Chapter 40 39. Zhang Zhenwu was killed

During the Wuchang First Uprising of 1911, there were three young people who played an important role in instigating the Wuchang Uprising. They made great contributions to the establishment of the Republic of China. They were the "Three Wus" who were well-known throughout the country-Sun Wu, Jiang Wenwu, and Zhang Zhenwu. Sun Wu was one of the leaders of Gongjinhui, an important revolutionary organization of the Revolutionary Party in Central China in the late Qing Dynasty.The day before the Wuchang Uprising, he moved a bomb in the building at No. 22 Baoshanli, Hankou, and deployed an incident. Unexpectedly, he used too much force and broke a glass tube, and the medicine dripped into the bomb. His face was burnt to pieces.Fortunately, the comrades covered Sun Wu's face with a towel, pretended to be a patient, and took a rickshaw to Tongren Hospital for medical treatment.Because of this explosion, the Indian patrols were alarmed. When they discovered this revolutionary organization, they notified the Qing Dynasty Governor's Yamen and arrested many people with lofty ideals.The generosity of these people with lofty ideals sparked the Wuchang Uprising the next day, but Sun Wu did not participate in the uprising feat because of his illness.He was originally the governor of Wuchang appointed by the Revolutionary Party, but because he was absent and the dragons had no leader, Li Yuanhong, who had nothing to do with the Revolutionary Party, was elected.But Sun Tzu's name was still a well-known figure in the early days of the Wuchang Uprising.At that time, everyone knew that the leader of the revolutionary party was Sun Wen, and thought that Sun Wu was Sun Wen's brother, which greatly helped the morale of the revolutionaries at that time.Later, he served as the Minister of Military Affairs of the military government, and both Jiang Yiwu and Zhang Zhenwu were deputy ministers.

Jiang Yiwu is a native of Liling, Hunan. He was young and ambitious. He organized the Qunzhi Society in the Hubei Army, which was changed to Zhenwu Society and then to Literature Society. It was the prime mover of the Wuchang Uprising.After Sun Wu's accident in Hankou, Jiang's revolutionary organization was detected, and Liu Yaocheng, Peng Chufan, Xing Boqian and others were arrested.Jiang pretended to be a country fool, wearing clothes like a country fool, with braids hanging down, so the Qing officials released him and fled to Wuchang.After Li Yuanhong became the governor, Jiang served as a military adviser.After Yuan became president, Jiang was called to Beijing to serve as a military adviser with the rank of general.

Zhang Zhenwu is a native of Luotian, Hubei. His original name was Yaoxin, his style name was Chunshan, and his name was changed to Zhushan. He once studied at Waseda University in Japan, where he studied law and politics. Responsible for organizing the revolutionary organs in Hubei.During the First Uprising in Wuchang, the army planned to support Li Yuanhong as the governor, but Li repeatedly declined. Zhang Zhenwu said to Wu Zhaolin (the officer of the left team of the Eighth Battalion of the Project): "Although the whole city of Wuchang was occupied in this revolution, all the officials of the Qing Dynasty fled. It would be too tolerant not to kill a single one to show his prestige. Now that Li Yuanhong refuses to approve the revolution and is not praised by his comrades, it happens that it has not been made public yet. Wouldn't it be good for me to be terrified?" These words of course later reached Li Yuanhong's ears, so although Zhang felt contemptuous of Li, Li was quite wary of Zhang, and the mutual resentment grew deeper and could not be resolved.The provisional government in Beijing was established, Yuan Shikai invited heroes from Wuhan to come to Beijing, and Li also hoped to turn the tiger away from the mountain and get rid of these thorns in his eyes.So Zhang was invited to Beijing by Yuan and received grand hospitality.

The "Three Wus" of 1911 all looked down on Li Yuanhong very much. Zhang Zhenwu was murdered in Beijing, and this was the reason. Among the "Three Wus", Li He is relatively close to Sun Wu.Zhang Zhenwu and Li were the first to fall out.After the Battle of Hanyang, he went to Shanghai to purchase guns, ammunition, and clothing. During this period, the two of them were extremely unhappy. The main reason was that most of the military supplies Zhang Zhenwu bought were not suitable for use. This can be seen from the telegrams they exchanged. Its clues. On January 27, the first year of the Republic of China, Zhang Zhenwu sent a report from Shanghai to Li: "Now the Japanese rapid-fire shells are all available at 7.5 for machine guns. I have asked Shao Bao to allocate funds. He does not accept it. Please remit another 85,000 taels as soon as possible. The price is free. Punishment postponed. Ten thousand sets of harani raincoats have been ordered at a price of 50,000 taels, and the payment will be made within ten days. I also pray for remittance." On the 29th, Li Fuzhang sent a telegram: "The guns purchased from E have been tested. They are all useless guns and cannot be used. Applicable, but still need to negotiate with the factory for return and exchange. According to the call, all the guns and bullets purchased have arrived in Shanghai, and a remittance of 50,000 yuan is required, but I don’t know how many shells, machine guns and bullets for the guns were purchased? The money has been paid How much? Reply separately, and transport all the purchased guns and ammunition to Hubei. After the test, if they can be used together, then pay the money, and you will not be deceived." On February 5, Zhang from Shanghai Dianli: "The guns and guns have been inspected. , because the search price has not been cleared, it cannot be transported on the Jiangyu ship. After that, the Shanghai ships have to transport troops to Pukou and Yantai, so it is inconvenient to borrow. Check that the fast profit is in Hubei, please come to the Shanghai Manufacturing Bureau to pick up the shipment." On the same day, Li Fuzhang said: "If the machine guns purchased are suitable for use, they must be transported directly to Hubei, and the money will be paid according to the price, and there is no need to lend them flexibly. The guns purchased before have been tested, and one-third of them are broken guns, and three are missing bayonets. Two-thirds, the bullets have expired due to long-term medicinal properties, and one-third cannot be used. It seems that this is a waste of public funds. Who is to blame? It is necessary to clean up everything that has been handled and return to Hubei as soon as possible." February 6 Zhang Zhenwu , Chen Honggao combined with Dian Li: "The foreign merchants stubbornly refused to transport the goods to Hubei to find the price, and moved the goods to the shore without handing over. They hoped that the telegraphic transfer would be 50,000 taels, and the common people could return early. Otherwise, it would be a waste of time to delay. Ding Fu's personal inspection is correct, and if there are any deficiencies, you should consult Ding Jun. This time, the bullets were inspected by Wu and they are indeed brand new. If there is any discrepancy between transportation and Hubei, Wu is fully responsible." On February 7th, Li Telephone Zhang: " It is known that the purchase of ordnance is very huge, and it is difficult to be clear only according to the inventory, and now I am sending people to Shanghai to contact, and I hope to hand over all the purchased ordnance before going north." On February 9, Zhang replied. : "Telegram. The inventory of guns, military uniforms, silver photos, and miscellaneous items purchased by Wu, and handed over to Chen Honggao and others for return. The guns were handed over by Tan Renfengjun due to the balance owed, and half of them were used as fire rescue (Yantai) ) for sweeping north (northern). Now both items have been disembarked and sailed, so there is no need to send personnel to apply.” On the 11th, Chen Hong sent a telegram to Li: “Shanghai purchased clothes, equipment and inventories, and Zhenwu has handed over Hong’s notice. Transported back, the ship will start today, and due to two stops on the way, it will take about seven days to reach Hubei. Qingdian intends to send personnel to come, please excuse me. Zhenwu has set off tomorrow." On the 12th, Li Fu Shanghai Chen Hong sent a telegram: "The telegram is informed Now that the north and the south are united, there is no war in Yantai, and the clothes and equipment purchased by Zhang Zhenwu are expected to be transported to Hubei."

From the fragmentary telegrams above, it can be seen that Zhang Zhenwu is a rebellious person who does not obey orders.Whether the munitions he bought was really unsuitable as claimed in the Li telegram, there is no evidence, but he dared to split half of the munitions he bought at will to save Yantai and sweep the north, which is too capricious. After Zhang Zhenwu was summoned to Beijing, Yuan Shikai sent him as a Mongolian investigator, and he returned to Wuhan without comment.Li Yuanhong was suspicious of Zhang Ben, so he managed to divert the tiger away from the mountain and sent him to Beijing, but he turned back. It can be seen that he has ambitions for Wuhan, so he became even more suspicious.At this time, due to wage arrears and disarmament, all parts of the country were wandering without a return, and they were conspiring to change, one after another, such as the Jiangxi Army stationed in Ning, the Pioneer Battalion in Suzhou, the Huai Army Cavalry in Luanzhou, the Qing Army in Luoyang, and the Lu Army in Wuhu. And the garrisons in Tongxian, Chuzhou, Pukou, and Jingdezhen, as well as the defense troops in Fengtian, Shandong, and Anhui provincial capitals, all mutinied one after another. Fortunately, they were suppressed immediately and finally calmed down.Hubei is the place where the revolution is the most righteous, and it is very difficult to restrain the officers and soldiers who made meritorious service in the 1911 Revolution.For example, Zhang Guoji, the commander of Xiangyang Prefecture, refused to accept the arrangement and killed the investigator.Zhu Zhiliu, Jiang Guangguo, and Teng Yagang called for political reform in an attempt to overthrow the Hubei military government.The famous Chuwangtai Ordnance Station of the Wuchang Uprising also had a mutiny. In this mutiny, it is said that Li Yuanhong found out that the masterminds were Zhang Zhenwu and Fang Wei, the head of the Hubei generals.

When Zhang Zhenwu returned to Wuhan from Beijing, Li Yuanhong was afraid that he would really do something in Wuhan, and he was unwilling to blatantly deal with him, so he invited Hubei senators Liu Chengyu and Zheng Wanzhan to return to Hubei from Beijing. The apparent reason was to mediate between Sun Wu and Zhang Zhenwu. Zhang Zhenwu's resentment.Because Sun Wu was close to Li, he was in conflict with Zhang.After Liu Chengyu and others returned to Hubei, they drank wine and talked happily, and Sun and Zhang Sui reunited.At this time, Yuan Shikai hired Zhang as an adviser to the presidential palace.Li Yuanhong persuaded Zhang to take up his post in Beijing, and Zhang also generously agreed, packed up and set off, arriving in Beijing on August 8, the first year of the Republic of China.Along with him were 13 people including Wuchang general Xiao Fangwei, and more than 30 servants.Liu Chengyu, Zheng Wanzhan, Luo Qian and others also arrived in Beijing from Hubei the next day. On August 11, Sun Wu also arrived in Beijing, and the dignitaries of Hubei Province crowned Jinghua.As far as Zhang Zhenwu is concerned, it seems that he is determined to end his ambitions in Hubei Province, but he never dreamed that his catastrophe was imminent.

On August 13, Li Yuanhong sent Yuan Shikai a confidential telegram from Wuchang: "Zhang Zhenwu supported the revolution as a primary school teacher. After the uprising, he served as the deputy director of the Military Affairs Department. Zhenwu secretly incited the general school regiment to take advantage of the opportunity. Fortunately, the members of the regiment understood the righteousness and were not confused. Yuan Hong thought of his previous work, repeatedly praised him, but never changed his mind. So the President was ordered by Mongolian investigators. After Zhenwu arrived in Beijing, he asked for a huge sum of money to set up a special bureau. He tried to sneak back to Hubei, and he was domineering. It can be seen. Recently, he has been bewitching soldiers, colluding with bandits, and destroying the Republic. Advocate evil, wolf ambition, more and more fierce. Fake the name of a political party to carry out its insinuation plot, use newspapers to boast to cover up its ferocious traces. Solve it so that people are trapped in the road, the defenders are tired at night, and the wind is buzzing. , Surprised overnight. Lai's officers and men are loyal, detectives are quick, the organs are completely broken, and the troubles are invisible. The people of Hubei pray to God, but although the remaining evils are wiped out, the Yuan Dynasty is not destroyed. , with the habitual nature of Xiaoxie, how can he move to another place to be good. Yuan Hongai can't, he can't bear it, but he doesn't dare. Mutual aid and begging will be executed without exception, with Zhao Jiong as a precept. In addition, all the accompanying people have the courage to know the way, which has always been deeply believed by Yuan Hong. Meaning. Although Zhi Zhenwu subdued the national code, his previous achievements were indispensable, and all his subordinates were innocent. Yuan Hong was responsible for his funeral, comforted his family, and resettled his disciples. Hearing this, Yuan Hong was in a state of contempt, entrusting himself to the generals and soldiers, plucking the corpses, and controlling the incompetent, causing the rebels to become the chief criminals. He was ashamed when he said it, and he was crying when he thought about it. He walked alone, this hatred Mianmian. Beg to be punished. I thank Zhang Zhenwu for the spirit of the Nine Springs, and I especially pray! Linying is so sad that she can’t say enough.”

On the evening of August 13, when Yuan Shikai received Li Yuanhong's secret telegram, he took the key of the safe and looked for the secret telegram. At that time, he didn't know what the secret telegram was about.Unfortunately, the key to the safe could not be opened that day. Only Yuan himself and Liang Shiyi had the key to open the safe. Yuan Nai asked Liang to help open the safe, got the codebook, and translated it by himself.After school, he looked nervous, and Li ordered Liang to notify Zhao Bingjun, Feng Guozhang, Duan Qirui, and Duan Zhigui to come to the mansion to secretly discuss how to deal with Li Dian.Do you want to attack Zhang Zhenwu?Liang Shiyi suggested to go to another phone call to ask Li whether it was Li's intention. On the 15th, Wuchang received a reply. It was said that the telegram on the 13th was indeed Li's idea, so Yuan Shikai decided to arrest Zhang and Fang and bring them to justice.Its order said: "Zha Zhang Zhenwu has made great achievements in the past, and he should always encourage him to make it happen. He read the various sections of the Vice President Li's telegram and found out his original intention, opposing construction, destroying the republic, and Fang Wei helping each other with evil. The president of this country has repeatedly thought about it, just as the vice president said that love can neither be tolerated nor can it be tolerated. If it is a matter of tolerance, how can we comfort the heroic soul of the martyr? As a last resort, the commander of the infantry and the director of the military and political law enforcement department should follow suit." In this order. The last sentence "follow and handle", what to do?It was Li Suo's request to bring Zhang and Fang to justice.Yuan's foreshadowing indicates that Zhang and Fang were killed only at Li's request.

Of course, Zhang Zhenwu never dreamed of all these secret activities. On August 14th, he also entertained guests at the Dechang Hotel in Beijing. He hosted a big banquet for key figures from the League and the Republican Party. At 6:00 p.m. on August 15th, Wang Tianzong gathered northern soldiers and generals from Hubei to Beijing for a banquet. After Zhang Zhenwu attended the banquet, at 8:00 p.m., he hosted a banquet with important Beiyang generals at the Liuguo Hotel. Jiang Guiti, Duan Zhigui, etc. All present.At this time, Duan had received a secret order to execute Zhang, and before the dinner was over, Duan said he had to leave beforehand, and the rest of the guests also left the table one after another, and the host didn't know that disaster was imminent.

The Liuguo Hotel in Beijing is located in Dongjiaomin Lane, from Dongjiaomin Lane to the west of Qianmen. The road is being renovated, so it is diverted from Daqingmen to Qipan Street as a temporary sidewalk.Zhang Zhenwu left the Liuguo Hotel at about 10 o'clock that night. There was no car at that time, and he used a horse-drawn carriage. When he came out of the Liuguo Hotel, there were three carriages in total. His carriage was in the middle, Hubei Senator Shi Gongjiu's carriage was at the rear.Feng waited for the carriage to drive to the fence of the Daqing Gate, and the horseshoes were already ambushed on both sides, so the ambushes were everywhere, and Feng was tied up first.Feng asked why?A soldier asked, "Is your surname Zhang?" Feng said, "My surname is not Zhang, but Feng."It turns out that Feng and Zhang Junchang are thin and thin, and they are somewhat similar.Then Zhang Zhenwu's carriage also arrived in front of the fence gate, the gate was closed, there was a noise, and there was the sound of a command knife smashing the glass of the carriage, so Zhang was dragged out of the carriage, tied up, and his entourage and coachman were also arrested.After Zhang was arrested, he was transported in a cart to the Military and Political Law Enforcement Office of Yuhuangge, Xidan Pailou.At this time, the area from the east of Qianmen to Xiaoshatuyuan was under martial law, and there were three carts in the escort line, and dozens of horse infantry armed with guns and knives. , followed behind, all the shops and shops along the road turned off the lights and put out the fire, as if they were facing a big enemy.

Zhang Zhenwu was arrested at the front gate at 10:00 pm, while Fang Wei was arrested an hour earlier than Zhang.Fang Weixi was arrested at Jintai Hotel, where he lived. More than 100 raiders surrounded Jintai Hotel, and martial law was imposed nearby. Zhang was escorted to the Yuhuangge Military and Political Law Enforcement Division. The director Lu Jianzhang came to see him in person, untied the conversation, and exchanged a few pleasantries with each other first.Zhang was very angry. Seeing that his coachman was also bound, he said to Lu: "I don't know why I was arrested. My coachman has nothing to do with me. He should be released first."Lu immediately ordered his adjutant to release him.Then Zhang asked Lu for paper and pen, and wrote a short letter to Deng Yulin, who was in charge of the Fourth Township of the Hubei Army at that time and was close to Yuan Po in Beijing. , please help me understand, brother, I don't have a penny, please help me.At the end, he asked Deng to take care of his entourage and family members.After writing the letter, please send it to Lu, and Lu immediately handed it over to Deng Yu in Twelve Hutongs.Later, Zhang found out that some of his family members were also tied up, so he told Lu, "My family members, please release them."Lu also agreed and released his family immediately.These released people were sent to far away places by car before they were released. At this time Zhang Zhenwu asked Lu Jianzhang, "What crime did we commit? What law did you arrest us by?" Lu smiled and showed Li Yuanhong's call to Zhang. Zhang blushed with anger and said loudly: Nonsense. !nonsense!Lu showed Yuan Shikai's order to Zhang again. Zhang read it and said angrily, "Die! Let's see how long you can run rampant." Nai Changfu was shot, Zhang Zhenwu was shot twice, one shot in the stomach, and one shot in the shoulder. A generation of heroes and founding fathers died inexplicably like this. On the other hand, Zhang's old cousins, Feng Jun and Shi Gongjiu, immediately rushed to the Republican Party headquarters in Shiqiao Biye after the accident happened at Daqing Gate, and informed the public. Yu Lin and others went to the Yuhuangge Military and Political Law Enforcement Office. It was already 3 o'clock in the middle of the night, and the director Lu Jianzhang had fallen asleep.Sun, Deng, Shi and others urged Lu to come and see him, but when Lu came out with a sleepy face, Sun, Deng, Shi and others all asked Lu: What crime did Zhang commit?Why such tactics against the Founding Fathers?Deng Yulin said that Zhang and Fang should be released on bail first, and if they are guilty, they can find a solution through legal channels.Lu Jianzhang interrupted him and said: "You don't have to be busy in vain, Mr. Zhang and Fang have already been executed." Then he took Yuan Shikai's execution order from his body and said: "This order was handed over by Chief Duan Yi. , and members of the Ministry of the Army came to monitor the execution, I was just following orders, I have nothing to say about the blame from you, please forgive me." Sun Wu, Deng Yulin, and Shi Gongjiu almost jumped up when they heard the bad news, tears Eyes burst out, everyone was sad and angry.Lu Jianzhang asked them to have tea and rest, but they ignored them completely and rushed out of Yuhuang Pavilion with anger and tears.Shi Gongjiu said angrily: "This is an unjust prison, we want to avenge Zhenwu, we want revenge!" The murder of Zhang Zhenwu agitated people in Beijing from Hubei.At 8 o'clock in the morning on the day of Zhang Fuxing, Sun Wu, Deng Yulin, Liu Chengyu, Zhang Bolie, Zhang Daxin, Ha Hanzhang, Shi Gongjiu and others went to the presidential palace for questioning.Yuan Shikai came to see him in person, and he said: I am very sorry for this incident, but you should know what happened. I handled it according to the call from Vice President Li. But I couldn't save his life.Yuan's tone put the matter entirely on Li. Sun Wu and others also knew that this was Li's idea, so they had to leave the presidential palace angrily and went to Changchun Temple.It turned out that after Zhang and Fang were put to death, Lu Jianzhang immediately ordered their corpses to be sent to Changchun Temple to rest, and he bought a good coffin for them.Sun Wu and others arrived at Changchun Temple, stroked the coffin, and mourned Yu Heng. After the funeral, they went back to Jintai Hotel to comfort Zhang's family members, discussed the funeral method, and then went to Ha Hanzhang's family for a meeting. Three steps were decided on the spot: (1) Call Li Yuanhong questioned; (2) Duan Qirui, chief of the army, was signed in the military order, so Duan Qirui was proposed to be impeached; (3) a fellow from Hubei submitted a letter of questioning, publicly questioning Zhang's case. General Hulong came to Beijing with Zhang Zhenwu: Wu Zhaolin, Li Tiancai, Tang Xizhi, He Xifan, Feng Sihong, Ma Zuquan, Liu Shengwu, Xiong Bingkun, Zhang Houde, and Tong Xupeng. They returned to Hubei by express train in the early morning of the 16th, so they set off At that time, I didn't know that Zhang Zhenwu had suffered a catastrophe.There are also entourages who have not left Beijing, and Deng Yulin, Sun Wu, etc. will arrange them properly.Yuan Shikai announced on the 16th that Zhang Zhenwu would be buried with the military ceremony of a general, and that he would pay 3,000 yuan for the ceremony. On the same day, the Beijing Army Department sent a reply to Li Yuanhong: "According to the President's decree: true telegram. Zhang Zhenwu made great contributions to the uprising, and he should be given to Yourong, and he will be lenient. He is going to deceive the soldiers, collude with bandits, destroy the republic, and make bad words. It really disturbs the overall situation and is the public enemy of the Republic of China. After hesitating again and again, it is not convenient to impose a lenient code, leaving this place in the Yuan Dynasty and causing harm to the local area. I have ordered Zhang Zhenwu, the commander of the infantry, the general of the Military and Political Law Enforcement Department, and Fang Wei, who worked together with the evil, to be punished according to the military law. In addition, everyone in the entourage, I have already given Sichuan funds at discretion to return to my hometown to avoid being involved. The vice president has his own last resort for the sake of maintaining public security. Du Jian guards against the slightest and eliminates harm for the people. Because of this, it will be rewarded accordingly.” Mrs. Zhang came to Beijing with a Ru wife. On the second day of Zhang's death, Zhang's friend Huang Zhenxiang accompanied Mrs. Zhang to Changchun Temple to cry.Huang Jian wanted to open the coffin for inspection, but the guards refused to allow it. Both Huang and Mrs. Zhang cried and yelled, and Huang Qi drew his knife to kill him.The soldiers had no choice but to open the coffin, and Huang Naichi hired Sanyitai Photo Shop on Luomashi Street to take photos of Zhang Zhenwu's death. Sun Wu had an old grievance with Zhang, so Zhang was killed when he came to Beijing this time, and outsiders suspected that Sun was involved in the incident.And Liu Chengyu, Zheng Wanzhan, Luo Qian, etc. were originally invited by Li to return to Hubei to reconcile Zhang and Sun's evil affairs, and they were the ones who persuaded Zhang to come to Beijing.As for the Tongmenghui, it couldn't turn a blind eye to this political bloodbath, so Huang Xing fired the first shot, sending a telegram to condemn the government for using improper means to kill meritorious personnel.Then Sun Wu and Jiang Yiwu ran to see Yuan, asking for "death-free coupons" for them, and at the same time petitioned to resign from the position of adviser to the presidential palace. On the 19th, the Senate met. Members raised questions and asked the government to produce evidence of Zhang and Fang's treason.Liu Chengyu first asked for an explanation, but the speaker stopped him, thinking that there was no need to explain the questioning, but Liu thought that what happened today was unusual, so he gave a passionate speech.Zhang Bolie even wailed and cried, the whole court was shaken, the seriousness of Zhang's case was known inside and outside the court, and it was a matter of time.The day's questioning led to a conclusion, which was to inform Army Chief Duan Qirui that he should come to report the Zhang case the next day (August 20). When Lu Zhengxiang was prime minister, he was despised by the Senate. After several difficulties, he reluctantly agreed to his cabinet list. Unexpectedly, less than a month after taking office, the murder of Zhang Zhenwu occurred, causing thunderstorms all over the sky.When Lu killed Zhang, he happened to be stationed in a French hospital due to illness, and the killing of Zhang Zhenwu was a military order used by Yuan Shikai. This created a new problem. The "Provisional Contract" did not specify whether the President's military order should be signed by the Prime Minister. The former Prime Minister Tang Shaoyi resigned because Yuan Shikai issued a personnel order and refused to submit it to Tang's countersignature. That was Yuan Shikai's violation of the "Contract Law".Since the Senate was full of quarrels, the Prime Minister could not pretend to be deaf and dumb. When the Senate disagreed with his cabinet list, Lu Zhengxiang asked to resign, and Yuan repeatedly consoled him.After the Zhang case happened, Lu formally petitioned for resignation in the French hospital. The first one was a leave form, intending to ask for five days of sick leave, and the second was a resignation letter, requesting permission to resign after the five-day leave.As a result, Lu's secretary-general only submitted the leave application form for him, but did not submit the resignation letter for him. Yuan Shikai also expressed that he would not allow Lu to resign. On August 20, the Senate met again to discuss the Zhang case. Yuan’s government issued its first reply, saying very vaguely: This matter is of great importance, and it is handled according to the secret message of Vice President Li. The people involved and the matters involved are extremely important. It is important, not only related to the chaos in Hubei, but also to the safety of the whole country, as well as military secrets and so on.In this statement of defense, Yuan emphasized that the crime of treason reported by Li was serious, but he also proposed a second statement of defense, which roughly stated: the former consultation ordered Vice President Li to choose who he could publish. It has not arrived, so there is no detailed information to be published. Even if the state servants attend the report, what they can publish is only the same as the previous statement of defense.In order to respect the legislature, the President dare not be perfunctory, so I still ask your house to wait for Vice President Li to reply before replying. The Senate was extremely dissatisfied with the government's first reply, and its indignation was even greater than the previous day. Finally, the Parliament made a decision and urged the Chief of the Army to attend the Senate on August 21 to report on the Zhang case. On the morning of the 21st, Duan Qirui went to the Presidential Palace to ask Yuan Shikai for instructions. Yuan had no objection to the question of whether he would attend or not. He asked Duan to make a decision. Duan said: I will go, I am not afraid.After thinking about it, I decided not to go.Yuan Shikai reassigned Shi Yu, director of the Legal Affairs Bureau, to the Senate with the second statement of defense.As soon as Shi took the stage, he was immediately bombarded. Liu Chengyu stood up and scolded Shi.Liu said that you are the director of the Legal Affairs Bureau, tell me, what law was the killing of Zhang based on?You are nothing but robbers!After being scolded, Shi had no choice but to hand over the statement of defense and leave the meeting. The Senate questioned the Zhang case twice, and the Yuan government filed two defenses. The Senate found it completely unsatisfactory, so it decided to propose an impeachment case. A talk meeting was held on August 22, and the House was divided into two factions: one faction advocated the impeachment of the entire government and joint responsibility; the other advocated the impeachment of only Lu Zhengxiang and Duan Qirui. At 4:00 p.m. on August 21, Yuan Shikai invited Hubei councilor Liu Chengyu and other four councilors to have a secret meeting. Yuan still emphasized that the Zhang case started in Hubei and was handled completely according to Li Yuanhong's wishes.