In Beijing, in Dongjiaomin Alley, diplomats from various countries are holding a drinking party here. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Naturally, diplomats are holding a drinking party that is not just about drinking and dancing, especially now that the situation in China is further deteriorating. Zhu Erdian, who had just stepped out of the dance floor, walked over with a wine glass after seeing the U.S. Minister to China Jia Leheng and the Japanese Minister to China Ijiin Hikoyoshi who were smiling in the distance.

"What are you talking about?" Zhu Erdian took a sip of red wine as he spoke.

Jia Leheng shrugged his shoulders and said, "Oh, we were just talking about the impact that the war in China might have on our country's business activities here!" ”

Hikoyoshi Ijiin also said: "The sudden outbreak of war in China is indeed very worrying! ”

"I don't know what the two of you think about this war, well, the internal conflict between the Chinese?" Zhu Erdian frowned.

"I'm not very familiar with the southwest, but I've also read some information about Xiao Mubai and the People's Army, and they may bring a lot of trouble to the Beiyang Army!" Ijiin Hikoyoshi spoke, but the worry on his face couldn't be concealed. This Communist Party was too hostile to the Japanese Empire.

"Oh?" Zhu Erdian said: "Do you think that the People's Army will defeat the Beiyang Army?" ”

Ijiin Hikoyoshi smiled and said, "I didn't say that, but now everyone's general opinion is that the People's Army is the strongest, but before the war is decided, who can really determine the outcome!" ”

"Your Excellency, I wonder what you think?" In the face of Ijiin Hikoyoshi's words, Zhu Erdian only smiled, and then turned to the American Minister Jia Leheng and asked.

What is the real strength of the People's Army, haven't you British already tasted it in Burma! Jia Leheng thought so in his heart, but he smiled and said: "Well, it's hard to say, one is an old powerhouse and the other is a new star, as for who wins and who loses, it's really hard to say!" ”

Zhu Erdian said: "Then how does your government view the development of the situation in China? ”

Hikoyoshi Ijiin first said: "Although changes in the situation in China may affect the interests of the Great Japanese Empire, the Great Japanese Empire has always respected the sovereignty of other countries and has always maintained a neutral attitude towards the internal affairs of other countries. Therefore, China will take a cautious attitude of observation of the current internal conflicts in China. ”

"The United States of America has always pursued a diplomatic policy of neutrality, and this one is no exception!" Jia Leheng also said on the side.

Hearing the obviously perfunctory words of these two people, Zhu Erdian was not angry or depressed, but just as he was about to shift the topic to other places, he heard Jia Leheng say again: "Oh, by the way, the American businessman in Chengdu came to the news not long ago, saying that the People's Army has eliminated the Second Army of the Beiyang Army in Suiyuan, and I don't know if it's true or not. ”

After Jia Leheng finished speaking, he shrugged his shoulders indifferently, but this sentence was like a thunderbolt in the ears of Zhu Erdian and Yijiyuan Hikoyoshi.

As the night deepened, there was a sudden thunder outside the window, and the heavy rain poured down in an instant, and the entire Sijiu City was suddenly shrouded in a curtain of rain.

Duan Qirui's face was flat, and he quietly looked at the two telegrams sent by Feng Guozhang and Duan Zhigui on the table, one after the other, and sighed softly after a long time. The current situation in Beiyang should be worthy of the four words wind and rain, right?

"Chief Duan?" Chen Yanjun was dressed upright, and after walking into the office, he saw Duan Qirui, who was slightly distracted, and asked softly.

Coming back to his senses, Duan Qirui nodded, pointed to the telegram thrown on the table, and said, "Er'an, this is what I just received, you can take a look first!" ”

Chen Yan was not polite, and hurriedly picked up the telegram and looked through it, but after reading it, his face changed a little, he really didn't expect the situation to suddenly deteriorate to such a point. Feng Huafu was defeated in a heavy battle, losing half of Henan in a row, Duan Xiangyan (Duan Zhiguizi) also lost three battles in a row in Suiyuan and Chahar, and only one of the five main divisions remained in the 12th division to retreat to Zhangjiakou. It was only five days after the war began, and the two main forces of the Beiyang Army actually suffered a crushing defeat, and now the people's army on the north and south fronts were pressing forward step by step, and the closest to the Beijing front was only more than 500 miles, a two-day journey of rapid march. is a huge Beiyang, I can't imagine that I have been forced to such a situation now.

"The situation? Is it really that far? Chen Yan was shocked in his heart, and confirmed to Duan Qirui again. After he joined Beiyang in the Xinhai year, although he was crowded out by everyone and his position was not important, he couldn't do anything about picking up the bowl of Beiyang to eat meat and putting down his chopsticks to scold Beiyang Niang.

"The People's Army in the south has occupied Jiangxi and Fujian provinces, and Huang Xing, the top leader of the People's Army in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, has already fled." Duan Qirui said leisurely, with a mockery on his face.

"Ran away? Ran away again? When he learned that Huang Xing had fled, Chen Huan was stunned.

Huang Xing ran away, which shows that the People's Army can take Nanjing without much effort, and this shows that the strength of Zhang Xun, Ni Sichong and others in Chen Bing's Jiangbei does not pose any threat to the People's Army at all. Moreover, the most important point is that in addition to Nanjing's important political significance, it also has important transportation significance, and the People's Army, which ended the war in the south, can use this as a springboard to go north to Anhui and threaten Henan and Shandong provinces along the Jinpu line.

As the chief of the army, Duan Qirui naturally knows this. He said as he straightened his uniform, "Let's go, the old man is going to summon us now!" ”

At this point, Chen Yan naturally knew what Duan Qirui meant. Go to see Yuan Shikai, do your best, and obey the destiny of heaven.

When the two hurriedly arrived at the president's office, Yuan Shikai was already sitting in the middle of the Taishi chair with his eyes closed. Duan Qirui looked at Yuan Shikai from his point of view, the old man's state at this time really wasn't very good, his round face had lost a lot of weight, his spirit seemed to be gone, and the bags under his eyes were obviously a little swollen. Obviously, the war in the past few days has involved a lot of thoughts of this Beiyang helmsman, especially the fact that Beiyang has suffered a fiasco in the war on both the north and south fronts, which has hit him a lot.

Duan Qirui then looked around, Yang Shiqi, Liang Shiyi, Zhao Bingjun, Yang Du and other Beiyang dignitaries had arrived one after another, but at this time, everyone was solemn and worried. When he saw Yuan Ke who was in a hurry on the side, Duan Qirui frowned again, and his heart suddenly had a clear understanding of Yuan Shikai's intention to summon everyone to come this time. Perhaps, the old man wants to negotiate peace! Let's negotiate peace! After sighing secretly in his heart, Duan Qirui also found a place to sit down.

Duan Qirui guessed correctly, Yuan Shikai really wanted to negotiate peace. He Yuan has a strong desire for power, and wants him to stop and let go of the power in his hand, but he is naturally unwilling in his heart, and thousands of people are unwilling. What if you are unwilling or unwilling? The huge difference in strength between the two sides was there, and he couldn't resist at all. He wants to do the thing of using the mantis arm as a car, but the people below may not be willing to do it. What's more, he doesn't want to destroy the foundation of Beiyang in his own hands, which not only has the hard work of his Yuan for half his life, but also the hard work of several generations of Beiyang people, including Li Hongzhang, he doesn't want to be lost in his own hands.

It has been said that a person only has three opportunities in his life to make a big choice. If you want to use Yuan Shikai's ups and downs in the past few decades to confirm this sentence, then the Wuxu coup and the abdication of the Qing court are undoubtedly the first two times, and now it seems that the third time to make peace with the Communist Party.

"Send someone to negotiate peace!" In just a few words, it weighed more than a thousand catties when it came out of Yuan Shikai's mouth.

Although the people present had some vague speculations about this matter before, when Yuan Shikai said it in person at this time, he was still a little shocked.

"Daddy, I can't! Xiao Mubai's ambition as a thief and wolf is already known to passers-by, after the peace negotiation, how can we have a way to live in Beiyang? Yuan Keding suddenly spoke up and broke the silence in the room. If you really want to negotiate peace, when the time comes, Yuan Shikai's status is to be able to figure it out with his ass, and he Yuan Dagongzi doesn't want to follow his father back to his hometown in Henan to fish.

Yang Shiqi looked at Yuan Shikai, whose face was indifferent, and asked, "Weiting, have you really decided?" ”

Yuan Keding ignored Yang Shiqi on the side, and still said viciously: "In my opinion, just invite the Japanese to send troops and let them help us eliminate these rebels." ”

Duan Qirui, who was on the side, snorted coldly in his heart after hearing Yuan Keding's words. This kid is simply dizzy, and he actually said such things, not to mention whether the old man is willing to bear the reputation of luring wolves into the house, that is, whether the Japanese can beat the People's Army is still a question. It is no secret that the People's Army's firepower and actual military strength are no secret today.

Looking up, sure enough, Yuan Shikai's face became extremely gloomy. How could he, who has played power tricks all his life, not know the consequences of negotiating peace, but if he does not negotiate peace, he can avoid the possibility of being ousted from power? The glory and wealth of his Yuan Shikai's life are in Beiyang, but now in Beiyang, the First Army has no fighting spirit and is struggling to survive, and tens of thousands of elite troops of the Second Army, except for the 12th Division, the rest have been made dumplings. If he fights again, if he fights again, Yuan Shikai estimates that it will be impossible to even go back to his hometown to fish. Borrowing troops from the Great Powers? Yuan Shikai now wants to slap Yuan Keding to death. Although he Yuan Shikai is not a good person, at least there is still courtesy, righteousness and shame, at least right and wrong can still be distinguished, he would rather let the Beiyang, which dominated the late Qing Dynasty for decades, completely collapse, than let himself be saddled with such an eternal infamy as a traitor and traitor.

Although there is reluctance in the heart, what is the use of reluctance? If you lose, you lose, the game of dominating the world is so cruel, what we should do now is to find a way out, for so many people up and down the Beiyang to find a way!

Glancing at Yang Shiqi, who wanted to speak and stopped, Yuan Shikai looked at everyone, but everyone avoided their eyes when they saw this. Seeing that everyone was either silent, or avoided their gaze, Yuan Shikai also closed his eyes painfully, and after half a sound, he said to Chen Eun: "Er'an, I heard that you and Xiao Zicheng are familiar with each other, so I will trouble you to be the representative of this peace conference." After dawn, it will be officially released and powered! ”

When the words landed, Yuan Shikai was reincarnated and left, and this turn naturally officially heralded the official end of the Beiyang forces that spanned the late Qing Dynasty for decades.