Song Biao originally expected that it would take four or five months for Russia to reach a final armistice agreement, but on September 25, Russia and Russia reached a final armistice agreement in the small town of Portsmouth in the United States.

That night, he was reading a book in his study. Because the relationship with Yueben was eased, Jiang Fangzhen personally took a boat to Yueben to meet with Chen Tianhua and other representatives of foreign students, and also to prepare for Song Biao's establishment of the Xinhua Association.

Jiang Fangzhen was not there, only Shu Fangde accompanied Song Biao in the study, at this time Song Biao was considering translating "On War" into Chinese as an internal teaching material for printing, this workload is obviously not small, because of the lack of talents proficient in German, so mainly consider translating from the Russian version, find a few Russian translators, Shu Fangde found a way to find the English version and the Chinese version.

Shu Fangde's father Shu Gaoli was a translator in the late Qing Dynasty, proficient in English and French Chinese, and his main translation work was concentrated in the fields of mathematics and chemistry, and he was engaged in it for 30 years, translating many professional books on mathematics, physics and chemistry.

However, most of these translated books were only internal readings of the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, or they were printed in very small quantities, and they hardly played any role in China's modernization.

Song Biao listened to Shu Fangde talk about this, and he was faintly inspired in his heart, and he pondered a very special thing in his heart.

After a while, he said to Shu Fangde: "Let's just set up a printing office, just call it the Far East Printing Company, if Ling Zun doesn't like the bitter cold of the Northeast, I plan to invite him to come over and be the person in charge of the Far East Printing Company, and be fully responsible for printing and translating all kinds of modern European and American knowledge textbooks for school teaching use." ”

Shu Fangde was very happy, and was about to answer, when Major Tuvaniel hurriedly walked in and said to Song Biao: "Your Excellency, General Madenidov wants to see you, he has arrived at the camp. ”

"Oh, then let's go meet him!"

Song Biao could only put aside what he was going to say just now, and led the team out with Shu Fangde to meet General Madenidorf.

At this time, it was getting late, and the entrance of the camp was also dark, General Madenidov came on horseback, and when he saw Song Biao, he smiled and said: "Song, I am here to inform you of good news this time. ”

After saying this, he jumped off his horse, took out a telegram from his pocket and handed it to Song Biao, and said: "The war is officially over, and we have accepted all the conditions put forward by our representatives, in other words, the British and the Alliance have accepted all the conditions of Russia, and we have accepted their conditions, and the two sides have reached an agreement. I think we've finally said goodbye to a war that shouldn't have happened. ”

Song Biao was a little surprised when he heard this, he originally estimated that Russia and Russia would quarrel for at least a month or two on the final armistice, until this time, he didn't know what the final armistice agreement between Russia and Russia was, so he first accompanied General Madenidov back to his office.

After sitting down, Song Biao couldn't wait to open the telegram and browse it.

The final result of the armistice agreement between the two sides was very clear in this telegram, under the mediation of Britain and the United States, each side made a concession, and on the premise that they did not claim war reparations from each other, Russia transferred the right to lease Port Arthur and the right to garrison troops to the Japanese army, recognized the special rights and interests of the Japanese army in Korea, recognized the southern area of Sakhalin Island as belonging to the Japanese army, and recognized the interests of Britain, the United States, France, and Germany in the three eastern provinces of the Qing Empire. United States) recognized Russia's special rights and interests in the three eastern provinces of the Qing Empire, as well as the right to garrison troops along the Eastern Railway.

Song Biao looked at it and pondered the problem, this final armistice agreement was both good news and bad news for China, the good news was that Russia at least accepted the British bottom line, that is, the three eastern provinces could not belong to Russia, and for the time being, they were still the territory of the Qing Empire, and the bad news was that Britain recognized Russia's right to have the right to garrison troops along the entire Eastern Railway.

He finally found a foothold on the Liaodong Peninsula, retained the colonial rights of Korea as he wished, obtained Lushun and Port Arthur from Russia, and had the right to garrison troops in Arthur.

In short, although it was a war of heavy losses against both Russia, both of them had gains, and the only thing that was the most embarrassed and humiliating was the Manchu Dynasty, which was disgraced and lost at home, and I don't know how angry the people would be after that, and the revolutionary youth's dissatisfaction with the imperial court should also reach the extreme.

After reading it, Song Biao returned the telegram to General Madenidov and said, "I want to congratulate your country and Your Excellency, Your Excellency, your country has safeguarded your interests as much as possible. ”

General Madenidov smiled and exclaimed, "Although we did not completely defeat the Japanese army in the actual sense, we still maintained our army superiority and forced the British alliance to make huge concessions. The ending should be satisfactory to each party, Song, at least the three eastern provinces are still nominally part of the Qing Empire. Now, all we have to do is to push the situation forward and force the Qing to accept our offer to make you governor of the three eastern provinces, which we believe is one of the most important links in further safeguarding the interests of the empire in the three eastern provinces. ”

Song Biao thought for a while and said, "Your Excellency General, I still say the same thing, I am a little interested in the position of the governor of the three eastern provinces, but I don't have much interest. If it's too tricky, I'd rather shrink my troops to the Hunjiang and Huichun regions, and be my supreme local military commander in that place. In this regard, the Qing Dynasty has already sent people to negotiate with me, and they are willing to give this area to me, and will not destroy any of my gains in the war, as well as my assets in Mukden Province. ”

General Madenidov was slightly stunned and asked, "Do you only want this?" ”

Song Biao sighed: "This is not bad, it's not that I don't want to be the governor of the three eastern provinces, there is a Chinese code of conduct in China, I am a very ambitious person, weighing the pros and cons, for the sake of long-term interests, I would rather choose a safe way out." If I get too stiff with the imperial court because of this, even if I become the governor of the three eastern provinces, I will be ruined. Fame is for people, it is the feathers on the bird's body, a little less is not in the way, and it can't fly if it all falls off. ”

General Madenidov pondered for a moment and said, "Song, I suggest you don't worry too much, I believe that the Qing Empire has no choice at all now, as long as we continue to put pressure on them, they must accept all our proposals and demands." ”

Song Biao said: "This is no longer my concern, Your Excellency General, our friendship is very deep, you put yourself in my shoes, if you are me, do you think the position of a governor is really so important?" If you are in power, but you want everything to obey your country, then there is no point, if there is no real power, but by the Qing Empire in the dark, why should I really bother, why bother? There is no need to do such a stupid thing. ”

General Madenidov really didn't know what to do for a while, he quietly glanced at Major Tuvaniel, who was not very clear about all this, so he could only silently not speak.

After thinking for a moment, General Madenidov and Song Biao cautiously asked, "Song, is it that some of my previous attitudes have made you disgusted by this, thinking that the empire and I are asking too much, or are you too greedy?" ”

In fact, the personal relationship between the two of them is indeed very good, without Song Biao, Madenidov may not be promoted to the position of major general of infantry and deputy chief of staff of the Far Eastern Army, let alone have the opportunity to be fully responsible for the affairs of the three eastern provinces.

The two had two previous conversations about the governors of the three eastern provinces, and Madenidolph conveyed some extremely unrealistic orders from Tsar Nicholas II, but he also said them very tactfully, as little as possible to irritate Song Biao.

Song Biao was silent for a long time with a solemn expression, and with a heavy heart, he took out a box of German cigarettes in iron cans from the table, opened it, and gave it to General Madenidorff, and lit it himself.

After a moment of silence, he finally replied to General Madenidov: "In any case, I am a Chinese, I hate Ben, so helping your country fight with His Majesty the Tsar, this does not mean that I will really help your country unconditionally, even at the expense of betraying the interests of the motherland." If I were really that kind of person, Your Excellency General, you would probably look down on me too, wouldn't you? ”

General Madenidov replied cautiously: "Of course, I know that you will not agree to the ridiculous proposals made by His Majesty the Tsar and His Excellency the Russian Foreign Minister Glokanev. One thing, which I have already made very clear, is that Russia only needs to protect our interests in the three eastern provinces as much as possible, and not to further provoke the British Alliance, the United States, and the Qing Empire. We have a good foundation for cooperation, and I believe that we can effectively carry out cooperation and coordination, and you will be able to effectively resist the infiltration of the three eastern provinces, after all, it is impossible for us to erase the terms of the garrison of the army in Lushun, as long as the army is in Lushun for one day, we must continue to guard against the army. This is the unanimous recognition of me and that of His Excellency Commander-in-Chief Kuropatkin, so we hope that you will assume the responsibilities of this post and fulfil the obligations of your country. ”

Song Biao said: "Then I put forward four conditions, if the Russian side agrees to my conditions, I will agree to take up the post, and promise to protect all the interests of Russia in the three eastern provinces, and at the same time, whether it is overt or covert, I will prevent the development of the three eastern provinces." Even if Britain wants to develop in the three eastern provinces, they will have to pay a lot of money for it. ”

General Madenidov became a little more relaxed when he heard this, and said with a smile: "As long as it is not too special conditions, I believe that they can be discussed, you can tell me first...... In fact, we all understand that as long as you take up the post of governor of the three eastern provinces, the British Alliance will never dare to break all the agreements reached so far, nor will they dare to act excessively towards you! ”

Song Biao replied: "First, the Russian army must not garrison more than 20,000 troops in the three eastern provinces, including the troops stationed in the leased area of the Liaodong Peninsula, half of which must only be stationed in the leased area, the highest garrison commander must not exceed the rank of brigadier general, and the rest of the troops must retreat within half a year; Second, Russia must not continue to appoint the Governor of the Far East in such a position that ignores China's sovereignty, and at the same time cancel the Kwantung Prefecture, which in China means the entire area east of the Great Wall, and Russia's adoption of this name is too rampant, clearly to occupy the entire Kwantung, the specific Russian, English and Chinese names are determined by mutual agreement, and Russia can only appoint the Governor of this region, and his authority is limited to the leased area; Thirdly, Russia should cooperate actively with my new policy in the three eastern provinces, and support me in all my powers during my governorship; Fourthly, we will appoint officials who are well versed in the modern legal system to formulate regulations for the administration of foreign citizens in the three eastern provinces, and establish separate courts, to which Russian citizens must also be bound during their stay in the three eastern provinces, and any illegal acts will be dealt with by this court, and the Russian government will not interfere. ”

General Madenidov looked very embarrassed again, and said: "I thought that except for the third one, the other three would probably have to be negotiated!" ”

Song Biao said: "It's better for Russia to choose to agree, it's not that I'm threatening you, and I'm not that kind of person." First of all, there is the issue of garrisons, there are so many problems in Russia, the army should be transferred back as soon as possible, as long as I can protect all your interests in the treaty, and my troops can resist the British alliance, your garrison is just a show, the more you stay, it will only give the British and other countries more excuses to embarrass you, and will also give them reasons to deal with me. Fourthly, I will make a law that is acceptable to both sides, basically close to the Russian law on security and property management, and not only for Russians, but also for other foreign citizens under the jurisdiction of this court, which has a lot of room and is of great effect on the foreigners under my control in the three eastern provinces. Taking 10,000 steps back, as long as it is not a complex foreign conflict between Russia and the United States and Britain, I will have appropriate countermeasures so as not to embarrass Russia's political axe. ”

General Madenidov said: "That's okay, there shouldn't be much of a problem, but the bottom line of our country's garrison in the three eastern provinces is 50,000, and it can't be lower." ”

Song Biao said: "30,000, it can't be higher, or get another 10,000 people on my side, usually obey my command, and arrange another Russian commander, but this part can't belong to the active officers and soldiers, it can only be regarded as the surname of mercenaries, you can secretly provide military salaries, I don't really care about them, unless they are in the three eastern provinces as a criminal section." ”

General Madenidov pondered for a moment and agreed: "Then it is decided, after I go back, I will first report to Commander-in-Chief Kuropatkin, he has been given full authority by His Majesty the Tsar and has the right to deal with this matter, some of the proposals of the previous Foreign Minister His Excellency Glokanev are indeed unreasonable, the Commander-in-Chief has already strongly opposed them, and even His Majesty the Tsar has now chosen to support His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief." ”

Song Biao bowed slightly.

He still had a certain understanding of Commander-in-Chief Kuropatkin, who was more of a qualified politician and general staff officer than a good commander-in-chief.

General Madenidov did not leave in a hurry, but asked again: "Do you have any requirements for the Qing Empire, as far as I know, even they have recently begun to be more inclined to invite you to the post of governor of the three eastern provinces, if you have certain requirements, and it is conducive to your management of the three eastern provinces, we can give some special support." ”

Song Biao thought for a while and said: "I don't have too many requirements for them, it's nothing more than three points, the first is financial reading, the second is the implementation of the new policy, and the third is not to mess with me behind my back, such as arranging me to be the governor of the three eastern provinces, and getting a special minister plenipotentiary and General Sheng Jing to make trouble behind me." If that were the case, I wouldn't do it, and I wouldn't bother to waste energy with them on this. ”

General Madenidov replied: "With regard to the third point, we do not have enough understanding of it, and it is difficult to explain the key issues in it, but for the first two points, our country is very supportive. The key to the fact that China was able to agree so quickly to the terms of the British and the two countries at the Portsmouth talks was that Britain agreed to hand over to China the administration of the customs duties of the three eastern provinces, and on this basis, we could guarantee that the full amount of these tariffs would be handed over to the governor-general of the three eastern provinces under your administration, which would not be missing a single ruble. ”

Song Biao didn't think of this, and said: "This is a good thing, if Russia can have this right, I hope that Russia will transfer part of the management of the customs of the three provinces to me." ”

General Madenidov said: "The transfer is unlikely, but as long as you open your mouth, everything is negotiable, and besides, we should arrange for some positions to be sent by you, and I think that the cooperation that benefits both sides can last for a long time." ”

Song Biao said: "Then so be it." ”

He didn't continue to fight, it didn't make a big difference, the specific problems still had to be dealt with specifically, and this game of chess could not be played in a day or two.

After the two talked for a while, General Madenidov took his leave, and after he left, Song Biao asked Shu Fangde to send a telegram to Jiang Yanxing, who was still in the Yamen of the Governor of Zhili, responsible for the liaison between Yuan Shikai and Song Biao.

Yuan Shikai replied very quickly, this time the reply was very concise, bluntly said that if the Russians could agree to these four conditions, it must be far beyond the expectations of the imperial court, if this is the case, Song Biao is to establish a prominent contribution to the Manchu court.

After receiving the telegram, Song Biao thought about it for a while, and then continued to call back to Yuan Shikai, saying that he did not know about the affairs of the imperial court officialdom, and was very worried that the imperial court would continue to arrange for General Sheng Jing and others to plot against him in the back.

Yuan Shikai replied: There is a difference between Manchu and Han, only the weight is held, and the rest are conventions, and brothers are inevitable.

The implication is that there is always a difference between the Manchu and the Han ministers, and it is impossible for the Manchus to fully believe us, and I, Yuan Shikai, am still restrained by the imperial court everywhere in the position of the governor of Zhili, and plotting everywhere, so you don't expect to take over all the power in the three eastern provinces, just have the real greatest real power.

Since even Yuan Shikai said so, Song Biao didn't want to bother with thinking and talking anymore, as Yuan Shikai said, no matter what kind of containment and conspiracy he has, as long as he has the power in his hands, who is afraid of whom.

(To be continued)