In order not to affect Sino-British diplomatic relations. Wu Tingfang deliberately simplified the relevant diplomatic procedures so that he could rush to the presidential palace to meet the president as soon as possible, and the two cars, one in front and one behind, drove away from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and galloped towards the presidential palace.

The wait was more than an hour, and by the time the president finally sent someone to lead them to the reception room, Zhu Erdian's face was about to turn black.

When he met with the president, Zhu Erdian didn't talk nonsense, he went straight to the point, and in front of Wu Tingfang, he shouted loudly the verbal protest he had just raised with General Wu in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and deliberately used English to show contempt.

"Mr. Minister, although I don't know much English, I can tell you about this diplomatic protest in your country. On behalf of our central government, I reject it, and my government will not accept this protest from the British Government, because it is a gross involvement in our internal affairs and a violation of our sovereignty. As a republic, China's political system is more progressive than the British political system, our parliament will complete its work well in accordance with the powers and functions conferred by the constitution, I believe that the decisions made by the parliament will protect the long-term interests of our people to the greatest extent, so if the British government wants to force me to put pressure on the parliament through this means, then the British government's calculation is in vain, as a revolutionary soldier defending the republican system, I will resolutely stand on the side of the parliament! ”

Of course, Zhao Bei said this counter-protest in Chinese, and Zhu Erdian certainly understood it.

"With all due respect, Your Excellency. It seems to me that the Congress of your country is just a joke, and yesterday there was a close brawl in the Congress, and two groups of congressmen fought when the Congress was in full session, completely forgetting what kind of actions they were supposed to take to uphold the dignity of the Constitution, which, according to newspaper reports, behaved more like a bunch of hooligans than a bunch of gentlemen. ”

"Mr. Jurdian, it may seem to you that a congressman fighting is a barbaric and rude act, but it seems to me. In my Chinese view, this just proves the great progress of our society. In the past, there has never been a place for 'compromise' in our political circles, where either one side completely eliminates the other, or one side takes the place of the other, and it is the victory or defeat on the battlefield that determines who holds the power of the state. But now, there is no need to go to the battlefield, although the members of Congress are fighting in Congress, which is indeed a bit rude, but the blue nose and swollen face in this Congress are always better than life and death on the battlefield, fighting is to die, but fighting may not necessarily die, even if someone is killed, but the casualties will never be heavy, this is progress for the country, and for the society, it is also progress! Because we are learning to seek compromises with each other in a less brutal way.

Mr. Jurdian, how can you denigrate the constitutional cause of our country because of a small physical altercation between parliamentarians? Let alone. The newspaper reports were mostly exaggerated, but in fact, the skirmish in Congress was not a brawl at all, but at best a few pushes and shoves. Mr. Zhu Erdian, do you know that if what you just said is spread so that the members of Congress know, then, I think, they will soon pass the bill for an alliance with Germany, and I am very convinced of this, because we have an old Chinese saying, 'Come and not be rude'! ”

Over there, Mr. President and Mr. British Minister were arguing, but here Wu Tingfang was frowning and pondering, wondering what the President planned to do.

Does the president really intend to form an alliance with Germany? Wu Tingfang is skeptical about this, the reason is very simple, he has discussed with the president several times whether China should join the Allies or the Entente, but the president's position is very clear, that is, before the all-out war in Europe, it is "inappropriate" to discuss this issue, although the Balkan war has broken out in Europe, but the all-out war in Europe has not yet begun, so the president should not want to form an alliance with any military bloc now.

But on the other hand, if the president is not going to form an alliance with Germany, why should he play this drama in the Reichstag? Are you full?

The president has always been steady, and taking one step and seeing five steps is his style of doing things, and Wu Tingfang also has a deep understanding of this. Therefore, regarding the Sino-German alliance turmoil in the Congress, or the farce, Wu Tingfang will never believe that this is just the product of the president's hot head, let alone a decision made under the president's anger.

The reason why the president is angry seems to be because the British government rejected China's request for an alliance, although Wu Tingfang was not directly involved in this, but as the foreign minister, he also heard some rumors more or less, but Wu Tingfang absolutely did not believe that the president would brazenly challenge the bottom line of Britain and the Entente group because of this matter.

Then, this Sino-German alliance turmoil is somewhat intriguing.

While Ng Tingfang was pondering, the President and the British Minister over there had already ended their verbal exchange and were concluding the meeting in accordance with diplomatic etiquette.

Wu Tingfang accompanied Zhu Erdian out of the reception room, but as soon as he walked out of the door, he saw Mr. Rex, the German minister in China, walking towards the reception room.

Wu Tingfang and Zhu Erdian were a little surprised by the arrival of the German minister, but Zhu Erdian just squinted at the German minister, but his footsteps did not stop, and he rubbed shoulders with the German minister and walked over.

Wu Tingfang is not as arrogant as Zhu Erdian. He looked at the secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who led Mr. Rex to the reception room, it was Cao Rulin, a rising star in the diplomatic circles that he had tried his best to cultivate, so he hurriedly stopped him and asked.

"The president just called and asked Mr. Rex to come over, saying that there was something important to discuss, and you were not in the ministry, so I had to accompany Mr. Rex over." Cao Rulin said.

"You take someone to see off Mr. Jurdian, and convey my apologies to Mr. Minister, and I accompany Mr. Rex to the President."

Wu Tingfang was a little relieved, so he changed tasks with Cao Rulin and accompanied the German minister back to the reception room.

"Chief Wu. You are here to preside over this meeting. ”

Seeing that Wu Tingfang had turned back again, Zhao Bei was not very surprised, so he politely greeted the German minister according to diplomatic etiquette.

"Mr. President, I don't know if you invite me over, do you have any important news to tell you?"

Rex could barely hide the excited expression on his face, indeed, in recent days, the happiest foreign minister to China in the entire Dongjiaomin Alley is him, seeing the "pro-German" forces in China's parliament soaring, which is a good phenomenon for Germany, Rex has even sent a telegram to the country, so that the German diplomatic department is ready, once China decides to conclude a formal alliance treaty with Germany, the German government had better immediately decide whether to sign an alliance treaty in Beijing or Berlin, The meaning of this is different: if the alliance treaty is signed in Beijing, it means that the alliance treaty is mainly for the interests of China, and if the alliance treaty is signed in Berlin, it means that the alliance treaty is for the interests of Germany.

Rex strongly suggested that the German government choose Beijing as the location for signing the alliance treaty, because this would be in exchange for more favor of the Chinese, for Germany, it is unrealistic to expect China to send troops to Europe to fight, so instead of signing the alliance treaty in Berlin and completely angering Britain, it is better to sign this alliance treaty in Beijing, after all, Germany is not fully prepared for war, and Britain is the same, the possibility of war between the two countries because of this alliance treaty signed in the Far East is very low.

From yesterday to today, Rex has been anxiously waiting in the German Legation for news from the Reichstag, and just now he received a phone call from the Presidential Office and learned that the President wanted to see him, so Rex hurried to the Foreign Ministry, and then followed the staff of the Foreign Ministry to the Presidential Palace.

"Yes, I do have a very important matter to consult with Mr. Minister."

Zhao Bei invited Rex to sit down on the sand, and then unhurriedly told his purpose.

"Mr. Rex, I'm sure you've heard about the brawl you were born in Congress yesterday. I wonder what Mr. Minister thinks about this? ”

This is not a difficult question to answer, Rex hesitated for a moment, and carefully sorted out the wording.

"Mr. President, it seems to me that the conflict that was born in Congress yesterday can hardly be called a brawl, it is just an alarmist exaggeration by journalists, and I believe that most of the members of Congress are cautious gentlemen, and they would never solve the problem with such rude means, otherwise why should Congress be established? Of course, as a new issue in your country, it will take some time for the Congress to formalize, and the status quo of uneven quality of parliamentarians will also need to change. ”

The German minister spoke very decently, and the president was very satisfied, nodding again and again, but Wu Tingfang, who was sitting on the side, frowned even tighter.

When I talked to Zhu Erdian just now, the president didn't think of the brawl in Congress like this, and when it came to the skill of changing his face, Wu Tingfang was really ashamed of himself.

Thinking of this, Wu Tingfang gathered his mind and listened carefully to the conversation between the president and the German minister.

The basic content of what the president really wants to tell the German minister is not complicated, and the basic content is: At present, the "pro-German faction" and the "pro-British faction" in the parliament are evenly matched, so this bill to form an alliance with Germany is likely to be shelved, considering the friendly relations between Germany and China, the president cannot bear to sit idly by, but since this is a matter of the parliament and is not within the scope of the president's authority, the president hopes that the German side can be more "proactive" and let the Chinese people have deeper feelings for Germany. The Reichstag may pass a bill for an alliance between China and Germany.

In fact, to put it bluntly, it is hoped that the German government and business circles will increase investment in China and use money and technology to buy the patriotism of Chinese.

Hearing this, Wu Tingfang suddenly understood, he understood why the Congress broke out the Sino-German alliance turmoil, in the final analysis, the reason is very simple, because the president seems to want to complete the "four-year industrial exhibition plan" as soon as possible, and the best way is to make full use of the weakness of Germany's desire to form an alliance and pull more German businessmen over.

The current German government is very much in line with the characteristics of "people are stupid and have a lot of money".

In order to make the Germans more generous, the president did not hesitate to put on a play in the parliament to make the Germans understand this truth:

"Now among the Chinese, more and more people have a friendly position towards Germany, if you want more Chinese to support the Sino-German alliance, then please also ask the Germans to transfer more advanced technology to China and invest more capital in China."

This truth is not complicated, Wu Tingfang quickly figured it out, and he also believed that the German minister would soon figure it out. (！ )