Chapter 188 Change of the Strategy

The talks between Xiao Yimin and Wang Shizhen and Tang Shaoyi went very smoothly. The three giants of the Sichuan Army, Xiao Yimin, Bao Jiqing and Wang Lingji, reiterated their support for Prime Minister Duan Qirui's rule and obeyed the political stance of the central leadership. They not only promised to further strengthen cooperation between the two major military and political groups, but also remained silent about Duan Qirui's "Xiyuan Borrow" and did not raise any objections.

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Wang Shizhen and Tang Shaoyi, who were responsible for heavy responsibilities, breathed a sigh of relief, but the exchange conditions proposed by Xiao Yimin were not allowed to be decided by Wang Shizhen. Duan Qirui and the central government requested that Xiao Yimin form the "Nanjing Camp of the Central Military and Political Department" to fully govern the military and political power of the provinces south of the Yangtze River Basin. The position of governor of Jiangsu Province was held by Deputy Military and Political Minister Xiao Yimin for a long time.

The request made by Xiao Yimin Group is not an exaggeration. This is one of the important conditions in the secret agreement of "Duan and Xiao"; it is just that the fact that the division between the north and the south has never been made public.

Wang Shizhen and others knew very well that although the "Nanjing Camp of the Central Military and Political Department" in name was just a special agency of the central government and was still under the full leadership of Duan Qirui, the Xiao Yimin Group has become the largest military and political force in southern China. Once it is agreed to form the "Nanjing Camp of the Central Military and Political Department", the entire China will have a pattern of division between the north and the south.

Moreover, Wang Shizhen and Tang Zhaoyi knew very well that Duan Qirui was not unaware of the harm of the division of the north and the south, but if they did not agree to Xiao Yimin's conditions, they would immediately lose the support of Xiao Yimin's group and the growing Democratic Party of China. Without the full cooperation of the powerful Sichuan army and its alliance, and without the continuous financial support of the southern provinces, Duan Qirui might not even be able to control the northern provinces. Even if the "Xiyuan Borrow" was successfully implemented, it would not be able to replace the status and role of the Xiao Yimin's group, let alone the hope of quickly unifying the southern provinces that had been in power for many years. Just a self-reliance central government in Guangdong would be enough to bring endless trouble to Duan Qirui.

As early as the second half of last year, Duan Qirui, who had an insight into the overall situation, saw the importance and strong strength of the rapidly rising Xiao Yimin Group. Through unremitting efforts, he finally successfully obtained the full support of Xiao Yimin Group. In return, the Senate and the House of Representatives controlled by Duan Qirui passed an important resolution to restore the long-awaited Ministry of Military Affairs of the Government, and enhance the administrative level of the new "Central Ministry of Military Affairs" and strengthen it.

After Duan Qirui's unremitting efforts, the Central Government and the Senate and the House of Representatives finally passed an important bill to establish the "Ministry of Central Military and Political Affairs" in December last year, appointing Duan Qirui as the Minister of the Central Military and Political Affairs, and appointing Xiao Yimin as the only deputy military and political minister and deputy prime minister of the country. Duan Qirui's first order after taking the oath of office was to authorize Xiao Yimin to govern the military and political affairs of various southern provinces.

The new "Central Military and Political Department" has greatly increased its power, not only putting the Army and the Navy under its jurisdiction, but also having the responsibility to assist and supervise the administrative decisions of the provincial governments, but also having the power to appoint, assess, supervise and remove the generals of the provincial governors of the country. It also places the national military enterprises and mines under its jurisdiction.

Now Xiao Yimin is already the de facto supreme commander of southern China. No matter what Wang Shizhen and Tang Shaoyi think, they dare not object on the spot. Otherwise, the Xiao Yimin group, which has established a political alliance with Guizhou, Hunan, and Hubei and occupied half of Jiangsu and Jiangxi, may turn against each other on the spot.

Wang Shizhen and Tang Shaoyi finally saw Xiao Yimin's strength, and at the same time they also saw the increasingly strong ambitions of Xiao Yimin's group. They also knew that behind the conditions of the "Nanjing Camp of the Central Military and Political Department", there must be various ways of coping. Once the other party's conditions are not met, various blows against Duan Qirui Group will follow one after another.

Thinking about the series of bloody revenge that Xiao Yimin angrily launched since his assassination, and the more than 100,000 Sichuan troops stationed in Sichuan and Hubei were about to move, Wang Shizhen and Tang Shaoyi were chilling, not to mention that those ministers from Europe and the United States who could not stop the "Xiyuan loan" and felt that their own interests were violated have gathered in Nanjing. British Minister Zhu Erdian made a speech on behalf of the ministry two days ago: "We have contacted the Jiangsu military and political department and will soon visit General Xiao Yimin, the highest military and political leader in southern China, who is gradually recovering, and sincerely wish him a speedy recovery!"

Wang Shizhen and others had just left. Two black Ford cars passed the inspection and slowly drove into the Governor's Mansion. They drove to the gate of the West Garden in the depths before stopping. The five guests in the car saw Xiao Yimin, Bao Jiqing and Wang Lingji led more than ten generals and schools to line up and waited, and quickly got off the station and formed a row. It was obvious that everyone seemed quite excited.

Xiao Yimin, wearing a well-decorated military uniform, took the lead and stepped forward to shake hands with Zhang Jian tightly, with a smile on his face, and had a sincere attitude: "Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Ji! I'm sorry, everyone, the whole of Nanjing is already very lively, and even the opposite side of the Governor's Office and around, Chinese and foreign journalists are everywhere. Yiming cannot go to see you. Please forgive me if you are negligent!"

Everyone showed knowing smiles, both young and deep eyes, and were closely watching Xiao Yimin's every move, even every expression.

Zhang Jian nodded to Bao Jiqing and Wang Lingji, and took Xiao Yimin's hand to everyone: "Please see, this is Yang Du and Yang Xizi you have never forgotten. If your adoptive father Zhao Cigong had not sent three letters in a row, I'm afraid I wouldn't have invited Brother Xizi, haha!"

Everyone laughed, Xiao Yimin's eyes shone brightly, and his face looked happy: "Since Marshal Yuan passed away, he has not heard from Mr. Yuan. Yimin asked from many sources and found out that Mr. lived in seclusion in the suburbs of Beijing and devoted himself to practicing Taoism. When Yimin asked someone to visit, he had returned to his hometown in Hunan."

Yang Du, who is 45 years old this year, still doesn’t understand what Xiao Yimin means? From the first glance of seeing Xiao Yimin, he knew that it was worth coming out again. At this moment, he heard Xiao Yimin’s respectful words and joy and expectation from the bottom of his heart. Yang Du was quite moved and hurriedly stepped forward to greet Xiao Yimin:

"Yang Du is already half a useless person, how dare you work Yishuai to take care of Yishuai? As early as the beginning of the reunification of the country, Yishuai was famous all over the world. Unfortunately, the situation is difficult and thousands of miles away. It is really an honor for Yang Du to see his respect today!"

"It's good if you're here, sir, it's good if you're here!" Xiao Yimin was excited and without any polite words, he held Yang Du's hand tightly and shook it again and again.

Seeing this, Zhang Jian smiled knowingly, and then introduced Lin Baishui to Xiao Yimin.

Xiao Yimin has been famous for this Fujianese who obtained a double degree in law and journalism at Waseda University in Japan. He knows that he is as old as Yang Du and has a deep friendship. When Lin Baishui served as Yuan Shikai's confidential secretary, he was famous all over the country for his knowledgeable and powerful writing skills. Moreover, he is upright and jealous of evil, dares to tell the truth and reveal the truth, so he has made many enemies. After Yuan Shikai's death, he quickly lost power like Yang Du, and was frequently attacked by officials of the Beiyang faction who were ruthlessly exposed by him.

But Lin Baishui did not sink into this. Instead, he used his sharp pen to expose the dark side of warlords and officialdom, and gained strong support from the people, cultural circles and business circles across the country. The style of Beijing "Pongyanbao" he sponsored was bright and far-reaching. It not only had a significant impact and promotion on the domestic newspaper industry, but also received strong praise from the domestic press circles abroad and caused him two murders. In the end, he had to leave Beijing and go to Shanghai to avoid disaster and live in seclusion in Xiao Yimin's senior brother, Xu Weiyue, Chinese editor-in-chief of the Far East Post.

With the strong recommendation of Xu Weiyue, Lin Baishui, who had been considering for more than a month, finally accepted Xiao Yimin's recruitment and came to Nanjing to serve as Xiao Yimin's senior aide, and served as the first president of the China Times, which was being organized.

Before Zhang Jian introduced Xiao Yimin to the last young and handsome handsome hero, Xiao Yimin couldn't wait to stretch out his hands: "Brother Shaochuan, Yimin has been waiting for you for a long time!"

The heaven was full and the tall and handsome Gu Weijun was stunned for a moment: "Yi Shuai, Weijun just came to take a look first, but he hasn't made up his mind yet."

Everyone was shocked and looked at the Chinese diplomatic rookie who was known as a handsome man in front of them in surprise. Zhang Jian and Lin Baishui were secretly anxious, not understanding why Gu Weijun, who had been removed from his position as ambassador to the United States and was excluded, suddenly became so frivolous.

Xiao Yimin laughed in silence: "Shaochuan, although I am not a tiger's den, since you are here, do you still want to leave?"

When everyone heard this, they were so happy, but Gu Weijun looked at Xiao Yimin with a serious look on his face: "It seems that you are two years younger than me, right?"

"That's right, when Brother Shaochuan studied at Columbia University in the United States, I was still a young man who served teapots in a small teahouse in Chengdu. He didn't even have a name, but it did not prevent me from growing up step by step. Although the price paid was a little too high, compared with the vast majority of wealthy families and the 400 million people in the world, I, Xiao Yimin, is undoubtedly lucky. At least now I can do something that benefits the country and the nation. And I know what the 400 million people need, and what those wealthy families need." Xiao Yimin said very peacefully, with a gentle and confident smile on his face.

All the laughter had disappeared, and there was silence in front of the gate of Xihuayuan. Some people were meditating and some were excited, but none of them looked away from Xiao Yimin and Gu Weijun's faces.

Gu Weijun took a deep breath: "Yi Shuai, China's diplomacy is difficult. Compared with Beijing, Nanjing's diplomacy is even more difficult. I believe you have a deep understanding of this."

Xiao Yimin nodded solemnly. He knew that this was Gu Weijun's temptation to him, so he spoke out his diplomatic principles very carefully:

"It's very difficult. It's said that "weak countries have no diplomacy". It's a fool to change China's difficult situation at once. But no matter how difficult it is, you have to do it. Doing it may not be successful. Instead, it may leave a terrified reputation for eternity. If you don't do it, you will always lose the opportunity to succeed. You and I were born in this chaotic era and have generous conditions that ordinary people do not have. You should do something for your country and nation, right?"

Gu Weijun was deeply shocked, but he was resolute and extremely calm.

Xiao Yimin continued: "However, this does not mean that I agree with your point of view. Although Nanjing is not as good as Beijing, the center of power in China, in all aspects, it has an advantage that Beijing does not have, that is, there is no heavy burden, no large group of corrupt, not a change-oriented vested interest groups that only consider their own faction and clan interests, and can be easily controlled;

"Then, Nanjing has a unity that Beijing does not have. It has an army that is the country with 300,000 bravest troops, with modern military ideas and advanced equipment. Moreover, since the day it was formed, this army has regarded the interests of the country and nation as its most noble fundamental interests. This means that hundreds of thousands of soldiers can sacrifice their lives for this noble belief, including myself, because this noble belief is established by me, Xiao Yimin himself! With this capital, can't it be as good as Beijing, which is corruption-dense and twilight in the west?"

The words were filled with strong confidence and domineering spirit of no other than me, which made the listeners feel excited and extremely shocked. Even though they were as deep as Zhang Jian, Yang Du and others were moved by it.

"How is it, Shaochuan, come and help me!" Xiao Yimin's eyes were full of expectation.

Gu Weijun looked around and finally focused: "Okay!"

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