"This time, our Shabaab is taking the lead, and the risk is actually very great." Zuo Shunsheng sighed, "If you don't get it right, it will bleed like a river." ”

"There will definitely be conflicts, but it shouldn't be a river of blood, it's not the time of the former Qing Dynasty, Yuan Shikai still doesn't dare to do this, let alone him Duan Qirui." Zeng Qi said, "If he dares to do this, he should be pushed down as soon as possible, so as not to cause disaster to the world." ”

"Yes! Just like the Soviet Russia today, if Lenin had been arrested and killed by the Tsar's political axe, this Soviet Russia would not have ambushed millions of corpses and shed thousands of miles of blood. Today, the Russian people would not have imagined that after the success of the so-called revolution, there would be such a day. Someone sighed.

"Fortunately, our China has not fallen to that part yet."

When the meeting finally ended and the specific action plan was basically decided, it was already late at night.

Looking at the gloomy night sky without a little starlight, Zeng Qi's heart couldn't help but feel heavy.

June 4, 1920, early morning, Yanjing, Jurentang, the Great Presidential Palace of the Republic of China.

"Down with imperialism!"

"Give me back the Northeast! Give me back my sovereignty! ”

"Down with the traitors!"

Listening to the roars of the demonstrative students in the distance outside the window, Li Yuanhong looked helplessly at Vice President Feng Guozhang, Secretary of State Xu Shichang, and Minister of Finance Liang Shiyi, unable to say a word.

"He, Duan Zhiquan, borrowed his own money this time, and sure enough, he was in trouble with the loan." Xu Shichang sighed.

Regarding Duan Qirui's loan from himself, although Li Yuanhong, Xu Shichang and others did not know much about it, they were not ignorant.

Since the Hayonai Shoji cabinet came to power, Terauchi Masato's personal envoy, Nishihara Kamezo, came to China, and there have been frequent activities at the top level of China's political axe, especially after the Yuan Yuan loan presided over by Nishihara Kamezo poured into China's political axe, and the relationship between China and Tsumoto has improved by a large margin. But this so-called improvement was the matter between the Yanjing political axe at that time, or the ruling Duan Qirui and the people around him and the political axe, and other people did not see it that way.

It is said that relations between China and China have improved, but Yuben still occupies Luda and China's northeast region, and Yuben's encroachment on China's sovereignty has no intention of stopping, and in the eyes of ordinary Chinese, the unequal treaty between Yuben and China has not been abolished. The so-called goodwill can be seen in the results, that is, this Xiyuan loan.

However, some people in the know have unanimously questioned the rolling in Xiyuan loans: Why would I lend money to Chinese so generously? According to the old practice of borrowing, whenever the money came in, there was an exchange right to go out. Therefore, from the very beginning, after the news of the loan leaked within the Chinese political axe (with the Chinese political axe at this time, absolutely secret things cannot be done at all), people began to wonder if Duan Qirui political axe had some "unseemly" deal with Yue Ben. There are such suspicions in the press, in the intellectual circles, in the British and American personages in China, and in China, not to mention those warlords and politicians who are not close to Duan Qirui.

And when the newspaper finally revealed the inside story of Duan Qirui's Xiyuan loan, the people's suspicion and anxiety suddenly turned into disappointment and anger, and gushed out like a volcanic eruption.

Among the contents of Xiyuan's loan disclosed in the newspaper, the most important thing is that it is clear that he generously lent Duan Qirui a large amount of money, and the main purpose was to support Duan Qirui to set up a private army to fight the civil war!

"Is my money so easy to spend? Shibaquan is confused! Confused! Feng Guozhang, who was dressed in military uniform, beat his thigh hard with his fist and said regretfully.

Listening to Feng Guozhang's words, the central [***] dignitaries in the room all sighed worriedly.

At this time, Xu Shichang listened to the roar outside, and his eyes involuntarily fell on the newspaper on the table.

The shocking lines of words in the newspaper all pierced Xu Shichang's nerves for a moment:

"In fact, if there is no Xiyuan loan, even if Duan Qirui has the intention of unifying by force, it will be difficult to dispatch a single soldier, because the embarrassed Yanjing political axe, in addition to the income of several railways such as Beijing-Zhangzhou and Jinghan and a little tax from Yanjing City, can only live by paying the remaining Guan Yu and salt surplus (the remaining salt tax in addition to paying the indemnity) in the past years. Obviously, such a central political axe does not have the strength to mobilize the army. With Nishihara Borrowing, everything is different. ”

"Although it is said that with Nishihara's participation in the planning, the strategy of the internal political axe of the temple and the axe of Keimasa Hara towards China has changed the strongness of the Okuma political axe in terms of form and presented a soft side, but it does not mean that they will give up what the Okuma cabinet wants to get, or rather, their purpose is just to make the process of 'taking' appear softer, not like the hard robbery of the open fire. This soft 'take' is disguised behind a large amount of Yueyuan, making it more acceptable to the Chinese in power. ”

"What makes me and other Chinese feel especially sad is that I actually took the opportunity of borrowing money to meddle in our China's ordnance manufacturing and military affairs!" This is the content of the fifth number of the 'Twenty-one Articles', at that time, what Yuan Shikai did not accept by force is now secretly realized with a lot of Yue Yuan! I heard that the Central Army, which is preparing for training, is all provided by the Script, and all the instructors of the Script. It is not difficult for us to see that the training of the Central Army is actually a copy of the army! Not only did the funds come from the book, but the army was organized in the style of the army, the instructors were sent by the book, the weapons and equipment were all from the book, and even the horses used for towing artillery were all imported from the book! From the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, it is not surprising that the military modernization of the Chinese people, first learning Prussia, and later learning the book. At that time, many military academies, martial arts halls, and even school buildings in China imitated the Yueben Noncommissioned Officer School, and the Chinese students who graduated from the Yueben Noncommissioned Officer School only learned how to be noncommissioned officers and squad leaders, and as a result, after returning to China, they all became generals. However, this is the first time that an army like the Central Army, in terms of weaponry, military establishment, and horse uniforms, has taken the initiative from head to toe from the side to take over the army. He himself, who generously contributed money and people, also deliberately stressed that the newly organized Central Army "must have the surname of the state, and in the future it can be prepared for the free deployment of the central authorities." This means that the Central Army will be the Central Army of Beiyang in the future. And now, Beiyang is the Anhui system, at least the Anhui system itself thinks so. Therefore, the so-called central army is the descendant army of the Anhui family, that is, the private army of his Duan Qirui. I heard that a brigade commander of the Central Army actually said in his speech in the queue: 'The army is like a dog, we will bite whoever the master tells us to bite.' From these words, it is not difficult to see that the master of this Central Army is not the country, let alone the people, of course, it is Duan Qirui! ”

Liang Shiyi put down the newspaper worriedly and said, "What does Zhiquan think?" He should come out and give an explanation now? Otherwise, I'm afraid we won't be able to do this political axe anymore. ”

"Let's send someone to the Border Governor's Office to ask for his opinion!" After listening to Liang Shiyi's words, Li Yuanhong let out a long sigh of relief, called a presidential office official to give a few words, and the official took the order and left.

At this time, Li Yuanhong, Xu Shijing, Feng Guozhang and others didn't know that Duan Qirui was already "explaining" to the students.

At about the same moment, there was also a crowd outside the Border Governor's Office, with thousands of students and Yanjing citizens blocking the entire alley.

Students from Yenching University, Tsinghua University and other colleges and universities, holding high placards in their hands, gathered in front of the door of the Border Governor's Office, and the gate of the Border Governor's Mansion was closed, and there were about 100 soldiers with guns outside to form a human wall, blocking the students' way forward, although the students have been chanting slogans, but they did not rush forward, but looked very reasonable, and the soldiers in front of them also took off the bayonets on the guns and inserted them into the scabbards on their waists. In fact, just now under the order of the captain of the superintendent guard, they had already withdrawn the bullets from their rifles.

"We are here today, not because we are embarrassed by Supervisor Duan, but because we have doubts in our hearts, we want to ask Supervisor Duan to come out and give us an explanation in person." A student leader at the head said to an officer in front of him, "The rise and fall of the world is the responsibility of the husband, and it is related to the future and destiny of the country and the nation. I hope that Supervisor Duan can give us all a clear explanation! ”

"Brother knows, you are patriotic and sincere, brother has already sent someone in to report, Supervisor Duan will be able to come out in a while to give everyone an explanation." The officer in front of him said helplessly, and there seemed to be a hint of pleading in his voice, "Please calm down, don't embarrass the brothers, it's not easy for the brothers to eat!" ”

At this time, if there is a dung situation in the future standing here, seeing such a scene, it will definitely be stunned.

For the dung and dung Wumao, most of the history they know about this period is the story of the students holding patriotic demonstrations, the warlord authorities dispatched the military and police to brutally suppress them, and the patriotic students shed blood on the streets. The reality is the opposite of what they imagined!

If they used to understand that students were rats and military police were cats, in fact, it was students who were cats and military police who were mice!

Of course, they don't understand that since the late Qing Dynasty, Darwin's theory of evolution, catalyzed by the First Sino-Japanese War, has become the ideology of the ruling surname of China's upper class. This ideology, when applied to the form of government, is often interpreted as the preference of a republic over a constitutional monarchy, and the superiority of a constitutional monarchy over a monarch [***]. From [***] to the republic, each other is along an evolutionary path. The fall of Yuan Shikai's Hongxian Empire further strengthened the belief in the theory of evolution of China's upper class. So that even the warlords and warriors who possess military force do not dare to despise this political system that has been proven to have great magical power by the West. In a sense, at this time, whether it was the local or the central, the warriors in charge had a great superstition about the Ming Cook political axe, so they would rather endure the constraints imposed on them by the system than take a big move against the system. In addition, coupled with the tradition of Chinese society, students often occupy the moral high ground in a high-profile manner, and have a considerable "natural and reasonable surname", even if they are unreasonable, the society also has a considerable tolerance for them. In the imperial era of the Qing Dynasty, every scientific examination, the exam-taking person made trouble, as long as the trouble was not excessive, almost all of them would be tolerated in the end. Between Shizi and Qiu Ba, there is not only a huge disparity in social status, but also a world of difference in prestige. Soldiers naturally have a sense of reverence for scholars, and in the late Qing Dynasty, soldiers were not afraid to enter the academy to make trouble, even if there was a revolutionary party in the academy that needed to be searched. After arriving in the Republic of China, this situation of the military and police being afraid of students has not been eliminated. Even with the order from the top, the military and police still shrank in front of the students, afraid of three or four. Some military police even called the students Qiu Jiu to their faces, saying that we are Qiu Ba, and you are a generation older than us!

In such an environment, it is not surprising that this scene appeared in front of you.

The student leaders were not easy to listen to the officers' flattering and pleading words, they just shouted slogans over and over again with their classmates, and some of the students came forward and handed out some leaflets to the soldiers, and when they found out that many of them were illiterate, they simply explained to them!

About half an hour later, the door of the Border Governor's Mansion opened, and Duan Qirui, dressed in civilian military uniform and bareheaded, appeared in front of the students, surrounded by the guards.

At this time, Duan Qirui's face looked a little gray and haggard, but his body was straight, his pace was steady, and his every move was not angry and mighty, seeing Duan Qirui appear, the students who were originally chanting slogans suddenly quieted down.

When the student representatives led by Duan Qirui appeared, they were stunned for a moment, they quickly exchanged glances, and then a student representative, Zhang Chuanqi, strode in front of Duan Qirui, first bowed, and then handed a petition to Duan Qirui with both hands forward.

Duan Qirui nodded in reply, then calmly took the petition, opened it and read it seriously.

Seeing Duan Qirui reading the petition there, the student representatives were not in a hurry, just stood there and waited for him to finish it.

Soon, Duan Qirui finished reading the petition, and at this time his face became even more gray, obviously suppressing the anger in his heart, so that he did not attack.

"Could you please explain, is there anything about this Yuan loan? If so, what is the purpose, and is there a deal of equity behind it, as rumored in the market? ”

"Of course there is a loan." Duan Qirui nodded and gave an affirmative answer.

Although Duan Qirui's voice was not loud, after listening to Duan Qirui's answer, the faces of the student leaders all changed.

As if knowing that the students would react like this, Duan Qirui took a deep breath and gave his explanation.

"Since the rebuilding of the republic has come, the country's finances are in dire straits, and in order to enable the political axe to operate normally, it has no choice but to borrow from abroad, and the reason why it borrows from the people is because of the favorable conditions." Duan Qirui said, "Objectively speaking, the Xiyuan loan, compared with the previous China and Western countries - of course, including the so-called loan of the same usury - the conditions can not be said to be unfavorable, compared with the aftermath of the Yuan Shikai era, this loan is as high as hundreds of millions of yuan, of course, the amount is not small, but the former collateral is China's lifeblood salt tax, and the collateral of the Yuan loan is wires, forests and other things that do not involve sovereign territory, Xiyuan's loan interest is low, no kickback, no real mortgage, The best loan conditions. ”

After listening to Duan Qirui's explanation, the student leaders looked at each other and did not speak, but quietly waited for his next words.

At about the same time, in Zhaojialou, Cao Rulin, the chief minister of the Ministry of Communications, was also explaining the details of Xiyuan's loan to Lu Zongyu and Zhang Zongxiang, who were present.

"In fact, the collateral of the borrowing, even counting the treasury bills of the central government, is really indiscriminate. However, strictly speaking, compared with the previous foreign loans, the interest rate of Xiyuan's loans is not low, generally 7 and a half or 8 percent, but when borrowing, it is stipulated that the borrowed money can be placed in the bank, and the bank will pay 5% interest. However, I am in a hurry to use the money for political axes, and there is no possibility of storing it at all, so this preferential treatment is actually equal to nothing. In comparison, although the previous borrowing was as high as 1 point and 3 percent, and the interest was paid monthly, such as the loan from Zuo Zongtang in the Qing Dynasty. But there are also relatively low, such as after the First Sino-Japanese War, the Qing government axe and the four countries of the bank borrowed, that is, about 4%. The only difference is that such loans have huge rebates, and the actual payment of the loans is discounted, and the loans from the banks of the four countries are paid at a discount, and the collateral cannot be ambiguous at all. In the last year of the Qing Dynasty, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications borrowed 10 million yuan from the bank, although it was 5% interest, but it was paid at a 95% discount, and a commission of 10‰ had to be paid. Therefore, the so-called preferential treatment of Xiyuan loans is mainly reflected in the fact that there are no kickbacks, full payments and no effective collateral. At that time, China's foreign debts were the largest in terms of borrowing without real guarantees. Therefore, from a purely economic point of view, the borrowing of the capital is a loss. But no matter what the result is, even if they sell the country, absolutely no one wants to sell the capital, and there is still a plan behind their generous loans. In fact, they calculated a political account with greater profits, but due to the changes in the entire international situation, the wishful thinking of Terauchi, Katsuta, and Nishihara could not be realized. ”

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(To be continued)