Ask for collections, ask for subscriptions, ask everyone to check their pockets, and throw one if there is a red ticket and a monthly pass.

【203】Thousands of miles of rivers and mountains open a new face (7)

Knowing that Yao Fan agreed with him, the British Minister Plenipotentiary Wittoma rode proudly in a Chinese-style carriage and drove straight into Zhongnanhai.

When Yao Fan heard that Wei Tuoma had arrived at the Purple Light Pavilion, he put down his work and met with him.

Wei Tuma is the first time to see Yao Fan, when he saw the legendary leader of the rebel army, he felt that his eyes lit up, this person did not wear the clothes of the Qing people, nor did he have braids, it was really the legendary "fake foreign devil", Wei Tuoma couldn't help but secretly rejoice when he saw this, and was a little worried.

Yao Fan was wearing a suit from the 21st century, wearing a tie and leather shoes, which Yao Fan used to use after crossing back, so as not to be used as an extras in a 65-style military uniform, causing passers-by to watch.

Seeing Yao Fan's energetic suit and tall body, Wei Tuoma began to feel a little uneasy in his heart, he didn't know what the Qing people in front of him were like without braids. At present, for this rebel army, because they are developing too fast, and the siege of the city is also going too fast, so that it gives people a very mysterious impression, the British diplomats are now desperately inquiring in the city of Beijing under military martial law, and there is nothing to gain, even the suit fabric on Yao Fan's body, Wei Tuma has never seen it, but Yao Fan actually wore such a casual jacket to come out to meet, it is really not solemn enough.

Yao Fanke did not know that the modern suit he was wearing was considered a casual jacket invented in 1850 for just over twenty years, and he spoke fluent English: "Hello Mr. Wittoma." ”

From the moment he saw Yao Fan wearing a suit freely, he decided that the rumors were true, and Yao Fan was indeed a Chinese who had returned from overseas, or at least a Chinese who had stayed abroad. The interpreter accompanying Wei Tuoma was also an Englishman, raising his chin lightly, and he didn't look at Yao Fan.

As the representative of the British Empire, the world's number one power, Wittoma fully expressed his domineering, and after a simple exchange of greetings, Wittoma sat down at the negotiating table and said directly: "Chairman Yao, on behalf of the British Empire, I would like to express my infinite indignation at the brutal murder of our diplomats in your country!" Here, I would like to make seven requests.

First, the murderer must be apprehended and tried immediately, and the entire process of trial and execution must be supervised and carried out with the participation of British diplomats, and a memorial or memorial arch of your country must be erected at the place where the British citizen was killed, and the victims must be apologized and mourned. Second, as part of your sincere apology to the British Empire, you must immediately surrender the murder weapons used to kill you and have the British Empire destroy the instruments of these crimes. Thirdly, for every dead or wounded, your country must compensate their families with one hundred thousand taels of silver each. and compensated the British government with 10 million taels of silver as an apology. Fourth, your country should immediately release Her Majesty the Empress Dowager and Her Majesty the Emperor who have been illegally detained, and let the ministers of various countries in China come forward to supervise them, and jointly be responsible for the safety and dignity of your royal family. Fifth, you must clearly guarantee the safety of life and property of British personnel in China to prevent the recurrence of such incidents. This express undertaking must be in writing and a bond must be deposited with a bank in the UK. Sixth, in order to protect the lives and safety of British and other countries' diplomatic personnel in China, you should set aside the Dongjiaomin Lane area as the embassy area, in which Chinese are forbidden to live and enter the area, and Britain and other countries in the world have the right to establish barracks in the embassy area to station troops to provide security protection for the embassies of various countries. Seventh, your troops must immediately withdraw from the Tientsin area, and the British troops should be stationed in the British Concession in Tientsin, so as to protect the British expatriates and merchants in the Tientsin Concession. ”

Yao Fan was very angry at first, but the more he listened, the happier he became, and after Wei Tuma had let out a stinky fart, he asked directly in English: "Can I understand that Britain has recognized the legal status of the Chinese revolutionary regime in the world?" ”

Wei Tuma thought to himself, the play finally began, and coughed lightly: "The specific establishment of diplomatic relations between the two sides needs to consult the British Parliament and Her Majesty the Queen, but you must first show enough sincerity. ”

Yao Fan said with a smile: "Is it possible to add Article 8, Britain protects the legitimate existence of the new Chinese government as it protects the kings of India." ”

"This is not difficult, but it is necessary to sign a corresponding treaty, in fact, if you are willing to pledge allegiance to Her Majesty the Queen, I can ask Her Majesty and Parliament for you to confer the honor of Governor of the British colonies in North China," said Wittoma solemnly. I can see that you are a civilized person, not a native of China, and as an outsider, with the support of the British Empire, your regime in North China can be justified. ”

Yao Fan held back a smile and calmly said to Wittoma: "Mr. Ambassador Wittoma, considering your ignorance of the brand-new Chinese People's Revolutionary Regime, first of all, I want to forgive you for your rudeness and recklessness.

Secondly, I would like to make seven points to you. First, the Provisional Government of the Chinese Socialist Revolution is a government entirely composed of Chinese, a revolutionary government composed of awakened Chinese people, not a broken stage built by outsiders, so this government will not yield to any reactionary forces in the world. Second, your so-called mighty British Empire is, in my opinion, a paper tiger. Your crude steel output last year was only 700,000 tons, and the pig iron output was only more than 6 million tons, which is not enough for every Chinese to divide one or two. The total number of steam engines in your country is just over 20,000, and the total horsepower is less than 5 million. According to the calculation that one horsepower is equal to ten primitive labor forces, it is only 40 or 50 million people, which is not as large as the total population of the areas controlled by the Provisional Government of China at present. Thirdly, the Chinese Provisional Government had good and close relations with the German Empire, so we were not afraid of Britain severing diplomatic relations with us. Fourthly, we express our strong indignation and protest at the use of illegal armed means by your diplomats to interfere in China's internal affairs. In view of the shameful fate of these armed gangsters, we have decided not to take further action against your country for the time being, but we reserve the right to take one action. Fifth, your embassy has illegally sheltered Chinese citizen Yi Xin, no matter what your purpose is, this kind of behavior is intolerable, and we ask you to hand over Yi Xin as much as possible and not continue to hurt the feelings of Chinese people. Sixth, all the property that Yi Xin brought to your embassy belongs to the Chinese people, and your country has no right to take possession of it privately, and it should be handed over as soon as possible to obtain the understanding of the Chinese people. Seventh, British imperialism has long threatened the peace of China and the world, and has been constantly agvading and plundering the people of China and the rest of the world. I think that now the international situation has reached a new turning point, with the rise of the Chinese national liberation movement, there are now two winds in the world, the east wind and the west wind, and there is an idiom in China, either the east wind overpowers the west wind, or the west wind overpowers the east wind. I think the east wind will soon overwhelm the west wind. If Britain does not recognize the form, it will inevitably lag behind the trend of the world and lose irretrievable opportunities for development. ”

Wittoma's entourage counselor Swyets listened dumbfounded, and the skinny black-haired Englishman couldn't close his mouth in surprise, because he himself didn't know whether Yao Fan's 1875 British industrial figures were true or false, but he was extremely impressed by Yao Fan's ability to speak fluent English and make seven points, and to fight with Wittoma.

"This Chinese man is the smartest Chinese I have ever seen since I arrived in this primitive country, at least he is very courageous, unlike the Qing officials who are always evasive and vague, I hope he will not be crushed by His Excellency the Minister......"

He thought to himself, and then closed his mouth in surprise, and looked at Yao Fan with respectful eyes, no longer having the rashness that he had when he came in with Wittoma at the beginning.

Wei Tuoma didn't slow down at first, and it wasn't until Yao Fan finished speaking that he came back to his senses angrily, leaned over to the negotiation table, propped his elbows against the table, and pressed the two messy eyebrows on the eyebrow bone: "Your Excellency, as a diplomat, you are responsible for what you say!" ”

Yao Fan took out a cigarette, took out two and threw them in front of Wei Tuma and his counselor, and handed one to Li Jun beside him.

He took out a match and lit it, and said with a smoke: "I know very well the logic of your country, Mr. Wittoma, your logic is authoritarianism. A gentleman named Charles Darwin put forward the so-called law of the jungle, which is the survival of the fittest. But I think that only low-IQ creatures will use such cruel methods, and civilized people like us should pursue common interests and seek common ground while reserving differences to survive in the world. ”

Seeing that Wittoma's counselor Swaitz curiously picked up the Taishan brand cigarette with a filter, Yao Fan smiled and picked up the match, lit it and handed it over, Waites hurriedly leaned his head over and lit the cigarette.

Seeing that Yao Fan struck another match and handed it over, Wei Tuoma also lit a cigarette with the crowd, took the opportunity to think for a while, and said: "Chairman Yao, we can't accept your accusations, Yi Xin's gift was given to the British Empire on behalf of the Qing Empire. ”

"This is your own opinion. But I prefer that his gift was a redress for the reckless British diplomats who had died in the Chinese Revolutionary War. Yao Fan's meaning is very clear, as long as the UK does not pursue it anymore, and does not make unrealistic demands, Yao Fan will not care about Yixin's stupid gift for nothing.

"These are two different things, Chairman Yao, these are two different things!"

"In my opinion, it's the same thing, and it's obvious that our side has suffered a loss, 500,000 taels of silver is not a small amount, not to mention that there are ten cars of precious antique jewelry, these things add up to a market value of more than one million taels of silver, or even two million taels! As for how much money you will give to the families of the victims, I don't care, you can dispose of the belongings yourself. ”

"I protest! Chairman Yao! You are an insult to my character! ”

"Then I can take back my words, and in short, I hope that this matter will be settled and everyone will be safe."

"Chairman Yao, my opinion has been made clear in the previous seven points, these requirements must be met!" Wittoma threatened forcefully.

Yao Fan's face sank: "There is an old Chinese saying, called toasting and not eating and punishing wine!"

Mr. Wittoma, I remember that German Chancellor Bismarck said that truth is only within the range of a cannon. Britain has a lot of artillery at sea, and China also respects British interests at sea. But on land, especially on the territory of China! From now on, it is the Chinese who have the final say! If you are not convinced, then let the artillery and machine guns do the debate! ”

With that, Yao Fan immediately stood up and turned to leave. Li Jun excitedly followed behind Yao Fan and said, "Chairman, what you said is really tough! ”

"I am seeking truth from facts, the current strength of the PLA Army can be said to be the first in the world, in the case of equal strength, unless the commander is a straw bag, it is impossible to lose to any army in the world! Only we don't have a navy, which is a headache, and if Britain pulls over the dozen or so broken ships of the Far East Fleet, it will really be able to blockade our seaports. ”

"What then? Now Qingdao's export volume is expanding day by day, and if it is really blocked by the British, it will not be able to earn a tael of silver! Chairman, your family's factories overseas will not be able to transport supplies to China! As soon as Li Jun thought of the consequences of being blockaded by the British, he immediately became worried.

"Although the Far East is Britain's sphere of influence, if he delays others to make money, they will not agree. Diplomacy does not regard foreign countries as a whole, and even in another 200 years, Western countries will not be monolithic, let alone today, when the great powers are vying for hegemony. ”

"Chairman, what are we going to do next? With such a stiff quarrel with Wittoma just now, it is very likely that the British will send troops to intervene! ”

"Has Barland arrived? I think it's time to put Sino-German friendship to the test. ”