290 Sadness and Joy

290 Sadness and Joy (Part 2)

Following Marshal Li, Dudu Li stood on the rostrum.

Li Liejun walked to the pulpit and hugged Li Dashuai. Everyone clapped their hands.

Li Liejun did not speak immediately. He clenched the microphone with both hands and blew it on his mouth. This was his habit when he was excited.

"I don't know how to express my gratitude..." Li Liejun replied with tears in his eyes.

Li Liejun's speeches were very short, and there was not much applause. This was not that the participants were not interested, but to prevent danger.

The remaining glass from the broken dome of the patio was blown down by the wind, and it was falling off one after another. Marshal Li can make a calm speech against the aura of pig's feet, and others don't have such courage.

"Of course, soldiers are not afraid of such large glass fragments falling from about 100 feet high. We civil servants have nothing to protect our heads. If we applaud hard, applause may cause more debris to fall down." American reporter Duncan recalled that fortunately, the fragments did not touch anyone, and he kept praying to God that the ceremony would end soon.

After the ceremony, the participants quickly left the hall, as if they were avoiding the glass falling from the patio.

When Lin Dong left the building, he looked around to look for the guard who had threatened him.

"I have time now. I want to teach that boy an unforgettable lesson..." Lin Dong muttered, "Can you imagine this? Why should Marshal Li be so polite to those 'reformists' who have made no contribution in this battle? Did we fight the whole battle?

When other reporters and dignitaries gathered around Marshal Li, Xu Yifan and Yuchen kept watching. They also wore sloppy combat uniforms and tried to avoid face-to-face with Marshal Li.

"Big boss, look."

"What's the matter?"

"Look at it."

Xu Yifan followed Yu Chen's eyes and saw that Gu Xin, who had not recovered, also appeared here.

Yu Chen shouted, "Hey, there, tall girl! Come and see me when you have time!"

......

Beijing, Zhongnanhai.

Yuan Shikai's virtual fire rose and he was nervous. He listened to his son Yuan Keding whispered a letter from Zhu Andian to him:

"... The development of the world situation is worrying (referring to the European war), and the development of the Far East situation is also worrying. From southeast to southwest, most of the areas are under the control and siege of the guo army. How to deal with it? I'm afraid it can't be solved just by transporting troops.

Therefore, we came up with a way to ask you to meet with Li Xiang to discuss the grand plan of this country. ......”

Yuan Shikai was shocked.

Yuan Keding shook his hands and his voice trembled. He read down and said, "We know that you will be surprised by this suggestion. But we have thought about it over and over again and believe that this plan is beneficial to you and our common interests.

Can you send a telegram to Li Xiang and ask him to come to Beijing to discuss the national plan with you? If Li Xiang refuses, you can send another telegram, which is more sincere than the first one. If Li Xiang refuses again, you can send another telegram, the fourth or even the fifth.

Li Xiang won't come to Beijing. We don't think this estimate is wrong. Of course he knows where Beijing is, and his safety is insecure!"

Yuan Shikai came through a breath.

"Until Li wants to express his attitude, he will never go to Beijing for a meeting. At that time, you can announce to the world: for the current situation in China, you wanted to take a 'political solution', but the Kuomintang had no sincerity and refused to meet each other, so it was forced to solve it with 'military order' and 'government order' to fight against it! This is really helpless. Wuhan is responsible for all responsibilities, which has nothing to do with Beijing!"

Yuan Shikai smiled.

"Also, in order to perform realistic, Mr. Zhu Andian, the ambassador of the British Empire to China, will personally fly to Wuhan to persuade him, saying that the British government and President Yuan Shikai are consistent, sincere and frank about the Wuhan issue! ......”

Yuan Shikai laughed.

Yuan Keding collapsed on the sofa due to excessive nervousness.

Yuan Shikai stadded for a while and smiled at Yuan Keding in a low voice, "Just reply to a telegram. I agree!"

"Yes!"

"Let's send another telegram to Li Xiang."

"Yes!"

"The wording should be gentle and sincere."

"Yes!"

......

The streets and alleys of Wuhan are full of red flags, celebrating the liberation of Jiangxi like a festival.

Since early morning, workers, citizens and students in holiday clothes have gathered in the square in front of the Chuwangtai Tower.

At 10 a.m., Li Xiang and other leaders of Hubei District boarded the Chuwangtai Tower and watched the grand military parade with hundreds of thousands of people, followed by a boiling mass parade.

At night, the colorful fireworks rose in the air, the people in the square sang and danced, and the happy scene continued until late at night.

However, on this day, the happy Chinese did not know that a huge shadow of war was looming over them. Although the news of the European war can be seen in the newspaper, ordinary Chinese people will not care about it. People think that the war is far away from them.

Only the leaders of Hubei District are secretly worried about the happy scene.

Grand Duke Ferdinand, the crown prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was assassinated by a Serbian youth. Of course, this is only an introduction.

On July 28, 1914, the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Serbia. On July 30, Russia mobilized and sent troops to assist Serbia. On August 1, Germany declared war on Russia, and then on the 3rd, it declared war on France. On August 4, Germany invaded Belgium, which remained neutral, and Belgium declared war on Germany. On the same day, Britain declared war on Germany, considering Belgium's importance to its own homeland security and the London Treaty signed earlier in 1839 to ensure Belgium's neutrality. On August 6, Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia, Serbia declared war on Germany, and Italy declared neutrality. On August 12, Britain declared war on the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The First World War broke out.

Allied Powers: Austro-Hungarian Empire, Germany.

Neutral: Italy.

Allied countries: Serbia, Russia, France, Belgium, United Kingdom.

The whole world caused a sensation. In order to celebrate the outbreak of the war, foreigners in Shanghai held a grand party between British and French expatriates, and German and Austro-Hungarian expatriates in the concession also gathered together to wish the motherland victory in the war.

The assassination of the Grand Duke of Austria-Hungary is not only a political event, but also a major economic event.

The world is as crazy as ever.

In August 1914, the First World War broke out in Europe, and Germany, France, Britain, Russia and other powers entered the war one after another. The breadth of the war zone and the harshness and fierceness of the battle were unprecedented. This huge empire re-division of the world's plundering war brought unprecedented havoc to the people of the belligerent countries. Because the two European powers are fighting for life and death, it is increasingly difficult to take into account Asian affairs. Although the United States does not immediately participate in the war, it pays more and more attention to the development of the European war situation, and it is unable to compete with Japan for China. In this situation, the balance of the Far East, which used to be maintained by the empire's friendship and secret agreements, was broken, and Japan became the only powerful force in Asia, and was able to let go of the invasion of China without being or less restrained. The great man pointed out: "The First World War once gave the Japanese Empire a chance to dominate China for a period of time." After the outbreak of the war, China faced a serious risk of being monopolized by Japan.

Marshal Li is determined to solve the Shandong issue before the Japanese blackmail.

According to the information obtained by Marshal Li, the German troops in Shandong are only 5,000, and their cannons are mainly prepared for attacks from the sea.

Because of the outbreak of the war, several Prussian soldiers who had just been hired as instructors at Wuchang Army School asked for the resignation of Marshal Li, who returned from the expedition, to go to Shandong to defend Qingdao.

Although Germany has only 5,000 people in Shandong, with the quality of the current Chinese army, 100,000 or 200,000 troops can't gnaw Qingdao at all, so Marshal Li had a long talk with Prussian soldiers.

"Dear consultant, the purpose of your visit this time is for Qingdao. This will be the first battlefield in Asia. Marshal Li pointed to the map.

"Yes, we are preparing to take this battlefield."

"Can you keep this point?"

"We will fight to the end for the glory of Germany."

General Li expressed deep doubts about his generous statement. As far as he knew, the war in Shandong was mainly a battle between Japan and Germany. Although the Germans were defeated, it killed the Japanese more than ten times.

"How long can you hold on in the face of 100,000 Japanese troops?"

The amazing fighting desire and samurai spirit shown by Japanese soldiers during the Russo-Japanese War have attracted the Western powers, and Japan's hegemony in Asia has been widely recognized. Japan has an alliance with Britain. It is only a matter of time before Japan declares war on Germany in accordance with the obligations of the alliance. If Japan joins the war, Germany in Shandong will be defeated.

The huge fleet formed by the "Red-Orange Alliance" is definitely not something that the German Eastern Fleet can compete with.

"100,000 Japanese troops? Maybe a month..." This is Hurwitz's optimistic idea, but other officers are very pessimistic that they can't hold on for a week.

"Even if this is doomed to fail, I would rather die in the killing field than live in the rear." Hurwitz was extremely excited.

Marshal Li waved his hand and said, "Don't say the words of killing in battle," he said, and outlined a few red bars on the map. "If so, you can hold on for a few days."

Helwitz testified: "With all due respect, the participating countries launched an attack from the territory of neutral countries, which is a violation of the rules of war."

Marshal Li waved the pen in his hand and said, "The rules of war in the West do not apply to the East. You haven't considered another question. What if China participates in the war?"

Helvitz** realized that Marshal Li did not want to keep the advisory group, but for another purpose. He said, "Marshal Li, do you want to say that China will participate in the war?"

Marshal Li smiled and said, "No, I think we can solve it in a peaceful way."

"A peaceful way?" Hurwitz smiled and said, "It seems that I fully understand what you mean."

Marshal Li said seriously, "Hilwitz, you don't understand what I mean. When you arrive in Shandong, I hope you can convey the peaceful solution to the German generals in Qingdao."

Helwitz doesn't understand what's happening now and what he doesn't mean at all.