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Text Chapter 11: Zhu Erdian¡¯s Thoughts

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    Feng Guozhang leaned back on his chair with a tired expression, looking at Zhang Lianfen and Li Chun and others who had retreated from Dazhi Gate with half-closed eyes, without saying a word for a long time.

    The air was filled with the smell of failure. The Beiyang soldiers who were brave and skillful in fighting a few hours ago seemed to have been suddenly transferred to their souls. They just gathered around the campfire numbly and ate dry food that had become cold and hard. Even the most elite artillerymen  I couldn't even lift my spirits, so I sat in a daze among the piles of yellow and orange bullet casings.

    Beiyang was defeated?  !

    Li Chun gritted his teeth: "Commander, give the order! Before the palace guards know the situation here, let me be the vanguard to fight again. No matter how powerful Yang Qiu is, it will take two days to return to the army! We will definitely take Hankou within two days.  !¡±

    "Yes, I don't believe it anymore, look at how that little brat can keep it!"

    "I'll go there too"

    ¡°Let¡¯s go together!¡±

    The officers were excited, but Feng Guozhang remained expressionless.  As the most proficient in tactics among the Three Heroes of Beiyang, he can actually feel the weakness of Hankou. Starting from Xiaogan, he has been defeated again and again, and has destroyed all the morale of the opponent. If he really bites the bullet, he is sure to take Dazhimen in one day and night.  If you put a cannon on Hankou's forehead, what will happen if you take it down?  Since Yang Qiu dared to take away Wang Yujia from the front-line encirclement and suppression, it meant that he had already made plans to abandon Hankou!  So he will definitely go straight to Xiaogan from Jingshan.  Wang Yujia lost because of Arrogance. If he abandoned Xiao Cangshan and tried his best to break out of the siege after discovering that he was surrounded, how could he bring shame to Beiyang and even get himself arrested?  Although he had seen through Yang Qiu's tactics and chased him as hard as possible to gain time, in the end he still fell short.

    Sitting there, in front of him was the experience from Wusheng Pass. If the shocking explosion after seven days of bloody battle was just the first glimpse of his strength, then the night attack in Chenjia'ao to stabilize the morale of the army showed Yang Qiu's ability to grasp the army and advance the deployment of Dahongshan in advance by moving north.  He has a sharp vision, and finally showed his courage and determination by attacking Kyoyama with a backhand attack.

    After fighting for half his life, he failed several times in front of a young man he had never heard of. He felt very uncomfortable and unwilling to accept it!  I also wanted to simply send my army to attack Hankou, but now that Yang Qiu has won a great victory, the morale of the troops is high enough to offset the fatigue. I have just lost a town here, and my morale has been severely depressed. The sergeant has no intention of fighting anymore. I really spent all the remaining troops.  Suppressing the two associations is equivalent to cutting off nearly half of Beiyang's strength. By then, let alone the Beijing-Hankou Line, even the Jinpu Line may not have the troops to protect it. What else can be used to deal with the Huaihe and Southern armies?

    Thinking of this, Feng Guozhang sighed. He knew he had to give up this time and waved his hands: "Paper can't contain the fire. Lianfen, please go and send the telegram in person. Please tell the palace guards that Hua Fu has no shame in continuing to rule after he has failed to live up to his trust."  Soldier, I would like to resign from the post of commander of the army, please ask the palace guards and the emperor to choose another worthy person." After saying these few words, it was as if all his strength had been drained out of him, and his whole person seemed to have aged suddenly.

    Zhang Lianfen also sighed and walked to the telegraph room with a telegram destined to cause a stir.

    When the radio purchased from the United States began to tick, Yuan Shikai was kneeling at the feet of Empress Dowager Yulong with a heavy face and heartache behind the Yangxin Hall in the Forbidden City. Next to him, Prince Zaifeng and Prince Su Shanqi stared at him with anger. Only Xiao De beside Yulong  Zhang - kept winking as if to tell him that the Queen Mother was in a bad mood today.

    In fact, it goes without saying that Yuan Gongbao also knew that Yulong was in a bad mood, and now he was in a good mood.  Yulong holds six-year-old Puyi, this is her life!  He asked in a low voice: "Weiting, it's not that the Ai family doesn't know your difficulties, it's just that the Ai family and the emperor's orphans and widows are not well-off now. All the money collected by the court over the years has been given to foreigners. In the past, it was given to Yin."  Chang¡¯s one million was taken out through gritted teeth by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. You all know this, but I just want to ask: Is the matter really that urgent?"

    Yuan Shikai came today to raise military funds. Since the war has not stopped, the Lianghuai salt tax will not be received for a while. Hubei is spending money like water. In addition, the situation is uncertain and many domestic banks are unwilling to borrow money.  , not only has the one million military funds allocated to Yinchang been completely spent long ago, but he has also invested several million in it.  Fortunately, Liang Shiyi gave him an idea, saying that there were still five thousand taels of gold in the royal treasury, so he rushed over, hoping to use foreign invaders to force out the money to meet his urgent needs. At this moment, he heard the tone of the Queen Mother who imitated Lafayette and listened to politics behind the curtain.  Turning around, she quickly said with joy in her heart: "The Queen Mother may not believe in the Comfort Pavilion, but she should always believe in the Regent and Prince Bideyuan. It's better to let them explain the situation at this moment.

    Yulong¡¯s eyes turned away, and Zaifeng also looked ugly.  The Ministry of Internal Affairs does have thousands of taels of gold, but is that the last wealth of the Qing Dynasty and the emperor?  Although his son was given away and he had to kneel when he saw her, after all, he was connected by blood and could not help but think about his future. He immediately said: "Back to the Queen Mother, the situation outside is indeed not good - but this is all due to Yuan Gongbao's inability to suppress the bandits.  , Yiyi"

    Before Zaifeng finished speaking, Yulong's eyes turned red, knowing that there must be a big trouble outside, otherwise Zaifeng would not care about Zuo.He didn't care about him, so he interrupted and continued to ask: "Weiting, there are no outsiders today. You might as well tell me the truth, are the Qing Dynasty the same country?"

    No matter how awesome Yuan Shikai was, he did not dare to say anything treasonous at this time. He shed a few tears and said: "The south has become a prairie fire. Hubei has not yet been pacified. Yesterday, the rebellious party gathered tens of thousands of people to attack Nanjing. If Nanjing  I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s only one chance that it will be lost.¡±

    "Is this an exaggeration? Half of the six towns in Beiyang are still in the north." Shanqi, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly interjected coldly: "If the palace security did not waste time and let them go south to suppress the bandits, those  How can the rebellious party survive today?"

    Yuan Shikai and Shan Qi had not dealt with him. When he heard him accusing him of using troops, he cursed him. He also said coldly: "Prince Su doesn't know something. The south is certainly a big trouble, but will the north be safe? Shanxi and Shandong are not peaceful.  If these places are not wiped out as soon as possible, how can you and I still stand here and talk?"

    The good old man couldn't argue with him about this kind of problem, so he had to turn around and said: "Your Majesty, the Treasury of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is of great importance. This is the last family fortune of you and the Emperor."

    Of course, Zaifeng didn't want to see the Ministry of Internal Affairs' treasury money fall into Yuan Shikai's hands. Just as he was about to put pressure on him with Shanqi, there was suddenly a rush of footsteps outside. Xiao Dezhang immediately hurried out a few steps and shouted: "Who is it?"  Are you making noise here? I didn¡¯t know this was" Before the shrill voice could finish shouting, Zai Tao, who personally led the first town to guard Beijing, rushed in. Seeing that his face was flustered and unruly, Zai Feng immediately asked  :"What happened?

    When Zai Tao saw Yu Long, he knelt down quickly, glanced sideways at Yuan Shikai, cried and reported: "Queen Mother, Regent. Oh no! Just now news came from Hubei. Feng Huafu led the troops unfavorably, resulting in the fourth town being surrounded by Jingshan Mountain.  Pu¡¤At noon today, Yang Qiu, the leader of the rebel gang, was disarmed and went to the foot of Xiaocang Mountain in Dafushui! Only three thousand more escaped back to Xiaogan, and the rest were all Mo! The commander Wang Yujia was also captured."

    "What!"

    Yuan Shikai's expression suddenly changed. If he hadn't developed a certain confidence in being unfazed by hardships over the years, he would have turned around and left!  He thought that Wang Yujia would be defeated, but he didn't expect that the defeat would be so miserable, and even Wang Yujia was captured!

    Zaifeng and Shanqi also looked at each other. At first they thought it was Yuan Shikai's trick to deliberately ask Feng Huafu to send a telegram back from Hubei to act in this drama. Unexpectedly, he was really anxious and grabbed the telegram regardless of his manners. The two of them  Suddenly he shouted something bad in his heart - Yulong was obviously trying to be persuaded just now. If Hubei was really defeated, he would probably have to use the resources of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and if the war continued, he would not be able to get rid of the fire.  It will really burn to the north.

    Seeing the expressions of several men change, Yulong's heart skipped a beat. Although she didn't understand military matters, she knew how big a deal it was for a town to be defeated. What's more, it was Hubei that was the first to riot. If the rebels took advantage of this opportunity,  Fighting northward along the Beijing-Hankow Line, even the Forbidden City was about to be destroyed, so he quickly said: "Military affairs are urgent, please go back to Weiting first. The Aijia will report to the Ministry of Internal Affairs later." This exhausted middle-aged woman finally  Unable to bear it any longer, she sadly said: "Now the orphans and widows of the Ai family are completely dependent on you. If we are really together, let's find a way to negotiate."

    At this time, we have to negotiate peace even if we don¡¯t want to negotiate!  Yuan Shikai smiled bitterly in his heart, kowtowed quickly and left the Yangxin Hall. When he left the palace gate, he saw that Yang Shiqi had been waiting outside. He hurriedly asked: "I just reported to Zai Tao when he entered the palace. Hua Fu is over there"

    Yang Shiqi had already smiled bitterly: "There is no need to doubt the palace guard. I gave him the news about Zai Tao. Wang Yujia was captured, and most of the fourth town was lost. Now Hua Fu has ordered the troops to retreat to Liujiamiao. Xiaogan also called just now  It is said that Yang Qiu and a Huncheng Association have arrived in Yunmeng, which will definitely prevent Hua Fu and others from coming back.

    "Yang Qiu!" Yuan Shikai gritted his teeth and uttered two words coldly before getting into the carriage. Yang Shiqi saw the uncertain look in his eyes and knew that he had murderous intentions for Yang Qiu, and he became slightly nervous in his heart. It was not that he was interested in Yang Qiu.  What good impression does he have? Instead, like Yuan Shikai, he thinks that Yang Qiu will be in serious trouble sooner or later, but he really can't fight now!  The disastrous defeat in the Fourth Town will definitely boost the morale of the party and the army. The voice of the Northern Expedition in the south will definitely become more and more fierce. Nanjing is uncertain. If the two armies move north along Jinpu and Jinghan, the situation may really get out of control.  But now he did not dare to say more, and only reminded: "If Gongbao wants to fight, he can transfer the third town in Shanxi and then transfer a cooperator from the second town. Then he will definitely win. But in this way, the Jinpu Line and  There must be a hole on the back."

    Yuan Shikai felt a little tired while leaning on the carriage. He sighed and closed his eyes. This time he was really in a complete mess.

    ¡°After just one night, countless telegrams began to be sent from Hubei to the whole country. In order to speed up the delivery, the National Defense Force even opened two radios for the use of military reporters for the first time.  When everyone was stunned by the series of defeats starting from Xiaogan, when the news that Huang Keqiang's army had been defeated in a rowWhen the news was revealed and he saw that even the "Military God" of the Alliance could not defeat Beiyang, and secretly exclaimed that he was invincible, the news of the victory at Ogurayama came like a tsunami, catching everyone off guard.

    Since the First Uprising in Wuchang, the newspapers on Wangping Street in Shanghai have been operating at full capacity. Reports on the current situation and the Republic have stimulated the attention of the whole of China. Therefore, when Dai Tianqiu's "Tianduo Daily" once again took the lead in publishing Ogura  The news of Shan Dajie's great victory was immediately reprinted. "Minli Daily", "Shenbao", and "North China Victory News" all shouted for Hubei's tragedy and determination, and even said that the party members should seize the opportunity to let Yang, who has outstanding military talents,  Qiu took over as the commander-in-chief of the Southern Army and launched the Northern Expedition, overthrowing the decadent Manchu dynasty in one fell swoop.  Even the British-backed "News" published the news of the victory of Kokurayama in detail for the first time. Of course, it did not forget to question Yang Qiu's possession of a large number of German gunfire of unknown origin, and launched malicious speculations about this.

    As these newspapers collectively described the background and results of the Great Victory of Kokurayama, the entire South China fell into a frenzy.

    Since the beginning of the First Rebellion, the Southern Army has faced nothing more than patrolling battalions and second-rate new troops. Everyone has been worried about the elite six towns in the hands of the strong man in the north, fearing that one day a brave, capable, and extremely tough man will appear at their doorstep.  The Beiyang Army stifled the revolution, so Cai Yuanpei and others continued to lobby that person through newspapers and cases to follow the trend and respond to the Republic. In fact, they hoped to prevent Beiyang from going south.

    The every move of such an army that made the Southern Army fearful and even sleepless at night naturally attracted much attention. Wu Shengguan's carbine has already made Southern China crazy once. This time, the even more heroic victory of Ogurayama was almost as effective as that of later generations.  The nuclear bomb exploded!

    The first impression of everyone who got the news was that it was fake news, but as the news continued to come, everyone began to be stunned. It was the fourth town in Beiyang!  It was more than enough to sweep the Lianghuai River, but they were defeated at Xiaocang Mountain, and even the commander Wang Yujia became a prisoner!  What's more, this big victory came only four days after Huang Keqiang's consecutive defeats!  For a time, the whole of South China was shouting a name and an army.

    Yang Qiu and his National Defense Force!

    Beijing could not sleep peacefully. Zaifeng held a cabinet meeting overnight to find countermeasures. The Zongshe Party headed by Liangbi pointed the finger at Yuan Shikai, believing that he was ineffective in suppressing bandits and also advocated peace talks in an attempt to subvert the court. He should step down immediately.

    Similarly, the famous embassy district of Dongjiaominxiang is already extremely lively, with deals, wooing and betrayals happening all the time. Ministers from various countries are worried about the victory of Kocangshan and the subsequent Korean uprising in South China.  Yuan Shikai was looking for someone who could take over the Manchu Qing Dynasty, continue to treat various countries favorably to ensure their interests, and slightly restrain the Japanese forces who wanted to monopolize the interests of the Far East. However, as the war became more and more intense, he was worried that China would fall into long-term division.  There are growing calls that interests can no longer be guaranteed.

    In this trend, the British Minister Zhu Erdian attracted even more attention. He was the one who called for bringing out Yuan Shikai. He was also the one who was hit hardest by the trend in South China. As an old man in his fifties, he was an authentic national trader.  , is also Yuan Shikai's biggest foreign supporter. His every move in the Far East can often affect the direction of Europe's China policy.

    In addition to his daily work, his eyes have been hovering over the Yangtze River in the past few days. Of course, he hopes that Yuan Shikai can stabilize the situation in the south as soon as possible. However, with the riots in various places along the Yangtze River, especially in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, it has seriously threatened the British military.  interests, the victory of Kokurayama completely overturned the situation in which the Confederate army was unable to fight. If the situation is allowed to continue to deteriorate, I am afraid even Whitehall will feel worried.

    Today, he no longer has the calmness to lead a powerful country to lift Yuan Shikai up. The Russian Bear has signed a secret treaty with Japan. The two countries seem to be taking action against Northeast China.  The interests of the British Empire were not in the north but in the Yangtze River, but a young man and an army that became stronger and stronger suddenly appeared in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River!  Of course, no one now dares to challenge the authority of the British Empire.  What about the future?  As a senior diplomat, he needs to think longer.

    What¡¯s more, for him, a more serious threat has begun to emerge, that isGermany!

    Picking up a few of today's newspapers from the table, in addition to the chaotic news about events from various places, the front page of each newspaper was a photo of the Great Victory of Ogurayama and a person.  To his surprise, a young man was not on that list at all, Yang Qiu!

    ? 22 years old, with a mysterious rise, it is said that he was originally just a heavy soldier of the 8th Division of the Chinese Army, but now he has become the commander-in-chief of the Hubei Revolutionary National Defense Force, the most dazzling general in the entire South China!  Moreover, there is a young man who has an unclear relationship with Germany.

    On the surface, it seemed that the relationship between him and Germany was just a pure arms deal, but Zhu Erdian didn't believe it.  Because there was news yesterday that Germany not only boughtHe obtained the Madsen machine guns that Russia had stored in the Far East and resold them to him. The most surprising thing is that he also mobilized a large number of complete sets of military manufacturing equipment and arms from China and rushed to Shanghai non-stop. The total amount is said to be as high as tens of dollars.  Thousands of pounds!

    It is still unknown who the target of the transaction is, but it should have something to do with this person. For this purpose, he mobilized all his forces and even begged the White House to mobilize the domestic intelligence department. However, he still cannot get a heavy soldier. How can he be so  A lot of money, but also the information to get together with Germany.  This worried him deeply. He was not afraid of a simple arms deal, but the story behind the deal.  He knew very well that the smell of gunpowder on both sides of the North Sea in Europe could no longer be controlled. For the ambitious William II, in addition to crushing his opponents in Europe, he would never forget to attack his opponents on the fertile soil of the Far East.

    The Yangtze River is the traditional sphere of influence of the United Kingdom. The complex cobweb-like waterway connects the most fertile areas in the entire Far East. Not to mention Germany, even allies France and Japan are coveting it. The Americans have repeatedly asked for an open door. If it were not maintained by Whitehall,  With the huge Far East fleet, perhaps they would have pounced on it to bite and carve it up.

    But even if the Far East Fleet is stationed, there is no guarantee that these people will take the opportunity to cause trouble. If it were me, I would never give up this opportunity to create a little trouble for the opponent, let alone the madman William II.

    "John."

    Hearing the call, Counselor John Moen came over. He was also a China expert who had been in China for many years. He had already guessed Zhu Erdian's thoughts and said: "Your Excellency, Minister, I think your concerns are reasonable. If the war is allowed to happen,  If we continue to expand, or even divide the river to rule, the interests we have maintained in China for many years are likely to be taken away by others. My suggestion is it is time to consider sitting down."

    "Can you tell me your reasons? John."

    John Moen pointed at the map: "Obviously, with the uprising in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, and the fierce fighting in Nanjing that may fall at any time, His Excellency Yuan Shikai has to consider dividing his troops. It turned out that he was still calm, but after losing one division, he  There are not enough soldiers! And there is no hope of victory at this moment. The north is also becoming unstable because of Mongolia. If the Jinpu line is added, maybe he will recruit farmers with spears and wooden sticks."

    Zhu Erdian agreed with this analysis and asked: "John, do you think they will be willing to sit down and negotiate?"

    "Mr. Minister, in fact, I think you should know more about the trump cards of both sides. For these so-called Han people, even if they fight fiercely, they will kill each other. They will not understand who will benefit if both sides lose."

    "But" Zhu Erdian frowned, picked up the newspaper and handed it to John Moen: "What should he do? And do you think that through negotiation, a unified country willing to bear the consequences left by the Manchus can be guaranteed?  Contract, the central government that ensures our interests in China are not violated?¡±

    John Moen glanced at Yang Qiu's photo on the headlines and smiled: "He is a general, a young general! But he is trapped in the upper reaches of the Yangzi River. As long as we control Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, he cannot threaten us  ¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.As for your concerns, it reminds me of a Chinese saying.¡±

    "Princes, generals, and ministers would rather have the guts"

    Zhu Erdian smiled slightly. John's reminder was already obvious. The Chinese party members had completely retreated from the middle, which indicated that they would not be able to control so many governors and generals with military power in the future.  In traditional Chinese thinking, military power means political strength, and ambitions will gradually grow with the army!  Therefore, as long as negotiations can be facilitated, South China can be gradually disintegrated through differentiation and co-optation.  It may not be the best choice to support Yuan Shikai, but his power in the north is the only option to contain Russia and Japan and damage British interests. As long as he can be ensured to lead a name to unify China, then the interests of the British Empire can be ensured.  not violated.

    "John, go see Yuan Shikai and tell him that we are willing to give him all diplomatic support. I will also persuade the bank group to provide the first batch of loans as soon as possible. In addition we should also find a representative,  Let's go get in touch with him." Zhu Erdian took one last look at Yang Qiu on the cover of the newspaper and threw it heavily on the table.

    John Moen is an experienced diplomat and he knows what to do.  So after he left, Zhu Erdian immediately poured himself a cup of coffee, then lit a cigar and quietly read the newspaper again.  This young man has initially taken control of Hubei and Hunan. If Sichuan will the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River be completely out of the control of the British Empire and be infiltrated by the Germans?  Maybe we should exchange something with him?

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