Yang Rui talked about the war so easily, but Xie Zhangtai was always worried about the war.∈◆As Russia approached Chenyang step by step, the Japanese were increasingly eager to jump over the wall. Even the Japanese troops on the Liaodong front no longer launched an offensive, but transported the originally insufficient shells to Zhili. Their intention was to reduce the pressure on the southeastern line of Liao so that the Fuxing Army could resist the Russian army with all their might, while they strengthened the power of Zhili in order to occupy Beijing before Russia attacked South Manchuria.

Because the General Staff has always wanted to push the Liaodong front to North Korea, and to counterattack the Russian army, the Northeast War Zone has always maintained fifty-five divisions. In North China, even if troops are transferred from various places again, the military industry will fully produce machine guns, and the new rifles are replaced by old rifles. After the increase in the force by five divisions, there will be only twenty divisions.

Twenty divisions fought against twenty-two dissatisfied Japanese divisions, and they relied on trench warfare to defend the fierce attack of the Japanese army. But after all, there were too many new recruits, and most of the soldiers recruited in North China were weak. The reason why they could defend the front was to rely on the airplane of the Fuxing Army, the powerful artillery, and the fortifications of the fortifications of Yang Rui and Zhu Kuansu from time to time to patrol the front line to boost morale. The monarch and the people were united, and the officers and soldiers were integrated. The power of this explosion was not inferior to that of the Japanese Bushido. In the past month, when both sides ignored casualties, the Yangcun line and Fengrun line all became flesh and blood mills. In a month, the Fuxing Army suffered more than 60,000 casualties. Fortunately, the reserve system made it impossible to supplement soldiers. You should know that for the Fuxing Army, what is lacking is not soldiers, but guns.

But it is precisely because of this that the Japanese army found that the result of fighting attrition with the Fuxing Army would only make themselves weaker and weaker and stronger, and the enemy would become stronger and stronger. After all, no country could compete with China for manpower. Therefore, Emperor Taisho, the base camp, the general staff, as well as the Manchurian Army and the Zhili Dispatch Army, all the minds of the people who all believed that Zhili had to fight quickly and quickly. Since Japan wanted to fight quickly and quickly, the next wave of offensive would be rapid. Can the front line withstand? Xie Zhangtai didn't know. He only hoped to withstand it.

Xie Zhangtai was nervous, taking one cigarette after another, and Yang Rui finished speaking, he handled official business. Only Zhang Shi sat quietly in the room without any anxiety. According to the observation of Intelligence Agency Special Corps Kaczynsky, Serbia sent more than ten assassins, which was bound to be the assassination. Moreover, Grand Duke Ferdinand was riding in a convertible car to accept the welcome of the people. This naive man was dead. If Grand Duke Ferdinand was assassinated, Europe would inevitably be in turmoil and even a full-scale war. In this case, the Revival Army, which did not need to fully bear the pressure of Russia, would be much easier. More than 70 divisions could drive all the Japanese into the sea.

The inner study room was extremely quiet, only the clock in the house, the backyard was a bit interrupted but extremely pleasant piano sound, and the cicadas in the next yard kept coming. However, in addition to these sounds, Zhang Shi, who was calming down, seemed to hear the sound of cannons coming from the wind in the south. Even without fighting, the Japanese large-caliber howitzers continued to bombard the frontline fortifications endlessly, trying to prevent the defenders from constantly repairing and strengthening them. He had seen the power of the Japanese large-caliber howitzers in Lushun ten years ago. The giant cannon that would fly like a train roaring, and it would splash nearly a hundred meters of smoke and dust when they fell. It would be unforgettable once they saw it.

The clock rang in seconds, and the clock kept ringing on time, and waited at 4:30 pm. The telegram bell next door finally rang. A few minutes later, the capable intelligence agent quickly decoded the telegram. Hearing the knock on the door, Yang Rui put down his pen and Xie Zhangtai pinched it and extinguished the cigarette. Zhang Shi scanned the telegram and looked at it and was missing him, but Xie Zhangtai asked anxiously: "Is that person... dead?"

Xie Zhangtai asked Zhang Shi to swallow the words he said. He replied: "Not yet. Now the target has just got off the train and has already gone to the city hall at the welcome of local officials. He is riding a convertible car and has to pass through countless crowds, and the assassins are hiding in the welcome crowd."

He heard that the plot had just begun. Xie Zhangtai, who had stood up, sat down again, lit another cigarette, and then asked, "Are all our people ready?"

"Everything is ready," Zhang Shi glanced at Yang Rui, and saw that he had no intention of objection, and then said: "According to the previous arrangement, we should try not to do anything. If they all fail, then..."

While Xie Zhangtai sat down, Yang Rui stood up. He also lit the cigarette. For a moment, the smoke in the room became even more intense. He could imagine that on the other side of the earth, in a bustling city, a convoy drove by the streets and the public welcome. Then there were a few sudden gunfires, Ferdinand and his wife returned to heaven, and the European war was triggered. Thinking that this assassination would kill tens of millions of people, and the entire generation of European elites were all lost. While Yang Rui was glad, he felt extremely ironic. This should be the final destination of European civilization, not to be destroyed by other civilizations, but to die under the weapons forged by his own civilization.

World War I was like this, World War II was similar, but that time it was an arrogant madman who led a group of aggrieved remnants of the battle that had not been finished. Twenty years ago, the German army surrendered in France. Twenty years later, the Germans got what they wanted to make up for the last part of the unscheduled war. Until the Berlin Empire Building was captured by the Allies, the great leader slandered the Germans and finally announced their surrender. Compared with Germany's stubbornness, British and French staged a wonderful play of how reason makes people stupid. In this drama with European rationality as the theme, appeasement became an extremely loud noun.

At the end of these two dramas, European civilization has been broken into pieces and moved forward with inertia. Although the United States prospered after the war, the original sense of superiority of civilization in old European style has disappeared. They can promote that the American system will allow people to have more freedom and material prosperity, but the Yankees can no longer fill the increasingly empty life after the civilization is broken. Of course, in the face of such an ending, there are always people who are unwilling to give up. After Einstein completed the theory of relativity with his symbolic behavior - by betraying European rational traditions by his imagination, an extremely happy doctor made a fiction of history with his sexuality. However, this is just the last revival of European civilization. He was unable to change the already predetermined ending...

Yang Rui stood silently in front of the window, looking at the sun that appeared outside through the screen, but had already set in the west. There was a hint of vicissitudes in his heart. Compared with the rise and fall of the empire, the withering and prosperity of civilization is a major event that the ethnic group deserves attention. Chinese civilization not only determines the fate of a Han ethnic group. It is also related to the fate of all ethnic groups in this civilization. Compared with the declining of Western civilization today, Chinese civilization had already died three hundred years ago. At that time, most of the gentry had become Ximen Qing. At the same time, practical learning began to rise, Confucian ethics began to collapse, but the world was injustice. As a foreign race, the Qing Dynasty once again increased its imprisonment and stabilized its own rule by extending its life to Confucianism, thus interrupting the process of self-evolution of civilization... What a evil Tartar!

Yang Rui, who had been standing for a long time, cursed heavily in his heart, and just as he cursed, the knock on the door sounded again. After receiving the telegram, Zhang Shi said with a smile: "Sir, the target is dead!"

"Really!" Xie Zhangtai jumped up, grabbed the telegram in a few steps and said happily after reading it: "It's done, what should I do next?"

Yang Rui was not surprised that Ferdinand was bound to die. He turned his head and thought for a moment, and asked, "Are both husband and wife dead? How did they die?"

Xie Zhangtai looked at the telegram and only looked at the results, while Zhang Shigang read the entire telegram again, so Zhang Shi replied: "Everything is dead. The assassin shot Ferdinand in the head and another shot to his wife in the abdomen. The two died on the way to the hospital."

"Have the murderer caught?" Yang Rui nodded, not happy or surprised.

"Catched! And there were two. One shot and the other stopped the police next to him. After assassination, they were arrested before they could commit suicide." Zhang Shi replied. It was also easy for him to say this. Yang Rui's task was not only to kill the target, but also to have the murderer arrested, otherwise the assassination would become a headless unsolved case.

As Yang Rui asked, Xie Zhangtai, who was originally excited next to him, calmed down. He kept reminding himself not to be excited. Just when he wanted to ask Yang Rui what to do, Yang Rui only said: "Then let's respond to changes with the same change. Vienna should not be so quick to attack Serbia, right? Should we calmly watch for a few days before making a decision?"

"What you mean is to slow down and think about Russia's peace..." Xie Zhangtai asked, a little confused. The strategy was decided early, and now all we need to discuss is the details.

He said this, Yang Rui just laughed, but he did not answer immediately, but explained to Zhang Shi: "This matter must be kept confidential, and those who know should pay special attention, especially those Poles who have only a little knowledge but participate in the action."

"Yes, sir!" Zhang Shi nodded with a constant expression. He understood the ultimate meaning of "special attention", especially since this incident really caused a war in Europe. Then the fact that the Chinese government participated in it and had a plan to assassinate would be exposed, and the result would be disastrous. At that time, the whole of Europe would accuse the war of China of being a conspiracy.

"Okay! Go out first. Remember to pay more attention to the European politicians' attitude towards this matter and the events caused by this matter. We must especially know the reactions of the British and the public opinion trends in major newspapers. Those politicians and journalists who have maintained relationships before should not lose their relationship during this period, don't worry about the budget, but don't show their flaws. And those Bolsheviks, after Austro-Hungary and Hungary, after making a tough statement on Serbia, they should make all their efforts to launch public protests in Russia to promote the Tsar to protect Serbia and to decide to start a war against Austro-Hungary." Yang Rui continued to remind, and finally emphasized with concern: "Don't tell them what this will cause, just tell them that putting Russia into war is the only hope for success in the revolution."

"Yes, sir!" Zhang Shi agreed. After he agreed, he went out, and the next step was the response of the diplomatic system.

"If you want Russia to seek peace, is it better to pass the United States or France?" Yang Rui asked.

"Of course France is good." As soon as the matter turned to diplomacy, Xie Zhangtai was confident. "After all, France and Russia are all ally. As long as we can promise not to stand on Germany, they will do their best to dissuade the Tsar from peace talks. Moreover, the French tried their best to make Russia stop its war in East Asia and pay full attention to Europe. As long as we propose peace talks, they will definitely try their best to promote it. There is only one problem..."

Xie Zhangtai wanted to speak but stopped. After Yang Rui looked over, he said: "We must have proposed peace talks. Even if it is very confidential, the UK will soon know that once the peace talks are reported, public opinion can be..."

"This is indeed a problem, but it's not too serious." Yang Rui didn't expect this. "We propose peace talks and send representatives to Russia. Or France, it will always take one or two months to go on the way. And the negotiations cannot be negotiated in a short time. The key is that what we express is just an attitude of not wanting to continue with Russia."

"But what if European countries do not respond to this matter? When will we talk about?" Xie Zhangtai asked.

"Double Ninth Festival is the deadline for landing. We can wait until that time at most. In fact, considering the storm and weather, the login will be completed in August at the latest. That is to say, from now on, waiting for the most fifty days, it is impossible to really get stuck on the Double Ninth day." Yang Rui said. "In the fifty days, from the time of peace talks with the French minister, and then waiting for him to report the news. Finally, I sent someone to sit down and talk, and it will take a month no matter how fast it is. If the negotiations are negotiated for a month and repeated several times at the same time, the time will be almost done. Don't worry about public opinion and Congress, this is actually a negotiation without authorization."

"What if things didn't work? I mean, European countries can't fight within fifty days?" Xie Zhangtai asked. This was the result he was most worried about.

"Then let's wipe out the Russian army first, and then turn the guns to kill the Japanese before the European and Russian troops arrived." Yang Rui was so murderous. This was his countermeasure. "I don't believe that these backward troops that only know how to fight against the sky!"

"Since that's the case, I'll meet with the French minister in a few days." Xie Zhangtai said.

"It should be like this, and it must be hidden. Tell France that if the news leaks in advance, we will never admit this matter!" Yang Rui nodded and said: "The Germans should go first. Telling them that we are enemies on both sides is not a solution, so we plan to make peace with the Russians at the right time. But be sure to pay attention to the timing of speaking, and it is best to see if Germany supports Austro-Hungary to declare war on Serbia. If they support Austro-Hungary, then we don't need to say these words anymore; if they do not support Austro-Hungary, then we have to find the Germans, but you should pay special attention to the degree of speaking. Don't let the Germans feel that we were dragging them down."

"I understand! I understand!" Xie Zhangtai had a long plan for this, and he knew very well when he should say and do what he should do. Ferdinand is dead, and there are only two stages left. In the early stage, Germany supported Austro-Hungary to start the war against Serbia, and in the later stage, Russia supported Serbia to start the war against Austro-Hungary and Germany. China's strategy in the front was to showdown against Germany, meaning that if you don't get out, I will truce; the latter was to relieve Russia's worries and let it deal with Germany with all its strength. Of course, this is just a backup plan. The real action on both sides may be counterproductive, which is what Xie Zhangtai is most taboo.

The conspiracy of Yin'an Temple ended, and in Europe, the news of the assassination of the Grand Duke Ferdinand spread throughout the world, but everyone was indifferent to this. Many Austrian and Hungarian nobles, including the Austro-Hungarian Emperor, not only did not feel sad about the Grand Duke Ferdinand's experience, but they breathed a sigh of relief. For the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which could not fight and only get married, it would be a shame for the empire to inherit the throne like Ferdinand.

Therefore, when Ferdinand's father's body was transported back to Vienna, considering the duchess' humble origin, the royal family held a simple funeral and asked each royal member to stay at the funeral for no more than fifteen minutes.

In the cold reaction of everyone, the German Emperor William was furious, unlike Vienna's indifference to Ferdinand. In his opinion, Ferdinand would be his future partner and loyal friend. Thinking that the person who had dinner together a few weeks ago was no longer there, the German Emperor easily supported Austria-Hungarian toughness against Serbia after a burst of sadness. However, the Austria-Hungarian Chief of Staff Condra and Foreign Minister Besitold were blocked by Hungarian Prime Minister Tisa in the empire. After the assassin's interrogation was completed and Germany endorsed it again, Tisa could only reluctantly agree to the war, but he asked to give Serbia an ultimatum so that the war that would happen next could be more decent.

Foreign Minister Bessitorde had to work hard to draft an ultimatum that would eventually be rejected, and then prepared to submit it to Serbia on July 23 the day after the Russian-French summit. Although Bessitorde strives to hide and not disturb Russia and France, the spies around him and his accident soon made the Intelligence Agency and the entire European diplomatic community informed of the news. After learning about the information, the process of putting pressure on Germany was completely omitted. Xie Zhangtai suddenly found Kant, the French ambassador to China, on the night of that day. Without any greetings, he quickly expressed China's willingness to seek peace with Russia, and also tactfully expressed his agreement to establish this key condition.

His request made the French minister smile. With Russia's victory in the war, the French were worried that Russia, inspired by this, would turn its attention to the Far East again. He also intends to trigger a war in this tough statement from Austro-Hungary against Serbia, so that Germany will eventually be completely strangled. Previous domestic orders had the requirement to allow Kant to end the Sino-Russian War as soon as possible. Now the Chinese are determined to seek peace, which is really a good thing.

Minister Kant repeatedly agreed to Xie Zhangtai's confidentiality request and promised to make every effort to promote the success of peace talks between China and Russia. After Xie Zhangtai said goodbye, he happily sent a telegram to France. The telegram arrived in France just the day before French President Poincaré's visit to Russia. He was worried that Russia would not be overjoyed by the tough French people of Austro-Hungary. After going to Russia, President Poincaré was extremely happy to congratulate the Tsar on his victory in the Sino-Russian War, which made the Tsar and his favorite ministers very happy.

At this time, the government is asking for full support for Serbia. A battle was waiting for the stage under the preparation of the Bolsheviks. On July 23, on the day of Austro-Hungary's ultimatum to Serbia, countless workers, students and intellectuals took to the streets to demand that the Tsar protect his dear Slavic brothers. The Tsar's ministers also believed that it was necessary to be tough on Austro-Hungary, and many people hoped to join forces with France to start a war against the German-Austrian alliance. With the support of ministers and subjects, the Tsar finally ordered Russian Foreign Minister Sazonov to call Serbian Prime Minister Pasic and demanded that he reject the Vienna ultimatum. At the same time, the Russian army began to mobilize.

The Russian-backed telegram arrived in Serbia, which soon made Prime Minister Pasic stand up straight, and a reply that was rejected by the key part was sent back to the Austro-Hungarian Ambassador to Serbia. Seeing that the ultimatum was not fully agreed, the embassy official left Belgrade with his already packed luggage. A few days later, Austro-Hungarian declared war on Serbia, and history officially entered the formality.

When all this news reached Beijing, Yang Rui immediately convened a General Staff combat meeting and asked the entire army to start implementing the final content of the Wanli Plan. As the submarine troops entered a first-level combat readiness state, all the fishing fleets in Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian returned to port, the 1st Marine Division immediately went to Xiamen, Fuzhou, Shanghai and Shanghai cruisers began to emerge from Wusongkou, and the Fuxing Army in North China and Northeast China were preparing to counterattack the current Japanese army... Countless encrypted messages were sent from Beijing, and the war machines that had been enduring and unsent were finally fully launched.

In the Shicheng County, Jiangxi Province, where the remaining veins of Wuyi Mountain is in the headquarters of the 1st Land War Division. The remaining heat at sunset made the division commander Colonel Lu Mengxiong very annoyed. He grabbed a piece of watermelon and squatted at the commander's mouth and started to whimper. When most of the watermelon was left with only the melon peel, the adjutant came in and reported that everyone had arrived. Then he heard the sound of horse hooves. First brigade commander Zhu Jiande and second brigade commander Lu Wan rushed to the commander's mouth on horseback. Before the two of them had dismounted, Lu Mengxiong shouted: "Why are you so late? I have eaten half of the melon."

Among the two, Zhu Jiande was not the new brigade commander. As a general who was not from the Fuxing Army system, although he passed all the training, he was extremely surprised by such rapid improvement. When he could not communicate with others for several years, he had to think that Cai E had said good things in Beijing, which made the new dynasty look down upon him; and Lu Wan was the auspiciousness of the Fuxing Army that was not favored by his colleagues and superiors, and belonged to the kind that no one dared to partner with him. Although he was affiliated with the East China War Zone, he was arranged to come to the deep mountains and forests of Jiangxi. He only felt that this was a disguised punishment. If the division commander had not yet met him, then the military life would be very depressed.

Lu Mengxiong shouted, "Why is it so late?" Zhu Jiande, who was deeply grateful, reported: "Teacher, the weather is too hot and the horse is sick. He doesn't dare to run fast after changing horses."

Lu Wan next to him smiled and said, "Teacher Commander, Ruijin has been here for more than 30 miles, and it rained halfway..."
Chapter completed!