Li Jun sent away Zhan Fengxia's mother and daughter, Li Jun returned to the Ganning area to deal with government affairs, after all, it is almost winter now, and the government affairs in the entire Ganning region are becoming more and more burdensome, although the Northeast Security Army has only fought two major battles here, but the confrontation between the two sides has consumed a lot of money and food. The Ganning region has experienced decades of turmoil, and the people live in poverty, and many remote places even need to mobilize grain and grass in the northeast for assistance. Now that the northeast has just occupied the Ganning region, it is time to win over the people's support and lay a solid foundation for governance. Li Jun didn't want to make any more moths at this time.

Beijing! War Department.

Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang sat opposite each other. As the two bigwigs of the Beiyang Army, since the death of Yuan Shikai, the two of them have gone their separate ways, and even fought against each other for power. In the original time and space, the battle between the government and the court was dominated by Li Yuanhong, who was supported by Feng Guozhang, and Duan Qirui was removed from the post of prime minister of the Government Council and lived in Tianjin. But in this time and space, because of the rapid rise of the northeast and the strength of the new army in the southwest, the authority of the Beiyang government has been provoked like never before, which has prompted Feng Guozhang and Duan Qirui to gradually move from confrontation to unity. Of course, this kind of alliance will not reach the intimacy of Yuan Shikai when he was alive. Feng Guozhang's direct line and Duan Qirui's Anhui line are now more like military alliances established for self-preservation.

"Huafu, this is the condition that Britain and the United States and other countries agreed. As long as we declare war on Germany, we don't need to send troops to the West to fight in the war, we only need to send some laborers to serve the Entente war. And with the support of Britain, France and Japan, we can also improve the army, improve the level of weapons and equipment of the army, now the Republic of China is not peaceful, Feng Yong in the northeast is a tiger that will never be satisfied, and Cai Yi in the southwest is also a vicious wolf that cannot be underestimated. The Overseers of the southern provinces were also obedient to the Beiyang government. The current government of the Republic of China has reached a time of internal and external difficulties, and we must make a decision as soon as possible. Duan Qirui did not hide the terms of his negotiations with Britain and Japan. After all, now his and Feng Guozhang's interests have been linked. One wins, one loses.

Originally, he wanted to defeat Li Yuanhong politically, suppress Feng Guozhang militarily, and establish his status as the first person in the Republic of China, and at the same time accept material assistance from Japan and Britain and other countries, reorganize the troops, and then concentrate on extinguishing the domestic resistance. It's a pity that things are not as he thought, whether it is in the northeast or southwest, the strength is expanding dramatically, although the Beiyang Army is not afraid, but it is impossible to suppress the two forces with the strength of the Anhui system. As a last resort, Duan Qirui could only compromise with Feng Guozhang and prepare to integrate the entire Beiyang system to jointly suppress the Northeast Security Army and the Southwest New Army.

After all, the Anhui and direct lines are still the Beiyang military system, and in the eyes of outsiders, they are a whole and have common interests. And the benefits of winning over Feng Guozhang are also obvious, at least the strength that Li Yuanhong relied on has disappeared, and after the Northeast clearly rejected Li Yuanhong's pull, Duan Qirui completely killed Li Yuanhong in the internal struggle. Although Li Yuanhong is still the nominal president of the Republic of China, the power of the central government is completely in his hands. Of course, Feng Guozhang's direct family and he are only allies, and they will not support their actions without interests. Although the direct strength is not as good as the Anhui line, it is not much different, and the only thing that Duan Qirui can impress Feng Guozhang is the secret agreement signed with Britain and Japan and other countries.

"Brother Qirui, can countries such as Britain and Japan be trusted? They have always been eyeing me and China. In particular, in the name of war with Germany, Japan sent troops to occupy Qingdao. Now that the Japanese are intensively agitating for us to declare war with Germany, there won't be any conspiracy, right? "As the saying goes, once you are bitten by a snake, you are afraid of the well rope for ten years. The rise of Japan has been mixed with too much blood and tears of China. Even if Feng Guozhang is a warlord, he still has no good impression of the Japanese in his heart.

"There must be a conspiracy! The Japanese declared war on Germany but were slow to send troops to the Western theater, and the British could not wait. In order to ease the attention of the British, Japan turned its attention to us. However, Japan is now powerful, and it is not something that the current government of the Republic of China can contend with. We are not Feng Yong's stunned youth. Fighting a war cannot be fought by luck, but by strength. Therefore, in the face of the pressure of the Japanese, we can only choose to compromise. But then again, declaring war on Germany is not necessarily a bad thing for us. At least during the war, we are allies with Japan and Russia, and our northern borders can be more stable. No matter how ambitious Japan and Russia are, they must take into account the views of the British. Now that the world situation is developing in the direction of bipolarity, a big country like China will only offend both sides if it remains neutral, and only by fully supporting one side and finally taking the posture of a victorious country can we protect China from loss. Duan Qirui said with a solemn expression.

"Brother Qirui, how do you guarantee that the Entente will win? The strength of the Allies should not be underestimated. Especially Germany. Its army is known as the world's first, and its domestic scientific and technological level and weaponry are world-class. Even an old imperialist country like Britain is very difficult to confront it, let alone us. And now that the Western countries are mired in war, no matter which side wins, the fruits of victory are in the West, even if we become the victorious country, what can we get? Moreover, the assistance of Britain and Japan and other countries cannot support us to complete the refitting of the entire army. But defeat would lead to the collapse of the government. Although Feng Guozhang's understanding of the international situation is not as deep as Duan Qirui's, he is after all the boss of the Beiyang Army and the vice president of the Republic of China, and his knowledge is also quite extraordinary.

"Britain, France and Russia are the three ancient and powerful countries in the West, especially Britain, which is known as the empire on which the sun never sets, has countless colonies in the world, and has immeasurable resources. Therefore, in this big war, the possibility of victory for the Entente is extremely high. We're getting involved a little bit early now, but it's better than waiting until the war clears up. What's more, we only send laborers, not troops, so it can't affect our strength. Duan Qirui is extremely optimistic about the Entente, not because Germany and other allies are not good at fighting, but because the British empire is too deep, and Britain's allies are all over the world, and there are powerful countries like Japan in Asia to help, and I heard that the United States, a powerful country in the Americas, has also made some moves. If the Americans were also involved, the Entente would occupy even greater populations and resources. The likelihood of victory will also be greatly enhanced.

Feng Guozhang pondered for a moment and nodded, although the Allies and the Entente were equal in combat strength on the Western battlefield and were still in a state of stalemate, the soft power of the Entente side had gradually surpassed that of the Allied side, and the gap between the two sides would increase with the victory of British diplomacy.

"Brother Qirui, President Li still wants to be the only one to say about him!" Feng Guozhang was a little embarrassed in his heart, the most important reason why Li Yuanhong fell to this point is his defection. Politics has no permanent friends, only eternal interests. Feng Guozhang believes that his choice is not wrong. If the direct line and the Anhui system continue to fight to the death, it will only weaken the power of the entire Beiyang, and if there are no two fierce tigers in the northeast and southwest, Feng Guozhang will definitely rely on the strength in his hands to compete with Duan Qirui to the end. But changes in the external environment urged him to change. Coupled with Duan Qirui's concessions in some interests, the two sides hit it off and reached the first alliance after Yuan Shikai's death.

"Of course, he is still the president of the Republic of China after all, and it is best for him to announce this kind of thing!" A cold light flashed in Duan Qirui's eyes, and Duan Qirui looked down on an old bureaucrat like Li Yuanhong in his heart. This is also the reason why the two are on the same page.

On November 1, 1916, President Li Yuanhong issued a proclamation:

The Government of the Republic of China, which had previously carried out Germany's submarine program, violated public international law and endangered the lives and property of the people of neutral countries, lodged a protest with the German Government and declared that it would sever diplomatic relations with Germany as a last resort if the protest was ineffective. etc. After the unintentional protest, its submarine plan has changed a lot. The merchant ships of neutral countries and belligerents were destroyed and increased day by day. The victims of our people have also been numerous. Our government cannot but regard the protest as null and void. Although he wants to endure the pain and steal peace, not only is there no Chinese people who are ashamed of Shangyi, but also he is not grateful to the country. China and foreign countries are indignant, and they are intrigued. On 1 November, he announced to the German government the severance of diplomatic relations and announced the situation to China and foreign countries. The government of the Republic of China hopes for peace, respects public law, and protects the lives and property of our own people, and is superior to Germany in the first place. Let the German government have a heart of repentance, be frightened by public indignation, and change its strategy, so that our government can not bear to meet those who are regarded as public enemies. It took several months since the breakoff of diplomatic relations, and the submarine attack remained the same. It is not just Germany, that is, Austria, which has the same policy as Germany, has never changed its degree. It violates the public law and harms our people. Our government is so deeply committed to the good that it has despaired. Since 10 a.m. on November 1, the 5th year of the Republic of China, Ireland has declared itself in the status of war against Germany and Austria, and all treaties, contracts, agreements, and other international terms and agreements previously concluded between China and Germany and Austria and those that belong to the relations between China and Germany and Austria shall be abolished in accordance with public international law and practice. The Government of the Republic of China still abides by the provisions of the Hague Peace Conference Treaty and other international treaties on civilized conduct in wartime, and does not dare to transgress them. The main purpose of declaring war is to deter the scourge of war and promote peace. When the country became peaceful, the sores have not recovered, and there is such a provocation, the president of this university can be heartless and compassionate. It is not an unavoidable opportunity, and it is never a one-time struggle for survival. The solemnity of public law cannot be lost on itself. The status of the world cannot be self-defeating. The peace and happiness of the world's friends cannot be delayed by ourselves. I hope that the people of the whole country will work hard and work together to protect the life of the Republic of China and this long-lasting and boundless country, so as to stand in the international community and share its happiness. Proclamation of Tonger, Xian makes it known. This cloth.

November 1, the fifth year of the Republic of China.

(To be continued)