Outside the house, the snow was knee-high and the night wind was howling.

The fire in the house was blazing, and a faint fragrance of tea diffused, which warmed the hearts of all the people in the house.

Tie Liang stood up, took a sip of the freshly brewed Indian black tea, turned around and walked a few steps, took out two pieces of firewood from the bundle, threw them into the fireplace, then straightened his military uniform, paced back to the table, put the cup of black tea on the table, glanced at the dozen or so officers sitting at the table, and said: "This foreigner's stove is warmer than our brazier, but this tea is more difficult to drink." ”

Sitting in the warm chair, Tie Liang glanced at the paper on the table again, pushed the French teacup aside with a frown, picked up the paper, dusted it with his fingers, and said, "Is this list a little longer?" It's just that the standard system and the co-system are replaced, why don't you even let go of the pipe belt? ”

An officer stood up and said, "Master, are you really confused or fake?" This third town in Beiyang was personally compiled and trained by Yuan Shikai, and the first wing commander and commander was Duan Qirui, which was the descendant of the Beiyang New Army, the Yuan family army in the Yuan family's army, our banner people can't be splashed with water, and the needle can't be inserted. Last year, Xu Shichang asked the whole town to be transferred to the northeast, and on the surface it was to suppress bandits, but secretly it was transferred out of Zhili and returned to Yuan Shikai's command. Now that Yuan Shikai has run away, Cao Kun has also been reprimanded, let's not take advantage of this moment to stew it with a spoonful, can we wait for it to bite back? ”

Tie Liang said: "You can't say that, the third town has also been under the direct jurisdiction of my War Department for a few days, and I also know the roots, although the standard and co-unification are not very reassuring, but the pipe belt at the bottom can still be used. The imperial court also has to leave food for others, and the dog jumps over the wall when he is in a hurry, if this list of appointments and dismissals is announced, you will wait for the mutiny.

Even if it is only a few co-ordination and standard commanders, we have to be on guard, I have already promoted that Zhang Zuolin as the commander a few days ago, transferred his front patrol battalion, and asked him to protect us, count the days, they should also arrive in the next two days. When we sit firmly on this Beiyang chair and win the hearts of the people, it is not too late to clean up those pipe belts. You don't have to be anxious, I know that you borrowed the lamb to get out of the customs, and you are all looking at those positions, but I tell you clearly, this is the new army, not the old army, and you can't eat empty salary, that is, the military salary and public expenses are higher, if you want to eat empty salary, don't say that others don't agree, even I won't turn a blind eye! The country of our Great Qing Dynasty cannot be defeated in the hands of our banner people! ”

After speaking, he picked up the pen and ticked the list a few times, but before he put the pen down, he heard a few gunshots outside, and he couldn't help but be stunned, and as soon as he let go of his hand, the brush fell into the teacup, dyeing the Indian black tea black.

"What's the matter?" Tie Liang subconsciously glanced at the flag man officer at the table.

The door was pushed open from the outside, and a goshha ran in panting, shouting, "My lord, it's not good, mutiny!" Mutiny! ”

"Huh?" Tie Liang stood up violently, and before he could reach out and draw his gun, a few more people rushed outside the wide open door, and a few bolts rang out, and everyone in the room immediately realized that they had become prisoners of the mutineers.

Khaki military uniform, gold trimmed military cap, a full set of equipment imported from Japan, and a shiny bayonet on the tip of the Manlixia Wuzi steel gun in his hand...... Who else could it be if it wasn't a Beiyang soldier?

Several bannerman officers tried to draw their guns, but they were immediately overturned by several shots from the Beiyang soldiers, and immediately after, the window glass of the town commander's office was shattered from the outside, and more than a dozen rifles came in through the window and pointed at everyone in the room.

The bone-chilling wind poured in through the window, instantly driving away the last shred of warmth in the room, and someone's teeth began to chatter.

"There's something to say, there's something to say. Don't be rude! Tie Liang consciously raised his hands. Brothers, if you have something to say, my Tie Baochen has no other strengths, but he is easy to speak. ”

"Tieliang! Don't pretend to be a good person with Lao Tzu. One shouted outside the door, stepped through the door, and sneered at Tie Liang. When you drove Lao Tzu out of the command office a few days ago, what good things did you say? ”

"Cao Kun? You...... How did you get back? Tie Liang saw clearly that it was Cao Kun, the former commander of the Third Town, who had been dismissed, and according to the requirements of the edict, Cao Kun should have taken the train back to Beijing a few days ago. Cao Kun doesn't get out, how can he Tieliang "make meritorious contributions" to take over the military power of the Beiyang Army in this town?

"Thanks to you, Lao Tzu walked halfway and turned back." Cao Kun sneered, and with a wave of his hand, the two horses put a few bloody human heads on the conference table.

"You...... How dare you kill my man? Tie Liang's face changed slightly, and he could see that those heads were the Goshha he sent to spy on Cao Kun, when he was the Minister of the War Department, these people followed him loyally, and they were going to be promoted, but they were killed by Cao Kun.

"What about the people who killed you? If it weren't for Yuan Gong's order, Lao Tzu would even want to kill you. Governors? Chin Cha is a fart! Cao Kun glanced at Ma Ben beside him, and everyone rushed up and tied Tie Liang and other flag officers to a strong one.

"You banner people want to take away Lao Tzu's military power, and Lao Tzu will not be polite to you! Take it out! Cao Kun stepped out of the door, and the horses followed closely behind Tie Liang and the others, and walked out of the town headquarters and walked in the direction of the school field.

When they arrived at the school ground, Tie Liang and the others found that all the officers and soldiers in the town had gathered in the school field, all of them holding torches and fully armed, which obviously could not be done in a hurry, and they, the banner officers, were actually kept in the dark, and the Beiyang Army was really well-trained.

"Why hasn't the front road patrol battalion come yet? The road is not far, even if you climb to Changchun. Tie Conscience was anxious, but there was no way, he was in a hurry for a while, and he didn't even think about it carefully, this is the Beiyang Army of a whole town, how can he fight against it with the thousands of green forest heroes in the patrol battalion?

Cao Kun walked up to the school review stand and shouted: "Soldiers! How do I treat you on weekdays? ”

"Grace is like a mountain!" The officers stood up straight and shouted in unison.

"Grace is like a mountain!" The soldiers shouted along.

"The court wants to dismiss my officials and let the bannermen lead you, do you want to do it?"

"Don't do it!"

"Don't do it!"

"Who gave you food?" Cao Kun asked again.

"Yuan Gongbao!"

"Yuan Gongbao!"

"Who clothed you?"

"Yuan Gongbao!"

"Yuan Gongbao!"

"The imperial court wants to kill Yuan Gongbao, do you promise to agree?"

"No!"

"No!"

……

In the past, some people said that the Beiyang Army was the "Yuan Family's Army", and the imperial court would still be suspicious, but now, at least Tie Liang and others no longer question it.

In the silent snowy night, this shout spread far away, not only Tie Liang and the others at the scene were terrified to hear it, but even a group of knights who were half a mile away could hear it clearly.

The group of knights was hiding in the woods, dressed in white clothes and white trousers, and even the horses were snow-white, and the first one was a middle-aged man, with a delicate face, wearing a dogskin hat with four curtains, a Russian six-shot revolver pinned to his waist, and a Cossack horsewhip in his hand, and was anxiously looking in the direction of the barracks.

There was a sound of horses and legs jumping in the snow, and a knight rode a foreign horse to the woods, and before the horse's hooves stopped, a harrier turned over and jumped off the horse, hurried into the woods, and shouted in a low voice to the woods: "Master, let's be one step late, the Beiyang Army has mutinied!" Tie Liang: They were all arrested. ”

The middle-aged man with a delicate face carried a lantern to meet him, grabbed the man's front placket, and asked, "Erhu, can you see clearly?" ”

The man took off his military uniform and said, "Look at it, Tie Liang was tied up with five flowers, and those banner officers were also tied up like zongzi." Cao Kun has returned, and now he has become the commander of the third town, and those co-unifications and standard unifications have also rebelled. ”

"Thankfully, we didn't act rashly." The middle-aged man let go of the man's front.

"Boss, what should we do? Can you save Tieliang or not? Someone asked in the back.

"Save the fart! Lao Tzu doesn't care whether those flag men live or die. Damn, Tieliang's bastard almost dragged us into troubled waters, protect the driver, protect the fart! With a few official hats, I want to ask us to pad the back of their flag people, Lao Tzu is not stupid! Besides, just rely on our thousands of people to snatch people from the hands of the Beiyang Army? That's hitting an egg on a stone! Even if all the 4,000 people in the old battalion are pulled over, they are not the opponents of the Beiyang Army. ”

The middle-aged man snorted, raised his horsewhip, and said, "Go!" Let's go back to Taonan right away. This is the grudge between him Yuan Shikai and the imperial court, and it has nothing to do with our front road patrol battalion! After going back, they all shut their mouths to Lao Tzu, who dares to shout nonsense, Lao Tzu recognizes him, but Lao Tzu's gun doesn't recognize him! ”

The people turned on their horses, whistled out of the woods, and went westward.

The middle-aged man jumped on the back of the horse and looked back at the Beiyang barracks, pulled one of the people next to him to him, and said: "Erhu, remember, prepare all the gifts as soon as we go back, and pack a bag of those old ginseng and good mink skins that we have accumulated, and send someone to Xu Shichang, the governor of the three eastern provinces, and say that it is my Zhang Zuolin who is filial to Yuan Gongbao." In addition, send a few more clever and reliable brothers to Zhili immediately, prick up Lao Tzu's ears and open his eyes, and ask Lao Tzu clearly about every move in the capital! ”

"Boss, you are ......"

"Erhu, you still haven't understood? A few days ago, the Southern Revolutionary Army rebelled, and the imperial court was already in a hurry, and now Yuan Shikai is rebelling again, can you tell me, how many days can this imperial court support? ”

"Cao Kun is reversed, it is not necessarily Yuan Shikai who is reversed, right?"

"Think about it, who is Cao Kun? A cloth dealer, if it weren't for Yuan Shikai, would he have the prestige he has today? A few days ago, he had been dismissed, but now he has turned over, if there is no Yuan Shikai behind him, with his small system, there are only 10,000 people under him, so bold to rebel? Who is Tieliang? He is the Qincha of the imperial court! Even Qin Cha dared to take it, where did Cao Kun get the guts? Didn't Yuan Shikai give it yet? ”

Speaking of this, Zhang Zuolin couldn't help laughing, and said: "Erhu, this world is about to be in chaos, and the day has come for us to come out." No matter what you think, anyway, I, Zhang Zuolin, will not be the commander of the patrol battalion of Lao Shizi anymore, and even those little miscellaneous fish in the south dare to call themselves governors, why can't we be governors? Look at it, it won't take a few years for me Zhang Zuolin to become the governor, if the world is in chaos, even if it is the 'King of the Northeast', Lao Tzu will also be the one! ”