Beiyang reactionaries

Everyone who followed this war was taken aback.The Dian Army is a strong force in the southwest, and even the Beiyang Army will not underestimate the Dian Army.But Duan Xun's troops turned out to be destructive and directly attacked the hinterland of Yunnan.

Of course, this is not the real strength of the Yunnan Army.

If the Yunnan Army is really united, it will not be so easy for Duan Xun to defeat the Yunnan Army.Yu Enyang's Fourth Division of the Dian Army and Huang Yucheng's brigade alone were a big problem.Fortunately, they didn't have a good relationship with Tang Jiyao, so they didn't intervene in this matter. Instead, they made way for the current effect.

They are all waiting now, waiting for Gu Pinzhen to come out to solve this matter.

But needless to say inside Yunnan, the whole of China immediately ignited the flames because of this incident.Lu Rongting, the inspector of Guangdong and Guangxi, Tan Yankai, the governor of Hunan, Liu Xianshi, the governor of Guizhou, and Tang Jiyao, the governor of Yunnan, made a joint statement accusing Duan Qirui of instigating the war.

Li Yuanhong also called for a truce.

However, Duan Qirui was very tough and asked Cao Kun to take three divisions of the Beiyang Army south to threaten Hunan. As long as the troops in other southwest provinces made any moves, Cao Kun was ready to enter Hunan at any time.At the same time, a large number of Beiyang warlords came to Beijing.

"General, our side..."

The contradiction is sharp.

The conflict between Li Yuanhong and Duan Qirui was already very serious, and this time it was even more difficult to reconcile.At this time, another thing happened, and that was about whether to participate in the First World War.

Originally, Li Yuanhong was supported by the United States and had always advocated participating in the war, and he joined the Allied Powers headed by Britain and France.But Duan Qirui has a relationship with Germany, and he studied in Germany when he was young.Therefore, I highly respect the German army and firmly believe that Germany will win in the end.Therefore, I have always opposed Li Yuanhong's idea of ​​participating in the war, and even more opposed China's participation in the Allied Powers.

But then the Japanese government encouraged Duan Qirui to join the war.

Duan Qirui, or in other words, the Anhui Department has a deep interest relationship with Japan.The instructors in many units of the Anhui Department are Japanese soldiers, including Baoding Military Academy, which Duan Qirui values ​​most, also has many Japanese instructors.Moreover, many of the weapons of the Anhui Faction are also Japanese weapons, especially more than half of the cannons of the Anhui Faction troops are purchased from Japan.Although Japanese weapons are not as good as German weapons, they are much cheaper in comparison.Moreover, although heavy weapons are less powerful than German weapons, they are very suitable for use on the Asian battlefield.Therefore, most of the weapons of the Anhui troops were purchased from Japan.

Not only among the military, but even the political circles of Anhui and Japan have a deep relationship.Among other things, Duan Qirui's most important "New Transportation Department" Lu Zongyu and Cao Rulin are inextricably linked to the Japanese political circles.Therefore, with the support of the Japanese, Duan Qirui changed his attitude and proposed to participate in the First World War.Like Li Yuanhong, they all want to join the Allied Powers.

But now the situation is reversed.

It was Duan Qirui who opposed it before, but this time it was Li Yuanhong who opposed it.Li Yuanhong and Duan Qirui's tit-for-tat confrontation, in addition to the problems between them, has the factor of "the dispute between the government and the courtyard".Behind the scenes, the United States and Japan are wrestling.

In recent years, the conflict between the United States and Japan has become increasingly serious.Especially in order to compete for the control of the Far East, the two sides dismantled each other.The controversy over participation in the war is also a major outbreak of conflict between the United States and Japan.

Duan Qirui is going to deal the biggest blow to Li Yuanhong with the issue of participating in the war.

Therefore, the major warlords of the Beiyang Army were summoned to Beijing, and they were prepared to toughly pass the issue of participating in the war.But what Duan Qirui didn't expect was that his proposal was opposed by many Beiyang army governors.

"Support, of course we must."

Duan Xun put down the telegram, and said with certainty: "Not only support, but also support with great fanfare. Those warlords have criticized, and the current hesitation is mainly because they are worried that Prime Minister Duan will transfer their troops in the name of participating in the war. It is a naive idea. This The time is right for us to show our loyalty."

These warlords are all smart people, but now they are all in it, completely confused.Who is Duan Qirui, how could he do such a loss-making business.How could he send their troops to fight.

The warlords of the Beiyang Army were afraid that Duan Qirui would transfer his troops, so none of them expressed their views.This is a good opportunity. At this time, Duan Xun strongly supports Duan Qirui, which will give Duan Qirui a great impression.

At this stage, it is very important to leave a good impression on Duan Qirui and get Duan Qirui's support.

"General, is this choice correct?"

Wang Yongjiang asked with some concern: "General, this matter is very different from the previous disputes between the government and the court. This is a major matter related to the future destiny of the country. Our country is different from other powerful countries. In this European war If you stand on the wrong team, the consequences may be serious. If the final result is that Germany wins, then they will definitely vent their anger on us and ask us to cede territory and pay compensation. How should we respond at that time. Therefore, I think we should be cautious."

Duan Xun shook his head with a smile when he heard Wang Yongjiang's words.

Wang Yongjiang is a genius in managing internal affairs, and he is very good at building government agencies.But after all, he has never dealt with international affairs, let alone information in this regard, so he is a bit concerned about gains and losses in his judgment.

"Mr. Wang, let me ask you. If you don't talk about other places, you just talk about our Chongqing Wharf. Which countries' cargo ships come to buy various supplies?"

"Most of them are Britain, France and the United States."

"Correct."

Duan Xun nodded and said: "Mr. Wang, fighting wars is actually about logistics. Although Britain, France and Germany are all powerful countries in the world, they are small countries in comparison, with limited domestic resources and a population of only four. The population of 5000 million is still smaller than the population of Sichuan. But now they mobilize millions of soldiers in each country, and engage in big melee battles with tens of millions of people. The logistics materials they need are astonishing. Their logistics materials cannot be met by the country alone. So they can only buy from outside. From our exports in China, it can be seen that all the ships that come to buy supplies are British and French ships. Have you ever seen German ships? Because the British have blocked the German waters with their navy. It is simply impossible to purchase supplies from outside. Think about it, isn’t the outcome of this war already doomed?”

Seeing Yang Wei and Wang Yongjiang pondering, Duan Xun continued: "And so what if Germany wins? The European war has been going on for two and a half years now. Britain, France, Germany, and Russia have suffered heavy casualties, and their vitality has been greatly damaged. I still don't know when this war will end. Even if this war ends now, it will take several years for them to recover from their situation. If they want to go back and deal with us, they don't know that it will be a few years later. Now What we need is to integrate into this world. As long as Britain and France win this time, we bet on victory. Then we will still have many benefits. Therefore, supporting Premier Duan is not only because of my background, but also because I support Premier Duan's decision. "

105 Intensified Conflict 2

"it is good."

Duan Qirui was really satisfied.

After he expressed his intention to participate in the European War, the warlords of the Beiyang Army hesitated one by one.Those warlords including Duan Qirui's closest descendants were also hesitant, and no one came out to support the disclosure of themselves.Who is Duan Qirui, of course he understands the small thoughts in the hearts of these Beiyang Army warlords.

Are these people afraid?

I am afraid that Duan Qirui will transfer their troops away in the name of participating in the European War, and the damage will be their own strength.It was because they were afraid of losing their own strength that they did not express their views.

One by one is to choose to see.

It was Duan Xun who supported him the most.After receiving my telegram, it didn't even pass half a day, and I gave myself an answer only a few hours later.The first telegram supported his own proposal, and directly appealed to Li Yuanhong, the Congress, and the cabinet to pass the proposal to declare war as soon as possible as the Sichuan Governor.This is the first of the current National Warlords to express their support so clearly.

Duan Xun's statement is the greatest support for Duan Qirui now.

So Duan Qirui was very satisfied.What is a direct line, this is a direct line.When you need it most, you don't care about your little ones, just support yourself directly.

"Youzheng (Xu Shuzheng), have you made it clear to them?"

"Yes, Mr. Zhi (Duan Qirui)."

"How about it?"

"Old Zhi, their attitudes are very consistent and they firmly support Elder Zhi's decision."

Xu Shuzheng sneered when he said that, and now the governors and representatives from all provinces have gathered in Beijing.When Duan Qirui promised that even if he participated in the European War, he would only send laborers and would not send troops, these local warlords immediately expressed their firm support for Duan Qirui.Xu Shuzheng is a person whose eyes are above the top.The hesitation of these Northern Army warlords this time made Xu Shuzheng feel very uncomfortable.Because Xu Shuzheng felt one thing, that is, the power of the warlords in these places is growing.If it was in the past, how could they dare to hesitate like Duan Qirui said.

Xu Shuzheng is like this, so is Duan Qirui.

Duan Qirui also deeply felt that the power of the local warlords was growing.These people occupy the place one by one, and the local tax revenue is monopolized by them.Since the Revolution of [-], the Beijing government has not received local taxes.The bulk of the central government's revenue comes from tariffs, and then it keeps borrowing from foreign governments.

Local warlords monopolize local taxation, and if they have money in their hands, there is no shortage of troops.At present, those local governors, even in poor provinces, do not have an army of [-] to [-] in their hands.If it is some wealthy provinces, it is not impossible to have [-] troops in their hands.

Therefore, these people are getting stronger and stronger, and their demands are also increasing.

But if you understand it, Duan Qirui can't say anything yet.Because the conflict between himself and Li Yuanhong has intensified to the point of irreconcilability, Duan Qirui needs the support of these local governors.

At present, half of the warlords in the country have come to Beijing just to support Duan Qirui.

"Okay, let's hold a cabinet meeting first. How about the Congress?"

"There will be no major problems. I have already discussed with Liang Qichao and Tang Hualong. Their Progressive Party will fully support the plan to join the war. And I have also negotiated terms with some KMT members. As long as the cabinet passes the declaration of war, then Congress will There won't be too many side issues."

Duan Qirui listened to Xu Shuzheng's report, a smile slowly appeared on his face, and he looked at Xu Shuzheng not only admiringly, but also pamperingly.

Xu Shuzheng.

Very powerful.Although rebellious and unruly, although he has a bad temper, he is definitely a wizard.If you entrust him with anything, he will be able to handle it properly.Duan Qirui of course needs to work hard to summon so many local governors to Beijing this time.

The cabinet meeting, Congress, and Duan Qirui all have to pass it.