Open an aircraft carrier to fight against Japan

Lin Yuan immediately contacted the railway branch in Lanzhou, and Shen Wanqing asked after a while, "Is it connected?"

Lin Yuan shook his head silently and said: "No, I think the equipment is damaged. It seems that the peasant uprising army has also affected them. We have to go to Lanzhou as soon as possible to see what happened. I will go to the palace now and put Tell Emperor Guangxu about your plan to follow Yuan Shikai to Lanzhou."

Lin Yuan came to the palace and said he wanted to see Emperor Guangxu, the little eunuch said: "Master Lin came here by chance, the Holy Majesty is discussing important matters with Master Yuan inside."

Lin Yuan asked the little eunuchs not to report, and listened on the crack of the door, which made the little eunuchs laugh. Lin Yuan only heard Yuan Shikai confidently say: "Our new army is ready to send troops at any time. As for the food and pay Let the place take care of the matter."

Emperor Guangxu said: "You don't have to worry about food and pay. A batch of grain from the south of the Yangtze River has arrived, which is enough for you to use. As for the payment, isn't Lin Yuan's bank printing paper money? It's also convenient to carry." Lin Yuan is still there I listened attentively, but I didn't expect that there was no sound in the room at this time, it seemed that the voices of the two people's conversation had become quieter.

Lin Yuan saw that he couldn't hear anything, so he let the little eunuch go in to report, and soon the little eunuch came out and invited Lin Yuan in. Emperor Guangxu laughed when he saw Lin Yuan coming, and said, "Lin Aiqing came just in time. , I am discussing with Yuan Aiqing about the route of dispatching troops, among the ministers of military aircraft, Yuan Lin and Aiqing are the only ones who are good at deploying troops, so let Lin Aiqing also talk about it."

When Yuan Shikai heard that Emperor Guangxu had put his name in front of Lin Yuan, he glanced at Lin Yuan happily. Lin Yuan didn't notice this detail at all, and was still wondering why Yuan Shikai glanced at him so happily. Feeling bored, he hastily said: "Shaanxi and Gansu have always had dangerous terrains. There is a saying in the old military strategists: If Shaanxi and Gansu are used as an attack, even if they are small, they will be big, and even if they are weak, they will be strong. It will become a catastrophe for the world! Therefore, the bandits in Shaanxi and Gansu must be eradicated."

"My teacher, Wang, started from the capital, crossed the Taihang Mountains from Taihang Baxing to enter Shaanxi, and then went west along the Weihe River to reach Xi'an. Although Xi'an was no longer as magnificent as the Han and Tang Dynasties, it still had a large population, enough to serve as the basis for progress. , After passing through Baoji, entering Tianshui, you can enter Lanzhou, the bandits are like a mess, and they are bound to collapse at the first touch! It’s just that the journey is thousands of miles away, and the matter of food and fodder needs to be carefully considered.”

After hearing this, Emperor Guangxu looked at Lin Yuan and asked, "Does Lin Aiqing have any insight?"

Lin Yuan smiled and said: "Let me just say a word: We have a railway, let's take the train to Xi'an in about two days, and there is also a railway from Xi'an to Lanzhou, but Lanzhou has fallen, so I don't know if it can be used. See you later."

Emperor Guangxu laughed loudly after hearing this, and said to Yuan Shikai: "Yuan Aiqing, look at Lin Aiqing, you have a lot of long-winded words, and he will finish the job with one sentence!"

Although Yuan Shikai was angry, he couldn't vent his anger, so he had to apologize a few times. Emperor Guangxu nodded and said, "It turns out that it is so easy to send troops when there is a railway. It was so right to listen to Lin Aiqing's words to build the railway!"

Yuan Shikai couldn't help being secretly annoyed when he heard Emperor Guangxu's praise of Lin Yuan. At this moment, Emperor Guangxu asked, "What's the matter with Lin Aiqing this time?"

Lin Yuan thought: "It's time to get to the point." So Lin Yuan said: "Lanzhou fell, and the railway department lost contact with us. I want to personally lead a railway construction team to Lanzhou to investigate the situation of the railway."

Yuan Shikai was annoyed by being compared twice by Lin Yuan, and wanted to make things difficult when he heard Lin Yuan's words, so he said, "Master Lin Yuan, why should you lead the railway construction team yourself? Just arrange for the subordinates to go."

Lin Yuan smiled and said: "Master Yuan does not know that this railway is very important. When I was in Europe, I discussed with the President of France to build a railway across Central Europe. Lanzhou is an important hub of this railway, so Lanzhou is not only It is a place in Lanzhou, and it has more to do with my Qing prestige. If Lanzhou falls, Xiyi will laugh at me for not believing what I said! How can I not go to such an important matter in person?"

Emperor Guangxu praised: "It's still Lin Aiqing who has a bigger picture in mind. I allow you to go. I will go to the household department to collect money later. Oh no, I will go to the account of the household department of the Bank of Qing Dynasty to transfer a sum of money as the road construction team's expenses."

Lin Yuan nodded and said, "However, it's a long way to go. I'm afraid there will be bandits from Xi'an to Lanzhou, so I hope the Holy One will allow us to go with Lord Yuan, and hope that Lord Yuan can protect us more."

Emperor Guangxu frowned slightly when he heard this, and thought in his heart: "Yuan Shikai and Lin Yuan have been at loggerheads for a long time, can Yuan Shikai be willing to protect Lin Yuan? I still don't want to agree to this matter lightly, and ask Yuan Shikai what he means first. " Emperor Guangxu then smiled at Yuan Shikai: "Yuan Aiqing, are you willing to protect Mr. Lin Yuan's railway construction team?"

What Emperor Guangxu didn't expect was that Yuan Shikai said happily without even the slightest hesitation: "It's my honor to protect Mr. Lin Yuan's railway construction team, and I just want to protect it!"

Emperor Guangxu thought to himself: "It seems that although Yuan Shikai and Lin Yuan have a lot of quarrels, they can work together to protect our Qing Dynasty at critical moments. Very good, very good!" Emperor Guangxu then said: "Well, Yuan Aiqing, you have full power Protect Lin Aiqing's railway construction team."

Unexpectedly, Yuan Shikai fell to his knees with a "plop" and said loudly, "I beseech you to be the master of my humble minister."

Seeing Yuan Shikai kneel down suddenly, Emperor Guangxu asked in surprise, "What is Yuan Aiqing doing?"

Yuan Shikai said in a sad voice: "It is learned from the sage that Lord Lin is a hundred times better than a humble minister. In this expedition, the decision of the humble minister must be full of loopholes in the eyes of Master Lin. Master Lin is notorious for not rubbing sand in his eyes. When the time comes, we will decide." I will command on my behalf, and it is a taboo for military strategists to have no one master, please ask the Holy One to rule!"

Emperor Guangxu thought to himself: "It turns out that Yuan Shikai was worried that Lin Yuan would seize his command power. This worry is correct. Lin Yuan's military ability is far superior to Yuan Shikai's. He can't stand Yuan Shikai's command. It is inevitable that he will stand up and say a few words. , That will not only shake the morale of the army, but also delay the opportunity of the war!" So Emperor Guangxu laughed and said, "Well, the two Aiqings will understand that this time, the command power belongs to Yuan Aiqing alone, and Lin Aiqing must obey his orders. !"

Lin Yuan looked at all this coldly, nodded in agreement, and when she came back from the palace, Shen Wanqing asked, "How is it? Did the Emperor and Yuan Shikai agree?"

Lin Yuan nodded and said, "Not only did he agree, Yuan Shikai also enthusiastically expressed that he would protect us!"

Shen Wanqing said in surprise: "He can still protect us? If he doesn't stab us secretly, we will burn incense!"

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "I was also puzzled at the time, but after Yuan Shikai raised the issue of command authority, I finally understood his petty thinking!"

Shen Wanqing asked, "What cares does Yuan Shikai have?"

Lin Yuan smiled and said: "Yuan Shikai asked the emperor to hand over the command power to him, and I also want to obey his command, then I will become his subordinate, and I will become a subordinate! How many little shoes will he throw at me then? Wear it? How much will you find fault with me? Yuan Shikai has been bullied by me before, this time he has seized the opportunity to vent his anger!"