Beiyang reactionaries

Dai Kan looked at Xiong Qixun and Hu Zhongxiang and smiled, but said nothing.

"Why, Governor. Tell me why."

Xiong Qixun saw that Dai Kan was not in a hurry, so he asked Dai Kan anxiously.Only then did Dai Kan slowly say: "I'm doing it for your own good. Now Hunan is fighting fiercely, but this time the war to protect the law is actually the same as the war to protect the country."

"How is this possible?"

Xiong Qixun and Hu Zhongxiang looked at each other in blank dismay.

How can the war to protect the country and the war to protect the law be the same, they are completely different.The goal of the War to Protect the Nation is very clear, and everyone is to oppose Yuan Shikai's becoming emperor.And it was the Yunnan Army that set off the War to Protect the Country.But the law protection war does not have a clear goal.

It can even be said to be a little vague.

What exactly did Sun Yat-sen and the others want to oppose?What exactly are Lu Rongting and Tang Jiyao opposing?

If it weren't for Duan Qirui's insistence on unification by force, and his determination to take Hunan and wipe out the Southwest Warlords, Lu Rongting and Tang Jiyao might not have responded to the Dharma protectors at all.These people have no interest in Dharma protection at all.At that time, only Sun Yat-sen will be left clamoring to protect the Dharma.

Moreover, the strengths of the two sides are completely different.

Xiong Qixun and Hu Zhongxiang couldn't figure out what Dai Kan meant when he said the same thing twice.Seeing that the two of them couldn't understand, Dai Kan smiled and said, "You must think it's different. But if you think about it carefully, it's exactly the same. Let me ask you, who is stronger and who is weaker between the Beiyang Army and the Southern Army?"

"It must be the Beiyang Army."

Both Xiong Qixun and Hu Zhongxiang answered in the affirmative.Although both of them are warriors on the battlefield, they fought against Cao Kun's No.13 Mixed Brigade in Qijiang and Cao Kun's No.[-] Mixed Brigade during the War to Protect the Nation, and they never feared them at all.The Qian army was relatively weak among the armies of various provinces in China, but at that time they were also extremely brave.

But this is not just bragging.

In fact, the combat effectiveness of the Beiyang Army has declined a lot in recent years, mainly due to the sequelae of the Beiyang Army's large-scale military expansion.The army expanded too fast, but the officers, training, and weapons could not keep up, which led to a significant decline in the combat effectiveness of the Beiyang Army.But even if the combat effectiveness of the Beiyang Army has dropped significantly, the physique of the Beiyang Army is still there.There are 60 to 10 direct troops of the Beiyang Army, plus the local army controlled by the Beiyang Army, and the troops of the local warlords attached to the Beiyang Army.Seventy to eighty percent of the country's army is under the control of the Beiyang Army.

The Southern Army was much worse.

At present, the most powerful Lu Rongting has only 8 or [-] troops in total, Tang Jiyao has [-] troops, and Sun Yat-sen's Guangdong Army and the Guangdong and Yunnan Army have [-] troops.

Compared with the Beiyang Army, this army is really nothing.

Therefore, both Xiong Qixun and Hu Zhongxiang made it very clear that they must be the most powerful Beiyang Army.

"Then during the War to Protect the Nation, who is stronger and who is weaker between the National Defense Army and the Beiyang Army?"

"Northern Army."

The two still gave the same answer.

Although the War to Protect the Country was won in the end, the two of them fought against the Beiyang Army.Especially after Cao Kun supervised the battle, the Beiyang Army expelled Dai Kan's troops from Sichuan.Under the leadership of Cai E, the mighty Yunnan Army in the southwest was also driven out of Sichuan by Duan Xun.

Because the Beiyang Army at that time was so powerful.Regardless of whether it is Cao Kun's Third Division of the Beiyang Army or Duan Xun's No. 20 Nine Mixed Brigade of the Beiyang Army, their combat effectiveness far exceeds that of the Dian Army and the Guizhou Army.And more importantly, the number of Beiyang Army is several times that of the National Defense Army.

"Then why do you say that the War to Protect the Country will be won? Yuan Shikai will abolish the imperial system?"

"This one……"

Xiong Qixun originally wanted to say that it was the bravery of the national defense army, Yuan Shikai's ascension to the throne was unpopular, and it was perverse behavior and so on.But when the words came to his lips, Xiong Qixun didn't say them.Instead, Hu Zhongxiang said, "Because of internal strife in the Beiyang Army."

"Yes, this is it."

Dai Kan echoed Hu Zhongxiang, and then said: "That's the reason. Duan Hefei (Duan Qirui) and Feng Hejian (Feng Guozhang) were not satisfied with Yuan Shikai's ascension to the throne, so they secretly dragged Yuan Shikai back. Even in the end, Feng Hejian's public defection was the last straw that crushed Yuan Shikai. The victory of the War to Protect the Country was actually due to the internal problems of the Beiyang Army itself, and it was the result of the Beiyang Army's big bosses opposing Yuan Shikai. If there were no Duan Hefei and Feng He With the strength of the Beiyang Army at that time, the National Defense Army would definitely not be able to beat them."

"kindness."

Neither Xiong Qixun nor Hu Zhongxiang wanted to admit it, because both Xiong Qixun and Hu Zhongxiang were heroes for protecting the country.But the people sitting here are all their own people, and there is no need to talk nonsense, and their own people are fooling their own people.Therefore, both of them agreed with Dai Kan's statement.

Originally, the National Defense Army was beaten by the Beiyang Army. If it weren't for the Beiyang Army's own internal problems, how could the National Defense War be won.

"Actually, it's the same this time. In terms of strength, the strength of the law-enforcement troops is not comparable to that of the Beiyang Army. Let's see how one of Wang Ruqin's brigades fought from Changsha to Hengyang, and the Hunan Army troops were defeated one after another along the way. Continue to go south into Hunan, and the Dharma guards will not be able to stop the Beiyang army at all."

"The governor means that the Law Protection Movement will inevitably fail?"

"No."

"That……"

"It's the same sentence. If the Beiyang Army is united and twisted together to wipe out these troops in the southwest, then no one can stop them. You can block two or three divisions of the Beiyang Army. Seven or eight divisions of the Beiyang Army, a dozen or so divisions If they flood into Hunan, who can stop them at that time. But the Beiyang Army cannot be united."

When Dai Kan said this, Xiong Qixun and Hu Zhongxiang understood Dai Kan's words a little bit.

But it's just a vague feeling.

"What those newspapers said was that Feng Hejian and Duan Hefei were comrades-in-arms for many years. They were both from the Beiyang Army. There would not be any previous disputes between the government and the court. They were all scholars' opinions. In fact, the occurrence of the dispute between the government and the court was related to the president's It doesn’t matter who the prime minister is. In China’s thousands of years of history, imperial court disputes are disputes between imperial power and prime minister power. Now it’s the power struggle between the president and the prime minister. As long as everyone takes that position, the relationship between the president and the prime minister will be There will inevitably be disputes, and there will inevitably be disputes between the government and the court. Because of the current Chinese law, the division of power between the president and the prime minister is not very clear, so power disputes will definitely occur. Can Feng Hejian and Duan Hefei be exceptions? Since ancient times Since the power struggle, even father and son brothers will turn their faces, can Feng Hejian and Duan Hefei get along amicably?"

"The governor means that Feng Hejian will definitely not let Duan Hefei succeed?"

"of course."

Dai Kan said with a sneer: "Now Duan Hefei is a leader in the central government. He already holds great power and suppresses the presidential palace. If Duan Hefei succeeds in unifying by force this time and successfully wipes out the Southwest Army, who can stop Duan Hefei by then? When Feng Hejian is in the center, it will depend entirely on Duan Hefei's face. Therefore, Feng Hejian will definitely hold back and prevent Duan Hefei from successfully sweeping out the Southwest Army."

Dai Kan was highly praised by people like Liang Qichao and Cai E because of his outstanding ability.Dai Kan is a character with both civil and military skills, and he has a very clear view of the essence of the law-protecting war.

"Governor, I understand what you mean. But what does this have to do with us handing over the troops?"

Xiong Qixun couldn't figure it out.

Dai Kan said a lot, but he just expressed his views on the law protection war.He didn't talk about his own problem.

"I'm telling you this to tell you. As long as Feng Hejian drags his feet, then Duan Hefei will not be able to wipe out the Southwestern Army. At most, the two sides will fight a tug-of-war in Hunan. Because Duan Hefei is indeed powerful, but Feng Hejian is not either. It's muddy, and the forces in the Beiyang Army are deeply rooted. Feng Hejian is determined to hold back, and it will be difficult for the Beiyang Army's troops to display his strength. And even if there is internal strife within the Beiyang Army, it is impossible for Lu Rongting's strength to truly defeat the Beiyang Army. Even if the pace of the Dharma Guardian troops goes smoothly, his troops will be able to reach Hunan at most, which is already the acme of his strength. If his troops dare to go beyond Hunan, then the infighting Beiyang Army will definitely hit him hard. Therefore, I want to tell What matters to you is that this law protection movement will not affect our three provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou."

"how come?"

Xiong Qixun disagreed with Dai Kan's statement, and immediately retorted: "Governor, we don't talk about the three provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou, and Sichuan. In Yunnan, there is Tang Jiyao in southern Yunnan, and he has already responded to the law protection movement. And we in Guizhou, almost All the troops are waiting and watching. The other troops are not sure, but I can say for sure that Commander Wang (Wang Wenhua) will definitely respond to protect the law. With Tang Jiyao and Commander Wang around, how can Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou be unaffected."

"That's all I have to say."

Dai Kan put away his smile and said seriously: "Do you know what is the characteristic of Duan Xun's troops? That is speed, marching speed. You have also heard about the marching speed when Duan Xun's troops entered Yunnan to expel Tang Jiyao earlier this year. Yes. Before Tang Jiyao’s troops could react, Duan Xun’s troops had already arrived in Kunming. If he really wanted to take an active part in this Dharma protection war, his troops would have already attacked southern Yunnan or Guangxi, or A long time ago, vanguard troops entered Hunan to help Fu Liangzuo. How can there be no major actions until now, but so many troops have been placed in our Guizhou, and they have been dawdling."

"Is it for our Guizhou?"

"kindness."

Dai Kan nodded, and said: "I can see that Lu Rongting's strength is limited to Hunan at most. How could he, Duan Xun, not know. This war was not a symmetrical war from the beginning, and Duan Xun is obviously not interested in the war in Hunan." Xin. His goal is the three provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou. Not to mention our Guizhou, but even Yunnan. Duan Xun has also deployed nearly 5 troops. With so many troops here, what problems can the three provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou have? I can say with certainty that no matter how lively the fight is outside, the three provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou will definitely be in the hands of Duan Xun within a year."

Both Xiong Qixun and Hu Zhongxiang were silent.

Although I thought about Duan Xun's strength and great ambitions, but when I really thought that Duan Xun would control the three provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou, the two of them were still a little melancholy.Once Duan Xun really controls the three provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou, they will have to eat under Duan Xun.

"So don't think too much. No matter how the law protection movement develops, the situation in Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou has already been decided. In this case, it is beneficial for you to make some gestures earlier. If Duan Xun wants to control Guizhou, he must promote and reuse some Guizhou citizens Officer. If you take a step back, you will definitely be pleasantly surprised by Duan Xun. Everyone will be watching, and Duan Xun will definitely reward you very generously this time."

When Dai Kan said this, Xiong Qixun and Hu Zhongxiang understood Dai Kan's meaning completely.

Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou.