※ Ikumura Tadajiro is an expert in Japanese painting, when the Qing Dynasty implemented the new policy, playing hard to hold water conservancy, considering that the exhibition of water conservancy is inseparable from surveying and mapping talents, so Zhang Sai opened a surveying and mapping department in Tongzhou Normal School, and hired several surveying and mapping experts from Japan as instructors, this Nomura Tadajiro is one of the foreign teachers, because the Chinese language is quite neat, as a teacher and a translator, because of the translation of the textbook. is more familiar with Zhang Sai, but the two are indeed not friends. It's just a general acquaintance.

Nomura Tadajiro came here alone, and when he met Zhang Xiao, he did a lot of work.

"Your Excellency Vice President, thank you for taking the time to meet me."

"What is Mr. Nomura here for? If it's for dismissal, you'd better go to the Ministry of Education for advice. ”

Zhang Xiao politely tried a few words. Since the United Front came to power, most of the Japanese technicians and foreigners in China have been dismissed and replaced by German technicians and foreigners, and this Nomura Tadajiro is also the same as his Japanese compatriots. He was terminated from his employment contract and kicked out by Tongzhou Normal School at the end of last year, but because of some of the additional terms of the contract, the matter has been arguing, but compared to the conflict between China and Japan at the national level, these "purely civil disputes" seem insignificant.

"I don't plan to pursue the dismissal. I am here to bother this time, mainly to send an invitation, the General Association of Overseas Chinese Entrepreneurs in Japan would like to invite His Excellency the Vice President to participate in a public welfare fundraising event. Collect donations for drought-stricken civilians in the north of your country to strengthen friendship between the two countries

Nomura Tadajiro's words made Zhang Sai very surprised, since the United Front came to power, the relationship between China and Japan has fallen to a freezing point, incidentally affecting the people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, and now, the commercial and trade relations between China and Japan are becoming more and more cold, and the export of Japanese goods to China has dropped by almost half, and now at this time, there are actually Japanese businessmen who invite the vice president of the Republic of China to participate in a charity fundraising event organized by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce, and the donation is aimed at Chinese. This is a bit suspicious.

Maybe he was a little hesitant to see Zhang Sai. Nomura Tadajiro took out the invitation and handed it to the butler, who placed it on Zhang's desk.

"To tell you the truth, the Japan Chamber of Commerce originally planned to hold a public welfare fundraising event in a few days. However, reliable news has just come from Tokyo that His Majesty the Meiji Emperor of the Great Japanese Empire has passed away this morning, and in order to return to Japan to participate in the state funeral, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce has decided to hold a public welfare fundraising activity in advance, and the time is tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and he will return to China next day. His Excellency the Vice-President would be grateful if he replied as soon as possible. ”

"His Majesty the Emperor of your country has passed away?"

Zhang Wu's heart moved, as if he had faintly grasped something, but he didn't know what it was. The Japanese suddenly held charity fundraisers at this time, which most likely hid deeply

。

"Yes, His Majesty the Meiji Emperor has exhausted the oil for the development of the Japanese Empire, His Excellency the Crown Prince has officially succeeded to the throne, the era name has been officially established as "Taisho" and the necessary adjustments have been made to the cabinet. At the end of the Meiji era, the good relations between Japan and China were quietly damaged by certain things, and my government deeply regrets that a new era is about to begin. It is hoped that relations between the two countries will move towards normalization. ”

"I am sorry to hear the news of the death of your Emperor, but for the sake of prudence, I need to ask my Ministry of Foreign Affairs for confirmation of this news. As for this fundraiser, I have to consult with Mr. President, and Mr. Nomura can wait at the Japan Shokai if it is convenient

。

Zhang Sai's thinking was a little confused for a while. I had to say a few perfunctory words first, but there seemed to be a detail in the other party's words, which affirmed Zhang Cai's speculation just now that the Japanese Chamber of Commerce held a public welfare fundraising event, but I am afraid that the drunkard does not mean to drink.

Nomura Tadajiro didn't seem surprised by Zhang Wu's statement, so he stood up and said goodbye and left Zhang's mansion in a hurry.

"Come on, prepare the car, go to the presidential palace!"

Zhang ordered the housekeeper to send Nomura away Tadajiro, and then quickly called a servant, asked him to prepare a car, and drove straight to the presidential palace with a few guards.

When he arrived at the presidential palace, Zhang Saicai knew. Mr. President and the Cabinet have been informed of the death of Emperor Meiji, and the President is now meeting with the Cabinet to discuss how to deal with this sudden situation. In order to strive for the maximum benefit of China.

As the vice president of the Republic of China, Zhang Xiao was qualified to attend the cabinet meeting, so he didn't think much about it, and directly took people to the commander's hall to participate in the cabinet meeting.

Waited in the conference room. The Cabinet meeting is almost coming to an end, and the President is listening to the advice of Foreign Minister Ng Dinh Phuong.

"In my opinion, the death of Emperor Meiji of Japan will inevitably lead to turbulence in the domestic political situation, and the Japanese Government may not have time to take care of other affairs, and this is a good opportunity for our country to take a breather; at this time, our country will neither take the initiative to provoke nor show weakness, and moreover, it can take advantage of the great opportunity of the replacement of the old and the new to show good relations with Japan's friendly forces toward China."

After Chief Wu's speech, the president glanced at Duan Qirui, the commander of the 6th Army.

"What is the opinion of the 6 military department and the navy on this?" Zhao Bei asked.

Duan Qirui glanced at Tang Xiangming, the chief of the Admiralty who was sitting beside him, and then took out his opinion.

"President Junjian. Now Japan's national mourning is raising its mouth. At this time, it is indeed not easy to pick and choose suggestions, and take advantage of many opportunities... One side seeks to engage in order to find a way to repair relations between the two countries as soon as possible and seize the initiative. ”

"What about the Admiralty?" Zhao Bei looked at Tang Xiangming.

Tang Xiangming hesitated for a moment and said: "According to the telegram received just now, the Lushun Military Port in the Japanese leased place has entered a state of alert," Kwantung Prefecture, the Japanese 6th Army has also entered a state of combat readiness, and it is indeed not easy to take radical action at this time, which is easy to cause the Japanese side to retaliate. So. I think Mr. Duan's opinion is reasonable. At present, Japan should take a wait-and-see stance and take the initiative to seek contacts with the Japanese side to repair relations between the two countries, so as to end the state of confrontation as soon as possible and go all out to develop industry and commerce. ”

"It looks like everyone is basically on the same page."

Zhao Bei smiled, stood up, walked to the map of China's territory hanging on the wall with his hands behind his back, looked up at the map, and was silent for a few minutes.

There was some quiet in the conference room, and Zhang Xiao asked Duan Qirui about it. That's when I learned. In the morning, the new Japanese minister to China, Hyamoji Hage, had already followed the British minister to China, Zhu Erdian, to the presidential palace for the purpose of expressing Japan's views on the relations between China and Germany, and it was from them that the president learned of the death of Japan's Meiji Emperor, which was subsequently confirmed by the Chinese minister to Japan. The international situation in the Far East suddenly became more elusive.

During the reign of Emperor Meiji, Japan fought wars against Korea, China, and Russia, and all of them ended in victory, not only in the eyes of the Japanese Emperor Meiji was a hawkish ruler, but even in the eyes of the European powers, the reason why Japan has achieved remarkable military achievements is that in addition to the strong support of Britain, the role of the Meiji Emperor cannot be underestimated.

Now that the powerful emperor is dead, what kind of person will the new emperor be? Of all the people in the conference room, except for Zhao Bei, I'm afraid no one can answer this question.

As a time-traveler through history, Zhao Bei knows very well that whether Japan will go to war against China is certainly related to the emperor's decision-making, but in the final analysis, the root of this problem lies in national interests, to be precise, in the interests of the Japanese ruling group.

The current Japan is ruled by the chaebol, Mitsui, ; Ryoshi, Sumitomo, Shibei, and Okura are the representatives of the Japanese ruling group, and they not only hold the economic lifeline of Japan, but are also supporters of the Japanese military department; as for the Japanese emperor, they can be regarded as the idol of this ruling group, and the Japanese chaebol gives orders to their own people through this idol, and as long as these Japanese chaebols do not die of coveting China, then the war and conflict between China and Japan will not end.

Therefore, Zhao Bei did not dare to agree with the optimistic views of the cabinet members, because he remembered it very clearly. In another plane of time and space, after the outbreak of World War I, the main force attacking the German fortress in Qingdao was the Japanese army, which is enough to prove that the newly enthroned Taisho Emperor is not a pacifist, and as long as the Japanese chaebol still rules the island country, the Japanese emperor will definitely not become a pacifist.

However, this does not mean that Zhao Bei will not release a smokescreen, since the Japanese government has made a gesture and wants to "live in peace" with China, then Zhao Bei will meet their wishes and create an illusion, not expecting to be able to paralyze the Japanese government for a long time, as long as it can ensure the successful completion of the "four industrial exhibition plans".

After making up his mind, Zhao Bei walked back to the conference table, sat back, and glanced at Zhang Xiao.

"Vice President Zhang, you can also give one, opinion."

Zhang Xiao took out the invitation from the Japanese Chamber of Commerce sent by Nomura Tadajiro, put it on the table, and pointed to the invitation to tell the Japanese Chamber of Commerce about the public welfare fundraising activities, which made most of the people present even more excited.

Although this Nomura Tadajiro is only a teacher of the surveying and mapping school, he was recommended to the Qing court by Ito Hirobumi, a veteran of Japanese political circles, and this person is also a member of the Japanese Constitutional Political Friendship Association. This time, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce did not send anyone else, but sent him to send me an invitation, which may not be without deep meaning. Perhaps, this is a test on the part of the Japanese side. I would like to seek consultation with my country. ”

After listening to Zhang Sai's analysis, everyone present nodded in agreement.

Zhao Bei also understands everyone's thoughts, after all, Japan is a small power, and in the eyes of these cabinet members, it is better to have a hard time with Japan. It is better to live in peace with Japan and gradually recover the rights and interests of some countries through negotiations. However, Zhao Bei also understood that everyone was wishful thinking, and Japan would never spit out what it had eaten, and as long as Japan's social structure did not change fundamentally, Japan would be an extremely aggressive and dangerous neighbor.

"Since you are all of you, I can't help but bow to the will of the people. As for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it seems that it should make preparations for sending people to the Japanese Legation to offer condolences, and as for Tokyo, the Japanese Minister in Japan will have full authority to handle it.

The president's final decision can be regarded as opening the door for this ice-breaking trip in Sino-Japanese relations.

But will the president really be friendly with Japan? At least Mr. Zhang is skeptical.