Britain asked for a meeting, and it was such an urgent attitude, which immediately made Zhou Ruidong realize that something might be wrong, and he immediately handed the top-secret report to Xu Shoushan, anyway, it is the work of the Ministry of Military Affairs, and it is a transaction at sea, General Xu will definitely be able to handle it, and Xu Shoushan took out a few telegrams and official documents in it and glanced at it, and immediately smiled.

10 minutes later, Zhou Ruidong met with British Minister Bauer in the side hall, "Dear Minister Bauer, you must have something very important coming so urgently, right?" ”

As a senior Chinese diplomat, Powell naturally knows the young Chinese premier very well, once it comes to national interests, this Premier Zhou has a much tougher attitude, and it is far more difficult to talk to than the earlier Chairman Qin Kai, and the news he brought today, to be honest, he also feels that the politicians in London are completely a bunch of political hooligans and brain-dead.

"Prime Minister, I bring greetings from Prime Minister Asquith, London would like to convey our invitation to you, we hope that a strong China will join the Anglo-French alliance to counter military provocations from Germany!" Speaking of this, Bauer did not forget to add a sentence, "Prime Minister Asquith asked me to assure you once again that the UK will ensure that it abides by the contents of the Sino-British London Agreement and guarantees China's right to trade freely in Europe!" ”

Invite China to join the camp of China, France and Russia...... Although China and Germany have always been relatively close, under the principle of putting national interests first, China can choose any ally...... However, it is completely impossible for China to make a statement at this moment, and as for joining the Entente, it is not in any way an option for him to do so at present.

"Minister Bauer. That's your war in Europe. Let's be honest. We have no intention of getting involved, our people will not be willing to engage in a war that does not belong to the East, you can get China's promises in the Far East, and of course we very much look forward to the restoration of peace in Europe, and at the same time, China's maritime power will ensure your country's free navigation rights in the Pacific and the pan-Indian Ocean, and the security of Chinese merchant ships in European waters. We also need the protection of all countries! ”

Zhou Ruidong remained silent, very clearly rejected the invitation of the British, and did not give Bauer any chance to show his diplomatic skills, the European war has obviously long gone beyond the scope of ordinary military conflicts, thousands of miles away, China will not be the wronged leader, however, the orders for armaments and military materials from Europe are gifts that cannot be refused at present.

Apparently not satisfied with the reply, Bauer immediately politely asked, "Prime Minister." Your country should at least declare its position on European issues, otherwise. It is inevitable that there will be some misunderstandings between our two countries in the Far East! ”

Misunderstand...... Zhou Ruidong was obviously very disgusted by this word, he immediately stood up straight, and stared at Power in a top-down posture, "Minister Power, China doesn't mind any misunderstanding at all, especially the misunderstanding created deliberately, in the Far East and the Pacific Ocean, we have enough strength to ensure that no misunderstanding occurs, please also tell your country's Indian Ocean Fleet!" ”

Although Bauer had long anticipated that the low-IQ politicians in London pinning their hopes on ceding some trivial interests to win over China would be a complete farce...... In fact, he was authorized by Asquith's cabinet to cede even minor interests in South Asia, Thailand, or even northern India, if China was willing to join the Entente.

The British Empire's most important resources consisted of ports and coastal riches all over the world, the barren lands of northern India, and troublesome local religious powers, which contributed almost zero to the colonies, and if some Asian interests could be given up, and China could give up its support for Germany, it would definitely be enough to deal a heavy blow to the German Empire.

However, he was not given much opportunity to lobby, and Zhou Ruidong politely terminated the discussion on this issue, and instead led the question to the border inspection that China and Britain were conducting in Australia...... Since the province of North Australia and the newly independent Australia have a long border, and both are inaccessible to the Gobi Desert, the two sides started the border survey work two years ago, but so far there is still no problem, and the border lines drawn on their respective maps cannot be traced at all in reality.

Bauer immediately realized that this was a hot potato, and he naturally realized that the information he had brought had been rejected by the Chinese side, so he had to immediately report China's movements to London, and the young prime minister's very resolute attitude obviously revealed an unusual message - the Chinese may not be optimistic about the war between Britain and France and Germany at all!

By the time Bauer returned to the consulate after a run around the Foreign Ministry, he was already convinced that the Chinese were only ready to use their forces in the Far East and the Pacific, and another statement from the old fritters in the Foreign Ministry conveyed another message that Beijing did not want any kind of war in the Far East, and even the war-declaring parties would see it as a provocation in China's sphere of influence.

He immediately sent an urgent telegram to London to send back the news from China as quickly as possible, knowing that the German power in the Far East was definitely a very powerful force among all countries...... In China's wars with the Philippines and Japan, the German side gained full benefits, and obtained the right to use two military fortresses in Subic Bay and Nagasaki respectively, which means that these two fortresses under the protection of Chinese power have the ability to attack Australia and the Indian Ocean at any time.

Of course, there was also the possibility that the Royal Navy would personally strike at the Germans, but it would be a terrible start to sail the Grand Fleet into Luzon at the risk of turning the other cheek with China, especially since China had promised to ensure the security of the British Empire in China's territorial waters...... However, China's current position completely breaks Britain's prediction that the bottom line that Britain can accept is that China declares neutrality, in which case at least the Germans will have trouble in the East.

"China declares the independence of the Far East from the European war ......"

"The Far East, the weakness of the empire......"

After the news reached London, it almost immediately triggered all kinds of speculation throughout the United Kingdom, after all, China's current statement is not very much in line with the Europeans' perception of the wartime position, neither participating in the war nor neutral, it is undoubtedly a peculiar wartime statement, and the Asquith cabinet is obviously not satisfied with Power's diplomatic mediation in the Far East, nor is it completely dissatisfied with China's attitude...... However, even in accordance with the Sino-British Treaty of London, China's current statement does not violate the agreement between the two sides in the slightest.

At a time when Britain was confused about the situation in the Far East, a series of sudden changes in the war in Europe suddenly caused Asquith's cabinet to send a brief note to Chen Bo, the Chinese ambassador to the United Kingdom, and Prime Minister Asquith was busy urgently meeting with the French envoy Pirma to discuss countermeasures......

On the 11th, after a brief halt to the offensive and the accumulation of strength, the strong force of the 21 divisions of the German Army rushed from Belgium and Luxembourg to Paris, the most sensitive target of France, in five directions.

On the afternoon of the 11th, Lille, an important city on the border between France and Belgium, was conquered by Germany, and the resistance of the 21st Division of the French Army stationed here was almost comparable to a show.

On the 12th, four divisions of the German Central Army, which had advanced from the east and west, surrounded Saint-Quentin, 140 kilometers from Paris......

On the same day, the four German cavalry regiments, which had marched from Lille on the right flank and along the railroad to Bruette, entered the encirclement set up by the French army, but the result was a great victory for the German cavalry regiments, and the French retreated all the way and evacuated the city...... Sedan, Reims, Lesheena...... None of the troops urgently deployed by the French War Ministry were able to hold their positions, and the German Army stormed Paris almost in a long-distance position. (To be continued......)