Chapter 388 Not yet unified

"Oh? Is there any news?

In the Prime Minister's office, Tang Shaoyi put the telegram she had just received at Li Enfu's table and smiled bitterly: "Liu Bingzhang and his entourage have returned to Chengdu now, which is almost the same as we expected. Those Tusi and lamas seem unwilling to give up their rights."

After listening to the words, Li Enfu's face also became gloomy. Although he had previously guessed that the unification of Tibet was not so simple, because Xinhua's policy was completely different from that of the Tibetans. The liberation of all serfs alone would cause a large number of Tusi and Tibetan leaders to lose power, so this is an irreconcilable contradiction at all. .

But do you really want to go to war?

It is unwilling to consider it from the perspective of the Prime Minister's Office. Once the war in Tibet starts, it will be more difficult than the northwest, and the consumption will be greater. The financial burden is unbearable for the current political axe, especially at a time when the preparation for Russia has quietly launched, the pressure will be greater.

But if the war doesn't work, what method should be used to solve it?

After thinking about it, Li Enfu quickly picked up the telegram and asked, "I'm going to see the emperor now. It's hard for you to find Chen Ping and Yan Fu and ask him for his opinion."

"Yes." After Tang Shaoyi left, Li Enfu also quickly got on the bus to the Summer Palace, but when the garden saw Li Mo, he suddenly found that Li Mo had guests, and he was also a person he had never thought of.

Zhang Zhidong!

Why did he come to see Li Mo?

"Xiao Da has met the Prime Minister." After seeing Li Enfu, Zhang Zhidong quickly got up and saluted. At the same time, he also secretly looked at the Prime Minister Xinhua.

Li Enfu is also looking at Zhang Zhidong, who is known as the founder of Chinese industry and the founder of Hanyang Iron Works. Obviously, he is a little old, but his still bright eyes seem to be able to see the demeanor of the past.

"Enfu has met Lord Zhang."

"Ha ha, the Prime Minister is polite. Xiaoda is just an idle person in the wild now, and he can't afford to be an adult."

"Your Excellency has laid the foundation of modern industry for our China, and the emperor has also praised it before. Why can't you afford it?" Li Enfu smiled and arched his hand.

"Come on, you guys are welcome. Let's all sit down." Li Mo smiled and asked after asking them to sit down again, "Mr. Li, what's the matter today?"

"Your Majesty, it's a little thing." Li Enfu took out the telegram and suddenly looked at Zhang Zhidong.

Zhang Zhidong saw the situation and knew that Li Enfu must have a big deal to discuss with Li Mo. He was just about to get up and avoid it for a while, but Li Mo stretched out his hand to stop him and said with a smile, "You have to talk to others. Mr. Zhang is not an outsider. Mr. Li might as well say it directly."

"Yes." Li Enfu immediately took out a telegram and handed it to Li Mo, saying, "Liu Bingzhang sent a telegram. The Tibetan Tusi and some lamas joined hands to refuse peaceful reunification, and proposed that unless the emperor allows Tibetan autonomy, the army will never talk about the matter of joining hands unless the emperor allows Tibetan autonomy."

"Hand in hand? Ha ha, they really regard themselves as dishes. There are so many requirements. Li Mo took the telegram and put it on the coffee table without looking at it. He picked up the teacup and asked, "Mr. Li, what are you going to do?"

"Tibet has a single ethnic group and a bad geographical environment. If it is through military means, not only the difficulties, but also the consumption is really great. Maybe it will force the Tibetan compatriots to the Tusi leaders, so we suggest that we continue to adopt the land reform and return strategy used by the previous dynasties to weaken the rights of those leaders and lamas. Li." Li Enfu thought for a moment and said.

After listening to Li Enfu's words, Li Mo suddenly put down the teacup and looked at it and asked, "Mr. Zhang, you are a veteran. You have ruled the country for many years. I don't know what a good strategy for this matter?"

"Your Majesty, this is a state matter. It's a big deal. I have already retired."

Zhang Zhidong was stunned. He didn't expect that Li Mo would ask him about Tibet. He thought that Li Mo was testing him. He was about to refuse, but he was stopped by Li Mo. He smiled and said, "Mr. Zhang, the times are different. Xinhua is the Xinhua of everyone. It is no longer a world. What's the difference between being in the wild and being an official? Besides, I'm going to ask you to be a member of parliament and make new contributions for the country. What's the harm in talking about opinions?

Since Li Mo said so, Zhang Zhidong had to laugh and said, "Forget it, that congressman. If he was ten years younger, I would really have that idea, but now I haven't been as good as before, but I have something to do about Tibet."

"Lao Zhang might as well say it directly." Hearing that there was a way, Li Enfu couldn't help leaning forward and pricking up his ears.

Zhang Zhidong touched his beard, and his eyes changed in an eye: "Your Excellency, you are right. The military affairs in Tibet are indeed difficult. Although they have marched several times in the previous dynasty, they have won, but they have also consumed a lot, and they can restore their vitality for decades."

"I think it is not appropriate to start a war and recover rashly. Moreover, although the Prime Minister's proposed land reform and return is good, this move has been used many times. Those leaders and Tusi who report to the court to recruit officials will not stop exploiting. Instead, they will use their power to operate private forces, causing tribal conflicts and deaths and injuries. "

"In summary, we can't do anything to increase their rights. Instead, we should reduce our rights. We should try our best to pull those low serfs to our side, empty them up, make them afraid, and take the initiative to come to us."

"I think that if the emperor is not in a hurry, he can use the method of boiling frogs in warm water. While sending troops in and scattering the army, establishing the new policy area on the grounds of military control, implementing the new policy in the area, liberating those serfs, and pulling them all over. When the new policy area is accepted by the Tibetan people, it can continue. Expand, so that the consumption will be much less. When the pot of water is boiling, those people in Lhasa have no strength to resist!"

"Good way! Boil a frog in warm water, what a boiled frog in warm water!" After listening to this, Li Enfu patted his thigh, but turned his head and asked, "However, in what name should we establish the New Political District?"

"Isn't that simple? Mr. Li, I heard that the southwest banditry has been very serious recently!" After Li Mo finished speaking, he suddenly blinked his eyes mischievously. Li Enfu and Zhang Zhidong looked at each other and laughed loudly at the same time.

With Li Mo's words, the General Staff immediately ordered the Third Infantry Division, which had just been withdrawn from Borneo, to be stationed in Yungui. At the same time, the Eighth Infantry Division, which returned, also entered the Tibetan area along Hunan through Sichuan. Four Royal National Guard divisions acted with them at the same time. At the same time, with the pacation of Xinjiang Province, the Northwest Army was also pulled out. With an arm, the Fourth Infantry Division also entered Tibet from Qinghai on the grounds of suppressing bandits.

Tens of thousands of troops entered Tibet from the three roads at the same time, and suddenly there was a great panic between the tusi and the leaders. They gathered their armed guard and asked for help from the Potala Palace.

Unexpectedly, these troops did not pay attention to them when they arrived. Instead, they dispersed as regiments. With a large number of them, they didn't know where to find them. They didn't know how to speak and began to build roads and build telegraph stations. As they leveled the truth, after the telephone lines were erected, the leaders finally began to be nervous. Yes.

But this suffering has just begun, and then they encountered big trouble, because these arriving troops began to recruit local Tibetans, establish bandit suppression areas, and also issued official documents. All Tibetans who enter the bandit suppression area will be able to regain their freedom and have the rights of ordinary people, and There is no need to hand over the cattle and sheep to the boss and the toast, and if his original boss dares to hunt down, it will be protected!

This order simply breaks the livelihood of the people and the toast! Because they don't produce, and what they usually eat depends on exploitation. The Xinhua Army's move is to cut off their money again. If this goes on, it will be extremely difficult to keep the position, not to mention controlling the serfs below!

Some bold leaders began to gather and prepare to gather armed forces to catch the fleeing serfs, but in front of the Xinhua Army, which was many times better than them, they all broke their heads and blood. Finally, they were finally swept into the garbage dump in the name of attacking the army and funding the bandits.

In addition to expanding the bandit area and encroying on it step by step, the night eagle has also become the busiest people. The head of the evil villagers and Tusi in the southwest land inexplicably disappear and are killed. After their death, they will cause local instability, which just gives the army an excuse to station. With the expansion of the bandit suppression area, the Potala Palace finally sits down. I can't help it. I took the initiative to send people to Beijing to negotiate.

But this time they didn't have such a good card. Li Enfu directly refused the request for autonomy and took Mongolia as an example, requiring that the Tibetan area must completely liberate the serfs. At the same time, the new policy must be adopted under the joint jurisdiction of Tibetan and Han officials. In addition, the choice of the reincarnated spiritual children of the two living Buddhas must also be confirmed by the central government axe. In addition, Sa must be stationed. Regardless of the usual public security, the newly formed police department is responsible for public security.

Such harsh conditions naturally aroused the dissatisfaction of the Tusi, but they could not find any excuse, because no matter how provocation, the Xinhua Army ignored them at all and continued to eat them steadily in the name of suppressing banditry.

Many people are anxious and even said that they should attack the New China Army, but the situation in the northwest has told them that there is no good end against the New China Army. Some people even said that they could contact the British army in India, but they proposed that they were either killed or the corpse of the grassland.

On the one hand, the ants were in a hurry to enter the hot pot, and on the other hand, they were drinking tea, commanding the construction corps to set up telegraph lines all the way, set up political axes, educating serfs, and leisurely approaching Lhasa like a walk.

Finally, the Potala Palace finally lowered its head and resumed negotiations in Chengdu.

Unexpectedly, the negotiation was not how to solve the contradictions between the two sides at the beginning, but for the Emperor's railway dispute, because Li Mo asked to allow him to immediately send people to Lhasa to survey the terrain and prepare for the construction of the railway. If this can't be agreed, there is no need to negotiate later. .

In the case of failure and no way out, the Potala Palace agreed to the request.

After reaching his wish, Li Mo was not interested in the progress of the negotiations at all. Immediately, in the name of repairing the railway, he brought the first batch of 50,000 Han immigrants recruited from Sichuan, Hunan, Yunnan and other places to Lhasa. At the same time, he also arrived an infantry regiment to protect them.

This result stunned the Potala Palace, which promised to build the railway. They didn't expect that Li Mo would be so shameless that he brought so many Han people on the grounds of sending technicians!

In the face of questions, Li Enfu is very easy. That is the family of the technician. Because of the difficult road, it may have to be surveyed and mapped for more than ten years, so it is normal to bring family members.

Under the protection of the Xinhua Army along the way, the Tusi can't stop the Han people from entering Tibet at all. Although the Tibetans are afraid of these strangers, they do not disturb the people or rob them. What's more, the large-scale entry of the Han people into Tibet in history is not a precedent. In the end, they can only let them arrive in Lhasa step by step and start. Build residential areas and pioneers.

According to the plan of the Ministry of Construction of Xinhua, the railway workers who will eventually arrive in Tibet will reach 500,000. It's not the Potala Palace that can't sit still, but the British!

Britain is not afraid that you will build the Tibetan Railway, because this railway can't be repaired in decades, and the cost will be a bottomless pit, but no one expected that Li Mo would use the railway to emigrate and send troops to Tibet on the pretext!

There are not many 50,000 people, and even 500,000 people can't see fireworks in the huge Tibetan province, but the problem is that it is too eye-catching to protect an infantry regiment they are stationed in. If it's just an army, it doesn't matter, because they can't get the support of Tibetans, but now there are 50,000 Han people. Once there is a war, these The army can get the support of the Han people at any time!

Not waiting for the British to digest the news that the Xinhua army had entered Tibet under the pretext of repairing a railway, another thunderbolt came. The Prime Minister's Office of the Xinhua Empire began to discuss with Siam to dig the Grand Canal of the Isthmus, and sent hundreds of experts to land on the Malay Peninsula under the protection of soldiers for advance survey.

This news immediately attracted the attention of France and Germany, who expressed their willingness to provide loans and technical support, and Britain finally couldn't sit still.

After nearly a year of publicity, the Tibet Railway has made a lot of noise in various countries. Although all countries think that Li Mo is in vain and Britain has not paid much attention to it, who would have thought that Li Mo would send tens of thousands of immigrants and troops to Lhasa under the pretext of railway survey. At this moment, he is going to build the Grand Canal. Prime Minister Zbery also had to start worrying about India.

At a time when Boer was still deadlocked and the first new battleship was still in the dock, Prime Minister Salisbury asked Sa Daoyi to immediately start negotiations with Xinhua on the Tibetan issue, but he was rejected before he started. The reason is very simple. The Tibetan issue belongs to Xinhua's internal affairs, and no country has the right to interfere.

In this case, Sa Daoyi could only re-import Xinhua to threaten India. While putting pressure on the king of Siam, he asked Xinhua to immediately stop sending troops and exeging the Grand Canal in the name of building a railway into Tibet. But Li Enfu was more shameless and directly said that it was a private industry invested by the emperor, which brought the negotiations to a deadlock.

In the end, Sa Daoyi had to see Li Mo to ensure that it would not invade Tibet, and that except for the warships currently rebuilt, it would not help Russia build new battleships, and would not allow Russia to use any military bases in the British Far East as a condition, in exchange for Li Mo's postponement of the construction of the Tibet Railway and not building the Kara Isthmus. The promise of the Grand Canal.

This is good news for Xinhua. Russia's domestic dock and technology level are limited. Even if the UK sells the technology to them, it will take at least two or three years to do it with Russia's ability.

At the same time, after seeing the army and the Han people slowly entering Tibet and Lhasa, the Potala Palace finally had to agree to all the conditions. Under the conditions of political axe guarantee that it would not interfere with Tibetan Buddhism, the Tibetan Province announced the establishment of a province after Xinjiang Province and accepted the leadership of the political axe of the Central Committee of Xinhua.

On October 1, 1901, Li Enfu, the first Prime Minister of the Xinhua Empire, issued a letter to the whole country, announcing the liberation of all Tibetan serfs, and on behalf of hundreds of millions of Chinese sons and daughters to welcome Tibetan compatriots back to the Chinese family. At the same time, he announced the withdrawal of the current three army divisions, but a Royal National Guard Division will be retained in Xinjiang Province to help The Tibetan provincial government suppressed bandits and helped speed up the construction of the new policy axe framework.

In addition, in order to solve the problems of the difficult life of Tibetan compatriots and the low educational literacy rate, the Prime Minister's Office began to convene aspiring scholars from all over the country to teach and educate people for the first time. At the same time, it said that it would allocate 50 million yuan to accelerate the construction of transportation and communication in Tibetan areas. It also said that the central government will purchase at least 100 from the Tibetan province every year in proportion. Tens of thousands of cattle and sheep help Tibet to vigorously develop the aquaculture industry and improve the living standards of Tibetans.

After Xinjiang and Tibet successively returned to Greater China, the announcement of the Prime Minister's Office of the Xinhua Empire did not mention half of the unified word, which made the students who were still ready to celebrate not understand, especially the emperor's silence.

This mystery was not finally solved until the New Year. In his New Year's message, Li Mo, the emperor of the Xinhua Empire, said for the first time in front of hundreds of Chinese and foreign reporters that Xinhua has not been unified. Xinhua will abolish all the unequal treaties signed in the Qing Dynasty from the first month of the first month of the Lunar New Year in 1902, and announced that Xinhua, including sea cucumbers. Wei, Sakhalin Island, East Siberia in Lake Berga has sovereignty!

Li Mo's words made the Far East and Europe thunder! ......

(to be continued)