Lao Yuan looked at the twenty-one documents, and suddenly had a very ridiculous feeling, if Qiao Yu sat in his position, would he be so passive!

"Huizi, am I old, I have been bullied to the doorstep, I still have to rely on a small Sichuan to share the pressure, am I too wasted as a big president!"

"Don't say that, president, as a president, you have too many things to consider, too many interests to weigh, and even more constraints!" Yang Du heard the depression in Lao Yuan's tone, and hurriedly explained: "President, as the saying goes, it's good to turn around when the boat is small, Sichuan is still too small compared to China, so the change is relatively easy, but from here the president should also see hope, China has more than 20 provinces, if each of them can reach the level of Sichuan, I'm afraid that the great powers will be compared!" ”

"Huizi, how much heart and effort I have wasted in the past few years, but how many people have really understood my difficulties! How easy is it to change! ”

"The president doesn't have to be like this, I think it's still a matter of reputation, the name is not right, the words are not good, this president is not as good as the emperor who said nothing, and he must sacrifice his life to plan for Yuan Gong!"

All the important officials in Sichuan came to the Shuaifu, even Qiao Zhen, Liu Xiang, Yu Peilun, Luo Changqi and others who were in Sichuan were also transferred back, everyone looked at the document of the 21st with a grim face, and the brows of all the military generals were furrowed, and Han Yong slapped the table even more after reading it.

"Dashuai, I am really insatiable, I dare to put forward such arrogant conditions, our 50,000 Sichuan army athletes are not able to set up, the big deal is that we will fight to the end, and we will burn all the jade!"

"That's right, Dashuai, Sichuan Arsenal and Yucheng Iron and Steel Plant are our lifeblood, how much effort did the people of Sichuan businessmen spend to build it, how can it be easily given to Yueben, if I dare to move here, I have to ask us if we agree!" Wu Tong also went on to express his opinion.

"Hehe, you guys can't fight with such a big anger!" It was the first time for Jiang Baili to participate in this kind of meeting, but as a scholar, he felt the need to express his opinion: "Ladies and gentlemen, I think that I put forward this condition at this time, and I am going to President Yuan, and in my opinion, it is mostly a bluff!" ”

Qiao Yu smiled and asked, "Brother Jiang, do you have any basis?" ”

"Qiao Shuai, everyone, the damage of the Russo-Japanese War to Yue Ben is far more serious than it seems, Yu Ben is still subject to this huge debt, if it were not for the outbreak of World War I, with the support of Britain and France, whether I can send troops to Shandong is still between the two, so I said that I am blackmailing, they simply do not have the strength to force China to compromise! Moreover, Sichuan can regard the European war as an excellent opportunity for development, and he has seen through all this, and now he has put all his energy into improving the country's industrial capacity, so how can he be willing to be interrupted! ”

"Brother Jiang, you and I don't know that this strength is not there, but President Yuan may not know it, and Sichuan is inland, and it is difficult for the powerful Yueben Navy to reach, and there are still many coastal areas, as long as the combined fleet of Yueben appears, I'm afraid they won't be able to withstand it!"

After Qiao Yu finished speaking, there was also a burst of colic in his heart, the twenty-one articles are famous in modern history, and they were actually chosen at the juncture when Yuan Shikai's political axe had just stabilized the national situation, the ingenuity of the timing was indescribable, Yuan Shikai finally accepted the twenty-one articles, which completely made the Beiyang political axe lose its legal surname, and also made the people of the whole country begin to dislike this political axe, in fact, Yuan Shikai's prestige was still very high before this.

Immediately after Yuan Shikai made a bigger mistake, that is, he ascended the throne and became the emperor, and the unification situation that was hard won in the early years of the Republic of China was completely buried, and Qiao Yu even suspected that he had foreseen this possibility, so he would force Yuan Shikai so much.

After Jiang Baili heard Qiao Yu's words, his optimism also disappeared, Qiao Yu said well, this is a bet that is afraid of both wolves, the key is who has more confidence, let Yuan Shikai have the courage to let the coastal areas turn into ruins and start a war with Yuben? Jiang Baili has dealt with the people of Beiyang too much, and most of them will back down.

"Dashuai, if Beiyang is unreliable, then what should we do, the factory must not let the company get involved, and the railway cannot be allowed to be built, otherwise our military strength is still strong, and we have lost our geographical advantage, I am afraid that it will be difficult for us to develop!" Since Wang Dongcheng followed Qiao Yu, his net worth has become more and more rich, and he also has a lot of shares in Yucheng Iron and Steel Plant, which is the foundation of Wang Dongcheng, how can he allow him to lose, and the rest of Wang Gui, Zhang Fuxiang, Wang Chengji and others are the same, it is a matter of their own interests, and they can't help but care.

Qiao Yu thought about it slightly, "Everyone, I very much agree with Brother Jiang's opinion on Yueben, now Yueben absolutely does not have the ability to start a full-scale war, nor does he have the will, this is a blackmail, but we must also see clearly, Beiyang political axe will definitely be difficult to resist the pressure of Yueben, Yuan Shikai will leak the content of the 21st article to us, I am afraid that it is for the purpose of letting us come out of the top tank, we still don't come out for the time being, I suggest that we leak the content of this treaty to the press, relying on their power to force Beiyang, At the same time, put pressure on the company, and strive to form a wave of boycott of the goods again! ”

Yuan Shikai wanted to use Qiao Yu, Qiao Yu had no intention of taking advantage of this incident, after the outbreak of World War I, Sichuan's power increased rapidly, and its military strength also increased rapidly, so Sichuan must expand its power and prepare for the upcoming warlord melee, so this opportunity must not be given up.

In addition to being good at making use of public opinion, we must also expand our forces, the original first and second divisions remain unchanged, all three reserve divisions will be expanded into regular armies, and the original cavalry roads and mountain brigades will also be changed into divisions, and a heavy artillery battalion should be set up in each division, with twelve 105-millimeter guns in each battalion, and the number of heavy artillery is not complete now, so we can wait for the arrival of technical assistance from France, produce and equip as soon as possible." After Qiao Yu finished speaking, the military generals present were overjoyed, and suddenly changed from two divisions to seven divisions, there is no doubt that everyone present has the opportunity to be promoted again, especially to equip each division with heavy artillery, which is definitely a huge improvement in the combat effectiveness of each division, the only fly in the ointment is that these equipment have not yet been produced.

Qiao Yu asked Feng Ru again: "Mr. Feng, how is the plane now, can it meet the needs of the war?" ”

"Don't worry, Dashuai, we have designed a batch of new aircraft, which can hang 200 kilograms of bombs, and we have introduced an engine production line from the United States, so we can assemble our own engines, and we can fully participate in the war!"

"Well, since that's the case, let's first form two flying teams and be ready to go out at any time, and in addition, your special combat team in Fenglou has another mission!"

Wu Fenglou has just protected the withdrawal of many officers from Shandong, and these officers have had an intuitive understanding of the operation of the army after the baptism of battle, and it is the main force of this army expansion, and Wu Fenglou has also made great contributions.

"Dashuai, if there is anything, just tell me!"

"You Ma Shan dispatched one of the most elite special operations battalions, immediately went out of Sichuan, joined Xia Douyin's troops, enriched Xia Douyin's combat effectiveness, and guarded Yichang, if you say that you have just used force, you must go down the river to aid Wuhan, hold the Yangtze River waterway, and absolutely must not let the warships enter the Yangtze River, and the first flight group is also assigned to you, our ship may not work, just use the plane to blow up and sink Yue himself, and we must cut off their dog paws, and they must not have any covetousness for Sichuan!"

Qiao Yu ordered one after another, and all walks of life in Sichuan's military and political circles were mobilized, and these upper-level figures were very clear that they were going to move everyone's life, and no one would be polite, and at this time, the combat effectiveness of the industrial party in Sichuan was fully reflected, and it was more efficient and effective than the agricultural party of Beiyang.

"Qiao Shuai, I estimated, this time is a contest of determination, nothing more than such a few situations, the first Beiyang blocked the unreasonable requirements of the Ben, then we can cooperate with the Beiyang, the second is that the Beiyang did not block, or only pushed back part of the content, and our factory must be the first Beiyang to give up the interests, at this time the Sichuan army must resist, the rest is that the Sichuan army has taken out the determination, said that the enemy is in danger or a big fight!" Jiang Baili quickly said several situations, and his mind was indeed very clear.

"Brother Jiang, what do you think we should do?"

"Qiao Shuai, to be honest, I value the opportunity of the European war, why don't we want it, I don't want to start a war with this at this time, this kind of strategic opportunity period is really not much, we must seize it, in addition to the determination to fight to the death, it is best to be able to pull the powers to our side, Britain can't count on it, isn't there still the United States, when you are not ready, you can not fight!"

"Brother Jiang, since you said that this is a contest of determination, we can't be weaker anymore, we have to show the courage to break the cauldron and sink the boat, and we are willing to cut our bodies and pull the emperor off the horse! Only if we make a gesture of war and let Yue himself believe it, they can retreat, otherwise if we show weakness, we will tear us apart like hungry wolves! ”

Just after Qiao Yu gave an order in Sichuan, he talked to Zhang Bailin in Guizhou and Xia Douyin in Yichang and explained the situation to them, Xia Douyin was in Wuhan last time against the army, and the feat of protecting the people of Hubei had a great impact in Hubei, Xia Douyin's prestige also increased rapidly, and he became the commander of the Hubei army, stationed in Yichang, and was the leader of the Hubei family, Xia Douyin knew very well that he could have this status because of his cooperation with Qiao Yu.

Therefore, in full compliance with Qiao Yu's order, the whole army was mobilized, while waiting for the arrival of the special operations battalion, while actively preparing for war, eight planes from Sichuan also departed from Yucheng and flew to Yichang, Sichuan was tense, which surprised many people!