And the war fell into a stalemate, which was extremely unfavorable to Yuan Shikai. www.biquge.info First of all, the supply of ammunition and materials, the raising of military salaries, the economic strength and industrial industry of the north are weaker than those of the south, and they cannot support it for too long; secondly, the hanging sword of the northeast, when Chen Wenqiang completely stabilizes the northeast, he can wave his army to the south and take the Beijing division directly; finally, the attitude of the Manchu relatives and nobles such as the Empress Dowager Longyu has changed, and the Duan side has contacted the empress dowager with the edict of the empress dowager, and is organizing an anti-Yuan alliance, Xiliang and Zengqi have been reused, and the Manchurians in the northeast have been treated well. It undoubtedly played a role as a catalyst.

The Praetorian Guard, in the Beijing Division, seems to be showing signs of resurgence. Cao Kun didn't dare to move, and the soldiers available in Yuan Shikai's hands seemed to be stretched.

And this trend of fatigue is clearly understood by many outsiders. Because, Yuan Shikai, or the financial pillar of the Beiyang system, the Bank of Communications, is about to collapse.

When the Bank of Communications was founded, it was in the late Qing Dynasty, on the eve of historical changes, and the germ of capitalist productive forces appeared in this ancient feudal country, and developed rapidly in Shanghai, which had the largest number of foreign concessions. In response to the needs of this economic development, a bank jointly established by the Qing Dynasty Minister of Posts and Communications, an important minister of the Qing Dynasty, and approved by the Empress Dowager Cixi.

Bank of Communications was formally established in 1908. In this government-commercial joint bank, the official shares accounted for 40 percent, the commercial shares accounted for 60 percent, and the total capital was 10 million taels of silver. From the very beginning of its establishment, it has appeared as a commercial bank in the nature of a company limited by shares, and its business model can be described as advanced.

At that time, Bank of Communications was one of the early large banks in China and one of the early note-issuing banks in China. In the early days of its establishment, it was positioned as a professional bank that operated the four political services of wheels, roads, telecommunications and postal services, so it was named Bank of Communications.

However, the Bank of Communications was born at the wrong time, and just a year after its establishment, it caught up with the outbreak of the revolution. On time, on scale. In terms of outlets, it is not as good as a joint venture bank. Although the banknotes issued were also officially recognized, they were only available in the northern provinces.

After the peace talks were suspended, Chen Wenqiang immediately launched a long-planned economic offensive. spreading rumors and causing panic among the population; Duan Fang also contacted and persuaded among the Manchu princes. More and more people went to the Bank of Communications to withdraw cash, and there was finally a run.

Rumors about the Bank of Communications' financial difficulties and the indiscriminate issuance of currency to finance military expenses spread like a wildfire burning through the entire market. Panicked depositors began to withdraw deposits in large quantities, and the run quickly spread. As a result, the traffic in front of the bank in Beijing and Tianjin was seriously congested, and the police had to be summoned to maintain order. Even after the bank's opening hours, the queue for withdrawals refused to disperse.

Panic continued to spread to other provinces, and the Bank of Communications issued two statements on fear that the situation was spiraling out of control. Rumors to the outside world. In addition to emphasizing that the bank has sufficient funds, he also asked for Yuan's support.

But the panic was uncontrollable, and the rush subsided for only a few days. During this period, some major customers quietly canceled their accounts one after another. Then, the squeeze trend returned.

The Bank of Communications was unable to cope and lost nearly 10 million yuan in deposits in one day, and after three days, it had to suspend business. If there is no further turnaround, continue like this. Banks are unable to repay their debts and are on the verge of bankruptcy.

The fiscal economy is so bad. Yuan Shikai's desire to borrow foreign debts was also politely refused. The situation of the war was unclear, and the Beiyang Army did not achieve a big victory as expected. Before the Manchu Qing Dynasty was overthrown, the Provisional Government had already made an agreement with the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and the foreign debts and agreements signed by the Manchu government during the war were not recognized. The war with the Beiyang Army, the Provisional Government once again emphasized. This made the great powers not dare to act lightly, lest the money lent go down the drain.

It's hard. It's hard! Yuan Shikai stroked his forehead and frowned. Unless a big victory is won on the battlefield now, it will not be long before the Beiyang Army itself will be defeated due to lack of ammunition and military salaries.

Japan has expressed its desire to help, but the conditions are harsh. And. Yuan Shikai didn't dare to agree easily. Because once the news leaks out, I am afraid that it will be ruined, and the methods of the provisional government and Chen Wenqiang, Lao Yuan is indeed apprehensive. Even Yu Chongzhi, who was hanged in Mukden, and the severe punishment of confiscation of family property and exile of his family, he thought it was a warning against him and the Beiyang Group.

In contrast, the Provisional Government seems to be at ease, with construction projects constantly being announced. The Zhejiang-Jiangxi Railway, the Tianjin-Pudong Railway, the Yunnan-Guizhou Railway, the Guangdong-Guizhou Railway, and the Jing'an (Jingzhou-Xi'an) Railway have begun to be planned and surveyed, attracting the attention of many foreign investors.

Factories and enterprises have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain, with the support of preferential policies and the convenience of abolishing the card, domestic industrial and commercial industrialists and overseas Chinese have built new factories or expanded the scale of operation, among which Guangdong and Guangxi, which are far away from the war zone and close to the coast, are the most popular, followed by Hunan and Hubei provinces, because there is railway transportation, and the famine is worth the cost, and the cost of employment is low, which has also attracted the attention of many people.

The joint venture bank, which was officially recognized by the provisional government as the only currency issuer by supporting the revolution, finally unified the south and was circulated in Shandong, Northeast China, and other areas of liberation, and its strength far surpassed that of its peers, becoming the bank with the strongest capital, the largest number of outlets, and the greatest influence in China.

If I had such a bank, I would be invincible. Every time he thought of this, Yuan Shikai couldn't help but sigh. And the all-round offensive taken by the provisional government, or Chen Wenqiang, made Yuan Shikai feel even more difficult to deal with.

Not only military strikes, but also political propaganda and criticism, economic sabotage and troublemaking. Give full play to the power of the media to spread rumors, exaggerate and slander...... Yuan Shikai, who was originally favored by everyone, has now become a representative of decay and ****, and the civil and military generals of the Beiyang Group have also been stripped off one by one, corruption, lust, brutality, and despicable...... What is a stinky fish and a pot of soup, Yuan Shikai now has the most personal feeling.

In fact, how little sewage is on his body, how many houses, how many wives and concubines, children, and even nearly half of his family members smoke opium*, and how much they consume every day, have all been stabbed in the newspaper. According to the newspaper, Yuan Shikai's Yulu said that he was not corrupt, who would believe it?

Things are different now. If in the late Qing Dynasty, what was Yuan Shikai's corruption? But now the provisional government is shouting about the Republic of China and democracy. shouted honesty and anti-corruption, standing at the moral high point everywhere, but gradually stripped Yuan Shikai of his qualifications to serve as the president, and also reversed Yuan Shikai's image in the hearts of everyone little by little.

Moreover, the situation was favorable for the revolutionary party and the constitutionalists to share the spoils fairly. When the prestige of the Beiyang Army was hit, it widened its eyes even more to get more official positions in the northern provinces, and it did not want the Beiyang Group to come to get another piece of the pie. Even Yuan Shikai heard rumors that the president belonged to the revolutionary party, and the vice president or speaker of the National Assembly was something that the constitutionalists wanted to strive for. Even the candidates have names and surnames, either Liang Qichao or Zhang Jian.

Undoubtedly, there was a change in the attitude of the constitutionalists. It was another heavy blow to Yuan Shikai. He thought he should be a constitutionalist as well, or at least maintain good relations with the constitutionalists in China, but now he is becoming more and more isolated. Yuan Shikai believes that the key figure in the revolutionary party and the constitutionalist faction is Chen Wenqiang, and the liaison and lubrication between the two factions, who is both the head of the revolutionary party and the backbone of the constitutionalist faction, must have played an important role in eliminating the estrangement between the two factions.

Even his old friend Zhu Erdian advised himself to be wise, and the implication was very clear. Britain, the United States, and Germany are embarking on a new round of capital exports. No one wants to be left behind or rejected by the Provisional Government. And the South. It is an important area for the export of capital from the great powers. In the north, it is more troublesome to be affected by the war environment or the constraints of Japan and Russia.

While he was pondering, there was a knock on the door, and Yang Shiqi walked in with a bad face. Put a telegram on the table first, "Duan Tong has just sent a request for additional ammunition, especially artillery shells. ”

Yuan Shikai took the telegram and read it roughly. Then read the main points carefully. Duan Qirui's Second Army made little progress, and although the revolutionary army fought and retreated, its firepower tended to become stronger and stronger, especially the artillery, which seemed to be rapidly narrowing the gap with the Second Army; More and more intelligence was also collected, and Duan Qirui finally said a more accurate figure in the telegram, and the Jiangsu-Zhejiang coalition army plus the two mixed brigades from the south, the strength of the revolutionary army did not have much disadvantage. And recently airships have also appeared on the battlefield, bombarding the artillery positions of the Second Army, blowing up some artillery and losing some artillery.

From the telegram, Yuan Shikai read that Duan Qirui's confidence was declining, and compared with the previous days, there was no longer that arrogance and arrogance, and admitted that in the battle for the trenches, the Beiyang Army had lost the upper hand, and some troops had suffered heavy losses.

Yuan Shikai fully trusted Duan Qirui, and would not suspect Duan Qirui of lying about the military situation, so he felt more and more that the situation ahead was not optimistic.

"What can be the results of negotiations with foreign banks in various countries?" Yuan Shikai frowned and asked Yang Shiqi.

Since its establishment in 1902, Beiyang Machinery Bureau, formerly known as Dezhou Arsenal, has mainly manufactured 79 bullets and 65 bullets, as well as chemical raw materials such as sulfuric acid and nitric acid and semi-finished products such as smokeless medicines. Since artillery shells could not be manufactured, they had to be purchased from foreign countries.

Now that the war has been fought, the original ammunition reserves are about to be exhausted, especially the shells that cannot be self-sufficient. The Beiyang Army has an advantage in the number and establishment of artillery, and it also relies heavily on artillery fire.

"Only Japanese foreign companies are willing to sell, the price is very expensive, and they have to trade in cash." Yang Shiqi smiled bitterly and said, "The merchants of the other great powers are a little afraid. They have all been warned that if they supply us with arms, they will be made public to the media and their business activities will be boycotted. ”

Boycott! Yuan Shikai remained silent, mobilized the forces of the whole society, created a lasting and huge momentum, and carried out non-violent and non-cooperative resistance and opposition, which was being used more and more skillfully by the provisional government. Moreover, the arrival in the United States, Britain, and Japan has already shown the power of this movement.

"There's something else." Yang Shiqi sighed secretly and handed over a document bag, "Someone sent it to the lowly post last night, and asked the lowly post to be transferred to Yuan Gong. ”

Yuan Shikai was stunned for a moment, stretched out his hand to open it, and asked casually, "What is it?" But the threatening letter sent by the Revolutionary Party? ”

"It's intimidating." Yang Shiqi was a little hesitant, "Yuan Gong still has to read it!" ”

Yuan Shikai glanced at Yang Shiqi suspiciously, and flipped through the documents. After only reading a few pages, Yuan Shikai's face was ugly, he looked up at Yang Shiqi again, frowned, lowered his head and continued to read.

Yang Shiqi is right, this is a warning from the provisional government, or rather an urging. The first thing Yuan Shikai saw were several photographs, including his hometown in Yuanzhai Village, Xiangcheng, Henan Province, his mansion in Beijing, and his son Yuan Keding's mansion in Huangchenggen, Di'anmen.

Although there is no written explanation, the threat is self-explanatory. When it comes to the revolutionary party's assassination team and killer team, it is even more worrying.

The next is the analysis of the Beiyang Group, from politics, economy, to military, reasonable, well-founded, directly to the point, the Beiyang Army will not hold out for more than a month, ammunition, food and salary will be insufficient, and it will be defeated without a fight.

Finally, there is the future structure of the interim government, as well as rough personnel arrangements. President Song Fuhua, Secretary of State Chen Wenqiang, this has been undoubted. As for Yuan Shikai, if he submits to the provisional government, he can choose between the defense minister and the vice president. And there are corresponding arrangements for the civilian and military generals of the Beiyang Group, of course, to exclude those who are of bad quality and have a bad reputation.

In addition to these documents, there was also a piece of information that seemed to have been hastily added, revealing that Yuan Shikai had sent people to negotiate with Japanese foreign companies about the purchase of arms, and that he would make it public to the media.

What does it mean to be open to the media? Yuan Shikai already understood some similar methods, but he added malicious exaggerated speculation, saying that he had agreed to certain conditions of the Japanese people, or had some secret covenants, and betrayed the interests of the country and the nation. Regardless of whether there is real evidence or not, people would rather believe in it than believe in it, anyway, it is difficult for Yuan Shikai and the Beiyang Group to clear up.

"Despicable!" Yuan Shikai shook a few photos into a crackling sound, "I actually used such a trick to do it to my family." ”

Yang Shiqi was silent. People are just a faint threat, and they don't really do it, and even if they do, they will find the name of bandits or rioters, how can they admit it. If the Beiyang Group is finished, who cares about the life or death of your old Yuan family.

What's more, there is treason, and there is also a precedent for killing chickens and monkeys. If the Beiyang Group continues to resist, once it is defeated, who will be able to get good? The confiscation of family property and the exile of family members are not much different from the previous full house beheading. Let's not talk about complete failure, I am afraid that if the defeat is revealed, the internal part of the Beiyang Group will fall apart and find a way out.

He didn't say anything, because he believed that Yuan Shikai had already seen it through, and only looked at how Yuan Shikai decided.

............. (To be continued.) )