Chapter 179: Hard mouth or hard knife

On New Year's Day 1918, Xiao Yimin, a striking figure from China and abroad, still did not respond to the appointment of the central government in Beijing, nor did he receive more than 100 Chinese and foreign journalists and British and French special envoys from Yunchengdu. The latest chapter of the temple

However, Xiao Yimin maintained a people-friendly image for many years. On the first day of the New Year, the West China Times, one of the five mainstream newspapers in China, published a New Year greeting from Xiao Yimin to Sichuan military and people and the people of the whole country in a special issue of New Year issued nationwide. In his enthusiastic, encouraging and hopeful congratulations, the tone was plain and friendly, and there was no clear political stance at all, nor did he see the so-called political declaration envisioned by Chinese and foreign politicians.

Xiao Yimin's behavior made countless people scream and couldn't understand it. Just when all kinds of speculations and rumors were rising, he was also one of the five mainstream newspapers in China and was famous for his neutral, objective, rapid and accurate reporting, a long report in the Chinese version of the French Far East Post, which has aroused exclamations from all walks of life in China and abroad.

On January 3, the Far East Post published a shocking title in the front page with a larger font - "The Sichuan Army Secretly Expanded to 250,000", among which the "25" was used in extremely eye-catching bright red.

The big news from the famous news reporter "Tang Henry" begins with "key person disclosure" and describes in detail many inside stories and personnel changes in the secret expansion of the Sichuan Army in a very certain tone, and clearly lists the latest sequence of the Sichuan Army.

What is even more shocking is that the article actually listed the establishment of the four major security divisions of the newly formed First Army to the Eighth Army, the chief officer, the garrison, etc. of the newly formed First Army to the Eighth Army, as well as the reorganized establishment of the four major security divisions of Chengdu, Ya'an, Chongqing and the Xuzhou Prefectures, which are mainly responsible for the defense tasks of Sichuan Province. They are clearly and well-founded. The content summarized in the last paragraph of the article caused a huge sensation.

——The establishment of four major security divisions reorganized by various divisions of the Sichuan Army, senior officers and veterans of the Xikang Border Defense Army marks a fundamental change in the strategic focus of the Sichuan Army. Perhaps in the near future, the Sichuan Army, which is well-equipped and well-trained, has the advanced concept of modern military, will appear in the focus areas of all parts of China, around you and me. (Sacred Temple)

The sensational effect of this report by the Far East Post has lasted for a long time. According to rumors, General Xiao Yimin, the commander-in-chief of the Sichuan Army, who had never lost his temper, smashed his cup for this. Immediately afterwards, the subordinate agencies of the Sichuan Army General Command experienced violent shocks, and the names of seventeen school officials suddenly disappeared from the upcoming internal personnel establishment.

Perhaps due to the heavy pressure brought by the leak case, as well as strong appeals from European and American institutions in China and Chinese and foreign press, at 9:30 am on January 4, Xiao Yimin, the secret commander-in-chief of the Sichuan Army, and the visiting British Minister-Entertainment to China, Alexander Edward, the newly appointed Commercial Counselor of the British Consulate General in Shanghai, held a meeting at the Chengdu West China Hotel. Hundreds of Chinese and foreign journalists soon flocked to the spacious and luxurious lobby of the West China Hotel.

At 11:40 in the morning, the two-hour bilateral talks finally ended. Under strong public pressure, the parties to the talks had to meet the requirements of Chinese and foreign journalists and held a press conference in the main conference room on the second floor of the hotel.

To everyone's surprise, Xiao Yimin admitted very frankly that the news of the Sichuan Army's secret expansion of the army, which was causing a lot of controversy, but refused to disclose the details and the appointment and removal of generals, and denied the so-called "expansion of the army by 250,000."

The second reporter from Zi Linxi Daily, who received the question, asked loudly the sharp questions that everyone wanted to ask: "General Xiao has never responded to the appointment of the Beijing central government. Does this mean that the general has a low-key agreement? How do the general view the strong opposition from the Guangzhou Revolutionary Party government?"

Xiao Yimin clearly pondered for a moment and finally expressed his highly anticipated choice:

"As a local government official, I obey the leadership of the central government; as a member of the Central ** team, I obey the orders of the only legal central government of Beijing; as the chairman of the Chinese Democratic Party, which has 350,000 members and has become the second largest political party in China, I will take on the responsibilities I should bear without hesitation.

"Here, I hope to issue an initiative to the Chinese Revolutionary Party led by Mr. Sun Yat-sen through everyone here and all the news media: to end confrontation, give up disputes, seek common ground and difference, and work together! Our suffering country and people can no longer withstand division and war!"

The audience was in an uproar. More than ten reporters from the revolutionary party faction among the reporters suddenly became dull and looked dissatisfied. Xiao Yimin's solemn and clear statement with a slight urgency was undoubtedly announcing that the Chinese Democratic Party and the powerful Sichuan Army had reached cooperation with the Duan Qirui government.

Just as the audience was exclaiming, Zheng Wei, a famous reporter from West China Times, seized the opportunity and asked Edward, the special representative of the British ambassador to China, to ask:

"Mr. Edward, what are your comments on the appointment given by the Beijing Central Government to General Xiao Yimin? What positive results have been achieved in the talks you and General Xiao just concluded?"

Edward, who was well-dressed and looked at the reporters in a very graceful manner:

"Here, on behalf of the British Empire's Minister to my country, Mr. Jurden, reiterate our country's position towards China. We will not interfere in China's internal affairs, including a series of appointments made by China's only legal government to General Xiao Yimin. We sincerely hope that the re-improved central government of Beijing will strictly abide by all agreements between China and Britain and effectively protect the interests of the British Empire in China.

"In the just-concluded talks, we had sincere and frank exchanges with the respected General Xiao Yimin on many issues. Among them, we have reached a gratifying consensus on the interests and responsibilities of China and allied countries, Sino-British economic and trade cooperation and development, science and technology and cultural exchanges, etc. We are full of expectations for the future development of bilateral relations and the future cooperation with General Xiao Yimin."

This is another surprising and shocking result. From this large section of content full of diplomatic rhetoric, the shrewd reporter saw Xiao Yimin's clear political stance and active foreign policy. Edward once again emphasized that the Beijing government is "the only legal government in China" undoubtedly echoes Xiao Yimin's previous attitude, which means that the British government has clearly understood and accepted Xiao Yimin's diplomatic stance, and thus accepted the Beijing government's appointment of Xiao Yimin. It also means that Xiao Yimin's concessions finally reassure the British government. This concessions are likely to be in the two extremely important areas of "effectively protecting the interests of the British Empire in China" and "China-UK economic and trade cooperation and development".

At the same time, both of them intentionally avoided the controversial "** issue" that had been very unpleasant for several years. It was obvious that the two sides had not reached a consensus on this, or that the tough-minded Xiao Yimin did not make any concessions. Therefore, the two sides could only start to cooperate cautiously on the basis of seeking similarities and differences.

The press conference lasted half an hour and the atmosphere was warm, but all the reporters were unable to get more from the increasingly sophisticated Xiao Yimin. Instead, the friendship between Zhuang Sen and Xiao Yimin, the new business counselor of the British Consulate General in Shanghai, surprised Chinese and foreign journalists and talked about it with relish.

Just when everyone thought they had the first important news in the New Year, another major news caused a national shock:

Sichuan Governor Zhang Lan issued an announcement at 4:00 p.m., expressing for the first time that he fully supports all decisions of the central government since December last year, obeys the leadership of the central government, and accepts supervision from the central government. Finally, he solemnly announced that Sichuan would abolish ** and autonomy from today, and requested the central government and the Ministry of Finance to carefully verify the development of Sichuan's agriculture, industry and commerce, and objectively formulate the total amount of finance and taxation that Sichuan has handed over to the central government.

Zhang Lan's announcement immediately received praise from the northern government and all walks of life across the country. Countless politicians showed great joy and comfort for the last province outside the central government to return to the central leadership. Duan Qirui and Beiyang's biggest concern disappeared since then. Sichuan's strong financial strength and industrial and commercial level far exceeding the national provinces, provided the greatest help for Duan Qirui's rise.

This important statement was also an important part of Xiao Yimin's promise, which made Duan Qirui's group very grateful. Duan Qirui's eyes flushed when he saw the telegram. In front of the cheerful Anhui generals, he repeatedly praised Xiao Yimin's integrity and open-mindedness. Although according to the secret agreement, the central government could only obtain 20 million yuan in fiscal and taxes paid by Sichuan every year within the first five years, the 20 million yuan did not require political guarantees, nor did it require huge funds to sell the country, which undoubtedly laid a huge material foundation for Duan Qirui's rise, and Duan Qirui's political reputation was therefore added to the next level.

Some people are happy and some are worried. This principle is very applicable to the chaotic political game in front of you.

Xiao Yimin answered reporters' questions and Zhang Lan's government announcement was like a bolt from the blue, which made the Guangzhou government frightened and furious.

The Guangzhou government, which was already shrouded in pessimism and disappointment, had no way to reverse the decline except for a few sharp and strong criticisms. All factions and units of the Party and the Revolutionary Army, which were already facing division, finally had a real division. No matter how a large number of writers such as Wu Zhihui, Wang Jingwei and Hu Hanmin attacked Xiao Yimin, it could not change the cruel reality of Xiao Yimin entering the enemy camp of the revolutionary party.

It is said that the house is leaking and raining all night. On the morning of the day after Zhang Lan issued the Sichuan government announcement, the highly encouraged joint Beijing Central Government meeting exposed the news again, warmly welcomed Sichuan's return to the central leadership and gave Zhang Lan and others great honors, Duan Qirui signed a letter of appointment that shocked the north and the south:

General Xiao Yimin, deputy chief of military and political affairs, was appointed as the deputy chief of staff of the Army and Navy of the Republic of China, and was responsible for the reorganization, training, and review of the troops of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and was responsible for the power of supervision!

At 10:00 a.m. on January 6, General Xiao Yimin finally issued a formal announcement and took office in a series of positions.

At 3:00 p.m. on January 6, General Xiao Yimin sent another telegram to the whole country: According to the orders of the Central Government, the Ministry of Military Affairs and the General Staff, the divisions of the Fourth Army of the Sichuan Army led by General Wang Zanxu went to the southern Jiangxi to garrison the front line from western Fujian today!

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ps: Finally went to the whole country... Please subscribe and monthly tickets, thank you!
Chapter completed!