Chapter 9 Section IX

On the second day after the decree on various errands issued by the Jianpai Military Training Office, Japanese Minister Yasuya Uchida visited Yikuang and secretly informed that the negotiations between Japan and Russia were about to break down because of the conflict of interests between North Korea and the three eastern provinces, and Japan had begun preparations for war. .Uchida said that Japan's efforts to stop Russia's expansion are also for the sake of China's security.Therefore, once Japan and Russia go to war, Japan hopes that China will be neutral. Then, Yang Shu, the Minister in Japan, also sent a telegram, saying that the Japanese Foreign Minister had an appointment with Yang Shu, and the content of the discussion was exactly the same as that reported by Uchida.Yikuang was very anxious, not because he was afraid that Japan and Russia would open fire on Chinese territory, and the people would suffer a lot, but because he was afraid that the personal wealth he had accumulated in the past two years would not be guaranteed.

Yikuang's greedy reputation has long been spread outside, and since he took the palm, he has become more and more unscrupulous.In addition to the 30,000 taels of silver sent by the Beiyang Office every month for the family, there are also door bags that are openly required. There are three types of bags, and each door bag costs a total of 72 taels of silver.The servants of the palace, from the "Master of the Gatekeeper" to the servant girl under the stove, only take care of the board and lodging, and do not pay wages. Half of them are taken out of the door bag to share equally, and the other half is "returned to the public".All foreign palaces who enter Beijing and Beijing officials who are released from abroad must have an audience, and their gates are like a market every day.Including the red envelopes presented face to face by the officials who met with the audience, a total of 600,000 taels of silver was accumulated, which was deposited in the Japan Specikin Bank and the Sino-Russian Daosheng Bank.When Japan and Russia started a war, the military expenditure was huge, so it was natural to use the bank deposits. What Yikuang was worried about was that the deposits would be ruined.

"It's better to bring it up and deposit it in another foreign bank." Na Tong suggested to him, "HSBC is the oldest foreign bank in the UK. It is safe to store in HSBC." Yikuang thought so deeply.They sent people to inquire, and the monthly interest was only 2%, but capital preservation was the first priority. Zhengjin and Daosheng respectively withdrew 600,000 taels of silver and transferred them to HSBC. This transaction was handled by Wang Zhuxuan, a comprador of HSBC Bank.Wang Zhuxuan is a rich visitor in Bada Hutong. He often meets Zai Zhen who looks at flowers in a "micro-service" style, and calls him "Zhen Beizi" and "Uncle Zhen" very affectionately.But when Zai Zhen saw him, he always had a sour taste, because Wang Zhuxuan was not only rich, but also handsome in appearance and good at speaking, so there was no red girl in the Eight Great Hutongs who did not flatter "Fourth Master Wang", even if It is the first rank in the dynasty, and the father and son's famous "Zhenbeizi" can't help but pale in comparison.

This day was in Fengyun Xiaoban in Shanxi Lane, and they ran into each other by chance, because Wang Zhuxuan had just made a deal in Prince Qing's Mansion, so he was very flattered, went up to meet him, greeted him with a smile, and said in a friendly way: "Is the yamen sealed?" Because of HSBC's savings, Zai Zhen's monthly interest was only 2%, and he thought it was Wang Zhuxuan's fault, so he squinted at him and asked coldly, "How about the seal?" As soon as Wang Zhuxuan heard that his tone was not good, he quickly replied with a smile: "It's sealed, Zhen Beizi can play more!"

"Can you control it? Hmph!" Zai Zhen sneered, flicked his sleeves heavily, and walked inside. The girl he greeted was the number one celebrity in Fengyun's small class. She was named Cuifang and occupied the three best rooms in the group. It's into the east room.If you put down the door curtain, you will know that there are guests, and you will sit in the west room temporarily, and wait for the team to try to move the guests to another place, and then move there when there is an empty room.That day the east room also had a door curtain, Zai Zhen was annoyed, and walked quickly, as soon as he opened the door curtain, he barged in, which was a big taboo in a brothel.The guest inside was furious and was about to explode. He recognized Zai Zhen, restrained himself, and did not make any bad noises, but his complexion would not be good.

Zai Zhen knew that he had made a joke, so he turned around and retreated, and sat down in the west room.The team knew that something was wrong, so the bawd and the old lady all came to show their courtesy, say good things, and try to make room.Zai Zhen was angry, raised his face and ignored him, and asked for a long time, "Where is he?" This refers to Cuifang.She had just been bored with the benefactor for a while, her temples were disheveled, and her makeup was too much. She had to retouch before she could see people.And the benefactor over there was also angry, so he had to comfort him with nice words.In this way, the delay will be great.

After finally urging her to come, the bawd and the old lady breathed a sigh of relief, made a wink, and agreed to leave, leaving Cuifang to perfunctory in the room alone. "What are you doing? You're so aggressive!" Cuifang put one hand on Zaizhen's shoulder and sat down on her lap. "Who is the boy in the East Room?" "Who cares about him? Ignore him, or it's over." "Strange!" Zai Zhen asked, "Why are you protecting him?" "Who is protecting him? I am alone, Mr. Zhen, what kind of jealousy are you eating?" "Hmph!" Zai Zhen turned her face to take a closer look, "The hair was just combed, and the rouge was freshly applied. What are you doing?"

Cuifang blushed, deliberately poking up her face to hide her embarrassment, "What's the matter? I got upset there, and come here?" She winked her eyes, took out a handkerchief and blew her nose. Zai Zhen was silent, just sneered.Cuifang was a little guilty and didn't dare to pretend anymore, but the situation was frozen, it wasn't the case, after thinking about it, she felt that there should be an explanation. "It's a friend of Fourth Master Wang, so I have to be perfunctory..." Before he finished speaking, Zai Zhen interrupted him and asked, "Which one is the fourth prince?"

"Isn't he the comprador Wang Siye of HSBC?" It’s okay not to say anything, but every pore of Zaizhen was fired when he said it, and he pushed Cuifang to the ground, stomped his feet and scolded: "You shameless bitch! You are the friend of that bastard. You have to be perfunctory, why? Such a lowly thing, it hurts you for nothing!" After finishing speaking, he grabbed Cuifang with one hand, and was about to slap her mouth with the other hand, but after all, he couldn't bear it, and when he let go, Cuifang fell again. He went out of the house, his anger still lingering, but Wang Zhuxuan was having a feast in another room, golden cups and sandalwood boards, surrounded by emerald green bamboos, it was so lively, Zai Zhen's eyes were red when he saw it.

"This traitor who has no conscience, eats inside and out, bastard!" Zai Zhen roared, "Beat me!" Every time Zai Zhen came out, he brought the guards of the palace with him, there were as many as twenty, and as few as seven or eight, all of them liked to make trouble.Hearing this sound, someone immediately yelled: "Bastard surnamed Wang, get out!" This guard can "tick" blackheads, with an official voice, this roar shakes the roof tiles, but it is like a thunderbolt on a sunny day, the guests and hosts in the house are pale from looking at each other, and the girls are even trembling with fright, and run away from the door one after another.

Seeing this scene, Wang Zhuxuan had no choice but to stand up, staggered forward, bent his waist, and said with a smile: "Zhen Beizi..." "Do you understand the rules?" Still the guard yelled, "Kneel down!" Wang Zhuxuan had no choice but to bend his knees and knelt down on the ground. Another guard, Dai Hualing, immediately scolded his colleagues loudly: "What are you waiting for? Do you want to wait for the uncle to do it yourself?" So the guards rushed forward, fisted and kicked, and beat Wang Zhuxuan severely, and then, like a gust of wind, hugged Zaizhen and left. At this time, someone dared to come up to support Wang Zhuxuan, but he saw that his eyes were bruised and his nose was swollen, his mouth was full of blood, and the white fox fur robe was stained bright red. "This is too lawless!" A guest said after a pause, "Go to the Metropolitan Procuratorate and sue him." "It's useless!" Wang Zhuxuan shook his head, fell on the chair and closed his eyes without saying a word, but tears kept streaming down. Naturally, the team was terrified.Zai Zhen and Wang Zhuxuan probably won't come again in the future, why not rush to go to two big guests at once?In front of him, he could only try his best to comfort Wang Zhuxuan, but he was afraid that Zaizhen would come back if he left. If he found out that the team was so flattering to Wang Zhuxuan, he would smash the brothel in a fit of anger.So up and down, inside and out, everyone was a little uneasy, and tried to surround Wang Zhuxuan with words of comfort and reassurance, but no one said that he should be let to lie down and rest, and that a traumatologist should be invited to take a look. During this chaos, someone shouted outside: "The master of the workshop is here, the master of the workshop is here." It turns out that the grounds of the capital are under the management of Xuncheng Yushi, which is divided into five cities: east, south, west, north, and middle.Under the Xuncheng Yushi, there are one chief and deputy commander of the military and horse department, and one official. Each city has two squares, which are in charge of the deputy commander and official. The Eight Great Alleys are outside Xuanwu Gate, under the jurisdiction of Nancheng Yushi. The "Fangli Master" who came here is an uninformed official, but Nancheng is prosperous, and the five cities have their own characteristics. Millet, merchants traveling in the south city, clothes and cultural relics in the west city, traitors and thieves in the north city." The "merchants and travelers" in the south city must rely on the protection of the "Fangli Master" for protection, and they must pay filial piety on a monthly basis. The top leather warm hat, with a shiny golden hat, is also very airy. But when he saw Wang Zhuxuan, he seemed to be a bit shorter, and the official bowed his waist and asked in surprise: "What's going on? Fourth Master Wang!" "The person from Zhen Beizi?" The official came here after hearing that Zai Zhen's subordinates were causing trouble here, and it was Wang Zhuxuan who didn't want to be beaten, so he said comfortingly: "Forget it, forget it! You always follow Zhen Beizi Beizi is a good friend, he must have had a few more glasses of wine, and got really angry with a joke. This is nothing!" He turned around and asked loudly, "Where is Fourth Master Wang's car? Hurry up and get the car, I will take Fourth Master Wang back government." Wang Zhuxuan's family lives in Dongjiaomin Lane, and there must be a red envelope as a thank you gift. Wang Zhuxuan also said: "Please go back and bring a letter to Master Jiang Du. When you are free, please come over." This "Master Jiang Du" is Jiang Shixuan, the supervisory censor of Canton Road who patrolled Nancheng.This character, Xingfu, was born in Yutian, Zhili. He was a good friend of Wang Zhuxuan in Hanlin in Renchen in the eighteenth year of Guangxu.As soon as he got the news, he came to visit the injured that night. "Such a heavy blow!" Jiang Shixuan said sadly: "Fourth brother, I feel really bad for you to suffer such a loss in my area." "Xingfu!" Wang Zhuxuan called him directly, "I don't blame you at all, and you don't need to take the blame. The current Minister of Commerce is also a son, and the young master of the military aircraft foreman. Who can touch him?" "Having said that..." "No, no!" Wang Zhuxuan shook his hand and said, "Let's not mention this part. Xingfu, is this year going well?" As soon as this was mentioned, Jiang Shixuan became preoccupied, and after thinking about it, he answered honestly: "It takes two hundred taels of silver to pay off the debt." "This amount is easy to handle." Wang Zhuxuan said: "We have a lot of deposits in the bank, and the 'bad debts' have also increased. 'It's all right." "That's right, fourth brother," Jiang Shixuan rubbed his hands happily, "You really saved my life." "I know your situation. You don't have tens of thousands of silver, and you can't hold your head up in front of your wife." Wang Zhuxuan said: "Xingfu, you'd better ask God to bless you, Japan and Russia will fight!" "How do you say that?" Jiang Shixuan asked, "Fourth brother, what you said is too mysterious." "That's right! It's a very mysterious matter. Don't leak the secret. You keep it in your stomach first, and don't reveal a word. Be sure! Never! " Seeing that he said it so solemnly, Jiang Shixuan was determined not to forget it, and only copied from the palace gate and the news paper every day to pay attention to the war between Japan and Russia.It turned out that Russia’s seven demands on China, since Lienyoshi revealed them to Uchida Yasuya, and Uchida bribed him with his firm rejection, the development of the situation is very unfavorable to Russia. The United States first protested, and Japan and Britain also adopted the same approach. step.At the same time, they jointly signed a note to China, advising them to "don't be threatened by Russia".Yikuang believes that with the support of the three countries, he might as well be tough on Russia.The note rejecting Qi’s request was sent to the Russian embassy, ​​and Uchida immediately sent someone to deliver the seal of the “Qingji” depositor of Zhengjin Bank. In fact, Russia's China policy has two schools of slow progress and rapid progress.The faction that advocates slow progress, including Weed, Ramsdorf, and Secretary of War Krobatkin, have publicly expressed their opinions, explaining why it is not appropriate to make rapid progress, so this faction is called the open faction. The opposite faction is the radical secret faction, led by Emperor Nicholas II of Russia himself. After seven requests were rejected, he suddenly issued an imperial edict, appointing the commander of the Far East Army, Aleksev, as the "Governor of the Far East". Similar to "Grand Governor of the Caucasus".This is tantamount to clearly declaring that the three eastern provinces of China have become Russian territories. This arrogant and arrogant attitude will of course arouse the public indignation of all countries.Japan, on the other hand, took the issue of the so-called "Manchuria Incident" to Russia because of the high stakes, hoping to "delineate the special interests of the two countries in the Far East." During negotiations between Japan and Russia from midsummer to early winter, Japan and Russia proposed countermeasures several times, but none of them were accepted by the other side.China also sent a note to Russia to withdraw its troops, which was tantamount to helping Japan invisibly.Therefore, the attitude of the Japanese government is even tougher.On December 20, the Japanese foreign minister, Komura, sent a telegram to the Russian minister to submit an ultimatum to Russia. The combined fleet led by Togo Heihachiro immediately began to attack the Russian warships in Incheon, South Korea, and Lvshun in the three eastern provinces. .On December 25, the two countries declared war on the same day. As the news spread, countries declared their neutrality one after another, including China.However, Japan and Russia are at war, and the Chinese territory is the battlefield. Even Qu Hongji, who is more clear-headed, doesn't know how to maintain neutrality?As for Yikuang, he secretly rejoiced that he saw the opportunity early and transferred the deposit to HSBC Bank in the United Kingdom. No matter whether Japan or Russia wins or loses, this property can be preserved. As soon as the new year passed, on the sixth day of the first month of the 30th year of Guangxu, Russia appointed Minister of War Krobatkin as the commander-in-chief of the Manchurian military aircraft.On the ninth day of the first lunar month, Japan scuttled several ships at Lushunkou as a means of blocking Lushun Port.