Early the next morning, Yuan Shikai led his family and set off with the army.

Yuan Shikai has a good sex and fishing, although it is not yet 50, but he is about to marry a wife and eight concubines, of which the fourth aunt Tai Min has died, and now there are 8 wives and concubines, and now he has given birth to 14 sons and 12 daughters for Yuan Shikai, only four daughters died, and at this time only the eldest son Yuan Keding, the eldest daughter Yuan Bozhen became an adult, Yuan Keding followed Yuan Shikai's director, and Yuan Bozhen has married Zhang Renjun's son, and the rest of the children are by Yuan Shikai's side, and plus servants, Yahuan and other family members, a total of more than 360 people, forming a big family.

And this time Yuan Shikai was in a daze, and he actually didn't plan to return to Beijing, so all the property, soft and other things in the family were taken away, and there were more than 60 carriages alone, and there were more than 50 family members riding horses, and the scale of the team was very large. It is up to 4 to 500 meters long.

It is normal for a local magistrate like the governor to take office and carry his family reputation, but Yuan Shikai has more family members, and the scale is naturally larger, but it is not a strange thing.

After joining the army, the men and horses went all the way south, of course, starting from Beijing, you can first take a train to Baoding. However, Baoding is the garrison of the Beiyang New Army, although now the six towns of Beiyang each have a new station, but Baoding still retains the barracks, Yuan Shikai also has a house and some fields here, and at the same time in Baoding there are Beiyang Accelerated Martial Arts School, Beiyang Army Accelerated School and other imitation of new army schools, so Yuan Shikai stayed in Baoding for two days, mainly to receive some send-off, farewell friends, old departments, etc., naturally there is a ushering in to send.

And on the night when Yuan Shikai just arrived in Baoding, before he could sit down at his residence, a family member came to report, Duan Qirui asked to see him, and he had been waiting in the gatehouse for a while. Yuan Shikai was slightly stunned, then nodded and said, "Call him in." ”

After a short time, the family brought Duan Qirui here, and when he saw Yuan Shikai, Duan Qirui immediately knelt on the ground and saluted with a big salute: "I have seen the comfort handsome." ”

Yuan Shikai hurriedly got up, helped Duan Qirui up, and said, "Zhiquan, what are you doing?" Sit down and talk. ”

Duan Qirui sat down on the chair on the side at this time, and another family member brought tea, Yuan Shikai picked up the teacup, took a sip, and said, "Zhiquan came to me so late, is there anything wrong?"

Duan Qirui hurriedly sat up straight and said, "Comfort Shuai has worked hard all the way, and he has come to bother him from his humble position, delaying Shuai to rest, it's really uneasy." ”

Yuan Shikai waved his hand and said, "There is no need to say these words, I came by train all the way, and it is not hard to arrive." When you come to me, there must be something, just say it. ”

Duan Qirui said: "Comfort Shuai went to Liangjiang to take office this time, and the responsibility is heavy, and I am afraid that the burden is not light." ”

Yuan Shikai smiled and said, "This is an appointment from the imperial court, no matter how heavy the burden is, you have to go." ”

Duan Qirui stood up, bowed down, and said: "Comfort Shuai, I am willing to go to Liangjiang with Shuai, saddle before and after the horse, and do my best for Shuai to repay the kindness of Shuai's knowledge." ”

In the battle of attacking East China, Duan Qirui did not respect Yuan Shikai's orders and responded passively, but for the position of the governor of Henan, he was very active, but he rushed forward and was ambushed by the volunteers, not only the third town of Beiyang under his command was wiped out, but even Duan Qirui was captured by the volunteers, and although he was released back, his military position must not be kept. It was still Yuan Shikai who ignored his previous suspicions and let Duan Qirui serve as an instructor in the Beiyang Accelerated Martial Arts Academy, which could be regarded as an errand to make a living.

Although he has no worries about food and drink, Duan Qirui is also a person with great ambitions, of course, he is not willing to be an instructor for the rest of his life, so he has been looking for an opportunity to return to the army, but Duan Qirui also knows that although Yuan Shikai let himself serve as an instructor in the Beiyang Accelerated Martial Arts Academy, after all, he was the first to lose to Yuan Shikai, so he will definitely not get Yuan Shikai's trust again, and if he wants to return to the army, it is far away. And Duan Qirui also regretted it very much in his heart, how could he be so dizzy that he didn't obey Yuan Shikai's orders, and as a result, not only did he lose his troops, but even his own future was ruined.

This time Yuan Shikai was appointed as the governor of Liangjiang, Duan Qirui also realized that his opportunity had come, Duan Qirui of course did not know Yuan Shikai's plans, in his opinion, Yuan Shikai's southward journey this time was full of dangers, and it was not good that he would meet with the East China ** Military Revolution, but it was precisely because of the danger that he had the opportunity to regroup, if he followed Yuan Shikai to Liangjiang at this time, he would definitely be able to regain Yuan Shikai's trust and reuse. Of course, it is also very dangerous to follow Yuan Shikai to Liangjiang at this time, and if you don't get it, you will lose your life in Liangjiang, but you can only show your sincerity if you are rich and dangerous, and even if you really lose your life in the end, it can be regarded as a reward for Yuan Shikai. So Duan Qirui came to visit Yuan Shikai overnight and asked to go south to Liangjiang with Yuan Shikai.

In fact, Duan Qirui's intention to visit this time, Yuan Shikai also guessed 5 or 6 points, but Duan Qirui can ask to go to Liangjiang with him, which can be regarded as sincere, after all, Duan Qirui can't know that he has reached an agreement with East China, and he will go to Liangjiang this time, although the danger is not great, but the difficulties will never be less, and it is also the time to employ people, Duan Qirui is known as the Tiger of Beiyang, and his ability is second to none in the Beiyang New Army, if he can sincerely follow himself, he can indeed become a big help for himself. Of course, whether Duan Qirui will remain loyal to himself can be slowly examined in the future, but now is the time to bring Duan Qirui first.

So Yuan Shikai nodded and said: "Zhiquan, do you know that I went south this time, but I died nine times a life, almost like a cowardly expedition, I was favored by the imperial court, although I have no regrets in death, but if you want to go south with me, maybe you won't be able to come back, you have to think about it!"

As soon as Duan Qirui heard Yuan Shikai's words, he immediately said: "I am willing to follow the commander, and I will never regret it." ”

Yuan Shikai nodded and said: "Okay, it's rare that you have this intention, since that's the case, then you go back to pack your luggage and prepare, early the day after tomorrow, set off with the army, first be a staff member by my side, and wait until you arrive in Liangjiang, I will arrange your errand as appropriate." ”

When Duan Qirui heard this, he couldn't help but be overjoyed, and said, "Thank you for comforting the handsome." After finishing speaking, he saluted Yuan Shikai again before leaving.

Two days later, the team set off again, and Duan Qirui also went through the relevant procedures of the school, and also brought his family members with him to show his determination to follow Yuan Shikai's attitude.

However, after leaving Baoding, there is no train, can only rely on foot or carriage horses, 3 days later, the team entered Shunde Mansion, although it is still in Hebei Province, but Shunde Mansion is the boundary of East China, and is now managed by Henan Province. At this time, Henan Province and the Southeast Military Region had already received orders from Qingdao, and Henan Province had sent a guide group to arrange the marching route, camping location, and food supplies along the way for Yuan Shikai and his entourage, and the Southeast Military Region sent a battalion of troops to march with Yuan Shikai's team, which was actually to monitor Yuan Shikai's movements along the way.

Of course, Yuan Shikai has no objection to this, Bi Jing is on the territory of East China, of course, he has to listen to the arrangement of East China, and the arrangement of East China is also very reasonable, and Yuan Shikai can't find anything wrong.

The roads guided by Yuan Shikai's team in East China are basically outside the effect, passing through the countryside, and try to avoid the city, first, the rural roads are more avoidable, and there are fewer pedestrians, which can be conducive to the march, and at the same time, at the same time, it is also easy to avoid conflicts between Yuan Shikai's team and the people as much as possible; second, it is easy to find a place to camp and rest in the countryside. And after the occupation of Henan by East China, it also spent a lot of effort to repair the road, even if it is a country road, it is much better than the Qing court, not only the road is flat and wide enough, but also the surface layer is paved with cinder, compacted, and drainage ditches are built on both sides, so it is not only relatively light to walk, even in rainy days will not become a muddy road.

After entering the territory of East China, Yuan Shikai once again strictly ordered the army to strictly abide by military discipline and make no mistakes in autumn. When camping at night, it is strictly ordered that the soldiers can only stay in the camp, not allowed to go out, violators are immediately beheaded, and all the needs are transferred to the guidance team sent by Henan Province ** to do it on their behalf, and every night, Yuan Shikai personally patrols the camp, and arranges Duan Qirui and Wang Shizhen to take turns to perform their duties to ensure that nothing goes wrong, after all, in East China, there must be no accidents.

Of course, the supply of Yuan Shikai's team along the way is very sufficient, and the food is also very rich, rice, pastry, vegetables, fish, and wine, Yuan Shikai's team can not only eat well, but also save a lot of effort, so the speed of the march is also faster than usual.

Yuan Shikai has a lot of contacts with East China, and he also knows more about East China, and has also been to Qingdao and Tianjin several times, but he has never been deep in the territory of East China. And this march is basically walking in the countryside, so Yuan Shikai can also take this opportunity to carefully observe the customs and atmosphere under the rule of East China, and have a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the situation in East China.

At this time, China was still an agricultural country, with a very low level of urbanization, and the countryside still accounted for the vast majority of China. Even after the establishment of East China, vigorously develop industry, and have made considerable achievements, but the time of Bi Jing is still short, and most of the results are limited to Shandong Province, Tianjin, Shanghai and other regions, and the time to rule Henan is short, and the full occupation of Henan Province is actually less than 2 years, plus Henan's social and economic foundation is worse than Shandong, so the social outlook of Henan Province has not changed much, and the population and scope of the countryside still occupy the vast majority, which also represents the true style of East China and Henan.