Long Qian's power-on did not completely "wake up" Sun Wen. This was what he expected. In the face of the military threat issued by the Mengshan army, it is strange that Sun Wen did not take it seriously. Not even a special meeting was convened to study countermeasures. At present, the most urgent thing is the military threat of the Mengshan army, not where to build the capital and form a government. However, Sun Wen's senior cadres in Shanghai ignored the huge military presence of the Mengshan Army and were completely intoxicated with the birth of the central government. No one seriously studied the situation in the whole country, as if Wuchang had Huang Xing, and all military problems would be solved.

Isn't it strange?

What has Sun Wen done since September 17? He was completely absorbed in the formation of a provisional central government. The first is to determine the capital of the Republic of China. Although Shanghai is good, it is too narrow, far inferior to Nanjing, and it is necessary to "move the capital". After the Mengshan Army issued a threat to unify China by force on the 19th, Sun Wen's senior aides were still studying where the capital would be located, and this was basically the same, including Chen Qimei, who was unwilling to leave Shanghai, voted in favor of building the capital Jiangning. Sun Wen proposed that Jiangning be renamed Nanjing, which would be more magnificent.

The second is the issue of personnel. Sun Wen knows that personnel arrangements are extremely important, everyone has been with them for more than ten years, there are those who abandon their families and other businesses, and there are those who destroy their families to relieve difficulties, and now they have finally overthrown the Manchu Qing Dynasty and established the Republic of China, how can they not make good arrangements?

The organizational structure of the provisional government of the Republic of China entrusted to Hu Hanmin was officially promulgated on September 21, and on that day the first line of Puqi and Xianning was engaged in a decisive battle, with rivers of blood and corpses all over the field, and the first division of the Republic of China, which had just been established and had been pinned on by Sun Wen, collapsed on all fronts. But in Shanghai, Sun Wen announced his list of governments:

President: Sun Wen

Secretary-General of the Presidential Office: Wang Zhaoming

General Minister of the Ministry of the Army: Huang Xing, Deputy Minister Jiang Zuobin

Chief of the Admiralty: Huang Zhongying, Deputy Minister Tang Qianming

Chief of Internal Affairs: Cheng Dequan, the second chief is Zheng

Chief Financial Officer: Chen Jintao, Vice Minister Wang Hongyou

Chief of Industry: Zhang Jian, Deputy Minister Song Jiaoren

Minister of Foreign Affairs: Wang Chonghui, Vice Minister Wei Chen

Chief of Education: Cai Yuanpei, Deputy Minister Ma Junwu (acting)

Chief of Transportation: Tang Shouqian, the second chief is Yu Youren

Attorney General: Ng Dinh Fong. Deputy Minister Lu Zhiyi

in this list. The army and education were members of the League, and the rest were Manchu officials or social elites, but the deputy ministers were all members of the League. Although Cai Yuanpei, the chief of the alliance, is a member of the alliance, in fact, he has long disassociated himself from the alliance. He was the president of a university in Shandong for several years. I am obsessed with the training of teachers and the popularization of compulsory education. And. Cai is not in Shanghai at all, let alone heard of it beforehand, this appointment is somewhat absurd. Therefore, Ma Junwu, a native of Guangxi, was appointed as the deputy chief and acting chief.

Admiralty Chief Huang Zhongying was originally Sa Zhenbing's deputy. After the fleet withdrew to Jiujiang, it was rebelled by Lin Sen, a fellow villager and a friend of the alliance, and led the navy to surrender to the government of the Republic of China.

It is worth mentioning that when the list was studied and determined, Wang Zhaoming, who had not held the important post of "general chief" but had served as secretary general of the presidential office, had suggested that Long Qian'an be given the post of deputy minister of the War Department, but this was opposed by Hu Hanmin, who was concentrating on party building, so he did not do so. As for the Beiyang system, which still has the strength of the north, Sun Wen completely ignored it.

In addition to forming a provisional government, Sun Wen's attention was also turned to diplomacy.

Diplomatic issues are more important, although Sun Wen is full of passion, fantasizing about taking advantage of the Manchu abdication to fill the power vacuum in the country, but he also knows that the domestic situation is extremely complicated, and the Mengshan Army that defeated Beiyang and forced the Manchu court away is already the enemy of the Republic of China, and there is little hope of destroying the Mengshan Army militarily, if the Republic of China government can be recognized by the foreign powers, the security of the newly established Republic of China government will be greatly guaranteed.

Diplomacy is really dealing with a few powerful countries. In September 1909, however, Sun Wen's diplomatic actions were difficult, and the Getin Powers, who were still in Beijing, were the executors and senior advisers of the foreign policies of the countries. Without seeing the envoys of the great powers, diplomacy is just empty talk, and the foreign consuls in Shanghai cannot be the masters.

Sun Wen consulted with Wang Zhaoming, Wang Chonghui and others for several days, and prepared to take the risk of sending Wang Chonghui to Beijing to meet with the envoys of the great powers one by one, so as to promote the recognition of the government of the Republic of China by the great powers. However, Wang Chonghui believes that this is not a question of whether it is dangerous or not, but that Beijing is already under the control of the Mengshan Army, and he may not be able to enter Beijing. The dignified Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China, you can't go with makeup, right?

At the time of the embarrassment, it happened that the Japanese minister Ijiin Hikoyoshi, accompanied by Toyama Man, secretly came to Shanghai, and Sun Yat-sen was extremely happy, so the two sides had in-depth exchanges.

Yijiin Yanji's trip to Shanghai was not instructed by the country, he saw that the Manchu Qing abdicated, Yuan Shikai had already left the wilderness, and Beiyang showed signs of succumbing to Long Qian and later Shanghai. When the Chinese Civil War broke out suddenly, Ijiin Hikoyoshi, who took office in 1908, bet on the Beiyang clique at the suggestion of many "China experts", believing that Beiyang's military strength was sufficient to pacify Shandong, including the endorsement of intelligence officers such as Aoki Nobujun. To this end, the Japanese government loaned millions of yen to the Manchu government, which was delivered to Beiyang in the form of weapons. Now that the Manchu Qing Dynasty has abdicated and the Beiyang is withering, this money is basically in vain. If Yuan Shikai was in power, the money could still be returned, but Yuan Shikai resigned and did not see the Japanese behind closed doors (Yuan did not participate in the loan), which made the Japanese government extremely angry. Fortunately, Sun Wen seized the opportunity to establish a country, and in order to save the unfavorable situation and his own future, Yijiin Yanji could only deal with Sun Wen quickly. So, at the suggestion of Toushan Man, Ijiin Hikoyoshi took a boat from Tianjin to Shanghai to meet Sun Wen.

Toyama is full of big leaders of the Japanese underworld. The Japanese black boss who created the Black Dragon Society has been working hard to influence the political situation in Japan, hoping to go on according to his own ideas. There was no doubt that the seizure of power in China by the Mengshan Army under the command of Long Qian would be unfavorable to Japan, so Toushanman instigated the Japanese envoy to contact Sun Wen immediately.

"If we want to defend the nascent revolutionary regime, we must first build an army loyal to the government of the Republic of China," Sun Yat-sen did not mention Japan's demand for recognition of the government of the Republic of China, but first talked about the issue of the army. Prepare to build a regular army of six ~ ten divisions. However, it is not only the serious shortage of soldiers and generals that is now in short supply, but also the problem of funding. If your country can provide funds and weapons, I am confident that I will quickly form an army to defeat the invasion of the Mongsan army, and then unify the whole country. Sun Wen said to the two Japanese.

Minister Hikoyoshi of Ijiin asked how much it would cost, and Sun Wen stretched out a palm with five fingers open.

"Five million?"

"No, fifty million!"

Hikoyoshi of Ijiin gasped. He is well aware of the domestic economic situation, a Russo-Japanese War saddled Japan with huge debts, and the entire Russo-Japanese War, Japan's war expenses were 1.86 billion yen. 7.6 times its war budget before the outbreak of war in 1903! 680 million yen was raised in Japan through six tranches of war bonds. Having already drained the country, it had no choice but to borrow a total of 927 million yen (about 107 million pounds) from Britain and the United States five times, so that Japan's national debt suddenly surged to 2.4 billion yen, and the interest alone had to pay 110 million yen a year. The per capita tax burden has doubled. The increase in taxes has caused serious turmoil in the country. Where can I get 50 million to support Sun Wen?

"It's absolutely impossible!" Hikoyoshi shouted Ijiin. Not to mention 50 million, even 5 million is impossible! The situation in the country is clear, and the finances are almost on the verge of bankruptcy. Reducing the armed forces, reducing military spending, increasing tax revenues, and especially increasing exports in every possible way, are all aimed at saving the life-saving finances. The last investment in Beiyang was a huge failure, how can it be done now? When the Northern Army of the Mengshan Army entered the customs, it almost clashed with the Chinese garrison army, and for this reason, the commander of the garrison army was reprimanded at home and reprimanded him for making his own decisions. However, this move has aroused strong dissatisfaction among the right-wing forces and opposition figures, including Toushan Man.

"However, are you willing to see the government of the Republic of China wiped out by the Mengshan Army?" Sun Wen asked coldly.

"Wait," Toushan Man stopped Hikoyoshi Ijiin, "Mr. Sun, what do you use to ensure that you will definitely be able to defeat Long Qian when you get this money?" You know, we in Japan have funded you with a lot of money over the years. ”

"Yes, I'm very grateful for that." Sun Wen said solemnly, "You have seen that the situation in Wuchang is extremely critical, and we need to rearm the army. Because of the rubber crisis a few days ago, Longqian Group swept away tens of millions of silver from the hands of the gentry in Jiangsu and Zhejiang by despicable means, and the people of Jiangsu and Zhejiang suffered heavy losses, and hated the Mengshan Army to the core. With the support of the Japanese government in terms of funds and weapons, why can't we defeat the Mengshan Army? ”

"Forgive me for my bluntness, Mr. Minister and I can persuade my government to support your new government. However, you are proposing not a small amount, but a huge sum of fifty million! Where is your collateral? ”

Of course, a mortgage is required for a loan. Sun Wen thought of the previous conversation with Zhang Jian, who originally invited Zhang Jian to be the chief financial officer, but Zhang Jian resolutely refused. Zhang Jian said to Sun Wen, "The financial year is a large amount, and it is called indemnity, navy and army expenses, and administrative expenses. In addition to the railway mortgage, the compensation is at least 30 million taels per year. Regardless of military spending, diplomatic and administrative expenses should be at least this amount. According to this estimate, the central government spends at least 100 million yuan a year. As for the receipt, the tariff is 30 million, and the two Huai salt affairs are about 10 million taels, which are not yet in the hands of the central government. Don't think about relying on the locality, even if Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces can come up with 10 million, the gap is more than 50 million. I can't do this errand, who can make up for this gap, who will do this errand. ”

Zhang Jian still has a lot to say, because the situation in China is violently turbulent, tariffs have been sharply reduced, and the 30 million is actually not insured.

The customs duties were already in the hands of the great powers, and the salt taxes were not under the control of the government of the Republic of China. Zhang Xun's troops, who had retreated from Yizhou, took advantage of Jiangsu's independence to occupy Lianghuai, held this cash cow in their hands, and were recruiting troops to expand their strength. Zhang Xun was, of course, an enemy of the Mengshan army, but instead of leaning towards the Republic of China, he openly claimed to avenge the Manchus. At present, the government of the Republic of China has very few troops that can be used, and the Zhejiang army has a quarrel with the central government because of the death of Tao Chengzhang (in fact, Sun Wen did not control Zhejiang at all), Chen Qimei and others reluctantly formed three regiments of troops with the weapons of the Shanghai Treasury and the Machinery Bureau, which are currently in training and cannot be used.

"What collateral do you want?" Sun Wen was anxious to get a loan, not only because he needed money to form an army, but also because he needed money to run the new government.

"You know, the Japanese Empire had a special interest in Manchuria, and the Empire paid a huge price to take Manchuria back from the Russians for you, but it fell into the hands of the Mengshan Army. This made the military department very unhappy. Toushan Man remembered the military confrontation between the garrison army and the northern army of the Mengshan army near Shanhaiguan, "If your government promises to hand over Manchuria to our government, I am confident that I will persuade the cabinet to provide you with substantial support." ”

Sun Wenleng paused for a moment, "What do you mean by management?" ”

"Manchuria is still the territory of China, but the Japanese Empire has the right to station troops in Manchuria, mining, etc., for a period that can be agreed, but not less than a hundred years."

Japan already has the right to garrison troops in South Manchuria, and the South Manchurian Railway is already under Japanese jurisdiction. But the strength of North Manchurian Russia is still strong, and now there is another Mengshan Army Northern Army, Sun Wen pondered for a while, "There is nothing wrong with this." If your country provides the funds I need within a month, we can sign an agreement on this. ”

Minister Ijiin Yanji's heart moved, he didn't expect that Toushanman, a hooligan, would actually think of a way to seize Manchuria, 50 million to buy the management and development rights of Manchuria for a hundred years is of course not expensive, it is simply too cheap, but the premise is that Sun Wen's government of the Republic of China can really dominate the situation.

"Is there any other way?" Sun Wen seemed to think of something wrong, and asked instead.

"If Han Yeping Company is used as collateral, it is also possible." Tou Shan Man immediately replied.

Hanyeping Company is a large-scale enterprise integrating iron ore, coal mine and steelmaking in China, and the current president is Sheng Xuanhuai. After the Wuchang Uprising and the abdication of the Qing court, it is said that Sheng Xuanhuai had fled to Japan to avoid the limelight.

"It's negotiable." Sun Wen immediately agreed. He did not explain the situation of Wuchang to the Japanese minister and Toushan Man, Huang Xing was defeated, and Han Yeping would fall under the control of the Mengshan army.

At this moment, Sun Wen was quite hungry.

"Well, it's a big deal. I hope that President Sun Dae will go to Japan in person and discuss with His Excellency Katsura Taro. ”

"I can't leave ...... right now"

"If the president can't go in person, Mr. Huang Xing can replace Your Excellency." Tou Shan Man gave in a step.

"Huang Xing is supervising the battle in Wuchang, and he can't leave."

"Ah, is Mr. Huang in Wuchang? That's a shame. It seems that we can only wait for the outcome of the Wuchang battle. "This time it was Yijiin Hikoyoshi who spoke, he thought, it's okay, let's wait for the battle situation in Wuchang to be clear. If the government of the Republic of China can win a big victory in Wuchang, then talk to Sun Wen. If Wuchang is lost again, all hope for military containment of Long Qian will be lost. At that time, in addition to sending troops to intervene, the only way to unite the powers to blockade and sanction the Mengshan Army was adopted.

The thought of uniting the powers to act together made Hikoyoshi Ijiin feel frustrated. Long Qian is not Sun Wen, his strength is too strong! The United States and Germany had already been tied to his side, and the American minister, in particular, had more than once privately applauded the victory of the Mengshan army. In particular, the actions of the Mengshan Army after the occupation of Beijing were deeply appreciated by the US minister. Undoubtedly, behind the US minister is the US government, and it will be difficult for Japan to hold the Americans in check!

The conversation did not yield substantial results. This is also Sun Wen's luck. Because two days later, I finally got the exact news of Wuchang's defeat. Hikoyoshi no longer hesitated, and immediately returned to Beijing, no longer negotiating with Sun Wen. He knew that Sun Wen had failed, so he should concentrate on dealing with Long Qian.

Sun Wen also panicked. Unexpectedly, the battle situation developed so quickly, the main force of the people's army that occupied the geographical advantage lost the Tingsi natural danger within two days, and the southern army of the Mengshan Army went straight down the road to Wuchang, and Wuchang was finished!

What about the Southeast? The newly formed Republic of China will face a military threat from the Mengshan Army. There is no doubt that Long Qian will attack Jiangning along the east of the river after occupying Wuchang. Even people who don't understand military affairs understand this. But at this moment, Sun Wen and his senior cadres did not know that the Southern Army of the Mengshan Army had been forced up in two ways. (To be continued......)