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"Or the Minister of Academic Affairs?" Sun Yuanqi was obviously hesitant.
"Exactly!" Yang Shiqi replied very affirmatively, "Your Excellency is profound in knowledge, which is known to everyone at home and abroad. He has established schools and benefited thousands of students. Looking around the country, who is more suitable to be the Minister of Education than Your Excellency?"
Sun Yuanqi smiled: Sometimes serving as a cabinet minister is not a matter of suitability. The first thing to do is whether your appointment is in line with the intentions of the cabinet prime minister. Politics is about compromise and balance, not fitness and competence. So, what is Yuan Shikai¡¯s purpose in appointing himself?
¡°Mr.
Yang Shiqi said: "Yang came here mainly because he was entrusted by Mr. Yuan to ask you to serve as the cabinet minister of academic affairs."
Forming a cabinet is like inviting people to a five-star hotel for a big dinner. Those who are invited usually feel very honored, but there are always ordinary people who refuse to attend the banquet for various reasons, causing the host to lose face. Yang Shiqi's role is to act as the host's lobbyist, ensuring that the guests agree and attend on time.
Sun Yuanqi, however, keenly captured a word in Yang Shiqi's rhetoric: "mainly", which means that there are also "secondary" reasons. Just as he was about to ask a question, Yang Du ran in from the outside panting, looking panicked. He shouted as soon as he entered the door: "Baixi, something bad happened!" It wasn't until he saw guests sitting in the living room that he shut up in time.
Sun Yuanqi was not a fool. From the age limit for recruiting soldiers from the Northeast, he began to suspect that Yang Du and Zhao Jingxing had a private connection. Of course, it was just suspicion at first. And this time Zhao Jingxing and Yan Xishan made such a big fuss in Shanxi. If Yang Du said that he had no contact with them, he would not believe it even if he killed Sun Yuanqi! Sun Yuanqi even suspected that Yang Du played a key role in it.
Seeing Yang Du's behavior, Sun Yuanqi said coldly: "I already know it, you don't need to say it anymore."
Yang Du then bowed his hands to Yang Shiqi in frustration: "I'm Yang Du, whose courtesy name is Xizi. I just offended you! What do you call me?"
Yang Shiqi stood up quickly and said politely: "My name is Yang Shiqi, whose courtesy name is Xingcheng. I'm here to pay a visit to Mr. Sun."
Yang Du's expression immediately changed: "It turns out that he is the virtuous grandson of Mr. Yang (Yang Dianbang), the governor of the river, and the younger brother of Yang Wenjinggong (Yang Shixiang), the governor of Zhili. I have admired him for a long time!"
After the greetings, Yang Du saw that Sun Yuanqi had no special expression, and he found a chair next to the imperial master and sat down: "Now that Mr. Yuan is the prime minister of the cabinet, he has to deal with many things and has complicated affairs. Why doesn't Mr. Xing go to Sichuan to help? Instead, he took the trouble to come to Sichuan? "
Yang Shiqi looked at Sun Yuanqi but did not answer. Sun Yuanqi had no choice but to introduce: "Xing Weng was entrusted by Mr. Yuan to appoint Sun as the Minister of Academic Affairs."
Yang Du shook his paper fan habitually: "What about our Lord's position as Governor of Sichuan?"
Yang Shiqi replied: "Master Sun's position as Governor of Sichuan is just a temporary assignment. Now that the cabinet is newly formed, everything is busy. Master Yuan means to go on this errand. Please return to Beijing as soon as possible and take charge of the center."
Yang Du closed the paper fan and tapped his palm lightly: "I'm afraid it's inappropriate?"
"Why is it inappropriate?" Yang Shiqi asked.
Yang Du said: "If Yang guessed correctly, Mr. Yuan is still in Zhengzhou, Henan, right? The Prime Minister of the Cabinet is not in Beijing. What can we do if we go to Beijing?"
Yang Du is right. Now that the Yan-Jin coalition forces occupy part of Zhili, lying between Henan and the capital, Yuan Shikai has only two options to choose from if he wants to go north:
The first way is to concentrate the powerful forces in Beiyang, defeat the Yan-Jin coalition, and then enter Beijing via the Lu-Han line. The advantage is that Henan is Yuan Shikai's hometown, so there is no need to worry about anyone causing trouble; and the powerful Beiyang forces are currently gathered here, so it is very convenient to send troops northward. There are also shortcomings. Henan Province is surrounded by the Shaanxi Military Government of Zhao Jingxing in the west, the Shanxi Military Government of Yan Xishan and the Yan-Jin Allied Forces of Wu Luzhen in the north, the Hubei Military Government of Li Yuanhong in the south, and the Jiangsu Military Government of Cheng Dequan and Zhu Jiabao in the east. The Anhui military government is surrounded by enemies. If Yuan Shikai rashly leads his troops northward before reaching an agreement in negotiations with them, Henan is likely to become the target of public criticism. Moreover, the war is fierce and dangerous. Who knows how long it will take to defeat the Yan-Jin coalition?
The second way is to leave the Beiyang Army in Henan to deter all parties. Yuan Shikai takes some of his cronies to detour to Shandong and enter Beijing via the Jinpu Line. The advantages and disadvantages are clear at a glance. Henan is stable, but Yuan Shikai is in danger. Once the Qing government reneges, he will be at the mercy of others.
Yang Shiqi was stunned for a moment and quickly replied: "Sir Yuan will defeat the Yan-Jin coalition forces in a few days and head north to Beijing from the Lu-Han line."
? ?; "Fourth, national interests must not be sold at any time."
Yang Shiqi felt a little strange when he saw Sun Yuanqi stopped talking after raising these four points: "Is there anything else?"
Yang Du quickly said: "Of course! Article 5, we must ensure that we adults have sufficient power in the government so that future policies introduced by the government will not harm our interests.
"Article 6: The government established by Mr. Yuan in the future must recognize Mr. Sun as having management rights in Sichuan and other places under his control."
Yang Shiqi blinked: "Where do you mean by 'other places of control'?"
Yang Du said without hesitation: "That is, the area controlled by the original 44th Mixed Association, including Shaanxi, Shanxi and some counties in Zhili."
"No!" Yang Shiqi flatly refused. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my biggest motivation.) (Remember the website address: www.hlnovel.com