Daye goes to war ()! Sino-Japanese firefight!!

Since the first noon, such a voice has been heard again in the three towns of Hubei. From the center of the Daye battle, the sound quickly spread to the surroundings, telephone, telegraph and radio showed unparalleled communication superiority, when the first batch of Japanese soldiers carrying 38 rifles in the Hankou Japanese Concession began martial law and pulled out cannons and machine guns, the news had already been transmitted to Shanghai, Beijing and other big cities.

When the telegraph operator translated the telegram with mixed feelings, Hankou was completely chaotic, especially inside and outside the Japanese concession near the direction of Liujiamiao, and the movement and confrontation did not stop for a moment, and the soldiers of the first regiment of the National Guard (formerly the garrison battalion) began to dig trenches along the Hanchuan Railway, and the Japanese army used thick sandbags and concession buildings as shields, and from a distance it seemed that the bayonets of both sides had been twisted together.

Standing at the window, Matsumura Sadao had a cold gaze, he didn't care about the scary Wehrmacht outside, because Yang Qiu didn't dare to attack the concession no matter how crazy he was, he was only worried about Daye. Takakawa Shaosa is a good army officer, but his temper is too impulsive, if he can hold it, then there is still a way to maneuver, if he can't hold it, Han Yeping is likely to stay away from Japan.

"Minister."

The vice minister rushed into the room with an anxious face: "General Kawashima sent a telegram, our garrison army stationed in Daye has been"

"You're all dead, aren't you?" Matsumura Sadao was surprisingly not angry, in fact, he had already expected this outcome, from three days ago Yang Qiu announced that Daye had entered military control, and the soldiers would hold exercises there, he knew that he had thought of the worst outcome, he believed that Takakawa Shaozo had tried his best, but in the face of dozens of times the enemy with himself, it was impossible to win no matter what.

"Send a telegram to the country. "Before Matsumura Sadao finished speaking, the counselor came to report: "Your Excellency, Yang Qiu's people are here, and they have also brought the American minister. ”

"Americans?" Matsumura Sadao didn't expect Yang Qiu to invite Americans, and coupled with his relationship with Germany, Han Yeping's future is becoming more and more uncertain.

Hankow Chun at the time of the war of words. News of the battle between the Chinese and Japanese armies in Daye also reached the presidential palace in Beijing. After finally becoming the provisional president of the Republic of China, Yuan Shikai's previous mood of gains and losses finally settled down. During this time, the left-behind government in Nanjing was slowly handing over power, and the key departments of the state were controlled again, and the rest was the work of water milling.

But now it can't be completely relaxed, Yang Qiu in the south has always been a big problem. Even Wang Shizhen reminded him to be careful of this person. Although the Downstream People's Party handed over the power of the state, their local strength still cannot give him a headache is that except for a few northern provinces, almost no big man has been sent to the south to pay taxes, and Yang Qiu, the richest one, is simply carrying out tax reform in the three provinces. The limited funds remaining were to be used for post-war recovery. said that he would not be able to pay taxes to the central government within the year, and relied on the conditions he had promised at the beginning, and even brazenly proposed that the central government allocate 10 million yuan to fund stability!

Fortunately, he is not confused in major matters, and now Beiyang is also exhausted, and it will take time to expand the troops, so he can only endure this breath. In his eyes, as long as the unification of the country can be maintained, there will be enough time to clean up these people after occupying the central government. Of course, this is mainly due to the lack of money. When he became president, he realized what a big mess this was, and the emptiness of the treasury was maintained by a few loans from foreigners. The expansion requires money, the government needs money for operation, and he also has to support his group of proud soldiers, with a monthly deficit of at least seven or eight million taels.

So when I received the news that Hubei Daye was fighting, I was also shocked.

On the one hand, it's a good opportunity. Han Yeping's mud pit is too deep, even he doesn't dare to say anything lightly, Japan is very likely to take retaliatory action, if it really starts, it will definitely hit the strength of the Wehrmacht. But then again, he didn't expect Yang Qiu to say that he would fight unceremoniously, this determination was really terrifying, originally he was strong enough, if he really took back Han Yeping, I am afraid that it will take a lot of effort to clean it up in the future.

Several cabinet members who rushed to the scene were also divided into two factions, and Wang Yitang was the most active, saying: "President, this is a good opportunity!" Han Yeping and Japan have great interests, and this time hundreds of people have died, and they will definitely take retaliatory action, so in my opinion, it is better to take this opportunity to send troops from Xinyang to recapture Wusheng Pass. Now Yang Qiu's troops are all dragged in Sichuan and Guizhou, and Hubei only has two divisions, so when the Japanese attack, they simply cooperate and take the opportunity to kill him. ”

Wang Yitang's opinion aroused the approval of many people, even Yuan Shikai was a little moved, Duan Qirui was also very positive, he was not used to Yang Qiu and the National Defense Army, and recently after being the commander of the landing army, he had long wanted to let go of his hands and feet, and said: "Shenwu's plan is good!" Now there are still two towns in Xinyang, and Wusheng Pass has not been repaired, and they can't hold it for long, so it is better to send a report to Japan to cooperate with the flanking attack, and Jingping Yunei in one fell swoop! As long as the three provinces can be won, the southwest is just around the corner, and then it will be up and down to see how the gang party in the south will jump up and down. ”

Yuan Shikai was a little moved, and the corner of his eyes swept Tang Shaoyi and Yang Du, who were not speaking, and asked, "Shaochuan, Huizi, what do you think at this time?" ”

Yang Du has been in a bad mood recently, he has made a lot of contributions to promote Yuan Shikai to come to power, but this time he didn't even get a minister in the cabinet, and he knew that Sun Wen was still in front of him before he became the president, so he didn't speak, and looked at Tang Shaoyi with his eyes.

Tang Shaoyi has studied in the United States for a long time, and has been infected with the temper of many Western politicians, and said bluntly: "Shaochuan thinks that this matter must not be done!" Yuan Shikai has been a little uneasy with him recently, and he always feels that his position has too many constraints on his power as a president, so he asked unhappily: "What is Shaochuan's opinion?" ”

Tang Shaoyi said: "Although the Daye incident was caused by Yang Qiu and the National Defense Army, Han Yeping is related to the national economy and people's livelihood, how can it be summarized in one province? Throughout the world's powers, all of them have invested heavily in industry, and it is the top priority to do a good job in industrial steel. Although Hubei made a bit of a fuss this time, it was not a good way to take back Han Yeping, and the president should not only not fall into the ground, but should help him negotiate with Japan and strive to take Han Yeping back. ”

"Shall we help him take it back? What's in it for you? Don't say that you offended Japan in vain, even if you take it back, it will be cheaper for Hubei and Yang Qiu, what does it mean to benefit at all? "Wang Yitang is most unaccustomed to Tang Shaoyi's national righteousness and national interests at every turn. As if he was alone in the whole country, he retorted: "According to me, this good person must not be a good person!" ”

"Yang Qiu's entrenchment in the three provinces is only an internal affair, and there are disputes in internal affairs that can be resolved slowly, and when I get relieved, I will support the president if he wants to fight or kill, but now it's a foreign matter! Foreign affairs are different from internal affairs. The whole country must work together, if we give up on taking back Han Yeping, the foreigners will only get more and more inches in the future! Tang Shaoyi couldn't get used to this kind of villain, so she didn't even raise the corners of her eyes and continued: "What's more, the president has helped now, and it will be the property of the state after it is taken back in the future!" Although Yang Qiu is ambitious. I have never heard of anything that has harmed the interests of the country, but I think that not only should we not raise troops, but we should take this opportunity to ease the contradictions, and it is the best policy to win over this person as soon as possible. ”

The two of you and I couldn't argue with each other, which made Yuan Shikai also have a headache. I think what Wang Yitang said makes sense. I think Tang Shaoyi is right this time. If he had been British, he might have rolled up his sleeves, but the taste of Japan and North Korea is still fresh in his memory. But he was reluctant to help, because it was recently reported that the three provinces were now very lively, under the pretext of changing taxes and clearing out bandits in the territory. Yang Qiu made a lot of money, and Xiong Phoenix said that he could get at least thirty or forty million! He also mortgaged the salt tax on the artesian wells to Germany in exchange for a large loan. And after he changed the tax, no one in various places dared to intercept the tax by pumping, so it was not much less than in previous years.

That's it. This year, not counting the loan, he can intercept 70 or 80 million yuan, which is enough to build another 178 divisions in the armed forces, and now he holds the Hanyang Arsenal, and with the help of Germany, he has more than doubled the scale, and is also building a second factory in Chongqing, and even Changsha has heard that it is necessary to expand the scale of the Machinery Bureau, and it is even more infuriating that Chen Qimei also sold the Shanghai Gaochang Temple to him without authorization, and I heard that Germany has intervened, and now he can't force it back. In this way, if he really wants to expand his army, he can get at least 200 rifles a day, and 350 cannons a month, which is not a problem, and who can control him in the long run?

Yang Du saw that Yuan Shikai didn't speak for a long time, and knew that he wanted to take advantage of this opportunity, so he coughed lightly and said: "The president doesn't need to worry, Du thinks that he can send Wu Tingfang to negotiate first, so as to find out the details of what Yang Qiu did." First, to make it clear to everyone who is the central government representing the Republic of China, and second, to immediately send a telegram to reprimand Yang Qiu and warn him to hand over Han Yeping's equity to the state, instead of staying in Hubei. ”

Yang Shiqi, who had not spoken, agreed: "Huizi's idea is good, Han Yeping is a national property, and no one can fill his pocket, Yang Qiu is indeed too much this time, so it is okay to take this opportunity to take it, lest he have any more moths." ”

Wang Yitang was not satisfied, and snorted coldly: "Yang Qiu can still spit it out when he eats it in his mouth?" Besides, what's the use of handing it over to the state to manage? We don't have a steel mill here, and we can't move Han Yeping back, so can't hundreds of thousands of iron sand be left at home as decorations every year? ”

Yang Du smiled slightly: "We don't have a steel mill, and we can't move Han Yeping back, but it's better for Daye to be under the name of the country than to let Yang Qiu swallow it." Isn't he rich? Just let him pay for the mineral sand, it's a big deal that the price is cheaper, anyway, this money is worth a lot every year. ”

Yuan Shikai is right to think about it, Yang Qiu of the steel mill will definitely not let go, but if Daye gets it back, at least tell others who has the final say now! So he clapped the board and said: "This matter will trouble Shaochuan and Wenjue to go to Hubei, if Japan really wants it, then we will verbally say that if Han Yeping can get it back, Daye must be nationalized, as for Yang Qiu to use iron sand, let him use money to buy it." After he finished speaking, he didn't forget to add: "Shaochuan, don't be like last time this time." ”

Tang Shaoyi smiled bitterly in her heart, let herself go to Hubei to rob Yang Qiu while the fire was hot? It's better to say that this is trying to find a reason to quit yourself! This Yang Du is indeed active, and it is not trivial to use this person on the right path, but it is a pity that he is too persistent in the so-called royal road of the north and the south, and he is not a person who can really be trusted.

Thinking of this, he sighed in his heart. Yuan Shikai was a little more deceitful after going out of the mountain this time, and he was hesitant to do things, and he liked to engage in compromise tricks, which lost the decisive momentum of the year. The Kuomintang in the lower reaches of the South has not yet succeeded and is rotten at home! Yang Qiu is doing things well, he has the means and strength, and his vision and treatment of national construction are extraordinary, which is absolutely impossible for people to do, but he is trapped in the upper reaches and has the mess of the southwest.

Ay! The future of this country is really uncertain...