The second Sino-Japanese negotiations began, but it was unexpected by everyone.

This time, instead of dragging out the time as in the first negotiation, the Chinese side provoked a simple release of conditions, but there was no room for negotiation, which stunned journalists and diplomats from various countries. Because is this still a negotiation? It's an ultimatum.

Tang Shaoyi, Gu Junwei and a group of representatives quickly withdrew and left.

Smith, the British mediator representative, chased after him and said dissatisfiedly: "Your Excellency, is this your country's negotiating attitude?" ”

Tang Shaoyi stopped and said to Smith: "Your Excellency Smith, this is the decision of our interim president, and I am just conveying his meaning. As a veteran diplomat, he naturally did not anger the British representatives, and despite the decline of Britain after the World War, the emaciated camel was bigger than the horse, and the tiger still existed.

Smith said angrily: "If the whole world is negotiating like yours, then what do you want our diplomats to do?" ”

Tang Shaoyi shrugged and said, "I think it's because my country is still in a state of provisional government." The president and other high-level officials, including me, as foreign minister, are all temporary, so the functions of the government are not sound. Our president is a military man, and military power will inevitably be tainted with the atmosphere of some soldiers, and there is nothing I can do about it. ”

Smith said in a threatening tone, "What if we are firmly against it? ”

Tang Shaoyi's expression changed slightly, but he quickly calmed down and said, "I'm very sorry, it's not something I can decide. As I said, our current interim president is a military man, and no one can change his decision. The president said that the Japanese owe us too much to China. And our president's surname is Lee. ”

"Surname Li!?" Smith was stunned, he couldn't understand what this had to do with Li Bufan's surname.

Tang Shaoyi said lightly: "Li Hongzhang is also surnamed Li. When this sentence was spoken, Smith's face changed on the spot, and Tang Shaoyi continued, "Our president talked to me, and he was very angry about what happened to Li Hongzhang in the Shimonoseki Treaty. Not for anything else, just for the president and Li Hongzhang to have a common surname, and the Japanese civilization was learned from the Tang Empire, and the imperial family of the Tang Empire also had the surname Li. The president said that the Japanese can insult such a noble surname, and the crime is unforgivable! ”

Smith's face was very ugly, and his first thought was whether Li Bufan would be a descendant of Li Hongzhang's relatives, and then he thought about whether Li Bufan would be a descendant of the royal family of the Tang Empire. But as a diplomat, he quickly calmed down and said calmly: "So the president of your country did everything possible to insult the Japanese?" Constantly looking for an excuse to go to war? ”

"Yes!" Tang Shaoyi said unabashedly, "No one can stop the president's determination and will." ”

Smith gritted his teeth and said, "We will never allow this to happen." ”

Tang Shaoyi said word by word: "The president said: 'China and Japan cannot coexist, and there will be no Japan without China. I think I've made it very clear! Sorry, I spent you needing to report to Nanjing on the progress of the negotiations, and I was lost! "Say hello and leave.

Behind Tang Shaoyi, Smith appeared angry and angry, and was equally surprised by the assertiveness of the Chinese side.

Gu Junwei followed Tang Shaoyi closely, and said in a low voice on the side: "Father-in-law, is this okay?" ”

Tang Shaoyi smiled bitterly: "This is what the president meant. ”

Gu Junwei was surprised: "What does the president mean? ”

Tang Shaoyi nodded and said, "Yes." Through this negotiation, the president wanted to test the attitude of the great powers. I'm afraid that East Asia is about to change. ”

Gu Junwei was also shocked, he knew that as long as Li Bufan did not come forward directly in the negotiation, even if something went wrong, there was still room for redemption. But Tang Shaoyi's attitude of testing the powers is not trivial. Why test the attitude of the great powers? He could even think of it on his toes, paving the way for unequal treaties with the Great Powers.

In the past, Japan stepped on the throne of Tsarist Russia as one of the great powers, and now China is stepping on the corpse of Japan to ascend to the throne of the world's great powers. How can a great power tolerate the existence of unequal treaties? But how could the great powers be willing to give up their enormous interests and privileges in China? This is an irreconcilable contradiction.

It can also be seen from this incident that the Nanjing side no longer regards Japan as a heavyweight opponent, and in fact Japan has completely lost its qualification to compete with China. But the Nanking government has set its sights on the great powers, does China have such strength? Thinking about the history of the Eight-Nation Alliance's invasion of China in the past, the pressure almost made Gu Junwei feel suffocated.

Gu Junwei couldn't help but say, "Wouldn't this be too urgent?" ”

Tang Shaoyi sighed and said: "The president has participated in world wars, and in the German army, no one knows the strength of Western powers such as Britain and France better than him. This is the arrow of the Xuan, it is difficult to recover it when it is covered with water, and sooner or later there will be such a day. ”

Gu Junwei was silent and said, "You are also looking forward to this day." Is it? ”

Tang Shaoyi looked a little vicissitudes, and suddenly changed the topic: "Do you know? I, Tang Shaoyi, went abroad to study, and I have been inspired to revitalize China since I was a child, but after returning to China, our country was full of devastation and bullying. What I have seen is that the great powers are flying in our country, our people are being humiliated, our wealth is being plundered, and yet our diplomats are still groveling for the sake of the big picture. Every day I feel like living in a sea of swords and fires, life is better than death, death is better than death! Speaking of excitement, he turned around sharply, stared at Gu Junwei's eyes, and said word by word, "During this period of time, I feel that I have not lived in vain, and it is the happiest day since I entered politics, and this is the life and demeanor that diplomats should live." Although I am currently only a temporary foreign minister, I have had this experience in my life, and I have no regrets in my death. Yes, it is to die without regrets! ”

Gu Junwei only felt that these words were deafening and deeply shocked his heart. Since ancient times, weak countries have no diplomacy, but weak countries really need diplomacy. He had experienced the situation of a vulnerable diplomat firsthand, and even though he had argued with reason at the Paris Peace Conference, his efforts were ultimately ignored, and he could only mobilize the absence of diplomats to protest and dissatisfaction in such a weak and powerless way. That kind of powerlessness, despair and pain tormented his heart like a curse, and diplomats need to take into account the overall situation while trying their best to safeguard national interests, and the result is that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been saddled with black cauldron one after another, and has been denounced, insulted, and incomprehensible by the people, and even incomprehensible to family members.

But Gu Junwei still felt that he was in too much hurry, and couldn't help but say: "But at present, the most important thing in my country is to cultivate and recuperate, and strengthen my strength." ”

Tang Shaoyi sneered: "Are our losses in this battle very large? The flames of war barely burned on our soil, and even the Battle of Shandong ended quickly. Our country has not suffered any major damage, but has seized a large amount of materials and equipment, and the army has also experienced the baptism of national war, and its strength will only be stronger, and its morale is like a rainbow. I admit that we will be further strengthened by recuperation, but after the world war, the Western world will also have the opportunity to recuperate, and their strength will be even stronger. The most important thing is that almost all the strong men of the European powers such as Britain and France have experienced the baptism of world war, and at present, everyone is deeply shrouded in the tragic shadow of world war and has become war-weary, but if they come out of the shadow of world war, have you ever thought about what the consequences will be? ”

Gu Junwei couldn't help but shudder, what was the consequence? Millions, if not tens of millions, of whites who had lived through the baptism of world war could quickly rearm with what a terrible force it would be. He had only thought about strength before, and he didn't think about morale. That's right, it's morale and fighting spirit. Today's Western world is permeated with war-weariness and cherishing life extraordinarily, and its combat effectiveness has been weakened by countless grades. In the Western world, where democracy is rampant, can Western politicians expect people in this state to be armed and fight in the East from thousands of miles away? Even if it is enforced, the logistical pressure on such a long and terrible expedition will be difficult to estimate, not to mention that the Chinese Navy still has quite a few submarines.

Submarines shine in world wars and have been recognized by the world's navies as the most terrible killers of the seas, no, it should be said that assassins. In the World War, more than 10 million tons of ships were sunk by submarines, which far exceeded the results of surface ships. The most important thing is that there are no very effective anti-submarine means in the world at present, and passive attack submarines such as depth charges alone are really not enough to remove the threat of submarines. If it weren't for the terrible nature of submarines, why did the great powers almost form a tacit agreement to blockade submarine technology?

Gu Junwei said suspiciously: "Then what do you mean?" ”

Tang Shaoyi said calmly: "Since we can't prevent this from happening, then we can only try our best to assist the president to do this thing well and complete the president's grand cause." If we succeed, we will go down in history, and thousands of years later, we will not let Zhang Qian specialize in beauty. ”

Gu Junwei said solemnly: "You mean to push the boat down the river?" ”

Tang Shaoyi nodded and said: "Only by reducing the president's resistance as much as possible can we ensure success to the greatest extent." Don't you notice? Even when it was at war with Japan, the railway and highway transportation system in our southwest did not stop in the slightest? ”

Gu Junwei frowned and said: "The southwest transportation system plan has been implemented as early as two years ago, hey! At this, he couldn't help but gasp, and said in a shocked tone of disbelief, "Could it be that the president's preparations began at that time?" How is this—how is this possible? The president set the main battlefield in the southwestern mountains? Not at sea? This really made him unbelievable, because Li Bufan had not yet unified the whole country at that time.

Tang Shaoyi said with some joy and some expectation and confusion: "The president's majesty and strategy are not something we can understand, we just need to do our own thing." I'm really looking forward to it. ”

"yes, look forward to it, look forward to another miracle!"

ps: There was something going on, but seeing that the collection had risen to more than four hundred, so much great support, if I didn't work hard, I'd be so sorry for everyone. Thank you all for your support.

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