After a round of confrontation, Roosevelt also realized that this other party was not easy to deal with, so he was silent for a while before he said: "Okay, please give me all due respect, Mr. Commissioner, judging from my communication with the Japanese and Russian negotiating delegations, the East China Government's insistence on demanding reparations is very likely to be the biggest obstacle to this negotiation." ”

Li Sanjie raised his eyebrows and said, "Mr. President, I can't understand your words like this, Japan and Russia insist on not paying reparations, which is the biggest obstacle to this negotiation?"

Roosevelt also smiled bitterly, the other party really didn't give an inch, and didn't leave any room for himself, but after all, the United States was the organizer of this meeting, although it was biased towards the side of Japan and Russia, it still had to maintain a neutral position on the general situation, so he had to nod and said: "Of course, there is nothing wrong with this understanding." We, the United States, will remain neutral during the negotiations, have no intention of interfering in the content of your negotiations, and will not ask you to change your position, but now it is just a private discussion, and your negotiations can still proceed according to the plan you have drawn up, and we do not have to be affected by our discussion this time.

Li Sanjie nodded and said, "Welcome." ”

Roosevelt said: "From my personal point of view, the East China government has no reason to insist that it must receive reparations, at least I think that the reasons for Japan and Russia not to pay reparations are more sufficient than the reasons why the East China government must receive reparations." ”

Li Sanjie said: "Mr. President has such an idea, there must be your reasons, can you explain Mr. President's reasons?"

Roosevelt said: " I think now is the best time for the East China government to pursue peace, and the reparations are not necessary for the East China government, although the East China government has paid a heavy price for this war and borrowed a lot of foreign debt, but as far as we know, the financial situation of the East China government is still good, although the daily life in the country has a certain impact, but the change is not great, and in this war, the East China government has made a lot of benefits, even if there is no reparation, I think that at most five years, the foreign debt can be paid off. And if the East China government insists on receiving reparations, it is likely to lead to a breakdown in negotiations, and the consequences become unpredictable. ”

Li Sanjie was silent for a moment and said, "Then the reason why Japan and Russia demand no compensation." ”

Roosevelt said: "Frankly speaking, the losses of Japan and Russia in this war are far greater than those of the East China Government, and the foreign debts borrowed are several times that of the East China Government, and now the finances of the two countries are close to drying up, and the debts owed may not be repaid for ten years. If the East China government still insists on demanding reparations, it will only cause Japan and Russia to become bankrupt, and more seriously, a subversive insurrection similar to the French Revolution will break out, so even if Japan and Russia are forced to accept your demand for reparations, you may not be able to get the reparations, and it will also cause civil strife in Japan and Russia, and the government will be completely overthrown, which may not be beneficial to the East China government. ”

Li Sanjie said: "The loser pays war reparations to the victor, this is an international practice, in the four major wars won in the last century, the Russian-Turkish War Turkey compensated about 5 million pounds, the Franco-Prussian War France compensated 5 billion francs, the Crimean War Turkey compensated about 60 million pounds, and the Qing Dynasty compensated 230 million silver in the First Sino-Japanese War. As for the financial crisis in Japan and Russia that you mentioned, I'm sorry it's a problem of Japan and Russia, and it has nothing to do with us, the war was started by them, and when they start the war, we should think about the result after defeat, if Japan and Russia cause internal turmoil because of this, and the government is overthrown, it will be their own doing, and such a result may not be beneficial to us, although we may not be able to get reparations, but we can take advantage of the internal enemies of Japan and Russia. When it comes to disruption, greater benefits are obtained, and the United States may be able to get a piece of the pie. ”

Roosevelt was silent for a while, knowing that he would not be able to convince the East China government with this reason, so he pondered for a while, and then said: "Then is it possible to exchange interests, that is, to exchange other interests for reparations, such as territory." ”

Li Sanjie was a little surprised, and said, "Territory?"

Roosevelt nodded and said: "Yes, I know that Japan and Russia have invaded and occupied the territories that originally belonged to China, and if Japan and Russia use these territories as bargaining chips, is it possible for the East China Government to give up its demand for reparations? Although they did not receive the compensation, they would also have great benefits in recovering the lost territories, and it would also greatly enhance the reputation and prestige of the East China Government." If the East China government can accept this condition, I am willing to come forward to persuade Japan and Russia to accept this condition as well, so that the biggest obstacle to negotiations will be removed, and there is a great chance that a peace agreement can be reached. ”

Li Sanjie shook his head and said: "Mr. President, thank you very much for your efforts in this tripartite talks, but we are not interested in recovering the lost territory now, frankly speaking, in this war, we have gained a lot of territory, and also recovered some of the lost territory, but our territorial expansion should be enough, we cannot recover all the lost territory at once, although this will be the goal we are striving for, so what we need most now is funds rather than territory." ”

Roosevelt's face could not hide the look of disappointment, but he also knew very well in his heart that the East China Government's thinking was very correct, because the expansion of territory must be guaranteed by economic strength, and if the economic strength was not enough to blindly expand the territory, then the newly expanded territory could only become a burden rather than development, and the East China Government obviously knew very well the truth that it was enough to stop, so it insisted on asking for compensation in this negotiation, that is, to ensure the smooth operation of its own economy and to have enough funds to develop the newly acquired land, and Britain, France, the United States and other countries did not want the East China Government to receive compensation for this reason。

Roosevelt sighed softly and decided to make one last effort, saying, "If you insist on reparations, it is very likely that this negotiation will break down." Have you ever considered the consequences of a failed negotiation?"

Li Sanjie said with a smile: "If the negotiations really break down because of this, I can only say that it is a great pity." As for the consequences of the breakdown of the negotiations, we have already thought about the resumption of the war, which will cause Japan and Russia to lose more on the battlefield, and only then will they completely abandon their unrealistic assumptions and restart negotiations, but by that time, they will lose even more. I would like to hope that Mr. President will tell the Japanese and Russian delegations about this. ”

Roosevelt said: "Mr. Commissioner, I admit that the East China government does have a great military advantage, and once the war resumes, Japan and Russia cannot be your opponents, but Mr. Commissioner, do not forget that Japan and Russia are both countries with allies, and Japan and Britain, Russia and France all have military alliances. Russia, but if Britain and France also joined the war, the consequences would be unpredictable. ”

In fact, Roosevelt now knew that Britain and France had decided to enter the war as soon as the negotiations broke down, because Britain and France did not deliberately conceal this plan, but hoped that this plan could be transmitted to the East China government, so as to force the East China government to give up the reparations, so Germany and the United States could easily obtain this situation. Although Roosevelt did not completely say it, he believed that the East China government should have known the news at this time. Now let's just look at how Li Sanjie answers his own question.

Li Sanjie looked disdainful and said: "Even if Britain and France join the war, we are not afraid, and we also have full confidence that we can defeat the British and French armies. ”

After listening to Li Sanjie's words, Roosevelt was also a little surprised, and he was not sure for a moment whether Li Sanjie was deliberately bluffing, or whether he really believed that the East China government would defeat the British and French armies. Although Roosevelt did not believe that the East China government would defeat the British and French armies, but at this point in the conversation, Roosevelt also understood that the East China government's attitude towards demanding reparations was quite resolute, at least at this time, it would not waver, so it was pointless to continue, so Roosevelt said: " Well, Mr. Commissioner, I think I have a very clear understanding of what you mean, thank you very much for your candid answer, and I think that through our discussions, I have a deeper understanding of the East China Government, and I will reconsider it again, in this trilateral talks, our US Government and I personally have taken a neutral position and will not take sides over the other, so I hope that you will not be affected by our discussion and conversation in the next negotiations, although you will participate in the negotiations in accordance with your own position and principles. ”

Li Sanjie also nodded, although he scolded Roosevelt today, Roosevelt obviously still has the bearing of a great power president. In the old time and space, although Roosevelt could not be compared with great presidents like Lincoln, Washington, and his nephew Franklin D. Roosevelt, he still made great contributions to the United States and the building of the American Navy.