Chapter 144 143. The Vice President's Difficulty in Labor

When Xu Shichang was elected president and sent a song telegram, Wu Peifu expressed his disagreement with the Beiyang warlords. He answered Xu Shichang's song telegram in Hengyang on September 13, saying: "Presidential elections must be based on genuine public opinion. Our country's old congress members are inherently bad, and the new congressmen are not only recruited by money movement, but none of the five southwestern provinces are elected. How can such a despicable and incomplete congress be the representative of national public opinion? If you take office, the division of the Republic of China will start with you. The division commanders dare not congratulate you, and will hang for the Republic of China. Before you take office, you resolutely expressed peace and served as the leader of the mediation, urging President Feng to issue a truce order. First solve the current situation in order to seek unification, and the members of the National Assembly will be re-elected, and the future president will be none other than She Gong, and this teacher and others are also congratulators."

Wu's tone is exactly the same as that of the Southwest leader. On September 14, Cao Kun issued a cold telegram, not mentioning the main battle and the main peace, but only saying "the battle of the wall, the struggle for power, it is not appropriate to see each other again." This is tantamount to opposing the continuation of the war. On September 20, Wu Peifu responded to Cao Kun's cold telegram, suggesting that the three governors of the Yangtze River should continue to serve as "transferrs" between the north and the south.And please join Mr. Donghai (Xu Shichang) as the transfer leader.This telegram received responses from Soviet generals Bai Baoshan, Zhang Renkui, Ma Yuren, Yang Chunpu, Chen Tiaoyuan and others.This is a chorus of direct soldiers from the two branches of Cao Kun and Li Chun, and it is a trend of the fusion of the new master's harmony faction and the old master's harmony faction.

On September 26, the Southern Army generals Tan Haoming, Tan Yankai, Cheng Qian, Ma Ji, Li Shucheng, Wei Rongchang, Zhang Qiqiu, Lin Junting, Lu Yuguang, Zhao Hengti, Lin Xiumei, Huang Kezhao, Ma Yun, Song Hegeng, Liao Jiadong, Lu Diping, Wang Deqing, and other generals of the Northern Army Wu Peifu, Li Kuiyuan, Yang Chunpu, Feng Yuxiang, Zhang Zongchang, Wang Chengbin, Yan Xiangwen, Xiao Yaonan, Zhang Xueyan, Zhang Fulai, Pan Hongjun, Zhang Keyao, etc. jointly sent a telegram requesting "on behalf of President Feng to issue a truce order, Mr. Donghai will be the leader of the mediation, Cao Jinglue, the three governors of the Yangtze River, and the two presidents Cen and Lu will be responsible for the mediation.” This telegram listed the Beijing government and the military government at the top, and was written by Wu Peifu, suggesting to the generals of the Southern Army, It was typed in the name of the United.This is the first time since the Civil War that the soldiers of the North and the South have united against the leaders of the Beiyang faction.To Duan Qirui, it was like an earthquake, like a volcanic eruption.In the past, although there were discussions about the peace of the northern army, it was not a joint action of the northern and southern soldiers.Now Wu Peifu's "peace drama" is comprehensive and common.When the telegram arrived in Beijing, members of the Anfu Department panicked and shouted, "Wu Xiucai has rebelled!"

Duan Qirui was so angry that he couldn't speak. He believed that this was not a question of the main battle, but a question of the northern generals betraying, collaborating with, and surrendering to the enemy.He wanted to order the crusade against Wu Peifu on the grounds of collaborating with the enemy.But his left and right persuaded him to be patient, because the main combat faction had no more soldiers to use, and the crusade order was just a false threat, and Wu Peifu was now a victorious general, so he would not be intimidated. Deng Rong, a member of the Anfu Department, proposed an emergency motion to punish Wu Peifu in the Senate, but another member of the Anfu Department, Zhang Jingshun (Zhang Jingyao's brother), objected, so he did not bring it up for discussion.Member of the House of Representatives He Delin proposed to punish Wu Peifu, but it could only be submitted for review without further action.

Cao Kun was in Baoding, and Wu Peifu's series of political offensives were dazzled by his love, leaving him in nowhere.Because he is Wu Peifu's direct officer after all, why he has no influence and binding force, so it is difficult for him to explain himself. On September 30, Cao Kun had to send two telegrams, one to Wu Peifu, warning him: "All future actions must be done at the request of orders." The other telegram was sent to the northern provinces, expressing his attitude: "I am afraid that I will not be able to protect the law with this statement." Create the rule of law; if peace is spoken of in this way, war may eventually be inevitable. ... The future of the country must be presided over by the central government, and the political situation will be restored, and the source of chaos can be eliminated.”

Although Duan Qirui didn't dare to issue a crusade order, he had to express his attitude. On September 30, in the name of the State Council, he sent a telegram to refute the joint telegram sent by soldiers from the North and the South.Afterwards, Beiyang soldiers responded one after another, and Ni Sichong denounced it as "absurd talk about the law and undermining the overall situation".Yang Shande denounced it as "falsely telling the truth and trying to deceive the world".Yan Xishan denounced it as "talking about the law in vain and showing prejudice".Wang Zhanyuan, one of the two governors of the Yangtze River, also believed that "Mr. Wu and the southern generals jointly signed the signature. It is very surprising. The court telegraphed the refutation, and the justice was strict. The theory of a corner is not enough to confuse the audience."Because Zhang Jingyao was in Changsha, he didn't dare to criticize Wu too much. He only said: "Jingyao only knows how to obey the central government, and he doesn't know anything else"!

As for Zhang Zuolin, he was appointed by the Beijing government as a tour envoy for the three eastern provinces on September 8, and his status was higher than that of the governors of the northern provinces.He issued a winter telegram on October 2 saying: "At the beginning of Tan Haoming's disobedience, Zuolin once sent Major General Liu Hongen to the President to ask for instructions on the strategy. It was said that if Zhang Du had a division to help him, he would go on a crusade. When Changyue fell, Zuolin sent Major General Liu to pay respects as before. , The theory remains the same as before. Cao Jinglue sent him to the south, and he was also ordered by the President, and the President promulgated the power-on of anger and shame. This is the main battle policy of the government. Zuolin and comrades from all provinces agree unanimously, and they all obey the President. Those...others elect the members of the two houses according to the law, and elect the president according to the law. Ears, those who are not genuine public opinion, only rioters!... Recently, I heard that some people, because the Congress has been formed and the overall situation is gradually settled, are eager to try to destroy it for their own selfishness. These people are real thieves of the people, and everyone will punish them. Zuolin is planning to investigate and make it clear, and together with comrades, petition the head of state to punish them according to law, in order to thank the people of the country."

On October 3, the North and South soldiers led by Tan Haoming and Wu Peifu continued to deliver speeches, refuting those who refuted the sleeping telegrams.Telephone said: "The armies stationed in Hunan, stimulated by the Sino-Japanese military agreement, conspired to settle the war and resist the aggression. It has been four months since the armistice on June 25. The division commanders have repeatedly asked the central government to issue orders to stop the war, and Hefei (referring to Duan) ) reprimanded Southwest for being insincere. The teacher and others had no choice but to follow the axioms, and then planned to electrify, solicit Southwest’s consent, and jointly publish it on bedtime. Congregation destroys the overall situation. Husband and wife unite the country, and war divides the north and the south. Is the overall situation in harmony or war?... Ruyun's parliament was not created by force, why didn't the southwestern provinces choose members and appoint them arbitrarily? Ruyun's election is legal Why is Hefei persuading Xu to take office and electrifying the five southwestern provinces on September fish day? Hefei considers himself an incomplete prime minister, and will force Donghai to be an incomplete president. Is it true that he wants to protect the overall situation? Even if Hefei considers himself an incomplete prime minister An incomplete prime minister fears that Donghai may not be willing to consider an incomplete president. Even if Donghai is willing to consider an incomplete president, the military and civilian circles will not be willing to be an incomplete Chinese.... In short, justice lies in right and wrong It has its own public opinion. The psychology of the people of the whole country is the real public opinion, which cannot be faked by the coercive, cannot be quibbled by the strong, and cannot be slandered by the words of one or two people."

Duan Qirui's hatred and anger towards Wu Peifu reached the extreme, but the situation is stronger than others. Wu Peifu's situation has been supported by the majority of the people. Duan can't take excessive actions against him, so he has to turn around again. La Cao Kun.Since Xu Shuzheng privately agreed to support Cao Kun as vice president, due to Wu Peifu's actions, Duan Zao denied Cao's vice president. Oppose the Anfu Congress and cut off the "chorus" of peace between Wu and the Southwest.Therefore, Duan sent Wu Bingxiang, the capital police chief, to Baoding to explain to Cao Kun that Cao Kun would be the only candidate for the election of the vice president today.He also sent Zeng Yunpei, secretary of the State Council, to Fengtian to meet Zhang Zuolin, persuaded him to consider the overall situation, and agreed to Cao Kun as vice president.At the same time, the Anfu Congress was instructed not to raise any motions to punish Wu Peifu.

Cao Kun suffered from being a man with two sides in Baoding.The Anhui faction in the north misunderstood him deeply, and Wu Peifu was disobedient. He believed that the vice president had no hope.Unexpectedly, Wu Bingxiang, Duan's representative, brought good news. He was overjoyed and immediately sent Cao Rui to Beijing to campaign for the vice president. At the same time, he sent another brother, Cao Jun, to Fengtian to win over Zhang Zuolin. On October 3, members of the Anfu Department of Congress held a tea party to discuss the election of the vice president. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Wang Yitang, read a letter from Duan Qirui recommending Cao Kun as the vice president to Congress. The internal statement said:

"Yan Sun, the chairman and deacon of Yitang: compared with the election of the vice president, all the lords should have the same opinion. The gentlemen of Qirui and Anfu have a day's elegance, and they respect what they know for reference. Cao Jinglue envoy supervised the battle in Hunan, and his achievements Clearly, to maintain the overall situation and not to be disturbed by dissent, if he is elected as the vice president, he will be able to praise the head of state, respect the law, and benefit the country. If there is a mere gain, I still hope to take note of it. I hereby pay tribute to Yizhi. Duan Qi Enter Raby." Wang also added: "Old Zhi has not been successful in his career, and he selects the best and the best. His personality is so admirable. We should obey his will." At this tea party, everyone decided to elect the vice president on October 9th. On October 6, the Anfu Club held a secretary meeting, Duan ordered Xu Shuzheng to attend, and explained the reasons for recommending Cao Kun as vice president.However, members of the Anfu Department believe that they have fulfilled their obligations by electing Xu Shichang as the president, and now they can no longer fulfill their obligations by electing the vice president.In other words, if they were to cast this sacred vote, there would be a price, and Cao Kun refused to pay. He believed that the Beijing government still owed him military expenses.This made Wang Yitang suffer. After his hard work, the Beijing government decided to pay back Cao Kun’s 1.5 million military expenses and use the money to transfer the money to the vice president’s sports expenses. Cao Kun believed that the affairs of the world had already been decided, and his dream of being the vice president would come true soon. He hoped that October 9 would come earlier. Unexpectedly, when the members of the two houses held a joint meeting for the election of the vice president, the speaker Liang Shiyi was on the rostrum Wait for a quorum to vote.However, there were three or two members of parliament present, sparse and not enthusiastic at all.The secretariat called Sifang to remind them, but they didn't come. The morning meeting was aborted.The meeting continued in the afternoon, but there were still very few people who arrived. Wang Yitang suggested that on the one hand, the gates of the parliament should be closed to only allow people to enter but not to leave.As soon as his proposal was announced, the councilors sitting in the seats rushed out one after another. Before the people who pulled him came, most of the people who had come had already left. So the election of the vice president was aborted again. Although Xu Shuzheng of the Anhui faction formed the Anfu faction's congress, after Xu Shichang was elected president, this "Duan Ji's Anfu Congress" changed.Because the research department does not cooperate with the Anfu department, the research department held a meeting on October 8 and decided to elect Feng Guozhang as vice president and opposed the election of Cao Kun. If the Duan department must choose Cao Kun, the research department will not attend for the boycott.However, the research department has a small number of members and is insignificant in Congress.However, there were quite a few councilors from the old transportation department who had always cooperated with the Anfu department. They also adopted the same position as the research department and did not attend the election meeting. As a result, the meeting to elect the vice president was aborted due to insufficient quorum. On the afternoon of October 9, when the election of the vice president was held, more than 50 members of the old transportation department went to Wanshouyuan to participate in the garden party invited by Zhou Ziqi, and had no time to participate in the election.The Anfu Department focused on putting pressure on Liang Shiyi during the election meeting. Liang Shiyi had no choice but to write a note and handed it to Liu Enge, Du Chi, and Wang Yinchuan to take a car to Wanshouyuan. But pretending to be leisurely, he refused to leave the Wanshou Garden.At this time, Wang Yitang also rushed over. He took a big car and dragged eight members of parliament together. Another reason why the councilors were indifferent to voting was because they saw in the newspaper that Cao Kun offered Liu Xikui 100,000 yuan as a "household". .But Cao also has his reasons. He thinks it's unfair that you choose me to protect your country and ask me to pay for it.When Xu was selected, all activity expenses were spent under the loan item, but when I was selected for sports expenses, I was required to spend it in my military expenses, which was even more unfair. What's more, I had already remitted 800,000 yuan and could not take any more money. After the election of the vice president on October 9 was aborted, the election was scheduled to continue on October 16.Wang Yitang knew that the boycott of the old transportation department was related to Xu Shichang's attitude, so he invited Liang Shiyi to meet Xu together, and asked Xu to express a clear attitude, but Xu said: "With my current position, the vice president should be elected quickly and delayed. It is inconvenient to express an opinion on the choice and who to choose." On October 14th, Zhou Ziqi invited another group of councilors to Tianjin. He gave up his private residence at No. 29 Stadium in the British Concession as the general guest house for the councilors, and set up four guest houses in four famous hotels in Tianjin. The councilors went to Tianjin one after another. There are about 140 people. They drink wine to look at flowers, collect flowers and plants, and enjoy themselves in time.When they were exhausted, they held a talk meeting and planned to jointly launch two proposals to promote peace between the North and the South and postpone the election of the vice president.Liang Shiyi, the leader of the former transportation department, also officially stated in Beiping that if a northerner is elected as the vice president, peace between the North and the South will be far away. The miscarriage of the vice-presidential election revealed several points: First, the research department and the old transportation department were originally hostile to each other, but when it came time to oppose Cao Kun as vice-president, the two politician groups merged.Second, the old transportation department was attached to Duan Qirui when Zhang Xun was restored, but now the old transportation department has parted ways with the Anfu department, which shows that the old transportation department is leaning towards Xu Shichang, and Xu Shichang broke up with Duan Qirui after the president was elected Home.Third, the Anfu Department did not listen to all the words. Duan's political mission in the Anfu department only achieved one goal, that is, to support Xu and go to Feng, and nothing else was achieved. On October 15th, Wang Yitang sent Anfu "general" MP Ke Xiketu and eight Kong Wu powerful MPs to Tianjin by special car to tie up the "tickets" of the MPs.Wang Yitang's private residence in Tianjin sent a group of servants to drive to Tianjin's new railway station in eight cars, and waited for the meat ticket to arrive, and immediately put on a special car bound for Beijing. Kexiketu and his party took four cars and went to the four hotels where the congressmen were staying to look for the "deserters". Does anyone know where they went?The person in the hotel replied that he did not know.So the four groups of people gathered together, and Kexiketu gave another order to go straight to Zhou Ziqi's apartment at No. 29 of the British Concession Stadium, but the result was also in vain.They searched aimlessly on the street with disappointment, and they met a congressman shopping in a department store on the road, so they grabbed him, tricked him, and finally found out that Zhou Ziqi was in a brothel in Nanshi After eating flowers and wine, the congressman was afraid of his wife and dared not enter the brothel, so he slipped out and wandered on the road, but was caught by Ke Xiketu and others. So Kexiktu gathered his people and went straight to the brothel in Nanshi. These councilors were "leaning against the red and nestling in the green", enjoying themselves in the gentle countryside.Kexiketu led Kong Wu's powerful congressmen and aggressive thugs into the brothel. It was already 3:30 in the middle of the night on the 15th. Everyone got in the car, like pulling chickens, hustling, and the kidnapped MPs were yelling. The Tianjin police misunderstood that the kidnapping had really happened, and ordered them to stop and check. Let the car go. The kidnapped congressmen asked to go back to the hotel to pick up their luggage, but the kidnapped congressmen refused to allow them to be sent to the train one by one. Slipping away in the chaos at the train station, some congressmen arrived at the Beijing station, hid in the restroom and could not come out, and returned to Tianjin by the original train. On October 16, Wang Yitang sent several cars in Beijing to arrest the MPs to vote at the meeting. The Police Superintendent Wu Bingxiang also sent armed police to guard the west city to prevent the MPs from leaving the meeting place.However, with such kidnapping and attracting people, there are still pitifully few congressmen present, and the election of the vice president in this scene still aborted. The Anfu Department also wants to put pressure on Liang Shiyi. Liang Shiyi has Xu Shichang as the backer, and he does not accept this at all. He has a very tough attitude. He said that if the Anfu Department still suppresses and unscrupulously conducts the election of the vice president, he will resign as the president of the Senate to boycott it.The Anfu Department didn't want the matter to make too much trouble, so they went to ask Duan Qirui for instructions. Duan thought that he had done his best for Cao's vice president campaign. election. Wang Yitang, the leader of the Anfu Department, felt that he was ashamed, so he went to Tangshan to recuperate on the pretext of illness.Cao Kun also felt too disappointed, and also complained of illness in Baoding. When Xu Shichang took office as President, he ordered Cao Kun to be awarded the first-class Sui Jiahe medal, but Cao Kun refused.It turned out that the Civil Service Bureau of the Presidential Palace made an oolong mistake, and did not find out that Cao had already won this kind of medal before awarding it again. Embedded with three diamonds and nine pearls, it is made of mild steel and can be stretched freely. On October 7, Feng Guozhang, who had stepped down, sent a telegram to state the acting president's events for a year, as well as the current situation. The telegram said: "The governor of the army, the provincial councils, the chambers of commerce, the education associations, the newspapers, and Mr. Lin Xiazhu's public lesson: Guozhang's acting term expires, and he will be accountable on the same day according to the statutory term. For personal considerations, the legal principles are still worthwhile. For the country's considerations, there is no shame. I will act as an agent to inform the people of the country about the situation and the current situation during the year, with a view to a final peaceful settlement. How did the military disaster brew? It actually started before Guozhang took office, and the military affairs cannot be ended before Guozhang After retiring from office, the tortuous situation, although there are unavoidable difficulties, must be caused by the lack of virtue and incompetence of the country. The army is in trouble, and this is the extreme. The local provinces are corrupted, and the army is full of casualties. Corruption is the vitality of the country. In addition, the military discipline is weak and the bandits are rampant. How can the merchants be tortured by this? People are not trees and stones, so it is better not to be sad? In this way, Guozhang cannot be innocent of the common people. People argue with their opinions, and it is difficult to escape the public opinion of the world. Our generation argues, and the people suffer from it. Now the people of the whole country are disgusted, the soldiers are discouraged, the finances are basically empty, and the military and family reserves are exhausted. However, they are at odds with each other, and the turmoil is getting worse. The brothers sued and lost their property, but there was no result. Even after entering the war, our country's artificial products were sufficient to help our allies, but because of the civil strife, we had no time to do so. What is the status of our country at the end of the European War? If the two sides don't turn around as soon as possible and sincerely make concessions, there is fear that there will be no dispute in the future, and there will be nothing to say about Wei Te's war, and there will be nothing to protect the law. Although Guozhang's shoulders have been relieved, the gods are restless, and the authority of the law has been released. The duty of the people still remains. The civil and military chiefs of all provinces and regions, the generals of the former enemy, and the great gentlemen of all walks of life, if they believe the words of Guozhang are true, they will gather together to save the peril. At the time, Yingtian obeys people and sings a hundred harmony. Guozhang is not dead, and he vows to be consistent and maintain justice. He knows that what he says is useless and accidents are dangerous, but personal affairs are small, and national affairs are big. Guozhang only knows that there is a country. I don't care about my wealth, I don't worry about my plan, but I don't care about my sincerity. I also know that although my successor is very wise and difficult to support, I have to inform the people of the whole country. Fortunately, this telegram shows my heart and heart, and it is definitely not intended to argue about right and wrong. Before I leave, I will have no power. I will be devoted to the country and know nothing else. If God is willing, it can be redeemed. The overall situation will be settled soon. , there is absolutely no hope of going out of the mountain, and the sun is above, and everyone prays for public lessons!" On October 9, the Guangdong Military Government announced that it would act as the State Council and perform the duties of the President. On the 10th, it sent a telegram saying: "Since the rise of the army, the military government and the law-enforcement provinces and armies have repeatedly declared their duty to protect the law internally and externally. Only when the effectiveness of the "Convention Law" is fully restored and the chaos of dissolving the Congress is cancelled, in order to seek a true republic, The fundamental solution has made people aware and vigilant. Since then, the use of violence to trample on the law has never happened, and the foundation of the Republic of China has been consolidated. The hope for peace and the desire to handle everything according to the law are especially common among the people of the country. The military government and the The generals of the former enemy have been called repeatedly, but they can be pressed again. As for the election of the false president by the illegal puppet parliament in Beijing, the military government has sent a telegram in advance to declare that no matter who is elected in the illegal election, it will not recognize it. Afterwards, Xu Shichang was called to persuade him to abide by the "Contract ", don't be stupid. I heard that the Xu family has become a puppet president. The facts are true, so why destroy the national constitution! With Xu's wisdom, I hope to wake up as soon as possible, and don't shake the country and put yourself in danger. The military government acts on behalf of the State Council The power of office is to perform the duties of the President in accordance with the law, and to protect the law and fight chaos is a solid responsibility. This announcement is hereby made so that the emissary can hear about it.”