Chapter 51 I Have Found My Footing in the Imperial City

  Afterwards, the facts showed that after Empress Dowager Cixi's edict to disband the Boxers and protect the interests of various countries in the Qing Empire and ease international conflicts was issued, it was first quickly executed in the Beijing-Tianjin area. Britain, the United States and other countries expressed their appreciation and support. The tense domestic and international situation eased, and a political movement that used religious groups gradually subsided.

  Inside the imperial court, a group of senior ministers and countries such as Russia and Japan were intimidated by Cixi's attitude and Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao's power, and did not dare to provoke easily. Those Western missionaries in the Qing Empire also saw the formidable power of the Chinese people through this Boxer movement, and no longer dared to be arrogant and lawless as before, but became well-behaved.

  In this way, Kangfan achieved his original goal: to exchange war for peace, to demonstrate strength with force, to win development time and expand development space.

  "With your current strength, why bother being so meticulous," Judy said.

  Kang Fan was taken aback, "You mean you want me to get rid of the tiger blocking the road?"

  Judy smiled and said: "I just think you're too tired, I'm just saying it casually. You decide what to do yourself."

  Kang Fan understood Judy's meaning, but he didn't plan on doing so.

  Since the mid-19th century, the Qing Empire has been declining in national strength due to the loss of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement at home and the invasion of foreign strong enemies. The people of all ethnic groups in China have gradually lost confidence in the Manchu Qing court, and various local forces have also shown signs of division and separation. After more than 30 years of the Westernization Movement, the result is that the national economy has almost been controlled by Western comprador capital, and the Qing court has actually lost effective control over the country's politics, economy, military and other fields, and cannot play the central role that the central government should play.

  The main reason for the failure of the Sino-Japanese War was actually due to the extreme incompetence of the Manchu Qing court itself, and the fact that the Manchu people, who were originally a minority in China, ruled over the majority Han Chinese for two and a half centuries. The Manchu people relied almost entirely on the Han Chinese and other minority peoples for their livelihood, with the Han Chinese providing them with food and clothing, as well as positions of power to oppress the various ethnic groups that were their benefactors. However, they were unable to protect the country or bring benefits to the people, instead bringing about territorial losses and financial burdens that harmed the nation and its people. This created an irreconcilable conflict between the Han Chinese and Manchu peoples.

  Furthermore, for the vast majority of Han people in modern times, Manchu rulers are just like Japanese, Russians, British, French, Germans and others - they are all outsiders, invaders, murderers, enslavers and destroyers. It is easy to imagine that under such emotional identification, how can the Hans wholeheartedly help the Manchus?

  So, the Manchu ruling group led by Emperor Guangxu was powerless to gather national strength to cope with this war. Moreover, the Manchu ruling group avoided fighting negatively, and the Eight Banners Army composed of Manchus basically did not participate in the war. The main forces that were put into battle were only the Han army and the Beiyang Fleet led by Li Hongzhang, a Han minister. It was just a one-sided wish for the Manchu ruling group to let these Han officials and soldiers die for them.

  Li Hongzhang, due to his own lack of ability and selfish desire to preserve his own power, lacked the firm determination to serve the Qing dynasty, directly leading to most of the Huai Army officers and soldiers having no will to fight and no morale. Moreover, the moral character of other Han Chinese governors across the country was even worse than Li Hongzhang's. At least Li Hongzhang understood the principle of "when lips are gone, teeth get cold", and in his mind, there should be a concept of "Great China" that all ethnic groups in China form an integral whole. However, he was unable to rally the numerous land and naval forces across the country to fully participate in the war, resulting in the Qing Empire's enormous war resources being left untapped, allowing Japan, which was far inferior in national strength, to achieve a victory that even the Japanese found inexplicable!

  The above points are also what Kang Youwei deliberately did not explicitly state when answering the Guangxu Emperor's question about the cause of defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War, but Kang Youwei believed that this point was the most fundamental cause of defeat.

  But Kang Youwei also understood that for a country as large as China, if the current Qing dynasty were to be overthrown, it would not be possible in the short term to have another suitable government to rule the whole country. The regime could not continue smoothly, and the Qing dynasty, as the central government of contemporary China, would inevitably lose control over local areas, leading to internal strife that could not be avoided. Once internal strife broke out, under the current situation where powerful countries were eager to divide up China, it would indeed lead to a situation where the country was on the verge of collapse and at the mercy of others. Although the Qing dynasty was incompetent, it was after all a central government recognized by people of all ethnic groups in China, that is, the center of power, and at least it could form a united national front and coexist with other ethnic groups on the surface. As long as he could gain the trust and support of the Qing dynasty, and be given opportunities to develop and expand his own strength, waiting for the right moment to defend his home and country would be a natural thing to do.

  At this moment, looking far away, a red sunset hangs above the towering city walls of Beijing, slowly falling down in the thin evening glow, and the driver's cab is dyed a piece of golden yellow.

  "How beautiful!" Judy leaned against Conven's chest, sighing wistfully.

  "It's a pity that the sky will be dark soon."

  The Empress Dowager Cixi ordered Kang Youwei to build a military base for the Jin Army in the suburbs of Beijing and symbolically allocated funds, intending to use the Jin Army to strengthen the defense of Beijing while playing a deterrent and restraining role on the various factions in the court that were becoming increasingly difficult to control.

  Before this, Kang Yan had already selected a temporary campsite for the Jin army in the Nan Kou area near Beijing. After receiving this edict, he immediately designated the campsite as the location of the base.

  This is a wide alluvial valley at the foot of Yanshan Mountain, with a small river flowing out from deep within Yanshan and then going east along the mountain foot after leaving the valley. The surrounding mountains are clear and beautiful, with dense forests and shrubs. The Jingtao Railway passes through the northern foot of the mountain and enters Beijing before turning southeast towards Tianjin, with convenient transportation.

  Later, the Shanxi army engineering troops and new-style engineering machinery such as bulldozers, tractors, excavators, and transport trucks were transported by train from Shanxi. First, a railway station was built. After the completion of the railway station, building materials such as steel, cement, wood, and bricks, as well as personnel, equipment, and supplies, were continuously transported from Shanxi through the railway, and large-scale base construction began, named Nankou Base.

  The overall layout of the Nan Kou base was planned around the train station. The first phase of construction completed a reservoir, diesel power generation station, water supply/warming/electricity/sewage systems, roads and other basic infrastructure. The second phase built 10 spacious and bright three-story dormitories for officers and soldiers, as well as supporting boiler houses, canteens, public bathhouses, hospitals, classrooms, libraries and other living facilities. The third phase completed a fully functional modern training ground, command center, communication center, military equipment repair factory, garage, warehouse and solid underground ammunition depot, oil depot and defensive facilities. Finally, the base was landscaped and beautified, and a large farm was opened on the remaining idle land, combining aquaculture with the reservoir to solve part of the problem of supplying non-staple food to the garrison and improving the living conditions of the troops.

  The Nanmen base was built to the standard of supporting a corps-level army and stored a large amount of weapons, equipment and military supplies. In addition to Zhou's mechanized regiment, Kang Fan also brought in an infantry regiment and an artillery battalion equipped with 12 130mm cannons from Shanxi to strengthen the base's defense capabilities. The daily management and combat operations of the base were handled by a working group sent by the General Staff Department, while intelligence and special operations were handled by a working group sent by the Security Bureau. With other personnel working in the base, the total number of permanent residents exceeded 10,000 people.

  In this way, the Jin army achieved a military presence in the capital, often advancing from the Nanmen base to the suburbs of Beijing, eyeing the Forbidden City, and effectively deterring various factions within the court. It also added an important strategic support point for defending the Jingtao Railway and Tianjin Base.

  During the construction of the Nanmen Base, Kang Fan lived with Judy in her apartment. After the completion of the second phase of the base's project, Kang Fan moved into the newly completed barracks with some officers and soldiers from the guard battalion, where they ate and lived together with the majority of the officers and soldiers, participating in the construction work of the base's subsequent projects. As Judy was relatively close by, she would often come over during her free time, and as a result, most of the officers and soldiers within the base got to know her.

  "I've got some good news for you: President William McKinley has approved my proposal, and we're ready to engage in extensive exchanges and cooperation with you in the fields of politics, economy, military affairs, science and technology, culture, medicine, and more. More chapters coming soon," said Judy.

  If this news had been heard five years ago, Kang Fan would have been overjoyed. But now, through the joint efforts of Mei Xiang's classmates and contemporary elites from all over the country, China has already achieved industrial upgrading in agriculture and industry with its own strength, and from a technical concept perspective, Kang Fan and others are already ahead of contemporary world powers such as the United States. What follows is just a matter of scale. Moreover, Kang Fan does not want to share these advanced technologies with other countries, which is the treasure that Shanxi holds to maintain an asymmetric advantage over contemporary world powers, and it is the greatest wealth that Kang Fan and others hold in this era.

  But from another perspective, Shanxi and Heilongjiang, which still retain the backward, closed and corrupt feudal legacy, will be able to fully access ideas, speeches, systems, cultures, technologies and livelihoods that are synchronized with the world today. For the people of the two places who have a strong desire for a better life, this is quite beneficial.

  As contact increases, the thinking patterns and behavioral norms of the people in both places will also undergo subtle changes, making it easier for them to accept the modern ideas promoted by Kang Youwei and others. From passive following to active pursuit, until they are transformed into a passion for common progress. Especially after cooperating with the United States, the greatest benefit that can be obtained is military protection, which has a more powerful backing than the weak and decadent Qing government, and can enjoy a more favorable survival environment internationally. The most important thing is to have a safe global ocean trade channel, which has a significant impact on the future development of Shanxi.

  And the US can also get what they want at a preferential price while exchanging and cooperating, such as those novel medicines and medical devices produced in Shanxi, industrial products and related technologies, which is also the purpose of cooperation that the US government wants to achieve.

  So this is still good news. But how to communicate and cooperate with the United States is really a headache, and we must discuss it with Mei Xiang's classmates before making a plan.

  "I'm appointing you as my plenipotentiary representative, in charge of cooperation with your country in various fields. How about it?" Kang Fan asked.

  Judy shook her head, "You have to tell me what kind of compensation you're going to give me before I'll even consider it."

  Kang Fan changed his expression and asked: "May I ask what kind of reward does the diplomat from Wood want?"

  Judy saw him like this and knew he was up to no good again, so she giggled and dodged back. Kang Fan grabbed her in one swift motion.

  "Want to run? Aren't you here for payment? I'll give it to you right now." Kang Fan said gritting his teeth.

  Judi suddenly felt weak all over, how could she run? She had no choice but to let Kang Fan handle it.

  "Kang Fan, I don't want your pay anymore. Can I work for you at a loss?" Judy said in a dreamy tone.