On July 28, the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Landsdowne, and his entourage arrived in Beijing and were placed in a hotel owned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After the declaration of war, the British embassy in China had been closed, and as for the appropriate opening, it would have to wait until the outcome of the post-war negotiations.

"Your Excellency, Japanese Foreign Minister Shuzo Aoki asks for a meeting!" In the hotel owned by the Foreign Office, the former British minister to China, Juerdian, told the angry British Foreign Secretary, Lord Landsdoor. After the declaration of war between China and Britain, Zhu Erdian left Beijing and went to Singapore. Later, before the squadron launched the South Seas operation, he left Singapore and went to India. This time, Lord Lansdorn was ordered to go to China for peace talks, and needed a China pass, so he picked up Jurdian in India.

"The Japanese? What are they here for? Lord Landsdowne frowned. Lord Lansdownne has always been a little resentful that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had sent only one ordinary official to meet him in Tianjin.

"Your Excellency, I think the Japanese are here in search of allies. Aoki Shuzo has been in Beijing for more than half a month, but he met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wu Tingfang, and the Chinese put forward extremely harsh conditions to Japan. Japan simply cannot accept it. Shuzo Aoki must be looking for our help! Zhu Erdian replied.

"So, do you think the British Empire should come to Japan's aid?" Lord Lansdowne had an inexplicable smile on his face.

"Your Excellency, in the long run, the British Empire should help Japan. After all, support Japan against China. This was very beneficial to the British Empire. But. The current situation. But we are not allowed to do that. The Chinese have already achieved a decisive advantage on the battlefield. Our strategy of using the means of war to suppress China has failed. The Chinese, on the other hand, will not tolerate the emergence of a hostile power in the Far East. Therefore, with the help of this war, they will definitely destroy Japan. If the British Empire must help Japan, it will only bring trouble to our negotiations with the Chinese. Zhu Erdian said. After all, this time Lord Lansdowne was on a mission. It was to reach an agreement with the Chinese side to end the war. Arthur? The Balfour Cabinet has only just come to power, and there is an urgent need to stabilize the situation in the country.

"Well, it seems that we have to give up on the Japanese. It's just that Japan owes the empire a huge amount of loans, and if Japan is destroyed, then these loans of the empire will probably be in vain! Lord Landsdownne said. After Japan was defeated by China in 1895, Japan took out loans from Britain, France, and the United States to repay China's war reparations. and the development of military strength, which has long been heavily indebted. If Japan is destroyed. It is likely that the new Japanese government will not recognize these loans. This will cost Britain tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions, of pounds.

"Your Excellency, our first priority is to end the war with the Chinese. As for loans to Japan, as long as the empire survives this crisis and the empire's military strength is restored, will the Japanese dare not repay the loans to the empire? Zhu Erdian said with a smile. Military strength is the guarantee of a qiē. As long as the British Navy once again becomes the world's largest navy, then the Japanese will not dare to settle their debts.

"Haha! Minister Juerdian, you are absolutely right. The nations of the world fear the British Empire, not because of the democratic system of the British Empire, but because of the military power of the British Empire. Even if the British Empire is in a little trouble now, it is a few troubles that can be solved quickly. The mighty navy of the British Empire will soon be restored. At that time, the British Empire will still be the most powerful country in the world! Lord Lansdownne said proudly. The whole British family attributed this defeat to the technological backwardness of the navy, and they believed that if the warships of the two sides were at the same level, the final victory would be British. Therefore, the British Navy began a frantic shipbuilding program. After placing an order for six new 'Dreadnought-class' battleships, the Admiralty requested a new type of battleship that could rival China's 'Qin-class' battleships, and placed an order for six more. Once completed, the British Navy will be fully reinforced. In the world, only the British Royal Navy has such a strong shipbuilding industry and technical background. In this regard, even China and Germany cannot catch up.

Aoki Shuzo was left to dry for more than half an hour before he met Lord Lancedowne. This made Aoki Shuzo very angry, but thinking of his mission, he could only suppress his anger.

"Your Excellency, it's a pleasure to meet you!" Shuzo Aoki said with a smile on his face. When Shuzo Aoki was young, he studied in Germany and served as the Japanese minister to Austria and the Netherlands, and he was fluent in both German and English.

"Your Excellency Aoki, it's a pleasure to meet you, please be seated. Come, give Lord Aoki a cup of Indian tea. Lord Lansdownne said with a smile.

"Thank you, Your Excellency!" Aoki bowed ninety degrees around the museum.

Soon, the black tea was delivered. After Aoki Shuzo took a sip, he did not hesitate to praise it, which made Lord Lansdorne very satisfied. The perception of Aoki Shuzo has also changed greatly.

"Your Excellency, black tea from India is famous all over the world. However, I am afraid that it will be difficult to drink in the future! Shuzo Aoki said with a sigh.

"Why? Lord Aoki! Lord Lansdorne asked, frowning.

"Your Excellency. The Chinese have won in the South Seas, and Myanmar has fallen into the hands of the Chinese. If China wants to wave its army westward and attack India, I am afraid that the army of the British Empire will not be able to stop the attack of the Chinese! Shuzo Aoki said.

"Humph! India is the most important colony of the British Empire, and if the Chinese dare to attack India, the British Empire will fight them at any cost! Lord Lansdowne said firmly.

"Your Excellency, the Chinese have won a great victory in this war, which poses a great threat to all countries. Therefore, I think we should unite and put pressure on China to ensure the interests of all countries. In this way, we will be able to impose restrictions on China! Shuzo Aoki said.

A sneering smile appeared on the corner of Lord Lansdorn's mouth, and of course he knew Aoki Shuzo's idea very well. However, now it is the Chinese who have achieved a decisive advantage on the battlefield. The navy on which the British Empire relied to maintain its world hegemony was defeated, how could it be possible to let the Chinese retreat? Even the British Empire was ready to make concessions this time, let alone the Japanese. Lord Lansdorn suddenly felt that Aoki Shuzo was a little pitiful, how similar the situation in Japan was to that of England. However, Britain's external environment and resources are much stronger than Japan's. Coupled with the fact that Britain had entered the maritime age earlier, Britain was able to become the world's number one power, while Japan could not even guarantee its national security.

"Your Excellency Aoki, the interests of the British Empire cannot be harmed by any country. The British Empire was confident in protecting the interests of the Empire! Lord Landsdownne said.

"Your Excellency, Japan is an ally of the British Empire and now needs the help of the British Empire!" Aoki Shuzo said directly.

"Your Excellency, please rest assured that the British Empire will not watch its allies being bullied. In this negotiation, the British Empire will do its best to help Japan! Lord Landsdorne promised. Anyway, this kind of commitment doesn't need money, and no matter how much it says, there is no loss for the UK.

"Thank you very much, Your Excellency, if Japan can survive this difficult time, Japan will be the most loyal ally of the British Empire!" Shuzo Aoki was grateful. Show your loyalty now.

It's just that whether Lord Lansdowne's promise is useful or not, only he knows this himself.

On the morning of 29 July, the day after Lord Lansdowne arrived in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Minister Wu Tingfang met with Lord Lansdowne and former Minister to China Zhu Erdian in the reception room of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It's just that this meeting was not pleasant. The British had clearly lost the battle, but they still looked like they were still the number one power in the world.

"Your Excellency, welcome to China!" Wu Tingfang said with a smile.

"It is a great pleasure to meet you, Your Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs!" Lord Lansdoorn was also smiling.

After that, the two began to greet each other, but neither of them spoke about business first, but talked about the weather, the law and the like. Wu Tingfang once studied in London at his own expense, and he also knows the UK very well. After about half an hour, Lord Landsdorn couldn't hold it anymore.

"Your Excellency, I have come to China this time to put an end to this unpleasant war between China and Britain. The cause of the war was entirely caused by the fact that your navy preemptively launched an attack on our Far Eastern Fleet. Subsequently, your country brazenly invaded the colonies of the British Empire, causing great damage to the interests of the British Empire. Therefore, the British Empire demanded that your team immediately evacuate the colonies of the British Empire and compensate the British Empire for 200 million pounds! Lord Landsdowne spoke directly.

Hearing Lord Lansdowne say this, Wu Tingfang's face suddenly turned blue. In this war, does it seem that China has the upper hand? From the words of Lord Lansdowne, how can it be like China has lost the war! These arrogant British, do they still think that China is afraid of them?

"Your Excellency! This war was entirely caused by your navy's attack on our navy first. In addition, our ** team entered the South Seas to protect our country's expatriates and to deal with your country's expedition. Therefore, your country should compensate our country for the damages! Wu Tingfang said. (To be continued.) )

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