Volume 2 China, the Beginning of Spring] Chapter 310 The Needs of France (please vote for me!)

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Chapter 310 The Needs of France (please vote for me!)

The northwest corner of the intersection of Dongjiaomin Lane and Taiji Factory in the capital was originally the residence of Prince Chun. In August of the 10th year of Xianfeng’s reign in the Qing Dynasty (1860), the “British and French Allied Forces” captured Beijing. The French army occupied Prince Su’s Palace, and the Treaty of Beijing was signed in November.

", allowing France to set up an embassy in Beijing. The French Minister Grotto immediately asked to "rent" this palace as his embassy. Because the first generation Su Wang Hauge was the eldest son of Emperor Taizong Huang Taiji of the Qing Dynasty, the founding hero of the Qing Dynasty, and one of the eight iron hat kings.

It was a matter of face for the Qing Dynasty, and the Qing government found it difficult to accept it, so they proposed to rent the clan Jingchong Mansion (Pure Duke Mansion) to France. The envoy refused to accept it, but Yixin agreed that he could repair it by himself and allowed him to build his own house in the open space in the west garden of the mansion.

All repair costs were deducted from the annual rent of one thousand taels before France agreed. Since then, this place has become the French Legation in China.

As one of the most influential powers in China, although the country has long been weakened, the French mission in the capital has been second only to the British in influence over the years, which means that its influence on China is, to a certain extent, only

Second to Britain, but in recent years, France seems to have declined.

In fact, it is not surprising that decades of political turmoil, especially the decline of the French navy caused by wrong naval policies, have led to the decline of France's influence in this era of sea power. In the Far East, rising stars such as the United States and Germany

Challenges, especially the rise of Japan in the past decade, have caused France's influence to become increasingly weak.

After the outbreak of the European War, France, as the most important participant in the war, almost overnight, the influence of France, a traditional power, in Asia was reduced to the minimum. If it did not have so many colonies in Asia, perhaps this country would be like Germany.

, exit Asia directly.

But even so, France has been trying to exert its influence in China. At the same time, as a major participant in the war, France has its own needs in Asia.

At this time, in the minister's office of the French Legation in China, Conte, the French Minister in China, was carefully examining the three conditions for joining the war that China had put forward when it expressed its willingness to join the Allied Powers in declaring war against Germany.

Before China entered the war, Yuan Shikai said that China could consider joining the Allied Powers, but it would not be able to send troops to Europe. Neither the United Kingdom nor France believed that China would be required not to send troops. They just needed China to do its best spiritually and materially.

To provide support is to fulfill the obligations of an ally.

Although China has already participated in the war, as time goes by, France's attitude towards China is changing. To be precise, with the development of the European War, France's attitude has changed rapidly. The scale of this war

Far exceeding France's expectations, the war in just a few months resulted in the casualties of nearly a million soldiers. But now, the European frontline has fallen into a trench confrontation with seemingly no end in sight. The cruelty of the war, especially the need for a large number of troops on the frontline

The reality caused France to inadvertently turn its attention to the Far East and China.

"A. The Allied Powers advanced funds to rectify China's arsenals, and Britain and France sent experts to guide China's arsenal industry; B. All Allied Powers were not allowed to sign treaties related to China without China's consent; C. All countries were not allowed to harbor Chinese political prisoners in China's concessions."

While reciting these three conditions, Kant frowned and took a pen to write down on the paper from time to time.

"Advance funds are needed to rectify China's arsenal..."

Kant considered almost every clause carefully for a while. In fact, Paris had already considered these three conditions for more than ten days. The first time the Chinese ** team came into France's sight came from the Zhangde Meeting eight years ago.

Fuck, according to the report of the French military attache who was sent to observe the exercise at the time, the Chinese Army had undergone a radical change. During the exchanges with Russian and German military attachés, they even believed that the Chinese Army could now rival Japan. For this

With this view, Major General Matsukawa and others from the Japanese Army Staff Headquarters who were observing also admitted that the Chinese Army had made great progress. They said: "Based on the current development of China's military power, it will definitely improve in the future; if China's national

If we all use this major exercise as a model to expand our military, prepare for war, and train our troops to strengthen our country, the effect will be incredible."

The observing military attache sent by France also spoke highly of the new Qing army at that time. However, what really made Paris think of this country was that after the "Jiao-ao Incident" broke out, the combat effectiveness of the Chinese ** troops far exceeded that of the army soldiers of various countries.

Imagine that when the incident broke out, Paris, like other countries, believed that it would be difficult for the Chinese troops to sustain for 48 hours. However, the Chinese not only sustained it, but also forced the Japanese army to mobilize troops repeatedly to change the stalemate on the battlefield.

, but the mobilization of the Japanese army resulted in even more unprecedented losses.

"No matter how bad the Chinese army is, it can't be worse than the British and Indian Colonial Corps!"

Muttering to himself, Kant glanced at another piece of intelligence on the table. This was military intelligence, and it was the basic analysis and evaluation of the Chinese ** Corps by the military attaché stationed in China.

"The Chinese military force is divided into the Central Army and the Provincial Army. The Central Army is composed of the Beiyang New Army trained by Yuan Shikai and the troops loyal to it after the Republic of China. The Provincial Army is composed of the new troops of the provinces that revolted during the revolution.

It is organized and trained by the army. In terms of its size and combat effectiveness, in China, currently, only the Central Army and the Jiangsu Army can support it!

… Although the Central Army is nominally the Central Army, in fact, even from the perspective of Yuan Shikai, it is only the role of a core leader. One thing that is certain is that all division commanders in the Central Army regard the army as a private enterprise.

Army. During this conflict, Commander-in-Chief Duan Qirui of the Army Department wanted to mobilize elites from various places to form the First Army to support the Shandong battlefield. However, due to the resistance of the division commanders, he failed. Without Yuan Shikai's strict orders, there might have been

The new troops of the fifth brigade attached to the First Army were also unable to make the trip.

The resistance of the division commanders forced Yuan Shikai to consider establishing a new Central Army. Currently, this plan of the Army Department is being carried out in an orderly manner relying on the American Huaihe River Control Loan... But as one of the presiding officers, Army Chief Duan Qirui undoubtedly harbors some suspicions.

For selfish reasons, he sent his confidant Xu Shuzheng to take charge of the First Army, apparently in order to incorporate the First Army into the new Central Army and thereby establish his own personal force."

These Chinese generals!

In his heart, he lamented the "selfish desires" of the Chinese generals who regarded the army as private property, and Kant continued to look down.

"From a time point of view, the Jiangsu Army can be divided into those before and after 1913. The Jiangsu Army, which was composed of the Jiangsu New Army of the Qing Dynasty as the backbone and was loyal to the revolutionaries, can be regarded as the old army. After the rebellion of the revolutionaries, the Jiangsu Army

The Jiangsu Army organized by the Huaihai Economic and Strategic Office in conjunction with Jiangsu Province was the New Jiangsu Army (hereinafter referred to as the New Army). Its initial scale was extremely limited, with only three infantry divisions. However, unlike other provincial armies, the New Army emphasized loyalty to the country and obedience.

Parliament, which prohibits soldiers from participating in politics, wants to follow the example of Europe in establishing a pure army force.

The Jiao'ao conflict was caused by the Huaihai Economic Envoy's promotion of nationalism in the New Army. According to information from the military attache at the Nanjing Consulate, the New Army was far more mentally energetic and well-trained than the Central Army. It benefited from Huaihai.

The economic strategy made Li Zicheng personally provide military expenses. The new army's armed equipment was extremely sophisticated, and its number of machine guns and mortars was unmatched by the European army powers.

After the Jiao'ao Incident, due to battlefield needs, the Jiangsu Army carried out a large-scale expansion. It used trained labor to expand seven infantry divisions and quickly formed combat effectiveness...

To sum up, China can currently provide support to the French battlefield. One is the Central Army. However, considering the internal factors of the Central Army, it can only seek new army units. The second is the Jiangsu Army. The advantage is that it can directly provide support to Europe.

Send troops, but the disadvantage is that they are local provincial troops and the central government has no right to force them to mobilize!

For France, if it wants to ask China to send troops to Europe, it must take advantage of the inconsistency of interests between Yuan Shikai and the generals of all parties to seek opportunities to force all parties to agree to send troops."

After finally reading this report, Kant closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then picked up another document and put it in his briefcase, and then walked out of the office. Today he had made an appointment with the Russian Minister Kupenschi to meet with the President.

Presidential Secretary-General Liang Shiyi and the three will hold an informal meeting on some issues.

"France has always supported China in becoming a member of the Allied Powers. In the conflict between China and Japan, France stands on China's side without reservation!"

For diplomats, there is never any psychological burden when telling lies. Although he personally rejected Liang Shiyi's request for "help" a month ago, Kant would not mention the previous events at this meeting.

Liang Shiyi just smiled without comment. A month ago, he had made suggestions to the envoys in the capital, including the French envoy, hoping that they would use their country's influence to force the Japanese troops to withdraw. However, except for the American envoy,

The ministers from other countries did not make any positive response at all. They only promised that they would never sit back and watch Japan expand the war zone. There is also the private sympathy expressed by the Russian Minister Kupenschi who remained silent. He personally hates Japan.

, but Russia was helpless in this conflict.

"Of course, China will remember your country's friendship and help!"

After replying politely and courteously, Liang Shiyi fell silent. He had received a telegram from the Embassy in France. France may have undergone a fundamental change in its attitude towards China's participation in the war.

Liang Shiyi's coldness was seen in Kant's eyes, which only made him smile slightly in his heart. Liang Shiyi was one of the few important ministers appreciated by Yuan Shikai. He was originally from Guangdong, and came from a scholarly family. He was a Jinshi in Guangxu, and was appointed editor of the Hanlin Academy and associate professor of the National History Museum.

In 1903, he was appointed by Yuan Shikai as the General Office of the Beiyang Bureau because he won the first class in the economic special examination. The following year, he went to India with Tang Shaoyi, the Minister of Plenipotentiary of the Tibetan Treaty of the Qing Dynasty, to negotiate with the British representatives. After that, he successively served as the fifth officer of the Postal and Communications Department.

Lu Tidiao, who held the positions of State Councilor of the Bank of Communications and Director of the General Administration of Railways, began to take charge of transportation. After the Wuchang Uprising, he served as deputy minister of the postal department of Yuan Shikai's cabinet. He once initiated a telegram to force the Qing emperor to abdicate, and worked hard for Yuan Shikai to ascend to the throne of the president.

After the North-South peace talks were reached, Yuan Shikai was appointed Secretary-General of the Presidential Palace and Prime Minister of the Bank of Communications, becoming the leader of the transportation system. Liang Shiyi, 45 years old at the time, had great power. Especially regarding the issue of World War I, as a confidant of the President, he participated in various confidential matters.

Because of his proficiency in business and understanding of international relations trends, he was highly regarded by Yuan Shikai and was known as the "Second President". At the same time, he held financial power and was known as the "God of Wealth". Although Liang Shiyi was good at manipulating power, he had a far-sighted vision.

His inspection was broad and original, and some foreign observers called him "China's Machiavelli". The most important thing is that among the Chinese government, he belonged to the "troops faction" among those who participated in the war. That's why Liang Shiyi became Kant's first choice.

.

"Secretary-General Liang, in the past two and a half months, Paris has been discussing the conditions for participation in the war proposed by your country!"

Sure enough! Kant noticed that when he mentioned the "conditions for participating in the war", Liang Shiyi's brows jumped slightly. Obviously for the Chinese, they also care about the conditions. Kant glanced at Kupenschi, and from the other side's eyes

, he also read with a smile. For China, Russia also has its needs. Unlike France, Russia needs material support, but the needs of the two countries for China are the same. Because of this, France

Only then will Russia be attracted.

"If I remember correctly, your Excellency the Minister, France, Russia, and Britain have already agreed in principle to the demands we made before declaring war!"

Liang Shiyi still had a smile on his face. They had agreed before the war, but later because of the Japanese obstruction, they took back the promise they had made. The reason why they are bringing up the old things now is probably because of China's "declaration of

"Without war" and the two countries' needs for China have made them revisit old issues.

"Yes, so France is willing to provide China with a loan of 500 million francs to help China expand its arsenal!"

As soon as he finished speaking, before Liang Shiyi came back to his senses, Kuchipensi spoke up.

"Russia is also willing to pay a deposit of 100 million rubles to China to purchase ordnance produced by Chinese arsenals!"

Compared with the loans provided by France, Russia's needs are very simple - arms and various other military supplies. After the Turks cut off the Black Sea channel in September 1914, Russia's supply of supplies began to fail. Now

Russia lacks everything, from military uniforms to arms. In short, everything that the military needs and civilians need, Russia is seriously short of. That's why Russia immediately expressed support for France's proposal.

Russia needs arms, and the French spend money to expand China's arsenal, send experts to guide China's industrial production, and then transport the weapons to Russia via railways. This is exactly what Russia needs.

"Secretary-General Liang, the loan provided by France to China will be conditional on China providing it with arms exports, and China will repay the loan through the production of arms. I think there is no more generous condition than this!"

Even in the face of such a generous offer, Liang Shiyi always remained clear-headed and did not show any joy on his face.

Liang Shiyi has always paid close attention to the outbreak of the European War, and has carefully studied the impact of World War I on the world structure and China's destiny. As early as when the war was just starting in Europe, Liang used his unique analysis to predict the impact of World War I on the international structure.

, China's future has far-reaching implications, calling on China to make decisive decisions and take the initiative to participate in the war, and predicted that Germany would be outnumbered and would never be able to win for a long time. Therefore, China could join the Allied Powers and declare war on Germany. This move could firstly recover Shandong, and secondly, help China join the post-war peace process.

meetings, shared international forums, and participated in the construction of a new international pattern. In short, participating in the war was beneficial to China's long-term development and grand strategy. When the First World War entered 1915, Liang even believed that the Allies would win and advocated that China must seize the opportunity.

, join in at the right time.

However, when the war first broke out, Japan, which was trying to seize the opportunity to become the hegemon of East Asia, tried its best to block China's plan to participate in the war and its revival. Japan's opposition caused China's war strategy to be stillborn and failed to be implemented.

Although China's grand strategy of joining the international community was blocked for a while, Liang Shiyi's desire to participate in the war was not depressed. After the "Jiao'ao Incident" broke out, Liang Shiyi believed that he wanted to save China and get rid of the stubborn resistance on the battlefield.

In addition, the most important thing is to actively participate in the international community. Although by actively declaring war, Japan cannot pretend that "China is a secret ally" and use it as an excuse to attack China. However, in Liang Shiyi's view, China must not stay in that "
To be continued...