Late at night, although it has just passed mid-May, there is already a cool summer breeze in the north, and the moon is bright and the stars are few. In the suburbs of Zaozhuang County, Shandong Province, the main camp of the Second Town is leaning under a mountain forest, and the lights are shining brightly.
, there were many patrols with guns and live ammunition coming and going outside the fence. Inside the fence, many white marching tents were neatly arranged. In the center of the camp, there was a large Chinese army tent made of earth and wood structure. There were many lights and figures in the tent.
flickering.
An orderly hurriedly walked out of the telegraph room next to the Chinese army's tent and quickly came to the door of the Chinese army's tent. After a briefing, he forwarded the telegram he had just received to the headquarters.
In the hands of First Lieutenant Shi Jingyun.
Shi Jingyun turned around and walked into the big tent while reading the telegram.
Feng Guozhang was sitting behind a desk at this time, studying the topographic map of northern Jiangsu with two staff officers.
"Sir Feng, there is a call from Luanzhou. We are urgently informed by the Army Ministry that the First Mixed Brigade has set off to meet us here." Shi Jingyun walked up to Feng Guozhang and read briefly the message he was holding in his hand.
"The First Mixed Brigade? Yuan Zijing's miscellaneous army?" Feng Guozhang frowned slightly, his face was a bit unhappy, and his tone when he spoke was not only confused but also dissatisfied.
"Exactly. The telegram said that the Ministry of War has issued a special order and has been urging it even today. The advance contact will probably arrive between tomorrow and the next day. As for the first regiment of the vanguard, it will arrive on May 18th.
Jinan, we can reach Zaozhuang on the twenty-first day." Shi Jingyun said quietly.
"Old ghost Duan is really pervasive." Feng Guozhang sighed slowly and said meaningfully.
"The day before yesterday, a telegram also came from Luanzhou, inquiring about the distribution of military supplies required by the First Mixed Brigade during its departure. We were still in Jinan at that time, because Mr. Feng was busy with preparations and dispatching of various ministries, so this matter was not discussed
Inform Mr. Feng that he has made the decision without authorization and called back to inform that the First Mixed Brigade will be responsible for the time being." After a slight pause, Shi Jingyun added.
"Well, you did the right thing. Although Yuan Zijing has been operating in Luanzhou for a short time, he is still in a good shape. There is no need for him to make a bigger show. Besides, he has his uncle supporting him behind him.
What's the big deal with this little money?" Feng Guozhang said expressionlessly.
"Sir, the First Mixed Brigade has arrived, how should we arrange it?" A staff officer on the side asked solemnly, and he could naturally see the importance of it.
Although the First Mixed Brigade is organized under the Second Town, it is clear to everyone in the Second Town that this unit is an outsider at all. To put it nicely, it is the president who gave his nephew a chance to follow him.
Learn and practice in the second town; it sounds hard to say, but after all, the president still cared about it and deliberately let the second town watch the first mixed brigade.
To put it simply, the President is not at ease with Yuan Su. And the Second Town Headquarters has never treated the First Mixed Brigade as one of its own.
From Feng Guozhang's personal point of view, he can be polite to Yuan Su on the surface, and he can also say good things to Yuan Su in front of the president. His purpose of doing this is to please the president on the one hand, and to win over Yuan Su on the other.
On the one hand, I still deliberately act as a political opponent within the Beiyang Group.
But psychologically, he was also worried about Yuan Su's rapid rise.
This is not just a concern for him. I believe that Beiyang veterans including Duan Qirui, Jin Yunpeng, and Cao Kun will have the same fear more or less. Before Yuan Su appeared, these people were Yuan Shikai
True direct relatives, Yuan Su and Yuan Shikai are uncle-nephew relationship after all. Even if there is a gap between them, blood is thicker than water after all.
There was nothing before. It was just that Yuan Shikai was tolerant of Yuan Su's various actions. But through the "Congress Crisis" that happened not long ago, the causes and consequences, as well as the role Yuan Su played in it, had to be let go.
They, the Beiyang veterans, felt there was a potential threat.
First, Yuan Shikai showed his willingness to cooperate with Song Jiaoren on various occasions, and finally sent his nephew Yuan Sunan to meet Song Jiaoren. Later, Song Jiaoren successfully went north and had many secret talks with Yuan Shikai, although including
Including Feng Guozhang, Duan Qirui and others, the outside world does not know what the content of the secret talks is, and whether Yuan Shikai and Song Jiaoren have reached an intention to cooperate, but this indeed poses a threat to the Beiyang Group.
Fortunately, Duan Qirui did some tricks. Feng Guozhang didn't know what it was about, but what he knew was that Yuan Shikai finally gave up his previous thoughts.
As Yuan Shikai's old subordinate, he can also guess that once Yuan Shikai makes up his mind to do something, it will definitely be impossible for nine oxen to pull him back. In other words, Duan Qirui obviously used some unusual methods.
The appropriate method is most likely to use coercion and pressure.
As the leader of the Beiyang Group, it must be uncomfortable to be intimidated and pressured by the cronies you single-handedly promoted.
Obviously because of this incident, Yuan Shikai will also feel uneasy about these old ministers. At this time, Yuan Shikai will definitely want to get rid of this unfavorable position as soon as possible, perhaps alienating Duan Qirui, Feng Guozhang and others in the future
, or to cultivate new cronies.
As the nephew of Yuan Shikai, Yuan Su was able to become the commander of the First Brigade in just one year and commanded eight counties in East Zhili. Looking at the country and the history of the past few decades, this is an extremely rare phenomenon.
How could Feng Guozhang himself or other Beiyang veterans feel at ease in the face of such a controversial rising star? Even if they are loyal to Yuan Shikai and the Beiyang Group, the main premise is that personal interests must not be compromised.
.Especially for Feng Guozhang, he was the governor of Zhili, but Yuan Su's territory was also in Zhili. This was obviously the most direct conflict of forces and interests.
"What else can I do? Since it is an order from above, I have to follow it naturally." Feng Guozhang said in a calm tone.
"Sir, if this is the order given by Commander Duan, it is obvious that Commander Duan wants to take this opportunity to weaken us. Just imagine, if we advance all the way on the front line and the battle goes smoothly, how much credit will be given to this Yuan Su, and this Yuan Su
Su is the nephew of the president, so it won’t be enough if we get less points. On the contrary, if we don’t play well, Yuan Su, a stinky young boy like Yuan Su, won’t be able to make trouble if he doesn’t cause trouble.
Ah." Staff Officer Gao Changyun said seriously.
"It won't be a big deal to add to the chaos. This kid is somewhat capable. Otherwise, how could he have driven away that old man Wang Huaiqing? I'm afraid that if the host is weak and the guest is strong, it will be difficult to restrain him." Shi Jingyun on the side made a pun.
said.
"Yes, in short, this is a hot potato. It is neither easy to accept nor easy to dismiss." Another staff officer sighed deeply and said seriously.
"You are making things too complicated. I did not send any news or orders to Luanzhou before, and Yuan Zijing did not send any messages to inquire during this period. It can be seen that he had no intention of getting involved in this North-South dispute from the beginning.
He was forced to come this time, but Duan Zhiquan obviously had another meaning." Feng Guozhang said in a pretentious manner.
Several people present looked at each other, each showing varying degrees of reflection.
Feng Guozhang suddenly laughed twice and said coldly: "In the final analysis, Duan Zhiquan is just a chicken, and he has to consider every detail. This time he asked Yuan Zijing's people to come with him. To put it bluntly, he wanted to
Yuan Zijing drove away from Kinki, and by the way, he was also exhausted on the battlefield, so that this young man's journey would be too easy and smooth."
After listening to Feng Guozhang's words, the three of them naturally understood what he meant, but after all, this was all speculation.
The reason why they accepted the order from above and led a large force south to Jiangsu was to take advantage of the contradiction between the north and the south to establish a base of power. Compared with Zhili, Jiangsu is not only far away from the important areas of Kinki, but also easier to control the power of the province.
, and more importantly, Jiangsu is far more prosperous than Zhili, and it is profitable both in public and private life.
Even if Duan Qirui really intends to take the opportunity to suppress Yuan Su and drive him out of Zhili Province, Yuan Su still has thousands of men and guns in his hands. Where else can he go outside of Zhili Province? Why not follow the Second Town?
Come to Jiangsu. How will the issue of territorial division be resolved and weighed?
Gao Changyun thought for a while and then said: "In this case, wouldn't it be better if we mobilize Yuan Su to take the lead and let him chew the hard bones while we sit back and reap the benefits?"
Feng Guozhang gave a cold "hum" and said angrily: "Pig brain? If he rushes in front, he can take the lead. Do you really think that the so-called revolutionary army in Jiangsu is so powerful, except for the few battalions in the Eighth Town?"
Outside, the rest are all rabble. To put it bluntly, even the people in the Eighth Town are not invulnerable. Since it is under the banner of our Beiyang, sooner or later it will still be our own family if we make some changes."
The subtext of his last sentence has clearly pointed out that the Eighth Town can divide the power through instigating rebellion and bribery. This is not a difficult task in the first place. Although the Eighth Town served as the main force during the Great Revolution, the current commander is also determined
Toward the revolution, but those who serve as soldiers will not have such high enthusiasm.
In addition, a considerable number of middle- and lower-level officers still have a vacillating attitude. Once they sense that something is wrong, they are likely to defect immediately after a little persuasion and temptation.
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[I will set off back to Xiamen tomorrow. I hope all readers will have a smooth and happy journey back. Make good adjustments after the holiday.] dd