In August 1909, a series of major wars broke out in the north and south, and the result completely changed the situation in China. The news could not be concealed at all, and the Manchu court and the envoys of various countries in China had already understood that China had changed.

Let's start with the Manchu government.

Shandong campaign defeat, Yin Chang committed suicide, Yuan Shikai led the remnants of the army back to Hengshui, immediately shook the Beijing division, the banner people of the Beijing division cried, and the first town officers and soldiers in the area of Linjiaqiao in Wuding Mansion were wiped out Many banner people, this ranked first town is also known as the flag town, and its commanders are generally Manchu nobles, such as Fengshan and Tieliang have served as the commander of the town. This is the most trusted armed force of the Manchu Qing court, and it is also the only "national" armed force, the "flag town" fell in Shandong to bring the shock to the Beijing division can be imagined, almost every family in the inner city wears filial piety, every household cries (in fact, most of the flag soldiers are just prisoners of the Shandong Seventh Division), angry banner people storm Yinchang's mansion, thinking that this bastard who has lost the customs of the Manchus has harmed the children of tens of thousands of nations. Fortunately, the center had expected it and sent heavy troops to defend Yin Chang's home - this is a must, Yin Chang's incompetence is a fact, but he has committed suicide and martyred the country, if he humiliates the family again, who will fight for the court in the future? Then there was a banner man "petitioning" the imperial court, demanding that Yuan Shikai be severely punished and put to death. The banner people believed that Yuan Shikai had "betrayed" the first town in order to pave the way for him to usurp the Qing Dynasty. In fact, this is wronged Yuan Shikai, and there is someone else who usurped the Qing Dynasty, but it is not Yuan Shikai. The First World War in Texas almost broke Yuan Shikai's backbone, and even if he wanted to usurp power, he was not enough.

Immediately after the news of Jinzhou's defeat, Duan Qirui and Liangbi fled back to Beijing with the remnants. That's good. There is no possibility of even returning to the place where the ancestors originated, and the regent went to the temple to cry for it. Before the twenty towns of Fengtian changed, the imperial court still had the idea of regaining Fengtian, and now the sixth town is also over, Fengtian is afraid that it will be completely lost, there is the palace and the mausoleum of Taizu and Taizong, and the descendants of Nurhachi are also going to Taimiao to suffer a few times.

After reporting on the war that stretched across the country, many newspapers in the capital were warned not to report on the war anymore. As a result, the front pages of several newspapers opened the "skylight" in the next few days, and the people of Beijing, who were accustomed to reading newspapers, guessed the meaning and felt even more panicked. Zhao Bingjun (Yuan Shikai's descendant), who was in charge of public security in Beijing in the Ministry of Civil Affairs, sent police officers to patrol teahouses, wine shops, and other places where people were concentrated and it was easy to spread rumors. It's a lot of people who spread gossip. This action caused an already serious panic.

Actually, as far as psychology is concerned, the fear of the unknown is the real fear. The measures taken by the Qing court to stabilize the morale of the people and the army did not have an effect, and the panic in the capital spread even more. This is reflected in the sharp fall in housing prices. The price of hard currencies such as gold and silver has skyrocketed. Entering September. There has been a phenomenon of a large number of officials resigning from their posts and taking leave, and many middle- and lower-ranking officials have sold their houses and gone to Shanxi and Shaanxi to join relatives and friends.

The people of Kyoshi seem to have changed their habits overnight. Even the frequency of walking is very different. The world is much depressed, and there are few customers in the former lively teahouses, wine shops, and gardens, and there are few people in the eight alleys outside the front door.

Although Zhao Bingjun severely cracked down on rumor-mongers, all kinds of rumors still flew all over the sky, some said that Yuan Shikai had committed suicide, and some said that Yuan Shikai had led the three towns of Beiyang to surrender to the Mengshan army. With less attention to the south and more attention to the great changes in front of them, is the Qing Dynasty really coming to an end?

The atmosphere in the center was even more tense. Anger and fear are gone, and no matter how bad the situation is, you have to face it, right? Yuan Shikai stopped in Baoding and refused to enter Beijing on the grounds that he was sick, which made the already panicked center even more panicked. In the past few days, Zaifeng convened important ministers to discuss, discussed and discussed, and actually came up with a decision to negotiate peace with the Mengshan army.

This idea was also put forward by the British Minister Juer, "The constitution is a good solution to the Chinese problem, and it is also recognized by the majority of people of insight in China." The civil war in China was not in the interests of the British Empire, and the imperial court could choose an important minister, and the envoy would personally come forward to meet with General Long Qian, and if peace could be reached, the imperial court would retain the status of the monarch, and the various factions in the country, including the Mengshan army, would consult with the imperial court to formulate a constitution and elect a cabinet to administer it, which seemed to be the most appropriate way at present. ”

This is a letter from Zhu Erdian to the regent Zaifeng, which represents the position of the British.

The Japanese Government immediately expressed its support for the British Government's proposal. Apparently, the British did the work of the Japanese. The Japanese government was on the verge of bankruptcy due to a Russo-Japanese war, owed huge debts to Britain and the United States, and could not get a penny of compensation from the Russians, so it could only listen to the British. Of course, Japan did not want the Mengshan Army to take power, and in the Shanhaiguan incident, Japan's hatred of the Mengshan Army was clearly manifested.

Zhu Erdian did not seek the opinions of Russia, France, the United States, Germany, and other countries as other incidents occurred. He knew that at least the Americans and Germans would be happy to see the complete victory of the Mengshan Army.

Zaifeng could only accept this suggestion. for he had no other way to go. Long Qian sent a "telegram" in Guangzhou, and he had already declared that he would overthrow the Manchu Qing and establish a republic. Constitutionalism is different, at least it can retain the throne like the United Kingdom, and enjoy eternal honor.

The Centre, of course, is reluctant to lose its dominion like the British royal family. But taking stock of the strength, even if the Manchu magnates are arrogant and ignorant, they know that there is no way to fight the Dao. At the end of the Dezhou Campaign, Duan Fang, who succeeded Tie Liang as the secretary of the War Department, set off to Hengshui, met with Yuan Shikai, and inspected the three towns of Beiyang that had been withdrawn. Come back and report Zaifeng, there is no way to fight, not to mention how big the losses of the troops are, the key is that the generals of Beiyang have no will to fight since Yuan Shikai! Duan Fang said without worry, what he is most worried about now is not that the Mengshan army is entering Zhili, but that the Mengshan army has surrendered to Beiyang! If Long Qian gives them a way out, I'm afraid they will turn against each other.

To whom? Naturally, it was the imperial court. With a step mark left in the first town of Xiejia in the Beijing Division, it really couldn't stop the counterattack of the Beiyang soldiers. What's more, those two troops are in the same vein as Beiyang, relying on them to defend the Beijing Division? Difficult!

Zaifeng knew that what Duan Fang said was indeed the truth. If Yuan Shikai does not come to Beijing, it can be said that he has no face to come to Beijing, or it can be said that he has no thoughts about it. When Duan Fang returned to Beijing, Yuan Shikai was indeed ill - tired and sick. Duan Fang brought back a copy of Yuan Shikai's handwritten apology. said that he had failed the high expectations of the imperial court, which caused the situation to deteriorate, and asked the imperial court to punish him.

How did the court punish him? Even if the three towns of Beiyang are injured under the city of Dezhou, it is still a force that is enough to influence the situation in Beijing, and the imperial court can only soothe, not punish the crime.

Yuan Shikai didn't come to Beijing, but Duan Qirui came. At the same time, he also brought back thousands of remnants of soldiers and stayed in Tongzhou to lick and lick their wounds. Duan Qirui reported the process of the Jinzhou Battle to Duanfang and handed in a resignation at the same time. Of course, the end side did not answer, and now is not the time to hold accountable. Duan immediately consulted Duan's views on the situation. Duan Qirui was blunt, and immediately sent important ministers to Hunan to talk to Long Qian, and he couldn't fight anymore.

The talks were to be discussed, but the end side was worried about the Lushan army that stopped at Shanhaiguan. The Japanese helped Duan Qirui. Blocking the way allowed the Duan clan to escape. But what if Lu Shan rushed into the pass regardless of the Japanese obstruction? Or what about a detour? Duan Qirui said that the entry is certain. That's a gang of bandits, what do you know about international relations? The Japanese are just a little soldier, but they are just making a show. Lu Shan really wants to enter the customs. Japan will not fight.

The end side thinks so. He was a rare far-sighted man among the Manchu aristocracy, and if Japan wanted to start a war with the Mengshan Army, it would have to mobilize at least four or five divisions, right? Do you need to prepare for this war? Moreover, why did Japan contribute to the Manchu Qing Dynasty? How much will the court pay for this?

Duan Fang didn't keep Duan Qirui, Duan Qirui handed over his military power, hid home, and didn't even go to Hengshui.

The end side, who was nominally in charge of the country's military, repeatedly took stock and confirmed that it was really unable to fight it. Liangbi, who fled back to the customs with Duan Qirui, proposed another possibility, Long Qian's generals of the Mengshan Army came from a humble background, would they have thoughts of Long Qian at the end of the big change? For example, Lushan, outside the Guan, has severed relations with Long Qian for several years, and has a strong army, if the imperial court promises to make huge profits, will there be any changes? Duan Fang smiled bitterly, would you have two hearts in exchange? What seat did the imperial court give to Lu Shan? Crowned king? Do you know that Long Qian will not crown Lu Shan as king? You are delusional.

Since you can't fight, you can only talk about it. With the British coming forward, Long Qian couldn't help but pay attention to it. But for now, do you want to talk about Shandong or go to Hunan? Zaifeng insisted that he must find Long Qian himself, I am afraid that others will not be able to make decisions for this kind of thing, even Chen Chao cannot make decisions for Long Qian. And it has to be fast, Changsha is changing, and the ninth town that is transferring Wuchang is also unstable, if Long Qian defeats Wuchang, he will not talk to us!

Who's going to talk? After thinking about it, I thought about two candidates, Xu Shichang and Liangbi. One article and one martial arts, plus a foreign minister, should be fine.

As soon as Xu Shichang returned from visiting Yuan Shikai in Hengshui, he was summoned by Zaifeng to Da Nei, appointed him as the chief envoy, and immediately set off with Liangbi, took a train to Hankou, and then went to Changsha to meet Long Qian for peace talks.

Xu Shichang couldn't refuse, and the most important thing was that Lao Yuan also had this intention. Lao Yuan said to Xu Shichang that the most critical thing at the moment is time, time was on their side during the Battle of Texas, and now it is on our side. Procrastination will lead to change, and talk is the only feasible strategy at present.

Negotiations are all about setting the bottom line. The bottom line is to keep the royal family! It is okay to implement constitutional government, and Long Qian can also form a cabinet, but if he wants to engage in a republic, he can't, and if he wants to be an emperor, he doesn't need to talk about it! In that case, you can only fight to the end!

Regardless of whether there is the capital to fight or not, the attitude must be there.

Liangbi was silent, Xu Shichang had other ideas, and he did not object. So, after sending a telegram to the governor of Huguang, Ruizi, he made an appointment with Minister Zhu Erdian and set off on September 1 to Hankou by train.

Let's talk about Wuchang. For several days, he discussed the Wuchang guard plan with the officials, and the governor of Ruizi was already an ant on a hot pot. According to the opinion of Xu Shaozhen, the commander of the ninth town who has arrived in Wuchang, Wuchang is simply unable to guard. Because of the defeat of the Eighth Town in Changsha, it lost time to deploy calmly. It is said that Puqi and Xianning should be armed, especially the Tingsi Bridge between the two places, which is a place that must be defended. But now it's completely too late, maybe before the troops can move, the Mengshan army rushed over. For the sake of today's plan, we can only deploy in the south of the city and calculate the troops, but we are just talking about personnel.

The ninth town is not inferior to the eighth town, which is known as the Nanyang New Army. It has jurisdiction over the 17th and 18th associations, the 33rd ~ 364th standard and the subordinate artillery, cavalry, engineering and baggage troops. After receiving an order from the War Department, he boarded ships from Jiangning and Zhenjiang and transported them to Wuchang to prepare to resist the advance of the Southern Army of the Mengshan Army to Wuchang. This was the largest formed regular army of the Qing court in Jiangnan, and after the defeat of Changsha in the eighth town, the only force relied on.

Before the War Department had a plan to mobilize the Ninth Town to Wuchang, this Yangtze River transportation was regarded as the last major waterway transportation of troops in the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and it was still relatively neat, of course, thanks to the full assistance of the Sa Zhenbing naval fleet.

Ruizi, Zhang Biao, Zaitao and others regarded the ninth town as a lifesaver, who knew that the ninth town of Ludao, like the eighth town, had big internal problems. This point is not clear to Ruizi and others, but Xu Shaozhen is completely clear.

Since the establishment of the Ninth Town, revolutionary parties such as Zhao Sheng, Ni Yingdian, Bai Wenwei, Xiong Chengji, and Lin Shuqing have served in the army. In particular, Zhao Sheng, who served as the commander of the thirty-three standards, has a very high reputation in the ninth town. Because of the investigation and punishment of Duanfang, the then governor of Liangjiang, Zhao Sheng and others left the ninth town one after another. However, the lower-level officers and soldiers were inclined to the revolution, and the mood was extremely strong, and they were politically inclined to the armed forces of the League. Compared with the eighth town, this ninth town also has a characteristic of hatred for the Mengshan army.

Why would you hate the Mengshan Army? Because of Zhao Sheng. Zhao Sheng died at the hands of the Mengshan Army in the Battle of Lingshan, and the news was transmitted back to Zhenjiang, and Lin Shuqing, the commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 34th Standard, was very sad and vowed to avenge Zhao Sheng. This time, the ninth town was transferred to Wuchang, and Lin Shuqing and the 34th standard party were determined to take advantage of this opportunity to unite with the Hubei New Army to take action before the war, and after seizing military power, they fought to the death with the Mengshan Army to avenge Zhao Sheng.

Lin Shuqing said: Long Qian was loyal to the Qing court yesterday to suppress the revolution, and today he raised troops against the Qing Dynasty, but he is really a capricious villain, and the revolutionary cause must not fall into the hands of this person, and we must seize the opportunity to raise troops to revolt, and then use Wuchang as a basis to attack the Qing court in the north and Long Qian in the south to establish the great cause of the Republic of China.

Isn't that self-sufficient? Lin Shuqing is just a battalion commander, even if he controls all the Ninth Town, in the decisive battle between the Mengshan Army and the Qing court, taking refuge in one side is the only choice, how can there be two enemies? But that's what Lin Shuqing thinks, and that's what he does. Moreover, Lin Shuqing's proposition has really won a large number of fans, looking at the world, there is no room for it.

Why do you have to wait until Wuchang to move? Because the ammunition will be sent down when it arrives in Wuchang. Before, the Qing court was worried about the instability of the Ninth Town, so the bullets and shells were completely confiscated, and Lin Shuqing could only launch it after arriving in Wuchang.

Long Qian was planning the whole country in Changsha, and Tan Renfeng and Song Jiaoren were contacting the Hubei New Army. The Qing court sent a special envoy to seek peace talks accompanied by the British minister, and the Wuchang Revolution was launched under the planning of a battalion commander of Lin Shuqing.

In the hot summer of 1909, there was a strange situation everywhere, which deeply interested and emotionalized later generations of historians. (To be continued......)