PS: Two more today, and one more later

The decaying Qing court could never achieve complete secrecy.

In June, with the issuance of the War Department's order to "directly subordinate to the meeting", rumors began to spread throughout the country from Beijing.

On June 14, Tianjin's Ta Kung Pao published an article revealing the secret of the imperial court's unusual military move: the regent, after taking Yuan Shikai, would "take back" Shandong by force, and the Beiyang Army's unusual military exercises were aimed at Shandong.

Ta Kung Pao is one of the largest newspapers in the north with a large circulation and wide influence. As soon as this article came out, public opinion immediately became in an uproar. The newspapers controlled by the imperial court were the first to speak out, firstly denying that there was a military plan to recover Shandong, and second, questioning the sources of Ta Kung Pao, believing that Ta Kung Pao had spread rumors and caused trouble, lest the world be chaotic and should not be asked.

Naturally, Ta Kung Pao will not just be "beaten" and not fight back. He immediately refuted it, saying that this newspaper had its own sources, and the reason why it did not disclose it was because the information came from people in the imperial court, and the public was worried about the current situation and did not want to see the civil war happen. Ta Kung Pao ridiculed the state media, "How do you know that the Daoist Center has no plans for Shandong? If Shandong is not regarded as an enemy country, why use the word 'reconquest'? Three-year-old Mengtong also knows that Shandong is a province in China, so it is really ridiculous to say such words. ”

Newspapers in other cities across the country have commented on this. The "Su Bao" in Shanghai, which had led to the "Su Bao Case" because of its remarks full of remarks, published an article about Shandong for two consecutive days, saying that Shandong has made tremendous achievements in industry and education, and that the improvement of people's livelihood ranks first in the country. I don't know why we need to formulate a military plan for Shandong? It's puzzling and chilling.

The attitude of the newspaper has always been revolutionary. Because of Long Qian's continuous suppression of the south, "Su Bao" did not scold Long Qian, but now he is speaking for Shandong unusually, which is a strange thing. For this reason, a reporter interviewed Mr. Zhang Binglin, who was Zhang Mu of Shandong in the "Su Bao". Mr. Zhang said that the former scolded Long Qian because he should not have used force to suppress the people, and now he is speaking for Shandong because he cannot ignore Long Qian's exploits in Shandong. There are many reasons why the imperial court is dissatisfied with Shandong. The key is to see the strength of Shandong's economy. It is necessary to put Shandong industry under the control of the central government! This is robbership, as we all know, most of Shandong's industries are privately run, what right does the imperial court have to take away the people's things?

Time. Shandong has become the focus of national attention. A few months ago, Morrixun's report on Shandong, which he had written, during his visit to Shandong, was reprinted and reprinted. The media seems to have taken the imperial court's dissatisfaction with Shandong as the object of study. The embarrassing situation between Governor Liangbi and Admiral Wang Huaiqing in Shandong was constantly excavated. Chen Chao's dismissal was also re-discussed and analyzed. The media is divided into two factions. One faction thinks that Shandong has no central government and is bound to be independent. Of course it should be punished. The other faction believes that Shandong has done quite well, and that both economic development and improvement of people's livelihood are the best in the country, and that the imperial court should have reused and commended Shandong officials, and should not have adopted the current means.

Under such a chaotic situation, Shandong's press circles naturally did not remain angry, and "Shandong News" immediately reposted the "Ta Kung Pao" article on 14 June, and it is very strange that the official media in Shandong, which is controlled by the Mengshan Army, only forwarded other people's articles on this matter, and did not say a word, which is very incomprehensible.

On the contrary, on 20 June, Lu Bao published a commentary written by Zhang Shizhao himself, asking the central authorities about the Beiyang military exercises, and if there is no hostility towards Shandong, it should make a public statement, so as not to lead people to misunderstanding and cause panic among the people.

The central government-run newspaper was silent, as if the matter did not exist. However, Ta Kung Pao was suddenly shut down, and the main person in charge was arrested on charges of lying and confusing the public.

The seizure of Ta Kung Pao expressed the attitude of the government. Freedom of the press was naturally premised on not affecting the rule of the imperial court, and Ta Kung Pao's actions angered the central decision-makers and greatly disrupted their ongoing plan to "reunify" the country.

Foreign newspapers and embassies and consulates closely follow the development of the situation. The British minister, who was deeply worried about the situation, wrote a long report to the country, analyzing the current situation in China, and Zhu Erdian wrote, "...... Apparently, the young and vigorous regent turned his attention to another military leader, General Long Qian, after removing Yuan Shikai from his position. He could no longer tolerate Shandong's semi-independence. However, there was a huge risk that a military solution to the Shandong problem would first be protested by the Germans, who would never tolerate a threat to the Jiaoji Railway by government troops. The second is Shandong itself, because Long Qian has been operating in Shandong for many years, and his strength is very considerable, and it is believed that there is at least one whole division in Shandong under the remote command of General Long Qian, who is far away in Guangdong.

Recently, the center has begun to make personnel arrangements for Shandong, which shows that the center can no longer tolerate the status quo in Shandong. Mr. Morrison, who is an outstanding talent, visited Shandong for nearly a month, interviewed various aspects of Shandong's situation, and met with the main powerful figures in Shandong. According to Mr. Morrisun's report, Shandong, as a province of the Qing Dynasty, has a special feature that is different from other identities. Shandong's economic strength is expanding rapidly, and they have provided Morrison with some economic data, and it is clear that they have mastered some advanced statistical tools that can be used to show the growth of Shandong's economy in numbers. In the past four years, Shandong's industrial growth rate has been more than double digits, and the number of people engaged in industry has increased sevenfold. Shandong has built huge factories and companies that can produce artillery and machine guns of medium size. In this regard, the Shandong authorities have received strong support from German and American technical funds, and it can be concluded that the position of the Shandong authorities is pro-German and pro-American, which we do not want to see, and it is a pity that we have not seized the opportunity in Shandong. Therefore, we should meet the weapons needs of the government army (i.e., the Beiyang Army, which General Yuan Shikai trained and commanded), and recently the Qing War Department has visited me several times in the hope of receiving help from the British Empire in weapons and funds.

The outbreak of the Shandong War would herald a great change in the situation in China, and if the Qing Central Committee could successfully occupy Shandong and defeat the Long Qian troops stationed in Guangdong, the Qing rule would be temporarily extended, but it would still need to be improved in all aspects. For example, the pace of constitutional law should be accelerated to alleviate domestic contradictions. If it fails, the Qing state will fall into chaos, and the civil war may last for a long time. This does not seem to be a disadvantage to us, at least they are unable to take care of our infiltration into Tibet......

Today, I met with my Russians, French, American counterparts, and other countries, who have different attitudes towards the imminent civil war in the Qing Dynasty, and the Russians seem to be happy to see the outbreak of civil war, and it is said that they are plotting independence in Outer Mongolia and want to encourage the Mongol princes to establish a great Mongolian state. One only has to look at the map to get a glimpse of the intentions of the Russians. If Outer Mongolia becomes independent. The Trans-Siberian Railway, which Russia regards as the lifeline of the Far East, will be permanently secured. So. The civil strife in the Qing State was something they were happy to see. The Russians controlled an army in North Manchuria, known as the 18th Division, which was said to have been equipped and trained from Russia, far superior to the 20th Qing Division stationed in Mukden. As soon as the war broke out. The attitude and movements of this force are disturbing. It is still uncertain whether the Russians took the opportunity to make trouble in North Manchuria. ”

In his report to China, Minister Zhu Erdian also analyzed the comparison of the current military strength of various factions in China. believes that the Beiyang system has an absolute advantage, "If the 10th Division, which was separated from Long Qian's 5th Division, returns to the center, Long Qian's 5th Division will be seriously restrained and will do nothing." After the situation in Shandong calms down, what awaits Long Qian can only be defeat. It will be difficult for him to gain a foothold in China himself, but with good relations with the United States and Germany, he can go to the United States as an apartment, where he is said to have been born, and where he should have been......

Foreign forces are closely watching the situation in China, and the center is trying to control public opinion on the one hand, and on the other hand, it is stepping up the military layout. After receiving the authorization of the Military Aircraft Department, the War Department held a secret meeting on June 23 and officially issued an order to assemble the Beiyang Army of the Four Towns in the name of the Zhili Huicao. Present at the meeting were Wang Yingkai, the commander of the Second Town, Cao Kun, the commander of the Third Town, Wu Fengling, the commander of the Fourth Town, Zhao Guoxian, the commander of the Sixth Town, and Feng Guozhang, Wang Shizhen, Zhang Huaizhi, Duan Zhigui, and other Beiyang generals who served in various departments of the War Department.

The general staff officer of this exercise is Yin Chang, and the chief magistrate is Feng Guozhang, both of whom are subject to Tie Liang's moderation.

After the meeting, Xu Shichang, who learned the news, immediately took leave and secretly went to Zhangde to meet Yuan Shikai, who was idle at home. What Xu Shichang and Yuan Shikai talked about secretly, no one knows.

Guangdong, June 25. Long Qian formally established the Mengshan Army General Headquarters in Zhaoqing.

In view of the rapidly developing situation, it is imperative to establish the General Headquarters of the Mengshan Army. Of course, Long Qian was appointed commander-in-chief of the Mengshan Army, with Lu Shan, Ning Shijun, and Wang Mingyuan as deputy commanders-in-chief, Situ as chief of the General Staff, Fang Shengyuan as director of the General Political Department, Song Jinguo as director of the General Joint Logistics Department, and Jiang Yun as director of the Military Intelligence Bureau.

With the Liangyue troops as the southern army, Long Qian also served as the commander. It has jurisdiction over the fifth and twelfth towns and the Guangdong Patrol Army. Among them, the fifth town was reorganized into the first division of the Mengshan Army, and the division commander Feng Guozhu; The tenth town is the second division, and the division commander is Zhou Yi; The Guangdong Patrol Army is the third division, and the division commander is Wang Mingyuan.

The Southern Army has a total of seven brigades and 21 infantry regiments, including three brigades and nine regiments of the first division, two brigades and six regiments of the second division, and two brigades and six regiments of the third division. Each regiment was unified into three battalions and twelve companies, with three infantry battalions and nine infantry companies in each regiment, plus one regimental headquarters company, one machine gun company, and one baggage company. With the addition of artillery, cavalry, engineering, baggage, and guard units directly under the direct jurisdiction of all divisions and brigades, the total strength of the Southern Army will reach about 75,000 after the completion of the expansion.

The Shandong Column was reorganized into the Shandong Army, and the commander was Ning Shijun. The Sixth Division (expanded by the First Brigade of the Shandong Column), division commander Ye Yanbing; The Seventh Division (expanded by the Second Brigade of the Shandong Column), division commander Wu Nian.

The Shandong Army has a total of five brigades and 15 infantry regiments, including three brigades and nine regiments of the Sixth Division and two brigades and six regiments of the Seventh Division.

The total strength of the Shandong Army should be more than 50,000.

Take the Lushan Department outside the Guanwai as the northern army. Commander Lu Shan, Deputy Commander Shi Dashou. It has jurisdiction over the Ninth Division (two brigades and six regiments), and the division commander is Lu Shanjian. The 10th Division (two brigades and six regiments), division commander Shi Dashou and.

The total strength of the Northern Army should be 3.5~40,000.

After the rectification, the total strength of the Mengshan Army will reach 16~170,000.

Immediately after its establishment, the General Headquarters sent a telegram to all departments in the form of a secret telegram, explicitly urging all departments to immediately step up efforts to reorganize and replenish their troops and weapons, and to reorganize and train their troops, so as to wait for changes in the current situation.

Because France was severely protested by the Qing court, Sun Wen was unable to gain a foothold in Vietnam, which was under French control. At the end of June, Sun Wen, who could not contact Huang Xing's whereabouts, left Vietnam and went to Singapore with Hu Hanmin and others, where he met with Wang Zhaoming and others, who had come from Japan to greet Sun Wen, and then secretly discussed the extremely deteriorating situation at his residence. Sun Wen was dismayed that the great cause of the revolution had undeniably entered a low ebb due to successive defeats in Hunan and Jiangxi and Liangguang. In particular, Long Qian's action of disbanding the Hui Party in Guangdong and arresting hundreds of key cadres eliminated to a large extent the basis of the armed insurrection of the revolutionary party.

Chen Jiongming, who was unable to gain a foothold in Guangdong and was arrested by a public reward and came to Singapore to join Sun Wen, was an important head of the League in Guangdong, and he reported in detail to Sun Wen on the current situation in Guangdong. Chen Jiongming, who was clear-headed and had a certain strategic vision, believed that the Qing court had already turned its attention to Long Qian, and that the division of the Fifth Town and the recent series of crises in Shandong were the most obvious signals, and that perhaps the fact that Long Qian would break with the Qing court would soon occur, which would bring about a turning point for the revolution. Chen Jiongming boldly suggested that it was possible to try to unite with Long Qian to oppose the Qing Dynasty? After all, he has an army loyal to him, and if Long Qian raises troops against the Qing Dynasty, the world will surely shake, and the great cause of opposing the Qing Dynasty will take a turn for the better.

Hu Hanmin immediately objected. Hu Hanmin believed that Long Qian, like the Manchu Qing Dynasty, was the most ferocious enemy of the revolutionary party, and how many of our good comrades died tragically at the hands of Long Qian in the past two years or so? How can you think of uniting Long Qian? Not to mention, just this Guangxi incident, how much blood did Long Qian have on his hands? Now even Huang Keqiang's life and death are uncertain! We must not unite with Long Qian!

Wang Zhaoming, who was handsome in appearance and personable like the son of a family, agreed with Chen Jiongming's opinion that the overthrow of the Manchu Qing was the primary goal of the League. Under this premise, even devil cooperation is possible. If Long Qian is really anti-Qing, we might as well unite with him, wait for the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and then reason with Long Qian. Wang Zhaoming said bluntly, we are just using this insidious and vicious warlord, not surrendering him! Why not strengthen ourselves in the process of cooperating with him against the Qing Dynasty?

Sun Wen basically agreed with Hu Hanmin's view. Long Qian, like the Manchus, was the great enemy of the revolutionary cause and an enemy that must be resolutely eliminated. Long Qian and the Manchu Tartars turned their faces but it was an opportunity that could be used, and what to do about it would be done after discussing with the comrades in Japan.

At this meeting, Sun Wen's mood was extremely low. He has realized that by continuing to take the road of armed opposition against the Qing Dynasty, Guangdong is no longer an ideal base, and the most favorable areas have turned to the southeast, especially Zhejiang and Shanghai. Chen Qimei and the others, who firmly follow him, have a deep foundation over there, and they also have the strength of the Restoration Society to use. But thinking of Tao Chengzhang's unruly guy, Sun Wen felt a little uncomfortable.

At the end of June, Sun Wen left Singapore and returned to Japan, the base camp of the revolution, to discuss the rapidly changing situation in China with Liu Kuiyi, Tao Chengzhang, Song Jiaoren, Tan Renfeng and other key cadres. Sun Wen first proposed the formation of the League's own armed forces, and after successive failures in fundraising and bribery, Sun Wen finally realized that the revolution would not work without reliable guns. (To be continued......)