Since the news of Chen Ke's rebellion shook the world, He Qian's status in the Sun family has plummeted. With He Qian's cleverness, she knew that unless Chen Ke could defeat the Manchus and ascend to the position of the supreme ruler of China, her life in the Sun family would not be easy. Whether Chen Ke can defeat the Manchu Qing Dynasty or not, He Qian actually doesn't care at all. Even if she cares, He Qian only cares about her niece He Ying, if Chen Ke is destroyed, He Ying will definitely not end well, this is something He Qian does not want to see.

However, He Qian knew that she was already a member of the Sun family, and she had to ensure the interests of the Sun family. These days, He Qian has been very concerned about the inevitable war. When she learned that it might be Duan Qirui leading the troops, He Qian began to worry. Duan Qirui is the old governor of the third town, if he leads the troops, the third town to which Sun Yongsheng belongs will definitely go to the battle. He Qian didn't want her niece He Ying to suffer, and she didn't want her husband to be killed. From the war that has taken place so far, He Qian has not seen any clear evidence that the Beiyang New Army can defeat the People's Party army. He Qian had to persuade her husband not to participate in this war.

"Yongsheng, Chen Ke is not such a simple character. I don't know how to fight, but none of the rebels over the years have been spinning and destroying. I know that Chen Ke was originally a bit of a thin name in Shanghai, and he did not stay in Shanghai, but went to Anhui, where he had never been. As the saying goes, a strong dragon does not suppress the head snake, the Anhui New Army is the head snake, and Chen Ke can also exterminate them. When the Hubei New Army was relying on the Yangtze River, it was able to capture Anqing, but as soon as it left the Yangtze River, the whole army was wiped out. Yongsheng, although the Beiyang New Army is good at fighting, it can go to Anhui to fight, after all, it is an expedition of laborers. You are also an upright character, in order to wash away the association with Chen Ke, once you go to the battlefield, you will definitely take the lead. So I don't think you should go to Anhui. ”

He Qian's voice was quite anxious when he did these analyses, and Sun Yongsheng knew that his wife was worried about him, which made him very happy. Sun Yongsheng thinks that his wife does not understand military affairs, and he does not believe in the strength of the People's Party. He Qian's hint that the People's Party might defeat the Beiyang New Army made Sun Yongsheng very unhappy, and he just shook his head slightly, not wanting to talk about it with his wife at all.

Seeing that Sun Yongsheng didn't care about his statement at all, He Qian was also a little anxious, "Yongsheng, I have read all Chen Ke's books, and I have also seen him personally." Chen Ke is by no means an outlaw who does not know the height of the sky......"

Sun Yongsheng felt that his wife's words were very much like singing praises to Chen Ke, he couldn't listen to it anymore, and directly interrupted his wife's words, "Listen to what you mean, Chen Ke is still quite talented?" If you have talent, you can't even get along with Beijing? After fighting the Hubei New Army, he even dared to put a notice in Beijing. Isn't this a clear disdain for our Beiyang Army? ”

"Chen Ke can post notices in Beijing, how many people do you think Chen Ke can have?" He Ying did not agree with Sun Yongsheng's idea, He Ruming was very concerned about Chen Ke's affairs, and He Ruming secretly collected a notice posted by the People's Party in Beijing. When He Qian returned to her brother He Ruming's house, she read this notice. He Qian was frightened by the confidence displayed in this notice and the condescending attitude of looking down on the Manchus.

Sun Yongsheng frowned, "There are more fanatics who post notices in the capital. Just give them a few dollars, and they will dare to do anything. ”

"...... Yongsheng, have you read that notice?" He Qian could see that Sun Yongsheng didn't know how she felt at all, and she asked tentatively.

"I've seen it!" At the mention of the notice, Sun Yongsheng's voice became louder because of anger. Chen Ke referred to Yuan Shikai as "a man and a thug of the Manchu bandits" in the notice, and such an arrogant and contemptuous title aroused the unanimous anger of the Beiyang officers.

He Qian knows that everyone has a different view on things, she and her brother He Ruming are brother and sister, and they have received the same education from their father since they were children, but their views on the world are very different, but He Qian is more like his father. And after such a period of marriage, He Qian has to admit that her husband Sun Yongsheng's knowledge of politics is not as good as that of her brother He Ruming. Sun Yongsheng's attitude was full of anger, and there was no trace of vigilance, which made He Qian disappointed and worried.

He Qian's father, Mr. He, loves to read, He Qian has been smart and clever since she was a child, and she has a very good attitude towards things, and Mr. He loves it very much. When he was at home on weekdays, Mr. He taught He Qian to read. In the history books He Qian has read, all the rebels are actually extremely envious of the rulers of that era. Therefore, such notices are nothing more than saying that those in power are immoral, so they want to overthrow those in power. If the person in power is the heroine, he must go from "personal attacks". For example, in King Luo Bin's "Seeking Wu Xuanwen", he scolded Wu Zetian for "messing up the harem" and "being a fox who can confuse the master".

The People's Party's notices contained no personal attacks, but were like notices posted before the execution of the murderers, directly referring to Cixi, the Manchu ruler, as "the female leader of the Manchu bandits." There is absolutely no such narrow-minded person with a condescending attitude towards the people in power. He Qian couldn't express her feelings in words, she could feel Chen Ke's condescending mentality. Because He Qian faced incompetent people who didn't understand reason at all, and she also had this kind of contempt and disregard in her heart.

Seeing He Qian's unrecognizable expression, Sun Yongsheng finally determined his wife's true thoughts, and he frowned and asked, "Are you that our Beiyang Army can't defeat the chaotic party in Anhui?" ”

Originally, Sun Yongsheng still felt that his wife cared about him, even if he was a little offended, Sun Yongsheng could accept it. But after understanding his wife's distrustful attitude towards the Beiyang New Army, this understanding was expelled to the clouds of heaven by extreme unhappiness. After the establishment of the Beiyang New Army, almost every battle was sure to be won. Among the new armies of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, no one dared to compare with it. This army has no rivals in China. This is Sun Yongsheng's firm confidence. Moreover, the Beiyang New Army has a high salary and status. Sun Yongsheng, as the commander of the horse camp, earned more than the middle-class landlord in a year. This made Sun Yongsheng have an absolute sense of belonging to the Beiyang New Army in his heart. Confidence and a sense of belonging, these two attitudes were denied by He Qian, and Sun Yongsheng was really annoyed.

Sun Yongsheng said very politely: "What equipment do we have for the Beiyang New Army?" Cannons, horses, telegraphs, what do you want? What are the rebels in Anhui? It's just a few thousand broken guns that have been snatched. After we arrived in Anhui in Beiyang, Chen Ke and the others were just waiting to die. ”

He Qian frowned, but quickly tried to restrain herself and calm her expression. Sun Yongsheng is not thinking about the war at all now, he is just boasting. He Qian was extremely disappointed with Sun Yongsheng's attitude. Before he arrived in Anhui, he boasted about himself first. Chen Ke won such a big battle, and there was not even a single arrogant word in the notice posted in Beijing. The two sides are really superior.

Sun Yongsheng saw his wife looking at him with a calm face, thinking that he had persuaded his wife, he continued: "The Anhui New Army is not used in the first place, and the Hubei New Army is all showmanship. What is the first knowledge of the Hubei New Army, and it relies on this spirit to fight a war. Chen Ke is a fanatic, he only knows how to say big things......"

Hearing this, He Qian smiled bitterly in her heart, madman? In comparison, her husband is more like a fanatic, right? If Chen Ke is a fanatic, he may also have a vain condescending attitude. But there is not a single boastful word in the whole notice. When Old Man He told He Qian about the sophistication of human affairs, he specifically said that the more incompetent people are, the more they love to brag. If you don't boast about winning a battle, how can such a person be a fanatic?

Old Man He warned He Qian that if you meet someone who speaks plainly and never tells lies, big words, or empty words, you must be more careful. He Qian didn't understand what Old Man He's words meant at the time, she only remembered that Old Man He looked at herself lovingly at that time, and sighed rarely, "This world is not good, and people's hearts are already broken." If the world is clear, I can live until the time when you get married, and I will definitely find such a person to be your son-in-law. You don't suffer if you follow him. Now, in this world, if you really have something to do with such people, there will never be a good end. ”

Listening to her most respected and beloved father talk about recruiting a son-in-law, He Qian became shy for no reason, she dragged her father and said coquettishly: "Dad, I will follow you all my life, so I don't want to recruit any son-in-law." ”

Seeing his daughter coquettish herself, Old Man He hugged his daughter and laughed.

After laughing for a while, He Qian asked, "Dad, the people you are talking about are not bad people." ”

Old Man He put away his smile and said, "Girl, do you think the bad guy is the kind of person who cheats and cheats into eating, drinking, prostituting and gambling?" That's stupid. Now that the world is bad, if you are really straight, you can only be the kind of person who has a little fame, relying on the shadow of the national imperial examination, no one wants to take the initiative to find trouble with scholars, and he is cautious to hide and teach, and he doesn't even dare to buy family property. If you want to mingle in this world with integrity alone, you will definitely not be able to live a day. If an upright person still dares to walk in the world, how much strength he must have, how much hatred and how vicious he must be in order to live. It is impossible for such people to be without ambition, and with such people, hundreds of thousands of people will die in this world. The world is so bad, there's nothing wrong with overthrowing it and starting over. But you're my daughter, and you're a girl, and I don't want you to be involved with such people. ”

“…… You don't think we can win? Sun Yongsheng's fierce voice interrupted He Qian's recollection. Unconsciously, Sun Yongsheng was already excited, staring at He Qian. He Qian knew what her husband wanted to hear, but He Qian didn't want to see her husband in danger. I didn't know what to say, but a voice came from outside the house, "It's the middle of the night, what's the noise?" This is the voice of Sun Yongsheng's father, and it seems that the dispute between Sun Yongsheng and He Qian has alarmed the old man.

"Dad, it's okay. You go to sleep first. After Sun Yongsheng finished speaking, he glared at He Qian fiercely. He Qian lowered her head, she knew that she would never be able to move her husband. The disappointment in my heart is indescribable.

He Qian remembered that she still felt that her father was a little alarmist, if a person is upright, he will never deliberately harm others. Now that He Qian thinks of her father's words, she really can't help but admire her father's understanding of the world. Whether Chen Ke is a truly upright person or not, He Qian does not dare to assert. But Chen Ke just showed the style of "not telling lies, big words, and empty words" on a notice, and He Qian, who had a relationship with Chen Ke by mistake, had already been involved. Not only He Qian, not only the He family, but even the Sun family that He Qian married was also swept in by the whirlpool set off by Chen Ke in this era. It's just the same as the "Zhulian Nine Clans". People who have a relationship with Chen Ke and have nothing to do with them have been completely swept in without a choice.

Chen Ke did not do this on purpose, nor did he mean to maliciously calculate the He family, it must be said that this is the will of heaven.

For herself, for her husband, for the He family and the Sun family, the two families linked to her, He Qian now wants to do her best to get these people related to herself out of this whirlpool. But her hard work was only exchanged for her husband's anger and her father-in-law's boredom. He Qian suddenly hated herself, if she didn't understand so much, maybe she wouldn't be so worried about her life.

The husband and wife had nothing to talk about, and both of them fell asleep without saying a word. Sun Yongsheng seemed to be angry, and he turned his back to He Qian. If it was in the past, He Qian would inevitably be very unhappy in her heart, but now she feels a little lighter in her heart. Being able to have a little space of her own makes He Qian feel that thinking can be much smoother.

Lying quietly, He Qian's thoughts were surging in her heart. She hasn't seen Chen Ke much, she hasn't seen her for more than a year, and she can't remember Chen Ke's appearance clearly. The deepest impression in my memory is Chen Ke's bright eyes, and what He Qian hates the most is Chen Ke's eyes. He Qian could see a deep confusion in his eyes, every time Chen Ke appeared, most of them were with others. He Qian forgot who those people were, she always felt that no matter who Chen Ke was with, he seemed to be alone. This is a person who has not found himself, although Chen Ke is older than He Qian, he is still like a child. There was a deep confusion about the world in his eyes.

In the dark, He Qian pursed her mouth tightly, she never thought nonsense, and she would not ask for trouble to build a world out of thin air. He Qian, like those extremely good people, her life is completely down-to-earth. Start from cultivating yourself, and then expand from your relatives, family, and friends around you. It would be too difficult for her to try to understand a stranger like Chen Ke.

He Qian likes to read "The Analects", and the old man He thinks that the Analects are not written, and they are all about the road of people. Regarding the political books written by Chen Ke, He Qian feels that there are some insights in this book, but for the people who write this kind of books, He Qian thinks that he is definitely a guy who knows a few words and doesn't know how many buns to eat and drink a few bowls of soup. He Qian's fear of Chen Ke is because Chen Ke has really built up his own power, has a strong armed force, and can obtain terrible results. When this power threatened He Qian's normal life, coupled with He Qian's disgust with Chen Ke himself, this made He Qian have a strong killing intent towards Chen Ke in her heart.

It would be nice if Chen Ke died now. For the first time, He Qian really wanted to die alone, and this thought made He Qian feel a lot better.

Sun Yongsheng was still very unhappy when he got up the next day, and after breakfast, he rushed to the War Department. Recently, the War Department has made a very unruly disturbance in order to send troops, and even brought all the middle and high-ranking officers to Beijing. It is said that it is to train and prepare for war, but in fact, it is basically to divide the Beiyang Army. Sun Yongsheng and most of the middle-level officers didn't want to pee on the current War Department at all, but they had to come here to listen to the officials of the War Department talking nonsense.

As soon as he entered the War Department, Sun Yongsheng found that he had come relatively early. Many of the officers live in Beijing, and theoretically they should live in the barracks, but in fact their families in Beijing run home to live. Those who live in the barracks are lazier and even less timely. There are still no mid-level officers left in the War Department. Looking at his comrades, Sun Yongsheng remembered that when he was in the barracks, Lord Yuan himself never got up early, and the officers didn't dare to get up late. After Lord Yuan was forced to leave Beiyang, in this capital, military discipline began to slacken. Sun Yongsheng found that he still liked the strict discipline of Lord Yuan when he was in charge of Beiyang.

In 1906, the Manchu Qing Dynasty reformed the bureaucratic system, and the Ministry of War, the Military Training Department and the Taifu Temple were unified into the Ministry of the Army. Cixi was afraid that Yuan Shikai's tail would not be lost, so she assigned all the first, third, fifth, and sixth towns of the six towns in Beiyang to Tie Liang's command, resulting in a "balance of power" between Tie Liang and Yuan Shikai. The current Minister of War Tie Liang originally followed Yuan Shikai to participate in the training of the Beiyang New Army, but he was not born in the army, and the real execution was completed by Yuan Shikai's family. Now as the Minister of War, he is in charge of the elite Beiyang New Army, but the Beiyang Army is not convinced by Tieliang at all.

In this military operation to exterminate the rebellious party in Anhui, if Yuan Shikai was still in charge of the Beiyang Army, with Wang Shizhen, Duan Qirui, Feng Guozhang and others in charge of military affairs, the Beiyang Army would have been dispatched a long time ago. Now that Tie Liang is in power, Wang Shizhen has served as the governor of Jiangbei and has gone to his post. Duan Qirui, as Yuan Shikai's hardcore, has a saying that Duan Qirui should be in charge of the supervision of various army academies. Feng Guozhang was an official military advisor and was in charge of the formulation of military training policies. During the Yuan Shikai period, Feng Guozhang could naturally come in handy. But now Tie Liang can logically make Feng Guozhang a "consultant".

It is easy to overtake these Yuan Shikai's irons, from the perspective of seizing power, Tie Liang's goal. But this is only a time for peace, and now there is a big war, and after these people are over, Tie Liang is basically unavailable. Although he also tried hard to rectify the Beiyang New Army, the middle and senior officers unanimously did not want to see Tie Liang, and he was helpless. Although Cixi knew Tie Liang's difficulties and did not urge too much, Tie Liang was in a hurry.

Half an hour after Sun Yongsheng arrived at the War Department, Tie Liang's eyes were red and he also arrived at the War Department. As soon as he entered the War Department, he asked people to invite Duan Qirui over. Although Duan Qirui now has many part-time duties, and even serves as the chief soldier of Tingzhou Town, Fujian, he is still in charge of the third town and works in the Beiyang Army.

Duan Qirui entered the house to see Tie Liang, and after saluting, Tie Liang asked Duan Qirui to sit down. "Duan is in control, and this crackdown on bandits is a matter of great importance. I'm determined that you will take the Third Town south to suppress the bandits. ”

Listening to Tie Liang's words, Duan Qirui scolded secretly in his heart, "Such an order has not been decided until now, what did you do earlier?" Scolding in his heart, Duan Qirui got up and replied: "Humble and orderly." ”

Tie Liang saw that Duan Qirui did not disobey his orders, and his heart relaxed a lot. These days, Tie Liang also wanted to make a decision early, but those princes of the sect society dragged Tie Liang to participate in the meetings of the sect all day long. The idea of the princes is very simple, Tie Hao is not easy to take charge of the War Department, so he will take advantage of the current time to purge the power of Yuan Shikai in the Beiyang New Army, and let Zongshe completely take charge of the Beiyang New Army.

Although he also hoped to curb Yuan Shikai's power, Tie Liang also didn't like these princes Baylor, if they were allowed to take charge of the Beiyang Army, the Beiyang Army would collapse in an instant. Tie Liang wanted the Beiyang Army to become the henchmen of the imperial court and the city of Sheji. But I don't want the Beiyang Army to become a new Eight Banners who only know how to carry birdcages, visit kilns, and smoke big cigarettes. Due to Tie Liang's refusal, these princes were extremely dissatisfied with Tie Liang. The Beiyang New Army thought that Tie Liang drove away Yuan Shikai and tried in vain to dominate the Beiyang New Army. He will never cooperate with Tieliang. Tie Liang was caught between these two forces, and the splint qi made him exhausted.

"Duan is in charge, and the War Department thinks that this time the bandits will go to Xuzhou." Tie Liang said.

"Why don't you take the Jinghan line? It is very convenient to attack Fengtai County, where the bandit leader is entrenched, from Fuyang. Duan Qirui didn't understand it.

Tie Liang explained: "The War Department felt that it was better to join forces, and after the third town arrived in Xuzhou, it worked with Admiral Wang Shizhen to exterminate the rebels. In addition, the governor of Jiangnan and the new army of Hubei sent troops at the same time, and the three-way encirclement and suppression should be a great victory. ”

Listening to Tie Liang's words, Duan Qirui sneered in his heart, what War Department is, it is just Tie Liang's own idea. The War Department heard the fame, but there was nothing really capable of doing anything in it. At least Duan Qirui didn't know what decent staff officers there were in the War Department. Asking the War Department to make a military plan is the same as making a tiger skin. Thinking of the staff officer, Duan Qirui couldn't help but think of Pu Guanshui, who had now defected to Chen Ke. When Pu Guanshui was in Beiyang, Duan Qirui's evaluation of Pu Guanshui's military cultivation was acceptable. It seems that he must lead the troops to the battle, and his opponent has a traitor like Pu Guanshui who knows the roots of Beiyang, but he has to think about this issue carefully.

"What else do you think about the Duan system?" Tie Liang asked.

"Who is in charge of commanding the troops this time?" Duan Qirui is more concerned about this. In the past, Beiyang was dispatched, and Yuan Shikai was the commander. Now in Tieliang's plan, the Third Town, the Jiangbei New Army, the Jiangnan New Army, and the Hubei New Army will attack from four directions. There is no difference in the official positions of the commanders of the four troops, and one of them must have to command the troops.

"This time it was under the personal command of the War Department." Tie Liang replied, "Now the telegraph speed is extremely fast, if there is any problem, you can directly telegraph to and fro." And this time, the first town and the second town will also be ready to send troops. If the situation of the bandits is not satisfactory, then the two towns will immediately go south. ”

"Is the War Department commanding thousands of miles away?" Duan Qirui felt that Tie Liang's idea was too amazing.

"If there is any military information, the telegram will arrive in a few hours. The War Department will definitely not delay the matter. There is a period of control over the affairs of the front, and I am very relieved. Tie Liang smiled.

Knowing that the War Department would not interfere too much, Duan Qirui was relieved. But he fought for life and death on the front line, but all the credit was given to the group of wine bags and rice bags in the War Department, Duan Qirui felt very heartwarming.

"In that case, why did you wait until now to decide to send troops?" Duan Qirui asked.

Tie Liang knew that Duan Qirui's words were very ill-intentioned, and he reluctantly smiled: "The defeat of the Hubei New Army this time is too strange. I have already ordered the Hubei New Army to review this matter, and I have ordered them to send some defeated troops to Beijing, and the War Department will personally interrogate them. In addition, it is now the rainy season in Anhui, and it is inconvenient to march. That's why it's been delayed for some time. ”

"I see, but I don't know what to ask from the Hubei New Army?" Duan Qirui looked at Tie Liang's embarrassed appearance, and thought of being able to watch the jokes of the Hubei New Army, and was very happy in his heart.

"This has to be a meeting to talk about this." Tie Liang replied.

After talking, after Duan Qirui came out, he summoned the officers of the third town. As soon as the people were gathered, news came from the War Department that a meeting was to be held in response to the defeat of the new army in Hubei. Duan Qirui originally thought that Tie Liang said that the review meeting was just a statement, but he didn't expect Tie Liang to really have a meeting, and he was a little surprised.

The review meeting first talked about the reasons for the failure of the Hubei New Army on the map, which was nothing more than nonsense about the rash entry of light troops. However, when some of the defeated officers were brought in, Duan Qirui was really impressed with Tie Liang. It's not that these defeated soldiers can tell the truth, Duan Qirui knows that in order to shirk responsibility, what the defeated soldiers say is the most unreliable. He was surprised that Tie Liang was able to ask for someone from the Hubei New Army, which was a great slap in the face of the Hubei New Army. Tie Liang's ability is a bit too strong.

These defeated soldiers were all soldiers and junior officers, and most of them were officers and soldiers guarding Anqing. When it comes to defeat, all of them are talking about the strength of the thieves, the main force of the Hubei New Army was taken away by Li Yuanhong, and tens of thousands of thieves were killed, and the Hubei New Army, which has more than 1,000 people, cannot be defeated at all.

Duan Qirui has no interest in this nonsense, he definitely does not believe that there can be tens of thousands of chaotic parties in Anhui. He singled out the officers who had lost the battle in Hefei and asked.

The officer really participated in the bloody Battle of Hefei, although he was asked many times, and he was already a little tired of answering the questions. But when Duan Qirui's stern gaze fell on the officer's face, the officer still shuddered. He began to repeat the Battle of Hefei with some stuttering. Hearing that the People's Party had actually built a barrage barrier in two days, Duan Qirui's face had become ugly, and he said that the People's Party had suddenly wiped out hundreds of horses from the Hubei New Army. Then it suddenly attacked the Hubei New Army, and after a night of fierce fighting, in the daytime, countless People's Party bandits rushed up and wiped out the Hubei New Army.

"Nonsense!" Duan Qirui took the case, "Tens of thousands of people rushed up, have you seen tens of thousands of people?" When you encounter an enemy, you don't swear to serve the court to the death, you lose the battle, you don't tell the truth, you still only know how to pass the buck. What a sin you should be! ”