Travel through the Qing Dynasty and become emperor

Chapter 329 Diplomatic Friction
At this time, the highest military meeting held in the underground conference room of Qianqing Palace has ended, and only Guan Xuqing and Feng Xianghua are left in the room.

"Xianghua, just tell me if you have anything to say." Guan Xuqing leaned back in the chair, rubbing his temples.

"One thing I don't understand is whether to treat Zhang Zuolin and his army," Feng Xianghua said hesitantly.

"You're saying that I'm biased in dealing with the Eastern Expedition Army and the Central Army, right?" Guan Xuqing spoke out for Feng Xianghua.

"No, I absolutely don't dare to think that way. It's just that Zhang Zuolin has a large army in his hands, and he has a large group of cronies under him. He is definitely not someone in the pool. I think we should be more cautious in dealing with him."

"Xianghua, my employer never asks about his background, but now that Zhang Zuolin's wings are getting fuller, I have to consider his background."

"Does the emperor despise his reckless background?"

"No, it's not disgust, but worry. Zhang Zuolin and his generals are all from the green forest. Such people are absolutely trustworthy in war. But once the wings are full, I am worried that these people will become kings on their own and refuse to obey the court's control. , so for Zhang Zuolin, the method I adopt is to restrain and suppress them, first to wear out the banditry in their bones. Think about why I would rather hand over the defense of St. Petersburg to Zhang Yu than to Zhang Zuolin. The reason is that this."

"But I'm worried that if this continues, Zhang Zuolin will be angered. With 10,000+ people, he will be bearded again in a fit of anger. What can we do?"

Guan Xuqing smiled: "Xianghua, you worry too much. Zhang Zuolin is a careless person. He knows when to advance and when to retreat. He knows that under my wings, Zhang Zuolin and his brothers can flourish The reason why Zhang Zuolin was able to gallop across Siberia is because there is a powerful empire behind him, after he understands this point, he will never go against the empire, on the contrary, he will do his best to make contributions." Guan Xuqing squinted his eyes as if thinking Thinkingly said: "If he dares to oppose me at this time, then he is not Zhang Zuolin."

To Zhang Zuolin's great surprise, it didn't take long before the Ministry of War sent Zhang Zuolin a motorized independent corps. Motorcycles were the research results of the Imperial Academy of Sciences last year and were soon used in military applications, but they were never used on the battlefield. It was revealed that this corps is China's first motorized corps in the world.Guan Xuqing intends to replace the cavalry with a motorized corps in the future, which is an important step in the reform of the modern military system.

In addition, an independent armored regiment was sent, all equipped with land carrier-class tanks and the latest armored combat vehicles.

There is also an airship brigade including 30 airships. Since only China has developed military aircraft in the world, there is no airport suitable for aircraft landing and landing on the European battlefield. Therefore, no aircraft formation was sent this time.It is worth mentioning that Guan Xuqing boldly added a brand new paratrooper to the airship brigade, hoping to shine on the European battlefield.

Zhang Zuolin danced excitedly, beat Tang Yulin's chest and shouted: "See, this shows that the emperor still thinks highly of our buddies, otherwise why would he give us the most advanced gadgets in the country! You fucking scar Really heartless!"

Tang Yulin just grinned and kept giggling.

In Beijing, Feng Xianghua came to ask for instructions: "Your Majesty, Zhang Zuolin called to say that the army has been reorganized, and I will ask the Emperor when to send troops."

Guan Xuqing thought for a while: "Don't worry, ask Wu Tingfang to issue a statement in the name of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Chinese Empire strongly appeals to all countries in the European War to remain calm, and strongly condemns all actions that undermine world peace and endanger the fundamental interests of the people of the world. Immediately cease fire, the empire is willing to mediate as a mediator. If the war insists on continuing, the empire will send troops to mediate by force, and use its utmost strength to be a loyal defender of world peace. At the same time, tell the Ministry of culture to start the propaganda machine and surround the Continuous reporting and commentary on the European War."

Feng Xianghua was taken aback for a moment, then understood, and couldn't help raising his thumb: "It's still the emperor who sees everything comprehensively and far-reaching."

Berlin, Germany. "Report. This is today's "China Times". The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement. Please read it." An adjutant was holding a newspaper and putting it on Little Maoqi's desk.

Little Mao Qi took the German version of "China Times", read it carefully, raised his head and said thoughtfully: "It seems that the Chinese are really going to send troops."

The adjutant asked somewhat puzzled: "China seems to be issuing this statement from the standpoint of a neutral country, and it is impossible to judge whether it will be a friend of Germany."

"Stupid! There are many political things that cannot be explained clearly. China is obviously eager to intervene in European affairs, but on the surface it has to pretend to be an envoy of peace. It seems that this country is much more terrifying than we imagined. Or we His Majesty the emperor had the foresight to win China over at the critical moment, if this country is not our friend but our enemy, I dare not guess what kind of disaster it will bring to the empire!"

However, when everything was ready and China was preparing to send troops, Zhang Zuolin had friction with the German Ministry of War on the issue of command authority.

The German side does not seem to understand that China's reply did not mention Germany's request for the command of the Chinese army. In the follow-up calls, it was repeatedly asked about this.Without exception, the past telegrams turned a blind eye to this problem. On the contrary, in the consultation telegram of the Chinese General Staff on the situation on the battlefield, they clearly put forward a war suggestion to Germany, that is, to fight at all costs within the territory of France. For a landmark victory, it is best to conquer the capital Paris. Only in this way can the soldiers and European allies who participated in the war be given new confidence.If this goal cannot be achieved, then all the results of the first stage are meaningless.

After going back and forth several times, the Germans seemed to understand why China did not directly mention the command of Chinese troops in Germany.Immediately they took action. The German Ministry of War hosted a banquet for the ambassador and counselor of the Chinese embassy in Berlin, announcing to them the decision that the German Empire would conscript Chinese troops to fight in the name of the Chinese army, and produced a telegram stating that Beijing had already Agree to Germany's request.Although the Chinese Minister Xu Jingcheng and the embassy counselor raised objections, believing that they could not respond to Germany's decision on behalf of China without at least an order from the Beijing Army Department, they already suspected that the telegram was fabricated by the German side.

But what happened next was completely beyond the expectations of the Chinese embassy. They were quickly arrested by the German side on charges of disrespect to the German Empire. The forged telegram was sent to Zhang Zuolin's imperial cavalry, asking Zhang Zuolin to send troops to help immediately.

After receiving the telegram, Yang Yuting, chief of staff of the imperial cavalry, took the telegram to see Zhang Zuolin: "Commander, the German War Ministry has repeatedly urged us to send troops, but there has been no order from Beijing so far. What should we do?"

Zhang Zuolin touched the back of his bald head and said, "Germans are nothing, Yu Ting, thanks to you, you are still my old Zhang's think tank, can't you understand this? Don't forget who we are eating at any time What kind of blood is bleeding from your body? Don’t say that the Germans promised to give us the equipment of a division, even if he equips all our troops, we can’t listen to them.”

Zhang Zuolin’s reply to the telegram was not received for a long time. Although the German Ministry of War released the Chinese minister and others back to the embassy, ​​they sent a company of troops to monitor the Chinese embassy [-] hours a day and closely monitored the whereabouts of the embassy staff.After a brief communication, the German side agreed to Xu Jingcheng's suggestion. Xu Jingcheng will serve as the temporary liaison officer. Before the Chinese side makes a formal and normal response, the German Ministry of War will explain to Beijing the issue of the command of the imperial cavalry. Work.In return, the German side will temporarily withdraw the soldiers monitoring the Chinese embassy.Before China and Germany reached a formal settlement agreement on this issue, the German military unilaterally demanded that the imperial cavalry not undertake major offensive and defensive tasks after arriving in Europe.

At the same time, the embassy in Germany also formally submitted a formal protest letter to Germany and the military, and denounced this unreasonable move by Germany as having violated the dignity of the Chinese Empire and an offense to the royal authority of the Chinese Empire.Although the two sides have reached a preliminary settlement on this matter, the Chinese Empire reserves the right to make further and more drastic reactions.

For Xu Jingcheng, this is an opportunity.Since he entered the Imperial Army University on the eve of changing the country's name to the Chinese Empire, his official career has not been very smooth.At the top of the empire, no effective relationship channels have been established. He believes that there is no one at the top, and the court has no roots, which is the reason why he has not improved in the officialdom. Finally, he managed to build a relationship with Prince Gong Zaiying, and then he was transferred to Germany. Come and be an ambassador.

After the chaos in Europe.He has never been as afraid as others. On the contrary, he has always believed that only in troubled times can he show his value. Therefore, he has been waiting for an opportunity, and even tried his best to find a way to transfer from the foreign department that others dream of to the domestic military department. .Even if it is to go to war with the old superior Liu Jintang.Because he believes that the most effective and direct way to attract the emperor's attention is to make military exploits.

When I was in distress, I didn't expect an opportunity to suddenly appear by my side.

Due to the war, the Berlin embassy only kept a temporary diplomatic corps of more than a dozen people. As the only person in the Chinese embassy who stayed in Berlin after the war in Europe and was currently the highest-ranking diplomatic chief, Xu Jingcheng made a decision right now. This decision was also a matter of helplessness. When a telegram was sent to the country for consultation, there was always no specific opinion on how to deal with it. It was just that the Minister of Foreign Affairs Wu Tingfang sent him a telegram, requesting not to compromise the country's prestige and the dignity of the empire.However, the Ministry of War, the General Staff, and even the emperor did not hear any response.

After repeated weighing, Xu Jingchun finally decided not to wait any longer, and then domestic telegrams also confirmed his judgment. Both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Army sent telegrams to express that Xu Jingchun had handled the case in a decent manner, and asked him to maintain this position.

This time, Xu Jingcheng had a clear mind, and he immediately made a bold decision to hold a press conference on behalf of China and the military the next day.

(End of this chapter)