"I heard that Brother Ziyu gave everything he had, and once allocated 550,000 yuan to the Hanyang Arsenal to expand production, so it is rumored that Brother Ziyu is determined to win the post of overseer of Hubei, right?"

Xiao Yimin's sudden questioning was like a thunderclap, which instantly exploded Wu Peifu's heart attack, and he only felt that his ears were roaring and his brain was in chaos.

The chopsticks in Zhang Qiqi's hand had fallen, his eyes widened, and he looked blankly at Xiao Yimin, who lifted the wine bottle and politely poured wine for Wu Peifu and himself, his chest and abdomen were already turbulent, and the panic of being seen through at a glance and the huge temptation that suddenly appeared in front of him made Zhang Qiqi, who was full of splendor, almost unable to control his emotions.

"Huh! Seeing Brother Ziyu and Brother Ziwu so surprised, the younger brother has a bottom in his heart, it seems that most of the rumors in the outside world are chasing after the wind, lest the world be chaotic! Come on, come on, two brothers, please, and the younger brother will toast you again. Xiao Yimin raised his glass again, with a relaxed smile on his face.

Wu Peifu almost subconsciously picked up the wine glass, but put it down without raising it to a high place, glanced at Zhang Qiqi who was quietly wiping his sweat, and suddenly let out a hearty long laugh, and only raised his head for a while before sighing:

"I finally know why Chief Cao was defeated by Yiming twice, it seems that it will be my turn next, am I right?"

Xiao Yimin slowly put down his wine glass, still with a humble smile on his face:

"At least until Brother Ziyu explicitly challenges him, the younger brother will never meet Brother Ziyu in battle, whether the two brothers believe it or not, the younger brother must inform the two brothers that the light car Jian has never come to visit, and there is no intention of showing off or showing off, let alone the delusion of surrendering without a fight. On the contrary, the younger brother and the 100,000 soldiers under his command who have been out of Sichuan for a long time are eager to end the war between the two lakes as soon as possible and end the hostile state between our army and the Beiyang armies.

"Brother Ziyu, Brother Ziwu, the war in Hunan is over, the unification of Hunan is unstoppable, and the tens of millions of people in Lianghu who have suffered from the war can no longer withstand the devastation of war.

The more Wu Peifu listened, the more confused he became, and he didn't understand that when the Sichuan army had the upper hand, how could Xiao Yimin suddenly have the idea of quitting the army? Could it be that he is another Song Xianggong, no matter how you look at the other side, he doesn't look like a pedantic person!

Wu Peifu's eyes were half-closed, and he stared at Xiao Yimin's eyes for a long time before he asked quietly: "Since there is such sincerity, why are Brother Yiming's five divisions still exerting pressure on our troops in four directions?" Could it be that Brother Yiming has been using this way to seek the interests of the country and the nation? ”

Xiao Yimin was stunned for a moment, shook his head and smiled, and then said sincerely: "Before the junior brother left Puqi Wharf to meet his brother, he had already ordered the divisions stationed in Hubei to retreat fifty miles and wait for the order to show his sincerity. ”

"Isn't that right? According to the battle report sent back by our army in the afternoon, the fourth division of the main force of your army is still entrenched along the railway from Tingsi Bridge to Puqi, and there is no intention of evacuating! Zhang Qiqi asked unceremoniously.

Xiao Yimin put away his smile and explained very seriously:

"The reason why the two divisions of our Seventh Army stationed from Tingsi Bridge to Linxiang did not retreat is because the younger brother has reached an agreement with the two generals Tan Zu'an and Cheng Songyun, and all the prisoners of the Beiyang Army will be handed over to our army for disposal, and the weapons and equipment will be left to all departments of the Hunan Army, so our Seventh Army, including the Reading Division of our army currently occupying Pingjiang, is handing over prisoners and equipment with all departments of the Hunan Army.

"As of 3 o'clock in the afternoon today, the war in Hunan has ended, and the people of the two lakes who have suffered from the war can no longer withstand the devastation of the war! The Hunan army will escort more than 4,000 prisoners to our army in Linxiang, Pingjiang and other places, and it is estimated that it will take three to five days to complete the handover of prisoners, and then our army will station a division in southern Hunan for a long time to assist the two generals Tan Zu'an and Cheng Songyun in controlling and purging Hunan, and the rest of the troops will be withdrawn to the Sichuan garrison one after another. ”

Wu Peifu and Zhang Qiqi fell into deep thought.

The two looked at each other, and both saw the strong shock and ** in each other's eyes. Xiao Yimin's words contain extremely complex connotations, frankness, overtures, concessions, temptations, expectations, and the greater conspiracy hidden behind these are displayed in front of the two of them one by one, among them, thousands of valuable Beiyang Army captured soldiers are undoubtedly the huge benefits of forcing Wu Peifu to make a choice as soon as possible.

If Xiao Yimin's support can be obtained and this group of captured soldiers of the Beiyang Army, whose number is by no means less than 6,000, Wu Peifu's strength will be doubled in an instant, which is not only a huge temptation for Wu Peifu, who is still only a major general and brigade commander who is temporarily hung as a Wuhan town guard, but may even change his life path because of this.

However, the benefits came too quickly, too suddenly, so that Wu Peifu was unbelievable for a while, and in a trance, he also saw the huge price and deep responsibility hidden behind various interests, therefore, after a long period of contemplation, Wu Peifu picked up the wine glass very cautiously, held his breath, turned the bottom to the sky, and slowly put down the wine glass at the same time, and exhaled a deep spicy and fiery breath.

Zhang Qiqi, who came back to his senses, couldn't care about his demeanor anymore, and his cautious surname prompted him to ask a sharp question: "Brother Yiming, at three o'clock in the afternoon, it seems that we are meeting on the dock, right?" How do you get the news that as of three o'clock in the afternoon, the war has ended, and the Hunan army has handed over 4,000 Beiyang soldiers to you? ”

Xiao Yimin was originally a little worried about Zhang Qiqiang, who questioned cautiously, thinking that he had seen something wrong, but he didn't expect that this chief of staff, who was known for his scheming, would ask such a question, so he explained very kindly:

"Brother Ziwu, the two gunboats brought by the younger brother are equipped with high-power radio stations imported from the American Bell Company, and the younger brother can get in touch with the divisions of our army and the Chengdu General Headquarters at any time, if Brother Ziwu is interested, he might as well go and inspect it tomorrow."

Zhang Qiqiang was taken aback, looking at the whole country, only the provincial overseers of the Beiyang Army have a high-power radio station, this time Cao Kun led two divisions and a brigade to rush to the Hunan battlefield, and it was only because he had to contact the Yanjing headquarters at any time to temporarily equip one, or four years ago with a lot of effort to buy it from Germany, where did he think that the Sichuan army would have so many high-power radios, and it was also equipped with division-level combat troops, such a strong strength, who can hope for it?

Who knew that what made Zhang Qiqiang and Wu Peifu speechless was still to come, Xiao Yimin saw the two of them like this, and gave a big gift again:

"If Brother Ziyu and Brother Ziwu don't care about anything, the younger brother can send two radio stations to your ministry to use, and the younger brother quietly purchased a batch of advanced radio stations from the United States at a large amount of money through the relationship between the Western Iron and Steel Company of the United States at the beginning of the year, and it is said that the embassies of Britain, the United States, France, and other countries in China replaced them with this advanced product as early as last year, and in comparison, we are already lagging behind a lot, so you don't need to be so surprised."

"Huh!? In that case, thank you first! Come on, the dishes are cold, fill your stomach first, and then we sit down and talk slowly, the virtuous brother will make us faint as soon as he comes, it seems that we have to cheer up twelve points of spirit, otherwise who knows if you will be sold in a daze? ”

At this time, Wu Peifu came to his senses, put everything away in a chic manner, and made a joke with half-truths, Zhang Qiqi also cooperated very tacitly, and enthusiastically gave Xiao Yimin a piece of fragrant and hot spicy boiled Wuchang fish after the toast.

The next morning, the sky had just brightened, Wu Peifu and Zhang Qiqi, who had been talking all night, were not tired at all, and sent Xiao Yimin to the dock full of energy, and the three of them stood at the front of the gangplank connecting the gunboat, talking in a low voice, not afraid of the cold and whistling river wind, until Xiao Yimin boarded the boat and went away, Wu Peifu and Zhang Qiqi were still in the same place and watched from afar.

"Ziyu, I have this heart in my heart...... Trembling, walking on thin ice! If Xiao Yimin really does the three things well, I am afraid that we will also be tied together by him, I don't know if the road ahead is a curse or a blessing! ”

Zhang Qiqi was full of apprehension, his mood was like the surging river shrouded in mist in front of him, and he couldn't see the scenery on the other side clearly.

At this time, Wu Peifu, who was not yet famous, nodded, put up the collar of his military coat, took a deep breath of cold air, and said with excitement:

"Ziwu, Yiming's sentence is good, how many times is it rare to fight in life? If you don't fight again, you and I really have to do nothing to hold a grudge for so many years in the army, almost all of my ambitions are about to be worn out, and now I finally see the opportunity I dreamed of, do you think I can give up easily? I'm afraid you can't bear it, right? ”

"Haha! You know my surname very well, if you say it well, you are taking precautions, and if you don't say it well, you are resourceful and indecisive, and you can't bear the responsibility...... Ziyu, don't worry, although we have been together for a short time, we can see each other at first sight and complement each other, and the only one who can know me and use me in this world is Ziyu! So far, even if there is a sea of swords and fires in front of me, I have no right to choose, so I can only go down with you! ”

Zhang Qiqi's self-deprecating answer provoked Wu Peifu to laugh heartily, which made Zhang Qiqi can't help laughing. After laughing for a long time, the two returned hand in hand under the surprised gaze of the guards

At nine o'clock in the morning, Yanjing Di'anmen Maoer Hutong, the official residence of Acting President Feng Guozhang.

Three black Citroen sedans, passing through the snow-covered streets, slowly slowed down, and drove into the gate of the heavily guarded official residence, and before the cars could stop under the wide steps, two major generals and a middle-aged man in a black tweed coat quickly stepped forward and opened the door.

Duan Qirui, whose eyes were red, did not get out of the car immediately, he nodded to Li Chun, who had just been promoted to Jiangsu Overseer and rushed back to Yanjing to report on his work, turned to Chen Zhiji, Feng Guozhang's son-in-law and confidential secretary, and asked with great concern: "Has Brother Huafu woken up?" ”

Chen Zhiji nodded heavily:

"I woke up at four o'clock in the morning, but I was still vomiting blood, after the joint consultation of Dr. Ben and the British doctors, I gave an injection, and then hung up the bottle, the situation improved slightly, I fed some nutrient solution at dawn, just fell asleep, it is estimated that I will not wake up until the afternoon, and then I will know whether I am out of danger."

Duan Qirui sighed and rubbed his swollen eyes: "Xiushan, it's useless for you to wait here, if you have time, send the Jiangsu army reorganization plan to my office as soon as possible, and I will give you approval." ”

Li Chun exhaled with relief, bent down and hurriedly thanked: "Thank you, Brother Zhiquan!" The younger brother will go back and tidy up. ”

Duan Qirui once again gave detailed advice to Chen Zhiji and Feng Guozhang's bodyguards, and ordered the driver to drive to the Prime Minister's Office, at this moment, he really did not want to get out of the car and enter the official residence, and the dozens of politicians and diplomats from Europe and the United States gathered in the hall were not sincere visitors, but speculators who were eager to confirm Feng Guozhang's illness or even whether he was still alive.

Under such circumstances, as soon as Duan Qirui came forward, he would immediately be entangled by that group of politicians who were like flies and vampires, and countless thorny problems would pounce on him.

Duan Qirui in the car took out his right hand that had been in his pocket, wiped the sweat stains from his hand, put his hand into his pocket again, grabbed the secret telegram he had just received an hour ago, and then slowly leaned back.

Duan Qirui read the telegram again, sighed faintly, and then closed his heavy eyes, Xiao Yimin's smiling face, and every word on the secret telegram, quickly filled his mind, almost no need to think about it, Duan Qirui has understood that he has once again reached a crossroads in his life, and once again faces an extremely difficult choice.

(To be continued)