On the surface, the situation in Sichuan seems to have completely passed the "tense period."
At first, Chen Huan could still feel complacent. Although he failed to quickly suppress the National Guard Army in accordance with the central government's instructions, and incidentally completed the capture of Chengdu, at least he was based in Chongqing and firmly guarded this pass and did not let the National Protector Army pass.
From Sichuan, he went straight to Hubei. From an overall perspective, he felt that even if he had no merit, he did not make a big mistake.
Nowadays, only part of the Sichuan Army's National Protectorate remains in Sichuan, but these small forces obviously do not dare to act rashly.
It was just that after Cao Kun caused the Beiyang Military Reform Commission to cause trouble in Hankou, Chen Huan was still a little restless in Chongqing. Although he had interacted with Cao Kun before, they discussed how to pervert the central government's orders to gain more from it.
However, he never thought about it, nor did he expect that Cao Kun would start a new business.
I have to say that Cao Kun did an incredible job. He immediately brought him to the Beiyang Military Reform Commission. Even though he did not stand up to confirm this matter from beginning to end, but based on the early experience of the National Defense Army,
The lack of active fighting and the consistent disregard of the central government's instructions were enough to draw a distinction in the minds of Yuan Shikai and other senior officials of the Beiyang government.
In fact, Chen Huan was just speculating in his heart, and subjectively he still believed that he belonged to the Beiyang camp. According to his original plan, as long as he could make enough profits in the entire National Protectorate War, he would eventually maintain the Beiyang government.
name, and then turned around to completely defeat the Protectorate Army.
After Cao Kun's troubles in Hankou, and Yuan Shikai's never intending to compromise from beginning to end, the Central Guards moved southward with eager eyes, and the first thing they wanted to do was to operate on Hankou. For Chen Huan, he had to endure seven or eight days of hard work.
After months, I still haven't reaped the benefits of a single day, and I'm still being dragged down in a confused way. It's really thankless.
Since the war in Hubei began, Chen Huan has been feeling very melancholy and has not thought about food or food all day long. At the same time, he is thinking about whether he should express his attitude and send some troops or mobilize some supplies to Hubei to participate in this battle. But what should he express?
It's really hard to decide what attitude to take and which side to support. Originally, he wanted to support the Central Guards and express that he was standing for the central government from beginning to end, but things have come to this point.
Well, the central government has already had a bad impression. Moreover, since it decided to make profits from it at the beginning, it is really unwilling to get anything yet.
The status of the Beiyang government as a legal government cannot be doubted. Whether it is an imperial system or a republic, Chen Huan does not care. It does not even matter whether Cao Kun or Yuan Shikai is in power. The key is that he is looking forward to a big reshuffle in Beiyang.
And I can get more benefits from this big reshuffle.
This is his only position and principle!
He originally thought that this standard would make it easy for him to make a decision, as long as he made decisions based on this standard. However, the Hubei War was so brutal that people couldn't see why. It wasn't that he couldn't understand this war.
Clearly, it was precisely because this war had demonstrated the superiority of the Guards that he felt very embarrassed.
His idea of the Beiyang Military Reform Commission was that he opposed its name and hoped to use Cao Kun's challenge to promote the Beiyang reshuffle. His attitude towards the Guards was almost the same. On the one hand, he was worried that the Guards would take things seriously.
The commotion got out of hand, and on the other hand, they had to show their compliance with the Beiyang flag.
This double contradiction was a torture that left him unable to come up with any ideas at all.
Especially yesterday, a special envoy from Yuan Su came from Xinyang for a sudden visit, which made him feel an increasingly imminent decision. Today it is someone sent by Yuan Su, and tomorrow it may be someone sent by Cao Kun.
Maybe there will be people sent by the National Defense Army the day after tomorrow. The reason for this is that for these people, they are people with unclear positions. Without a completely clear position, they will either fall into public criticism, or they will
To withstand pressure from three parties.
Chen Huan did not receive the special envoy sent by Yuan Su immediately. Instead, he asked his subordinates to accompany him for a day of sightseeing in Chongqing. He had to find more time for himself to consider how to deal with this envoy.
thing.
I spent most of the day meditating in the study and didn't even have the heart to eat lunch.
When it was almost two o'clock, the chief attendant Li Xianfang knocked on the door of the study room, opened the door and said hello first.
Chen Huan responded without any thought. When Li Xianfang walked in, he felt a little troublesome. He originally didn't want to see anyone. At this time, only he could make a decision, and other people's opinions were completely influential.
.
"What's the matter?" Chen Huan asked angrily.
"Sir, Mr. Li called again just now, asking when he can meet with you." Li Xianfang was a little embarrassed, and his attitude when speaking seemed cautious. He naturally knew that he should not disturb Chen Huan at this time, but he was just from Xinyang.
The person keeps urging me. If I don’t do something, I’m afraid it won’t be easy to explain to the other person.
"Didn't I tell you yesterday? I will naturally go see him when I want to see him." Chen Huan's expression suddenly dropped. If Li Xianfang was doing it for other things, he would be able to calm down. But the other party is still doing it for this matter.
, this is the thing that makes me most annoyed and entangled.
"But...how should I put it...Master Li said on the phone that if you are really too busy during this period, he will leave early tomorrow morning and come back to visit you after a while. He said it very politely.
, and it seems to be true. He didn't express anything the whole day yesterday, and it seemed that he didn't come to Chongqing for anything important at all." Li Xianfang explained bravely.
"What? He's leaving?" Chen Huan was slightly moved. Naturally, he would not be afraid that Yuan Su would threaten him at this time. On the contrary, if Yuan Su really threatened him, he would be able to make clearer decisions about his position. But Li Xianfang clearly emphasized this
The special envoy's polite farewell seemed to have another meaning.
"Yes, he said that as long as Mr. Chen gives you a word, if he is really too busy, he will come back to visit another day." Li Xianfang repeated what he had just said.
"What does he mean? Is he impatient?" Chen Huan asked coldly. Of course he didn't think it was impatient. With the current progress of Yuan Su's battle in Hubei, even if he had the advantage, he would not be arrogant.
.You must know that the Beiyang Military Reform Commission in Hankou is just the first one to stand out. There are still many hidden dangers that the Guards will have to deal with next. What's more, with the current consumption of the Guards, it is not sure who will really have the last laugh.
"Sir, I'm not impatient. Whether it was the phone call yesterday or just now, Mr. Li behaved very generously and decently. He seemed to really care about you, as if he was afraid that he would disturb you at the wrong time. As for this
I really can’t figure out what it means.” Li Xianfang said matter-of-factly.
Chen Huan said no more and fell into a hesitant silence for a while.
He originally felt very hesitant about this matter, but he did not expect that there would be more weird things at this time. Of course, he would not naively think that Yuan Su was trying to save himself face. According to the current situation in Sichuan and Hubei,
Yuan Su clearly took the lion's share. Ever since Chongqing failed to suppress the National Defense Army, the central government had already cut off supplies and wages in Chongqing. Fortunately, Chongqing is an important road for water and land transportation. In the past seven or eight months,
, barely able to maintain these troops under his command.
But in terms of strength, compared to the Central Guards Army, which is legitimate and enjoys full support from the treasury, the Central Guards under Chen Huan have become like a mob.
Yuan Su's capture of Hankou was just a matter of time. Even if both sides were injured in the Xiaogan battle, it was Cao Kun who really lost the main force. Although the Central Guards were also seriously injured, they still showed the victor's attitude and took advantage of the opportunity.
They took in Cao Kun's prisoners. Even if their combat effectiveness is reduced, they still have combat effectiveness.
Chen Huan couldn't help but wonder, after Yuan Su ended the Hubei War, what would the other side do next?
Obviously, the Central Guards will never be solely responsible for appeasement. After suppressing the Hankou rebels, they will then attack all other disobedient forces. Perhaps the first to bear the brunt is the National Guard Army, but sooner or later there will be more
It is their turn to be a hidden danger for those who did not perform well at the beginning and remained on the sidelines during the entire battle.
Therefore, it should be impossible for Yuan Su to be so polite to him, but why was the special envoy sent so polite?
"No, he's not impatient, he's just acting impatient." After thinking for a while, Chen Huan said slowly.
"Sir, what... does this mean? What is Commander-in-Chief Yuan's plan?" Li Xianfang asked in confusion.
"It seems that Yuan Su is not trying to win over me, but is just testing me. If I don't cooperate, then he will know what to do next. This is not a good sign! This Yuan Su, it seems
He is a young boy who is still young, but he is very aggressive in doing things. He must force me to a dead end at this time." Chen Huan said through gritted teeth.
He is not really angry, and at the same time he is also very clear that what is before him is not as pessimistic as a dead end. It's just that he has been struggling with the issue of "position" for more than half a year. If he can make a decision so quickly, he will not delay it.
To this day, all he resents is that Yuan Su didn't give him enough time, but in retrospect, he still had to express his stance after all.
"If it's a test, Mr. Li is leaving now, and the result has obviously been achieved. And it doesn't seem to be a good result. What should we do now?" Li Xianfang sighed and said worriedly.
"It's really an annoying thing." Chen Huan said very annoyed.
"Although it is not easy to make a decision on the current situation, after all, His Majesty has been kind to us and has never treated us badly from the beginning to the end. It is time for the matter to come to an end." Li Xianfang said consolingly. He himself
He didn’t have any personal thoughts, he just didn’t want to be put into too dangerous a situation. In his opinion, since he came to Chongqing, he was far less relaxed than when he was in Beijing, and he was under some inexplicable pressure.
"What are you talking nonsense about? What does it mean to be kind and never treat us wrong? Hum, Yuan Shikai is good to us, but he is just planning to raise a watchdog. There are many things that he won't give, and we can't ask for them. I just see
If you are not used to this, since he won't give it, then we have to grab it ourselves." Chen Huan said angrily. It must be said that Li Xianfang's words hit a snag. He had indeed received favors from Yuan Shikai, as for his speculation about Yuan Shikai
It was just a personal conjecture. But precisely because it was a conjecture, he could not let outsiders think that he was ungrateful, so he had to go out of his way to shady Yuan Shikai.
Li Xianfang sighed. He knew that he had said something he shouldn't have said. Even if these words were not slander, he should have shut up at this moment.
After a while, Chen Huan finally said: "In this way, I really don't have time. But I can't let Mr. Li come to Chongqing in vain. When he sets off tomorrow, I will go to the pier to see him off in person."
Li Xianfang was slightly startled. She was about to ask why such an arrangement was made, but she quickly understood Chen Huan's intention.
Obviously, Chen Huan was not sure what to say now, but since the person sent by Yuan Su had such a reserved attitude, he simply followed suit and showed an attitude that seemed to be compromised but was actually ambiguous.
.It’s just that he couldn’t guess whether Chen Huan was just trying to delay time, or whether he already had some ideas.
"Then, I'll inform you and make arrangements first?"
"Go ahead. Try to make the arrangements as thoughtful and decent as possible. Do you understand? You must be decent! Give Mr. Li enough face." Chen Huan said in a very emphatic tone.
"To save face? Then, do you want to prepare some gifts for Mr. Li for the return journey?" Li Xianfang asked for instructions.
"Of course I want it. It's as valuable as it can be. Anyway, let's do this directly. Regardless of whether Yuan Su can figure out my meaning after returning, at least he won't think that I am his enemy now."
Chen Huan said solemnly.
"That's it, then I know what to do." Li Xianfang nodded.
After exiting the study, Li Xianfang immediately ordered his men to find an expensive gift from the warehouse. Considering that it was a farewell gift, it naturally couldn't be too big. If it was made to order, I was worried that there would not be enough time. Fortunately,
Previously, the warehouse contained a five-inch Guanyin statue mixed with pure gold and South China uncut jade. Although it was only five inches, the gold and jade mixer valued this craftsmanship, and it was somewhat considered a rare craft.