Chapter 109 108. Zhang Xun's Three Xuzhou Meetings

When Yuan was dying, although the Beiyang faction had been torn apart, Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang both had their own strengths and weaknesses. To replace Yuan, Duan Qirui established a responsible cabinet in Beijing and grasped the mainstream of politics, but there were advantages and disadvantages in Beijing The downside is that there are many restrictions on actions; Feng Guozhang can act much more freely in Nanjing, but there are also downsides. The downside is that he is a little farther away from the political center of Beijing. Before Yuan's death, Feng Guozhang was holding the "Nanjing Conference" in Nanjing. The purpose of Feng's convening of this conference was to form a third force between Yuan and the anti-Yuan faction, so as to coerce Yuan to deal with the Southwest National Defense Army and protect the country. The army used to deal with Yuan.At this time, Yuan was not at ease with Feng, so he adopted the method of fighting poison with poison, and sent Zhang Xun to supervise the military affairs of Anhui, and he was still stationed in Xuzhou. Yuan's best friend Ni Sichong was the governor of Anhui. Du Su.As a result, Zhang and Ni joined forces to disrupt the Nanjing Conference, making the Nanjing Conference a situation where there was no result.

After Yuan's death, Zhang Xun invited representatives of warlords from various provinces who participated in the Nanjing Conference to Xuzhou for a meeting. Representatives from Fengtian, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Zhili, Henan, Shanxi, and Anhui provinces participated, and representatives from Sichuan, Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, and Shandong provinces attended the meeting. Provincial representatives did not participate due to different interests, and Fujian representatives did not arrive in time. This was June 7, 5 years, the second day after Yuan's death. Zhang Xun published a telegram on "protecting the border and defending the people". The deep benevolence and generosity of the Qing Dynasty". On June 9, the Xuzhou Conference officially started. Zhang Xun sent Chief of Staff Wan Shengshi to announce the ten articles of the "Conference Outline", using "consolidate the group and defend the central government" as a smokescreen. The alliance is used to hold the Beijing government against the Southwest National Defense Army and preserve their position of power.Don't look at Zhang Xun as an old man, but he seized the best opportunity to make himself the political darling of the time.It turned out that after Yuan's death, the Beiyang warlords felt that the road ahead was uncertain, and they looked at the emperor and didn't know what to do. They were all for their own interests in Yuan's last period, and they were divided. How did they know that after Yuan's death, they felt that if they were not united? , the Beiyang system will disintegrate, so the requirement for survival is to unite.Just at this time, Zhang Xun convened the Xuzhou meeting, which met the needs of the time.

Zhang Xun represents the most stubborn and conservative faction in the Beiyang faction. Both he and his subordinates have braids, which means that he still yearns for the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, when he was stationed in Xuzhou, the restorationists of the Qing Dynasty defected to him one after another and regarded him as a hope.After Yuan's imperial system failed, the figures of the Hongxian imperial system also asked Zhang for protection and relied on his protection.Therefore, he was able to meet the situation and became the "big alliance leader" of the princes of the Beiyang system.

Duan Qirui learned that Zhang Xun called the Xuzhou meeting, and immediately sent Duan Zhigui secretly to Xuzhou for activities. Since Duan regarded himself as the orthodox Beiyang faction, he certainly looked down on the miscellaneous names in the Beiyang faction such as Zhang Xun, but since he inherited the Beiyang faction leader, he was very concerned about the Beiyang faction. It is also necessary to win over all kinds of miscellaneous troops, so he quickly flirted with Zhang Xun.It is believed that Zhang Xun's actions in Xuzhou can contain Feng Guozhang, because Feng Guozhang is Duan's opponent, so to win Zhang Xun is to attack Feng Guozhang.As for Zhang Xun?He was an arrogant old man, he didn't buy Yuan Shang, and of course he didn't put Duan Qirui in his eyes, but Zhang Xun and Feng Guozhang were at odds. For the sake of profit, he could boycott Feng by wooing Duan, so he was happy to make peace Duan Qirui contacted.

The Xuzhou meeting resolved ten items, which are: 1. Respect the preferential treatment conditions for cleaning up the house; 2. Preserve the life and property of President Yuan Da’s family and all the honors behind him; 3. Request the government to quickly organize a parliament in accordance with proper election procedures and implement a complete constitutional government; 4. Call to persuade the eight independent provinces to cancel their independence 5. Absolutely resist sending ordinary "violent elements" (referring to members of the Kuomintang) who advocate chaos to participate in the political power; Where the army is used, the required military equipment and salaries should still be pooled together; eighth, it is planned to wait for the state affairs to be settled later, and jointly sign a telegram to ask the government to stop harsh rent and miscellaneous donations, so that the people of the Soviet Union will be impoverished; For those who are harmed, we should work together to fight with each other in order to give advice; 10. The central government implements reductions in government, consolidates groups, and discusses issues in case of problems. We must adopt the same attitude towards the future of the country.

In fact, these ten resolutions were not the opinions of the representatives of the provinces, nor were they discussed or aroused controversy. They were written down completely according to Zhang Xun's "Conference Outline". After the Xuzhou meeting, Zhang Xun regarded himself as the leader of the alliance, and openly sent a telegram (June 20) to oppose the punishment of the culprit of the imperial system.Telegram says: "Emperors and democratic advocates are different. They are nothing more than expressing their own opinions. The culprits are the chief culprits. How can success or failure be measured....Recently, the southern provinces have insisted on their foreword, and they are urgent. There is no end to blame, if the war breaks out again, outsiders will intervene, stealing and fearing the disaster of carve-up, not on the day when the monarchy takes place, but when the republic is re-established, if the law wrongs the country, there must be a corpse to blame, bandits Public opinion is free, that is, Xun himself will never admit it. However, the newspaper falsely reported that Xun Zengdian government also wanted to punish the culprit. Contradictions. Let’s add insult to injury, since it was not done by a real man, what’s the benefit of the overall situation if we stop the uproar?”

This is really a swan song through the ages. Zhang Xun described the protection of the culprit of the imperial system as "public opinion" and "justice"; When the Xuzhou meeting was held, it was widely rumored that the restoration was being discussed. As a result, there was an uproar across the country. On June 10, Zhang Xunnai publicly denied to Tian Zhongyu, the deputy director of the Beijing Army Department, and Wu Bingxiang, the patrol chief. The original electric cloud: "Xun received a lot of kindness in the former Qing Dynasty, but President Yuan's 20-year acquaintance with him is especially extraordinary. He often tells people in his former residence that the king's kindness cannot be forgotten, and the feeling of acquaintance cannot be borne. This is purely personal. As far as the general trend is concerned, Zexun has always put the country first, and he is absolutely unwilling to be part of it with the slightest prejudice. Today, the country is full of accidents and changes. Shixun invited representatives from various provinces to gather in Xu. There are rumors that Xun advocates restoration, which is true. Nothing happened. Xun steamed the seal."

Originally, only representatives from Feng, Ji, Hei, Zhi, Henan, Shanxi, and Anhui provinces participated in the Xuzhou meeting. After the meeting, Zhang Xun continued to recruit Beiyang warlords from various provinces to participate, so the legend of the nine-province alliance and the thirteen-provincial alliance prevailed for a while. .Although the warlords who join the alliance have different purposes, they have one thing in common, which is to use the alliance to protect individual rights and status.In addition to the participating warlords, there are also imperial factions and political conspirators making waves behind the scenes.They also have their own purposes, some attempt to overthrow the republican system in order to restore individual freedom, while others use the military as a weapon in political struggle.In addition to Xuzhou, Tianjin is also a stronghold of instigation of political conspiracies, among which there are various proposals for electing Duan Qirui as vice president, Xu Shichang as cabinet prime minister, expulsion of Li Yuanhong, and support for Puyi's restoration.There are often secret contacts between Tianjin and Xuzhou. It is said that Xu Shichang also visited Xuzhou secretly.

In August, Zhao Binglin, a member of the House of Representatives, proposed that the military should not interfere in the parliament, and Zhang Xun denounced it by calling a number of people. In September, Congressman Chen Yunzhong questioned the Warlord Alliance, and Zhang Xun and others made a telegram to reject Congress for the second time. On August 5, Chief Justice Zhang Yaozeng traveled from Yunnan to Shanghai and stayed at the Mengyuan Hotel.At that time, the Shanghai Customs seized a large amount of tobacco and soil from the ship. It was said that Zhang's entourage, Sun Shiqi, was a serious suspect, but Zhang denied that Sun Shiqi was among the entourage.Zhang is one of the cabinet members belonging to the right wing of the Kuomintang. Duan did not like the Kuomintang's participation in the cabinet. On August 13, the Beijing government suddenly issued an order reiterating the smoking ban. The order pointed out: "Outlaws, cleverly fake amulets, and secretly sell them."This order is obviously alluding to the people in the Southwest in order to attack them.It was soon found out that the Shanghai Yantu case involved Tang Jiyao's brother Tang Jiyu and had nothing to do with Zhang Yaozeng.Zhang arrived in Beijing on August 25.After the Shanghai Yantu case happened, Zhang Xun, regardless of whether he was related to Zhang Yaozeng or not, issued a winter telegram (September 2) saying:

"Zhang Yao once peddled land for personal gain, lost power and humiliated the country. The State Council is the highest administrative organ of a country, how can such scum be allowed to stand in it.... On behalf of the majority of the people, Xun dared to say, this cabinet member, this house, our generation of people will never recognize it .” At this time, the National Assembly had already passed the cabinet prime minister's consent bill and passed the list of all cabinet members, so Duan had to come forward to speak a few words for the National Assembly.He advised Zhang Xun to stop interfering in Congress.Zhang Xun replied that he was not interfering in Congress but "supervising Congress".In mid-September, Li Ye sent Zhang Xun's old friend Ruan Zhongshu to Xuzhou to dredge.Unexpectedly, through persuasion and dredging, Zhang Xun became even more rampant. He openly joined forces with many Beiyang warlords to publish Yuandian (September 13), attacking Zhang Yao with greater firepower. Zeng said:

"...the government forbears and does not speak, and Congress passes it blindly....Congress is the place where legislation is made, and the chief executive is the one who enforces it. If the law doesn't work, how can it convince the public? Since then, how can Xun and others use the anti-smoking law to enforce it Citizens have no choice but to let them grow and prosper by themselves, without questioning. Xun and others expect that the provincial courts will be ashamed, and they can't bear it. One day they will sever ties with the Ministry of Justice.... Zhang Yu is one of the suspects in this case, Regardless of guilt or innocence, they should be suspended and brought to the court... If what Yixun and others said is true, please dismiss Chief Justice Zhang Yaozeng immediately, and submit it to the court for a public trial to thank the world. If Zhang Yaozeng's behavior is right, please Let Xun and others be dismissed from their posts to thank Zhang Yaozeng. If the government is still in trouble, please dismiss both Xun and Zhang Yaozeng to calm them down.... Sitting in the same clothes, Xun and others disdain to do so, willing to keep silent for life , Xun and others couldn't bear to come out. Dare to help ordinary people, it is their responsibility, and they don't shy away from the suspicion of military meddling in politics. The time must be done, and we are waiting for Ming Xun." Listed in this telegram are Ni Sichong, Jiang Guiti, Zhang Zuolin, Feng Delin, Meng Enyuan, Bi Guifang, Xu Lanzhou, Wang Zhanyuan, Zhang Huaizhi, Zhao Ti, Tian Wenlie, Li Houji, Tanakayu, Yang Shande, etc. Zhang Yao once resigned to the Beijing government indignantly.In his resignation letter, he stated that he was "not guilty at all, and has no responsibility to bear."He also suggested: "Zhang Xun has no center and is intimidating the government. Please severely punish the country." He said that since Zhang Xun is the "plaintiff", he should come to the court to confront him. If it is a false accusation, he should be reversed.Li comforted him "don't worry about it".Duan Ye only said one irresponsible sentence: "If you don't blame yourself, you will defeat yourself." On September 21, Zhang Xun blatantly convened the second larger-scale Xuzhou meeting, and expanded the offensive and defensive alliance of the seven provinces into the "Thirteen Provinces and Regions Federation".Attending the meeting were Shandong Governor Zhang Huaizhi, Fifth Division Commander Zhang Shuyuan, Fengtian Governor Zhang Zuolin, Jilin Governor Meng Enyuan, Heilongjiang Governor Bi Guifang, Jiangsu Governor Feng Guozhang, Henan Governor Zhao Ti, Hubei Governor Wang Zhanyuan, Jiangxi Governor Li Chun, Fujian Governor Li Houji, Cao Kun, governor of Zhili, Zhu Jiabao, governor of Zhili, Yang Shande, governor of Zhejiang, Lu Yongxiang, envoy of the Songhu Guard, Zhang Jingyao, commander of the seventh division, Shi Congbin, envoy of Gunzhou town, Long Jiguang, supervisor of mining affairs in Guangdong and Guangxi, Wu Bingxiang, chief police officer of Beijing Normal University, Beijing Bu Representatives sent by the army commander Jiang Chaozong and others.When the representatives of these warlords arrived in Xuzhou, Zhang Xun sent green woolen sedan chairs to the station to meet them, and booked the four major hotels in Xuzhou as guest houses.The meeting was held in the large living room of the patrolling embassy. The entrance was strictly controlled, and representatives had to go through a personal inspection to enter the venue.The meeting decided: to elect Zhang Xun as the leader of the thirteen provinces and regions, and to formulate the twelve items of the "Provincial and District Federation Constitution" as follows: 1. The purpose of this group is to liaise with national defense, consolidate forces, and support the central government; 2. This group is established to prevent rioters from seizing political power.After the opening of the National Assembly, if there is an excuse to disturb and embarrass the provinces and regions, the group may hold a meeting to discuss a unified action and jointly discuss it; 3. For the sake of maintaining national peace, if the group has to use troops as a last resort, matters concerning joint regional operations , one leader can be publicly elected to be in charge; 4. The group considers the leader to be the leader, and all matters will be followed by the leader's announcement after a meeting and a referendum; 5. The group recommends General Zhang as the leader. occurs, the dispute shall be presided over.If it is not as good as going to and from e-commerce, General Zhang Shang will list the name on his behalf, but the original reason for the telegram should be reported after the event; The venue of the meeting shall be decided temporarily; 7. After the union of the group, if there are any behaviors that impede the unity of the country or have unreasonable demands on politics, which cannot be tolerated by public opinion, the group will treat them with public hostility; 8. The provinces outside the group If there are those who resist the central government and undermine the overall situation in the district, the group will assist the central government to subdue them; 9. In order to uphold justice, the group should speak up and protect those who support private grievances and use other names to retaliate 10. If all parties intentionally sabotage and weaken the power of this group, this group should work together to resist it; 11. The funds that this group needs should be borne by each province at its discretion; 12. This abbreviation is only Gu Gang wants, all unfinished matters shall be stipulated by the public at any time. These articles indicate that the purpose of the Xuzhou Conference was not only to organize a military alliance against the National Congress, the Kuomintang, and the southwestern provinces, but also to prevent the centralization of power by the Beijing government and to lay a stronger foundation for the separatism of the provincial warlords.That is to say, no matter which side, including the Beijing government, anyone who harms their power status will consider it a common enemy and deal with it by force. On September 22, Ni Sichong, Governor of Anhui, rushed from Bengbu to Xuzhou to attend the meeting in person.At Ni's suggestion, the meeting of the day was changed to an emergency meeting.He was the first to speak at the meeting. He believed that it was not enough to formulate regulations without taking action. Therefore, he proposed to dissolve the Congress, abolish the old "Convention Law", remove the five presidents of the Southwest faction, Tang Shaoyi, Sun Hongyi, Gu Zhongxiu, Chen Jintao, and Zhang Yaozeng. Inform the Beijing government and reply within three days.These proposals were actually to overthrow the Republic of China and transform it into a military state of China, and to adopt a fighting stance towards the southwestern provinces. This aroused the concerns of the representatives of the provinces, who believed that they could not agree without the authorization of the governor of the province.Ni took a step back and wanted to change "dissolve the Congress" to "remove the rioters in the Congress", but everyone still couldn't make a decision, so the meeting that day broke up without any results. On the 24th, the Secretary of the State Council Zeng Yujun brought a telegram from Beijing, so the discussion of the telegram was the theme of the meeting. Zhang Xun and Ni Sichong both strongly advocated that the original draft should be passed. On the 25th, Zhang Xun, Feng Guozhang, Wang Zhanyuan, Li Chun, Ni Sichong, Zhang Zuolin, Meng Enyuan, Guo Zongxi, Bi Guifang, Xu Lanzhou, Cao Kun, Zhang Huaizhi, Zhao Ti, Tian Wenlie, Li Houji, Zhang Guangjian, Tanaka Yu, Yang Shande, Lu Yongxiang, Chen Guangyuan , Li Jincai, Li Changtai, Zhang Jingyao, Fan Guozhang, Cai Chengxun, Zhang Yongcheng, Zhang Shuyuan, Wang Jinjing, Bao Zhiqing, Tang Tianxi, Shi Congbin, Xu Zhanfeng, Lu Jin, Yang Yide and other thirty-four people sent a telegram according to the original manuscript brought by Beijing: " Tang Shaoyi is mediocre in knowledge, poor in talent and wisdom, undisciplined in conduct, and filthy in public....Tang Shaoyi once borrowed money, and with a huge sum of 6 million yuan, he even shared with a few people. Asked about the use of the money, Tang Yun was dumbfounded and had no words to say, so he abandoned his post and absconded. Since Tang came here, he is about to get foreign aid, and his plot is shady.... Please don't order the president to take office. If he doesn't find out, Envoys and ministers' diplomacy will inevitably lead to the failure of the country and the invasion of China. Xun and other documents signed and signed by Tang are not expected. Except for the comparison between the public representative and Tang Qing, the co-words are submitted by telegram." Compared with the telegram attacking Zhang Yaozeng, this telegram has more intense firepower.The number of those listed increased from 15 to 34. Except for the governors of Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Xinjiang who were not listed, they almost used the name of all the Beiyang factions to fight an unarmed old Beiyang bureaucrat.Those listed include the military governor, the governor, the division commander, the governor, the guard envoy, the guardian envoy, and the last one is the director of the Zhili Police Department, which can be said to have a full range of roles.Although the facts about Zhang Yaozeng’s attack were not correct, they were still somewhat implicated. The facts listed in this telegram were all fabricated out of thin air. If you want to get foreign aid, you will do something wrong" are also trumped-up charges.The telegram attacking Zhang Yaozeng only assumed that the judicial organs of the provinces would disassociate themselves from the "smuggling opium" chief justices, but this telegram clearly pointed out that the listed provinces would disassociate themselves from the "mean and obscene" foreign ministers.In the past, the Navy was independent and declared that it would "not accept orders from the Ministry of the Navy of Beijing." The actual action of checking accounts in Tianjin threatened him not to take office in Beijing.In fact, this telegram was arranged by Zhang Xun and Ni Sichong. Some representatives of the warlords in various provinces echoed it, and some expressed their disapproval.Representatives from Jiangsu, Jiangxi, and Hubei provinces expressed that they had to ask their provincial governors for instructions before deciding whether to sign or not. Ni Sichong stood up and said loudly, "You can't represent me, so let me represent you."Therefore, Feng Guozhang, Li Chun, and Wang Zhanyuan all sent telegrams denying consent to the listing, and withdrew their representatives.Feng Guozhang sent representatives to Beijing to declare that the telegram was without his consent.This is the beginning of the Three Governors of the Yangtze River establishing a different style in the Beiyang School. On September 25, Tang Shaoyi sent a telegram to resign as the Minister of Foreign Affairs.In the telegram, he scolded Zhang Xun and said: "Zhang Xun is entrenched in Xuzhou, which is like a separatist regime. The central government ordered that officials be appointed and dismissed by him, and taxes are collected by him. Recently, he collected fugitives, called on the party, and violated the dignity of the Congress with paradoxical and illegal remarks, and slandered with nonsense. Attorney General, ordered dismissal." The telegram also accuses the Beijing government of unfairly handling the Guangdong issue: "Long Jiguang ruled Guangdong for three years. He fought against the people, raped and plundered more than thieves. He thought that the government had rewarded him with a world vision. Therefore, even though he was ordered to dismiss the official, he did not explain it. It is an unreasonable request. Although recent Handing over the seal, but still occupying the lonely mountain, extorting huge sums of money, and using each to dominate Qiongdao's needs... Li Liejun, as the man who founded the republic and pledged his loyalty to the Republic of China, revolted in southern Yunnan, joined hands and prospered, separated thousands of miles, and moved to famous cities , but the result was not as good as that of the cruel and cruel Long Jiguang, who discouraged the martyrs and caused people to collapse." After Tang Shaoyi's resignation telegram was published, Ding Shiyi, secretary-general of the Lipai Mansion, went to Tianjin to persuade him to stay.Tang originally had no intention of going to Beijing to join Duan's cabinet, and the post of foreign minister was nominated by Li, and he left Shanghai for Tianjin at Li's invitation.As soon as he arrived in Tianjin, he knew that the air in the north was not good for him.Duan believes that: Li insisted on inviting Tang to join the cabinet only to win over the prime minister of the cabinet, so he did not hesitate to use various means to prevent Tang from coming to Beijing to take office. Duan used the Xuzhou meeting to attack his political opponent Tang Shaoyi, but this weapon in turn hurt himself.At the same time that the army governors attacked Tang Shaoyi fiercely, the Xuzhou meeting also discussed the cabinet issue. Zhang Xun advocated the election of Xu Shichang to form a cabinet, and Duan Ying retired as the chief of the army in Xu's cabinet.Zhang Xun had two intentions in rejecting Duan's cabinet. The first was to compete with Duan for the position of leader of the Beiyang faction, and the second was to use Xu Shichang to pave the way for the restoration of the Qing Dynasty.Therefore, the Xuzhou meeting produced a sharp contradiction within the Beiyang faction-the contradiction between Zhang Xun and Duan Qirui. There was still a conflict between Zhang Xun and Feng Guozhang at the Xuzhou meeting. The relationship between these two people has never been good.Feng sent representatives to participate in the Xuzhou meeting, not willing to serve as Zhang Xun's assistant, but to use the Xuzhou meeting to brew a coup in an attempt to seize the position of president.However, Zhang Xun regarded him as a pawn waving the flag as the leader of the alliance. Without his consent, he signed a telegram under his name. This was something he could not tolerate. , expressing the non-cooperative attitude between the three governors of the Yangtze River and Xuzhou. There were also conflicts between Zhang Xun and other provincial warlords. Because of Zhang Xun's arrogance and arbitrariness, the provincial warlords dared to be angry but did not dare to speak out.Every time Zhang Xun expressed his opinion, the warlords in all provinces could only echo him.Once, Li Houji, the governor of Fujian Province, was a step late in agreeing to the telegram. He scolded Li for destroying the Beiyang group and affecting the prestige of the leader.Later, when the vice president was elected in Beijing, Zhang Xun ordered the members of the provincial alliance to call to support Xu Shichang.Li quickly called back and said: "Instead of pushing Donghai (Xu), it's better to push me to be handsome." At this time, the Beiyang warlords in various provinces followed the example of the governors of the former Qing Dynasty.Called "a certain handsome", only Zhang Xun is called "big handsome".Due to the growing prestige of the leader of the alliance, apart from the three governors of the Yangtze River who had withdrawn from the alliance, the members of the alliance members in various provinces gradually fell into his echoes.Some of them shamelessly suggested that there is no need to convene a meeting to seek consent in the future, and that all issues are decided by the leader, and everyone is willing to obey.However, there are only a small number of people who are willing to be slaves, and the opposition of most alliance members to the alliance leader is getting deeper and deeper. Xuzhou, where the "Marshal" is stationed, sometimes becomes a political refuge and a "market" for conspiracy activities by various political careerists.The imperial criminals Gu Ao and Xue Dake who were wanted by the Beijing government were hired as confidential secretaries by the "Marshal".Zhang Xun also sent telegrams to invite Yang Du, Sun Yuyun and other wanted imperial criminals to come to Xuzhou. Resigned military politicians related to the Beiyang faction, such as Lu Jianzhang, Ruan Zhongshu, Long Jinguang, etc., were hired by the "marshal" as senior advisers.Hong Shuzu, the main criminal who assassinated Song Jiaoren, also served as a guest of the "Marshal" in Xuzhou. On September 27, Kang Youwei, the leader of the royalist party known as the "Sage of Literature", also came to Xuzhou to carry out activities at the invitation of the "Marshal". Xuzhou has taken a step forward from the "Military State of China" and has become a semi-public event venue for the revival of the "Great Qing Empire".Therefore, the people of the whole country unanimously expressed their indignation at the Xuzhou meeting, and the governors of the five southern provinces also sent telegrams to reprimand them. Li Yi repeatedly urged the Duan cabinet to stop the lawless behavior of the governors. On September 29, the Beijing government issued an order prohibiting military personnel from holding meetings and interfering in politics.The command says: "There are a small number of people who have a narrow view every time, or gather together to discuss, linger in the field, or hide and flee, pretexting themselves. They even reject officials, plant party support, pretend to be patriotic, and actually call for national subjugation. Gradually.... If you still ignore the overall situation and insist on going your own way, the laws of the country are in place, and public opinion remains, the president must take care of the aftermath in order to defend the country!" It was the first and only time the Beijing government had dared to publicly condemn the warlords in the provinces.But on the same day, the Beijing government ordered the dismissal of Tang Shaoyi as the foreign minister. On the same day, Duan issued a colorful telegram in the name of the cabinet (29th), saying: "Recently, I have been connected to the electricity repeatedly, inspired by enthusiasm, and there have been sentiments, rumors on the road, and an appointment to gather for discussion. Afterwards, the country's major plans have been offered by the princes. Fortunately, each of them expresses what he sees and speaks frankly; Or if the relationship is important, the commissioner can also come to Beijing to apply. If it is beneficial to the country, dare not ask for praise. As for the transgressive behavior, it is not for the benefit of national unity. Please resend it, and beg for your own help. Difficult." This telegram described their illegal acts of interfering in Congress, ostracizing cabinet members, threatening the government, and plotting misconduct as "inspired by enthusiasm", and described the publicly held Xuzhou meeting as "road rumors", and euphemistically taught them that as long as they are involved in politics It is still permissible to adopt a more covert form instead of superficial.The publication of this telegram made the order to stop military interference in politics a dead letter. The next day, Duan sent another 30 telegrams (30th) to each division and brigade commander, saying: "The commanders of divisions and brigades take it as their sole responsibility to govern the army. They should not overstep their authority to participate in the administration of the country. I recently read that the president has a telegram, and the division commander and others are jointly named in it. It is against the righteousness of the soldiers. The divisions and brigades If you are good at rectifying the army and have suggestions, you can go to the Ministry or send someone to make a statement. As for the private agreement meeting, it is confusing and not in the interest of the country, so you should refrain from it." On September 30, Duan stated at the state affairs meeting that he had not foreseen the Xuzhou meeting.He said: "When Xiangcheng (Yuan) was seriously ill, Zhang Xun wanted to bring five thousand soldiers to Beijing. I sent a telegram to warn him that if you dare to bring troops to Beijing, I will send troops to attack you. At the same time, I also telegraphed Yuehua Fu (Feng), if Zhang Xun dares to mobilize troops northward, I ask him to send troops to attack on both sides with my army." After the Beijing government issued an order prohibiting military intervention in politics, those provincial warlords who "only follow the leader of the commander-in-chief" sent telegrams not to participate in the meeting, and withdrew their representatives sent to Xuzhou.Xuzhou, where the crown and cover come and go, suddenly appeared a desolate scene of people leaving the building.Zhang Xundian asked Duan whether the bright electricity came from the will of the Prime Minister himself?He called back and said: "Although our personal friendship is strong, public friendship cannot be tolerated."Therefore, Zhang Xun was full of complaints and telegraphed the relevant provinces, saying: "It is easy to go to Hebei for thieves, but it is difficult to go to the imperial court!" Paying attention to Zhang Xun's military strength, Duan's strategist Xu Shuzheng still communicated with him secretly, and Liang Qichao also visited Xuzhou.Therefore, Zhang Xun dared to continue to send telegrams attacking the Finance Minister Chen Jintao in his own name.When the National Assembly raised questions about the Xuzhou meeting, he dared to send a telegram to intimidate the National Assembly and said: "After reading the newspaper, the subordinates are angry. It is more straight-forward to plan to go to Beijing, and then they will be punished by the court." On January 4, 6th year of the Republic of China, Ni Sichong and representatives of warlords from various northern provinces came to Nanjing to celebrate Feng Guozhang's birthday.During this period, Beiyang warlords often contacted each other through various means of entertainment, and birthday celebrations were one of them.Duan Qirui's cronies are on the list of those who went to Nanjing to celebrate his birthday: Xu Shuzheng, Jin Yunpeng, Wu Guangxin, Zeng Yujun, Ding Shiyuan, etc. Since then, Wang Zhanyuan's 52nd birthday and Ni Sichong's 50th birthday were opportunities for them to exchange views.Since the persuasion telegram led by Feng Guozhang was sent out by the Beiyang warlords, they have made a lot of fuss about "the theory of supporting the establishment", "the theory of bad congress", and the "responsible cabinet system theory".In China during this period, there was no public opinion, only the "ideas" of the warlords. On January 7, 6, Ni Sichong invited representatives who had come to Nanjing to celebrate his birthday to hold a meeting in Xuzhou. This was the third Xuzhou meeting.The State Council heard that there was another meeting in Xuzhou, so it sent three telegrams, agreeing with Feng Guozhang, asking him to advise the representatives of the provinces to cancel the meeting; agreeing with the warlords in the provinces, please withdraw their representatives; You should return to Beijing quickly. In fact, Duan secretly encouraged this meeting, because all dignitaries from Duan's family attended this meeting, and because the general public supported Duan, and Duan himself did not want to suffer the reputation of expulsing Li or oppressing the Congress. Duan hoped to kill someone with a knife, and faked it to an old man, Zhang Xun. On the third day of the opening of the Xuzhou meeting on January 9, five points were decided: 1. Ask the president to dismiss the "sycophants"; 2. Ban the Congress; 3. Support the Prime Minister; This meeting is a victory for Duan, because all the decisions are in favor of Duan.During this period, Liang Qichao, the leader of the Research Department, arrived in Beijing on January 5, and rumors of the dissolution of the National Assembly were rampant.The research department is a moderate compromiser, and now he is joining hands with the Beiyang power faction, just as the Progressive Party supported Yuan Shikai in the 2nd year of the Republic of China.Li said to Liang: "In politics, the president can stand on a high and inactive position, and I can do it; the "Convention Law" stipulates that the power of the general of the army and navy, I can't give up." What Li meant was that he could not object. The cabinet system, and the provincial governors should be under the jurisdiction of the president in the "Convention Law", and should not be under the command of the prime minister and should be used as a tool to attack the president. Liang Qichao persuaded Duan to make polite concessions to the president, and discuss with him as much as possible.Duan said: "I have never been able to speak, perfunctory, or entertain others all my life. When the Tiangong Mansion hosted a banquet for the Mongolian prince, I entered the mansion and bowed to the president, and I bowed again when I exited. It’s perennial, so to speak.” Liang Qichao's role as a mediator did not achieve his goal, because Duan's personality neither refused to perfunctory, nor relaxed at all in terms of real power, and he did not give Li face. How could the hostility between Li and Duan turn into peace?