Chapter 187 186, between Cao, Zhang and Wu Triangles

Cao Kun, the immediate leader, sits in Baoding and becomes the supreme government in Beijing, dictating orders and exerting power at home and abroad.Everyone knows that he is relying on Wu Peifu.But Wu was extremely dissatisfied with Cao's influence and style of work, but Wu was a man of morality. Since he was Cao's subordinate, he was always respectful to Cao, and he could only be in the same class and not in the same rank. In the winter of 2010, October 21st of the lunar calendar is Cao Kun's 60th anniversary.In the early years of the Republic of China, it was a big event for military and political chiefs to hold their birthdays. He was already in his sixties, and this Third Master Cao was at the peak of his career, so it was naturally even more lively.For a while, Baoding was full of traffic, riches and glory, and very lively.A week earlier, the Economic and Strategic Envoys of the four provinces ordered famous actors and actresses from the north to come to Baoding Church for a meeting.

In the 11th year of the Republic of China, the relationship between the Zhi and Feng clans deteriorated. The Feng clan believed that Wu Peifu was responsible for it, and Cao Kun, the leader of the Zhi clan, felt the same way.As far as Zhang Zuolin is concerned, he doesn't like Wu Peifu because Wu Peifu shouldn't keep pace with him. He feels that Wu's qualifications are very shallow, so how can he be on an equal footing with him.In fact, after the Zhiwan War, Wu Peifu's right to speak sometimes surpassed that of Zhang Zuolin.Wu Peifu was stationed in Luoyang, and Luoyang almost became the political center of the country.Whenever Wu Peifu made a speech, there were always many people applauding, applauding, and echoing. This was what disgusted the king of Guanwai the most.At the same time, Feng Zhang believed that Luo Wu had trouble with him everywhere, especially when attacking Liang Shiyi's cabinet, the arrow was clearly aimed at Zhang Zuolin himself.

Feng Zhangyue is dissatisfied with Wu Peifu, but Wu Peifu's right to speak is getting higher and higher day by day.There is no problem, this Wu Xiucai is very good at grasping big problems.From the time when he was stationed in Hengyang, he stood out as a small division commander.Zhang Laoshuai looked at this backward Beiyang, and the more he looked at it, the more he didn't like it, but Wu Xiucai had become a situation, and the more Feng Zhang was dissatisfied with him, the more proud he was. Although Cao Kun relied on Wu Peifu in Baoding, he was wary of Wu Peifu's situation in Luoyang.Especially Cao Sanye's left and right sides always slandered Wu Peifu's expert on Cao. Cao Kun's brothers Cao Rui and Cao Kai were also extremely dissatisfied with Wu. Nail.

The Feng family understands that Cao and Wu can divide, so they work hard on Cao Kun, constantly emphasizing that the problem between Zhi and Feng is entirely caused by Wu Peifu. If Wu is not suppressed, the battle between Zhi and Feng will inevitably be inevitable in the future. The generals will lose both sides, and it will only create opportunities for the South and Anhui. Cao Kun's strengths are: he himself was originally a loyal elder. Although he was useless, he could trust Wu Peifu. Although he sometimes didn't like Wu, he trusted and respected Wu in everything under the premise.It was a big key that Zhili was able to outshine others at that time.

When the situation between Zhifeng and Bong was tense, the cronies of both sides rushed to mediate, hoping to avoid war.Beiyangqi want to go back and forth like Zhao Erxun, Zhang Xiluan, Wang Shizhen, Zhang Shaozeng, Bao Guiqing, Meng Enyuan, Che Qingyun, Cao Rui, Wang Chengbin, Qin Hua, etc., hoping that the two sides will rein in the precipice.But Feng Zhang has already actively arranged, and Luo Wu also thinks that a war is inevitable, so both sides go to extremes. Feng Zhang's military plan at this time was to encircle Luo and Wu, while contacting Guangdong, and the Guangdong side would divide troops out of Hunan, Hubei, and Jiangxi; He tried his best to win over the two brothers Zhao Ti and Zhao Jie from Henan, hoping that they would rebel against Wu and take advantage of the situation to destroy the Luoyang base.The troops of the Feng Dynasty entered the customs one after another, and were stationed in Liangcheng, Duliu, Jingu, Miyun, Gubeikou, Liangwangzhuang, Machang, Lutai and other places on the Jinpu line.

The battle between Fengzhi and Fengzhi is imminent, both sides can let it go but can't stop it, and the situation is getting out of hand. Fengzhang's offensive against Wu Peifu was logically very powerful, because at this time Fengzhang had already established contact with Sun Yat-sen and had secret exchanges with the Anhui faction. It was widely rumored that the so-called triangular alliance between Sun Duanzhang and Sun Yat-sen was approaching the truth.Feng Zhang hoped that after Sun Yat-sen's Northern Expedition army left the army, it would force Wu Peifu to be difficult to deal with.The Northern Expedition first attacked the Zhili, and then the Anhui responded.Then secretly instigated Zhang Wensheng, the governor of Anhui, Zhao Ti, the governor of Henan, and Liu Zhenhua, the governor of Shaanxi, to act in the heart of the direct line and its surrounding areas.At the same time, it absorbed many resigned warlords, such as Wang Zhanyuan, Zhang Jingyao, and Wu Guangxin. These people all hated Wu Peifu to the bone.For example: Zhang Jingyao's old department Wu Xintian was in southern Shaanxi, Wang Zhanyuan's old department Sun Chuanfang was in Hubei, and Wu Guangxin's old department Lu Jinshan was in western Hubei.Of course these people hope to rise up and overthrow Wu Peifu.Feng Zhang himself felt that those who got the Tao would help more, so when Wu Peifu lashed out at Liang Shiyi, he always took a non-challenge attitude towards Wu's challenging behavior.

Sun Yat-sen's Northern Expeditionary Army was unable to dispatch because it was hindered by Chen Jiongming, so the joint anti-independence operation could not start. Cao Kun didn't want to see the two factions of Zhifeng fighting each other, so he repeatedly restrained Wu Peifu not to go too extreme.At the same time, Wang Chengbin (from Fengtian), the commander of the 23rd Division of the Zhijun Army, was sent to Shenyang three times to express his goodwill.Feng Zhang had no ill feeling towards this in-law, Mr. Cao, so he also sent Chahar Governor Zhang Jinghui to Baoding to pay homage.Cao Kun suggested that the Feng army in Beijing and Zhili be transferred away, so as to avoid conflicts between the Zhifeng and Feng armies due to the approach of the defense area.Zhang Zuolin agreed generously, and ordered Zhang Jinghui to preside over the retreat of Fengjun in the pass.

In order to ease the situation, the Cao Kun brothers suddenly changed their minds about withdrawing the Feng army. Because Cao Rui and others were deeply afraid that the Feng army would retreat and Wu Peifu was more powerful, they persuaded Cao Kun and sent Cao Rui to Shenyang to ask Feng Zhang , To retain Fengjun in the pass.Cao Rui also explained to Zhang Zuolin that the attack on Liang's cabinet was entirely Wu Peifu's personal behavior and had nothing to do with the Cao brothers.Zhang Zuolin also stated that Wu Peifu, who was hated by the Faction, was alone and had no resentment towards Cao's family.

On February 15, Xu Shichang sent a telegram to express his attitude on the cabinet issue. The telegram briefly stated: "The advancement and retreat of the central government is the responsibility of the president of this university, and the president of this university is at the time of the advancement and retreat of talents, but it is expected to benefit the country. At first, there is no prejudice at all. As for It is the responsibility of the president to rectify the discipline, and I dare not refuse." Xu Shichang put the responsibility for the cabinet issue on himself, intending to save Zhang Zuolin's face, and at the same time hinted that he could "reprimand" Wu Peifu to appease Zhang's anger.In the end, it was suggested that Bao Guiqing, the chief of the army who was to be appointed to the Liang cabinet, would form a cabinet. Bao was also Zhang Zuolin's son and daughter and relative, and he also had a good impression of the direct line, so it was more feasible.Xu also ordered Bao Guiqing to go to Shenyang to discuss with Zhang, but when Zhang saw Bao's family, he turned down his face and said, "Ting Jiu, if you want to satisfy the Prime Minister's addiction, you can take the stage by yourself. I!"

Zhang's words doomed Baoge to have a miscarriage. At this time, all parties are closely watching Wu Peifu's attitude.Wu was very silent because his troops were scattered in Shaanxi and Lianghu, and his deployment was not yet complete. In February and March of 2011, the situation in the north was extremely dangerous. Duan Qirui slipped away from Beijing, and Sun Yat-sen said that he could make a northern expedition. These were extremely detrimental to the Zhili lineage.Therefore, Zhang Zuolin's attitude towards Zhili became more and more tough. In the name of changing defense, he mobilized a large number of Fengjun to enter the customs.After Wu Peifu received this information, he also detained vehicles on the Beijing-Hanzhou line, mobilized troops, and prepared to fight.

So Cao Rui panicked. It happened that March 8 (February 12th in the lunar calendar) was Zhang Zuolin's 57th birthday. Cao Rui went to Shenyang again in the name of celebrating his birthday. But when it comes to political issues, he just laughs and talks about him.Cao Rui approached Sun Liechen to inquire about the news, and Sun said: "Our commander-in-chief would like to ask Si Ye, is it a subordinate relative? Or a relative?" The subordinate refers to Wu Peifu, and the relative naturally refers to Zhang Zuolin.Cao Rui swears to the sky that the Cao family brothers will never allow their subordinates to do things that are sorry for their relatives.Sun Liechen smiled and said, "Okay! Let's reply to the commander in chief." So Zhang Zuolin put forward four conditions very seriously to Cao Rui: first, Liang Shiyi was reinstated from leave, and he was allowed to step down automatically after reinstatement; Third, Duan Zhigui supervised Zhizhi; fourth, Zhijun withdrew from the northern section of the Beijing-Hanzhou line, and the Beijing-Tianjin area was completely assigned to the Fengjun station. At this time, Zhang Zuolin had made up his mind to fight Wu Peifu. If Wu Peifu dared to oppose Liang Shiyi's reinstatement, he would coerce Xu Shichang to order a crusade on the charges of "resisting the head of state" and "military interference in politics". At this time, a big case broke out in Beijing, which was about finances.The Ministry of Finance issued bonds with a surplus of salt as a guarantee, named "Bali Bonds", with a total amount of 96 million yuan.Due to the direct attack, an additional "Repayment of Internal and External Short-term Debt Review Committee" was established, which was composed of the Audit Office, the Prosecutor's Office and important members of the banking industry, with Dong Kang as the chairman.At that time, the financial authorities intended to use this as a cover-up.Unexpectedly, the results of the review were quite flawed, so he proposed to participate in the case, suggesting that the financial authorities and relevant personnel should be summoned by the court to confront the case. Zhang Hu, the chief financial officer, saw that the situation was not right, so he abandoned his post and fled to Tianjin.Wu Peifu caught the leader and made a big fuss, praising Dong Kang as "the reincarnation of Duke Bao", and threatened the Beijing government to immediately order Zhang Hu to be dismissed and investigated. When Cao Rui was in Shenyang, Zhang Zuolin saw Wu Peifu's telegram, and he became more angry. He asked the Cao brothers whether they had the ability to restrain Wu Peifu. In my eyes, I am really bullying you. His attack on Beijing is to attack me, and attacking me is nothing more than forcing you to fight against me. If there is no me, will there still be you? Third brother (referring to Cao Kun) If it is because of affection, I will I have no choice but to teach him a lesson on your behalf." Under Zhang Zuolin's fury, Cao Rui hurried back to Baoding, asking Cao Kun to use heavy pressure to stop Wu Peifu's "nonsense and nonsense"! After listening to Cao Rui's many unfavorable words to Wu, Cao Kun felt that the situation was serious, and at the same time, in order to ease Zhang's anger, he considered restraining Wu, so he called Wu to Baoding to discuss everything.Wu used the excuse that he was busy with military affairs and could not be separated.This really angered Mr. Cao, but said that if Wu dared to go his own way, their brothers would declare neutrality between Zhang and Wu.When Wu heard the news, he was relieved, and said that all issues should be decided by the old man, and he would absolutely obey. Due to the urgency of the matter, Cao Rui drafted a telegram on behalf of Wu and sent it on March 10. This telegram explained five points: "(1) The head of state proposed Liang Shiyi to form a cabinet, and both envoys Zhang and Cao agreed. Peifu opposed Liang's policy of flattering foreign countries, and did not involve other parties at all. (2) Peifu obeyed envoy Cao, and adopted the same policy for envoy Zhang. The concept is obedient, and it is clear if it does not oppose it. (3) In a republic, the cabinet loses power, the Congress can impeach it, and the people can attack it. It cannot be because Pei Fu opposes the Liang family. (4) The strength of the human body is based on straightness, and the thighs and arms of the cabinet cannot be self-defeating because of the disease of the thighs and arms. (5) The two envoys Zhang and Cao are in harmony with each other, and they have no grievances at first. The content really has no boundaries....The above sections all prove that the rumors are not credible, and the instigators have ulterior motives...." Because of this telegram, outsiders thought there was a turning point, so Zhao Erxun, Zhang Xiluan, Wang Shizhen, Zhang Shaozeng, Wang Zhanyuan, and Meng Enyuan came forward to mediate and distribute the telegram to Zhang Zuolin and Cao Kun.Another call with roughly the same meaning of the word was sent to Wu Peifu.The telegrams to Zhang and Cao are as follows: "In recent years, there have been many countries and political tides. During the period of presiding over the country, the power of the two parties to maintain the overall situation is more. Recently, the problem of the cabinet happened, and there was a lot of speculation. It is also worth the armies of both sides, and there is a possibility of changing defenses. Lift up, a snake is a tiger in a cup, Yiqi is suspicious, the road is raging, and it is said that the disaster of war is imminent. In fact, it is said that Fengjun entered the pass. It is said that Zhongshuai originally agreed, and the two commanders returned to have Fengzhi's family. They should discuss the final safety method with Cao envoy The remonstrance telegram shows the purpose of peace between the two princes. In terms of the overall situation, at the beginning of Jiaoji’s takeover, when our country was actively reorganizing the internal affairs, the two princes took on heavy responsibilities, bowed to the times, and refused to be the guide for internal disputes. , crippling the national line, and laughing at outsiders. That is to say, the two fathers were in trouble together in the past, and the friendship belonged to close relatives, and they could not bear to sacrifice themselves for the sacrifice of one person and one lineage. The love of Tianjin has been extremely shaken, and the grain and finance are all in danger, which cannot be explained by empty words. It is necessary for the two powerful men to meet with the business in person, and it will not be enough to prevent accidental rumors and determine the future of the country. Brother, please rest in the shadow of Linquan, Shocking changes in the world, thinking about the responsibility of everyone, embracing the worries of the collapse of buildings, stealing desires to resolve difficulties and disputes, and making further efforts to achieve long-term stability. I plan to invite the two parties to come to Tianjin on the same day for a discussion , to eliminate estrangement, and to dissect honesty. On the one hand, the provinces are connected to unify. Although the brothers are old and dying, they should not be afraid to go to Tianjin to wait for each other. Based on their own insights, they can be used as a contribution. Love the country and friends, With the same heart, I urgently make a statement and pray for Mingjiao. If the two princes agree with the fallacy of my brother, I ask both sides to retreat the front-line troops first. The soldiers who will continue to advance, please stop advancing, so as to calm people's hearts. As for the Victorian market. As for the telegrams and rumors, please ignore them for the time being, the mission is far-reaching, and it is our earnest prayers!" During this period, the political tide is in the ascendant. Liang Shiyi will neither resign nor return to his post on leave of absence. However, the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yan Huiqing, is resolutely unwilling to continue acting. Therefore, there must be a choice.Although Xu Shichang is an old fox, he doesn't know how to deal with this situation.He asked both parties to propose a candidate who both sides can agree to serve as the cabinet.However, Zhang Zuolin said: "We wholeheartedly support the head of state and should be presided over by the head of state."Wu Peifu also stated that "soldiers will never interfere in politics." At this time, Xu Shichang heard a secret message that Zhang Zuolin was going to propose to the whole country to convene a "unification meeting", the purpose of which was to restore the old Congress, reorganize the Beijing government, and expel the "president" produced by the new Congress.Therefore, on March 12, Xu sent a telegram to all provinces to urge the election of a new parliament. This was his last resort in fear of a sudden change in the political situation.However, since he wanted to procrastinate, he must first end the anarchy and appoint a prime minister. Therefore, on April 8, he appointed Zhou Ziqi as the prime minister on his own initiative.Xu thought that doing this was a way out of no other way, because: (1) Let Liang Shiyi step down, and he can confess to Wu Peifu. (2) Liang Shiyi and Zhou Ziqi both belonged to the old Department of Communications. In essence, the old Department of Communications still controls the political power. Changing the soup does not change the medicine, and there is no loss to Zhang Zuolin and Liang Shiyi. (3) Zhou Ziqi has just returned from the United States, and there is a way to find a way to borrow money from the United States. (4) Zhou has always had a very good relationship with Xu Shichang, and I believe that after Zhou takes office as Ge Kui, the relationship between the government and the courtyard will be very harmonious. When Zhou Ziqi's appointment as the cabinet was issued, Liang Shiyi first protested. Liang said: "Before the cabinet is approved to resign, the original cabinet member can only act as the prime minister. Zhou Ziqi is not a cabinet member. What kind of background is used to act as the prime minister? This kind of agency It's against the law." Liang Shiyi had a legal basis, so Xu Shichang reversed the date on April 9th ​​to the 8th, issued an order to replace the cabinet members, appointed Zhou Ziqi as the acting chief of education, and sent a correction telegram to add an order to Zhou Ziqi's order as the acting prime minister of the cabinet. The word "concurrently".This move was even worse. It was a cover-up, and it did nothing to help Xu's efforts to save the political crisis. The relationship between Zhifeng and Feng is in jeopardy.Western countries are of course very concerned about the situation in China, and they seem to have a good impression of Zhili.US Minister Hughes once advised Zhang Zuolin face to face that Fengjun should be drastically reduced in accordance with the spirit of the Washington Conference.British Minister Ashton suggested that troops should not be sent to Fenglu in Beijing.According to the "Xin Chou Treaty", the Tianjin Consulate Corps did not allow Tianjin to garrison troops, and protested against Fengjun's occupation of Tanggu Station.The Beijing diplomatic corps once warned the two sides not to cut off the traffic between Beijing-Han, Jingfeng, and Jinpu. Xu Shichang was helpless in the face of this tense situation, and neither could the veterans of Beiyang. The Anhui faction was secretly delighted.Not only the Anhui faction, but many declining Beiyang soldiers also hope to continue to burn and let the situation change, so as to bring new vitality to themselves. On April 3, 2011 (the seventh day of the third month of the lunar calendar) was Wu Peifu's 49th birthday. The soldiers directly affiliated with each province gathered in Luoyang to discuss the battle plan against the Feng faction under the pretext of celebrating Wu's birthday.Cao Rui also came to celebrate his birthday and forced Wu to go to Baoding, but Wu was determined not to go. In this meeting, Cao Rui was the one who advocated peace, so he hit Wu's nails. In order to divide the Anhui-Feng alliance, Wu sent a special person to Zhejiang to win over Lu Yongxiang.The two Shandong soldiers originally had a relationship. When Cao Kun was promoted to the third township in the second year of Xuantong, Lu Yongxiang was the fifth association under the jurisdiction of the third town, and Wu Peifu was the leader of the fifth association, which was equivalent to Lu's direct underlings. Twelve years later, although Lu was the governor of Zhejiang, he was inevitably dwarfed by Wu Peifu's patrol envoy between the two lakes.When Wu forced Liang Shiyi to resign with a series of telegrams, Lu Yongxiang once sent a telegram saying: "Traitors will be punished wherever they are, and patriotism must be done in their own way." The second language is intended to refer to Wu's patriotism.So when Wu's special envoy went to see Lu, Lu Yongxiang raised his head and said, "Does Ziyu still remember me today?" At this time, in the name of defending Gyeonggi, Fengjun poured into the pass continuously. Fengjun's first division and three mixed brigades in the pass were all concentrated in the area of ​​Junliang City.At the beginning of April, Zhang Zuoxiang led the 27th and 28th divisions into the customs and stationed in the south of Duliu. On April 10, the Seventh Brigade of the Fengjun temporarily entered the customs and stationed at Liangwangzhuang on Jinpu Road, and the Guard Brigade also stationed in the Jinpu Road area. On April 15, the Feng army marched into two brigades and stationed in Tanggu and Tianjin. On the 16th, Li Jinglin led more than 10,000 people to drive to Duliu. On the 17th, Zhang Zuolin ordered the Fourth Artillery Battalion to bring 54 cannons to the horse factory, and the heavy soldiers to Lutai. On April 20, he sent a cavalry team to Tongzhou.The Feng army was renamed the Zhenwei Army, and Zhang Zuoxiang was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Guannei Army.The Feng army plans to send an army to Xuzhou, join Zhang Wensheng's Xin'an army, attack Henan from Longhai Road, and invite Zhao Ti, the governor of Henan, as an internal response.Another Fengjun route arrived at Changxindian on the Beijing-Hanzhou Line on April 17. On the surface, Zhang Zuolin still said: "Zhifeng belongs to one family, and there is no reason for the Beiyang group to break up." (Telegram from Zhang to Yang Yide) He also issued a warrant, strictly prohibiting Tianjin Fengjun from harming every plant and tree of Cao's family. The Cao brothers really didn't want to meet Fengjun in battle, so they didn't stop Fengjun from advancing forward, and even retreated steadily.Before the Feng army arrived in Tianjin, Cao Rui swept away the documents and equipment from the governor's office, and sent the police chief Yang Yide to act as the governor of Zhili. All the Zhili troops stationed in Tianjin retreated back to Baoding, and the civil and military officials in Tianjin also took refuge Concession.Before the Feng army entered Dezhou, the garrison in Dezhou, Cao Kai (Cao Kun's seventh brother, commander of the 26th Division of the Zhijun Army), left his post and returned to Baoding.Cao Kun was very dissatisfied with the two brothers who abandoned their posts. He sent Zhang Guorong to act as the division commander and withdrew the division to Zhengding.However, Cao Kun still sent a telegram ordering the direct army along the Jinpu route not to resist the Feng army, all the barracks and Dezhou factories were handed over to the Feng army, and sent his family members to Hankou to express his willingness to step down.