Beiyang reactionaries

Among the rising figures in the southwestern region in the year of [-], Tang Jiyao had the greatest ambition and the strongest wrist.Tang Jiyao always believed that he was the most qualified leader in the Southwest, and the Yunnan Army should be the leader in the Southwest.But the young Deng Hanxiang in front of him, to embarrass himself like this, is really not a son of man.Tang Jiyao had the urge to shoot Deng Hanxiang.

"Hmph, what do you want to explain?"

pressure.

The pressure is really high.Since a large number of opium merchants in Yunnan and Guizhou were captured by the Sichuan army, Sichuan immediately mobilized its troops.Song Tiancai's independent brigade began to move south to Luzhou, under the unified command of Fang Dingying, the commander of the Fourth Mixed Brigade, and put pressure on Yunnan and Guizhou as if they were about to go to war.More importantly, Li Yuanhong, Duan Qirui and other leaders of the Beijing government took turns sending telegrams to themselves, asking them to control Yunnan well.

And then there's the media.

Concentrate firepower on Yunnan and Guizhou.In fact, there are many places where opium is grown in China, including Henan, Shaanxi, and Shanxi, and there are also a lot of opium imported from India.But the current public opinion seems to say that the opium in the whole of China is produced in these two places.Now Deng Hanxiang went directly to him to clamor.

"General Tang, it's very simple. Your Yunnan Governor's Mansion will issue a statement stating that your Yunnan will ban opium from now on and will strictly investigate and deal with the opium trade. Even the Qing court knows how to manage opium and other things that harm the country and the people. Prohibition. Could it be that the Yunnan government of General Tang was not as good as the Qing Dynasty? Could it be that the Yunnan army participated in the Revolution of [-] just to sell opium?"

Deng Hanxiang spoke very sharply.

Since entering Yunnan, there has been a lot of publicity along the way.It is said that now the whole of Yunnan knows that Yunnan opium merchants entered Sichuan to sell opium and were caught by Sichuan.Tang Jiyao actually blocked the newspapers in Yunnan at the first time, so as not to let things spread out casually.

But when Deng Hanxiang entered Yunnan, he publicized it wherever he went, making things completely impossible to cover.Looking at Deng Hanxiang's arrogance now, Tang Jiyao was in a very bad mood.Look at the generals under your own hands again.

Especially young officers.

Although they know some inside information, it is always a shame to be caught by others like this.And this is opium, as Deng Hanxiang said, opium is something that harms the country and the people, and the Chinese know it.

Tang Jiyao's face became more and more ugly.

He said coldly: "Hmph, I don't have any opium cultivation in Yunnan. Those are just some lawbreakers."

"General Tang, everyone knows some things. Don't you say that what the Yunnan army entered Sichuan at the beginning of the year to sell was not opium? General Tang, I have to say something. It may be hard to hear, but it is from the bottom of my heart. Don’t use the name of a noble excuse, but do some unconscionable deeds. Since the Xinhai Year, I have not grown much opium in Sichuan. But my Sichuan is still flooded with opium, and [-] to [-]% of it comes from Yunnan. "

"you……."

Tang Jiyao clenched his fists, wishing he could shoot Deng Hanxiang dead.

But Tang Jiyao knew that now he was being caught.It's really hard to do anything to Deng Hanxiang at this time.So he gritted his teeth and said, "Go back and tell Duan Xun. We will take care of our affairs in Yunnan, and let Duan Xun take care of our own affairs. Don't point fingers at our Yunnan affairs."

Deng Hanxiang nodded with a smile.

Then he said: "I believe in General Tang, and I also believe in the generals of the Yunnan Army. Because you all participated in the Revolution of [-] to save the country and the people, and you certainly did not participate in the revolution to harm the country and the people. The honor of Yunnan, The honor of the Yunnan Army, I believe that the generals will not tarnish him. General Tang, as long as opium can be banned in Yunnan, we in Sichuan will absolutely not interfere in Yunnan's affairs."

Deng Hanxiang's words made Tang Jiyao's hands tremble above him.

Deng Hanxiang is too inhuman.

Tang Jiyao has no choice now, but can only say that the Yunnan government has never supported the cultivation of opium, nor has it ever supported the opium business.Completely separate the opium dealers who were caught from themselves.

But Tang Jiyao's own family knew about their own affairs.

As the saying goes, it is easy to go from frugal to extravagant, but difficult to go from extravagant to frugal.Originally, after the Xinhai Year, opium in Yunnan was not as rampant as it is now.I can only say so-so.Tang Jiyao didn't strictly control, but he didn't encourage either.

The opium business was tepid.

Of course, Yunnan soil is still famous.

But after the outbreak of the War to Protect the Country, it was completely different.Tang Jiyao had no money in his hands, so he could only find a way in this regard.Quietly liberalized the control of opium, and even began to encourage the opium business, and then collected taxes from it.Even some units of the Yunnan Army personally organized caravans to sell opium to Guangdong.

Tang Jiyao used this method to spend half a year in the War to Protect the Country.Had it not been for the use of opium at that time, the military expenditure of the Yunnan Army in the War of National Protection would have been impossible to raise.Cai E and Li Liejun only knew to ask Tang Jiyao for money and weapons on the front line, but who knew the pain in Tang Jiyao's heart.In a barren province in Yunnan, how can there be so much money to support the war to protect the country.

But it is easy to let go of this opening, but it is difficult to close it again.Not to mention others, Tang Jiyao's younger brothers are all opium merchants, and they are big opium merchants in Yunnan, with many connections.Tang Jiyao's family has a lot of interest in opium, and the other powerful Yunnan factions have a lot more to do with opium.Including many generals of the current Yunnan Army, they also took advantage of the opportunity of opium to make a fortune.

Under such circumstances, how can I completely ban opium.

Totally impossible.

But again, the Yunnan Army is no ordinary army.As the most important force in the Southwest Uprising in [-], there were many revolutionary parties in him.Many of the young generals of the Yunnan Army are ambitious and energetic.

They are now slowly becoming mid-level officers of the Yunnan Army and beginning to grasp the power of the Yunnan Army.These people have not degenerated into warlords so far.They still have passion, ideals, and pursuits in their hearts.

The War to Protect the Country broke out. For example, Cai E and Dai Kan were both Liang Qichao's Progressive Party.The War to Protect the Country was promoted by the Progressive Party.And Tang Jiyao wanted to use the War to Protect the Country to dominate the Southwest and complete his plan for the Great Southwest.

But many young officers of the Yunnan Army are different.

Many of them are full of enthusiasm, and they really participated in the War to Protect the Country in order to oppose the monarchy.Before Cai E left Beijing and came to Yunnan, the young generals of the Yunnan Army were already ready to move, and they were all forcing Tang Jiyao to raise the banner of opposing the imperial system.Moreover, in this war to protect the country, these young officers sacrificed a lot, and many of them died on the battlefield.Now Deng Hanxiang put the matter on the table naked, forcing himself to promise not to grow opium and prohibit the opium business.

But can it be done?

It's hard.

Because there was no income from opium, what did Tang Jiyao use to feed the tens of thousands of troops of the Yunnan Army.Without opium income, what kind of money would Tang Jiyao use to realize his dream of dominating the Southwest.

But what if it can't be done?

Deng Hanxiang's words made all the young officers of the Yunnan Army see it.If I really can't do it, and add some gossip, maybe these young officers of the Dian Army will start to be indifferent to Tang Jiyao, and have some bad thoughts about Tang Jiyao.

The Dian Army was Tang Jiyao's capital.If the young officers of the Dian Army did not deal with Tang Jiyao, how would Tang Jiyao control the Dian Army?

Dilemma.

So Tang Jiyao looked at Deng Hanxiang with anger.

Deng Hanxiang smiled slightly.

Due to the War to Protect the Country, Duan Xun had a deep gap with the Yunnan Army.But maybe Duan Xun will take control of Yunnan in the future, and these Yunnan army generals will still be used at that time.After all, the Yunnan Army owns the Yunnan Jiangwutang, the top military academy in China, and has trained a large number of officers.It is impossible for Duan Xun to exclude them all and not use these people.

Therefore, Duan Xun wanted to improve his reputation in order to offset his conflicts with the Yunnan Army during the War to Protect the Nation.And now is the best opportunity.Duan Xun's military discipline is very good, and many people already know it.Now Duan Xun wants to present himself as a fighter against opium, just like Lin Wenzhong (Lin Zexu) back then.Establishing a positive image of Duan Xun can be regarded as winning the favor of young officers of the Yunnan Army.

"General Tang, I will take my leave."

"Please."

Deng Hanxiang left, and Tang Jiyao looked at the officers below.Tang Jiyao first looked at Luo Peijin, but Luo Peijin's expression was not good.Although it has only been five years since the Revolution of [-], everyone's so-called revolutionary ideals have almost faded away.

But even if the revolutionary ideals in their hearts have been extinguished, at least everyone still needs to save face.

Being accused like this, countless newspapers scolded the Yunnan Army as the umbrella of the opium merchants, how could Luo Peijin look so good.The same is true for the generals of the Yunnan Army below.

This is especially true for the young officers standing at the bottom.

All of them blushed and their faces were ugly.

"Captain, this is a great disgrace."

A person standing at the end stood up and spoke directly.Staring straight at Tang Jiyao, he said, "Commander, our Yunnan Army is a revolutionary army, an army protecting the country. But now our Yunnan Army has become the laughing stock of the world instead. This shame and humiliation must be washed away. Commander, I ask the Commander to learn Sichuan's approach is to ban the cultivation of opium throughout the province, severely crack down on the opium trade, and restore the reputation of our Yunnan Army."

Everyone looked down.

The top officials of the Yunnan Army now know it well.Opium cannot be banned if you want to.If opium is banned, who will pay for the military salaries needed by the Yunnan Army.With this war to protect the country, although the Dian army was beaten back in Sichuan, some troops of the Dian army stayed in Guizhou, and some troops were stationed in Guangdong.Moreover, Yunnan itself has a large number of troops, all of which were expanded by Tang Jiyao taking advantage of the opportunity of the National Defense War.

What should we do now?