After being busy until ten o'clock in the night, everyone retreated from the study room of Qinzheng Hall. Although Yuan Shikai had arranged some preventive measures just now, for the core officials present, there was still no way to relax. Not only
In this way, almost everyone's face was filled with sadness at this moment.
Lu Jin and Li Liyaoting were at the forefront. They were currently almost the few staff officers in the Xinhua Palace that Yuan Shikai could rely on. Unfortunately, they were not the actual commanders of the troops. They were civilian officers at best. Even if Lu
There is also a cavalry brigade in Jin's hands, but this unit is completely showy. Outsiders may think it is an honor guard if they don't know it.
"Sigh, I don't know what your Majesty is thinking. It's already this time and he's still so indecisive. As the saying goes, we can either strike quickly or act quietly. Your Majesty has issued a central alert order with great fanfare, but he has not taken any measures.
What is the use of any practical action?" Li Yaoting said helplessly, and after finishing speaking, he still let out a long and sad sigh.
"Who says otherwise? From my guess, Your Majesty is probably still afraid." Lu Jin slowly shook his head and said.
"You mean to throw a rat into a trap?" Li Yaoting asked seriously.
"What other explanation can there be other than this? First Sichuan and then Hunan, the front lines have been fought to such an incredible extent that even a blind man can see the trick. The enemy in front of us now is not the National Guard Army.
, On the contrary, we are our own people in Beiyang. A single move can affect the whole body. His Majesty still cares too much about his throne." Lu Jin said sadly. Although he was a martial artist, he followed Yuan Keding to plan the monarchy for the Yuan family from the beginning.
, it is very clear to what extent Yuan Shikai covets the throne.
Once a person loses his mind and is obsessed with something, he will only do things for these things, not to mention the overall situation, and he is afraid that he will even forget his own nature.
"So, what should we do? The matter hasn't become a big deal yet, but I'm afraid that once it does, it will get out of hand. How can we, the ministers, think of a solution?" Li Yaoting said very tangledly.
"To be honest, we really have no choice now. Even His Majesty has lost his fighting spirit, so we can only let nature take its course." Lu Jin said with emotion. Although he was deeply grateful to the Yuan family, he was also very grateful.
He is willing to continue to maintain the monarchy, but if the anti-monarchy succeeds, he still has a way out, and there is nothing to worry about.
With the issuance of the central alert order, the northern provinces that were still in a state of confusion suddenly understood. It seems that a earth-shaking change is indeed going to happen in Beiyang. Whether in the south or the north, the people
Everyone couldn't help but start thinking about a question, why could a war to protect the country, which seemed to be just a farce, affect the entire Beiyang interior? Not only that, originally the "Beiyang Group" symbolized the "imperial regime", why is it so important now?
How many powerful generals in Beiyang have made rumors of anti-imperialism?
The most direct and natural thought is that the imperial system is not really that good.
Of course, for the vast majority of ordinary people at the grassroots level, they have not yet understood what the "state system" is and what the "political system" is. Whether it is the president or the emperor,
, in their opinion, the nature is nothing more than the same, just changing the name.
In the past, the reason why people crazily supported and supported the imperial system was simply because they heard a lot of propaganda about the imperial system and believed that once the imperial system was implemented in China, it would bring about peaceful and prosperous development. But what about now? It doesn’t matter if there is no prosperity, only prosperity.
It seems that there is no such wealth in life, but there is not even the most basic peace. After the foreigners beat the Chinese, they then beat themselves. How can China, which is riddled with holes, withstand the torture?
What kind of hardships can these small citizens who are riddled with holes endure?
The idea of the common people is very simple, they will rely on wherever the limelight is.
What's more, during this period, the Chinese Revolutionary Party and the National Defense Military Government were also sparing no effort to create public opinion momentum. In other words, from the official announcement of the independent uprising until today, their activities in public opinion have not stopped. On the contrary, as the
The situation on the battlefield is becoming increasingly clear, and the intensity of publicity and momentum is naturally increasing.
Many young students with strong revolutionary ideas even spontaneously formed propaganda teams to publicize the true face of the imperial system to people in the streets, and inevitably added some conspiracy theories.
In an environment of advocating and questioning at the same time, the direction of public opinion in China has finally changed. Many people who initially supported the monarchy have become silent, while those who originally had no position and just sat back and watched have become increasingly
They tended to be revolutionary. As a result, many folk activities took place in Hunan, Guangxi, and Guangdong, making the situation even more complicated.
After Cao Kun received the telegram from Beijing in Hankou, he deliberately delayed it for five or six days before replying. Before that, he still had a little worry in his heart, not because he had prepared it.
It's not sufficient. After all, what we have to do now is a big thing, and any step forward or backward will have a huge impact.
He boasts that he is not a gentleman, so he has no moral obstacles. He has always relied on himself to fight for national power or personal interests. What he is worried about is that this matter really gets out of control, and
It was Yuan Shikai who immediately mobilized heavy troops to go south to Hubei and engage in a head-on firefight with his side.
Although both sides in this battle have their own advantages and disadvantages, as a speculator, Cao Kun would rather take advantage of small gains than make both sides suffer. Otherwise, even if he overthrows Yuan Shikai, he will not have much energy left to deal with it.
In the endgame, the warlords in the south really took advantage of it.
For Cao Kun, the biggest hope of this speculation is to force Yuan Shikai to abdicate voluntarily through the momentum of public opinion and the anti-imperialist voice within Beiyang. All his running, arrangements, and wooing during this period are all for this purpose.
Come. And among the elders of Beiyang whom he actively strives for and win over, many people also do not want a military conflict within Beiyang. In any case, they must use public opinion to force the palace to solve this problem as much as possible.
Of course, even though Cao Kun has some taboos in this regard, it doesn't mean that he doesn't dare to compete with Yuan Shikai. Now that he has taken this step, he must have the consciousness not to shed tears until he sees the coffin. In this matter, he is not at all
If you don't want to hide your character as a martial artist, and if you can't take advantage, then no one should try to take advantage.
Fortunately, the situation is not as bad as imagined. There are some rumors in Hubei, just hoping to explore the way. Even though Yuan Shikai lives deep in the palace, he should have noticed that something is wrong in the south, but Yuan Shikai did not
He only sent a telegram asking Cao Kun to explain, but did not issue more severe orders, such as changing generals, confiscating military power, ordering to go to Beijing, etc. It can be seen that Yuan Shikai was also afraid and unwilling to act rashly.
This actually gave Cao Kun an excellent opportunity.
In his reply to Beijing, he clearly stated that he had no knowledge. The reason why he did not send troops into Hunan in time was because many preparatory matters in Sichuan and Hankou had not yet been sorted out. Materials, food, wages, and logistics and transportation were simply too busy.
It was a complete mess, and more importantly, there were some conflicts with Duan Zhigui.
In the telegram, Cao Kun did not point out what conflict actually occurred with Duan Zhigui, but only briefly mentioned it.
In addition, he also lost no time in adding some hints in the message, such as feeling very surprised and uneasy about the sudden turn of the situation, and also reported the scale of public opinion against the imperial system in Hubei, Henan, Hunan, Jiangxi and other provinces.
The tide of opposition to the imperial system has changed too quickly, and if no measures are taken, it may lead to catastrophe.
As for the central warning order issued by Yuan Shikai, although its name is very scary, Cao Kun is not very worried about it. If Beijing directly starts to mobilize troops and send generals south, that is a very dangerous signal.
But it happened that this was not the case. Moreover, Cao Kun had already been contacting those so-called direct subordinates of Yuan Shikai, such as Tian Wenlie, Zhu Panzao, Cai Chengxun, He Zonglian, etc. The loyalty of these people to Yuan Shikai was also limited to the current situation. Once the situation changes,
It is impossible for them to completely side with Yuan Shikai regardless of the cost.
Now it just takes some time for those direct descendants around Yuan Shikai to see the change in domestic public opinion.
When the general trend is reached, and some senior officials from the central government come forward to express their attitude, even if these direct generals of Yuan Shikai will not change their camps, they will remain in a state of hesitation. By then, Yuan Shikai himself will be completely ignored.