Chapter 49: Giving Face or Not? (Second Update)

  Yuan Keding was a bit unable to keep up with his father's thinking for a moment, how did he give Jiang Yu that little boy the Northwest Governor and let him get away with it?

  "In the northwest, apart from Shaanxi which is still okay, all the other places are poor and bitter lands. Not only are they impoverished provinces that don't even pay taxes every year, but the central government also has to subsidize them with a large sum of money. If it's like this, then why not just pass on this burden to that Jiang fellow? Moreover, since he wants to be the governor-general of the northwest, let him issue a telegram to guarantee to the whole nation that within five years, the northwest will first become stable, and then plant many trees, build many railways, thoroughly eliminate the bandits in the northwest, and also implement a ban on opium in the northwest. And yes, he can also be tasked with managing the Yellow River, not just the upper reaches but also the lower reaches. Tell me, how much money will he have to spend on all these things?" Yuan Shikai asked his eldest son Yuan Keding.

  Yuan Keding suddenly realized, but then worriedly said: "If he did all these things, it must have cost a lot of money, and it's hard to get any returns. But I'm afraid that kid with the surname Jiang won't be so stupid."

  "If he would? Knowing that the young man is too young, doing things with a hot head and no brains, like this time, fighting to death with the Russians, it's not a wise move." Yuan Shikai commented, although this time Jiang Yu won the war against Russia and gained great fame, in fact, he made a profit.

  But in Yuan Shikai's view as an old bureaucrat, before the war broke out, no one knew who would win or lose, and that kid dared to fight, which was obviously too foolish.

  Yuan Shikai, who thought he had seen through Jiang Yu's character, made such a judgment. If Jiang Yu knew about it, he might be speechless.

  "Besides, whether or not to give him the territory of Qin is no longer up to me, if he insists on it, what can I do? In the end, we'll still have to give it to him, and it will only make us look bad. It's better to just get it over with, after all, he hasn't asked for the position of Governor-General of Zhili yet." Yuan Shikai continued, his tone tinged with a hint of helplessness.

  Although the kid with the surname Jiang was impulsive and brainless, the outcome of the war against Russia made Yuan Shikai very passive.

  At this time, Jiang's prestige had already exceeded that of the big president, and posed a serious threat to him, but Yuan Shikai did not dare to offend Jiang, and was very depressed.

  Jiang Yu's mouth is incredibly big, as soon as he opens his mouth, it's the Northwest Governor, and he specifically mentions Outer Mongolia, Chahar, Suiyuan, Shaanxi, Gansu, Xinjiang, and Qinghai-Tibet.

  To know the area of these provinces, it's almost half as big as China.

  Such a vast territory, mostly poor and impoverished provinces, it is indeed necessary to invest more financial resources to manage this land well.

  Yuan Shikai then telegraphed Jiang Yiwu and appointed him as the 'Yellow River Inspector', also entrusting him with the heavy responsibility of managing the Yellow River, without asking for his consent.

  Yellow River Patrol Envoy

  After receiving this telegram, Jiang Yu was stunned for a moment before reacting.

  "Good! This Yellow River patrol is good!"

  Jiang Yu was worried that it would be difficult to extend his hand to the provinces in the Yellow River basin, but he did not expect that Yuan Shikai would bring him such convenience.

  Taming the Yellow River?

  It's okay! We can pay first, but in the end, the central government will have to foot the bill.

  Furthermore, this title of Yellow River Inspector can be used to place administrative personnel in various provinces along the Yellow River, which is absolutely a good job.

  Jiang Yu then received another telegram from Yuan Shikai, who said in the telegram that he could become the Governor of the Northwest if he wanted to, but first had to issue a national telegram guaranteeing that all targets would be met during his tenure.

  A list of goals to be achieved is also listed behind.

  Article 1: A railway of three thousand kilometers must be built in the northwest within a period of five years.

  Yuan Shikai thought that the economy of the northwest was backward, and building railways would be a losing business. But Jiang Yu laughed and said: "Three thousand kilometers of railway is not enough?"

  The northwest has a wealth of mineral resources and also has a considerable amount of agricultural resources. Three thousand kilometers of railway is essential, but it's still far from enough.

  Article 2: Within five years, make all provinces in the northwest region free from poverty and pay taxes to the central government.

  Jiang Yu watched and then curled his lips. Five years later, Yuan Shikai, you will be gone, at that time whether to pay taxes or not is still up to him.

  Article 3: Ensure stability in the northwest; if there is a rebellion, quell it on your own.

  Article 4: The bandits in the northwest should be eliminated as soon as possible, and opium should be completely banned in the northwest. At the same time, a large number of trees should be planted in the northwest.

  Article 5, also the most important one, all expenses are borne by the financial resources of the Northwest provinces themselves, and the central government does not allocate funds.

  That's what it takes to achieve these goals, you pay out of your own pocket!

  After reading these requirements, Jiang Yu felt that they were all things he had to do. Although in Yuan Shikai's view, these goals made Jiang Yu suffer a loss, but Jiang Yu felt that he had gained.

  It is natural that there are such vastly different views and analytical results because the angles and heights from which Jiang Yü and Yuán Shìkǎi look at problems are different.

  Yuan Shikai looked at the problem from the perspective of an old bureaucrat, seeing the problems in front of him from a very low height, unlike Jiang Jue who looked at the problem with the eyes of a pioneer and saw the future problems from a very high height.

  As a result, one was willing to fight and the other was willing to be beaten. Jiang Yu immediately sent an electric telegram nationwide, making five guarantees given by Yuan Shikai to the people of the whole country.

  Guarantee the stability of the Northwest, guarantee the elimination of bandits, guarantee a comprehensive ban on opium in the Northwest, guarantee improvement of the economy in the Northwest within five years, and thus pay taxes to the central government, guarantee large-scale afforestation in the Northwest to protect the environment; guarantee the construction of 3,000 kilometers of railways in the Northwest within five years...

  Under such guarantees from Jiang and Yu, Yuan Shikai immediately appointed him as the Governor of the Northwest, in charge of military and political affairs in all provinces of the Northwest.

  Yuan Shikai's telegram was later recognized by historians as the "passport" for the Huadong Group to seize the entire Northwest oil, mineral and commodity grain base.

  Jiang Yu's mood was quite good after achieving his goal, and at this time the situation of the war against Russia had gradually become clear. Russia also no longer continued to fight in this battlefield without any benefit, so Jiang Yu's mood became even better.

  Although Jiang Yu did not think that continuing the war with Russia would lose, the problem was that the war would hinder the development of the Huadong Group, which was very unfavorable for the formation of a national capitalist group. Capital is at least the mainstream in the next two hundred years, and it's good for a dynasty to have two hundred years, let alone hoping that capital can go further? Therefore, establishing a national capitalist group is an urgent task.

  Of course, Jiang Yu still can't return to Huai'an for now. He needs to continue exerting military pressure on Russia in Outer Mongolia.

  The British mediation was not very smooth, and soon Tang Shaoyi, the envoy sent by Yuan Shikai, also joined the negotiations, which were pulled into the negotiations by Britain.

  Russia currently needs China to give it a step down to recover its already trampled and discredited face.

  Russia, which has been crushed twice on the vast land of the Far East, has now become a laughing stock in the world. These two wars have proven that the rotten Russia is already on the decline militarily.

  Obviously, only negotiating a ceasefire with Jiang Yu will not give Russia enough face.

  Will Yuan Shikai give face or not?

  The British thought for a moment and then pulled Yuan Shikai's side onto the negotiating table as well.

  ——————

  This chapter is half an hour later than expected. A good classmate came back from afar and slept at my place in the rain today, so I entertained him for a bit and it's late, sorry!

  If you have tickets, come on over!

  It's raining outside and I'm going to sleep now, I'm too tired today.