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The field marshal slowly raised his head. "What's the matter?"

"Feng. Baron Haijing is here. ”

Feng. Baron Haijing? Feng. Immediately, a domineering face came to Wadsey's mind—not in front of him, of course; The pupil of the Duke of Lauenburg, though very arrogant and somewhat empty-sighted, was not unduly arrogant—but he still had no good opinion of the baron.

Not because of arrogance and hubris. The Field Marshal had seen many arrogant and arrogant fellows in the army, but none of them had been able to arouse his annoyance; Feng. The problem with Baron Haijing is that he is seeking a more leadership position.

Or to put it more clearly, the baron demanded...... It is hoped that the German military forces in China, the army and navy, as well as the German servicemen who make up both forces, including, of course, the marshal, will unconditionally accept his command, and not the other way around, and the army directs his actions.

Because he was a diplomat, the new Minister to China was temporarily appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Baron was Klinder's predecessor, but after Klinder's murder he was sent to deal with various issues.

But it does not include military issues - military problems are the work of military personnel, not diplomats.

Of course, maybe Berlin gave von . What instructions Haijing instructed, and Western diplomats in Beijing all had command over their own country's army, but von. Wadsey regarded the army, and all matters relating to military affairs, as his sphere of power, and refused to meddle in these matters; As for the other request made by the baron, to ask an earl and field marshal to obey his command, it was clearly a sneering joke.

Unfortunately, the Baron is apparently unaware of this and is working hard to turn this cold joke into reality. The field marshal even heard that he was seeking official orders from the emperor or prime minister, and that he had used some of the influence and connections left behind by his teacher.

Feng. Wadsey did not like these moves, and certainly did not like their owners.

He didn't like Feng. Haijing.

Now, the baron, who was not popular with him, was outside. The field marshal did not know what he meant, and was both reluctant to meet him and somewhat concerned about the content of the talks; However, if the baron's request was rejected outright, the field marshal considered that this practice was not in accordance with the rules of etiquette.

He thought about it for a while, and finally decided to put etiquette in a more important position when the relationship between the two parties had not officially broken down.

"Please come in, Baron." Feng. Wadsi commanded.

"Yes, Marshal." Standing upright, leaning on his legs, the adjutant, who had been waiting, quickly turned around, walked to the hidden door, and conveyed the marshal's answer to the baron, who was waiting outside.

So, Feng. Hai Jing entered the room, handed the hat to the adjutant, and then walked up to the field marshal, and bowed respectfully, but still only politely. "Good afternoon, Marshal."

"I think we can do without these politenesses, Baron." Feng. Wadsey said, however, he invited the baron to sit down before asking, "What is the matter with you?" ”

Yes, this kind of game you will and I will too. Feng. Haijing thought. Since someone likes to be open and honest, then he will be open and honest. "I have very important news, Marshal. The Chinese government has made a formal request to the diplomatic corps for peace talks. After consultations, diplomats from various countries unanimously decided to accept ......"

"Peace Talks!" The Field Marshal interrupted him angrily - it took him several seconds to react, "Our expeditionary force is still trapped somewhere in the heart of China, perhaps in a fierce battle with the Chinese army, and there is no news from the rescue force, and I personally believe that this is not the right time to negotiate." ”

"I'm sorry, Marshal." "But I am absolutely convinced that now is the right time to negotiate," the diplomat said, "in a tone of no regret." ”

"Feng. Baron Haijing! The field marshal shouted.

"Feng. Marshal Wadsey! The baron replied-for-tat, "You see, I'm a diplomat, so I don't have any more say in military matters, and you're a field marshal, so ...... in diplomatic matters."

Then he stopped, and said no more—but the field marshal knew what he meant, an undisguised counterattack, a naked mockery. Feng. Wadsey's face immediately flushed, and his muscles tensed. "It is a shameless betrayal to talk about peace with our enemies at the moment when the servicemen on the front line are still fighting bloodily!" He tried his best to control his emotions, but he was still a little out of control, "It's a stab in the back!" ”

The diplomat furrowed his eyebrows, and his voice became stern. "Are you accusing the Foreign Office of betraying German interests, marshal?"

"Of course not, I'm just pointing out the bad consequences that your actions will have on the expeditionary force." Hold back, but only one step.

But in many cases, even just one step back can provoke a violent counterattack. "In other words, you think that as the Minister to China appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the German Empire, I am secretly colluding with the Chinese government to frame the Imperial Expeditionary Force...... Is that so, marshal? ”

"No, Baron." Feng. Wadsey felt his heart beat violently. Feng. Hai Jing was obviously deliberately misinterpreting his meaning, but it was undoubtedly extremely dangerous: if he reported the misinterpretation to the Foreign Office, it would be equivalent to detonating a thousand kilograms of explosives in the political center of Germany.

If you think about it, a field marshal accused the Minister Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of secretly colluding with the enemy government to frame the Imperial Expeditionary Force and stabbed him in the back......

There is no doubt that he will be the target of public criticism. To make matters worse, von. Haijing could also spread the fire to other countries - Britain, France, Russia, Austria, Italy, the United States, Japan...... Since their diplomats are all in favor of peace talks with the Chinese government, that is, these people are all participants in the conspiracy?

Of course not, by no means; Accusations against him, and even against the German government, will follow.

Thinking of that situation, Feng. Wadsey's brain hurts.

"You know that's not what I meant, Baron." The Field Marshal could only try to make up for his negligence, "I just think that peace negotiations should be conducted while the war is not over—"

This time, it was the diplomat's turn to interrupt him. "If the war is over, there will be no need for peace negotiations, marshal."

The Field Marshal reluctantly admitted this. "That's true."

"In fact, our goals are the same." Feng. Haijing went on to say, "We all want to end this war and fight for the interests of Germany, the best interests." The only difference between us is that you only think of using force, and I prefer to use diplomacy to solve problems......"

He was giving to von. Wadsey looks for steps. Of course, von. Hai Jing does not intend to force the field marshal too much -- there is never any benefit in pressing a certain person or country too much, and the maximum benefit can only be obtained by exerting just the right amount of pressure -- but what constitutes "just the right amount of pressure" is a question worth considering.

Most of the time, especially when facing the Chinese, Feng. Haijing didn't do well enough,[note 2] but this time he did a good job—at least he thought he was doing well.

He smiled and continued: "As things stand, I think that the benefits to be obtained through diplomatic means are much higher than those obtained through military means......"

Feng. Wadsey's lieutenant suddenly walked into the room, hurriedly, and somewhat anxiously walked up to the field marshal, and handed him a piece of paper. Feng. Listening to the diplomat's gushing speech, Wadsey shifted his gaze to the paper, and then he shouted: "No! ”

"How?" Feng. Haijing stopped, a little dazed.

The field marshal didn't seem to hear his question, and kept staring at the paper in his hand, his body shaking violently. It wasn't until the diplomat urged him again and again that he slowly raised his head.

And yet he still did not answer the diplomat's question, or rather, did not answer it in the right way.

"I will never agree to hold peace talks!" Feng. Wadsey roared, "Never! I'm going to ask Berlin for fifty thousand, no, one hundred thousand reinforcements! I'm going to raze every city in China to the ground......"

Feng. Haijing became even more confused. Of course, he knew that the problem was on that piece of paper, but the field marshal pinched it, clearly not intending to let go. The diplomat could only turn his gaze to the adjutant to the side. "What's going on?"

"The report of the losses of the expeditionary force," replied the adjutant in a low voice, "we lost two thousand people." ”

"What!" Like the hysterical field marshal, diplomats began to lose control of their emotions. "Cancel the negotiations! Cancel the negotiations now! I need 100,000 reinforcements! We want revenge! ”

The Chinese must pay the price - after they arrived in China, Feng . Wadsey and Von. Haijing finally reached a consensus on a specific issue.

At the same time, the British Minister, Sir MacDonald, agreed with the Russian, French, Japanese, and American Ministers that they had also been reported of the losses of the German Expeditionary Force and had anticipated the reaction of the Germans. Of course, they would have prevented the Germans from realizing their plans.

"We must put aside our differences for a moment, unite and be unanimous," concluded Sir MacDonald, "in any case, by whatever means, the Germans must not be allowed to sabotage our peace negotiations with His Excellency Li Hongzhang." ”

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Note: Both Otto. Feng. Bismarck

Note 2: In the real world, in 1898, when Germany forcibly occupied Jiaozhou Bay, von. Haijing was the main mastermind

PS: The reason why there is no update during this time, just because I suddenly got sick, I really don't have the strength to update, and it has nothing to do with other issues (to be continued, if you want to know what will happen next, please log in to the www.qidian.com, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!) (To be continued.) )