Fourteen, on Japan and Russia

  On February 6, 1904, Japan declared the severance of diplomatic relations with Russia. On February 8, the Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on Russian warships in Lushun Port, and the Russo-Japanese War broke out. As one of the parties most closely related to this war, the Qing court was helpless and chose "neutrality outside the region", watching two robbers fight for things in their own home.

  A shameful scene is reenacted once again.

  In fact, at present, the Qing court can only choose this way, and only in this way can the entire Manchuria be preserved after the war.

  After the Boxer Rebellion, the Qing Empire with a population of 450 million had less than 50,000 modern troops that could actually fight. Due to the restrictions of the Boxer Protocol, China also had to accept a two-year international arms embargo. Before the Russo-Japanese War, the Qing court did not even have the ability to prepare for war.

  As for the navy, reconstruction work was limited to verbal promises.

  Due to the empty treasury and the need to pay a large sum of reparations, the Qing court was fundamentally unable to bear the huge expenses of a war.

  Lin Zhen received an imperial edict from the court, due to the urgent military situation outside the pass, the original garrison in Tongzhou and Haiyang was ordered to march north immediately, and was transferred to Luanzhou for garrison duty, under the unified command of the Beiyang Minister.

  Dong Jun was transferred to Luancheng to defend, while Lin Xiang was left in Tianjin by Yuan Shikai.

  The original Beiyang Grand Minister's Office built by Li Hongzhang was destroyed in the Boxer Rebellion. The current office and residence of Yuan Shikai, the Beiyang Grand Minister, was originally a new palace built for Guangxu to review troops at Xiaozhan during his New Policy reforms. However, after the 1898 coup, Guangxu was imprisoned by the Empress Dowager and never had the chance to visit Tianjin again. After Yuan Shikai became the Beiyang Grand Minister, he petitioned the Empress Dowager to convert this place into the Beiyang Grand Minister's Office.

  Yuan Shikai spent more than half of the year living in the Beiyang Ministry, while the Zhili Governor's Office in Baoding was rarely visited.

  Lin Xiao arrived at the yamen and handed over his name card to the doorman, "Please trouble yourself to announce my arrival. Lin Anhua, a third-grade commander of the Imperial Guard, has come in response to your summons, Lord Gongbao!" He also handed over a red envelope containing several taels of silver according to custom.

  The housekeeper unexpectedly returned the red envelope, "Sir, this is going to smash our family's rice bowl. You don't know that the general doesn't allow us to accept door-to-door gifts?" After speaking, he went inside to report.

  Lin Xiao was somewhat surprised, as historical records showed that Yuan Shikai was corrupt and lawless, but his gatekeeper seemed to be quite disciplined.

  After a while, Yang Shiqi came out from inside and saw Lin Chong smiling: "The commander is busy with important official business inside and cannot come out to greet you in person."

  Lin Xiao said: "How dare I trouble Yang to drive, you send someone to lead me in and it's done." After speaking, he followed Yang Shiqi into the command post, only feeling that the eyes of those doorkeepers looking at him were a bit unusual.

  Ruan Zhongshu was a bit tired from writing official documents, so he went back to his room to smoke some opium and only then did he feel refreshed and ready to go back to work. As he walked into the courtyard, he saw Yang Shiqi walking towards the backyard with a young military officer wearing a third-class military uniform, chatting and laughing together. He couldn't help but feel curious. It was well-known that Yang Shiqi looked down on everyone, rarely spoke or smiled, and had always despised the Beiyang warlords, so it was surprising to see him chatting with a military general.

  "Huh, Xing City, how do you have time to come out and take a walk today?" Ruan Zhongshu quickly walked over and greeted Yang Shiqi, while carefully sizing up Lin Xiao. He saw that his appearance was ordinary, but his demeanor was very steady. At the age of twenty or so, he had already become a third-grade military officer. It seemed that it was mostly due to his family background. "Who is this young man? I haven't seen him before."

  "Hmm, this is Lin Anhua, the young master of the Lin family. He's the one who took over the Hanyang Iron Factory from Sheng Xuanhuai. Although he's still young, he's a well-known rich merchant in Shanghai. The General has specially invited him here, so I suppose it's to ask for his advice on opening up industries in the North." Yang Shiqi said, turning his head to introduce Lin Chong to Ruan Douzhan: "This is Mr. Ruan Douzhan, who is in charge of documents at the Governor's Office. He's a favorite of General Wu, so we should get closer to him in the future."

  "Please take care of yourself, sir!" Lin Chou, dressed in martial attire, bowed to him with the elegance of a scholar.

  Ruan Zhongshu found it laughable, "Well said, well said!" But in his heart, he didn't think so. This Yang Shiqi had been in Shanghai for more than half a year and now reeked of the stench of copper, getting along with those comprador merchants all too well.

  Yang Shiqi took Lin Xiang to the west wing of the headquarters, where Yuan Shikai's staff were working, and sat for a while. A servant came over to report that Mr. Yuan had asked Lin Xiang to speak with him in the signing room. The two went together to Yuan Shikai's office in the main hall, but when they arrived at the door, they saw several Japanese people coming out from inside.

  Lin Xiao looked at them for a few moments, but didn't say anything.

  As he entered the house, Yuan Shikai appeared very polite, personally getting up to greet him, grasping Lin Xiang's hand and warmly saying: "Anhua, it's been over a year since we parted ways in Wuchang, I've been thinking of you constantly, why didn't you come visit me?"

  Lin Xiao didn't expect it to be like this, and he was a bit at a loss: "Thank... thank you, sir. I'm really busy with mundane tasks, I didn't think I'd trouble you to worry about me, I'm truly ashamed!"

  Yuan Shikai then had the two men standing beside him introduce themselves to him. The man in his fifties wearing a deep gray linen shirt was named Xu Juhren, and the other man in his forties wearing a blue long gown was named Liu Yanjun. These two were old friends of Yuan's who now worked at the New Army Drill Grounds.

  After everyone sat down, Yuan Shikai asked Lin Chong in detail about some situations of Dong Jun's army. Lin Chong told him the truth one by one.

  Dong Jun now has five battalions with over 2,600 men. In addition, there are two water-based battalions in Chonghai. Although they are brave and well-equipped, the guns used are all German-made 88-style 79 rifles. The only difference is that the artillery equipment is slightly inferior, with only ten French-made 5.7-inch infantry cannons. Lin Chao Dong pays great attention to training, and the training of the Dong Army is not bad, which is outstanding among the brave battalions in Liangjiang.

  Lin Biao hoped to change into a new-style military uniform like that of the Beiyang Army, and Yuan Shikai agreed without hesitation.

  Yuan Shikai then turned the topic to the ongoing war between Japan and Russia, at which time the Japanese army had launched a surprise attack on the main base of the Russian Pacific Fleet in Port Arthur, but had not completely blocked the actions of the Russian Navy. The Japanese army landed in Korea and has now advanced to the Yalu River.

  The war has just begun, and the situation on the battlefield is still confusing.

  But Yuan Shikai intuitively determined that the Japanese would soon gain an advantage on the battlefield, "with preparedness attacking unpreparedness, this time the Russians are likely to admit defeat!"

  "So the adults have decided to secretly help the Japanese?" Lin Chong suddenly said.

  "What's wrong?" Yuan Shikai said, knowing that Lin Xue had met Japanese adviser Qingmu Chen and others at the door.

  "Adults' judgment is correct, this time the war Russia will basically lose." Lin Chuo said: "It's precisely because of this that I think we should help the Russians even more."

  "What reason is this?" Yuan Shikai felt curious.

  "The greatest threat to the Qing dynasty is which country? In fact, among the two countries currently at war, Russia has occupied hundreds of millions of kilometers of Qing territory, while Japan has also taken Korea, Taiwan, and Ryukyu from the Qing. Other powers such as England, France, Germany, and the United States are far away and do not have the ambition to invade our Qing territory. Only Russia and Japan have been eyeing our country's territory, attempting to destroy China, only these two countries are the enemies of tigers and wolves.

  Lin Zong looked at the reactions of others and continued: "After the two major events of the Boxer Rebellion and the Xinhai Revolution, the Qing dynasty was severely damaged, with no usable troops. In fact, now whether it's Japan or Russia, if they really send out tens of thousands of soldiers, I'm afraid the entire Qing dynasty would have no power to resist, only able to surrender.

  The Qing dynasty was able to survive the Boxer Rebellion due to the mutual restraint of various powers around the world. Japan and Russia are not yet considered first-rate powers in this era, still fearing England, France, Germany, and the United States, so they dare not act rashly. Once they become as powerful as England and Germany, becoming a first-rate power, it will be the day they invade China."

  "Can Japan and Russia have a day when they surpass England and Germany?" asked Xu Juren.

  Lin Zhen suddenly remembered that this person was Xu Shichang, and couldn't help but take a closer look at him. He then said: "When the sun is full, it will decline; when the moon is full, it will wane. Think back to the prosperous era of the Han and Tang dynasties, or even the powerful Yuan dynasty, during our sacred ancestor's time, the Battle of Nerchinsk forced the Russians to surrender, how could we have imagined that we would end up in this state today?"

  "What Anhua said makes sense, but what does it have to do with secretly helping the Russians?" Liu Yongqing said.

  Lin Xiao smiled: "War, the eternal consumption of national power and wealth. This war between Russia and Japan has mobilized at least 1 or 2 million troops, with a comprehensive naval and land battle, each country spending tens of billions to sustain it."

  Yang Shiqi clapped his hands on the side, "Wonderful! An Hua's plan is to use the tiger to drive away the wolf, making them both suffer a double defeat. The more intense the fight, the better!"

  "But what if Japan wins and gets compensation for military expenses from Russia? Wouldn't that make it even stronger?" Liu Yongqing continued.

  Lin Xue replied, "The nature of these Russians is indeed the most greedy. They want to cede territory and pay indemnities? Not a chance. The foundation of Russia lies in Europe, St. Petersburg is tens of thousands of miles away. Even if they let Japan win, even with wings, it would be impossible to reach St. Petersburg. Therefore, even if Japan wins this war, the most that can be achieved is signing a treaty with Russia and dividing Manchuria and Korea equally between them."

  Yuan Shikai nodded and said: "That makes sense, but why help the Russians?"

  Lin Xue said: "Actually, after this war, the most dangerous place is not the Northeast, but Mongolia and Xinjiang. If the Russians can't gain an advantage in the Northeast, they will turn to control Mongolia and Xinjiang, nibbling away at our Qing dynasty. Secretly helping the Russians means letting them be dissatisfied with negotiations in the Northeast, the more fiercely both sides fight, the better. This way, the more national strength is consumed, the smaller the Russian movements will be in the future, it's just to gain a few more years of development and breathing space for our Qing dynasty."

  Yuan Shikai sank into thought, and after a while said, "The imperial court has lifted the ban on reclamation in Mongolia for the sake of military preparations. Moreover, it is planned to build the Beijing-Zhangjiakou railway. In this case, it would be best if the railway could reach Kulun, but where can so much money be found?"

  Lin Cai said: "The junior is also doing some fur and tea business in the northwest. In fact, if the railway is opened to traffic, the trade of furs and teas in the northwest can earn 2-3 million yuan per year. If the imperial court is willing to approve the exclusive right to operate the northwest trade, the junior is willing to invest all the profits into the northwest railway every year."

  Yuan Shikai smiled and said, "Monopoly on trade? This can be done, but it must be united with the original Chamber of Commerce. I can fully support you. However, the imperial court is also urgently in need of funds to reorganize its military equipment. I can guarantee your rights to mine, set up factories, and reclaim land in Zhili and Mongolia, but there is a condition."

  "What conditions?"

  "Every year, Anhui's profits from opening mines and running factories in Zhili must give two-tenths to Beiyang." said Yuan Shikai.

  "I'll go, I promise, sir. But if I encounter any difficulties in the future, I'll have to trouble you again, sir!" Lin Xuan pretended to be calm and composed.

  "Haha!" Yuan Shikai burst out laughing and suddenly asked with a concerned expression: "I heard that An Hua is not yet married?"

  "Yes, these years have been spent rushing about outside, and Mother has also been urging me." Lin Chuo felt that Old Yuan had suddenly become mysterious and profound.

  "Oh, is Anhua's condition too high?"

  "Not at all, just busy with business and no time to spare. To say that there are only two conditions, one is to know books and reason, the other is to have enough money."

  "Really!" Yuan Shikai said, then pretended to be suddenly enlightened, looking at Lin Xuan with an insidious gaze: "Now that you mention it, I remember that my daughter is still unmarried and meets Anhua's conditions. I wonder..."

  ……

  Lin Xuan walked out of the gate in a daze, and it wasn't until the cool breeze blew that he came to his senses and realized he had been schemed by Old Yuan. Damn, you had the nerve to ask me in front of so many people if I wanted to marry your daughter, how could I not agree?

  If I were to decline on my own initiative, wouldn't it be difficult for me to leave the gate of Beiyang immediately?

  Grandma, this time I'm done for! Heaven forbid, please don't let my daughter-in-law end up looking like her father, a short and ugly pumpkin!