Cai Yi**'s naked policy towards the Beiyang government can even be said to be a clear opposition to the current establishment of the Beiyang government. This puts Cai Ye at a disadvantage in terms of public opinion. While condemning Cai, national public opinion turned its attention to the Beiyang government. The current Southwest New Army and Beiyang are like two well-known swordsmen, I have made a move, waiting for you to deal with it.

As for the possible reaction of the Beiyang government, there are also different opinions in the newspapers. The forces of all parties are also paying close attention. And the hardest thing to do about the reaction of the new army is the small local warlords bordering the southwest. They were in the middle of the Beiyang and Southwest New Army, and they could have played a role in buffering the contradictions between the two sides, but once the two sides tore their faces, these small warlords would bear the brunt again. After all, in the war zone, except for allies, they are enemies, and most of the small warlords in those places are local snakes, and they are not strong enough as allies, and it is very eye-catching to let them go. Therefore, after the tension between the Beiyang government and the southwest, the small warlords of these provinces immediately mobilized all their relations and wanted to seek refuge. It is a pity that at present, in China, only the Northeast has the ability to adjust, and the far northeast cannot quench the thirst of the near.

Beijing! Presidential palace!

"President, this is a proclamation sent by the Prime Minister!" Wu Dinh Phuong sent the notice from the Prime Minister's Office to Li Yuanhong.

Li Yuanhong's face was very bad, especially after Wu Tingfang came back from the northeast, President Li's face was even worse day by day.

"Read it! What's the matter? Li Yuanhong's voice was a little hoarse, and he no longer had the same high-spirited spirit as before. The whole person seems to have aged by more than ten years in a month!

Wu Tingfang opened the notice in his hand, his face changed, he glanced at Li Yuanhong carefully, and said: "President, the prime minister asks you to sign this notice in your capacity as the president, remove Cai Ye from all positions, declare him a Chinese rebel, and call on all forces to jointly crusade against him!" ”

"What!" Li Yuanhong stood up in surprise, "Are you sure it's the Southwest New Army?" Li Yuanhong said with some excitement.

"Not bad! It's the New Army of the Southwest! President, things are going for the worst as you expected! Wu Tingfang's face was not good-looking. After Li Yuanhong lost power, he lived a semi-secluded life, and they, the president's henchmen, were naturally comprehensively suppressed. Duan Qirui's surveillance of Li Yuanhong was extremely strict, strictly restricting the dissemination of external information from the presidential palace, but did not restrict the transmission of information from the outside world to the presidential palace. After all, the presidential palace is still the nominal supreme organ of the Republic of China. Li Yuanhong is also relatively obedient after the power in the urban area, especially after the presidential palace issued a declaration of war against Germany on behalf of the Republic of China government, Duan Qirui was busy with the reaction to the country, and he also sent some surveillance, and the reaction of all forces in the country Li Yuanhong was also generally clear. The obedience of the northeast was beyond his expectations, and the hardness of the southwest was equally beyond his expectations. But regardless of the reaction of all sides, Li Yuanhong never expected that China would trigger a large-scale civil war because of this declaration of war on Germany. After all, China's declaration of war on Germany is more just a name, and the possibility of really participating in the war in the West is almost zero, and the belligerents such as Britain and France value China's abundant labor force rather than the combat effectiveness of the squadron. Although nominally China declared war on Germany, in fact China only played a small role in doing some logistics for Britain and France and other countries, and at the same time waving the flag and shouting. If we understand this, the domestic forces will not be too serious at all.

But there are always some people in this world who think about defeat before they think about victory, and although there is a high probability that declaring war with Germany will not involve China in the war, what if the German side becomes the victor? Will they let go of China? In the current form of China's nominal unification, it can never be an opponent of Germany and other world powers! Although Britain and France and other countries have a great advantage, with the victory of British diplomacy, the advantage is still increasing, but the war is full of chance, and the advantage does not necessarily mean that the victory can be achieved. It is also related to the training, preparation, and ability of the commander in command of the army.

Just like the current Southwest New Army, although the army has expanded rapidly, there are only about 10,000 veterans of a hundred battles, and the remaining 100,000 people are recruits. But because of the leadership of the famous general Cai Yi, the southwest will become the top power in China. That's the impact of a famous player.

"I can't sign this proclamation!" Li Yuanhong shook his head firmly. The reason why he was able to inherit the position of president left by Yuan Shikai was, in addition to the provisions of the provisional covenant, it can be said that it was the result of the Protectorate War led by Cai Yi. Although Cai Ye may not have taken this matter to heart, Li Yuanhong kept it in mind. But by the time Cai Ye rose in the southwest, Li Yuanhong had become the spokesperson of the direct warlords of Beiyang, and there was no possibility of cooperation between the two sides, which is why Li Yuanhong chose the northeast instead of the southwest when facing a major crisis.

Li Yuanhong knew very well that if he signed this proclamation, although it would not have an impact on the strength of the new army, the new army would be at an absolute disadvantage in terms of public opinion! After losing his rights, Li Yuanhong thought a lot, how many dirty things has he done over the years in order to climb to this position? Originally, he could comfort himself with a thousand bones, but when he climbed to this position, he was removed from his foundation. Become a pawn for others to use. Li Yuanhong knew why Duan Qirui didn't oust him from power. The first is that Duan Qirui's prestige in the Republic of China is far inferior to himself, after all, he still has the title of a revolutionary hero on his head. Without absolute certainty, Duan Qirui would not do anything to him. The second is that the world is not peaceful now, and the northeast and southwest have become big forces that make them pay attention, and if they are ousted from power at this time, the reaction of the northeast may not be known, but the southwest will definitely raise troops again. Cai Yi's jealous and hateful personality is really not suitable as a party leader. The third point is to use his own declaration of war on Germany in exchange for financial assistance from Britain and Japan. Whether it was in the late Manchu Qing Dynasty or the reign of Yuan Shikai, the government of the Republic of China was extremely financially constrained, and the shackles imposed on China by the foreign powers were not loosened because of the establishment of the Republic of China, but tightened because of the rise of the evil neighbors in the east. The government seems to be strong, but both the financial and military construction are very lagging behind, coupled with Yuan Shikai's proclamation as emperor, the country is in chaos, and it disrupts the recovery of the national economy. After Yuan Shikai came to power, the Beiyang system gradually exuded a twilight atmosphere. Although Beiyang is still that Beiyang, it has long lost the ambition to command the world. Beiyang commanders Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang urgently needed foreign aid funds to replace armaments and improve Beiyang's combat effectiveness. After all, the northeast and southwest have already put heavy pressure on them.

"Great President!" Wu Tingfang shouted with a tangled face.

"Go back! Even if the president is ousted, he will not sign this proclamation! Duan Qirui said with a flushed face.

Wu Tingfang sighed and quietly retreated, leaving only Li Yuanhong, who was constantly wheezing.

"Duan Qirui, you are ruthless enough! If you want me to carry the black pot, how can it be so easy! Northeast, Feng Yong, I hope you can become Cao Cao! Li Yuanhong hid himself in the dark. The expression on his face was distorted.

The proclamation rejected by Li Yuanhong returned to the hands of Duan Qirui of the Prime Minister's Office, and Duan Qirui said disdainfully: "I don't know how to lift!" ”

Then he turned his head and ordered the Ministry of Information to publish it according to the original procedure, of course, in the name of the president, in Duan Qirui's heart, Li Yuanhong had already been abolished by him, and if such waste was not used, it would be a waste of resources. As for Li Yuanhong's attitude, Premier Duan didn't care at all. If he didn't want to keep Li Yuanhong to carry the black pot for him, he would definitely not tolerate him staying in the position of big president. Although Duan Qirui believes that the probability of Britain and France winning the world war is as high as 90%, no one can guarantee the outcome until the war is over. After all, war is the most contingent thing. If China becomes a defeated country, Li Yuanhong, who issued the order, is the best scapegoat. If he wins in the end, it will not be difficult to remove him from power, after all, a big president without the support of the army is just a false name.

With the release of this proclamation signed by the president, the whole country was in an uproar, and the behemoth of Beiyang once again operated wildly. The Beiyang Army in Hubei and Hunan provinces was frequently mobilized. At the same time, Chen Shufan, the overseer of Shaanxi, also received a secret order from Duan Qirui, asking him to reorganize the defenders and prevent the army in the northeast from launching an attack from the Ganning area.

Although the northeast and southwest do not agree on the matter of declaring war on Germany, Feng Yong must understand that if Feng Yong does not want to fight Beiyang alone in the future, he will definitely choose to support the New South New Army.

Now that the two dispatches within Beiyang have formed an alliance, the power that the entire Beiyang can mobilize can be called terrifying. The total strength of the Beiyang Army in Hubei and Hunan provinces and autonomous regions has reached nearly 200,000, and follow-up reinforcements and military supplies are still being transported to the two lakes in a steady stream. Maybe it's for the convenience of command, maybe it's the fear that its own power will be swallowed up. The Beiyang army is divided into two routes, Hubei is dominated by Anhui forces, and the commander-in-chief is Xu Shuzheng, an Anhui boss who has intersected with the Northeast Public Security Army. Hunan is dominated by direct warlords. The chief and deputy conductors are also celebrities of later generations. Commander Cao Kun, Deputy Commander Wu Peifu. At the beginning, Beiyang showed an aggressive trend.

Although the size of the new army has also reached more than 100,000 people, most of them are new recruits, and it seems that they are at a disadvantage on the front line. But the prestige of the Merry General still gave everyone more expectations.

The clouds of war shrouded the two lakes, hundreds of thousands of troops on both sides confronted each other, and a big war was about to break out!

(To be continued)