Cao Kun and Wang Zhanyuan looked at each other, and they naturally understood Li Dian's words.
"As expected, Adjutant Li is quick to speak. Okay, let's not be secretive anymore. Let's put it bluntly. As long as the monarchy is abolished and the republican government is reorganized, I, Cao, can guarantee that General Yuan will be the vice president. General Yuan can be selected among the cabinet ministers.
Four lists. How about it?" Cao Kun said with a bright smile.
"The matter of reorganizing the republican government can be postponed for a while, but I think my Lord Cao's sincerity will be gladly accepted. For my Lord Yuan, the most important thing is the division of territory. Our young faction's current power is concentrated in Zhizhi
It belongs to the three provinces of Jiangsu and Anhui, but basically it has not been able to take charge of provincial administrative units so far."
"Zhili Province is easy to talk about, but Jiangsu and Anhui provinces... I'm afraid we still need to discuss it further."
"Zhili, Henan, and the three eastern provinces, this is the request made by my Lord Yuan. As for Anhui and Jiangsu, we can give up all the territory." Li Dian said straightforwardly.
"Master Yuan is really planning carefully. Well, although Mr. Cao can't agree to anything, as long as General Yuan himself can control these territories, Mr. Cao is willing to be the first to stand up and support General Yuan. You see
How about it?" Cao Kun said tentatively, this is almost the only thing he can do now.
"Master Cao's support is indispensable, but if there are still people below who don't understand this meaning, Master Cao should also express his opinions at that time." Li Dian said arrogantly. The more he arrogant, the more he appears to be like this
This negotiation is authentic and can further gain Cao Kun's trust.
It was Cao Kun's turn to fall into deep thought. In his opinion, Yuan Su really had a big appetite. Zhili Province was an important area in Kinki. If it weren't for the fact that Yuan Su's territory of power was in Zhili, he would certainly not have taken this area.
The territory was given away. The three eastern provinces are sensitive places. Although the territory is vast, the forces are complex. More importantly, Xu Shuzheng, Duan Qirui's direct confidant, is in charge. Giving up this place is nothing more than letting Yuan Su deal with these hidden dangers. As for Henan, there is nothing to say.
It can be said that after all, the Guards now occupy Henan, and Yuan Su also has some power in Shangqiu.
He knew very well what Yuan Su meant. When consolidating these territories, at least he needed help from his side. But since it was obvious that sending troops was impossible, he could only provide political and material help.
Just think about it, as long as you can sit on the throne of the president, you will have everything you want.
Finally, he nodded and said: "In that case, everything is easy to talk about. As long as I, Cao Kun, can help, there will be no refusal. At that time, we will discuss national affairs with General Yuan, right?
?”
Li Dian then smiled with satisfaction and said: "Master Cao is the one who understands. In addition, our most important problem at the moment is to solve the problem of the Guards. As I have said before, although my Master Yuan is the general manager,
Commander, but my subordinates are not easy to obey. In this matter, my Lord Yuan hopes to put on a show with Lord Cao."
Cao Kun raised his eyebrows and asked, "Oh, really? How to act?"
Wang Zhanyuan, Xiong Bingqi, and Shang Kezhen on the side also cheered up.
Later, Li Dian followed Yuan Su's previous instructions and talked with Cao Kun and others about the conspiracy to frame those generals who were direct descendants of Yuan Shikai. During this period, although Cao Kun and others were a little confused, they felt that this matter had nothing to do with them anyway.
Any influence, since it was Yuan Su who asked to "leak secrets", can he still refuse to comply with this request?
Li Dian stayed in Hankou for another two days. During these two days, he conspired and planned with Cao Kun. After everything was discussed, he set off back to Henan early on the morning of March 14th, with the same needs as when he came.
After a lot of twists and turns, we went to Jiangxi Province by water and then returned to Zhengzhou by land.
In the evening of that day, Cao Kun held a military meeting. He was not in a hurry to disclose the news of Yuan Su's meeting with him. He just happily told everyone that the situation would soon usher in a major turn for the better. Seeing Cao Kun,
With such a confident look, although the others didn't know what was going on, they felt that something important and beneficial must have happened.
However, not long after the meeting ended, Cao Kun's adjutant Wang Bichen was waiting a little anxiously at the entrance of the venue. After seeing Cao Kun leaving the venue, he quickly came to greet him. He lowered his voice and said in Cao Kun's ear: "
Sir, there is a telegram from Henan. The matter is urgent, so please avoid it before reading it."
Cao Kun was slightly startled. He had just seen off Li Dian this morning. Why was there another telegram sent from Henan at this moment? However, Wang Bichen also mentioned that he should avoid reading the telegram first, which was obviously even more strange.
Then, without saying anything else, he followed Wang Bichen to a tea room next to the venue. Only then did Wang Bichen take out the telegram documents and submit them.
After quickly reading the message, Cao Kun's expression suddenly changed. After a long time, he slowly said: "How could this happen?"
Wang Bichen's expression also looked very solemn, and he said: "The situation in Henan is really weird. First, Yuan Su sent someone to contact him, and now Zhu Panzao also sent a telegram. Moreover, the information disclosed by the two sides is very different. Which letter should I send?
who?"
Cao Kun said with doubts: "This is not a question of who to believe. It can be seen that the situation in Henan is very different from what we imagined. Now things are going to be unpleasant."
Wang Bichen said: "Since Zhu Panzao said that Yuan Su had held a military meeting and decided to use his contact with you to launch a surprise attack on Hankou, no matter whether this is true or not, we must be on guard. Yuan Su is
We still can’t tell who he is, and we don’t have a clue whether he is a human or a ghost. Furthermore, this time Yuan Xiangcheng re-enables Yuan Su, and there is no reason why Yuan Su would turn against his uncle at this time.”
Cao Kun naturally knew that Wang Bichen's words were reasonable, but he believed that this matter was far from that simple. Because Zhu Panzao did not disclose the specific content of the Zhengzhou Military Conference in the message, it was unclear what actions Yuan Su would take.
Let’s make a surprise attack on Hankou. What’s more, what means does Yuan Su use to launch a surprise attack on Hankou? Bring the guards to kidnap the officials of the Beiyang Military Reform Commission? This is simply a wishful thinking plan.
In other words, Zhu Panzao's words are not clear from beginning to end, and on the contrary, they cannot be easily believed.
However, the timing of Zhu Panzao's telegram being sent was very suspicious, and Cao Kun had to start questioning Yuan Su's purpose. He understood the mentality of people like Zhu Panzao. Assuming that what Zhu Panzao said was true, then his leak was like this
A huge secret is absolutely shameful morally, but it is not uncommon in Beiyang. If you really want to know what is going on, I am afraid you will have to send someone to contact Zhu Panzao secretly.
"Master Cao, what do you think about this matter?"
"To be honest, this is a critical moment. If you rely solely on guesses to make judgments, you will only miss the big deal. Li Dian also said before when he came, let us deliberately send people to pretend to leak the evidence of his meeting with the Chinese revolutionaries, and follow up
The division commanders under the Guards are in secret contact. Anyway, this is Yuan Su's request, so we will simply use the trick." Cao Kun narrowed his eyes and said coldly.
"What do you mean, sir, are you really going to leak all this evidence?" Wang Bichen asked.
"Originally I meant it, but this time I wanted to deliberately play tricks on Yuan Su. Let's send people to contact Zhu Panzao in advance to get these evidences out, and also expose the matter of Li Dian's coming to Hankou. Zhu Panzao will definitely feel it by then.
I'm shocked. With their deceitful nature, there is a high probability that they will start fighting among themselves immediately. For us, it's just a matter of sitting on the sidelines and watching the Guards fight with each other." Cao Kun couldn't help but sneer.
In his opinion, he had never intended to treat Yuan Su as an ally. Since Yuan Su was so ambitious and scheming, sooner or later he might endanger the new Beiyang order he had established. He simply took advantage of this opportunity to deliberately
It would be safer to lay out a false and true plan to induce internal fighting between Yuan Su and Yuan Shikai's immediate relatives than to engage in any cooperation.
"However, if we do this, wouldn't it leave no way out?" Wang Bichen suddenly felt that Cao Kun had done things too well. He did not trust Yuan Su a little, but he wouldn't do it completely.
Beat him to death. Assuming that Yuan Su is really willing to cooperate with Hankou, the Beiyang Military Reform Commission will surely be able to stabilize the situation quickly.
"Nothing leaves a way out. For us, it's all about delaying time. As long as the time drags on, the person who laughs last will be me, Cao Kun. Whether it's Yuan Su or Zhu Panzao, they have to blame themselves.
It has to be dog eat dog. Once the Guards get into trouble, it will consume Yuan Shikai's strength, and it has nothing to do with me. When they are almost done fighting, the overall situation outside will basically be considered completely finalized. All I need to do is stand up.
Let’s clean up the mess.” Cao Kun couldn’t help but smile proudly.
Wang Bichen secretly sighed. Although he subjectively agreed with Cao Kun's approach, he always felt worried. If this matter was not done well, the final result would be that he was not a human being inside and outside. What he was afraid of was nothing.
What a good end.
"It's been decided like this. Arrange the matter immediately. Send a telegram to Zhu Panzao first, saying that I have important news to tell you, and we can arrange a meeting as soon as possible." Cao Kun said again.
"Wouldn't it be better to simply exchange text messages?"
"What do you know? The cables are just casual remarks. People may not believe them when they are shown. The most important thing is the evidence."