Master Yuan, start!

When the tarpaulin is covered on the two-person rickshaw, only the lower legs can be seen from the outside, but not the upper body. This can confuse assassins and also provide a certain counterattack capability.

"Hey? Why are you leaving?"

He Shuhuan, who had just become a reporter for Shenbao, was just about to muster up the courage to ask a question when he discovered that Yuan Xiangcheng had already left, which caught him off guard.

He was invited to the dock today, saying that he would be able to meet the famous Yuan Shikai and even visit him a few times, but who would have thought that it was not his turn at all.

"Forget it, I'll ask you next time when I have the chance." A friend who was also a reporter patted his shoulder and consoled him, "After all, he's the Governor-General of three provinces, the King of Northeast China, who's busy with affairs every day. How could he waste too much time on such trivial matters?"

At that time in China, neither officials nor journalists themselves had yet realized the status of "journalists" as the uncrowned king. Whether in Europe or East Asia, politicians had no habit of accepting media interviews.

If Yuan Xiangcheng had not sent people in advance to find reporters to form a circle and deliberately accept interviews, there would not be so many newspaper reporters gathered at the dock today.

Because, strictly speaking, there was no term "journalist" in China at that time. People engaged in journalism were mostly called "interviewers", "interviewers", "reporters" and so on.

It was Yuan Shikai who suggested that the East Asia Times frequently use the term "journalist", which eventually became popular in the East Asian circle.

In fact, the word "journalist" is also a Japanese-style Chinese word. Like other modern Chinese words such as "democracy", "republic", and "telephone", it is derived from the translation and creation of the Japanese.

However, Yuan Shikai did not have a mental obsession with cleanliness. If something was good, he would choose to use it, regardless of whether it was of nationality or ideology.

At the dock, reporter He Shuhuan put away his pen and paper, planning to go back to the newspaper office to finish writing today's article.

In the rickshaw, Yuan Xiangcheng picked up the latest issues of Shenbao and started reading.

"Mingye, did Kang Youwei reply?"

In the rickshaw, another person took off his hat, revealing his face. It was Ming Ye, the head of the Red Confucian Society's search department who had come ashore earlier.

"Chief Instructor, you clearly stated in your telegram that you would join Liu Kun in resisting the French. How could you have predicted that he would make peace with the French?"

Yuan Xiangcheng put down the newspaper in his hand and said with a smile: "I only said that we can fight against France together, but we don't have to fight at the same time. There must be a first come first served.

If things get really bad, the French will attack him first, not me. Liu Kunyi must be aware of this."

In Yuan Xiangcheng's view, the National Defense Army can fight the French army, but if the French invade the four provinces of Jiangnan, does that also require the National Defense Army?

If Liu Kunyi is willing to let the National Defense Army be stationed in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, then there is naturally no problem. If he is not willing, then let the Jiangnan New Army resist the French attack first.

Brothers, hold on first, the National Defense Force will come south to reinforce you soon!

Ming Ye was somewhat speechless after hearing this. It was the first time that he felt that the chief instructor was a bit cunning. However, he certainly couldn't say the word "cunning" out loud, so he decided to use another word.

"Great advice, Chief Instructor!"

Ming Ye bowed his hands, sincerely expressing his admiration for Yuan Xiangcheng, and then talked about another matter:

"Chief Instructor, using Kang Youwei's brother as leverage to get him to help us steal the contents of the contract between Liu Kunyi and the legal person, it really worked!"

"Oh, the treaty has been finalized?" Yuan Xiangcheng asked.

"It hasn't been signed yet, but Kang Youwei said he's heard most of it and is basically certain that this is a traitorous treaty!" Ming Ye was a little excited. He didn't expect that he could find out Liu Kunyi's secret so easily.

Yuan Xiangcheng was not as excited as him, but said calmly:

"Okay, tell Kang Youwei that once he's cleared up the specific terms, we'll let him meet his brother Kang Guangren."

"Chief Instructor," Ming Ye asked with some admiration, "How do you know Kang Youwei will agree to use Kang Guangren as a condition? I heard that the relationship between the two doesn't seem to be harmonious."

Yuan Xiangcheng glanced at Mingye calmly and thought to himself, you asked me how I knew this? Of course I knew it from the encyclopedia.

Kang Guangren lost his father less than a year after he was born, and his grandfather also died when he was less than ten years old. It can be said that he was raised by his brother who was 10 years older than him since he was a child. Kang Youwei was like both a brother and a father to him.

Younger brothers may have a rebellious period, but how could an older brother or a father be willing to give up on his own younger brother?

In the original time and space, the reason why Kang Youwei got the news during the Hundred Days Reform and successfully escaped, while Kang Guangren was killed in Caishikou, was that he was just unlucky.

Liang Qichao was at the Nanhai Guild Hall in Beijing that day. When he received the news that the Qing army was coming, he immediately got up, stuffed a handful of silver into the cook who came to report the news, changed into the cook's clothes, and hurried away.

Kang Guangren, who was also in the Nanhai Guild Hall, could have escaped, but because he had offended another cook who reported the incident, he was identified by this cook when the Qing soldiers surrounded the guild hall and eventually lost his life.

In this time and space, if Kang Youwei had the chance to save his brother's life, he would definitely take action.

Ming Ye was puzzled, and Yuan Xiangcheng explained: "Blood is thicker than water, we have to save him."

This explanation is reasonable, but there are too many brothers who are at odds with each other nowadays. After Mingye learned that the two brothers had a bad relationship, especially that the younger brother always disobeyed his older brother, he did not think about it in this way.

In fact, using Kang Guangren to get Kang Youwei to cooperate can only be said to be a coincidence.

When the gunshots rang out in front of the Consulate in the French Concession that day, the Red Confucian Society spies knew they had to break out quickly and not get caught, otherwise they would be exposed.

As the crowd fled in all directions, they unexpectedly took Kang Guangren with them. It was not until Ming Ye arrived in Shanghai first that they learned about this and then wired the situation to Yuan Xiangcheng.

Yuan Xiangcheng knew that Kang Guangren was in his hands, and also learned that Tang Shaoyi was meeting with Kang Youwei, so he came up with a plan, which led to the "French Concession Telegram" that called on the people to cut off water and pile up manure.

In the past few days, the people from the Red Search Section used the excuse of avoiding patrols to let Kang Guangren stay on the boat. Kang Guangren was happy and comfortable and willing to cooperate.

From the outside, it seemed that Kang Guangren disappeared after the assassination. Kang Youwei thought that he was taken to the French Concession Police Station, but he didn't know that he had already been transferred to the Hailong by the Red Search Section personnel hiding in the crowd.

Seeing that Yuan Xiangcheng seemed to be giving him a perfunctory answer, Ming Ye asked another question: "Then, Chief Instructor, how can you be sure that Kang Youwei will have access to the contents of the secret agreement?"

"It doesn't matter what the secret agreement says; what matters is whether there is a secret agreement."

Yuan Xiangcheng narrowed his eyes and said seriously, "Mingye, you have to know that the reason why a secret agreement is called a secret agreement is because it cannot be seen in the light.

Given Liu Kunyi's personality, he certainly wouldn't want to conflict with the French. The more I fan the flames, the more afraid he will become.

As long as it can be confirmed that there is this secret agreement, it would be best if Kang Youwei knew the specific terms in it, but it doesn't matter if he can't access it. After all, the French are not a charity, and the content of the secret agreement will certainly not make Liu Kunyi feel good.

If you grasp this point, the contents of the secret agreement are completely unimportant. If I say he's a traitor, then he's a traitor. Once the dirty water is poured on him, it can't be washed off."

In the original time and space, before the Sino-Japanese War of 4500-3800, the Qing Dynasty borrowed nearly million taels of silver from foreigners. After taking into account the discounts received, it actually only received more than million taels.

But after taking into account the interest to be repaid, the Qing Dynasty finally paid back more than 7000 million taels, with an interest rate of nearly 70%, which is even worse than the usury of paying nine out and returning thirteen.

This was still the "Great Unified Qing Dynasty" whose skin as the great powers of the original time and space had not been torn off. In this time and space, Liu Kunyi was now the governor of several provinces in the southeast. It was impossible for him to borrow reasonable money from foreigners.

There must be many political conditions attached!

As long as Liu Kunyi came into contact with the French, given the French's arrogant attitude, Liu Kunyi would not have much choice in the terms. The French at this time were much more arrogant than in the original time and space.

Thinking of this, Yuan Xiangcheng smiled and said, "Mingye, before the First Sino-Japanese War Declaration was published, some people said that Liu Kunyi and I are both Han Chinese, so why should we fight against each other? Many people opposed the National Defense Army's march south, and some even suggested that I take the capital first."

"Then who will teach you?" Ming Ye looked up and asked.

"Of course I didn't agree. If we invade the capital now, we'll be helping others. By then, we'll have no moral justification, and any further wars for unification will just result in a lot of unnecessary losses." Yuan Xiangcheng said solemnly.

"That's why I deliberately threw the choice of war or peace to Liu Kunyi in my declaration. I didn't expect him to be such a fox, actually delaying the debate in the newspapers."

Having said this, Yuan Xiangcheng turned his head and looked directly at Ming Ye beside him:

"We can't let Liu Kunyi drag it out any longer. He's unwilling to fight, so we have to fight even if we have to accuse him of being a traitor. Only when the whole world loses confidence in him can the National Defense Army march south with a legitimate reason.

Even if future generations will regard this as a stain on my life, I don't mind it!"

Yuan Xiangcheng knew that the Manchu power was no longer a threat to him, and the only threat to him was the Han governors. If he wanted to ensure his "political uniqueness" in the future when he rebelled against the Manchus, he had to eliminate the power of other Han people.

This was a despicable move he had to make in order to rule China alone in the future.

It is natural for the Han people to rebel against the Manchus.

But if the Han people rebel against the Han, what basis can they have? So there is no other way but to dig a pit of treason for Liu Kunyi and let him jump into it.

Thus, between the Manchus and the Han, Yuan Shikai was a Han, and naturally enjoyed the support of the Han people.

As a fellow Han Chinese, Yuan Shikai did not sell out his country, so he would also be supported by patriotic people.

As for future leaks?

This is not important to Yuan Xiangcheng, he just wants to succeed first.

Ming Ye was touched by Yuan Xiangcheng's resolute attitude, but he was still a little worried: "Master, you still have to be careful about your reputation after death, otherwise, wouldn't it be... "

"No, I'd rather not have that kind of reputation after my death!" Yuan Xiangcheng gritted his teeth, his eyes suddenly becoming very sharp:

"Mingye, you know, the Russians are going to attack Japan, so now is a rare window of opportunity for unification.

If we miss this period, the road to unification may be pushed back another 10 years. In 10 years, the Eurasian railway bridge will have been completed. By the time millions of Russian serfs rush to Outer Manchuria, Khabarovsk, Miaojie, Shuangchengzi and Vladivostok will be truly lost!

If that happens, I will truly become a sinner to the Chinese nation if I live this life again!"

What window period; what Eurasian railway bridge; what re-living life? Mingye didn't understand, but he could see the true emotion in Yuan Xiangcheng's eyes, which was something Mingye was willing to give his life for.

China is unified, China is unified!

Mingye clenched his fists, got off the rickshaw, and looked forward to the four-party talks between Yuan, Liu, Ying and France in a few days.

Chapter 214 Japanese Under the Water

The assassination of the French consul always concerned the hearts of East Asians. As the incident continued to ferment, the ships sent by the Japanese to assist in the investigation and rescue finally arrived at the Shanghai port.

A group of dozens of people, dressed in the classic loose kimonos of the Meiji period, walked down the ship's side calmly, holding two large flags.

A white flag was embroidered with a red cross, and the words "Red Cross Society" were written in Chinese characters below.

The other flag was completely red, with the two big words "universal love" written on it in bright red.

“Is this Japanese?”

Some people were puzzled. Judging from the style of their clothes, they were Japanese, but why were they flying these two strange flags? He remembered that the Japanese flag looked like a plaster.

"This is the Philanthropy Society, it's used to rescue the wounded, and it's full of doctors." Someone knowledgeable at the dock could tell where this group of people came from.

The Japanese Red Cross Society, originally known as the Society of Humanity, was founded during the Southwest War in 1877. It later accepted the Geneva Convention and changed its name to the "Red Cross Society", but the public still refers to it as the "Society of Humanity".

"Doctors can form an association?" Others were a little surprised. It was really rare. They had only heard of literati and scholars forming associations, but had never heard of doctors getting together.

"The Japanese really sent a doctor?"

"That's right, I thought they were just saying nice things."

"They're probably here because Lord Yuan signed a trade treaty with Japan."

"That's the resumption of trade with the rest of the world. You can always buy Japanese goods in Shanghai. What does it have to do with us Shanghainese? If you don't understand, don't talk nonsense!"

"Who don't understand?!"

"That's you. That's you."

"Okay, both of you, stop arguing."

It is no wonder that the people are talking about it. This assassination incident, on the surface, has nothing to do with the Japanese, but Japan is very eager to get involved.

I didn't expect that they were not just talking, but actually took it seriously and actually sent a doctor.

"I'm back again, the first port in the East, Shanghai"

Nobuzumi Aoki, who had just walked down the gangway, looked around and took a deep breath of the air at the Shanghai dock.