The question of whether the Emperor should speak in the U.S. Congress on behalf of the Empire or the Empress was the subject of complex and lengthy discussions within the Central Cabinet and the Inner Cabinet.

Song Biao's support for the Empress's speech is not because of his Soong Meiling plot, but on the principle of putting interests first, China and the United States need a more friendly and relaxed American environment for China to launch a new round of strategic cooperation talks, and only in this way can China's national interests be fought to a greater extent.

He is a very tough military emperor in the whole world, known as the Napoleonic Emperor of the East, before that, Gu Weijun also did a random group visit in the United States, and found that His Majesty the Chinese Emperor in the hearts of the American people is more regarded as the Chinese Tsar, and his consistent posture is too tough.

This is obviously not conducive to the needs of Sino-US diplomacy.

Finally, with the support of Song Biao, the Central Cabinet decided to invite the Empress to give a public speech in the United States Congress on behalf of His Majesty the Emperor Hua and the Chinese Empire.

The theme and draft of Empress Shu Xuan's speech were also revised several times, and finally the theme of the speech was determined by Li Enfu, who was extremely proficient in Latin and American culture, and Empress Shu Xuan wrote the speech herself, during which it underwent many revisions.

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On the morning of November 8, 1921, Song Biao and his wife were invited to visit the U.S. Capitol. Vanderbilt and Foreign Minister Liang Dunyan, accompanied by the parliamentarians, sat quietly waiting for his wife's speech.

Song Biao rarely spoke in public, and he did not consider himself a man of words, while his empress, on the contrary, was the most well-known translator of European and American fairy tales and poems in the empire, and she often wrote some modern poetry, publishing two collections of poetry and a collection of essays called "The Legend of Pearls", the latter of which was highly regarded in the New Territories of China.

Empress Shu Xuan is a noble lady who is proficient in English and good at reading poetry, with elegant and elegant words, and has the special elegant and noble aura of a prose lady.

Because she was very well prepared in advance, she deliberately wore a corset evening dress and long skirt today, and had the cutting and design style of a new lady with American popular characteristics, but used Suzhou embroidered silk satin with a vermilion pattern embroidered with a phoenix on a bright yellow background to show the royal status of the Chinese Empire.

Ten years of empress life has made Shu Xuan more elegant and noble, although it is the first public speech, she also looks surprisingly Shuya, walking on stage at her own pace, as the most beautiful and noble queen of the empire, Her Royal Highness scanned the American congressmen in the audience, as well as her husband in the audience.

After about ten seconds of deliberation and waiting, it was not until there was silence in the hall that she calmly said: "Your Excellency Senators and Representatives of the United States of America, first of all, I would like to thank my husband, His Majesty the Emperor of the Chinese Empire, for giving me such a beautiful and noble opportunity, because he knows that I have always had a special affection for the United States and the American people, which is like a youthful love, like a young girl's former attachment and love for a mature gentleman. ”

Her special and wonderful metaphors, as well as the special and gentle voice of Eastern Connecticut, quickly won the attention and surprise of the councilors, and only used a subtle opening remark, Empress Shu Xuan won a warm applause, so that she temporarily interrupted her speech.

After a moment of silence in the Capitol, she continued: "Many people may not know that His Majesty the Emperor and I were married in a beautiful and exquisite chapel in the small town of Wallingford, Connecticut, when he was not His Majesty the Emperor, and I was not the Empress, we were young and full of beautiful visions for the future, eager to be married in a happy world, and to be connected to each other forever, whether our marriage was magical and bright, or ordinary and warm, As is the case with all young lovers bathed in love in the United States and China. At this moment, as I stand here and think of the day I was in Wallingford, I am as happy as drinking honey wine, but I wonder if you remember the church where you and your wife were married, and if you do, you must have the same fond memories. Yes, if you can have such memories, then you can appreciate the feelings of His Majesty the Emperor and me towards Connecticut. ”

Warm applause rang out again.

Shu Xuan's elegant recitation of a wonderful prose poem, very rhythmic and characteristic constantly evokes the emotions and resonance of others, which seems to be destined to be a classic national speech from the beginning.

Because of the status of the empress and the lady, Shu Xuan avoids the various issues of passionate statements and realism, and only talks about the feelings between China and the United States, and intersperses it with the antiquity and longevity of the Chinese Empire, the newness and greatness of the United States, she mentions the oracle bone inscriptions and bronzes of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, mentions the Mayflower sailing ship, and mentions the first trade between China and the United States and the era of the Qichang Foreign Tour.

She spoke of the exquisite history of tea, silk and porcelain in China, awakening Americans' fond memories of that legendary ancient empire, telling of the Spring and Autumn Period when the princes were contending, the philosophical China of 2,400 years ago, the reawakening of the era of the empire's "respect for the law and love for the people", the slight mention of China's pedantic rigidity under Manchu rule, and the end of this dark history of China's Middle Ages, and the fact that China was entering a new Spring and Autumn philosophical revival similar to the European Renaissance. And actively studying the United States.

She did not mention China's attitude toward the British-Chinese alliance and Sino-US trade negotiations, which members of Congress might want to know more, or even mention Ben and Britain, but only talked about China and the United States, interpreted the new Chinese empire, and likened the friendship between China and the United States to a kind of "romantic love history on both sides of the Pacific."

Even so, Shu Xuan still received 14 warm applause during the whole speech, and Song Biao and the entire imperial delegation were extremely satisfied with this effect, as long as the US Congress can be handled, the commercial and trade negotiations between China and the United States will still be relatively easy to solve, and will play a very positive role in promoting the deepening of Sino-US cooperation and further resolving the problems left over from the "Chinese Exclusion Act."

As expected, the next day, almost all newspapers in the United States reported on the speech, and most of the media published the full text of Empress Shu Xuan's speech, and the United States and the American people seemed to have been ignited overnight with that kind of love enthusiasm, and there were also a lot of beautiful reveries about China, as if the union of China and the United States could change the whole world, and it was the most stable and powerful force in the world.

At this stage of the ongoing negotiations with the Sino-US Business and Trade Conference a week before the Washington Conference, the empire held a traveling exhibition of the China Exposition in the United States, the first stop was set up in Washington, D.C., to welcome the diplomatic teams of various countries that were about to come here, to exhibit China's oracle bone inscriptions, bronzes, porcelain, golden jade clothes, ink paintings, splendid embroidery, bonsai, and also to exhibit the new industries and advantageous agricultural products of the imperial era, and at the same time to promote the concept of "Spring and Autumn Renaissance" to the world, trying to promote ancient Chinese philosophy 2,300 years ago. Let the world re-understand and interpret a real China.

If a great empire wants to be rejuvenated, it must not only have strong industrial and agricultural strength and military strength, but also have the export of culture, and the culture that China is trying to export to the world is precisely the Spring and Autumn Thought, especially the Chinese thinking of "respecting the law and loving the people", "loving the people", "benevolent government", and "rule by virtue".

The empire actively lobbied Yale, Harvard and other famous universities to set up majors in classical Chinese philosophy, Chinese history and Chinese, etc., to export soft power and cultural influence, as the empire's strength further expanded, the empire also needs to export this soft power to further improve the empire's influence and status in the international world.

On the thirteenth day after Empress Shu Xuan's speech to Congress, the Washington Conference was officially convened, and His Majesty the Emperor Song Biao personally attended the meeting.

Because of his special identity and coming very early, Song Biao was with Warren this day. President Harding entered the venue together, almost the equivalent of half of the host.

This is normal, because China's position is basically to fully support the leading role of the United States in the Washington Conference, to suppress the British-Chinese alliance by uniting France and Italy, and to force all countries to sign a treaty suspending the naval race.

At this time, China and the United States are uniting to counter the British alliance, and this position is extremely obvious.

Song Biao did not know much about the Washington Conference, and at present, the current situation of the meeting is still very loose, and the officials sent by various countries are not of high rank, far less grand and high-level than the Paris Peace Conference.

As a matter of fact, there were many problems in the organization of this meeting, and from the very beginning there was no formal meeting date, and the initial stage was mainly bilateral negotiations, first of all, Britain and the United States basically agreed to maintain equality in the total tonnage of the Navy's capital ships, and this was also a condition that the United States could only achieve by striving for and intimidating Britain.

The negotiations between China and the United States on the tonnage of the Navy have long reached a conclusion, that is, the main battleships of the Chinese Navy remain at half of the size of the United States, or 70 percent, depending on the situation of the Chinese Navy, which is half of the battleships of the United States, half of China, 70 percent, and 70 percent of China.

Of course, the United States supports this, because the US naval strength in the Pacific Ocean is relatively weak, and the tonnage of its capital ships is much smaller than that of the United States, and the stronger the tonnage of China's capital ships, the greater the pressure on the United States.

On November 23, 1921, the first day of the Washington Conference, delegations from all countries entered the U.S. Capitol, where they gathered to reach a basic peace agreement, and then slowly negotiate specific naval tonnage and other issues.

Song Biao is the head of U.S. Secretary of State John Conns. Vanderbilt and Liang Dunyan were accompanied by Foreign Ministers, and Warren. President Harding walked into the venue together, and they looked at it at a glance, and there were basically three camps in the entire venue, one camp in France and Italy, actively negotiating countermeasures, and one camp in the British language, also negotiating countermeasures.

Neither the President nor the Prime Minister of France attended the meeting, but sent the Acting Minister of Colony, Albert Brown. Sarau chaired the French delegation, and it seems that the lowest level of personnel sent to the meeting was not even a formal cabinet member, but at the personal suggestion of Song Biao, French Prime Minister Aritisde . Brian had rushed over.

France's current problems are more complicated, its domestic anti-war sentiment is extremely high, and the public has always had a strong opposition to the naval race, which is why the French right-wing party Républican Party lost the election, allowing the Left Alliance to win by a large margin, and the newly inaugurated French President Alexandre Brown. Millerand was a well-known reformist socialist who advocated the nationalization of the economy and the welfare system, and strongly opposed the French naval race, calling for an increase in army forces and the construction of fortified defenses against the potential German threat.

It can be said that Alexander. Millerand's influence on France was positive and long-lasting, and he was France's first left-wing and reformist socialist president.

Because of his contempt for the navy, Millerand was extremely indifferent to the Washington Conference, and only sent a temporary minister to attend, which did cause a lot of damage to France in the end, and worse, the rank was too low to interact and cooperate with the Chinese Empire, an ally here, and it was difficult to resist the British alliance.

Considering the very special allied relations, the French representative Albert. After seeing Song Biao, Sarao quickly took the initiative to step forward and bow to Song Biao, and only then introduced himself.

You see how bad this situation is.

The Emperor of the Allies has no idea who the representative you have sent to work together against the British is.

France, an ally...... It's really speechless.

Song Biao was very dissatisfied, but he still talked to Albert. Sarao shook hands and said a few words, and at this time, Yuzaburo Kato, the Minister of the Navy, also stepped forward and bowed to Song Biao.

Song Wenhui, the Minister of the Imperial Navy, accompanied Song Biao and knew the main enemy very well, so he stepped forward to introduce the other party.

Hearing that the thin middle-aged admiral in front of him was the Minister of the Navy, Song Biao was a little amazed in his heart, do you think, although this navy has a dwarf-like physique, it can support and ask the Great Empire to challenge the US Navy, what a strong heart and self-confidence does this need?

Song Biao took the initiative to shake hands with Yuzaburo Kato and said to him: "Didn't Mayuki Akiyama, the naval principal who was very good at talking and thinking, come to such a meeting?" If he doesn't come, it's a loss for you! ”

Yuzaburo Kato agreed, "You really know that Major General Akiyama, and he really wants to come here, but because of the heavy teaching tasks, he can only tell me all his thoughts." ”

Song Biao sighed simply and said, "It's a pity, I originally wanted to see him here, this interesting guy!" ”

Yuzaburo Kato laughed and said, "yes, that's really an interesting guy." He has always praised you as the god of the Asian army, and I deeply believe that it is, and this time, our Prime Minister His Excellency Takahashi heard that you will also come in person, and specially entrusted me to convey to you my admiration for you, because it is precisely because you led the Chinese Army to defeat the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Soviet Russian Army that the whole world is impressed by Asia, and His Excellency the Prime Minister also hopes that I can formally convey to you my sincere hope for peace and friendly coexistence between China. ”

Song Biao snorted, and then countered very bitterly: "I heard that the word Zhina was already a very powerful derogatory term after the Sino-Japanese War, and the empire has clearly defined the title in Chinese characters, and China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also announced to various countries the full name and abbreviation of the Chinese Empire in the Chinese languages of China, Britain, France, Russia and Germany, and all countries use China's announcement, but after accepting China's announcement, it deliberately issued regulations in 1913, requiring both political axes and civil people to use them' The territory of China is also deliberately divided into very small areas, not even including the Northeast and the Far East, and even Tibet and Xinjiang Province, so the thief's ambition is not small. In addition to the fact that you killed my parents and almost all the people of my family except me, the main reason for my various peeps and greedy aggression towards our country is also the main reason, and this greed and aggression shows that you use the word 'shina'. In other words, if you don't have any respect for an empire with an economy eight times higher than yours and a territory of 18.9 million square kilometers, and you use the most inferior words to openly refer to our country in political documents, or even in diplomatic jargon in front of the emperor, then peace is a, because you don't want peace with our country at all, you only want our territory, you want to defeat our country, occupy our territory, encroach on our market, and want to destroy all our industry. Reduced to your colonial power. Therefore, since I heard that you, the Minister of the Navy, personally uttered the word 'Shina', I know that the so-called friendship of the Admiralty is just a deception, and that I will actively step up preparations for war after I return to China, and I can assure you, the Admiralty, that as long as there is one person left alive in China, we will fight against the Admiral to the end until all your invading forces are eliminated. ”

Yuzaburo Kato's erroneous use of a habitual contempt in front of the Emperor is a major diplomatic faux pas and a mistake, and it is normal for the Emperor to refute it so harshly.

The fact that the term "freedom" is your "freedom" is the same as when we use the name "Xiaoyuben" and "Wa Guo" to refer to the Great Empire, but it cannot be used in such international occasions and official documents of the political axe, which in itself is an extremely inferior problem of the Great Empire, and the fact is that the use of the word "Shina" was indeed imposed in 1913 in a way that was explicitly stipulated by the political axe.

For example, if China uses the name "Wa Guo" in official documents, the Great Empire must also be very madly angry.

Yuzaburo Kato's face was embarrassed, and he didn't know whether to apologize immediately, or whether he needed to apologize or not.

This is a major venue for international surnames.

In the past few years, the size of the Washington Conference was second only to that of the Paris Peace Conference, and His Majesty the Emperor of China, who was invited to attend the meeting, lectured his representative Yuzaburo Kato in front of the delegates of various countries, and the other delegates could not help but be surprised.

Song Biao said to Kato Yuzaburo in a timely manner: "Tell your Excellency the Prime Minister truthfully, just say that you have made a serious diplomatic mistake, and you can't convey his sincerity at all." ”

After saying this, Song Biao no longer paid attention to Yuzaburo Kato, who was standing on the side, and led the members of the imperial delegation to the seat of the Chinese region.

The meeting still had to go on, and after the delegations arrived, Warren . President Harding happily came to the stage and made an opening speech, saying a few goals as plain as white water, and then invited Song Biao to give a speech as the emperor of China.

Eleven days earlier, Empress Shu Xuan had just given a splendid speech here that had won the warm affection of the Americans, and 11 days later, Emperor Song Biao would continue to deliver a congratulatory speech at the opening meeting of Washington.

The formal diplomatic arena is very conservative, and a single misuse of a word can become a serious problem for both countries.

Even as the emperor of the Chinese Empire, Song Biao did not have room to play on such occasions, Kaiser Wilhelm II was his example, after he came to power, he read according to the script of the speech prepared in advance by the General Administration of the Inner Court and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but the theme of his speech was also very special, and put forward an important point of view of the Chinese Empire in the international political arena - "Peace comes from respect".

All the words were carefully crafted, and after the speeches, the Imperial Foreign Office sent an official translation to the participating countries to prevent misunderstandings of the Emperor's words.

Even so, Song Biao simply satirized Britain and the book in this fixed speech.

At this time, the Chinese Empire was a real world power, the empire's GDP had surpassed that of Britain in this year, and it was ten times that of the original, the empire had a powerful army, and even so, Britain was constantly trying to occupy the advantages of the empire's territory, relying on an unequal treaty still vainly trying to occupy Hong Kong, vainly trying to ignore the agreement reached between the empire and Britain before the war, and not abiding by the formal treaty between the two countries.

This is Britain's disrespect for China, and if Britain continues to adopt such a tough, rough and arrogant attitude towards China, a Sino-British war will inevitably come after all.

Of course, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs chose to express the meaning of this in the most conservative and metaphorical sentences, without warning Britain to be careful.

Song Biao also talked about three key issues that may lead to the outbreak of world war: first, the collective revanchism of the defeated countries of the alliance; second, the ideological expansion of the Soviet Russian dictatorship into Eurasia; Third, Britain continues to decline, but still wants to maintain the hegemony of the world's largest colony.

On the third point, he also bluntly said that China has the world's largest national territory, population and resources, China does not need to open up to the outside world to maintain the country's development, China's internal market is broad enough to guarantee China's development, China will not challenge Britain, nor will it seize British colonies, but other countries will still have this idea.

Song Biao's prediction is that in the next thirty years, there will be more and more countries challenging Britain's privileges around the world, and as Britain is no longer the most powerful country in the world, more and more countries will demand secession from Britain and reading power, which may also lead to a new world war.

Therefore, he proposed that Britain should make a stable contribution to world peace, not turn domestic problems into international problems, and not blindly expand military spending to lead to too cruel exploitation of colonies, constantly trigger wars of resistance, and threaten the stability of the whole world.

The discussions, prophecies, and demands on this point were discussed by him and Warren. President Harding had already consulted with Warren in advance. President Harding's proposed goals echoed each other and forced the British League to make major concessions at the meeting.

The world is cruel and unforgiving.

If you don't have the strength, don't try to occupy the position of the world throne, if you don't have the strength and want to continue to be the world hegemon, it will only lead to continuous wars until you are broken.

This is what the United States and China are going to make to Britain at the Washington Conference.

In addition, China and the United States also have a clear requirement for Britain and France, that is, you must repay your debts, don't fucking expect to use Germany and Austria as an excuse to repay your debts, and don't expect to be lazy with currency devaluation.

It is only natural to repay debts.

If you want to pay the bill, there is no door.

It is even more foolish to owe us so many debts and not repay them, and to continue to commit crimes against the wind and use all the money to expand military power and suppress our development.

(To be continued)