"One time, another time." Wang Yi, the prince of Duoluohui County, said without thinking: "The rebellion in the northwest is self-reliant, which started because of the assassination of Yi Zhizhi, the migration of the northwest, the construction of railways, the development of mining, the establishment of factories, and the reclamation of farms are also the handiwork of Yuan Qi.

For the two northwestern provinces, the biggest enemy is Yuan Qi and not the imperial court, and now that the imperial court has broken with Yuan Qi, the attitude towards the northwest should also change...... if the northwest can send the empress dowager back to Beijing, it is not necessary to form an alliance with it. ”

"An alliance with the Northwest?" Yi said with a smile: "The rebellion in the northwest is self-reliant, it is to split the territory of the Qing Dynasty, if the imperial court and the northwest alliance are given a handle, once the news comes out, it will inevitably be attacked by the government and the opposition, and Yuan Qi will inevitably make a big fuss about it." ”

"King Gong is worried about the damage to his reputation." Prince Su Longqin stabbed him unceremoniously, and then continued: "The imperial court has seized the branches of Yuanqi Bank in the northern provinces, and Yuanqi is already completely at odds with Yuanqi, and it is inevitable that Yuanqi will make rebellion!"

With the size and strength of the Eight Banners New Army, can it resist the attack of the Yuanqi New Army? In the current situation, the imperial court can only unite with the northwest to contend with Yuanqi! King Gong will not ignore the overall situation for the sake of his own reputation? ”

"You don't necessarily have to join forces with the Northwest to compete with Yuanqi." Prince Li Shiduo said slowly: "With the active support and strong assistance of Britain, France, Russia, the United States and other countries, the imperial court can also compete with Yuan Qi. ”

"Assistance?" Prince Su Long Qin said disdainfully: "The northern sea area is actually under the control of the Yuanqi Navy, how to help?" Britain, France, Russia, the United States and other countries will be powerless even if they want to help. ”

"You can't help directly, you can help indirectly." Prince Li said unhurriedly: "The gold mine in South Africa is one of the most important pillars of Yuanqi, and saltpeter and brass in South America are also important war resources.

Besides, direct military assistance is not impossible, not by sea, but also by land, and the railway with Russia will soon be opened to traffic, and the northwest will not fail to understand the truth of the cold lips and teeth. ”

"Sensei said those are useless." Prince Su Longqin waved his hand, "Yuanqi's naval combat power is unparalleled, the navies of European countries that fought in the two South African naval battles are terrified, before the torpedo is developed, Britain and France cannot provoke a naval war again, if you want to contend with Yuanqi, the only way to unite the northwest is at present." ”

Can uniting the Northwest compete with Yuanqi? Yi glanced at him silently, very disdainful in his heart, the times are different, when the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, with more than 100,000 iron cavalry can dominate the world, now is the era of hot weapons, whether it is the imperial court or Yuanqi or even the northwest, it is easy to gather a million troops, and the real decision of the war is finance, industry, transportation, communications, etc., and these are all in the hands of Yuan Qi.

It is no exaggeration to say that through decades of development, Yuanqi has already firmly controlled the lifeblood of the Qing Dynasty, and confronting Yuanqi is tantamount to picking up an egg and touching a stone.

However, Prince Su Longqin's almost stubborn insistence on uniting the Northwest allowed him to rule out suspicion, and it is still difficult to determine whether there is anyone behind Zhu Shanhai, and if there is someone behind him, he will not be so eager to jump out and ask for the Northwest with a clear attitude.

Seeing that it was a little cold, Prince Yi said in a sullen voice: "Is there any room for maneuver with Yuan Qi?" ”

"I've already been briefed." Yi said slowly: "The Northwest Rebellion is self-reliant, Yi Guocheng is furious, and asks the imperial court to drastically reduce the new army of the Eight Banners and establish a security committee to unify the military power.

A few days ago, public opinion attacks in the southern provinces were born because of this, and now we are not only using the "Beijing Daily" to attack Yi Guocheng, but also to maintain and stabilize the financial order in the north to close down and take over the branches of Yuanqi Bank in the northern provinces, the contradictions are constantly intensifying, and there is no room for maneuver. ”

"Since there is no room for maneuver, then carefully consider the relationship with the northwest." Prince Yi said in a deep voice: "The top priority is to welcome back the Empress Dowager as soon as possible. ”

Prince Li Shiduo echoed: "It's still Prince Xuan who has seen it thoroughly. ”

After pretending to be silent for a long time, Yi Yi said: "In this case, Prince Li and Prince Su are responsible for negotiating with the northwest, and strive to meet the Empress Dowager as soon as possible." ”

Saying that, he looked at Zai Yi and said, "In the current situation, we must prepare for the worst, prepare for war with Yuan Qi, temporarily recall retired officers and soldiers, and assist Prince Li and Zai Yi in assisting the War Department to start recruiting as soon as possible." ”

After a pause, he continued: "Prince Hui assisted Baojun in negotiating with various countries to obtain large war loans. Yimo is known as a literary name, responsible for the ........ of public opinion guidance, as well as the Information Administration, you must try your best to appease and lobby those parliamentarians, it is Yuan Qi who is aggressive, and the court has no choice but to rise up to fight. ”

Just when the officials and gentlemen of the Beijing Division were still discussing the matter of the imperial court's seizure of the Yuanqi branch in order to maintain a stable financial order, news came that the cabinet had ordered that the units of the Eight Banners New Army, which had been transferred to Shaanxi, Gansu, and Hami provinces for the purpose of conquering the northwest, should rush to Shanxi, Henan, and Zhili to various military important places nearby.

This was completely the rhythm of the war with Yuan Qi, and the inside and outside of the capital division immediately fell into a panic, and they reacted quickly and hurriedly rushed to buy all kinds of necessities such as grain, oil, salt, etc., and some merchants saw the business opportunity and flocked to the telegraph office and telephone office.

Because of Yuanqi's attention, the communication of the Qing Dynasty has long been different from what it used to be, the cable telegraph has been popularized to the town level, and the wired telephone has gradually spread in the provinces.

Shanghai, Zhennan Wangfu, Changle Book House.

Zhao Liewen put a thick stack of telegrams on Yi Zhi's desk, and said with a smile: "If the imperial court seizes the branches of Yuanqi Bank in the northern provinces, etc., it is a hornet's nest, these are all strongly demanding war against the imperial court, and the provincial officials and parliamentarians have ....... ”

Yi Zhishu casually flipped through a few telegrams, and said lightly: "What do you think of Huifu?" ”

"When it comes to infringing on vital interests, one by one is naturally red-eyed." Zhao Liewen still had a smile on his face, "However, it can also be seen from this that the provincial officials and parliamentarians have been tied to Yuan Qi, and they are both prosperous and loss-oriented. ”

"There are also people who are engaged in political speculation." Yi Zhizu said in a rambling voice: "In this formation, they expect that Yuan Qi will inevitably make a strong counterattack. ”

As he spoke, he took out an article from his desk and handed it over: "This article "Outside Must Be Inside First" will be published in "Shanghai Daily" tomorrow, signed by my pen name, at the moment, the government and the opposition are afraid that they are all waiting to see Yuan Qi's reaction, let's show our attitude first." ”

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