On March 14, 1917, Yanjing announced that it would sever diplomatic relations with Germany, recover the German concessions of Tianjin and Hankou, and stop paying indemnities and arrears!

At the same time as announcing the severance of diplomatic relations with Germany, the Chinese government announced the recovery of the German concessions in Tianjin and Hankow, the disarmament of the German army in China, and the suspension of the payment of German reparations and arrears. The German expatriates remained friendly, the Germans serving in various departments in China were retained, German merchants from all over the country continued to operate as usual, and missionaries continued their religious activities. When the German minister Xin Ci returned to China under the flag, Li Yuanhong also gave him many precious gifts. When Xin Ci returned to China after passing through Shanghai on March 27, Shanghai officials also sent people to the station to greet and see him off, the soldiers raised their guns to salute, and the army played Chinese music as if it were a ritual.

After the severance of diplomatic relations between China and Germany, the Chinese government should return the German indemnity, and the arrears will be stopped and the money will be deposited in the Bank of China. The Dutch minister to China openly sent a note, claiming that he had been entrusted by the German political axe to take charge of German interests in China, that China and Germany had not declared war, and that the Chinese political axe could not apply the method of dealing with the enemy country and confiscate German interests and property. The British and French envoys in China demanded that the money be deposited with foreign banks.

After the order to break off diplomatic relations with Germany, Li Yuanhong breathed a sigh of relief, he thought that an article on Germany had been completed, but in Duan Qirui's case, he thought that this problem was only half of the way, and the other half of the declaration of war had not been done.

In Sichuan, it's still business as usual.

"Let's go? Why go? Facing the German consul Weiss, Wang Hengyue smiled: "Yanjing broke off diplomatic relations with you, but I Sichuan did not break off diplomatic relations with you, what should you do, or what." Although the consulate can no longer be used, our business is still as good as wine. ”

Weiss pushed his glasses.

To be honest, he had been with this Chinese for too long, and they had known Wang Hengyue since he was a small squad officer, although at that time, he did not think that this young man was anything outstanding, and the subsequent development surprised Weiss.

After the outbreak of the European War, Wang Hengyue took the initiative to find Weiss, and was willing to provide Germany with all the materials that Germany needed, as long as he could get it.

He seems to have no principles in doing things, everything is based on money, but when it comes to making money, he knows the situation in Europe inside out.

He maintained good relations with the Americans, the British, and the French, and also signed a large number of orders with the British and French, becoming the most popular Chinese in these two countries. But as soon as he turned around, he would move to Weiss, and also sign a large order with the German side.

Was he pro-Anglo-French, or pro-German? Perhaps only God can know what is going on in his heart

Wang Hengyue looked at a new trade list submitted by Weiss: "Okay, Mr. Weiss, I will ship the goods immediately, I hope my goods can help you." Now, of course, it seems to be getting harder and harder for you to get back these much-needed supplies from neutral countries. ”

"Yes." Weiss does not hide this: "But Germany will think of a way, and never ignore the determination and wisdom of the Germans." ”

"No, no." Wang Hengyue smiled: "I still have great respect for Germany, and I am willing to give you all the help within my ability." But what would you do if I was only talking about what if, if Germany lost the war? ”

Weiss didn't even think: "No, Germany will not lose the war, we will finally defeat all our enemies!" ”

Wang Hengyue put away his smile and looked very serious: "The United States will soon enter the war, we all know this, unless you can defeat Britain and France before the United States reaches Europe, but obviously, this is difficult for you to do." Once the United States enters the war, the balance of power changes a lot"

Weiss nodded in silence.

The leakage of Zimmerman's telegram caused an uproar in the United States, and the voice of declaring war on Germany occupied the mainstream in the United States, and the declaration of war by the United States was inevitable, and it was only a matter of time!

"If Germany fails, it will lose a lot." Wang Hengyue looked a little regretful: "For example, your factory, such as your army." If that day comes, believe me, I will still be willing to maintain my friendship with Germany and will continue to provide you with all possible help as you are now. You can even bring the factory into my sphere of influence. It's up to me to protect your factories and do what you want. ”

Although Weiss was very grateful to Wang Hengyue for his kindness, he was still a little unhappy. Why was this warlord of Sichuan so sure that Germany would lose the war?

To open the German factories to China, to the protection of his sphere of influence? It's just a crazy idea.

Wang Hengyue smiled again.

Yes, this idea of mine seems really crazy now

Wang Qinglu hurriedly walked in and whispered a few words in Wang Hengyue's ear, Wang Hengyue nodded: "Mr. Weiss, there is news that I don't know if it is good or bad for Germany, Tsar Nicholas II has abdicated. ”

"What?" Weiss looked astonished.

At the beginning of 1917, in Petrograd, the strike movement was in full swing. On 25 February, the strike began to develop into an armed uprising. Nicholas II panicked and hurriedly ordered Khabarov, commander of the Petrograd Military District, to "order Yu Ming to stop the chaos in Kyoto." As a result, machine guns were erected on rooftops and corner towers to shoot at the demonstrators. On February 27, the armed uprising in Petrograd was victorious. The tsar lost the support of the military department, the bureaucracy and the capitalists. On March 2, Nicholas II was forced to abdicate. He wanted to pass the throne to his younger brother, Grand Duke Mikhail, but he refused, and the Romanov dynasty perished.

The news was too sudden for Weiss.

"This may be good news for Germany." Wang Hengyue said lightly: "Maybe the Russians will withdraw from the war, so that Germany can concentrate its forces on the Western Front." ”

Weiss thought for a moment, but did not express his opinion.

What happened in Russia made people feel really sudden, Weiss didn't dare to delay, got up and thanked Wang Hengyue for his kindness, and then hurriedly left.

As soon as Wei Si left, the smile on Wang Hengyue's face immediately disappeared without a trace: "What about Yanjing?" ”

Wang Qinglu quickly said: "After the order to break off diplomatic relations with Germany, Li Yuanhong breathed a sigh of relief, he thought that an article on Germany had been completed, but in Duan Qirui's case, he thought that this problem was only half of the way, and the other half of the declaration of war had not been done. Therefore, the deteriorating relationship between Li and Duan was not eased by the severance of diplomatic relations with Germany, but worsened as a result. Because Duan Qirui believes that the case of severing diplomatic relations with Germany is the first step, and the second step is the case of declaring war on Germany. Liang Qichao first published an article entitled "Urgent Issues after the Severance of Diplomatic Relations" to advocate a declaration of war against Germany. However, the air of opposition to the declaration of war against Germany was very strong throughout the country, and Kang Youwei's telegram, Zhang Xunhan's telegram, and Wang Zhanyuan's telegram were all voices of opposition. Kang Dian excitedly said something 'please hang my eyes on the country, so as to see the entry of the German ship', and actually regarded himself as Wu Zixu. The Shanghai Federation of Business Circles telegraphed against joining the war, and chambers of commerce across the country responded one after another"

Wang Hengyue turned a cigarette in his hand, and after listening to Wang Qinglu's words: "Duan Qirui's original intention was also for the interests of the country, and the reason why he insisted on declaring war on Germany was influenced by the victory of the Entente powers, and he believed that if he did not participate in the war, he would not be able to share the fruits of victory after the war. The warlords in various places opposed the war because they were afraid that once they entered the war, they would inevitably abandon their territory, power, wealth, and beautiful wives and concubines, and they would have to lead their troops to fight in Europe, and the enemy was the German Army, which was the most capable of fighting, so the soldiers sang the opposite tune with Duan. , Greetings to Li Yuanhong"

Wang Hengyue threw the cigarette aside and stood up: "Li Yuanhong is in a dispute with Duan Qirui, and what he told him left and right was all the information that was unfavorable to Duan, and these materials were all facts, so he had objections to Duan Qirui's participation in the war. ”

"Heng Shuai's analysis is very thorough." Wang Qinglu nodded.

"It's said that Ben is very close to Duan Qirui now." Wang Hengyue walked back to his desk, picked up a piece of information and handed it to Wang Qinglu: "Yue Ben is even ready to provide Duan Qirui with loans and weapons to help him set up a model army and prepare for the unification of China." ”

"If he wants to unify China, I think he will inevitably use troops against the southwest first."

The corners of Wang Hengyue's mouth moved: "The southwest is not something he can move whenever he wants, he wants to rely on Lu Rongting, but he has to prevent Lu Rongting from landing, and he has to fight and pull, Lu Rongting is not a fool, and he will not easily let Duan Qirui stretch his hand to Liangguang." ”

"Our layout is almost laid out, now we are waiting for Lu Rongting to do it first." Wang Qinglu groaned there: "It's just that there is still a lack of a fuse." ”

Wang Hengyue glanced at the cigarette on the table, which had been crumpled by himself, picked it up, lit it, and took a puff:

"Huai Zhao, if you want to light a cigarette, you have to smoke it, otherwise you can't light it with fire"

Wang Qinglu was stunned for a moment, and then understood the meaning of Heng Shuai's words.

"Lu Rongting has sent people to find us several times, and there is only one purpose, the issue of Yunnan and Guizhou, and I have clearly agreed to him, as long as I want Guizhou, I will never attempt to compete with him for Yunnan." Wang Hengyue took a puff of cigarette: "Lu Rongting is still very wary of us, but he is willing to cooperate with us, but he is always on guard against us." ”

"But driven by interests, he will definitely send troops to Yunnan." Wang Qinglu said calmly.

Wang Hengyue pressed the cigarette out hard:

"Once he sends troops to Yunnan, the time will come for us to unify the southwest!"

(To be continued)