Inviting China to join the Entente has been an entente for a long time, and in fact, Britain and France have been working on it.

After all, China's relations with France are very close, and its relations with Britain are not ―――――― good...

Although China was not a member of the Entente, it was already its quasi-ally, at least in France's view. Who is Yan Shao once lived in France for a period of time, and was famous in France, and even one of his wives was French.

Moreover, in the Wehrmacht, the largest armed force in the Far East (after the expansion of Japan's army, there are only 500,000 troops, and only more than 400,000 are left after losing a large number of troops), a considerable number of middle and high-ranking officers have studied and even served in France, and they are naturally close to France.

In this way, the two countries are naturally very close, although some time ago the British restrictive policy against the national government, the French also waved their flags for a while, but the relationship between the two countries has not been affected too much.

Therefore, from a long time ago, the French government began to consider whether to invite China to join the Entente camp―――――― so that it did not need China's support, when the war on the Western Front had not yet broken out, and the French did not feel that they needed the help of others, let alone the help of Chinese.

Although a significant part of the French have a favorable opinion of China for a variety of reasons, in fact the French have always had a strong sense of superiority. Within the French government, there are many people who look down on China. The reason why the French wanted to invite China was only because they wanted to strengthen the Entente camp and to find a way to get their hands on the three dreadnoughts of the Chinese Navy.

It was only the later Shandong campaign that disrupted this process. The war between China, a quasi-ally, and Japan, a member of the Entente, was a headache for the British and French governments, at least at the time. Both Britain and France believe that Japan is far stronger than China in terms of navy and army, especially the navy, and it is not comparable to the reborn Chinese navy.

Therefore, in the conflict between China and Japan, Britain and France did not stand on China's side, but on the side of Japan, which was more useful.

The idea of inviting China to join the Entente had to be abandoned because of the war. After all, they could not drag China into the Entente when the two countries were at war. In that case, it is easy to give Japan a certain hint.

In the eyes of Britain and France, Japan's strength is much stronger than China's, and they are not willing to let go of such a powerful help.

So as the war in Shandong became more and more intense. Joining the Entente could only come to naught.

However, what happened after that was unexpected by Britain, France and other countries, and the Japanese army, which they considered to have a decisive advantage, was actually defeated by China in Shandong. Not to mention how surprised they were, the plans that had been thrown aside had to be picked up again.

For some time after the end of the war in Shandong, Britain and France began to re-woo China. And also coveted the Chinese army. After all, judging by the wars that took place in the Far East, the strength of the Chinese army is still good.

It's just that the war in Shandong had just stopped at that time, and he was a little annoyed by the position of Britain and France in this war, so Yan Shao did not agree to join the Entente―――――― of course, this is just an external statement, is it internal...

It's a little annoyed, but at least it's not that far.

In Yan Shao's view, it was not the best time to join the Entente. That's the real reason for the rejection.

But now, it's 1915. If you want to get the lion's share of the pie, you have to help Britain and France before the United States enters the war. Especially around 1916, when the British and French forces were at their most embarrassed, at that time, the benefits of helping Britain and France were definitely much stronger than those that the United States did after entering the war, because it could only be regarded as the icing on the cake...

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The situation in Europe is not very clear, but judging from some news coming back from China, the losses of the British and French forces in the European battlefield are definitely not small, and even much greater than the losses of Germany in a single country opposite.

This also made Britain and France more urgent about China, Japan, and the United States joining the Entente.

Some time ago, the lease of warships was one reason, and a large part of the reason why Britain attracted China to join the Entente was because it fell in love with the navy's 'Qingyang' three ships. It's just that Yan Shao never mentioned joining the Entente, and Zhu Erdian had to talk to him about buying or renting...

But now...

After a period of hopeless work, Zhu Erdian was stunned for a moment when he suddenly heard Yan Shao talking about the work of joining the Entente, and he was a little unclear about what Yan Shao's true intentions were.

"Do you mean, join the Entente?" After hesitating for a moment, Zhu Erdian asked in disbelief.

"That's right." Yan Shao smiled and showed the snow-white teeth in his mouth. "How can we stand idly by while the war is raging in Europe, and we have always been very friendly with your country and the French Republic..."

Saying that, Yan Shao got up from his seat, then walked to the bookcase next to him and rummaged through it, and after a while, he didn't know what he found, anyway, he put it in his pocket.

“…………… Even if our country does not participate in this war, it is still no problem to be a supporting country by waving the flag on the sidelines..."

Although Yan Shao was eager to join the Entente camp, and then send an expeditionary force to Europe to fight in the war, and take Iraq and Kuwait from the Ottoman Empire. Iraq and Kuwait are very close to each other, and although Kuwait is now under the protection of the British government, Yan Shao believes that it is very simple for the British government to sacrifice a country that is not even the size of a fingernail.

And as long as he can get these two places, Yan Shao can quietly wait for the right time.

That's right, wait...

As far as Yan Shao can remember, the First World War took place between 1914 and 1918, and it is now 1915. In other words, the end of the war is now only three years away.

In three years, Yan Shao can't guarantee what he can turn the navy into and defend a newly acquired colony in the Indian Ocean? And in the hands of other red-eyed powers? At least Yan Shao didn't have this confidence. There's no way, it's really beyond the reach of the whip...

Therefore, unless Yan Shao plans to gather all the wild wolves from all over the world, Yan Shao will have to wait a few years, and wait until China is able to keep Iraq and Kuwait.

Only in this way can Yan Shao always keep Iraq and Kuwait in his hands.

Otherwise, when the whip is out of reach, wait until other countries invade Iraq. I'm afraid Yan Shao's reinforcements are still on the way...

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To be honest, Yan Shao suddenly agreed to join the Entente, which was indeed a surprise to Zhu Erdian. But after a short period of surprise. Zhu Erdian had some subtle words.

"Mr. President, if you wish to lead your Government into the cause of the Entente, then of course my Government and the Government of France are in favour of it. I just don't know if you have any requirements other than this, Mr. President. ”

After a short surprise. Zhu Erdian had quickly regained his former composure.

Because he knows one thing. That is, human beings are people who cannot afford to profit early, and Chinese are also human beings. said that they were willing to help Britain, this Zhu Erdian didn't believe it very much, not to mention that it was unconditional, and if Yan Shao had any requirements, then things would be much more reasonable.

That's right, this time Yan Shao has indeed stated that he is willing to be a supporting country. I've been cheering on the side all the time. But that doesn't mean that there aren't any appearance fees for supporting countries, especially for a country like China. Before the war in Shandong. Perhaps China's ex-factory price is a little lower, but after defeating Japan, China's appearance fee has become high.

There is no way, who calls the current China a very weighty behemoth, not to mention that this behemoth has just defeated Japan.

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"Of course..."I didn't expect Zhu Erdian to ask in such a hurry, which made Yan Shao seem a little troublesome. Because he originally wanted Gu Weijun to stand up and negotiate terms with the British, but now, it seems that Yan Shao is the only one in the presidential palace...

Fortunately, Yan Shao had already thought about several conditions before, and he was not completely caught off guard.

"Actually, it's very simple, first of all, all countries must withdraw all their troops stationed in China, and this time, even symbolic troops will not be stored in China..."

In fact, the biggest stumbling block to this policy is the Japanese, and of course, this was only at the beginning. Because before the Shandong War, Japan had always been the country with the largest number of troops stationed in China. In contrast, although the great powers also have some troops in China, they can only be regarded as symbolic, but after Shandong, all Japanese troops in China have been withdrawn from China, and conversely, almost all the remaining garrisons in China today are from European powers.

Listening to Yan Shao's conditions, Zhu Erdian nodded in agreement. After all, if China really intends to be an Entente country, then as allies, it is impossible for Britain and France to continue to stay in their own allies, and it is a very humiliating thing to spread out―――――― of course, if China is very weak, I believe that Britain and France will never be polite.

In addition to the issue of the garrison, Yan Shao also talked about many things.

In addition to the issue of garrisoning, Yan Shao also came up with tariffs and other issues, and Yan Shao's position on tariffs is very simple. It is to take advantage of the war to let the people below do things first.

In the past, the great powers have always controlled China's tariffs, and now that Yan Shao is in this way, no one can believe that the great powers can control the tariffs for how long. And if Yan Shao is really a belligerent country, considering that Yan Shao has completely banned the centigold, the tariff will have to be obtained.

There is no way, who said that now China's customs are in the hands of the British.

On the other hand, since China has become an Entente power, even if it does not need to enter the war, it will give up some benefits compared to Britain and France. In addition to this, Yan Shao also plans to talk to Britain and France about reparations. Now that they have more or less understood China's power because of Shandong's relationship, Yan Shao hopes to take advantage of this opportunity to abolish all the treaties signed by the great powers with China, and even hope that the great powers can abolish them.

At present, China has to come up with a huge amount of money almost every year. The purpose is nothing else, precisely because they owe a lot of money to foreign banks ...

No way, the Sino-Japanese War. There is also the Gengzi incident, as well as some problems of the local people over the years, and this time the matter is really troublesome. There's no way, who really owes a lot of money, every year to take out so much money to give foreign debts to various countries, every time he thinks of this, Yan Shao feels distressed.

There is also the problem of Weihaiwei. Although now according to a qiē, the British should return Weihaiwei to China. But looking at the past, the British were more interested in Laipi, and until now they have not returned Weihaiwei to China. In other words, Weihaiwei is still under British rule, and if Yan Shao wants to ensure the safety of Bohai Bay, he can only rely on one Lushun...

In addition to the above, Yan Shao also made some other additions. And after seeing the content of this addition. You can imagine how big Yan Shao's request is.

After listening to Yan Shao's words. Zhu Erdian suddenly felt a tingling sensation on his scalp.

Because of the conditions proposed by Yan Shao, it is basically difficult for those conditions to be agreed, especially after occupying a long strip of paper...

"Please don't refuse yet..."Zhu Erdian shook his head as if refusing, Yan Shao hurriedly smiled and stopped his movements. If your country is not willing to pay for this, we will have to be a bystander/"

"By the way, if your country can provide better benefits, my government is even willing to send troops directly to Europe."

Seeing that Zhu Erdian seemed to want to say something, Yan Shao hurriedly blocked his mouth.

"Of course. These are all conditional, and the conditions required are probably even greater than the previous one..."

"Is your country willing to send troops to war?" Zhu Erdian was slightly stunned. He really didn't expect this.

"Of course." Yan Shao replied with a smile. "After all, the friendship between our country and your country and France is there, and for the cause of the Entente, China is willing to help British and French friends..."

"It's just that the first thing that needs to be explained here is that our requirements are very high, and this request does not involve the navy..."

"In other words, this time only the army will be dispatched..."

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"Only the Army?"

Hearing Yan Shao say this, Zhu Erdian's interest became much less. But even so, there will still be some interest. Because the fighting in Europe is fierce today, both Britain and France need a large number of troops to help them fight, especially the French, whose young men are dying almost in trenches, and now there is an urgent need for someone who can help them defeat the Germans.

Therefore, if Yan Shao is willing to send the army, I believe the French will be very happy.

And even the British themselves ...

Judging by the situation that came back from the country some time ago, it seems that there is also a quarrel going on in the country. Because the generals of the British Expeditionary Force believed that the strength of the Expeditionary Force should be strengthened and the number of troops should be expanded. However, in the past, Britain has always been dominated by the navy, and the status of the army will always be below the navy.

But if the British government really did what the army wanted, then the navy would definitely be dissatisfied, so to be honest, although it has not yet reached the point of exhaustion. Still, the British were hungry for a large number of troops...

It's just that...

Zhu Erdian could see that these benefits were not so easy to eat, because the series of conditions proposed by Yan Shao just now were not so simple to solve. If nothing else, at least on many issues, the British government is absolutely impossible to concede. It's like the problem of Weihaiwei and so on...

"Don't know what your request is?"

Tentatively, Zhu Erdian asked.

"The indemnity has just been said, if our country joins the Entente, then I hope that your country can and other countries to erase the indemnity owed by our country in the past, in addition to the customs, we hope that after a period of negotiations, you can let your country hand over the customs to us..."

"Besides..."Speaking of this, Yan Shao's expression changed slightly, but soon Yan Shao returned to his original appearance. In addition to this, I hope that your country will provide us with a colony..."

"Colonies?"

Hearing Yan Shao say this, Zhu Erdian was completely surprised this time.

However, looking at Zhu Erdian's appearance, Yan Shao said with a smile.

"Although I am very interested in participating in this war, but in fact my subordinates are not very interested in it, they prefer to stay at home rather than shed blood and sacrifice for other countries, so if you want to get their support, you must first get their understanding, and if we can get a colony in this war, it is only a very large piece, and I don't need to worry about prestige after the war, even at home."

In this way, it is absolutely impossible for anyone to shake Yan Shao...

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Yan Shao's suggestion made Zhu Erdian very moved, but he did not agree immediately, but said that he needed to send a telegram to London to ask for London's opinion. Although most of the time Zhu Erdian was like the emperor of China, at least he was very obedient to orders at home...

However, it can be seen that the London side seems to think that Yan Shao's appetite is too great, so it has not been unified for a long time. On the contrary, it was another matter, Zhu Erdian took the initiative to find Yan Shao...

It is clear that this matter is very important to the British... (To be continued......)