Although Li Sanjie's response was very harsh, Huo Bilan still heard the sound of the strings. According to Li Sanjie's reply, www.biquge.info understood that the overseas Chinese did not actually have the intention of capturing Shanghai, and as long as the concession did not go too far and cause a major conflict, the overseas Chinese would not use force against the Shanghai concession. The fact that today's procession has always maintained relative restraint also proves that overseas Chinese do not want to completely fall out with other countries, and they also have the intention of renegotiating with other countries.

Understanding this, Huo Biyan couldn't help but feel at ease, at least Shanghai is basically safe, so that he has a lot of room for maneuver, and the other party is willing to negotiate, it can't be better, Britain has never been afraid of negotiation, because negotiation is essentially an exchange of interests, and Britain is the first power in this era, naturally there are enough chips in most of the negotiations, even if there are no chips, Britain will also find some chips for itself, so Huo Bilan's mind is also running rapidly, the current situation is naturally overseas Chinese have the advantage, but Britain can still find some bargaining chips in its favor, there is one in front of himHuo Bilan said: "Mr. Li, we have always respected China's expression of its own demands, but your search of foreign embassies in Beijing is a wanton violation of international norms and a serious challenge to the dignity of all countries. ”

Li Sanjie smiled faintly and said, "Mr. Consul, I came to visit you today in the hope of discussing with you about major matters related to the entire situation in the Far East, not these trivial matters. ”

Huo Bilan's face was also quite embarrassed, because the other party didn't accept his move at all, but counterattacked from an unexpected place, so that all the backhands he had prepared were in vain, and he finally had to follow the pace of the other party, after all, his ultimate goal was not to dwell on these trivial things, but to really talk about big things, so he had to say: "Okay, Mr. Li, what are you going to talk to me about this time?"

Li Sanjie said: "First of all, I want to express my gratitude to Britain on behalf of the Tianjin Provisional Government, you have conveyed to us the news of the Russian army's future southward advance through Li Hongzhang and Li Zhongtang, and we will not forget this favor, but this also shows that we and Britain have common interests, that is, to curb Russia's expansion in the Far East, I think if the Russian army breaks through the Shanhai Pass and captures Beijing, it is not in the interests of Britain." ”

Huo Bilan said: "Is it difficult to contain Russia, is it not in your interests?"

Li Sanjie said: "That's why I said that we have common interests, we have room for cooperation, and it is inconvenient for Britain to confront Russia head-on, so we will definitely send troops to the Russian army to move south, but I hope that the British side can provide us with help within its ability." ”

Huo Bilan couldn't help but feel relieved, he finally waited until the overseas Chinese had asked for it, it was really not easy, he must let the overseas Chinese make some concessions, of course, from those aspects of concessions, you can consider it slowly, so Huo Bilan said: "Of course you can, we are willing to provide you with help within our ability, I don't know what kind of help you need?"

Li Sanjie said: "We will buy some materials needed for the war in Shanghai, and we may also buy some weapons and ammunition, and we will solve the purchase channels and funds ourselves, but I hope that the British side can give some convenience in transportation and circulation channels." ”

Huo Bilan was stunned, and said in disbelief: "Is that all?"

Li Sanjie nodded and said, "Only these, of course, if there are British businessmen who are interested in our procurement plan, we are willing to give British businessmen the same opportunity, and Mr. Consul can introduce a few British businessmen to us." ”

Huo Bilan couldn't help but smile bitterly that the demands of overseas Chinese were too simple, strictly speaking, they were hardly requirements, because although Britain had a vast sphere of influence in Shanghai, the areas that Britain really effectively controlled were limited to the concession area, and Britain could use its influence to interfere with transactions outside the leased area, but it could not forcibly stop it. Although the concession controlled the mouth of the Yangtze River, as long as it did not take the Yangtze River waterway, Britain could not do anything about it. Moreover, although the consulates of various countries are located in the concession, the consulate is only a diplomatic institution, and the administration of the concession is the responsibility of the Ministry of Industry, which means that if the Ministry of Industry and Bureau of the concession does not interfere with the trade and transportation of overseas Chinese, the consulate has no right to interfere. In this way, how did Huo Bilan put forward conditions to overseas Chinese?

But if he didn't mention the conditions, Huo Bilan was unwilling, so he thought about it for a while and said: "Yes, I can agree to these conditions on behalf of the British government, but we also hope that you can agree to a few conditions for us?"

Li Sanjie said categorically: "Before formal negotiations, we will not agree to any conditions put forward by the British, because resisting the southward advance of the Russian army is for our common interests, and this in itself is a huge benefit for the British." ”

Huo Bilan felt a little panicked in his heart, because he didn't take advantage of anything in every confrontation, and he had never encountered this situation, so he didn't feel a little annoyed, and said: "Mr. Li, now you need our British help, if you don't want to accept our conditions, even if I agree to you, but in the UK, I'm afraid I won't agree." ”

Li Sanjie said: "Mr. Consul, let's not come here to imagine that if Britain refuses to help us, we will fight the Russian army alone, if we defeat the Russian army, then in the next negotiation, what bargaining chips does Britain intend to use to bargain with us; and if we are defeated by the Russian army, and the Russian army then occupies Beijing and controls northern China, is this the result that Britain wants to see, if Britain does not want to see such a result, then why must it be entangled in these small interests now?" ”

When Huo Bilan heard this, he couldn't help but be speechless, so he had to smile bitterly and said: "Okay, I have to admit that you have convinced me, and I will do my best to persuade the domestic government to fully support your resistance to the southward advance of the Russian army, but I want to know, if you defeat the Russian army, what are you going to do? I need to have as many reasons as possible to convince the domestic government." ”

Li Sanjie couldn't help but feel a burst of joy in his heart, knowing that he had finally persuaded Huo Bilan, so he immediately said: " Our defeat of the Russian army's southward advance can only be regarded as the completion of the first step, and it does not mean that we have curbed Russia's expansion in the Far East, because the Russian army still occupies the northeast of China, and the situation in the Far East is still a huge threat, and to tell the truth, with our current strength, it is not difficult to block the southward advance of the Russian army, but to get Russia to withdraw from Northeast China, we are still beyond our strength, so to fully contain Russia, we also need our full cooperation. ”

Huo Bilan also nodded, and was very satisfied with Li Sanjie's frankness, if Li Sanjie said that as long as Britain supported it, overseas Chinese would be able to drive Russia out of the northeast, although Huo Bilan would still suggest cooperation with overseas Chinese in China, but he would definitely have reservations. So he said: "Then after you defeat the Russian army's southward advance, how can we cooperate to contain Russia?"

Li Sanjie said: "After defeating the Russian army, we will immediately negotiate with the Qing court, and still let the Empress Dowager and the emperor return to Beijing to govern, and we will withdraw all our forces from Beijing." However, we will ask the Qing court to give us the Shandong Peninsula as our sphere of influence. Of course, we will maintain good relations and economic and trade cooperation with other countries, and at the same time welcome all countries to invest and develop in Shandong, but any exchanges must be on the basis of equality between the two sides, and any treaties and agreements signed between countries and the Qing court are not valid in Shandong, and we will not abide by them. ”

Huo Bilan nodded, this condition of overseas Chinese, the British government should be acceptable, now the British are most worried that the overseas Chinese have a complete foothold in Beijing, and control the Qing court in some form, so that with the strong military organization ability of the overseas Chinese, coupled with the huge population resources of the Qing court as the backing, it will become a nightmare for all countries, and the overseas Chinese only want to occupy the Shandong Peninsula, although it has also become an independent force, but the threat to various countries is much smaller, one is that the overseas Chinese have in fact become an independent force in China, and they have established a foothold in the Shandong Peninsula, whether the British government accepts it or not, it cannot change this resultSecond, although Britain forcibly leased Weihaiwei, it was a forward settlement set up to curb Russia's expansion in the Far East, and in fact Britain did not have many interests in Shandong, and there was not much loss if it was given up, but the loss of Qingdao was even greater if Germany lost Tsingtao; third, after the overseas Chinese occupied the Shandong Peninsula, they confronted the northeastern region of China occupied by Russia across the sea, and became the forward position to block Russia's southward expansion, and Britain could just retreat to the background to command, so this suggestion was indeed a favorable result for Britain at present。

Li Sanjie continued: " After defeating the Russian army, we hope that Britain can immediately take the lead in calling on all countries to restart negotiations with us and the Qing court, and reach an agreement as soon as possible to end the war and restore peace in China。 Only when the negotiations are successful and the war in China is completely ended, then the Russian army will lose the political reason to continue to remain in Northeast China, and then we, Britain, and even Japan can join forces with the Qing court and even Japan to put pressure on Russia to withdraw from Northeast China. ”