Jagged Warlord

After defeating Germany to capture Qingdao in 1914, Japan continued to increase troops to Qingdao in the name of changing the garrison stationed in Qingdao, turning Qingdao into the base camp of the garrison in Shandong, laying down a lot of murderous opportunities for future negotiations.At that time, the Japanese troops stationed in Shandong consisted of 8 infantry brigades, 1 heavy artillery brigade, and more than 1 cavalry, engineering, railway, and communication troops. Except for 5 infantry brigades stationed along the Jiaoji Railway, most The troops are stationed in Qingdao.

After the "Article 21" negotiations, the Japanese side began to move the weight of the army, increased troops to South Manchuria, and publicly showed the card of military threat on the negotiating table, directly intimidating the Chinese representatives with war, claiming that "if there is no satisfaction within a few days Answer, I am afraid that something unexpected will happen.” Under the military deterrence of Japan, the Chinese representatives began to make comprehensive concessions starting from the eighth negotiation on March 3, including issues such as the extension of the Luda Concession, the South Manchuria Railway, and the Anfeng Railway. In terms of some terms, it fully complies with the requirements of the Japanese side.But no one expected that the Japanese representatives not only did not appreciate China's concessions, but intensified them, and their attitude became more arrogant. They continued to move the weight of increasing troops, forcing China to make concessions again and again. In early March, Japan successively added 9 troops to Luda, 3 troops to Jinan, and more than 3000 troops to Fangzi, including a cavalry team and an artillery team.China was unable to withstand these military pressures, so it had to settle a series of issues such as the loan contract for the Jilin-Changzhou Railway, the taxation and mortgage of foreign debts in Nanman, the construction of roads in Dongmeng in Nanman, the priority of hiring Japanese consultants in Nanman, and the Japanese mining rights in the designated area of ​​​​South Manchuria. Once again, major concessions were made on the issue.

In late spring and April, Beijing is full of birds and willows, but the courtyard of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is still full of swords and swords.On the issue of Eastern Mongolia, the Chinese representative has always been very tight-lipped, and the two sides disagreed, which finally led to the abrupt suspension of the Sino-Japanese negotiations on April 4.

The negotiations were interrupted for 10 days. Although the representatives of the two sides did not confront each other face to face, behind-the-scenes activities were carried out quietly amidst various contradictions. The "21" negotiations were blocked in the middle, which made Foreign Minister Kato's situation extremely embarrassing. The domestic factions behind the "21" had different opinions and contradictions. After being held back and blamed by the elders, they had to make concessions on the Eastern Mongolian issue to maintain negotiations.

In China, the calls for independence, even at all costs, are getting louder and louder.Especially the warlords of the Southwest, the most is standing and talking without back pain.

Judging from the national strength of China and Japan at this time, if a war breaks out, China will undoubtedly be defeated, but the Japanese may not be able to retreat unscathed.It's just that Yuan Shikai also had his own difficulties at this time. Duan Qirui hid in Xishan and didn't care about political affairs; The regiment is just a newborn calf, even if they dare to fight, Yuan Shikai is not willing to use these Yuan Jiajun under the Japanese sword; as for the generation of Cai E and Jiang Fangzhen~~Yuan Shikai dare not fully trust them.

After some weighing, Yuan Shikai was really angry when he found out that he, the president of the Republic of China, had no one to use.

"Report." The guard said loudly outside the door: "Mr. Yang Du please see me."

"Please." Yuan Shikai quickly walked to the gate of Nuan Pavilion to wait for Yang Du, "Xizi, is there any good news?"

Yang Du took a telegram and walked in with a complicated expression, "President, please read." Yang Du handed the telegram to Yuan Shikai.

"It's going to war against Japan again, it's really adding to the chaos~" Yuan Shikai saw that it was Li Mohan's telegram from Xuzhou, and immediately said angrily: "I have already tacitly agreed that he has occupied Zhang Xun's territory, isn't Li Mohan not satisfied with this little bastard? "

Yang Du took out another telegram and said, "Calm down your anger, President, please read it. The telegram just now is for the telegram, and this is Li Mohan's secret report to the President."

"Oh?" Yuan Shikai took a look at the second telegram, and said in surprise, "My son, what kind of army is this volunteer army?"

Yang Du said: "As far as I know, volunteers are people who voluntarily form civilian armed forces. In this name, even if they exchanged fire with the Japanese army, it can also mean that China is not declaring war with Japan, but a spontaneous act of the people."

"So what? With the arrogance of the Japanese, I will still blame Lao Tzu in the end." Yuan Shikai rubbed the back of his head unconsciously.

Yang Du said: "I also think that this method is self-deception, trying to cover up the obvious. But now the public opinion all over the country is calling for a fight, so I think this is an opportunity."

"How to say?" Yuan Shikai asked hurriedly

Yang Du said: "If you win the battle, it will boost morale and make the Japanese more or less fearful, saving them from opening their mouths. Besides, whether he is the SS or the volunteer army, you are the president. You always have a bright face when you win."

"Then what if we are defeated?" Yuan Shikai asked again.

Yang Du replied: "That just shut up those who are clamoring for war against Japan, and anyone who thinks of it will fight, but Li Mohan and the SS are a lesson from the past. Are the Japanese so easy to fight?"

Yuan Shikai thought for a while, and said: "It's not a must try. If Li Mohan wins, I will just give him a favor and let those old Beiyang know that I, Yuan Shikai, can't do without them; if I lose, Anyway, he is not my direct descendant of Beiyang."

Yang Du said: "Then send him a telegram?"

Yuan Shikai nodded, and added: "But don't let people get caught in the content of the telegram."

"Yes, I know the humble job." Yang Du responded

With Yuan Shikai's acquiescence, Li Mohan began to prepare to organize a volunteer army to go north to Shandong.But an unexpected incident disrupted Li Mohan's deployment.

A group of bandits from the south of Shandong fled to the north of Jiangsu to commit crimes.When a passenger train on the Longhai Railway was traveling to Yangji, Dangshan County, it was blocked by bandits who piled up stones and robbed 13 passengers, killing and injuring 5.Feng Guozhang, the governor of Jiangsu, sent electricity to various places in Jiangsu, demanding that the bandits be suppressed within a time limit.The telegram is as follows:

The Huai, Xu, and Hai areas of Jiangsu Province were originally areas with many bandits.Recently, residents have been plundered, travelers have been robbed violently, people have been kidnapped for ransom, and vertebrae have been buried for adultery.According to the calls of businessmen and people, they have been strictly suppressed and arrested at any time.However, the local civil and military forces search and arrest with all their heart, and there are many people who are caught immediately, and those who are negligent and perfunctory are also unavoidable.Army chiefs can't suppress internal bandits, and local officials can't punish bandits. They sit back and watch people's livelihoods hang in the balance. Business travelers are constrained and their duties are in place. How can they feel safe?At present, the areas under the jurisdiction of the towns and guards have been demarcated separately, and the [-]th and [-]th Brigades of the Soviet Army have been specially dispatched to Pi and Su two counties to prevent and suppress.Baibaoshan, the guardian of Haizhou, sent a department to suppress it.All Daoyin and county magistrates, who belong to the civil society, are especially duty-bound.All the bandits in the north of the Yangtze River should be ordered by the civil and military officials to supervise and lead the military and police in their respective areas to seriously suppress and deal with them.The limit is to be cleared within one month. If the limit cannot be settled after exceeding the limit, they will be punished according to their respective discretion.