Chapter Fifty-Five Broke Again

  Something to share: this book has officially signed a contract today, so everyone can rest assured and collect it. Also, please try not to write certain things in the book reviews, just in case. Thanks everyone, and I'd like to ask for some recommendation votes!

  "Did he really say that?"

  "Yes!"

  "What kind of medicine is Fang Zidong selling in his gourd?" Yuan Shikai had seen countless people, but he couldn't see through Fang Zidong at all. Especially after Yang Duan told him about the three major suggestions put forward by Fang Zidong, he was even more bewildered. Isn't Fang Zidong a man of Song Jiaoren?

  "Gongfu, what do you think?" Yuan Shikai asked, turning his gaze to Xia Shoutian beside him.

  "Xiaozi, do you think he's telling the truth or lying?" Without directly answering, Xia Shoutian instead asked Yang Du.

  Yang Du thought for a moment and said categorically: "There won't be any fake, I can guarantee that!"

  "Good! Good!" Xia Shoutian clapped his hands and laughed loudly, then turned around to pay respects to Yuan Shikai: "Congratulations, Mr. President, on gaining another capable general! It seems that Fang Zhenming has the intention of surrendering to you."

  "Oh? How can you say that?" Yuan Shikai narrowed his eyes and retorted.

  "Although Fang Yexian is a member of the KMT, if it weren't for his involvement in the Huang Keqiang case due to some misunderstanding, things wouldn't have turned out the way they did later on. Your Excellency should be aware of this, shouldn't you?" Yuan Shikai nodded, and Xia Shoutian smiled: "This person has been abroad for a long time and only joined the KMT after returning to China. Fundamentally, he is vastly different from ordinary party members. Since Fang Yexian followed Song Xun into Beijing, he first helped Your Excellency come up with strategies for the large loan negotiations, and then used his own efforts to persuade the National Assembly members, which eventually calmed down the situation. Afterwards, he deliberately befriended Hu Shi and me, and his intentions were obvious. Then, he went south to deal with the revolutionary party's rebellion without showing any mercy, even killing Lin Hu and others in the Eighth Division, demonstrating his methods. Although Chen Qimei's death was not directly caused by him, he cannot be absolved of responsibility. Now, he has proposed these three strategies to weaken local powers and consolidate central authority. Clearly knowing that Hu Shi is behind Your Excellency, he shows no restraint and speaks freely. From this, it can be seen that Fang Yexian had long been planning to curry favor with Your Excellency."

  Yang Du nodded in agreement: "What Geng Fu said is right, I also think so."

  Yuan Shikai sank into thought for a moment, then lifted his head and burst out laughing: "So to speak, Fang Zhengming wants to use Hui'er's mouth to present a memorial to me? To show his sincerity?"

  "Exactly!"

  Yang Du and Xia Shoutian nodded simultaneously, answering in unison.

  "Hmm, this young man has a broad and profound mind, he is indeed talented. Although the three strategies he proposed are not perfect, his intention is good. Alright, Xiazi, Gengfu, you can get close to him more often, if he really wants to rely on me, I won't treat him unfairly, such talent can still be used."

  "Long live the great president!"

  Yuan Shikai thought that Fang Zidao, if he really could rely on him, would be a valuable talent for the Beiyang government. The three major suggestions or views he put forward had a great impact on Yuan Shikai's mind, and even made him think that Fang Zidao was completely standing on his side to make decisions for himself.

  As the head of state, financial problems had long plagued him. Otherwise, he would not have decided to borrow from abroad in the first place. If it weren't for the large post-disaster loan supporting the government, it would have gone bankrupt long ago, and his Beiyang army wouldn't have been able to quickly quell the provincial rebellions. Although the finances can still barely be maintained now, loans will eventually run out one day, and Yuan Shikai had no easy solutions for restoring national financial power.

  As for the second item, the separation of military and civil administration, Yuan Shikai was somewhat entangled in his heart. As the leader of the Beiyang warlords, he had consolidated his power by grasping both the military and civilian affairs, and thus sat on the throne of the great president. With his precedent, various factions and individuals within the Beiyang system also followed suit, so now there are not a few powerful people in the government who grasp both military and civil affairs, let alone the governors of the southern provinces.

  This way of integrating military and political power, although it has its advantages, also has obvious drawbacks in the long run. Yuan Shikai came from Beiyang, how could he not see that? It's just that as a big boss of Beiyang, there are some things he can't say and some things he can't do, otherwise, the people below would scatter and it would be hard to lead the team. If Fang Zidao really could achieve this point, Yuan Shikai would certainly applaud with both hands, he would be delighted, how could he let others sleep soundly by his side? Yuan Shikai is not Zhao Kuangyin, he can't use the strategy of "releasing military power with a cup of wine", but that doesn't mean he won't use Fang Zidao as a knife to do things for him, so as to firmly sit on the throne.

  Regarding the suggestion of nationalizing the military, Yuan Shikai secretly applauded in his heart. Nowadays, the Beiyang clique dominates the Republic of China, but the military strength of various factions is not weak, especially the military power of provinces in southern China, which has become a separate country and does not listen to the central government's orders, doing its own thing. Take this rebellion as an example, if it weren't for the revolutionaries controlling the troops, how could such a thing have happened? Thinking about Zhang Xun's demands for troop numbers, military pay, and coercion of the central government, Yuan Shikai felt like bursting into flames. If it weren't for these troublemakers, he, as the president, would be able to do his job more comfortably in the future. As for nationalizing the military? In Yuan Shikai's view, as the president, the Beiyang Army under his command is naturally the national army. Canceling local troops and replacing them with a national army wouldn't that mean his Beiyang faction truly unified the country?

  If Fang Zidao knew what Yuan Shikai was thinking now, he would be at a loss whether to laugh or cry. The suggestions he put forward may seem harmless to Yuan Shikai, but in reality, they were made from the perspective of the country's interests. After all, Yuan Shikai is still Yuan Shikai, with his deeply ingrained feudalistic views of a family-run dynasty. Although he is now the Grand President of the Republic, at heart, this old Yuan still thinks of himself as an emperor.

  Louis XIV of France once said, "I am the state." Now Yuan Shikai is also like this. Fang Zidao's goal was to change the country's future and reform the nation, but unfortunately, he was misunderstood by Yuan Shikai as thinking only for himself. However, looking at it another way, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. If Fang Zidao understood what Yuan Shikai had in mind, perhaps he would even be grateful to have accidentally stumbled upon an advantage.

  Within two days, Zhang Huachen also returned to Beijing. Along with him were the two celebrities "Jiang Zhicheng and He Yingqin". As a minor role in the rebellion, they could not enjoy the same treatment as Li Liejun, Bai Wenwei, Chen Jiongming and others. However, under Fang Zida's confession, he was not thrown into prison, but temporarily found a place to be detained, pending trial and sentencing.

  The war in the northwest was still going on, and Bai Lang's "Rebel Army" swept through most of Shaanxi. Lu Jianzhang, who received the mobilization order, led his troops to rush to the northwest without stopping, and his vanguard soon clashed with Bai Lang's forces, engaging in several small-scale battles with both sides suffering victories and defeats.

  Lu Jianzhang arrived at the front line and mobilized his troops to surround and annihilate, but Bai Lang's army knew they couldn't resist, so they decided to use a clever strategy to cope with the situation. By October 26th, one of Lu Jianzhang's regiments was eager to achieve merit and advanced too far, getting ambushed by Bai Lang, almost suffering total annihilation. After receiving the report of the ambush, Lu Jianzhang was both shocked and enraged, immediately leading his troops to rush to the rescue. However, when he arrived at the battlefield, except for the thousands of corpses and dozens of wounded soldiers left on the battlefield, Bai Lang had already led his troops to retreat, fleeing without a trace.

  This battle was the biggest loss for the Beiyang Army at the hands of Bai Lang, and Lu Jianzhang, known as the General-in-Chief of the Imperial Guard, was furious. When news reached Beijing, the Ministry of War was shocked, and Minister Duan Qirui immediately reported the situation to the Presidential Palace and the Premier's Office. No one had expected that Bai Lang would be so difficult to deal with, and even Lu Jianzhang's intervention ended in defeat. The central government's finances were not abundant, but for now, the Bai Lang rebellion must be put down; no matter what, he could not be allowed to rise again, or the consequences would be unimaginable.

  For this, Yuan Shikai and Song Jiaoren discussed and decided to send more troops from the Ministry of Army to support, and must eliminate the White Wolf army. In this way, the central government squeezed out another 10 million military expenses with great difficulty, mobilized the First Army and Second Army from the south, and deployed troops from the north to the west, plus Lu Jianzhang's troops in the northwest, and assembled nearly 200,000 troops to march towards Shaanxi Province, attempting to annihilate the White Wolf army at once.

  The war in the northwest seems to be unstoppable for a while, but the money in the national treasury is decreasing day by day, making Song Jiaoren anxious and restless. One day, he suddenly remembered what Fang Zidao had said before, and couldn't help but find him to ask about his plan.

  "It's almost written, but there are some details that I still want to think about carefully." When he arrived at the Premier's office, Song Jiaoren asked him as soon as he saw him, and Fang Zidao replied with a smile.

  "Details later, let me take a look at what you've written first." Song Jiaoren said impatiently.

  "Alright, I'll have someone send you back to the manor later." Fang Zida nodded and asked, looking at Song Jiaoren's anxious expression: "What's wrong? Did something difficult come up?"

  "Alas, it's all about the money!" Song Jiaoren sighed and threw up his hands: "These past few months, we've been patching up holes everywhere, barely scraping together enough for this year. But then the south was just pacified when a huge mess broke out in the northwest! Now the cannons are booming, and hundreds of thousands of taels of gold are flowing out like water! It's driving me to despair!"

  "This is also not a solution, wars don't need money." Fang Zida comforted him with one sentence, while in his heart he found it amusing. Only then did he understand the purpose of Song Jiaoren's urgency in asking for materials. Did Song Jiaoren think he was a god? He couldn't even turn stones into gold, and even if he had a way to improve the economy, he didn't have any magical abilities. However, Fang Zida could also understand Song Jiaoren's difficulties. As the premier, it wasn't easy for him to be in this position, and once he ran out of money, criticism from all sides would likely pour in.

  No matter what, a way must be thought of. After smoking and pondering for a while, Fang Zida spoke up: "Tui Chu brother, I have an idea here that might improve the economy, you can give it a try."

  "What's the plan? Quick! Tell me!" Song Jiaoren exclaimed with sudden joy.

  "Simple, two words!" Fang Zida pulled out a silver dollar from his pocket and slapped it on the table: "Coinage!"