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August 20, 1916, Dongjiaomin Lane, Beijing, British Legation.

The atmosphere in the living room was now a little dreary. Mr. Zhu Erdian, Minister Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the British Empire, was unexpectedly indifferent when he learned that Chinese Premier Duan Qirui, out of international justice, was ready to promote the Republic of China to join the Entente bloc, declare war on Germany, Austria, Ottoman Turkey, and other Allied powers, and was ready to recruit and train hundreds of thousands or even millions of troops to serve as cannon fodder in Europe.

This sixty-eight-year-old Irish man was just drinking coffee there, with the most standard nonchalant expression of a gentleman of the British Empire, not because he was completely uninterested in hundreds of thousands of Chinese cannon fodder, but because he was completely unprepared for such a project. At present, Minister Zhu Erdian knows better than Duan Qirui, the premier, how much strength the Chinese government has in Beijing, and it is estimated that it is a bit reluctant to send 35,000 troops to participate in the war, anyway, there are not so many soldiers under Duan Qirui's War Department. As for the self-respecting Overseers, they can muster some troops, but are they willing to hand them over to the central government to organize a war army? You can figure this out with a heel!

But to say that China can't send those hundreds of thousands of cannon fodder, I'm afraid it's not accurate, China is the most populous country in the world! There were almost 50,000,000 people, more than the combined population of the Entente and the Central Powers! As for the question of whether the Chinese are suitable to be soldiers, if they start the European war, they may have to think about it. But now...... Indians, Annamite, Muslims in North Africa, and blacks in Africa have all gone on the battlefield of this world war! These are all real slaves of the country! No matter how inferior the Chinese are, don't they not lose their country? Besides, during the Gengzi Fist Rebellion more than ten years ago, didn't the Chinese people with big swords and spears also show the spirit of seeing death as if they were at home in front of the machine guns and cannons of the great powers? With better organization and training, these Chinese can become an excellent infantryman! That's millions, if not tens of millions!

But is it possible for the Chinese government in Beijing, with its financial resources and ability to control the local area, to organize such a large military force? The answer is clearly no! If the Beijing government had been able to organize an army of millions of people, China would have been unified by their force long ago! Of course, such a situation was also intolerable to the great powers in the past! A unified and powerful China is undoubtedly a great threat to the interests of white Westerners in Asia. Therefore, the British Empire's arrangement in Asian affairs has always been to support Japan and suppress China. This time, however, China's government in Beijing raised the possibility of sending hundreds of thousands of troops to Europe to fight in the war...... And will the British Empire allow such a possibility to become a reality? Obviously, this is the condition for Duan Qirui's government to send a large army to Europe to participate in the war, and it turns out that the lives of the Chinese are not given in vain!

Thinking of this, his eyebrows couldn't help but twist slightly, this issue is no longer something that his little Minister Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary can decide, just let Whitehall and Prime Minister Asquith worry about it, just report it to the public by yourself.

Zhu Erdian finally put down the small coffee cup in his hand, and raised his chin coldly and reservedly: "Chief Cao, General Xu." I think you are well aware that what you are proposing is a plan to enter the war that is beyond the capacity of the Beijing government, and that the Imperial Government needs to carefully assess the possibility of this plan being realized...... For this, I need more and more detailed information. ”

Xu Shuzheng and Cao Rulin breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts, this foreign devil finally didn't refuse, it looks like there is still a play!

"The specific plan is still to be discussed, but the draft has already been brought with me." Xu Shuzheng opened the briefcase, took out a bound paper, and handed it to Zhu Erdian with both hands.

Zhu Erdian took it casually, didn't look at it, and put it aside. He smacked his lips slightly, and then said lightly: "I will send this draft back to London by telegram as soon as possible, and I believe that it will soon appear on Prime Minister Asquith's desk." However, the decision to help the Beijing government in your country to raise an army of hundreds of thousands of people to fight in the war will not be made in a short period of time. While London was considering this decision, could the Chinese government first declare war on the Allies and join the cause of the Entente politically and diplomatically? Perhaps, China could also send workers to Europe first, which would also show China's sincerity to the Entente side, and of course it would play a positive role in London's decision.

In addition, Britain was only a member of the Entente, and the question of helping the Chinese government to form a large army to fight was bound to involve the interests of other countries. I don't think there will be any objections from France and Belgium, but what will be the attitude of the Russian and Japanese empires? I think you should communicate with them in a timely manner. ”

After listening to Zhu Erdian's words, Xu Shuzheng's heart appeared with a dignified face with a big mustache, which is the dignity of Li Yuanhong, the current president of the Republic of China! It's really a headache to say, this president of Li Da has not a single soldier in his hands, he is just an empty president, but he refuses to be his "bodhisattva" obediently, instead of treating himself as a dish, he is against the State Council system everywhere, and a group of Kuomintang legislators are also blindly coaxing...... Now the British want China to declare war first, and there is a chance that they will not be able to pass the presidential palace and Congress!

Of course, he and Duan Zhi can also ask for help from the Minister Zhu Erdian in front of them, as long as the British Empire leads the Entente bloc to exert pressure on the presidential palace, "Li Bodhisattva" will definitely not be able to bear it, but in that case, how do the British view the Beiyang system's ability to control China's internal affairs? Even such a "trivial matter" as a declaration of war requires Britain to personally come to the rescue, does such a government still have the ability to raise hundreds of thousands of troops to fight in Europe? Besides, where in this world are there good people who help for nothing? It seems that the matter of declaring war will have to be solved by Beiyang itself, and as for Japan and Russia, there is no problem with it, right? Japan has always supported Duan Zhilao, and Russia's shape on the Eastern Front is very bad, so it will not object to someone to help, right?

With a question mark on their heads, Xu Shuzheng and Cao Rulin exchanged a few words with Zhu Erdian, then hurriedly said goodbye and left, and took the car directly to Duan Qirui's Mansion in Fuxue Hutong. Entering the Duan Mansion, the two of them went directly into the inner living room without waiting for the next person to report, but Duan Qirui was already waiting there.

"Again, Runtian, sit down and talk." Duan Qirui didn't sleep in the middle of the night, so he was naturally waiting for news from Xu Shuzheng and Cao Rulin. When he saw two people coming in, he ordered them to sit down, and then he asked straight to the point, "What did Zhu Erdian say?" Is he interested in our construction? ”

Xu Shuzheng casually found a chair and sat down with a big grin, waved his hand, and said with a wry smile: "Hey! Without even looking at it, he said that he would send it to London immediately, who knows if it is real or fake? Oh, he still wants us to declare war first, and he wants us to discuss it with Russia and Japan. ”

"Runtian, what do you think?" Duan Qirui nodded quietly, and then looked at Cao Rulin, who was sitting next to Xu Shuzheng, who looked a little restrained, and asked.

Cao Rulin is a native of Shanghai, looks like a gentleman, studied in Japan in his early years, and after returning to China, he served in the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and his official fortune is also prosperous, and he is less than 40 years old this year, and he is already the chief of transportation and foreign affairs of the Beijing government! However, now is the turbulent era of the Republic of China rampant with warlords, and he, a senior civilian official with two "Shangshu", has always been accustomed to bending over and talking in front of the Beiyang military leader with a gun in his hand.

Hearing Duan Qirui's question, Chief Cao nodded and said with a smile: "Elder Zhi, the humble opinion is that Minister Zhu Erdian is actually interested in our construction, but this matter is indeed a bit big, and it is no longer within his purview to decide." As for Russia and Japan, they all supported our participation in the war, but they would have different opinions on the scale of our participation in the war. ”

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