Jagged Warlord

However, although Zhang Zuolin could not be taken out immediately, the goal of creating such a big rift between Zhang Zuolin and Feng Delin was almost achieved.Li Mohan dispatched a regiment of SS troops to guard Shanhaiguan to ensure that the Northeast forces could not penetrate into the pass.As for other aftermath matters, it is natural that people like Duan Qingxi and Wang Shihua, who are seasoned in the officialdom, will settle them down.

Seeing that he had defeated Duan Qirui, Li Yuanhong felt much more at ease. He held a banquet at the presidential palace and invited Li Mohan to celebrate.Li Mohan came, but there was no trace of joy of victory on his face.Li Yuanhong stepped back and asked Li Mohan in a low voice, "Brother Mohan, why are you still depressed?"

Li Mohan asked Li Yuanhong, "President, do you think the world is all right? I don't think so. In fact, I think it is far from the time to celebrate the victory. The country is still not completely peaceful. The southwest warlords, Beiyang's forces in the south, and the remoteness of the northwest The provinces are still in a state of separatism, the central government has not enforced the order, and the flames of civil war in some places have not stopped. Among other things, Duan Qirui, Cao Kun, and Feng Guozhang joined forces, and there will be another fierce battle next."

After being told by Li Mohan, Li Yuanhong was no longer in the mood to celebrate. He asked, "In your opinion, what should we do next?"

Li Mohan replied: "Forget about Beiyang, the first thing we have to do now is to appease the foreigners."

"To appease the foreigners?" Li Yuanhong frowned and thought for a while, then suddenly realized, and said: "Duan Qirui has always advocated severing diplomatic relations with Germany and declaring war, but I have always opposed it. Now that we have driven Duan Qirui away, those foreigners must be worried. Unreliable. Then Mohan, in your opinion, should we declare war on Germany?"

"Of course we have to declare war. Why not declare war?" Li Mohan said: "Our current Chinese army is actually mercenaries, not conscripts like in Europe and Japan. Those who serve as soldiers are all hired, so if there is money, there will be an army. As long as the central government has sufficient military strength, the local governments will naturally not dare to disobey."

Speaking of this, his thick eyebrows tightened, revealing a trace of solemnity, sighed, and said: "According to my analysis of the future situation, Germany is bound to lose. Therefore, we declare war on Germany, and we will be able to mix it up at that time." The status of the victorious country may even abolish some unequal treaties. At the worst, at least the leased land of Germany and Austria-Hungary can be recovered, the Boxer indemnity payment related to them can be stopped, and the assets of these two countries in China can be seized. President, you also know that the main reason why the local government does not obey the central government is that the central government does not have enough force to deter the local government. To expand the military and strengthen the military force, money is needed, and the money of the central government is now controlled by foreigners. The Republic of China Since its inception, the country has been in turmoil, and most of the provinces have withheld taxes. As a result, the central government’s finances are drying up day by day, and it mainly relies on tariffs to maintain. However, China’s tariffs are controlled by the big powers. Not only are the tax rates extremely low, but a huge sum of money is deducted from it every year. To repay all kinds of foreign indemnities, so that the central government can’t make ends meet, and has little money to raise troops. And the central government has no money to raise soldiers, and of course its control over the localities has declined.”

Li Yuanhong thought for a while and replied: "Then Mohan, what you mean is that if the British and French powers really want us to send troops to help the war, we will make conditions with them, such as agreeing to suspend the payment of Boxer indemnity, and let us levy more With several times the tariffs, the central government can earn an additional ten million silver dollars a year, right? If all of it is used to raise soldiers, there will be almost [-] or [-] divisions! There will be enough soldiers to participate in the war, and there will be insufficient security. As a result, the higher authorities can become submissive, and the power of the Republic of China will be saved.”

Li Mohan nodded and said, "Most of them are correct, but on the issue of tariffs, we don't want to impose tariffs, but to take back the autonomy of tariffs."

When a country develops its own industry and commerce, it is inevitable to protect its own industry and commerce. One of the means of protection is tariffs.However, in the face of the fact that the big powers control customs affairs, even the most basic industrial protection system cannot be established.An influx of cheap foreign manufactured goods on the one hand, and an export of equally cheap industrial raw materials on the other, and all this.The root cause is the tariff rate.In the customs controlled by foreigners, the tax rate for importing foreign goods is 12.00% and [-]% for exporting local products. Compared with Europe, where trade protectionism is gradually rising, this tax rate is very low. For foreign goods Very favorable.It is very unfavorable for domestic products. China's industry is backward. The squeeze of the former Manchu and Qing courts is of course an important reason, but the loss of tariff autonomy is also an important reason.In order to develop China's industry, a tariff barrier must first be established.

Li Yuanhong frowned again. Although he didn't know much about economics, he at least knew that this was a good thing for the country and the people. He said, "It's not easy to take back this power?"

Li Mohan smiled and said, "That's right, so we have to raise it at this stall. If the British and the French have calmed down, then we don't have the place to raise conditions."

Li Yuanhong also laughed, and said, "Then I'll send someone to invite the British and French envoys."

Li Mohan stopped Li Yuanhong and said, "Let me invite you in the name of the Prime Minister and the Chief of the Army. If the President comes forward, once they refuse, we will have no room for maneuver."

Originally, the British Minister Zhu Erdian and the French Minister Conchi learned that Duan Qirui, who supported the severance of diplomatic relations with Germany, was defeated and fled to the south. They were disappointed for a while, but at the same time they were very happy.Because although Duan Qirui advocated the severance of diplomatic relations with Germany, the forces behind him are indeed Japanese. Now the Japanese are taking the opportunity to expand their power in China, which makes the two veteran imperialist invaders, Britain and France, very upset.

At this moment, Kang Qi is at Zhu Erdian's place, planning to discuss with Zhu Erdian whether to find another agent.At this time, the counselor came to report that Chinese Premier Li Mohan was invited.

Zhu Erdian thought for a while, clapped his hands happily, and said: "The agent is here. Li Yuanhong has never had a good impression of Japan because of Duan Qirui. And the young Prime Minister Li Mohan is a very fanatical nationalist. People are not only disliked, but also very hostile. If we win over these two people, it will be beneficial for China to send troops to join the war and resist the expansion of Japanese power.”

After listening to Zhu Erdian's analysis, Kang Qi felt that it made sense, so he straightened his clothes and went to the presidential palace with Zhu Erdian.

As soon as they met, Li Mohan made it clear that China would not only sever diplomatic relations with Germany, but would further formally declare war on Germany, Austria-Hungary, Romania, Turkey, and Bulgaria of the Allied Powers.

Zhu Erdian was very happy, the other party took the initiative to say what he wanted to say without having to waste a word. "Dear Mr. Prime Minister, you have chosen the side of justice, and this decision is very clear."

Kandi also chimed in, "Yes, the friendship between your country and our two countries can stand the test."

Li Mohan would not pay attention to such polite words, and he immediately said straight to the point: "We have a few conditions. First, we need to organize and train the participating troops, which requires a lot of money. However, according to the "Xin Chou Treaty" for a long time, our country The indemnity that needs to be paid has always been a huge and heavy economic burden for our country, so our country proposes to stop paying this indemnity; second, in order to solve the problem of participating in the war, our country requires the withdrawal of the right to formulate tariffs; The Trans-Siberian Railway entered the field, fighting on the Eastern Front, not the Western Front."

Zhu Erdian asked: "Why the Eastern Front? Our Western Front is even more short of manpower."

Li Mohan smiled and said: "Didn't you notice? The Russians almost never defeated the Germans on the Eastern Front. They need help even more. Don't they?"

As a time traveler, Li Mohan certainly knows when it is most cost-effective to join the First World War.Right now Germany is still maintaining an offensive posture on the battlefield, but failure is only a matter of time.First of all, Germany lacks the strength for protracted combat. Although its front-line backbone troops are strong, they have a long training cycle, and the reserve manpower is quickly recruited and consumed quickly.For Germany, a country whose population is not particularly rich, it has basically bottomed out;

Secondly, the Germans are still facing the dilemma of lack of supplies. Although Germany hoarded a large amount of supplies before the war, after two and a half years of consumption, there is not much left.Even if some were seized in the early stage, it was far from satisfying the gap.The naval blockade of the Allied Powers against Germany remained, and the Battle of Jutland failed to lift the blockade;

The last point is companion incompetence.The so-called not afraid of opponents like gods, but teammates like pigs.Whether the Germans' small partners are Austria-Hungary, Turkey, or Bulgaria, Romania, they cannot be compared with Britain, France and Russia.On the Eastern Front, the Russians have also learned to be cunning. As long as Germany launches a fierce attack on Russia, the Russian army will inevitably launch a fierce attack on Austria-Hungary.Although the Russians can't beat the Germans, they can still bully Austria-Hungary.As a result, the Germans had to divide their troops to help Austria-Hungary.Li Mohan is not stupid, there is no need to put troops in the trenches on the western front to be shot and smell poisonous gas, persimmons still have to be picky after all.

Zhu Erdian and Kandi thought for a while, but they didn't answer Li Mohan directly, but said: "This matter is not something that our two envoys can answer verbally."

Li Mohan shrugged his shoulders and said, "Then it's better for you to negotiate with the country sooner. I don't think the Russians can survive 1917."

Li Mohan's words are not alarmist. During the First World War, Russia's national economy was severely damaged.Russia's industrial base was inherently underdeveloped. In 1913, the national steel output was only 420 million tons.Machinery manufacturing and chemical industries are weak.There is no car manufacturing.Many machines and weapons depend on foreign countries.Before the war, the machines imported by Russia accounted for 37%, and the self-sufficiency rate of important equipment and lathes was less than 13%.The war weakened Russia's commercial ties with foreign countries, and imports of machinery fell sharply. From 1914 to 1916, although the Russian machinery industry increased, most of its products were consumed by the war.

According to statistics, during this period, the products of 123 large-scale machine-building industries increased from 20030 million rubles to 95460 million rubles.The average military production has increased by more than 13 times per year, while civilian production has only increased by 40%. In 1916, agricultural machinery products were only 15% of the pre-war level, and the production of locomotives and carriages was significantly reduced, with locomotives reduced by 16% and carriages reduced by 14%.The serious shortage of machines and lathes has also affected the decline in ore, coal, and oil extraction.Due to lack of fuel, raw materials, blast furnaces ceased fire, and many factories had to be closed.Textile mills that had relied on imported cotton before the war ceased production. In 1916, 20% of the looms in Petrograd were not working.On the front line, there is a serious shortage of weapons and ammunition.6 rifles were required per month, but only 1914 were produced in August-December 8 machine guns were required per month, while a total of 12 machine guns were manufactured in the second half of 13.Traffic and transportation are seriously blocked.Railways cannot afford the rapidly increasing transportation tasks.

During the last five months of 1916, the railroads could only meet 5 percent of the army's needs.By 61, grain shipments were down again, 1917% in January and 1% in February.Some wounded soldiers did not receive food and gauze for several days.There was a shortage of food in Petrograd, Moscow and other industrial cities, but in Siberia, the Urals, the Caspian Sea, the Volga and the Don rivers there was a lot of food, meat and fish rotting. In 50, 2 carriages of spoiled grain were stored.

Shipping is not good either.The Baltic Sea and the Black Sea have long been blocked by Germany and Austria-Hungary.The main links between Russia and the Allies are through Murmansk, Arkhangelsk and Vladivostok.However, there is no railway between the mainland and Murmansk.The railway between Arkhangelsk and Vologda is narrow gauge (changed to broad gauge in 1916), which is inconvenient for transportation.Vladivostok is too far away from the hinterland of Russia.As a result, a large number of goods were piled up in the port and could not be transported to the mainland.In Arkhangelsk, coal was piled up like mountains, and crates of lathes for the arsenal were piled up along the docks.In Murmansk, ships wait weeks, months to unload.

After the outbreak of the war, agricultural production was seriously affected.The able-bodied population who enlisted in the army reached 1,500 million, mainly from rural areas.According to the survey in 1917, in the 50 provinces of Europe and Russia, the rural male labor force decreased by 47.4%.The area of ​​cultivated land decreased by 1 million dessiatines.Farm animals fell from 1914 million in 1800 to 1917 million in 1300.Grain harvest reduced by 14.The difficulty of transportation has also effectively interrupted the connection between urban and rural areas.There are growing shortages of grain, meat, sugar, and other agricultural products on the market. In December 1916, Petrograd received only 12 percent of the planned food supply.Landlords, rich peasants, and businessmen hold a large amount of daily necessities, hoard them, and speculate.Food often disappears from shops, only to be sold at high prices on the black market. In the summer of 14, the price of grain in Petrograd was 1916-1.5 times higher than before the war, and meat and sugar were especially expensive.The broad masses of the people are on the verge of starvation, complaining and complaining, and have no choice but to rise up and fight. In 3, there were 1915 peasant riots caused by starvation in Europe and Russia. In the first five months of 684, there were 1916 peasant uprisings.

Of all the belligerents, Russia had the longest front.The war was fought on 5 square kilometers of Russian territory. Three million refugees are homeless and lack food and clothing.Many lost their lives in the war, were maimed and died of plague.As of March 300, 1917, Russia had lost a total of 3 million people.Many soldiers have no one to support their families, and life is very miserable.