When Huang Ke met with Stilwell and his delegation in Nanjing, Zhao Tinghui had secretly set out from Nanjing and arrived in Huzhou, Zhejiang, which was at the forefront of the military confrontation between the two sides.

On a cruise ship in an obscure Jiangnan town, the two sides held their first formally confidential negotiations in more than a month of contact.

Zhao Tinghui was dressed in a black satin robe, a top hat on his head, and a pair of cloth shoes with mille-feuille soles on his feet, looking like a traveler who had come here for a vacation. Zhao Tinghui was followed by a Japanese interpreter, as well as Dai Li, who was in charge of security, Shi Shizai, and Zhang Yousan, a scholar and political adviser to the government.

This combination is not accidental, but carefully arranged. First of all, Zhao Tinghui himself has a close relationship with Huang Ke, and it is not enough to say that he is a "relative of the emperor", and he himself does not serve in the government, which will inevitably save a lot of trouble, and he is naturally extremely suitable as the main figure in the negotiations.

Fourteen Tsai and Dai Li, one can represent the military, the other can represent the intelligence agencies, Fourteen Tsai is more than brave, thoughtful, Dai Li's head is flexible, and he has been engaged in intelligence work against Japan for a long time, so it is relatively safe for him to be responsible for security.

Besides, Zhang Yousan, this person has studied both Chinese and Western, and is relatively calm, and there will be many emergencies in the process of negotiation, so he can control the scene and deal with all kinds of difficulties of the Japanese, so it is naturally safe.

The group started to drive to Huzhou from the Chinese area, and after arriving at this town, they got on a canopy boat that had been prepared like ordinary tourists, and the boat boss with a cloak raised the bamboo pole oars in his hand, and slowly rowed towards Taihu Lake after the boat opened.

The small canopy boat is not big, and the group is a little cramped to sit in it, and a small table in the middle is placed with some refreshments and the like. Fortunately, the canopy boat was surrounded by straw mats, and although it was July, the wind on the lake was still blowing in through it, and it was very cool.

Although the speed of the canopy boat is not very fast, but fortunately, the wind and water are smooth, and it takes about half an hour to row the canopy boat to the edge of Taihu Lake. At this time, everyone saw a large pleasure ship that had been prepared for a long time anchored there.

The pole of the awning boat stopped, and the person on the opposite side stretched out a long plank and put it on the awning boat. The captain of the canopy boat took it, tried it, and said to the person on the other side, "Gentlemen, it's time to change ships." ”

At this time, although the wind was not too strong, the surface of Taihu Lake was a light wind and waves, and the small canopy boat was blown back and forth in the lake, which also caused the connected wooden planks to shake a little.

Fourteen walked up to him and couldn't help but scold, "Fuck! Do you want to put us together at this time? It's a pity that Wang Mao didn't tell them that we all grew up by the sea? ”

As he spoke, Fourteen stepped on it, and with a small trot, he went straight to the pleasure boat along the sampan. Standing at the end of the cruise ship, a Japanese man clapped his hands and smiled, and Fourteen Snorted coldly and turned his head away.

The Japanese don't know whether this small obstacle set up intentionally or unintentionally has not been able to become an obstacle, because both Zhao Tinghui and Fourteen Tsai grew up by the sea in Guangzhou, and they have been wandering around on various boats since they were children, and obviously they will not take these things seriously. It's just that Dai Li's is a little ugly, he hasn't been on the boat much, and it's really hard to control the swaying. But he knew he must not fall into the water, otherwise it would be ugly.

Dai Li discussed with the boat boss and asked him to hold the bamboo pole supporting the boat for himself, although he did not walk fast, but he finally swayed to the pleasure boat.

Wang Maocai, Ouyang Hui and others came to greet the Chinese delegation, and the two sides did not greet each other too much, but Wang Maocai gave up his hand to greet Zhao Tinghui, he wanted to talk to Fourteen Tsai, but Fourteen Tsai turned his head.

The hall inside the boat has been arranged, a long mahogany table is flanked by chairs corresponding to the number of people, white ceramic water cups, shorthand books and other items are placed on the table, and two small Chinese and Japanese flags are placed in the middle. Behind the long table were four small tables and chairs, with pens and inks and stacks of white paper in front of them, apparently for the purpose of taking notes of the meeting.

There are also binders and sealed bags near the table outside, which are presumably used to bind materials at the end of the meeting.

Representatives of the Chinese and Japanese sides entered from opposite sides of the ship, and both sides took their seats in the seats that had been prepared. There were a total of six representatives from the Japanese side, in addition to Ouyang Hui and Wang Maocai, there were also three Japanese, according to Wang Maocai's introduction, the three were named Shigeki Usui, Takeo Imai and Suzuki Zhuo.

Although the three of them were all wearing black suits, and the pockets of their chests were also tucked into square scarves very regularly, judging from their walking posture and various movements, they were all soldiers from the army.

Obviously, in the position and order of introduction, Takeo Imai, who is sitting in the middle, is the protagonist of this meeting.

Because the two sides had been in contact before, they talked straight to the point after meeting. The two sides first discussed the issue of the first dispute, that is, the issue of "the legitimacy of the puppet regime".

Takeo Imai asked bluntly: "Mr. Wang Jingwei's regime in Shanghai needs to be recognized by your government, and I would like to know what your government's attitude is on this point. ”

Zhao Tinghui had obviously already made a good draft, because Huang Ke had already told him the principle in advance, that it was impossible to admit that Wang Jingwei's regime was impossible, and given that the Wang puppet regime could not be eliminated at present, it was best to let the status quo go.

"This issue is now a fait accompli. Our negotiations this time are for the sake of peace between the two armies, as if the Wang Chingwei regime cannot interfere with anything. What Zhao Tinghui said was reasonable, but Wang Maocai was a little surprised, is this still the Zhao Tinghui who likes to play a little smart?

Without waiting for Wang Mao to think about it, Takeo Imai on the Japanese side spoke, "This issue is an inevitable issue in the negotiations between Japan and China, and I hope that your government can give a clear attitude." ”

Zhao Tinghui was sluggish for a moment, this had not been discussed in advance, and he didn't dare to answer randomly. This is a negotiation occasion, and as the main representative of the negotiations, he is not representing himself, but the central government in Nanjing, which he represents.

When Zhao Tinghui didn't know what to say, Zhang Yousan on the side said frankly: "It's a big matter. I think it would be better to wait for our return to Nanjing to make a report, and then give a reply to your country. ”

After muttering in a low voice, Takeo Imai and the people around him nodded and acquiesced to the Chinese proposal. This is followed by the most crucial issue, the stationing of Japanese troops in the occupied areas.

This time, Takeo Imai was not so strong, but took the lead in proposing "a five-year time line to gradually withdraw the troops stationed in China", but Imai Takeo also said that the evacuation area was limited to the occupied areas in North, East and South China, and Northeast China, which they called Manchuria, was not included.

"What is your specific plan for withdrawing troops within five years? For example, in which areas can the withdrawal of troops be completed this year? Seeing that Zhao Tinghui was silent, Fourteen Tsai asked directly.

The translator translated the words, Takeo Imai was silent for a moment, the pen in the clerk's hand recorded quickly, the room was very quiet, only the sound of the tip of the pen touching the paper "brush, brush" kept ringing.

"If the two sides can negotiate, we will complete the withdrawal of about two divisions this year." Takeo Imai said with a straight face: "But as for which force it is, there is no very detailed plan for the time being. ”

Zhao Tinghui nodded, expressing a basic agreement with Takeo Imai's statement. The two sides immediately talked about the ceasefire in the theater of operations, and on the whole, there were no moths.

And so the morning talks ended. The memorandum of the meeting began to be recorded and collated, and then handed over to the Chinese and Japanese delegations for sealing after the meeting was completely concluded.

After a morning of talking, the boat was already docked. At this time, Takeo Imai pretended to be polite and came over to Zhao Tinghui and the others and said, "Mr. Zhao, we have prepared a place for you to rest in a small town by Taihu Lake, please go and rest." In the afternoon, we will continue our negotiations. ”

It is not a great shame that the Chinese need the Japanese to arrange accommodation in their territory. But the lunch break was very long, and the morning negotiations made them very tired, and they wanted to take a good rest, which was really a dilemma at the moment.

Takeo Imai seemed to see the helplessness of the Chinese representatives, and he said with a smile mocking of the victors: "Zhao San, you must rest well at noon, negotiation is a very brain-intensive job." ”

When Zhao Tinghui and the others didn't know how to refuse, Dai Li, who had been silent, deliberately came over and reported: "Gentlemen, the place where we rest at noon has been settled. The boss said that your favorite dishes have been prepared, a few looks, when are we leaving? ”

Zhao Tinghui heard such a tone, so he deliberately pulled his throat and asked, "What kind of dishes is this boss preparing?" I love to eat our fresh fish stew from Taihu Lake. ”

"Yes, some of them have been prepared in the morning, and they are waiting for a few fresh fish, and now they are ready in the kitchen." Dai Li deliberately replied a few more words,

"Okay, it's been a long time since I've been to Taihu Lake, but I really miss the carp and crabs here. Let's go, let's see. With that, Zhao Tinghui raised his head and led everyone in the direction of Dai Liyin.

This made Imai Takeo angry, and he scolded loudly: "What did that short Shina man do just now? He had only been away for ten minutes, how could he have a place to rest? Find it out for me. ”