On December 2, Yuan Su withdrew the Yingkou General Headquarters to Fengtian. Since the Liaodong War was over, he should also resign. However, after all, the Sino-Japanese conflict left a hidden danger that cannot be ignored, and the Ministry of War still
It was decided to retain some units of the General Headquarters in Fengtian for emergencies.
After arriving in Fengtian, Yuan Su convened a post-war meeting of the Central Army with Jiang Baili, Zhao Shanhe, Chen Wenian, Tian Wenlie, Zhu Panzao and others. First, they calculated the battle losses in this battle, secondly, they discussed merits and rewards, and thirdly,
It is the new defense zone division of the Central Army's Second Division, Fifth Division and Fengtian Seventeenth Division.
According to the instructions sent back by the Presidential Office and the Ministry of War in three days, the Central Army's operation in Liaodong has a certain political purpose, which is to extend the central power to the local areas and beware that the three eastern provinces will be like the southwestern provinces with their own troops. So although
The Second Division and the Fifth Division are both Kinki troops, but they simply took this opportunity to be permanently stationed in the three eastern provinces. Even if they are not stationed permanently, they must persist through this sensitive period until the shadow of the Liaodong x emergency is completely eliminated.
After that, another decision will be made.
The battle lasted for twenty-two days, with a total of 1,633 soldiers killed, and 3,850 injured and retired. The war consumed materials and converted into funds of more than 1.7 million, and post-war reconstruction and pensions
It is initially estimated that the material conversion funds will be around 2 million. However, the profits obtained from seizures and plunder during the war are almost more than 1 million, plus the sale of captured trophies, which can barely offset the economic cost of this battle.
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In terms of merit and rewards, the Military Merits Department of the Headquarters and the Special Commissioner of the Military Merits Department of the Army Ministry have already prepared a preliminary screening list, and Yuan Su is responsible for approving the candidates and merits from the preliminary screening list. Yuan Su has passed the agreement with the Logistics Command
, consultations with various frontline headquarters have already determined a list of affiliations. Basically, all departments participating in the battle have been given "credit" in a balanced manner. Even the fifth division of Zhu Panzao, who had never fired from the beginning to the end, has
It can be regarded as a "reward of hard work".[
After some discussion, Yuan Su decided to assign Tian Wenlie's Second Division to garrison at Yingkou, the Fifth Division to garrison in Fengcheng, and the Tenth Division to temporarily return to Shanhaiguan to garrison. The purpose of this was not to keep personal forces away from the land of right and wrong, but to alleviate the
The local finances of the three northeastern provinces bear a burden on the central army. Anyway, Shanhaiguan is not far from Yingkou and is connected by railways in all directions. It only takes a few days to send out troops. Furthermore, they have to support themselves on their own territory. The provincial and
The local governments of the three northeastern provinces are very preoccupied.
As for the First Corps of the Central Army, its headquarters was temporarily organized under the General Headquarters of the Unified War and was stationed in Fengtian together. Several reserve regiments directly under the Corps also stayed in Fengtian, including the First Brigade, the Guard Regiment and the Reserve Artillery Regiment.
The troops returned to Zhili and continued to be trained and expanded.
After the post-war meeting, Yuan Su rushed to the temporary gathering place of the First Corps, visited and expressed condolences to the officers and soldiers of the corps, and also specially selected a hospital where wounded soldiers gathered to comfort him. After the post-war meeting just now, the military merits
When discussing the awards, he specially commended some grassroots officers of the First Corps. After all, the First Corps was expanding rapidly. Many officers had little actual combat experience, but they could play an excellent leadership role in the war. It was really gratifying.
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Especially Sun Lianzhong, when the flank position was lost, he was able to delay the surging Japanese attack with minimal casualties by relying on part of his regiment behind the scenes to cover the wounded and materials and withdraw them into Gaizhou City. Yuan Su was meeting with Sun Lianzhong.
At this time, he enthusiastically patted the opponent's shoulder and praised: "In the past, Zhuge Liang left Qishan and was defeated in Jigu. However, Zhao Yun immediately gathered his troops and defended Jigu without causing any major damage. When the troops retreated, Zhao Yun personally blocked the rear and prevented Cao Jun from pursuing.
Therefore, the losses in military resources and personnel were not large. Today, Sun's imitation of Lu's achievements is no less than that of Zhao Yun in the Three Kingdoms, and it should be an example of emulating his merits."
After staying in Fengtian for a period of time, both the Presidential Palace in Beijing and the Ministry of War sent telegrams informing Yuan Su to return to Beijing as soon as possible. The Presidential Palace did not say what the reason was, but since it did not say, it is assumed that Yuan Shikai must be looking for him.
The matter of imperialism was discussed. The message sent by the Ministry of War stated that Yuan Su would be awarded a medal for this battle.
The afternoon before leaving, Yuan Su found Jiang Baili and Chen Wenian for a private meeting.
Although Yuan Su has been busy with the aftermath of the Liaodong battlefield during this period, he is still concerned about the changes in the domestic public opinion atmosphere, whether it is the Beiyang government or the Security Council privately adding to the flames, or it is a spontaneous riot among the people.
Aware of the current turmoil, anyone with a little bit of brains knows that a major change will soon occur in the country.
For more than half a year, the Beiyang Youth Group headed by the Beiyang Officers Club has been disseminating some of Yuan Su's personal opinions. Therefore, the current changes in the domestic atmosphere and the military under Yuan Su's command are not too important.
An obvious reaction. Even the core military officer class headed by those who had foresight, such as Jiang Baili, Chen Wenian, Gao Shun and others, did not feel disgusted with the so-called imperial system.
In history, Jiang Baili even personally presided over the ceremony of Yuan Shikai's sacrifice to Confucius. It is obvious that Jiang Baili himself has a very clear positioning of himself. He does not participate in politics as a soldier and only concentrates on the development of national defense. This is quite similar to Cai E at first. No wonder
The two of them can get so close.
The meeting with Jiang and Chen this time was to formally test their intentions for Yuan Shikai's proclaimed emperor. If they can agree on the agreement, they would take the opportunity to discuss the topic in more depth and try to make some plans before and after Yuan Shikai proclaimed himself emperor.
; If we can't reach an agreement, we can only stop there for the time being, or we can try to persuade with some rationale.
When they came to the study, Yuan Su motioned the two of them to sit down. He first talked about some trivial matters about the aftermath of Liaodong, and then went straight to the point and asked them if they had paid attention to the recent news in major domestic newspapers. Jiang Baili naturally read some current affairs newspapers every day.
, but Chen Wenian gradually became concerned after hearing someone talk about it recently.
"Is Mr. Yuan referring to the things promoted by the Security Council and some social groups recently?" Chen Wennian asked.
"That's right. Obviously this time we defended national sovereignty in Liaodong and won a great honor for the Beiyang government. As a result, everyone in the country was greatly encouraged, which is why there is such a warm atmosphere now.
"To be honest, I have some dealings with the Security Council, and I can understand some of their ideas, but I don't know whether the current domestic emotional agitation is a good thing or a bad thing." Yuan Su said with a pun.
"When I was in the capital before, I had contacts with Yang Du and others. On the surface, Yang Du was just a scholar studying politics, but behind the scenes, it was obviously the president who was secretly giving instructions and support. On the 22nd of last month
Yang Du held a speech in Shanghai, in which he openly criticized the current political system. He still believed that the republican system was the main culprit that hindered the country's progress. It is said that some democrats in Jiangsu and Zhejiang had a quarrel with him on the spot, but in the end, one by one
The dumb words spoken by Yang Du are really incredible." Jiang Baili said calmly.
"Although I have some general understanding of the state system and government system, to be honest, I don't understand it very well. In fact, looking at the current situation in China, where can we see democracy and where can we see republic? Those in power are aloof, so-called
"Power belongs to the people is just an empty talk. Sometimes I also feel that in order to preserve the illusory name of republic and democracy, we have to bear more so-called burdens, why bother?" Yuan Su said seriously.
"Advanced countries in the West all have their own set of political systems. Although they are not very sound, they have their own things that are worth learning from. I believe that the development of political systems requires a period of time and gradual adjustment, and then step by step
To realize true democracy. As for how long this road will take, we still don’t know.” Jiang Baili said sadly.
"Based on the current momentum of public opinion in the country, coupled with the manipulation actions of the Beiyang government, it is not difficult to guess that my uncle does have the ambition to become emperor. I am not a stubborn person, nor am I a person who believes in so-called revolutionism.
I remember Yang Du once said to me that if we can speed up the centralization of power and unite the power of the country by changing the political system, this might not be a bad thing." Yuan Su saw that Jiang Baili and Chen Wenian were not too intense, so he added
Said further.
"The key to an empire is to see which path it will take. Today, England, Germany, Tsarist Russia and Japan all retain the state and political systems of hundreds of years of imperialism, but these countries are still very powerful. In fact, I also believe that
, even if the president now attempts to ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor, even if there will be a dictatorship in the next few years or ten years, the development trend of history cannot remain unchanged, and this empire will eventually transition into
A true constitutional monarchy." Jiang Baili guessed what Yuan Su meant, so he analyzed it carefully.
Chen Wennian didn't say anything more, but his face showed a deep thought.[
Yuan Su glanced at Chen Wenian subconsciously. It was obvious that he could now understand Jiang Baili's thoughts. In fact, Jiang Baili's views were quite different from his own. However, Chen Wenian did not express anything and was not sure what he meant.
After a pause, he continued unhurriedly: "Well, after all, it is already the Republic of China. If my uncle rashly implements the imperial system, he is afraid that he will risk the disapproval of the world. What will happen to my nephew then?"