Years of the Republic of China 1913

At around nine o'clock in the morning, shortly after the start of the new day's work in the capital center, Defense Minister Duan Qirui came to the office early as usual, dealt with the few official documents accumulated yesterday, drank some tea, stretched his waist, got up and took the Kettle went to the window and waited for the precious flowers and plants, humming Beijing opera. () Duan Qirui is in a good mood these days, especially after the news of the retreat of the Japanese army in Kanto Prefecture, as the Minister of National Defense, he feels a lot more relaxed.

Without the pressure of the Sino-Japanese incident, Duan Qirui began to think about Yuan Shikai's death in these days.As one of the three masters of Beiyang, he now holds a high position and authority. Although Zhong Yang established the General Staff Department and divided a lot of the powers of the former Army Department, Duan Qirui, who was promoted from Army Chief to Defense Minister, still controls the Army. Part of the power, but also controls part of the naval power. <Hey, once Yuan Shikai dies, there will inevitably be a vacuum in his central power, and there are very few people who are qualified to fill it. Among these people, Duan Qirui will definitely do his part.Thinking about the candidates who could compete with him for the big position, Duan Qirui secretly compared the pros and cons of several parties. In his opinion, among the three Beiyang masters, regardless of qualifications or abilities, Wang Shizhen, as the boss of the three masters, is now the chief executive officer. The chief of staff, whose prestige and ability in the army are comparable to his own, is logically the best candidate, but because of his age, and Wang Shizhen has never had any rights and interests, he would not compete with him.And the other of the three masters, that is, Feng Guozhang, this enemy who has always been at odds with him, has been fighting openly and secretly with Duan Qirui for nearly ten years.No one obeys anyone, and now Feng Guozhang holds a heavy army in the south and is his biggest competitor.However, Feng Guozhang is not inferior in terms of military strength, but Duan Qirui is a head higher than Feng Guozhang in the political fu, not to mention that behind Duan Qirui is the support of Xu Shuzheng, Wang Yitang, Zeng Yujun and other powerful factions.

Counting the Beiyang Department, there is also Xu Shichang.However, like Wang Shizhen, Xu Shichang is not keen on power, so Duan Qirui doesn't have much opponent.It seemed only natural that he would fill the power vacuum.But don't forget that the Beiyang family is not the only one now, and the current government is a constitutional government.Whether it is Congress or the parties, their strength cannot be ignored.

State Prime Minister Song Jiaoren, Duan Qirui feels his head swell when he thinks of this person. If Song Jiaoren wants to compete for the position of president, Duan Qirui is not sure at all. Compared with Song Jiaoren, no matter it is political His status or prestige among the people is far higher than anyone else, if Song Jiaoren wants to go further, no one can stop him.

However, Duan Qirui didn't think Song Jiaoren would do this.As the Minister of Defense, he certainly knows that Song Jiaoren is a promoter of constitutional politics. As the Prime Minister, Song Jiaoren is absolutely impossible to abandon the powerful Prime Minister to become an empty president.And Duan Qirui himself is not sure that if he ascends to the presidency, he will be able to compete with the prime minister like Yuan Shikai and share power.So this grand presidency looks good, but it is not affordable.

What Duan Qirui is really staring at is not the presidency.It is the position of Prime Minister.The real power prime minister is the highest figure who truly holds the power of the country.Once Yuan Shikai dies, no matter who succeeds the president, he will not be able to have Yuan Shikai's power as the president, and can only become a symbol of the head of state.Duan Qirui's judgment is the same as that of Yang Du and others. He believes that Song Jiaoren will definitely not be the president, but will continue to implement constitutional government and thoroughly implement the prime minister system.Make the best of it.For Duan Qirui, the most likely position is vice premier and minister of defense. If he can sit in this position, when Song Jiaoren's term of office is up, he has a great possibility to become prime minister and the highest authority in China. .

Thinking of this, Duan Qirui frowned slightly. He still has a strong competitor for the position of deputy prime minister, and this person is Fang Zida.Fang Zida was born a few years ago, and in just a few years, he climbed to the high position of finance minister and central bank president. What makes Duan Qirui even more afraid is that Fang Zida has a profound background, and his strength is not inferior to him , and even in some aspects such as finance, industry and commerce, even he can't match it.With such a powerful opponent in front of him, it is not easy for Duan Qirui to go further.

Besides, Fang Zida also has a special identity, that is Yuan Shikai's son-in-law.Based on Duan Qirui's understanding of Yuan Shikai, it is absolutely impossible not to pave the way for Fang Zida before his death with the old Yuan's personality, and the new army formed a while ago also illustrates this point.It is more likely that if members of the Beiyang faction such as Wang Shizhen, Xu Shichang, and even Feng Guozhang also support Fang Zida to fight against him, the feasibility of Duan Qirui's ascension to power will be minimal...

"Boom...!"

A sudden sound interrupted Duan Qirui's thoughts, and he turned around very displeased, only to see the door was open, and Xu Shuzheng stood there with a panicked expression.

"Youzheng, why are you panicking? What happened?"

Seeing that it was Xu Shuzheng, his confidant, Duan Qirui swallowed back the reprimand, and asked in surprise.

"Brother Zhiquan, the big thing is not right, Fengtian...Fengtian...Fengtian is at war!" Xu Shuzheng gasped and said, Duan Qirui was startled, and asked in disbelief: "You...what did you say? Fengtian is at war!" ? With whom? Ri himself? How is this possible?"

After receiving the telegram hurriedly handed over by Xu Shuzheng, Duan Qirui read it at a glance, and did not respond for a moment.

"How is this possible? Didn't Ri himself withdraw his troops? Why did the war suddenly start?"

For a moment, Duan Qirui's mind was like a muddle, and he was stunned by the news. He couldn't figure out how the situation that he knew suddenly turned into this.

"Brother Zhiquan! Brother Zhiquan!"

Seeing Duan Qirui stunned on the spot, Xu Shuzheng shouted anxiously.

After regaining his senses, Duan Qirui sorted out his thoughts a little, and asked Xu Shuzheng: "What is the situation in Fengtian now, how many troops will the Japanese army attack? How is the defense line in Fengtian now? Does Zhang Zuolin have any corresponding measures?"

A series of questions made Xu Shuzheng unable to answer at all. He also just received a telegram. According to the telegram, the war broke out only three hours ago. Zhang Zuolin's troops were defenseless, and the first line of defense suffered heavy losses.As for the specific situation, his eyes were darkened and he didn't know anything.

The anxious Duan Qirui didn't say anything, and hurriedly took Xu Shuzheng out. The sudden war made him nervous. Now that the situation on the front line is unknown, he must first understand it before he can take countermeasures. If you can't be the master, you must act in unison with the General Staff.want to come.When he received the telegram, the General Staff and even the Prime Minister's Office should have also received the news. He had to go see Prime Minister Song Jiaoren immediately.

The news of Japan's attack on Fengtian reached the capital about three hours and 25 minutes after the start of the war, which is considered the fastest speed in terms of today's communication situation.But the war is changing rapidly.No one knew what the situation on the front line was like in just over three hours. It would take at least a day or two for Zhong Yang to make countermeasures, plus troop deployment and preparations.It is simply impossible without ten days.

Prime Minister Song Jiaoren, Chief of the General Staff Wang Shizhen, Defense Minister Duan Qirui, etc. all learned the news at about the same time. When Duan Qirui arrived at the Prime Minister's Office, Wang Shizhen also arrived, and even Fang Zida also rushed come over.

"Everyone knows the news? The Fengtian War broke out suddenly. The Japanese army took advantage of my unpreparedness to launch a surprise attack. Fengtian's first line of defense fell, and Zhang Zuolin has urgently called Zhong Yang for help." Song Jiaoren was not polite when he saw them coming, and directly let Jin The meeting room spoke without waiting for everyone to sit down.

The sudden start of the war made everyone worried. Duan Qirui, the Minister of National Defense, first said: "Before I came, I asked Xu Youzheng to call the Ninth Army and the 28th Army, and asked them to reinforce Zhang Zuolin as soon as possible. As for other reasons, it has not yet been confirmed. news, so..." Speaking of this, Duan Qirui glanced at Wang Shizhen.

The General Staff is responsible for military planning. Wang Shizhen took Duan Qirui's words knowingly, stood up and said: "About the Ninth Army and the No. 20 Eighth Army. My General Staff has also sent a call to urge them. After receiving the news, the first In time, our general staff will send troops in the Chengde area to make preparations and move northward outside the pass at any time. Once Fengtianzhen is unfortunately broken through, our army will take the primary goal of firmly defending the Shanhaiguan pass. Do our best to block the Japanese army in the Jinzhou and Chaoyang areas."

"Doesn't this mean giving up on Nanman?" Song Jiaoren frowned and asked.

Wang Shizhen quickly explained that this was just the worst plan. If the situation in Fengtian is still under control, the front-line troops in Chengde will leave the customs and rush to Fengtian as soon as possible, and cooperate with the Ninth Army, No. 20 Seventh, and No. 20 Eighth Army to block Ri himself. In the south of Fengtian.But once the situation deteriorates, it is the best policy to defend Shanhaiguan. Only by standing still and waiting for the Japanese army to lose their strength, can they plan to recover the lost land.

Nodding his head, Song Jiaoren expressed his agreement to the plan, but he was still worried about Fengtian's current situation, and urged the staff of the Prime Minister's Office to keep in touch with Fengtian to get first-hand information.At the same time, he announced that the general headquarters will be located in the Prime Minister's Office from now on, and Wang Shizhen and Duan Qirui will fully command the Northeast War.

When the order was issued, everyone acted immediately without delay.Only Fang Zida sat quietly by the side, with a thoughtful expression, not knowing what he was thinking.

"Zhang Ming! Zhang Ming!"

"Ah!" Fang Zida looked up at the stern-looking Song Jiaoren, and said hastily, "I'm sorry, I was just thinking about Fengtian."

"Oh, you might as well tell me what you think." Fang Zida often had unexpected whimsical ideas, and Song Jiaoren immediately asked happily when he heard him say this.

"Where did I come up with any idea, but I was a little surprised by the Japanese army's sudden attack." Fang Zida shook his head with a wry smile, got up and said, "I can't help here for the time being, I will go back and urge the following to prepare supplies. The supply of supplies is a matter of great importance, and it cannot be sloppy."

"Okay, you go first, and come back as soon as the arrangements are made. Zhang Ming, you know that I don't know much about military affairs. I still need you to help the counselor here." Song Jiaoren looked at Wang Shizhen and others who were not far away. Looking at it, he lowered his voice.

Nodding his head slightly, Fang Zida hurriedly left the Prime Minister's Office to make arrangements. On the way back, he wondered if he had asked Yang Du to remind Zhang Zuolin a long time ago?How could he catch Ri himself by surprise?Is there another accident on the front line?He was thinking about this question just now, but it is not easy for him to say it directly. After all, he sent Yang Du there just for private arrangements, and did not inform the Ministry of National Defense and the General Staff. Even Song Jiaoren didn't mention it. It's just the opposite. (To be continued..)

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