Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 60

The following morning, Lin Xinyi had just gotten up and washed when Li Tang, his eyes bloodshot, handed him a stack of confessions, saying, "Except for Captain Ottley, who refused to cooperate—I was worried he'd recognize my accent, so I didn't dare say much—almost everyone else confessed honestly. Now I'm having Li Jun conduct a second round of questioning to see what else they're hiding. But, do we really have to kill a few British people? Wouldn't that be difficult to explain when we get back?"

After spitting out the water he used to rinse his mouth, Lin Xinyi said expressionlessly, "How could we have killed them? The Chinese executed them after a trial. Alright, go and rest. I'm going to see that captain."

Li Tang watched as Lin Xinyi snatched the confession from his hand and walked out while looking at it. He opened his mouth but ultimately gave up. He thought to himself with a sense of despair, "Forget it, it's come to this point. It doesn't matter whether the British live or die."

Li Tang followed Lin Xinyi into Tibet, but he was actually suspicious of the purpose of this student leader of the naval academy. He couldn't figure out why they came to Tibet. Although Lin Xinyi said he wanted to fight against the British army, he felt that the other party wanted to take the opportunity to enter Tibet, contact the Dalai Lama, and thus get in touch with the Mongols.

The army went to great lengths to enter Tibet, because everyone knew that controlling Tibet meant controlling the hearts and minds of the Mongols. Japanese scholars who had studied Chinese issues in great depth had published papers explaining that the Manchus' secret to ruling Mongolia was to use Tibetan Buddhism to control the beliefs of both Inner and Outer Mongolia, and then use the Han Chinese economy to control the lives of the Mongols, thus establishing their rule over the Mongol people.

The army had always tried to control the Mongol people in the same way the Manchus controlled them, and to this end, it had wanted to send Japanese Buddhist believers to Tibet to study Buddhism, thereby opening a smooth road to Mongolia. However, to this day, Tibet still prohibits foreigners from entering. Even the foreign customs officers in Yadong appointed by the central government could only stay in Yadong and could not enter Gyantse, let alone Lhasa.

He hadn't expected that Lin Xinyi would so easily lead them into Tibet and gain control of a force truly capable of controlling Lhasa. If this were to spread back to China, Lin Xinyi would immediately surpass those legendary figures in the army. The so-called legendary figures in the army had experiences limited to a solo journey across Siberia, essentially just walking along the post roads established by the Russians, accomplishing nothing but witnessing the scenery of Siberia.

But now they not only have a basic survey of Kham and Tibet, but they've also become truly involved in Tibetan politics. If it ended there, it would be perfect. Going back now, they'd immediately become national heroes, and everyone could brag about this experience.

But Lin Xinyi wasn't satisfied with that; he actually fought a battle with the British. Considering that his country had just allied with Britain, if word got out, everyone would be discharged from the military—that would be a good outcome. This experience was clearly not something to boast about anymore. He genuinely couldn't understand what Lin Xinyi was up to. Did this guy really want to fight his way into India? After sighing, Li Tang simply stopped thinking about it. He quickly washed up and went back to his room to sleep; after all, if the sky fell, the tall ones would hold it up.

When Lin Xinyi opened Captain Otterle's room, Otterle had only just fallen asleep. Although the Chinese hadn't subjected him to any torture, they hadn't let him go. Instead, they interrogated him repeatedly every day. Some spoke decent English, while others spoke terrible, but in such a closed-off region, finding even a few English-speaking Chinese was clearly a rare find. However, the captain remained silent, refusing to answer any questions. Since he hadn't been killed immediately, he assumed the Chinese wouldn't try to kill him.

Chapter 206 Script

Lin Xinyi surveyed the room's furnishings. Apart from a bed, a table, and two chairs, there was no other furniture. He was satisfied with the arrangement; it was straightforward and clear, so he didn't need to worry about the captain trying anything fancy.

Although Captain Otley was already awake when Lin Xinyi opened the door, he was too lazy to deal with these Chinese people. After confirming that the Chinese wouldn't kill him, he became even more unwilling to cooperate. Of course, this didn't come without consequences; for example, the Chinese canceled his dinner from the previous night as punishment for his non-cooperation.

However, he eventually got out of bed because the new Chinese man had brought milk tea and roasted tsampa, which made him, who was starving, finally unable to stay in bed any longer.

As Captain Outlet sat across from him wolfing down his food, Lin Xinyi also held a cup of milk tea, tasting and observing the other man. Although the staple food of Tibetans is tsampa brewed with butter tea, he was not used to it, so he made milk tea. It seemed that the captain quite liked the milk tea, drinking several cups in a row.

After watching Captain Otterle finish eating and drinking, Lin Xinyi put down his milk tea and said, "Captain Otterle, I've read through all the statements of your men. I can only say that the British army's command skills are indeed impressive. They managed to conquer most of the world with such a bunch of scum."

Captain Otley avoided answering the question. Although the Chinese might not kill him, it was common for them to make him suffer. He had deeply understood this principle when he was hungry. Therefore, he did not provoke Lin Xinyi, who was being friendly, but changed the subject and said, "Your English is very good. Did you learn it from the British?"

The English at the Naval Academy was certainly good, and Lin Xinyi did not correct the captain's change of topic. He seriously discussed the issue of English pronunciation with the captain, and also inquired about the captain's family background and educational experience. The captain graduated from Woolwich Military Academy, which he proudly stated was the best army military school in the world.

After chatting for a morning, Captain Otley didn't reveal any intelligence about the army, but he did give Lin Xinyi a general overview of Britain's advanced technology and his hometown's scenery. In his own view, this was an act of spreading civilization to a backward race, but for Lin Xinyi, it did solve quite a few problems.

He looked down at the captain's hand-drawn sketches of British landscapes and exclaimed, "You should really pick up a paintbrush instead of a rifle."

Captain Otley, now relaxed, remarked, "My mother had the same wish for me, but my father preferred that I become an officer so I could get ahead."

Lin Xinyi tidied up the paintings and notes in his hands and put them aside before clearing his throat and asking, "So, have you ever thought about going back to England to pursue a political career?"

"?" Captain Otley looked at the Chinese man in front of him with a puzzled expression. He didn't understand how the topic had suddenly turned to this.

Lin Xinyi looked at him calmly and said, "A British officer who was captured by barbarians but refused to surrender, was rescued after the British army entered Lhasa. You will surely become a hero in the eyes of the British."

This experience of being captured was as legendary as Robinson Crusoe's adventures, enough to capture the attention of the British public. After all, there were countless British officers who conquered barbarians, but few who remained steadfast and unyielding after being captured. Given Britain's democratic system, such a heroic figure, capable of attracting the public, would undoubtedly be a guarantee of votes; it would be a shame if he didn't enter politics.

If the person opposite him wasn't a Chinese officer, Captain Otley would have thought it was a brilliant idea. In fact, his non-cooperation with the Chinese was precisely to lessen his guilt in being captured. Although the possibility was slim, the captain still hoped to use his loyalty to his country to clear his name of being captured.

He knew, however, that he would be lucky to retire safely this time; his future in the military was ruined. After all, he wasn't Churchill. For a British nobleman, being captured in the Boer War was a legendary experience, but for an ordinary officer, being captured was a sign of incompetence. But since the other party was a Chinese officer, he could only remain silent.

Lin Xinyi picked up his milk tea, took a sip, and then said, "But this road is too difficult. You have to live until the British army enters Lhasa. Colonel Charles Stoddart and Captain Arthur Connolly did not wait for their homeland to rescue them."

Captain O'Tley felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He looked at Lin Xinyi for a long time before saying, "I didn't expect you to know so much about the British army. You must have held a high position in China, right?"

Colonel Charles Stoddart and Captain Arthur Connolly were British representatives sent to Bukhara before the First Afghan War to persuade Emir Nasrua to submit to British rule. Captain Arthur Connolly was also an outstanding Central Asian explorer who coined the term "The Great Game".

Because of the British military's failure in Afghanistan, Emir Nasrua executed the two British representatives to demonstrate his loyalty to Russia. Although this caused a great uproar in Britain and the public strongly demanded military action against Bukhara, the British army obviously could not fly over Afghanistan to punish Emir Nasrua, so the matter was gradually downplayed.

This Chinese officer was clearly no ordinary person; he had managed to uncover the details of both of their past incidents. For the first time, Captain O'Terry felt a pang of regret, wondering if he had talked too much with the man.

Lin Xinyi then continued slowly and deliberately, "Even if you are successfully rescued by the British army, in order to defend your honor, I think the British commander of this expedition will not recognize any of your unyielding experiences in Lhasa. You are nothing more than a rash and foolish officer. They rescued you from the barbarians, the honor belongs to them, and the shame belongs to you. This is the script in the hands of the British commander."

Lin Xinyi was referring to exactly what Captain Otley had been vaguely thinking about these past two days. After all, this was a long-standing tradition in the British army; no commander would allow their subordinates to gain honor while taking the blame themselves. He could only reply stiffly, "Don't try to entice me to surrender with such words. I will not betray my country, and I believe my country will not abandon a soldier who is loyal to it."

Lin Xinyi chuckled and then asked, "Are you saying that your motherland will love you as much as the French government loves Captain Dreyfus? Captain, in fact, whether you surrender or not is not important. In the face of true power, you can only choose how to lie down. You overestimate your position."

Captain Outlet frowned and looked at Lin Xinyi, saying, "What exactly do you want to say to me?"

After looking at him for a while, Lin Xinyi said, "Just like a British commander has one script, I also have two scripts. Would you like to hear them?"

Before the captain could speak, Lin Xinyi continued, “In the first scenario, you, Captain, joined the expedition with the idea of ​​defending your country and spreading civilization to the barbarians. However, you did not see that these barbarians had any ability to invade India. Instead of using civilization to reform these barbarians, your superiors were slaughtering them with Maxim machine guns. This expedition was not a war of honor for the British soldiers, but another Boer War… In order to save the lives of your men and not want any more innocent people to die, you decided to lay down your arms and surrender to the Chinese army.”

"Ha, what kind of fantasy are you talking about?" Captain Otley vehemently objected to the script that Lin Xinyi had arranged for him.

Lin Xinyi wasn't angry. He just brought up the second script, "...In commanding the battle, you were not only foolish and arrogant, but you also encouraged your men to kill Tibetan women and children and burn down their villages, just like what the British army did in South Africa."

After being surrounded by our army, out of fear of death, you forced your soldiers to lay down their weapons, and after surrendering, you betrayed your own men. Because of your accusations, a sergeant and two corporals will be sentenced to hanging in a public trial, but you successfully escaped responsibility by making a deal with the Chinese.

An upright soldier might escape his cell after the public trial, only to be rescued by a Nepalese merchant who takes him away from Lhasa and back to India. He will then expose your despicable deeds to the newspapers, revealing you, this shameless and incompetent officer, and he will become a hero for escaping Lhasa…”

Captain Otley stared dumbfounded at the Chinese man before him, and it took him a long time to react before replying hesitantly, "You really should become a novelist. Do you really think the British public would be so foolish as to believe such a lie?"

Lin Xinyi spread his hands, shrugged, and said, "If the British weren't stupid, why would they die for the King? Besides, even if the plan fails, what harm would it do to me? This is your life, not mine. You have to be responsible for your own life, but I don't have to be responsible for yours."

Now, Captain, you have time to think it over. Would you rather become a shameless traitor, despised by your people, for your country? Or would you rather cooperate with us and return to Britain as a humanitarian hero? Perhaps you will be humiliated by the imperialists, but I believe the British people will support you…”

Captain Otley felt he must be in a nightmare; even the devil couldn't be more tempting to mortals than this Chinese officer. While Captain Otley struggled with his future choices, Colonel Younghusband arrived on the south bank of the Yarlung Tsangpo River. Faced with the Eighth Cavalry Company's defeat, he could only shift the blame onto Lieutenant Harry Singh, the Sikh officer left behind on the south bank, because British officers couldn't afford to make mistakes.

Chapter 207 Public Trial

Although Colonel Ronghepeng could blame the Eighth Cavalry Company's defeat on Lieutenant Sikh, he couldn't solve the problem of crossing the river. He could only send men downstream to find a ferry crossing while simultaneously having people cut down trees to build a ferry, but neither of these methods could allow them to cross the Yarlung Tsangpo River during its flood season in a short time.

Meanwhile, in Lhasa, Lin Xinyi returned to his office in the south courtyard of the Qing Dynasty's Resident Minister's Office at noon and casually instructed Li Tang, who had just gotten up, "Captain Otley has already spoken. You can start questioning him now, but be careful to proceed step by step. First, ask the questions we already know, then the less important ones, and finally the crucial ones. Don't press him too hard all at once, or he'll become timid again."

Li Tang looked at Lin Xinyi with a puzzled expression and said, "Did I oversleep? Has a whole day and night passed already? Is today still the 4th?"

Lin Xinyi took out his pocket watch, looked at it, and replied, "It's 1:13 PM on August 4th. Any questions?"

Li Tang was about to leave, but quickly stopped and asked him, "How did he even begin?"

After thinking for a moment, Lin Xinyi said, "Most patriots like to be patriotic in the sunlight. If you ask them to be patriotic in the dark, they won't stand for it. Captain Otley is just one of them; he's not a difficult person to deal with."

Lin Xinyi is right. Captain Otley is not a difficult person to deal with. What really makes him troublesome are the current Prime Minister of Nepal, Chandela Shamsher Jiangge Bahadur Rana, and the powerful figure in Bhutan, Uyan Wangchuck.

At this time, Bhutan could not even be called an independent regime, but a small local vassal state under the control of Tibet. The Qing government called this place Bhutan, and the ruler was Erdeni Depa, who was appointed by the Qing government. Like Tibet, it was also a theocratic regime, but its internal divisions were much more intense than those in Tibet. King Depa did not have the same lofty prestige as the Dalai Lama.

Ugyen Wangchuck inherited the title of Eastern Governor from his father, but he defeated the various separatist forces within Bhutan and established his own dominant position. Although the defeated fled to Lhasa, they did not have enough power in Bhutan to oppose Ugyen Wangchuck, especially after he sided with the British, his power completely suppressed the domestic opposition.

Compared to Bhutan, Nepal has far more opposition forces. Nepalese General Chungge Bahadur Rana seized control of the Kingdom of Nepal through betrayal and rebellion, establishing Rana family rule, which incurred the hostility of the Nepalese royal family and other clans.

Next, Chungge's younger brother, Dill Shamsheer, used the pretext of suppressing a rebellion to kill other family leaders who opposed the Rana family, and also killed his own brother in the process. Chungge was worried that his son was too young to deal with the royal family and other families, so he chose the law of succession where the brother succeeds the brother. Dill killing his brother was to prevent the other from vying for the right of succession.

Next, Dier's seventeen sons killed and expelled all of Zungbahadur's nephews and nieces, this time sparing even the elderly and children. Power then fell into the hands of Dier's eldest son, Bill. Bill died in 1902, and power passed to his brother, Dewa, who served as prime minister for a little over three months before being ousted by his brother, Chandra.

From 1903 to 1904, Chandra Shamsheer held power in Nepal. Although his position was not yet secure, the opposition was too fragmented, making it difficult for Lin Xinyi to choose a partner.

Chandra Shamsher was also a rather cunning figure. On the one hand, he told the Tibetan government that Britain would not seize Tibetan territory, thus circumventing the mutual assistance treaty signed with China in 1856. On the other hand, he provided the British with a large number of yaks and porters to curry favor with them, thereby gaining British support for his rule.

The two Nepalese men that He Guangxie found for Lin Xinyi were the men of Dewa, the brother of Chandra who had been ousted from power. These two men were very agitated in front of Lin Xinyi and criticized Chandra without any politeness, believing that this traitor was destroying the future of Nepal.

Lin Xinyi listened for a long time and roughly understood the excitement of the two men. Dewa was a radical reformer in the Rana family. In fact, starting with Chungge, the entire Rana family had been reformers because they were outsiders. If they did not reform the system in Nepal, they would not be able to gain the support of the grassroots.

However, all of Bill's other reforms were aimed at strengthening the power of the Rana family. During his tenure, Bill not only kept the interest earned from investing the country's money in foreign banks for himself, but also frequently bestowed land and real estate upon his sons and confidants, and used the national treasury to give gifts to the British, thereby gaining British support.

However, after coming to power, Dewa attempted to correct these practices and wanted to emulate Japan's reforms to transform the family system into a modern state system. This was precisely the reason why Chandela was able to unite with other conservatives to overthrow his rule. These two were progressive intellectuals from Nepal who had studied in India. Chandela's rise to power became their nightmare, and naturally, they became active anti-Chandela elements.

Compared to the anti-Rana family forces and anti-Seventeen Brothers forces that Lin Xinyi had found himself, Dewa's forces were the most powerful. However, even Dewa couldn't possibly control the situation in Nepal after Chandra's death and thus become a supporter of anti-British sentiment. Therefore, after talking with these two, Lin Xinyi did not give any definite answer.

After seeing the two off, He Guangxie saw Lin Xinyi still sitting there deep in thought, so he sat down and asked, "Are you planning to help them overthrow Chandela's rule?"

Lin Xinyi glanced at him and said, "He violated the 1856 treaty and organized logistics for the British invasion of Tibet. Isn't that an act of war?"

After a moment of silence, He Guangxie said, "Nepal is not a small country. In fact, if we hadn't been protecting Tibet all along, this country would have already turned Tibet into its own territory. If we fail to overthrow Chandela, it will become a diplomatic disaster."

Lin Xinyi shook his head and said, "What I'm worried about is not whether we can take down Chandra, but who in Nepal can step forward to quell the situation afterward and stand on our side, at least to prevent Nepal from continuing to support the British invasion of Tibet."

He Guangxie's heart raced. He wanted to volunteer, but having spent so much time in officialdom, he lacked that final bit of courage. In fact, some people like him who were willing to come to the frontier to serve as officials were not only there to gain seniority, but also some who wanted to take a gamble and become a figure like Ban Chao or Zhang Tang. Wasn't Yuan Shikai one of them?

Just as he was hesitating, Lin Xinyi looked up at him intently for a moment and then asked, "I wonder if Counselor He would be interested in making a trip to Kathmandu, to request the Kingdom of Nepal to abide by the 1856 treaty and assist Tibet in resisting the British, in the name of the Qing Dynasty's Resident Minister in Tibet, and to take the opportunity to observe the situation in Kathmandu?"

He Guangxie understood Lin Xinyi's meaning. The other party didn't want to urge the Kingdom of Nepal to abide by the treaty; rather, they wanted him to observe the true situation in Kathmandu. If this was handled well, it would be a feat similar to Ban Chao's killing of the Xiongnu envoy; if it went wrong, it would be like Su Wu herding sheep.

While He Guangxie was still deep in thought, Lin Xinyi smiled and said, "There's no need to rush this matter. Counselor He, go back and consider it carefully. It's not too late to get back to me in a couple of days..."

On the evening of August 4, the second batch of personnel to enter Tibet arrived in Lhasa, consisting of approximately two companies plus a communications team. Lin Xinyi met with officers Zheng Xiansheng, Qiu Ao, Ning Hegeng, and others, and after discussion, decided to have the second batch of troops rest and recuperate in Lhasa. Based on the experience of the first batch of troops, it would take at least seven days for the personnel to acclimatize to the high-altitude environment.

On August 5th, Lin Xinyi ordered Li Tang to lead the Second Company and the Second Radio Station to Qushui, and handed over the security of the Resident Minister's Office in Tibet to Ning Hegeng. He also allowed Zheng Xiansheng to take over his own administrative duties. On the same day, various monasteries in Lhasa surrendered a batch of weapons, including 100 Russian-made rifles, and the reserve force had grown to over 1,000 men in five companies.

On August 6, a public trial of British prisoners of war was held in Norbulingka. At the beginning of the meeting, Lin Xinyi explained why these prisoners of war should be publicly tried instead of being directly retaliated against.

If before the Battle of Qushui, Lin Xinyi mainly emphasized the righteousness of resisting the British and the spirit of persisting in the war to the end, then after the Battle of Qushui, his tone on the war began to turn downward.

"...This is not a war waged by the British people against the Tibetan people; it is a shameless attack launched by a small group of British imperialists against the Chinese and Tibetan people, coerced by them, along with the British, Indian, Gurkhas, Dhemenshung, and Bhukpa peoples. If we follow the aggressors' lead and treat the people of these regions as our enemies, we are only fulfilling their wishes, because they will inevitably continue to incite the people of these regions to attack us..."

Lin Xinyi concluded by saying that the purpose of this public trial was to expose the lies of the British imperialists and to show the people of the world that the Chinese people are neither afraid of aggression nor would they wrongly shift the blame for starting the war onto those people who are also suffering from imperialist oppression.

Although most of the delegates present could not understand what Lin Xinyi was saying, they found his speech inspiring. Therefore, Lin Xinyi's speech received extremely enthusiastic applause. The subsequent public trial involved three Tibetan prosecutors and two Han prosecutors appointed by the Military and Political Committee, who then conducted the indictment. The delegates voted to determine guilt or innocence, and finally, three members of the Military and Political Committee delivered the verdict.

The chief prosecutor was Ziba Longshade, who was good at Tibetan and mathematics, but didn't speak English. However, the military and political committee had given everyone a stack of documents beforehand, and they were just to read the questions and answers on the documents, since everyone's fingerprints were on them anyway.

Chapter 208 Reactions of various countries

The conference was a great success. Under the guidance of several Sikh prisoners, the Tibetans built a very British-style gallows. As a result, the three British soldiers who were hanged were very much in line with the civilized world's acceptance of the death penalty. Lin Xinyi also asked Captain Otley to draw several sketches of the execution so that they could be published in the newspaper later. Captain Otley's only request was that the artist not be identified in the drawings.

That very evening after the conference concluded, He Guangxie finally made up his mind and agreed to represent the Qing Dynasty's Resident Mission in Kathmandu. Lin Xinyi greatly admired He Guangxie's courage, discussed with him the principles of conduct in Kathmandu, and asked him to prepare in advance.

There's another route from Lhasa to Shigatse, but it's only passable in summer. The route from Shigatse to Kathmandu is much easier, but the total distance is still close to 800 kilometers, so it's difficult to set off without proper preparation. Besides providing He Guangxie with a small bodyguard, another armed force will be disguised as porters of Nepalese merchants to enter Nepal and train an assault force for the anti-Chandra forces. This task has been assigned to Li Jun.

On August 10th, Hankou received confessions from Captain Otley and several other British soldiers regarding the British invasion of Tibet, as well as accusations against Sir Lord Curzon, the Governor-General of India. These British soldiers believed that Sir Lord Curzon, for his own career advancement, had forced them to kill unarmed Tibetans; this was not a war of honor, but merely the expansion of the aristocracy's selfish desires. They appealed to British citizens to stop the war, to prevent the British army from using Maxim guns and cannons to slaughter Tibetans who could only defend themselves with stones; the Tibetans had neither the desire nor the capability to invade India.

On August 11, the National Daily published a special issue on Tibet, detailing the crimes committed by the British army during its invasion of Tibet. It then published the confessions of these British soldiers in the newspaper.

At Tian Junyi's request, the Germans quickly relayed these reports back to Europe, which was undoubtedly another heavy blow to British prestige. As one German commented, "I thought the British had at least lost to the Boers with German weapons, but I never imagined they couldn't even defeat the Chinese with their slingshots. What face do they have left to interfere in European affairs?"

For the Conservative Party, whose prestige had already plummeted during the Boer War, the accusations of these British soldiers directly destroyed the upcoming 1905 election. Labour leader Ramsey McDonald and Liberal leader Henry Campbell Bannerman demanded in the House of Commons that the government explain why the British army invaded Tibet.

The two opposition leaders announced their intention to protect the personal safety of Captain Ottley and others, and demanded that the government contact the Chinese government to secure the release of these British soldiers. The Balfour cabinet faced immense pressure, not only from attacks by the domestic opposition but also from doubts expressed by France, Russia, and Germany regarding the capabilities of the British military.

Previously hesitant, the Russians began to despise the British army's land combat capabilities after seeing the confessions made by the British army after surrendering. The Far Eastern faction of the Russian military, which was already eager to make a move, finally made up its mind to take control of Outer Mongolia in order to further pressure the Chinese government to recognize Russian control over Manchuria.

On the one hand, the Russians believed that China could not simultaneously deal with the combined attack of Britain and Russia. On the other hand, the Russians also believed that even if Britain lost a few soldiers, it could not possibly lose the Tibetan campaign. At most, it would be another Boer War. Therefore, they wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to gain more benefits from China.

The German military was quite interested in the use of radio on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Through German businessmen, they hinted to the Hubei-Hunan Economic Development and Urban Construction Committee that the German military was willing to fund the construction of a large radio transmitting station in Lhasa, enabling Lhasa to communicate directly with Berlin.

In exchange, the German military demanded that the radio transmitter be permitted for use by German colonies in Asia and by the German Navy. The German military sought to establish a command system beyond the reach of British influence, thereby covering the Pacific and Indian Oceans and preparing for the expansion of the German Navy overseas.

Tian Junyi readily agreed, but he requested that the German military transfer some alloy steel and artillery manufacturing technology to China. The German military agreed almost without hesitation. In the German view, if China's power increased, Britain and Russia would be the first to suffer. Therefore, strengthening the Chinese forces would reduce the pressure on the German army.

The situation for British diplomats in China was clearly difficult. On the one hand, they had to support the Qing government against the unreasonable demands of Russia for Manchuria and Outer Mongolia; on the other hand, they had to satisfy the British Indian government's plans for the status of Tibet. This led to British diplomats gradually losing the support of ministers from other countries and failing to gain the trust of the Chinese public.

Minister Satow was also frustrated and dissatisfied with the current confusion in British foreign policy. He sent a long telegram to London, in which he stated: "Our government needs to clarify whether our policy toward China is determined by London or Calcutta. Do we intend to partition China, or do we intend to defend China's sovereignty and territorial integrity...?"

However, after these complaints, Satya Nadal suggested to London, "Defending China's sovereignty and territorial integrity cannot be achieved solely by the Chinese themselves or with our own support; we need our Japanese allies to play a greater role..."

Britain's special status over the Yangtze River basin is now being strongly challenged by Germany. Judging from the current situation, the 1900 agreement between my country and Germany regarding the Yangtze River was clearly a mistake. The Chinese people in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze are now generally showing anti-British and pro-German tendencies due to the privileges of British warships on the Yangtze and the Tibetan War, especially in Hankou, Hubei Province, which has become the largest concentration of Germans in China. German merchants, machinery, and goods are ubiquitous there, and German is the first foreign language taught in local schools.

This shows that Germany has become the second greatest threat to my country's interests in China, second only to Russia, and that the German threat is more serious than that of Russia because Germany is expanding within our sphere of influence...

Therefore, I suggest that our country should end the Tibetan campaign as soon as possible, resolve the dispute with the Qing government in the Tibetan region, repair relations between China and Britain, and begin to restrict German commercial development in the Yangtze River basin. This is the most important matter for our country in China after forcing Russia to make concessions on the Manchurian issue…”

While other countries were revising their foreign policies around the China issue, Beijing remained stagnant. Li Hongzhang, during his lifetime, aptly described himself as nothing more than a paperhanger. Although the Qing officials of this time lacked Li Hongzhang's abilities, their mentality was that of a paperhanger: as long as appearances were maintained, they were content to live one day at a time.

Because of this mentality, the Qing government only issued a few superficial protests against Russia's occupation of Manchuria, but took no real action. Everyone just pretended not to see the Russians, and life went on as usual. It was the Russians and Japanese who could no longer tolerate it. The Russians were eager for the Qing government to sign an agreement with them to determine the ownership of Manchuria, in order to alleviate diplomatic pressure and financial pressure in the Far East.

It was Britain, the United States, and Japan that felt their interests were harmed by Russia's occupation of Manchuria, as their commercial interests in Manchuria were infringed upon by the Russians. Britain and the United States were particularly dissatisfied with Russia's monopoly on the Chinese Eastern Railway and its attempts to control all British rights to railways inside and outside the Great Wall.

To defend against attacks from the Qing Dynasty, Japan, and Britain, Russia had to station a large number of troops in Manchuria. The additional expenses incurred by these troops could not be fully compensated by the Chinese, as the Russian army was insufficient to bring the entire Manchuria under military control; they could only establish military outposts along the railway lines. In areas far from the railway lines, Chinese officials, still subordinate to Beijing, governed the regions and naturally did not pay taxes to the Russians. This was a major reason why Witte once advocated withdrawing troops from Manchuria.

As the commander of the only modern army in the Beijing area, Yuan Shikai refused to go to war with the Russian army, and also opposed allying with Japan to go to war with Russia. Although the Qing government and the Japanese government had reached a joint defense agreement for Manchuria, Yuan Shikai believed that the Japanese, once they entered Manchuria, would not be any more benevolent than the Russians; it would be "driving away a tiger at the front door and letting a wolf in through the back." As a result, the British continuously provided guarantees to the Japanese to encourage the Qing government to defend its territorial sovereignty.

Although the Battle of Qushui thwarted the British attempt to enter Lhasa, Beijing was not excited but rather filled with fear, lest the British become enraged and directly invade mainland China. At the request of Empress Dowager Cixi, Prince Qing sent telegrams to the ministers of Huguang, Sichuan, and Tibet, demanding that the Tibetan government be prohibited from arbitrarily executing British prisoners of war again and that the captured British prisoners be properly cared for and returned to Britain after the war.

Prince Qing's telegram was quickly leaked, and the Chinese people, still basking in the aftermath of their first victory in the defense of Tibet, were once again outraged by the Qing government's shamelessness, sparking a new wave of criticism. However, the Qing government, now confident in the support of the foreign powers, no longer adopted the tolerant attitude towards public opinion it had shown during the Southeast Mutual Protection Pact, and instead resorted to forceful suppression.

Local tabloids were banned by the Qing government, with the National Daily becoming its primary target. Tang Caichang and Qin Lishan were subsequently wanted by the Qing government, and the National Daily and the Workers' Party's public offices were forced to retreat into the Shanghai and Hankou concessions. The Qing government also made extradition requests to the concessions, arguing that these individuals were anti-imperialist elements within the country and that the foreign powers should hand them over for their own disposal.

However, both the British and German consuls rejected the Qing government's demands. Britain was concerned about further damaging its image in China, while Germany had already regarded the Workers' Party as a pillar of pro-German forces.

While the Qing government was persecuting progressive forces within the country, on August 25th, a troop of 800 Cossack cavalrymen forcibly entered Kulun. The Russians claimed they were there to protect the Kulun Living Buddha at his invitation. The Beijing minister stationed in Kulun urgently telegraphed Beijing, demanding that Beijing negotiate with the Russian minister, otherwise Outer Mongolia might be lost.

Chapter 209 The Colonel is Dead

Colonel Younghusband and Brigadier General McDonald paid no attention to what was happening below the plateau, after all, they were far removed from the civilized world.

Telegraph service only reached Gyantse. From Gyantse to the Yarlung Tsangpo River, mail had to be delivered by cavalry. In fact, telegrams from Gyantse to Yatung were also unreliable, frequently being cut off by the Tibetans. This was because the British were still using wired telegraphs, putting them at a disadvantage compared to the troops entering Tibet in terms of communication.

On August 15, the cavalry searching downstream finally brought good news to Colonel Younghusband and Brigadier General McDonald, who were stationed in Nyaungsor. They had finally found a ferry crossing 60-70 miles downstream, with a few small boats that could cross the river. However, the other side of the river was surrounded by mountains. Although it led to Lhasa, almost no one used this route.

However, Ronghepeng was not concerned about the difficult mountain road on the other side. He quickly determined by comparing the information he had collected that they could reach the Lhasa River by crossing the Yarlung Tsangpo River downstream and then passing through the mountains. They only needed to cross the Lhasa River to attack the Qushui Ferry and then bring the entire army over.

The ambitious Younghusband suggested that he lead 300 men across the river downstream, then circle around to the rear of the Qushui River to attack the Chinese defenders, while Brigadier General McDonald would remain to continue building ships and mislead the opposing forces. This suggestion was quickly accepted by the brigadier general, who then entrusted Colonel Younghusband with command of four companies from the 2nd Gurkha Regiment, skilled in mountain warfare, as well as the Maxim machine gun platoon of the 1st Battalion of the Norfolk Regiment, bringing the total force to over 400 men.

However, when Ronghepeng led his troops to the downstream ferry, they were discovered by the Tibetan army of Gongga Dzong. Before August 5, Wu Luzhen had already sent people across the river to make contact with the Tibetans on the south bank. On August 13, he even sent a radio to Gongga Dzong to establish contact with local officials in Shannan.

On August 17, after the radio stations of Gongga Dzong and Qushui Dzong made contact, Wu Luzhen learned what the British army was up to in Jiangnan. On August 15, Lin Xinyi had just seen off He Guangxie and others who were heading to Shigatse, and began to mobilize troops to prepare to cross the Yarlung Tsangpo River near Samye Monastery to Shannan, and then go up the river to attack the British army's rear.