Seeing that Yuan Shikai had already left the mountain, he was really unable to bear the difficulties of state affairs, so on November 1, he resigned as the head of the cabinet. the office of Minister of State; Yuan Shikai was strongly recommended as the Prime Minister.

Other ministers of state have also resigned.

The Qing court then sent the cabinet chief of Yixuan. At the same time, the posts of Associate Minister of Na Tong and Xu Shichang and other ministers of state were also dismissed.

The "Imperial Cabinet" is dead.

Yi Xuan was appointed as the president of the Bideok Academy, and Na Tong and Xu Shichang were the advisory ministers of the Bideok Academy.

Yuan Shikai was appointed as the prime minister of the cabinet, and he immediately came to Beijing to organize the cabinet. The armies and the Yangtze River Naval Division that had originally left for Wuhan were still under his dispatch.

Why didn't Yuan Shikai rush to suppress the revolutionary party in Wuhan? Why did he repeatedly tell Feng Guozhang to "go slowly, wait and see?" ”

He knew better than anyone else that the Qing court now only valued him so much, and that he needed to exterminate the revolutionary party.

The so-called cunning rabbit died, the lackeys cooked, the enemy country was broken, and the ministers died. Once the revolutionary party is really destroyed, will it still be useful? As soon as the Manchu regime was consolidated, Zaifeng might be the first thing to deal with him, Yuan Shikai.

Because of the revolutionary party, the Qing court can think of using him, and because there is a revolutionary party that needs to be exterminated, he Yuan Shikai can come in handy.

How can the revolutionary party be exterminated? Besides, so many provinces have declared independence, can this revolutionary party be able to suppress it? If you put yourself on the old capital of the Beiyang Army, you may not be able to extinguish this fire!

Also, why did he Yuan Shikai do this death for the Qing court, is it worth it? How to deal with the revolutionary party? His first thought was not to suppress but to caress him. When he was still on the mountain and had not yet come out of the mountain, he had already made a temptation.

One of Yuan Shikai's subordinates is named Liu Chengen, who is a fellow villager with Li Yuanhong, and the personal relationship between the two is also good.

Liu Chengen, the word Haochun, is a native of Taiping Store in Xiangyang, Hubei. Epiphysical, forced by life, joined the Qing army and was admitted to the Beishen Military Academy. In November 1895, he accompanied Yuan Shikai to train the new army at the small station in Tianjin. From serving as a staff member and entourage for Yuan Shikai, he was successively promoted to the commander of the third battalion of the army's right-wing infantry and the management of the engineering battalion. Later, he helped Yuan Shikai to establish the Infantry Battalion Armed Forces Academy and served as the superintendent of the school.

Yuan Shikai once asked Liu Chengen to write to Li Yuanhong twice in succession, asking if he could negotiate peace? Li Yuanhong ignored it.

Yuan Shikai saw that the revolutionary party was very bullish and had no one in his eyes, and felt that he should give them some color first.

Yuan Shikai didn't figure out the military politics of Hubei. The internal situation of the government mistakenly regarded Li Yuanhong as a real power faction. At that time, although Li Yuanhong was named the governor, he actually didn't have much right to speak.

On October 27, the day he was appointed minister of the Imperial Mission, he ordered Feng Guozhang to attack Hankow in order to cheer him on the mountain.

To attack Hankow, it was necessary to seize the strategically important Liujiamiao railway station.

There was a fierce bloody battle at Liujiamiao Railway Station in the Qing court. When the central government mobilized the army to Wuhan, Zhang Biao, the commander of the new army in the eighth town of Hubei, withdrew from Wuchang City, gathered the remnants of about 2,000 troops, and guarded the Liujiamiao station in Hankou

His idea was that Liujiamiao Station was the terminus of the train from Beijing to Hankou, and if he held here, he could wait for the arrival of Yinchang's army, which might turn the situation around.

The newly established Hubei Military Administration. Of course, the government also knows how important the geographical location of Liujiamiao Station is. Military. The government dispatched 3,000 new troops and temporarily recruited more than 17,000 enthusiastic young men to form a civilian army of more than 20,000 people to launch an all-out attack on Liujiamiao Station on October 18.

The People's Army was ten times larger than Zhang Biao's remnants, and victory seemed unquestionable. The momentum of the people's army was like a rainbow, Zhang Biao's remnants were demoralized, and the battle began to show a one-sided situation.

Seeing that he was about to take Liujiamiao, suddenly, Sa Zhenbing, the commander-in-chief of the Qing court's navy, arrived, and more than a dozen of his warships stopped on the surface of the Yangtze River and opened heavy fire on the positions of the people's army.

This sudden shelling quickly changed the tide of the battle. Zhang Biao shouted: "Brothers, our support has arrived!" As long as you hold your ground, reinforcements will arrive soon! ”

The People's Army didn't expect Zhang Biao to be so tough, there were only more than 1,000 people and he was so durable, and he was stunned. It was an uphill battle, with the two sides at a stalemate.

On October 19, before dawn, the people's army, which had adjusted its tactics, advanced eastward from Liu's Garden, from Xishang Racecourse, and from Dazhimen Railway Station, and launched another attack on Liujiamiao. Those who came to participate in the war included workers from the Jiang'an Locomotive Depot of the Jinghan Railway and poor citizens from the shantytowns along the railway.

The Qing army was routed and hid in shantytowns along the railway, where the civilian army and local citizens burned the shacks, and the Qing army fled in panic.

At this time, along the Yangtze River, the Qing warships temporarily ceased fire, and the artillery shells could not be supplied.

Taking advantage of this gap, the revolutionary army captured Liujiamiao in one go.

Feng Guozhang has been a little entangled during this time, on the one hand, he wants to quell the chaos and make contributions, and on the other hand, he has to follow the instructions of his commander Yuan Shikai.

Now that he received Yuan Shikai's order to attack, Feng Guozhang was extremely excited, like a tiger out of the cage, and led his troops to attack Liujiamiao Station.

Liujiamiao Railway Station is once again in flames!

Feng Guozhang seems to want to vent all the stuffiness that has been held in his heart these days, and the Krupp cannon roared angrily. Bullets rained down on the position of the Liujiamiao People's Army.

The People's Army is making a mess here. There was a split in the leadership, with some advocating the withdrawal of troops and others advocating a bloody fight to the end.

The infantry commander Xie Yuankai assembled a death squad armed with a broadsword and rushed towards Feng Guozhang's Beiyang Army. But under the heavy artillery fire, it was undoubtedly the mantis arm as a car. Almost all of the death squads were killed.

Seeing that Liujiamiao Station was really unable to hold it, the commander-in-chief issued an order to retreat.

The Beiyang Army took the Liujiamiao Railway Station as soon as it came out. The People's Army organized several counteroffensives, all of which failed, and had to retreat to Hankow.

On the 30th, in order to cheer up the Qing court and prevent the Empress Dowager Longyu and the little emperor from running out to take refuge, Yuan Shikai mobilized reinforcements and cooperated with Feng Guozhang's troops to attack Hankou.

The attacking force was divided into two routes, and the main attacking force was led by Feng Guozhang and attacked along the railway line. The other route was led by Yuan Shikai in person, and he responded in a roundabout way.

On October 28, Feng Guozhang's troops stormed another strategic location, Dazhimen Railway Station. Artillery fire broke into the sky, and the infantry advanced.

The People's Army put up stubborn resistance, and Xie Yuankai and Ma Rong led their troops to rush out of the station twice before and after, approaching the Beiyang Army, and forcing the forward troops of the Beiyang Army to retreat timidly. However, this was only a moment's respite, and the generosity of a few people could not stop the powerful offensive of the large army.

The battle situation in Hankou was extremely unfavorable to the revolutionary army, and the Beiyang army poured south. Hubei Military Administration. The government decided to recruit new soldiers and expand the strength of the rebel army.

Li Yuanhong sent people to the inn to send invitations to military cadets returning from other provinces.

That night, Xu Yuanquan, who later became a high-ranking official of the Kuomintang, attended the military and political conference held by the Wuchang Governor's Mansion (i.e., the Red Mansion) as a delegate, and spoke generously and was willing to serve the revolution. After the meeting, he led more than 300 student troops, appointed himself as the captain, crossed the river to Hankou overnight, and engaged in a fierce battle with the Beiyang Army at the Dazhimen Railway Station.

For several days, the people of Hankow spontaneously formed an armed group, a fighting group without any military training, a veritable "people's army", which gradually formed into a backbone as the "Yangxia War" continued.

The battle for Dazhimen lasted for three whole days. The Beiyang Army took a fan offensive, from Liujiamiao along the railway line to the west, to attack Dazhimen Station; From Gusaoshu, Daijiashan, and Xishang Racecourse (in the area of Hankou Liberation Park) to the southwest, marching to the center of Hankou city. Feng Guozhang ordered the artillery to avoid the concession, and the artillery bombarded the Chinese residential area, killing and wounding the civilian army and citizens, and the Dazhimen station was blown into ruins.

The Beiyang Army occupied Dazhimen, and the People's Army retreated to Xunlimen and then to Xinsheng Road (now north of Zhongshan Avenue on Jianghan Road, a section of Jianghan Road Pedestrian Street intersecting with Jinghan Avenue), and used the street shops and houses as barriers to start a street battle with the Beiyang Army.

The people's army was valiant and the fighting was fierce. However, the People's Army no longer has the strength to participate in the war in groups. Since the fall of Dazhimen, the command system of the People's Army has been disrupted. In the Battle of Hankow, nearly 3,000 officers and soldiers of the People's Army were killed. There were not many regular soldiers left of the Hubei New Army who crossed the river to Hankou, and the Hunan reinforcements were withdrawn, and the remaining Hankou defenders were scattered, their equipment was lost, and they did not have time to reorganize.

Wuchang Military Administration. The government sent artillery reinforcements, but it was also a drop in the bucket, and the strength of the Beiyang Army was too strong.

The People's Army has never encountered such a strong enemy as the Beiyang Army, and the battle is a contest of strength in the final analysis. On 1 November, the Beiyang Army occupied Hankow.

N Yuan Shikai reported to the imperial court, and the Qing court was like a long drought and nectar, which made Zaifeng hear good news for the first time in these days. He is not easy to socialize, and he usually doesn't drink much, so he made an exception and drank so much that his face was flushed.

After taking Hankou, Feng Guozhang's opinion was to take advantage of the victory to attack and take Wuchang. In the first encounter, he felt that the People's Army did not have an effective command, and its combat effectiveness was not at the same level as the battle-hardened Beiyang Army.

How could Feng Guozhang see through Yuan Shikai's thoughts? When he received an order from Yuan Shikai that he must not underestimate the enemy, first consolidate the existing results, and not rush to attack, although he was a little puzzled in his heart, he still set up a defense in Hankou.

gave the other party this thunderous blow, Yuan Shikai felt that the other party should know the power of the Beiyang Army.

On 2 November, he asked Liu Chengen to send a letter to Li Yuanhong in his own name. It is said that the imperial court has issued an edict for crimes, determined the implementation of the constitution, opened the party ban, and the royal family will no longer intervene in state affairs. If this is the case, then there is still a period of recovery and rejuvenation of state affairs,...... I hope to take advantage of this opportunity to understand peacefully. …… To all the dukes, they are all talented, not only not to blame the past, but also to reuse, to help each other handle the government. Xiang Cheng is an honest person, and Your Excellency must know very well that you will never lose your trust this time."

After receiving Yuan Shikai's letter, Li Yuanhong invited several people in charge to discuss it together.

Everyone read Yuan Shikai's letter.

One of the "three martial arts" of Wuchang's first righteousness, military and political. Zhang Zhenwu, deputy minister of the Ministry of Military Affairs, slapped the table heavily, "What is Yuan Shikai?" If he were honest, there would be no dishonest people in this world. Back then, Emperor Guangxu and the people of the Restoration, if they didn't believe him, could they be so miserable? ”

It is also one of the "three armed forces", and it is also a military and political force. Jiang Yiwu, deputy minister of the Ministry of Military Affairs, continued: "Yuan Shikai is too arrogant, isn't it just a victory? Victory or defeat is a common thing in soldiers, and if you want to persuade you to surrender, you are really immeasurable, delusional, and talk in your dreams during the day. ”

Li Yuanhong saw that everyone didn't say good things, so he asked everyone's opinions and asked how to reply to Yuan Shikai?

Some people said to ignore him, and everyone agreed.