Duan Qirui did not agree with everyone's opinions: "Commander, I have a question in my humble position and I would like to ask Secretary-General Yansun for advice!"
Yuan Shikai took a sip of the ginseng soup and said, "Why is Zhiquan so polite? Just say it!"
Duan Qirui asked sternly: "I wonder what Secretary-General Yansun plans to do with Sun Baixi after he catches him? As far as Duan knows, although Sun Baixi inevitably made mistakes in establishing the party and governing, his crimes are not serious enough to lead to death, and He has a decisive influence both at home and abroad. If he is not careful when dealing with it, it will easily cause the reputation of Beiyang to be ruined and the hearts of the people to be lost!"
Everyone couldn¡¯t help but be stunned, and then they all nodded secretly: With Sun Yuanqi¡¯s huge reputation, it is impossible to kill him. What to do with him after he is captured is really a thorny problem!
Liang Shiyi smiled slightly: "Yingtai in the South China Sea is surrounded by water and has unique scenery. Emperor Dezongjing lived there for ten years. Not long ago, Li Huangpi (Li Yuanhong) was greedy for the scenery there and moved there, but one person felt He became a little calmer. If Sun Baixi could go over and accompany him, the two of them would talk and drink and have fun every day, which would definitely break the depression. I wonder what Zhiquan thinks?"
Duan Qirui looked unmoved: "Since Secretary-General Yansun has made arrangements, there is no need for Duan to talk. But now that the commander-in-chief has decided to send troops to arrest Sun Baixi and dissolve the parliament, then the policy just mentioned by the humble official may not be applicable. , the specific strategy needs to be carefully considered!"
"Why do you say that?" Yuan Shikai asked in a deep voice.
Duan Qirui didn't seem to notice the change in Yuan Shikai's expression, and replied calmly: "Bizhi's initial suggestion to 'encircle Wei and rescue Zhao' was based on the premise that the central structure was basically unchanged. It is a strategy of competing and restricting local forces, and its core is one The essence of the word "siege" is to attract but not to attack. To use force to suppress others, forcing the central and powerful figures to make concessions, and ultimately defeat the enemy without a fight. However, after Secretary-General Yansun's clever changes, it has actually become a process of hijacking the central and powerful figures. It forced local powerful factions to make concessions, that is, "encircling Wei and rescuing Zhao" turned into "capturing the thief and capturing the king." It is conceivable that once Sun Baixi is captured, the governor of Jin, Zhao Xingzhi, the governor of Shaanxi, Zhang Yuhe, and the governor of Gansu, Cheng Huchen, will inevitably march eastward. , If this happens, the originally envisaged encirclement without fighting will turn into a life-and-death battle. Shouldn't the specific strategy be carefully considered and appropriate adjustments made?"
Without waiting for Liang Shiyi¡¯s answer. Duan Qirui added: "When formulating the strategy, we must especially consider the current armament situation of the two armies. As far as Duan knows, Sun Baixi actually only used the Second Division of the Hubei Army and some aircraft in the previous southern expedition, and other departments were Feinting, there is basically no consumption of firearms and ammunition. It can be said that the combat effectiveness of the troops is preserved to the maximum extent. Moreover, they are backed by two major ordnance enterprises, Peking Iron Works and Hanyang Iron Works. Even if they are consumed, they can be quickly replenished. In contrast, , are we ready for a war?
"In order to ensure that the Southern Expedition did not go wrong, we deployed elite troops from Zhili, Shandong, Henan and other provinces to go south. After that, they stayed as garrison troops in Jiangsu and Anhui and other places. They have not yet returned to the army, resulting in the presence of troops in many places in Zhili and Henan. Shortage. Once a war breaks out, the situation will definitely be very worrying. But this is not the most important problem. The most important problem is the serious shortage of firearms and ammunition reserves in various departments of our army! The Southern Expedition exhausted all the available firearms and ammunition for the garrison troops. After the war, due to the shortage of military expenditures, the vacancies in various ministries have not been filled. Figures from the Ministry of War show that more than half of the troops in the four provinces of Zhili, Henan, Shandong, and Hubei have less than a base of firearms and ammunition reserves!"
Yuan Shikai's face turned gloomy: "How could I not know what you said Zhiquan? But now that Sun Baixi is pressing harder, we really have no way to retreat. You also know that our military expenditure is low and we are unable to buy arms, and Sun Baixi Sitting on two major arsenals; we rely on borrowing money from foreign banks from various countries to survive, while Sun Baixi¡¯s industries are spread all over the country; we are trapped in the areas of North and Southeast China, while Sun Baixi not only controls the northwest, southwest, and South China, but also extends his hands to Jiangsu and Fujian , Zhejiang. Our strength is getting weaker and weaker, but Sun Baixi is getting stronger and stronger. If we rebel now, we still have a 30-50 chance of victory. In two or three years, we may not get a happy ending even if we want to! Does Zhiquan think that we should sit back and wait for death? "
Duan Qirui stood up solemnly: "Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, I have no intention of being humble, nor do I want to shake the morale of the army. It's just that the war is dangerous, and you must think carefully beforehand. If you don't think carefully and rush into action, there will be navel-gnawing consequences in the future. regret!"
Liang Shiyi smiled and said: "General Zhiquan is interested! However, if a war breaks out, military expenditures, firearms and ammunition will definitely be provided for. Liang can guarantee this, so the commander-in-chief and everyone here can rest assured."
¡°Oh?¡± Even Yuan Shikai was shocked when he heard that Liang Shiyi could find the source of military expenditure.
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????. Even a superpower like the United States, which had been fighting local wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for several years, was unable to hold on any longer, so it had no choice but to lose face and turn to the European Union and the European Union.??The wrongdoer helps. What's more, the government of the Republic of China had just completed the "big loan for aftermath" at this time? The previous "big loan for aftermath" has basically mortgaged everything that can be mortgaged domestically and borrowed everything that can be borrowed abroad. Now the government of the Republic of China is like the dregs of oil that has been through several times. There is no oil left to squeeze out. Who is willing to do so? Lend him money again? You must know that the great powers of all countries are demons who have no benefit and cannot afford to wait early, and they are not bodhisattvas who do good deeds and give alms!
At the same time, Yuan Shikai, Yang Shiqi and others have some hope in their hearts: Liang Caishen is not a vain person. Since he said so, he may not be able to make a lot of money!
"Liang Caishen" does not mean that Liang Shiyi's family is rich, but that he is good at financial management and is one of the few experts in finance in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. At that time, in order to prepare for the construction of the Beijing-Hankow Railway, the Qing Dynasty ordered Liang Shiyi and others to establish the Bank of Communications, which was one of the two major note-issuing banks at that time (the other was the Bank of the Qing Dynasty). However, the Qing royal family was extravagant and the country's finances were extremely tight. They used the newly established Bank of Communications as a cash machine and came to overdraft funds every now and then. Liang Shiyi, who was then an assistant to the Bank of Communications (similar to today's assistant to the general manager) basically responded to all requests. , which helped the Qing government solve many financial difficulties. Because Liang Shiyi always had a way to get money for the court, he got the name "Liang God of Wealth".
Liang Shiyi leaned forward slightly and whispered: "Two or three years ago, the Tibetan Gashag and some monks took advantage of the rebellion in Wuchang and the Qing government had no time to take care of themselves. They launched a rebellion with the intention of expelling Lianyu, the minister in Tibet. Sun Baixi was the governor of Sichuan at the time, and he actually Without notifying the British government, they brazenly sent two troops to invade Tibet. At the turn of the summer and autumn of the second year of the Republic of China, they had a battle near Gyantse with the British troops who were escorting Thubten Gyatso into Tibet. The British troops suffered more than a thousand casualties. In the end, He had to abandon his army and return to India. Mr. Zhu Erdian was furious about this and lodged a stern protest with our Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But because Sun Baixi was famous and the British government relied on him in medicine, aircraft, etc., he finally Let it go.
"Now Sun Baixi is plotting against Fujian, but he doesn't know that Japan has long coveted Fujian! As early as the Tongzhi period when China and Japan formally established formal diplomatic relations, Japan established a consulate in Fuzhou, which was one of the first two consulates established by Japan in my country. At the end of Guangxu's reign, Japan's Minister to China Fumio Yano submitted a note to the Prime Minister's Office, requesting the Qing government to issue a statement not to transfer or lease Fujian land to other countries, and that Fujian would be included in Japan's sphere of influence in China. Although the Qing government at that time He clearly refused, but Japan has successively established special concessions in Xiamen and Fuzhou, and Fujian has actually become a forbidden area for Japan. Now Sun Baixi is taking it without asking, how can Japan, which has always been determined to retaliate, just give up?"
Yuan Keding said bitterly: "That guy Sun Yuanqi actually dared to offend the two powerful countries of Britain and Japan with a corner of his land. What a brave man!"
Liang Shiyi said: "The young master is absolutely right. Sun Baixi has always been lawless and daring, but this is also the way he met his death! What I want to do here is to discuss with Mr. Juldian, the British Minister to China, and Mr. Enjiro Yamaza, the Japanese Minister to China. , promising that once the Beiyang Army defeats Sun Baixi's troops, it will abide by the treaties and regulations of the former Qing Dynasty and divide Tibet and Fujian into the spheres of influence of the two countries. But the premise is that Britain and Japan must provide us with the troops to attack Sun Baixi's troops. This means that they don¡¯t need to send troops, as long as they provide military expenses, firearms and ammunition, they can get something for nothing. With such attractive conditions, I think they will be very happy!¡±
Unexpectedly, Liang Shiyi came up with such a bad idea. Everyone couldn't help but look at each other: Isn't this betraying the country and seeking glory? If he really does this, wouldn't he be in the same category as Qin Hui, Hong Chengchou, Wu Sangui and others a hundred years later?
Yuan Shikai also looked a little unhappy. After coughing a few times, he said, "Yansun, this is too¡ª¡ª"
Liang Shi said: "Commander, Fujian and Tibet are both in Sun Baixi's hands now. Our promise to designate these two provinces as British and Japanese spheres of influence is just a generosity. If we can completely defeat Sun Baixi's troops and unify the country, In the future, when the country is strong and strong, under the leadership of the general, it may not be possible to defeat the great powers and take back these two provinces. At that time, others will only think that it is a last resort expedient for us, and who will say anything else? If we stick to the rules, what will happen in the future? If you are afraid of wolves and tigers, if you allow Sun Baixi to become powerful, you will not even be able to protect your own wealth and life in the future, so what can you do with those false reputations?"
Yuan Shikai was silent, obviously hesitant in his heart.
Liang Shiyi said again: "Commander, as the saying goes, 'Those who achieve great things will not be ashamed of small things; those who achieve great achievements will not be ashamed of small things.' There is authority and authority in everything, so why do you stick to the worldly reputation?"
Yuan Shikai suddenly clenched his fists and then released them: "Let's plan what we need to do tomorrow first! As for discussing relevant matters with the British and Japanese ministers, we can wait until after tomorrow."
Although Yuan Shikai used the "drag" technique, everyone here knew that Yuan Shikai had actually agreed to Liang Shiyi's proposal!