No one can stop the emperor's determination to form an alliance with France and Russia, because this is indeed the best choice for the Chinese Empire as a whole.
1912, the second year of Shenwu, was a very important year for the Chinese Empire.
This is the year when China's restoration cause laid its foundation across the country, the year of comprehensive expansion, the year of deification and personal worship of the emperor; this is the year of the Central Army's comprehensive reorganization and northeasternization; this is the first year of the Central Navy's rapid development
year; this is a year in which the democratization and imperialization of China's political parties are closely integrated; this is the year in which China's 1
75 The National Industrial Plan and the first year of the golden twenty years of industry; this is the year of great improvement in the industrial industry of the three eastern provinces; this is the year of great development of China's capitalism; this is the year of Chinese education moving toward universal quality education;
This is the first year of China's large-scale water conservancy construction; this is the first year of enriching China's agriculture...!
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Before the advent of World War I, the relationship between countries in the entire world was complicated and deeply involved with each other. Even though China had signed the "Sino-French-Russian Trilateral Agreement on Mutual Assistance", it was even possible to fully join the Russo-French Alliance.
, the cooperation between China and Germany has not stopped because of this. First of all, the complementarity of economy and trade makes it difficult to completely separate the economy and politics of China and Germany. Secondly, Germany's most powerful competitor in Europe is the United Kingdom, and China's biggest enemy in Asia.
Also the UK.
In the first half of 1912, military cooperation between China and France increased rapidly. The two sides sent military delegations to each other to inspect and visit the two countries. There were exchanges in various fields of military industry, equipment, military training and war preparations. France was very interested in China.
Among the aid, approximately 1 billion francs were invested in the military industry and related industries.
At this time, France was considering replacing the 8mm rifle ammunition. Due to the urgency of time, France's initial plan was to directly introduce the design of the 7.5mm rifle ammunition from Sweden. However, under the persuasion of China and Russia, especially in China,
After providing all the data and information on the 7.62*54cr rifle ammunition, France directly introduced this new type of ammunition and named it 7.62*54f rifle ammunition.
France transferred to China a complete set of technologies for long-stroke tube retreat brakes and m189719061912 75mm field guns and light field guns. France transferred manufacturing technology for light armored cruisers, submarines and torpedo boats, and produced light armored cruisers, submarines and torpedo boats through joint venture shipyards.
, sold two ships to China
The old model of Glory-class armored cruiser will be used as the flagship. According to the secret agreement between the two parties, a larger French advisory bureau will be established based on the French advisory group in the Northeast. The number of French experts participating in this work will reach 4,000.
Total scale. Assist China to further develop its military industry and military technology.
In return, China will officially join the Russo-French alliance after reaching all the aid loan agreements. Moreover, France has obtained part of the German intelligence information from China, and purchased Shenyang rifles and Popnin submachine guns from the Far East Arms Corporation.
and 60mm mortar design patents. On this basis, with slight improvements, it can be transformed into a new French standard weapon to make up for the gap between France and Germany in light weapons as soon as possible.
The Sino-Japanese War of 1911 was the largest modern war in the world before World War I. It had a great inspiration for armies around the world. Britain, France, Germany, the United States, Austria, Italy and Russia all sent visiting delegations to the Northeastern Army for inspection and exchange.
.Even small European countries such as Sweden, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic have sent visiting delegations.
During this period, the 2nd, 3rd Infantry Division and 1st Cavalry Division of the Central Army were all units that foreign visiting groups could visit publicly. They played a very important role in Sino-foreign military exchanges and allowed various countries to further understand the operations of the Chinese Army.
level.
With the deepening of military exchanges and deepening of understanding, China's status as an emerging military power in the world has begun to become more consolidated. The Russian-French alliance has become more active in trying to win over China. Even the United Kingdom has become more active in its China policy.
Slowly began to make readjustments.
In July 1912, China and Britain finally reached the "Sino-British Reciprocal Commerce Treaty". The United Kingdom provided China with government financial assistance for six years. Long-term low-interest loans of 14 million pounds per year were provided by both parties to each other.
Reciprocal most-favored-nation economic and trade treatment, British textiles, mineral products, soybeans, raw silk, tea and some exports to China
The lowest preferential tariffs are charged for light industrial products. China opens its financial market to the UK to the greatest extent, allowing British companies to invest freely in the three northeastern provinces and other special zones, coastal open cities, and inland open cities. It also invests in British machinery, ships, electrical appliances, steam turbines,
Products such as automobiles, aircraft, diesel engines, and gasoline engines are subject to the lowest preferential tariffs.
In this treaty, the two sides further reached a number of new agreements that were conducive to the further development of relations between the two countries. Britain formally agreed to fully transfer customs rights by the end of 1913 and abolish Britain's inland waterway shipping rights in China. Except for the continued non-discussion of the Hong Kong issue,
The seven British concessions in China - Shanghai, Tianjin, Xiamen, Guangzhou, Zhenjiang, Jiujiang, and Hankou - will be fully integrated into the Special Zone in three to five years. Weihaiwei occupied by the British will be returned to China immediately after the signing of the treaty.
In 1912, the number of foreign banks operating in China increased severalfold. Especially shortly after the signing of the Sino-British Treaty of Reciprocal Commerce, the Imperial Central Bank and the Bank of England signed the "Sino-British Guarantee Agreement on the Chinese Gold Yuan Note Standard".
, the Bank of England purchased approximately 70 million pounds of Chinese Imperial Treasury bonds through the Central Bank of China to guarantee the stable exchange value of Chinese gold yuan bonds.
With the support of this agreement, British loans and capital, which had been far away from the three northeastern provinces, began to flow into China on a larger scale, especially the three northeastern provinces. Big banks from Britain, France, Germany and the United States successively set up offices in China and the three northeastern provinces.
Department, opening up the business of capital remittance into China on a large scale.
In 1912, China opened a new era in this great wave of glory and greatness. China's industry began to flourish in a real sense. In particular, the industries in the three eastern provinces truly opened up the national market during this year.
At the end of the year, Britain and Germany started the fourth naval agreement negotiation. This was also the last time Britain and Germany negotiated on this. If this negotiation broke down, it would only be a matter of time before Britain and Germany went to war.
Prior to this, China and France formally signed the "Sino-French Military Alliance Agreement". The two parties formally agreed that when China and France are invaded by an enemy country, the allies must declare war on the enemy country.
Since then, China has completely joined the Triple Entente of Britain, France and Russia.
As one of the benefits of joining this organization, Britain and France once again agreed to the Chinese cabinet government's huge international public debt purchase request. Although China's international public debt is non-liquid debt, it can only be held but cannot be sold in advance, and long-term interest rates are not paid.
high.
At this time, China relied on its rather strange army strength and huge material resources as its trump cards. It exchanged funds and technology from Britain and France, and the General Administration of Foreign Experts of the cabinet government also began to recruit experts from abroad on a larger scale to provide China with
Provide professional and technical support for development.
In April 2013, the negotiations for the fourth naval agreement between Britain and Germany failed. Since then, the two countries and other countries in the world have understood that it is only a matter of time before the British and German navies declare war. However, in terms of the specific time for the war to begin, the British and German navies
The judgment was made after 1915, and
The Russian and French judgments were that at least after 1918, the differences in these two judgments soon brought different effects. For example, French submarines generally used German diesel engines, while Germany began to gradually delay the use of diesel engines at the end of 1913.
deliver.
The vast majority of military cooperation between China and Germany also gradually stagnated after September 1913, and was replaced by large-scale and intensive military cooperation between China, Britain, and China and France.
Considering the supply of military supplies during wartime, China invited officers from the military technology and munitions departments from Britain, France and Russia to form a special advisory group. It spent huge sums of money to introduce production lines and technologies of different specifications from various countries, and invested in the construction of corresponding basic mining industries on a large scale.
Large-scale training of workers, reorganization and privatization of Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau in a government-guided manner, and the establishment of Jiangnan Industrial Corporation under the leadership of Yu Qiaqing. Joint ventures with British fire giant Vickers Company in multiple branches.
The mechanical weapons manufacturing bureaus in Tianjin and Shandong were merged into the North Industrial Corporation, the shipping bureaus and manufacturing bureaus in Fujian and Guangzhou were merged into the Southern Industrial Corporation, and the Hanyang Arsenal was jointly operated by the Far East Arms Company and a number of French military enterprises.
Time is getting shorter and shorter, and China is becoming more and more urgent. In just a few years, China's investment in the military industry has far surpassed Japan's, and it is rapidly leaping towards Asia's largest military industry.
The Far East Arms Corporation is a real Chinese industrial giant. Not only has it participated in the privatization process of Jiangnan, Northern, Southern, and Hanyang military industrial enterprises, it is also the main force in expanding the scale of military industry investment. The total investment accounts for 10% of China's industrial expansion.
Half of the country is located in the three eastern provinces, Chahar, and Shanxi.
, Shandong, Lianghu and other provinces have a large number of mining companies that provide basic raw materials for the military industry, especially in the development of Glauber's salt mine, sodium sulfate, nitrate and coal chemical industries. They have invested heavily and introduced a large number of advanced technologies from Britain, France, the United States and other countries.
equipment and technology, and expand the scale and level of the military industry.
Even in the fields of textile and food industries, the Far East Consortium is gradually moving towards the ability to provide military supplies to Britain and France. In the field of aircraft, through cooperation with Britain, France and the United States, the Far East Aircraft Manufacturing Company has opened 17 branches, completely covering the entire industry.
chain, and hire the best designers and engineers from Europe and the United States with high salaries to participate in this emerging industrial project.
In the field of ships, after privatizing Fuzhou Shipyard and Guangzhou Shipyard, the Far East Consortium invested in building Asia's largest marine diesel engine and ship boiler production base in Haizhou, and owned Asia's largest steel and metallurgical company with the highest technical level in Liaoyang.
Shenyang has Asia's largest machine tool, train, and aircraft manufacturing companies, and Fushun has Asia's first-level coal chemical industry base.
This series of large-scale investments seems to be part of the 175 national industrial plans jointly promoted by the cabinet government and Chinese national capital, but behind them is the iron fist of the emperor's invisible control.
At the end of 1912, in order to promote the export of light machine guns, the Far East Arms Corporation launched a new model of the M1912 Means light machine gun. Fallon Means, a German-American engineer, served as the designer. It was called Made in Shenyang in China. Light machine gun.
In the field of warships, by introducing British and French technology and combining it with original American engineers, a destroyer with a design displacement of 600 tons and a light armored cruiser with a displacement of 3,000 tons were built at the Jinzhou Shipyard, using American-made steam turbines and diesel engines.
From 1912 to 1913, the whole of China was advancing at a high speed in this surging and crazy wave of revival. Everything was trying to imitate Germany. The number of students sent to Germany was second only to the United States, but in the stage of preparation for war, they went to Britain and France. Russian Entente Organization.
The biggest feature of learning from Germany is the popularization of vocational education, rather than having more high schools like the United States. In China, in 1912 and 1913, there were 142 secondary vocational schools built across the country, with about 14 teachers. Strength comes from external recruitment.
In the past two years, the cabinet government has done a lot of work, but the real force that makes the country develop is the capitalists, workers and farmers, and the real force that makes the country's economy develop rapidly comes from the banks.
The emperor also did a lot of work, establishing a huge military industry, continuing to reorganize and supervise the training of the Central Army, expand the Central Navy, formally established the Central Air Force, and established the first and second air force reconnaissance regiments in Beijing and Liaoyang.
In 1913, when the Japanese attempted to overthrow, the emperor sent a Japanese patrol group of about 4,000 people from Sichuan to accompany the central minister stationed in Tibet and entered Qamdo along the Tea Horse Road. It was not until October 1913 that this force Just arrived in Lhasa.
In June of this year, the Second Balkan Campaign began, the conflict between Austria-Hungary and Russia further expanded, and the shadow of World War I was finally coming.
In order to further observe the world military situation and the development of new tactics, the central government dispatched an observation team headed by Chen Qicai to the Greek Army, and provided some staff advice to the Greek Army. It also exported arms on a large scale to foreign countries for the first time. Both Vilia and Bulgaria exported a large number of Popnin submachine guns, rifles, mortars, ammunition and guns, and even six reconnaissance aircraft equipped with foreign engines, cameras and other accessories.
If the Sino-Japanese War of 1911 proved the strength and reputation of the Chinese Army, the Second Balkan Campaign in 1913 was the first time that China truly demonstrated the value of its army as a powerful country. It also played a significant role in China's military industry. It has an excellent stimulating effect.
At the end of 1913, two old-model Glorious-class armored cruisers sold by France arrived at Jinzhou Longmen Port and became the flagships "Liaoyang" and "Fushun" of the North Sea Fleet of the Imperial Central Navy.
In the year 1913, Japan's trade entered an era of unprecedented large deficits. Textile exports to China and raw silk exports to the United States suffered real heavy losses, and the dominance of North Korea's foreign trade continued to be controlled by Chinese businessmen.
During this year, China's total textile imports fell sharply to 23 million Chinese yuan, only 16 in 1909. Domestic textiles began to occupy an absolute dominant position in the market, and total exports increased to 41.2 million Chinese yuan, and Japanese textiles in North Korea
, Southeast Asia continues to maintain a fierce competition.
During this year, the total mining volume of China's coal industry reached a record-breaking 76.35 million tons, and the total production capacity of steel and pig iron reached 7.9 million tons, with the industries of the three eastern provinces accounting for more than 75% of this share.
During this year, China began to truly promote the electrification revolution in major cities and introduced policies to continue to strengthen support for the domestic electrical industry.
In the rapid and intense economic tide of the past few years, which was mainly driven by investment, China has been well prepared to welcome the arrival of the First World War. Although the development time of China's industry is very short, more than 34% of its industrial output value was born in
The three northeastern provinces have extremely uneven regional development, but they have surpassed Japan, a not strong opponent, in terms of technology, level and total volume.
At the same time, the war is finally coming. (To be continued...)
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