Years of the Republic of China 1913

The Chinese Military Observer Mission finished its work on the European battlefield ahead of schedule and set off to return home.Although the relationship between China and Germany and Tsarist Russia is relatively delicate, and the move to return to the country early is somewhat surprising, but China is only a weak country in the world after all. At the same time as the order from China, Deputy Minister Cao Rulin met with the ambassadors of Germany and Russia respectively, and frankly informed that due to the accelerated construction of the Chinese National Defense Force, it is extremely necessary for these key officers to return to the construction as soon as possible, and for the commercial cooperation between China, Germany and Russia. , the Chinese government will continue to proceed in accordance with the reservation agreement as always.

Such an explanation, on the surface, is justified.What's more, Germany and Tsarist Russia have already fought hard in this war, and they simply don't have the energy to take care of such a trivial matter.As long as the Chinese government does not interrupt its business cooperation with them, it is enough to continue to provide various commodities.As for the coming and going of the Chinese military observation team, in their eyes, it is at most just a plaything for the Chinese people to play house, and they can go back if they want to go back, so as to save themselves the effort to entertain them.

Of course, it is not that no one has thought of other reasons. For example, the British ambassador Zhu Erdian is very sensitive to this.

"Your Excellency, what do you think of the Chinese suddenly withdrawing their military observation mission in Europe?" Zhu Erdian, who was smoking a cigar, asked the visiting French ambassador Conti with a smile, seemingly casually. .

"Hehe, China's military observation group, that's just a not-so-fun joke." Holding a glass of Bordeaux red wine in his hand, Conti, who was wearing a formal dress, had some French aristocratic taste, and said dismissively: "The Chinese are good people. Coolies, good cooks, but definitely not good soldiers, their army is like a rabble like African blacks, this military observation group is just a flashy thing for Chinese people to put money on their faces, just like their New Year pictures posted during the Chinese New Year. Your Excellency, do you still remember that in the Qing Dynasty, the Chinese emperors sent their ministers to study in Europe and America? In the Chinese language, the idiom “Take a look at flowers on horseback” is very appropriate.”

Zhu Erdian frowned slightly, he disagreed with Kang Ti's words.Since China overthrew the Qing Dynasty and established the Republic of China, as a veteran diplomat, I watched this ancient and huge country grow stronger day by day. This is a reality that cannot be ignored.and.Zhu Erdian, who is well-informed, pays special attention to the various measures of the Chinese government, especially the development of industry and commerce and the construction of the National Defense Army. In his opinion, the strength of the Chinese government has basically stabilized.Except for a few places in the whole country, the government has been unified, and the national army has also become a modern army under the vigorous promotion of the central government. Although compared with the great powers, China's overall strength is still much weaker, but it is such a thriving country.Definitely not to be underestimated.

"Could it be that your Excellency the Ambassador has no other opinions? Perhaps the recall of the Chinese military observation team this time is a sign of their intention to join the war."

"Participating in the war?" Kang Ti was taken aback for a moment, and then laughed immediately: "Hehe, it would be a good thing if this is the case. Since the European War has been fought, almost all the boys from our two countries have been sent to the battlefield. Domestic production and frontline positions They are all extremely short of labor, and Chinese soldiers are not good at fighting. But as I said just now, the Chinese are all good coolies. If China joins the war, I, France, can just ask the Chinese government to send some laborers to Europe to assist, my ambassador , what do you think of this idea?"

"It's indeed a good idea!" Zhu Erdian nodded with a smile in agreement.But he scolded "idiot" in his stomach.In Zhu Erdian's view, if it weren't for the help of the British Empire.Your France has long been under the iron heel of the German-Austrian coalition forces, and this Konti is still proud of the French bullshit and does not let go.Doesn't he have the slightest sense of politics?God knows why the French government sent such a fool to China as an ambassador, is it because of his noble status?

The words were not speculative, and Zhu Erdian never talked about this matter with Kang Ti again. The two sides exchanged opinions on other matters. After Kang Ti got up to leave, Zhu Erdian hurried to the study and wrote a telegram.

"Your Excellency!" Hearing the ringing of the bell, an embassy military attache walked into the study quickly and saluted Zhu Erdian.

"Send this telegram to London immediately." Zhu Erdian handed over the telegram and said after a pause, "Use encryption!"

"Yes!" The military attache nodded in response, took the message and left quickly.

After lighting the cigar, Zhu Erdian walked to the window and looked at the ancient capital through the window.As a veteran and equally qualified diplomat, Zhu Erdian's sense of smell is much sharper than that of the flashy French.When he received the news that the Chinese government had recalled the European Military Observer Mission, he immediately smelled a different smell in the air.In his opinion, the Chinese would never do this innocently. According to his information, the Chinese Military Observer Group did a good job on the Eastern Front, especially Wu Peifu, the head of the Military Observer Group, is a well-known general in China. , its quality and tactical accomplishment are excellent even in the UK.

After spending so much effort and sending out so many elite backbone soldiers, are the Chinese going to give up halfway?If it was as simple as the Chinese government explained to the outside world, Zhu Erdian would never believe it.You must know that China has a history of thousands of years. In this long period of time, the wisdom of the Chinese people will definitely not be as bad as that of the African tribes. What's more, Zhu Erdian has been in China for a long time, speaks fluent Chinese, and understands Chinese people well. very deep.

Look down on a nation, but you can't look down on their wisdom and potential to survive the long years.Although Zhu Erdian looks arrogant in front of most Chinese people, there is no denying that he has always had a strange feeling about this ancient and huge country in his heart.The Chinese are poor and lazy, not united, do not follow order, love to play tricks, officials are greedy and incompetent, ordinary people are cowardly and habitually submissive, soldiers are greedy for life and afraid of death, generals are greedy for money and lustful...But in the same way, China is a country that is diligent, brave, and indomitable against foreign enemies.These contradictions are almost all concentrated together, just like the Japanese in the east, China is a country that cannot be grasped.

The longer he stayed in China, the stronger this feeling became for Zhu Erdian.This is also when the European War just broke out, Zhu Erdian was the only one who, as an ambassador of a great power country, first issued an invitation to invite the Chinese government to join the Allied Powers to participate in the war.However, due to various reasons, China finally chose neutrality. In Zhu Erdian's view, such a choice is not harmful to China. After developing, its national strength has greatly increased in just over two years.

With the continuation of the European War, almost half of the countries in the world have been involved in this damn war.The old powers are fighting in full swing. Except for the United States, which is far away in North America, temporarily watching the fire from the other side, China is the only big country that remains neutral.What makes Zhu Erdian a little puzzled is that although China has developed rapidly in the past few years and its national strength has increased a lot, the outcome of the European War is still unpredictable. It can even be said that the advantages of the Allies still have the upper hand. In this case, China The timing of joining the war is not appropriate. If he is the president of China, he can wait and join the war at the most suitable time, so as to obtain the maximum benefit at the minimum cost.

Zhu Erdian was puzzled and puzzled by this question, but Zhu Erdian was not worried about China joining the ranks of the Allies.The strength of the Allies in Asia is far stronger than that of the Allies, and no matter how idiotic the Chinese are, they would never make such a choice.It is very clear that China will benefit from joining the Allied Powers regardless of whether it wins or loses.

"Strange Chinese, what are they thinking?" Frowning, Zhu Erdian was puzzled. Although he had vaguely guessed the truth, it was because of this that he still dare not confirm it.The telegram sent just now was to report the matter to London, and hoped that the local intelligence agency could give some answers and guidance on this.

In any case, China's participation in the war is an excellent thing for the British Empire that is mired in the quagmire. With the influence of the United Kingdom in China, no matter whether the Chinese government participates in the war directly or sends labor to join the war as the French say, it can Greatly reduce the burden on the front line.Zhu Erdian has always been the advocate for China's participation in the Allied Powers, and he is of course very enthusiastic about this matter, and he will never let go of such an opportunity.

While Zhu Erdian was thinking about this matter, Fang Zida was also nervously preparing in the capital.It took a lot of effort to finally convince Yuan Shikai, Song Jiaoren and others to proceed with China's decision to join the war, but now there is not much time left for China to prepare. The Japanese Okuma cabinet will end its term in a short time. When the new cabinet comes to power, it will also be the time for the new Japanese government to make a choice.Due to Japan's economic problems, European and American countries have begun formal trade penalties against Japan, and the time for Japan to use war to get out of its predicament is running out.It's just that the Japanese government needs some time to prepare, and the old and new cabinets can only start to act after the alternation of the old and new cabinets.Qu Zhi did the math, there are at most three months left for China, and it will take at least one more month for the members of the Chinese military observation team to return to China. Very busy.

"President, a document from the Department of Defense."

"Secretary, General Staff Appropriation Request."

"President, someone from the Manufacturing Bureau..." Yang moved here with the work of the Bank and the Ministry of Finance, and faced countless problems that needed to be solved every day.It's just the financial preparations and appropriations. During this month, the money flowed out of his hands like running water. If he hadn't saved a lot of money for the Zhongyang Bank and the Ministry of Finance, the funds alone would be enough for him to have a headache that's it. (To be continued..)

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