The second trace is very low, and it is still snowing, although it is afternoon, but the street is redundant with a few people, but those children who set off firecrackers are still chasing their joy in the alley, and the sound of "crackling" firecrackers comes and goes, making people feel a little New Year's atmosphere.

Indeed, the traditional Chinese New Year is not far away. In ten days it will be Chinese New Year's Eve. According to tradition, this should be the time for Chinese families to reunite, and even Huaqiao, which is far away in Nanyang, has returned to his hometown, and often stays in his hometown until the beginning of spring before rushing back to Nanyang to continue working.

However, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tang Shaoyi cannot rush back to Guangdong to meet with his clansmen now, and the reason is not complicated, that is, he is too busy with work and heavy government affairs. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is no different from other departments, and most of the people who deal with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are foreigners and foreign governments, and the customs of each country are different, in the eyes of foreigners. The Spring Festival of the Chinese is a custom of an agricultural society and does not meet the requirements of an industrial society. Therefore. Foreigners also don't usually understand the meaning of the Chinese New Year in particular. So. Recent times. The envoys of various countries were still rubbing their feet in Tang Shaoyi's office, and the foreign guests came. There is something please, Tang Shaoyi can't tell the other party "I want to go back to my hometown for the New Year", so. He could only be on duty, hoping that the envoys would not come to disturb his reunion with his family on Chinese New Year's Eve.

Of course, foreign envoys cannot be blamed entirely for this, and China has indeed participated in a lot of international activities in recent times, on the one hand, on the issue of the reorganization of the Far East Peace Committee, and on the other hand. Even the military intervention of the Entente in the Russian Revolution was inseparable from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Tang Shaoyi could only pick up this burden and share the worries of the center and the president.

Now, Tang Shaoyi is on the orders of the president to go to the train station to pick up a very special guest, this guest is Callaghan, a Russian. And he was not an ordinary Russian, he was in fact the plenipotentiary diplomatic representative of the Soviet Russian government, who had come to China for high-level face-to-face talks with Mr. Chinese President.

Callahan's journey was very hard, and he came from Petrograd. First take a train to Omsk, the front line, rush to Central Asia under artillery fire, then rush from Central Asia to Persia, then find a way to enter the British colony of India, and then take a ship from India to the South Seas, and land in the French colony of Vietnam, and then take a train all the way north into Guangxi, China. Then from Guangxi, take a train to Guangdong, and transfer from Guangzhou to Beijing. It took almost half a world to come to China, to Beijing.

Callaghan came after the conclusion of the first round of talks between Chinese and Russian diplomatic representatives in Petrograd. And now, the fifth round of diplomatic talks between China and Russia has ended in Petrograd, and he has only arrived in Beijing, during which time he has been on the road. His retinue was reduced from fifteen to nine. Others either turned back halfway or fell ill in a foreign land. With such a pious diplomatic corps, Tang Shaoyi should of course rush to the train station to greet him in person.

Originally. The president was going to personally rush to the train station to greet him. However, Tang Shaoyi persuaded the general manager to dispel this idea, and Tang Shaoyi's reason was also very sufficient, that is, not to let the Entente countries have a "delusion"; after all, so far, no country has diplomatically recognized the Soviet Russian government, and if the news of the Chinese president's meeting with the Soviet Russian diplomatic envoy spreads, I am afraid that it will attract the soothing of Britain, the United States, and other countries, after all, Mr. President is now also entertaining the diplomatic envoy representing the Russian tsarist government as a distinguished guest. Against this background, how can the president at the same time receive a diplomatic representative of another regime that claims to represent the interests of the Russian people? Do so. Doesn't it recognize the coexistence of two Russias? This is dividing Russia! Even if the Entente is not angry. His Excellency the Regent of Russia would have been furious. And once a god sticks go crazy, no one knows what he will do, and maybe he will fall headlong to Japan.

Therefore, in the end, Tang Shaoyi rushed to meet the Soviet Russian diplomatic envoy, and for the sake of secrecy. Tang Shaoyi is also a light car. But it was with two cars from the Ministry of the Interior. One Tang Shaoyi sits, and the other his bodyguard sits in the other, and the only entourage that followed Tang Shaoyi's actions was a Russian translator and the diplomatic star Gu Weijun.

Correspondingly. The Soviet Russian diplomatic envoy also kept a low profile. The public identity was that of a Russian merchant in exile in China, and his entourage had all changed their documents in Guangzhou, so even if the news of Tang Shaoyi's meeting with them spread, others would only think that Tang was meeting with a group of Russian industrialists, not a diplomatic representative of Red Russia.

In this way, when Tang Shaoyi and his entourage rushed to the Daqianmen Railway Station in Beijing, he had to take a lot of trouble to get in touch with Mr. Callaghan, the Soviet Russian diplomatic envoy, which somewhat reminded Tang Shaoyi of the scene when he had a secret meeting with anti-Qing revolutionary organizations such as the League and the Liberation Society, although he himself had never seen it with his own eyes. However, since he often talked to Zhen Renfeng and Yang Wangpeng, he engaged in secret work for revolutionaries

In fact, in addition to inheriting some of the habits of the Chinese Society, the secret activities of the League and the Liberation Society also learned some techniques from the Russian anarchists who were in exile in Tokyo.

The dignified foreign minister also took up the task of secret joints. It was also in the capital of his own country, Tang Shaoyi felt a little nervous, so after connecting with Callahan, he didn't say much wordy, and immediately led Callahan into his car, as for Calahan's entourage, he followed Gu Weijun and then rushed to Xishan Hotel.

In order to avoid people's eyes, the president will also meet secretly with Callahan at the West Hill Hotel at the foot of the West Mountain. During this time, Callahan and his entourage also stayed at the Xishan Hotel, and were protected by the Ministry of the Interior, who did not allow anyone to approach them, nor did they approach anyone who did not have anything to do with them.

Depart Beijing Fuqianmen Railway Station. Tang Shaoyi instructed the driver to drive the car directly out of the city and drive straight to Xishan.

Taking advantage of the time to go to Xishan, Tang Shaoyi briefly had a conversation with Callahan. tested the other party's bottom line, and it was good to have a bottom in my heart.

Although Callaghan left Petrograd after the conclusion of the first round of Sino-Russian talks, he also made frequent telegraphic contacts with the Soviet and Russian diplomatic departments along the way, so he was also aware of the changes in the Soviet government's position on the issue of negotiations with China. Since the squadron took part in the Allied countries' military intervention against Russia, the Soviet and Russian sides changed their previous perfunctory stance and began to seriously study the proposals and conditions put forward by the Chinese diplomatic envoy. After several difficult diplomatic negotiations and bargaining, China's dual diplomatic and military means are pressing step by step. Eventually, the Russian government decided to make the necessary compromises on the redrawing of the northwestern border between China and Russia in exchange for respite.

At the same time, the Soviet Russian government also decided to seek a compromise with Germany, also in exchange for a respite, and as a friendly country to Germany, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also received accurate information from the German side, Tang Shaoyi knows that at present Germany's diplomatic envoy is in contact with the Soviet Russian diplomatic department in Petrograd, and judging from the current progress, it may not be long before a peace agreement between Germany and Soviet Russia will be reached to end the state of war between the two countries, and according to this agreement. Germany will occupy the Baltic States, Poland, Finland, Ukraine, the Caucasus and other regions. Once the agreement is signed, Russia will lose a large part of its territory, as well as at least 10 million laborers.

This was a rather harsh peace agreement, and the Russian government was actually intent on accepting it, which shows that in the face of both military attacks from the East and the West, the Russian government was in a difficult situation unless it first accepted the peace agreement. Otherwise. Soviet power will be in jeopardy.

Referring to the above realities, Tang Shaoyi insisted that China's position could be tougher in its negotiations with Soviet Russia, if possible. Not only should

Through his conversation with Callaghan, Tang Shaoyi further clarified his next negotiation strategy, which was to continue to exert strong pressure on the Soviet side to make greater concessions on the territorial issue in Central Asia, since Germany could occupy countries such as Finland and Poland that were subordinate to Russia. Then, China can also occupy the territories in Central Asia where armed rebellions have taken place, and in this way, it may be able to achieve the best strategic plan that the center envisioned back then.

Regarding the Central Government's Central Asia expansion strategy, Tang Shaoyi also knows the details, but at the same time, he is also very clear about his interest in Central Asia. Britain is no worse than China at all, and if it were to swallow Central Asia in one gulp, it would be impossible for Britain not to do something, so. As for how much territory should be swallowed in Central Asia, this must be grasped to a certain extent, so as not to arouse the hostility of the British government, but also not to be frightened by the bluff of Britain, after all, Britain is still at war.

Just sat in the car and pondered, and when the car arrived at the Xishan Hotel, it was almost dark, and Tang Shaoyi personally arranged for Callahan and others to stay in the hotel. After taking care of the security work of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, he went directly from the hotel to the commander-in-chief hall and told the president that everything had been arranged, and it was up to the president to meet the diplomatic envoy from Red Russia.

To Tang Shaoyi's surprise, the president told him on the phone that he would immediately rush to Xishan to meet the Soviet and Russian diplomatic envoys, and instructed Tang Shaoyi to arrange a dinner party, because Mr. President would have dinner with Mr. Callaghan and talk about the revolutionary situation in Eastern and Central Europe during the meal.