To a certain extent, diplomacy between countries is not so much "friendship", "friendliness", and "friendship" as it is a combination of real interests, diplomacy is the most blatant scam in the world, and the first compulsory lesson for every diplomat is to keep a smile with his professional surname, and then say the sincere words of his professional surname, but those words must be nonsense and lies.

"The fundamental premise of the greatest diplomat is that he can deceive everyone!"

Who said this? No one has investigated its origin, but no one can deny the truth that this sentence represents, and any country, any diplomat, if he or she ignores this in the course of his or her diplomacy, will eventually pay the price for his stupidity.

There are only eternal interests between nations!

In May 1905, a series of strikes and demonstrations continued to occur in many cities in Russia, and in addition to strikes and demonstrations, in Finland, Poland, the Caucasus, and other places, with the support of money and weapons, national uprisings broke out one after another, and in some cities Soviets appeared and seized local power.

In the face of one domestic riot after another, the whole of Russia was so busy dealing with civil strife and domestic affairs that it was impossible to deal with it with all its might. Nevertheless, the atmosphere in St. Petersburg at this time seems to be much more relaxed than it was two months ago, and the rare victory from the front line has finally allowed the Russians to regain some self-confidence, and even very rare to inspire some patriotism.

After the Russians reported the victory of Kuropatkin in annihilating a wing of the Chinese army and inflicting heavy damage on a division of the Chinese army, Kuropatkin, who had been a "coward", "coward", and "stupid donkey who should have been on the gallows" a few months earlier, would become a hero, and some people even compared him with Kutuzov, although the two did not have any comparable surnames, but this did not prevent the official newspapers from praising the "epic" victory that took place in the Tumen River.

It was under the influence of this situation that St. Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire, recovered from the atmosphere of riots that could break out at any time, and even the Tsar himself returned to the Winter Palace from the Tsarskoye Village.

"The calm before the storm!"

Zhang Hao, who was sitting in the carriage, looked at the street outside the carriage and snorted coldly on his lips, the Russian victory was not brought by their "brave and fearless" and "wise and brave" soldiers and generals at all, but by the Guards handouts, if it weren't for the hundreds of thousands of Guards entering North Korea, if it wasn't for the Guards to contain their main force, the Russians? Is it possible for them to achieve victory over the Tumen River?

Maybe! But it will never be so easy, especially for a country that is now completely mired in internal and external troubles, and it is impossible for them to devote all their energy to the Asian battlefield thousands of kilometers away.

"Constant protests, let the Russians themselves take the initiative!"

Thinking of His Majesty's instructions, Zhang Hao squeezed out some smiles, His Majesty dug a pit for the Russians from the beginning, and these Russians are still complacent there, so to speak, they willingly jumped into the pit that His Majesty dug for them, and even happy to do so.

As soon as the carriage stopped, Zhang Hao, who got out of the carriage, dressed up and entered the building of the Minister's Office, accompanied by an attaché carrying a briefcase, which is the seat of the Council of Ministers of the Russian Empire, the heart of the Russian Empire, and the highest administrative body of the Russian Empire.

And today Zhang Hao is coming to visit his old acquaintance...... Chairman of the Council of Ministers Sergei? Yulievich? Werther, at the beginning, the relationship between Zhang Hao and Werther was still harmonious, but now, since Kuropatkin crossed the Tumen River, the relationship between the two has deteriorated, which more or less represents that sentence.

"Only eternal good!"

When Zhang Hao was introduced to his office by Witte's secretary, Zhang Hao saw several Russian [***] political officials standing in Werther's office. "Oh! Well, that's all for today's meeting, adjournment. ”

At the same time as Zhang Hao entered the office, the military and political officials left the main hall in twos and threes with Witt's closing remarks.

"Mr. Zhang, long time no see!"

Although the relationship between the two is not harmonious now, Witt still has a smile on his face when he sees Zhang Hao.

"Chairman Werther!"

Without any extra words, Zhang Hao bowed first, and then said with a straight face.

"According to instructions from within the country!"

Not again!

As soon as he heard this, Werther's brows jumped, and here it is again! Once again, what do these Chinese want to do, is it not what they desire for Russian troops to enter North Korea? China does not want or have the strength to engage in a full-scale war with China, so they need a chance to make peace, and now that Russian troops are intervening in North Korea, isn't that the opportunity they want?

These Chinese always pretend to be confused, they obviously have no idea of occupying North Korea, they just want to exchange North Korea for Taiwan, but in the end they want to put on a forced appearance in front of the world.

Ay! Let's watch him perform again! Werther sighed inwardly. These Chinese are too hypocritical!

When he said that, Zhang Hao received the official letter from China from the hands of the attaché.

"In view of the fact that the Russian Empire's attack on Korea was contrary to the agreement already existing between the two countries, the Chinese Empire once again lodged its gravest protest against the Russian Empire, and at the same time demanded that the Russian Empire withdraw its troops immediately...... We will have to make the most helpless choice......"

Finally, after the other party's "performance", Werther took the protest letter, all with a disapproving look, and then he pointed to the sofa next to him and said.

"Mr. Zhang, is there anything else? If not, I guess we can talk about it together! ”

Talk? Witt's ease directly showed his disregard for this protest, and Zhang Hao also nodded noncommittally, protest? Only the weak countries will take the protests of the strong countries as a matter of fact, and the vast majority of protests, the most serious ones, will usually only be regarded as ...... Fart!

Well! It's not even as good as a fart, the fart is at least smelly, and people will smell disgusting, but what about a diplomatic protest book? At most, they would take it and throw it in the trash, which they would do if they didn't violate the rules of the archives management.

"Chairman Witte, I have to say that you are forcing us to make a choice that no one wants to see!"

But as soon as he sat down, Zhang Hao opened his mouth and spit out a sentence.

"Well, haven't you already started peace talks with Yuben? In fact, the agreement between our two countries has already been completely destroyed, hasn't it? ”

Witt pulled out a cigar and, after Zhang Hao refused, he lit one himself.

"But at least we're not harming Russia's interests, are we? And the Russian minister to China also participated in the negotiations, and it was under the pressure of another country! ”

Shaking his head and spitting smoke, Werther looked at Zhang Hao seriously, did he really think of himself as an idiot? Diplomacy is the art of a liar, but a liar has to tell the truth once in a while.

"Your foreign minister and Ito Hirobumi have held many secret negotiations, maybe your country has reached some agreement with him, isn't it?"

Wei deliberately said that he did not show any anger, and that the essence of diplomacy was deception.

"Chairman Witte, I would like to ......"

Faced with Werther's sudden tearing of the last bit of cover-up, Zhang Hao seemed a little hesitant.

"I think you have to understand that our direct contact with Yuben took place after your country crossed the Tumen River, not before it crossed the Tumen River."

Speaking of which, Zhang Hao finally regained some confidence, and he stared at Werther.

"We have tried to maintain a good trust with your country and establish friendly relations between countries, but when we have been deceived or even fooled, in order to protect ourselves, sometimes people have to do things that go against their hearts......"

Zhang Hao said and carefully observed the subtle changes in Werther's face.

When Witt heard Zhang Hao say this, he lowered his head and pondered for a while before raising his head and said.

"Special Envoy Zhang, what you said is also reasonable, I don't know if you have sacrificed the interests of the Russian Empire by going against your will to turn hostility into jade silk!"

Even without guessing, Witte knew that they must have sacrificed the interests of Russia, and for the Chinese, their biggest bargaining chip was not to occupy large swathes of northern Korea, but to besiege the main forces of the Yue army in Manchuria.

If they were to negotiate with Yue himself, those armies would be the most important part of the deal, what kind of deal would it be? It is nothing more than the removal of the encirclement, the withdrawal of troops from Manchuria, the withdrawal of northern Korea, the return of Taiwan to Taiwan, and so on, maybe they can have secret negotiations with them, but it does not mean that Russia does not have its own channels to know the content of the negotiations.

"So did Kuropatkin's actions hurt China's interests?"

Zhang Hao asked rhetorically.

"Until now, you have repeatedly emphasized Russia's interests, but what about China's interests? Who has considered that we have proposed that your fleet should help us recover Taiwan, but you are not willing to send out even one of them? Could it be that Russia's interests are precious, and China's interests can be discarded? ”

"As an official of Russia, maintaining Russia's interests is my fundamental starting point."

Werther didn't hide his point, but he quickly added.

"But on this basis, I myself still wish to maintain the friendship that already exists with your country!"

"Well, I don't know, Your Excellency, how do you think we are going to maintain the friendship that already exists?"

Zhang Hao asked rhetorically with a smile on his face, in fact, he had been waiting for Werther to say this.

"Hmmm......"

After Witt pondered for a while, his eyes looked directly at Zhang Hao in front of him.

"I thought that Russia's interests were important, but ......"

Werther, with a slight smile on his face, pondered for a moment.

"China's interests also need to be taken into account!"

"Really?"

When Zhang Hao heard this, his brows jumped.

"I wonder what your Excellency thinks? Please make it clear! ”

As he spoke, his body leaned forward slightly, making a gesture of listening, while Werther also leaned forward slightly, giving some explanations to Zhang Hao with a smile on his face.

"Sign it!"

When Zhang Hao was listening to Witte's explanation in St. Petersburg, which was tens of thousands of kilometers away, far away at the forefront of the battle in Tieling, between a barbed wire fence, several officers looked at the dozens of carts, and then looked at the documents handed over by the central [***] officer, and their yellow and thin faces could not hide their indignation.

"I'm so sorry!"

Sensing the unhappiness on his face, Li Qi smiled on his face, and apologized in his words.

"That group of annihilators, as you know, although it is said that transporting grain from the front line of the Jiangnan Dynasty is not so expensive, this is also no way, let alone you, even we let that group of annihilators rip off the bamboo! Tsk, this stone rice is 60 yuan, hey, we have to be considerate and considerate, it's not easy to make some money in this chaos! ”

Li Qiping said this on his lips, but he sighed in his heart, this stone rice was sold for a little more than 5 yuan, and this bamboo pole was knocked ...... It was also a little darker, and he glanced at the fat man Liang beside him. This will make Liang Fat Man dressed in a man's clothes, and his face is full of the appearance of a businessman.

"Sir Li, look at what you said, there are at least four truckloads of grain on the road from Jiangnan to feed the livestock and let the migrant workers eat, there is no way, whoever asks the train will let you be requisitioned, this is by sea! Hey hey ......"

He nodded to the officer opposite.

"The shipping in Jiangbei is all stopped, and the warship is running there, who dares to go......

This will make Liang Fat Man blame others for all this!

Looking at the sky-high price on the list, the group of officers still suppressed their anger, they needed food, and the leading officer snorted.

"Can I test the rice?"

"Of course, of course......"

Liang Fatzi nodded, while Zo Teng walked towards the cart carrying rice with a bayonet.

"Hereby ......"

After the three-zero bayonet was stabbed into the sack, the rattling rice flowed out, and the officer who inspected the rice took it, and the angry expression in his eyebrows was even worse, although the sight under the torch was not good, but anyone could see that this was Chen rice, and it was also the barn bottom rice in the old rice, even in Yueben, this kind of rice was also used in the charity hall to cook porridge for those beggars to drink.

"Lieutenant Colonel Li, Boss Liang. Is this rice also worth 60 yuan a stone? ”

Grabbing the yellowed rice in his hand, Zo Teng asked angrily, he looked at the fat man, and he wanted to stab him into the fat man who destroyed the merchant.

"Hey ......"

Liang Fat Man straightened his chest and looked at the angry Zuo Teng, all by himself.

"This can be blamed on me, you guys who are fighting all day long know how to urge food, in order to transport food for you, my people are rushing rain or shine, this grain is soaked in rain, mildew and discolored, can you blame me!"

After finishing speaking, he pressed his tone again.

"Or, Master Jun, in this way, you wait for another ten days, and after ten days, I will send you white rice with white flowers!"

This destroyer!

Almost at the same time, everyone spit out two words in their hearts, and Li Qiping was even more shocked by Liang Fatzi's urgent words, what he said.

"I'm sorry!"

Liang Fatzi hugged his fist and waved at the people behind him, who were authentic people.

"This rice is a little bit of time, to be honest, even I feel panicked, brothers, drive the car, take this cart of grain to feed the pigs!"

As soon as his words came out, Zuo Teng and the others were startled, and before Zuo Teng could react, Liang Fatzi clenched his fists again and said.

"Master Jun, I'm sorry, the moldy rice really smashed my Liang Fat Man's signboard, I'll take this car of rice back! Fifteen days at most, and after fifteen days, I will definitely ship the rice to you! ”

"Don't ......"

Without waiting for Liang Fatzi to turn around, Zuo Teng, who was originally angry, was in a hurry first, and grabbed his hand, if the 100,000 catties of rice could not be transported back today, those hungry and crazy officers and soldiers would not swallow themselves alive, even if they let themselves go, the commander would not let him go.

If you wait another fifteen days, it is a question of whether there is yourself in this world, and the troops surrounded by this Tieling will probably starve to death, and by then.

"Boss Liang, look at what you said, mildew is mildew, let's stay this rice!"

"No, mildew smashes the sign!"

"It's okay, it's okay, it's moldy! If you can eat moldy rice as a soldier, it is already a great grace! ”

"Huh? Soldiers are also people! ”

"Look at what you said, moldy rice can't eat dead people!"

"I really don't want to sell you this moldy rice! The conscience of heaven and earth, all I give to people is white and flowery new rice, and I take all the moldy rice to feed the pigs! ”

This fat man, this will still take advantage of others there. Li Qiping will really convince Liang Fatzi, and Zhong Zuoteng, who is forced to die, has to live and die with this moldy rice, for fear that Liang Fatzi will have any anger there when he leaves.

"We like to eat moldy rice!"

Seeing that the dozens of big cars over there were really moving, Zuo Teng noticed that he was caught in the trap of the fat man Liang between his words.

"Yes, you've always said that, if I go back again, people won't say that I'm shameless!"

As soon as he said this, he gestured, and the large convoy that was originally moving stopped.

"The ......"

Zuo Teng laughed and looked at Liang Fatzi.

"Look, this rice is moldy rice, and I want it too, Boss Liang, look, can you ...... it?"

"Liang does business, one is one, two is two, and he has always said one and the other."

After interrupting Zuo Teng's words, Liang Fatzi took advantage of the moment of joy on Zuo Teng's face.

"One stone of rice, sixty yuan, there is no two prices!"

Yes...... This damn annihilator! Zuo Teng looked at the rice on the car, and the sound of the drum in his stomach reminded him of a reality, and finally gritted his teeth, and signed his name on the receipt like a dragon flying and a phoenix dancing.

"Fat Liang, you were born to be a fucking merchant!"

After Zuo Teng and the others drove the carriage away, Li Qiping patted Liang Fatzi on the shoulder, and his words were full of admiration.

"This annihilation businessman, he can't do it for a few days, he is stronger than others, he can be a annihilation businessman for everyone, and when he returns to Nanjing, the bureau is decided, and this annihilation businessman will come to an end!"

(To be continued)