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In the presidential palace, President Li Hongzhang was worried about something that made him very troubled

Originally, South China did not want to touch North China at this time, but just hoped that Sichuan would remain semi-independent. Tiehu took the initiative to close the road to Sichuan at this time, which already indicates Sichuan's actual independence. More importantly, Tiehu kidnapped North China officials in Sichuan, which could actually violate a number of Chinese laws. The crimes include: abetting murder, obstructing traffic order, kidnapping, abuse, **, robbery, etc.

These laws are also accepted in Southern China. Even if Tiehu's behavior is not a separatist behavior, South China will also assist North China in sending troops to attack Tiehu. Li Hongzhang couldn't help but curse:

"This confused guy!"

After learning that Tiehu had violated the bottom line of both sides again and gathered to rebel, Li Hongzhang had to issue a presidential decree and began to collect armed forces from various provinces in southern China, preparing to carry out a "combating the insurgency" operation in Sichuan.

No matter how you say it, it is really not easy to do.

First of all, the provinces are not interested in providing their own armed forces to enter Sichuan to help others suppress bandits.

Secondly, because Congress has not approved the special funds, Li Hongzhang is currently unable to promise the leaders of various provinces to pay huge fees.

At this point, Li Hongzhang couldn't help but admire Zhao Gang. If Zhao Gang had directly attacked the South four years ago, the southern provinces would have gathered together and fought to the death. Although Northern China is strong, it cannot be a good idea. With the constraints of foreigners, it will definitely suffer a considerable loss. His roots are basically unstable. If this fall, it may be an uncontrollable situation.

Who knew that Zhao Gang just asked for some money and then focused on internal affairs in the past few years. Not only did he manage the northern provinces clearly, but his products were also sold to the south. With investment, the southern provinces actually became the same clan towards the north and no longer mentioned confrontation between the north and the south. This time he was unwilling to send troops, but in fact he was unwilling to get into evil with the north.

Li Hongzhang smiled bitterly. If he was thirty years younger, he would definitely make great achievements, unify the south, and then fight with the north. But now his health is getting worse and worse, and there is no outstanding talent in his next life. On the contrary, most other provinces are like this. It seems that God is so willing!

Unlike in the past, the military expenses of his presidential organization were also allocated by the House of Representatives. However, the finances of each province do not belong to the President of Southern China, they are completely the affairs of each province. The President of Southern China can only apply, and others have the power to not send troops, or they need money to send troops.

Among them, the chiefs of Fujian, Jiangxi and Yunnan said that their own areas also need to keep an armed force under the ground to prevent and control the rampant bandits. The cost of land required by provinces in wealthy coastal areas of Guangdong and Guangxi is extremely high, so an army of 10,000 people actually needs a 10,000 yuan extension fee.

Li Hongzhang went to the parliament these days to allocate funds, but also drove his subordinates to attack from all directions. He used his own tongue to lobby the important officials of various provinces and persuaded them to agree to send troops... and the relevant equipment was not collected, so the war could not be started at all.

There is nothing to do in northern China. First of all, Sichuan's terrain is dangerous, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it is not easy to move troops in winter. It is cold and freezing, and it is inconvenient to transport supplies and raise. In addition, the railway is still under construction, and it is necessary to wait until the railway is built to Sichuan. At that time, it is the time of spring plowing. Tiehu's 300,000 troops must have to go back to farm, so this battle is easier.

As early as when the country's minor unification had been completed, Yung Wing strongly suggested in his State of the Union address that the railway network across China would be built to promote the development of industry by strong transportation. He believed that the circulation of goods is the powerful source of power for the overall prosperity of the country. The commodity economy will prompt self-sufficiency farmers to join the torrent of socialized production faster, so that wealth can flow along the blood of these steel to every inch of the mountains and rivers of this ancient country.

These are all official words, the actual situation is as follows:

"We cannot send troops because once we send troops, the southern Chinese provinces that feel threatened will speed up the union, and that will happen to our previous years."

In any case, Zhao Gang believed that the arrest warrant of the Northern China Court must be enforced, otherwise no one would believe in the judicial authority of the court in the future. At this time, Zhao Gang remembered two people, that is, Zhang Herong, the founder of the Northern China national policy, why didn’t he talk to these two masters about his own ideas?

Soon, the two of them came together, and it seemed that they were prepared for it. The three of them were all busy with every day and rarely had a match together, but this time they got together.

"The president is really amazing!" Yung Wing, who was standing beside him, stretched out his thumb, "It would be impossible if you mobilized the army to quell Sichuan in anger!"

Zhao Gang didn't know if Yung Wing was teasing him, so he just started joking. "Prime Minister Rong, do you know that Sichuan has a large army of 300,000 and many reserve teams. I'll go to fight him? I'm afraid he will come to fight me. Our total strength is only 60 in more than a dozen provinces, and it's too scattered. I was in such a situation at that time. Think about it, in order to protect Shaanxi, I not only had to transfer the troops from Northeast China, but also the troops from North China.

And the President of South China will also become my enemy. Besides, you, Premier Rong, have never been a fuel-efficient lamp. If you let me go, and allocate my bonus and budget to tens of millions, you might have already drunk in Chengdu now."

"Ha——" Yung Wing shook his head, "President Zhao, look, you'll be turning things around now, it's amazing! The total number of troops you said was only 600 people lost. You're still sloppy with me. What's enough for 600 people! If you really want to fight, these 600 people are basically considered small in reserve."

Zhao Gang didn't answer this and asked another thing:

"There is another thing, why did Brother Wu not become the governor of Beihai Province? I didn't say that Brother Wu was just a name, and he couldn't stand the cold and would not go to Beihai to take charge."

"Let's see if you have a fever." Zhang said seriously.

"If you ask someone who can't take care of the affairs to go to this governor, I think you don't want to be a country anymore. Are you arbitrarily enthroned by the princes?"

"Dad, why do you see me like this?" Zhao Gang seemed very excited. "When we came to Northeast China, we were only these brothers. Although Brother Wu was not capable, he came with me and I was so worried about putting Beihai in his hands after a long time of trial.

"No!" Zhang Shen

His hand stopped Wu Jun's words and explained with a smile.

"Don't worry, I didn't say what Wu Junsheng is like? You said it in two ways. On the one hand, in my opinion, Wu Junsheng's ability is limited and he can't do these things well. In addition, do you want to send some people with strong abilities to assist him? This is not right. You have thought that without "the officials are as clear as water, and the officials are as slippery as oil". Wu Junsheng is not familiar with the administration of officials, so it will depend on his subordinates. If his subordinates deceive their superiors and hide their subordinates and have big problems, what will you do? Your original intention is good, but in the end, it may harm him!"

"I don't think so."

Zhao Gang said. He reached out to take a page of blank paper and pulled out a pencil from the book holder on the table.

"The country and people first need a peaceful and peaceful living environment, and then they can talk about other things. But now Tsarist Russia is eyeing Siberia, and the British and Spaniards are fighting with us in the South China Sea for economic colonies. We do not send military officials to take charge, what should we do if we start a war? The current situation in the Beihai is basically that military control has nothing to do with civil affairs."

Zhao Gang said here and glanced at Yung Wing, "I said Prime Minister, you should have no objection to this, right?"

Yung Wing nodded slightly, but he still opposed the appointment if he said next.

"It's not that I didn't expect this aspect, you said it right. But there is one thing you didn't think about, and you were in a hurry to follow the power, but it is meaningful to the people who have to build a country that has been implemented for hundreds of years. It is meaningful to future generations. It cannot be a temporary pleasure and a bad example for generations."

"Hey?" Zhao Gang knew that things were not going well, so he had to agree, "What's going on in the south now? Do you have any plans to send troops?"

Yung Wing smiled and shook his head, "The southern provinces are holding parliaments. The members of the provinces do not want the tax to flow to the hands of the President of Southern China. The wealthy provinces themselves refuse to recruit a large number of soldiers because it is of no practical use. The key is that the Southern House of Representatives insists on provincial autonomy, so it is too chaotic and has no clue for half a year."

Zhao Gang smiled and shook his head, "These people never thought that Washington disbanded all the troops back then. Yes, there was no force in the United States that could dominate the king. But what happened later? When the British bullied them, who should protect the interests of the United States? Even the country was occupied by others.

Think about the Song Dynasty again. When Zhao Kuangyin released his military power with a cup of wine and grabbed the army in his hands, it led to the story of Wen Tian and martial arts. It was difficult to find a general who led the army during the war. What should he do when there was an invasion? Only one Lu Xiufu left ran to the sea and committed suicide."

"You see, South China is now being disorganized."

Yung Wing was a little excited, and waved his hands in the air.

"I don't agree with you. I understand your sense of crisis. I also know the importance of a strong army to this country and to our Chinese nation. But the parliamentary system also has its own benefits. If the southern provinces think that the military expenditure is too small and not enough to protect the country, they can go to the parliament to demand, lobby members of Congress, and appeal to the people on the street. This kind of resolution represents all public opinion, and public opinion cannot be defeated by any powerful!"

Zhao Gang sat down slowly, "I didn't say that the constitution is bad, nor did I say that the separation of powers is bad. But the performance of the Southern Parliament is so terrible. Should we learn from them in the future?"

This time it was Zhang Zuo's turn to express anger, "I can only appeal, not interfere. This is freedom, this is democracy. We are just ordinary people now, members of China one by one, and no one can think for others."

"That's right, you are the Grand Marshal of the World now! When will you become the commander and send troops to Sichuan?"

Zhao Gang hurriedly explained, "What the hell is the Grand Marshal? I'm worried about not being able to find a soldier now!"

"Well?" Zhang was very strange. "The southern provinces refused to send troops to you. This is strange. How come the hundreds of thousands on your hands will stop moving?"

"It's not that I can't command, but that there are more than 200,000 troops currently confronting the Russians." Zhao Gang took a sip of water, "But this time I'm dealing with the 300,000 troops in Sichuan. Even if it's clay-carved and wood-sculpted, it's easy to make a fortune. Such a large number of people will require tens of thousands of people. How can I take care of those many prisoners!"

The three people laughed, it seemed that the problem in North China was not serious.

In Southern China, Li Hongzhang's aide Gu Zhenpu complained:

"President Lee, I can't do this errand?"

"What, Congress hasn't approved the grant yet?"

Gu Zhenpu sighed repeatedly, "I have found many members of parliament, but they all said that even China in the North has not sent troops, and the South has unwilling to send troops, and it is opposed to imposing taxes on provinces. The House of Representatives has become a quarrel in the House of Representatives, and there is no result for so many days. Tomorrow is the voting day. I see that this situation is not likely to pass."

Li Hongzhang's face turned painful after hearing this, "Look, the South China, which is a mess, cannot even maintain its minimum force, so what else can we talk about development. Once Sichuan Province splits, it will inevitably be quickly eliminated by North China. Don't look at North China without any movement, that's for us to see. There may be many means in secret. When we see North China's actions, we will never have any room for intervention."

Gu Zhenpu didn't want to take over Li Hongzhang's words, and he couldn't take over them either.

"Now I have only got 30,000 armed police from four provinces, and the prices in the southeastern provinces are very high, so I don't have the money to give them..."

"These short-sighted people should not talk about major issues in the world with them. Where is Governor Zhang?"

Gu Zhenpu replied sadly:

"Governor Zhang is in poor health and cannot fall asleep day and night. Recently, he started coughing up blood again. I see... When he saw me, he said to me, 'War, attack, or defend, the camera responds, and only then can he gain power. The situation is unpredictable, with manpower as the will of the heaven, and the mantis arm is in the car, so a leaf knows autumn, and when he follows the heavenly destiny."

Li Hongzhang was silent after hearing this, and after a while, he said:

"Time is like this, the head of the hero's tomb. Hey, it seems that God is so will! Don't be anxious about recruiting soldiers. The messenger over there comes again and talks with him to see if he can be a rich man, and go out for free and easy."

The abnormal movement of Li Hongzhang, the largest leader in southern China, immediately aroused speculation from the governors of the surrounding provinces. For a time, the letters that secretly conveyed to the north were like crucian carp in the river, and the most important thing was how to take Sichuan in the shortest time.
Chapter completed!