How should we respond to Sun Yuanqi's statement? Yuan Keding is also worried now.
When Yuan Shikai was active and active, Yuan Keding could be said to be so arrogant that there was no one left behind. In his view, Sun Yuanqi was a "village man in the mountains" (Zhang He scolded Zhuge Liang in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms") and a "little boy selling shoes" (Cao Cao scolded Liu Bei), while Tang Shouqian was "a bright-headed man and a gray-bearded old thief" (Zhuge Liang's scolding). scold Wang Lang), the rest of Jiang Zhiqing, Zhao Jingxing and others are just "inserting labels to sell their heads" (Guan Yu commented on Yan Liang)! At that time, he wished he could take over the power in his father's place, then sweep across the country, annex nine states, go through hundreds of battles, and dominate all nations!
Now, as he wished, Yuan Shikai was lying quietly on the bed motionless. The generals and counselors under his former command were all obedient to him, and he could issue orders as he pleased. At this moment, it seemed that the world was under his control. However, when he received a statement similar to an ultimatum from Sun Yuanqi, he was at a loss and didn't know how to deal with it. Only then did he realize that the position of president was not easy to sit on!
He had no choice but to ask Ruan Zhongshu next to him: "That guy Sun Yuanqi actually issued a statement to openly challenge the authority of our presidential palace and asked us to respond within twenty-four hours. It is really arrogant! Mr. Douzhan, how should we respond? Is that good?"
Ruan Zhongshu did not dare to speak nonsense at this time, and replied anxiously: "Young Master, this is a serious matter. I think it is best to ask Secretary-General Yansun, Chief Zhiquan, and Mr. Zhi'an to come back and discuss it in the long term. After all, one person is short of two." Chief of Staff!"
In order to win over Duan Qirui, who held military power, Yuan Keding deliberately let Liang Shiyi take the lead. Now Ruan Zhongshu suggested that he invite Liang Shiyi to come over to discuss the matter, so he was quite reluctant. But if only Duan Qirui, Zhao Bingjun and others are invited instead of Liang Shiyi, Liang Zi's relationship will definitely become deeper. He sat in Yuan Shikai's usual chair and meditated for a long time. He said hesitantly: "Mr. Yansun is currently busy with matters in the Congress. I'm afraid he won't be able to get out for a while, right?"
Ruan Zhongshu seemed to see Yuan Keding's difficulty and said hurriedly: "Young master, how to deal with Sun Baixi's pressing step by step is the most important thing right now. The Congress has been heavily surrounded by our troops, forgive those who are unable to restrain the chicken. There won't be any trouble for the congressman. Things over there can be slowed down. Anyway, it doesn't matter if it's a quarter earlier or a quarter later. It's inseparable for you to sit here. Why don't I go and ask Secretary Yansun for you? Come back to discuss matters?"
"That's fine!" Since someone took the initiative to ask for help, Yuan Keding was naturally willing to do so.
Who would have thought that Ruan Zhongshu would come back less than half an hour after he left the house. His face also looked a bit unattractive. Yuan Keding asked hurriedly: "Why did Mr. Douzhan come back so quickly? What happened? Did Liang Yansun speak rudely to you?"
Ruan Zhongshu whispered: "Young Master, Ruan got accurate information from the Congress. It was said that the officers and soldiers surrounding the Congress had received hints from Secretary-General Yan Sun and had allowed outside parties to deliver meals, drinking water, clothing, etc. to the Congress. Members must After learning the news from outside, they kept silent about electing the president. Instead, they started to denounce the commander-in-chief. So when I arrived at the Congress, I couldn¡¯t attend to meeting Secretary-General Yansun, so I came back quickly to report the situation to you!"
Yuan Keding was shocked: "You mean Liang Yansun¡ª¡ª?"
At this moment, the guard came to report: "Young Master, Mr. Zhao Zhi'an Zhao came to visit and claimed that he had urgent matters to report!"
Yuan Keding seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw and said quickly: "Please, please!"
Zhao Bingjun walked in excitedly, but saw Ruan Zhongshu also sitting there. His expression froze. Ruan Zhongshu understood the situation and quickly stood up to say goodbye: "Young Master, there are some trivial matters to be dealt with at Ruan's family. I will say goodbye for now and please atone for my sins!"
After Ruan Zhongshu left, Yuan Keding hurriedly asked: "Mr. Zhi'an, what is the urgent matter? Did something big happen again?"
Zhao Bingjun came forward, took out a few pages of paper from his arms and handed them to Yuan Keding: "Master, didn't you entrust Zhao to communicate with the Japanese Minister to China, Mr. Yamaza Entaro, to see if a loan agreement can be reached? Zhao After receiving the order, a certain person quickly contacted the Minister of Sanzao. As a result, he very much agreed with the Chinese government's use of force to put down Sun Baixi's rebellion. He generously agreed to borrow money to purchase weapons and promised that both parties would immediately allocate funds as long as they signed the agreement. This is the agreement stripe he drew up. Please tell me. Take a look!"
Since the late Qing Dynasty, whenever we sign a treaty with a foreign country, we have to go back and forth for a long time, ranging from ten days and a half to as many as six months to a year, or even three to five years. For example, the "Chinese Government Rehabilitation Loan Contract" signed by Yuan Shikai on behalf of the Republic of China government and a consortium of banks from Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and Japan took as long as one and a half years. Although Yuan Keding was a bit dandy, after all, he had been in the officialdom and had watched and studied with Yuan Shikai for so long, so he still had some knowledge.
Yuan Keding remembered that he gave orders to Zhao Bingjun at four or five o'clock in the afternoon, and now it is not eveningAt this point, the Japanese minister actually drafted a draft agreement. This is a bit too fast! So he couldn't help but ask: "Why so fast?"
Zhao Bingjun said: "Quickly? That's because Minister Shanzuo also heard Sun Baixi's statement asking us to respond within 24 hours, and he knew that our Beiyang Army was seriously short of military expenses and ammunition after the Southern Expedition. It was urgent. Need assistance. Time is urgent now, and the two sides are not allowed to sit down and discuss carefully every word. Therefore, with 120,000 sincerity and based on the stance of "China and Japan are friendly and support each other", he drafted the terms of the agreement pragmatically and quickly. At the same time, he requested We must keep it strictly confidential and respond as soon as possible to avoid delaying the war effort!"
Yuan Keding took over the draft agreement dubiously and began to review it item by item.
Zhao Bingjun explained at the side: "Young Master, don't look at the more than 20 items written by Minister Shanzao. In fact, the core points are these. First, Japan is allowed to seize and inherit all German rights and interests in Shandong. Shandong Province must not give up With or leased from other countries. Before this, Shandong's rights and interests have completely fallen into the hands of Germany. Now promising to transfer it to Japan is just a generous act. If Japan has the ability to seize it, we are optimistic about its success; if Japan does not have that ability, this provision is Painting cakes to satisfy our hunger; maybe Japan and Germany will fight to a draw in a bloody battle in Shandong, and we can still reap the benefits!
"The second is to recognize that the Japanese have the privilege of living, traveling, operating industry and commerce, and mining in Southern Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia. The lease terms of Lushun and Dalian and the management terms of the Southern Manchuria and Anfeng-Fengcheng Railways have been extended to 99 years. At present, Tsarist Russia He supported the government of Jebzundamba in Kulun, encouraged foreign independence, and made trouble in Harbin, Kuanchengzi and other places in the Northeast. It is obvious that he wants to get involved in the three northeastern provinces. Now that we allow Japan to enter the Northeast, we can use foreign countries to control foreign countries. '. As we all know, Japan and Russia are sworn enemies. They fought in the Northeast ten years ago and forged a bloody feud. In the future, if we provoke a little bit, they might even fight again!
"Third, all the harbors and islands along China's coast will not be leased or ceded to other countries. Minister Yamaza specifically mentioned this point. He said that the issue of whether China's territory can be maintained intact is of greatest concern and concern to the Japanese Imperial Government. Recently. For decades, China's national strength was weak and it could not protect its own territory. The Japanese Imperial Government had no choice but to engage in the Russo-Japanese War. It had to ask for trusteeship of Taiwan, Port Arthur, Dalian and other places. As the Japanese Imperial Government has always pursued the doctrine of preserving Chinese territorialism, it is now Therefore, this article is proposed to ensure that China will not suffer from foreign enemies ceding territory in the future, and can legally intervene and mediate at the appropriate time.
"Fourth, the Chinese government must hire Japanese as political, military, financial and other consultants. Fifty years ago, China and Japan were poor and backward countries that were bullied by European and American powers, but Japan woke up and implemented reforms forty years ago. Then the East Defeated the Qing Dynasty, annexed North Korea, and resisted Tsarist Russia. It soon became a world power. It must have countless things that China can learn from in terms of politics, military, finance, etc. Japan is now recommending specialized consultants in various aspects to our country. In making the emerging Republic of China increasingly developed, the people of China and Japan are benefiting from it. This also fully demonstrates the goodwill of "China and Japan are friendly and support each other"!
"Fifth, China and Japan jointly operate police and arsenal. In the past, many Japanese lived, did business, and studied in China. Because the systems of the two countries were different, there were relatively many public security incidents, which often resulted in unpleasant endings. Impact Friendly relations between China and Japan. In order to further improve China's relatively backward police system and integrate it with Japan's relatively advanced police system, Japan proposed a joint police administration request. As for the joint arsenal, the reason is that China is not yet self-sufficient in firearms. , must be purchased from foreign countries every year, which not only costs public funds, but also has different styles, and it is really inconvenient to replenish ammunition. However, if China wants to unify the country internally and defend the enemy externally, it must rectify its armaments and enrich itself with high-quality weapons. Therefore, Japan Put forward the request to jointly build an arsenal.
"As for other clauses, they are trivial matters, such as allowing the Japanese to have the right to preach in China. Japan and China have the same roots and have similar religions. What kind of right to preach do they need? It's just that the Japanese government sees that European and American countries All countries in China have the right to preach, set up churches in mainland China, and assign missionaries to carry out various religious activities. However, Japan does not have this right, and it is just a little unbalanced. Such innocuous terms have nothing to do with the overall situation. "
If Sun Yuanqi were sitting aside at this moment, and if he had learned history well enough, he would definitely shout: "Isn't this the infamous "Twenty-one Articles"?! In addition, how did Zhao Bingjun take away all the sophistry of the Japanese side? Come over and take it for yourself?"
On the surface, Yuan Keding was silent, seeming to be thinking about whether the price offered by Japan was reasonable, but in fact, he was slandering in his heart: the various terms proposed by Japan are nothing more than trying to swallow up China, and what "China and Japan are good friends and support each other." ? This is pure fart!
For example, the purpose of jointly establishing an arsenal is to control China's military equipment, monopolize arms production, and extract excess profits. Once a war breaks out between China and Japan, Japan can easily cut off China's supply of weapons and ammunition, and the Japanese army can also replenish armaments at will within China. What does it say that China needs to rectify its armaments and enrich itself with high-quality weapons? What a joke! Although Sun Yuanqi was unsightly in other aspects, he was still unmatched in terms of invention and creation. Whether it is various aircraft or mortars, which one is not a weapon on the battlefield? Especially the Zhonggong 1911 rifle is not comparable to the Murata rifle and 38-type rifle used by the Japanese dwarfs. Is there any need to jointly set up an arsenal with them? Once the Beiyang Army occupies the Peking Iron Works and the Hanyang Iron Works, it is still a matter of debate as to who will cooperate with whom!
Seeing that Yuan Keding did not express his position, Zhao Bingjun urged: "Young master, the situation is urgent now. Sun Baixi is coming menacingly. You must make a decision early!"
Yuan Keding hesitated and said again and again: "Signing the treaty is of great importance. I think it is better to invite Secretary-General Yansun, Director Zhiquan, Mr. Douzhan, and Mr. Xingcheng to come over and discuss it, right?"
Zhao Bingjun took out a few more pieces of paper from his arms: "Young Master, Zhao just has one more important thing to report to you. According to our and Japanese intelligence, Secretary-General Yansun is likely to pass the current Guangdong Chief of Civil Affairs Tang Shaochuan has moved to Sun Baixi! These are the messages they exchanged. Please read them." (To be continued)
PS: The goal is to update for 30 consecutive days, how many monthly tickets can I give away?