Expedition to Europe

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(The plot of this chapter is a transition. Several book friends asked this question in the comment area. Is it necessary to surrender to Beiyang? One thing that can be determined is that it will not happen, but there are twists and turns in the middle. After all, as a Chinese, the protagonist’s first choice after the war is definitely to return to his roots. But sometimes reality is very absurd, so the protagonist will end up homeless. This result is both unexpected and reasonable. This is the only time, and no further explanation will be given.)

After the auction, Lu Zhengxiang, Shi Zhaoji and others finally found an opportunity to come over and have a brief exchange with Qin Zhiyuan.

After some politeness, Qin Zhiyuan connected the historical figures in his impression with the people in front of him. In addition to Shi Zhaoji, the ambassador to Britain, and Wei Chenzu, the ambassador to the Netherlands, came with Lu Zhengxiang.

Lu Zhengxiang, originally from Taicang, Jiangsu, was the first generation of professional diplomats in China. Since Tang Zhaoyi, then Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Beiyang Government, had not taken office, Lu Zhengxiang still appeared in Europe as a diplomatic representative. Lu Zhengxiang was thin, well-dressed, and wore a pair of frameless gold-rimmed glasses. He had two delicate beards with curled ends on his lips, and a few sparse beards on his chin. In terms of luxuriance and refinement, there was a big difference between the two beards on his lips.

The most amazing thing about Lu Zhengxiang was his Belgian wife, Peide Bo. Peide was born in 1855, 16 years older than Lu Zhengxiang. When they got married, Lu Zhengxiang was only 28 years old, and Peide was 44 years old.

Although the two had a big age gap, they had a good relationship, and the husband and wife followed each other, which was enviable.

Shi Zhaoji was from Suzhou, Jiangsu. He went to the United States to study and received a master's degree in literature and a doctorate in philosophy from Cornell University. Shi Zhaoji's wife was the niece of Tang Zhaoyi, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Wei Chenzu was from Jiangxia, Hubei. He passed the imperial examination in the Qing Dynasty and was the plenipotentiary minister of the Beiyang government to the Netherlands. The Netherlands was a neutral country in the First World War, so Wei Chenzu came to the cocktail party purely for show.

"General Qin, I have heard of you for a long time." Lu Zhengxiang was gentle and refined, which made people feel good.

At this time, Qin Zhiyuan was also a well-known figure in the Beiyang government. Lu Zhengxiang did not mean to be polite. He really had heard of Qin Zhiyuan for a long time. Lu Zhengxiang traveled to France this time just for Qin Zhiyuan.

"I dare not. I have heard of General Lu for a long time. It is a great honor to meet him today." Qin Zhiyuan had also heard of Lu Zhengxiang for a long time, but he was not being polite.

Lu Zhengxiang's life was like a tea table. His official career was quite bumpy. Although he worked hard, he could not bear the poverty and weakness of the country, so he had no place to display his skills. He eventually died in a monastery in Belgium.

"General Qin joined the Foreign Legion and fought for France, which made our country famous thousands of miles away. It is really a cause for celebration." Lu Zhengxiang looked down from a high vantage point.

"That's right. When the news of General Qin's victory reached our embassy in the Netherlands, the whole embassy was very excited. Everyone said, 'From now on, we Chinese can hold our heads high in front of foreigners.'" Wei Chenzu added.

"That's right. General Qin's deeds have spread all over France. Since General Qin suddenly appeared, the attitude of foreigners towards us has greatly changed. In fact, we still have to thank General Qin for his kindness." Shi Zhaoji kept his formation.

Faced with the compliments of several people, Qin Zhiyuan secretly became alert.

At this time, the Beiyang government, the general secretary group headed by Li Yuanhong, and the prime minister group headed by Duan Qirui, were fighting for power and profit in the so-called "government-court struggle", which had intensified. Prior to this, the two factions of the government and the parliament had been arguing for a long time about whether the Beiyang government should join the Allies in declaring war on Germany, how much support it should give to the Allies, and whether to send troops to Europe. For this reason, there was even a farce of "the supervisory corps asked to participate in the cabinet meeting".

The final decision of the Beiyang government was to join the Allies in the world war, but it did not send troops, but only sent laborers to Europe in a civilian way.

Because of this, there was no Beiyang government power in the labor team, and Qin Zhiyuan was able to successfully organize the army to join the French Foreign Legion.

The Beiyang government's refusal to send troops did not mean that it would let Qin Zhiyuan organize the army. If there was an iron-blooded division that had been tempered by the baptism of war in Europe, the Beiyang government had no reason to let it go, and would definitely find ways to catch this force.

Qin Zhiyuan's position at this time was actually very embarrassing. Although Qin Zhiyuan was the leader of the Sixth Regiment and the de facto leader of Chinese laborers, he was not appointed by the Beiyang government, but by the French government. If the Beiyang government interfered, Qin Zhiyuan might face unnecessary trouble.

After a while of polite conversation, Qin Zhiyuan understood what Lu Zhengxiang and his friends meant. Lu Zhengxiang and his friends were trying to understand Qin Zhiyuan's thoughts and see if he had the idea of ​​joining France by taking advantage of the vested interests of the Foreign Legion.

"Don't worry, General Lu. Qin was born Chinese and will be a Chinese ghost after death. He will go to the Chinese underworld, but he doesn't want to go to the French hell." Qin Zhiyuan made a double entendre and clearly expressed his position.

After Qin Zhiyuan finished speaking, Lu Zhengxiang, Shi Zhaoji and others exchanged glances, and then Lu Zhengxiang represented them.

"In this case, General Qin, please accept the appointment letter from Premier Duan." Lu Zhengxiang looked solemn, took out a letter of appointment and handed it to Qin Zhiyuan with both hands.

Qin Zhiyuan took it with both hands, unfolded it and saw that the general idea was: Qin Zhiyuan will join the Republic of China Army with the rank of major general from now on, and serve as the commander-in-chief of the troops going to Europe to participate in the war.

The appointment letter has the seal of the Beiyang government's Army Department and Duan Qirui's personal seal, which fully demonstrates the characteristics of the times when public and private affairs were not distinguished.

"Please ask General Lu to tell Premier Duan that Qin will definitely live up to his mission and work hard until his death." Qin Zhiyuan expressed his determination with the famous words in "The Memorial to the Emperor on Leaving the Capital".

"That's great! General Qin, in this troubled time, we should work hard and be loyal to our country. I wish General Qin to be invincible and show the style of our Chinese soldiers in Europe. When he returns with honor, we will celebrate with General Qin." Lu Zhengxiang was passionate. As the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lu Zhengxiang knew his country's international status. It was also for this reason that Lu Zhengxiang hoped that there would be more people like Qin Zhiyuan. In that case, the country's international status would continue to improve, and Lu Zhengxiang's diplomatic work would be much smoother.

"Don't worry, General Lu. As a soldier, Qin will not humiliate our military identity. Qin has come here without regard for life and death. He will not return home until he has promoted the prestige of our army." Qin Zhiyuan himself has died once. It is a bit too much to say that he has seen through life and death. It is still okay to describe him as fearless of life and death.

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"Good!"

Lu Zhengxiang clapped his hands and praised.

"Haha, that's great."

"General Qin is mighty."

Shi Zhaoji and Wei Chenzu echoed. Diplomats admired soldiers like Qin Zhiyuan. There is no conflict of interest between these two professions. Instead, they complement each other.

"General Qin, soon, a military officer group will arrive in France. If it is appropriate, General Qin can arrange them into the foreign legion, so that they can feel the atmosphere of the war and gain some combat experience." Seeing the warm atmosphere, Lu Zhengxiang said casually.

As soon as Lu Zhengxiang said this, Shi Zhaoji and Wei Chenzu laughed at the same time, staring at Qin Zhiyuan, observing his reaction.

"Haha, great, I was just planning to prepare a staff department, but I was suffering from the lack of professional soldiers who had received systematic training. It was just right for the country to send an officer group, which really solved my urgent need." Qin Zhiyuan seemed not to notice and agreed happily.

Lu Zhengxiang and the others breathed a sigh of relief, and they were very happy while talking and laughing.

There are two sides to the matter of inserting nails. If it is done well, it is inserting nails, and if it is not done well, it is a loss of both the wife and the army.