Zhongnanhai Huairen Hall was built on the site of the Yiluan Palace, the Yiluan Hall was built in three years in Guangxu, the Empress Dowager Cixi embezzled the military funds of the Beiyang Navy Division to build the Sanhai Great Project, moved into the residence after completion and summoned the minister in this hall and dealt with government affairs. After the Wuxu coup, the Empress Dowager Cixi imprisoned the Guangxu Emperor in Yingtai, who had been engaged in the reform of the law, and personally trained the government in the Yiluan Palace, which became the political center of the Qing Dynasty.

When the Gengzi Kingdom changed, the commander of the Eight-Nation Alliance, Wadsey, moved into the Yiluan Hall and slept on Cixi's dragon bed. However, a more reliable statement is that after the coalition forces entered Yanjing, the two palaces fled to Xi'an in panic, and Western countries demanded that the Empress Dowager Cixi be punished, and the story of killing Cixi to avenge the German minister Klint was rampant. The eunuch on duty didn't bother to clean up when he saw that the Qing Dynasty was about to finish, and the insects and ants in the Yiluan Hall were filthy everywhere, and a mouse that came out in the middle of the night to find food knocked down the candlestick and lit the curtain, which burned down the Yiluan Palace.

Li Hongzhang, who was more than seventy years old and was already half-dead, was urgently activated, and the Qing court granted him full power to negotiate peace with the coalition forces.

As a result, this Buddha still couldn't cover the Qing Dynasty, and Zhongnanhai in the Qing Dynasty became the presidential palace of the Republic of China, and the Buddha Zhaolou was renamed Huairentang and became Yuan Shikai's office and living room.

A military band in Western dresses stood outside the door, playing an impassioned "La Marseillaise" while Yuan Shikai was eating.

"Tell the outside that the drum music is bigger, and this is the rule in the future, I will play military music as long as I have dinner." Yuan Shikai instructed the housekeeper with great interest.

After that, Yuan Shikai happily greeted: "Brother Juren, eat quickly, what's the matter, I don't think the food in my presidential palace is good?" ”

Accompanying Yuan Shikai to dinner were Xu Shichang, Yang Shiqi and Duan Qirui.

Xu Shichang laughed and said: "How dare you, how dare you, you are the president, according to the former Qing Dynasty, you are the emperor, do you blame me for not bowing three times and knocking nine times?" Do you want me to knock one for you? ”

Yuan Shikai squirted out the rice with a smile, and said while laughing: "Brother Juren, as long as you dare to knock, I will dare to bear it!" I'm the president, who am I afraid of? ”

The two have been friends for decades, and when Xu Shichang was admitted to the Jinshi National Examination, Yuan Shikai paid for him. When he went to Yuan Shikai's small station to train soldiers, Xu Shichang, who was already the editor of the Hanlin Academy, resolutely went to the small station from Yanjing to help Yuan Shikai. After decades of ups and downs, the two have supported each other and shared weal and woe, and they have long been used to laughing with each other.

"President, which one are you singing? The ancients rang the bell and ate the food, you eat and play military music? Xu Shichang drank a glass of wine and said.

Yang Shiqi interjected with a smile: "Music is played here, the palace can hear it clearly, the president is reminding the little emperor not to patronize and play, and it is important to eat." ”

The four laughed again at the same time.

Xu Shichang quipped: "Weiting, you are the president of the Republic of China, but you live in this Qing Dynasty royal garden, and you are not afraid that people in the world will say that you want to restore the imperial system and become the emperor?" ”

Yuan Shikai peeled off a hard-boiled egg and stuffed it into his mouth, and said with a smile: "I'm afraid, if I'm afraid that others will make irresponsible remarks, I won't be able to be the president." ”

Yang Shiqi smiled coldly: "Don't be too happy about the president, your president is different from Sun Wen's president, people are real when they are there, and your president is just an empty name." ”

Yuan Shikai laughed and said: "Xingcheng, what you said is right, what I want is a false name, as long as I have the name of this big president, I can turn the virtual into a real one??? Sun Wen and I are fighting with each other, he is still tender! ”

The four of them ate a few bites casually, Yang Shiqi and Xu Shichang stopped chopsticks, Yuan Shikai was not particular about eating, large pieces of white cut meat and boiled eggs were his favorites, which made Yang Shiqi, Xu Shichang, and Duan Qirui, who admired Confucius and never tired of eating, very unaccustomed to it.

"Weiting, you caused the Yanjing Mutiny this time, right? Cao Kun is clever in his heart, he will never make trouble on his own??? Xingcheng, I'm afraid it was your idea, right? Xu Shichang smiled, but he was a little unhappy in his heart.

He was not involved in this matter from beginning to end, and he was not even informed afterwards, which was a bit abnormal and made Xu Shichang worry about being excluded from the center of power.

Yang Shiqi smiled with a wine glass and said nothing, but Yuan Shikai waved his hand again and again to deny it.

Xu Shichang smiled slyly: "Even I hide it, I really have you!" ”

Yuan Shikai laughed: "It's just a few rebels, it's not worth mentioning." ”

Xu Shichang snorted: "This rebel army has helped you a lot." ”

Yuan Shikai and Yang Shiqi glanced at each other and laughed at the same time, Duan Qirui, who had been eating with his head stuffy, interjected: "President, Zhang Xun was beaten as a rebel, and our old brothers in Beiyang are indignant about this, do you think you want to teach that Chai Dongliang in Anhui a lesson?" ”

Zhang Huitao of the Huaishang Army and Huang Huanzhang of the Jiangxi Army attacked Anqing, and Sun Wen of Nanjing and Yuan Shikai of Yanjing almost simultaneously telegraphed the whole country, and invariably called Zhang Huitao and Huang Huanzhang's army rebels. Chai Dongliang sent troops in a high-profile manner under the banner of counterinsurgency, and most of the rest of the Huaishang Army obediently surrendered their guns to accept the reorganization, and after almost no decent battles, Lu'an, Shouzhou, Huainan and other prefectures and counties surrendered. Lu Kai, Tang Xiangming and others continued to hold high the banner of counterinsurgency, and Zhang Xun, who had invaded Bengbu, was also fought as a rebel. Zhang Xun's Jiangfang battalion burned and looted in Bengbu, the troops were sloppy and almost unprepared for battle, Lu Kai and Tang Xiangming were beaten by land and water, almost annihilating the Jiangfang battalion, Zhang Xun and several cronies fled back to Xuzhou in disguise and embarrassment, and then sent a telegram to cry to his old friend Cao Kun.

Zhang Xun had been beaten once by the Yangtze River Naval Division when he was in Nanjing, and this time it was the second time that he was cleaned up by Chai Dongliang's army. After all, Chai Dongliang, as the governor of Anhui on the Kuomintang side, and Zhang Xun and Feng Guozhang, who were still on the side of the Qing court at that time, were their own masters. When Zhang Xun was beaten this time, it was already the time when the North and the South reached an agreement. Cao Kun's popularity among the Beiyang generals is quite good, after his instigation, the Beiyang people hate the same enemy, and they can't wait to swallow Anhui in one bite and capture Chai Dongliang alive.

Yuan Shikai muttered a piece of braised pork and ate it with oil in his mouth, and said vaguely: "Fight? How to fight? Feng Guozhang was cleaned up by Chai Dongliang's sailors in Wuchang, and the wooden boat was beaten by an ironclad warship. Although our Beiyang Army is elite, but across the Yangtze River, you can't fly over, right??? Besides, this Zhang Xun really deserves to be beaten! People in their fifties, old and indecent to attack Anhui for a bitch, our people in Beiyang have been lost by him, I didn't clean him up is already extraordinarily gracious, and I stand up for him? Zhiquan, you don't care about him! ”

Duan Qirui argued: "Sun Wenming gave up the throne of the president, but in fact, he has a ghost in his heart, the power of the Senate is in charge, and the president is just in vain. When the president is officially elected next year, Sun Wen is bound to make a comeback??? At this time, if we don't beat the arrogance of the south, I'm afraid that our Beiyang will be flattened by them, and there is also a danger of centrifugation and detachment from morality inside. ”

A cold light shot out of Yuan Shikai's eyes, but Duan Qirui stared at him in a daze, and after a while, Yuan Shikai laughed and said, "What Zhiquan said is reasonable, but there are many ways to beat!" It is not necessary to meet each other in arms, besides, the naval division is controlled by the south, and the Yangtze River is owned by them, so this battle is not easy to fight. ”

Duan Qirui did not relent: "Sun Wen's instigator is just a sailor of the Yangtze River and Chai Dongliang, the president commands the whole country, and it is just a gesture to build a more powerful sailor with the financial resources of the whole country, if you raise a carbuncle and regret it in the future!" ”

Yuan Shikai was furious, this godson-in-law even dared to talk back to him in person, but he still explained with a smile: "Zhiquan, do you know how much this political axe costs for a month? Million! Do you know how much money the treasury has? Two hundred thousand! If you don't borrow money from foreigners, this political axe can't support it for three days, and I can't wait to break a copper plate in half now, let alone build another water division, even if Chai Dongliang gives me the water division, I don't dare to accept it??? We don't have any money! ”

The words were gentle and soothing, but Yuan Shikai wanted to kick Duan Qirui to death in his heart. Since he was dismissed by the Manchu Qing Dynasty on the grounds of foot disease and returned home, Yuan Shikai has been fishing in Huanshui for three years, but the generals of Beiyang have taken advantage of these three years to develop their own forces, and they have formed their own systems, and they are gradually full-fledged, and they are no longer the iron-blooded group that Yuan Shikai used to command. Moreover, the Beiyang generals are still in a group, and it is difficult for Yuan Shikai to move any of them.

Since the call is not smooth, it is better to simply clean it and overturn it again, but for now, we still have to envelop them??? But there must also be someone who can stand up to this group.

Put a catfish in a group of carp, and these carp will not die, and there is a shortage of such a catfish in this pond in the Beiyang now!

Among the governors of the southern provinces, Chai Dongliang has the greatest strength in holding the Yangtze River Naval Division, and it also gives Yuan Shikai the most headache, if he is dug up to balance the Beiyang generals, it can not only weaken the power of the south, but also balance the arrogant and domineering Beiyang generals, wouldn't it kill two birds with one stone?

"Xingcheng, don't you have a relationship with Chai Dongliang? Can you cross the river and let him do things for the political axe, and tell him that I will wait for the post of deputy minister of the War Department???? Zhiquan, you are the chief of the Ministry of the Army, let Chai Dongliang be your deputy to help you one or two, you are from Lu'an, he is the governor of Anhui and the parent official of your hometown, you must cooperate sincerely in the future! A chuckle jumped out of the corner of Yuan Shikai's mouth.

Yang Shiqi arched his hand and said: "Obey!" ”

A smile flashed in Xu Shichang's eyes, and Duan Qirui's eyes flashed a fierce light, but it was fleeting.

(To be continued)