"Never back down? ()！ ”

Easier said than done?

Seeing the back of Ge Fu leaving, Li Yuanhong's face was a little unnatural. The pressure of the British is not so easy to resolve, especially at the moment they are still standing behind Yuan Shikai openly and secretly, what should they do if they really get into trouble? Hu Ying was even more angry, as the foreign minister of the legitimate military government, he had almost no chance to intervene in the negotiations, but Wang Zhengting waited for Yang Qiu's attention, and frequently acted as a translator and liaison, and at this moment the crisis was heavy, he couldn't help but say angrily: "Commander Yang, what do you mean by this, do you know that the Yangtze River is now the British who have the final say?" If they blockade the river and bombard us with warships, then it should be one. [Search latest update.123sk]

"Shut up!"

Yang Qiu didn't give the foreign minister any face, and glared at him coldly: "Li Du, Minister Tang." As the saying goes, nothing is trivial in diplomacy! I think it is necessary for us to find a nodding worm who has read the Western Academy, is familiar with foreigners, and will not be submissive in front of foreigners. ”

"Yang Qiu, you bastard ()!" These unceremonious words made Hu Ying tremble all over, and her fingers trembled and she couldn't speak for a long time.

What does it mean to have studied in the West School? I don't know if I want to praise Wang Zhengting! He, the foreign minister, was appointed by Li Yuanhong, so how could he be in charge of a puppet who only knew how to hold a gun.

Li Yuanhong and Tang Hualong, who were worried about the relationship between Hubei and the British, were originally a little dissatisfied with Yang Qiu's provocative words just now, but now they saw that he was angry with Hu Ying, and even wanted to replace him, their faces suddenly became much more ugly, and the latter said: "Chenhua, Jingwu is also very serious about his work during this time, if it weren't for his maneuvering to make the foreigners neutral, I'm afraid we may not be able to recover the three provinces so smoothly." ”

What does foreign neutrality have to do with him? Yang Qiu snorted coldly: "Chen Hua has never asked about political affairs since he became the commander-in-chief, and I hope that Governor Li will forgive me if I have more words today." After finishing speaking, he got up and avoided: "Rutang, go to the concession to find His Excellency the German Minister Traun, and tell him that I need some diplomatic support now." ”

Germany! Diplomatic support? Wang Zhengting had already guessed that Yang Qiu had contact with the Germans, otherwise how could he buy so many German ** fire, and there were four or five German bodyguards, so he immediately nodded and left. Li Yuanhong and Tang Hualong were also secretly shocked, don't look at the only sentence "some diplomatic support" - if Germany can really help diplomatically, then the situation may not be so bad. Thinking of this, the eyes of the two looking at Hu Ying changed a little.

Hu Ying didn't expect that Yang Qiu would be able to persuade Germany to obtain diplomatic support, and the cold sweat on his forehead rolled down instantly. Yang Qiu didn't look at him either, and continued: "Li Du doesn't have to be too sad, you and Minister Tang should come up with a way to save the peace talks as soon as possible, Yuan Shikai has the help of the British, and it is clear that he wants to suppress us before Tang Shaoyi turns around and goes to Shanghai, if we don't come up with something, it will really come to an end!" As for the matter of the United Kingdom, Chenhua will handle it well. ”

"That's good, that's good." Li Yuanhong said two sentences in a row, and sat down like a Maitreya Buddha. Tang Hualong was still very worried, and asked, "I don't know what Chenhua has to do?" Speaking out also reassures us. ”

"There is no good policy. One. As soon as Yang Qiu opened his mouth, he almost fainted, got up and smiled faintly: "Brother is a rough man, the best way is to use a gun!" ”

Barrel of a gun? ()！

My brother, this time it's British, huh?

Tang Hualong and Li Yuanhong glanced at each other, and their faces were worried. But what can they do? Now in the three provinces, except for the Wuchang Governor's Mansion, which has a hundred or so guards that can be controlled, the rest of the troops are all his Yang Qiu's men. People are now famous, and their position in the army is even more stable, so they can only watch him leave quickly.

After Yang Qiu walked out of the Consultative Bureau, he looked at the concession area on the other side of the river, which occupied the small half of the town of Hankou, and his eyes were solemn. These concessions of different sizes are like cancers! How long will you have to endure it? If these blood-sucking pipes are not pulled out, will the three provinces and the future of the country be smooth? Or simply sell the oxygen torpedo technology to Germany and kill the British Navy and completely change the history of the world?

As he walked, he repeatedly went through the world situation and the domestic situation in his mind, and when the ferry arrived in Hanyang, Song Ziqing and Zhang Wenjing, who had rushed to hear the news, were stopped by him before they could speak, and ordered: "Order! Immediately, the Third Division stopped entering Hunan and all of them were pulled to Xingou to cooperate with the First Division, and preparations were made to attack Xiaogan. The 2nd and 3rd Brigades of the 2nd Division set off immediately, and went north along Jingshan to converge with the 1st Brigade and march towards Wusheng Pass. The Fourth Division immediately carried out a long-distance training exercise, catching up with the Second Division and preparing to attack Wusheng Pass! Except for the troops with the mission, the rest of the Fifth Division immediately went to Chongqing and the Seventh Brigade to prepare for southward support! Immediately mobilize the artillery battalions that can be mobilized and deploy them along the river to be on standby 24 hours a day! Order the naval battalion to go out and keep an eye on the movements of the British ships at all times, but never fire first!

Inform Shen Shukai that he is ready to continue the expansion of the army. If I contact Japan again, I can lift the military control order on the Hanyeping Iron Ore Mine, but the ironworks are not Japan's most vital interests, so they will not be lifted for the time being. In addition, I conveyed to the Japanese Minister that I hope to have a constructive meeting on the future status of Han Yeping! ”

From these orders, it can be seen that Yang Qiu is not equal, and the peace talks are over. So Song Ziqing immediately agreed: "The British have two dogs in the Far East, Japan and Beiyang!" Japan's interests were in Manchuria and the north, and in the south it was not possible to intervene except Han Yeping, and the low-carbon steel of the ironworks was not what Japan urgently needed. ”

Yang Qiu agreed: "Your analysis is good, now the most important thing for us is to force Yuan Shikai to withdraw the troops ()!" Dai Tianqiu will immediately send a press release to Shanghai, taking advantage of the opportunity to prepare for the peace talks, and make as much noise as possible, didn't he Zhu Erdian want to help Yuan Shikai suppress us and deliberately arrange for the peace talks to be held in Shanghai? Well, we're not going to get involved! As long as the momentum is built up and the unreasonable demands of the British are publicized, Yuan Shikai will fight us again, and everyone will think that he is going to be a British lackey! Don't hit one. As soon as Beiyang withdrew, Ying Hao cut off an arm that threatened us. ”

"What about downstream? In case we do have a conflict with the British, they may not intervene. Zhang Wenjing looked at the British gunboats on the river with some nervousness.

Yang Qiu laughed slyly: "I'm not in the downstream estuary. If it really starts, I'm afraid they will be more anxious than me. ”

Let's go, let's go!

When the news that the north-south peace talks were going to Shanghai was exposed, Hubei, which had always thought that it would become the heart of the country after the first contribution, felt the taste of betrayal. As the troops who received the order, such as the toothed cheetah, moved one after another, the Wehrmacht, whose morale had reached its peak after the victory of Okurayama, once again directly tore up the temporary ceasefire agreement reached with Beiyang with a majestic singing.

In addition to the Army, the Navy battalion was no longer idle. After filling the ammunition depot with new shells, the three ships of Chu Yu slowly drove into the waterway outside the Hankou Concession Area, and every sailor was ordered to keep one eye open even if he was sleeping.

At the same time, in order to cooperate with the naval division, the Guishan Fort and the Snake Mountain Fort were put on high alert, and the four artillery battalions were transferred to deploy along the Hankou and Wuchang rivers.

This deployment immediately shocked all the eyeballs, and the army's dispatch can be said to be against the Beiyang Army entrenched in Xiaogan. It's already completely beyond the scope of the civil war! Columns and Sects are above! What the hell is Yang Qiu going to do?!

The sheer scale of the transfer kept some people awake, especially Li Yuanhong, who feared that it would provoke Britain into a foreign war, and Ge Fu, who did not expect Yang Qiu to take such drastic actions. When he learned the news, Xinsheng Road, where the Hua District and the concession meet, had been completely blocked by the garrison battalion and the guard company, and the sandbags and bunkers of all sizes had plunged Hankow, which had only been quiet for a few days, into the haze of war once again ().

It wasn't until Dai Tianqiu's latest report appeared in the newspaper the next day that everyone understood what was going on in Hubei.

A transcript of the talks, written entirely in the vernacular, details the unreasonable demands made by Graham as a British representative, and the humiliation and pain of being a Chinese can be felt even by newly literate children. Under the guidance of the impassioned words, the voices of opposition to the continued rampant behavior of the foreign powers gradually became louder from the trickle and finally slowly spread to the whole of China.

"Damn it! Lille! Stand in your seat and lock them down! ”

"Fillett, are you on vacation? Bring your people! It is necessary to ensure that you have sufficient ammunition to sink them in the first place. ”

The situation on the Yangtze River changed abruptly, and the four insect-class river gunboats turned their guns to the two Chuzi-class gunboats and one Jiangzi gunboat docked on the other side of the river, and the tonnage of the two gunboats was not much different, but the British had one more, and all of them were six-inch cannons, so they had a greater advantage.

Wang Guangxiong and Bingwen, who had just learned the flag, silently chanted: "Leave this water area immediately and unconditionally, otherwise our ship will intercept and shell, and we must obey our orders!" ”

"Fuck, another must! How can Lao Tzu open in his own Yangtze River, and take care of the British feathers! Come on, turn the muzzle of the cannon and aim it, is it great to have one more than Lao Tzu? Lao Tzu on the sea saw that you didn't have a way to hide, on the river?! Fuck you! At this distance, Lao Tzu can also drag three cushions before he dies! The bearded Wang Guangxiong was furious, giving orders with foul language, and Bingwen next to him also clenched his fists, and finally understood what is the reasonable naval artillery diplomacy with a large muzzle.

"Colonel, they also turned the muzzle of the gun!"

The first mate's nervous shouts made Lieutenant Colonel Fry, who was leisurely drinking coffee, angry. Even without binoculars, Fry's knowledge of the firepower configuration of the three gunboats on the opposite side that had been active recently, so he secretly compared the strength of the two sides in his heart. The three Chinese gunboats had 5 47-inch naval guns and 5 3-inch rapid-fire guns, and on their own side were 8 six-inch naval guns and a dozen one-pound guns. Fight up one. Fuck, it's too close! Even if the Chinese have poor training level, in such narrow waters, even if cruisers and gunboats are dispatched to bombard, I am afraid that it is extremely dangerous!

As a lieutenant colonel who had only become a gunboat commander in his forties and had no ambition to enjoy a generous daily Far Eastern allowance, he hated the yellow-skinned monkeys across from him, and he hated the damn bitch politicians. Scolding: "Damn idiot, what the hell did he get us in trouble!" ”

The first mate shook his head with a bitter face, this profound question was not something he could know, so he couldn't answer the lieutenant colonel. But he finally had a "brave Nelson heart" more than Fleish, and said in a low voice: "Lieutenant Colonel, no matter what Your Excellency Graham does, we must warn these idiots, and I suggest that they be warned of the shelling in front of them, so that they can understand who has the final say here!" ”

Folly suddenly envied his Far Eastern counterparts who were on a mission in the open sea, because on the sea, even if the Japanese Navy, which had just won the Battle of Tsushima, walked around when they saw the rice flag, they had to face the provocation of three small mosquitoes! Perhaps the first mate finally aroused the pride in his heart and said, "Very good advice, permission to warn of shelling." If they return fire, then fire with all their might...... Kill them! When he finished speaking, he put his coffee on the podium and picked up an English version of the newspaper. It's his habit, an idiot who thinks he's in danger! The first mate said in black a sentence instead of giving the order for a warning shelling.

The muzzles of the four insect-class gunboats flashed at the same time, and the rumbling sound of the cannons startled Bingwen when he turned his head to ask Wang Guangxiong if he would return fire, he found that his face was extremely dark, and he pinched the railing hard: "Don't be afraid, the muzzle is not in the right direction, it's a warning!" Tell the brethren that as long as the shells do not land on the ship, they must not fire first! ”

The sudden sound of shelling completely swept up the tide, and countless white people who were enjoying the beautiful life in the Far East in the concession were taken aback, and the ministers of various countries rushed to the top to check the situation as soon as possible

Drops of sweat rolled down the noses of the officers and men of the three ships, and the British guns had turned back after the warning shelling, and both sides had locked on each other, and the British sailors continued to whistle and provoke. This made the gunners of the naval battalion, whose eyes were red, secretly swear that as long as the guns on the opposite side shone with fire, they would shoot as many shells as fast as possible.

The air on the Yangtze River almost froze, and at this moment, Bingwen suddenly pointed in the direction of the Japanese concession: "Pipe belt one ̈ Japanese!" ”

Wang Guangxiong turned his head to take a look, his face changed, and he saw three Japanese gunboats rushing towards him violently, and the muzzles of the guns were all locked on! With three more Japanese gunboats, the situation suddenly took a turn for the worse, and with two to one, Britain and Japan were absolutely sure that they would sink themselves before they suffered serious damage.

What to do? Fall back?! No, Lao Tzu Jiawu has lost once, and this time he will fucking die, not to mention that there are still four army brothers from the artillery battalion on the shore to support him. As the minutes ticked by, the Japanese gunboats flew their flags and approached the rear of the British formation, forming a neat line of shelling.

At this critical moment, Yang Jingxiu, a sailor temporarily stationed in Yangluo, also got the news of the confrontation on the Yangtze River. As a result of maintaining neutrality in the civil war, the relationship between the Marines and the Wehrmacht not only did not improve, but deteriorated a lot. Because the Wehrmacht staff believed that it was precisely because the navy did not provide artillery support that the three bridges were quickly lost and almost endangered Hankow. The most serious thing is that the commander at that time was the second leader of the League, so the sailor could be regarded as offending the party. Although he sent several telegrams to Jiangxi and Lianghuai, who dared to ask for them at this moment? Even if you want to, you can't afford it! Millions of dollars are spent on half-hearted sailors every year, and it is not as cost-effective as arming several divisions. Therefore, during this period, except for Wang Guangxiung's naval battalion, which was ordered to receive some silver and supplies from time to time, their supplies were all cut off, and many soldiers were so worried that they did not want to do it when the day of payment was approaching.

Therefore, knowing that Wang Guangxiong was blocked by Britain and Japan, Yang Jingxiu and the captains of the sailors immediately realized that this was a good opportunity to mend relations, not to mention that the Yangtze River is also Chinese, and if it cannot be beaten on the sea, should it be avoided on the river? So he immediately ordered the Hairong ship to lead three gunboats to support.

The arrival of the Hairong ship and the three gunboats immediately triggered the most violent chain reaction, and when Wang Guangxiong jumped to his feet and laughed that the sailors had not forgotten the brotherhood, there was also chaos in the Hankou Concession.

Looking at the confrontation on the river, Traun, who was standing at the window, was thoughtful, he had secretly sent the news of the loan and the right to operate the Hanchuan Railway back to Shanghai and China, and the feedback was naturally very happy for him, but he did not expect that the situation would deteriorate so much in just a few days, once Yang Qiu and Britain and Japan deteriorated, should Germany intervene in this matter, or should it ignore it and wait for the matter to end?

Some diplomatic support?

Traun remembered the message sent by Yang Qiu, and turned his head to ask his counselor, "Love, what do you think we should do?" ”

Loew was a German commercial counsellor who had lived in China for many years, and it is said that his grandfather came to the country as early as 1830 and made an unimaginable fortune, for which he was rewarded by His Majesty the Emperor. Therefore, he was the most staunch supporter of Germany's seizure of the Far Eastern market, and when he heard the inquiry, he immediately said: "Your Excellency, Yang Qiu has opened a beautiful big market to us. So I think we should make something in return if he is eliminated! Then we will get nothing. ”

"I understand that." Traun pointed to the rice flag flying high: "But it will damage our relationship with the United Kingdom, this matter is too big!" ”

Loew said: "I think we should tell Yang Qiu that if we can expel the British lackeys from Hubei as soon as possible, then we can help more." And you said a lot, we don't yet have the strength to fully confront Britain in the Far East, and the damned little Japanese monkey has their eye on Tsingtao, so we should immediately send the news back to China and hand it over to Parliament and His Majesty Wilhelm. ”

Traun: "Okay, you go and tell us what we mean, and then send the news back to the country as quickly as possible, and tell them that one. I need to get an accurate and clear approach here. ”

The radio waves arrived at the Hong Kong relay station at the fastest speed, and after layers of forwarding, they were quickly sent to Europe, and even Yang Qiu probably didn't expect how much of a storm this telegram would eventually stir up.

After arriving in Germany after a few hours of telegrams, Wilhelm II, known as Europe's first nerve knife, left a room full of banquet guests, summoned his ministers as quickly as possible, and then brandished a telegram pointing to the monkey's head stolen from the Old Summer Palace outside Sanssouci Palace, shouting: "The British are in great trouble in the Far East!" Great, let's go, go to the Far East, our little monkey needs some support! ”

In the face of His Majesty the Emperor, who had an impulsive personality and never thought about the consequences, the ministers even had the heart to die, and Moltke Jr. even had the urge to resign altogether. To the Far East? Oh, God! It was not ten years ago, and the gloom that hung over both sides of the North Sea had forced Germany to turn its attention back to Europe rather than to fight a war 10,000 miles away.

Fortunately, the hard-working German strategists and diplomats also saw that Britain was no longer capable of fighting overseas, so it took only one day to decide to give the "little monkey" some diplomatic support within their means, along with a huge list of weapons. Of course, this is something that costs money.

The next day, German newspapers were the first to poke out the news of a confrontation on the Yangtze River. Germany rejoiced that the sun never set was finally drawn into the second Boer War. France was worried, and they needed British help in the face of great German pressure. Gray and Whitehall scratched their heads even more, the hell was the damn rumor going around? Didn't Zhu Erdian say that everything was under control? Russia began to look at the map of the Far East with a full hiccups, the Japanese Taisho Cabinet contradicted each other, and the Navy supported Britain and the Army, but the Army saw this as a good opportunity to unite with China against the whites.

When the German minister, who got the news, knocked on the door of Zhu Erdian and asked if the principle of neutrality and unity of action had been abolished, the eyes of the whole of China were once again driven crazy by Hubei's magnanimity!

From Hong Kong to Beijing, the whole of China is talking about it. Those who applaud said that this is the atmosphere of the new government, and those who oppose it think that it is an idiot to offend Lord Yang now. Chen Qimei even openly sang the opposite tune, believing that Yang Qiu was ignoring the overall situation and that this confrontation would seriously hurt the new government at a time when the new government urgently needed foreign recognition, and demanded that the Hubei National Defense Forces immediately withdraw the gunboats. At the same time, the legations of various countries also began to discuss in the midst of scratching their heads, scolding Yang Qiu for not being able to do anything, and on the other hand, they were dissatisfied with Britain's attempt to monopolize the interests of the middle and upper reaches and negotiate with Hubei.

"Crazy! This Yang Qiu is completely crazy! Dare to confront the British! While Yuan Keding stomped his feet, Yuan Shikai hurried to the confidential staff room in the mansion, glared at him and asked Chen Eun: "Er'an one. What's going on now? ”

Chen Yan saluted respectfully, this general, who had become famous in the year of Gengzi, had just been invited by Yuan Shikai from Tianjin to serve as a military staff. Compared with the dying Beiyang, he had a little more vitality on his body, and stood in front of the map and introduced: "Now Yang Qiu's two divisions are bypassing Xiaogan and moving towards Wushengguan, and the remaining two divisions have arrived at the Xiaogan front, and the telegram sent back by Pingqing said that they are digging fortifications day and night, and they will be ready to attack tomorrow afternoon at the latest." ”

Yuan Shikai sat next to the brazier, picked up the tongs and dialed the charcoal fire, the recent internal and external difficulties made him look a lot older, and asked: "Er'an, you tell me the truth, is Yang Qiu really going to fight?" ”

Chen Yan said: "I can't predict this, but since he even dares to do it against the British, he must be ready to die." There was also news from Sichuan that the strength of a division was speeding up to Chongqing to prepare to move southeast from Badong. According to my calculations, this division will reach Hankow within ten days at the latest. One. ”

"What the hell is this Yang Qiu going to do? He really thought that he could really claim the king and hegemony with a few half-new towns? Dare to paw at the British middle. Yang Shiqi said angrily: "In my opinion, just hit a dozen!" Anyway, he still has to deal with the British and has a lot of strength, so I don't believe we are still afraid of him. ”

Chen Yan glanced at Yang Shiqi more, and sighed secretly in his heart, these old Beiyang people didn't know the outside world too much and asked: "My lord, from the perspective of military comparison, we have a chance to win, the question is whether you will fight this time!" ”

"To fight or not?" Yuan Shikai put down the tongs, looked at the handsome-looking new staff member and asked, "Er'an, what do you mean?" ”

Chen Eun took two steps back, he was not like Yang Shiqi and these old men when he first arrived, so he spoke very respectfully: "If you want to fight, then you should immediately let Wang Pingqing attack head-on, and immediately after a shot, you will immediately converge with Wushengguan and Duan Zhigui's troops, otherwise once Yang Qiu's two divisions complete the horizontal insertion, Xiaogan and Wushengguan will be broken, as long as it can drag on for ten days and a half months, Xiaogan, who has no food, drink and no supplies, will be over without fighting." But if you hit! Adult one. ”

Seeing his hesitation, Yuan Shikai immediately waved his hand and said, "It's okay to say it directly, I'm not so stupid that I can't listen to opinions." ”

Chen Yan continued: "This time it is enough to fight our troops in Hubei, but have you ever thought about it? Britain is now facing off against Yang Qiu. Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang have been rumored and boiling. If you hit one now. The relationship between adults and Britain will be talked about! In the opinion of the eunuchs, it is a foregone conclusion that Nanjing will not be guaranteed, and the party members who take Nanjing must be imposing. You have the initiative now, as long as you protect the court for a day, no matter how much the south casts you, there is no way to take you, so they must hold you to negotiate peace. But if you play one now. Even if Britain co-opts Japan, they will plant you a big hat for colluding with foreign co-workers. In case there is too much loss in Hubei, adults will be much more passive. ”

"If we lose, will Yang Qiu be better?" Yuan Keding was angry, seeing that peace talks were about to be made, but he didn't expect Yang Qiu to start crazy again, not only confronted the British, but also pulled out all the troops to fight to the death again, gritted his teeth and said: "Defeat him, what are the party members going to fight with us?" ”

Chen Eun muttered in his heart, the gap between this and Yuan Shikai is still too big, and he arched his hand: "What Brother Keding said is that the Southern Party and Yang Qiu are not in line with each other now, and the Party members must be happy when he falls, but if he gets into Sichuan, what will we do to chase him?" And don't forget, my lord, that yesterday the German minister went to see Zhu Erdian, and this matter is probably not so simple. ”

Yuan Shikai's hands trembled, and he immediately pretended to fold his sleeves to cover up, and asked quietly: "Er'an, what do you mean Yang Qiu really has to do with Germany?" ”

"I don't know." Chen Eun was very simply: "Eun is just speculating, but I just think that he is not so simple, so many German weapons will not fall from the sky." ”

Yuan Shikai was afraid of this, why didn't he worry about the south so far? It is because Zhu Erdian is behind the support, no matter how fierce the trouble is in the south, as long as the foreigners do not participate in it, they will have no loans, no weapons, and this little soldier will fight less and less, but if someone supports one. That's dangerous, and he asked, "What does Er'an mean?" ”

Chen Eun confessed first, and then said: "I mean, if you don't want to fight, then simply withdraw from Xiaogan, but don't let go of Wushengguan, so that you can attack and retreat, and the initiative is still in our hands." Then let Brother Shaochuan and his son press on the Shanghai side to force Yang Qiu to withdraw his troops. As for the British side one. We'd better not get involved. ”

Yuan Shikai picked up the tongs again and tossed the charcoal, he actually wanted to take the opportunity to play a dozen in his heart, and the hazy relationship between Yang Qiu and Germany made him very interested. But I am afraid that Chen Eun will say that he will fall into the mouth of colluding with foreigners, and the embers of the road protection movement have not disappeared, and the country is already very dissatisfied with the domineering of foreigners, and if he jumps out, the party members may be even happier.

Just when he couldn't pay attention, Wang Yitang suddenly rushed in and shouted, "Gong Bao, it's not good." Nanjing. Gone! ”。 Clear