Chapter 21 of Part 4: Determination of Death

News about the Sino-Russian Secret Agreement spread. European powers were like hunting dogs discovering prey, and their eyes were all focused on the reaction of the Chinese government. After all, Li Hongzhang could not represent the Chinese government. As long as the Chinese government was opposed to these two contracts, there was no room for anything to turn around.

As the winner of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the fact that China defeated the newly emerging Japanese was still in front of us. Everything depends on the government's attitude. This time, the matter of loaning Lushun with the Russians is no longer the same.

The newspaper with the closest relationship with the Governor of Liangjiang will naturally not miss such a news. It is well aware of the influence of Chen Congyun, who is in charge of Liangjiang, in China since the Sino-Russia Secret Agreement. After learning about the Sino-Russia Secret Agreement, the newspaper's number one reporter James found Chen Congyun's residence as soon as possible and submitted an interview.

"Pu! Pu!" The flash light flashed in the moment, and the little girl who was serving tea was so scared that she shook her hands and almost smashed the plate. Qingxian, who was hiding behind the curtain, was also frightened and patted her chest with her hands. Ruan Xiaozhen's eyes flashed with the meaning of "rustic buns", and she focused her attention on eavesdropping.

"Governor General, as the founder of the victory of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, what attitude do you have to do with the contract signed between Li Zhongtang and the Russians? As far as we know below, the Russians have committed contributions in mediation and collected loan interest, and forcibly leased Lushun and Dalian. Do you think the Chinese emperor would admit this contract?"

James asked straight to the point, his tone seemed very sharp.

The reporter was inspired by Chen Congyun's intentional disclosure of the news, so he was naturally prepared, and he looked sad and angry, and said sternly: "The Sino-Russian Secret Agreement was definitely signed by the Russians forcing Li Zhongtang to force Li Zhongtang to sign. This is a long-planned conspiracy. I have submitted a memorial to the court, saying that Li Zhongtang's journey to the west now must not open the head of the Sino-Russian Secret Agreement. Otherwise, the Russians will get a bargain and follow the example. Li Zhongtang signed a traitor contract in a country, and the destruction of the country will be a matter of instantaneous events. Therefore, the Sino-Russian Secret Agreement and the Sino-East Railway Contract cannot be admitted and accepted. My memorial has been requested to the court, and I am willing to lead a hundred thousand troops northward. As long as Russia dares to invade, Chen Congyun is determined to imitate his ancestors and die in the battlefield for the country, and never take a step back. Why do you need to bury your bones? Where is the green mountains in your life?"

In the afternoon of the same day, the temporary special issue of "Xin Kuaibao" was launched. Chen Congyun's statement was undoubtedly a bombshell. Especially Chen Congyun's proud plagiarism was placed on the front page by "Xin Kuaibao" with "Why do you need to bury your bones? Where is the green mountains in life?", and accompanied by a huge photo of Chen Congyun's decisive expression! The passionate young people in the world were excited and excited.

After being brainwashed by Chen Congyun for many years, the new army soldiers who only knew that Chen Congyun had only the heart of his mind were even more excited. Chen Congyun raised his arms and shouted, and the new army soldiers asked Chen Congyun for battle with blood.

Chen Congyun sent dozens of blood letters, together with a letter from officials from the two rivers and three provinces, requesting that the Sino-Russian Secret Agreement and the "China-East Railway Contract" be refused to recognize the "China-Russia Secret Agreement" and the "China-East Railway Contract" to send people to the capital.

In the editorial department of "Shiwu News", the typesetting editor has been in front of Liang Qichao's desk for half an hour. Today's newspaper can be typed and printed by Liang Qichao's article.

At this moment, Liang Qichao was solemn and writing hard at his desk!

"Young people are wise, the country is rich, the country is rich, the young people are strong, the young people are strong, the young people are independent, the young people are independent, the young people are free, the young people are free, the young people are progressing, the young people are better than Europe, the country is better than Europe, the young people are strong on the earth, the country is strong on the earth. The red sun rises, the road is bright; the river flows out, and the river flows out, and the scales and claws fly; the milk tiger roars in the valley, and all animals are frightened; the eagle and falcon try their wings, and the wind and dust are sucked; the strange flowers are born in the first birth, and the emperor is shining; the generals are lit up, and they are shining; the sky is wearing its green, and the earth is walking on its yellow; even if there are eternals, there are eight wildernesses, and the future is long. How beautiful I am in China, and I will never grow old with the sky; how powerful I am in China, and my country is boundless with the country!

……………….”

After thousands of words, Liang Qichao threw the bald pen on his hand, pushed the manuscript forward, then turned around and looked at the wind and rain outside the window with his back, bursting into tears! The editor of the layout picked up this masterpiece that Liang Qichao wrote in one go and quietly retreated.

"Thirty fame, dust and soil, eight thousand miles of clouds and moon, don't wait for the young man to turn white, and be sad!" Faced with the storm of Xiaoxiao Fengyu, Liang Qichao whispered!

As soon as an article "Theory of Chinese Youth" was released, Liang Gong has become famous all over the world since then.

"Bloody Advice"! The title of the super-large font appears on the front page of "Shiwubao", "Xinkuaibao", and the second page of "Shiwubao", and the full page of "Shiwubao" published Liang Qichao's "Theory of Chinese Youth".

Shen Congyun's reaction was so violent that the whole country was shocked! The world was shocked! A historian many years later said, "In the autumn of crisis, Shen Du raised his arms and shouted, and the whole country was boiling! Half of the young elites in the world have returned to the Shen family from then on!"

A group led by the Strong Society in Beijing gathered hundreds of students, blocked the gate of the Censorate every day, and wrote a letter every day! The memorials of governors and governors from all provinces across the country flew to Beijing like snowflakes, and they all expressed their convictions and signed two contracts, and the Northeast was destroyed!

Qingliu in the court was even more excited and jumped up and down. The impeachment memorial of the Censorate was a few feet tall in front of Emperor Guangxu's case. The main target of Qingliu was naturally Li Hongzhang, threatening that Li Hongzhang "lost his power and humiliated the country, and his crimes are unforgivable! He should punish himself to thank the world!"

Under pressure from the whole country, Minister Yi Xin of the Zongli Yamen dragged his sick body out and told a group of foreign journalists: "The contract signed by Li Hongzhang in Russia is his personal behavior, and he currently has no real position and cannot represent the Qing government."

As soon as this statement was made, the Russian minister immediately sent a note to Beijing, which was a blatant provocation to the Russian government, which was to trigger a war.

When Shen Congyun from Shanghai heard this, he immediately told the reporter of the "New Express": "The Russians are coming, and I am waiting! I announce that the new home in Nanyang will enter the first-level combat readiness from now on!"

After Shen Congyun shouted, Rong Lu from Beiyang had no choice but to express his life: "My Beiyang soldiers are ready to fight! Swear to defend the Northeast to the death!"

Li Hongzhang was still in Russia, and the Russian army began to increase its troops on the northeastern border! He acted as a big fight! Shen Congyun responded immediately. The two monarch-class battleships of the Nanyang Navy immediately entered the Bohai Bay, aimed the 320mm main gun muzzle at the port of Lushun, and aimed at the Russian warships anchored at the port of Lushun. (Note, the caliber of 340mm was a typo.)

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Hu Xueyan appeared in Shen Congyun's office with the account book and abacus in his arms, sat in front of Shen Congyun with a frown, and lamented: "What's the matter? We're going to fight again, and we can't live this life."

To be honest, Chen Congyun was really a little afraid of Hu Xueyan's move, so he shouted that he wanted to fight the Russians to the death, so Hu Xueyan came to complain in a hurry.

Seeing Chen Congyun laughing but not speaking, Hu Xueyan quickly fiddled with the abacus beads, let him open a account book, pointing to the red number on it and said, "Zi Gui, please see for yourself, how much money we still have left."

Chen Congyun always let Hu Xueyan and Wang Chi do things in money. Chen Congyun also knew that he was spending money too much. Judging from this, there were times when the God of Wealth could not be covered.

"I'm sorry to say yes? Or don't understand? It doesn't matter, I'll calculate it for you!" Hu Xueyan hummed twice, took the abacus and dialed it a few times, "I'm sure! During the Sino-Japanese War with Japan, nothing else is. Just the double sound of each soldier, one person's annual salary is 60 yuan silver dollars, and one hundred thousand people is 6 million, which is equivalent to nearly three million taels of silver. The expenses of ammunition and weapons provide ammunition and other expenses to the Beiyang Navy, which is nearly four million taels. The costs of transportation, medicine, food and grass supply, and civil servants' requisitions are at least one million taels. The arms provided to each unit of the Huai Army were also nearly one million taels. The pensions and burning expenses for the resettlement of the people in Liaodong and Shandong were also nearly one million taels. The total consumption of the Sino-Japanese War was 10 million taels, which was only a lot."

Chen Congyun scratched his head a little embarrassedly and said with a smile: "The Ministry of Revenue has allocated three million yuan, did Li Hongzhang send two million yuan, and when North Korea withdraws its troops, did the King of the Dynasty give one million taels?"

Not mentioning Hu Xueyan was not angry. When he mentioned Hu Xueyan's eyebrows were raised, he kicked his eyes and said, "The Ministry of Revenue allocated 3 million taels. The geese passed by the way, and the hair was plucked. Not to mention that the quality of the silver was not good. It was less than 10,000,000 taels of silver. Before the war, they wanted this and that, but you were very concerned about not giving a eldest son. After a battle, they filled in more than 5 million taels of silver. A few years ago, they lost all their money to spend money in Vietnam."

When deciding the accounts, how could Chen Congyun be Hu Xueyan's opponent? He quickly smiled and said, "Continue to calculate! Continue to calculate!"

"Hmph! How did the railway from Shanghai to Jinling, Shanghai to Qingdao be built? After 30 years of railway income, I have borrowed 10 million taels from the Rothschild family with a 30% stake. I can tell you that Stephen spent a lot of money in Europe and the United States, which looks glorious. But in order to collect the 10 million silver dollars spent in five years and nearly 50 million taels of silver, I have scraped the land in Jiangnan three feet and used 30% of the bank's gold reserves to mortgage the loan. Just like that, now I still owe foreigners 10 million taels of silver on the books. Zhengxiang told me early in the morning, don't expect his company to take out a piece of working capital. Now you are going to fight again, I can't be a company. I have to go back and do my money deal."

Hu Xueyan said as if he wanted to give up. Chen Congyun quickly stepped forward and grabbed him and smiled, "Mr. Xueyan, don't worry, this battle hasn't started yet?"

Hu Xueyan's eyes lit up and he said happily: "What? Are you not planning to fight?"

Chen Congyun smiled embarrassedly and said, "What are you fighting? My family is almost defeated, and I'm still trying to beat you. I just scare the Russians. As long as the whole country is moving, I don't know how to take action. Nowadays, many people are waiting for Russia to fall down in the quagmire of Northeast China!"

Hu Xueyan asked relentlessly: "Don't be a false person for me, just tell me something practical. Why do you think the Russians dare not fight?"

Chen Congyun smiled cunningly, Hu Xueyan looked at her heart and felt a little angry, and he raised his ears to listen to Chen Congyun said, "The Russians and the Austro-Hungarian Empire have fallen out for the interests of the Balkans, and the Germans have chosen to support the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The French have joined forces with Russia, and the situation in Europe is not easy. Furthermore, Britain, the United States, and Germany do not want Russia to maximize its interests in the Far East, and they will not sit idly by. At present, the British are planning to southern Africa and are at odds with the British. The United States and Spain The relationship between the two countries is also tense, and neither of them has time to look east. I guess they do not want Russia to go to war with China. Germany and Austro-Hungary Empire naturally hope that Russia will consume a lot in China. The French are concerned about Germany and the pressure of the Austrian alliance, and they will definitely not support the Russians to go to war. So, I concluded that someone would come out to mediate for a few days. At that time, the court was under pressure and was eager to negotiate to resolve the problem, and was worried that I would make up for the military pay I owed, right? "

Hu Xueyan left with satisfaction, while Chen Congyun fell into anxious waiting. The expected ministers of Britain, the United States and France should also come to Shanghai soon, right?

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Bohai Bay! Outside the Port of Lushun!

Three Russian cruisers ignited the anchor and slowly sailed out of Lushun Port, and slowly rushed up the two main warships of the Nanyang Navy, who were cruising outside the mouth of the Gangkou.

As the thick black smoke rose, Liu Buchan, on the watchtower, saw the Russian warship coming up, remembering Chen Congyun's words before setting off: "All imperialism is a paper tiger. As long as you are harder than him, he will be afraid of you!"

The three cruisers launched were not too large in tonnage, and the three or four thousand tons were only as large as the top three or four thousand tons. Liu Buchan, who had sufficient capital, was brave enough!

"Be careful and inform the Russian warships ahead. Now is a period of tense relations between the two countries. Please do not get closer, otherwise you will be responsible for the consequences."

When the signal soldiers sent the news in flag language, on the Russian cruiser "Avle" was aboard the Russian cruiser, Lieutenant General Zinovi, commander of the Russian Far East Fleet, and Rozjestervinsky, stood on the flybridge and used a telescope to observe two giant Chinese ships.

Undoubtedly, this operation was a test, a test under the instruction of the Russian government. The purpose was naturally to learn about Chen Congyun, a crucial figure in the Chinese army, for this war.

"I discovered that the Chinese fleet was 10,000 meters away. The Chinese fleet sent a signal saying that our fleet should not get close to them anymore, otherwise the consequences would be borne by one."

Zinovi, Rozerjestvinsky showed an arrogant smile on his face, waved his hand disdainfully and said, "Don't worry, they dare not fire! Keep approaching, I want to see if the Chinese Nanyang Fleet is determined to start a war."

On the Great Wall battleship!

"Liu Junmen! The other party ignored him and continued to approach. Now it is nine thousand meters away!"

Liu Buchan's face turned ashen, and his teeth were tightly biting his lips. After hesitating for a while, he roared suddenly: "The Great Wall and the Yellow River ships are paying attention. The front main gun aims at the cruiser that is currently in the first place! Please sink it first once the war begins!"

Above the "Avle"!

"The Chinese fleet sent a signal to prepare for battle, and their main guns were aimed at Avle."

Zinovi, Rozjestervinsky was unmoved, and he combed his bearded man calmly and said, "Continue to move forward! Be prepared for all the battle!"

On the Great Wall!

"Military gate, the Russian fleet is still approaching! There is still no reply."

Liu Buchan sneered and issued an order to the signal soldiers, saying, "Notifying the Russian fleet is an ultimatum. Tell them that as long as they enter the seven thousand meters of sea, they will be charged with provoking war."

Wow! Above the "Great Wall" and "Yellow River", the sharp war preparedness whistle sounded, and the signal soldiers faced the direction of the Russian fleet with a firm expression and issued a final warning.

Above the "Avle"!

When the 320mm caliber cannon inside the telescope was aimed at the "Avle" together, Zinovi and Rozerjestervinsky's eyebrows trembled violently, and their eyelids jumped up and down a few times.

"At 8,000 meters away! The Chinese fleet issued an ultimatum. When it enters 7,000 meters, we will be charged with provoking war!"

The huge muzzle in the telescope was gloomy towards the front. Zinovi and Rozerjestvinsky shook their body slightly and slowly lowered the telescope.

"It's about to enter seven thousand meters!"

Above the Great Wall!

"Military gate, the Russian fleet approaches seven thousand meters!"

Liu Buchan's eyes closed slightly: "Prepare for battle!"

Above the "Avle"!

"It's approaching seven thousand meters! Your Excellency! The Chinese fleet is ready to fire!"

Zinovi, Rozjestervinsky, after some painful struggle, turned around and shouted: "Switch the rudder and return!"

Black smoke rolls on the Bohai Bay! Battle clouds are covered with battles!

Liu Buchan held up his telescope and stared at the front. When he felt his pores tightening, the Russian fleet, which was approaching seven thousand meters ahead, turned around and drove back towards Lushun Port.

Liu Buchan's whole body relaxed, and then he realized that his hands holding the telescope were numb.

"Long live!" A cheer sounded over the Bohai Bay! Liu Buchan walked tremblingly, shaking to a corner and sat down without caring about his demeanor. The tension at that moment was much more nervous than during the Yellow Sea War during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. After all, Sino-Japanese was facing Japan, and Russia was an old-fashioned power.

Lin Taizeng is worthy of being the lead of the Great Wall. When Liu Buchan was hiding in the corner and gasping, Lin Taizeng could actually find Liu Buchan. He looked at each other and smiled. Lin Taizeng sat down next to Liu Buchan with no grace, took out a pack of "Shuangxi" card scrollers from his pocket, pulled out a wrinkled cigarette and handed it to Liu Buchan and said, "Get one, it's a good thing. This is a special one. When Shen Shen came to the navy, he threw me two packs. I have never been willing to smoke it! I won't hide my private goods today."

The two of them were swallowing clouds and mists one by one, and the first deputy Ye Zugui and the second deputy Qiu Baoren arrived together.

"I'm right, the two military gates are here!" Qiu Baoren said proudly, Lin Taizeng smiled weakly on his face, and threw the cigarette and said, "Sit together, brothers haven't spoken together for a long time."

"There is a fire!" A sailor saw smoke in the corner, picked up a bucket of water and rushed over. Puff! The fire was extinguished! The four chickens looked at each other silently. The water-splashing sailors stood there awkwardly and didn't know what to do. The four of them burst out laughing happily at the same time.

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When such a title appeared in the newspaper, a group of crazy young people appeared on the street. Five new-style schools in Shanghai announced the suspension of classes for one day. Three thousand teachers and students took to the streets together, holding up various slogans, and exuding their youthful passion. The parade soon spontaneously joined some citizens and workers, and the scale was getting bigger and bigger, nearly 10,000 people.

When the parade passed the street in front of the Sino-US Joint Group, Chen Congyun pointed to the crowd outside in front of a window on the third floor and turned back to the US minister Tian Bei who rushed to Shanghai to seek his visit: "Mr. Minister, do you see that? This is public opinion! If a war breaks out between China and Russia, then it can only be the Russians who are trapped in the quagmire of the 400 million Chinese compatriots fighting to the death. Although Chen has no confidence in winning, he has the determination to die. Eight or ten years, as long as one breath remains, the battle will continue!"

When Wang Kangnian and James, two journalists who were fortunate to be allowed to conduct a brief interview before the talks began, quickly recorded this passage in their notebooks, James looked up and asked Chen Congyun: "Governor General, can I publish this passage?"

"Yes!" After Chen Congyun's face was severe, Ouyang Quan walked up and said to the two reporters: "The interview time is up, and the results of the consultation will be announced to the press after the talks are over."

After the two reporters went out, reporters from other newspapers rushed up and asked questions. James and Wang Kangnian didn't reveal a word of tight mouth. This was exclusive news.
To be continued...