Chapter 40: Way to retreat?

At Xuzhou Railway Station, several military vehicles were parked steadily on the platform. With a neat sound of stepping, teams of soldiers wearing yellow military uniforms, with long braids behind their heads, rifles and backpacks, rushed into the station under the leadership of the officers. A neat queue was lined up on the platform to wait for the train, and there were surging military caps and rifles everywhere. The officers of the Braids Army looked proud and satisfied. When they greeted each other, they were all auspicious words for promotion and wealth. They seemed to have no determination to fight hard with anyone... These Braids Army were under the sign of the strongest soldier in the southeast. Zhang Xun, the leader of the Beiyang warlords of the thirteen provinces. Of course, this time, the north was able to win without bloodshed.

Zhang Xun's green sedan chair also arrived under the escort of a team of guards and staff members. He didn't like to ride a car very much, as if the car represented the Republic of China, and the sedan chair carried by eight people was the symbol of the Qing Dynasty. Chang Ruiqing's younger brother Chang Ruiyuan was also among a group of young speakers, and his appearance was as joyful as those officers of the braided army, as if he didn't know that he was already a hostage at all.

The green sedan chair stopped in front of a hanging float. When the curtains were lifted, he saw Zhang Xun and Zhang Braidshu in military uniform crawling out of the sedan chair, holding his hands behind his back, looking at the scene of thousands of braids crowding at Xuzhou Station with a cold face.

The general of the Dingwu Army, the Haizhou Guardian Bai Baoshan, squeezed out the crowd and walked over with a vote of followers. He was also Zhang Xun's confidant general. This time he brought three thousand braided soldiers from Haizhou, preparing to protect Zhang Xun from north to restore the Qing Dynasty. Seeing his General Zhang, Bai Baoshan did not marching according to the etiquette of the Beiyang Army, but instead beat Qian'er according to the rules of the Qing Dynasty: "Bai Baoshan, the governor of Haizhou, welcomed the General!"

Seeing his beloved general, Zhang Xun smiled satisfied: "Okay, Baoshan, get up, eight camps, and rushed from Haizhou to Xuzhou City in just three days. This is the most powerful soldier in the southeast of me!"

Bai Baoshan stood up and said proudly: "Go back to the general, our Dingwu Army is no longer the most powerful soldier in the southeast, but the most powerful soldier in the world!"

Zhang Xun smiled and nodded: "Well, you need to have such ambition! Our Dingwu Army must have the determination to conquer the whole world in order to regain the Qing Dynasty."

"Yes! Take back the Qing Dynasty!"

"With a great commander taking us, it will be easy to restore the Qing Dynasty!"

"The General is the first hero in the Qing Dynasty and the most hero in the world!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the generals and staff around him all echoed in unison. Zhang Xun turned his head and looked at Zhang Wensheng who came to see him off.

"Wen Zheng, I brought eighteen camps this time, and more than 7,000 brothers went north. Xuzhou was handed over to me... The things in the north were already very sure, but there would be problems in the south. Feng Hejian had changed his mind. The three governors of the Yangtze River were all his people. The southwest had never obeyed our Beiyang, and this time they would not support the Qing Dynasty. The final situation may be a confrontation between the north and the south. The Qing Dynasty was in the north, and the Republic of China was in the south, and Xuzhou was the brother who must fight for the north and the south! So I left forty-five old camps for you, and be sure to block Feng Hejian's soldiers! Do you understand?"

In this time and space, Zhang Xun issued a telegram on January 8, 1917 to oppose participating in Europe and support Li Yuanhong. At the same time, all the heroes in Beiyang also began to express their views. As Zhang Xun said, the Beiyang warlords in the north, including the three eastern provinces, Shandong, and the main warlords in Zhili, and even the infantry commander Jiang Chaozong in Beijing, expressed their support for Zhang Xun. However, the Beiyang warlords in the Yangtze River Basin, including the Third Governor of the Zhijiang Army and the Fourth Governor of the Anhui Army, and the commander of the 10th Division, Lu Yongxiang, did not say anything, and only the Fujian Governor Li Houji expressed his support for Zhang Xun... So Zhang Xun took it for granted that the warlords in the north who expressed their support for him would definitely support him in restoring the Qing Dynasty, while the warlords who remained silent in the south were loyal to the Republic of China.

"Please rest assured, the general has forty-five battalions and nearly 20,000 elite soldiers. This Xuzhou City is like casting iron and steel. No one can think of fighting!" Zhang Wensheng patted his chest to assure Zhang Xun. Zhang Xun nodded with satisfaction, said a few more words of encouragement, and then he took a group of staff to board the train heading north.

As soon as he settled down on the float, a staff member came to report that he was the Japanese military adviser of the Beiyang government, and the Japanese Lieutenant General Aoki Nobusu had arrived at the station and was about to get on the bus. As Chang Ruiqing guessed, Japan did bet on both sides in the "Prince and Court dispute" and the later "Zhang Xun Restoration" storm, and both played an important role! It can be said that without Japan's fanning the flames, the situation would never have become what it is now. The purpose of the Japanese doing this was not to restore the Qing Dynasty, nor to support or oppose China's participation in the European war. It was to create a storm in China, and then to gain the expansion of special rights and interests in China by supporting this and that.

The warlords used by Japan actually knew that the Japanese did not have any kind intentions, and no one had the intention to really join the Japanese. On the contrary, they all had the idea of ​​using the Japanese to strengthen themselves to cooperate with the Japanese... Who made the Japanese really bet with real money? Zhang Xun was no exception. He had already joined the Japanese military headquarters in the morning, and then contacted Li Yuanhong's military adviser, Lieutenant General Aoki, the leader of the Aoki agency, and then Aoki mediated it, which led to the alliance between Li Yuanhong and Zhang Xun. This time, he went south to Xuzhou and had a secret talk with Zhang Xun to discuss the issue of Japan's support for the aftermath after the restoration of the Qing Dynasty.

When Zhang Xun heard that Aoki had arrived, he dared not be negligent. He immediately went to the door of the carriage and greeted a Japanese lieutenant general who was extremely short and fat, looking like a ball of meat.

"Mr. Zhang, I have received instructions from Tokyo. The Prime Minister of the Temple has agreed in principle to provide a large aftermath loan of more than 100 million Japanese yen to the Qing Dynasty after the successful restoration." After the guest and host, Aoki Nobukuro got into the topic directly. The originator of the Japanese military's intelligence activities to China spoke fluent Beijing Mandarin, with a humble smile on his face. Coupled with a fat face like dough, he didn't look like a murderous Japanese lieutenant general, but like a kind and rich businessman.

As he spoke, Aoki handed over a telegram. When Zhang Xun took it, he could no longer hide the smile on his face. One million Japanese yen is about 50 million silver dollars. With this huge sum of money, the situation after the restoration of the Qing Dynasty could easily settle down.

He bowed to Aoki and smiled and said, "Lieutenant General, brother, I am also doing things on the way. This time you helped me and helped the Qing Dynasty like this. I won't say much about anything else. When this matter is done, the Qing Dynasty will give you whatever benefits you want! As long as the court can get down to Taiwan, it will be done."

Aoki Ryuchun also bowed back and said with a smile: "Master Zhang, let's talk about the matter after the restoration of the Qing Dynasty. There will always be a way to let both sides get out of Taiwan. The problem now is, if the restoration is not effective, will the Master have any way out?"

"The way out?" Zhang Xun's face suddenly became dark and he said calmly: "I, Mr. Zhang, only knows to be loyal to the court, and I don't know what way out!"

Aoki Xuanchun smiled and waved his hand: "I am not talking about the retreat of Marshal Zhang, but the retreat of Emperor Xuantong in the Forbidden City. If the restoration is successful, of course there is no problem, but what if it fails? What will happen to Emperor Xuantong? Have you ever thought about it? In Chinese history, what will the fall of the king of the country be destroyed? Emperor Xuantong's treatment is an anomaly now... If the restoration fails, what will the end of His Majesty the Emperor? Have you ever thought about it? Do you really need to prepare a retreat for His Majesty?"
Chapter completed!