Nanjing, Xiaguan Wharf. A steamer was slowly docking in front of the pier, and on the shore on one side, the new governor of Liangjiang, Yuan Shikai, was leading a group of officials of the governor's yamen, wearing flower feathers or military uniforms, all waiting at the pier, as well as a welcome procession composed of a military honor guard.

Time did not run out, the steamer stopped, the gangway was lowered from the side of the ship, and a group of personnel, led by the pilot crew, came down the ship along the gangway, led by a person wearing a top hat, dressed in a dark gray tuxedo suit, and holding a civilized stick in his left hand, which was none other than the French consul in Hankow, Fernand.

At this time, I saw Yuan Shikai step forward quickly, and said with a smile: "Mr. Funan, welcome to Nanjing." As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and shook hands with Funan according to Western etiquette.

Although there was a smile on Funan's smile, those who paid attention could see that the smile was a little weak, but he still stretched out his hand to shake Yuan Shikai's hand, and said, "Your Excellency the Governor, I really have admired the name for a long time, and I didn't expect that we could meet today." ”

Yuan Shikai's smile was even stronger, and he said: "Mr. Consul, I originally planned to go to Hankou in a few days to visit Mr. Consul, but I didn't expect Mr. Consul to come to Nanjing in person. ”

Fernanpi didn't smile and said: "Your Excellency the Governor is busy with official business, and I am worried that Your Excellency the Governor will not be able to get out of Nanjing in Nanjing, so I still come to Nanjing in person and face Mr. Governor." ”

Yuan Shikai smiled and said: "Since I am here, then have a good time in Nanjing, there are many interesting places in Nanjing, and let me do my best as a landlord." ”

It turned out that Yuan Shikai went to Nanjing to take office, deliberately bypassing Hankou and avoiding meeting with Funan, at that time Funan's heart was still very disapproving, of course he knew Yuan Shikai's plan, nothing more than to meet in Hankou, there was no bargaining chip for negotiation, so he hoped that he could go to Nanjing to talk, so it was on Yuan Shikai's territory, and the negotiation also had some confidence, Guo Funan thought that Yuan Shikai could not last a few days in Nanjing, and he would come to Hankou to find himself, after all, Yuan Shikai wanted to gain a foothold in the south, and it was not possible to have no money, and if he wanted money, he had to bow to himself, so he did not plan to go to Nanjing at all, but waited for Yuan Shikai to come to Hankou to come to the door。

At this time, although the flood gradually receded, but the livelihood of the victims is still very difficult, although East China ** set up resettlement camps everywhere, but it is impossible to accommodate all the victims, in addition to the 12 resettlement camps set up in East China, 9 are in Jiangbei, only 3 in Jiangnan, this is mainly because the disaster in Jiangnan is lighter than Jiangbei, including 2 in Hunan, and then 1 in the Jiangnan area of Anhui, and no Jiangnan in Jiangsu.

After the flood receded, Jiangbei did not make any trouble because of the resettlement camp for the victims in East China to help the victims rebuild their homes, while Jiangnan was in danger, because the water receded, the roads were open, which was conducive to the flow and gathering of people, so a large number of victims who struggled to survive the flood gathered in front of the state capitals and counties, waiting for the government to give porridge to survive. In addition, the occupation of Anhui by East China made the people of Jiangsu Province panic, and because the former governor of Liangjiang Duan Fang had been dismissed, and Chen Qitai, the governor of Jiangsu, had also been transferred, there was no one in charge of the overall situation in the entire Jiangsu region, so the officials, local scholars, squires, and businessmen of the entire Jiangsu Province were looking forward to Yuan Shikai taking office as soon as possible, so that he could have a backbone.

So as soon as Yuan Shikai arrived in Nanjing, he was warmly welcomed, Yuan Shikai was recognized as the first capable minister of the Qing court, and he was from the territory of East China, or arrived in Nanjing by a ship from East China, which made people have a little more confidence in him, because it seems that Yuan Shikai has a good relationship with East China, maybe enough to stabilize East China, so that at least one threat can be reduced.

As soon as Yuan Shikai arrived in Nanjing, he immediately recruited Nanjing's businessmen, scholars, tycoons, etc., Chen Ming's current situation is urgent, he can stabilize East China**, and he can also stabilize the situation in Nanjing, but everyone needs to contribute money and efforts, and everyone works together to tide over the difficulties.

Of course, Yuan Shikai also knew that in order to get the local gentry and squires to pay, it was not enough to just speak empty words, and he had to show some real skills, so Yuan Shikai immediately ordered Wang Shizhen and Duan Qirui to lead an army to attack and quell the riots of the victims near Nanjing.

Although Yuan Shikai only has more than 2,500 troops now, after all, they are all troops with strict military training, and there is sufficient ammunition, so it is certainly not difficult to suppress ordinary disaster riots, so in 5 or 6 days, Wang Shizhen and Duan Qirui led the army to fight continuously within 50 kilometers of the city of Nanjing, suppressed the victims of 5 riots, and at the same time sent several teams to resettle the victims around Nanjing, help them build houses and roads, It took less than 10 days to divide the fields and rebuild the homes to stabilize the situation around Nanjing.

Within a few days, Yuan Shikai raised more than 30 taels of silver and more than 7,000 tons of grain, Yuan Shikai estimated that the money and grain in his hands could last for at least 1 year, so he was determined, and at this time, the large army of the Beiyang New Army also arrived in Nanjing, Yuan Shikai was confident, so he began to do it boldly.

On the one hand, Yuan Shikai purchased a large amount of grain and materials nearby to ensure that his grain and grass were sufficient, and on the other hand, he assigned the Beiyang Army to garrison all parts of Jiangnan in Jiangsu, strictly suppressing the riots of the victims in various places, and at the same time organizing the victims to produce to save themselves.

Originally, Funan sat down in Hankou and waited for Yuan Shikai to save himself, but he waited for more than a month, but what he was waiting for was that Yuan Shikai did a good job in Nanjing, and it was quite effective. If Yuan Shikai does not need the support of various countries, he can gain a firm foothold in the south, of course, it will be extremely unfavorable to all countries. Ministers from various countries in Beijing also called frequently, urging Funan to negotiate with Yuan Shikai as soon as possible and reach an agreement. Because the longer it drags on, the worse it will be for countries.

Because this time Yuan Shikai not only passed through the territory of East China, but also arrived in Nanjing by a steamer from East China, which also aroused the vigilance of ministers from various countries, will Yuan Shikai reach any agreement with East China? This is not impossible, after all, for Yuan Shikai, it is not necessary to choose countries, just look at the higher price on that side, so if countries do not take action as soon as possible, negotiate with Yuan Shikai, understand Yuan Shikai's requirements and bottom line, and negotiate a plan to deal with Yuan Shikai, otherwise Yuan Shikai may really fall to East China.

So the French minister to the Qing Dynasty, Pasteur, sent a telegram to Fernand, severely criticizing his behavior in this matter, and demanding that Fernan take immediate action to meet and negotiate with Yuan Shikai as soon as possible, which made Fernan feel pressured, and the ministers in Beijing were too much to hold their breath. But the Minister had already ordered it. So although Fran knew that he was going to Nanjing at this time, he was taking the initiative to lose, but in desperation, he could only rush to Nanjing in person to meet Yuan Shikai to negotiate.

After receiving Funan's request, Yuan Shikai was also very happy, to be honest, Yuan Shikai's heart was also a little anxious at this time, and even looked forward to Funan's coming to Nanjing to negotiate with himself, because at this time to negotiate with Funan, it is the most favorable time for himself, and the next step Yuan Shikai will negotiate with East China ** to negotiate the cooperation between the two sides, Yuan Shikai hopes that before this, he can first reach an agreement with various countries, and then negotiate with East China**, so that he also has a certain confidence in his heart during the negotiation.

But almost a month has passed, Funan is still sitting still in Hankou, because it is the brigade of the Beiyang New Army from Wuchang, Funan has no words to bring, this is also Yuan Shikai has some gains and losses in his heart, it is not that the countries are not going to support him, if there is no support from the countries, even if he can gain a foothold in the south, but it is difficult to achieve any big things, at most he can only guard the existing territory of Liangjiang, which is very different from his original intention of going south. So there were a few times when Yuan Shikai couldn't help but want to send a telegram to Hankou to ask about Funan's attitude, but in the end he endured it.

After all, Yuan Shikai also knows in his heart that it is not easy to create such a situation that is beneficial to himself, if he generates electricity, then the current situation will be ruined, and Yuan Shikai has also analyzed the current situation many times, and finally came to the conclusion that countries do not have enough reasons to give up on themselves, because in addition to themselves, it is impossible for countries to find a more suitable candidate than themselves in the Qing court, even if they want to give up themselves, at least they must talk about it first, and make sure that the conditions they put forward are too high, so they will give up without talking about it, so it is more likely that both sides are fighting for patience, it depends on who is more calm at this time, and you must not be upset and messed up.

But although he thought so, the anxiety in Yuan Shikai's heart was day by day, and at this moment, Funan called and said that he wanted to come to Nanjing to meet Yuan Shikai, which was like a gospel for Yuan Shikai, and a big stone in his heart finally fell to the ground.

But Yuan Shikai also understands in his heart that although he has the upper hand this time, he is still the weak party from the overall situation, Bi Jing wants to do a great career in the south, or can not do without the support of various countries, so he can't get too carried away, because he is in front of Funan, but also can not be arrogant, a victor's posture, so that Funan feels embarrassed, but to give Funan enough courtesy, so when Funan's steamer arrived in Nanjing, Yuan Shikai personally led the officials of Nanjing to the dock to meet Funan, and also arranged a military music honor guard to welcome。

Sure enough, after Funan got off the boat, the two of them made a few cold noises, the military music honor guard played a cheerful music, and Yuan Shikai asked Funan to review the honor guard, and sure enough, the expression on Funan's face was much softened, not just an obvious smirk.