Chapter 7: Petitioning for an Audience in the Capital

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  On March 11, Xu Shaozhen took his deputy Chen Lingxun and ten guards to board the train to Beijing. Before he left, the main officers of the First Fleet of the Navy jointly sent him a petition letter, also advising the President not to sign the "Twenty-one Demands".

  It's not hard to guess that Li Dingxin must have taken his $2 million and felt uneasy, wanting to do something in return. Anyway, this is indeed helping out a bit.

  At the same time, Japan also dispatched 30,000 troops to Shandong and began a strategic invasion east of Jiaozhou Bay. Although the Beiyang government's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued strong condemnations and inquiries, Japan insisted that the areas they invaded were under German control.

  Shandong Governor Jin Yunpeng was also extremely anxious, constantly urging the Beijing Central Government to issue further instructions. However, facing an army of 10,000 troops gathered in Shandong, plus an additional 30,000 newly deployed land forces, and with the Japanese Second Fleet still stationed near Qingdao waters, Beijing did not dare to take any rash action either, ordering the Shandong garrison not to engage in a head-on confrontation with the Japanese army.

  Jing Yunpeng had no choice but to withdraw his two divisions from eastern Shandong, retreating one step for every step the Japanese advanced. Before long, the Japanese army would be able to enter Jinan.

  Germany had a brigade of 8,000 soldiers stationed in Qingdao, Shandong, plus an artillery battalion, fully prepared for battle. This brigade and artillery battalion would be the main force to fight against the Japanese army. In addition, Germany also had 2,000 reserve soldiers in Dongying, Shandong, responsible for defending the naval base there. However, both in terms of troop numbers and geographical advantages, they were at a disadvantage.

  The Japanese are becoming more and more arrogant in Shandong province, showing no mercy to others.

  Xu Shao-wen arrived in Beijing on the 14th morning, and before that, he had already sent a telegram to this side of Beijing from Shanghai. A position as a supervisor is not small, and when entering the capital, there will usually be someone to receive him. Xu Shi-chang personally went to the New China Gate and rushed to the train station, along with the welcoming team from the General Staff Department, consisting of three cars and one truck loaded with six soldiers.

  After getting on the sedan chair, Xu Shichang had the team drive directly to the government officials' hotel on Xinhua Gate Street.

  Xu Shaowen and Xu Shichang were in the same car, with the driver and the guard in the co-pilot seat being trusted followers of Xu Shichang.

  "Wen Yuan, you've been in Shanghai for almost half a year now, are you used to it?" Xu Shichang asked with concern. As Wen Yuan's backer in the Central Committee and his only relative in Beijing, Xu naturally cared about his nephew.

  Xu Shaowen nodded and said, "It's okay, the central government has established the 155th Division in Shanghai. I've almost taken charge of a new army division equipped with American-style equipment."

  "Ah, hearing this news makes me feel relieved. Wen Yuan, you must firmly grasp this troop. In these times, having guns and soldiers is the only way to have a say. Xu Shichang smiled contentedly, then paused for a moment before asking again, "In your telegram, you said that this time you returned to Beijing was to persuade the President not to sign an agreement with the Japanese, right?"

  "That's right, Uncle. You've also seen the contents of these Twenty-One Demands. If we sign them, it would be a national calamity!" Xu Shao Wen's tone was full of urgency, showing a worried look for the country and its people. To be honest, he was indeed extremely anxious about this matter in his heart.

  "What you said is a lot, my Republic of China can accommodate multiple powers such as England, France, the United States and Japan, but it absolutely cannot accommodate only one power, Japan." Xu Shichang's expression was very solemn, but at the same time also had a kind of helpless sorrow.

  Xu Shaowen knew what his uncle meant. If multiple powers were in China at the same time, they could restrain and check each other, but if only one power monopolized China's privileges, it would be equivalent to swallowing up all of China.

  "But this matter cannot be changed by just advising, the President has long known that this agreement cannot be signed, otherwise he would not have delayed responding for so long," Xu Shichang continued to say, his face becoming even more solemn. "The Japanese 18th Division has 29,000 people, and recently another 30,000 troops were dispatched, now there are a total of 60,000 people gathered in Shandong. It is very clear that if President Yuan does not sign this agreement, Japan will not be polite to China."

  Xu Shao Wen gritted his teeth, his face a picture of hatred. For the time being, let these little Japanese get arrogant, wait until my own plan is thorough, and then we'll see how these little Japanese devils look good.

  "Of course, the Japanese used both hard and soft tactics, and also lured the President with some special conditions." Xu Shichang sighed heavily again, looking worried.

  Xu Shichang did not mention this special condition because up to now, Yuan Shikai had kept it confidential. However, Xu Shaowen was from the 21st century and naturally knew that the Japanese were offering political bribes on the condition of supporting Yuan's ascension to the throne. He looked at his uncle and said: "The President cannot agree to this special condition!"

  Xu Shichang was taken aback, looking at Xu Shaowen in surprise. He suddenly discovered that his nephew's face was very serious and solemn, clearly indicating that he already knew about Yuan Shikai's plan to become emperor. He took a deep breath and asked: "Wenyuan, what do you know?"

  "Uncle, please don't press me for an answer. I do know some things, but the source of the information must be kept confidential." Xu Shao-wen made a slightly apologetic request to Xu Shi-chang, and indeed, if this news were to leak out prematurely, combined with the nationwide protests against the "Twenty-One Demands" over the past period of time, it would certainly trigger an unprecedented massive wave.

  Xu Shichang looked at Xu Shaowen and finally let out a deep sigh, saying: "Wenyuan, your uncle won't make things difficult for you, but this matter must not be casually spread around."

  Xu Shaowen nodded and then said: "Uncle, I naturally know this, but you are a good friend of President Yuan, he trusts you the most, you must advise him not to accept this condition at all, and absolutely cannot do such a thing!"

  "If I could persuade, I wouldn't be standing by idly." Xu Shichang shook his head anxiously, "President Yuan had such thoughts even before the Qing dynasty ended. Alas, now he just wants to achieve his own ideals."

  "This kind of behavior will ultimately lead to alienation from others and loss of loved ones!" Xu Shao-wen said seriously.

  "Don't worry, it's not your turn to worry about this yet. I'll go and persuade the President again." Xu Shichang's tone was full of helplessness, he didn't know how much weight his persuasion would carry either. Yuan Shikai wanted to become emperor, on one hand it was his own idea, but more so it was the instigation of those close to him.

  These little people are trying to push President Yuan into the fire pit.

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