Without the permission of the British, wouldn't Ben have done anything to Qingdao?

Of course not, I am not a three-year-old child who needs parental permission to do anything.

It's just that with the permission of Britain, the boss of the Entente, it is always easier to do things, and I will reduce a lot of trouble, such as the United States of America on the other side of the ocean, which is not pleasing to the eye no matter how you look at it...

If Britain's vigilance against Ben's expansion in the Far East is 1, then the U.S. vigilance is 10. There is nothing worse for the United States than having one more powerful country across the ocean―――――― especially when the country is still ambitious...

"But that's a good excuse..."

On the way back to the embassy, Ambassador Yumoto thought.

Although Jiaozhou Bay was originally Chinese land, it was only because it lost the war that it would be paid to the Germans as leased land, and now it is completely reasonable for the Germans to return Jiaozhou Bay to the Chinese.

But...

After all, the current Germans are standing on the opposite side of the Entente, and it is understandable that Chinese take over Jiaozhou Bay, but now they are sheltered―――――― even if this group of Germans has been disarmed.

Therefore, it is very reasonable for the member states of the Entente to come forward and use force against China.

Moreover, in the past, China was already very close to Germany. You must know that for the 10 million pound order, many parliamentarians came to Herbert to make trouble, after all, it was not a small amount.

Ten million pounds would be enough to buy even four of the latest Dreadnought-class battleships.

For this order, which could bring large profits, many parliamentarians and big capitalists had approached Herbert, hoping that he could use his influence to win this rare big business for the businessmen of his country.

In fact, Herbert did the same, and after getting the request of the group of capitalists, Herbert personally ordered Zhu Erdian, the minister in China, to go to Yan Guang, intending to exert some diplomatic pressure to make Yan Guang choose British goods instead of German goods.

Herbert didn't feel guilty about this, because in this era, German goods are the best in many cases, but British goods are definitely not inferior to German goods, so let Yan Guang choose British goods, Herbert didn't feel anything wrong―――――― Herbert just promised those capitalists to exert diplomatic pressure, nothing else, and the capitalists have also agreed to apply preferential prices, but also the best quality to earn such a large amount of orders.

In fact, this group of British capitalists is not stupid, and if it were an ordinary small business, perhaps one of them would have used shoddy and inflated prices to make a profit. But in the face of such a big business, if someone causes everyone to lose their business because of his own problems, this person will definitely not be able to mix in the circle in the future―――――― not to mention that there are German businessmen competing with them on the side.

It's just that what Herbert didn't expect was that even the British Minister Zhu Erdian personally went to Yan Guang to "please" Yan Guang and didn't let go, and in the end it was the equipment of the Germans who was chosen.

10 million pounds, a whole 10 million pounds of business, lost such a large amount of business, I don't know how many businessmen in Britain beat their chests and almost beat their lungs out, many parliamentarians who colluded with these businessmen, and even simply began to accuse Herbert of the incompetence of the prime minister, by the way, there are many parliamentarians who are businessmen at all...

It was also because of this incident that Herbert's sense of Yan Guang and China decreased a lot.

In addition to this incident, the British intelligence system in China is also very good, and it has also collected a lot of intelligence. According to this information, many Germans in Yan Guang's sphere of influence served the National Socialist People's Party, or directly served Yan Guang.

Within the Nationalist Party, the former National Socialist Army had been trained by retired German officers, and some important industrial facilities in the southwest, which was then controlled by the National Socialist Party, were also built with the help of German engineers.

Even a 3,000-ton cruiser under construction in the Fuzhou Shipbuilding Bureau, a 1,000-ton destroyer that has been launched, and two destroyers of the same class that are under construction are all designed by German designers, one of whom can even be called a national treasure...

And now in China, there are also many German businessmen, the original 10 million pounds of the order, of which 5 million is still a loan provided by Deutsche Hua Bank...

"Military, political, economic..."

These are the three most important things in a country, and of all three are Germany's involvement militarily and economically, and the Germans have great influence politically...

Moreover, according to intelligence, Yan Guang, the current ruler of China, and his subordinates have a considerable favorable opinion of Germany, and if this continues, it is difficult to say whether China will become a new Allied power.

In the past, Herbert was reluctant to move China, mainly because he did not want China to have too much malice towards Britain, so as not to affect British interests in China.

And now, knowing that the Entente were at war with the Central Powers, this young Chinese ruler named Yan Guang dared to shield the German [***] forces in China...

"Good..."

That's right, now the forces of Britain, France and other countries are all subordinate to the Eastern Front and the Western Front, and they simply can't spare any strength to go to other places, let alone the Far East.

But Herbert believed that at this time he would be more than willing to come forward for himself...

"Of course, the necessary containment is also necessary, the lesson to China can only stay on the Shandong Peninsula, after the war, if they win, they can put forward various other demands, even if the compensation demanded is more than the Gengzi Incident, but their interests can only be maintained on the Shandong Peninsula..."

Herbert wanted to teach China a lesson, but he didn't want it to make him stronger.

Because Herbert already had a hunch that after this war, Britain's strength would decline very much, and perhaps even China would not be able to take care of it. If you indulge in Yueben at this time and let Yueben gain too many benefits in China, it is tantamount to adding a strong enemy to yourself.

Therefore, we can only teach China a lesson, and we can neither teach it too lightly nor too harshly.

In Herbert's view, the balance between Ben and China in the Far East should be maintained, so that both sides must have their own demands, and this balance is the most perfect for Britain.

As for the reparations or something...

To be honest, for an agrarian country, more than 400 million taels of silver is indeed a lot...

The problem is that for an industrial country...

To briefly explain that in 1914, the total military expenditure of the six major European powers was around 397 million pounds, and if rounded, it would be enough to say 400 million pounds.

Four hundred million pounds, the equivalent of two billion dollars, six billion silver dollars...

Six billion silver dollars, in 1911, the Manchu government for a whole year of financial revenue was only 500 million silver dollars...

These six billion silver dollars, even if they are divided into six parts, each can have one billion silver dollars, so seriously speaking, more than 400 million taels of silver is indeed not a small amount of money, but for the great powers, it is definitely not a big money.

Of course, the money in the first day of the day was still very nourishing for Yueben, at least at that time, Yueben was not an industrialized country, after all, in 1900, the crude steel output of Yueben was only 1,000 tons...

――――――――――

When the news of the recovery of Jiaozhou Bay spread throughout the country, almost all major cities such as Yanjing, Shanghai, and Nanjing held celebrations.

Especially in large cities like Yanjing, Shanghai, and Nanjing, school students are also holding banners and running out into the streets.

In the past, these students were protesting against the political axe, but now...

"Long live the Republic of China!! Long live the Republic of China!! ”

"Long live !!"

"Long live National Socialism!! Long live the Wehrmacht!! ”

"Long live !!"

The celebrations were in full swing, and the streets were crowded with students and patriots of this and that.

Of course, the agreement behind the original 10 million pound business has also been revealed at this time―――――― anyway, Jiaozhou Bay and Qingdao are in hand at this time, and there is no point in continuing to hide it.

However, the people didn't feel anything, especially those enthusiastic students, for them, it is indeed a regrettable thing to not be able to recover Jiaozhou Bay and Qingdao by force, but the most important thing is to recover the lost land, as for the means, it is not very important...

It's just that the streets and alleys of Yanjing City are full of people, watching those enthusiastic students walking through the streets with banners held high, and many people have even participated in it, but some people are worried...

“……… The recovery of Jiaozhou Bay and Qingdao Fortress would naturally be a good thing if it was changed to another time, but now it would be better to take food from the tiger's mouth, not to mention that the president also shielded those Germans..."

In the building of the National Assembly, a lawmaker said worriedly.

As soon as his words fell, a councillor who had just been drinking tea to quench his thirst also spoke.

"Yes, the president has shielded those German [***] people, this, this, I'm afraid the British and myself will not give up so easily."

"That's right, it's not a matter of a day or two that I covet Jiaozhou Bay, but now the president has given them such a big tongue, I'm afraid..."

There are a lot of fools in China, but there are also a lot of smart people, and those who can enter the Congress are basically above the level line, and it is natural to see that they covet Jiaozhou Bay, especially Qingdao Fortress.

So they are all very worried, for them, it is just a matter of taking back Jiaozhou Bay and Qingdao Fortress, after all, it is a place in China that is originally a place in China, and it is understandable for them to take it back, but now Yan Guang has even collected the thousands of German soldiers...

This...

Isn't that a reason to go to war?

You know, that's a few thousand German soldiers, not a few thousand German girls.

If it was a German girl, it would be accepted, but if you accepted the thousands of German soldiers, how could the British give up.

In this way, a large group of MPs sighed in the towering parliament building, and many of them even began to predict when the British and themselves would call.

In addition to these congressmen who feel that their future is bleak, some Kuomintang legislators are also taking advantage of the issue to stir up trouble among the people.

However, except for a few legislators from other parties in the country, except for a few who really have no brains, few of the rest will take care of this group of Kuomintang.

Although these congressmen have no rights, and almost all of the rights are in the hands of the political axe, they also know that these Kuomintang people will do this because they are not angry with what Yan Guang did in the first place...

――――――――――

Just when a large group of MPs sighed there, and many of them even began to propose whether to hand over the Germans, Yan Guang also met with British Minister Zhu Erdian in his office.

Of course, if it is said that it is a meeting, it is better to say that Zhu Erdian himself found it directly...

After Zhu Erdian came to the door, his tone was not very impulsive, or Zhu Erdian's mood was quite stable, as if nothing had happened.

However, after sitting in Yan Guang's office for a while and tasting Yan Guang's tea here, Zhu Erdian still explained his intention.

His intention was very simple, that is, to inquire about Yan Guang's intentions, and at the same time to ask Yan Guang to hand over those German officers and soldiers who had laid down their arms to the British and himself.

“……… This is the case, Mr. President, now that the Allies are already the enemies of our Entente, it is difficult for Mr. President's actions not to be regarded as hostile to the Entente, and within the Entente, it is said that the Allies have made a strong demand to launch an attack on your country, especially your country's fortress of Qingdao in Shandong. Naturally, our country is trying its best to discourage this, but our country's attitude is also very firm..."

Of course, I have been coveting Shandong for so many years, and it is strange not to be firm.

Looking at Zhu Erdian, Yan Guang's answer was also quite simple.

However, it was this simple question that Zhu Erdian could not answer.

Yan Guang's problem is...

"May I ask Mr. Minister, if I hand over all those German officers and soldiers to your country and the political axe, will the political axe not launch an attack on Jiaozhou Bay?"

Seeing that Zhu Erdian seemed to want to answer, Yan Guang asked again.

"If the answer of Mr. Minister is no, then it is very good, as long as Mr. Minister is willing to sign an agreement with me on behalf of your country, and make it clear in the name of your country's political axe, after handing over those thousands of German officers and soldiers to your country, that this political axe will not have any non-demands, then I am very willing to hand over those German officers and soldiers to your country, after all, those thousands of people are thousands of people's rations, but if your country is unwilling..."

Of course, Zhu Erdian is not willing to sign such a thing, and it is impossible for him to sign such a thing.

Because Zhu Erdian knew very well that he would not give up his coveting of the Shandong Peninsula no matter what, even if Britain had guaranteed it.

In this case, if the British political axe made a guarantee, it was using the reputation of the British Empire as a guarantee.

You know, Britain's credibility at this time was not as cheap as it was in the next two decades, when Britain had no strength and did not want to have a European war. But Britain is still the world's largest power, and the reason why Britain declared war on Germany is that Germany invaded Belgium, and when the "London Treaty" was signed, Britain had guaranteed the security of Belgium.

Therefore, if at this time, Zhu Erdian, on behalf of the German political axe, signed something similar to the "London Treaty" with China to ensure China's security, then in the future, if the political axe is not obeyed, no, it should be said that the political axe will never be obeyed, then the reputation of the British political axe at that time will really be completely finished...

"Ugh..."

After listening to Yan Guang's answer, Zhu Erdian continued after smiling bitterly for a long time.

"Mr. President, are you not afraid that all the members of the Entente will regard your country as an enemy? Or has your country already decided to join the Allies? ”

Fear? Of course not afraid!

As a decision that had been made a long time ago, it was absolutely impossible for Yan Guang to join the Allied Powers, but it was said that he was not afraid of the Entente countries that would be offended by this.

Yan Guangke is not afraid at all.

Because at this time, Britain and France, the most powerful of the Entente countries, had concentrated all their forces on the Western Front, and Tsarist Russia, which had the largest army, had also concentrated all its troops on the Eastern Front.

Moreover, even if Yan Guang is afraid, will he stop doing it?

Even if Yan Guang really handed over those Germans, he would definitely not stop, and Yan Guang was quite confident in this.

At that time, as long as I put forward some conditions for garrisoning troops in Qingdao Fortress, will I agree or not at that time? If you don't agree, that's good, but if you do, in case someone is coming to the Lugou Bridge incident or something...

As for offending the Entente by doing so, how should I join the Entente in the future?

In this world, the most important thing is strength, as long as you have strength, no matter what you have done, those who need you will not care.

You know, Italy was also an Allied country at the beginning, and in the end, it was not dug into a corner by the Entente, and finally became a member of the Entente and turned its head against Germany?

Of course, at that time, Italy had already begun to show his strange nature, of course, it was certainly not as strange as it was during World War II, but Italy's entry into the Entente camp was not necessarily a bad thing for Germany...

(To be continued)