Recently, the Japanese have made frequent moves, first inviting Northeast Foreign Minister Zhao Liewen to visit Japan, and then the two sides signed an agreement that Japan is willing to serve Northeast China as a brotherly gift, and at the same time open its own market and allow Northeast businessmen to enter and invest. After discussing with Wang Yi, Yang Qiuxing, premier of the Northeast Autonomous Region, agreed to the Japanese government's request, and the two sides did not meet each other in arms for the time being. However, when the Japanese entered the sphere of influence in the northeast, they still had to go through strict checks. As for far-right associations such as the Xuanyang Society, the Northeast has set up relevant archives and banned them from entering the country.

While Japan was busy improving relations with Tohoku, Ito Hirobumi visited Tianjin, and then negotiated with the Beiyang Minister Li Hongzhang, and the two sides later signed a secret treaty of alliance. Although the secret agreement was not made public, the Northeast Intelligence Bureau, which secretly knew the information in advance, roughly guessed the contents. However, what the Northeast did not expect was that the Russians in the north also came to the door after learning the general content of the alliance, and finally the Nissin Alliance became a tripartite alliance.

"I really don't give up!"

The report of the Triple Alliance had been placed on Wang Yi's desk at this time, and Premier Yang Qiuxing also called to ask for his opinion.

"What is the reaction of Britain, France, Germany, and the United States?"

"Because it is a secret treaty, these countries pretend not to know. We are too strong now, and I am afraid that they do not want the situation in East Asia to fall completely under our control, so it is reasonable to find trouble for us and set up a stumbling block. ”

"Can't a bunch of guys harboring evil intentions let people have a peaceful birthday for two days?" Wang Yi scolded a few words casually, but Yang Qiuxing, who was on the other side of the phone, seemed to know that he didn't take it to heart.

"Sir doesn't seem to care too much?" Yang Qiuxing said curiously.

"If this is not the case, Qing, Japan, and Russia will not go to war with us alone now. And if we go to war with one of them, unless we are in a very bad war, the other two will never risk offending us and come out to pick up the bargain. ”

Yang Qiuxing agreed, "But the Qing State colluded with Japan and Russia, and I still feel a little uncomfortable." ”

"One of the princes has been forced to jump off the building by us, what else can I do? By means of the shape in front of him, the Qing court happened to share the same hatred with those Confucian scholars, so that there was less of a reputation for betraying the country. ”

"That's right......"

"Don't think too much, since the three kingdoms don't dare to expose the secret treaty, let's not worry about it. Anyway, in the past few years, we have developed with peace of mind, reduced war spending, and after three or five years, those countries will no longer be a problem. ”

Just when Wang Yi was confidently persuading Yang Qiuxing, at the British Embassy in Qingqing in Dongjiaomin Lane, Beijing, a short, yellow-skinned man wearing a felt hat observed the surrounding situation, hesitated for a long time, and finally made up his mind to walk in.

"Who are you?" The doorman stopped the man outside the courtyard.

"I ask to see Sir Walson." The man's English pronunciation was very strange, and he avoided answering the doorman's questions.

Walson was the British ambassador plenipotentiary to the Qing Dynasty, succeeding Pashali. Some time ago, he had been participating in the mediation of the compensation issue between the Northeast Autonomous Region and Japan and the Qing court, and just a few days after he returned, this short man in suspicious clothes came to the door.

The doorman frowned, glanced at his companion next to him, and the two muttered for a while before saying, "You wait here for a while." ”

The man nodded, subconsciously lowered the brim of his hat, and kept looking around, the expression on his face looking very nervous. Something seemed to be hidden in his arms, and the remaining doorman looked at him very alarmedly, for fear that he would do something deviant.

The doorman who had been in for instructions for a long time walked back and said in a deep voice, "Please come with me." ”

However, after entering the gate, the man was led directly into the concierge on the side, and several guards picked him up. At this time, the doorman said: "If you want to see Mr. Ambassador, you need to check with us." ”

Instead of resisting, the man spread his hands.

The guard pulled out a package from his arms, which was full of some texts and photos, but there were no forbidden dangerous items. After much tossing, the man finally met Sir Walson.

"I heard you were looking for me?"

The parlor was small in size, with the door open and two guards standing in the doorway. And Walson, who sat behind the lenient bookcase, was not alone, and behind him stood his butler.

The short man nodded.

"Who are you?" Walson looked at the Asian man in front of him, his facial features were very unfamiliar, and it was obvious that neither of them had seen each other.

"Down there, Kotaro Munakata."

"You're Japanese?" Watson frowned, thought about it carefully, and said, "We don't seem to have met. ”

"I haven't seen it."

"And what is your purpose here?"

"A deal." The short man finally raised his head and looked at Sir Walson, without any superfluous expression.

"What deal?" Walson didn't think that a Japanese person had the capital to make a deal with him, so although he had a smile on his face, he was a little absent-minded and not very serious.

Kotaro Munakata looked at the white man in front of him, faintly with some contempt, but it was not obvious, and after a little hesitation, he took out the small package that had been collected before from his arms.

"I have some information that your country is interested in."

"Oh?" Walson sat up straight and glanced at the butler behind him with a slight mockery, before he asked, "Intelligence?" What is the information about? ”

Regarding the arrogance of the British, although Kotaro Munakata felt disgusted, he still whispered: "About the Northeast." ”

"Tohoku, if I remember correctly, the Tohoku Autonomous Region is the enemy of you Japanese, but not the enemy of our British Empire. Why should we buy intelligence from you? Could it be that you are here to sow discord between us and the Northeast Autonomous Region? Walson suddenly became stern, and his voice was cold.

Kotaro Munakata obviously didn't expect the other party to change his attitude so quickly, although he was a little surprised, but he still quickly calmed down.

"The Tohoku Autonomous Region is indeed our enemy of Japan, but coming to Japan may not be a big problem for your country!"

Walson looked at Kotaro Munakata with a sneer on his face, "If Your Excellency thinks that a few words may sow discord, then it is a mistake. ”

Kotaro Munakata understands that a person like Walson must not see a rabbit or a hawk, and he will not believe it just by relying on his empty words. But he was not in a hurry, "Sir Walson, of course it is impossible to come empty-handed for this visit. ”

After saying that, he finally took out his killer idea, opened the small package, took out a few photos from it, and handed them directly to Walson.

"It's ......"

The photos are black and white, with only a few photos, but Walson is speechless.

There is a warship sailing on the sea that has never been exposed, and although the details are not clear, the Chinese characters on the hull still clearly indicate the identity of the warship. This is a battleship made in the Northeast, the tonnage is beyond imagination, the huge ship and the huge cannon, it looks very hideous.

"How's it going, are you interested?" Kotaro Munakata laughed.

And Walson, as if remembering something, became silent. He had received information before that the Northeast Shipyard had begun to develop a giant warship as early as around 1878, and this rumor had been circulating in the intelligence community, but no one had actually seen this giant ship...... Perhaps, but they are all dead.

It turned out to be true! Walson was taken aback, but on the surface he looked calm.

"You may be seated!" The two talked for a long time, and Kotaro Munakata finally got a seat. "Is it easy to tell the source of the photo?"

Kotaro Munakata shook his head and said, "Secret! ”

This answer was expected by Walson, and in fact, he asked this question to set the stage for the next question.

"Northeast is very protective against spies, why should I believe that this photo is real and not forged by yourself?"

"There is no way to guarantee this, as for believing it or not, listen to it."

In two sentences, Walson knew that Kotaro Munakata was a spy, not a simple intelligence merchant. He is selling * lawsuits, pretending to be mysterious, on the one hand, for confidentiality, and on the other hand, for the purpose of raising the price of intelligence at will, so as not to reveal his hole cards too early. The biggest difference between a spy and an intelligence merchant is that both provide information, but the latter is only for making money, while the former often has more secret secrets.

"Make an offer, and if it's right, I can consider buying all the information you have about this warship."

Kotaro Munakata finally smiled for the first time today, but that didn't make Sir Walson feel the slightest favor for him.

"It's free!"

"Free?" Walson's pupils shrank, he had been an official for many years and had been in contact with the intelligence community, and he knew deep in his heart that the word "free" usually meant paying more. "You'd better say one condition, there is no such thing as a free lunch in this world, and I don't want to pay more afterwards!"

I didn't expect Walson to be more cunning than he imagined, but Kotaro Munakata didn't care, just said: "The Northeast Autonomous Region is now strong, if we attack the Japanese Empire, whether there is this warship or not, in my opinion, the result will not change in the slightest, it is nothing more than a question of how long we can hold out." ”

"You can see it clearly." Walson's words were somewhat sarcastic.

Kotaro Munakata didn't care, but continued slowly: "But your country is different, as the world's number one power, its military strength is strong. And the navy is the foundation of your country! Now that such a giant ship has been built in the Northeast, I wonder if your country's Admiralty can continue to be so calm? ”

Walsen stared at Kotaro Munakata and said coldly: "Our country has a good relationship with the Northeast Autonomous Region, what kind of warships they have, this is a question that you should be concerned about." ”

"Is that so?" Kotaro Munakata looked directly at Walson, his gaze did not back down at all, and said: "When such a warship appears in Hong Kong, Burma, India, Africa, and even Europe itself, maybe your country will change its mind!" ”