Chapter 232 National Interest

In the sound of gunfire, Kamui Tsumei's body shook and staggered out two steps. There was another gunshot, and Kamui Tsumei's body hit the snow heavily.

Shenwei Guangchen threw away his rifle and ran to the beach with the remaining three soldiers.

A small boat had already stopped by the beach. Shenwei Guangchen jumped into the boat. Lu Wenjun stood in the boat, and Shenwei Guangchen stretched out his hand: "Mr. Colonel..."

Shenwei Guangchen waved his hand and slapped Lu Wenjun in the face!

There were several more shots, and a soldier fell off the boat.

The boat rushed into the dark night like an arrow from the string.

......

Han Lingjun, the governor of Anzhou, rushed to the beach and found Tsuaki Kamui in the pool of blood.

Kamei's back bullet came from his chest, and blood stained his chest red, which condensed into red amber in front of his chest.

Han Lingzhun picked up Ziming Guijing. His body was cold. This time, the bullet hit his vital point!

Han Lingjun was very frustrated. Zhou asked him to take good care of Kamei. The North Koreans failed to kill him, but in the end, the Japanese got it!

Kamei is still weak.

"Why did they kill you! They are Japanese just like you!" Han Lingjun asked.

Zi Ming shook his head with a wry smile: "Futong Inn, outside, under the pine trees..."

"Futong Inn? Pine trees? What did you say? Hello, hello!"

Tsumiaki Kamei closed his eyes, but with a relieved smile on his face.

Han Lingzhun quickly took people to feel the Futong Inn, found the old pine, threw away the snow, and found the dog bag under the root of the tree.

In the bag is a camera and a small oil paper bag.

Han Lingzhun opened the oil paper bag, and he saw the hell recorded in a photo!

Those bloody and distorted pictures made Han Lingjun, a man who had crawled out of the pile of dead many times, not shudder!

......

Zhalantun, in the living room of Gothic architecture, Zhou Charter's eyes fell on the sand table in the center of the living room.

As a student of Tianjin Wubei School, Zhou Charter is familiar with sand table operations. However, this is not a military attack and defense sand table, which details the topography of Northeast China and a T-shaped railway.

Zhou Charter nodded: "Mr. Palau, the Russian government funded Zhang Jun to return to Liaodong, which should be related to this sand table."

Baraufu and Yemenko looked at each other. Obviously, it was obvious that Balafu did not intend to hide this map from Zhou Charter.

"Mr. Zhou is really shrewd. This sand table is the interest of the Russian government!" Palau nodded and said, "More accurately, this is the common interest of the Qing Dynasty and Russia."

"Please make it clear."

Baraufu stood up and said, "Please!"

When everyone came to the sand table, Ye Mian Liao Ke picked up the benchmark and said, "Mr. Zhou is a top student of Tianjin Wubei School, and he should be familiar with the sand table operation. This is a simulated sand table built by a railway. Regarding the importance of railways, I think Mr. Zhou should have understood something in this war, right?

Zhou Charter nodded: "Mr. Yemenko refers to the embarrassment faced by the Qing army in the transportation of soldiers and war materials."

"Not bad." Ye Mian Liaoke said, "I used to be a professional soldier. Please allow me to judge this war from the perspective of a professional soldier. From the perspective of modern war, the Qing Dynasty has been facing an extremely difficult situation since the beginning of the war. The main combat troops of the Qing army entered the North Korea, while the main combat troops came from central and southwest China, while the military supplies were mainly from Zhili Province with Beijing and Tianjin as the core. From Zhili to the Yalu River, the shortest transportation line also had thousands of kilometers. As far as I know, some of the Qing army's troops even came from Yunnan, Sichuan, far southwest. The line is nearly 5,000 kilometers long. Such a long transportation line has put great pressure on the Qing army's battle.

Zhou Charter nodded silently, and the Russians knew more about the current situation of the Qing army than the Qing Dynasty!

"At the beginning of the war, the Qing army was at an absolute disadvantage in North Korea, which was the result of this long transportation line. Soldiers and supplies cannot be gathered in time. Modern warfare is about comprehensive national strength. The Qing Dynasty is so vast that it is impossible to gather heavy troops at any point on its long border to resist foreign enemies. According to modern military thought, a country's national defense must be integrated with its transportation capacity! Otherwise, this country will raise millions of soldiers, which is useless!"

The Zhou Charter is silent, and Yemen Liaoko's words are undoubtedly correct. In fact, not only a country's foreign defense needs to be integrated with transportation capacity, but also for a highly centralized country, its internal rule needs strong transportation capacity.

"Unfortunately, the transportation capacity of the Qing Dynasty is still at the level of the Middle Ages!" Ye Mian Liaoke said, "The Qing Dynasty doesn't even have a hardened road! Your so-called post road is actually the official road of the First Emperor of Qin 2,000 years ago. As for the railway, you have nothing! In Europe, it is recognized that railways are the most efficient means of transportation! However, in the vast Manchuria, which is the Longxing land of your Qing Dynasty, there is no one-inch railway. With all due respect, a land without railway means that the government of this country has no de facto sovereignty over this land! Because the central government cannot maintain the ruling power of the people on this land, nor can it give real protection to the people!"

Zhou Charter lamented that Ye Men and Liaoke hit the nail on the head! The vast northeast is actually in a state of anarchy. The reason why bandits such as Zhang Zuolin and Jin Shoushan can become a climate is that the imperial court's control over the northeast is extremely weak. In the northeast, the officials and bandits colluded with the fish and the people. The court was not unaware of it, but it was out of reach and could only turn a blind eye.

Railway is not only a means of transportation, but also of extraordinary significance for maintaining the unity of the country. The court is not unaware of this. However, the construction of the railway has been greatly resisted by the government and the opposition, and the people's hatred of the railway has even surpassed that of dignitaries. Zhang Zhidong tried to build a railway in Hubei, Li Hongzhang in Zhili and Liu Mingchuan in Taiwan. However, they built the railway and was regarded by the people as Emperor Yang of Sui to dig a canal!

An important reason why people oppose the construction of railways is that the roar of trains will disturb the dead underground! This is a country of ancestral worship! In this country, the living must make way for the dead!

At the end of the 19th century, the biggest resistance to China's modernization was not the decay of the Qing Dynasty, but the cultural accumulation of thousands of years!

Ye Mian Liaoke pointed to the yellow railway on the sand table and said, "This planned railway, called the Nanman Railway, goes south from Harbin and crosses the whole northeast of China to Lushun. Mr. Zhou, you should see that it will be a link that will firmly bind the Qing Dynasty and the whole northeast. From now on, the national sovereignty of the Qing Dynasty will be thoroughly implemented throughout the Northeast! We can imagine that if this railway has become a reality, then the current Qing-Japanese War is likely to be another pattern! In this sense, the Southern Manchurian Railway is a full embodiment of the national interests of the Qing Dynasty!"

Zhou Charter nodded slowly: "Mr. Yemen Liaoke, I agree with your suggestion very much! I will ask the court to allocate funds for the construction of this railway. For your suggestion, I think I can thank you on behalf of the Qing court.

Balaofu smiled and said, "Mr. Zhou, you should know that the Qing Dynasty has no ability to build this railway at all! Your empress dowager needs money to build the Summer Palace!"

Baraufu's smile is full of sarcasm!

Zhou Charter is speechless. Russians have a clear understanding of the national conditions of the Qing Dynasty! In the Qing Dynasty, the construction of royal gardens is often more urgent and important than the infrastructure construction of a country! The Empress Dowager can misappropriate all the coastal defense funds in order to repair the garden. How can she take care of a railway?

This phenomenon seems ridiculous, but it has its inherent logical rationality!

What the Summer Palace carries is not only the royal luxury, but also plays an important role in maintaining the authority of the Empress Dowager Buddha! It is the authoritative basis for the Empress Dowager Buddha to listen to politics or to discipline politics!

Railway and navy are the means to maintain the existence of the country.

It is certainly good if the authority of the Empress Dowager and the interests of the state can be taken into account. If you can't take care of both, the Empress Dowager Buddha will not hesitate to choose the former!

"So, what does Mr. Palau mean?" Zhou Charter asked.

"The Russian government is willing to cooperate with the Qing court to build this railway." Palau said, "Or, the Russian government provides funds and technology, and the Qing Dynasty provides land!" After the construction of the railway is completed, the two sides will jointly manage it.

Zhou Charter laughed and said, "Where are the interests of the Russian government?"

Baraufu said, "Mr. Zhou, you know, I'm a businessman and I'm not interested in politics and military, but I know that railways will bring huge commercial benefits!" I think what the Russian government needs is this commercial interest. Therefore, when His Majesty summoned me, he specifically stressed that my Far East Trading Company and I should hold a 51 percent stake in the railway.

Zhou Charter nodded: "If Russia pays for technology to build this railway, it is understandable that the Russian company will have a large stake. Personally, I think this is a constructive proposal, and the Qing court will certainly pay enough attention to it.

Baraufu and Yemenko looked at each other.

"However, your business proposal should be discussed with the court of the Qing Dynasty, or with the Minister of Trade of the North Ocean. I am the Prime Minister of the Qing Dynasty in North Korea. The matter in the Northeast has nothing to do with me. Zhou Charter said and turned to the topic: "I came to Zalantun to talk about the Korean ginseng transaction. As far as I know, Mr. Balaofu should also pay us 300,000 taels of silver."