Chapter 17 Chapter Sixteen

du8.com copyright Duan Qirui was "ill".Ever since he had a face-to-face dispute with Yuan Shikai about Xu Shuzheng's whereabouts, he fell ill, thanked guests behind closed doors, and ignored military affairs.He didn't even want to care about the outside affairs, he just wanted to recuperate and leave everything to Xu Shuzheng.He not only fought for Xu Shuzheng to be the director of the Office of the General's Mansion, but also for Xu Shuzheng to get the post of Deputy Minister of the Army. "Some people are dissatisfied, hated, and afraid of Xu Shuzheng. I just want to use Xu Shuzheng again!"

Duan Qirui's waist seems to have become harder since he separated from Yuan Shikai.In the past, he was like a little daughter-in-law living in front of a fierce mother-in-law, not daring to straighten her back, not to raise her head, not even to speak big words.Now, as if he had woken up, he shouldn't have succumbed to him like this. "I was a courtier in the past, and I am a citizen today. Why do I have to humble myself in front of you? Now, the world is yours. You can do whatever you want when you are president or emperor. If you want everyone to be your slave, you have to see See if I'm willing to do it or not?" Duan Qirui is no longer the runny-nosed child, nor the supervisor of the Lushun Fort, but the majestic leader of a country's army! Drive away the emperor, what else can I not do?" Even after Duan Qirui closed the door to thank the guests, Yuan Shikai still did not forget him, and even wanted to use him. When Li Yuanhong was called to Beijing, Yuan Shikai asked Duan Qirui to sign The governor of Hubei; when Zhang Zhenfang was called to Beijing, Duan Qirui was also appointed as the governor of Henan; The chief of the navy was the chief of the office. Soon, Yuan Shikai named him Admiral Jianwei, who was also in charge of the affairs of the general's mansion. So much love for him!

Duan Qirui laughed off everything, neither accepting the appointment nor refusing.He knew in his heart that Yuan Shikai was juggling. "Tricks can only be changed to the audience; people on the stage and behind the scenes are all clear in their hearts, that is a trick!" ——Yuan Shikai was playing tricks, playing a set of unskilled but insidious tricks to control power. Yuan Shikai's determination to rule on his own is growing, and controlling military power is the first step.The experience of "strong stems and weak branches" that Yuan Keding learned from Germany is very suitable for the old man.The father and son agreed immediately: Wang Shizhen should be invited to return to Beijing to take charge of the army on Duan's behalf, and the Generalissimo Command Office of the Army and Navy should be established in the presidential palace, which would be directly controlled by the president.

Wang Shizhen was invited back from Zhengding—it was originally said that Yuan Shikai missed him, so please come and have a heart-to-heart talk.Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived in Beijing, Yuan Shikai issued an order, conferred it on the general of the army, and sent him to the command office.In addition to Chief of the Army Duan Qirui, Chief of the Navy Liu Guanxiong, and Chief of Staff Li Yuanhong as ex officio clerks, the command office also had Xi Chang, Sa Zhenbing, and Wang Shizhen.In this way, Duan Qirui became one of the six assistants under Yuan Shikai, who was in charge of the army, and the Ministry of the Army existed in name only.

After the command office was established, Yuan Shikai ordered that all provincial governors be changed into generals, realizing the purpose of weakening the local military power. Let’s talk about Yuan Shikai’s model regiment. Yuan Zi and the regiment leader appointed Chen Guangyuan, the guardian envoy of Chifeng, as the deputy regiment leader; and Lu Chang selected 280 outstanding students from the military training school as mid-level and non-commissioned officers. The speed of 8 brigades is expanded every year, and Yuan Shikai wants to have a model regiment force of 10 divisions exceeding the total number of the existing Beiyang Army in two and a half years.In this way, Yuan Shikai would rule the world without anyone nodding his head.

Yuan Shikai was in full swing to seize military power, and Duan Qirui closed I1 to thank the guests and ignored them.A few days later, Duan Qirui felt that this move was wrong.It turned out that he wanted to close the door for a few days, and Yuan Shiqi would come to him and ask him to do things quickly.Huai Zhi, while Duan Qirui was behind closed doors, Yuan Shikai competed to become the Grand Marshal in charge of the national army, and even the Ministry of War was emptied.Duan Qirui couldn't hold his breath anymore, he couldn't close the door anymore.Xu Shuzheng helped him with the idea of ​​closing the door. Now that the door is not closed, he still has to go to Xu Shuzheng.

Xu Shuzheng was splashing ink and painting at the desk.Seeing Duan Qirui come in, he just nodded and continued to work on his painting. Duan Qirui sat down beside Xu Shuzheng's case, fully expecting that Xu Shuzheng would put down his brush and talk to him.Seeing that Xu Shuzheng kept writing, and even spoke so reluctantly a word of entertainment, he felt unhappy. "When is it, you still have such a calm mood to paint?" Looking at Xu Shuzheng again, he was still calm, Duan Qirui couldn't stay still, and said anxiously: "Youzheng, the matter now is very serious. My stomach is about to explode, look at you, you still have that leisure time!" Xu Shuzheng put down his pen and went to pour tea for Duan Qirui, saying, "Drink tea, drink tea.

It's the new tea, Longjing, your favorite. " "I don't like anything anymore!" Duan Qirui said: "I can't like it anymore. Do you know that he is not satisfied with being the president, and he still wants to be the emperor..." "Then let him be," said Xu Shuzheng. "The common people are willing to let him be, happy to call him long live, long live! He will be the emperor. The common people are not happy to have another emperor, and they will overthrow him." "There are more annoying things." "Don't be angry. Everything in the world is a bit bearish, there is nothing worth being angry about."

"No. There is something to be angry about." Duan Qirui said: "The Ministry of the Army is handed over to us, and I am not allowed to command the army. What kind of office does the Ministry of the Army set up for the Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy? It is not enough for the president to command the army, but he still needs to be a general." Marshal! Asking me to be a clerk in the office is obviously emptying me and taking back my military power. I won’t do it!” du8.com copyright Xu Shuzheng shook his head and smiled. "Isn't it the military power? Give it to him if you want it." "Give it to him?!" Duan Qirui was surprised: "The military power has been given to him, what should we do?" "What if we don't give it to him?"

"Didn't I ask you?" Xu Shuzheng thought for a while, felt that he had spoken the truth, and quickly changed his words: "To this day, I would like to ask the boss, what kind of relationship should we maintain with Xiangcheng (Yuan Shikai is from Xiangcheng, Henan, referred to by his hometown)? " "What do you mean?" Duan Qirui asked. "You and him want to maintain the relationship between husband and wife. On the premise of obedience, we will strive not to lose military power, or lose less military power." Xu Shuzheng said: "If we don't talk about the relationship, let's fight and do it for him. have a look."

"What is the relationship between Weng and son-in-law? It's not a matter of nonsense. One's surname is Yuan, and the other's surname is Zhang. Which size is that?" "So let's fight!" "How to fight?" Duan Qirui only twisted his nose when he was angry.The nose is crooked and often helpless. "Could it be another remonstrance?" Xu Shuzheng shook his head, but said: "Although military remonstrance is a way, it is not the best policy." "Do you have a good plan?" "Just try it." "Speak!" "The first step is to alienate him. While alienating him, attack him. If the attack succeeds, no matter how difficult it is for him; if the attack fails, the second step is a showdown. Let him come to us..." Xu Shuzheng took his first and second steps carefully. Saying it again, Duan Qirui closed his eyes slightly, frowned, thought for a while, then nodded and said, "This is the only way to do it. It's a last resort." In 1915, the year of national humiliation for the Chinese, the Japanese imperialists tore off the mask of "friendship" and proposed to Yuan Shikai the "21 conditions" of losing power and humiliating the country.Therefore, envoys of various names were sent to Japan for negotiations-what kind of negotiations, just to bargain, or just to put on a facade for themselves. At this moment, Duan Qirui submitted a petition to President Yuan Da in the name of the Ministry of War, requesting an increase in the salaries of the officers and sergeants. What do you need money for? The army is about to hand it over, so how much do you care about its salary? This is obviously a step agreed with Xu Shuzheng—a step to put pressure on Yuan Shikai. Duan Qirui's paper came before Yuan Shikai, and Yuan Shikai was worrying about the representative to be sent to Japan for negotiation. The original plenipotentiary was Sun Baoqi, Minister of Foreign Affairs. The attitude was very tough, fearing that it would be difficult to win preferential treatment outside the 21, so he shrunk his head and said to Yuan Shikai: "Bao Qi is not talented, and I am afraid that he will not be competent. Please ask the president to send another talented person. Baoqi asked to resign." Yuan Shikai was in a hurry for diplomacy, and the foreign minister was about to resign. Do you think he can calm down? He said with a livid face, "If you can't do it, who can do it? Someone has to explain it!" Sun Baoqi had been prepared for a long time, and his deputy chief, Lu Zhengxiang, was very close to Yuan Shikai, and said: "Such a heavy responsibility, naturally it must be Lu Zixin (Lu Zhengxiang's nickname Zixin)." Yuan Shikai frowned when he heard that he was asking Lu Zhengxiang to negotiate with Japan.Although this person is close to him, he still can't let go of it when he handles such diplomacy.Just because of the "Twenty-one Articles", when Duan Qirui's report came, Yuan Shikai could not be angry: "Isn't this intentional to add confusion! He didn't even read the content of the report, and put a pen on the brow page Eight big characters were approved: "If you have a little heart, you can't do it!" After the batch is thrown out. "Retire from the Army!" Seeing the instructions, Duan Qirui became angry and cursed with his nose tilted: "You scold me, mother! I don't think anyone is human?" So he made an unequivocal statement: "The Chinese would rather die in battle, Never accept 'Twenty-One Conditions!'' Yuan Shikai always acted arbitrarily, no matter how the people of the country abused him, no matter how Duan Qirui and others objected, and no matter how the generals of the 19 provinces such as Zhang Xun, the patrol envoy of the Yangtze River, and Long Jinguang, the envoy of Huizhou, Guangdong, "please refuse the appointment".Negotiations with Japan still follow his established tone of "protecting outsiders, you should be cautious" and "I will do my best to be a host, and I will live without any conflicts. I will surrender on my knees, sell my interests, and cater to the Japanese. He also instructs those who advise The general: "Generals and others should devote themselves to military affairs and do not have to take care of diplomacy. "I also want the generals" If there are rumors and troubles, the generals should cooperate with the local officials to ban them. " There is another irritating thing: Yuan Keding, who calls himself a prince, announced to all walks of life through the Model Regiment and the Office of the Generalissimo of the Army and Navy that when the Japanese issued an ultimatum on "21 conditions," the old man asked the chief of the army if he could Chief Duan said: "If there is a war, the country will be destroyed within three days. Based on this, Yuan Keding argued wildly: "The army is so incompetent, what is the commander in charge of?" When several things came together, Duan Qirui realized that "Xu Shuzheng's ingenious plan is useless."Duan Qirui had no choice but to take refuge in Xishan under the pretext of "recovering from illness". Yuan Shikai sent officials to stay there for a while in hypocrisy. Presidential order": According to Duan Qirui, the former army chief, "I have been sick since last winter, and my diet has been reduced suddenly, and I can't sleep at night. It is suitable for spring, and I have Luo blood. Various diagnosis and treatment, sometimes mild and sometimes severe. Medical words: blood deficiency, qi stagnation, spleen Weak lung fever, urgently need to rest and take medicine to be effective. It has been more than four months so far, and the prescription is worth a lot of money in the country, so I dare not say that I am sick. Now the overall situation will calm down a little bit. I plan to ask you to go to the poor, so that you can recuperate with peace of mind and hope to get it quickly. Recovery" and so on.When the oracles give less holidays to recuperate.This is the continuation of the words "please drive away all the gaps, so that you can recuperate with peace of mind, and you will recover if you get it."Since the reform of 1911, the chief minister has made outstanding achievements, prepared for hardships and dangers, was founded in the early days of the Republic of China, and suffered many hardships.Therefore, due to hard work, the blood is weak and the qi is weak, and the description is win-loss. During the meeting, he told the chief in person to go to Xishan and other quiet places for recuperation and rest two or three days a week, in order to recover his qi.However, the chief minister puts the country's affairs first, and still refuses to take it easy, and devotes himself to serving the country, which is highly respectable! This is a petition to open a vacancy, and the words are sincere. The president of this country cherishes talents for the country, so it is inconvenient to listen to him. The labor caused the disease to increase, and the two-month leave was specially given, and four liang of ginseng and 5,000 yuan for medical expenses were awarded to fund the health care.The director-general took the current situation into consideration, cherished himself and carefully promoted famous doctors, carefully investigated the source of the disease, and treated it with various methods.During the holidays, if there are important military affairs, he still wants to enter the internal meeting at any time, so as to benefit the national economy by expressing Jiamo. Duan Qirui received preferential treatment, he was given ginseng, silver, and leave, and he wanted to discuss with him about something, Yuan Shikai was really magnanimous. Ordinarily, Duan Qirui's situation today was also expected together with Xu Shuzheng. The position of army chief was still occupied, and he hid in Xishan to ignore the director. Everything was still represented by Xu Shuzheng.It won't be long before Yuan Shikai has to come to his door. People who make wishful thinking may not always be happy.This time, Duan Xu miscalculated—— After leaving Duan Qirui, Yuan Shikai was more relaxed than Duan Qirui. There were not many people who could fight him, and there were not many people who dared to fight him. He could let go of his courage and dream of being an emperor. Yuan Shikai was really tired. He was almost 60 years old, and he couldn't live in peace day and night.Dealing with Sun Yat-sen went smoothly, except for that Song Jiaoren who was in the way; except him! Zhao Bingjun is not good at handling affairs, and the killing of Song Jiaoren showed his feet, causing the whole country to shout and curse.There is no other way, let's thank the world with Zhao Bingjun's head! Yuan Shikai thought that these things were handled fairly strictly, but unexpectedly, the city was full of disturbances.Yuan Shikai called Xiong Xiling, Premier of the Cabinet, and Feng Guozhang, Governor of Jiangsu, to his side.As a result, neither of these two people can do it anymore, and they have to fight with father and son.Yuan Shikai brought his son Yuan Keding to him... In the early autumn of 1915, the weather in Beijing was abnormal. The summer drought was followed by the autumn drought, and the dry wind was wrapped in misty dust, which made the streets and alleys turbid all day long, and people lost their energy.Yuan Keding, who was sitting in front of Lao Tzu, was more anxious than his Lao Tzu.Because he is dreaming the same emperor dream as Lao Tzu, even more charming than Lao Tzu's dream: Lao Tzu is almost 60 years old, in poor health, and can live for a few days; .The world is also determined by him, Yuan Ke.One day the position is uncertain, and Yuan Keding is restless all the time. "Master," Yuan Keding told me not to call him "Father" but "Master": "Have you found Xiong Bingsan (Xiong Xiling, name Bingsan)?" Yuan Shikai nodded. "What does he mean?" "What could it mean?" Yuan Shikai sighed softly. "It's still a popular tone, trend, trend..." "Does Feng Huafu (Feng Guozhang, named Huafu) have the same tune?" "These people all followed Duan Qirui. This Duan Zhiquan..." "Didn't you let him go to Xishan to recuperate?" "It's clean after recuperating?" Yuan Shikai glared at his son, and said, "What can't Xu Shuzheng do!" When Xu Shuzheng was mentioned, the father and son fell silent.What are you talking about? They recognized Xu Shuzheng's talent, but they also admitted that Xu Shuzheng was not used by his father and son, he was Duan Qirui's man.Yuan's father and son wanted to drive him away, but they couldn't.Now that Duan Qirui has recuperated, it is even more important for Xu Shuzheng to act as the deputy chief of the Army Department. Yuan Keding was silent for a moment, and said: "Master, isn't Xu Shuzheng just a deputy chief, otherwise it will be over." "Exemption? How?" Yuan Shikai said: "The chief executive resigned to recuperate from his illness, and the deputy chief was dismissed. It was too much of a shock." "Find a reason, nothing will happen." Yuan Shikai shook his head lightly.Yuan Keding thought for a while, and then said: "Xu Shuzheng once delivered arms to the Germans..." Before his son could finish speaking, Yuan Shikai waved his hand to stop him: "What's the point of bringing up something that has been put to rest for a long time?" "There is something else," Yuan Keding said: "I heard that Xu Shuzheng used Kuyin to buy arms, and the false report alone cost 400,000 yuan. Isn't this a big deal?" "Evidence?" Yuan Shikai asked. "Someone can testify." "..." Yuan Shikai wanted to speak, but closed his mouth again.I thought to myself: "Xu Shuzheng is not an ordinary person. If I don't do it well, I won't get the desired effect, and I will cause trouble." After thinking for a long time, I said: "Zhiquan is not one of us. I don't like this Xu Shuzheng very much. What' Little fan'? What 'Hefei soul'? Treacherous and cunning, unreliable!" Seeing that his father hated Xu Shuzheng so much, Yuan Keding understood in his heart and became more determined. "Master, don't worry, I have a solution." "any solution?" Yuan Keding said so and so in his father's ear, and then said: "It's so grand, no one can say anything." Yuan Shikai thought about it, although he felt that it was not a clever plan, but it was still a plan.Then he said: "I have to do this, kill the chicken first, and then kill the monkey." After a pause, he said: "I only focus on Xu Shuzheng, isn't it too conspicuous? Can you expand it a little so that people don't feel disgusted." "Master, what do you mean..." "People like Zhang Gu and Ye Gongchuo are not good people." "Then get rid of them together!" A few days later, the Suzheng Office reported to the President to impeach Xu Shuzheng for falsely reporting 400,000 yuan in the purchase of foreign arms. Now that someone is impeached, the president will exercise his powers in a legitimate manner.So issue the command: Xu Shuzheng was removed from the post of Deputy Minister of the Army; Zhang Gu was removed from the post of Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Finance; Ye Gongchuo was removed from the post of Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Communications.This is the modern historical event called "three long events" by historians.Xu Shuzheng knew clearly in his heart that he was influenced by Duan Qirui; Zhang Gu and Ye Gongchuo were confused: "We treat the President well, why..." But they didn't know: Xiong Xiling, director of the Ministry of Finance, and Liang Shiyi, director of the Ministry of Communications, were both suspected by Yuan Shikai because they disagreed with Yuan Shikai being emperor.