Northwest, Gongning, the Department of Political Envoys.

Facing the stack of scattered telegrams on the table, Zhu Shanhai had an unreal feeling in his heart, most of these telegrams were sent by his ears and eyes in the inland provinces, and all the contents were similar to one point, Yuan Qi and the imperial court had turned against each other, and the domestic situation had deteriorated.

As early as the Qing Dynasty's implementation of the constitution, that is, when he planned for the independence of the northwest, he began to systematically insert eyes and ears into the provinces of the country, and the source and authenticity of this information are beyond doubt.

But after the initial excitement and euphoria, he had a feeling of unreality.

When he telegraphed to the West to announce the independence of the Northwest, he issued an edict to recognize the independence of the two northwestern provinces and canonize the king of Kokand, with two main purposes, one of which was to sow discord between Yuanqi and the imperial court and provoke civil strife in the Qing Dynasty, so as to obtain more time to prepare.

Now the situation in the country can be said to be completely according to his wishes, more smoothly than he imagined, smooth and smooth for him to give birth to a feeling of unreality, he faintly doubted, could this be a scam?

After thinking for a while, he turned out the call from Prince Su Longqin again, read it carefully, and the message was very concise, to the effect that the relationship between the imperial court and Yuanqi had deteriorated in an all-round way, and there was a possibility of civil war, hoping to join hands with the northwest to fight against Yuanqi. And hope that they can send the Empress Dowager back to Beijing as soon as possible to preside over the overall situation.

After being silent for a long time, he turned his head to look at Liu Changxing, who was deducing by the sand table, and said slowly: "Do you feel strange about the situation in China?" ”

The situation in the country, strange? Liu Changxing immediately reacted to what he was referring to, and groaned slightly, before he paced slowly and said: "Judging from the information collected, it is not surprising that Yuan Qi has this reaction, before this, Yuan Qi and the imperial court were planning to set up a national security committee in order to unify the military power.

It is not surprising that Yuan Qi took this opportunity to attack in an attempt to drastically dismantle or even completely dismantle the New Army of the Eight Banners. ”

Zhu Shanhai continued: "What about the reaction of the imperial court? ”

Liu Changxing smiled and said: "If there is no such accident, in a few months, King Gong will retire from the position of Prime Minister of the Cabinet, for King Gong, this is not a rare opportunity?" ”

At this point, Zhu Shanhai really didn't expect that King Gong was still less than fifty, it was when he was in the prime of life, he had been in the center of power since the late Xianfeng period, and he had been in power since the constitution was established, how could he be willing to retire to retire?

Besides, King Gong himself is also a master who dares to take risks, and if he doesn't have a chance, he just has a chance, so once he has the opportunity, how can he not grasp it?

After a little hesitation, he said, "Even if King Gong has a heart, he won't react so violently, right?" ”

"This is in line with King Gong's style." Liu Changxing said slowly: "Under the guise of maintaining a stable financial order, the branches of Yuanqi Bank in the northern provinces will be seized, and the Daqing Bank will be fully taken over. This is not radical, nor is it risky, but deliberately provokes Yuan Qi and deliberately provokes Yuan Qi. It was also for this purpose that the New Army of the Eight Banners in the Northwest was ordered to return to defense. ”

After a pause, he continued: "In fact, even if King Gong doesn't have this mind, it is impossible for the imperial court to agree to abolish Dan without military force as a guarantee, and the survival of the Qing Dynasty is just a thought.

In the humble view of the micro-ministers, the military power can not be unified has always been a major hidden danger of the Qing Dynasty, as a strong side of the Yuan Qi can not tolerate the military power for a long time, the already weak court is not afraid to give up the control of the military power, this is an irreconcilable contradiction, the two sides for the military power is a matter of time, His Majesty called the king self-reliance, but is just a fuse to promote them to oppose the purpose. ”

These words made Zhu Shanhai suspicious, "In this case, my country should send Ci'an and his mother back to Beijing as soon as possible?" ”

Although Liu Changxing was very confident in his analysis and judgment, he did not dare to be cautious in the face of this problem, and he groaned slightly, before he considered it and said: "Yuan Qi is powerful, if the Qing court and Yuan Qi go to war, it is imperative for our country and the Qing court to join forces to fight against Yuan Qi, but in the humble opinion of Wei Chen, the return of the Empress Dowager Ci'an and the Guangxu Emperor to Beijing may be a constraint for King Gong." On the other hand, the current situation in the Qing Dynasty is not clear, and it should be more appropriate to wait and see first. ”

It is always right to be cautious when sailing the 10,000-year-old ship, Zhu Shanhai nodded, "Then wait and see...... for the time being." ”

Before he finished speaking, a staff officer reported aloud at the door: "Report, call from Shanghai——。 ”

Liu Changxing took the telegram and glanced at it quickly, and said with a happy face: "Yi Zhizhi published an article in the "Shanghai Daily" "The ......outside must first be safe". With that, he hurried forward and handed over the telegram.

Yi Zhizu clearly pointed out in the article "Outside the Country, You Must First Secure the Interior" that the two northwestern provinces are located on the Eurasian land bridge, have an extremely important and significant strategic geographical position, are the most important land territory of the Qing Dynasty, and are the sacred and inalienable territory of the Qing Dynasty, and the rebellion in the two northwest provinces is the result of long-term infiltration by foreign forces, and the result of collusion and conspiracy between domestic and foreign forces to split the Qing Dynasty.

To quell the rebellion in the northwest, we must be well prepared for armed intervention by foreign forces, and we must be prepared for a long-term war, a big war, and a bitter war.

He also pointed out that in the era of hot weapons, large-scale wars are not only fought with money and food, but also need to be backed by a sound financial system and strong financial strength, and more importantly, a strong industrial foundation and economic strength are needed, and a perfect transportation system and developed communications are also indispensable.

For this reason, before pacifying the northwest, it is necessary to consolidate and stabilize the domestic political situation, ensure the domestic financial order, ensure the normal development of industry and economy, unify thinking and military power, and eliminate the handful of egoists in the country who disregard the general interests of the country and the nation and only put their own selfish interests or the interests of their own nation first.

After reading the telegram carefully, Zhu Shanhai said with a smile: "If you are outside, you must first settle inside!" It really didn't take much effort to get it. ”

Kyoshi, Prime Minister's Office.

Put down the phone records, Yi? said with a bitter face: "It is a good means, and one article can make the host and guest transposition, and easily seize the right to speak and the commanding heights." After a pause, he then asked, "Where does this come from?" ”

After seeing this article, Su Shun asked people to check it, and immediately said: "Zhao Pu, the prime minister of the Northern Song Dynasty, has 'China is safe, and the people are self-serving.'" If the deceased husband wants to go outside, he must first settle inside. 'Words. ”

"It's easy to come by, but it couldn't be more relevant." Abundant? sighed with emotion before he said: "Let's publicly release the war mobilization order tomorrow." ”8)