Chapter 119 118. The Braided Army is Vulnerable

The military campaign against rebellion began on July 7, 6, and ended on the 12th. There were only six days before and after, and there were still four days in between when the troops stopped, and the real battle was only two days. On the 6th, the rebellious army gathered at Lugou Bridge on the west road, and marched into Huangcun through Langfang on the east.Zhang Xun ordered the braided army to destroy the Fengtai Railway to prevent the advance of the rebel army. This action aroused the protest of the diplomatic corps. According to the "Xin Chou Treaty" that "the Beijing-Tianjin Railway cannot be interrupted", they sent foreign soldiers to protect and repair it. The tracks are restored to traffic.In this way, it is very unfavorable for the braided army.When Zhang Xun resisted the rebel army, he knew that his strength was weak. He only brought 5,000 braided troops to the north.In order to conceal his fragility, the non-braided army had to take the lead, while the braided army was postponed to supervise the battle. On the 7th, he sent Wu Changzhi's 1st Brigade and Tian Wangwang's 1st Regiment to Fengtai for help, and was delayed by the 2nd Battalion of the Braid Army.As a result, Wu and Tian's troops turned against each other before reaching their destination. Li Kuiyuan's brigade of the 11th Division and Liu Peirong's brigade of the 12th Division stationed in Nanyuan also took advantage of the momentum to point their guns at the braid army. At the same time, they dropped bombs on the Qianqing Hall and Zhongzheng Hall of the Qing Palace, killing a man and a dog in the palace.Under such circumstances, the braided army scattered and fled in all directions.Chen Guangyuan, the commander of the 12th Division, rushed to Fengtai from Nanyuan, and the rebellious troops from the east and the west joined forces in Fengtai.The braided troops retreated from the front line all retreated outside the Yongding Gate of Beijing. Jiang Chaozong ordered the city gates to be closed and stragglers not allowed to enter the city. Zhang Xun was furious and forced Jiang Kaicheng to let the braided soldiers into the city.

This was the first battle of the rebellious army, but it was only a small contact, and there was no big battle at all, because the train still drove away under the artillery fire.In this war, the braided army was defeated because the Beiyang army turned against him, so they were defeated without a formal fight.Zhang Xun panicked at this moment, and he hurriedly sent a telegram to the warlords of various provinces participating in the Xuzhou meeting, asking them to fulfill their promises, sponsor the restoration, and stop the attack.Zhang's telegram said: "The former Dutch princes came to the Xu meeting. Zhang Zhishuai (Zhang Huaizhi), Zhao Zhoushuai (Zhao Ti), Ni Danshuai (Ni Sichong), Li Peishuai (Li Houji) and other representatives first revealed the purpose of restoration and made a firm alliance proposal. The old brother led the team to the north, and switched on the telegram before leaving, earnestly trying to achieve the main purpose of the meeting. The younger brother who was in charge of mediating people did not have the fundamental ground of the capital. When the younger brother arrived in Tianjin and Beijing, he still did not dare to reveal the subject in a hurry, and covered it with the arrangement It is not ready, and I dare not take the liberty to do so, so please dissolve the National Assembly, listen to Li Jiu to organize the cabinet, and ask the provinces to withdraw their independence, all in order to show the world that there is no doubt. Now that the matter is ripe, it is a plan that is too fast to cover your ears, and invite the emperor Resetting....It is the public's intention to wait and see, and the reply calls are mostly based on the fact that there is no discussion beforehand. However, the proposal of the Xuzhou meeting, how can you bear the cold alliance?...Belonging to the northern faction, how can you bear to fight in the same room?...I sincerely agree quickly , to fulfill the previous agreement."

The rebellious army effortlessly conquered Langfang in the first battle, joined forces in Fengtai in the second battle, and approached the city of Beijing in the third battle.Duan Zhigui, the commander-in-chief of the East Road Dispute Rebel Army, said: "The Rebel Army Committee has discarded braids and a lot of opium smoking guns." In fact, no fire was fired in the battle of Langfang. Feng Yuxiang, the former brigade commander, and Langfang fell without a fight.At this time, another brigade commander, Wu Peifu, served as the commander of the sixth brigade of the third division under Cao Kun.Wu and Feng once fought against the national defense army in Sichuan, and now they are participating in the war against rebellion.

On July 8, under the order of Zhang Xun, the braided army retreated into the inner city of Beijing and concentrated in the three areas of the Temple of Heaven, the Forbidden City and Nanheyan Zhangzhai.He ordered the infantry to lead Jiang Chaozong to send troops to defend the city gates. Zhang Xiyuan, the first brigade of the first division originally stationed outside Beijing, took advantage of the momentum and attacked Chaoyang gate.As a result, street fighting may break out in Beijing, and the situation becomes tense.Wu Bingxiang, chief of the Beijing Police, hurriedly called on Brigadier Zhang and asked Zhang to withdraw. The reason was that the gates of Beijing had been taken over by neutral infantry commanders.After the braided army originally from Zhang Xun retreated into the inner city, Beijing became a triple sphere of influence. The braided soldiers stationed in the inner city still hung the five-clawed yellow dragon flag.The middle one is a "neutral zone" that does not hang a flag, and Jiang Chaozong's troops are stationed at each city gate. Jiang Chaozong still uses the post-restoration admiral of the nine gates to issue a notice of peace for the people.It is neither called the "Republic of China" nor the "Great Qing Empire", and the yin and yang calendars are used behind the notice.Outside the city was the rebel army, and they were flying the five-color flag (the national flag at the time).

Seeing that the general situation was over, Zhang Xun couldn't help panicking. He sent the pseudo foreign minister Liang Dunyan to the Japanese legation to ask the Japanese envoy to protect the "emperor", but to no avail. Li Yuanhong was still living in the Japanese embassy at this time.Zhang Xun also wanted to imitate the old wisdom of Li Jue and Guo Si, set fire to the palace, and took the "young master" out of Qihuamen to "Xishou" Rehe, but of course this would not work. At this time, the city gates in Beijing were covered with half-moon-shaped sandbags, and machine guns were set up outside the Zhangzhai gate in Nanchizi. The shops in the urban area were closed, and the people were in a state of panic, because they were afraid that the braided soldiers would repeat the scene of looting Nanjing in the second year of the Republic of China. However, this time Zhang Xun was very smart. He knew that foreigners in Beijing were very dangerous, so the braided soldiers did not burn, kill and loot like they did in Nanjing back then.

The rebellious army did not actively attack Beijing because they were afraid that the ancient city would be destroyed by artillery fire after the street fighting, so Duan Qirui planned to resolve everything through diplomatic channels. On July 8, Duan Qirui sent Wang Daxie and Liu Chongjie into the city to contact the ministers of various countries, asking them to convey to Zhang Xun, and proposed the following four armistice treaties: (1) abolish the imperial system, (2) disarm the braided army, (3) preserve Zhang Xun's life, (4) Maintain the preferential treatment conditions for cleaning the house.At the same time, Fu Liangzuo and Qu Tongfeng were sent into the city to deal with the dismissal of braided troops.

The ministers of various countries promoted the ministers of the Netherlands as representatives, and conveyed the conditions of the rebel army to Zhang Xun's puppet Ministry of Foreign Affairs, urging Zhang Xun to accept it, and expressed that all countries were willing to recognize Zhang Xun as a state criminal and protect him. Seeing that the general situation was over, Zhang Xun made a wishful thinking. He wanted to lead the braided army to withdraw from Beijing safely and return to Xuzhou's lair through diplomatic relations. At the same time, he, Lei Zhenchun and Zhang Zhenfang jointly submitted their resignation to Puyi. , and issued a false edict to form a cabinet with Xu Shichang, and Wang Shizhen acted as the agent before Xu Shichang arrived in Beijing.This is naturally Zhang Xun's idea, as can be seen from Zhang Xun's power-on:

"In one move for restoration, we are not alone in our way. All my compatriots in various provinces have conspired in advance. Donghai (referring to Xu Shichang) and Hejian (referring to Feng Guozhang) are especially applauded. Messengers come and go, and all can be recruited. The former governors of the provinces gathered Discuss Xuzhou, write it in the Sutra, and list it as one of the plans... Today, I request that Taifu Xu assist the government, organize a complete cabinet, convene the National Assembly, and agree on the constitution, so as to comply with the purpose of implementing the constitution. The responsibility has been relieved, and there are people in charge. Immediately Chen resigned in person. Before Taifu Xu came to Beijing, all cabinet affairs were handed over to Mr. Wang Pin (referring to Wang Shizhen) to take over temporarily. Once all matters are resolved, he will lead the team back to Xu."

Zhang Xun never dreamed that his dream of restoration was a flash in the pan, and those warlords who "only the commander in chief has the courage" at the Xuzhou meeting, now watch him sing with a "delay" and "wait and see" attitude. monologue.With the general situation gone, he wanted to walk away.He wanted to learn from Yuan Shikai. Yuan played Hong Xian as the emperor back then, but the emperor couldn't do it, so he turned around and became the president. Zhang Xun couldn't restore it now, so he also wanted to go back to Xuzhou to be a general. When Duan Qirui proposed to Zhang Xun four solutions to the current situation through the diplomatic corps, Zhang responded with four ballads, saying: "I never leave my soldiers, and my soldiers never leave their weapons. Where to go." At this time, he had forgotten the little emperor he supported, and someone asked him how to make an account of the Qing Dynasty, and he said loudly: "I am too stupid, everyone is very smart, the restoration is not me One person's idea is not my own wish. Everyone enjoys the blessings after the restoration is successful, but now I have to suffer alone. , I suffer alone.”

Zhang Xun wanted to completely push the affairs of Beijing to Xu Shichang and Wang Shizhen. He believed that these two people, one was the veteran of the Beiyang faction, and the other was an important minister of the Beiyang faction. With them in charge, the Beiyang faction would feel more comfortable.At the same time, he intuitively believed that the Beiyang faction did not oppose the restoration, but opposed him alone. Now that he handed over the aftermath of Beijing to Xu Hewang, the Beiyang faction would not kill them all. He returned to Xuzhou.He was really distressed, and felt deeply that he was betrayed by some warlords. Therefore, he felt that no matter whether to maintain the "Great Qing Empire" or restore the Republic of China, let Xu Shichang and his ilk do it, the sooner he would leave Beijing. Nest is better.

Zhang Xun repeatedly sent telegrams and sent people to Tianjin to welcome Xu "Xiangguo" to Beijing to assist the government. Of course, how could Xu jump into the fire pit at this time!However, he sent a letter to Shi Xu, the "Minister of Internal Affairs" of the Qing Dynasty, expressing his concern for the Qing Dynasty. The letter said: "In the act of restoration, Zhang Shaoxuan acted recklessly. He knew Yuanji early on. Now that foreign troops are forcing him everywhere, Zhang Jun can no longer support him. At present, the most important thing is to defend the sacred bow. Never see foreign ministers again. It will cause accidents.... The matter of preferential treatment will continue to be effective. Chang has repeatedly tried to change his business prospects (note: here refers to the rebel army), and he should still try his best to maintain it and make the best of his ambition for several years. Once Beijing is a little peaceful, Chang immediately came to Beijing to try to maintain the relationship.” At this time, people all over the country criticized Zhang Xun for betraying the Republic of China, and none of the people who had attended the Xuzhou meeting came forward to speak for Zhang Zhuaishuai. On July 8, Ruan Zhongshu, an old friend of Zhang Xun who had been an important staff member of Yuan Shikai, sent a letter to Xu Shichang, asking him to do his best to preserve Zhang Xun's life and property.Ruan Zhongshu's letter said: "Shaoxuan is straight, loyal and courageous, full of blood, but his brain is too simple and his thinking is too old. ... Now he has made such a big mistake, his heart is admirable, and his stupidity is pitiable. ... It is for the overall situation and for personal friendship, so it cannot be tolerated. Do not cry bitterly and beg for help in front of Junzuo.... I sincerely remember the friendship between teachers and students and the old love for more than 20 years, and try to preserve life and property for it...." It is said that the braided army guarding the Temple of Heaven included German commanders, and it is also said that Xin Ci, the German minister in China, was related to the restoration. This is because Zhang Xun once opposed the severance of diplomatic relations with Germany, and Lao Naixuan of the Clan Socialist Party suggested that Puyi should intermarry with Germany. Rumors of Kaiser Wilhelm II. From July 9th, the rebellious army united with the Beiyang army in Kinki and approached the city of Beijing.The first division is outside Andingmen, Guangqumen, and Chaoyangmen, the thirteenth division is outside Xizhimen, part of the eleventh division is outside Yongdingmen, and parts of the third and twelfth divisions are outside Zhangyimen. In addition, the other divisions of the 11th and 12th divisions were in Xiyuan and encircled Beijing. The situation of restoration was completely disintegrated. On the 9th, Feng Delin, the commander of Fengtian's 28th Division, defected to Zhang Xun and supported the restoration. Seeing that the situation was not right, he wanted to escape. Unexpectedly, he fled to Tianjin and was captured by the rebel army at the train station. On the 10th, Lei Zhenchun, Zhang Zhenfang, and Liang Dunyan also escaped from Beijing and were arrested at Fengtai Station.Both Lei Zhenchun and Zhang Zhenfang were Yuan Shikai's favorite ministers when he proclaimed himself emperor, and now they are participating in the restoration, and they were called "double-material imperial criminals" at the time.They asked to send a telegram to Ni Sichong in Xuzhou, but the telegram was also withheld.Only Kang Youwei, who is good at dressing up and known as the sage of literature, discarded his hair and hat, and pretended to be a simple old farmer in the countryside, and secretly escaped the military and police surveillance posts along the way. His property was seized during the 1898 coup It was returned after 3 years, but this time it was seized again.The most ridiculous thing is that Chen Yi (the grandson of Chen Shi, a famous Zhongxing general in the former Qing Dynasty) was arrested at Huangcun Station. Chen Yi was arrested for participating in the restoration, and he will not be punished for his favor. From then on, he will never participate in the restoration. Lightweight without braids." On the 10th, Zhang Xun sent a telegram denouncing the perfidy of Beiyang faction figures and betraying friends. He said: "Changing the state system is a matter of great importance, and it is not Xun who can preside over it alone....Last year, at all the meetings in Xuzhou, Feng, Duan, Xu, Liang and other governors were all present. That is to say, when Xun came to Tianjin this time, Xu Donghai Governor Zhu and Governor Zhu are very supportive, and the rest of the warlords have not disobeyed. Although the elder Zhi did not express it, he did not refuse. After Xun arrived in Beijing, he sent a representative to discuss the restoration, saying that only the president should be overthrown, and the restoration can be discussed. Xun and the secret telegrams sought consent from all parties, and they were all approved. The existence of secret telegrams is unavoidable. Now that it is implemented, not only Feng and Duan are opposed by telegrams, but also Chen Guangyuan and Wang Shizhen, who conspired day and night, and Cao Kun and Duan Zhigui, who first agreed. He actually resisted his face and turned his face, and went straight to the capital. Overturning the clouds and rain, it came out of Erqing, and the people's hearts are so amazing. Xun Gu is loyal and loyal, and the sky can be shown. Although he is sold by the group, his heart is unremitting. But such The deeds of ghosts and ghosts must be announced to the world, so as not to confuse black and white. In addition to collecting and publishing the records of previous meetings and sending back and forth letters and telegrams, the telegrams should be sent first." On the 11th, foreign journalists went to Nanchizi (Dashuai Zhang’s mansion) to meet Zhang Xun. The braided marshal who caused a catastrophe was very calm. He talked to the foreign reporters calmly. I am only implementing the common proposition of the governors of the northern provinces. I have Feng Guozhang's personal letter (in fact, it is Hu Siyuan's fake letter) in my hand, and Duan Zhigui and Xu Shuzheng encouraged me. Duan Qirui cannot be said to be ignorant. I have their signatures The papers are in hand, I will release them when necessary, I will never surrender to them. Although the rebellious army surrounded the city of Beijing, they always wanted to win without fighting, and tried to avoid using troops in the city of Beijing.Therefore, from the 9th to the 11th, on the one hand, Wang Daxie and Liu Chongjie engaged in peace talks through the diplomatic corps, and on the other hand, they urged Wang Shizhen to run away from it. However, Zhang Xun's attitude was very tenacious, and he believed that he had the document supporting the restoration of the Beiyang faction in his hand, so he refused to disarm. , Be sure to bring the braided soldiers back to Xuzhou by yourself. Since there was no hope of a peaceful solution, the rebellious army decided to attack the city. Wang Daxie and Liu Chongjie approached the diplomatic corps to discuss the attack plan.The diplomatic corps still pushed the leader minister (the Dutch minister) to reply to the rebel army, agreeing that the time for attacking the city would be limited from 4:00 am to 12:00 pm on the 12th. The rebellious army decided on the battle plan on the evening of the 11th, and attacked Chaoyangmen with the first division. After entering the city, they continued to attack Zhangzhai on the south riverside.The eighth, eleventh, and twelfth divisions attacked the Temple of Heaven from Yongdingmen and Guang'anmen, and the third division attacked the Temple of Heaven and Zhonghuamen from Zhangyimen. At dawn on the 12th, the second division attacked the Temple of Heaven. The braided army guarding the Temple of Heaven consisted of about 3,000 people. As soon as they made contact, they hung up five-color flags to express their surrender.A small part of the braided army who refused to surrender retreated to Zhangzhai in Nanchizi. The offensive of the rebellious army began, and everything went smoothly. The main reason was that the braided army had completely lost their fighting spirit. The rebel army attacked Dongdan Pailou and Dong'an Market via Chaoyangmen in the east, and went north to Xihuamen through Xuanwumen in the west. The remaining braided army They were forced to gather in the corner of Nanchizi.The anti-rebel army who occupied Xuanhuamen set up cannons on the city tower, aiming at Tiananmen and Zhang's house along Nanheyan. At this time, there was news that the braided army's old nest in Xuzhou, Zhang Xun's first general, Zhang Wensheng, who stayed behind in Xuzhou, led the 64th Battalion of the Dingwu Army to surrender by telegram, and surrendered without a fight.Zhang Wensheng was from Peixian County, and he was a Beiyang warlord from northern Jiangsu, like Li Houji from Fengshi.After the Dingwu army surrendered in Xuzhou, all the braids on their heads were completely cut off. Their surrender made the braided army in Beijing even more desperate. Xuanwumen's cannon fired a cannon at noon on the 12th, punching a big hole in the wall of Zhang's house along Nanheyan, causing violent noise and flames.The braided soldiers guarding the "Marshal Zhang's Mansion" abandoned their weapons and cut their braids and fled. At the time of the chaos, the tired and angry "Marshal Zhang" was carried into a car by two Dutchmen and galloped into the Dutch Legation. .What remains in Beijing is braids that can be seen all over the streets, because when soldiers with braids flee, they must cut off their braids to be safe.In the past few days, braids represent passports and proofs, and privileges, like a talisman. You don’t need to buy a ticket to ride a car, you don’t need a theater ticket to go to the theater, you don’t need to pay for things, and it seems appropriate to molested women. But if you have braids, you will suffer, so the braids are abandoned in the streets and alleys without any regrets. This was the second and last battle of the rebellious army. Less than 100 of the braided army died, and the rest fled. In the military action against Zhang Xun, the air force was used to assist in the battle. This was the first time in the history of Chinese civil war that the air force was used. The bombing of the Qing Palace was carried out by Duan Qirui's rebellious army, who sent Qin Guoyong, the principal of Nanyuan Aviation School, to fly a plane over the Xunqing Palace and dropped three bombs.According to the deposed Emperor Puyi's prosecution of this air raid, he said: "The bomb dropped in the palace, and the situation changed completely. The kowtowers stopped coming, the edicts disappeared, and most of the ministers who discussed politics disappeared, and they fled here and there. In the end, only Wang Shizhen was left. And Chen Baochen. On the day of the air raid, I was talking to my teachers in my study room. I heard the sound of the plane and the explosion I had never heard before. I was so frightened that I trembled all over. In the corner of the bedroom, some got under the table. One of the three bombs fell outside the gate of Longzong, injuring one of the bearers of the 'two shoulders', and the other fell in the pool of the imperial garden, damaging the A corner of the pool, the third fell on the tile eaves of Longfu Gate on Xichang Street, it was not blown up, and it scared the eunuchs who gathered there to gamble half to death." When the Qing Palace was bombed, how did the survivors cope with this unprecedented disaster?They entrusted this matter to Puyi's master Liang Dingfen, through a Japanese named Hanze, and asked Lin Quanzhu, the Japanese minister in Beijing, to write to Duan Qirui's 12th Army Division Commander Chen Guangyuan to stop the bombing. A cursive letter written on Oriental letter paper, the letter said: "The matter of engraving the promise first, Minister Lin has sent a letter to Mr. Chen's attention (this trust was forwarded by Commander Jiang), and the plane will not be able to attack again. That is to say good night. Name the heart. Seven days and nights. Burn." In the book there is another Liang Dingfen wrote a thank-you letter in his own hand, which said: "I had a good talk yesterday, and I deeply comforted my hunger and thirst. I also had to introduce Minister Lin to stop the plane incident, so I was quiet. How can I pay you for this deep love. I would like to express my gratitude. Contained Your Excellency Ze Ren is left and right. My younger brother Mingzheng is bowing his head. Minister Lin, please express your thanks." At the end of the letter, there is a cross written by Han Ze, "The Japanese Embassy, ​​Mr. Ibata".Why are these two letters connected together?It turned out that Liang Dingfen still had an envelope with the words "Please seal and return it after reading it", because these secret letters did not want to be passed on to others.Behind these two letters, there is an inscription by Chen Botao, which says: "After the restoration, Duan Qirui sent Chen Guangyuan to attack the capital. Chen threw three bombs into the palace with an airplane. The two concubines were terrified. Wen Zhong (note: referring to Liang Dingfen, The same below) Because he appealed to the Japanese Minister Lin to send a letter to stop the attack, the letter said that Master Chen was Guangyuan, and he was appointed Governor of Zhili two days after the restoration, but he did not come. Appointed, one day after the restoration, he was appointed as the commander of the infantry, and also the tax supervisor of the capital, and thanked him for his visit the next day. The last question is seven days and nights, that is, May 19th. Hanze should be a Japanese, that is, Wen Zhong entrusted him to turn to Minister Lin Most of the world does not know that this is Wen Zhong's plan, and these two papers are clear. I heard that Zhong Wu (note: referring to Zhang Xun) hastily restored the restoration, and the meeting was completed. He reported it to Wen Zhong at night. In the morning, Wen Zhong went to tell President Li Yuanhong and made him retreat. When it was defeated, Duan (Qi Rui) showed the capital to order the soldiers not to invade the imperial family, and also sent Wen Zhong to the rescue plan. Only ten days after the restoration, Wen Zhong rushed to make plans, and he was extremely worried."