Chapter Sixteen: Taking Advantage of an Opportunity

  The Royalist Party, formed by the young and vigorous faction led by Liangbi, suddenly launched a military coup in Beijing, attempting to eliminate the State Council headed by Yuan Shikai and restore the imperial system of one-party rule.

  That day, the Imperial Guards quickly occupied the streets of Beijing, claiming that they would hang Yuan Shikai and other cabinet members to death at the four city gate towers.

  The mutiny of the Imperial Guards frightened Yuan Shikai, who did not dare to return to his residence and took refuge in the Qingwangfu Palace of Yi Ku. As an Iron Hat Prince, Yi Ku could enter and leave the Forbidden City freely. He attacked and met Empress Longyu, explaining the consequences of the mutiny, which might lead to opposition from Han officials. Empress Longyu was so frightened that she hastily summoned Liangbi, the leader of the Gongsuo Party, into the palace, and then scolded him severely.

  Yuan Shikai realized that Lang was the only obstacle to the abdication of the Qing emperor, and at this time, Wang Jingwei, a liaison officer from Nanjing, had secretly arrived in Beijing. Yuan Shikai knew that the revolutionaries were skilled in assassination.

  A few days later, with the cooperation of Yuan Shikai, the Beijing Revolutionary Party threw a bomb at Liangbi, who was not killed on the spot but had already inhaled more air than he exhaled. Two days later, he died.

  Li Hongzhang died, Empress Longyu was even more frightened and immediately convened an imperial meeting to discuss the emperor's abdication.

  However, on that day, only Zhao Bingjun, the representative of Yuan Shikai, arrived. Empress Longyu was frightened and repeatedly asked Zhao to go and tell Yuan that they would agree to any conditions, as long as she and her son could be spared.

  By February 12th, the Qing court finally issued an edict of abdication.

  ……

  In mid-January, Jiang Yu and others saw that the national situation was chaotic, the Qing court had not yet abdicated, and at this time they had almost digested Anhui and northern Jiangsu after three months of action, and already had the ability to continue expanding their territory.

  Taking advantage of the national situation being in chaos is a good opportunity to expand territory.

  It is obviously not wise to expand southward, Nanjing has established a temporary government, and if troops are sent to fight, they will be criticized by public opinion. Expanding northward can not only seize territory but also force the Qing emperor to abdicate under pressure from the Northern Expedition.

  After a period of secret planning, Jiang Yu and Chiang Fangzhen, the warlords of the Revival Army, set their sights on the "Golden Zone" at the junction of Shandong, Henan, and northern Jiangsu.

  There, it is now China's most important cotton-producing area and the main cotton-producing area. Xinjiang and other places have not yet been planted on a large scale, although some have already been planted, but as commodities circulating in East China are basically non-existent.

  As long as this cotton-producing area is controlled, it is equivalent to directly monopolizing the supply of domestic raw materials for China's textile industry, and a lot of benefits can be obtained.

  Seeing an opportunity to gain an advantage, Jiang Jue ordered Yang Hongfei to lead the First Division in a pincer movement against Shandong.

  The First Division troops were divided into two routes, one route along Zaozhuang, Linyi, and Rizhao launched an attack, the other route directly inserted into Heze, then launched an attack on Jining, Tai'an, and Laiwu.

  At the same time, in view of the need for external expansion, Jiang Yu and others discussed with Zhang Fanghai and expanded the third infantry division of the Fuxing Army to consolidate the rear defense force. In addition, three agricultural reclamation brigades were expanded to meet the needs at any time.

  On January 13, the First Division entered Shandong Province, where the defense forces were weak at that time. Although there was the Beiyang Fifth Brigade, it only had one regiment of troops, and another regiment had been dispatched out of Shandong to suppress revolutionary parties.

  In Jinan, there was only one division of Wu Dingyuan's troops, and the rest were basically without new army forces, with only some low-combat-effectiveness local old troops and militia.

  The Fifth Division was then plunged into internal strife, and Shandong Governor Sun Baoqi, under pressure from the revolutionary party, declared Shandong's independence, only to be quickly cancelled by Zhang Guangjian and Wu Bingxiang, who were sent by Yuan Shikai, along with the Beiyang Army of the Fifth Division.

  Shandong as a province where Yuan Shikai's power was deeply entrenched, apparently did not find it so easy to be independent and declared the cancellation of independence after only thirteen days.

  Sun Baoqi offended people when he declared independence, and offended people again when he cancelled it. In a situation where neither side was satisfied, he simply quit and ran away with his silver.

  The First Division of the Revival Army quickly captured Zaozhuang and Linyi, while the Left Route Army also took Huaizhou in a swift attack that lasted only one night. The surrounding counties of Pei County, Feng County, Shan County, Wucheng County, and Jinxian County were then rapidly occupied.

  Just after taking down the county town, the armed police, police, medical team, propaganda team and administrative personnel arrived, and quickly unfolded their work.

  The rear then sent relief materials such as food and cotton clothes to each county town through the vehicle team, in coordination with the expansion of administrative work.

  The sudden outbreak of war made the people of Shandong, who were caught in the middle, extremely nervous. However, when the battle was over, they were astonished to see that this army from northern Jiangsu did not harm any civilians.

  They wore brand new and sturdy military uniforms, marching in neat steps, with confidence and determination on their faces, the most spirited branch of the army that ordinary people had ever seen.

  This army did not have the corrupt atmosphere of the old Manchu army, nor the overbearing style of the Beiyang Army. When they spoke to ordinary people, they were always so gentle and when they made purchases, they were always so fair.

  It was just an instant, and the ordinary people's hearts were filled with unprecedented admiration for this army.

  Because they firmly believe that this army is an army that protects the people and stands with the people.

  With the subsequent arrival of relief supplies, the local people thoroughly accepted the local government established by the Anhui Provincial Government, and the work of the local government went smoothly with the cooperation of the local people.

  Through these policies, Jiang Yu began to rapidly digest the newly occupied territory.

  The commander of the Zhāi zi army stationed in Heze, Zhang Xun, has fled again.

  Zhang Xun was a die-hard loyalist of the Qing dynasty. During the Xinhai Revolution, he resisted stubbornly and was appointed as the Governor-General of Liangjiang by the Qing court. He then retreated all the way from northern Jiangsu to Heze, Shandong Province.

  At that time, the Restoration Army was fighting in northern Jiangsu and had no time to deal with Zhang Xun, which allowed Zhang Xun to run smoothly to Heze.

  This time the Revival Army launched an attack on Heze, and the Queue Army tried to counterattack. However, they were frightened by the fierce artillery fire of the Revival Army and fled in less than twenty minutes.

  At this time, Zhang Xun had no base, like a homeless dog, he couldn't afford to lose, once the queue troops in his hands were exhausted, he was nothing.

  Zhang Xun ran all the way to Dezhou, and for a time Yuan Shikai had no way to deal with Zhang Xun. At this time, the military strength in Shandong was somewhat too empty.

  The Restoration Army's attack on Shandong was far beyond Yuan Shikai's expectations.

  The Nanjing Revolutionary Party obviously did not have the guts to launch a Northern Expedition, they didn't even dare to touch the whiskers of the Beiyang Army. To put it bluntly, the high-level officials of the Revolutionary Party were a group of opportunists who would do whatever benefited them and wouldn't risk their lives by running to the north to fight with the Beiyang Army.

  The Wuchang Revolutionary Army is also at odds with Nanjing, and although the Wuchang side is slightly better off, it does not have strong forces of its own. Moreover, it is relatively far from Shandong, so this attack on Shandong is definitely not by the Wuchang Revolutionary Army.

  Shandong is about to become unstable again, Yuan Shikai was about to curse his mother, and hastily sent someone to investigate.

  The investigation soon yielded results, and Yuan Shikai was informed that the troops attacking Shandong this time were the Revival Army occupying Anhui and Subei.

  "Father, this Xinhai Army is quite strange. After the Wuchang Uprising broke out, they responded on the second day and quickly occupied all of Anhui and Subei. The Governor of Anhui, Zhu Jiabao, was also killed by them. But later, they only issued a lukewarm telegram and then there was no more news from them. At that time, the Wuchang Revolutionary Army had greater momentum, so we didn't have the energy to deal with them for the time being. Then, not only did they not contend for the positions of Governor of Anhui and Jiangsu, but they also absented themselves from the election of the Nanjing government. Instead, they set up their own Two Huai Administrative Bureau, which was not in line with the Nanjing Revolutionary Party, nor was it in line with the Wuchang Revolutionary Army." Yuan Keding said to Yuan Shikai.

  Yuan Shikai thought for a moment and said, "I remember now that the Administrative Bureau of the Two Huais recently issued some kind of agricultural reform decree in northern Anhui, which was widely debated in the newspapers."

  Yuan Shikai was suddenly startled and asked: "What happened later?"

  Due to the extreme danger in Beijing, one misstep would lead to complete defeat, and Yuan Shikai didn't have the energy to bother with the uncooperative warlord Jiang Yiwu.

  "Nothing happened afterwards." Yuan Keding was puzzled, and Yuan Shikai couldn't help but take a deep breath in reverse, clapping his hands and saying: "Impressive, impressive!"

  "Dad, what's so fierce?" Yuan Keding asked in confusion.

  "Think about it, if Father were to issue a similar decree now, wouldn't those large landowners rebel against me? At that time, it would be chaotic everywhere, but this Two Huai Administrative Bureau didn't stir up any trouble. What does this show? It shows that their control over the local area has reached a very frightening level." Yuan Shikai paced back and forth, then asked Yuan Keding again: "What's the bottom line with Jiang Yu?"

  "I heard he's very young, not even twenty years old, and had just returned from Germany at the beginning of the Gengzi year."

  Yuan Shikai frowned and said: "How come I've never heard of this guy before?"

  "Father, he went abroad after the Russo-Japanese War in the northeast (1905), but he first went to England and was admitted to Cambridge University. Half a year later, he ran to France and made a name for himself there. In the beginning of 1907, he ran to Germany again and was admitted to the German Army University. He stayed in Germany for three years, but I didn't hear what he specifically did there. At the beginning of 1910, he returned home and served as the commander of the Jiangbei Patrol Camp."

  "What is this kid going to do this time?" Yuan Shikai was baffled, without saying a word beforehand, he just attacked Shandong, and after attacking, he didn't issue any telegrams or make any demands.

  Yuan Shikai naturally did not know what Jiang Yu wanted to do, because Yuan Shikai had a fixed mindset. For a long time, China was a system with a small central government and a large society, with very low control over local areas. However, as a result, the warlords only needed to make some noise at the top level to gain control of an area, as long as they unified the top level, the local areas would naturally be under their rule.

  Jiang Yu completely abandoned this model and began to strengthen local control, thus taking a path of local encirclement of the central government.

  To put it bluntly, it is constantly encroaching on the territory. When the territory becomes large enough, it can exert a suppressing effect on the central government.

  Yuan Shikai did not expect this at all, his fixed thinking was not easy to react so quickly, and he was naturally puzzled.

  "No matter what, Shandong cannot be lost." Yuan Shikai could not let the lamb that had come to his mouth run away. Once Shandong was in chaos, the Nanjing revolutionary party would make rapid progress, and it would not be easy to suppress them at that time.

  At this time, Empress Longyu drafted an abdication edict. However, at this time the Imperial Guards rebelled again. With no other choice, Yuan Shikai could only humble himself and plead with Feng Guozhang for peace.

  Feng Guozhang had been madly suppressing the revolutionary army in Hankou, and he also entered the palace to meet Empress Dowager Longyu, letting Empress Dowager Longyu allocate 30 million taels of silver to him, so that he could independently pacify the revolutionary army.

  Yuan Shikai at that time was not going to destroy the revolutionary army, but wanted to use the revolutionary army to coerce the Qing court. Feng Guozhang's plan made him break out in a cold sweat, and he immediately sent Duan Qirui to the Wuchang front line, took away Feng Guozhang's command power, and let Feng Guozhang go to Heilongjiang to take up the post of governor.

  Feng Guozhang was withdrawn from the front line in Hankou by Yuan Shikai, feeling depressed. After returning to Beijing, he did not go to Chahar to take office, but went straight back to his own mansion and had a falling out with Yuan Shikai.

  At this time, Yuan Shikai let Yuan Keding come to the door to plead for peace and gave enough face to Feng Guozhang, and Feng Guozhang felt relieved in his heart.

  Feng Guozhang was a sworn brother of Liangbi, known as Feng Manzi, and was an acceptable figure in the Imperial Guards. However, Feng Guozhang was hesitant, so Yuan Shikai had no choice but to personally visit Feng's residence and tell him: Do you know where the heroic Xiang Yu failed? He failed due to his compassion for women and his inability to see through the situation.

  Although Feng Guozhang was emotionally loyal to the Qing court, it was absolutely impossible for him to die for the Qing court. Therefore, he stepped forward and went to the Imperial Guard Army camp. He climbed onto a high platform, holding the "Imperial Family Preferential Treatment Policy" reached in the North-South Agreement, and loudly read it out. However, the soldiers of the Imperial Guard said that the imperial court was already gone, and the Imperial Guard would definitely be disbanded. Rather than this, they might as well fight to the death.

  Feng Guozhang immediately promised that the Imperial Guard would continue to exist, with all treatment remaining the same. He also said that if you don't believe Feng, you can send two representatives to follow him day and night, and if Feng fails to deliver, he will take Feng's head on the spot.

  A coup has been foiled once again.

  On February 12, the Qing government issued an edict of abdication, and the Manchu Qing dynasty, which had ruled China for nearly three hundred years, came to an end and went to extinction.

  The Restoration Army began attacking Shandong in mid-January and, without encountering any resistance, extended its reach to Shangqiu, Henan.

  The unrest of the Restoration Army gave Yuan Shikai an excuse to deploy the Imperial Guards, and on February 15, just three days after the Qing court issued the abdication edict, Yuan deployed the Imperial Guards to Shandong to suppress the Restoration Army.

  For Yuan Shikai, the order was indeed in the words 'to advance and wipe out', it is clear that Yuan Shikai did not take the Restoration Army seriously.

  In his view, using the Imperial Guard to deal with the Restoration Army was a bit of an overkill, but the Imperial Guard's presence outside Beijing had been making Yuan Shikai feel like a fishbone stuck in his throat.

  ——————

  Chapter One Arrives!