Ludendorff began to lay out his final plan in Place, and in St. Petersburg, where the march that began on March 8 intensified, the authorities did not care about such a strike, believing that it was just a loaf of bread, and that the situation changed dramatically, not only a few days later, when the soldiers of the Petersburg garrison also took part in the strike.

By this time Petersburg had been completely controlled by the 'revolutionary soldiers', who, together with the factory workers, occupied the Arsenal and the Admiralty, destroyed the Security Bureau of the Interior Ministry, arrested Tsarist officials and captured the Peter and Paul Fortress. The streets of St. Petersburg were filled with jubilant crowds, shouting slogans such as 'Down with the traitors', 'Down with the oppressors', 'Long live freedom', and the steps in front of the main entrance of the Tavlida Palace became a podium for endless mass meetings, one after the other. At this time, even the Tsar's cousin Kirill? Vladimirovich also led the troops of the Guards under his command on the side of the victors.

The capital changed drastically, and the Tsar, who was in the base camp, had to mobilize some front-line troops to Petersburg, and at the same time appointed General Ivanov, who had been the commander of the South-Western and Western Fronts, as the new commander of the Petersburg Military District, but the Tsar, who was about to return to Petersburg, had to go to Pskov, the headquarters of the Northern Front, due to the blockage of the railway. General Ruzsky, the commander of the Northern Front, who was influenced by the Duma (parliament) leader and leaned towards democracy, persuaded the Tsar to set up a government directly accountable to the Duma and implement a new model of 'monarch in power and government', but when the Tsar finally reluctantly agreed, the Duma leaders in Petersburg believed that this model would not necessarily satisfy the 'revolutionary masses', and believed that the only way to make Tsarson crown prince was to do so. And by the tsar's younger brother Mikhail? The Regency of Aleksandrovich is the best solution.

Soon, this opinion also spread to Mogilev, where the base camp was located. The Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Army, General Alekseev, fully agreed with such a disposition, believing that 'it seems. The situation did not allow for any other solution', and this 'solution' was sent by telegram to the commanders of the fronts and the fleets. On the same day, the commander of the South-Western Front, Brusilov, the commander of the Western Front, Ewert, the commander of the Caucasian Front, the uncle of the tsar, Nikolai? Nikolayevich successively telegraphed back, supporting the tsar's abdication and calling on the tsar to make sacrifices for the Motherland. Betrayed by the generals, the Tsar eventually signed the abdication statement, and although he passed the throne directly to his brother Mikhaev, the Romanov dynasty ended when the Provisional Government was unable to guarantee the safety of the new Tsar.

The news from Russia came as a relief to the whole world. In the eyes of Germany and Austria, who were well aware of the situation, the abdication of the tsar was only the beginning of Russia's chaos and the complete end of the war, while in the eyes of Britain, France, and the United States, Russia's transformation from autocracy to democracy relieved them of their previous embarrassment -- they had always wanted to portray the war as a struggle between democracy and dictatorship, but the fact that they belonged to the same camp as autocratic Russia was obviously a counter-proof of this argument.

But inside this camp of purity. The Japanese, who had long known Yang Rui's assertion that Russia would be revolutionary, seemed very uneasy, although they had fully agreed with the judgment that Russia would inevitably collapse in the war, but when the truth came, from the emperor to the chaebol. All at a loss. The old enemy is in a desperate situation, which Japan wants to see, but the demise of a vast dynasty. It also made the Japanese uneasy. With this kind of sorrow about the death of a rabbit and a fox, the Japanese ambassador asked to see Yang Rui one day.

"Your Excellency. Will there be an accident with His Majesty Nikolai? The small eyes under the glass lenses had an uneasy gaze, and the first thing Bihara Kishigero said when he saw Yang Rui was this. With the profiteering of the Sino-Japanese shipping business. The Japanese seem to have relied more and more on His Excellency Yang Rui's judgment on the international situation, especially on some matters related to the West.

"I don't know." Yang Rui, who was not surprised by the tsar's abdication, said lightly. Although the Entente countries strongly condemned China's rash offensive in Central Asia as immoral, and the negotiations between the two sides were still deadlocked, he was still the old god and leisurely.

"His Majesty the Emperor of our country is very worried about the safety of His Majesty the Emperor of the Lu Kingdom." Kishigero Bihara maintained a humble bowing posture, knowing that China had done a lot of work in Russia, so he was eager to ask some opinions from Yang Rui's mouth.

Yang Rui, who thought about the ending of the tsar in his mind a few times, hoping to make the Japanese automatically enter the pit by themselves, suddenly smiled and said: "Does Your Majesty the Emperor of your country want to send someone to Russia to rescue the Tsar?" ”

"Ahh Hearing Yang Rui say the word 'rescue', Kishigero Bihara's gaze increased uneasily, "Your Excellency, will there be an accident for His Majesty the Emperor of the Lu Kingdom?" ”

"Of course there will be accidents." Yang Rui is very sure, "In Russia, there are still many people who are loyal to the tsar, as long as the tsar is willing, there will be soldiers and generals who are willing to serve him at any time." This is just like our country, although we know that the Manchus are a foreign race, there are still Han people who will be loyal to the Guangxu Emperor. The Provisional Government placed the Tsar under house arrest in the Tsarsye Village of St. Petersburg, where the Empress, the Princess, and the Crown Prince had long been under house arrest. To this I have to say that if the Provisional Government could control the situation in Russia and there would be no chaos, then the Tsar would have been placed under house arrest until death; But if the Provisional Government could not control the situation, or if some of the troops loyal to the Tsar wanted to be restored, then their lives would be in danger. In ancient and modern times, the end of the deposed emperor is always very tragic, especially if there is a threat to those in power. ”

Yang Rui's judgment with reference to history made Kishigero Bihara deeply agree, this time he didn't have an 'ah', but thought for a while before saying: "Although there has been a war between Japan and Lu, His Majesty the Emperor of our country is very sympathetic to the plight of His Majesty the Emperor of Lu and hopes to take it to Japan." Kishigero Bihara finally said what he meant, and then looked straight at Yang Rui, waiting for him to answer. Obviously, this was clearly not just sympathy between the royal family and the royal family, but naturally with some political purpose, and if the Tsar's family were in Japan, then they would most likely help the Tsar to restore.

"The British, the French, and the Americans won't say yes." Yang Rui pretended to think about it before shaking his head and said, "Although this will help us a lot. Yang Rui stopped talking at this point, but under the expectation of Kishigero Bihara, he finally opened his mouth. Unless your country can send a group of people to take advantage of the chaos within Russia. Send it back to Japan secretly, or there will be no other way. If your country is really prepared to do so. I think that my country can help me a lot, but because our people hate Russia, the Tsar cannot stay in my country. ”

Yang Rui's suggestion surprised Kishigero Bihara, whose original intention was that after King George V refused the Tsar to go to England, the Japanese government sent an invitation to the Tsar to stay in Japan until the end of the war before returning home. Of course, this was only a superficial excuse for the end of the Entente alliance after the war. Japan and Russia became enemy countries, and Japan's real purpose was to negotiate with the tsar for a price for restoration. In the context of Sino-Japanese cooperation, this matter cannot be hidden from China, and who knows that Yang Rui is not interested in this at all.

Kishigero Bihara was guessing Yang Rui's intentions, but Yang Rui added: "Your Excellency, according to the judgment made by our intelligence department after a comprehensive understanding of the domestic situation in Russia, if the Tsar does not leave Russia, then he is very likely to not survive this winter, if you want to do something, hurry up." ”

"Nani!" Kishigero Bihara was taken aback. But at this time, Yang Rui had already served tea to the guests.

Kishigero Bihara walked with heavy steps, and Xie Jintai, who was negotiating with the Entente countries, came in a hurry, he should have seen Kishigero's car in Bihara, and as soon as he came in, he was suspicious: "What are the Japanese doing here?" ”

"Come and discuss saving the Tsar." Yang Rui said with a smile. This is a piece he would have liked to do. In the end, he didn't want to offend the USSR because of the tsar, but the Japanese wanted to do it. But it is to be actively induced and encouraged. Consider that Japan saved the tsar for the sake of morality and ambition, while the great Comrade Lenin accused Japanese imperialism of being an accomplice of the tsar. That couldn't have been better.

"How is this possible?" Yang Rui had asked Xie Jintai this question before, under his analysis. Feeling that anyone who took in the Tsar would be hostile to the new Russian regime, he finally abandoned the rescue plan. Unexpectedly, the protagonist of this request for help became Japan.

"How can this not be done?" Yang Rui said with a smile, "Isn't it our important task to sow discord between Japan and Russia and make them hostile to each other?" ”

"But if Japan helps the Tsar to restore ......" Xie Zhangtai's voice became quieter and quieter, with the strength of the Japanese Army, unless something happened in Russia, the Tsar's restoration would never be possible.

Seeing that he understood this, Yang Rui changed the topic and said, "How was today's negotiation?" ”

Knowing that China took the initiative to attack the Russian Central Asian forces, although it did not cross the border, it challenged the bottom line of the Entente, which provoked Britain, the United States and France to be furious. Under the anger of the foreigners, Xie Zhangtai explained several times, saying that the revival army only had a limited counterattack, and the purpose was only to drive the Russian army out of the Chinese border, so as to stabilize the foreigners. However, this was only a temporary stabilization, and with the news that the whole of Central Asia had begun to riot and that Tashkent had been bombed by Chinese planes and occupied by the local khanate troops, the foreigners were again uncomfortable. This is tantamount to saying that China's counterattack has completely aggravated the situation in Central Asia, and Russia's remaining 10,000 troops in Central Asia are simply unable to quell such a chaotic situation.

This was unacceptable to the Entente, and if the Russian Provisional Government wanted to extinguish the fires in its backyard, it would have to transfer European troops, which in turn would greatly increase the pressure on the British and French armies, especially when the American troops had not yet fully driven to France and the Allied forces were exhausted.

Therefore, Britain, which has a great experience of subversion and colonization, once again took the lead in protesting, and in the note strongly condemned China's support for the rebellion in Central Asia, and demanded that China immediately stop this immoral behavior. On the other hand, Xie Zhangtai, who had long been prepared for this, talked about the rebellion in Yunnan, stressing that the reason why Central Asia was like this was because of Russia's tyranny in the region, and although China hoped that the people of Central Asia would rise up against Russia, it did not brazenly transport arms into a sovereign country to carry out subversive activities, as Russia did.

The war of words lasted for several days, but only two days before the Tsar's abdication, the unpredictable political situation in Petersburg caused Britain and the United States to suspend their protests against China, and after the Tsar's abdication statement was issued and the Russian Provisional Government promised to continue the war, condemnation and negotiations continued again. Among the three countries of Britain, the United States and France, Britain and France only hoped that China would not expand the war against Russia and not support the rebellion in Central Asia, in short, they hoped that China would not cause anything more; The United States, on the other hand, a priori believes that this is a deliberate conspiracy created by China -- why did the Petersburg strike and the Chinese attack happen to be on the same day?

And the rebellion, why did so many khanate armies suddenly pop up in Central Asia, which had already been suppressed. Although the local British consul confirmed that the troops were all badly dressed bandit troops, and they were also armed with Russian-made rifles. But so many cavalrymen comparable to the fighting power of the Cossacks were not disguised by the regular army?

To American diplomats, who have always been innocent and have always regarded diplomacy as a conspiracy, everything reveals a disturbing gloom and weirdness. Though. The American ambassador in Petersburg did not find any traces of the Chinese provoking demonstrations and revolutions, and it was difficult to see a single Chinese even in Petersburg, but everyone from the president to Reinsch believed that it was a Chinese conspiracy.

If China and Japan unite, then Russia will be a natural ally of the United States, and this is a fact that the elites of the American 'round table bloc' have recognized since the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War. During the negotiations the day before, Reinsch went so far as to propose that the United States send 2,000 troops to Central Asia to maintain peace, but this proposal was immediately rejected by Xie Jintai on the spot. The Western Regions are Chinese territory, and there is no reason for American soldiers to set foot in it;

After that, Reinsch demanded that China open the Trans-Siberian Railway, and that the American troops would not set foot on Chinese territory, but would travel directly by train from Vladivostok to Novosibirsk, and then rush to Semiy through the half-built Turkish-Western Railway. The route was rejected by Mr. Hsieh on the same grounds, and he told the Americans that the Trans-Siberian Railway, which is now being laid in China, is being re-labeled on broad gauge. This more than 1,000-kilometer railway is simply impassable.

Hearing this reason, the Americans immediately did not fold, according to any treaty, the United States has no basis for sending troops across the Chinese mainland. And in the case of the Trans-Siberian Railway, the Baltic Sea is blocked by Germany, and the United States really wants to send troops. It would only be possible to land in the Arctic Ocean and then across the whole of Russia, which they could not accept.

The Americans stared dryly. The French are in trouble again, believing that China does not pass through the shareholders of the Trans-Siberian Railway. That is, the French government agreed that changing the railway rules without authorization was a breach of contract, but after the breach of contract shouted thank you and Tai did not pay attention, the French had no strength, and China had already announced: The Trans-Siberian Railway passing through China is the trophy of the Baister's army, and it has nothing to do with the French.

The negotiations with the Entente countries for more than ten days were so messy, boring, and boring, but fortunately, Britain and the United States and other countries did not make any other moves except diplomatic notes, which made Xie Jintai, who was originally worried about the merchant fleet, relieved. Today is another negotiation day, and after a quarrel with the ministers of the three countries, he came to the Prime Minister's Office.

"Today Britain has officially asked our country to enter the war." Xie Zhangtai said, his expression solemn. "Saying that this is the best way to show that our country is not a potential enemy of the Entente."

Yang Rui laughed when he heard this position of the boss of the underworld, and he said: "Why do we have to prove our position like them? ”

"Yes, this is what the British told me about avoiding the Americans," said Xie Zhangtai, "and he promised that as long as we could send troops to fight in Europe, then we could agree to all the conditions we had previously proposed." ”

"What about Hong Kong?" Yang Rui heard that the British had this attitude, and his expression became serious.

"The part that has been ceded still cannot be returned, but the concession can be returned in advance." Xie Zhangtai said, "The concessions this time are mainly domestic, customs, extraterritoriality, early redemption of existing railways, concessions, and inland navigation rights, as long as these rights and interests in the country can be granted!" And now they can join France in issuing a government statement that they will abandon these interests. Xie Jintai was a little excited, "Actually, they agreed to what we asked for before!" ”

Hong Kong Island does involve the face of the British, and Yang Rui has also considered this before, so he does not make too many requirements for Hong Kong and the Kowloon Concession, in his plan, this is what was talked about during World War II, and this time it is only necessary to recover the rights and interests of the mainland. In previous negotiations, Britain was always reluctant to give up customs and extraterritoriality, either delaying or talking about China's justice, and the most important point was that he and the United States advanced and retreated together, making the Sino-British and Sino-French negotiations into China-Britain, France-America, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Italy.

"Did they kill hundreds of thousands of them by the Germans?" Yang Rui thought back to the European briefing he read, and it seemed that Britain and France were now on the offensive.

"I don't know." Xie Jintai does not know more about the war situation in Europe than Yang Rui, "But I feel that Britain seems to be confident, thinking that these conditions are given to us, then we will definitely enter the war." ”

"Be confident...... Yang Rui read, suddenly he thought of the Zimmermann telegram in history that provoked the United States to declare war, as well as the two bets he made, and said, "It can't be that the British deciphered the German diplomatic code, right?" ”

"It's unlikely. I have repeatedly reminded Germany that important telegrams must use a key, one secret at a time, and cannot be repeated. Germany has always been rigorous, so it can't be so stupid, right? Under the guidance of Yang Rui, he also began to think in this direction.

The two bets made by Yang Rui and the Germans were agreed by Xie Zhangtai. Telling the Germans that Russia would withdraw from the war this year was tantamount to giving Germany confidence in victory and giving him more time to prepare, especially since the intelligence bureau would then remind the German High Command to pay attention to the cowards and revolutionaries among the captured soldiers and soldiers on the Eastern Front repatriated from Russia, so that the German army would have a higher morale and move to the Western Front.

In addition to obtaining an excuse to enter the war, the purpose of frankly saying that China would decide whether to enter the war or not according to the offensive and defensive choices of the German army, was more in the hope that Germany would be able to make the war last longer through the defensive. For every month the war is extended, China can charge an extra 300 million yuan for freight.

As with the previous gamble, the Intelligence Bureau had a message to the Germans this time: it was to be aware of the Entente's plague offensive - the Spanish flu of history had left the Germans with an entire stretch of trenches. The Spanish flu was not curable, but at least isolated, and with the fact that it was already on the defensive, the Germans should be able to extend the war into the summer and even winter of 1919. At that time, China, which has an extra billion dollars, will not necessarily be hated by Germany as long as it can pull more Germany after the war, even if it finally breaks its promise and symbolically sends troops.

The Germans' choice of defensive strategy is one choice, but if they still choose to attack according to the historical trajectory, although China will not gain anything, it will also enhance the friendship between China and Germany if it talks about another possible victory option after the war. After years of weighing and calculating, Xu Huafeng of the Ministry of Industry is ready to focus China's industrial development on Germany.

"I think it's better to wait." Yang Rui thought carefully about the outcome of the Entente if he cracked the German diplomatic code, but he couldn't find any threat after thinking about it. The more he learned about Russia, the more he became convinced that Russia was hopeless, and that the most powerful and tactical Bolsheviks, the most powerful and tactically nimble, would win the final victory no matter how much they intervened; In the eyes of the Entente, the biggest suspicion of Russia's withdrawal from the war was not the Bolsheviks, who were still unknown to everyone, but the prime minister of the Provisional Government and the State Duma. Besides, bet on this kind of joke, foreigners will believe it?

"Do you have to wait?" Although he knew that Yang Rui would definitely wait, Xie Zhangtai was still a little disappointed, after all, it was already a big deal to recover these rights and interests. "It may not be in our interest to wait any longer, if the American army can be massed in large numbers in France, and the victory of the Allies is in sight, then the conditions may not be like this. The United States has always accused our policy of not giving equal treatment to the parishioners and discriminating against the parishioners, so we do not think that after the abolition of extraterritoriality, foreign nationals will be treated fairly, and now the best way for us is to sign agreements with Britain and France first, so as to isolate the United States and force them to finally compromise. If the war in Europe repeats, then ......"

"Chong'an, we should wait a little longer." Yang Rui said, "Although the United States participated in the war, his army did not have a few more people, and if it wanted to be surrendered to the war, it would first be recruited, armed, trained, and finally transported to France under the threat of German submarines, which would take time, and we could afford to wait." At the very least, it is necessary to determine whether Germany is attacking or defending before declaring war, right? I don't want to let soldiers go to Europe to die, but the current national policy is to attack the west and defend the east, so this person's life is derived. But if fewer soldiers die in the war in Europe than in the war and the treaty is forcibly annulled, it is necessary to seize the time, and now, now, is not the time. ”

"But what if it's too late?" Xie Jintai asked eagerly. "Also, how should the British side delay?"

The dignified foreign minister actually wanted to ask himself for advice, Yang Rui smiled bitterly, "Chong'an, this year, Britain and France will beg us more and more often, and their attitude will become more and more urgent, especially when Russia withdraws from the war, at that time they will burn their butts, and there is nothing too late." The excuse is very simple, it is enough for them to openly recognize the Outer Northeast as our inherent territory. (To be continued......)