Years of the Republic of China 1913

() Great changes have taken place in Tsarist Russia, and the happiest is the Allies, especially Germany.

Compared with the elite German army, Tsarist Russia's army is almost scum. Since the start of the war, Tsarist Russia lost a large area of ​​land, was beaten up by the Germans, and retreated steadily, almost losing the capital.But that's it, with the vast territory and huge population base of Tsarist Russia, they are desperately piling up with their lives, like an unbeatable Xiaoqiang, even if the Germans beat back and forth with left uppercuts and right jabs, they just refuse to take it easy fall down.

This result made the Germans completely speechless. They watched the other party crumbling but refused to admit defeat. As a result, Germany could only devote nearly half of its national power and military power to the Eastern Front and repeatedly entangled with Tsarist Russia. From the point of view of the German General Staff If it hadn't been for Tsarist Russia to contain the troops on the Eastern Front, Germany would have defeated its Western Front opponents long ago with German military strength, thus winning the war.Now that Tsarist Russia has finally fallen, the Germans are all rejoicing from top to bottom. In their view, victory is not far away, and the war in Europe will end in a short time.

Compared with the Allies, the Allies were worried.The fall of Tsarist Russia made the Allies withdraw their hands from the Eastern Front and concentrate their efforts on the Western Front.If this is the case, the already exhausted British and French coalition forces will suffer major setbacks and face the strongest pressure since the start of the war. If they cannot withstand the footsteps of the Germans, they may lose the war. The member states met urgently, and Britain and France first reached a consensus, announcing to the outside world that they would continue to recognize the tsarist rule, and would not accept the provisional government as the orthodox government of tsarist Russia, exerting diplomatic pressure.Force the interim government to hand over power to Nicholas II again.

This is superficial, private.Britain and France sent representatives to contact the provisional government of Tsarist Russia and set out conditions.Britain and France promised that as long as the interim government continued to fulfill the obligations of the members of the Allied Powers and did not terminate the war with the Allies, they would officially recognize the legitimacy of the interim government.

In addition, due to the sudden change in the situation in Europe, Britain and France urgently requested other members of the Allied Powers, especially China and Japan, to join the war as soon as possible.From the beginning of the war to the present. As a member of the Allied Powers, Japan only declared war on the Allied Powers on the surface, but did not fulfill any obligation to participate in the war. Instead, it fought with China in the Far East, which has caused extreme dissatisfaction within the Allied Powers.

Compared with Japan, although China has not sent troops to fight, it has fulfilled the obligations of the members of the Allied Powers in terms of war materials.Although Britain, France and other countries didn't say anything, they knew in their hearts that if it wasn't for the support of the Chinese people.The collapse of Tsarist Russia is likely to be much earlier than it is now. The war has reached this point, and it is not easy for Tsarist Russia to support it until now.

The British ambassador Zhu Erdian quickly received domestic orders and delivered the request of the British government to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, followed by the French of course, and their requests were similar in content.It is to let China, as a member of the Allied Powers, immediately fulfill its obligations and send troops to Europe.

Like the Chinese, the Japanese side also got these requests.For these two countries, what Britain and France value is Japan's navy, which is known as the number one in the Far East, and China's huge population base.they think.As long as China and Japan jointly send troops to fill the gap left by Tsarist Russia.Who wins this war may be salvaged.

Upon receiving the news, Song Jiaoren hastily called a cabinet meeting to discuss the situation.In the meeting, there were far more people who opposed sending troops than those who were in favor of sending troops, because in the eyes of many people, the collapse of Tsarist Russia indicated that the balance point of the European war had slipped to the Allies, and formally sending troops at this time was not a wise choice.Once the Allied Powers lost the war, the fate of China as a defeated country can be imagined. Some people even proposed to take advantage of the great changes in Tsarist Russia to let China withdraw from the Allied Powers, choose neutrality again, or directly join the Allied Powers camp.

There are not a few people who hold these opinions, and even Wu Peifu feels that it is unwise to continue to follow the Allies under such circumstances. Regardless of the war situation or the international situation, the Allies have the upper hand. The soldiers are elite and ferocious. From a military point of view, he believes that the Allies will probably defeat the Allied Powers because of the collapse of Tsarist Russia.

Even Wu Peifu thinks so, let alone others.But Fang Zida knew very well that the difficult days of the Allied Powers were only short-lived, because just like the collapse of Tsarist Russia, the Allied Powers also had such a crisis.

The first to bear the brunt is the Ottoman Empire. This old empire has long lost its glory in the past. Although it is still one of the ancient European empires and has a land spanning three states, the country has long been decayed, with high debts and people living in dire straits. Otherwise, the Ottoman Empire would not have jumped into the arms of the Allies without hesitation for the benefit of a mere [-] million francs.

Second, is the Austro-Hungarian Empire.As the protagonist of the outbreak of the war and the brotherly ally of the Germans, the Austro-Hungarian Empire also reached the point of collapse in this war.Domestic conflicts are intensifying, but progress on the battlefield is in vain, making the imperial rule shaky.Once the two great empires fall together, Germany will face the situation of fighting alone. At that time, no matter how powerful the Germans are, they will be no match for four hands with two fists, and they will inevitably be beaten to death by the pact countries.

In addition to these, there are Yankees who have been watching the fire from the other side and have not made a move.Don't look at the Yankees who keep shouting the slogans of peace and min zhu, but their hands are not soft at all when they start the war. Of course, the same is true for Fang Zida. US capital cooperation.But the Yankees are preparing quietly while making a fortune. The so-called staying away from wars and never participating in wars is just for ordinary people. ?From the European War to the present, any incident can be used as a reason. For politicians, this is a trivial matter that is simpler than eating and drinking.

In the cabinet meeting, there were endless discussions on whether to send troops to participate in the war. Almost all the chief ministers of the cabinet opposed sending troops. Even Cao Rulin, the Minister of Foreign Affairs who had always supported Fang Zida, felt that it would be better to hold off on sending troops to see the situation before making a decision.But Fang Zida didn't think so. He was the first to agree to send troops, and decided to send [-] troops to Europe in one go to join the war.Fang Zida's point of view was opposed by many people, even Liao Zhongkai felt that this was too hasty and did not support his decision.But to Fang Zida's surprise, there were not many people who agreed, but the people who were in favor were not the General Staff, but the Ministry of National Defense. Duan Zhigui, as Duan Qirui's spokesperson, actually voted for Fang Zida in the cabinet meeting. He expressed support.

The meeting ended with no results. Song Jiaoren was deeply concerned about this, and decided to make a decision after careful consideration.Like China, Japan itself is hesitant about this, and the Japanese cabinet has formed two major factions on whether to send troops to Europe, each holding their own views and arguing endlessly.A few days later, Fang Zida approached Song Jiaoren in private for an in-depth discussion, and told him the reasons for sending troops, and asked the Chinese government to negotiate with Britain, France and other countries on the division of interests after the victory of the war before sending troops, so as to ensure that China's interests will not be dissatisfied. damaged.In addition, Fang Zida also brought a message to Song Jiaoren, that is, the US government has considered joining the treaty countries to participate in the war. If you miss the best opportunity, you will lose a lot. What's more, even if you send troops, the mobilization, assembly and transportation of [-] troops cannot be completed in a short period of time. The Chinese government's sending troops is nothing more than a gesture in the final analysis, maybe By the time the troops arrive in Europe, the war may not necessarily be over.And China's early response can force the Allied Powers to make international concessions and make a decision in favor of China for the division of power after peace comes in the future. This is of great benefit to the country.

Then again, what if the Allied Powers lose in the end?Germany is a European country and does not border China. The same is true for the rest of the allied countries. It does not have much influence in the Far East. For China, the worst situation is not much worse.Moreover, at worst, the Chinese government will also learn from Italy at that time, switching from the allies to the agreement countries, and generally changing camps in front of the battle.

"However, one hundred thousand troops... It's not a trivial matter to send out so many troops." Song Jiaoren was moved by Fang Zida's words, but he hesitated after thinking about it.

"Brother Dunchu, it is true that we sent [-] troops, but we didn't say that we would pull out the National Defense Forces in the establishment! Couldn't we organize some new troops or send some local troops to Europe? Isn't this a good thing that kills two birds with one stone? ?”

Song Jiaoren's eyes lit up, Fang Zida's words reminded him.After several years of building up the National Defense Forces, the local power is not as good as before, but after all, it cannot be eradicated for a while. It would be good to solve local problems by sending troops, but what about weapons, equipment, etc.?One hundred thousand troops, this is a huge consumption!

In this regard, Fang Zida came up with another opinion, which is to refer to the lease terms of the Americans to Britain, France, the Soviet Union and other countries during World War II.You Britain and France are anxious to let the Chinese go to Europe to fight, yes!But weapons and equipment, including logistics, etc. must be provided by you, and the command of the battlefield must also be under the command of the Chinese Communist Party.If you can’t come up with the money, it’s okay, you, Britain and France, will provide guarantees to the Americans, and then the United States will underwrite the war bonds of the Chinese government, plus joint funding, so as to purchase weapons and other equipment for the army. In this way, you can get the best of both worlds what?

"What if they refuse?"

"No, the British and the French will definitely agree. You must know that we are their lifeline now!" Fang Zida replied with a smile, and Song Jiaoren smiled after thinking for a moment. (To be continued. Welcome to the starting point (qidian.) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation.)