Jagged Warlord

Japan’s attitude at this time was quite different from the past. When Yuan was alive, Britain, France, and Russia had persuaded China to join the war, but Japan opposed it. Japan believed that since China had declared neutrality, there was no need to declare war on Germany.At that time, Japan opposed China's severance of diplomatic relations with Germany because it was afraid that after China joined the Allied Powers, Japan would not be able to "take advantage of the fire" to invade China, not to mention that Yuan Shikai was pulling Britain to deal with Japan.Now that Duan's cabinet is getting closer to Japan, China's participation in the Allied Powers is also beneficial to Japan.

Zhang Guogan, secretary-general of Duan's cabinet, also strongly advocated the severance of diplomatic relations with Germany. Every day, he provided Duan with information that was not conducive to Germany, and moved Duan with the benefits of severing diplomatic relations with Germany.Duan then changed from an extremely pro-German faction to an extreme anti-German faction.

On the issue of Germany, there were seminars in the government at that time, and the college held state affairs meetings every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. On January, Wednesday, and Friday, the "International Government Affairs Review Conference" was held. The host was Zhang Guogan, and the participants There are celebrities, scholars, speech authority and so on.Xu Shuzheng opposed the severance of diplomatic relations with Germany. He wrote seven letters to Duan, narrating his opposition to China's involvement in the European War. Duan only read two of them, and put them in a drawer intact.Liang Qichao is also an extreme pro-German faction, so he also opposes breaking off diplomatic relations with Germany.

Most members of Congress sympathized with the Allies and criticized Germany's militaristic policy.

One of the worst notions of the Chinese people is that they often implicate external problems with internal grievances.When Duan heard that Li and the National Assembly also advocated the severance of diplomatic relations with Germany, he tried his best to be the first, and he did not want to follow Li.At this time, Li hated Duan to the extreme. In Li's view, Duan's policies were useless.It's not easy to mess with Mr. Li if he gets stiff sometimes.

In order to solicit opinions on the issue of severing diplomatic relations with Germany, Duan Qirui secretly sent military and political officials from various provinces, and Li also sent secret telegrams to celebrities across the country to solicit opinions.As a result, all the answers were against the severance of diplomatic relations with Germany.

Celebrities such as: Mr. Sun Yat-sen, Tang Shaoyi, Zhang Binglin, Tan Renfeng, Kang Youwei, Ma Junwu and so on.

For example, the Beiyang military department: Feng Guozhang blatantly opposed it because he was influenced by Sun Hongyi. Others opposed it, such as Ni Sichong and Wang Zhanyuan, who advocated firm neutrality.

In order to achieve the goal of the main battle, Duan Qirui called more than a dozen of his warlords to Beijing to form a "supervisor regiment" to exert pressure on Li Yuanhong, but failed; later Duan Qirui asked someone to write a declaration of war on Germany The document required the president to seal it, but Li Yuanhong reluctantly stamped the document in order to calm the storm.Even so, Duan Qirui was still dissatisfied, and interfered wantonly during the discussion in the Congress, which finally aroused public outrage.

At this time, Duan Qirui's private borrowing from Japan was revealed.One of the Gaoxu and Jishun railway loan projects involved Shandong, so Li Mohan was the first to express his opposition.Li Mohan said in the telegram: Not only did he not accept such a traitorous clause, but the people of Shandong would not accept it either.Such a clause could not enter Shandong even if it left Beijing in time. As long as I was in charge of Shandong for one day, I would never sell the rights and interests belonging to the people of Shandong to the Japanese.

At the end, Li Mohan also stated that if the central government forces the people of Shandong to accept such terms, then he would consider declaring Shandong independent as a way of refusing it.As soon as this telegram was published, it immediately aroused great repercussions in Shandong and even the whole country.

At this time, in the southern suburbs of Jinan City, there was a local civilian area where a series of residential buildings were located.The complex intertwined alleys make the roads here look like a maze, but the Jinan urban construction department has improved the drainage system.It's just that some bad habits of the residents are hard to change in a short period of time. The smell of donkey and horse manure on the street and the steam from the tiger stove at the street crossing are wafting in the air.

A large area of ​​Jinan is still under construction. Among the residential houses in the suburbs, there is a large courtyard that was leased by several military students who are now in the Sun Wu Military Academy and several active mid-level military officers.Their dormitory is still under construction, and the Governor's Mansion has issued them a living allowance. With the living allowance, they rent here temporarily.Because of the intense and busy life of the army, they only come back to live for one week in a month, and most of the time they live in tents with the soldiers.

Neighbors like these young officers very much. They seem to represent the image of the new government: young, energetic, kind and polite, with a soldier's arrogance and inviolable majesty in their demeanor, but they are very caring and protective of the weak .These groups of young military officers who are pure, passionate and full of ideals, deeply influenced by Li Mohan's thoughts, have always been one of the best things under the new warlord's rule in the eyes of newspapers, public opinion and ordinary people.

On this day, in the courtyard where only a few people were usually there, many young officers gathered. Most of their military ranks were second lieutenants, lieutenants, and captains, and the oldest was no more than a lieutenant colonel.More than 20 people have come here one after another since the morning, and when it's time for lunch, there are still young officers or young people wearing cadet clothes walking in.The neighbors on both sides greeted them kindly. The neighbors were a little strange, but they didn't take it to heart.

Finally, two officers did not enter the yard, but walked and smoked at the door, as if they did not want to enter.In the room in the courtyard, the doors and windows were closed tightly, and the curtains were drawn. Everyone sat around two large tables. The only light in the room was a kerosene lamp hanging in the middle.The expressions of each of the officers are very serious, which makes this place actually have a mysterious and weird religious atmosphere.

I don't know who it is, and took the lead in speaking in a low and fierce voice: "In this situation, our SS, can we still endure it?"

Another person said in an angry and deep voice: "Of course I can't bear it. Now that the domestic political affairs are slacking off, those Beiyang warlords know how to fight for power. They don't even think about who took back Jinan from the Japanese and who protected thousands of people in Shandong." Elders, who won face for the Chinese Communists. It is our leader Li Mohan, our SS, and our National Party."

One person said: "I heard that the warlords work for more than ten hours a day, and those bastards in the capital don't do anything all day long, but they are also servile and obsequious to the outside world, humiliating the country, extorting money from the inside, and exploiting the common people. Our country doesn't need to do this." What a regime needs is a national hero with backbone and responsibility like the warlord. Only the warlord holds all the power and becomes the president, and then promotes real people of insight. Under the leadership and command of the president, our country Only then will it be possible to complete the great cause of national rejuvenation!"

"Yes, under the leadership of the Overseer, with our flesh and blood, we will truly unify the whole country and regain all our lost rights!"

"So what do we do instead?" Someone asked

"We must unconditionally support the Overseer and unconditionally implement the order of the Overseer."

"Then what if the order is wrong?"

"Bastard, how can you doubt? The leader can't be wrong."

"That is, the Overseer is dedicated to serving the country and the people. As long as it is a decision for the country and the people, it is right."

"That's right, even if there is a temporary sacrifice, it's an ego that sacrifices for the sake of the country and the overall situation."

"The country is great, but we are small. Only by integrating our lives and souls into the country can our souls be sublimated and our lives meaningful."

These young military officers may not know that when patriotic enthusiasm goes to another extreme, when the spirit of nationalism goes too far, a kind of doctrine that will arise is called fascism.And their secret combination already has such a taste.And all of this was destined to happen from the beginning of Li Mohan's indoctrination and the emphasis on nationalist education.In fact, from top to bottom in the SS and National Party, there are a lot of such figures.

……Dividing line……

Li Yuanhong's life was both luck and misfortune. He became a hero of the Republic of China during the [-] Uprising, and after Yuan Shikai failed to proclaim himself emperor, he inexplicably became the president.The relationship between Li Yuanhong and Duan Qirui was in conflict, which made it impossible to reconcile the presidential palace and the State Council.

Li Yuanhong and Duan Qirui have new enmity and old enmity. The old enmity is that when Li Yuanhong was the vice president and the governor of Hubei, Duan Qirui came to Wuhan by kidnapping according to Yuan's secret order and put him on the train. The situation where Li Yuanhong was in power in Hubei, Li Yuanhong became Yuan Shikai's political prisoner in Beijing from then on;

The new enemy is that although Duan Qirui supported Li Yuanhong as the president, when Duan Qirui went to see Li Yuanhong after Yuan Shikai's death, he didn't say a word, his face was as cold as treating a strange political opponent, and Zhang Zhenfang provoked it again.Zhang Zhenfang was one of the four ministers who took care of Yuan Shikai's deathbed, but Duan Qirui looked down on Zhang Zhenfang the most, because Zhang Zhenfang was Yuan's cousin. Zhang Zhenfang is often called a "yellow belt" and "the treasurer's".

Zhang Zhenfang naturally hated Duan Gu.After Li Yuanhong became president, Zhang Zhenfang set off a wildfire in front of Li Yuanhong's military think tank, Ha Hanzhang. He said: "When we discussed the issue of the president before Xiangcheng's funeral, the old Duan opposed Huangpi's succession, and it was Donghai who tried his best to facilitate it." This sentence convinced Li, so Li Yuanhong hated Duan Qirui very much, but had a good impression of Xu Shichang.

As for Duan Qirui?He looked down on Li Yuanhong at all, because in the Qing Dynasty, Duan Qirui had been in charge, which was equal to the status of division commander, and military command was equal to the position of army commander and admiral, and he acted as the governor of Huguang. Status; in the era of Yuan Shikai, Duan Qirui was the leading general of the Beiyang faction, and although Li Yuanhong was the vice president, in the eyes of Duan Qirui, he would steal the fruits of the [-] Revolution by chance, and he was just a political prisoner after arriving in Beijing; Yuan Shikai died Later, Li Yuanhong's president was "promoted" by Duan himself. If Duan Qirui did not support Li Yuanhong, Li Yuanhong would not be able to ascend the throne of president at all.On the night of Yuan Shikai's death, he told Zhang Guogan, who was sent by Li Yuanhong to inquire about the news: "My surname Duan supports Li Yuanhong, just one word, and I will not let the surname Li fail."