Liangbi did this kind of errand twice in half a year, went to Jilin last year to inspect the eighteen towns, and this year went to Jiangxi to urge the fifth town to go south to Guangdong.

The difficulty of the two things is very different, and against Long Qian, who has self-respect for his troops, Liangbi has prepared for the worst.

What is the worst-case scenario? That's to lose your head! Liangbi was ordered by Qin to go to Ganxi to deliver the decree, and he was prepared to be killed.

The Shandong crisis broke out suddenly, which surprised Tie Liang, Pu Wei and him. There is no need for explanation, even if the blame is attributed to the two rebels who were beheaded, everything in Shandong is enough to prove that something is wrong with this province. Always staring at the tiger next to him, I didn't expect that there was a cunning wolf hiding in the south!

The difficulty is in this fifth town! Although Liangbi was conceited that he was born noble and only eight buckets, he received a formal and strict military education in Japan, and he understood the difficulty of organizing and training a troop, which was not a simple collection of numbers and weapons, let alone the accumulation of silver. Under today's conditions, the subdivision of the arms and the increase in the technical content of weapons have made it even more difficult to reorganize and train troops, and the training of a large number of officers and noncommissioned officers alone is an extremely big problem, and it is not possible to do it at all without sufficient time, nor can it be done if there is money.

But Fifth Town is a presence to be feared! He participated in the Zhangde Autumn Drill last year, and saw with his own eyes the majestic posture of the troops participating in the Fifth Town, although it was only a foot mark plus a little cavalry and engineers, but the military quality displayed by that unit made him admire it and left a deep impression on him.

If the Fifth Town rebels...... Liangbi couldn't imagine what kind of situation it was! The fifth town stationed in western Jiangxi is easy to go west to Changsha or attack Nanchang in the east! If you wave your troops north, even Wuchang will be difficult to protect. The Eighth Town, stationed in Hubei, may not be an opponent - after the Zhangde Autumn Exercise. Liangbi and Tie Liang secretly assessed the merits of the various units of the New Army in the north and south, and among the eight complete towns of the New Army that had been reorganized, the fifth town was not the first, but at least the second. Liangbi once suspected that the Fifth Town had selected the most elite troops and the best officers to participate, but Tie Liang said no, the standard that participated in the autumn exercise was a complete step mark, and its combat power was similar to the other three step standards, and Long Qian seemed to attach more importance to the Ninth Association than the Tenth Association, and the seventeenth standard called the Fengguo Pillar Belt has always been known as the first main force in the Fifth Town, and it seems to be more ferocious than the nineteenth standard participating in the autumn exercise.

Liang Bi knew that Tie Liang had his own source of information in the Fifth Town. So he believed Tie Liang's words. In fact, Tie Liang has said it a long time ago. Unexpectedly, the one with the least money in the six towns of Beiyang was the most elite, and he didn't care about it at that time.

If the fifth town rebels, erosion in the central provinces is inevitable, and Shandong will definitely respond. It is certain that the League will take advantage of the opportunity to cause trouble in the South. He is really not sure whether the Beiyang Army will be lethal. What would that be the situation? It's the second Flood Rebellion. Fifty years ago. The imperial court relied on a group of capable and loyal Han people from Zeng Guofan, who does it rely on now? Rely on Yuan Shikai? That's another live Cao Cao! Although by various means, it was not hesitated to raise it to the military aircraft. Finally, Lao Yuan's direct command of the Beiyang Army was transferred to the War Department, but it was found that except for the first town, almost all the middle and senior officers in the other four towns regarded Lao Yuan as the commander of course. You can't replace all the mid-level officers, can you? Those are all the teams that Yuan Shikai has carefully cultivated since he was a child. Even if it is not chaotic, where will the imperial court find so many replacements at once? If the fifth town raises the flag of rebellion, it must be the four towns of Beiyang who cut down the rebellion honor guard, and the result will be a battle between tigers and wolves, and the court will collapse in the battle between tigers and wolves!

After figuring out this section, there is no need for the Queen Mother to say more, Liangbi understands very well the heavy burden he has borne in the south this time, and he must let the fifth town go south to Guangdong to eliminate the Alliance, and he can't force Long Qian to rebel.

Liangbi left Beijing on June 12 of the Western calendar, hid and took a boat along the Grand Canal to go straight down to Zhenjiang, during which he did not land in Shandong. From Zhenjiang, transfer to the river ferry to Jiujiang and get off the ship, go south to Nanchang, meet with Wu Chongxi, the governor of Jiangxi, not to talk about the fifth town, and first inquire about the situation in Guangdong. This is the premise of how Liangbi negotiated with Long Qian. Liangbi's worst-case scenario is that the rebellion in Canton has been put to rest, so the reason for transferring the fifth town to the south is very insufficient. After positioning the Fifth Town as a private army loyal to Long Qian, Liangbi knew that it might be counterproductive to simply suppress the Fifth Town with the righteousness of the imperial court.

The current communication conditions are like this, and there is no news on the waterway. Liangbi asked, Wu Chongxi, the governor of Jiangxi adjacent to Guangdong, gave him two news, a good and a bad, Huanggang and Boluo's actions basically subsided, and there were small-scale riots in Huanggang, but there were riots in western Guangdong, Lianzhou City was lost for a time, but fortunately it was quickly recovered, but the riots did not subside, and the rioters gathered in the mountains between Qin and Lian, and there was a possibility of attacking the city at any time. Both Guangdong and Guangxi are stepping up efforts to mobilize troops to take precautions and to carry out suppression.

This is actually good news. But Liangbi will not say it explicitly. He felt that in terms of momentum, the riots in Qinzhou and Lianzhou were much more serious than those in Huanggang and Boluo, and even Lianzhou was lost! Liangbi didn't think about how many tops and heads landed in Guangdong this time, he was concerned about the situation, and felt that the people in western Guangdong were strong, and there were many potential dangers. It is estimated that the War Department's strategy for counterinsurgency in Guangdong has already arrived in Guangdong, right? Thinking back to the fifth town, Liangbi changed the topic and asked Wu Futai about the situation of the fifth town in western Jiangxi. Wu Chongxi replied truthfully, Long Qian's military discipline is acceptable, and the ordinary people have no objections, and the demand for local grain and straw is not excessive. But there are also some very outrageous behaviors, which actually killed several powerful families in order to collect money, which caused some trouble, and for the sake of the overall situation, the province suppressed it.

"Lord Wu is doing a great job. The official will return to the imperial court, claiming that Lord Wu understands the overall situation and handles it appropriately. Liang Bi didn't care about some of the "illegal" acts of the Fifth Town, such as the suppression of several powerful households in the three prefectures where he was located, and he didn't plan to pursue it, he just drove the Fifth Town to Guangdong.

He asked Governor Wu to go to Linjiang Mansion with him to deliver the decree, and Wu Chongxi had no choice but to agree. However, Wu Chongxi said something clear, "Why doesn't the imperial court split the fifth town?" It is stationed in Linjiang and other three prefectures, and its military training is extremely tight. also recruited a lot of local refugees, and if it goes on like this, I am afraid it will not be the blessing of the imperial court. ”

"Don't worry, Lord Wu. The court has its own plans. Admiral Long waved his army to quell the chaos, and he still had merit. At that time, when he was summoned by Lafayette with Tie Liang, Liang Bi wanted to say a sentence in his heart - even if the fifth town was transferred south, it was just for them to cut off the idea of returning to Shandong, and it did not really eliminate the hidden dangers. Long Qian was transferred to the Beijing Division and resettled. Wouldn't it be more appropriate? But the Queen Mother seemed to be extremely worried about the situation in Guangdong, and all kinds of rumors came one after another, which made Lafayette a little in a trance, and even said that Long Qian must be allowed to capture Sun Wen. Offering the words of His Majesty. Liang Bi knows the way. Tie Liang is more far-sighted in dealing with this kind of problem than himself. Maybe Tie Liang has already made a calculation. So Liangbi didn't put forward his own questions and suggestions in the end, but just accepted the task and hurriedly set off south.

When Liangbi came to Linjiang Mansion, where the Fifth Town Headquarters was stationed. It's already June 24th.

Long Qian was fully prepared for the arrival of Liangbi, and greeted him outside the city, and a foot battalion lined up to be reviewed, although there was no military music to cheer up (Liangbi had heard that there was a Western military band in the fifth town), the military flag was displayed, the military appearance was solemn, and the scene was solemn.

Liangbi looked at the scene that greeted him, and he was sure in his heart, it seemed that the Fifth Town still gave him this Qincha face at least on the surface, which showed that Long Qian was at least unwilling to openly turn his face with the imperial court.

Liangbi approached, turned over and dismounted, and a tall officer at the head stepped forward, "Long Qian, the commander of the fifth town, greets the angels. Long Qian respectfully invites St. Ann. "I didn't kneel, but gave a military salute that was a little different from that of the Beiyang Army.

Under Wu Chongxi's surprised gaze, Liangbi actually returned a military salute, "Holy bow." Liangbi was fortunate to meet the mighty Dragon General, how fortunate he was. ”

This ritual is somewhat nondescript. Although Liangbi was born in the royal family, he liked to wear military uniforms instead of official uniforms, and now he is wearing a neat military uniform.

"I have admired the prestige of Lord Liangbi for a long time, and finally saw the heroic posture in person. Long Qian was happy and tight. Ha Luha, please review my Fifth Town Honor Guard. Adults, please, Wu Futai, please. ”

"Sure enough, it's the division of tigers and wolves. General Long traveled thousands of miles south to quell the rebellion with the power of ten thousand jun, and it was a blessing for the imperial court to have such a strong army! Liangbi said as he stared at the energetic soldiers on both sides of the line.

Indeed, the soldiers in the neat line were at their peak and full of morale.

The ceremony ended quickly, and Long Qian accompanied Liangbi and Wu Chongxi to his temporary headquarters, and immediately turned to the main topic. Liangbi conveyed the imperial court's new appointment to Long Qian and the order to the fifth town, and took out Long Qian's new guard, Long Qian took it and handed it over to Situ Jun. Long Qian was expressionless about the dismissal of him as the governor of Shandong, and of course, his temporary patrol envoy of the four prefectures was also dismissed.

As a matter of fact, the order to transfer the fifth town to the south has already been sent through the Jiangxi side. In the past few days, Long Qian has been making pre-departure preparations. Going south again, Long Qian did not hold meetings at various levels to get through the thoughts of the officers as he did in Shandong, but suddenly attacked and quarreled for a long time, and the attitude of the senior officers determined that all the officers above the battalion level expressed their obedience to the order and resolutely followed him. In the past few days, he went deep and talked to the junior officers about the advantages of going to Guangdong, and tried his best to let the battalion and company commanders understand the significance of going south. Long Qian has always believed that it is not the co-unification and the standard commander who control the troops, but the battalion commander and the company commander.

The Queen Mother was very pleased that General Long quickly cut through the chaos and pacified the rebellion in Hunan and Jiangxi. He has repeatedly praised the general as a pillar of the imperial court and a model for the new army. The meritorious officials who quelled the rebellion this time asked General Long to list them all in order to commend them. Seeing that Long Qian accepted the appointment and dismissal, Liangbi felt much more relaxed.

"That's thanks to the Queen Mother Hongfu, the soldiers used their lives, and the local government supported it, Long Qian didn't dare to take credit."

"The general has made meritorious contributions to quelling the chaos, and there is no crime in the autumn where he is stationed, and Benfu is very grateful." Wu Chongxi saw that Long Qian was interested, and took advantage of the situation to send a high hat. It is a common practice in officialdom to carry people in a sedan chair, with the respect of Wu Chongxi as a governor, there is no need to tie up a general, but if it is a swing today, the gun is more important than the pen, the key is that the fifth town is opened, and it must take the opportunity to ask for grain and goods from the locality, and now say a few more good words without suffering.

"General Long, the imperial court's order to transfer your troops south to Guangdong must have been received, right?"

"Long Qian has received it."

"This official is ordered to come south this time, which is to implement the matter of the fifth town going south. The situation in Guangdong is not peaceful, and the imperial court is looking forward to the fifth town going south to conquer the whole work. ”

"My lord, Long Qian has a few things that I don't know. Dare to ask the adults to explain their doubts. ”

"Your Excellency, please speak." Sure enough, Liangbi didn't move, and responded in a man's voice.

"First, as far as Long Qian knows, Sun Wen's rebellion against the party is also based on the party. Why are tens of thousands of patrol battalions in Guangdong placed there, but they can't quell a group of rebels who have no military training? Do you want to transfer the regular army of the imperial court to run north and south? Long Qian's subordinates were puzzled by this matter. Everyone is a child of Shandong, and they have been homesick for a long time, and they have a lot of complaints about this, so please give an explanation. ”

"This. The patrol battalion was negligent in training. The imperial court has issued an order to take responsibility. and dismissed Cen Chunxuan from the post of governor of Liangguang, cut his post to the people, and never hired. The fifth town is the armed forces of the state, and of course it is necessary to share the worries of the country. ”

As far as Long Qian knew. The Cantonese Rebellion broke out only after Lord Cen went north to Beijing. And Lord Cen was dismissed. It doesn't seem to have anything to do with the Canton Rebellion, right? ”

"Cen Chunxuan is the governor. The patrol battalion to which it belongs is unusable, and naturally it is difficult to escape the involvement. ”

"Isn't there a general in Guangzhou presiding over the military? That's fine. The fifth town is all children of Shandong, and they are not accustomed to the water and soil of the south. It has only been two months since the division was put down in turmoil, but it has been a few months now, and the imperial court seems to know that Guangdong is going to be in chaos? So let our troops be stationed in Jiangxi to wait? Recently, I heard that the War Department sent Wang Shizhen and Meng En to Shandong, and there were many provocative moves. And Meng Enyuan actually suggested that the War Department send troops to take over Shandong. Long Qian dared to ask, Shandong was not under the rule of the imperial court? Why do you seem to be against an enemy country? This matter cannot be explained, Long Mou does not say it, and the general of the fifth town will also consult the adults. Let's be honest, if it weren't for Long's strict management of the army, the fifth town would have been in chaos a long time ago! ”

Wu Chong's heart was shattered when he heard it. Where is this attitude towards angels? But the strange thing is that Liangbi didn't change his face.

"Meng Enyuan's actions were his own actions, not orders from the War Department. For this reason, the imperial court has suspended him from his post and ordered him to reflect. In order to avoid misunderstanding, the War Department even withdrew the headquarters of the Sixth Town stationed in Hengshui to Zhengding. General Long also heard about this, right? ”

"I heard that only in this way can Long Qian restrain his subordinates from being suspicious of the imperial court. As for Shandong's military industry, there is an injection of American capital, a stake in the Shandong gentry, and a stake in the officers and soldiers of the Fifth Town. But there was no investment from the imperial court. My lord, thanks to the joint efforts of the military and the people, there is such a situation in Shandong, which is the guns and ammunition consumed by the fifth town to the south to quell the rebellion, and it is also the transfer of thousands of miles in Shandong. How can you say take it and take it away? What's the difference between that and a robber? ”

Liangbi almost couldn't bear it, but thinking of the Queen Mother's earnest advice, he still endured these aggressive words, "The general said well, Shandong is the Shandong of the imperial court, and the shore of the land is not the king's land." Even if the imperial court wants firearms and ammunition from the Shandong military industry, it is also a matter of course. Didn't the general think so? ”

"Shandong, of course, is the Shandong of the country, and arms are of course produced for the country. But how to do it concretely must be done according to its own laws. The imperial court has been doing foreign affairs for decades, and has invested countless amounts of silver, so it is said that Tianjin alone, since the beginning of Li Wenzhong, how much money has been spent on the country? Now I want Shandong to help, don't you think there's a problem? Since the imperial court had no intention of forcibly taking this matter, Long Qian did not mention it. ”

"This can be discussed in the future. The most urgent thing at the moment is to counter the rebellion, dare to ask General Long when will he send troops? Liangbi did not discuss the gains and losses of foreign affairs with Long Qian, and immediately turned to the topic.

"When the conditions are met, you can send troops."

"On what terms?"

"It's nothing more than military rations. If you go to Guangdong and close the mountains for thousands of miles, you can't rely on Shandong anymore, right? Long Qian had a sneer on his face.

"This is natural. Military salaries and grain were supplied by Jiangxi and Guangdong, and the imperial court had written to the two provinces. As for the guns and ammunition, General Long can consult with the Guangdong side and replenish them on the spot, and he can also ship them from Shandong to Guangdong. This time, Liangbi came, and the Queen Mother specially took out 100,000 taels from the internal money to reward the fifth town...... The Queen Mother has high hopes for the general, people are not grass and trees, and it is difficult for the general to be inconsiderate of the Queen Mother? ”

"No, my lord is serious. Long Qian received the queen mother's kindness, and served the queen mother day and night. If this were not the case, why did Long Qian take the order in Shandong without delay? What Long Qian said just now was all the concern of the soldiers of the Fifth Town, and the adults had been in charge of the army for a long time, so they should understand Long Qian's difficulties. ”

"This is natural. As the general said, Liangbi must play the Queen Mother as it is. What else? ”

"Two things. First, there must be a fixed amount for military spending, which is a one-time item in Jiangxi, but a few months or more in Guangdong. Long Qian governs the army, based on not disturbing the people, but the soldiers and horses in a town eat and chew horses every day, which is not a small number, and it is not good to delay the queen mother's trust. The second is that the headquarters is in Guangdong, and the power of military operations is unified, and if it is commanded indiscriminately, Long Qian is very worried. ”

"The governor of Liangguang has changed to a new person, it is your old boss Zhou Fu. The counterinsurgency is all yours, you are the governor of Guangdong, the governor of Zhou will not intervene, and the general of Guangzhou, Fu Qi, will not intervene, the queen mother has made it clear. ”

"It doesn't hurt." Long Qian didn't pay much attention to Fu Qi, but he was still happy that Zhou Fu was appointed governor of Liangguang. Originally, Zhou Fu had already become a master from Liangjiang, but he didn't expect to re-enable it to become the master of Liangguang.

It is said that after getting rid of the governor of Liangguang, Long Qian, the governor of Guangdong, has two bosses, one of whom is the governor of Guangdong, that is, the governor of Guangdong. But now the governor of Guangdong has been abolished, and since Zhang Renjun was transferred to Shanxi, the post of governor has been concurrently held by the governor. The other is the general of Guangzhou, who has been set up since Kangxi leveled the three feudatories, and his status is the same as that of the governor, but the actual status is higher. The entire province's army, including the Eight Banners and the Green Battalion, was under the jurisdiction of General Guangzhou.

The current general of Guangzhou is Xilin Jueluo. Aged 50. He was formerly the deputy commander of Guangzhou, and in 1906 he was transferred to the general of Guangzhou. Long Qian doesn't have this name in his memory, so he probably isn't a powerful person.

"So, when exactly will Admiral Long leave?"

"I didn't finish it. In addition to the 100,000 taels that the Queen Mother rewarded our department, please ask Lord Wu to prepare a starting fee of 800,000 taels of silver, and as soon as the silver arrives, our department will immediately send troops south. ”

"What? 800,000 taels? Liangbi and Wu Chongxi shouted at the same time.

"800,000 taels is not much. A lot of money was spent on buying medicine in Jiangxi alone, not to mention the cost of purchasing military uniforms and firearms from Shandong Industry? The cost of hiring a man's carriage and horses...... If you want a breakdown, I'll tell you the details. ”

"Okay, that's it. Lord Wu, the matter of quelling the chaos is important, please take into account the overall situation. Liangbi was cross-hearted, and all agreed, "General Long, the War Department has limited your ministry to enter Guangdong on the 15th, is it okay?" ”

"On the 15th, the subordinate officers will also reorganize the troops and dispel the concerns of the officers and men. On the 20th, the headquarters will arrive in Guangdong within 20 days. After figuring out the benefits of going to Guangdong, Long Qian was reluctant to quarrel with the imperial court anymore.

"Okay, that's a deal. This official is in Jiangxi, and I will see that your ministry will make new contributions. (To be continued......)