Chapter 136 135. Duan Qirui formed a cabinet for the third time

On March 18, 7th year of the Republic of China, the Northern Army captured Yuezhou, and Xixun arrived in Beijing. Feng Guozhang still wanted to implement his peace proposition: "The Northern Army's military operations against the South will end at Yuezhou."He thought that since Yuezhou had been recovered, the prestige of the Beiyang faction had been restored, and the Guangxi faction was willing to negotiate peace, so why bother to mobilize the troops and use troops against the south.When his proposition was being drafted and the order had not yet been issued, he received a joint telegram from the warlords on March 19. This telegram was headed by Cao Kun, including the three governors of the Yangtze River, and there were a total of Beiyang warlords in 15 provinces and three special zones. Duan Qirui formed a cabinet again, and said: "Kun and others agreed with each other that if my father returns to the seat of Kui, we will swear to be consistent with others and help the crisis together. I am a father-in-law." When Feng received this telegram, it was like receiving a sad letter from Medton, so he had no choice but to ask Duan Mian to accept the order of the people, with the Beiyang Group as the most important, to accept the order to form a cabinet.Duan still said that he "has no intention of doing this"; Feng said that he vowed to share life and death with Duan and share weal and woe.And automatically recognize five conditions: (1) Shenlu office still moves back to the State Council, with Jin Yunpeng as the director and Jing Yun as the teacher. (2) In the resolution of the State Council, the president promises not to alter a single word without authorization. (3) The cabinet members are chosen by the prime minister without the consent of the president. (4) The secretary-general of the government office shall be recommended by the prime minister. (5) Telegrams from the central government (referring to the president) to the provinces must be approved and issued by the hospital.

On March 23, the President approved the resignation of Prime Minister Wang Shizhen, and appointed Duan Qirui as Premier. On the 24th, Zhang Zhitan was appointed Secretary-General of the State Council. On the 25th, the Shenlu Office moved back to the State Council. On the 27th, Zhang Jingyao was ordered to be the governor of Hunan and the governor of the province. On the 28th, the commander-in-chief of the navy was changed to a special appointment, with Lan Jianshu as the commander-in-chief. On the 29th, Lu Zhengxiang was reinstated as Chief of Foreign Affairs, Qian Nengxun as Chief of Internal Affairs, Duan Zhigui as Chief of Army, Liu Guanxiong as Chief of Navy, Fu Zengxiang as Chief of Education, Zhu Shen as Chief of Justice, Tian Wenlie as Chief of Agriculture and Commerce, Cao Rulin as Chief of Transportation and Finance The chief minister, Wu Dingchang, is the deputy finance minister. On April 4th, Cao Kunxun was conferred in advance, and the first-class Dashou Baoguang Jiahe Medal.Zhang Jingyao was awarded the first-class Wenhu Medal and the second-class Dashou Baoguang Jiahe Medal.Awarded three honors to Wu Peifu and the second-class Grand Ribbon Baoguang Jiahe Medal.The soldiers who conquered Yuezhou and Changsha were rewarded with 300,000 yuan each.In addition, 60,000 yuan was used to relieve the disaster in Hunan.

Jin Yunpeng, the new director of the Shenlu Office, Xu Shuzheng, Wu Guangxin, and Fu Liangzuo are the four King Kongs under Duan Qirui. Among the four King Kongs, Xu Shuzheng is the most powerful.Zhang Zhitan, the new Secretary-General of the State Council, whose alias is Yuan Bo, is a person whom Xu Shuzheng admires very much. When Xu was the Secretary-General of the State Council, Zhang was the secretary. Xu discussed all matters big and small with Zhang. I hope he can succeed me in the future." After Duan formed a cabinet this time, Xu Shuzheng played a major role in turning the situation around, so the important personnel were arranged by Xu.But Xu Shuzheng fell out with Zhang Zhitan later.

Duan returned as prime minister for the third time. The first thing he did after taking office was to issue an order to all provinces to call the Northern Army the "National Army" and the Southern Army the "Enemy Army."This means that Duan will carry out the policy of force to the end.When Xu Shuzheng, Duan's favorite minister, triumphantly came to Beijing to congratulate the new cabinet, he also publicly stated that "we will never stop our troops until we reach Guangzhou." Duan determined the third phase of the battle plan for the three provinces of Sichuan, Hunan, and Guangdong: (1) The Hunan battlefield will still use the direct army as the main force. At the same time, the "National Army" in Jiangxi was ordered to advance towards Nanxiong, and the "National Army" in Fujian to advance towards Chaoshan, joining forces with the Longjiguang Army in Guangdong to attack from four directions. (2) With the Feng army as the main force to attack Sichuan, it is divided into two routes, one from western Hubei to eastern Sichuan, and the other from southern Shaanxi to northern Sichuan, joining the Shaanxi army and Liu Cunhou's Sichuan army to attack.

At the same time, the electric frontline soldiers were commended, and the electric cloud: "According to Cao Kun, the commander-in-chief of the first route, Cao Kun, the commander-in-chief of the Lianghu Xuanfu, Zhang Jingyao, the commander-in-chief of the Hunan Governor, etc., repeatedly telegraphed: 'Since the recovery of Yuezhou on March 18, the armies have attacked successively, and recovered Pingjiang, Xiangyin and other two regions separately. City. On the 25th, I entered Changsha from the same mountain pass, and the rebellious army executed death resistance. After the joint efforts of our army, we fought hard, chased after the starry night, and failed against the trend. On the 26th, the provincial city of Changsha was completely conquered' and so on. This time, all the armies were outraged by righteous indignation and fought bravely. They took Changsha from Yuezhou, and within a few days, they went down to the fortified city. The commander-in-chief and other superintendents were well-informed, and all the soldiers fought hungry. All the officers and soldiers who are active in the matter should present their works first, and apply for excellent awards separately. They will still supervise the troops and take advantage of the victory to recover the counties and towns to lay a foundation for the whole of Hunan. Proper compensation. It is my best intentions to use the vice-national Sui Ji Lao Lai. This order."

Regarding the victory of the Northern Army in the Hunan battlefield, Duan believed that the unification of force could be achieved soon, and that the Northern Army would definitely defeat the Southern Army.In fact, at this time Liu Cunhou could no longer stand firm in Sichuan, and Long Jiguang was also failing steadily in Guangdong, but Duan didn't care at all. After the Duan cabinet was organized this time, Feng Guozhang completely bowed his head. Even the three governors of the Yangtze River, a powerful member of the main peace, did not dare to sing against it.At this time, the most popular person in the political situation was Xu Shuzheng, Li Chun also tried his best to win over Xu, and Chen Guangyuan, the governor of Jiangxi, publicly expressed his acceptance of the third phase of the battle plan.By this time, the Zhili had completely succumbed to the Anhui.

Duan Lun rewards for meritorious deeds.Xu Shuzheng should take the lead, so he went to Beijing. Not only did he have the power to decide the personnel of the Duan cabinet, but he also presided over the southern military affairs. At the same time, he also arranged for the election of the new parliament. On April 7, Ni Sichong, another Anhui general, came to Beijing and strongly advocated that the provisional Senate should be used to vote for the National Assembly, and the presidential election should be held today.However, Xu Shuzheng believes that the new Congress will be established within three to four months, and it is legal for the new Congress to elect the president. Therefore, there is no need for early presidential elections, and early presidential elections are illegal.

The new Congress Xu Shuzheng planned at this time was later known as the Anfu Congress. After Duan Qirui formed a cabinet for the third time, Xu Shuzheng became the darling of the political circle at that time.He was also full of ambitions, and regarded himself as Duan Ge's backer.Some people said that in the Beijing government at that time, all military and national plans were in the hands of Duan, while Duan depended on Xu. He was simply the cabinet within the cabinet, the prime minister under the prime minister. Duan Qirui is headstrong, but he favors Xu Shuzheng.Xiao Xu is talented but immature. Everything he does attracts people's attention. Most of Duan's political troubles are caused by Xiao Xu.During this period, Xiao Xu tried his best to reject the direct lineage, which Duan liked to see.But he can't tolerate other celebrities in Duan's family. Both Jin Yunpeng and Xiao Xu are listed as the Four King Kong under Duan's subordinates. Jin Yunpeng became the director of the Shenlu Office, and Xiao Xu was not happy, so he specifically confronted Jin , Jin had no choice but to ask for leave from work, and the military power fell into Xiao Xu's hands.Zhang Zhitan, the Secretary-General of the State Council, was originally recommended by him, but for some reason he was not satisfied with Zhang, so Zhang had to resign.Duan's civil and military aides both fell out with Xiao Xu, and he can't tolerate others, which can be seen here.The strange thing is that Duan can't tolerate others, but he tolerates Xu Shuzheng, who is domineering and domineering.

After Xu Shuzheng forced Jin Yunpeng away, the Duan Clan became divided. At this time, Xu Shuzheng wanted to be the governor of Zhili. He wanted to promote Cao Kun to another level, promote Cao to the inspection envoy of the two lakes and the governor of Hubei, and transfer the governor of Hubei to the governor of Jiangsu. To open a way for myself is really a wishful thinking of "killing two birds with one stone".He believed that Cao Kun should be satisfied when he was promoted from the governor of one province to the patrol envoy of two provinces, and he was still in charge of the governor of one province. If Cao Kun agreed, his own governor of Zhili would be at his fingertips.Unexpectedly, after the news came out, Cao Kun was furious, thinking that it was a sudden rise and a dark fall, and he deliberately diverted the tiger away from the mountain. Therefore, on April 4, he sent a telegram to the Beijing government, please resign as the Xuanfu envoy of the two lakes. I asked for a month's leave so that I could go to Jigong Mountain in Xinyang to recuperate my illness.At that time, Beiyang soldiers often threatened the government by resigning or recovering from illness. Cooperating with Cao's actions, Wu Peifu, the commander-in-chief of the front line, also called Beijing, saying that the entire army should be transferred back to Zhili to rest due to fatigue from combat.This means that the Wu Department can withdraw its troops and return north at any time.

Cao Kun is the No. 1 general of the main combat faction, Hunan's Xixun has just restored the prestige of the Beiyang faction, and Wu Department is the main force on the battlefield in Hunan. If Cao Kun is really tired and Wu Department really withdraws, Duan Qirui's policy of pacifying the south by force was on the verge of failure and wasted.Therefore, Xu Shuzheng hit a big nail in this encounter.In order to explain the misunderstanding, Duan asked Xu Shuzheng to come to Hankou to apologize to Cao Kun in person, to persuade Cao Kun not to resign or ask for leave, and to persuade Cao Ling and Wu Peifu not to retreat from the battlefield.

Xu Shuzheng deployed a new battle plan in Hankou at the same time. He planned to transfer the Feng army, which was transferred to Sichuan to fight, to the Hunan battlefield to monitor the Zhi army and prevent the Zhi army from failing or retreating. The third phase of the battle plan that Duan originally deployed was a two-pronged approach to the West Battlefield and the South Battlefield. Now Xu is postponing the West Battlefield and focusing on solving the South Battlefield.Xu did not fully agree with this plan. Before Duan Qirui formed the cabinet for the third time, all favorable situations were in favor of him, but after he came to power, the situation was different. The warlords of the Anhui faction and the main combat faction had their own intentions to support him, hoping that they could be divided because of the battle. Loans and arms to Japan, and at the same time, because of the war, each can withhold national taxes and buy horses to recruit troops.Fengjun robbed a batch of munitions before entering the customs, and shortly after Duan came to power, the third batch of munitions from Japan was robbed by Fengjun in Tanggu. If according to the third phase of the northern army's war plan against the south, Hunan will be conquered in one month, Guangdong and Guangxi will be pacified in three months, and the national unification by force can be completed within half a year at most.But things in the world are not as good as people want. The Zhijun army fighting in Hunan, after occupying Changsha, marched slowly on the pretext of insufficient pay and equipment. In view of the unsatisfactory military progress in the front, and the disharmony within the main combat faction, Duan decided to "southern tour" to Hankou to convene a large-scale military meeting. The rift within the main combat faction, especially the rift between the Zhiwan and Anhui factions, has contributed to the great unity of the Beiyang faction in order to deploy a full-scale attack on the five southwestern provinces.Because the political situation in Beijing has become one-sided, after the new Congress is convened, the president will be re-elected, and Duan will be the only leader of the Beiyang faction in the future, so it is even more necessary to carry out great unity work first. Duan proposed the southern tour plan at the State Council meeting, and all the cabinet members opposed it. Their opposition was also justified. Not long ago, Feng Guozhang went to the "southern tour" as the president, which made people panic. Now the prime minister is going to tour the south again. The uneasiness of the political situation has not been increased, and the complexity of the current situation has been deepened. Regardless of the objections of the cabinet members, Duan decided to make a southern tour and first sent a telegram to Li Chun, Chen Guangyuan, Zhang Jingyao, and Zhang Huaizhi to attend the meeting in Hankou. On April 20th, the Beijing-Hanzhou Railway traveled south and passed through Zhengzhou on the 21st. Zhao Ti, the governor of Henan Province, boarded the train and accompanied him. When I arrived in Hankou on the 22nd, I was supposed to get off at Dazhimen Station, but for the convenience of visiting Cao Kun in Liuyuan, I changed to get off at Xunlimen.From Xunlimen to Cao Kun's headquarters in Liuyuan, there are many military police along the way, cutting off traffic, and prohibiting peeking from the street.For the first time, the people of Wuhan saw the majestic scene of the prime minister. However, the warlord meeting convened by Duan was extremely indifferent. None of the four warlords invited to the meeting came to Hankou to participate.Li Chun and Chen Guangyuan are the direct descendants of Zhuhe, and they had some scruples in their hearts, so they dared not go to the meeting; Zhang Huaizhi and Zhang Jingyao, who were the main battlers, also excused their "urgent military situation" and did not attend the meeting.It turned out that there was a gap between Zhang Huaizhi and Cao Kun.When Cao Kun was stationed in Hankou, the "Shuntian Times" said that he had selected a concubine in a brothel, and Zhang Huaizhi was Cao Kun's brother, so he sent a telegram to accuse Cao of "having fun in the army".Cao Da was furious, thinking that Zhang had damaged his reputation based on "nonsense", and cut off contact with Zhang ever since.As for Zhang Jingyao, he did not dare to leave Changsha, because he knew that he was not liked by people in Hunan, and there were other people snoring beside him, and Wu Peifu had military exploits and popularity. I dare not go to Hankou. Duan felt that Zhang Huaizhi was the commander-in-chief of the Second Route Army. If Zhang Huaizhi did not attend the meeting, the Hankou Warlords Meeting would be aborted, so he must come and ordered him to leave immediately after receiving the telegram. When Zhang Huaizhi arrived in Hankou on the 24th, Duan made a mediation between Cao Kun and Zhang Huaizhi, and Zhang apologized to Cao. Duan Qirui presided over the military conference in Hankou. The participants included Cao Kun, Zhang Huaizhi, Wang Zhanyuan, and Zhao Ti, four warlords. Of course Xu Shuzheng also participated, and the other provinces Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Hunan, Anhui, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Fengtian sent representatives. Attend. At the meeting, Duan explained the importance of uniting the Beiyang faction and the decision to implement the combat policy against the South, and then proposed the fourth phase of the combat plan, which was sent to the relevant provinces for implementation according to the plan.With regard to the issue of the president, there are two different opinions within the militant faction: one advocates the provisional Senate to elect the president;Duan decided to take the latter approach. Cao Kun and Wang Zhanyuan jointly requested to restore Chen Guangyuan's original position, revoke the punishment of Wang Ruxian and Fan Guozhang, and leave Feng Yuxiang alone.As a result, the warlord meeting in Hankou turned into a palliative attitude towards Zhili.This is because Cao Kun's attitude has changed drastically.Things in the world are so strange. Cao Kun, a member of the Zhili lineage, suddenly turned into the leader of the Warlord Army and the leader of the main combat faction. Duan Qirui formed a cabinet again. He is an important member. In line with Duan's Beiyang faction's requirements for great unity, the Hankou meeting led to the decision of the Anhui clique to be kind to the Zhi clique. After the Hankou Military Conference, Cao Kun, Zhang Huaizhi, and Ni Sichong jointly sent a telegram on April 26 to request the government to quickly convene a new Congress.The State Council in Beijing sent a telegram on May 4 denying that the provisional Senate should perform all the powers of the Congress. In order to really show leniency to the Zhili lineage and achieve the goal of great unity of the Beiyang faction, Duan You sent a telegram asking Ni Sichong and Lu Yongxiang to wait in Nanjing first. On the evening of the 25th, Duan departed from Hankou and sailed eastward on the Chucai warship. Because of too much horsepower, it sank the China Merchants Jiang Kuan and drowned nearly a thousand passengers. The Chucai was injured and stopped sailing. Chu Tai trumpeted and galloped away. On the 26th, I met Chen Guangyuan in Jiujiang. On the 27th, I went to Nanjing to meet Li Chun.And act as a peacemaker among Li, Ni, and Lu. On the evening of the 27th, he returned north from Jinpu Road, and returned to Beijing on the 28th. During Duan's southern tour, there was a wave of opposition to the secret treaty between China and Japan across the country.It turned out that when Duan was in charge of participating in the war, he negotiated loans with Japan in the name of participating in the war. In name, he was preparing and training the participating troops. In fact, he used Japanese loans to build his own army, and used part of it as a war fee for the South and preparations for the new Congress. Don't say that Feng Guozhang didn't know about it when negotiating, and even the Beijing Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn't know about it.After Duan formed a cabinet, Japan put forward four conditions: (1) Jointly send troops to Siberia, and the Japanese army will command the Chinese army. (2) Issuing military tickets. (3) Temporarily manage China's transportation, ordnance, industry, economy, education, and diplomacy. (4) Combining transport alliances.The Japanese side wants China to strictly keep secrets. On March 24th, China and Japan exchanged notes. Of course, the news could not be shut down. As a result, there was a climax of opposition to the secret diplomacy between China and Japan and the continued use of troops.Duan was also oppressed in Wuhan. Various groups and chambers of commerce in Wuhan sent representatives to petition directly to stop the civil strife, but Duan naturally refused to meet him.Duan's distress was that he had just suppressed the Zhili main peace, but the nationwide anti-war dealt another blow to his "unification by force" policy.Therefore, his southern tour had no achievements at all.