In the face of the sudden changes in China's situation, the British Legation was also nervously discussing its policy towards China.

The BJP was undoubtedly already an enemy, but the BJP was determined not to join the Entente and Allied powers, and this was the only place where the legation could breathe a sigh of relief. Britain will do everything it can to crack down on the People's Party, but it will also fight in many situations, and if the People's Party openly asks to join the Allies at the moment, Britain can only mobilize all its forces in the Far East to violently attack the People's Party forces. The People's Party said that it would never join the Central Powers, and there was no incident to prove that the People's Party had colluded with Germany in private, which would have allowed Britain to organize a military strike itself without spending huge financial resources.

Even so, the British side is only feeling a little less pressure. On the matter of whether or not to support Beiyang, the British ministers were very unanimous. Beiyang has been defeated repeatedly, and recently there has been a new defeat. If Beiyang cannot defeat the People's Party, all the investment will be lost.

"How about we let Japan send troops?" The Counsellors made that suggestion.

Japan and Britain signed an Anglo-Japanese alliance, under which the two signatories recognized each other's right to protect their interests in China and Korea, and the two countries had the right to intervene if Britain's "special interests" in China and Japan's "special interests" in China and Korea were threatened by other countries, or if they were infringed upon by "riots" within China and North Korea; When one of the High Contracting Parties fights against a third State in order to protect such interests, the other Party shall observe strict neutrality; In the event that one of the High Contracting Parties is attacked by two or more States, the other Party shall provide military assistance and fight together. The treaty is valid for 5 years. The secret clause also stipulates that the navies of the two countries should cooperate in their actions to maintain superiority in the waters of the Far East. The Anglo-Japanese alliance was a military offensive and defensive alliance against Russia, and it was also a war tool for aggression against China and Korea. After the alliance was concluded, Japan stepped up its arms expansion and launched the Russo-Japanese War of 1904~1905. In 1905, the two countries signed the Second Treaty of Alliance, which recognized Japan's "right to protect" Korea and reaffirmed the need to provide military assistance in the event of an attack by any third country. In 1911, the Third Treaty of Alliance was signed.

"The Japanese side has joined the Entente in accordance with the treaty, and the Japanese side has repeatedly proposed to send troops to China in accordance with the treaty." The British ambassador to Japan rushed back to attend the meeting, and he conveyed the views of the Japanese side to the British minister.

Originally, the United States was the largest buyer of Japanese raw silk, but after the United States reached an agreement with the People's Party, all the raw silk was imported from China. One of the reasons is that the People's Party has greatly expanded the export volume of raw silk, improved the quality of raw silk, and reduced the price of raw silk. However, the intention of the US government to crack down on Japan, a British thug in the Far East, could not be more obvious.

The raw silk trade accounts for nearly half of Japan's foreign trade, and the trade barriers of the United States and the relentless competition of the People's Party. As a result, Japan's exports have shrunk rapidly, and the past two years have been extremely difficult.

The People's Party's chemicals and steel products are entering the Japanese market, because the People's Party has no demand for goods from Japan. The surplus earned in Japan is used by the People's Party to buy gold, silver, and even pounds sterling in the Japanese market. These actions dealt a severe blow to Japan's financial order. It made the Japanese government extremely angry.

However, the annoyance is annoyance, and Britain once suppressed Japan for the sake of a quota trade agreement and prevented Japan from doing anything wrong. At present, the situation has changed dramatically, and it is completely conceivable that the Japanese side cannot help but want to take action.

"Do you want to let Japan move freely?" Sir Humphrey asked the minister, "In the military campaign against the Qing government in the year of Gengzi, Japan was actually the largest number of troops in the coalition. That's about two-thirds. ”

The minister pondered for a while, and then he asked the British ambassador to Japan: "To whom does Japan want to send troops?" ”

The question was to the point, and the minister in Japan was not very clear about it, "The Japanese side only proposed to send troops to China according to the "Anglo-Japanese Alliance", and I also asked this question, but the Japanese side was vague. However, according to my observation, there are two targets that Japan wants to send troops, the first, that is, the most important is the northeast under the control of Yuan Shikai's Beiyang government, and the second is Shanghai. ”

This answer sparked several sneers, and Japan's wishful thinking was excellent. Both Tohoku and Shanghai have significant interests for Japan. Japan has long coveted Northeast China, while Shanghai is China's most developed coastal city. If Japan was ready to attack the People's Party, the British would still be willing to let go of Japan's collar. However, at present, Japan is not thinking about fighting the People's Party at all, but hopes to gain profits through war. The British, of course, could not have agreed.

"Doesn't the Japanese have a plan to attack Qingdao?" Sir Humphrey asked in a contemptuous tone. After the People's Party seized Qingdao, it did not withdraw its troops, but began to build its own base in Qingdao. As a new industrial city on the Jiaodong Peninsula, there is no better way to attack the power of the People's Party than to take action against this "enclave".

The envoy to Japan replied: "Didn't you hear Japan mention this?" Personally, I suspect that the Japanese side has already been in contact with Yuan Shikai on this matter. ”

"Then get this thing straight. What the hell does Japan want to do? If Japan were to attack Qingdao, we could acquiesce for the time being. The British minister replied.

"Then do you want to urge Yuan Shikai to join the Entente?" Sir Humphrey asked.

"You can ask Yuan Shikai about his intentions in a private capacity for the time being. We don't need to rush at this time. And we should not only focus on Beiyang and the People's Party, but also on representatives of other Chinese provinces. ”

On September 12, 1914, after receiving a hint of connivance from Britain, the Japanese representative immediately sent someone to contact Yuan Shikai, "Your Excellency, according to the Anglo-Japanese Alliance Treaty, Japan's "special interests" in China and Korea are threatened by other countries, or are violated by the "riots" in China and Korea, and Britain and Japan have the right to intervene militarily. At the moment when the People's Party and the Beiyang government are at war, we feel the need to help you recover Qingdao. ”

Yuan Shikai listened to the translator's words with a cold expression, and he ordered the translator to reply: "I know about this matter, you can go back first." ”

The Japanese delegates listened to the interpreter finish translating Yuan Shikai's eviction order, but they had no intention of getting up and leaving. He said coldly in Japanese: "Your Excellency, the Anglo-Japanese Alliance Treaty is aimed at China, and Britain and Japan can intervene in it. Whether you agree or not is not within the scope of the treaty. Therefore, based on a friendly attitude, we hope to reach a consensus with the President and hope that you will be able to cooperate wisely and comprehensively. ”

After hearing this, Yuan Shikai couldn't help but stand up, he first stared at the Japanese representative with his hands behind his back, and then angrily raised his right hand and pointed at the Japanese representative and said loudly: "Was your head kicked by a donkey?" ”

The translator was stunned, not knowing how to translate. But I heard Yuan Shikai shouting: "Just translate the original words to this little Japan." ”

Before the interpreter could speak, he heard the Japanese representative say in a fluent Sinicization: "I understand Chinese, so I don't need to translate this." ”

In diplomatic situations, such a statement is tantamount to tearing the face, and the interpreter is a little overwhelmed. However, I heard that the Japanese representative no longer used Japanese, but directly said in Chinese: "Your Excellency, you feel that you have the support of the British government, so you have nothing to fear." I can understand that, too. However, at the moment our common enemy is the BJP, and it is impossible for you to defeat the BJP alone. In that case, why doesn't Your Excellency join hands with us against the BJP? I know that you have always wanted to be the emperor of China, whether it is Britain or us, Japan, you have supported you. In the past, there was still the People's Party, but now as long as the People's Party can be defeated, who else in the whole of China will dare to prevent you from becoming emperor? Why don't you think about it rationally? ”

Yuan Shikai couldn't move as if he had been immobilized, and the Japanese representative said what was deep in Yuan Shikai's heart. If Yuan Shikai had forced the Manchu abdication as a Manchu rebel in the past, this would have made it impossible for Yuan Shikai to become emperor smoothly. In the current situation, the People's Party took the initiative to fall out with the British, if Yuan Shikai can take this opportunity to eliminate the People's Party and use this brilliant martial arts, who would dare to prevent Yuan Shikai from becoming emperor?

But Yuan Shikai is not a three-year-old child, and the People's Party's proclamation declares that "liberate all China and recover all sovereignty of China." With such a banner erected, Yuan Shikai, who was persecuted, did not dare to let foreign countries intervene in China's affairs at will. At least if foreign countries are directly involved in China's affairs, Yuan Shikai will not be able to wash away his reputation as "colluding with foreign countries".

The Japanese representative came prepared for this, and he continued: "President, you don't need to send troops directly for your cooperation, as long as you don't send troops. The navy and army of the Great Japanese Empire will solve the Qingdao problem on their own. ”

Seeing that Yuan Shikai no longer had the strength of Fang Cai, he was silent. The Japanese representative did not say much more, and he turned around and left with his entourage.

Looking at the back of the Japanese representative, Yuan Shikai felt that he had a lot of thoughts in his heart, and he couldn't come up with a countermeasure.

In the face of the recent up-and-down actions of other political forces in China and even foreign forces, the BJP's intelligence services have done their best to search for every information they can gather. In the face of such a tense situation, the People's Party is waging a-for-tat struggle.

However, these struggles were not military strikes, nor were they propaganda against the old upper echelons in Beiyang or other provinces. With the exception of the basic armament to defend against the enemy's military offensive, the BJP has devoted almost all of its forces to grassroots operations. The only exceptions are the two major port cities of the People's Party, Qingdao and Lianyungang.

Qingdao is an enclave of the People's Party, and in the past year or so, the People's Party has continued to expand and implement land reform in the vicinity of Qingdao, and the area under its actual control has gradually expanded. Moreover, there has been no slackening in the military construction of the port area. Pu Guanshui is now deputy commander of the Shandong Military Region, directly leading the work of the Qingdao Military Division.

After the People's Party expressed its stance on the British, the Qingdao Military Sub-district was put on full alert. Although Chen Ke believed that Yuan Shikai would not necessarily be directly involved in the attack on Qingdao by foreign forces, or more accurately, Yuan Shikai would not necessarily attack Qingdao together with the Japanese army. Pu Guanshui's mood still couldn't relax.

Fortunately, the Germans built the work quite well, although it was partially destroyed by the People's Party, and it was repaired after the war. Moreover, the People's Party repeatedly revised its defense plan in accordance with the Qingdao Campaign, and built and rebuilt a number of official affairs and defense systems. Including the fortified defense of important facilities such as power plants. Knowing that there was going to be a war, the enemy was still Japan, the newly rising enemy, Pu Guanshui was excited and uneasy. The preparations of the troops, the wartime transfer of the inhabitants of Qingdao, these plans were almost completed with an obsessive-compulsive attitude. If he is not immersed in his work in this way, Pu Guanshui feels that the whole person is in a strong excitement and cannot be quiet.

On September 13, 1914, news came from the lookout post that a warship had been found off the coast of Qingdao. According to observations, the warship was flagged with the flag of the Japanese Navy. "It's finally here!" Pu Guanshui breathed a sigh of relief, and all the uneasiness flew out of the clouds at this moment. Pu Guanshui felt that he had completely calmed down, and the high-spirited feeling that only fighting had spread throughout his body in an instant.

"Call them and ask them what they are going to do?" Puguan water life.