"What dignity does a loser have? Tell Zhang Quan that except for compensation, nothing else can be changed. If that doesn't work, just keep fighting. Aren't they just going to give back Newport News? I thought those mines could really help. Protect them?" Emperor Yang, who returned to Beijing, directly dismissed the issue of American dignity.
Now that the new prime minister has been elected, it is naturally Xue Fucheng, as expected by the outside world. However, Li Hongzhang's two-year term did not end until one month, so the original cabinet team is still maintained. In fact, Xue Fucheng's cabinet has also been It is certain that at least half of the original cabinet members have been retained in office.
"That's it. If that doesn't work, continue fighting. With the current domestic situation, it is completely feasible to send another hundred thousand troops to America." Li Hongzhang said.
During this period of time, the army has expanded to 500,000 in accordance with Emperor Yang's goal. In addition to some local garrison troops, there are about ten divisions of mobile combat troops, and the reserve system has been improved. In emergencies, it can be quickly expanded to one million levels. Military production It can also meet the requirements. Fuzhou, Wuhan, Nanjing, plus the newly built Taiyuan, Tianjin, and Shenyang six military industrial bases are enough to maintain a million-scale army operation. These arsenals are built with the help of Bofors, including management and quality standards. All are in accordance with the standards of Bofors in Sweden. In fact, because the proportion of modern machines here is larger and the product quality is even better than that of Sweden, the Ottoman Army has now switched to Chinese-made arms.
"Also, send a telegram to Johnson and tell him to ask the three Texas states to put some pressure on them. At the same time, tell the Congresses of these three states that once the contract is signed, they can officially become independent, and the independent Confederacy will be under the influence of the Union Army. If the North dares to invade the South with force, then the coalition will provide military support to the Confederacy." Yang Feng turned to Yuan Shikai and said.
The meaning of this is obvious. After the United States signs the contract to cede territory and pay compensation, the three Texas states can become independent. Of course, it doesn't matter if other states are willing to join. In short, they don't have to pay the compensation. Anyway, after signing The contract is with the federal government. If you are independent, you will naturally not belong to the federal government. Of course, you will not have to pay for the compensation. Let the North pay for it alone! If they are unwilling to launch an attack on your South, then the coalition forces will Then beat them.
It should be said that this kind of behavior is extremely shameless, but it is very consistent with the style of His Majesty the Emperor. Think about the members of the U.S. Congress who had to sign a treaty of blood and tears in order to maintain unity, but found that no one helped them in the end. After paying for it, everyone would probably be so angry that they would vomit blood. When thinking of such a scene, Li Hongzhang and others couldn't help but laugh.
And there is another obvious benefit of doing this, that is, the coalition forces can legitimately enter the southern states of the United States, so there will be a lot of things that can be operated in the future. It is best to fight the war between the North and the South for another ten or eight years. The South will basically He became a puppet of the coalition forces.
"One more thing, North Korea's Lord Da Yuan just died of illness. Now there is no one in charge in the country, and the situation is showing signs of chaos again." Li Hongzhang said.
"Your Majesty, I actually feel that there is no need for us to continue to retain North Korea as a country. We might as well swallow it up to avoid leaving some trouble in the future." Yuan Shikai said at the side.
This guy has been thinking about annexing North Korea for a long time. He has been thinking about annexing this country since he was the emperor of North Korea. However, China was not strong at that time. Neither the government nor the public had the courage. But after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894, Now that my strength has skyrocketed and I am confident enough, I naturally start to worry about this issue.
It can be said that the political situation in North Korea was under the dictatorship of Lord Daewon. Anyway, Li Xi was a loser. He was manipulated by his wife before and now he is controlled by his father. However, after Lord Daewon died of illness, none of the ministers below him obeyed anyone. Above the court, There was chaos. In order to prevent any more accidents, especially if the Russians took the opportunity to cause trouble, a brigade from the Shenyang Military Region had already entered Seoul, and a division was on standby in Andong. At this time, it can be said that annexing North Korea was a matter of course.
I have to say that Big Touou’s proposal is very tempting. With China’s current national strength, it is indeed time to embark on the path of expansion. In fact, this cannot be considered expansion. North Korea is originally a vassal of China. There are too many international examples of vassals turning into territory. There are so many, it can be said that every great power can cite a lot, and there is no legal problem at all.
"Swallow it?" Emperor Yang sat there and pondered for a moment and then said: "Then swallow it!"
The decision to annex North Korea has been finalized. However, the method of annexation needs to be carefully studied. This will serve as a model in the future. We must find a less overbearing way to set a good example for other vassals. example.
"I have an idea. We might as well follow the example of Germany." Yuan Shikai said. It can be seen that he has really learned a lot in the past year or so.
According to Germany's approach, which is to follow the path of a federal empire, retain the Korean royal family and change North Korea to a constitutional monarchy, but without independent diplomatic and military powers. The empire or the Chinese government is responsible for North Korea's diplomacy and defense. Of course, North Korea needs They bear part of the imperial expenses, and as for their internal affairs, they are responsible for managing them themselves, just like the Grand Duchy of Hesse in Germany.
It should be said that this is the best method at present, and it is also a common method for all countries. This method is completely acceptable to China. Anyway, even if various regions in the country choose their own provincial governors for autonomy, giving autonomy to North Korea is no different, and it is no different for North Korea. It is said that this is their best way out at present. Even if they are not merged into China, they have no real diplomatic or military power.
"Then let's go talk to Li Xi and see what he means. If you don't have any objections, then find time to formally sign an agreement and finalize this matter." Yang Feng said.
If Li Xi had any other opinions, he didn't dare to say them. Emperor Yang spoke up. In East Asia, those are basically just words of wisdom. Didn't you see that even Japan and the United States were tormented by him? Like North Korea. Naturally, he just said what he said, that is, he discussed some details, such as the status of the Korean royal family in the empire. This is easy to handle. The king of Korea will remain forever, and he will be a hereditary member of the upper house of the empire. .
In addition, ten seats are reserved for Koreans in the Imperial House of Lords. The Kingdom of Korea no longer retains its own army. Some of the original troops will be selected to join the imperial army, and the rest will be organized into police. At the same time, the empire will dispatch special troops. The working group guides North Korea's modernization reforms, complete autonomy while abiding by the imperial constitution, and bears imperial expenses in proportion to the population. However, considering the current economic situation of North Korea, this can start in five years, and of course there are some There is no need to go into details about other messy little content.
Since we are going to build a federal empire, we should do it more thoroughly. While negotiating with North Korea, the negotiations with Ryukyu also started at the same time. It is even easier for Ryukyu. Such a small country does not even bother to ask for military expenditures. Now the financial
The Ministry is preparing to issue Chinese dollars on the gold standard and authorize the People's Bank of China as the issuing bank. After the official issuance, it will be enough to pay a symbolic payment of one Chinese dollar every year. The Ryukyu royal family also has hereditary members of the upper house, and two more seats will be added to them in the upper house.
Although it is not much, considering the total population of Ryukyu, it is already very large. In fact, according to their total population, they cannot even occupy one seat.
In this way, soon after January 1, 1900, when the new cabinet officially took over, the governments of the three countries, the Empire of China, the Kingdom of Korea, and the Kingdom of Ryukyu, formally signed a federal agreement in Beijing and merged into the Chinese Federal Empire, the Chinese Federation.
The Imperial Constitution was officially renamed the Constitution of the Federal Empire of China, and a new article was added to the constitution. The Emperor of the Chinese Empire was the hereditary Emperor of the Chinese Federal Empire, the Prime Minister of the Chinese Empire was the Prime Minister of the Chinese Federal Empire, and the Chinese Imperial Congress was renamed the Chinese Federal Imperial Congress, and a meeting was held.
At the grand founding ceremony of the empire, Emperor Yang and the kings of North Korea and Ryukyu held a military parade on the Imperial City Tower to let them feel the majesty of the empire and strengthen their belief in joining the Chinese family.
Looking at the forests of bayonets and military vehicles dragging cannons passing in front of him, the dozens of biplanes flying overhead, and the adoring eyes of hundreds of thousands of people, the satisfied Emperor Yang originally wanted to
He shouted a few words, comrades, "serve the people", etc. Later, he felt that it was a bit inappropriate for a spokesman of the big bourgeoisie to shout these words, so he simply pulled him down. However, the two kings next to him obviously had not experienced this.
At such a grand occasion, the timid and cowardly Li Xi couldn't help but tremble slightly. As for His Majesty the King of Ryukyu, it was obvious that he was quite excited, as if he had finally found a sense of belonging.
"Your Majesty, the Americans have bowed their heads, but the amount of compensation has been reduced to 600 million." Yuan Shikai squeezed next to Emperor Yang, who was waving to the soldiers below, and whispered to him the long-awaited good news.
At the same time as the founding ceremony of the Chinese Federation Empire was held, the US negotiator, Secretary of State John Hay, signed his name on the Versailles Peace Treaty, which symbolized the humiliation of the United States, with trembling hands in the Palace of Versailles in France. From this moment on,
, the United States of America, which originally dominated the world, was aloof and unrivaled, forever became a memory that only existed in the mind of Emperor Yang in this world.
After the glory of the United States was cut in half, the future of this country will only be divided, divided, and divided again. (To be continued...)