After Yuan Shikai finished speaking, Zhang Zhidong nodded slightly, thinking that Yuan Shikai's words were indeed to the point, because from the very beginning, Zhang Zhidong determined that the proposal of the Four Kingdoms was fundamentally uneasy and kind, and it was completely to put the Qing court on the fire to roast, and Yuan Shikai directly broke this point to see what the foreigners had to say.

At this time, Abe Shotaro and Pukodi were a little embarrassed, after all, the armies of the two countries were indeed defeated by the People's Army, and now they have basically withdrawn from the northeast region, what else is there to say. However, Zhu Erdian and Gu Rui's faces were still normal, and Zhu Erdian said: "Yuan Zhongtang, we can understand the concerns of the Qing government, if I sit in your position, I will not easily fall to that side when the situation is unclear." ”

Yuan Shikai smiled and said, "Mr. Minister can understand our hardships, and Yuan is also deeply grateful." ”

Zhu Yidian said: "But there is one thing I want to remind the two of you, in this war, it is impossible for the Qing Kingdom to stay out of the matter and stay alone. ”

When Yuan Shikai heard this, he was also stunned, and exchanged a look with Zhang Zhidong, Zhang Zhidong said: "What does Mr. Minister mean by this?"

Zhu Erdian said: "Let's deduce, if the East China government wins this battle, of course we will all return to our own country, and what will the East China government do next? Will they only be satisfied with getting Shandong and Northeast China?" I think their next goal is the entire Qing State, and at that time, our four countries have been defeated by the East China government, and they have no ability to rescue the Qing State, relying only on the Qing government, whether they can withstand the attack of the East China government, I think I don't need to say more, so joining our alliance, fighting side by side, and striving to defeat the East China government, is the only choice for the Qing government. ”

At this time, Yuan Shikai and Zhang Zhidong also smiled bitterly, in fact, these truths that Zhu Erdian said, not to mention Yuan Shikai and Zhang Zhidong, even Cixi, Guangxu and even other ministers are also clear, but no one has anything to do, and everyone's mentality is different, Cixi just wants to delay for a few more years, just drag it until she closes her eyes, and even if the East China government wins the four countries of Britain, France, Japan and Russia, it will inevitably have a long time to recuperate, the Qing court will not take the initiative to provoke the East China government, Cixi is still very likely to drag it over; Guangxu is powerless, he has no real power in his hands, even if he has ideas, it is useless; the ministers have their own plans, like Zhang Zhidong, Yuan Shikai has a certain relationship with the East China government, so as long as he does not directly oppose the East China government, then after the change of dynasty, at least in order to keep the peace of his family, if he is lucky, it is very likely that he will find a position in the East China government; the Manchu nouveau riche advocates a decisive battle with the East China government; but more officials bury their heads in the ground as ostriches, regardless of the question, and resign themselves to fate.

And Gu Rui continued: "If without the participation of the Qing government, our four countries defeat the East China government, then please forgive me for saying that on the issue of the distribution of interests after the war, such as the territory and interests of the Northeast region and the Shandong region, the Qing government will not have any right to speak, and can only accept the results of our four countries' consultations, so I hope that the Qing government can consider the stakes clearly." ”

When Yuan Shikai and Zhang Zhidong heard this, their faces couldn't help but change greatly, if Zhu Erdian's inference just now was good, then Gu Rui was a direct threat. But what Gu Rui said is not unreasonable, if Britain, France, Japan, and Russia win, with the temperament of these countries, the Northeast and Shandong regions will definitely not be able to be saved. But saying it directly like Gu Rui still made Yuan Shikai and Zhang Zhidong feel gloomy.

After being silent for a while, Yuan Shikai said: "Okay, what the ministers mean, we have already understood, Zhang Zhongtang and I will truthfully present the content of today's talks to the Queen Mother and the Emperor, and in the end it will be decided by the Queen Mother and the Emperor, and please go back and wait." ”

Zhu Erdian said: "There is another thing, in order to ensure our interests in China, we Britain and France need to increase the number of troops in Shanghai and protect the concession, and I hope that the Qing government can allow it and cooperate." ”

Britain and France have already negotiated with Japan, once the Anglo-French combined fleet reaches the Far East and obtains sea supremacy, Japan will send 6-8 divisions of land forces to land in Shanghai to contain the East China Government, but now the sea supremacy in the Far East is controlled by the East China Government, and Japan has not yet been able to transport troops to Shanghai, so Britain and France believe that they can transfer some troops from the colonies to the concession and make arrangements in advance. However, this requires the cooperation of the Qing court. In addition, Britain and France are also evaluating the formation of a fleet of warships stationed in the Far East to sail to the waters of East Asia to help Japan regain some control over the sea.

Yuan Shikai nodded and said, "Okay, we will also play the court truthfully." ”

Zhu Erdian nodded and said, "That's natural, we hope that the Qing government can make the right choice." ”

Pukodi sneered and said, "But we have to decide quickly, we can't wait that long." ”

Then the four ministers got up and took their leave. Yuan Shikai and Zhang Zhidong sent the four ministers away, and Zhang Zhidong said: "Comfort Ting, the old man has also taken his leave, you write down the content of today's conversation with them, and early tomorrow morning, we will go to the palace together to return to our lives." Although Zhang Zhidong was ahead of Yuan Shikai in the ranking of the Military Aircraft Department, Yuan Shikai was the official in charge of the Yamen of the Prime Minister's Office, and Zhang Zhidong came to assist Yuan Shikai, so Yuan Shikai was naturally responsible for writing the report.

Yuan Shikai said: "Xiangshuai, please take care of yourself, I will do everything well, and I will enter the palace with Xiangshuai tomorrow." ”

Zhang Zhidong nodded, and then left the yamen of the prime minister's office and went back to his residence. Of course, the fact of writing the excerpt does not need Yuan Shikai to do it himself, and he has his own staff to do it for him, but after Yuan Shikai returned to his residence, he was so worried that he didn't eat tea and dinner. Because when you enter the palace tomorrow, there will definitely be a debate, what position you take, you still have to think about it, Prince Qing, Zhang Zhidong can rely on the old and sell the old, pretending to be confused, but he can't go by himself, he must have a clear attitude, but the current situation is too complicated, Yuan Shikai has no clue in his heart, intellectually speaking, of course, he thinks that Britain, France, Japan and Russia must be stronger than the East China government, and he should stand on the side of Britain, France, Japan and Russia, but to be the enemy of the East China government, this determination Yuan Shikai is indeed difficult to make.

In addition to the late Li Hongzhang, Yuan Shikai was the Qing court official who had the most contact with the East China government, and knew that the elite in the East China government was full of talents, and a few people led by him could be called heroic, and they would never do things that were meaningless or uncertain, so the East China government would rather let the talks break up, and did not hesitate to fight with Britain, France, Japan, and Russia.

And from the perspective of personal feelings, Yuan Shikai is also reluctant to stand on the side of Britain, France, Japan and Russia, although in the old time and space, in mainstream historiography, Yuan Shikai was crowned as a traitor, a thief and other extremely negative marks, first estimate and regardless of the accuracy of this positioning, but that is also the conclusion after Yuan Shikai became the emperor, and now Yuan Shikai has not yet been called the emperor.

In addition, in all fairness, before the Xinhai Revolution, Yuan Shikai still had a relatively strong sense of nationality, and did a lot of things that were beneficial to the country and the nation, and also safeguarded some national interests to a certain extent. The East China government has resisted foreign countries many times, not only safeguarding national interests, but also giving China a lot of confidence, Yuan Shikai is also quite admired in his heart, so Yuan Shikai is unwilling to be an enemy of the East China government, which is also an important factor. And in the past few years, Yuan Shikai has also helped the East China government a lot in the dark, Yuan Shikai thinks that he will eventually change the dynasty, the East China government established a dynasty, and with what he has helped the East China government do in recent years, he can also be an official and a half in this new dynasty, so Yuan Shikai is actually not afraid of the Qing court destroying the country.

Of course, the most important factor is that Yuan Shikai can't judge the direction of this war, if the East China government shows a clear defeat to Britain, France, Japan and Russia, Yuan Shikai will not hesitate to stand on the side of Britain, France, Japan and Russia.

Yuan Shikai thought about it again and again, and decided that at this time, he must not choose a side, and his position in the DPRK and China is still neutral, even if he is demoted and seized power again because of this, he will not hesitate to do so, Bi Jing will be demoted and seize power There is still a chance to make a comeback, once he stands on the wrong team, it will be a catastrophe. At the same time, it is still necessary to maintain a certain good relationship with the East China government. So Yuan Shikai wrote a letter to the East China government overnight, explaining that Britain, France, Japan, and Russia had jointly put pressure on the Qing court to join it.

In fact, at this time, the East China government had already received some rumors, Bi Jing's sense of secrecy and secrecy ability of the Qing court in this era were very poor, and the slightest disturbance would cause trouble in the city. It should be said that the East China government also attaches great importance to the position of the Qing court, although the military strength of the Qing court is not strong, and it basically belongs to the level of the Italian pig team, but if the Qing court participates in at this time, it is indeed very unfavorable to the East China government, after all, in most of China, the Qing court is still the legitimate orthodox government, once the Qing court officially decrees the whole country, it is indeed possible to cause considerable trouble to the East China government. It is true that the East China government has not yet completely overthrown the Qing court and unified the comprehensive strength of the whole country, not to mention that it is still facing the approach of the armies of Britain, France, Japan and Russia. Therefore, the East China government is also actively planning a response strategy.

After receiving Yuan Shikai's letter, the East China government also realized that time was pressing, it can be said that this was another fight with Britain and France, the last time was to capture Shenyang with the People's Army, and completely annihilated the Russian army and won a game, this game Britain and France were obviously determined to win, so the East China government must take active action before the Qing court made a decision, forcing the Qing court not to easily fall to Britain, France, Japan and Russia.