The sun never sets

Yang Du nodded and said, "Wang Zhaoming is indeed good, but he is still a little impetuous. He is still too young."

Wang Zhaoming was gentle, elegant, and studious, so many people had a good impression of him. Wu Tingfang knew what he meant, "Xizi, are you going to recommend him to the president?"

"Several people have told me about this. It would be bad if I refuse."

"If he really has talent, it wouldn't hurt to recommend him." Wu Tingfang said with a smile, "Many people have told me about him."

Yang Du took Wu Tingfang to his office, made two cups of tea, and closed the door. Then he asked again, "What's the matter this time?"

Wu Tingfang told Yang Du about the foreign woman he saw at President Lin's place, and then expressed his doubts. Yang Du was silent for a while after hearing this. At Wu Tingfang's urging, he had no choice but to say, "Comrade Wu, Brother Wen Jue, isn't it better to focus on your work? Why are you trying to figure out Chairman Lin's private life?"

"There is no private matter in the royal family. The president's affairs are not only his personal affairs, but also the affairs of the whole of China."

"China no longer has an emperor."

"The President is the Mongol Emperor."

Wu Tingfang lowered his voice and said, "I know you are a cautious person, but there are only you and me here. God and the earth know it, you know it and I know it. Can't you tell me some truth?"

Seeing that he couldn't avoid it, Yang Du had to reveal some truth, "Let me make it clear first, this is just my guess, don't tell anyone else. Once I leave this door, I won't admit anything."

Wu Tingfang laughed out loud, "Xizi, who do you think I am?"

What kind of person am I? Am I the kind of person who talks too much? Come on, come on!"

Yang Du coughed, then lowered his voice, "Look, Wen Jue, after the President got engaged to Wuyun Qiqige, he asked for cavalry from the Mongols, which played a big role in the war against the Eight-Nation Alliance. Neither you nor I have experienced this, but we should all know about it."

Yang Du had been holding these words in his heart for a long time, and he wanted to share them with others, but he couldn't find a suitable tree hole. Now that he could speak out, he pretended to be forced to do so, but deep down he felt very comfortable.

"Yes, I know about that. What else?"

"Later, our army entered the Northeast to fight the Russians, and the president asked the fourth princess to live back in the palace." Yang Du said meaningfully: "Our army made good progress in the Northeast, and many bannermen from the previous dynasty surrendered."

"And what about the Russian princess?"

"Russia is so vast, with thousands of miles between the east and west. It is conceivable that ruling such a huge area will be full of contradictions. Moreover, places like Outer Manchuria and Vladivostok were originally China. The president is a powerful ruler, how could he not have any ideas?"

Wu Tingfang frowned, "You mean the President wants to retake Vladivostok? Isn't this a trick of the English? If we get into a protracted war with the Russians, we won't be able to move south in a short time... Is the old story of the Southern and Northern Dynasties going to happen again?"

It is true that he is from the south, but when it comes to unification, there is no distinction between the south and the north.

"Even if we have ideas about how to deal with Northeast China, we may not act now. Didn't the Chairman say that the current goal is to conquer Northeast China, and we will deal with other places later. I heard that Russia is in turmoil, so there may be opportunities in the future. As for the situation south of the Yangtze River, I don't think we need to worry too much."

Wu Tingfang thought about it and realized that the biggest problem in the South was not a military problem, but an economic problem caused by a political problem, or a political problem caused by an economic problem. The Yangtze River Basin was the British sphere of influence, and other places were also divided up by Britain and France. Whether it was the Guangzhou government or the Jinling government, their tariffs were controlled by the British, and national enterprises were generally suppressed, while compradors were rampant.

As long as the tariffs are not withdrawn, the Guangzhou and Jinling governments will not have money, and without money, they cannot arm the army on a large scale. Unless they borrow high-interest loans from foreign powers like the Jinling government did. The "large loan" may be true, or it may be a smokescreen released by the British, a false news released in order to gain more advantages at the negotiation table.

Even if it was true, Wu Tingfang didn't think it was a big deal. He was now more concerned about the great powers such as Russia and Britain rather than the separatist regime in the south.

Chapter 254: Brothers at War

While Wu Tingfang was discussing the issue with Yang Du, many people were also discussing things in the Army University outside Taiyuan City. However, they were not discussing what type of women the President liked, but the war situation in Northeast China.

"The Russians are no longer good!"

Zhang Zuolin said with certainty: "The guerrillas have all fled to Jiamusi and Hegang!"

"They were in trouble last year. If it weren't for the plague, we would have defeated them long ago. The plague is over this year, and it's time to drive the Russians out!"

"Yeah, we've been fighting for so long, it's time to end it."

"When we get back, we'll drive those Russians away!"

"We can only graduate in November, and I'm afraid we won't be able to catch up with the war this year..."

Several students were discussing heatedly. Cao Kun listened to them, reached out and picked up a "horse", jumped forward, and said, "They all said that they want to drive the Russians out completely this year. What do you think, Ziyu?"

Wu Peifu was arrogant and had bad relationships with many people, but Cao Kun was thick-skinned. After being cold-shouldered time and again, he could still continue to greet people with a smile and build relationships. As time went by, the relationship between the two became much closer. When they had nothing to do, they would play chess together.

"It's not that easy," Wu Peifu sneered, "The Russians have brought in more than 100,000 troops and more than 500 cannons from Europe. They are no longer at a disadvantage in terms of manpower and firepower. Moreover..."

"And what?"

"The Japanese military has also increased its presence in Korea. The Japanese cannot be trusted!"

Cao Kun chuckled a few times and said, "I think so too! Why don't we write a letter to the Marshal together to talk about our views on the situation in Northeast China and the fact that the Japanese cannot be trusted."

Wu Peifu glanced at Cao Kun and said, "If you want to write a letter, you can write it yourself. Why do you need me to do it?"

Cao Kun laughed loudly and said, "Who doesn't know that you, Wu Ziyu, are favored by the Grand Marshal? I alone am not enough, but with Ziyu, you will be different."

Wu Peifu snorted and slapped the chess piece onto the board. "General! We can go write the letter now!"

Cao Kun was overjoyed and said, "I'll go right away!"

Cao Kun knew that he was not a direct descendant of the Grand Marshal. Although he had studied at the Army University and had formally integrated into the People's Army, he was still a little behind those Yuan followers. Moreover, Yuan Shikai was shaking again in the south, and he, a remnant of the Beiyang government, was even more uncomfortable.

He also knew that his ability to lead troops in battle was not that great, and the fact that he was able to get a place to study at the Army University was entirely due to his continuous performance in front of the Grand Marshal.

It is the same now. If you want to continue to climb up... and make progress, you must continue to perform in front of the Grand Marshal.

But his own ability was limited, so he had to get Wu Peifu to work with him.

After the Sino-Russian negotiations broke down, many people knew that the People's Army would launch a fierce attack on the Russian troops entrenched in the Northeast. The People's Daily described in detail how Russia had seized Chinese land, mentioned the Treaty of Nerchinsk, how the Solon people and the wild Jurchens were almost exterminated by the Russians, and also mentioned Hailanpao, Jiangdong Sixty-Four Villages, and various things in the Northeast.

The newspaper also said that if the Russians were not driven out of the Northeast, once they had established themselves in the Northeast, they would have to fight the Russians in North China next time. The newspaper not only had words, but also photos and maps. Looking at the trajectory of the Russians' eastward advance, you could tell that what the newspaper said was not a lie.

The Chinese were outraged at the Russian atrocities, and many people lined up at the military's collection office to donate money, hoping that the people's army could drive out the brutal Russians. Guan Yixin and Guan Zaizhen, who lived in Peking, went to the streets to collect donations, raising more than 30 million yuan from their relatives and friends. They also sold a lot of their family property and collected 50 million yuan, which they donated to the army.

People from other places also donated generously, and many donated their only property in order to allow the soldiers to have more meals. Many people in the south also donated money to the people's government in the north, and some young people formed a volunteer team and spontaneously went north to fight against the Russians.

Li Jingfang, the Foreign Minister of the Nanjing Government, who was also Li Hongzhang's eldest son (adopted), made a public speech, saying that the differences between the Nanjing Government and the Taiyuan Government were internal affairs of the Chinese people, and that in resisting the Russian invasion, all Chinese people should join hands and fight against foreign enemies together.

Li Jingfang loudly called out in many universities and schools, "Brothers fight within the walls, defend against external aggression!" Not only did he say this, he also donated millions of taels of silver to buy guns and organize volunteers to go to the north. He also suggested that the Jinling government, the Guangzhou government, and other organizations put aside their prejudices and point their guns at the outside world.

Many people applauded Li Jingfang's jumping up and down, and thus had a better opinion of the deceased Li Hongzhang. Although Li Hefei was a bastard, he raised a good son. However, many people in the Jinling government were very dissatisfied.

As the saying goes, a new emperor appoints new ministers. When Li Hongzhang was president, he had a large number of relatives and friends to be placed in positions, and the same was true for Zhang Zhidong and Liu Kunyi. It was called a republican government, but in fact it was an alliance of the three giants, similar to today's Japan. Later, Li Hongzhang and Liu Kunyi passed away one after another, and their subordinates gradually faded out of the political stage and were replaced by Zhang Zhidong's people.

Even if there are still a few people left on the stage, they have been marginalized and are just there to add to the fun, taking care of some insignificant things.

Now that Li Jingfang is doing this, could it be that the old subordinates of Li Hongzhang and Liu Kunyi want to make a comeback?

All departments of the Nanjing government were replaced by Zhang Zhidong's people or those who defected to Zhang Zhidong. In the army, Yuan Shikai's New Beiyang Army emerged as a new force. It is understandable that the former dignitaries gradually lost their status and wanted to re-emerge.

Li Jingfang spoke so loudly and donated money to organize the army. It was indeed because of Li Hongzhang's old subordinates who pushed him to take the lead, but this was only part of the reason, not the whole reason. Moreover, Zhang Zhidong's attitude was very interesting. Zhang Zhidong did not care about Li Jingfang's actions. Even if someone reported the matter to Zhang Zhidong, he just sent someone to inquire and then there was no follow-up.

President Zhang's attitude naturally gave his subordinates endless reverie. Some people wondered, could Li Jingfang's jumping back and forth be President Zhang's intention? The situation in the south was very chaotic now, and the various princes had their own intentions. Add in the foreigners, and the situation became even more confusing.

Chapter 255: Face

"What's so hard to understand? President Zhang is just worried about us and wants to use Li Jingfang to contain the Beiyang Army."

Yang Shiqi took a sip of tea and continued, "The Hubei New Army is good at learning, but when it comes to fighting, we have to look to the Beiyang Army, and to you, Weiting."

The Beiyang Army had been destroyed once during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, and then destroyed again in the Boxer Rebellion. Theoretically, the Beiyang Army should have died out after two consecutive defeats, but it was able to revive. Yuan Shikai led more than 100 generals and officers to the south, and it took only two years for the Beiyang Army to rise again.

Yuan Shikai once lost weight, but soon regained his plump appearance. He waved his hand and said, "Don't say that. There is no Beiyang anymore. Our Fourth Division is the government's army, not the Beiyang Army."

Yang Shiqi smiled and said, "Weiting, you think Beiyang is gone, but people outside don't think so. Does it matter what it's called? Beiyang is still the Fourth Division, just a different name. The key is other people's attitude towards us."

Yuan Shikai said: "President Zhang treats us well."

"That's because his Second Division suffered defeats in Henan and Hunan!" Yang Shiqi raised his voice. "The president still only trusts his old friends. He wants to use us, but he also has to be on guard. It is said that the president is not in good health and intends to give up his position to Sun Yat-sen in Guangzhou. Weiting, you must know this.

Right? "

St. Petersburg cannot hide secrets, and the same is true for Nanjing. Spies and spies from all sides have penetrated the city like a sieve. Sun Yat-sen's envoy negotiated secretly with Li Jingfang, and within a few days everyone in the city knew about it.

"I have heard a little bit about it. But, so what?"

"Weiting, if Sun Yat-sen becomes president, will we still have a chance to survive?"

"Even if Sun Yat-sen becomes president, he will not owe us military pay." Night Raid Group: ⑥九④九,３六壹③⑤

"What a mess, Weiting!"

"kindness?"

Yuan Shikai put the teacup on the table, narrowed his eyes, and showed a fierce look. Yang Shiqi was shocked and knew that he had said too much. Although Yuan Shikai is not as powerful as he was a few years ago, he is still a tyrant with a large army. When he suppressed the Boxer Rebellion in Shandong, he killed people without blinking an eye.

"Weiting, Weiting, that's not what I meant. Oh, it's all my fault," Yang Shiqi pretended to slap himself, and then said, "But the truth is, we should make plans early!"

Yuan Shikai snorted, "We? Who are we?"

"Why play dumb? We are you, Weiting, me, and the people from the Fourth Division. If you become president, everyone will come forward."

Yuan Shikai shook his head and said, "It won't work with just the Fourth Division."

"If the Fourth Division is not enough, what if we add foreigners?"

"Foreigners? Humph, you can't trust what foreigners say! Right now the whole country is discussing sending troops to the Northeast, so it's best if we don't make any unusual moves at this time."

Yuan Shikai was able to climb to a high position so quickly, on the one hand because he was really good at managing and training soldiers, and on the other hand because he was well-liked by many foreigners. Marshal Lin was described in British newspapers as the "Far East Butcher", a demon king who was eight feet tall, had a green face and fangs, and liked to bathe in the blood of young girls. But Yuan Shikai was different. The Times affectionately called him "our friend Yuan Shikai" and "the good man Yuan Shikai".

It was because of the support of foreigners that Yuan Shikai was able to regain military power. But it was also because of the support of foreigners that Zhang Zhidong was so wary of Yuan Shikai. The British intention to split China was obvious, and the "big loan" they offered was not just high interest, but also included more rights and interests such as railways and mines.

Li Hongzhang could sell out his country without restraint, but Zhang Zhidong could not. He had to save face, so the "big loan" was never approved. Zhang Zhidong was more inclined to merge with the Guangzhou government. Although he had a blood feud with the revolutionaries, it was all public affairs. The two sides fought for two years and tens of thousands of people died. No matter how deep the hatred was, it was time to stop and think about it.

Seeing that Zhang Zhidong refused to sign the tailor-made "package", the British wanted to change their leader, and the first person they thought of was Yuan Shikai. Yuan Shikai was a good man, and if Yuan Shikai replaced Zhang Zhidong, wouldn't he be able to sign whatever he wanted?

Yuan Shikai saw all of this very clearly, but seeing clearly does not mean there is a solution. It is always easy to find a problem, but it is very difficult to solve it. He touched his bald scalp, looked at Yang Shiqi's figure going away, and thought to himself: Yang Xingcheng is still not as good as Pinqing after all, what a pity, what a pity!

Many Beiyang Army officers followed Yuan Shikai to the south, and many stayed in the north. Wang Shizhen, known as the "Dragon of Beiyang", was one of those who stayed in the north. Without Wang Shizhen's advice, Yuan Shikai always felt that something was missing. Yang Shiqi was a counselor like Chen Ping, while Wang Shizhen was similar to Zhang Liang. Chen Ping was very useful, but sometimes Zhang Liang was needed.

After gaining a firm foothold in the south, Yuan Shikai sent people to Beijing several times to ask Wang Shizhen to help, but Wang Shizhen declined. Yuan Shikai was very disappointed, but he couldn't go to Beijing in person, nor could he kidnap the person back, so he had to let it go.

Yuan Shikai was lamenting that Yang Shiqi was not as useful as Wang Shizhen, while Yang Shiqi was also wondering whether Yuan Shikai's ship was going to sink. Or, should he change the ship? He was still in contact with President Lin, and he had never lost contact. After thinking about it, he decided to wait and see. The People's Army was very capable on land, but it had no navy.

Once the British Empire's fleet moves to the Yangtze River, even if the North has a million troops, they will be useless.

If Yuan Shikai succeeds, Yang Shiqi might be able to become the prime minister. If he goes to the north, he can get a position and have enough food and clothing, but how can he compare to the prestige of the prime minister, who is second only to the prime minister and above everyone else? So, let's wait and see. Anyway, he has a way out, so there is no need to rush.

He never thought about becoming president. Without tens of thousands of capable troops, it would be impossible for him to sit in that position.

Just after returning home and before he sat down, a man came out from behind the screen. It was Xu Shichang, then the Minister of Finance of Nanjing. Xu Shichang asked, "How is it going?"

Yang Shiqi smiled and said, "Although General Yuan did not agree, he did not refuse either. I think this matter is likely to succeed. If Wei Ting asks you to come over to discuss it, and then hints at it, then it will be 100% certain!"

"No one else can persuade Weiting, but Xingcheng, you have a way. Your eloquence is no less than that of Su Qin and Zhang Yi."

While Yang Shiqi was being modest, he was thinking: Even if Yuan Weiting became president, it would still be difficult for him to become prime minister. The person in front of him was a strong enemy!

Chapter 256: Middle East Road

Xu Shichang was born in Weihui, Henan, and his native place is Tianjin. He passed the imperial examination in his early years and later became a Jinshi. He has been Yuan Shikai's counselor and ally since Yuan Shikai trained troops in Xiaozhan. In the previous dynasty, Xu Shichang sat on the bench in the Hanlin Academy for ten years. Although he did not get promoted or make money, he made a lot of connections. It was he who recommended Yuan Shikai to Li Hongzao, who then recommended him to Li Hongzhang.

Later, Yuan Shikai was training troops at Xiaozhan, and he requested Xu Hanlin to take charge of the newly-built army and inspect the military affairs and camp affairs of the army (equivalent to the secretary-general and chief of staff), and Xu Shichang gladly took the position. Although the establishment, original position, and rank were all retained, he was always promoted to a lower position; Xu Shichang resolutely left the Hanlin Academy and went all out to take charge of the entire army's copywriting and participate in confidential matters. When Yuan Shikai was away, he acted as his deputy. From then on, he became Yuan Shikai's right-hand man.

Although Xu Shichang had only been training troops in Xiaozhan for more than two years, he was highly trusted and respected by Yuan Shikai, who listened to his words and called him brother. Secondly, he was a Hanlin scholar and was respected by the generals, who all called him teacher. Thirdly, he worked diligently, taught himself military affairs and English, and compiled 13 volumes of "Records of the New Army's Military Strategy" and "Detailed Illustrations of Drill Methods" to coordinate the training and education of the entire army. He achieved outstanding results and gained a high reputation, thus establishing his position in the Beiyang Army.

Everything was going in a good direction, but suddenly, the Beiyang government was destroyed in Shandong, and the imperial court was gone. Xu Shichang maintained good relations with Zhang Zhidong and Li Hongzhang, so he naturally took his family south. He was talented and ambitious. During the ten years in the Hanlin Academy, he was used to the warmth and coldness of human nature and knew the truth that "a real man cannot be without power for a day", so he often did things to seek benefits and avoid harm, and did not care much about whether it was in line with the justice in the eyes of ordinary people.

During the Reform Movement of 1898, Xu Shichang and Yuan Shikai both participated in the movement. But at the critical moment, when the old and new forces clashed and the reformist forces placed all their hopes on Yuan Shikai, who held military power, Xu Shichang said: "Although the emperor is the ruler of a country, he has been in power for a short time and his power is weak; the empress (the Empress Dowager Cixi) holds the power of both dynasties, and all the court officials and military commanders are her confidants. The success or failure can be predicted. Rather than helping the emperor and causing disaster, it is better to follow the empress and gain fame."

What this means is that although the emperor is the nominal master of the country, he has only been in power for a short time, is not fully developed, and has little power; while the Empress Dowager Cixi has been in control of the government for many years, and the ministers in the court and the local governors are all the confidants of the Empress Dowager. In this comparison, it is clear who will win and who will lose. Rather than helping the emperor and incurring a fatal disaster, it is better to stand on the side of the Empress Dowager and get promoted and make money.

Just from these words, we can see what kind of person Xu Shichang is. He is now the Minister of Finance of the Jinling government. He knows that Zhang Zhidong's family assets are empty and understands why Zhang Zhidong wants to negotiate peace with Sun Yat-sen. However, there are also many people who do not want to negotiate peace, mainly the generals in the army.

If they really merged, they would definitely not maintain such a large army and would definitely have to cut down the army. The people of the New Beiyang were afraid that they would be laid off, and some of the generals and officers left by Li Hongzhang and Liu Kunyi had the same worry. The previous backers fell, and everyone knew that they had to find new ones. The problem was that there were too many people who wanted to cling to the thighs, and many people couldn't cling to them.

It would be fine if there was no choice, but now there is obviously another way, why not give it a try?

The so-called other way is to borrow money from the great powers such as Britain and France, and then buy arms, expand the army, and wipe out Sun Yat-sen's rebels. As long as those rebels are wiped out, there will be enough land to accommodate so many troops. As for those mud legs in the north, they can be crushed after Sun Yat-sen's rebels are dealt with.

With the two great powers of Britain and France waiting on them, what is there to fear? Even if they cannot defeat the Yankees, with the British fleet, they can still maintain a situation of the North and South. Everyone knows that the People's Army has to fight the Russians in the Northeast and has no time to care about the affairs in the South. It is a good opportunity to unify the South!

The National Government in Nanjing also had ambitions, although not many, but there were some.

The People's Government had built the railway to the edge of the Daling River, and military trains were heading to the front line in an endless stream. Although a certain degree of confidentiality was carried out, it was impossible for so many troops and so much material to remain secret. The Chinese were gathering troops and ammunition in the Northeast, and the Russians, after repairing the railway for a year, also transported more than 100,000 troops to the Northeast. Together with the Russian troops stationed in the Northeast, the total force was about 350,000.

That’s not all. The most terrifying thing is that the Russians are still transporting troops and weapons and equipment to the Far East!

The battle was not about to break out, but had already broken out. In the white mountains and black waters of the northeast, the fighting never stopped except in the coldest months of the year.

Before the ice and snow melted, the Russian army launched a series of counterattacks after receiving reinforcements, successively capturing Tailai County and Lanxi County, and opening up the road from Qiqihar to Harbin. The People's Army gradually retreated after resistance, intending to lure the Russian army into underestimating the enemy and then ambush them, but the plan did not succeed.

After being beaten so many times and losing so many people, the Russians would have become wise even if they were made of wood. The Russian army was very careful when pursuing, and retreated after finding something wrong. The Russians were not in a hurry to fight a decisive battle. As time went on, their strength in the Far East was growing every day.

The Trans-Siberian Railway was not yet completed, but that didn't matter. The Russian army took a train to the nearest place and then got off and walked. Relying on this method, the Russians transported troops, food and ammunition