Yuan Gongbao spent the whole day receiving guests, including rich nobles, Han scholar-bureaucrats, and traditional celebrities with high prestige.

They all wanted to know what Yuan Gongbao talked about with the people from the "revolutionary army".

For some unknown reason, Yuan Gongbao did not tell the whole story about his conversation with Lin Pingzhi, but tactfully stated that the revolutionary army was not prepared to liquidate everyone, and was willing to leave a way for those who cooperated to survive, and even continued to use them.

.

This news excited many people, especially some "wealthy families" who thought they were powerful. Many people even wanted to take advantage of the lack of manpower in the revolutionary army to win over the people.

…………

Things in the capital were progressing slowly, and the surrounding armies rested. The third regiment, which had just been stationed in Zhangjiakou, received orders to march north again.

"Three hundred trucks, five hundred motorcycles, and sixteen light armored vehicles. The headquarters is not that rich. This is a big move!" Hou Dehui looked at the supply list with toothache.

Zhangjiakou is located at the end of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway. Although the starting point is in the capital and is not in the hands of the revolutionary army, once the negotiations begin, the revolutionary army will be able to use the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway for transportation.

This was the first batch of railway supplies received by the Third Regiment. The variety and quantity of supplies far exceeded Hou Dehui's imagination.

"If nothing else goes wrong, we should be entering Mongolia. I heard from fellow villagers that the Mongolian plateau is not peaceful. The Mongolian princes are divided into two factions. One faction advocates inward attachment, and the other faction has been making trouble with the support of the tsar and trying to escape.

"Li Yan put on new boots and stamped his feet vigorously.

"Five thousand sets of thick cotton clothes, three thousand pairs of fine cowhide boots imported from India, various leather hats, and leather gloves, this is a huge investment." This is actually what Hou Dehui sighed.

At this time, industrialization was not yet complete. At least in terms of people's livelihood, industrialized large-scale breeding was not the mainstream. The processing of leather also relied entirely on manual labor, and the value of leather goods was very high.

Nanhua also produces a large amount of leather goods, but being located in the tropics, Nanhua will not usually store so many military boots or other leather goods.

Yes, leather boots are waterproof to a certain extent, but in tropical areas, soldiers wear non-breathable leather boots every day, and their feet will become rotten in a short time.

There are also cotton-padded clothes, which have English on them, so you can tell they are imported.

Calculated based on the base number of a regiment, it may cost hundreds of thousands, but the Mongolian plateau is so vast, what can a regiment do? We must add more troops.

A division does not count the directly-affiliated troops, but only has four regiments. The cost of millions is enough to form two more regiments.

Hou Dehui actually wanted to take a break, but looking at the equipment, including a large number of vehicles, cold-proof supplies, etc., he knew he couldn't refuse.

"The general staff ordered that our regiment head to the Ulanqab League to help the people there resist harassment by the rebels." The regiment's chief of staff came in with the order.

"Rebels?" Hou Dehui said cheerfully. Not long ago, this title was used by the Qing Empire to refer to them.

"Yes, a group of Mongolian princes supported by Tsarist Russia couldn't wait to stand on their own after receiving the order from the little emperor." The chief of staff took out the intelligence shared by the intelligence department.

"Self-reliance? Then our task is..." Hou Dehui rubbed his nose and thought.

"Clear the rebels. It's very simple. We have a guide and a horse can't outrun a car. It's not a problem. The trouble is the Russians."

"The Balkan War has been going on so far, and both sides are unable to fight. Tsarist Russia can allocate part of its energy to the Far East."

"Here, our advantage is very weak. In terms of supply difficulty, it is even more difficult for us than Tsarist Russia, so we must move quickly."

"We only have four to six weeks to eliminate all the resistance elements before the Russians react."

"The mission of our regiment is to act as a vanguard regiment, march into the Ulanqab League first, establish a transit base, and call on local people to form a transportation team."

"Then we will proceed to Guisui, an important town in southern Mongolia. The princes, nobles and herdsmen in the southern Mongolian area are more inclined to the center. Both the roads and the climate are still barely there, so the overall difficulty is not that big."

"But after moving north, there will be no roads along the way. The terrain and climate have also become harsh, making it almost impossible to advance with heavy equipment." The chief of staff took out a map, which was the map of the Qing Empire.

Kanyu's paintings are relatively abstract. For example, it cannot be said that there is no scale, but there is no unity. A mountain is just a mountain, and a road is just a line.

The two roads, fifty miles and eighty miles long, may be about the same length on the Kanyu map.

"One and a half months, it was only the end of July or the beginning of August. So many cold-proof materials need to be transported in now?" Hou Dehui frowned as he looked at the planned march route.

There are roads in these places, but the road conditions are extremely poor and driving is very troublesome. Moreover, they are all dirt roads with only rubble.

It's June now, which happens to be the rainy season. Once it rains, the roads will be muddy, and the car will probably get stuck in the mud and be unable to move.

Under such circumstances, traveling lightly and simply was the most important thing, but they still had to haul so many supplies that were temporarily unused. Hou Dehui didn't understand what the headquarters was thinking.

"The temperature difference between day and night is large on the grassland, and the wind is also strong. It gets colder as we go north. It will snow in October north of Cullen, so it is wise to prepare early."

"After all, we are far away from the rear. If we add more by then, it might be too late. Our soldiers are all brought from the heat. I can't imagine if we are really going to freeze like this."

The chief of staff took out the kettle, took a sip and shook his head.

"Okay, let's serve as a transfer station and mobilize the transportation team. How much money will be allocated to us?" Hou Dehui thought for a while and came up with the idea of ​​​​a transportation team.

Anyway, the transportation team is walking behind the convoy, so why not let the transportation team transport these.

"Two hundred thousand, present the ocean, and the rest will be spent from the confiscated property." Colorful coins are not recognized on the grassland, and even the present ocean is not accepted by everyone.

More herdsmen still like to barter, exchanging cattle, sheep, horses and furs directly for tea, iron tools, medicines, food, etc.

"How can we do so many things as a group?" Hou Dehui scratched his head and sighed,

"The reconnaissance company will prepare dry food immediately and set off in two hours. The reconnaissance range will be 20 kilometers in front of the main force."

"Yes!" Li Yan saluted, turned around and went out to prepare.

"The nobles and herdsmen in southern Mongolia will provide support, including manpower, which can relieve some pressure. The fourth regiment is a hundred kilometers behind us, but they do not have so many vehicles."

"We don't need to finish everything. If it's too late, just leave it to the fourth regiment." The chief of staff was happy from the bottom of his heart.

If there is no comparison, there will be no harm. The third regiment is a bit tired, but it is the main attack force and is the main force. What about the fourth regiment? It takes over the city and does all the chores.

Military merit can only be gained by fighting a war. Everyone is on the same level now, but the future may not be certain.

In particular, the future continental army plan will definitely be put on the agenda.

"Okay, let's take a rest tonight and set off tomorrow. The combat troops will just organize the necessary supplies and leave the rest to the logistics." Hou Dehui nodded.

…………

Marchen Port in June is as hot and busy as ever. In the early morning, when the fishing boats return to the port, the comings and goings of people are particularly prosperous.

An inconspicuous-looking cruise ship of about 5,000 tons slowly docked, looking normal.

Just after the cruise ship docked, two teams of police officers suddenly set up a cordon, and a team of uniformed soldiers were waiting under the ship.

"Mr. Muhammad, welcome to Ma Chen." Lin Yidong greeted while extending his hand.

Muhammad, who was also the secret envoy of the Caliph, looked at the young man with his head wrapped in white cloth and gorgeous clothes. He was stunned for a moment before reaching out and shaking his hand.

"I am the private secretary of the Foreign Secretary. The minister is already waiting for your Excellency, please." Lin Yidong did not say much, but took Mohammed to the parking place.

Muhammad can serve as a special envoy mainly because he can speak Chinese and can communicate directly with Lin Yidong without the need for a translator.

Originally, he was going to act according to the procedures set by Nanhua, but Wuyi glanced at the dock and stopped suddenly.

"That's..." Mohammed pointed at a ship that was slowly pushed into the harbor by a barge and said in surprise.

The main building of the ship seemed to be as high as four or five stories. The big pipes stood silently. The sailor next to it looked so small. It was a battleship, or a new battleship.

The Ottoman Empire also has a battleship plan, and is even conducting a nationwide fundraiser. Imperial officials are already inspecting battleships in various countries.

However, the continuous outbreak of wars has strained the Ottoman Empire's finances and owed a lot of debt. If nothing else, the battleship will be delayed again.

"This is the Chang'an, one of the six battleships of the empire. Its home port is at the Marchen Naval Base. It should have just completed routine training."

"If Mr. Mohammed is interested, you can go up and have a look after we finish talking." Lin Yidong looked at the boat, then at the surprised Mohammed, and said calmly.

"Six ships?" Mohammed murmured.

Lin Yidong frowned. Didn't this person understand the target when doing diplomacy? Something as conspicuous and ostentatious as a battleship had nothing to hide and could not be concealed.

"Yes, the Changluo-class battleship could have been called the most powerful battleship a few years ago, but it is already somewhat outdated now."

"There are also two improved models of the Changluo class and the Xuchang class. Their basic parameters are not much different."

"The last is the Arabian class, which is currently the largest battleship in the world and also the fastest battleship."

"This is also the reason why we dare to participate in this matter." Lin Yidong looked at Muhammad, with an inexplicable meaning in his eyes.

The Ottoman Empire's new army was not a display. Even though the Balkan coalition suffered heavy losses, there was no major breakthrough. It was completely different from the glory of another world.

However, the Ottoman Empire could no longer conquer it. Its finances had been completely exhausted. The Ottoman Empire wanted to negotiate peace.

For this reason, the Ottoman Empire contacted various countries and the Balkan coalition and admitted that even if it paid a certain price to end the war, the results were not ideal.

Due to various complex reasons, European countries are more inclined to sacrifice Ottoman interests.

In another world, the Ottoman Empire lost most of its European territory due to diplomatic failure, leaving only a very small piece of European territory.

Here, the Ottoman Empire still has an army and fighting capacity, but it has no money. They cannot accept this kind of defeat.

After contacting many countries, the Ottoman Empire chose to send secret envoys to South China and the United States to discuss war financing.
Chapter completed!