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On the second day of the Battle of the Bohai Sea, newspapers around the world reported on the defeat of the British Far East Fleet by the Chinese Navy, along with photos of the sinking of the British flagship "Elizabeth". The article pointed out that China has been a peace-loving country since ancient times, but it also has the courage and strength to "offend me as a strong man, even if it is far away, it will be punished".

The propaganda of the "Fuxing Daily" was the most powerful, and the pictures of the Chinese Navy's warships dragging British warships occupied most of the page, and then they gave a detailed introduction to the specific process of this naval battle, as well as the data on sinking, heavy damage, and capture of British warships.

"Sell newspapers, sell newspapers, the Chinese Navy has a great victory!"

"Outside, outside, our navy has won a big victory!"

On the streets of Shanghai, at the mouth of Beijing's hutongs, the excited shouts of the newsboys made the pedestrians on the street can't help but stop, and when they hear such exciting news, they have paid for it, "I want a copy!" "Give me two!" "I want one too."

This scene is playing out in major cities across the country. The streets and alleys of major cities, restaurants, restaurants and bathhouses also spread such good news.

"It seems that our navy is on the rise. We Chinese have a lot of face. ”

"Our navy has not announced the number of warships and submarines, it turned out to hide its strength."

"Britain's naval strength in the Far East is not very strong, and we cannot be proud of winning the war."

The whole country was cheering and cheering. The students were even more excited, taking to the streets and demonstrating at the British Embassy.

After Germany learned the news of the victory of the Chinese Navy. It was also very shocking that although the British Far East Fleet was not very strong, the British army still had more combat experience than the Chinese. And in recent years, British warships have been rampant all over the world. This also strengthened the confidence of Germany and Britain to compete for the long and short of each other. The United States, seeing China's victory, remains neutral.

The whole of Britain was shaken, the world's first naval power was defeated by China, and for a time a large number of populists took to the streets.

"Liberals get out of power!"

"Send troops to South Asia!"

"We want war!"

Demonstrations in London. Ground traffic was paralyzed, and the British police were quickly dispatched to maintain order and prevent vandalism. Those who took advantage of the opportunity to wreak havoc were quickly thrown into prison.

They also staged a sit-in in front of the Prime Minister's Office at 10 Downing Street in protest. Some of the families of soldiers captured by China demonstrated in demonstrations. The number of people is growing. The scene almost spiraled out of control.

Herbert. Henry. Asquith stood by the window, looking at the angry crowd below. He was worried. Because he knows that many Conservative MPs are behind their backs to encourage people to demonstrate.

Herbert. Henry. Asquith, protected by a group of guards, walked to the door, and as soon as he appeared, many reporters rushed to him, so he made an impromptu speech: "Dear friends, gentlemen, and ladies, we will certainly do our best to save the warriors of the Empire. The Reich will not abandon theirs, but now the situation in Europe. We are not allowed to send troops, I am South Asia, and we will definitely negotiate with the Chinese government to solve the problems of South Asia through diplomatic channels! After speaking, ignoring the reporter's questions, he quickly got into a black car and left the scene, rushed to Buckingham Palace, and asked King Edward VII to come forward to calm the people's emotions.

Herbert. Henry. Asquith pleaded with Edward VII: "Your Majesty, the current situation is very unfavorable to the Empire, I hope Your Majesty can come forward to appease the feelings of the people, the rise of China has affected the entire Far East, in order to avoid China joining the German alliance, we cannot send European fleets to the Far East, I hope Your Majesty understands." ”

Edward VII closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then rejected Asquith's request, saying: "According to the English Constitution, the King of England should be neutral on political issues, which is an established principle of our democracy, and the royal family is above politics, and it is the responsibility of politicians to ensure this tradition." So I'm not going to make any speeches. The Prime Minister is still fighting for the interests of the British Empire at the negotiating table. ”

Herbert. Henry. Asquith found several other reasons to invite the king out, but Edward VII refused his request, so he got up and took his leave: "Your Majesty, rest assured, we will never fail Your Majesty's trust again." ”

Herbert. Henry. As soon as Asquith left Buckingham Palace, he sent a telegram to the ambassador to China, Zhu Erdian, asking him to invite Lang Weili to negotiate with the Chinese government, and asked Zhu Erdian to protect British interests in South Asia.

Zhu Erdian, who was in Beijing, received a telegram from London, and he was also very helpless, at the beginning he tried to prevent Britain from going to war with China, but now, Britain has lost the war, and he has to come forward to negotiate, and diplomatic work is too difficult to do.

The minister of negotiation actually suffered the most, and if he lost the battle to negotiate, he would probably become a sinner of the empire, and he finally understood the pain of those diplomats of Li Hongzhang of the Qing Dynasty in the past.

After pondering for a long time, Zhu Erdian decided to contact the French and American ambassadors to China, hoping that they would help and be able to act as mediators in the negotiations. China has long been ready to invite the ambassadors of Germany and Italy to China to be notaries.

Zhu Erdian went to the presidential palace to find his old friend Song Xiaofei, but Song Xiaofei did not see him directly, and sent someone out to pass the word: "If you come today out of personal feelings, then I will warmly receive you." If it is an official matter, go to Wu Tingfang, and this time the Sino-British negotiations will be handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. ”

Zhu Erdian had no choice but to go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to find Foreign Minister Wu Tingfang.

Wu Tingfang decided to negotiate on the "Republic", and as for why the negotiations were held on the warship, it was a-for-tat, because the humiliating "Treaty of Nanjing" between China and Britain was signed on the British warship "Kanghuali".

On the deck of the "Republic," the wind was on a sunny day, the sea breeze was gusting, and at a long table composed of five or six tables connected together, the Chinese and British negotiators sat facing each other, and on the other side sat the ambassadors of the United States, Germany, Italy, and France to China. Invited journalists from all over the world held huge camera machines in the "Bang... Bang" to take pictures of the delegates of various countries.

They were all acquaintances, and Zhu Erdian had a preconceived idea, took out a document, and then handed it to Wu Tingfang, and also gave a copy to the mediators of both sides.

Wu Tingfang read the document, laughed, and said to Zhu Erdian: "Mr. Zhu is joking, is this the sincerity of the British negotiations?" The squadron retreated to the McMahon Line? You are delusional! ”

After reading it, the ministers of various countries also frowned, and it was written:

One: Britain recognized Tibet as part of Chinese territory, and the squadron retreated to the McMahon Line;

2. Britain recognized Bhutan, Sikkim and Nepal as China's territory, and China unconditionally released British captured soldiers and warships;

Three: to keep the British investment and interests in China unchanged,

Wu Tingfang was very angry and said: "Britain is really insincere. Do you think there is such a stupid country in the world that wins the war and does not need territory? If this is the case, then how can we be worthy of the sacrificed officers and soldiers? It's impossible. Please think clearly, now is our China victory, China will never win militarily again, but diplomacy has failed, that is to say, the era of undefeated defeat has become history. ”

Zhu Erdian said: "What does the president mean? ”

Wu Tingfang threw the document to Zhu Erdian, saying that this is our condition, and after Zhu Erdian opened it, he saw that it was written:

1. Britain admits defeat;

2. Britain must recognize Tibet, Bhutan, Sikkim, Nepal and other places as Chinese territory;

3. Britain must redeem its soldiers with money, and the British Navy shall withdraw from Chinese waters and shall not enter Chinese waters without China's consent.

After reading this, Zhu Erdian immediately stood up, and Britain was disgraced and thrown into the Pacific Ocean, so he shouted: "This is impossible, absolutely impossible." Our 300,000-strong army is already on the border between India and Tibet. The British Empire could attack at any time if it wanted to. ”

Wu Tingfang shook his head and said, "What I just mentioned is the condition of China's negotiations, and it is also the bottom line. Since both sides think that the other is not sincere, we will talk about it next time. ”

The Sino-British negotiations suddenly reached an impasse. (To be continued......)