"Yo! General Xu, I've heard of you for a long time, and finally meet you today." Hua Xiongmao stood up and smiled as he watched Xu Shuzheng being brought into the headquarters in handcuffs.

Xu Shuzheng just snorted and did not answer. He actually knew long ago that Hua Xiongmao was an "old rebel bandit" in the People's Party, but this was indeed the first time he had seen him.

Hua Xiongmao looked Xu Shuzheng up and down. Having worked with Chen Ke for more than ten years, Hua Xiongmao had never seen Chen Ke issue orders based on personal emotions. However, before Hua Xiongmao took up his post this time, Chen Ke rarely talked to Hua Xiongmao about Xu Shuzheng. The People's Party had special files on all Beiyang generals, and after capturing most Beiyang officials, these files became even more numerous. According to the records, Yuan Shikai once commented on Xu Shuzheng: "Youzheng (Xu Shuzheng) also has some talent. If he follows the right path, he can be expected to go far. But he is arrogant and self-righteous, offending too many people."

Hua Xiongmao naturally did not know that Chen Ke was moved by compassion because Xu Shuzheng had the merit of recovering Outer Mongolia "in history." Seeing Xu Shuzheng's arrogant demeanor even after being captured, what Hua Xiongmao recalled was Chen Ke's evaluation of Xu Shuzheng, "If a person has some ability, in Beiyang he must be sharp-edged, overly arrogant, bold and daring, and making too many enemies. We cannot set any precedent for Xu Shuzheng; there are quite a few such comrades in our People's Party. Xu Shuzheng definitely has a way to court death, but if we can avoid killing him, let's not kill him. However, if he deserves to be killed, there is no need to let him go."

Asking Xu Shuzheng to sit down first, Hua Xiongmao said straightforwardly: "General Xu, I have a question. Do you think you have a reason not to die?"

Xu Shuzheng originally thought that Hua Xiongmao wanted to persuade him to surrender, but he didn't expect such an intimidating question right from the start. Just as he wanted to get angry, he calmed down quickly. He suddenly grinned, "I have killed countless people. If you want to find a reason to kill me, it is very easy."

Hua Xiongmao laughed: "Killed countless people? Let's not brag about this. Is it that you can't count yourself, or that you killed many people? I think General Xu is probably just the former."

Mocked by Hua Xiongmao like this, Xu Shuzheng just sneered and stopped talking.

Hua Xiongmao continued: "In war, you kill me and I kill you; this is duty. I will never kill you because of this. As for your hostility to our People's Party, it is not a capital crime either. As for you drinking soldiers' blood (embezzling soldiers' pay) and taking empty pay, these are all your Beiyang affairs; we won't use these reasons to kill you."

"Hmph! Since you say these reasons are not the cause for killing me, then I, Xu, have no reason to be killed." Xu Shuzheng sneered.

Hua Xiongmao smiled slightly, "Then let me ask you something. In Guisui, you ordered the killing of sixteen common people who refused to pay taxes. This happened, right? Do you think you should pay with your life?"

Hearing this, Xu Shuzheng immediately flew into a rage, "Resisting tax payment, why can't they be killed? Hasn't your People's Party killed such people?"

"Not a single one." Hua Xiongmao stared into Xu Shuzheng's eyes and answered seriously, "Our People's Party never kills for money, and never kills common people. I haven't even mentioned your Beiyang Army looting common people along the way during the march. I can tell you responsibly that here with us, officers and soldiers robbing along the way are punishable by death. No one has ever escaped punishment after doing such a thing. In the more than ten years since our army was founded, several such incidents have occurred, and all participants were shot."

Whether a person is lying can be seen from their eyes and expressions. Xu Shuzheng looked into Hua Xiongmao's eyes, but saw no sign of lying from Hua Xiongmao. After confronting for a long time, Xu Shuzheng said: "So the People's Party insists on killing me."

"So I asked you first, do you think you have a reason not to die." Hua Xiongmao said seriously.

Xu Shuzheng said loudly: "Because I didn't surrender, you want to kill one to warn a hundred?"

"Your logic is flawed!" Hua Xiongmao couldn't help correcting, "We persuade surrender. What is the condition for persuasion to surrender? That is, if there is no personal blood debt, we will not kill him. You killed people because of government affairs; this does not belong to personal blood debt, so it is not within the scope of deserving to be killed. But if you don't surrender, the basis for not killing naturally doesn't exist. One thing is one thing."

For the People's Party, Chen Ke had been instilling the modern concept of governing the country that everyone is equal before the law for more than ten years, so Hua Xiongmao was very clear about this logically. For Xu Shuzheng, his thinking was still the traditional thinking mode of "good people and bad people." Good people have the right to receive different treatment, and bad people can be executed even without committing crimes. And power is the highest criterion for determining good and bad people. Plus, although Xu Shuzheng was a warrior, he learned to read at 3, could write poetry at 7, passed the county level imperial exam at 13, and became a stipend student at 17, known as a child prodigy, so he could not accept this concept of the People's Party even more.

"After all is said and done, you still want to kill me, Xu." Xu Shuzheng sneered.

Hua Xiongmao was also a bit annoyed. He sighed and said: "You are just illogical. If I wanted to kill you, why would I waste these words with you? Just lock you up first, wait until Yulin is liberated, and open the court. Naturally, someone will sue you, then try you according to the law, and finally sentence you. Why do I waste my breath with you? Do I get a sense of accomplishment by making you bow your head and admit guilt? I am a lazy person, and matters of the judiciary are not within my scope of interference. So I ask you one last time, do you think you have a reason not to die."

Although Xu Shuzheng still couldn't understand and accept the thinking of the People's Party, he at least understood one thing: Hua Xiongmao was neither trying to show off his power nor doing it for fun. I'm afraid it was really as Hua Xiongmao said, looking for a reason why Xu Shuzheng could not die. No one wants to die. Even if he felt great humiliation, Xu Shuzheng couldn't help considering the reason why he could not die.

After thinking for a good while, Xu Shuzheng finally replied: "If according to your People's Party's standard for killing people, I indeed have no reason not to die." After saying this, a bleak smile appeared on Xu Shuzheng's face, "But after I die, I have an unfinished wish. In the past few years, I have planned the strategy for recovering Outer Mongolia, which is almost finished now. Since you have fought the Japanese, presumably you are not afraid of the Russian hairy ones. If you have the guts to fight the Russians, you might as well take that strategy and use it."

Hua Xiongmao originally really wanted to kill Xu Shuzheng and be done with it. It wasn't that he had any opinion on Xu Shuzheng, but between letting Xu Shuzheng go and not letting Xu Shuzheng go, Hua Xiongmao believed that executing Xu Shuzheng would be more beneficial to Chen Ke. However, hearing Xu Shuzheng's words, Hua Xiongmao felt that Chen Ke was quite prescient. After Beiyang fled to the northwest, they had no enterprising spirit. Xu Shuzheng's original intention to recover Outer Mongolia was probably to expand Beiyang's territory. Regardless of what his original intention was, if there was really such a plan, then this person's backbone was quite extraordinary.

"This is the reason why you can not die." Hua Xiongmao said, "If a person has at least the thought and effort to be loyal to the country, we still have to give a policy and a way out."

Xu Shuzheng's last words were actually half true and half false. Although he did make preparations to recover Outer Mongolia, this plan was only a plan. Limited by the strength of the Beiyang remnants, Xu Shuzheng completely relied on his personal ability to operate this matter, and whether it could be achieved was still uncertain. The reason he said this was also largely due to the thought of mocking Hua Xiongmao.

Unexpectedly, Hua Xiongmao seemed indifferent to other things about Xu Shuzheng, but upon hearing that Xu Shuzheng tried to recover national territory, he actually praised him greatly, which made Xu Shuzheng feel that there was something tricky in it.

Xu Shuzheng looked at Hua Xiongmao for a long time before saying slowly: "I am only planning, and it is uncertain whether it can be done. If you think my planning will definitely work, you are overestimating me, Xu."

Hua Xiongmao replied calmly: "There are many external factors regarding whether it can be done, but whether to do it or not is a personal attitude. Just this attitude proves that you are still a true patriot, knowing that meat has to rot in one's own pot. Can you show me this material?"

Xu Shuzheng naturally did not lie. In order to march into Outer Mongolia, he had accumulated a lot of materials. Plus dictating his plan, the whole verification was very convenient.

In fact, Xu Shuzheng's method was not very exquisite. Due to the "October Revolution" in Russia, the Outer Mongolian princes and nobles headed by Jebtsundamba lost their backer, so they decided to return to China to maintain their own interests. Xu Shuzheng had already contacted Outer Mongolia. He planned to lead two infantry brigades and one cavalry regiment to march out of the pass and advance towards Urga (Kulun). At the same time, invite large merchant groups such as Shanxi merchants to various parts of Outer Mongolia to promote the economic construction of Outer Mongolia through commerce. Then find a way to put the "Premier of the Cabinet" of the puppet regime of Outer Mongolia, Badamdorj, as well as the princes and the Living Buddha Jebtsundamba under house arrest.

Hua Xiongmao quite appreciated this plan which could almost be described as adventurous. Compared with the Beiyang remnants, the People's Party was far superior in manpower and material resources. However, there was one thing that was not superior, that was the connections in Inner and Outer Mongolia.

The biggest reason why Chen Ke didn't want to use troops against the northwest immediately back then was that the People's Party lacked internal cadres, and a large number of systems were still vacant and urgently needed construction. Another reason was that the People's Party had no influence in the northwest. As the saying goes, "no discord, no concord." From a dialectical point of view, this fighting was also a process of deepening understanding and testing the bottom line. If entering the northwest with a brand-new system, the contradiction between the People's Party and the old system would immediately become the main contradiction in the northwest.

If the situation hadn't developed well, and the People's Party coveted Shu after getting Long (insatiable desire), hoping to take the opportunity to recover the old territory ceded by Russia, the military action against the northwest would have had to be delayed for a while longer.

After discussing with Xu Shuzheng and some captured Beiyang officials in Inner and Outer Mongolia, Hua Xiongmao reached a consensus with them. Pardon the crimes of Beiyang personnel in the Mongolian region who were willing to rise up and surrender, including Xu Shuzheng, and these people would join the military action of the People's Party to recover Outer Mongolia.

Originally, Xu Shuzheng wanted the Shanxi merchant groups to contribute money and effort to promote the economy of Outer Mongolia. Now the People's Party shouldered the economic construction entirely. The troops Xu Shuzheng originally wanted to mobilize had been defeated, so the troops of the People's Party naturally became the only military force. What Xu Shuzheng and the others had to do was to use their connections to assist the People's Party in completing the modified Xu Shuzheng plan and bring Outer Mongolia back to the embrace of the motherland.

Xu Shuzheng and the Beiyang Outer Mongolian officials originally had limited enthusiasm for this change. After all, this had a flavor of making wedding clothes for others. However, learning from Hua Xiongmao that the People's Party's plan was far more than this, and recovering Outer Mongolia was only a link in the People's Party's recovery of old lands, Xu Shuzheng and others immediately became enthusiastic.

If they only completed the plan to recover Outer Mongolia, Xu Shuzheng and others would be nothing more than a group of surrendered generals who clung to life and feared death. If they could work hard to recover old lands, Xu Shuzheng and others would be true national heroes. For their own current interests and reputation for generations to come, there was no need to make any "difficult choice" about where to go.

Having settled this matter, Hua Xiongmao was also very happy. Originally, he thought Chen Ke might have some connection with Xu Shuzheng's family. Now he had to suspect what kind of little trick Chen Ke was playing. Hua Xiongmao had been watching from the sidelines in many domestic and foreign wars of the People's Party. Now being able to shoulder such an unprecedented heavy responsibility was an excellent opportunity to establish Hua Xiongmao's military fame.

Thus, the military plan was sent to the Military Commission of the People's Party at high speed. Upholding the tradition of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army's strong offensive spirit, Hua Xiongmao also began to make intensive preparations.

With Xu Shuzheng and others acting as the leading party, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army defeated the troops sent by Duan Qirui to intercept, and quickly liberated the entire Suiyuan. The captured soldiers naturally surrendered. After screening the captured officers, those within the scope of salvation also cheerfully surrendered after being persuaded by the "risen" Xu Shuzheng and others.

In the process of working together with the People's Party, this group of people discovered that the People's Party indeed did things very differently from Beiyang and even the Manchu Qing. Apart from the factor of having money, the People's Party gave Beiyang two strongest feelings. One was that the People's Party from top to bottom was really not greedy for money, and the second was that the People's Party really knew how to spend money.

Just like the wool business, the price of wool on the grassland was very low, plus the processing technology was very poor, so it was actually not easy to do. The People's Party's handling method was completely different from the bandit-like method of setting up checkpoints to collect fees. Merchant caravans composed of troops moved back and forth on the grassland, propagating the existence of the People's Party merchant caravans whenever they met herdsmen.

Due to the good firepower and large numbers of the troops, they were not afraid of large or small groups of horse bandits. And in transactions, the People's Party's method was even more peculiar. In addition to the normal transaction of exchanging wool for daily necessities, the People's Party actually used wool products to exchange for wool. Sweaters, woolen gloves, woolen hats, sheepskin jackets, sheepskin boots, and even felt for building yurts were exchanged. The exchange ratio was about 1.5 to 1.

Xu Shuzheng was greatly puzzled by this obviously losing business, "Commander Hua, do you have nowhere to use your excess money? Why do you want to let these Mongols get off cheaply?"

Hua Xiongmao explained: "How is this called letting Mongols get off cheaply? If the Mongol compatriots don't know that their worthless things can be exchanged for these good things, how can they be sincerely willing to expand business with us?"

Xu Shuzheng seemed to understand but not fully understand. Hua Xiongmao had to explain further: "Do you think our commodities are much better than the products produced on the grassland itself?"

"This is natural!" Xu Shuzheng absolutely had this minimum insight.

Hua Xiongmao continued to explain: "Since the Mongol compatriots see this fact, they can understand that the products on the grassland need our processing technology to become so good, and they will have a demand for us."

Xu Shuzheng thought for a while and raised a new question, "What if they want to get these technologies from us, and then they start this production themselves?"

Hua Xiongmao felt that Xu Shuzheng was really smart to be able to see this step. He laughed: "To learn our things, they have to be able to speak Chinese, write Chinese characters, and accept Han culture education and production methods. If the Mongol compatriots on the grassland learn all these, they will be Han people. How good is that."

Xu Shuzheng was also called a child prodigy since childhood. He never expected Hua Xiongmao to think this way. Dumbfounded and stunned for a long time, Xu Shuzheng didn't know what he should say.