There are many reasons for Russia's eventual abandonment of Port Arthur, but as far as Song Biao knows, the most important reason depends on the judgment of Commander-in-Chief Kuropatkin, under the premise that Russia has completely lost its naval power, and lacks sufficient time and financial resources to restore the Russian navy in the next twenty years, and that the development of the navy is already difficult to contain, it is the only suitable option for Russia to cede Arthur and protect the railway and land rights.

As a concession to Russia to relinquish the right to garrison the Navy in Arthur, Britain agreed to transfer customs control of the three eastern provinces to Russia, recognizing Russia's special control over the entire three eastern provinces, and each side got what it wanted.

In short, the sea belongs to the British Alliance, the land belongs to Russia, and the Qing political axe is a "fart" in the three eastern provinces, and there is nothing.

Although the Port Arthur was lost, the Russian Navy could still use the Port of Dalian, but as a military port, the Port of Dalian was relatively poor, in fact, it was of little significance, at least in the foreseeable fifteen years, the Russian Navy could not return, and the Lend-Lease of Arthur that Russia obtained from the Qing Dynasty Axe actually ended in 1923, and the lease could only be granted until 1923.

If, during this period, Russia was able to take full control of the three eastern provinces, Russia could use this clause to force Yuben to withdraw from Lushun and replace him again.

On this point, both sides are very clear in their hearts, and as for who can have the last laugh, it depends on their own abilities.

In Song Biao's view, both sides basically couldn't have the last laugh, but he couldn't have a strong navy at that time, and it was really a little difficult to force Yuben to withdraw from Port Arthur, as for Russia, it was not able to restore its navy at the end of World War II, let alone hope to fight with Yuben's navy.

A few days later, Grand Duke Mikhail of the Tsarist Russian Empire arrived in Mukden on behalf of the Russian emperor and held a celebration ceremony in Wangjiabao, Song Biao was officially awarded the title of major general of infantry of the Russian army, stepping into the rank of general, but this is already his last rank in the Russian army, if the Qing Zheng axe officially appointed him as the governor of the three eastern provinces, at that time, he will officially retire from the Russian army.

Russia is also making preparations with both hands, if the Qing political axe does not use Song Biao, they will make an exception to award Song Biao the rank of lieutenant general in the infantry, and stay in the Russian army for a long time, just like Antoine back then. Henry. General of the Infantry of Jomini.

Russia has always had examples of hiring foreigners as senior military generals, and it is relatively common, including hiring a large number of Napoleon's old troops to fight Napoleon, but they were all hired in Europe before, and this time it is extremely rare to hire a Chinese.

That's all.

In addition to the rank of Major General of Infantry, Song Biao, together with the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Far Eastern Army, Infantry General Kuropatkin, was personally conferred by Grand Duke Mikhail on behalf of the Russian Emperor St. Andrei. The Order of Belwozvanne, created by Tsar Peter the Great in 1698 and awarded to high-ranking members of the royal family and commanders of armies with special military merits, has been awarded to only 1,035 people since its creation.

Prior to this, Song Biao had been awarded two War Memorial Medals of the First Class, the Order of St. Catherine, the Medal of Honor for Service to Jomini, and the Order of Santa Anna, which is a real honor in the Russian army.

Song Biao from the Battle of Heigoutai, the Sandaoling Surprise Attack, the Battle of Liaoyang to the second decisive battle on the Liaodong Peninsula, in addition to the siege of Jinzhou and the Russian army's previous many rout battles, he fought almost all the vicious battles in the Russian War, which can be called a victorious general and a lucky star.

Shortly after Song Biao was hired by Russia as an infantry major general, Qing Zhengaxe, who received the news, finally made up his mind to formally appoint Song Biao as the governor of the three eastern provinces, and the telegram arrived at the Shengjing General's Mansion in duplicate, and continued to appoint Zhao Erxun as the co-organizer of the university and the general of Shengjing, and the Yin of Fengtianfu, and at the same time the telegram appointing Song Biao as the governor of the three eastern provinces was also sent to Zhao Erxun.

This made Zhao Erxun very difficult.

The relationship between Zhao Erxun and Song Biao is definitely not good, and when the Manchu court debated whether to recruit Song Biao as the governor of the three eastern provinces, Zhao Erxun played sternly, believing that since it was Zhao'an, at most he could only appoint him as the deputy commander, and it was not appropriate to be the governor, including people like Xiliang, the governor of Sichuan, who actively promoted the new policy, and others were also resolutely opposed.

There are two people who really support Song Biao, one is Yuan Shikai, the governor of Zhili, and the other is Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Huguang, both of them think that the situation in the three eastern provinces is in danger, and no one else can stabilize the situation except Song Biao, and they must take the risk of using Song Biao.

Zhao Erxun's opposition is the most resolute, because Song Biao is grabbing his position, and after so many years in the officialdom, he finally got the position of a feudal official, how can Zhao Erxun be willing to let go.

During this period, Zhao Erxun also sent someone to negotiate with Song Biao, saying that he still admired Song Biao very much, and if Song Biao was willing to follow him to serve the imperial court, he would definitely recommend Song Biao to serve as the deputy commander of Shengjing, in short, the people sent out were kicked out of the barracks by Song Biao.

Holding the new telegram sent by the imperial court through the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs and the Telegraph Bureau, Zhao Erxun's mood was so complicated at this time, he kept pacing in his West Flower Hall, and he didn't know what to do.

If Song Biao is only appointed as the governor of the three eastern provinces, and then he is arranged to be the governor of Liangguang, it is just a matter of arranging for him to be a co-organizer of the title of university scholar, and then retaining the official position of General Sheng Jing, so that the three eastern provinces should listen to him as a university scholar or the governor?

Since his staff was kicked out of the barracks by Song Biao, Zhao Erxun knew that Song Biao was illiterate, there was no one in his eyes, and he would not abide by the rules at all.

Has it really come to this?

Queen Mother, where do you want the old minister to go?

Zhao Erxun felt a very bizarre pain in his heart, not only grateful to the Queen Mother for her reuse and trust, but also felt that the burden on his body was very heavy, and felt that the imperial court had arranged an extremely painful errand for him.

With a sigh, Zhao Erxun took out the telegram given to Song Biao and read it again, and then made up his mind to continue to ask his staff to find Song Biao to receive the order.

The Great Qing Dynasty was also a model of continuous reform in the last period, and even the Holy Decree was directly replaced by a telegraph in the past few years, especially when the emperor was under house arrest and there was almost no Holy Decree to be issued, it was generally only made up afterwards, and sometimes there was no such decree, and it was enough to order through the Military Aircraft Department and the Yamen of the Ministries, and the appointment of the governor was only stamped with the seal of the Military Aircraft Department and the Ministry of Officials in many cases.

While Zhao Erxun was swaying there, Song Biao was sorting out the translation of "On War", and the Far Eastern Non-commissioned Officer School had officially opened.

Therefore, "On War" must be translated as soon as possible.

Most of the students in the advanced training class are currently fighting with the army in Liaozhong County, and the admission class is still conducting basic teaching, which gives Song Biao at least three months to sort out this translation.

Taking advantage of this time, Song Biao and Shu Fangde talked about the preparation of the printing office, and while the two were talking, Li Dayun hurriedly ran in, and after saluting, he said loudly: "Report to the military seat, Shengjing General Zhao Erxun sent that staff member again." ”

Song Biao glared at him unhappily, and asked Li Dayun: "What are you doing in a daze, kick that stunned man out, and tell him that Lord Zhao's insult to me will be remembered for the rest of my life, and one day I will repay Lord Zhao's whole family." ”

Li Dayun was stunned for a moment, and said with a wicked smile: "He spent a lot of money to bribe me to let me come over to pass the word, this kick is really a bit kicked, but he said that Lord Zhao had an invitation, saying that the imperial court had an appointment document." ”

"Oh?"

Song Biao was very suspicious, and said angrily: "Tell him, just say that I will invite Lord Zhao to come over and talk about it." ”

"Yes!"

Li Dayun responded and immediately returned to inform the other party.

As for what Song Biao said just now, he had already said it once before, it really shattered Zhao Erxun's frightened dog gall, because Zhao Erxun's whole family lived in Tieling, and his family was the Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty, a four-jinshi, and now there are two people serving as governors.

Speaking of which, the old Zhao family is also the home of important ministers of the Qing Empire, and no one dares to slack off.

The problem is that Song Biao doesn't care about these at all, he said it even more in private, only saying that it was a machine gun, and there was no reason why he couldn't kill other people's whole family, this word was not widely spread in Fengtian City, but it could also make Zhao Erxun hear it clearly.

After Li Dayun left, Song Biao continued to discuss the matter of the printing house with Shu Fangde, but Shu Fangde reminded Song Biao: "My lord, is it the holy decree of the imperial court that officially appoints you as the governor of the three eastern provinces?" ”

Song Biao asked rhetorically: "Do you want to go over to receive the order?" ”

Shu Fangde said: "It doesn't seem to be the case now, and I don't know the specific situation, but if you have to go over to receive the order, the other party should say it clearly, right?" ”

Song Biao also felt that this matter was very strange now, so he said: "Then you take someone to the yamen of the Shengjing General's Mansion, if there is no major event, just bring Zhao Erxun to me directly." ”

Shu Fangde said: "Okay, I'll take someone to take a look, so as not to have an accident!" ”

After saying this, Shu Fangde went out to beckon Li Fugui and the guard battalion to follow him to the yamen of the Shengjing General's Mansion, while Song Biao could only stay alone in the office to ponder the new translation.

It was also a long way from Tangling Wei to the Yamen of General Shengjing, and after waiting for nearly an hour, Shu Fangde and Li Fugui came back in a hurry and took Zhao Erxun all the way.

Zhao Erxun naturally did not come alone, and brought Enqing, the deputy capital of Shengjing, with hundreds of people escorted by the Eight Banners Battalion of the Qing Army all the way, and the momentum was fierce, and the big sedan chair was carried to the office of the Northeast New Army before stopping.

Waiting for others to lift the curtain for him, Zhao Erxun walked out of the sedan chair, wearing the Manchu official uniform of a second-class official, embroidered brocade chicken on his chest, and a ruby and a flower feather on the top.

Walking out of the sedan chair, Zhao Erxun looked at the empty school ground, not knowing what Song Biao was singing about the empty city plan. At this time, he was already a sixty-one-year-old man, with a white beard, long braids like silver threads, a thin body, deep sunken eyes, although he had no power to restrain chickens, his eyes were shrewd and restrained.

Hearing that the other party had arrived, Song Biao took dozens of soldiers of the guard company out of the office, at this time he was still wearing a Russian military uniform, a gray-white military uniform, and wearing many medals, after all, he had not retired from the Russian army at this time.

Seeing Zhao Erxun with hundreds of soldiers of the Eight Banners Battalion in front of the open space of the office, Song Biao only had a sneer in his heart, this kind of broken army, just find a group of bandits to beat them all over the ground.

Song Biao still stepped forward, shook hands with Zhao Erxun without smiling, and said: "I didn't expect Lord Zhao to come to comfort the sergeant of the camp in person, Song is grateful, so please ask Lord Zhao to come with me to the public office for a gathering!" ”

Zhao Erxun raised his head and looked at the rooms in the row of offices, and estimated that there was not much danger, so he said, "Then let's go!" ”

Between the words, Zhao Erxun really had a heroic posture of going into danger alone.

The wind is sluggish and the water is cold, and the old man is sixty-one years old and breaks into Longtan.

Zhao Erxun encouraged himself in his heart like this.

Song Biao directly took Zhao Erxun to his study, invited him to sit down, and asked Shu Fangde to soak Zhao Erxun in a pot of West Lake Longjing.

The office is almost entirely Russian-style, and even the desks, chairs and tea sets are Russian goods purchased from Harbin, which makes Zhao Erxun a little unaccustomed.

Zhao Erxun sat down on the sofa that he was not very accustomed to, tasted a sip of Longjing tea very elegantly, and secretly praised with a prickly feeling: "I can't imagine that General Song is also a tea lover, and they all say that those who are good at tasting Longjing have elegant conduct and can know Shangyin, presumably General Song is also a knowledgeable person." ”

Song Biao didn't bother to care about the sour thorns of these literati, and replied directly: "I usually drink black tea to warm my stomach and nourish my blood, the Northeast is bitterly cold, and the soldiers have been fighting outside for many years, so I still have to pay attention to health preservation." Tea is a good thing, drink too much and scrape the fat, and adding a little sugar is more beneficial to the body and stomach. ”

Zhao Erxun bowed his head slightly, and praised: "There are so many health preservation methods in drinking tea, General Song is really outstanding." ”

He was very surprised in his heart, although he knew that Song Biao was not very old, it was said that he was only twenty-one or twelve years old, and he was still very surprised when he really saw it, and he also felt that Song Biao did not seem to be as barbaric and rude as rumored.

Zhao Erxun couldn't figure it out for a while, so he took out the telegram sent by the imperial court, and officially handed it to Song Biao and said: "Zhao came to congratulate General Song this time, the court knows the general's talent, and wants to recruit for a long time, and now he has officially ordered the general to be the governor of the three eastern provinces, and the governor of the three eastern provinces and other places are also in charge of the three provincial generals, Fengtian Governor, and the title of Shangshu, and the queen mother gave a poinsettia crown and two dazzling feathers. Yi Zhi will have to wait a while to arrive, and Dai Dai Hua Ling and the various chapters will also be here at that time, but the general can start this matter now. In particular, when negotiating with the Russians about withdrawing from the army, I hope that the general will hurry up and not disappoint the high hopes of the Queen Mother and the imperial court. ”

Song Biao sighed, and roughly understood the process of the whole thing, that is, now because there is such a thing as a telegraph, there are telegraph offices in various places, and the official documents of the imperial court will come in the form of telegrams first, and then make up those things in the form.

After a little thought, Song Biao said to Zhao Erxun: "Don't worry, I'll already talk about it again, I just talked with Grand Duke Mikhail of Russia a few days ago, it should be said that the progress is not bad, and what results can be negotiated can only be clarified later." In addition, what is the position of the adult now? ”

Zhao Erxun was quietly a little proud, thinking that you had not squeezed me down, so he said: "Co-organizer of the university scholar and the general of Shengjing and other places, Fengtianfu Yin, Governor Song, in the future, we will work together for the imperial court, and we should support each other, and ask Lord Song to take care of the old decay." ”

Song Biao was not very surprised, when Yuan Shikai called him back, he guessed that it would be such an ending, and Yuan Shikai must have gotten the news a long time ago.

He pondered for a moment and said to Zhao Erxun: "That's fine." ”

Zhao Erxun didn't quite understand the intention of this answer, thought about it for a while, and reminded: "Lord Song, now that you and I are officials in the same dynasty, I want to remind you that something else is just that, this braid is the ancestral system of this dynasty, you should pay attention to it, it is better to grow your hair as soon as possible, it is also the foundation of my Han people, don't learn from foreigners." ”

Song Biao noticed this small detail at this time, but he didn't care too much about it, and said, "I'll deal with it." ”

Zhao Erxun said: "It's better to deal with it as soon as possible, if it is harmful to the national body, there will be reports from the officials, I'm afraid it will be very bad for you." ”

Song Biao didn't care very much, and sighed in his heart that he really let him get the throne of the governor of the three eastern provinces, although there were many rights controlled by the imperial court in the hands of Zhao Erxun, but for him, the military power of the deputy commanders in various places controlled by Zhao Erxun was bullshit to him, and he didn't care at all.

What does it mean to be the governor of the three eastern provinces?

(To be continued)