October 8, 1903, Jingshi, Zhongnanhai Annex, Imperial War Base Camp.

On that day, the dragon chair at one end of the oak table in the base camp conference room was empty.

Emperor Guangxing did not attend the meeting, this was the first time since the outbreak of the war, although the emperor had often left the meeting early in the middle of the meeting, but it was indeed the first time that he did not attend at all.

The military attache who was sent to report the situation explained that the emperor was only because of "occasional cold", and in fact, there should be no more than a dozen emperors who died due to such a thing as "accidental cold" in Chinese history.

However, this was insignificant to the base camp meeting itself, and the form was only a form after all, although the emperor probably didn't think so.

Imperial Prime Minister Wen Yi presided over the meeting as usual, but in fact, the person who controlled the meeting was still Marshal Liu Yun, Minister of National Defense.

From that day on, a new system of meetings was introduced at the base camp, whereby except for the prime minister, the four ministers of defense, foreign affairs, and finance, the other ministers did not have to attend the regular meetings of the base camp every day, but only had to send a deputy minister to act as their agent in normal times, while the commander-in-chief of the army and navy were required to attend daily for consultation, and the heads of the various divisions of the general staff were also required to attend the meeting every morning to report or receive instructions.

However, after the meeting of the day began, no one saw General Wu Dingguo, chief of the logistics department of the General Staff Headquarters, and it was Major General Han Xinhuo, deputy director of the logistics department, who made a report on logistics.

Neither Defense Minister Liu Yun nor Chief of General Staff Yang Zhengjin immediately gave an explanation for this, but Prime Minister Wen Yi and Foreign Minister Zhang Zhigao, who knew a little about Wu Dingguo's affairs, guessed five or six points.

The Chief of Operations, Admiral Huke, was reporting on the plan submitted by the commander of the Mongolian Front to Lieutenant General Lan for a large-scale battle to break diplomatic relations, and his voice was loud and subdued, and the content of his speech was clear and detailed, far better than Yang Zhengjin's unchanging and dull rhythm, which gave everyone in the meeting the energy to maintain a state of distancing themselves from the sleepy insects.

“…… It is planned to form three main sabotage groups and several sabotage detachments on a 400-kilometer front, and carry out extensive sabotage of the railway line between Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude, each of which will consist of a standing cavalry brigade and a reserve cavalry brigade, reinforced by a cavalry engineer battalion and an independent cavalry artillery battalion, with a total strength of 13,800 men, carrying supplies that are 160 to 200 kilometers deep into the enemy's territory and completely destroying 5 to 8 kilometers of railway lines. The sabotage detachment is formed by units below the cavalry regiment level, and cooperates with the sabotage group to carry out small-scale operations, mainly used to raid key sections of the enemy's railway line, such as bridges, tunnels, stations, etc...... A full-scale offensive will be launched between 10 and 12 October, depending on the situation, and it is estimated that the first round of operations will be completed within a week......"

Liu Yun stared earnestly at the symbols and arrows on the map board, nodded frequently, and after listening to the report, he simply issued an order: "Call back to Xiang Lan and agree with the battle plan he proposed, but there must be no further delay in the launch of the operation." ”

Yang Zhengjin immediately prepared the telegram and handed it to the adjutant to send it to the telegraph room next door.

The so-called decision-making is not really a mysterious and complicated thing, sometimes it is just a matter of choosing between agreeing or rejecting one of the two intentions.

Hook began a new report, this time on the Chita First Army's plan for the October offensive. This group army was formally organized on 17 September in accordance with Liu Yun's instructions, with General Liu Bailiang, commander of the Zhili Military Region, as commander, and General Wang Zhi, president of the Imperial University, as chief of staff, and the First Field Army of Lieutenant General Zhao Feixue and the Fourth Field Army of Lieutenant General Li Xuedong (promoted on 1 October of that year), which was reorganized from the reserve army, with a total of three standing infantry divisions, four reserve infantry divisions, three cavalry brigades, and one artillery brigade. It has the same firepower as the standing infantry division, and together with the service units attached to the army and the group army, it should have 287,000 personnel according to the establishment.

At this time, the Far Eastern Army Group of the First Army of the Chinese Army had three group armies, namely the 2nd, 3rd and 4th armies, with a total of 15 infantry divisions and 6 cavalry divisions, 4 independent artillery brigades, and a total of 270,000 infantry and 21,000 cavalry according to the establishment.

Zhao Feixue's First Army ran 200 kilometers after the Battle of Akinskoye and retreated to Sherlovayagora, 260 kilometers southeast of Chita, where it waited for reinforcements from Manchuria, and then held on to the line from Sherlovayagora to Uski-Ozhornaya, thwarting two large-scale attacks by the pursuing Russian 2nd and 3rd armies.

With the main forces in place, the First Army began to plan to launch an all-out attack on the enemy in front of it, driving him north of the Onen River and attracting the enemy's attention so that he could no longer draw troops to reinforce the Hailan Pao side.

“…… Ji Lu planned to assemble heavy troops on both flanks, penetrate into the depth of the enemy's position with rapid and powerful attacks, outflank the enemy's flank and rear, and at the same time steadily advance in the center to form a posture of encirclement of the enemy, forcing the enemy to retreat or annihilate one part of it according to the situation. The left flank of the two flanks is the main attack, the right flank is a feint or assist, and the center is an assist, and the number of troops arranged is different, the left flank is composed of all the First Army, with a reserve infantry division of the Fourth Army in the center, and the other two divisions of the Fourth Army on the right flank. All combat units were put into the front line, leaving no reserves. The objective of the battle was to drive the enemy across the Onon River, and if the situation was good, the capture of Oloviana on the left bank would be considered as a bridgehead and starting point for the next offensive...... The battle will begin sometime before October 12......"

"Call back, agree with the plan, and emphasize another point, pay attention to confidentiality."

Liu Yun immediately issued instructions, the report continued, and the orders and instructions of the Uncrowned Emperor were also issued one after another, and the core of the Imperial War Machine had been running like this for a month, and its advantages and disadvantages were still to be slowly pondered by an eighth-rate history buff like the author.

The golden self-striking bell made by Emperor Guangxing on the wall rang past twelve o'clock, lunch time was approaching, everyone was very consciously ready to leave the table, most of them had begun to clean up the paper and pen on the table, etc., but Liu Yun suddenly looked around the crowd in a stern tone after issuing a directive on military training: "Now announce a news that may be unpleasant, General Wu Dingguo, chief of the logistics department of the General Staff, was ordered by me to suspend yesterday on suspicion of corruption and bribery, and will be investigated by the Department of Military Justice. His duties are now being deputized by the Deputy Director, Major General Han Xinhuo. ”

The venue fell silent suddenly, and many different natures of gaze intertwined in the air, converging on Liu Yun's terrifyingly serious face.

While everyone was waiting for the next step, Liu Yun quickly changed his relaxed expression and turned to Wen Yi and said, "Okay, Prime Minister, can you break the meeting?" ”

Wen Yi nodded his head and said slowly: "Let's dismiss the meeting, everyone needs to take a break." ”

A few minutes later, Wen Yi and his closest friend and student, Acting Foreign Minister Zhang Zhigao, walked together on the cobblestone path of the courtyard.

"Prime Minister, what do you think of Liu Yun's handling of Wu Dingguo? Do you feel that you think too badly of Liu Yun? ”

Zhang Zhigao never deliberately hid anything from Wen Yi, even if it was possible to hurt the other party, he did not hesitate to say it, which is also one of the reasons why Wen Yi trusted and liked Zhang Zhigao.

"I've never thought badly of him, he's been a close friend of mine since I was a child, and with the level of understanding between us, I know that his wishes are always good, but you also have to remember that good intentions don't necessarily lead to good things. My analysis of his bad deeds, in fact, all comes from my concern about his position of power, power is always a kind of specter that tempts people to do evil, every person in power, including you and me, is a suspect of doing evil, the greater the power, the greater the suspicion, because we are more energetic than ordinary people, more privileged, can do evil more safely, can commit more destructive evil, sometimes the absolute power of a word, its destructive power is far better than thousands of river and ocean thieves. It is very difficult for those who attempt to influence power with morality and belief in the hope that they will not do evil, because in front of actual interests, morality or belief is always so pale and powerless, and there are very few people who can truly uphold morality and belief and cannot affect the overall situation. Fundamentally, it still depends on the system, but in this situation, the system seems to have become pale and powerless, and if Liu Yun's officer corps is not eliminated or emptied, the empire will not be truly stable for a day......"

Zhang Zhigao was infected by Wen Yi's pessimistic tone, suddenly became a little depressed, walked for a long time without speaking, until he came to the pond, as if he remembered something, took out a newspaper, and took the initiative to change the topic.

"Prime Minister, Su Lan showed me an article yesterday, written by a military student who came back from Germany, it is very interesting, I want you to read it too, maybe it will be some inspiration."

Wen Yi took over the newspaper, which turned out to be the "Voice of the Nation" run by the Shanghai branch of the Chinese People's Party, which was a newspaper that aimed to broaden the way of speech and promote national thinking and innovation.

Zhang Zhigao turned to the third edition, pointed to the small characters on the full page and said: "This is it, written by Lan Tianwei, "The Solution of the Army". ”

Wen Yi rubbed his eyes, shook his head and said: "No, my eyes are too tired, I can't read so many small words at once, turn around and ask Su Lan to inform the other side, don't print the words of the newspaper so small, consider the feelings of readers." Chigo, just tell me about the general content of this article. ”

Zhang Zhi shrugged his shoulders, retrieved the newspaper, and summarized it while browsing: "First of all, the author defines a soldier: a soldier is the most righteous and civilized person in the world, and at the same time the most barbaric and uncivilized person. The soldiers are the most barbaric and uncivilized of the peoples because they ruthlessly strike at the enemy, seize the territory of other countries, and attempt to dominate and even enslave other peoples. They belong to the world of injustice that relies on violence to solve problems of war and peace. However, they defend the motherland, defend the people, and promote the prosperity of the country, and they have the most righteous and civilized people. ”

He then looked at the world from the perspective of the comparison of military power, and he believed that military power is "the wall that encloses the country, the posture of national pride, and the mother of civilization", and the degree of civilization that a country has achieved is directly proportional to its military might. The European powers achieved a higher level of civilization than China precisely because their military might enabled them to expand overseas, preach and preach, manipulate national diplomacy, and even establish colonial empires. Pacifistism no longer serves China's interests, the traditional moral concepts that affect the military operations of Chinese soldiers are outdated, and new soldiers should have civilized minds and beast-like bodies, strike at foreign enemies ruthlessly and ruthlessly, and behave in a civilized and decent manner towards their own compatriots. ”

He also believes that the main function of the army should be external, not internal, and that the purpose of supporting the army is not only to meet the challenges from within to maintain a certain regime, but more importantly, to defend the country and the people against foreign aggression. What China needs is a national army that is made up of people who love, defend, and sacrifice their country, and who have the country as their sole goal of allegiance, not to a single individual, group, or political party. ”

He also argued that war is not terrible, and that war should be seen as a means of building nations, to which he wrote: A warlike nation will be blessed with war; A nation that fears war will suffer the scourge of war. He who loves to kill worships his country; He who abstains from murder will take away his country. The military nationals create a warlike and murderous nature of the people, so as to tranquil the scope of their country. The country of the lowly military right is never threatened, and the state is ordered to protect the rights of the people. In addition, he also quoted Bismarck's thought: The world can be trusted, but iron and blood. All the privileges of the state are exercised by military subsidies. ”

In addition, he proposed that the relationship between the military and the state is twofold. First of all, the relationship between the two is naturally formed, which is confirmed in the process of the formation of national character and martial spirit. It gives rise to racist ideas and heroic icons. Germans are patriotic because they are proud of their own race. The Chinese, on the other hand, do not believe in racism and allow themselves to be subjected to the domination and massacre of foreign races, and even kill each other. Americans sing the praises of George Washington, Russians worship Peter the Great, but the Chinese do not have their own real heroic idols, and there is no shortage of outstanding figures in Chinese history who fought bravely to defend the Chinese nation, and some outstanding figures should be given the honor of national heroes and set an example for Chinese soldiers. Secondly, the relationship between the military and the state is determined by the status of the military personnel, which means that the military personnel should have the right to participate in all aspects of national life, which not only brings them close to the population, but also enables them to promote the national interest in various activities. He mentioned that the United States implements a universal conscription system, military academies offer military training courses, and Germany has a military academy for all people, and Germany is actually a military academy, and society has become a grand military education organization. He believed that this 'status-determined' relationship contributed to the expansion of the state and the establishment of a great empire, thereby enhancing the prestige of the state and making the people more proud. ”

He also pointed out that the state, the army and the people are interdependent. The survival of the State depends entirely on the strength of its armed forces, and on the obligation of the people to organize it. Therefore, the desire of the state to expand its power should not rely too much on the government, but more on the people, who alone can develop their country into a military power. When the country enters a state of war, there is a national mobilization for war, and it is the people who provide the manpower, the money, and all the elements that make up military power. The people are protected by the State, but on the other hand, the State depends on the people who make up the armed forces. The notion of private ownership of the army fighting for the dynasty is no longer appropriate in the modern world. ”

"After the end, he concluded that China should follow the example of the great powers, so that China and the great powers can get along on an equal footing, and the best defensive strategy is to be ready to attack at any time, and China must be fully armed and ready for war, as it is now, but this war is by no means the last time, and China's military strength must be stronger in order to curb the aggression of the great powers, and the role of the military can be truly praised."

After listening to this overview, Wen Yi nodded, and shook his head again: "It's a bit of a defense of the current war, but some of the points are still very meaningful." ”

Zhang Zhigao put away the newspaper, spread his hands and sighed: "Speaking of Yue Fei and Shi Kefa, after all, the current emperor was turned over from the Manchu Dynasty, at least in order to maintain the face of the current emperor, Yue Fei and Shi Kefa can't be national heroes for the time being, Wen Tianxiang is okay, he is against the Mongols." Hey, the Jurchens are strong enough, and in 1000 years, they have created two dynasties that unified the Central Plains. ”

"I haven't studied it carefully, it's really hard to imagine, first from barbarism to civilization, the establishment of a Central Plains dynasty, and then because of the blow of the Mongols and then back to barbarism, after hundreds of years of silence but created a more powerful empire than the original, it is lucky or inevitable, but maybe it should come to an end, although the Manchu and Han confluence, but the Manchus are Manchus after all, and the 400 million Han people will not be stupid enough to think that the emperor surnamed Aixin Jueluo is the natural son of the Han family. But if it really comes to an end, what should be used instead, I'm not sure, is it time to switch to a republic? I always feel that even if the formal monarch is abolished, the country will always experience some turmoil, maybe it is the confrontation between the central and local governments, maybe the independence of the border special provinces, maybe the careerists are trying to restore power, anyway, it is very likely that there will be chaos, as for how long this time, it is even more uncertain. ”

Wen Yi sighed lightly and began to walk back, rubbing his hands as he walked: "Bismarck's ironism is very much in line with Liu Yun's appetite, but Bismarck's ironism serves the Kaiser, and China wants to cite ironism, just as the article says, the army cannot only serve a certain person, a certain group or a political party." Well, the military and the people, the military and the national education, why did I forget it......"

Zhang Zhigao became excited: "Did the prime minister think of anything?" ”

"The people, to rely on the people, are not ignorant, weak, despicable, slave-like subjects, but real people, military people, who have a sense of rights, noble sentiments, a fighting spirit and the ability to confront, who dare and can fight for individual and collective rights! Yes, the struggle against the power of the warlords depends on the military and the people, and the education of the military and the people should start with education, take advantage of the opportunity of the war, revise the textbooks, revise the school curriculum, increase the relevant knowledge of law and military affairs, advocate Chinese and foreign heroes who fight for the country's freedom, and focus on cultivating the courage and fighting consciousness of the young people...... We must practice the people's iron-bloodedness, advocate the army and the people, train the militia extensively, facilitate the rapid replenishment of troops in foreign wars, and have the ability to deal with careerists who attempt to engage in autocracy and dictatorship internally, reform the military system, implement a more extensive compulsory military service system, reduce the length of service so that more people can have the opportunity to serve, and in addition, we must reduce the Praetorian Guard, reduce the number of mercenaries as much as possible, increase the number of compulsory soldiers, reduce the ability of officers to control soldiers, and elevate potential warlord......s."

Wen Yi said a lot in one breath, because he was emotional, and the coherence was not very clear, but Zhang Zhigao still heard it very clearly, he knew that Wen Yi always had a way, although it was not necessarily perfect, but it must be feasible.

Outside of Liu Yun's control, Wenyi's party does have a lot to do.

For example, it has organized a popular legal training team to publicize various laws, including the Constitution, among the people, so that the people will know about their own rights and how to deal with them when their rights are violated. More importantly, in the area of education, on the basis of military training for entrance to some state high schools, military training in junior and senior high schools has been widely implemented, and military drills, shooting, military camping, military geography, and tactics have been included in the curricula of all state and private high schools and junior high schools. In particular, he praised the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolution, and affirmed that Yue Fei and Shi Kefa were national heroes, even if the influence of the current emperor was damaged for this reason, in order to balance the national influence, he also praised the Mongolian heroes who went on expeditions to the West, because whether it was Manchu, Mongolian, Hui, Tibetan, or Han, they were all among the Chinese nation, which is also emphasized at the beginning of the imperial primary school Chinese history textbook.

"We must start immediately, and after everything has been fruitful, put a suitable candidate on the throne, and continue the road of a hypocritical republic, when even if a careerist rises, he will face a sea of military and civilian affairs, and all unconstitutional acts will be dealt a blow...... can really do that level, even if Liu Yun is put on the throne, it doesn't matter, even if he is really tempted by power, and wants to restore the power of the autocratic monarch, he will definitely be destroyed by the strength of the military and the people, if I am still alive, I will naturally stand up and abandon friendship to fight him to the end! Of course, I'm just assuming, do you think Liu Yun is suitable to be a powerless emperor? ”

Zhang Zhigao sighed: "Maybe, when he wants to be a monk and no temple dares to accept him, maybe he will want to go to the palace to meditate." But then again, if he can be an emperor of a new dynasty that abides by the constitution, he should become an example for future generations, and the republican system of hypocrisy will continue for a long time. ”

Wen Yi smiled slightly, shook his head and said, "I dare to say that he would never want to be a monk." ”

The road has come to an end, in front of the white door of the base camp restaurant, Wen Yi walked into the restaurant with Zhang Zhigao with a healthy face that has rarely been seen in the past few days, before taking a seat in the corner of the restaurant, Wen Yi whispered to Zhang Zhigao: "I know that my body is not good, but I will definitely hold out until the end of this war, and when the time comes, I think we can make some decisions to solve those hidden dangers." ”

"Prime Minister......

"Premier Wen, Minister Zhang, what do you two want?"

The waiter stood respectfully at the table and smiled professionally at them.