The Empire's lightning-fast victory in Novosibirsk soon shocked the whole world, and the situation in the world became more complicated, for Britain and France, on the one hand, they wanted the empire to destroy Soviet Russia, and on the other hand, they also feared that the empire would steal greater benefits from Soviet Russia, or on the other hand, it would enjoy its own benefits.

In January 1920, Britain and France launched an intervention war in Poland to invade Soviet Russia, despite the severe cold weather.

Song Biao didn't want to fight endlessly, China didn't have the national strength to continue to support an endless war of the century until the occupation of the whole of Russia, and he also hoped to accept it when he saw it, but it was difficult.

Once a war starts, the hardest thing is how to end it.

At the time of the official start of the second negotiation with Soviet Russia, Tang Shaoyi, Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet, Ouyang Geng, Foreign Minister, Jiang Fangzhen, Joint Chief of the General Staff of the Central Military Department, Cai Yuanpei, Speaker of the Central National Assembly, and Shu Fangde, Minister of the Army, all arrived in Yekaterinburg, where they met the emperor at the Palace of Ibat and held a meeting of the Imperial Government.

In addition to Cai Yi, chief of staff of the Northern Military Department, Jiang Yanxing, deputy commander-in-chief of the front, and Chen Qimei, secretary general of the Inner Court Secretariat, eight people attended this training and political meeting.

Chen Qimei is indeed a very good talent, compared to Wang Zhaoming, his literary talent is insufficient, his mind is more alert and meticulous, and he can grasp everything very measured, Song Biao has always admired him very much.

The term of office of this cabinet is coming soon, and Song Biao has already decided to arrange Yuan Jinkai, the chief of the General Administration of the Inner Court, to serve as the Minister of Police in the Ministry of Police and Public Security.

After Yuan Jinkai became the Minister of Police, Song Biao planned to adjust the structure of the General Administration of the Inner Court, no longer setting up the post of chief of the Inner Court, but having the secretary general of the Secretariat directly manage the entire General Administration of the Inner Court.

Although the Yekaterine Palace in St. Petersburg is not as magnificent as the Winter Palace, it also has a special exquisite charm that belongs to the Ibatev Palace itself.

In the splendid and elegant palace conference hall, the representatives of the cabinet, the military department, the inner court, and the parliament all sit on the oval conference table, and the surrounding floor is made of nine kinds of precious woods such as red sandalwood and ebony, and there is almost no trace of hand-splicing.

It is in such a place that everyone can understand that China is not the only country in this world that has ancient royal crafts.

Song Biao sat on the highest seat at the conference table, and the other eight sat on either side.

Chen Qimei unhurriedly read the summary of the recent situation, and after roughly reading the draft of the meeting in his hand, he raised his head and looked at the ministers, and said: "Ladies and gentlemen, the current situation is like this, Soviet Russia has begun peace talks with the empire, but the empire itself has not yet determined the conditions. ”

Hearing these words, everyone was silent for a while, and they all figured out the emperor's true intentions in their hearts, in fact, their speculation was really meaningless, because if the emperor really had a definite idea, then there was no need to hold this training meeting in the Ibatyev Palace.

This was originally a confused war, but it was a war that arose because the emperor insisted on going to war, and the cabinet had actually been very satisfied with the terms of the Soviet Union, but now after a great victory, what kind of terms for peace talks should be proposed is really confusing to all of you, and the root of this confusion is that the empire has not yet won such a degree of victory over the European powers, and the humility of the heart is confusing and I don't know where to go.

Seeing that everyone was silent, Song Biao opened his mouth and asked Tang Shaoyi: "You are the prime minister of the cabinet, the matter has come to this, you should have a suitable idea!" ”

Tang Shaoyi was both happy and worried in her heart, and said: "Returning to Your Majesty, Your Majesty thinks that China has been repeatedly invaded by foreign countries, ceded land and paid compensation, lost power and humiliated the country, and the people are angry and ashamed. Therefore, His Majesty did not think it was appropriate to demand that Russia cede the Novosiberian region to our country, and on the basis of the previous negotiations with Russia, it would be better to demand that Russia pay a huge amount of compensation, because if the land was forcibly ceded, it would probably cause a long-term hidden danger between the two countries and mutual hatred between the peoples, so that there would be a new war after all. ”

Song Biao was noncommittal.

Shu Fangde said: "It's ridiculous, my country has been preparing for war for two years, and the military expenditure is huge, which affects the country's normal economy and people's livelihood, and the soldiers are seriously killed and injured. ”

He said it very angrily, but he couldn't speak alone.

The cabinets of the empire are generally doves, whether it is Tang Shaoyi or Ouyang Geng, they are all people with a certain sense of international justice, and they do not have the ambition to invade other countries, Shu Fangde is actually the same, but as an imperial party, he has to say it.

Among the crowd, Cai Yuanpei is probably a deeper affinity, and in a general sense, he still pursues the traditional idea of valuing harmony, and he doesn't want to be too aggressive.

At this time, Jiang Fangzhen said solemnly: "Ladies and gentlemen, although I also sympathize with Soviet Russia and am reluctant to make too harsh demands, but the international world has the norms of the international world, and power is an axiom. In particular, countries like Britain and Ben categorically believe that it is profitable to challenge our country, and even if we are defeated in the war, our country will not dare to make excessive demands on them. Therefore, since we have been forced to go to war, or since we have taken the initiative to go to war, we must put forward terms that are extremely favorable to our country, otherwise it is not enough to prove our international prestige. The prestige of the nation is to punish the adversary severely, so that the nations will be afraid, and this is the foundation of the nation. ”

Song Biao said with a straight face: "This is the most correct idea, obviously you have won a big victory, you have to be amorous, even rotten and pretentious, pay attention to harmony, and in the end, as long as your national strength is weak, or the country is in a slight crisis, other countries will continue to unscrupulously coerce our country to give up various interests, and even continue to occupy our sovereignty." Therefore, since you are in a high position and serve the people and the country, you should not be hypocritical, and if you want to be hypocritical, you should leave the cabinet and slowly be hypocritical. ”

Hearing such a harsh criticism, everyone from Tang Shaoyi to Cai Yuanpei was frightened, and they didn't dare to say more.

At this time, the Chinese emperor not only held the actual military and political power in the empire, but also had an unrivaled reputation in the empire.

Chen Qimei took the opportunity to say at this time: "After the empire signs contracts with Germany, Austria and Hungary, there will be up to 37 billion yuan in reparations in the next 30 years, and from the First World War to the present, the total expenditure of the emperor [***] including the war against Soviet Russia adds up to only 4.6 billion yuan, which is only equivalent to 1/7 of France's total expenditure in the past five years. The Central Military Department of the Reich still retains 770 million yuan of reserved military spending, which is enough to use even if the Reich captures Moscow. Of the total current military expenditure, 55 per cent of the total military expenditure is allocated by the central and local governments, 41 per cent is in military debt, and the remaining 4 per cent comes from national donations. In the past five years, the total expenditure of imperial expenses accounted for only 26.3% of the total fiscal expenditure of the country, while Britain and France and other countries generally exceeded 7 percent, and at the same time, China's total fiscal revenue had surpassed that of France the year before last, which means that there is still a certain margin in our expenditure. Considering that the war against the Soviet Union was still ongoing, the Secretariat suggested that the Central Cabinet should continue to maintain the current proportion of military spending next year, so as to ensure that the military department could maintain sufficient military spending of 1.7 billion yuan and ensure that the pressure on the Soviet peace talks would be strengthened through further military action. ”

Tang Shaoyi immediately replied: "Next year's total military budget should be reduced as much as possible, because next year is the last year of the empire's Second Five-Year Plan, in order to ensure the implementation of the Third Five-Year Plan, next year will increase a large part of the geological survey funds, increase the level of exploration and reserve of the country's mining industry, and at the same time consider the Middle East, Brunei and some parts of New Guinea to be included in the empire's geological exploration and the Third Five-Year Plan, this part of the expenditure investment cannot be saved." In addition, the gap between the level of China's electrical industrialization and the United States is not narrowing, but expanding, the empire must launch a comprehensive electrification process next year, and the empire is expected to forcibly promote the equalization of land in the third five-year plan, this part of the loan amount is certainly not small. Of course, considering the war factor, there will not be a big decline in the total budget of imperial spending, but can the part borne by the local government axe be reduced, and the local investment in education, water conservancy, and transportation will be re-strengthened, and the total military expenditure will be reduced to 750 million yuan? I think this is still feasible, after all, the cabinet will be changed in the second half of next year, and it is still not suitable to delay these issues, and if they are completely handed over to the next cabinet, I am afraid there will be some confusion! ”

He knew that only the emperor could decide this matter, so he immediately persuaded Song Biao and said: "Your Majesty, although my [***] expenses are much less than those of Britain and France, the country is in the stage of rapid construction, and the economy has developed rapidly in recent years, but the development of infrastructure and agriculture is still relatively lagging behind, and the progress of education is not as obvious as that of the First Five-Year Plan. ”

Song Biao snorted, but weighed the pros and cons in his heart.

In the past five years, the expenditure has been relatively stable on the whole, and has not had a serious impact on national construction. From 1914 to 1916, military spending increased from 230 million to 450 million, in 1917 it increased by 750 million, and in 1918 it suddenly increased the total military budget of 2 billion for the war against the Soviet Union.

In the end, in 1918, the increase in military spending was basically solved by national debt, and before that, about one-third of military expenditure came from national debt, and the financial pressure on the central and local governments was not great.

At present, the Central Military Department still retains a surplus of 770 million yuan in military spending, and according to the intentions of Song Biao, Jiang Fangzhen, and others, if the war ends now, then this money will be used for the Central Defense Force's purchase of ships and investment in military technology research and development.

After a short moment of thought, Song Biao and Tang Shaoyi replied: "I don't think the impact of military spending on the empire's finances is very large, empire building is important, but it can't be said that in order to maintain construction, the army will be allowed to lose the war, so what about the cost of your indemnity and land cession, you can retire with honor next year, who will bear the responsibility for the defeat of the empire?" ”

Listening to these words, Tang Shaoyi's heart was full of all kinds of helplessness, even if he could break the limit of two consecutive terms of office and continue to serve as prime minister next year, he still hoped to cut the budget.

The empire has been fighting for six consecutive years, although the impact of military spending on the empire's finances is not as critical as that of Britain and France, but it also makes people feel a headache, and Cai Yuanpei and others, they have their own thoughts, and their psychology is not particularly supportive of the military department's war against the Soviet Union, and now they want to reduce military spending, but also hope that the emperor and the military department can negotiate with Soviet Russia, instead of blindly risking war to solve the problem.

Tang Shaoyi didn't dare to say any more objections, he knew the emperor too well, as long as the emperor said something ugly, even if it seemed to be neutral, it was best not to go on against it, it didn't mean much, this is not a question of whether he, the prime minister, dares to be loyal to the monarch and give direct advice, but the emperor's inner world, ability and emperor [***] ministry are full of countless suspense, no one knows how much strength the emperor and the military department still have, this problem is actually only understood by the military department itself.

Seeing that Tang Shaoyi and Cai Yuanpei, the two pacifists, did not dare to speak, Song Biao thought for a moment, and then asked Ouyang Geng: "As the foreign minister, what do you think about now?" ”

Ouyang Geng was silent for a long time, and replied: "Back to Your Majesty, the most important issue at this point in the war is not the issue of military spending at all, if the emperor's [***] department has enough ability, then it must destroy Soviet Russia." Looking at the process of reddening of Eastern European countries last year, it can be seen that the expansion and aggression of Soviet Russia is not the expansion of the army, but the expansion of redness, but the expansion of ideology and doctrine. If the influence of Soviet Russia enters the country, looking at the revolution in Russia, it will definitely cause chaos in our country and lead to civil strife, and if it is to be bloodily suppressed, it will lose trust in the people, if it is not suppressed, it will harm the empire, all religions should be destroyed, all capital enterprises should be state-owned, and the previous dynasty will run official camps in everything. Therefore, the greatest threat to the national recovery revolution is also Soviet Russia, which is a threat to the fate of the surname and a threat to the glory and decline of the nation. ”

At this moment, after listening to Ouyang Geng's words, Song Biao sighed in his heart and praised: "You are worthy of being the foreign minister of the empire, you are thinking about the same problems as me, whether it is the cabinet or the people, many people do not support this war, in fact, I know in my heart that this war cannot be fought without fighting." If we don't fight, one day even I will repeat the old mistakes of the tsar, and the whole door will be beheaded by Soviet Russia, and all the hopes of the empire will be wiped out, and everything from politics to doctrine will be subordinated to Soviet Russia. Therefore, this is not a battle of national interests, but a war of doctrines, a battle of national fundamentals. Since the Spring and Autumn Period, there has been a national thought, let Soviet Russia develop, let this idea spread to the country and cause a riot similar to the October Revolution in Russia, the empire will fall, the nation will perish, even if our people live, it will no longer be the Chinese nation in the real sense, it has its flesh and blood but no thought, it is just a living Han zombie. ”

Hearing this, Cai Yuanpei could only finally speak: "Your Majesty, your subordinates have not thought it through. ”

Tang Shaoyi had nothing to say.

He asked for his surname and chose not to speak, anyway, he will step down in August next year, one of Ouyang Geng and Zhang Kangren is going to come to power, since Ouyang Geng has said so, what else does he say?

Song Biao thought about it for a while, and then continued to add: "This war must be fought, the ultimate goal is not to occupy more land, nor to ask for more compensation, but to prevent the spread of Soviet Russian ideas to the country, to avoid the revival of Soviet Russia to carry out influence, interference and infiltration on our country, so we must dismantle Soviet Russia, split Russia into two countries, Soviet Russia and East Russia, militarily protect Central Asia and East Russia, and make Central Asia and East Russia tend to be empires in the four fields of economy, politics, military and diplomacy." , and not Soviet Russia. On this basis, it was necessary to ensure control of the Baku oil zone through this war, which was the fundamental issue of ensuring the further development of the empire and the demand for oil, and at the same time to demand higher compensation from Soviet Russia in order to delay the revival of Soviet Russia. If we can finally destroy Soviet Russia, it may not be the most beneficial to the empire, because the very existence of Soviet Russia is the greatest threat to Europe, and the enemy of the enemy is the ally, so we need to be careful in military and negotiations. In particular, militarily, we must ensure that we have the strength to destroy Soviet Russia, but we must not rush forward, and we must steadily and steadily use the strength of the country to annihilate the main force of Soviet Russia step by step, instead of thinking too much about the number of occupied areas. ”

When he said this, the purpose of this training meeting has been fully established, and the empire must act around these words, and the cabinet and the military department can only say yes.

In addition to determining next year's military expenditures, it was also necessary to discuss what kind of territory the empire planned for this eastern Russia should have, as well as the minimum territory that the empire needed to occupy and the compensation it demanded, and how much responsibility and how much work the cabinet would continue to perform in the field of military work, all of which had to be finalized at this meeting after a series of things had been decided. Even if the scale of the empire's war and negotiations was finalized, to everyone's expectations, Foreign Minister Ouyang Geng's attitude was the most hard-line anti-Soviet, and it was his support that allowed the emperor's intentions to be unanimously approved by the cabinet, the military department, and the Congress, replacing all the cabinet policies that Premier Tang Shaoyi had tried to implement up to now.

After the end of the political training meeting, Song Biao left Ouyang Geng to discuss alone for a period of time, or decided to continue to hand over the negotiation work to Soviet Russia to him to be responsible, and because of this matter, the candidate for the third cabinet prime minister of the empire, who had been hesitant before, seemed to be clear, at least Song Biao, who was the emperor, roughly had a suitable choice.

Tang Shaoyi's advantage as the prime minister of the cabinet is that he has a rich resume, is good at coordinating and controlling the overall situation, ensures the steady transition of the empire in domestic affairs, and also has a relatively stable policy in foreign policy, but as the gradual transition period of the empire gradually ends, it begins to enter a period of expansion, and he is not very suitable.

In the First Constitution of the Empire, the Prime Minister could not serve more than two consecutive terms, and the maximum term was three terms.

Song Biao originally planned to use this time today to talk about the follow-up arrangements with Tang Shaoyi, his original intention was to let Tang Shaoyi serve as the speaker of the National Assembly and Cai Yuanpei as the minister of culture and education, but Tang Shaoyi's many acts of disobedience in the Sino-Russian War made Song Biao a little angry.

Tang Shaoyi has also worked hard in the past ten years, and his achievements are vivid, if it weren't for such political achievements, Tang Shaoyi would definitely not have the confidence to dare to play this set of methods with the emperor.

Thinking of this, Song Biao made up his mind to let Tang Shaoyi withdraw from the political stage of the empire, so that the highly meritorious Premier Tang could reflect on it.

(To be continued)