Song Biao originally expected that it would take four or five months for Japan and Russia to reach a final armistice agreement. On September 25, Japan and Russia reached a final armistice agreement in the small town of Portsmouth in the United States.

That night, he was reading a book in the study. Because his relationship with Japan eased, Jiang Fangzhen personally took a boat to Japan to meet with representatives of international students such as Chen Tianhua, and also prepared for Song Biao to establish the Xinhua Association.

Jiang Fangzhen was not there, and only Shu Fangde was accompanying Song Biao in the study. At this time, Song Biao was considering translating "Theory of War" into Chinese as an internal textbook for printing. The workload was obviously not small, because there was a lack of talented people proficient in German.

The main reason was to consider translating from the Russian version, and I found several Russian translators, while Shu Fangde found a way to find the English and Japanese versions.

Shu Fangde's father Shu Gaoli was a master of translator in the late Qing Dynasty. He was proficient in both English and French languages. His main translation work was concentrated in the fields of mathematics and chemistry. He worked for 30 years and translated many professional bibliography of mathematics, physics and chemistry.

However, most of these translation books are just internal reading books of the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, or the number of prints is extremely small, which has almost no effect on China's modernization construction. After Shu Gaoli, due to the large number of children studying in the United States and students studying in Japan

The emergence of scale, the source of translation books became more complex and more common, and soon the thirty years of efforts of this translator were destroyed, buried in the tide of history, blocking it in an unknown corner.

inside.

When Song Biao heard Shu Fangde talk about this, he felt a little inspiring in his heart, and he was thinking about something very special in his heart.

After a while, he and Shu Fangde said, "Let's just set up a printing house, which is called Far East Printing House. If Ling Zun does not hate the bitterness and coldness of the Northeast, I plan to invite him to come and serve as the head of Far East Printing House, who is fully responsible for the publication and printing and printing.

Translate various modern European and American knowledge textbooks for school teaching use.”

Shu Fangde was very happy and was about to answer, Major Tuvanier hurried in and reported to Song Biao: "Brother General, General Madenidolph wants to see you, he has arrived at the camp."

"Oh. Then let's go and greet him!"

Song Biao could only put what he had just said aside and led the team out with Shu Fangde to welcome General Madnidolph.

It was getting late at this time and the entrance of the camp was pitch black. General Madnidolph came over on a horse. When he saw Song Biao, he smiled and said, "Song, I am here to inform you of good news this time."

After saying this, he jumped off the horse's back, took out a telegram from his pocket and handed it to Song Biao, and said, "The war has officially ended, and Japan has accepted all the conditions proposed by our representatives, and

In other words, the British-Japanese alliance accepted all the conditions of Russia, and we also accepted their conditions, and the two sides reached an agreement. I think we finally bid farewell to this war that should not have happened."

Song Biao seemed a little surprised when he heard this. He originally estimated that Japan and Russia would have to argue for at least one or two months. Until then, he didn't know what the final armistice agreement between Japan and Russia was.

First accompany General Madnidolph back to his office.

After sitting down, Song Biao couldn't wait to open the telegram and browse it.

The final result of the two sides' armistice agreement was clearly stated in this telegram. Under the mediation of Britain and the United States, both sides made concessions. On the premise of not claiming war compensation, Russia will lend the right to lease and garrison in Port Lushun.

Transfer to Japan. Recognize the special rights and interests of the Japanese army in North Korea, recognize the southern region of Sakhalin Island belongs to Japan, and Russia recognizes the equal rights of the interests of Britain, the United States, France, Germany, Japan and other countries in the three eastern provinces of the Qing Empire, while Japan (UK, the United States)

) Recognizes Russia's special rights and interests in the three eastern provinces of the Qing Empire and its garrison along the Central and Eastern Railways.

Song Biao looked at the problem while thinking about it. This final armistice agreement was both good and bad news for China. The good news was that Russia at least accepted the bottom line of Britain, that is, the three eastern provinces could not belong to Russia, and it was temporarily the territory of the Qing Empire.

The bad news is that Britain recognizes Russia's right to have military garrison rights along the entire Middle East Railway.

Japan finally found a foothold in the Liaodong Peninsula, saved North Korea's colonial rights as it wished, obtained Lushun and Lushun Ports from Russia, and had the right to station troops in Lushun.

In short, although it was a war of heavy losses against Japan and Russia, they both gained something. The only thing that was most embarrassing and embarrassing was the Qing Dynasty. It was embarrassing and was not sure how angry the people would be in the future.

At the same time, the revolutionary youths should have reached the extreme dissatisfaction with the court.

After reading it, Song Biao returned the telegram to General Madnidolph and said, "Congratulations to your country and the General, your country has safeguarded your interests as much as possible."

General Madnidolph gave a smile and said, "Although we did not completely defeat the Japanese army in a practical sense, we still maintained our army's advantage and forced the British-Japanese alliance to make huge concessions. The ending should be that each side can be satisfied.

Yes, Song, at least the three eastern provinces still belong to the Qing Empire in name. Now, what we have to do is to further promote the development of the situation and force the Qing Dynasty to accept our proposal, and you will serve as the governor of the three eastern provinces. We believe this is a further

One of the most important links in protecting the interests of the empire in the three eastern provinces.”

Song Biao thought for a while and said, "God General, I still say the same thing. I am a little interested in the position of the Governor of the Three East Provinces, but I don't have much interest. If it is too difficult, I would rather put my troops in the army.

Shrink to the Hunjiang and Huichun areas, and be my highest military commander in that place without any care. On this point, the Qing Dynasty had sent people to negotiate with me, and they were willing to give up this area to me and would not destroy it.

Any gains I have in the war, and all my assets in Fengtian Province.”

General Madnidolph was slightly stunned and asked, "Do you just want this?"

Song Biao sighed: "This is not bad either. It's not that I don't want to be the governor of the three eastern provinces. I have Chinese principles in doing things. I am a person who is very ambitious and measures pros and cons. For the long-term interests, I would rather choose a safe retreat.

If I have a hard time with the court because of this, I will be disgraced even if I become the governor of the three northeastern provinces. For people, the feathers on birds are not in trouble. If they are all lost, they will not be able to fly."

General Madnidolph thought for a moment and said, "Song, I suggest you not worry too much. I believe that the Qing Empire has no choice at all. As long as we continue to put pressure on them, they must accept all our proposals and demands."

Song Biao said: "This is no longer something I care about. General, our friendship is very deep. You put yourself in my shoes from my perspective. If you are me, you think the position of a governor is real.

Is it so important? If you have great power but you have to obey your country, it will be meaningless. If you don’t have real power, you will be secretly plagued by the Qing Empire. Why do I really have to do it? There is no need to do it

Such a stupid thing."

General Madnidolph really didn't know what to do for a moment. He glanced at Major Tuvanel quietly. Major Tuvanel was not very clear about all this, so he could only silently not speak.

After thinking for a moment, General Madnidolph and Song Biao asked carefully: "Song, is it because my previous attitude that made you disgusted with this? I think the Empire and I have too many requirements, or are they too greedy.

Now?"

In fact, their personal relationship is indeed very good. Without Song Biao, Madnidolph would probably not be promoted to the position of Major General of the Infantry and Deputy Chief of Staff of the Far East Army General Staff, and would not have the opportunity to be fully responsible for the affairs of the three northeastern provinces.

The two had two conversations about the issue of the governor of the three eastern provinces. Madnidolph conveyed some extremely unrealistic orders from Tsar Nicholas II, but they also said it very tactfully and did not stimulate Song Biao as much as possible.

.

Song Biao was silent for a long time with a serious expression. He took out a box of German foreign cigarettes from the table with a lot of worries, opened it and gave it to General Madnidolph. He also lit it himself.

After a moment of silence, he finally replied to General Madnidolph: "No matter what, I am a Chinese, I hate Japan, so I help your country fight against His Majesty the Tsar. This does not mean that I am really

I will help your country unconditionally, and even sell the interests of my motherland. If I were really such a person, you might look down on me, right?"

General Madnidolph replied cautiously: "That's certainly, in fact, I know you will not agree to the ridiculous suggestions put forward by His Majesty the Tsar and His Excellency Glokanev of the Russian Foreign Minister. One thing I have already made is very clear.

That is, Russia currently only needs to protect our interests in the three northeastern provinces as much as possible, rather than further stimulating the British-Japanese alliance, the United States and the Qing Empire. At this point, we are sure that you are the best candidate for the governor of the three northeastern provinces.

We have a good cooperation foundation and believe that we can effectively carry out cooperation and coordination. Moreover, you can effectively resist Japan's infiltration into the three northeastern provinces. After all, we can no longer erase the terms of the Japanese army stationed in Lushun. As long as the Japanese army is in Lushun for one day,

We must continue to guard against the Japanese army. This is a consensus between me and His Excellency Commander-in-Chief Kuropatkin, so we hope that you can assume the responsibility of this position and fulfill your country's obligations."

Song Biao said: "Then I will put forward four conditions. If Russia agrees to my conditions, I will agree to the position and guarantee that it will protect Russia's interests in all treaties in the three eastern provinces, whether it is in the clear

I will stop Japan from developing in the three northeastern provinces. Even if the UK wants to develop in the three northeastern provinces, they will have to pay a lot of money for it."

General Madnidolph seemed a little relaxed after hearing this and smiled and said, "As long as it is not too special, I believe you can discuss it. You can tell me to listen to it first... In fact, we all understand, as long as you

As the Governor General in the three northeastern provinces, the British-Japanese alliance will definitely not dare to destroy all the agreements reached at present, nor will it dare to act excessively against you!"

Song Biao replied: "First, the Russian army shall not have more than 20,000 troops in the three eastern provinces, including those in the leased areas of the Liaodong Peninsula. Half of them must be stationed only in the leased areas, and the Supreme Commander of the garrison shall not exceed the rank of brigadier general.

The rest of the troops must retreat within half a year; secondly, Russia cannot continue to appoint a Governor of the Far East, which ignores China's sovereignty, and cancels the establishment of Kanto Prefecture. Kanto in China means the entire area east of the Great Wall. Russia's name seems too rampant to adopt this

It is obvious that we want to occupy the entire Kanto. The specific Russian, English and Chinese names are formulated by the two sides in consultation, and Russia can only appoint this regional governor, and its power is limited to the leased areas; third, Russia should actively cooperate with me

The new policy policy in the three eastern provinces supports all my powers during the Governorship; Fourth, I will specially delegate officials who are proficient in the modern legal system to formulate management regulations for foreign citizens in the three eastern provinces, and set up separate courts, and Russian citizens in the East.

This must also be subject to this constraint during the three provinces, and any illegal acts will be handled by the court, and the Russian government shall not interfere."

General Madnidolph seemed very embarrassed again and said, "I think except for the third item, the other three items must be negotiated!"

Song Biao said: "Russia is better off choosing to agree. This is not me threatening you, and I am not that kind of person. First of all, it is the issue of garrison. There are so many problems in Russia. The army should be transferred back as soon as possible, as long as I can guarantee it.

All your interests in the treaty, and my troops can resist the British-Japanese alliance, and your garrison is just a good example. The more you stay, the more excuses you will give to Britain, Japan and other countries, and will also give

They are making a reason to deal with me. Article 4, I will make a law that can be accepted by both parties, which is basically close to the Russian law on public security and property management, and not only targets Russians, but other foreign citizens are within the scope of the court's management.

There is a lot of space here, which has a great effect on my control of foreigners in the three northeastern provinces. If I take a step back, as long as there is no complex foreign conflict like Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom, I will have appropriate countermeasures.

It won't embarrass the Russian government."

General Madnidolph said: "Okay, there should be no big problem, but the bottom line of our country's garrison in the three northeastern provinces is 50,000, so it cannot be lowered."

Song Biao said: "Thirty thousand, no longer high, otherwise we will get another ten thousand people on my side. We will usually obey my command and arrange another Russian commander, but this part cannot belong to active-duty officers and soldiers.

It can only be regarded as a mercenary. You can provide military pay secretly. I don’t care much about them unless they commit crimes in the three northeastern provinces."

General Madnidolph thought for a moment and agreed, "Then let's make up that. After I go back, I will report to Commander-in-Chief Kuropatkin first. He has obtained the full authorization of His Majesty the Tsar. He has the right to deal with this matter.

, Some of the previous proposals by His Excellency Glokanev, the Foreign Minister, were indeed unreasonable. The Commander-in-Chief has strongly opposed it, and even His Majesty the Tsar now chooses to support His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief."

Song Biao nodded slightly.

He still has a certain understanding of Commander-in-Chief Kuropatkin, who is more a qualified politician and general staff officer than an excellent commander-in-chief.

General Madnidolph did not rush to leave, but asked again: "Do you have some requirements for the Qing Empire? As far as I know, recently they have begun to indulge you in the position of governor of the three eastern provinces.

, If you have certain requirements and are conducive to your management in the three northeastern provinces, we can give you some special support."

Song Biao thought for a while and said, "I don't have many requirements for them. It's just three points. The first is the finance **, the second is to implement the new policy, and the third is not to mess with me behind the scenes, such as arranging me to do it.

The Governor of the Three Northeastern provinces, another special minister of plenipotentiary and General Shengjing were making trouble behind me. If that were the case, I wouldn't do it, and I wouldn't bother to waste my energy on this with them."

General Madneydolph replied: "We lack sufficient understanding of this regarding the third point, and it is difficult to explain the key issues in it, but our country is very supportive of the first two points. This time, Portsmouth

During the talks, the key reason why our country was able to agree to the conditions of Britain and Japan so quickly was that the UK agreed to hand over the tariff management rights of the three northeastern provinces to our country. On this basis, our country can guarantee that these tariffs will not be a ruble.

The missing amount will be handed over to the Governor's Office of the Three Eastern Provinces you manage."

Song Biao didn't expect this and said, "This is a good thing. If Russia can have this right, I hope Russia will transfer part of the management rights of the customs of the three provinces to me."

General Madnidolph said: "Transfer is unlikely, but as long as you speak, everything is easy to negotiate. In addition, we should arrange some positions to be sent by you. I think both parties have some benefits to cooperate.

It can last for a long time.”

Song Biao said: "That's it."
To be continued...