Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 485: Assistant Minister of the Three Eastern Provinces

The Baicaogou incident had just been settled when, in early June, Japanese military police broke into the Yanji and Longyu yamen, shooting and killing soldiers and injuring officials.

They also built a police post in Liudaogou, defying the sovereignty of the Qing court.

The Qing government's Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent Hu Wei-de, the minister to Japan, to make serious representations to the Japanese government regarding the Yanji and Longyu incidents.

Unexpectedly, the Japanese envoy Ijuin lodged a counter-protest to the Qing Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Immediately afterwards, Japan used the activities of horse bandits in Yanji as an excuse to send troops to cross the river from Huining and break into Liudaogou with weapons.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a note to the Japanese envoy to lodge a protest.

Because Japan continued to send reinforcements to Yanji and deliberately provoked, the Qing court ordered Xi Liang, Qu Shaoyang and Wu Luzhen to deal with the situation properly and strive to be cautious.

At the same time, the Tsarist Russian officers and soldiers set up three red and white flags from the northeast ridge of Shacao Peak in Hunchun to the Houtun of Yangguangping, covering an area of ​​about 300 mu.

After Han Dengju learned the news, he immediately sent people to remove the flags and level the fortifications, and also sent people to debate with the Russian officers and troops.

In order to ease the conflict in the Yanbian area, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent an excerpt of a proposal on the Yanji issue to the Japanese envoy Ijuin.

It stated that if the Japanese government agreed to handle the Yanji case in accordance with the Qing court's proposal, the Qing court would make concessions on other cases as appropriate.

For example, the discussion on the new railway could be delayed, the Daying branch line could be made into the Nanman branch line, the Fushun and Yantai coal mines could be jointly run by the two countries, the Beijing-Fengtian Railway could be extended to stop at Fengtian City Wall, etc.

The Japanese envoy Ijuin was very satisfied with the concessions and compromises made by the Qing government, and further threatened the Qing government to open commercial ports and extend the Jilin-Changchun Railway to Huining.

Because the Ministry of Foreign Affairs repeatedly compromised and gave in to the Japanese envoys during the negotiations on the six unsolved cases in the three northeastern provinces.

Xi Liang, Governor-General of the Three Northeastern Provinces, Cheng Dequan, the new Fengtian Governor, Qu Shaoyang, the Jilin Governor, and Chen Yunzhe, the Heilongjiang Governor, jointly sent a telegram to the Grand Council.

He requested that the imperial court be informed to order the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take appropriate measures to restore the situation and prevent the Japanese from making further advances.

If the imperial court allows, the three provinces can send troops together to expel the Japanese army.

However, the imperial court was already overwhelmed and unable to take care of everything at this time, so how could it dare to go to war with Japan at this time?

Under the frequent pressure from Japan, the Qing government had to compromise and give in.

Not only did he not adopt the proposals of the Northeast officials, but he also sent the Minister of Foreign Affairs Liang Dunyan to sign the "Tumen River Boundary Terms" and the "Five Terms of Negotiations on the Three Eastern Provinces" with the Japanese envoy Ijuin.

Many rights were ceded in exchange for Japan not sending troops to the Yanbian region.

When the news came, the gentry and people of Jilin Province filed a petition with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, opposing the two clauses and demanding that "this proposal be cancelled in order to save the dying Jilin Province and save the dying lives of the people."

Immediately afterwards, people in the three northeastern provinces launched a boycott of Japanese goods, and people from all walks of life united to protest against the terms signed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

People from all walks of life in Beijing, Tianjin and other places also responded and supported the Northeast.

But the treaty had already been signed. No matter how much the people made a fuss, the imperial court had made up its mind and there was no point in resisting.

"Fuck, this is so frustrating. If I were in charge, I would just lead the troops and charge over. I don't care about anything else. I'll just kill them first."

Han Dengju, Wu Luzhen and others met Qu Shaoyang and cursed him angrily.

"Yes, if we were in charge, how could we let the Japanese be so arrogant?

Regardless of whether we can win or not, we have to let them know how powerful we are."

Qu Shaoyang sighed. He wanted to scold people, but what else could he do in this situation?
He couldn't really lead his troops to fight the Japanese again, right?

He was not afraid of fighting, as he had fought against the Japanese before.

The current Dingbian Army is no longer what it was when it fought against the Japanese invaders. If a real war breaks out, the Japanese will definitely be taught a lesson.

But if a war really breaks out, how long can the Dingbian Army hold out without any backup?

I'm afraid that if the court and other local officials knew about this, they would laugh at Qu Shaoyang for overestimating his own abilities.

Why bother? If the imperial court was willing to give it up, why would Qu Shaoyang be reluctant to give it up?
Anyway, the imperial court has only been in power for two years, and it is not certain who will have the final say in the three northeastern provinces in the future. We will talk about it when that day comes.

The Yanbian dispute caused an uproar in the three northeastern provinces, the people became increasingly dissatisfied with the court, and many government decrees were resisted.

Xiliang requested to resign because the situation in the three eastern provinces was critical and it was difficult to get things done.

The Qing court refused and ordered him to continue serving as Governor-General of the Three Northeastern Provinces.

Xiliang petitioned the court to establish an assistant minister in the three northeastern provinces to assist in frontier reclamation, military affairs, diplomacy and many other matters, and recommended Qu Shaoyang for the position.

At the same time, Xi Liang approved the change of the original system of joint reporting of the three provinces' official affairs by the governors and governors-general to a system where all routine matters would be drafted by the governor of Jilin Province.

For important and special events, the governor will draft the document and then send it to the governor-general for approval. Or the governor-general will be consulted first before the final draft is made.

In this way, the status of the Jilin Governor exceeded that of the other two provinces, and he was only a small step away from taking charge of the affairs of the three northeastern provinces.

In late June and early July, heavy rains hit Northeast China.

The Songhua River, Piao River, Lafa River, Niu River, Tuanshanzi River, Qitamu River, Lalin River, Mudan River and other rivers in Jilin Province have risen sharply.

Fortunately, in recent years, Jilin Province has developed water conservancy projects and rivers in various places have been widened.

In addition, after last year's flood, Qu Shaoyang ordered all localities to strengthen the embankments, and this year all localities also gave proper instructions.

Therefore, although the rain caused disasters, the damage to most areas was not serious.

Only crops in Fenghua, Nong'an, Changchun, Anguang, Huaide and Mu'e were destroyed and some houses were collapsed, but there were no casualties.

The three provinces of Fengtian, Jilin and Heilongjiang all suffered losses to varying degrees. After reporting the losses to the court, the Qing government allocated 60,000 taels to provide relief to the victims in Jilin.

At the same time, the Jilin Provincial Advisory Council Preparatory Office, Jilin Chamber of Commerce and other organizations also raised large sums of disaster relief funds to help the victims tide over the difficulties.

After the flood, all localities rushed to clean up mud and dirt, disinfect and eliminate viruses, and repair houses, so that the victims could return home as soon as possible and resume production and life.

At the same time, Qu Shaoyang ordered the establishment of an agricultural product company in Changchun Prefecture.

Funds were raised by the official silver banks of the three northeastern provinces and the official post office of Jilin to pre-purchase grain and beans from farmers to protect them from harm caused by pre-purchases of grain and beans by foreign businessmen.

Doing so can store large quantities of grain and beans, which can then be sold during the lean period, thereby adjusting the grain market and avoiding problems such as food shortages.

Afterwards, the Jilin Official Postage Bureau and the Official Money Bureau merged to form the Jilin Yongheng Official Silver and Money Shop, which had a capital of 10 million yuan in cash. The currencies it issued included Yongheng Official Postage, Jilin Dayang, Jilin Small Dollars, etc.

After Qu Zhenwu graduated from high school, he was sent to study at the Fengtian Military Academy as agreed with Qu Shaoyang.

Also going to the Fengtian Military Academy were Han Xiutang and many children from the families of Dingbian Army generals.

As the eldest son of the Han family, Han Xiutang will definitely take over Han Dengju's responsibility in the future, lead the militia, and manage the gold field. He should first go to the Military Academy to train himself so that he can take on big responsibilities in the future.

As for the others, those brats who came from military families mostly didn’t want to study and just loved wielding swords and guns. It was just right for them to be sent to the Military Academy to hone their skills.

After these children have completed their studies, we will find a way to send them to military academies in Germany or the United States for further study.

Qu Shaoyang wanted to train Zhenwu and others well, so that he could train a force that could adapt to mountain special operations in the future as the secret weapon of the Dingbian Army. "There are dormitories in the Military Academy, and you will all live in the dormitories. When you are on vacation, you can go to your second uncle's house to visit your grandparents.

You must be polite, follow the rules, don't cause trouble, and don't cause trouble for your second uncle. Do you hear me?

If I find out that you are not honest, I will definitely beat you up." Before leaving, Qu Shaoyang specifically reminded Zhenwudao.

Although Zhenwu was born to Meng Lanxin, Chen Xiuyun was the principal wife, and all the children in the family were registered under her name.

Therefore, the Chen family is the maternal grandparents of Zhenwu, Zhenzong and other children. There is nothing wrong with what Qu Shaoyang said.

"Remember your father's words. You insisted on going to the Military Academy. If you find it hard to live there and don't want to stay, I will break your legs without your father telling you."

Meng Lanxin carefully arranged her son's clothes, but she was harsh in her words and threatened him severely.

"Oh, I know, Mom, you've said it many times."

Zhenwu is now obsessed with going to the Military Academy and can't wait to reach Fengtian. How can he have the patience to listen to Meng Lanxin's chatter?

"You little brat, you've grown up and become capable, right? You're even tired of listening to me."

With Meng Lanxin's temper, could she spoil her son? She slapped her son on the back.

Zhenwu got slapped, but he grinned instead.

"Listen, listen, I'll listen to whatever mom says. Don't worry, I'm old enough to take care of myself."

Not only did Qu Shaoyang and Meng Lanxin give earnest instructions to Zhenwu, but the other families also gave instructions to their own sons.

When you go to the Military Academy, you must study hard, not get into trouble, not associate with bad people, and not learn other people's bad habits such as eating, drinking, whoring, gambling, etc.

As they were talking, the other end shouted that it was time to check the tickets, so everyone hurried over to check the tickets and sent the children on the train.

After Zhenwu and others arrived in Fengtian, they immediately sent a telegram saying that they had arrived safely and that everything was settled in the Military Academy and that everything was fine.

In this way, the family members can feel at ease. The children have grown up and it is time to let them go out and explore the world.

In early August, Xiliang petitioned the court to change the Binjiang Road of Jilin Province to the Northwest Road of Jilin, while remaining stationed in Harbin, patrolling the northwest area of ​​Jilin and concurrently managing Harbin's customs and commercial port negotiations.

The West Route was changed to the Southwest Route, and it was still stationed in Changchun, patrolling the southwestern area of ​​Jilin, and also managing Changchun’s customs and commercial port negotiations.

At this point, the northeastern, southeastern, northwestern and southwestern roads of Jilin Province have all been governed, and each road has been equipped with military units.

It was August and the Mid-Autumn Festival was not far away. Qu Shaoyang asked Chen Xiuyun to prepare a lot of festival gifts and send them to Beijing, Miyun, Fengtian and other places.

Zhang Xiulan is still the governor of Zhili and is stationed in Gubeikou, northeast of Miyun.

Qu Shaoyang never broke off contact with Zhang Xiulan and would send people to send gifts to him on every festival and birthday.

Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional festival and also a major festival. The proper etiquette should not be forgotten.

At the beginning of spring, Xu Shichang was transferred back to the capital to serve as the Minister of Posts and Communications. This man was cautious in his actions. He was able to follow the trend and implement new policies, but he also did not alienate the old school and dignitaries. It can be said that he was eclectic and able to get along with both sides.

Therefore, only a few months after returning to Beijing, he was appointed as the assistant minister of the Grand Council and was granted the title of minister of military affairs.

Before and after Xu Shichang's transfer, he always kept in touch with Qu Shaoyang, and the two exchanged letters frequently.

The festival is coming soon, so I must send a gift and say hello.

In official circles, the most taboo is to make friends with people as soon as they are hired. It will not work if you don't do your best in normal times and then try to get things done at the last minute.

Qu Shaoyang is well aware of this truth, so regardless of whether they have any interactions on a daily basis, he maintains a certain connection with many people.

As for Fengtian, in addition to Governor Xiliang, there is naturally also the Chen family.

It's the holiday season, and Qu Shaoyang and his wife are both busy and have no time to go back to visit, so they can only send a holiday gift to express their gratitude.

By August 13, the Fenglin telegraph line had been completed, with a total length of 1,080 miles and a cost of more than 60,000 taels of silver.

From then on, Linjiang could send telegrams directly to many places.

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Xingye, who had gone to the capital to give gifts, returned to Jilin City and brought back gifts from Xu Shichang and Zhang Xiulan, as well as reply letters.

In the letter, Zhang Xiulan said that he missed Qu Shaoyang and the children of the Qu family very much, and asked the children to go to places like Gubeikou to relax when they were free.

The Zhili Governor was a first-rank military officer in the Qing Dynasty, in charge of the Green Camp of the Qing Army in the Zhili area.

He was responsible for guarding the capital and garrisoning Hebei, Tianjin, as well as Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, Fengtian, and part of Mongolia. He was under the control of the Governor-General of Zhili and was the highest military commander of the Green Camp in Zhili province.

However, the admiral only has the right to train, not the right to mobilize troops.

Moreover, ever since Old Yuan returned to his hometown to recuperate, Zhang Xiulan has been in an awkward situation. Although he has not been dismissed from his post, he is not valued either.

Although Zhang Xiulan didn't say it explicitly in the letter, one could reveal some clues between the lines.

Qu Shaoyang didn't know what to say about these things. He just replied that he wanted Zhang Xiulan to take care of his health and that he would bring the children to visit him when he had the chance in the future.

As for the letter from Xu Shichang, it revealed a lot of information.

The other things were minor. The most important thing was that Xu Shichang asked in the letter whether Zhenye was engaged at the moment.

Xu Shichang's sixth brother has a daughter who is only fourteen years old this year. She is both talented and beautiful, and is still waiting to be married.

Xu Shichang intended to act as a matchmaker and marry his niece to Zhenye, and asked Qu Shaoyang what he thought.

"Wife, this is a letter from Lord Xu, he said he wants to marry his niece to our Zhenye.

What do you think about this? Is it feasible?

Since this matter concerned his son's lifelong affairs, Qu Shaoyang couldn't make the decision on his own, so he took the letter and went to find Chen Xiuyun.

Chen Xiuyun took the letter and read it, and she was in a dilemma.

If the second brother was at home, everything would be easy. Just ask him if he is willing. Otherwise, find a way to let the second brother go to Lord Xu's sixth brother and find a chance to meet him.

But Zhenye is still studying in the United States. It’s not a good idea for him and his wife to arrange the marriage without their son’s consent, right?
"Shaoyang, it's best for us to ask our son what he thinks about this matter.

After all, he is the one marrying his wife, so he has to be happy about it. " Chen Xiuyun thought for a long time and finally said.

At least the eldest brother met He Zewen at that time, and now both of them are studying in Germany, and they are said to be getting along pretty well.

Going to the second son, at least asking his son what he thinks, is also a possibility.

"Well, okay, then I'll find a way to send a telegram to the second brother and ask him what he means." Qu Shaoyang also had this idea.

After all, marriage is a big deal, so we should be democratic. If our son has a happy marriage, our parents will be happy too.

(End of this chapter)