Even after the beginning of autumn, the weather in Beijing still has a lingering heat.
In the Office of the President of the Office of State Affairs of the Presidential Palace, Yuan Shikai only wore a short coat and pajamas. He rarely came to the Office of State Affairs to work, and most of the time he was in Huairentang. Because of this, he
I am still used to doing whatever I want when working in Huairen Hall.
There were three people standing in front of the desk. One was Foreign Minister Lu Zhengxiang, the second was Army Undersecretary Xu Shuzheng, and the third was Lu Zongyu, Secretary-General of the State Affairs Office.
Yuan Shikai, who was sitting behind the desk, was shaking a fan vigorously with one hand and holding a document he was reading in the other hand. His face looked very bad. On the surface, it seemed that he was suffering from the sultry heat.
The weather has affected the situation, but everyone present is well aware that some current international diplomatic matters have made the president very impatient.
"So, you are still so unyielding? Are you not willing to give in even a step?" After a long time, Yuan Shikai asked in a deep voice without putting down the documents in his hands.
"Vice-Chancellor Zhang sent a message early this morning. It is already the ninth day that the negotiations have reached a stalemate. Not only is there no way to get any progress, but I am afraid that Japan himself will soon become impatient." Lu Zongyu sighed.
He took a breath and said helplessly.
"Damn it, Ito Hirobumi has to give me face as long as he is alive. How dare you say such arrogant words today?" Yuan Shikai slammed down the document he was looking at, and the other hand shaking the fan healed.
Use as much force as you can and go faster, and the anger in your heart will burst out immediately.
"President, there is no need to negotiate with these Japanese devils anymore. Shandong has already made preparations. Anhui, Shanxi, and Henan provinces have also sent notifications. It only takes twenty days for our department to complete the mobilization of 100,000 troops.
And prepare for war." Xu Shuzheng couldn't help but stepped forward and said solemnly.
Yuan Shikai still had a lot of dissatisfaction with the Army Department. His attitude towards Duan Qirui was already obvious, but Duan Qirui still went his own way. The Army Department and the General Staff Headquarters privately ordered the rectification of armaments in Shandong, and Xu Shuzheng didn't know what to do.
One million dollars of funding and half a million worth of arms were raised, and a battle array was prepared for a big fight.
But even so, he could not easily blame the War Department for this matter.
The Qingdao problem has been going on for a long time. This time we finally had the opportunity to take back Qingdao, but the Japanese got involved.
What was even more unexpected was that Ri himself actually took advantage of his weak point, which was really a dilemma.
This is indeed very tempting. Almost all of his thoughts are currently focused on the imperial system.
"What do you mean by Britain and Germany?" After a pause, he ignored Xu Shuzheng's excited words and turned to Lu Zhengxiang and asked.
"Minister Zhu Erdian still gave the same answer as last time. He repeatedly emphasized that the UK's position is only to attack Germany's military power in the Far East. As for the Qingdao issue, it is a matter of China's national sovereignty and the UK will not interfere. The German Far East Command in Qingdao the day before yesterday
I sent a message to reiterate that we are willing to carry out the handover of Qingdao as soon as possible, but the premise is that we in China must protect the personal and property safety of German expatriates anywhere in China." Lu Zhengxiang said seriously.
Yuan Shikai sighed secretly. Perhaps for some people present, it was obviously not a very difficult choice now, but for him, it was an extremely difficult situation. On the one hand, it was the interests of the country;
On the one hand, it is personal interests. Of course, his attitude towards Japan comes most from the hatred left over from the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894. This hatred is deep in the blood of all Beiyang people.
Just in order to realize the monarchy, sometimes he had to make some decisions that were against his will.
In his opinion, such a decision was indeed against his will, but it was not necessarily a sign of betrayal to the country. The decisions he made were a great improvement compared to the decisions of the former Qing Dynasty that were humiliating and humiliating the country.
Those in power in the Qing Dynasty were able to say things like "I would rather be friends than domestic slaves" without shame. At least they were still working hard to safeguard more of the country's interests and minimize the damage to the country's sovereignty.
Speaking of which, this kind of thinking that laughs half a step after fifty steps is really a ridiculous excuse. But he believed that as long as he could achieve his imperial wish, China would soon be able to unite under the leadership of an enlightened emperor.
Just like the Japanese Emperor Meiji and the German Emperor Wilhelm II, they used the highest centralization of power to rapidly develop China, and used a strong attitude to obtain complete national sovereignty and take back all previous unequal privileges.
He can regard these as like bank loans. What is mortgaged today will definitely be redeemed in the future. Not only that, some things that have to be lent will have to be recovered with interest.
"President, this matter cannot be delayed any longer. It is said that Japan is already gathering troops, and their fleet has already sailed to Lushun. I am afraid that military action will be taken soon." Lu Zongyu said anxiously.
.
"He is nainai, he is too bullying!" Yuan Shikai said through gritted teeth. After a moment of silence, he put down the fan in his hand and said solemnly, "Tomorrow you will go to the negotiations in person and tell me more about this matter.
Hold on. No matter what, I will never sign those parts of the jump. These Japanese devils think that Britain and France are busy fighting in Europe, so they dare to take advantage of the opportunity to open their mouths. It is simply wishful thinking."
"President, even if I go here, I'm afraid it can only relieve the temporary difficulties. The most urgent task is to ask you, President, to give you a clear meaning, so that we can know better..." Lu Zongyu said with a very embarrassed look.
"Isn't it clear what I mean? Apart from those few points, the rest can be discussed carefully, it's that simple. However, in my opinion, Xiaori will never give up. If he doesn't do it, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Over there, immediately make a few copies of the terms and conditions of this document and find someone to send them privately to the British, French and Americans." Yuan Shikai said loudly.
"But, this is a secret agreement. If the Japanese come to pursue it..."
"Hmph, if they pursue it, why don't they say that the Japanese side accidentally kept the secret secret? Stop talking nonsense and just do what I want. We must attract the attention of Britain, France and the United States, and make the matter as big as possible. We should look at the little ones
How can Japan explain to these old powers?" Yuan Shikai said loudly.
"President, why bother? No matter how strong Japan is, it will definitely not dare to fight China head-on at this time. Why should we still be timid? If they dare to threaten us with their military, we will fight with them.
After all, we can’t rely on Westerners to deal with Qingdao, and it’s not like we can’t take it back.” Xu Shuzheng said excitedly.
"It's nonsense. Thinking about foreign wars before the country is stable is simply nonsense. The Army Department's military operations in Shandong can continue to show off, but they must not act rashly. Do you understand? Nowadays, international relations are complicated, and we have already cooperated with the Allied Powers.
After reaching an intention to cooperate, if we start trouble with Japan again, how can we get the support of Britain, France and Russia?" Yuan Shikai lectured Xu Shuzheng angrily.
"Oh, President..." Xu Shuzheng was anxious. He and Duan Qirui had the same position. Militarily, China is indeed inferior to Japan, but it is precisely this golden opportunity now that the Western powers are now paying attention to Europe.
In addition, Japan does not have sufficient military preparations, so it is expected that Japan will definitely not dare to go to war with China.
But the president is indecisive at this time!
He and Duan Qirui naturally do not know that Yuan Shikai is considering the imperial system, so they have to endure negotiations with the Japanese. Because of this, they are puzzled by Yuan Shikai's current diplomatic attitude. They just think that Yuan Shikai is still afraid
Military threats from Japan, or fear of incurring sanctions from the entire Allied Powers due to armed impulses against Japan.
"In short, just do what I want now, and at least give me another month of delay." Yuan Shikai made the final decision categorically.
Just then, there was a knock on the door, and after getting a response from Yuan Shikai, an attendant came in.
"President, there is a telegram from the train station. Yuan Huiban has just got off the train, and the bodyguards are already taking people back to the presidential palace."
"Well, let's make arrangements right away. I want to meet with Keli later." Yuan Shikai's expression was still bad, but his tone of voice had improved. It must be said that in this difficult moment of dilemma, he still
I very much hope that Yuan Su can bring some new suggestions that can break the deadlock.