Master Yuan, start!

Yuan Shikai originally wanted to persuade Li Hongzhang to surrender and put up less resistance so that the Southern Kingdom could retain some vitality.

After all, the situation had reached this point, and he couldn't think of any need for Li Hongzhang to continue to resist.

This isn't a fight between ideologies, is it really necessary to die?

However, seeing Li Hongzhang's refusal to comply, Yuan Shikai immediately lost interest.

If you voluntarily seek death, no one can save you.

Thinking of this, Yuan Xiangcheng turned around and took eight big steps towards the railing of the terrace, once again facing the thousands of people gathered here on the third floor.

He cleared his throat and shouted:

"Today, as the President of the Republic, I issue an appeal to all citizens of the Republic of China!

All Chinese people, all just Chinese people, all Chinese people who are unwilling to engage in despicable activities!

Assassination will not scare the brave people, nor will it frighten the people!

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The National Revolutionary Army has won battle after battle, and they will eventually achieve final victory!

The Chinese can die on the anti-Japanese beaches in Korea, die in the ice and snow outside the Great Wall while fighting against the Russians, and drown in the endless abyss of the Whale Sea.

But the Chinese must never die at the hands of the Chinese, in a shameful assassination!"

Yuan Xiangcheng took out the manuscript of the memorial to Liu Bingzhang he had written from his arms, waved his right arm, and threw it into the air with all his strength.

Then he shouted again: "Today, as the President of the Republic of China, I declare!

March towards Lingnan, march towards Guangdong, march towards Guangzhou, the home of the murderer Li family! "

Chapter 384 Different People's Hearts

"My fellow citizens, although Sichuan Governor Liu Bingzhang is dead, the spirit of the Republic lives on!

We are committed to the revolution and the establishment of a new country, with the interests of the country and the people as our highest goal.

The assassination in Wanxian County was the most despicable act since the founding of the Republic.

March towards Lingnan, march towards Guangdong, march towards Guangzhou where the Li family is entrenched! "

After Yuan Xiangcheng's passionate speech, there was already an uproar under the Yellow Crane Tower.

Reporters from three foreign newspapers, the North China Herald, the North China Daily News and the South China Morning Post, who had come all the way from Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, quickly took out pen and paper and translated the previous passage into English, French and German and wrote it down in their notebooks.

They knew that if Yuan Shikai was not joking, once the news spread, China would be plunged into a new round of wars from north to south.

The last time General Yuan issued an anti-Manchu declaration, he not only drove the Russians back to the shores of Lake Baikal, but also led to the establishment of an "international trusteeship autonomous region" of one million square kilometers in Northeast Asia.

This time, after he issued the anti-Li declaration, who else suffered besides the Huai Army?

"It's most likely France. Who got them involved in the dispute between North and South China?"

Hans, the German reporter, put away his pen, closed his notebook, and glanced back and forth between the British and French reporters.

"Outside the European continent, especially in East Asia, France seems to be more of a troublemaker than the British."

: German journalist Hans secretly belittled France's East Asian colonial policy.

However, Hans changed his mind and thought that this was not a bad idea. He pondered silently in his heart.

"The more France was distracted by its Asian colonies, the less energy it had to devote to Africa and Europe.

8 Humph, stupid French people, they seem to think that economic prosperity can help them get out of the shadow of the disastrous defeat in the Franco-Prussian War.

^Only 20 years had passed, and the new generation of French people had forgotten the humiliating experience of their fathers at the Palace of Versailles.

Only iron and blood are the foundation of a strong country! "

The thoughts in W Germany Hans' mind have drifted into the sky.

"Are our Colonial Office officials all a bunch of idiots? Why don't they stop the actions of the Taiwan colony?!"

0After closing his notebook, the French reporter also expressed his feelings.

What he complained about was also France's colonial policy.

French journalists really don't understand why the Taiwanese colonial authorities want to interfere in China's internal affairs.

Didn’t the disastrous defeat of China’s Hunan Army teach them a lesson?

Or was it that the French Foreign Legion's early withdrawal from the Sino-Russian War made them feel ashamed and they wanted to get back at each other?

Why, France once again stood against China.

One thing that is difficult for later generations to imagine is that by the end of the 19th century, France had colonized almost all of West Africa, Madagascar, and half of the Indochina Peninsula.

To date, the number of employees in the Colonial Office does not exceed 140.

Yes, these 140 people had to deal with French colonies all over the world.

They unraveled the mysteries of various French colonies with completely different political, economic and cultural features, helping France avoid problems while gaining the greatest possible benefits.

Obviously, this is unrealistic.

There were no computers at the end of the 19th century, so even if these 140 people worked 996 every day, they would still be too busy.

As a result, French colonies were often left to the discretion of local officials, and this phenomenon was more severe the farther from Paris the colonies were.

This is why, although the French were extremely obsessed with colonies in history, they were willing to go to war to defend their Algerian and Vietnamese colonies.

But the fate of the French colonial empire was not even as bad as that of the free-falling British Empire.

The French colonial officials were too focused on profit.

In their view, the more severe the exploitation, the better the economic data will be.

How is it possible to expect a governor who has been serving in the colony for two years to have long-term plans for France's colonial policy?

Anyway, they are all short-term political achievements, so it is better to make a quick buck and get promoted and return to Paris, live in a big house, and eat delicious foie gras.

"I'm going to submit an article to Le Figaro to show them how the Republic's colonies are run by a bunch of idiots!"

The French reporter was so indignant that he wished he could teleport back to Shanghai to send a transoceanic telegram.

The British reporter on the side put away his pen and looked at Yuan Shikai on the Yellow Crane Tower, his eyes full of anticipation.

"This is a victory for the British Empire!"

As far as he knew, the trade volume of the bonded areas in northern China in the first half of this year had surpassed the entire year of 1895, and was still maintaining rapid growth.

The bonded areas in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other places are also currently undergoing intensive planning.

If a bonded area can be built in the Lingnan region, with the support of bonded areas across the country, the UK's trade volume with China will undoubtedly rise to a higher level.

Choosing General Yuan instead of cooperating with the Qing Dynasty or other local governors was the best choice for British diplomats in China.

"However, the French vision is still as bad as ever." The British reporter glanced at the French reporter next to him and thought to himself:

"Louis XVI supported American independence and established a republic, but was ultimately guillotined by radical republican citizens of Paris.

Napoleon III supported Italy's independence, but he did not expect that after independence, Italy would take advantage of the Franco-Prussian War to demand that France return the occupied territories of Nice and Savoy.

Now, France is once again supporting Li Hongzhang. Aren't they really afraid that the war will spread to Vietnam?"

British journalists felt sorry for French Prime Minister Jules Méline, who had just come to power.

"Whatever the outcome of the war, it looks like the French will be getting another prime minister.

However, the citizens of Paris are probably used to it. After all, the Third Republic reshuffled its cabinet every eight months on average, so changing the prime minister was not a big deal.

At the foot of the Yellow Crane Tower, journalists from Germany, France, and Britain had already figured out how to deliver their latest "Far East Situation Editorial" to European newspapers.

At the same time, Yuan Xiangcheng had already aroused the emotions of the people downstairs.

"Support the President! March towards Guangzhou!" some Social Revolutionary Party members raised their arms and shouted.

"Support the President! The murderer Li Jingfang must pay with his life!" Some people who hold a simple view of good and evil also shouted.

Those who spoke out first were all die-hard believers who believed in Yuan Shikai from the beginning to the end and firmly believed that Yuan Shikai would never give instructions for assassination.

Among the people under the Yellow Crane Tower, in addition to these people, there were naturally opponents who had previously shouted that "Yuan Xiangcheng was an assassin."

Among the opponents, some people really firmly believe that Yuan Shikai is the mastermind behind the incident.

But more people are the masses who are being coerced and deceived.

However, since ancient times, evil has never suppressed good.

When hundreds of Liu Shiliang's telegrams were scattered in the air;

When Leng Kaisong, Huang Dezhai, and Chen Jiongming were crushed to the ground in front of the Yellow Crane Tower;

When Li Jingfang turned his back to the people below, leaning against the railing and collapsing on the ground;

These people suddenly realized that they had been cheated.

They looked at the unhappy faces of Yuan Xiangcheng's supporters next to them, fearing they would be beaten up, and quickly stretched out their hands and spoke out to defend themselves, saying that they were also "supporters of Yuan."

"You know, I always believed in the President."

...

Listening to the shouts of the crowd downstairs and seeing the British, French and German reporters writing furiously in their notebooks, Yuan Xiangcheng knew that the situation was no longer in danger of reversal.

Englishmen, I am about to fulfill my obligation to involve the French in the Far East, so don't forget to keep feeding me!

At this moment, Yuan Xiangcheng only wanted to go faster and faster.

The sooner he unified the country, the sooner he could concentrate resources and plunge into the frenzy of capitalist world development that began in 1896.

Chapter 385: The Split of the Huai Clan

Chengdu, the land of abundance.

The summer cicadas were chirping, the dogs were sticking out their tongues, and the animals outside the city were listless, looking as if they were suffering from the scorching heat.

However, the people in the city were in a completely different situation.

Every Sichuan New Army soldier in the city had a white cuff tied on his left arm.

Almost every household had a piece of white cloth hung on its door, and the entrance to the Sichuan Governor's Mansion was also filled with elegiac couplets presented by the wealthy families in the city.

After the news of Liu Bingzhang's death came, the whole city of Chengdu was plunged into unspeakable grief.

Although Liu Bingzhang came from a feudal bureaucratic family, he truly regarded himself as a local governor and treated the people of Sichuan with all his heart and responsibility.