1890 King of Southeast Asia

Time rushed to June, Beijing, Shidaren Hutong, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Guest House.

"Master Yuan, we meet again." Lin Pingzhi smiled and looked at Yuan Gongbao who was waiting at the door of the guest house.

Yuan Gongbao looked calm at this time, with a feeling of seeing through the world. Seeing Lin Pingzhi, he just bowed slightly and didn't say much.

Such a move scared Lin Pingzhi. What happened? Yuan Gongbao, who had a ravine in his heart, turned out to be like this.

"Brother Lin, I'm sorry." Yuan Gongbao looked at Lin Pingzhi's surprised expression, as if he had just come to his senses, and smiled at Lin Pingzhi.

"Brother Yuan... The change of dynasties has existed since ancient times, why is it so, the Qing Dynasty has been over the Ming Dynasty for more than 200 years, it's time to end." Lin Pingzhi heard this address, and bowed with a complicated expression.

"Let's not talk about this, brother, this time, I'm here to beg for mercy, let's go in and talk." Yuan Gongbao heard Lin Pingzhi's address, and some hope rose in his heart.

The two entered the guesthouse, which was an official institution established by the Qing Empire to welcome foreign guests. It was originally built to receive the Crown Prince of the German Empire. It is the most authentic and luxurious Western-style building in the Qing Empire.

Lin Pingzhi looked at it for a while and felt bored.

"What? Are you dissatisfied with this place? This is a house that the German Crown Prince praised highly and has been used as a guesthouse. But I can't get used to living in this Western-style building." Yuan Gongbao saw Lin Pingzhi's expression change and laughed.

"It's not that I'm dissatisfied. Western-style buildings also have their merits, especially stone buildings, which are magnificent and majestic, but they can only be used for viewing, not for living." Lin Pingzhi shook his head.

Due to historical reasons, Sishui also has castles, left by the Dutch, and there is a coconut city, and there is no shortage of various castles.

These castles are good for banquets, holding some activities, or for military purposes, but they are uncomfortable for daily living.

"Let's not talk too much, Brother Yuan, what is your constitution?" Lin Pingzhi shook his head and didn't want to talk more about the building.

"Zhengzhu... My dear brother, how are you going to deal with old ministers like us?" Yuan Gongbao hesitated for a moment and asked dryly.

He was nervous.

Lin Pingzhi came here to deal with the problem of the capital. Tens of thousands of people blocked the main roads in and out of the capital. Except for the special caravans, no one else was allowed to enter or leave.

Among the officials left behind in the Qing Empire, only Zaifeng was still holding on to maintain the daily operation of the "court". In fact, both the princes and the Manchu and Han officials were in contact with the revolutionary army.

Zaifeng also knew it, but he didn't want to care. He just wanted to hold on now, to buy time for the little emperor.

Originally, he wanted to leave with the little emperor, but if he left, there would be no one to maintain the capital. Maybe he left first, and those Manchu and Han officials would surrender right after him.

In that case, they couldn't escape. After thinking about it, Zaifeng chose to stay in the capital for a while.

In fact, even if he stayed in the capital, many people were ready to surrender.

But who knew that the revolutionary army did not attack the city, but only cut off the internal and external traffic of the capital, making it impossible for those who wanted to surrender.

Surrender is when the enemy is at the gate of the city, and betrayal is when they are dozens of miles away.

After a period of suffering, they finally gathered together and sent a request for negotiation to the revolutionary army.

The request was sent to the Third Light Infantry Division on the front, and then to Zheng Lei, who then forwarded it to Nanjing, and Huang Keqiang who was in Nanjing forwarded it to the three towns. After discussing with Sun Zaizhi and Lin Pingzhi in the three towns, they came to the conclusion that they were allowed to negotiate.

Then, Lin Pingzhi slowly went north.

This set of procedures took more than ten days, mainly because Lin Pingzhi took ten days to go north.

Because of the war, the railway was destroyed and the transportation capacity decreased. Lin Pingzhi took a boat down the Yangtze River, changed to a sea ship in Shanghai and went directly to Tianjin, and then walked slowly from Tianjin to the capital.

It took a lot of time - this was intentional by Lin Pingzhi.

"Old minister..." Lin Pingzhi's mouth curved.

"Brother Yuan, you also know that what you have done over the years is irritating to the heavens and the people. Who among you doesn't have a few lives on your hands?"

"The Three Towns Military Government means to liquidate you and deal with you according to the law."

Yuan Gongbao didn't know how the current laws of the revolutionary army would deal with them, but he knew that the end would definitely not be very good.

"This... then... what does Chang'an mean?" Yuan Gongbao's brain was working at high speed, and he quickly guessed what Lin Pingzhi meant.

"Chang'an?" Lin Pingzhi looked at him with a puzzled look.

"That is, what do the people outside the three towns mean?" Yuan Gongbao said quickly.

"For this matter, we have a variety of voices within us, most of which are severe punishment and liquidation."

"A small part of them don't care about anything, from traitors to bribers, and send them all to work in the mines."

"I think that a group of senior officials are all in their seventies and eighties, with old arms and legs, and if they are sent to the mines, I'm afraid they will all die within three days."

Lin Pingzhi said slowly.

"Brother, brother, to make a long story short, what is this other way?" Yuan Gongbao asked excitedly.

From Lin Pingzhi's words, he heard the hidden meaning - they have a choice.

"Brother Yuan, have you ever heard of Arabia?" Lin Pingzhi didn't say it directly, but it was almost the same.

"Arabia... is it the territory of Nanhua, near Persia?" Yuan Gongbao opened his mouth, his expression a little dull.

As a smart man, he certainly wouldn't simply think that Lin Pingzhi was just asking him about geography.

"Yes, that's it." Lin Pingzhi nodded,

"Nanhua has taken over that piece of land for many years, but the ground has never been very peaceful. We want immigrants, but there are not enough immigrants."

"Of course, there are not enough officials to manage it."

After Lin Pingzhi finished speaking, he picked up the teacup.

Yuan Gongbao's face showed a struggle, but it only existed for a moment, and he immediately calmed down.

"Brother, it's okay for us to go, we deserve it, but my family..." Yuan Gongbao tried to bargain.

"Brother Yuan, are you so sure that there are no criminals in your family? If you go to Arabia, everything will be over. If you don't go, you will be dealt with according to the law." Lin Pingzhi said calmly.

Yuan Gongbao's face froze instantly. If you say that all the children of the Yuan family abide by the law, he is the first one who doesn't believe it.

In particular, his sons, at least the one who accepted bribes can't escape.

"What should we do after we go to Arabia?" Yuan Gongbao was still standing, but his spirit was getting weaker and weaker.

In his eyes, Arabia was a barren land. Sending them to Arabia was just like exiling them to Lingnan before the Tang Dynasty.

The Qing Empire also had this kind of punishment, called exile to Ningguta.

In short, they were all places with harsh environments and difficult survival.

But the reality was in front of him. People said that he would be given an official position. If he really didn't cooperate and refused to drink toasts, he would be punished.

At that time, he might still be sent there, but his identity might change.

"Brother Yuan has unparalleled attainments in reclamation. He is good at industrial construction, military command and personnel management. He is a rare talent."

"The Mesopotamian Northern Reclamation Corps is short of a corps commander. Brother Yuan is very suitable." Lin Pingzhi praised Yuan Gongbao.

"Forgive me for being frank. This corps commander should be a high-ranking official. I don't believe that you can't find someone. Why me?" Yuan Gongbao asked.

He didn't know what kind of unit the Corps was, or what rank the Corps Commander was.

But he knew that the Construction Corps was a Corps, and the rank difference should not be big. It was a unit above the division level.

Moreover, it was a military unit, although it was a settlement.

"The Arab region needs a group of high-quality immigrants. Coincidentally, after the fall of the Qing Empire, a large number of vested interests are facing liquidation."

"Such a large group of people, if we say that all of them are killed, there must be some innocent people, but not many. Many people have died in the regime change, and we don't want to see more turmoil."

"So, these people only need to hand over their illegal gains, and they can go to live in Arabia. It's okay if they don't want to. We can still afford a few bullets."

Lin Pingzhi's words made Yuan Gongbao not know how to react, fortunate? Frustrated? Fear?

The original text comes from Tower \u0026 Reading Novels~\u0026

Even if they will be sent away to an unheard-of place, they will not be killed directly after all, and there is still hope to survive.

As for handing over illegal gains, isn't it just buying money for life? They are familiar with it.

As for those who value money as their life and refuse to pay, there will definitely be such people, but not many. After all, when a person dies, no matter how much money he has, he can't take it away.

In this way, the resistance will be reduced to the lowest level. Yuan Gongbao still believes that the so-called Mesopotamia will definitely not be too bad, at least not as bad as the ancient Lingnan.

"I thank you here, my brother. I will tell all the princes and ministers, and then I will hand over the illegal gains of my Yuan family. You can rest here first." Yuan Gongbao bowed.

This ending is not bad for him. At least he still has an official position. No matter what kind of official it is, at least he can protect their whole family.

As for other people? Then he, Yuan Gongbao, can only say sorry.

"Brother Yuan, don't worry, don't worry, I haven't finished yet." Lin Pingzhi heard the words and hurriedly pulled Yuan Gongbao, who was busy going back to count the illegal gains.

"This treatment is only for ordinary Eight Banners and Han ministers, and those in the Eight Banners who have sold opium or robbed women, trafficked in people, killed people and other crimes are not in this queue. They will go to the Western Regions."

"As for those princes and nobles, all their property except salaries needs to be handed over, including land and property, and then they will decide where to go based on their behavior. In short, it is very complicated."

"Western Regions? That..." Yuan Gongbao didn't care about anyone else, but just heard about the Western Regions and had an idea.

The Western Regions are not bad, at least compared to the unheard-of Mesopotamia.

"Brother Yuan, don't think too much, going to the Western Regions is not a good job. They are going to build roads, and then there will be canals, reservoirs and other projects." Lin Pingzhi shook his head and advised him not to think about it.

The advance team of the Railway Division, which was reorganized from the prisoners of the Japanese 9th Division, has passed Jiayuguan. Just building roads has lost a lot of people.

It is impossible for them to do this kind of thing obediently. The fully armed army is watching on the side and has actual military power.

The so-called Northern Reclamation Corps is a real reclamation corps. Liu Yiming chose to use waste and sent these people to increase the number of Chinese.

These people are not to say that they are well-read, but at least they have studied, are knowledgeable, and even many of them have some talents. If they are released, they may achieve something.

But it is a waste to leave so many people unused. It is better to put them in northern Mesopotamia. Further north is Ottoman Turkey, where religious fanaticism is rampant, and there is no need to worry about them running away.

After a few years, we will select and release those that can be used, and those that cannot be used will grow wheat in Mesopotamia for the rest of their lives.

"Then, I will go and inform all the ministers first. Those princes..." Yuan Gongbao apologized and left in a hurry.