In early March 1919, Beijing had already entered spring, but the climate did not warm much. There was heavy snow on the last day of February, which put a layer of white veil on the somewhat depressed Chinese capital, as if mourning the soldiers of the North and South armies who died in the two battlefields in Henan and Shandong. For the Beiyang government in Beijing, this layer covered the white of Beijing, which seemed to indicate that their political life was actually dead!

Now, from the officials of various departments in charge of the government to the people under the people, they have learned the latest progress of the North-South War through their respective channels. They know that the First Elite Division of Beiyang surrendered after the bombings in Yucheng was exhausted, and they knew that the main force of the First Elite Division, the Beiyang First Front Army, who went to rescue the Third Division, was also caught in a heavy siege in Shangqiu, and they were about to follow the old path of the Third Division! They also knew that the Jinpu Road Front Army suffered a crushing defeat at the foot of Mount Tai, two divisions of the Second Army were completely defeated, and the remaining five divisions and two mixed brigades also suffered heavy losses under the sudden attack of the Southern Army. Now they abandoned Jinan and retreated to Dezhou, the northernmost part of Shandong. Of course, why a large army in combat was taken care of by the enemy for a sudden attack, few people could know the reason.

In addition, bad news came from the front line of Shanhaiguan. The 13th Beiyang Division, who was guarding there, was still playing the role of a shoddy person, and collapsed on the whole line under the attack of the First Army of the National Revolutionary Army! Jiang JShi, commander-in-chief of the Fourth Front Army of the National Revolutionary Army, who had just completed the reorganization of the Northeast army, is now commanding a 100,000 army (of course not all his troops), and is heading into the pass. He is preparing to seize the city of Beijing with Chang Ruiqing!

Our Changda warlord, who worked hard to defeat the main force of the Beiyang Army, was of course not willing to lose the fat. Under his command, Zhang Zhizhong commanded the Eighth Army and the New Eighth Division to march at night. Within a few days after the capture of Lankao, he conquered Kaifeng, Zhengzhou, Anyang and other places, and has now reached Zhili.

As for the group of emperors in Beijing, uh, the ministers in Dongjiaomin Lane. Most of them have already been packing their clothes in the first few days of March! In their opinion, the situation in Beiyang is absolutely impossible to recover, and they can only admit the reality. Of course, it is not that there is no one left. British minister Eston and French minister Henry have not moved. It is not that the French and British believe that the Beiyang government has any tricks to bring about a resurrection, but that they have never made any progress in the negotiations on establishing diplomatic relations with the Nanjing National Government.

However, the Beiyang government has been holding on for a long time these days. Xu Shuzheng, the highest consul, did not send a telegram to the ranks. The base camp also held meetings every day. It is said that it wanted to defend Beijing! The Beiyang general Wu Peifu, who was dismissed from class halfway, was the first to lead troops to Beijing to "rescue the king". He brought a newly formed infantry division from Baoding (made of three dissatisfied mixed brigades plus the scraps of the third division), and was also named the Third Division of the CSKA Army! It is quite a bit of a shame to be a city of Yucheng.

The new Third Division and their division commander Wu Peifu returned to Beijing on March 3, 1919. As soon as they got off the train at Zhengyangmen Railway Station, they were picked up by the car sent by the stewards government at Tieshizi Hutong. In an extremely secluded office, they met Xu Shuzheng who was still supporting the Beiyang storefront.

Xu Shuzheng looked pretty good, but his hair was almost half white! His skin also looked a little loose, as if he had grown ten years old all of a sudden. In this office, there was another person. It was Lu Jianzhang. Wu Peifu was slightly stunned by his appearance. But he realized in a flash that he probably represented Feng Yuxiang from Dezhou?

Xu Shuzheng forced a little smile: "Ziyu. Let's sit there****? As long as you can come, let's discuss the way out of Beiyang together."

Wu Peifu smiled bitterly: "I have already found a way out. Youzheng, what we need to consider now is probably the only way out? Chang Yaoru is your disciple. Has he sent a representative to contact you?"

Xu Shuzheng frowned and sneered: "I sent a representative to find Duan Zhi's old ****? But I will never serve him! At worst, I will just go out of the wild and go home to eat old rice, but it's not that time yet, so we may be able to fight!"

Wu Peifu smiled bitterly and shook his head, not knowing what to say for a moment. Xu Shuzheng turned his eyes to Lu Jianzhang. Lu Jianzhang looked at Wu Peifu, thought for a while before speaking: "The plan to stab Chang Chang is progressing very smoothly. The woman has successfully approached Chang Ruiqing's father Chang Laohu****. I am ready to join Chang Laohu and become Chang Laohu's closed disciple!"

"Stir Chang? You want to kill Chang Ruiqing!" Wu Peifu stood up and shook his head suddenly at Xu Shuzheng: "Youzheng, Chang Ruiqing is not that easy to kill, and our Beiyang is now out of power, and killing him will be useless. If he gets purgated, he will take revenge and we will die without a place to bury!"

Xu Shuzheng gritted his teeth: "If we don't kill him, we will die without a burial place! The surname Chang is not Sun Yat-sen, and he will not give us any chance to turn the tables****? He has rejected the tens of thousands of Beiyang troops in Dezhou and Shangqiu! All he wants is to surrender!"

Fighting against the flag and surrendering are completely different concepts! Fighting against the flag is just to replace the five-colored flag of Beiyang with the blue sky and white sun and the ground is red. The army is still private, and it is obeying the tutoring of the National Government and not obeying the propaganda, and there is no chance of turning the tables in the future! But surrendering against the troops will be nothing. Although the National Government will not pursue any war crimes (defeating the war?), and will even appoint most of the truly talented officers. However, from then on, they can only integrate into the system of the National Revolutionary Army and become part of the National Revolutionary Army or the National Defense Forces in the future. They are no longer people from the Beiyang, nor are they a warlords who hold their own troops.

Xu Shuzheng picked up several envelopes on the table and handed them to Wu Peifu: "This is the condition given by Jiang JShi. As long as I give Beijing to him to occupy, he will recommend me to be the chairman of Zhili Province!" He looked at Wu Peifu with bright eyes: "You are the security commander of Zhili, and Feng Huanzhang has also appointed another official from the northwest or Shandong. Moreover, the three of us can retain at least one division's army, and the military pay can be subsidized by the National Government, and some troops can be organized in Zhili localities."

A hint of joy flashed across Wu Peifu's face, but then shook his head: "He can only recommend it. He cannot guarantee that Sun Yat-sen, Chang Ruiqing will agree! The two of them are the ones who are in power in the National Government."

Xu Shuzheng snorted coldly: "Sun Yat-sen will agree, and he will agree to better conditions! The problem is Chang Ruiqing, he is now the commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition Army and the vice chairman of the Military Commission of their National Government. I heard that half of the members of the Military Commission are on his side. If he firmly opposes, Sun Yat-sen will not stand out for us. "

This is true. Sun Yat-sen is not Yuan Shikai. Why did he break up with Chang Ruiqing for the sake of the remnants of Beiyang? So as long as Chang Ruiqing insists on completely dismantling the Beiyang warlords, Jiang JShi's promises will be all about the mirage.

"So we can only get rid of Chang Ruiqing!" Lu Jianzhang said coldly. He had a different view of Tsing Chang, especially after Feng Yuxiang got the job of the commander-in-chief of the Northwest Frontier Defense, he planned to order Bai Mudan to stop his actions. However, Chang Ruiqing made Bai Chongxi command the troops to severely damage Feng Yuxiang's 11th Division. He also issued an ultimatum to the remnants of the Jinpu Road Front Army who retreated to Dezhou! Only then did Lu Jianzhang completely murderously about Chang Ruiqing.

****??

Xuzhou, Northern Expedition Army Headquarters.

"The original intention of our National Government and the National Revolutionary Army was to realize the national revolution, and what is the national revolution? In short, it is to save China, and what if it is to save China? It is to defeat the warlords and eliminate the great powers! Defeating the warlords to achieve complete unity of the country is a prerequisite for expelling the great powers and reclaiming the national powers. The reclaiming the national powers means that China has escaped the crisis of national destruction and extermination. The goal of our national revolution has also been achieved. The purpose of our National Revolutionary Army's Northern Expedition is also very clear, which is to defeat the warlords! What we want to defeat is not just the Beiyang army like Xu Shuzheng and Wu Peifu and others.

The valley is a warlord system that takes the army for itself! We will never allow the old warlords to be defeated. New warlords appeared again! As for those officers who have been warlords or served the warlords, our National Government and the National Revolutionary Army still welcome their joining, and we believe that they can find suitable positions here. We will do our part to do our best for the country and the nation. But we must never allow them to have an army that serves privately. This is why, as the commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition Army, refused to change their banners within the Shangqiu encirclement and the remaining Beiyang Army in Dezhou."

Chang Ruiqing sat on the rostrum made of several tables and talked to a group of Chinese and foreign journalists below. Although Beijing has not yet been defeated and the Beiyang Army has not been completely eliminated, the commanders of the two major forces in Beiyang, the First Front Army and the Jinpu Road Front Army, have sent out a telegram that is willing to "repent and participate in the National Revolution"! The civil war in China since the Yuan Dynasty has been in this kind of low-serious style. If the defeated party sends a telegram and then let their army accept the clean adaptation of the winning party, they can preserve their strength and wait for the future. It is rare for Chang Ruiqing to refuse to incorporate it and dismiss tens of thousands of defeated soldiers and generals from the defeated party to be disarmed.

Sun Yat-sen, another major shareholder of the National Government, seemed to have no choice but tolerate and accusation of Chang Ruiqing's actions, and could only take tolerance and accusation. However, those who know Chairman Sun know that he is actually pretending to be a good person. Half of the members of the military committee are his! If all the military power in China is concentrated in the hands of this committee, it will be no harm to him, the chairman, and such offensive things can be done by Chang Ruiqing!

However, most outsiders do not understand the reasons and accused Chang Ruiqing of being too strict and not having the traditional Chinese virtue of forgiveness. Many people are worried that this "killing all" policy will prolong the war that could have ended soon for a long time, which will greatly damage China's vitality. The purpose of Chang Ruiqing's holding such a press conference was to clearly tell all the people of his opinion clearly.

Another reporter asked a question below: "Commander-in-Chief Chang, as far as we know, there are still a large number of new troops in the sequence of the National Revolutionary Army that are not completely controlled by the Military Commission! The system they implemented is no different from the system implemented by the Beiyang warlords. Since the National Government can allow their existence, why can't the Beiyang warlords be allowed to surrender to the revolution and end the civil war as soon as possible so as to avoid more creatures being tragically damaged?"

Chang Ruiqing smiled: "The system of the newly formed army is only temporary. When the Northern Expedition ends, the Military Commission will start to reorganize these revolutionary troops that have a certain private armed nature. ****? We will still give their leaders generous treatment, after all, they are all meritorious ministers of the revolution. But having merit does not mean that the territory and army can be retained, and the army can become new warlords! I think everyone should understand the difference."

As soon as these remarks came out, the reporters present also started to discuss. They also knew that the army directly under the Military Commission of the National Government is only more than 600,000 officers and soldiers of the twelve armed forces. The warlords of various names, semi-warlords, have at least 700,000 or 800,000 on the land of China! Which of the masters of these troops is not a hero? Who doesn’t regard the territory of the army as more important than life? How easy is it for the National Government to reorganize them? Maybe it will be a civil war that will last for years!

However, Chang Ruiqing had nothing to say to spread through these reporters. He winked at his adjutant Pan Wenzhao and Zheng Zhongyuan. The two young men hurriedly got up and walked to the rostrum and announced loudly: "Everyone, everyone! Commander-in-Chief Chang still has military affairs to deal with. Today's press conference ends here." As he said that, he protected Chang Ruiqing and left the venue. Several reporters wanted to follow up and ask questions, but were stopped by Chang Ruiqing's guards. Chang Ruiqing and others walked towards the backyard of the headquarters with great strides.

As soon as he got away from the group of reporters, Chang Ruiqing slowed down and smiled at Pan Wenzhao, "Wenzhao, there is no important thing to deal with today, right?" Seeing the other party nodding, Chang Ruiqing said again, "Then let me turn off all the unimportant arrangements. I want to go home *****? Alas, I almost forgot that I am from Xuzhou. But I have returned home in glory these two days, so my son always wants to visit me, right?"

Pan Wenzhao listened to him "nonsense". He just smiled and didn't speak. This young man has received traditional Chinese education and did not have much rebellious thinking. He is a typical filial son and loyal minister. He does not have a good understanding of Chang Ruiqing's idea of ​​not respecting me very much.

Chang Ruiqing did not have the intention to continue talking to Pan Wenzhao. After he ordered Zheng Zhongyuan to prepare the convoy, he thought about his thoughts while walking. His plan was actually very clear. With the remnants of the two-way victory in the Longhai Road and Jinpu Road, he collapsed and weakened the Beiyang warlord group to the greatest extent. Although his attitude to the outside world was very tough, it was just a lion's big talk, not something that could not be negotiated at all. But he would never allow a lot of new warlords to appear like in history after the victory of the Northern Expedition! Even if the warlords still exist, they must be temporary and weak.

So in the next step, he will deal with not only the Beiyang warlords, but also the warlords within the National Government system! A large number of newly formed troops will become centrally-level troops, and the autonomy of provinces such as Sichuan, Zhejiang, Shanxi, and Shaanxi will be abolished. However, the autonomy of the northeast and northwest (Gansu, Xinjiang, **, Suiyuan, Chahar, Mongolia and other provinces will be maintained for a while. The northwest cannot take into account. We can first let Feng Yuxiang, the commander-in-law, and perhaps Wu Peifu go to deal with him. I don’t know if Comrade Mao Zd saved him back?

As for the Northeast, *****? After all, Chiang Kai-shek is protected by Sun Yat-sen and is a member of the Military Commission. It is really hard to control him! If the central government has all the power, it would be better for him to deal with him. *****? Unfortunately, there is still Sun Yat-sen now, and he will not let himself deal with Jiang JShi. Lao Jiang is his confidant! Oh, there is also the Guangdong clan of the Kuomintang. Although this group of people is easier to deal with than Jiang JShi, it is always troublesome. If the Guangdong clan and Jiang JShi join forces after Sun Yat-sen's death, it will be difficult for him to deal with them! It seems that I have to think of a way to deal with it earlier. Also, it is GCD. If their problems are not handled properly, it will be a big trouble! Fortunately, the Chinese revolution finally won before the end of the Russian civil war, and he is also a powerful member of the Central G Central Bureau ****?

He thought about it and was out of sight. It was not until Pan Wenzhao's voice sounded again that he found that three black cars and dozens of cavalry had appeared in front of him.

"Principal, the convoy is ready." Pan Wenzhao opened the door of one of the cars. Chang Ruiqing got in and then left. When he got in the car, Chang Ruiqing found that his wife Wang Ruonan was dressed up and sat inside.

"Yaoru, the old man's 45th birthday is coming soon. What he meant was to do well and by the way ****?? I also wanted to collect a closed disciple at the birthday party." Wang Ruonan came to Xuzhou with his parents-in-law and was running around the Changfu in Balitun and Xuzhou Daotai Yamen in the past two days. The two elders of the Chang family (actually not old) had anything to say to their son, and they also asked her, the daughter-in-law to pass on the message. They had been in Xuzhou for a while, but they had not seen their son who was busy with military affairs several times! (To be continued...)

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Chapter completed!