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On August 20, 1916, the British Embassy in Dongjiaomin Lane, Beijing.

The atmosphere in the living room has now become a bit dull. Mr. Zhu Erdian, the Minister of the British Empire's special and fulfilment, was unexpectedly indifferent after learning that Chinese Prime Minister Duan Qirui was preparing to promote the Republic of China to join the Allies out of international justice, declared war on allies such as Germany, Austria, Ottoman Turkey, and other countries, and was preparing to recruit hundreds of thousands or even millions of participating troops to serve as cannon fodder in Europe, but he showed unexpectedly coldness.

The 68-year-old Irish man was just drinking coffee there, his face full of casual expressions of the British Empire gentlemen, not because he was completely uninterested in hundreds of thousands of Chinese cannon fodders, but because he was completely unprepared for such suggestions. How much strength does the Beijing government in China have in the moment? I am afraid that the Minister Zhuerdian is better than Duan Qirui, the Prime Minister. It is probably a bit reluctant to send a 350,000-strong army to the war. Anyway, there are not so many soldiers under Duan Qirui's army headquarters. As for the generals who are self-respecting, they can gather some troops, but are they willing to hand over the army to the central government to organize the war army? You can figure it out with your heels!

But it is probably not accurate to say that China cannot send out hundreds of thousands of cannon fodder. China is the most populous country in the world! It has a population of about 500 million, which is more than the total population of both the Allies and the Allies! As for whether the Chinese are suitable for joining the army, if the European war begins, they may have to consider it. But now... Indians, Annans, Muslims from North Africa, and blacks from Africa have all entered the battlefield of this world war! These are all real slaves to the country! No matter how inferior the Chinese are, they have not lost their country? Besides, during the Boxer Fist riot more than ten years ago, the Chinese people holding big swords and spears also showed their spirit of being ready to die in front of the machine guns and cannons of the great powers? If there is good organization and training, these Chinese people can become excellent infantry! That is millions, or even tens of millions of infantry!

But with the financial resources and control capabilities of the Beijing government in China, is it possible to organize such a huge military force? The answer is obviously no! If the Beijing government could organize millions of troops, China would have been unified by their force! Of course, such a situation in the past was also intolerable by the great powers! A unified and powerful China is undoubtedly a huge threat to the interests of white Westerners in Asia. Therefore, the British Empire's arrangements in Asian affairs have always been to support Japan and suppress China. But this time, the Beijing government of China proposed the possibility of sending hundreds of thousands of troops to Europe to participate in the war... And should the British Empire make such a possibility a reality? It is obvious that this is the condition for the Duan Qirui government to send troops to Europe to participate in the war. It turns out that the lives of the Chinese were not given in vain!

Thinking of this, his eyebrows couldn't help but frowned slightly. This problem was no longer something that he, a small minister of special lives, could decide. Let Whitehall and Prime Minister Asquith be bothered and understand the matter clearly and report it to him.

Zhu Erdian finally put down the small coffee cup in his hand and raised his chin coldly and reservedly: "General Cao, General Xu. I think both of you are very clear. What you are proposing now is a plan to participate in the war that exceeds the capabilities of the Beijing government. The imperial government still needs to carefully evaluate the possibility of this plan... For this reason, I need more and more detailed information."

Xu Shuzheng and Cao Rulin both breathed a sigh of relief. This foreigner finally refused without saying a word, and it seemed that there was still a chance!

"The specific plan remains to be discussed, but the draft is already here." Xu Shuzheng opened the briefcase, took out a bound document, and handed it to Zhu Erdian with both hands.

Juerdian took it casually, but without looking at it, and put it aside. He smacked his lips slightly, and then said lightly: "I will send this draft back to London by telegram as quickly as possible. I believe it will appear on the desk of Prime Minister Asquis soon. However, the decision to help your country's Beijing government form a military force of hundreds of thousands may not be made in a short time. While considering this decision in London, can the Chinese government declare war on the allies first and join the cause of the Allies politically and diplomatically? Perhaps, China can also send labor to Europe first, which is also a sign of China's sincerity to the Allies, and of course it will play a positive role in London's decision.

In addition, Britain is only a member of the Allies, and the issue of helping the Chinese government form a huge war army will inevitably involve other countries. France and Belgium don’t think there will be any objections, but what attitude will the Russian Empire and the Japanese Empire take? I think you should also communicate with them in time."

After hearing Zhu Erdian's words, a straight national-shaped face with a big mustache appeared in Xu Shuzheng's heart, which was exactly the face of Li Yuanhong, the President of the Republic of China. It was really a headache to say that. President Li did not have a soldier in his hands, but he was just a short president. But he just refused to be his "bodhisattva". He had to treat himself as a dish and fight against the State Council system everywhere. A group of Kuomintang lawmakers also followed him to make trouble... Now that the British want China to declare war first, they can't pass the presidency and parliament if they are in ten days!

Of course, he and Mr. Duan Zhi can also ask for help from the Minister Juerdian in front of him. As long as the British Empire leads the Allies to put pressure on the Presidential Office, "Bodhisattva" will definitely not be able to withstand it. But in that case, how should the British view the Beiyang system's ability to control China's internal affairs? Even a "small matter" such as a declaration of war requires Britain to personally help. Does such a government have the ability to raise hundreds of thousands or millions of troops to Europe to participate in the war? Besides, where are there good people in this world who can help for nothing? It seems that the declaration of war has to be solved by Beiyang itself. As for Japan and Russia, there is no problem? Japan has always supported Mr. Duan Zhi, and the situation on the Eastern Front is very bad. Is it not against anyone helping?

With a headlong question mark, Xu Shuzheng and Cao Rulin exchanged a few more words with Zhu Erdian, then hurriedly said goodbye and left, and took the car to Duan Qirui Mansion in Fuxue Hutong. After entering Duan Mansion, the two of them went directly into the living room without waiting for the servants to report. However, Duan Qirui had been waiting there long ago.

"Yu Zheng, Runtian, all sat down and talked." Duan Qirui did not sleep in the middle of the night, so he was naturally waiting for news from Xu Shuzheng and Cao Rulin. When he saw the two people coming in, he ordered them to sit down, and then asked straight to the point: "What did Zhu Erdian say? Is he interested in our suggestions?"

Xu Shuzheng found a chair casually and sat down casually, waved his hand, and smiled bitterly: "Hi! Without even looking at it, he said he would send it to London immediately. Who knows whether it is true or not? Oh, he also wants us to declare war first, and we also want us to discuss it with Russia and Japan."

"Runtian, what do you think?" Duan Qirui nodded quietly, and asked Cao Rulin, who was sitting next to Xu Shuzheng and seemed a little restrained.

Cao Rulin is from Shanghai and looks gentle and gentle. He studied in Japan in his early years. After returning to China, he served in the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His official career was very prosperous. He was less than 40 years old this year and was already the head of the Beijing government's transportation and diplomatic affairs! However, now it is a chaotic period of the Republic of China where warlords are rampant. He, a senior civil servant with two "Shangshu", has always been used to talking with bent down in front of the Beiyang army head holding a gun.

Hearing Duan Qirui's question, General Cao nodded and smiled: "Old Zhi, Mr. Zhuerdian's view is that Minister Juerdian is actually interested in our suggestions, but this matter is indeed a bit big and cannot be determined by his authority. As for Russia and Japan, they all support us in the war, but they will have different views on the scale of our participation in the war."
Chapter completed!