchase weapons in China. We still need to contact Western countries. I'll leave this matter to you. You should work harder." Yan Xishan patted him.

Yang Aiyuan's left shoulder said meaningfully.

"Thank you, Chairman, for your trust. I will do my best to handle this matter well and enhance the combat effectiveness of our Jin army." Yang Aiyuan lowered his head and said.

……………………

After ordering all the troops to stop pursuing the Jinsui Army, Zhang Xinghan and Jiang Baili went to the forefront of Shuozhou for an inspection.

It comforted the officers and soldiers of the frontline units and boosted their morale.

After returning to Datong, Wu Chengfeng and other division officers came to greet him.

As soon as they met, after exchanging pleasantries, Wu Chengfeng pulled him aside and whispered: "Master, I have something I humbly need to tell you."

"Oh?" Zhang Xinghan looked at his general with a curious expression and said, "Tell me what you have to say, why are you so secretive?"

"Um..." Wu Chengfeng said with some embarrassment: "When I led the troops to chase the enemy yesterday, I made a promise. The first one to invade Datong will be rewarded with a hundred yuan...

But, you know, the pay for the humble military position has not come yet."

"That's it?" Zhang Xinghan was angry and funny when he heard it. He couldn't help but kicked Wu Chengfeng: "Why the hell do you have a reward policy when you don't have money?!"

"Oh, sir, my conscience, this humble position is for the war. My brothers are eagerly waiting for me to go back and fulfill my promise. You can't let me chill the brothers, can you? Just treat it as a humble position.

"?" Wu Chengfeng said with a mournful face as if he were mourning for his heir.

When Jiang Baili and others saw this, they all looked curious and gathered around.

Zhang Xinghan told the story again, and everyone burst into laughter.

"Why are you laughing? Don't laugh. This trick is really useful. My tank battalion was indeed the first to invade Datong. Since Huai'an, we have successively conquered Tianzhen, Lego, and Datong, captured cities and territories, and captured countless prisoners.

"Wu Chengfeng said quite proudly.

"Okay, stop blabbering. This award is issued by the headquarters. Each of your tank battalions will be awarded fifty yuan. The rest of the troops will be awarded according to their military merits. There will be no pension for those who died in battle.

"Young Master, these will be reported to the Logistics Department on your own after the war. The Logistics Department will distribute them uniformly!" Zhang Xinghan said with an annoyed smile.

"The president is wise, long live the president!" Wu Chengfeng quickly stood up and said loudly.

"Haha!" Zhang Xinghan couldn't help laughing when he saw his funny appearance.

After having a meal with Wu Chengfeng and others in Datong, Zhang Xinghan and Jiang Baili left Datong as encouragement.

After arriving at Zhangjiakou, we took a train and headed straight to Peiping.

Four days later, Zhang Xinghan and Jiang Baili arrived at Peking Station. Huang Xiansheng, Liu Jianguo and others, who had returned from Baoding earlier than them, went to the station in person to greet them.

"Maintain seat, take a seat, it's been a hard journey!" Huang Xiansheng and Liu Jianguo's group met at the station and saluted and shook hands with excitement.

"It's not hard work. I've been sleeping on the train for several days. No matter how tired you are, it's time to take a rest. But you all deserve a lot of hard work! Haha." Zhang Xinghan smiled and shook hands with them one by one.

"The boss is serious. Please get in the car. We'll talk about it after we return to the city." Huang Xiansheng said solemnly.

……………………

Qingdao, Northeast Navy First Fleet Headquarters.

As mentioned earlier, after the September 18th Incident, the entire Northeast Army and Army retreated outside Pingjin, and two naval fleets were stationed in Qingdao.

The reason is that after the Great War in the Central Plains, Marshal Zhang marched into the country with his troops and supported Chairman Chiang to safeguard the unification of the country by the National Government.

In addition to gaining control of Pingjin, Rehe, Chahar, and Hebei, and controlling the provinces of North China, Marshal Zhang also received the privilege of garrisoning troops in Qingdao, Shandong.

It is because of this that these two naval fleets have been stationed in Qingdao. It is also because of this that they avoided the battle with the Japanese navy after the September 18th Incident and thus survived.

In the Battle of Pingjin, Pingjin and other places were all captured by Zhang Xinghan's Northeast Frontier Defense Force, and the 170,000-strong army collapsed.

Now Marshal Zhang's Northeastern Army only has a foothold in Qingdao, a small place in the country.

That day, He Zhuguo and Liu Duoquan fled Tianjin with a small number of guards and fled to Qingdao. They were warmly received by Navy Commander Shen Honglie.

In the past six months, Yu Xuezhong, who was injured that night in Peking, also recovered from his injuries and traveled to Qingdao.

Regarding Yu Xuezhong, everyone thought that he had died in Peiping, so they were quite surprised.

However, today, a more exciting day finally arrived for Yu Xuezhong, He Zhuguo and Liu Duoquan.

That is Zhang Xueliang, who has been visiting Europe for more than half a year. Their Marshal Zhang is finally coming back.

Although they have lost Pingjin and 200,000 troops, Marshal Zhang is still their backbone. As long as he comes back, their hope will still be there.

On the Qingdao pier, Yu Xuezhong, He Zhuguo, Liu Duoquan, Shen Honglie and others were waiting anxiously. From time to time, several people raised their telescopes and looked at the sea.

Finally, a merchant ship flying the French flag appeared in their sight. Accompanying the French merchant ship were two small gunboats.

That was one of the ships of their Northeast Navy. Although it was named Two Fleets, the tonnage and number of ships in this naval force were extremely shabby.

There are less than thirty large and small ships, among which the largest warship is only over 3,000 tons, which is not even the tonnage of a Japanese light cruiser.

It's really weak and not worth mentioning.

About ten minutes later, the merchant ship docked, and Yu Xuezhong and others finally saw Marshal Zhang and the beauty beside him, Miss Zhao Si, who had been away for half a year.

Several people rushed to greet him, almost in tears, and choked and saluted: "Young Marshal, you are finally back."

Zhang Xueliang looked at the few but loyal subordinates in front of him. He also had mixed feelings for a moment. He stepped forward to hug and shake hands with them and comforted them: "Brothers, Han Qing has already known about the Pingjin Incident, but because of the There is no good plan, so I have been stuck here and haven’t returned. You are all wronged!”

"Young Marshal, I have improper command at a low-level position. I hope you will be punished by the Young Marshal!" Several people cried with guilt and lowered their heads one after another.

"Okay, okay, brothers, please don't blame yourself. As the saying goes, a horse's strength is known over a long journey, and a person's heart is revealed over time. I am very touched by the friendship that you have been able to stick with Han Qing when he is in dire straits.

I won't blame you at all, on the contrary, I want to thank you, you are all my best brothers!" Zhang Shaoshuai felt mixed emotions in his heart and held their hands sincerely.

"The sea breeze is strong here, Marshal, Miss Zhao, let's go back and talk first." Navy Commander Shen Honglie suggested: "Young Marshal and Miss Zhao must be very tired after traveling all the way."

"That's right, Marshal, let's go back first. You and Miss Zhao have a good rest. We'll talk about things later." Liu Duoquan nodded suddenly.

Marshal Zhang and Miss Zhao Si nodded excitedly, got into the car they had prepared, and drove towards Qingdao city.

When they arrived at the headquarters, Shen Honglie and the others had already prepared accommodation for Marshal Zhang and Miss Zhao. Miss Zhao went to wash up and rest, but Marshal Zhang came to the conference room.

Shen Honglie, Yu Xuezhong, Liu Duoquan and others have been waiting for a long time.

Several people stood up and saluted, and Marshal Zhang quickly waved his hands and said kindly: "Everyone, don't be too polite. We are brothers. There is no need to be like this. Come, everyone, sit down."

Shen Honglie went to Japan to study at the Japanese Naval Academy in his early years. After returning to China after completing his studies, he was promoted and put in a high position by Zhang Xueliang and his son, and he was regarded as a confidant by them.

However, he can be regarded as the actual founder of the Northeast Navy. In this era, due to the arrival of Zhang Xinghan, he did not break away from Zhang Xueliang's Northeast Army after the September 18th Incident and defected to the National Government headed by Chairman Chiang Kai-shek. .

Because Zhang Xueliang was still in Pingjin, the Northeast Navy's contact with him was cut off, and military expenses were always provided by Zhang Xueliang.

In addition, Shen Honglie was also a Northeastern Army general who hated Chairman Chiang very much, and was quite loyal to Marshal Zhang.

Therefore, the Northeast Navy has always been under Zhang Xueliang's control.

Out of respect for Zhang Xueliang, Shen Honglie gave up the first place where he usually sat and sat on the side.

After everyone sat down, Zhang Xueliang first appeased everyone with kind words, and then expressed strong condemnation and anger against Zhang Xinghan for using troops against Pingjin and attacking the Northeastern Army.

Yu Xuezhong, Shen Honglie and others apologized guiltily while trying to persuade the seemingly furious Shaoshuai Zhang.

After Marshal Zhang calmed down a little, Liu Duoquan asked seriously: "Young Marshal, now that we have no Pingjin and no Northeast, only Qingdao is left. What should we do in the future?"

"Yes, Marshal, please show us the way. As long as you are here, Marshal, we will all follow you." He Zhuguo also quickly expressed his stance.

Marshal Zhang pondered for a moment and said in a serious tone: "Everyone, Pingjin and Tianjin have been lost, and all the Northeast has fallen into the hands of Zhang Xinghan. He is now so powerful that we cannot compete for the time being.

For now, we will first take Qingdao as our foothold. After we have established a firm foothold, we will explore East China and the Central Plains to make a comeback!"

"Xu Tu Huadong?" Yu Xuezhong and others looked at each other in disbelief when they heard this.

Liu Duoquan even said directly: "Commander, this Qingdao is the territory of Han Fuqu in Shandong. Can we stand on it? Let alone Xu Tu and the entire East and Central Plains of China."

"Yes, Shandong is indeed Han Fuqu's territory, but don't forget, this is also within the jurisdiction of the National Government.

You don’t understand Chairman Chiang. What was his purpose in letting our Northeastern Navy stationed in Qingdao?

The purpose is to use us to check and balance local powerful factions like Han Fuqu, and achieve the purpose of balancing the situation in Shandong.

Therefore, Chairman Chiang will never sit back and watch Han Fuqu become the dominant player in Shandong, and this is our opportunity.
Chapter completed!