A group of East-meets-West buildings on Di'anmen East Street in Yanjing, with a five-bay grand main entrance, a three-storey western-style building behind a suspended gabled roof, and a square bell tower raised in the middle, which is obviously modeled after the British Parliament Building. To the west of this complex is the War Department and to the east is the Admiralty.

The desk of the army commander's office was full of telegrams urging the governors of various places to send troops to recover Mongolia, and the old documents of the Qing court were also full of materials about Mongolia, and the latest movements of the Western powers sent by the envoys of the Republic of China abroad were circled by red and blue pencils.

There was an ice tray in the room, and the curling white smoke drove away the heat of Xia Yue, but Duan Qirui was still sweating profusely, and sitting opposite him was Cao Kun and Zhang Xun, two Beiyang generals.

"Zhong Shan, do you think this Mongolia is easy to fight?" Duan Qirui asked solemnly.

Cao Kun, who was five short in stature, smiled disapprovingly while holding a cigar cigarette: "Chief Duan, you gave away the word '?'!" I'm just two words, it's easy to fight! I won't be able to take the cullen for a month, and you screw my head off for a night pot! ”

Zhang Xun relied on his old qualifications, shook his gray pigtails and said: "Zhiquan, you can't be confused at this time, we don't have a charter for Eastern and Western Mongolia together, and we can't afford to lose this face." ”

Duan Qirui nodded and said, "I know, you guys go back, I'll fight with the president." ”

Cao Kun and Zhang Xun walked away satisfied, not even looking at Xu Shuzheng, deputy minister of the War Department, who was sorting out the documents on the side.

Xu Shuzheng is in his early thirties, he has been regarded as a prodigy since he was a child, enlightened at the age of three, able to compose poetry at the age of seven, and talented at the age of thirteen. If it weren't for his pen, maybe he would have continued to follow the path of lifting people and jinshi that has been followed for thousands of years. Xu Shuzheng shaved a flat head with only a slight stubble, his long round face was full of the word arrogant, and his two small eyes were shining.

Duan Qirui knocked on the table with his knuckles and said: "Another Zheng, this is already the fifth group of people, everyone in Beiyang is shouting and beating, and everyone has to send troops to Saibei, what do you think?" Whether this Mongolia will fight or not, whether it will fight now or wait for a while. ”

Xu Shuzheng had just been promoted from the position of chief of staff of the First Army to the high position of deputy chief of the War Department, and it was when he was full of ambition, and because of his talent, he was a little arrogant, except for the benefactor Duan Qirui, and even Yuan Shikai dared to contradict him, so the generals in Beiyang looked at him unpleasantly, and gave him a nickname behind his back: Xu Xiaofan.

Xu Shuzheng raised his eyebrows and sneered: "Do they want to fight Mongolia?" It's serious to take the opportunity to make money, good guys, the opening fee and military expenditure are three million, if there are three million, I will train a division to fight it myself, and I can still use them??? Mengjiang is just a few clowns jumping off the beam, what kind of climate can it become? What is really worrying is the ancestors just now, I dare to say that in the future, the disaster of the Republic of China will be those Beiyang generals who are full of loyal ministers and filial sons! ”

"Again, be cautious!" Duan Qirui said with a wry smile.

He knows Xu Shuzheng's surname too well, this little fan is too crazy and arrogant, but his loyalty to himself is beyond doubt. From Yuan Shikai onwards, all the generals in Beiyang can't get used to Xu Shuzheng, only Duan Qirui obeys him, and both of them are stubborn and self-serving surnames, and it is an outlier that they can cooperate with each other.

Xu Shuzheng put down the document in his hand, lit a cigar, and swallowed the clouds and spitted mist next to him, Duan Qirui, who didn't like the smell of smoke, just frowned slightly and didn't say anything.

"Again, do you mean to wait? But the provisional Senate is pressing, and yesterday I didn't send a message to the War Department asking me to be questioned, or else we will be impeached. Duan Qirui said helplessly.

Xu Shuzheng sneered: "Those old men in the provisional Senate, which one is not a dog in the south?" Transferring the Beiyang troops to Mengjiang, what kind of heart do they have? Ignore them! ”

Duan Qirui finally made up his mind, clenched his fists and said: "You're right, this Mongolia must be beaten, but it can't be Cao Kun and Zhang Xun who are going to fight, we have to show this face ourselves??? If I help you raise a million military salaries, are you sure that you can train an army to recover Mongolia within a year? ”

Xu Shuzheng's eyes lit up: "A year? Six months is enough! ”

Duan Qirui stood up and walked to the Western-style rose window, looked outside and said leisurely: "The Beiyang factions are already rotten, it's time to reorganize the armed forces, the burden of the revival of the Republic of China depends on you and me!" ”

???? Dividing line ????

Zhongnanhai Huairentang Yuan Shikai, Xu Shichang, and Yang Shiqi sat silently, the water in the teacup was already cold, and the soldiers quietly replaced them with hot tea.

It's no wonder that Yuan Shikai was upset, the Beiyang generals who had asked to see him in the past few days had left and gone, each of them was wearing a military uniform full of medals, patting his chest and asking for battle. And the War Department is delaying again and again, and Yuan Shikai is in a hurry to ask in a hurry: no money!

This is the truth, Yanjing's temporary political axe has been exhausted, and the third division of the heart and liver baby has only paid seventy percent of the salary, which is the first time in the history of Beiyang, since Yuan Shikai was training in a small station, the most important thing was to send the full amount of military salary to the soldiers.

Since the "Dingmeng Xinjiang" became popular in Yanjing City, various political parties and civil society groups have chattered about the situation in Mongolia in the newspapers, and the Senate has sent several submissions to the presidential palace every day, denouncing the incompetence and weakness of the political axe, and directly saying that if they are unable to defend the territory, let them get out of the way. The governors of the southern provinces sang higher and higher, and they almost pointed their noses and scolded Yuan Shikai for being Han Annihilated. The Russian minister clamored that if the political axe of the Republic of China allowed such anti-Russian arguments to pervade, it would be a big loan to deal with the aftermath. The German and American ministers broke through the threshold of the presidential palace and openly and secretly cheered up Yuan Shikai. And Zhu Erdian, the British minister who has always had the closest personal relationship with Yuan Shikai and is also the most concerned by Yuan Shikai, did not say a word, and finally simply returned to London in the name of recuperation.

The British Empire was the world's only superpower in this era, and the only country capable of replenishing its fleets around the world. Sensei watched the Americans have a lot of money, blow up a big white fleet like a balloon, and then travel around the world with five people and six people. If the British did not allow them to use the ports of the British colonies, the Great White Fleet would not even be able to leave their homes. The Russo-Russian War was an example, the British looked at Russia unpleasantly, so that the Russian fleet suffered a lot along the way, even a small country like Portugal dared to refuse to let them enter the port to rest, if it were not for the secret help of the Germans, the Russian fleet would not have reached the Far East at all.

Britain's failure to express its position made Yuan Shikai uneasy, and what made him even more heartbroken was that the monolithic Beiyang was showing a situation of centrifugation and detachment from Germany. Since he was sent to Huanshui to fish in Huanshui by the Qing court, the generals in Beiyang have gradually formed their own systems, not to mention that Yuan Shikai, who has not personally been in charge of the army for many years, cannot be as strong as he was back then, and even Duan Qirui, who is in charge of the War Department, feels difficult to control. Now Yuan Shikai is just barely maintaining the unification on the surface of Beiyang with his unparalleled prestige, and it is really difficult for him to control what kind of situation will be after the war.

Mengjiang stretches for thousands of miles, much larger than the area of many European continental powers, Jebuzundamba, Fusheng, Wutai and others are just clowns jumping off the beam, no matter which division is transferred out of Beiyang, it can easily plow the court and sweep the holes, but this will make the prestige of the general who commands the army rise sharply, and the balance within Beiyang will be broken instantly, this consequence is unacceptable to Yuan Shikai, which will even threaten his position. However, in accordance with the requirements of the War Department, the backbone of the Beiyang army was drawn from various armies in Beiyang to form a model regiment, wouldn't it be another small station of the new army?

Duan Qirui's wife is Yuan Shikai's goddaughter, and the house she lives in is also rewarded by Yuan Shikai, but she is cultivating her own power behind her back, and she is really a bastard, and that Xu Shuzheng is something that people don't want to see. Duan Qirui, the godson-in-law, plus Xu Shuzheng, the little fan who fanned the flames behind him, and then there is an army loyal to them, I am afraid that Beiyang will be difficult to maintain even the unity on the surface.

What is even more infuriating is that Chai Dongliang of Anhui Province not only compiled a play "Dingmengjiang" and performed it in person to the ministers of various countries, but also sent several telegrams to the War Department and the Presidential Office a day recently, taking the initiative to ask Ying to send troops to pacify Mobei. Not only that, but he also openly declared in the newspaper that the Jianghuai Revolutionary Army went out to quell the rebellion, and did not want a penny from the central government, and he raised all the military salaries and weapons by himself. The press spoke of his move to safeguard national unity, and sneered at the central government's political axe, which has so far been unclear.

Yuan Shikai is not afraid that Chai Dongliang will make any changes, his base camp is far away in Anqing, what can a lone army do? If his food supply is cut off, the army will fall apart. What really gave Yuan Shikai a headache Yes, behind Mongolia is the tsarist Russia that is eyeing the tiger, and Chai Dongliang has made his anti-Russian attitude clear, asking him to send troops in case of international disputes, Yanjing Provisional Political Axe has to wipe his ass for him, Yuan Shikai has been made big by the big loan in the aftermath, where do you dare to make extraneous branches.

Yuan Shikai estimated that Chai Dongliang also saw through this, and knew that he didn't dare to let him out of the jam, so he asked for the surname to sing a high profile in the newspaper every day??? This guy is more annoying than a fly!

This Mongolia, it's troublesome, it's still a trouble not to fight!

In the end, it was Yuan Shikai who broke the dead silence and said with a smile: "What's wrong?"

After the three of them were silent for a long time, Yang Shiqi suddenly said coldly: "This model group must be done, and it must be done with great fanfare!" ”

Yuan Shikai knew him too well and knew that he must have made a decision, so he said quietly: "Xingcheng, what should I do in your opinion?" ”

The corners of Yang Shiqi's mouth picked out a chuckle: "The president was able to run a small station to replace the old Huai Army with a new army, and now he can't run a model regiment?" Without the War Department, we don't have the ability to train the army? ”

Yuan Shikai first pondered for a long time, and suddenly slapped his palm on the table and said, "Okay!" What Xingcheng said is! ”

Xu Shichang and Yuan Shikai have been friends for half a lifetime, and they have already seen through his thoughts, and they also echoed: "What Xingcheng said is reasonable, this model regiment must be lively, at least the size of a division." ”

Yuan Shikai smiled and said, "What about the candidate?" Huapu didn't get up until noon, and Zhiquan often didn't go to the office of the government office, and the twilight in Beiyang was deep, and there was no one available. ”

Yang Shiqi said with a smile: "Back then, the president could promote Feng Huapu and Duan Zhiquan exceptionally, why not stick to one pattern today?" There are talents, and the president can just pick them. ”

Xu Shichang also nodded and said: "The president can set up a generalissimo of the army and navy to command the office, and also share the labor for Zhiquan, I think this director is served by the president himself, and the deputy director will ask Wang Pingqing to do it, if he is in charge, the Beiyang generals will be more or less restrained!" ”

Yuan Shikai is the provisional president of the Republic of China and the generalissimo of the army and navy, and he personally serves as the director, and Wang Shizhen, the deputy director, can be regarded as the deputy commander-in-chief of the three armed forces! The intention in Xu Shichang's words is already extremely obvious, that is, to seize Duan Qirui's military power, empty the War Department, and reintegrate Beiyang. Wang Shizhen is notoriously indifferent, and loyal to the Qing Dynasty, just after the establishment of the Republic of China, he hung up his crown and left, and returned to his hometown in Zhengding to farm. Moreover, Wang Shizhen has not personally taken charge of the troops for many years, and it is impossible to pose a threat to Yuan Shikai.

Yang Shiqi laughed and said: "Ju Lao Gao, with Wang Shizhen, the head of the three heroes of Beiyang, as the deputy director, and then training a strong army, the Beiyang generals have to obediently put away the little calculation in their hearts??? When the model regiment is completed, the eldest prince will simply command the whole army and level Mongolia in one fell swoop. ”

Yuan Shikai hesitated a little: "Is Keding that material?" The stakes are high, so be cautious! ”

Yang Shiqi smiled indifferently and said: "It is enough for the master to know the way of the emperor, and Liu Bang will not fight, or will he still create the Han Dynasty for four hundred years?" ”

Xu Shichang knew that Yang Shiqi must have formed an alliance with Yuan Keding, and was planning to cultivate the power of the eldest prince, so that he would succeed Yuan Shikai one day in the future, and then Yang Shiqi would be above ten thousand people under one person. Otherwise, he would not have said for Yuan Keding again and again, the last time the southern welcome group led by Song Jiaoren came to Yanjing to promote the drive, it was Yang Shiqi and Yuan Keding who instigated Cao Kun's Third Division to mutiny, causing the illusion that Yuan Shikai would be in chaos when he left Yanjing.

When the three of them were talking, the housekeeper came in and reported: "President, Chief Duan asks to see you." ”

Yuan Shikai first snorted coldly, and then changed his smile and said, "Please!" ”

Duan Qirui was dressed in a military uniform, walked in with standard military steps, and gave a military salute in a dignified manner.

Yuan Shikai said kindly: "Zhiquan, sit down, I didn't explain it a long time ago, you don't need to report when you come to me!" ”

Duan Qirui sat down with a smile, nodded slightly to Yang Shiqi and Xu Shichang to say hello, and then handed out a document and said, "President, this is the charter of the Model Regiment, drawn up by the War Department, please take a look." ”

Yuan Shikai took it and looked at it twice and said with a smile: "I don't know how you think about the candidate for this model regimental commander?" ”

Duan Qirui said casually: "The charter and the cost of this training have not yet been determined, and the department has not yet considered the candidate for the commander. Yuan Shikai said with a smile: "Just now, Ju Lao and Xingcheng suggested to me, saying that they wanted Keding to take on this great responsibility, what do you think?" ”

Duan Qirui was shocked, glaring at Yang Shiqi and Xu Shichang angrily, his eyes were almost dripping blood. His lips squirmed for a long time, and finally resolutely popped out two words: "No!" ”

Yuan Shikai's eyes flashed a cold light, which disappeared in an instant, and then said with a smile: "I also know that Keding is not good, so do you think I am qualified enough to be this commander?" ”

Duan Qirui was speechless, nodded heavily after a long time, and then got up without saying anything and left.

Yuan Shikai looked at his distant back, trembling with anger and almost falling off the chair, and after trembling for a long time, he roared hoarsely: "Go, inform Keding to personally rush to Zhengding to invite Wang Shizhen, if he refuses to go out of the mountain, he will be tied to Yanjing??? Jiang Baili, who was transferred to the Baoding Army Academy, went to Beijing to serve as the chief instructor of the model regiment, and informed all the division commanders in Beiyang, telling them that Lao Tzu was the commander of the model regiment??? Send a telegram to Chai Dongliang in Anqing, and ask him to quickly send troops out of Pingding Mengjiang, and he will find a way to go with military pay and equipment, and we won't have a penny! ”

Xu Shichang shouted eagerly: "President, no, wouldn't it be a nail in our back to put the southern army in Mongolia?" ”

Yuan Shikai sneered: "I haven't put a lone army in my eyes yet, I just want to insert such a nail in the side of our Beiyang couch, so that their children can live so comfortably??? Chai Dongliang is just a dog guarding the house, and when he leaves home, he is a lost dog, and he wants to sell his reputation and reputation? I asked him to compensate his wife and break his soldiers, and play tricks with me, he was still a little tender! ”

Xu Shichang wanted to persuade again, but when he saw Yang Shiqi's face with an unfathomable smile, he swallowed the words that had reached his mouth and the saliva.

This Yang Xingcheng, what is his head thinking?

(To be continued)