April 1922
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Imperator Pax
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April 1922
The telegram circular was a formal denouncement, a ritual that had to be observed it seemed. Maybe it was a chance to still see things headed off, maybe it was a warning shot... maybe it had just become habit at this point. He would have truthfully, much more preferred to be discussing scoping infantry rifles for scouts, and field reviews.
Even the machine gun field review would have been better than all of this... but he was in command, and the noise in Peking had to be seen to. "What do we know?"
"It started with an argument over money. So far as we can tell from there it turned into a spat over the cabinet appointments , and devolved from there." Waite replied.
"What's the recommendation?" He wasn't asking Waite his attention turned to Shansi's governor.
Yan nodded, "We should call up the reserves, if for nothing else but as an abundance of caution in the event that there is some repeat of the Restoration Crisis." Ponytail's attempt to restore the Manchu, the Qing dynasty to power. There were rumors going around Zhang Xun, and Zhang Tsolin had been making common cause, and both had had their power bases and their commands based in the maritime provinces.
There were a handful of nods from the short committee. Bill was absent, being down in southern Qinghai on an engineering project, and could be spared. Eighth division was absent, watching the border. Lee was absent for the same reason Shang was, also on border duty. "The Aircraft mission has approval as well?"
"Yes they can leave for England," Talk to De haviliand about his proposed improved racing plane, and its wooden frame with its new construction technique with balsa wood and the like, "I know Powell things that the balsa plywood manufacture is something readily available to the MAK." Waite declared, "cultivation will be a problem," He meant here in china, "but I admit that aluminum stamping while probably the future in the long run is not there yet. We would need very heavy pressing machines, and I don't expect a sufficiently great prototype inside of five years... and even if the stampings were there, we need more robust engines, and we are certainly not there in terms of a design, never mind in producing such an engine so I would call it ten years, maybe fifteen."
Thus, the argument was that a wooden composite frame like the racing design seemed the best option... and that was mirrored in land transportation. The suspension system for their trucks, and cars originated from a racing car from the Austrian in charge of the laboratory and workshop. Even more similar were the insistence of armament, it was just a rehash of talks before the telegrams had gone out, "The rapid firing cannon, we will have to replace the pom poms." They had done their job, but the experience showed that while they had worked they were now long quite long in the tooth and needed to be succeeded by flatter shooting longer range cannon rounds, which had been said a week earlier "1st Division and 3rddon't have their full complement of combat cars," He noted, "if we call the reserves it will tie up the lines and slow the transfer of machines."
Yan paused to consider that, and with the preface of the concerning disruption of the capital still warranted being at a state of readiness overall and that those battalions of the 1st and 3rd Divisions still awaiting their allotments should be kept at home. The conflict, if it did turn into a repeat of the attempted restoration would be different because of the increased numbers. The difference though was that they held Zhengzhou properly. There was no, had been no attempt to contest their control of the city, or its rail line. The regulars stationed at their garrison in the city were in place, and unassaulted... this was not the manchu restoration where they had had to scramble... but it was also much earlier in the year, and that boded ill potentially. "If cautionary words will not be heeded,"
"Then the troops will be mobilized for war." Waite agreed. "Allen?"
"Will you be heading back to Taiyuan?"
"Yes," Yan replied, "I will prepare the Guard division, and insure we have our patrols increased and that we are at readiness."
Waite nodded, "I've the brigade here, and Dawes will bring up 1st and 2nd Brigades."
That would leave him with the mobilized portion of the 1st division, and the 5th and 6th Brigades and the generals commanding them. That was the problem with their war planning, and expectations... they had talked about months earlier that Sun was acting squirrely, and the likelihood the southern doctor was going to act a fool.
Yet the war plan remained the same having been uncorrected or unaltered. 5th and 6thbrigades were intended to support the Szechwanese front by supporting3rd and 8th divisions. Those divisions would remain on the border, and the hunanese were supposed to be watched...instead they were looking at pivoting towards Zhili and Honan... and they still weren't clear exactly what in the hell was going on between the Fengtien and Zhili in all of this.
A few hours later he was making the final adjustments to the table of orders.
Percy had wasted no time in searching him out, but this was not the manchu restoration for all comparisons that might have been drawn to it. The crisis in and around the capital was a hot mess, there was no denying that, but things were very differentthan they had been a few years earlier.
"Xian operates on three lines," He told the englishman who had grandly stated he was an observer as if this were a war from before the guns of august had opened. He hoped Percy had just been making light of the situation or that it was just Percy talking. Allen did not like the possibility that Percy's observer status might hold official endorsement from King George's government and this might well be Curzon looking at the provinces in the west as separate from the beiyang authorities, "The regular army, the reserves, and the National Guard." Xian maintained a national guard bureau with each of the provinces maintaining their own guard units for emergencies that could be federalized much as with home.
"Yes, like the states."
The model yes, now that they were acting on this scale, but also because of the promulgation of the provincial constitutions which had established executive and legislature formally in 1920... the judicial bench was proving harder to establish but they would get there. "The regular army has its active units,"
"Those men of the first line,"
True. In the old system there had been two lines, the army and its reserves. "1st is presently being reinforced, by brigades, they'll watch the flanks, and pin the enemy in place." It was not 1917, he had vastly more officers to distribute the weight to, men to bear the load of operational weight, "I've read Iseburo's report, and we've substantiated it."
"The numbers?"
"Yeah," Allen replied, "Zhang, and Wu," Fengtien and Zhili more broadly, since it was not just their personal commands involved, it was more than that, "Have been recruiting."
"I understand your man Powell has been hiring laborers to migrate to the Americas, and there is talk of an Africa railway." Percy remarked. "I imagine the lucky ones will get on the ships... Zhang has a lot of modern artillery, John Allen... its going to be bad. You'll be going to the front then?"
An Englishman's talent for understatement Allen mused, then replied with the short answer, "With 1st." He replied.
"I've instructions to serve as observer," Percy, nor the Legation in Tietsin ever formally stated exactly to whom in Beijing they had informed that they were sending observers... though it wouldn't been out of character for the British Legation to have informed both sides of the fractured Beiyang that they were doing so. In April 1922 as the crisis erupted into serious fighting no one thought to ask, nor was it really that important, only that it was a return to the oddities as they would be thought of by future generations of the long 19th century. "if I can be of use I'll be along with you then."
The telegram circular was a formal denouncement, a ritual that had to be observed it seemed. Maybe it was a chance to still see things headed off, maybe it was a warning shot... maybe it had just become habit at this point. He would have truthfully, much more preferred to be discussing scoping infantry rifles for scouts, and field reviews.
Even the machine gun field review would have been better than all of this... but he was in command, and the noise in Peking had to be seen to. "What do we know?"
"It started with an argument over money. So far as we can tell from there it turned into a spat over the cabinet appointments , and devolved from there." Waite replied.
"What's the recommendation?" He wasn't asking Waite his attention turned to Shansi's governor.
Yan nodded, "We should call up the reserves, if for nothing else but as an abundance of caution in the event that there is some repeat of the Restoration Crisis." Ponytail's attempt to restore the Manchu, the Qing dynasty to power. There were rumors going around Zhang Xun, and Zhang Tsolin had been making common cause, and both had had their power bases and their commands based in the maritime provinces.
There were a handful of nods from the short committee. Bill was absent, being down in southern Qinghai on an engineering project, and could be spared. Eighth division was absent, watching the border. Lee was absent for the same reason Shang was, also on border duty. "The Aircraft mission has approval as well?"
"Yes they can leave for England," Talk to De haviliand about his proposed improved racing plane, and its wooden frame with its new construction technique with balsa wood and the like, "I know Powell things that the balsa plywood manufacture is something readily available to the MAK." Waite declared, "cultivation will be a problem," He meant here in china, "but I admit that aluminum stamping while probably the future in the long run is not there yet. We would need very heavy pressing machines, and I don't expect a sufficiently great prototype inside of five years... and even if the stampings were there, we need more robust engines, and we are certainly not there in terms of a design, never mind in producing such an engine so I would call it ten years, maybe fifteen."
Thus, the argument was that a wooden composite frame like the racing design seemed the best option... and that was mirrored in land transportation. The suspension system for their trucks, and cars originated from a racing car from the Austrian in charge of the laboratory and workshop. Even more similar were the insistence of armament, it was just a rehash of talks before the telegrams had gone out, "The rapid firing cannon, we will have to replace the pom poms." They had done their job, but the experience showed that while they had worked they were now long quite long in the tooth and needed to be succeeded by flatter shooting longer range cannon rounds, which had been said a week earlier "1st Division and 3rddon't have their full complement of combat cars," He noted, "if we call the reserves it will tie up the lines and slow the transfer of machines."
Yan paused to consider that, and with the preface of the concerning disruption of the capital still warranted being at a state of readiness overall and that those battalions of the 1st and 3rd Divisions still awaiting their allotments should be kept at home. The conflict, if it did turn into a repeat of the attempted restoration would be different because of the increased numbers. The difference though was that they held Zhengzhou properly. There was no, had been no attempt to contest their control of the city, or its rail line. The regulars stationed at their garrison in the city were in place, and unassaulted... this was not the manchu restoration where they had had to scramble... but it was also much earlier in the year, and that boded ill potentially. "If cautionary words will not be heeded,"
"Then the troops will be mobilized for war." Waite agreed. "Allen?"
"Will you be heading back to Taiyuan?"
"Yes," Yan replied, "I will prepare the Guard division, and insure we have our patrols increased and that we are at readiness."
Waite nodded, "I've the brigade here, and Dawes will bring up 1st and 2nd Brigades."
That would leave him with the mobilized portion of the 1st division, and the 5th and 6th Brigades and the generals commanding them. That was the problem with their war planning, and expectations... they had talked about months earlier that Sun was acting squirrely, and the likelihood the southern doctor was going to act a fool.
Yet the war plan remained the same having been uncorrected or unaltered. 5th and 6thbrigades were intended to support the Szechwanese front by supporting3rd and 8th divisions. Those divisions would remain on the border, and the hunanese were supposed to be watched...instead they were looking at pivoting towards Zhili and Honan... and they still weren't clear exactly what in the hell was going on between the Fengtien and Zhili in all of this.
A few hours later he was making the final adjustments to the table of orders.
Percy had wasted no time in searching him out, but this was not the manchu restoration for all comparisons that might have been drawn to it. The crisis in and around the capital was a hot mess, there was no denying that, but things were very differentthan they had been a few years earlier.
"Xian operates on three lines," He told the englishman who had grandly stated he was an observer as if this were a war from before the guns of august had opened. He hoped Percy had just been making light of the situation or that it was just Percy talking. Allen did not like the possibility that Percy's observer status might hold official endorsement from King George's government and this might well be Curzon looking at the provinces in the west as separate from the beiyang authorities, "The regular army, the reserves, and the National Guard." Xian maintained a national guard bureau with each of the provinces maintaining their own guard units for emergencies that could be federalized much as with home.
"Yes, like the states."
The model yes, now that they were acting on this scale, but also because of the promulgation of the provincial constitutions which had established executive and legislature formally in 1920... the judicial bench was proving harder to establish but they would get there. "The regular army has its active units,"
"Those men of the first line,"
True. In the old system there had been two lines, the army and its reserves. "1st is presently being reinforced, by brigades, they'll watch the flanks, and pin the enemy in place." It was not 1917, he had vastly more officers to distribute the weight to, men to bear the load of operational weight, "I've read Iseburo's report, and we've substantiated it."
"The numbers?"
"Yeah," Allen replied, "Zhang, and Wu," Fengtien and Zhili more broadly, since it was not just their personal commands involved, it was more than that, "Have been recruiting."
"I understand your man Powell has been hiring laborers to migrate to the Americas, and there is talk of an Africa railway." Percy remarked. "I imagine the lucky ones will get on the ships... Zhang has a lot of modern artillery, John Allen... its going to be bad. You'll be going to the front then?"
An Englishman's talent for understatement Allen mused, then replied with the short answer, "With 1st." He replied.
"I've instructions to serve as observer," Percy, nor the Legation in Tietsin ever formally stated exactly to whom in Beijing they had informed that they were sending observers... though it wouldn't been out of character for the British Legation to have informed both sides of the fractured Beiyang that they were doing so. In April 1922 as the crisis erupted into serious fighting no one thought to ask, nor was it really that important, only that it was a return to the oddities as they would be thought of by future generations of the long 19th century. "if I can be of use I'll be along with you then."