Chapter 69 Sixty-eight, Zhang Zuolin and Chen Huan

Yuan has a set of tactics to deal with Feng and Duan, as mentioned above, for the Beiyang warlords below Feng and Duan, Yuan adopts slightly different methods. Various methods have been used to spy on their attitudes towards the issue of imperialism. In the summer of the fourth year of the Republic of China, he planned to call generals from all provinces across the country to Beijing to hold a large-scale military meeting to discuss the two issues of dividing military regions and abolishing provinces and diverting routes.At that time, someone suggested that Yuan should not proceed in a hurry, lest the military and political leaders of the provinces be alienated from Germany; in addition, China and Japan had just signed the 21st Treaty, and holding a large-scale military meeting at this moment would easily arouse suspicion and misunderstanding among the Japanese.Yuan Shen thought it was true, so he changed the method and summoned the generals from various provinces to Beijing to report on their duties in turn, and specifically tested them on the issue of the imperial system.

Beginning in July 4, those who were called to Beijing successively included General Jin Yunpeng from Shandong, General Li Chun from Jiangxi, General Yan Xishan from Shanxi, General Zhang Xiluan from Fengtian, General Duan Zhigui from Hubei, Commander Zhang Zuolin of the 27th Division stationed in Fengtian, and the second commander stationed in Hubei. Teacher Wang Zhanyuan and others.Among these prominent figures, only Duan Zhigui was the only one who participated in the secrets of the imperial system. When Yuan met with these big officials in frontiers, he would always ask first: "How are we running the republic?" What's more, the word "ban" implies a trial operation.These vassals all knew what Yuan meant, so they all replied in the same way: "It's not easy to run the republic well, and I hope the president will take more responsibility to save the country."

Fengtian General Zhang Xiluan was Yuan's senior brother, and he was over 70 years old at this time. In Yuan's eyes, this veteran Huang Zhong had no more courage to spare. Listen, he thinks that diplomacy is tight, border defense is empty, and political issues should be considered more to avoid interference from powerful neighbors.Yuan was very upset when he heard this, so he deliberately put him in the cold palace. Zhang Zuolin, the commander of the 27th Division, can't compare with the generals of other provinces, but he is a powerful faction of Fengtian, so he was summoned exceptionally.He entered Beijing on July 25, 4, and was accompanied by Lei Zhenchun, the head of the law enforcement department of the military and police. Yuan summoned him in Jurentang.This teacher, who had just seen the world for the first time, was quite as excited as Grandma Liu when he entered the Grand View Garden. He looked around and praised an ancient porcelain or a famous painting in the Qing palace.He kowtowed to Yuan Xing as usual, and it happened that Yuan took out the watch from his pocket to check the time. After kowtowing, Zhang just stood up and stared at the watch. Yuan smiled and handed the watch to him : "Take it as a souvenir!" He took it and said thank you repeatedly!

Yuan Heyan asked him about his relationship with Lei Zhenchun, and he replied bluntly: "To the President, Director Lei is Zuolin's old president." Lei hurriedly continued: "At that time, the left-wing president of the three eastern provinces was Zhang Xun; The president is Zhenchun." Turning his head, he said to Zhang in a soft but reprimanding tone: "The current president is not the former president, the current president is the same as the emperor, do you understand?" Zhang Liansheng said yes, Yuan again Laughed a lot. Mr. Zhang, who was just a fledgling, deeply felt that the old president was really kind, kind and generous; but what surprised him even more was that when he returned to the residence from Jurentang, all the famous ancient porcelain paintings he saw had been replaced. Delivered by someone.The person who came said: "The President knows that Mr. Zhang likes these, so he rushed to send them to Mr. Zhang." This moved Zhang so much that he didn't know what to do.Yuan's method can really win over heroes from all over the world.

Since the failure of the Kuomintang to challenge Yuan, the Beiyang Army has controlled most of the whole of China, only Guangdong, Guangxi and Sichuan. Yunnan and Guizhou are outside the Beiyang forces. However, although Long Jiguang in Guangdong is not from the Beiyang family, he gets along very closely with Yuan. , Yuan is also the best for Long.Therefore, the provinces in question are only the three provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou, which are the gap areas of the Beiyang system. When the imperial movement was about to start, Yuan believed that Sichuan must be conquered first, and then Yunnan and Guizhou should be controlled by Sichuan.He searched around, and finally found a "Yingwu" who was Chen Huan, who was the deputy chief of staff in name but was actually in charge of the chief of staff.Chen has connections with the Kuomintang and any southern military faction, especially because he had presided over the military education in Sichuan and Yunnan during the Qing Dynasty.He served as the deputy chief of staff, and the chief of staff was Li Yuanhong, who only had a name and did not work in the Ministry, so his handling of the Staff Department fully met Yuan Shikai's needs.In Yuan's think tank, a division of labor is adopted for research on the national military, and one person is appointed to be in charge of a group. Chen is in charge of the Southwest Group. All military issues related to the three provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou are all studied by Chen, and he will put forward opinions and methods for future use. Yuan adopted.

On February 20, the 4th year of the Republic of China, Yuan ordered Chen Huanhui to handle military affairs in Sichuan, and transferred three mixed brigades of Li Bingzhi, Wu Zhenxiang and Feng Yuxiang from the Beiyang Army to accompany Chen into Sichuan. This is a major measure that Yuan Suo planned to fill the gap of the Beiyang Army in the southwest. After Chen Huan was ordered to plan his departure, before he left, he asked Yuan for instructions. Yuan walked away from the left and right, and then said to Chen in a very intimate tone: "You are a very smart person. You know what to do. I don't need to say more. Yes; just one thing I want you to understand, Sichuan is the land of abundance, the site of the palace of the Ming Dynasty vassal king still exists, after you go, you can build it well, maybe in the future I will be called Zhitai (Yuan Keding’s name) Come to Sichuan. Go talk to Zhitai, you will be treated as brothers from now on, maybe I will give you more important responsibilities in the future."

After Chen Huan withdrew, he went to see Yuan Keding in the corridor A.Yuan Keding, the crown prince, had his eyes on the forehead, and even Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang didn't pay attention to them, and naturally he looked down on Chen Huan, who was in charge of the military affairs association.Chen was very puzzled. Like Duan and Feng, he deeply felt that this young master was too difficult to serve, and was about to leave in great disappointment. Suddenly, one of Yuan Shikai's attendants flew over and said to Yuan Keding: "The president asked the young one to pass on a message. Please, uncle and Mr. Chen exchange posts and ask for help." Yuan Keding was also alert enough, and immediately changed his attitude after hearing this message, and said to Chen Huan, "Second brother, eat with me." It turns out that Chen Huan's name is Er'an, He ranked first again, so Keding called him his second elder brother, and they began to have a secret conversation. Yuan Keding kindly asked about Chen's brotherhood and family situation.

What is Chen Huan's background?When Yuan Ke asked him about his family background, he once sighed and said: "Don't mention it!" Because it is really miserable to mention it.The story is a long one: In the middle of Guangxu, there were two brothers in Anlu County, Hubei. They worked together and studied. Their father died early, leaving behind an old mother who had no food or clothing. She washed her face with tears every day.Among the two brothers, the eldest is not good at studying, but the second is studying all day long. The eldest sees that the second is not good at anything but reading, and thinks that the second is a bookworm who can't make a living, so he looks down on him.Once he was angry that he only knew how to study, so he hit him on the head with an iron bar, the second child was beaten and passed out, but he didn't hate his brother because of this, he still smiled at each other, and he still only knew how to eat, Head down to read.This studious person was Chen Er'an, who was later called one of the Three Heroes of Hubei.

Chen Huan's childhood was a period of painstaking study. Later, he entered the Self-improvement School in Wuchang, lived in Nanxue School in Beijing, passed the Bagong School, and entered the Wubei School, but he was still a poor and homeless scholar.In the year of Gengzi, there were soldiers who went to Baoding to pay their salaries. At that time, the soldiers were in chaos and the traffic was blocked. . When Chen Huan left his hometown, it was because he couldn't stand the boss's idleness, so he boasted in front of the boss when he said goodbye, saying that he would never go back to his hometown to eat his brother's anger; not home.He has an uncle, Chen Xuefen, who used to be the secretary of the Ministry of Education, but he is a distant relative. Because of this relationship, Lin Xuezheng from Henan once asked him to read the test papers for him. It's not a long job. After the exam, there are no papers to read, so I have to pack up and walk.In the vast land, he felt that he had nowhere to stay, so he secretly went back to his hometown to visit his mother, but he didn't dare to have sex at home.He ran to a nearby temple to settle down.

People's fate is really unpredictable. When Chen Huan was in trouble, luck suddenly fell on his head.In the 30th year of Guangxu, Xiliang, governor of Sichuan, wanted to find new talents. Henan Lin Xuezheng recommended Chen Huan to Xiliang. Xiliang sent 800 taels of silver to ask Chen Shu to enter Sichuan. I left two pieces of silver to my mother and elder brother, and I took a hundred taels as travel expenses. I took a stinky fish boat and went up the river. Xiliang, the governor of Sichuan, is really a respectable and lovely person, able to recognize talents, and he is a corporal. When he heard that Chen Huan came to see him, he asked about the inn where Chen stayed, and the next day he went to pay his respects to Chen.Chen was only in his twenties at the time, and when he saw an uninvited visitor, he realized that it was the powerful Xi Zhijun. , Immediately announced the next day that Chen was promoting the Sichuan Jiangwu Hall.Because of this experience, the later Sichuan soldiers Liu Xiang, Liu Chengxun, Liu Cunhou and others were more of Chen's disciples.Xiliang was transferred to the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, and Chen was transferred to Yunnan as the director of the lecture hall. Later, Xiliang succeeded Xu Shichang as the governor of the three eastern provinces, and Chen also followed him to the outside of the customs to set up a lecture hall.Xi had long wanted to appoint Chen as the commander, but because Chen was not qualified enough, he didn't secretly donate a fourth-rank Jingtang to him, and soon Chen was appointed as the commander of the twenty towns.For Xiliang, Chen Huan really had the kindness of knowledge and encounter. In the officialdom, there are often spoken words of deep gratitude and gratitude. This sentence is absolutely true for Chen Huan and Xiliang.

Chen Huan was acquainted with Xiliang, went to Europe for inspection, and served as the supervisor of Qingxiang after returning to China.After Xiliang fell ill and resigned, Chen became known to Yuan Shikai again. At this time, Chen Huan was already well-known all over the country, and he was known as the Three Heroes of Hubei.These three heroes are Wu Luzhen, Lan Tianwei, and Chen Huan.Under Yuan, Chen is one of the important military think tanks, responsible for the military affairs of the five provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangdong, and Guangxi, and is the backbone of the command office.In the third year of the Republic of China, after Cai E was transferred from the governor of Yunnan, Yuan sent Cai as a member of the command office. Chen and Cai got along very well, feeling like heroes.Firstly, Cai is from Hunan and Chen is from Hubei, and the two lakes have always had a great fellowship; Li Jingxi, governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, is exactly the same as Chen Shouzhi Yu Xiliang, governor of Yunnan and Guizhou. Cai's protégés and old officials are all over the southwest, and Chen's protégés and old officials are all over the southwest.Due to these various factors, the two had a close relationship, enjoyed each other, and respected each other.In the future, Cai led the protection of the country and defeated Yuan, and refused to stay in Sichuan with Chen Xiang. This friendship also contributed to forcing Yuan to abdicate in the end. When Mr. Chen left from Beijing, the civil and military officials of Beijing went to the station to see him off one after another. The cars lined up in a long snake formation, the army and police were densely deployed along the way, and there were crowds of people on both sides of the railway and on the platform.A military affairs association is not considered a man of prestige in Beijing, but Chen Huan's social status is different. The pomp and circumstance of his leaving Beijing, in addition to the lively scene of welcoming Mr. Sun Yat-sen and Li Yuanhong in Beijing, also No other send-to-welcome has such a situation. On March 12th, 4th year of the Republic of China, Chen Huan arrived at Dazhi Gate in Hankou by train. Hubei civil and military officials lined up to greet him at the station. The scene was grand and imposing. Who would have thought that a poor scholar 20 years ago would even go home for a meal I didn't even dare, but now I'm back in full glory. On March 18th, Duan Zhigui, "His Royal Highness Gan", General Zhangwu, and Wang Zhanyuan, his deputy, prepared a special red post to bring Chen and his entourage to the river. Very congenial. Chen Huan and his party arrived in Shashi on March 24 and arrived in Yichang on March 26, with deafening gun salutes along the way.As the boat passed through the Wu Gorge, Chen was overwhelmed with emotion. Twenty years ago, all kinds of things poured into his heart. The past was like smoke, and he was saddened by it. He wrote a five-character poem on the boat, which said: "Twenty years ago, it was a matter of gratitude and sorrow; there was a door that was always closed to snow, and there was no retort to generate dust. The state of the world is amazing and dangerous, the family is poor and tired, and the old relatives look back at their hometown and country, and the widow is marching west again. " After Chen arrived in Chengdu, Chen Tingjie, the patrol envoy of Sichuan, asked for leave due to difficulties, and Liu Yingze, the director of finance, acted on his behalf. On May 1, Yuan ordered Chen to be appointed concurrently as the patrol envoy of Sichuan. On June 22, Hu Jingyi, a general of the armed forces, was ordered to enter the pilgrimage, and Chen was sent to supervise the military affairs of Sichuan.After Chen took office, he took Hu Egong as the first-class secretary of the Military Administration, which was actually the secretary-general, Wang Mou, the chief of the military affairs section, Ma Guansheng, the chief of the military supplies section, and Lei Biao as the brigade commander of Liu Cunhou's department.The latter three are all from Hunan, and they were all recommended to Chen by Cai E, which can be further confirmed by Chen and Cai Xiangde. After Chen Duchuan, he immediately did two things: one was to clear the countryside to suppress bandits, and the other was to supervise the construction of the imperial city.The imperial city imitates the palace style of Beijing, with Zhu Zong painting buildings, which is eye-catching and spectacular.The people in Sichuan were surprised. With Chen's talent, he didn't see any great strategies, but he was committed to this urgent task. When he asked Chen, Chen said: "I am working for the boss. In the future, he may be named the king of Shu." , I have to prepare the mansion for him." Others said: "He is the prince, and the prince should stay in Beijing, why should he be feudal when he comes out?" Chen replied: "In my opinion, it may not be his turn to reserve the position. The old man has Li love does not establish long-term meaning, maybe there is hope for the old five to control power." The person who asked said: "If the boss goes to Sichuan, where will the general go?" Chen smiled and replied: "I probably went back to the old way. I traveled from Sichuan to Yunnan, and it may be the same route in the future, and my task is destined to be a pioneer.”