The stunned city of Beijing is quiet, most of the residents are asleep, and Yu Shiding's heart is extremely deserted.

At this time, a horse-drawn carriage drove over from Liulichang, and the passenger on the car was Wu Tingfang.

Wu Tingfang went to Liulichang at the invitation of Duan Zhigui to go to Duan Ran to identify a few antiques as one of his hobbies, and Wu Tingfang's appreciation of antiques, calligraphy and painting is not low.

said that he was going to appreciate antiques, but in fact, this was more like socializing, although Duan Zhigui had already been a figure in the officialdom, but this person was usually very communicative, and Li Wuhong. Tang Hualong and other political celebrities are his guests, and today he invites friends to appreciate antiques, calligraphy and paintings. Tang and the two also received invitations, and like Wu Tingfang, in addition to admiring ancient culture in the study, the rest of the time was basically small talk, and one of their main topics today was about the Sino-Japanese War.

This morning, China and Japan have officially started the war, and the battle reports on the front line have also arrived, and judging from the current battle situation, the Chinese air force and navy task force have won a decisive victory in Lushun When the President gave a speech to the Diet in the afternoon, confirming the rumors of the Battle of Arthur, many members of the Diet and government officials who were originally worried about the situation were relieved, and so did Ng Dinh Fong, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, who knew very well what the news of the victory in the first battle would bring. Therefore, he immediately relaxed the visit of diplomats from various countries in China, and "took out the deputy and let the wind and waves rise and sit firmly on the Diaoyutai", and after receiving Duan Zhigui's invitation in the afternoon, he went to Duan's mansion to put down his mind and carefully help Duan Zhigui identify the few bronzes that had just been picked up from Liulichang and the masterpiece of the famous calligrapher of the Jin Dynasty.

Just five minutes ago, Wu Tingfang had just finished a dinner party in Duan's Mansion and said goodbye to Li Wuhong, Tang Shilong and other political celebrities, so he boarded the carriage of Duanfu with a little drunkenness and rushed to his apartment in a relaxed mood.

There was only one junior of the Wu family in the same car, in order to cultivate this junior, Wu Tingfang could be said to have hollowed out his mind to take him to Duanfu for a banquet, which was also one of the means, and the effect was very good Li Wuhong had already agreed. Find a time to meet this Woo rising star and see if it's worth recommending to the president. It's a circuitous route.

Wu Tingfang is already getting older and less energetic, he is a self-aware person, and he also understands the nature of the president, he does not plan to serve another term as Minister of Foreign Affairs, and when this battle is over, he is ready to formally submit his resignation, and the future world is still young in the end, if there are any young people around him, if there are any young people who are really good, young people are going to help push Cao Rushuang to the center. 6 cases. Gu Weijun, Feipu, Dianjun and others were promoted by him in this way. Now in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The situation in which the Ministry of Justice is shouldering the main responsibility and that the two departments are not in a position to take over has eased somewhat.

In the final analysis, the decision on when and how to retire is still in the hands of the president, and Wu Tingfang has now fully understood the means and courage of the president, such a strong man. It is impossible to tolerate winter drying and decay and occupy the temple for a long time, so as a politician who has entered the prime of life, Wu Tingfang thinks that it is better to be a wise man, but before retreating, he still wants to leave something in history, so when he sits in the carriage, although he is drunk, he is still thinking about how to swing the problem of the Sino-Japanese war, and use the contradictions between the powers to gain the initiative for the center.

Before Wu Tingfang could figure out how to find out the bottom line of the British government, the carriage had already stopped outside the Wu Mansion Gate, and the housekeeper hurriedly ran to the side of the carriage, opened the door, and escorted Wu Tingfang out of the carriage with the Wu junior.

As soon as he walked into the main entrance, the butler whispered a few words.

Sir, Mr. Stade, the U.S. Minister to China, has been waiting for you in the house for almost an hour, and you are now drunk, will you see you another day? ”

U.S. Minister. Housekeeper Dressing. ”

When Wu Tingfang heard that he was the US minister to China, he naturally did not dare to slack off in the present in Britain. France, Russia, and China are shouting that China is sabotaging peace in the Far East, "threatening to activate relevant alliance treaties to assist Japan in the war, and if it were not for the US Government's clear opposition to the Entente's interference in the affairs of the Far East, I am afraid that the Entente bloc would have taken substantive action, and now the United States is China's best shield." Of course, it is necessary to strengthen the ties between the two countries.

After changing clothes, Wu Tingfang wiped his face with cold well water, and then hurried to the front hall to meet the guests.

Stade didn't come alone. He not only brought the embassy to explain it, but also brought a military attache of the embassy, all of whom were neatly dressed, and sat in the front hall on a hot day, judging themselves as sweaty, but they still did not dare to take off the top hat on their heads.

Seeing Wu Tingfang coming, Si Dai hurriedly got up, took off his top hat, and greeted him very politely.

Mr. Wu didn't want to disturb you, but this was an order from the U.S. government, so I didn't have to rush over, and when you came, you were not in the house, and the housekeeper refused to say where you went, so we could only wait here, hoping that it would not disturb your rest. ”

Mr. Minister is polite, as a friend of China, I am welcome whenever you come. What are you doing here today? Looking at your number of clothes seems to be a very important foreign matter.

Wu Tingfang didn't say a few words of greeting immediately

Stade counted the top hats and made a formal request.

I am here today on the orders of the United States Government, which means that I will pay a visit to Mr. President of your country in the shortest possible time, convey to Mr. President the views of the United States Government on the battles in Lushun and Dalian this morning, and hope that Mr. President will properly disclose to the Government of the United States the details of this battle, especially with regard to your air force, as it sees fit. ”

This request is excessive, after all, this involves military secrets, so when Stade said these words, his tone was not very sharp, but there was no way, he could only go to the madman president now, "Look what kind of war magic the squadron used", it actually changed the balance of power in the Far East in just a few dozen minutes, since the Chinese Air Force can sink the Japanese battleship with bombers, then the same reason, German or British bombers may also sink American battleships The US government is very concerned about this issue right now, so it wants to figure out as soon as possible what the tactics of the Chinese Air Force are, and now the United States is building

"If the Air Force can indeed deliver a fatal blow to the Navy, then the US Government will have to change its original strategic plan." Significant cuts in battleship construction to strengthen the U.S. Air Force.

It is precisely for this reason that Stade specially brought an embassy military attache with excellent military quality on this trip. The goal is to figure out how exactly the Chinese Air Force won this overwhelming battle.

Mr. Minister took the liberty of asking. Where did you get the news about Operation Arthur. ”

Although Wu Tingfang had already guessed how the Americans would answer, he still decided to ask

I got this from a senator in your country, and he told me with certainty that he had seen with his own eyes a reconnaissance photograph of the air raid on Arthur in the Capitol this afternoon, and that was taken to the Capitol by Mr. President. Now, as I am, there are several other foreign ministers who are aware of the attack on your air force in Lushun, including Mr. British Minister and Mr. German Minister Ministry. ”

Stade's words were half-true, and it was true that a senator had told him about the air raid on Arthur, but before that he had heard the news from the lips of the military attaché at the French legation. The news came from the British Legation in China.

To tell the truth, after hearing the news from the French military attache that the Japanese naval fleet in Arthur had been attacked by the Chinese air force and suffered heavy losses, Stade's first reaction was incredulous: "He even thought it was a little trick of the British minister." The purpose is to disrupt the sight of the US government. But when the Chinese senator finally confirmed the news, Steder was very shocked, and in addition to being shocked, he did not forget to send a secret telegram to the U.S. State Department to inform the U.S. government of this astonishing news, which also shocked the top level of the U.S. government, but because of the lack of clarity about the details, the U.S. government categorically decided to let S. Halter personally go to the Chinese presidential palace as a friend." If possible, the U.S. government even plans to send a military attache to the assault force of the Chinese Air Force to conduct an on-the-spot inspection.

Of course, this requires the cooperation of the Chinese. After all, this is dealing with a sovereign country that is regaining its self-confidence and strength, and the U.S. government cannot be as arrogant as it was with the Manchu court

If necessary, "Stade can make a deal with the Chinese president"

So Si Loat visited Ng Dinh Fong's apartment late at night, hoping to meet Mr. President as soon as possible through the foreign minister.

I'll give you a call at the presidential palace first. See if the president has gone to bed. ”

Wu Tingfang cautiously followed the steps, but Staid was obviously very anxious, and even disregarded diplomatic etiquette.

Mr. Wu, as far as I know, Mr. President of your country should not have rested by now, because just a few minutes ago, the U.S. Legation sent someone to tell me that Mr. German Minister had just entered the presidential palace and was probably in talks with Mr. President, and I don't think Mr. President would end his talks with the German Minister so soon. He shouldn't have rested yet. ”

郸 "

Wu Tingfang was not surprised, but only nodded, and the diplomats of various countries in China are basically responsible for the function of collecting intelligence In fact, the embassy area of Dongjiaomin Lane is basically a nest of spies, and diplomats from various countries not only spy on China's relevant intelligence. And they also spy on each other's intelligence, although the United States advertised that although Steder swore an oath, Wu Tingfang still shook the phone to the chamberlain according to the regulations, and learned that the president was indeed meeting with the German minister in China, so he conveyed Stade's request to the past, and soon the president's order came and agreed to meet."

Please, Mr. Minister, the President is pleased to exchange views with you on the subject of war. ”

Wu Tingfang didn't say much, pressed down the microphone, and ordered to go down, prepare a car, and rush to the presidential palace with Si Shude.