The room was silent for a long time. After arranging the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Intelligence Bureau to organize relevant information and notify all the Standing Committee members to come for a meeting to discuss, the three people dispersed. That night, the meeting to discuss the proposal of the British alliance was held in the back house of Yin'an Palace.

The first person to report was Zhang Shi. After he went back to sort out the relevant information in the afternoon, he focused on two information. One was that the Japanese Navy began to change the original 86 Plan and formulate the 88 Plan; the other was that according to the news sent by Germany, Britain asked Japan to send troops to Europe, but was rejected by the Japanese. They only agreed to send a naval cruiser to the Mediterranean to help Britain clean up submarines from Germany and Austria.

Zhang Shi only mentioned Britain and Japan, but Yang Rui asked: "How did the British view the Russian issue? How did they judge the direction of Russia's political situation? And the United States, is his army mobilized quickly? What did the British? When did they think the Americans could go to France to enter the trenches to fight?"

"The Sixth Department of the UK and ** Intelligence Department has always been paying close attention to Russia's situation, especially after the political turmoil in the previous month, Britain has significantly strengthened its intelligence collection work on Russia, and radio messages in the embassy in Russia have been continuously continuous. Although domestic newspapers appreciate Russia's continued war, many articles are questioning whether Russia has the ability to continue fighting; this is public opinion, and the officials have always been worried that Russia will eventually withdraw from the war, so although the offensive on the Western Front is ineffective, the British and French coalition forces will continue to fight on the offensive to alleviate the pressure on Russia on the Eastern Front." Zhang Shi said.

"In the United States, the number of US Army personnel was less than 200,000 before the declaration of war. There is information that after the US Army's full commander General Pershing arrived in France for inspection, he believed that at least one million troops would be needed to defeat Germany. At the same time, he and his entourage officials were shocked by the tragic European war and believed that even active troops could not apply to European wars. Therefore, General Pershing formulated a very long training plan, and the training time was likely to exceed half a year, and this did not include the four months of recruit training time in the United States.

The training time is long, and landing on the European continent requires crossing the Atlantic Ocean. In order to prevent the US Army from landing, the German submarine forces have concentrated their forces on the main route to France. This strategy relies on the Belgian port it occupied, which is enough to threaten the US Army's landing on the French mainland. At the end of last month, the first US troops to participate in the war, the fleet of the US Army's First Division was attacked by the wolves of German submarines. Although the fleet was escorted by the three British, French and American ships, the fleet was too slow to be ambushed by the submarines, which caused the death of 1,300 US troops. However, the news was strictly blocked by the Allies, and the US soldiers arriving in France also issued a closure order. The news was strictly prohibited.

From the perspective of Britain and France, even if the Allied high-speed cruise ships are concentrated to transport the US Army, and the number of high-speed cruises is not considered, it will still be difficult for the US Army to enter the battle without more than nine months."

After Zhang Shi answered Yang Rui's question, he saw that he did not ask again. Everyone else was thinking, so he left the study and waited outside. After he left, Xu Huafeng was the first to speak. He glanced at Yang Rui and Xie Zhangtai and said, "It turns out, is this really going to fight? If it really fights, how can Germany explain? The country's industrialization construction has basically locked in Germany. We need German technology, workers, and equipment. After several years of construction, our industry has basically been of German blood. If the Germans hold a grudge against us and are not willing to help us carry out industrial construction after the war, then things will be difficult!

This is still far away. If we start war against Germany, what should we do if thousands of skilled workers in Germany? All are withdrawn? There are more than 10,000 international students and researchers, so what should we do? What should we do if the scientific research projects under development are all suspended? Can we continue after the suspension?

I think it is because Britain and France have brought us to Europe but fought, and that is not a good intention. Their people are almost dead and their money is almost spent. If the United States and us don’t go, and Russia really withdraws from the war as expected before, then whoever loses this battle may win. Will it be better to keep neutral and let foreigners fight to death by themselves?"

After Xu Huafeng said it was Qiu Jin. She said: "Japan itself is a British allies and does not send a soldier to Europe. Why should we be the suckers and let the Fuxing Army go to Europe to die. The newspapers and briefs said that the European war was extremely fierce, and tens of thousands of people were killed or injured in a day was very common. If we go, how many people would die when the war ended? Besides, it is military expenditure. Once we go to Europe to join the war, billions of military expenditure are inevitable. But in the northwest, we plan to go to war with New Russia. After these two battles, how much money can we earn in the past few years?"

When Yang Rui informed the meeting, he only said that he would discuss joining the Allies camp and going to Europe to participate in the war. Zhang Shi only introduced the background of the incident. He did not mention the specific details yet, so Xu Huafeng and Qiu Jin expressed their objections. Yang Rui did not answer the questions of Xu Huafeng and Qiu Jin. He just asked the other three, "What did you think? Everyone should tell me, so that we can discuss it."

"If all countries can meet our requirements to abolish unequal treaties, I have no objection to send troops to Europe to participate in the war." Cai Yuanpei said.

After he said that, Du Yaquan also said, "I agree with Jimin's point of view, but if you really send troops, it will not be tens of thousands or tens of thousands, but it will definitely be hundreds of thousands or millions. It is not enough to just abolish the unequal treaty. Britain, France and other countries must also agree to give us some other benefits, otherwise, this matter would be a loss."

Du Yaquan is worthy of being the Minister of Commerce and is very smart in his abacus. Yang Rui smiled and asked Xu Guantian again, "Tell me your opinion, don't be restrained."

The election of Xu Guantian to the Standing Committee was the resolution of the previous Standing Committee. In fact, what Yang Rui wanted most was Cai Yuanpei to withdraw, but Yu Huizu was the one who spoke out at that time. Although he was mentally prepared, Xu Guantian was still nervous about his ability to join the Standing Committee. He was not the first member of the Revival Association and did not participate in the battle of the country. It was completely Yang Rui's praise for this position. Since he himself, since he was the president of the National Farmers Association, he was planning his politics in his position and should have considered the interests of the Farmers Association. On one hand, Yang Rui's appreciation and on the other hand, he was not easy to speak out about many discussions on the Standing Committee.

This time when Yang Rui asked, he had to say, "What is the international situation? You still have to listen to Mr. Chong'an's introduction. I think whether you participate in the war depends on the pros and cons, what are the pros and cons, what are the pros and cons, and what are the pros and cons, and what are the disadvantages and cons. I don't know these yet."

Xu Guantian's attitude of listening first and then quitting made Yang Rui nod. Xu Huafeng opposed participating in the war because in the future, scientific and technological research and development needed Germany's help. Industry and technology were the top priority of the entire country. Even if China participated in the war and gained great benefits, it would be very unfavorable to the long-term development of the country.

Qiu Jin's opposition may have more considerations of national integrity. Britain and France were the first countries to invade China, and there was no need for China to shed blood and sacrifice for them. As for the abolition of unequal treaties, if Britain and France lose the war, they can negotiate directly with them; if Britain and France win, and if the negotiations fail to be successful, the war will be started directly. Under what circumstances did China sign the treaty now be abolished.

This is the case with the opponents. Among the supporters, Cai Yuanpei's reason was to participate in the war and replace the abolition of the contract, while Du Yaquan participated in the war and not only replaced the abolition of the contract, but also needed other additional benefits from Britain and France, so that the transaction was fair.

Opponents and supporters all have their own reasons. After everyone finished speaking, Yang Rui glanced at Xie Zhangtai and began to speak: "In fact, before discussing whether to participate in the war or not, we need to discuss another issue. What is the problem? That is, all foreigners withdraw and China returns to what it was before the Opium War. Self-reliance and development by itself, can our country be built well?"

After Yang Rui asked the question, he paused and looked around and said: "Actually, the answer to this question is very certain. Without European and American technology, equipment, and talents, we will build it for a hundred years without them for a hundred years. The West entered an industrialized society earlier than us. All technologies were born in the West rather than the East. We must rely on their technological accumulation to realize China's industrialization, because without industrialization, we still cannot stand up. Therefore, from this perspective, it is necessary to get along well with Europe and the United States and integrate into the big cycle of the world economy.

Although we can obtain Western equipment, technology, and talents when European and American economies are in a downturn or when some countries are friendly to China, we can also obtain Western equipment, technology, and talents without this system, but this is just a loophole. One day, all countries will unite and impose a blockade on us. If we do not join this system, we will become more and more backward. Even if we can do another one, it is almost equivalent to starting from scratch and building everything by ourselves. This is not cost-effective. Although there are many Chinese people, their economic capacity and market size are not as good as those of several states in the United States.

As those sour scholars thought, it is impossible to reappear the country of the Celestial Empire. We only want to occupy a relatively good position in the world economic system. For example, if the whole world is a company, then our goal is not to open another company to compete with the original company, but to integrate into this company, and start from the second year and continue to be promoted to the supervisor, manager, and general manager. This process will not go smoothly, and there will even be some wars. However, this is just a conspiracy between the second year and the second year, the manager and the manager, not a struggle between the second year and the second year, not to open another company and the original company.

We will know that at the beginning, he was worse than the Qing Dynasty. Although he frequently purchased warships from Britain before the Sino-Japanese War and the Qing Dynasty purchased warships from Germany, he was still not recognized by Britain because Japan and China at that time could not be compared with China. The general manager of this company, Britain, did not take Japan seriously at all. It was only until they won the Sino-Japanese War that the general manager noticed this waiter who had been ignored before.

In the later period of Boxer, and in the subsequent period of Japan and Russia, his status was raised step by step. The signing of the Japanese-British alliance meant that if Japan won the war, he would be the manager of Northeast Asia. In addition to Northeast Asia, other regions of this company, such as Nanyang, Australia, Canada, India, the Middle East, and many places, he could be involved; while China under the Qing Dynasty ruled, the supervisor instantly became a waiter, the Germans occupied Qingdao, the French occupied Guangzhou, and even Italy had to rent Sandu Australia.

There were many Chinese people who stayed in Japan after the 1990s. Didn’t Xuanqing go to Japan to study at that time?” Yang Rui said this, looking at Qiu Jin who was listening carefully, with a smile on his lips, “What is the purpose of these people going to Japan? Isn’t it just to learn from Japan and to strengthen China? This path is correct, but Japan’s strength is not decided by the Japanese themselves, but by the boss of the company Britain. Russia, an unruly regional manager, wants to expand its business scope, so East Asia must appoint a new manager to prevent Russia from moving south. Japan is this role, and before, this role was from the Qing Dynasty.

If the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 and the Qing Dynasty were not defeated, then our revolution would not be successful; if this European war, the Qing Dynasty joined the Allies, then the revolution would still be difficult to succeed. Even Cixi had a conclusion on this. Ten years ago, Germany was close to China, wooed the United States, and wanted to form an alliance between Germany, China and the United States, but Cixi opposed it at that time. She believed that to form an alliance, she should form an alliance with Britain, and what would it take to form an alliance with Germany?

Although China is a big country, its position and power in this company determine China's national economy and people's livelihood. This is not the era of rule in the past. This is already the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Our revolution was successful because it took advantage of the conflicts between various managers in the company, and it changed from being a waiter to becoming a waiter. Now this waiter is very strong. He defeated Japan and drove away Russia. His identity is basically the supervisor, but his status is still not recognized by the general manager and other regional managers.

Now the general manager has been beaten by the Germans so badly. I hope we will join the war to rescue the horse. The advantage is to promote our position, so that we can be promoted from supervisor to regional manager. The scope of jurisdiction. In addition to Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia and Central Asia can also be involved. Other parts of the world, as long as we do not do too much, we can get a share of the pie."

After the lengthy opening remarks, while everyone was still pondering, Yang Rui said again, "Mr. Huafeng just raised the objection reason, my opinion is that if Germany loses, then its identity will immediately become a waiter, and it is the most miserable waiter. You must know that the company pays attention to identity. How can a waiter who is the second most against the manager? Besides, what did the Germans do to us? The Germans themselves understand very well that the outcome of our participation in the war is not decisive, and the Americans are decisive. So as long as you play more friendship cards after the war and give more sympathy, there is also benefits. Although the Germans do not say that they will be grateful to us, they will at least not hate them to the core.

Let’s talk about those technicians, international students, and some scientific research projects. We can withdraw people before the war begins, but they can’t. They are just prisoners of war, and at most they go hungry, and their lives are generally worry-free. We have no choice but to please Germany, offend the victory of the country, Britain, the United States, France and Italy, which will be even more unfavorable to our future scientific research. We have research institutes in Germany, in the United States, and in the United Kingdom, and in the United Kingdom, and in the United States, and in the United States, the United States do not have to be much smaller in Germany. Therefore, we must stand on the side of the winner. Watching and neutrality will only prevent us from being promoted and eventually losing all kinds of additional benefits.

Take industry for example. The products of the country invested in factories, such as tractors, electric motors, trucks, freezers, and air conditioners, are basically exported. As we are now, it is impossible to occupy the international market after the war, but it is different if we can become the manager of East Asia. Not to mention that when we hold a re-satisfaction of international influence and trade principles after the war, we can put forward our opinions and clearly demand that we protect our commercial interests; with the East Asian economic jurisdiction in our hands, other countries will give us a fairer treatment.

This result is the best for us. Our high-tech industry must rely on external European and American markets to support it. As long as we don’t take advantage of it and pay attention to our stakes, European and American countries will still allow our products to enter their domestic markets. This kind of treatment can only be fought with them to abolish unequal treaties and cannot be obtained. Once a war with Europe and the United States begins, factories that have lost market support will soon go bankrupt.

To the outside world, we say that the path of industrialization is to revitalize agriculture and drive industry with agriculture. This is indeed our choice, but in fact we walk on two legs. Our other path is to rely on the high-end European and American markets and export high-tech products to enhance the country's industrial strength. Both paths are very important and indispensable; and, the latter path is very dangerous because it relies on the European and American markets, which requires good diplomatic relations. When will these two paths be safe? This will have to wait until our country's citizens have solved their food and clothing and have spare money in their pockets, and can buy tractors, three-wheeled cars, radios, and electric fans. This is when my country's industrialization construction truly achieves something.

The road to industrialization is difficult, and domestic agricultural construction is not a problem, but the international situation is unpredictable. After several economic crises, even high-tech industries will be greatly affected. However, even so, the export path cannot be cut off. We must try our best to persevere. Only in this way can we keep up with the development level of Europe and the United States in science and technology without falling behind."

Yang Rui's words ended here. When he picked up the teacup and drank water, Xu Guantian raised his hand and said, "I support the proposal to send troops to Europe to participate in the war."

After Xu Guantian finished speaking, Qiu Jin also said, "I support it too."

"I will also withdraw my objection." Xu Huafeng said with a smile, "But if the Germans scold me in the future, I will push them all to the body."

After he said that, everyone laughed, and the solemn atmosphere in the study suddenly became much more relaxed. Du Yaquan smiled and said, "I want to know why Britain handed over Nanyang to us?"

"It's not to us." Xie Zhangtai, who has not spoken, said: "The British mean to form an alliance with us. This is equivalent to opening up the commercial interests of the Southeast Asian country to us. As long as we do not do too much and do not threaten their vested interests, they will not interfere too much in our actions. In addition, there is Central Asia. Although the British demand that the boundary between the two countries' spheres of influence is the Sir River, I think if I insist, I can still delineate the previous Russian-Arab border. In the end, we can only take over some of the interests of Russia and the northeastern Persia. What the British care about is the provinces with oil fields in the south, and he doesn't care about the north.

It can be said that our influence can basically cover all places in Asia except India, Afghanistan, Persian Gulf, and Ottoman. Although these places are poor, they are only for Europe and the United States. For us, the Southeast Asian countries focus on protecting the interests of overseas Chinese; Central Asia and Persia, from the perspective of success, focus on ensuring access to mineral resources along the way. The most important thing is to obtain an identity equal to European and American countries, which is extremely beneficial for our industrial exports.

We are different from Japan. Our products are in the words of Zhengcheng, and these products enter the markets of Europe and the United States. Although they are expensive, they have few competitors. This is only the consumption of European and American countries. Being able to enter the European and American markets as a relatively equal status will be beneficial to the development of the country's industrial development."

What are the benefits? Du Yaquan, as the Minister of Commerce, knows that in Du Yaquan's view, China's industrialization is a plan to build a plank road openly and secretly overcome Chen Cang. Why is it necessary? Yang Rui's answer is to avoid being missed. Du Yaquan agrees with this by participating in the European War, but are foreigners trustworthy?

This suspicion took Du Yaquan's mind several times, and finally asked, he said, "It's true, what if the foreigners agreed to do not fulfill the facts afterwards? Is there any guarantee for this matter?"

The problems that everyone is worried about are actually the same. Yang Rui laughed and said, "A treaty will be signed before joining the war. At least those unequal treaties are abolished, except for Hong Kong. As for the sphere of influence, we have troops in Central Asia and Persia, and we are in line with the interests of Britain, so they will not breach the contract here. Nanyang may be the case, just like the Qing Dynasty signed a treaty that did not be implemented. Britain, France and the Netherlands will definitely make excuses to shirk after the war. This is inevitable, but no matter how you shirk, the interests of overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia can be guaranteed. This is enough. After all, the commercial interests of overseas Chinese are the commercial interests of the country.

The most important point is to obtain raw materials that are not discriminated against in the world and sell products that are not discriminated against. I don’t think it is difficult to obtain the former except for individual strategic materials, but it is difficult to own a mine, unless it is in a non-colonial country; the latter, as long as our product market share is too large and it poses enough threat to European and American domestic products, it will inevitably be excluded openly and secretly, which is inevitable. However, our positioning is to make products that others do not have, or to just want to share a small sum of the European and American markets, and not intend to occupy too many markets. I think in this case, the possibility of being excluded will become very small.
Chapter completed!