Chapter 259 The Situation Is Tense

Shengjing Yamen, Fengtian Province.

Shengjing General Iketang'a sat on the main seat with an angry look on his face. All the generals below were prostrate on the ground, panicking. With his prestige over the years and in the Sino-Japanese War of 1898-1895, Iketang'a has slowly taken control. Lived in Fengtian Province.

As for the former Heilongjiang Province, due to the great prestige of his subordinate Shoushan, he gradually had a tendency to sideline the current Heilongjiang general. Heilongjiang and Fengtian were already under his control, and Jilin General Changshun was his die-hard ally.

In accordance with the "Coordinating the Overall Situation of Fengtian", Yiketang Azheng integrated the forces of the three northeastern provinces, reformed the government, established industries, immigrated to the border, recruited militia, and suppressed bandits, gradually stabilizing the situation in Northeast China.

In time, the three eastern provinces will surely develop into a wealthy and stable place in the Qing Dynasty, able to withstand the gradual encroachment of the Russians and Japanese. Of course, this is just wishful thinking of Yiktang'a.

No, not long after today's meeting, Yiktang'a received an urgent military intelligence report.

"The bandits from Tongliao dare to attack the county town!" Yiketang'a said angrily, and then threw the military emergency report heavily on the table.

The Tongliao area in the northwest of Fengtian has always been a hiding place for Mongolian bandits because it is a dry grassland. They came and went like the wind. The Qing government sent people to eliminate them several times, but they could not be eradicated.

However, no matter how courageous these Mongolian bandits were in the past, they never openly attacked the county town like they do now. This was a provocation to the government and was different from the behavior of ordinary bandits.

That's why Yiketang'a was so angry.

"General, I'm afraid there are Russians behind this. These bandits are using new weapons, and there is news from the border army in Heilongjiang Province that the Russian Amur Military District is sending a large number of troops to the border." An official was very worried. said.

After thinking about it, Iketanga understood that this was a countermeasure taken by the Russians because his three eastern provinces did not cooperate with the Russian road construction plan and expelled the Russians who secretly mined gold mines in China.

This matter can be big or small, intimidation can also turn into substantive actions, and the attacks by these Mongolian bandits in the hinterland will greatly reduce the prestige of the three northeastern provinces. If they are not wiped out, it will definitely cause other bandits to be ready to take action. The situation in the three provinces that has just stabilized may return to chaos.

Of course, you can also give in. I believe that as long as you agree to the Russian road construction plan, these bandits will disappear on their own, and the Russian-Amur Military District and the Siberian Military District will also transfer a lot of troops from the border.

"General, what should we do?" The generals under his command asked anxiously when they saw Yiketang'a's expression was gloomy and uncertain.

Iketanga began to ponder. Some people in the DPRK were already very afraid of Russia. After receiving this news, they might refute the plan to build roads in the three eastern provinces and instead agree to the Russian plan to build roads. Just like this In the future, the Russian power will only grow stronger in the Northeast, and there will be endless troubles.

Iketanga didn't think for long before he issued a categorical order: "We cannot retreat even half a step from the Russians' blackmail. We must resolutely destroy these bandits. Since the Russians have increased their troops on the border, to prevent them from jumping over the wall in a hurry, we We should fight against each other, but the troops in Fengtian Province are slightly insufficient. The Electrical Military Aircraft Department asked Wang Wenshao, the governor of Zhili, to dispatch Song Qing's troops stationed inside and outside Shanhaiguan into Hulunbuir City. "

Yiketang'a paused and continued: "In addition, it is useless to destroy those Mongolian bandits with too many people. Please notify Wei Jichen and let the Dingliao army and cavalry enter the Tongliao grassland to destroy these guys who are trying to steal everything."

"General, what should we do if we start a war?" A general asked in fear as he stepped out of the queue.

"If the army doesn't fight, what's the point of feeding you?" Yike Tang Ahu kicked his eyes, stood up, pressed his hand on the hilt of his sword, and shouted angrily.

All the generals below were as silent as a cicada, and no one dared to persuade him.

Seeing this, Iketanga added: "The Russians only built railways as far as Siberia. Russia's military strength in the Far East is not superior to our three eastern provinces. I believe this is just their blackmail. Moreover, even if they provoke The war may not be impossible, but it will be much better than fighting the Russians again when their power in the Far East is increasing. "

"The general's words make sense." Upon hearing this, several generals thought about it and realized that it was really the case, so they immediately agreed.

At this point, the Russian was so soft that he finally tore off his hypocritical side and exposed his sharp teeth.

As soon as Wei Jichen returned to Lushun, he received this bad news. Looking at the telegram in his hand, Wei Jichen sneered in his heart.

After all, the Russians were still irritated by themselves. Now, they should let those officials in the DPRK and China with illusions see their faces clearly, and the "Secret Treaty between China and Russia" that should have been signed in history will also be ruined by them. .

In the original history, the Russians have always pretended to be disgusting and hypocritical, deceiving many Chinese people with their savior appearance. In the end, China was afraid of the Japanese and compared the two, and made the wrong diplomatic strategy of uniting with Russia to fight against the Japanese. , thus signing the "Sino-Russian Secret Treaty" with the Russians. Since the Sino-Russian Secret Treaty was signed in secret, no country knew the specific situation.

The Russians took the opportunity to spread the news and revealed that the secret treaty included the lease rights of Jiaozhou Bay and the use rights of Lushun and Dalian given by the Qing government to Russia. In fact, these two items were not included in the secret treaty. The Russians created this illusion just to seize it. Prepare for these two places.

The powerful countries were very jealous when they received this news, and they did not want Russia to grow so powerful in China. Eventually, all countries considered seizing military ports from China, and the division of China was formed. It can be seen that the Russians' intentions were really sinister and their actions were really insidious.

Fortunately, the Russians have now put away their hypocrisy and started to use force to threaten them. At least they will not let them take the three northeastern provinces into their sphere of influence without firing a single shot as in the original history.

Wei Jichen made the decision to send troops to suppress the bandits without any consideration. He immediately ordered Hu Zi to lead a thousand cavalrymen to the north. At the same time, he dispatched Feng Guozhang's troops from Gaiping to Haicheng to be ready to go north at any time.

In the capital, after the military office learned of the Russians' actions, the military ministers were also shocked. Some said they would surrender, and some said they would treat it toughly. In short, no unified opinion was formed.

While the central ministers were disagreeing and arguing, Lin Zhixing had received an invitation from Wei Jichen at the Beijing branch of the "Wan Guo Gong Bao". He did not hesitate and immediately prepared to resign. He also persuaded several other editors of the newspaper to go to Lushun with him.

However, before resigning, Lin Zhixing had to do one last thing, which was to write an article in the "Wan Guo Gong Bao" to expose the Russian conspiracy.

This was what Wei Jichen had told him before.

After reading a lot of information, Lin Zhixing finally wrote a shocking historical article about the invasion of China by the Tsarist Russia.

In the article, Lin Zhixing counted the Tsarist Russia's continuous encroachment on China for hundreds of years since the Ming Dynasty, with detailed location numbers one by one - Siberia, Outer Khingan Mountains, Vladivostok, Pamirs, Xinjiang, Miaojie, Sakhalin Island.

More than one million kilometers, equivalent to several Taiwans, equivalent to several French territories, were swallowed up step by step by the Tsarist Russia.

Anyone who reads it will feel shocked.

Lin Zhixing cried out loudly at the end of the article: Today, the Russians have not stopped their invasion, but their means are more covert and more sinister than before.

If we allow the Russians to build roads today, the railway will be attached to the land. There will be railways only after there is land. Now it is our land, and Russia is building it, so it is Russia's land.

What we lost to the Japanese was only a few counties and states in the eastern province, which was mediated by Germany and Russia. Now not only the entire Fengtian province is offered to them, but also the land of Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces.

Moreover, those who interfered in the return of Liaodong were not only Russia, but also France and Germany. The reward to Germany was only to expand the Hankou and Tianjin concessions, and the reward to France was only to allow ships from the two countries to pass through the Luhe and Mekong rivers.

If we allow the Russians to build roads, what if Germany and France use it as an excuse to indulge in their insatiable demands?

Do we also have to give several coastal provinces to Germany and France to build roads?

How will China cope with the situation? It will become a colony of the great powers, and our nation will become a nation of perishables.

If my country can strengthen itself, even if it loses Russia's aid, it will not be a big deal. If my country cannot strengthen itself, even if Russia helps us, we will still be inferior to Britain, France, Japan and other countries.

Looking at the success and failure of China and foreign countries, I have never heard of a country that can strengthen itself by relying on the aid of others. I have only heard of inviting wolves into the house.

Looking at the general situation of various countries, only Russia attaches great importance to sovereignty and focuses on expanding territory. The sovereignty of other countries is dominated by commerce. Unless it is absolutely necessary, they will not go to war. If the Russian forces enter the Northeast, they will surely have different intentions. I am afraid that our great Qing Dynasty will lose its place of rise.

How can Russia really help me? Haven't you heard that the weaker China is, the more conducive it is for Russian invasion?

Therefore, it is extremely stupid to unite with Russia to fight against the Japanese and build roads with the help of Russia.

Lin Zhixing's article has been published and has caused a great response. Various newspapers have reprinted it.

Although the Russians protested to the Wan Guo Gong Bao newspaper, and the newspaper dismissed Lin Zhixing and others, the article was unstoppable and spread among the scholars.

Yan Fu, who had a close relationship with Li Hongzhang, originally advocated the idea of ​​alliance with Russia, believing that China's acceptance of Russia today was inevitable.

After reading Lin Zhixing's article, he suddenly realized and pointed out that if China allied with Russia, China would be self-reliant in name, but in fact it would be a country protected by Russia.

Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao and others even regarded Lin Zhixing as a confidant. They originally advocated learning from the West to reform, and this West certainly did not include Russia, because Russia had deep conflicts with the British at that time.

Countless literati and scholars wrote articles and wrote to local government offices to narrate the facts.

Since Kang Youwei set a precedent of writing letters on the official bus, scholars from all over the country have carried forward this matter. Whenever anything happened, the public would express their opinions.

When the news that Russia had deployed troops to the border of Jilin spread, the government and the public were even more excited. China had just suffered an invasion from Japan, and peace advocates such as Li Hongzhang were demoted for their poor performance in the war.

Now China, both inside and outside the government, is holding its breath and trying to work hard to save itself. Unexpectedly, the Russians are ready to move again.

The reformists took advantage of this to help. In addition to repeatedly writing to Guangxu to reform and reform to protect the Qing Dynasty, some radical officials in the court even proposed to fight the Russians.

Of course, most officials proposed to unite with Britain, the United States and other countries to dispel the Russians' aggressive thoughts.

For the Russian fleet docked in Jiaozhou Bay, some people proposed to order it to withdraw from Jiaozhou and go to Yantai and other trading ports.

Seeing the public opinion from all walks of life, the Military Affairs Office dared not surrender again.