On August 10th, Yuan Su received another reply from Henan. Zhang Zhenfang had already accepted the betrothal gift and decided to hold a going-out party in Kaifeng four days later. The reply naturally expressed the hope that Yuan Su could also attend the going-out party.
, this custom requires both men and women to be present together to make it appear formal and lively.
It's not that Yuan Su doesn't want to respect this custom, it's just that he was in a hurry and was too busy with the affairs at hand, so he really couldn't do anything. Earlier he had already sent another message to explain the current situation in Luanzhou. By the way,
He also mentioned some news related to the preparatory committee. Putting aside the previous series of industrial development matters, he is also currently preparing for the establishment of the 10th Division of the Central Army. Compared with expanding military power, business is still
Secondary.
During this time, everyone in the headquarters was discussing the affairs of the Central Army's 10th Division.
Yuan Su's idea is to use this expansion to complete the expansion in one go. He can foresee that once Yuan Shikai officially implements the imperial system, no matter how good the early preparations are, even if all the prerequisites that can be considered are in place, even if he masters
For national justice, some people are bound to stand up and oppose it.
It does not refer to the revolutionary forces headed by Sun Yat-sen. The Second Revolutionary War has consumed all the armed forces of the revolutionary forces. Sun Yat-sen is now just a bachelor commander. No matter how loud he calls for it, he will not make any real waves. It refers to the warlords of the southwestern provinces.
, as well as the wait-and-see forces within Beiyang. Fu means, not to mention that if such a big thing happens, they will definitely take the opportunity to make a fuss, lest the world is not in chaos, and take the opportunity to make profits. The latter is full of doubts about the imperial system, and
There is also a vague hope that after overthrowing Yuan Shikai, a new order in Beiyang will be established, thereby further advancing his power status.
Historically, the collapse of Yuan Shikai's empire was not due to unfavorable frontline operations. In fact, at the beginning of the war in Hunan and Sichuan, the Beiyang Army had a considerable advantage. However, Yuan Shikai was not aware of the attitudes of several veterans within Beiyang from the beginning, and even more
They did not realize the influence of these elders on the direction of the entire situation.
Since the founding of the Republic of China, the conflict between Yuan Shikai and Duan Qirui has continued to intensify, but the real split was due to the proclaimed emperor.
Duan Qirui is far more knowledgeable than Yuan Shikai on this matter. After all, the authorities are blind to the beholder. Duan Qirui has long seen that the implementation of the imperial system will definitely cause chaos in the country, so he has firmly opposed the imperial system from beginning to end.
At this point, the relationship between Yuan Shikai and Duan Qirui completely fell into an irreversible crisis. Yuan Shikai finally forced Duan Qirui to resign in order to proclaim himself emperor.
In addition to Duan Qirui, even Feng Guozhang was fooled by Yuan Shikai. When Feng Guozhang learned that Yuan Shikai had restoration intentions, he went all the way back to Beijing from Nanjing to persuade Yuan Shikai not to go astray. At that time, Yuan Shikai
He also solemnly stated that he had no intention of proclaiming himself emperor, and that everything was a rumor spread by the outside world. Who knew that he would ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor within a few months, which greatly disappointed Feng Guozhang and determined not to grant Yuan Shikai the title of knighthood.
As a result, the two important ministers turned against Yuan Shikai, and Beiyang was on the verge of internal disintegration.
At first, there were still some Beiyang bureaucrats with a wait-and-see mentality. Unexpectedly, the anti-imperialist voices in the country were getting louder and the southwestern provinces were suppressing one after another. Even so, the hope of the north was still pinned on the war in Sichuan and Hunan. As long as
The Beiyang Army was able to defeat the Japanese army, and there was still room for maneuver in this matter.
However, it was precisely at this time that a few people with the decision-making power had the ambition to overthrow Yuan. They hoped to take advantage of the chaos in Beiyang after forcing Yuan Shikai to retreat. So they secretly instructed the frontline combat troops to respond passively, and even appeared in
Wu Peifu and Cai E from Hunan Province exchanged more than ten private messages with each other.
Many textbooks claim that Wu Peifu was defeated under the wise command of Cai E. In fact, most of the troops Cai E had at that time were improvised, including the Yunnan Army, the Sichuan Army, and the Guizhou Army. Whether it was weapons and equipment or the quality of the soldiers, they were all
It is far less elite than the Beiyang army under Wu Peifu.
According to the documents collected later, including the original telegrams privately exchanged between Wu Peifu and Cai E, the real reason for the defeat of the Beiyang Army was that Wu Peifu did not want to win the war at all. Part of the specific reason was the problems left over from the Second Revolution. Wu Peifu did not
When he got the post of governor of Hunan, he had a lot of grudges in his heart; the other part was because of Cao Kun's instructions.
To sum up, Yuan Su knew very well that the biggest obstacle to Yuan Shikai's ascension to the throne came from within Beiyang. Sooner or later, there would be a big battle, whether it was against the anti-imperialist army in the south or against the opposition forces within Beiyang. He currently has three men under his command.
Although the brigade has 13,000 or 4,000 men, it is far from being able to cope with a large battle.
In this age when military power is real power, who would dislike having too many people under his command? With the support of Fu and the industry under his command, it can also provide economic support, making it easy to expand the army.
The designation of the 10th Army Division of the Zhong Yang Army actually cannot meet Yuan Su's needs. One division can only have 20,000 soldiers if it is full. What's more, the organizational structure of the Zhong Yang Division has long been clearly stipulated, and it has three brigades and nine.
Normally, this regiment only has 15,000 men, which is exactly the number of men in the three brigades he currently has. Fu is nothing more than unifying the first, second, and third brigades.
After much deliberation, on August 12th, Yuan Su sent a special telegram to the Beijing Presidential Palace, specifically reporting on the establishment of the 10th Division of the Zhongyang Army. He said that he would follow the instructions of Zhongyang
He established the 10th Division according to the Army's system, but the 10th Division was only a newly established unit with a new designation and had no direct relationship with the three brigades under his command. He said that he had plans to organize the three existing brigades under his command into a central yang army.
The First Corps became the "Guards" to defend the capital, and they also deliberately mistakenly labeled the "Guards" as the "Jiang Guards" so that Yuan Shikai would understand.
It is not difficult to imagine that Yuan Shikai was always very cunning in doing things. The idea of proclaiming himself emperor was probably not a day or two, or it was a temporary effort and inspiration. It is said that Yuan Shikai had already had it in his mind in the days before and after the Manchu abdication.
The idea of replacing Puyi was just unable to be implemented due to the trend of the times.
Since Yuan Shikai had the ambition to be the emperor long ago, the central yang army that was established last year must be to create a royal guard loyal to the royal family.
The First Corps proposed by Yuan Su hoped to coincide with Yuan Shikai's new ideas and make the regiment's establishment a regular establishment during the imperial period. The name "Jiang Guards Corps" was not only catchy, but also showed a grandeur. fu's reply was
No matter what, Yuan Su will do this according to his own wishes. Yuan Shikai has already begun to plan his ambition to become emperor, so he will naturally be tolerant in many things. What's more, this matter is not strictly speaking "tolerance".
See if Yuan Shikai truly trusts him.
That evening, Yuan Su held a meeting at the newly renovated Military Affairs Council Office to determine the relevant details of establishing the corps and preparing the 10th Army Division. The corps and the 10th Division were managed separately. The former was reorganized from the three existing brigades under his command, and the corps was added.
After discussion between the headquarters and the troops directly under the corps, the latter decided to set up an establishment office based on the two customs defense regiments in Shanhaiguan and start recruiting new soldiers.
The designations of the three brigades under the Tenth Division, following those of the first nine central divisions, were respectively set to the 28th Brigade, the 29th Brigade and the 30th Brigade. Yuan Jixi, the commander of the First Regiment of the Customs Defense Regiment, was promoted to the 28th Brigade.
Dong Zhengguo, commander of the brigade and commander of the second regiment, is the brigade commander of the 29th brigade, and Ji Fuyi, commander-in-chief of the Shanhaiguan militia, is the commander of the 30th brigade. A deputy division commander is temporarily in charge of the division headquarters, and the deputy division commander is represented by Gao Shun.
The order was issued overnight, and the formation of the 10th Division will officially begin tomorrow.
The First Corps still needs a period of detailed consultations. According to the discussion at the meeting, the three brigades currently under its jurisdiction can be said to be the most capable troops in Yuan Su's hands. However, these troops have been fighting since their birth.
There was no heavy firepower, not a single cannon. Even the three militia cannons captured during the suppression of civil unrest in Henan were later returned to the 17th Division.
As an indispensable suppressive firepower on modern battlefields, artillery is indispensable for both defense and offense. It is difficult to imagine how the First Corps can stretch its arms and legs on the battlefield without the support of artillery in the future.
Therefore, the headquarters generally believes that since a corps-level combat unit has been established, artillery must be added to the units directly under the corps headquarters. Artillery can be purchased, but artillery training cannot be effective overnight. This matter
The matter must be determined as soon as possible, and artillery training must be started as soon as possible.
Only one day later, Yuan Su made up his mind to establish an artillery system under his command as soon as possible in the next year.
He sent telegrams to Shanghai and Tianjin, hoping to purchase a batch of high-quality and new artillery through international arms dealers, and named the products of the Krupp factory. Unfortunately, he purchased the arms at the wrong time, just in time for the beginning of the European War.
Although it may not be impossible to buy it, even if it can be bought, and the artillery is of high quality and new type, the price will be three to six times more expensive than the market price.
It’s just that Yuan Su thought that his development would not be that fast at first, and that he would not be able to use any large-scale artillery fire on the domestic battlefield. General combat heavy machine guns would be enough. Therefore, the three brigades under his command were equipped with a lot of heavy machine guns.
Each regiment is equipped with at least four firepower reinforcement companies, and each brigade is equipped with at least 34 heavy machine guns.