The Beijing government did not hesitate to reject Russia's military procurement proposal, and the original export channels for weapons and equipment were completely closed. Trade in internal military supplies was also severely restricted.

The Beijing government's series of moves has made various forces concerned about China nervous. Among them, Beiyang, which borders the area controlled by the Beijing government, immediately moved into action, and the army was put on complete alert. In China's current situation, once the Beijing government takes action, its goal will inevitably be aimed at Beiyang. This is clear to all forces. It's just that the hearts of the people have not yet made up their minds.

Nanjing, Beiyang Governor's Palace.

Beiyang high-level gathered, but those who were interested found the difference, Duan Qirui, the deputy governor of Beiyang, did not show up, and there was no general of the Anhui system in the entire scene, so it can be said that the current entire Yang Governor's Mansion has safely controlled the hands of the direct family. But the face of Feng Guozhang, the governor of Beiyang, was not good-looking. The atmosphere in the whole conference room was very solemn.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Vice Governor Duan has formally submitted his resignation to the Governor's Palace, and I have agreed to give him up all his duties." At the beginning of the meeting, Feng Guozhang dropped a bombshell. This news indicates that Duan Qirui, the Beiyang giant in the early years of the Republic of China, officially withdrew from the stage of history. In the future, there is no such thing as the Anhui system in the entire Beiyang, and even all the Anhui generals have left their posts. In the entire Beiyang, only the words of the direct family remain.

Everyone didn't speak, because Feng Guozhang publicly announced on this occasion, which already showed that this matter had been decided. What's more, all the generals present here now are direct generals, and the direct line's complete control of Beiyang will only make them excited. As for the opponent at that time, he had already been thrown out of the clouds.

Of course, although the crowd is excited, they will not show it. After all, Duan Qirui is a Beiyang boss after all, and his behavior is not something that these Beiyang subordinates can discuss.

"Governor, I'm afraid it's not just for Chief Duan's dismissal, right?" Cao Kun, who was urgently called back, said. With his understanding of Feng Guozhang, this kind of thing is not worthy of Feng Guozhang's attention, and he even summoned them all back thousands of miles away. Since Feng Guozhang re-established Beiyang in Nanjing, almost the entire Beiyang government is under his control, and after Duan Qirui returned, it was more of a symbolic meaning. Moreover, Duan Qirui lived in a simple house in Nanjing, posing as if he did not care about the world, which was no longer a threat to Feng Guozhang, whose prestige was growing. What's more, Duan Qirui's resignation at this time is not a good reputation for Beiyang. After all, Duan Qirui chose to stand on Feng Guozhang's side when he was in Beiyang, which played a key role in Feng Guozhang's ability to take power. And now Beiyang is internally unified. but the greatest heroes will be driven away. In this case, nature evokes reverie. If it is used by someone with a heart, it may even be put on the name of crossing the river and demolishing the bridge.

"Yes, I summoned you back this time for an important matter. Our intelligence agencies have just heard that the Beijing government has refused to sell weapons and equipment to the tsarist government, and that all the original channels for the sale of weapons and ammunition have been closed. In areas under Beijing's jurisdiction, trade in military supplies is also severely restricted. All this shows that there are signs of a large-scale military mobilization in Beijing in the near future. Feng Guozhang said in a deep voice.

Hearing Feng Guozhang's words, everyone whispered. Among them, Wu Peifu had a touch of excitement on his face, and Zhang Xiaozhun had a dignified face. But there was a touch of helplessness on Cao Kun's face.

"Governor, has it been determined that Beijing is targeting us?" Cao Kun looked at Feng Guozhang with a hint of disgust.

"Nope. At present, there is no troop movement in Beijing, and we have not yet been able to determine what Beijing will target, and judging from the current form, Beijing is the most likely to take action against us. Feng Guozhang said in a deep voice.

"Governor, since there is no clear movement in Beijing, should we focus on defense, at this time, we have just settled the interior, and the internal relations have not yet been sorted out. If we go to war with Beijing at this time, I'm afraid we will be under a lot of pressure. Cao Kun didn't want Beiyang to go to war with Beijing again, because he was really afraid of the combat effectiveness of the Beijing Defense Force. As a soldier, he is still very sensitive to military matters. The squadron and the Japanese army went to war, not to mention the combat effectiveness, just the courage to go to war was already very powerful. What's more, it can still win in the end and force Japan to give in. All this proves that the army in the northeast is not simple.

"It is precisely because of our pressure that Beijing has chosen to do it at this time. If internal relations are not handled well, they can be temporarily suppressed, and some local officials supported by the Anhui system can also remain in office, but the army must be completely controlled. Zhong Shan, now in our Beiyang team, your unit is the largest and has the strongest combat effectiveness, but it should be seen that your unit is expanding too quickly and the composition is complicated. Once the war starts, it is likely to become the weak point of Beiyang Sun Wen, which you must pay attention to. Ziyu, although your troops have been split, the troops that have been separated will be transferred back as soon as possible, and your task will be the heaviest. Henan is facing Shaanxi, the heavy concentration position in the northeast, and Yan Xishan in Shanxi has also become the minions of the northeast, once the two sides start a war, they will inevitably be the vanguard of the war, and now part of Henan's territory is controlled by the Northeast Army. Now that the Yellow River is in dry season, I am afraid it will be difficult to stop the footsteps of the Northeast Army. Once the format changes, you will face the heaviest pressure, and you need to be prepared for that. Feng Guozhang said in a deep voice.

Cao Kun and Wu Peifu nodded. Regardless of whether Beijing wants to use troops against Beiyang or not, it is very important to make arrangements in advance now.

After Feng Guozhang finished speaking, he looked at Zhang Xiaozhun, who was an old god on the side. To be honest, Feng Guozhang's attitude towards Zhang Xiaozhun is a little complicated now. When Zhang Xun was fighting, Zhang Xiaozhun suffered a big loss in the early days of the war, but Feng Guozhang still trusted him, and in the face of doubts from the top and bottom of Beiyang, Feng Guozhang insisted on believing him. But Zhang Xiaozhun's subsequent actions really made it difficult for him to do. Zhang Xiaozhun actually eliminated some of the related households that the Beiyang generals had placed in them at one time. The entire new army was replaced by his own people, and the result was that Feng Guozhang himself had no control over the new army of more than 20,000 people. It can be said that now the entire newly formed army has the surname Zhang. This made Zhang Xiaozhun's statement inside Beiyang extremely poor. The stronger the combat effectiveness of the new army, the greater the opposition within Beiyang. For this kind of pressure, Feng Guozhang himself feels a little overwhelmed.

"Hyo-joon, do you have any good advice?" Feng Guozhang is still optimistic about Zhang Xiaozhun's ability. Otherwise, he would not have been so strong against public opinion, and let Zhang Xiaozhun be an outsider in the most important position in Beiyang.

"I don't have any good advice. We are also only speculating on Beijing's next move. And I think that with Beijing's current strength, once they start a war, it will inevitably be an earth-shattering attack, and it will be a hard attack with superior forces and powerful firepower. Zhang Xiaozhun said.

Feng Guozhang nodded, with no opinion on his face.

Wu Peifu, who was sitting on the side, glanced at Zhang Xiaozhun with deep meaning. To be honest, as a famous general who is famous all over the country, Wu Peifu is still very arrogant. For this person who was once as famous as Cai Yi and Jiang Baili, he Wu Peifu is still very concerned. In the battle with Zhang Xun in Anhui, he performed well, but there were no classic examples of battles, which made Wu Peifu pay more attention to him. But at this meeting, Wu Peifu found that Zhang Xiaozhun's relationship within Beiyang seemed to be a little bad. Zhang Xiaozhun may not have any feelings when he is young, but Wu Peifu learned from Feng Guozhang's words that Feng Guozhang already has some distrust of Zhang Xiaozhun. Although there is no basis for this feeling, Wu Peifu still thinks so.

After this meeting, the troops within Beiyang began to assemble towards the northern border. At the same time, the governor of Beiyang sent secret envoys to contact the surrounding forces to ensure their stability in the rear when they were at war with the northeast.

On the Bund in Shanghai, a sizable fleet is anchored. These dozen or so fleets, old and new, are the naval fleets of the Republic of China.

The navy of the Republic of China was born from the navy of the late Qing Dynasty and was born during the Xinhai Revolution. In November 1911, Shanghai was recovered, and the Shanghai Military Governor's Office was established, and the navy stationed in Shanghai rebelled. Soon, the naval ships stationed in Nanjing anyway. The navy on the Wuhan River was instigated by the revolutionaries, and at the same time, the Yangtze River entered a dry period, which affected the activities of its main ships, and due to the successive uprisings in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the fleet could not be replenished and it was difficult to go to sea to the north, so it turned to the revolution. In December 1911, the Provisional Navy Command was established in Shanghai, and the Republic of China Navy was formally established. In January 1912, the Nanjing Provisional Government established the Admiralty.

In the early years of the Republic of China, with the internal division of Beiyang and the turmoil of the political situation, the navy also moved from unification to division, and became the object of various factions. After Yuan Shikai became the provisional president of the Republic of China, he appointed his confidant Liu Guanxiong as the chief of the navy in an attempt to control the navy. The initial Republic of China Navy followed the old system of the former Qing Dynasty and was organized into two fleets, and later added a training fleet. During the Second Revolution, the navy participated in the suppression of Yuan's army. In December 1915, the revolutionaries instigated the naval ships in Shanghai to turn against Yuan. After Yuan Shikai died of illness, the Navy's First Fleet and Practice Fleet declared their independence and joined the Protector. After the end of the Protectorate War, the navy was reunited. Now that the Beiyang government had collapsed, the headquarters had been moved to Nanjing, and the headquarters of the Republic of China Navy had to be moved from Tianjin to Shanghai. Cheng Biguang is the current commander of the Navy. It's just that the current Republic of China Navy, although the main force is in the hands of Beiyang. But its fleet in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River fell into the hands of Cai Ye in the southwest, and is now under the control of Tang Jiyao.

Although Chen Shunguang is a Beiyang general, he is not trusted, and Cheng Biguang is also watching now, the domestic situation is too turbulent, and it is difficult for him to make the right decision for a while.

(To be continued)