Although the ice and snow on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau will melt in May and June, and the spring flowers will bloom, the army can set off a month in advance if it enters Tibet, after all, it will take more than half a month to set off from Chengdu to Ya'an and Dajian Furnace (now Kangding) at the foot of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Baidu search:// The motion at this time, coupled with the preparations before the departure of the army, is very stuck in time.

As for the 48th Mixed Association that entered Tibet on the northern route, the 45th Mixed Association that had already assisted Zhang Shiying and Cheng Ziyin in attacking Gansu would soon attack Qinghai from Lanzhou and Xining, and then go south to Tibet from the Tanggula Pass. It's just that the connection between Qinghai, Gansu and Beijing is just cut off by Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces, and the news will not reach Yuan Shikai's ears for a while, so Sun Yuanqi is too lazy to take the initiative to mention it, which can save countless troubles.

Sun Yuanqi did not mention the matter of disarmament and aftermath borrowing as soon as he came up, which made Yuan Shikai a little surprised. After a moment of silence, he said, "I'm afraid there's something wrong, right?" ”

"What's wrong?" Sun Yuanqi asked rhetorically.

Yuan Shikai said: "When the British Minister to China Zhu Erdianyue came to visit, he proposed that the basic condition for the British government to recognize the Republic of China was that the central government would not be allowed to interfere in Tibet's internal affairs and that the central government should not be allowed to maintain an unlimited army in Lhasa or Tibet. If you take the liberty of entering Tibet, it is very likely to provoke an outcry from the British and cause numerous troubles. Maybe Baixi will think that the old man is cowardly and betrays the country to seek glory, but in fact, the old man also has a last resort. The so-called 'weak countries have no diplomacy,' and now China's military strength is inferior to that of Britain, France, the United States, Germany, Japan, Russia, and other powers, and the government also has to rely on borrowing to survive financially. It is inevitable that we will have to look up to people and look at people's faces in diplomacy.

"Moreover, although Tibet is important, it is located on the border. It is a disease of scabies. In addition, Tibet is mountainous and cold, barren and poor, and relies on the central government for support everywhere. At present, when the central government is still relying on borrowing to get by, it is not good to be happy if it has gained, and it is not enough to worry about what it has lost. Since they want to mess up now, let them mess up, they can't make any big waves anyway. Thirty or fifty years later, the country will be strong and able to stand proudly with the European and American powers. Tibet will naturally take the initiative to bow down to its subordinates! ”

Sun Yuanqi had to admit that what Yuan Shikai said was very reasonable, and in real history, after thirty or fifty years, Taizu would indeed pack up the Tibetan monks. But with his own butterfly. Then it's all going to be uncertain. At least because of his own appearance, Wang Shuai's head has landed, Chiang Kai-shek and Yan Xishan have changed their minds and converted to the New China Party, and Sichuan, Shaanxi and other places have also changed hands. Who knew that he had such wings. Will history change course?

In addition, Sun Yuanqi knows. Modern national boundaries were established mainly in the 50 years before and after World War I and World War II, and as the victorious country in the world war, it had the power to redraw the boundaries of the defeated country and the areas it occupied. Although the British Empire won the two wars disastrously, the tiger could not be defeated and the donkey could not be defeated, and it still had a great voice in European and American countries. In contrast, although China was also the victor of two world wars, the end was much more disastrous.

Participating in World War I, China was purely playing soy sauce.

World War I broke out on July 28, 1914, and China did not declare war on Germany until August 14, 1917. At this time, the war had been going on for more than three years. One of the purposes for which the Beiyang government entered the war was to obtain loans from Japan. Expand your strength to deal with the revolutionary forces led by Sun Yat-sen in the south. In order to declare war, it also triggered a series of events such as the dispute between the government and the court, and the restoration of Zhang Xun.

By the end of World War I on November 11, 1918, China, as the victorious power, not only failed to recover all the privileges and interests that Germany had forcibly occupied in China before the war, but was required by the Treaty of Versailles to transfer to Japan the railways, mines, telecommunications equipment, leased land in the Jiaozhou area, and other privileges and interests that Germany had occupied in Shandong, China

As for China's experience in participating in World War II, it is even more well-known, it was the earliest, lasted the longest, had the broadest battlefield, had the largest scale of army operations, and had the heaviest sacrifices, and the last penny was not reaped! If Britain now takes the opportunity to get its hands on Tibet, China has no hope of regaining its sovereignty through two world wars, and the consequences will be unimaginable.

Sun Yuanqi said: "Since the president is worried that the invasion of Tibet will provoke a strong protest from the British, then this matter will be carried out secretly by me in Sichuan, and if Mr. Zhu Erdian has any opinions, he can ask him to come to me directly." Anyway, we in Sichuan didn't use a penny from their Britain, and we are not afraid that they will make things difficult for them! ”

Yuan Shikai smiled bitterly: "Baixi, you are not only the governor of Sichuan, but also the chief of education of the cabinet, and your every move not only represents Sichuan, but also represents the meaning of the cabinet." Do you think Minister Zhu Erdian would believe that the invasion of Tibet was a private act of Sichuan? ”

Sun Yuanqi said: "Why doesn't Mr. Zhu Erdian believe it? He has been in China for 30 or 40 years, so he naturally knows what it means to be 'a general is outside, and there is no military order.' Now that Sun is in Beijing, thousands of kilometers away from Sichuan, there are generals under his command who are indignant and act recklessly. Moreover, in the current situation, it is difficult for cabinet decrees to cross the south of the Yangtze River, and sometimes they do not even leave the door of the State Council, and it is impossible for the president to fully control the armed forces of all provinces across the country. Some troops have transferred the president without permission, and I don't know about it, but Mr. Zhu Erdian can understand it. ”

Yuan Shikai clearly said: "If you want to make Minister Zhu Erdian have nothing to say, there is no way!" ”

"Oh?"

Yuan Shikai said: "Even if it is well known that it is difficult for the old man to fully control the national army, and that sending troops into Tibet was done by Sichuan alone, the fundamental reason why Minister Zhu Erdian will still protest is that Baixi, you are the chief of education and the governor of Sichuan, and you have always flaunted to abide by nationalism, and the sending of troops into Tibet must be at your instigation." You are a member of the cabinet, and the cabinet members are appointed by the president, who else can he go to if he doesn't ask the old man to protest? If you want Minister Zhu Erdian to have nothing to say, the best way is for Baixi to temporarily step down as the governor of Sichuan. ”

Sun Yuanqi couldn't help but sneer: I said why is Yuan Shikai so kind, it turns out that he is digging a pit and waiting here!

Yuan Shikai didn't seem to hear Sun Yuanqi's sneer, and Wu Zi continued: "As Baixi said just now, now that you are in Beijing, thousands of kilometers away from Sichuan, if you ask for instructions on everything, it will be time-consuming and labor-intensive. Annoying; If you do not ask for instructions, the post of governor will be useless. Moreover, the Faculty has recently established education, and there are many problems; Sichuan has 5 million households and a population of 50 million. The affairs are complicated, and once there is something urgent, it is inevitable to take care of one and lose the other.

Although since the Wei and Jin dynasties, local officials have mostly carried the title of central official, and there are also central officials who also hold local positions. However, at the beginning of the establishment of the Republic of China, a democratic republic was implemented, and the establishment of officials and the division of duties were a different scene. There should be one person and one official, one official and one position, and one office. Bai Xi is a young teacher in the world, and if he can take the initiative to step down from the post of governor of Sichuan, he will definitely set an example for the governors of the southern provinces. ”

Sun Yuanqi sneered: "The president wants to set an example. You should be looking for Li Huangpi. Let Sun, a poor teacher, be stabbed first, I'm afraid that people in the world will think that the president is a persimmon and picks a soft pinch, right? "Li Yuanhong is now the vice president and the governor of Hubei, which is indeed more powerful and influential than Sun Yuanqi, the chief of education and the governor of Sichuan.

Yuan Shikai's expression did not move: "Baixi, please rest assured." One person and one official is the trend of the times. In the near future, Li Huangpi will take the initiative to step down from his post. If Baixi dares to be the first in the world, the Great Presidential Palace will not be stingy with rewards! ”

Sun Yuanqi was a little disdainful: What reward can the Great Presidential Palace give me to tempt me now?

Belle? Not uncommon!

Offices? You, Yuan Shikai, will not give up the position of president to me. Even if you give it to me, my brother is not uncommon!

Money? Joke! The big presidential palace has long been so poor that it can't open the pot, and it lives by borrowing money from the bank group of six countries every month, and you still want to send me money? I don't have to give it away, I'm not rare; There are too many sends, can you Yuan Shikai afford to send them?

Just when Sun Yuanqi was about to ridicule each other, Yuan Shikai pushed away the tea bowl. I took out a stack of documents from the drawer, and the top one was the loan bill for the disarmament and aftermath that Tang Shaoyi came yesterday. He seemed to sense Sun Yuanqi's gaze. Leisurely took a small pen from the pen holder, dipped it in ink, and opened the bill to prepare for approval.

No wonder he dared to put forward a request for him to take the initiative to step down as the governor of Sichuan, it turned out that he was holding this Shang Fang sword in his hand!

Only then did Sun Yuanqi understand why the bill was left in the middle of the country. After thinking about it: it doesn't seem to be a big deal to resign as the governor of Sichuan, anyway, I can't reach it now, and many times I am the shopkeeper. Choosing a governor from among his confidants and cronies, plus the support of Yang Du, Jiang Zhiqing, Wu Keren, Shen Xiangyun, Liu Mingzhao and others, Sichuan should be as stable as Mount Tai. immediately said: "Since the president is so loving, Sun is better than obeying his fate, and he is willing to take the initiative to step down as the governor of Sichuan!" ”

Yuan Shikai smiled and said, "That's fine!" However, Sichuan is bordered by Shaanxi and Gansu in the north, Yunnan-Guizhou in the south, Qinghai-Tibet in the west, and Hunan and Hubei in the east. Although you and I agreed before that the old man was not allowed to interfere in the government affairs of Sichuan and Shaanxi, the old man still wanted to recommend a candidate to Baixi. Although this candidate was recommended by the old man, he was not from my Beiyang Zhong, and he was still a student of Baixi. So strictly speaking, the old man is not interfering. ”

In the name of "recommendation", it is actually an appointment. If Yuan Shikai hadn't said that person was his student, Sun Yuanqi would have immediately brushed his sleeves away: although the right to issue currency is important, it is not important enough for Sun Yuanqi to give up Sichuan!

You know, at present, the local forces that do not have the right to issue currency in the country and issue currency on a large scale have gone to sea! Those with a little conscience also used silver, brass and other precious metals to cast, and those without conscience directly printed money such as salary coupons and military tickets to buy the people's finances. These banknotes do not have any credit guarantee, to put it bluntly, they are a pile of waste paper, and buying things with them is equivalent to robbery with open fire. In contrast, Bloomage Bank's silver dollar is the most fair, so it has won the general recognition of the society and quickly circulated in the Yangtze River basin and even the whole country.

In other words, the success of Bloomage Bank now lies in its fairness, not in whether the central government grants or not the right to issue currency. Bloomage Bank does not have the right to issue currency, but I want to issue currency, what can you do with the central government?

Now that Sichuan and Shaanxi are about to send troops into Tibet, what can your central government do to me?

Sun Yuanqi suppressed his anger at the moment and asked in a deep voice: "I don't know who the president wants to recommend?" ”

Yuan Shikai said: "Chen Mi Chen Yangquan! When Chen Yangquan was studying in the 25th year of Guangxu in the Beijing Normal University, he once asked Baixi for literature, so he is considered your student. His uncle and grandfather were the former Ministry of Industry Shangshu Chen Wenyu Gong (Chen Xuedi), who had participated in the revolution and also entered the Xiliang shogunate. The old man saw that he was a rare talent, so he solemnly recommended it to Baixi. ”

I don't have much impression of Sun Yuanqi, the person Chen Xiao, but I can get Yuan Shikai's recommendation, if I say that I have nothing to do with the Beiyang system, Sun Yuanqi will not believe it. Let Chen Xiao enter Sichuan, it is nothing more than Yuan Shikai wants to use the sand and dig the foot of the wall in the three major political schemes of the great grandfather, in an attempt to turn Sichuan into the Yuan family's sphere of influence.

Sun Yuanqi shook his head: "The position of governor is absolutely impossible, since the president recommended it, then appoint him as an observer envoy in western Sichuan!" ”

The so-called observation envoy is the name of the Qing Dynasty's sub-patrol road and sub-guard road, which is similar to the local party committee shūjì that was one level larger than the municipal party committee shūjì in later generations. At this time, there were five observation envoys in Sichuan, including eastern Sichuan, western Sichuan, northern Sichuan, upper Sichuan south, and lower Sichuan south, which were not small officials. It's just that western Sichuan is adjacent to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Hengduan Mountains, the land is vast and sparsely populated, and there are many ethnic groups.

Yuan Shikai said: "Chen Yangquan is so talented, at least he has to be the Secretary for Internal Affairs!" ”

Sun Yuanqi thought for a long time before replying: "It's okay, then let's be the secretary for internal affairs." ”

Yuan Shikai picked up his pen when he heard this, and wrote a big word in the loan bill for the aftermath of the disarmament:

Permit! (To be continued.) )

PS: Make up for last night's update!