Qiu didn't know that Jiang Fangzhen had already gone up the river, and he was in a rage.

In the small conference room of the Wuchang Governor's Mansion, the tea table was already full, but the fragrance of tea could not stop the extremely cold weather. Li Yuanhong kept glancing at Yang Qiu with a worried face, and Tang Hualong didn't dare to look at the face of the well-dressed British consul general in Hankou opposite. Dai Tianqiu sat in the back row, constantly taking notes with his brush, and from time to time looked at his colleague who was said to be from the famous British "Times", which was a good learning opportunity for him to participate in this kind of foreign affairs negotiation for the first time.

Ge Fu looked at Yang Qiu coldly like this, he was a typical Anglo descendant, always with a straight face, even if he was sitting, he raised his chin slightly. Unlike the suave Zhu Erdian, he has been in Hankou for less than three years, but as a diplomat in the most powerful country in the world, he believes that he does not need to do anything at all, and he believes that watching quietly like this is enough to make this young man feel pressure.

From that oath on October 11, he noticed the young man. Watch him sweep through Hankou from the humblest of baggage soldiers, listen to his every speech, chase his figure until he ascends to the high position of commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the three provinces, and then even personally command an epic victory, defeating an elite division in Beiyang! At that time, British diplomats in the Far East began to worry not about the ability of this mysteriously rising young man to threaten Britain, but about what was hiding behind him. Even Whitehall began to worry that the vital middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River would slip out of their hands, so Prime Minister Gray sent a telegram that Britain would give Yuan Shih-kai "full diplomatic support", telling British diplomats in the Far East that the British Empire did not want to see a new government that could damage the interests of the Far East.

However, the problem still arises!

It is necessary to hold a telegram for the North-South peace conference in Wuchang. The resumption of the Hanchuan Railway and the emergence of a steady stream of German-style equipment worried Britain that if the two sides could not be forced to sit down as soon as possible, if the country continued to be in turmoil, the interests of the Far East would definitely be seriously challenged, even to the point that it must be solved urgently! So after a few tentative contacts, he took the initiative to come to Wuchang for the first time. Sit back and wait for a reply.

The interpreter was still repeating his words in the standard Beijing accent: "In order to protect the interests of overseas Chinese and other countries in China." The military control order, including Han Yeping, must be lifted immediately! The three provinces, including the gold, tax silver, customs treasury, and Sichuan salt tax, must be deposited in the HSBC Bank for supervision, and China has the right to deduct the compensation that your country needs to pay in proportion. All loans must also be regulated by HSBC! The right of free passage of goods to the British Empire must be continued, our interests must be unconditionally ensured, and the construction of the Hanchuan Railway must be handed over to us at once, pending a decision by the British Government. It is forbidden to sell this railway to countries outside the UK! ”

A must, a must, a must! It turns out that Britain in this era is more arrogant than the American imperialists in the late stage of World War II, I really don't know where they got their confidence? Just a mere Far Eastern Fleet that can't go ashore? Was Britain willing to fight a war on a much larger scale than the Boer War? Don't they know that if war breaks out between China and Britain, Japan and Germany will definitely benefit? Yang Qiu smiled freely, and dragged Han Yeping in his seemingly tough statement, which showed that Ge Fu's confidence was also insufficient! So he immediately turned his head to look at Wang Zhengting.

Although Foreign Minister Hu Ying was also sitting next to him, he preferred the young Wang Zhengting, even though he himself had good English dictation skills. But he still asked him to translate on his behalf: "Ru Tang, tell His Excellency Minister Ge Fu." Han Yeping is a state property that cannot be taken away from our country, and we have maintained 120,000 points of restraint and have not forcibly confiscated it. The current military management is only an act of protection before Sheng Xuanhuai comes to handle the formalities for the transfer of property rights. We will do our best to ensure that the British government continues to enjoy the right of free passage and that the interests of all countries in China are not infringed upon, but we will not pay any reparations left by the Qing government! In addition, the resumption of the construction of the Hanchuan Railway is completely the spontaneous act of patriotic businessmen in our country, and there is no possibility of handing over the railway to a second country. ”

After Wang Zhengting finished translating. Ge Fu's wooden face finally changed slightly, and he said: "Han Yeping has great interests entanglement with Japan, my ally, and must immediately stop military management, which is also one of the manifestations of protecting the interests of all countries." With all due respect, maintaining the Qing government and implementing a genuine constitutional monarchy is the most suitable solution for your country under the current circumstances. The continued payment of reparations is also the basis for the peaceful coexistence of our two sides! The UK also supports your businessmen to build their own railways, but the right to operate them must be sold to the UK government, and of course we can provide railway technology and loan help. ”

"Reparations? We won't pay ()! This is our bottom line, and if we continue to pay reparations, we will not be able to account to the people who support us! We have decided to set up our own bank. All revenues in the three provinces will also be under the unified jurisdiction of the junta. Yang Qiu had a cold face, and without waiting for Ge Fu to get angry, he continued: "Of course, in order to protect the interests of both of us, I propose to cancel the rotten method of payment of indemnity and settle the dispute between us with trade compensation. ”

Trade compensation? Ge Fu felt the urge to go up and slap this guy a few times! How did he come up with it? With such a huge amount of compensation, it would take that day to compensate with things like tea and tung oil? Not to mention the plunder that the sun never sets on the empire needs, not what trade! Immediately said: "Your Excellency, I need to remind you! The British Empire will not sit idly by and do anything to the detriment of its interests, and if you continue to do so, I will regret to tell you that this will most likely lead to a catastrophe! ”

Yang Qiu's anger rushed to his brain! He finally understood why historians invented the term semi-colony, and if he really compromised and agreed, he would have no bullshit rights except for being able to control some people! No wonder Cixi Lafayette would get angry and declare war on several countries at the same time, and everyone would have to be on fire for these things! But he is not the person around Li Yuanhong, who has been frightened by the unknown world situation, and his grasp of the international situation is more accurate than Ge Fu and even Whitehall in the United Kingdom, so not only did he not get angry, but he forced his anger to calm down and consider the consequences.

What is certain now. It is impossible for the British to accept a quagmire type of war, so the most they can do is to bombard the three towns with artillery, but this is not without sequelae, the embers of the road protection movement have not yet dissipated, and the hatred of the people has not been eliminated, and once the British make a radical move, it will inevitably lead to huge diplomatic and political pressure. Since the end of the Boer War, Britain has begun to renew its policy of secession. Trying to keep Britain away from the mainland.

Of course, don't take it lightly! After all, Britain has not lost the crown, although Germany has been seduced by itself, but in the final analysis, Germany is still not a credible country, and it is not impossible to pounce on it and bite it twice at a critical moment. The most important thing is that Britain still has the vicious dog of Japan in the Far East. If you pull France again, it will still cause a lot of damage! The question now is, does Ge Fu's remarks represent the British government, or is it to help Yuan Shikai oppress himself?

If it backs down this time, then Germany will certainly also see itself as an unreliable supporter, so there must be no compromise, either for the sake of this country or for itself!

Li Yuanhong and Tang Hualong have never experienced this kind of scene, so they don't know how to speak (). Hu Ying, the foreign minister, is simply a dispensable rice worm! Wang Zhengting wanted to speak, but he puffed out his cheeks and saw that Yang Qiu was still thinking about it, so he endured it, and only stared at Ge Fu with his eyes to express his dissatisfaction. As for Dai Tianqiu, who had already gritted his teeth, he experienced what it meant to be humiliated by an ultimatum-like negotiation method by the great powers when he first attended a foreign affairs conference.

Only Ge Fu continued to sit firmly in the Diaoyu Tai, and from time to time he whispered a few words to the Times reporter, probably hoping to ask the reporter to write more about how he was dedicated to the empire in the negotiations.

Suddenly!

Yang Qiu stood up in front of everyone, and after taking two steps, asked, "Your Excellency, Minister." If I agree to these conditions, will you be able to persuade Yuan Shikai to place the North-South peace talks in Hankow? No one expected that as soon as he opened his mouth, there would be signs of compromise, which made Dai Tianqiu and Wang Zhengting's eyes change. Li Yuanhong and the three of them next to him breathed a sigh of relief for some reason.

Ge Fu thought that Yang Qiu was frightened by the British Empire, and a trace of contempt appeared in the corners of his eyes, and he shook his head in English with a Scottish accent and said: "Your Excellency, in fact, Britain believes that in Shanghai, the north-south negotiations under the supervision of the ministers of various countries are more effective. So I can tell you exactly that Mr. Yuan Shikai's negotiators arrived in Shanghai yesterday and that they will not come to Hankow again. ”

"Then I'll know." After testing the hole cards, it was easy to do, Yang Qiu walked to the window and looked deeply: "Your Excellency, the requirements you just made are not only to ensure that the interests of various countries in the three provinces are not infringed upon. I won't promise you the rest! ”

Everyone was stunned again, even the Times reporter stopped his pen, stared blankly at the slender and young Chinese general, and pricked up his ears to listen to him continue: "I will not agree to these conditions of loss of power and humiliation of the country!" And I believe that as long as there is a little conscience, Chinese will not agree to these conditions! As for your request, you should not come here to say it, but you should wait until the central government has confirmed it. ”

Ge Fu's wooden face finally changed color, and he said gloomily in a warning tone: "Commander Yang, is this your final reply?" Don't you think about the consequences? After he finished speaking, he glanced at Li Yuanhong again: "Your Excellency the Governor, does what the commander just said represent the three provincial governments?" ”

Li Yuanhong's face changed greatly, and before he could speak, he was interrupted by Yang Qiu, who called him by his name and said, "Mr. Ge Fu, you don't have to provoke the intimate relationship between me and Li Du ()." As I said earlier, as a local government, we will obey the decisions of the central government in the future. As for now, I will never agree to these requests! And. He raised his voice suddenly: "I believe that the future central government of our country will never sign such a treaty." Because that's a shame! ”

Ge Fu's face was completely blackened, his nose was full of contempt and disdain, and he also stood up and took the coat handed by his assistant and put it on, saying, "Your Excellency, Commander, I am very disappointed with today's meeting!" I believe that the British government will also be very regretful. Please remember what you said today, and all the consequences will be borne by you, Commander. ”

"I'll remember." Yang Qiu nodded politely and said directly in English: "But I also hope that Your Excellency will remember a saying that Chinese like to say." Thirty years in Hedong, thirty years in Hexi! ”

Thirty years in Hedong? Thirty years in Hexi? The Times reporter should have just arrived in the Far East, and it was difficult to understand the meaning of this sentence, so he got up and asked: "Your Excellency, Honorable Commander, can I regard this sentence of yours as a provocation to the British Empire?" ”

Yang Qiu laughed: "Your Excellency, you should know Mr. Faraday, right?" ”

"Of course, he is the best scientist in our country." The Times reporter raised his head suddenly, pride and pride written all over his cheeks.

"I remember him saying that. The younger generation must be like a candle lighting people, with a little heat and a little light, and contribute their strength loyally and steadfastly. Yang Qiu raised his head, his gaze swept over the excited young faces of Dai Tianqiu and Wang Zhengting behind him, and stayed on the faces of the younger soldiers outside: "Please tell Prime Minister Gray on my behalf that if it is destined to use the sacrifices of our generation in exchange for the rebirth of this great country, and to let freedom and glory shine on China, then I, we!" Never back down! ”

"Never!"