In fact, Yuan Shikai just asked casually, of course he would not have thought that Chen Wenqiang was actually a revolutionary party and the core leader of the Revival Association. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

"Messy party, although it is a great toss, but in a remote corner. The brother's industry is in Qiongzhou, but it has no impact. Chen Wenqiang probed the slightest thread of Yuan Laosi's psychology, and said more cautiously: "Besides, the strategy and propaganda of the chaotic party are very in place, do not loot, do not kill indiscriminately, protect industry and commerce, and the rich merchants and landlords in Guangdong are not very afraid. Originally, I was worried that the fundraising of the Guangdong-Hanzhou Railway would be a little troublesome, but in fact, it was much better than expected. ”

"Guangdong is rich, and more than half of the railway fundraising has been raised, and I know this." Yuan Shikai nodded naturally, pondered for a while, and said: "This revival will be very powerful, and there must be strong assistance overseas to have this strength." It was also the slow progress of the imperial court's constitutionalism that gave the rebellious party a reason for revolution. If the constitution had been enacted quickly, the situation would have been different. ”

Knowledge, that's not all. Constitutionalism and revolution are not the same as most people think, and reform is not revolution?

In Chen's eyes, the constitutionalists were nothing more than moderate revolutionaries, and they also wanted the Manchu nobles to cede power so that they could participate in the management of the state. From the perspective of the lack of people's suffering, even if the Qing court accelerates the establishment of the constitution, the constitutionalists will not be satisfied in one step, and will inevitably be constantly forced to exert pressure to seize greater power and room for development.

I believe that the Manchu nobles, including Cixi, can see this clearly. Therefore, in the edict issued on the new official system, the trend of the Manchu pro-nobles becoming autocratic not only did not change, but on the contrary, it became more and more intense. With such a constitution and nine years of preparation, how can we not make the anxious constitutionalists feel discouraged, and the revolutionaries cannot wait for a minute!

And the Chinese thing. It is indeed strange and complicated to say, many things seem unexpected, but they are reasonable; Sometimes a good person does not necessarily contribute to social progress, and a person with a bad reputation inadvertently contributes to institutional change. Although his thoughts at the time were not necessarily out of public intentions.

Yixuan, for example, was a corrupt and incompetent official, but he was instigated by Yuan Shikai – and of course included his interests, but he also made efforts to transform China's political structure. As for Rong Qing, Qu Hongzhen and others, you can't say that they are not honest and upright, and they are not good officials, but good officials may not be able to promote social progress.

Even if it is Yuan Shikai, you can't say that he promoted the constitution at that time, and it was really out of selfishness. And. In the environment at that time, if Yuan Shikai wanted to do something, he had to play some tricks, or he had to use money to pave the way or entrap private individuals, because otherwise, many things could not be done at that time.

When it comes to constitutionalism, Chen Wenqiang, as a rookie of the constitutionalists, naturally wants to make some remarks.

At that time, many people said that "constitution, constitution". But what constitutionalism really is is still unclear. Even Yuan Shikai. I don't know much, otherwise I wouldn't have been fooled by the revolutionary party after the Xinhai Revolution in history, and the cabinet system.

"In the simplest terms, with constitutionalism, the powers of the government will be granted and limited by the constitution, and the emperor will not be able to do as he pleases. This is for the people. Nature is a good thing. Because life and property will be protected by law, not by the life and death of some feudal society. Chen Wenqiang paused, looked at Yuan Shikai with a faint smile, and continued: "Even if Lord Yuan is such a high and powerful person, I'm afraid he is also worried. Are you worried about the court's casual disposition? In other words, as long as you are not an emperor, constitutionalism is good for everyone. ”

Yuan Shikai understands this. If the imperial power is subject to the constitution or the cabinet, in case the Empress Dowager Cixi dies and Guangxu has a bright future, what about Yuan Shikai, who betrayed the emperor and the reformers. He should probably have such thoughts, after all, this is related to his net worth and life.

"The conservative forces in the DPRK and China are very strong, and the Queen Mother is also biased towards them this time." Yuan Shikai sighed softly and said, "If the opposition constitutionalists can exert influence, it is unknown that they may be able to speed up the constitutionalization. Moreover, most of the constitutions of various countries are due to the demands of the people of the lower classes, and if they do not get it, they will fight for it, and if they do not want it, they will cause chaos. If the constitution had been established, there would have been no tragedy similar to that of the French Revolution, which had been plagued for decades. ”

"Loud and loud, that's for sure." Chen Wenqiang thought for a while and said: "If the imperial court is insincere and blindly delays and perfunctory, I am afraid that the chaotic party will be more substantial, and even many centrists will turn to sympathize with and support the revolution." ”

"This requires more attention from Master Chen." Yuan Shikai stroked Guangguang's forehead and sighed: "When it comes to constitutionalism, Master Chen is also an expert and has a lot of unique opinions. Unlike others, Yu Xi's politics is just hearsay, and everyone is the same. The "International Current Affairs Newspaper" is sponsored by Mr. Chen, which is really good, and it is eye-opening and insightful to read. Especially the international situation in Europa, Yuan has benefited a lot! ”

Chen Wenqiang looked at Yuan Shikai seriously, then stretched out his hand and gestured the shape of his beard to his mouth, and said with a smile: "Lord Yuan also has a good impression of Germany, right?" Small station training, the German training invited by Lord Yuan, and the equipment is mostly German, right? ”

"Yes, Yuan admires Germany, a new power, very much." Yuan Shikai nodded with a smile, "But it's different from Lord Chen's closeness to Germany." ”

In Yuan Shikaibo's life, Qingdao became a topic of conversation twice. He served as governor of Shandong, during which the Germans occupied Qingdao and how to deal with relations with Germany became a major problem. After he became president, World War I began, and the Qingdao issue was once again in front of him.

When training troops at the small station, Yuan Shikai saw the rise of Germany after the Franco-Prussian War, and believed that "public law is not a tool to defend against the enemy, and iron blood is the strategy of the country", and began to follow Germany's iron-fisted army. He not only studied the German militaristic ideology, collected materials on the German army's military system, drills, laws and regulations, strategic and tactical principles, and also hired many German instructors to preside over the training.

Undoubtedly, the small station training gave Yuan Shikai a good opportunity to contact Germany. Through a series of actions such as hiring German instructors, introducing German equipment, imitating the ideas of the German army, and studying German military drills, he showed his admiration for Germany. This made Germany begin to notice the character of Yuan Shikai and have a good impression of him. At the same time, this also played an important role in Yuan Shikai's help from Germany in the later historical period.

But Yuan Shikai is "imitating morality" at the same time, he is also "defending morality". Although Germany helped him a lot when he was training at the small station. But Yuan Shikai was very wary of Germany's ambitions to look at Qilu. Being able to maintain a high degree of military vigilance and political sensitivity shows that Yuan Shikai still has the courage and courage of a soldier at this time.

And this is different from Chen Wenqiang's "pro-German". First of all, the fields are different, Chen Wenqiang focuses on the industrial and commercial economy, even if it is an arsenal and a shipyard, it also belongs to the category of foreign pragmatic industry, and it is not very deep involved in military and political affairs.

And secondly. Chen Wenqiang and Yuan Shikai have different visions, and it is not an exaggeration to say that they penetrate history, and it is more accurate to know the opportunistic shortcuts of the general trend of history. Therefore, Chen Wenqiang's cooperation with Germany is relatively bold, and as long as it does not lose power and humiliate the country, or even benefit Germany's military strength, he will not hesitate to do it.

The last point is that Chen Wenqiang's methods are relatively diverse, and all aspects of contact are not as narrow as Yuan Shikai. From the German Emperor and Crown Prince, down to industrial and commercial enterprises. He was able to handle relations with ease, or rather, to show temptation to make the support of the German side more and more extensive and deep.

"The lesser of two evils, which two powers does Lord Yuan think should pose the greatest threat to China?" Chen Wenqiang didn't care about Yuan Shikai's words, and said slowly: "If you guess correctly, it should be Russia and Japan, right?" Although the Anglo-Japanese alliance was intended to target Russia's expansion in the Far East, it emboldened the Japanese and gave Japan the ambition to covet China. I know that Lord Yuan and Zhu Erdian have a good personal relationship. But where can Britain stand in the event of a Sino-Japanese conflict? Germany, as for it, is not on good terms with Britain and France. As an emerging power, it is deeply dissatisfied with the current international situation, which can be a help for China to suppress the Anglo-Japanese alliance. ”

After a pause, seeing that Yuan Shikai was listening carefully, Chen Wenqiang continued: "From the perspective of geographical relations and the strength of the great powers in China, although Germany is based in Qingdao. looks at Qilu, but he doesn't have that strength. First of all, the navy is not strong, and it is extremely difficult to cross the ocean to fight; The second is that Germany does not have colonies in Asia, unlike Britain and France, and can transfer troops nearby. Besides—" Chen Wenqiang muttered deliberately. "The rise of Japan has threatened Germany and the United States in the Pacific, and it is beneficial for both Germany and the United States to support China, a large and weak ally. This does not rule out that Germany and the United States will voluntarily give up some interests, and China can take the opportunity to fight for it. ”

"An alliance between China, Germany and the United States?" Yuan Shikai was surprised by this, and he had the idea of "relying on foreign countries to gain self-respect" and the idea of "imitating morality and defending morality," but his analysis and judgment of the international situation was obviously not as precise as Chen Wenqiang's.

"Gesture, this can only be done now." Chen Wenqiang shook a finger lightly and laughed with some disdain, "With the knowledge and ability of the princes of the imperial court, wouldn't it be a joke if you want to succeed in forming an alliance?" If the matter is publicized, it will be sabotaged and suppressed by other powers, and the long-term plan will be ruined in vain. Lord Yuan, do you think it's right? ”

Yuan Shikai was thoughtful, and after a long time, he smiled slightly and said, "It seems that Lord Chen's trip to Europe, mainly Germany, has gained a lot!" The German Crown Prince was invited to a banquet and summoned by the German Emperor, and the news obtained was obviously very reliable! It's just that I don't know when Master Chen thinks the alliance can be initiated, or what kind of alliance will be the most beneficial to China? ”

"Let's put the constitution on the right track and establish a cabinet that is truly shrewd and capable and well-versed in the international situation. As for the specifics, it cannot be done without a distinguished diplomat. Chen Wenqiang came to Tianjin secretly this time, he was not afraid that Yuan Shikai would take out the matter, "befriending foreign aid" was a taboo for the imperial court, and it was not tolerated by Cixi. Even his dealings with Zhang Jian and other opposition constitutionalists were extremely secretive, not to mention his more energetic and well-connected idle officials and businessmen.

It is precisely because of idleness, because he is also an official and a businessman, that Chen Wenqiang has a greater degree of freedom, and he does not have to be as cautious as Yuan Shikai and be caught between the Manchu nobles and the Hanchen.

"It's been a great benefit!" Yuan Shikai sighed as if it were true or false, "I thought that the United States continued to show favor because of the influence of the trend of resisting the United States, but I didn't expect that it should have a deeper meaning. In the Pacific, will Japan really threaten the United States and Germany? ”

"It's already threatened." Chen Wenqiang smiled and said: "Last year, Japan set off fierce anti-American demonstrations because the San Francisco School Board announced that it would adopt a quarantine policy for all Japanese students......

At that time, when the news reached Japan, the Japanese public regarded it as a great shame, and the Japanese Government also strongly demanded that the US Government give an explanation. Japanese public opinion even shouted: "The whole world knows that the poorly equipped US Army and Navy are no match for our highly combat-ready Army and Navy." Japan's Mainichi Shimbun roared: "It's easy to break America's stubborn dreams when our great admirals appear on the other side of the Pacific...... Why don't we insist on sending warships? ”

Although the incident eventually subsided with the United States backing down, there is no doubt that the hostility between the two sides has intensified. But obviously, Yuan Shikai didn't know these things, or rather, he didn't see the key to this.

"What a thing!" Yuan Shikai, who has always been wary of Japan, and even hostile to Japan, can finally face it squarely and think seriously.

Yuan Shikai's relationship with Japan can be traced back to the period when Yuan was stationed in Korea. In order to curb the expansion of Japanese forces in Korea, Yuan isolated and excluded the pro-Japanese faction, and even sent people to Japan to assassinate Jin Yujun, the leader of the pro-Japanese faction, and "instigated" Japan-North Korea relations in case of trouble. Later in the First Sino-Japanese War, Yuan also took a tough stance against Japan; In the Russo-Japanese War, Yuan "used razing to control razing", favoring Russia, which also caused strong dissatisfaction in Japan......

Therefore, the Japanese hate Yuan Shikai, and Yuan Shikai is also hostile to Japan. In terms of attitude towards the Japanese, Chen Wenqiang is obviously the same as Yuan Shikai and has a lot of common language.

As a tentative exchange meeting, Chen Wenqiang and Yuan Shikai talked for a long time, and although they lacked something substantial, they were quite satisfied.

Looking at the long term, neither of them is short-sighted, nor is it a person who has no heart. The key is that both of them feel the need to establish a long-term relationship, and they both express their willingness to support and help each other. The main thing is that the two have an intersection of interests and can take advantage of each other.

…………… (To be continued.) )