The Qing emperor abdicated and the Republic of China began. It was supposed to be a day of renewal, but unexpectedly, it turned out to be a troubled period.
Taking advantage of the Revolution of 1911 in China, the Eighth Living Buddha Jebtsundamba, instigated by the Russians, announced the "revolution" of Outer Mongolia.
In fact, before the Wuchang Uprising broke out, Jebzundamba, Hangda Dorji and others had colluded with the Russians and conspired to launch uprising activities.
In August 1911, Hangda Dorji, as the "Emperor of Mongolia" Jebtsundamba and the "Minister of Foreign Affairs", led the so-called "Mongolian delegation" to Petersburg. After betraying the trade in Outer Mongolia,
After gaining sovereignty over trade, building railways, and opening a postal service, Hangda Dorzi and others exchanged Tsarist Russia's commitment to support and protection for the "Mongolian state" to be established.
In order to fully support the Kulun "rebellion", the Russian Ministry of War ordered the Irkutsk Military District to hand over 15,000 rifles, 15,000 cavalry sabers, and 7.5 million ammunition to Buzundamba.
The Outer Mongolia treasonous group sent a battalion of infantry and hundreds of Cossack cavalry to station in Kulun in the name of strengthening the defense of the Kulun consulate.
In mid-October 1911, on the Russian-Mongolian highway, the Tsarist Russian invading army, which stretched for dozens of miles, was cleared by cavalry and marched into Outer Mongolia with great force. Hangda Dorzi and others also returned to Kulun from Russia.
Sanduo, the minister stationed in Kulun, was worried and looked sad.
As early as early August, Lama Badma Dorji, who opposed separatism, gave him a secret report on the details of Jebtsundamba, Hangda Dorji and others' plot to instigate the "rebellion" in Outer Mongolia. Minister Sando secretly reported to him
The imperial court reported that the country was in disarray and asked to send troops into Kulun to prepare for any eventuality, but there was no news.
When news of the Wuchang Uprising reached Kulun, Sanduo felt even more at a loss what to do.
At the end of November, under the command of the Russians, thousands of soldiers from various flag stations who had been re-armed by the Russians marched into Kulun, and the situation became even more tense.
In the name of "Emperor of Mongolia", Jebtsundamba handed Sanduo a pre-prepared expulsion order, announcing that Outer Mongolia had decided to break away from China's "Japan" and restricted Sanduo and other Qing officials to leave Outer Mongolia on the same day.
The three ministers who were in trouble showed extraordinary courage. They refused to leave Kulun despite your threats and inducements. Due to the years of subordination, the Mongols really couldn't use force directly.
The Russians finally couldn't sit still and couldn't drive away Sanduo. The carefully planned "Mongolian revolution" actually existed in name only. So Liuda, the Russian consul in Kulun, personally led a battalion of Russian soldiers to surround the office of the Minister of Affairs in Kulun and surrounded the three officials.
Many guardsmen disarmed.
Sanduo argued hard, but was beaten by the brutal Russians until his nose was bruised and his face was swollen, and his body was covered in blood.
Later, Sanduo and others were put into prison cars by the Russian army and "sent out of the country with gifts."
On December 28, which was the moment when Lin Shuo led his troops into Taiyuan, Jebzundamba held an "enthronement" ceremony in Kulun, became the "Emperor of Mongolia", and declared the "independence" of Outer Mongolia.
Later, under the instigation of the Russians, the Khalkhas set their sights on the banners of Ulyasutai, Khovd, Altai and the Six Leagues of Inner Mongolia.
In the chaotic summer of the first year of the Republic of China, after Outer Mongolia announced the "Japanese War", the Communist Party of China also announced the "Japanese War" under the instigation of the British, which added a lot of trouble to Yuan Shikai, who had just taken office as the president. Regardless of his intentions,
The infamy of losing power and humiliating the country is not enough for him to bear, but the Republic of China has been established and the national treasury is empty, so if he uses force, he is somewhat unwilling and powerless.
Moreover, Mongolia is backed by the Russians and the British.
Lin Shuo now led his troops into Beijing and temporarily took on the important task of defending the capital. He now has a "bad reputation".
Some time ago, there was a mutiny between the imperial guards and Zhili in the Third Beiyang Town. The rebels swarmed into Baoding City and looted the city. Yuan Shikai was so anxious that he remembered that he had a son-in-law who was the governor-general of Shanxi Province.
After Lin Shuo was transferred, Xingye and his cavalry brigade arrived in Baoding within one day, and the mutiny was quickly quelled. Subsequently, they surrendered, reported, and exposed, and a total of 557 people were approved to participate in looting and murder within a few days. The Ministry of War ruled: recourse
Stolen goods, ordered to retire.
Outside Qingyuan City, the snow was still lingering on the North China Plain. The rebel soldiers who had been ordered to retire were escorted out of the camp and stood in line on the playground to report their numbers. Cao Kun, the commander of the third town, came specially to give a lecture, which was so painful that it made him cry.
After Cao Tongzhi's lecture in the third town, these rebel soldiers came forward one by one to receive their severance pay, six oceans each.
The newly appointed Governor of Shanxi stood aside with a livid face and said nothing as he watched these people file out of the playground.
Lin Shuo turned his back, and Jiang Chengyue and his cavalry from the Mongolian grassland suddenly rushed out, their sabers shining, and they attacked the dismissed soldiers. The screams and curses were drowned out by the rumbling cries of horses, Qingyuan
The New Army playground outside the city was filled with blood and flesh. The massacre lasted for half an hour. The playground made of loess was filled with blood bubbling from the ground.
Dealer Cao Bu's face turned to dust after seeing it. It took him a while to wake up, and said tremblingly: "The president ordered them to be dismissed, and they have surrendered!"
The young governor of the civilian army sneered: "If they were bandits, I might have a way out, but unfortunately, they are soldiers! Anyone who is a soldier and dares to disturb the people and cause chaos should take this as a warning!"
After saying that, without looking back, he led his cavalry and walked away, leaving only blood on the ground.
The Beiyang officers of the Sixth Army stationed in Baoding were frightened. Only Wu Ziyu, the commander of the third artillery section, saw his eyes gleaming.
"Butcher Lin" had a vicious reputation, and Yuan Shikai felt that the capital was not very stable, so he sent Lin Shuo and his army to the capital to defend the city, in order to temporarily frighten the fierce god.
On March 8, 1912, Yuan Shikai officially took office as the second interim president of the Republic of China.
Due to internal and external troubles and financial constraints, President Yuan's life was not easy.
Not long after Yuan Shikai moved into the Xinhua Palace, he convened a meeting of Beiyang military and political officials in Beijing to study how to solve the split problem of Mongolia and Xinjiang.
Under the control of Usati, the Russian consul in Hulunbunuoor (today's Hailar), in March 1912, Fusheng, the general manager of the Erut Banner, Chehezha, the general manager of Chen Balhu, and Chengde, the general manager of the Solon Banner, mobilized the Mongolian banners
More than a thousand troops attacked Hulun, an important town in Eastern Mongolia. Under the intervention of the Russian army, Hulun Daotai was forced to lead his troops to withdraw from Hulun and telegraphed the governor of Heilongjiang for help.
After hearing the news, Jebtsundamba immediately conferred the title of "Governor-General" of the "Great Mongolia" in Hulun.
At the same time, Acting Khovd Chief of Staff Pu Run also called Beijing to request the dispatch of troops for support.
At this time, Prime Minister Tang Shaoyi went south to Nanjing to be sworn in. Those who came to Zhongnanhai for a meeting included Army Chief Duan Qirui, Army Deputy Chief Xu Shuzheng, Navy Chief Liu Guanxiong, Interior Minister Zhao Bingjun, Foreign Affairs Minister Lu Zhengxiang, Deputy Chief of Staff Headquarters Chen Huan, Rehe
Zhang Shaozeng, the governor of the capital, Lin Shuo, the governor of the two provinces of Shanxi and Suizhou, Feng Guozhang, the commander of the Imperial Guard, and Yang Shiqi, Ruan Zhongshu, Yuan Shikai's main aides, and others.
Yuan Shikai was dressed in Generalissimo uniform and looked a little tired. On his large desk was a pile of emergency documents and telegrams from all over Mongolia: "There are no outsiders here. We are all the pillars of Beiyang. Now the Kulun side is independent, and the Lhasa side is
They are also announcing that they are breaking away from the relationship with the central government. There is an emergency in various parts of Mongolia and Xinjiang. Let’s talk about how to solve this problem first.”
"What is there to discuss? Since the Mongolian and Xinjiang rebellions, the Central Committee will naturally send troops to quell the rebellion. Otherwise, if it continues like this, not only will the country be divided, but the Central Committee's prestige will be ruined. The Democratic Party governors in the south will not regard the president as such.
In my eyes!" Duan Qirui has always been straightforward. In the former Qing Dynasty, he had seen the "feat" of the Queen Mother of the West and Emperor Guangxu not kneeling down. He had already read the official document in Yuan Shikai's hand, so he was the first to say.
"The problem is that there is unrest in the country now and the treasury is empty. What can we use to fight against it?" Yang Shiqi said. This is the biggest difficulty. Finance Minister Xiong Xiling quickly followed and nodded in agreement.
"The problem is that the Russians are behind the coup in Kulun. Russian Minister Kupensky has notified the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on behalf of his government. If the central government sends troops to Kulun, the Russians will also send troops to intervene!" Lu Zhengxiang frowned and said, the Republic of China
The government is extremely fragile now, even worse than it was during the Manchu Qing Dynasty. If a war broke out with the Russians, there would be no chance of winning.
Duan Qirui looked at Lu Zhengxiang and said: "This statement is completely unreasonable! We are not going to war with the Russians. Putting down the civil strife is our domestic matter. Why should they interfere? If the country is allowed to be divided, why should we be soldiers?
?It will only take a few months to pacify Outer Mongolia. I don’t believe that the Russians are willing to actually declare war on us over this matter!”
"We can't say for sure. The country is still in civil strife. If they really find an excuse to start a war with us, how can they resist us? Otherwise, it will be like the Gengzi Year and the entire Northeast is lost again!" Yuan Shikai pondered for a long time, and then
Said. He went through the Renwu Rebellion and the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 in Korea. When the great powers wanted to take advantage, they would send troops just by finding an excuse, regardless of whether they had a reasonable excuse or not.
Everyone discussed for a long time and finally decided not to recognize the Cullen Revolution and not to send troops to quell the Meng rebellion. Yuan Shikai, as the president, first sent a telegram to the Cullen authorities with a strong statement and urged the Cullen authorities to cancel the rebellion.
The other thing is to send troops as soon as possible to protect the security of the existing territory.
This encountered another problem. The central finance could not come up with the money at all, so Lin Shuo volunteered to take on the important task of entering Mongolia and quelling the rebellion.
If Outer Mongolia is allowed to "rebellion", it will undoubtedly cause a huge blow to Yuan Shikai's reputation. Yuan Shikai quickly agreed to Lin Shuo's request. Lin Shuo could only raise his own food and salary, and asked the Ministry of War to supplement part of it.
Weapons and ammunition.
In addition, he also gave Yuan Shikai a bad idea to save money. Didn't there hundreds of thousands of civilian troops in the south need to be disbanded? The government didn't need to spend any severance pay, and all of them were transferred to Mongolia and Xinjiang to cultivate and garrison the border.
To save military expenses, I promise to resettle all these people.
Yuan Shikai laughed, he had to rely on himself at the critical moment.
In April 1912, the government of the Republic of China appointed Lin Shuo as the border envoy of Northwest Town, governor of the military affairs and border defense of northwest Shaanxi, Gansu, Shanxi, Suiyuan and Chahar, and dispatched troops to Mongolia.
situation, Xinjiang Governor Yang Zengxin and Altai Chief of Staff Paleta were also telegraphed to send troops to support Khovd.
At the Ministry of War in Beijing, Xu Shuzheng, deputy director of the Army, threw down the newspaper in his hand and sighed: "A man is a man shrouded in horse leather. He really wants to personally lead a town of elite soldiers to kill Culun. This Lin Anhua really knows how to act. The army has not yet taken action, but is already in the army."
The newspaper reported that Wu Mu was reborn and Li Guang was reincarnated!"
Duan Qirui smiled coldly, "You go? But where can I find the silver? If this army moves, it will cost at least millions of taels of silver every month!"
Xu Shuzheng was speechless for a moment. Is the government of the Republic of China worse than Lin Anhua?
Before the troops and horses are moved, food and grass go first. When troops are deployed on the ground, logistical supplies are a big problem.
The distance from Suiyuan City to Ulyasutai is nearly four thousand miles, and then to Khovd it is another thousand miles. The road is difficult, and we can only rely on camel caravans to transport supplies.
Lin Shuo ordered Wang Jiaju to lead a cavalry regiment to set off first and arrive at Ulyasutai within twenty days. This move was to strengthen the determination of resistance in Uriyasudai and Khovd and to shake the Kulun side.
**” confidence.
Although there are not many soldiers, it also shows the attitude of the Republic of China government: The central government cannot let you do whatever you want!
The remaining snow is beginning to melt, and green spots appear on the grassland. The spring is cold, and the neighing of war horses and the jingling of camel bells break the silence of the wilderness.
On April 21, 1911, the reorganized Third Northwest Frontier Division was ordered to go to Mobei.
Although the Ministry of War has decided to change the army organization of the former Qing Dynasty from towns, associations, standards, battalions, teams, platoons, and sheds to divisions, brigades, regiments, battalions, companies, platoons, and squads, it has not been announced yet, but Lin Shuo did not care
This, being the first to use the naming rights, made Army Chief Duan Qirui, who was sitting in the capital, twist his nose in anger.
The Northwest Army adopts a three-three system. The Third Division of the Northwest Frontier Army has three infantry brigades under its jurisdiction. Taking into account the actual situation in Mongolia, a cavalry brigade was added, with a total strength of 28,000 people.
The total number of troops entering Mongolia exceeded 40,000.
Lin Jianfan, a veteran general who had been loyal to the Lin family for more than 20 years, volunteered to take over the post of commander-in-chief.
When a cannon is fired, gold is worth ten thousand taels. The cost of modern warfare is staggering. Due to limited personnel and financial resources, Lin Shuo has tried his best to send out such a team. The monthly food and salary expenditure for this army alone is nearly
One million silver dollars, if coupled with the consumption of ammunition, even he himself cannot imagine.
Lin Shuo was very sure that although the rebel princes of Kulun claimed to have more than 40,000 troops, the number of people who had actually received strict military training was no more than 3,000. The rest were forcibly recruited herdsmen and postmen from various Kulun.
If you can't even beat these herdsmen who have just learned how to shoot, then you might as well just find a piece of tofu and kill them first.
Marching in Mobei, the real difficulties lie on the road.
In the silent wasteland, more than 400 carts pulled by mules and horses, nearly 2,000 camels, and more than 10,000 war horses, tens of thousands of troops, like several gray torrents, slowly and unstoppably poured into Mobei.