A buffet was used as an informal Western-style banquet to entertain U.S. Secretary of State Lasker and Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Kennedy's delegation and his entourage did not cater to the habits of the United States, but rather a cold dinner party was more suitable to create a relaxed atmosphere, in which Chinese and American officials communicated with each other and exchanged feelings with each other, and exchanged views with each other informally and privately, so as to lay some foundation for normal negotiations. At the buffet, guests and hosts are free to move around and choose their favorite food, without the constraints of a formal banquet. In addition, it is relatively simple to prepare, convenient and hygienic, and the cost is relatively low. It is most appropriate to entertain the secret delegation of Lao Mei in such a form that is neither hot nor cold, neither far nor close, neither humble nor arrogant.

But no matter what form of banquet is adopted, in any case, the guest of honor is an important object of the host's care. Buffets are no exception. At 7:30 p.m., U.S. Secretary of State Lasker and Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs B. Kennedy and his entourage did not wear formal clothes or ties, and came to the banquet hall in Building 18.

Chen Yi and Li Dawei accompanied Secretary of State Lasker and Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Bang Bong, respectively. Kennedy dined, which also reflected the host's care of the guest of honor at the cold reception.

"David": Your western food here is very authentic. Kennedy, eating a small piece of foie gras, took a sip of the cocktail and said to Li Dawei.

Soon after Kennedy became president of the United States, Li Dawei went to the United States and repeatedly discussed with the United States on the issue of recovering China's cultural relics lost to the United States and Sino-US space cooperation. John F. Kennedy, the national security adviser to the US president, held talks. So it's an old acquaintance. On this occasion, it is not rude to call Li Dawei by his name directly, and it will appear very affectionate, but Americans always say "Dawei" as "David". Li Dawei is also used to this.

"Thank you for the compliment, but to be honest, I have not studied Western food, in the Yan'an period, when the conditions were very difficult, once we were a few comrades in the same cave, whimsically wanted to make pizza for Western food, but the result was a mess, the bottom was burned black by the fire, and the top was still a slimy raw noodles, and a few of us still ate these burnt charcoal and raw noodles. Do you know? The charred charcoal and raw noodles are a month's allowance for me and these comrades. So I never wanted Western food again. Li Dawei casually interpreted the story of the older generation of revolutionaries into his own experience.

"Ha, Ha, Ha" Bang. Kennedy let out a hearty laugh that showed no artificiality in the laughter, which was the work of a politician. Nation. Kennedy touched the cup in Li Dawei's hand with the goblet in his hand, and said in a low voice: "David, you are not only a great prophet, but also a genius actor. Do you think I would really believe that you are a red guerrilla who came out of the Loess Plateau in western China? Then you'd underestimate us. ”

For Bang. When Kennedy said this, Li Dawei was not shocked in the slightest, and if the United States did not know enough about a person who had dealt with the United States for more than 10 years, then the US intelligence agencies were really a bunch of idiots. But Li Dawei still lost no time in using the mystery of the United States to put pressure on the United States. Kennedy said, "Oh, believe it or not, I'm a red guerrilla from the Loess Plateau in northern Shaanxi." But you say I'm a great prophet, and I'm telling you a new prophecy of mine right now. Li Dawei pretended to be mysterious and said: "You, the United States, must accept China's 'Monroe Doctrine' this time, and the United States must withdraw from Asia." Otherwise, the United States will face the greatest catastrophe since its founding. ”

Nation. Kennedy looked at the somewhat mysterious figure standing beside him with suspicion, took a big sip of wine, and then pretended to be calm and said: "To maintain stability in Asia, the Americans need to stay, and if the Asian problem is not handled well, the consequences will be really catastrophic, as you said." ”

Li Dawei said calmly and lightly: "The disaster you are talking about are two different concepts, and the disaster I am talking about refers to the biggest disaster since the founding of the United States, not the disaster in Asia as you said, let alone the disaster in China. If the current Sino-US issue cannot be resolved in this negotiation, the United States will only be a stepping stone for China to become the world's largest power. Bang, do you believe me, the prophet? ”

Nation. Kennedy drank all the wine in the glass, put the cup on a large plate on the desk, and said to Li Dawei with a smile: "David, you are intimidating me, right?" ”

"No, no, we're old friends, and I'm so likely to intimidate you. This is just a prophecy, or a friend's advice. You can take what I said as a joke. Li Dawei looked at the state. Kennedy drank all the wine in his glass, put it on the table, and said, "Okay, old friend, let's have something more, I think it's better to have some black tea." ”

"OK, that's exactly what I wanted." Like old friends, the two walked side by side towards the wine station.

Nation. Kennedy did not want to show too much weakness in his dealings with China, and he was at a disadvantage in diplomatic psychology. If you show too much weakness, you will suffer from it, but it may create an opportunity for China to take advantage of it, and China will be held back in the next negotiations. It will make China have some plans against the United States and make the United States fall into passivity. He kept reminding himself to be stronger. So as he walked, he still said to Li Dawei like boiled duck meat, "David, if there is a situation like the one you predicted, I think we in the United States will also bravely face the kind of disaster you said in our own way." ”

"Really?" Li Dawei put on a very surprised expression, and turned his face to look at Bang, who was walking side by side with him. Kennedy, with a little sarcasm, said, "Mr. Kennedy, you really have a surname." I think that you in the United States have come to this point, and it is not a sentence or two that can be frightened, but I hope that the United States can come up with the American way you mentioned to solve this disaster. But I don't think there's much time left for you. ”

Nation. Kennedy bluffed: "Aren't you really afraid of nuclear war in China?" ”

"Afraid, how can you not be afraid! If you imagine that the thermonuclear warheads of dozens of strategic nuclear missiles are roaring into the atmosphere at the same time, and these thermonuclear warheads explode over densely populated large cities, all the material achievements that mankind has spent hundreds of years building will be destroyed in one fell swoop, and millions of lives will be reduced to ashes at this moment. You are a statesman, and you know best that for the good of the country, in order not to suffer this destruction for your own country, in order to defend the people of your country from this catastrophe, there must be some country to bear this destruction, and there must be a part of the people who will bear these disasters, although some of them are absolutely innocent. ”

Li Dawei's remarks are not entirely just a threat to the United States, he knows very well that China does not have the absolute strength to occupy the Americas and Europe, that China's navy is not strong enough, and that China has no bases to gain a foothold in Europe and the United States. But the ability to destroy American industry with nuclear weapons is still there. So China is not worried about a head-on conflict with the United States, in fact, there has already been a head-on conflict, so what else does China have to fear? It's time for a showdown with the United States. China is ready for a nuclear war with the United States, but this kind of nuclear means cannot be easily used unless it is absolutely necessary. In this regard, Li Dawei is slightly different from Deng Feng, who advocated taking advantage of the immaturity of US missile technology to use nuclear weapons to solve the problem once and for all. Li Dawei, on the other hand, was more in favor of the political strategy of the supreme leader to surrender without a fight. Although he does not know what the United States really thinks and the bottom line of the United States, the fact that the high-level US delegation has hurried to Yanjing shows that the United States still does not want to wage war with China in the Asian region, and at least the US political axe is to choose between war and peace, and at this time of hesitation, it is absolutely necessary to put some psychological pressure on the United States psychologically and conduct psychological warfare.

"Hi, David, you look better than you did in the morning. What are you talking about? U.S. Secretary of State Lasker led an American girl with an elegant temperament to the wine table and greeted Li Dawei very warmly. At the same time, he introduced his daughter who studied at Yenching University to Li Dawei, "Anne, come and get to know, this is Mr. David Lee, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of China. ”

"It's not davidlee, but lidawei" Lasker's daughter softly corrected his father's pronunciation and the order of the first and last names in English, and then took a step forward, generously stretched out his hand to shake hands with Li Dawei, and introduced himself in a very Chinese accent: "Hello Uncle Li!" Hua Mei, a fourth-year student in the Department of History at Yenching University, said.

"Good! Hello Huamei students! Li Dawei shook hands with Anne, the daughter of U.S. Secretary of State Lasker, and asked with great concern: "Are you okay in Yanjing?" Are you used to it? ”

"Everything is fine, I have been coming to Yanjing for more than 5 years, and everything is very accustomed." Anne replied with a smile.

"Okay, it's been more than 5 years." Li Dawei was really like an elder, and asked enthusiastically, "Huamei, let's graduate soon, what are your plans?" ”

"I want to find a job in Yanjing, and I want to study for a master's degree at Renmin University while working." Anne replied earnestly.

"Okay, ambitious! Let me know if you have any difficulties, and I will try my best to help you solve them. Then Li Dawei turned his face to the US Secretary of State and said, "Mr. Lasker, you have done a really good job of secrecy, Anne has been in China for more than five years, why haven't I heard you talk about it?" ”

Lasker thought to himself, this david, Lee can really act, can you not know that my daughter is in China? Even if you didn't know it before, you should have known it when I became Secretary of State. But thinking like this, I did say: "I'm afraid of causing you trouble, and besides, it is also an exercise for the child to let her read and face a new world on her own." Hasn't she had a good life in the past 5 years? Haha, coming to China to study, all this is Anne's own decision. ”

"Uncle Li, it's not too late for you to know now, and I want you to take care of me in the future." Huamei lost no time in saying, "Uncle Li, can I take a picture with you if I want to?" ”

"Absolutely."

Huamei took off the small digital camera made in China that hung around her neck, handed it to her father and told Lasker how to use it, and then took Li Dawei's left arm and put on a very intimate gesture and a very sweet expression. It has left a "capital" for his future development in China. After that, I left very interestingly.

Nation. Kennedy poured a cup of black tea for himself, poured some milk into the black tea and put two pieces of sugar cubes in the teacup, and then stirred slowly with a spoon, looking at Li Dawei and Anne taking a photo, when Anne left, he said to Li Dawei: "David, it is understandable that your Chinese side asks the United States not to interfere in Asian affairs, and Asian affairs should be settled by the Asians themselves." You know that the United States has huge interests in Asia, and you are asking us to withdraw all the US troops stationed in Asia, who will protect the interests of the United States? The existence of the United States in Asia is a historical formation, and even the United States has pledged to Europe that the United States will not interfere in European affairs, including the affairs of Europe's existing colonies in the Americas. It's a respect for history. The claims you are making now have no international or historical basis. ”

Li Dawei saw the National Security Advisor to the President of the United States. Kennedy was still unrelenting about the U.S. withdrawal from Asia, trying to use the West's colonial history as an example.

Li Dawei pointed to an empty table near the window and made a gesture of please. Then the three of them each sat around the table with their own drinks. After Li Dawei saw that everyone was seated, he took a sip of tea and said goodbye to Bang. Kennedy said: The so-called history is the fact of the past. I don't know, what era of history do you mean by history? Historically, Asia is the Asia of Asians, just as Europe is Europe of Europeans. If we want to talk about history, let's start with the history of the Americas that you are familiar with. The indigenous people of the Americas were Indians who arrived on the American continent from Asia about 40,000 years ago by crossing the Bering Strait or by land bridges over frozen straits. In 1492, the European Columbus arrived in the Americas, and then in 1499, the Italian explorer Amerigo accompanied the fleet led by the Portuguese Ojeda from the sea along the route taken by Columbus to the American continent and named the so-called New World after him as America, and then Spain and Portugal were the first to migrate to the Americas, and later the Netherlands, England, and France also immigrated there. In 1776, the Americas gave birth to the first Western colonial reading nation, that is, you, the United States. ”

(To be continued)