London, 10 Downing Street.

It's hard to imagine that the actual leader of the largest and richest empire the world has ever had to live in a house like this behind two unpretentious black wooden doors. Now living in it is Stanley. Sir Baldwin, who is already the second Prime Minister of the Empire, has been the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since his Conservative Party won the general election in October 1924.

Truth be told, Stanley. Baldwin was a very good man, for when he was secretary of the British Treasury, he tried to encourage wealthy people to give money voluntarily to the country, so that Britain could afford to pay its war debts after the war, and he himself gave a fifth of his family fortune by example.

However, it is difficult for this British prime minister, who has a strong sense of social responsibility, to recover the decline of the empire, and the British Empire is already full of holes in his hands. The process of imperial decline and fall had inevitably begun with the First World War, and all he could do as prime minister was to slow it down in every possible way. He was a supporter of any suggestion that could delay the decline of the British Empire, such as the proposal for an Asian peace treaty by Sun Yat-sen, the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party.

Sir Baldwin immediately got the draft of Sun Yat-sen's proposal for a peace treaty, and then summoned a vote of thinkers to study it again and again. In the end, it came to the conclusion that this treaty was exactly what the British Empire could only dream of! With it, the British Empire's colonies in the East could be maintained for a considerable period of time, even until the day when a cure for imperial revival was found! Also of the same view is the former French Prime Minister and current Foreign Minister Alistide. Brian.

Right now, the 1926 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, is sitting in the living room at 10 Downing Street, sitting face to face with Prime Minister Baldwin. Over a cup of afternoon tea, we discussed the current confusing situation in East Asia and how to keep the two shattered empires from falling.

The urbane Briand looked a little tired, and the French foreign minister was busy traveling around Europe to sell one of his "non-war conventions." His political career seemed to be to sell the world a "convention" that looked beautiful but ultimately had no binding force. The "Asian Peace Treaty" sent to the door also seems to have Briand's style, so he likes it too.

Putting down the proposed draft of the "Asian Peace Treaty" in his hand, Briand showed a French-style elegant smile: "Sir, once this treaty is signed, it can almost tie the hands and feet of those three countries. They are now important countries that can threaten the peace and stability of Asia, and without their threat, the Asian territories of the French Empire and the British Empire can rest easy. ”

Baldwin also smiled and nodded, agreeing with Brian's suggestion: "Now China seems to have the highest positive surname for this treaty, and the Soviet Union has also expressed its agreement, and this is ...... There seems to be a bit of a problem. They seem to have always had ambitions for China. ”

"If you have ambitions for China, I'm afraid you don't need the world's third largest fleet, right? They should develop the army more! I always felt that the ambition of the book was ...... Probably a colony of the Western world in Asia. I wouldn't be surprised if one day they attack there. Brian shook his head slightly, and added:

"The current Soviet-Chinese war has given us an opportunity to force the Soviet-Chinese to join the Asian Peace Treaty...... In fact, as long as we reached an agreement with China and the Soviet Union in this regard, we would have had to join it. Otherwise, the treaty would have been addressed only to one country, and their North Korea and Taiwan would not be protected. ”

"But ......," Baldwin seemed to hesitate, "will this Asian Peace Treaty really work?" ”

Brian nodded and shook his head: "I am afraid that the cornerstone of peace in Asia lies in allowing China and the Soviet Union to contain each other, and not allowing any country to gain overwhelming strength in Asia. ”

...... "Mr. Molotov, this treaty will tie the hands of the Reich and the USSR on the China issue, and our two countries should join hands to resist it!" ”

On the other side of the world, in the Soviet embassy in China, the secret envoy Inuyangyi was also talking with Molotov about the "Asian Peace Treaty." Although he himself is a little hesitant about this, as the special envoy of Prime Minister Yumoto, he now represents not the opinion of an individual but the opinion of the whole of Shimoto.

Listening to the embassy secretary's translation, Molotov was slightly stunned, he couldn't have imagined that the other party came to the Soviet embassy in the middle of the night to talk to him about this issue! But in his opinion, how could this bullshit treaty tie the hands and feet of the Soviet Union? The treaty merely provides for economic sanctions...... It is not a military guarantee. If the Soviet Union sent troops to "liberate" the Chinese working people, Britain, the United States, France and the Netherlands would only sanction the Soviet Union economically. The USSR didn't care! The Soviet Union is so vast and rich in resources that it does not need to import anything to sustain itself, and of course the Soviet Union has nothing to export at the moment except resources.

"Mr. Inukai...... I would like to remind you that at the moment the USSR is under aggression! Shouldn't we first discuss the withdrawal of troops from the Soviet Union? And then let's see if you want to sign this treaty? Molotov frowned slightly, and reminded angrily.

Inu Yangyi smiled and waved his hand indifferently: "Our two countries only have a little misunderstanding now, as long as your country makes reasonable compensation for the Sakurada Gate assassination, this misunderstanding can be eliminated soon." China...... is the common adversary of our two countries! If it is not completely dismantled, our two countries will not be at peace for a moment! ”

Molotov still frowned and shook his head: "Now Ben's army is attacking Vladivostok!" But you want to propose cooperation between the two countries at this time? I really don't understand the thinking of you Orientals? If there is really sincerity in cooperating, stop the offensive now, and leave the territory of the USSR immediately! ”

"The territory of the USSR?" Inu Yangyi sneered and shook his head: "Vladivostok and the entire Far East coastal area, as well as the Outer Xing'an Mountains north of Heilongjiang, were all the land of the Chinese people a few decades ago!" In addition, you have taken a large part of the territory from the northwest of China, and now you want to seize all of Mongolia! You have done so many hurtful things to the people of China...... Aren't you really worried that they will come to you one day to settle accounts with you? ”

Molotov just shook his head: "That's why we have to sign this peace treaty with China, in which China has recognized the existing Sino-Soviet border and ...... It is also intended to recognize the autonomy of Mongolia. Unless...... You are willing to immediately withdraw from the territory of the Soviet Union, otherwise we will definitely sign this treaty! ”

Molotov's words have already been said quite bluntly. If he did not withdraw his troops from Soviet territory unconditionally, Stalin would have had to rely on the treaty to whitewash his incompetence. After all, the current Stalin is not the supreme Stalin of the late thirties.

But how is it possible to say that Ben will unconditionally withdraw its troops from the territory of the Soviet Union? For the sake of this war, the treasury has almost been emptied and the foreign exchange deposit has been spent...... So far, apart from large swathes of Soviet territory that cannot be realized, nothing has been obtained. It was said that the reparations of the USSR were needed! The more the merrier! It is simply unthinkable to say that for the sake of long-term interests, it is simply unthinkable, and their nation has never had the habit of willingly spitting out the meat in their mouths! And it just so happened that the USSR did not have this habit either.

"The empire only wants the island of North Birch (Sakhalin) and an indemnity of 300 million dollars...... The USSR could have received a hundredfold reward from China in the future! How about the empire's goal in China was only Manchuria, and the rest of the country was to the Soviet Union? Inu Yangyi's words changed sharply, and he returned to the peace meeting of the Soviet War. $300 million and North Sakhalin, of course, are a lion's mouth, and there is absolutely room for bargaining.

Molotov glanced at the little old man in front of him, and said in his heart: "300 million dollars and Sakhalin North Island!" These people really dare to speak! And the USSR also wanted to make up for the losses from China...... When the time comes, the Soviet Union and China will fight, so you can take the opportunity to annex Manchuria, right? That's a little too precise, isn't it? When the USSR was wronged? ”

"The Soviet Union can make reparations for the injuries suffered to the emperor, it can also make a formal apology, and the Korean GCD and the Korean GCD can be dissolved...... The leaders of the DPRK GCD can be handed over to you for death if they are in the USSR! However, the execution could only be carried out in secret, not in public, and only on a certain steamer on the sea. This is the peace formula that the Soviet Union can now accept. ”

After saying this, Molotov got up and left the meeting room under the pretext that he wanted to report to Moscow, and walked out without looking back. Today's contact has already made him feel a little bit of the hole card of the book, and it seems that the most feared thing for such a resource-poor island country is the embargo and sanctions of the great powers. This should be the reason why they are desperately trying to block the Asian Peace Treaty. In the future, the Soviet Union could control the pace of expansion by exporting resources at high prices...... If the "Asian Peace Treaty" is signed, in the event of an invasion of China in the future, the Soviet Union will be the only country that can supply them with strategic resources!

…… Moscow, the Kremlin's office belonging to Comrade Stalin, is now brightly lit every night, and since the troops began to land in Vladivosk, Stalin has never left the Kremlin, nor has he really slept a night, and has always paid attention to the battlefield and the situation of the Yanjing Peace Conference, thousands of miles away.

Stalin was now leaning back in his chair with a tired face, holding a secret telegram from Yanjing in his hand, looking at it over and over. Their own demands and their eagerness to stop the "Asian Peace Treaty" were transmitted to Stalin's desk by airwaves.

He said that his demand was really unacceptable, and he wanted to cede the North Island of Sakhalin and pay 300 million US dollars in compensation. Hehe, what a land reparation!! Do you think the Soviet political axe is a weak and incompetent Chinese political axe? If he, Stalin, accepted such a treaty...... I'm afraid that Trotsky will soon gain the support of the overwhelming majority of his comrades in the party and oust himself from power, right? It seems that this war can't end so quickly, aren't they an island country with poor resources? Isn't it afraid of the Asian Peace Treaty? That's good...... As soon as China agrees to immediately stop exporting strategic goods to the treaty, the Soviet Union will immediately join the treaty! Let's see what else Ben used to fight against the Soviet Union?

"Comrade Stalin...... Vladivosk Emergency! Baranov's trembling voice sounded in Stalin's ears again.

"Vladivosk ...... It's still in our hands, right? Stalin's face was full of tiredness, but he was still in good spirits.

Baranov nodded slightly: "It's still there now, but the Kou now has complete control of a large area of land on the coast of the Gulf of Sober, and Comrade Yegorov has organized seven counteroffensives...... It's a pity that they didn't drive the enemy into the sea, their naval guns are just too powerful! Now the Kou have begun to attack the city of Vladivostok, and our Red Army of Workers and Peasants is engaged in street fighting with them. ”

"Got it...... Order Comrade Egorov to hold Vladivostok no matter what! Do whatever it takes! Stalin repeated the order he had said countless times.

The war between the Soviet Union and the Soviet Union has now entered a situation of fighting and talking, and if China also earnestly implements the embargo on military supplies to the Soviet Union, it may not be able to support it at any time and declare an armistice. So there is still hope that Vladivostok will be able to hold on to it, and as long as it is not captured before Ben agrees to a cease-fire, the initiative of war and negotiations will return to the hands of the Soviet Union...... Inu's initiative to negotiate with Molotov was interpreted by Stalin as a sign that he was anxious to end the war, and that his request for the Soviet Union to come forward and reject the Asian Peace Treaty was seen as a fear of embargoes and sanctions. Taken together, these circumstances strengthened Stalin's determination to hold on to Vladivostok.

"Wait a minute." Stalin stopped Baranov, who wanted to leave: "Go and send a telegram to Comrade Molotov again, telling him that the Soviet Union can immediately sign the Asian Peace Treaty, on the condition that China immediately imposes an embargo on strategic resources, and can no longer use Shanghai to re-export any strategic materials to Japan, nor can it transport coal mines, iron ore, and grain from North China to Japan!" ”

…… Yanjing Liuguo Hotel. Luo Yaoguo and Wang Jingwei are staying here now, and in addition to using the mediation of the war between the Soviet Union to facilitate the signing of the "Asian Peace Treaty", the two of them came to Yanjing to have a task of reorganizing the central government of Yanjing. Let Sun Yat-sen sit on the throne of the president peacefully, it is not that he can't defeat the Feng system now, but under the watchful eye of foreign enemies, he finally has a chance for stable development, and no one is embarrassed to destroy it, right? It's just that...... Did Feng Zhang Ken obediently give up his position?

Luo Yaoguo was in the living room of the suite where he lived tonight, and Zhang Xueliang, who came to visit, tried around the corner about the possible surname of this peaceful transfer of power.

"Brother Han Qing, the situation in China is becoming clearer today." Speaking of this, Luo Yaoguo paused slightly, and after considering the choice of words, he said: "Now our Kuomintang is the most powerful, followed by Fengjun and the Youth Party, and the middle G ranks third, and the other forces have gradually declined, and in the end, it seems that they will inevitably merge into these three, right?" It's just that...... This central power seems to represent a bit of a deficiency in the surname, can it be rearranged? ”

Rearrangement of the central power? This is to ...... Did you usurp the throne? Zhang Xueliang was shocked in his heart, and he couldn't care about admiring the beauty Natalie sitting next to Luo Yaoguo. Quickly pulled his mind back from her and pondered the other party's words.

Although Sun Yat-sen can't be said to be two out of three parts of the world now, he is afraid that half of the country is more than that! If the Zhang family does not count the youth army forces of Wang Zixing, who rule Gansu, Xinjiang Province, and Qinghai, there are only six provinces (special regions) plus one Yanjing City, which is less than half of the territory of other people, and the financial resources are less than one-tenth of others, which is ...... I don't know if there is a twentieth? It is indeed inappropriate to rely on this strength to control the central position.

After pondering for a long time, and knowing that the general trend had gone, Zhang Xueliang nodded slowly: "Brother Fuwen...... I don't know how you plan to arrange for the Feng army and the other factions? Including Zhong G, I'm afraid they won't give in easily, right? ”

Luo Yaoguo smiled and waved his hand: "Brother Han Qing misunderstood, why did we arrange for you to be in the Feng Department and Zhongg?" We haven't even arranged our own one-third of an acre of land. This time, our party's idea is nothing more than to form a joint political axe with the participation of various factions, and the territorial armies of each faction will not move, and the political axes on their respective territories will continue to be retained, for example, our national political axe will continue to remain the same, but it will ...... Mr. Sun will be the president of the country to lead the whole country, and slowly find a way to peacefully unify military and government orders. This can only be resolved peacefully through negotiations between the various factions. ”

Zhang Xueliang sighed softly, listening to Luo Yaoguo's tone, as if he was just letting Sun Yat-sen spend two days as president. Anyway, it's really hard to be a home in this country! If Sun Yat-sen wants to come, it doesn't hurt to let him be for a few days. Thinking of this, Zhang Xueliang smiled slightly: "I will tell my father what Brother Fuwen meant, but there are some questions that Brother Fuwen will tell me in detail." ”

Luo Yaoguo smiled: "The specific arrangements still need to be negotiated and coordinated by all parties...... In fact, this matter is not in a hurry, just to say hello to Zhang Dashuai at the moment. As for Zhang Dashuai's status, he can arrange for vice president, which can be regarded as the second person in China, and we will not move the Northeast Zhili Chahar, and Yanjing City will be stationed by our party with a small number of troops, but we can hand over several counties in Henan Province north of the Yellow River to the Feng army, which is basically such a preliminary idea. I hope that Brother Han Qing can tell Zhang Dashuai, and I also hope that Brother Han Qing can do this. ”

(To be continued)