And what about Japan? Japan has only 19 divisions including the Guards Division, and the scale of a standing division is far less than it was later, and now a standing division is about the same as the strength of a German division, only about 18,000 people, and four of these 19 divisions are not standing divisions, and the number of troops is much less than that of the standing divisions, even if all of them are calculated by the size of the standing divisions, Japan now only has an army of 340,000 people. The Japanese cabinet is pleased that fortunately, Japan has implemented a reserve force system, and if the reserve forces are mobilized, the total number of land forces can reach 600,000 in a short period of time; although there is still a big difference between China in terms of total strength, the situation of the two countries is different, China's territory is vast, the country has just been pacified, and there are many places that need to be guarded by the army, and it is impossible to pull out all the 1.5 million troops to fight, and it would be good to draw out two-thirds of them at most, and it would be enough for Japan to leave only two divisions and regiments on the Japanese mainland. In terms of the combat effectiveness of the armed forces, Japan believed that the combat effectiveness of the Imperial Army was stronger than that of the Chinese army, and this was enough to make up for the gap in military strength.

After listening to Xiao Gao's report, Xiao Zhenlei thought for a while and asked, "What is the situation with Okuma Shigenobu?" Is he prestigious in Japanese politics? Otherwise, how could Emperor Taisho let him come out in an emergency to stabilize the political situation? ”

Xiao Gao as a secretary, his work is very important, but also very serious, he obviously thought that Xiao Zhenlei would ask Okuma Shigenobu's resume, and hurriedly said: "Okuma Shigenobu used to be + the eighth prime minister of Japan, and now he is the second prime minister, he is seventy-six years old this year, and he was born as a samurai of the Hizen Domain." One of the aspirants of the Meiji Restoration, the founder of Waseda University! ”

Xiao Zhenlei smiled when he heard this: "The seventy-six old guy has to be pulled out by Emperor Taizheng to clean up the mess." It's really hard for him, is there any other information related to him? ”

"Yes!" Kotaka hurriedly said, "Okuma Shigenobu served as foreign minister in the first Ito cabinet in 1888 and the Kuroda cabinet later. We are committed to the abolition of extraterritoriality and the establishment of tariff autonomy in the revision of unequal treaties. He was one of Japan's main contributors to the abolition of extraterritoriality and the establishment of tariff autonomy in the revision of unequal treaties. Aritomo Yamaguchi is the main supporter behind him, but in fact he is just a minion of the bureaucratic warlords, and his appointment as prime minister should also be the meaning of the Japanese Senate."

There are many forces in Japan's political circles, one of which is the Constitutional Party, which is a political party formed by the merger of the Constitutional Reform Party and other parties centered on the Constitutional Improvement Party; The second was the Constitutional Political Friendship Association (feudal clan) formed by Hirobumi Ito; The third is the Constitutional Comrades Association and the Constitutional State? The Kuomintang, the Central Orthodox Church, etc., these forces are relatively small; The fourth is the military and political group, headed by Youpeng in Shanxian County. Hirobumi Ito and Aritomo Yamaguchi are both members of Japan's Meiji Senate.

Including the new Saionji Gongwang this year. There are already a total of nine members of the Japanese Senate, they are the nine oligarchs who held power after the Meiji Restoration in Japan, and they are also the highest advisers to the Japanese emperor on important state affairs, the first to become members of the Senate are Ito Hirobumi, Yama Prefecture Aritomo and Kuroda Kiyotaka, and later Matsukata Matsukata, Inoue Shin, Saigo from the road, and Oyama Iwa also joined, and in 1901, Katsura Taro joined again, and this year the former minister from Saionji Gongwang also joined it. Although there is no legal stipulation, the selection of the prime minister is discussed by the elders first. The emperor recommended the emperor to the emperor, and then the emperor gave the prime minister the order to form a cabinet, forming the so-called feudal lord government, and the current Taisho Emperor of Japan is often nervous. There is no word at all in politics, so it is said that Okuma Shigenobu is actually the person who was launched by the elders to clean up the mess and suppress the Constitutional Political Friends Association after urgent deliberation!

Xiao Zhenlei thought for a moment and ordered: "Pay close attention to Japan's next move!" ”

Xiao Gao said righteously: "Yes! ”

On May 3, Xiao Zhenlei visited a number of large American enterprises and shipbuilders in the Washington area, and then met with President Wilson again. This time, Wilson came over to Xiao Zhenlei to report a piece of news that was neither good nor bad, saying: "I have already made a speech to Congress yesterday. Trying to convince lawmakers to agree to repeal the Chinese Exclusion Act, but you also know that. There are still a lot of conservatives among us, and many congressmen think that the vast majority of Chinese in the United States are uneducated, do not pay much attention to food and hygiene, and the overall image is poor, and more importantly, they have taken away a lot of jobs belonging to white people! ”

Xiao Zhenlei's face was a little ugly when he heard this, and he said: "Mr. President, I don't dare to agree with these views, can't you have human rights without culture?" And I don't think that the image of overseas Chinese is very bad, what clothes to wear, what kind of hairstyle to wear is everyone's freedom, the United States has always advertised itself as a free and democratic country, why can't it work for us overseas Chinese? Besides, overseas Chinese work conscientiously and responsibly, they can do any job, and the wages are cheap, isn't this what those capitalists are happy to see? What does this have to do with the fact that they have taken away the jobs of the whites and those capitalists? ”

Wilson smiled when he heard this: "Since Mr. President knows that those members of Congress are actually supported by the capitalists, then you should also know that the reason why those members can become members of Congress is to canvass votes, right?" And the people who hold the votes are the white people you say, and if the white people don't support those legislators, how can they have a seat in Congress? ”

Xiao Zhenlei was thoughtful after hearing this, he thought for a while and said: "Mr. President, can I please ask you a favor, I want to meet those members of Congress, they should listen to the voice from China, instead of thinking about it behind closed doors, I believe that their behind-the-scenes bosses never want the opportunity to make money slip away from them, and this is also good for you, isn't it?" ”

Wilson was surprised: "You want to go to Capitol Hill and give a speech to convince those lawmakers?" ”

Xiao Zhenlei spread his hands: "Is there any other way for Your Excellency the President?" If it weren't for the Chinese Exclusion Act, I'm afraid the alliance between our two countries would have to go bankrupt, and this was the first thing I did on my first trip abroad since I took office, and I hope that this will be done satisfactorily and to the satisfaction of both of us. Isn't it? ”

Hearing this, Wilson thought for a moment and made up his mind: "Well, since His Excellency the President has this idea. Then I'll give it a try, if there's any news. I'll let you know right away. Ha, this is the first time that a foreign head of state wants to give a speech on Capitol Hill in the United States, and it is also the first time in the world, right? I hope you succeed".

On the second day, Xiao Zhenlei also took the accompanying officials, accompanied by the special envoy of the president, to visit large factories in nearby cities, and watched American farmers working in the fields at large nearby farms.

In the evening, when Xiao Zhenlei and the others returned to Washington, they received a phone call from Wilson himself, in which Wilson told Xiao Zhenlei that arrangements had been made for him to speak to Congress. With great difficulty, he finally said that the Congress would be moved, and the time would be set for ten o'clock tomorrow morning.

This is good news for Xiao Zhenlei, he immediately asked his accompanying staff team to prepare a speech, which is very important, whether he can move the US Congress to repeal the Chinese Exclusion Act depends on his table in Congress tomorrow morning.

In fact, many members of the US Congress hope that the two countries can reach a strategic alliance in Sino-US relations, and the reason why Wilson sent invitations to Xiao Zhenlei three times in a row was also because he was authorized by Congress, but the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act is not a trivial matter, and members of Congress cannot relax lightly. The Chinese Exclusion Act was also agreed by many legislators at the beginning, and represents a unified sense of white society. If the Chinese Exclusion Act is repealed, will blacks, other Asians, Latinos, and Indians in the United States also demand the repeal of the laws that are unfavorable to them? Therefore, the U.S. Congress also needs to make a detailed argument on this matter.

The news that Xiao Zhenlei was about to give a live speech to the US Congress was quickly reported by the local evening newspaper in Washington. The next morning, the morning newspapers of the major US newspapers also disclosed the news, and reporters from various countries in Washington also put their prepared reports into play in China after this news. Before Xiao Zhenlei could start his speech, the news spread all over the world overnight. At the end of the report, various media also said that the content of Xiao Zhenlei's speech in the US Congress and the reaction of the US Congress were reported one after another in the following time.

In fact, when Xiao Zhenlei accepted his visit to the United States and set off on his journey, the authorities of various countries had already realized something. Now seeing these reports, experts in the analysis of international affairs in various countries immediately realize that the United States and China are only afraid of forming an alliance, and although they do not know the content of Xiao Zhenlei's speech to the US Congress for the time being, Sino-US relations seem to have entered a honeymoon period that has never been seen in history.

At 9:30 a.m. on 5 May, Xiao Zhenlei's car stopped at the entrance of the US Capitol, and the US side set up a security zone at the gate for security reasons, prohibiting reporters from various countries from approaching, and reporters were only allowed to take pictures outside the security cordon.

Located on the 25-meter-high Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., the Capitol Building is the heart of the United States. It is a three-story building with a total length of 233 meters, made of white marble, and a large three-story dome with a high appearance rate on the central top floor, on which a 6-meter-high bronze statue of Lady Liberty stands. The north and south wings on either side of the dome are home to the House of Representatives and the Senate, respectively. The chamber of the House of Representatives is where the President of the United States reads his annual State of the Union address. The Great Lawn to the east is where successive presidents have held their inaugurations. Standing on the large lawn, the columned portico under the dome of the Capitol is magnificent, and the three copper "Columbus Doors" in the portico are thick and heavy, and they are carved with reliefs of Columbus discovering the New World, and inside the gate is the rotunda of the Capitol.

When the car stopped, hundreds of reporters outside the security cordon suddenly became in a commotion, and if it weren't for the security personnel standing on the cordon to maintain order, those reporters might have rushed over, and these reporters couldn't wait to interview Xiao Zhenlei and ask him about the topic of his speech in the US Congress.

When the car door opened, the secretary Xiao Gao got out of the co-pilot seat, took a few steps forward to open the back door, and protected his hand on the top of the door, Xiao Zhenlei wore a decent suit and walked out of the car, his short hair was very delicate, and he looked very energetic, which made the eyes of everyone present brighten, and the reporters outside the cordon immediately took pictures, the flash flashed non-stop, Xiao Zhenlei turned around and waved and smiled to the reporters outside the cordon.

Gu Weijun talked with the US officials for a few words, then turned to Xiao Zhenlei, who was still waving to the cheering reporters, and whispered in his ear: "President, the time is almost up, all the members of the US Congress are already in place, and you still need to go through some procedures and take some time to enter the Congress."

Hearing this, Xiao Zhenlei withdrew his arm and turned around and walked towards the gate of the Congress, and the US official led the way in front with two staff members who bent down slightly to salute Xiao Zhenlei.

At 10 o'clock, the rotunda was full of seats, hundreds of reporters were allowed to take pictures at the outermost part of the rotunda, and Xiao Zhenlei walked onto the podium under the guidance of US congressional staff, and the magnesium lights kept flashing.

Xiao Zhenlei stood in front of the podium and spread the speech on the podium without a trace, which was also in case of emergency, in fact, most of the speeches could not be read according to the speech script throughout the whole process, and many of them were impromptu speeches based on the main outline of the speech that had been written.

Taking advantage of the opportunity of a large number of people in the rotunda to put the speech in place, Xiao Zhenlei said: "Gentlemen, I am honored to give me this opportunity to stand here, which has proved that you have a good impression of me, I am the first foreign president to be allowed to stand here to give a speech, which also proves that the United States is at the forefront of the world in the process of democratization, and I have always believed that being able to listen to other people's opinions and allow others to speak is the prerequisite for democracy, and it can be seen that the United States has achieved this. Just now I was wary of people thinking that I was too young, but I found out that there were younger legislators in the audience than me, which shows that politics does not measure a person's abilities and deeds by the standard of age."

Loud applause rang out, and the congressmen were very satisfied with the opening statement, in which they heard several terms that they had never heard before, such as "the process of democratization" and so on, and the Americans have always believed that their country was the first country in the world to enter a democratic society, and Xiao Zhenlei's words also proved this. (To be continued......) R1292