Zhang Jian, Xu Shichang and Yuan Shikai were the first to be engaged, and they can be regarded as the people who helped Yuan Shikai the most. Xu Shichang and Zhang Shichang are also very good friends, neither of whom participated in the Hongxian Empire.

After Xu Shichang re-emerged from the mountain, in the face of the situation after Yuan Shikai's revocation of the imperial system, he sought advice from Zhang Jian. Zhang's reply was that Xu Shichang should persuade Yuan Xiaye, and the original letter was as follows:

"Your Excellency the senior of the old man Ju Xiangguo: I violated the left and right, and I was suddenly half a load. Insulting Fengming asked, tired of reading and sighing. When the meeting takes place, it is the day when Park is out of the capital. On the verge of the remarks and the question of the monarch. It is not like it, he thinks he has been handed over for more than 30 years, he knows but does not speak, he does not say enough, he regrets himself, and he is not so old to the past. Because of the sincere foolishness, Chen said right and wrong, said the benefits and disadvantages, and repeatedly changed the situation, until two hours long. And the accumulation is unfinished, and Huanshang is quite unimpressed. Selfishness and joy are said to be instantaneous, and they can eliminate the invisible. Don't try to make a small acquaintance, take the imperial system as speculation, live on the Huan as a strange commodity, soak in prostitution and brew, in order to become today's disaster, think of the sadness, what do you say? When the emperor was thriving, he retreated, and when he saw the turbulent situation, he went out of the mountain, canceled the imperial system, and assumed the importance of the world. Fengyi is outstanding, who doesn't drink up!

"Today, the husband is the old man in the sea, and he has established diplomatic relations for the longest time, and there are few people who go to the public and the next person. And the public and Huanshang used to be the same official for a long time, and I believe that it is especially deep, so the love of the public is also on the Huanshang, and it is especially sincere since the bottom. However, Ming asked the so-called national step is thorny, the chronic disease has been deep, and he wants to go down, exhaust his foolish concerns, pay tribute to the left and right, and go north and upward under the governor, and go down since the dismissal has been invited. Dedicated to the village, not a word and the world. This news of Gui following Yunnan and Guizhou is the newspaper of February and March, and I can't help but be too tired of the mistake of the group in the heat, and then I will do this! At present, Guangdong is followed by Zhejiang.

"The so-called chronic disease has been deepened, then there is still a final allegiance to the saying of allegiance, please Bi Chenzhi: The battle of Xinhai, the sea is in an uproar, and the Chinese and foreign people cannot unify the whole country. Therefore, the southern and central provinces have spared no effort to support it. Those who can consolidate the central government will not hesitate to sacrifice everything to favor it. The two provinces of Jiangsu and Hubei are particularly significant. Although it is the work of the northern soldiers, it is also the effect of the belief of the people of the whole country.

"Since the completion of the imperial system, and the credit of Huan Shang. The imperial system was abolished, and the prestige of Huan Shang fell. Without authority and trust, how can you stand on your own? Examining China's past history, when state affairs were disturbed, and the emperor issued an edict against himself, the fathers and elders wept, the people were encouraged, and the annals of history were recorded in the annals of history, and they were thought to be beautiful. If the president is not the emperor. Now that the decree abolishing the imperial system has been confessed to guilt, the people's feelings are getting worse and worse. Even those who raise the banner of righteousness, that is, those who have been lords, have no other than this, do not believe in the solidity and authority, do not believe in the hearts of the people, so the lack of authority is seen in the military, and now there is no need to talk about the law, not about right and wrong, but about the interests and disadvantages. Cao Kun and Zhang Jingyao were all strong soldiers in the north, advancing and retreating, and stopped between Lu and Xu, and the northern soldiers of Hunan Province, known as 30,000, were thousands of people in the Yunnan army, and they had not heard of any strange achievements.

"Immersion and the two Guangdong divisions, separate ways into Hunan, these 30,000 unrelated northern armies, can they ensure victory? If Hunan is lost, Jingxiang will be shaken, and if Jingxiang is shaken, the road will be broken after the northern army of Shuzhong. The newspaper insists on a certain province, and it is a continuation of Zhejiang, even if it may not be a fact, but the central government cannot but take precautions, and if there is more prevention, it will do its best. In terms of military strategy, the central government has become a counteroffensive and a defensive trend. In political terms, the central government has no ability to rule the whole country. This incorrigible.

"The newspaper also said that the public will recruit those who oppose it and organize a responsible cabinet, which is not something that can be known, otherwise Liang and Cai, who act against the face and are not martyred, will be overseas guests, and still hope that they will be able to bow their heads and rest under the detectives of Beijing. This incorrigible one another. Force and conciliation. It is not easy to solve, and the six-month recognition period of the central government to quell the chaos is about to expire in an instant, and outsiders will ask how to deal with it?

"Now for the country, for the people, for the sake of the Shang, the only way to save the lost faith with true repentance, and to leave the unlost power with great courage. reported that Tang and Tang Zhuren had a telegram to persuade them to retire, but I don't know if it's true? I wonder if Huanshang can sacrifice himself to listen? Go down to the original to the end, repeatedly, and think that there is no more than this. Go down to non-trade and conform to the same, for the national economy to avoid foreign interference; to protect the people from the poison of the army and the people; For Huanshang, he is not a gentleman who eclipses the sun and the moon, and he is a hero who bends and stretches with the times. Huan Shangzhi recognized the imperial system, and he sacrificed everything to save the country and the people, and he was known in the world. The emperor made and sacrificed, the emperor eliminated and sacrificed, rather recovering this boring and vain name, for the description of unforgiveness, recklessly, fighting with the countrymen, so that the meaning of sacrificing everything, turned to be unable to confess to the world?

"Or the northern military and police, if they are not in charge, they cannot be controlled, and once they are replaced, they are afraid of riots. Evidence of the change in March is also the risk of sincerity. However, when Huan Shangguo resigned, he was honest and honest, and knew the righteousness, so that he would feel his personal kindness and cherish the country. Gong and Zhiquan are always long, and they are maintained on the left and right, and they must not be stopped. If it is also replaced, China and foreign countries are silent, and the dagger is not shocked, then today's opponents will turn to admiration, and he will turn to admiration, and he will be called the master of life, and his instrument is more and more ordinary, not under Washington and Lincoln.

"Although it is not as good as the past to unify the whole country, there are still some soldiers who are afraid of it, and even those who oppose it cannot deny it. Although it is not enough to unify this part of the army, it is more than enough to listen to its chaos. If Huanshang is still confused by the small group, he will want to use this military strength to prolong the scourge of war, so that the people's livelihood will be eroded and exhausted, and diplomacy will be more dangerous and cool. This is not something that can be known. The love of going down is on Huanshang, and he claims to be not behind the public, so he dares to love people with virtue and pay tribute to the deacons in order to be indirectly loyal to Huanshang. With the clarity of not far away, and the loyalty of the deacon, he must observe the foolishness of the district, and forgive him without him.

"Walking down since the third year of Xin Renqi, the sun is white. Therefore, go to the south of the autumn, Dumen thank the guests, the day is only to the scholar to learn to send himself, for charity, every time I think of the feast of friends in the township, the old rain of the life of the sea. If Huanshang ponders deeply and retreats bravely, then he will approach the five mountains on the river he operates, and the village of Huanshang, and the hundred springs of the public can be a place to travel together. The future of the world, listen to his handsome young man, and rely on the view. At that time, the letter and today's words are not ashamed. The afflictions of the people who belong to the public and the public are very remarkable, and they would rather not look at it once, and when they meet, they will pay tribute, and they will not be able to do anything else, but if they do not write about it, they can still be distorted. And the military is disturbed, the travel is inconvenient, and he can't go to Jiazhao, Lin Ying is confused, and the accumulation is still unfinished. Fortunately, forgive me! Pray for the country, cherish it. ”

On 1 April, Yuan Shikai proposed six peace conditions to the Protector Army in the names of Li Yuanhong, Xu Shichang, and Duan Qirui:

1. The three provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou and Guizhou abolished their independence;

2. The governors of the three provinces are responsible for maintaining public order;

3. All recruits in the three provinces will be disbanded;

4. All soldiers sent to the battlefield in the three provinces shall be withdrawn;

5. From now on, the three provinces are not allowed to engage in war with officers and soldiers;

6. Each of the three provinces sent a representative to Beijing to discuss the aftermath.

The above six conditions are not peace negotiations at all, but more like orders. The premise of the negotiation is the equality of both parties to the negotiation, how can there be equality from these conditions of Yuan Shikai?

These six articles were all drafted by Yuan Shikai himself, Li Yuanhong did not ask, and Duan Qirui refused to express his opinion.

In mid-April, the Protector Army replied to Li, Xu, and Duan, the same six:

1. After Yuan's abdication, he will die but must be expelled from the country;

2. Thirteen people, including Yang Du, the culprit of the Emperor system, thanked the world;

3. The cost of preparing for the ceremony and the cost of using troops is 60 million, and the property of Yuan and the thirteen culprits of the imperial system shall be confiscated and compensated;

Fourth, the third son of Yuan should be deprived of public power;

5. In accordance with the "Covenant Law" of the Republic of China, Vice President Li is elected to succeed him as president;

6. With the exception of the State Minister, civil and military officials shall serve as before, but shall be subject to the instructions of the Governor of the Protectorate Army regarding the garrison of the army.

Compared with Yuan's six conditions, these six conditions are two poles apart, and there is no common ground.

The so-called sky-high asking price, after saying it, doing it. Yuan Shikai's life is not easy, and it is also difficult for the Protector Army.

At that time, Yunnan and Guizhou were both impoverished areas, and the Protector Army was facing great difficulties in terms of troops, weapons, money and food. In other words, not only Yuan Shikai hopes for peace talks, but the Protector Army also wants peace talks. If the goal of toppling Yuan can be achieved through peace talks, why not.

When the gap between the comprehensive and conditional conditions was too great for them to sit down and talk, Yuan Shikai and Xu Shichang followed the precedent of the Xinhai year and divided the armistice into two aspects: national and local. The nationwide peace talks were mediated by Feng Guozhang, while the local peace talks were directly approached by the Sichuan generals Chen Eun and Cai Yi.

Cai and Chen Yan were very good friends in personal relations, and they had already exchanged secret letters with each other, and the regional truce quickly made progress.

For the national peace talks, the Protector Army bit to the death, and the prerequisite was Yuan Shikai to step down. Of course, this is unacceptable to Yuan Shikai, so it has been at an impasse.

However, for the defense of the army's claim to overthrow Yuan, as a political . Feng Guozhang, who "mediates" in the government, agrees with it in his heart, and even speaks his mind.

In mid-April, Feng Guozhang sent two important telegrams to Yuan:

One of them: "Guozhang is upright, unable to pitch at any time, and others are fraught with their slander, which inevitably infiltrates day by day, so that because of the alienation, because of the sparseness, relying on the henchmen, and the secret is not exhausted, and the responsibility is to do the work, and the actions are more restrictive, reduce its military spending, cut the actual power, the province's military strength is divided, the system is different, and the non-weekdays are Xinyi Nengfu, then today Jiangsu has been the continuation of Guangdong and Zhejiang. Gu Guozhang Fang Yizheng. The government telegraphs Zhichuan Province, the agreement is peaceful, the intention is the same, dare to sponsor? In order to appoint the transferor, hoping to return to the robbery, it was reported to the Central Committee of General Chen's administration, stating that after Cai Yi put forward the conditions, Yunnan and Guizhou were not satisfied with Article 1, and Guizhou and Guangdong have not yet seen a reply, and this indirectly went to the Tang to transfer Chen Dian, and it seems that the first paragraph was deleted.

"At the time of this critical moment, I still refuse to meet with sincerity, and I transfer people to the content, where will I start? Although the province is now discussing the matter, the two sides have not been dredged, and they are afraid of taking great pains. Observing the national mentality, complaining and slandering a lot, and speaking peace, it is difficult to hope for it. The prestige of the real fate is both clear, the people's hearts have been strained, indulging in the power of ten thousand jun, it is difficult to chase the horse, save the status, good is not easy, if you look at the time, there is no way to recover, rather than the honor, urgently plan a self-complete strategy, a few orders can be recovered, and the danger is safe. ”

The second is: "When the incident happened in Yunnan, Guozhang repeatedly wanted to have Chen, and he risked his dignity for fear of being condemned." Since the beginning of the year, the cardinal government has adopted centralized power, regardless of the strength and financial resources of the central government, that is, in the words of the army, the troops owned by each province will be reduced, and once an incident occurs, the system is different, and it is difficult to deploy. Although the order of the Soviet Province is said to be tranquil, the first time I heard the Zhejiang police, all shocked ....... If the country is not solved for a long time, the spark may actually burn the prairies, and the country will not only want to fulfill the responsibility of defending the land, but also fear that it will not be able to ...... it. Our president is the center of transportation and controls the whole country, while Yunnan and Guizhou disobey orders, Guangdong and Guifeng obey, the people live in peace, the army has no fighting spirit, the proclamation is not emotional, and the force is especially difficult to recover. The worries of the people are not only in a corner but ...... in the whole country.

"The national system has been changed, the robbery has been heard suddenly, and the cause of the chaos can be thought ....... The sycophants please, and the honest see the ....... For the sake of the present, the only way to do this is to appeal to the President to remedy the importance of the trust, and to give priority to remediation, so that the prestige that has been lost will not be restored, and the name of the future can be established, and this respect will be in the name of the relinquishment, and the power of governance will be transferred. For the provinces that have not changed, there is no need to send troops, so as to arouse suspicions, the fighting of the former enemy has ceased, and there is no room for additional troops and ....... Guozhang Yang He Enzhi, followed the longest, slandered and recruited, and did not change, Jun Zuo was in office for a day, swore to be lonely and loyal for a day, and set things to backfire, then private friendship boxing, and did not forget in the world. ”

Feng Guozhang's two telegrams were all complaints, although they were not explicitly stated, but their intentions were about to come out. "There is no return to the prestige that has been lost,...... push and cede power", this should be the first among Yuan Shikai's capable generals to persuade Yuan to abdicate.