"Shibaquan, Shibaquan! Xu Youzheng sent a telegram to him, and the two commanders-in-chief of Belarus agreed to resolve the incident peacefully! Wu Guangxin banged, slammed open the door and rushed into Duan Qirui's study. He was previously appointed by Duan Qirui as the commander-in-chief of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the Sichuan investigation envoy, responsible for attacking Sichuan, but he was defeated by the Sichuan-Yunnan-Guizhou coalition army, and ran back to Beijing in disgrace.

Duan Qirui was bowing his head and discussing the mortgage of the Eastern Railway with Cao Rulin and Liang Shiyi, and looked at Wu Guangxin, but just glanced at him lightly. This brother-in-law of his, as soon as he encounters something, can't hold his breath, and he is still far worse than Xu Shuzheng.

Cao Rulin, the 211th Diplomatic Governor of the Northeast Wang, smiled and said: "Old Zhi, it's good now, the Russians are willing to settle it peacefully, so that the matter of the mortgage of the Middle East Railway can be done quickly...... We in Beiyang will have the money to clean up Sun Yat-sen Chang Ruiqing! ”

Duan Qirui snorted: "How can things be so simple? During this time, international public opinion was blaming us, and the legation was also putting pressure on us, and the British minister Eston even threatened to expel China from the Entente! Seeing that the Entente is about to win, we are going to be expelled, but we are not the victorious powers...... Then there will be no chance of fighting for the right to return! In this case, the Russians are willing to settle peacefully, and they will definitely ask for a sky-high price! ”

He turned his head to look at Wu Guangxin, who handed a telegram to Duan Qirui with both hands, and said with a smile on his face: "You are still wise Zhiquan." There are prerequisites for the peaceful settlement of the Russians, they want to severely punish the murderer of the Middle Road robbery, and they want us to get rid of the road protector! And Zheng also means to solve the road guard. Then he took out a telegram from his pocket and handed it over: "Xu Youzheng also reported that Zhang Yuting of the Feng Army is conspiring with the Guangzhou side, preparing to let the 211th National Revolution of the First Army go north to resist Russia, and the fourth who is the Northeast Wang Army will be stationed in Yingkou and Jinzhou in the name of going north to resist Russia......"

With a bang, Duan Qirui had already jumped up and accidentally knocked down the chair he was sitting on! He glared at Wu Guangxin. snatched the newspaper from his hand, swept it through the ten lines at a glance, and snorted heavily: "Zhang Zuolin, this bastard!" He was a bandit, and he was not satisfied with being a patrol envoy of the three eastern provinces. I also want to be the commander of the security of the three eastern provinces, and I also want to be the vice chairman of the national government...... Don't pee on yourself and take a picture of what you are! ”

Cao Rulin and Liang Shiyi glanced at each other, both revealing deep worries. Cao Rulin asked, "Old Zhi." What is Xu Youzheng's opinion? ”

"Of course, it's a problem once and for all!" Duan Qirui waved his hand and made a catchy gesture: "You Zheng wants to invite Zhang Zuolin, Meng Enyuan, and Guo Songling, the road protector of the Middle East Road, to Harbin for a meeting, and detain them at the venue." Then mobilize the 3rd Division and the 16th Division to solve the Road Protection Division, the 7th Division and the 11th Division to solve Wu Junsheng's 29th Division, and then send the participating army to join Meng Enyuan to solve the other two divisions of the Feng Army, and completely turn the three eastern provinces into our Beiyang rear! ”

After saying this, Duan Qirui set his eyes on Liang Shiyi. Liang Shiyi shook his head: "No, there is really no money in the accounts of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Communications...... The salaries of the yamen in Beijing have also been owed for a long time, and there is really no way to do it. ”

Duan Qirui waved his hand: "There are more than five million in the account of the Eastern Railway Administration. It should be enough to solve the three eastern provinces...... In any case, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Communications have to raise two or three million in reserve. ”

This reserve is used against the national government, it is a little less, but it is better than nothing, right? Duan Qirui finished his order, and without waiting for Liang Shiyi to answer, he said to Cao Rulin: "Runtian." Do you think the Russians are sincere in a peaceful settlement? ”

Cao Rulin thought about it carefully, and finally nodded: "There should be." In fact, the Provisional Government of Russia has no intention of going to war with us. At present, the two commanders of the two commanders are making their own decisions...... The subordinates estimated that they did not have the support of the provisional government now, so they had to find a step down. ”

Duan Qirui nodded silently, and asked again: "Do Sun Wen and Chang Ruiqing in the south have any actions now?" ”

Wu Guangxin thought for a while and replied: "It seems that the relationship between Sun Chang and the two parties in Guangzhou is not as harmonious as it was a while ago. Jiang Jshi, the general under Sun Wen, took advantage of Chang Ruiqing's westward expedition to resist the Russian army in Guangzhou, and the momentum was very large...... However, after Chang Ruiqing returned to Guangzhou from Guilin, he seized Jiang Jshi's commander-in-chief of the anti-Russian army, and sent him to Japan for inspection. ”

When he said this, there was a somewhat gloating expression on his face. Duan Qirui shook his head slowly: "No...... Where is Sun Wen so easy to compromise? Now he is the head of the national government, and Chang Ruiqing is the number two person at best. This matter is a little strange, by the way, what position is that Jiang Jshi now? ”

"It seems to be the commander-in-chief of the Northeast Anti-Russian Army."

"Not good! He went to Japan to seek support! Wu Guangxin's voice fell, and Cao Rulin exclaimed: "Old Zhi, there are many people in Japan who are good friends with Sun Wen, if Japan is allowed to fall to the side of the Nationalist Government, then we will ...... Beiyang."

Duan Qirui took a deep breath, looked at Wu Guangxin and ordered loudly: "Zitang, go and send a power to Xu Youzheng, let him do it!" Then he walked up to Cao Rulin and patted him on the shoulder: "Runtian, you can come with me to the Japanese Legation." ”

When Duan Qirui and Cao Rulin went to the Japanese Legation in Dongjiaomin Lane to ask for support. Wu Peifu has rushed back to Harbin from the Hailar front, and is arguing with Xu Shuzheng in the Northeast Frontier Supervision Office!

"Again! Are you crazy? Now that our war with the White Russians has not yet been fought, how can we attack the Red Brigade (referring to the road guard) and Zhang Yuting? They also have the strength of four divisions, and they also have the Nationalist Government to provide strong reinforcements, if they can't solve it in the short term, it will cause a large-scale civil war across the country! If Belarus takes advantage of this opportunity to attack, what will we do? ”

Xu Shuzheng slapped the table heavily: "White Russia itself is still in a civil war!" What forces do they have to invade China? Our great enemy now is not the Russians, but the Nationalist Government! Ziyu. Do you know that Zhang Zuolin is secretly communicating with the Nationalist Government, and he is ready to accept the appointment of the vice chairman of the Nationalist Government and the commander of the Northeast Security, and is also preparing to let the 50,000 National Revolutionary Army sail north to Liaoning...... If we don't solve Zhang Zuolin and the Red Brigade now, when the 50,000 National Revolutionary Army arrives in the Northeast, it will be you and me, and the death of the entire Beiyang group! Ziyu. Now is the moment of life and death for our Beiyang group, and we can't hesitate anymore! ”

After listening to Xu Shuzheng's words, Wu Peifu was also a little dumbfounded. This time, it seems that he colluded with the GCD and the Red Brigade to make trouble. Originally, he just wanted to be in a certain base area in the northeast. I didn't expect things to get bigger and bigger, and now it is about to become the fuse of a national civil war!

He hesitated and asked Xu Shuzheng: "The news from Zhang Yuting was given to you by the Japanese, right?" Why are they suing us about this? Could there be some ulterior conspiracy? And Belarus also seems to be supported by the Japanese......"

Xu Shuzheng waved his hand: "Don't think about it so much, you have to act now." The first strike is strong, and the last strike suffers! As he spoke, he took out a telegram from the drawer and handed it to Wu Peifu: "This is a secret order from the War Department, and Elder Duan Zhi has already allowed me to act cheaply." Ziyu, I plan to hand over the 3rd and 16th Divisions to you for unified command and go to Mudanjiang to eliminate the Red Brigade! Wu Junsheng's 29th Division, I will let Feng Huanzhang command the 7th and 11th Divisions to solve the problem...... After the matter is completed, I will be the border inspector of the three eastern provinces and the supervisor of the Eastern Railway! ”

Wu Peifu was about to say something, when he heard the sound of military boots outside the door. I saw an adjutant walk in excitedly: "Gong Zheng, Guo Songling of the road protector and Zhang Zuolin of Fengtian all called back and said that they would come to Harbin in person for a meeting!" ”

……

"Dashuai, do you really want to go north to Harbin? It's Xu Shuzheng's territory now! If he has any bad intentions, you will be trapped in it......" In the Marshal's Mansion in Fengtian City, Zhang Zuolin's think tank Yang Yuting is still trying to persuade his boss.

Zhang Zuolin patted Yang Yuting's shoulder with a big grin. said with a smile: "Neighbor Ge, you are too worried, they only have four divisions in the northeast of Beiyang, and they are still confronting Lao Maozi, and they are about to fight." How could they possibly touch me? ”

Yang Yuting shook his head: "Dashuai, the news from Heilongjiang and Jilin says that the atmosphere on the border has been relaxed at the moment, and Lao Maozi's army is retreating. And there is also news that their White Russia has lost a battle in Moscow and suffered heavy losses, and now it is too late to protect themselves. There's no more power left to invade us! ”

Zhang Zuolin hesitated slightly, but still waved his hand: "It's okay, it's okay, even if Lao Maozi doesn't call, there is still the national government!" If Beiyang dares to move me, won't all the three divisions of the Feng army defect to the Nationalist Government? Are they really not going to mix in Beiyang anymore? Speaking of this, he paused, and said: "Neighbor Ge, after I leave, Fengtian will be handed over to you and Fuchen (Zhang Zuoxiang), there is Sun Liechen's 28th division in Jinzhou, as long as you can hold the city, even if Xu Youzheng detains me, you will definitely not dare to hurt me a single hair, you can rest assured!" ”

After saying this, Zhang Zuolin took a few adjutants and walked over to the waiting car in the courtyard of the Marshal's Mansion. In fact, he went north to Harbin this time, in fact, it is not taken lightly, the rules of Beiyang over the years are clear, they are all so-called "gentlemen's disputes", there is no Hongmen banquet, even if he is defeated by the opponent, it is just a piece of paper and electricity can be confused. In the past few years, he has not gone to Beijing and Tianjin to participate in various meetings once or twice, when has he ever been in danger? I haven't heard of anyone who was caught in a meeting.

At the same time that Zhang Zuolin, the historical king of the Northeast, boarded a special train to Harbin to attend the Hongmen banquet set up by Xu Shuzheng for him and Guo Songling. After seven or eight days of turbulent trekking, the gunboat Yongfeng on which Jiang Jshi, who was very likely to become the lord of the Northeast, finally arrived at the home port of the Imperial Japanese Navy, Wujun Port!

Located in Hiroshima Prefecture in the western part of Japan's main island of Honshu, this military port is not only a base of the Japanese navy, but also the most important shipbuilding and steel base in Japan, but it is very far from Tokyo, the destination of Jiang's trip to Japan. Obviously, the Japanese side chose this important military port as the first stop on Chiang J-shi's trip to Japan, not to promote exchanges between the Chinese and Japanese navies -- Chiang J-shi was, after all, an army general.

It seems that the aim of the Japanese is to show their strongest side in front of Jiang Jishi! Doesn't it put a layer of fear on Japan in his heart? Although the current Japanese army is also very powerful, the appearance of those earthy infantry carrying rifles in a phalanx is not as deterrent as the steel castle composed of battleships, battle cruisers, and armored cruisers!

And these powerful steel behemoths are the embodiment of Japan's strong industrial prowess! And the industry is leading. That's where Japan's real strength lies. Even if Sun Yat-sen and Chang Ruiqing could plant the banner of blue sky and white sun and red ground all over China, and even if the Nationalist Government could establish an effective national mobilization system in China, form an army of millions and use the superiority in numbers to offset the qualitative superiority of the Japanese Army, is it possible for a China that is at least 20 years behind Japan in industry to build a powerful navy to counter the Japanese Navy? There is no navy ****??China's 10,000-mile sea frontier will open everywhere! Japan can choose to land at any point, do you China have so many land forces to fortify everywhere?

However, Jiang Jishi did not mean to be shocked by the huge warships like mountains in front of him. Instead, he smiled and said to Dai Jitao and Zhang Qun, who accompanied him on his visit to Japan: "Brother Ji Tao, Brother Yue Jun****?? Looks like we're going to have a lot to gain this time! ”

Dai Jitao was holding the deck of the gunboat Yongfeng, looking at the Japanese fleet in front of him with great interest, and just hummed after listening to Jiang Jishi's words. casually asked, "How can you see it?" ”

Zhang Qun was the person in charge of negotiations with Japan in the Kuomintang system, and he couldn't know the Japanese mind very well, so he sneered. Pointing to the Japanese fleet in front of him, he said, "Isn't this obvious****??" If they don't want to support Brother J Shi to be the king of the Northeast, why should they put on this scene to scare people? It's called Grace and Grace, and the Japanese like to play our old ways. ”

Dai Jitao was stunned for a moment, and looked back at Zhang Qun: "King of the Northeast!" Yue Jun, what do you mean by that? Brother J Shi is not a warlord! ”

Zhang Qun smiled, patted the handrail on the side of the ship, and said lightly: "But the Japanese will support Brother J Shi to be a warlord, this is determined by their mainland policy!" They don't want our China to be completely reunified, especially they don't want Manchuria to become a region directly under the central government of China??? Therefore, Zhang Yuting, who was born as a bandit, can control most of the Northeast! ”

"Then why are they still supporting Brother J Shi now?" Dai Jitao continued to ask.

"Because Beiyang is no longer good!" Jiang Jishi took the question, and he looked at the Japanese dignitaries who came to greet him on the dock in the distance. I was a little indignant: "The momentum of our rise is too fierce!" The Japanese already feel that it is difficult to prevent us from unifying China! However, in more than a year, the three provinces of Guangdong, Fujian, and Guangxi have been completely controlled by us, Yunnan and Guizhou are estimated to be soon, Sichuan will soon hang the signboard of the national government, and Lu Yongxiang and He Fenglin of Zhejiang and Shanghai have long colluded with Chang Ruiqing. As long as our army moves, it is estimated that it will change sides.

Moreover, the expansion of territory is not the appearance of the rise of our national government, and what really makes the Japanese feel that it is difficult to curb the momentum of our rise should be the political, economic, and military system that we have adopted now. Although this system is suspected of being a military dictatorship, it has mobilized as much as possible the human, material, and financial resources on the territory under our control for war. Compared with us, the Beiyang system is like the gap between the Manchu Qing and Japan during the First Sino-Japanese War, and it is using private power to oppose the power of the state. Is it a **** with no hope at all?? Therefore, some far-sighted people among the Japanese want to find pro-Japanese people from within our revolutionary camp to replace Zhang Yuting to rule the Northeast! Speaking of which, this qiē is all the credit of Chang Ruiqing! ”

****??

Tokyo, Kasumigaseki, the official residence of the Prime Minister of Japan.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, according to the observation below, the figures of the National Government of China, under Sun Yat-sen, are divided into three factions. Among them, the most powerful is the Chang Ruiqing faction, in fact, the national government was established on the basis of the alliance of Sun Yat-sen and Chang Ruiqing, so the Chang Ruiqing faction almost holds half of the power of the national government! Moreover, Chang Ruiqing himself is also a member of the Central Bureau of the GCD of China, and with this level of relationship, Soviet Russia is the natural ally of this faction, and our Great Japanese Empire is their natural enemy! If the Standing faction is allowed to seize the real power of the Nationalist Government, China will inevitably form an alliance with Soviet Russia against the Empire! Therefore, the empire should do everything possible to support Chang Ruiqing's political opponents. And such opponents were mainly the Cantonese faction and the Chiang J-Shi faction within the Nationalist Government. ”

The one who spoke was Inuyang Yi, who returned to Japan one step ahead of Jiang Jshi. Due to the opposition of Chang Ruiqing and the Chinese GCD, Sun Yat-sen did not agree to the "Sino-Japanese Alliance" proposed by him, but still verbally promised that as long as he reigned for one day, China would never unite with Soviet Russia against Japan! However, Sun Yat-sen's statement, as well as what Inu Yangyi saw and heard in Guangzhou during this time, already made him fully aware of the attitude of the three major factions in the Nationalist Government towards Japan.

At present, Chang Ruiqing, the most powerful faction in the Nationalist Government, although they are very polite to Japanese figures on the surface, their special relationship with Soviet Russia has determined that Chang Ruiqing will inevitably stand on the side of Soviet Russia when Japan and Russia go to war! Therefore, Inuyang Yi believes that Japan must support the opposition faction within the Nationalist Government against Chang Ruiqing, and if possible, it is best to get rid of Chang Ruiqing himself!!!