It's eleven o'clock in the middle of the night, and although most of the residents of Beijing have fallen asleep, Morrison is still not done as a journalist, and as usual, he is still busy under the lamp.

This is a comprehensive essay on the Sino-Japanese War. Morrison had to be completed before dawn. Now he's finished writing the draft and putting the finishing touches on it.

Now Morrison lives in the British Legation in Jiaomin Lane, east of Beijing, where he was invited by the British Minister to China, Zhu Erdian. The reason for such enthusiasm is mainly due to gratitude. The photographs taken by Morrison on the day of the air raid on Arthur helped Jurtier to somewhat redeem some of the British government's trust in him, and of course he was very grateful to Morrison, so he warmly invited him to stay at the legation and promised to provide Morrison with some valuable news.

As for Morrison, he knew very well why he lived in the legation because he was not completely out of vanity. In fact, Zhu Erdian also told him that from the very beginning of the war, the British government has been paying close attention to the development of the situation, and has tried to mediate internationally, just because China and Japan do not want to sit down at the negotiating table before deciding the winner, so the British government's mediation efforts have not had any effect at present, but on the other hand, the British government has not given up its efforts and is still running between the parties, trying to unite the United States, France, Russia, Italy, Belgium and other countries have mediated again, and if mediation can be reached, Zhu Erdian will definitely hand over the right to report to Morrison as soon as possible, and it is for this reason. Morrison lived in the British Legation and waited for the rabbit.

Originally, he planned to go to the front line in person, but because the Chinese side refused to give foreign reporters the right to cover the front, Morrican could only sit in the rear, using the network he had built up over the years, to get enough information from Chinese politicians, these days. Li Yuanhong, Tang Hualong, and other high-ranking officials were the focus of Morrison's interviews, and the information they revealed was often more detailed than that revealed by the press spokesmen of the Chinese central government, because their source was the presidential palace, which was the command center of the war, and Mr. President was obviously very happy to indirectly disclose information and opinions that were inconvenient to be directly disclosed to reporters through Li and Tang.

It must be admitted that in this war, the performance of the squadron is remarkable, judging from the battlefield photos that were distributed at the press conference, the squadron not only has the advantage in the air, but also progresses smoothly on land, and the Japanese army is obviously difficult to withstand the fierce offensive of the squadron, and from a strategic point of view, from the very beginning of the war, Japan has fallen behind.

In other words, for this Sino-Japanese war, China's central government is fully prepared, from public opinion to logistics, from the army to the people, all aspects are very well prepared, just like the "Franco-Prussian War" that broke out in Europe decades ago, on the surface, the explosion of this war is accidental, but in fact, this war is inevitable, inevitable, that

From the moment he took office, the "mad president" was actually preparing for this war.

It is precisely for this reason that Morrison is entitled "The Inevitable War", and he hopes to show the reader the entire process of the outbreak of the war through careful analysis, and at the same time analyze why the war is inevitable and the direction of the strategic pattern in the Far East after the end of the war.

In the past, Morrison had accurately predicted the coming to power of the "Far Eastern madman", and now, he intends to make another prediction, a prediction of the pattern of the Far East, if the future situation in the Far East is as Morrison expected, it will undoubtedly continue to enhance his popularity, which will be beneficial to his future exhibition, whether in the press or in the political circles.

It is precisely because of this that Morrison will stay up late to sort out the draft.

Finally, when all the drafts were finished, Morrison looked up and looked at the alarm clock, which was already half past eleven in the evening.

Remembering that he would have to deal with some Chinese politicians tomorrow, Morrison decided to rest as soon as possible, but before he could finish cleaning up, he heard the sound of people talking in the corridor outside the door.

Pulling open the door and looking out into the hallway, Morrison saw the British Minister to China, Juerdian, now. The gentleman was in his dressing gown, talking to a secretary of the legation, and because of his agitation, Zhu Erdian's voice was obviously a little loud. He didn't seem to notice that it had affected Morrison, who lived next door to him.

As he turned his back to Morrison, he did not notice that Morrison was eavesdropping on his conversation with his secretary until the secretary left, and Jurcan turned around and went back to the house. This is now Mo who is standing at the door next door

Follow.

Zhu Erdian smiled professionally and glanced at Morrison's outfit in amazement

Fen.

"Mr. Morrison, you are undoubtedly the best journalist, and you are still working at such a late hour."

Morrison ignored Jurdian's compliments. He walked up to Zhu Erdian and curiously asked him about the news that the secretary had just relayed.

"Mr. Minister, if I heard me wrong, it seems that the Japanese want to negotiate with China.

Seeing that Morrison did not hide his eavesdropping behavior just now, Zhu Erdian had to restrain his smile. A serious official.

"Mr. Morrison, I have nothing to say to you for the time being, but one thing is clear, since yesterday's newspaper published the news of the end of the Battle of Gaiping, many people have been speculating about the situation like you, and in the eyes of many people, the Japanese government may sit down at the negotiating table because of successive defeats, but I can only tell you now that there is no shortage of peaceful people in Japanese political circles, but there are also many people who advocate war. The situation in the Far East is still linked, and you and I have come to the conclusion that even if the Japanese government shines on the dam... There is also no uniform policy. ”

At this point, Zhu Erdian said "good night" and went back to the bedroom, seemingly not intending to reveal this inside information to Morrison.

Morrison's thinking was active, but at the same time very depressed, judging from Zhu Erdian's performance, even if the Japanese government had indeed revealed its intention to seek peace negotiations with the Chinese side. I am afraid that the British minister will not reveal this news to the outside world now.

"It seems that this war has indeed caused a lot of confusion for the Japanese government, and it is clear that the divisions within the Japanese government have further intensified.

With this question in mind, Morrison sat back at his desk, took out the comprehensive draft, and decided to continue revising.

At the same time that Morrison was sitting in his guest room at the British Legation in Dongjiaomin Lane, Beijing, he was working hard to polish the draft, and in a gray western-style building on Victoria Road in the British Concession in Tianjin, two Chinese businessmen were also staying up late to meet guests.

The building belonged to the former Prince of Qingqing, Yi Li, and the two Chinese businessmen who were meeting with the guests were Gao Tingbi and Liu Renxiang, who were the special envoys sent to Tianjin by the presidential palace to seek contact with Gu Ben to see if he could negotiate an end to the Sino-Japanese war at the right time.

Bu Tingbi and Liu Renxiang originally lived in a hotel in the British Concession in Tianjin, and like a few days ago, when Skynet got dark, the two went to bed separately, but they slept until the night of the cow, and they were called up again, and the person who called them up was Yisuke, who told Bu Tingbi and Liu Renxiang that the Japanese Chamber of Commerce sent someone over again, saying that they would meet them overnight to discuss the matter of revising the negotiation conditions between the two sides.

Ministry Tingbi and Liu Renxiang had no choice but to rush to Yisuke's apartment in full clothes to meet with the Japanese negotiator Takao Heng.

This is not the first time the two sides have met, and the point of negotiation is still set in the living room of Yi Zhu's apartment, like last time, Yi Hui quickly left the living room, leaving only Bu Tingbi and Liu Renxiang to deal with Takao Heng.

Since they received a report from the central authorities yesterday and learned of the results of the Gaiping Campaign, Bu Tingbi and Liu Renxiang are now full of confidence, and they insist on refusing to compromise, but as the other party to the negotiations, Takao Heng obviously also went all out to complete his task, patiently proposed amendments to the conditions for peace talks put forward by the Chinese side, and hoped that the Chinese side would revise some of the terms of the peace talks.

"Please understand that the issue of the status of the island of Taiwan, which is in the interests of the Empire of Japan, cannot be included in the conditions for negotiations in any way, nor can the Ryukyu Islands be included in the conditions for negotiations. The question of reparations is also non-negotiable, and in any case, the Empire of Japan will not accept a request for war reparations to your side. This would anger the Japanese people and prolong the war. This is very disadvantageous for both your country and the Empire of Japan, and a protracted war will lead to a total economic decline in both countries. And this. The reason why we are willing to negotiate with your country is precisely what the Japanese Chamber of Commerce wants to avoid is based on this consideration, and I hope that you will understand our position. ”

Takao Heng calmly put forward his revisions, but from the bottom of his heart, he did not have any confidence in this negotiation, after all, now the initiative on the battlefield is in the hands of the squadron, unless the Japanese army can reverse the disadvantage on the battlefield, otherwise, no matter how good the diplomat's eloquence is useless, in the final analysis, the diplomatic position is determined by strength.

Contrary to Takao Heng's expectations, after he proposed amendments, Gao Tingbi and Liu Renxiang did not refuse.

"Mr. Takao, your worries are not unreasonable, we Chinese businessmen are also worried that the war may drag down the economy, but China is a big country, the domestic market is not yet completely saturated, even if the war is protracted, China's economy will still be more tenacious than Japan's, and Japan lacks raw materials. If the war is not over. Japan's industry will soon be doomed. ”

Takao Heng was a little surprised by the few words of the Ministry of Tingbi, and he knew that the other party did not dwell on the topic of the conditions for peace talks, which seemed to show that the conditions for peace talks on the Chinese side could not be modified, but the key was how

Change.

"Then please look at our revised conditions, if you think fit. We can negotiate right away. ”

Takao immediately handed over the revised negotiation conditions proposed by the Japanese side.

Ministry Tingbi received the Japanese side's terms for peace talks. But there was no promise to negotiate immediately.

"Please go back and wait for news first. We will contact you after we have studied the terms of the peace talks. ”

Both Bu Tingbi and Liu Renxiang are very clear. Now the Japanese are anxious to hold peace talks with China because they have suffered successive defeats at the front. At this time, the Japanese government has reached a crossroads, where to go, but the choice is no longer entirely in the hands of the Japanese government.

After Takao Heng left, Gao Tingbi and Liu Renxiang immediately returned to the hotel where they were staying, and used the cable telegraph network to take a telegram to the General Chamber of Commerce in Beijing. The status of contacts with the Japanese side again was reported.

Half an hour later, I called back, and the opinion of the General Chamber of Commerce was actually the opinion of the president.

"Don't rush to talk, wait first."

Gao Tingbi and Liu Renxiang were a little surprised by the president's opinion, but the two understood the president's position.

As a result, Gao Tingbi and Liu Renxiang found advisers to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and determined delaying tactics overnight, and they also understood that the reason why the president was so confident. I am afraid that it is because the situation on the battlefield is becoming more and more favorable to China.

Like most Chinese people, Gao Tingbi and Liu Renxiang were also waiting for news of victory. If you want to know what will happen next, please log in to , more chapters, support the author. Hold on to the original reading!