Master Yuan, start!

If the leaders are not Jin Weidong and Liu Bohong, who else could they be?

A land bear lord, breaking the defense line on the Tumen River, destroying the enemy's front line south of Shuangchengzi;

A water dragon king, a whale sea that destroyed all enemy warships, torpedo cannons and fire cooked

I heard that in the end, the two of them worked together to completely destroy the remaining Russian forces in the port of Vladivostok, leaving no trace of them.

After this battle, Jin Weidong's title of "Bear of National Defense" was well-deserved.

In public opinion, Liu Bohong, the commander of the Beiyang Fleet and captain of the Hailong, was gradually called the "Dragon of National Defense" after the news of his complete destruction of the Russian warships spread.

Although the Wehrmacht no longer exists, this does not prevent the creation of new nicknames.

After all, since the establishment of the National Defense Army and the National Revolutionary Army, there have only been six auspicious animal nicknames.

Among them, the National Defense Eagle was initially awarded to the generals who died in the hot air balloon battle. Now, Lang and Feng Guozhang are left defending Jiangnan, while Niu and Sheng Fei are stationed in Heilongjiang.

And today, three of them came at once: Duan Qirui, the tiger of national defense, Bai Dingshan, the fox of national defense, and Jin Weidong, the bear of national defense.

In addition, Liu Bohong, a national defense dragon who is passed down by word of mouth among the people, was also there.

Seeing such a grand occasion, who wouldn’t be excited? Who wouldn’t be thrilled?

"Yuan Shun Escort Agency respectfully welcomes the triumphant return of the National Revolutionary Army and Navy!"

"Qingchunlou respectfully welcomes the triumphant return of the National Revolutionary Army and Navy!"

"Shengfa Weaving Factory respectfully welcomes the triumphant return of the National Revolutionary Army and Navy!"

"The Haidong Students' Association respectfully welcomes the triumphant return of the National Revolutionary Army and Navy!"

"All colleagues of Shuntian Times respectfully welcome the triumphant return of the National Revolutionary Army and Navy!"

...

People from all walks of life, from the elite to the common people, celebrated together. Today, most of the well-known organizations in the capital gathered along Chang'an Avenue, holding up banners and sending people to shout loudly.

They spared no words of praise for the National Revolutionary Army that had returned victoriously.

At the same time, they also had their own little calculations, wanting to use this opportunity to make their reputation more famous among the people of the capital.

Yuan Shikai also stood at the Zhengyang Gate, welcoming the arrival of the hero together with the people of the city.

He looked at the scene but didn't mind it much.

Citizens have freedom in this regard, and there is no reason for the new republic to stop them.

On the contrary, standing with the people is the best way to win their hearts.

Yuan Xiangcheng smiled and nodded to the guard beside him. The guard understood and made a gesture.

Several loud shouts were heard from the crowd:

"The President of the Republic respectfully welcomes the triumphant return of the National Revolutionary Army and Navy!"

Accompanied by overwhelming shouts, Yuan Xiangcheng walked out of the shadow of Zhengyang Gate, a gratified smile on his face, and looked at the slowly approaching National Revolutionary Army formation.

Seeing this, Duan Qirui, who was in the lead, hurried forward, trotted in front of Yuan Xiangcheng, and stood at attention.

"Report, the National Revolutionary Army's Army and Navy have returned victorious!"

Duan Qirui gave a standard military salute and then slowly lowered his right hand.

"Comrade Zhiquan, thank you for your hard work!"

Yuan Xiangcheng held Duan Qirui's lowered right hand tightly, unwilling to let go for a long time.

Seeing this scene, the leading generals raised their right hands in unison and saluted Yuan Shikai.

就连9不属4于国8民革命军序列2的邓世4昌，3也收起了3担忧0的面色5，在这股气氛的感染之下，有样学样地举起右手，郑重敬礼。

Some people in the crowd also saw this scene, and their emotions were even more surging.

Most of them were eyewitnesses of the Jiashen Right Army parade after the victory of the Sino-French War 10 years ago.

Seeing this situation, they recalled the experience 10 years ago when the Jiashen Right Army had just been formed and fought a life-and-death battle with the French outside the walls of Beijing.

They all entered the capital with great victories, sang the same song "Chinese Men", and were reviewed in front of civil and military officials and many ordinary people in the capital.

But that time, the princes, ministers and common people knelt before the emperor and the empress dowager before standing up to watch the ceremony.

At that time, the Jiashen Right Army knelt on the ground for a long time and could not get up until the Empress Dowager Cixi ordered them to stand up. Then the soldiers stood up amid shouts of "Thank you for your grace, Empress Dowager."

The difference is that this time there is no empress dowager, emperor, princes and ministers on the high platform, and the people and soldiers do not have to kneel down and kowtow to receive rewards.

The flag that read "Jiashen Right Army" 10 years ago has now been replaced with "National Revolutionary Army"

The people in the city also cut off their ugly braids and took off their Ma兜领 (mandarin jackets); they tied their hair into buns, wore square scarves, and put on the elegant and dignified Hanfu.

"Equal, equal!"

"Everyone is equal!"

This group of people once again experienced the spirit of equality for all under the republic.

They only realized today that soldiers who have made contributions to the country do not need to kneel to anyone.

Even when facing the president of a country, you should straighten your knees and hold your head high!

"With such a powerful army and such a wise leader, my country can die with peace of mind!"

Just as the crowd was getting excited, an old man in the crowd became overly excited and suddenly fainted.

Seeing someone fall to the ground, the crowd suddenly became chaotic. Yuan Xiangcheng immediately ordered people to go and support the unconscious old man and sent people to maintain order.

Seeing that the chaos was gradually subsiding, Yuan Xiangcheng turned around and shook hands with the generals one after another.

Jin Weidong, Bai Dingshan, Liu Bohong, Xie Baozhang, and even Deng Shichang.

"Brother Zhengqing, are you worried about the reaction in Guangzhou?" Yuan Xiangcheng walked past the crowd, held Deng Shichang's hands tightly, and asked softly.

"Mr. President...I...ah..." Deng Shichang looked up and wanted to speak, but finally lowered his head and sighed.

I don’t know whether I am sighing for myself, for the Zhiyuan, or for the South China Sea Fleet.

In the Battle of Whale Sea, the Beiyang Fleet won a great victory, and the Zhiyuan also had the record of sinking the Ushakov.

But Li Hongzhang couldn't be happy.

He originally just wanted to make a cameo appearance and make his presence felt, which is why the South China Sea Fleet only sent one main warship, the Zhiyuan, to the north.

Unexpectedly, when the Zhiyuan returned to the port, it was already badly damaged, with water entering many cabins and the deck tilted. It would not be an exaggeration to say that it was almost sunk.

It would be fine if the Beiyang Fleet did not win, but the achievements of the Zhiyuan could still be boasted about.

But the Beiyang Fleet won a great victory later, and the sinking of Ushakov by Zhiyuan seemed a bit "insignificant".

In the eyes of the people all over the world, all the credit went to the Beiyang Fleet.

In Li Hongzhang's view, the Zhiyuan was actually "badly damaged".

Li Hongzhang's son, Li Jingfang, deputy governor of the Lingnan Xinghan Governor's Office, even threatened to recall Deng Shichang and dismiss him from his post for investigation!

Although the official order had not yet arrived, Deng Shichang had already heard the news, so he naturally could not hide his worry.

Looking at Deng Shichang, who was just as excited but now seemed a little melancholy, Yuan Sanxiangcheng said kindly:

"Don't worry, if Li Hongzhang dares to punish the Nanyang Fleet and criticize the meritorious officials.

Our national defense army has 20 brave soldiers, and they will definitely support you!"

Faced with the generals of the Huai Army Navy, Yuan Shikai poached them without hesitation.

The reasons are naturally ready.

Didn’t you, Li Hongzhang, say that you wanted to join the republican government?

Why are they still issuing decrees in the name of the Xinghan Military Governor's Office? Do they disregard the national system?

Chapter 353: Disarmament, Do You Want to Follow?

Suddenly, thousands of soldiers entered the capital. Under normal circumstances, they would not be able to find so many houses at once.

Fortunately, most of the Manchus in the city were cleared out, leaving many princes' mansions vacant.

Houses like those of the former Prince Yu, Prince Su, and those near the Eight Banners Parade Ground were nationalized by the newly established republican government.

So under Xu Shichang's arrangement, a group of soldiers moved into these tall mansions in batches.

It is not possible to provide each person with a room for the time being, but at least we can ensure that everyone has a quilt and sleeps in the house, so shelter from wind and rain is not a problem.

It was already late at night after the National Revolutionary Army soldiers who were coming to Beijing for review were settled.

However, Yuan Shikai, Xu Shichang and Duan Qirui did not rest.

The three of them gathered at the Yingtai in Zhongnanhai, standing in front of a wall in the Xiangluan Pavilion where a huge map of China was hung, and discussed the future destiny of the country.

"Now that the external threat has been eliminated, how should we deal with the separatist regimes in various places?" Xu Shichang spoke first, looking at Heilongjiang above the map, and raised the problem that needed to be solved urgently.

In Xu Shichang's view, reducing the power of the feudal lords was an unavoidable reality that had to be faced.

The situation of separatist regimes can be said to have been created by the Red Confucian Society and the National Defense Army.

It was precisely because the Right Army of Jiashen firmly supported Guangxu that year, and even went so far as to launch an army from Korea and invade the Central Plains to launch the anti-curtain war against Cixi, that the Qing Dynasty was eventually divided into the north and the south, and the governors and governors-general in various places acted as they pleased.

This gamble allowed Yuan Shikai to be appointed Governor-General of the Three Northeastern Provinces, connecting the three provinces outside the Great Wall with Korea, and winning the Red Confucian Society and the National Defense Army more than three years of golden development period.

However, no one could have expected that the consequences caused at the time would become an obstacle to unification today.

Duan Qirui felt a bit chilled by the autumn wind blowing through the courtroom. He wrapped his uniform tightly around him and sighed, "Haha, in the past, we were always the vassal statesmen, feared and impeached by the officials in the capital.

I didn't expect that the situation would be reversed now, and it's our turn to worry about the local vassal states."

Yuan Xiangcheng stood in front of the huge map, listening to the two people beside him, and murmured: "Things are in unity of opposites. The primary and secondary contradictions have completed their mutual transformation after we have gained central power."

"Unity of opposites, primary and secondary contradictions?" Duan Qirui was a little confused when he heard these somewhat difficult terms.

"Zhiquan, this is the theory of contradiction that Weiting often talks about." Seeing that Duan Qirui was puzzled, Xu Shichang explained.

"Let's get back to the current situation." Yuan Xiangcheng waved his hand and looked at the map.

"Whether it's us, Li Hongzhang, the Chu clique in the northwest, or even the local factions in Fujian, we all want to unify China.

In their eyes, aren't we also occupying the central vassal state?

It’s just that we are currently invincible.”

Duan Qirui's eyes lit up when he heard this: "Brother Weiting is right. Currently, Korea, the three northeastern provinces, Zhili, Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, Anhui, and Jiangsu are all under our control.