Chapter 24 Section 24

Disputes arose at the meeting, over several railways. According to the Sino-Russian secret agreement, the two sides established the Sino-Russian Daosheng Bank and built a railway stretching from Chita in Russia to the southeast through Harbin to Vladivostok, realizing the shortest distance required by the former Russian Emperor Alexander III to connect Primorsky Province and central Russia. wishes. The total length of this railway is 2,800 miles. Russia calls it the "Middle East Railway", while China calls it the "Eastern Province Railway" or the "Dongqing Railway".In the 23rd year of Guangxu, Germany colluded with Russia and used the Sino-Russian secret treaty to arrange a scam similar to bullying local fools.First, Germany used the Caozhou teaching case as an excuse to occupy Jiaozhou Bay, while the Russian minister expressed to Li Hongzhang that based on the principle of mutual assistance in the treaty, he was willing to claim Jiaozhou Bay on his behalf.Although Li Hongzhang had been to the "Tongdu Dayi" at this time, and he could speak a few "ruffian accents", he was still a "fool from the countryside" after all. Meet, it has been agreed.It was obviously a trap for a hanged ghost, but Li Hongzhang, who was dark and ignorant, could see that it was a round transom with a clear light outside, so he couldn't help but stick his head out to breathe, so he fell into the trap.

Weng Tonghe was in power at that time.The scholar is ignorant of worldly affairs, but the reasoning is clear. With the help of Zhang Yinhuan, he saw that Li Hongzhang was going to be fooled, so he told Li Hongzhang to ask for help from the emperor Yuqing Wang Yikuang, and at the same time urgently called the minister stationed in Russia, using very euphemistic words to ask Li Hongzhang. The Russian government said: "China does not want Russia to break up with Germany, so please don't send the navy to China for the time being." There were no less than ten Sino-German meetings, and Germany was always unwilling to make concessions, while Russia sent troops to Lushun and Dalian in an urgent and chivalrous manner.This is to "help the boxing", of course the landlord is required to provide everything.Due to Li Hongzhang's insistence, Song Qing, who was specially assigned to guard Shanhaiguan, provided all "useful items" for the Russian Navy and allocated 2 million silver to build the Lushun Fort.Soon, Russia, which declared it was "suspended", actually asked to lease Luda.Li Hongzhang knew he had fallen into a trap, but he couldn't get rid of it.

As a result, Jiaozhou Bay was lost, and Lushun and Dalian were also lost!Britain and Japan already have the intention of forming an alliance. Seeing this situation, in order to resist Russia and Germany, and even for their own interests, Britain took advantage of the fire and asked to lease Weihaiwei, which was still under Japanese occupation, in order to recognize the Minhai area as a Japanese force. range, in exchange.How can France, one of the Three Kingdoms and Liao Dynasty, be left behind?Request to lease Guangzhou Bay.Italy came to join in the fun and asked to lease Sanmen Bay.For a while, the theory of carve-up among the great powers has the tendency to become a reality.

In an urgent matter, all the prime ministers and ministers assembled, and the emperor Weng Tonghe made a generous statement, advocating the opening of all ports, allowing countries to station ships, and then making a "Great Peace Agreement", not occupying China's land, not infringing on China's rights, and China It is not bad for national business. In this way, the common people are happy to see sincerity, and the doubts of all countries are washed away.Although this is a scholar's opinion, it coincides with the "open door policy" advocated by US Secretary of State John Hay.However, all the prime ministers and ministers, including Zhang Yinhuan, whom Weng Tonghe relied on as his right-hand man, remained silent. It is said that Zhang Yinhuan had already betrayed Weng Tonghe at this time and accepted the bribe from the Russian representative together with Li Hongzhang. According to the request, each can get five hundred thousand taels of silver as a reward.

So in the spring of the twenty-fourth year of Guangxu, following the fourth day of February, Li Hongzhang, Weng Tonghe and German Minister Hai Jing signed the "Jiaozhou Bay Lease Contract", allowing Germany to lease for 99 years to build the Jiaoji Railway and mine minerals within 30 miles on both sides of the railway. Afterwards, on the sixth day of March, Li Hongzhang, Zhang Yinhuan and the Russian Acting Minister Babrov signed the "Lushun-Dalian Lease Treaty" for a period of 25 years, and allowed Russia to build the South Manchuria Railway. On the second day—the seventh day of March, the Kaiser sent a telegram to congratulate the Russian Emperor on his acquisition of Lushun and Dalian. Since then, Prince Gong’s condition had worsened, and he was finally sick, and died on the tenth day of April.On April 23rd, an edict was issued to renew the national policy and reform and strengthen oneself; four days later, Weng Tonghe, who drafted the national policy, was deposed; ".This scam of "ruffians bullying the idiots of the village" has caused the emperor and Weng Tonghe misfortune, and Li Hongzhang, who was caught in the trap, and Zhang Yinhuan, who is ungrateful for profit, did not end well, and became harmful to others and themselves.

The official name of the South-Manchuria Railway is "South Manchuria Branch of the Eastern Provincial Railway". It starts from Harbin, goes south to Lushun, runs through Jilin, Fengtian, and the forces of Soviet Russia, so it can reach the Bohai Sea.When the Treaty of Portsmouth was concluded, Russia would cede the section from Changchun to Lushun, about 1,500 li, to Japan.This section of the railway has passed through famous cities and fertile land. Japan regards it as the biggest trophy of defeating Russia, and believes that many of them have grown. Therefore, it made a request in the meeting: "In order to ensure vested interests, China cannot build a railway parallel to the South Manchuria Railway."

Yuan Shikai thought for a while and put forward relative conditions: "If China cannot build a railway parallel to South Manchuria, Japan should also do the same. Otherwise, it will also damage interests. And the so-called 'parallel' should also have a limit. A distance of ten miles is parallel. , they are also parallel when they are hundreds of miles apart, so they cannot be generalized." "Manchuria is vast and sparsely populated. It is not easy to operate a railway, so even if it is far away, it will still be harmful." Komura continued: "As for Japan not building a parallel line, I can agree. However, the railway connecting South Manchuria , that is, the South Manchurian Branch Line, which can be built in the future depending on the development of the local area.”

"No!" Yuan Shikai immediately retorted: "Japan's inherited rights are limited to the South Manchuria Railway south of Changchun, and do not include any branch roads. If it exceeds this range, it is another matter and cannot be discussed together. Let me remind you again. Your Excellency, what China promised to Russia back then was only the Dongqing Railway, not including other branch roads." Komura was at a loss for words, so another plenipotentiary in Japan, Uchida Yasuya, said: "It is beneficial to China to build railways for the development of local areas, convenient transportation, and local prosperity."

"If it's for the development of local transportation, we should agree with each other, but we can't discuss it with the Nanman Railway." "According to this!" Komura asked firmly, "Did your minister agree to add it?" "If it is to develop a place, China can also consider the situation at any time and build a railway." "No! Adding railways within the scope of South Manchuria will always hinder the interests of the South Manchuria Railway. It is suspected of competing with South Manchuria. China should not build anytime." Listening to the translation of this passage by the translator, Yuan Shikai thought there was a loophole in what Xiaocun said, so he quickly asked, "Is it okay if we agree with each other?"

Komura found it difficult to answer this question. After discussing in a low voice with Uchida who was taking his seat, Fang Shi replied: "If Japan agrees, China can build more, but it cannot be parallel to the South Manchuria Railway." This is a great achievement in negotiations. Japan has recognized China's right to build branch roads within the scope of the Nanman Railway. Although Japan's consent is required, at least it has the right to claim.If Japan refuses, relatively, if Japan wants to build a branch road, China can also refuse. Therefore, Xiaocun's answer was equivalent to providing him with a tool to restrain him, which was naturally a mistake.

Just as Komura was filled with remorse, Tang Shaoyi, who was famous as a councilor and had the right to speak, suddenly added something superfluous: "The construction of railways is related to China's sovereignty. If Japan does not get China's consent, it cannot build at any time." "Naturally, we need to discuss with your country. Japan will never be like the way Russia treated your country back then. Your country doesn't have to worry about it." At this time, Tang Shaoyi realized that what she said had something to say. Originally, according to Yuan Shikai and Xiaocun's agreement, the rights are equal. Anyone can build railways within the scope of South Manchuria. The only condition is to obtain the consent of the other party.And according to what he said, it seems that it is Japan's right to build a branch line in South Manchuria, but China's consent is required.However, although Tang Shaoyi has already discovered the slip of the tongue, he is clumsy at making up for it. If there is an opportunity, he just needs to repeat Xiaocun's words, beat his feet, and become a conclusion without compromising his rights.But he just repeatedly stated that building roads without China's permission always hinders sovereignty.The tone became more and more obvious that the construction of the South Manchurian Branch Road is only a matter for the Japanese and has nothing to do with China. Unexpectedly, Komura met such an opponent. He was overjoyed, and immediately cut through the mess with a sharp knife, saying loudly: "I only focus on the point that the interests of the South Manchuria Railway are related. Therefore, if there is any branch line that conflicts with the interests of the South Manchuria Railway, China will not It should be added." Just this one sentence overturned the original promise, and Tang Shaoyi was ignorant, only felt that the words were not quite right, but couldn't tell the truth.Moore rested, and the case was finalized. As a result, the negotiations fell into a disadvantage, because the Japanese side has seen the truth.Qu Hongji didn't understand public international law, so it didn't matter what he was interested in. Although Yuan Shikai was alert and willing to put his heart into it, he couldn't be like Li Hongzhang did in the past when he negotiated with his opponents. Take it back or make it up; there are some foreign students in the entourage who understand the essentials of negotiation, but the concept of superiority and inferiority in Chinese officialdom is very deep, and people's small words are light, so it can't be effective. Only Tang Shaoyi, one of Zeng Guofan's first batch of young children selected to study in the United States, could make an impact. He was Yuan Shikai's "general" in charge of foreign affairs. Because of this change of heart, the attitudes of Komura and Uchida became tough, and the next day when they accepted the Anfeng Railway, Komura put forward a "demand for reform." It turned out that the Japanese Army crossed the Yalu River from North Korea for reinforcements and built several light railways in Fengtian and Jilin. The most important one was the Anton Railway from Andong on the opposite bank of Uiju in North Korea to Fengtian Province.Japan has already threatened in advance that it hopes to continue to operate this railway. This is a matter related to China's sovereignty. It has not been announced for fear of strong opposition. "Completed, the meaning of continuing to manage and operate is included. Therefore, Yuan Shikai replied: "This railway was built for military use. After the military is over, it should be dismantled. Why rebuild it?" This is Yuan Shikai's mistake again!If it is said that the Anfeng Railway was built exclusively for Japanese military use and no land rent was collected, now that Japan has won, it should be donated to China as a reward.Or at least China will subsidize the cost of materials for road construction, and take it back and dispose of it by itself.Even if it is not enough, you can also make a request for joint hosting, and Japan has no reason to refuse. It's just that Yuan Shikai has always been good at using power tactics, thinking that you said "reform", I will refute you with no need for reform, intrigues and tit for tat, wouldn't it be easy?Unexpectedly, Komura would not be fooled by this, and simply pointed out: "There is a need for a railway between Fengtian and Anton! I have mentioned it to your Ministry of Foreign Affairs before, but there is no result. The military suddenly started, so I hurriedly built a railway. Light rail, apart from the military, is very beneficial to the revitalization of local businesses, and should be a permanent railway. Therefore, this time it is not a reconstruction, but a reconstruction.” It is not easy to say when it is mentioned that he has taken over the head with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Yuan Shikai didn't know what was going on, and Qu Hongji couldn't remember this negotiation. Tang Shaoyi didn't have many days in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, so he was even more at a loss.So Yuan Shikai had no answer. But the representatives of Japan did not relax. Komura and Uchida took turns advocating how the construction of this railway would be beneficial to China.In the end, he had to be allowed to renovate, but there was only one condition. The width of the track should be the same as that of the Guanwai Railway and not the size of Nanman Road, which means that it can be taken back as a part of China Railway in the future, not a branch line of Nanman Railway. In addition, there are many disadvantages.But compared with the situation of Li Hongzhang's peace negotiation in Maguan, there is a huge difference. Therefore, Qing Wang Yikuang, who was not often present, and Qu Hongji, who was often present, thought that the negotiation could have such a result, which was not satisfactory. One of the attendants couldn't help but have a lot to say.This person is a native of Shanghai. His name is Cao Rulin, and his style name is Runtian. His grandfather worked for the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau founded by Zeng Guofan for two generations. When he graduated, the Ministry of Commerce was newly established. There were many commercial laws that needed to be drawn up, and he decided to learn from Japan. Therefore, Cao Rulin was recruited into the Ministry, and was appointed as the head of the Ministry of Commerce.Most of the attendants of the China-Japan Beijing Conference were transferred from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce. Because Cao Rulin studied law and was proficient in Japanese, he was able to speak in Xuan Xiaocun's speech. , I have a deep understanding, and I am often anxious because the parties misunderstand the other party's true meaning, do not argue where it should be argued, and stick to words when it should not be argued, wasting time and worrying.He had no right to speak in the meeting, nor could he hand over a note to remind him to correct him. He could only swallow his saliva to moisten his dry and itchy throat. When the meeting ended on that day, he couldn't bear it anymore.After the general meeting ended, except for Qu Hongji, who went back to the mansion, most of the rest followed Yuan Shikai to dinner at the Beiyang mansion to discuss the documents that should be submitted and the points that should be paid attention to in the next day's meeting. Cao Rulin, who was in the last seat that day, looked at Tang Shaoyi and asked: "Master Tang, I have something I don't understand, and I need to ask Master Tang for advice. Komura had already agreed, and with Japan's consent, China can also build railways. Later, Mr. Tang raised the claim of sovereignty, and Komura immediately changed his mind and only talked about China. Can't add railways in South Manchuria, not as much as others, as a decision. Then, why didn't Lord Tang refute him?" In the middle of speaking, Yuan Shikai, who was eating with his head down, raised his eyes suddenly, but he was very alert and knew that Tang Shaoyi was going to be embarrassed!In order not to embarrass him too much, he immediately lowered his head and pretended to eat, but in fact he was chewing a mouthful of food slowly, listening carefully to the question and answer between him and Cao Rulin. Tang Shaoyi became a little annoyed, "I don't care much about diplomacy!" He replied loudly in a blunt Cantonese accent, "I made a brief statement on sovereignty. Since he recognized my sovereignty, he naturally couldn't act alone. These principles You do not understand." Seeing this scene, Cao Rulin dared to be angry but did not dare to speak, but he didn't look good to show him, and turned his face away with a slight sneer.This dinner broke up a little bit. In the morning of the next day, when Cao Rulin had just arrived at the ministry, a Beiyang official came to see him with Yuan Shikai's business card and said, "The commander-in-chief asked Mr. Cao to come to the Beiyang office early before today's meeting. Talk to Master Cao." The meeting started at three o'clock in the afternoon, and Cao Rulin arrived at two o'clock.When you arrive, please sign into the deposit room. Yuan Shikai rises to welcome him, and invites him to sit opposite the desk. "Brother Runtian, where is...?" Beginning with this sentence, Yuan Shikai asked Cao Rulin about his family background, education, how many years he had been in Japan, when he arrived at the ministry, and what position he was in, and finally mentioned what happened at the dinner table yesterday. "I heard brother Runtian questioning Shaochuan yesterday, I really admire him!" After yesterday's questioning, Cao Rulin calmed down a lot. Tang Shaoyi was domineering, although his demeanor was not good. On such an occasion, it was unavoidable for him to directly expose the shortcomings of the officer.So he replied with a little uneasiness: "It's because I was too rash and my words were inappropriate." "It was the same for me back then." Yuan Shikai said: "It is good to be young when you are young." "Yes! Please give me more advice, my lord." "I don't dare to do it! But this time, I have a lot to ask for advice." Yuan Shikai paused and said, "Unfortunately, most of them have already been agreed! It will be followed in the future.” "My lord speaks too hard!" Cao Rulin said very uneasy, "I'm also a fool once I got it, maybe I'm right or not." "Isn't that right, I have to talk about it before I study it. It's always good to have an opinion! Please don't be polite, if there is something wrong, feel free to point it out." "Yes!" Cao Rulin thought for a while and said, "The Anfeng Railway is not a trophy. If Japan wants to rebuild it, they should be able to ask them to cooperate." "Yes! Yes! This is my negligence." Hearing that Yuan Shikai blamed himself, Cao Rulin was rather perplexed. According to this, everything was his slack, and it became a special accusation against him!Wouldn't that be against your heart? Yuan Shikai saw what he was thinking, and said again: "Brother Runtian, if you say you've heard it, you'll be happy. I haven't had that kind of self-cultivation yet. However, I don't want to hear a few compliments from you. I'm a good writer in the shogunate. There are a lot of people, and I ask them to change something I have made myself. I am only happy if I change it a lot. There are many people who know this. Brother Runtian, please understand my sincerity. .” With this explanation, Cao Rulin can speak freely: "In addition to Anfeng Road, there are many places where you can fight for rights and interests in Nanman Road. For example, Fushun Coal Mine has a steel factory attached to it. The scale is very large. Whether it is military supplies or expenditures, They all have a lot to do with each other, why don’t you ask for a joint operation?” He paused and said, “It’s not a good idea to limit the mining area and not allow it to go beyond a few miles along the railway line. The mines are only opened towards the place where there are mines, and they may not cross the boundary on the ground, but it is another matter underground." "Hmm, um! So brilliant!" Yuan Shikai thought for a while before asking: "What else?" "Also, if Russia cedes a section of South Manchuria to Japan, logically speaking, it must also obtain China's consent." "Oh," Yuan Shikai paid attention, but was also a little suspicious, "what's the reason for this?" "The Middle East Railway is co-organized by China and Russia. Russia is represented by the Sino-Russian Daosheng Bank. China has a share capital of five million taels. Speaking of which, China also has half of the rights to the Middle East Railway. Now it is ceded to Japan, of course China needs to agree .Otherwise, wouldn’t it be generous to others?” Hearing this, Yuan Shikai was silent for a long time, "Brother Runtian," he said, "Your reasoning is not bad. However, we have long since given up the rights to the Middle East Road invisibly." "That's why we need to negotiate!" Cao Rulin blurted out, feeling a little agitated. "At that time, because of the Middle East Road, envoys Yang and Xu had discussions with the Russian Minister of Finance, and their lips were burning. Yang Xing envoy fainted because of anger. It is conceivable that the negotiation is intense. Now that Russia is a defeated country, China should take this opportunity to bring up the old matter again, and earnestly propose to withdraw the rights of interest and re-establish a joint venture. As for the Sino-Russian Daosheng Bank, at that time I don't know whether it will be discussed together. Fortunately, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must have a file, why don't you call it out and have a look." "Brother Runtian, your insights are very superb. But, alas!" Yuan Shikai sighed and said, "Although it hasn't been long, it has gone through many vicissitudes. Negotiations with Russia were a major failure in Li Wenzhong's life. You must have heard that our younger generations are inconvenient to criticize, not to mention that Li Wenzhong's virtuous temple negotiated a peace, and died after overwork, which is the same as being killed in battle, so how can you bear to criticize. If you turn over the old case in the Middle East, it will definitely hurt Li Wenzhong's reputation. , The current state of the country is not the time to turn over the old scores. Brother Runtian, I speak from the bottom of my heart, please examine carefully." "Yes!" Cao Rulin accepted Yuan Shikai's opinion with understanding. "As for this negotiation with Japan, I have more than one grievance. Brother Runtian and I hit it off right away, so we might as well talk about it. The first is to withdraw troops.The imperial court has high hopes for taking back the three eastern provinces. The Japanese saw our weakness and vaguely threatened to withdraw their troops.This, presumably you can also see it. " "Yes!" Cao Rulin admitted that he was telling the truth. "Secondly, Beiyang really wants to do more things." Yuan Shikai was also a little excited. "In the 12 years from the Sino-Japanese War to the present, first there were coups, and later there were boxers. Not only did they lose their vitality, but they also wasted their time. We fell behind. There are too many people, and I’m afraid I won’t be able to use it for two days a day, so I always try to do as much as I can in Beiyang. But some people think I’m taking power, especially... well, don’t mention it!” Cao Rulin suddenly realized that every time he spoke, he always asked Qu Hongji: "Is that so?" or: "I don't know if this is okay?"