February 1, 1908 was Chinese New Year's Eve, and the sound of firecrackers in the capital has not stopped since the morning, and the sound of firecrackers lit by children sporadically has never stopped. In this important festival, the movement of relatives and friends is an important content. As for the movement in the officialdom, it is even more important. New Year's greetings to bosses in the same camp, gifts to other people with the same interests, and every normal interaction that expresses the mood in ordinary people's homes has more meaning in officialdom.

Yuan Shikai has been "sick" in the past few days, although things such as gift-giving and reception can be handled by the chief housekeeper of Yuan Shikai's family, these operations have not stopped because Yuan Shikai is sick. But "closing the door" on the grounds of illness is a very unusual signal in itself. Naturally, the officialdom immediately reacted to this, some said that Lord Yuan was disheartened, some said that Lord Yuan was now starting to be obscure, and even said that Yuan Shikai had no face to show because of the defeat of the Beiyang Army. All kinds of reliable or unreliable speculations have come out, but none of them have guessed correctly.

Although he learned that the People's Party had released Wang Shizhen, Yuan Shikai still couldn't believe that Chen Ke could show such sincerity before Wang Shizhen actually returned to Beijing. It wasn't until he saw Wang Shizhen appear in front of him that Yuan Shikai relieved himself. He couldn't help but smile on his face.

Seeing Yuan Shikai's sincere smile, even if he was a person like Wang Shizhen who could control himself, he still felt that his eyes were moist, and a few steps forward, Wang Shizhen seriously gave Yuan Shikai a military salute, "Yuan Gong, I have lived up to your expectations." ”

Yuan Shikai stepped forward and grabbed Wang Shizhen's hand, "Victory and defeat are commonplace, it's good that the secretary can come back." When you fell, I was really worried, I was afraid that Chen Ke would poison you. Hire Qing, come and sit down quickly. ”

Although Wang Shizhen was moved, she would not pretend to be a child. As soon as he sat down with Yuan Shikai, Wang Shizhen said anxiously: "Yuan Gong, if you want to rebuild the third town, I'm afraid that Chen Ke already has arrangements for this matter." ”

Yuan Shikai originally wanted to comfort Wang Shizhen for his hard work on the road, and by the way, he asked Wang Shizhen if he suffered anything after being captured, but when he heard this, Yuan Shikai's face immediately became serious. "How did you know?"

After repeating Chen Ke's conversation with himself to Yuan Shikai, Wang Shizhen then analyzed Chen Ke's arrangements for the Beiyang prisoners. On the way back to Beijing, Wang Shizhen did not speak, and he repeatedly recalled what he had heard, trying to find out the true intentions of the People's Party. At this time, he already had his own thoughts, "Yuan Gong, no matter whether Chen Ke is sincere or false, now he is trying to buy the hearts of the people of Anhui, so he urgently needs steel." Come to think of it, he already knows that you want to rebuild Third Town as soon as possible, so what he said earlier is all a cover, but the real killer is how to treat Third Town. He separated the officers and soldiers and gave them medical treatment. The purpose is to make a fuss about this......"

Yuan Shikai nodded slightly while listening, he really wanted to gather the defeated troops of the third town and rebuild the third town as soon as possible. However, the People's Party acted much beyond Yuan Shikai's expectations, and after they captured nearly 10,000 officers and soldiers of the Third Town and the Thirteenth Mixed Association, they neither slaughtered nor released them, but actually put them into custody for the time being. This completely disrupted Yuan Shikai's original plan. Listening to Wang Shizhen's analysis is very reasonable, Yuan Shikai also felt very relieved, even after being captured, Wang Shizhen still did not lose his previous composure.

If Chen Ke could listen to Wang Shizhen's analysis at this time, he would find that different perspectives of understanding could achieve the same derivation results. Chen Ke's policy towards the prisoners was completely plagiarized from the party's history, and the only difference was that Chen Ke knew that it was impossible for him to transform the officers and soldiers of the Beiyang Army into "liberation fighters" now, so Chen Ke naturally used these Beiyang soldiers as "bombs".

Wang Shizhen has the same view on this, he believes that the People's Party separates officers from soldiers, that is, by stripping officers of command over soldiers, and then "confusing the morale of the army." As a senior officer of the Beiyang Army, Wang Shizhen naturally knows about his own family affairs. Thousands of released Beiyang Army soldiers returned all the way back to Beijing, and without the leadership of an officer, it would have been impossible not to make a big incident. If this is the case, Yuan Shikai will not only be unable to rebuild the third town, but will also greatly lose the ability to control the Beiyang Army of the other five towns.

Yuan Shikai started by military merits, and although Wang Shizhen's analysis did not penetrate into the core of the People's Party's operation, it was enough for Yuan Shikai. The defeat of the Beiyang Army directly shook Yuan Shikai's foundation. The young cadres of the People's Party have a common problem, which is also the influence of Chen Ke's knowledge. Everyone can't help but always think that "the scenery should be long-term and should be broad-minded", and Chairman Chen Ke is far-sighted and far-reaching. Naturally, the comrades also felt that it was necessary to "start from the big picture" in considering the problem. Therefore, the comrades of the People's Party generally believed that the danger of the whole politics was the greatest threat facing Yuan Shikai. But Yuan Shikai really didn't think so, when the Beiyang Army, the "pillar" of the force that supported Yuan Shikai, was hit hard, the first thing Yuan Shikai had to complete was to stabilize the Beiyang Army.

As for Cixi's life and death, the threat of the imperial party is of course important. However, the Qing court was not a people's party, and it was doing things in a hurry, and if it wanted to bring down a minister of military aircraft, it needed the support of a considerable number of people and a long period of operation. But once the Beiyang Army deviated from Yuan Shikai, Yuan Shikai's destruction was imminent.

"Hireqing, is there only one way to blackmail Chen Ke now?" Yuan Shikai asked. Although he was extremely unwilling in his heart, Yuan Shikai was still not excited. Being able to bend and stretch is one of the most important qualities of a person in real power.

"Yuan Gong, since Chen Ke is full of desire to seize the Hanyang Iron and Steel Plant, he might as well let him have a sweet dream for a few days. But I don't think Chen Ke is completely delusional. At least 100,000 tons of steel, he still has to get it. Wang Shizhen gave an accurate answer.

At this time, Yuan Shikai had no other way. Since Chen Ke wanted to buy the people with farm tools, this would be spring ploughing immediately, and his urgency Yuan Shikai could imagine. In case Chen Ke felt that he couldn't get what he wanted to take, he became angry and turned the spearhead completely to defeat Yuan Shikai, Yuan Shikai would indeed encounter great trouble.

In the end, Yuan Shikai and Wang Shizhen set the bottom line of Beiyang, and they could provide Chen Ke with a part of the steel as quickly as possible. And in the long run, he and Chen Ke perfunctory about the Hanyang Iron and Steel Plant. But the officers of the Beiyang Army captured in the third town had to quickly return to the captured units and be able to leave the People's Party control in a "decent manner" as soon as possible.

"Pingqing, who is in power between Yan Jidao and Chen Ke?" Yuan Shikai asked seemingly unrelated questions.

Wang Shizhen knew that this was Yuan Shikai's decision to cooperate with Chen Ke, and what Yuan Shikai really meant was whether Chen Ke was reliable. If the real leader of the People's Party is Yan Fu, Yuan Shikai can still have enough trust in him. Whether it is in terms of ethics or the ability to implement the agreement, even if Yan Fu is an enemy, he can still be trusted to a large extent.

"Yuan Gong, the leader of the People's Party is indeed Chen Ke. Yan Fu is now only in charge of the Navy and the Ministry of Education. Wang Shizhen gave a clear answer.

Hearing this, Yuan Shikai sighed slightly. He still has a great distrust of Chen Ke's credibility. Yuan Shikai, the villains who were lucky enough to get their hands on it, saw too much, and they always made the most of the "chips" in their hands. Breaking the agreement and breaking the word is really commonplace for these people. They have an appetite that can never be satisfied, and Chen Ke is most likely this kind of person. Even if Chen Ke is not this kind of person, Chen Ke is still a young man. Young people are eager for quick success, and when faced with a favorable situation, they will always do things out of the ordinary.

But Yuan Shikai didn't ask the question "Is Chen Ke reliable". Regardless of whether Chen Ke is reliable or not, it was Yuan Shikai who finally made the decision to trade with Chen Ke, and once something went wrong, Yuan Shikai must be responsible for his decision. After being silent for a long time, Yuan Shikai finally said: "Just believe Chen Ke once." ”

Once you have made up your mind, you need to choose a negotiator. Yuan Shikai felt that the person who was suitable to negotiate with Chen Ke now was Wang Shizhen, but Wang Shizhen had just escaped from the tiger's mouth, and it was not suitable for him to go back. Just as he didn't know how to raise this matter to Wang Shizhen, Wang Shizhen had already spoken: "Yuan Gong, please let me go back to Anhui to negotiate with Chen Ke." First, Chen Ke believed in me more, and after the negotiation was completed, I would also reorganize the troops on the spot and leave Anhui as soon as possible. ”

Holding back the joy in his heart, Yuan Shikai said: "It's hard to hire Qing. ”

After the big frame was determined, the two finalized some of the details. Yuan Shikai then asked Wang Shizhen how he lost the battle. Wang Shizhen described in detail the process of fighting with the People's Party, and Yuan Shikai's face changed when he heard it. The rebellious armies were all rabble, and they could only fight a good battle, and when they encountered an officer and army with strong firepower such as the Beiyang Army, they were all crushed at the first touch, and they could not fight a protracted war at all.

The People's Party troops were not only able to hold on to the Beiyang Army, but also were able to annihilate the 3,000 elites of the Beiyang Army in one fell swoop after a long march. This kind of combat effectiveness is already above the Beiyang Army. Not to mention, the People's Party still has Yan Fu, a naval general, and Wang Shizhen is apprehensive about the fierce shelling of the river fleet within the People's Party. The Beiyang Army collapsed so quickly, and the shelling completely disrupted the order was an important reason. The People's Party's rich experience in siege was brought into full play.

Frowning, Yuan Shikai was silent for a while. The Beiyang Army was not ambushed by light troops, but was completely crushed in a series of battles of this high level. Yuan Shikai and Wang Shizhen are both old in the army, and these battles between the Beiyang Army and the People's Party require a high level of command ability, and even more importantly, a strong ability to grasp the entire battle situation. Judging from Beiyang's experience, if there were not a large number of extremely high-level commanders, even if Chen Ke was the reincarnation of Wuhou, he would not be able to fight these battles alone.

This begs the question of where these high-caliber commanders come from. If it is said that the People's Party relied on the captured personnel of the Anhui New Army to support this kind of campaign, Yuan Shikai absolutely did not believe it. The ability of the Anhui New Army Yuan Shikai is not unaware, if they have such ability, it is impossible for Chen Ke to travel thousands of miles, and break Anqing City overnight to annihilate the Anhui New Army.

Thinking of this, Yuan Shikai said slowly: "Pingqing, you will stay in Xuzhou." In any case, it is necessary to find out who Chen Ke's subordinates are. Judging from now, Chen Ke is by no means alone, and there must be a large number of people under him. ”

"Yes." Wang Shizhen thought exactly the same as Yuan Shikai. He and Duan Qirui discussed the war many times, although there was a lack of information on various aspects of the People's Party, but the Beiyang Army was commanded by two people, and it was repeatedly deduced. The two got a frustrating result, when Wang Shizhen led the troops and joined forces with Duan Qirui, the defeat was only a matter of time, and the two couldn't find the possibility of defeating the People's Party at all. In particular, Wang Shizhen proposed to fight with Duan Qirui imitating the People's Party, and Wang Shizhen found that if he held the post of chief of staff, he would not be able to command the combat characteristics of the People's Party in any case. The fluidity of the mercury, the-for-tat battle in the face of a strong enemy, and the decisiveness of fighting and leaving. It is by no means something that an officer or soldier who has carried a gun for a year can command.

Wang Shizhen never guessed, so he even wanted to figure out who his opponent was more than Yuan Shikai.

However, these war matters can be discussed later, since the basic content has been discussed. Wang Shizhen left for Anhui. In peacetime, the People's Party held nearly 10,000 soldiers of the Beiyang Army and the Jiangbei New Army, and they had to consume a lot of food every day. This is a heavy burden on the BJP. Yuan Shikai and Wang Shizhen really hope to consume the People's Party in this way. But now what Beiyang is most afraid of is that the People's Party releases these soldiers, so the pressure of the People's Party is an extremely terrible thing.

Yuan Shikai immediately invited Sheng Xuanhuai over. Due to the financial problems of the Hanyang Iron and Steel Works, from 1906, Sheng Xuanhuai had largely taken over the finances of Hanyang Iron and Steel. If Chen Ke must ask for some steel first, Sheng Xuanhuai will be able to run this matter. Sheng Xuanhuai has arrived in Beijing, although he has many conflicts with Yuan Shikai, but Sheng Xuanhuai knows that this is not the time to fall into the ground. Regarding Yuan Shikai's redemption of the Beiyang Army, Sheng Xuanhuai's views are exactly the same as Yuan Shikai's, and this matter must be completed as soon as possible. Sheng Xuanhuai did not take the opportunity to ask for the price, and Yuan Shikai did not mention this aspect in the slightest. For a figure of their level, there are some things that are best tacitly. Sooner or later, Yuan Shikai and Sheng Xuanhuai will have other confrontations, and at that time, Yuan Shikai must repay Sheng Xuanhuai's losses this time. This is the most basic rule.

When Wang Shizhen rushed back to Fengtai County, it was already the third day of the first lunar month. Fengtai County is really a lively atmosphere, the streets and alleys are full of people, and the entire county has become a huge downtown area. Wang Shizhen was in no mood to care about these at all, Chen Ke was already waiting, and a new round of negotiations began immediately. Feng Xu and Shen Zengzhi were absent from the meeting, and Chen Ke, Yan Fu, and Lu Huitian held talks with Wang Shizhen, the plenipotentiary representative of Beiyang, as representatives.

Chen Ke agreed to the immediate release of the prisoners. To Wang Shizhen's surprise, Chen Ke sincerely suggested to Wang Shizhen, "Admiral Wang, if you leave with the Beiyang Army, I am a little worried that you will have some chaos when you arrive in Xuzhou. I think it might as well be divided into two parts, the officers and soldiers of the Jiangbei New Army and Admiral Wang will return to Xuzhou first. I prepared the things on the way, and just took the brothers of the Beiyang Army to go north. ”

Even if he knew that Chen Ke's method of releasing in batches was to ensure that the Beiyang side would not immediately turn around and deny his account, Wang Shizhen was still not angry. Because he did not expect the People's Party to be so reasonable in advance, Wang Shizhen did not expect that the People's Party would release the Jiangbei New Army first. It is not impossible for Wang Shizhen to stand down in front of him, but Wang Shizhen is a general of the defeated army after all, once he goes back to officially take charge of the affairs of the Jiangbei Admiral, if nothing else, he will first have to be punished. On the contrary, it is not so easy to do other things. After thinking for a while, Wang Shizhen nodded, "That's fine." But I'm afraid I won't be able to wait too long in Xuzhou. ”

"This is not a problem, as long as Admiral Wang can stabilize the local security in Xuzhou, and the brothers of the Beiyang Army will not disturb the place after they pass." Chen Ke replied.

"Wen Qing, you're too generous." Wang Shizhen began to ask about Chen Ke's plans.

Sure enough, as Wang Shizhen thought, Chen Ke's request was very straightforward. Before the Beiyang Army left, the inventory of the Hanyang Iron and Steel Plant had to be taken away by the People's Party. And the steel produced after that must be sent to Anhui.

"Yes." These demands did not go beyond Wang Shizhen's bottom line of negotiation.

After the preliminary agreement was reached, Wang Shizhen immediately asked Chen Ke to send a ship to the Hanyang Iron and Steel Plant to get steel now, and Sheng Xuanhuai had already done the work there. Chen Ke immediately agreed.

This time, Wang Shizhen came as a negotiator, and Chen Ke arranged for Wang Shizhen to live in the city. Wang Shizhen asked to go back and live in prison with Duan Qirui. Chen Ke didn't persuade him, since Wang Shizhen had something to say to Duan Qirui, Chen Ke was not willing to do anything about such a trivial matter.

The wait was anxious, and Chen Ke did not invite Wang Shizhen, who had already planned to stay in prison for a month. Unexpectedly, in less than seven days, Chen Ke invited Wang Shizhen out. "Admiral Wang, you can start withdrawing your troops."

"Have you already gotten the steel?" Wang Shizhen was really surprised, but this was the only reason why Chen Ke agreed.

"I got a part." Chen Ke said with a smile, "Now please ask Admiral Wang to go to Suzhou and leave with the brothers of the Jiangbei New Army." So many of you have to eat and drink every day, and Admiral Wang can take his brothers back to Xuzhou one day earlier, and we can save ourselves more. ”

The withdrawal operation started in Suzhou, and when he returned to Suzhou, Wang Shizhen was really emotional. When he led his troops south from here, he never expected that an unprecedented defeat awaited him. What is even more unexpected is that the war will end in such a strange pattern.

When the captured officers and soldiers lined up, Wang Shizhen was even more surprised. He thought that only high-ranking officers like himself would be treated preferentially, and ordinary officers would be able to eat. As for the soldiers, it is natural that they do not starve to death, and it doesn't matter if they even starve to death. And it's already winter, and the troops don't have winter uniforms. Freezing and starving, God knows what the subordinates of the Jiangbei New Army will be tortured into.

But seeing the queue of the Jiangbei New Army with his own eyes, Wang Shizhen knew that he was really wrong. Although it is not radiant and radiant, the Jiangbei New Army does not have a skinny appearance to describe as haggard. What surprised Wang Shizhen the most was that many of the recruits had white gauze wrapped around their heads, which were obviously injured, but it seemed that the injuries were almost healed. There are also many new officers and soldiers with burn scars on their heads and faces. This is a permanent vestige left by this battle. And although this army was a captured defeated army, when it was not looked at more closely, the soldiers of the Jiangbei New Army had various patches on their clothes, and the uniforms after washing could even be called clean. Don't think about it, this is definitely taken care of by the BJP.

Wang Shizhen originally did not believe the "prisoner policy" of the People's Party, but he had to believe it after seeing the facts with his own eyes. Chen Ke is by no means a person with a woman's benevolence, Wang Shizhen firmly believes this. But with these living examples in front of him, Wang Shizhen couldn't figure out what Chen Ke wanted to get from the defeated soldiers. If it was steel, Chen Ke would just treat the soldiers of the Beiyang Army well, but this was not the time to think about it. Wang Shizhen asked the officers to organize the team, and he himself talked to Pu Guanshui, who accompanied him, about when he would be able to lead the troops away.

"Admiral Wang, in order to prevent the brothers from being defenseless when encountering danger on the road, we will send you 300 guns and 10,000 rounds of ammunition." Pu Guanshui said.

"What?" Wang Shizhen was really surprised. Wang Shizhen has no good impression of Pu Guanshui, a traitor in Beiyang. But it's not too bad. Puguanshui's current success is something that Beiyang can't give anyway. But listening to Pu Guanshui say that he would give 300 guns for self-defense, Wang Shizhen suspected that this Beiyang rebel was making a friendly gesture privately.

"Does Chen Wenqing know about this?" Wang Shizhen asked, Chen Ke did not tell Wang Shizhen about this beforehand.

Pu Guanshui said with a smile: "This is Chairman Chen's arrangement, but he thinks it may be a good thing to surprise Admiral Wang." ”

Although I don't know what Chen Ke wants to do, these three hundred guns are very important to Wang Shizhen, and if he wants to lead the troops now, he can only rely on his official position as the governor of Jiangbei. However, since the Jiangbei New Army knew that Wang Shizhen was also a prisoner, the prestige brought by this official position was also greatly reduced. But with these 300 guns, Wang Shizhen has confidence. The ability to bounce his subordinates is also sufficient.

After a moment of silence, Wang Shizhen replied: "Please tell Chen Ke that I have received his kindness." ”

There were several phalanxes in the procession, most of which were BJP troops. As a defeated army, the Jiangbei New Army absolutely did not have a good impression of the People's Party's troops. However, when passing through a group of People's Party medical units wearing white coats, many officers and men of the Jiangbei New Army showed expressions of gratitude. Because there were officers in the ranks, they didn't dare to say anything. However, when the doctors and nurses of the military medical unit waved goodbye to them, many wounded officers and soldiers also waved goodbye. They knew that their lives had been saved by these BJP medics dressed in strange white. If it weren't for these people, the wounded soldiers would never have survived the autumn rain and the cold winter that followed. The wounded soldiers were better cared for, and the conditions were better than those of the unwounded new officers. As enemies, it is our duty to fight each other on the battlefield. There was not much to say, but as prisoners, they were treated, treated as human beings, not as expendables in the army. The Jiangbei New Army never imagined that they would be treated like this. The gratitude is genuine.

Wang Shizhen is on horseback, condescending, and he has a full view of this. Although he doesn't know all the thoughts of the People's Party, Wang Shizhen can guarantee that if these people want to fight with the People's Party next time, they are afraid that they will not fight to the death in the first place. If they are surrounded and have no chance, and the BJP tells these new troops to surrender, they will surrender immediately.

"Chen Ke is really a big traitor." Wang Shizhen couldn't help but think about it. Whoever can do such an act of great compassion must be a hero. Since ancient times, heroes have no good class, and Chen Ke's foresight even made Wang Shizhen unable to come up with a solution. The People's Party is brave and good at fighting, and if it is a strong man brought in, it will be vulnerable to the People's Party at all. But if he trains another Jiangbei New Army, Wang Shizhen can't get so much silver by smashing pots and selling iron, and he can only rely on this captured New Army. Through the prisoner policy, Chen Ke not only effectively resolved the hatred of the new army, but also made it far easier for the new army to surrender than before. If Wang Shizhen leads the troops to fight again, I am afraid that the defeat will be worse than this time.

Wang Shizhen didn't want to look at it anymore, he urged the horses to go in the direction of Xuzhou. The People's Party's territory has given Wang Shizhen a defeat and blow that he has never encountered in his life, and he doesn't want to stay here for a moment.