Chapter 643 Tit for tat
The demands of the Zhili army commanders headed by Liu Shijiu were simple, that is, they wanted the Ministry of the Army to guarantee that the military pay of all officers and soldiers of the Zhili army would remain unchanged after the downsizing and reorganization.
In addition, there are nearly 500,000 officers and soldiers who need to be demobilized. The Army Department must give each person a severance pay of three months' military pay, otherwise it may easily cause riots or even mutiny.
Moreover, Liu Shijiu and other town commanders also emphasized to Zhao Zong in the memorial that severance pay and future military salaries for the Zhi army towns should only be in the form of silver dollars, not paper money.
After the Zhi army's reaction was published in the newspaper the next day, Duan Qirui felt a toothache. This was simply a naked threat and intimidation, but in the face of powerful strength, this kind of intimidation was indeed an effective means.
Not to mention that without Teng Yuzao as the president of the Zhi Army, Wei Ningbo and others were willing to return to the countryside rather than stay in the army. The reasons behind this are worth pondering.
Just the demands put forward by these town leaders are a very tricky matter.
The severance pay proposed by Liu Shijiu and other town commanders should be about 13 or 14 million taels of silver, which is a considerable sum of money.
Moreover, if the high military salaries of the Zhi army towns were promised to be given in the past, the new armies in various provinces would probably demand the same treatment. Even if the new armies in various provinces in the country only had 30 towns in total, according to the downsizing standards set by the Ministry of the Army this time, the number of people would be nearly 500,000.
You know, the standard military salary for 500,000 Zhi troops is more than 60 million per year. If you take into account the cost of replenishing ammunition and other military supplies, it will be a terrifying number.
As for not wanting Baochao, it was not a harsh requirement. To maintain such a large military expenditure, the court could only print more Baochao. And because of its excessive issuance, a sharp depreciation of Baochao was inevitable.
But this is not the end. Soon after, Navy Minister Ye Zugui also issued a clear memorial.
Ye Zugui stated in his memorial that after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the Beiyang Fleet was almost completely destroyed, and it was only thanks to Teng Yuzhao's strong support for the establishment of the navy that the navy has achieved its current hard-earned situation.
Today, the navy has more than 100 ships of various types, including more than 30 main ironclad ships, and the number of personnel has reached 120,000.
To maintain the current size of the navy, the navy's annual military pay alone would cost as much as 15 million yuan. The maintenance cost of more than a hundred ships would cost millions more, and the cost of ammunition and fuel required for training would also exceed 10 million yuan.
The total of all the above expenses is more than 30 million. If Tianjin Customs allocates only 6 million per year, it is undoubtedly a drop in the bucket for the huge navy, and the navy will be difficult to maintain.
Not to mention the inability to purchase new ships and strengthen coastal defense.
Therefore, Ye Zugui requested the court to allocate at least 30 million yuan each year to maintain the daily operations of the navy.
It seemed that the imperial court had been prepared and had made up its mind to solve the problem of the Zhi army once and for all.
Only on the second day, the Zongli Yamen published a reply in the name of Yikuang in a rare move to make it public, as if asking the people to judge the merits and demerits of both sides.
Yixin replied that the annual tax revenue of Zhishan and Shan provinces was tens of millions, and the accumulated amount over the years was enough to support the country, so what was the point of keeping them? All the funds needed by the Zhi army and the navy should be handled by Yang Shixiang, the governor of Zhishan. Even if there was still a shortfall, it could be supplemented by issuing banknotes from the Aurora Bank.
Yikuang's reply not only pushed the demands of the Zhi army generals directly to the Zhishan Governor Yang Shixiang, but also implied blame. It can even be said that he was accusing the former and current Zhishan Governors Teng Yuzhao and Yang Shixiang of having ill intentions.
Yang Shixiang, who came from a Hanlin family, could see Yikuang's intentions. He then replied with a clear memorial, directly stating that although the annual taxes of the two provinces had increased significantly over the years, there was no savings in the annual taxes over the years.
Then Yang Shixiang explained various reasons and the reason why there was no savings.
Since Teng Yuzhao took office, the annual tax revenue of Zhishan Province has increased several times. However, the two superpowers, Japan and Russia, are now fighting fiercely outside the Great Wall. In order to avoid the humiliation of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 and to avoid the pain of being forced to cede Taiwan Island, the Zhi army has been actively expanding its military and preparing for war, ready to recover the three provinces outside the Great Wall at any time.
Therefore, the annual cost of military pay, military supplies, and the purchase of weapons and ammunition for the Zhi army reached more than 80 million.
The navy purchased dozens of new ships, rebuilt the military port, restored and added the Dagu and Weihai shipyards, established a joint venture for a large steel plant, built the Baoding Arsenal, restored the Kaiping coal mine, etc., spending a total of more than 200 million taels of silver.
In addition, in accordance with the imperial court's order, it took over the construction of the Lu-Han Railway, the Lu-Zhang and Jin-Pu Railways, and the restoration and construction of the Tangshan Repair Factory and the Nankou Locomotive Factory, spending a total of 120 million silver coins.
In addition, nearly 30 million taels of silver were spent on rebuilding the new city of Tianjin, the western part of the outer city of Beijing, building nearly a thousand miles of roads in Zhishan Province, establishing 67 new-style primary and secondary schools in Zhishan Province, expanding Shandong University and Beiyang University, and establishing Weihai Naval University.
In the past three years alone, the total military expenditure of the Zhi army has reached 220 million taels.
The above items totaled more than 576 million taels, most of which were loaned by Aurora Bank, and only nearly 100 million yuan were loaned by foreign banks in Tianjin and Shanghai.
The fiscal surpluses of Zhishan Province over the years have all been used to repay internal and external loans and pay interest. Now there is still more than 460 million taels of silver left. After the annual taxes of the two provinces are used to repay the loans on time every year, there is not much left. After repaying the loans and interest every year, there is a limited amount left. Given the current financial situation of Zhishan Province, there is absolutely no way to solve the problem.
Perhaps because he was worried about outside doubts, Yang Shixiang immediately published the details of these accounts one by one in the newspaper.
He also stated that all the accounts were completely true and hoped that the court would send someone to verify them as soon as possible.
Once Yang Shixiang's memorial was published in the newspaper, it immediately caused a wave of admiration among the Chinese people.
There are only two things that people are amazed at. First, during the period when Teng Yuzao was in charge of Zhishan and the two provinces, he actually invested such a huge amount of money for the national economy and people's livelihood of Zhishan and the two provinces! How lucky the people are to have such a governor!
The second point is about Teng Yuzhao’s personal property. No one would have thought that he had reached a level that was rich enough to rival a country!
After Yang Shixiang's memorial was published, the Zongli Yamen fell silent. However, it still said in a timid manner that the Ministry of Revenue would immediately send personnel to check the relevant accounts of the two provinces and Tianjin Customs.
While the Chinese people were still marveling at Teng Yuzhao's wealth, Teng Yuzhao personally published an article in the Ta Kung Pao stating that he could use his own assets to offset 150 million of the debts of Zhishan Provinces without having to repay any further debts.
As for the remaining debt owed to the Aurora Bank, since the Aurora Bank belonged to all the middle and senior officers of the Zhi army who had made meritorious services in resisting foreign invaders and the fallen soldiers, it did not belong to him personally. The profits would be used to pay tens of millions of taels of silver every year to pay pensions to the families of the fallen soldiers.
Therefore, the debt of Aurora Bank cannot be forgiven, otherwise the bank will be unable to maintain itself, and he will also break his promise to the fallen soldiers, which will make him uneasy for the rest of his life!
As for increasing the issuance of banknotes, Teng Yuzao firmly refused, saying that in order to maintain the value of the direct bills and for the benefit of the people who hold and use the direct bills, the Aurora Bank would never arbitrarily increase or abuse the issuance of banknotes and lose its credibility.
At the same time, Teng Yuzao also said that the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 was painful to the bone, and without a strong navy, there would be no peace in the country! Since he was still in charge of the navy, he was willing to personally bear the navy's annual daily military expenses.
As for repaying the debt owed for the purchase of the ship, he was no longer able to afford it.
Afterwards, Teng Yuzao made an undisguised promise, saying that if he could serve as the first prime minister, he would not increase any taxes, but would spare no effort to promote Westernization, improve people's livelihood, increase fiscal revenue, not only would he repay all loans from the two provinces as soon as possible, but he would also guarantee the military pay and benefits of all new troops in the country.
Teng Yuzhao's statement immediately drew admiration from the Chinese people!
Subsequently, the public's calls for Teng Yuzao to serve as the first prime minister of the cabinet once again rose louder.
Ying Lianzhi, chief editor of Ta Kung Pao, even made a public appeal in the newspaper, calling on knowledgeable people in all provinces to take positive actions to jointly promote the early implementation of constitutional government and to elect someone who can truly shoulder the heavy responsibility of prime minister and lead the people into a prosperous era of a rich and strong country.
Ying Lianzhi's appeal was like pouring cold water into an frying pan. Domestic public opinion immediately became heated, and public voices almost unanimously supported Teng Yuzao to become the first prime minister of the cabinet.
In just one day, people in Zhili, Shandong, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanxi, Huguang, Sichuan and other provinces took out advertisements to initiate the establishment of a Constitutional Promotion Association, with the intention of vigorously promoting the early implementation of constitutional government and pushing Teng Yuzao to become the first prime minister.
Although Teng Yuzhao's remarks received a warm response from the public, the imperial court still did not react at all. It would have been fine if there were no voices of approval, but there was no voice of criticism or rebuttal either.
Instead, British Minister to the throne, Sir John Sadoun, stated that the British Empire supports the current court and will respect any decision they make. As long as the current court makes an appointment decision, the British Empire will fully support it and maintain good relations with it.
Although Sadowi's words sounded high-sounding on the surface, the implicit meaning was very clear, that is, their British Empire would support Cixi and would not stand on the side of Teng Yuzao.
Sa Daoyi's statement gave the court some confidence. Although the Zongli Yamen had remained silent, Tieliang seemed determined to completely transfer the Zhi army to the Ministry of the Army. He insisted that the downsizing and reorganization was the will of the court and could not be changed!
Anyone who refuses to accept the downsizing and reorganization is disobeying the order and is a traitor!
At the same time, it was stated that the Ministry of the Army would send personnel to various Zhili troops on a chosen day to begin the process of downsizing and reorganizing them, and violators would be severely punished according to Qing law.
In response to Tie Liang's tough stance, the Zhi army generals were even more decisive. They immediately made it clear that if their conditions were not met, they would never accept downsizing and reorganization, and would also send troops to Langfang to prevent the Army Ministry personnel from entering the two provinces of Zhi and Shan.
They will not guarantee the personal safety of trespassers.
At this moment, Duan Qirui was holding a copy of the Ta Kung Pao, which was the latest newspaper of the day that he had just bought.
The report Duan Qirui was reading was about a battalion of troops under Liu Shijiu of Zhishan having entered Langfang last night. It was obvious that Liu Shijiu was not afraid of the threat from the Ministry of the Army.
Looking at the open confrontation between these Zhi army generals and Tie Liang, Duan Qirui could not help but frown deeply.
In today's report of Ta Kung Pao, in addition to Liu Shijiu's troops entering Langfang, there were also many reports about the dispute over the prime ministership in the cabinet.
For example, the governors and governors-general of many provinces clearly warned or even restricted the development of local mutual promotion associations. The governor-general of Guangdong and Guangxi was particularly strong, and he even resolutely prohibited the establishment of a mutual promotion association in Guangdong and Guangxi.
The reasons given by these governors and governors-general who expressed their opinions were constitutional reform and who would serve as the first prime minister. Those were matters for the imperial court, and non-court officials were strictly prohibited from interfering in politics.
Ma Yukun, president of the Wuwei Left Army stationed from Gubeikou to Chaoyang, and Jiang Guiti, the minister in charge of training the Jiang Defense Army in Pukou, respectively sent telegrams in support of the court.
Ma Yukun also said that he would soon lead his troops to Tongzhou to defend the capital.
Following Ma Yukun and Jiang Guiti, the commanders of various Shuntian armies also expressed their support for the court.
Among them were the six commanders of the former Henan Army, including He Zonglian, Wang Yingkai, Cao Kun, Wu Changcun, Wu Fengling, and Wang Shizhen.
Duan Qirui also saw an unsigned article in the "Beijing Times" that he had just read. The article cursed Teng Yuzao, saying that Teng Yuzao was arrogant and self-righteous, and that he was self-reliant and was seeking fame and buying people's hearts, and that he was a contemporary Cao Cao and Zhao Kuangyin.
However, what Yang Shixiang, governor-general of Zhishan and two provinces did was very different from those governors-general and governors-general. He stood out clearly and not only openly supported the establishment of the Mutual Promotion Association of Zhishan and two provinces, but he also personally served as the president of the Mutual Promotion Association of the two provinces.
According to the newspaper, half of the officials at all levels in the two provinces joined the Mutual Promotion Association.
The town commanders of the Zhili army were not to be outdone. This time, there were not only thirteen town commanders who were clamoring for pay, but also the chief of the Zhili army's military police, Hu Daqiu, as well as Xia Yuanshou, who had just rushed to Zhili from Sichuan, and Cao Jiaxiang, the chief of the Zhili and Shan provinces' patrol police, who also expressed their support for Teng Yuzhao to become the first prime minister of the cabinet.
Such a tit-for-tat move made Duan Qirui deeply worried!
Duan Qirui realized that the governors and governors-general who announced the ban and restrictions on the Association for the Promotion of Mutual Cooperation were obviously instructed by the court and stood on the side of the court, while the governors and governors-general represented by Yang Shixiang stood on the side of Teng Yuzhao.
Moreover, according to his own observation, Duan Qirui believed that although Xu Shichang, the Governor-General of the Three Northeastern Provinces, and Xi Liang, the Governor-General of Sichuan, had not expressed their views, they probably also supported Teng Yuzao.
With the overt or covert support of the three governors-general, hundreds of thousands of troops at his disposal, and the support of many people, Teng Yuzao's momentum and power are not weak.
This shows that not only are there many people in the public who support Teng Yuzao to be the first prime minister, but there are also people among the provincial governors and even some ministers in the court who have not expressed their views.
For example, a large number of the "culprits" headed by Zai Yi, Zhao Shuchi, Qi Xiu, etc. should also stand on Teng Yuzhao's side.
Although Cixi had not spoken out, but Yixin and Tieliang took the lead, the series of tit-for-tat actions by both sides seemed to be out of control. If either side was impulsive, the two sides would surely fight to the death.
Duan Qirui sighed silently, put down the newspaper in his hand, took out the pocket watch from his pocket to check the time. Before he knew it, it was already noon.
Feeling a little thirsty, Duan Qirui reached out for the teacup, wanting to drink the tea that had already cooled down, but before his hand touched the teacup, the courtyard door was knocked rudely.
(End of this chapter)
The demands of the Zhili army commanders headed by Liu Shijiu were simple, that is, they wanted the Ministry of the Army to guarantee that the military pay of all officers and soldiers of the Zhili army would remain unchanged after the downsizing and reorganization.
In addition, there are nearly 500,000 officers and soldiers who need to be demobilized. The Army Department must give each person a severance pay of three months' military pay, otherwise it may easily cause riots or even mutiny.
Moreover, Liu Shijiu and other town commanders also emphasized to Zhao Zong in the memorial that severance pay and future military salaries for the Zhi army towns should only be in the form of silver dollars, not paper money.
After the Zhi army's reaction was published in the newspaper the next day, Duan Qirui felt a toothache. This was simply a naked threat and intimidation, but in the face of powerful strength, this kind of intimidation was indeed an effective means.
Not to mention that without Teng Yuzao as the president of the Zhi Army, Wei Ningbo and others were willing to return to the countryside rather than stay in the army. The reasons behind this are worth pondering.
Just the demands put forward by these town leaders are a very tricky matter.
The severance pay proposed by Liu Shijiu and other town commanders should be about 13 or 14 million taels of silver, which is a considerable sum of money.
Moreover, if the high military salaries of the Zhi army towns were promised to be given in the past, the new armies in various provinces would probably demand the same treatment. Even if the new armies in various provinces in the country only had 30 towns in total, according to the downsizing standards set by the Ministry of the Army this time, the number of people would be nearly 500,000.
You know, the standard military salary for 500,000 Zhi troops is more than 60 million per year. If you take into account the cost of replenishing ammunition and other military supplies, it will be a terrifying number.
As for not wanting Baochao, it was not a harsh requirement. To maintain such a large military expenditure, the court could only print more Baochao. And because of its excessive issuance, a sharp depreciation of Baochao was inevitable.
But this is not the end. Soon after, Navy Minister Ye Zugui also issued a clear memorial.
Ye Zugui stated in his memorial that after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the Beiyang Fleet was almost completely destroyed, and it was only thanks to Teng Yuzhao's strong support for the establishment of the navy that the navy has achieved its current hard-earned situation.
Today, the navy has more than 100 ships of various types, including more than 30 main ironclad ships, and the number of personnel has reached 120,000.
To maintain the current size of the navy, the navy's annual military pay alone would cost as much as 15 million yuan. The maintenance cost of more than a hundred ships would cost millions more, and the cost of ammunition and fuel required for training would also exceed 10 million yuan.
The total of all the above expenses is more than 30 million. If Tianjin Customs allocates only 6 million per year, it is undoubtedly a drop in the bucket for the huge navy, and the navy will be difficult to maintain.
Not to mention the inability to purchase new ships and strengthen coastal defense.
Therefore, Ye Zugui requested the court to allocate at least 30 million yuan each year to maintain the daily operations of the navy.
It seemed that the imperial court had been prepared and had made up its mind to solve the problem of the Zhi army once and for all.
Only on the second day, the Zongli Yamen published a reply in the name of Yikuang in a rare move to make it public, as if asking the people to judge the merits and demerits of both sides.
Yixin replied that the annual tax revenue of Zhishan and Shan provinces was tens of millions, and the accumulated amount over the years was enough to support the country, so what was the point of keeping them? All the funds needed by the Zhi army and the navy should be handled by Yang Shixiang, the governor of Zhishan. Even if there was still a shortfall, it could be supplemented by issuing banknotes from the Aurora Bank.
Yikuang's reply not only pushed the demands of the Zhi army generals directly to the Zhishan Governor Yang Shixiang, but also implied blame. It can even be said that he was accusing the former and current Zhishan Governors Teng Yuzhao and Yang Shixiang of having ill intentions.
Yang Shixiang, who came from a Hanlin family, could see Yikuang's intentions. He then replied with a clear memorial, directly stating that although the annual taxes of the two provinces had increased significantly over the years, there was no savings in the annual taxes over the years.
Then Yang Shixiang explained various reasons and the reason why there was no savings.
Since Teng Yuzhao took office, the annual tax revenue of Zhishan Province has increased several times. However, the two superpowers, Japan and Russia, are now fighting fiercely outside the Great Wall. In order to avoid the humiliation of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 and to avoid the pain of being forced to cede Taiwan Island, the Zhi army has been actively expanding its military and preparing for war, ready to recover the three provinces outside the Great Wall at any time.
Therefore, the annual cost of military pay, military supplies, and the purchase of weapons and ammunition for the Zhi army reached more than 80 million.
The navy purchased dozens of new ships, rebuilt the military port, restored and added the Dagu and Weihai shipyards, established a joint venture for a large steel plant, built the Baoding Arsenal, restored the Kaiping coal mine, etc., spending a total of more than 200 million taels of silver.
In addition, in accordance with the imperial court's order, it took over the construction of the Lu-Han Railway, the Lu-Zhang and Jin-Pu Railways, and the restoration and construction of the Tangshan Repair Factory and the Nankou Locomotive Factory, spending a total of 120 million silver coins.
In addition, nearly 30 million taels of silver were spent on rebuilding the new city of Tianjin, the western part of the outer city of Beijing, building nearly a thousand miles of roads in Zhishan Province, establishing 67 new-style primary and secondary schools in Zhishan Province, expanding Shandong University and Beiyang University, and establishing Weihai Naval University.
In the past three years alone, the total military expenditure of the Zhi army has reached 220 million taels.
The above items totaled more than 576 million taels, most of which were loaned by Aurora Bank, and only nearly 100 million yuan were loaned by foreign banks in Tianjin and Shanghai.
The fiscal surpluses of Zhishan Province over the years have all been used to repay internal and external loans and pay interest. Now there is still more than 460 million taels of silver left. After the annual taxes of the two provinces are used to repay the loans on time every year, there is not much left. After repaying the loans and interest every year, there is a limited amount left. Given the current financial situation of Zhishan Province, there is absolutely no way to solve the problem.
Perhaps because he was worried about outside doubts, Yang Shixiang immediately published the details of these accounts one by one in the newspaper.
He also stated that all the accounts were completely true and hoped that the court would send someone to verify them as soon as possible.
Once Yang Shixiang's memorial was published in the newspaper, it immediately caused a wave of admiration among the Chinese people.
There are only two things that people are amazed at. First, during the period when Teng Yuzao was in charge of Zhishan and the two provinces, he actually invested such a huge amount of money for the national economy and people's livelihood of Zhishan and the two provinces! How lucky the people are to have such a governor!
The second point is about Teng Yuzhao’s personal property. No one would have thought that he had reached a level that was rich enough to rival a country!
After Yang Shixiang's memorial was published, the Zongli Yamen fell silent. However, it still said in a timid manner that the Ministry of Revenue would immediately send personnel to check the relevant accounts of the two provinces and Tianjin Customs.
While the Chinese people were still marveling at Teng Yuzhao's wealth, Teng Yuzhao personally published an article in the Ta Kung Pao stating that he could use his own assets to offset 150 million of the debts of Zhishan Provinces without having to repay any further debts.
As for the remaining debt owed to the Aurora Bank, since the Aurora Bank belonged to all the middle and senior officers of the Zhi army who had made meritorious services in resisting foreign invaders and the fallen soldiers, it did not belong to him personally. The profits would be used to pay tens of millions of taels of silver every year to pay pensions to the families of the fallen soldiers.
Therefore, the debt of Aurora Bank cannot be forgiven, otherwise the bank will be unable to maintain itself, and he will also break his promise to the fallen soldiers, which will make him uneasy for the rest of his life!
As for increasing the issuance of banknotes, Teng Yuzao firmly refused, saying that in order to maintain the value of the direct bills and for the benefit of the people who hold and use the direct bills, the Aurora Bank would never arbitrarily increase or abuse the issuance of banknotes and lose its credibility.
At the same time, Teng Yuzao also said that the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 was painful to the bone, and without a strong navy, there would be no peace in the country! Since he was still in charge of the navy, he was willing to personally bear the navy's annual daily military expenses.
As for repaying the debt owed for the purchase of the ship, he was no longer able to afford it.
Afterwards, Teng Yuzao made an undisguised promise, saying that if he could serve as the first prime minister, he would not increase any taxes, but would spare no effort to promote Westernization, improve people's livelihood, increase fiscal revenue, not only would he repay all loans from the two provinces as soon as possible, but he would also guarantee the military pay and benefits of all new troops in the country.
Teng Yuzhao's statement immediately drew admiration from the Chinese people!
Subsequently, the public's calls for Teng Yuzao to serve as the first prime minister of the cabinet once again rose louder.
Ying Lianzhi, chief editor of Ta Kung Pao, even made a public appeal in the newspaper, calling on knowledgeable people in all provinces to take positive actions to jointly promote the early implementation of constitutional government and to elect someone who can truly shoulder the heavy responsibility of prime minister and lead the people into a prosperous era of a rich and strong country.
Ying Lianzhi's appeal was like pouring cold water into an frying pan. Domestic public opinion immediately became heated, and public voices almost unanimously supported Teng Yuzao to become the first prime minister of the cabinet.
In just one day, people in Zhili, Shandong, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanxi, Huguang, Sichuan and other provinces took out advertisements to initiate the establishment of a Constitutional Promotion Association, with the intention of vigorously promoting the early implementation of constitutional government and pushing Teng Yuzao to become the first prime minister.
Although Teng Yuzhao's remarks received a warm response from the public, the imperial court still did not react at all. It would have been fine if there were no voices of approval, but there was no voice of criticism or rebuttal either.
Instead, British Minister to the throne, Sir John Sadoun, stated that the British Empire supports the current court and will respect any decision they make. As long as the current court makes an appointment decision, the British Empire will fully support it and maintain good relations with it.
Although Sadowi's words sounded high-sounding on the surface, the implicit meaning was very clear, that is, their British Empire would support Cixi and would not stand on the side of Teng Yuzao.
Sa Daoyi's statement gave the court some confidence. Although the Zongli Yamen had remained silent, Tieliang seemed determined to completely transfer the Zhi army to the Ministry of the Army. He insisted that the downsizing and reorganization was the will of the court and could not be changed!
Anyone who refuses to accept the downsizing and reorganization is disobeying the order and is a traitor!
At the same time, it was stated that the Ministry of the Army would send personnel to various Zhili troops on a chosen day to begin the process of downsizing and reorganizing them, and violators would be severely punished according to Qing law.
In response to Tie Liang's tough stance, the Zhi army generals were even more decisive. They immediately made it clear that if their conditions were not met, they would never accept downsizing and reorganization, and would also send troops to Langfang to prevent the Army Ministry personnel from entering the two provinces of Zhi and Shan.
They will not guarantee the personal safety of trespassers.
At this moment, Duan Qirui was holding a copy of the Ta Kung Pao, which was the latest newspaper of the day that he had just bought.
The report Duan Qirui was reading was about a battalion of troops under Liu Shijiu of Zhishan having entered Langfang last night. It was obvious that Liu Shijiu was not afraid of the threat from the Ministry of the Army.
Looking at the open confrontation between these Zhi army generals and Tie Liang, Duan Qirui could not help but frown deeply.
In today's report of Ta Kung Pao, in addition to Liu Shijiu's troops entering Langfang, there were also many reports about the dispute over the prime ministership in the cabinet.
For example, the governors and governors-general of many provinces clearly warned or even restricted the development of local mutual promotion associations. The governor-general of Guangdong and Guangxi was particularly strong, and he even resolutely prohibited the establishment of a mutual promotion association in Guangdong and Guangxi.
The reasons given by these governors and governors-general who expressed their opinions were constitutional reform and who would serve as the first prime minister. Those were matters for the imperial court, and non-court officials were strictly prohibited from interfering in politics.
Ma Yukun, president of the Wuwei Left Army stationed from Gubeikou to Chaoyang, and Jiang Guiti, the minister in charge of training the Jiang Defense Army in Pukou, respectively sent telegrams in support of the court.
Ma Yukun also said that he would soon lead his troops to Tongzhou to defend the capital.
Following Ma Yukun and Jiang Guiti, the commanders of various Shuntian armies also expressed their support for the court.
Among them were the six commanders of the former Henan Army, including He Zonglian, Wang Yingkai, Cao Kun, Wu Changcun, Wu Fengling, and Wang Shizhen.
Duan Qirui also saw an unsigned article in the "Beijing Times" that he had just read. The article cursed Teng Yuzao, saying that Teng Yuzao was arrogant and self-righteous, and that he was self-reliant and was seeking fame and buying people's hearts, and that he was a contemporary Cao Cao and Zhao Kuangyin.
However, what Yang Shixiang, governor-general of Zhishan and two provinces did was very different from those governors-general and governors-general. He stood out clearly and not only openly supported the establishment of the Mutual Promotion Association of Zhishan and two provinces, but he also personally served as the president of the Mutual Promotion Association of the two provinces.
According to the newspaper, half of the officials at all levels in the two provinces joined the Mutual Promotion Association.
The town commanders of the Zhili army were not to be outdone. This time, there were not only thirteen town commanders who were clamoring for pay, but also the chief of the Zhili army's military police, Hu Daqiu, as well as Xia Yuanshou, who had just rushed to Zhili from Sichuan, and Cao Jiaxiang, the chief of the Zhili and Shan provinces' patrol police, who also expressed their support for Teng Yuzhao to become the first prime minister of the cabinet.
Such a tit-for-tat move made Duan Qirui deeply worried!
Duan Qirui realized that the governors and governors-general who announced the ban and restrictions on the Association for the Promotion of Mutual Cooperation were obviously instructed by the court and stood on the side of the court, while the governors and governors-general represented by Yang Shixiang stood on the side of Teng Yuzhao.
Moreover, according to his own observation, Duan Qirui believed that although Xu Shichang, the Governor-General of the Three Northeastern Provinces, and Xi Liang, the Governor-General of Sichuan, had not expressed their views, they probably also supported Teng Yuzao.
With the overt or covert support of the three governors-general, hundreds of thousands of troops at his disposal, and the support of many people, Teng Yuzao's momentum and power are not weak.
This shows that not only are there many people in the public who support Teng Yuzao to be the first prime minister, but there are also people among the provincial governors and even some ministers in the court who have not expressed their views.
For example, a large number of the "culprits" headed by Zai Yi, Zhao Shuchi, Qi Xiu, etc. should also stand on Teng Yuzhao's side.
Although Cixi had not spoken out, but Yixin and Tieliang took the lead, the series of tit-for-tat actions by both sides seemed to be out of control. If either side was impulsive, the two sides would surely fight to the death.
Duan Qirui sighed silently, put down the newspaper in his hand, took out the pocket watch from his pocket to check the time. Before he knew it, it was already noon.
Feeling a little thirsty, Duan Qirui reached out for the teacup, wanting to drink the tea that had already cooled down, but before his hand touched the teacup, the courtyard door was knocked rudely.
(End of this chapter)
