After the news of the Sichuan army's successive battles reached Yanjing, Emperor Yuan was at a loss, Yuan Shikai is indeed exhausted now, the cruel reality has exceeded the bottom line of Yuan Shikai's bearing, and the protection of [***] is about to sweep Jiangnan, and Beiyang is divided at this time, and those who are loyal to him now seem to be just a bunch of wine bags and rice bags, useless, at this time Lao Yuan really understands the meaning of being alone.

"Mr. Huizi, if there is anything else you can do, the widow must listen carefully." Lao Yuan pinned his hopes on Yang Du again, but Yang Du was full of sorrow at this time, his plan to push Yuan Shikai to the throne of the emperor, this is only the first step, and more importantly, Yuan Shikai can work hard with the emperor's name, who knows that Yuan Shikai is not as good as before now, and he has no courage at all.

"Your Majesty, the situation is very bad now, but the Beiyang forces still exist, Zhang Jingyao is still occupying Wuchang and Hanyang, although Hankou has fallen, but the main force of the third division is still in Henan, and we still have the strength to fight on the Yangtze River, and the momentum of protecting [***] is becoming more and more violent, even if there are some dissatisfied people among the generals of Beiyang, it is now time for life and death, once the protection [***] is in power, their wealth and nobility are all gone, so as long as Your Majesty understands it and moves it with affection, It will definitely be possible to bring Beiyang back together, and now the attitude of the great powers is also changing, and they do not want to see a change in the Chinese regime, so Your Majesty, we have not lost yet! ”

While Yang Du was talking, Duan Zhigui sent a piece of information over in a panic, which said that Qiao Yu's remarks were only anti-imperial, not anti-Beiyang, and suddenly Lao Yuan was dizzy, under the unprecedented victory, Qiao Yu, the young man, did not faint, in this case, he decisively stopped, and the hope of the Beiyang union was completely destroyed, Yuan Shikai only felt that a mouthful of turbid phlegm blocked his throat, and his face was immediately flushed, and he was almost killed, Yang Du hurriedly called the imperial doctor to come to the rescue.

Just when Yanjing was in chaos, Yucheng also ushered in guests from all sides, the former Hunan Governor Tan Yanmin, the old fox, was the first to arrive in Yucheng, Tan Yanmin's father was Tan Zhonglin, the former Qing Dynasty's feudal official Tan Zhonglin, Tan Yanmin was also clear about the officialdom under the words and deeds of his father, and he was well versed in the way of power and conspiracy, as early as when Tao Chengzhang formed the Unification Party, Tan Yanmin joined it, but then the southern forces were hit hard, Tao Chengzhang, Song Jiaoren died one after another, and Sun Wen and his gang were also driven out of China, And Tan Yanmin was also kicked away by Lao Yuan and lost the throne of the governor, but Tan Yanmin has always been unwilling to lose power, and now he has finally waited for a rare opportunity, so he came to Yucheng as soon as possible.

Qiao Yu is also very interested in the crystal ball of the Republic of China, speaking of which the two of them have similar backgrounds, their fathers are both high-ranking officials in the former Qing Dynasty, and their family backgrounds are relatively prominent, and they both started with the opportunity of the Xinhai Revolution, but Tan Yanmin obviously has no Qiao Yu's ability, and now he has nothing, so he can only rely on Qiao Yu's power to help him.

"Brother Zu'an, coming to the mountain city, it's really brilliant, I've long heard that Brother Zu'an's hand-picked characters are unmatched, I don't know if you can write me a few words!"

"Qiao Shuai, you are too polite, if you don't dislike the ugliness of what I write, how much do you want, how much I write, I can't do anything else, just study calligraphy and eating!"

Qiao Yu invited Tan Yanmin to the villa of the Qiao family, Tan Yanmin is not tall, but he is very wide, and he looks like a big meat ball, but Qiao Yu is also a wonderful person, he has supervised Hunan three times in the history of the Republic of China, and then climbed the thigh of the National Revolutionary Army, and he is also a prominent political figure in the Republic of China.

However, Qiao Yu's current identity can completely look down on Tan Yanmin, so there is no need to hide it when he speaks.

"Brother Zu'an, now the protector [***] has achieved a major victory, the two lakes and the two Guangzhous have successively read the power, and the protector [***] has occupied seven provinces, but I think the more important thing is the operation, after thinking about it, I feel that Tang Qianming is not suitable for the position of the governor of Hunan, and this position has to be handed over to the elder brother!"

Tan Yanmin has become accustomed to the old-style bureaucracy's cloudy and foggy way of speaking, Qiao Yu is so straightforward, which makes him a little unaccustomed, but Tan Yanmin quickly sobered up, Qiao Yu is indeed generous enough, and he even directly gave himself the position of governor, of course, with the current power of protecting [***], he can definitely do it, but Tan Yanmin also knows very well that Qiao Yu can definitely push himself to the throne of the governor, of course, Tan Yanmin also studied Qiao Yu's style of action before coming to Sichuan, and knew that he definitely had a plan, Now it's up to him to see what conditions he wants to offer himself.

"Qiao Shuai, you can value it, I won't say much, but can Qiao Shuai tell me what needs to be done, don't worry, I will never hesitate!"

"Brother Zu'an, it's best to be open and honest, I want to know how you plan to govern Hunan?"

Qiao Yu seemed to have come to listen to Tan Yanmin's work plan, Tan Yanmin didn't feel uncomfortable, leaned over, and said: "Qiao Shuai, I am ready to insist that Hunan people know Hunan and that the provinces are autonomous, hand over civil rights to the people, and let the 30 million Hunan people decide their own destiny!" ”

Qiao Yu laughed secretly in his heart, at this time, Tan Yanmin still fooled people with such slogans, Qiao Yu didn't believe that he would really let the people of Hunan exercise autonomy, this was just a strategy for him to resist external pressure, but Qiao Yu had other calculations in his heart, China is a big country, it is extremely complicated, the situation in various places is very different, it is very important to give local governments a certain degree of autonomy, which is also an inevitable development of politics in the future.

Therefore, Qiao Yu also has the intention to regard Hunan as a test field, to see what are the advantages and disadvantages of autonomy, and to accumulate experience for political reform in the future, and Hunan will not shake Qiao Yu's foundation regardless of success or failure.

"Brother Zu'an, your idea is very good, since the establishment of the Republic of China, it has been said that civil rights will be developed, but to be honest, civil rights have not increased at all, I hope that Hunan can really walk out of a feasible road, to set an example for the whole country, with you in Hunan to preside over the overall situation, I will rest assured!"

"Thank you Qiao Shuai for your support, the well-being of the Hunan people depends on Qiao Shuai's protection!"

"Brother Zu'an, local autonomy is only a political aspect, I think there is still economic construction, as long as the economic development goes up, the people's lives can be better, Sichuan and Hunan have a strong complementary surname in the economy, Hunan is a large agricultural province, countless fertile land, Sichuan has successively established seven fertilizer factories, the benefits of chemical fertilizer for crops are too much, Sichuan is ready to invest in agriculture in Hunan, in addition, Hunan is also rich in mineral resources, Sichuan businessmen are also ready to invest, I wonder if Brother Zu'an is willing to help? ”

Tan Yanmin heard that Qiao Yu's condition turned out to be economic cooperation, and his heart relaxed, he thought that Qiao Yu would get some political privileges from Hunan and turn Hunan into a subordinate of Sichuan, if this is the case, Tan Yanmin will not be able to explain to the people of Hunan, now it is only economic cooperation, although Hunan will suffer a loss, but this is definitely nothing, and the current politicians still can't see the power of the economy clearly, so Tan Yanmin readily agreed.

After Qiao Yu and Tan Yanmin finished talking, the inland Rongting and Tang Xiangming also arrived in the two days, plus Cai Ye and Xia Douyin, the main characters on the side of the protection [***] were all gathered, Qiao Yu is a well-deserved master, and Lu Rongting and Cai Yi are also transcendent, and the three of them represent the three most powerful forces in the protection [***].

"Zhugong, to be able to come to the mountain city, in the next warm welcome, now Hu [***] has achieved a great victory, but as I said before, Sichuan this time only anti-imperialism, not anti-Beiyang, I think the main military struggle stage has passed, our responsibility is to force the people inside Beiyang to stand up, overthrow Yuan Shikai's rule, and restore the republican form of government, Zhugong, not long ago I and Mr. Duan Qirui telegraphed, reached a consensus, in addition to Mr. Feng Guozhang, Mr. Cao Kun also sent telegrams one after another, hoping to protect [*** I think that through rectification efforts, Yuan Shikai has been ousted from power has the possibility of realization, I convened the princes this time, there is an important issue is the three southwestern provinces, the two lakes and the two Guangzhou, how to deal with the next step, all the princes have come up with an opinion! ”

Qiao Yu directly set the tone, not ready to fight again, although everyone present was a little surprised, but also expressed their understanding, they also know the situation in the provinces, the current strength is indeed insufficient, and there are many internal contradictions in the protection [***], for example, this is just a conference, the Guizhou Protector Liu Xianshi did not come because of illness, everyone is very clear that Liu Xianshi has colluded with Beiyang, and it is difficult for such a protector to continue to attack Beiyang.

After Lu Rongting listened to Qiao Yu's words, he nodded frequently, "Qiao Shuai, I agree with you, as long as we can overthrow the imperial system, we must also be sympathetic to the people and not carry out the Northern Expedition, but I want to know what consensus Qiao Shuai and Duan Qirui have reached, we can't work in vain!" ”

Lu Rongting is fifty-seven years old this year, not young, but in good health, with a loud voice, Lu Rongting is also reckless, active in the Sino-Vietnamese border, once dealt a heavy blow to the French colonial army, and was later recruited by the Qing court, like Zhang Zuolin, at the same time, he was born as a bandit, and now he is in a high position, and he is also a hero of the times.

"Duke Lu, this time the provinces jointly oppose Yuan, and the hard work is high, so naturally they will be rewarded accordingly, so I asked Duan Qirui for the power of autonomy, I am ready to promote Xia Douyin as the governor of Hubei, Tan Zu'an as the governor of Hunan, your brother Lu as the patrol envoy of Liangguang, Zhang Bailin as the governor of Guizhou, the provinces implement inter-provincial autonomy, Beiyang must not interfere in the personnel arrangements of the provinces, not only what do you think?"

When Lu Rongting heard that Qiao Yu was actually preparing to let him serve as the patrol envoy of the two Guangzhous, he was also overjoyed, this was tantamount to handing over the two Guangzhous to his own hands, how could Lu Rongting not be happy in his heart.

"Lu Gong has one more thing, although Guangxi is not far from the ocean, but because the coastal areas are all divided into Guangdong Province, Guangxi has become an inland province, which is very unfavorable to the development of Guangxi's economy, so I am also ready to redraw the border between the two provinces, and all the coastlines north of the Leizhou Peninsula will be assigned to Guangxi, so that Guangxi's economy can develop!"