107901908 Far Eastern madman

Just when Mo Peibei was figuring out President Yuan's strategy for using troops. Far away in Beijing. A military meeting was also bogged down in controversy.

The meeting was attended by senior officials of the War Department, and the meeting was presided over by Duan Qirui, acting general of the War Department, as a Navy representative who was invited to attend the meeting as an observer. Liu Guanxiong and Sa Zhenbing also attended the meeting, and their military uniforms sat neatly at the end of the platoon, and the dark navy city uniforms were particularly eye-catching.

The meeting was held in the Sishodo Hall of the Presidential Palace. As the representative of Yuan Shikai, the provisional president of the Republic of China, Zhao Bingjun sat on the left hand side of Duan Qirui and Duan, while on the right hand side of Duan was his think tank Xu Shuzheng.

The topic of the meeting was simple: how to march to the south.

Yuan Shikai's plan for the march was to "defend the east and attack the west":

Wang Shizhen sat in Nanjing and commanded the First Army of Beiyang to advance southward to keep an eye on the United Front troops in the direction of Hangzhou. Focusing on defense, it could not take the initiative to attack Hangzhou without an order, and the Beiyang Army was on the defensive; The offensive was in the west, Feng Guozhang commanded the Second Army of Beiyang Southward to advance from northern Henan to southern Henan, sweeped, and approached Wusheng Pass, the gateway to Hubei, seeking an opportunity to conduct a strategic decisive battle with the main force of the United Front dominated by the Republican Army, defeating the revolutionary forces in Hubei in one fell swoop, realizing Yuan Shikai's goal of killing chickens and monkeys, and using Beiyang's great martial arts to deter the powerful factions in the south.

In order to realize Yuan Shikai's strategic intentions. In addition to the 3rd and 9th Beiyang Divisions, which were the main offensive tasks, the 4th and 7th Beiyang Divisions had also arrived in northern Henan and could sweep to central and southern Henan at any time, and other Beiyang troops were also marching towards Henan and Anhui one after another. In contrast, the strength of the Beiyang Army in the southeast is somewhat thin.

Therefore, Duan Qirui believed that it was necessary to transfer a part of the troops from the Western Front to the southeast, strengthen the strength of Wang Shizhen's First Army, increase the military pressure in the direction of the confrontation state, and force the United Front troops in Xijiang not to dare to make rash moves.

However, this proposal was opposed by Duan Zhigui and others, who insisted that the western front should always be the focus of attention, that the existing strength of the Beiyang Army in the southeast direction could basically ensure the balance of forces on the Nanjing-Shanghai front, and that the united front troops in Hangzhou were pieced together and lacked a strong will to fight, and that they might not dare to launch an active attack on Nanjing, Shanghai, and other cities, while the united front troops in the Hubei direction were revolutionary troops dominated by the Republican Army, and that their fighting will, weaponry, and combat experience. Therefore, the troops of the Beiyang Army on the western front not only cannot be transferred to the eastern front, but must also further strengthen the strength of the western front, and the newly formed 16th and 17th divisions of the Beiyang Army, which have arrived at Shanhaiguan and have basically completed their rearmament, must also immediately load their vehicles and go to the Henan front to strengthen the Beiyang forces there, concentrate absolutely superior forces, and strive to defeat the Hubei Revolutionary Army in one fell swoop.

Due to serious differences, the meeting was deadlocked, although Duan Qirui was annoyed, but he was helpless, because Zhao Bingjun was on Duan Zhigui's side, and Zhao Bingjun was Yuan Shikai's representative of the meeting, and his words carried a lot of weight.

Duan Qirui was very unimpressed by Yuan Shikai's dispatch of a foreign military meeting, in his opinion, Zhao Bingjun may have a set of political and conspiracy, but when it comes to military affairs, he is a complete layman.

"What do you think, Runnon?"

Seeing that the situation at the meeting could not be broken, Duan Qirui had no choice but to ask Zhang Xiaozhun, who had been silent, for advice.

But Zhang Xiaozhun just said lightly: "The humble position is just a catty." Military adviser, such a major policy is definitely not something I can put in the way, and I also asked General Chief Duan to make up his own mind, and after making up his mind, I can make suggestions for the details of the march

Listening to Zhang Xiaozhun's words, Duan Qirui didn't say anything, just sighed. Zhang Xiaozhun followed Jiang Fangzhen after returning from Germany, he went directly to Tianjin to vote for Beiyang, for such a military talent who has learned the East and the West, Yuan Shikai also attaches great importance to it, and wants to entrust him with a heavy responsibility, but he was resisted by Beiyang, there are many monks and few porridges, and no one is willing to give up the position to this Zhang Xiaozhun, and in desperation, Yuan Shikai can only appoint Zhang Xiaozhun with the false title of "senior military adviser", so that he can stay in the presidential palace to provide military advice for himself.

Zhang Xiaozhun joined Beiyang with a passion to serve the country, but he sat on a cold bench, this inner desolation and resentment are not enough for outsiders, and he wanted to resign as an adviser to the presidential palace to go to Baoding Military Academy as the principal. However, Baoding Military Academy is now Duan Qirui's forbidden business. The current principal is Qu Tongfeng, a close confidant of Duan Qirui. Zhang Xiaozhun was unwilling to be subordinate, so in the end he didn't go to Baoding, and continued to stay in the presidential palace for idle dinner, although Yuan Shikai treated him well. But after all, he is full of talent and has nowhere to sway, but he is far inferior to Jiang Fangzhen and Cai Yi.

As a result, Zhang Xiaozhun was disheartened. usually speaks with a bit of self-deprecation, in the eyes of people who don't know the details, he is arrogant, but Duan Qirui understands his mind and knows that he has opinions about Beiyang, but Duan Qirui can't help this, Beiyang is a collective, this collective is a group, and outsiders are particularly repulsed, Zhang Xiaozhun wants to really integrate into this Beiyang collective. There is still a long way to go, if he can't adapt to the rules of the game in Beiyang, then even Yuan Shikai can't make the Chinese people in Beiyang accept him.

In addition to being disheartened, Zhang Xiaozhun was more of a regret, regretting that he did not follow Jiang Fangzhen's advice to stay in the south and serve the revolutionary military government.

When he was studying in Japan, Zhang Xiaozhun had secretly joined the League and was determined to oppose the Qing Dynasty. After graduation, he returned to China, and when he was under the curtain of Xu Shichang, the governor of the three eastern provinces, he was preparing for the anti-Qing uprising, but due to being squeezed out by Zhang Zuoshuang, Wu Junsheng and other generals of the old army, Zhang Xiaozhun could not grasp the military power, and finally was forced to go to Germany to "investigate" the military. After the revolution, Jiang Fangzhen returned to China with him, and Zhang Xiaozhun had seriously considered the issue of personal merger on the ship, and there were two roads in front of him at that time, one was to follow the revolution of the League, and the other was to defect to the Beiyang Group. In the end, Zhang Xiaozhun chose the latter path. So, he came to Beiyang.

In Zhang Xiaozhun's view, since the Qing court has been finished, then the League's goal of "expelling the prisoners" has been achieved, and the reason why he joined the League at the beginning was precisely for this goal.

But now, Zhang Xiaozhun finally believes in Jiang Fangzhen's judgment, this Beiyang Army is a stale zombie dressed in a gorgeous coat, with the body of a modern army, but without the soul of a modern army. It is impossible to realize the dream of a strong country by relying on such an army, which is not formed to strengthen the country, but to compete for power and profit. He is just a scheming tool in Yuan Shikai's hands. As for Yuan Shikai, Zhang Xiaozhun now understands that Yuan Shikai is an old-style bureaucrat, this person can play with power, but when it comes to governing the country and leveling the world, I am afraid that he is powerless, and this is realistic

Therefore, in Zhang Xiaozhun's opinion, his original choice was wrong.

Now, the Beiyang Army is preparing to move south. Waging war against the revolutionary army in the south is not what Zhang Xiaozhun wants to see, and he is even more reluctant to plot for the Beiyang Group to kill the revolutionaries, so the words he said to Duan Qirui are certainly a manifestation of his inner dissatisfaction, but more importantly, he is unwilling to go through this troubled water.

However, Zhang Xiaozhun complained that the taste was too heavy, Duan Qirui heard it, but he didn't care, but the other surnamed Duan was not as calm as President Duan.

"Zhang Xiaozhun, what do you mean by that? Mr. Duan asked you, is it because you can afford you, you are so perfunctory, it is a little unusual. Duan Zhigui rolled his eyes. glared at Zhang Xiaozhun.

This is the bone in the egg, Zhang Xiaozhun glared back with a roll of eyes, and said coldly:

"Where did Your Highness start with this? Isn't Beiyang the most particular about a distinction between dignity and inferiority, and an order from top to bottom? I, a military adviser, dare to talk nonsense? Defending the east and attacking the west is a strategy set by President Yuan, and even Chief Duan doesn't dare to change it, how dare I point fingers? I said the wrong thing, did Your Highness take care of me? I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen, the "New Infantry Drill Code" that Mr. Yuan ordered me to formulate has not yet been completed, since you are now discussing the matter of marching into the army, then, the contemptible people will not waste time here, it is better to improve the drill code, and wait for you to discuss it. Eyebrows, ask for my opinion again. ”

After speaking, Zhang Xiaozhun brushed his sleeves and left, leaving a group of people in Beiyang stunned.

"Not like that! Not like words! Where does this look like a soldier? It's a pound at all. A fanatic with no commander! ”

Hearing Zhang Xiaozhun's two sentences of "His Royal Highness" Duan Zhigui forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart, he finally did not scold, he worshiped Yuan Shikai as his godfather, everyone in Beiyang knows, although most people are quite disdainful of this, but there are really not many people like Zhang Xiaozhun who dare to call him "His Royal Highness" in front of him, and the word "His Highness" is suspected of borrowing Yue, when the Qing court did not fall in the past, Yuan Shikai once strictly ordered his subordinates not to call Duan Zhigui like this, but since the republic, many people in Beiyang have called Duan Zhigui behind his backDuan Zhigui also knew about "His Royal Highness", but he didn't care, after all, now Yuan Shikai is the head of state, and Duan Zhigui should be called this title, but Zhang Xiaozhun's two sentences of "His Royal Highness" just now sounded blatant sarcasm, and Duan Zhigui was very annoyed.

"Xiangyan, he is a military adviser, directly under the presidential palace, not under our control, of course, he can come if he wants, and leave if he wants." Duan Mourui snorted and glanced at the other Beiyang generals. is mostly full of righteous indignation like that Zhigui.

"So what? Now Xiang Cheng is still the leader of our Beiyang, and since Zhang Xiaozhun is on an errand in the presidential palace, then he is a subordinate of Beiyang, of course, under our Beiyang management. If you want me to say, a person like him of unknown origin, we Beiyang can't just accept it, now he dares to contradict me, in the future, he will dare to contradict General Duan, and even contradict President Yuan. ”

"Enough! Xiangyan, let's talk about the march, let's talk less about the war, our Beiyang didn't rise by complaining. ”

Duan Qirui's words made Duan Zhigui's attempt to use the topic to play in vain, and there was a little silence in the conference room, Duan Qirui didn't speak, Duan Zhigui didn't speak, both of them were blushing, and the others naturally didn't dare to speak casually.

Perhaps seeing that the atmosphere was a little awkward, Yuan Shikai's representative Zhao Bingjun cleared his throat and broke the silence in the conference room.

"Ladies and gentlemen, whether or not we should send more troops to the Eastern Front is a big matter, since you have differences, I think. It's better to leave it to the president to decide. Now let's talk about another pound. The so-called "if the name is not right, the word is not good", and the revolutionary party in the south also pays attention to a "right name" when attacking the monarchy. Well, we can't afford to fall behind in public opinion, so this time we must find a good excuse to send troops to Hubei and justifiably start a war with the United Front. The day before yesterday, Xiao Xu's proposal of "the decree on the unification of the north and the south is not bad, and the president is quite satisfied, but the president still wants to hear your opinions." ”

Seeing Zhao Bingjun's serious expression, Duan Zhi was happy. smiled and said: "Zhi'an, if you fight, you will fight, the victor will be the prince and the loser will be Kou, where is there so much attention?" When the united front is destroyed, then give one of them a hat, a bandit, hat, isn't it appropriate? ”

Zhao Bingjun shook his head and said: "Bandits, this hat will be worn by Endeavor and Gongjin, but the United Front will not be worn, Yang Wangpeng can wear it, Sun Wu can wear it, but Zhao Bei can't wear it." The united front occupied the Congress through elections. You don't take over Congress with your fists, that's fine. Zhao Bei is a "revolutionary vanguard" and a "republican hero" and the leader of the United Front, how can he put the hat of "bandit" on him? So, we're going to have to find a good excuse to go to war. "Xu, do you have any other ideas?"

Speaking of this, Zhao Bingjun turned his head and glanced at Xu Shuzheng.

Xu Shuzheng said: "It seems that it is still available" United Front election fraud. as an excuse. ”

"Yes, a good excuse." Zhao Bingjun nodded. "The president is very concerned about this matter, if you have any opinions, just mention them. Before I came to the meeting, the president specially told us not to slack off. ”

"Xiang Cheng told you?"

Duan Qirui was a little disapproving, in his opinion, Duan Zhigui's words were right, the cause of the war is not important, what matters is the result of the war, because only the winner of the war is qualified to define the nature of the war, and the so-called "unjust war and just war" are simply two sides of the same coin.

Yuan Shikai is still personally asking about the excuse for war, which shows that he really can't figure out which is more important.

"Xiang Cheng is really old, old and confused."

Duan Qirui sighed in his heart, and was worried about the future of Beiyang when he suddenly heard a cannon sound outside the window, and then several more, a total of nine cannon shots in one minute.

According to the rules and regulations set by Yuan Shikai, the 21-gun salute is used to welcome foreign heads of state, and the nine-gun salute is used to welcome distinguished guests visiting the presidential palace.

"Who's at the presidential palace?"

Duan Qirui and the others were a little curious, so they sent an adjutant to inquire.

The adjutant hurried and hurried back.

"The report to the chief is that Mr. Song Jiaoren, vice chairman of the United Front, has visited the presidential palace, and now the president is personally receiving him."

Everyone was quite surprised, seeing that the north and the south were about to go to war. At that time, Song Jiaoren of the United Front went to Beijing to visit Yuan Shikai, and Yuan Shikai actually greeted Vice Chairman Song with such a grand courtesy. This is the one that is sung, huh?

"Politics, politics, we soldiers are really not playing politics."

Many people in the conference room had the same feelings, and Duan Qirui was no exception, only Zhao Bingjun showed a sneer on the corner of his mouth.