After returning to Luanzhou, Yuan Su held another banquet in Luanzhou, which was regarded as a formal wedding banquet to marry Zhang Hanling.
Not only the local bureaucrats and gentry in Luanzhou came to congratulate them, but also some well-known and unknown people from Baoding, Tianjin, Bei Jing and other places also came all the way to Luanzhou for the banquet. Yuan Shikai specially ordered his eldest son Yuan Keding,
The second son Yuan Kewen and Yuan Keliang and others rushed to Luanzhou as representatives of the Yuan family. The ministers and deputy ministers in the government were all invited.
The banquet was held for three consecutive days, and the whole wedding process slowly came to an end.
When sending Yuan Keding and others back to Beijing, on the train station platform, Yuan Keding told Yuan Su some news, and also about Yuan Su's previous declaration to establish the Central Army's First Corps. Military Council Office of the Presidential Palace
Preliminary discussions have been held, and there is a good intention to establish a combat unit at the corps level. We just reported it to the Ministry of War the day before yesterday. If everything goes well, there will be a reply before the end of the month.
Yuan Keding's words were obviously Yuan Shikai's special order. Yuan Su believed that this was also a hint. In fact, if Yuan Shikai really wanted to establish a corps combat unit, there was no need to delay it for such a long time.
bfu’s decision, even if it fails to pass my declaration in the end, it doesn’t matter.
Yuan Su originally planned to take a good rest after the wedding, but unfortunately he spent too long in Kaifeng, Xiangcheng, and Luanzhou. He really didn't expect that there would be so many guests coming to support him, and there would be a hundred-table banquet alone.
It only lasted ten days. On the second day after sending away the guests from Luanzhou, the headquarters received the latest news from Europe. A large-scale battle broke out between the German army and the British and French forces on the Marne River. The war has only lasted ten years.
For many days, casualties on both sides exceeded 50,000.
Of course he doesn't care about the casualties on the European battlefield. The outbreak of the Battle of the Marne means that Europe has officially entered the stage of large-scale wars, and it won't be long before the Qingdao German base will launch an attack. It has to be said that he has
When I first established myself in Luanzhou, I was already thinking about the Qingdao issue.
Not only that, he also believed that there were many overlaps with the Qingdao issue regarding Yuan Shikai's proclaiming himself emperor.
So on September 3rd, Yuan Su made a special trip to invite the British diplomatic representative Reynoldson. At the wedding a few days ago, Reynoldson was also present. At that time, he and Reynoldson also hinted that something important would happen next.
It means to meet alone.
The meeting place was Xicheng Garden, where Reynoldson lives. After several years of development, Xicheng Garden has gradually become a community synonym for Luanzhou, just like Dongjiaomin Lane in Beijing, where all the people living here are blond.
A blue-eyed foreigner. The architectural styles of Xicheng Garden are various, including traditional Chinese mansions and newly built Western villas. In addition to Reynoldson, there are also Yuan Su's military advisory group and British businessmen who came to invest.
Missionaries, scholars and some ordinary Westerners living here.
Reynoldson's house is a quaint Chinese-style mansion, but he built a two-story small foreign-style building in the yard. He welcomed Yuan Su into the small foreign-style building in the small hall in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows on the first floor.
Prepared British black tea.
After drinking half a cup of black tea, he chatted with Reynoldson about the construction period of the Yanghe Reservoir, and then Yuan Su got to the point. He quietly changed the subject and asked: "Mr. Reynoldson, I heard that recently your British
The minister to China has close ties with Japan and seems to be plotting some plans against the German troops stationed in Qingdao, right?"
In fact, Britain and Japan had already started planning for the German army in Qingdao as early as last year. Of course, they officially started planning military operations last year. When Britain and Japan formed the alliance, it was originally to guard against Germany's power in the Far East.
Reynoldson did not look very surprised. The Anglo-Japanese Alliance in the Far East was no longer a secret, and the conflicts between the Allied Powers and the Central Powers no longer needed any cover-up due to the outbreak of the war. He shrugged his shoulders and said with a smile:
"Why is General Yuan so interested in this matter? This doesn't seem to be a secret. During this period, the Japanese Minister has also been in frequent contact with the President of your country. Our British Empire's troops stationed in Weihai are already ready to go.
I believe that the war in the Far East will develop further soon."
Yuan Su's expression was serious, and his tone gradually became serious. He said: "I think you British government should be very clear. After all, Qingdao is our Chinese territory. The next actions of your British and Japanese will be against our Chinese sovereignty."
A great provocation. I came to meet with you today, Mr. Reynoldson, just to ensure that the friendship between China and Britain can be maintained, and I don’t want to cause bad situations to happen due to some diplomatic misunderstandings.”
Reynoldson laughed for a while, then picked up the teapot and filled Yuan Su's teacup. He sighed slightly and said, "General Yuan, if you came to talk to me about this issue today, I'm really sorry. I
I can only say that this is completely outside the scope of my responsibilities, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will never allow me to intervene here. In addition, I think that even if General Yuan goes to our minister in person now, I believe it is impossible.
changed."
Yuan Su stared at Reynoldson and said in a majestic tone: "Mr. Reynoldson, didn't you understand what I said?"
Reynoldson frowned slightly. He noticed the changes in Yuan Su's face and tone, and recalled that there seemed to be something wrong with the conversation just now. Even though the diplomatic power of the British Empire was much higher than that of China, in front of China
Officials should still have some basic courtesy when meeting with them. No matter whether big conflicts may arise due to inappropriate words or not, the war in Europe has begun, so all countries must be more careful in any foreign policy.
"My friend, you see, this matter is a conflict between the entire Allied Powers and the Central Powers. What's more, if we can help your country drive away the Germans, wouldn't that be a good thing?"
"Mr. Reynoldson, I hope you are not treating me as a fool, or that you haven't seen the situation in the Far East clearly yet. According to the news sent by my uncle, the Japanese Minister recently had direct talks with my uncle.
After driving away the Germans, he decided to take Qingdao as his own. There is a saying in China, which is to lure the wolf to drive away the tiger. Does Mr. Reynoldson think this is a good thing?" Yuan Su said coldly.