The second is the US minister to China, and Si Jide was in this reception room in the commander-in-chief's hall, and on the third and second hours, he was waiting for Foreign Minister Wu Tingfang to come over. Then you can go to see Mr. President.

Just when Si Dai was a little impatient, the chief Wu finally came late, looking at his gray beard, Si Jide was not easy to complain, but he was also very strange, because according to the relevant laws of this country, civil servants can retire as soon as they reach the age of 60, and Mr. Wu Tingfang is over 70 years old this year, but he still has not retired.

Thinking of this, Stade remembered Tang Shaoyi, the former foreign minister who was in the prime of life and had made a deep impression on him. Compared with this Chief Wu, Chief Tang is much more efficient, perhaps because of his age.

Wu Tingfang came with several assistants, the youngest of whom was only twenty-six years old, named Gu Weijun. Graduated from Columbia University in the United States, and it is precisely because of this. Stade on this. Young people pay special attention.

"Mr. Gu, if I'm not mistaken, it seems that you, as a defense lawyer, defended the assassin who assassinated the Japanese political veteran Mr. Hirobumi Ito, and your familiarity with the laws of various countries really impressed me

Although Si Dade did not complain about Wu Tingfang's lateness, he also decided to express his inner dissatisfaction by snubbing the other party, so after Wu Tingfang introduced those assistants, he focused on Gu Weijun and deliberately found something to say.

Gu Weijun didn't know Si Taide's little abacus, but since the other party had already praised him, he couldn't help but be perfunctory, after all, this was a diplomatic place, and every move involved national interests.

"Mr. Minister, I have falsely complimented that if I had really studied the laws of various countries, I would not have failed in my defense. That's right. The Korean Assassin's name was Ahn Joong-geun, and in my opinion, he was a true warrior who was willing to fight for his life for the independence and prosperity of his country, as long as there was such a warrior. North Korea will not fall forever, and North Korea will inevitably become independent one day.

。 Ha! Mr. Gu. I didn't expect you to be an impulsive person, maybe the assassin is brave, but bravery is not a substitute for the strength of the country, in my opinion, unless the world situation changes fundamentally, otherwise, Korea will continue to sink as a colony of Japan, after all. The world is realistic, and idealists will only run into bloodshed and eventually compromise with reality. But then again. Your country is obviously fortunate that you have a very leader-like national yuan, and as long as President Zhao Da is still the national yuan, the rejuvenation of your country is not a distant dream

"Mr. Minister, since you have such a high opinion of Mr. President. So now we can go and meet with Mr. President. He was waiting for us in the office. ”

Wu Tingfang was obviously much more sophisticated, and he almost immediately understood why Stade was talking to Gu Weijun, but he didn't apologize for his tardiness, he just diverted the topic from Steder's words, and then led the triumphant Steder to the Commander's Hall, where he met Mr. President in the No. 1 office.

When Stade saw Mr. President, the young president was fiddling with a toy train on his desk, and several lieutenants were standing at their desks, apparently installing railroad tracks, and when the American minister arrived, the president waved his hand, and the adjutants quickly withdrew from the office, and then, Mr. President also finished his research on the toy train and stepped forward. Shake hands with the U.S. minister.

"Mr. Minister. We meet again. Sorry to keep you waiting. Just now, in order to deal with some matters between China and Japan, I had to send General Wu to the Japanese Embassy, and coincidentally, the British Minister was actually there. As a result, this negotiation took a little longer, which made you wait for a long time, and Zhao Bei smiled apologetically.

"Oh? Is it about the assassination of Mr. Yang Du? ”

Si Dyde was a little surprised, and glanced at Wu Tingfang, only then did he understand why he was late.

"Mr. Minister, you are right, it was the assassination. Now there are all kinds of human and material evidence, newspapers are fanning the flames, and the people are in turmoil. The Japanese government refused to admit it, so it had no choice but to negotiate and negotiate, otherwise. How can I, as the president, explain to the people? After all, Yang Du is a dignified government official, the governor of a province, which country he changes, and he will probably not tolerate this kind of transnational political assassination, right? Actually, a few years ago, I was assassinated by Japanese assassins once, but they were captured before they could act, so. I believe in the evidence of the police, and the assassination of Yang Du should have nothing to do with the Japanese, even if the Japanese government does not know about it. At the very least, the Japanese military should have been aware, because one of the masterminds who planned the assassination was an active officer of the Japanese 6th Army

Zhao Bei seriously pointed the finger at the Japanese government and military department, and he also believed that the Americans would be happy to see Japan deflated, after all, the conflict of interests of the two powers in Northeast Asia was very serious, in fact. Stade personally came forward to organize an anti-Japanese propaganda organization for public opinion warfare, and in the assassination of Yang Du, among the foreign-language newspapers published in China, the most fierce anti-Japanese stances were basically those under Stade's control.

"As far as I know. The Japanese government is very unhappy with the current situation, and I believe that your country should be cautious

He also guessed that this case may not really be the work of the Japanese government, but on the other hand, he also insisted that this was a great opportunity to strike at Japan's influence in China, and at the same time, he also speculated that China and Japan were likely to finally break with each other because of this matter, so no one knows what will happen next, after all, China's current military strength is considerable, especially the strength of the 6th Army, and no one can guarantee this "madman president." There will be no small-scale regional war against Japan, and given the current situation in Europe, it would be difficult to say that a war breaks out between China and Japan. That's a world war. And it is not an opportunity, an opportunity for business and industry, so from the bottom of his heart, Stade is not worried about the war between China and Japan, he is worried that some short-sighted people in the US government will not be able to prepare in time to create conditions for the economic leap of the United States.

"Thank you, Mr. Minister, for the reminder. I believe. Once relations between China and Japan become untenable, the U.S. government will certainly stand on the side of justice

Zhao Bei also threw out the sounding balloon at the right time, and he was already ready to start a war against Japan. Now, when everything is ready, it's up to the U.S. government to take a stand.

According to his historical experience, a major war in Europe will soon break out, and at that time, Britain, France, and Russia will have no time to take care of themselves; in this situation, China can completely let go of a war with Japan, use war to strive for peace, and use war to win back its national interests, but China cannot fight alone, China needs an ally, and this ally cannot be Germany, but can only be the United States, and it is precisely in the anti-Japanese stance that China and the United States have a common language. What is missing now is the actual action of the US government, and once the United States has made its position clear, the Sino-Japanese war can break out immediately.

Stade was a smart man, who had been engaged in diplomatic work for many years, and he had attained a high degree of attainment in the art of political language, and he knew very well what Zhao Bei really meant, what was meant by Sino-Japanese relations being "untenable." In fact, this can be seen as another way of saying "the Sino-Japanese war will inevitably break out", obviously. Mr. President no longer intends to play with Japan like this, and he wants to have a good time. And he also has this strength, at least in the secret report of the US government, China's 6-tower combat effectiveness can not be underestimated, the key is the navy.

China's navy is still weak, and in the event of a war with Japan, it will be difficult to ensure the effective defense of its maritime frontiers. And once the Japanese Navy carries out a naval blockade of China's coastal commercial areas, then China's import and export trade will face very severe challenges, which Stade saw, and he believes that Zhao Bei also saw it, so Zhao Bei will tell the American minister so bluntly that he wants to fight with Japan, and he needs the United States to give a certain amount of support, and this support is not necessarily military. As long as the U.S. government takes a stand.

If the US Government is willing to stand on China's side, even if the Japanese Navy blockades China's ports, China's import and export trade will still not be completely cut off, and the United States can completely use US-flagged and US-registered ships to transport Chinese and foreign products through those treaty ports.

But then again, this is only the opinion of Zhao Bei and Stedad, as for whether the US government is determined to support China's anti-Japanese war now, even Steder does not have much bottom in his heart, so, at least for now, Steder cannot give a clear answer to the other party.

Mr. President, as a diplomat of the United States. I have always had a strong affection for China, and I personally believe that if normal state-to-state relations between China and Japan can no longer be maintained, the US Government will try its best to mediate, and if mediation fails, then I think that the majority of American citizens will stand on the side of justice and help the weak, which is not only a virtue in the minds of the people of the concubine country, but also a virtue in the minds of American citizens

The meaning of Stade's words is also very clear, and he has no bottom in his heart about what position the US government will take in the Sino-Japanese war, but at the same time, the US government does not care much about ending "normal state-to-state relations" between China and Japan. An increasingly powerful Japan is not in the interests of the United States in the Far East, and it is indeed necessary for a country to intervene to restrain and contain Japan so as not to threaten the Philippine colonies of the United States.

In the same way, a strong China is not in the interests of the United States, so this is a balance-of-power strategy. In the US balance of power strategy in the Far East, the United States can help China resist Japan, but the United States will never tolerate China's annihilation of Japan.

Zhao Bei smiled faintly, what is the position of the US government, he can guess that since in the first world war in history, the United States can take the initiative to intervene in the early and late stages of the war and go down the mountain to pick peaches, then. In the same way, once a war broke out between China and Japan. At least until the tide of war becomes clear. It is unlikely that the U.S. government will pick the chestnut for China, and the U.S. will definitely go down the mountain to pick peaches in the later stage of the war as it did in history, so Zhao Bei did not expect the United States to intervene in the Sino-Japanese war at the beginning of the war, he just hoped that the United States could maintain "goodness, it is impossible to effectively contain China, then." The only remaining diplomatic obstacle is Tsarist Russia in the north, but Russia now has Germany watching, as long as it gives some sweetness in diplomacy, I believe that Russia will not directly intervene in the Sino-Japanese war, although Russia and Japan have signed an entente, but it is aimed at the third country in the interests of the three eastern provinces, as long as Germany does not join the war against Japan, Russia has no excuse to send troops.

On the other hand. This war between China and Japan must be grasped to a certain extent, and it must not turn into an all-out war of life and death. Nor can it be turned into a protracted and protracted war, much less an integral part of a great war in Europe, which must be confined to a local area and must be a decisive battle, so that China can exploit the war on the enemy continent to the detriment of commercial and industrial profits.

Knowing this, you can understand the important decision that Zhao Bei is making now:

In any case, the war against Japan must be started before the First World War officially breaks out!