As soon as the Sichuan army appeared in Yichang Mansion, the Tang Sacrifice Branch, the commander of the Seventh Town, reported the emergency situation to Governor Li Yuanhong with an urgent telegram.

Li Yuanhong was furious when he heard the news, and on the one hand, he ordered the Hubei patrol fleet and Wang Anlan's department, the sixth town stationed in Anlu and De'an, to quickly go to support and guard against the Sichuan army from going down the river to Hanyang and Wuchang, and on the other hand, he sent a telegram to the whole country, strongly condemning the behavior of Jiang Zhiqing, the governor of Sichuan, who took the initiative to provoke conflicts and undermined the overall situation of peace, and demanded that the Sichuan army immediately return to its original garrison and compensate for the losses caused in Hubei, otherwise the elite soldiers of the eight towns in Hubei will be exterminated.

Of course, at that time, he didn't know that the so-called "elite soldiers of the eight towns" were about to shrink by one town.

As everyone knows, Jiang Zhiqing, the governor of Sichuan, is a descendant of Sun Yuanqi, and without Sun Yuanqi's order, he would never have taken the initiative to send troops eastward. The high-profile appearance of the Sichuan Army not only bankrupted Sun Yuanqi's strategy of resurrecting his soul by borrowing the corpse, but also pushed Sun Yuanqi to the forefront of public opinion.

On the second day after Li Yuanhong issued the telegram, the Sichuan side, at the behest of Sun Yuanqi, also sent a telegram to the whole country, stating that the main purpose of sending troops to Hubei this time was to mediate the contradictions between Ji Yulin and Tang Xizhi and Zhang Guoquan and Fang Wei, and to avoid the tragedy of being in the same room and brothers fighting against each other. Once this is over, the Sichuan army will take the initiative to withdraw. In addition, the Sichuan Governor's Office and the Sichuan Provincial Assembly, on behalf of the 50 million people in the province, expressed strong indignation at Li Yuanhong's act of killing Zhang Zhenwu, the hero of the first uprising, and urged Li Yuanhong to take the initiative to resign from his posts as vice president and governor of Hubei Province and give an explanation to the people of the whole country.

Soon after the release of the Sichuan electrification, Zhao Jingxing, the governor of Shaanxi, Yan Xishan, the governor of western Shanxi, Zhang Shiying, the governor of Gansu, and Yang Zengxin, the governor of Xinjiang, also jointly issued a telegram. He demanded that the Presidential Office, the State Council, and the Senate thoroughly investigate the Zhang Zhenwu case as soon as possible and restore the innocence of the revolutionary heroes.

Anyone with a discerning eye knows that this is already Sun Yuanqi's forced palace against Li Yuanhong!

Li Yuanhong didn't have time to call back and fight. received the news that Ji Yulin had surrendered and the eighth town had been wiped out. In this way, Yunyang, Xiangyang, and Yichang are connected; The Shinan Mansion, which is located between Yichang Province and Sichuan Province, became an enclave, and it was only a matter of time before it surrendered. Almost in the blink of an eye, Hubei lost one-third of its land, and Li Yuanhong was so angry that he slapped the table in the Governor's Mansion and scolded, "Ji Liangxuan misunderstood me!" Ji Liangxuan misunderstood me! ”

After Fang Wei recovered Xiangyang, he re-established the Xiangyang Military and Political Branch. Ji Yulin, the former commander of the eighth town, was elected as the director of the military and political sub-government, and he was appointed as the sub-commander. A total of 18,000 people from the Hubei Provincial General Corps, the Military Command Division, the Eighth Town of the Hubei Army, the remnants of the former Zhang Guoquan Division, and the Shaanxi Army that came to the aid were organized into one division after another into a mixed brigade in accordance with the "Regulations on the Establishment of the Army in Peacetime" newly promulgated by the Ministry of the Army.

The division is the first division of the Hubei Army. The position of division commander is concurrently led by Fang Wei, and the deputy division commander is held by Zhang Fenghui. Under the jurisdiction of the first brigade, the brigade commander is the former commander of the 15th Association of the Hubei Army, Que Long, stationed in Yunyang Mansion; Second Brigade. The brigade commander was Fan Zhigan, the former commander of the 16th Association of the Hubei Army. Stationed in Xiangyang Province.

The brigade is the first mixed brigade of the Hubei Army, and the brigade commander is Zhang Guoquan, the former commander of the Xiangyang Military and Government Branch. Of course, he was just a puppet, and the main affairs were entirely in charge of the deputy brigade commander Jiang Zuobin. The mixed brigade has a total of 7,000 people, and its soldiers are mainly the troops supporting the Hubei and Shaanxi troops and the military order division, and its combat effectiveness is the strongest. After the reorganization was completed, they quickly marched to Jingmen Prefecture, which was defended by only one of the Hubei troops, and strived to occupy more territory before the arrival of Wang Anlan's division in the sixth town.

And at this time. The struggle in the Beijing Senate has also entered a white-hot level.

Because of Li Yuanhong's military defeat, Fang Wei's support for self-reliance in western Hubei, and the strong support of the New China Party, Republican lawmakers became emboldened in the Senate session. He repeatedly asked Li Yuanhong to go north and personally appear in the Senate for questioning. Although the New China Party was not so emotionally excited, its attitude was very resolute, that is, Li Yuanhong must immediately resign from his posts as vice president and governor of Hubei.

Under pressure from the Senate, Li Yuanhong had no choice but to straighten his posture and send a long telegram from Hubei to explain the causes and consequences of Zhang Zhenwu's case, and to ask Army Chief Duan Qirui to accept questions from the members of the Senate in his place.

On August 21, the Senate held its first formal defense in the case of Zhang Zhenwu.

Early in the morning, reporters from all walks of life gathered outside the Senate, and Republican Party and New China Party congressmen were gearing up one by one, ready to give Duan Qirui a good look. On the other hand, the congressmen of the League and the United Republican Party sat on the hill and watched the tiger fight, as if they had come to listen to a wonderful show, and of course, the possibility that they were secretly stumbling and beating the sticks could not be ruled out.

At the beginning of the meeting, he solemnly stated: "This time, Mr. Duan Zhiquan, the chief of the army, was entrusted by Vice President Mr. Li Songqing to come to the Senate to be questioned by the members, which is the first major event since the establishment of the Senate, and fully embodies the spirit of the rule of law of the Republic of China. Disrupt order and must not ...... In general, anyone who asks a question must obtain the Speaker's consent before standing up to speak. Those who violate the discipline of the venue will be deemed to have flouted the Senate and will be ordered to leave the venue immediately and will not be allowed to participate in this questioning! ”

Speaking of this, Wu Jinglian deliberately glanced at Zhang Bolie, Li Zhaofu, Sun Faxu and several others, and then continued: "The Senate is the highest legislative body of the country, and it enjoys legislative power, appointment and dismissal power in accordance with the law. Prior to the arrival of General Duan, the consent of the Grand Presidential Office, the Cabinet, the Senate, and even Vice President Lebanon himself had been obtained, and the procedure was legal and the Senate recognized it. If you don't have any doubts, then would you like to ask President Duan Zhiquan to take the stage to reply? ”

Hearing this, Duan Qirui walked up to the front desk proudly, and after looking around, he said in a sharp voice: "Duan has always had 120,000 reverence for your hospital. This time, entrusted by Vice President Lai, Duan also felt a little honored to accept the questioning of your court, so he will definitely choose the content that can be announced according to Vice President Lai's call, and seriously answer the questions of the parliamentarians. If you are not satisfied with the reply, Vice President Lai will send you a telegram in the future. Once he receives a telegram from Vice President Lai, Duan will again report in detail to explain. ”

Zhang Bolie immediately raised his arm: "Speaker." I have a problem! ”

Wu Jinglian couldn't help frowning when he raised his hand to ask, but he couldn't find a reason to stop him. I had to reply, "Please speak." ”

Zhang Bolie said loudly: "May I ask Chief Duan, what exactly do you mean by 'choosing what can be announced' just now?" Shouldn't we answer the Senate's questions in a truthful way, knowing everything and saying everything? If you choose what can be announced on the basis of only a few words in the telegram, it is better to send a telegram directly to the Senate. Why should Mr. Duan attend in person? Mr. Duan is so untrue, but he keeps saying that he has 120,000 points of reverence for this court, which is so inconsistent. Isn't it like stealing the bell and trying to cover it up? ”

Duan Qirui was also a quick-witted person, and immediately replied: "Duan's 'choice of what can be announced' refers to the fact that General Zhang Chunshan's crimes were all committed by him while he was in the military, and nothing was related to military affairs. Since the matter is about military secrets. without the approval of the relevant authorities. Duan naturally can't be made public casually. Thank you for your understanding! ”

Peng Yunyi stood up and angrily reprimanded: "Military secrets were originally intended to safeguard national sovereignty and the human rights of citizens, but now they are related to national law and human life. Could it be that military secrets are greater than national law and human life? If you don't make this 'military secret' clear, you can use it today to cover up the fact of killing General Zhang Chunshan, and tomorrow you can use it to slaughter the people of the world!" In ancient times, traitors used the word 'unwarranted' to cast a prison for thousands of years, do you plan to use the word 'military secret' to block the mouths of the people in the world? ”

Duan Qirui said: "This councilor may have some misunderstanding! Safeguarding the human rights of citizens is the law of the country, so is it not the law of the country to judge criminals and soldiers to keep military secrets according to military law? General Zhang Chunshan is a civilian **, and his crimes violate military law. Naturally, it is up to military law! Moreover, before General Zhang Chunshan's verdict, the Hubei Military Government had already held a military court conference in Wuchang. Evidence gathered; Moreover, the judgment has also been passed in Wuchang, but it is only executed by the central government. What's wrong? ”

Sichuan Senator Li Zhaofu asked: "May I ask General Duan, who convened the Hubei Military Law Conference and who participated in it?" ”

Duan Qirui replied: "It was presided over by Vice President Li, and the main high-ranking military officers of the Hubei Military Government participated. ”

Li Zhaofu asked again: "If I remember correctly, when General Zhang Chunshan first entered Beijing, he was appointed by the Great Presidential Office and the State Council as a Mongolian reclamation envoy, and then returned to Hubei to raise Mongolian reclamation matters. May I ask General Duan, when did the Hubei Military Government have the power to try the Mongolian reclamation envoys appointed by the central government? ”

Duan Qirui said, "Uh...... First of all, General Zhang Chunshan's crimes were all committed when he was the director of the Hubei Military Affairs Department, and it is reasonable for the Hubei Military Government to collect evidence, convene a meeting, and make a verdict. Second, he happened to be in Hubei, and Vice President Li was also the chief of staff, so it was not impossible for Vice President Li to preside over the military justice conference. Third, Vice President Li called the Grand Presidential Office, and the results of the examination and approval were reviewed and approved by the Grand Presidential Office, the War Department, and the Military Administration and Law Enforcement Department. ”

Li Zhaofu said: "Strong words! Then let me ask you again, was the Hubei Military Law Conference held before Zhang Chunshan entered Beijing, or after he entered Beijing? ”

Duan Qirui said: "Before entering Beijing, right?" ”

Li Zhaofu asked again: "If the military law conference was held before Zhang Chunshan entered Beijing, why didn't he carry out the execution in Wuchang, but delayed it until five or six days after entering Beijing?" ”

Duan Qirui said: "Zhang Chunshan has a great reputation in Hubei, and he has many subordinates, so I am afraid that there will be trouble." As a last resort, we resorted to this delay. ”

Li Zhaofu asked again: "If this is really the case, why does Vice President Lebanon not mention the military justice conference at all, nor does the official document or public notice posted by the president mention it?" ”

Duan Qirui was a little flustered: "This"

Li Zhaofu then asked: "Is there such a strange rule in the civil law when the military law conference was held in Wuchang and the execution was carried out in Beijing?" ”

Duan Qirui wiped his sweat and said to him: "This councilor, you should understand the reason for being in a hurry, right?" At that time, the president and vice president had no choice but to take this temporary measure on the premise of the safety of the country, and although there were some mistakes in the procedures, it was out of sincerity and kindness in terms of intention and result. Why are you so fastidious? If there is really any responsibility, Duan, as the army commander, cannot escape the blame, and all the sins are willing to bear it with all his might! (To be continued......)