"I have heard that the Provisional Government will grant most-favored-nation treatment to countries such as the United States and Germany, which will put the British Empire at a disadvantage in China's commercial competition, and I think that the British Empire should also be treated in this way. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 info "Zhu Erdian avoided the important and wanted to divert the topic.

"Any offer is mutual, as is friendly treatment. I do not want to go into further detail about the position of the Provisional Government, but I would like to hear the sincerity of what Your Excellency is trying to express. Chen Wenqiang was a little impatient, and his expression clearly expressed his emotions.

Zhu Erdian was silent for a moment and said: "The postal system in the customs was created by Mr. Hurd of the General Department of Taxation, and it seems inappropriate for the provisional government to take it back unconditionally. ”

"There is no doubt that Mr. Hurd is an Englishman, but he was appointed by the previous government to take charge of the General Revenue Department, so he was a Chinese employee, and the postal system was created by order of the former government, not his own system. In other words, not only the postal system belongs to the state, but also the General Department of Customs and Excise belongs to the state, and if you insist on your opinion, it can only show that you are still recognizing and supporting the Manchu government, and that you are trying to suppress the prejudice against the provisional government. Chen Wenqiang said-for-tat.

"The large number of foreigners employed in the General Taxation Department is a result of history and the low ability of Chinese officials. In addition, the efficiency and work style of the foreign staff of the General Taxation Department have been recognized and appreciated by various countries, and the Provisional Government is requested to give careful consideration to this. ”

"The Provisional Government has no intention of changing the organizational structure of the General Department of Taxation for the time being, but the exercise of supervisory powers and the revision of tax rates are very legitimate and reasonable requests. And depositing the tax in the national bank is also an international practice, I don't think Your Excellency will deny that. ”

"Excuse me, how will the interim government revise the tax rates?" Zhu Erdian asked eagerly.

Chen Wenqiang motioned to his secretary to hand Zhu Erdian a stack of lists, which were densely packed with the names and origins of various commodities. "The low import tax rate on these goods has had a great impact on our businesses, and the interim government hopes to raise some of them," he said. Of course, in the end, which goods will be improved, and how much, need to be resolved through negotiation. ”

It's good to do it overnight. But when the strength is not good, it can only be fought for little by little. The administrative power of customs is in the hands of foreigners, which is very difficult to change, or it can not be changed overnight. However, exercising the power of supervision, putting tax revenues under the control of the government, and then raising tax rates, so as to obtain a relatively relaxed environment for national industry and commerce, were the initial goals of the government.

As for how far it can go, Chen Wenqiang can predict something. Britain will not hesitate to sacrifice the commercial interests of small countries such as Sweden and Belgium, and may add some symbolic to its own goods, but it will not change much. In any case, change is inevitable, and some benefits are being contested.

The first talks between the two sides came to an end, and it is curious. From beginning to end, there was no talk about the cooperation between Mawei Shipyard and Jiangnan Shipyard. But each of these conditions can also be considered as an exchange before the cooperation.

"The awakening of national consciousness is a matter of time and time, not only for the Chinese nation, but also for all nations. And for Britain, an empire with the largest colony in the world, the sooner it faces this problem, there will be more new experiences and new methods. Don't wait for the prairie fire to ignite. His bones were burned to the ground because of the lack of coping. ”。

Zhu Erdian sat in the car, thinking back to what Chen Wenqiang said. Well, after all, it's a young man, and it's really hard to speak. Think about it, though. This is not unreasonable. Change is inevitable, from the export of commodities to the export of capital, from gunboat diplomacy to moderate means, nothing is set in stone.

He had to admit that the Provisional Government's present foreign policy had achieved initial success, and that tariff negotiations were inevitable as a means of expressing friendship with the British Empire. Thinking of the impact of the positive actions of the United States and Germany on the great powers, Zhu Erdian hated it so much that the roots of his teeth hurt.

……………

Yuan Shikai threw the newspaper on the table, and the articles on it about the talks between China and Britain were all official articles, and both sides expressed their sincere intention to cooperate, and the atmosphere of the talks was harmonious, frank, and fruitful, and they reached consensus on many issues, and reiterated that the friendship between China and Britain will be maintained forever...... These have no substantive reports, although they show that the two sides are actually very different, but they are no longer important to Yuan Shikai.

The provisional government could afford it, and he, except for Zhili, Henan, and the three eastern provinces, all other provinces in the country declared independence, and the shock of the death of Cixi and Guangxu and the loss of authority finally gave the local forces a chance to vent. Regardless of whether the so-called independence is revolutionary or not, the government's revenues and the funds for the independent provinces have all been withheld.

Not only is it financially embarrassed, but the military-industrial capacity of the North is no match for the South. Hanyang Iron and Steel Plant, Daye Iron and Steel Plant, Yazhou Iron and Steel Plant, plus the arsenals in Chenzhou, Yazhou, Shanghai, and Jinling, it is an obvious trend that the revolutionary army will become more and more numerous and stronger and stronger.

In this regard, Yuan Shikai felt deep helplessness, the situation was like this, he knew that he could no longer fight. Yang Du also sent a telegram, bitterly persuading him to accept the conditions of the provisional government as soon as possible, otherwise, in layman's terms, there would be no more shops in this village. When the revolutionary army became stronger, it would not look at the Beiyang Army, and not only would there be nothing left, but even life could not be guaranteed.

Yuan Shikai knew that this was not to scare him, after the recovery of Jinan, the temporarily organized court tried the Qing army generals and their subordinates for the crimes of wounding and killing the people, and plundering and plundering property. Not only Wang Chuanlan, but also more than 200 Qing troops were sentenced to death at the same time. In order to save bullets, and to show civilized law enforcement, all prisoners were hanged.

Bah, shit civilized law enforcement, killing is killing, with guns, knives, ropes, it's not all the same. Also save bullets, what you will have for revival is money, will you care about how many bullets? Yuan Shikai was disdainful, but the corner of his eye involuntarily swept the newspapers that reported on the matter next to the table.

Chinese love these exciting things, and several reporters described the process of the execution in a colorful way, Wang Chuanlan's fat body broke three ropes one after another, and the execution lasted for an hour, and the onlookers clapped their hands and said that it was fast and cloudy. Yuan Shikai was very skeptical that the provisional government had instructed the executioners to deliberately do bad things in order to increase the deterrent effect.

Of course, that's not all. Because many of the condemned prisoners have no body to collect. As a sign of humanitarianism, the Interim Government cremated the bodies and used financial funds to purchase the ashes.

Not only killed people, but also burned to ashes, and sent a broken box, it is called the spirit of humanitarianism. And got praised, what is this?

But Yuan Shikai had to admit that this trick was very good, and the Chinese at that time paid attention to burial, and cremation was suspected of frustrating bones and ashes. After such publicity in the newspapers, many people will be quite scared. If the Empress Dowager Longyu in the palace saw this, would she be so frightened that she fainted. Will the regent be so frightened that he pees his pants, Yuan Shikai wondered maliciously.

Yuan Shikai punched the table. The general trend is like this, while the Beiyang Army is still there, I can't help but be a handsome man who knows current affairs.

It is very interesting that in this land of China, there are many good ministers and heroes who choose the lord and serve and know the current affairs. When the general trend became clearer, many people began to take a stand. It's a little late, but it's better than missing the last train.

The Great Wall is like a soaring dragon, where the "dragon's head" enters the sea. It is the Shanhaiguan of Qinhuangdao. Qinhuangdao was visited by Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, in 215 BC. And sent people into the sea to seek immortals and got its name, it is the only city in China named after the emperor's honorific title.

After the Opium War, the concessions that gradually formed were viciously developed and widely spread by the end of the Second Opium War. Driven by the call of the patriotic gentry, the Qing government adopted the measure of opening its own commercial ports to trade through shopping malls after the First Day of the First Day to resist the opening of concessions by outsiders.

In order to "hide" the foreign powers to increase the number of concessions and their "coveting" of China's "areas with a brief situation," the Qing government independently opened more than a dozen treaty ports and set up a number of shopping malls for Chinese and foreign businessmen to stay and trade. They tried to take advantage of the situation of intermingling in treaty ports to "contain each other" and achieve the goal of "not defending each other with troops" but "commercial conservatism".

These measures of the Qing government to a certain extent curbed the momentum of the foreign powers to open up concessions, and Gulangyu and Qinhuangdao were also the commercial ports that the Qing government opened up independently during this period. But due to the incompetence and weakness of the Manchu government, the greed and arrogance of the great powers. Qinhuangdao has gradually become a quasi-concession area.

In 1901, the Eight-Nation Coalition forced the Qing government to sign the humiliating Treaty of Xincho, which granted the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Japan, and Italy the right to station troops in the Beijing-Tianjin area. In addition to stationing troops in the Legation in Beijing and Tianjin, the United States also stationed its Marine Corps in Qinhuangdao, which served as an important port for the United States to supply supplies from the Philippines to troops stationed in North China.

In the early morning, the sky was overcast, and a thick layer of fog shrouded the sea. Looking up, the gray and blue are blue, and it is impossible to distinguish which is the sky and which is the sea.

A Chinese warship flying the six-star flag split the waves and headed north, followed by three medium-sized merchant ships, following in a stream.

Facing the sea breeze, Yao Yuping buttoned the hat belt under his chin, looked up at the misty sea, but his heart was bright. As the co-commander of the Mixed Association, he is full of pride in his troops.

This was a young, energetic and idealistic force, and with such a force, he was confident that he would deliver the final blow to the Manchus. Although the occupation of Shanhaiguan was temporary, it was also planned by Chen Wenqiang and Yuan Shikai to bring about a dramatic change in the situation in the northeast and dispel the last illusions of the Manchus.

How many times he was heartbroken, how many times he was impassioned, and now he has to lead the division of steel, see the realization of his ideals with his own eyes, and New China is stepping onto the stage of history.

The fog is lifting, the final horn has sounded, and a new dawn is about to begin.

……………

The yellow glazed tiles of the Forbidden City still shine brilliantly in the sun, and the palace is tall and majestic, but it can no longer shock people's souls. The Manchu dynasty has come to an end.

The atmosphere of the East Warm Pavilion of the Yangxin Palace is like a coffin for mourning, and the imperial meeting of the Qing court is being held here.

Vice Foreign Minister Hu Weide knelt on the ground and said: "The Empress Dowager, the minister received a telegram from the envoys to Japan, the United States, Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, France, and other countries, mainly Minister Lu Zhengxiang in Russia. ”

"What is the matter, just say it." Empress Dowager Longyu said weakly.

"They unanimously demanded that the emperor abdicate......" Hu Weide bowed his head and said.

"What!" The Empress Dowager Longyu was stunned, and her brain was buzzing.

Xiao Dezhang handed Hu Weide's telegram to the Queen Mother, Long Yu settled down, took the telegram, and when he saw that "the implementation of the republic is the trend of the world, and the emperor's abdication is the trend of the times", he almost fainted, and his eyes were black.

Yi Liang rarely appeared at this imperial meeting, Yuan Shikai wrote him a secret letter, even frightened and frightened, he knew that the Beiyang Army was no longer reliable, and it was even likely that he was rushing to Beijing by train. But now he just wants to keep his hundreds of millions of family properties, but he doesn't want to accompany the Qing court to burn jade.

Seeing that the Empress Dowager Longyu was slowly recovering, Yi Xuan stepped forward and said: "Empress Dowager, now the general trend of the whole country has moved towards the republic, the forces of the revolutionary army are becoming more and more beneficial day by day, and there are dozens of people from the Western Navy and Army, all of whom are willing to help and serve. All countries have expressed their closeness to the Provisional Government, and if the war drags on any longer, victory or defeat will not matter, and where will the pay lie? Where are the guns? If the soldiers come to the city, not only will the throne not be preserved, but even these nobles will be hopeless, won't it be too late to regret it? ”

"In any case, we have no reason to surrender to the bandits." The regent Zaifeng did not have the confidence to speak at all.

Yi Xuan made a distressed look, hesitated for a long time before saying: "Now the situation is extremely critical, perhaps only by asking the Queen Mother to bow to the will of the people, willing to give up the power, and then we will discuss it earnestly, who dares to treat the emperor and the clan nobles badly?" It is that later generations talked about this matter, knowing that the court did not keep the world private in order to protect the people, and naturally everyone was grateful to Dade. Wouldn't it be nice to do this, both decent and affordable? Nowadays, the revolutionary bandits are rampant, and the city of Beijing is full of chaotic parties, just like a powder keg, the slightest spark will explode, if the republic is not implemented, I am afraid that Li Zicheng will enter Beijing. ”

"Fart." Prince Su scolded Shanqi: "The world of the Qing Dynasty is corrupted by you, you are greedy for ink, and you have been shouting for Yuan Shikai all these years." Look at his Beiyang Army, colluding with the Revolutionary Party, and daring to jointly send a message to blackmail the imperial court——"

Prince Su Shanqi suddenly realized that he had said something wrong, this matter was hidden from the Empress Dowager Longyu, after all, she was a timid woman, if she was really scared and decided to abdicate, it would be over.

"Say, why don't you say it?" Yixuan suddenly became energetic, and said loudly: "The generals of Beiyang jointly sent a telegram, asking the Queen Mother to quickly issue an order to abdicate and implement the republic, otherwise she will lead the army north." You dare to deceive the Queen Mother for such a big thing, and the revolutionary army has landed from Qinhuangdao and has already occupied Shanhaiguan, probably you didn't dare-"

Goodong, the Empress Dowager Longyu's eyes were dark, and she fell headlong, and the eunuchs and palace maids were in chaos. (To be continued.) )