The last blow, the news that ultimately prompted Yuan Shikai's decision, was told to him by the British and the Americans. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

The naval vessels of the Provisional Government appeared in the sea near the eastern corner of southern Tianjin (now Huanghua City) and released small boats for mapping and attempting landing.

The British did not want to fight it, and the Americans leaned towards the provisional government, ruling out these two reasons, and Yuan Shikai also knew that it could not be fought again.

The strong army of the five towns, coupled with the Yi army and other troops, has been fully rolled out at this time, and the mobile force is seriously insufficient. If the Provisional Government did send troops to land near the eastern corner, there would not be enough troops to resist it. The revolutionary army will directly march westward, capture Cangzhou, and cut off the retreat of Duan Qirui's department.

If Duan Qirui's troops were ordered to retreat and fight against the landed revolutionary army, it would be impossible to retreat too far and abandon the Beiyang Machinery Manufacturing Bureau in Dezhou. The division of troops is weak, and the combined forces cannot make up for the flaws, which puts the Beiyang Army in a dilemma. Moreover, this does not take into account the arrangement of the Beijing division after the Northeast is stabilized.

The Provisional Government had co-opted, or rather united, the majority of the anti-Yuan forces and brought about a change in the attitude of the Great Powers. Except for Japan and Russia, which hope that China will continue to be in turmoil, the other powers hope that China can stabilize as soon as possible. This is because a new round of capital competition is about to begin, and it will be difficult for the Provisional Government to complete its ambitious construction plan without borrowing foreign debt.

In this regard, Yuan Shikai felt deep helplessness, the situation was like this, he knew that he could no longer fight. Duan Qirui sent urgent calls continuously, requesting to retreat so as not to be cut off. Zhang Jian, an old friend from the south, and others also sent telegrams, bitterly urging him to accept the conditions of the provisional government as soon as possible. Otherwise, in layman's terms, there will be no more shops in this village. When the Beiyang Army is really defeated, not only will there be nothing, but even life cannot be guaranteed.

Yuan Shikai knew that these words were not to scare him. Ammunition and food are already difficult to support. If the Beiyang Army becomes a rebel because of unpaid wages, then all the crimes committed will be borne by him alone. While the Beiyang Army still has strength, while the Beiyang Army is still under its control, it seems to be a wise choice to end the war as soon as possible and fight for a future for yourself and everyone in the Beiyang Group.

Cease fire. During the peace talks, the armies of the north and south returned to their previous state, but the situation was different. The Jinling Manufacturing Bureau, the Shanghai Manufacturing Bureau, the Yazhou Arsenal, and the Chenzhou Arsenal were still working overtime in accordance with wartime regulations. The artillery, guns, and ammunition produced were constantly being sent to the front, strengthening the combat power of the revolutionary army. At the same time, the rear was still organizing and training a new army, advancing towards the goal of the 38 towns of the army drawn up by the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

As a large country, especially a country with a large population, the army of Thirty-Eight Towns is really not much. Moreover, the expansion of armaments. This has also adapted to the international situation, and various countries are reorganizing their armed forces, especially the European countries are the most rapid.

Of course, the Thirty-Eight Towns Army is far from the ultimate goal. But as an agrarian country that has just begun to transform, I am afraid that it will be the limit of support in two or three years.

Peace talks have resumed, but the situation is very different, and it was from the south to the north, at least on the surface; Now it's north to south. The venue of the negotiations was changed to Jinzhou, and Chen Wenqiang presided over it as a landlord.

Yuan Shikai's reputation plummeted. It is no longer the right person for the presidency in people's minds. Naturally, there are no more "vacancies", and there will be no fierce competition for the candidates of various ministers. Surprisingly, when Chen Wenqiang gained the upper hand, he was not aggressive, but had a kind attitude, and seriously considered the requirements of the Yuan side. Try to give a satisfactory response.

Defense Minister Yuan Shikai, Army Vice Minister Duan Qirui, Foreign Minister Lu Zhengxiang, Public Security Minister Zhao Bingjun, Feng Guozhang, Cao Kun and other towns have all been retained....... obviously. Such concessions made the peace talks much easier and even Yuan Shikai, who was far away in Beijing, was surprised.

Obviously, Yuan Shikai knew that this might just be an expedient measure, and the provisional government was afraid that there would be tricks to divide and disintegrate the Beiyang Group in the future, but he couldn't afford to delay it. If the peace talks are delayed any longer, he will be in danger of losing control of the Beiyang Army. Moreover, the Beiyang Army now showed signs of unstable morale, with officers dissatisfied with the peace talks and soldiers suspicious of being disbanded or retaliated against for fighting bloody battles with the revolutionary army for many years.

Originally, before the peace talks, Chen Wenqiang was supposed to announce an agreement on behalf of the provisional government, stating that "the officers and men of the Han armies in the north and south should enjoy the preferential treatment they deserve and do not bear the responsibility of harming the enemy in wartime."

However, Chen Wenqiang had his own arguments and preconditions, that is, the officers and soldiers of the First Beiyang Army should let go of the Jinghan Railway and transfer them to Luoyang, Henan Province and Fuyang, Jiangsu Province respectively, to become garrison troops in Henan and Jiangsu; The two towns of the Second Beiyang Army were assigned to the Beijing Military Region and the Shandong Military Region respectively, and the garrisons were also designated; Cao Kun, a town in Beijing, had to divide its troops into two halves, half into the northeast and half into Shanxi.

It was very simple and obvious divide and rule, the Beiyang Army would be placed separately and it would be difficult to hold together again, and the Central Plains and Gyeonggi regions would enter a large number of revolutionary armies to control the situation.

The Beiyang generals were dissatisfied and disappointed with such a transfer. They sent telegrams to Yuan Shikai one after another, asking Yuan Shikai to take a tougher attitude, otherwise he would not hesitate to fight the revolutionary army to the end.

The drop is relatively large! The Beiyang Army was once overwhelming, arrogant and arrogant; Now, it has been transferred from east to west, and it seems that it is not looked at at at all.

However, Chen Wenqiang did not make any concessions in this regard, and spoke out in the media, sternly pointing out that the army that did not obey the orders of the provisional government was not a national army, and no matter how strong its combat strength was, it would not be accepted. If he obeyed the order, he could make a promise on behalf of the Provisional Government that there was no plan to disband, and that the Beiyang Army would be transferred to the Wehrmacht and treated in the same way as all the armies of the country.

In this way, the officers and soldiers in the Beiyang Army were in opposition, the officers wanted to use the troops to threaten them, and the soldiers did not want to go to the last step, and the explanations given by the Beiyang officers to the soldiers were not convincing, and the masses were raging, and there was a tendency to mutiny.

Originally, the mutiny could be used as a means to blackmail his superiors, and Yuan Shikai had also used it, but he knew that it would definitely not work at this time.

Yuan Shikai knew that the reason why the provisional government entrusted him with the important post of defense minister was because of his control of the Beiyang Army. If there is a mutiny, not only will his prestige be greatly reduced in the hearts of the countrymen, but also mean that he will lose control of the Beiyang Army, then what value will he have?

Therefore. Yuan Shikai sent frequent telegrams, asking the generals of the Beiyang Army to obey the overall situation and not act rashly; On the other hand, he transferred back Duan Qirui and ordered him to go to various ministries to supervise obedience.

But Yuan Shikai never imagined that the mutiny would break out in Beijing, right under his nose. And this is a heavy blow. It turned out to be his son Yuan Keding's planning and command, which was really a cheat.

According to the "Times": At 8 o'clock in the evening, the battalions of the nine standard artillery camps stationed in the third town outside the Qihua Gate mutinied and attacked the Qihua Gate. Then the gunfire was very urgent, the fire broke out again, and the mutineers looted on a large scale. Take the area of the fourth archway in the east as the ...... After 3 o'clock, the fire gradually subsided and the gunfire gradually decreased......

The Third Town of the Beiyang Army launched a mutiny in the name of asking for wages, and as a result, more than 1,000 merchants and civilians were robbed, and the Jingfeng and Jinghan Railway Bureaus, as well as the three banks of Daqing, Jiaotong and Zhili, were also looted and suffered heavy losses.

The next morning, Yuan Shikai, who was in the dark, saw his son Yuan Keding. sighed again and again: "Thirty years of military training, once the prestige is lost!" "I didn't expect it. Yuan Keding is the culprit of the cheating father, and Yuan Keding is still secretly proud in his heart, feeling that this move will definitely raise the value of his father, and can blackmail the provisional government to fight for better conditions.

But the facts ruthlessly dealt Yuan Keding a series of blows, and the Beijing mutiny not only failed to achieve his intended goal. On the contrary, it caused Yuan Shikai more and more trouble.

Various newspapers successively published relevant news, and the domestic "Mainland Daily" said that "Yuan Shikai's prestige was suddenly lost"; The Times pointed out that "the mutiny spread, and Yuan Shikai is to blame"; In a newspaper article, Morrison wrote: "I am deeply saddened by the fact that Yuan Shikai's closest soldiers and guards also participated in this mutiny. I always thought that the 3rd Division could be completely relied upon...... Over the past few months, people have portrayed Mr. Yuan as the hope of the bigger picture. But this whole incident was a disgrace for Yuan Shikai. ”

In such a grim situation, the atmosphere in the capital is also very tense. "Shuncheon Times" once described: "Today, the officials, gentlemen, and businessmen who live in Beijing, although they eat and live, all have panic and anxiety, they are in the Beijing residence, and their hearts are also in fear. When I tried to talk to businessmen about the market situation, they all had a tendency to close down together due to financial stagnation and business depression. Try to discuss the officialdom with the officials, the group said that the overall situation is critical, and the dependents will migrate first, and there is a tendency that the court will be empty. ”

Before and after the abdication of the Qing Emperor, because he was worried about the opposition of the Praetorian Guards, which led to a riot, Yuan Shikai specially transferred the third town army to Beijing to maintain order, "However, from the town army to Beijing, once clashed with the Janissaries, twice with the Yi army, and three times destroyed the theater, so that the hearts of the people in Beijing were frightened by the bombs, and the second was afraid of the opposition of the Manchu army, and the cowards fled in a hurry."

The mutiny was also a deep disappointment to the Great Powers. The day after the mutiny, the head of the diplomatic corps in Beijing, British Minister Zhu Erdian, immediately sent Yuan Shikai a secret letter in English, asking Yuan Shikai "whether it is possible to protect the lives and property of people from all countries, please answer on the same day"; The U.S. government representative in Beijing proposed, "Since China is a republic and there is still disturbance in the north, Yuan Shikai's strength is not enough to maintain it, and he intends to ask all governments to send troops to China to protect them separately; Or ask the interim government to stabilize the situation".

During the interrogation of the foreign powers, Yuan Shikai had no choice but to send a letter of apology in English to the diplomatic corps, saying, "It is a heavy responsibility to protect the law and order of the Beijing Division. ”

At the same time, Yuan Shikai called Cao Kun to ask what happened. Of course, Cao Kun didn't dare to recognize Yuan Keding, so he was scolded so much that he came out in embarrassment.

At this point, the provisional government severely reprimanded the Beiyang Army for lax discipline, looting and harassing the people, and resembling bandits; He also challenged Yuan Shikai and threatened to stop the peace talks and solve the problem by force.

Under internal and external pressure, Yuan Shikai strictly ordered the generals of the Beiyang departments to restrain the troops and obey the orders; On the one hand, he ordered the Beiyang Second Army to move on schedule and get out of the way. At the same time, he transferred Cao Kun's third town out of the capital and stationed it in the suburbs with the Praetorian Guards, and handed over the maintenance of law and order to the patrol police.

As Yuan Shikai analyzed, the general trend has become irreversible, even virtue has been co-opted, and the British have to express goodwill to the provisional government. Now that you have surrendered, don't engage in those useless small actions, the battle of will, it is not good for everyone.

Yuan Shikai knew that no matter when, mutiny was the biggest taboo of the rulers of the past dynasties, the greatest threat to the rule, and to some extent, it made the rulers more anxious than rebellion. And those who engaged in mutiny, except for Zhao Kuangyin, who played a glass of wine to release the military power, everyone else did not end well.

Moreover, Yuan Shikai started his military training, knowing very well that soldiers are like fire, easy to release and difficult to collect, and if the Beijing mutiny is not dealt with in a timely manner, it is likely to affect Baoding, Tianjin and other surrounding areas. At that time, it will not be under his control, and the Provisional Government may only have the only way to quell the rebellion by force. The Beiyang Army, which is short of pay and ammunition, has become a chaotic soldier, what combat effectiveness does it have?

As for the Minister of National Defense, whatever accepts the Beiyang Army, it will be in vain. By virtue of public opinion and public opinion, he and the Beiyang generals will be severely punished, and the fate of the Beiyang group, which has lost the support of China and foreign countries, will be extremely miserable.

……………

Damn, if you get into trouble, I'll have to wipe your ass. has already been submitted, just listen to the arrangement honestly, even the old handsome man has to follow the general trend, you are a fart!

Duan Qirui threw off his whip hatefully, he was still very satisfied with the position of deputy commander of the army, although he also hoped to preserve the small group of the Beiyang Army as much as possible, but he also knew that the revolutionary army would never allow the existence of a separate military group.

After a battle with the revolutionary army in Shandong, Duan Qirui has put away a lot of arrogance. In terms of weapons and equipment, the revolutionary army is not inferior to the Beiyang army; In terms of tactical skills, the Beiyang Army still lacks actual combat experience, and it is still less suitable for trench offensive and defensive warfare. As for the revolutionary army, there were not only sharpshooters, but also the middle and lower rank officers of the Beiyang Army who suffered heavy casualties; ****** was also used in trench warfare, which terrified the Beiyang officers and soldiers.

In the later period, the airship joined the battle group, and the artillery advantage of the Beiyang Army also came to naught, constantly being destroyed, constantly shifting positions, and unable to be used normally. The ammunition is also becoming more and more embarrassed, and if the fight continues, it must be defeated.

The general trend is like this, no matter how unwilling you are, no matter how fierce you shout, it will not help. Duan Qirui hated those who couldn't see the situation clearly, or who saw the situation clearly but had delusions. In the event of a mutiny, where will the old commander be? After the mutiny, the troops are like bandits, and the soldiers will be separated, so what combat effectiveness can they have? Now I don't talk about it, but in fact, everyone has a plan in their hearts. What is the tree falling down and scattering, what is the danger of flying separately, what is the person who knows the times as a handsome, who does not have the mind to climb the high branches?

"My lord, Jinzhou is ahead." Military Senator Xu Shuzheng stepped forward and reminded.

Oh, Duan Qirui looked up into the distance, paused for a long time, waved his horsewhip, and galloped forward. (To be continued.) )