Outside China, jiāo is by no means a good job, tough on the outside, there is no strength, the strength is not good, compromise with the outside world, the people regard it as Han jiān, and the outer circumference is slippery, and the people do not have that resistance.

"If you don't do your own thing, you can't do anything else."

Liang Dunyan's words express the difficulties of Chinese foreign officials, but what he said about doing his own thing, heartless and heartless does not refer to stupid people, but refers to "people who can look at scolding and ignore people", if that person can't do this, I am afraid that as soon as he enters the foreign jiāo department, he will have the reputation of "traitor" on that side, and he will end up depressed and depressed.

Located at No. 32 Guangfu North Road, the building is regarded as one of the "representatives of Chinese imperial architecture", although since the fifth day of the first lunar month, the officials of the Ministry of Empire have believed that they "have not made a covenant that insults the national body, and the second has not done a degrading trip to the national body", but the Imperial Outer Jiāo Department still has an alias "Traitorous Department".

Every once in a while, there will always be people who throw something stinky jī eggs, rotten vegetables and the like on the building of the outer jiāo department, and sometimes even directly smash it on the officials working in the outer jiāo department, just at the big-character poster that was posted near the outer jiāo department from time to time, "waijiāo boneless, loss of power and humiliation of the country", and then see the evaluation of the external jiāo ministry on the other side, the people who can work quietly in this building are not ordinary people, at least they do their own thing, they have no heart and no lungs, but how long can they last, But it depends on the cultivation of each person.

"You want to quit?"

Putting down the resignation report, Liang Dunyan raised his head and looked directly at the young man in front of him, Cao Weiran, he was one of the thirty-two young people he personally selected from the foreign official training class, according to his own ideas, if he had honed for another year and a half, he could consider sending them to the embassy abroad for internship, and when the embassy opened in Xiǎo in the future, he would send them over and hone them for four or five years, and then he could be entrusted with a heavy task.

China's foreign jiāo still depends on them, and the old people of the old dynasty will be eliminated one day, and Liang Dunyan only hopes that when the day of his own elimination comes in the future, these people can take on the heavy responsibility of the outside of the empire.

"My lord, my father sent a telegram, if Wei Ran continues to serve in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he will sever the father-son relationship with Wei Ran"

When Cao Weiran spoke, his face was full of bitterness, the "Joint Communique" Don't say that the Japanese are dissatisfied, even China is also dissatisfied, although there are not as many as Japan, but there are always people who are dissatisfied, his father is one of them, and his father learned that he had participated in the negotiations, and he directly took a telegram, asking him to resign, saying that the Cao family has not been out of the Han Dynasty, and it can't start from his life, when the son can lose this face, when the father can't afford to lose this share.

"Oh"

Liang Dunyan sighed softly in his heart, looking at the young man in front of him who had high hopes for him.

"Yi Jian, it is admirable to respect the country, and it really makes these "traitors" of my generation ashamed

The minister's words made Cao Weiran's heart tremble, and he hurriedly bowed and said.

"My lord, outsiders may not know, but Wei Ran knows that since the beginning of the Imperial Foreign Ministry, we have never signed any covenant that insults the national body, and even tried our best to fight for national interests at the negotiation table and call us traitors, which is really ...... It's ......."

When the words came to his mouth, Cao Weiran couldn't go on, how could he scold? If you scold it heavily, you can even scold your own son, and if you scold it lightly, you feel wronged in your heart.

"My lord, if we are doing right and doing straight, how can we care about the broken tongue of others?"

"Even so, how can that Yijian care about other people's broken tongues"

Liang Dunyan played a trick with his subordinates, although he knew that this was a broken tongue.

"My lord, really...... It's really ...... Father's ......"

Squeaky but Cao Weiran couldn t say a reason for it how could he not know that the minister wanted him to continue working in the ministry but the problem was.

"My father not only threatened him with a severing relationship, but also threatened him with not being allowed to enter the ancestral grave after his death...... It's really ...... I also ask for the Minister's forgiveness."

Nodding, Liang Dunyan can understand Cao Weiran's difficulties, sever the relationship between father and son, and are not allowed to enter the ancestral grave after death, I am afraid that there is no heavier punishment than this.

After a moment, Liang Dunyan looked at the young man in front of him and spoke.

"Yi Jian, do you know who the minister respects the most in his life?"

The minister's change of topic made Cao Weiran stunned, and after a little contemplation, Cao Weiran shook his head.

"The lower officials don't know"

"Li Hongzhang"

Liang Dunyan unexpectedly said a person's name, only the shocked Cao Weiran was shocked, this person is a Han jiān, a traitor, all the crimes can be said to be complete, if it weren't for the fact that most of the conservatives among the current Chinese officials have left themselves in the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and ninety percent of the members of the Council have been falsely held, I am afraid that the legislative liquidation of Han Jiān will definitely be passed, and Li Hongzhang is afraid that he can be ranked within the top 100 of the liquidation. ,

Perhaps the empire only liquidated the confiscated family property of the descendants of the Han dynasty in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, and the public opinion also had the classification of "Jiān before Qianlong and forced after Qianlong", but people like Li Hongzhang can not mention it, and even most officials, what they are most afraid of is that they will be shaken out of the old style of "things clear", and they will never dare to show any sympathy for the Manchus.

And now the minister actually said that the person he admires the most is Li Hongzhang, if it is reported, public opinion will explode tomorrow, I am afraid that the whole of China will be scolded, and finally the minister will be dismissed by His Majesty in the scolding.

"What? Didn't expect that? ”

Liang Dunyan smiled slightly.

"I dare to say that I didn't expect the consequences, and besides, the reverence I said was not without reason"

"At that time, as far as the whole of Asia is concerned, the most representative foreign jiāo official was Li Hongzhang, not only in Asia, but even in that era, even from the perspective of the whole world, there were not many foreign jiāo officials like Li Hongzhang"

Liang Dunyan unexpectedly gave Li Hongzhang an astonishing evaluation, but this evaluation made Cao Weiran can't help but muttered in his heart, he always felt that the minister complimented him so a bit exaggerated, if there was really such a sè, as for the signing of a series of treaties that would lose power and humiliate the country? As for the Russians will be deceived into signing the so-called Qing-Russian alliance treaty?

"From the beginning of the group training to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nanyang, then to the Minister of Beiyang Commerce, and then to the Minister of Plenipotentiary, the ministers of the foreign legation of the Beiping powers at that time were very flattering to Li Hongzhang, calling him "the Bismarck of the East", and Japan at that time called him a master of bringing down the foreigners......"

"It's just for the sake of profit."

Cao Weiran muttered softly on his lips, what kind of Oriental Bismarck is just a compliment for Westerners in order to adapt to the Chinese style of jiāo, and even in his opinion, if Li Hongzhang can't even catch up with one-tenth of Bismarck, what else is the Eastern Bismarck, Bismarck brought the powerful German Empire, and what did Li Hongzhang bring? It is the compensation for the land cession of Maguan, and it is the great shame of the first two people of Xin Chou.

There is simply no trace of comparison between the two.

The muttering still reached Liang Dunyan's ears, and he looked up at the young man in front of him, he was far from being able to understand Li Hongzhang, and when that time came, maybe he would be able to become a qualified foreign official.

"Welcome? Yi Jian, in fact, to a certain extent, compared with Bismarck, Li Hongzhang is even better"

Faced with the scorn against Cao Weiran, Liang Dunyan continued to say his opinion.

"You must know that the Qing country where he is located is different from Germany, with constant internal affairs, mixed political programs, ethnic separation, weak soldiers, and a piece of féiròu that has been coveted by the great powers for a long time, and Li Hongzhang became an important minister of this country under this circumstance, without harming the great interests of the great powers, he did his best, while giving the great powers some benefits, and at the same time letting them contain each other, so as to preserve the country as much as possible in maintaining balance, and at this point he can indeed be called one of the masters, I know ......"

Raising his eyes to look at Cao Weiran in front of him, Liang Dunyan showed a smile on his face.

"I know, you will definitely say, if he is really so sè, why would he sacrifice so many rights"

"Yes, sir"

"In that case, the question was not whether Li Hongzhang signed or not, how could he refuse, the only thing he could do was to do his best to fill the appetite of the great powers at the least cost, and to ensure the survival of the country in his heart as much as possible."

After letting out a long sigh, Liang Dunyan said in meaningful words.

"Everyone knows, of course, they all say that weak countries have no outer jiāo, but they don't know, weak countries need foreign jiāo, strong countries need foreign jiāo more with their military strength, foreign jiāo is only auxiliary, with military power as a shield outside jiāo, it can be said that the attack is invincible, and the weak country's national strength and military strength are inferior to people, so there is no choice, therefore, it is more necessary to use flexible foreign jiāo to ensure that national interests are not lost as much as possible, so weak countries need foreign jiāo even more, if the weak country finally gives up on the efforts of foreign jiāo, I'm afraid there is really no hope for this country."

When he was silent, Liang Dunyan picked up the resignation letter he handed over from the table, and was about to sign his name on the letter.

"Minister, can I still take back that letter?"

After a moment of silence, Cao Weiran saw that the minister was about to sign, and hurriedly spoke.

"Yi Jian, are you sure you want to do this?"

Cao Weiran nodded, he knew what it meant for him to do this, maybe it meant that his father would kick him out of the house, or even ...... But...... The country needs to be outside jiāo,

"Tonight, there is a waijio dance party in the Purple Mountain Villa, if you don't arrange it for the night, come with me......"

Just as Cao Weiran was opening his mouth to refuse, the sound of mén sounded.

"Come in"

It was Liang Dunyan's secretary Song Haofan, who was a former Qing dynasty man who wrote very well articles, and the most rare thing was that he knew English and German, and was also teaching himself French and Spanish.

"Minister, ...... Japan"

Before Song Haofan finished speaking, the two of them broke in angrily, and in front of them was the Japanese Emperor's special envoy Ito Hirobumi, who would not return to China until the communiqué was fully fulfilled, and behind him was the new ambassador to China, Hichi, who was recalled to China a week ago.

The two mén appeared to break into their office, which only surprised Liang Dunyan, and Cao Weiran's face also changed, looking at the two of them when he was about to speak, Hichiki Yi, who had been following Ito Hirobumi, spoke first in the face of anger.

"Minister Liang, the Japanese Empire needs your country's explanation, the most direct explanation, don't try to send us away under any pretext, let alone play any word games"

On the way here, Hichiki has been persuading himself to accept his suggestion to "use brute confrontation methods", this kind of external jiāo means Ito would not understand, when Xiaguan chūn sail building, he used this set of policies to deal with Li Hongzhang's delay and try to lead other countries to balance, sometimes brutality is an effective external jiāo means, but Rizhiyi will be like a series of cannons to try to ask, but Ito Hirobumi can't help but admire, It seems that the temporary change of envoy is correct, and perhaps the current Japan really needs a foreign official who "does not pay attention to means" to deal with China.

Using brutality to resolve the wrist is sometimes an effective method, especially when Zhiyi used an almost barbaric way to question and ask for explanations at the same time, and step by step, Liang Dunyan, who had already had a case for this scene, panicked for a while, so that he didn't react at all.

Yu Guang noticed that the minister's rude behavior and the ensuing questioning seemed to be unscrupulous, but the young and vigorous Zhong Cao Weiran turned his face without any scruples.

"Please be aware of who you are"

After that, he walked straight forward a few steps, standing directly in front of the minister, blocking Ri Zhiyi, looking at each other with his eyes, and when he looked at Ri Zhiyi, who was only 1.6 meters tall, he even deliberately chose to look down, his eyes were slightly widened, and he was angry on the top.

"Your Excellency the Minister of the Chinese Empire standing in front of you, the place where you are standing is the Ministry of the Chinese Empire."

When he reminded him, he noticed that the other party was rebutting and knew what the other party was going to refute, and Cao Weiran, who was going to use it to refute, twisted his head and looked at Song Haofan, his voice still with force.

"Secretary Song, how did you become a secretary, you let the idlers and others rush into the adult's office, and you didn't call the guards, coaxed him out......

Song Haofan, who didn't react, was taken aback when he heard this, didn't this Cao Yijian want to cause any trouble

He ...... They are ......"

"What are they, if he is a foreign official, he needs to know the most basic etiquette, this kind of rude person, he actually let it go so far, is it really to ignore the foreign Jiāo department? Guards"

Cao Weiran grabbed the white like a cannon, and shouted "guards" when he was about to leave. I almost swallowed the Japanese Zhiyi Qi in one go, I was arrogant enough, but I didn't expect to meet a more unreasonable person, and I actually directly said that I was impersonating, and I had to let the guards drive me away, and I couldn't bear it.

"I'm the ...... of the Day"

"Yi Jian"

The voice behind Cao Weiran interrupted Ri Zhiyi's voice, and Liang Dunyan, who was still smiling on his face, walked out from behind Cao Weiran, but his eyes were not cast on Ri Zhiyi, but on Cao Weiran, with admiration on his face.

"This is His Excellency the Imperial Japanese Ambassador Plenipotentiary to China, His Excellency Hichito, Dean Ito Hirobumi, and Ambassador Nichioyi, and his subordinates are rude, which makes you laugh."

The opportunity has been lost

Ito Hirofumi sighed heavily in his heart, just smiled, and when he looked at the young man named "Yijian", he deliberately wrote down this name, and in time he was an extremely difficult foreign official

"Dean, ambassador, Japan is just like this, Handan has been in the past for a long time, but I forgot how to walk"

Cao Weiran snorted as if he was polite, and when Liang Dunyan, who didn't wait, reprimanded him, he seemed to be very respectful to the two of them. ,

"I've met Dean Hirobumi Ito, Ambassador Hichiki Ichi"

Rizhiyi stared at this young man hatefully, and his eyes wanted to swallow this life that ruined his plan, but this was taken advantage of.

"I wonder if Dean Ito and Ambassador Hichiki came for the sake of North Korea."

Liang Dunyan, who already knew the intention of the two, directly said the intention of the two.

"It's not Korea"

As a senior foreign official, Ito Hirobumi naturally would not make those low-level mistakes of principle and would never recognize North Korea.

"It seems that His Excellency the Minister already knows about this, and the Japanese Empire needs an explanation"

"Two xiǎo 时前"

Liang Dunyan still did not deny that he already knew about it.

"The Minister received an official letter from our General Staff stating that the Russian Imperial Army had trespassed into the area of our withdrawal without authorization, and even clashed with the garrison units of our army"

As he spoke, Liang Dunyan made a gesture to sit down, and at the same time paced behind his desk and took out an official letter from the outside world.

"And this Minister has drafted an official letter to the Russian Ambassador to China to lodge the most solemn protest, and at the same time, to the Embassy of the Empire of China in Russia, to lodge the most severe protest to the Russian Empire."

Handing the official letter to Ito Hirobumi, Liang Dunyan looked solemn again.

"Please rest assured that we will do everything possible to honour the agreement we have reached with your country and, at the same time, will not hesitate to use all means to ensure the effectiveness of the protests"

Looking at the strongly-worded protest letter, Ito Hirobumi could not have known that maybe Liang Dunyan was waiting for his arrival, but his sentence "will not hesitate to take all means." But it surprised him again.

"What kind of hand is your country going to use?"

"All effective means"

"Does it include the expulsion of its fleet from your country's military port"

"If necessary, this possibility is not ruled out"

Liang Dunyan, who had calmed down in a few words, threw out a confusion that the other party couldn't refuse. When they heard this answer, Hirofumi Ito and Hichiki looked at each other.

"I wonder if your country can give endorsement to the foreign jiāo?"

"The official letter of protest is the most direct endorsement"

Sensing the other party's doubts, Liang Dunyan sneered in his heart and continued.

"In order to ensure the effectiveness of the protest, the Imperial Government is planning to stop supplying the Russian fleet in order to ensure the toughness of the protest In short, I am very sorry for the matter of Korea, but I ask you to believe that our country will never violate any agreement that has been reached with your country, and is willing to devote all its national strength to ensure the fulfillment of the agreement.