readx; Chapter 472: Restricting the Russians

After listening to the words of the two ministers of military aircraft that she relied on the most, Cixi was also a little hesitant. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

As the supreme ruler of the Qing Empire, she knew that in recent years, there have been many natural disasters in the provinces of the Qing Dynasty, especially in the north, and the number of displaced people has increased day by day.

Moreover, short-haired bandits also appeared in the provinces south of the Yangtze River, and several raids organized by the government were unsuccessful.

Even with the floods in the Huanghuai region in recent years, this chaos has gradually spread to the north. Cixi, as the controller of the Qing Dynasty, was also worried about this matter.

She didn't want another long-haired rebellion that swept the country.

Moreover, Cixi knew in her heart that with millions of Manchus, ruling the Central Plains for tens of millions of miles and 40,000 people, it was already unstable, and the most taboo thing was internal chaos, compared to the threat of the Nanyang traitors and the Westerners in the West.

Thinking of this, Cixi had an idea in her heart.

"What Prince Gong and Li Aiqing said is reasonable, and the mourning family is allowed to play! After the dispersal of the dynasty, the cabinet sent a message to the provinces, but if there are people going to sea, there is no need to stop them, and they can ...... if they leave!"

Cixi's order completely opened the passage for Huo Jiajun's immigration. There is no official obstacle, and the local state capitals and county governments are also afraid that the displaced people will be troubled for a long time, so it is even more convenient for the Huo Jiajun to send people to the Qing Dynasty to recruit immigrants.

Subsequently, a large-scale migration operation was launched in more than 20 provinces of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River.

Later, according to incomplete statistics from the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the Huo Jiajun, from July 1885 to 1895, between ten years, more than 25 million people left their homeland in the Central Plains, and in addition to more than 4 million of them were resettled in the Nanyang and Pacific provinces, the remaining more than 18 million took root in the American territory of the Huo Jiajun. The remaining three million were placed in the African territory of the Huo Jiajun.

And this is the Great Migration Operation. It is also known as the fourth great population migration action since the first great migration of the Chinese population between the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the second great population migration after the Anshi Rebellion of the Tang Dynasty, and the third great population migration between the late Northern Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty.

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

"Li Fu, is there any new news from Baixiong?" Li Hongzhang, who had just returned home from the court, entered the door and changed into his official uniform. He immediately asked.

"Back to the master, after the telegram came from the young master last month, there has been no news until now. After listening to his words, the old butler hurriedly bowed and replied.

Hearing this, Li Hongzhang frowned slightly, and after a slight sigh. waved his hand.

Seeing this, the old butler retreated respectfully.

"It seems that the little young master of the Huo family hasn't come back yet, otherwise there would have been no news from Jing She until now!"

"Alas, if it weren't for the fact that the Huo family already had the potential to ascend to heaven, and the old man wanted to find a way back for my Li family, there would be no need for Wen'er to be so aggrieved!" Li Hongzhang thought to himself in his heart.

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

With his hands pressed against his temples at either side, Salisbury's face showed a look of deep exhaustion. The international situation during this period was too chaotic.

Except that Britain itself had to fight the war of Egypt in order to completely control and guarantee the safety of the Suez Canal, the most convenient waterway in Europe and Asia. The rapid expansion of the German colonies in Africa and the resurgence of disputes between Russia and the Ottoman Empire also involved the attention of the British cabinet.

In addition to these, of course, like the war of the French in the Far East. The Sino-American War, Italy's colonial expansion in Africa, the changes in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, etc., all made the newly appointed British Prime Minister Salisbury feel that the current international situation has faintly exceeded the control of the British Empire, and even at this moment the entire European sky is filled with a dangerous atmosphere.

"Everyone. The situation in the British Empire is precarious now, and I need your own advice. In the face of a grim and complex international situation, what should we do in the British Empire?" Salisbury raised his head after lowering his arm. With a slightly gloomy expression, he looked at the cabinet members around him and asked.

"Prime Minister, in fact, the current international situation is not as bad as we imagined. ”

"The reason why there is so much chaos in the world now is mainly due to our own power, which has been largely pinned down by Egypt, and the deterrence of the major European powers and the decline in the control of the colonies on all continents. So as long as we can solve the problems of the Egyptians as soon as possible, transfer the troops back to their original positions, and leave the powerful royal fleet free, then I believe that most of the current crises can be effectively resolved. Deputy Prime Minister William Obans said first.

After William Orbins's words fell, the nine cabinet members in the conference room also nodded in agreement.

"I agree with the Deputy Prime Minister. However, it will take time to end the war in Egypt, and before that, we must pay enough attention to the Balkans, especially the Russians, who are eager to break free from the Berlin Treaty, annex the Balkans, and continue to expand their territory westward for access to the Mediterranean. ”

"This is something we will not tolerate, the Russians are strong enough to allow their ambitions to continue to swell!" said Frederick North, Minister of State for War, slapping the table with an angry face.

After listening to his words, Salisbury, who was full of strength in his bones and eager to continue to expand the British colony, nodded in agreement.

"The ambitions of the Russians are enough to engulf the whole of Europe, and Alexander III's determination to turn Russia into a two-ocean empire has never stopped for a moment, whether in the Balkans or in the Middle East, the Russians are the most powerful opponents of the British Empire, and there can be no relaxation in their containment!"

Salisbury's words won a unanimous nod from everyone.

The Russian Empire at this time had the largest standing army in all of Europe, known as the 'Gendarmerie of Europe'. And while having a strong army, they also maintain the third-highest navy in the world.

Do not think that the Russian Navy in this era is weak. You must know that the first armored ship was born in the Russian Navy. Even, in the second half of the 19th century, it was the Russians who promoted the development of cruisers of the first rank of the British Royal Navy.

In 1890, the Russian Navy began construction of an unprecedentedly large armored cruiser - the Rurik class at the Baltic Shipyard.

As one of the old adversaries of the Royal Navy, in addition to France, the Russians built such a powerful armored cruiser, and the British naturally could not sit idly by. So soon in the 19th century, Sir White, Britain's most famous warship designer, designed and built the largest and dreamy super-large protective cruiser of the 19th century, the Mighty class.

Throughout the XIX century, before the rise of the German Navy. The French Navy and the Russian Navy have always been the two most formidable opponents of the Royal Fleet on the oceans. Even Salisbury's 'two-power strategy' for the Royal Navy originally referred to the French and Russian Empires.

Later, the Anglo-Japanese Alliance was concluded in response to Russian expansion in the Far East.

It can be said that before the rise of the Germans, the Russian Empire had been the most wary country of the British Empire, as a global hegemon.

"However, this time our army is still in Egypt, so to contain the actions of the Russians, we can only rely on our powerful Royal Navy!"

Saying this, Salisbury looked at the middle-aged man in a black navy uniform on his left.

Seeing that everyone's eyes were focused on himself, Robert... Gaiscoige: Selsey, Britain's First Sea Lord, shrugged his shoulders and smiled at the crowd: "There is no problem with the Royal Navy!"

The strong confidence revealed in the tone also made the people around him involuntarily show a satisfied smile on their faces.

The Royal Navy of the British Empire, which has been invincible for hundreds of years, is the most advantageous weapon of the British Empire to dominate the world.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I think we should unite the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and even the Italians!" I wanted to talk about the French, but when I thought about the relationship between France and the Russians, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Georges Oleg, thought about it and gave up.

"As a great power on the Mediterranean coast, I don't think they want the Russians to stick their hands in the Mediterranean again!"

Of course, the reason for this is not only to unite more powerful forces to force the Russians to withdraw their troops to the country, as they had last abandoned the Treaty of San Stefano in 1878, and to abandon the idea of war, but also for fear that the present rivalry between Russia and Turkey would once again drag Britain into the quagmire of war.

Because, the current poor domestic economic situation really makes it impossible for the mighty British Empire to support a war with a strong country.

After listening to his words, Salisbury nodded, as the prime minister, he is not a reckless person, and naturally knows that when the British military power is involved in Egypt, it will be possible to suppress the ambitions of the Russians by uniting more countries.

"Then the matter of contacting Austria-Hungary and Italy will be left to the Earl of Granville!"

Hearing this, Foreign Secretary Granville nodded calmly, "This is no problem, the Austro-Hungarians regard the Balkans as their backyard, and the contradictions with the Russians are very deep, with the successful precedent of the last joint effort to force the Russians to sign the "Berlin Treaty", I think this time will not be too difficult!"

After a pause, Granville groaned for a moment and said, "I'm worried about the Italians, who are now at war with the Ethiopians in North Africa, and eager to continue expanding their colonies in Africa, and I'm afraid they won't be too interested in our proposal!" If you like this work, you are welcome to come to the starting point () to vote for recommendation, monthly pass, your support, is my biggest motivation. For mobile phone users, please go to M. to read. )9