Among the Japanese delegates who came to visit Gu Weijun, former Japanese Prime Minister Saionji Kozawa was the most prominent, and he was also the supreme plenipotentiary representative of the Japanese government to the Paris Peace Conference, but because he was not the brainchild of the current government, he had no right to participate in the "four-member meeting." "Instead, he could only participate in special committees and plenary meetings like the representatives of Tsarist Russia to discuss issues related to Japan, although he was more idle than the President of the United States, but much busier than Gu Weijun.

"I don't know what your excellency is doing this time?"

met Xiyuan Temple Gongwang and others, and exchanged pleasantries with each other for a while. Gu Weijun immediately turned to the topic, his intuition told him that the Japanese were not here to chat with him. "I'm sorry to take the liberty of visiting, but I hope I didn't disturb your rest

The first to speak was the deputy head of the Japanese delegation and former foreign minister of the Japanese government, Nobuaki Makino, who, like Saionji Konozo, also briefly attended the meeting in the "Committee of Ten", but was soon excluded from the four-member committee because he was the former foreign minister, and was not entitled to participate in the Supreme Council.

Makino Shinxian apologized to Gu Weijun first, and then quickly got straight to the point.

"That's right. At the special committee meeting held this morning, the Australian Government submitted a motion to the committee on the interests of the eastern part of the island of New Guinea, according to which the Australian Government is trying to completely squeeze the influence of Asian countries out of the eastern part of New Guinea, and if this bill is passed by the special committee, it will be detrimental to Asian countries. Safeguard the common interests of Asia. At the same time, the Imperial Government of Japan is also consulting with the central government of your country through diplomatic channels, and it is believed that you will soon receive the relevant domestic telegrams, but before that, Your Excellency Saionji considers it necessary to hold consultations with your Excellency in advance in order to improve the efficiency of the work. ”

。 I see

Gu Weijun heard the intentions of the Japanese. It immediately became clear that it turned out that the Japanese had suffered a loss in the special committee. In order to win over China's support for Japan's position, in fact, some time ago, every time a motion against Japan was received at a meeting. The Japanese delegation will always disclose the news to the Chinese delegation at the first time, but in the past, other people were always sent over, but this time it was the Saionji Gongwang who personally dispatched it, which shows this. Australia's proposal is very unfavorable to Japan, and there is a high risk that it will be forced to pass by a special committee.

As a "fourth-tier country" at the Paris Peace Conference, China has the right to participate in the voting of the special committee, although the number of votes is small. But one more vote is one vote.

"This is a summary of the relevant meeting, and you may look at it if you think it is convenient

Xiyuan Temple Gongwang finally spoke. and motioned to the assistant to present a document to Gu Weijun.

Gu Weijun took the document, flipped through it, read the content roughly, and finally understood why the Japanese were in such a hurry.

The island of New Guinea is very close to Australia and has a large area. Since Japan declared war on Germany and sent army and naval forces to participate in the Allied military operations in the Pacific. Japan had seized a German possession of the island of New Guinea and had a dispute with Australia, which had landed in the southern part of the island of New Guinea, over which country should be trusteeship.

Through the Sino-Dutch War in the South Seas, Japan got its wish to gain the western part of the island of New Guinea, although it did not directly declare it a Japanese colony. A so-called "Republic of New Guinea" was formed, but in reality, Japan was able to take full control of the situation there, but on the other hand. The southeastern part of the island of New Guinea remains under Australian control, while the northeastern part of the island controlled by Japan is "unsettled." Now, Australia's proposal for New Guinea is about the northeastern part of New Guinea that is controlled by Japan, and according to Australia's proposal, this region should be independent in accordance with the principle of "national self-determination" of US President Wilson, and establish an independent state in the region administered by the local indigenous people, and be recognized by the international community.

In the eyes of the Japanese Government, it is not easy for Japan to obtain some territory in the Pacific Ocean, but now Australia wants to pass a resolution to easily take it away, which is inevitably a bit deceitful and too deceitful.

The main reason why China also has interests in the eastern part of New Guinea and Uzbek is that after the end of the Nanyang War, China and the Japanese governments signed a "Nanyang Aftermath Agreement". According to this agreement, the Chinese can set up enterprises in the Republic of New Guinea under the control of Japan, and the Japanese can also set up enterprises in the Second Republic of Lanfang under the control of China.

But this is just the wishful thinking of the public hope of Xiyuan Temple. In fact, in the eyes of the Chinese government, the main purpose of the "Nanyang Aftermath Agreement" was to demarcate the maritime boundary between Lanfang and New Guinea, and as for the so-called mutual industrial and commercial convenience between the two countries for Chinese and Japanese businessmen, it was only incidental content, and in the eyes of Chinese businessmen, the industrial investment value of New Guinea was not very large, so it was chicken ribs. It's a pity to discard it.

Mr. Gu weijun shares the same view, and, like many Chinese diplomats, insists that Japan is too ambitious to allow it to expand its national power further. Otherwise, there is no guarantee that there will not be another Sino-Japanese war in the future. For China. Japan can be used and united, but it must not be trusted, the so-called "Sino-Japanese friendship." Such slogans are just to deceive the civilians of the two countries, and the politicians of the two countries will not take it seriously.

"Ours is a Tier 4 country in the Paris Peace Conference. Although you can't participate in the Supreme Council, you can participate in the voting of the special committee, but if it is not directly related to the interests of our country, our country has no right to beak it. ”

Gu Weijun didn't...; I was a little busy, but I just reminded the public hope of Xiyuan Temple first. One old one

"But your country has a huge interest in New Guinea, and Japan can immediately make an invitation. I invite you to participate in the discussion at the second meeting tomorrow, at the time of the voting. We hope that you will support our position. ”

As Gu Weijun expected, Xiyuan Temple Gongwang's answer was exactly the same as he thought. The reason why I wanted to discuss with the Chinese delegation first was to persuade Gu Weijun to agree to accept the invitation, otherwise. If Japan submits a proposal to the opposing side for debate, and China rejects it. Japan will lose face at the peace conference. It even led directly to the collapse of the Japanese cabinet.

The stakes are high. The Japanese government must be cautious, too, for Gu Weijun. How to deal with Japan's proposal. It really needs to be carefully pondered, and it is even necessary to ask the president for advice. Although before leaving the country, the president had clearly told him that he was a plenipotentiary. Arrangements can be made for certain matters that are not directly related to China, and there is no need to ask for instructions on everything. Gu Weijun took the summary of the meeting handed to him by the Japanese and thought about it carefully. Then he gave an informal reply to the public hope of Xiyuan Temple.

"So be it. I will study it carefully, and after consulting the central opinion, I will reply to you this evening. But I can tell you now about the Australian proposal. I personally disagree, in my opinion. With the level of civilization of the local indigenous people of New Guinea, it is not enough to establish an independent state. Even if there was a need for an independent and sovereign State, it should act under the guidance of a civilized State, as in the case of the Republic of New Guinea, rather than full self-government. ”

"Yes, yes. It is precisely this that the indigenous people there are still in an uncivilized state and it is impossible to establish a sovereign state on their own, and in doing so, Australia is in fact defying the civilized world. and hostile to China and Japan. And, judging by the latest information obtained by the Japanese government. The Australian government is reinforcing white dominance and appears to have a tendency to further exclude East Asian immigrants. In this regard, it is absolutely necessary for China and Japan to strengthen their ties and take joint action. ”

Regarding Gu Weijun's statement, Xiyuan Temple Gongwang was very happy, and he was very clear. Gu Weijun is no ordinary diplomat. In the eyes of China's president, this man is a rising star in the diplomatic community. Moreover, he is also the son-in-law of Foreign Minister Tang Shaoyi. Both in terms of status and talent. They are all quite advantageous in China's diplomatic circles, and the guarantee of such a person is definitely very credible.

As a veteran Japanese politician, Saionji has been watching China's every move. China used the Nanyang War to easily defeat the Netherlands, and in doing so, it became one of the largest regions in East Asia. Important countries that matter. This in itself has made Xionji Gongwang very admired, and then China's subsequent intervention in Russia shocked Xionji Gongwang, through a "Tavlida 11 West General Cloth Treaty", China not only recovered part of the lost territory, but also took advantage of the chaotic situation in Central Asia to further achieve a strategic advantage in Central Asia, which simply shocked Xionji Gongwang inexplicably, and also caused a fierce debate within the Japanese government. The Japanese government held serious discussions on the topic of what Japan should do in the future, and finally came to a conclusion that disappointed Saionji Konozo, because most of the Japanese government believed that since the war in Europe was over, then. Japan has lost the best opportunity to fish in troubled waters of the world's chaos, and it is now very good that Japan can maintain its existing interests.

Therefore, the Japanese government's order to the public hope of Saionji Temple is that "what you eat can no longer be handed over to others." Now that a new behemoth has risen on the East Asian continent, Japan will have to regard the interests of Southeast Asia and the Pacific region as the key interests of Japan's survival. If the interests here cannot be saved, then. Japan will decline rapidly.

Now, as China is facing a general industrial depression and the social contradictions and upheavals that come with it, the only way for Japan to go is to continue to emigrate abroad, as China has done, to transfer the labor force that has been squeezed out of the industrial and commercial sectors to other sectors. China can transfer its nationals to the Central Asian region. And Japan can obviously only transfer its nationals to Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

The eastern part of the Japanese-occupied island of New Guinea covers an area of more than 70,000 square kilometers, almost twice the size of the island of Taiwan, and no Japanese politician can remain reserved in the face of the temptation of colony. It is impossible for the Japanese people to remain calm, and Saionji has no doubt that if the Japanese government gives up that area, the radicals in Japan will certainly set off a movement in which no one knows the outcome, and this is obviously not good for Japan's interests. Therefore, the Australian proposal must be rejected anyway, but given the overwhelming predominance of the Leo state in the special committee, it is necessary to obtain China's support, even if the final proposal is forced to pass. But as long as China stands up for Japan. Then Japan can ignore Australia's clamour, and if it really can't, a war between Japan and Australia is not impossible, provided that Britain does not give Australia strong support.

The reason for emphasizing the invitation to the delegation of China to join the discussion at the second meeting of the Special Committee. The purpose of the Xiyuan Temple is to let all countries see the position of the Chinese government, and so that all countries, especially Britain and France, can see the unity of Asia. And. If the Chinese government does not object, Xiyuan Temple Gongwang even intends to bring in the unrelated three countries of Lanfang, Kokand and Bukhara to create an atmosphere of "Asian solidarity", after all, these three countries are now effectively under Chinese control. We dare not disobey the demands of the Chinese government.

After getting Gu Weijun's personal assurance. Xiyuan Temple Gongwang left the hotel with hope, while Gu Weijun quickly sent a secret telegram to China after the former Japanese government minister left, reporting the details of the meeting to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and putting forward one of his ideas.

After filming the telegram. Holding the draft of the telegram, Gu Weijun suddenly remembered what Tang Shaoyi had said to him before leaving China, it is true that he did not come to Paris to enjoy leisure. He was a warrior, a warrior who did not carry a gun, and the battlefield was the conference table of the Palace of Verre, and the enemy was the old powers that were unwilling to withdraw from the political scene of the Far East.