After Defense Minister Yan Fu took office, he found that the Ministry of National Defense had been cut to the post of Minister of National Defense. And the most interesting thing is that in the documents Yan Fu received, the post of defense minister was even ranked below the standing committee of the Central Military Commission of the Chinese People's Party. There is no impermeable wall in the world, and Yan Fu heard that Xiong Mingyang actually proposed to draw lots to decide the Minister of Defense. Since the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defense are already two brands, the Minister of National Defense has become an external organization. This position has become a title that compares qualifications and the level of foreign exchanges. This is also a true recognition of Yan Fu's ability.

This time, Chen Ke invited Yan Fu to return to Wuhan to discuss work, but Yan Fu didn't care about his so-called reputation at all, and whether or not he added the title of defense minister was no longer important to Yan Fu. What Yan Fu was most concerned about was that in October 1918, the international situation for the Navy had suddenly become harsh.

After meeting Chen Ke, Yan Fu first asked about the central government's plan for heavy industry, including shipbuilding.

Chen Ke smiled: "Mr. Yan thinks that our industrial development is too slow? ”

Yan Fu shook his head slightly. The industrial construction of the Manchu Qing Dynasty has basically fallen into the hands of the People's Party, and this valuable wealth has swelled dramatically under the management of the People's Party. However, no matter how much China's industry expanded, the excessively thin accumulation was not enough to meet Yan Fu's expectations. As a university scholar and a naval expert, Yan Fu knows very well that the process of accumulation and construction is impossible to avoid. But as an ordinary human, even if he knew that his thoughts were too anxious, he couldn't suppress his desire for dreams.

"Wenqing, I am 65 years old this year. Originally, at this age, I shouldn't be so angry. It's rare for people to live for 70 years, and I don't know if I can live to that day. But I only want to see three things before I die, the 10,000-ton ship that China built itself, China can take back North Korea, and China can recover all the old land that has been lost from Russia. If I can see these three things before I die, I will die without regrets. ”

"Isn't the ship that the United States commissioned us to build almost ready?" Chen Ke said with a smile.

Yan Fu replied: "But our war with Japan is also imminent. The world war is coming to an end, and how many years will it take for the Sino-Japanese war? A year? Two years? ”

Chen Ke stopped talking for the time being, and the First World War was indeed coming to an end. The situation in the world is about to change dramatically.

Germany launched five large-scale attacks beginning in March 1918. The Germans, who used the tactics of the Storm Commando, were extremely sharp from the very beginning of the campaign, and they were in a position to fight all the way to Paris.

In the face of the sharp tactics of the German army, Britain and France also found a way to deal with it, that is, desperately prolonging the combat time. Every time there was a new battle on the Western Front, the German army relied on tactics to tear apart the British and French defense lines, and after the British and French saw that the position was broken, they first blocked the German attack with indiscriminate artillery fire. The military observers of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army could not even describe the brutal fighting in words. The account of the battle, which was supposed to be an expository essay, was almost written as lyrical prose.

The French sent all the soldiers they could to the front, and the British threw cannon fodder troops from various colonies into the flesh mill. Even though Britain and France fought with more energy than human norms, the Germans still relied on tactics to advance towards Paris. It was not until the end of June that the American troops, who had finally arrived in France, were immediately thrown into the battle to plug the gap.

Throughout July, with the help of 500,000 American troops sent to France from the United States, 900,000 Chinese laborers working in France were responsible for industrial and agricultural production, and 50,000 Chinese military doctors and nurses helped with treatment. Coupled with the help of the 20 tons of Shengong Body Pills urgently provided by the People's Party, the German offensive finally failed. In August, the Germans withdrew all the way to the Hindenburg Line.

Before Britain and France could prepare to attack Germany, the Spanish flu broke out at its worst. The whole world is caught up in the influenza virus. This wave of influenza has a particularly high mortality rate among young adults aged 20-35 years, and its symptoms include high fever, headache, blue face and coughing up blood. Influenza often causes complications and deaths, with pneumonia being the most common. On the battlefield in a harsh environment, soldiers fell ill and died in large numbers.

Even in the safe rear, many cities in Europe and the United States have restricted citizens from going to public places, and movie theaters, dance halls, sports venues, etc. have been closed for more than a year. Trolley attendants in Seattle refused to ride passengers without masks.

The "Revelation" of the New Testament of the Bible has a chapter called "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse", which probably means that before the end of the world, death, war, pestilence, and famine, the four horsemen will bring to the world things with their corresponding attributes, and then the destruction of the world.

War, death, and the lack of food supplies caused by the war have terrified all countries, and the plague that triggered the mass death of young people has completely activated the panic of the end of the world in Europe and the United States. All kinds of terrifying rumors circulated in Europe and the United States. Church bells rang almost day and night.

Of course, it is impossible for Europe and the United States to solve real problems by praying to God, and countries also have some experience in dealing with epidemics, and thick black smoke rises every day from the crematorium where the bodies of the sick and dead are burned, and the description from the People's Party in Europe is that "gray snow is falling in the sky."

The People's Party attaches great importance to the training of doctors, and in addition to the 50,000 military doctors dispatched, there are also about 50,000 doctors among the 900,000 laborers sent to France. These 100,000 doctors have done the hard work. Not only did they have to take care of the Chinese workers, but most of the British and French doctors were evacuated from the war, and the French could only find Chinese doctors to treat them. Where there are Chinese, there are Chinese doctors, and with doctors, there is hope to live.

The French are better, but with these 100,000 doctors and nurses who "flew in from outside the sky", the flu mortality rate has dropped to less than 2%. The situation in Britain is even worse because the People's Party has not provided labor and medical personnel to the UK. Desperate Europe is crying out for doctors, and China is the only country that can provide doctors in large quantities.

The British and French ministers found Zhang Yu with the work report of the Chinese government, and they pointed to the column of the People's Party's work report on the training of medical doctors and nurses, and asked Zhang Yu to determine whether it was true. By 1917, the number of doctors and nurses in the People's Party was as high as 1.2 million. When it came to the life and death of his own people, the British minister was a little calmer, and he solemnly stated that if China was willing to send doctors and nurses, Britain sincerely stated that Britain was willing to provide the same treatment as British citizens while these doctors and nurses were working in Britain. And in the event of the death of doctors and nurses, the British side is willing to pay financial compensation. The British Minister may sign an agreement with the People's Party immediately on behalf of the British Government, and accept that the People's Party will send someone to form a monitoring committee with the British.

The French have a romantic personality, and the minister really shed tears when he revealed his true feelings, and told Zhang Yu that 100,000 Chinese doctors and nurses have given France great help. For Chinese doctors and nurses who have unfortunately passed away from illness, the French side has prepared compensation and can hand it over to the Chinese government at any time. But now France needs more help, and they have applied to China for 100,000 doctors and nurses, even for students.

France needs at least 100,000 doctors and nurses, and the United Kingdom has also made a request for 100,000. The People's Party convened the Central Committee of the People's Party, and after five days of arduous discussions, it finally agreed to provide these medical personnel to work in Britain and France. Britain and France immediately sent a fleet to China to pick up people, and after harsh disinfection, the fleet carried 200,000 Chinese doctors and nurses urgently called, a large number of sulfonamides and loquat drugs to clear the lungs and relieve cough to Europe.

After the bloody battle of 1918 and the ravages of the pandemic. Yan Fu already understood that the First World War was finally coming to an end. Once the First World War ended, there was no longer any buffer between China and Japan. Even if Chinese doctors and nurses can establish China's image, for the Allied rulers, practical political considerations will not be mixed with personal feelings.

The Anglo-Japanese alliance in the Far East could not be dissolved, Britain needed Japan, and Japan needed Britain even more. And the Japanese fleet had an overwhelming superiority over the People's Navy in the oceans. The First World War temporarily stifled the escalation of the Sino-Japanese conflict. Once the First World War ended, war between China and Japan was inevitable. Yan Fu was very worried about this.

Chen Ke's strategic arrangement is not the order that Yan Fu wants, "I hope to solve Mr. Yan's third wish first, to first recover the homeland occupied by Russia." So I hope that Mr. Yan will be able to go to Shaanxi County to preside over the negotiations with Duan Qirui. If you need someone, you can ask for it. ”

"Wen Qing really still wants to let Duan Qirui go for the time being?" Yan Fu was a little surprised by Chen Ke's opinion.

Chen Ke shook his head slightly, "If we can solve the northwest problem without war, at least not by using war to solve the northwest problem in the near future, the central government believes that it is best to shed less unnecessary blood." Of course, you can also explain it to Duan Qirui, so that he can take advantage of the idea of splitting the territory and becoming the emperor of the Northwest Territory. We really don't want to add any more trouble to the recovery of our homeland now, if Duan Qirui must obstruct our actions, let him wash his neck and wait for death. Based on his collusion with foreigners during his lifetime, we can definitely make him wear the hat of a traitor after his death. And this case, we will definitely solve the iron case. At that time, although Duan Qirui's reputation was not as good as Qin Hui's, it was enough to compare with Shi Jingjiao, who sold Yanyun to the Khitans. ”

Yan Fu had never seen Chen Ke say threatening words, let alone Chen Ke's attitude was so "arrogant", so he didn't want to criticize Chen Ke at all. And Shi Jingjiao's metaphor is actually unexpectedly in line with reality. Shi Jingjiao in the Five Dynasties was attacked by Li Congke when he was a minister in the Later Tang Dynasty. Shi Jingjiao saw that the army was approaching the city and his own strength was insufficient, so he asked Yelu Deguang of the Khitan for help according to the plan, and promised the conditions for betraying the country: ceding sixteen states to the Khitan, paying a large amount of tribute every year, and claiming to be a country of children. Later, the Northern Song Dynasty was never able to restore the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, resulting in no danger to defend in the north.

At this time, the People's Party is trying to recover the northern homeland, and if it is because of Duan Qirui's factors that lead to the inability to achieve strategic goals, it is not an exaggeration to call Duan Qirui the contemporary Shi Jingjiao.

"Then I'll go to Beijing first." Yan Fu said.

A few days later, Yan Fu appeared outside Wang Shizhen's house, just at this time it was Wang Shizhen's turn to fulfill community obligations, Yan Fu didn't care about 3721, let the guards sweep Wang Shizhen's broom, and he himself pulled Wang Shizhen back into the house.

Listening to Yan Fu relay Chen Ke's words, Wang Shizhen sneered: "If you can't get back your homeland, Chen Wenqing doesn't say that he is incompetent, but he wants to blame Duan Qirui, isn't this a joke." ”

Yan Fu was not moved at all, he said loudly: "If you say that you are incompetent, future generations can say that Wenqing is incompetent, but those of us who became military generals in the Manchu Dynasty are not qualified to say that Wenqing is incompetent." Brother Pingqing, you just say it directly, help or not. ”

Wang Shizhen sneered, "If you want me to help, you can't stay out of the matter." I have to go to Xi'an with me to see Duan Qirui. ”

"No problem, I'll go with you to see Duan Qirui." Yan Fu answered neatly.

Wang Shizhen frowned slightly, only to see that Yan Fu didn't care about his life and death at all, and he didn't care about his life and death for the country, Wang Shizhen felt that it was good. Duan Qirui has such and such personal problems, but there is a benefit, he cares a lot about his reputation. If the People's Party was just fighting with Duan Qirui for the sake of dominating the world, Duan Qirui might stubbornly stick to the end. But the main contradiction at the moment is the contradiction between China and Russia, and if the People's Party can save Duan Qirui's face a little, the affairs in the northwest will probably be settled. Anyway, as Yan Fu said, no matter whether the homeland occupied by the Russians can be recovered, Duan Qirui has no chance of winning.

"So how about we go now?" Wang Shizhen asked.

On October 22, under the heavy siege of the Beiyang Army, Yan Fu and Wang Shizhen entered the Prime Minister's Office of the "Republic of China" in Xi'an.

Duan Qirui greeted Wang Shizhen with an extremely enthusiastic attitude, but he was quite indifferent to Yan Fu. Wang Shizhen didn't mean to take the lead, but just casually said a few words to Duan Qirui, and Wang Shizhen said to Duan Qirui: "Zhiquan, I came this time to let you have a good talk with a few big brothers." If you ask me what to do, I think you might as well listen to a few words from my big brother. ”

Everyone understands people, and after the three of them sat down in the room, Yan Fu told Duan Qirui Chen Ke's thoughts and requirements in unambiguous language.

"What if I have to resist?" Duan Qirui asked.

Yan Fu didn't say anything tactful, he said solemnly: "Wen Qing thinks very highly of Zhiquan, so he threatens people for the first time. Wen Qing promises that after you are defeated, you will definitely leave Shi Jingjiao's second reputation in the history books. ”

Hearing this, Duan Qirui was furious at first, but he quickly recovered his emotions, and he couldn't help laughing, "Compare me to that emperor, you really look up to me." ”

Wang Shizhen didn't wait for Duan Qirui to say anything more, so he interjected and came in, "Zhiquan, Wen Qing is begging for your door." Why do you have to be so self-contemptuous? ”

"Brother, it's true that Wen Qing hit my door!" Duan Qirui sneered.

"If Wen Qing comes in, the northwest will be completely chaotic. By the time he finishes cleaning up the mess, it will take a year and a half. If the two sides negotiate peace, Wenqing can send troops to fight the Russians for the Chinese homeland. He did not come to your door now, but why did he come? Wang Shizhen replied.