"Duan Gong, Feng Zhang is transferring troops, tens of thousands of elite Feng troops will enter the customs soon, I'm afraid your prime minister's throne will be difficult to maintain!"

The Japanese Minister to China, Yukichi Kohata, had an unconcealed smile on his face, and he succeeded Nichiki as Minister to China, and his main mission was twofold, one was the issue of Article 21 and the other was the issue of Shandong.

After Lao Yuan's struggle, the 21st article became the Fourth Treaty of the People, but the content of these treaties could not be implemented, especially the part about the three eastern provinces, and the Feng army did not take it seriously for a long time. In addition, the Japanese snatched Shandong from Germany, and also tried to force the Republic of China government to sign a contract and hand over German power in Shandong to the Japanese.

With two major missions, Kohata Youji felt a heavy responsibility, and has been putting pressure on the Beiyang government, and now he has finally found a good opportunity, Lao Duan is in turmoil, and it is the time when foreign aid is urgently needed, Kohata Youji saw the opportunity and came directly to Duan Qirui.

"Minister Kohata is arrogant and has no respect for the interests of the Japanese Empire, and if he is allowed to rule Beijing, I am afraid that Japan's rights in China will be affected."

"Duan Gong, this is the basis of our cooperation, as long as you agree to hand over Shandong to Japan, we will provide a large amount of arms loans to help your armed forces deal with the offensive of the Feng army!"

As soon as Duan Qirui heard about the loan and arms, he couldn't help but be moved, this is exactly what he urgently needs, now the Fengjun weapons can basically be self-sufficient, and can be sold in large quantities, Duan Qirui does not have this capital, he can only rely on foreign purchases, the most important of which is Japan, unceremoniously said that if he does not get the strong support of the Japanese, Lao Duan really has no confidence to fight against Zhang Zuolin.

"Minister Kohata, I agree with the Shandong issue to be handed over to the Japanese side, but the problem is that the opposition of the people is too high, and Zhang Zuolin entered the customs under this banner. If I agree now, I will confirm Zhang Zuolin's accusation, and when the time comes, I won't be able to sit in this position. ”

"Duan Gong, don't worry, we can sign a secret agreement, only you know it. The imperial government will provide a lot of assistance, and with the comprehensive help of the imperial government, it will not be a problem at all to defeat the Feng army, and wait until Zhang Zuolin is solved. Do you still worry about these little troubles? ”

Kohata Youji had a treacherous smile on his face, and Lao Duan's brows were tightly knit, and he fell into deep thought......

At the same time, in the Marshal Mansion in Mukden, a guest was also welcomed. That is the Japanese Consul General in Mukden, Akajiri Massuke, this guy has fought many times with Mukden. But there are more losses and fewer wins. made him disgraced, and some people in the country even wanted to dismiss him, but this time Akajiri Massuke was triumphant, he couldn't stop smiling on his face, and there were two people beside him, one was Yu Chonghan. One is Wu Junsheng, these two people invited Akajiri Massuke to Zhang Zuolin's study.

Lao Zhang was waiting for them at the door of the study, and when he saw Akajiri Massuke coming, Zhang Zuolin took the initiative to say hello. said with a smile: "Mr. Consul General, we are already old friends, and this labor is really a little unpleasant." ”

"Zhang Sang, the Imperial Government and I both appreciate your ability very much, and we are willing to maintain a cooperative relationship with you, we should put aside the interference of some people, talk openly and honestly, maybe the misunderstandings in the past can be resolved."

"This is the best, this is the best!"

They entered the study and sat down with each other, and Akajiri Massuke took the lead in speaking: "Zhang San, the imperial government doesn't care who controls the Beijing government, as long as we can protect the imperial interests in China, we can cooperate. Moreover, the Imperial Government also considers you to be a more promising political leader, completely different from everyone else, and if China and Japan really join hands with each other, they will certainly be able to achieve a new situation in Greater East Asia. ”

"Dashuai, Mr. Consul General said very well, our previous misunderstandings were all instigated by Zhang Tinglan, how can a group of adults be swayed by a child......" Wu Da tongue still wanted to continue, Lao Zhang waved his hand with a gloomy face and stopped him.

"Humble Yan asked me for instructions on everything, and I also agree that Zhang grew up in this black land, so he should think more about his father's blind date and be worthy of his conscience. This time, I invited Mr. Consul General to come over to talk about the Japanese side's views on the Duan Qirui government. ”

Lao Zhang stopped Wu Junsheng's words, which made the big tongue look a little embarrassed, he thought that Lao Zhang adopted his suggestion, which was equivalent to abandoning Zhang Tinglan's set of ideas, and by the way, it could also hit Zhang Tinglan's status, now it doesn't seem so simple, Zhang Tinglan's status is still very special, Lao Zhang has his bottom line of principles, at this moment Wu Junsheng finally found that he didn't guess Zhang Zuolin's inner thoughts.

Akajiri Massuke was not so proud, he paused, and then said: "Zhang Sang, Mr. Duan Qirui is a friend of the imperial government, he has basically agreed to the Shandong issue, if the Chinese side can ensure the continuity of policy, it is our greatest hope." ”

Akajiri Massuke also made it clear that Lao Zhang could enter the Central Plains, but he had to hand over Shandong to the Japanese. In fact, it is not for nothing that the Japanese value Shandong so much, they control Luda in the northeast and Taiwan in the southeast, if they get Shandong in their hands again, the entire eastern half of China will be under their control, and China will really become a delicacy in the mouth of the Japanese.

Lao Zhang frowned, he did not rush to answer, but asked again: "Does the Japanese side have any other requirements?" ”

Akajiri Massuke said with a smile: "There are indeed some initiatives to strengthen cooperation, such as we hope to cooperate with Mukden in the military industry and steel industry, we also hope that Mukden can send 200,000 people to assist the empire in the Far East, and in addition, the financial and economic fields can also be cooperated, in short, the two sides should coexist and prosper, support each other, and develop together." ”

Hearing Akajiri Massuke's words, Zhang Zuolin's face suddenly became gloomy, the Japanese have such a big appetite, if they agree to his conditions, it is tantamount to destroying the results of Zhang Tinglan's efforts, and the Feng army will fall into the control of the Japanese again, which is completely beyond Zhang Zuolin's bottom line, and his breathing will inevitably be a little heavy.

"Dashuai, the husband is determined to be in the world, a little gain and loss in the Northeast, in exchange for entering the Central Plains, owning the whole country, this deal is very cost-effective, you don't have to hesitate, always work against the Japanese government. There is no benefit, we work closely together! ”

"Shut up!"

Lao Zhang shouted violently, with angry flames in his eyes, and he said loudly: "Zhang has said a long time ago, I want to be worthy of my conscience and the old and young masters of the black land, and don't mention those excessive conditions." Zhang is willing to cooperate with the Japanese side, and the Shandong issue can also be sat down to talk, and the deadline for return can be postponed, as for the rest, if Zhang agrees. If I follow Duan Qirui's old path, maybe someone else will oust me from power! ”

Zhang Zuolin's sudden change in attitude made the other three people show a look of panic on their faces, especially Wu Junsheng, who thought that he could promote the cooperation between Zhang Zuolin and the Japanese. In fact, in his opinion, it is not impossible to give up the interests of the three eastern provinces. Especially Huahua Shijie, who can be exchanged back for the Central Plains, this is simply a big profit. I really can't understand Zhang Zuolin's categorical refusal.

And the same goes for Akajiri Shosuke. In fact, nothing is groundless, and since this period of time, Wu Junsheng and others have encouraged Zhang Zuolin to enter the customs, and behind them is the Japanese who are instigating.

As the Feng army became more and more powerful, the Japanese government was discussing how to deal with the Feng army, especially after the Japanese government learned that the Feng army had obtained a large number of factories from Russia. Japan is very worried, why are they bullying China, they know in their hearts that if the Fengjun army also has its own industrial system. It's completely possible to compete with the Japanese.

Therefore, the Japanese have been repeatedly formulating jihua, and some people advocate the direct use of force, but now about half of Japan's army has been placed in Siberia, and they want to fight with Russia, and if they attack the Feng army again, they will not have this strength at all, and it will be a lose-lose situation, not only will they not be able to win the three eastern provinces, but they may also suffer a crushing defeat in the Far East.

After some discussion, the Japanese chose a relatively safe plan, which was to instigate China to start a civil war, use the Beiyang to weaken the strength of the Feng army, and at the same time use the Feng army to blackmail the Beiyang to force them to give up more benefits, so that the Japanese could benefit from the fisher, as long as the two sides continued to fight, their dependence on Japan would increase, and both sides would become Japanese marionettes.

It can be said that the Japanese are very shrewd in their wishful thinking, and their intentions are extremely sinister, but Lao Zhang did not cooperate with the Japanese, which made Akajiri Massuke very embarrassed.

He sneered and said: "Zhang Sang, be a friend of the empire, the empire will do its best to help, if you are an enemy of the empire, you will have to bear the consequences!" ”

Chijiri was turning around and leaving with a hum, Lao Zhang was sitting on the Taishi chair, without saying a word, Wu Junsheng looked in the mirror at this time, he was not a person inside and out, and he was very embarrassed.

"Dashuai, this negotiation is to do business, I don't want to take out chips, how can I let the Japanese help us, you can't be the same as Zhang Tinglan's kid, you are arrogant!"

Lao Zhang didn't listen to Wu Junsheng's words at all, but just waved his hand in disgust and asked him to go out, and Wu Junsheng had no choice but to stomp his feet and turn around to leave.

After sitting for a long time, Lao Zhang asked Zhang Xueliang to call him in, and Zhang Xueliang also saw that Lao Zhang was a little angry, and his heart was a little hairy, and he didn't know what to say. Lao Zhang sneered instead: "They treat me as a marionette, they just underestimate Zhang, but this time I can also see clearly, Wu Junsheng and these people are indeed unable to keep up with the trend, their brains are too old, and after entering the customs, let them go to the northwest to be a provincial overseer, and toss casually, which can be regarded as benevolence and righteousness." ”

"Dad, you've always fallen out with the Japanese, don't we have to enter the customs?"

"Nonsense, since I have taken this step, I am sure of victory, but I just want to see the bottom line of the Japanese. Han Qing, you go and pass on my order, appoint Humble Yan as the commander of the Fengtian garrison, after sending troops, the Japanese will definitely make some moves, pull our hind legs, and when the time comes, only Humble Yan can resist the pressure of the Japanese! ”

When Zhang Xueliang heard this arrangement, his face also showed joy, during this time, the young marshal always felt that there was a gap between his father and Zhang Tinglan, and he was not good at being a man in the middle, but at this time Zhang Xueliang finally knew that his father still trusted and relied on Zhang Tinglan, and he didn't have to be embarrassed.

Therefore, Zhang Xueliang went to Zhang Tinglan and told him the good news, and after the two brothers met, Zhang Xueliang said excitedly: "Humble words, my father appointed you as the commander of the Fengtian garrison, and was fully responsible for the safety of Fengtian, and my father also said that after he entered the customs, the Japanese would definitely make some moves to let you withstand the pressure of the Japanese." ”

Zhang Tinglan was also very surprised by this appointment, and at first he also thought that Lao Zhang wanted to compromise with the Japanese in exchange for the permission of the Japanese. But now, Zhang Zuolin has other plans, and Zhang Tinglan's heart also has a glimmer of hope, as long as he is not led by the nose by the Japanese, he may have the hope of winning when he enters the customs.

"Han Qing, you go and tell the marshal, as long as I am here, the Japanese don't want to set off any waves!" Zhang Tinglan sneered and said: "Don't think that most of the Feng army will have a chance when they enter the customs, they will really tear their faces, I will let their 100,000 intervention troops turn into powder!" ”

Zhang Tinglan has been thinking about how to deal with the threat of the Japanese for the past two days, and he also knows that he can't be beaten passively, so Zhang Tinglan is ready to put his idea on the Japanese intervention army, which is a good card at a critical moment!

"Clumsy words are heroic, I will not lag behind, this time I want to give our Feng army a vanguard, kill out of the pass, let the world see the majesty of the Feng army!" (To be continued......)