>，！

The events that followed proved that Yang Du's guess was not wrong, and Yuan Shikai was extremely eager to curb the expansion of Wang Mo's father and son's power. ￥f。 ￥f

Although Yuan Shikai did not receive a clear statement from the other party in his meeting with Zhu Erdian the next day that he supported Beiyang's recovery of Qingdao, he still agreed to send Foreign Minister 6 Zhengxiang to Qingdao as a representative in the name of the central government of the Republic of China to participate in mediation.

Two days later, not only Zhu Erdian and 6 Zhengxiang rushed to Qingdao, but also the counselor of the French Embassy in China, Müllers, the Russian minister Kudashev, the American minister Ruinz, and the Japanese minister Ijihikoki, who participated in the mediation, also arrived in Qingdao one after another.

The governor of Jiaozhou, Germany, Waldeck, did not embarrass the ministers and delegations of these countries who came to participate in the mediation, and even took the initiative to completely vacate the high-end Kempins Hotel opened by the Germans and let the delegations of various countries settle in.

Ever since he saw Wang Mo's tough attitude that day, Waldeck knew that the mediation painstakingly organized by the British Minister Zhu Erdian was destined to be in vain. He really wanted to see what kind of expressions the representatives of the various countries participating in the mediation would look when the mediation had not yet begun and the representatives of various countries were discussing how to force Wang Mo to compromise.

When the great powers of various countries sent representatives to jointly mediate such a major news of the war in Qingdao, reporters from various Chinese and foreign newspapers naturally rushed to Qingdao early and surrounded the entire Kempins Hotel.

Every time a delegation walks into the Kempins Hotel, a large number of Chinese and foreign reporters will gather around and talk about it, and if it were not for the police at the scene to maintain order, I am afraid that it would have been chaotic long ago.

At this time, the initiator and organizer of the mediation, the British Minister Plenipotentiary to China, Zhu Erdian, wore the signature tuxedo of diplomats of this era, carried a civilization stick, and slowly entered the Kempins Hotel under the escort of several entourages and guards.

Seeing Zhu Erdian, a key figure, Chinese and foreign reporters flocked to him at once. The "poof" and "poof" lights were lit, and the reporters kept taking pictures, and then one question after another popped out.

"I would like to ask Your Excellency, Your Excellency, to organize this mediation. Was it to rescue the 2,000 captured British soldiers? ”

"Your Excellency, Minister Minister, don't you think you are interfering in China's internal affairs by uniting other countries to emphasize the cessation of the war in Qingdao?"

"I would like to ask Your Excellency, Minister of Justice, for this mediation. Which side will ultimately control Qingdao, and what is the attitude of the British Empire towards it? ”

"Your Excellency, Minister, ......"

……

Zhu Erdian didn't answer a single question, he couldn't answer if he didn't want to, and a large group of Chinese and foreign reporters were about to spray saliva on his face. If it weren't for the police's efforts to stop these frantically questioning reporters, I am afraid that it would have been very difficult for him to enter the Kempins Hotel.

Delegations from various powers then walked into the Kempins Hotel one after another. Despite knowing that the questions asked would not be answered, the journalists persistently asked questions.

The last one to come over was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China, 6 Zhengxiang, who originally wanted to come later to be more low-key, but he didn't expect to be blocked by a large number of reporters.

"6 Minister, may I ask whether your participation in this mediation was authorized by President Yuan Da, and does the central government not know that this mediation is very unfavorable to China's recovery of Qingdao?"

"6 Minister, what is the difference between the central government's behavior and betrayal of the country, and is it not afraid of being spurned by the countrymen?"

"6 Ministers' ......"

……

6 Zhengxiang dropped the sentence "The central government participated in the mediation precisely to recover Qingdao", and fled under the escort of the police and walked into the Kempins Hotel.

As soon as he walked into the luxurious restaurant on the second floor of the Kempins Hotel, 6 Zhengxiang heard the British Minister Zhu Erdian talking in a loud voice: "Distinguished ministers and delegates. First of all, thank you for being invited by the British Empire to participate in this mediation of the war in Qingdao. The Far East needs peace and a restoration of order, so that the interests of our civilized world in the Far East can be safeguarded. ”

The first to stand up in support was the Japanese Minister Ijihikichi, who said in a very high-profile manner: "Your Excellency, rest assured, that I, the Japanese Empire, absolutely fully support the British Empire. The 19th Division of the Japanese Empire has urgently come to Shandong for reinforcements, and it can assist the mediation delegation at any time to deter the warlord of China by force! ”

Hearing that Japan had sent reinforcements from another division to Shandong, the ministers and representatives of various countries present could not help but frown. Everyone can see that the Japanese are bound to win Qingdao, and they are not afraid that this war will get bigger and bigger. dragged Japan, a small island nation, into collapse and chaos.

Zhu Erdian was also a little displeased, but he understood that it was really not possible to deal with Wang Mo, who had always been tough, without a certain amount of force deterrence, so he didn't say anything.

"Your Excellency, Minister. That central ** lord still has 2,000 prisoners of your country in his hands, if he is in a hurry, will it ......?" reminded Counselor Millers, the representative of France.

Everyone was stunned, this was indeed a fatal problem, and none of them dared to guarantee that Wang Mo's arrogant warlord would not harm the lives of those British prisoners.

Because of the capture of these two thousand British troops, public opinion in Britain is now boiling. The people demanded that the Cabinet save the 2,000 British troops at any cost.

This is also the main reason why Zhu Erdian took great pains to organize this mediation, and of course it cannot be ignored.

Although none of the ministers and delegates took Wang Mo a local Chinese warlord seriously, from the tough attitude shown by Wang Mo towards the foreign powers in the past, I am afraid that it is impossible for Britain to let Wang Mo release the 2,000 British prisoners without paying some price.

Now Wang Mo's most important thing is undoubtedly to take back Qingdao, is it really necessary for the Chinese to take back Qingdao?

As soon as the Japanese Minister Iji Hikoyoshi saw the expressions of the ministers and deputies, he understood that things were very bad, so he hurriedly said to Zhu Erdian: "Your Excellency, please rest assured, as soon as the 19th Division of the Japanese Empire arrives, I will immediately ask them to dispatch and rescue the 2,000 captured people of your country by force. ”

Rescue by force?

Zhu Erdian glanced at Iji Hikoji with some irritability and disgust, if it weren't for the incompetence of the Japanese army, the two thousand people of the British Empire would not have been captured by the Yimeng Autonomous Alliance. Now he actually proposes to rescue by force, he believes that the Japanese have this ability, so it's no wonder!

Zhu Erdian was about to say something, when 6 Zhengxiang slowly walked into the restaurant and smiled at Zhu Erdian: "Your Excellency, if you want Wang Mo to release the two thousand captives of your country, maybe it will be easier for our central government to succeed." ”

6 Zhengxiang deliberately stepped on this point to enter the restaurant, in order to use the capture of the British army to enhance the status and importance of the Republic of China in the hearts of the ministers and representatives of these countries, so as to strive to recover Qingdao in the name of the central government of the Republic of China.

Yuan Shikai repeatedly told 6 Zhengxiang that at all costs, even if Qingdao was captured by the Japanese, Wang Mo must not be allowed to lead the Yimeng Autonomous Alliance Army to recover Qingdao and make great contributions to the country to gain the hearts and minds of the people. However, 6 Zhengxiang, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China, obviously attaches more importance to the recovery of Qingdao than the infighting between Yuan Shikai and Wang Mo.

Zhu Erdian glanced at 6 Zhengxiang, thought for a while, and asked, "Can your country really force Wang Mo to release those 2,000 people from my country?" ”

6 Zhengxiang seemed to be full of confidence and said in a deep voice: "It is not advisable to use force against the captives, otherwise it may hurt the lives of those 2,000 people in your country. I think that the possibility of success in the negotiations between the central government of China and Wang Mo is greater than the strong pressure from you, right? ”

Zhu Erdian thought about it, Wang Mo's arrogant and arrogant warlord is a typical example of eating soft rather than hard, uniting other countries to put pressure on him, and if he doesn't do it well, it will only backfire, causing the lives of the 2,000 British prisoners to be in danger.

Thinking of this, Zhu Erdian nodded and said, "Well, before the mediation begins, I can agree that your country will contact and negotiate with Wang Mo in advance on the two thousand captives of our country, and test what conditions Wang Mo needs before he is willing to release him." ”

"Yes, Your Excellency, my country is ready to do everything in our power to rescue your captives." Speaking of this, 6 Zhengxiang changed his tone and asked Zhu Erdian, "So, I wonder if your country can support a little bit on my country's recovery of Qingdao?" ”

Before Zhu Erdian could answer, the Japanese minister Iji Hikoyoshi couldn't help jumping out and said loudly: "Minister 6, I think you are wrong about what you said. All along, no one has ever denied that Qingdao's sovereignty belongs to China, so there is no question of whether to take it back or not. However, the 99-year lease period of the Germans in the Jiaozhou Bay Lease is far from expiring, so is your country planning to tear up the signed treaty and forcibly withdraw the jurisdiction of the Jiaozhou Bay Leased Land? 6 Is it not clear to the Minister that this is a serious and unreasonable violation of international law and treaties? ”

Ijihikichi's remarks are indeed very clever, linking China's repossession of Qingdao to the intention of tearing up the signed treaty with the intention of forcibly recovering national sovereignty and interests.

Which of the countries present did not sign an unequal treaty with China and relied on it to obtain a large amount of plundering benefits. Therefore, when they heard that China was trying to tear up the treaty, the faces of the ministers and representatives of various countries suddenly appeared displeased.

"Your Excellency Minister Iji Hikichi, I have to remind you that Germany has long taken the initiative to terminate the treaty and return the leased land of Jiaozhou Bay to our country, so is this also my country tearing up the treaty?" 6 Zhengxiang retorted loudly.

"Germany and our Entente countries are at war, and everything that Germany has in the Far East should naturally be taken over and disposed of by our Entente countries, and it is not your turn to interfere!"

"Joke, Qingdao is the territory of my Republic of China, and my country has the right to take back its jurisdiction......"

6 Seisho and Ijihikichi engaged in such a fierce argument that the other ministers and representatives of the other countries participating in the mediation became spectators.

……

Outside Qingdao, more than 12,000 people of the Yimeng Autonomous Alliance Army were fully armed and stood in a neat formation.

In front of the phalanx of the various units of the Yimeng Autonomous Alliance, the black wolf flags fluttered in the wind, and every soldier held their chests high and their spirits were uplifted.

"Stand upright!"

A loud shout sounded, and with a "snap", the officers and men of the whole army suddenly put their feet together and stood upright.

Surrounded by a group of high-ranking officers of the Yimeng Autonomous Alliance, Wang Mo, who was in military uniform, slowly came to the front of the whole army's phalanx. (To be continued.) )