1905: Beer Hall Speaker

Page 67

The Tsar was utterly shocked, and then flew into a rage.

There's no way around it; Irkutsk is just too important. It's not some wild and undeveloped place, but the heart of Siberia, Russia, and a crucial hub on the Trans-Siberian Railway. It's located near Lake Baikal, and all travel to and from the east and west must pass through Irkutsk.

If this part is lost, Russia will be split in two, and the Trans-Siberian Railway will become useless!

The Tsar boasted that he would retake Irkutsk, but he soon abandoned the idea because he received definite news that Zhao Yan had personally led a large army to capture Irkutsk, and that Zhao Yan himself was there!

As the saying goes, a person's reputation precedes them. Zhao Yan is no longer an unknown figure, but rather someone hailed by Europeans as the Napoleon of the Far East. For such a ruthless person to personally come to Irkutsk, Tsar Nicholas II felt as if the world was against him.

Now that Zhao Yan has arrived in Irkutsk, the previous news of the annihilation of the Mongolian-Russian allied forces must be true.

Nicholas II was completely baffled. He had tens of thousands of troops, plus 20,000 Cossacks and more than 10,000 Tatar cavalry. In Mongolia, who could possibly defeat them?

Oh, so Zhao Yan is here. That makes things alright. This guy is definitely capable of handling things!

Nicholas II was at a loss when faced with Zhao Yan. It wasn't that he was completely afraid of Zhao Yan, but rather that Russia was currently unable to withstand the pressure. It was heavily indebted and its finances were on the verge of bankruptcy. It simply didn't have the money to organize an army to deal with Zhao Yan.

Nicholas II could still find ways to deal with others, but when it came to Zhao Yan, his 100,000-strong army, which had previously defended like a tortoise shell, was completely routed by Zhao Yan.

Now you're going to attack them again? How many troops would that require? Sending too few would be suicide missions, sending too many would bankrupt the finances! Nikolai was at his wit's end.

But Irkutsk had to be taken back, otherwise the Far East would be doomed. The Trans-Siberian Railway had cost so much, and it was cut off by the Chinese just two years after it was completed. No one could accept that.

They couldn't fight, but they had to take back the territory, so the only option was to negotiate; they had no choice but to negotiate.

Nicholas II sent a special envoy to Irkutsk to negotiate with Zhao Yan. He originally wanted to make two preparations and wanted to conscript another army to stand by, but the revolutionary flames that were rising one after another in the country forced him to abandon this idea and focus on domestic reforms and appeasing the people.

On December 26, the day after Christmas, the Russian delegation arrived in Irkutsk, which was occupied by Zhao Yan's large army. After being notified in advance, the delegation's train stopped at the Irkutsk railway station.

As a matter of great importance, the Russian delegation conducted negotiations with Zhao Yan with the same etiquette as that for an emperor. Nicholas II sent his younger brother, Grand Prince Mikhail, to negotiate with Zhao Yan. Why was it so important? Because Russia was already in a precarious situation, and the Far East could not withstand the disruption of the Trans-Siberian Railway.

When Russians are strong, they absolutely disregard reason and morality, but when they are weak, they are very fond of reasoning.

Zhao Yan also attached great importance to this negotiation. He personally received Mikhail and affectionately called him "Brother Russia." There was no other way; Russia was in turmoil, and Zhao Yan himself was also on the verge of collapse. He was riddled with problems, and the country was heavily indebted.

Even if the Russians ignored him, Zhao Yan would have to withdraw his troops after a month or two. The country's strength couldn't withstand it, and his own body couldn't either. Fortunately, it was the dead of winter, and his injuries were relatively stable. If it had been such a long expedition in the sweltering heat, he would have died long ago.

Both sides were at their last gasp, but Zhao Yan was a conman who excelled at putting on a show of strength. Despite his illness, he put on two military parades for Mikhail.

He even recounted how he annihilated the Mongol-Russian allied forces in a single battle, and repeatedly walked around with the cattle and sheep he had brought, indicating that he had brought enough capital and planned to settle down here.

Mikhail smiled on the outside but cursed inwardly, and could only grit his teeth and continue the conversation.

Mikhail directly demanded that Zhao Yan withdraw his troops and return Irkutsk, that Outer Mongolia become an independent, permanently neutral state, and that he promise never to invade the Russian Far East. He also demanded compensation from Tsarist Russia for the loss of its concessions and 70 million taels of silver for the Chinese Eastern Railway.

Under a series of conditions, Tsarist Russia pledged to maintain lasting peace with China and to refrain from aggression against each other.

After hearing this, Zhao Yan turned and left without saying a word, and mobilized his army to make it appear as if he was going to continue the westward expedition.

Mikhail had no choice but to take the initiative to seek further negotiations, indicating that he could negotiate down to a reasonable price, and that Zhao Yan could also set his own terms, as this was the rule of international negotiations.

Zhao Yan presented his most pragmatic set of conditions: Tsarist Russia must recognize China's absolute sovereignty over Mongolia and Xinjiang, withdraw all illegally invading troops, pay China 30 million taels of silver in war reparations, return Tannu Tuva, Sakhalin Island, and Outer Manchuria, and unconditionally relinquish its concessions and railways in China.

The two sides were talking past each other, and neither was willing to accept the other's terms. But at the crucial moment, luck was on Zhao Yan's side, and God finally helped him out.

Another revolutionary uprising broke out in Vladivostok. Due to the interruption of the Trans-Siberian Railway and the recent defeat of the Russian army in the Far East, the revolutionary uprising intensified and was on the verge of spreading like wildfire.

Without the Trans-Siberian Railway, Russia's control over the Far East would be nothing but a castle in the air.

Mikhail received instructions from St. Petersburg and began to make significant concessions, abandoning his own conditions and starting to bargain with Zhao Yan's negotiation terms.

First of all, reparations are impossible. Russia doesn't have the money to pay. If it did, it would have already organized a large army to attack you!

Then comes the return of territory. Tannu Tuva can be returned, and Sakhalin Island is the only part of Russia that remains, the northern peninsula, which can also be returned. But Outer Manchuria is non-negotiable!

There's no problem with withdrawing the illegal armed groups from Xinjiang, nor is there a problem with recognizing the sovereignty of Xinjiang and Mongolia, but Zhao Yan must provide some compensation.

Russia can waive the reparations from previous unequal treaties, but Zhao Yan has to give some compensation for the concessions and railways that were built with real money, not much, just 30 million taels of silver!

Zhao Yan said he could accept anything else, but there would be no compensation, not a single penny. He questioned whether Tsarist Russia was short of money, but China was not. He likened it to a beggar asking another beggar for money, calling it ridiculous.

Both sides can easily discuss territory and sovereignty, but money becomes the only thing that becomes extremely difficult. These days, who the hell believes in treaty demarcations of territory and sovereignty? If I give it to you this time, I'll just send troops to take it back next time.

When it comes to money, nobody is willing to budge; unfortunately, both China and Russia are poor.

As January drew to a close, Mikhail was extremely anxious, and Zhao Yan, feeling he couldn't hold on any longer, forced himself to make a final compromise.

Russia agreed to recognize Xinjiang and Mongolia's sovereignty, withdraw all illegally invading armed forces, and return Tannu Uriankhai and the Sakhalin Peninsula. In return, China would pay ten million taels of silver as compensation for Russia's loss of its concessions, railways, banks, and other assets in China. However, there would be no cash, only special interest-free national bonds with a face value of ten million taels of silver!

Mikhail couldn't care less about anything else and agreed to the conditions.

On January 9, 1908, the two sides signed the Treaty of Friendship between China and Russia in Irkutsk.

After the treaty was signed, Russia officially announced its withdrawal from the war with China, and the two countries thus restored peace.

Zhao Yan also kept his promise and began to withdraw his troops and return Irkutsk. However, before withdrawing, he took away all the valuables, ransacked the surrounding area, and even took the railway sleepers back to China.

Zhao Yan himself withdrew his troops first, protected by the head of state's guard, and headed all the way to the capital. Zhao Yan entrusted all affairs in the northern desert to Li An.

At this moment, Zhao Yan had exhausted everything. His body and mind were on the verge of collapse. If he didn't return to the capital soon, he feared he would die on the front lines.

Chapter 121 The Rise and Fall of the Nation: The People Suffer

January 27, 1908, Zhangjiakou area.

The head of state's guards were escorting Zhao Yan back to the capital. Zhao Yan could no longer withstand the bumpy ride and was placed in a carriage.

As the procession traveled along the official road, everyone who encountered the convoy stepped aside to make way for Zhao Yan's carriage, waiting in the cold wind for it to pass.

The originally narrow official road had been widened and repaired, but it was still very crowded at this moment, with caravans of laborers from inside the pass transporting large quantities of supplies to outside the pass.

The needs of war are not limited by season or temperature; as much as is required, it must be delivered to the destination on time and in sufficient quantity.

Even in the dead of winter, large numbers of laborers were on the road, unable to return home to reunite with their families for a good New Year.

A large number of laborers carried heavy military supplies on their shoulders, while other wagons were also loaded with provisions and supplies, but without any livestock, and were still pulled by manpower.

After Zhao Yan and his group had been advancing for a long time, they were still blocked. A horse-drawn carriage carrying heavy supplies had broken down on the road ahead, and the laborers who had been pulling the carriage were dead on the ground, their bodies cold and stiff.

Those around them could only watch helplessly, unable to help, because they too were not far from death.

The corpses of laborers could be seen everywhere along the way; some had starved to death, some had frozen to death, and others had been worked to death.

At this point, no one could help anyone else. When the official in charge of transport saw the carriages of the head of state's guard arriving, he immediately realized that an important person had come. He quickly ordered his men to personally tow away the supply wagons blocking the road.

"What's wrong? Why did you stop?"

Zhao Yan sensed that the carriage had stopped. It had been slowing down, and now it had come to a complete stop. Zhao Yan was very dissatisfied, so he put on his coat and got out of the carriage.

Upon seeing the scene on the road, Zhao Yan's dissatisfaction immediately vanished; he realized that he was the one causing trouble for others.

"Make way immediately! Everyone who has nothing to do, go and help!" Zhao Yan ordered in a deep voice.

The head of state's guards quickly dismounted to make way and then went to help tow the supply wagons.

Zhao Hao advised, "Master, get in the car and rest. It's too cold outside."

Zhao Yan reached out his hand: "Help me go take a look."

The bodies of the laborers who had blocked the road were thrown to the side of the road and piled up with the bodies of those who had died earlier. Even their thin cotton clothes were stripped off and left to the living.

Zhao Yan walked to the pile of corpses, remained silent for a long time, and then asked, "Were these on the way here before?"

Zhao Hao dared not hide anything and nodded: "Yes, a lot, but I didn't dare tell you."

Zhao Yan's face was weathered, and his brows were filled with an indescribable anger, but after a moment, it turned into helplessness.

Getting angry won't help in this situation, because nobody is at fault. The officials aren't at fault, the army isn't at fault, the government isn't at fault, and the laborers are even less at fault. Everyone, including the country itself, has done their best.

Zhao Yan has no right to get angry at anyone, and anger will not solve any problems.

The conscription of laborers in these days was not much different from that in ancient times. Under harsh conditions and heavy burdens, the mortality rate remained high. This was the price that agricultural countries had to pay to compete with industrial countries.

The official in charge of supervising the transport approached Zhao Yan with a look of fear on his face, followed by several weathered-looking subordinates.

Zhao Yan pointed to the pile of corpses and asked, "What are their names? Tell me!"

The officials were bewildered, having no idea what the names of the corpses were.

Zhao Yan stared intently at the official, his heart filled with sorrow. It was one thing for people to die, but it was truly tragic that not even a name could be left behind.

However, Zhao Yan did not blame the officials, because they had already done their best. It was already remarkable that this huge system could be maintained. As the leader, he could not continue to nitpick.

These days, it's not like the world where college graduates are everywhere in the future, and the bureaucratic system's management and mobilization capabilities are not as good as they seem.

Zhao Yan waved his hand: "Find a few laborers over, I need to ask them some questions."

The official nodded and quickly summoned several laborers to be questioned. The laborers were all from the same family, including the elderly, children, and women. They were dressed like they were fleeing a famine, their clothes were tattered, their faces were blackened, and their hands were covered with frostbite.

Zhao Yan asked, "Old folks, where did you come from?"

The old man obediently replied, "Yes, sir, it's a shipment from Shanxi, specifically for delivering grain and coal!"

Zhao Yan continued, "How many people set off, and how many are left here?"

The old man didn't dare hide anything: "There were nine people in my family. Except for those who couldn't move or didn't understand, everyone came. Of the six who came, only my grandson, daughter-in-law, and I are left. My eldest son died of exhaustion in Shuozhou, and my second son froze to death in Datong."

"My grandson and daughter-in-law survived only because of the cotton-padded clothes and food rations they left behind, sir. Please don't blame them! The government has done its best along the way, and we know that this is for the sake of fighting on the front lines. No one is unhappy about it."

"For the first time in so many years, our country has started fighting against foreigners. It's worth it even if we work ourselves to death."

Zhao Yan didn't say anything, but touched the old man's thin cotton coat, sighed, and didn't ask why he wasn't wearing something thicker; such a question would be too foolish.

The wagons were loaded with supplies that could feed and clothe the laborers, but no one dared to move them, because if they did, all their efforts would be in vain.

Seeing Zhao Yan's weathered face and apparent injuries, resembling a general returning from the front lines, the old man could no longer contain himself and knelt down: "My lord, how much longer will this battle last?"

The laborers who had gathered around all knelt down, their eyes filled with hope as they looked at Zhao Yan.

Faced with so many eyes on him, Zhao Yan could not give an answer, nor did he dare to deceive them. He could only issue an order: "Pass on my order that local governments must register the place of origin and identity information of every laborer. All laborers who die on the road to conscription shall be given the treatment of martyrdom!"

Zhao Yan turned and left, leaving nothing behind except an order. He knew that at this point, taking off a piece of clothing or giving some food would be of no use to these laborers; on the contrary, it would be a form of exploitation, like Wu Qi sucking pus.

Zhao Yan abandoned the carriage, mounted his warhorse, and left the official road to continue his march, without adding any more trouble to the already exhausted laborers.

Gazing at the columns of people heading north, and seeing the corpses lying dead along the way, Zhao Yan felt a deep sorrow.

This battle cannot continue; the cost will be too high if we continue!

The general's white hair and the soldier's tears—these words seem insignificant on paper, but when they come to life in reality, they are so tragic and desolate.

For every action taken on the front lines, for every moment of stalemate, countless people back home endure unspeakable suffering.

Zhao Yan's numerous victories were built upon the countless corpses of laborers in the rear. And this was only the result of his victories; if he were to lose two battles, the situation would likely be even more dire.

Without a modern transportation system, without sufficient railway capacity, and even lacking the most basic highways, it still had to support a million-strong army fighting tirelessly on the frontier.

This is the price of defeating the strong with the weak, an unavoidable sacrifice. Even if Zhuge Liang were alive, he couldn't have prevented it.

Zhao Yan traveled through wind and snow, hurrying on his way. He witnessed too many unspeakable things along the way, but there was nothing he could do. He could only hurry back to the capital and the central government, back to that position, so that he would have the ability to solve these problems.

February 1st, Lunar New Year's Eve.

Zhao Yan returned to the capital in an extremely low-key and secretive manner, arriving at the Forbidden City's presidential palace. After returning, he fell completely ill.

Before lying down, he forced himself to call Zhang Mingqi to his bedside, gave her a bunch of instructions, and then ordered her to keep her physical condition a closely guarded secret. Apart from him, the doctor, and his trusted confidant Zhao Yan, no one else was allowed to see her.

Zhao Yan's elusive nature was unknown to insiders and even more perplexing to outsiders. After leaving Mobei, Zhao Yan did not say where he was going, and none of his subordinates dared to ask, as inquiring about the leader's whereabouts was a major taboo.

There is a major drawback to doing this: our own people have no idea where our leader is. If Zhao Yan were to disappear, there would be no contingency plan.

Fortunately, Zhao Yan returned to the capital safely, so there was no need to worry about that.

Meanwhile, the enemy was on tenterhooks. Everyone knew that Zhao Yan had signed a peace treaty with Russia, and that Zhao Yan would definitely leave Mobei, but no one knew exactly where he was going.

The Japanese army's vigorous winter offensive, which had lasted for more than a month, stopped immediately after Zhao Yan left the northern desert. The British also desperately pushed towards the Imphal Plateau in India, fearing that Zhao Yan would suddenly appear before them like a divine warrior.

Zhao Yan's military tactics are unpredictable. His greatest strength in leading his army is that he can suddenly appear before you when you think it's the least likely time, and then crush you in one fell swoop.

Strangely, after New Year's Eve, the National Defense Forces fell into a state of calm, adopting a completely conservative defensive posture across the entire front, and even local counterattacks were canceled.

Wu Zifu, who was on a southern expedition, was also ordered by the capital to cease military operations with the strictest order, and the Chinese army seemed to have entered a state of hibernation.

Beijing continued to maintain a low-intensity war in the most energy-efficient way, ordering the cancellation of subsequent conscription operations, reorganizing the logistical supply system, and beginning to provide substantial compensation and relief to those who had previously conscripted laborers.

The Republican government began to change its previous strong stance on the war and became more conservative.

These were all decisions Zhao Yan made while lying in his hospital bed. When he saw that men in northern China were fighting and women were transporting goods, and that the elderly and children were being conscripted into the army, he knew that this war could not continue. If it continued, it would be a waste of resources and the population would be halved!

With a million troops fighting relentlessly on the front lines, at least six or seven million people in the rear need to be completely off-duty to maintain operations, and these six or seven million people need to be supported by others.

It seems that only seven or eight million people were involved in the war, while China has a population of 400 million. It seems that the mobilization rate was only two percent. Two out of every hundred people took leave to participate in the war, which doesn't seem like a big deal.

For an industrialized country, this would be nothing more than a drop in the ocean, but for an agricultural country, especially one heavily indebted and with an empty treasury, it would be a catastrophe.

The republican government's drain on the nation's strength had reached the point where even Emperor Yang Guang would have to admit it was an expert. Fortunately, it was positioned on the righteous cause of resisting foreign aggression and revitalizing the country; otherwise, there would have been seventy-two major rebel armies and thirty-six major rebel kings, with war raging everywhere.

The weak, newly established republic could no longer withstand the pressure. The cost of importing a single large-caliber artillery shell for the National Defense Army was at least ten pounds, equivalent to about seventy-five taels of silver. After being transported thousands of miles to the front lines, the price of the shell rose to over eighty taels.