Yuan Shikai has always thought that Chen Ke doesn't like to play smart, but he is still a little cunning. For example, in each of Chen Ke's proposals, Chen Ke seems to get much less than Yuan Shikai, but in terms of input and output, Chen Ke spends much less effort. Whether these proposals can maximize Yuan Shikai's interests is still a matter of ambiguity, but Chen Ke's interests are definitely maximized. So much so that Yuan Shikai sometimes thinks that it would be good if Chen Ke could selflessly dedicate a few times.

But Yuan Shikai is really not angry at all, Yuan Shikai's overall goal is too ambitious, and it is impossible for the Beiyang family to complete it independently. It is necessary to echo the internal and external aspects in order to solve the problem. The more cards available, the better. Therefore, Yuan Shikai not only had to cooperate with the People's Party, but he even had to swallow his anger and cooperate with revolutionary parties such as the Restoration Society.

On the other hand, Cai Yuanpei went to see Yuan Shikai for the second time with the idea of preparing to suffer humiliation, and this time he lost his previous idea of "just one death", and finally "lowered his noble head". However, what actually happened was not what Cai Yuanpei imagined at all.

Yuan Shikai asked Cai Yuanpei what he was going to do this time, Cai Yuanpei said that he came to ask Yuan Shikai to release the comrades who would be captured by the Restoration Society, and Yuan Shikai said that as long as the Restoration Society promised not to make trouble for the third town within a year, he could immediately ask Duan Qirui to release him immediately.

Cai Yuanpei was blindsided at that time, not to mention that Yuan Shikai agreed so simply, and even the conditions for releasing people were too imaginable. "Don't make trouble for the Third Town for a year", if you are optimistic, it means that the Third Town does not want to create any friction with the Liberation Society at all. "Yuan Gong, what do you mean by this?" Cai Yuanpei's surprise this time was not feigned.

Yuan Shikai took a map and scratched it in southern Zhejiang, "It is obviously unrealistic to let you not make a revolution in a noisy way." If you want to make trouble, you will be here and south in a year. However, if you dare to cross this line for me, don't say that I am not welcome to Beiyang. ”

Cai Yuanpei felt that he had misheard, or that Yuan Shikai had some ulterior and vicious conspiracy? Such a condition is far better than what the Liberation Society envisioned for itself. Of the less than 2,000 people remaining, most of them hiding in the territory of the Anhui People's Party. These people don't say that the whole of Zhejiang, even a state capital is not a big trouble. The territory that Yuan Shikai casually carved out was enough to be tossed in the recovery. Could it be that Yuan Shikai wants to concentrate the Liberation Society in one place to carry out total annihilation?

"And what's the plan for Third Town?" Cai Yuanpei asked.

"Believe it or not, my third town in Beiyang just wants to maintain the situation in Zhejiang. As long as you don't cause trouble, Third Town won't have time to deal with you. But if you make such a fuss for me again, and the third town starts to do it again, it won't be so generous. Yuan Shikai replied.

Cai Yuanpei's mind was completely confused, this kind of thing is normally a friendly truce gesture. But why did Beiyang make a truce with the Restoration Society? Could it be that the agreement reached between the People's Party and Beiyang has not been reached? There were so many ideas that Cai Yuanpei really had no choice but to ask a relatively simple question, "What about after that year?" ”

"Who knows what will happen in a year's time? More on that then. Yuan Shikai replied, "How about it, do you agree?" ”

"This ......" Cai Yuanpei wanted to say that I would discuss it with someone, but he felt that the news he got now was too difficult to understand, and he wanted to get more detailed information.

Yuan Shikai didn't have time to entangle with Cai Yuanpei, he said coldly: "If you want to find someone to discuss, go back and find someone now." Whether you agree or not, give me a letter of approval tomorrow morning, and you will go back to Zhejiang tomorrow afternoon, I don't want to see you again. ”

Cai Yuanpei returned to the station in a daze, and when he discussed it with the comrades of the Restoration Society, everyone was also stunned. Everyone had all kinds of conjectures and speculations, but they didn't understand what Yuan Shikai wanted to do. After a long discussion, Tao Chengzhang finally made up his mind, "Ladies and gentlemen, the foundation of our Restoration Society is also in southern Zhejiang, no matter what Beiyang thinks, as long as we can save our comrades, we will withdraw to the south to regroup." In a year, everyone will only be able to recover. If Beiyang is willing to abide by this agreement, it is naturally the best, if it is not willing to obey, we will fight with them to the end. ”

No one has a better way, and dreaming about the future of Zhejiang in Henan is completely out of the world. The Restoration Society quickly made the decision to cooperate with Beiyang for the time being, and informed Yuan Shikai of the results, and Yuan Shikai sent people to return to Hangzhou with the members of the Restoration Society.

Yan Fu left a day earlier than the Restoration Society, and he hurried back to Fengtai County to resume his life. As soon as he entered the office of the Party Central Committee, Qi Huishen immediately rushed up, his face was full of eagerness, "Mr. Yan, it's great that you're back." We don't have a translator. ”

"Translation? What foreign literature has come over? Yan Fu immediately became excited. The People's Party has begun to collect foreign technical books and materials, and Yan Fu is very satisfied with some things that have come back one after another.

"It's not information. There are a bunch of foreign devils. Qi Huishen said excitedly.

Chen Ke's office is not big, so he and Pu Guanshui and several other cadres received foreign devils in the conference hall. Yan Fu took a shortcut from the test house to the conference room. But I saw that the side room had been converted into a small conference room, and in addition to a few stools, there were teapots and snacks, sugar and honey on the table. Although the conditions are very simple, there are all the things that should be in the lounge for diplomatic talks. I saw three or four foreign devils sitting around, sipping teacups with expressions of appreciation or dissatisfaction, and some people dipped honey in small snacks and sent them to their mouths. And whispered something in a foreign language.

This is the situation arranged by Chen Ke according to the description of the New York National Conference of the underworld in "The Godfather", and it must be said that in addition to not being luxurious enough, the basic pattern is still right.

There were also a few foreign devils in the conference room, Chen Ke and Pu Guanshui, and a few cadres sitting around the large conference table used for the meeting of the People's Party committee, each with a cup of tea in front of their eyes, and a large glass kettle. Most of the international students in the base are "Made in Germany". Upon introduction, the room was filled with British and German diplomats, and in the outroom were French and Russian representatives.

"Mr. Yan, how is your French?" Chen Ke asked Yan Fu secretly.

As a senior naval officer and translator, Yan Fu knows a lot of foreign languages. "I don't know Russian." Yan Fu also replied in a low voice.

"Russian Maozi speaks French, as long as he understands English, French and German. Especially French, none of us know it. Chen Ke still whispered. In these days, French was the lingua franca of the diplomatic world, and in Europe, a non-French high-ranking person knew French, that is, he had status, and in addition to Latin, he was cultured and educated. If you know Greek and Italian, you're from a family of scholars. This is a more formal diplomatic conference, and the foreign devils have brought their own embassy interpreters.

This is not the first time that the base area has received foreigners, after the recapture of Anqing, the British once sent someone to ask Zhang Yu, secretary of the Anqing Prefectural Party Committee, whether the British fleet could dock in Anqing. The central government's reply to Zhang Yu at that time was "tell the British that they can dock". However, the British fleet never came. After all, Anqing is a war zone, and the British don't want to ask for trouble. Since the People's Party in Anqing was not hostile to the British, the British did not see the need to intervene in the Chinese civil war. For such a performance, the central government is also happy to be idle. When the situation is mixed, foreign involvement undoubtedly adds more variables to an already chaotic situation.

Hankou has a concession, and in the hinterland of China, there are quite a number of consulates of various countries. The last Russian Tsar, Nicholas II, visited Hankow in 1891 to attend the 25th anniversary celebration of the Shuntai Brick Tea Factory run by Russian tea merchants, and donated money to build an Orthodox church on a whim. The People's Party's military disaster relief operations in Hubei were completely inseparable from foreigners. The People's Party once drove ducks to the shelves, and Yan Fu trained some foreign languages. Then these people either arrived in Wuhan in advance, or later followed the large army to Hubei. Those who remained in the base areas also went to work in the localities, and only comrades like Chen Ke, Qi Huishen, and Pu Guanshui, who knew foreign languages, were left here.

Since the People's Party did not have an interpreter, it had to have a few cadres who knew foreign languages go into battle in person. As soon as Yan Fu came back, everyone immediately felt that they had the backbone of the translation industry. The meeting that had been interrupted continued when everyone was united.

In the 21st century, you can go a lot if you know American English. At the beginning of the 20th century, Chen's fluent Manhattan accent in the New York drama gave a slightly contemptuous smile on the faces of the British representatives. Yan Fu knew what the British laughed at, and in the eyes of the British, the Americans were a bunch of barbarians. And in 1908, when Americans faced the British, they actually thought that they were not as civilized as the British.

Unexpectedly, the Hanyang consular corps came here first to express their gratitude. Wuhan floods, water depth several feet in various places. Even if the water recedes, a lot of things have to be cleaned up. The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army did not enter the concession, but cleared the area outside the concession. This is the first time in the history of Hanyang's opening of the port, and the cleanliness of the ordinary residential area exceeds that of the concession.

Moreover, in accordance with the experience summed up in the disaster relief in Anhui, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army gathered the victims, straightened out order, restored industry, and engaged in agricultural production to save itself. The affected areas in Hubei were quickly settled. After the flood, it is easy to induce the plague, and the People's Party should not only let everyone live, but also prevent the epidemic and cure the disease. The "refugee camps" effectively ensured safety and hygiene, but epidemics broke out in the concessions. There were not enough hospitals and medical personnel in the concession, so they had to turn to the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army for help.

The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army did not care about the number of more patients, and if they were not treated in time, they would become the source of the disease. seems to be high up and ignores the life and death of others, and in the end it is himself who is unlucky.

The two sides are on the line, and the problem at the back naturally arises. The foreign diplomatic corps knew about the existence of such a rebel army in Anhui, China. But the rebels are clearly avoiding dealing with foreigners, who have not been willing to ask for trouble except to gather information. However, when the rebels finally began to take de facto control of the three towns of Wuhan, the Hankow consular corps demanded that the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army make its attitude towards foreign countries clear.

He Zudao and the party committee have no attitude towards foreigners, and in the short term, the party committee hopes that foreigners will cause trouble for others in the process of the People's Party's seizure of Hubei. In the long run, everyone hopes that the foreign devils will go home. So they only talk about maintaining law and order, and other things will wait until the flood is over.

The last time Chen Ke convened a plenary session of the Central Committee, the Hubei side informed Chen Ke of this issue. Chen Ke asked the comrades from Hubei to go back and tell the Hankou consular group that if they wanted to determine the relationship, they could organize a delegation to Fengtai County. Chen Ke originally thought that the consular corps would send someone to contact him first. God knows what He Zudao said about them, and the consular corps immediately sent an official diplomatic team to Fengtai County.

In response to the Consular Corps' gratitude, Chen Ke said that the People's Party has the obligation to protect the safety of all people in its own territory. Chen Ke also expressed his appreciation for the consular corps' lack of hostile behavior. The consular corps was not too surprised by Chen Ke's seemingly diplomatic raw words. From the information they received from the Manchus, the People's Party was a group of bandits. Completely unclear about the difference between the People's Party and the Yue Wanghui, the consular corps was very sympathetic to the views of the Manchus.

It was not until the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army entered the three towns of Wuhan that the consular corps learned that the rebel army was not bandits, but an organized and disciplined regular army. Only then did they send a formal diplomatic team to Fengtai County. After taking an open-top tugboat and seeing the tall water towers erected in many cities along the way, the diplomatic team agreed that the People's Party was by no means a peasant army, but a political force with a certain industrial attitude. Chen Ke's blunt but still diplomatic statement did not surprise the diplomatic team.

"So will you abide by the treaty?" This is the question that all the consular corps wants to know the most.

Chen Ke knew that they were talking about various treaties signed by the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and Chen Ke had all kinds of ideas beforehand, but he did not expect that this day would actually appear in front of him in this way, "We are hostile to the Manchu Qing Dynasty, so we have no obligation to abide by these treaties. ”

Chen Ke likes to watch light-hearted American TV series, which is okay for ordinary conversations, but not enough for diplomatic occasions. So Chen Ke used Chinese, and the handsome old man Yan Fu used a British naval academy dialect to translate. Obviously, this was a surprise to the consular corps, but the accent was appreciated by the British here.

"Not only have we failed to comply with our obligations under these treaties, but we have the right to strike back against any hostilities in the zone under our control. If you can guarantee neutrality, we can maintain the status quo. ”

Not only the diplomatic corps, but also the comrades of the People's Party who attended the meeting as observers also looked at Chen Ke with very serious looks. This is not a word of outright hostility, nor is it a friendly word. If you look at it in Chinese thinking, this is to tell the other person, "You are obedient to me." If you are obedient, I will clean you up later. If you don't obey, I'll clean you up now. ”

"That means you're not going to abide by these treaties?" The diplomats of the consular corps once again identified this issue.

"It has nothing to do with non-compliance. First of all, we are not a party to this treaty, and these treaties have nothing to do with us. We have the obligation to ensure the personal and property safety of Chinese and foreigners within our control. You are diplomats, and we have an obligation to ensure your personal safety. But we are under no obligation to recognize a treaty to which we are not a party at all. ”

The city-born revolutionaries in the People's Party hated the Manchu "humiliating treaties", even though they had not actually read them. But in the face of such a group of foreign devils in the diplomatic group, listening to Chen Ke's clear refusal of the foreign devils' request, everyone couldn't help but feel quite a lot of pressure in their hearts.

Yan Fu, who acted as an interpreter, was not afraid, and what Chen Ke said was a very normal basic concept of diplomacy. However, Yan Fu wanted to know what kind of foreign treaties Chen Ke wanted to sign with foreign countries.

The foreign devils of the diplomatic corps never imagined that in such a small inland county, the leader of the People's Party would use such a statement against himself. And Chen Ke is not wrong when he says that the People's Party is now a "rebel" and not an equivalent political entity with official relations with countries such as Europe and the United States. Aside from the use of force, the diplomatic corps had no chance of getting Chen to comply with the treaty.

It stands to reason that when they met Chen Ke, they should have made a request or protest to the Manchus, asking the Manchus to solve the rebel problem. Although, according to the usual practice in Europe and the United States, if the Manchus could not solve the problem, they would find a way to go into battle shirtless. But the current situation, the diplomatic corps does not think that it has reached such an extent.

"Can we take a break for a moment?" said the British diplomat.

“OK。” Chen Ke replied. This vulgar English made the diplomats of various countries frown.

"Chairman Chen, what will these people think?" Pu Guanshui asked with some concern.

"What do you think? It's very simple, they want us to be obedient, and if we don't, they're going to call. Chen Ke replied very clearly.

Pu Guanshui was taken aback by Chen Ke's words, the People's Party is now in a situation where the outside is heavy and the inside is light. All the troops that can fight are basically on the outside line, and there is only one 106th Division in training in the base area, which may be okay to deal with Yuan Shikai, if the foreign devils come from the Yangtze River, once Yuan Shikai turns his face, the base area will really not be able to withstand it. I was timid in my heart, and I was naturally timid in what I said, "So far, we have no conflict with foreigners. Pu Guanshui couldn't help but say.

Chen Ke did not criticize Pu Guanshui, it was very late for the party to have full contact and conflict with foreign forces, and now was the day when the empire was arrogant, although he did not think that he would meet foreigners at this stage, but Chen Ke was also a little nervous in his heart. Looking at the anxious looks of his comrades, Chen Ke still said: "This conflict is not a life-and-death battle between the two sides of us. The British wanted to dominate the situation in the Yangtze River valley, that is, they believed that the situation in these areas should be in the interests of the British. After the emergence of our People's Party here, a large part of the area was out of the control of the British, and they were naturally unhappy. They asked about the treaty to see if we were willing to abide by the rules that the British had laid down for the area. ”

Yan Fu, Pu Guanshui, and Qi Huishen all know more about foreign countries, if Chai Qingguo is here now, I am afraid that he will immediately be angry and fight to the death with the British. But the three of them won't.

"So what exactly is Chairman Chen's plan?" Qi Huishen asked.

"The plan is very simple, they want to blackmail us, but there is no door. However, normal business is welcome. If they pretend to be sideways, we'll fight them! It's only been a few years since the Boer War? If the British really heal the scars and forget the pain, we will give them another time. In the end, Chen Ke's tone was already a little murderous.

"But our troops are on the outside right now." Pu Guanshui finally said what he was worried about.

To this question, Chen Ke sneered, "Outside line? Why did you come to Wuhan Consular Corps this time? Why not the consular corps in Shanghai, or the embassy corps in Beijing? Because now our troops are in Wuhan, and our troops themselves occupy a great advantage. The gang was frightened, and that's why they came. Do you really think they're rushing to blackmail us? ”

Switch angles, and all your worries change immediately. Pu Guanshui's eyes lit up.

As Chen Ke spoke, his thoughts also turned around, and his expression finally calmed down, "That's why they have to ask us if we want to abide by the treaty signed by the Manchus and them, these people have no negotiation authorization at all, and they are not qualified to sign any legal documents with us." Even if they do, their legal effect is minimal. We don't have to be afraid. ”

After determining their bottom line, the comrades of the People's Party quickly discussed the results. The negotiations were held again, and no matter how much the people on the other side coerced and lured, the BJP's attitude remained the same. Since the BJP was not involved in those negotiations, those agreements were not binding on the BJP. The People's Party can only reach an agreement on the basis of protecting normal life and work, and if it wants to sign an agreement politically and economically, the People's Party only negotiates with the heads of embassies in Britain, France, Germany, and Russia. Chen Ke also used a term that was difficult for Yan Fu to translate, "the subject of the law is unknown" to deal with the diplomats.

After several tug-of-wars and intermissions, the group of diplomats was able to scare Chen Ke's mind. They also offered to visit the base area. Chen Ke told them that now this is a war zone, and a military management system is being implemented. Until the war was over, Chen Ke was unable to help in this regard.

In the final stage, the diplomats finally got to a pragmatic point. What does the BJP think about the entry of foreign warships into BJP-controlled ports. "As I said earlier, we believe that maintaining the status quo is in the interest of all parties. In the absence of hostilities, we believe that it is necessary to maintain the status quo. ”

The meaning of these words is very rich, and the foreign devil diplomats exchanged glances, and their lowest diplomatic purpose has been achieved. These people immediately stood up to congratulate Chen Ke and praised Chen Ke's attitude as pragmatic and constructive.

Chen Ke, as the host, said, "After frank talks, the two sides have fully exchanged views and enhanced mutual understanding, and the talks are beneficial." "As a finale.

In the cafeteria, everyone in the conference was fed and a few dishes that were common in the base were served. They are all rural tastes, with big oil and heavy flavor, and they are very fragrant. Each person was given a bottle of "Erdao Brew" that was prepared to be sold in the base area with alcohol mixed with ordinary shochu, and although there was no band, the Russian Maozi was full of praise as soon as he tasted this wine, and the left and right bottles were filled up. British and German diplomats praised the peasant cuisine. The French were a little confused, and Chen Ke talked about the French dishes he had heard of, such as lamb chops with herbs, fish soup from Provence, and fondue with red wine cheese. When it comes to French food, the French have to brag a few words about French food. This blow also has an appetite, and with an appetite, saliva gushes out. Chen Ke was not polite, and praised the delicious local dishes. And seriously, it's a really good dish too. In the end, even the French were well fed.

Before leaving, give a gift, Russian wool is needless to say that it is a case of wine. Other countries sent cigarettes and silk from the base area, and Chen Ke also sent a few bristle toothbrushes from the base area. Then he talked about the silk in the base area, and the bristles were durable. Naturally, diplomats understand what this means. "Mr. Chen, we hope to see you again in Wuhan. We'll be able to get you back at that point. ”

"I'll definitely send someone over as soon as possible." Chen Ke expressed his views very seriously.