Chapter 40 39. President Feng and Premier Duan fell out

When Zhang Xun was restored, Duan Qirui raised troops in Machang to fight against the rebellion. At that time, he relied on the Eighth Division with Li Changtai as the commander.Li Changtai and Duan Qirui are both from Xiaozhan, they have been in the same robe for many years, and they are very familiar with each other.It is said that before the army started, Li Changtai's wife half-jokingly said to Lao Duan: "Prime Minister, you see, our old Li has been an official for half his life, and he is old and gray. How many years can he work? If you don't promote him, Prime Minister , who else can promote him? This time you return to Beijing, give him the admiral of the nine gates!"

Duan Qirui didn't say anything after hearing this, but just nodded in acquiescence.After the success of the rebellion, the generals rewarded each other for their merits, and Duan Qirui transferred Li Changtai to the commander of the infantry (the so-called "Nine Gate Admirals"), which was regarded as a reward for his help in the rebellion.However, Duan Qirui has a condition, that is, Li Changtai must be removed from the post of division commander of the Eighth Division.Li Changtai hoped to serve as the commander of the Eighth Division, so he asked someone to intercede with Duan Qirui: "Mr. Li has made great contributions in the Machang, and the commander of the infantry is not a big official in the frontier. If he is not allowed to concurrently serve as the division commander, I am afraid that people will be ridiculed."

Duan Qirui was very unhappy when he heard this, and said: "The post of commander of the infantry was requested by Mrs. Li when I first arrived at the horse factory. Mr. Li was also present at that time. As a soldier, Li has a good relationship with me. Rewarding servants before success is tantamount to threatening, which is something he shouldn't do. Moreover, Mr. Li is depressed, and the Eighth Division will take on important tasks, and he is not qualified for it." As a result, Li Changtai was finally removed from the post of division commander of the Eighth Division, and was replaced by the former brigade commander Wang Ruxian.Duan Qirui originally thought that Wang Ruxian would be grateful to Dade when he was promoted to division commander, and he would definitely contribute when he was sent to pacify the southwest.

But contrary to expectations, Wang Ruxian also has his own little Jiujiu.Old Duan was kind to him in promoting him, but he and Fan Guozhang brought their brothers into Hunan just to help Fu Liangzuo carry the sedan chair. Even if they won the battle, what benefits would they get?It's easy to deal with if you win the battle, but if you lose, you'll lose your money, where will you go to complain about injustice?Therefore, if you stop with small battles, if you want to fight hard and tough battles again, it will be thankless, this is not what I did. There were two reasons for Wang Ruxian and Fan Guozhang to issue the truce call at that time. One was because reinforcements from the Southwest Warlords had already marched into Hunan and north, and the momentum was very strong. Backing up and advocating peaceful reunification.

The person who advocates peaceful reunification is none other than President Feng Guozhang.Like Feng Guozhang, Wang Ruxian and Fan Guozhang are both from Zhili, and they have a bond of friendship and interests. Of course, they are willing to listen to Feng Guozhang's "peaceful reunification" instead of the old Duan's "forced reunification". They will not be so stupid as to do something What about taking chestnuts out of the fire for others? Wang and Fan did what they said, and they led their troops to withdraw northward on the day the armistice telegram was issued without waiting for the approval of the Beijing government.After Wang and Fan's troops withdrew, Fu Liangzuo dared not stay any longer, and he quickly fled Changsha with his entourage.After the forces of the Beiyang faction withdrew from Changsha, Lu Rongting's brother-in-law and "Counselor" Tan Haoming then led the Hunan-Guangdong-Guangxi Allied Forces to settle in, restoring the pre-war state between the North and the South.

Duan Qirui saw that his "unification by force" policy had failed just after it started, and he was very annoyed, so he went to President Feng Guozhang angrily: "Wang Ruxian and Fan Guozhang, as soldiers, retreated without approval, so that Hunan Province is lost, it should be dealt with by military law!" But Feng Guozhang knew in his heart why Wang and Fan withdrew their troops, so he said lightly: "Wang and Fan are certainly wrong, but what should Fu Liangzuo do for abandoning the province and fleeing himself?" Duan Qirui said angrily: "Wang Master Fan and Master Fan turned against each other for no reason, so what if Fu Liangzuo doesn't leave?" Feng Guozhang smiled and said, "If we can make a determination by force, why should I insist on making peace? It must be because of the difficulties ahead that Wang and Fan have no choice but to act." When Duan Qirui heard this, he figured out a way... After a long time, it turned out that it was Feng Guozhang who supported them behind the scenes!

When it comes to the relationship between Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang, it is naturally extraordinary.These two are both founding disciples of the Beiyang Armed Forces Academy, and they have followed Yuan Shikai for many years. They are both old classmates and old comrades. Their friendship for decades is a real deal.According to Feng Guozhang’s daughter’s recollection, when Yuan Shikai was promoted to governor of Shandong, Wang Shizhen, Duan Qirui, and Feng Guozhang were all transferred to Shandong. At that time, they went to work during the day and often came to Feng Guozhang’s house to gather at night, chatting, or drinking. They play cards (mahjong) and get along very well with each other.

At that time, Feng Guozhang's family had a private school jointly donated by Feng Guozhang's third brother, Feng Huzhang. The students studying in the private school included not only the children of the Feng family, but also Duan Qirui's son Duan Hongye and even his brother-in-law Wu Guangxin.Duan Qirui attaches great importance to the education of his children. If he does not read well, he will not only punish his own children, but also the sons of the Feng family will be punished at the same time. In the former Qing Dynasty, due to the influence of the great leader Yuan Shikai, Feng Guozhang and Duan Qirui had basically the same political views. It was not until Duan Qirui issued the "Republic Power On" that Feng and Duan had differences.Regarding this matter, Feng Guozhang was very dissatisfied with Duan Qirui, but later saw that the situation had changed, so he had no choice but to give up.

After Yuan Shikai's death, both Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang became influential figures who dominated the political situation at that time.But perhaps because of their age, Feng Guozhang and Duan Qirui disagreed on the issue of cleaning up the mess.Feng Guozhang was 6 years older than Duan Qirui. In 1917, Duan Qirui was exactly 52 years old, and he still had more courage to support him, while Feng Guozhang was already 58 years old, obviously old.As a result, Duan Qirui advocated unification by force, but Feng Guozhang couldn't bear to kill excessively, and believed that a peaceful solution was better.

The difference between Feng and Duan is entirely a difference of principle and position, which is a bit difficult to reconcile.Take the matter of Fu Liangzuo Duxiang as an example. Feng Guozhang did not agree to let Fu go to Hunan at first, but finally gave in because of Duan Qirui's insistence.Like Li Yuanhong, Feng Guozhang’s job at that time was mainly to seal. The general procedure was as follows: Zhang Zhitan, secretary general of the State Council, came to the presidential palace with official documents, and then led by Yun Baohui, acting secretary general of the presidential palace, to ask Feng Guozhang to use the seal.Generally speaking, the official documents of the State Council had to be read by Feng Guozhang once, and then handed over to Yun Baohui for stamping, and then handed over to Zhang Zhitan after stamping, and the cycle repeated.

Once, Zhang Zhitan brought some official documents to ask Feng Guozhang to seal, among them was the appointment letter of Fu Liangzuo Duxiang.After Feng Guozhang saw it, he stopped still and didn't hand it to Yun Baohui to seal it like before.Seeing Feng Guozhang's hesitation, Zhang Zhitan relayed Duan Qirui's reasons, saying that Fu Liangzuo was originally from Hunan and was a soldier, so he would be competent and happy to be the governor of Hunan.After Feng Guozhang heard this, he said disapprovingly: "I'm afraid this is not true, right? You should go back and discuss with the Prime Minister!" So the letter of appointment was handed back to Zhang Zhitan.A few days later, Duan Qirui offered Fu Liangzuo to be the military governor or choose one of the provincial governors as a concession, and then asked Zhang Zhitan to go to the presidential palace to seal.Before Zhang Zhitan went to see Feng Guozhang, he first communicated with Yun Baohui and asked him to help him say a few words, and then approved the appointment of Fu Liangzuo. Although the matter of Fu Liangzuo's appointment has been settled, the differences behind it still exist.Duan Qirui didn't go to the presidential palace very often, and both of them were getting older, so they didn't move around too much with each other, so the problem of communication became more and more prominent, and the differences became bigger and bigger.For example, Duan Qirui likes to play mahjong. Before Feng Guozhang went to Duan's house to play a few rounds, but Feng Guozhang is getting older, especially after he became president, and he no longer likes to play mahjong. But he thought that Feng Guozhang was deliberately putting on the president's airs in front of him. Having said that, China's thousands of years of history, to put it bluntly, is a society of human affection. If you don't move around much, where do you get human affection?It is no accident that mahjong has become a national art. After Wang Ruxian and Fan Guozhang's Beiyang Army retreated, and Fu Liangzuo fled Changsha in a hurry, the differences between Feng and Duan began to become public.Duan Qirui advocated holding generals Wang and Fan accountable, while Feng Guozhang believed that Fu Liangzuo was also dereliction of duty and advocated strict punishment.In the end, Fu Liangzuo was dismissed, while Wang Ruxian and Fan Guozhang were only verbally reprimanded and dismissed because of their important military affairs. Duan Qirui was very annoyed when he learned about it, so he let out the wind and said that he would resign.However, Feng Guozhang was not Li Yuanhong. A few days later, when Zhang Zhitan went to seal the official document, Feng Guozhang suddenly said inexplicably after the official document was sealed: "Isn't the Prime Minister resigning yet?" Yun Baohui and Zhang Zhitan listened Afterwards, everyone felt that what Feng Guozhang said was too presumptuous, especially Zhang Zhitan, how should he answer this?Fortunately, Zhang Zhitan reacted relatively quickly. He said with a serious expression, "The resignation letter will be up soon!" Of course, the resignation was not so fast yet, Zhang Zhitan was just adapting to the situation, just talking.But within a few days, Cao Kun, Governor of Zhili, Wang Zhanyuan, Governor of Hubei, Li Chun, Governor of Jiangsu, and Chen Guangyuan, Governor of Jiangxi, suddenly jointly issued a telegram, calling for a truce and negotiating peace, and opposed unification by force.Duan Qirui didn't know the article about "listening to the sound of gongs and drums, listening to the sound of speaking", and then he really submitted his resignation, resigning from the post of prime minister and chief of the army again. What's interesting is that Feng Guozhang only allowed Duan Qirui to resign as Prime Minister while retaining the post of Army Chief... Everyone, isn't this deliberately slapping Duan in the face?How can anyone resign as prime minister but continue to be chief executive with a shy face?Even if the prime minister can't do it, how can he continue to be the chief of the army?So Duan Qirui resigned again, but this time Feng Guozhang no longer asked to stay, and approved one by one. After Duan Qirui resigned, Feng Guozhang had to find a replacement.Who is this substitute?It turned out to be Wang Shizhen, the "Dragon of the Northern Ocean".After Yuan Shikai was kicked back to his hometown, Wang Shizhen had actually been separated from the military and political circles for nearly ten years. He had neither military power nor political capital at hand. Wang Pinglao (Wang Shizhen's style name Pingqing) has a gentle temperament and senior qualifications, so he used it as his own help, and used it to resist the Anhui faction and reconcile the North and the South. Of course, Wang Shizhen, Feng Guozhang, and Duan Qirui are also old buddies. This "Duan goes to Wang Lai", these two people are a little bit embarrassed.For Duan Qirui, Wang Shizhen was suspected of betraying his friends when he became prime minister; but Feng Guozhang said to him: "Old Pin, do you have the heart to see my jokes?" Therefore, Wang Shizhen really couldn't shirk it, so he had to reluctantly . After Duan Qirui resigned, all the former cabinet members resigned as usual, and Wang Shizhen re-formed the cabinet. The final list is as follows: Lu Zhengxiang is the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Qian Nengxun is the Minister of Internal Affairs, Wang Kemin is the Chief of Finance, and Jiang Yong is the Chief of Justice , Tian Wenlie is the chief of agriculture and commerce, Cao Rulin is the chief of transportation, Fu Zengxiang is the chief of education, the chief of the navy is still Liu Guanxiong, and the chief of the army is concurrently served by Wang Shizhen himself. On November 22, Duan Qirui formally resigned as prime minister, and the second "contest between government and court" ended again with Duan Qirui's resignation.As a result, Lao Duan's second cabinet unfortunately collapsed within three months... This Feng Guozhang is not Li Yuanhong after all! On December 1, Wang Shizhen announced the list of his cabinet members, and the new cabinet was announced.On this day that was supposed to be a day of universal celebration, there were discordant voices from the Hubei front: Shi Xingchuan, the commander of the First Division of Hubei, declared independence in Jingzhou; The military government responded from afar.In order to win Tang Jiyao's support from the Yunnan Yasukuni Army, Xiang and Jing were renamed the Hubei Yasukuni Army, and Li Tiancai was appointed as the commander-in-chief. Why? It turned out that after Wang Ruxian and Fan Guozhang's Beiyang Army withdrew to Yueyang, the Southern Army advanced into Changsha and took advantage. Under their instigation, Xiangjing, Hubei, which is close to Hunan, responded and declared independence.At the same time, Wu Guangxin (Duan Qirui's brother-in-law), commander-in-chief of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and Sichuan investigation envoy, was also defeated in Sichuan by Xiong Kewu and other troops of the Sichuan Army, and hurriedly retreated to western Hubei. Now, Duan Qirui's two pawns of "unification by force" have completely failed.What's interesting is that Wu Guangxin was defeated in Sichuan, but he wanted to show his hand in Hubei, so he sent a telegram to Beijing, requesting the recovery of Jingxiang, and the crime of merit. After Wu Guangxin's telegram was sent, Wang Zhanyuan, the governor of Hubei, became anxious.Wang Zhanyuan was born in 1861. His experience is basically similar to that of Wang Shizhen, Duan Qirui and others.After the Wuchang Uprising, Wang Zhanyuan served as the commander of the Third Association of the Second Town. After he went south to suppress the revolution, he was promoted to the commander of the Second Town due to his meritorious service.After the second revolution broke out, Wang Zhanyuan led the army again, and thus took root in Hubei, and gradually took power alone. Some people may find it strange that Wu Guangxin wants to fight the Jinguo Army in Hubei, so why is Wang Zhanyuan in such a hurry?This is not borrowing troops to aid in the suppression, a good thing! actually not.Because the Hunan Army was very powerful at that time, they wanted to capture Yuezhou in one fell swoop and drive the Beiyang Army out of Hunan. However, Wang Zhanyuan and Tan Haoming, the joint commander of the Southern Army, were trying their best to reconcile and calm the situation.If Wu Guangxin attacked Jingxiang at this time, it would inevitably trigger the Hunan Army to attack Yueyang, which would reignite the war and endanger the safety of Hubei. On December 4th, Li Chun, Wang Zhanyuan, and Chen Guangyuan, the three governors of the Yangtze River, issued a telegram requesting Feng Guozhang to formally announce the truce. However, two days later, the governors of the eight provinces headed by Cao Kun, the envoy of the Songhu Guard Lu Yongxiang, and the commander of the Seventh Division Zhang Jingyao issued a telegram. He sent a telegram with more intense words, asking Feng Guozhang to issue an order to crusade against the southern army immediately, which indicated that the Beiyang faction had completely split on the issue of war and peace. It is worth noting that Cao Kun, the governor of Zhili who announced the truce and electrification before, has transformed himself this time and has become the vanguard of the main battle. Why is this? It is said that there were two reasons for Cao Kun's change. One was the guidance of Xu Shichang, a veteran of Beiyang, and the other was Xu Shuzheng's promise to support him in obtaining the post of vice president.Cao Kun was stationed in Tianjin at that time, and had many contacts with Xu Shichang, who lived here. After the announcement of the previous armistice agreement and telegram, Xu Ge didn't take it seriously, saying: "Zhiquan is too quick-tempered, but Hua Fu shouldn't secretly They instigated Wang and Fan, so that they turned against each other and lost Hunan. The two of them are so troubled, how will we deal with it in the future?" After Cao Kun heard this, he hesitated twice. Xu Shichang saw that he still didn't understand, so he said again: "Feng and Duan are fighting, and you don't help mediate in it. After this, I'm afraid the Beiyang group will fall apart. When the Democratic Party comes back, you At that time, I will not be able to shirk my responsibility!" After Cao Kun heard this, it was like waking up from a dream. As for Xu Shuzheng, he was still loyal after Duan Qirui's downfall, running up and down for Duan Qirui's comeback, visiting the governors of various provinces to seek support.Once, Xu Shuzheng met Cao Kun and said that as long as he supported Duan Qirui's comeback and agreed to the "unification by force" policy, Duan Qirui would be willing to support Cao Kun as vice president when the new Congress was called to re-elect the president.Cao Kun, after being instructed by Xu Shichang, had already regretted the callership, and heard that Duan Qirui was willing to support him as the vice president, so he couldn't help being tempted... Feng Guozhang was the vice president. Is it from the President?Since Lao Feng can do it, why can't I, Lao Cao, not do it? Feng Guozhang was also very embarrassed after receiving two completely opposite telegrams.He carefully estimated that the main warlords are all around Beijing, and although the main warlord and the three governors of the Yangtze River are on his side, they are too far apart after all, and the distance cannot quench their thirst. In response, I don't know what they are going to make. Thinking of this, Feng Guozhang hurriedly called for Prime Minister Wang Shizhen and others to discuss countermeasures.Wang Shizhen said that the main forces fighting now are the forces of Lao Duan, why not invite Lao Duan out and give him an idle position, lest he be a hindrance and contain the central government.Feng Guozhang thought, this old Duan is not an ordinary person. Apart from the position of prime minister, where else can he be arranged?Later, everyone chatted and discussed a new name: Didn’t Lao Duan insist on declaring war on Germany, why not give him the name of participating in the war to show China’s participation in the war? After hearing this idea, Lao Duan didn't refuse. He only said that the post of supervisory officer for participating in the war must be joined with the chief of the army.After hearing this, Wang Shizhen naturally understood what Lao Duan meant, so she voluntarily resigned from the concurrent post of Army Chief and nominated Duan Zhigui, Lao Duan's confidant, to take up the post. Feng Guozhang had no objection to this. A few days later, Lao Duan took Duan Zhigui to the Presidential Palace to meet Feng Guozhang, and the two got back together, talking and laughing as before.Although Feng and Duan still have some pimples, the new army chief Duan Zhigui is a guy who is good at making jokes. The three of them chatted and broke up happily in the end. With Feng Guozhang's concession, the "dream of unification by force" in Lao Duan's heart will inevitably rise again, and as a result, the North and South will be at war again. In order to coordinate the southward operations, Xu Shuzheng specially invited the governors of various provinces to come to Tianjin for a meeting. Attendees included Cao Kun, Governor of Zhili, Ni Sichong, Governor of Anhui, Zhang Huaizhi, Governor of Shandong, Yan Xishan, Governor of Shanxi, Chen Shufan, Governor of Shaanxi, Zhao Ti, Governor of Fujian, and others. Li Houji, Governor of Zhejiang, Yang Shande, Governor of Zhejiang, Lu Yongxiang, envoy of Songhu Guards, Zhang Jingyao, Superintendent of Bandit Suppression in Jiangsu, Anhui, Luyu and Commander of the Seventh Division, also sent representatives. Come to the meeting. When the warriors gathered together, they were naturally gearing up and eager to try. They all wished they could fly south immediately to show the southern army some color.At the meeting, Cao Kun and Zhang Huaizhi performed the most prominently. Under Duan Qirui's instruction, they completely controlled the movement this time.Since Feng Guozhang is the president, it is not easy to scold him directly, so these people pointed their finger at Zhuhe's "Three Governors of the Yangtze River", especially Li Chun, the governor of Jiangsu, who was scolded bloody and was detained in Beiyang. The big hat of "traitor, villain, running dog, traitor".Just scolding is not enough, there must be something substantial.After some debate, the Tianjin meeting initially decided to ask Feng Guozhang to make an explicit crusade against Hunan and Guangdong, and planned to attack Hunan by two routes southward: the first route was led by Cao Kun, and attacked southern Hunan after passing through Hubei along the Jinghan Road; With Zhang Huaizhi as the commander-in-chief, he went south along Jinpu Road and then invaded eastern Hunan via Jiangxi.The governors of each province also agreed on the strength of troops to be sent, of which Zhili, Shandong, and Anhui each sent 10,000 troops, Fengtian sent 20,000 troops, and Shanxi and Shaanxi each sent 5,000 troops. What's interesting is that when it comes to using troops to crusade, the governors of the provinces always pushed back and forth, and before sending troops, the central government must replenish the food, firearms and funds, otherwise they will never send troops; The warlords all volunteered, and their spirit is commendable. They not only sent troops voluntarily, but also were willing to raise funds by themselves, and did not need a cent from the central government. On January 23, before the Northern Army went south on a large scale, Wu Guangxin, inspired by the spirit of the Tianjin Conference, captured Jingzhou in one fell swoop; and 2 days later, the Zhang Xueyan Department of the Fifth Brigade of the Third Division under Wu Peifu also occupied Xiangfan. .As for the so-called "Yinguo Army" of Li Tiancai and Shi Xingchuan who were the first to become independent, they fell apart due to internal divisions. After Feng Guozhang received the news, he tried to "seek peace with victory", and agreed with Tan Haoming, the joint commander of the Southern Army, that the northern and southern armies would retreat from each other and not open fire.It's a pity that Tan Haoming could no longer command the Hunan Army at that time, let alone Wu Guangxin and other troops had conquered Jingxiang, so they naturally refused to give up. On January 24, the Zhao Hengti Department of the Hunan Army launched an attack on the Beiyang Army's Second Division, Wang Jinjing Division, Eighth Division Wang Ruxian Division, 20th Division Fan Guozhang Division, and Eleventh Division Li Kuiyuan Division stationed in Yueyang.Since these troops belonged to Feng Guozhang's direct lineage, they did not want to conflict with the Hunan Army, so they burned Yuezhou to the ground and retreated without fighting. When the Hunan Army came to Yuezhou, it was already a raging fire. Burnt, empty city of embers. After the "Second Revolution", Yuezhou has been occupied by the Beiyang Army. This victory has made the Hunan Army very excited, and it has also greatly inspired the southwestern provinces. Therefore, many people advocate taking advantage of the victory to go north and take advantage of the situation. Wuhan, to reverse the decline in the south.However, the joint commander Tan Haoming did not adopt the opinion of the Hunan Army. He believed that the Southern Army was at the end of its strength after capturing Yuezhou and did not have the strength to continue marching into Wuhan; moreover, Yuezhou could be used as compensation for the Beiyang Army to capture Jingxiang. , Enough is enough, it is also the best policy. Tan Haoming's backstage boss is Lu Rongting, the tour envoy of Guangdong and Guangxi. He also feels that since the Southern Army has captured Yuezhou, Hunan has become a barrier to the southwest. If they march northward, there is no strength, no need, and the third is that they are afraid of triggering the Northern Army to go south. , instead of starting another dispute, it is better to stop the flames and cease the war, so as to keep one's own side in peace.As for other warlords in the southwestern provinces, such as Tang Jiyao in Yunnan and others also think so. On the other side, when the news of the Hunan Army's capture of Yuezhou came, it immediately aroused the roar of the Beiyang faction's main fighters. They repeatedly forced Feng Guozhang to immediately issue an explicit order to crusade against the Southern Army.In the past few days, Feng Guozhang was so disturbed that he was almost submerged in the vast ocean of the main combat faction. While the main fighters were waiting impatiently for Feng Guozhang to issue the crusade order, they suddenly got the news that President Feng Guozhang was going south by train without making a sound, which really angered them. On the afternoon of January 26, Feng Guozhang left Beijing for his southern tour, and the first stop was Tianjin.That night, Feng Guozhang met Cao Kun, the governor of Zhili, and talked with him about the secrets in the middle of the night, trying to win the support of this "tiger general".Cao Kun was originally a member of the direct family, so naturally he didn't want to make things too difficult for Feng Guozhang. He just said: "If you want peace, you must first lead the war. Only when you win on the battlefield can there be hope for peace."... This is also true insight . After Feng Guozhang stayed overnight at the Tianjin Supervision Office, he continued to travel south the next day.At this time, the news of Feng Guozhang leaving Beijing and going south had spread. Duan Qirui and others were very annoyed after hearing this, and sent a telegram overnight to the warlords Zhang Huaizhi and Ni Sichong along the way, asking them to block Feng Guozhang back to the capital without delaying the fighter. After receiving the telegram, Zhang Huaizhi, the governor of Shandong, took his entourage to Jinan Railway Station, and waited eagerly for President Feng's special car to arrive. Unexpectedly, the car came, but it passed by at a fast speed. Zhang Huaizhi didn't even see Feng Guozhang. with.It turned out that when Feng Guozhang left Tianjin, he thought Zhang Huaizhi was determined to follow Duan Qirui in the main battle, and he and the Anhui warlord were supporting each other. Why not go to Bengbu to persuade Ni Sichong first, and Zhang Huaizhi would naturally be defeated by then. Therefore, when Feng Guozhang's special train passed Jinan, it did not stop but went directly to Bengbu.Zhang Huaizhi hurriedly sent a telegram to Ni Sichong after having a closed door, asking him to prepare for interception.Fortunately, Jinan and Bengbu were still a few hours' drive away, so Ni Sichong was able to make arrangements calmly. He surrounded the station with his guards, and then waited for President Feng's visit. Soon, Feng Guozhang's special car arrived at Bengbu Station, and the car stopped without being intercepted.After Feng Guozhang got off the car, Ni Sichong had been waiting for a long time. He immediately went up to greet President Feng respectfully, and invited him to sit in the supervisor's office for a short time to entertain him.In the afternoon of the same day, Zhang Huaizhi and Zhang Jingyao, the supervisor of the bandit suppression in Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong and Henan, also rushed to Bengbu, and Feng Guozhang realized that something was wrong. Ni Sichong and the others asked Feng Guozhang politely: "What is the big deal about the president's small tour this time? Why didn't he notify in advance, so that we can be prepared and entertained well." Seeing that Feng Guozhang couldn't avoid it, I had to say that I would go south to discuss with the governors of the provinces whether to make peace or war. Ni Sichong said: "The president wants to discuss major issues, so why go south in person? Just send a telegram." After speaking, he sent a telegram to Li Chun, the governor of Jiangsu, asking him to come to Bengbu for discussion.What made Feng Guozhang very angry was that it was not Li Chun himself who came the next day, but Qi Xieyuan, his representative... What does this mean? ! As for the matter, it is actually very clear that Li Chunming knew that Feng Guozhang was trapped in Bengbu, so he refused to come to relieve the siege in person, but only sent a representative to come.It turned out that there was a rumor at the time that Feng Guozhang's southern tour was because he was trapped in Beijing, so he hoped to return to his hometown in Jiangsu. It is inevitable that there will be an extra mother-in-law, but this is what he does not want to see.Although Li Chun is Feng Guozhang's "loyal believer", he was not ambiguous at all when endangering his interests. Feng Guozhang saw that "the road is blocked" to continue southward to Nanjing, so he had to agree with Ni Sichong's opinion and hold a military meeting in Bengbu to discuss the current situation.Obviously, this hastily convened meeting was almost completely controlled by the war faction. Ni Sichong and others talked in a hurry, all talking about a routine, which was to urge Feng Guozhang to quickly order the war to pacify the southwest. Although Feng Guozhang did not act as a Bodhisattva at the meeting, every time he opened his mouth, there were always seven or eight mouths that blocked his words... When a scholar meets a soldier, he can't explain why. Although Feng Guozhang is not entirely a scholar, he is after all One mouth is no match for eight tongues. At the end, Zhang Huaizhi said impatiently: "The president wants to make peace with the south, unless you give him the position of president; if the president doesn't want to give up the position, then the only option is to fight. If Duan Hefei Please come out, our Beiyang army has the same heart, not to mention his small Hunan, even the entire southwest, we can wipe it out in one fell swoop, wouldn't it be great!" Ni Sichong, the governor of Anhui, was even more talented in acting. He took Feng Guozhang's hand and cried loudly: "President, the country is in great danger now, and our Beiyang faction is also in great danger! Look at how arrogant the forces in the South are. People provoked in front of the president, saying that you are from the Zhi faction, that Premier Duan is from the Anhui faction, and that you two are arguing with each other; Pie is over! China is over!" Ni Sichong has always been rude and savage, known for his martial arts and sternness. The warlord is another stubborn royalist.In politics, Ni Sichong only listens to others. If there is a Qing emperor, he will listen to the emperor; if the emperor is gone, he will listen to Yuan Shikai;Because of his consistent political correctness, Ni Sichong was as stable as Mount Tai in his tenure in Anhui, which can be regarded as the essence of Chinese politics. Ni Sichong's crying made Feng Guozhang a little moved: Old Ni is also very old, so loyal and patriotic, and wholeheartedly protecting Beiyang, this kind of collectivist spirit is so precious! Now that this was the case, Feng Guozhang no longer insisted on his advocate and argument, but instead expressed his approval of Ni Sichong and others' view of the main battle.In this case, there was no need to continue the southern tour, and Feng Guozhang returned to Beijing along the original route of Jinpu Road on the 29th. Lao Feng wasted a lot of thought, not only wasted the trip, but also made it boring. Just when he was unhappy, Wang Zhanyuan, the governor of Hubei, sent a telegram saying, "The Southern Army of Hunan, Guangdong, and Guangxi has captured Yuezhou. Commander-in-Chief Wang Jinjing and other Beiyang ministries have already evacuated. After occupying Yuezhou, the Southern Army launched an attack on Tongcheng and other places. Feng Guozhang couldn't help being angry when he saw this. He raised his beard, slapped his thigh, and exclaimed: "It's terrible! The Southern Army is so rampant, it seems that we can't do without a war!" The next day, Feng Guozhang issued two orders: the first order was to give Cao Kun the commander-in-chief of the First Route Army to lead Wu Peifu's third division and five mixed brigades from northern Hubei to southern Hubei; Zhang Jingyao led the seventh division and two supplementary brigades went south to attack Tongcheng, Hubei; the second order was to appoint Zhang Huaizhi as the commander-in-chief of the second route, and lead Shi Congbin's Shandong Temporary First Division, Zhang Zongchang's Jiangsu Sixth Mixed Brigade, and Zhang Zhijie's Twelfth Division , Li Chuanye's Anwu Army, and Feng Yuxiang's 16th Mixed Brigade, each team went south to attack eastern Hunan. Immediately afterwards, Feng Guozhang issued another order, all the ranks of Li Tiancai, the commander of the Ninth Division who were troubled by "independence", Shi Xingchuan, the commander of the Hubei First Division, and Tan Haoming, the Guangxi Governor of the Southern Army. The frontline troops captured him and dealt with it severely. There are three other orders to punish the insiders of the Beiyang faction: the first is to order Fu Liangzuo, the former governor of Hunan, who will flee, to organize a military trial to punish Gangji; Fan Guozhang, commander of the division, and Wang Jinjing, commander of the second division, stripped off the medals of military officers, and stayed in the camp for the time being. , Still stay in the job of the warlord to see the aftermath. Feng Guozhang’s three orders, at first glance, clearly distinguish crimes and responsibilities, and treat everyone equally, but upon closer inspection, there are differences between inside and outside, and closeness and closeness: Fu Liangzuo, the escaped warlord, has no soldiers and no power, and he belongs to the Duan faction, so the punishment is the heaviest, and he must be judged by military law ; and Wang Ruxian, Fan Guozhang, Wang Jinjing, and Chen Guangyuan were taken lightly because they were members of the direct line. Impressed. But in any case, Feng Guozhang has already embarked on the track of the main battle after all, which makes these warriors satisfied, no longer entangled in specific details, but go south to make contributions with vigor. On February 6, Cao Kun visited Hankou in person, where he commanded the First Route Army to launch an attack.At the same time, the Second Fleet of the Navy, under the leadership of Commander Du Xigui, brought five ships "Chu Guan", "Jiang Kun", "Jiang Li", "Jiang Xi" and "Jiang Zhen" into the waterway to help the army Attack. As for the southern army, due to too many internal factions and numerous conflicts, it was still not fully prepared for the battle until the Beiyang army went south in a large scale.The situation of the Southern Army at that time was as follows: Zhao Hengti of the Hunan Army was stationed in Yuezhou, Liu Jianfan was stationed in Pingjiang, and Ma Ji and Wei Rongchang of the Guangxi Army all served as reserves in the rear. The so-called "reserve" people actually just don't want to start a war.Lu Rongting, the backstage boss of the Aid to Hunan Army, patrolling Guangdong and Guangxi, has realized that the participation of the Southern Army in the upcoming Hunan War can only be a hopeless gamble. Your own strength matters.Therefore, at that time, only Zhao Hengti, Liu Jianfan and other soldiers from the Hunan Army were the ones who really resisted the war... Who made Hunan their hometown?