Chapter 254: Reorganization of the Navy

When it was just dawn, Xu Shuzheng went to bed and rested in the early morning, so he was still asleep. Deng Keng led a dozen guards from the Governor's Office to open the door of the guest room. Without waiting for Xu Shuzheng to react, the man had dragged him off the bed. Xu Shuzheng asked loudly what happened, but no one responded to him except scolding and scolding. The guard did not let Xu Shuzheng wear clothes, so he pulled him out of the room, beating and scolding along the way, and also took down valuable things such as dwarf pocket watches, pens, silver dollars, etc. until he arrived outside the Governor's Office.

"Lack of the North, get back."

"President Yuan assassinated Mr. Song, but there was no good thing in the Beiyang faction."

"Do you dare to lure us Governor Wu? Governor Wu is an unswerving revolutionary patriot!"

"Hold you to the death street, and you're shoveling, get out of here!"

Xu Shuzheng was still in shock, and his body had been beaten green and purple. He never expected that he was a guest of the Governor's Office yesterday, and he had not woken up yet, but he had completely changed. He asked repeatedly what had happened. However, Deng Keng and others ignored him. It was not the end to drive out of the Governor's Office. Deng Keng asked the guards to come forward to escort Xu Shuzheng and marched along the street.

"Come on, come and see. The lackeys sent from the north will spend 500,000 yuan to buy our Governor Wu and betray the revolution!"

"The Beijing government's ambition is obvious. Who is our Governor Wu? How could he bear the blame for money?"

The guards shouted loudly as they walked, which attracted pedestrians on the road to stop and watch, pointing and talking.

After a series of pieces, the masses finally knew the cause and effect of the matter. During this period, Guangdong reported the assassination of Song Jiaoren and continued to be hotly discussed. The people had long hated the absurd actions of the Beijing government. At this time, this scene immediately ignited the anger in people's hearts. The people along the street couldn't help but follow the guards to point and scold Xu Shuzheng. Some small vendors also took out vegetable leaves and stones to greet him. Xu Shuzheng had no temper at all. Of course, he didn't know that Wu Shaoting intercepted his telegram, and his view of Wu Shaoting had undergone a major change in his heart. It was not that he had a grudge, but that Wu Shaoting's patriarchal state was so deep!

Deng Keng took Xu Shuzheng to the Guangdong Wharf. At this time, Xu Shuzheng was still wearing pajamas, and the valuable things on him had long been searched by the guards of the Governor's Office. Deng Keng took out two dollars and threw them to Xu Shuzheng, as if sending a beggar. He sneered: "Sir Xu, you can buy a ticket to Fuzhou for these two dollars. I'm sorry, you can transfer a few more stops."

Xu Shuzheng sighed. Although he was angry, the hero still understood the reason why he did not suffer the loss in front of him. After all, it was someone else's territory. If he wanted dignity, he would not have life. He bent down and picked up two dollars, and without saying a word, he staggered towards the ticket hall. He was secretly unwilling to accept it: Damn, I originally planned to go back to Beijing to create your rumors, but I didn't expect you to take the lead. Awesome, awesome. This time I was defeated and convinced.

Five days later, the Administrative Conference Room of the Governor's Office.

The Minister of the Navy Gao Guangzheng stood up from his seat and asked in shock: "What? Do you want to sell three torpedo boats and Zhentao, Zhenhai? Governor, why?"

Wu Shaoting expressed his calm expression and reached out to signal Gao Guangzheng to sit down first, then said: "Minister Gao, the Navy's Ministry of Navy has 33 ships in size. Remove the three old practice ships and two boilers that were damaged and unable to leave the port. The remaining warships consumed almost twice the military expenditure of the total number of the army. Now our Guangdong finance is already a top financial crisis, and neither the Beijing government nor the Nanjing left-behind government has ever withdrawn a penny of funds. The largest fiscal deficit last year was the Navy's expenses."

Gao Guangzheng was still excited and said loudly: "No matter what, Zhentao and Zhenhai are the first generation gunboats of our Guangdong Navy. Even if the Zhenhai cannot be used due to damage, it still has great significance."

Wu Shaoting said calmly: "Minister Gao, no matter how important it is, the Ministry of Finance cannot afford to pay for it, what is the use of it? Whether it is the first generation gunboat or not, whether it can go into the sea, these are not the key to the problem. The key is that Guangdong's finance cannot support so many ships now, and the combat in Guangdong does not require so many ships at all."

Gao Guangzheng's face looked very ugly, and other officials of the Navy were also very regretful. After a while of silence, Gao Guangzheng slowed down his tone and spoke again: "Du Xigui from Fuzhou has been in contact with his subordinates some time ago. The Beijing government had reorganized the Navy headquarters, Wuhan Fleet, Jiujiang Fleet, Shanghai and Fuzhou at the end of last year. Why didn't Guangdong, which had the most shipments, do not?"

Wu Shaoting asked with a cold face and said stiffly: "Are you questioning me?"

Gao Guangzheng took a deep breath, as if he had been brave enough, and continued, "Governor, my subordinates just don't understand why you don't fight for naval military expenditure? The navy is the backbone of national defense. In terms of strategy, I only heard that I should vigorously develop the navy, but I didn't hear that I should weaken the naval power! Just say that after the establishment of the Guangzhou Revolutionary Government last year, the naval dispatch has shocked the morale of the enemy, and its contribution does not need to be poor in the army."

Wu Shaoting waited for Gao Guangzheng to finish his words, and then his tone gradually became stronger and stronger, "You took the military expenditure of the Beijing government, which only means that you have defected to the Beiyang faction. Now the news outside is talking about is very clear. Five days ago, I humiliated Xu Shuzheng and expelled from the country. My position with the North is already very clear. If Minister Gao wants to betray the revolution, you go out immediately, lead your fleet out, go to the Beiyang government to shake its tail and beg for mercy, and bow your head to show your determination to be a dictator. When you pass by Shanghai, you can also shoot a shot from the Kuomintang headquarters to show your determination to beg for the lackeys!"

When he talked about it, his tone almost reached a roar.

Gao Guangzheng suddenly became embarrassed, his forehead was covered in sweat, and he was speechless for a moment.

The other generals of the Navy were very shocked, and the previous words of Governor Wu rekindled their blood.

Wu Shaoting slowly stood up, looked around all the generals of the Navy Department, and then said, "I, Wu Shaoting, know what Guangdong is like. Since the Guangzhou First Rebellion, have I paid less for all the supply supply of Guangdong Navy? The military expenditure of the three divisions of our army is less than 200,000 yuan per month, which is 12,000 people. The 33 navy ships cost 370,000 yuan a month, and the total number of officers and soldiers is less than 2,000 yuan. Let me ask, have you ever heard a complaint from the army brothers?"

The officials of the Admiralty all lowered their heads, and everyone looked bad.

Wu Shaoting said again: "When the second brothers were in the Northern Expedition, my first division was reduced from three meals a day to two meals a day, just to save one meal and support the front line. If the Navy Department had the strength to fight to Beijing, I, Wu Shaoting, would be fucking tolerant of only one meal in three days." He paused, eased the fluctuations of his emotions, and said calmly, "It's not that I don't like the navy, but if you want to say which of the troops in the world is the most invasive, it is your navy! It's a pity that when the Sino-Japanese War came, the great powers were bullying our China everywhere invading us. They were afraid that our Chinese navy would one day regain their strength and drive them all away!"

Officials from the Navy sighed one by one. The shame of Sino-Japanese War was not a shame of the Qing Dynasty, but the biggest scar of the Chinese Navy. If you cannot avenge your shame, this scar will never be healed.

Wu Shaoting sighed with an excited gleam in his eyes and said, "Some people say that I am Wu Shaoting is a tyrant and righteous person. I think after I sell those ships, someone will call me a sinner of the Guangdong Navy. Let me tell you, if I am a tyrant and overlord like to be like the North, today's meeting will be Minister Gao's death penalty notice. If I am a tyrant and overlord like to be a tyrant, my Zhang Shengting Company will have already made a fortune now."

Gao Guangzheng lowered his head in shame and looked very ugly. Not only did Wu Shaoting's words understand, but everyone present also understands them. Looking at the military governments across the country, where is the good atmosphere in Guangdong? Now even the Beijing government relies on foreign loans to operate, and other provinces can only squeeze the people. Only Guangdong has barely achieved self-sufficiency.

"I have said just now that if we want to truly promote our country's power and avenge our previous shame, the development of the navy is the only way out. But you have also seen that China is nominally unified, but in fact it is the separatist provinces. Coupled with the foreign aggression of the great powers, it is not the time to develop the navy. I hope that all naval colleagues can understand my current difficulties. I can apologize to Minister Gao. Because I don't want any of you to give up the revolutionary camp." Wu Shaoting said in a concluding manner.

"Governor," Ren Guangyu, deputy director of the Navy, asked carefully, "How should those officers and soldiers be placed after selling the ship?"

"It is a shore personnel at the naval base, or I recommend them to teach at Fuzhou Naval Academy. I also want to start the Guangdong Naval Academy again, but unfortunately the finances are not good. Maybe I have to wait another year or two." Wu Shaoting sighed.

Gao Guangzheng stood up, saluted Wu Shaoting solemnly, and said, "Governor, my subordinates were reckless before, please forgive me. The governor's resolution will be fully supported."

The other captains also stood up and saluted Wu Shaoting.

A month later, two gunboats in Zhentao and Zhenhai sold to the Fuzhou fleet for 700,000 yuan, and three torpedo boats were sold to the Guangxi military government for a total of 260,000 yuan. After active persuasion by the Navy Department, the five ships were changed to remain at the base. The captain of Zhentao was very sad and left Guangzhou on horseback that night. Wu Shaoting led the officials of the Navy Department to track it overnight and stopped the captain of Zhentao in the suburbs of Qingyuan County. After some hard persuasion, he finally persuaded him to return to the naval base. Wu Shaoting specially appointed the captain of Zhentao as a senior consultant of the Navy Department, at the same level as the former Guangdong Navy Admiral Li Zhun.

It was May in a blink of an eye. With the evidence of Song Jiaoren's assassination case one by one, the face of the Beijing government was increasingly unconcealed. After recovering, Song Jiaoren risked his life and held speeches in Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Suzhou and other places, declaring the conspiracy of the Beijing government, demanding President Yuan severely punish the murderer and resigned.

Yuan Shikai has been getting more and more upset recently. It would be fine if Zhao Bingjun sent someone to kill Song Jiaoren, but he would do the things to the end. Now, Song Jiaoren is not dead again, and the Beijing government has also been charged with a serious crime. What is really thankless is that he is not able to deal with Song Jiaoren anymore, but he is also worried about any accidents that Song Jiaoren will encounter again. If Song Jiaoren breaks his leg down the stairs and drinks water and stuffs his teeth, the people of the whole country will accuse him of the Beijing government.

By June, the Beijing government received the second phase of the banking group of the Five Kingdoms. Yuan Shikai's military arrangement was approaching the end, and he immediately issued several orders in succession: the position of Jiangxi governor Li Liejun, and Li Chun was acting as the agent; the position of Shanghai governor Chen Qimei was abolished, and the establishment of the garrison envoy in Shanghai was announced, and the position of Songjiang governor Zheng Rucheng was transferred, and Yang Shande replaced the garrison envoy in Songjiang; the position of Guangdong governor Wu Shaoting was abolished, and Guangxi governor Lu Rongting was also in charge of Guangdong.

At the end of the month, Li Houji led his troops into Shanghai, drove away Chen Qimei and others, and assisted Zheng Rucheng in establishing the Shanghai Governor's Office.

Sun Yat-sen, Chen Qimei, Song Jiaoren and others retreated into the concession and called for the whole country to fight against Yuan. Faced with the Beiyang faction's force, even Song Jiaoren, Huang Xing and others were indignant. Seeing that the murderer of the Song case could not be punished according to law, they fantasized that Yuan Shikai could not resign, so they could only condemn and instigate the domestic revolutionary army to protest by force.

Forced by the orders of the Beijing government, Li Liejun had to resign as the governor of Jiangxi and went south to Shanghai to discuss the specific matters with Sun Yat-sen. Sun Yat-sen started calling for the issue of Yuan from March until today in June. Although he repeatedly asked the provinces to send troops to attack Yuan Shikai and safeguard the achievements of the republic, there was no specific way. After Li Liejun arrived, he had to start planning again. In this way, more preparation time was provided for the Beiyang Army's military operations.

After the orders of exempting Guangdong's governor Wu Shaoting from being issued to Guangzhou, Wu Shaoting did not choose to leave like Li Liejun. Guangdong is not as good as Jiangxi. His foundation in Guangdong is much more reliable than Li Liejun in Jiangxi. Even though Jiangxi established a unified military government, in fact, the province has not completed unification, and there are several forces in Nanchang alone. Guangdong completed unification in five months after the first rebellion in Guangzhou. Wu Shaoting's supervision for one and a half years has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. What's more important is that the Guangdong army and finance are like the central government, and the province, from officials and gentry to the people, does not care about the governance of the Beijing government at all.

In recent days, Wu Shaoting has been using the Ministry of Information to control public opinion in the province to promote the ambitions of the Beijing government and the governor of Guangxi Lu Rongting, the governor of Guangxi, to fish the people. He also planned to organize a group of politicians and businessmen to hold a march to oppose obeying the orders of the Beijing government. However, before he had formal arrangements, there were already spontaneous groups among the people calling for Wu Shaoting to be retained. Not long after, generals at all levels of the Revolutionary Guangdong Army, officers of the Navy Department, and cadets of the military academy sent joint letters and issued joint telegrams, refusing to accept the order to revoke Wu Shaoting.
Chapter completed!