"Mr. Wu, introduce yourself, I am the Counsellor of the Consulate in Nanjing of the British Empire, Brown, and it is a pleasure to meet you."

Wu Peifu also hurriedly shook hands: "Mr. Brown is fortunate to be there, from your voice, I can't hear that it is an Englishman at all!" ”

Brown also laughs: "I've lived in China for more than 10 years, and I've almost forgotten what London is like, but I know very well in Nanjing, I've fallen in love with this land." ”

After Wu Peifu invited Brown to the office, he introduced Cao Kun to Brown, and after the two sides shook hands, Brown smiled: "After so many years in China, I have always thought that Mr. Wu is a very promising leader, you have strong leadership skills, and at the same time you are good at handling all kinds of relationships, and you have strong power in your hands, maybe you should play a greater role in China, and in this regard, Britain is willing to help." ”

"Mr. Brown praised it falsely, Wu is now in a difficult situation at home and abroad, and he has reached the point where the mountains and rivers are exhausted, how dare he have any extravagant hopes."

Brown smiled and shook his head: "Mr. Wu, your troubles are all small things, the British Empire is willing to help, and any difficulties can be solved." ”

Cao Kun heard this next to him, and he was also happy in his heart, he was worried that he couldn't compete with the Feng army, if there were British people behind him to help, he would have a lot more certainty, so Cao Kun smiled and said: "Ziyu, the British side is sincere, don't miss the opportunity and don't come again!" ”

Wu Peifu also nodded, and then said, "Mr. Brown, I don't know what you need me to do?" ”

"Quite simply, I hope that Mr. Wu can support Southeast Mutual Insurance. If you agree, the British Empire can provide you with 500,000 pounds of military expenses and a large quantity of munitions at once. ”

Half a million pounds sterling before the First World War was almost equivalent to five million oceans, although it went through the First World War. The pound has shrunk, but it's not a small amount.

But Wu Peifu did not show joy on his face: "Supporting the mutual protection of the southeast will attract the crusade of the Feng army, although this 500,000 is a lot, but when it really comes to the battlefield, I am afraid it is not worth a few shells." Henan is located in the Central Plains, there is no danger to defend, I am afraid that I can't stop the rolling iron flow of the Feng army. ”

"Mr. Wu, maybe you shouldn't stay in Henan."

"What does Mr. Brown mean?"

Brown smiled slightly: "China is too big, and the gap between the north and the south is very big. If they are forcibly united, they will only continue to be war-torn. If Mr. Wu and Mr. Cao are willing to go to Nanjing, with the Yangtze River as the boundary, and divide the north and south, this is the most haode choice. ”

Cao Kun listened to Brown's words. is also unusually happy, which coincides with his thoughts. Therefore, he smiled and said, "Ziyu." The Fengjun Army is powerful, but there is a natural danger of the Yangtze River, they can't get through it at all, as long as the south is managed well, we will have a place to settle down. ”

Brown also laughed: "Indeed, when necessary. The Far East Fleet of the British Empire will help to blockade the Yangtze River, as long as Mr. Wu agrees. We can hand over to you the customs duties of the southern provinces. ”

Wu Peifu sat in his position silently, without saying a word, Cao Kun couldn't wait any longer, and hurriedly persuaded: "Ziyu, although it is half of the country, but it is also a country anyway, don't be too stubborn!" ”

Wu Peifu shook his head violently and firmly: "If you don't succeed, you will become benevolent, but no matter what, you can't be a sinner who splits the world, Wu can't afford this infamy!" ”

Cao Kun still wanted to persuade him, but Wu Peifu didn't want to listen anymore: "Cao Shuai, you better go to Nanjing first, I will take the opportunity to move." ”

Although Wu Peifu was picked up by Cao Kun, he couldn't help it, and Cao Kun was also angry, so he could only leave Luoyang and go all the way south to Nanjing.

After arriving in Nanjing, Cao Kun received an unprecedented welcome, the champion industrialist Zhang Jian, as a respected senior, personally brought celebrities from Jiangsu and Zhejiang to welcome Cao Kun's arrival, Qi Xieyuan and other military and political officials also came, the most surprising thing for Cao Kun was that Britain, Japan, and France all sent consul generals to come, and they were polite to Cao Kun.

In particular, the social atmosphere was even more enthusiastic, and Cao Kun was also overjoyed, he swept away the haze, and said loudly: "The autonomy of the provinces is the trend of the times, the wish of all the people, and the modern country has put the will of the people first in everything." Zhang Tinglan and other martial artists only know how to be strong, and if they are tied together, they will not end well, and the southeastern provinces should be autonomous. ”

"Long live autonomy!"

"The will of the people cannot be violated!"

……

Amid the cheers of the crowd, Cao Kun was welcomed into the former Liangjiang Governor's Palace, where Sun Wen was sworn in as the provisional president of the Republic of China.

After Cao Kun entered the mansion, Qi Xieyuan and others suddenly said together: "Please ask Cao Shuai to be the very president, lead the south, and realize the autonomy of the provinces, and we will swear allegiance to the death." ”

"Ladies and gentlemen, how can Cao be the president, I think it's better to choose another master, right?"

Qi Xieyuan hurriedly walked a few steps, and when he came to Cao Kun's approach, he hurriedly said: "Just ask the world, besides Cao Shuai, who else is more suitable, please be sure to think about the well-being of hundreds of millions of people in the southeast, and don't shirk it anymore." ”

Zhang Jian, the old man, also said with a smile: "Zhong Shan, if you don't give in, only you can lead the big guy to fight against Zhang Tinglan!" ”

"Yes, yes, Zhang Jilao is right, except for you, we don't recognize anyone!"

"Yes, please take office of President Cao Da!"

The speed at which these people changed their words is indeed amazing, and they have begun to call the president, and Cao Kun's heart is a hundred willing, but he still has to pretend to be face.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's okay to let me take office, but Cao has one thing to declare, I am all for the great cause of autonomy of the people in the southeast, and Beijing has agreed to the request, I will go to work immediately, and I will never love the stack!"

Cao Kun reluctantly ascended to the throne of a very large president in the midst of "reluctance", Qi Xieyuan served as the Minister of War and the commander of the Nanjing garrison, Zhang Jian became the speaker of the United Provincial Assembly, and others also had their own rewards.

Cao Kun is not confused, he knows that among the direct family, Wu Peifu is the strongest and the most capable of fighting. Although there are some predicaments now, and I don't have to deal with myself, if you want to deal with Zhang Tinglan, you have to be Wu Peifu.

Therefore, Cao Kun publicly announced that as long as Wu Peifu could support him, he would immediately become the vice president, and Cao Kun also made a big deal of contact with the warlords in the southwest and Guangzhou, and the letters of appointment were all spilled out as if they didn't want money.

Compared with the bustle in the south, the north is relatively quiet, in response to Cao Kun's inauguration as president, there is no official statement at all, which makes everyone in the world fall into contemplation, what kind of trick is Zhang Tinglan playing, before there is no action, the screaming is earth-shattering, why did the south really pull the flag and rebel, but he has no voice, isn't this a big joke?

Just when everyone couldn't guess what was going on, a fleet of ships had quietly come to Haizhou in the morning light, that is, Lianyungang in later generations, which was the starting point of the famous Longhai Railway. The fleet consisted of eight warships and thirteen transports, carrying more than 5,800 soldiers of the well-equipped Second Brigade of the First Division to carry out the first landing operation in the history of the Feng army.

The fleet is personally commanded by Shen Honglie, and the landing force is in charge of Zhou Zijian, from the sea to the land, it is definitely a brand-new combat mode, they don't know what will happen, their brains are constantly turning, and sweat has faintly appeared in their palms.

However, when they appeared off the coast of Haizhou, the expected interception did not appear. The people in the port still thought that this was the fleet of the great powers, far away, and pointed and admired.

Seeing that the defenders were so unguarded, Zhou Zijian and Shen Honglie were overjoyed, and the soldiers immediately boarded the dinghy and rushed to land on the beach at the fastest speed. While these people were stunned, the Feng army succeeded in taking control of the port without firing a single shot. The transport ship then docked and unloaded all the weapons and personnel on board.

Zhou Zijian also stepped on hard ground, and for him, a landlubber, it was really a challenge to take a boat. In fact, many of the Feng soldiers have already vomited. After all, the northerners are not used to boats, and the Feng army has not yet had time to form a full-time marine, so they can only make do with infantry.

But fortunately, everything went more smoothly than expected, after the Feng army took the port, it quickly took control of the railway station, and the whole process, almost without any resistance, those Beiyang troops saw the Feng army descending from the sky, all of them fell and ran.

Zhou Zijian rushed to the railway station with his men and horses, and when he saw that there were many wagons parked inside, his face suddenly showed joy.

"Brothers, hurry up and get on the train, one Haizhou is nothing, take Xuzhou, that's the real credit, everyone work hard!"

Zhou Zijian and the others got on the train in a hurry and headed west as fast as they could. The Beiyang Army along the way was like seeing a monster, and they never dreamed that the enemy would kill from the east, isn't this a big joke! Caught off guard, the Feng army almost effortlessly reached the periphery of Xuzhou.

Xuzhou is the north and south, the place where Jinpu Road and Longhai Road converge, and is the north gate of Jiangsu, so its importance is needless to say. Although Qi Xieyuan knew that the Feng army was strong, he also arranged four divisions in Xuzhou. According to his wishful thinking, even if he can't defeat the Feng army, he must buy enough time.

In charge of the defense of Xuzhou was the commander of the 19th Division, Bang Duo, who lined up the four divisions in a row to build a strong defensive line in response to the possible southward movement of the Feng army, aiming to block the southward movement of the Feng army.

However, he did not expect that the Feng army did not go south from the north, but suddenly appeared from behind, and the shells continued to explode in the middle of the Beiyang army, blowing all the people around him into pieces, destroying the fortifications, and turning all the precious artillery pieces into parts.

In a hurry, countless Beiyang troops died under the guns of the Feng army, and by the time Bang Duo got the report, the Feng army had already attacked the railway station. Two shells suddenly landed in Bondor's headquarters, and the explosion was so violent that Bondo shrank under the table in fright. (To be continued......)