Years of the Republic of China 1913

() Since the Tsarist Russia Incident, Fang Zida has been making arrangements.The Ministry of National Defense will establish three new divisions on the northern border, namely the 118th Division, 119th Division and 120th Division.Among them, the 118th Division was designated to be stationed on the front line north of Datong. Once the situation in the north changed, the 118th Division would be the vanguard from Inner Mongolia to Outer Mongolia and reach the hinterland of Tsarist Russia.

The garrison position of the 118th was approved after repeated discussions by the General Staff. In addition to the above reasons, Fang Zida also planned to use the 118th Division to suppress Shanxi and force Yan Xishan to completely open the Shanxi area to the central yang.Fang Zida was particularly troubled by Yan Laoxi, who was devoted to farming and slippery.Over the years, all provinces in the country have been basically controlled by the central forces, but Shanxi, which is not too far from Beijing, still seems to be the Kingdom of Duli.

If it is said that Yan Xishan supports the self-respect of the army and fights against Zhong Yang, this hat can't be buckled.Since the reorganization of the National Defense Forces, Shanxi's local troops belonged to the first batch of restructured National Defense Forces, but this was only a nominal reorganization, and most of the core officers of the troops were in the hands of Yan Xishan.

Moreover, Yan Xishan was the first local official who jumped out to support the separation of government and military in central yang.Not long after the so-called "Second Revolution", Zhong Yang began to promote the separation of the local military and government. Yan Laoxi, who had a keen sense of current affairs, immediately jumped out to support Zhong Yang, and was the first to resign as the military governor of Shanxi. job.In order to appease him and establish a model, Zhong Yang passed the appointment of Yan Xishan as the governor of Shanxi Province at that time, and turned a blind eye to Shanxi during the restructuring of the National Defense Forces.

These circumstances, though at the outset they seemed to be extremely beneficial.With Shanxi's case in front, it is much easier to implement in other provinces, and the difficulties encountered are also much less.

But over the past few years, with the continuous strengthening of central yang's strength, local control has become more and more powerful. On the contrary, Shanxi did not completely solve the problem at the beginning, making it a persistent problem.Before the war between China and Japan, Fang Zida once had a talk with Yan Xishan and put forward a proposal to invite him to serve in Zhongyang.But Yan Xishan just refused to answer this question, and pretended to be crazy and foolish, taking advantage of Fang Zida's ignorance of Shanxi's opportunity when China and Japan were at war, and fooled the matter.But now, China and Japan have ceased fighting, and the external environment is much better than last year. Fang Zida, who focused on the international situation and various parts of the country, finally remembered the Shanxi issue and planned to find an opportunity to solve it.

Just at this time, Lu Jianzhang begged Feng Yuxiang for an official.Fang Zida threw out the bait of the 118th Division with a sudden idea, and as expected, Feng Yuxiang, who had a strong desire for power, swallowed the bait in one gulp, feeling even more excited that he had picked up a big deal.

Yan Xishan is not a fuel-efficient lamp, and it is impossible for Fang Zida to solve the problems in Jiangsu and Shandong as easily as he did in the past.What's more, Yan Xishan is not only a local official but also a director of WMT. He has a great reputation and has no major mistakes. He has always been careful and cunning.However, Feng Yuxiang is not a simple character. This generation of heroes has been on an equal footing with Yan Xishan in history, and they have been fighting openly and secretly for decades.Bringing Feng Yuxiang to Datong can give Lu Jianzhang a face, secondly, he can't allow this famous general who turned his back to be stationed in such an important place as the capital, and thirdly, it will add some trouble to Yan Xishan and let the two of them fight in Shanxi. After a while, Zhong Yang will be able to sit firmly on the Diaoyutai and see how the situation changes before deciding how to make a move.

Not long after meeting with Lu Jianzhang and the others, Feng Yuxiang's transfer order was officially issued through Fang Zida's operation.After receiving the order, Feng Yuxiang, who stayed in Beijing to wait, was ecstatic, and hurriedly visited Fang Zida with a gift.Leaving him at home for a light meal, Fang Zida personally sent the excited Feng Yuxiang out after some encouragement.

After sending Feng Yuxiang away, Fang Zida chatted with his wife for a while and teased his son, who was already running and skinny, and then he went to the study to read the documents. At about ten o'clock in the evening, Fang Zida finished approving the last document and was about to go back to the house During the break, the phone on the desk rang.

"I'm Fang Zida."

"Yang Ming! I'm Cao Rulin!"

"Brother Runtian?" Fang Zida was a little surprised that Cao Rulin called him so late, did something serious happen?He is the Minister of Foreign Affairs, so he doesn't need to worry about domestic affairs. Could it be that the situation in Europe suddenly changed?

Before Fang Zida could open his mouth to ask, Cao Rulin said on the phone: "I just received news that the British and French government rejected the asylum application of Czar Nicholas II, Peter Nikolaevich Baron Wrangel Princess Anastasia urgently asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for help, asking the government of our country to provide Tsar Nicholas II with political asylum."

"Is there such a thing?" Fang Zida was startled, and quickly asked, "When did it happen?"

"Just now, Your Excellency the Baron is at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I reported the news to Premier Song five minutes ago. Premier Song asked me to notify you to go to the Prime Minister's Office immediately. I will go there soon."

"Okay! I'll go right away!" Fang Zida replied quickly, hung up the phone and asked someone to prepare the car, changed clothes and hurried out.

Sitting in the car, Fang Zida frowned, thinking about how to deal with this matter.The content of Cao Rulin's phone call just now surprised him very much. If this is the case, it will be very different from his original plan.Originally, Fang Zida planned to hold Princess Anastasia as a hostage, and wait for the great changes in Tsarist Russia. Once the Tsar falls, and the Tsar’s family is even killed, Princess Anastasia will be a rare commodity. At that time, the Chinese government will gather her in her name. Some Tsarist Russian nobles supported an exiled government and even a female czar, the benefits of which are self-evident.

This plan has been considered in Fang Zida's mind for many times, and the original plot is not much different from the "script" he originally wrote. It seems that everything is proceeding as he thought.But it was never expected that at the time of the great changes in Tsarist Russia, Tsar Nicholas II was forced to hand over power to the temporary government and was detained at the same time that Princess Anastasia, who was far away in China, was not in China. The establishment of the government in exile under the hint, and even the sudden proposal of such conditions to the Chinese government at the same time that Britain rejected the political asylum of Tsar Nicholas II, made Fang Zida feel extremely difficult, and did not know how to deal with it for a while.

Countless thoughts were repeatedly calculated in his mind, and Fang Zida calculated the pros and cons of various coping methods.He hadn't made up his mind until the car arrived at the Prime Minister's Office.

Song Jiaoren, who had already rested, was woken up by Cao Rulin's emergency call. When Fang Zida arrived, Song Jiaoren had already changed his clothes and was waiting for him in the small living room.

After entering the living room and just sat down, Cao Rulin also arrived, asked the servant to make three cups of strong coffee, closed the door, and the three began to discuss the matter.

Cao Rulin first talked about the situation. He was temporarily called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at home by the subordinates of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. When he arrived at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Peter.Nikolaevich.Baron Wrangel had been waiting for half an hour, and the first thing he said when he saw Cao Rulin was to ask the Chinese government to help Tsarist Russia in the name of a member of the Allied Powers. At the same time, he handed Cao Rulin a letter of help written by Princess Anastasia himself. .

According to the other party's explanation, since the British royal family and government rejected Nicholas II's request for political asylum, and the French also did not agree with Nicholas II's entry for asylum, the desperate Tsarist royal family could only continue to be temporarily Zheng Fu is detained, and the domestic situation in Tsarist Russia is not stable now. The control of the temporary government is not as good as they thought. Some radical parties are ready to move. Once the temporary government loses control of the country and the army, the fate of the Tsar can be imagined Know.

After quietly listening to Cao Rulin's report, Song Jiaoren frowned slightly, and looked at Fang Zida who was sitting by the side without saying a word.

"Zhang Ming, what do you think about this?"

Fang Zida carefully analyzed the content of Cao Rulin's report, lit a cigar and took a few puffs, and asked, "Brother Runtian, did Suo Weiciwan and the baron go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs together?"

"No, I only saw Your Excellency the Baron, not Suo Weiciwan." Cao Rulin replied casually, but he suddenly paused after saying this, with a strange expression on his face: "You didn't mention me just now, Zhang Ming. I ignored it, and it stands to reason that it would be more appropriate for Suo Wei to come forward, why is the baron here? Strange!"

"It's actually nothing strange." Fang Zida was confident in his heart, and smiled lightly: "It's easy to say, I am afraid that Ambassador Suowei Ciwan intends to abandon the Tsarist royal family and join the temporary government or other parties. Otherwise, according to diplomatic procedures, no matter what Whether it represents Tsar Nicholas II or the current interim government, Suowei Ciwan should come forward to negotiate with our country, but he did not come forward, so I think the latter is more likely."

"It makes sense..." Cao Rulin nodded. As the Minister of Foreign Affairs, he was reminded by Fang Zida, and he quickly understood the mystery.

"So, according to Zhang Ming, shall we agree or not to Princess Anastasia's request?"

"This...." Fang Zida thought for a while, then turned his gaze to Song Jiaoren: "It's hard to say, there are advantages and disadvantages. Brother Dunchu thinks it's better to reply?"

Song Jiaoren was aware of Fang Zida's plan, and he was also one of the planners. When Fang Zida asked him, he hesitated.

If it is said to refuse, the Tsar Nicholas II's family may be in danger. Once they are really killed, Princess Anastasia, the only member of the royal family, will be in the hands of the Chinese government, and there will be a lot of things to do here.But refusal also has its disadvantages. The Chinese government sits idly by and does not help. It is hard to guarantee that Princess Anastasia will not have resentment and hold a grudge. Even if she is pushed out as a puppet at that time, I am afraid that some troubles will arise.Whether it is the princess herself, the followers of the tsar, or even countries such as Britain and France, they will suspect that the Chinese government has other plans in this regard, and even lead to the shelving and failure of the plan.

From this point of view, it is a short-sighted decision to reject the tsar's request for political asylum.But once he agrees to the other party's political asylum, will the Chinese government be able to control it easily in the face of His Majesty the Tsar who has controlled the power of the country for decades?Neither Song Jiaoren nor Fang Zida had any confidence.