Chapter 18 Chapter 4 Let's Protect the Dharma Together

President Feng and Premier Duan were satisfied with the dissolution of the Congress and the abolition of the treaty, but they forgot that they still have the final say on the world. At least Sun Yat-sen immediately expressed a different view, and Tang Jiyao, the head of the Yunnan Dian faction, and Lu Rongting, the leader of the Guangxi Guangxi faction, also took advantage of the fire. Sun Yat-sen also supported Li Yuanhong and opposed the declaration of war against Germany during the "war between the government and the court". Sun Yat-sen's reason for doing so was simple: he supported the authority of the Constitution.The Constitution stipulates that the President has decision-making power in matters such as negotiating peace and declaring war.But Prime Minister Duan wished he could decide everything by himself, which made Mr. Sun, who advocated the rule of law, very dissatisfied, so he bravely stood on the side of President Li.

It's just that Sun Yat-sen didn't expect that there are benefits to be paid for standing in the team this time.After the German government discovered that he opposed the declaration of war against Germany, in order to use his political influence to achieve the purpose of undermining China's declaration of war against Germany, it secretly gave him a large amount of activity funds and asked him to help. Regarding the specific amount of activity funds, some said 2 million marks, and some said 1.5 million marks, but in any case, according to the exchange rate and purchasing power at that time (the mark was probably slightly lower than the US dollar), it was very large. A lot of money.

In short, Sun Yat-sen had some money at this time, and having money is always a good thing. As soon as Zhang Xun was restored, Sun Yat-sen was busy organizing an anti-rebel army. He gave a sum of money to Cheng Biguang, the commander of the navy (chief of the navy) as military expenses, and asked him to lead the navy's first fleet to join the anti-restoration army, which is equivalent to hiring a mercenary army. . When did a Navy First Fleet pop up? I mentioned earlier that Zaifeng transformed the southern and northern navy into a cruiser fleet and a Yangtze River fleet, so I won't go into details.After Yuan Shikai came to power, he merged the two navies into the first fleet, the second fleet and the training fleet.The main force is in the First Fleet, and the Second Fleet is just some small gunboats patrolling the Yangtze River, not to mention the practice fleet.In other words, as long as the First Fleet is dealt with, it is equivalent to taking care of the entire navy.

On July 17, 1917, Mr. Sun arrived in Guangzhou from Shanghai on the mercenary warship "Haichen" with Wang Jingwei, Chief Financial Officer Liao Zhongkai and others who had rushed back from France. Shouldn't we go north, why go south? This is because Sun Yat-sen got in touch with those warlord forces in the south as early as when he opposed Yuan Huguo.When Zhang Xun was restored, Sun Yat-sen still hoped to use the power of the southern warlords to overthrow Zhang Xun.But before Sun Yat-sen arrived in Guangzhou, Zhang Xun was finished. What a fuss!Everything the Germans asked to do is over before they are done, so will the activity funds given by the Germans be returned?Sun Yat-sen believed at the time that the money had been wasted.Unexpectedly, in a turn of events, Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang came to the door again, and actually abolished the "Provisional Constitution" and the National Congress. How is this different from Zhang Xun?Sun Yat-sen and his comrades were filled with righteous indignation when they heard the news.

What should I do?Sun Yat-sen had a headache about this.Let's go to arms and support the Covenant.Anyway, this is not the first revolution. After so many years, comrades can see clearly that the Beiyang government has nothing to look forward to. It is better to go it alone, set up another government, and make a breakthrough! The idea is simple, yet attractive. No, as soon as Sun Yat-sen told Lu Rongting and Tang Jiyao, the two quickly agreed. But these two are not for protecting the law, but they want to split and become independent.After all, it is much better to be domineering on one's own territory than to listen to the bossy orders of the Beijing government.Let them directly confront the Beijing government and the Beiyang Army, which is somewhat unfair.

Just at this time Mr. Sun came. His appeal is huge. He is the leader of the democratic revolution and the former president. Isn't he now calling for the protection of the law?Well, we also support the protection of the law and continue to be independent in a legitimate way. After Sun Yat-sen got the support of Lu Rongting, Tang Jiyao and Cheng Biguang, the commander of the navy, he naturally had enough confidence, so he sent an invitation to those members of Congress who had been fired by the former president Yuan Shikai and had nothing to do: Please go south to protect the law to revitalize the country's discipline and eat food. You don't have to worry about the cost of accommodation, I have money, as long as you are willing to come, I will arrange the accommodation.

By August, more than 150 MPs had come to Guangzhou, including some old acquaintances, such as Wu Tingfang and Tang Shaoyi.Although there is not enough quorum, extraordinary things are done in extraordinary times, and everything is kept simple.Sun Yat-sen decided to open the meeting first. Our Congress is called "Extraordinary Congress", and our government is called "Extraordinary Government". Although there were not enough people, the meeting was quite successful, and the constitution was quite formalized, much more professional than the one set by the Beijing government.

Then there was an election, and the position of "Grand Marshal of the Navy and Army" was naturally none other than Sun Yat-sen, and Sun Yat-sen did not forget to leave a place for Wang Jingwei who had followed him for many years-the secretary general of the Grand Marshal's Office. Of course, Sun Yat-sen also had to give back to the warlords who supported him to protect the law this time. After all, they were fighting against the powerful central government for a just cause.However, the main purpose of Sun Yat-sen's return to them was to bring the two troops of Tang Jiyao and Lu Rongting under the unified command of the "extraordinary government". Therefore, Tang Jiyao and Lu Rongting were also elected as marshals, but the word "big" was missing from Sun Yat-sen.

On September 10, 1917, the military government of the Republic of China was established in Guangzhou. Sun Yat-sen issued his inauguration declaration in the military uniform of the Generalissimo, and took office as the Generalissimo of the military government. The fly in the ointment was that only Sun Yat-sen took office among the three marshals, and neither of the two marshals who actually held military power came. It seems that others can act in your name, but not under your jurisdiction. That being the case, the nominal Guangzhou military government has almost no soldiers at its disposal.Cheng Biguang's naval mercenaries were fairly reliable, and they had to do things after receiving money.

After much deliberation, Sun Yat-sen found that there was still a force that could pull him over.That is the guard army under Zhu Qinglan, governor of Guangdong Province, and the commander of the guard army is an acquaintance "Can Zai Ming". In fact, this "Can Zai Ming" is neither physically disabled nor mentally disabled, and his physical health and intellectual development level are far beyond ordinary people, but his fellow Cantonese call him that.Weird, really weird! The name of "Can Zai Ming" is Chen Jiongming. He was a scholar in the Qing Dynasty and a member of the Tongmenghui. He participated in the Huanghuagang Uprising with Huang Xing, and he can be regarded as Sun Yat-sen's former subordinate.

There are two main reasons why Sun Yat-sen has the confidence to draw Zhu Qinglan and Chen Jiongming to his side. First of all, Zhu Qinglan hoped to use Sun Yat-sen's hand to fight against Lu Rongting, who often bullied him. Secondly, Sun Yat-sen and Chen Jiongming had a long conversation in private. "Can Zai Ming" did not forget his identity as a member of the Tongmenghui and his revolutionary mission, and he was willing to follow Sun Yat-sen to make a comeback. After a lot of talking, Sun Yat-sen finally pulled the guard army over, and he finally had some strength under his command. Of course, the combat effectiveness of this guard army is relatively poor. After all, they are just guards, and their work is mainly based on law enforcement. Sun Yat-sen can only use Cheng Biguang's navy in the short term. With this kind of strength, I am afraid that he can't deal with the Beijing government, right? Don't be too pessimistic.In the war to protect the country that year, Cai E had only a few thousand soldiers and horses who still dared to rebel and succeeded.Even Mr. Chiang Kai-shek felt that this matter was very promising, so he used his brains, calculated carefully, stayed up all night, and finally completed his famous work-"Operation Plan for the Northern Army". Well, the Beiyang Army is a paper tiger, not scary, there are two evidences. First, although the northern government has more than 300,000 troops, most of them have to be stationed in various places, and the actual number of troops that can participate in the war is no more than 60,000. Therefore, the gap between the two sides is not big, and our army is even superior. Interests are constantly intertwined. Among the 60,000 people, how many people are willing to risk their lives for Duan Qirui? Second, in terms of hard power, the advantage of the Beiyang Army lies in its weapons and equipment, while the advantage of our army lies in the fact that the Beiyang Army is not used to the geography and climate of the south.Therefore, as long as we insist on taking the Yangtze River coast as the main battlefield, we have great hope of winning the battle. Feeling that this plan was insufficient, Chiang Kai-shek later made up a special copy of "The Plan of the Yunnan and Guangdong Armies to Fight Fujian and Zhejiang Separately", to the effect that although our slogan is the Northern Expedition, it does not mean that we must actually send troops to the north. In the Central Plains, we can also wait for the opportunity to divide our troops to seize the Fujian area, expand the base camp, and recruit troops.After doing all this, wait for an opportunity to make the Northern Expedition according to the situation.In short, we should first practice our internal strength before taking the next step. These two plans cover a wide range of areas, are well thought out, and interlocking. They are exactly the replica of Chiang Kai-shek's Northern Expedition plan a few years later.As a person who has not received systematic military strategy education, he has such a brilliant vision, which is enough to prove Chiang Kai-shek's extraordinary military talent. Sun Yat-sen was overjoyed when he saw these two very clever battle plans, and was very happy that Chen Qimei had such a righteous brother.He never hesitated to give talented people a chance to show off, so he appointed Chiang Kai-shek as the Generalissimo's Mansion to join the army (staff officer of the combat department) and accepted the leadership of Li Liejun. Although this position is not high, it is still a good start for Chiang Kai-shek, who is only 30 years old. From then on, Wang Jingwei and Chiang Kai-shek began their career together in this unstable military government. As soon as the military government was established, Marshal Sun sent a telegram to the world, denying Feng Guozhang as president and declaring Duan Qirui a rebel. The two people in Beijing were equally angry after receiving the news, but their countermeasures were completely different. Premier Duan insists on "unification by force", and even your soldiers and generals in the south dare to despise the central government and challenge my powerful Beiyang army, and I will beat you directly!Premier Duan's real thoughts hidden in his heart are: Sun Yat-sen, thank you, thank you for giving me the opportunity to unify China by force after my comprehensive strength has been greatly enhanced. And President Feng advocates "peaceful reunification." Let's appease the various factions in the south, seek common ground while reserving differences, and don't use knives and guns to talk about things.In fact, the true portrayal of President Feng's heart is: if you, Duan Qirui, leveled the South with three strikes, five divisions and two divisions, how powerful would you be?It's not easy to take the opportunity to take away my territory, where can I stay? After arguing for several days, Prime Minister Duan's unification by force prevailed. There is no way, people have to bow their heads under the eaves.After all, Duan Qirui has stronger control over the surrounding areas of Beijing and the central government, while President Feng's power is mainly in the Yangtze River Basin. Although the opinions are temporarily unified, the matter has not been completely resolved, because internal contradictions still exist, which will be a big problem for the Beijing government. During the process of unifying the opinions of the Beijing government, Marshal Sun was also working hard to persuade all regions to send troops to the Northern Expedition.Although no one listened to him at all, Marshal Sun still carefully drafted orders and sent them to all directions. The orders issued to the revolutionaries still had some effect. For example, Comrade Lan Tianwei, who is soy sauce in this book, planned an uprising in the Northeast. Unfortunately, the uprising failed very quickly, and he himself was wanted by Zhang Zuolin everywhere. Although the orders issued to those warlords went through various channels, they all ended up in the wastebasket. Therefore, although Marshal Sun's work performance can be called a model worker, the effect is very unsatisfactory, and no one takes him seriously. Just when Mr. Sun was having a headache for this situation, the two stinky warlords, Lu Rongting and Tang Jiyao, actually took action.Lu Rongting established the "National Defense Coalition", and Tang Jiyao organized the "Yinguo Coalition".Regardless of why the two suddenly agreed to send troops, Sun Yat-sen was happy at this time. He finally came out of the coldness of the warlords and got the chance to realize his dream. In view of the same short-term goal: to attack the Beiyang government, although everyone in the south had their own plans, they still discussed a loose military plan. The Northern Expedition included the armies of the four provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, and Guizhou, as well as the First Fleet of the Navy, totaling 150,000 people.In fact, it is the private army of Lu Rongting and Tang Jiyao plus Sun Yat-sen's mercenary army-the navy. On the first route, Lu Rongting sent a capable general, his brother-in-law Tan Haoming, to lead the National Defense Coalition Army composed of Guangdong and Guangxi armies, out of Guangdong and Guangxi, and invade Hunan. After capturing Hunan, they will then capture Hubei.This route is relatively strong. On the second route, Tang Jiyao took the post of commander-in-chief and led the Yasukuni Allied Forces out of Yunnan to attack Sichuan. On the third route, Chen Jiongming led the "Marine Corps" composed of guards and navy out of Guangdong, attacked Fujian, and then attacked Zhejiang after capturing Fujian.However, this marine corps still needs to be reorganized and trained to be effective, and it cannot be put into battle at the beginning of the war. Join forces in Wuhan and march into Beijing. The plan looks so good, but how will it be executed? To a large extent, the effectiveness of the implementation depends on the performance of Mr. Duan Qirui, who is wreaking havoc in Hunan. Hunan is a good place.Not only its picturesque scenery, but more importantly its geographical location. Hunan borders Hubei in the north and Jiangxi in the east, which is Beiyang's sphere of influence. It borders Guizhou and Guangxi in the southwest, and Guangdong in the southeast. This is the territory of Lu Rongting and Tang Jiyao. Therefore, Hunan is a strategic buffer zone between the Beiyang government and the southwest forces. Whoever rushes through this land can invade the opponent's heartland. Whoever wins Hunan will be able to seize the opportunity! Don't look at Sun Yat-sen's work in full swing, in fact, it was Duan Qirui who did it first.After he drove Zhang Xun away, he had already planned ahead and began to lay out his plan of "unifying China by force", but Sun Yat-sen's Northern Expedition gave him a justifiable opportunity. After the Revolution of 1911, the situation in Hunan was extremely unstable. The banner of the Great King changed at the head of the city, and the top leaders (dudu or governor) changed four times, from Jiao Dafeng, Tan Yankai, Tang Xiangming to Tan Yankai.However, Tan Yankai will soon have to be laid off and unemployed, because Duan Qirui decided to take Hunan as a springboard for him to flatten the southwest.The person he sent to succeed Tan Yankai was his confidant Fu Liangzuo. On September 9, 1917, the day before the establishment of the Guangzhou government, Fu Liangzuo brought nearly 30,000 elite troops from the Beiyang Army Wang Ruxian's Eighth Division (after entering the Republic of China, the Beiyang Army expanded its army and changed the town to a division) and Fan Guozhang's 20th Division The troops came to Hunan. When Fu Liangzuo came, the neighbors in Hunan were very panicked. Especially Mr. Lu Rongting and Mr. Tang Jiyao in the southwest, they knew that once Hunan was lost, the southwest would lose its barrier, and their territory would be directly exposed to the powerful firepower of the Beiyang Army.And they are like girls who have taken off their clothes, Duan Qirui can strike whenever he wants. Both Lu Rongting and Tang Jiyao suffered from insomnia.The result of the insomnia is that the two who originally did not intend to support Sun Yat-sen's Northern Expedition organized the army to send troops to the Northern Expedition due to the situation.There is no way, if someone wants to whip you, you must whip him. Not only Lu Rongting and Tang Jiyao suffered from insomnia, but also President Feng, because Hubei and Jiangxi belonged to President Feng, and President Feng was very worried that his territory would be swallowed up by Premier Duan. At this time when each party was planning and calculating with each other, but they were not ready, the war broke out. Although Prime Minister Duan has deployed nearly 30,000 elite soldiers in Hunan, it does not mean that he can call the wind and rain in Hunan, because there are still two Hunanese who do not agree. One is Tan Yankai and the other is Cheng Qian. This Tan Yankai is quite special. First of all, he has a special identity. He is the second generation of officials who are rooted in Zheng Miaohong—his father Tan Zhonglin was the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and he is also the leader of the Hunan Constitutional School. Then there is the fact that this person is quite talented. Not only does he write beautifully with a brush, but he is also an excellent gourmet alongside Yu Youren, a senior revolutionary. Lao Tan can enjoy it very much, especially famous for its delicious food, known as "the number one foodie in the Republic of China".He invested and opened a "Quyuan" Hunan cuisine restaurant, which specializes in "Zu'an cuisine" named after his own word Zu'an.He not only invites celebrities to advertise his dishes, but also cooks himself to give theoretical guidance to chefs.Before Tan Yankai, Hunan cuisine was not on the table at all. It was Lao Tan's delicious taste and innovation that made Hunan cuisine famous. This is the key to Hunan cuisine becoming one of the eight major cuisines in the future.Lao Tan has thus become recognized as the "originator of Hunan cuisine". Of course, the most important thing is that he served two times as the governor of Hunan Province and the commander of the military region, and he has troops under his own command. The strength of the troops is mainly controlled by his dishonest younger brother Zhao Hengti. And Cheng Qian is a veteran member of the Tongmenghui. Except for not joining the Chinese Revolutionary Party with his fingerprints, he was included in all other organizations established by Sun Yat-sen. When Sun Yat-sen called for the protection of the law in Guangzhou in August, Cheng Qian had already got up and secretly returned to Hunan to launch an uprising of the Hunan garrison.As an old comrade who has been in the revolution in Hunan for many years, Cheng Qian has a lot of contacts in the army, and most of the generals are very familiar with him.For example, Liu Jianfan and Lin Xiumei, who have some troops on hand, are his old comrades in arms. Coincidentally, Zhao Hengxi, who Cheng Qian came back to focus on public relations this time, is Tan Yankai's person.It so happened that Tan Yankai was forcibly laid off by Duan Qirui at this time, so he signaled that his subordinates could rebel. So what else is there to say?The old chief agreed, and Cheng Qian's face should also be given, so let's rebel, as long as he succeeds, he will give more benefits! On September 26, Cheng Chien Hengzhou declared independence, established the "Shunan French Guardian Army", and appointed himself the commander-in-chief.In addition to Liu Jianfan and Lin Xiumei who led the troops to respond, there were also a few small teams who came here admiringly. On October 6, Liu Jianfan and Lin Xiumei fought hand-to-hand with Wang Ruxian and Fan Guozhang of the Beiyang Army in Hengshan, Hunan, and started the first battle of the "war to protect the law". The southern army lost very simply, and was defeated by the Beiyang army, losing Hengshan, Shaoyang and other places. After the news reached the base camps of the North and the South, the reactions of the two sides were naturally different. Premier Duan waved his arms confidently: Go to Hunan and liberate the Southwest! Sun Yat-sen's side was successful and defeated, so there was naturally a lot of tension.The most nervous person was Mr. Lu Rongting. He was afraid that Duan Qirui would hit Guangxi in one go, so he ordered his brother-in-law Tan Haoming to march urgently, and he had to rush to Hunan to support him within three days. Tan Haoming didn't delay too long. Four days later, the vanguard of the National Defense Coalition arrived in Hunan, and the situation turned around immediately.Firstly, the difference in strength between the two sides is too large, almost four coalition soldiers beat up one Beiyang soldier; secondly, no Beiyang soldier is willing to risk his life for Duan Qirui, especially their leaders Wang Ruxian and Fan Guozhang, who have no fighting spirit at all. , for reasons explained below. Chiang Kai-shek's prediction was confirmed. After the National Defense Coalition Army contacted the Shonan French Protection Army, both sides launched a counterattack from southern Hunan at the same time.A few days later, the coalition forces regained all the lost ground, and the Beiyang Army retreated.Taking advantage of the victory, the coalition forces pursued and occupied Changsha and then Yueyang, pushing the front line several hundred miles. Seeing that the situation was not going well, Fu Liangzuo, the number one leader in Hunan, who didn't even sit on his buttocks, quickly got away and fled. On the 14th, Prime Minister Duan, who had recently received bad news in succession, received bad news again: Wang Ruxian and Fan Guozhang first killed and then played, directly telegraphing the whole country, opposing civil war and advocating peace. What a high-sounding reason, the proposition of these two people immediately won the support of the people.The common people don't care whether you are "protecting the law" or "unifying", whoever advocates peace, whoever does not fight, and whoever does not disturb the people will support whoever.After all, in the hearts of ordinary people, living freely is the most important thing. Do you think Wang Ruxian and Fan Guozhang's performance is inexplicable? There is an inside story. There are two reasons for the truce between the two: Firstly, the coalition forces are very powerful, and once they fight, they will fight to the death. Wang Ruxian and the others are worried that they will lose all their wealth that they have saved so hard.At that time, these military leaders believed that the army was their own private property and had nothing to do with the country. Second, someone in the central government asked them to do this deliberately.This person is naturally President Feng, and Wang Ruxian and Fan Guozhang are direct disciples of Feng's head. It was under the pressure of Premier Duan that President Feng reluctantly agreed to the "unification by force" plan, and Premier Duan eliminated dissidents without concealing them, and directly commanded the direct troops to take the lead.Thus, President Feng, who had been bullied twice, broke out, secretly notifying his subordinates that he wanted to fight a few battles first, to save Premier Duan's face, and then find an opportunity to announce a peace negotiation. Prime Minister Duan was very upset by the non-cooperation of his direct line, but what made him even more upset was yet to come. When the wall falls, everyone pushes it, and when the drum breaks, everyone beats it.There are examples all over the country.Although it is said that they are all sincerely fighting for territory, not "protecting the law", but everyone is fighting with great joy, you come and go, it is really lively. Tang Jiyao saw that Lu Rongting was in the limelight, so he quickly sent troops to harm Sichuan.The Beijing government appointed Liu Cunhou, a local Sichuan warlord who had risen in the War to Protect the Nation, as the governor of Sichuan against Tang Jiyao.Two warlords under Liu Cunhou's command who would run amok in Sichuan in the future came on stage. They were Liu Xiang and Liu Xiang's uncle Liu Wenhui. The future celebrity Yang Hucheng also raised the banner of "protecting the law" in Shaanxi, and took the opportunity to recruit troops to quickly contribute to the great cause of ruling the roost in the future. President Duan wanted to carry out "unification by force", but it turned out like this, and fighting became a slap in the face. Therefore, Prime Minister Duan, unable to lose face, approached President Feng angrily: "I am the Prime Minister of the responsible cabinet, but I cannot exercise power, and as the Chief of the Army, I cannot command the army. I am wrong, please find another wise man!" Upon hearing this, President Feng said, "Okay, I accept your resignation." As soon as Premier Duan turned around, President Feng invited his old brother Wang Shizhen to succeed him as Prime Minister and Chief of the Army. Then he held high the banner of "North-South Peace Talks" and ordered a truce between the two sides to discuss peace. Sun Yat-sen was very happy to see the internal strife in the north, and ordered the front-line troops to take advantage of the victory to advance in order to achieve a complete victory for the protection of the law. However, the warlords from all walks of life thought that Chen Jiongming was more obedient, and continued to reorganize the army, intending to open up a base for Sun Yat-sen.As for the others, they all ignored the opinions of the polished generalissimo.The real purpose of Tang Jiyao and the others to fight this battle at the beginning was to preserve their strength and keep their territory, but now that the purpose has been achieved, why don't they stop? The contract and the National Congress really have no direct interest relationship with these soldiers, and the victory of the Southern Army this time is inseparable from the internal friction of the Beiyang Army. It is not to defeat the Beiyang Army with absolute strength.If the Beiyang Army is united in the future, the Southern Army may lose this bit of property, so it is king to accept it as soon as it is good. Therefore, Lu Rongting and Tang Jiyao didn't take Sun Yat-sen's order seriously at all, and immediately echoed President Feng's truce order, and everyone stopped. Tang Jiyao also discussed with President Feng in a low voice: "I will not attack Hubei in the future, and the Beiyang army will not attack Hunan. We will never use weapons, okay?" Shameless, can he go to Hubei? Sun Yat-sen was very angry. He wanted to fight, but they ignored him. He really couldn't help it.But Duan Qirui was very different: Feng Guozhang dared to trip me up, thinking that I, Duan Qirui, could not be the prime minister or the chief, so he could do nothing for you? Under the instructions of Duan Qirui, Comrade Xu Shuzheng personally launched the plan, and representatives of the thirteen provincial governors of Jilin, Hei, Feng, Zhi, Shandong, Jin, Shaanxi, Henan, Gansu, New Zealand, Anhui, Zhejiang, and Fujian respectively organized in December 1917 On the 2nd and January 5th, 1918, the "Tianjin Conference" was held twice in a row, strongly urging Feng Guozhang to go to war in the south. Feng Guozhang was very angry after learning the results of the Tianjin meeting, but there was nothing he could do. He really didn't expect Duan Qirui to have such great energy and such high prestige. In fact, it's not surprising. Warriors are warlike by nature. How can they have a chance to make achievements if they don't fight?What do you talk about peaceful reunification with them?Furthermore, Duan Qirui has Japanese money and guns, which can benefit these warriors, but what benefits can you, Feng Guozhang, give these warriors? President Feng is a very distinctive person, especially his money-making model is very distinctive.In order to create wealth for himself, President Feng even caught the goldfish in Zhongnanhai and sold them. For a while, all the restaurants in Beijing used the "presidential goldfish" as the finale, and he even rented Zhongnanhai as a fish pond. Admire it?Think about it, fishing in Zhongnanhai, Dorafeng's treatment! Although President Feng has become rich, he is not generous, but very stingy, and he is an iron rooster.Therefore, it is normal for these warriors not to take any benefits from President Feng, and not to give him face. But Duan Qirui and Xu Shuzheng are different, they know that there will be rewards only if they pay.Xu Shuzheng used a batch of arms sent by the Japanese to buy Zhang Zuolin outside the pass (known as the Qinhuangdao interception incident in history), and asked him to send troops to the pass (Shanhaiguan) to support Duan Qirui in unifying China by force.This batch of munitions is quite a lot, enough to equip an army of about 20,000 people, which is a super gift. However, Zhang Zuolin had other ideas, and it was fine for me to take advantage of it instead of working hard.It is necessary to obtain benefits, but it is also impossible to really send troops to attack the south, and then offend the Zhili.So Zhang Zuolin dispatched a few troops and asked them to go out and make a show of tossing and tossing, but don't really go to the battlefield to die for the Anhui faction. To put it simply, Zhang Zuolin's trick is to send troops to bluff.This not only satisfies the requirements of the Anhui Department, but also reaps the benefits, and will not really offend the Zhili Department, so everyone is happy. President Feng was very disturbed when he heard the news about Zhang Zuolin's petty tricks. For the first time, he regretted coming to Beijing to be the president: If he was tossing around on his own territory, he would not know how happy he would be! President Feng made a decisive decision, ran away, and returned to Jiangsu! As soon as he said it, President Feng immediately announced the "Southern Tour" to inspect people's livelihood, and lied that the round trip would only take seven days at most, and asked everyone to wait for his good news at the presidential palace.Unexpectedly, three days later, everyone saw President Feng who had "returned from the southern tour" at the presidential palace. He was blocked by Duan Qirui's troops. At the critical moment when President Feng could not step down, Xu Shichang, the big brother of Beiyang, came out to give the younger brother the steps to step down. He persuaded Feng Guozhang and said: "Hua Fu, look at what you have done. Now Beiyang is about to split up! Who is the happiest after you split up? Do you see that these boys in the south don't put the central government in the center now?" In the eyes, let alone in the future? If they are not severely punished for raising troops against the government, is there any hope for the country?" Feng Guozhang, who is not as powerful as others, thinks this remark is very reasonable.The South and Beiyang belong to the conflict between ourselves and the enemy, while I and Duan Qirui belong to the conflict among the people, so there is no reason not to help my own people. Out of this consideration, Feng Guozhang took the initiative to show his favor to Duan Qirui, not only conferring on Duan Qirui the post of "supervisor (commander in chief) of participating in the war against Germany", but also asked Wang Shizhen to give up the key post of army chief to Duan Qirui's His subordinate Duan Zhigui. Duan Qirui graciously accepted Feng Guozhang's appointment. As a result, the Anhui Clique regained control of the central military command. Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang temporarily unified their thinking and understanding: to unify the whole of China by force.The battle plan was also quickly drawn up: mobilize the Anhui and Zhili systems stationed in each province to form a three-way army.The three-way army came together, completely wiped out the southern opposition forces with lightning speed, and unified the country by force! The commander of the first line was Cao Kun of the direct line. With the third Beiyang Division as the main force, he entered Hunan from Hubei. The goal was to quickly capture Hunan and then subdue Guangdong and Guangxi with the power of victory. The commander of the second route was Zhang Huaizhi of the Anhui Department. With the Fifth Beiyang Division as the main force, he entered Hunan from Jiangxi. After taking Hunan with the first route, he entered Sichuan, and then subdued Guizhou and Yunnan provinces. The commander of the third line is Zhang Jingyao of the Anhui Department. With the 7th Beiyang Division as the main force, it cooperates with the first two lines to fight. There is also a side division, commanded by Feng Yuxiang, whose role is "I am a brick of the revolution, and the party moves from east to west, north to south." From the Revolution of 1911 to the present, there has not been any decent war in China. Often, within a short while, a pile of fools will fall to the stronger side, and then there will be a war of words, followed by a peace negotiation, and then the battle will end.Hopefully this time they can do something new. On February 6, 1918, Cao Kun led his army to the front line in Hunan. The north was reconciled, but the infighting in the south did not end.Therefore, the formation of the Southern Allied Forces is quite strange: Tan Yankai's subordinate Zhao Hengti is stationed in Yuezhou, Liu Jianfan is stationed in Pingjiang... Lu Rongting acts as a reserve team in the rear. The so-called reserve team is to put oil on the soles of their feet when things go wrong.Lu Rongting has already realized that the upcoming Hunan war is a hopeless gamble. Instead of using his own troops to fill this bottomless pit, it is better to retreat and preserve his own strength. The war is imminent, and the only ones who really want to fight against the war are the soldiers of the Hunan Army under Lin Xiumei and Liu Jianfan. Who made Hunan their hometown? The battle that began in the spring of 1918 was purely one-sided, and the Southern Army was quickly defeated by the First Route Army led by Cao Kun. On the surface, this victory should be attributed to Cao Kun's wise leadership and correct command. It is true to say that Cao Kun's leadership is good, but fighting is not Cao Kun's specialty. There are other reasons why he can win battles. Cao Kun is a good man, as can be seen from his nickname "Cao San Fool".He treats people generously, is honest and obedient, and looks naive and stupid at first glance, even a little careless.But just such a "fool" has a confidant and favorite general who is especially good at fighting. This may be the so-called "fools are blessed with fools". This confidant of Cao Kun has played several times before, but he didn't have time to introduce it properly. His name is Wu Peifu, and his name is Ziyu. He has passed the level of a scholar. He was the commander of the Beiyang Third Division at that time. Wu Peifu graduated from Baoding Military Academy. When he was studying modern war knowledge at Baoding Military Academy, he did not forget to study extracurricular books "Three Kingdoms", "Lie Guozhi", "Shuo Yue", "Water Margin" and so on.What the common man learns from reading these books is the story, but what he learns is the varied application of various clever schemes. When the Russo-Japanese War broke out, Mr. Yuan Shikai picked out a group of student elites from the military academy to go to the battlefield to observe and learn from, and by the way, to get some intelligence, and Wu Peifu was one of them.Judging from the actual performance, Wu Peifu is very good at military intelligence, and because of this he was appreciated by Cao Kun.From then on, he followed Cao Kun in the South and North Wars, and grew up as a general in the War to Protect the Country and the War to Protect the Law. Wu Peifu is upright and brave in combat, and is a vanguard. He led his troops straight forward, and within two months he conquered the cities of Yueyang, Changsha, and Hengyang, and defeated the coalition forces several times his own with a single division.Wu Peifu established his name as a famous general by virtue of this battle! The situation is so good that people all over the country think that China will be reunified this time. Prime Minister Wang Shizhen also thinks so: it's time to abdicate and make way for the virtuous. Originally, it was just to put out fires. I have a good relationship with Feng Guozhang and Duan Qirui, and I am not very good at helping anyone. Now that the two are in harmony, my mission should end here. .What's more, if he insisted on not leaving, he might be put down by Duan Qirui's subordinates. Instead of leaving embarrassingly, it's better to let him go generously. There is always some reluctance to bid farewell to the pinnacle of power. Wang Shizhen told herself: "I have had a glorious history of 'Dragon of the Northern Ocean'. It was brilliant and I didn't leave any regrets. Let's go back." Wang Shizhen, who resigned, finally returned to her hometown in Zhengding, Hebei, where there was no military and political troubles. Duan Qirui unceremoniously took over the throne of Prime Minister after Wang Shizhen's resignation. This is the third time he has come to power.However, Prime Minister Duan made a mistake as soon as he came to power, because he made a trick that countless ruined kings have used: nepotism. Logically speaking, soldiers should be rewarded according to merit.In the battle to capture Hunan, Mr. Wu Peifu made the most outstanding military exploits and deserved the highest reward—the seat of Hunan Governor, but Prime Minister Duan awarded this seat to his subordinate Zhang Jingyao. From this point of view, Duan Qirui's mind and structure are really not high, and leading troops to fight is far more suitable for him than engaging in politics. Duan Qirui's move made Cao Kun and Wu Peifu very dissatisfied.Wu Peifu is not a soft guy who is willing to suffer from it. After occupying Hengyang, he stopped moving forward and stopped fighting.Duan Qirui's face was very hurt by Wu Peifu's passive sabotage.At this unfortunate moment, Zhang Huaizhi, the commander-in-chief of the Second Route Army, sprinkled a handful of salt on Duan Qirui's wound. Seeing Cao Kun and Wu Peifu's great achievements, Zhang Huaizhi was very unconvinced, so he led his subordinates to chase Liu Jianfan of the Hunan Army all the way, and he wanted to get some credit back. The so-called "poor bandits don't chase after", Zhang Huaizhi's hunger and insatiable appetite inspired the Hunan Army's fighting spirit to fight to the death. Zhang Huaizhi, who was greedy for success, got into the battlefield specially arranged for him by Liu Jianfan without even thinking about it - a place with mostly hills and hills, ditches and ponds, and the roads were extremely muddy.Zhang Huaizhi had no favorable location, and his morale was not as good as that of his opponent, so he was beaten to the ground by Liu Jianfan's ambush.Zhang Huaizhi was defeated and fled all the way from Hunan to Hubei. Duan Qirui's second army collapsed. However, Liu Jianfan made the same mistake as Zhang Huaizhi. The poor should not chase after him, but he went deep alone. He wanted to take the opportunity to follow Zhang Huaizhi's ass to regain more territory and make greater contributions. In the end, he was surrounded by the army of Zhang Jingyao, the new commander of the Hunan Military Region. The whole army was wiped out, and Liu Jianfan died in battle. After the end of this continuous counterattack, the situation in Hunan has initially stabilized. Premier Duan hoped that the Beiyang Army would continue to move south, but he received bad news one after another. 先是第一路军总司令曹锟觉得段总理他老人家处事不公平，偏袒自己的孩子，于是带着司令部于5月底返回天津，撂挑子不干了。 接下来，败军之将张怀芝于6月初灰溜溜地回到了自己的老巢济南。他这次出差非但没捞到好处，还损兵折将，实力大损。为了将来的可持续发展，必须收兵休养生息。 至于最坏的消息，要数段总理的老部下弄出的乱子。嚣张惯了的徐树铮干了一件缺德事，小徐为了帮助老首长段总理立威，杀掉了反对段总理“武力统一中国”的陆建章。 陆建章咱们之前提过，背景很深，既是天津小站的元老，又是冯玉祥的伯乐兼半个岳父，还是直系将领——此刻是曹锟的高级参谋。 徐树铮的这一次疯狂算是捅了马蜂窝，惹下大祸。就连段祺瑞得知消息后，都惊得半天没说话。 兔死狐悲。陆建章在北洋系统中的好友岂肯吃亏，自发自觉地站出来一拥而上，不仅要求停战，还要求严惩徐树铮。 至于当事人之一的冯玉祥，除了发誓杀掉徐树铮为提拔自己于微末的陆建章报仇之外，还当即撤军罢工，从此对皖系阳奉阴违。 段总理仍然主张继续进攻，但他的意见很快就被淹没在一片反对声中。 1918年6月中旬，直系与桂系代表单方面签订停战协定，息战言和。 8月，吴佩孚通电主和，公开攻击段祺瑞的武力统一政策“实亡国之政策”，直系将领纷纷响应。 8月下旬，既是迫于形势，也是为了保住小徐同志，段祺瑞被迫命令前线各军暂取守势。 个人是渺小的，集体才是伟大的，即使段总理再心不甘情不愿，暂时也不得不放弃武力统一中国的梦想。 这边直系和皖系钩心斗角，那边滇系、桂系也没消停。 滇系、桂系的老板唐继尧、陆荣廷心里十分不爽。在他们看来，孙中山无兵无饷，老老实实在总统府喝茶看报不就完了？可孙中山老想着指挥滇系、桂系干活却不给好处。于是这两人决定不跟着孙中山混了。 陆荣廷和唐继尧通过气之后，就开始想办法驱逐孙中山。 1918年1月底，程璧光被刺杀。这起暗杀事件的背后主使一直是个谜，史料提供了两种说法。 主流说法是桂系老板陆荣廷派人干的，他有充分的杀人动机——干掉孙中山手下为数不多的高级指战员。 非主流说法是孙中山的亲信朱执信干的，杀人动机是——程璧光与孙中山的关系出现了裂痕，原因不详。 无论如何，程璧光的死对陆荣廷和唐继尧来说总是件好事。 这之后，陆荣廷拿钱收买了“非常国会”里的议员们，并让他们提议：目前这个军政府的组织结构不太合理，过于专制和独裁，咱们应该放弃大元帅单独首领制，多选几个总裁来搞民主集中制，这比较公平，对吧？ 比起陆荣廷，唐继尧表现得更加嚣张，他直接跳出来说：“我们应该拥戴黎元洪或者冯国璋为大总统，推岑春煊为国务总理，至于孙中山，还是比较适合游历各国、办理外交。”意思是孙中山你哪儿凉快哪儿歇着去吧。 1918年5月4日，“非常国会”召开会议，孙中山和中华革命党议员虽然坚决反对，但仍然无法获得多数投票，“非常国会”通过了陆荣廷、唐继尧出品的《修正军政府组织法案》。 士可杀不可辱，孙中山立即向“非常国会”提出辞呈，并发表大元帅辞职通电。 他在电文中回顾了护法以来的艰难历程，愤然指出：我现在算是看出来了，我们国家最大的问题就是军人干政，武夫当国，南北各省如同一丘之貉，没有人愿意遵守法律，顾及民意！ 孙中山此时才真正意识到问题出在哪里，手中没枪，革命能成吗？枪杆子里出政权，诚哉斯言！ 孙中山辞职后，非常国会选举唐继尧、陆荣廷、岑春煊等七人为政务总裁，以岑春煊为主席总裁。至此，改组后的军政府完全由广西、云南军阀所控制。 孙中山于1918年5月21日离开广州，回到了上海那温馨的家中。 “护法运动”宣告失败。 护法运动是失败了，成了“过家家”，但孙中山并没有完全失败。 奋斗了这么多年，他总算有了一支比较正规的武装力量可以借用。 这支武装就是陈炯明整编完毕的警卫军，一般称为粤军，因为陈炯明、孙中山以及这支军队的主要军官都是广东人。 这支队伍对外号称有两个军的编制，其实水分很大，一共才五千人，两个团而已。虽然编制的水分很大，但这五千人并不水，其中有不少人才后来成为在中国军政两界叱咤风云的人物。譬如，李济深、邓演达、叶挺、陈铭枢、陈济棠、蒋光鼐、蔡廷锴、张发奎、薛岳、余汉谋、陈可钰。 有了军队，说话底气足，你们几个臭军阀不是在广州搞政府吗？我孙文不陪你们玩了，我去福建另辟一个天地。 1918年6月，孙中山在上海发话，让陈炯明与许崇智各统一军进攻福建，开辟闽南根据地。 蒋介石也在这支充满希望的队伍中，他的身份是粤军总司令部作战科主任。 孙中山之所以让战场经验并不丰富的蒋介石担当如此重要的角色，不外乎是因为蒋介石在之前的两份作战计划中表现出来的杰出的战略构想和敏锐的军事眼光。 粤军出发了。 一路行来，大旗招展，山河如画。 蒋介石内心世界激昂澎湃，他坚信自己扬威天下的梦想和抱负即将照进现实。 在这支队伍中，除了充满雄心壮志的蒋介石外，还有两个人，一个邓铿，另一个是朱执信。算上不久之前和蒋介石桃园结义的老牌革命干部许崇智，他们四人是孙中山核心团队中为数不多的能够统兵的军事人才。 粤军的主要对手是皖系的福建督军李厚基。 在战争的初期，双方互有胜负。但在关键的大埔和漳州之战中，蒋介石初露锋芒，力挽狂澜，亲上前线率军取得决定性的胜利。 此后，粤军一路攻破嵩口、丘滨、永泰，直逼福州。 历时半年，粤军成功占领福建南部，孙中山终于有了属于自己的第一块根据地——闽南护法区。 虽然蒋介石同志曾在永泰之战里中了李厚基的坏招，因非战之罪打过一场败仗，但是蒋介石在此役中展现出来的军事才能和总体表现实属上佳，连“残仔明”都猛夸：粤军可百败而不可无兄之一人。 此话跟美国人几十年后说五个师的精兵也抵不上一个钱学森颇具异曲同工之妙。虽然听得人起一身鸡皮疙瘩，但还是间接说明了蒋介石的能干。 然而，处于事业上升期的蒋介石却做出了一个令所有人惊讶的选择：辞职。 乖乖，他这是怎么了？是淡泊名利了吗？ 答案当然是否定的。 蒋介石这么做的原因主要是对工作环境不太满意。 一是他资历尚浅，年纪又轻，却抢着干了很多工作，做出了很大的贡献，还被委以重任，因此受到粤系将领的忌妒和排挤，提出正确的建议也没有人听，才学无法施展。 二是他看不上陈炯明的军阀作风，尤其是陈炯明的口号“广东人的广东”，令他觉得陈炯明迟早会叛变革命。 还有一点，蒋介石希望能在稳定两广之后北伐，可是孙中山因为某些原因并没有采纳他的建议。 这样的失落让蒋介石以探望重病的母亲为由离开了部队。 不用惊奇，这是蒋介石人生经历的常态，每当形势不如意，他就会选择辞职或者逃避，这一次仅仅是个开始。此后他辞职的频繁程度令人咂舌。 然而，蒋介石也因此有时间走出年轻时的放荡与懵懂，认真思考自己的过去与未来，并做出修正。