Although it will take time for Li Hongzhang and Dmitriev, the Russian consul in Shanghai, to negotiate on the withdrawal of Russian troops from the northeast, but for the crossing group, the matter has come to an end, after all, without receiving any reward from the Qing court, the crossing group completely defeated the Eight-Nation Alliance, forced the Eight Nations to admit defeat, and recovered part of the territory for the Qing court and for China, and maintained sovereignty, which has been regarded as a matter of benevolence and righteousness。 To be honest, if the Northeast can't get it back, the crossing group has no responsibility.

Of course, from the standpoint of the Chinese, the crossing group is still very concerned about the negotiations on the withdrawal of troops from the northeast, so Xia Bohai, Qin Zheng, and Xu Jichao, who remained in Tianjin, also discussed this matter at the daily executive committee meeting.

Qin Zheng shook his head and said, " Of course not, first of all, the Russians will not be so easy to succumb, and the Russians have a special love for the land, because it is the land they have seized, it is not easy to let them spit it out, but it is not by diplomatic pressure or military threats can be done, in the history of the old time and space, Russia has two large-scale loss of land, one was at the end of the First World War, Russia October Revolution established the Soviet Union, in order to withdraw from the world war as soon as possible, in order to consolidate the Soviet power, to win time to restore and develop the economy, forced to take temporary compromise actions, the Soviet government and Germany and its allies signedThe Peace of Brest-Litovsk, relinquishing jurisdiction and sovereignty over Poland, Lithuania, Courland, Livland, and Estland, and allowing Latvia, Ukraine, Finland, Georgia's independence caused the Soviet Union to lose nearly 3 million square kilometers of territory and nearly 70 million inhabitants, but due to the defeat of Germany in World War I, the Soviet Union immediately abolished the treaty, so it recovered part of the benefits, but in the end it lost nearly 1 million square kilometers and nearly 50 million inhabitants, and it was not until after World War II that they gradually recovered; and the other time, as everyone knows, was the collapse of the Soviet Union, this time Russia lost a total of more than 500 square kilometers of territory and nearly 80 million inhabitants, and until we crossed, it has not recovered, and it is estimated that it is impossible to recover。 ”

Russia's two large-scale territorial losses occurred during a period of national turmoil, and in addition to the fact that after its defeat in the Crimean War and the Russo-Japanese War, Russia also lost a small part of its territory, so it would have been impossible for Russia to cede the occupied land if it were not for national turmoil or battlefield defeat. Moreover, in the old time and space, Russia's withdrawal from the Northeast was still after the defeat of the Russo-Japanese War, so this time Russia may sign an agreement to withdraw its troops, but it will never give up the Northeast. ”

Xu Chaoji said: "If Russia is not ready to give up the Northeast, then why should it sign an agreement to withdraw its troops?"

Qin Zheng said: "Gain time, now we are united with Japan to threaten Russia militarily, and Britain, the United States and France are putting pressure on Russia diplomatically, and Russia's strength in the northeast region is insufficient, so it is necessary to sign a withdrawal agreement to buy time, so that Russia has enough time to increase troops and build fortifications in the northeast." As for the agreement, it can be destroyed if it is signed, Russia has always been a veteran of breaking treaties, and the binding force of international treaties in this era is not as strong as when we crossed over, and breaking the treaty is as easy as eating. ”

At this time, Xia Bohai said: "Old Qin, do you think that in this time and space, the Russo-Japanese War can still be fought?"

Qin Zheng thought about it seriously before he said: " It should be said that there is a great possibility of a fight, although due to our intervention, the Qing court did not compensate a large amount of silver, nor did it lose the sovereignty of the country, and we even recovered part of the territory, but from the perspective of the general trend in the Far East, there has not been much change, and the competition between Russia and Britain is still the main rhythm, Japan is a helper of the competition between Britain and Russia, and the contradictions between Japan and Russia on the Korean Peninsula are irreconcilable, and at the same time, both countries have great ambitions for the northeast region of our country, so in the end they can only be resolved by war。 ”

After a pause, Qin Zheng said again: "Whether the Russo-Japanese War can be fought or not, there should be two landmark events, one is that Russia really withdraws its troops from the Northeast, if Russia really withdraws its troops from the Northeast, it means that Russia does not want to have a direct confrontation with Japan, so that the confrontation between the two sides will be eased somewhat; ”

Xu Jichao said: "So what role can we play in this?"

Qin Zheng said: "To be honest, we can play a certain role, but it will not be very large, because we can only be regarded as a small force in the pattern of the Far East at present, and we do not have enough strength to influence the big picture." Of course, if Japan and Russia really go to war, they will definitely come to us, but we have no ability to prevent them from going to war. Therefore, we can also hold the price and get the best benefit for us. ”

Xia Bohai said: "What if we mainly participate?"

Qin Zheng was stunned for a moment and said, "Lao Xia, what do you mean ......?"

Xia Bohai said: "According to the data of the old time and space, the Russo-Japanese War was actually a war of high attrition, to put it bluntly, the two sides fought against each other, although in the end it was Japan that won, but Japan's own national strength was almost exhausted, and it was actually a disastrous victory." If we enter the war at a time when both Japan and Russia are about to be consumed, we can take advantage of the fisherman, defeat both Japan and Russia on the battlefield, and occupy the northeastern region. ”

Qin Zheng pondered for a while and said, " This is indeed a good plan, if it can be successful, then we can leap from a small force in a region to a regional power, at least in the Far East, we can play a pivotal position, and the Russo-Japanese War began in 1904 and ended at the end of 1905, we now have about 5 years of preparation time, which is enough for us to make sufficient preparations, so the feasibility is still very large, and if we can occupy the Northeast region, it will also be of great benefit to our development, and the territory of the Northeast is vastThe land is fertile, the resources are abundant, except for the small population, other conditions are better than Shandong. In the old time and space, we first occupied the Northeast and then liberated the whole country, of course, there are still many details that we need to deal with in the implementation of the Northeast, such as first making Japan and Russia think that we have no intention of participating in the struggle for the Northeast, which will not be wary of us; if we send troops to defeat Japan and Russia, how will other countries respond, will they interfere with our actions, and ......"

Xia Bohai hurriedly interrupted him and said: "Old Qin, now we are not busy discussing the details, we just say that this big plan is not feasible, and the details are not something that a few of us can discuss, and we will study it slowly." ”

Qin Zheng thought about it again before he said, "I think it's feasible." ”

Xu Jichao said: "But what if the Russo-Japanese War had not started? Although the overall situation in the Far East has not changed much, due to our arrival, history has undergone some changes, so there is also the possibility that the Russo-Japanese War will not be fought, and we cannot but consider this possibility when formulating our plans." ”

Qin Zheng said: "First of all, whether the Russo-Japanese War can be fought or not, we must develop the economy, develop industry, and at the same time strengthen the construction of the army, Bi Jing We want to achieve the goal of overthrowing the Qing court, establishing a republic, and abolishing all unequal treaties, sooner or later we will have to fight, so these two points are not contradictory, if the Russo-Japanese War is not fought, we will formulate other plans, as long as we become stronger, then there is a basis for completing any plan." ”

Xia Bohai said: "Lao Qin is right, but we can't passively wait for the Russo-Japanese War to start, but we should find a way to take the initiative to promote the war between Japan and Russia, although we have not yet changed the strength of the Far East pattern, but Bi Jing is also a force to be reckoned with, if we find a way to make every effort to promote the war between Japan and Russia, we should be able to do something." ”

Qin Zheng listened, nodded also, and said: "If we want to promote the war between Japan and Russia, there are some means that can be implemented, but we should still act at the opportunity, because of the guidance of forces, as long as we push it at the moment of Guan Jian, there is no need to make it too obvious, in the final analysis, it is still the same sentence, it is the right thing to develop yourself first." ”

Xia Bohai said: "Well, our main work in the next step is indeed to develop the economy and develop industry. However, the matter of the Eight-Nation Alliance is over, should the Qing court also make a decision, if we want to control Shandong easily, we still need the cooperation of the Qing court, when does Lao Qin plan to go to Xi'an. ”

Qin Zheng said: "I think it's better to wait for Li Hongzhang and Lao Maozi to finish talking before going to Xi'an, it's best to take Li Hongzhang to Xi'an as well, so that some things are much easier to discuss." Because it is easiest to talk to people who understand, I am afraid that I will encounter nonsense who doesn't understand anything and has a head with tendons, but there are not many people like Li Hongzhang in the entire Qing Dynasty, and even if Li Hongzhang doesn't go to Xi'an, but after talking with Lao Maozi, he also frees up some energy, if something happens in Xi'an, there is still someone to deal with. It's just that after talking to Lao Maozi, it won't work out in two or three months. ”

Xia Bohai said: "They talk about them, what should we do, we can only act in Shandong as soon as the land system comes out, regardless of whether there is an appointment from the Qing court." ”

Xu Jichao said: "It seems that Li Hongzhang died this year, we have to be prepared, in case Li Hongzhang hangs, there will be one less middleman between us and the Qing court." “

Qin Zheng said: "In the old time and space, Li Hongzhang's death was mainly due to the exhaustion and emaciation of the negotiation process with the Eight-Nation Alliance, and in this era, due to our intervention, Li Hongzhang has a lot less heart, I think his spirit is good, and it will be no problem to hold on for another two or three years." However, for the sake of insurance, I suggest that when Li Hongzhang and Lao Maozi finish talking, we will give him a comprehensive examination to see how his body is, so that we can also have a good heart. ”