Before arriving at the Zhabei Railway Station in Shanghai, Lu Wan took a pen and finished all the examples of the official exams in the newspaper. He also wrote two articles in the two articles on the strategy. Unfortunately, the answers to the test will only be available in the next issue of the newspaper. He could only ask Sixi to take these questions and wait for tomorrow's answers.

There was no electric light in the third-class carriage. When it was almost five o'clock, the carriage was dim and heavy snow fell outside, which made people feel heartbroken. Fortunately, the train was close to Songjiang and it would arrive in Shanghai in two or three hours. Once again, he heard the shouts of the tea worker. Lu Wan asked for a cup of boiling water and then gave two Yang Yuan to the small tent. Lu Wan smiled and said, "Mr. Kong read a lot of books. Although the official exam is difficult, he has many talents in the new dynasty. Those who go to the exam can probably be high school..."

A revolutionary army adult said this to him. The tea worker was startled. Because he was panicked or afraid, his hand that was being taken to the tent was sank by the two pieces of Yangyuan. He wanted to return and listened to the other party's advice to take the exam. He bowed red and said with a red face. After the tea worker left, Sixi suddenly said, "Battery Commander, can I go to take the exam and be able to go high school?"

"You're so bad in high school." Lu Wan laughed and scolded, "You can't tell who the East Evil and West Poison is. Stay honestly, stay here, and recognize a few more words in the future."

Si Xi was stunned by Lu Wan's words and immediately did not dare to speak. He was silent until the train arrived at the station and packed his luggage and prepared to get off the train. Because there was a car to Nanjing on the second day, he could only spend the night in Shanghai and leave the next day. When the two left the station, they saw that they were taken away by the people who were recruiting guests and stayed there, so they did not meddle in other people's business. But when they got on the train the next day, they saw that the family was escorted by soldiers. Lu Wan understood that these were also martyrs, so he immediately stood up and said to the peddler who was sending them on the train, "How do you work? Can you lose these big living people? If something happened to them on the way, are you responsible? How can you explain this to the dead comrades?"

A lieutenant colonel got angry with him, and the sergeant had to bear it. Just wait for his anger to finish, a mature comrade who did not wear military uniforms came over. He introduced himself as a political department.

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, this... is mainly them..." The cadre of the Political Department was hard to describe the matter of this family. He finally had to whisper, "Comrade, these martyrs were... alternative elements. The man in charge committed suicide in the purge a few years ago. Now his superiors said they wanted to clear the names of those people, but they didn't know if it was true. This is... hey. A few years ago, alternative elements, they were afraid when they saw us and didn't want to go with us, so they got lost in Hangzhou..."

The four words "alternative" only shocked Lu Wan. He understood the meaning of these four words. There were not many people in the base area, but he often saw that most of these people were landlords who were unwilling to divide the land, clans who were unwilling to command, and a small number were traitors in his own team. Of course, the word traitor is not an established term, but an assumption, that is, if you have the opportunity, you will be rebelled. When Lu Wan was studying in the military academy, he had never really seen scrutiny. Because of the saying of a mature cadre, his favor for the family was not only suddenly lost, but also the meaning of staying away from him.

The cadre was very satisfied with Lu Wan's reaction. At least, the young lieutenant colonel in front of him would not report to his superiors that he was not well-behaved. He got off the train to be started in shame in Lu Wan's surprise, leaving only a young man with an emblem on his left chest to take care of the family. He only sent these few people to Nanjing and arrived there. Other people would escort them to Beijing.

When Lu Wantui was on the side, the young man escorted was taking care of him. But his care only made Han Yuxiu's family uneasy. As a family member of an alternative member, they were afraid of every member of the Revival. Whether they were wearing military uniforms or wearing emblems with their chests, they made them extremely distrust. This was not only the innocent death of her husband, but also because of the different treatments over the past five years. The fields were gone, the animals were gone, the family wealth was gone, and even the face was firmly stepped on by those people. Following the will of the father-in-law, Han Yuxiu didn't care whether the name they said was true or not, and she didn't care whether it was true. Anyway, what she wanted was the capital, and what she wanted was to go to the emperor to sue the emperor. She believed that the only emperor could uphold justice for herself in the world.

The young man with the emblem on his chest did not know that the alternative elements he was escorting had such a conspiracy, and Lu Wan did not know that the family who was on the north side of his car would cause a big mess in the future. The group just took the train in a daze for three days before they arrived at the Zhengyangmen East Railway Station in the capital. The train station with a surging crowd, and in the blink of an eye, the family disappeared again. More than an hour later, they appeared outside the Daming Gate of Tianjie.

With the cost of more than one million taels of repair, the city walls inside and outside the capital were completely renewed. This project, which Yang Rui called the "face project", attracted opposition from the committee at the beginning of its implementation. However, with the changes in the appearance of the entire capital, those who opposed it before increasingly agreed with Yang Rui's view that Beijing is the facade of China, and that Beijing is the dilapidated Chinese. Although Beijing is not dilapidated and China is also dilapidated, at least Beijing is better-looking. People from other places who come to Beijing also have a higher recognition of the current government and the ruling ability of the Revival Society.

The newly renovated Daming Gate is the best manifestation of the face-saving project, because ordinary people can reach the closest place to the emperor. Because there are often people outside the Daming Gate who complain, especially the first case of property embezzlement, more Han people went to Beijing to sue Manchus and encroached on their ancestral property hundreds of years ago. Most of them held family genealogy, a small number of them knelt outside the Daming Gate to shout for justice as soon as they arrived in the capital. These people who were good at going to the imperial guards guarding outside the Daming Gate had seen a lot of them. When they saw them kneeling down, they sent them to the Dali Temple on the right, where the complaints were collected.

Han Yuxiu led her mother-in-law and two brothers-in-law to kneel outside the Ming Gate. The soldiers of the Imperial Guard asked them in detail who they wanted to sue. She just lowered her head and didn't say anything. The soldiers could not. Seeing the heavy snow, they would only freeze to death. They had to say bluntly, "The emperor will not accept the complaints. You guys, it's better to go to Dali Temple, which is the place to sue..." After a while, they led them to the Dali Temple next to them.

Dali Temple is indeed the place where the complaints are received, but Han Yuxiu's complaint... The person she was going to sue was Yang Jingcheng, the leader of the Fuxing Society, which only scared everyone, including Shen Jiaben. If Yang Jingcheng had not been other members of the Fuxing Society, it would have been easy to accept, but the complaints were Yang Jingcheng. This is the current prime minister, holding a army of hundreds of thousands and admired by the people. Is it so easy to sue? "This complaint..." Xu Shiying, the Minister of Justice, stuck his beard, and looked at the Tingwei Shen Jiaben and Zhang Shizhao who brought the people. After saying a few words, he couldn't continue. He was a smart person and knew that the justice of the Fuxing Society was just a arch. If it really shakes the foundation of the Fuxing Society, the arch would be demolished immediately.

"I think this case should be accepted. Yang Jingcheng has always talked about justice, and even let Lord Shen do the position of Tingwei. This shows his sincerity. Now this case is just right for him to try. If Fuxing will not interfere with this case, then the judicial system he said is true. If Fuxing will interfere with this case, then it can only be said that the judicial system he advocates is false. We will understand how we should deal with ourselves in the future." Zhang Shizhao said. After being excluded by the Huaxinghui people, he could only live in Dali Temple with his legal diploma from studying abroad.

"Xingyan is right. Since the case has been sued, we must take over. This is not only Han Yuxiu's business, but also whether the law can be deeply rooted in people's hearts." Wu Tingfang of Dali Temple said, he was just appointed as the highest official. The Fuxing Society is now focused on abolishing Confucius, which only made him dissatisfied. He just wanted to see if this Fuxing Society was really better than the singing.

When the Tingwei Mansion discussed at this time, he listened very carefully because Mackinder's political stance would keep his words. Some of the views he listed were purely academic. Some were from Mackinder's unintentional mistakes and deliberate tendencies, and some were from the instruction of British Minister Juerdian. How to get the essence from it can only depend on Yang Rui himself.

"His Excellency Prime Minister. In my understanding, the whole world can be divided into 'hub areas', 'inner crescent areas' and 'outer crescent areas'. The 'hub areas' are located in the middle of the Eurasian continent, where the terrain is flat and the climate is either arid or cold. The south is grasslands and deserts, the north is Tygarin and swamps, the east and south are mountains, plateaus and basins, and the west is connected to the Eastern European plains;

The ‘Inner Crescent Area’ is a circular area surrounding the ‘hub area’. It is located on the east Asian Buddhist field, on the south Asian Brahman field, on the southwest is the Islamic field of Southwest Asia and North Africa, and on the west is the Christian field of continental Europe. The outer edge of the region is the coast in which the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean are in contact; the ‘Outer Crescent Area’ is the rest of the world, including islands outside the Eurasian continent, such as the United Kingdom and Japan, Africa south of the Shahara Desert, the entire North and South America and Oceania.

The history of the whole world is influenced by nomadic people occupying the "hub area". Whether it is the early Huns, Alvas, Bulgarians, or late Magyars, or the Mongols, they all attacked areas outside the "hub area". For Europe, they passed through the Ural Mountains and the Caspian Sea passes and the Southern Russian grasslands, either by the Eastern European plains in the north of the Carpathian Mountains or by the Danube Valley in the south of the Carpathian Mountains. The Mongols marched westward, established the Golden Horde in southern Russia, established the Irre Khanate in South Asia, and established the Yuan Dynasty in China. It was the grassland people who used the advantages of horses and camels to invade Europe and Asia, which formed the history of major European nations. So in my opinion, European civilization is the result of opposing Asian invasion, and European history should belong to Asian history.

However, in the past three hundred years, Europe has broken through Europe's scope and went to the world through sea. They used their fleets to establish sea power and established large areas of colonies in the "inner crescent area" and the "outer crescent area". On land, the Russians used the Cossacks to cross the Ural Mountains, pass Siberia, and go directly to the Pacific coast, and then enter Central Asia. The cooperation on sea and on the road offset the strategic advantages of the original "hub area" nomadic peoples.

But today's situation has undergone new changes. The invention of steam engines and the construction of railways have once again changed the role of a land power. Instead of the past mobility of horses and camels, he restored the pressure on the surrounding areas, and a "hub area" appeared in the world's political "hub area". The expansion of countries in the "hub area" to the marginal areas of Eurasia, the balance of power has been favored by him, which will allow him to use huge continental resources to build a fleet, and such a country will become a world empire..."

It took a long time for McKinder to tell him what China should do, and Yang Rui did not ask what China should do. He just kept emphasizing the importance of the "hub area". Although the examples he gave were all from Europe, from the perspective of Chinese history, the threat of nomadic people has been throughout the entire Asian history, and China's two destruction of the world was eliminated because of the invasion of nomadic peoples. According to Yang Rui's understanding, in the "hub area" that McKinder mentioned, there are countless resources, such as Afghan minerals, oil and gas in the Caspian Sea, and these are the capital to fight for the world. But what should China do?

"Mr. McKinder. What is the World Empire you are talking about?" Yang Rui asked in detail. McKinder said the word World Empire many times.

"Prime Minister, I'm talking about Russia!" McKinder said leisurely, "Of course it's not entirely Russia. If you want to truly become a world empire, Germany should be added. Germany becomes a simple maritime state, and Russia becomes a simple land empire, then they will become a world empire. So I said, whoever controls Eastern Europe will rule the 'hub zone'; whoever controls the 'hub zone' will rule the world island; whoever controls the 'hub zone' will rule the world."

The famous sayings spread in later generations finally found their source. Yang Rui's heart moved slightly. But he asked, "Mr. McKinder, but some people said that the United States is the real country with both land and sea power, and its unique position can make his influence radiate to Europe and Asia. What happened in the Eurasian continent could not affect him, but he might benefit from it. This is just like the Warring States Period in Chinese history. The last victory was the Qin State, and the Han and Wei State, which were in the "hub area", had long lost the power to compete for hegemony. What do you think about this?"

"Warring States?" Mackinder obviously did not know the history of the Warring States Period. When he was waiting for the news on the side to tell him the matter, he still didn't understand, "Prime Minister, please forgive me for not knowing the history of your country very much, but I don't think that the United States will become a world empire. Although North and South America have rich resources and the United States now has prosperous industries, it is still on the edge of the world stage. The sphere of influence he can establish can only be the entire America. If it wants to rule the world, it is impossible."

Yang Rui talks about future history, while McKinder is targeting the current situation. Yang Rui is not surprised by his answer. Today, when the colonial system exists, the United States still has to compete fiercely with Europe even in South American countries. In East Asia, there is only the Philippines that has been snatched from Spain. It can be said that as long as the colonial system exists for one day, it will be just a regional power and cannot be a world overlord.

Thinking of the United States, China, and comparing with the history of a hundred years, when Yang Rui sent McKinder to rest, he called all the staff members who were eavesdropping in the next door of the study. After laughing at Leo, he pointed to the map and asked, "He said that the alliance between Germany and Russia will be a world empire. Is this true?"

Leo, the chief of staff of the Fuxing Army, just came from Fengtian this month, and he planned the battle against Japan. He knew the nature of the Japanese army and played a great role in the battle. He frequently let the Japanese army, which advocated flanking attacks fall into the trap of the Fuxing Army, and eventually had to take a frontal attack and fall into street fighting where artillery power is difficult to exert. Although street fighting is also fierce, it is not at least one-sided tragic. A soldier's fall requires at least one-and-a-half Japanese army to repay his life. This battle lasted for several months.

"Yang, every word he said emphasizes the importance of the 'hub area'. As a British man, he is not only worried about the rise of Germany, but also about the alliance between Germany and Russia. You should not believe any word of him." Leo said word by word. Although he did not see Mackinder's expression, from his meaning, he found that this British man was unreliable.

"No, what he said makes sense." Yang Rui said, "In fact, China's environment is very similar to Germany. It has a large area of ​​land and a long coastline, but an island chain locks China, just like Germany's seaport is restricted by the North Sea. The only thing we are grateful for is that China is not as strong as France in the southwest. There is only India across the plateau. Although Russia is in the north, Russia's center of gravity is far away in Europe. Even if its power reaches the Pacific Ocean, its power is still extremely weak. Russia's defeat in the Russo-Japanese War and Japan wins. But although there is such an advantage, once Mongolia is lost or lost, these glory will no longer exist, and China's hinterland will be fatally threatened."

"Is this why you must defend Mongolia?" Leo looked at the map in the study and said, when he made great contributions, the equipment of the troops heading to Mongolia was not only strengthened, but also set out in advance.

"It means that Mongolia is lost, northwest, and north China are uneasy." Yang Rui said, "I have never regarded the threat at sea as a real threat, even if the capital is so close to Tianjin. I am worried that it is the two lakes and Sichuan area, where is China's last line of defense. Whoever can threaten where is truly threatening China."

"Two Lakes, Sichuan?" Leo, who doesn't understand Chinese history, was puzzled, but Bei Shou and other advisers understood it.

From the perspective of Chinese history, the Yangtze River is the core part of China. Many dynasties in history rely on the Yangtze River region to survive, and there are several parts of the Yangtze River that are the most critical. One is the two Huai River areas. As the saying goes, it is better to defend the Huai River than to defend the river, and the other is the two lakes. If you want to occupy the south of the Yangtze River, you must first occupy the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. For enemies coming from north, Xiangyang is the key key and the center of the world; for enemies coming from south, that is, Hengyang and northern Jiangxi, the third is Sichuan itself, southern Sichuan and Hanzhong are important places in the north and south.

Seeing that he had moved the topic far, Yang Rui had to interrupt the thoughts of the staff and said, "Don't think about two lakes and Sichuan for now. Everyone heard Mr. McKinder's words just now. Although he was mainly considering the weakening British Empire, some of his statements are still very reasonable. I just want to hear your views."

Yang Rui didn't want to ask McKinder's questions now. In silence, Feng Gengguang, the former Qing army consultant who had just joined, said, "Prime Minister, my subordinates only feel that the British are still afraid of the Russians. In order to prevent the Russians from expanding their power to Europe, they supported them..." He said this and looked at Leo, and said with some anxiety, "They supported Germany since the 1950s. Not only did they allow Germany to plagiarize British industrial technology, but they also allowed Germany to be unified. It can be said that Germany has the shadow of Britain's establishment and development; and in East Asia, Britain originally wanted to support China against Russia. The reason why Zuo Gong defeated the Russians in the Western Regions was also very related to the British, but in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the former Qing Dynasty completely disappointed Britain. From then on, Britain completely gave up on the former Qing Dynasty and supported Japan. The battle between Japan and Russia is proof of this.

But he didn't want, but he didn't want..." Feng Gengguang looked at Leo again, "but he didn't want Germany to be as powerful as this now. Not only did he get rid of Britain's control, but he also wanted to challenge Britain. He thought that Germany's today will be Japan's tomorrow. If China wants to have a place in the world, it is not enough to rely on the army alone. It also needs to build a navy. We even need to make good friends with Japan, so as to become a real country with both sea and land power."

Feng Gengguang finished speaking, and hatred was the idea that Yang Rui had always instilled. Feng Gengguang dared to join Japan because he did not come from the Revival Army system, but graduated from the Baoding Army University. When he said this, everyone was speechless, Leo said, "Yang, what he said is very correct! If Germany, Russia, China, and Japan, these four countries form an alliance, the whole world will be their world. But the damn emperor broke up the Three Emperors Alliance of Prime Minister Bismarck. If this was not the case, plus the Chinese emperor, the Japanese emperor, the Five Emperors Alliance, the colonies of the whole world will no longer be British."

As soon as Leo's Five Emperors Alliance came out, everyone couldn't help laughing. With his feelings for the nation, Leo hoped that China would be pro-Germany, but he knew that this was impossible. Not to mention that the Three Emperors Alliance no longer existed, just because of his friendship with Yang Rui, he did not want to incorporate national interests into it, which would only make the relationship between the two tense and conflicted.

"What do you think?" Yang Rui asked other staff officers after laughing. (To be continued)
Chapter completed!