"More than 26,000 troops of five brigades loyal to Yanjing's political axe were defeated by the Sichuan army, and dozens of generals and colonels including Cao Kun were captured and quickly released." This incredible news was first disclosed by the "Far East Post," headquartered in the French Concession in Shanghai, and was quickly reprinted by major newspapers across the country.

The French "Far Eastern Post", which was originally submerged in many Chinese and foreign newspapers and was struggling and dying, miraculously got out of the predicament and became a well-known news newspaper at home and abroad with its exclusive report on the Sichuan war and a detailed record of the entire war process.

Since June 1, the Chinese edition of the Far Eastern Post has seen its sales soar, surpassing an astonishing record of 45,000 copies a week later.

On 10 June, the "Far East Post" once again set off a wave of public opinion, and published on its front page two important news: "President Yuan Shikai Meets with Lieutenant General Bao Jiqing, Chief of the General Staff of the Sichuan Frontier Army" and "The Sichuan Provincial People's Congress Has Officially Convened." Above the eye-catching headline printed in red and black characters is a special editorial published by the "Far East Post," and on the left side of the editorial is a brief introduction to the qualifications of Bao Jiqing, chief of the general staff of the Sichuan Frontier Army.

The editorial summed up the impact of the war between the central army and the local army that had just ended, linked the secret meeting between Bao Jiqing and Yuan Shikai with the national congress currently being held by the Sichuan Provincial Political Axe, expounded the great impact that the Sichuan War might have on the Yanjing Political Axe and the whole of China, boldly predicted that "the Yanjing Central Political Axe and the Sichuan Provincial Political Axe are likely to have reached some kind of agreement", and analyzed the friendly behavior of the Sichuan Army in taking the initiative to release the prisoners of war, and the results were: " The contradictions between the Sichuan army and the central government are being eliminated, and the Sichuan political axe and the army still support the leadership of Yanjing and President Yuan Shikai, and it is unlikely that the two sides will take military action to further exacerbate the contradictions."

As soon as the newspaper "Far Eastern Post" was published, it once again aroused the attention of Chinese and foreign military and political circles, and it even snatched the lead of all Chinese and foreign newspapers, and vigorously overtook the "European battlefield report" and "21 articles" analysis reports of major newspapers, and became the focus of heated discussions among organizations and people from all walks of life in China in one fell swoop.

A large number of newspapers controlled by the Kuomintang were in an uproar because of the Far Eastern Post's report, and they began to join in the analysis and discussion between the "Central Political Axe and the Sichuan Political Axe." Instead of their previous highly praised and optimistic predictions about the revolutionary situation in Sichuan, they began to question the compromise of opposing the local political axe and the army in Sichuan.

The newspapers under the control of Yuan Shikai's influence avoided talking about the national congress being held in Sichuan, and while criticizing the Sichuan army for "provoking a war and causing endless harm," they rationally evaluated the goodwill of the Sichuan army, called on Xiao Yimin, commander of the Sichuan army, to "put himself in a correct position and take a firm stand, and earnestly obey the leadership of the central political axe and Marshal Yuan Shikai," and demanded that the Sichuan political axe and the army "be consistent with the central government and put an end to any discord and sabotage by any anti-judgment forces."

At this point, sensitive politicians and Chinese and foreign observers of current affairs have come to the conclusion that the Sichuan army and the central army, and between the Sichuan provincial political axe and the Yanjing central political axe, have compromised with each other, and even reached an agreement or some kind of tacit understanding, the fierce military conflict has since ended, the contradictions between the two sides have been preliminarily resolved, and the Sichuan military and political authorities cannot hold high the banner of opposing the Yanjing political axe and President Yuan Shikai as the revolutionary alliance led by Sun Yat-sen hoped, but the united and powerful local political axe and army of Sichuan, Through this war full autonomy has been obtained.

On 15 June, the first Sichuan Provincial People's Congress was successfully concluded, Zhang Lan was elected chairman of the presidium of the Sichuan Provincial People's Congress and the head of the provincial political axe, Kuang Youmin was elected chairman of the provincial assembly, Zeng Shouwu was elected executive vice chairman of the presidium of the national congress and director of the Department of Finance.

The First National Congress of Sichuan Province unanimously approved the appointment of Lieutenant General Xiao Yimin, former commander-in-chief of the Sichuan Frontier Army, and Xiao Yimin was elected commander-in-chief of the newly formed Sichuan Army, with full authority to lead and command the Sichuan Provincial Standing Army and local garrison forces; The congress authorized Xiao Yimin to lead the establishment of the Sichuan Army General Headquarters and exercise leadership and command over the Sichuan Army in accordance with the authorization of the first congress.

On the evening of June 15, the palace of King Zheng in Yanjing, the official residence of the President of the Republic of China.

Xu Shichang, Secretary of State of the Central Political Axe, Wang Shizhen, Minister of Military Affairs, Bao Jiqing, Chief of General Staff of the Sichuan Frontier Army, Zhao Erxun, Director of the Qing History Museum, and Duan Qirui, former Minister of Military Affairs who was urgently recalled by Yuan Shikai after resigning due to political differences, sat together on the two rows of guest sofas on the side of the study.

Yuan Shikai, who was sitting in the main seat, put down a few telegrams in his hand, turned to Bao Jiqing, and said unceremoniously:

"Ji Qing, since Xiao Yiming did not dare to directly serve as the overseer of Sichuan, but took office as the commander-in-chief of the Sichuan Army under the pretext of the Sichuan General Assembly, it shows that he still has the Central Political Axe and the Ministry of Military Affairs in his eyes, and he has not swept away the face of me, the president, but it is absolutely impossible for me to approve Zhang Lan as the chairman of Sichuan Province!

"Who in the whole country doesn't know that the post of civil affairs chief of each province has been changed to patrol envoy, and what is the matter with Sichuan getting a chairman of the congress? In addition, Xiao Yimin's commander-in-chief of the Sichuan army has no legal basis if he does not obtain the approval of the central government, and it is not impossible for him to want to be the overseer of Sichuan, but he must show sincerity and action for me to see, otherwise I will never agree to any request from the Sichuan side. ”

Bao Jiqing nodded respectfully: "Dashuai, what do you want Yiming to do?" ”

Yuan Shikai snorted and didn't answer, Xu Shichang smiled and leaned on the back of the sofa, Wang Shizhen had to explain in a low voice:

"How can I say that the war is over, although Brother Yiming released thousands of captured officers and soldiers in time, but a large number of weapons and equipment are still detained by him, if Brother Yiming really wants to stop fighting and return to the central leadership, at least all the equipment that has been detained must be returned, right?"

Bao Jiqing was stunned, from the time he knew Xiao Yimin to the present, he had never seen the meat that Xiao Yimin swallowed in his mouth spit out, listening to Wang Shizhen's explanation, he was stunned and at a loss, so he could only turn to Zhao Erxun and smiled: "Second father, Yiming is your old disciple, you have watched him grow up, only you know Yiming's temper best, you can tell me." ”

Zhao Erxun put down the teacup unhurriedly and sighed in a low voice to Yuan Shikai:

"Yiming, this kid admits death, I'm afraid it's difficult to make a compromise in this matter, if he hands over the weapons and equipment he withheld under the pressure of the commander, I'm afraid he will face the reproach of all the Sichuan soldiers! The old man made a suggestion, and the marshal and you will see if it can work. ”

"You're welcome, you say!" Yuan Shikai still respects Zhao Erxun very much.

Zhao Erxun nodded: "The Hanyang Arsenal, which has been taken over by the central government, and the Gongxian Arsenal in Henan, which was built with loans from the four countries, are not in a hurry to buy German rifle production technology, and the Germans have been holding back and not agreeing?" It is better to let Yiming quietly hand over the drawings and technology to the marshal, and the marshal or the military department will transfer them to the two factories in Hanyang and Gongxian, maybe you can avoid the impasse that everyone does not want to see To tell the truth, Britain and the United States and Germany have always been reluctant to sell advanced rifle production technology, and I heard that the War Department is willing to spend 500,000 yuan and can't buy it, is there such a thing, right? ”

Xu Shichang and Wang Shizhen's eyes lit up, and they turned to Yuan Shikai together.

Yuan Shikai asked in surprise: "Second Gong, I know that Chengdu and Ya'an produce powerful and safe grenades and wooden-handled grenades, but I have never heard that Yiming has German rifle production drawings and technology?" ”

Zhao Erxun said with a smile: "That's Yiming, this kid has done a good job of secrecy, three years ago, he has begun to hire more than a dozen German weapons designers and engineers with high salaries on the basis of the rifle drawings and technology transferred by the German Mauser company, and the German M1905 new rifle is improved and researched, in the second half of last year, he wrote to me about this, saying that the new and improved rifle technology has been gradually transferred to the Sichuan Arsenal, and after the Sichuan Arsenal uses new technology, the monthly output has increased from 1,200 to 1,500. He also began to improve the bullet production line and switch to the production of pointed bullets used in Mauser rifles, and said that there would be a year at most, and after a large number of skilled workers in the Sichuan Arsenal became proficient, the output could be increased somewhat, which reassured me. ”

Yuan Shikai was annoyed: "How did Hu Jingyi become an official in Sichuan?" How come you don't know anything about such important news? ”

"Don't be angry, the old man is also responsible for this matter, the two organizers and organizers of the Sichuan Arsenal are the professionals who stayed in Sichuan back then, they only understand technology and don't know how to be an official, plus Yiming, this kid has a good relationship with them, and it is understandable that they don't want to see General Hu Jingyi.

"Besides, General Hu Jingyi has been sitting unsteadily in his position in Sichuan, and he has been completely overshadowed by the group of civilian officials in Sichuan, where can he still bother to ask about the affairs of the arsenal? In the turbulent political situation in Sichuan, the arsenal can live self-sufficiently to this day, which is already very good. Zhao Erxun explained Yuan Shikai in a low voice.

Xu Shichang also nodded frequently:

"Dashuai, what the second prince said is that looking at the whole country, there has not been a better arsenal in recent years, and the Hanyang factory with the highest output and the largest scale has not been stopped and stopped in the past two years. If the Sichuan factory hadn't allocated special funds to support him before his resignation, and Xiao Yimin helped a lot on the side, I am afraid it would have closed down long ago. ”

"In that case, can you send the drawings and techniques of grenades and grenades to the military department?" Wang Shizhen, who had just replaced Duan Qirui as the army chief, suggested.

Bao Jiqing hurriedly explained: "The production technology of the wooden handle grenade is nothing, the production of cast iron grenades is troublesome, not only the iron and casting technology requirements are very high, the structure is also quite complex, there is no special equipment, and the technology is no less than the production of rifle bolt springs, it is impossible to make that kind of cast iron grenade, but if you want to produce that small spring, you must buy advanced alloy smelting furnaces from Europe and the United States, and under the guidance of German experts, after three quenching technologies to make qualified springs, it is not easy!" ”

Yuan Shikai and others did not understand these technical things, but the erudite Xu Shichang once had an in-depth understanding of the production process of rifle springs.

Xu Shichang saw his brother Yuan Shikai looking at him, and then nodded and said: "Ji Qing is right, at present, all our domestic arsenals are unable to produce qualified bolt springs, and even the Hanyang factory, which has the highest technology, cannot make the alloy shell hook of the rifle.

"Since Brother Yiming has solved this problem, it is better to ask him to hand over the processing and manufacturing technology of the shell hook, as well as the production drawings and technology of the wooden handle grenade, to the military department and then transfer it to other military factories, how can it be said that it is also a contribution to the country!"

"Dashuai, Fifth Brother Bu is right, Hanyang Factory, Jiangnan Factory and Dagu Factory have been researching wooden-handled grenades for almost a year, and they still can't produce reassuring grenades, since Brother Yiming has ready-made technology, it is better to take it as soon as possible, the role of grenades on the battlefield is getting bigger and bigger!" Duan Qirui also expressed his opinion.

Yuan Shikai was actually willing to compromise for a long time in his heart, and the reason why he put forward various demands with a straight face was because Xiao Yimin greatly swept his face, and as the supreme leader of a country, he really couldn't swallow this mouthful.

However, the grim situation in the whole country was in front of him, Yuan Shikai was very passive under the huge negative impact of the "21 Articles", and the revolutionary party led by Sun Yat-sen launched large and small armed uprisings in the provinces south of the Yangtze River one after another, and militarily tossed him, the great president, into a state of exhaustion and exhaustion, and politically frequently contacted the ill-intentioned Yue Ben and the foreign powers, and it is said that he also signed the "Zhongyue Secret Treaty" with the Yue Ben side, and dismantled Yuan Shikai's platform from all aspects. Where does Yuan Shikai still have the energy and capital to send a large army to attack the increasingly powerful Sichuan?

If you really want to fight, if the bold Xiao Yimin breaks the can, or simply throws himself under Sun Yat-sen's banner, I'm afraid that this country will be in turmoil.

More importantly, on the first day Bao Jiqing came to Yanjing, he had clearly conveyed Xiao Yimin's promise to him Yuan Shikai: he would never be used by the revolutionary party, support the leadership of the Central Political Axe and President Yuan Da, except for the fact that he could not accept the entry of the Central Army into Sichuan and set up a tax agency, everything else could be discussed, and as long as there was a foreign war, even if he Xiao Yimin was bankrupt, he would mobilize all his forces and move forward bravely under the command of President Yuan Da!

Since everyone has the intention of accepting Xiao Yimin's conditions, Yuan Shikai is no longer coy, he immediately agreed to the conditions put forward by Zhao Erxun and Bao Jiqing, no longer demanding that Xiao Yimin return the detained weapons and equipment, and agreed in principle to appoint Zhang Lan as the Sichuan Governor, and agreed to appoint Xiao Yimin as the Sichuan Governor, but made it clear that these two appointments could not be issued until a month later, and it was also necessary to see the sincerity of Xiao Yimin and the Sichuan New Deal.

Walking out of the heavily guarded presidential residence, Bao Jiqing and Zhao Erxun were relieved.

Duan Qirui, who was in the same car, was appointed by Yuan Shikai as a special envoy of the central government, and followed Bao Jiqing back to Sichuan, nominally to carry out inspections and post-war negotiations, but in fact to meet with Zhang Lan, Kuang Youmin, Zeng Shouwu and other Sichuan authorities one by one, and to have close contact with Xiao Yimin, commander-in-chief of the Sichuan army, to strengthen Xiao Yimin and the Sichuan army's support for Yuan Shikai's leadership as much as possible, and finally secretly brought back the design drawings and production technology of wooden-handled grenades and new Mauser rifles.

(To be continued)