Hu Chuyuan is a very cunning politician.

At this time last year, he had not yet thought of occupying Russian Siberia, and at that time he was convinced that this was an impossible goal, and that it was most likely that China would get all the territory on the southern side of the Far Eastern Railway, and use Omsk as the dividing line between China and Russia, and Siberia would still be an integral part of the Russian Empire.

In fact, as long as he was able to actually occupy the city of Novosibirsk and the Kazakh region, and drive the Tsarist forces out of Central Asia, he was already very satisfied.

At that time, he also considered that Britain, the United States, and Germany would inevitably implement a policy of intervention to prevent China from becoming too powerful.

But now he can see clearly that Britain, the United States and Germany are all paper tigers, and they have no intention of imposing sanctions on China in a practical sense, and they pin all their hopes on political mediation.

Do you hope that China's "conscience" will find out and face up to "international morality"?

Save it!

Hu Chuyuan deceived the people very hard, and after collecting a new 3.5 billion Qingyuan war national debt, he couldn't wait to continue to recruit troops, and transferred 600,000 people from the reserve troops in various provinces to continue to expand into two group armies, led by Feng Guozhang and Wu Peifu, Wu Peifu's task was to expand to Central Asia, and Feng Guozhang's task was to participate in the Yekaterinburg Campaign.

Duan Qirui was responsible for staying in the Far East, and part of the main force of the Jianghuai Corps was also transferred to Omsk to join the war against Russia at any time.

Throughout the Russian theater, Hu Chuyuan gathered as many as 1.97 million army forces, with 7 armored divisions, 5 light mechanized divisions, and 11 cavalry divisions, and formed four large group armies around these main forces.

The First Group Army was commanded by Li Kaiye, the Second Group Army was commanded by Yang Zongli, the Third Group Army was under the direct jurisdiction of Lu Guangquan, the Fourth Group Army was commanded by Feng Guozhang, the commander-in-chief of the theater was Lu Guangquan, and Lu Guangquan's military rank was also promoted to general, Li Kaiye and Yang Zongli were lieutenant generals, and Feng Guozhang was promoted to the rank of major general.

The power of the commander-in-chief was still in Hu Chuyuan's hands, and every large-scale battle plan was organized and planned by the State War Committee.

The Russian army urgently dispatched 1.7 million troops to carry out stubborn defensive battles in Yekaterinburg and the Ural Mountains.

Sensing that it would be very difficult to attack Yekaterinburg, Hu Chuyuan adjusted his strategy and let the whole army enter the winter preparation area, turn the offensive into defense, and build large-scale fortifications along the lines of Chelyabinsk, Tyumen, Kurgan, and Omsk.

At the same time, efforts will be made to build railways from Zhangjiakou to Ulaanbaatar and from Ulaanbaatar to Ulan-Ude, so as to ensure the formation of four supply lines from Xinjiang Province to Omsk and Liaodong-Ulan-Ude and Zhangjiakou-Ulan-Ude next year.

On December 19, 1902, the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Sir Henry Belleman, visited China, and the entourage included Sir Dou Nale, who was very familiar to Hu Chuyuan, and Vice Admiral John Fischer, the first minister of the British Navy, who had always had a good personal relationship.

Their mission is clear, and they will do their best to mediate a truce between China and Russia, at least a temporary armistice.

Prime Minister Bannerman was a man of great financial skills, and as the leader of the Liberal Party, he was also a staunch supporter of classical free trade, and it was at his insistence that China and Britain were able to conclude the Sino-British Treaty of Colonial Cooperation in 1898.

Hu Chuyuan received them at the newly built Yingtai State Guesthouse, they were all old friends, and no matter what the current international situation was, everyone was very happy to see each other.

In fact, Hu Chuyuan changed the fate of many people, especially John Fischer, who is now able to become the most influential and powerful person in the British Navy, and in the final analysis, he is also influenced by the development of the Chinese Navy, and he is regarded internationally as the modern enlightener of the Chinese Navy.

Everyone sat together and talked about a lot of things, and Hu Chuyuan and John Fischer were particularly happy to talk about their previous things in Fuzhou.

Talking about the Navy's past, slowly, several people talked about the situation in front of them.

Because the relationship has always been good, and some time ago they wrote letters of condolences to each other, John Fischer first asked Hu Chuyuan: "Husse, how do you plan to end this war at present, and really want to conquer the whole of Russia?" ”

Hu Chuyuan didn't hide it, shook his head, and said, "It's not necessary, and it's unlikely." I know this very well in my heart. As I told you, Russia has been engaged in 213 years of long-term aggression against China, and now is the time for us to settle accounts with Russia. Russia does not want to return to us all the lands they have acquired through years of aggression, so it is impossible for us to accept any kind of armistice. Not to mention fighting for ten years, even if it is for a hundred years, all Chinese have this determination and will not waver. Even if I personally could agree to an armistice, the whole country would not agree. ”

John Fischer was speechless for a moment, just nodded slightly, as if in agreement.

His task was accomplished, at least to get Hu Chuyuan to start talking about it.

Prime Minister Bannerman immediately said, "Your Excellency, I am coming to China this time...... It's really about Hong Kong and deepening the new cooperation between our two countries in the colonies and in the international world. I am very happy to see China, an ancient country with thousands of years of history, become a powerful country in the world again, this joy is from the heart, a tribute to ancient civilization and modern civilization, for me personally, I like China very much, and I hope to work with you to promote the continued development of cooperation between China and the UK during my tenure. ”

Bannerman is still a very good person, he is actually 66 years old now, he seems to be a very kind old gentleman, and he also has a good reputation in the international community, and he is very good at financial management and diplomatic work.

Bannerman's remark was also very interesting, and he inadvertently gave a bait.

The Hong Kong Question.

Hu Chuyuan thought for a while and said to Bannerman: "The Hong Kong problem can indeed be solved. From the perspective of Chinese society as a whole, the fact that Britain still occupies Hong Kong is not conducive to the long-term cooperation between China and Britain, let alone the investment of British capital in China. I have a suggestion, that is, we should pay for the redemption of Hong Kong, of course, this price should not be too high, and this is also a better way for China and the UK. As compensation, China and Britain can increase military cooperation, for example, our military ports can be opened to each other with reservations, so that each other's fleets can be berthed and maintained. ”

Bannerman was immediately interested, and said: "As for the proposal of China and Britain to strengthen cooperation in the military field, we have a very good idea and future. In light of the results of several naval battles between China and France, the British Admiralty is now working on building new, larger-tonnage, dreadnought-class battleships, and since a large number of new technologies will be adopted, the cost may be very high. Moreover, in this joint shipbuilding program, the Chinese side does not need to order another from the UK, of course...... The UK needs some reassurance and a few other things too! ”

Hu Chuyuan then asked, "What matters?" ”

John Fischer said: "Actually, we are now curious to know the long-term plans of the Chinese navy so that the UK can make appropriate adjustments to its naval policy. ”

Hu Chuyuan bowed slightly, and said: "There is no need for Britain to worry too much about this. On the basis of long-term stable cooperation between China and the United Kingdom, there is no need for China to expand its navy on a large scale. China's core interest is Asia, and as long as Britain acknowledges this, it is absolutely necessary for China and Britain to engage in an arms race in the navy; in Asia, if Britain is willing to take China as the leader, respect China's status and decisive position in Asia, and maintain equal cooperation in the Middle East region of Asia, then in the entire international world, China will completely take Britain as the leader and cooperate with Britain's international policy. Considering these problems, China must be a land power, and as long as the size of the navy remains at 50% of the level of the United Kingdom in the same period, it is sufficient. ”

Hearing him say this, Bannerman was relieved.

With China's current national strength and war strength, if China and Britain can form an alliance and maintain long-term close cooperation, then ...... The world is entirely in the hands of China and the UK.

Of course, the bottom line for Britain is that the world leader must also be the United Kingdom, and as a concession, it is also okay for the Asian region, especially East Asia, South Asia, and Central Asia, to let China dominate.

Thinking about this question clearly, Bannerman replied to Hu Chuyuan very bluntly: "That's for China and Britain...... There are no more problems! ”

The meaning of this sentence is quite deep.

Hu Chuyuan said: "Because of the problem of the war in the Far East, the scale of our navy has expanded very much, and it cannot be quickly reduced for the time being. In recent years, the total tonnage of the Chinese navy has been roughly 70% of the level of the British in the same period, and then gradually reduced to 60%. Britain can quickly reduce this proportion to 60% by increasing the number of new warships, but I don't think it's necessary, and we should consult closely with each other on the issue of the navy and not get caught up in an arms race. If the total tonnage of the British Navy increases too much, and other countries begin to increase as well, we will only be forced to continue to increase the tonnage...... It's not necessary. ”

Bannerman nodded in agreement, and then asked: "In addition, on the issue of submarines and armored vehicles, I personally believe that China and Britain also have room for further cooperation." ”

Hu Chuyuan said: "That's true. In fact, the Chinese Navy has suffered some losses in submarine warfare, but we have always concealed it to avoid building submarines in a frenzy. However, we have already mastered the submarine technology of France and France, and we can share it with Britain. Armored vehicles are also not a major problem. Of course, there is a real need for further alliances between China and the UK before there is a larger and deeper cooperation, and the problem is that we cannot trigger hostile alliances with other countries at the same time, which will only lead us into unnecessary trouble. ”

"Yes!"

Bannerman did not deny it.

The technical superiority of the submarine has not been fully exposed, this is still the trump card in Hu Chuyuan's hands, he can't really show it, as for the technical superiority of armored vehicles, as long as Britain works hard to track it, it will be able to catch up in three or four years, at least there will not be much gap.

If Britain wants to cooperate, then cooperate, of course, the specific conditions will be discussed slowly.

It's not easy for me to get your technology, I spent a lot of money at the beginning, and now if you want to get my technology, you have to give the right price.

Bannerman is here to mediate between China and Russia, but before that, he also has to determine the scope of cooperation between China and Britain and the tone of the future.

The two men continued to talk on the issue of Sino-British and colonial cooperation between the two countries, and after talking for nearly an hour, Bannerman re-raised the issue of the armistice between China and Russia.

Considering that Britain is indeed the first choice for long-term cooperation, Hu Chuyuan's answer is still very sincere.

He gave Russia three options.

At the same time, Russia recognized the Kazakh region, recognized China's suzerainty over the Kazakh Khanate, recognized the Kokand and Bura regions as China's own, and China no longer demanded war reparations from Russia, and was willing to provide a national debt guarantee to Russia. The second option is to take the main route of the Lena River as the demarcation line, from Ust-Kut and Bratsk as the demarcation points, and then the middle and upper reaches of the Yenisei and Ob rivers as the demarcation line, and the area including the eastern part of the Western Siberian Plain and Omsk will be owned by China, and Russia will recognize the Kazakh region and other Central Asian terms, At the same time, the payment of war reparations amounting to about £170 million to China, the provision of state debt guarantees to Russia by collateral for Tyumen and the western part of the Western Siberian Plain, the third option is to still use the main artery of the Lena River and the upper reaches of the Ob River as the dividing line, and to assign to China the territories of Kilensk, Novoyeniseisk, Tomsk, Novosibirsk, and Barnaul, and to recognize the Kazakh region and other Central Asian provisions, At the same time, China will pay about 270 million pounds in war reparations, and China will continue to occupy the Western Siberian Plain and the Omsk region until Russia pays off its debts, and if Russia fails to pay its debts within ten years, the region, including the Chelyabinsk region, will officially become Chinese territory.

Hu Chuyuan is not too ruthless against Russia.

Privately, he still explained to Bannerman some other bottom lines, Kazakh can not read hard, but China's territory in Xinjiang Province and Central Asia must be restored to the state of 1758, including Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan continue to be under the jurisdiction of China's Xinjiang Province, with the western shore of Lake Balkhash and Semipalatinsk as the boundary.

In addition, Hu Chuyuan also renegotiated with Bannerman on the Kashmir region, hoping that Britain would completely transfer the region to China, so that China could effectively guarantee a long national border with Afghanistan and facilitate China and Britain to use China's land advantage to control Central Asia.

Present-day Afghanistan, and later Turkmenistan, belonged to Persia.

On the Persian issue, Hu Chuyuan and Bannerman also made a division, and the two countries jointly protected Persia and controlled the economic and political situation in Persia together to avoid the intervention and intervention of other countries.

After the two men reached these unanimous consultations, or rather, the agreement between China and Britain, the task of Banneman's trip was basically completed, and before arriving in China, he had already negotiated with the Russian ambassador to Britain that Russia could generally make greater concessions.

(To be continued)