Travel through the Qing Dynasty and become emperor

William suddenly stood up again, and took Guan Xuqing to the outside of the hall. At this time, the snow outside the door had just melted, and a ray of sunlight reflected the earth into gold. William pointed to the distant sky in the west and said loudly: "My friend , have you seen it? The doors of the whole of Europe are opening for you, and you are holding the key to Europe!"

ps: Zaiying is not Guangxu's younger brother, but an elder brother, he is the second son of Prince Gong Yixin.Zaifeng is Guangxu's younger brother.

Soaring Front: World War I Chapter 322 Sending troops to Europe

Later in the day when Wilhelm II arrived in Beijing, the private telegram sent by the German side to the Kaiser came again. In the telegram, Moltke announced their strategic adjustment to the direction of the Marne River.In the reply, the Kaiser ordered the commander, General Prittwitz, to be responsible for the defeat of the troops and to be dismissed on the spot. Ten Burg was directly promoted to the commander of the army group, and his chief of staff Ludendorff was also promoted to the chief of staff of the army group, and was in charge of the Marne River war as a whole.

I don't know if it was the Kaiser's instruction or what happened. In the name of the German military, Mao Qi sent a telegram to Xu Shichang, the chief of the general staff of the Chinese Army Ministry, requesting the Chinese Army to send an infantry regiment to join the German army's combat sequence as soon as possible. The front was under the direct command of General Hindenburg.

"Dear brother-in-law, you know that this little Maoqi is always so impatient." William explained to Guan Xuqing.

"Of course, the war has reached a critical moment. You, the emperor, can push aside and come out to relax, but he, the chief of the general staff, is under tremendous pressure." After Guan Xuqing finished speaking, the two looked at each other and smiled.

That night, in the underground secret meeting room of Qianqing Palace, Guan Xuqing convened a supreme military meeting of the empire, attended by all the senior generals of the imperial army below Feng Xianghua.At the beginning of the meeting, there were two opinions on China's troop dispatch.

"The current Europe is a huge powder keg. Others avoid it for fear of being too late. We also actively send troops to stir up the vortex of this war. I worry that it will be difficult to get out in the future." Feng Xianghua, who has always been cautious, first raised his own concerns. .

"My opinion is a bit different from Marshal Feng..." Wu Peifu, the director of the Army Equipment Division, said. Although his status was very different from Feng Xianghua, he still questioned the officer he respected, and it was in front of the emperor. Face: "Since the Kaiser was able to come to Beijing to meet the emperor in person, it shows that he has expressed the greatest sincerity to the empire. As the emperor said, the empire is in need of friends now, especially a powerful friend like Germany. If The Kaiser would never have let us set foot in Europe without a war in Europe, and now that he has opened the door to Europe for us, why don't we take the opportunity to put our foot in, I think this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." Wu Peifu spoke with a passionate expression, and his blood was full of anger.Some generals present could not help but be infected by Wu Peifu's words.

Guan Xuqing sat in the shadow of the light, unable to see his reaction at all.

Although the emperor's younger brother Zaifeng is only 14 years old, he is talented and intelligent. In addition, Guan Xuqing has worked hard to train him in the past two years, so he has unique insights into many major issues. Admired, at this moment he spoke: "I think what Master Wu said is very reasonable, but I think we have to think about it, what if we are defeated by sending troops?"

"Well, to plan ahead, you should really think about it first." Wang Shizhen, chief of the combat department, nodded.

"Everyone, I don't think this is a problem. The reason why the German army failed in the first Battle of the Marne was because they underestimated the enemy, with relatively insufficient equipment and troops, and less tactical considerations. The main force of the German army is devoted to the Marne River. Besides, let’s not forget that Germany also has the world’s most powerful airship formation, which controls air power. Our attack this time only needs to play an auxiliary role. With the help of the German army The main force will definitely win this battle. Your Majesty, I think the European battlefield is the best exercise ground for the imperial army, and our advanced weapons can also be tested there, so why not do it?" Xu Shichang said ambitiously Said, at this time, he has completely become the incarnation of Little Maoqi.

Next, the generals at the scene expressed their views on this war with each other. Guan Xuqing smiled in the shadows. What he wanted was arguments and independent opinions. Finally, in exchange for a generous return, all the generals present have rich military theoretical literacy and war experience, and anyone who is sent out can be alone. This is not something that can be bought with money.

"Okay." Guan Xuqing's voice sounded in the darkness, and the meeting room fell silent immediately, "What everyone said makes sense, but I think what Wu Peifu said is very good. The Germans have opened the way to Europe for us. The gate, if we don't enter at this time, it will be difficult in the future. Therefore, I decided to send troops."

Everyone stood up suddenly, and said together: "I would like to do my best for the emperor!"

Guan Xuqing nodded in satisfaction, motioned everyone to sit down, and continued: "This time, I plan to send Zhang Zuolin stationed in St. Petersburg to fight. From now on, his Eastern Expeditionary Army will be renamed the Imperial Cavalry, and they will cross the Baltic Sea to Europe by ferry. the other side."

"Follow the Holy Order."

Military barracks on the outskirts of St. Petersburg.

Zhang Zuolin's face was gloomy, staring at the pot of charcoal fire in front of him, smoking dry tobacco in his mouth.

The room was full of generals from the Eastern Expedition Army, all of them with stern expressions, especially Tang Yulin, who was walking around the room non-stop, and finally stopped and shouted: "I really don't know what the emperor thinks, and the gang from the Ministry of War Damn, they act like dogs every day, hugging big women to drink, what are we brothers doing so hard in this place where no shit? Is it easy to fucking beat Big Nose? Tens of thousands died Brother, now that the war is over, not only are we not allowed to go back to China, but we are also ordered to go to fucking Europe, soldiers are human, doesn’t this mean they are going to die*?”

Tang Yulin's voice was thick and loud, and his voice became higher and higher, shaking the dust on the beams of the house.

Zhang Zuolin tapped the pipe and pot on the soles of his feet, glared at Tang Yulin and said, "Damn, have you finished talking about it? As long as you are capable, go to Beijing and argue with the emperor if you have the ability! Your virtue."

"Just go, there's nothing to be afraid of, the emperor has to be reasonable." Tang Yulin's cheeks were puffed up, and he walked out as soon as he spoke.

"Big Tang head, stop!" The mature and prudent Sun Liechen pulled Tang Yulin back, and while complaining about his recklessness, he turned around and said to Zhang Zuolin, "Marshal, although Yulin was a little reckless, what he said is not unreasonable." Reasonably, the decision of the emperor and the Ministry of War is really incomprehensible. St. Petersburg was occupied by the central army and us, and now they are rewarded by officers and soldiers, but we don’t even have the right to enter St. Petersburg. We have to stay in In this bitter cold place in the outskirts, the men and horses have not yet recuperated, and they have to travel long distances to Europe, this... ah!"

Zhang Zuolin quietly listened to everyone's complaints, his eyes flickered, and he couldn't help thinking, he is a very shrewd person, and he knew the emperor's intentions a long time ago, so he waved his hand to silence everyone, and then said: "The emperor's grace Hao Dang, the emperor treats us well. If it weren't for the emperor's respect, we would still be beards in the Zhaojiamiao and Qingmakan areas in western Liaoning. Don't say anything, since the emperor has made a decision, we can only obey unconditionally. Immediately order the entire army to rectify its troops and march westward soon!"

ps: Thank you book friends for your insights, I will consider them one by one, especially the issue of internal combustion engines.There are also super bookworms who can always think ahead of me, admiration.

Soaring Front: World War I Chapter 323 Diplomatic Friction

At this time, the highest military meeting held in the underground conference room of Qianqing Palace has ended, and only Guan Xuqing and Feng Xianghua are left in the room.

"Xianghua, just tell me if you have anything to say." Guan Xuqing leaned back in the chair, rubbing his temples.

"One thing I don't understand is whether to treat Zhang Zuolin and his army..." Feng Xianghua said hesitantly.

"You're saying that I'm biased in dealing with the Eastern Expedition Army and the Central Army, right?" Guan Xuqing spoke out for Feng Xianghua.

"No, I absolutely don't dare to think that way. It's just that Zhang Zuolin has a large army in his hands, and he has a large group of cronies under him. He is definitely not someone in the pool. I think we should be more cautious in dealing with him."

"Xianghua, my employer never asks about his background, but now that Zhang Zuolin's wings are getting fuller, I have to consider his background."

"Does the emperor despise his reckless background?"

"No, it's not disgust, but worry. Zhang Zuolin and his generals are all from the green forest. Such people are absolutely trustworthy in war. But once the wings are full, I am worried that these people will become kings on their own and refuse to obey the court's control. , so for Zhang Zuolin, the method I adopt is to restrain and suppress them, first to wear out the banditry in their bones. Think about why I would rather hand over the defense of St. Petersburg to Zhang Yu than to Zhang Zuolin. The reason is that this."

"But I'm worried that if this continues, Zhang Zuolin will be angered. He brought 10,000+ people to be bearded again in Russia in a fit of anger. What should we do?"

Guan Xuqing smiled: "Xianghua, you worry too much. Zhang Zuolin is a careless person. He knows when to advance and when to retreat. He knows that under my wings, Zhang Zuolin and his brothers can flourish The reason why Zhang Zuolin was able to gallop across Siberia is because there is a powerful empire behind him, after he understands this point, he will never go against the empire, on the contrary, he will do his best to make contributions." Guan Xuqing squinted his eyes as if thinking Thinkingly said: "If he dares to oppose me at this time, then he is not Zhang Zuolin."

To Zhang Zuolin's great surprise, it didn't take long before the Ministry of War sent Zhang Zuolin a motorized independent corps. Motorcycles were the research results of the Imperial Academy of Sciences last year and were soon used in military applications, but they were never used on the battlefield. It was revealed that this corps is China's first motorized corps in the world.Guan Xuqing intends to replace the cavalry with a motorized corps in the future, which is an important step in the reform of the modern military system.

In addition, an independent armored regiment was sent, all equipped with land carrier-class tanks and the latest armored combat vehicles.

There is also an airship brigade including 30 airships. Since only China has developed military aircraft in the world, and there is no airport suitable for aircraft take-off and landing on the European battlefield, no aircraft formation was sent this time.It is worth mentioning that Guan Xuqing boldly added a brand new unit to the airship brigade—paratroopers, hoping to shine on the European battlefield.

Zhang Zuolin danced excitedly, beat Tang Yulin's chest and shouted: "See, this shows that the emperor still thinks highly of our buddies, otherwise why would he give us the most advanced gadgets in the country! You fucking scar Really heartless!"

Tang Yulin just grinned and kept giggling.

In Beijing, Feng Xianghua came to ask for instructions: "Your Majesty, Zhang Zuolin called to say that the army has been reorganized, and I will ask the Emperor when to send troops."

Guan Xuqing thought for a while: "Don't worry, ask Wu Tingfang to issue a statement in the name of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Chinese Empire strongly appeals to all countries in the European War to remain calm, and strongly condemns all actions that undermine world peace and endanger the fundamental interests of the people of the world. Immediately cease fire, and the empire is willing to mediate as a mediator. If the war insists on continuing, the empire will send troops to mediate by force, and use its utmost strength to be a loyal defender of world peace. At the same time, tell the Ministry of culture to start the propaganda machine War for continuous reporting and commentary.”

Feng Xianghua was taken aback for a moment, then understood, and couldn't help raising his thumb: "It's still the emperor who sees everything comprehensively and far-reaching."

Berlin, Germany. "Report. This is today's "China Times". The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement. Please read it." An adjutant was holding a newspaper and putting it on Little Maoqi's desk.

Little Mao Qi took the German version of "China Times", read it carefully, raised his head and said thoughtfully: "It seems that the Chinese are really going to send troops."

The adjutant asked somewhat puzzled: "China seems to be issuing this statement from the standpoint of a neutral country... It is impossible to judge whether it will be a friend of Germany."

"Stupid! There are many political things that cannot be explained clearly. China is obviously eager to intervene in European affairs, but on the surface it has to pretend to be an envoy of peace. It seems that this country is much more terrifying than we imagined. Or we His Majesty the emperor had the foresight to win China over at the critical moment, if this country is not our friend but our enemy, I dare not guess what kind of disaster it will bring to the empire!"

However, when everything was ready and China was preparing to send troops, Zhang Zuolin had friction with the German Ministry of War on the issue of command authority.

The German side does not seem to understand that China's reply did not mention Germany's request for the command of the Chinese army. In the follow-up calls, it was repeatedly asked about this.Without exception, the past telegrams turned a blind eye to this problem. On the contrary, in the consultation telegram of the Chinese General Staff on the situation on the battlefield, they clearly put forward a war suggestion to Germany, that is, to fight at all costs within the territory of France. For a landmark victory, it is best to conquer the capital Paris. Only in this way can the soldiers and European allies who participated in the war be given new confidence.If this goal cannot be achieved, then all the results of the first stage are meaningless.

After going back and forth several times, the Germans seemed to understand why China did not directly mention the command of Chinese troops in Germany.Immediately they took action. The German Ministry of War hosted a banquet for the ambassador and counselor of the Chinese embassy in Berlin, announcing to them the decision that the German Empire would conscript Chinese troops to fight in the name of the Chinese army, and produced a telegram stating that Beijing had already Agree to Germany's request.Although the Chinese Minister Xu Jingcheng and the embassy counselor raised objections, they believed that they could not respond to Germany's decision on behalf of the Chinese government without at least an order from the Beijing Ministry of the Army, but they already suspected that the telegram was fabricated by the German side. .

But what happened next was completely beyond the expectations of the Chinese embassy. They were quickly arrested by the German side on charges of disrespect to the German Empire. The forged telegram was sent to Zhang Zuolin's imperial cavalry, asking Zhang Zuolin to send troops to help immediately.

After receiving the telegram, Yang Yuting, chief of staff of the imperial cavalry, took the telegram to see Zhang Zuolin: "Commander, the German War Ministry has repeatedly urged us to send troops, but there has been no order from Beijing so far. What should we do?"

Zhang Zuolin touched the back of his bald head and said, "Germans are nothing, Yu Ting, thanks to you, you are still my old Zhang's think tank, can't you understand this? Don't forget who we are eating at any time What kind of blood is bleeding from your body? Don’t say that the Germans promised to give us equipment for a division, even if they equip all our troops, we can’t listen to them.”

Zhang Zuolin’s reply to the telegram was not received for a long time. Although the German Ministry of War released the Chinese minister and others back to the embassy, ​​they sent a company of troops to monitor the Chinese embassy [-] hours a day and closely monitored the whereabouts of the embassy staff.After a brief communication, the German side agreed to Xu Jingcheng's suggestion. Xu Jingcheng will serve as the temporary liaison officer. Before the Chinese side makes a formal and normal response, the German Ministry of War will explain to Beijing the issue of the command of the imperial cavalry. Work.In return, the German side will temporarily withdraw the soldiers monitoring the Chinese embassy.Before China and Germany reached a formal settlement agreement on this issue, the German military unilaterally demanded that the imperial cavalry not undertake major offensive and defensive tasks after arriving in Europe.

At the same time, the embassy in Germany also formally submitted a formal protest letter to the German government and military, and denounced this unreasonable move by Germany as having violated the dignity of the Chinese Empire and an offense to the royal authority of the Chinese Empire.Although the two sides have reached a preliminary settlement on this matter, the Chinese Empire reserves the right to make further and more drastic reactions.

For Xu Jingcheng, this is an opportunity.Since he entered the Imperial Army University on the eve of changing the country's name to the Chinese Empire, his official career has not been very smooth.At the top of the empire, no effective relationship channels have been established. He believes that there is no one at the top, and the court has no roots, which is the reason why he has not improved in the officialdom. Finally, he managed to build a relationship with Prince Gong Zaiying, and then he was transferred to Germany. Come and be an ambassador.