Republic of China: I am a great warlord, many children, many blessings

“Recently, Tang Jirao in Yunnan has been secretly expanding his army.

On the one hand, Tang Jiyao publicly added two guard regiments, and on the pretext of replenishment, he recruited retired officers and soldiers, and recruited new soldiers "to wait for establishment." He also "secretly ordered each county to organize local teams in the name of public security, waiting for the right time" and recruited a number of students who volunteered to join the army.

Almost a division has been expanded,” said Wang Tianfeng, director of the Intelligence Bureau;

Zhou Weiguo laughed and said: "It must be said that Yuan Shikai made a bad move by declaring himself emperor."

"He is now afraid that General Shen will rebel, and he hopes that General Shen will fight with Japan."

Shen Hao waved his hand, and everyone quieted down, so he said: "No matter what, we must prevent Japan from making the next move.

Prevent them from harassing our eastern Guangdong and western Guangxi provinces.

At the same time, keep a close eye on the surrounding provinces. If anyone dares to jump out at this time, don't hesitate. We will deal with them with lightning speed first.

Give them a warning.”

"Yes, General."

415. Let Britain, the United States and France put pressure on

Shen Hao said: "Who among you is keeping an eye on Fujian and Jiangxi provinces adjacent to eastern Guangdong?"

Li Yunlong said: "Li Houji from Fujian and Li Chun from Jiangxi asked me to come here. They have the same baggage as me. Maybe we have been one family for five hundred years, and I am their ancestor."

Hearing this, everyone laughed.

Shen Hao said: "Okay, you lead 50,000 people to watch the two provinces, Wang Tianfeng, tell me about the situation in the two provinces"

"It's the general."

As the head of the Intelligence Bureau, Wang Tianfeng immediately began to report: "Li Houji was once the captain of the guard of the Zhili Governor's Office of the Qing government and the commander of the seventh brigade of the fourth regiment.

In 1913, he served as the commander of the Wusong Fortress of the Yuan Shikai government. In November 1913, Yuan Shikai sent the Chief of the Navy Liu Guanxiong to lead Li Houji's troops to Fuzhou and disbanded the Hunan Army in the name of reorganization.

At the end of December, Li Houji was appointed as the garrison commander of Fujian.

In 1914, Li Houji was appointed as the Protector of Fujian Army, in charge of Fujian military affairs. From then on, Li Houji monopolized the military power of Fujian, and his power was almost that of a general (governor).

However, Li Houji was not on good terms with Hu Ruilin, the inspector general (chief of civil affairs) of Fujian, and seemed to want to kick Hu Ruilin out and seize power himself.

Moreover, Li Houji donated money to support the "Planning Society for Peace" and actively supported Yuan Shikai's declaration of emperorship.

I have a division under my command, plus the provincial security corps, a total of about 20,000 people."

"General Li Chun of Jiangxi, 26, was just transferred to Jiangxi. He has no troops of his own. He has recently established three mixed brigades and three provincial defense regiments. Together with the previous division, he only has troops.

However, the previous division was not his direct subordinate, and many generals were suppressed.

He was also one of the most active supporters of the monarchy, and donated money to the "Anhui", and was deeply trusted by Yuan Shikai.

Li Yunlong has an army of more than 50,000 to 60,000 people. In Shen Hao's opinion, it should not be difficult to take over Fujian and Jiangxi. It should be easy.

Shen Hao said: "If Li Yunlong can't hold on..."

Before Shen Hao could finish, Li Yunlong saluted and promised: "If you can't keep it, I'll tear my head off and use it as your chamber pot."

Kong Jie laughed and said: "Your head is used as a chamber pot or a ball."

"Hahaha"

Shen Hao said: "Okay, Li Yunlong, you will be responsible for keeping a close eye on Jiangxi and Fujian."

"Who will go, Tang Xiangming from Hunan or Long Jiguang from Guizhou?" Shen Hao asked;

Kong Jie volunteered: "General, I will do it."

Shen Hao said: "Okay"

Wang Tianfeng said again: "Tang Xiangming from Hunan is known as Tang the Butcher.

Previously it was the Tongmenghui, and later joined the Kuomintang. Tang Xiangming also joined the party.

In July 1913, the Second Revolution broke out. Tang Xingming, under the order of Yuan Shikai, led the "Flying Eagle" to Jiujiang to suppress it. He joined forces with Duan Zhigui, the Jiangxi envoy at the time, and Li Chun, the division commander, to capture Hukou.

He then led the Second Fleet to fight in Jiangxi and Anhui, attacking the anti-Yuan army in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and then returned to Yuezhou.

Yuan Shikai awarded Tang the rank of Lieutenant General of the Navy for his contribution in suppressing the anti-Yuan army.

In October 1913, Tang Xiangming was appointed Acting Governor-General and Investigator of Hunan, and also temporarily served as the Minister of Civil Affairs.

In June 1914, Tang Xingming was appointed General Jingwu, in charge of military affairs in Hunan and concurrently serving as Inspector General.

Tang Xiangming was well aware of Yuan Shikai's hatred for the revolutionaries, and with special instructions from his brother Tang Hualong, he implemented a brutal rule during his time in Hunan, killing revolutionaries at will.

The people of Hunan constantly launched anti-Yuan and anti-Tang struggles, and Tang suppressed them bloodily, earning him the name "Tang the Butcher" by the people of Hunan.

He also actively advocated donations for Yuan Shikai's "Anfu Society". Tang Xiangming also set up a special office in Hunan to fabricate public opinion. He used grand tables and elegant words to describe Yuan Shikai as a wise and enlightened emperor who was wished by heaven and people would return to heaven, and urged him to "take the throne as soon as possible to comfort the people's expectations."

It can be said that he was very supportive of Yuan Shikai's enthronement.

We have two divisions of troops, about 23,000 men."

"Long Jiguang was also one of the warlords in western Yunnan. Long Jiguang, courtesy name Zicheng (Zichen), was from Mengzi, Yunnan.

In 1914, he was appointed governor of Guangxi, and later exchanged positions with General Shen and became the general of Guizhou.

During his tenure in Guangxi, Long Jiguang carried out large-scale "cleansing of the countryside" wherever he went, killing, burning, raping and looting along the way, leaving nine out of ten houses empty and destroying dozens of villages.

The taxes were levied heavily and it took twenty years to collect them.

It can be said that all kinds of evil are committed in Guangxi and the people are full of resentment.

There are about 18,000 people in our hands.”

Shen Hao said: "Kong Jie, Guizhou and Hunan are now in your hands. Are there any difficulties?"

Kong Jie saluted and said: "It's not difficult. If they dare to move, we will destroy them."

Then, Shen Hao pointed to the map and said, "Then the only countries bordering Guangxi are Tangjirao in Yunnan and Laos, which was colonized by France.

Although Tang Jirao opposes the monarchy, we have to be on guard against him and Laos as well. Who will go?"

Ding Wei was just about to speak when Zhou Weiguo spoke first.

"General, I will go and let Commander Ding guard the eastern part of Guangdong."

Shen Hao nodded and said, "Okay, do you have any objections?"

"No," they all shouted;

"Okay, let Zhou Weiguo go."

"Ding Wei, you stay in Guangdong and provide support at any time."

"Yes, General"

Following Shen Hao's order, all the people began to guard against the enemy with great efforts.

The combined military strength of the surrounding provinces is less than one-third of Shen Hao's, so Shen Hao naturally does not feel any pressure.

The deaths of the Japanese Governor-General in Taiwan, Motojiro Akashi, and the commander of the 18th Army Division of the Japanese Army, Mitsui Tomita, angered the entire Japanese cabinet.

If it was stated that the commander of the 18th Army Division, Mitsui Tomita, was killed by the Germans in the Battle of Qingdao, the Japanese would still be convinced.

But in the end, he was beaten to death by a group of unknown and backward peasant rebels, which was a great shame.

The cabinet held a meeting overnight.

Prime Minister Terauchi Masatake, the Army Minister, the Navy Minister, the Japanese Chief of General Staff and other military leaders were all assembled.

Terauchi Masaki said with a serious face: "The battle of Keelung Port in Taiwan was a great humiliation and made our Great Japanese Empire a laughing stock in the international community.

Let's discuss how to save face."

The Navy Minister said angrily: "It is a great disgrace that a lieutenant general was killed at the very beginning.

This is the first time in Japan's diplomatic history.

Someone has to be held responsible this time.

I believe that 080, the commander of the 12th Division and Lieutenant General Shiba Goro, commander of the Tokyo Garrison, is the commander-in-chief of the army and must be responsible. He is not capable of serving as the commander-in-chief.

I think the commander-in-chief should be Vice Admiral Kato Tomosaburo, commander of the Navy Fleet."

The Minister of War said unhappily: “Shouldn’t we investigate thoroughly first and then divide the responsibilities?

Besides, is it appropriate for the Navy to command the Army, two different branches of the military?"

The Chief of the General Staff said angrily: "It's already this hour, and you are still talking about this. Shouldn't you be thinking about how to save the face of our Great Japanese Empire?"

The Chief of the Naval General Staff and the Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet nodded.

Terauchi Masaki said: "Get up from where you fell.

Attack Taiwan with all our might and take it down within three days. Even if we have to flatten Taiwan, we must wash away our shame with blood."

The commander of the combined fleet said: "I suggest a multi-front operation, landing on the island from the north and south of the bend at the same time, attacking from the front and back."

"Seconded!"

"Seconded!"

Japanese Minister (Minister of Foreign Affairs) Ishii Kikujiro said: "Yu Qingfeng and others are nothing to worry about. The reason they were able to defeat our 18th Division this time is obviously because of the support from Beiyang's Guangdong and Guangxi Inspector General Shen Hao.

We should deal with him now."

"makes sense"

Terauchi Masaki: "Ishii Kikujiro, what do you think we should do?"

"While we were putting pressure on Yuan Shikai, we were also trying to instigate warlords in Fujian, Hunan and other places, giving them support so that they could encircle and suppress Shen Hao.

At the same time, we negotiate with Britain, France and the United States, let the three countries intervene and exert pressure at the same time."

416. Japan forces Yuan Shikai

Foreign Minister Ishii Kikujiro nodded and said, "Yi"

"Increase the attack on Wanwan and let Chai Goro take Wanwan within three days"

"Hai!"

However, Japan's intention was good, but it was soon slapped in the face.

Among the 21 articles proposed by Japan to the Beiyang government, the 21 articles contained many provisions that were favorable to Japan.

These included transferring Germany's rights and interests in Qingdao to Japan, ceding Fujian, allowing Japan to lease land in various places, and handing over important resources such as railways and mineral resources to Japan for control.

There is no doubt that these contents violated Beiyang’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and caused great damage to Beiyang’s economy and national interests.

At the same time, these railways and mineral resources are also desired by Britain, the United States and France.

It can be said that the interests of Britain, the United States and France were indirectly damaged.

At that time, Japan demanded that the negotiations and their content be kept confidential, fearing that other powers might intervene.

The Beijing government did the opposite and sent Gu Weidiao to quickly leak the relevant content to the American minister.

The "Twenty-One Demands" and Japan's ambition to dominate the Beiyang region were soon known to the great powers. Western countries, represented by the United States, began to protest and put pressure on the Japanese through military action.

Therefore, this time, when Japanese Foreign Minister Kikujiro Ishii met with the envoys of three countries, he hoped to put pressure on the Beiyang government against Shen Hao.

As a result, the three countries ignored him and the United States was gloating over his misfortune.

Britain and France were getting increasingly bogged down in the European battlefield and had no energy to care about Taiwan.

Besides, Taiwan is a colony of Japan, and they hope that Japan cannot control Taiwan so that they can reap the benefits in the end.

The United States is too lazy to pay attention to Japan as it is not in their interests.

What's more, Shen Hao has a large amount of arms trade with the United States, and they are unwilling to deal with Japan.

The envoys of the three countries all had the same attitude, hoping that Japan and Shen Hao would fight so that they could reap the benefits.

Taiwan is your colony, you should solve the problem yourselves.

After being rejected by the envoys of Britain, the United States and France, Ishii Kikujiro had no choice but to ask the Japanese envoy to put pressure on Yuan Shikai.

Zhong Nanhai and Yuan Datou met with Japanese Minister Hioki Yoshiyuki.

Hioki Masu said straight to the point without any greetings: "President Yuan, the Guangdong-Guangxi Inspector General Shen Hao is suspected of collaborating with the enemy and causing great damage in Taiwan, which has seriously affected the peace between our two countries.

On behalf of the Prime Minister of the Imperial Japanese Cabinet, Masatake Terauchi, and Foreign Minister Kikujiro Ishii, I express my serious protest.

We hope that President Yuan will immediately send troops to attack Shen Hao.

Otherwise, we will join forces with the Allied Powers of Britain, France, and the United States to intervene militarily.