Chapter 3 Chapter Three

At the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, China produced an army named "Beiyang".Not only is this army pitifully small, it is also just a team and has no right to be involved in politics.The real name of this army is not "Beiyang Army", but "Wuwei Youjun".This army was organized and trained by a frustrated politician named Yuan Shikai. Yuan Shikai was born in Xiangcheng, Henan Province. His grandfather, Yuan Jiasan, was the Governor of Water Transportation in the former Qing Dynasty. His uncle, Yuan Baoxu, was a member of the Tianjin Customs Road. His father, Yuan Baoqing, was a member of the Jiangxi Road.Yuan Shikai once took the Chenzhou exam as a child of a noble family, and was among the top ten in the exam, but he was kicked out by the chief examiner for some reason.In a rage, he ran to Tianjin to find his old uncle.Introduced by my uncle, I met Li Hongzhang, Minister of Beiyang.Li Hongzhang saw that he was a good-looking talent, and wanted to use him again. He had a face-to-face talk with him, but felt that this person "exaggerated the truth", so he dared not use him much.Unwilling to be lonely, Yuan Shikai once went to North Korea for a few years, and then returned to Beijing. He even met Yixu, Prince Qing, who was an influential figure at the time, and worshiped Yixu as his teacher; he also met Kang Youwei; He was about to assume the official position of "Chu Dao" when he was left by Zhili Governor Wang Wenshao and sent him to Xinnong Town, a small station where Zhou Wuzhuang of the old Huai Army led troops to garrison fields, to train troops. This was the predecessor of the Beiyang Army.In 1901 AD, when Yuan Shikai was promoted from governor of Shandong Province to governor of Zhili and also Minister of Beiyang, he played successively, expanded and renamed the team he had compiled and trained, and formed the six towns of Beiyang. The 7,000 people became the soldiers and horses of the six towns that controlled the national destiny, and then expanded to the whole country, forming the Beiyang Warlord Group headed by Yuan Shikai.Yuan Shikai used this army to hijack the imperial court and usurp the political power. Being the president was not enough, but he also wanted to be the emperor.After Yuan Shikai was overthrown by the National Defense Army uprising, no one could command the Beiyang Army.As a result, Duan Qirui, Feng Guozhang, Cao Kun, Wu Peifu, Sun Chuanfang, etc., the descendants of Yuan Shikai in the Beiyang Army, took control of the territory, dominated one side, fought with themselves, and fought with the southern revolutionary forces. China entered a warlord melee situation.

Wu Peifu, an unknown little official, gradually climbed up in the turbulent times: in 1907, he was still in charge of a small battalion in Changchun. Although he was transferred to the third standard of artillery the following year, he was still in charge of a small battalion.Soon, the Revolution of 1911 broke out, and Wu Peifu encountered a great opportunity—— Cao Kun's third town was transferred from Changchun to Shanxi, and the task was to prevent the revolutionary army from going north.Artillery Sanbiao stationed at Niangziguan in northern Shanxi.Here, with undulating mountains and dangerous terrain, it is a place that is easy to defend but difficult to attack.

Sanbiao Biaotong Chen Changyuan is also from Shandong, and he has a close relationship with Wu Peifu as a fellow villager.This person has a thick body, a rough literacy, and a rough temperament.However, he is outspoken, forthright and cheerful, and his ideology is inclined to the revolutionary party.After the northern army entered Shanxi, he said to Wu Peifu: "My fellow, I have a thought, and I want to explain it to you. Let's see what you think?" "You speak out first, and I'll talk about my thoughts after I've heard it." Wu Peifu was always more than cautious with Chen Changyuan.

"The way I see it, the Qing Dynasty is going to fail. Who can do it? I still can't see clearly. I think there are capable people in the revolutionary party in the south. Maybe the world will belong to Sun Yat-sen in the future." Wu Peifu frowned, lost in thought. Chen Changyuan said again: "Sun Yat-sen's proposition is very flattering to my heart. The common people also welcome him very much." "What are you going to do?" Chen Changyuan snuggled up to Wu Peifu, lowered his voice and said, "We'd better not fight the Revolutionary Party, Niangziguan must give way to the Revolutionary Army."

"Can the higher-ups want you?" "You can't let the higher-ups catch you." "What if you get caught?" "run!" "Which way are you running?" "Run to the Revolutionary Party!" "" Wu Peifu stared blankly and was stunned--Wu Peifu is not Chen Changyuan. The salary of the Qing Dynasty went to the Revolutionary Party, so who was he in the Qing Dynasty? Didn’t he even have to pick up the graves of his ancestors? Wu Peifu dared not take this road rashly.However, after all, Wu Peifu is a person with a brain, he knows a lot about the world situation, and he also knows a little about the revolutionary party. The proposition is more advanced than that of the Qing court.Chen Changyuan wanted to run into the Revolutionary Party, but he was bewildered: a vulgar person who only knows "stand at attention and relax" can never see through the world trend, and he cannot be influenced by the revolutionary party's ideas. Unsuccessful, have shortness of breath and feel uncomfortable.Wu Peifu felt that he could not join forces with him.However, he couldn't help but admire Chen Changyuan's uprightness.Walking the same path with an upright person can't be regarded as being in the same boat. After a long time of brainstorming, Wu Peifu finally said: "Biaotong, I am one of your subordinates. You trust me and I trust you. Of course, I am willing to walk the same road with you." Have you thought about it, this road is dangerous!" Chen Changyuan was very happy when he saw that Wu Peifu agreed.He hurriedly said: "What danger? I became a soldier after eating food, and my head was tied to my belt, and I didn't know when it would fall off. When I was alive, I had to choose to go along the way."

"That's not what I mean. What I mean is that the matter is of great importance. There are so many people in the barracks. I'm afraid that the news will leak out and bring disaster." "I understand this. I told you because I saw that you were a good friend. In other people, I don't know why my head fell off! Let's make a deal like this: we will live and die together, and no one will betray the other. " Wu Peifu nodded firmly. It should also be because Chen Changyuan is not "long-term", the military situation is not accurate, and the liaison work is not done well, so he led the team from Niangziguan to mutiny.Although a few escaped, most of the mutinies were arrested along with Biao Tong.

On this day, Wu Peifu was in charge of Cao Kun.As soon as he heard the news, he shuddered all over.He thought to himself: "It's over this time, Chen Changyuan must have confessed me. Rebellion is about to be beheaded, so I have to find a way to escape!" After a long time, he hurriedly said to Cao Kun: "My lord, I have known about Chen Biaotong many days ago. I want to use my influence to pull him back from the fork road, and I promise that as long as he gets rid of his evil thoughts, I will never report it. At that time, he agreed. He also said: You can't betray the rule. I don't want him to change his mind again. I am responsible, so you punish me."

When Cao Kun heard it, he was furious: "Why didn't you report this kind of rebellion earlier?" He wanted to scold Wu Peifu, but after thinking about it, he felt that he couldn't scold him: "As Chen Changyuan's subordinate, he can It is already extremely rare not to go with the tide and go with the tide; what's more, he has done the work of fighting for it, so he should be credited. What's more, he has said something first, and he has corrected his evil and returned to the right, so he didn't report it. It is understandable." Cao Kun asked: "This time, the difference Didn't you notice it?" "I did." Wu Peifu said, "I came to you late at night the day before yesterday, and you were already asleep.

The guard said that no one should be disturbed, so I went back. Yesterday I observed it, and it seemed to be calm; today I feel abnormal again.No, I left the team in a hurry to see you Cao Kun paced back and forth to think about it, and felt that it was true.Then he nodded and said: "A soldier is living on the court's salary. He should serve the court. He must not have any sense of wrongdoing. If he betrays the court, he will be infamous forever. We must never do this kind of thing!" "Ziyu understands." Wu Peifu said: "Ziyu always remembers the teachings of Tongzhi. Therefore, this time the whole standard has changed, Ziyu came to Tongzhi's side alone without fear of risk."

Cao Kun is a person who likes to flatter, and when the rebellion was quelled, he felt calmer. In addition, he had a good impression of Wu Peifu, and the initial anger quickly disappeared, and he became happy to believe Wu Peifu.Finally, he said: "You go back, Chen Changyuan can no longer lead the troops, you should clean up the troops first, check them one by one, deal with those that don't work quickly, and you can decide who should be promoted. You must adjust the army well in a short time. " "Yes, I will adjust the troops according to the command of the Lord Commander."

The failure of Chen Changyuan's mutiny created a good opportunity for Wu Peifu to rise to the top.Soon, he was promoted to the third command of artillery. At the beginning of the war between the Chinese warlords, Wu Peifu was an official who was too small to be counted. His actions were small and little known.After the rise of the Revolutionary Party, the momentum was like a broken bamboo, and the Qing government sent troops to destroy it but couldn't, so they made a fake peace.The false proposal was seen through by the people of the country, and someone came forward to admonish the court, "Please establish a republic."That was what Duan Qirui and Yuan Shikai did.The one who came up with this idea was Xu Shuzheng, the backbone of the Anhui Clique who was just showing his talents.As a result, on January 26, 1912, signed by the forty-two frontline generals and led by Duan Qirui, a telegram was sent to the imperial court "Please establish a republican regime".The telegram was naturally well-written and reasonable, but there was no shortage of intimidation to the court.Twenty-six days later, the Qing emperor announced his abdication, and Yuan Shikai became the interim president of the Republic.At that time, Mo said that Wu Peifu, a small official whose official position was barely equivalent to the head of the regiment, even Cao Kun was barely included in the forty-two generals. As the saying goes, heroes come out of troubled times.After Yuan Shi became the president, the Beiyang Army's town was changed to a division, and the standard was changed to a regiment. Wu Peifu then got a regiment commander.Yuan Shikai knew that his presidency was unstable, so he moved his troops as far as possible to his side in Gyeonggi, and transferred Cao Kun's team from Shanxi to Nanyuan in the southern suburbs of Beijing. After Yuan Shikai suppressed the "second revolution" launched by Sun Yat-sen, he appointed Cao Kun as the commander-in-chief of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in April 1914, and led his three divisions to station in Yuezhou.Wu Peifu was promoted to deputy chief of the division and went south with Cao. In 1915, he was promoted to the commander of Wu Peifu's Sixth Brigade.At this time, a movement to defend the country against Yuan was launched all over China. This movement first started in Yunnan and spread to other provinces.Yuan Shikai was afraid that the fire in Yunnan would reach Beijing, so he sent Cao Kun into Sichuan to stop it, and waited for an opportunity to destroy Cai E's National Defense Army in Yunnan.Wu Peifu led the Sixth Brigade to Qijiang first, and fought a battle with the National Defense Army in Naxi.He played very well, and after hearing Cao Kun's report, Yuan Shikai awarded it to Lieutenant General Wu Peifu.Yuan Shikai had great ambitions. Being the president was not enough. He wanted to be the emperor. After eighty-three days as the emperor, Yuan Shikai died of illness amidst the condemnation. When Yuan Shikai became president, Duan Qirui made the first contribution.Therefore, Yuan appointed Duan as the Prime Minister of the Cabinet and the Chief of the Army Department, which can be said to have the military and political power in one hand.Yuan Shikai died, and Duan Qirui was of course Yuan's heir.However, it happened that Li Yuanhong came out to become the president-it is strange but not surprising: at this time, although Duan Qirui was in power, China was in chaos, not only in the north and south, but also in the Beiyang system.Xu Shuzheng, Duan Qirui's "little fan military adviser", came up with an idea for him, asking him to cede the presidential seat to Li Yuanhong, and he would be the "overlord" behind his back.Duan Qirui complied.The wishful thinking was not satisfactory. After Li Yuanhong became the president, he did not act according to Duan Qirui's baton, but went his own way and exercised the power of the president.On the issue of declaring war on Germany, the two confronted each other: Duan Qirui wanted to fight, and Li Yuanhong wanted to fight.The disputes persisted, and they vowed not to stand on both sides, forming what historians call "the dispute between the government (presidential palace) and the government (State Council)".In a fit of rage, Li Yuanhong dismissed Duan Qirui as Premier of the State Council.Who is Duan Qirui? Beiyang is a tiger! He always holds the military power, how can he swallow this breath.As soon as the dismissal order was issued, he immediately responded: "I will send troops to overthrow this president!" It was Xu Shuzheng who made the stalk again. "Boss, you can't send troops." "Why can't you send them?" "Li Yuanhong is the president of the republic, and the republic is the current trend; to overthrow the president of the republic, one must take responsibility On what charge?" Duan Qirui was taken aback. "So, there is no other way?" "Of course there are ways." Xu Shuzheng said confidently. "any solution?" "Do you know what happened in Xuzhou?" Duan Qirui frowned slightly, turned his nose to one side, thought for a long time, and said, "You mean Zhang Xun, Zhang Shaoxuan?" "It's him." Xu Shuzheng said: "Zhang Shaoxuan is a restorationist, and he still keeps his braids uncut. He has held three military governor's meetings in Xuzhou, and he wants to restore the emperor, but he is afraid that you will not agree, so the discussion is difficult. If If you give him a good look, he will send troops to Beijing." "You want me to restore him?" "You can put it that way." "What does that mean?" Duan Qirui was puzzled. "It's not the same as knocking down a republican president thing!" Xu Shuzheng smiled. "The restoration of the emperor is of course not our goal. You must know that to restore the emperor, the president must first leave the throne." Duan Qirui suddenly realized. "You mean, borrow Zhang Xun's knife, and then" "The name is justified, and the world is majestic!" "Okay! I will send you to Xuzhou to facilitate this matter." Zhang Xun, courtesy name Shaoxuan, was born in Fengxin, Jiangxi Province, in a small merchant family.Later, he went to Guangxi to beg for food, and went to the Guangxi governor Su Yuanchun's door, and first worked as a servant in the governor's mansion.This person looks naive and deceitful, and has a flexible wrist. He has made friends with many cronies around Su Yuanchun, and he became the commander of the military planner of the Su Committee.But Su Yuanchun was annoyed by his wanton whoring and gambling. Su wanted to punish him, so he had no choice but to run away.At this time, Yuan Shikai was training the new army at the small station, so he joined Yuan Shikai's family.The Boxer Regiment rose in Shandong. Yuan Shikai supervised Shandong, and Zhang Xun followed him and became the deputy commander-in-chief. He escaped from the capital with Emperor Guangxu.At that time, Zhang Xun was not only the starry night but also King Cheng Qin. After catching up with Cixi near Xuanhua, he never left.When Cixi returned to Beijing, he was named the leader of the Imperial Forest Army. In 1906, he was transferred to Fengtian and became "Fengjun Liaobei President". Two years later, he was appointed Admiral of Yunnan and then Admiral of Gansu.But he didn't go anywhere, he still lived in Fengtian.It was not until 1910 that he took over the Tongjiang Defense Battalion and stationed in Pukou. In August 1911, Zhang Xun was transferred to Jiangnan Admiral. In the First Uprising of 1911 in October, Zhang Xun made great efforts for the Qing court in Nanjing.At this time, the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai revolutionaries jointly attacked Nanjing. Zhang Xun put his braids on his head, took off his shirt, and led his troops to a decisive battle with the revolutionary army with a broadsword in his hand.In the end, Zhang was defeated and fled to Xuzhou.Because of Zhang's "meritorious service in suppressing the rebellious party", the Qing government granted him the governor of Liangjiang in the Jiangsu governor's office, the minister of Nanyang, and the high post of second-class captain of light vehicles.Zhang Xun was so grateful that he became more loyal to the court.When the Qing Dynasty was overthrown, he prostrated himself on the ground, wept loudly, and swore to the sky to restore the Qing Dynasty.All officers and soldiers in the army do not cut their braids. Zhang Xun is called "braid commander" by the world, and his army is called "braid army". .Historians call it "Ding has been restored".In the next three years, Zhang Xun did not stop his restoration activities for a single day.Just because Duan Qirui didn't support him, even though Zhang Xun held three meetings in Xuzhou, he didn't dare to act rashly. Now, Duan Qirui sent his little fan military adviser Xu Shuzheng to Xuzhou to send Zhang Xun "Qiubo". Participated in the Fourth Restoration Conference. When Zhang Xun was active and the Qing emperor was restored, the direct lineage had developed greatly. Feng Guozhang, the leader of the direct lineage, became the vice president and governor of Jiangsu, stationed in Nanjing, and dominated the lower reaches of the Yangtze River; He went out of Sichuan to fight against the national defense army, and served as the commander-in-chief of the Yunnan Army Road. Soon he was changed to the governor of Zhili, stationed in Baoding, and dominated the north.Wu Peifu is not only the teacher, but also the first-class counselor under Cao Kun's tent. On that day, the Governor of Zhili received a telegram from Zhang Xun's "Xuzhou meeting", and was a little hesitant to make a decision.He hurriedly sent someone to call Wu Peifu to his side. "Ziyu, Zhang Shaoxuan's desire for restoration is not lost, and he is going to hold a meeting in Xuzhou. You may have heard about this matter. Shall we go or not?" The forty-two-year-old Wu Peifu looked at the fifty-four-year-old Cao Kun, hesitated, and said: "I have heard about the Xuzhou matter, but I haven't thought about it carefully. I wonder what the governor thinks?" "Actually, it's hard enough to make Zhang braids." Cao Kun said: "As a minister, Zhang Shaoxuan is loyal and loyal, and the emperor can learn from him. After all, he is what he is today because of the emperor's grace." "So, your lord supports the Xuzhou meeting?" Cao Kun shook his head indifferently. "Democracy and republic is the trend in the world today; I have shifted my mind to many dignitaries. Whether Zhang Shaoxuan can succeed is still uncertain. If Zhang Shaoxuan is really attached to restore the imperial court, it will hurt many dignitaries. Therefore, there is no support for Xuzhou. mean." Although Cao Kun said so, his expression was not so firm.He picked up the teacup, stood up slowly, and paced slowly, but left behind an intriguing sentence: "This democratic republic" Wu Peifu smiled lightly.She understood in her heart: "Cao Zhongshan wants to step on two boats, afraid of offending the dignitaries who turned around, and feels the same way as Zhang Xun." "Lord Warlord seems to have taken too much into consideration." "How should I put it?" "The current situation is not what adults are concerned about." Wu Peifu also stood up.Chao Kun moved closer to Cao Kun, and said: "Since the death of Xiangcheng, everyone in the government and the public has been waiting for an opportunity: the republic is a trend, and the court is not useless. After all, China is China, how can it be the same as Europe, America and the West. How much superior is the republic over the imperial system? Chinese people may only have a half-knowledge. The Chinese imperial system has a long history. How can it be said that it is not possible? It collapsed in a day." "Then what do you mean?" "That's one of them." Wu Peifu replied irrespective of the question, "Secondly, I wonder if your lord is aware of a situation?" "What's the situation?" "The situation in the court." "Didn't the president dismiss the prime minister?" Cao Kun said, "That Duan Hefei is too bad. As the saying goes, domineering and arrogant, he seems to have become the overlord.Needless to say Huangpi (Li Yuanhong, a native of Huangpi, Hubei, so called "Huangpi"), any three-foot man would not agree. " "This is also one of them." Wu Peifu said: "The president removed Hefei from the post of prime minister, but Hefei is not an idler, not to mention he still holds considerable military power in his hands." "He dares to send troops to overthrow Li Songqing?" "That's the problem." Wu Peifu said confidently: "Think about it, after the abdication of the Qing emperor, Zhang Shaoxuan held three military governor meetings in Xuzhou, all of which were to discuss the restoration. Why did the discussions fail to make a decision? He was single and weak. I heard that there was only the seven-provincial alliance at most. As the saying goes, there are only three things. Zhang Xun actually wants to hold the fourth Xuzhou meeting, and he is at the critical moment of Hefei's resignation. Bo, then today, there must be a lot of power and strength!" "Could it be Hefei?" "There is no need to doubt." Wu Peifu said: "Hefei is also a person, a subject of the Qing Emperor, and an important minister of the Qing Emperor. Do you think he is a republican fanatic? No. The republican president dismissed him. He hates the republican president. Zhang Xun marched into Beijing and wanted to help the emperor, so to the president, "I understand!" Cao Kun bent down and put down his tea cup and said, "Okay, let's attend the Xuzhou meeting!" Zhang Xun's fourth Xuzhou meeting went very smoothly. More than 20 warlords and representatives of the warlord agreed with Zhang Xun. "Go north".Zhang Xun's secretary-general, Wan Shengzhang, had an extra heart, and suggested that everyone sign a "Jinlan Concentric Post". Zhang Xun was so happy that he also took out the yellow silk that was left for his son to suppress evil spirits. Even Vice President Feng Guozhang Signed his name.With the "Jinlan Tongxintie", Zhang Xun became more confident, and immediately led an army of 6,000 braids from Xuzhou to the north to "King Qin". The "green light" came on early, the road was clear, and the braided army arrived in the Beijing-Tianjin area in an instant, stopped for a while, and went straight to the capital. Entered Beijing on June 30, 1917; On that day, President Li Yuanhong hid in the Japanese embassy; on July 1, 1917, the dragon flag was hoisted in the city of Beijing; on July 2, 1917, the abdicated Xuantong Emperor Pu Yi regained the throne and began to issue "imperial edicts; During the few days when the dragon flag was hung in Beijing, Cao Kun was overjoyed and went to Wu Peifu himself, and said with a smile on his face, "Ziyu, the emperor has returned, and Braid has won the victory! Hurry up and write a message to Zhang Shaoxuan, we have to congratulate him !" Wu Peifu is also happy, feeling that there is another chance to "go to the blue sky".Naturally, he was willing to flatter Zhang Xun—to flatter Zhang Xun is to flatter the imperial court, and the imperial court sits high on the throne, how could he not be happy! So, he closed the door, racked his brains, and wrote a telegram that was extremely flattering.It should be that something is wrong. After Wu Peifu's telegram was drafted, but before it was sent out, an old friend invited him to be a guest.And said: "The banquet has been set up, just waiting for the big driver to come." Wu Peifu was proud of the spring breeze, and it was time to show off his flair everywhere. Could he not be invited? So he went with the car and drank happily.I didn't realize that I was very drunk.Intoxicated, he even used the telegram congratulating Zhang Xun on his successful restoration as a toilet paper.A friend sent him home, and as soon as he fell on the bed, he got up in a cloud and rode the mist, and lay there for another two days. Cao Kun was worried. He heard that after he ascended to the throne, the imperial court issued a decree to confer meritorious officials. He hadn't been exposed to the rain and dew, so he might have missed it, or Zhang Shaoxuan forgot to recommend it.He hurried to Wu Peifu's home.Seeing that Wu Peifu was in a coma, he felt very unhappy.Push Wu Peifu with his hands and say, "Ziyu, Ziyu, wake up." Wu Peifu was in a dream—he dreamed that he had returned to his hometown in Penglai, and walked into the smokehouse in such a shabby state. Cao Kun pushed him to wake him up, but he was still dazed and did not leave the dream mirror.Cao Kun hurriedly asked, "Did you send the telegram to Shao Xuan?" Wu Peifu said upside down: "No more, no more. He's about to fail, a total failure! Why send a congratulatory message?" Wu Peifu never dared to joke in front of Cao Kun.Cao Kun was shocked when he said this suddenly today. "Could it be that Wu Ziyu can see foresight?" He thought calmly and smiled. "When you're dead drunk, you can talk nonsense, how can you believe it?" He wanted to wake him up again, but Wu Peifu had already lay down again, muttering and snoring at the same time.Cao Kun got a little angry, so he left without saying goodbye.As he walked out, he said: "If you do this, if a war is imminent, it will not be a major event." Not long after the dragon flag was hoisted at the head of the city of Beijing, Zhang Xun's dream of Huang Liang was in full swing. Duan Qirui held a swearing-in meeting at Machang near Tianjin, and established the "Commander-in-Chief of the Rebellion Army" headed by himself. department".A war against Zhang Xun's rebellion was launched.Cao Kun was in panic, and Duan Qirui's call for rebellion had announced to the world: the teacher of rebellion is as powerful as a broken bamboo.Where is Zhang Xun his opponent, he had to flee to the Dutch embassy for refuge, and the little imperial court was kicked out of the dragon seat again. Cao Kun panicked. He supported Zhang Xun in supporting the small court.Now, the dream is shattered, Zhang Xun has become a rebel, then Cao Kun is also a rebel. Yesterday he was a great general, but today he has become a rebel. Cao Kun did not expect to fail so quickly! What confuses him even more is: Hanging Dragon Wu Ziyu said that Zhang Xun was defeated when he was holding the flag, and it came true a few days later. This is so strange! "Could it be that Wu Ziyu has the spirit of Kong Ming and can predict one by one?" He remembered that before Wu Peifu arrived at the barracks, Just set up a hexagram stall on the streets of Beijing, he must be proficient in "Book of Changes", and you must not treat him slowly in the future! Think again.But he was a little afraid of Wu Peifu again. "One day, Wu Ziyu will be with me." Cao Kun became uneasy, his head drooped, his eyes were hard to open, he was bored in the study, and he didn't bother to speak. After Cao Kun made his fortune, the most important things he saw were two things: one was to buy land and build mansions; he was originally from Dagu, where he "bought" many good fields, and he was in Dagu again. Gu, Tianjin Dazao private house.He became a military governor, and after he was stationed in Baoding, he built a large-scale construction project in Baoding. First, he converted the former Zhili Prison Office into a hotel; he worshiped the famous general Qi Jiguang and named the hotel "Guangyuan"; "Cao Kun Theater", in addition to living and playing, also bought 600 acres of land by the Daqing River to build a "Cao Kun Garden", with pavilions, mountains, rivers, pines, cypresses and flowers. , It’s really enough for him to enjoy! Another thing is taking concubines. Cao Kun’s original partner was the Zheng family, who married Cao Kun when he was selling cloth.Zheng's appearance is mediocre, but his personality is gentle; his first concubine, Gao, has a handsome appearance, outstanding literary talents, and is very proficient in piano, painting, poetry and calligraphy-the elder brother of Gao's wife was Cao Kun's boss. Cao has a handsome appearance, and he guessed that there must be a big hair, so he "gifted" his nineteen-year-old sister; but this Gao woman has a noble personality.After marrying Cao, he knew that there was another wife in his family.Then she died of depression; the third aunt's name was Chen Hanrui, a fellow of Cao Kun's Dagu, and she was also a very beautiful woman.Later, when Cao Kun was sixty years old, he married his fourth concubine, Liu Fengwei.Although Cao Kun had many wives and concubines, his only regret was that he did not have any sons.Cao Kun firmly believed in the thought of Confucius and Mencius, and insisted that "there are three unfilial acts, and the greatest is to have no descendants."So, he worried about this all day long.Originally, he wanted to accept another concubine from him, but Chen Hanrui refused, and told him that he was pregnant, "Maybe I will give birth to a fat son!" Cao Kun was very happy to learn that his third aunt was pregnant.Overjoyed, he immediately sent someone to invite the blind man Siyue Sansi who is famous for divination in Baoding mansion, and asked him to tell whether he is a man or a woman first. "People call you Si Banxian, and you are iron mouthed. Tell me about a man and a woman." "The young ones should follow the order of the military governor." Si Xiazi said, "Then please tell me the horoscope." Cao Kun said: "I was born in Shenshi, October 21, the first year of Tongzhi." Si Xiazi pinched his fingers, fanned his mouth a few times, and then said, "Great Governor, after making some careful guesses about this hexagram, I feel that there is something I have to say." "What are you talking about? Just say it." Cao Kun said: "People call you an iron mouth, but you can't be soft." "Although the adults are lucky, they are not good for their children." "Is there a way to break it?" "Yes." "What way? Tell me quickly." "You have to take a concubine in order to have a son." "Ah" Cao Kun really wanted to take a concubine, but Chen Hanrui refused.Therefore, Cao Kun these days I was in a particularly depressed mood. The matter of concubinage is worrying, and now it will become "rebellious".His reputation was ruined, and his children and grandchildren were cut off! Cao Kun couldn't bear it, his head became dizzy, and he lay on the bed——sick. Wu Peifu woke up drunk and learned that Cao Kun was "ill", so he hurried towards the Governor's Mansion.Walking on the road, he suddenly remembered that the congratulatory message to Zhang Xun hadn't been sent yet, so he was busy groping in his pocket, but it was gone.He was very surprised in his heart, "If the Lord Overseer asks about this, how should he answer?" He slowed down, trying to deal with the reason as he walked.Until he entered the gate of the Governor's Mansion, he hadn't thought of a "reason", so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and walk into Cao Kun's study. After Han Nuan asked for a while, Cao Kun kicked out his family members, and then tried to confuse Wu Peifu with his personal affairs, and sent him away.So, he told the fortune-telling of the blind man.Then he said: "I don't believe all of this. It's just that the words are quite disturbing, so" Wu Peifu laughed, and he also wanted to use an excuse to hang around for a while, so as not to ask about the telegram. "Lord Warlord! How can you trust a blind man's nonsense? Do you know who he is?" "Who is it?" Cao Kun said, "Isn't he just a blind fortune teller?" "Liar!" "How did you see it?" "A few days ago, someone asked him for a fortune-telling, told him his birth date, and asked him if he was destined to have a son. He muttered for a long time, saying that he had no children. The fortune-teller turned out to be his old uncle. The old uncle raised his hand Give him a loud slap across the face, and scolded: "You bastard, spewing dung all over your mouth, my uncle has no children, where did your three older brothers and two younger brothers come from?" gone. Cao Kun smiled lightly.After being silent for a long time, the topic turned to Zhang Xun's matter. "Ziyu, Zhang Shaoxuan's there" Wu Peifu was clever, and he also heard that Zhang Xun's affairs were not going well.He hurriedly said: "There will be history to draw conclusions about braided handsomeness. Our old attitude is that we will never leave." "I'm not talking about that." Cao Kun said, "I'm just saying, when the dragon flag was hoisted in Beijing, how did you know that Zhang Xun was defeated, and you said he was completely defeated?" What was said in bed was repeated. Wu Peifu himself was secretly taken aback, but still acted accordingly: "Since the warlord has revealed this matter, Ziyu can't hide it. I have a prediction about Zhang Xun's matter, and he will not be successful." "In that case, we shouldn't have sent representatives to Xuzhou in the first place." "One moment, another moment." Wu Peifu said: "You still remember, didn't Mr. Duan's representatives Xu Shuzheng and Zeng Yujun also sign the covenant, and now he is the commander-in-chief of rebellion." "That yellow silk cloth is a curse." "Don't take it to heart." Wu Peifu said, "The Vice President (Feng Guozhang) and Boss Duan have already made arrangements." Only then Cao Kun breathed a sigh of relief, and said: "Then we should send a telegram to Duan Hefei early to express our attitude." "Okay, I'll send it out now." Cao Kun wanted to ask Wu Peifu again "how did the prophet Zhang Xun lose", but he felt that it was not easy to find out the root cause, so he said angrily: "What should be done, you should hurry up and do it. It is not necessary to discuss everything. ." Wu Peifu, however, lost no time in showing off. "Wars are sometimes based on strength, and sometimes they are not all based on strength. The time of day, the right place, and the harmony of people, the commander must strategize. Didn't Zhuge Liang look at the stars every time he sent troops? That makes sense. You have to study his reasoning." Cao Kun nodded frequently, and he valued Wu Peifu more and more in his heart. The restoration was extinguished, Duan Qirui became the hero of "rebuilding the republic", and Feng Guozhang, the leader of the direct line, climbed to the throne of the President.Since then, Wu Peifu has paved a broader road for himself.