Chapter 238: Extremely harsh conditions

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"Oh? Can't Little Japan hold on? If they want to talk, then talk to them! Wang Yuze said with a smile. When the Japanese army was routed at Shanhaiguan, he knew that this day would come. Little Japan dragged so many geniuses to beg, which also surprised him. During this time, the Western Sichuan Army had completely unified the whole country and sent new troops to the Liaodong Peninsula and the Korean Peninsula. The 1st Cavalry Corps and the 2nd Cavalry Corps prepared to march into Mongolia and the northeast, bringing these two areas under the rule of the western Sichuan government.

"Yes, Yuichi Kawaguchi has officially expressed their desire for peace talks. However, what is our bottom line in the negotiations, we still need the instructions of the commander! Wu Tingfang said. This time, Kawanishi defeated Japan, and with Kawanishi's usual code of conduct, he will definitely cut off a piece of meat on Japan. As for what the asking price should be, Wang Yuze has to come up with a specific charter.

"I've thought about it for the past few days and written down all my thoughts. This time, let's negotiate with Japan, just follow this! Wang Yuze took out a piece of paper from the drawer of his desk and handed it to Wu Tingfang.

Wu Tingfang took one and was immediately shocked, although it was just a thin piece of paper, but the things recorded on it made him feel incredible. First of all, the first is that Japan must admit defeat. The second is the war reparations, demanding that Japan compensate China with 500 million pounds. Third, Japan ceded Kyushu Island and its affiliated islands to China. Fourth, Japan must return the Ryukyu King Shotai, who has always been a vassal state of China and will not allow Japan to occupy it. Fifth, the Japanese army withdrew from the Liaodong Peninsula and the Korean Peninsula.

"Dashuai, this, can this Japanese agree?" Wu Tingfang said sweating profusely. When he came, these requirements put forward by Wang Yuze were completely fantastical! In order to start a war against the Manchus, the Japanese had almost exhausted their national strength. Eyed the defeat of the Manchu Qing and was about to make huge gains, but was beaten down by Sichuan West with a blow. Not only the army and navy have been wiped out by western Sichuan, but now in the shape of shì, Wang Yuze obviously wants to peel off a layer of skin from Japan!

"What are the conditions? Old Wu, give it to us! Chief of Staff Xiong Wu, Deputy Chief of Staff Cai Yun, and Minister of the Navy Zhang Cheng also said very curiously. They were also very strange, what kind of conditions Wang Yuze put forward, which made Wu Tingfang a little out of shape.

"Oh, here I am!" Wu Tingfang smiled speechlessly and handed the piece of paper in his hand to Xiong Wu. Cai Yun and Zhang Cheng also hurriedly surrounded them. This time, the army and navy worked together to defeat the Japanese army, and then it was time for them to reap the results.

"Shhh After clarifying the conditions on the paper, Xiong Wu and the three of them also gasped.

"500 million in compensation, or pounds! It's not worth that much money to sell all the Japanese, right? Cai Yun exclaimed.

"Ceding Kyushu Island and its affiliated islands, Kyushu is the third largest island in Japan and the second most important island in Japan, can they agree?" Minister of the Navy Zhang Cheng also said in surprise. However, he was then attracted by the £500 million indemnity. If it is really possible to knock out so much reparations from Japan, how many warships can the navy build!

"Negotiating something is like buying something. We are asking for a sky-high price, and the Japanese will definitely pay it back. The Japanese will certainly not pay such a price! Wang Yuze said with a smile.

Wu Tingfang breathed a sigh of relief, and then said: "Dashuai, what is our bottom line?" ”

"Articles 1, 4 and 5 are things that Japan must agree to, and there are no conditions to talk about. What should the Japanese do with the reparations in Article 3? However, the bottom line is that you can get at least £100 million, and the more the merrier. It would be best if we could get £500 million. Third, the Japanese will certainly not agree to the cession of Kyushu Island. In this way, the island of Kyushu can be dispensed without, but the Tugara Islands must be ceded and can be annexed to the Ryukyus. In addition, Japan must cede the Ogasawara Islands and Hachijojima Islands to us! Wang Yuze said. Although these islands are small and have few resources, they are strategically important and can become an important support point for the Chinese Navy to enter the Pacific Ocean. In addition, in three years, the United States will launch an attack on Spain, an old colonial country, and China will also take advantage of the chaos at that time, if it can take down the Philippines, Guam, and the Mariana Islands, then China will have a foothold in the Pacific Ocean. It is very important for China to expand its strategic depth.

Wu Tingfang nodded, although he didn't know the importance of these islands now, but since Wang Yuze proposed it, he had to fight for it with all his might when negotiating. It shouldn't be much of a problem for him to come, isn't it just a few small islands where birds don't? What the Japanese should really have a headache for is the huge amount of reparations proposed by Kawanishi.

"Dashuai, even 100 million pounds, the Japanese can't take it out! At present, Japan's annual fiscal revenue is just over 100 million yen, which is equivalent to less than 6 million pounds. The war reparations of 100 million pounds are enough to keep the Japanese without food or drink for more than ten years! Wu Tingfang said with some concern.

"Minister Wu, you can rest assured of this. The Japanese are richer than you think, especially the Japanese imperial family, who have accumulated a huge fortune over thousands of years. Gold is produced in Japan, and there is a large amount of gold in the private and imperial families, and we can let them pay in gold. The current price is about 50,000 pounds per ton of gold, so let them compensate for some of the gold. In addition, didn't Britain, France, the United States, and Russia want to support Japan? Just let them lend money to Japan. Wang Yuze said. The Koshin and Kanto regions of Japan are rich in gold, while the western region is rich in silver. However, the ratio of gold to silver in Japan has always been relatively high, and even if it is almost mined now, there must be a lot of reserves in Japan. At present, China is still on the silver standard, and Britain has begun to implement the gold standard. China must reserve more gold, and after the founding of the People's Republic of China, implement the gold standard, which will be conducive to the development of the domestic economy and to international competition.

"Marshal, if Japan really compensated so much money? Is it possible for the Navy to start a new round of shipbuilding programs? Zhang Cheng asked expectantly. Although the current Kawanishi Navy is the largest in Asia, it is far inferior to the Western powers. After defeating Japan, China will face even greater pressure, and for this reason, it is very necessary to accelerate the expansion of its naval strength.

"I'll wait until the design office comes up with the drawings of the new generation of warships. After the production of the second batch of heavy cruisers and the fourth batch of light cruisers, a part of the destroyers could be produced first. As our waters expand, so do a lot of small ships! Wang Yuze said.

"Yes, Dashuai!" Zhang Cheng nodded. He knew that Wang Yuze would definitely not treat the navy badly. Although the navy has only been in the army for two years, Wang Yuze's support for the navy is already visible. However, the navy did not live up to Wang Yuze's expectations, and defeated the Japanese navy lightly.

"By the way, Minister Wu, ask Japanese Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito to come to China for negotiations in person! The place of negotiation is to choose Jingshi! You go to Jingshi to take charge of the specific arrangements for this negotiation. The Prime Minister is solely responsible for the negotiations. Vice Minister Tsai also attended as a representative of the military. Wang Yuze said.

"Okay!" Wu Tingfang nodded. When the Manchus negotiated with Japan last year, wasn't it also Li Hongzhang's personal visit to Japan? Now that Kawanishi has won, it is natural for the Japanese prime minister to come over obediently. At the same time, he also thought that now that western Sichuan has unified the whole country, the next step will be to build a country. Wang Yuze's appearance will undoubtedly choose to set the capital as the capital division. Although the development of Beijing is far from catching up with Chengdu, Chengdu is located in the southwest, which is not conducive to the leadership of the whole country. In addition, Jingshi is an ancient capital, and it has an indelible mark in the cognition of the common people. He didn't know, but there was another reason. In the memory of Wang Yuze's last life for more than 20 years, the capital has always been there! Rashly changed to another place, he really won't be used to it.

Next, Wu Tingfang sent an official note to the Japanese consul in Chengdu, putting forward a request to hold negotiations in Beijing, and asked the Japanese prime minister to go to Beijing to participate in the negotiations.

Although the Japanese side is somewhat dissatisfied with this, there is nothing they can do. Wasn't that how they did to the Manchus last year? Now that they have been defeated, the western Sichuan side naturally did not hesitate to return it to them. Besides, the side of Kawanishi is also represented by the prime minister, which can be regarded as reciprocal. It's just that what made Yuichi Kawaguchi feel a little worried, no matter how he tried it, Wu Tingfang didn't reveal any information about Kawanishi's request, which made him very worried. Based on Kawani's actions against the Manchus over the years, he knows very well that Kawanishi is not a good man and a woman, and this time the Japanese side may have to pay a heavy price.

The date for the negotiations was set for June. After setting a date for the talks, the Japanese prime minister led a delegation of foreign ministers and other personnel to China by boat. On the western Sichuan side, Prime Minister Liang Xingrong also led a delegation to Beijing. At the same time, many departments of the government in western Sichuan have also begun to move to Jingshi one after another, although it has not yet been clearly stated that Jingshi will be the capital, but from the recent series of actions in western Sichuan, everyone can also deduce.

Before Liang Xingrong left, Wang Yuze deliberately talked to Liang Xingrong for more than an hour, and the content of the conversation was mainly the matters of this negotiation, and he asked Liang Xingrong to be tough and to win enough benefits for western Sichuan. The powerful army of western Sichuan is their backing!

PS: The third update is here! (To be continued.)