Jagged Warlord

Li Mohan also said: "The No. 11 division Li Kuiyuan brigade and the [-]th division Liu Peirong brigade in the Nanyuan area are also candidates."

Li Yuanhong thought for a while and expressed his approval. Anyway, this official title does not require a penny from his old Li family.Li Yuanhong immediately signed the presidential decree, and Li Mohan signed and stamped it in the names of the premier and the chief of the army, and then prepared to send someone to deliver it to Feng Yuxiang.Who to send and what?Jiang Zuobin, Li Yuanhong's military staff, volunteered to take over. "President, as your military staff, I have this responsibility and obligation."

Jiang Zuobin, courtesy name Yuyan, was born in Yingcheng, Hubei. He was admitted to Wuchang Wentong Middle School in 1902. In 1905, he was paid by the government to study in Seijo School in Tokyo, Japan, and joined the Tongmenghui. After graduating in 1907, he returned to China to teach at Baoding Crash School. In 1909, he was transferred to the section chief of the military balance department and the chief of the rotation promotion department of the Ministry of Army.

When the Wuchang Uprising broke out, he was ordered to go to Luanzhou to appease Zhang Shaozeng's department, secretly contacted the revolutionaries, and wanted to seize Beijing by force.Later, he went to Shenyang to seek Lantianwei's independence, but failed. In November, Hanyang fell, and was promoted to the chief of staff of the Jiujiang Dudufu, and sent the Jiangxi People's Army to Guangji and Huanggang, Hubei to contain the Qing army. In 11, he served as the Deputy Minister of the Army Department of the Nanjing Provisional Government. After the peace talks between the North and the South, he went north to continue his post. In 1912, he resigned due to illness and was imprisoned in Xishan. After Yuan died, he was reinstated as the deputy head of the General Staff Headquarters.In addition, Ha Hanzhang and Kim Duoyong were sent to deliver letters of appointment to Li Kuiyuan and Liu Peirong.

To see Feng Yuxiang, one needs to cross the area controlled by the Beiyang Army, so Li Yuanhong and Li Mohan each sent two guards to accompany Jiang Zuobin to meet Feng Yuxiang.

At this time, Feng Yuxiang was taking his No.16 mixed brigade stationed near Xianghe County, east of Beijing, and could send troops eastward to attack Beijing at any time.But after news of internal strife in the Eighth Division and Tao Yunhe defecting to the enemy came from the front, Feng Yuxiang hesitated.It seems that Li Mohan, a milky-smelling hairy boy, and Li Pusa, a good old man, are not persimmons that can be softened at the first pinch. Feng Yuxiang secretly took out the secret telegram that Li Yuanhong had sent him before, and looked at the title of major general and brigade commander on it, and his heart suddenly had mixed feelings.

"Traveler, there is a man who claims to be your distant relative and wants to see you." The guard reported loudly outside the tent, interrupting Feng Yuxiang's thoughts.

"Distant relatives? Could it be uncle (Lu Jianzhang)?? Please." Feng Yuxiang thought to himself that Lu Jianzhang was his only relative in Beijing.

As soon as the other party came in, Feng Yuxiang realized that he didn't know him at all, so he asked, "Your Excellency?"

The other party said loudly: "I am Jiang Zuobin, an aide of President Li Yuanhong, and I am entrusted by the President and Lu Langzhai (Lu Jianzhang's word Langzhai) to deliver the letter."

As soon as the other party revealed his identity, Feng Yuxiang had already guessed his purpose. He was a little excited, but his face was still very fierce, "Mr. Jiang, you rebels, I can arrest you and shoot you at any time. You Dare to come to our army, you are brave enough."

Jiang Zuobin laughed, and replied: "It's still unknown who will die, Master Feng, let's read the letter first."

"What did you call me?" Feng Yuxiang was taken aback, "Master?"

"You'll know it when you read the letter." Jiang Zuobin replied

Feng Yuxiang immediately opened the envelope and took a look. There were two things inside. One was a letter from Lu Jianzhang to his family, which was nothing more than asking him to seek refuge with Li Yuanhong.The other is a letter of appointment with the seal of the President and the three seals of the Prime Minister's Office and the Chief of the Army. Feng Yuxiang's No.16 mixed brigade was expanded into the No.16 Division of the Central Army. Feng Yuxiang served as the division commander and the rank of lieutenant general.

Feng Yuxiang suppressed the ecstasy in his heart, pretended to be indifferent and said: "President Li and Premier Li are generous enough."

Jiang Zuobin said: "That is, our president and prime minister are corporals who know people well and know people well. They know that Commander Feng is loyal to the country and leads troops well, so they are promoted. Unlike Duan Qirui, he only gives it to a brigade commander. title."

Feng Yuxiang added: "However, President Li Da and Premier Li are both scholars and juniors. I don't think they are the opponents of Duan Zhiquan and Feng Huafu at all. A hundred birds in the forest are not as good as a bird in hand. You can see but not eat." I, Feng Yuxiang, don't care much about meat."

"Ha." Jiang Zuobin retorted: "Duan Qirui sells the country for the benefit of the Japanese for his own self-interest, which is like a traitor. Are you not afraid that the world will laugh at you if you are in the company of such a person?"

Feng Yuxiang asked back: "However, President Li Da's dismissal of Prime Minister Duan is inconsistent with the law of the Republic of China, and it is unreasonable."

Jiang Zuobin replied: "It is a family matter of our Republic of China to say that it is a matter of breaking the sky, but Duan Qirui's betrayal of national interests is a state matter that harms the country. How can big right and wrong be confused with state affairs and family affairs?"

Feng Yuxiang was not an eloquent person. After Jiang Zuobin asked a few questions, he began to feel a little confused about how to respond.Seeing this, Jiang Zuobin took advantage of the situation and said: "I advise Master Feng to make a decision early, otherwise, once the reinforcements of the two divisions and two brigades transferred by Premier Li from Shandong arrive, dealing with Duan Qirui and his like will be as easy as boiling soup and snow." At that time, Mr. Feng, even if you want to change the course, I am afraid that people will look down on you. Which is more precious, the icing on the cake or the charcoal in the snow, Mr. Feng should understand."

Feng Yuxiang was a soft-hearted person, and Jiang Zuobin's words made him somewhat disgusted, but Jiang Zuobin kept saying "Mr. Feng", as if he was really a teacher, which made him very useful, and he was embarrassed to get angry.He replied: "Is my old Feng a person who is afraid of death?"

Jiang Zuobin smiled and said, "Mr. Feng, how do you think the combat effectiveness of your No.16 mixed brigade compares with that of the Japanese?"

"Naturally it's not as good." Feng Yuxiang replied honestly

"Prime Minister Li's SS defeated the Japanese army two times in a row in Shandong. Compared with Master Feng, you know about it?" Jiang Zuobin said again: "Even if you were lucky enough to break into Beijing, Master Feng, I'm afraid it will be the same by then." You are covered in bruises and bruises, and you have suffered heavy losses. You are not Duan Qirui's direct descendant, and when the time comes you will have no soldiers in your hands, and you will not dare to fart loudly. Why bother to use your own wealth to make wedding dresses for others?"

What Jiang Zuobin said reached Feng Yuxiang's heart. He didn't have a good impression of Duan Qirui at first, but he only helped because Duan Qirui promised to reinstate him as an official.But even so, after he was reinstated, he was only a brigade commander, and now a ready-made division commander was in front of him, which was really too tempting.

As the saying goes, people don't care about loyalty. Loyalty is because the temptation is not enough, and the price of betrayal is too high.Right now, Feng Yuxiang feels that the price offered by Li Yuanhong and Li Mohan has reached his psychological price.So Feng Yuxiang said: "I, Feng Yuxiang, was confused for a while and was deceived by Duan Qirui. Mr. Jiang's words were like enlightenment, which made me wake up. I decided to accept the leadership of President Li Da and Premier Li and abandon the dark for the bright."

Jiang Zuobin was very happy, holding Feng Yuxiang's hands, and said: "Mr. Feng is a meritorious official in the Republic of China. He will be famous for his history when he writes history."

On the other hand, the lobbying work of Ha Hanzhang and Jin Duoyong progressed relatively smoothly. Li Kuiyuan and Liu Peirong did not fully accept Li Yuanhong's solicitation, but they both made it clear that they would remain neutral among Li Yuanhong, Li Mohan and Duan Qirui. Whoever becomes the master of Beijing in the future, they will accept his leadership.After Li Kuiyuan and Liu Peirong remained neutral, the pressure on Li Mohan and Li Yuanhong suddenly became much less.

Immediately afterwards, Li Mohan and Li Yuanhong launched another political bomb that was quite lethal—announcing Duan Qirui and his henchmen as public enemies of the state.What is an Enemy of the State?Li Mohan's explanation on the telegram is: a criminal who seriously endangers the interests of the country.Once listed as a public enemy of the state, all his legal rights will be revoked, all his public offices will be revoked, his private property will not be protected, and his personal safety will not be protected.To put it simply, whoever snatches Duan Qirui's property will own it. Whoever captures Duan Qirui or kills Duan Qirui can get corresponding rewards, and can even directly replace him.

Later, the newspaper written by Lin Jianqiu began to publicize the public opinion again. The newspaper eloquently listed a series of crimes against Duan Qirui, especially exaggerated Duan Qirui's loan to Xiyuan, who betrayed the national interests of Japan, and compared his behavior with Yuan Shikai's. The act of signing "Article 21" is equivalent.Then, the telegraph pen turned around and said that all those who followed Duan Qirui, as long as they repented and stopped their rebellious behavior immediately, they could forget the past.If you insist on going your own way and resist to the end, then only jade and stone will die together.

When Duan Qirui saw this power-up in Tianjin, he was so angry that he dropped his glass.Duan Qirui scolded: "What is this thing? Such a shameful act?"

After Xu Shuzheng read the telegram, he also shook his head and said, "This telegram is very embarrassing. I heard that some officers and soldiers are worried that their families will be retaliated, and they start to feel restless. If things go on like this, the morale of the army will inevitably be shaken."

Duan Qirui thought for a while, and said: "It seems that a quick decision must be made. I just didn't expect Li Changtai to be so unreasonable. Not to mention that he couldn't win the Langfang Railway Station, and even broke two regiments. I really think highly of him. By the way, What's going on with Cao Kun?"

Xu Shuzheng frowned, and said: "The situation is not optimistic. It has been blocked in the Gaobeidian area for almost two days, and I have not been able to move forward."

"Trash. They're all trash." Duan Qirui scolded, "What about Wu Changxin, Tian Wangwang, Li Kuiyuan, Liu Peirong, and Feng Yuxiang?"

Xu Shuzheng shook his head and said, "Wu Changxin and Tian Wangwang are hopeless. Li Kuiyuan and Liu Peirong had made an agreement at first, but they changed their minds at midnight. As for Feng Yuxiang, he has both ends. Said that a person who claimed to be a distant relative of Feng Yuxiang went to see Feng Yuxiang yesterday, and after that, the Feng Department stopped moving forward."

"Damn it." Duan Qirui slammed his fist on the table, "Another one with a bone in the back of his head."

"Report!" A staff officer hurried in with a telegram, "Report to the commander. Shanxi Yan Xishan issued a telegram announcing support for Li. At the same time, Li Yuanhong appointed Yan Xishan as the governor and governor of Shanxi."

"Report!" Another staff officer rushed over, "Feng Yuxiang issued a telegram, announcing his support for Li Yuanhong, and in the name of the No. 16 division commander, calling for a truce and negotiation between the two sides, so that the people will not suffer from military disasters."

Duan Qirui was very puzzled, "When will the No.16 division appear?"

"It's broken, it's broken." Xu Shuzheng patted his forehead, "It must be that Li Yuanhong promised Feng Yuxiang to expand his No.16 mixed brigade into No.16 division."