Chapter 103: Ammon's Proposal

Chang Ruiqing's carriage hurriedly stopped at the door of Xu Shuzheng's mansion. The coachman stopped the two Western-bred tall horses, Chang Ruiqing and Zhao Zhen pushed the car door and walked down slowly.

Xu Shuzheng's mansion is not far from Changfu, near Xijiaomin Lane, and the size of the house is about the same as Changfu. At the door, two Beiyang soldiers with rifles stood straight and did not squint. Standing at the door of Xu Shuzheng's house must not be sloppy, otherwise you will have to lose your errand.

It was Hu Rolling Shutter who drove the car, and he bolted the carriage and took two copies of the name card to post it. Chang Ruiqing and Zhao Zhen stood at the door and waited, the concierge of the Xu family did not accept door bags, and naturally they would not serve tea and water to entertain guests, even if you were a dignified major general and brigade commander, no one would pay attention.

Not long after Hu Rolling Shutter entered the door, he saw a tall, big, and honest-looking Beiyang officer greet him. Chang Ruiqing and Zhao Zhen both knew this person, he was the younger brother of Gao Sansheng, the deputy capital of Chahar.

He and his brother Gao Sansheng were from Shandong, their families were poor when they were young, and they made a living by begging, and later they couldn't survive and joined Yuan Shikai's new army. Because the name is good (called Sansheng), he was appreciated by Yuan Datou, became a personal soldier, and is said to have saved Yuan Datou's life. After Yuan Shikai became the president, he was given the title of high school junior and promoted as a guard band (the rank of regiment commander, but the brigade commander also had to be half a cut shorter when he saw him). After the fall of Yuan Shikai, this high school sansheng didn't know how to catch Xu Shuzheng's path, not only did he not lose his position, but also became the deputy capital of Chahar. However, it is rare for the senior deputy commander to be in the government office in Zhangjiakou, and he walks around the capital when he has nothing to do. In history, this deputy commander of the Northwest Frontier Army also walked around, followed Xu Shuzheng to recover Outer Mongolia, and of course, later let the Soviet Russian Red Army drive him to Heilongjiang......

Seeing that it was Chang Ruiqing, Gao Sisheng arched his hand with a smile: "Yo, it turned out to be Brigade Commander Chang, I heard that the elder brother went to Shandong to suppress bandits, how did you get it?" ”

Chang Ruiqing also returned the salute, although the other party was a lieutenant colonel battalion commander, he was a senior in Beiyang after all. Chang Ruiqing said with a smile: "Senior Deputy Dutong also came to Beijing?" My brother is going to pay a visit. ”

Gao Sisheng smiled and waved his hand: "Don't be so troublesome, my third brother is drinking tea with Xu Zhenggong inside now, and I'll see you later." ”

As he spoke, he heard footsteps. A person who looked like a housekeeper walked out: "Captain Chang, Commander Zhao, are you?" Vice Chief Xu, please come in. So saying, the butler made a gesture of please, and then led the way.

Chang Ruiqing arched his hand at Gao Sisheng, and strode in with Zhao Zhen. As soon as I entered the living room, I saw Xu Shuzheng dressed in civilian clothes, sitting leisurely on the upper seat, holding a cup of tea in his hand, and chatting and laughing with a Shandong man in a straight military uniform. Seeing Chang Ruiqing and Zhao Zhen, he beckoned the two of them to sit down, and ordered his subordinates to serve tea.

Chang Ruiqing and Zhao Zhen gave a military salute to Xu Shuzheng and Gao Si according to the rules, and then they each found a chair and sat down upright, holding their knees with their hands, looking like they were sitting upright.

Xu Shuzheng did not greet Chang Ruiqing, but directly asked about the suppression of bandits in Shandong and the delivery of ransom, and Chang Ruiqing also answered them one by one. These things have already been reported by Zhang Huaizhi, the overseer of Shandong, and Zhang Wensheng, the envoy of Xuzhou Town, which is not much different from what Chang Ruiqing said. Xu Shuzheng just asked casually, but when he heard that Zhou Zicai, who was colluding with the Red Brigade, was assassinated by the Red Brigade assassins on the way to Xuzhou, he sighed slightly.

Chang Ruiqing finished talking to him about Shandong, and as soon as the conversation changed, he mentioned the civil strife in Russia, and saw him take out two English newspapers from his purse and hand them over with both hands: "Gong Zheng, I don't know if you have paid attention to the turbulent situation in Russia in the past two days?" Since March 8, Petrograd has been in chaos, and although Emperor Nicholas II has ordered a crackdown, the situation has not improved, but has shown signs of an armed uprising! The Russian chaos is coming! ”

Xu Shuzheng was stunned, he didn't know anything about what Chang Ruiqing said! During this time, his energy was focused on preparing for the use of troops in the southwest. Taking the newspaper in Chang Ruiqing's hand, he read the article on it several times about the civil strife in Russia, and was silent for a moment before he said lightly: "Will it be like the Russo-Japanese War (referring to the 1905 revolution), there is no danger to let the Russian emperor get through the crisis?" ”

Chang Ruiqing smiled: "Half and half...... But we have to plan for all kinds of situations, right? It's not going to happen, because you didn't prepare and missed the opportunity to recover the land of Outer Mongolia in vain, right? ”

"What? Want to recover Outer Mongolia? That's a good thing! If we accomplish this great thing, we will be the heroes of the country. Gao Sansheng on the side suddenly interjected.

"yes!" Chang Ruiqing cast a grateful look at Gao Sansheng, and then his topic continued: "Gong Zheng, right now, we want to repeal the "Provisional Covenant Law" and dissolve the Congress. It will inevitably make public opinion in the world turbulent, and only the merit of recovering the land of Outer Mongolia can make public opinion and popular sentiment inclined to us. ”

Xu Shuzheng nodded, and said in a deep voice: "If you can recover the lost territory, it is naturally good, but if you can regain the lost territory, you must first settle the interior, and if the southwest is not quiet, how can you use troops externally?" ”

Chang Ruiqing waved his hand: "Gong Zheng, the withdrawal of Mongolia is not a foreign use of troops, it is also part of the unification of the whole country by force!" And Outer Mongolia is much closer to Beijing than to the southwest! Their forces were also weaker than those in the southwest, and if Russia was mired in civil strife and unable to intervene, a brigade of troops would be enough to recover Outer Mongolia. ”

Xu Shuzheng was stunned when he heard this, and asked rhetorically: "Yaoru, do you want to send troops to Outer Mongolia?" ”

Chang Ruiqing smiled and shook his head: "Recovering Outer Mongolia is an unearthly achievement, how dare Ruiqing claim to be self-proclaimed?" The students thought that this credit should be taken by Zheng Gong! Saying that, he accentuated his tone: "No matter how great the credit for pacifying the southwest is, it is not as good as the recovery of the rivers and mountains of Outer Mongolia!" With such merits, Zheng Gong is a hero who has been famous for thousands of years, and we are a well-deserved second person in China! It is also the best choice to lead our Beiyang and China in the future! ”

Xu Shuzheng looked straight at Chang Ruiqing, who had a solemn face, and quickly calculated in his heart. The credit for the restoration of Outer Mongolia is naturally great, and the armed forces of Outer Mongolia are weak, and without the support of the Russians, they are simply vulnerable! With the strength of a brigade, this land should be recovered. But the problem is that it is easy to recover Outer Mongolia, but it is not easy to hold this land, not to mention whether there will be a comeback after the end of the civil strife in Russia, that is, the Japanese have always coveted Outer Mongolia, and those Mongolian princes with a Qing heart are all supported by the Japanese! When the time comes, don't go sick tiger, here comes the evil wolf! It is better to take a long-term view of the withdrawal of Mongolia......

After a long time, Xu Shuzheng still didn't say a word, just stared and thought hard. The room was extremely quiet, and at the end, I heard Chang Ruiqing cough and continued to persuade: "Do you still remember the policy of 'uniting Japan to resist Russia' proposed to you by the students when they were in Tianjin? If Zheng Gong felt that China's strength alone was not enough to maintain Outer Mongolia, it would be better to borrow from Japan and promise preferential conditions such as resource development, railway construction, and free trade. ”

"Then you don't care about Japan's ambitions?" Xu Shuzheng's expression was slightly gloomy, and he already knew the news that Chang Laohu and Okamura Ningji worshipped him. In his opinion, what does Chang Laohu know as a rough man? There must be Chang Ruiqing's meaning behind this matter, this is to take refuge in the Japanese...... I don't want to think about what the Japanese are thinking about China!

"Students are just going to lead the water north!" A hint of gloom flashed on Chang Ruiqing's face: "Now Japan's ambitions are mainly in Manchuria!" They are developing colonial forces in Manchuria step by step, supporting pro-Japanese warlords, and they are afraid that sooner or later they will have the idea of annexing by force! And with China's weakness, I am afraid that it will not have the strength to defeat the Japanese and defend the northeast at that time...... If we can take advantage of the great chaos in Russia to lead the goal of Japan's aggression and expansion to Siberia and the Far East, and let Japan and Russia form a mortal enemy! Won't China just sit back and relax? Even if some of Mongolia's rights and interests are given away now, what is the matter? ”

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