Regarding the acquisition of engine property rights by Factory 101 and Daimler Suye, Yuan Su's intention from the beginning was not only to use it in the civilian automobile industry, but also to try to promote it in the military. Tianjin Automobile
The company will be at the forefront of the R&D production line, with the purpose of laying experience for this technology. At the same time, Factory 101 is also promoting the Luanzhou military industry and trying to explore new R&D technologies.
The simplest and most adaptable project for engine application in the military is personnel carriers. Agricultural trucks have been born in Europe a few years ago and have been put into practical use. Although the model is not large and the travel speed is not very durable, at least it can
Consider it the prototype of a troop carrier.
Yuan Su has officially approved the 101 Factory to start the troop carrier project, and with the production raw materials provided by Suye Coal Mine and Suye Comprehensive Metallurgy, the next step is nothing more than some engineering input. Of course, considering the current road problems in China,
The actual use of personnel carriers will probably be delayed for several years.
This is one of the reasons why Yuan Su promoted civilian cars first, hoping to improve China's domestic road environment through the popularization of civilian cars. Those who use cars are big bosses, rich men, and gentry. They naturally hope that they will be using cars.
The time can be more comfortable, whether it is through local legislation or independent funding, it will speed up the road development process.
Just when the Tianjin Automobile Company's factory was announced to be completed, there was also a breakthrough in the situation in the Southern War to Protect the Country.
In the process of the Beiyang government suppressing the entire war to protect the country, the only ones that could play a significant role were Guangdong and Guangxi. Lu Rongting mobilized the army and after two months of fighting, he finally had a chance to defeat Liu Guxiang, who was entrenched in Guilin.
And Liu Guxiang himself was captured and killed. Liu Zhenhuan led the remaining troops to retreat to northern Guangdong to continue fighting. Yang Ximin, who was entrenched in the northwest of Guangxi, was isolated and helpless. After more than ten days of fierce fighting with Lu Yuguang, he finally withdrew to Guizhou.
Long Jiguang used the period of the Guangxi Civil War to strengthen military rule in Guangdong and brutally suppressed the Chinese Revolutionary Party uprising in Guangzhou and Huizhou, killing more than 100 Chinese Revolutionary Party members. In the end, he effectively controlled the unrest.
At the junction of northern Guangdong and Hunan.
However, when the situation in Guangxi Province stabilized, Lu Rongting did not follow Yuan Shikai's order to launch an attack on Guizhou. Instead, he concentrated his forces and marched into Guangdong. In name, the Gui army was under the banner of extinguishing the rebellion in northern Guangdong, but in fact it was a
The second intention is to compete with Long Jiguang.
The main force of the National Guard Army was proceeding very smoothly in Hunan. Wu Peifu did organize a tenacious defense in Changsha, but as time went by, support from Yueyang was delayed, so that Wu Peifu's defenders became increasingly passive. By ten
In late January, Cao Kun secretly gave Wu Peifu instructions, asking Wu Peifu's defenders to fight as passively as possible and move the battle line from Changsha to Yueyang. In this secret message, he even arranged the relevant retreat route and stated
He will support Wu Peifu in Hubei.
It was precisely because of both internal and external reasons that Wu Peifu finally chose to abandon Changsha.
By early December, Cai E led the National Defense Army to break through the last line of defense outside Changsha, and the defenders in the city had already retreated. Before Wu Peifu led the troops to retreat from Changsha, he also sent a special telegram to Cai E to inform him of the current situation in Yueyang.
He believed that the National Protectorate's capture of Yueyang was just around the corner. This telegram seemed to express Wu Peifu's determination to oppose the imperial system, but in fact it inevitably contained his personal grudges against Tang Xiangming and Yuan Shikai.
When the news of the fall of Changsha was deliberately publicized through behind-the-scenes operations, the whole country was shocked.
For ordinary people, even if they do not see the conspiracy, they still think that the Beiyang Army is too incompetent, and even the Central Army, which has been touted recently, is nothing more than this. Many foreign envoys, including many foreign envoys, originally had no regard for Yuan Shikai
Most of the proclaiming of emperors is not good-looking. Even after the enthronement ceremony, everyone adopted a wait-and-see attitude. However, with the smoke of the War to Protect the Country and the repeated setbacks of the Beiyang Army, it became even more bad-looking to the international public.
For this reason, Yuan Shikai lost his temper in the Xinhua Palace and broke several teacups in succession. Because his excessive emotions actually affected his poor physical condition, he even suffered a brief fainting during the period.
A few days later, he ordered Cao Kun to personally go to Hunan to supervise the war, mobilize all the troops stationed in Hubei to assist Hunan, and be sure to recapture Changsha before the end of the year. At the same time, considering the increasingly tense situation between Guangxi and Guangdong provinces, in order to force Lu Rongting to divert the attack
Guizhou sent another special telegram to Lu Rongting, using stern words to completely block Lu Rongting's attempts to seize Guangdong.
But Yuan Shikai would not have thought that Lu Rongting had a long-hidden resentment in his heart. It was precisely because of this message that he completely angered Lu Rongting. In the following period, Lu Rongting not only did not withdraw his troops from Guangdong, but even sent a commissioner to Yunnan to communicate with the protector.
The national military government got in touch and expressed a ceasefire with the National Defense Army. Although it did not support the National Defense Movement, it had also changed its political stance.
The whole month of December had been turbulent. In the early days of 1916, the situation in China became increasingly frightening. Because some shocking news gradually spread in Hubei.
It is that several warlords within Beiyang are conspiring to support the national defense movement and oppose the imperial system.
Of course, the internal movements in Beiyang have been happening for a long time, but they have always been kept secret.
Now there are finally some gaps and some rumors are leaking out. What's more, Yuan Shikai is naturally not a stupid person. First, Chen Huan's performance in Sichuan was worrying, then Cao Kun was reluctant to leave south to Hunan, and later Wu Peifu lost his
In Changsha, the momentum of the National Defense Army suddenly gained the upper hand. Naturally, he began to think deeply about the inside story. Cao Kun's actions in Beijing and Hubei left traces to some extent. Even if the news did not leak out in Hubei,
Sooner or later more people will notice it.
In fact, the reason why news like this began to spread gradually in Hubei was because Cao Kun believed that the time had come and there was no need to cover up any more. On the contrary, once there was news from within Beiyang, he would respond to the National Protectorate Army from a distance, and all of a sudden
It can reverse the entire trend of public opinion.
When Xinhua Palace received news from below one after another, Yuan Shikai went through a period of ideological struggle and finally decided to accept this reality. In the evening, he staggered from Huairen Palace to Qinzheng Palace, asking his entourage to accompany him along the way.
The personnel wrote down several military orders and issued assembly orders to all the troops that could be mobilized in the Gyeonggi area, ready to leave for Hubei at any time.
When we arrived at the study room of the Qinzheng Hall, all the staff from the Military Council Office and the Government Secretariat's Office had already arrived. Everyone's expressions were solemn, giving the study a solemn atmosphere.
Panting, Yuan Shikai walked behind his desk and sat down heavily. There were beads of sweat on his forehead, and his chest was heaving violently. Part of the reason was because he had walked too fast just now, and part of the reason was the uncontrollable emotions in his heart.
He really didn't expect it, or he was too careless. He didn't expect that the war to protect the country was just a cover, and the real problem was in his own back garden.
"Has Guangxi responded to the telegram?" he asked immediately.
At present, Guangxi and Guangdong are hardly affected by the National Guard Army. In addition, Lu Rongting and Long Jiguang have sufficient troops. As long as these two people can cut the National Guard Army's retreat from the south, the conflict between the north and the south will be fleeting.
You will be able to calm down after a while. This is the simplest and most effective way to do it.
There was silence in the study room. Everyone just glanced at each other secretly, but no one dared to stand up and speak.
Yuan Shikai vaguely felt that something was wrong. He asked again in a more serious tone: "Is there any news? Even a little reply. I don't believe that Lu Rongting doesn't even have this little spare time."
Military Advisor Lu Jin hesitated for a while, but finally plucked up the courage to step forward and said awkwardly: "Your Majesty, although Guangxi did not reply to the telegram, Admiral Long just sent a telegram earlier today. Guangdong and Guangxi
The situation over there...well, how should I put it, Your Majesty, I'm afraid it's not ideal."