Expedition to Europe

In April, Moscow and Omsk still did not agree to Qin Zhiyuan's request.

The abolition of the Treaty of Aihui and other treaties signed during the Russian Empire and the Qing Empire was nominally a move towards a new era, but in fact, it was a betrayal of Russia's existing interests.

At least that's what the Russians think.

So at a time when the Bolsheviks and the Provisional Government were stepping up their efforts to win over the hearts of the people, no one dared to touch this red line first.

As for Qin Zhiyuan, although he had prepared a northern expedition corps, he would never launch an attack now.

The current domestic situation in Russia is very complicated. The Bolsheviks occupy the traditional Russian center areas such as Moscow and St. Petersburg. And Kolchak, Denikin, Kraslov, Yudenich, and Wrangel, the old generals of the Russian Empire, occupy large areas of Siberia.

In the Far East, far away from Moscow, there is now anarchy.

It seems that as long as Qin Zhiyuan sends troops north, there is indeed a great possibility of occupying Vladivostok, and even recovering all the territory lost in the Qing Dynasty, and even occupying a larger area.

But if Qin Zhiyuan sends troops north, it is possible to break the current balance in Russia.

Although the fundamental contradiction between the Bolsheviks and the Provisional Government cannot be reconciled, if they encounter a critical moment of foreign invasion, it is hard to say whether the Bolsheviks and the Provisional Government will unite and face the outside world together.

Think about the PLA and KMT in another time and space, who can guarantee that such a situation will never happen.

If the Bolsheviks and the Provisional Government temporarily join forces because of the Northward Expedition Corps's march north, then the Northward Expedition Corps will be in a miserable situation, both in actual combat and in terms of international support, it will be in a relatively embarrassing position.

So like Moscow and Omsk, Qin Zhiyuan is also waiting, waiting for Moscow or Omsk to soften, either one will do.

Qin Zhiyuan can be sure that as long as Moscow and Omsk go to war, once one side is in a weak position, the weaker side will definitely surrender, because if it comes to a life-and-death situation, anyone will aim to "survive".

Even the Bolsheviks who claim to be fearless are the same. Think about the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty. If the Bolsheviks were really as strong as they advertised, there would be no Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty.

In fact, in recent days, it is not only Ivanovich and Romanov who frequently visit Qin Zhiyuan, but also Gu Weijun, the head of the Republic of China delegation who rushed to Paris two months ago to attend the "spoils division" meeting, and Jin Jiu, the Minister of the Interior of the Korean Provisional Government who was in exile in Shanghai, and even French Army Minister Lyautey.

The trip of the Republic of China delegation to Paris was not smooth, because Lu Zhengxiang had joined Lan Fang, so the delegation of the Republic of China was led by Gu Weijun.

Gu Weijun had previously served as an ambassador in America for a long time, and had also served as the Republic of China's ambassador to Britain, so he was not unfamiliar with Western society.

It must be said that the people of the Republic of China may lack personal ability, but in terms of patriotic enthusiasm, they can definitely live up to their motherland.

In fact, the reason why the Republic of China fell cannot be attributed to the lack of personal ability.

Without a strong country as a backing, no one can get by in Paris.

For example, Gu Weijun is a representative of "aspirations are higher than the sky, and life is thinner than paper."

Since arriving in Paris in January, Gu Weijun only got one chance to enter the venue and only one chance to speak.

Gu Weijun used this opportunity to fully explain the legitimate demands of the Republic of China. Gu Weijun's eloquence and integrity also won the unanimous praise of participants such as Clemenceau and Wilson.

But that's all. Clemenceau and Wilson's appreciation of Gu Weijun is limited to Gu Weijun personally, which does not mean that France and the United States will support the demands of the Republic of China.

Given that Japan has returned Shandong to the Republic of China, the Republic of China's demand is to abolish the "Xin Chou Treaty."

Abolishing the Boxer Protocol would mean that the Republic of China would take back the "Embassy Circle", a country within a country, and stop paying the unfinished indemnity, which would also mean that the Republic of China would take back the sovereignty of customs.

These were unacceptable to Britain, France, and the United States.

In fact, during the World War, in view of the great role of the Foreign Legion, France had already voluntarily given up the remaining indemnity of the Boxer Protocol.

In addition to the part of the defeated Germany, and the disappeared Imperial Russia and Austro-Hungarian Empire, the part that needed to be paid under the Boxer Protocol has been greatly reduced.

Now the Japanese and the Dutch are extremely insistent on the Republic of China's implementation of the Boxer Protocol.

The hatred between the Dutch and the Chinese is irreconcilable. The Dutch, who were just playing soy sauce in the Eight-Nation Alliance, suffered a great loss at the hands of Qin Zhiyuan, which made the Dutch unable to swallow this breath anyway.

As for the Japanese, they have more reasons to insist.

Since 1916, whether intentionally or unintentionally, the Beiyang government began to borrow money from the Japanese whenever it encountered economic difficulties. Each time, the amount ranged from several million to tens of millions. There were more than ten times in total, with a total amount of 145 million yen. This was called the "Nishihara Loan".

The Japanese yen did not depreciate at this time, and was actually still very valuable.

The investors of the "Nishihara Loan" were the three banks of Japan, Kogyo, Korea, and Taiwan, and Terauchi Masayoshi's personal representative Nishihara Kamezo came forward to contact them, so it was called the "Nishihara Loan".

The "Xiyuan Loan" was highly controversial. The biggest controversy was that Duan Zhiquan, then the Prime Minister of the Republic of China, had pledged the gold mines and forest revenues of Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces as collateral for one of the loans.

But in addition to this, the "Xiyuan Loan" built a nationwide telegraph network for the Republic of China, expanded the Bank of Communications, raised funds for the Jilin-Huihe Railway, the four railways of Manchuria and Mongolia, the Gaoxu Jishun Railway, etc., and facilitated Xu Shuzheng's dispatch of troops to Outer Mongolia.

The merits and demerits are up to everyone to comment on, and the only ones who suffered a loss were the Japanese.

Yes, the Japanese did suffer a loss in the "Xiyuan Loan".

When the time came to 1919, the situation changed. Because of excessive debt, the three banks of "Xingye, Korea, and Taiwan" that were enthusiastic about the "Xiyuan Loan" were already struggling, and Duan Zhiquan, who presided over the loan, had stepped down, and the Republic of China entered the "Anfuhui" rule period, so the question came up, who should pay back the money?

Anfuhui said: I didn't see the money, so I don't care.

The Southern Military Government said: I haven't seen the money, so I don't care.

As for Duan Zhiquan, he is an old man who has already stepped down and is half buried in the ground, so don't make things difficult for him.

So this became an eternal pain in the hearts of the Japanese.

The Qing Empire was forced to sign the "Xin Chou Treaty" and promised a total of 9.8 taels of silver in compensation, including principal and interest.

The money was divided among a bunch of robbers. The Japanese were small and probably got 34.79 million taels and zeros. According to the exchange rate at the time, it was about 48.7 million yen.

The original text can be read in Liu # 9 @shu/bar!

Think about the total amount of 145 million yen "Nishihara Loan", which is about three times the compensation paid to the Japanese by the "Xin Chou Treaty"...

And the compensation of the "Xin Chou Treaty" needs a total of 39 years to be repaid. Even if it has been repaid for 18 years, it still needs to be repaid for 21 years...

How can the Japanese swallow this breath!

Therefore, Japan's attitude is very firm. The indemnity of the Boxer Protocol must be paid back, and not a penny less, even if other countries don't want it, I will!

I was really cheated by Duan Zhiquan.

The Japanese insistence reflects on Gu Weijun, that is, Gu Weijun is struggling in Paris.

Now Gu Weijun does not have the behemoth of the Foreign Legion behind him.

But after all, they are close neighbors and blood relatives. Gu Weijun is about to sign, and he has visited Qin Zhiyuan frequently recently, hoping to get enough help from Qin Zhiyuan.

As for Jin Jiu, this person came to seek assistance, to put it bluntly, to "beg for alms".

Think about the fate of the three Japanese banks. Qin Zhiyuan will definitely not give Jin Jiu real money directly, but he still has to leak a little from his teeth to avoid disappointing people.

Moreover, Qin Zhiyuan was very interested in everything that could cause trouble for the Japanese, so for Jin Jiu, Qin Zhiyuan's attitude was to support him, but not to participate in it. Even if he helped Jin Jiu train some people to return to Korea to fight guerrilla warfare with the Japanese, Qin Zhiyuan would never send any military advisers.

The reason why Lyaute came to Qin Zhiyuan was simpler. The French government wanted the Foreign Legion to participate in the war.

Clemenceau now hated the Bolsheviks extremely. If possible, Clemenceau even wanted to send people to participate in the war directly.

Unfortunately, France is no longer the France of 1914. France is unable to start a new war, and Clemenceau is also afraid of Russia's long winter.

So it seems that it is a good idea to send troops to the Foreign Legion.

"Qin, decide, a team of 100,000 people. As long as you organize a 100,000-man force, France will arm them, and Britain will provide you with part of the military expenses. What else can you hesitate about?" Lyaute said earnestly.

Qin Zhiyuan and Lyaute are now hiding in the attic of the Black Swan Castle.

There was no way. Gu Weijun was in the living room, Jin Jiu was at the gate, Ivanovich and Romanov were fighting in the backyard, and Qin Zhiyuan had to hide in the attic, otherwise he would not have a minute of peace.

"Puff... Of course I have reason to hesitate! You see, if I organize a force, although it seems that I don't have to bear much burden on the surface, in fact, I will be labeled as an "aggressor" and an "interventionist", and 100 million Russians will hate me for the rest of my life. Then I am afraid that I will not be able to sleep well in the future. Anyone who is hated by 100 million people will probably feel a little guilty. Moreover, the most important question is, what can I get?" Qin Zhiyuan made a careful calculation.

Qin Zhiyuan's words were also half true and half false. Others might be afraid of "being hated by 100 million people", but Qin Zhiyuan was definitely not one of them. You know, although Qin Zhiyuan is now a Lan Fang, he actually has 400 million people of the same ethnic group. If we really talk about the number of people, who can the Chinese be afraid of?

"What do you want? Vladivostok? Sakhalin Island? Even Kamchatka Peninsula? To be honest, it's not very realistic. If those places really belong to you, you can look at the situation of the Japanese on the map, so the Japanese will definitely not agree." Leotai was also worried.

The world seems big, but in fact the cake is so small. If one person has a big appetite, it will affect the actual share of others. This is a chain reaction.

Qin Zhiyuan's ambition for Vladivostok is no secret in Paris. Just as Leotai said, some people support it, and some people oppose it.

Qin Zhiyuan is not surprised by this situation.

If Vladivostok can be successfully obtained...

That would be a ghost!