History entered 1914 and it was quiet, and this was not significantly different. It seemed that everything was so natural and everything was so step by step.

But there is a man, a person standing on the top of the empire, standing on the course of history, knows that 1914 is different from any other year

The opportunity to change the destiny of the empire has come again. Whether it can be chosen and dominated is not only related to the blessings of 40,000 subjects, but also to the long-term stability of the empire.

In the imperial base camp at the foot of the West Mountain, the stars are shining and shining together.

"Pinqing, you are the chief think tank of the National Defense Forces. Tell me, why did the emperor suddenly convene a secret meeting of the base camp?" After the General of the Army and Minister of Defense sat down, he asked the General of the Imperial Army, Chief of General Staff and Chief of Staff of the Base camp Wang Shizhen.

"It turns out that the iron and duke didn't hear any sound at all?" Wang Shizhen said half-jokingly and half-seriously, "This must be an amazing secret meeting. Let's see who came before inference."

Soon, Xu Shichang, Tang Shaoyi, Zhao Bingjun and Zaize arrived, all of which were suspicious. The emperor summoned us, what was the matter?

Later, Sa Zhenbing, Yinchang, Liangbi and Jiang Fangzhen arrived, and his expression was also confused.

"Brother Baili, let me talk about what the emperor's intentions are?"

Jiang Fangzhen thought for a long time: "I also found it strange along the way. If it was a five-year national defense plan, the Ministry of National Defense and the General Staff had already had a proposal and followed the normal consultation process. It was not necessary to do so; if it was a military exercise by the National Defense Force or the Imperial Guards, it would not have to disturb the cabinet's officials at all, which would be puzzling."

"It is not a good habit to guess the will of the holy people!" A cheerful voice floated from outside, and everyone knew that the emperor had arrived without waiting for them to get up.

"Long live the emperor." Since the reform, bowing ceremony has replaced kneeling ceremony one after another. After the emperor sat down in the middle of the conference room, civil and military officials lined up in two rows and saluted respectfully.

"Shu Qinga."

"I'm here!"

"You are responsible for leading the imperial guards to serve as the conference room to guard the police. No one should be allowed to approach within 300 radius. Those who violate the order will be killed without any punishment."

"Yes!" Shu Qing'a strode away.

What a great order! Everyone looked at each other.

"Apart from the congregation, all guards and service personnel will exit the alert area and there is no need to record."

It became more and more important. Under the orders of the emperor, everyone in the conference room locked all the doors and windows, and pulled thick curtains on them, looking like they were facing a great enemy and were tightly hamlets.

"Ten years ago, Japan and Russia fought in the three eastern provinces. They dominated our rights and interests, killed our people, and destroyed our property. The court was helpless in dealing with it. They could only declare 'outside neutrality' when they were desperate. In fact, it hurts in their hearts. Whenever I think about it, I feel unable to sleep or eat, ashamed of my ancestors and the people of the world..." The emperor's opening remark moved everyone present, and secretly wondering what the emperor meant?

"Today ten years later, the empire will face such a difficult situation again. I think I can remain indifferent anymore." As soon as the emperor said this, everyone was a little surprised at the audience. In theory, the current situation will definitely not develop as if it is so clear. Why is the emperor's words so convincingly, it seems that it is right in front of him?

"I am stupid and don't know what country the emperor is referring to?" Wang Shizhen stood up in fear and fear. His strategic analysis of the imperial military situation was originally the key work of the General Staff Headquarters. Now that the emperor has talked about this, the General Staff Chief has no clue. Isn't it shameful?

Although everyone felt that the current situation would not be like this in a short period of time, they were originally worried about whether the emperor was worried about it, but since it so solemnly raised it, it was not like the emperor was distracting the ministers, but the question marks in their minds could not be rejected.

"Wang Shizhen, I ask you, if Japan and Germany fight in half a year and the Japanese attack Germany and occupy Qingdao, how can the court take it?"

"This?" Wang Shizhen was shocked. How could there be such a scene. He was stunned for 10 seconds before answering, "I have two strategies for civil and military. Wen Ce is based on the fact that the Duchy of All Nations are fighting, but he requires that the neutral status of the despise country should not be violated. Wu Ce said to rectify the troops and make good efforts. No matter who violates the neutrality of the despise country, he will fight with force..."

“No need to declare ‘outside neutral’?”

Wang Shizhen's face turned red: "I dare not attack the government, but I really think that the so-called 'outside neutral' is nothing more than a synonym for two robbers to get angry in the owner's house and destroy the owner's property and be powerless..."

If it were in the past, Wang Shizhen's words could be enough to "despise the court and slander the government's affairs." But now the situation is different, and the government and the people all think about reorganizing the national situation. If these honest words are unpleasant, then there is no hope in the world.

"Your Majesty, I think the king is right." Xu Shichang, as the head of the civil servant, already understood the emperor's meaning very well and said, "The old minister has been in the three eastern provinces for several years and has witnessed the deterioration of the overall situation in the Northeast by the Japanese and Russian war. 'Outside neutrality' was originally just a temporary measure when he was unable to match the situation, and he felt really painful. If there are similar incidents in the future, neutrality is good, but I really think it should not be as miserable as 'Outside neutrality'."

"I'm going to discuss it."

The opinions seem to have been initially unified, and the key is now - why is there such a difficult situation?

"Jiang Fangzhen, I ordered you to pay attention to the general trend of European military. What are your experiences?"

"The confrontation between the Allies led by Germany and the Allies led by Britain has become stronger, and the prejudice is even deeper, and it is impossible to eliminate differences in a short period of time. In recent years, there have been no two Moroccan incidents and Persian incidents, although they have repeatedly turned into danger, they are always extremely thrilling." Jiang Fangzhen said one by one, "According to the meaning of the empress, the two major groups of countries have a chance of fighting each other, but based on the recent situation, it is like calm and tranquil. "

“The surface is calm, the back is

"The emperor was very satisfied with Jiang Fangzhen's observation of the European military situation, so he summoned the ministers to come with great fanfare. He wanted to tell such a fact. According to the calculations of the heavens, the two major groups may turn against each other this year..."

"What?" Everyone looked at each other. Is this the emperor's prophecy? Or? As the emperor said, there were guidance from gods behind it - but if there were guidance from gods, why did the emperor rebel the Eight Banners and nobles several years ago without notice?

"Wang Shizhen, open the map!"

Everyone looked up and saw a huge map of Shandong appeared in front of them, and various signs marked the current power comparison of Shandong, such as Jiaozhou Bay occupied by Germany and Weihaiwei occupied by Britain... Wang Shizhen originally thought that the emperor asked the base camp to prepare this large map for the autumn exercises of the National Defense Forces, but unexpectedly it was such a situation.

"I have a question for you, and the two major groups will fight. Japan cited the British-Japanese alliance to fight with Germany. It is preparing to seize Jiaozhou Bay, how can the court respond?"

Everyone was talking about it, and finally recommended Jiang Fangzhen to answer.

"There are four answers: First, although Jiaozhou is important, the focus of Germany's strategic focus is on the European continent. Qingdao is lonely overseas, and even if you have the will to defend it, you cannot defend it;

Secondly, although Germany has no intention of defending it, it will not be willing to hand over such a good port to Japan, or negotiate with it to obtain other benefits; or refuse to give it to the end; or simply win over our country and return it to our country; if it exchanges with Japan, I am indignant, but I can do nothing; if it fights with Japan, although the victory or defeat is predictable, the process is unpredictable; if it returns to our country,..." Jiang Fangzhen paused, "It is putting our country on the fire."

"I think Germany is very likely to return our country. First, in recent years, China and Germany have had close relations and cooperated a lot, and both sides have benefited a lot. Germany is likely to make this decision to win over our country. Second, once a war in Europe begins, Germany will be unable to take care of itself and will inevitably be unable to take care of the Far East. But in turn, it can be understood in this way. Japan believes that Jiaozhou Bay is its belongings. When it takes advantage of the situation, it is impossible to negotiate with Germany at all. Third, it cannot be ruled out that Germany uses a corner of Jiaozhou Bay as a strategy to restrain the empire and Japan..." Tang Shaoyi, who just replaced Dai Hongci as assistant minister of the cabinet, was very predictive. "For the empire, if Germany really returns Jiaozhou, then even though it knows that it is a big bait, it will still swallow it in one bite. Why? The public opinion of the domestic people does not allow the court to hesitate and give in!"

"This is the effect of my desire for land!" The emperor stood up and shouted, "Since the Opium War, the court has repeatedly lost land. Today, it has been stolen from a certain country, and tomorrow it will be rented from a certain country. The face is lost, and the country's power is declining. I really feel ashamed of my ancestors. I think that if I refuse to return virtue, I will never give it to Japan..."

"That means there may be a battle with Ri..." Liangbi said the conclusion in the minds of most people.

"Twenty years ago, the imperial court was defeated by this small country, so it is today's embarrassment; after the 20s, I will never give in. If he wants to fight, he will fight for life and death."

Xu Shichang and others originally wanted to persuade him and said a few words, "Put the overall situation first and accumulate strength", but after thinking about it, if you endure it and give in step by step, the prestige that the court finally established since the first year of the Reformation will be destroyed, and the same is true for compromise and concession, and the same is true for defeat and surrender. Then why don't you just give it a try? Maybe there is still a possibility of success. Moreover, the emperor is confident and has insight, and it is not like the 1894-1895-1895. It is true that there is great potential for it.

"I named this major event 'Ice Plan', mainly three: First, presided over by Premier Xu, Tang Shaoyi and Zaize considered methods to prepare for war resources, be prepared for any eventuality, including investing in European futures trading and mobilizing resources at home;

Second, Zhao Bingjun is chaired by the Intelligence Bureau and uses the Intelligence Bureau to widely collect all kinds of relevant information, and be targeted and know yourself and your enemy;

Third, under the leadership of Tieliang, we mobilize troops, rectify and mobilize, accelerate production, hoard arms, and prepare combat materials as much as possible under secret circumstances;

Fourth, Wang Shizhen and Jiang Fangzhen and others cooperated to formulate combat plans for the Shandong Peninsula and its remaining battlefields."

"I will obey the order."

"Today's meeting is extremely secret. Please keep it confidential and never let go of the news. If any leaked secrets, they will be punished for treason and punished the nine clans."

After ordering, things began to unfold in an orderly manner: On the surface, China-Germany economic and trade became more popular after 1914, but in fact, all orders submitted were cancelled or various methods were delayed. Zaize used overseas elements of the Imperial Bank and the Bank of Communications to place bets on important strategic materials such as steel, coal, and copper in the London futures trading market, and prepared positions with 10 times leverage; Tieliang supervised the military engineering group, on the one hand, accelerated the hoarding of imported German weapons, and on the other hand, planned to slowly transfer the country's military production to combat readiness; Wang Shizhen was in charge of the work of the General Staff Headquarters, and on the one hand, stepped up the training of various tiers of troops to further improve combat effectiveness through practical exercises, and on the other hand, he mobilized the entire staff to draft combat plans. In order to cover up, the name was set as the National Defense Forces Qiu Cao Plan...

After the huge national institutions began to rotate, relevant information was gradually spread to the ears of intelligence agencies in the UK, Japan and even Germany. However, by mid-June, the intelligence agencies of various countries were all dark about possible future changes, and it was naturally difficult to judge the strategic intentions of the Chinese people, because no matter how they analyzed it, it was difficult to justify themselves.
Chapter completed!