On the morning of August 9, Long Qian was finally willing to see Zhu Erdian. Accompanying Zhu Erdian to Haiyan Hall was Foreign Minister Tang Shaoyi, who looked haggard.

"Dear Mr. Ambassador, what is so urgent?" Standing on the steps, Long Qian smiled and looked at Zhu Erdian who was walking quickly, and noticed that the buttons of the British ambassador's light white suit were all wrong.

"I heard that the president was a little uncomfortable, and I was deeply concerned. It seems that the president has made a full recovery. Zhu Erdian took a few steps and held Long Qian's outstretched hand.

"Thank you, Mr. Ambassador, for your concern. There is an old Chinese saying that when the sky is unpredictable, people have good and bad luck. Please come inside, it's just too hot. "The ginkgo trees in the yard are singing with the melodious chirping of cicadas.

"Compared to the situation, the weather is quite cool." It is not the first time that Zhu Erdian has come to Haiyan Hall, but it is much worse than that of German Ambassador Xin Ci and American Ambassador Reinsch, "Mr. President, our government very much wants to know the final attitude of your government...... As soon as Zhu Erdian entered the living room, he suddenly felt a chill on his face, he sat on the brown Western-style leather sofa, and explained his intention straight to the point.

Long Qian stretched out his hands, "To be honest, I feel sorry for the major European countries, it's a pity. When we lose peace, we know how precious it is. ”

"The British Empire did not want war. But never succumb to German obscenity! Please believe that in this duel that will decide the fate of mankind, the British Empire and its allies will surely emerge victorious. On behalf of the British Empire, I sincerely hope that China, under the leadership of the President, can join the side of justice. ”

"Chinese people love peace...... If. I said yes, what do I use to convince the council? You know, it's not me who decides the country's ultimate position, it's Congress. ”

And so it was. Zhu Erdian scolded in his heart. Congress is just a pawn in your hands, and the two major parties in Congress control the Senate and the House of Representatives, while the two major parties obey their orders.

"I am very aware of the influence that a president has over Congress. Not only me, but anyone who knows China knows that your decision will be approved by the Parliament. ”

"I'm afraid that's a misunderstanding. The National Assembly is the highest organ of power. Mr. Ambassador has just arrived, and I have heard some gossip recently, but I wonder if Mr. Ambassador has heard about it. Japan wants to attack Qingdao! The smile on Long Qian's face disappeared. The gaze became gloomy and sharp.

"I haven't heard of that." Zhu Erdian spread his hands, "If it is true, Japan must be against the evil Germans and not against your country." Qingdao has been occupied by Germany for a long time, doesn't Mr. President want to take it back? Zhu Erdian was taken aback. Hayashi did not inform himself of the military plans of the Japanese Empire. But the Japanese are likely to do so. The question is how did the Chinese get such classified information?

"Absolutely. You know best what kind of stall the Manchu government left me. Weihaiwei is also occupied by your country. Long Qian stabbed Zhu Erdian by the way, "The German government has officially sent a note to our side, and they are willing to return the management of Qingdao and the Jiaoji and Tianjin-Pudong railways to our country. Long Qian changed his tone. In this case, I am worried that the Japanese are doing something stupid. Mr. Ambassador, Japan and your country have an alliance, don't you really know about the plans of the Japanese? ”

"I really don't know."

"Germany is about to return Qingdao. This will be the first colony that our country has peacefully recovered. If Japan attacks Qingdao," Long Qian said in an aggravated tone, "this will never be tolerated!" I will see it as aggression against my country. I would like to ask you to take note of this, Mr. Ambassador. ”

"The condition for Germany to return Tsingtao is that it joins the side of the Central Powers and is our enemy, right?" Zhu Erdian's words also cooled down, "With the wisdom of the great president, haven't you thought about the consequences of this? ”

"What consequences?" Of course, Long Qian would not be threatened by Zhu Erdian, thinking that the situation of the British in the world would end soon, and the diplomats who were used to being arrogant and rude and insulting the Quartet had to bow their heads, "How bad can it be?" Tariffs have been controlled by you for a long time, maintaining a low level of 5% for many years, almost all of our big cities have your concessions, foreigners enjoy extraterritoriality, and even set up a sign at the gate of the concession that 'Chinese and dogs are not allowed to enter' to insult the Chinese. How bad can the consequences be? Send troops to occupy China? Turning China into India? Let the great King add another jewel to his crown? Mr. Ambassador, if China joins the German-Austrian side, what punitive measures will the government you represent take? Send the Grand Fleet over? Send more than 2 million troops to land? No, it seems that your country does not have many land forces, let alone 2 million, even if it is 1 million, it may not be able to be sent. ”

"The President......" Tang Shaoyi was anxious, what kind of play is this? Why did you call the UK a board?

"Mr. Ambassador." Long Qian ignored his foreign minister and continued in a gloomy tone, "As I said, the Chinese people love peace. But never be afraid of war! We are by no means a Manchu government, and since the establishment of the Mengshan Army, we have established an unshakable belief that we will be loyal to the motherland and fight to the end for national independence and national freedom. No matter who imposes the war on China, the Wehrmacht will fight to the point and will never give in! ”

Zhu Erdian endured desperately. As a senior diplomat of the British Empire, it was rare to endure such coercion. But he acknowledged part of the truth that Long Qian said, that the Chinese National Defense Force is indeed not a military force to be underestimated. Moreover, this army, which served the dictator in front of him, was fundamentally friendly to Germany and hostile to Britain, France, Russia, and Japan......

"President, we have no right to change what history has formed. If the Chinese government led by you showed enough goodwill to the Entente led by the British Empire in this duel over the fate of mankind, the British Empire would not fail to say that the British Empire would regard China as the most reliable ally in the Far East......"

"Mean? How to represent? Long Qian changed his sneering face, "Could it be that China will replace Japan?" ”

"President, let's stop going around in circles. What are the requirements for you to join the Entente? ”

"yes, I like to go straight. Let's stop using disgusting diplomatic rhetoric. Mr. Ambassador. At this stage, I could not convince my army to be an enemy of Germany! After all, in the history of the growth of the Wehrmacht, the Chinese and German armies have forged a deep friendship. But it's still okay to be neutral. ”

Zhu Erdian breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, he guessed that China's attitude was most likely to be neutral, and the dictator in front of him with a very military demeanor was well versed in the global situation, which was fundamentally different from the ignorant leaders of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Acting on your own side and being neutral in the current situation is also the first option.

Neutrality is also acceptable...... But Long Qian did not finish, "Mr. Ambassador, Ambassador Xin Ci (German Ambassador to China) has already forwarded to me a message from Prime Minister Batemann, and Germany has expressed its goodwill to China as always. I admit that the goodwill of the German Government is extremely attractive to me. So. It was difficult for me to convince the parliament, as well as the army, to be hostile to Germany. Even taking neutrality requires hard work. Mr. Ambassador. What practical indications will the British Empire and its allies make to keep China out of the loop? ”

Zhu Erdian endured his anger, "Your Excellency, what do you need to express? ”

"First," Long Qian held up a finger. "Tariff autonomy must be taken back. Specific criteria are negotiable. "He didn't wait for Jurdian to speak." Second. The British government should guarantee that Japan would not attack Tsingtao, and that the German forces in Tsingtao would be left to China on its own terms. Thirdly, "he did not care about Zhu Erdian's increasingly ugly face." "Certain provisions of the Treaty of Xincho, such as the prohibition of the Wehrmacht from stationing troops within twenty miles of the concession, must be abolished. All the troops stationed in the concessions of various countries have been withdrawn, the Chinese government is by no means a Manchu Qing dynasty, and the security of diplomatic missions will be protected by the Chinese police, and China is willing to assume a share of responsibility for this. Fourth, extraterritoriality should be abolished, and all foreigners living and working in China must abide by Chinese law, if they violate the ...... It must be handled in accordance with Chinese law. Fifth, the Entente Group gave China an interest-free loan of no less than 30 million pounds. Oh, this one is crucial, it's a key clause to counteract the temptation of Germany, otherwise how can I convince the parliamentarians? They were already confused by the conditions of the Germans. ”

"Anything else?" Zhu Erdian asked coldly.

"That's all for now. If the British Government agrees to these conditions, I will try to persuade Parliament to adopt neutrality. ”

"You're blackmailing. Blatant blackmail. Jurdian stood up, "The British Empire will never accept anyone's blackmail, and this is a matter of honor for the British Empire. ”

"This is not blackmail, dear Mr. Ambassador," Long Qian also stood up, "allow me to tell the truth, you serve your country, and I serve my country and people. I must benefit China in any historical accident, otherwise I will be derelict in my duty, and I will be sorry for the money that the people have given me. Long Qian looked at his watch, "I'm really sorry, I have another important meeting." I can't be accompanied. ”

Zhu Erdian left, not even shaking hands with Long Qian. He strode out of the small courtyard of Haiyan Hall, and suddenly found a car with a German flag parked at the door, and then he saw Xin Ci who was talking and laughing with Ouyang Zhong. This made him even angrier.

Zhu Erdian drove back to Dongjiaomin Lane and called Kant and Kosowitz, who originally wanted to find the Japanese ambassador Hayashi Quansuke, but after thinking about it, he still didn't call.

Kant and Kosowitz did not appear in the fury that Jurdian thought, and Kant pondered, "We know his greed and cunning, and it is doubtful that he does not take advantage of the opportunity." At the very least, this shows that he has not decided to side with Germany. I think that's good news at least. ”

Of course, Zhu Erdian did not know that just as Zhu Erdian was talking to Long Qian, Kosovetz again received a telegram from Vladivostok, and the Russian Foreign Minister ordered him to find out the Chinese's cards anyway and do everything possible to prevent the Chinese from falling into the arms of the Germans.

"The way Chinese do business is to bargain. I don't think it's okay, I agree with the Russian allies, we can continue to talk to him. In terms of the few points he made, I think some of the requirements can be met. "Kant was calm.

"What terms?"

"For example, the safe distance in the concession. Actually, it was originally a joke. Twenty miles are not allowed to garrison the Chinese, is it safe to live in twenty-one miles? There is also the issue of garrisoning troops in the concession, which does not matter. It is true that China is not ten years ago, and Beijing is even more secure than Paris. Even if it's extraterritoriality, I don't think it matters. China's rule of law has been done very well, and to be honest, I didn't expect them to make such great progress. "The French Republic, represented by Kant, is the most urgent, and although the interests in China are not as great as those in England, the war in Europe will determine whether France will survive or ruin! Without Russia and England, France would never have been able to stop Germany! He is well aware of the pressure that his homeland is under, and in this sudden war, Britain has room for maneuver, and even Russia can cede land and pay reparations, but France can't! Victory or perdition. China must not be allowed to side with Germany and Austria, and the Chinese must not be shamelessly pinned down by a large number of Russian troops, even if it is ten or five divisions!

"No, it's about our honor......" Jurdians shook his head.

"Dear old friend. Even without this war, at the pace of development of China, they would certainly have made similar demands. If we regret it, then regret that we didn't strangle that seedling earlier, and now it has grown into a towering tree," Kant looked at Kosovetz and thought to himself, the Russians had countless opportunities to strangle the Chinese, but they always did the wrong thing, "Even five years ago, the situation was much easier to control." How many soldiers are there in the Chinese now? 1 million! They can easily expand by 3 million or even 5 million people if they want to! William, that bastard is always a bunch of nonsense, but he still got it right, the Yellow Peril! The real Yellow Peril is not the dwarf Japanese, but the Chinese. The nation has awakened, and Long Qian doesn't have much internal problems, which allows him to concentrate on the outside world. This is a good gambler, and what we have to do is we must not let him put his bets on the side we don't want to see. ”

Zhu Erdian pondered, the restriction of the right to garrison troops is really nothing, and the same is true for the protection of the embassy, the reason why troops were sent to protect the embassy was because of the stupid Boxers. But there will be no more Boxers in China today, that guy is ruthless, banning a number of non-governmental gangs under the banner of the so-called rule of law, and even the Qinghong Gang, which is so entrenched that the Ministry of Industry and Bureau of the Concession has to rely on it, has disappeared. It would be a joke for an organization like the Boxers to attack the embassy. Extraterritoriality? This has led to more than one conflict with the Chinese government over the past few years, leading to a growing hatred of the Chinese people towards the British, which is actually harmful to the empire in the long run. Chinese gave more opportunities to the United States and Germany, and the British Empire had already suffered in terms of trade......

"So, what about tariffs and interest-free loans? Do you agree to this too? Zhu Erdian asked coldly.

"It is not us who will lose the most, but the United States and Germany. Think about the import list of the Chinese over the years, are the Americans willing to return the tariffs? Of course the loan can't be given, I said it, bargain! They don't have so much capital to get back so many rights and interests! ”

"And what about your opinion?" Jurdian turned to Korsowitz.

"I agree with Mr. Kant. In any case, we cannot let the despicable Chinese pull us back at this time. Kosovetz shrugged, "It's actually quite simple. As long as we take out Germany, we still have the final say? His Majesty the Great Tsar can solve the Chinese problem alone, and what we have lost can be completely recovered. Maybe a year from now? Look at God's will. ”

"Okay, let's talk to Mr. Tang then." Zhu Erdian suddenly remembered a key question, "The Chinese have found out that Japan has used force against Qingdao, God knows how they know, I don't even know about this matter!" What if that shameless guy wants me to endorse them? ”

"As far as I know, the Japanese have indeed endured for a long time. China's rapidly growing national power has already deeply disturbed our Japanese friends. Japan is not our ally, at least they have not yet joined the Entente, how can we endorse it? In fact, it is not bad to let the Japanese test China's bottom line. Kant smiled sinisterly.

"Okay, then let's report to the country." Zhu Erdian said gloomily, "I must say something like this, today is a humiliating day for me. I will remember today. (To be continued......)