Chapter 114 2. After seeing Cai E’s photo of the independent telegram, Yuan Shikai scolded Yang Du as Jiang Gan

Ten days after Yuan Shikai accepted the throne, Xia Shoutian sent an urgent telegram signed by Yunnan General Tang Jiyao and Patrol Envoy Ren Kecheng to Emperor Hongxian who was about to ascend the throne.Yuan Shikai was surprised after reading the telegram.It turned out that this telegram used a firm and earnest tone to persuade Yuan Shikai to change his mind and not to break his word.Otherwise, the military and civilians here will hate him so much that it will be difficult to appease him.And impressively listed thirteen culprits including Yang Du.Except for the six people from the Preparatory Committee, the remaining seven are Zhu Qiqian, Duan Zhigui, Zhou Ziqi, Liang Shiyi, Zhang Zhenfang, Lei Zhenchun, and Yuan Naikuan, the leaders of the Grand Ceremony Preparatory Office and the National Petition Association. Please ask the President to punish these thirteen people as a thank you world.Reply within twenty-four hours.

Yunnan is a remote place, and the Yunnan army numbered no more than ten thousand. Yuan Shikai immediately calmed down after a burst of panic.At that time, Huang Xing and Li Liejun used the arrogance of the revolutionary party to incite several provinces in Ningxi and Jiangxi to fight for independence, but they did not succeed. What's more, what can the mere Tang and Ren people achieve!Yuan Shikai ordered Xia Shoutian to reply to Yunnan in the name of Zhengshitang: "This telegram is supposed to be fabricated by others, so it is inconvenient to forward it." Three days later, another telegram came from Kunming, announcing the independence of Yunnan, blatantly accusing Yuan Shikai of being a sinner who betrayed the Republic of China, and had lost his qualifications as head of state.Yuan Shikai hated the matter of being open and independent, and what made him hate even more was that in addition to Tang and Ren, the signature of this telegram also added a name: Cai E.

Yuan Shikai was so angry that he threw away the telegram and walked quickly back and forth in the office. The sound of heavy leather boots made the whole building tremble.He has been teasing people all his life, almost every time he succeeds, and no one has ever been able to tease him.But now, as the king of a country, he was successfully teased by a Hunan barbarian who was younger than his own son. How could he not be angry, how could he not hate? "Cai E, Cai E, I'm going to grab you, I'm going to eat meat!" Yuan Shikai cursed fiercely in his heart, his teeth chattering.Cai E was introduced to Beijing by Yang Du, which shows that Yang Du is not a good guy.Yuan Shikai thought of this, and unconsciously transferred his hatred to Yang Du.He yelled at Xia Shoutian loudly: "Give this telegram to Yang Du, this guy is simply Jiang Gan!"

After Yang Du read the telegram, he almost collapsed to the ground.He never thought that Cai E would play such a trick. Last month, Cai E personally went to Tianjin and worked out a careful plan with Liang Qichao.One afternoon, Cai E hired a rickshaw and took Xiao Fengxian for a stroll on the streets of Beijing.At dusk, he slipped into Qianmen Station quietly. At this time, Liang Qichao's family had already bought tickets and was waiting for him.As soon as he left Tianjin Railway Station, the Liang family took him to a reserved single room in Tongren Hospital in the Japanese Concession.A few days later, he and his classmate Zhang Xiaozhun, one of the three outstanding non-commissioned officers, went to Japan by boat.

After arriving in Japan, Cai E wrote a letter to Yuan Shikai, saying that his throat had often become inflamed in recent years, and he had come to Japan for medical treatment at the invitation of Japanese friends.He also said that he would visit several places with his friends first, and use this to choose a hospital.Cai E wrote more than ten postcards, each of which contained the itinerary, and handed them to Zhang Xiaozhun, asking Zhang to travel in Japan, and sending one to Yuan every time he went.Before the postcards were finished, Cai E took a boat to Yunnan via Hong Kong and Hanoi. The Yunnan Dian army has long been angered by Ai's perverse actions, but the leader who has no prestige has come forward.As soon as Cai E arrived in Kunming, he was warmly welcomed by the Yunnan Army.Tang Jiyao and Ren Kecheng were both Cai's subordinates, so they naturally supported him.At this time, Li Liejun and Dai Kan, the governor of Guizhou, and others also arrived in Kunming.They decided to launch the banner of righteousness in Kunming to defend the sacred democratic republic.Cai E put forward the idea of ​​courtesy first and soldiers later. This was the persuasion telegram in the name of Tang and Ren on the 22nd.After being rejected by Yuan, everyone was filled with righteous indignation.Cai E said excitedly: "It is better to die with a severed head than to live on our knees. When we fight against the Yuan bandits, what we are fighting for is not the power and status of individuals, but the personality of 400 million compatriots."

All the officers and soldiers of the Yunnan Army unanimously expressed their obedience to Cai E's command, and fought Yuan Shikai for the personality of the 400 million compatriots.The Dian army was renamed the National Defense Army and divided into three armies, the commander-in-chief of the first army was Cai E, the commander-in-chief of the second army was Li Liejun, and the commander-in-chief of the third army was Tang Jiyao.The next day, Cai E took more than 3,000 people from the First Army north to the Sichuan battlefield.Along the way, the morale was high, with successive battles and victories.

Cai E's unexpected action made Yang Du very frustrated.He rushed to Guanwa Hutong, and asked Fu Jin, who had redeemed himself and left the brothel, to go to Yunjiban as soon as possible, and asked Xiaofengxian to ask about Mingqing's situation.After Fu Jin came back, he told him that Xiao Fengxian had taken a long vacation to go back to her hometown in Northeast China half a month ago, and before leaving, she left a word to the class: Please tell Master Yang that you don't have to work too hard for Emperor Hongxian, maybe Thankless effort. After hearing Fu Jin's words, Yang Du woke up like a dream.It turns out that being addicted to brothels, playing cards and listening to operas, actively supporting the imperial system, and going to Japan to recuperate from illness are all illusions carefully arranged by Cai E.These illusions not only confuse himself, but also confuse Yuan Shikai, so that he can easily fly out of Yuan's cage and sneak back to Yunnan smoothly.Cai Songpo, oh Cai Songpo, you are so far-sighted and secretive, you are really amazing!Thinking, thinking, Yang Du actually admired Cai E from the bottom of his heart.

After admiration comes anger.Back then, I had discussed with Yuan Keding about recommending Cai E from Yunnan to Beijing. The original purpose was to let him take over the military power. I hoped that he would be the King Kong who suppressed rebellion and chaos and acted as the Great Wall to defend the new emperor during the transition from a republic to a monarchy.Who would have expected that he would not be a king kong or a devil, would not act as a flood for the Great Wall, be the first to unleash the banner of rebellion, and advocate chaos in the world, and completely disregarding years of friendship, he dared to list himself as the head of the Thirteen Taibao.Cai Songpo, Cai Songpo, you are truly turning your face and denying others, your heart is harder than iron and colder than ice!

Yang Du thought again that Cai E took this step because he was naturally influenced by his teacher Liang Qichao, but Yuan was skeptical of him, and later secretly ordered people to search his home with excuses, which undoubtedly drove him back.If Yuan Shikai firmly believed in it, cited him as a confidant, gave him the real position of army chief, and handed over the whole country's army to him, why would Cai E leave Germany and go to Yunnan!Obviously, the fault is not in the introduction, but in not giving important tasks.Yang Du never admits that he is Jiang Gan, and he believes that Cai E will never succeed in fighting the central government with a corner of Yunnan.

However, Yuan Shikai and Yang Du both misread the situation, underestimated Cai E and his national defense army, and underestimated the sentiment of the people of the whole country to reject autocracy. The central army sent by Yuan Shikai to the southwest could not contain the military power of the National Defense Army's victorious victories, and the actions of the National Defense Army to uphold justice were widely admired and supported by the people.A month later, Guizhou declared independence.At the same time, with the help of the Japanese, Liang Qichao went through many risks and entered Guangxi by sea via Hong Kong and Vietnam.A few days later, Guangxi declared its independence. Lu Rongting, the former general of Guangxi, appointed himself the governor of Guangxi and the commander-in-chief of the Guangdong-Guangxi National Defense Army, and appointed Liang Qichao as the general staff.

The successive independence of Guizhou and Guangxi not only dealt a major blow to Yuan Shikai, but also shocked the Beiyang Army.The Jiangsu general Feng Guozhang, who was in Nanjing, had long been strongly dissatisfied with Yuan Shikai's self-made imperial system.One of his dissatisfaction was that Yuan Shikai played tricks on him.Last year, he asked Yuan seriously about this matter face to face, and Yuan also seriously stated that he would never be emperor.Feng believed Yuan's words completely at that time, and defended Yuan widely.But in less than a month, Yuan broke his promise, how could Feng not be angry?The second is that Feng also secretly dreamed of being the president of the Republic of China.Yuan Zairi, he naturally did not dare to overstep.After Yuan's death, he was the boss of the Beiyang family, and of course he was the president.Now that it is changed to an imperial system, he will only be a courtier forever.Feng has long been unhappy with Yuan's greedy move.Seeing that Cai E's flag of righteousness was raised higher and higher, this student imitated his teacher and repeated Yuan Xinhai's old tricks. Feng Guozhang got in touch with General Li Chun of Jiangxi, General Zhu Rui of Zhejiang, General Jin Yunpeng of Shandong, and General Tang Xiangming of Hunan, and called Yuan Shikai in joint name to persuade him to abolish the imperial system and punish the culprit.Feng Guozhang placed his small clique in a third party other than the central government and the National Defense Army, and he himself became the leader of the third party. While relying on Cai's influence to suppress Yuan and improve his own prestige, he also used Yuan's power Come crush Cai and form your own gang.Feng wanted to expand the small group, so he sent a secret telegram signed by five people to Zhili General Zhu Jiabao.Unexpectedly, Zhu Jiabao handed the secret telegram to Yuan Shikai. Since the accident in Yunnan, Yuan Shikai, who has always been strong, has felt unwell.At first, I was lazy and lost my appetite, and then I became less and less interested in my aunts and wives.He has been suffering from bladder stones for a long time, and these days he begins to urinate frequently.Thinking of the Yuan family's lifespan of three consecutive generations since the great-grandfather, the fifty-seven-year-old Emperor Hong Xian suddenly felt sad.The joint secret telegram sent by Zhu Jiabao was like a sharp knife piercing his heart.He was not afraid of Cai E's rebellion; he was not afraid of the independence of Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi provinces; what he was afraid of was the division within Beiyang.The Beiyang Army is his lifeblood, and if there is a problem with his lifeblood, everything will be over.The hero of the first generation suddenly realized that he had no strength. He grabbed the hand of Xia Shoutian who was standing by the side with his cold hands, and said weakly: "Wu Yi, I saw a giant star fall last night. This is the first time I have seen it in my life. The second time. The first time was in the year of Xin Chou. Not long after, Duke Li Wenzhong died, and this time it was my turn." Xia Shoutian looked at Yuan Shikai with absent-minded eyes, and comforted him, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, Feng Huafu has been with you for more than 20 years, and he will not betray you; even if they sympathize with the Southwest, there are still more than ten provinces!" Yuan Shikai's hand slowly regained its warmth, pondered for a long time, and said: "There is one thing I still don't understand. The "Suncheon Times" publishes Japanese government and opposition every day to support our imperial system. Ask us to delay the implementation of the monarchy? Zhou Ziqi went to Japan, which was a good thing, why did they change their words?" Xia Shoutian also found it strange, and he couldn't figure out what was wrong with it, so he could only say: "The Japanese government has always been cunning and greedy, and maybe they want to take advantage of it to gain more benefits." Yuan Shikai shook his head slightly and said, "There is no support from inside and outside. It seems that this imperial system should not be run." Xia Shoutian thought to himself: I am afraid that the current chaos cannot be calmed down without the establishment of the monarchy.But he still comforted him: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, everything will be fine. It is said that Chen Huan's army won a battle a few days ago!" "Alas!" Yuan Shikai sighed for a long time and closed his eyes slightly. Xia Shoutian withdrew his hand from Yuan Shikai's and quietly exited the office. As soon as Xia Shoutian left, Third Miss Shuzhen came in with two newspapers.Shuzhen was born to the third concubine Jin's family. He is seventeen years old this year.She is beautiful and smart, and she is quite popular with her father.When Yuan Shikai was working, his family members were never allowed to enter the office, and his wives, concubines and children also strictly followed the rules and never came to disturb him.But today, Shuzhen wants to report a major discovery to his father, so he ignores this rule. "Why are you here?" Yuan Shikai opened his eyes as soon as the third lady came to her side, and said displeasedly, "I'm at work, you go out to play." "Father, I have something important to tell you." Shuzhen stood beside his father with a serious expression. "What's the matter?" Yuan Shikai felt strange, what important matter would she have?The daughter's family is most concerned about life-long events.Shuzhen has already set up Yang Shiqi's nephew Yang Yuxun.Yang Yuxun is very self-motivated. He is currently studying at the Imperial University of Japan. He often receives letters, and the Yang family often travels around.This matter does not need to be bothered by Shuzhen himself. Apart from this, what other things would she have? "Father, I'll show you something." Shuzhen handed a wrinkled newspaper to his father. "This is "Suncheon Times". I read it every day." Yuan Shikai glanced at it, but didn't reach out to pick it up. "I know you read this newspaper every day, so I invite you to read mine!" Shuzhen forced the newspaper to his father coquettishly. Yuan Shikai was very strict with his sons. It was difficult for him to smile in front of his sons, and his sons were very scared when they saw him.But he is more lenient towards his daughters, often saying that daughters are guests at her mother's house, so don't be too harsh.He hired a learned female teacher to live at home to teach his daughters to read, but he never asked whether they read well.He has only one request for his daughters, that they are not allowed to go out casually, and if they insist on going out of the house, they must be accompanied by their brothers. Yuan Shikai glanced at the "Shuntian Times" that his daughter stuffed, and the headline on the front page read: Yuan's Imperial System Besieged on All Sides.He was taken aback, looking at the date, it was the day before yesterday.He remembered the newspaper from the day before yesterday, but there was absolutely no such article on it.Yuan Shikai stood up abruptly. "Father, are you looking for a newspaper?" The shrewd Third Miss had already guessed what her father was thinking, and hurriedly handed another copy of "Suntian Times" to her father. "Don't go looking for it, I've already checked it. This is the newspaper from the day before yesterday sent out in the presidential palace." Yuan Shikai grabbed the newspaper and looked at the date first. Yes, it was the one he read the day before yesterday, and there was no such article.Look at other content, but it's the same.He sat down slumped and asked his daughter, "Where did you get this newspaper?" "Chunlan brought it back from outside." Chunlan is a maid serving the Jin family and Shuzhen, a native of Beijing.According to the rules of the Yuan Mansion, maids who live in Beijing can go home for one night every month. "Chunlan went home yesterday to see her parents. I asked her to bring me a pack of crispy broad beans with five spices. She came back this morning and gave me a pack of broad beans wrapped in newspaper. I ate a few and suddenly saw this article 'Besieged on all sides' ' article. I was startled, why, someone dared to scold daddy? After reading a few lines, I thought to myself, I have never seen such an article before. I saw the headline, it was "Suntian Times" the day before yesterday I found a pair of "Suncheon Times" the day before yesterday, but there was no such article. I was confused, what is going on, why the "Suncheon Times" on the same day is different? Some people scolded in the newspaper, Daddy, this is not bad, so I have to tell you in a hurry." After Yuan Shikai heard what his daughter said, he was very angry.These are obviously two copies of "Suncheon Times" with different layouts. It is related to the attitude of the Japanese minister and the refusal of Zhou Ziqi to go to Japan. Obviously the one brought from outside is true, and the one in the government is fake.Who has the guts to make false reports to deceive me?If found out, his head must be cut off!He tried his best to suppress the anger in his heart, waved to his daughter and said, "I see, you can go out and play!" After Shuzhen left, Yuan Shikai pressed the bell, and Xia Shoutian came in.Yuan Shikai said with a sullen face: "Wu Yi, take a look at these two "Suncheon Times" published on the same day!" Xia Shoutian picked up the newspaper and read it, and immediately saw the problem, and asked in surprise, "Why are these two newspapers different?" "Who brings the "Suncheon Times" in the mansion every day?" "In the past, it was delivered by the errands hired by the newspaper. During this period, it was delivered by Mao Shun from the eldest son's family." Could it be Keding's trick?Yuan Shikai realized this immediately, and ordered Xia Shoutian: "Go and call Keding!" After a while, Yuan Keding hurried into his father's office.Seeing his father sitting at the table with a straight face and two copies of "Suntian Times" spread out on the table, Yuan Keding immediately became timid, his legs shook involuntarily, and his voice seemed to be unsound: "Father, you, you called me Yes, what's the matter?" Seeing his son's expression, Yuan Shikai completely understood.He was so angry that he slapped the table hard and shouted loudly: "Look, you did a good job!" After finishing speaking, with a touch of his hand, the two newspapers were pushed out of the table and fell straight to Yuan Keding's heels.Yuan Keding looked down, it was "Shuntian Times".He picked it up tremblingly, and his face immediately darkened.He knew that the matter had been exposed, and if he wanted to get his father's forgiveness, he had to admit his mistakes and confess his crimes, and it was absolutely impossible to coax him away. "My son is wrong, my son deserves to die!" "You bastard!" Yuan Shikai picked up the rattan cane beside him and beat Keding violently.Thirty-nine-year-old Mr. Yuan lowered his head and stood upright in front of his father, despite his father's severe beatings, neither evading nor pleading. "You bastard who lied to the heavens and father, I will kill you!" Yuan Shikai beat his son seven or eight times in a row, but he still couldn't let go of his hatred. He continued to beat his son vigorously, cursing, "You ruined family star, Yuan Shikai The family will be defeated in your hands!" While beating and beating, Yuan Shikai suddenly became dizzy, his feet went limp, and he fell to the ground. "Father!" Yuan Keding was terrified, he hurriedly picked up his father and put him on the reclining chair, ignoring his own pain. "Father, father!" Yuan Keding cried out. Yuan Shikai opened his eyes and saw his son kneeling beside him with tears all over his face, feeling guilty in his heart.He said weakly to his son: "Go and invite old man Xu here, I want to revoke the case of recognizing the throne..."