Yuan Su frowned and asked coldly: "What do you mean?"
Lu Jin glanced at Xia Shoukang who was standing aside. Xia Shoukang could only nod helplessly, so Lu Jin said: "Your Majesty, Lu Rongting seems to have no intention of withdrawing troops from Guangdong. Not only that, he even continues to add troops to Guangdong. In addition,
Mr. Long also mentioned in the telegram that it seems...it seems that Lu Rongting has private contacts with the Yunnan authorities, and what he means is that Lu Rongting may be plotting something nefarious."
Hearing this, Yuan Shikai's forehead veins bulged. He raised his hand and smashed the table in front of him, causing the whole table to shake. He took a deep breath and finally calmed down his inner emotions.
But he still gritted his teeth and said: "This old man, it is unreasonable for me to think so highly of him. He is actually playing tricks on me at this time. Send an order to Long Jiguang to clean up Guangdong Province and blow back all Lu Rongting's people."
At this moment, he felt indescribably depressed. It was like a cake that was obviously very beautiful and delicious, but when he took a bite, he suddenly discovered that the cake was actually filled with stones. Before he proclaimed himself emperor, there were so many calls at home and abroad.
Even though many provinces in the country were still actively supporting the imperial system a while ago. The so-called revolutionary movement to protect the country is nothing more than the southwest warlords fearing that the central government will strengthen centralization after the implementation of the imperial system, so they took the opportunity to jump out and use the topic.
But even so, this revolutionary movement with a very loud name is nothing more than a farce. Whether it is Cai E or Tang Jiyao, even if the four echelons of the National Defense Army are doubled together, it will be nothing more than a farce.
There are only 100,000 troops. And the popular voice for this revolution to protect the country is far from that strong.
From the beginning, if Chen Huan can capture Chengdu, then if Tang Xiangming can actively support Wu Peifu to defend Changsha, or if Lu Rongting can gain a reputation for the Beiyang government at this stage and send troops to protect the national army's retreat, these opportunities are clear.
As long as any opportunity is truly grasped before us, the National Protectorate Army will be completely doomed.
It just so happened that there were so many opportunities, and such obvious opportunities, but I didn't take them even once.
He had to shout from the depths of his heart: They are all mercenary rats, rats!
At this time, Li Yaoting, deputy chairman of the Military Senate, said to Yuan Shikai with a heavy face: "Your Majesty, haven't you discovered it yet? The reason why Lu Rongting contacted the southern rebel government at this time is precisely because His Majesty had previously
The message you sent put an end to his desire to invade Guangdong. At this moment, even Lord Long is probably too busy to take care of himself, and the few people under his command are no match for the Gui army."
Yuan Shikai said angrily: "According to what you say, I will give up Guangdong to Lu Rongting so that he can get what he wants?"
Li Yaoting sighed and said helplessly: "Lu Rongting is so ambitious that naturally he cannot get what he wants. In my humble opinion, even if His Majesty cedes Guangdong to Lu Rongting, Lu Rongting will not contribute to the benefits and will continue to watch the fire from the other side. The only thing is
The best way is to whet Lu Rongting's appetite, and maybe force him to do something."
Li Yaoting was originally from Guangdong, and he was somewhat familiar with Lu Rongting's situation in neighboring provinces. From the beginning, the Beiyang government should not have put all its chips on Lu Rongting. Now, not only has Lu Rongting received funding from the central government, he has grown stronger, and
And because of Yuan Shikai's misjudgment, Lu Rongting decided to abandon Beiyang. Just like water being thrown out, there was no way Lu Rongting could change his mind.
Especially because of the rumors coming out of Hubei right now, Lu Rongting was laughing from ear to ear, hoping that there would be a big chaos inside Beiyang, and then the peripheral warlords like him could reap the benefits.
Yuan Shikai said angrily: "What's the use of talking about this now? The rebels are getting stronger and stronger as they fight, and our Beiyang Army is getting weaker and weaker. What's the reason? Now there are rumors in Hubei. If I had known, it would have been better
You shouldn’t send that bastard Cao Laosan to Hubei. It’s really hard to guard against domestic thieves!”
Lu Jin suggested: "Your Majesty, the most important thing now is to deal with Hubei affairs. Although there is currently no way to confirm whether these rumors are true, Cao Kun has not taken any action since arriving in Hankou. I am afraid that there is a high probability that he has other plans.
.If we don’t make plans in advance, I’m afraid there will be endless troubles.”
Yuan Shikai wrinkled his face and said very uncomfortably: "I don't understand this truth. It's just a move that affects the whole body. Cao Kun hasn't moved yet. If he really has evil intentions, if we take action, we will definitely
Force them to launch an attack immediately. The thing I am most worried about is this. Once there is a civil war in Beiyang, the consequences will be disastrous."
He had already prepared for the worst-case scenario earlier and also made some estimates for this worst-case scenario.
With the troops he can currently control, coupled with the materials and logistics controlled by the central government, he can completely invade Hubei in one go. However, it is unclear how many people from Cao Kun, Wang Zhanyuan and other troops below intend to rebel.
.If the war in Hubei gets worse and drags the entire Beiyang Group into it, even if a winner can be determined in the end, the internal friction will be too great for Beiyang.
Of course, the most important reason why he was so hesitant was that he could not face the reality that Beiyang, which he had worked so hard to build, would actually rebel? What was even more frightening was that he finally managed to ascend to the throne of God.
Now his physical condition is getting worse and worse. If something goes wrong at this time, it will definitely end in death in peace.
Because he was afraid, he couldn't make up his mind to take the gamble. He held on to a glimmer of hope that the rumors in Hubei were false. Even if it was true, Cao Kun would take the overall situation into consideration and not do things too badly!
"Send a telegram to Hubei and ask Cao Kun and Wang Zhanyuan to personally explain to me what is going on?" After silence, he weakly issued an order.
"Your Majesty, what explanation do you expect them to have at this time?" Lu Jin said helplessly.
"Yes, Your Majesty, instead of letting Cao Kun explain, it is better to ask him to go north to Beijing to clarify face to face. In this way, we can also test Cao Kun's movements, and then make other plans." Li Yaoting also suggested.
"Do you really think that Cao Laosan is just a common man with no brains at all? He was able to stay in Beijing for such a long time just to hold back his breath. How could he dare to act so boldly if he didn't have it in his hands now?
The top priority is that we must not mess around. If we are not careful, we will lose everything. You should understand this truth." Yuan Shikai said coldly.
"But there's no way to go on like this..."
"First do what I want and see how Cao Kun reacts. If he really has different intentions, I will make him look good." Yuan Shikai said stiffly.
"Yes, I obey." Lu Jin had no choice but to agree.
After being busy in the study for about two hours, Yuan Shikai not only arranged relevant messages to reconcile the situation between Lu Rongting and Hubei as much as possible, but also gave instructions to Long Jiguang, Tang Xiangming, and Chen Huan on the response arrangements to prevent the accident. At the same time, regarding the situation in the
Orders to gather troops in the Beijing-Tianjin area must also be deployed in advance. Xinhua Palace issued a central alert order. The troops receiving the order are the Central Army's First Division, Second Division, Fourth Division, Seventh Division, Tenth Division and
One Corps.
The Central Alert Order requires all units to enter a state of war preparation, logistics and headquarters to engage in pre-war preparation activities, plan the gathering locations of various units and accumulate corresponding military supplies as soon as possible.
The Military Council has made an estimate of this alert order. It is conservatively estimated that 5 million in funds will need to be prepared in advance. In addition, it will take at least half a month for various troops to enter the preparation and assembly state. Of course, if it is determined from the beginning that
The Beijing-Hankong Line is a transportation route. If the troops are directly sent to Henan, Anhui, and Jiangxi to assemble, it will save a lot of time and money.