Shanghai, Zhennan Wangfu, Changle Book House.

After carefully listening to Zhao Liewen's briefing on Tianjin, Yan Yangtian pondered for a while, then looked at Yi Zhicontent, who was leaning against the window and smoking, and hesitated: "Principal, if there is a war in Tianjin, it will inevitably affect the ..... of delaying the war of the Japanese Kingdom....... ”

Yi Xun really hasn't done anything yet, at least he hasn't openly taken over the mutinous Fuheng Division, Yi Zhishu slowly turned around and encouraged: "Go on." ”

"Student-by-student." Yan Yangtian pondered and said: "King Gong does have the intention to provoke a war, so he can justifiably take over Fuheng's department, but King Gong should know very well that without Yuan Qi's support, he will not be able to win this battle."

Therefore, King Gong's current actions can only be a temptation, not to test the reaction of the queen mother, but to test the reaction of the principal, if the principal supports, he dares to let go of the fight, if the principal does not support, he may not take risks! ”

Yi Zhishu nodded slightly and said, "Then tell me, should we support it?" Or shouldn't it be supported? ”

"If you consider it from the perspective of the war situation of the Japanese Kingdom, it is naturally not supported." Yan Yangtian said without thinking: "But if you consider the domestic situation, you should support it." ”

"What is the situation in the country?" Zhao Liewen asked: "Sooner or later, there will be a war?" ”

Yan Yangtian nodded, and said slowly: "The period of preparing for the constitution is about to expire, and the Queen Mother firmly controls the New Army of the Eight Banners, a civil war is inevitable, and it is better to fight late than early!" ”

Yi Zhishu glanced at the two of them and said, "Does Huifu also think that a civil war is inevitable?" ”

"Students don't think so." Zhao Liewen said without thinking: "Although the Empress Dowager Ci'an is unwilling to take the initiative to give up the imperial power and implement the constitution of a virtual monarch, she is sensible, knows how to advance and retreat, and can take into account the overall situation. Based on this, the students assumed that it was entirely possible to avoid a large-scale civil war. ”

Yi Zhizu slowly paced back to his seat and sat down before he said slowly: "The United States is a lesson from the past, a Civil War lasted for four years, and the losses were immeasurable. Our country is currently in a critical period of economic development and accelerated industrialization, and we must do everything possible to avoid the outbreak of a large-scale civil war.

If war breaks out, we must also control the scale of the war, the duration of the war, and the ....... of the damage caused by the war. ”

Before he finished speaking, Cao Gensheng walked in quickly and reported: "The big shopkeeper, the military aircraft department is calling——。 ”

"Reading ——。"

"If King Gong raises troops to make a rebellion, will Yuan Qi join forces with the imperial court to suppress it?"

"It seems that the Queen Mother is also skeptical about Yuan Qi's attitude." Yi Zhisuff said with a smile, he sent a telegram to the Military Aircraft Department to say that if he could not be dissuaded, he was willing to join hands with the imperial court to maintain the stability of the court situation, but the Military Aircraft Department sent a telegram to confirm it.

"King Gong and Yuan Qi have a close relationship, and the Queen Mother naturally doesn't dare to believe it." Zhao Liewen said slowly: "This telegram is not only to confirm the attitude of the big shopkeeper, but also to hope that the big shopkeeper can take practical actions. ”

"What concrete actions do you want us to take?" Yi Zhizhi said: "Sending troops to Tianjin, the imperial court will definitely be suspicious and support a batch of arms?" I don't want the Eight Banners New Army to be too powerful...... ”

Yan Yangtian opened his mouth and said: "The war on Shikoku Island is basically over, and we can transport back to China the more than 10,000 new troops of the Eight Banners who conquered Shikoku." ”

"That's a good idea." Yi Zhizu said: "Just reply to the Military Aircraft Department like this, and tell King Gong by the way." ”

Jingshi, Forbidden City, military aircraft duty room.

Receiving a call back from Yi Zhicontent, Su Shun can be said to be overjoyed, and after watching it twice, he got up and rushed to the Heart Cultivation Palace, Yixun and he are both leaders of the constitutionalists, but all along, the highest voice for the regent of the cabinet is Yixun, he, the chief military minister, seems to have been living in the shadow of Yixun, this time, he can finally raise his eyebrows!

After reading the telegram, Ci'an also breathed a sigh of relief, and Yi Zhizhi did not take the opportunity to propose to send troops to Tianjin, but promised to transport more than 10,000 elite soldiers from the Japanese State back to Tianjin as soon as possible, forming a front and rear attack on King Gong and Fuheng's subordinates. This move not only actively supported the imperial court to quell the turmoil, but also relieved her worries, but she was actually a little worried about Yuan Qi's troops detained in the Japanese army.

After a slight sigh, she spoke: "Draft, Wen Yan encouraged King Gong, so that he could change his route to the north and return to Beijing through Tongzhou." ”

Su Shun listened to it, this move was not only intended to test King Gong's reaction, but also to give King Gong a chance, if King Gong obeyed the order to change the route to the north, wouldn't he be happy in vain? After a slight sigh, he hesitated and said, "Queen Mother, is King Gong camping outside Tianjin?" ”

Ci'an glanced at him with some surprise, and then reacted and said, "But worried about Yuanqi?" ”

"Yes." Su Shun hurriedly said: "If King Gong has no intention of making trouble, he will definitely follow the order and divert to the north, and Weichen is worried about whether Yuan Qi will continue to transport the Japanese troops back to Tianjin." ”

After a little hesitation, Ci'an said slowly: "Once King Gong's army comes to the city of Tianjin, there are too many variables, so I order it to immediately change its route to the north and find out its intentions!" ”

Su Shun didn't dare to say more, and hurriedly kowtowed: "Weichen obeys the order." ”

Tianjin, Tanggu, forward camp.

Yixun led the troops to march to Tianjin purely a gesture, the marching speed was extremely slow, not to mention, and set up camp early, the Chinese army's tent had just been set up, and the telegram from the imperial court and Yuanqi was delivered almost at the same time, and after comparing the two telegrams, Yixun sighed lightly, and casually transferred the telegram to Monk Greenqin, sipping tea and saying nothing.

After reading the telegram, Seng Lingqin said softly: "Without Yuan Qi's support, even if the sixth master can capture Tianjin, he will not be able to hold it, and as for the Jingshi, it is even more unthinkable." ”

"I don't understand, what does Yi Guocheng think?" Yi Xun said in a sullen voice: "Do you really expect that the Queen Mother will obediently hand over the military power and implement constitutional government?" Isn't this a game of stealing the skin of a tiger? ”

After a slight sigh, Monk Greenqin said, "Why don't I go to Xingang to meet Guo Zhongmu?" ”

Yixun was really a little unwilling in his heart, and he groaned before he said: "I let Guo Zhongmu eat a closed door soup before, and the monk king went to ......." ”

Monk Greenqin waved his hand and said, "It's okay, Guo Zhongmu is not a character who must be repaid." ”

Newport, the East China Sea Fleet is stationed.

Hearing the news that the monk Greenqin was riding lightly, Guo Zhongmu immediately realized that things might have taken a turn for the better, and hurriedly greeted him, and as soon as he saw him, he smiled heartily: "The monk king came, but he changed his mind?" ”

Monk Greenqin smiled: "This king is really worried that he will eat the closed door. ”

"In the eyes of the monk king, he is so small-bellied?" Guo Zhongmu said with a smile on his face, stretched out his hand and said, "Monk King, please——。 ”

The two entered the big tent, and after serving tea, Guo Zhongmu retreated from everyone before he spoke: "What is King Gong's plan?" ”

Monk Lingqin asked: "King Gong's thoughts and intentions, Fu Heng should have made them clear?" Can you report truthfully to the king of Zhennan? ”

"How dare you hide such a big thing?" Guo Zhongmu said and instructed the outside world: "Come here, send me all the telegrams that are exchanged with Shanghai today." ”

Monk Lingqin didn't stop him, lit a cigarette, and then he said in a muffled voice: "What does King Zhennan think?" ”

"I don't know what the big shopkeeper thinks." Guo Zhongmu said: "I think it's nothing more than these ....... After a pause, he continued: "Considering the international situation, the big shopkeeper predicts that a large-scale war will break out in Europe in the next two years, which is a great opportunity for us to expand in the northwest, and once a large-scale civil war breaks out in the country, it is very likely that we will miss ......the opportunity for northwest expansion again." ”

"Wait." Monk Greenqin interrupted him and said, "If Yuan Qi strongly supports it, even if a civil war breaks out, the war will end quickly, as long as half a year, or as short as two or three months....... ”

"The monk king can't help but think too simply." Guo Zhongmu said slowly: "Once a war breaks out, it will not be a battle for the protection of the emperor and the constitution, but a battle for the survival of the Qing Dynasty!" If the imperial court is defeated, it will inevitably retreat to the northeast, and the war will inevitably be protracted. ”

Monk Lingqin was silent for a while, there is indeed this possibility, the imperial court has been running Shengjing all these years, isn't it the idea of returning to the Northeast? Once Ci'an saw that the situation was not good and retreated to the northeast with the emperor, it was really difficult to say when the war would end.

Seeing that he was silent, Guo Zhongmu continued: "The big shopkeeper has always been very opposed to the civil war, because the war is too destructive, the American Civil War was fought for four years, the population was lost, and the economic losses were immeasurable.

I remember that the big shopkeeper once said that our great advantage in the Qing Dynasty is the population when we compete with Western countries! In order to obtain cheap labor, England and France adopted the enclosure movement, while the United States and Tsarist Russia adopted the policy of emancipating black slaves and serfs.

Our Qing Dynasty has a large population, so there is no need to worry about cheap labor, but in recent years, because of the continuous flow of immigrants in the Northeast, Northwest, Mongolia, Nanyang and other places, it is also a little stretched, Southeast Asia, Korea, Japan, Northwest, Siberia, Alaska These places now also need a large number of immigrants.

As for the economic losses, how destructive the war is, the monk king is afraid that he does not understand, the great treasurer once mentioned that the American Civil War, the direct economic loss is as high as five billion silver dollars! How many silver dollars do we need to build a railroad? ”

The American Civil War, Seng Lingqin was very concerned, but the focus of his attention was on the course of the war, and the economic losses he had never heard of, and the economic losses were as high as five billion silver dollars. How much silver is the annual income of the Qing Dynasty?

After a long time, he spoke: "The preparation for the constitution is about to expire, and even if there are all kinds of concerns, will we not give up the implementation of the constitution?" ”

"Of course not." Guo Zhongmu said slowly: "I think the big treasurer should have full confidence in the smooth implementation of the constitution, and assist King Gong in controlling the military power, isn't it a means of dividing and disintegrating, containing and balancing the New Army of the Eight Banners?" Speaking of this, he chuckled and said, "King Gong is too radical, everything is done quickly. ”

The two of them spoke, the receipt of the telegram has been sent over, Monk Lingqin roughly flipped through it, saw that it had indeed been reported truthfully, and was silent when he landed, and he said after a long time: "The imperial court has issued an edict, and King Gong will be diverted to the north, enter Beijing through Tongzhou, and send a telegram to the king of Zhennan, please instruct." ”

"Okay!" Guo Zhongmu said and quickly wrote down the message and walked out of the big tent, but he smiled secretly in his heart, he knew it was like this, why bother in the first place!

Shanghai, Zhennan Wangfu, Changle Book House.

"Good news!" Yan Yangtian walked into the study quickly and said with a smile: "The monk king went to Xingang to see Guo Zhongmu, and it seems that he has a change of heart. As he spoke, he gave the telegraph city to Yi Zhi.

After reading the telegram, Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "It seems that King Gong's attitude is not resolute, but it is rare that the Queen Mother's edict is quite timely, and it can be regarded as giving King Gong a decent step!" With that, he forwarded the telegram to Zhao Liewen.

Yan Yangtian asked: "The principal planned to let King Gong sit in Tianjin, how should I reply?" ”

After a slight sigh, Yi Zhizhi said, "Let him be stationed in Tongzhou temporarily." ”

Where can I get to Tianjin in Tongzhou? As soon as Zhao Liewen heard it, he knew that he was dissatisfied with King Gong, and immediately considered it: "It is the monk king who went to Xingang, and the attitude of King Gong is not clear at present, so it is better to ask his opinion, is it to return to Beijing?" Or is it located in Tianjin? ”

"It's because he's so used to him that he dares to be so unscrupulous!" Yi Zhizu said in a deep voice: "Just order him to be stationed in Tongzhou directly!" ”

Seeing that he was showing signs of anger, Zhao Lie changed the topic wisely, "Fuheng, is it business as usual?" ”

"Fuheng is different from King Gong." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "In such an unfavorable situation, he did not abandon King Gong, which is also rare, as usual, willing to come to Yuanqi, we will not wronged him, we are willing to go to the Wa Kingdom, and it is good to make arrangements." ”

Seeing that his tone was softened, Zhao Liewen said with a smile: "Big shopkeeper, the monk king's request for instructions from us is nothing more than a gesture...... In the future, there will be places to rely on King Gong. ”

"Okay, call back, respect King Gong's choice." Yi Zhishu nodded slowly, he was indeed very dissatisfied with Yixun, but there was really no need to put it on the table when he thought about it, and there was no need to stiffen the relationship, implement constitutionalism, and contain the Eight Banners New Army.

Monk Greenqin had been waiting for Yi Zhi's call back in Xingang, and then he hurried back to the Tanggu camp, and entered the big tent, Fu Heng, who was talking to Yixun, hurriedly got up and saluted, "Xiaguan has seen ........" ”

"No formality." Monk Greenqin waved his hand, strode to Yixun and sat down and said: "Yuan Qi's attitude is very clear and resolute, and Guo Zhongmu also truthfully reported the thoughts of the sixth master. As he spoke, he took out a telegram and reported: "I asked for instructions on the imperial court's edict, and this is a reply." ”

Glancing at the message, Yi Xun said with a bitter face: "Before, Yi Guocheng suggested that we sit in Tianjin, but now he respects my choice, just a few words, a chill came to my face. ”

"The sixth master is too worried." Monk Greenqin said: "The sixth master will not forget, when he called back, you refused to sit in Tianjin." ”