Now Yuan Shikai asked the Qing court for money, of course Cixi was unwilling to pay this money, but Yuan Shikai insisted that if the Qing court did not pay money, he would never go to the south to take office, and Yuan Shikai's request was also very reasonable, no matter whether the Qing court sent Yuan Shikai to the south for disaster relief or to stabilize the situation, it was impossible for Yuan Shikai to set off empty-handed, and he had to give him a sum of money.

Britain, France, the United States and other countries also frequently put pressure on the Qing court, asking the Qing court to let Yuan Shikai set off as soon as possible, because the situation in the south is extremely unstable now, not only needs Yuan Shikai to arrive in Nanjing as soon as possible, but also urgently needs a news that can calm people's hearts, so after careful calculation, the Qing court finally took out 800,000 taels of silver to Yuan Shikai for disaster relief, and the taxes of the two rivers this year were drawn to Yuan Shikai for use, so that it can also deal with the past.

However, Yuan Shikai was very satisfied with this result, although he offered 2 million taels of silver, but he also knew that the money of the imperial court was now used on the back road, so it was definitely impossible to give himself so much, in Yuan Shikai's estimate, 4, 500,000 taels was a good result, and the imperial court actually gave 800,000 taels, which had exceeded Yuan Shikai's expectations, Bi Jing did not ask for too much from the beginning.

Of course, when this silver fell into the hands of Yuan Shikai, there were only 600,000 taels left, and the 200,000 taels were exploited by the palace, the Military Aircraft Department, the Six Ministries and other institutions, and the goose was plucked and intercepted, which was also the practice of the Qing court.

The things on the Beijing side have been dealt with almost completely, Yuan Shikai finally began to plan the trip to the south, this time to the south, Yuan Shikai plans to take the 2nd town Wang Yingkai, the 4th town Wu Changchun to travel, and the 10th town from the 5th town Ye Changsheng Department, from the 6th town to the 11th Association Lu Jianzhang Department with these two troops, and will escort the Beiyang New Army's grain, ammunition, baggage and other things, starting from Beijing, detouring to Shanxi, Shaanxi arrived in Hubei, joined the 21st Mixed Association of the Hubei New Army, which had been transferred to Yuan Shikai, and marched east by ship in Wuchang to Nanjing.

The reason why the second and fourth towns were chosen among the four towns under his control was mainly because the armies of these two towns had participated in the battle of attacking the Henan base area in East China and had actual combat experience.

Yuan Shikai himself took Wang Shizhen, the commander of the 6th town, and a target army, about 2,500 people, as well as Yuan Shikai's family, staff and others, as well as 500,000 taels of silver received from the imperial court, through the territory of East China ** south, the route of the body is from Beijing, through Henan, into Anhui, in Hefei to take a steamer from East China, to Nanjing. At the same time, he also left 100,000 taels of silver for Xu Shichang, who stayed in Beijing, for his activities in Beijing.

On the night before departure, Yuan Shikai recruited Xu Shichang, Wang Yingkai, Wu Changchun, Wang Shizhen and others to gather in his mansion, set up a banquet for everyone to practice, and also invited a troupe to help the fun.

After three rounds of drinking and listening to a few plays, Yuan Shikai asked the troupe to temporarily retreat, and then said to Wang Yingkai and Wu Changchun: "Yingkai and Changchun, the two of you have made a detour this time, traveling more than 2,000 miles, and the responsibility is heavy, so you can't be careless along the way." ”

Wang Yingkai said: "Please rest assured, the two of us will be conscientious and live up to the expectations of the comforter." ”

Yuan Shikai nodded and said: "The two of you are at ease, only one thing can not be assured, this march is far away, and most of the places you pass through are places of birth, so we must be more strict in military discipline, and we must not intrude on the places along the way, endanger the people, and damage the name of our new army." ”

Wang Yingkai and Wu Changchun said in unison: "Don't dare to mark it, march with a fan, you must be strict in military discipline, you will not commit any crimes in autumn, and you will not fall into the name of the new army." ”

In fact, at this time, the military discipline of the Beiyang New Army is still very good, Yuan Shikai attached great importance to the discipline of the army when he was training at the small station, and did not formulate strict military discipline, but also compiled military discipline into a military song, teaching soldiers to sing, in order to strictly restrain the new army, of course, this is also with the Beiyang New Army's military salary, and basically there is no major relationship with the deduction, after all, the salary can be obtained, and there are strict military discipline constraints, of course, ordinary soldiers do not dare to violate it easily, so the military discipline of the Beiyang New Army is also unique, which is also Yuan Shikai is quite proud。

However, after the establishment of the Beiyang New Army, the scope of activities is not large, basically limited to the territory of Hebei Province, attacking the Henan base in East China, is the first time that the Beiyang New Army has fought in Hebei Province, but in fact it has not gone far, generally speaking, the army will be more restrained in the station, after all, they are all villagers in the township, and they often have to meet in ordinary times, of course, it is not good to do too much, and once they leave the station, they will have no scruples, they can act recklessly, because they are on the march, as the so-called "bandits are like combs, soldiers are like grates". This time, the Beiyang New Army will pass through Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hubei and other provinces, which is an unprecedented experience, so Yuan Shikai also has to give a special advice to Wang Yingkai and Wu Changchun.

Yuan Shikai turned his head to Xu Shichang again and said, "Brother Juren, after I leave, the affairs of the capital will be entrusted to you." ”

Xu Shichang also nodded and said, "Go to the comfort pavilion with confidence, I am here in the capital, and nothing will go wrong." After a pause, he said: "When it comes to Weiting, you pass through the ** territory of East China this time, I am a little worried." ”

Yuan Shikai's eldest son Yuan Keding also said: "Yes, Dad, what Xu Shibo said is not wrong, overseas Chinese have always been brave and arrogant, unreasonable, and you are an important minister of the imperial court, it is too dangerous to pass through their territory." I don't think it would be better for you to follow Wang and Wu to make a detour, and I will lead the team through the territory of the overseas Chinese. ”

Wang Yingkai and Wu Changchun also said: "Yes! Comfort Shuai is still a daughter, how can he take risks lightly, so please think twice." ”

Yuan Shikai glared at him and said, "What do you know, how many years have I dealt with overseas Chinese, and you have seen a few overseas Chinese, do I know them?" turned to Xu Shichang again, and said: "Brother Juren, don't worry, I know in my heart, although East China ** has always been brave and arrogant, but it is by no means unreasonable, on the contrary, they attach great importance to their promises, they must keep their promises, and they will fulfill their promises, since I have already negotiated with them, they will never harm me on the way." Moreover, the situation in Liangjiang is now unstable, and I must rush to Nanjing as soon as possible to take up my post in order to stabilize the situation in Liangjiang. ”

When everyone heard Yuan Shikai say this, they also knew that he had made up his mind and would never change, so they didn't persuade him anymore.

In fact, Yuan Shikai insisted on passing through the territory of East China, not only to reach Nanjing in a short time, but also to have his own considerations. The turmoil in the Liangjiang region, including the entire Yangtze River Basin, can be said to have a direct relationship with East China, so Yuan Shikai chose to pass through the territory of East China, on the one hand, it is to show his courage, Bi Jing himself crossed the territory of East China to Nanjing, who has such courage and courage; on the other hand, he said that he has a good relationship with East China, not only can pass through the territory of East China, but also can use East China made others believe that only they could solve the crisis in the Yangtze River basin region.

In addition, although it was a territory that crossed East China, Yuan Shikai did not choose to go to Wuchang to join the Beiyang New Army first, but took a boat in Hefei and took the waterway, bypassing Wuchang and going to Nanjing first, because he did not want to meet the French consul in Hankou in Wuchang. Although Yuan Shikai's decision to go south this time has a lot to do with the support expressed by various countries for him, Yuan Shikai also knows in his heart that he has a short hand, but Yuan Shikai is not a person who is willing to be controlled by others, even if he needs the support of various countries, Yuan Shikai still hopes that he can maintain considerable independence, not a puppet of various countries.

If Yuan Shikai talks with Funan in Wuchang first, he will not have much leverage, and the two will definitely reach an agreement that will make Yuan Shikai basically and completely controlled. And if Yuan Shikai goes to Nanjing first, and can control the situation in a relatively short period of time, and then talk with Funan, then Yuan Shikai will have much more confidence, after all, this time Yuan Shikai went south, not only brought 500,000 taels of silver received from the Qing court, plus the advance of 200,000 taels of silver that Zhu Erdian gave him before, Yuan Shikai already had 700,000 taels of silver in his hands.

At the same time, there are many wealthy businessmen in Nanjing, and then find local businessmen to raise some, at least about 100,000 taels of silver, so it can also be said that Yuan Shikai is not bad for money in a short period of time, and the support for him from various countries is not urgently needed.

Of course, with Yuan Shikai's many years of experience in dealing with East China, he thinks that the danger of crossing from the territory of East China is not big, and this risk is worth taking, and other people naturally cannot understand Yuan Shikai's heart, only seeing the danger of crossing from the territory of East China, and not seeing the benefits, Yuan Shikai will naturally not tell them in detail.

After saying these things, Yuan Shikai called the troupe again, ordered a few lively scenes, and then frequently persuaded everyone to drink.