Chapter 41 still the same

Duan Qirui has a high prestige in the Beiyang faction, and at the same time, the National Defense Army also regards him as a powerful faction that does his part, and dare not underestimate him. Cai E visited Duan's mansion before returning to Yunnan. It is right for him to negotiate with Southwest Yuan Shikai had to make a choice. On March 23, Duan Qirui was appointed Secretary of State and Chief of the Army.According to Duan Qirui's thinking, his status and role at this time are like Yuan Shikai's cabinet during the 1911 Revolution. He must have real power, not a rubber stamp, otherwise nothing will be achieved.

Yuan Shikai abolished the cabinet and set up the political affairs hall and the secretary of state, using the latter as his office and staff.Of course, Duan Qirui was not satisfied. He demanded that the Zhengshitang be changed to a responsible cabinet system, and the Secretary of State be changed to the Prime Minister. Yuan Shikai is a person who attaches great importance to power.What he hated the most in his life was the responsible cabinet system. He knew that in this way, the cabinet would hold the real power and the president would be emptied.When Song Jiaoren wanted to implement a responsible cabinet system, he couldn't sleep well every day after he knew it, and he couldn't eat well. It wasn't until Song Jiaoren was assassinated that he breathed a sigh of relief.

At other times, Yuan Shikai would not hand over power even if he died. It's just that times have changed and everything is beyond his control. On May 8, Yuan Shikai formally ordered the abolition of the Political Affairs Hall, and the restoration of the State Council and the title of Prime Minister. After Duan Qirui formed a cabinet, the first thing he thought of was to appoint Xu Shuzheng as the Secretary-General of the State Council.Considering that Yuan Shikai disliked Xu Shuzheng very much, and that the two had had several disagreements because of this, Duan Qirui asked Zhang Guogan to speak to Yuan Shikai.

Yuan Shikai was really unhappy when he heard this. He said bitterly: "It's a joke. Premier Duan is a soldier, and Xu is also a soldier. He is the military prime minister and the secretary-general of the military. Here is a Japanese sword, and there is also a Japanese sword. It's too shameful." !" Entrusted by Duan Qirui, Zhang Guogan had no choice but to persuade him politely, and Yuan Shikai gave in a step: "If the prime minister can use Xu's talent, he might as well make him the deputy chief of the army." Xu Shuzheng is Duan Qirui's "soul", he can touch anyone, but he cannot be touched.Zhang Guogan replied to Duan Qirui, and before he finished speaking, Duan Qirui slammed the table: "Just refuse to agree!"

Later, he threw the pipe in his mouth on the table vigorously, and said angrily: "It's still the same today!" His dissatisfaction with Yuan Shikai was beyond words. His arms couldn't twist his thighs, so in the end Xu Shuzheng only became an assistant secretary of the State Council.In addition, in order to further strengthen the power of the cabinet, Duan Qirui demanded the abolition of the three major institutions including the Grand Marshal Command Office. for being angry. Since Duan Qirui came out again, he originally wanted to make a difference, to help Yuan Shikai settle the situation and help him keep the position of president as much as possible.Seeing that Yuan Shikai still held this attitude towards him now, he was neither relieved nor willing to let go, and felt disheartened. He no longer tried his best to contact the Beiyang generals and deal with the anti-Yuan protests in the south, and he seemed to let him develop.

Yuan Shikai was still able to bargain with others in this situation. Of course, he thought that a lean camel was bigger than a horse. Even if most of the Beiyang generals betrayed themselves, after all, there were still some unindependent provinces and cronies who could rely on them. Among the unindependent provinces, Shaanxi and Sichuan are the most important—Shaanxi was used by Yuan Shikai as a base, and one of his confidantes, Lu Jianzhang, served as the general. Finally, it can be called the two spiritual pillars of Yuan Shikai. In mid-May, even these two pillars have fallen one after another. On May 18, Chen Shufan, a former member of the Tongmenghui and the guardian envoy of southern Shaanxi, declared the independence of Shaanxi, and Lu Jianzhang was expelled from Shaanxi.

Only four days later, that is, on May 22, Chen Heng, whom Yuan Shikai trusted most, also declared independence in Sichuan, and called Yuan Shikai, saying that he would "sever ties" with him. No matter how loud the flattery was in the past, the "confidantes" are now fighting back with so much firepower.Because he was originally a close person, Chen Heng exposed Yuan Shikai's strength and tone during the telegram, which was even inferior to that of Cai E and others. Remitted a huge sum of 30 million yuan to the UK and prepared to flee. When Chen Heng sent the telegram, Yuan Shikai was eating steamed buns and hadn't had time to read the telegram.A steamed bun was cut into four pieces, and after eating three pieces, Liang Shiyi walked in, and Yuan Shikai asked him, what did Chen Heng mean by sending a telegram?Do you want to fight back and force me to abdicate?

Liang Shiyi knew that Yuan Shikai loved Chen Heng very much, so he quickly replied that it couldn't be like this.Yuan Shikai immediately felt more at ease after hearing this, so he ate the remaining slices of steamed buns. Then, he and Liang Shiyi read the call together.After reading the content of the telegram, Liang Shiyi was dumbfounded, and Yuan Shikai was even more surprised and angry, and immediately walked away.Afterwards, he murmured to himself alone: ​​"People's hearts have changed drastically, and this is what happened..." When Duan Qirui first came out to meet Yuan Shikai, he brought Zeng Yujun, who had some medical skills, to Yuan's mansion, and asked him to observe Yuan Shikai's words and demeanor, so as to determine whether the other party was really sick or fake.At that time, Yuan Shikai's pulse chart and prescriptions were placed in front of Yuan Shikai's sick bed, but Zeng Yujun noticed that Yuan Shikai's complexion was ruddy, and his speech and actions were not abnormal.

But after that, Yuan Shikai had to do everything by himself. Even after Xu Shichang and Duan Qirui were hired, he still refused to completely delegate power, and he had to intervene in major and minor matters, which greatly consumed his energy and physical strength.At the same time, the outside world has an independent call today, and a call to persuade him to quit tomorrow. The country's traitors are constantly being scolded, and even some old friends and subordinates have named him by name, which undoubtedly put him under great mental pressure. Even so, Lao Yuan was still able to hold on, but when Chen Heng sent the telegram, he couldn't hold on any longer, and began to cough and wheeze continuously.People with good deeds joked that Chen Lin wrote a call for Yuan Shao and scolded Cao Cao, but unexpectedly healed Cao Cao's headache; the same surname was Chen, and Chen Heng's telegram was nothing more than a reminder to Yuan Shikai.

On May 29, another favorite of Yuan Shikai's, Hunan General Tang Xiangming also electrified independence.So far, Yuan Shikai has thoroughly tasted the feeling of betrayal, and also suffered a fatal blow. At that time, there was a saying "send Er Chen Tang", "Er Chen" refers to Chen Shufan and Chen Yan, and "Tang" refers to Tang Xiangming.