Chapter Seventy-Fifth Defense

  So next when Song Zheyuan proposed to prepare for the establishment of the Wing Inspection Government, first conducting wing inspection autonomy and expanding its own strength, including Ouyang Yun, everyone did not raise any objections.

  Historically, the 29th Army's North China autonomy was a November affair, but with the appearance of Ouyang Yun, history seemed to have accelerated. First, the Qin-Hei Agreement and the He-Mei Agreement were signed ahead of schedule, followed by the direct trigger of the "December 9 Movement", the Wing Inspection Autonomy, which also occurred ahead of schedule.

  Here is the translation:

  "What do you all think? Speak up now, but after this meeting, I hope everyone will firmly take this as a guiding principle for future actions and absolutely not act on emotions!" Song Zheyuan said, his eyes falling on Ouyang Yun's face. "Don't just smile, I'm most worried about you! It's good that young people have passion, but since we are members of the 29th Army, before doing anything, we must consider the future of tens of thousands of soldiers and cannot act solely based on personal preferences like before!"

  He said this with a reason. The real reason the 29th Army dared to establish a military government was due to pressure from the Japanese. Three days ago, when he was still in Tianjin, Tōyama Isaburō came to his door, took out a plan for North China autonomy that had been prepared for who knows how long, and asked him to sign it, threatening that if Song did not implement this plan by the end of June, Japanese troops would be dispatched to Hebei and Shandong. Song Zheyuan was forced into a corner, on one hand not daring to sign and become a national traitor, but on the other hand had already made up his mind to compromise. After communicating with Qin Dechun, Zhang Weibao, and Xiao Zhenying, he decided to first pass this proposal within the army, then choose an appropriate time to issue a nationwide telegram, announcing autonomy in a veiled manner.

  Everyone present is an old hand in official circles, naturally understanding the ambiguous relationship. Ouyang Yun is familiar with this history and also knows what Song's words are referring to. Everyone looked at him, Qin Dechun smiled and said: "General, you brought it up well, Commander Ouyang is one of the 'Anti-Japanese Heroes'. Times have changed, Commander Ouyang, you now represent the new force of the 29th Army, and things can't be done just by relying on emotions."

  Wing inspection autonomy is the result of Ouyang Yun's unattainable pursuit, otherwise his many grand plans would not have had the soil to unfold. After this period of tempering, he also has a certain understanding of the domestic political environment and the personality characteristics of Song Zhiyuan and others. He nodded solemnly and said: "Thank you, two army commanders, for your teachings. I, Ouyang, am grateful - Vice Army Commander Qin, if you don't mind, please call me Ouyang." He looked around at everyone and said: "Everyone is older than me, all of them are my elders, uncles, and brothers. If it's not too presumptuous, please just call me by my name."

  Song Zheyuan said: "It's only right - since we have the fate to work together, it's like being a family. Ouyang is the youngest and most junior among us, so many places need to be guided and supported by everyone present. Hmm, let's just call each other by name from now on, it sounds more intimate."

  Zhang Zizhong looked at Ouyang Yun and said: "Since the military seat also says so, then we will rely on our age in the future and directly call out Brother Ouyang's name."

  Song Zheyuan said: "Everyone, our current situation is also clear to everyone. Next, let's talk about the issue of expansion and defense deployment."

  This is the theme of today's meeting, and it is also the essence of sharing cake. Everyone's spirit was lifted, and they sat up straight, and the atmosphere in the conference room became somewhat serious for a while.

  "After discussion with Lao Qin and Lao Zhang, Xiong Bin representing Lao Jiang also agreed. Our army will expand on the basis of its original framework as follows: 37th Division will be expanded to 4 regiments and 9 battalions, adding 1 regiment and 3 battalions, responsible for the defense of Beiping; 38th Division will be expanded to 5 regiments and 11 battalions, adding 2 regiments and 5 battalions, responsible for the defense of Tianjin; 132nd Division will be expanded to 4 regiments and 8 battalions, adding 1 regiment and 2 battalions, moving to defend Neiqiu and Xingtai line; 143rd Division will add 2 regiments and 5 battalions, responsible for all defenses in Chahar; The Student Brigade will be expanded into an independent brigade, with three regiments and a special operations battalion, responsible for the defense of the Yanshan area. In addition, depending on the situation, certain security forces will be set up in each region, directly under the command of the local garrison..."

  As it was a matter of great importance, Song Zheyuan spent about twenty minutes reading out the deployment and expansion orders for the 29th Army. Finally, he asked: "Does anyone have any opinions?"

  Zhao Dengyu immediately stood up and said: "Commander, Renqiu is a vital area in northern Hebei, adjacent to Pingjin. Is it not somewhat inappropriate to have the Independent Brigade defend it? Once a battle breaks out in Pingjin, the Independent Brigade, as a second-line unit, will have a significant impact on the outcome of the war!"

  Renqiu was originally the defensive area of the 132nd Division. After Zhao Dengyu's troops arrived, they had already set up their barracks and made some personnel arrangements. Suddenly moving to a new location would render all previous preparations useless. Moreover, as he said, Renqiu is the rear base of Pingjin. Once the battle starts, the reaction and mobilization of the garrison in Renqiu will have a significant impact on the war situation. The independent brigade is mainly composed of student soldiers, and the brigade commander Ouyang Yun is still young. Can he bear such a heavy responsibility?

  Independent travel can prevent Renqiu, naturally Qin Dechun played a role, the 29th Army entered Hebei, and will definitely establish a military government in the future. In this way, the highest administrative officer of Renqiu is naturally Ouyang Yun. As the think tank of the 29th Army, Qin Dechun naturally understands the importance of Renqiu to the overall situation of the 29th Army - Ouyang Yun is not clear what method Chen Hanlin used to persuade Qin Dechun to help with this big favor, but this is not his most concern. What he wants to get now is the oil under Renqiu.

  Qin Dechun, since he was able to persuade Song Zheyuan to transfer the independent brigade to defend Renqiu, his reason must have been very sufficient. He smiled and said: "Deng Yu, this is actually my intention, you all don't know yet, do you? There are treasures hidden underground in Renqiu."

  "Huh?" Everyone couldn't help but be puzzled and thought that if there was treasure under the Renqiu, why would they let Ouyang Yun, an outsider, have it cheaply?

  Qin Dechun's next sentence dispelled everyone's doubts: "There is oil under Renqiu, and Ouyang happens to have the technology for extraction and refining. This is the real reason why the Independent Brigade was deployed to defend Renqiu. As for whether the Independent Brigade can play its due role in the event of war," he glanced at Song Zheyuan and said: "The military seat has already decided that a grand military exercise will be held on New Year's Day next year, and if the Independent Brigade cannot enter the top three, the defense of Renqiu will be rearranged - Deng Yu, do you think this is okay?"

  What does oil mean in modern society? The 29th Army commanders were all unclear, and for a moment, many people's eyes became hot. Zhao Dengyu said: "Really, is this true?" Looking at Qin Dechun asked: "Deputy Commander Qin, how did you know that?"

  Qin Dechun smiled slightly and said, "I have an old friend who knows a team of American explorers. From their mouths, I got the news. Everyone, once we have fuel, it's also possible for us to form a tank and air force unit——" His gaze fell on Ouyang Yun's face, asking: "Ouyang, my old friend said you master the technology of extracting and refining oil, is that true?"

  Ouyang Yun nodded and said, "Yes, I also saw a message about Renqiu having oil in the American Geographic Magazine. I think as long as we can buy the equipment, extraction and refining won't be a problem." He stood up and bowed to Song Zheyuan, saying, "General, I have a question to ask you."

  Song Zheyuan nodded and said: "Please go on."

  "Is Tianjin Tanggu Port in our hands?"

  "Tianjin is filled with concessions of various countries, and Tanggu Port as a commercial port does not allow troops to be stationed. Currently it belongs to the Tianjin Garrison Command, so it's in our hands."

  "General, it can't be like this. If our army wants to truly develop and grow, we must firmly grasp the Tonggu Port - in the Pingjin border area, the only channel we can rely on for import and export is the sea route. On land, the increase in transportation costs goes without saying, and it's inevitable that we'll be plucked by local governments like a wild goose, so no matter how hard we work, even if we produce excellent products, there's a possibility that they'll only be used to benefit others."

  Song Zheyuan furrowed his brow, thought for a moment, and realized that this was a problem. He said, "The importance of Tanggu Port is self-evident, but this matter involves too many parties, and if it's not handled properly, I'm afraid it will lead to international disputes."

  Everyone else present, except for Guo Biao and Qin Dechun, couldn't quite understand the content of the conversation between the two. Tianjin belongs to the jurisdiction of the 38th Division, so Zhang Zizhong couldn't help but ask: "Sir, from what I understand, are you planning on opening a factory or running an enterprise?"

  Song Zheyuan said, "Oh" and said: "I forgot to tell you about this matter, our little Ouyang is not simple, his brain is full of wealth, haha, Zizhong is right, we want to set up a factory, and we must do it big!" He asked Guo Biao to take out the business plan made by Ouyang Yun and distribute it to everyone, saying: "This is the plan made by Ouyang, many of the technologies involved are world-leading. Just like that penicillin, according to what Ouyang and Mr. Jiang said, foreigners are still researching it now - if all these factories can be set up, it will be incredible!" He thought of the Tanggu Port problem and said: "As Ouyang said, if this Tanggu Port is not handled properly, we may really end up holding a hen that lays eggs and getting anxious! Tanggu Port, Tanggu Port - does anyone have any good suggestions?"

  Everyone was passing around the business plan, but they couldn't understand some of the technical terms, it was like reading a heavenly book. Zhang Zizhong was the first to finish reading it, then scratched his head and said: "I'm a military man, I really can't understand these academic things, but if these things are as magical as written in the book, they should be worth a lot of money, so Tanggu Port is indeed very important for our army!"

  Zhao Dengyu stood up, waved his hand and said: "If there's anything difficult to deal with, if all else fails, we'll just have to impose military control. The Western powers only have small security forces in Tianjin, they definitely won't dare to confront us head-on. As for the Japanese, I don't believe they'd dare take action now!"

  Feng Zhi'an echoed: "Deng Yu's approach is good, I agree!"

  Ouyang Yun saw that they had all fallen into a hornet's nest, and smiled: "Military leaders, gentlemen, military control is necessary, but if the method is right, I estimate that the powers including Little Japan will not only not oppose it, but even hope for it."

  "What did he say?"

  Others listened with sparkling eyes and looked at this young man, thinking he was much more pleasing to the eye.