January 22, 1916, may be a turning point for the entire Chinese Empire, and especially for Yuan Shikai himself, it is an indelible and heavy event in his life. The Xinhua Palace has been open since the early morning. It was shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere, as if there were always lingering dark clouds hovering above the head, and it seemed as if it was before a heavy rain came.
In the middle of the night, a telegram completely woke Yuan Shikai from his sleep. It was not only a dream that he struggled to fall asleep, but also the emperor's dream that he had endured until today. Cao Kun jointly signed the five-provincial governor-general and twelve Beiyang governors in Hubei. The general issued a telegram, announcing his support for the national protection movement and his opposition to Yuan Shikai's personal arbitrary imperial system. The five provincial governors were Wang Zhanyuan, the governor of Hubei, Li Chun, the governor of Jiangxi, Li Houji, the governor of Fujian, Yang Shande, the governor of Songhu, and Ni Sichong, the governor of Anhui.
As for the twelve Beiyang generals, except for Wu Peifu, the others were division commanders and brigade commanders in the old system of the Beiyang Army. Of course, it cannot be ruled out that some are cheating.
In addition to the telegram sent by Cao Kun, Lu Rongting of Guangxi also sent a special telegram, informing Guangxi that it would separate from the Beiyang government until the imperial system issue could be properly resolved.
The whole thing had been foreshadowed earlier, but Yuan Shikai was reluctant to face it. After the last layer of window paper was suddenly pierced that day, Yuan Shikai still felt like a blow to the head. He sat on the bed blankly. After a long time, neither the chamberlain nor the concubine dared to say a word. Finally regaining his composure, he staggered out of bed and ordered the chamberlain to put on his clothes.
After a brief wash, Yuan Shikai planned to go to the Qinzheng Palace to discuss countermeasures with the Military Council and the officials of the Army Ministry. At this moment, his mind was completely confused. He was interrupted by another thing just when he was halfway through thinking about everything. It's so difficult to think about everything comprehensively.
However, just as he came out of the bedroom, another chambermaid hurriedly ran into the corridor not far away.
Yuan Shikai stopped and waited for a moment. After the chamberlain staggered over, he said out of breath: "Long live the Lord, long live the Lord, something serious is going to happen..."
Yuan Shikai's heart skipped a beat and he asked calmly: "What happened again?"
The chamberlain quickly said: "Master Zhou, Minister of Agriculture and Commerce, Master Zhang, Minister of Education, and Master Liu, Minister of Navy, have just submitted their resignations. Secretary-General Xia said that this is a top priority and must inform Lord Long live immediately..."
Fortunately, Yuan Shikai had been mentally prepared earlier, so he was not very shocked when he heard the news. But he knew very well why Xia Shoukang was so anxious to have his chamberlain come to report the matter in the early hours of the morning. Combined with the news he had just received, According to the telegram from Hubei, it is obvious that the resignation of these three cabinet ministers was premeditated. The only good thing is that these three cabinet ministers are not core cabinet members. Their resignation will at most cause pressure from public opinion, not It will affect the overall situation too much.
But, this is not a good sign after all!
After a period of silence, Yuan Shikai asked in a slightly hoarse voice: "Where is Secretary-General Xia now?"
The chamberlain bowed and replied: "Back to Lord Xia, Mr. Xia is waiting to receive you in the front hall."
Yuan Shikai said nothing more and continued to walk out with heavy steps.
Arriving at the front hall, Xia Shoukang and several secretariat staff were already looking forward to it. Almost everyone's face was extremely dark, especially Xia Shoukang. While waiting, he couldn't help but sigh and pace back and forth to relieve his inner feelings.
After Yuan Shikai met with everyone, he didn't say too much nonsense. He just asked Xia Shoukang to quickly arrange for the chief officers of the Military Council and the Ministry of War to enter the palace for a meeting. At the same time, he took everyone to the nearby study room for discussion.
"At the moment, Cao Kun only jointly announced his opposition to the monarchy, but he did not say that he would send troops north to force the palace. Now as long as the political situation in the northern provinces can continue to be stabilized, there is still room for maneuver. But, alas, this time things are really too big.
A while ago, a student group in Beijing launched a demonstration against the imperial system. With Cao Kun's incident fanning the flames, it will definitely cause an even greater disturbance." Xia Shoukang said with considerable doubts.
"Cao Laosan really dares to cause trouble! If he doesn't punish the other three clans, I will die with my eyes open!" Yuan Shikai said gloomily. He did not look very angry when he said this, and his voice was not loud, but he just said
It makes people feel very cold. Even so, since he can say these words, it is not difficult for anyone to guess that this is the real anger.
"Your Majesty, Zhou Ziqi, Zhang Yitang, and Liu Guanxiong resigned at this time, and the resignations were sent overnight. There must be something fishy about this matter. They don't want to make an impromptu decision after getting wind of it. It seems that they have made it early.
Just collude with Cao Kun. I am afraid that this is just the beginning. Cao Kun chose to unveil today because everything has been prepared." Although Xia Shoukang knew that Yuan Shikai was very angry now, anger could not solve the problem.
. Now that we have reached the point where our brows are burning, we must take more practical countermeasures.
"You are right. Since Cao Laosan must take this step, I will definitely accompany him to the end. Later, let the Ministry of War draft an order. The troops assembled under the Central Alert Order will be composed of Tian Wenlie, Lei Zhenchun, and Fu Liangzuo.
Commander-in-chief, the troops were divided into three groups and arrived at Hankou to suppress the treasonous party. Cao Laosan really thought that I did not dare to mess around. I built Beiyang with my own hands, and I would not hesitate to destroy it with my own hands. Even if I lose my capital, I will not hesitate.
We will never let these scoundrels succeed." Yuan Shikai said without changing his voice.
"Yes, yes." Xia Shoukang agreed repeatedly. He originally hoped that Yuan Shikai would arrange military measures as soon as possible, just as Lu Jin, Li Yaoting and others suggested, and send his troops south half a month ago. Now things have changed.
It was only at this juncture that I thought of taking military action because I was afraid that things would change after such a long time.
An hour later, the sky became slightly brighter.
Acting Chief of the Army Wang Shizhen, Acting Undersecretary Fu Liangzuo and several department directors, as well as many staff officials from the Military Council, arrived at Xinhua Palace one after another. Yuan Shikai did not leave the palace. He ordered everyone to meet in the large study room in the atrium, and returned to the palace.
The order issued to march to Hubei was given in detail.
Wang Shizhen's face suddenly became solemn, and he said hesitantly: "Your Majesty, what are the consequences of doing this? This is not a civil war between the North and the South, but a civil war within our Beiyang. If not done properly, it will inevitably lead to a lose-lose situation."
Yuan Shikai said decisively: "At this point, what's the point of talking about a lose-lose situation? You should say this to that bastard Cao Laosan. I trust him so much in vain, but he misled me at this time. If this bastard hadn't taken advantage of it,
In terms of provocation, what do those rebels in Yunnan mean? They are not a problem at all."
Wang Shizhen did not agree with Yuan Shikai's proclaiming the emperor from the beginning. Even if the monarchy was to be restored, the Qing royal family should be invited out instead of replacing it himself. However, precisely because he was very conservative at heart, he still stood by Yuan Shikai at this time. It's just that
Considering the sudden turn of the situation, we are afraid that a major war within Beiyang will directly lead to the collapse of the central government.
After hesitating for a while, he suggested: "Your Majesty, after all, Cao Kun is still one of our own. There must be a reason why he did such a thing. Why don't you send your subordinates to Hankou to explain everything clearly and see if
This misunderstanding can be resolved to prevent Beiyang from falling into catastrophe."
Yuan Shikai said with a displeased expression: "Guan Ru, you take things too simply. Is there any misunderstanding in this? It's that this bastard Cao Laosan wants to make trouble and take advantage of the opportunity. For such a little sweetness, he deliberately
By dragging our Beiyang into such an embarrassing situation, I will not let him get what he wants."
Wang Shizhen sighed and had no choice but to say nothing else.
The atrium study room was arranging orders and transmitting them immediately. The Central Army stationed in Beiyuan and Nanyuan first made news. The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Transportation planned the transportation route, and mobilized a hundred troops in just two hours.
Multiple trains are waiting in sequence. According to the plan, in Tianjin, Baoding's central alert troops will be the first to take action. All troops that can be mobilized will first go to Xuchang, Henan to gather, and then the battle groups will be assigned according to serial numbers.
After several hours of consultation and arrangements, officials from the Ministry of War finally divided the combat order of the three-way troops.
Tian Wenlie is the commander-in-chief of the First Route Army, in charge of the 2nd Division, the 5th Division, and the 1st Corps of the Central Army, and is responsible for the frontal attack on Hubei from Xuchang; Fu Liangzuo is the commander-in-chief of the Second Route Army, commanding the 3rd Division and the 10th Corps of the Central Army.
Division, passing from Shangqiu to Anhui, relieved Ni Sichong of his authority and military strength; the commander-in-chief of the Third Route Army was Lei Zhenchun, who coordinated the First and Ninth Divisions of the Central Army and was responsible for ensuring the transportation safety and logistical support of the Beijing-Hankow Railway.
When the garrison troops in Nanyuan and Beiyuan received orders, they set off to assemble at the assigned train stations one after another, passing through the ancient city along the way. The people of old Beijing couldn't help but feel relieved. More and more people
I feel confused. No one knows what happened to the Beiyang government, but everyone knows that this is definitely not a good thing.