A staff member who was unable to hold back the air first asked without waiting for Yuan Shikai to speak: "Master, then we have no choice. There is still nearly 60,000 rifles and a large number of heavy weapons in the entire Beiyang Army. Although we still have a lot of money in our hands, because the troops are expanded too quickly, the two provinces have just won it and have no income yet, so they cannot satisfy them at all."

"No, there is a way!" As the commander of the Beiyang Army, if Yuan Shikai himself had no confidence, then more than 100,000 Beiyang Army members would have no confidence. Therefore, Yuan Shikai gave a very positive answer to several aides without thinking.

"I just said that the imperial court can only have enough strength to attack us if it completes the reorganization and training of tens of thousands of patrol battalions. Whether it is the reorganization of patrol battalions or training patrol battalions, it takes time, as little as half a year, and more than one year is not enough."

"For such a long time, the imperial guards in the imperial court can grow and grow, and our Beiyang army can also grow and grow."

The staff member's face looked a little better, but his heavy and serious expression did not completely relax.

The word development is easy to say, but it will definitely be difficult to really do it.

Not to mention anything else, if the Beiyang Army wants to improve its combat effectiveness, the first thing it needs to solve is the equipment problem. If such a large weapon gap is purchased from abroad, it would be great if the Beiyang Army’s current silver reserves could be bought back one-third of the gap.

You should know that these silver reserves were traded with the Liaodong Army at that time, and were plundered from the immigrants when they were immigrants outside the pass. When the main force of the nine towns of the Beiyang Army had already used up, more than one million taels of silver was left. It can be said that if one tael is used, one tael will be reduced, and there is no source to supplement it.

As for the taxes in several provinces, when we go out to the two provinces that were just controlled by the Beiyang Army, although the taxes in the remaining three provinces are quite large, the various expenses are also huge. Apart from the expenses of supporting more than 100,000 Beiyang Army, we can't afford more money to buy weapons.

Unless Yuan Shikai can wait another year, and after the remaining two provinces have taxes next year, they may be able to withdraw two or three million taels of silver.

Just as everyone was still frowning and thinking about how the Beiyang Army could develop, the staff in charge of intelligence suddenly suggested: "Master, the court can turn wars with the National Defense Forces into pleasing silk, can we also cooperate with the National Defense Forces!"

"If we can buy weapons from the National Defense Forces like the court, it will definitely have a great promoting effect on the combat effectiveness of the Beiyang Army."

"Also, if you buy weapons from the National Defense Forces, you only need to pay 500,000 taels of silver for one million taels, and the rest can be deducted with materials. In this way, buying weapons from the National Defense Forces, with our current silver reserves, even if we cannot fill the gap in the rifle, it will be a lot less."

"Also, the Liaodong Army wiped out the Manchurian Army, and the number of rifles captured alone was no less than 100,000. So many weapons could meet the needs of our Beiyang Army. This is not the large number of heavy weapons seized by the National Defense Forces from the Japanese army. As far as I know, in the transaction between the imperial court and the National Defense Forces, the number of field artillery alone reached 100."

Dealing with the National Defense Forces means that the Beiyang Army has to compromise with the National Defense Forces, otherwise the National Defense Forces will definitely not sell weapons to the Beiyang Army.

Even if there are more than 100,000 rifles, even if there is no major customer of the Beiyang Army, with the appetite of the imperial court and the major governors in the south, there is no problem with eating these weapons. Therefore, the National Defense Forces holding weapons do not need to consider sales at all.

In this case, unless the Beiyang Army takes the initiative to bow to the National Defense Force, the National Defense Force will not pay attention to it, let alone sell it to its weapons. After all, the connection channels between the National Defense Force and the inner-level pass have been opened from the court and there is no need to rely on it.

But the Beiyang Army bowed to the National Defense Force, which means that it would bow to Yang Xingguo, which was definitely an unprecedented shame in Yuan Shikai's opinion. Therefore, Yuan Shikai's first reaction was hesitation.

But the several staff members in front of them showed a heart-warming expression on their faces.

In their opinion, the benefits that temporary compromise to the National Defense Force and cooperation with the National Defense Force can bring to the Beiyang Army are huge.

If the general could seize this opportunity, the Beiyang Army would definitely develop faster than the imperial court.

At that time, after the day when the imperial court and the Beiyang Army truly broke, it would not be the imperial guards who attacked the Beiyang Army, but the Beiyang Army who attacked the imperial guards and directly took the capital and took over the imperial guards and replaced them.

Once the Beiyang Army replaces the imperial court, the Beiyang Army, supported by the Central Plains, can usher in a period of rapid development. The National Defense Forces, which only occupy the three northeastern provinces, will be no longer an opponent of the Beiyang Army because of their insufficient foundation.

By then, the Beiyang Army will unify the whole country and change the dynasty will not be difficult.

Of course, these aides also knew that compromise was an unprecedented shame for General Yuan Shikai.

Therefore, although the benefits of compromise to the Beiyang Army were huge, several staff members seemed to have agreed, and they all kept silent, neither supporting nor denying it, waiting for Yuan Shikai to decide by himself.

One minute, two minutes... The lobby went through five minutes of silence, and Yuan Shikai's face showed a firm expression.

Yuan Shikai is worthy of being a hero of a generation. Although it is a shame, for the future of the Beiyang Army, he still answered decisively: "Then let's compromise. As long as the Beiyang Army grows and grows and has an army in its hands, the shame I have suffered today will sooner or later, one day I will return Yang Xingguo, the National Defense Force, back."

The Beiyang Army is worthy of being the most well-trained new army in the Qing Dynasty. Starting from Yuan Shikai's decision, in less than a few hours, the Beiyang Army, which was confronting the border with the National Defense Force, opened the checkpoint. Like the imperial guards of the imperial court, except for the permanent fortifications, all the projects of building the city wall were stopped.

That's not all. After lifting the blockade and opening the checkpoint, a Beiyang military control belt left his defense line directly and walked towards the Defense Forces Line. Through the opposite Defense Force officer, he told Yang Xingguo that the Beiyang Army wanted to purchase weapons and equipment from the Defense Forces and deepen cooperation.

Because the National Defense Forces radio station has been equipped to the regiment, even if it is reported at one level, it has only been an hour since the news reached the Marshal's Mansion.

Sun Liechen, who was holding the telegram, rushed into the war room where Yang Xingguo was, and shouted excitedly: "Master, Yuan Shikai has compromised."

"Not only order all garrisons on the border to lift the blockade and stop building the city walls, they also send people to our military camp to ask about buying weapons. I really didn't expect that Yuan Shikai would compromise with us."

Yang Xingguo had long expected this result, so he was not as excited as Sun Liechen.

In Yang Xingguo's view, his national defense force, the imperial court that occupied the capital, and the Beiyang army that captured the Central Plains, were like the three-legged stalemate at the end of the Han Dynasty. The three forces remained balanced with each other and no one could do anything to each other in a short period of time. However, once the two forces cooperated, the possible blows and threats for the third party were absolutely devastating.
Chapter completed!