Chapter 431: Withdrawal from European War

On February 1875, 2, Aisin-Gioro Zaiyi succeeded to the throne in the Qianqing Palace and became the eleventh emperor of the Qing Dynasty, with the reign title of Xuantong.

When Zai Yi was only fifteen years old, the Empress Dowager came out of retirement to rule the country from behind the scenes, preparing to help the emperor take the throne and see him off until he was eighteen or nineteen years old and reached adulthood, and then let Zai Yi rule the country himself.

The new emperor ascended the throne and issued a general amnesty. At the same time, he issued an edict to implement the Gregorian calendar in the Qing Dynasty, in parallel with the traditional calendar.

This was a telegram suggestion from Shao Quanzhong who was in Istanbul. In order to keep pace with the world, the new ruler must have some new ideas, right?

…………

Istanbul, New Palace.

The restored Murad V was receiving cheers from the people, and shouts of "Long live" in Turkish were heard everywhere.

You see, as soon as Murad V came back, he asked the Qing Dynasty and Russia to take back a large amount of land, including most of the Levant and Western Armenia, which is more than 100,000 square kilometers of land.

Once these ceded lands are taken back, Türkiye's core territories will basically be alive.

The original Ottoman Empire, like Jiangsu, was a loose collection of goods, held together only by the powerful military force of the medieval empire. The ethnic groups it ruled were diverse and had all kinds of strange beliefs.

In modern times, due to the small population of the main ethnic group in Turkey, it is impossible to control the territories that have been seized, and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire is inevitable. If the territories are ceded, it is the Caliph who loses face, and it actually has nothing to do with ordinary people.

Now Murad V has disregarded his reputation and has given up the title of Caliph, concentrating on working for the welfare of the Turkish people. For this purpose, he even pleaded with his friendly country, the Qing Dynasty, to waive the indemnity of 5 million liras, which of course was warmly supported by the people.

At present, the former Ottoman Empire's Fifth Army loyal to Murad V has been renamed the Turkish Young Guards, and most of them have been sent to various places to gain local power.

Currently, the remaining backbone members of the Guards are reorganizing the elite troops from the collapsed First and Second Armies and the recalled Third Army, preparing to build a small but powerful national defense force.

The reorganization had not yet been completed, and Shao Quanzhong still led the Huai Army to station in Istanbul to temporarily help Murad V maintain order.

"Shao, why do you want to return most of the Levant and Western Armenia to Turkey? We have signed a treaty, and they won't be dissatisfied if we don't return it."

Shao Quanzhong shook his head. "Old women should not meddle in men's affairs. I'm telling you, didn't you see? Our new armies of the Muslims and the Sinai were harassed by the guerrillas as they advanced towards Ankara, and lost 2,000 soldiers."

"Asia Minor is Türkiye's core territory. We cannot keep the people there well. If we take it away, it will cause endless trouble."

"Unlike the Mesopotamian Plain, this place was originally seized by the Ottoman Empire from Persia, and the bloodline here is not Turkish at all, so it will be much easier for us to assimilate once we occupy it."

"As for the Levant, I tell you, it is the holy land of three religions and there are many troubles there. If we really take it, our descendants will probably have a headache every day because of this land. It is better to let the Turks have a headache."

"My father-in-law, Alexander II, will definitely understand this and will understand why I gave back more than half of the territory of Western Armenia. You should stop interfering and just be my secretary and bodyguard."

"Report, call from St. Petersburg."

Maria took a look at the call and saw that her father praised Shao Quanzhong highly.

"My dear son-in-law has won the right to station troops in Istanbul for Russia, and the Black Sea Fleet is stationed in the Golden Horn. This is a major victory for Russia."

"Russia's goods and troops finally have a direct access to and from the Mediterranean. This has been my country's long-cherished wish for hundreds of years. My son-in-law should be the greatest contributor to my Romanov family."

Well, if Istanbul was renamed Constantinople, that would be more in line with my father-in-law's wishes, right?

"The situation on Russia's western front is currently unfavorable. The German army has been pushed back to East Prussia. The German and Austro-Hungarian coalition forces are besieging Warsaw. I implore you to stabilize the situation in Turkey, then advance to Serbia and attack the Austro-Hungarian Empire, to remove the fire from under the cauldron and reduce the pressure on Russia's Warsaw. I hereby order."

After listening to Maria read the Tsar's telegram, Shao Quanzhong rolled his eyes and said, "Call my father-in-law back. I will send troops after I stabilize the situation in Türkiye."

Maria smiled brightly, "Shao, if you attack the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Princess Sissi will definitely be angry with you, hehe."

"Go, go, go and send the message!"

When Maria came back from handing the telegram to the guard, she saw Shao Quanzhong staring at the map of the Gulf in deep thought.

"Maria, draft a memorial. Establish the Babylon Province in the newly occupied Mesopotamian Plain, and recommend Ma Yue, the Muslim Censor, as the Governor of Babylon."

"Please request the establishment of a governor-general of the Arab states to unify the administration of the three provinces of Sinai, Mecca and Babylonia, and recommend Zhang Zhiwan, the governor of the Suez Canal, as the governor-general of the Arab states."

Ma Yueba was originally Ahun from Yili Province and a member of the Red Flower Society. He followed Dong Fuxiang's concubine Karis to Shao Quanzhong. When the Tianshan Pass Railway to Kokand was being built, he was the project manager. Because he was ruthless and killed countless slaves of bandits, he was recommended by Shao Quanzhong to Tianfang Province to monitor the isolated Tianfang Province at that time to prevent Ma Zhan'ao from having any disloyalty.

Now that the Qing Dynasty's territory in the Gulf region has expanded to three provinces, Ma Zhan'ao's new army has almost become a branch of the Huai Army, and there is no need for surveillance. Ma Yue was promoted to governor of the newly occupied Babylon Province.

"Report, British Foreign Secretary Stanley requests a meeting."

Stanley is the 14th Earl of Derby. He is a handsome man with an aristocratic temperament. He bowed gracefully when he saw Shao Quanzhong.

"Lord Bauhinia, congratulations on Qing becoming a protectorate of Turkey. This war is not over yet, Qing has already gained benefits, and should make more contributions to the war."

Well, the British suffered heavy losses in the Gallipoli Peninsula and didn’t get any benefits in the end, so they began to feel dissatisfied.

The Qing Dynasty did not become a protectorate of Türkiye on the surface. In theory, it was an ally, but the British saw through the essence of the matter and did not allow Shao Quanzhong to play tricks.

Shao Quanzhong looked apologetic, "I don't know how I, with only a few tens of thousands of people, can help?"

"The cabinet has decided to send your Huai Army to attack Italy, force Italy to surrender or switch sides, and then open up a southern battlefield in the Alps. This easy task is now handed over to you."

"Yes, please tell the Prime Minister and Her Majesty the Queen that I will follow your orders and send troops within half a month."

The British Foreign Secretary left with satisfaction. Maria was anxious, "Shao, you just promised to send troops to Serbia to help my father break the siege of Warsaw..."

"Maria, there are millions of people directly participating in the European war, and tens of millions of people mobilized. It's useless to throw in tens of thousands of us. We will all die without making a splash."

"So, I'm not going to fight anywhere. Having tasted the benefits of Türkiye, I'm ready to withdraw from the European war and go home."

"Ah? Then how are you going to explain this to Father and the British?"

Shao Quanzhong smiled mysteriously, "Don't worry, a good excuse will be ready soon."

…………

Qing Dynasty, Hanzhong.

The Ziqiang Army, which had just arrived in Hanzhong, received an urgent order from the Military Affairs Council to return to Xi'an to suppress the rebellion of the 39th Mixed Brigade.

Li Zhanchun, the division commander of the Self-Strengthening Army and acting governor of Jiangnan, was about to order his troops to retreat when several of his men surrounded him.

"General, be careful. At this moment, you must stand in line carefully."

Li Zhanchun was stunned. "What? Are you encouraging me to disobey the imperial order?"

"Take a look at the latest news that just came in. The world is about to undergo a major change."

After Chen Siqi's first uprising in Xi'an, after more than ten days of preparation, on the day Zai Yi ascended the throne, large-scale riots suddenly broke out among the new armies in various places.

The new armies in Gansu, Shanxi, Henan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan, Hubei and Fengtian took action at the same time and issued telegrams declaring independence.

Li Henian, the Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, and Ding Baozhen, the Governor of Shandong, temporarily controlled the situation. Dong Fuxiang, the Governor of Yili and Hao, declared independence and sent a division of the new army from Ili Province into Jiayuguan to reinforce the new army from Shaanxi.

"General, if we were to suppress the 39th Mixed Brigade, we would probably become the target of criticism from the new armies of various provinces. There are many literary societies in our army, and we may not be able to control them by then."

"Report, my subordinates have started a riot and are collectively asking you to establish yourself as a rebel against the Qing Dynasty. We are willing to nominate you as the military governor."

Li Zhanchun pondered for a while, "I don't have such ambition, but I can't offend the public anger."

"Let's go back to Xi'an and announce that we will join the Shaanxi New Army and be under the command of Chen Siqi."

…………

On March 1875, 3, Shao Quanzhong announced that due to the sudden outbreak of a large-scale rebellion in the country, the Huai Army had to withdraw and the Qing Dynasty withdrew from the European war.

(End of this chapter)

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