Wang Shizhen was having a headache about Beiyang at home, but at this time a visitor came. Former Beiyang Cabinet Premier Xu Shichang visited the door. The People's Party can't always put the group of people in Beiyang in prison, so it can't help but look down on these people too much.

After the official establishment of the state, these people were also temporarily released from prison. At Xu Shichang's level, he was only told that "he is not allowed to leave Beijing without an application", and in fact, there were not only one or two senior Beiyang officials who fled Beijing, and the People's Party did not take them seriously. For example, former Vice Premier Tang Shaoyi applied to visit his daughter and son-in-law in Wuhan, and the application was not only approved, but the People's Party also provided Tang Shaoyi and his family with a train ticket.

Xu Shichang boasted of his identity and refused to run away in private. Because he worked as a consultant of the Hanlin Academy, Xu Shichang also mixed up the errand of a consultant of the Museum of Culture and History, and he could also receive a not small salary every month. Therefore, in addition to participating in the editing of literature and history in the Museum of Culture and History, Xu Shichang also occasionally visited the door.

Wang Shizhen asked Xu Shichang to sit down and pour water. Xu Shichang said: "Hiring Qing, the People's Party asked me to lobby Duan Qirui to surrender. Have they ever told you about it? ”

"I've already told me." Wang Shizhen replied lightly.

"What does the secretary mean?" Xu Shichang asked a little nervously.

Wang Shizhen still replied flatly: "I haven't thought about it yet, and even if I try to persuade Duan Qirui, I'm afraid he may not listen to me." ”

Xu Shichang said very seriously: "I think it's good for us to write a letter to Duan Qirui casually." The People's Party has always been ruthless, how long has Cai Yuanpei been killed? I'm afraid that the people of Beiyang will follow in Cai Xiaomin's footsteps. ”

At this time, Xu Shichang was still very keen on fame and status in the past, and Wang Shizhen was bored for a while. If Xu Shichang didn't persuade him like this, Wang Shizhen was still a little worried in his heart, but after Xu Shichang's persuasion, Wang Shizhen felt that it was better to seriously persuade Duan Qirui to surrender. Although Duan Qirui himself has a sense of fame, it is because Duan Qirui himself is such a character. But Duan Qirui is surrounded by people like Xu Shichang, surrounded by such people, no matter how capable Duan Qirui is, he will only suffer in vain.

Thinking of this, Wang Shizhen said: "Brother Juren, you and Mr. Li Hongqi are more familiar, we might as well consult Mr. Li." ”

Xu Shichang was stunned for a moment, and then nodded again and again, "That's very good!" So much better! ”

Li Hongqi was not at home, because the school was building a school building, so he simply moved to the school to live. For the school, the school building is a major event, coupled with the urgency of construction, working in three shifts a day, Li Hongqi always feels unsteady when he doesn't look at it with his own eyes.

After listening to the questions of the two former Beiyang bigwigs at the construction site, Li Hongqi felt that these two were too interesting, and he smiled: "Do you still think that Duan Qirui can win?" ”

Even if he really cared about Duan Qirui and some old Beiyang departments who fled to the northwest, Wang Shizhen was still amused by these words. Xu Shichang didn't have such a peaceful state of mind, his brows furrowed tightly.

Li Hongqi continued: "If the two of you think that Duan Qirui can win, then you might as well continue to fight. If you feel that he can't win, what's the use of continuing to fight except for more people? ”

Although Xu Shichang couldn't tell what was going on, he could see that Li Hongqi and Wang Shizhen's views were very consistent, but Xu Shichang had become a minority among the three, and he couldn't help but argue: "If Chen Ke hadn't killed Cai Xiaomin, I would still have believed them, but if he killed Cai Xiaomin on such a charge, if Duan Qirui was convicted of this crime, he would definitely not survive." ”

Li Hongqi didn't want to cause trouble in the first place, but Xu Shichang's cowardly words made Li Hongqi quite disgusted, he simply said slowly with a contemplative look: "Gong Yu, I haven't seen Duan Qirui, is that Duan Qirui a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death?" ”

This sounds simple, but the malice in it is really enough, although Wang Shizhen is not an emotional person, but he guesses the thoughts of others very accurately, listening to Li Hongqi's words, Wang Shizhen almost laughed.

Xu Shichang himself was born as a Jinshi and has always regarded himself very highly, so he didn't hear Li Hongqi's meaning at first. He said strangely: "How can Duan Qirui be a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death. ”

Li Hongqi said with a serious expression: "Since you are not greedy for life and afraid of death, you don't want to be humiliated." If so, what is there to be afraid of? Coming and going is nothing but death. ”

Xu Shichang is a big man after all, and after understanding what Li Hongqi meant, he immediately closed his mouth and refused to speak again.

Without Xu Shichang's involvement, Wang Shizhen opened his mouth and said: "Mr. Li, you are teaching here, and it is already presumptuous for us to disturb us." I also hope to show your brothers in Beiyang a way to live with your compassionate heart. Please be sure to give me advice. ”

Li Hongqi knew that Chen Ke and Shang Yuan had never liked to talk, let alone in such a major national event, since the former Beiyang important ministers were persuaded to surrender, there was certainly a plan to deal with Duan Qirui's failure to surrender, but he definitely couldn't do anything to kill the prisoners. After thinking for a moment, he said, "At the moment, some people think that the situation is still between the two sides, but I think the situation has been settled. Those people in the northwest couldn't hold the old land of the pre-Qin period. ”

Wang Shizhen replied: "Since you can't hold it, it's nothing if you fall." But I don't know one thing, is Wenqing's surrender true or false? ”

Li Hongqi closed his eyes and thought about it again, and then said: "Wen Qing is not a person who holds grudges, but why didn't he mention surrender before, of course, he was thinking about preparing for military reunification in the future. Why does he want to surrender now, it must be that he feels that the matter in the northwest must be solved in the short term, and the fastest way is to surrender. I can't say it's a pie-in-the-sky thing, but I think it's a rare opportunity. If this opportunity is missed, there will be no second time. ”

Wang Shizhen quite agreed with Li Hongqi's judgment, and he asked: "Then what does Mr. Li think Wenqing is plotting to use troops in the northwest in such a hurry?" ”

"As far as I can see, when the People's Party suddenly mobilized troops, the reason was not domestic but foreign, and I am afraid that Wen Qing's focus this time is not at home, but abroad." Li Hongqi replied.

"Abroad?" Wang Shizhen was stunned. He originally thought that Chen Ke had already decided to attack the remnants of Beiyang, so he tried to divide and disintegrate the remnants of Beiyang by persuading him to surrender. However, Li Hongqi's statement immediately opened Wang Shizhen's mind, and if the ultimate goal of the People's Party was not Beiyang but foreign ......, Russia would suddenly appear in Wang Shizhen's mind.

The People's Party's newspaper also had an international news section, as well as some news about the outbreak of civil war in Russia. Combining these news with the possibility that the People's Party is trying to take advantage of the Russian civil war to move north, Wang Shizhen easily made a strategic judgment. The People's Party must completely break through the remnants of Beiyang in the northwest and gain firm control of the northwest before Russia can engage in a full-scale war.

At this time, Wang Shizhen's heart became even more contradictory. The European and American powers infringed on China, and other countries paid reparations and established concessions, and Britain took Hong Kong Island from China, while Russia ceded land. Being able to restore the old soil is the dream of any real Chinese soldier. Even in the Chinese army of Beiyang, which is afraid of foreigners, the senior generals have dreamed of regaining lost territory.

Wang Shizhen didn't want to think about these things, but he knew that Beiyang was beyond his power. Now that it is finally possible for a Chinese army to achieve this ideal, Wang Shizhen cannot be unhappy. However, before this ideal is achieved, if Beiyang is about to be completely destroyed, Wang Shizhen inevitably hesitates.

Li Hongqi didn't want to entangle with these two people anymore, he said: "Two, I'm just a teacher, and I don't talk nonsense about national affairs, and I can't do it accurately." It's very busy on the construction site right now, and I can't talk to the two of you anymore. Let's go back first. ”

On the way back, Wang Shizhen's eyes were sparkling and he didn't say a word, while Xu Shichang was angry with his mouth tight. After entering Wang Shizhen's house, Xu Shichang said: "How are you preparing for hiring?" ”

Wang Shizhen did not answer this question directly, "Duan Qirui has a resolute temperament, if he wants others to help, it is possible to be Corporal Lixian." It will not be easy to get him to do things for others. So Xu Gong can do whatever he wants. ”

Before Xu Shichang could understand, Wang Shizhen also issued an eviction order, "I'm tired today, so I ask my husband to go back first." ”

Three days before the appointment with Li Runshi, Wang Shizhen handed over a letter to the comrades at the reception office of the Hebei Provincial Party Committee the next day, asking him to forward the letter to Li Runshi. The letter was simply not sealed, and the comrades at the reception knew who Wang Shizhen was, and when they saw that it was indeed a letter, they wanted to ask a few more words, but saw that Wang Shizhen had already gotten up to say goodbye.

Less than ten days later, the letter had been delivered to Duan Qirui in Xi'an.

Duan Qirui couldn't help but sigh when he saw the familiar handwriting on the envelope. He had already received a notice from the People's Party to persuade him to surrender, and not only did the letter of persuasion directly send it to Duan Qirui, but also in Shaanxi, Shanxi, and other places, the People's Party also posted announcements on a large scale. Just as the People's Party was able to post notices in Beijing when the Manchus were in the Qing Dynasty, Duan Qirui knew that the People's Party had not relaxed the establishment of an intelligence system at all.

Wang Shizhen can become a famous figure in Beiyang, because he has almost no personal fame. Among the Beiyang generals who are full of personal fame, Wang Shizhen is indeed a rare type of desireless and rigid. Coupled with Wang Shizhen's outstanding ability, this is the reason why all the generals believe in Wang Shizhen. However, in the current situation, what Duan Qirui wants most is Wang Shizhen's advice, but what he is most afraid of is Wang Shizhen's advice.

Duan Qirui knew that Wang Shizhen could always solve the problem, but the way to solve the problem was always too fair. In Yuan Shikai's era, a fair solution to the problem could stabilize Yuan Shikai's rule, but it was by no means a good thing for Duan Qirui. Without even reading the letter, Duan Qirui could think that Wang Shizhen's suggestion must be the best way to solve the problem, but it was not the way to maximize Duan Qirui's interests.

As Duan Qirui thought, Wang Shizhen suggested that Duan Qirui negotiate with the People's Party on the condition of signing a peace agreement. The northwestern provinces identify with the leadership of the People's Party and strive for limited local autonomy as much as possible.

Duan Qirui shook his head slightly and put the letter back on the table, compared to the humiliating "surrender", being able to limit local autonomy was already a huge improvement. By now, Duan Qirui no longer had any illusions that he could immediately raise troops to defeat the People's Party and gain the right to rule the whole of China. However, the current situation in the northwest is still good at all, and there are rivers and mountains on the surface, with a vast territory. From this point of view, limited local self-government is not much different from surrender, but only a difference between early and late death. If it must be destroyed, Duan Qirui still hopes to go through a convincing war, instead of bowing his head and admitting defeat like this.

The war between Beiyang and the People's Party left Duan Qirui's impression of the word "nest". In every war, the Beiyang Army was finished without being able to fully exert its strength. If they did not fall into an extremely unfavorable situation before the war again and again, but the two sides could line up and let go of the fight. Just like the battle in the northeast boasted by the People's Party, the Chinese and Japanese armies were mounted head-on, and then fought bloodily. If it was such a war, Duan Qirui would feel that he had done his best even after losing, at least he had lost clearly.

Even if he knew that making the enemy unable to exert his full strength was also a kind of combat ability, but as a party who could not exert his strength every time, the depressed feeling in Duan Qirui's heart was really indescribable.

With such hostility and personal feelings, Duan Qirui quickly began to mobilize troops to strengthen the defenses of Shanxi and Shaanxi, and expand conscription. No matter how hard he tries, from a strategic point of view, what Duan Qirui has done can only be described by the word "wait". This approach is actually no different from Beiyang and bald.

The People's Party never waited, and the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army's concept of war was completely inherited from the army with a strong offensive spirit in history. Although the main forces of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army in the past two years have been focused on infrastructure construction, preparations have been made for the march in terms of the placement of troops and the training of troops.

Just a few days after the surrender notice was sent to Duan Qirui, Hua Xiongmao, who had stepped down from his post as defense minister, rushed to Zhangjiakou day and night, where it was not just an army, but a reinforced infantry corps incorporated into two cavalry divisions. The opponent of this army is Xu Shuzheng, who is deployed in Inner Mongolia and Outer Mongolia.

Every Beiyang army leader received a letter of persuasion to surrender, but the People's Party had no illusions about them at all. These Beiyang military leaders may still be called "overseers" when they were under Yuan Shikai, and once Yuan Shikai died, they were now completely a group of warlords. No matter what these people think of themselves, all they can really rely on is the army in their hands. If there is an army, they are the king of grass, and without an army they are nothing. These guys have become a bunch of warlords completely. Dealing with warlords who only know how to rely on force, and only by force can they face reality.

"Since Xu Shuzheng doesn't surrender, there is no need for us to wait any longer, and no amount of negotiation is useless." After all, he has been in the central government for more than ten years, and his military command ability is aside, Hua Xiongmao's understanding of politics is still deep enough, "Launch an attack on Xu Shuzheng." ”

On August 20, 1918, the news of the annihilation of Xu Shuzheng's troops at the junction of Inner Mongolia and Outer Mongolia reached Duan Qirui.