This twenty-one article is divided into five sub-items, which are No. 1 including four articles, No. 2 including seven articles, No. 3 including two articles, No. 4 including one article, and No. 5 No. 7 articles.

The full text of the 21 articles proposed by the Japanese side is as follows:

Number one

National Government of Japan. Government and Chinese Politics. Willing to maintain peace in East Asia as a whole, and to further consolidate the existing relations between the two good neighbours, the following articles are hereby agreed:

(1) Chinese politics. The government promised that in the future, Japan's national government. The government intends to submit a letter to the German government. The government agreed with all German authorities on the basis of treaties and other relations with the government of Shandong Province on the basis of a treaty. The government shall enjoy all rights and interests, transfer and other dispositions, and shall be recognized.

(2) Chinese politics. The government promised not to give or lease any land and islands in Shandong Province and its coastal areas, under any name.

(3) Chinese politics. The government allowed Japan to build a railway connecting Yantai or Longkou to Jiaoji.

(4) Chinese politics. For the sake of foreigners' residence and trade, the government promised to open all major cities in Shandong Province as commercial ports as soon as possible; It shall be opened in a separate agreement.

Number two

Japan Politics. Government and Chinese Politics. In view of China's recognition of Japan's superior position in South Manchuria and Inner Mongolia in the east, the government hereby agrees on the following clauses:

(1) The two Contracting Parties agreed to extend the term of the Lushun and Dalian Leases, as well as the terms of the South Manchuria and Anbong Railways, to a period of 99 years.

(2) Japanese subjects in South Manchuria and Inner Mongolia in the east may acquire the right of lease or ownership of the land they need for the construction of houses for industrial use of merchants, or for farming.

(3) Japanese subjects may reside and travel in South Manchuria and Inner Mongolia in the east, and engage in commerce, industry, and other businesses.

(4) Chinese politics. Fu Yun granted mining rights in South Manchuria and Inner Mongolia in the east, and granted them to Japanese subjects. As for the proposed mines, they will be negotiated separately.

(5) Chinese politics. The government agreed to open the items under the first pass of the Japanese national government. The government agrees to handle the following procedures:

(1) When South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia allow other people to build railways, or borrow money from other countries for the construction of railways.

(2) When the taxes of South Manchuria and Inner Mongolia in the east are offset and borrowed from other countries.

(6) China ** promised that if China ** hired political, financial, and military advisers to teach in South Manchuria and Inner Mongolia in the east, it would first consult with Japan**.

(7) Chinese politics. The government allowed the management of the Jichang Railway to be operated and appointed to the Japanese State Council. The term of office shall be ninety-nine years from the date of the date of the present covenant.

The third trumpet

National Government of Japan. Government and Chinese Politics. The government takes into account the existing secret relationship between the Japanese capitalists and the Han Yeping Company. and willing to promote the common interests of the two countries, the terms are hereby agreed as follows:

(1) The two Contracting Parties agree that, in the future, there will be an opportunity to make Hanyeping Company a joint venture between the two countries, and that they will allow the Company to be established as a joint venture between the two countries. The government agrees that all rights to the property belonging to the company, the Chinese government. The government shall not dispose of it on its own initiative, nor shall it cause the company to dispose of it arbitrarily.

(2) Chinese politics. The government allows all nearby mines belonging to the mines of Han Yeping Company to be mined by persons other than the company without the consent of the company. In addition, any action that may have an impact on the company, whether directly or indirectly, must be subject to the consent of the company.

Trumpet IV

National Government of Japan. Government and Chinese Politics. For the purpose of effectively preserving China's territory, the government hereby makes a special article as follows:

China Politics. The government allows all ports and islands along the coast of China to be transferred or leased to other countries.

Fifth trumpet

(1) In the Central Committee of the People's Republic of China. The government must employ strong Japanese to serve as political, financial, and military advisers.

(2) All Japanese hospitals, monasteries, schools, etc. established in Chinese mainland shall be granted land ownership.

(3) Since there have been many police cases in Japan and China, which have led to many incidents, it is necessary to make the police in the necessary places as joint ventures between Japan and China, or to employ a majority of Japanese in the police offices in such places, so as to plan for the improvement of the Chinese police organs.

(4) The procurement of a certain amount of ordnance by Japan (e.g., in China's political affairs. more than half of the ordnance required by the government), or set up a Sino-Japanese joint ordnance factory in China, employ Japanese technicians, and purchase Japanese materials.

(5) The right to build railways connecting Wuchang with Jiujiang and Nanchang, as well as railways on Nanchang, Hangzhou, Nanchang and Chaozhou will be granted to Japan.

(6) To prepare for the establishment of railways and mines in Fujian Province and to rectify Haikou (including shipyards), and to make an agreement with Japan when foreign capital is needed.

(7) Allow the Japanese to have the right to preach in China.

At 3 p.m. on 2 February, China and Japan held their first talks at the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing. The Chinese attendees were: Foreign Minister Lu Zhengxiang, Vice Foreign Minister Cao Rulin, and Secretary Shi Luben. The Japanese attendees were: Minister Hichiki Matsuki, Counselor Yukichi Kohata, and Clerk Hiroshi Takao.

After the talks began, Ri Zhiyi was the first to speak, and he openly and unashamedly said: "Our national government. The government to your country. The intention of the government in proposing a document to settle the dispute between the two countries is to strengthen the goodwill relations between China and Japan. ”

Lu Zhengxiang glanced at Rizhiyi, and said without humility or arrogance: "What your minister said, I can understand whether your country submitted this document to our country because of the European war or because of the domestic election, in the opinion of the chief minister. The word goodwill is the diplomatic principle that the chief has always advocated, and it is also the goal of his efforts, the chief minister has been in Europe for more than 20 years, weighing the current situation, and believes that China and Japan in Asia must join hands to become fraternal countries, and China should learn from Japan in many affairs today, so goodwill with Japan is the most desirable for China and the people.

However, goodwill should be just and fair, and goodwill can be spoken of everywhere, but it is not necessary to put forward conditions at this time in order to be called goodwill. What's more, there are unsolved cases and new cases in the condition before us. When the Minister of your country was stationed in China, the question of all the undersea wires from Nagasaki to Shanghai, and the question of the South Manchurian Railway passing through our borders was reduced by one-third, and the Commander-in-Chief was aware of the goodwill of the Minister of Peace.

"When I was the Prime Minister, I hired Dr. Tsuga as an advisor and Dr. Hirai as an advisor to the Ministry of Transport. If you study it carefully, you can really achieve the goal in your country, and in China, you have never refused too much, and you can negotiate at any time, and you can only achieve the goal of goodwill as your minister said before many conditions are put forward at first. ”

As for the talks, the attitude of the two sides is exactly the opposite.

At that time, Japan hoped that there would be a result on this clause as soon as possible, and it was quick to talk about it, fearing that there would be long nights and many dreams, and international interference.

The Chinese side hopes to postpone the meeting and seek a turnaround on the sidelines.

Hence the controversy at the beginning. The Chinese delegate advocated that the Japanese side should discuss Article No. 5 article by article, and Zheng Xiang proposed the No. 1 Amendment to Article 1 and insisted on discussing it, but the Japanese Zhiyi insisted that China first express a principled opinion on all the Japanese side's demands.

In this regard, Lu Zhengxiang said: "Regarding the discussion of the first article, if your minister agrees, he will discuss the next article one by one; Otherwise, if one article is not finished, another article will be mentioned, or the preceding article will be hindered because of the disagreement of the second article. ”

The Japanese envoy said: "I advocate that your country's views be consulted first and then discussed one by one. ”

Lu Zhengxiang replied: "I would like to ask your envoy for forgiveness at this level, the chief minister arrived on the 28th of January, visited the diplomatic corps on the 29th, and began to inspect the affairs on the 30th, the time is so urgent, the content of your country's articles has not been studied in detail, it is better to postpone it for another week, and after I have studied it all, I will make a notice, can we postpone the meeting until next Tuesday?" ”

The Japanese envoy said: "The contents of this matter have already been studied by the chief executive, and I have been instructed to hold daily meetings, but your chief has not been in office for a long time, and it is also a real situation, and I still hope that your Excellency will study it as soon as possible so that it can be carried out quickly." ”

Then the Japanese envoy said: "It took three full hours from three o'clock to six o'clock this afternoon, and no result was discussed. If you would like to study the contents of the document in detail, can you decide to hold a daily meeting after a prompt study? As for the time of the meeting, it is up to you to set it yourself. ”

Lu Zhengxiang replied: "It is okay to hold meetings every day, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs receives foreign guests every Wednesday, and it is difficult for me to be separated; Moreover, my physical strength is very weak, and in fact it is difficult to do so. ”

This concludes the first meeting.

In the course of the negotiations, in addition to intimidation by force, Japan also adopted all kinds of despicable and shameless means, such as bribing journalists from various countries and spreading false news about Sino-German goodwill and China's imminent accession to the Allied Powers, in order to drive a wedge between China and the Entente countries.

For example, Wang Changgeng, a staff member of the Treasury Department of the Ministry of Finance, was found to have stolen the contents of the Chinese budget and sold them to Japan, and was sentenced to eight years in prison.

By stealing Chinese intelligence, the Japanese can not only take advantage of Chinese traitors, but also rely on their status as diplomats and military attaches to travel around China without scrupulous circumstances and carry out various espionage activities.

From February 2 to April 17, China and Japan held a total of 25 talks.

Among them, on 9 February, China proposed amendments to No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3, and the opinion on No. 5 was that it was "difficult to discuss," while the Japanese side forced China to accept all of them and not relax even a step.

On 8 March, when the Japanese side saw that the talks were still fruitless, Ri Zhiyi went to Cao Rulin alone and said in a threatening tone: "The delay in the meeting has made it impossible for the Japanese military and people to bear it, and if they do not satisfactorily admit the important articles within a few days, we are afraid that unforeseen troubles will occur." ”

At this time, Yuan Shikai had already sent his own Japanese adviser Nagao Ariga to lobby from all walks of life in Japan. Sending back the news, he ran among the old and important ministers of Japan, and it had received results. Yuan Shikai has high hopes for Nagao Araga, but he still wants to delay it for a day.

On 26 April, Zhiyi proposed the Japanese side to finally amend Article 24 to force China to agree.

At the same time, troops were increased in Shandong and Mukden, warships were also sent to cruise along the coast of the Bohai Sea, martial law was declared in the eastern part of the country, and the Japanese overseas Chinese were preparing to retreat, and the air was suddenly tense.

At this critical juncture, the Chinese side put forward a final amendment on 1 May, awaiting a reply from the Japanese side.

At 3 p.m. on 7 May, Japan suddenly submitted a letter of mourning to Yuan Shikai, limiting Yuan Shikai to give a satisfactory reply to the amendment proposed by Japan by 6 p.m. on 9 May.

The Book of Mourning is a transliteration of the Latin ultimatum. That is, an "ultimatum". Generally, a State notifies the other party in writing of an issue and accepts its terms within a certain period of time. Otherwise, some kind of coercive measures will be taken, including the use of force, the severance of diplomatic relations, blockades, boycotts, etc.