Hearing the exclamation, Nie Shicheng and the others ran in from outside. When they came in, they found Yuan Shikai lying in a pool of blood. Tang Jian held Yuan Shikai with one hand, his face full of grief.

Nie Shicheng stepped forward and asked, "Commander, what's wrong?"

Tang Jian shook his head in pain, gently placed Yuan Shikai on the ground, and said to his left and right: "Place his body first!"

Feng Guozhang and Duan Qirui drove away the crowd, came to Tang Jian, bent down, and silently stared at Yuan Shikai.

"Masterman!" Duan Qirui choked.

"Let's do it!" Feng Guozhang said.

Everyone was speechless. Feng Guozhang and Duan Qirui began to carefully restrain Yuan Shikai's body and help him clean up the blood on his face and clothes.

Tang Jian stood up and said to everyone: "Everyone, let's go back first, let's leave the matter here to the two commanders Feng Duan!"

"Yes, commander!" Everyone responded, and then left Prince Zhong's Mansion. It was late at night. Everyone was busy all day and began to return to their temporary residence and prepare to rest.

Nie Shicheng glanced at Tang Jian, Tang Jian nodded slightly, and came side by side to the back garden of Prince Zhong’s mansion.

The moon is full of the ground, the breeze is cool, and countless flowers and plants in the back garden sway in the wind under the night wind.

Tang Jian returned to his hometown. In my memory, Deng Yimeng collected honey here to treat Mrs. Tang. Especially on that day, under the sunshine of the afternoon, Tang Ruier wore her two braids, like a child who would never grow up, jumped to the back garden. When she saw Tang Jian, she asked: "Hey, cousin, are you here to pick flowers too?"

Whenever I think of this, a knowing smile appears on Tang Jian's face, as if Tang Rui'er, who has two little tiger teeth, will never grow up, is right in front of her, instead of falling flowers and only a few memories left.

Seeing that Tang Jian was trapped in deep memories, Nie Shicheng coughed lightly and said, "Is the commander sad when he touched the scene again?"

Tang Jian smiled bitterly: "Oh, things change!"

Nie Shicheng took out a cigarette, handed it to Tang Jian, and asked, "Commander, what should we do with the funeral of Yuan Shikai and Emperor Guangxu?"

Tang Jian lit the smoke and said, "Emperor Guangxu should go to the imperial tomb according to the emperor's rituals. As for Yuan Shikai, he is also a hero of his generation. It is better to be buried according to the specifications of first-rank officials, right? What do you think, General Nie?"

Nie Shicheng smiled and said, "The commander has already considered it properly. Besides, it makes sense to do this. Of course I have no objection."

Tang Jian nodded: "Actually, if Brother Yuan worked hard to govern instead of becoming an emperor, then the situation in the north and south might not be like this now."

Nie Shicheng asked respectfully: "Commander, now the overall situation is now settled, and it is only a matter of time to clear out the remnants of the new Beiyang army. After the north and the south are unified, the dynasty will definitely change. By then, all the waste will prosper, and a strong government will be needed to stabilize the country. I am willing to take the liberty. Did the commander think of becoming emperor?"

Tang Jian said in surprise: "Enterprise?" Then he shook his head, "I never thought of becoming an emperor. China belongs to all Chinese people, not to one person."

"Oh?" Nie Shicheng was a little surprised this time. To be honest, if Tang Jian was elected emperor, he would not object, because under Tang Jian's governance, China would become more and more prosperous, and the lives of the people would become better and better. Even after several years, Tang Jian would lead them to expel all the great powers from the territory of China. This was already seen from Tang Jian's promotion to the admiral of the navy to the rise of the southern army and revolting against Yuan Shikai.

Therefore, even if Tang Jian wants to be emperor, Nie Shicheng will not object.

Tang Jian smiled slightly and said earnestly: "General Nie, do you know why the great powers bullied our China?"

Nie Shicheng replied: "It was because of my Qing Dynasty that the country was poor and weak, and that I could not resist the powerful ships and cannons, so I was humiliated by the great powers, and the people would be exploited by the great powers."

Tang Jian shook his head and said, "You are only half right!"

"Half?" Nie Shicheng, who was a general, was a little difficult to understand.

"Yes, the main reason why the great powers were able to bully our great China was not all because of their poor and weak national strength. In the early days of the First Opium War, China had a population of 40 million, and its total economic output ranked first in the world. Its domestic economic output was more than any country in the world. At the beginning of the overseas trade between Britain and my country, it had a deficit, and a large amount of silver poured into China. Can this still be said that the Qing Dynasty's national strength was poor and weak?"

Nie Shicheng was silent, and he really couldn't figure out how the dignified Celestial Empire would lose to a small foreign country.

Tang Jian continued: "The great powers are indeed strong in ships and cannons. I admit this. However, when the British and French forces captured Dagukou, the total strength of the British and French forces was less than 20,000, and they were fighting at a long-range battle, which was difficult to supply. The Qing army had as many as 200,000, and they were still fighting on the local area. But what happened? The British and French forces attacked Beijing and burned the Old Summer Palace. The British and French forces suffered more than 20,000 Qing troops with less than 500 casualties. General Nie, do you think this is a question of strength and weakness?"

Nie Shicheng shook his head in pain. The two Opium Wars were a pain in the hearts of all Chinese people. It was not only because of the fall of Beijing and the destruction of the Old Summer Palace, but more importantly, the Qing Dynasty began to sign a series of uneasy treaties with the great powers, which caused 400 million Chinese people to fall into decades of dire straits.

Tang Jian continued: "The great powers bullied China and were able to easily defeat hundreds of thousands of Qing troops because China was not a country at that time, but Manchuria, and had nothing to do with the other fifty-six nations. At that time, the Qing army fought for the Aisin Jueluo family, not for all the Chinese people. How could such a private army with a weak military discipline resist the invasion of the great powers?"

Nie Shicheng nodded thoughtfully, which reminded him of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. At that time, the Beiyang Fleet was not inferior to the Japanese Joint Fleet, and the army's guns and cannons were no worse than the Japanese army, but they were defeated by Japan, which was a small country in the gang.

During the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, Nie Shicheng felt ashamed. As a witness of that war, Tang Jian's words allowed him to see more thoroughly about the reasons for the defeat on the battlefield.

Tang Jian said: "After all, it is still a problem of the state system. The feudal system is no longer suitable for China. China must overthrow the Qing government and embark on a road of enriching the country and strengthening the army. Let the future Chinese team not fight for the emperor's own country, but for 400 million Chinese people. Do you understand what I mean? General Nie."

Nie Shicheng nodded and said, "I understand that China is no longer an era of emperors, but an era of people!"

Tang Jian smiled and said, "Hehe, yes, so even if the north and the south are unified, I will never proclaim myself to be emperor. This is not in line with the trend of history. We should adopt another more advanced political system."

"The commander means that we should also want to abolish the imperial system and establish a democratic country like the great powers?" Nie Shicheng asked.

"Democracy does not mean that there is something. After so many years of poisoning the eight-legged essays in the Qing Dynasty, the people's rule of the Chinese people has not yet been opened. If you rashly democracy, it will be counterproductive!" Tang Jian said.

"Ah? This is not OK? Then what kind of government should we establish?" Nie Shicheng was a little confused. Tang Jian said that the imperial system must be abandoned, but the establishment of a democratic government is not suitable for the national conditions at this time. So what kind of political system is needed to be suitable for China today?

Tang Jian smiled slightly and said, "It's better to wipe out the remnants of the Beiyang New Army in China first! Please go north at that time, and then consult other people of kindness and ambition in China to brainstorm and discuss what kind of political system we should determine!"

Nie Shicheng was born as a military general and was knowledgeable and talented, but his thinking could not keep up with Tang Jian from later generations, so he had little understanding of Tang Jian's subsequent words. However, Nie Shicheng did not ask much. He knew that Tang Jian had already had a great map about the future in his mind at this time!

Three days later, Tang Jian announced that Emperor Guangxu and Yuan Shikai both fell ill and died. At the same time, Tang Jian ordered people to bury Emperor Guangxu with the specifications of the Qing emperors, and buried the remains of Emperor Guangxu in the Qing imperial tomb.

Yuan Shikai was buried with the standard of a first-rank official. According to Yuan Shikai's wishes, Yuan Shikai's place of sleep was finally chosen in Anyang.

The reason why Yuan Shikai's remains were placed in Anyang was because of Yuan Shikai's eldest son Yuan Keding's insistent request, and on the other hand, it was because he received Tang Jian's approval.

Anyang, as the throat of the pride of the lunar calendar, can be said to be a Feng Shui treasure land in Yuan Shikai's official career. As we all know, Yuan Shikai passed the exam many times in his early years, and then joined the army before he gradually became successful. His political career was the training of small troops in Tianjin after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. Since then, he became the prime minister of the cabinet after the Reform Movement of 1898-1995 and entered the power center of the Qing court. It is perfect to choose this place.

Five days later, Tang Jian issued a "Letter to the People", announcing that all the Southern Army would take over Beijing, and at the same time, they would continue to eliminate the remnants of the Beiyang New Army. Anyone who is willing to surrender on the spot and accepts the reorganization of the Southern Army will not blame him, but who attempt to resist to the end will be annihilated and will never tolerate it.

After the publication of the "Letter to the People", a sensation broke out in the northern provinces. Several Beiyang New Army in Shanxi and Shaanxi expressed their disbelief that Yuan Shikai was dead, and they all stood up to the top of the mountain, intending to fight stubbornly with the southern army to the end. Cao Kun's troops located in two provinces in Jiangsu also expressed their disbelief that Yuan Shikai was dead and were ready to continue to fight stubbornly.

Among the remaining Beiyang New Army, Cao Kun's troops were the most powerful, while other Beiyang New Army scattered around the country followed Cao Kun's lead and prepared to gather in Anhui and other places to plan a large counterattack.

However, Yuan Shikai was dead, and the Beiyang New Army was always without a leader. After Yuan Shikai, no one was able to completely rule the Beiyang New Army. Although Cao Kun collected part of the Beiyang New Army, a considerable part of the Beiyang New Army still accepted the surrender. In Shandong, Henan and other places, 60,000 Beiyang New Army had successively accepted the peaceful adaptation of the Southern Army.

For a time, the power of the Southern Army reached its peak, with a total of 200,000 troops. It was only a matter of time before Cao Kun had wiped out more than 50,000 people.
Chapter completed!