After the success of the Qing Dynasty's counterinsurgency at home, Britain also completed a change of power, replaced by William Gladstone, the leader of the Liberal Party, who advertised a policy of "glorious isolation" and "free trade", and the colonialist diplomacy insisted on by the Conservative Party, William Gladstone, who represented the Liberal Party, adhered to the "continental balance" foreign policy of supporting and chasing the European continent in the old imperial era

The specific policy is to make as few moves as possible, and mainly to achieve the goal by supporting the enemy's opponents, in order to maintain the free trade system established by Britain since the Cromwellian era, such a policy has accumulated rich national strength for Britain, and defeated Spain, the Netherlands, France and other strong enemies on the European continent Russia Since the reform of serfdom in 1861, the rapid growth of industrial strength has made Britain feel a real threat, first launching the tenth Russo-Turkish war, took control of Romania and Bulgaria, which had originally belonged to the Ottoman Turks, and had it not been for the Turks holding Thrace and Constantinople, Russia would have completed its mission to the Mediterranean; Then there was the invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to open a passage to India; On the other hand, Russia also successively choked Jiaozhou Bay and Jeju Island in East Asia, and finally obtained ice-free ports on the Pacific coast, so that the Russian fleet had a strategic base for cruising the Pacific Ocean even in winter, all of which stirred the nerves of the British, but fortunately, after the rise of the Qing Dynasty, Jiaozhou Bay and Jeju Island were quickly recovered, and the Russian fleet was driven back from the Pacific Ocean

Therefore, a series of actions on the rise of the Qing Dynasty were put in a secondary position by the British, and the short-lived hostility between China and Russia during the civil strife in the Qing Dynasty gave William Gladstone a wonderful idea of using the Qing Dynasty to contain Russia, which also became the basis of the "Sino-British Treaty" Some of the provisions in the treaty that were favorable to the Qing Dynasty greatly improved Sino-British relations

However, such a thing was intolerable to Germany, but after Britain frequently sent autumn waves, the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs came to the capital twice to negotiate with Feng Xianghua, and Wilhelm II even personally sent a telegram to inquire about the development progress of Guan Xuqing and Britain, and promised that Britain could give everything to the Qing Dynasty, and Germany could still give the Qing Dynasty

I didn't expect that after sweeping away the civil strife, the short-term friendship with Russia actually made itself the world's sweetheart, the basic national policy of the Qing Dynasty had already been decided, but now Guan Xuqing has the right to re-examine and choose, whether to join the camp of the old powers led by Britain or join the world's noble camp centered on Germany?

Just when Guan Xuqing was undecided, suddenly came the news that Britain and France quickly signed a trade treaty, and the content of the treaty imposed joint restrictions on the Qing Dynasty, which brought great trouble to the Qing Dynasty, as we all know, even after the appearance of airplanes for nearly a hundred years, the sea is still the lifeline of all the world's powers, and in the 19th century, Britain and France are representing the highest level of the world's shipbuilding industry, and the naval tonnage of Britain and France accounts for more than half of the world's total naval tonnage, plus their colonies all over the world provide them with convenient naval bases, As a result, the import and export trade of the Qing Dynasty has always faced their threats, and this period is the time when the development of the Qing industry's industry needs external capital and technology the most

This news made Guan Xuqing quite dissatisfied, he didn't know why Britain took the initiative to show goodwill and then joined forces with France to immediately impose trade restrictions on himself, maybe Guan Xuqing had already guessed that all this was a means for Germany to engage in the middle, and Germany desperately pulled the Qing Dynasty into its camp

But now Guan Xuqing will not explain anything in order to curry favor with Britain, in his opinion, China and Britain will always have a war, and if they stand in the British camp and defeat Germany, the Qing Dynasty will not be able to share too many interests, and Britain may gain great benefits and fly development, so that the Qing Dynasty will never be able to catch up with the British footsteps, it is better to unite with Germany to defeat Britain, and then compete with Germany for hegemony

Thinking of this, Guan Xuqing smiled lightly, and said to Peng Yulin, who knelt in front of him to report the news: "Get up, since the British don't know the current affairs, I don't need to be polite to them and tell Feng Xianghua, and immediately issue an announcement: cancel the zero-tariff policy of Britain and France in Japan, implement Japan's normal tariff system, and all British and French goods in the Qing Dynasty will also be raised by 50%."

Peng Yulin's mouth opened wide in surprise, and asked incredulously: "Your Majesty, in this way, we will completely offend Britain and France."

"Hmph, I'm not afraid of the enemy outside, I'm afraid that the inside is not aligned" Guan Xuqing pointed to the twists and turns on the copy and continued: "How is the interrogation of Shiduo? Why is it that after so many days, I still can't ask a fart? ”

"Back to the emperor, Shi Duo refused to say a word, such a chaotic minister and thief emperor does not need to be tried more times, wouldn't it be easy to deal with it directly?" Peng Yulin asked suspiciously

Guan Xuqing seemed to be thinking about something, and after being silent for nearly 10 seconds, he said firmly: "Since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, the eight iron hat princes have been uninterrupted, and their ancestors have been passed down from generation to generation, and now among these eight princes, five of them are directly related to this assassination plan, and the other three are estimated to have received some rumors, but they have been deeply favored by the emperor for so many years, and they actually saw me being assassinated, and they didn't give me any news, what is the use of such traitors?" ”

After all, Peng Yulin has been in the officialdom for so many years, how could he not hear the emperor's words?

"Back to the emperor, Shi Duo has already surrendered to the law, and confessed that the other seven princes were involved in the assassination plan, and Shi Duo committed suicide in prison," Peng Yulin said immediately

Guan Xuqing looked at Peng Yulin with satisfaction and said: "Since this is the case, then let Shuntianfu go to the other seven princes' mansions to get people, and let Qidong take a team of Praetorian Guards to raid their homes, as for Shi Duo, read that he reported meritorious, and left him with a whole body for burial."

"Chirp"

After Peng Yulin retreated, Guan Xuqing was alone in the huge Heart Cultivation Palace, thinking about everything he had done, although the eight princes have always been not very supportive of their own politics, but there is no evidence to say that they united with Shiduo to conspire, this time these seven people were arrested, it is estimated that there will be a few who have been wronged, but he can't take care of so much, he needs to take this opportunity to completely wipe out the forces that oppose him in the court

Fortunately, these princes are not really bad, and the imperial court does not need to find someone to take over their work immediately, but that's it, Guan Xuqing still feels that such a big country, there is a shortage of people, he sighed countless times in his heart, the Qing Dynasty has developed and grown, there is no shortage of resources, no lack of labor, no shortage of markets, even if it is capital and technology, after establishing good relations with Germany and the United States, it seems that there is no shortage of talents Although there are many people in the Qing Dynasty, there are many people who study, but the lack of land is the talent that has been used by the world

However, this is not a problem that can be solved overnight, the reserve of talents and the popularization of education are inseparable, just like the pyramid, only when the bottom is solid, there will be sharp talents above

But now there is no solid underneath, so how can I hope that the imperial court can produce a few talents that can be used in the world every year

Guan Xuqing was thinking about it, Wang Shang quietly walked in, and said softly: "Your Majesty, Zhan Tianyou, the railway director, asks to see you."

"Oh? What did he come to do? Xuan," Guan Xuqing said suspiciously

"Chirp"

After a while, Zhan Tianyou appeared in front of Guan Xuqing

"Minister, see the emperor" Zhan Tianyou knelt on the ground

"Pingshen, what's the matter with God bless looking for me?" Guan Xuqing still admires and is optimistic about the young man in front of him

"Your Majesty, the minister thinks that our Qing Dynasty should build the Beijing-Ukraine Railway from the capital to Ulaanbaatar and the Lan Railway connecting Longhai Road, which are the backbone of stability" Zhan Tianyou continued: "A few days ago, several princes colluded with Russia to rebel, if there is a railway from Ulaanbaatar to the capital, then the Northeast Group Army can arrange at least one division to protect the Beijing Division, even if there is chaos in the Northeast, it will only take one day from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar."

Guan Xuqing lowered his head and pondered for a moment, and asked, "How many silver dollars does it take to build such a railway, and how long can it take to build it?" ”

"The preliminary estimate is that it will cost 5.8 million silver dollars, and if the manpower is sufficient, it can be completed in one year," Zhan Tianyou replied without thinking

"Does the 5.8 million silver dollars include the wages of the workers?" Guan Xuqing asked in surprise

"No, in fact, the biggest support for the construction of the railway is actually the salary of the workers, if it takes 10,000 people to build, it will take a year, it is also a lot of expenses," Zhan Tianyou bowed his head and said

"Well, you don't have to worry about it, I'll approve this railway now, I still have to repair it," Guan Xuqing said excitedly

"Chirp" Zhan Tianyou himself did not expect that the emperor would trust him so much, and he did not ask if he was confident that he could undertake such a project

After approving Zhan Tianyou's recital, the rest of the prince's homes were also copied

It seems that all this has passed, but Guan Xuqing suddenly ordered to summon all the princes, Baylor, county kings, as well as the patriarchs of various Mongolian tribes, Tibet**, Xinjiang Panchen, etc., to go to the Xishan enclosure

At this time, Guan Xuqing not only had a very high prestige in China, but even if he looked at the whole of East Asia, the people he invited did not dare to do so

Before autumn, the people were already in place

Guan Xuqing finally sat down with the leaders of the feudal clans, due to the busy government affairs, Guan Xuqing has not participated in the hunting activities for several years, and now he is sitting on the ground on this crisp autumn day, looking around, hunting with flags, and the grassland is vast, so that his mind is also opened up a lot

Guan Xuqing raised a full wine glass, and said to the **, Panchen and Mongolian tribal chiefs below: "As we all know, my Manchu is a descendant of the Jurchens, when Jin Taizu Wanyan Aguta had nine brothers, all of them were very good, they fought with each other in order to inherit their father's throne, until one day Aguta's father impeached the bowl and recruited their brothers to his side, first let one of the brothers, Wu Yashu, break a feather arrow, Wu Yashu is a famous warrior of the tribe, easily broke the feather arrow, Then the impeachment bowl put the three feather arrows together, this time Wu Yashu took a lot of effort to break it, and finally, the impeachment bowl put the nine feather arrows together, but Wu Yashu kept breaking it no matter what, and the impeachment bowl told his nine sons through this incident that in the west of the Jurchens, there was a huge Khitan, and they killed the Jurchen people every year, plundering the Jurchen cattle and sheep, and if the nine brothers continued to fight with each other, they would only be easily broken like a single feather arrow, and if the nine brothers worked together, Even if they were as strong as the Khitan, they couldn't defeat them, and since then, Jin Taizu's brothers stopped fighting and worked together to contribute to the tribe, and finally defeated the powerful Khitan."

The princes and princes present didn't know why the emperor suddenly told the story, they all looked at each other with a smile, only a few people were thoughtful, among them, the young patriarch of the Turghat tribe attracted Guan Xuqing's attention the most, the Turghat tribe was originally one of the four Erut Mongols, but later moved west to the Volga generation, and gradually became independent, and now there are no outstanding figures in the Erut Mongols, on the contrary, the Turkut because of the leader Wobashi led the troops to break through many difficulties, returned to the motherland thousands of miles, and honed countless talents, As a result, it gradually became stronger, and gradually was able to compete with the Khalkha tribe representing northern Mongolia, the Korqin tribe representing southern Mongolia, and the Erut tribe representing western Mongolia

Guan Xuqing looked at the Turhut patriarch at this time and said, "Zhuolik Khan, do you know the meaning of what I just said?" ”

Zhuo Li Ke stood up steadily and bowed to Fang Huai and stroked his chest: "The subordinates are stupid, and they can only understand one or two things about the emperor's meaning, probably to let our various departments unite and be like brothers, so that foreigners will not have a chance to take advantage of it."

Guan Xuqing gently stroked his hand and said: "That's right, I have this meaning, and I also have a deep meaning, not only your Mongolian tribes should be united, but my Qing Manchu, Mongolian, Hui, Tibetan and Han people should be close to each other like a family."

As soon as this remark came out, there was a lot of discussion at the bottom, since the Qing Dynasty entered the customs and established the unification, it has implemented the system of racial segregation, and it is strictly forbidden to intermarry among various ethnic groups, and it is not allowed to move at will if there is nothing to do, and even deliberately create contradictions between each other, so as to facilitate the rule

However, Guan Xuqing didn't intend to let them guess in vain, and continued: "Since they are like a family and like brothers, I will never do anything bad to my brothers, and from now on, the Mongolian tribes will never 'reduce the number of ding......s'" As soon as these words came out, everyone who was still talking in a whisper suddenly seemed to be boiling a pot, and even the leader of the Turghut tribe, Zhuo Lik, also showed an excited look

The Jurchen policy of "reducing Ding" to Mongolia first originated in the Jin Dynasty, living between the white mountains and black waters, the Jurchens are famous for their horse kung fu, known as "the Jurchens are not satisfied, and they are invincible", but when it comes to riding and archery kung fu, there is also a tribe above the Jurchens, that is, the Mongols who once swept the Eurasian continent, whether it was after the Jurchens established the Jin Dynasty or the Manchus established the Qing Dynasty, they all carried out brutal massacres against Mongolia, keeping the number of men at a certain number, and in order to prevent the Mongols from recovering their vitality, they were regularly slaughtered, migrated, Although the exile of these things has not been seen on paper by the emperors of previous dynasties in order to whitewash their achievements, it is an indisputable fact that the Mongols have the lowest population growth rate since the Qing Dynasty

The Mongolian people are indeed the most terrible nation in the era of cold weapons, thinking that 20,000 Mongolian cavalry can defeat the 200,000 allied troops of Poland and Sweden, and 30,000 Mongolian iron cavalry can defeat nearly 500,000 troops of the Ming Dynasty, Guan Xuqing feels that if he is in that position, he will also be afraid, but with the end of the cold weapon era, that kind of threat has gradually passed, and it is undoubtedly stupid to continue the "Ding reduction" policy

Ignoring the elation of the Mongolian tribal leaders here, Guan Xuqing said to ** and the Panchen again: "Now the whole world is popularizing learning, and Tibet will inevitably do this in the future......" Seeing that ** and the Panchen Lama are still looking like an ancient well without waves, but their eyes have slightly revealed a little unnatural, Guan Xuqing changed his words and said: "But the two masters, please rest assured, in the future in Tibet to promote learning, this Buddhism is also not abandoned, and then the two masters and the children of the seat will be invited to preach the scriptures and preach Yu Cai"** He and the Panchen are all slightly embarrassed, presumably in their hearts, which is a great good thing for improving the status of the two of them

In the end, Guan Xuqing said: "How much time did you spend on this trip to Beijing? ”

Everyone said one after another, some said: "Your Majesty, it only took 10 days for the ministers to arrive", some said 20 days, some said 15 days, and it took a whole month for the ** in Tibet

Guan Xuqing looked at them with a smile and continued: "I have the intention to build two railways from the capital to Ulaanbaatar and connecting Longhai Road, so it will be more convenient for you to come to the capital in the future, or if I go to Mongolia, Tibet, and Xinjiang."

"Okay", "So good", "This is great"

There was a lot of applause from below, but Guan Xuqing knew in his heart that if it weren't for the promises he had just given that made them feel excited, they wouldn't be so supportive anyway

"But this year, I have been fighting in the Qing Dynasty for many years, and the treasury has long been depleted, and the money for building the railway is barely scraped up, but I still need to borrow something from you," Guan Xuqing asked tentatively

At this moment, everyone was stunned, could it be that the emperor wanted to ask us to borrow money? It should be unlikely

"Your Majesty, we Mongolian tribes only have people except cattle and sheep, and we don't have any silver," a patriarch sealed Guan Xuqing's mouth for borrowing money as soon as he opened his mouth

"Hehe, I don't borrow money from you, I only ask you to borrow what you have," Guan Xuqing said with a smile

"What is it?"

"People"

"People?" The patriarch asked, his eyes wide

"Yes, I need you to send people to build the railway, there is no salary, I pay to build the railway, you can send people," Guan Xuqing continued

"I thought the emperor wanted something? So that's the case, rest assured, the emperor can rest assured, we Turkuts must have the right to support the emperor in building the railway," Zorik Khan replied loudly

"Okay, I'll thank you in advance," Guan Xuqing said and made a chest stroke