Newfoundland is by no means a developed place, and its capital, St. John's, is a small city with a population of just over 100,000. Suddenly, www.biquge.info foreign ministers of the five countries gathered in this small city, which made the residents of the small city quite fresh.

The only five-star hotel in St. John's became the main venue, and the foreign ministers and their entourage of the five countries almost packed the hotel to the brim, and some security personnel even had to stay in a slightly worse hotel nearby to make enough space.

There may be comrades who want to ask, can't you hold a meeting in a larger place? But yes, but where to go? London is quite large, but neither the Americans nor the Soviets are willing to go, and for the same reason Washington and Moscow are not suitable. The rest of de Gaulle was actively campaigning for Paris, but it had just been restored, and it was chaos. The only place to choose is Newfoundland, which was not officially part of the Canadian Commonwealth in early 1945 and was theoretically not the home of the British. And it's clean, isn't it?

At this time, the U.S. Secretary of State had been replaced by Edward. Stadinius, his predecessor Condell. Hull had already left his post in November 1944. As for the British Foreign Secretary, it is still Anthony. Aiden, the foreign secretary, had visited St. John's as soon as he arrived, and seemed to be eager to get in touch with him.

Li Xiaofeng didn't particularly care about this, the British must hug the thigh of the United States, and Churchill did similar things before, so it is not worth making a fuss. Anyway, he is responding to all changes with the same, just like seeing what tricks Britain and the United States are going to play.

After the foreign ministers of the five countries gathered, a cold dinner party was held in the evening, which could be regarded as a formal warm-up, so that the big guys could have an understanding of each other, and it was also an important time to test the tone.

However, the state of the buffet was quite interesting, and the British delegation circled around the American delegates and hardly paid much attention to the Soviet delegation. As for the French delegation, it remained neutral, and although it had contact with other delegations, it was not affectionate, and it was clear that the attitude of the French was obvious, and they were fully prepared to go from side to side. As for the East Prussian delegation, it seemed very low-key, or rather had no presence, and apart from its warm relations with the Soviet Union, it was neither humble nor arrogant towards the British, and of course they were more enthusiastic about the Americans, and it was clear that the Jews knew who ultimately depended on their national interests to protect them.

This cold dinner party is really not interesting to be honest, everyone plays and talks some nonsense that is not nutritious, which is almost boring in Li Xiaofeng's opinion. Anyway, after eating and drinking, everyone dispersed. The highlight was the official talks on the second day.

The pace of the talks was still very fast, at least faster than the pace of the meetings of the ministries and commissions of the Soviet Union, and the representatives of the five countries gathered together and quickly went straight to the point.

Anthony. Aiden was the first to speak: "...... It is foreseeable that in the coming months our great cause will be a complete victory, the Allies will triumph over the evil Axis powers, and the world will maintain peace and happiness......"

This nonsense must still be said, and everyone knows that it is only good to use these nonsense to start with the words that follow, and sure enough, Aiden soon continued: "But after all, our homeland has been ruthlessly destroyed by the Axis powers, the people have suffered greatly, and we will face a series of thorny problems after the victory. It is my sincere hope that the allies will remain united on this issue and resolve the issue in an open and constructive manner. ”

Li Xiaofeng still has no expression, because these are still nonsense, and the core things are still behind!

"How many problems are there going to be for the allies," Aiden said, clearing his throat, "the first is the problem of dealing with the defeated countries?" How to properly deal with the defeated countries is of great significance. It is necessary not only to punish those devils who defend evil in the war, but also to protect the legitimate rights and interests of ordinary residents of the defeated countries. ”

Aiden glanced around quickly, the expressions of the foreign ministers were in his eyes, as he expected, everyone was more interesting, it was obvious that everyone was prepared for this question, and it was only after he finished speaking that he could roll up his sleeves and start working. It's just that what Aiden didn't expect was that the most active person turned out to be the French.

Maurice, temporarily acting as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Provisional French Government. Gu Fu. Demville jumped out almost as soon as Aiden's words fell: "The French people have suffered heavy losses in this war, the Nazis have brought unprecedented havoc to France, and a large amount of wealth belonging to the French people has been plundered by the Nazis. ”

Obviously, the French are asking for money. In fact, it is also normal, de Gaulle's side is indeed stretched thin in terms of money, with money De Gaulle can stabilize his political position, and with money can he completely get rid of the ties between Britain and the United States, right?

Therefore, the main task of Demville's trip was to make money, and it was necessary to implement the issue of war reparations for the Axis powers as soon as possible. Of course, the embarrassment of the French, Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union also knew something, but what they didn't expect was that the French were so anxious that they were ready to put down the fork almost without the dishes being served, which shows how bad their domestic situation is.

Demville's actions naturally attracted the attention of Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union, because it meant that they could make a deal with the French, and they could buy off the French with small favors such as a little emergency aid. That's a good thing to do more with less.

Of course, the big guy also thinks about it mentally, this job has to be left after the meeting, anyway, both Aiden and Stadinius have an urgent desire to communicate with Demville immediately after the meeting. However, Li Xiaofeng still seemed so calm, and he seemed to be confident.

After France announced the opening of the meal, those empty words and clichés naturally went without saying, the matter was already obvious, and how to fork the Axis powers became the focus of debate.

Aiden was the first to speak again: "Great Britain was mercilessly bombed by the Nazis during the four-year war, and the damage to all kinds of property was quite serious, and Germany must make reparations!" However, the main point of his remarks is not here, but the second half: "But at the same time, we must also realize that Nazi Germany has also suffered a heavy blow, and its economic capacity may not be able to bear the huge war reparations." How to make war reparations on the basis of safeguarding the interests of ordinary German people is the first issue we need to consider. The lesson of 1929 is in front of us, and it is probably counterproductive to force the Germans to pay reparations regardless of the reality! ”

Eden's statement was consistent with the foreign policy of the British, who after the First World War opposed excessive weakening of Germany, and still do. As a pawn in Britain's balance of power on the European continent, Germany's role in containing the continent was very important to Britain.

It's just that this is not the time of the Paris Peace Conference of World War I, when the British Empire could continue to reign supreme, and now his policy-making power is greatly reduced.

Li Xiaofeng interjected coldly: "Since the British government and people are not in a hurry to obtain compensation, then I suggest that Germany can compensate the British government and people after paying for the war losses of other countries." ”

Well, Li Xiaofeng's words are really vicious enough, don't the British want to continue to manipulate Germany as a pawn? Didn't you say that the Germans could not be forced to make reparations regardless of reality? Since you are so high-spirited, you can move the matter of compensation to the back, you are not in a hurry, we are all in a hurry!

Demville immediately responded: "The Government and the people of France welcome the British Government with a high demeanor, which is the best expression of internationalism and gentlemanly spirit, and I propose that the delegates applaud the great act of the British Government!" ”

Saying that, Demville was about to slap the face, and immediately Aiden was anxious, he wanted to preserve Germany's strength, but he didn't say that Britain didn't need war reparations immediately, and if this was implemented, he, the foreign secretary, would be done.

"No, I think Monsieur André has misunderstood what I meant, but allow me to explain in detail that the British government considers that Germany's war reparations are a long-term problem, and that it should be reasonably planned so as not to lock Germany too tightly and too quickly, so that we will not be able to obtain the reparations. So I think ......"

Li Xiaofeng interjected: "I agree to carry out reasonable planning and effective long-term layout to maintain Germany's ability to pay, and I agree with this point very much." Therefore, I think that Germany's reparations should be first-come, first-served, and countries like the Soviet Union and France, which directly suffered from Nazi armed aggression and suffered huge losses, should be in the front! ”

Aiden was dumbfounded again, because a certain immortal continued to turn another way for him with two words, and the right to obtain compensation for Britain was placed in the second batch with one mouth. This really made Aiden anxious, and he hurriedly said: "No, I mean, the plan is long-term, and it does not involve the order of succession, but is fair and reasonable!" ”

Li Xiaofeng smiled: "Isn't my suggestion unreasonable? If Britain did not want to receive war reparations so quickly, why should we be prevented from receiving early funds to rebuild our homeland, which had been ruthlessly ravaged and glittered by the Nazis? Do you care more about the Nazis than your allies? ”

Aiden really had nothing to say, he could see that someone was determined not to let him get his wish, and he would definitely do everything possible to completely weaken Germany. And this was definitely not in the interests of Britain, so he looked to Stedinius, hoping that the Americans would help to speak.

"What is your opinion, Mr. Secretary?" Aiden hurriedly asked.

Stedinus had behaved like an outsider before, as if he was ready to sit back and watch Britain, France and the Soviet Union tear it apart, so when Aiden suddenly kicked the ball to him, he was a little caught off guard, and was stunned for a moment before replying: "Your Excellency Foreign Secretary, the United States Government has always upheld a fair and open attitude on international issues. As you are aware, we earnestly hope that the allies will settle the dispute through friendly consultations on this issue. We also believe that the allies will be able to amicably arrive at an outcome that is beneficial to both sides. ”

After talking for a long time, in fact, Stadinus was talking nonsense, not saying at all whether he supported Britain or France and the Soviet Union, and this kind of amicable attitude made Aiden's heart tighten. In fact, when he went to visit the Secretary of State last night, he found that Stadinus was a little unresponsive, and he was lazy and uninterested in anything, and at first he thought that it was Mr. Secretary of State who was busy with business and was a little tired from flying such long distances, but today he was still so weak, which is very telling.

The British government very much hoped that the United States would be in line with them, and now it seems that the Americans are ambiguous about the issue of German war reparations? Could it be that the Americans also tend to cut Germany into eight pieces? Americans can't be so short-sighted, right?

Aiden was anxious, and immediately after the morning meeting, he visited the secretary of state again, eager to find out from Stadinus the true intentions of the American government.

So what do Americans think? The Americans' thinking is very realistic, the issue of Germany's war reparations in the last world war was a huge hole, and it almost didn't give the United States a pit, and in the end, the United States spent a lot of money and could not exchange it for the goodwill of the Germans, and as soon as Hitler came to power, basically all the reparations were blown up. Directly let the previous investment of the United States go down the drain. Therefore, the United States today is not very willing to be the unjust leader.

How so? In fact, the Americans know very well that Germany's economy was completely blood-sucking before, and once the war is won, where will the Germans go to suck blood? A considerable part of the wealth plundered before has already been spent, and where is the money left in Germany at this time?

What can be the result of forcing a debt from a poor ghost? It is very likely that the Germans will continue to cheat again, and there may be only two outcomes at that time, one is that the Germans simply declare bankruptcy and directly repay the debt. The second result is to use this to apply for assistance from the rich hooligans, so that the hooligans can help pay in advance and pay it back later.

And both of these results are what the Americans do not want to see, the Germans declared bankruptcy and chose not to pay back, so wasn't the United States' war investment all wasted before? Moreover, Germany's actions could be a serious provocation, and it was likely to provoke the anger of the whole of Europe, when Germany was really going to be cut into eight pieces. For the United States, Germany still has a certain existential significance, and according to the previous agreement of the allies, the United States has the right to station troops here.

The stationing of troops in Germany not only symbolizes the improvement of the international status of the United States, but more importantly, the United States has also gained a reasonable reason to intervene in European affairs, and if it can unite Britain and France, it can even build a firewall against the Soviet threat in Germany. All in all, Germany is still useful and must not be allowed to be torn apart.

However, in this way, it is very likely that the debt of the Germans will be temporarily passed on to the United States, which is the second result mentioned above, which means that the United States will be the most wronged again, which makes it a little difficult for the Americans to accept, especially since these war reparations will enrich the strength of the Soviet Union, and the Americans find it even more difficult to accept. To be honest, based on this consideration, it is better to let Germany be cut into eight pieces by the Soviet Union!

Therefore, the Americans are also a little entangled at this time, and there is no unanimous opinion on this issue in China, and there are those who advocate that the wronged should be wronged, and there are those who resolutely should not be wronged, and this kind of controversy made Roosevelt quite a headache.

In this case, the Americans are more inclined to wait and see, and do not want to take sides on this issue for the time being. So Stadinus could only be vague.

"The U.S. government does not take a position on this issue, and we are confident that a successful outcome can be achieved through negotiations......"

He really couldn't figure out what the Americans wanted to do, so he could only urgently contact Churchill and tell the Prime Minister that the Americans had dropped the chain, hoping that the Prime Minister would quickly communicate with Roosevelt and find out.

Churchill still has a lot of connections in the United States, so it is not too difficult to figure out the real reason for the ambiguous attitude of the Americans. To tell the truth, Churchill was a little disdainful: "Your Yankee has a lot of money, how about spending some money to support Germany for the time being?" World War II was spent on such a large expenditure, why is it necessary to save a small amount of money on key issues today? Isn't this brain-dead? ”

Of course, Churchill certainly couldn't say this directly to Roosevelt, he could only euphemistically persuade Roosevelt not to lose a big deal because of the problem of money. The tide of industryism was on the doorstep of the civilized world, and the United States would probably have to pay a greater price to resist the Soviet offensive.

Anyway, Churchill persuaded Roosevelt to spend money and found a high-sounding reason, but Roosevelt did not completely take the bait. The reason is very simple, the old president's heart is like a mirror, who is most anxious when Germany is finished? Looking at the current posture, the French are probably a behind-the-scenes deal with the Russians, and the two sides are likely to have a peace agreement, so in the direction of Western Europe, the Soviet Union may exert more pressure on Britain, once the firewall of Germany is gone, the Soviet Red Army can directly place the army across the English Channel, just imagine, the Soviet Red Army launched a pincer offensive against Britain from Iceland and Germany, can the British block it?

Naturally, it can't be stopped, so the best strategy for Britain is to protect the firewall of Germany and drive the polar bears a little farther away. Unfortunately, the British Empire no longer had the financial resources to do so, so it could only instigate the United States to pay for their living space.

Roosevelt is not stupid, how can he buy this order, the British want to eat for nothing and treat the United States as the wronged leader? No way! So Roosevelt's attitude was that the United States could pay for it, but Britain had to compensate for the economic losses of the United States, and to put it bluntly, it still had to cut the flesh on the body of the British Empire.

In this way, Churchill felt uncomfortable, the United States had cut the British Empire bloody with several rounds of small knives before, and suffered a lot of losses, and this time he had to cut the flesh, how could he stand it? I can't say that the British can only leave this issue out first and see how long you and the United States can hold out under pressure from the Soviet Union.

Yes, in Churchill's view, as long as the Soviet Union maintained its previous strength on this issue, it would inevitably intensify the contradictions with the United States, and then the Americans would have to pay for it.

To put it bluntly, Qiu Fatzi is waiting for change. So will his strategy succeed? I'm afraid it's difficult, because he made a mistake on the German issue, and he didn't realize that the Soviet Union was going to eat Germany in one bite, and he didn't mean to give up at all. Based on this, it is simply impossible for the British to drag and want them to put pressure on the United States. It's just right not to talk about the German issue, and Li Xiaofeng doesn't want to talk about it anyway!

So when the Americans proposed to put aside the issue of Germany's war reparations for the time being, the Soviet Union also agreed with a twist. Li Xiaofeng said: "Then the easy first and then the difficult, right? Let's settle the issue of Italy's war reparations and aftermath first, and then talk about Germany! ”

The Americans were both happy and depressed, happy that the thorny German question had been put on hold for the time being, and depressed that the Italian question had been turned over by the Soviet Union again. Like the Soviet Union, the United States was ready to have the most delicious parts of Italy to themselves, and now the polar bears are asking for it, which makes it difficult for them.

If we don't talk about Italy, then the Soviet Union will definitely have to talk about Germany again, and that one is even worse. It seems that the Soviet Union can only be given three melons and two dates on the Italian issue, and they will be sent away as soon as possible.

"On the issue of war reparations in Italy, the Allies have reached a preliminary draft before, and I think it will be enough to implement it."

This is the attitude of the Americans, as for the preliminary draft, it basically adheres to two principles, Italy will definitely lose money, but it will certainly not accompany Germany so much, after all, the damage caused by noodles to the big guys is too limited. For example, the reparations to the Soviet Union were a part of the cash, and then the machinery and equipment were offset. Even a considerable part of the reparations was offset with the old battleships and cruisers of the Italian Navy.

The Soviet Union's statement before this distribution plan needs to be considered, which means that I am not very satisfied, and if you add some more chips, maybe I will agree. And today Stadinus went so far as to say that he would directly implement that draft, which is probably deliberate.

So Li Xiaofeng immediately expressed his position: "The Soviet government does not need second-hand naval ships from Italy, and we cannot accept the compensation offset by this batch of warships!" ”

Stadinus replied: "But this is the only way that Italy can come up with a reparation!" ”

Li Xiaofeng replied directly: "I repeat, this reparation plan is unacceptable to the Soviet government!" ”

Stedinius asked with some dissatisfaction: "What kind of compensation do you want?" Directly ceding the Apennine Peninsula to you? ”

Obviously, this was irony, but Li Xiaofeng's answer surprised him: "The disaster caused by the Italian fascists to the Soviet people is irreparable even if they use the Apennine Peninsula to make compensation." If the Italian government really wants to correct their mistakes, it should be more sincere on the issue of reparations, and not try to deal with it with a pile of rags! (To be continued.) )