Beginning on 10 May, the three-day issue of the "West China Times" officially became the newspaper of every month, and the first special issue of the 10th edition carried a controversial article by Xiao Yimin, vice minister of the Sichuan military and political affairs, entitled "Why Our Compatriots Are Always Slaughtered."

As soon as the special issue came out, it immediately caused a sensation from all walks of life in Sichuan.

In the article, Xiao Yimin quoted a large amount of detailed information, stating the dangerous fact that in the past few months, the caravans and civilians in Sichuan have been killed by the rebels one after another, and the few garrisons in the Sichuan-Kang area have been repeatedly besieged and brutally slaughtered by the rebels several times, resulting in the loss of Kangding and other important towns, and for the first time severely criticized the incompetence and inaction of the Sichuan Provincial Political Axe and the Governor's Office, and for the first time asked loudly in a sharp tone -- What are you doing to all the high-ranking Sichuan officials who claim to be servants of the people?

At the bottom of Xiao Yimin's article, the following title was printed in eye-catching bold letters: "The Tai'an Battalion of the Sichuan Border Army Held the Oath of the Western Expedition", detailing in detail the news that Major General Qi Luo, commander of the Reading Brigade of the Frontier Army, and 2,000 officers and soldiers immediately went to Kangding to rescue the local military and civilians after completing the oath.

In just three days, more than 30 petitions were submitted to the political axes of various localities and the political axes of Sichuan Province, strongly urging the political axes to send troops to quell the chaos, ensure the smooth flow of trade routes, and protect the safety of people's lives and property.

This bombshell blew up the governor Yin Changheng and shook the military and political circles of Sichuan, no one expected that Xiao Yimin, who had been harmless to people and animals and wandered on the political fringes for several months, would suddenly go crazy at this critical time, and many people began to wait and see the direction of the political wind.

Governor Yin Changheng was forced to the edge of no choice, and his enthusiasm for hard work turned into a sense of powerlessness at the mercy of fate, he finally knew that no matter how hard he tried, he had no time to make up for the congenital deficiencies after his rapid ascension, and he could not fight the wealthy and insidious and cunning Xiao Yimin in a short time.

Regardless of whether Xiao Yimin is a wolf or not, the increasingly fierce rebellion in the Chuankang area is an indisputable fact, hundreds of representatives of the West Sichuan Chamber of Commerce gathered in front of the gate of the provincial political axe, holding bloody and tearful clothes and petitions, kneeling to beg the political axe to seek justice, attracting tens of thousands of Chengdu citizens to watch every day, and countless citizens shed tears of sympathy for it.

At a time when the military and political circles in Sichuan Province were in a hurry, the League's organ in Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, and Guangzhou, Minli Bao, expressed their support one after another, not only criticizing the chaos and numbness of Sichuan Province's political axe, but also clearly pointing out that the behind-the-scenes supporters of the Chuankang rebels were in fact the British Empire, which despicably and shamelessly sabotaged the Chinese revolution and attempted to encroach on China's territory.

As if they had discussed in advance, the local "Minli Bao" prophesied one after another: if the rebellion in the Chuankang area was not suppressed, there would be the second British colony of India.

As soon as the news came out, the domestic political circles immediately smelled a faint smell of conspiracy: the League was likely to abandon Yin Changheng, the governor of Sichuan, who had oscillated between Nanjing and Yanjing.

On 15 May, Yanjing finally reacted and formally appointed Yin Changheng, the governor of Sichuan, as the envoy of the Sichuan Kang Economic Strategy, and led the Third Division of the Sichuan New Army and the Sichuan Border Army Reading Brigade to quell the rebellion in the west, and continued to retain the post of governor of Yin Changheng.

At this time, Yin Changheng and his henchmen were completely dumbfounded.

The Nanjing Provisional Political Axe of the League had already announced its dissolution under the tremendous pressure from all walks of life at home and abroad, and the rest also went underground to continue plotting rebellion, and the governors of all provinces across the country, including Yin Changheng, publicly announced two months ago that they would accept the leadership of the Yanjing Political Axe and support Yuan Shikai's governance program and commander-in-chief.

Therefore, Yin Changheng, the governor of Sichuan, and his henchmen, who were sitting on the crater and at both ends of the first rat, did not dare to disobey the orders issued by Yanjing Zhengaxe, and the only thing they could do was to obey the order.

Just when Yin Changheng and his gang were scolding and preparing to pack their bags, Xiao Yimin, in the name of the deputy minister of Sichuan Provincial Political Axe and Military Affairs, published an article on the front page of Sichuan's largest newspaper, "Huaxi Times," which shook Bashu and the surrounding provinces.

Xiao Yimin's articles are simple and novel in wording, and the writing is smooth, and has always been respected by the political and cultural circles across the country, especially in Sichuan.

The article begins with the Wuchang New Army uprising, briefly and clearly states the political changes and development of the three provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan, expounds the process of the Guizhou New Army responding to the call of the League and pouring north to support the Wuhan New Army uprising, and focuses on such a cruel fact that has caused an uproar in the world:

After the Wuchang Rebellion, the Yunnan Army led by Cai Yi, under the banner of going north for revolution, suddenly committed the despicable act of destroying the new army in Guizhou when the main force of the new army in Guizhou was pouring north and the troops were empty.

After the right route army of the Yunnan army sent by Cai Ye drove to Guiyang, it suddenly surrounded the Guizhou New Army and Guizhou Provincial Political Axe under the leadership of the same alliance, and after more than 2,000 people of the Guizhou army and military and political officials who were caught off guard were disarmed, they were all killed at the foot of Guiyang Screw Mountain under the order of Tang Jiyao, commander of the right route army of the Yunnan army, and the victims included Zhao Dequan, the governor of Guizhou Province, Zhang Bailin, the elected privy councillor, and dozens of other military and political officials.

The bloody massacre was not over, all the banks and shops in Guiyang were looted by the Dian army, hundreds of innocent people were scattered in the streets, and the Dian army who had lost their conscience did not stop after the bloody bath of Guiyang, they occupied the magpie's nest in a grand manner, purged the remnants of the revolutionary party and its affiliated institutions, exterminated and suppressed all the rebels, and without shame and loudly, they electrified the whole country, reorganized the so-called Guizhou New Deal, and continued to brutally oppress and plunder the people of Guizhou in the name of revolution.

To this day, it is said that Tang Jiyao, the executioner whose hands were stained with the blood of the people of Guizhou, has become the governor of Guizhou.

The article unceremoniously pointed out: As of today, hundreds of representatives of the people of Guizhou are still kneeling in front of the former base camp of the Nanjing Provisional Political Axe and the League and crying for justice, and there are still thousands of disaster survivors on their way to Yanjing to seek justice.

At this point, the article has a sudden change in the pen, and a more severe accusation begins:

At this time, under the orders of Cai Yi, commander of the Yunnan Army, six infantry regiments of the Yunnan Army, including Xie Ruyi, Li Hongxiang, and Huang Yucheng, under the banner of "supporting the Sichuan revolution," and two infantry regiments of Dai Huan, a speculator from Guizhou, who had defected to the Yunnan Army, still forcibly occupied more than 10 counties in Sichuan, including Qijiang, Luzhou, Xufu, Nanchuan, and Wanshengchang.

Over the past few months, the various units of the Yunnan army that forcibly invaded Sichuan in the name of "supporting the revolution" have brutally slaughtered more than 3,700 Baolu troops and innocent people in various counties in southern Sichuan, and have wantonly looted the artesian wells, the political axes, tax offices, money banks, and countless wealthy families in various counties in southern Sichuan.

According to the statistics of well-documented reports submitted to the provincial government in various parts of southern Sichuan, since the insatiable Yunnan army entered Sichuan, it has looted more than 12 million yuan of fat and cream from all parts of Sichuan, and tens of thousands of people in southern Sichuan have been displaced.

The article then violently attacked Zhou Junbu of the First Division of the Sichuan Army, accusing them of having no interests in their hearts, and that the Sichuan People's Province had spent money and scraped together huge sums of money to equip the First Division, which had been expelling the Yunnan Army from the south for more than two months, and was still stagnant north of the Minjiang River, watching left and right, making nearly 10 million people in southern Sichuan who were in dire straits eager to see through.

Finally, Xiao Yimin issued a stern warning:

The Yunnan army must immediately withdraw from Sichuan, and give back a stable living environment to tens of millions of Sichuan people; if they insist on going their own way and continue to do evil, they will inevitably be strongly hated and resisted everywhere by the Sichuan people; although the Sichuan Frontier Army, which has been established for less than a year, is weak, for the safety of the lives and property of the Sichuan people, even if the swords, mountains, fires, and seas are bloody, they must go out to fight with all their might, and vow to defend the interests and dignity of the Sichuan people with 3,000 young unyielding lives and high heads!

As soon as this article came out, the whole country was in an uproar, and Xiao Yimin's strong appeal was once again manifested, and all walks of life across the country issued statements one after another, strongly condemning the barbaric acts of the Yunnan army and supporting the just demands of the Sichuan people.

Seeing the overwhelming wave of condemnation rolling in, the top leaders of the League had no choice but to react quickly, solemnly stating that Dai Huan, the general of the Guizhou Army, Tang Jiyao, Li Hanxiang, and others of the Yunnan Army were not members of the League organization, and that the League was deeply shocked and saddened by the "erroneous behavior" of the Yunnan Army, and strongly demanded that the Yunnan League immediately eliminate the speculators who had mixed into the revolutionary ranks, defend the purity of the League, and earnestly promote the withdrawal of the Yunnan Provincial Political Axe from the Sichuan-Yunnan Army as soon as possible.

Yuan Shikai, who was sitting in Yanjing City, was overjoyed, where would he let go of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? Overnight, he mobilized all the public opinion throughout the country under his control, sternly denounced the criminal acts of the Yunnan army, and strictly ordered the governor of Yunnan Province, Cai Jie, to immediately withdraw from the Sichuan-Yunnan army.

Yuan Shikai, in the name of the president, also issued a public statement urging all provinces to abandon disputes, understand each other, live in harmony, and develop together under the unified leadership of the central authorities.

In private, Yuan Shikai "telegraphed" Xiao Yimin, commander of the Sichuan Frontier Army, and demanded that Xiao Yimin keep his mouth shut, stop publishing such "shocking" articles, and not provoke hatred between provinces, let alone open fire without authorization.

Xiao Yimin's call back was very honest, but he repeatedly emphasized that his family was so poor that he couldn't open the pot, which made Yuan Shikai and a group of henchmen cry and laugh, and laughed and scolded this restless Sichuan boy for becoming more and more slippery.

Compared with the strong reaction of the whole country, the whole territory of Sichuan was shaken, the masses were indignant, and the people from all walks of life and local chambers of commerce who had endured for a long time took to the streets, loudly expressing their dissatisfaction with the political axe, boldly shouting their own demands, and the people were finally happy to see: Someone finally stood up and spoke for themselves!

In just a few days, people from all walks of life in Sichuan have set off wave after wave of condemnation, and while the shameless Yunnan army was angrily condemned by the Sichuan people, the Sichuan Provincial Political Axe and the Sichuan New Army have also become the targets of condemnation by tens of millions of people, and public opinion representatives from all over the country have flocked to Chengdu, and the calls for "Yin Changheng to step down" have come and gone, and they have been heard one after another, one after another, and the long-suppressed hearts and shouts have fully demonstrated that the people of Sichuan are no longer willing to support this [***] political axe and incompetent army under the unbearable endurance.

Xiao Yimin successfully provoked the huge resentment buried in the hearts of the Sichuan people, mercilessly toppled the crumbling Sichuan Provincial Political Axe, and easily drove away the biggest political enemy and enemy, Yin Changheng, and the happiness in his heart was indescribable.

But in the blink of an eye, the appointment of Yanjing Political Axe came down:

Hu Jingyi, the acting governor of Sichuan, was officially appointed, and a special envoy of the central government was dispatched to Chengdu to assist Hu Jingyi in reorganizing the political axe of Sichuan Province.

Xiao Yimin, who had been gathering momentum for a long time and was sweating profusely, only won the post of Sichuan Military and Political Minister officially appointed by the Beiyang Political Axe, and all other benefits were easily taken away by the scheming Yuan Shikai.

Until this time, Xiao Yimin and his staff still did not know that Hu Jingyi, who was regarded as Yin Changheng's classmate friend and brother in life and death, had already sent Yin Changheng's letters of fornication with Sun Wen and Huang Xing to Yuan Shikai, and pledged his allegiance to Yuan Shikai.

Xiao Yimin and his group of think tanks were so disappointed that they could only hide in the shadows and reflect in pain:

Why did it end up like this? After accumulating momentum for a long time, I tried my best to let it go, and in the end I made a wedding dress for someone else, and the pain in everyone's hearts can be imagined.

After a few days of discussion, the conclusion was that at present and even in the next few years, no group would be able to compete with the Yanjing political axe with the central name grasped by Yuan Shikai, and no local force could challenge and confront the powerful state apparatus on its own!

Just when Xiao Yimin and a group of think tanks were at a loss, Chief of Staff Bao Jiqing stepped forward, he calmly analyzed the gains and losses of the entire plan from formulation to implementation, deeply reviewed his own shortcomings, and finally said firmly:

"Although we did not achieve the ultimate goal, we successfully forced the Yunnan army into a desperate situation, successfully won the support of the Sichuan people, not only hit the Yunnan army, but also removed the huge stumbling block of Yin Changheng, and established a good image of Commander Xiao and our border army dedicated to the people, so I think that the gains are far greater than the losses, and if we make up for it, we will be able to regain the initiative in our own hands!"

Xiao Yimin, Zou Wenhan, Zhang Lan and others were in high spirits, and Xiao Yimin asked anxiously: "What is the chief of staff's plan?" ”

Bao Jiqing smiled slightly:

"There is no clever plan, but only two suggestions: First, the commander, in the name of the minister of military affairs, should convene a provincial military and political conference with Speaker Zhang, and guide all public opinion to instruct the Sichuan Army to make every effort to expel the Yunnan army, and then quickly establish the image of the commander as wholeheartedly serving the people, thus establishing the commander's position in Sichuan's military and political circles!

"Second, in the name of the Sichuan Frontier Army Command, a recruitment order was immediately issued to rapidly expand our army into five mixed brigades with a total of 35,000 officers and men, creating a powerful deterrent. The subordinates have repeatedly calculated that with the current financial resources, we can fully support five mixed brigades, and we are not sure of any more. ”

Everyone clapped their hands and praised, and the gloomy color was swept away, and the flames of war ignited in their chests again.

(To be continued)