Travel through the Qing Dynasty and become emperor

The two major railway bureaus, one south and one north, were established miraculously in such an atmosphere. Now Wuchang Railway Bureau has been able to produce various passenger and freight carriages, and Tianjin Machinery Bureau has also imitated the first small horsepower train. The steam locomotive ushered in a new era for China's railway industry.

In Li Hongzhang's drowsy thoughts, the train continued to move forward, surrounded by cement office buildings and large iron gates for each factory area, and the unique smell of heavy industrial areas permeated the whole air.

Soot was everywhere, and even the flowers on the small flower beds were black.This kind of scene can still be seen sporadically all the way to Tangshan. In this piece of land in North China, there seems to be a prototype of a small industrial zone.Most of these Westernization projects in Beiyang are his hard work, but looking at these hard work today reminds him of the land in the Northeast.

This time he went out of customs, in addition to negotiating, he also had an errand to comfort the local area.In the Northeast area, the resources and transportation are not inferior to this, and the situation is also open. More importantly, the land is sparsely populated and suitable for construction.

Fang Huai's emphasis on the land is well known among these important ministers. Unfortunately, since the "Beijing Treaty" and "Aihui Treaty" cut off millions of miles of territory in Jiangbei and Jiangdong, it has become a It is a fertile land under the feet of the Russians. Every year after the river freezes, the Russian Cossack cavalry will come to beat the autumn wind, and all constructions have become a picture on paper.

Guan Xuqing even thought about building a group of fortresses along the Heilongjiang and Wusuli Rivers, but the south side had been facing pressure from Britain and France, and the project was huge, and the treasury couldn't afford the money for a while, so he stopped under the dissuasion of his ministers.

However, these did not stop Guan Xuqing from being obsessed with the land in the Northeast. The renovation of the Jilin Machinery Bureau, the construction of the Anshan Iron Mine and the Liaoyang Coal Mine, the laying and extension of the Beijing-Fengyang Railway, these kinds of books are always ranked first in the South Study one column.Thinking that before he left, Guan Xuqing also specifically asked him to investigate the damage situation in detail and restore the original appearance as soon as possible. Li Hongzhang, who had been in the officialdom for most of his life, couldn't help realizing that maybe the emperor's next move would fall on this.

Perhaps, the emperor had long planned to fight Russia.But is it now?Taking advantage of the entanglement between Britain and Russia, it first won Burma and then took back a large amount of Mobei land.The fight was due to the time difference. Frankly speaking, if one side of the Anglo-Russian war withdrew first or did not try its best, the Qing Dynasty would be doomed.

Whether Myanmar can return is still unknown, and the opening of the northern gate is more likely to be directly captured by the Russian palace.Fortunately, Guan Xu had the right time to settle the matter and got such a big deal.It can be said that it is seeking victory in danger, so what is the emperor's plan this time?Let yourself go to the Northeast to help rebuild or start a war against Russia?

Rivalry in East Asia Chapter 1 Industrial Reform

In Guan Xuqing's long-term strategic plan, the coming situation is grim, not to mention the desperately developing Japan and the covetous Russia, but also to catch up with Britain, France, Germany, and the United States, which are already far ahead, and change the world in the next two times The battle of fate is bound to be seized.However, just like participating in a big gamble, if you want to reap huge returns from it, you must have a strong gambling capital.Guan Xuqing is now as if he has superb gambling skills but does not have enough chips, sighing to himself, "It's hard for a clever woman to cook without rice"!

Fortunately, he is only 17 years old. If history has not changed, there are still more than 20 years before the arrival of the First World War, and he still has a lot of opportunities to raise money for gambling.Among these bets, the country's industrial strength is undoubtedly the top priority, ranging from the supply of guns and ammunition, the supply of military clothing and food, to the supplement of heavy artillery and warships. The rapid deployment in the west requires the backing of huge industrial strength.

For this point, most people in this era do not have a clear understanding. In the large-scale Franco-Prussian, Austrian-Prussian, and Crimean Wars during this period, the outcome of the war was often determined by one or two battles. The quality of the army The level of the country has become the standard for measuring the strength of a country.

However, looking at the two world wars, the impact of industrial strength on the war is vividly reflected. If it weren't for the dense railway transportation network in the country, how could Germany support the two fronts at the same time when it was at a disadvantage in the first world war? Ground oppression operations, often a division has just completed a defensive battle on the banks of the Seine in Champagne.

Three days later, it appeared on the black soil of Ukraine and surrounded a division of the Russian Guards Corps; while the quality of soldiers has always been known for fear of death, the United States was able to defeat them in the Pacific War. Experienced Japan relies on its huge industrial strength. In the Battle of Pearl Island, the U.S. Pacific Fleet was almost wiped out, but within a year, the U.S. Pacific Fleet regained its old strength and even surpassed it before; the Battle of the Coral Sea .Japan lost the light aircraft carrier "Fengxiang", the aircraft carrier "Xianghe" was seriously injured, the United States lost the aircraft carrier "Lexington", and the aircraft carrier "Yorktown" was seriously injured.

But the U.S. military newspaper wrote "We have achieved an unprecedented victory", and U.S. President Roosevelt also believed.As long as the battle can be ended with a 2:1 casualty ratio, the United States is victorious.Because the shipbuilding capacity of the United States is more than four times that of Japan.And another fact should also prove this point of view. After the Coral Sea naval battle, the two aircraft carriers were also seriously injured and lost their combat capabilities. The "Xianghe" failed to participate in the subsequent Battle of Midway because there were too few slipways in Japan that could provide repairs for large aircraft carriers, and the Yorktown was almost repaired in any large shipyard on the east coast of the United States.As a result, basic repairs were completed in just 72 hours back in port.And eventually became a surprise soldier of the US military in the Battle of Midway Island.The Japanese Navy suffered a "decisive defeat."

This shows that industrial strength plays a decisive role in a large-scale war, and no country can remain undefeated in such a world war.Even if Poland was destroyed in two weeks and the German Third Reich defeated France in three months, it would not be possible. In the end, everyone had to compete who built more planes and tanks, and who built warships and submarines faster.

Regarding how to develop a country's heavy industry in the initial stage, Guan Xuqing once made in-depth thinking based on the experience of various countries and some researches of later generations.There are many quick and successful examples, such as the Soviet Union after the October Revolution and Japan after the Meiji Restoration.Guan Xuqing summed up three very valuable experiences from it. One is the scale of the enterprise. Ten scattered small factories are not as good as a group of the same size. Only a large-scale group can have international influence and competitiveness. Large-scale industrial groups often become the benchmark of an industry's technology and system, driving the development of the entire industry. Compared with sporadic construction, large-scale industrial groups with centralized construction can improve the efficiency of talent utilization and avoid internal friction and repeated construction caused by vicious competition. The resulting waste.Large-scale industrial groups are often a concentrated expression of a country's industrial strength. As someone once said, as long as China can build a Siemens and a Krupp, it will realize modernization.Although this statement is suspected of being partial and general, it also expresses this truth.

And the second important lesson is national policy.Large-scale industrial groups did not fall from the sky, but developed step by step. In addition to the accumulation of capital, talents, and technology, massive orders are also the driving force behind their expansion.This is inseparable from two major policies, one is the policy of preferential regionalization, and the other is the policy of preferential industrialization; the policy of preferential regionalization is easy to understand. Just think about the circle drawn by Grandpa Deng in the South China Sea in later generations, and you will know a lot. Second, it is a typical regional bias policy. To develop, enterprises need to enclose land to expand their scale, need convenient road and railway transportation conditions, and need policy support such as taxation and talent recruitment.The policy of industrial tilting can be understood in this way. Manpower is sometimes poor, and so is the country. Whether it is capital, technology or talent reserves, there is a limit. If they are evenly distributed in various industries, the result may be that all industries are poor. It is mediocre and nothing can be achieved, especially in countries like China that lack funds, backward educational conditions, weak basic conditions, and low talent reserves. They can only "concentrate their efforts to do big things" and invest funds and talents in some countries that have development advantages and development opportunities. Go to an industry with great potential, and make this industry bigger and stronger in a short period of time.The most successful example of implementing the industrial tilt policy is Japan. Before the Meiji Restoration, Japan was also closed and backward. A large amount of domestic gold was stolen and lost. The capital and talent reserves were far inferior to those of China at that time, but the Japanese obviously understood Industrial development does not lie in many, but in essence. According to the situation of many excellent bays in the island country, since the 60s, it has concentrated its efforts on the development of the shipbuilding industry.Almost all industrial development in the country serves the shipbuilding industry, and almost all funds and talents have been invested in it, making Japan's shipbuilding industry leap from an ignorant state to being able to build the world's advanced warships in just 30 to 20 years The second economic leap driven by the automobile industry in the [-]s and the third economic leap driven by the electronics industry after the end of World War II were all the results of Japan's consistent industrial tilt policy.

The third important experience is the economic system.The economic system here does not refer to a planned economy or a market economy, but refers to the relationship between enterprises and the government.Regional inclination and industrial inclination are not completely without disadvantages. Taking the Soviet Union as an example, because of the dangerous international situation after the October Revolution, the Soviet government focused on industrial development at that time in the field of heavy industry, mainly military industry. So great progress has been made.It laid a solid foundation for later defeating the powerful German army under unfavorable conditions.It's just that the implementation of the industrial tilt policy will inevitably make the government participate in the operation of enterprises. As far as itself is concerned, it is actually an act that violates the laws of the market.Many heavy industrial enterprises in the Soviet Union lost their independence and market autonomy due to excessive reliance on government support and leadership for enterprises in the later period, resulting in rigid enterprise operations and lack of initiative by enterprise employees.The research and development of products runs counter to the needs of the market, which is caused by the economic system.History has proved that under strong government intervention, it is difficult for state-owned enterprises that ignore the initiative of talents and violate the laws of the market to succeed.Many people of insight in history have realized this.For example, in the history of Japan, this problem was solved by selling government-run enterprises at a low price. Mitsubishi, Mitsui and other famous consortiums came in this way.The injection of private capital can bring more autonomy and initiative to enterprises, and the profit-seeking nature of businessmen is also a guarantee for enterprises to always follow the laws of the market.

For these three experiences.Guan Xuqing attached great importance to it.Well from the beginning.He upholds the standard of expensive and not expensive.The more than a dozen government-run enterprises under the name of the Ministry of Industry are all following the road of large-scale and group development, not only the technology and talents are second to none in the country.And each has its own characteristics. For example, the products produced by Jiangnan are famous for their fineness, and they always pursue international advanced technology. Tianjin Machinery Bureau is famous for its rough, large-scale and standardized production. Often a product design reaches them. There, it will be presented in the simplest and most economical way. Taking the railroad track designed in the 11th year of Guangxu as an example, the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau uses the best rebar and adopts German-style jointing technology. Its quality is almost the same as that of the British and American. The rails produced by Tianjin Machinery Bureau are comparable, but the Tianjin Machinery Bureau uses the cheapest cast steel, which uses simple nut butt joints. The same length, its cost is less than one-third of the rails of Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau. Under geological and climate conditions, its service life is almost the same.Others, such as the Fujian Shipbuilding Bureau specializing in shipbuilding, the Northeast Machinery Bureau specializing in boiler steam engine and other power research, and Sun Desheng specializing in arms metallurgy, have each embarked on their own road to success.

In addition, Guan Xuqing also imitated Japan in later generations, investing a lot of money and manpower in the shipbuilding industry that purchased a lot of French equipment.Hope to lead the world in this field of navy.

However, how to properly handle the relationship between technological updates and scale expansion, and maintain a healthy competition, needs to deal with the third problem, how to privatize these enterprises that are deeply branded by bureaucratic capital, so that they can truly return to the According to the laws of the market, seniority is no longer a qualification for an official to be promoted.The products produced are not regardless of the cost, but just fill in the number.This is the problem that really needs to be solved but is difficult to solve. Due to the adoption of some measures for the reform of state-owned enterprises in later generations, the government-run enterprises in this period are not as wasteful and angry as they were in history. On the contrary, they played a big role in the two foreign wars However, Guan Xuqing is soberly aware that these are superficial phenomena, or it can be said that they only treat the symptoms but not the root cause. Such "public ownership" enterprises have many disadvantages.For example, enterprises are easily subject to administrative intervention rather than market rules; the lack of sustainability of enterprise development is prone to lead to confusion in the direction of development, and the lack of motivation of enterprise employees.It is a situation where human beings are superfluous.From Guan Xuqing's position and perspective, privatizing these enterprises is the only feasible and reliable long-term solution.However, this will inevitably touch the interests of a group of bureaucrats, especially the officials of the Westernization School who have devoted a lot of energy to these government-run enterprises.Their backlash is bound to be extremely violent, and this is definitely not something that can be suppressed by the phrase "a gentleman does not talk about profit".

Just when Guan Xuqing was about to vigorously develop industries and accumulate "gambling capital", problems arose in both the south and the north.Needless to say in the north, the frequent harassment from Russia has already given Guan Xuqing a headache.In the south, Vietnam and North Vietnam also experienced small-scale riots one after another.

Guan Xuqing of Russia in the north has already sent Li Hongzhang to negotiate with the Russians. Frankly speaking, Guan Xuqing has no idea at the moment. Well in the end is to fight or not to fight.After all, the British troops in India and Malaysia have been spying on Burma, which was just included in the Qing Dynasty, for a long time.

The situation in the south is much simpler, and they are all homesick for their homeland.They are also dissatisfied with the actions of former Vietnamese officials who have lost their status in the new government. The scale is nothing more than the looting of dozens or hundreds of people in the countryside.Under the pressure of Liu Yongfu both soft and hard, it is becoming more and more difficult now. As for the former Vietnamese king under the strict supervision of Prince Chun, he is very honest.

Regarding Annan provinces, Guan Xuqing was actually not very worried. As soon as he came to this place, China has had enough influence on it since ancient times, even more so than Tibet and Mongolia. By the early Ming Dynasty, this place was still a province of China, and Annan also set a record for six consecutive prime ministers, all of whom were Han Chinese. For example, the Chen family, whose ancestral home was in Fujian, served as the prime minister of Annan for three consecutive dynasties; secondly, from a cultural point of view, the Yue people did not have their own script and used Chinese characters all the time. Many Yue people in the north and the people in Guangxi and Yunnan have the same ancestors, and many people can speak Chinese, while in the south, under the French colonial rule for more than 30 years, the resistance has almost disappeared, and the people recognize their motherland. Almost nothing.Moreover, this land is deeply influenced by Confucian culture, and its basic ruling system is almost the same as that in China. They all adopt the local clan system. Guan Xuqing used the Han people and local clans here as the basis of his rule, and selected low-level officials from among them, so as to firmly establish the took control of that land.

Contesting in East Asia Chapter 1 for three years

With the closer relations between China and Germany, China and the United States, Russia faced repulsion and suppression from Britain and France in Europe, and was also rejected by Germany and the United States because of the deteriorating official relationship with China.It is conceivable that Russia, which has just ceded territory and paid reparations, offended four superpowers in the world and China, which is developing at a high speed, how sad life is.

After several retaliatory plunders, it was strongly condemned by Britain, France, Germany, and the United States, and 20 troops were sent to the Sino-Russian border in the Qing Dynasty. Li Hongzhang, the foreign minister of the Qing Dynasty, issued a tough last After the ultimatum.Russia finally bowed its head obediently. Although it was not reconciled, it had to accept the fact that a large amount of land was cut off by China, a country that could be ravaged at will ten years ago.

Time flies, time flies.Three years passed in a hurry, and the clock of history soon came to the 16th year of Guangxu, the summer of 1890 AD.

Tianjin Dagu Port Wharf.

The summer is shining brightly, the sea breeze is blowing, sometimes dazzling rays of light are reflected in the waves, hitting the incoming and outgoing cargo ships, making people dizzy for a while.As the gateway to Gyeonggi and even the entire North China, and also the first treaty port that was forced to open, Dagu Port seemed to be a thriving new atmosphere.

On Coastal Mountain, a seven-story lighthouse has been erected, and the waterway entering the port has also been marked. Small western-style buildings made of blue bricks and cement seem to have spread all over the entire port area overnight. , there are all kinds of shops here and there, some opened by Chinese themselves, and some opened by foreigners. The goods range from flour, soap, foreign cloth, to foreign nails, nuts, and chemical fertilizers.In the distance, the outskirts of the port area are still under construction, and the sound of "boom" and "boom" piling continues to come, and in the direction of the black smoke of the Dagu Shipyard, there are new factory buildings rising from the ground. It's the same every day.

In the north of the port area, not far from the Dagu Fort, is the military dock of the Beiyang Fleet.The Beiyang Fleet has special military ports in Lushun and Weihai. Dagu Port is not their main base, but because the Beiyang Fleet is really a treasure of the Qing court, it will be inspected every now and then, so a simple anchorage is left at Dagu Port pier.It is only separated from the civilian wharf by a simple wooden fence. Sometimes ships from other places will stop at the wrong wharf. Three steps, one post, five steps, one post, all under martial law, and there are mosquito gunboats and torpedo boats patrolling back and forth on the sea in the port.

Two behemoths painted with the unique dark paint of the Daqingshui Division quietly parked beside the pier. Eight 305mm thick gun barrels protruded from the armored turret, and the muzzles polished by Shuiyong reflected coldly. The light appeared ferocious and terrifying.This is the largest ship in Asia.

Not far away, German Ambassador Heinz watched the "Jiyuan" and "Weiyuan" which had just been overhauled at the Dagu Shipyard.no doubt.The image of the two ships with a displacement of 7400 tons is extremely profound.Although Heinz was not born in the navy, but because of his family, he has extremely rich knowledge of ships, such a first-class heavy ironclad ship.Even the powerful Germany has only two warships, but this country, which has always been regarded as ignorant and backward by Westerners, has four such warships. It is said that in the last Sino-British war, the navy of the Qing Dynasty also captured two more British warships. Huge ironclad ship.It's incredible.Only in this way, the naval strength of the Qing Dynasty has reached a very strong point in East Asia, and even in the world, only a few countries can surpass it.

But he didn't know that once the two warships under construction at the Mawei Shipyard were launched, they would become the most powerful heavy ironclad ships in the world.This was created by Guan Xuqing's pouring of outstanding talents from all over the country and a lot of money.

Even so, Heinz was slightly worried. He had witnessed the terrifying development of this country. Once the people's wisdom was turned on, the whole country would run forward like clockwork.There are even prototypes of industrial zones in places like Tianjin, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, and there is no doubt that this trend is spreading.This country will undergo an industrial transformation. Although there are still many deficiencies in the education level of citizens and social system, it will rely on its huge market, abundant natural resources and almost luxurious human resources.Once it is allowed to embark on the fast track of industrial development, the national power will expand rapidly, which will bring great shock to the world structure.

William II, who had been trying his best to promote this matter and had just ascended the throne of the German Emperor, was immediately furious.Regardless of Prime Minister Bismarck's strong opposition, he sent an expedition fleet headed by two Saxon-class ironclad ships. 15000 German soldiers departed from the mainland, passed through several German colonies in Africa - Doron, Cameroon, German Southwest Africa (Namibia), German East Africa (Tanganyika), and arrived in Siam.

The German Army has been a model of the European Army since the Prussian era, and enjoyed the reputation of "No. It is not as good as the Chinese navy, whose power has risen rapidly in recent years, but it is still one of the top five navies in the world. Neither the quality of personnel nor the number of ships can compete with Siam, which only has a few old torpedo gunboats.

Although Chulalongkorn, King Rama V of Siam, has been committed to domestic political, economic, and military reforms and active construction.He abolished slavery, built schools, museums, the National Library, and built the first railway in the country, developed the road system, founded the post office and other modern facilities.History calls his period in power the "Restoration Era", but it can actually be said to be the beginning of Thailand's modernization.And to be honest, the strength of Siam has indeed been greatly improved. The more than 2 modernized army and a navy composed of several torpedo boats and gunboats that Chulalongkorn finally equipped were at least in Southeast Asia at the same time. Absolutely second to none.

But it would be a different matter if they were facing the German army. This army once made the old powers France tremble.What's more, the Siamese army had to defend several of their seaports scatteredly.

Without any suspense, the German Expeditionary Force quickly captured several important cities, including Bangkok, the capital of Siam. However, Chulalongkorn, who had been prepared for this, immediately led his army to retreat to the north-central part of Siam. In the tropical rainforest, he played a game of cat and mouse with the German Expeditionary Force.

Two years later, the German Expeditionary Force still failed to fully control the entire Siam. Chulalongkorn's army attacked the German Expeditionary Force like a ghost, and the British behind him gradually revealed.Although the British lost their spirit in Burma and took into account that the Triple Alliance led by Germany would join hands with Russia so as not to send troops to interfere, they still participated in it by selling arms to Chulalongkorn.

Therefore, although there are still good news from the front line from time to time, the loss is also staggering.In order to block the coast of Siam and cut off the aid of the British, the expeditionary fleet needs to patrol the sea for a long time, and the coal consumed per month is worth tens of thousands of marks, and because most British arms dealers choose to smuggle arms from India or Bangladesh to Siam On the coast near the Andaman Sea in the Indian Ocean, the Siamese themselves used the mountains on the Malay Peninsula to smuggle them to the north, so the expeditionary fleet patrolled the Indian Ocean most of the time.Fortunately, the Chinese captured Burma and blocked the way for the British to support Siam from land. Otherwise, he would have persuaded His Majesty the Emperor to end the war.The coast of Siam facing the Indian Ocean is flat and straight, and there is almost no good port. It may allow some small boats to load, but it is undoubtedly a fantasy for large warships of thousands of tons.Therefore, the imperial expedition fleet can only be repaired and resupplied in the ports of Myanmar, China.

Thinking about it, Heinz had a feeling that the Greater German Empire seemed to have been fooled by the Chinese emperor.Fortunately, the Chinese are still very concerned about the relationship with the empire. Whether it is food, coal or ammunition, the ones sold to the expeditionary force are the best, and the price is only a little more expensive than domestic ones. This is naturally much cheaper.

With the increasing relationship between the two countries, his status as ambassador to China has also risen, so even if his term of office ends, he does not panic at all. Judging from the letter written by his old friend, he may still get a medal when he returns this time. , and what made Heinz more confident was that when he returned to China this time, he also had an important mission, which was to serve as a guide and accompany the Chinese emperor who was about to visit Germany.

Guan Xuqing's visit to Germany this time was not only to further consolidate the strategic alliance between China and Germany, but also to see the group of students whom he personally sent to Germany three years ago.Today's autumn is the day when they return from their studies, and the secret service agencies and special forces of the Qing Dynasty will be established.

In addition, the old general Zuo Zongtang's health has deteriorated day by day in the past three years.Although Guan Xuqing invited the best doctors from the United States, the effect was still not good.It seemed that it would not last long anyway, and the successor in Guan Xuqing's mind was Feng Xianghua, the son of Feng Zicai who was studying in Germany.

Guan Xuqing couldn't wait to meet these indispensable talents in the Qing military, and see what they had learned from the world's number one army in the past three years.

Competing in East Asia Chapter 1 Smart Diplomacy

Guan Xuqing’s visit to Germany was scheduled several years ago. On the 90th birthday of William I in [-], China sent a huge celebration team headed by Prince Gong Yixin. Yixin is not only the uncle of the current emperor, but also a Shangshufang’s Chief Cabinet Minister and Prime Minister’s Yamen Minister is equivalent to the Prime Minister of Europe, and the long list of people listed after Yixin’s name, including Li Hongzhang, Zhang Zhidong, Ding Richang, Liu Kunyi, Ding Baozhen, etc., do not live in the cabinet. The important position of the Ministry is the chief official of a province.This kind of courtesy was given to Queen Victoria of England, known as the "grandmother of Europe", and China had never done this before. This made Germany, whose self-esteem was extremely inflated since the Franco-Prussian War, feel very proud.In addition, the two countries had just signed the "Sino-Germany Commercial and Friendship Treaty", and the relationship was in the honeymoon period, so it was not an accident to invite Guan Xuqing to visit Germany.

It's just that Guan Xuqing has been busy with domestic trivial government affairs in the past few years, so he didn't make the trip.In the past three years, the international situation has generally been relatively calm. Except that Britain is still trapped in the swamp of the Sudan Mahdi uprising, and Germany has occupied Siam with little success, the rest is basically calm.However, despite the external calm, there were waves of waves in the Qing Dynasty.

After two foreign wars and a series of joint vertical and horizontal diplomatic activities, Guan Xuqing, who had established his authority, began to take drastic measures against various domestic maladministrations. reform.The reform of the official system, the sale of government-run enterprises, the encouragement of non-government industries and commerce, and the banning of provincial tax bureaus all affect the nerves of the whole country.Some of these have been fully implemented, and some are still being piloted in one or two provinces, but overall the changes brought to the Chinese people are huge.

In such a seemingly calm but actually turbulent torrent, naturally there are not too few problems that arise.Although the cases of official corruption and dereliction of duty have been greatly reduced after several rounds of bureaucratic purges, officials selected under the old-style imperial examination system are still lacklustre in dealing with the problems that arise during the reform.This made Guan Xuqing almost care about everything.Everything must be taken care of, the lights of the Qianqing Palace will be on almost every night until after the fourth watch, and even the Queen has seen a lot less in recent years.There are fewer than during the Sino-British War, let alone other concubines!And this trip to Germany, Guan Xuqing specially brought the queen with him, on the one hand out of respect for Germany, on the other hand he wanted to make up for her and accompany his wife in this life and future generations.

Although due to my own arrival, this time and space has undergone major changes. It used to take advantage of the contradiction between the British and French colonial forces to barely survive, and later became Thailand, which is thriving in Southeast Asia.Because both the Sino-French and Sino-British wars ended in China's victory, which disturbed the surrounding environment of Thailand, and was eventually annexed by Germany, which was rapidly looking for colonies around the world. Such a butterfly effect must be inevitable.But in the next 30 to [-] years, the mainstream of the international situation will remain unchanged.The emerging imperialist countries that rose later, led by Germany.In order to have more colonies, to obtain sufficient markets and sources of raw materials.It is bound to challenge the old imperialist countries with a large number of colonies, and the old imperialist countries represented by Britain and France are bound to not compromise in order to safeguard their own interests and status. The conflicts between the two sides are not like the past conflicts between Britain and France, France and Germany National conflicts such as conflicts between Britain and Russia, there are no permanent friends or enemies between countries. Under the common interests, soldiers from both sides can still sit in the same trenches, but the old and new imperialist camps The contradiction between the two countries is sharp and irreconcilable, and the solution seems to have no other way but war, and this is also a historical necessity.

Guan Xuqing knew all of this clearly.However, in such a situation where the two camps are facing each other, what kind of position will China be in and what should be done to maximize its benefits? These are what Guan Xuqing has been thinking about for a long time.And if you want to take advantage of that worldwide wave to seek the greatest benefit for China, you must join one of the camps.If you join the camp of the Allied Powers, just like Japan in history, it seems that it is easy to win, and you can make a lot of war money without paying too much; but now China seems to be closer to the Allied Powers, and if in the future In the Great War, the joining of China on the side of the Allies will inevitably greatly affect the power of Russia and the United Kingdom in the Far East. After all, Russia cannot give up the Far East and Siberia, and Britain cannot do without India. In this case, as long as Italy does not turn against the water and controls the When the United States joined the war, the outcome of World War I may not be impossible to rewrite. Whenever Guan Xuqing thinks of this, his heart beats. What is more fascinating than creating it yourself.But Guan Xuqing quickly calmed down. This is not a game for one person, but a matter related to the future and destiny of this country and this nation. God gave him a chance to create history.Even if it is painstaking efforts and exhaustion of one's own life, one must make China strong and no longer suffer the shame of the sick man of East Asia.Therefore, all decisions must be made cautiously, not to mention that China is far from reaching the point where it can control the world situation with the power of one country, and it even has problems with self-protection.The United Kingdom has been making small moves on the Tibet issue in recent years. Sometimes it used the excuse of surveying the dividing line between Tibet and India, and privately dispatched armed forces to attack the anti-British chieftain forces.After a while, in the name of developing roads.It dispatched an exploration team to survey and map Tibet's topography, biology, and mineral resources. On the other hand, Britain spared no effort to help Japan develop its navy. It not only helped Japan train naval officers, but also helped Japan build Yoshino, Naniwa, and Akitsuzhou. The purpose of the three most advanced cruisers is self-evident, that is to suppress China.Realize their so-called regional balance.China still has a long way to go if it wants to break through such a blockade.

What's more, it's too early to think about World War I.The Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War of Sino-Japanese War of [-]-[-] was imminent, but judging from the current situation, Qing was far superior to Japan in terms of naval strength and army quality.Whether Little Japan still dares to make trouble with the Qing Dynasty on the North Korean issue like in history is still noncommittal, and it is not known whether it will fight or not.

Therefore, at this time, China cannot directly stand in front of the United Kingdom. For hundreds of years, anyone who dared to directly confront John Bull fell at their feet, including the First French Empire like Napoleon, Romano Russia across Europe and Asia under the leadership of the Husband Dynasty.And this time I am about to visit the First German Empire, which is now in full swing.The reason why the Burmese war was won was that people with bare feet were not afraid of wearing shoes. With China's national strength at that time, if the British went all out, they might not be able to repeat the outcome of the previous two Opium Wars.But the price to be paid must be very high, because China is an extremely feudal and centralized dictatorship, and China's social economy is still dominated by its own self-sufficient small-scale peasant economy, so as long as the Chinese emperor insists on fighting, it is a challenge for China to collapse. Difficult things.At that time, the domestic economy was in chaos, the colonies were under attack, and there was no external force to borrow.The British still judged the situation and gave up Burma, and took back Iran, Afghanistan, and Turkey.