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Chapter 11 Discussing fortune in the Presidential Palace, Yuan gives up power to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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    "Recently, generals from various provinces and commanders of divisions have frequently come to Beijing to report on their work. Such arrogant "reporting on work" is believed to be related to "China's participation in the war." It is said that the First Division of the Jiangsu Army is ready to go to war!  "

    "Sunchon Times"

    This is the first time since the Republic of China that a large-scale general's debriefing event has been held. For such a large-scale "duty debriefing" activity, Yuan Shikai, as the host, naturally treats it as a top priority: in terms of form, first of all, it caused something unusual  The atmosphere adopts the etiquette of Xinjiang officials meeting the president, setting up the table and etiquette. Yuan Shikai wears a white tassel military cap and a blue uniform of the generalissimo with gold epaulettes. He sits majestically on the throne of the president.  When you come in and go out, you always take a goose-like step.  //www.//Very

    However, the content of its "duty report" is bizarre and ridiculous: "duty report", as the name suggests, refers to people sent by Ye Chu to foreign countries or places to perform special missions. After being recalled, they report on the performance of their duties.  But Yuan Shikai did not. When the general who reported his duties came in, he changed his usual greetings and asked about household affairs, the security of the province, and the people's sentiments. After waiting for everyone to answer one by one, he hurriedly changed the topic and asked:

    "Now that the National Assembly has reopened and the State Council has been divided, tell me how the state affairs are being handled now.

    This kind of questioning made some generals very frightened:

    "What is this? Why would the 7 presidents ask this question?

    Therefore, there are always some people who are dumbfounded when asked questions when they are confused.  But Yuan Shikai didn't care. For him, he just wanted to test the tone of these people, and at the same time, through this "debriefing", he told them that he, Yuan Shikai, was their biggest backer.

    Of course, the development of things was always somewhat unsatisfactory, especially when he tentatively asked the provincial generals about their attitude towards participating in the war. Whether it was the provincial generals or the division commanders, they all became ambiguous and their words were sharpened to those who regarded the army as  For the generals and division commanders of the private army, they have no leisure to take their belongings to Europe and work for the French. Although what they sacrifice their lives for is the dignity of the country, in any case, what they will break is their own property.  possessions

    In this case, naturally no one is willing to send troops, so of course there are no straightforward answers, but only ambiguous attitudes.

    Naturally, Yuan Shikai was very disappointed with their answers. It could even be said that he was extremely disappointed. However, he could not reveal his intentions. Knowing the thoughts of those people, he certainly knew that sometimes the more you push, the more counterproductive it will be. Therefore, regardless of the other party,  No matter how disappointed he was, he would still chat with the other party in a pleasant manner, and would even stay with them to dine in Zhongnanhai at last minute.

    After entering Zhongnanhai, under the guidance of Lei Zhenchun, Li Zicheng came to Jurentang. It is well known in the capital that Yuan Shikai was very particular about hierarchy when meeting others: those with the best connections and higher status were in the small reception room downstairs of Jurentang.  Meet each other; those with ordinary relationships, especially those with prominent status, can only meet "in the big round mirror".

    According to Li Zicheng¡¯s identity, as before, Yuan Shikai still chose to receive guests at a small reception, which even surprised Lei Zhenchun, the director of the Military and Political Law Enforcement Division.  But now he has become accustomed to it. When Li Zicheng comes to the Presidential Palace, he usually goes directly to the small living room of Jurentang without any notification.

    When he saw Li Zicheng coming, Yuan Shikai hurriedly took a few steps to greet him, then shook hands and greeted him. After walking around the living room, he pointed to the sofa and said.

    "Zhiyuan, please sit down quickly. If anything happens, just send someone over here. There is no need for you to come here yourself!"

    As in the past, Yuan Shikai seemed very close to him. In the past two months, he had seen everything Li Zicheng had done. When he saw that he had a dispute with the local government over the "counterfeit currency" issue, he was secretly worried.  I am snickering in my heart, after all, I am so young and energetic!  Then I learned from those generals that the National Socialist Party had launched a local parliamentary offensive, and I laughed even more. This man was too young and didn't know what his priorities were.

    In this regard, Yuan Shikai would not only not remind him, but would be happy to see the results. Well, he would be happy to see the stalemate between the State Council and the local governments continue. If this stalemate continues, within two years, his State Council will  The Prime Minister is afraid that this will be the end of it.

    "The etiquette cannot be abolished!"

    Li Zicheng seemed a little stubborn at this moment. Seeing that Yuan Shikai did not look at the official document he had just handed over to him, he spoke.

    "President, the time has come!"

    Is the time ripe?

    Yuan Shikai was stunned. He looked at Li Zicheng blankly. What was he talking about?  Following Li Zicheng's line of sight, he saw the submission he had just received. Could it be that

    Opening the document, Yuan Shikai immediately understood what Li Zicheng meant when he said the time was ripe. On the day Li Zicheng came to Beijing,Before the welcome banquet, he had already expressed his attitude, but now, he brought such a "revised New Testament" submission.

    With his eyes half closed, Yuan Shikai recalled the plan he made when discussing the matter with his staff after Li Zicheng took office. Only Li Zicheng would not deviate from the track and let him make trouble. In China, nothing can be done without foreigners.  At least for now, we cannot do without the support of foreigners.

    "Zhiyuan, do you know that if this matter is implemented, the great powers will only need to detain Guan Yu, and when the government is in financial distress, it will cause financial difficulties to the government. By that time,"

    Yuan Shikai, who looked solemn, gave a kind reminder.

    "The 10,000-dollar bonds we issued in the United States have been subscribed, and 60% of the 10,000-dollar public bonds issued in Nanyang and China have been subscribed!"

    When answering, Li Zicheng's tone and expression showed no signs of change. In fact, whether it is a public bond worth tens of millions of dollars or a public bond worth ten million yuan, the title of the issuance is all national construction bonds, such as the infrastructure funds for Tianjin Dagang Industrial Park.  The 30 million yuan needed was obtained from the sale of bonds to the United States.

    "Although the bonds are issued for the national industrial construction, if necessary, they can be temporarily diverted, eh! I believe that the government can understand that the part of the bonds sold to Nanyang and China will be diverted!"

    When Li Zicheng said this, Yuan Shikai could only nod his head. In fact, he had never thought of objecting to this matter in the past. Li Zicheng was doing it for his reputation or for his country. For him, this matter was  Regardless of success or failure, he will benefit from it in the end. In this way, there is no need to consider any objections!

    "Zhiyuan, should this matter be put on hold for the time being? The wingman over there is talking to Kant about sending troops. The French have agreed to provide weapons for the expeditionary force, and"

    Looking at Li Zicheng, Yuan Shikai said something serious.

    "Those weapons have to be purchased by us in China. The French will pay us directly in real money. When the time comes, the ** company will be indispensable for you!"

    When Yuan Shikai said this, Li Zicheng shook his head, looked at him and said.

    "President, if we delay it any longer, we will have little leverage. The French are asking for something from us now, and this negotiation will not delay the participation in war negotiations. The more the French ask for something from us, the more "revised the New Treaty" will be.  We can get a breakthrough from the French. Otherwise, with the temper of the French, how could they agree to our request!"

    On the matter of participating in the war, Li Zicheng colluded with Yuan Shikai and put forward as many as a dozen conditions, but only a few conditions actually involved the expeditionary force, while there were more than ten conditions involving Chinese industry, such as France's promise  , when purchasing materials from abroad, China will be given priority under the same conditions.

    Thanks to this, China exported as much as 8.64 million yuan of canned goods to France last month. In addition to the canned beef that the French needed, it also provided the latest canned luncheon meat. The special needs of the war were huge, far exceeding the imagination of outsiders.  What's more, the special needs of the war are not only the military, but also the needs of the people.

    ¡°This is a rare opportunity, President, I¡¯m afraid this matter cannot be delayed!¡±

    "That¡­¡­"

    Looking at Li Zicheng, Yuan Shikai pondered for a moment, seeming to be thinking. After a while, he said with some difficulty.

    "Zhiyuan, tell me! If you need any cooperation from the Presidential Office, as long as you need it, I will give you whatever you need!"

    Yuan Shikai now showed the magnanimity of a great president. Yuan Shikai has always been supportive of this matter, but this support is based on what is beneficial to him. This matter  If it succeeds, it will be with "the full support of the president." If it fails, "the president will have to step in to clean up the situation."

    "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the State Council need the full cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs!"

    "Okay, I'm going to ask someone to invite Lu Zici over!"

    While waiting for Lu Zici to arrive and drinking tea together, Yuan Shikai spoke.

    "Zhiyuan, the matter of sending troops is a foregone conclusion, but"

    With a long sigh, Yuan Shikai said again.

    "The local government is unwilling to send troops!"

    Listening to Yuan Shikai¡¯s sigh, Li Zicheng said after being silent for a while.

    "For this kind of thing, if you force them hard, it will be counterproductive. Even if you want to force them, you must use the "general trend" to "force" them."

    "The general trend?"

    Li Zicheng¡¯s words made Yuan Shikai slightly stunned. What kind of trend would he use to ¡°force¡± those people?

    "It is the general trend. If we want to send troops smoothly, the central government must create a general trend and tell everyone clearly that in this European war, our country must send troops. For the country, this is the only way! As long as we createWith this kind of general trend, when the time comes, even if they don¡¯t want to send troops anymore, they won¡¯t be able to do it!  "

    ¡°As he said this, Li Zicheng smiled. During the ¡°Jiao¡¯ao Incident¡±, wasn¡¯t this the general trend that he took advantage of?  The general trend cannot be stopped by human power, just like in history, after Yuan Shikai became emperor, in the end, wasn't he forced by the general trend?

    When Li Zicheng said these words, Yuan Shikai looked at Li Zicheng for a long time and was unable to speak. When Li Zicheng mentioned this general trend, he was thinking about his own situation during the "Jiao'ao Incident" last year.  As well as the whole country, aren't they kidnapped by his trend?

    ¡°Good at taking advantage of opportunities and good at management!¡±

    Thinking of Yang Du's evaluation of Li Zicheng, Yuan Shikai finally agreed with this evaluation. At the same time, he reminded himself in his heart not to be fooled by this guy who seemed to have no hair on his mouth.  , lest he use "power" to involve himself in the future, he must be careful!

    With this feeling in his heart, Yuan Shikai stopped talking and just drank tea quietly. Although the new tea from Wuyi Mountain had a pleasant aroma, he only felt a bitter taste when he drank it.

    Trend, take advantage of the trend, luck!

    Yuan Shikai, who had been unable to calm down for a long time, could only think of Li Zicheng's "power" in the "Jiao'ao Incident". Combining that "power" with the current dispatch of troops, Yuan Shikai discovered that if this power really worked,  , can this "power" really be used to one's own advantage?

    Li Zicheng's trend is very simple, it is nothing more than "patriotism in the name of patriotism". Since the "Jiao'ao Incident", the voice of patriotism in the country has become more and more in vain. For a time, it seemed that 'patriotism, two words  , is a matter of course and cannot be discussed. People talk about love and often talk about patriotism to prove that they are patriotic.

    The current "momentum" is to take advantage of this patriotic "momentum". To use "send troops" means to be "patriotic", and to "not send troops" means to be "unpatriotic" to carry out this trend. After this trend takes hold, then  Take advantage of this momentum and use public opinion and popular support to force the local government to send troops. If the local government is unwilling to send troops, then he is a "traitor" or "unpatriotic". This momentum has been borrowed and luckily achieved.  By then, nature will be unstoppable!

    But will this "patriotic momentum" tie you up too?

    Although Li Zicheng¡¯s idea solved the problem easily, Yuan Shikai was murmuring in his heart. If he was tied up, this matter would be difficult to handle!

    While thinking about it, Yuan Shikai looked at Li Zicheng, but saw that Li Zicheng was sipping the tea in silence. Occasionally he would take a sip of tea, and even close his eyes and think for a while, as if he was sipping the tea carefully.  smell.

    Li Zhiyuan!

    Looking at him like this, Yuan Shikai sighed in his heart, this Li Zhiyuan really is At this moment, Lei Zhenchun walked in.

    "Report to the President, Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lu is here!"

    Entering the small living room of Jurentang, Lu Zhengxiang noticed that the atmosphere in this small living room was a bit abnormal. Among the two people in the living room, the president was sitting at the front, drinking tea, while the prime minister was sipping tea there.  Tea, as soon as he saw these two people, Lu Zhengxiang knew some answers in his heart.

    No matter how "harmonious" the current government and court appear to the outside world, in fact, the two sides are constantly fighting secretly. It can be said that the current prime minister is holding back, but what about the president?

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen the president, I¡¯ve seen the prime minister!¡±

    After Lu Zhengxiang bowed respectfully, Yuan Shikai pointed to the sofa on the left and said.

    ¡°Zici, sit down!¡±

    Then he looked at Li Zicheng again and said.

    "Zici, I invite you to come here today. I have something to explain to you!"

    Although he still didn't know what it was, Lu Zhengxiang got some answers from another person in the small living room. I'm afraid it has something to do with diplomacy. The State Council and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs thought it was during a meeting between ministers from various countries a while ago.  The rumored "revision of the New Testament" is a turmoil caused by the State Council. Now that the Prime Minister is here, apart from this matter, he really can't guess what else will happen!

    After Lu Zhengxiang entered the hall, Li Zicheng only occasionally looked at this famous "traitor" in history. Because of the "separation of the government and the Yuan", the ministries of both the government and the Yuan wanted to avoid being labeled as "pro-government"  , and the label of "near the hospital", so that the two parties will never contact each other unless they are on official business, especially for the heads of departments. This is really the first time in the past two months that I have met with Lu Zhengxiang, the "famous traitor to the country."  - Thief" talking about official business.

    In history textbooks, China¡¯s diplomacy in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China was a mess, humiliating the country, and was simply a ¡°history of national shame¡± and ¡°history of betrayal¡±.Negative adjectives such as "misleading the country", "incompetent", "traitor to the country", "traitor", "compromise", "surrender" etc.

    However, after coming to this era and witnessing the difficult diplomatic situation, especially the year before and after becoming Prime Minister, and beginning to understand China's diplomacy at this time, Li Zicheng finally understood how heavy the "revolution" was in the history textbooks.  Color to look at those diplomats and China's diplomacy at this time.

    The basis of diplomacy is national strength.  The late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China were at the peak of imperialist diplomacy, and the law of the jungle was regarded as natural. China relied on the balance of power among the great powers and was lucky to avoid partition. In addition, the great powers had the same interests in China's treaties, and the power gap between China and foreign countries was too large.  In diplomacy under such circumstances, it is impossible to comprehensively restore the decline. It can only seek partial breakthroughs and strive not to lose new rights, or to strictly limit the lost rights.

    At this time, China's diplomacy was not simple. Under the premise of constant civil strife and the great powers' desire to encroach on China, they were able to use diplomatic means to roughly maintain the integrity of the territory left by the Qing Dynasty. This is an achievement that cannot be ignored.  Among them, the "traitor" in front of him can be said to have made a great contribution!

    "The State Council is going to do a big thing recently. This matter requires the full cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, son!"

    Looking at Lu Zhengxiang, Yuan Shikai said in a serious tone.

    "Whatever the Ministry of Foreign Affairs needs to cooperate with the State Council, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must fully cooperate. Whatever is needed from you, you have to do it! There is no need to ask this president for instructions. Before this matter is completed, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will,  Report directly to the State Council! Ask General Manager Li for instructions! Do you understand?"

    The President's words really surprised Lu Zhengxiang. You must know that two months ago, on the day Li Zicheng took office as Prime Minister, Secretary-General Liang Da specially invited him and told him, "To the State Council,  I want to mention it over there and hang it up!" He also said that this was what the president meant. Now that the president said this, he was thinking about it in his heart. He looked at Li Zicheng again, and for a moment he  It¡¯s so hard to figure out whether the president¡¯s words were just words of honor or sincerity.

    Seeing that Lu Zhengxiang seemed a little confused, Yuan Shikai said again.

    "In addition, the personnel power of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also temporarily handled by the State Council!"

    Hearing these words, Lu Zhengxiang finally understood what the president meant. At the same time, he also knew that he was afraid that the "big event" would be far bigger and more complicated than he imagined
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