The snowflakes in the sky slowly covered the gray capital, and the cold north wind swept over the high eaves of the bucket, making a permeating whining sound.

The two ancient cypresses in the courtyard of King Zheng's mansion were already covered with heavy snow, and the eaves of the eaves of the elaborate porch were covered with crystal ice edges, and the guards in fur military coats still stood motionless in the cold wind.

At the beginning of the lanterns, Zhao Erxun, the former governor who had just been awarded the title of Shaoqing by Yuan Shikai, walked quickly through the corridor under the guidance of the secretary of the presidential palace and directly entered the door of the study to meet Yuan Shikai.

Yuan Shikai was very respectful of Zhao Erxun who should be called, strode up to meet him, stopped Zhao Erxun from giving a salute, and cordially took Zhao Erxun's hand to ask for warmth, and sent him to the reception sofa before sitting down with a smile.

Zhao Erxun, who was presiding over the revision of the Qing history, said that he was getting old, but his wise eyes were still bright, he had already guessed the purpose of Yuan Shikai's summons, and very calmly greeted Wang Shizhen, Yang Du and Yang Shiqi present, sat down and picked up the teacup and tasted it slowly.

In the middle of the semicircular sofa is a simple and elegant pear blossom wood carved coffee table, above the coffee table in addition to a few plates of preserved fruit snacks, there is also a pile of newspapers, the top of which is the "Beijing-Tianjin Times" that occupies the mainstream position of public opinion.

Yuan Shikai coughed lightly, and when everyone was focused, he pointed to the newspaper and asked Zhao Erxun with a pleasant face: "Second father, have you read the newspaper these days?" ”

Zhao Erxun nodded with a smile: "It seems that the marshal summoned his subordinates today, is it because of the matter of Shudi?" It is estimated that Yiming, this kid has caused trouble for Dashuai again. ”

Yuan Shikai laughed, Wang Shizhen, Yang Du and others also laughed, and secretly admired Zhao Erxun, who was calm and honest.

Yuan Shikai laughed and sincerely solicited opinions:

"It's not a troublesome matter, but a joint telegram from Yimingxian's nephew and dozens of generals and colonels of the Sichuan Army, imploring the commander of the former Sichuan Army, General Zhong Ying, to pardon the guilt of General Zhong Ying, the commander of the former Sichuan Army. In addition, General Bao Jiqing, chief of staff of the border army, also went to Yanjing to express his feelings, and recounted Zhong Ying's exploits in the construction of the new army and the suppression of the rebellion in Tibet, and held that the reason why Luo Changqi, counselor of the Tibetan army, died in the army mutiny was entirely an attempt to secretly kill the officers and soldiers of the alliance in the army, and that it had nothing to do with General Zhong Ying, the commander of the army in Tibet.

For this reason, General Bao Jiqing not only invited many old friends to come forward to express his feelings, but also revealed the process of the mutiny three years ago to the Chinese and foreign press circles in Beijing, thus making Zhong Ying's case extremely complicated. Second Duke, when you were the Governor, General Zhong Ying served under the Second Duke, what is your opinion on Zhong Ying's case? ”

Zhao Erxun replied calmly: "There is something that must be told to the marshal and you, General Bao Jiqing found me on the first day he arrived in the capital, and he still lives in my house, so I am more familiar with Zhong Ying's case, even if the marshal does not summon his subordinates tonight, his subordinates will submit a letter to the marshal tomorrow morning to intercede for General Zhong Ying." ”

Yang Shiqi looked at Yuan Shikai, who was silent, turned to Zhao Erxun and said with a smile: "But the complaint submitted by the Luo family is very clear, and they also have human and material evidence!" ”

Zhao Erxun laughed: "The so-called human and physical evidence is not worth mentioning, it is completely the result of the hatred in my heart and nowhere to vent, if such speculative evidence is effective, I am afraid that the Sichuan army can have a hundred times more human and physical evidence." This case is very clear, if it were not for Luo Changqi, counselor of the Tibetan army, who conspired to kill the officers and soldiers of the Brotherhood and the Alliance in the army, how could it cause a mutiny?

"The mutiny took place in the Mibo area, where the main force of the Tibetan army was stationed, and at the time of the mutiny, General Zhong Ying was gathering with the Tibetan leaders in Lhasa to discuss how to deal with the affairs of Tibetan Province.

Yuan Shikai and the others looked at each other, but they didn't expect Zhao Erxun, a good old man who didn't ask about the world in recent years, to say such a thing, and the original position of severely punishing Zhong Ying to warn the Sichuan army was also shaken.

"Second father, do you know some of the news that Brother Yiming released privately in order to rescue Zhong Ying?" Yang Du asked with a smile.

Zhao Erxun looked at Yang Du in confusion: "Yiming is a frank child, if there is anything, he will definitely write to tell the old man, he will never talk nonsense, does anyone want to frame him?" ”

Everyone was stunned, and finally smiled in unison and praised Zhao Erxun's calf protection.

Yang Du said with a smile: "This time, in order to rescue Zhong Ying, Brother Yiming not only sent General Bao Jiqing, the chief of staff, but also invited the army chief Duan Zhiquan, the Zhili overseer Zhao Zhi'an and other army veterans to intercede, it is really sparing no effort!"

"There are rumors in the market that if the marshal ignores the intercession of the generals of the Sichuan army, he must severely punish General Zhong Ying, and the Sichuan border guards will rise up and join the revolutionary party camp to rebel together

"We naturally don't believe this rumor, but we can't take it as groundless! After all, the central government still lacks sufficient binding force on Sichuan, among which the position of Yiming's brother is the most critical, and the second prince must also understand it. ”

Zhao Erxun nodded: "Although Yiming, this kid has some surnames, he is never ambiguous on major issues, and he has never looked down on what Sun Wen and his party have done, and he has repeatedly stood up against the Hanyang Steel Mill and the revolutionary party's loan case, which has attracted repeated verbal criticism from the revolutionary party, but he has never been seen opposing any policy of the marshal and the central political axe, and he is still the commander-in-chief of the Sichuan Army border defense appointed by the marshal, is this not enough to explain his position?" ”

Yang Du was stunned for a moment, and the others saw that Zhao Erxun was defending his proud junior so reasonably, and it was difficult to say anything for a while.

Yuan Shikai laughed heartily, stood up and said kindly:

"We can all understand the distress of the second father, since this is the case, there is no need to try Zhong Ying's case! Wangcigong has more guidance and a virtuous nephew, the central political axe and the Sichuan border army are inseparable from him, a wise and brave general, Ben Shuai and the central government trust him, let him not have any ideas, let alone carry any baggage. ”

Zhao Erxun hurriedly stood up: "The subordinate generation Yiming thanked the handsome!" Presumably, Yiming and his colleagues in the Sichuan Army will also remember the tolerance and trust of the marshal, and General Zhong Ying will also be grateful for the kindness of the marshal! ”

Yuan Shikai smiled with a smile on his face, kindly asked a few words about the progress of the compilation of Qing history, and personally sent Zhao Erxun out of the door of the study, and Yang Du also said goodbye very respectfully, it can be seen that these literati have great respect for the contemporary Confucian Zhao Erxun.

After coming back and sitting down again, Yuan Shikai's face not only did not smile, but showed a sad look, he leaned back on the comfortable sofa and sighed, looked at the strategists and whispered:

"Everyone doesn't believe in the rumors that killing Zhong Ying will lead to Xiao Yimin's rebellion, but I myself believe it, this guy is really a headache!"

Wang Shizhen echoed: "Looking at what Xiao Yimin has done over the past few years, he is a person who values feelings, and he can also distinguish the situation, as the second prince said, he will never get together with the Kuomintang." However, this man is too young and ambitious, and if he really annoys him, he can do anything.

"You should remember that the murderer of his teacher Zhao Erfeng was killed by his whole family one after another, and the heads of the two direct murderers were hung up by him for publicity, among which Xie Jiong, the general of the Sichuan Army, fled to Shanghai and was not spared, Xie Jiong's family died tragically in the public concession, not to mention, Xie Jiong's head was hung by him on the telephone pole opposite the patrol house in the British Concession;" Moreover, before the battle of Sichuan and Yunnan, Liu Cunhou, who was strongly supported by the Yunnan army, offended him, and he surrounded and disarmed the elite of the two regiments of the Yunnan army under Liu Cunhou in a blink of an eye, and drove Liu Cunhou out of Sichuan. What a cruel form of revenge?

"I've been thinking that if it weren't for the big marshal who transferred Yin Changheng back to Yanjing and locked him up, I'm afraid Yin Changheng would be in a different place by now."

Everyone couldn't help nodding, Yang Du smiled bitterly: "In this case, let's let Zhong Ying go as soon as possible, otherwise it is likely to affect the plan of the marshal, at present we have successfully persuaded Zhang Fang's department in southwest Henan to break away from the Kuomintang, the department will quietly go south at the beginning of next month, and the mixed brigade of General Li Tiancai stationed in Jingxiang will attack Yichang together, forcing Zhou Jun, the most powerful in the Sichuan army, to annex, if we offend Xiao Yimin at this juncture, this guy is likely to send troops to support Zhou Jun, thus disrupting our overall plan." ”

"Feng Yuxiang's mixed brigade stationed in southern Shaanxi has made up for the shortage half a year ago, and the marshal has also specially allocated a special subsidy of 100,000 yuan, 2,000 long and short guns, hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition and six artillery pieces to equip the brigade. Yang Shiqi reminded.

Yuan Shikai nodded frequently: "Yes, raising troops for a thousand years, used in one dynasty, Feng Yuxiang led the troops in a good way, he was a fierce general, let him drive directly from northern Sichuan to Chengdu, and then let Chen Eun, who was stationed in Yueyang, lead his troops to Yichang, attack Zhou Jun's two divisions of the Sichuan army from the south, and then directly wave the division to occupy Yucheng, and then I will transfer the useless Hu Jingyi back, and appoint Chen Eun, who is familiar with the Sichuan army, as the Sichuan military affairs superintendent, and take charge of Sichuan civil affairs, so that no matter how unconvinced Xiao Yimin is, he can only keep his Chengdu lair." As long as we take Yucheng, it will be equivalent to taking half of Sichuan, and the artesian well area, which is rich in oil, will be controlled by the central government. ”

Yang Du suggested: "For the sake of insurance, do you want to say hello to Tang Jiyao in Yunnan?" ”

Yuan Shikai smiled: "This greeting is to be beaten, the Dian army was driven out of southern Sichuan and was not convinced, Tang Jiyao, who has repeatedly suffered from Xiao Yimin's plots, will definitely seize the opportunity, plus Xiao Yimin's grandson still forces more than 4,000 Yunnan army prisoners to be coolies, paving roads for him to build bridges and pave roads for farming, and also call it 'labor reform', this is undoubtedly a shame for the Yunnan army, even Cai Yi is so angry that he gritted his teeth every time he mentioned this to me, and regarded the battle of Sichuan and Yunnan as the biggest failure of his life, and the anger in the hearts of other Yunnan generals can be imagined!" ”

"So, when will Zhong Ying be released? I was very tired during this period of work, and I didn't know how much money Bao Jiqing used behind his back, and batches of colleagues who interceded for Zhong Ying came directly to the door, so that they didn't dare to go home. Wang Shizhen complained in a low voice.

Yuan Shikai shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Since it has been decided to release people, let's put them away quickly, so many people need to give face to intercede, otherwise the gains outweigh the losses!" There is also that Bao Jiqing, this person is really extraordinary, and I don't know what method he used to make the brothers Keding and Kewen, who hate Xiao Yimin the most, also help Zhong Ying intercede with me, and I don't know what is good about Zhong Ying, a big grinning guy, who is worth the little teapot in Sichuan to pay for him. ”

Yang Du said with a smile: "Dashuai, this may be where Xiao Yimin wins the hearts of the people, don't forget that this guy is still the scoop of the Sichuan robe brother's 'righteous character', Zhong Ying is Xiao Yimin's good brother at the beginning of his career, the two of them did a lot of dirty things together to use power for personal gain, corruption and self-enrichment, if he doesn't save him when he sees death, how can he let his subordinates eat with him and serve the school's heart?"

"In this case, the handsome man will ask for his surname to fulfill his righteousness, at least let him not dare to tear off his neck and shout when we besiege Yichang, Xiao Yimin's teapot spout is very powerful."

Everyone laughed, Yuan Shikai also laughed, and the life and death of a nationally famous general was decided in a burst of laughter.

(To be continued)