"If we want to put forward conditions to the Qing State, it depends on how far the Japanese can carry out the war and whether the Qing State can continue to hold on to the war, it is still too early to say." Caprivi said.

"Leo, you're right, it's really too early to talk, but we have to prepare in advance, under what circumstances we should intervene, how we should intervene, and what benefits we can get after intervening." Frederick III commanded.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"I think we can go and connect countries to mediate." "The Japanese are now in the midst of a great victory, and whoever tries to mediate to end the war will be rejected, and we, England, Russia, and other interested countries have their own plans.

Therefore, it is not possible for a war to end with the mediation of one or two countries, and since this is the case, it is better for the countries to come together to mediate, and when we negotiate, we can also negotiate countermeasures according to the changes in the form of war, and I believe that in this case we can gain more than we can alone. ”

The first time in history that the British mediated was fruitless, and if Germany and Russia had been able to participate together at that time, Japan probably would not have arbitrarily refused.

"If we are going to mediate with other countries, then it is important that all parties can agree on the terms and demands." Caprivi mused, "I'm afraid it's quite troublesome to reconcile the interests of the parties. ”

"This will require your efforts, Your Excellency, and I am sure you will be able to convince them that unanimity is more to be gained than to be loose. Being able to convince countries to come to an agreement is again your great diplomatic success. Jochen patted himself on the back.

"I'll do my best, Your Highness." Caprivi replied with a smile as he was impressed by Jochen's compliment.

"Also, don't forget to contact Americans." Jochen added.

"Americans? Why call them? Caprivi was a little puzzled, and the Americans at this time had little sense of zài in the Pacific. If Britain, Germany, and Russia are still likely to add France, it will be enough for the four countries to make a move, so why call the Americans?

"Because the United States is a fast-growing industrial country, they have a strong industrial capacity like us, so they are also interested in the huge market of Qing Guo, so how to make Qing Guo open up their own market even more. Their interests are aligned with ours.

And since the Americans have a larger domestic market than ours, they started later than us in seeking markets abroad, and their interests and influence in the Qing state are also the smallest, which obviously does not meet their needs.

I believe that the Americans themselves have a small calculation in meddling in this matter, and instead of letting them make small moves behind our backs, it is better to let them sit at the negotiating table with us. ”

"As long as the four of us can reach an agreement, then there is no point in the United States even if it makes some small moves." Most Europeans are dismissive of the American nouveau riche, and so is Caprivi.

"The question is whether we can agree. And our lovely Italians don't have the energy to care about the Far East right now, if we bring the Americans in. Then if we can agree with the Americans, we will at least have a helper who can talk, because I think the French will definitely turn against us. ”

Jochen could only explain that if the Americans were to be seen as a significant force in the Pacific, they were the first to get the Spanish-American War, and now no European power would take the Americans seriously.

"Jochen has some truth in what he said, Leo, that he would contact the United States as an option, if that is necessary. Then contact them. Frederick III decided to see the situation first.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Caprivi agreed.

Jochen built yì with a few small abacus. First of all, the British did not intervene after unsuccessful intervention in history, while the Americans were very active, and in the end, the United States was able to benefit from the peace talks that Japan was unable to continue the war.

But now if the four European countries decide to intervene, then there will be nothing for the Americans. Therefore, if the United States is brought over, the United States will also benefit. And for Germany, which came to pull itself, the Americans naturally had good intentions.

On the other hand, in order to distract the target, the three countries intervened in history to return Liao, which quickly sharpened the hostile relations between Japan and Russia, and the purpose of Germany's involvement was not only to obtain concessions, treaty ports, and naval bases on the one hand. There is also a great deal of dù on the part of the attempt to win over Russia.

France's main interests in the Qing were in the south, and in the northeast it actually had no stake, and such a strong support for Russia was nothing more than a Franco-Russian alliance, and Germany naturally could not let it do so.

However, the result of this did not really win over Russia, but offended Japan. Of course, Germany did not have to worry about a war with the Japanese, and it would be a shame to start a war, but it was a huge loss for the Japanese to start the commodity market and the trade of large industrial products in favor of the British.

In addition to the British curbing Russia's needs, the Anglo-Japanese relationship also had an element of close trade ties between the two sides. Now if everyone is called, the Russians will still demand that the Japanese return the Liaodong Peninsula, and everyone has reached an agreement, in the face of the Japanese in the face of 5 countries, who will he put the main target on?

Russia must come first, followed by the United States, which is also in the Pacific. Germany hides in the crowd with a small goal, and because Germany is a tandem, Russia naturally has to accept Germany's favors, and France does not have the righteousness of supporting Russia by itself, killing birds with one stone.

Prime Minister Gladstone had always hoped that the Qing could preserve their strength to contain Russia, but with the great victory of the Japanese, the British began to question whether the Qing could take on the heavy responsibility of containing Russia. Therefore, the attitude on the issue of interference is not clear.

Now that the Germans took the initiative to contact them, it showed that the Germans wanted to intervene, and Britain could not sit idly by, so they first probed to see what the Germans wanted to do, so Gladstone decided to talk to the Germans first.

The Russians responded secondly, and after the entire territory of Korea was controlled by Japan, the Russians realized that if Russia wanted to go south to Japan, it would become a hurdle that must be crossed, and Foreign Minister Robertov, who firmly believed that Japan and Russia could not be friendly, believed that it was urgent to intervene in Japan, and now that Britain and Germany had begun to talk, Russia should also join in.

Seeing that the Russians were involved, the French also asked to be added, and French Prime Minister Dupiy said that he could not be excluded from Britain, Germany, and Russia.

The poor Italians, although recognized as a European power, were excluded from the Far East, as they were mired in the Ethiopian war.

The four countries held talks in Berlin and soon agreed on the goal, that is, to end the war by means of mediation, so that the outcome of the war could be tolerated by the Qing state, and to seek "gratitude" and "reward" from the Qing state.

However, the demands of the parties were quite inconsistent, and the British demanded that they do their best to facilitate an armistice between the two sides, to ensure the territorial integrity of the Qing State as much as possible, to ensure that their interests in the Qing State are not harmed, and of course, if possible, it would be better to reduce the import tariff and export tax.

The Russians also demanded that the territorial integrity of the Qing State be maintained, and that the Qing State could lease a port as a naval base, and the Pacific Fleet in Vladivostok was moved here, and the Lushun base built by the Beiyang Naval Division was the first choice of the Russians.

The French, for their part, demanded lower import tariffs on goods, and at the same time hoped to obtain the right to mine minerals and build railways in the southern part of the Qing Dynasty, and hoped to obtain a base in Guangzhou Bay.

The Germans, for their part, demanded a concession in the Qing Dynasty and reduced import duties.

The French first objected to the demands of the Germans, because only Britain and France now owned concessions in the Qing Kingdom, and the French who loved face were very unhappy that Germany wanted to have the same treatment as themselves.

The Germans said that investing in the railway is tantamount to controlling the lifeblood of the southern part of the Qing country, and the Qing country will definitely not agree. I disagree!

The British did not want Russia and France to have a naval base in the Qing Dynasty, and the Lushun base was a fortress carefully built by the Beiyang Naval Division, so how could the British give it to the Russians if they didn't have this condition? And a French naval base next to Hong Kong is even more unthinkable, so it expresses strong opposition.

The Russians are very unhappy, you have Hong Kong as a base, what's wrong with me borrowing Lushun? Moreover, you British originally accounted for the majority of the trade of the Qing Kingdom, and you have controlled the customs of the Qing Kingdom for so long, and now you have to reduce the import tax, I am against it!

The French followed the Russians in protesting against the British on the same grounds.

And then everyone naturally quarreled.

The Quadripartite talks have not yet reached a consensus, the Americans cannot sit still, and if the Europeans reach an agreement, then there is nothing to do with themselves, so they began to actively express their participation.

At this time, Caprivi saw that the negotiations were deadlocked, and that there was little chance of a quick agreement, so he agreed to the United States to join the negotiations. Seeing that the Germans had extended an olive branch, the Americans immediately seized it, and very urgently participated.

Britain, France, and Russia expressed their dissatisfaction with the Germans calling the American nouveau riche, but since the Germans called everyone here, it is difficult for the Germans to say anything if they are willing to call the Americans.

Fortunately, the Americans also know that they are facing the four major European powers, and they have nothing to do with a few catties and taels, and their requirements are very simple, hoping to get the right to trade with the Qing State and enjoy preferential import and export policies.

As for the demands of the Americans, except for Britain, which had the largest market share in the Qing Kingdom, there was a slight resistance, and no other countries objected.

In this case, Britain opposed Russia and France, France supported Russia against Britain, France opposed Germany alone, Germany supported the United States, but Germany opposed France, and Britain began to support Germany in order to oppose Russia and France

In this chaotic situation, the negotiations did not make much progress, and only ended the war by maintaining the territorial integrity of the Qing state and paying reparations to Japan. The five countries jointly provided loans to the Qing to pay war reparations, and had the right to invest and run production within the Qing State.

While everyone was arguing, the Russian Tsar Alexander III died. (To be continued......)