Back to the Republic of China as a commander

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zuolin turned his head and asked Yang Yuting again: "Is it true? Is it true?"

Although Zhang Zuolin was small, when he was angry, everyone present was not afraid. All the generals unconsciously lowered their heads, their eyes were on their toes, and they didn't dare to look at Zhang Zuolin at all.

"It's true, Shuai Yu," finally Yang Yuting summoned up his courage and answered.

Only then did Zhang Zuolin lean on the nanmu chair like a deflated ball, and looked at the exquisite patterns carved on the beams without saying a word.It took a long time before he waved his hands to let the generals back down. Everyone present could feel the feeling of ashes. Zhang Zuolin lost his composure very rarely.

There is nothing more sad than death, and Zhang Zuolin is not the only one who is sad.More than a month ago, who wasn't eager to enter the customs to fight for world hegemony?In the beginning, it was indeed smooth sailing. Taking advantage of the competition between the straight line and the Anhui line, the fisherman of the Feng line immediately benefited, and successively won Chahar, Suiyuan, Zhili, Shandong and other North China universities. In some areas, the army has also gathered from 20 when it entered the customs to the current 70.The prosperity of the Beijing-Tianjin area also confused the generals, and unification of the country by force became their natural goal.Fengjun screamed everywhere from top to bottom, as if no one in the world could resist their footsteps of Fengjun's conquest.

However, in Zhang Zuolin's heart, he was faintly worried about the youth army in the south, because this army was too weird.You must know that at the end of the Qing Dynasty, I had never heard of the new army in Hunan having any special titles. Before the War to Protect the Country, they were all respected by Beiyang.But Wang Zhenyu and his youth army were such a weirdo. I don't know how he rose to the top, let alone why his strength is so amazing, even Feng Huafu is no match for him.What's more terrifying is that later on, I don't know how that brat Wang Zhenyu came to be so courageous. He even dared to organize hundreds of thousands of expeditionary troops to fight against the big powers in Europe. The most bullshit actually won the battle, and now he is a little Japan. They are very taboo to them.Even why Duan Qirui, the Beiyang tycoon, expanded his military force crazily, and why the Fengjun entered the customs in such a hurry, it was because of fear.All fools know that once the expeditionary force that frightened the Germans in Europe returns to China, it will not be a question of who will unify this country, but when will it be unified by Wang Zhenyu.Therefore, whether it is Duan Qirui, Zhang Zuolin, or the low-level Wang Jingwei, they all reached an amazing agreement on this point, that is, they must do everything possible to bring Wang Zhenyu down before the expeditionary army returns to China.

It is for this reason that Zhang Zuolin turned a blind eye to Zhang Zongchang, the military leader under his name, who was overly supporting the Japanese.It is for this reason that Zhang Zuolin, who has always been shrewd, dares to jump into it without hesitation even though he knows that Nishihara's loan is a trap.It was for this reason that Feng Jun, awed by the youth army's reputation for being good at fighting, dared to challenge so brazenly.

All of this was simply a gamble, but the result of the Xuzhou battle was unceremoniously placed in front of everyone.It took only three hours for the youth army to frantically defeat the attacking force composed of more than 2 elites of the Zhilu coalition forces.What's more terrifying is still to come. Although the youth army did not take advantage of the momentum to fight back, they fully demonstrated their artillery level.Successfully destroyed a heavy artillery position of the Zhishan coalition forces, 48 of the 33 heavy artillery were destroyed, and 210 three Japanese retired artillerymen were destroyed.Zhang Zongchang was so frightened that he withdrew his heavy artillery overnight, and the Zhilu Allied Forces, which were full of morale and high spirits, were also frightened by the tragic situation ahead. That shitty elastic defense line was simply a slaughterhouse. Array is also dead fast.In a word, no matter how much money Zhang Zongchang gave or how much he threatened, these soldiers would not go to die again.

Faced with this unprecedented situation, all Zhang Zongchang can do is withdraw his troops, and this action must be quick, because God knows when the youth army will counterattack.

Almost on the first day, in the direction of Henan, Sun Liechen's army quietly crossed the Yellow River. As a result, they summoned the Lu Diping Department of the Second Army of the Northern Expedition to beat them up, and lost 7800 people in the formation.After Sun Liechen's attack failed, he heard the news that Zhang Zongchang had suffered a disastrous defeat in the battle in Xuzhou. He immediately became honest, dismissed all unreasonable thoughts, ordered his troops to defend on the spot, and did not dare to fight the youth army. Don't come and beat yourself is enough to beg grandpa to sue grandma.

As soon as the results of the Battle of Xuzhou came out, the whole of China and even the whole of Asia caused a sensation.This is not to say that no one is optimistic about our youth army, but that no one would have thought that the victory of the youth army would come so quickly, so quickly.In less than a day, the 20 Zhi-Shandong Allied Forces of Zhang Zongchang, who had previously declared aggressively to attack Nanjing, retreated unceremoniously into Shandong after being hit hard. It is estimated that even if Zhang Zuolin dismissed him, he would not plan to come out to fight the youth army again.

In Nanjing, the rapid victory of the youth army immediately dissipated the cloud that had shrouded the city. The rich and powerful who were worried that the army would approach the city and prepare to pack up their things and flee were now at ease.The youth army guarding oneself is actually so strong, so what else is there to worry about and be afraid of?

Almost overnight, the Northern Expedition to Beijing, the voice of eliminating the Feng faction came alive on the paper, and major newspapers and magazines praised the major victories of the youth army in Xuzhou and Zhengzhou.And Fengjun, a corrupt, reactionary and dark devil regime, is also regarded by reporters as the next target that should be overthrown. Now it is the turn of Beijing and Tianjin.

Although Zhang Zuolin was very heartbroken and sad, he still accepted Yang Yuting's suggestion, taking advantage of the fact that the situation was not completely corrupted, hurry up and negotiate to get what he didn't get on the battlefield.Although he knew that this hope was very slim, Zhang Zuolin had no choice but to do this when he saw those subordinates who had no intention of fighting. He even told Yang Yuting that it would not matter if it was necessary to send the name of the central government out.

Just when all walks of life and all aspects of society were eagerly looking forward to Wang Zhenyu's command to go north, Wang Zhenyu tried his best to persuade his confidants and generals to give up their plan to go north in the office of the Standing Committee Building of the Tianyuan Local Military Commission Building in Wuhan.

"I know you don't understand, and I know that you want to complete national reunification, but please keep a clear head and continue to support me. As for the reason, I can tell you clearly that my thinking is the most correct, At least it looks like this for now.” Wang Zhenyu brainwashed everyone present in a very confident tone.

"Let's talk about our own difficulties first. This time, I believe that Fengjun's fighting spirit has really collapsed. But think about it carefully, why did they collapse? They let us use advanced tactics to defeat us when they attacked us." Yes. In fact, in terms of equipment alone, they do not lose to us, and even in terms of fighting spirit, they do not lose to us. Their failure is the same as that of the Boxers back then. They did not lose in courage, but in ignorance. On the contrary, our current Is there any certainty of victory if we attack them with military force? I don’t think so, and at the same time we have to risk the risk of Japanese interference.”

Walking around the desk, Wang Zhenyu leaned his butt on the table, and continued: "But if you want to complete the unification, if you are afraid of sacrifice, then don't talk about the unification issue. The reason why I don't let you continue to go north is because The most important thing is that I have a big chess game to play. Those present are all decision makers of the Youth Army, so I don’t have to hide it from you. Not only do I not plan to attack Beijing in the north, but I even plan to let Zhang Zuolin and his gang of Northeast bandits continue to fight against it. In the name of the central government, the territory in Shandong is also occupied by them.”

There was an uproar in the hearts of the generals, but they did not dare to say it because of Wang Zhenyu's long-standing prestige, but their eyes were full of doubts when they cast Wang Zhenyu.

"Hehe, there are three reasons here, and everyone must keep it secret after hearing it. The first is that the war in Europe is almost the same. According to the latest news, after the Yankees joined the war, the German army is now only able to parry. The battle front has advanced to the vicinity of the Ruhr Industrial Zone, which was unimaginable in the past, so Germany's defeat is inevitable. But after the defeat, our victorious country has a lot of problems to deal with, such as unequal treaties, Shandong issues, etc. Wait, wait, these problems are not so easy to solve. If they are not solved well, they will be the fate of the country. So we don’t want the name of the central government. Whoever likes to be insulted will go to the false name. The second point is the Russian Revolution , If my analysis is correct, don’t look at the fall of the Tsar, but the Russians’ troubles have just begun. Think about it carefully, in the past few decades, who among the great powers has taken the most land from us is not someone else. It’s the Russian idiots. Little Japan still needs to show face. These idiots are notoriously shameless, especially the one named Putin... Ahem, it’s too far away.” Wang Zhenyu suddenly remembered the three generations who played crazy games in China in later generations The leader's Putin is not yet born at this time, so he quickly shut up, mother, there is a chance to kill all the Russians, let you putin stillborn, alas, Ah Q is here again.

"We don't want the hypocrisy of Confucianism. We just want to take advantage of people's illness to kill people. We must take back what is ours. Tibet, Xinjiang, Outer Mongolia, and Central Asia. If these places are not taken back at this time, it is estimated that it will take another 100 years. You can’t take it back. Everyone must remember that we are engaged in politics, and what we are playing is to fight for power and profit, but we must also have a patriotic heart and a basic conscience. The interests of the country are above everything else, and the interests of the nation are above all else. .”

"The interests of the country are above everything else, and the interests of the nation are above all else." Yang Wangui took the lead in shouting, and the dissatisfaction in the general's heart was reduced a lot. . .

Chapter 399 What a Game of Chess ([-])

Different from the rulers of later generations who used to play a big game of chess to cover up their incompetence, Wang Zhenyu is now playing a big game of chess in a serious manner, although he is a character with a bad chess level and no knowledge of Go at all.

But this does not prevent Wang Zhenyu from playing a good game on the big chessboard in China. The first good move is in Tibet.In the sixth year of the Republic of China, on September 1917, 9, the whole country turned their attention to Xuzhou.In Lhasa, something that will forever be recorded in history is happening.

Liu Xiang, a miscellaneous military general born in a landlord's family, ushered in the most glorious moment in his life on this day.Many years later, Liu Xiang, who had retired from the military and became a businessman, still did not forget to brag after dinner: "The most proud moment in my life was when I led our Sichuan army into Lhasa. The Dalai Lama not only dared not fart, but also had to Properly offer khata to Lao Tzu..."

On this day, the "rebel army" led by Commander Liu Xiang entered Lhasa, but unlike Chang, there was no exchange of fire between the two sides.After obtaining Liu Xiang's three no promises of "no war, no looting, and no restructuring", the great nobles in Tibet ignored the meaning of the Buddha, and directly ordered the feared Tibetan warriors under their command who had been beaten by the Sichuan army We withdrew our troops from Lhasa.

According to Wang Zhenyu's wishes, Liu Xiang ordered all the sons of noble families who were under the age of [-] to go to Wuhan Army University to study, and they were not allowed to return to Tibet until they graduated.This is probably what proton means.This regulation has also been established as a system and has been strictly enforced.

And Suo Guanying also returned generous rewards. Although the Kalon of Kashag did not have his turn, a governor of Qamdo was enough to make him happy for a long time.

Negotiations with the Thirteenth Emperor are naturally not our General Liu's business. His army faced the problem of reorganization after conquering Tibet. , Tibetans also have to undertake the task of military service, and they are mixed with the Han army. The number is about 1, and the officers of the Tibetan Frontier Army are also distributed according to this ratio.

The negotiations with the thirteenth emperor were in charge of Chen Shao, the special commissioner on the Tibet issue sent by Wang Zhenyu, and Chen Shao usually did not take action, but when he did, he was extraordinary.

"From now on, Tibet is an inalienable territory of the Republic of China. Tibetans are also regarded as a part of the Chinese nation, and both Sinicization and Tibetanization are protected by the laws of the Republic of China. All the privileges of Tibetan Buddhism are recognized, as well as Tibetans, Panchen Lamas, etc. The current political status of the living Buddha. The Kaxag local government in Tibet will be revoked, and the entire Tibet region will be set up in Inner Tibet (with Lhasa as the capital), Outer Tibet (with Qamdo as the capital), Back Tibet (with Shigatse as the capital), and Front Tibet (with Malkang as the capital). as the capital), and Qinghai-Tibet (with Xining as the capital), these five provinces are governed. Other issues will continue to be negotiated and resolved in the future.”

This actually divides the power of Tibet into five. Although the Communist Party is still the nominal ruler of Tibet, its actual appeal has been greatly reduced.Moreover, once Chen Shao's plan was put forward, it immediately won the support and approval of living Buddhas represented by Panchen Lama and Rezhen.Because according to this division, although the government’s power has been weakened, these local living Buddhas and the noble forces behind them have gained benefits. At least they no longer need to be controlled by Lhasa with the power of life and death, and they feel free.

Chen Shao's strategy of dividing the five Tibetans proved to be very effective afterwards, and it also made Tibetan Buddhism play a more active role in the subsequent Mongolian issue.Even in the subsequent political struggle, Chen Shao was arrested and imprisoned, and this policy was continued until after the establishment of the Chinese Federation.

After the founding of the Federation of China, the federal government and the Federal Parliament made a series of adjustments to the ethnic policies of Tibet, Mongolia, and Xinjiang, among which the most thorough implementation was the separation of church and state and the abolition of serfdom.However, unlike the abolition of serfdom by force in later generations, on the issue of serfdom in Tibet, the federal government adopted the Russian approach, abolished it by means of redemption, and implemented it through legislation strictly prohibiting selling people into slavery. Relatively speaking, the sequelae are more moderate Also less.As for Tibetan Buddhism, the federal government announced that, except for Muslims and cults with similar claims, the rest of the religious beliefs will be free, and there will be no restrictions on the management of monks and others, and it will no longer grant political and economic privileges.In the end, Shaolin Temple became the largest temple in the world, which is far away. . .

Liu Xiang is undoubtedly lucky, he succeeded.And Yang Sen, who holds [-] troops in Sichuan, is now almost like an ant on a hot pot. His army has been unable to take Hanzhong for a long time, which has caused serious dissatisfaction and high concern in Wuhan.Feeding the mosquitoes in the valley for more than three months is not a big deal. What really worries Yang Sen is whether his "rebel army" will be wiped out by the big man in Wuhan as a rebel army if there is no progress. up.Fortunately, although the gang of bastards under his command didn't fight very well, the logistics supplies in Sichuan were not short, which made Yang Sen very ashamed.

In fact, Yang Sen can't be blamed entirely. For one thing, Hanzhong's terrain has been known to be difficult to climb to the sky since ancient times. Back then, Liu Bang vs. Xiang Yu managed to escape to the sky by crossing Chencang secretly on the plank road.Second, the person Chen Shufan sent to stop Yang Sen in Hanzhong was none other than the famous Yang Hucheng in history. This old man has a Shaanxi army composed of a large group of swordsmen, and his combat effectiveness is really not great.Anyway, there was a tug-of-war with Yang Sen in Hanzhong, and Yang Sen had nothing to do with this man for a while, and angrily called him brown sugar, he was really clingy.

However, the Shaanxi army is not monolithic. After Chen Shufan became the governor of Shaanxi, he actively supported personal forces and attacked revolutionary forces. He promoted his classmates, fellow villagers Liu Shilong, Zeng Jixian, Zhang Baolin, Zhang Feisheng, Zhang Danping, etc. Hu Jingyi, a member of the Democratic Party who has made great contributions to expelling Lu, only appointed the head of the regiment, Gao Jun as the deputy head of the regiment, and Cao Shiying's department did not even have a regular army.

This gave Jing Mu and others a very good opportunity, to be precise, an opportunity to instigate rebellion.First of all, Jing Yuexiu, the tenth brother of Jing Wumu who guarded Yulin, secretly fell to the national government, and secondly, Hu Jingyi and others secretly connected with Chen.

But these people were not strong enough. Chen Shufan took three editors, Chen Shufa, Yan Feilong, and Wang Feihu, to hide in Xi'an. Everyone had nothing to do with him for a while, and the situation in Shaanxi was so deadlocked.Until September 9rd, in the direction of Henan, Wu Peifu commanded the 3rd Division, 11th Division, and No.6 Division of the direct line, with a total of [-] troops. After receiving supplies from Wuhan, they unceremoniously moved westward.

Don't look at Wu Peifu's tiger, Zhang Zongchang, who is backed by Japanese power, doesn't have much to do, but if it is to deal with the Shaanxi army, the local troops in the eight towns of Longshang are not easy to catch.At this time, Hu Jingyi, who was guarding Tongguan, announced his defection, and opened the door directly on September 9 to let Wu Peifu's 5 troops in.Then Jing Yuexiu and other local generals announced their opposition to Chen.Now, the battle situation in Shaanxi, which had been silent for three months, was completely overturned almost overnight. Only then did Chen Shufan, who was sitting in Xi'an, really feel what it means to be a catastrophe and the end is approaching.

But Chen Shufan only had [-] Shaanxi troops in his hands, and he dared not throw away the tall city walls of Xi'an to face Wu Peifu, so he sent a telegram to complain to the central government. At this time, there is nothing to do except routinely use telegrams to crusade against Wu Peifu.Chen Shufan gritted his teeth and cruelly invited two foreign aids. The first one was Liu Zhenhua from the Zhensong Army. However, this guy has only [-] troops and is currently fighting soy sauce in Hanzhong.The second one is naturally the Eight Towns of Longshang. Chen Shufan told these eight military lords very clearly, don’t make trouble there, the Northwest Brothers belong to the same family. to greet you.

Before the eight towns of Longshang figured it out, on September 9, the vanguard of Wu Peifu's army arrived in Xi'an. Chen Shufan didn't know the details and dared not go out of the city to fight. On the 10th, Wu Peifu began to besiege the city in an all-round way. Although no artillery was fired to attack the city, people in Xi'an were panicked.

It can be said that Chen Shufan was aggrieved to the extreme, he did not dare to fight, he did not have confidence in defense, internal thieves were everywhere, and foreign aid was not available.He suddenly sighed and said, "I, Chen Shufan, have come to this point."

On September 9, under the persuasion of Jing Wumu entering the city, Chen Shufan finally agreed to surrender after discussing with the senior generals under his command. Down the whole territory of Shaanxi.

Naturally, the reorganization of the Shaanxi Army will be the next step. The personnel decision in Wuhan will be finalized soon. Jing Wumu will be the governor of the Shaanxi Provincial Government, Hu Jingyi will be the commander of the Shaanxi Provincial Military Region, Chen Shufan will be transferred to Nanjing, and Jing Yuexiu, Yang Hucheng, Gao Jun and Cao Shiying remained as the division commander, chief of staff and two infantry brigade commanders of the No.20 Second Division of the Youth Army respectively. The No.20 Second Division is also the first division to implement the reform of the establishment of the First Division, the Second Brigade and the Fourth Regiment.

And Wu Peifu did have the idea of ​​occupying Shaanxi and then seeking the Central Plains, but after all, it is not the Warring States Period. Although he occupies the homeland of the Sanqin, if there is no logistics and no weapons, what is the use of occupying this place?Wu Peifu finally convinced himself to give up this idea.

On September 9th, Wu Peifu accepted the appointment from Wuhan and served as the commander of the Northwest Frontier Defense Army. He had five frontier defense divisions under his jurisdiction. A total of 20 troops, mighty and mighty only rushed to Gansu. . .

Chapter 400 What a Game of Chess ([-])

Almost less than a week after the Feng army defeated Xuzhou, Tibet, Shaanxi and other places were successively captured by the Nationalist government, and the 13 troops commanded by Wu Peifu also marched in the direction of Gansu and Xinjiang.

What worries the Russian minister the most is that they have received definite news from Japan that the squadron of the second division led by Xu Shuzheng has entered Shaanxi and is marching towards Yulin. The target is likely to be supported by the Russians. Outer Mongolia regime.

This made the Russian Minister to China, Kudashov, furious, and scolded the Chinese as bastards, who actually poached the corners of the allies when they were in the most difficult time.Afterwards, Kudashov went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Beijing government, and was furious at Lu Zongyu, the chief executive: "You Chinese are doing very dangerous things now. You must know that Outer Mongolia has always been our sphere of influence in Russia. Allies, you dare to spy on our sphere of influence. This is a very dangerous move. I ask you to stop this rude and uneducated behavior immediately, otherwise all consequences will be borne by your government..."

After a lot of threats and intimidation, he left poor Lu Zongyu and ran to the British Minister Zhu Erdian to uphold justice, but Lu Zongyu didn't figure out what happened after yelling at people for a long time.

"Why are we giving Russia a son or an ally? When did it happen? Why didn't I know?" Everything was finally clarified when Minister Zhu Erdian came to find Zhang Zuolin, but Zhang Zuolin's first reaction almost didn't make Zhu Erdian fall headfirst On the ground, who are these people!

However, the British are indeed born diplomats. Although Zhu Erdian despised Zhang Zuolin's ignorance, he sat upright and said: "It is like this, your government signed a treaty with our British Empire, Russia, France, the United States, Japan and other countries in 1916 to join the Allies. Therefore, from a legal point of view, your government and the Russian government are indeed allies, and there is no doubt about this.”

Zhang Zuolin simply said "oh" and then he didn't believe it. What's bothering him recently?Before the battle of Xuzhou, he was going smoothly, but after the battle of Xuzhou was defeated, many problems arose, first of all, the problem of Xiyuan's loan. Although Zhang Zuolin took half of the money, Duan Qirui spent the other half. But in order to get the final payment, Zhang Zuolin had to agree to the Japanese request and inherited all the repayment obligations.At that time, I thought going south could make a fortune, so I didn't pay much attention to it, but after Xuzhou's defeat, the south has become a tiger's butt, and Zhang Zuolin won't touch it if you lend him the guts. It has changed from sweet pastry to poison.The second is the Beijing government. It’s okay if you don’t enter Beijing, but only after entering Beijing do you find out that this is a fucking mess.I don't know how Beiyang is in charge. The entire Beijing government is heavily in debt, and the taxes are pitiful. 2000% of the customs duties are used to repay Gengzi's indemnity. In order to pay compensation, our Zhang Yushuai was planning to turn around and run back to the northeast.Whoever gets the central government, whose tax revenue is less than 5000 million yuan a year, but whose administrative expenditure is almost [-] million yuan, will have a headache.The third is Yan Xishan from Shanxi. This bastard is a white-eyed wolf. When he first moved to Beijing, he gave gifts and telegrams. As soon as the results of the Xuzhou battle came out, this kid announced that he had joined the National Socialist Party. The Nanjing government flirted with each other.It's not that Zhang Zuolin didn't think about mobilizing troops to deal with him. It's just that the power in the south is too strong now, and Zhang Zuolin is a bit confused if they don't attack Zhili and Shandong now. It's always good not to fight.But if the current delicate balance is broken because of going to fight Shanxi, it will be a big loss. . .

So these days, Zhang Zuolin has been worrying about these bad things, and his hairless head has become more open because of it.Trouble is trouble, the problem still needs to be solved, so Yang Yuting, who had been with Wang Zhengting in Shanghai before, had to go south again brazenly, what to do, negotiate with the national government, find out how much he is willing to give to the old Zhang family's Fengjun living space.As for Northwest or Southwest, it doesn't matter. If Wang Zhenyu, a little bastard, likes it, it's not impossible to take the title of Beijing, the central government. Although it hurts a bit, it's better than being wiped out by others.

Zhang Zuolin has made up his mind. If he is really forced to do nothing this time, he will take his army back to the Northeast Army, ask the Japanese for help (although he knows they have no good intentions), and develop the industry and economy well. When the strength is enough, go out and find Wang Zhenyu to settle the score.

And in Nanjing, on September 9, Wang Zhengting, a member of the Government Affairs Council of the Nationalist Government of the Republic of China and Minister of Foreign Affairs, looked at Yang Yuting sitting opposite him with a relaxed face.More than ten days ago, this bastard put himself together, and suddenly changed from talking about peaceful reunification to a military crusade. After returning to Nanjing, many people ridiculed him as incompetent behind his back.But the world is really impermanent. In just half a month, Yang Yuting's ass returned to the negotiating table honestly.While Wang Zhengting was proud, he was secretly envious of Wang Zhenyu. At such a young age, he had such an invincible tiger and wolf army in his hands. Feng Jun, who had frightened the whole of China, was defeated after only one fight. Let's see how he ends up with Yang Yuting, a slick and dishonest tortoise.

Yang Yuting also had no choice. Essentially, when it comes to diplomacy, everyone is fighting for the first place. If you lose, you can’t even hide. Otherwise, why was it always Li Hongzhang who was good at diplomacy in the former Qing Dynasty? ?It's not really because Li Hongzhang is good at foreign affairs, but because the Qing army is always defeated, so other princes and ministers cherish their feathers. Anyway, no matter how useless the court is, it will not affect his life. Why should he risk being scolded? The risk of doing foreign affairs?