The Bund, Shanghai, British Consulate General in Shanghai.

The entire garden has been opened up as a place for dinners. There are cold dining stations everywhere, and Chinese and Western chefs dressed neatly and wearing white hats from major hotels in Shanghai are respectfully guarding behind the counters, waiting for guests to take their food. The Indian servants in white coats and turbans were wearing red turbans as they walked around with trays, which was particularly eye-catching. On the tray, in addition to all kinds of foreign wine, there is also Dutch water, and Coca-Cola is readily available.

The guests were also very extraordinary, and the leading figures on the beach were either neatly dressed or dressed neatly. There are also consular counsellors and secretaries of various consulates general in Shanghai, and ministers and envoys of Britain, the United States, Japan, France, Italy and other countries have also traveled thousands of miles here. Today's guest of honor is Luo Yaoguo, the admiral of the National ** Army and the chief of the General Staff, who has just returned from the sea trial. In addition, there are also the beauties of the ladies on the beach. Men and women are mixed, laughing and chanting while drinking, while talking and laughing in a low voice.

There is also a White Russian band in the corner of the garden, where a waltz is played. There was also a dance floor next to the band, where several young naval officers were dancing with their respective dance partners. Among them is Zhao Zheng, the captain of the Zhongshan, and his dance partner is the actress Hu Die, who is just beginning to become popular in Shanghai. The two of them seem to be already a couple......

In the shuttle crowd, people wearing the uniforms of Kuomintang field marshals were surrounded by several reporters and asked questions in low voices. This person stood in a straight military posture with a similar expression. It was Luo Yaoguo, vice chairman of the Kuomintang, vice chairman of the Military Commission, and chief of the General Staff, and next to him stood Sir Lam Pusheng, the British minister to China, who also looked sanctimonious. It seemed that he was waiting for the reporters to ask him questions. As a result, it was always Luo Yaoguo who was there.

"Your Excellency Marshal, I heard that this time, Britain, the United States, France, Japan, Italy, and other five major naval powers, have extended an invitation to the Chinese Nationalist Government to participate in the naval arms negotiations in London? Does the Nationalist Government intend to participate in the negotiations? ”

"As a responsible international power, the Republic of China is very willing to contribute to naval arms control and to stability and peace in the Western Pacific. Therefore, our national government will send representatives to the negotiations. ”

"Your Excellency, is there any will of the central government in Beijing behind the Nationalist Government's participation in the naval arms control negotiations this time? The central government in Beijing is now the legitimate government representing the Republic of China in the international community. And the naval arms control negotiations, it seems that only the central government is qualified to participate, right? No less words"

"This time it was our national government, not the central government in Beijing, that was invited to the naval arms control talks in London. Therefore, it is only the national government that plays a decisive role in the negotiations. As for...... As for Beijing, we will communicate with them through the North-South Exchange Foundation. But that's about it. ”

"Your Excellency, the central government in Beijing has declared a few days ago that all treaties concluded between any local government of China and a foreign government are illegal and null and void. And this view also seems to be in line with the current public international law, how will the national government communicate with Beijing to obtain their recognition? ”

Hearing this question, the muscles on Luo Yaoguo's face twitched. This declaration by the central government in Beijing immediately pushed the Nationalist government into an embarrassing position. A series of treaties signed by the Nationalist Government, including the "Secret Treaty of the Four Kingdoms of Guangzhou," the "Sino-German Secret Treaty," and the "Sino-Polish Treaty," are now illegal and invalid from a legal point of view. He reluctantly smiled at this, and we will communicate with Beijing through the 'North-South Exchange Foundation', and we can find a reasonable solution." After all, both the North and the South are Chinese, and there is no problem that cannot be discussed. ”

Luo Yaoguo whispered a few words of English in Lan Pusheng's ear, Lan Pusheng smiled faintly, glanced at the reporters, and said with a smile The British Empire has the credibility of the Chinese Nationalist Government, so it sent me to Shanghai to conduct preliminary negotiations with Marshal Luo and Minister Chen. Therefore, the Nationalist Government is not the central government at the moment, and it will not be a trouble for the naval arms control negotiations. ”

The reporters buzzed and whispered for a while, trying to ask questions. Luo Yaoguo and Lan Pusheng had already turned around and left, walking in the direction of the building of the British Consulate General.

……

In the living room of the British Consulate General, there is a unique mellow aroma of Blue Mountain coffee, American Minister Jensen, Japanese Minister Kenkichi Yoshizawa, French Minister Willier, Italian Consul General in Shanghai Ciano, and Minister of the Navy Chen Shaokuan of the National ** Army have all fallen into it.

Today's talks are the first high-level talks on naval arms control between the Nationalist Government and the five major naval powers. Britain and the United States are currently the two largest navies in the world, each with 500,000 tons of capital ships, so their requirements for China are not high, and 200,000 tons of gross tonnage of capital ships and 100,000 tons of gross tonnage aircraft carriers are completely acceptable. France and Italy were a little reluctant, and China's navy was originally inadequate, with only a total tonnage of tens of thousands of tons. But almost overnight, they were going to climb on the heads of these two traditional naval powers, and they naturally found it difficult for them to accept.

However, the most fierce reaction was Japanese Minister Kenkichi Yoshizawa, who proposed the 200,000-ton capital ship proposed by China, which is only 100,000 tons less than the 300,000-ton that Japan currently openly possesses, and the total tonnage of aircraft carriers is even higher than Japan's 81,000-ton capital

When Luo Yaoguo and Lan Pusheng walked into the living room, the Japanese Minister Fang Ze was already debating loudly with the Minister of the Navy Chen Shaokuan.

“…… The tonnage of China's capital ships is only 200,000 tons, and there are four armored ships, and there are only four real battleships with a total tonnage of 140,000 tons. Less than half of Japan's 300,000 tons of gross tonnage, how can it threaten Japan's security? On the contrary, Japan's 300,000-ton capital ships are the biggest threat to China's national security," Chen Shaokuan refuted Fang Ze's fallacy in fluent English, but on the surface he had a gentlemanly demeanor with a smile on his face. Wearing a well-tailored white navy uniform, he sits in a straight posture, quite a shadow of a British naval soldier.

Kenkichi Yoshizawa was wearing a tuxedo with a white stiff collar stiffly stretched under his neck. He also had a diplomat-standard smile on his face, and he didn't see the slightest pretense. Seeing Luo Yaoguo and Lan Pusheng walking in, he smiled and nodded.

"Your Excellency, Minister Chen. The Empire of Japan has four 'Karls. The Marx-class battleships had no objections. However, there are different opinions about the armored ships of the 'Polish Legion' class that are being built in your country. The empire believes that this new warship, which has both high speed and powerful firepower, has the potential to provoke a new round of naval arms race. Because the speed of such a warship exceeds that of all battleships and battlecruisers, and the firepower is enough to overwhelm all heavy cruisers. It is the most ideal 'broken ship'. If your country insists on having four armored ships of the 'Polish Legion'...... The Japanese Empire should also have the corresponding countermeasures. Speaking of this, Fang Ze glanced at the American Minister Jensen and the British Minister Lan Pusheng on the side, intentionally or unintentionally.

Luo Yaoguo was also looking at the faces of the British and American ministers. The United States, the American minister, looked indifferent, because the United States has limited colonies in the world, and its native resources are abundant, and its dependence on foreign countries is not high. This kind of "shipbreaker" poses little threat to the national interests of the United States. The British minister, Sir Bushen, nodded his head frequently, as if agreeing with the Japanese.

……

At the same time, at the Liuguo Hotel in Beijing, there is also a negotiation underway.

"Zirnekh. Your country's oil is all heavy and inferior oil, and now all the light and high-quality oil that can be bought at 80 cents per barrel in the world is light and high-quality oil from the United States, and there is a world of difference between the two, so the price of 80 cents per barrel ...... This is absolutely unacceptable to our national government. Hehe, at present, the international oil supply is very strong, why don't we pay 80 cents to buy American oil directly? Why buy your country's? As for those two battleships, we can accept the purchase in principle, but the price...... $20 million is too expensive, we can pay up to $10 million. ”

It was Lu Ming, director of the Trade Bureau of the Ministry of Armaments of the National Government. These days, he was sent by Sun Ko to Beijing to negotiate deals with the Soviets for the purchase of battleships and oil. Negotiations between the two sides have dragged on for some days, but no agreement has been reached.

Truth be told, cash is king in the international market right now. The $2 billion gold foreign exchange reserves in the hands of the Nationalist Government have long been a favorite in the eyes of major international oil companies. If you are willing to buy in large quantities, let alone eighty cents, even seventy-five cents can be negotiated, and the people who provide them are all high-quality light crude oil As for the two battleships...... The Navy of the Nationalist Government was quite interested, but it still wanted to suppress the price, and at most it would give 15 million US dollars.

In the living room, only the fragrance of the best oolong tea is slowly swirling. Zirneh touched his beard and looked at Lu Ming, who was white and chubby, looking like an evil capitalist. And Lu Ming just lowered his eyelids, as if he was looking at the teacup in front of him in a daze, as if this teacup was the famous porcelain of the official kiln.

The attachés on both sides were staring at each other with big eyes and small eyes. Zhou Elai, the middle G god who is responsible for pulling the thread at both ends, is thick eyebrows tight, and his heart is up and down. He didn't care if the Soviet Union wanted to sell oil to the Kuomintang, this thing was not a shunt-in commodity at the moment, and it could be bought with money. However, the battleships were different in those two days, according to the information that the personnel of the China G Special Branch heard from the streets of Wuhan. It is said that the Nationalist Government is not currently on the Northern Expedition and is doing a party with its tail between its legs, precisely because the navy has not yet been built. So the main forces of the army were pinned down in the coastal areas to defend against the Japanese threat. If the navy reaches a level similar to that of Japan...... The Northern Expedition would begin immediately, and the Soviet Union's sale of those two battleships under construction to the Kuomintang did not speed up the pace of the Kuomintang's naval armament? In this way, the Kuomintang's Northern Expedition may also be advanced, leaving not much for the people of China and the north. But now that the Chinese G wants to get help from the Soviet Union, it is really not good to undermine the good things of the Soviet Union. It's really a dilemma,

Soviet Ambassador Zirnykh was also anxious, Stalin in the Kremlin had already spoken, and there was no result in a few days. The Cheka warriors were going to investigate Zirneykh's relationship with Trotsky, if they did...... Hehehe, there are many bad explanations for this "hehe", and at the lightest it will end up in Siberian labor reform

Lu Ming's entourage was also a little anxious, because Wuhan's negotiations with Britain, the United States, France, Japan, and Italy had already begun. Here the negotiations on battleships are linked to the negotiations on accession to the Treaty on the Limitation of Naval Armaments. If the two "Karl. Marx class in hand, the Nationalist Government can make concessions on the "Polish Legion" class armored ships. A maximum of two ships can be abandoned. And if you can't buy two "Karl . Marx's "level...... The ability to break diplomatic relations at the level of the "Polish Legion" is still worth relying on. Because the Kuomintang needed to use "breaking the engagement" to deter Japan, although breaking the engagement could also be achieved by submarines. But deterrence and the real start of breaking the war are two different things after all, submarines are easy to use, but after all, no armored ships look terrible.

But in front of Zirnekh, Lu Ming still had a calm demeanor, sipping tea leisurely, not in a hurry at all. After all, even if this errand is messed up, with Luo Yaoguo in the background, his director is always there. Moreover, the southern monopoly bourgeoisie, which was close to Lu Ming, and the Krupp company, Blom. The representative of the FUCHS company had already told him that he did not want the Nationalist Government to buy the two battleships that the Soviets were building. They wanted to get new orders from the Nationalist Government even more, and the Germans even made it clear that they were willing to use the latest technology to design better and newer battleships for the Nationalist Government......

"Lu, do you want oil or not? If you want...... The price can also be negotiated" Zirnekh's tears are about to fall, the Cheka comrades in the back are sharpening their knives, and in front of them is this evil Chinese capitalist, and China G has no face in front of this capitalist, and now he can only grit his teeth and tear a big sale. If oil and warships are not sold cheaply, will Comrade Stalin let it go? This errand really fell from the sky, and it wasn't thought of by any unvirtuous ghost? Isn't this the life of his family?

Lu Ming lowered his head and thought for a while, and finally opened Chrysostom...... The quality of light crude oil is not a little worse than 75 cents, and the quality of your country's heavy crude oil is not a little bit worse. But looking at the face of the middle G week, we can buy a little, but the price...... Fifty cents sample? ”

Zirnykh wants to drop the tea cup a little, this capitalist simply wants to suck the blood of the Soviet people, light crude oil is more expensive than heavy crude oil, but there will not be such a big difference. The current price of light sweet crude oil is 80 cents per barrel, and heavy sweet crude is around 70 cents per barrel. Considering that the national government wants to purchase a large number of dollars, give a discount of five cents, and sixty-five cents a barrel will be the sky. Where is the jump price of fifty cents, the conscience of this capitalist is a little too dark, right? There is no shortage of words to say, although the price of crude oil on the international market has fallen like this, it has not taken into account the strong supply capacity of the Soviet oil industry, and if it plummets like last year's timber...... Maybe it's down to fifty cents.

His face turned blue and white for a while, and it was easy to slowly calm down, looking at Lu Ming, who looked like an evil capitalist. Forced a smile and said that fifty cents is too low, not even enough for Ben, can you add a little more? Do you see a sixty-five cent sample? And also...... Those two battleships, or fifteen million dollars, right? There are no small words, so you can buy two ships for 35 million dollars, and they are built in your own factory, which can bring in a lot of jobs. Do you think that's the reason? ”

Before he could finish speaking, he saw a young man in a suit and leather shoes hurriedly walking in. With a telegram in his hand, he trotted all the way to Lu Ming's side, leaned down, and muttered a few words in a low voice.

Then I saw a hint of smugness on the corner of Lu Ming's mouth, stretched out his hand to take the telegram, and waved the Chicago Stock Exchange Texas Light crude oil quotation he had just received in front of everyone, which had fallen below the 80 cents per barrel mark, and the latest price was 78 cents per barrel. If...... If the Soviet Union were to sell a lot of crude oil now, it would not be able to hold even sixty cents. Add in the difference between your heavy and light crudes, and the discount for buying in bulk, and that's almost fifty cents. Ambassador, what do you think? ”

Zirnykh is also running out, who made crude oil a buyer's market at all now? This damn economic depression looks like capitalism is not over yet, he, a GC fighter, is going to take a step forward Thinking of this, he took a deep breath and cast a distressed look at Zhou Elai, the middleman on the side.

Zhou Elai raised his eyebrows, put down the teacup in his hand, smiled and said Lu, so be it. This deal is a step back for both of you. The price of a barrel of fifty cents is a little low, or ...... Just sixty cents? It's still cheaper than in the international market now, and as for the two battleships, they should be sold for fifteen million dollars, right? There are not many words, Comrade Zirnekh, Lu, do you think it will work? ”

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