Back to the Republic of China as a commander

Having said this, Duan Qirui waved his hands and said, "Except for Youzheng and Rulin staying here for a while, everyone else should leave!"

Speaking of this, Duan Qirui added another sentence: "If you still recognize me as the Prime Minister, remember that our government would rather collapse than betray the country. It's their business to betray the country, and I, Duan Zhiquan, still want this face..."

After everyone left, Duan Qirui looked at Xu Shuzheng who was sitting in front of him, and then at Cao Rulin.After thinking for a while, he asked softly: "Yezhen, I was wrong this time, I shouldn't have ignored your words, and used the wrong person to do something bad, do you think we can make a comeback?"

Xu Shuzheng couldn't help but have a sore nose when he heard this, and said: "Prime Minister, don't tell me you didn't say it. This time, we brothers are not up to date. The 30 army just let Wu Xiaogui and his 10,000+ people be defeated. It's okay, we are sorry for you, Prime Minister. ah!"

After a pause, Xu Shuzheng said again: "Prime Minister, we have reorganized the team now, and there are still 8 to 12 people. In addition, the troops of Zhang Xun and Ni Sichong were not damaged in Xuzhou. After careful calculation, we still have [-] people. There’s always money to be made.”

Hearing this, Duan Qirui leaned back and sighed: "Your vitality is greatly injured, your vitality is greatly injured, this time we fought with Cao Zhongshan and the others so badly, and in the end no one was able to win! Their direct lineage can still retreat to Henan Let's get back together, what about us? Where are we going? The big thing is over! Don't comfort me again, I feel bad!"

"Prime Minister!" Xu Shuzheng still wanted to comfort Duan Qirui, but he didn't know where to start. In just a week, the Anhui Department, which could have stomped its feet and made the north tremble three times, disappeared like this.Regardless of the fact that there are still 8 to [-] people left in the city of Beijing, these people are remnants of defeated soldiers, their morale is gone, and most of their equipment has been lost.According to Xu Shuzheng's understanding of Zhang Zuolin's beard, the final outcome of these troops was to be swallowed by Zhang Zuolin.

In history, after the failure of the first Zhili War, the Anhui Clan was still able to rely on the territory of Shandong, Zhejiang, and Fujian for a few years, but now the Anhui Clan has nowhere to go after losing Zhili. Zhejiang and Fujian are in In the hands of the national government in the south, Shandong is still in the hands of Zhili, but this place does not produce money, and it is rich in bandits.Moreover, the strategic situation is very bad. The eastern part is occupied by Little Japan, the western part is occupied by the arch-rival lineage, the southern part is the Nationalist government, and the northern part is probably the Feng faction. It is a typical place of the Fourth World War. It would be difficult to hold such a place to make a comeback.

Duan Qirui is such a shrewd person, he looked at Cao Rulin who was restless and said, "Brother Rulin, don't worry too much, I know that you have connections with the south, and our team is now living in a place like Shandong. But I want to know if Nanfang can agree, I can only entrust you with this errand after much deliberation."

Cao Rulin blushed when he heard this, what else could he say, he could only nod his head in agreement.

On July (July), Duan Qirui issued an order to send a telegram to the whole country to announce his resignation.

At this time, the whole country has fallen into an extremely chaotic situation. . .

First of all, the Zhili was the first to fall into chaos. This time the Zhili won the war in the north and then lost, but history has gone wrong. Wu Peifu's defeat was not because of Feng Yuxiang's defection.

On the contrary, Feng Yuxiang also tried his best to turn the tide and save the entire Zhili. At the critical moment, Feng Yuxiang led his No.11 Division in Baoding and successfully defeated the Fengjun Li Jinglin who came to pursue him.This enabled the main force of Wu Peifu's third division to successfully retreat to Henan. The direct line army suffered heavy losses in this battle. From 15 people at the time of the expedition to more than 6 people in less than three divisions that finally returned to Henan, it was almost a loss. Ben.Cao Kun lost confidence in the future of the entire Zhili lineage. He first sent a telegram to protest Japan's military intervention in China's internal affairs, and then very simply announced his resignation.After thinking about this situation, Lu Jianzhang, who is the brain of the direct line, proposed to Wu Peifu the idea of ​​turning to the Nationalist Government in front of the menacing Fengjun.According to Lu Jianzhang's thinking, as long as the territory in Henan is put under the name of the Nationalist Government, Feng Jun naturally dare not continue to go south.

Lu Jianzhang's idea was tantamount to opening up a new idea for Yang Du, who was in full charge of northern affairs on behalf of Wang Zhenyu, and Yang Du, who was in Tianjin, immediately reported to Wang Zhenyu.

After thinking about it with Yang Du's telegram, Wang Zhenyu ordered Yang Yongtai to be invited: "Brother Changqing, things in the north are a bit risky this time. After thinking about it, I have to send you, Beiyang Tong, to rely on you." Some friends in the past worked in the direct line and the Anhui line. This time they are fighting between the snipe and the clam, which benefits the fisherman Zhang Feng. I am interested in the territories of Shandong and Henan. If they are willing to accept the adaptation and hand over Then my bottom line for their placement is to keep their army and gradually transform it, Wu Peifu’s direct army will go west, and the Anhui army will be reorganized into the Mongolian frontier army, and it will be temporarily stationed in Shandong.”

Yang Yongtai called himself a counselor, but when he heard Wang Zhenyu's words, he immediately admired him: "The commander-in-chief is tall, once this plan comes out, we will not be far from the unification of the country."

After thinking for a while, Yang Yongtai frowned again and added: "However, Marshal, we still have to be on guard. The first is the reaction of the Japanese and Feng Zhang. In their eyes, our action is considered to be unreasonable." It’s ugly. It’s equivalent to taking Henan and Shandong at once, and there may be a big fight. The second is that Wu Peifu and Duan Qirui are not very fuel-efficient. Now they are allowed to keep the army. These people are forced by the situation at the moment. It may not be sincerely attached, and I am afraid that it will be too big in the future. The third is our own side. Expanding two provinces at once will involve adjustments at many levels... It is not that I think too much about it, but that I am very humble. I'm afraid I'll ruin your errand!"

Wang Zhenyu smiled and said: "It's okay, it's okay, the reason why I use you, Brother Changqing, to do this job is because you are far-sighted. If you do it boldly, I will still do it in Japan and Fengzhang." I really don’t like it. First of all, it’s wartime, and we and Japan are allies. They dare not send troops openly. This time they helped Fengzhang fight the direct line. It’s all done in secret. Full-scale armed intervention may not be big, this is one of them. The second is Fengzhang's forces. Don't overestimate their combat power. This time they have achieved such a huge battle result. In the final analysis, it is not that they are strong, but that the two departments of Zhiwan and Anhui have exhausted each other's vitality. Fengzhang can't It's just taking advantage of the situation to pick up the cheap. But your worry is still necessary. I will arrange the troops to station in Shandong and Henan to ensure safety. As for the question of whether the Zhijun and Wanjun will turn against the water after the reorganization It's not a problem, as long as we firmly control their military supplies, the army will naturally be in our hands, and we still have confidence in this."

In fact, Wang Zhenyu still has two points of view that he did not say. One is that neither the direct line nor the Anhui line can support his own army.Compared with history, the Anhui Department has lost Zhejiang, and the Zhizhi Line has lost Hubei. These two major sources of income are now their own territories.So strictly speaking, this kind of warlord army probably has milk or a mother, but this adds up to 10 horses, which is not a small number if you really want to raise it, but this is not Wang Zhenyu to worry about. The territories of Shandong and Henan provinces are in hand. Besides.The second is that people have inertia, as long as they give the Zhijun and the Wanjun the same treatment, then with the development of time, there will only be one final ending, boil the frogs in warm water, and they can only continue to live under their own wings .In terms of remuneration, Wang Zhenyu believes that apart from being unable to satisfy the warlord's sense of dictatorship, the youth army is incomparable to Beiyang in other aspects.

But this is easy to think about, but not easy to do. After all, people now have soldiers and territory, so it may not be easy to clean up.But fortunately, it was only 1917, and the idea I had just now was still operable, otherwise it would be difficult to incorporate Wu Peifu and Xu Shuzheng after they got over their addiction to warlords.However, Wang Zhenyu from later generations is willing to challenge. After all, although these two are defined as class enemies, you cannot deny the patriotic nature of these two, especially Wu Peifu, the first hero of the Republic of China.

Thinking of this, Wang Zhenyu told Yang Yongtai a few more words: "Changqing, there are a few things you must remember to do. The first is that I want to meet Wu Peifu and Xu Shuzheng in Wuhan. The second is that the basis of all negotiations is the youth army. Stationed in Shandong and Henan provinces, the third Duan Qirui served in the southern national government. These can be discussed slowly, don't be afraid of Fengjun entering the territory of these two provinces, we will earn money by taking these two territories in Henan, It would be an unexpected joy to get an extra Shandong. The rest depends on your ability, brother Changqing, to negotiate the rest."

Yang Yongtai seemed to understand something: "I heard what you mean, Commander. You don't care much about the territory as long as you want this army. This understanding of the lowly position may be biased. Besides, Commander, in terms of combat effectiveness, whether it is the Anhui Army or the Zhijun Army They are not as good as my youth army, what can you do if you recruit them?"

Wang Zhenyu smiled and said: "There is not much deviation. Henan and Shandong are places where land conflicts are relatively concentrated. The people are in dire straits and banditry is serious. Even if we successfully win it, there are still many problems to be solved. I am very worried that it will be delayed in the end. This five-year development plan for our south. In contrast, if Wu Peifu and Xu Shuzheng were quietly incorporated by me, at worst we can follow the example of Liu Xiang and Yang Sen and let this army go westward to deal with Chen Shufan in Shaanxi for us He and the eight towns of Longshang have regained the northwest. Therefore, there is no need for Changqing to go under too much pressure. Wu Peifu and Xu Shuzheng must be mentally prepared not to accept the inclusion. They will not shed tears until the last moment. Zhang and the Japanese pushed them to a dead end, so we can compile this matter..."