This is the beginning of the issue of reparations, and the $800 million is a drizzle compared to the 269 billion gold marks (equivalent to 96,000 tons of gold) that Germany paid to France. Later West Germany did not pay off the debt until October 3, 2010, and although the reparations were reduced to 112 billion gold marks, it was much more than 800 million.

For the wealth that Japan has gained by relying on the war in the past few decades, this money is only a small interest.

"After talking about compensation, let's talk about Taiwan now. Now that Taiwan has been taken by our Chinese People's Army, this point is indisputable, and we do not care at all about a small mixed brigade. As for the Taiwan side, we still have one additional condition, which is the same as all Japanese prisoners at this time, that is, all Japanese in Taiwan must be investigated by us, and as long as they are Japanese who have done sorry for the people of Taiwan, they must be punished by our Chinese law. Of course, we also welcome the Japanese side to send people to supervise, and we will not wronged any Japanese, but we will not spare any Japanese. For those innocent Japanese people, we will not embarrass them, and will directly repatriate them, but they will not be able to bring back any of their assets. Zong Li took the initiative of the negotiations just now to speak out about Taiwan.

"Even if a Japanese person commits a crime, he must be tried in our country, and we forgive me for not agreeing to that." Tanaka Yoshiichi was very helpless about this question, he knew that when the time came, if he really did this, only a handful of those Japanese who were in Taiwan would be able to return to Japan, and he didn't know how many people's heads would fall to the ground. Tanaka Yoshiichi did not know the Chinese law, but he knew that the truth of killing people to pay for debts and repaying debts was to pay for their lives, and when the time came, there would be no small number of Japanese who died.

"Now I am not bargaining with you, but informing you that the purpose of I say this is to let you know about this matter, so as not to say that we have no courtesy in China, and we have not informed you of this kind of thing, Japan. Also, remember to send overseers when the time comes, so that when the time comes, we will not say that we are messing around and convicting us indiscriminately. Of course, we also hope that personnel from other countries will also come and supervise at the same time. Zhongli said in an unquestioning tone.

"We, the Germans, are happy to help Japan oversee them, and we will send someone to be the 'overseer' when the time comes." The German ambassador looked at Yoshiichi Tanaka and said with a smile on his face, but the meaning of this, many people understand that in this matter, Germany wants to see the jokes of the Japanese. Germany will not forget that Qingdao was snatched from Germany by Japan taking advantage of the First World War, and although it has now returned to China, this incident has always been a thorn in Germany's heart.

"We, the Soviet Union, are also willing to help our Japanese 'friends.'" The Soviet ambassador also fanned the flames. If you want to talk about the country that is unhappy with Japan, then the Soviet Union must also be counted as one, although the last Russo-Japanese war was the tsarist era, but in history, it is also very disgraceful. Lushun was originally taken by Japan from Germany, and it is now the same as Qingdao, but the resentment against Japan has not diminished. However, unlike Germany, the Soviet Union very much hoped that China and Japan would continue to fight, and it was better to lose both, so that the best news for the Soviet Union would be the best. The Soviet Union had no way to stop the peace talks, but the Soviet ambassador was still happy to do such a thing as disgusting and disgusting Japan.

The ambassadors of Anglo-American-French countries did not say anything, and at this time they did not want to embarrass Japan too much. And seeing that Tanaka Yoshiichi, whose face was already completely black, the ambassadors of the three countries remained silent, and it was best not to speak at this time.

Tanaka Yoshiichi believed that if Germany and the Soviet Union were to be involved in this matter, it would definitely be a huge blow to Japan's international image. One can imagine the serious consequences for Japan's reputation when the newspapers of both countries reported on the crimes of these Japanese. As for whether the two governments will do this, Tanaka doesn't even have to think about it, and if he doesn't do so, it will be hell.

"On behalf of Japan, I agree to this matter, but I have one condition, this matter is for our two countries to participate, and no third country is allowed to participate." Yoshiichi Tanaka knew that now was the time for him to compromise, otherwise things would really get out of hand.

"There's no problem with that." Zong Li glanced at the German ambassador and the Soviet ambassador, nodded to the two, and then continued: "Now let's talk about the sixth and seventh, the opening of treaty ports, and the public apology to China. Let's start with the treaty ports, we only need two cities, one Tokyo and the other Kobe. The question of tariffs remains unchanged. "There is another name for the treaty port, which is about to open a commercial port. This means that it must not be closed under any circumstances.

Before the Meiji Restoration, Japan was also closed to the rest of the world, and foreign missionaries, merchants, and civilians were forbidden to enter Japan, except for the Dutch and Chinese, who could operate in Nagasaki. U.S. Brigadier General Matthew? Perry used his fleet to blast away Japan, which was closed off from the rest of the world, forced Japan to open its treaty ports, and granted the United States the most-favored-nation status. The Tokugawa shogunate also fell, and the government was returned to the imperial family, which led to the Meiji Restoration.

Now China has raised the topic of opening treaty ports, which makes Tanaka Yoshiichi very uncomfortable.

"I can't agree to a treaty port. But we can have commercial exchanges, and after peace, we can also promote commercial exchanges between the two countries. ”

"Thinking back to the large number of unequal treaties you signed with the Qing government back then, there is no shortage of the term treaty port in it, Mr. Tanaka, I am also learning from you Japan! We're just treating others the way we do, and we're just getting back what belongs to us, and you don't tell you you don't know about these contracts. Zong Li said expressionlessly.

Zongli's words embarrassed not only Japan, but also the ambassadors of other countries. When it comes to contracts, none of them have signed a contract with the Qing government or the people's ** lords, and even Portugal still occupies Macau, let alone other big countries.

Before Tanaka could speak, the German ambassador, who was already waiting on the side, said to Zongli: "A few days ago, my country made a decision, and I originally announced it when your country was officially established, but Mr. Zongli's words just now made me feel a little embarrassed, and now I will tell Zongli about my country's decision. This is that from now on, we in Germany will cancel all the unequal treaties we have signed with China in the past and return all the concessions. Germany would also like to cooperate with you in the field of education and research. After speaking, he glanced at the ambassadors of Britain and France.

At this time, Germany was mutually beneficial to China, and there were not a few German soldiers who received cipher training on the Chinese side at this time, many of them were pilots and tank and armored vehicle drivers. More on the naval side, many German naval cadets are getting acquainted with the various warships that the German side has already purchased. As for the contract, after the loss of Qingdao, Germany did not have many interests in China, and now it is just a good deal.

Regarding Germany's sudden decision, the faces of the British and French ambassadors were not very good, and the United States was better, but they did not say anything if they were not enough. They all took the words of the German ambassador as if they were air.

"I will report the friendship of Germany to our leaders as soon as possible, and I hope that the friendship between our two countries will last for a long time." Zhongli said to the German ambassador with a smile on his face.

"Mr. Zhongli, we should calm down now, we can promise you at the treaty port, but zero tariff is absolutely impossible." Zhongli's words made Yoshiichi Tanaka really unable to answer, so he could only make concessions.

"That's fine, the issue of tariffs, so let's do it, we only pay one percent of the tax on the original basis."

"Ninety percent!"

"Ichisei!"

"Eighty and a half, I won't budge anymore."

Zong Li: "Let's do this, everyone says a bottom line that they can accept, and then adds it up, otherwise there will be no result if it goes on like this." ”

Yoshiichi Tanaka: "Okay, you talk first. ”

"No problem, twenty percent."

"Seventy percent!"

Several ambassadors have a feeling of wanting to laugh when the two of them bargain like street vendors, but they also know that if they don't look at the small Yicheng, if the transaction volume is large, then the wealth of this Cheng is definitely not a few.

The two tugged at each other for another half an hour, and finally settled on. The final price is 50%, but it will remain tariff-free for the first 10 years.

As for the public apology to China, in the end, Tanaka Yoshiichi still did not insist, and this point was also finalized.

After a short break at noon, a new round of negotiations began in the afternoon.

"Now let's talk about the Ryukyu issue, which is what you call the Okinawa Islands. It is indisputable that the Ryukyus have been a vassal state of China since ancient times, and now is the time to exercise our sovereignty. Since 1875, Japan has recklessly invaded the Ryukyu Islands by force, and put the king of the Ryukyus Kingdom under house arrest. In addition, the Ryukyuan people were forcibly conscripted into military service, and as their suzerain, we could not bear it. And don't forget, you have always governed the Ryukyus in the name of trusteeship, and now we don't need your trusteeship, and the Ryukyus must accept our leadership again. Finally, I would like to emphasize that we are not Manchus, so don't try to fool us. I'm here today with a map of the Ryukyu Islands. As soon as Zong Li's words fell, the assistant behind him took out a map, spread it out, and placed it on the negotiation table. Zong Li pointed to the map and said, "You can take a look, the islands on the map are the Ryukyu Islands that have been taken over by Japan, and the islands of all sizes are clear. This reminds me of a song in Taiwan, where Mr. Wen Yiduo's Song of the Seven Sons writes "Ryukyu is my group brother, and I am Taiwan". Now that Taiwan is back, how can we give up the Ryukyus? It's not just that I don't agree, our leaders don't agree, our army doesn't agree, and even the millions of people in the land of China don't agree. ”

For Chen Shao, Ryukyu is not only a strategic location, but also an attitude of his own. There is no way to deal with the problems of the Ryukyus in later generations, and now that he has the help of the Red Police Base, he will use his own strength to take it back openly, and let everyone have nothing to say.

Tanaka Yoshiichi didn't know what to say when he was told by Zongli, and he knew the affairs of the Ryukyus very well, and it was precisely because of this understanding that he didn't know what to say. Seeing that Zong Li said it in a voice and appearance, he hated that he couldn't even let out a fart. Tanaka Yoshiichi was also aggrieved today, but in the end he still spoke: "The affairs of the Ryukyus are decided by the Ryukyuan people themselves, and if the Ryukyuan people agree to return to China, the Japanese side has nothing to say." ”

In fact, Tanaka Yoshiichi hadn't realized it yet, and when he said this, he was already at a disadvantage. However, it seems that he has been at a disadvantage from the beginning, and the initiative is in Zong Li's hands.

"Hehe, we have long expected you to come to this trick, knowing that you will not be happy to hand over the Ryukyus, fortunately we have considered this, in fact, some time ago, we have sent someone to the Ryukyus and got a thing, I think you are all interested in taking a look." Zong Li said confidently, and said to the assistant behind him, "Take out the petition blood book." ”

The latter untied his backpack and took out a folded white cloth from it. There were blood stains on the white cloth, and you could see that there were a lot of words written on it. It hasn't been unfolded yet, and I can't see what exactly is written on it. Under the action of the assistant, a blood book nearly ten meters long and one meter wide was laid on the ground. A ten-square-meter white cloth was covered with blood characters, starting with three huge Chinese characters "Petition", and below it were many names, and many more were blood-colored fingerprints.

Zongli stood up, pointed to the blood book on the ground and said, "This is a blood letter we just received the day before yesterday, and the Ryukyuan people learned that we were about to defeat Japan, so they specially wrote this petition of 10,000 people. The signatures were all gentry with great influence in the Ryukyus, who longed for China to rescue them from Japan and to save them from the dire straits. The blood book brought today is not all the blood book, and there are many signatories behind it, and those who can't write bite their fingers and leave their fingerprints. When our leader Chen Shao saw this bloody letter, he was inexplicably moved and vowed to take back the Ryukyus and give the Ryukyus people a better future. Speaking of this, Zong Li stared at Tanaka Yoshiichi who was shocked and said, "Mr. Tanaka, when you see the blood book in front of you, what else do you have to say." Is it time to accede to our request? ”

"It's impossible, it's definitely your fake." As soon as Tanaka Yoshiichi saw the blood book, he thought that he had fallen into the trap that the other party had already laid out, and looking at the righteous and awe-inspiring Zongli opposite, Tanaka Yoshiichi had a feeling of twilight, and suddenly felt that he was a lot older.

"If you say we have any need to forge such a low-level thing, just send someone to the Ryukyus to investigate, so why should we bother to be thankless. You've seen the public opinion, now tell us what you think! ”

"I can't make up my mind about this matter, so I'm going to send a telegram asking for a message from our Emperor. That's all for today, and we'll move on to the rest tomorrow. Yoshiichi Tanaka said in a low voice, missing the previous kind of neutrality.

"Yes, the question of the Ryukyus must be answered to us tomorrow, and I also hope to discuss the issue of Jeju and Sakhalin with your emperor as well, lest you be unable to make the decision tomorrow." Regarding Tanaka Yoshiichi's request, Zongli didn't mind.

That was the end of the day's negotiations.

After the end, Zong Li did not leave the hotel, but stayed directly at the Longteng Hotel, and made a detailed report to Chen Shao on the day's negotiations.

Soon Chen Shao sent a reply, and the message was only two short words: "Very good!" ”

Although it is only two short words, in Zong Li's heart, the weight of two words is heavier than a thousand words. Because he knows that Chen Shao rarely praises people, and there are not many people who can get the word "very good", even if it is Zong Li himself, it is the first time to get these two words, which is definitely of great significance to him.

At this time, Tanaka Yoshiichi also lived in the Longteng Hotel nearby, and at this time, there was no Japanese-opened hotel in Shanghai, and even Hongkou was closed by the Chinese army, and even ordinary people could not enter or leave, let alone Tanaka Yoshiichi. Moreover, the Japanese Embassy in China is located in Hongkou, and the current Tanaka Yoshiichi can be said to have no place to stay in Shanghai. Originally, he still wanted to go to the concession, but in order to avoid suspicion, several countries refused to agree to his request. So he could only live in the Dragon Hotel tragically.

Compared with Zongli's happiness, Tanaka Yoshiichi at this time can be said to be gloomy. When he sent the demands of the Chinese side and the results of today's negotiations to the Japanese base camp. Hirohito, who was already in a bad mood, directly signed and scolded him, if it weren't for the sea, I'm afraid a shaving of his ears would be inevitable. However, Hirohito could only accept the conditions that had been negotiated, but in the face of the problems of Ryukyu, Jeju Island, and Sakhalin Island, Hirohito urgently convened the officials of the base camp to discuss how to reply to China's demands.

In the meeting, which lasted another hour, the final result of the Japanese side was that Ryukyu could be abandoned, but Jeju and Sakhalin could not afford to lose.

As for the blood letter, the Japanese side did not intend to verify anything, they have ruled the Ryukyus for decades, and they know the thoughts of those Ryukyuan people. Even if the blood letter is fake, it is useless, and the attitude of the Chinese side is very obvious, and there is no room for negotiation.

With the reply from the base camp, although he was scolded badly, at least Yoshiichi Tanaka had a draft in his heart.

July 11th

Early in the morning, Zong Li appeared at yesterday's negotiation table full of energy, compared to Zong Li, Tanaka Yoshiichi's image is not so good, with two dark circles under his eyes, obviously he didn't sleep well last night.

At the beginning of the morning, the two sides reached a consensus on the Ryukyu issue, and from this negotiation, the rest of the Ryukyu Islands, except for the Osumi Islands, will be officially under the administration of China, and the Ryukyuan people themselves will decide whether to be independent or whatever.

However, when it came to Jeju and Sakhalin, the two sides were again at loggerheads.

"We, the Japanese side, will resolutely not accept this condition, this is not what I meant, but also what the base camp and His Majesty the Emperor meant." For the first time, Yoshiichi Tanaka became firm.

"Humph! Sakhalin was snatched from them by you during the October Revolution in the Soviet Union, and we wanted to take it back and return it to our Soviet friends. Zong Li didn't blush at all when he said this, Jeju Island and Sakhalin Island were added by him, Sakhalin Island was just a smoke bomb, and his main target was Jeju Island. When I was chatting with Chen Fuqin, I heard about the military strategic role of Jeju Island, and I always remembered it. If you don't reach out at this time, wait for when. "And in the final analysis, Korea is also our subject country, the Qing Dynasty was weak, and Korea was occupied by you, and Jeju Island was only snatched from North Korea by you in the final analysis. Now that we have given up Sakhalin, what are you not satisfied with, compared to the size of Sakhalin, Jeju Island is worthless, and now you should be glad that we chose Jeju Island instead of Sakhalin. ”

"We can't accept your conditions." Yoshiichi Tanaka had a non-negotiable expression.

"In that case, then we don't force it, but if our army doesn't get the results they want, don't blame me if they do anything. Some time ago, I saw that many generals were calling for the capture of Korea, and if it weren't for the sincerity of our leaders in the peace talks on the Japanese side, our army would have already begun to attack. However, since it is not available at the negotiating table, we cannot explain the demands of the army. If anything goes wrong, you'll be responsible for it. Zong Li pretended to be helpless and said, but he laughed for a long time in his heart.

With Zongli's words, Tanaka Yoshiichi's face also changed, and he, who already had dark circles under his eyes, reflected his face even darker. How could he not hear the threat revealed in Zong Li's words, from the beginning of the negotiation to the present, he was almost used to Zong Li's threats. Which condition was not agreed to under the threat of the other party, these two days are definitely the most aggrieved moments in my life. But what can I do at this time, the Eastern Conference was promoted by myself, and I also supported the war against China, and now that the war has been defeated, there must be someone to bear this infamy, and I can't hide from it.

"I can't answer you right now, I want to ask the base camp and His Majesty the Emperor, let's talk again tomorrow!" Tanaka Yoshiichi didn't plan to say anything about Soli, so he simply left this issue to the base camp and the emperor to consider.

"There is no problem, but I hope that the Japanese side will consider this issue carefully. Actually, I really don't want the two sides to fight again, but sometimes it doesn't work if you don't fight. Oh! Another point, seeing that you are not in good spirits today, I hope you can rest well today, and be a little more energetic tomorrow, so as not to discredit your Great Japanese Empire, and those who don't know still think that there is no one in Japan! After Zongli finished speaking, he ignored Tanaka Yoshiichi, whose face was becoming more and more gloomy, laughed and said goodbye to several ambassadors to China, and then walked out.

After Tanaka Yoshiichi stared at Zong Li, he breathed a sigh of relief, and walked out without saying goodbye to the ambassadors of various countries to China. At this time, he was almost angry with Zong Li's last words, and he didn't even care about his demeanor, he just wanted to leave this place quickly, because he believed that now he had become the laughing stock of the ambassadors, and what face did he have to greet them.

(To be continued)