On February 6, 1904, Japan announced that it would sever diplomatic relations with Russia. On February 8, the Japanese navy raided the Russian ships in Port Arthur, and the Russo-Japanese War broke out. As the party with the greatest stake in this war, the Qing court had no choice but to choose
"Neutral outsiders" watched helplessly as two robbers fought over grabbing things in their own home.
The shameful scene happened again.
In fact, the Manchu Qing court can only choose this way at the moment. Only in this way can the entire Manchuria be saved after the war.
After the Gengzi Incident, the Qing Dynasty, with a population of 450 million, now has less than 50,000 modern armies capable of fighting. Due to the restrictions of the "Xinchou Treaty", China, which lacks industrial capacity, has to accept a two-year
There was an international arms embargo in 2006. Before the Russo-Japanese War, the Qing government did not even have the ability to prepare for war.
As for the Navy, reconstruction efforts were limited to words.
Due to the empty treasury and the need to repay large amounts of indemnity, the Qing government was simply unable to afford the huge costs of a war.
Lin Shuo received an order from the imperial court. Due to the urgent military affairs outside the customs, Dongjun, who was originally stationed in Tonghai, moved northward from now on and was transferred to Luanzhou to garrison, under the unified control of the Beiyang Minister.
Dong Jun was transferred to Luanzhou to set up defenses, but Lin Shuo was left in Tianjin by Yuan Shikai.
It turns out that the Beiyang Minister's Palace built by Li Hongzhang was burned down during the Gengzi period. The Beiyang Minister's Palace where Yuan Shikai now works and lives was originally built for Guangxu to attend military parades at the small station when he implemented the New Deal. However, after the 1898 Coup, Guangxu was replaced by the Empress Dowager.
Imprisoned, it is estimated that he will never have the chance to visit Tianjin in this life. After Yuan Shikai became the Beiyang Minister, he asked the Queen Mother to change this place into the residence of the Beiyang Minister.
Yuan Shikai spent more than half of the year living in the Beiyang Minister's Office, while the Zhili Governor's Office in Baoding rarely went back a few times.
Lin Shuo arrived at the gate and handed the notebook to the porter, "Excuse me, Lin Anhua, a fellow commander of Dongjun's third rank, has been summoned to see Lord Gongbao!" As usual, he also handed over a red envelope containing several taels of silver.
.
Unexpectedly, the concierge handed the red envelope back and said, "Sir, you are trying to destroy our family's jobs. Don't you know that the commander-in-chief is not allowed to show you the door?" After that, he went inside to report.
Lin Shuo was a little surprised. According to the history books, Yuan Shikai was corrupt and illegal, but why did his concierge abide by the rules?
After a while, Yang Shiqi came out and saw Lin Shuo and smiled and said: "The commander-in-chief has important official business inside and cannot come out to greet him in person."
Lin Shuo said: "How dare you trouble me, Mr. Yang? Just send someone to take me in." After saying that, he followed Yang Shiqi into the palace, only feeling that the concierges looked at him a little strangely.
Ruan Zhongshu was a little tired from writing official documents, so he went back to his room and smoked a big cigarette. Then he was energetic and ready to go back to work. When he walked to the courtyard, he saw Yang Shiqi walking towards the backyard talking and laughing with a young military attaché wearing a third-grade military attache's repair uniform.
, I feel a little curious. You must know that Yang Shiqi's eyes are high, he is usually stern, and he has always looked down on the warriors in Beiyang. But now he is chatting with a general, which is surprising.
"Hey, Xingcheng, why are you free for a walk today?" Ruan Zhongshu quickly walked over and greeted Yang Shiqi. He looked at Lin Shuo carefully and saw that his appearance was ordinary, but his behavior was very calm. He was in his twenties.
He became a military attache of the third rank. It seems that he inherited his father's influence from his son. "Who is this little brother? I have never seen him before."
"Well, this is Young Master Lin An and Hualin, the one who took over the Hanyang Iron Works from Sheng Xingsun. Despite his young age, he is a well-known wealthy businessman in Shanghai. The commander-in-chief has invited him here specifically, presumably to ask for advice.
It's about starting an industry in Beiyang." Yang Shiqi said, turning to Lin Shuo and introducing him: "This is Mr. Ruan Douzhan, who is responsible for copywriting in the Supervisory Office, but he is the famous person in front of Wei Shuai, and he will have to get closer to him in the future."
"Please take care of me, sir!" Lin Shuo, wearing military uniform, saluted him like a scribe.
Ruan Zhongshu thought it was ridiculous, "Easy to say, easy to say!" But he didn't agree in his heart. Yang Shiqi had stayed in Shanghai for more than half a year, but now he was tainted with the smell of copper and was very polite to those comprador merchants.
Yang Shiqi took Lin Shuo to the office of Yuan Shikai's staff in the west wing of Xingyuan and sat for a while. A servant came over to inform him that Master Yuan asked Lin Shuo to come to the custody room to talk. The two of them went to the main hall of Yuan Shikai's office together. When they arrived at the door, they were surprised.
I saw several Japanese people coming out of it.
Lin Shuo glanced at them a few times, but said nothing.
Entering the house, Yuan Shikai looked very polite. He stood up to greet him, grabbed Lin Shuo's hand and said enthusiastically: "Anhua, it's been more than a year since we left Wuchang. I have never forgotten you. I don't know why.
Come and see me!”
Lin Shuo didn't expect this to happen, and was a little at a loss: "Thank you... Many thanks, sir. Being born late in life has a lot of worldly affairs. I didn't expect that I would worry you so much. I'm really scared!"
Yuan Shikai introduced two people standing next to him. The old man in his fifties wearing a dark gray shirt was named Xu Juren, and the other man in his forties wearing a blue gown was named Liu Yanjun. These two people
He is an old friend of Yuan's family for many years, and now he works in the Supervisory Training Office of the New Army.
After everyone sat down, Yuan Shikai asked Dong Jun carefully about some of his situations, and Lin Shuo told the truth one by one.
The Dongjun army now has five battalions with more than 2,600 men, and there are also two battalions of naval forces in Chonghai. Although they are organized by the Yong battalion, the firearms used are all German 88-type 79 rifles, which are equipped with artillery.
Worse, there are only ten French 5.7-life infantry cannons. Lin Chaodong pays great attention to training, and Dong's army's training is not bad, which is outstanding among the brave camps in Liangjiang.
Lin Shuo hoped to change into the same new military uniform as Beiyang, which Yuan Shikai agreed to without thinking.
Then Yuan Shikai turned the topic to the fierce war between Japan and Russia. At this time, although the Japanese army raided Port Arthur, the main base of the Russian Pacific Fleet, they did not completely block the Russian navy's actions. The Japanese army landed in North Korea and has now advanced to the Yalu River.
One side.
The war has just begun, and the situation on the battlefield is still confusing.
However, Yuan Shikai concluded based on his intuition that the Japanese would soon gain the advantage on the battlefield. "Because they are prepared to attack but not prepared, the Russians may have to admit defeat this time!"
"So your Excellency decided to secretly help the Japanese?" Lin Shuo said suddenly.
"What, what's wrong?" Yuan Shikai said. He knew that Lin Shuo met Japanese consultant Junnobu Aoki and others at the door.
"Your Majesty's judgment is correct. The Russians will basically lose this war." Lin Shuo said, "Because of this, I think we should help the Russians."
"What's Anhua's reason?" Yuan Shikai was curious.
"Who poses the greatest threat to the Qing Dynasty? In fact, among the two companies currently at war, the Russians have occupied millions of kilometers of the Qing Dynasty's territory, and the Japanese have also ceded Korea, Taiwan and Ryukyu from the Qing Dynasty.
The other great powers, Britain, France, Germany, the United States and other countries, because they are far away from each other, have no ambition to invade our Qing territory. Only Russia and Japan have been coveting our territory and trying to destroy China. Only Japan and Russia are tigers.
, the enemy of the wolf." Lin Shuo looked at the reactions of others and continued: "After two major changes, the Battle of Jiazi and the Gengzi Rebellion, the vitality of the Qing Dynasty was severely damaged, and the country had no usable soldiers.
, Russia, if they really sent hundreds of thousands of troops, I am afraid that the entire Qing Dynasty would have no resistance and could only let them drive in. The Qing Dynasty was able to survive the Gengzi Rebellion, which was actually the result of the mutual restraint of all the major powers in the world.
.Japan and Russia are not yet the first-class powers in this world. They are still afraid of Britain, France, Germany, and the United States, so they cannot act rashly. Once they are as powerful as Britain and Germany, they will become a first-class power.
The day it invaded China."
"So, can Japan, Russia and other countries surpass Britain and Germany?" Xu Juren asked.
Lin Shuo then remembered that this person was Xu Shichang, and couldn't help but look at him twice, and then said: "When the sun is waxing, it is losing, and when the moon is full, it is flat. Thinking about the prosperous Han and Tang Dynasties, the power of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, even when I was worshiping the ancestors,
The battle of Nerchinsk also forced the Russians to surrender, how could they have imagined that they would end up like this!"
"Anwar's words are reasonable, but what does this have to do with secretly aiding the Russians?" Liu Yongqing said.
Lin Shuo smiled: "Wars are always fought with national strength and money consumed. Today, Japan and Russia are fighting with all their strength. The troops used are probably no less than two million, both on land and sea, and each family does not spend dozens of dollars.
Billion cannot support it at all.”
Yang Shiqi stroked his hands at the side, "Wonderful, Anhua's plan is to lure the tiger and drive the wolf away, so that both sides will suffer losses. The more intense the fight, the better!"
"But if the Japanese win and receive military compensation from the Russians, wouldn't they be more powerful?" Liu Yongqing continued.
Lin Shuo replied: "The Russians are the most greedy in nature. There is no way to cede territory and pay compensation. The roots of the Russians are in Europe, and St. Petersburg is tens of thousands of miles away. They just let the Japanese attack them.
Even if it had wings, it would not be able to reach Petersburg. Therefore, Japan's final victory in this battle can only be achieved by signing a peace treaty with the Russians and dividing the Northeast equally between the two countries."
Yuan Shikai nodded and said: "That makes sense, but why do you want to help the Russians?"
Lin Shuo said: "In fact, after this war, the most dangerous thing is not the Northeast, but Mongolia and Xinjiang. If the Russians don't get any advantage in the Northeast, they will turn to control Mongolia and Xinjiang and encroach on our Qing Dynasty. Secretly supporting the Russians is to let them
He was unwilling to negotiate for peace in the Northeast, and the more fierce the fighting between the two sides, the better. This consumed more national power, and the Russians would make much smaller moves in the future. It just bought the Qing Dynasty a few more years to develop and live."
Yuan Shikai pondered for a while and then said, "In order to raise funds for the defense of Mongolia, the imperial court has lifted the ban on reclamation in Mongolia and is also planning to build the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway. From this point of view, it is best to build the railway to Kulun, but where can it be done?
Raise so much money?”
Lin Shuo said: "The younger generation is also doing some fur and tea business in the northwest. In fact, if the railway is opened to traffic, the fur and tea trade in the northwest can earn 2 to 3 million per year. If the imperial court is willing to grant me the right to specialize in the northwest trade, all the profits will be made every year."
The juniors are willing to invest all the profits gained in the Northwest Railway."
Yuan Shikai smiled and said: "Trade monopoly? This can be done, but it must be united with the original chamber of commerce. I can give you full support. However, the imperial court is also in urgent need of funds to reorganize its armaments. I guarantee you to open mines in Zhili and Mengdi, set up factories and
The right to cultivate the land, but there is a condition."
"What conditions?"
"Every year Anhua must hand over 20% of the profits from mining and setting up factories in Zhili to Beiyang," Yuan Shikai said.
"Okay, I promise, sir, but if I encounter any difficulties in the future, I will have to trouble you to come forward!" Lin Shuo simply pretended to be generous.
"Okay, haha!" Yuan Shikai laughed and suddenly asked with concern: "I heard that Anhua hasn't married yet?"
"Yes, I have been traveling around all these years, and my mother has been urging me." Lin Shuo felt that Lao Yuan suddenly became unpredictable.
"Oh, are Anwar's conditions too high?"
"No, it's just that I have been busy with business and have no time to be distracted. There are only two conditions. One is to be knowledgeable and sensible, and the other is to be talented."
"That's it!" Yuan Shikai said, then he pretended to be stunned and looked at Lin Shuo with evil eyes: "After saying this, I remembered that I still have a daughter under my knees, and there is no engagement yet, which is just in line with Anhua's conditions. I don't know.
…”
…
Lin Shuo walked out of the door in a daze, letting the cool breeze blow, and then he realized that he was being plotted by Lao Yuan, NND, in front of so many people, you are so embarrassed to ask me if I want to marry your daughter, you
Can I refuse to agree?
If he had refused, wouldn't it be difficult to walk out of the Beiyang gate on the spot?
Grandma, you’re in trouble this time! God bless me, please don’t let my wife look like a short winter melon like her father!