St. Petersburg, Hermitage.

When the news of Russia's successive defeats in the Far East came back, the Russian Emperor Nicholas II roared in anger and spat on the stars.

A large group of Russian officials stood in the main hall, one by one, silent.

It wasn't until Nicholas II's anger was exhausted and he was too tired to curse anymore that the Minister of Finance and Transport, Witt, gave Foreign Minister Shachanov a look.

Shachanov understood, so he said: "As the governor of East and West Beria and the commander of the Far Eastern Military District and the Far Eastern Fleet of the Navy, Admiral Kurobetkin miscommanded and suffered repeated defeats in the operation against China, resulting in the loss of 100,000 elite Russian troops in the Far Eastern Military District and the loss of five main warships in the navy, which not only put the Far Eastern Military District under the powerful military threat of the Qing Empire, but also brought shame to the empire. ”

Imperial Minister Speransky, Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Okunev, Director of the Department of Asian Affairs Kebnister and others chimed in and asked Nicholas II to punish Kurobertkin.

Nicholas II, in a fit of rage, immediately agreed with the crowd, dismissed General Kurobkin from his post and ordered him to immediately return to St. Petersburg and hand him over to a military court.

Originally, Kuroberkin, as a senior member of the military, should have received the support of the military. But War Minister Alekseev, Navy Minister Alexandrovich and others, after deliberation, decided not to intercede for Kurobetkin at this time, because Nicholas II was angry. Anyway, Kurobertkin lost the battle, and it is certain that he will be dismissed, and it will take half a year to return to St. Petersburg. For the moody Nicholas II, half a year later they were pleading with Nicholas II, and it was estimated that they would be able to turn big things into small things.

Of course, Alekseev and Aleksandrovich were also very dissatisfied with Kurobetkin, mainly because Kurobertkin lost the battle and lost the face of the Russian army and navy. Especially the defeat in the battle against the Qing Empire, which is at the bottom of the world in terms of military strength, and it was a fiasco, which is as uncomfortable as eating shit for the arrogant Russian [***] side. Based on this, the two chose not to speak for Kurobertkin for the time being, leaving him to suffer some prison sentences and remember his surname for a long time.

After Nicholas II deposed Kurobertkin, he was in a slightly better mood.

"Guys, who's going to take Kurobertkin's place?"

Everyone was silent for a moment, at this moment, the Far East is a hot potato, and no one wants to go to that bitter cold place at this time to suffer.

Nicholas II looked at Alekseev and Alexandrovich, because of the military defeat, Nicholas II did not look very good at them.

"Who are the people for the War Department and the Admiralty?"

Alekseev and Aleksandrovich looked at each other, and the former said: "Your Majesty, I think that the Governor of the Amur Province, Gorodikov, is up to the task. ”

At this time, Witte said: "The governor of the Amur Province, Gorodikov, is a civilian official, and at the moment the Far East is still at war, and it should be mainly military, so it is necessary to send a man of high moral standing and rich combat experience. ”

Nicholas II nodded, looked at Alekseev and said: "What Witte said makes sense! ”

Alekseev had no choice but to say: "Lieutenant General Gribsky of the Amur Provincial Military Administration is competent!" ”

Witt added: "Gribsky's combat experience in the Amur Provincial Military Administration is barely acceptable, but his qualifications are insufficient. At present, the entire Far Eastern Military District is under the shadow of defeat, morale is low, armaments are insufficient, and people of high moral integrity can only succeed. ”

Alekseev said unhappily: "Lord Witt seems to be well versed in military affairs, why don't you recommend someone to Your Majesty!" ”

Prince Alexandrovich next to him also chimed in: "I heard that Lord Witte's brother-in-law, Lieutenant General Zasulich, is also in the Far East, you won't choose him, right?" However, I heard that in the Far Eastern War, he was the first general to be defeated by the Qing Imperial Army, and his East Manchurian detachment was captured by more than 20,000 people, and he actually ran away by himself, which really disgraced the face of the emperor! ”

The corners of Witt's mouth twitched, and he said, "How could I choose a defeated general?" Your Excellency, you're worried. ”

Nicholas II also frowned when he heard this, if it weren't for Witte being his favorite vassal, this Zasulich would have been shot long ago.

"Werther, do you have any candidates?"

Witt glanced at Alekseev and Alexandrovich, a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth, and then turned to Nicholas II and said: "I think that the Minister of War Admiral Alekseev and the Minister of the Navy Prince Alexandrovich are worthy of the Lord, one of them is the leader of the army, the other is the elder of the navy, and the two of them together can control the situation in the Far East and defeat the arrogant Qing Empire. ”

Werther's words stunned everyone.

Alekseev and Aleksandrovich were shocked at first, but even after guessing Werther's intentions, they immediately scolded his ancestors for eighteen generations.

Obviously, Witte was deeply favored by Nicholas II, but Alekseev and Alexandrovich did not take Witte seriously because they were relatives of the emperor and held military power. At the beginning of the military conflict in Heilongjiang, Witte opposed further military action against China and advocated the reform of the gold standard first to get rid of the international silver crisis. However, Alekseev and Aleksandrovich encouraged Nicholas II to further expand the conflict and even transfer troops to launch a war against China. As a result, the money that Werther had worked so hard to prepare for financial reform was diverted to the war, and if he won, he would have lost, so Werther hated both of them very much.

Now that Kurobertkin had lost the war in the Far East, Werther encouraged Nicholas II to carry out financial reforms, and on the other hand, he reduced the wings of both of them and deposed Kurobertkin. But Witt knew in his heart that as long as Alekseev and Aleksandrovich stayed with the Tsar, they would always obstruct him and cause trouble for him, so Witt would take the opportunity to separate the two of them, and far away.

"What are you kidding? Let's have a war minister and a navy minister to the Far East? I think you're revenge! ”

"That's right! You're taking revenge on us! ”

Alekseev and Aleksandrovich immediately protested and appealed to Nicholas II for help.

Nicholas II frowned, hesitated, and was about to say something, when Witte immediately said: "Your Majesty! Wechen is also for the sake of the country, and he is absolutely selfless! The defeat of the empire in military operations in the Far East has shown that the Qing Empire is no longer a weak country that can be bullied. The speed of their development is terrifying, three years ago, they were still vulnerable in the war, and now they can defeat the 100,000 elite army of the empire. If the Qing Empire is allowed to develop, the consequences will be unimaginable in the future. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the management of the Far Eastern Army and the Far Eastern Navy, and it is clear that there is no one who can compare with Alekseev and Aleksandrovich, they are the best candidates, and if they go to someone else, it will definitely be self-defeating, and it will be too late to regret it! ”

Witte snorted and cried, but Nicholas II immediately listened to his opinion and appointed Admiral Alekseev as Governor of Eastern and Western Berberia and Commander of the Far Eastern Military District, and Prince Alexandrovich as Commander of the Russian Far East Fleet, so that the two of them could join forces to organize the military affairs of the Far East.

Alekseev and Aleksandrovich argued with each other, but Nikolai apparently agreed with Witt and rejected their request.

"Bastard!"

Alekseev and Aleksandrovich immediately scolded Witte bastards in their hearts, but Nicholas II was resolute and they had to agree.

Witte was proud in his heart, and secretly said: I finally drove these two old things away, and in St. Petersburg, no one will dare to oppose him anymore.

Kuroberkin was severely punished, new officials were appointed, and Cuman's return to St. Petersburg was put on the terms of peace talks.

After reading the contents of the contract, Nikolai and the others couldn't help but get angry, and said dissatisfiedly: "It is a great shame that the noble Russian Empire should sign such a contract with the lowly Qing Empire!" ”

All the Russian officials showed angry expressions, and some immediately spoke out, refusing to sign the contract, considering it humiliating. At the same time, some officials demanded another war, and even some radical officials demanded a formal declaration of war against China and a full-scale war.

Soon, Werther's eyes were fixed one by one, and the officials who asked for war were silent when they saw Werther staring at them.

Witt retracted his eyes, and said secretly in his heart: What a group of idiots who don't know the height of the sky, stupid warriors.

"Your Majesty! There is a way that it is not too late for a gentleman to take revenge for ten years! At present, the empire is in the midst of an economic crisis, and it is not suitable to mobilize large armies to wage large-scale wars. Let's make the Qing Empire happy for a while, and after we complete the financial reform and get rid of the silver loss crisis, we will send troops to China to regain face! ”

The Imperial Minister Speransky chimed in: "Your Majesty, the Trans-Siberian Railway is still under construction, and only when the railway is built can the Imperial Army and supplies continue to drive through. It will take several years to build the railway, which is just the right time to carry out financial reform and hoard national power. ”

Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Okunev also came out at this time and chimed in: "Your Majesty! In the future, we must return this humiliation tenfold to the Qing Empire, but the top priority now is to carry out financial reform as soon as possible, otherwise the domestic economic crisis caused by the silver loss crisis will be further expanded! ”

Vice-Minister of Finance Ramanov also said: "Your Majesty, compared to the losses caused to us by the domestic economic crisis, the losses caused by the Qing Empire to our empire are really insignificant. Your Majesty, please think again! ”

Nicholas II listened to Witte and his Ministry of Finance every day to provide him with economic information, and Russia was affected by the international banking crisis, which led to a serious domestic economic crisis, and the daily loss of money was far greater than the military defeat in the Far East.

Nicholas II knew the urgency of reforming finance, because after the arrival of huge French loans in St. Petersburg, he had already ordered Witte to embark on financial reform.

Now Nikolai and the others have decided in their hearts to temporarily end the war against China, but he still has to make a show on his face.

"Do you think we can accept this condition?"

Speransky said: "The Qing Empire did not take advantage of the victory and made more demanding demands, which is already commendable. As a matter of fact, when they asked us for the "Sino-Russian Treaty on the Survey and Demarcation of the Northwest Boundary" and the "Aihui Treaty" and the land ceded by the "Aihui Treaty," we could completely delay and refuse to give them under various pretexts. Even if we give it back to them, it won't be long before we take it back. ”

Kebnister agreed: "These treaties were signed with us by the local governors of the Qing Empire, and the Qing government never recognized these treaties, but they acquiesced in our occupation. Therefore, I think that even if we promised Wang Chenhao, as long as it takes a year and a half to restore the strength of the Far Eastern Military Region of the Empire, presumably the weak Qing Imperial Court will not dare to forcibly claim these areas, and we will still occupy them de facto. ”

Kebnister's analysis pleased Nicholas II, as he said, as soon as the state of war ended. As long as Russia does not take the initiative to provoke militarily, the cowardly Qing political axe will never take the initiative to go to war.

All Russian officials thought so, and Nicholas II finally nodded in agreement.

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※ Yanjing, the Forbidden City.

In the imperial study, Guangxu took the negotiation content played to him by Wang Chenhao, and his face was happy and worried.

Happily, Wang Chenhao forced the Russians to bow their heads, not only won a simultaneous victory on land and sea, but also did not cede any national sovereignty, but wanted back more than 1 million square kilometers of land that the Russians forcibly occupied.

However, what Guangxu is worried about is. Wang Chenhao can end the war before the end of the year, which makes his plan to take the opportunity to condemn Wang Chenhao to ruin. Moreover, the most elite navy and army of the Qing Empire were all under the control of Wang Chenhao, and as an emperor, this was something he did not want to see. Especially Wang Chenhao now has tens of thousands of dollars in his pocket, tens of thousands of taels of silver, and one person's financial resources are worth the income of the imperial court for several years. Moreover, some military and civilian industries of the imperial court were basically acquired by him under various names, and he greatly developed foreign affairs and built a large-scale Beijing-Tianjin-Tang industrial base, and the entire industrial lifeline of the country was controlled by him.

How can this series of actions not make Guangxu worried? In his eyes, this Wang Chenhao is already a serious threat to the imperial court.

But Guangxu couldn't do anything about Wang Chenhao, and he and the Empress Dowager Cixi fought over each other's rights, causing Cixi to reuse Wang Chenhao in order to stabilize her power. In this way, the more Guangxu tried all means to suppress Wang Chenhao, the more Cixi reused to protect Wang Chenhao, which made Guangxu very distressed.

"This Wang Chenhao's strength is really terrifying! Sooner or later, it will be a big trouble for the court! But the Queen Mother—hey—"

Guangxu couldn't help but sigh and say what he wanted, but he only dared to say so in front of his teacher Weng Tongyong.

Weng Tongyi said: "Weichen thinks that the Queen Mother should know about Wang Chenhao's threat to the imperial court, but the Queen Mother is still confident that she can control Wang Chenhao!" ”

Guangxu said ruthlessly: "It's all that Li Lianying, this dog slave doesn't know how many gifts he received from Wang Chenhao, and he helps him say good things in front of the Queen Mother every day." ”

Weng Tongyi nodded and said, "Gonggong Li is the closest person to the Queen Mother, and his words are very important. It's a pity that Wang Chenhao is too rich, and I heard that this time when he returned to China, from the Chinese military officials of the dynasty, down to the governors of the provinces, the eunuchs and female officials of the inner court, and the prince of the outer court, almost everyone had a heavy gift. ”

Guangxu frowned and sighed: "Yes! I heard that a car was sent to the Queen Mother, which made the Queen Mother very happy. ”

Then he looked at Weng Tongyi and said, "What gift did I give you?" ”

Weng Tongyi smiled bitterly: "He sent a small car, but how dare Weichen accept his gift?" Wechen refused on the spot, and Wechen also planned to unite with the officials of the Imperial Historical Observatory to impeach him for bribing the courtiers and punish him. ”

Guangxu smiled helplessly and said, "Bribing the courtiers? Li Hongzao has already impeached him for this, guess what happened to him? ”

Weng Tongyi said: "The evidence is like a mountain, he can't get rid of it!" ”

Guangxu smiled bitterly: "We all underestimate Wang Chenhao too much, he is not ordinary cunning. He argued that this was a contribution to the country and for the sake of the imperial court. He said that Western countries have specially equipped political axe workers with small cars to transport officials to and from work. And I have to be equipped with a sedan chair and a horse for hundreds of civil and military officials to travel, so he gave a car to the civil and military officials in the name of the queen mother as a means of transportation, which is for the sake of the imperial court. He quibbled that the sedan chair and carriage were too slow, which affected the efficiency of officials going up and down the court, while the car was fast and convenient. Giving a car to the civil and military officials will save the time of delay on land and improve the efficiency of work, which is a contribution to the country. Look at his arguments! ”

Saying that, Guangxu handed Wang Chenhao's rebuttal to Weng Tongxiao, Weng Tongxiao opened it and looked at it, and immediately said helplessly: "Giving gifts in the name of the Queen Mother, Gao Ming!" not only flattered the queen mother, but also let the civil and military officials accept his gifts with peace of mind, and let him be a good person! ”

I saw Emperor Guangxu's eyes tighten, and he spit out four words.

"His heart can be punished!"

Weng Tongyi hurriedly asked, "What does the emperor plan to do with this Wang Chenhao?" ”

Guangxu thought for a while and said: "He is now a great hero of the dynasty, and there is no reason why he can't be moved." You go and study with Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao to see if they have any good ideas. ”

Weng Tongyi said: "Kang Liang and the others are loyal to the emperor and know the emperor's difficulties, and they have been studying ways to help the emperor regain his power recently!" ”

Guangxu hurriedly asked, "Is there a way?" ”

Weng Tongyi shook his head and said, "Not yet!" However, I heard them say that they seem to be planning to let the emperor follow the method of the Meiji Restoration and make a reform change. ”

"Reform the law?"

Guangxu chewed these words back and forth a few times, and suddenly said happily: "Don't say it, this is a good way!" ”

Weng Tongyi showed a worried look and said: "But the emperor has no military power in his hands, and if the strength of this reform change is not well controlled, I am afraid it is equivalent to a direct showdown with the queen mother!" ”

Guangxu sighed and said, "Let's take one step at a time!" ”

(To be continued)