Chapter 1482
Unification of the North
Chapter 1482 Unification of the North
It wasn't that Lin Hao didn't want more people, but mainly because Lin Hao's spirit was only forty points, and when using the True Illusion Technique, he could only handle no more than forty people at a time.
There are only about thirty here, which can be completely covered at once, modifying the other party's memory and cognition!
"This is the President's decision, and all of you officers must cooperate!"
"Remember, this is not a discussion, but an order. In fact, you should know in your hearts that this matter can only benefit you and will not cause you any harm..."
Then the officers' eyes changed from resistance to obedience, and from obedience to certainty.
Several people nodded in unison, one of them even standing up and giving Lin Hao a military salute:
"Don't worry, Chief of Staff Lin, the brothers will definitely support this!"
Governor Zhu nodded in agreement. The President's decision was definitely not wrong, and it was normal for his subordinates to support it. What was so strange about that?
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With the Zhili sample in hand, the rest of the work becomes much easier; just follow this process.
The account opening process was not complicated. Each battalion compiled a list of soldiers' names, hometowns, and organizational information, which was then reviewed by the Ministry of Finance and transferred to the Beiyang Bank headquarters to issue passbook accounts.
However, in order to speed up the process, Lin Hao directly instructed the Ministry of Finance and the staff of Beiyang Bank to open personal accounts for the soldiers in advance according to the list.
Then, over the next month, he visited several other military leaders and local division commanders!
After securing the military leaders, they called out names according to the roster and then distributed personal bankbooks to each person. Those whose names did not match the roster naturally did not receive bankbooks.
They could even take this opportunity to purge those who don't deliver the promised goods and are drawing salaries without working.
On the day of payday, soldiers lined up at special counters in the branches of Beiyang Bank across the country to collect their monthly pay by presenting their passbooks and fingerprints.
After receiving the silver dollar, an old soldier counted it three times over, then excitedly said to his companions:
"It's true, we got three extra silver dollars last month!"
The reason for the increase is simple: the link in the officers' interception process has been completely cut off.
Previously, resources were transferred from the central government to the division, to the brigade, and to the regiment, with each level having to "pass through" the system.
The soldiers knew that the items would "wear out" as they passed through their hands, and the junior officers knew it too, but none of them had ever received a complete one.
The company commander standing behind him also leaned over to look, and said in disbelief:
"They really did pay the full amount! Does that mean I can get even more?!"
According to Lin Hao's plan, this reform will inevitably deprive these junior officers of the opportunity to exploit their soldiers.
However, this also created another problem: these officers rarely received their full pay and relied on deducting from their subordinates' pay to maintain their positions. This had become a habit, so the losses this time were bound to be significant.
To reduce confrontation, Lin Hao slightly increased the salaries of these junior officers.
The main problem is that Lin Hao cannot brainwash every junior officer.
"I heard it was General Lin who said that no one will withhold our pay anymore!" someone shouted. Several soldiers hesitantly clapped, then began to shout:
"Long live General Lin! Long live the President!"
The President also heard the report on these results; it wasn't Lin Hao who reported it, but rather the intelligence system.
In just one month, Lin Hao completed the registration of soldiers' accounts for all the troops under his direct command and those controlled by his confidants.
Now only the local forces remain to be eliminated, but the President is not worried about this because his direct subordinates have already been purified.
The reason why local forces are local forces is that their influence can only affect the local area, and their power cannot extend beyond the local area.
To put it bluntly, even if local reforms fail, it won't have much of an impact on him. On the contrary, he can take the opportunity to clean up the army and then forcefully push things through.
However, his direct subordinates alone received 40% less in military pay than usual after the purification process was completed.
Even he was taken aback when he first heard the specific numbers.
After excluding those who were paid without working or exploited by soldiers, the number was 40% less than usual.
This is an absolutely terrifying figure: a full 40% of the military pay was intercepted by officers at all levels from the central government to the soldiers.
Lin Hao's reforms were remarkably effective, comparable to a complete purification.
If local forces were also eliminated, it's unimaginable how much military spending would be saved in the end.
That's not the most crucial point. Another benefit of this purification is that after receiving full pay, combat effectiveness has been greatly enhanced.
According to Lin Hao's subsequent reforms, he also plans to optimize the personnel structure, implementing a policy of streamlining the army, eliminating the weak and retaining the strong, while also recruiting new soldiers.
Thinking of this, the President couldn't help but shudder. If Lin Hao's method were implemented, how powerful the Beiyang Army would become!
Meanwhile, news that Lin Hao had actually succeeded in getting it done quickly spread throughout the entire Beiyang government.
Some say he's a knife in the President's hand, others say Lin Hao is cutting off people's livelihoods, and still others say he's digging his own grave. The military leaders certainly won't let this go easily.
Lin Hao disregarded these evaluations and completed the reform of the territories directly and indirectly controlled by the Beiyang Army, effectively unifying the north.
Presidential Residence
The next step is to replicate this, bringing together those local forces that initially submitted to the regime and nominally obeyed.
In addition, the power held by the local military governors will be taken back from certain independent, semi-independent, and non-subordinate regions.
He would open as many accounts as there were soldiers in the Beiyang Army, thus completely centralizing power.
As for the border regions that are no longer under our control, and the places that are indirectly controlled by foreigners, we can only wait until the very last moment to take action.
In short, the key is to be steady, taking one step at a time and moving forward firmly.
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In the study of the Presidential Residence, a map showing the distribution of Beiyang forces, sent by Lin Hao, hangs on the wall.
Lin Hao stood in front of the map and introduced it:
“The red part represents the provinces where soldiers’ personal accounts have been completed. Those that have nominally submitted are represented in light red. Yellow represents semi-independent provinces or those that obey orders but not proclamations. Blue represents independent forces. Black represents foreign-controlled border regions.”
The President sat in a mahogany chair, holding the summary report in his hand, comparing it with the color-coded spheres of influence on the map, and suddenly looked up and asked:
"What's the situation with Lao Yan and Xiao Zhang?"
Lin Hao shook his head and said, "Old Yan's side doesn't accept it at all. Xiao Zhang nominally obeys, but he has been secretly ostracizing the central forces and has even gotten involved with Xiao Rizi!"
"The three forces in the northeast are mostly related to bandits, and some have even directly recruited bandits, plus there are foreign forces involved!"
At this point, Lin Hao put down his pencil, turned around, and said, "Old Yan's attitude is the toughest, so I'm going to use him as a sacrificial lamb to make an example of others!"
"How should we perform the ceremony?" the President asked with a smile.
"Cut off his pay first!" Lin Hao said calmly.
"Stop his military pay for three months, and at the same time, have the troops stationed in Nanhe, Beihe, and Xishan hold the eight passes of Taihang!"
"At the same time, launch a propaganda offensive, letting those soldiers know that the central government has already allocated funds, but their military governor is blocking it. Other provinces have already received their full salaries, while their soldiers in Xishan are still starving." The President's lips curled slightly upward as he smiled and said, "A decisive blow, using both soft and hard tactics!"
"If the soldiers don't get paid, the first thing they'll do is rebel against Old Yan!" Lin Hao chuckled, then continued:
"Once morale within the organization has collapsed, I'll go there personally. If Old Yan is sensible enough to cooperate in opening the account, then everyone will be happy!"
"If he doesn't know what's good for him, his subordinates will naturally ask him to step down!"
The president nodded without asking any further questions. It's good to have a process, but if there isn't, a good result is fine.
"Once we get Old Yan on board, the other semi-independent provinces will be much easier to handle!"
Lin Hao tapped on the map the regions of Xinjiang, Sichuan, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Zhejiang, and Fujian, then continued:
“These places are nominally subordinate to the central government, but in reality they act independently and lack the confidence to openly disobey orders!”
"As long as Lao Yan gives in, and since the central government isn't directly seizing power, they will eventually accept it."
"What if they don't accept?" The President looked at Lin Hao thoughtfully.
"I will accept it!" Lin Hao said firmly.
His tone was calm, but Lin Hao's certainty was undeniable.
Half a month later, after a series of maneuvers, Lao Yan finally gave in, and the good news quickly spread back to Beiping and then throughout the entire Republic of China.
Yan Xishan issued a telegram to the entire nation, expressing his support for the central government's fiscal reforms, and ordering all officers and soldiers of the Shanxi Army to cooperate in opening personal accounts for soldiers, effective immediately.
The telegram was well-written, but those in the know understood the twists and turns behind it: the cut-off of pay, propaganda, internal disintegration, and Lin Hao's personal trip to Changsha—a series of combined blows that left Lao Yan utterly powerless.
What's even more remarkable is that after the Jin army soldiers received their full pay, Lao Yan took the lead in publishing an article in the newspaper to thank the President and Chief of Staff Lin for thinking of the Jin army brothers.
This open letter shocked the entire Republic of China. No one expected that Old Yan, this tough guy, would not fight head-on but instead take the lead in admitting defeat.
Other local powers that had been observing the situation, after their initial surprise, were forced to make a choice. Jilin, Heilongjiang, Zhejiang, and Fujian provinces simply agreed and called to express their willingness to cooperate with the central government's policies.
The provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan made no statement. Guangdong and Guangxi and Yunnan and Guizhou are undoubtedly border regions, while Sichuan is extremely complex. It is not a unified force, but rather dozens of small warlords fighting each other, and no one can pay attention to the orders of the Beiyang government.
Regardless, soldiers' accounts were gradually opened by local warlords in the north, and the system of direct payment of military salaries was gradually implemented.
Two months ago, when Lin Hao first started pushing this project, some people were waiting to see him make a fool of himself, some were waiting to see him run into obstacles, and some were waiting to see him be ousted from power by the military leaders.
Two months later, those people shut up. Although the current situation only involved unifying the north, Lin Hao had managed to unite the north into a cohesive force, making it far more powerful than the south.
When Lin Hao returned to Beiping after completing his journey, the President hosted a banquet for him. In addition to various military forces, Jin Quan and Bai Xiongqi were also present.
Of course, although it was a banquet, it was actually a report meeting:
"All troops within the area under the actual control of the Beiyang Army have completed the opening of personal accounts for their soldiers."
"The direct payment system for military pay has been fully implemented, saving about 40% of military expenses each month. Soldiers receive their full pay, morale is high, and combat effectiveness has increased significantly."
After listening, the president remained silent for a few seconds, then suddenly raised his glass to Lin Hao and said, "Little Lin, this glass is for you!"
Lin Hao quickly stood up and raised his glass, and Jin Quan and Bai Xiongqi also stood up.
"The Beiyang government is riddled with problems, but your medicine has truly cured it at its root. Thank you for everything you've done for the Beiyang government!" The President said, then drank the entire cup in one gulp.
When men gather in groups, they're either involved in pornography or political commentary, especially those from the Beiyang clique. People are asking Lin Hao again how he persuaded those unruly individuals.
They were mainly too curious, but Lin Hao managed to dodge the question by changing the subject.
As the party was ending, Jin Quan pulled Lin Hao aside and invited him to leave.
"Commander Lin, I'm hosting a small banquet at my home tomorrow night, just a few of us, to celebrate your victory. You absolutely must come!"
Lin Hao smiled and agreed, but he was still a little curious as to why he was being invited again.
Lin Hao then checked and found out that Jin Quan had discovered that Jin Meili was frequently bothering him recently.
So he asked his second concubine to find out, and that's how he learned that his daughter had feelings for Lin Hao. Jin Quan immediately had the idea of a marriage alliance, which led to the invitation to Lin Hao.
Upon learning the reason for the matter, Lin Hao was naturally pleased.
Perhaps it was about his children, Jin Quan suddenly sighed, as if he had remembered something troubling him.
"What's wrong, Chief of Staff Kim?" Lin Hao asked, puzzled.
"Ugh, don't even mention it!" Jin Quan waved his hand, a hint of helplessness on his face.
"It's my seventh son. I don't know what's wrong with him lately, he's been running around every day, saying he's got his eye on a girl?"
"Leng Qingqiu?" Lin Hao raised an eyebrow, then smiled and said, "It seems Seventh Young Master is in love?"
"In a relationship?" Jin Quan gave a wry smile and said, "I don't know if I'm in a relationship or not, but things have been chaotic at home these past few days."
During Lin Hao's busy period, Jin Yanxi unsurprisingly encountered Leng Qingqiu.
A month ago, Jin Yanxi was driving his black car home when he turned into an alley, only to find it blocked by a traffic jam.
The driver honked the horn twice, but there was no response. Jin Yanxi impatiently stuck her head out to look.
I happened to see Leng Qingqiu standing at the entrance of the alley, wearing a moon-white (light blue) school uniform.
She was holding a stack of papers in her arms, bending down to pick up things that had been blown away by the wind. The setting sun shone obliquely from the end of the alley, casting a long shadow on her.
She squatted there, frantically picking up the stack of Xuan paper. Some sheets were blown into puddles by the wind, and some drifted to the base of the wall. She ran over to pick them up, her hair disheveled and hanging down her side, but she didn't bother to tidy it up.
Jin Yanxi watched for a while, and for some reason, his heart suddenly skipped a few beats. He was immediately amazed.
So he opened the car door and went over.
"Let me help you." He said, squatting down to pick up the papers with her.
Leng Qingqiu raised her head and glanced at him. Her face was very pale, her eyebrows and eyes were so clean they looked like they were painted on, and her lips were slightly pursed, showing a hint of restraint and surprise.
Jin Yanxi noticed that the papers were covered with poems, written in neat and elegant handwriting, and was drawn to them once again.
"Thank you," she said softly, her voice not loud, but very pleasant, each word striking a chord in Jin Yanxi's heart.
She straightened the paper she had picked up, hugged it to her chest, and walked away quickly.
After walking a few steps, he turned back to look at Jin Yanxi again, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing and turned to disappear at the end of the alley.