Please Zizhou is located on the Xiangjiang River in the west of Changsha City, and looks across the river from Changsha City. It is a long and narrow sandbar, more than ten miles long, and about half a mile wide at the widest point, so the locals also call it "Long Island". But the official name is "Water and Land Continent", and the reason why it is called "Jiaozi Island" is only because the sandbar is densely planted with forests and is rich in sweet nan. Because the Xiangjiang River flows from south to north, the southernmost point of Shazhou is called "Nanzizhoutou". The northernmost point of the sandbar is called "Plug State Tail".

In the summer season, the scenery on this Nanzizhou is particularly beautiful, with fragrant flowers and willow green, and patches of Nan forest. Standing on the sandbar and looking at the river, but seeing the rolling waves of the river, the hundred Ke contending for the current, and the flying boat racing, it is really a good place to visit.

When the Huaxing Association was organized in Changsha, Song Jiaoren and Tan Renfeng visited this Nanzizhou. Now that the old land is revisited, the scenery in the state is still the same, but the mood is very different, and the revolutionary comrades who gathered on the continent to oppose the Qing Dynasty are now hard to find, but I don't know how many of them have turned into green weeds in the field.

A few people remained silent on the boat, waiting for the fishing boat to dock, and a few people stepped on the soft sand. When I looked up, I saw patches of green above the sandbar. There are a few bamboo huts lurking in the greenery, and occasionally a few waterfowl come out of the forest, which is quite a bit of paradise.

"It is recommended that the country is peaceful and the people are happy, and it is not bad to live in seclusion here

Song Jiaoren sighed, which resonated with several attachés, but Tan Renfeng disagreed.

Tan Renfeng said: "Blunt Chu, you are a xìng son who entered the WTO, and you can't come in seclusion." Among us revolutionaries, there is no one who will not join the WTO! You. I've been a little busier lately, so if I want to take a break. You might as well rest in Changsha for a few days, and I will accompany you to walk around the neighborhood to see the scenery and talk about the world. ”

Song Jiaoren shook his head again and again and said, "That's not possible!" In a few days it will be the rìzi of the congressional elections. I want to preside over the situation in Hunan, where can I be lazy? ”

A few people were thinking about the congressional election when a few gunshots suddenly rang out in the orange grove. Scared them aback.

When he was looking around in a panic, he saw several soldiers walking out of the forest with pistols, and the person at the head was none other than Zhao Bei, chairman of the "United Front," and the soldiers who followed him were also acquaintances, Sun Wu and Ju Zheng. They are all high-ranking cadres of the Communist Association, and they are all the same as Zhao Bei, carrying Mauser pistols and laughing while walking.

Song Jiaoren and Tan Renfeng put their minds at ease and hurriedly greeted them, only then did they see clearly that the adjutants behind Zhao Bei and the others were carrying some wild ducks and Wu Ma in their hands, obviously, the gunshots they heard just now were these revolutionary soldiers hunting.

"Blunt Chu, Shi Lao, you came quite on time, saying that today rì rushed to Changsha, and now rì arrived. That's right, let's have a wild duck feast later. Have a few drinks, please. Just now, the adjutants were sharp-eyed and saw you, otherwise, we wouldn't have walked out of the barrel forest. ”

Zhao Bei walked up to Song Jiaoren and Tan Renfeng, handed the pistol in his hand to Ming Jinfu, who was with him, and then stretched out his hand to shake hands with Song and Tan to greet them.

Tan Renfeng quipped: "I heard Hu Jingwu say just now. The chairman of the committee held a meeting with the revolutionary comrades on the sandbar. Who knew that the chairman of the committee was Hao Yaxing, and he actually started hunting here, and it seemed that he had gained a lot, presumably the chairman had good marksmanship. ”

Zhao Bei shook his head and smiled bitterly, pointed at Tian Jinfu, and said: "Most of these prey are shot by my guard captain, as for our meals, eating game is good, hunting game is a layman, don't look at us carrying pistols, but this is just to get over the gun addiction, and the previous rì subnet imported a batch of new self-hindering pistols from Germany." Just take advantage of this catty, the opportunity to try the gun, so as not to be deceived by foreign businessmen, how to say that our revolutionary funds are also hard-won, good steel is used on the blade. ”

Seeing that Zhao Bei, Sun Wu, Ju Zheng and others were all smiling, Song Jiaoren was also relaxed in his heart.

In fact, just some time ago, Zhao Bei and the Communist Advancement Association were still making trouble about the political affairs of Hunan and Guizhou. After the Hunan and Guizhou Incident, the Republican Army marched all the way south, quickly quelled the armed rebellion of the Junxian faction, and controlled most of Hunan and Guizhou. But after all, the strength is limited, and only a small part of southern Hunan and southern Qiannan have been recaptured. The Communist Association hoped that the Republican Army would withdraw to Hubei and Sichuan, and the Communist Party would regain control of Hunan and Guizhou, but Zhao Bei did not agree, and the two sides were very deadlocked, but the Communist Party was at a loss, and it really couldn't find any good reason to drive out the Republican Army, after all, Hunan and Guigang had just quelled the war, and the local order was chaotic, so they relied on the remnants of the Communist Association to defeat the generals, and they could not control the situation no matter what, not to mention that the Republican Army was unwilling to withdraw. Even if they were willing to withdraw, the revolutionaries in the Constituent Assembly would not agree.

In the view of the revolutionaries in the south, the reason why the incidents occurred in Hunan and Guizhou was directly related to the short-sightedness of the Communist Party, and if it had not been for the improper measures taken by the Communist Party, Hunan and Guizhou would not have experienced such a turmoil, and if it had not been for the rapid action of the Republican Army, I am afraid that the revolutionary forces in the south would have been seriously weakened

The "positive" fight against the Republican Army can also be regarded as a general in the revolutionary camp in Hunan and Guizhou. Zhan Shikai's nostrils are much better.

As a result, the CCP is very isolated and has little support, and can only control dozens of counties in southern Hunan and dozens of counties in southern Guizhou, barely maintaining more than 20,000 troops on the military expenses looted, but this military expenditure can only be used to make ends meet, and military salaries cannot be paid. In January, the army's morale was shaken, and the plan that originally planned to march to Yunnan to defeat Lu Rongting could not be implemented, and the Communist Party was now in a dilemma.

After the "United Front" was formed, many people in the Communist Advancement Association urged the Communist Advancement Association to reorganize its troops as soon as possible, unify them into the United Front, and accept the command of Zhao Bei, so that they could get assistance and weapons and ammunition from the Republican Army, but Sun Wu was never able to make up his mind, because in this case, his Communist Progressive Association would actually lose its command and management rights over the troops, and then the Communist Progressive Association would become Li Yuanhong's Republican Progressive Party and completely become a small "mouthful" political bloc.

Sun Wu was slow to agree to hand over the troops to Zhao Bei's command, and most of the generals below were very dissatisfied. There are already people in tandem, wanting to squeeze out Sun Wu and elect another leader, about this. Sun Wu and Ju Zheng were very anxious and had no choice but to go to Changsha to negotiate with the commander-in-chief as plenipotentiaries of the Communist Advancement Association, and strive to walk down this step with dignity.

Regarding the differences between Zhao Bei and the Communist Advancement Association, Song Jiaoren is also very clear that he is on Zhao Bei's side, because he clearly understands that if the problem of the unification of the southern military order is not solved, then the south will be a plate of scattered sand, and in this regard, he and Zhao Bei have basically the same focus! That is, it is necessary to unify and organize these various armies in the south as soon as possible and put them under the unified command of a joint command.

Although some people are worried about the expansion of Zhaobei's strength as a result, Song Jiaoren believes that the main enemy of the revolutionary forces in the south at present is the Beiyang clique in the north, and Zhaobei, which is also in the revolutionary camp. It can only be united as an ally.

Now seeing that Zhao Bei and Sun Wu looked relaxed, Song Jiaoren thought that they might have reached an agreement, and the troops of the Communist Association might soon be integrated into the United Front, and the forces of the United Front would be further recommended, and they would have more confidence in dialogue with the Beiyang Group.

After the problem of the Communists was resolved, it was the turn of the armed forces controlled by the Alliance and the Liberation Society. Song Jiaoren rushed to Changsha this time, which was his main task.

But the beach is really not a place to talk. After chatting with everyone for a few words, Zhao Bei led everyone back to the forest and entertained the guests in a thatched hut made of green bamboo. and instructed Tian Jinfu to order someone to clean up the banquet.

"Everyone, today, Cao Jingchen, the chef of Tan Zu'an, is in Jiaozi Prefecture, his Hunan cuisine is very authentic, I asked someone to invite him over and take charge of it for us."

Zhao Bei sat down and said a few irrelevant words first.

Tan Renfeng glanced at Song Jiaoren, saw that he was still smiling, and couldn't help but say, "Chairman." This Tan Yanhui was a participant in the Hunan and Guizhou incidents, and now he is not tried, which is extremely lenient, why do you want to pull him into the Hunan parliamentarian election group? ”

Zhao Bei was stunned, glanced at Song Jiaoren, and said, "Dull Chu, Shi Lao doesn't know about this?" ”

Song Jiaoren sighed and said to Tan Renfeng: "Shiping, the so-called" water to the clear Zeyuan, fish. "We are engaged in politics." It is necessary to see the situation clearly, establish alliances in the broadest possible way, win over the majority, and isolate the minority. Only in this way, in the congressional elections we "United Front." can be nine out of ten. Tan Zu'an certainly participated in the Hunan and Guizhou Incident, but he was only a speaker, and did not directly poison the revolutionaries, for such a literati, we should save him, not to mention, the rebel army can peacefully take over Changsha, this Tan Zu'an has made great contributions, the executioner Huang Zhonghao can be caught, Tan Zu'an has also stepped out of the force, the merits and demerits are offset, and the past is not to blame. ”

"At first glance, your view is good, but in fact it is very fallacious, although it is said that "United Front." It was founded to unite the majority, but for those enemies who are hiding behind them, we must also see their faces clearly and avoid being injured by their hidden arrows. ”

Tan Renfeng's unceremonious criticism of Song Jiaoren resonated with Sun Wu, Ju Zheng and others, who spoke one after another, denouncing Tan Yantian's crimes, and disapproving Song Jiaoren's "unity policy", after all, in the Hunan and Guizhou Incident, the most injured was the Communist Association, and they hated Tan Yanyan to the core, and hated all the members of the Junxian faction, and strongly advocated killing them all.

Zhao Bei can understand the anger of the Communist Association, but he also does not agree to exterminate them all, in his opinion, Song Jiaoren's opinion is correct. Now Tan Yan's gang still has use value, and since the United Front is now clamoring for a parliamentary struggle, then these people must not be cornered. They can't be forced to completely fall to Yuan Shikai.

This is a tactic of struggle, and it has nothing to do with justice and fairness. is only related to interests, on this, Sun Xiaowu and Ju Zheng are still too tender, Tan Renfeng is too righteous in the rivers and lakes, and only professional politicians like Song Jiaoren are available

However, Zhao Bei did not believe in any parliamentary struggles. He is a traverser, he knows very well what is needed in this era, and he knows even more what Yuan Shikai is. For an old-fashioned bureaucrat who believes only in force. The only political language that Yuan Shikai can understand is the sound of artillery on the battlefield, not to mention, Yuan Shikai is just a domestic enemy, abroad. More enemies are waiting for the patriots of China, and this era is an era of iron and blood.

For the criticism of Tan Renfeng and others, Song Jiaoren humbly accepted it, but his original intention did not change, and he still insisted on absorbing Tan Yantian into the united front, and everyone was helpless, but at the same time, he also appreciated Mr. Song's sleek xìng style, such a person may be able to become a politician in this country and the United States, but not in this country.

ended the discussion about Tan Yantian's future. Song Jiaoren took out a few official documents from his handbag and handed them to Zhao Bei, who was sitting opposite.

"I would like to ask the chairman of the committee to take a look at it, this is the reorganization plan of the armed forces of the League and the Liberation Society. According to this plan, there were four divisions in total, which were the four divisions for which the Republican Army provided assistance. For the time being, the other units will not be integrated into the United Front and will be used as local forces to suppress bandits and maintain local order, and the necessary funds will be raised by the localities themselves. ”

Zhao Bei took the official document and read it carefully, although it was still a little far from his expectations, but this was already very good, the backbone of these four divisions were all the original Qing court new army, and the military quality was good.

"The Communist Party has agreed to reorganize into two divisions and join the United Front, and the number has not yet been decided, so it will be determined together with these four divisions. Other than that. As for the source of funding for this joint armed forces, it is still necessary to further discuss the fact that the financial resources of Hubei and Sichuan alone are not enough to support so many troops, and all provinces need to raise some military expenditures, and their responsibilities and obligations are inseparable after all. ”

Zhao Bei closed the official document, stepped forward, and asked Sun Wu and Ju Zheng to take a look.

Sun Wu asked: "I heard that the troops of the Republican Army are divided into Division A and Division B, but I wonder which kind of troops our newly reorganized troops are divided into?" ”

Zhao Bei said: "The regular units of the Republican Army are divided into Division A and Division B according to their combat effectiveness and revolution, and the salaries of the two types of troops are different, the establishment is different, and the weapons are also different. At present, the first and second divisions of the Republican Army are Division A, and the Fifth Division has now been reorganized into Division A because of its performance in the war of rebellion, and except for these three infantry divisions, the other four infantry divisions are all Division B. In my opinion, all new units joining the United Front will be assigned to Division B and then based on actual performance. Some of the selected units were reorganized into a division, and the treatment of the troops was exactly the same as that of the Republican Army. ”

"How do you determine combat effectiveness?" Ju Zheng asked.

"It's easy. Pull the troops to Hubei or Hunan, and conduct confrontation drills with the Republican Army's Division A, and if they draw the battle, they will be Division A, and if they are defeated, they will be Division B. In order to achieve fairness in the exercise, the referee officers of the exercise were dispatched by non-participating troops. The General Staff of the Republican Army also sent officers to supervise the work, and the insiders watched the doorway and the laymen watched the excitement to see whether the combat effectiveness of a unit was strong or not. In the eyes of professional officers, it is very clear that the result of fooling others can only be fooling oneself. ”

Zhao Bei's arrangement is a bit surprising, but it is also very reasonable, as a layman. Song Jiaoren and Tan Renfeng were the first to agree with this proposal, although Sun Wu and Ju Zheng felt that this method was more fair. However, the two rushed to Changsha, and the reorganization of the troops was secondary, the main purpose was to ask for wages, and now the troops of the Communist Advancement Association are not stable, and if they do not pay salaries, no one can guarantee that there will be no mutiny, and in case of chaos in the local situation, the Communist Advancement Association will not want to mix in the united front, and the people in this political alliance cannot fight, but they are experts in scolding the streets. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been asked to run for Congress.

"The issue of military salaries is easy to deal with, and you have a telegram on the front foot, announcing that the troops will be handed over to the United Front. I will pay you two dollars a month for each soldier, and I will never be in arrears! ”

Zhao Bei's words made Sun Wu and Ju Zheng feel at ease. But then someone asked another question.

"Regarding the matter of joint command, I don't know how the chairman of the committee will arrange it?"

"It's simple. Establishment of the Joint Command. There are 20 senior military staff members, a "military staff office" and a number of military advisers, all of whom are appointed by division commanders, and these people form a "military advisory group." All members have the right to speak on military affairs, whether it is a staff office or an advisory group. The Supreme Military Commander of the Joint Command is a Commander-in-Chief, who is jointly elected by the Military Staff and takes office after receiving more than half of the affirmative votes of the Military Advisory Group, and the Commander-in-Chief has the sole and final decision-making authority over the forces of the United Front. ”

The meaning of Zhao Bei's words was very clear, and everyone present could hear it clearly.

Obviously, the only person who is qualified to be the commander-in-chief of the joint forces can only be Zhao Bei, because he has the most troops under his command and the most division commanders.

"Chairman." He is going to be the "commander-in-chief" again.

In terms of grasping power, others are really not the opponents of the commander-in-chief.