Yuan Shikai's heart trembled slightly and said, "I don't know if Brother Qin thinks the victory or defeat of this battle between Japan and Russia, and what benefits will it be for our Qing Dynasty."

Qin Zheng said: "War is just the time, the place is good, and the people are harmonious. Although Japan is a small country and a small country, it is supported by Britain and the United States. Britain and the United States will definitely provide Japan with loan funds, equipment, intelligence, etc. Although Russia is big, no country will support him. On the contrary, all countries hope that Russia will lose this battle. Even Russia's allies, France, does not want Russia to win, so Japan should take over the pre-natal time; and this battle will happen in Northeast China, close to Japan.

The Russian army was mobilized thousands of miles away, which not only consumed time, but also cost a lot of money, and was not good for Russia in terms of geographical advantages. In addition, the military and civilians in Japan were united. During the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the emperor took the lead in saving food and frugality. Officials at all levels cut their salaries and donated money to buy warships. However, the people in Russia were angry, conflicts arose, and frequent riots. Japan also had the advantage in this matter of people and harmony. All three were the winners of Japan, so Japan would win in this battle.”

Yuan Shikai was speechless after hearing this. Although he had no good impression of Japan and Russia, in his concept, Russia is a veteran power after all. On the surface, it looks strong in national strength and brave in the people. He would never be able to defeat Japan no matter how hard Qin Zheng said. But after hearing what Qin Zheng said, Russia is indeed inferior to Japan in the time, place, and people. Can Japan really defeat Russia?

In fact, this is not Yuan Shikai's short-sighted vision. In the old time and space, before the Russo-Japanese War began, no one was optimistic about Japan. After all, no matter from that aspect, Japan could not be a rival to Russia. In addition, Japan was also trembling when launching the war. Emperor Meiji even planned to cancel the war two hours before the war. The most typical example is that during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, Japan also formulated three plans for victory, draw, and losses, but during the war against Russia, it did not formulate any backup plan at all, which was a desperate bet on the country's destiny.

However, Qin Zheng was a latecomer and knew that the result of this war in the old time and space. Although the development of history had changed in this era, Qin Zheng knew that the essence of Russia's foreign power and strength at this time had not changed, so he dared to make a prediction that Japan would win.

Although Yuan Shikai was half-believing and half-doubted, he would not argue with Qin Zheng because of this, and said, "If Japan wins as Brother Qin said, then can the Northeast land be collected?"

Qin Zheng said: "Of course, if the court operates properly, it will definitely be able to recover the northeastern land after the Battle of Japan and Russia."

Yuan Shikai suddenly felt energetic and said, "How can I see it?"

Qin Zheng said: "If this battle is Russia's victory, it will definitely not withdraw from the Northeast, but Japan will not win, because Japan will definitely lend money to Britain and the United States and order weapons. Now most of Japan's warships are purchased from Britain, so they will be subject to the two countries. Britain and the United States do not want Russia to annex the northeast of our country, but they will not want this place to fall into the hands of Japan. After this battle, Japan will definitely ask Japan to return the northeast to our country. As long as our country can make some concessions to Britain and the United States in terms of investment in the northeast and commercial interests, and allow Japanese troops to be stationed in the northeast."

Yuan Shikai nodded and said, "But once Japan and Russia go to war, it will be carried out on our Qing Dynasty. So what should the court do about it?"

Qin Zheng said: "I have three strategies that can allow the court to choose. First, Japan and Russia go to war, the court will declare neutrality and demarcate the war zone between the two sides. Both sides will not offend them. Only wait for the war. If this strategy is chosen, Russia will lose the Northeast forever. Although Japan wins, it will lose most of the commercial interests of the Northeast. Moreover, Japan will definitely garrison troops in the Northeast and can obtain privileges such as concessions and business. This will cause endless troubles, so it is a bad strategy. Second, Japan goes to war, and the court will help Japan fight Russia. If necessary, it can send troops to help the war, or take the opportunity to occupy the key areas. If Russia wins, the Northeast will still lose forever. However, if Japan wins, the court can also bargain with Japan and strive to lose less benefits. However, Japan may not give in easily, and will still stay in the Northeast. The future is still there, which can only be considered a central strategy."

Yuan Shikai nodded repeatedly and said, "What about the best strategy?"

Qin Zheng glanced at Yuan Shikai and said, "The best strategy is that Japan and Russia will go to war. The court harshly refuted the two countries to fight in our territory and immediately marched to Jinzhou and Guanning front line, which is called monitoring the two countries. Regardless of the victory or defeat between Japan and Russia, the loser is not enough, and the winner will be exhausted and unable to fight again. The court can drive each other by force, completely take back the northeast, and there will be no future troubles."

Yuan Shikai was stunned and said, "Will you offend Japan and Russia at the same time? Besides, Britain, the United States, France, Germany and other countries will also interfere."

Qin Zheng smiled and said, "Interference between Britain, the United States, France, Germany and other countries is not a bad thing. It is just right to use interference to force Japan and Russia to withdraw from the Northeast."

Yuan Shikai smiled bitterly and said, "And even if both Japan and Russia suffer losses, it may not be easy to deal with. I will not hide it from Brother Qin, but I am afraid that the court will still not be able to do anything."

Qin Zheng said: "If the court still fails to do what we want, we are willing to relieve the court's worries. As long as the court orders, we can send troops to Jinzhou and wait for the opportunity to recover the Northeast."

After talking about this, Yuan Shikai could not say anything else, so he had to say, "Okay, Yuan will definitely tell the court about his intentions. How to make a decision should be decided by the court. However, recently, Boxers Yu Zhong Jing Tingbin, Zhao Sanduo, Li Zhuangyong and others gathered in Zhili, Henan and other places to cause trouble, endangering the local area. The court ordered Yuan to lead his army to quell the rebellion, and Yuan would not send troops any more. However, this group of Boxers' rebellion is close to Shandong, and when the war is together, it is inevitable that the unrest troops will flee into your jurisdiction and disturb the local area, so you must be careful."

Qin Zheng said: "Please don't worry, Brother Weiting, we will station troops on the Shandong border strictly, and we will never let the riots enter Shandong. If the riots really cross the border, we will also annihilate them on the spot. Therefore, Brother Weiting only cares about Zhili, Henan, and Shanxi, and we can ensure that Shandong is safe."

Of course, Yuan Shikai could hear that Qin Zheng's meaning was that he did not want the Beiyang New Army to enter the territory of Shandong Province. If there were any Boxers who fled to Shandong, the People's Army would wipe it out, but he would not care about the Beiyang New Army in Zhili and Henan. In fact, Yuan Shikai did not intend to enter Shandong Province, but was just afraid that fighting on the border of Shandong would cause misunderstandings among overseas Chinese, or that Boxers fled to Shandong Province, causing dissatisfaction among overseas Chinese.

Qin Zheng's attitude hit Yuan Shikai's thoughts. Even if Qin Zheng said this, he would try his best to drive the Boxers to Shandong. Anyway, overseas Chinese would block the border on the Shandong side. This way, the other side would block the Boxers just enough to annihilate the Boxers. If the Boxers really ran into Shandong, it would be unfavorable for overseas Chinese to block the Boxers themselves, and no wonder they would be.

So Yuan Shikai immediately said, "That's the case, then I'll feel relieved. When Yuan sends troops, he will notify you and be prepared."

It turned out that after discussing, the time travelers believed that the Qing army must not be allowed to enter Shandong. However, if the Boxer Rebellion came over, if there were many people, they would block them outside of Shandong. If there were fewer people, they could be put into Shandong Province first, and then try to siege and make an emergency landing.

Time travelers did not see the Boxer Rebellion very much. Although during the Gengzi Rebellion, the Boxer Rebellion was very ignorant, absurd, and unreliable, and unscrupulous, the fundamental reason for the Boxer Rebellion was not caused by the Boxer Rebellion, but the decision-making mistakes of the Qing court. Most of the Boxer Rebellion came from the lower class of China. This was the class that time travelers needed to unite, because there were many people in this class, once they were well organized, they would have huge power. Moreover, the life of this class was extremely poor, so it was easiest to start. In the old time and space terms, it was the one with the highest revolutionary awareness and the most firmness. In the People's Army, there were many people who had been in trouble. Although Li Zhuangyong defected, most people became qualified soldiers after political education and were extremely loyal to the time travelers. Therefore, time travelers were quite confident in transforming the members of the Boxer Rebellion.

After leaving Qingdao, Yuan Shikai returned to Beijing and first reported to the Military Affairs Office about his trip to Qingdao. He also explained the attitude of the time traveler and the three suggestions given by Qin Zheng in detail.

After listening to Yuan Shikai's speech, several military ministers discussed for a day and believed that Russia should still be rejected. In fact, several military ministers were inclined to reject Russia. First of all, Russia was too arrogant and rude, and several people had no good feelings for Russia. In comparison, Britain, the United States, and Japan's image in this era was much better than that of Russia. Although Japan defeated the Qing court in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, it later paid more attention to restoring relations with the Qing court. During the Reform of 1895, Yi Zibowen also visited China and was received by Guangxu. If the Reform of 1895-1895 was not over, Yi Zibowen might have served as an advisor to China's reform. During the Reform of 1895, the Japanese army had relatively good military discipline.

In addition, overseas Chinese also agreed to help. Although several military ministers knew that among the three strategies offered by Qin Zheng, the Qing court would never choose the best, and most of them would choose the worst, but no matter what, overseas Chinese agreed to take action, which also made everyone feel that they had some confidence to challenge Russia. If there was a real stutter, they would have a support here.
Chapter completed!