Cao Kun saw that there were no outsiders around, and he didn't hide it at the moment, so he repeated what Sun Yuanqi said word for word. Baidu search://

When they heard Sun Yuanqi proudly say that "it is still a little difficult for all the units under his command to deal with the Japanese army, but it is definitely not a problem to deal with several divisions of the Beiyang Army", Duan Qirui, Feng Guozhang, Zhou Ziqi and others present were a little unbearable, but they could not refute it clearly, because the previous constitutional war had fully confirmed this: At that time, Sun Yuanqi easily annihilated a mixed brigade of the Beiyang Army (Zhang Jiuqing's third mixed brigade of cavalry) with only two brigades in his hands, including the 47th Mixed Brigade and the 1st Mixed Brigade of the Shanxi Army. Defeated an integrated division (Cao Kun's 3rd CSKA Division) and forced an integrated division (Cai Chengxun's 1st CSKA Division) to surrender.

Although there are organic factors of power and deception, "The Art of War" has a clear instruction: "A soldier is also treacherous." "Naturally, you have to do everything to fight a war, not to mention that everyone knows that this is still Sun Yuanqi's mercy! If Sun Yuanqi really wanted to be ruthless, they might not be able to get together so neatly! - At least Cao Kun will not be able to get out unharmed.

Taking a step back, even if they could get together, they would definitely not be in the capital, because Sun Yuanqi's 47th Mixed Brigade and Cai Chengxun's 1st Division had already crossed Zhangjiakou and were only a day or two away from the capital; And a brigade temporarily assembled by Jingshi University is even closer at hand.

Taking a step back, even if they can desperately defend the capital, the capital will definitely not be as complete as it is now. You must know that Sun Yuanqi has mobilized hundreds of aircraft hedgehogs from all over the country to gather around the capital, as long as he gives an order. It took three or five days to bomb this nearly thousand-year-old political center and prosperous place into a disaster movie scene.

After fully seeing the strong combat power of Sun Yuanqi's various departments through the battle outside the mouth, the generals of the Beiyang Army, who were originally arrogant and arrogant, also became out of temper. Even if he heard the threat in Sun Yuanqi's words, he could only pretend to be deaf and dumb at this moment.

After Cao Kun finished retelling. After thinking for a while, Duan Qirui asked Wang Shizhen: "Brother Pingqing, Sun Baixi suddenly proposed a peace proposal after a great victory, and he was moved by affection and reason with my Beiyang, and he was also threatened with soldiers and threatened with punishment, what do you think his intentions are?" And how do we deal with it? ”

Wang Shizhen waved his hand and said: "The foolish brother has long retired to the countryside and does not ask about the world, and now you meat eaters are seeking it, what can I do with this mountain villager?" Again. At the beginning, the marshal sent people to invite him several times, but the foolish brother did not answer. Now that the handsome man has just passed away, I jumped out and pointed fingers. If you are handsome, you will know. What will he think of me, Wang Shizhen? Therefore, the foolish brothers, both public and private, should keep their mouths shut, Brother Zhiquan, don't make me too embarrassed! ”

Duan Qirui said: "Brother Pingqing's words are wrong! This matter is related to the life and death of my Beiyang, how can you, as a member of the group, stay out of it? Even if the handsome spring has knowledge. I definitely hope that you can take the initiative to stand up and solve problems for my Beiyang. Therefore, you should give advice and advice to the public and private brothers. How can you sit silently and stand by? ”

Wang Shizhen didn't answer, but shook his head very resolutely.

Duan Qirui had no choice but to turn his head and ask Feng Guozhang, the governor of Zhili, "Brother Huafu, what is your opinion?" ”

Feng Guozhang, known as the "Dog of the Beiyang", replied slowly: "Peace talks are irrelevant to us, and can even be said to be happy to see, because our morale is low and we are in short supply of weapons, and it is difficult to resist Sun Baixi's aggressive offensive. If it drags on for a year or two, although there may not be a chance to make a comeback, it will definitely not be as embarrassing as it is today. However, the key to the peace talks is not our waiting. It's to see what Zi Xian's brother wants, after all, Sun Baixi wants to attack Shandong by name! ”

Zhou Ziqi didn't wait for Duan Qirui to ask. He took the initiative to reply: "As long as you think that the peace talks are beneficial to my Beiyang, the junior brother has no objection." ”

"Huh?" Everyone couldn't help but be amazed: there are really few noble people who can regard the position of governor as a piece of dust in these years! You must know that Li Chun turned against Yuan Shikai for the position of governor of Jiangxi, not to mention that Jiangxi is far less prosperous than Shandong?

Duan Qirui was also a little surprised, and then persuaded: "Brother Zixuan, don't be too wronged by yourself, if you don't agree, we can talk to Sun Baixi again!" ”

Zhou Ziqi sighed: "The reason why the younger brother wants to give up Shandong is not because of his noble character, but because of two considerations: on the one hand, as Brother Huafu said, the current handsome man has died suddenly, the morale of the people in Beiyang is low, coupled with the shortage of ordnance and insufficient food, it is impossible to compete with Sun Baixi. Instead of provoking Sun Baixi and letting him wave his troops to take North China like a bamboo, it is better for us to accept peace talks, in exchange for a year or two of peace in Beiyang, recuperate and wait for the opportunity, in order to make a comeback.

As for the second reason, that is, Japan's plot against Shandong was not deliberately sensational by Sun Baixi, but it was true. In recent months, Zhou has frequently received secret reports from the following prefectures, prefectures, and counties, saying that there are Japanese spies surveying the terrain and spying on intelligence in the jurisdiction; At the same time, the German army in Jiaozhou was also intensively accumulating grain, ammunition, and fortifications. The "Treaty of the Three Peoples" signed by Zhao Zhi'an and the Japanese minister is even more needless to say. I think that once the European war breaks out, there will be a vicious war in Shandong. Since Sun Baixi has the heart to resist foreign enemies, why should we come forward to be this wicked person? ”

"Brother Zixuan is really loyal to the country!" Duan Qirui couldn't help but praise, although he didn't know where the public loyalty was embodied. Then he asked with concern: "Sun Baixi asked you to choose one of the positions of Shaanxi Governor and Cabinet Chief, I don't know which one Zixian likes more?" ”

Zhou Ziqi said: "I was about to ask Chief Zhiquan for advice!" ”

Duan Qirui hurriedly gave way: "Brother Zixuan is too polite, in fact, Duan also knows very little about this. However, a fool must have a thousand thoughts, and Duan has also been in the cabinet for some time, so he can analyze and plan a thing or two on his behalf. Let's talk about the governor of Shaanxi first. Zhao Xingzhi, the former governor of Shaanxi, was Sun Baixi's domestic servant, student, and brother-in-law, and his loyalty to Sun Baixi was naturally undoubted. The successor governor Zhang Yuhe (Zhang Shiying) was originally considered to be a native of Beiyang, and at the end of the Qing Dynasty and Wu Shouqing (Wu Luzhen) defected to Sun Baixi after the failure of the Zhengding uprising, and he has always been highly valued by Sun Baixi, and has served as an assistant commander, Gan Du and other positions, and he is also loyal to Sun Baixi.

"As for the other military and political dignitaries in the province, they are either the relics of the former Qing Dynasty or the students of Sun Baixi. Only the chief of civil affairs, Chen Yangquan (Chen Mi), has some incense love with me in Beiyang. However, some intelligence said that it was Chen Yangquan who persuaded Tang Yunting (Tang Tianxi) to rebel that day, and it is estimated that this incense has now disappeared. After two or three years of operation by these people, the whole of Shaanxi has already become like an iron bucket, and the needle cannot be inserted and the water cannot be splashed. It is estimated that after you go, you can only be a peaceful governor who admires people! ”

Feng Guozhang added: "Moreover, Shaanxi is west of Gansu guarded by Cheng Huchen (Cheng Ziyin), east is Shanxi led by Zhao Xingzhi, south of Qinling is Yan Baichuan (Yan Xishan) governor of Sichuan, north of Feng Huanzhang (Feng Jishan) led by the First Division of the Outer Mongolian Army and the Kulen authorities supported by Tsarist Russia, it is equivalent to death on all sides, there is no room for maneuver at all!" ”

Duan Qirui nodded and continued: "Let's talk about the head of the cabinet." Although Sun Baixi has formed a cabinet for nearly a year, during which he has experienced major events such as the Sun Huang Rebellion, the Southern Expedition to quell the turmoil, and the congressional dispute, the cabinet members are basically stable, and even the Kuomintang's Cai Heqin (Cai Yuanpei), our Beiyang Lu Zixing (Lu Zhengxiang), and Chen Duoshi (Chen Zhenxian) are still in office. It is estimated that Sun Yuanqi has no intention of adjusting the cabinet at the moment. Taking a step back, even if Sun Baixi wants to adjust the cabinet, he may be powerless, because now the parliament has existed in name only.

"After all the calculations, only Wang Liangchou (Wang Chonghui) is now living overseas, resulting in a vacancy in the post of Attorney General. If Zi Xian's younger brother goes to Beijing to serve as the head of the cabinet, he will either serve as the chief justice or exchange with Meng Yongsheng (Meng Zhaochang) of the New China Party and serve as the chief minister of industry and commerce. In other words, whether it is the governor of Shaanxi or the head of the cabinet, in fact, they are all chicken ribs that have no meat to eat and are a pity to abandon! ”

Zhou Ziqi frowned and said, "What does Chief Zhiquan mean?" ”

Duan Qirui said: "Duan thinks that Brother Zixian might as well talk to Sun Baixi to see if he can appoint you as the chief of staff or the secretary general of the presidential palace, and even the deputy chief of staff is stronger than those two chicken ribs." What do you think? ”

Zhou Ziqi was stunned: "As far as I know, the deputy chief of staff is a simple officer, and the State Council can report to the president for approval and appoint; The chief of staff or the secretary general of the presidential office are both special officials of the president, and they can only be appointed by the president Jianba, and Sun Baixi, the prime minister of the cabinet, has no right to interfere, right? ”

Duan Qirui said with a smile: "If the president is the commander, the chief of staff and the secretary general of the presidential palace are naturally forbidden, and Sun Baixi has no way to touch them; But now the president is Li Huangpi (Li Yuanhong), he is now simply alone, and he is not allowed to be pinched by Sun Baixi? Not to mention that he didn't have a suitable person in the bag for a while, even if he could find it, Sun Baixi forced him to be a chief of staff or secretary general of the presidential office, would he dare to refuse? ”

Zhang Zhenfang, the governor of Henan, interjected at this time: "To say that Sun Baixi is really Li Songqing's nemesis!" When Li Songqing was still the vice president and the governor of Hubei, Sun Yuanqi attacked him, first sending people to take half of Hubei; Later, he was deceived out of Hubei and removed him from his post as governor; In the end, he lured him to the capital and was confined to Yingtai in the South China Sea for two years. If it weren't for the sudden death of the handsome man and let him pick up a basket, it is estimated that he would have to live there with Emperor Dezongjing for the rest of his life. It is estimated that now that Li Songqing hears Sun Baixi's name, his calves will tremble! ”

The crowd burst into laughter.

Duan Qirui also smiled: "I can't guarantee that Li Huangpi will silently say in his heart, 'If you give birth to Li, you will give birth to a grandson'." By the way, what exactly are you going to do, Brother Zixuan? ”

Zhou Ziqi pondered for a moment and replied: "The younger brother is shallow in learning, immoral and incompetent, so let's go to Shaanxi to be a Taiping governor who rules the arch!" ”，.