Zhang Zuolin really pushed the boat down the river and spread his hands: "The incident happened suddenly, and the president didn't expect the Yunnan rebels to be so turbulent, so he had to prepare while dispatching the army." No matter how urgent the mood is, the attitude must be correct, especially at this moment, Lao Yuan is most disgusted with other people's sky-high prices.

Wang Yitang was Yuan Shikai's plenipotentiary ambassador, and he had already obtained the permission of Lao Yuan in advance, and immediately said: "The president has thought of General Zhang's predicament, and has ordered the Army Command Office to give priority to the baggage and equipment of the 27th Division. ”

Zhang Zuolin's father and son wanted this from him. Although the military uniform of the spring and autumn period is useful, it is far less affordable and urgent than the ammunition. According to Zhang Hanqing's previous analysis and investigation, there are still some ordnance in Beijing, if you don't take it at this time, when will you wait? The reason why he risked staying in the capital was to get an armament---- in troubled times, which is a good thing!

Acting enough, Zhang Hanqing naturally made a generous statement: "My father came to Beijing in person, although Xueliang wants to do his son's filial piety, but there is a difference between public and private, my father should be public first and then private, and I will talk about the relationship between father and son after meeting the president." Uncle Wang Shi also promised to take care of him as much as possible, which showed that the situation was very serious. The military situation is like fire, so my father will first deal with the major national affairs, and then talk to Xueliang about family affairs. ”

Wang Yitang naturally praised Zhang Hanqing for knowing the overall situation at a young age, how did he know that Zhang Hanqing wanted to strike while the iron was hot, and then talk about it first, so as not to change the hexagram later. Zhang Zuolin's father and son were one, and they knew Zhang Hanqing's intentions, so they rushed to see Yuan Shikai with the mentality of "sharing worries for the country".

It's been four years since I was helpless when I first faced Lao Yuan, right? At that time, Zhang Zuolin was not full of wings, so he naturally had no confidence. During the whole meeting, he walked on thin ice, and his back was wet when he came out, but it was not as calm as Zhang Hanqing's first visit to Lao Yuan.

To be honest, Zhang Zuolin made a lot of preparations when he met Yuan Shikai for the first time, and also did a lot of meaningful reconnaissance and homework on Lao Yuan's daily behavior, and deliberately made some shows. bribed Yuan Shikai to say good things for him and chartered a brothel in Beijing, and used both hands to convince Yuan Shikai that he was a loyal person and a rough man.

When he met Zhang Zuolin for the second time, Lao Yuan was in full swing, and Zhang Zuolin, as a "rising star", had just been promoted to general and was not qualified to sit in front of him at all. However, Yuan Shikai treats people and things, although he has always been moody and angry, but his face is kind, his eyes are bright, he respects people very much and pays attention to listening to people, so people from all walks of life run through his door like a carp crossing the river.

Zhang Zuolin also felt this style, and he has been reminiscing about that meeting with awe for several years. At that time, Lao Yuan was suffering from the forces of the Kuomintang in the south, so he said: "There will be troublemakers outside the Guan, and I, Zhang Zuolin, will block you alone; If there is any opposition in the Kannai, I will lead the team to quell the chaos. Even if the knife is on the neck and the gun is on the chest, I am not ambiguous. ”

Now, after two years, he has come to Zhongnanhai again, he is still a general, and the other party is still the president, but obviously the identities of the two have become much closer. Lao Yuan even went out in person. Recalling that he wanted to sit down but couldn't get it, Lao Zhang's heart was inexhaustible.

Contemporaries were all impressed by Yuan Shikai's ability. Huang Yanpei recalled: "He has an excellent memory and never forgets anyone or anything. Thus, when a local official was received by him to discuss local affairs and private affairs, Yuan often surprised the visitor with his vast knowledge and memory. His subordinates were afraid of him because of this. Yan Xishan recalled that when he first met Yuan Shikai, "As soon as he met, he said everything I wanted to say to him, and then asked me what else I had to say, so that people could no longer speak." ”

But this time the two met, Lao Yuan no longer had the glory of the past. This time, Yuan Shikai was greeted by an exceptional demotion to greet him, and he took Zhang Zuolin's hand and entered Zhongnanhai Juren Hall. Zhang Zuolin wanted to kneel down and kowtow again, but this time Yuan Shikai said that he didn't let anything. He is also getting older, and the continuous period of mental exhaustion has made him age several years at once.

After taking a seat, I started with some inconsequential words. Old Yuan, who was originally thoughtful, said a few wrong words one after another, and there was a pause in the middle, and finally turned to the topic: "Yuting, there is chaos in the southwest, if you can go to Hunan to fight for chaos, it will not be a problem to be crowned a duke and knight afterwards." How's it going? ”

Zhang Zuolin patted his chest and said, "Medium! The president can trust me, and Zuolin is willing to be the forerunner, and will never disgrace the president! ”

"Okay, I like a tiger general like you." Yuan Shikai was overjoyed. Tribulation sees the truth, Zhang's father and son didn't say anything about their loyalty to themselves, why didn't they find out before?

Lao Yuan, who is in trouble at home and abroad, praised Zhang Zuolin's ability to put public before private and carry forward his style. He said many good things to Zhang, made many good wishes, and persuaded Zhang Zuolin to lead troops to Hunan.

Zhang Zuolin saw that the opportunity had come, and said to Yuan Shikai what he had already thought of: "President, the equipment of our 27th Division is too poor, and half of the soldiers are carrying ***!" If you really go to the front line and let the rebels rush, you won't be in an uproar! ”

"What do you mean?" Yuan Shikai was really afraid that he would retreat.

"Equip the Twenty-seventh Division! As soon as the guns arrived, the 27th Division immediately entered the southern part of the Guan. ”

"Yes, I'll have you paid for it right away." In order to keep the presidential throne, Yuan Shikai was willing to spend his money.

It's strange to say. At the beginning, Lao Yuan didn't say anything about his promises, and Zhang Zuolin felt that Lao Yuan was worthy of respect; Now that Lao Yuan has given him many promises, he suddenly has less awe of this old man from the bottom of his heart. The human heart and life are such wonderful things.

Yuan Shikai thought that Zhang would bargain, but to Yuan's surprise, Zhang Zuolin actually agreed and patted his chest and was willing to be a striker. Yuan Shikaiton felt that Zhang Zuolin was born in the green forest and had a chivalrous spirit. The impression was much better, and the sense of defense was greatly reduced. He said to Zhang Zuolin with a pleasant face: "The country is in trouble to show loyalty, Yuting can relieve my worries like this, I Yuan Shikai have nothing to thank, after the matter is completed, I will promote you as a duke!" ”

When Yuan Shikai knighted his subordinates, he was named a second-class viscount. According to the general habit of Yuan when he awarded the knighthood, the five lords, marquis, earl, son, and baron, the viscount was in the fourth grade, and he didn't feel high. But considering that at this time, the division commander and the town guard envoy of the lieutenant general class were only awarded to the lieutenant of the light car, and Zhang Zuolin was awarded the second-class viscount as a division commander, which already indicated that Yuan Po had enveloped him.

Now there is the grace of the viscount from the marquis, the earl to the duke, which is a sign of the promotion of three levels in a row. But this little trick Zhang Zuolin is clear, and he doesn't care about it in his heart. What's that? According to Xiao Liuzi's secret conversation and analysis with him in advance, Yuan Shikai is determined to play with eggs, the "Hongxian" dynasty is over, so what is a fart? It's still real money, and it's really real.

However, Zhang Zuolin still made a bold statement: "To relieve the worries of the president, what do you say to pay homage to the prince?" I'm not that kind of person. Without saying anything, the 27th Division immediately set off from Mukden, and after receiving supplies in Tianjin, the whole division went directly to Hunan! ”

Yuan Shikai praised it.

Before leaving, Zhang Zuolin looked at Yuan Shikai and stopped talking.

Of course, the shrewd Yuan Shikai was very caring: "What are the difficulties in Yuting? ”

Zhang Zuolin Hao Yan said: "The child is messing around, some time ago there were some disputes with Feng Gechen at the family banquet of Zhu Lao, and now Feng Gechen is angry with my old Zhang. Zuo Lin was worried, if I left Fengtian, would Feng Gechen take advantage of the emptiness behind me to make a big fuss? The other 27th Division rushed to the front line, and it was bound to raise some money in Mukden, and if Feng Gechen was restrained, he was afraid that it would delay the preparation time and affect the president's military planning, so he asked the president to try to mediate. ”

It's giving your competitors eye medicine.

Feng Gechen is Feng Delin, the lieutenant general and division commander of the 28th Division, who is on an equal footing with Zhang Zuolin in Mukden and has always been at odds. Of course, he has this capital, and compared with Zhang Zuolin, his "military exploits" are even more impressive.

He is a native of Fengtian, became a "beard" at the age of 17, and is famous for defending his hometown. After the Sino-Japanese First Sino-Japanese War, Feng Delin raised the first team in Liaoyang in the name of "protecting the territory and the people" to compete with Zhang Zuolin of Montenegro, which was also the beginning of the grievances between the two.

After the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, Feng Delin and his subordinates Ji Jinchun organized the "Flower Arm Team" (the rural people dressed in civilian clothes because of the different colors, in order to identify the tattoo on the shoulder, hence the name), with large knives, spears, earthen guns and other primitive weapons, attacked the Russian army, which attracted the attention of the Japanese army. Marshal Oyamayan of the Japanese Army contacted Feng Delin and invited Feng Delin to join the "East Asian Volunteers" (full name: Da Ri|The Manchurian Volunteers of the Imperial Army). Feng Delin obtained more than 20 large truckloads of munitions from the Japanese, which enriched his combat effectiveness, and his team had a total of 100 and 8 gangs, known as 100 single and 8 generals.

Feng pinned down the Russian army in the Russo-Japanese War, Japan defeated Russia, and the Japanese Emperor Meiji awarded him a "Treasure Star Medal", which has been in the hearts of the Japanese since then. Later, the Japanese Major General Fukushima personally came forward to persuade the Qing government to appease Feng. After a good speech from Fukushima, the then Shengjing general Zhao Erxun appointed Feng as the commander of the river defense battalion, which was led by the commander and the Xin'an army, and the patrol battalion was the rear road commander, and the patrol battalion was the left road commander, and then served as the left commander of the patrol battalion. Similar to Zhang Zuolin's development, he successfully washed his name.

After the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution, Zhang Zuolin and Feng Delin all stood with Zhao Erxun: Zhang Zuolin drove the Zhongqian Road Patrol Battalion into the provincial capital and stabilized Zhao Erxun's position, while Feng Delin led the Left Road Patrol Battalion to defend Liaoxi and block Shanhaiguan. For this reason, Zhao Erxun praised him for "rewarding the grace of knowing (referring to being cared for), borrowing the retribution of dogs and horses", and when the situation is difficult, he can "work hard with loyalty and righteousness, and strive to overcome the crisis in ten thousand", and give a mink fur.

In the first year of the Republic of China, when the patrol battalion was reorganized into the army, Zhang Zuolin was the commander of the 27th Division, Feng Delin was the commander of the 28th Division and was awarded the rank of lieutenant general of the army, and was awarded the second-class Wen Huxing, the second-class Jiahe Medal, and the third-class Baoguang Jiahe Medal, which was on an equal footing with Zhang Zuolin. The difference was that Feng's 28th Division was stationed in Guangning (Beizhen), while Zhang Zuolin's 27th Division was stationed in the provincial capital.

Feng Delin saw that Zhang Zuolin was stationed in the provincial capital, and the money and grain were dominant, so he was unhappy---- they were all generals, why was one in heaven and the other on the ground? The two of them gradually cracked.

Prior to this, Zhang's father and son had set a strategic plan to first defeat Feng Delin, and then take Fengtian as the foundation, waiting for the opportunity to merge Ji and Hei and unify the entire northeast. With the development of the situation, Lao Yuan is unsurprisingly in domestic and foreign difficulties, and Zhang Hanqing knows that he will experience a central chaos for a long time in the future. At a time when everyone in the customs has no time to pay attention to the situation in the northeast, it is time to take Feng Delin as a priority target.