The sun is rising, and a new day has begun.

There was a torrential rain last night. The high temperature, which had lasted for many days, dropped slightly, but as soon as the sun came out, the temperature immediately rose, and before eight o'clock, the temperature in this room was almost thirty-five degrees Celsius.

The British Minister to China, Mr. Zhu Erdian, studied with great interest the temperature gauge hanging on the wall, which he had specially instructed his secretary to buy on the street a few days ago, this thermometer was a commodity made by a Chinese company, and now this thermometer was hanging under the British thermometer, and Zhu Erdian was seriously comparing the slight difference between the readings of the two.

The reading of this temperature gauge made in China is slightly lower than that of the temperature gauge made in England, although Zhu Erdian's patriotism tells him that the reading of the British temperature gauge is correct, but Mr. Minister also has to admit that this temperature gauge made in China should be regarded as a qualified commodity, at least, it is a small evidence of the industrial exhibition of this ancient oriental country.

Who would have thought? However, in just two years, Chinese factories have begun to mass-produce temperature gauges, although this is not a high-tech product, but it is undeniable that it reflects China's industrial exhibition from one side.

From the bottom of his heart, Zhu Erdian admires President Zhao of the Republic of China very much. Without the foresight of that Mr. President, perhaps the country's industry would not have achieved such remarkable results.

The "four-year industrial exhibition plan" must admit that this is a very creative plan, by the central government, standing at a strategic height to develop a clear and detailed plan for the country's light and heavy industry exhibition, and all the key industrial projects in this plan are not coordinated with each other, which is a little like building a house, before construction, first design a blueprint, and then build according to the blueprint, although in the construction may make modifications to some deficiencies of the original plan, but the basic framework is unchanged, And the one who presided over all this was President Zhao.

Zhu Erdian did not doubt the ability of that "mad president" at all, if he had scoffed at Mr. President's age before, then now, he no longer dared to despise this young Mr. President, "young" is not Mr. President's shortcoming, on the contrary, it is his merit, a young, talented, ambitious national president, which is enough to make Zhu Erdian awe-inspired, and then there is the worry that ensues.

Can you not be worried? If China were an ally of Britain, Britain would not be worried that this ally would have a good supreme ruler, on the contrary. Britain may even rejoice in this, the stronger the friend, the safer the UK, especially in the current international situation, the UK needs a wise friend more, as for the future, whether the friend will turn against him, this is not a question that British politicians are in the mood to consider now.

But the reality is cruel, the relationship between China and Germany is getting closer and closer, the two countries are rapidly getting closer, China is much more likely to become an ally of Germany than with Britain to become an ally, for this, Zhu Erdian is very worried, the British government is also worried, if the ruler of China is a mediocre ruler, the British have no need to worry, but now, it is the young, talented, ambitious "Far Eastern madman" who rules the country, which really makes the British feel uneasy.

In order to warn the Chinese, and even more so to warn the "mad president", the British government instructed Juerdian to go to the presidential palace when he thought it was "appropriate". Verbal protest to the President, who was seeking an alliance with Germany.

Just yesterday, Zhu Erdian formally lodged a verbal protest to the "mad president" on the issue of the Sino-German alliance, and as for whether it will have any effect, he does not care, because he insists on his own view, that is, the "mad president" will never succumb to any simple diplomatic pressure and verbal threats, and if he wants to truly prevent China from forming an alliance with Germany, the best way is to directly intervene militarily and force China to submit by force.

The problem is also here: on the one hand, even if the means of force are used, the "mad president" will not easily give in, and on the other hand, the British government does not have any determination to shift its strategic focus to the Far East at all, and the chaos in Europe has already made the British government unable to cope with it, where is the energy to pay attention to the Far East strategy?

Putting pressure on China through Japan? Since the outbreak of the anti-Japanese independence movement on the Korean Peninsula, Japan's domestic economy has been in dire condition due to the war, and it has not been easy to maintain civil strife without exploding. Moreover, the current China is no longer the China of the First Sino-Japanese War, and as long as this "mad president" still holds the central power, China's industrial strength will gradually grow stronger.

Past. China is a piece of fat meat, and any of the great powers can go over and take a bite, and now, a hard bone has been embedded in this piece of fat, and if the great powers want to continue to bite this piece of fat, they must be prepared to fly their teeth.

It is no wonder that Mr. Minister will study this temperature gauge for several minutes after breakfast, in Mr. Minister's view, this temperature gauge in front of him is not only an industrial product, but also an ambition, which is enough to prove that his caution is very wise, and in yesterday's verbal protest negotiations, he did not use too many radical words to avoid irritating the nerves of the "mad president".

However, it is impossible to accomplish the task assigned by the British Government by relying on prudence alone, so today Zhu Erdian will go to the Presidential Palace again to make another representation with Mr. President, and this negotiation is his personal decision, and it can also be regarded as the decision of the British Government, because the British Government has granted him full powers, and when necessary, Zhu Erdian can decide the time of the negotiation at his own discretion. and the strategy used in the negotiations.

Zhu Erdian took his eyes off the Chinese thermometer, looked at the mirror, straightened his bow tie in front of the mirror, and called the embassy secretary who had been standing aside to go to the telegraph room, and first call the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China, so as not to be rude, after all, the current China is no longer the China of the past, and for the government officials of this country, "dignity" is no longer an empty term, but has a practical meaning. Gone are the glamorous days of foreign envoys in China.

Before Zhu Erdian could put it on his head, a secretary of the embassy hurriedly walked up to him and handed over a business card.

"Mr. Minister, Mr. Yukichi Kohata, the new Minister of Japan to China, would like to have a brief conversation with you."

"Japan's new minister to China is in Beijing so soon?"

Zhu Erdian was a little surprised, in fact, the former Japanese minister to China, Ijiin Hikoyoshi, only formally received the domestic transfer order yesterday morning, and it is obvious that before Ijiin Hikoyoshi received the telegram of resignation, the person who took over was already on his way to China.

"Mr. Japanese Minister, please wait in the reception room."

Zhu Erdian ordered, and then continued to arrange the bow tie in front of the mirror, while also pondering the true intention of the Japanese minister's visit.

The news of the Japanese Government's intention to change its envoy to China has long been circulating in the diplomatic circles of Dongjiaomin Lane, and now it has finally been confirmed, which makes Zhu Erdian feel a little sad, not for the former Japanese minister to China, Ijiin Hikoyoshi, but for himself, as a diplomat, he knows very well that on the issue of negotiations with China, the Japanese Government and the British Government have encountered trouble, and the governments of the two countries feel helpless against the current delicate and fragile balance situation in the Far East. The Japanese minister to China was dismissed because he did not complete the tasks assigned by the government, and it was precisely from this that Zhu Erdian's sadness arose, the so-called "rabbit dies and fox sorrow", "things hurt and the like", Zhu Erdian is very worried that he will leave this oriental country in such a gloomy way, and then spend the rest of his life in a small and cold office in London, depressed and down.

After arranging his bow tie, Jurdian took his top hat, combed his hair, and hurried to the reception room with an assistant.

When they arrived at the reception room, the two Japanese who were sitting in front of them hurriedly stood up and bowed to Zhu Erdian.

"Your Excellency, below you is Yukichi Kohata, the new Minister of the Japanese Empire to China. This is my translator and embassy clerk Hiroshi Takao. This presumptuous visit is precisely for the sake of friendly relations between the two countries. ”

The Japanese minister introduced himself to the British minister, and his slightly arrogant tone made Zhu Erdian a little unhappy.

"Your Excellency, you are gracious, the British Empire and the Japanese Empire are allies, and as diplomats of our allies, we ought to move around each other as much as we could, and at the same time strengthen our personal friendship and further enhance the friendly relations between our two countries. By the way, I wonder if Mr. Hikoyoshi Ijiin is still in the Japanese Legation? ”

Zhu Erdian sat down on the sand, took the cup of black tea brought by the secretary, and spoke in a standard diplomatic tone close to that of the Japanese minister.

"It's a pity that Mr. Hikoyoshi of Ijiin left Beijing an hour ago." The Japanese minister also sat back.

"I was going to do it for Mr. Hikoyoshi Ijiin. As a matter of fact, it seems to me that Mr. Hikoyoshi Ijiin is conscientious in his duties in the negotiations with China, and he has been in China for many years, and he has a wealth of experience, and I think that if the Japanese government keeps him in Beijing, he will be able to play a greater role, and Mr. Kohata will be able to have a good assistant. ”

Juerdian shrugged his shoulders, picked up the silver spoon, and stirred it in the black tea, and then, he heard the voice of Kohata Yukichi.

"Your Excellency, I heard that Your Excellency is about to go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China, I don't know what you are trying to negotiate for?"

Zhu Erdian raised his head and put down the silver spoon, not intending to hide his purpose in the slightest.

"Actually, I went to the Foreign Ministry just to express my views on the alliance between China and Germany."

"Your Excellency, then, excuse me, may I go with Mr. Minister? At present, our Government is also worried about the proximity of China and Germany, which would be a major threat to peace in the Far East if China and Germany formally concluded a military alliance treaty. ”

Seeing the Japanese minister's request, Zhu Erdian shrugged his shoulders noncommittally.

"Indeed, the Far East is now in a difficult situation, and if we want to avoid war, we must prevent the Sino-German alliance. Since Mr. Minister wants to come with me, let's go now. ”

Zhu Erdian stood up, took the top hat from the secretary, and put it on his head, and at the same time, the two Japanese diplomats also sorted out their appearances, and then the ministers of the two countries left the British legation in several diplomatic carriages, and the carriages drove out of Dongjiaomin Lane and headed for West Chang'an Street. (！ )