In the view of Lieutenant General Artemyev, former commander of the Russian Far East Army and now deputy chief of the General Staff of the base camp, the formation of the Chinese Expeditionary Force did not deliberately conceal the Russian side, and it has been determined that an army of the Central Military Region in Shandong that participated in the Sino-Japanese Shandong War has been transferred to North Manchuria, and the Ninth Army of the Chinese Army in Changchun and Siping has also been transferred north and has been assembled near Harbin. And the 5th Army, located in Kulen, Outer Mongolia, also began to assemble.

In General Artemyev's view, the Chinese began their military build-up with vigor after the British envoy's visit to China, which not only showed their sincerity in joining the Russian front, but also brought tremendous pressure to the Russian army in the Far East.

Thus, Lieutenant General Artemiev reported to Nicholas II, the Tsar, who was now personally the commander-in-chief of the Russian army, that the transfer of two armies and seven divisions from the Far East to General Brusilov's Southwestern Front needed to be delayed in case the worst outcome of the breakdown of the Canadian talks. In Artemyev's opinion, behind the sudden "turn" of the Chinese lies a conspiracy.

But the tsar denied Artemyev's construction, and in view of the shape of the Southwestern Front, General Brusilov had to get those 7 divisions, so the Russian army in the Far East had to transfer those 7 divisions to the Southwestern Front. At the same time, Nicholas II replied in a letter to the "new star" he had discovered, the newly appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff, General Artemyev, who was tasked with a heavy mission, that Russia would bring the Canadian Conference to the desired conclusion. If China becomes Russia's ally, the Russian army will free up at least 20 full-strength divisions in the Far East, and it will also receive at least 15 Chinese divisions, which is a force that can change the tide of the war. With these divisions, General Brusilov would be able to carry out a major strategic offensive on the Southwestern Front in order to satisfy the demands of the Entente allies on Russia, to fulfill the obligations of the Alliance, and even to change the course of the war in order to achieve a war that would overwhelm Russia. To this end, the Tsar instructed General Artemyev, who was inspecting the situation on his behalf on the Southwestern Front, to make a trip to the Far East to make an advance contact with the Chinese, to understand the details of the Chinese army's build-up, and to coordinate in advance the entry of the Chinese army into the Russian front.

The relevant order has been issued to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ambassador to China and his personnel will facilitate a secret meeting between General Artemiev and the Chinese leadership.

The war lasted until May 1916. With the exception of the sea, the Entente remained generally at a disadvantage. Ten days earlier, the German High Seas Fleet had finally faced the largest battleship battle in human history against the British Grand Fleet, which was tasked with blockading Germany, even though the German fleet had lost less tonnage than the British. The unique protection technology of German warships was also superior to that of British ships. But it did not break the British naval blockade. Britain is still in control of the Atlantic. But on land, Britain, France, Italy, and Russia were still passive, and the Battle of Verdun was still raging. The French consolidated the front after drawing a large number of reinforcements, failed to make a breakthrough for the Germans, but exhausted the strategic reserves of the French army, making the planned Battle of the Somme a single leader of the British army, and the attack on the Somme was not simply to relieve the pressure in the Verdun direction, it was actually a plan determined by the Allies in December 1915, and it was an important part of the situation in 1916, and it was planned to achieve a breakthrough on the 70-kilometer frontal from Rasigne to Ebitaene. The plan was to crush the German army occupying the northern part of France, and the battle would be carried out by Britain and France, it was a centrifugal attack, the French army to the east, the British army to the north, in view of the lack of strength of the British army, the French army scheduled to invest in the campaign was as high as 39 divisions, 1700 artillery pieces and 200 aircraft. The French army assumed a 45-kilometer section of the attack. However, due to the extremely unfavorable situation in Verdun, the French army began to increase troops in Verdun in March, and most of the troops scheduled for the offensive on the Somme were transferred. For this reason, the British and French sides successively urged Russia to carry out a surprise attack of a strategic nature in order to contain the German army, and it was best to transfer part of the German troops on the Western Front to the Eastern Front. However, due to the huge losses suffered by the Russian army in 1915, especially the huge gap in weapons, the strength of the three fronts of the Russian army, the southwestern, western and northwestern fronts, was not enough to carry out a strategic offensive, and the three sides have been pulling their skins.

But worse things came when Italy, which had joined the Entente in 1915, suffered a defeat, and the Austrian offensive in the direction of Trantino was launched at dawn on May 16, with 23 divisions and 2,000 artillery pieces (of which about 280 heavy artillery) were invested, and the Austrian army made heavy progress, and the Austrian army advanced to the Venetian plain, and the Italian government was in danger of collapse. If the Italians withdraw from the war, the Austrians will free up at least 50 divisions to move to the Eastern Front, which will put tremendous pressure on Russia. Therefore, the Russian army must carry out a surprise attack in the southwest direction in order to save the Italians from collapse, and also to indirectly support the situation on the Western Front. The offensive, General Brusilov was ambitious and hoped to attack after receiving reinforcements from the Far East. Until the attitude of the Chinese was determined, the Far East could not draw troops, and now it is finally possible.

Nicholas II was not very concerned about the extremely difficult situation in his own country, but he was always unambiguous about his duties as a traveling ally.

This is the current shape shì. No one could have imagined that China, which had never been looked down upon by the major powers, would become a decisive force. On the train to China, Lieutenant General Artemiev carefully studied the situation and believed that the timing chosen by the Chinese was really good, and this was the application of "momentum", and that his own departure to Beijing on behalf of the tsar would increase the Chinese's bargaining chips in the war, but this was an unavoidable result.

The relevant report had already been forwarded to the Russian delegates to the talks in Canada, and General Artemiev was very worried about the outcome of the talks and about the Chinese offering conditions that were unacceptable to Russia.

Artemyev arrived in Harbin at the end of May, where he was not allowed to meet with the head of the Northern Military District of China, but was sent directly to Beijing. He did not even get off the train, but met Lieutenant General Xiong Xun, deputy commander of the Northern Military District, on the platform, who did not answer any questions about the build-up of Chinese troops, saying that he had not received any instructions from his superiors. Xiong Xun did not even disclose the fact that he had been appointed deputy commander of the First Army of the Expeditionary Force.

But Artemyev saw a steady stream of military columns heading to the north. The Chinese did not take measures to transfer troops at night. The canvas-covered cannons are clearly recognizable.

In Beijing, General Artemyev was received by Defense Minister General Wang Mingyuan. Admiral Wang told his guests that the president was not in Beijing, but that the expeditionary force to aid Russia had indeed been formed, and that it was currently waiting for the final news of the Canadian meeting. If an agreement is reached, the first units of the expeditionary force will be dispatched within a month of the signing of the agreement.

"The details are not yet the time to go into detail," Wang Mingyuan told the guest, "and we have grasped and fully understood the urgency of the war situation, but there is no diplomatic outcome." The president will not act in advance. Now you can only wait. Let's look forward to news from Canada that will satisfy both of us. ”

It was not until June 12 that the news of the Canadian meeting finally came, and a total of five countries participated in this secret meeting, Britain, France, Russia, China, and the United States. A 10-day secret consultation was held on the issue of China's accession to the Entente countries. After fierce bargaining. An agreement was finally reached, and the conference was also known as the Ottawa Conference because most of the issues of the conference were held in Ottawa. The final stage was "moved" to Boston, USA.

The reason why the venue for the meeting was determined to be Canada and not the United States was the proposal of President Wilson. In view of the approaching U.S. election and the fierce anti-war sentiment in the country, President Wilson proposed that the meeting be held in Canada, which belongs to the British Commonwealth, and if the issue of assistance raised by the Chinese side can be returned to the United States for detailed discussions, he will organize a special committee to discuss it, and finally report it to Congress for approval.

Wilson's advice is that because of the good diplomatic relations between the United States and China, it is not a big problem to persuade Congress to provide aid or loans to China for industrial construction, but not to link the matter to China's entry into the war. At present, the upper echelons of the US government are basically inclined to join the Entente, but nearly 10 million Germans support Germany, and this force is not small. Moreover, opposition to the war among ordinary people is still the mainstream. The slogan of his re-election campaign is to strive for the early restoration of world peace, and in order to achieve re-election, he cannot stimulate the feelings of the American people at present.

The main theme of the meeting was to discuss China's entry into the war, which included two or three issues, the first of which was the issue of China's status after joining the Entente, which involved the discussion of tariff autonomy, Gengzi final payment, extraterritoriality, and other discussions on the return of China's sovereignty. The second is the issue of China's participation in the war, which involves a series of issues such as troop strength, battlefield selection, command system, and logistics supply. The third is the issue of aid to China, mainly to discuss with the United States.

In the first stage of the meeting, the package of issues for the return of Chinese sovereignty was basically settled, and the Russians, after learning that China would directly send troops to the Russian front, immediately agreed to the issue of the final payment of reparations, which they were most concerned about. Russia accounted for the highest proportion of the 300 million taels of silver determined by the Xincho Treaty, and although China had already paid about one-third of the compensation (including interest), the balance was still a lot of money for Russia, which was extremely financially constrained.

Tariff autonomy is a more important issue, and Britain, France and Russia want China to set tariffs at no more than 10 percent after gaining tariff autonomy, which has already doubled since tariffs are now set at a low level of 5 percent. Fang Shengyuan agreed to the demands of Britain, France and Russia, but in fact, it is not Britain, France and Russia that care more about the level of tariffs, but the United States. However, the attitude of the United States is very positive, and the issue has been satisfactorily resolved.

The extraterritoriality that had done great harm to China was also helplessly abolished, and the United States, Britain, France, and Russia promised that China would enjoy diplomatic equality after China joined the Entente and entered the war.

The issue of the concession was put on hold for the time being.

After determining the principles that must be adhered to in diplomacy, Fang Shengyuan handed over the main task of the talks to Situ Jun, who would further discuss the post-war military issues with the military experts of the British, French, and Russian delegations attending the meeting. Fang Shengyuan's energy turned to economic aid with the Americans. Fang Shengyuan's proposal was very appetizing, and he demanded that the Entente and the United States provide economic assistance to China -- it was a necessary prerequisite for China to enter the war. This will be borne primarily by the United States.

At the same time that Situ Jun and the Russian side basically reached a relevant military agreement, the package of economic assistance was also basically decided. The United States and the United Kingdom have pledged to provide China with up to $530 million in low-interest and interest-free loans over three years to strengthen China's military industry, with Britain bearing a share of $80 million. The loan will be used to purchase technology and equipment from the United States and Britain -- involving the construction and renovation of 130 factories in steelmaking, shipbuilding, power generation, mining, chemical, machinery, electronics and many other industries, and the introduction of more than 9,000 machine tools of various types.

The implementation of these projects will enable China to exceed the industrial construction targets in its first five-year plan, and after the completion of the projects, China's industrialization will lay the foundation and its military capabilities will be greatly strengthened. The steelmaking capacity will exceed the 4 million ton mark, and the power generation capacity will be increased by 1.5 times, filling a number of gaps in China's industry.

In his report to members of the two houses on the "Boston" agreement, Long Qian explained that in the history of history, there has not been a country whose industrialization process does not require the introduction of external funds, and even Britain, which was the first to realize the industrial revolution, has received a large amount of money from the Netherlands. Interest-free loans are already very rare, and even the United States, which has already identified China as a global ally, would not have agreed to such generous terms if it had not seized the opportunity of the world situation.

The United States, in order to cultivate its allies in the Far East, made a big effort to facilitate the signing of this agreement. In the view of Wilson's U.S. administration, it is in the interest of the United States to strengthen China's industrial power. The lost interest will be compensated from the profits of the enterprise, and up to 450 million orders will fall on the heads of the Americans. However, China did not mention the territorial negotiations that Britain, France, and Russia were most worried about, and this was the most satisfactory to the major Entente countries.

The agreement was signed in Boston, historically known as the Boston Agreement. However, the name was not used at the time, it was requested by the Americans.

Because the content of the agreement on industrial aid exceeded his expectations, Fang Shengyuan officially signed it on May 10, 1916, on behalf of the Chinese government. The main body of the agreement is the relevant clause on China's accession to the Entente and stipulates China's rights and obligations. The military and economic provisions were signed in the form of annexes (secret agreements), which was in line with diplomatic practice.

After the Chinese side received the news of the signing of the agreement, Long Qian met with General Artemyev, who was anxiously waiting, and informed him of the details of the formation of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, promising that the forward troops of the First Army would be officially dispatched by 5 July. The expeditionary force will join the Russian Southwestern Front in accordance with the secret agreement on military issues in the Boston Accords, and will be under the command of the Russian General Headquarters and the Southwestern Front. The General Staff will send a liaison group to negotiate with the Russian side in detail on the delivery and logistical supply of troops, and will undertake to begin transferring 1.2 million tons of grain to Russia after the autumn, the cost of which will be borne by Russia.

General Artemiev left Beijing on 14 June and returned to Petersburg, accompanied by a liaison group of 23 selected officers, led by the new Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Van der Ping. (To be continued......)