Yuan Shikai smiled bitterly and said: "Director Liu, I can't give you what you want, now I am the governor of Liangjiang, and I am only in charge of the affairs of Liangjiang and three provinces, what the court can give you to explain, it is not my business, as far as I know, the court has intended to negotiate peace with you, and the person responsible is Zhang Xiangtao, so when the time comes, you just have to go to Zhang Xiangtao to explain." ”

Liu Ruijie said: "Since this is the case, then Lord Yuan wants us to take into account the overall situation this time, and what guarantee can he give us? If the Qing court makes any more stumbling blocks for us, who will we go to?"

Yuan Shikai said: "The guarantee I can give to East China ** is that in the land of the two rivers, as long as I reign for one day, there will never be another thing to intercept your transportation fleet, and I will not interfere in your disaster relief operations, and I will do my best to support it." However, I am powerless to stop things like the collusion of the clan elites with Japan, but if there is any news, I will definitely pass it on to you, so that you can be prepared. ”

Liu Ruijie said: "These assurances of Lord Yuan require us to take into account the overall situation, but I'm afraid it's not enough." ”

Yuan Shikai said: "Yuan also knows that it is not enough, but Yuan is limited by his authority, and he can only have these guarantees. What's more, although Yuan's guarantees are not much, they can make East China no longer have to be distracted by the affairs of the south in the future, which can be regarded as a gain. ”

Liu Ruijie's heart moved, and he also understood the meaning of Yuan Shikai's words, so he also nodded and said, "Okay, Lord Yuan's proposal, I will truthfully convey it back, and it will be decided by the Qingdao side." ”

Yuan Shikai also nodded and said, "Okay, Yuan will wait for good news." However, Yuan still has two proposals, and he also asks Director Liu to convey them to Qingdao. ”

Liu Ruijie said: "What else do you propose?"

Yuan Shikai said: "I went to the south this time to take office, I need to pass through the land of Henan, and I hope that East China can make it convenient to make way and let the way. ”

Liu Ruijie said: "Okay, but I don't know how many people will Lord Yuan bring with him when he goes to the south to take office this time?"

Yuan Shikai pondered for a while before he said, "A total of 2 or 3,000 people." ”

Liu Ruijie said: "Then what is another proposal? Lord Yuan will put it forward together." ”

Yuan Shikai said: "Okay." Yuan went south this time to serve as the governor of Liangjiang, and his jurisdiction was Jiangxi, Anhui, and Jiangsu provinces, but now the whole territory of Anhui has been occupied by East China, of course, it will not be returned, and Yuan did not dare to be cheeky to ask East China to give up, but Anhui is located between Jiangxi and Jiangsu, and the two provinces are separated. The land of Songjiang Mansion, the land of Chizhou Mansion, Ningguo Mansion, Huizhou Mansion and Taiping Mansion in Anhui Province, I don't know what East China wants. ”

As he spoke, Yuan Shikai took out the map from his arms, spread it on the table, and pointed out the places of exchange to Liu Ruijie one by one. It turned out that Anhui and Jiangsu provinces were both provinces across the Yangtze River, and Yuan Shikai's plan was actually to exchange the land north of Jiangsu Province for the land south of the Yangtze River in Anhui Province. Because as Yuan Shikai said, Anhui Province is located between Jiangxi and Jiangsu, and now East China occupies Anhui Province, it is indeed very difficult to make Yuan Shikai very difficult to do after he arrives, and it is quite inconvenient to manage and govern, but Yuan Shikai also knows that it is impossible to spit out Anhui Province in East China, unless the force in his own hands is more powerful than that of East China, so Yuan Shikai thought about it and finally came up with this plan to change places.

Since Anhui Province has been occupied by East China, and now Shanghai is also occupied by East China, the place north of the Yangtze River in Jiangsu Province has actually fallen into the three-sided encirclement of East China.

On the whole, the area, population, and location importance of these two exchanges are roughly the same, and once the exchange is successful, it is actually beneficial to both sides, Yuan Shikai got the land of Chizhou Mansion, Ningguo Mansion, Huizhou Mansion, and Taiping Mansion in Anhui Province, and he can connect it with the land south of the Yangtze River in Jiangsu Province, and connect his own jurisdiction into a piece, so that it will be much more convenient to govern and govern, and Yuan Shikai has planned to create a new foundation in Jiangnan.

After East China gets Xuzhou, Haizhou, Yangzhou, Huai'an, Tongzhou, Taicang, Songjiang and other places in Jiangsu Province, it can directly connect the territory to Shanghai, Taicang Prefecture and Songjiang Mansion were originally places south of the Yangtze River, but Shanghai is located in Songjiang Prefecture, and Taicang Prefecture is located north of Shanghai, and includes Chongming Island.

If the transaction of this land can be completed, the two sides in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River will actually take the Yangtze River as the boundary, East China will control Jiangbei, and the Qing court will retreat to Jiangnan. Of course, this transaction cannot be known to the Qing court, but a private transaction between Yuan Shikai and Huadong **, but this time Yuan Shikai went to the south, originally for the purpose of separating one party, and the Qing court is 1 or 2 years of life, so Yuan Shikai is not afraid of being known by the Qing court at all.

Of course, this deal is also the result of the negotiation between Yuan Shikai and Zhu Erdian, because now the main sphere of influence of Britain and France in China is in the Jiangnan region, so the land of Jiangbei can also be completely abandoned, and after East China ** destroys the Qing court, it will be bounded by the Yangtze River, let East China ** control Jiangbei, and support the new emerging forces represented by Yuan Shikai in Jiangnan to compete with East China**.

After reading the map, Liu Ruijie also generally understood Yuan Shikai's intentions, in his opinion, this suggestion is really good, East China ** did not suffer, and the land of Jiangbei, together with Shanghai, is all connected, although the land south of the Yangtze River is given to the Qing court, but East China ** controls the Yangtze River waterway, and there is also the Shanghai area, so it is not difficult to really launch a battle to attack Jiangnan in the future, and it is not difficult to cross the Yangtze River. As for letting Yuan Shikai pass through Henan, it is even more of a problem, but it is only 2 or 3,000 people, and I am afraid that Yuan Shikai will not be able to make trouble in Henan Province.

However, this is just Liu Ruijie's personal thoughts, of course he does not have the power to make decisions, so he nodded and said: "Okay, I understand Lord Yuan's intentions, I will report to the Qingdao Executive Yuan as soon as possible, and let the Executive Yuan decide." ”

Yuan Shikai also nodded, and said: "However, Yuan's appointment has been made, and I am afraid that I will not have much time to stay in Beijing, so I also ask Director Liu to make more comments and let Qingdao make a decision as soon as possible." Yuan is also so relieved. ”

Liu Ruijie said: "I understand, I will write these situations in the report, Lord Yuan, please rest assured." ”

Seeing that everything he wanted to say was finished, Yuan Shikai also knew that it was unrealistic to ask Liu Ruijie to make a decision now, so he could only wait for the decision from Qingdao, so he also got up and said goodbye.

Three days later, Yuan Shikai received a reply from East China**, agreeing to Yuan Shikai's plan to go south through Henan and exchange land.

In fact, the plans of various countries to support Yuan Shikai's secession in the south have long been discovered by East China, because the French consul in Hankow, Fernand, has recruited businessmen from various countries to raise funds, and is ready to support a strong Qing court official in the south, and in the event of chaos in the north, to ensure order in the south, and the British minister Zhu Erdian in Beijing frequently met and negotiated with Yuan Shikai, it is not a secret thing, after collecting this information, and then dividing it, it is not difficult to conclude that countries are planning to support Yuan Shikai to be their own agent in the south.

First of all, Yuan Shikai went to the south, and he would definitely take his Beiyang New Army to the south, and the Beiyang New Army was the only army in the Qing court that had a certain combat effectiveness and was formed, so this army went south with Yuan Shikai, which could greatly weaken the strength of the Qing court in the north. Moreover, if Yuan Shikai is stabilized, East China will be able to fight in the north with all his might, eliminate the Qing court, and unify the north, without worrying that the south will involve his own energy.

Of course, this is not to say that East China is afraid of the Beiyang New Army, but it is just that the war will be launched to destroy the Qing Dynasty, and the battle to unify the northern land is as simple and easy as possible, because this can reduce the consumption of East China, and the saved resources will be invested in local management, construction, and governance after the end of the war. After all, it is not difficult to destroy the Qing court, but the difficult thing is that the governance of the country after the destruction of the Qing court requires not only a large number of governance talents, but also a large amount of funds and materials, so of course we must try our best to reduce the consumption in the war.

It is not a worry to let Yuan Shikai go to the south, although Yuan Shikai is indeed the most capable minister of the Qing court at present, whether it is governing or governing the army, but now Yuan Shikai is only the governor of Liangjiang, and south of the Yangtze River, there are also the governors of Lianghu, Zhefu, Liangguang, Yunnan, The governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, etc., so once the Qing court perished, the southern region will inevitably fall into a situation of warlord separation, each occupying one side, and not giving in to each other, and Yuan Shikai even if he has the support of various countries, it is impossible to integrate all the forces in the south in a short period of time, of course, East China will not leave Yuan Shikai too much time;

Of course, the exchange of land is also beneficial to East China, and the areas ruled by Bi Jing are connected, of course, it is better to manage than to disperse, and as for giving way to Yuan Shikai, of course, it is not a problem, so the Executive Yuan finally made a decision and could agree to Yuan Shikai's request.