On the morning of the next day, Army General Wang Shizhen, accompanied by Yang Du, secretary general of the Nanjing camp, and others, held a news conference at the press office of the Governor's Office, praising in a high-profile manner the tremendous achievements made by Xiao Yimin and the Central Military and Political Affairs Department since the establishment of the Nanjing camp, and finally announcing that Premier Duan Qirui would carry out a four-day inspection in Nanjing.

Premier Duan Qirui abruptly left at a time when the political situation in Yanjing was turbulent and the undercurrent was turbulent, and he came to Nanjing for an "inspection" without announcing any news, which has already taken all sectors of society by surprise, and now he has suddenly announced that he will carry out a four-day "inspection" in Nanjing.

The outside world was staring nervously at the meeting between China's two leaders with real power, one in the south and one in the north, and Chinese and foreign reporters gathered in Nanjing, making inquiries everywhere, penetrating everywhere, and major domestic newspapers published special features one after another, vigorously reporting on the political background of the sudden meeting between the two leaders of the north and the south.

He himself, who is intensively carrying out political conspiracy and has achieved the sinister goal of controlling Duan Qirui's political axe, is even more like a great enemy, and has done everything possible to explore the details and inside story of the "Duan Xiao meeting" by unscrupulous means.

Duan Qirui and Xiao Yimin had long been prepared for this result, and in the next three days, the two appeared together, lingering in Nanjing's military camps, schools, factories, construction sites, and Moling Town, a new agricultural extension pilot area in the southern suburbs, inspecting tens of thousands of officers and soldiers together, and meeting with nearly 1,000 teachers and students of primary and secondary schools, new and old workers, and poor farmers. The people of the town were moved to tears.

Whether it is officials at all levels who accompanied the inspection or Chinese and foreign reporters who followed and interviewed them, they all saw the harmonious relationship between the two from the frequent intimate conversations between Duan Qirui and Xiao Yimin and the clear but natural and calm demeanor. It also greatly relieved the European and American powers and the people of the provinces who were worried about the outbreak of a civil war in China.

However, in the secret meeting held every night, Duan Xiao and the two factions fought for their own interests, and when the old Jianghu Wang Shizhen, Liang Shiyi and others in the political arena faced Yang Du, Gu Weijun and others who had fought together and knew each other, all the negotiation tactics were ineffective, and in the end, by ceding Shanghai's military control, they barely retained Shanghai's civil control for the next three years, so as to keep the 40 million yuan tax that Duan Qirui obtained from Shanghai every year.

As for the Lianghuai salt tax, which had been mortgaged countless times, Nanjing Xingying generously took a step back and paid the total amount of salt tax for the whole year to the central government six months in advance, so as to ensure that the central government would receive 26 million yuan in benefits in the Lianghuai area every year, but the control must be in the hands of Nanjing Xingying, and as for whether the Lianghuai salt industry was losing money or making money, Nanjing Xingying was completely responsible.

There were more than 20 such conflicts of interest, although the two sides argued fiercely, but fortunately, a written agreement was finally reached, Nanjing Xingying got political benefits, the administrative level and ruling power were further improved and strengthened, and Duan Qirui's group got benefits, and was able to increase taxes by 25 million per year, which will effectively protect Duan Qirui's dominant position.

The only major difference between the two sides is the political attitude towards "Lin Sen, Cai Yuanpei, Yu Youren and others to reorganize the Kuomintang", which Duan Qirui's clique resolutely opposes, while Xiao Yimin's clique supports it for a very clear reason:

The reorganized Kuomintang is no longer the Kuomintang of the past, and the reorganized Kuomintang will no longer pursue violent revolution and will no longer use extreme violent means to achieve political goals, but will pursue a moderate reform policy, although the reorganized Kuomintang will still criticize and even politically criticize the political factions that are legitimately in power, but all this is within the scope of the law, and the ruling party should also have the mind to listen to different voices in the face of different parties.

It can be said that this is the political attitude and political ambition of Xiao Yimin, the leader of the Ming Cooking Party, and it is precisely because Xiao Yimin is so open-minded and open-minded that he has won universal praise from all walks of life and even hostile political parties across the country, and has won the support and followers of a large number of political elites and local real power figures such as Yang Du, Wang Zhengting, Lin Baishui, Gu Weijun, Zhang Qun, Gong Baoquan, Tan Yanhong, etc.

Interestingly, Duan Qirui and Xiao Yimin, who did not participate in the secret talks held by the two sides every night, gathered together in peace, drank wine and walked for a walk, walked up to the ancient city wall, and enjoyed the night view of Nanjing and the wide river scenery surging eastward, and expressed their hearts directly.

"I'll have to go back tomorrow, and the next meeting will probably have to wait until the National Congress in the spring of the next year."

Duan Qirui, who walked out of the towering dysprosium tower on the Qingliang Gate, came to the female wall and stopped, pointed to the bell and drum tower standing tall in the city, and said with a sigh:

"Yiming is really generous! The expansion of these two avenues with the drum tower as the center, as well as the rebuilt drainage system, will completely change the appearance of Nanjing, but unfortunately it will not be completed until October, I don't know if I can be blessed to go up and take a look in the future! ”

Xiao Yimin said with a smile: "This is not the credit of the younger brother, but the credit of the local political axe and 300,000 people in Nanjing, the younger brother just sent back the taxes paid last year intact, from investment to design, to specific construction, the younger brother did not say a word, it was decided by the local political axe officials and representatives from all walks of life."

"However, as the political center of the country, Yanjing City, the city's appearance should indeed be rectified...... After the construction of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, every building in Yanjing City has a history and commemorative value, and there is no need for major renovation at all, just remove the garbage, cinder and horse manure all over the street, Yanjing, the first city in the world, can completely change its appearance inside and out, and live in it at least more comfortably. ”

Duan Qirui shook his head helplessly: "You say I don't want to?" How easy it is to say that! Movement is money...... If I didn't have the help of my virtuous brother this time, I'm afraid I would not only have to give up this position as prime minister, but also have to watch the Beiyang army completely split and be helpless, ashamed! ”

Xiao Yimin hesitated, but still advised: "Brother, if you can stop the 'Xiyuan loan', you can stop, you can't do anything to quench your thirst anymore!" ”

When Duan Qirui heard this, his emotions immediately became excited, and he argued loudly:

"Are you willing to put up with that abominable face? Who wants to be poked in the backbone by the people and scolded as a traitor? But if I don't borrow, Zhang Zuolin in the Northeast will benefit from it, and the entire Northeast will soon be separated from the leadership of the central political axe, and the harm will be far greater than the hidden danger of the 'Xiyuan loan' itself, which you should know very well! Don't tell me that you never paid attention to Zhang Zuolin, who started as a bandit. ”

Xiao Yimin said with a wry smile: "The Northeast issue is too complicated, not only the old debts left by the Manchu Qing Dynasty, but also the evil consequences of the long-term appeasement caused by local warlords like Zhang Zuolin, who pursue the principle of putting the family before the country, although the younger brother sees the huge hidden dangers hidden in it, but there is nothing he can do about it, if it were not for the far-sightedness of the elder brother who controlled the military and political power in Rehe and Jilin and other places, I am afraid that when Tsarist Russia collapsed, he would have entered the Northeast in a mighty way." ”

Xiao Yimin paused and once again stated his position:

"However, you can't ignore it because the central government can't control it, this is also the fundamental reason why the younger brother fully supports the elder brother and the brother Zheng to send troops into Mongolia to fight the separatist forces and declare the divine sovereignty, with the younger brother's current status and strength, many things can only be sighed, but no matter what, as long as it is beneficial to the country and the nation, the younger brother will try his best to do it, at least in the matter of recovering Kulun, the younger brother has the money to contribute, and the power to contribute, and after the brother Zheng leads the troops to enter the Kulun, The younger brother will continue to provide support in terms of weapons, equipment, and food, and if the elder brother thinks it is feasible, the younger brother is even willing to send a division north to Kulun. ”

Duan Qirui was deeply moved when he heard this, although Xiao Yimin's sending troops north to Kulen did not meet the political requirements of the current central political axe, and would cause strong dissatisfaction between Yue Ben and Russia, thus bringing huge diplomatic pressure to Duan Qirui, Duan Qirui was still full of admiration for Xiao Yimin's mind and character:

"Brother Xian, you are a talent I have only seen in my life, you do have the country and the nation in your heart, not only this matter, what I have seen and heard inside and outside Nanjing in the past few days has also made me and my brothers see your pure heart to serve the country, which makes the foolish brother extremely admirable and ashamed! But the country has been weak for a long time, the road ahead is full of thorns, and if you are not careful, you will die and your reputation will be ruined, and you will regret it for life, and you will not be in a hurry, you will not be in a hurry! ”

Seeing that Duan Qirui's face was full of sadness under the faint light, Xiao Yimin had no choice but to sigh secretly, took Duan Qirui's hand, and continued to move along the female wall, but he was repeatedly weighing in his heart whether to reveal an important plan in his heart to Duan Qirui.

Maybe Duan Qirui didn't want to continue talking about those heavy topics, so he adjusted his mood after taking a few steps, pointed to a brightly lit construction site between the grassland gate and the drum tower, and asked with a smile: "Brother Xian, that place seems to be not far from the Imperial Mansion, right?" It seems that the scale of the project is not small, but what is it to build? ”

Xiao Yimin looked at Duan Qirui's hand, and quickly laughed: "If the younger brother doesn't say it, I'm afraid the elder brother can't think of it, it is the newly built German Consulate General in Nanjing, and next to it is the Dehua Medical College jointly invested by the German church and the younger brother." ”

Duan Qirui couldn't help but stop, his eyes widened, and he looked at Xiao Yimin incredulously, he didn't believe that Xiao Yimin would make such a simple political mistake.

Xiao Yimin explained with a smile: "Brother, don't worry...... The younger brother knew that since the elder brother declared war on Germany on behalf of the central government, Germany could only leave the Yenching Legation, and the German consulates in the other provinces were all abolished, except for the one left in Yucheng, which was the younger brother in charge at that time, and could not openly exercise its functions.

In addition to France, which advocated severe punishment of Germany, Britain, the United States, and other countries had loosened their hardline stance toward Germany's political axe, and the construction of the newly built German Consulate General in Nanjing, which had begun with the tacit approval of the British and American envoys to China.

"The younger brother has always attached importance to friendly relations with Germany, while the British have always paid attention to maintaining the balance of power in the European countries, and are unwilling to weaken Germany excessively and let France become a dominant party, and considering that it is necessary to give Germany a certain self-preservation strength to resist the flood of [***] in Europe after the October Revolution in Soviet Russia. In addition, the United States also has economic demands for post-war Germany, so although the French minister objected to this, it still built a ...... "Of course, this is mainly the result of the little brother's full insistence, Britain and the United States want us to open the country, so that capital forces can enter, and France does not think that Germany after the defeat can set off much waves, and the Yangtze River valley is the traditional sphere of influence of the British, so after the protest was ineffective, a more restrained attitude was adopted!"

"The only one who has been strongly stimulated is probably the only one who is said to be the political axe! Xiao said that he replaced Germany and occupied my country's Jiaodong Bay, and he was afraid that Germany, which is also Caucasian, would re-emerge in the future and settle accounts, and he would definitely jump up and down for this, and it was estimated that his brother would be affected in the future. ”

After listening to Xiao Yimin's explanation, Duan Qirui finally put his mind at ease, although he couldn't help but feel scruples about Xiao Yimin's ruthless vision and excellent diplomatic methods, but he would not be stupid enough to express his dissatisfaction in person, so he said again and again:

"That's good, that's good! By the way, I heard that dozens of people you sent to Germany to study military before the outbreak of the war all joined the war, is that the case? ”

Xiao Yimin nodded honestly: "Yes, forty-nine people joined the German Army in the name of intern officers of various military academies in Germany to go to the front line. At the beginning of last month, the German Minister to China, Nart, informed that all our trainees would be secretly sent back to China in the near future, taking into account diplomatic relations and other factors......"

After a pause, Xiao Yimin said the details rather sadly:

"Of those who are intact and those who have broken hands and legs, there are now only twenty-five left...... However, I am very proud of my officers, 34 of whom have been awarded medals of all ranks by the German army for their outstanding performance and outstanding military exploits, and have been highly praised by the German army.

After Kaiser Wilhelm II heard about their heroic deeds, he was so moved that he personally sent a handwritten letter to four of them, including Lieutenant Colonel Zeng Chaoran, who served as an operational staff officer in the General Headquarters of the German Front on the Eastern Front, he is my sworn brother, you should know him, after graduating from the Army University, he went directly to the Army Academy in Berlin, Germany for further study, and the two battle plans planned in the war against Russia were adopted by the top commander of the German front, and after the results came out, his reputation spread among the top echelons of the German army!

"When he returns, I will make him my chief of staff, so that I can have a lot easier on the military side and have more time to deal with other matters."

Duan Qirui was shocked, and from this, he thought of more and farther things, if it weren't for the thick night, the rapid change of his face would definitely fall into Xiao Yimin's eyes.

(To be continued)