Chapter 274 Public Opinion

While the situation in Europe was boiling like a hot pot, major domestic newspapers, government-run private, central and local governments all conducted long reports, focusing on the key role played by the British in the unbeaten countries in various wars. This is an inevitable conclusion that the bystanders can draw from the perspective of the bystanders. The British always came out to be a peacemaker at the right time, gaining fame and fortune. None of the previous conflicts had nothing to do with him. This face that did not please the traditional moral concepts of the Chinese naturally made the public opinion of the entire Chinese basically not lean towards Britain.

Especially the two expeditions launched by Britain and France, especially Britain in the Daoguang and Xianfeng dynasties, including the various lesson plans that occurred frequently in the Tongzhi dynasty, as well as the naked faces of foreigners. Since the days are not far away, many older people still remember what foreigners were like back then.

These are two completely different cultures. Many even differences in lifestyle habits can cause deep hatred. In recent years, people have gradually become more open-minded, but what people remember is deep hatred, not the things that cause deep hatred. Moreover, with the local gentry associations and gentry associations gradually gaining power to participate in politics at the grassroots level, these people's voice is stronger than before.

The experience of the Moroccan dynasty and the Ottoman Turkish Empire also caused the people to associate with each other. If China did not implement the new policy and continued to follow the previous ruthless path, what would it end today? In 1905, the fifteenth year of the new policy, the people were almost spontaneous, triggering a trend of reflection and review in the ideological community.

Of course, the fluctuations in the ideological world are not just in this aspect. The imprint left by traditional agricultural civilization for thousands of years on this nation has been rewrited by the slowly rising industrial civilization over the years. The subsequent changes in ideas are inevitable. I also have an optimistic onlooker attitude towards this slowly rising change, although this also includes careful thinking about the traditional imperial system.

Judging from reports submitted by the Ministry of Education and the Military Intelligence Department and other secret lines, the military is far from being a monolith. Although the army has been continuously cracking down on secret associations in the military since 1996 and 1997, there are still some tails left. The interaction between these organizations and local forces is also traceable. This kind of thing is certainly intolerable. In 1905, in the Sichuan Army, where the Gelaohui is the most powerful, it was found that the defense replacement troops stationed in Guangxi and Yunnan provinces had a lot of contact with local ethnic minority forces. In the late autumn, the military headquarters requested an order to kill three officers at the school level and above. This phenomenon was exposed only from this incident.

The imperial power that has been stable for thousands of years has inevitably encountered an impact on the ideological level in this era. However, since I took power, I am still a good emperor and a wise monarch. If I were a ignorant king, I would have been against the flags in various places long ago.

There is already a certain general direction for the issue of imperial power behind me, so on this issue, at this time, there is nothing else, a word, kill.

Therefore, at the end of the year, the ideological community began to strengthen control. The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Education and Chemistry also jointly established a new department, Tsai Division, as a secret agency in the country to strengthen domestic control. In the past, all educational officials at all levels in the military system were incorporated into the Tsai Division, and secret agencies were also established in important cities.

China is too big. Whether it is free to tighten or tight, it means that it cannot be too loose or too strict. After the country has passed the strict period of the first few years, the domestic situation in the past few years has been a bit too loose. Judging from the current awkward years, it is necessary to tighten it.

After more than ten years of savings, the accumulation of talents at all levels of the country has reached a very ideal level. Therefore, after adjusting for a period of time, we have accumulated all our strength and made every effort to attack the few years of preparation period. This is the common opinion of me and several relatives and nobles at the top of the pyramid of power.

This is also consistent with the Navy's military expansion plan, so at the end of the year, Zhang Zhidong's industrial balance also received instructions to tilt significantly towards the military industry starting the following year. It is not to add many new official military enterprises, but to invest a lot of costs in the technical and financial aspects to quickly complete the accumulation necessary for autonomous development.

Using military orders to inspire national industry is a consistent policy that has been implemented for several years. By next year, state capital will also make a significant move into the military industry. Only in this way can the strategic goals of the Navy Department be achieved.

In terms of border security, in 1905, four towns transferred from Qinghai and Sichuan to Lhasa officially opened military camps in Lhasa. Although Tibet has its own army, in the face of such actions, whether it is the Dalai Lama or any ambitious person, they should be able to smell some smell. If they dare to do something that is not open to their eyes, how will the end be used? The British people always say that they can help him, but unless they start a full war with China, they can only help verbally.

Reforms in Mongolia have been underway. Since the position of Zhebuzundanba VIII in the minds of Mongolians is almost the same as that of the Dalai Lama Panchen Lama in the hearts of Tibetans, I am very cautious in this regard. On the one hand, on the one hand, there are gradually acts of worshiping Buddha at the religious level, such as going to Yonghe Palace to worship during festivals, and in addition, they also tentatively invited Zhebuzundanba VIII to come to Beijing to give rituals. In 2005, he came to Beijing and received great courtesy. He even gave four guards from the Qianqing Palace, that is, four soldiers from the First Battalion of the Imperial Guards who were formerly from the Manchu Yellow Banner to serve as escorts, giving him enough face.

Of course, he would also point it appropriately during the conversation. He is a strong-minded person but not very exposed. He has a smile on his face, and I don’t know if he understands it.

It doesn't matter if he doesn't understand. It's enough for a few princes to understand. Yantu was under house arrest in the Beijing palace. The princes of Mongolian princes were all sitting in a large cell that was 40 miles apart in Beijing. This is a virtue. The repeated rewards were favors. The two princes Kalaqin and Tushet ruled the princes and princes in the East and West. This was a system. They also set the direction for them, that is, Russia in the north.

Originally, it was because Russia had done so much between Mongolia and the Central Committee in history that it had decided to create hatred. Now, the situation in Mongolia is not as easy as the Tibet issue, which means that this direction is still right. As for the long-term interests in resource development in the future, it may take later generations to harvest such fruits. There are various resources there, but the difficulty of the environment and utilization. With the current industrial strength, the input-output is too disproportionate. With the manpower and material resources invested, it is better to do it in Southeast Asia.

In this way, the entire Europe was shrouded in the dark clouds of war, several major powers, especially Britain, had no time to look east. I also completed the domestic consolidation and management of existing territory that I had owe in recent years. In the East China Sea provinces, the funeral ceremony of several deaths and clan officers and soldiers was personally presided over by Prince Su Shanqi, sent by the royal family, demonstrating the court's equal attitude towards soldiers of all races. The most difficult chassis for the most difficult to consolidate in Kagoshima Prefecture, after this landmark event, finally announced the successful end of the ten-year high-pressure assimilation period.

The North Korean side was a little confused. King Li Mian was in a deteriorating condition, but he had no descendants, and there was no suitable candidate for him to join the royal family. Therefore, with the support of their respective supporters, several Li family members, who were either dandy or foolish, fought openly and secretly, and the situation was a bit unreasonable. The court replaced the Korean governor sent by the Korean army and moved to Seoul. The situation only improved in the second half of the year. The secretariat's memorials related to the status of North Korea were gradually increasing. A considerable number of ministers proposed that North Korea should abolish the vassal state and establish a county. In North Korea between the two provinces and the mainland, the vassal status became increasingly awkward. As for whether to withdraw the vassal state on the grounds that the king had no heirs, I had not finally made up my mind, so I transferred the memorial to the cabinet and the General Staff to let them study the feasibility before talking.

However, the Siam canal project was originally just a fake project that attracted British engineering companies, but after some arguments by the British and comprehensive discussions by several ministers in the court, especially the military, it gradually changed to real projects. The military's considerations were based on the changes in the situation in Tibet in the past two years. The British betrayed the covenant and made trouble in Tibet. So we should give the British some color. After the canal between Siam and the Malay Peninsula was dug, the navy could take advantage of the situation in the Indian Ocean to maintain a deterrence to the situation in India and even the Middle East, so as to establish a backing for the diplomatic voice in this direction.

The civil officials' understanding was that after the canal was dug, they could legitimately agree with the British to use the canal as a force to draw boundaries, thereby gaining priority economic benefits north of the canal.

Both sides seem to make sense. The agreement with Chulalongkorn was to give China a seaport in the Indian Ocean in the future. In the long run, although officials have not yet realized the importance of the Middle East issue in the future, I am a veteran. How important is the navy's seaport in the Indian Ocean to the Middle East's voice in the future.

In short, the excavation of this canal has considerable favorable factors.

But the disadvantages are also obvious. First, the project must not be controlled by the British. China must enter the project control, otherwise it will be difficult to have the capital for negotiation in the future. This will directly stimulate the British.

In addition, the opening of this waterway has a huge impact on the military strategic level. There is another waterway between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, besides the Strait of Malacca. The number of variables this waterway has created on the naval strategy and tactics, and how much impact it has on the already complex three-legged power structure in the Asia-Pacific region has to be fully verified.

The decline in the status of the Strait of Malacca will inevitably violate the interests of the UK. Unless this canal channel is completely controlled by the British like the Suez Canal, the UK will not be assured that there will be so many channels on the Malay Peninsula.

If China strongly presides over the excavation, the already poor Sino-British relations will immediately reach freezing point. Although Britain cannot now devote its efforts to Asia to fight a land and sea war with uncertain outcomes, for them, Europe is fundamental after all, and the lessons of the Boer War are not far away.

But for Britain, a considerable number of people have felt a period of decline. Perhaps marked by the death of Queen Victoria, the prestige of the British Empire and its ability to achieve political goals have faced global challenges. Not to mention Germany, the Boers made Britain take a nail that was neither soft nor hard, while the Chinese took advantage of the complex situation in the Asia-Pacific region and forcibly snatched the Philippines.

They will inevitably plan to fight back and restore the decline. In the past ten months of 1905 to the first half of 2006, the great storm involving the situation in Europe, Asia and Africa is obviously visible. The shadows of the British appearing behind various battlefields. Although this can be said that the British can only make a difference in Europe, it is an indisputable fact that they are trying to regain their strength.

If I make another powder barrel in Asia, then the whole situation may be completely out of control. The upcoming war is certain in advance, and the scale will definitely be far greater than the scale in history. China can almost confirm that it will become an important participating country. Although victory seems to be quite possible, this is in conflict with my established strategy.

After considering it for nearly half a year, I decided to leave this good thing to the Germans. From a military perspective, they have more reason to like such a canal than us.

Therefore, after Germany resolved the Moroccan issue unbeaten in 1906, intervened strongly in the Balkan War and finally concluded the London Treaty where both sides took a step back, the German Empire's engineering companies participated in the bid for the canal on the Malay Peninsula, the Kingdom of Siam.

This canal control battle is almost a replica of the Panama Canal dispute that year. However, the three protagonists of the year, the United States, Britain, France, were replaced by four protagonists, China, Britain, Germany and France. The United States has an agreement with China on the non-aggression of interests between Asia, the United States and China, so it did not invest in this battle.

The reason why France followed Germany's footsteps into the bidding seemed to be stimulated by the Germans, but it was obvious that they could not sit still about the situation in Annan. With the complete loss of control of the Tokyo region, the two central and southern Annan regions were also somewhat unstable. As a colony isolated overseas, the French could not devote too much energy to operate it. The power of the allies British in neighboring Siam and other countries has also shown a clear weakening trend with the rise of China in recent years. Therefore, the French will definitely help the British on this issue. If the British succeed, then the British base that connects Vietnam can be one step closer than before. This is of great benefit to the French's survival in Annan.

Of course, the French themselves were not strong enough to make them the final winners in this bid, and they did not have the need to independently control such a canal that violated the interests of Britain. Compared with the British, their interests were much smaller in the Far East, and their input and output were seriously disproportionate. If it were not for the sake of face, I believe they would have given up this colony without much output. For them, the role of accompanying the bid seemed more reasonable.

The secret report of the Siam State also proved that at the private level, the British had consulted with their royal family and suggested that they revoke the tender, which was consistent with the previous judgment. For the British, such a canal that cannot be guaranteed to be controlled in their own hands would be better than not without it.

This is a hot spot created by the whole world in 1906. After being inspired by me, the Germans showed a considerable degree of enthusiasm.

After visiting Casablanca as a victorious, German Emperor William II said on the ship to Constantinople that Germany would obtain the project of the canal at all costs. For them, as long as this canal is available, their navy will easily bypass the Strait of Malacca, which the British firmly control and directly attack India, an important British colony. They can also engage in dialogue in various forces in Afghanistan and Iran to achieve any intention they want to achieve.

The German Emperor's itinerary announced next also confirmed this judgment. After visiting Constantinople and meeting with the leaders of the new Turkish government, he went south to inspect Syria, Palestine and other places, from Berlin to Vienna, to Constantinople, and then to Baghdad. The German Emperor visited Constantinople twice in a row within three years and Palestine in the south. In addition to showing his importance to Turkey, he also showed his determination to cause some trouble for the British in India.

If anything can be established from Bagh to Tehran and then to the Bay of Bengal, the entire world situation will be completely rewritten. Russia will be completely isolated. I believe that in the plan of the General Staff of the German Empire, there is almost certainly a plan to destroy Russia.

The British must respond in the face of such an aggressive offensive.

Considering the situation in East Asia, the British Empire's Admiralty officially decided to strengthen its strength in the Indian Ocean Fleet. The first three invincible class cruisers will be deployed to the Indian Ocean Fleet to cope with the new situation in the Far East. At the diplomatic level, King Edward VII's special envoy also went to Washington to seek support. Although the pro-German power in the American political circle far exceeds his love for Britain, now, it has to burn incense in front of President Roosevelt, who has an international sense of responsibility.

The United States, which initially demonstrated its ability to interfere in international issues during the resolution of the Moroccan crisis in 1905, also established its own transcendent position in Europe. Although to some extent this was in conflict with the interests of the British Empire, the imminent threat from the Germans forced the British Empire to put aside its stance and negotiate some matters that it could not be resolved independently with its colonies back then.

For the British, an enemy like Germany was already difficult enough to deal with, and they could no longer afford to offend another enemy of the same heavyweight as Germany. This was also the real root of their efforts to give up the head-on armed confrontation with China on the Philippines in 1904 and 1905.

From this point of view, there is still a big gap between Britain, a superpower before World War I, and the Americans, the only superpower in later generations.

Therefore, while continuing to accumulate war capital in the shipbuilding competition, the British were also trying their best to deal with the fierce offensive jointly launched by the Germans and even the Chinese, whom they knew, was a fierce attack that was higher than the other.

It is still unknown how Americans will play cards, but the visit to the United States by Chief of Staff Xu Shichang received a high-profile welcome. The US President personally arrived at New York Port to welcome him and met with Xu Shichang and Prince Puxia on the same day. The host and guest exchanged views on the world situation, and most importantly, they reiterated their previous position of respecting each other's interests on their respective continents.

Of course, since the United States is now in an economic crisis period, the banking industry shrank on a large scale, and in 1906, thousands of banks of all sizes collapsed. The reputation of bankers and the public's expectations are like rats crossing the street. Even big boomers like JP Morgan did not appear in the welcome team. Big bankers of his level are planning to establish a new mechanism to avoid risks and make big money. Under such circumstances, the delegation officials did not see too many famous big bankers, and the few unknown bankers they met cannot talk about too deep-seated things because of the special timing.

So, in terms of selling bonds, this visit failed.

But it was successful at the political level. President Roosevelt praised China's position of not interfering in affairs outside Asia, and said that in the long run, such a China will be a long-term friend of the American people.

His remarks were unprecedented, which also aroused the instinctive vigilance of Xu Shichang's soldiers. Therefore, under his insistence, the communiqué of China and the United States did not write a speech in it. Xu's explanation in the telegram was that he suspected that President Roosevelt's meaning was to go beyond the basis of the consensus of the two countries in the past. As far as Xu understood, the United States seemed to intend to exchange Asian interests with China for the interests of other continents, rather than being limited to America as in the past.

I carefully agreed with his approach, and also based on the performance of the United States around 1905, I also realized on this issue that the United States may be adjusting its direction.
Chapter completed!