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Chapter 12 The Yuan family is worried about the situation and secretly disappointed. Liang Yang offers a plan (please vote for me...

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    There is one of the tallest buildings on the west bank of Zhongnanhai Xiyuan. The whole and external auxiliary decoration of this building have obvious style differences with the surrounding building community. Perhaps it is because of its outstanding appearance and European and graceful interior furnishings.  In the judgment of many children in Zhongnanhai, it is the most luxurious and beautiful building.  //www.//

    Originally, what stood here was a group of authentic traditional Chinese-style palace complexes. It was the Yiluan Hall where Empress Dowager Cixi stayed after she "returned the curtain and returned to power."  This group of buildings is centered on the Yiluan Hall, a two-volume hall, with three entrances in front and back, facing south. There is a glazed screen wall in front of the main hall.

    During the Gengzi period, after the Eight-Power Allied Forces entered Beijing, they used Zhongnanhai as a garrison camp.  Allied commander Waldersey set up his headquarters in Yiluan Hall, which was occupied by the Japanese army. On the night of April 17, 1901, a fire broke out in the German kitchen in the Yiluan Hall courtyard, and the main hall and auxiliary halls were burned down.

    After Cixi returned to Beijing, she accepted the suggestions of foreign envoys and built a new Western-style building at the Yiluan Palace site to receive and entertain foreign female guests as a sign of reconciliation with the great powers.  As a result, civil engineering was rebuilt on the ruins, and more than 5 million taels of silver were spent to build a building comparable in size to the original Yiluan Hall.

    However, Cixi did not want to imitate foreign-style buildings built in the imperial palace, thinking it would be inappropriate. She would rather imitate the Haiyan Hall of the Western-style Building in Yuanmingyuan, but the effect was the same.  In 1904, Haiyan Hall was built.  Cixi held 5 diplomatic activities in Haiyan Hall, Zhongnanhai, and received the wives of foreign ministers.

    However, Haiyantang did not bring prosperity to the declining late Qing Dynasty. After the Spring and Autumn Period, the Manchu Qing Empire came to an end amidst the gunfire of 1911.  Yuan Shikai, the first president of the Republic of China, moved into Zhongnanhai after he took office as the president, and used Haiyantang as his office and reception place, and renamed it Jurentang.

    Unlike Cixi who only received and held five diplomatic activities in Haiyan Hall, since Yuan Shikai moved into Jurentang, foreign affairs activities have been held here every day. It is not only the place where foreign affairs activities are held, but also Yuan Shikai's office.  , which is also the place where he meets with subordinate officials.

    "Li Zhiyuan is playing chess again!"

    After Li Zicheng left Jurentang, Yuan Shikai, who was sitting in the small Western-style living room, whispered between his lips.

    In the past two months, Li Zicheng has been playing chess. From the Ministry of Finance's attempt to bring the customs under the management of the Ministry of Finance, to the personnel reform of the customs, it directly led to the current stalemate between the State Council and the customs. When the two sides were in a stalemate, Li Zicheng  He even bluntly told the British Minister that if Anglian did not agree with the Ministry of Finance's document, then the General Taxation Department must be replaced.

    In this regard, Yuan Shikai did not make any response. Even when Zhu Erdian asked him for help, he only said that "the Ministry of Finance is subordinate to the State Council." Naturally, he had no right to interfere, but on the other hand, this was an endorsement.  Li Zicheng's first move.

    However, in the meeting just now, Yuan Shikai did not mention customs or even a word about it. Yuan Shikai, who was proficient in officialdom, knew when to express something and when to remain silent. At this time, he was interfering, which made it more obvious that he was concerned about the customs.  Li Zicheng was not trusting enough. Likewise, Yuan Shikai also hoped to test the British's bottom line through this move.

    For Yuan Shikai, who had already formulated the plan of "alliance with Britain and the United States and resisting Japan and Russia", he would never offend Britain and the United States unless it was absolutely necessary. However, testing their bottom line was to accept the "neutrality" of the presidential palace. In fact,  It just leaves room for things to ease.

    But now, when he thought that Li Zicheng had already laid out the chess game and was ready to play this game, Yuan Shikai became very uneasy. Almost as soon as Li Zicheng left, he moved Liang Shiyi and Yang Du  He pointed to the report he just received and asked:

    "Look, Li Zhiyuan has started to take action. See if he has any back-up moves?"

    Liang and Yang read the report and were speechless for a moment.  Both of them were also in extreme shock. The rumors that had been circulating in the forty-nine cities for many days were finally confirmed. Li Lianyun, no, we can no longer call him Li Lianyun. We should call him Li Bold. Li Zhidan began to challenge the great powers.  .  Very

    However, what made them feel at ease was that Li Danda did not lose his basic rationality like Cixi. He put everything on diplomacy, trying to force countries to make concessions diplomatically, thereby agreeing to the "revision"  New Testament".

    "Li Zhiyuan is really courageous. I, Yuan, have been dealing with foreigners for decades. When I was in North Korea, I fought against a country by myself and never lost. But Li Zhiyuan's courage"

    Thinking about his decision in North Korea, Yuan Shikai's face showed a trace of helplessness. He was stationed in North Korea several times for twelve years. In the increasingly difficult situation, he tried his best to safeguard the interests of China.  .  It was his ups and downs on the Korean Peninsula that made him a rising star in the officialdom at that time  People say that "small station training" made him stand out, but in fact, his overseas experience that fulfilled his mission was the fundamental reason why he came into the eyes of the Empress Dowager Cixi.

    However, that memory was unpleasant. Although he tried his best to safeguard China's interests, in the beginning of the competition between the Qing Dynasty and Japan in Korea, he prevailed due to his decisiveness. Japan had been deliberately planning against Korea for a long time, and the Qing Dynasty  His policy towards North Korea was wavering, so although he had the upper hand in the Jiashen Incident, it could not completely solve the problem.

    International issues require strength. When Japan was at a disadvantage in Korea, it actively deployed and gradually increased its troops. At the same time, it protested to the Qing government, accusing it of starting a reckless provocation and should bear the responsibility for the Jiashen incident.

    At that time, because the Sino-French dispute had not yet been resolved, the Qing court did not intend to cause any more trouble with Japan. However, since he was a junior official, the incident in Korea was not reported to the court in advance, so it was not very understanding of him. Japan  After the government protested to the Qing court, the Qing court sent Wu Da and Xuchang as special envoys to North Korea to investigate.

    Wu Da thought that he had started the provocation lightly, so he planned to put the responsibility entirely on him and apologize to Japan before setting off.

    Since the Qing court gave half of its suzerainty over North Korea to Japan, this completely ran counter to Yuan Shikai's plan to further control North Korea. What about Yuan Shikai?  He became the chief culprit of this incident, and everyone put the blame on him. He was very sad to see the situation in North Korea being left to its own devices.  But what's the point of being sad? At that time, his mother Ding was worried, so he had to leave North Korea. When he returned to North Korea again, he was already helpless!

    Thinking about the past events when they were supervising North Korea, I think of the reason why they were unable to recover. The fundamental reason is that the Qing government had neither principles nor goals in controlling North Korea.  Coupled with the fact that he was weak and could be bullied, even though he had great ambitions, he ended up in a dismal end.

    "President, this is a good thing."

    When the President mentioned North Korea, Liang Shiyi, who had learned about the President's experience from others, immediately realized that the President resonated with Li Zhiyuan on the matter of "national power." In fact, if Yuan Shikai put aside his prejudices,  It is somewhat similar to Li Zicheng.

    Both of them were young and successful. The president started out in the army, but he seized the opportunity. At the age of 24, he became the governor of North Korea. He defeated the power of a country with one person. Li Zhiyuan became an entrepreneur and used his own power to resist the invasion of a country.  , became the Prime Minister at the age of twenty-five, and now, perhaps the President really feels sympathy for each other!

    ¡°If it¡¯s done well, it¡¯s definitely a good thing!¡±

    Although he said this, Liang Shiyi was thinking about it in his heart. At first, when Li Zicheng attacked the management and employment rights of the customs, he didn't quite understand Li Zicheng's intention, but now, he  But I understood that Li Zicheng's attitude towards the customs was basically Xiangzhuang's sword dance, which was aimed at Pei Gong, and the drunkard's intention was not at drinking.

    Originally, Liang Shiyi proposed the dual central bank. On the one hand, it was to expand the influence and financial power of the Bank of Communications, but on the other hand, it was to cut off the financial power of the Ministry of Finance. In the past two months, it can be said that the results have been remarkable, especially the president.  He has been praised on this matter more than once. Sixty percent of the monthly central income tax flows to the Bank of Communications.

    But now that Li Zicheng sincerely wants to attack the customs, it is obviously not just for personnel rights, as simple as customs and customs. That is the biggest culprit. Not to mention Li Zicheng, even Liang Shiyi has attacked customs and customs more than once.  Thoughts, but he has neither the courage nor the courage.

    However, Liang Shiyi, who knew Yuan Shikai well, knew that although Yuan Shikai liked to act dictatorially and was good at officialdom, on some issues, he would give support to even political opponents. From the time Yuan Shikai became the Minister of Beiyang, Liang Shiyi followed him. At that time, Yuan Shikai  He was the first high-ranking official in the Qing Dynasty who tended to reform and progress. His series of reforms had a far greater impact on China than the reformists.  It can be said that Yuan Shikai's contribution to China's modernization is still greater than that of Li Hongzhang. Whether it was in his budding career in Korea, or in training the "New Army" at Xiaozhan, and in the late Qing Dynasty when he served as Beiyang Minister and Governor-General of Zhili, he demonstrated  With due agility and courage, in the last ten years of the late Qing Dynasty, he laid all the foundations for modern China.

    In this process, for the sake of national interests, he cooperated with his political opponents more than once. If he intervened casually at this time, it would only make Yuan Shikai unhappy and angry. Instead of doing this, it is better to be calm, Liang Shiyi said  He said it very tactfully:

    "The current situation in China, in fact, we are fully capable of renegotiating new treaties with other countries. Didn't Japan also defeat us to make the great powers face up to them and abolish concessions and extraterritoriality? We have defeated Japan, no matter what  , The national power that can be taken back must be taken back, otherwise, when you die in the future, you will not be able to see your ancestors!"

    Liang ?Yuan Shikai's words only caused Yuan Shikai to nod.

    "President, since the State Council is going to handle this matter now, the Presidential Office should give its full support, and the State Council will come forward, which does leave some room for reciprocity between us and the great powers."

    Liang Shiyi's suggestion made Yang Du's jaw almost drop in shock. Why did Liang Yifu change his gender now?  When he was doubtful, he heard Liang Shiyi say again.

    "However, as far as the customs matter is concerned, if the State Department continues to quarrel with the British because of this, and the lottery is deadlocked, it may not be a good thing. In fact, the president has no need to affect the overall situation because of this matter. You have to eat every bite.  Eat, in fact, if the autonomy of tariffs, customs management, and human rights are withdrawn, it will not all be the same thing. By then, a single official document will be withdrawn, and the situation there will be so tense now.  "

    Liang Shiyi said it very tactfully, but he was the only one to understand the underlying reason. Tariff autonomy does not necessarily mean customs management rights, personnel rights, or even tax management rights. As long as the General Taxation Department does not hand over tax management rights,  If there is no right, then the Bank of China will have "no tax to explain". At that time, the ownership of its acting treasury will be nothing more than something on paper. Without the treasury, the Ministry of Finance will still be the Ministry of Finance!

    "What Secretary-General Liang said is true, there is no need to lose big for small things"

    Yang Du echoed from the side. Although Liang Shiyi didn't elaborate, he still vaguely guessed Liang Shiyi's thoughts. He was not opposed to the revision of the New Testament, but he was opposed to the State Council's intervention in the customs. Why was he opposed?  I'm afraid it still cannot be separated from "silver".

    "Oh I see."

    When Jing Liang and Yang said this, Yuan Shikai immediately figured out that Liang Shiyi opposed the State Council's intervention in customs because of tariffs and because he was afraid that the State Council would get tariffs.

    ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Outwardly, he was both relieved and bored in his heart. He was pleased that Liang and Yang were his people, and they were working for him, even at the cost of abandoning their country, which was gratifying.  But the annoying thing is that they are willing to abandon the country for Yuan Xiangcheng and ignore the interests of the country. What if it is for their own selfish interests in the future?  By then, will they still have national interests to speak of?

    Can such a person be worthy of the country¡¯s leadership?

    When this question arose in his mind, Yuan Shikai once again saw Li Zicheng in front of his eyes. Comparing Li Zicheng with the two people in front of him, his superiority immediately became apparent, and he compared the difference between Li Zicheng and everyone around him.  , but Yuan Shikai sighed in his heart, how great it would be if Li Zicheng was his.

    Picking up the report and reading it again, Yuan Shikai frowned and said:

    "According to Zhiyuan, the customs matter is just to test the bottom line of the British. You don't need to interfere in this matter. See how Zhiyuan deals with the British. However, we cannot relax about the customs, especially the tariff.  Think about it, do you have any good ideas to deal with it?"

    Although Liang Shiyi¡¯s scheming was quite thorough, his scheming was far inferior to Yuan Shikai¡¯s. How could he guess what Yuan Shikai had in mind?  When he heard what the President said, he thought that the President understood the meaning of his words, and a faint smile suddenly appeared on his face.

    At this moment, Yuan Shikai looked at Liang Shiyi and smiled bitterly and said:

    ¡°Let¡¯s think about it and see if we can get the tariffs to the Bank of Communications.¡±

    This sarcastic remark made Liang Shiyi look embarrassed and could not speak any more.  Yang Du thought for a long time in his heart. When he heard the president's sarcastic words, his expression changed, and then he fell silent. Liang Shiyi's thoughts could not be hidden from the president. The reason why the president was so sarcastic was that  I'm afraid it's because the two of them have forgotten that "national affairs are the most important thing."

    When Yang Du didn't know how to solve the awkward atmosphere in the small living room, Liang Shiyi said.

    "President, the Bank of Communications has the function of acting as an agent for the national treasury. It is natural that tariffs should be deposited in the Bank of Communications!"

    Liang Shiyi¡¯s words were righteous and without any hint of embarrassment. Just when Yang Du was slightly startled, he heard Liang Shiyi say again.

    "The French government has promised that as long as our country agrees to send 100,000 army troops to France, it will transfer the 100,000 francs required for the 100,000 army troops to the Paris branch of the Bank of Communications!"

    It is indeed Liang Yifu!

    As soon as Liang Shiyi finished speaking, Yang Du admired in his heart. With such a sentence, he not only made his contribution clear, but also clarified the functions of Bank of Communications.

    When he heard ten thousand francs, Yuan Shikai stood up suddenly, looked at Liang Shiyi and asked.

    "Have the French agreed to our request?"

    There was a hint of expectation in Yuan Shikai's tone. He had already reached an agreement with Li Zicheng on the issue of sending troops. As long as the French agreed to a few conditions, the first batch of troops would be dispatched.The Jiangsu Army promised to send three divisions of 50,000 people, and those conditions seemed very simple.

    France provided 30 million francs and dispatched ordnance industry experts to help China sort out its ordnance industry. Another condition was that the French Ministry of National Defense paid for the arming of the Chinese participating troops. The participating troops¡¯ military pay was doubled according to Chinese standards and their field allowances were paid by the French government.  These were all conditions that the French had agreed to long ago, so the French agreed without hesitation.

    The most critical issue is the "independent command authority" proposed by Li Zicheng, which means that the commander of the Chinese Expeditionary Force will enter the coalition headquarters and be assigned to an independent front without being divided and used. In addition, death and disability pensions will be based on French standards.  Implementation is provided by the French government. These two conditions are unlikely even in Yuan Shikai's view, let alone the French.  But Li Zicheng insisted on these two items. The reason was very simple: to prevent the French from treating Chinese soldiers as cannon fodder.

    "They believe that since China has joined the Allied Powers, the troops sent to France must be under the unified command of the Allied Powers Command!"

    Liang Shiyi's silence made Yuan Shikai stunned for a moment, and then he sat down on the sofa and said with some annoyance:

    "Zhiyuan is sometimes too stubborn. He would rather provide his own weapons than make concessions on these two issues. Really! Is this independent command power so easy to get? Let alone independent command power.  Even if Britain and France ask us to form battalions and companies into the Allied Forces, they may not be able to agree! What's more, they need independent command authority!"

    "Yes, let's make a fuss from this point!"

    Listening to the president¡¯s words, Yang Du suddenly had an idea.

    "There is a way!"

    He excitedly told Yuan Shikai an idea.

    "Since they insist on unified command, then we require the independence of the expeditionary force. As long as the team is not divided, they will use us as cannon fodder, and it will be difficult!"
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