Chapter 9 Chapter 8 A tiger came out of Beiyang

At the beginning of Xiaozhan's military training, Yuan Shikai asked Fu Chang to recommend him military backbones, and Yong Chang recommended Wang Shizhen, Feng Guozhang, Duan Qirui, and Liang Huadian from among the graduates of the Beiyang Armed Forces Academy.Liang drowned during a night march, leaving only Wang, Feng, and Duan under Yuan Shikai.Now, Wang Shizhen is the general office and commander of the Engineering Academy, Feng Guozhang is the general office of the Infantry Academy and the director of the Supervision and Training Office, and Duan Qirui is the general office and commander of the Artillery Academy.Schools are set up along with the battalion, basically cultivating cronies while training soldiers.Yuan Shikai's influence grew bigger and bigger, and more and more key personnel were recruited. Later, Duan Zhigui, Wu Changchun, Xu Bangjie, He Zonglian, Zhao Guoxian, Ma Longbiao, Wang Yingkai, Yang Rongtai, Cao Kun, Wang Zhanyuan, Chen Guangyuan, Lu Yongxiang, Tian Zhongyu, Zhang Huaizhi, Lu Jianzhang, Meng Enyuan, Lei Zhenchun and others.Some of these people are feudal literati, some are frustrated in the examination room, and some are rural rascals.In addition, there are some leaders of the Huai army dispatched by the Qing government, such as Jiang Guiti, Xia Zhangyou, Zhang Xun, Ni Sichong, Zhao Ti and so on.After Yuan Shikai was transferred from Shandong to the governor of Zhili, he immediately established a supervisory office in Baoding, which became his institution for training recruits in Zhili, and the three oldest members of the Beiyang backbone had another important task: Duan Qirui was the chief of staff Feng Guozhang is the general manager of the coaching office, and Wang Shizhen is the supervisor of the Zhili Provincial Operations and Defense Battalion Affairs Office.Since Yuan Shikai was also the Minister of Beiyang, he simply changed this army to "New Beiyang Army".

When Yuan Shikai was in Shandong, he invited German military officers to watch the exercises.Seeing that Generals Wang, Duan, and Feng were commanding well, the German pointed at them with a horsewhip and said, "You are worthy of being outstanding generals!" .Later, the army visualized the Three Heroes step by step. They regarded Wang Shizhen as the first of the "Three Heroes" and the head of the dragon. He was also a figure who appeared and disappeared on the political stage, so he was called the Dragon; Duan Qi Rui was as violent as a tiger, and made great contributions in Shandong. He was known as a tiger general, so he was called a tiger; and Feng Guozhang was a bit dog-headed, so he was called a dog. The "Three Heroes of Beiyang" became known as Wang Long, Duan Hu and Feng Gou.

Among the Beiyang generals, Duan Qirui was one of the very few who had been gilded in Germany. At that time, Germany was the country with the strongest army in the world.Therefore, Duan Qirui showed himself to be great everywhere and did not take others seriously.However, after Duan Qirui followed Yuan Shikai to Baoding, he encountered a very unsatisfactory thing—— One day, Yuan Shikai called him to the governor's mansion, closed the door, and the two discussed major issues in secret.Yuan Shikai said: "At present, the situation in China is relatively stable, and there are not many major incidents in the world. The peaceful years are the time when we train and expand our army. There is a situation. I wonder if you have seen it?"

Yuan Shikai often did this, hiding what he thought, and inspiring his subordinates to say it.And when the subordinates can't say it, he will guide and inspire.Duan Qirui had figured out his temper, and also developed a countermeasure: if he could figure it out, he would climb along the pole, making Yuan Shikai nod his head and be elated; if he couldn't figure it out, he would say some specious opinions , to induce Yuan Shikai to explain A.This time, it was when he didn't understand Yuan Shikai's "context", so he smiled embarrassingly and said: "Qi Rui has always been ignorant about the general situation of the country, and Qi Rui is not sensitive, so naturally Your Excellency sees far-reaching things. Qi Rui can only listen to your great opinions, and dare not speak nonsense in front of your adults."

It's another way to get out, and another top hat.Yuan Shikai was naturally happy in his heart and face. He shook his head slightly and said: "In order to break the shackles of the limited number of troops trained in each province, I would like to ask the imperial court for permission to set up a central military training department. The powerful ministers of the royal family will preside over the military training. This has another advantage, the emperor will feel relieved when the royal ministers preside over the military training." Duan Qirui suddenly became enlightened: "Master Yuan thinks this way, so that he can expand his military power without arousing the suspicion of the court. Killing two birds with one stone is extremely wonderful!" He hurriedly said: "The minister of the royal family is presiding over the military training, Master Yuan must seek assistance from the side and become the minister who will do it."

Yuan Shikai nodded knowingly, but still said: "Then it depends on whether the imperial court grants the approval?" Duan Qirui said: "The imperial court will definitely grant the approval. With the influence of your lord's rule of the army, your lord must be the one to do this job." !" "Do your best and obey the destiny." Yuan Shikai said: "There are many subsequent things to do. I think, first of all, we should enrich and expand our new Beiyang army to lay a foundation. In the future, there will be a way to speak to the outside world. rely on."

"What do you plan to do, my lord?" Duan Qirui asked. "I plan to set up three associations first." Yuan Shikai said: "In this way, the new Beiyang army will be regularized." "Good move!" Duan Qirui said: "It's not too late to catch it." Yuan Shikai nodded, and the matter was settled. When Yuan Shikai thought about expanding the army, the domestic situation seemed to be stable. In fact, the provinces and armies were still very unstable. Everyone was fighting for power and trying to expand themselves.Yuan Shikai has already seen that among his colleagues, they have different minds and are on guard against each other. Trouble will arise one day.Therefore, when expanding the army and organizing his own power, he wanted to try his best to "employ people only for the public" and show that he was impartial.Therefore, he wanted to use an examination method to promote and reuse cadres.He didn't explain this to Duan Qirui, so Duan Qirui naturally didn't know about it.As a result, this is what happened:

du8.com copyright When Yuan Shikai established the first association, Wang Shizhen passed the exam, and he became the commander; when Yuan Shikai established the second association, Feng Guozhang passed the exam, and he became the commander; when Yuan Shikai established the third association, of course he hoped Duan Qirui can pass the examination procedure.In that way, the commanders of the Army of the Three Associations were all his confidants and were recruited through examinations, which embodies "employing people on the basis of justice", and no one has anything to say.However, Duan Qirui failed the exam twice in a row.Yuan Shikai was anxious, what should we do? If the leader of the association was taken away by others, Yuan Shikai would not be at ease; besides, where would Duan Qirui be put?

Duan Qirui is even more anxious. The army has been reorganized and formed into an association. If the military power is lost, what will he rely on in the future? , he still got good grades.Now, it's time to fight for military power, but he failed Sun Shan in two exams. Doesn't this mean that he has lost his military power? What should we do? Duan Qirui can't lose his military power. Wouldn't he lose his personality if he lost his military power? ?Usually, he is always self-sufficient with gilding in Germany and defiant.Now it's all over, the gold plating is all polished, and I only have a piece of rotten iron left, what a shame! Now, after thinking about it, Duan Qirui realized that it was because of the gold plating in Liuyang that he relaxed and made progress.Today is good, let me show you! Although he is anxious, he can't think of a way to relieve it.

At this time, people passed on "Please, Governor!" When Duan Qirui heard Yuan Shikai's invitation, his forehead became hot again. "Should we have another interview? The interview is even more difficult. If you don't do well in the exam, everything will be over!" He didn't want to go.However, it is impossible not to go. An ugly daughter-in-law can't be afraid of seeing her in-laws, she has to go anyway.Duan Qirui hurried to the Governor's Mansion. Yuan Shikai was waiting for him anxiously. When they met, Yuan Shikai said straight to the point: "Zhiquan, what's the matter with the exam?"

Duan Qirui's face was hot, and he said: "Qirui usually misbehaves. I'm careless. In fact, I used to be quite familiar with the questions posed by adults." "I want to test you again, how about it?" Although Duan Qirui's face was hot, he had to pretend to be calm.He reluctantly said: "Qi Rui settle down and prepare well." "It's too late." Yuan Shikai said: "This is not a matter of cramming." "I'll go through the night tonight..." Duan Qirui made up his mind. Yuan Shikai turned his back, didn't speak anymore, just turned his hands behind his back, and said: "Take it, prepare well tonight, I will personally take someone to test you tomorrow!" After finishing speaking, he shook his right hand. Duan Qirui understood, stepped forward in a hurry, took a neatly folded piece of paper from Yuan Shikai's hand, stepped back, and said, "Thank you for your teaching!" Duan Qirui thought that what Yuan Shikai gave him was a reminder of what books to read and what materials to look for.When I got home, I saw that it was just a test paper.This joy made me go crazy.So, without eating or sleeping, I lay down under the lamp, looked for books, and prepared answers. The next day, it was indeed Yuan Shikai who led several adults from the capital for an interview.Duan Qirui is well prepared, no matter the written test or the oral test, he can answer fluently.As a result, he finally passed this test, and he naturally passed the exam.Therefore, Yuan Shikai issued the appointment grandly, and Duan Qirui became the leader of Yuan Shikai's newly established Third Association.Duan Qirui hurried to Yuan Shikai to express his gratitude, and then took office. Duan Qirui passed the exam, and Wang Shizhen and Feng Guozhang made a special trip to congratulate him. Naturally, they couldn't help but say a lot of praises such as "study and wealth", "heart of military skills", "smart and witty".Duan Qirui felt that both Wang and Feng were confidantes, they used to have a deep friendship, and they will have to work together in the future, and they are both generals under the command of their ancestors, so they should not be hidden from them.Therefore, Governor Yuan was appointed.Passing the volume, the matter was revealed to Wang and Feng.He also expressed his loyalty to Yuan Shikai, "I have received a lot of gratitude, and I will never forget it for life!" Just slightly different. In the second year of Duan Qirui's leadership of the Third Association of the Beiyang New Army, that is, in 1903, Yuan Shikai's memorial to the central government for the establishment of a military training office was approved.Of course, the proposal that "the important ministers of the royal family will preside over the military training" was also approved at the same time.Yuan Shikai wanted to invite Rong Lu to be the prime minister after the memorial was approved, but Rong Lu was "unlucky". Therefore, Prince Qing Yixuan was elected to preside over the event, and he himself would naturally co-organize it. The imperial court approved it, and sent Yixu as the minister to supervise the training of the new army, and Yuan Shikai as the minister of the conference. Yuan Shikai seized the power to supervise the training of the new army, and without waiting for Yixu to start, he set up an organization and dispatched generals at the military training office.Yuan Shikai appointed Xu Shichang as the chief executive, and set up three divisions under him. Wang Shizhen was the chief envoy of the military department, Feng Guozhang was the chief envoy of the military science department, and Duan Qirui was the chief envoy of the military commander with Zhili Buyongdao. This year, Duan Qirui was 89 years old, and he was in the prime of life. When people are on the right track, all good opportunities will come across.After Duan Qirui became the envoy of the military commander, the military training department was under the control of Yuan Shikai, and a nationwide large-scale troop expansion campaign began. He decided to train 36 new army towns nationwide, and first set up 6 towns in the Beiyang area as demonstration.In fact, it is to use Beiyang as the backbone to transform the national army into one and become its own personal soldiers. Yuan Shikai was ambitious, but he felt that his mouth was too open, and he was afraid that he would not be able to digest it if he swallowed it.He found Duan Qirui and wanted to discuss a solution with him. Duan Qirui was proud of his spring breeze, and he was grateful to Yuan Shikai, and dreamed of serving Mount Tai in his dreams.In the past few years, he has been able to make these few leaps, and he has just understood the role of Mr. Shen's "Official Protection Talisman" as a reminder, "Even if you are a hero, you have to form a bond!" Sitting in front of Yuan Shikai, Duan Qirui pondered over the questions Yuan Shikai raised. After a while, he said: "It is a good move to build six towns in Beiyang first. In this way, the backbone army can be grasped. I think this is not enough, we have to let All the towns should have our backbone." I thought so too, and Yuan Shikai said: "It's just that I haven't thought about what method to use yet." My lord, I think so, can you see if it works?" Duan Qirui recalled his background and the way he got rich, and said: " We also run military equipment schools.For short-term ones, they will be distributed batch by batch.It is justifiable to assign them to the students of the armed forces schools in each town.what do you think?" Yuan Shikai also thought about this problem.However, after the military training at Xiaozhan, the Armed Forces School gradually closed down.Although some provinces will continue to do so in the future, they will stop shortly after.What name would be used to redo what was not done? Besides, would the imperial court agree to set up a nationwide military training school? Yuan Shikai could not make up his mind.Therefore, he didn't immediately agree or disagree with Duan Qirui's words, but only blinked his eyes and frowned. Duan Qirui was impatient to ask for credit, and said: "My lord, don't hesitate, this is the only way. ideal.This method can achieve the goal: the army belongs to the court, and the officers belong to us. "Yuan Shikai finally made up his mind and accepted Duan Qirui's opinion. "Okay, restore the military training school. After thinking for a while, he said again: "You come to be the general manager of the school." " Duan Qirui nodded in agreement. When Duan Qirui was about to withdraw, Yuan Shikai stopped him again. "You stop." Duan Qirui stopped and turned around. "My lord, you..." "I would like to recommend Tie Liang to train the wing commanders of the Beijing Banner, and he will select 3,000 banner soldiers to train." Yuan Shikai said, "What do you think?" Duan Qirui nodded and said, "Okay! Tie Liang is a Manchu, and he is the Minister of the Ministry of War. Please invite him out..." "The royal family can be stabilized!" "In my opinion, it is also possible to set up a noble school." Duan Qirui said: "Specially train Manchu children." "Okay, let's do it like this." At the age of 40, Duan Qirui served as the commanding officer of the third town of the army, and organized and trained the army of the third town. Thus, he fixed his own military base, and then developed into a large army in the melee - the Anhui Army; The head of the Chinese army in that historical period lasted more than 20 years! The third town of Duan Qirui's army can be called the direct line of Yuan Shikai's army. It was stationed in Baoding, Yuan's governor's mansion, but extended its tentacles to Fengtian and Jinzhou; later it extended to Changchun and Changtu areas.After the tension in Gyeonggi, he was transferred back to Beijing. The three army towns did not recruit new troops. They were all old troops led by Yuan Shikai and him from Xiaozhan to Shandong, and then from Shandong to Baoding.There are two Xiehe and one Mabiao under the jurisdiction of the three towns. Of course, Xietong and Biaotong are all selected by Duan Qirui's own cronies.They have successively: Lei Zhenchun, Xu Zhanfeng, Lu Yongxiang, Zhang Yongcheng, Xu Wanxin, Chen Wenyun and Zhang Guotai.In the following year, Duan Qirui was re-elected as the commander of the fourth town. This must be considered a subtle transfer—— The fourth town was reorganized from Liujing Beiying. It was stationed in the Nanyuan area in the suburbs of Beijing, and it also guarded Tianjin Machang and Xiaozhan.All this was arranged by Yuan Shikai, only Wu Changchun, the governor of this town, Yuan Shikai was a little worried.Although Wu is also a native of Beiyang, Wu Changchun does not have a position like Duan Qirui in Yuan's "confidantes", and this town is located in the suburbs of Beijing. Of course Yuan is worried, and he thinks of Duan Qirui again. The man brought Duan Qirui to him and said to him, "Zhiquan, I want you to go to Sizhen temporarily. " To the fourth town?!" Duan Qirui didn't think about it. He felt that he couldn't leave the third town. That's it..., Yuan Shikai thought, of course he would not hide his righteous son-in-law.He repeated his thoughts and said, "I don't want you to grow up in the fourth town either. As long as you get things in order there, you can withstand the wind and rain in the future, and then, of course, you will return to your third town." Duan Qirui listened to Yuan's order.To put it bluntly, he is not serving the court, he is serving Yuan Shikai.Everything he had was given by Yuan Shikai, the flower feathers awarded by the imperial court, and the honorary title of "Fighting Batulu" given by the imperial court were also invited by Yuan Shikai for him. He naturally had to listen to Yuan Shikai. He agreed to Yuan's new appointment, But he expressed his worries: "Most of the four towns are composed of transferred camps from various places. I will go alone, I'm afraid..." You can pick up a thick battalion belt in Three Towns. "Yuan Shikai said: "After taking office, can we still change the leader of the Association? " Yuan Shikai made his words clear, and Duan Qirui's hesitation was also dispelled. As soon as he arrived at the age of 41 (the 31st year of Guangxu, 1905 A.D.), he brought his first cavalry battalion to the fourth town of the army in the first month of that year to take over the post. standard. Duan Qirui only worked in the fourth town of the army for 8 months. In August of this year, he was transferred to the sixth town of the army.Yuan Shikai told him: "There is a special task that cannot be completed unless you go!"