From the beginning of the Manchu Dynasty to the Republic of China, there were at least 3,000 unequal treaties signed one after another, and each treaty was like a shackle that bound China to death. Through these unequal treaties, the great powers grabbed hundreds of millions of dollars of wealth from China every year, causing China to be impoverished and weak.

At the end of the Qing Dynasty, China's population was about 450 million, and by 49 years, the population was 3.54 billion, an increase of 90 million in 38 years, and at least 20 million people died unnaturally every year, either from hunger, or from war, or from disease.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, in seven years, the population increased by 100 million, and the average life expectancy increased by more than a decade. This kind of drastically different changes can also show how important an independent and orderly country and a strong government are for a big country like China.

The abolition of unequal treaties is definitely the dream of most Chinese, and at this time someone finally officially shouted that China will not continue to bow down and engage in diplomacy, and a big country must stand up.

After hearing Zhang Tinglan's words, all the parliamentarians in the audience couldn't help but stand up, slapped their hands vigorously, and the applause was like a tide, and they were unwilling to stop for a long time, and many people slapped their hands red and swollen.

They have no doubt about Zhang Tinglan's promise, and the current China is no longer the same as in the past, continuously defeating the great powers, giving everyone unprecedented confidence.

Zhang Tinglan's statement also set the tone between China and Britain, and the British colonial Shili must withdraw from China and all unequal treaties must be abolished.

These two points are completely beyond the bottom line of the British, who claim that they will not accept negotiations at all, and will send more troops to teach China a lesson. To this end, the British Cabinet also sent the battleships Iron Duke and Queen Elizabeth. Formed formations and rushed to the Far East.

Battleships are the most powerful weapons of this era, and the British put out two of them at once, and indeed some people also felt fear, and Rong Zhen couldn't help but find Zhang Tinglan.

"Vice President, what do you think should be done?"

Zhang Tinglan smiled slightly: "If the British really want to fight, they should send the army over, do they still think that we are Manchu and will not be able to surrender as long as we fire a few cannons?" In the final analysis, it is just a show for the country, the role of these two warships. Most of them want to protect Hong Kong, rather than really kill them. ”

Rong Zhen also suddenly realized, and said with a smile: "As soon as you say this, I will understand it at once, but if Britain is really here to protect Hong Kong." Shall we take down Hong Kong as well? ”

"Not comparable." Zhang Tinglan said decisively: "Hong Kong is just a disease of scabies, and in addition to looking good-looking, take it down." The actual effect is not much. On the contrary, this is one of the support points of Britain in the Far East, and keeping Hong Kong for Britain can make them make concessions more happily, and it is here that they should really pay attention to! ”

Zhang Tinglan's right hand drew a circle in the southeast of China, just marking the Ryukyus and Taiwan, and Rong Zhen's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Taiwan used to be our territory. The Ryukyus are also one of our vassals, and these two places are blocked by the road leading southeast of China to the Pacific Ocean, and if we want our navy to go further, we must take these two places. ”

"That's right. As long as Taiwan and the Ryukyus are settled, the South Seas will be exposed to us, and the small Hong Kong will not matter at all. In the future, the General Staff will have to put more effort into it, and when the country is settled, our next target will be Japan. As the so-called long-distance and close-range attack, before we solve the Japanese threat, we still have to win over the West first, and we can't completely tear our faces! ”

After Jiangsu and Zhejiang were resolved, the overall situation in the country was basically settled, although there were still many local emperors in the two countries and the southwest, but basically they could be killed by political and economic means. The beginning of a unified China has emerged, and it is a matter of imminent time for China to completely shake off its shackles after the abrogation of the treaty begins.

At this point, Zhang Tinglan naturally thought of the next development strategy, in the final analysis, within 20 years, China's main enemies are still Japan in the east and Russia in the north, take back Taiwan, piggyback the Ryukyus as well, drive Japan back to the four islands, and the threat to the east of China will be lifted.

In addition, it is best to maintain pressure on Russia, not to let the polar bear easily complete industrialization, as long as these two points are achieved, China will be invincible in the future war, this is also the next ten years Zhang Tinglan's strategic plan, it can be said that from now on, we will have to work hard.

"Vice President Mingjian, we must make a good plan."

When Zhang Tinglan and Rong Zhen were discussing things, someone suddenly stumbled in, and his face was full of horror.

As soon as he saw Zhang Tinglan, he shouted loudly: "Vice President, something is wrong, Yan Xishan sent an urgent telegram!" ”

"Yan Xishan?" When Zhang Tinglan heard this, he hurriedly snatched the telegram, only to look at it twice, and he was immediately dumbfounded, and a wave of anger rushed directly to his head.

"Yan Xishan, this rice bucket, how can he suffer such a loss!" Zhang Tinglan slammed the telegram on the desk, angry to the extreme, just now I thought that the world was too peaceful, how did I know that there was such a big loophole, it was a slap in the face.

Rong Zhen also immediately picked up the telegram and looked at it a few times, his head was already sweating, it turned out that Yan Xishan was ordered to go south to block Wu Peifu's army, so Yan Xishan stationed the main force in Anyang, which happened to hold the Luhan Railway, as long as he watched this artery, the direct army would not want to go north.

For Yan Xishan's arrangement, the staff department is still quite satisfied, and this Yan Laoxi still has some ability. But since the start of the war, Wu Peifu has been silent and has not made any movements, and Yan Xishan has relaxed a lot.

As a result, just yesterday, the direct army suddenly assembled, and then divided into two roads, stormed the Jin army's defense line, caught off guard, Anyang's defense line collapsed, the direct army killed the Jin army to a great defeat, and then the main force of the direct army seized the Jinghan railway, and the army was along the railway, quickly northward.

"Vice President, it's not good, after the collapse of Yan Xishan, from Anyang to the north to Beijing, we don't have many garrisons. The rebels can go straight into the capital without any scruples, and the capital is in danger! Rong Zhen said with a change of face, and as he spoke, a cold sweat welled up from his back. At the beginning, he felt that the troops staying in Beijing were a little insufficient, but Zhang Tinglan believed too much in the ability of the Jin army, who knew that they had a problem.

Zhang Tinglan also regretted it at this time, although Yan Xishan is a celebrity in the history of the Republic of China, but this guy is not known for his military talent, Yan Xishan is good at internal affairs. And being clumsy in military affairs, pointing at Yan Laoxi and dealing with Wu Peifu seems to be a big mistake.

When Zhang Tinglan thought of this, he couldn't wait to slap himself twice. But he also knew that regret was useless, and he had to find a way. Now the main force of the Feng army has all gone south. There was only one division in the capital. Moreover, it is necessary to disperse the defenses, which are too weak to stop the rebels.

"Rong Zhen, can you see where else you can transfer troops from?"

Rong Zhen thought for a moment, then shook his head bitterly: "Vice President, from Anyang to Beijing." It will only take two days at most, and the southbound army has already crossed the Yangtze River, and it will take at least four to five days to move north. As for the northeast, there are still a large number of troops. However, all of them were stationed in the border areas, and in the face of pressure from Russia and Japan, it would take at least three days to transfer in. Rong Zhen's mind quickly turned a few times, but he didn't find a suitable team, and his heart suddenly hung up.

"Wu Peifu caught the timing well!" Zhang Tinglan also didn't know Wu Peifu's situation, and it was thought to be from him. Zhang Tinglan spun around twice on the ground, and he knew very well that the more critical the moment, the more important it was to keep a cool head.

"Rong Zhen, do you have any other ideas?"

Rong Zhen thought for a while, and then said: "Vice President, according to intelligence, there are at least 50,000 rebels going north this time, and there are a large number of follow-up troops, and there is only one sixth division in the capital, and a large number of troops must be divided to keep an eye on Dongjiaomin Lane and Tianjin and other places, what can be mobilized is only a brigade, and it is really difficult to block the rebels." ”

Speaking of this, Rong Zhen peeked at Zhang Tinglan, and when he saw that he was expressionless, he gritted his teeth and said: "Vice President, I mean to avoid its edge for the time being, we will retreat to the three eastern provinces, and then mobilize the army, and then let Minister Yang lead the army north, so that the two sides will definitely be able to easily destroy the rebels!" ”

"No way!" Zhang Tinglan decisively rejected this proposal: "Although there is no emperor now, we can't talk about the death of the king, but Beijing City is also a matter of life and death for us, and we must not give up, otherwise the consequences will be too serious." ”

Zhang Tinglan said calmly: "Propose to withdraw temporarily, you only calculated the military account, not the political account." Now that we are preparing to negotiate with Britain, this is a critical moment for the abolition of unequal treaties, and if we retreat to the border, what is it, and will all the efforts ahead be in vain? And what will be the impact on our military morale if the rebels seize Beijing, and what will happen to us if Britain and Japan take the opportunity to support the rebels? ”

Zhang Tinglan asked several questions in a row, and Rong Zhen was speechless, and he couldn't give up Beijing City even if he lived or died, which was something that Zhang Tinglan had thought about clearly a long time ago. Since the moment of entering the customs, only entering, not retreating, and giving up Beijing means failure, which means collapse!

At this time, suddenly Chang Yinhuai hurriedly ran in, and as soon as he saw Zhang Tinglan, he hurriedly said: "Vice President, things are not good, the rebels have just issued a telegram, claiming that we have destroyed civil rights, denied autonomy, and are unforgivable, and their army will kill Beijing and overthrow us within a day." ”

Zhang Tinglan didn't move, and asked calmly, "Is there any other news?" ”

"Yes, contacts between the Great Powers and us have been cut off, and both Britain and Japan have said that they cannot negotiate with a government that could be overthrown at any time. In addition, foreign garrisons in Dongjiaomin Lane and the Tianjin Concession have been mobilized, especially the British and Japan. ”

"This is a joint attack, maybe this rebellion is behind the ghosts of the great powers."

Hearing Chang Yinhuai's news, Zhang Tinglan's face became even more solemn, if there was a slight mistake in the capital, it would definitely be a fatal blow to his prestige, and it was almost impossible to bear.

In any case, this pass must be passed, Zhang Tinglan thought for a long time, and finally made up his mind: "Rong Zhen, I will give you a brigade of men and horses, immediately go south to Baoding, block the rebels from going north, no more, just hold on for half a day." ”

"Vice President, I promise that you can complete the mission, but after the transfer of a brigade, there will be no mobile forces in the capital, and once there is a little riot, your situation will be too dangerous. The lowly is willing to take only one regiment to the south, even if the whole army is killed in battle, it will definitely not let the rebels go north. ”

"Needless to say, the rebels are tens of thousands of people, and a regiment is simply not enough. You can go to war with peace of mind, here in the capital, I have my own way. ”

Seeing Zhang Tinglan so persistent, Rong Zhen didn't dare to say more, although he was worried in his heart, he could only pray that Zhang Tinglan really had some tricks to turn things around.

Rong Zhen hurriedly went down to make arrangements, Zhang Tinglan looked at Chang Yinhuai again, and then said: "The capital will immediately strengthen its vigilance, and use all the manpower for me to monitor all parties, especially the great powers, if there is any trouble, you must tell me." ”

Chang Yinhuai immediately nodded in agreement, but he didn't turn around and leave, but lowered his voice and said: "Vice President, do you have any tricks, if not, I always feel that I don't have enough confidence in my heart!" ”

Zhang Tinglan let out a long sigh, and then said with a wry smile: "To be honest, I really have no choice......

"The rebels are coming, and I heard that they have reached Baoding."

"No, I heard that we have arrived at Lugou Bridge!"

"How can it, how close is the Lugou Bridge, this Beijing is under your nose."

"Dare to love, I heard that the vice president has already run away, the cabinet yamen is empty, and all those officials have fled, leaving us ordinary people to wait."

"Then let's run quickly."

There was a lot of discussion everywhere in the capital, all kinds of rumors were flying in the sky, and one moment the people were still immersed in the joy of abolishing the treaty, but the next second someone said that Zhang Tinglan's regime was shaking. Many old people are sighing, the vice president is also a good person, how can he finally become a good official after reducing so many taxes, and he is about to be driven away!

Just in the midst of the chaos, there were suddenly countless leaflets in the city, all printed in the voice of the rebels, scolding Zhang Tinglan and telling the people of the capital that the army would enter the city immediately, and Zhang Tinglan's regime was over. If you still follow Zhang Tinglan and her gang, there will be only one way to die, and the army will kill you, and you will never tolerate the traitors.

"Hurry up and let us out, open the city gates, we want to get out of the city!"

A large crowd of ordinary people gathered around the city gate, and they pushed small carts, with a family of old and young, gold and silver, crying loudly, desperately screaming.

In the capital, it seems that order has been lost in an instant, and chaos has become everywhere. (To be continued......)