In July 1915, Yuan Shikai met with Zhang Zuolin in ** Mansion and asked him what he wanted: territory or army. Zhang Zuolin only made one action and skillfully resolved the crisis. In the second year of the Xinhai Revolution, Pu Yi abdicated, and Yuan Shikai snatched the fruits of victory and took the oath of office in Beijing, with a prominent momentum. In order to realize his dream of being an emperor, Yuan Shikai suppressed various separatist warlords, and was even more afraid of Zhang Zuolin's warlords. Therefore, Yuan Shikai made an appointment to meet Zhang Zuolin in the name of border government affairs. Zhang Zuolin is shrewd and wise, how can he not know Yuan Shikai's true meaning?Before he set off, he had quietly spent a lot of money to buy the people around Yuan Shikai. At the first meeting, Zhang Zuolin not only brought precious gifts, but also prepared a "heart-attacking gift". When he saw Yuan Shikai, he immediately knelt down and wanted to perform the ceremony of kneeling three times and bowing nine times. Yuan Shikai was frightened and waved his hand again and again: "Now it's **, this gift can be waived!."
Zhang Zuolin said sincerely: "I knew the emperor in the Qing Dynasty, but now I only know the big **, the title is different, and the power is similar." This remark won Yuan Shikai's heart. The two chatted speculatively, but Zhang Zuolin showed arrogance and rude words. Yuan Shikai asked him how he felt about bringing his brothers to Beijing, and Zhang Zuolin did not hesitate: "The brothers are shallow and looking for joy everywhere, and now they can't straighten their waists." Yuan Shikai laughed and heard the rumor that Zhang Zuolin led his brothers to visit the "Eight Hutongs" in the city. Since then, although Yuan Shikai thinks that Zhang Zuolin is rustic, he has not relaxed his vigilance. On July 23, 1915, Zhang Zuolin visited the ** Mansion again, appearing even more ignorant, greedily scanning the surroundings, showing a desire for various items. In the discussion of military and political affairs, he deliberately showed disinterest.
Yuan Shikai asked him tentatively: "China is vast and rich, which land do you want?"Is it a territory or an army?Zhang Zuolin's heart was tight, but he was calm, his eyes were always staring at a gold watch, and he said indifferently: "I'm not interested in these, it's not as good as this gold watch that arouses my interest." Yuan Shikai said with satisfaction: "Okay", and immediately sent someone to give Zhang Zuolin gold watches, famous paintings, porcelain, etc. In the face of Zhang Zuolin's greed and lack of foresight, Yuan Shikai finally let down his guard. After Zhang Zuolin left, he said to people: "Zhang Zuolin is a bun!."Zhang Zuolin successfully won Yuan Shikai's trust and began to seek benefits from it. In February 1916, Yuan Shikai met with Zhang Zuolin again and proposed that he go south to Hunan to quell the rebellion. Zhang Zuolin pretended to be in a hurry, saying that the 27th Army was poorly equipped and needed to wait for the equipment to be in place before going on the expedition.
Yuan Shikai was worried that he would shirk it, and asked, "Then what do you mean?"Zhang Zuolin swore that as long as the equipment was in place, the 27th Army would immediately go south. Sure enough, after Zhang Zuolin returned to Fengtian, the military salary and ** were complete, but he claimed that the situation in Fengtian was unstable and it was not suitable for war. This is tantamount to making Yuan Shikai eat a stuffy stick. After that, Zhang Zuolin conspired with Feng Delin to "govern Fengren with people", forced away Duan Zhigui, a close confidant of Yuan Shikai, and seized the power of Fengtian. Poor Duan Zhigui was really betrayed and was still settling accounts for others. Zhang Zuolin behaved stupidly in the contest with the scheming Yuan Shikai, and finally won a complete victory. Life is like a play, and acting skills are indispensable!