Republic of China: My great warlord, many children, many blessings.

Shen Hao glanced at the woman Feng Guozhang had brought with him and his lips twitched. "Damn it," he thought, "are people this direct with gifts these days? Giving a woman directly."

235. What a clever scheme to use someone else to do one's dirty work!

The woman next to Feng Guozhang had cut her hair short, just enough to cover her ears.

Judging from his appearance, he is about 27 or 8 years old.

She has fair skin and a composed, intellectual, and elegant demeanor.

Wearing a gray suit, he looked shrewd and capable.

But this outfit is quite peculiar and clearly out of place for women of this era.

If you wear an office lady dress and put on lipstick, you'll definitely look like a mature and sophisticated woman.

Before Shen Hao could speak, the woman stepped forward and shook his hand, saying, "Greetings, Governor Shen. I am Lü Bicheng, the President's government secretary and advisor."

Shen Hao was taken aback. Wasn't Lü Bicheng the woman Yuan Kewen liked?

I chased after him for ages but couldn't catch him.

I had some understanding of Lü Bicheng and Shen Hao; she was a single woman from the Republican era who never married.

The foremost of the Four Great Talented Women.

He wrote "Man Jiang Hong: The Darkness of China".

In today's terms, it's typical feminism.

However, this concept of feminism is different from the later concept of "little fairy". This one is for women, while that one is for herself.

She has a dignified and elegant appearance, but is not as delicate and beautiful as Bai Xiuzhu and Yuan Fuzhen.

But she is also a very charming woman.

Although Shen Hao didn't understand why the other party had sought him out, he couldn't refuse a smiling face, so he shook hands with her and said with a smile, "Secretary Lü, your lyrics are absolutely the best among female lyricists in the last three hundred years."

Lu Bicheng shook his head and said, "Governor Shen, you are too kind. What I said was just pointless whining, of no value whatsoever. It only added a little empty fame and had no warning effect whatsoever. It's nothing."

Immediately, Shen Hao had tea served.

After learning more, Shen Hao understood that the two had arrived together by chance, and were not brought by Feng Guozhang.

"Governor Feng, what brings you here today?"

Feng Guozhang said, "I want to cooperate with Governor Shen to discuss something."

Shen Hao asked, puzzled, "What are we cooperating on?"

Feng Guozhang said, "I want to drive Zhang Xun out of Nanjing."

"Isn't this simple? Just send troops to fight. Zhang Xun's braided army isn't that strong," Shen Hao said.

“Governor Shen may not know this, but this matter cannot be handled with guns. I am a senior member of the Beiyang clique, a direct descendant of the President, while Zhang Xun is not.”

If I were to take action against Zhang Xun, it would provoke dissatisfaction and vigilance from the governors of other provinces.

They would think that President Yuan was going to take action against them.

Upon hearing this, Shen Hao nodded.

If no reason is taken against Zhang Xun, then other warlords will certainly become wary.

If you can fight Zhang Xun today, you can certainly do the same to me tomorrow.

At that time, warlords like Zhang Zuolin, Feng Delin, and Tang Jirao, who wield considerable military power, will surely rebel.

At that time, Yuan Shikai's position will definitely be unstable again.

Although Yuan Shikai's regime is currently consolidated and stable, the warlords in each province are acting independently, and even within Yuan Shikai's own Beiyang clique, there is infighting.

We're essentially an alliance; whoever makes the first move will become the target of everyone's attacks.

"Governor Feng, why did you suddenly decide to expel Zhang Xun from Nanjing?" Shen Hao asked.

“Governor Shen, you don’t know this, but when Huang Xing caused trouble in Nanjing, it was I who was sent to attack. President Yuan promised me that as long as Nanjing was captured, I would become the governor of Jiangsu.”

But I never expected that Zhang Xun, that bastard, would get the better deal. It's also my fault; I was too arrogant at the time, and it was caused by the bet with Zhang Xu.

Here's what happened.

In July of the second year of the Republic of China (1913), the "Second Revolution" broke out with the Li Liejun Hukou Uprising, which fired the first shot.

On the 15th, Huang Xing announced his opposition to Yuan Shikai in Nanjing.

On the 23rd, Feng Guozhang was appointed as the Jianghuai Pacification Commissioner and led his troops south along the Jinpu Railway. Soon after, he captured various places in Suxian, Bengbu and Chuxian, and reached Pukou on August 6.

On the 16th, his son-in-law, Chen Zhiji, the commander of the Nanjing Eighth Division who participated in the anti-Yuan struggle, led a small number of guards to secretly cross the river and surrender to his father-in-law, Feng Guozhang.

Chen Zhiji gave Feng Guozhang a detailed report on the chaotic situation of Nanjing being leaderless and its defense layout.

Feng Guozhang was overjoyed. He then joined forces with Zhang Xun's troops and Liu Guanxiong's navy to devise a joint operation to capture Nanjing.

In Nanjing, He Haiming led the anti-Yuan army in a fierce battle against Feng Guozhang's Beiyang Army for more than half a month, until they ran out of ammunition and food.

On September 2, Feng Guozhang commanded the Beiyang Army to blow up the city wall and enter Nanjing.

After entering the city, the Beiyang Army acted like wild beasts, wantonly burning, killing, raping, and looting. Countless merchants and civilians in Nanjing lost their homes and lives. Many women were raped and then committed suicide by throwing themselves into the Qinhuai River. Their atrocities were no less than those committed by the Japanese invaders.

The atrocities committed by Zhang Xun's "Pigtail Army" were the worst of all.

Feng Guozhang was awarded the First Class Wenhu Medal by Yuan Shikai for his "meritorious service" in capturing Nanjing.

With the fall of Nanjing, the "Second Revolution" also came to an end.

Yuan Shikai was well aware that Nanjing's strategic location was crucial to his control of the south, so he originally planned to appoint his trusted general Feng Guozhang as the governor of Jiangsu after capturing Nanjing.

However, things didn't go as planned. On the eve of capturing Nanjing, Feng Guozhang promised Zhang Xun's agreement that "whoever enters the city first will become the governor." This madman Zhang Xun was willing to risk heavy casualties among his troops in order to be the first to enter Nanjing.

Having suffered a loss he could not speak of, Feng Guozhang had no choice but to keep his promise and recommend Zhang Xun as the governor of Jiangsu.

Finally, with no other choice, Feng Guozhang had to succeed as the Governor-General of Zhili.

"It was originally agreed that Zhang Xun's army with queues would only have three days to burn and kill in Nanjing. Unexpectedly, the three-day period has expired, and his men have gone mad and are still going crazy. These guys are really endless."

After listening to Feng Guozhang's detailed explanation, Shen Hao could only sigh that Nanjing had truly suffered many calamities.

After thinking for a moment, Shen Hao said, "Getting Zhang Xun out of here is actually quite simple."

Feng Guozhang said, "Oh? How is it simple? Governor Shen, please tell me quickly."

Shen Hao smiled slightly and said, "Zhang Xun's army with queues burned and killed indiscriminately, even killing three foreigners."

Upon hearing this, Feng Guozhang's eyes lit up.

"Governor Shen's intention is to kill a few..."

Shen Hao hurriedly said, "I didn't mean anything by it, Governor Feng, please don't speak carelessly."

"Haha, right, right, I'm a few years older than you, so I'll call you Brother Shen."

"This nature"

"Thank you for reminding me of this, Brother Shen. If you need my help in the future, please don't hesitate to ask. I will definitely help if I can," Feng Guozhang said, clasping his hands in a fist salute.

“Fine, I look down on Zhang Xun. He’s a damn lackey, committing all sorts of atrocities, including burning, killing, looting, and even keeping his queue to disgust people. We should kill every single one of these Manchu lackeys we see,” Shen Hao said.

"Haha, Brother Shen, you know what I mean."

Zhang Xun has no ability whatsoever; he's just an opportunist and sycophantic member of the 367th Battalion, but he's incredibly lucky.

When President Yuan asked Zhang Xun to cut his queue, he refused no matter what and wouldn't even let his soldiers cut it.

When the Eight-Nation Alliance captured Beijing, Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu fled to Xi'an and returned to Beijing. Zhang Xun was assigned to serve as their bodyguard.

During the escort mission, Empress Dowager Cixi praised him as "commendable in loyalty and bravery," which led to his being regarded as a "favored concubine." From then on, he had a chance to rise in rank and was repeatedly promoted and rewarded, achieving great success.

Therefore, he especially missed the Qing Dynasty, and kept a queue (braid) at the back of his head, calling himself "the Braided General".

After chatting with Shen Hao for a while, Feng Guozhang left. At this moment, Feng Guozhang was very excited, finally finding an excuse to get rid of Zhang Xu.

After Feng Guozhang left, Lü Bicheng laughed and said, "What a brilliant scheme to kill someone with a borrowed knife! Governor Shen's plan is truly masterful; he kills the enemy without a trace while talking and laughing."

Shen Hao shook his head and said, "Secretary Lü, don't talk nonsense. I just heard rumors."

Besides, it's not that my strategy is brilliant; it's that their thinking is limited.

People like Feng Guozhang have an innate fear of foreigners.

Foreigners are treated like emperors in the country, able to do whatever they want.

They wouldn't dare provoke them, nor would they dare even entertain such a thought. As for me, I don't care about foreigners.

At this point, Shen Hao changed the subject, saying, "Secretary Lü, is this a sudden visit because the President has something to discuss with me?"

Lu Bicheng scrutinized Shen Hao with her phoenix eyes and said, "Couldn't I be here to see Governor Shen in my private capacity?"

You and I have a Kun-like relationship.

Shen Hao asked in surprise, "Excuse my bluntness, Secretary Lü, but we have no connection whatsoever, so how could you ask me for private tutoring?"

236. Lu Mi, is this the love letter from Brother Shen?

Lu Bicheng said, "I heard that both Shirley soap and Shirley toilet paper are owned by Governor Shen?"