ps: Thanks to the "piece of nature" reward to support the genuine version, the 4,000-word chapter rewarded everyone for agreeing on the strategy of dealing with the Japanese, Song Xiaofei determined the topic as China's diplomatic strategy after 1903.

Song Xiaofei said: "As we all know, the ignorant Qing court, before its fall, has always stubbornly refused to integrate into the international community, which has led to a series of national disasters. Moreover, China has always been recognized by the Tessian powers as a non-member of the international community and is not qualified to apply international law. Since President Li Hongzhang, our Republic has known how to open its eyes to the world and boldly appointed a group of young people who have studied in Europe and the United States and are familiar with international law to take charge of foreign affairs. It has enabled China to gain its rightful position in the international community, especially its status as a major Asian power. Next, I would like to invite Liang Qichao, Minister of Justice, and Liang Shiyi, President of the China Foreign Affairs University, to introduce to you the current world trend and discuss China's diplomatic strategy in the future. ”

Liang Qichao, the chief of justice, stood up, cleared his throat and said: "After President Liang Shiyi and I returned from visiting Europe and the United States in 1901, we were ordered by the president to organize domestic and foreign experts to devote themselves to studying the history of industrialization and diplomacy of the great powers for the past two years. If China wants to dominate the universe and dominate the earth, these two points are very important. In the area of industrialization, the great president, Prime Minister Sheng, and Minister Xi have already drawn up plans, so I will mainly talk about diplomatic strategy. ”

Song Xiaofei nodded, "Chief Liang will give us an analysis of the current world trend. ”

Liang Qichao studied painstakingly and solitarily for two years, consulted a large number of materials, and at this time Cheng Zhu was in his chest, took a sip of tea, and said: "Now the world's great powers, in addition to China, mainly include England, France, Germany, Tsarist Russia, Austria-Hungary, and the United States, and the relationship is complicated. The strongest country is naturally England, known as the 'empire on which the sun never sets'. Not only does it have the most navy in the world, but it also has an extremely developed industry and the largest number of colonies. However, in 1871, France was defeated in the Franco-Prussian War. France provided 5 billion francs in reparations of more than 700 million taels of silver, allowing Germany to rise rapidly. This huge amount of money flowed into the nascent German Empire in four years, allowing the German currency to quickly enter the era of the gold standard, and the stable mark promoted the rapid development of German industry, and Germany rose like a giant in Europe, so that Germany can now be regarded as the second most powerful country. ”

Li Jingfang said with a smile: "I also know a little about the war between the Germans and the French. The German army marched into Paris, and the French not only compensated Germany 5 billion francs, but were also forced to sign a humiliating peace treaty. The provinces of Alsace and Lorraine, which were rich in iron ore, were ceded. ”

Sheng Xuanhuai said: "Then the French don't hate the Germans to death? The relationship between the two countries has always been bad. ”

Liang Shiyi, president of the China Foreign Affairs Academy, said: "Yes. The Franco-Prussian War destroyed the long-standing national pride of the French and reduced them from a superpower in Europe to an ordinary power, and the defeat of Sedan was the main reason for the long-term stimulation of the belligerent Gauls. Because at this time, it was only more than half a century before the great * country of the Napoleonic era. Among the diplomatic goals of German Chancellor Bismarck after 1871, the most crucial was to take advantage of the unstable nature of the French government to completely isolate France. Consolidate the fruits of victory. They believed that a vengeful France would always be a nightmare for Germany. ”

Song Xiaofei asked: "When will France's reparations to Germany be repaid?" ”

Liang Shiyi replied: "Bismarck tried to demand a huge amount of reparations to make the German army occupy northern France for a long time, however, France has a huge colony more than 20 times the size of the mainland, and the financial power behind France is also very strong, and the reparations are quickly raised. In 1873 the German army was withdrawn from France. Immediately, France began to build a large standing army. The Germans allied with Austria-Hungary to suppress France. ”

Song Xiaofei said: "The rising Germany is a great threat to the British and French colonies. I know that during Bismarck's time, Germany rarely participated in the struggle for colonies, and in 1881, Bismarck told those who were restless: 'As long as I am chancellor for one day, Germany will not have a colonial policy'. ”

Finance Minister Xi Jiadong said: "I have followed the industrialization of Germany. Bismarck said this at the time because during his reign, only 0.1 per cent of Germany's total exports went to the colonies, and only 0.2 per cent of its total imports came from the colonies, in the face of the fact that Britain and France had already divided the best colonies in the world. The Germans felt that it would be better to abandon these chickens that could not be defended in peacetime and in war, and that it would be better to abandon them and reduce the trouble for the Empire, especially since the need to spend money to build a strong navy in order to maintain the colonies would irritate the British. ”

Song Xiaofei laughed, "It's a pity that Bismarck went into the wild in 1890." Now Kaiser Wilhelm II has completely destroyed the diplomatic foundation that Bismarck laid for Germany, and the German Admiralty has been pursuing the British Imperial Navy fleet and launching a large naval plan, which completely infuriates the British. Geographically, Britain's location, heart and brain in the British Isles off the west coast of continental Europe, and London, also located on the River Thames, for Britain, the emergence of a land and sea power on the west coast of the European continent means the danger of national destruction and survival. Germany is located between the Low Countries and Jutland. It is one of the most sensitive locations in the sensitive nerves of the UK. Germany's vigorous development of the navy was a deadly dagger in the heart of the British Empire. If a large fleet appeared in this position, which could overwhelm the Home Fleet of the British Royal Navy, and it was in the hands of Germany, which had the most powerful army in Europe, it would be not only a competitive threat to sea power in the eyes of Britain, but an existential threat to the survival of the nation and the life and death of the nation. ”

Liang Shiyi agreed, saying: "The president is really far-sighted. Britain's desire to contain the German Navy is also an opportunity for China. As a result, the British had to sit down at the negotiating table with China and the United States to share sea power. ”

Liang Qichao also smiled and said: "I think Kaiser Wilhelm II was very envious of the British navy because of the influence of his mother, the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria. He began to learn from the British traditions, building a naval bureau, a naval command, and even hoped to establish a joint command system for the army and navy. The German nouveau riche, anxious to reap the benefits of the partition of the colonies, embarked on political adventures even before the navy was yet formed, which inevitably provoked a strong reaction from the British. ”

It turned out that starting in 1896, Kaiser Wilhelm II officially declared the implementation of the so-called "World Plan"

。

He declared that "nothing in the world can henceforth be accomplished without the German Empire having its hands on its Emperor"

。

Tirpitz, the secretary of state of the navy who started with torpedo boats, initiated the "German Naval Federation"

They hoped that Germany would be able to reach out and go overseas like the British, and Anglo-German relations took a sharp turn for the worse.

In this situation.

The so-called "Baghdad Railway"

, "Central African Empire"

and the "Oriental Mark District"

and all sorts of "great plans"

It began to spring up like mushrooms.

In 1898, the German Empire introduced its first naval law and began the construction of battleships, which meant an important turning point.

This is undoubtedly Tirpitz's "German Naval Federation"

Hype about the results of overseas expansion.

With this in mind, Germany's first naval law was enacted in 1898: a detachment of eight battleships each, and two years later the new law was immediately transformed into four fleets and 32 battleships.

This puts the UK under tremendous pressure.

Song Xiaofei said: "Now is indeed a good time for us to form an alliance with the United Kingdom. British expansion in Africa and Asia created considerable contradictions between France and Russia, and in the nineteen-nineties, the British had to face both the challenge of the French in North Africa and the struggle against the Russians in Afghanistan. There was also a Dutch insurgency in South Africa, and the long front led the British leadership to think that the 'glorious isolation' of the past was no longer viable, and began to look for allies, the emerging republics of China and the United States, especially China. For the UK, it's important. However, such alliances are temporary. Once China rises to overtake Germany, friction between China and Britain is inevitable. We also need to be prepared. ”

At this time, Duan Qirui asked: "What is the relationship between Germany and Russia?" Ever since China defeated Russia in the Far East and recovered Sakhalin Island, Nebuchu and other places, Sino-Russian relations have fallen to a freezing point. There is a possibility of another war at any time. Both Germany and Russia are monarchies. If Germany and Russia join forces, China will be passive. ”

Liang Shiyi said: "It is unlikely that Germany and Russia will join forces. The Three Emperors Alliance of the German Emperor, the Tsar and the Austrian Emperor had completely broken down. At the Berlin Conference of 1878, Bismarck's favoritism towards Austria-Hungary and Turkey had already led to tensions between Russia and Germany, the biggest losers on the surface, and the German-Austrian Treaty of Alliance in 1879 had tied Germany to the powder keg of the Balkans. Sure enough, the Bulgarian-Serbian crisis of 1885 completely led to the rupture of Russian-Austrian relations. In order to prevent German intervention, relations between Russia and France quickly became closer, which led to Bismarck's economic sanctions against Russia, and the Russians immediately obtained loans from France in response to German sanctions. Now the economic basis of the Russian-French union is basically taking shape. Russia and France are very close. ”

Liang Qichao said: "Based on my research, it is possible for Germany and Russia to go to war. In a statement in 1887, the 87-year-old German general Moltke again proposed a priority plan on the Eastern Front: that is, a preemptive attack on Russia. On 7 July 1887, Ferdinand of the House of Coburg became Tsar of Bulgaria, and the Tsar, who was close to Austria-Hungary, angered Russia and began to seriously consider an alliance with France. The frightened Bismarck was forced to send the "German-Austrian Treaty of Alliance" to London, claiming that if Austria-Hungary and Britain were threatened, Germany had the duty to fight against Russia or France, and the British, who were suffering from Franco-Russian interference in British affairs in Egypt, once again joined forces with Germany to put pressure on Russia, and this time completely planted the seeds of Russian hatred of Germany. ”

Song Xiaofei said: "We can't have any illusions about the Russians. In addition to continuing to support Lenin's revolution and destabilizing Russia, the North-Western Military District should also be ready to fight again. After all, the border defense line between China and Russia on the northwest border is too long. In terms of railways, it was almost possible to cover the Great Northwest by 1905. ”

Liang Qichao said: "Tsarist Russia's current situation is not good. After the defeat by China, Pan-Slavism and Chauvinism flourished in Tsarist Russia, and the emergence of a Pan-Slavist movement made its leadership desperately eager to expand its influence in the Balkans in order to 'liberate' the Slavs, mixed with the preservation of the Orthodox 'Russian tradition', which also led to an intensification of anti-Russian sentiment in Britain. The Balkans, known as the 'powder keg', are not calm. Since the Crimean War, Britain and Austria-Hungary have consistently supported the Turks against Russia, so they will not sit idly by. After 1890, the British stock market was also closed to Russia. The Turks won a resounding victory so that Russia had nothing to gain, and the pan-Slavic groups in the country strongly called for direct Russian intervention. The Russo-Austrian war could break out at any time. Once the Russian-Austrian war began, Germany had no choice but to join the Austro-Hungarian side, regardless of who was the attacking side. ”

Song Xiaofei nodded and said, "In the near future, a world war will be inevitable, so we in China must take precautions." Handle relations with the European powers well. ”

Liang Qichao said: "In fact, the diplomatic relations between the Taixi powers are not too complicated, for example, the biggest beneficiary of the Franco-German reconciliation must be France, followed by Germany, of course, the biggest victim is naturally only Britain." Because Britain has a vested interest, Germany is the challenger, and France is the object that both sides want to woo. After the Franco-Prussian War, Germany became the largest power in continental Europe, so his next step was to seek the same status as Britain and carve up the colonies. This can only be achieved by developing itself and constantly weakening Britain. ”

Song Xiaofei nodded and said, "That's true." It turns out that the United States is now basically neutral, and we can develop trade with it. China's biggest enemy now is Tsarist Russia, so we can form an alliance with Britain against Tsarist Russia. As for Germany and France, I think China will be the target of their wooing. We remain neutral. ”

Foreign Minister Wu Tingfang said: "I think it's okay. As for some countries in North and South America, we can also develop friendly relations. ”

At this briefing, Song Xiaofei, Sheng Xuanhuai, Rong Hong, and others reached a consensus and decided that after 1903, China would vigorously develop relations with Britain and the United States, unite to resist Russia, and maintain neutrality between Germany and France.

On May 1, 1903, Britain formally formed an alliance with China against Russia, but at the same time closed Germany's pro-British course.