Republic of China: I am a great warlord, many children, many blessings

At the end of the 19th century, in the struggle for European hegemony and the division of colonies, the major capitalist countries had formed two mutually hostile military aggression groups, namely the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Italy and the Triple Entente of Britain, France and Russia.

Entering the 20th century, Germany quickly became powerful.

Germany's clamor for a redivision of the world posed a serious threat to old colonial powers such as Britain and France.

Germany's plan to build the Baghdad Railway directly infringed on Britain's interests in West Asia, North Africa and India.

On July 7, with the support of Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Serbia using the Sarajevo incident as an excuse.

In accordance with relevant treaties, Tsarist Russia announced a general military mobilization on July 7 to support Serbia.

In early August, the Central Powers Germany and Austria and the Allied Powers France, Britain and Russia declared war on each other.

The war thus began in full swing.

World War I broke out.

Instantly the world's attention began to focus.

At the same time, Yuan Datou sent a telegram to the whole country to issue orders.

'The Beiyang government insisted on not interfering in the war among European countries.

Do not participate in any party's disputes and be determined to maintain strict neutrality'

At the same time, orders were given to Shen Hao.

'

This battle is an internal struggle among European countries. In order to prevent the war from spreading to the inland of the Beiyang government, this order is issued:

Order Shen Hao to be the Chief of the Navy and command all the naval forces.

Immediately take over all combat ships and civilian vessels of Germany and Austria in China.

Disarm the British, American, Japanese, German and other warships in the Yangtze River and send warships to monitor them.

After receiving the order, Shen Hao immediately dispatched troops to control the coastline of Qingdao and all the warships in the Yangtze River in Magic City and Tianjin.

Not only that, Shen Hao also dispatched three U-boats and a battleship to be stationed near Qingdao.

Qingdao is currently German territory, and Yuan Shikai has no right to remove the warships from Qingdao.

At the same time, Shen Hao immediately headed north.

Because Shen Hao knew that after the outbreak of World War I, the Japanese would announce their joining the war.

Of course, the Japanese wouldn't be so kind.

The Japanese's target was naturally Qingdao.

As long as Qingdao is captured, it will be very simple. The Japanese will have a reason to occupy Qingdao.

When World War I is over and the Treaty of Paris is signed, the fate of weak countries without diplomacy will be repeated.

On August 10th, Shen Hao came to Zhong Nanhai.

I saw Yuan Datou again.

"¨ˇ Shen Hao, take a look at this. This is what the German ambassador Martinez just sent. What do you think we should do?"

Shen Hao took the document and started reading it.

The document is four or five pages long, but the core content is just one sentence.

Germany was willing to hand over Qingdao unconditionally, but the Beiyang government wanted to announce its joining the Allies.

After reading the document, Shen Hao said: "I suggest that we continue the negotiations and nominally remain neutral.

But there is still preparation.

We must strike first, take advantage of the opportunity to surround Qingdao, and use both soft and hard tactics to force Germany to hand it over;

We can guarantee the safety of their troops and merchant ships in the Beiyang Sea.

Once China joined the Allies, it would likely give Tsarist Russia and Japan an excuse to invade.

Germany now also wants to withdraw its troops stationed in Qingdao."

Hearing this, Yuan Datou nodded, lit a cigar, and began to ponder.

After a moment, Yuan Datou said: "Your idea coincides with that of Secretary-General Liang Shiyi, which makes sense given the situation, but I have already declared neutrality and have diplomatic disputes with Japan, so it seems inappropriate to do so."

Shen Hao felt somewhat disappointed. The Beiyang warlords were really spineless.

The Beiyang government was truly cowardly in the face of Western powers. It launched heavy attacks internally and begged for mercy externally.

They are good at fighting among themselves, but not good at defending their rights externally.

Such a good opportunity, why are you still hesitating?

Taking a deep breath, Shen Hao said again: "I still stick to my opinion. I can personally negotiate with German Minister Martin and ask them to hand over Qingdao unconditionally."

331. The Japanese Threat

Seeing Yuan Datou wavering, Shen Hao said again: "Germany will definitely lose this European war. This is an important opportunity for us to strive for international status. We must not lose it."

Yuan Datou thought for a while and said: "Okay, then we will fight and take back Qingdao.

Shen Hao, you have an appointment with the Eagle Country's envoy, Zhu Erdian."

Originally, Shen Hao's idea was to negotiate directly with the Germans. If they refused to obey, he would just fight them. There was nothing to be afraid of anyway.

But Yuan Shikai didn't dare to do that and still wanted to unite with the Eagle people.

Shen Hao nodded in agreement, and without any further ado, he went straight to find the Eagle Country's Minister, Zhu Erdian.

"Minister Jordan, President Yuan has proposed that we join the Allied Powers.

Together they formed the Sino-British coalition to jointly attack the German Far East Expeditionary Force stationed in Qingdao.

The Eagle Country envoy Zhu Erdian smiled, smoked a cigar and said calmly: "General Shen, we in the Eagle Country can handle the Germans, we don't need your help.

With you around, I feel like I’m being held back.”

Hearing this, Shen Hao felt furious, but he suppressed it.

I sneered in my heart, I'm afraid you won't be able to laugh after the battle.

World War I was also the source of the British Empire's decline.

Just wait and see.

When Shen Hao told Yuan Datou the news that British Minister Jordan had refused, Yuan Datou did not give up. He bypassed Jordan and made a direct proposal to the British government in the form of a government statement.

If the Beiyang government joined the Allied Powers, which were mainly composed of Britain and France, it could send troops to participate in the war against Germany and Austria.

When the news reached the Eagle Country Congress, everyone burst into laughter.

"Yuan 043 is really overestimating his own capabilities. A small agricultural civilization wants to help the British Empire. It's really like an ant trying to shake a tree."

"Hahahaha, they don't even have a decent navy, yet they dare to dream of forming an alliance with us. How dare they?"

"Like a clown, I think this war will be over in a few months"

"Seconded"

It can be said that the entire British Parliament voted against it.

All British MPs believed that this battle would not last long and did not need the support of an agricultural country at all, which would be a joke.

The First World War broke out, and the dark cloud of global war hung over all mankind;

At the same time, consuls from various countries began to get busy.

But the news had not yet been reported back to the country, so Yuan Datou convened a meeting at the General's Mansion.

Nan Tang Jirao, Guangdong and Guangxi Inspector General Shen Hao, Guizhou Long Jiguang, Hubei Duan Zhigui, Hunan Tang Xiangming, Shanxi Yan Xishan.

Vice President Li Yuanhong, Army General Duan Qirui, Secretary of State Xu Shichang, and heads of various ministries.

The meeting was chaired by Liang Shiyi, the then Secretary-General of the President and the "Second President".

Liang Shiyi looked around and said directly: "This time we will mainly discuss three issues."

"Will the Beiyang government participate in this world war or continue to remain neutral?"

"If we Beiyang join the war, will we join the Allied Powers or the Central Powers?"

“After entering the war, should we declare war on Germany?”

“Everyone, please share your opinions.”

Everyone fell silent.

At this time, Tang Ji said: "I think we should remain neutral and not participate in the war. After all, it is not good for us."

"I second the motion," said Tang Xingming.

“I think we should fight”

"It's best to let them fight each other, and we can just sit back and watch."

Seeing everyone talking, Duan Zhigui said to Shen Hao: "Brother Shen, do you think we should fight or remain neutral?"

"Germany is willing to give us Qingdao without a war, but I'm afraid it may not be possible," Shen Hao said;

"Why?" Duan Zhigui asked in confusion;

"They have evil intentions and have long coveted our territory. They will definitely stop us."

Hearing this, Duan Zhigui was a little bit unconvinced.

When different parties were expressing their opinions, Yuan Datou stretched out his hand and the noisy hall became quiet.

Yuan Datou looked at Shen Hao and said, "Then let Navy Chief Shen Hao give us his opinion."

Everyone looked at Shen Hao, with a complex mixture of jealousy, disdain, envy and admiration.

Shen Hao said: "First of all, what does the European battle have to do with us in Asia?

However, we can recover our local territory. The German Minister Martin has already agreed and expressed his willingness to return the Jiaozhou Bay leased territory directly to us.

We can remain neutral and take Qingdao peacefully. Why not?

Everyone was in an uproar!

Obviously, this news was something they had not expected.

After being rejected by the British Minister to China, Sir John Jordan, Shen Hao went directly to the German Minister to China, Martin, who expressed his willingness to give up Qingdao.

Yuan Datou was also a little surprised, and suddenly overjoyed. Of course he was happy to be able to take back Qingdao without any effort.

So he said: "Okay, in this case, we will continue to remain neutral. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Cao Rulin will be responsible for contacting German Minister Martin to prepare for the handover."

“It’s the president.”

The meeting here had just ended, and the Japanese pirate leader became instantly angry after hearing the news.

After the outbreak of World War I, the Japanese pirates regarded themselves as the legitimate heirs to all German interests in China.

Therefore, the Japanese Ambassador to China warned Vice Foreign Minister Cao Rulin not to accept Germany's proposal.

At the same time, the Japanese pirates were also prohibited from forming an alliance with the Eagle Country.

The reason given was that "East Asians are not suited to fighting in the mountains of Europe"

At this time, news came from the Eagle Country that it refused to form an alliance.

These two pieces of news completely dispelled Yuan Datou's idea of ​​taking over Qingdao.

But reason told him that it was not possible now.

Shen Hao was very disappointed that the Beiyang government had not taken any positive actions to recover Qingdao.

A country's diplomacy is a major policy, but how could it back down just because of the threat from the Japanese pirates?

The diplomacy of a country is actually controlled by others.

The country's backbone and soul are lost.

Shen Hao was very unhappy that such a great opportunity was wasted.

I wish I could send troops to take over Qingdao myself.

The Beiyang government's diplomatic failure came from its cowardice in the face of the great powers and its shallow understanding of independent power or national sovereignty.

The warlord government during the Republic of China was good at internal fighting but not good at handling diplomacy;