Yuan Shikai was really good to Duan Zhigui as his godson. Duan Zhigui's full official title was: Governor Fengtian, General Zhen'an and Supervisor of the military affairs of the three eastern provinces, plus Inspector Fengtian, which was equivalent to a military and political grasp.
In the third year of the Republic of China, in order to weaken local power, Lao Yuan had abolished the title of governor and established a general's office in Beijing. He used the title of general to supervise the military affairs of various provinces. However, it was customary for everyone to still become governor. Old people in the former Qing Dynasty even
Call him Governor, that's pretty much it.
Nowadays, all the governors of the provinces are generals with the title of Wu. Only Duan Zhigui is the general of Zhen'an, which makes him stand out. In addition, Duan Zhigui did not come to Fengtian alone this time, but brought a guard regiment with him. This guard regiment
The number is close to 4,000, and it is an out-and-out reinforced regiment. Its equipment is all Japanese Type 30 rifles, and its combat effectiveness is even comparable to that of an ordinary brigade.
All these show that His Highness Qian's identity is unusual. Duan Zhigui himself is also extremely happy. After the big horse golden sword came to Fengtian, all the civil and military personnel of Fengtian headed by Zhang Zuolin came out to welcome him. The ceremony was grand and lively to the extreme.
Including Zhang Tinglan, the senior generals of the 27th Division were also present. Duan Zhigui appeared in front of everyone in uniform. He and Zhang Zuolin had met in Beijing, so he seemed very enthusiastic. He took Zhang Zuolin's hand and asked for greetings.
This time Duan Zhigui did not come empty-handed. When Lao Zhang came to Beijing, Yuan Shikai promised to provide Zhang Zuolin with 3,000 rifles to prepare for the establishment of a ** brigade. This time Duan Zhigui took the opportunity to deliver these rifles to Lao Zhang.
Zhang Zuolin's vision has now reached a point where he doesn't attach much importance to the thousands of ordinary rifles, especially since the rifles sent from Beijing are all Japanese rifles, which conflict with the Russian-made rifles that are currently the main equipment of the Feng army. But this is still a piece of meat, and it is still a piece of meat.
It could be used to train militiamen, so Zhang Zuolin readily accepted it and expressed his gratitude to Duan Zhigui.
Zhang Tinglan did not look at this hypocritical entertainment. He focused his attention on Duan Zhigui's entourage. Behind His Highness, there were several guys in Taoist robes, who were incompatible with the soldiers with guns and live ammunition. Some of these Taoist priests had them in their hands.
They were holding whisks, some were carrying swords on their backs, and some were holding Bagua mirrors. All of them had the spirit of immortality and the aura of demons.
"Duan Zhigui trusts these fortune-telling Taoist priests the most and takes them with him wherever he goes." Yuan Jinkai stood not far from Zhang Tinglan. Seeing that Zhang Tinglan was stunned by these Taoist priests, he took the initiative to introduce: "The first one wearing a red Bagua Taoist robe is called Tang
The immortal is said to be able to perform divination innately. Even President Yuan Shikai came to see him. The one carrying the sword is called Sun Banxian. He has superb swordsmanship. I saw both of them when they went to Beijing. I don't know about the others."
Zhang Tinglan nodded while listening to the introduction, and realized that Duan Zhigui was a complete idiot. Lao Zhang, accompanied by celebrities from all walks of life in Fengtian, surrounded Duan Zhigui and welcomed Duan Zhigui into the Governor's Mansion.
After arriving at the Governor's Mansion, Duan Zhigui glanced at everyone with great ambition, and then said: "General, I have been favored by the President and have been promoted to Governor of Fengtian, so I will swear allegiance to the President. I have two things to do here this time. The first is to
The second purpose of establishing a petition group from all walks of life in Fengtian is to express filial piety on behalf of Fengtian and make more contributions to the president's early proclaim of emperor!"
Duan Zhigui got straight to the point and directly stated his purpose of coming. He was here to collect money for Yuan Shikai. People from all walks of life in Fengtian's military and political circles immediately felt strong resentment in their hearts. No one was willing to have his flesh cut off.
Duan Zhigui was not aware of everyone's thoughts, but continued: "If the world wants peace, an emperor must be the master. Looking at the world, only the president is qualified to sit on this throne. Now everyone is doing their best to support the president. In the future, everyone
They are all meritorious officials from the dragon, and they can all be promoted to officials. If anyone is perfunctory and prevaricating in this matter, I will definitely not be polite!"
When Duan Zhigui saw that everyone was silent, he thought he was being suppressed by General Zhen'an, so he said proudly: "In terms of finance, we must set an example first. I think we must spend at least one million."
"General, Fengtian Finance has suffered losses for many years and cannot make ends meet. It has owed more than 2 million yuan to the Bank of Shanghai and more than 6 million to the Bank of Japan. Adding in some local arrears, Fengtian Finance's deficit exceeds 10 million.
The interest alone every year makes Fengtian suffocated, and we really can’t come up with any money!”
Wang Shuhan, director of the Fengtian Provincial Department of Finance, briefly explained the financial situation. Fengtian's deficit is indeed astonishing. In fact, the three eastern provinces are rich in products. There should not be such a big deficit. The problem lies in Japan and Russia.
After the war, both countries extended their claws to Fengtian, and the financial order was completely disrupted. Currency issued by foreign banks became popular and a large amount of wealth was seized. Local security was chaotic and thieves were rampant. This naturally led to financial embarrassment.
In fact, the knowledgeable people in Fengtian have long been aware of this situation. In particular, Wang Yongjiang has made great efforts to conduct research and find a solution. However, now he is only the director of the Finance Bureau and his scope of authority is limited.
It is limited to the provincial capital of Fengtian, and there is also Wang Shuhan, the director of the department.
Moreover, Zhang Zuolin is only a teacher, and he wants to support financial reform. His name is not justified, and he is faced with many difficulties. Therefore, Wang Yongjiang is just seeing more and speaking less, carefully understanding the situation and making preparations for the future. Wang
Yongjiang knew very well that Fengtian's finances were even worse than what Wang Shuhan said. The Fengtian government had borrowed more than six million yuan from the Japanese.
These loans alone cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest every year. Fengtian is no longer able to repay them. On the contrary, it has to continue to expand the scale of borrowing. If it cannot pay back the interest and still wants a loan, it has to accept Japan's harsh conditions. The Japanese are very strict with Fengtian's finance.
and financial control will be even stronger.
In fact, this is an out-and-out deadlock, because if Fengtian wants to get rid of its financial difficulties, it must weaken Japan's influence, collect the taxes that should be collected, and promote its own currency. But now it is trying to make a fish out of a tree.
An attempt to solve temporary property difficulties through loans turned out to be more tightly controlled by Japan, and the resolution of the financial crisis was even further out of reach.
Duan Zhigui, the newly appointed governor, had no interest in these matters. He was only concerned about Yuan Shikai's accession to the throne. Therefore, facing Wang Shuhan's explanation, Duan Zhigui frowned, waved his hand and said, "A province cannot afford one million.
No matter what I do, I can’t explain it. You are incompetent. Since the finance department can’t come up with the money, what about the Fengtian Official Bank? Isn’t that a place where money is printed? Just take out some and it will be fine!”
"General, the situation of the official bank account is not optimistic!" Wang Shuhan was really unwilling to contradict Duan Zhigui on his first day in office, but the actual situation in Fengtian was indeed so bad that he could not get out the money at all.
If I don't back it up now, I'm afraid I won't be able to make any money even if I try to sell it.
"At present, Fengtian has issued a total of more than 10 million yuan in tickets, but the reserve fund is seriously insufficient, only about one-tenth. From time to time, there will be signs of runs. What is needed now is to inject funds to stabilize the tickets, rather than spending money outside.
.”
Duan Zhigui's face also darkened. He was focused on getting enough funds for his godfather to ascend the throne. How could he care about Fengtian's finances? When Yuan Shikai ascended the throne, he would just leave and leave. There were so many good positions waiting for him in Beijing.
Who wants to suffer outside the customs?
"Crying about poverty means crying about poverty. The president wants to establish a Qianqiu Empire for the eternal peace of this country. Can't you tighten your belts and think of a solution? The Finance Department and official bank accounts don't have any money, but they still support you.
What are you doing, just for decoration?"
Duan Zhigui roared so loudly that the sound shook the entire Governor's Mansion. Everyone present lowered their heads and imitated an old monk entering trance. No matter how much you, General Duan, yelled, the big guy just kept silent and thought he was playing a monkey trick.
.
Zhang Zuolin watched with cold eyes, secretly proud of himself. Duan Zhigui, an idiot, didn't understand the situation at all and wanted money directly. He immediately offended all walks of life in Fengtian, which just created an opportunity for him to win public opinion.
Lao Zhang stood up with a smile and said to Duan Zhigui: "General, you have been working hard all the way. You have just got off the train and have been busy with the fortifications. It is really hard. I think you can take a break first and let everyone get ready. You
Don’t worry, everyone in Fengtian will have no problem with their loyalty to the president, and they will do their best to cooperate with your actions, so you can rest assured!”
As soon as Lao Zhang spoke, many people began to agree, saying that they would definitely find a way. Duan Zhigui also knew not to push too hard, so he stopped mentioning the money, and the welcome banquet ended unhappy.
After Lao Zhang returned to his mansion, he immediately summoned his men.
"What the fuck, this bastard Duan Zhigui is really greedy. He wants money as soon as he arrives in Fengtian. Isn't this a rush? If we don't get rid of this bastard, we in Fengtian will have a hard time sooner or later."
Lao Zhang thought for a while and said to Sun Liechen: "Brother Six, please make arrangements. Take out one thousand rifles that Duan Zhigui gave us today, oh no, two thousand rifles, and send them to my brother Feng. Tell him, Duan Zhigui
He is here to search for land. Let him think about his father in Fengtian and take action to expel Duan Zhigui when necessary. I, Zhang Zuolin, will definitely follow behind!"
It is true that Lao Zhang hates Duan Zhigui, but he also knows that this guy is Yuan Shikai's confidant. Lao Yuan has not stepped down for a day, that is, he is the head of state of China and represents the status of the central government. This kind of offending matter should be left to Feng Delin. It's just right.
This is what they talked about in Shanhaiguan as well.
Now Lao Zhang gave the bulk of 3,000 rifles to Feng Delin to show his respect. As soon as Lao Zhang finished the arrangements, Duan Zhigui sent an invitation and asked him to go to the Governor's Mansion for a while. He also specifically asked to bring Zhang Tinglan with him.
past.
Lao Zhang is so shrewd. If Duan Zhigui wants to find Zhang Tinglan, there is only one possibility, and that is for money. After all, Zhang Tinglan has shown his ability to make money in Beijing. His Highness must be tempted.
When they arrived at the Governor's Mansion, they exchanged few words before Duan Zhigui turned the conversation to the issue of money.
"Yuting, I see that among the officials in Fengtian, you are the smart one, and the others are all stupid. How important it is for the president to become emperor, but they actually push back. I heard that my nephew Zhu Yan and
Sir Juldian has already negotiated an agreement, and has paid half a million pounds. This is not a small sum of money. You take it out first, of course. You can rest assured that as long as the president becomes the emperor, it will definitely be indispensable.