Master Yuan, start!

The peddler rubbed his thumb and index finger on several banknotes many times, then reluctantly put them into his arms and handed a set of "Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 Fire Horse" stamps to Chen Qianqiu.

"Let's go, Zhuoru." Chen Qianqiu called Liang Qichao, and the two of them squeezed into the crowd watching near the train station.

"Tongfu, why did you spend a high price to buy this stamp?" Liang Qichao finally asked.

"Zhuoru, did you know that foreigners have a hobby of collecting stamps?"

Chen Qianqiu stuffed the stamp into his arms like a treasure, holding it close to his skin, then turned around and answered Liang Qichao.

"Stamp collecting?" Liang Qichao thought for a moment, then said, "I've never heard of it."

"Forty years ago, a man in Britain spent 40 pounds to buy a stamp from the time of his birth." Chen Qianqiu became excited. "50 pounds is 50 taels of silver. We would have to work as editors in Shanghai for five years to earn that much!"

　Chen Qianqiu talked about an experience he had while translating an English newspaper.

"Not everyone wants to buy stamps, aren't you afraid of wasting money?" Liang Qichao turned his head and questioned as he squeezed forward.

"Don't worry, I joined the stamp collecting club!" Chen Qianqiu squeezed out these words from between his teeth. He was also pushing forward with his shoulders.

"There is a club for stamp collecting?" Liang Qichao was a little bit unbelievable. In his opinion, this was no different from the clay figurines played by children. How could a club be established there?

"Why, you are allowed to join the Xuantu Salon, but I am not allowed to join the Philatelic Club?" Chen Qianqiu pushed hard, and suddenly felt a loosening in front of him, and he almost lost his balance.

Fortunately, with the help of the military and police, he stood up and squeezed to the front.

"Wow, I finally squeezed in!"

Chen Qianqiu let out a long sigh and waved to Liang Qichao who was several people away. He then stayed at the front and waited for Yuan Xiangcheng to come on stage.

Although the sun was blocked, he was still sweating profusely in the midsummer weather, even though he was outside the Great Wall.

Fortunately, the stamps weren't wet! Chen Qianqiu took the stamps wrapped in oil paper out of his pocket and examined them carefully.

"My dear, are you also interested in stamp collecting?"

At this moment, Chen Qianqiu heard a surprised voice from beside him.

"Yes, I do like collecting stamps on weekdays." Chen Qianqiu stuffed the stamps into his arms nervously, then turned his head to answer.

"That's a coincidence. I'm a student at Shengjing University. I just bought a set today and was looking for someone to appreciate it with me when I ran into you."

"Okay, I wonder what your purchase price is?" Seeing this person take out the same stamp, Chen Qianqiu asked casually.

"piece."

The man carefully took out the same Jiawu Fire Horse stamp and placed it in front of the two of them.

"One?!" Chen Qianqiu exclaimed, attracting more than a dozen people around him to look back.

"Yes," the Shengjing University student said to himself, "It's in the main hall of the post office at the east corner of Shengjing City. You can buy it once you go in. The denomination is only 5 cents. If I didn't see there were only sets, I would have thought it was too expensive for one yuan."

"Yi Ku" Chen Qianqiu's face was pale, and if it weren't for the crowd around him, he felt like he would collapse on the spot.

"My dear fellow, my dear fellow?" The Shengjing student waved his hand in front of Chen Qianqiu. "I see you don't look well. Are you suffering from the heat?"

"It's okay." Seeing Yuan Xiangcheng walk onto the stage, Chen Qianqiu could only suppress his inner grief and continue to stand in the distance in agony.

At this moment, he wanted very much to break through the crowd, go back to the peddler, and take back the extra 2 yuan he had paid.

...

...

Except for Yuan Shikai, all the important figures from inside and outside the Great Wall attended the railway completion ceremony.

"Son of Prince Li, Beile, Minister of Works, Supervisor of Railways Inside and Outside the Great Wall, sincere and honest."

"Governor of Heilongjiang, Fashshan Abaturu, Yiktang'a."

"Governor of Haidong, Jin Bingshi."

"Governor of Jiaodong, Song Qing."

"Hard, Inspector General of Customs."

"Marquis, President of the Japanese House of Peers, Ito Hirobumi!"

Apart from Ito Hirobumi who is more eye-catching, the others are all considered to be Yuan's party in the eyes of anyone who has a little knowledge of officialdom.

Of course, there was also Yuan Xiangcheng's old friend, Arthur Morgan, a reporter for the North China Herald and the East Asia director of the Los Angeles Times. He did not sit on the stage, but was sketching in front of the audience.

The final title of "person in charge" was a special right he obtained from the Los Angeles Times after reporting several exclusive news stories about the anti-curtain movement.

The emperor who lost power fought back to the capital from the border of the empire. In the eyes of Americans, Guangxu's story was a story of prince's revenge, and Yuan Shikai played an important role in it.

Arthur Morgan made the war a household name on the West Coast of the United States with his exclusive interviews with Yuan Shikai during the Anti-Curtain War, and made himself a high-quality resource that major newspapers competed for.

Ultimately, he chose the emerging Los Angeles Times as his partner and was given the position of "Head of East Asia."

"The unification of the world is what the people want!"

Yuan Xiangcheng started with a compliment, raising everyone's expectations and bringing Arthur Morgan back to reality.

"As we all know, China is currently divided due to unavoidable reasons, but as long as the north and the south are not unified, the country will not be at peace.

The Western Regions were frequently plundered. The Russians had coveted Xinjiang for many years and, seeing the country's division, had long been ready to take action.

Yunnan was coerced by the French into building a railway, but the right to build the railway was actually in the hands of another country, leaving the thousands of miles of territory completely undefended!

If the Golden Ou was consolidated and the world was unified, how could the foreigners have room to act so recklessly now?"

Europeans truly have an inexplicable desire to colonize other countries. Arthur Morgan couldn't help but sigh inwardly when he heard Yuan Shikai cite the examples of Russia and France.

Yuan Xiangcheng was not idle either. As he said this, he looked at everyone intently, taking in all their expressions.

"Yes, even though Guangdong took the Luzon Concession, the French also took the Kunming Concession."

"Xinjiang is far away and remote, with dusty skies. What use is there for him?"

"Why not? How can we just abandon Xinjiang, which tens of thousands of Chu soldiers fought so hard for?!"

Some expressed regret, some did not understand, some objected, and the discussion gradually arose.

"but!"

Seeing this, Yuan Xiangcheng raised his voice and began to build his own image as Yuan Shen.

“Although a thick barrier separates the north and the south, they are not afraid to resort to swords and weapons!

However, I, Yuan Xiangcheng, am willing to make a promise today. As long as the governors and governors-general in the south are willing to surrender to the imperial court, I will explain the pros and cons to the emperor and grant them a hereditary title, sharing the fate of the country. I will never hold them accountable for their loyalty to the false emperor!

Yuan Shikai appealed to the southern governors under almost impossible conditions, trying to bring justice to his side.

I want peace and unity, not fighting and killing.

Of course, only a fool would believe such words. Even if it is hereditary, so what? Isn’t it more comfortable to be a local tycoon than to have a hereditary system?

As the saying goes, the butt determines the head. People of a certain height will think that these conditions are nothing.

But in the eyes of ordinary people, being pardoned of sins and getting a hereditary title for free is already a huge gain.

"Whether to fight or make peace is entirely up to you governors and governors-general. If it comes to unification, with China's current national strength, the concessions can be abolished, the treaties can be abolished, and Taiwan can be taken back!"

This speech is only a part of Yuan Shikai's speech. Although it is not as full of parallel sentences as Zeng Guofan's "Exhortation to Suppress the Guangdong Bandits", it is quite literary.

However, the several forces mentioned in the speech all responded to it in unison.

This telegram was later called the Sino-Japanese War Declaration of Unification, but at that time, it was rapidly spreading around the world via telegram, so it was also called the "Unification Telegram" by people at the time.

...

Yuan Xiangcheng is full of nonsense and is ungrateful to the Queen Mother! Now he is even trying to provoke border conflicts. He wants to lead the Qing Dynasty to a place where there will be no end! Jiangning Jiangnan Times,

Yuan Xiangcheng's words are nine times off. Why doesn't he just lay down his weapons and raise his hands in surrender? If so, Lord Li Hongzhang can also guarantee his hereditary title of the Third Class Loyal and Brave Protector of the Country. How about that? Guangzhou Lingnan News

The Qing Dynasty's Governor-General Yuan Shikai and Prime Minister Ito signed the Sino-Japanese Trade Treaty, restoring peace between the two countries. With the mediation of Prime Minister Ito, Governor-General Yuan Shikai decided to peacefully unify with the South. What is the future of the Qing Dynasty? (Yomiuri Shimbun, Tokyo, Japan)

It needs to be clarified that France sought a route to Kunming, Yunnan, solely to spread the Gospel of God. After all, even the railway was built by the French themselves, without charging a single cent from the local people. Therefore, the French people will have reservations about the provocative actions against Taiwan in this telegram.

In my opinion, Governor Yuan was a peace-loving man. Compared to him, the Europeans seemed to have stretched their hands too far. If they lacked land, they could go and find it, just like us Americans, who never invaded other countries' lands but only circled the fertile land given to us by God in the West. Los Angeles Times

The unified telegram only had partial influence in certain countries and regions, and the remaining Europeans and Americans who did not care about the situation in the Far East mostly had an attitude of "Oh, that Governor Yuan appeared in the newspaper again."

East Asia is still considered a remote place in the eyes of Europeans.

Chapter 201 Chinese and Japanese Workers

Japan and Qing reopened trade, and the National Defense Army marched south!

Since the "War of Overthrowing the Curtain" four years ago, East Asia has once again ushered in the footsteps of war. Starting from Shengjing Huanggutun Railway Station, the news spread like a whirlwind.

The national defense forces stationed in various places outside the Great Wall began to gather, and trucks and ships of supplies were transported to stations and docks, waiting for the final war order to be issued from above.

And Japan, across the water, is also waiting for the final judgment.

Through the telegraph line connecting the Tsugaru Strait, the telegraph operator in Tokyo, Japan, with trembling fingers, recorded the information from the Hokkaido Telegraph Office with indescribable grief and indignation.

Behind the telegraph operator, Japanese Prime Minister Aritomo Yamagata had a deep look in his eyes. Although he had already known that Yuan Shikai and Ito Hirobumi had reached a treaty, he still couldn't feel happy.

IX. Since 1890, Japan's economic situation has continued to deteriorate.

Aritomo Shiyama thought that he would take over a prosperous Japan from Hirobumi Ito, but he did not expect to encounter so many difficulties after taking office.

8. "Ito-kun, you really have a good plan."

In the past few years since Aritomo Niyama came to power, dozens of "rice riots" have broken out across Japan, making him feel as if he had returned to the chaotic era 30 years ago.

During the first decade after the Meiji Restoration (1868-1878), due to the Tokugawa shogunate, the Southwest War, the sword ban, the opening of Japan, and other reasons, the burden on Japanese rural farmers was extremely heavy, and farmers' "riots" occurred one after another. According to statistics from the Ministry of Education, there were nearly 200 incidents, almost twice a month.

1879. Fortunately, in the second decade from 1889 to , due to the currency reform, the currency was stabilized. In addition, light industry, led by cotton spinning and yarn companies, was continuously established. As a result of the suppression of the Southwest War, the Tokyo government gained unprecedented prestige. The number of peasant unrest gradually dropped to single digits.

3. However, the continuous development of industry has also brought hidden dangers to Japan.

The source of funds for Japan's domestic industry basically depends entirely on the land taxes and rents paid by farmers, and the source of funds for importing machinery and equipment mainly comes from exporting raw silk.

After industrial products are produced, they need to be sold. Since Japan had not abolished the unequal treaties at that time, the small domestic market was flooded with high-quality and low-priced foreign goods.

Japan's domestic industrial products can only compete in such a small market.

As a result, it soon fell into crisis.

Industrial products cannot be sold.

The development of industry requires a lot of capital. The capital comes from land rent. The taxes paid by farmers are getting higher and higher. Farmers are getting poorer and poorer. They can't afford industrial products. Industrial products can't be sold. Normal upgrading and development are hindered. They have to increase the exploitation of farmers to obtain more sources of funds. The taxes on farmers are getting higher and higher.

This creates an endless loop.

In addition, the northern Chinese market was closed to Japan, and Japan lost a cheap channel for importing food. In this time and space, in 1891, Japan suffered a crisis of industrial overproduction.