"Tariff autonomy, boycott Japanese goods!"

"Give me back justice, give me back my sovereignty!"

While the new government was preparing to negotiate with the Great Powers about the withdrawal of the cuts and the abolition of tariffs on the troops stationed in Beijing and the surrounding areas, demonstrations suddenly broke out one after another throughout the country, demanding that the Great Powers return China's sovereignty over tariffs and other matters.

The march broke out very suddenly, and basically the day before there was a discussion about the garrisons and customs between the Nationalist government and the Great Powers, and the next day there was a wave of demonstrations in various places, and there was not even a sign before the wave broke out...

At the same time, due to various reasons, the warlords in the provinces can only ensure law and order in the province after the wave of demonstrations breaks out, but there is nothing they can do about these demonstrations. This made the great powers very unfavorable in public opinion, and once again deeply realized the importance of a strong government.

As for the side of the Kuomintang, although Fu Xiuming and others were a little dissatisfied, this wave of demonstrations did attract their attention, and many officials even thought that they should take this opportunity to formally negotiate with the foreign powers on the garrison and tariffs...

Naturally, a mere parade is not very useful to the great powers, after all, it is only the Chinese people who march, not their country, but there is always some impact...

Especially when the march was set off, I don't know where the news came from, claiming that Japan was the only country in this negotiation that opposed the withdrawal of troops and the return of tariff autonomy, and as a result, the wave of protests suddenly turned its attention to Japan...

After the news came out, many people and merchants refused to buy or even refuse to sell Japanese goods. Although this is just the beginning, almost half of Japan's foreign trade is in China at this time, and even a 1% drop in sales is a huge impact for Japan. So the event has just begun, and the Japanese foreign companies in Shanghai and other places are feeling the huge pressure...

The problem is that now not only the Japanese, but also other powers can't do it, after all, the common people refuse to buy goods from other countries, so you can't force people to buy them, right? What's more, people can only buy goods from other countries if they don't buy Japanese goods, which is also a good thing for the great powers...

Moreover, the new government has not yet been formed, and Yuan Shikai has stepped down. Even if they want to negotiate, they don't know who to talk to...

Yes, Yan Shao is indeed the de facto ruler of China now, but he has not officially taken over after all...

————————————————————

Although the waves could not affect the fundamentals of the great powers. But it played a huge role in the negotiations. Therefore, although the new government had not yet been formed at this time, the two sides had already begun to prepare for a meeting on tariffs and garrisons to discuss the issue of tariffs and garrisons.

Even the Japanese, who were extremely reluctant to do so. I also had to nod my head because of the wave of opposition in Chinese mainland.

No way. The general trend is that even if the Japanese do not agree, as long as the powers of other countries agree, they alone will not be able to decide anything. After all, Britain was the largest trader with China at this time, while Japan could only rank second, and if the United States, Germany, Russia, and France, which were in third place, all agreed, his opposition would not do any good, but would have an extremely bad impact on Japan's trade with China—————— as can be seen from the fact that the people were already opposed to buying Japanese goods. So for him, it's better to take the initiative to join in, and then find a way to stir things up. It's better to mess up this meeting.

By the way, of course, such a large-scale wave of protests could not have been spontaneous among the people. Although this issue was being discussed in the north and south of the country at that time, after all, it was just beginning, it was still in the discussion stage, and it was almost impossible to reach the level of large-scale protests and demonstrations in a month or two, and some exciting news needed to come out...

It's all because the special bureaus around the world are doing ghosts...

First of all, the matter of negotiation was deliberately spread by Yan Shao, and the powers did not doubt this, after all, Yan Shao talked to too many people, and it was not a strange thing that it would be reported, not to mention that this matter was not a secret in the Guoshe government.

And from the beginning of the meeting with Zhu Erdian and others, Yan Shao had already asked the people from the Special Affairs Bureau to prepare in various places. At least in his opinion, if the negotiations are to be successful, then the help of public opinion is indispensable.

Now it seems to be very successful, and at the same time, I took this opportunity to divert the attention of the Anhui system, which can be called killing two birds with one stone...

————————————————————

Kunming, Yunnan...

Unlike other provinces, the situation in Yunnan at this time was relatively stable.

In such an era, a stable situation is more important than anything else, because a stable situation means that the local government will not arbitrarily increase some harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes, and its own family will not be harassed by the local ruffians, let alone be affected by some conflicts in the vicinity...

In the same way, a stable situation means a better livelihood, because it is only in a stable area that industry and commerce can develop steadily, and in a chaotic place, these are unthinkable...

"General, what are you looking at?"

In the Yunnan Governor's Mansion, Yunnan Governor Cai Ye was looking at a letter, and Luo Peijin, who had just walked into the room when he saw this scene, said with some curiosity.

Luo Peijin, this name may not be mentioned many times in history, but in fact he is one of Cai Yi's most die-hard supporters, and he is also one of the leaders of the Chongjiu Uprising in Yunnan.

On October 10, 1911 (the 3rd year of Xuantong), the Wuchang Uprising broke out, and Luo Peijin participated in the Chongjiu Uprising launched by the revolutionaries along with Cai Yi, Li Gengen, and Tang Jiyao. After the establishment of the Yunnan Military Government, Luo Peijin served as the president of the Southern Expedition, the commander-in-chief of the Southern Defense, and the minister of military affairs. In August 1912 (the first year of the Republic of China), Luo Peijin was awarded the rank of lieutenant general by the Beijing government. In January 1913 (the 2nd year of the Republic of China), he was appointed as the civil affairs chief of Yunnan Province. In October of the same year, Luo Peikin's father died, and Luo Peijin resigned from the post of civil administration and returned to his hometown.

In 1915 (the 4th year of the Republic of China), Yuan Shikai was proclaimed emperor. Luo Peijin secretly contacted Cai Yi and Tang Jiyao, the central figures of the anti-Yuan forces in Yunnan Province, and subsequently participated in the Protectorate War, which began on December 25 of the same year. Luo Peijin served as Chief of the General Staff of the 1st Army of the Protector Army. Assisted the commander of the 1st Army, Cai Yi, to attack Sichuan. Luo Peijin donated his family property to the Yunnan Colonization Bank to support the organization and operation of the Protector Army.

It can be said that since Tang Jiyao came to Guizhou to be the governor. Luo Peijin has become the person Cai Ye relies on the most...

Naturally, there was originally a Li Gengen, but at that time, Cai Yi supported Yuan Shikai, and Li Gengen supported Sun Yat-sen, and the two sides had a more serious confrontation. So in August 1912, Li Gengen resigned from all positions in the Yunnan Military Government...

At this time, Cai Ye was looking at the letter intently, and when he heard the voice, he looked back and saw that it was Luo Peijin and immediately smiled. "It's nothing, it's just a letter from Baili..."

"Oh?"

Heard Cai Ye say this. Luo Peijin walked over with some curiosity.

Rumors about Cai Yi, Jiang Baili and others taking the top three in Japan......... Ahem, I won't say much here, but in fact, because Cai Ye and Jiang Baili are the same age. is also a relationship between those born in the same year, so the two are inseparable friends, and they usually have some correspondence.

"What's written on it?"

Luo Peijin asked curiously, after all, it was Jiang Baili's letter to Cai Yi. It's not always good for him to read the content directly. However, since he came in, Cai Ye has not put away the letters, which can be seen. The contents of this letter were not secrets, at least not secrets that he couldn't know, so he also asked with some curiosity.

"It's nothing, it's just some of what he saw and heard in Anhui..."Cai Yi smiled and said some of the contents inside.

————————————————————

After Yan Shao set off for the north, Jiang Baili, who was valued by him, did not go north with him, but took root around Anqing.

The reason is also very simple, that is, the more than 18,000 people that Yan Shao promised him have already arrived. In other words, now Jiang Baili can build a force according to his own ideas. And according to what Yan Shao once said to him. His future future depends entirely on this army.

Therefore, after more than 18,000 people were sent to Anhui, Jiang Baili directly took root in the barracks and trained this unit in his own way every day.

At the same time, Anhui is also very clear that the guy named Jiang Baili in front of him seems to be very valued by Yan Shao, so he does not dare to make things difficult in all aspects. Whether it is military salary, food, or ordnance, it is the same as other national social forces, which naturally makes Jiang Baili very satisfied.

Jiang Baili was a prisoner of war of the original Beiyang Army, and it had a certain foundation, so it only took a small amount of time for Jiang Baili to restore a certain combat effectiveness of the troops, and after solving this part of the problem, Jiang Baili finally had the time to write some letters to his friends...

Of course, Jiang Baili will give Cai Ye some letters to show off, although he is now a division commander, it is impossible to be more powerful than Cai Ye who is the governor.

The reason why he wrote a letter to Cai Ye this time is also very simple, one is to inform himself of the situation in Anhui, and then the many things he has seen and heard in Anhui, and the other reason is...

Yuan Shikai...

Historically, Cai Ye admired Yuan Shikai very much, and believed that he was the only person who could lead China, and it was in this way that he obeyed Yuan Shikai's orders during the Second Revolution and sent troops to quell the rebellion launched in Sichuan.

However, the experience of the Second Revolution made Yuan Shikai worry about the local powerful faction, and he was tricked into Beijing with Yin Changheng. However, Cai Ye's treatment is still good, after all, he has always obeyed Yuan Shikai's orders, and Yuan Shikai really intends to reuse him, but he messed up everything because of the matter of becoming the emperor.

As for Yin Changheng, this one was unlucky, because he was unwilling to obey Yuan Shikai, he almost hung up, and he finally survived after the worst.

However, now that the second revolution has not happened, and Yuan Shikai has stepped down before becoming emperor, it is difficult to say whether Cai Ye will still miss Yuan Shikai.

(It should be noted here that although Yin Changheng was the governor of Sichuan at the time of the Second Revolution, he was not involved in the Second Revolution.) The reason is also very simple, because Yin Changheng, as the governor of Sichuan, was leading troops to quell the rebellion in Tibet at that time, and of course he could not participate in the second revolution... ）

It was for this reason that Jiang Baili would send a letter to Cai Yi, to be honest, now he is very satisfied with Yan Shao. It's not just because Yan Shao attaches great importance to him. At the same time, it is also because of everything he saw in Anhui.

During this period in Anhui, in addition to training in the military camp, Jiang Baili did not forget to walk around some cities in Anhui to see the people's livelihood here. Especially the two cities of Dangtu and Wuhu, as the cities where Yan Shao started, the changes here are definitely greater than those in Anqing.

And after arriving in Wuhu and Dangtu, the two cities also left a deep impression on Jiang Baili, especially the Wuhu New Town...

Didn't Yan Shao plan to make it a window to the outside world of nationalism? His goal has been achieved, at least now Jiang Baili has been deeply attracted by this 'nationalist window'.

Everything there attracted Jiang Baili, and he couldn't imagine that he could see such a new city in China. The whole city is even more orderly, it is difficult to find even a scrap of paper on the streets, it is simply different from other cities...

And it is everything you see in Wuhu New Town. Jiang Baili was full of confidence in Yan Shao, and even felt that if this development model could be maintained, even if Yan Shao was dictatorial—————— as he once said, in this era, constitutional monarchy is the mainstream. On the contrary, the cabinet system in France and the presidential system in the United States are not mainstream. It's obviously very different from a hundred years from now...

However, Jiang Baili and Cai Ye are inseparable friends, and they know very well what he thinks about Yuan Shikai, and they are also worried that he will have any resistance to Yan Shao for this reason, so they will write a letter to introduce their own experiences and experiences, as well as some of the topics they talked about when they talked with Yan Shao at night, hoping to change Cai Ye's thoughts about Yan Shao, and even...

Help Yan Shao get Cai Yi's support...

At this time, Cai Yi controlled Yunnan and also had a strong influence on Guizhou. Because the current governor of Guizhou, Tang Jiyao, is Cai Yi's subordinate, and it was only because he seized the opportunity that he jumped from an ordinary general to the governor of Guizhou...

And as long as it has the support of these two provinces. Then it will be difficult to have anything to stop Yan Shao's new policy in China.

The so-called New Deal usually harms the interests of those with vested interests, and the New Deal implemented by Yan Shao in Anhui in those years has harmed the interests of many people, but more people have benefited from him, so there has been no greater reaction after the eventually.

But this time it was different, this time he harmed the interests of the warlords in the provinces ...

————————————————————

Yan Shao's new policy is actually very simple, in addition to the following series, one of the most important is to reform the provincial governments. The existing governors are basically in charge of the local military and political affairs, which is very unreasonable, so Yan Shao needs to change this unreasonable phenomenon in a relatively short period of time.

For example, after the implementation of the new policy, the original local warlords can choose a way out, and those who want to lead troops will go to the army, but there will be no chance to meddle in local affairs—————— and the soldiers must be pure, so the soldiers in the national army will never be allowed to interfere in politics.

Of course, they can join the party, but at least for the time of their service, they can only be a purely military man.

If you don't want to join the army, then you can be transferred to the provincial governor and deal with the affairs of the province, and you are absolutely not allowed to meddle in military affairs again...

Such an act would certainly infringe on the rights of the local warlords, and although the Xinhai Revolution has only been a little over a year since now, these people have become accustomed to the life of the Emperor of the Turks, and it is almost impossible for them to voluntarily change. Fortunately, Yan Shao has an overwhelming advantage in strength at this time, so there is no need to worry that they will turn their faces, but even so, if there are more people to support Yan Shao, it will always be a good thing.

That's why Jiang Baili wrote a letter to Cai Yi, because he knew Cai Yi very well, and knew that he was definitely not the kind of person who was greedy for power—————— and it was difficult for Tang Jiyao to say, after all, this guy has done a lot of things in order to become the governor of Guizhou, and he has a lot of black history...

"Do you support it..."

Luo Peijin pondered for a moment, and then looked at Cai Yi, who didn't know what Lu Dao was thinking.

"What do you think of the Governor?"

“……… What do you think of that Yan Shao? Cai Ye did not answer Luo Peijin's words, but asked softly after a silence.

"It's hard to say," Lopekin shook his head. As far as I know, Anhui has indeed changed greatly as Jiang Baili said, and the people are also living and working in peace and contentment, especially Wuhu, although I have not been to it, I have heard from many businessmen who have come to Yunnan, it is like a paradise on earth. But..."

"But?"

"However, I have also heard that Yan Shao in Anhui is so powerful that almost no one can disobey his orders. Even if there is a dispute, as long as he speaks, it is equivalent to being determined, the entire Anhui military government is the same as his family, and there is also a spy organization called the Special Affairs Bureau in Anhui, which was done by them some time ago, and the director of this special affairs bureau is said to be Yan Shao's lover, and he is also a Spaniard, which is somewhat ..."

This is probably one of the few things in Anhui that is dissatisfied with Yan Shao. Forget about the secret service bureau, every government will have a similar agency, but with a different name. But to give such an institution to a Spaniard. And it's Yan Shao's lover who is in charge, which is somewhat...

It's just that Yan Shao also knows that now he can act arbitrarily because he has a special affairs bureau in his hands. Now he is a little laissez-faire in terms of speech, but whenever there are voices that threaten his rule. The Special Agents Bureau can solve everything in the shortest possible time.

And even without mentioning the emotional factor. As a woman and a Spaniard at the same time, almost everything about Caterina is based on him, as long as Yan Shao is willing to make Caterina lose all rights at any time, similarly, if Yan Shao steps down, Caterina will also have nothing...

This is just like the leaders of Jinyiwei and Dongchang during the Ming Dynasty, which seem to be flying and domineering. But in fact, their rights come from the emperor, as long as the emperor wants to. Just one sentence can make them die without a place to bury...

But Caterina is different from this kind of person, that is, this kind of person will betray their master, but Caterina will never betray Yan Shao, even if Yan Shao will remove all her positions in the next moment...

Although she enjoys the rights of the Special Affairs Bureau, what she really cares about is always the safety of her family, and it is precisely because of this that Yan Shao has always refused to propose to change the director of the Special Affairs Bureau, because if he really does this, it will be tantamount to cutting off his own arm...

He is now developing the country through authoritarian means, which is efficient but also has many enemies. Although Yan Shao is willing to give everything for his country, if he puts his life on the line......... Ahem, it's time to take it back, but if you can't take it, it's better not to take it...

And for the sake of the country, although Yan Shao is willing to take his life, it is definitely not his willingness to involve his family...

So before Yan Shao is sure that his position is stable, I'm afraid that the Special Affairs Bureau will not change the director...

————————————————————

Listening to Luo Peijin's words, Cai Yi's heart was a little complicated.

As an orthodox soldier, on the one hand, Cai Yi longs for a strong man to stand up and lead China, so that China will no longer be bullied. On the other hand, he doesn't want China to become a world again...

And Yan Shao made Cai Yi's attitude a little hesitant.

On the one hand, Yan Shao adopted a very authoritarian way to rule in Anhui, especially organizations like the Special Affairs Bureau, which let his foreign lovers control it. If it is said that just using authoritarian means to govern the country can still make Cai Yi understand and support (otherwise he would not tout to support Yuan Shikai), then it is absolutely undesirable to let a foreigner and his lover control the secret service agency in Cai Yi's opinion...

However, on the other hand, Anhui developed very well under Yan Shao's governance, and not long ago even defeated Yuan Shikai, who controlled the land of seven provinces, with the strength of one province. It can be said that Yan Shao, who adopted this method, developed Anhui better than any other province, which made Cai Yi confused...

Of course, while being confused, Cai Ye was also more interested in Anhui and Yan Shao, and even had an urge to go to Anhui to have a look. It's just that for now, it's just an impulse after all, and there are big concerns on all sides.

But in any case, Jiang Baili's letter to Cai Ye still made him greatly change his attitude towards Yan Shao.

"Perhaps, it's time to think about it..."

A few days later, the Yunnan junta issued a statement supporting Yan Shao on the issue of the abolition of the lijin, and at the same time demanding concessions from the foreign powers on the issue of garrisons and tariffs, and the next day the Guizhou junta also issued a statement agreeing with the attitude of the Yunnan junta on this issue...

With these two beginnings, soon the provincial military governments issued statements in support of Yan Shao on this issue, which also made the situation in Yan Shao's favor on the issue of tariffs and garrisons... (To be continued......)