Wang Shizhen's impression of inaction on the diplomatic front is basically true. The reason why New China was not recognized by the great powers was that it had not formally established itself was a reason, and more importantly, Long Qian did not accept the coercion of the foreign powers.

Tang Shaoyi, who was entrusted with diplomatic tasks by Long Qian, is different from Wang Shizhen, although he is a general of the Beiyang Department and has also been reused by the Qing court, he does not have Wang Shizhen's inner nostalgia for the Qing court. It is not so much that Wang Shizhen is from the Beiyang line, but that he is from the Qing court. However, Tang Shaoyi's feelings for the Qing court were much indifferent, and after the Beiyang system as a whole fell to the Mengshan Army, he had a good personal relationship with Long Qian, so he completely devoted himself to the Long Qian Group and worked hard for it.

There is no dissatisfaction with doing diplomacy, and he likes this errand. Throughout the world's major powers, foreign ministers are extremely important members of the Cabinet. Therefore, in the past few months, Tang Shaoyi has gone all out to carry out his work, set up a diplomatic bureau, collect talents, collect materials, study the situation of the great powers, and strive to contact the great powers under the premise of the diplomatic principles established by Long Qian.

He took his family to his side and completely stepped into a new role.

In Tang Shaoyi's view, diplomacy is nothing more than the affairs of a few countries, and Britain, Japan, France, Germany, the United States, Italy, Russia, and Austria are the focus of diplomatic work, and as long as they are recognized by the above countries for New China, diplomacy will be regarded as a complete success. However, when Tang Shaoyi went to the Six Nations Hotel to meet with the foreign powers' envoys in China to discuss the establishment of diplomatic relations, he was met with a cold reception from Cheng Dù, and the British Minister to China, Zhu Erdian, who was obviously promoted to be the head of the diplomatic mission, arrogantly told Tang Shaoyi that the recognition of all the diplomatic treaties signed by the Qing State was a prerequisite for the establishment of formal diplomatic relations, and the guarantee of the interests of various countries in China was a necessary condition for the establishment of formal diplomatic relations. Governments will never tolerate any disrespect from the Mong Son junta to all countries! In addition, Zhu Erdian also pointed out that treating the Qing family well is a civilized behavior, and it is also the grace that the military government should have, and the deceased Guangxu Emperor and the Empress Dowager Cixi are friends of the British Empire, and the British Empire pays close attention to the military government's handling of the Qing family, and regards it as an important factor in whether to establish diplomatic relations with the new government.

Tang Shaoyi held back his anger and asked Zhu Erdian, what is disrespect to governments? Tearing away the usual diplomatic rhetorical grammar, Zhu Erdian said that he noticed that the newspapers controlled by the junta, especially the primary school textbooks used in Shandong Province, contained a lot of anti-British propaganda, which the empire could not tolerate.

This Tang Shaoyi knows. His capable secretary Gu Weijun once talked about it. It is said that Shandong has used a unified primary school textbook since last fall, and that the "Chinese" subject contains stories aimed at awakening national consciousness, such as the sale of tobacco in Humen and the burning of the Old Summer Palace, which may be detrimental to the establishment of diplomatic relations. Tang Shaoyi was too busy to notice, but she didn't expect Zhu Erdian to be well-informed.

Tang Shaoyi said. He had not seen a textbook in Shandong. As for the abdication of the Qing room. The new Government has a plan in place. It's being discussed. Linked to China's long history, he believed that the new government's resettlement of the Qing dynasty was civilized and humane.

In addition to emphasizing the continuation of the Manchu-Qing treaties and Russia's interests in China, the Russian minister Kosovic particularly pointed out the Outer Mongolia issue. What is the intention of the Mengshan military junta to transfer troops out of the customs on a large scale? He threatened that His Majesty the Tsar would never allow any threat to the interests of the Russian Far East.

On the issue of Outer Mongolia, Long Qian had already given clear instructions, so Tang Shaoyi said forcefully that Outer Mongolia is China's inalienable territory, and it is absolutely not allowed to engage in any independence or autonomy that is not allowed by the central government.

In addition to the general conditions for the establishment of diplomatic relations in accordance with the apparently pre-unified tone, the Japanese minister Ijiin Hikoyoshi returned to China, and the agent was the secretary of the country, Kumataro Honda, who put forward two specific requirements, the first is the guarantee of Japan's special interests in South Manchuria, saying that it was precisely because the Japanese Empire paid hundreds of thousands of casualties and huge property losses in 1904~1905 that the Russian bear's swallowing of Manchuria was thwarted, and it was natural for Japan to obtain compensation in South Manchuria! The second is that the Japanese government's loans to the Manchus (Beiyang) must be recognized by the Mengshan military junta. In Tang Shaoyi's view, the former is fine, but the latter is simply unreasonable, Japan urgently loaned to Beiyang last year to fight against the Mengshan Army, but now it has to repay the Mengshan Military Government, which won the civil war, which is simply too deceitful. However, Secretary Honda also said that the Japanese Empire, which is of the same language as China, has a full support for China's counterattack against Russian aggression in Outer Mongolia, and can help the new government in terms of weapons and even funds.

According to Long Qian's instructions, the hope of a diplomatic breakthrough was placed on the United States and Germany. The focus of Tang Shaoyi's work is also in the United States and Germany.

The newly appointed US minister Jia Leheng expressed his goodwill, congratulated the Mengshan Army led by Mr. Long Qian on its victory in reunifying China, and said that the US Government has taken note of Mr. Long Qian's recent speech, expressed great appreciation for China's abolition of the feudal imperial system and the establishment of a democratic republican system, and held that China will be the first republic in Asia, which is of great historical significance. Jia Leheng happily reviewed the multi-faceted cooperation between the Mengshan military regime and the US business community in recent years, and believed that the cooperation was pleasant and effective, especially the success of Standard Oil's oil well exploration in Shandong and the cooperation between Ford Motor and China were of epoch-making significance and laid the foundation for the friendship between the two countries. Although Mr. Long Qian has not disclosed his experience of living in the United States in detail, the American people believe that it is precisely because of Mr. Long Qian's life experience in the United States that he chose a democratic system, which has undoubtedly brought the two countries closer. Here, Jia Leheng avoids the U.S. government and instead uses the American people to talk about things. At the end of the conversation with Tang Shaoyi, Jia Leheng implicitly said in the language of a diplomat that the United States is looking forward to the birth of a new Chinese government and hopes that the two countries will cooperate in more fields.

On the actual issue of establishing diplomatic relations, Jia Leheng did not make a positive commitment, but only said that the US government is concerned about the steps taken by the Mengshan Army to establish a central government. The implication is that the new government has not been formally formed, and it is too early to say anything.

The attitude of the Germans and the United States is about the same. In a sense, Germany was more than happy to see the Mongol Army victorious. After Europe had been divided into two camps hostile to each other, Germany became more and more wary of the situation of being hostile on two fronts. His eastern front was Russia, known as the "European steamroller", and its vast depth and endless manpower gave Germany a great headache. Today, the Mengshan Army, which has always had good relations of cooperation with Germany, has taken power in China. It's a good thing for Germany. Germany, on the other hand, would be more happy to see the new Chinese regime move toward confrontation with Russia over the Mongolian issue. If a war breaks out between China and Russia over Outer Mongolia, it will inevitably weaken Russia's military presence in Europe, and Germany will be happy to see Russia lose one soldier and one artillery on its western front. Moreover, the German military attached great importance to the performance of the Mengshan Army in the Chinese Civil War, and they paid special attention to the defensive success of the Shandong Army in Dezhou, and the wartime observation group sent by the German army in Qingdao was not counted, and after the war, the German General Staff secretly sent a more advanced observation group, and after obtaining the permission of the Shandong authorities, they visited the Shandong army's defensive positions in Dezhou in person, and gave a high evaluation of the barbed wire tactics. At that time. The General Staff of the German Army had already completed the Schlieffen plan. Prepare to defeat your old enemy France with a powerful detour strategy, and then turn around to deal with Russia on the Eastern Front. Breaking the defense of the French whose military technology is not weaker than their own, as well as defending Russia with a small number of troops, the Battle of Texas has a strong reference significance. The Battle of Texas changed Germany's impression of the Chinese army. The Shandong Army's will to fight without fear of death won the respect of the German military. Therefore. The German Minister expressed his Government's willingness to establish formal diplomatic relations with the Long Qian Government at the appropriate time. It is clear that it wants to strengthen all-round cooperation in the arms industry and even in the military field, and promises to transfer the manufacturing technology of large-caliber heavy artillery, and promises to provide China with support in the field of weapons and ammunition in the event of a military conflict between China and Russia. It also hopes to obtain the exclusive right to build the Jinpu Railway and participate in the development of Shandong oilfield.

As Long Qian had expected, the attitudes of the great powers towards the de facto established Chinese government were very different. In view of the fact that there were no overt hostile forces in the country, it was impossible for the great powers to ignore the existence of China as a great power, and the two sides focused on the recognition of a series of traitorous treaties by the Manchu Qing Dynasty, involving specific issues such as reparations, tariffs, concessions, etc., and if the new Chinese government inherited the negative assets of the Manchus in its entirety, the establishment of formal diplomatic relations should not be too much of a problem. However, Long Qian also gave clear instructions that the government of the new republic was not a Manchu government that had lost its power and humiliated the country, and that it must fight for the dignity of the country and the interests of the people's livelihood, and should strive for a breakthrough in diplomatic relations and, more importantly, for the country's rights and interests.

Even Wu Tingfang, a former member of the cabinet of the Republic of China, who had recently taken office as an adviser to the Foreign Affairs Bureau, said in an exchange with Tang Shaoyi on diplomatic issues that it would be very difficult to realize the president's wishes -- although there were many contradictions among the great powers, they often took concerted steps on the China issue to force the Chinese government to comply, so as to ensure their interests in China.

Wu Tingfang, like many people, has addressed Long Qian as president, and although Long Qian has not taken office, his official position is still that of chairman of the Military Commission and commander-in-chief of the Mengshan Army.

Long Qian was busy. Economic and government issues involved a lot of his energy, especially economic issues, and Zhou Xuexi met Long Qian almost every day. However, Long Qian still cares about the work of the Foreign Affairs Bureau, and has to inquire about the progress of the work of the Foreign Affairs Bureau almost every three days, and telephone communication is the main way, and sometimes he will communicate face-to-face with Tang Shaoyi, Wu Tingfang and others in the form of dinner.

Long Qian's instructions for diplomacy were to strive to establish diplomatic relations with major powers without submitting to them. On issues involving the importance of national interests, it is better to delay for a period of time, but also to adhere to principles and not make concessions. In terms of specific strategies, Long Qian's opinion is to make breakthroughs in various ways, first to win the recognition of the new Chinese government from the United States and Germany. Because in Shandong, the Mengshan Army, as a political military group independent of the Manchu Qing system, had established extensive cooperative relations with Germany and the United States.

Long Qian's statement is that the other side must clearly recognize China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity, including sovereignty over Mongolia and Tibet. The specific requirement is that countries having diplomatic ties with China should undertake to realize China's tariff autonomy within three years and postpone the payment of Gengzi indemnity for no less than five years.

Tang Shaoyi thinks this requirement is too high! The customs had long been controlled by a small group headed by the British, Hurd, and the tariffs were all set at 5% and became collateral for war reparations, so how could China be allowed to take back the right to control customs and determine tariffs independently? That's not all, the new head of the country actually asked the powers to postpone Gengzi's indemnity for five years!

The total amount of Gengzi's indemnity was 300 million taels of silver, which was stipulated to be paid within 39 years, and the total amount of interest was nearly 600 million taels of silver, and the annual indemnity was almost 15 million taels. In 1908 the total revenue from customs duties was about 30 million, but in 1909 the civil war broke out and the tariffs were reduced to 25 million, almost all of which was used to pay reparations.

If the tariff is autonomous, of course, the state will raise the standard of taxation, even if it is raised to 10%, the fiscal revenue will increase by 30 million, how much money is this? Further, if the indemnity is postponed for five years, it will immediately increase the country's income by 60 million silver, at least the money for raising soldiers will be available, and the country's finances will immediately be fundamentally changed. You must know that since the Taiping Rebellion, the imperial court has used almost all the money to raise troops to fight, and it is simply unable to carry out construction.

But the great powers are all wolves, where can they be so lenient with the new regime? After Tang Shaoyi further negotiated with the envoys of the foreign powers in China and expressed the diplomatic stand of the new government, he met with great resistance, and the foreign powers not only refused to make concessions, but also demanded that the new government further open up the market and earnestly guarantee the interests of the foreign powers in China.

Diplomatic negotiations prior to the founding of the state were stalled by the wide gap between the positions of the two sides and the unanimous pace of the great powers.

For this result, Long Qian didn't care. In the face of Tang Shaoyi and Wu Tingfang's questions, Long Qian said: Diplomacy serves the country's major policies, and diplomacy cannot be done for the sake of doing diplomacy. It's okay if they don't recognize the new Chinese government, we live the same and build the same country, right? What are the major national policies at this stage? On the premise of ensuring that sovereign territory is not violated, wholeheartedly engaging in construction is a major national policy. We want to reform the maladministration of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, vigorously revive agriculture, revitalize industry and commerce, develop education, and plan transportation. Of course, this qiē is inseparable from the support of foreign capital and technology. What does it matter if a foreign government does not recognize New China? Isn't Standard Oil coming? Isn't the DuPont consortium looking for a broader collaboration? Didn't Krupp, Rheinmetall and even Skoda want to establish a wider cooperation with Huayuan and ZTE in the field of arms? Isn't U.S. Steel continuing to expand its investment in China? If the government doesn't admit it, let's start non-governmental cooperation, and people are not afraid of losing money in China, are we still afraid? It doesn't make sense. I want to see who asks whom to establish diplomatic relations in the end.

Tang Shaoyi was a little relieved after listening to Long Qian's words, but Wu Tingfang was a little dumbfounded. After Sun Wen subordinated to the Republic of China government, he was eager to seek recognition from the foreign powers, and now Long Qian, who basically unified the whole country, took up the shelf.

This result fully proved the judgment of the young man who was valued by Long Qian. That person's name is Gu Weijun, who returned from studying in the United States at the end of last year and directly entered the Foreign Affairs Bureau where he was expanding, and served as Tang Shaoyi's secretary. It is worth mentioning that this young man's name is also Shaochuan, which has become an interesting story of the Foreign Affairs Bureau. In order to show respect for Shangguan, Gu Weijun took the initiative to change his expression, but was stopped by Tang Shaoyi - since the expression was taken by the division commander, don't change it.

Gu Weijun told Tang Shaoyi that the current situation of the country is different from that of the Manchu Qing Dynasty and even different from that of the Republic of China. The president is not currently under military or economic pressure and will not bow to the great powers. Regarding Tang Shaoyi's plan to use troops to Mongolia, Gu Weijun said, "Sending troops to Mongolia will greatly boost the morale of the people and rejuvenate the country's long-lost self-esteem." Even at the cost of military and economic losses, it is extremely cost-effective. When it comes to Shandong's primary school textbooks aimed at raising national consciousness through national humiliation, the president is worthy of being a great man, and I myself have great admiration. ”

Tang Shaoyi was impressed by this young man who was very valued by Long Qian. Gu Weijun was instructed to immediately draft a report to the Military Affairs Bureau on behalf of the Foreign Affairs Bureau. The conclusion is that military action can be carried out without unbearable diplomatic consequences. But the premise is that the solution is quick and cannot be delayed.

Wu Tingfang had read the report drafted by Gu Weijun to the Military Commission, and he was extremely contradictory about this. On the one hand, he admits that the independence of Outer Mongolia cannot be connived at, and on the other hand, he is worried that Tsarist Russia will overreact and that New China will not be able to withstand a major war. (To be continued......)