Years of the Republic of China 1913

() The impact of the great changes in Tsarist Russia has put great pressure on Britain and France. Facing the possible thunder blow from the Allies, when the final decision of China's government was quickly spread to Europe through diplomatic channels, the Allied Powers headed by Britain and France were opposed to each other. This began a heated debate, the main content of which was not the Chinese decision to send troops, but a series of conditions attached later.

As established world powers, when will Britain and France look up to a weak country like China?If it wasn't for the great war in Europe that exhausted them, they wouldn't have spent so much effort to win over China.But that's it. On the issue of eagerly expecting China and even Japan to send troops, on the one hand, they hope that China and Japan will send troops to Europe to join the war as soon as possible, and on the other hand, they don't want to exchange any benefits. China's obligations or waving some flashy empty promises in an attempt to achieve this goal, but I did not expect that Japan has not responded to this so far, and although China reluctantly agreed to send troops, it has made so many demands at the same time.

These made Britain and France very angry. While discussing, they Zheng Fu accused China of this "taking advantage of the fire" through diplomatic channels.In this regard, the Chinese government has long been prepared, and has come up with a lot of reasons to prove the rationality of the proposed conditions.

Among them, there are three most irrefutable reasons.

One: Due to the collapse of Tsarist Russia, China’s original allocation of a large number of materials to support the European War was in vain, and it is very likely that no cost will be recovered.This is China's obligation as a member of the Allied Powers, but at the same time, China's losses must be shared among the Allied Powers in this case.If it is temporarily impossible to pay, then it should be made up in other ways after winning the battle.These requirements must be recognized by the Allies in advance and form a filing document.

Two: Last year's local war between China and Japan led to the deterioration of China's economy. Large military expenditures and the restoration of the war zone required huge financial allocations. Because the member states of the Allied Powers failed to stop this meaningless war in the shortest possible time , As a result, China's not-so-abundant finances are fueled, and now it is going to Europe to participate in the war. It is impossible for the Chinese government to spend so much military expenditure, and the main battlefield of this war is in Europe.Therefore, it is a matter of course that all military expenditures, including weapons and equipment, logistics, etc., are provided by the Allies.

Three: The country is under great pressure to send troops to fight. Although Congress reluctantly passed the proposal, opponents abound.If there is no real benefit for China to send troops to Europe to participate in the war, it may be difficult to achieve.Since China has obligations as a member of the Allied Powers, it also has rights.It is also appropriate for the Chinese government to require a series of commitments from the Allies before sending troops, at least to appease the domestic opposition.What's more.These are all based on the victory of the war. Once the war fails, China will also face the fate of the defeated country. In other words, this is a matter of coexistence of interests and risks. It is absolutely impossible for China to take risks without any benefits. , assuming so.It doesn't matter if the Chinese government doesn't send troops.

These three reasons made Britain and France speechless for a while, secretly cursing how the Chinese have turned from a weak person who can be bullied casually into such a snobbish businessman?If the Allies had the upper hand in the European war, Britain and France would certainly not pay attention to China's request, but the situation is not good now, after the fall of Tsarist Russia.Apart from seeking help from the United States, Japan, and China, Britain and France hardly have any allies who can change the situation.The attitude of the United States, which Britain and France place high hopes on, has always been ambiguous.Always refused to declare their participation in the war readily, which disappointed Britain and France.As for Japan, it has the largest fleet in Asia, but it is also hesitant before the official dispatch of troops, and has never given a clear reply, so the only thing left is the straw of the Chinese government that promised to send troops.

Britain, France, and the Chinese government wrangled back and forth, each not giving way, until half a month later, as the Germans on the European battlefield began to change, according to intelligence, Germany had assembled a large number of troops on the Eastern Front, and some were transferred to the Western Front. When there are signs, compared with the Chinese government that has never let go, Britain and France, who are like ants on a hot pot, finally can't sit still.Except that they raised objections to several requirements, requiring that China should first undertake the payment, and then the Allied Powers, that is, Britain and France, would pay for it, but they finally agreed to all other requirements.When the news spread to China, Song Jiaoren was finally relieved and couldn't help laughing.

With the signing of the troop dispatch agreement, Fang Zida's expeditionary force on paper finally came to fruition.The early conscription has quietly started a month ago. A large number of junior officers who have just graduated from the Zhongyang Military Academy have been sent to serve in the expeditionary force. The middle and senior officers will be individually transferred from the current National Defense Forces and local troops. The formation of the entire army It will be completed by the General Staff and handed over to Wu Peifu in Shandong for a three-month short-term training.

This was Fang Zida's proposal, and neither the Ministry of Defense nor the General Staff had any objection to it.Because Wu Peifu, as the leading general in the country, is praised by everyone for his military training and combat skills. Three months is not short, but it is necessary to train a group of recruits who have never even touched a gun to be able to go to the battlefield. Soldiers, apart from Wu Peifu, there is no second person in the country who can take on this role.

As for the candidates for the chief officers at all levels of the expeditionary force, to put it bluntly, it is also the product of compromise between the various factions.Let Feng Guozhang be the commander of the expeditionary force, no matter in terms of qualifications or reputation, he is impeccable, and this is also a comfort to the old Beiyang faction.Shang Dequan's candidate as the deputy commander has also been basically approved. Shang Dequan is the general office of the former Baoding Military Academy. Very good candidate.

In the following three divisions, apart from the first division being divided up by several forces, the second and third divisions are almost dominated by Fang Zida's men and horses. What's more, Fang Zida also set up a so-called political department in the expeditionary army, which made Wang Zhaoming The purpose of serving as the director of this political department is to control the grassroots rights of the army in disguise.

This day, Fang Zida was finishing his official duties when a major officer came to visit suddenly, saying that he was ordered by Lu Jianzhang to invite Fang Zida to a banquet.

Lu Jianzhang sent someone to invite him?Fang Zida was slightly surprised, although he felt a little strange, he still accepted the invitation.After all, Lu Jianzhang is also one of the Beiyang giants, and he is also Yuan Shikai's confidant. After the death of Yuan Shikai, Lu Jianzhang supported Fang Zida at Yuan Shikai's behest. Uncle, the friendship between the two parties is not bad.Lu Jianzhang came to Beijing to report on his work a while ago. At that time, Fang Zida invited him to a banquet. This time he came to invite Fang Zida. Anyway, I will give you the face.

After making an appointment with the visitor, Fang Zida went home to get ready, and then drove to the place.

Lu Jianzhang found a good place, not a restaurant, nor a courtyard for drinking flower wine, but a small house on the edge of the inner city.When he arrived at the place, there was already someone waiting at the door, and the person waiting for him was the major who sent the invitation in the afternoon.

"Haha, Zhang Ming, come on, come in quickly."

After entering the house, I saw Lu Jianzhang coming out from the main hall, and warmly greeted Fang Zida, and he was accompanied by a young woman who looked very good.

"Well, this place is nice. This house was given to me by the President. By the way, this is the President's son-in-law I mentioned to you. He is now the Chief Financial Officer of Zheng Fu, the President of Central Yang Bank, and the famous Fang Zhangming. "

"The little girl met her uncle..."

"uncle?"

Fang Zida was taken aback for a moment when he saw this woman wishing him all the blessings.Then I found out that she was Lu Jianzhang's concubine. Since Lu Jianzhang went to the northwest to lead the army, he quietly placed her here to live. Because he had never seen her before, Fang Zida knew her for the first time.

He hurriedly returned the salute. Speaking of which, Lu Jianzhang would be a generation older than himself, and his outer room called him uncle. Doesn't this mean that he and Lu Jianzhang are of the same generation?But Lu Jianzhang didn't care, he laughed and asked people to prepare food and drinks, and dragged Fang Zida to the courtyard.

Entering the main hall, a tall and strong soldier with thick hands and feet, who looked more like a peasant than a peasant, stood up respectfully.

"Uncle... Chief Fang..."

This person first shouted at Lu Jianzhang, and then greeted Fang Zida with a smile.

"Who is this……?"

Fang Zida looked at this man with a very kind face, but he really couldn't remember where he had seen him. Although he was dressed like an ordinary soldier, there was a general star on his shoulder collar, which indicated that this man was a major general of the army.

Lu Jianzhang laughed and introduced, "Come on, let me introduce you. This is my nephew and son-in-law Feng Yuxiang, who is currently the commander of the 16th Brigade. Zhang Ming, you two are about the same age, and you are not strangers to each other. There will be more in the future." It's about being close."

"Chairman Fang, I have heard about the name for a long time and have never had the chance to see him. Today is really lucky for Yuxiang, and I will ask you to take care of him in the future." Feng Yuxiang put on a very low posture, and formally saluted Fang Zida with the etiquette of subordinates.

"No wonder, it turned out to be this person..." After listening to the introduction, Fang Zida suddenly realized that the person standing in front of him was actually Feng Yuxiang, this is a famous person!It's just that Fang Zida's impression of Feng Yuxiang is not very good. Don't look at him as a tall and thick man with a loyal face. In fact, Feng Yuxiang's evaluation has always been controversial in modern Chinese history. Some people praised him as a patriotic general Some people praised him as the hero who expelled the last emperor from the palace, some said he seemed loyal, others said he had a shameless face, and some made fun of Feng Yuxiang's words, saying that his laxity was equivalent to changing the chapter, and he often turned his face to compare Turning the pages of the book is fast, but does not recognize what is said by the front foot, and the back foot does not recognize it. If you have a baby, you are a mother. (To be continued. Welcome to the starting point (qidian.) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation.)