Tehran is an ancient city, and when you look at the old buildings and mosques, not to mention foreigners, even natives often can't tell which century it is. The central roads of the city are crisscrossed, and each road is lined with shops. The domes of mud and sand look like a towering mosque from afar. The Chinese Legation in Persia is located in the center of the city, close to the British Legation and other embassies, but because the Legation demolished the old building to build Chinese-style pavilions, the Legation has temporarily rented a local cupola house for office.

After receiving the encrypted telegram from Beijing, Wang Guangqi, the minister stationed in Poland, frowned and stared at the scenery outside the window: among the crowds of people coming and going, there were donkeys, wagons carrying goods, groups of beggars, Islamic monks in broad robes, and women in veils, and he came to his senses when he saw a series of Cossack cavalry appear.

Once Persia invades Turkmenistan, with the character of the Russians and the cunning of the British, the Cossacks will definitely enter the palace and threaten the king to withdraw their troops, and the withdrawal of troops is equivalent to giving up the recovery of Turkmenistan, and whether Turkmenistan is occupied by Afghanistan or by the Khiva Khanate, it has nothing to do with Persia.

What is even more important is that when Persia signed the "Akhal Boundary Treaty" with Russia more than 30 years ago, which renounced Turkestan and sovereignty over the area east of the Amu Darya River, the domestic elite did not regret that they had lost the northeastern lands, but were somewhat glad that Russia had annexed Turkmenistan. He is no longer harassed by the Turkmen tribes. Losing the territory and being happy to go to the source of chaos is really laughable. This kind of thinking has continued from thirty years ago to the present day, in many private settings. Many Persian ministers had no attachment to the barren Turkmen, but instead talked about how barbaric the Turkmen tribes were, how good they were at robbery.

"Sir, what shall we do?" Zhou Xiangyu, counselor of the legation and also a member of the Intelligence Bureau, asked.

"Prepare the car and go to the palace." Wang Guangqi said. The smoking tobacco was extinguished.

"To the palace?" Zhou Xiangyu, who came to Persia with Wang Guangqi, also knew the Persian political situation very well, and the king was simply a puppet with no rights, although he was dissatisfied with the status quo, but did nothing.

"Yes. Everyone else is cunning. Only the king would really want to do something for the country, especially when he is so young. Wang Guangqi said. We cannot support any opposition to Turkmenistan, otherwise we will be no different from the Anglo-Russian in the eyes of the Persians. You go and inform the standby. ”

The palace has a history of more than 100 years, although the appearance of the palace is not as majestic as Versailles and the Forbidden City, but the interior furnishings are magnificent, such as the pilgrimage hall, banquet hall, meeting hall and other rooms, the walls are not only inlaid with glass. There are also many spherical or triangular crystals hanging throughout the room, dazzling in brilliance.

China is a country that Persia needs to learn deeply, and the two countries have many things in common. Coupled with the deliberate friendship between China, as soon as Wang Guangqi asked for an audience, the Persian king Ahmet asked his chamberlain to go out to greet him personally.

In the Hajj Hall of the Royal Palace. King Ahmad was sitting on his jewel-encrusted throne waiting for Wang Guangqi, even though it was a pilgrimage hall. But the walls are surrounded by oil paintings, with portraits of European and American heads of state and their wives. And the portrait of the young Min King Zhu Kuansu is also on this list - the Persians have always believed that it was the Min King who aided the Fuxing Society and was able to successfully restore it, but they did not know that the Min King was just a puppet like himself.

"My dear friend, what is the matter with you in such a hurry?" The young king looked at Wang Guangqi and smiled, but after all, because he was too young, there was only the inherent brightness of young people in his smile, and there was no trace of the king's old age and majesty.

"Your Majesty, I have a very important and urgent matter to report to you." Wang Guangqi bowed and said, "Because the matter is too important, I hope to ......."

There were many guards standing on the king's left and right, and Wang Guangqi did not dare to reveal what he was going to do on the spot, once this matter was known to Britain and Russia, then China would become the target of public criticism, so he had to be careful.

After waving his hand to let the guards beside him retreat, Ahmad looked at Wang Guangqi and smiled, "My dear friend, can you tell me what is going on now." ”

Although the guards left, the guards behind the king did not, and Wang Guangqi did not dare to speak for the sake of caution, but the king did not realize that the Chinese did not even dare to believe the people around him. There was silence in the pilgrimage hall for a moment, and an indescribable embarrassment permeated the crowd. Wang Guangqi was about to say something about the hot scene, but Zhou Xiangyu, who was beside him, spoke first: "Your Majesty, I heard that the roses in the rose garden in the palace are blooming, can you ask Your Majesty to give us the gift to go and enjoy the flowers?" ”

It was already May in the Western calendar, and roses were blooming everywhere in Tehran, and Zhou Xiangyu's invitation suddenly made Wang Guangqi breathe a sigh of relief, and Ahmet had already understood the meaning of the Chinese, and nodded and smiled at the moment and invited the two to go to the palace garden to enjoy the flowers.

"Your Majesty, the war in Europe has exhausted the countries that have participated in the war, and the weakest of them all, Russia, has had a revolution, the Tsar abdicated and was imprisoned by the revolutionaries, but the situation in Russia is not under the control of the present Provisional Government, and since the Provisional Government has chosen to continue the war, the situation in Russia will be turbulent again until finally the whole country will disintegrate."

In the incomparably gorgeous rose garden, Wang Guangqi walked one step behind Ahmed and whispered to him to analyze the world situation. "And our country, judging this, will ignore the Entente's blocking of the dispatch of troops to the Turkestan region......"

"Ahh But your government ...... "listen Chinese tell himself such a secret, and Ahmad is both surprised to be trusted, because China does not admit that its troops have left the country.

"Your Majesty, if we don't send troops, then our country's lost territory in the northwest will never be able to be regained, so although we can't admit it on the surface, we still send troops to the Turkestan region." Wang Guangqi said. "His Royal Highness King Min and His Excellency the Prime Minister of our country believe that the Turkmen region originally belonged to your country, after the collapse of Russia. It would be unjust to forcibly divide it into the Khiva Khanate. On the contrary, it will damage the friendship between my country and your country, so. We sincerely ask Your Majesty to send a small number of troops to the Turkmen region. ”

Wang Guangqi said this, looking at Ahmed's hesitant and tangled expression, and after a pause, he continued: "Of course, given that the Russian army is still on the territory of your country at the moment, Britain and even the entire Entente will not tolerate this kind of behavior; Considering that His Majesty's army needs to be stationed in the royal city, our country is willing to form a new army loyal to Your Majesty free of charge, which will be completely subordinate to Your Majesty and no one else, and our officers stationed in this army. We will also evacuate after the military training is completed, so as not to fall into the mouth and say that our country also wants to interfere in the situation of your country. ”

A Turkmen actually fell from the sky, and a new army fell, and although Ahmed was excited in his heart, he still said: "Then, Your Excellency, when will this army be sent to Turkmenistan?" ”

"Your Majesty, Turkmenistan will send troops this month. Otherwise, the British-backed Afghanistan would annex all of Turkmenistan and even the Turkestan region. Wang Guangqi said. We are worried that if Afghanistan is allowed to grow, then ......"

"No, I will never allow Afghanistan to occupy the territory of Cumen." Afghanistan is just a poor country carved out of India. The pride of Persia is that Afghanistan will not be allowed to step on its head, let alone annex the territory that belongs to it.

"Yes, Your Majesty. The Chinese government also believes that the lost land should be returned to Zhao in its entirety, and others should not occupy it. Wang Guangqi said.

"Your Excellency, Minister. So what should I do? The Russians are on my land, if send troops to Turkmenistan. Then they will definitely protest. The thought of the ferocity of the Russians brought a fear to Ahmed's eyes. In fact, he wanted a new army formed by the Chinese for free, not really to snatch the barren territory of Turkmenistan from the Russians.

"Your Majesty, the army must be in its own hands. The training of soldiers in the army takes at least two years, and the training of some officers takes at least 20 years, but fortunately, in the past two years, His Majesty has sent many officers to study at our military academies, so it is enough to form a new infantry division of 12,000 men. All we need is for Your Majesty to send a few very loyal men to serve as the chief officer of this army, and the soldiers can be recruited from tribes trusted by Your Majesty, and they will begin training when they arrive in Turkmenistan, and in less than two years they will be a strong army capable of fighting well. Wang Guangqi said.

"Then under what name did they go to Turkmenistan to stop the Afghans?" Ahmed asked. "Will they be able to defeat the Afghan army before they are trained?"

"Your Majesty, they will go to Turkmenistan in the name of the tribes of the northeastern region of your country, not one large army, but countless small ones. So that even if the Russians find out, it will be the responsibility of the local tribes, and not of His Majesty. Wang Guangqi said, "The army in Afghanistan is also only tribal warriors, not regular troops. In the early stages, our army can assist your tribes in defeating and expelling them, and then when Your Majesty's new army is trained, our army will withdraw from Turkmenistan. ”

There really wasn't any fault in the conditions, and Ahmet was silent for a while before saying, "Your Excellency, I know that Allah will not bless believers for no reason, and your country will not help our country to take back Turkmenistan and build an army without purpose. Can you tell why all this is? ”

"Your Majesty," Wang Guangqi didn't expect the king to ask such a question, he was very happy and thoughtful, and after thinking for a while, he said: "In addition to Russia, the threat of our country in the northwest is Britain. Turkestan is a buffer zone for our country, a place where we would rather have independence than the intervention of Britain and Russia. Turkmenistan is also a buffer for Turkestan, and it is also the main route connecting your country and the entire Middle East in the East, and I remember that the ancient Silk Road passed through Turkmenistan. Whether from the point of view of security or from the point of view of protecting the roads with your country, this is a place that my country cannot afford to touch in Afghanistan.

Our consideration is that if His Majesty does not agree to retake this region, then we will support the annexation of this region by the Khiva Khanate. As Minister to Poland, I have taken the initiative to persuade my Government to support your country's occupation of this region in the spirit of friendship between our two countries. If Your Majesty thinks that this is too risky, then I can only send a telegram to Beijing and ask His Excellency Prime Minister to support Khiva......"

"No, you don't need to!" Afghanistan and Persia are only rich and poor, rich and low, but Khiva is only an ant to Persia. Now this mole is calling for wind and rain in Central Asia, occupying almost all of Turkestan, if he is allowed to occupy Turkmenistan again. And at the same time with the support of China, then in the Central Asian region. The first power would be Khiva and no longer Persia, an outcome that would be unacceptable to any Persian. Not to mention the king of Persia.

"Your Excellency, I fully agree with your views and opinions. Tomorrow ......," Ahmed thought about what he had to do—all that was to send a few trusted courtiers and some tribal warriors," "no, I will arrange this matter myself today, and the minister in charge of this matter will come to your legation today to discuss the details, and if nothing else, this month the warriors of the tribe will be able to go to Turkmenistan in batches, and I hope that your country will receive them well." ”

"As you wish, Your Majesty!" Wang Guangqi unexpectedly persuaded the Persian king.

"But. Your Excellency, the premise of all this is that Russia will collapse, and if I do not see this after the end of the war in Europe, then I will withdraw my troops and abandon the Turkmen region. Ahmed said.

"Your Majesty, I fully agree with this. But I would like to say this: there is no need to wait for the end of the war in Europe, and in my country's judgment, Russia will collapse before the end of the war in Europe. Wang Guangqi said.

"Good! Then we will draw up a secret agreement according to this content. "As long as the Russian army is still mired in war in Europe, Ahmet is not worried about what he will do to Persia. To do this, he needs to settle things down in order to prevent China from pulling itself into an endless war with Russia.

The beautiful rose garden was replaced by a palatial meeting room, just as the two sides drew up a secret agreement. One of the palace guards came to report to the king, and when he was gone, Ahmet smiled and said, "Your Excellency, Minister." It is a great honor for me to congratulate your army on another great victory. ”

Ahmed's words have no beginning or end, and Wang Guangqi is suspicious. Zhou Xiangyu whispered in his ear: "My lord, it should be the army of Central Asia that defeats the Russian army again in the Outer Caspian region." Some time ago, I heard that Russia had sent a detachment of troops from the Caucasus to the Transcaspian region to quell the rebellion. ”

The eastern shore of the Caspian Sea, the Aral Sea in the north, and the Russian-Polish border in the south are all within the administrative scope of the Trans-Caspian region, and the Trans-Caspian Railway is adjacent to the Russian-Polish border. At the time of the rebellion in Central Asia, the Russian Revolution and the political situation was unstable, and it took the Russian General Staff more than a month to transfer two broken divisions to Ashgabat, the capital of Trans-Caspian Prefecture, on the Caucasian front against the Ottoman Army.

More than 10,000 exhausted Russian troops, short of clothing and ammunition, could not hold Ashgabat at all, under the advance of a cavalry division and a field division, just finished the first round of artillery preparations, and before the charge, the Russian defense line outside Ashgabat collapsed, and at this time, the whistle of the railway station in the city roared, and a cadre of Russian officers urgently retreated to Krasnovodsk, a port city on the east coast of the Caspian Sea.

Under the city of Ashgabat, Ma Fuxiang, the commander of the 39th Division in a robe, looked at the shallow money trenches and corpses all over the ground left by the Russians, and said: "Why is this Russian Maozi so unbeaten now?" ”

Ma Xiangfu was born in the Gan army, that is, the Ningma in the Ma family army in later generations, Geng Zinian and his brother Ma Fulu, first dismounted at Langfang Station to set up an ambush, repelled the coalition army, and then fought in the rain of Zhengyangmen and the coalition army in the capital, and the palace protected Cixi Guangxu to flee west. At the beginning of the new dynasty, Ma Jiajun, who thought that he would be dismantled along with the Gan army, was suddenly reorganized into the 39th Division of the Fuxing Army, and the division commander did not appoint outsiders, but appointed Ma Fuxiang.

There was no relationship at all, so that the Ma family of the silver looked at each other, and finally spent a lot of effort to find out that this was decided by the Prime Minister himself. At that time, when it came to the Gan army, the General Staff was preparing to be abolished, and I didn't want anyone to mention that the Ma cavalry in the Gan army was one of the few cavalry in the pass that could compete with the Mongolian cavalry. ’

Ma Fuxiang knows what the Ma family has done, but he doesn't know what the merit is. Was he appeased anyway when he returned to the chaos decades ago, or did Gengzi die and refused to join the coalition? The power of heaven is unpredictable, since the ingots have fallen from the sky, Ma Fuxiang can only tremble and continue. In the past few years since he became an army, he did not dare to relax at all, and this time he was transferred to the Western Regions, and every time he started a war, he did his best to make meritorious contributions. However, the previous battle was an ambush, several divisions took advantage of the terrain to encircle and annihilate the Cossack cavalry on the border, machine guns swept down, and Russian corpses piled up. And this time, only a burst of artillery was fired. The Russians ran away, and it seemed that it was really fruitless.

"Fought for three years. The Russians were almost all dead, and when they saw so many of us, they were of course frightened and ran away as soon as they heard the sound of the artillery. "The actual commander of the siege battle, Qian Ding, the commander of the 38th Division, looked at the battlefield full of messes and sighed." Old horse, it's still the old rules, I won't enter the city, so I don't have to misunderstand. If the soldiers on leave enter the city, your people will help watch it, so as to save you from making trouble. ”

The 38th Division is all Han Chinese, and the customs are completely different from the locals, while most of the 39th Division are Han Hui, and the locals are basically the same except for the different languages, so this time to go abroad to fight, as long as it is related to the negotiations, patrols, and trade of the locals. The Han Hui of the 39th Division were responsible so as not to cause national contradictions. Qian Ding has not experienced the rebellion, but Ma Xiangfu has heard what kind of hell the Northwest Rebellion was decades ago.

"Okay, I'll watch it all. Nothing can happen. Ma Fuxiang said. He did not stop at the edge of the trench, but led the people to the city.

If the news of the capture of Ashgabat reaches Tehran, it will naturally reach Beijing. Yang Rui was not interested in Zhan Guohao. But I was very worried that foreigners would come over to protest the note. Before Russia withdrew from the war, in order not to anger the Entente. The revival army could only adopt a cannibalization strategy, advancing west and north little by little. This time, even the capital of the Outer Caspian Prefecture has been occupied, and I really don't know what the foreigners will be mad about.

"Prime Minister, those Russians ask to see." Li Zilong hurried in, and the Russians he was talking about were actually Bolshevik liaison officers stationed in China, and one of them was the most famous in later generations, named Lev. Mikhailovich. Garahan.

"Why are they here, isn't this the responsibility of the Intelligence Bureau?" Yang Rui didn't want to see these people at all, at least not before Russia withdrew from the European war, and if this meeting was known by the Entente, things would be difficult to handle.

"Prime Minister, the Russians led by him said that there is a letter from Li Ning." Li Zilong said: "I also said that this letter needs to be handed over to you personally." ”

"What did Zhang Shi say?" Yang Rui is not surprised to hear that there is a letter from Comrade Lenin, it is estimated that it was sent by Lenin when he left Switzerland more than two months ago, and now it has just reached these people.

"The phone call from Director Zhang only said that there are some things that the Russians want to discuss with you in person, and it is urgent." Li Zilong said. "Also, he's already on his way over, and he'll be there soon."

"Then wait until he comes." Yang Rui didn't understand what the Russians were doing when they saw him, but he always felt that it was not a good thing.

Two hours later, in the side hall of the Yin'an Temple, the Russians who had been asking but had not seen it were finally the people they wanted to see. After greeting Garahan, who was the leader, he handed over Lenin's handwritten letter, and under the translation of the general secretary next to him, Yang Rui realized that there was nothing important in the letter, and Comrade Lenin was still in Switzerland when he wrote the letter, and he had no idea what would be waiting for him when he returned to Russia.

"Your Excellency, in addition to sending this letter, one of the most important things I want to do this time is to protest to you in person." A native of Armenia, Garrahan emigrated to Harbin in 1905 and has lived in the Far East ever since. According to history, he should have been arrested and exiled to Siberia in 1915, but the three-year war of Shenmu saved him. "I have heard that workers in Turkestan are being sent home by the locals, and those who do not want to return will face massacres by the locals. Your Excellency, this is extremely inhumane, the workers have the right to decide where they go, they cannot treat the workers like this! ”

The Russian peasants in the Far East were forcibly repatriated by China, because the Bolsheviks did not start a revolution at that time, and the workers who did not want to return to China were allowed to stay in Harbin, and although their work was taken over by the Chinese, their wages were still paid, which was much more refreshing than 'working five days a week, eight hours a day', so the Bolsheviks had no opinion. But in Central Asia, Turkestan, which has the largest number of cities, railway companies, cotton gins, mines, oil fields, and factories, there are more than 200,000 Russian workers in total, and now these people have to be forcibly repatriated, and they can't support those workers who don't want to return to China like China did before, so Garakhan has a big opinion.

"Mr. Garahan, Turkestan is not the territory of our country, their actions have nothing to do with our country, and I have no way to order them to do what they do not want to do." Garrahan was dancing with his hands, and the Chinese Ren Fuchen, who had joined the Bolsheviks, was helping him translate. In Yang Rui's opinion, the problem he said had nothing to do with China at all, so he immediately blamed the two khanates. (To be continued......)