The five plenipotentiaries -- Lu Zhengxiang, Minister General of Foreign Affairs, Gu Weijun, Minister to the United States, Shi Zhaoji, Minister to Britain, Wei Chengu, Minister to Belgium, and Wang Zhengting, representative of the Southern Military Government, sat in the most important positions. Directly opposite is the special envoy of the president who has come from thousands of miles. Anna made meeting minutes, Qi Yuanshan was on guard by the window, and Detective Ye Kenan was guarding the door, as if he was facing a great enemy.

The number of participants was counted, and there was only one absent - the congressman Ordos Doro Xiaojun Wang.

"Dumb boy, it's useless!"

Lu Zhengxiang's face was ugly, he didn't know that the little county king was living happily in the gentle countryside of the Latin Quarter.

The special envoy of the president was the first to speak: "Your Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, I have brought bad news - the president has dismissed Cao Rulin, Zhang Zongxiang, and Lu Zongyu. ”

"What's the bad news? Clearly this is great news! Minister Gu Weijun applauded, "These three people are national thieves who betray national interests in collusion with foreign countries, and the new transportation department should also die." ”

"Shaochuan, enough is enough."

Lu Zhengxiang is a veteran of officialdom, and reminded the young and vigorous Gu Weijun to pay attention to proportions and not to add fuel to the fire at the meeting.

The special envoy said solemnly: "Chief Lu, the President has decided that the Treaty of Versailles must be signed, which will greatly enhance China's international status and be a great victory for the diplomacy of the Republic of China. ”

"What about Shandong?"

The Foreign Minister's words seemed to be an understatement, and the conference room was silent for half a minute.

"Let's sign first, and the Shandong issue and Qingdao belong to it until later negotiations and settlement - this is the opinion of the president."

"We'll talk about it later?" Lu Zhengxiang twisted two Napoleon III-style mustaches on his lips, reminding Anna of her dead father, "I have heard this sentence countless times in my thirty years as a diplomat. The so-called future means that there is no future, or waiting until ninety-nine years later. Just like Hong Kong's New Territories, that day was 1997, and the twentieth century was almost over. What year is it now? 1919 year. ”

The old and dignified foreign minister finally said something bloody, and Ye Kenan, who was guarding the door, almost applauded.

The special envoy of the President wiped away the cold sweat: "Your Excellency, I understand your feelings. But there is also a lot of pressure at home, and we have to think about the overall situation, and we must not be rash. ”

"Your Excellency, I have been Prime Minister for a few days, and I understand the importance of the overall situation. Four years ago, the Japanese proposed the 'Twenty-One Articles' for the destruction of China. Yuan Shikai sent me to be in charge of the negotiations, and I used a procrastination trick to serve the Japanese tea and cigarette grinding time, and they came with an ultimatum to ask me to sign within 48 hours. Lao Yuan softened. I had a long talk with my wife. You know, my wife is Belgian, and she scolded me for being spineless, saying that China is so big, and that when I meet Japan, I am like a mouse seeing a cat. I said, "Madam, even if I don't sign it, the next foreign minister will sign it." Madame scolded me for being as incompetent as a eunuch, and I really married the wrong husband! The next day, on behalf of China, I signed the 21st Article. Every day from now on, my wife and I will hold our heads and cry......"

Lu Zhengxiang actually shed tears in front of everyone, no one dared to approach, but Anna handed a handkerchief.

"Thank you, Miss Anna." The foreign minister wiped away his tears and snot in embarrassment, "Sorry, I lost my temper." Who wants to be made into a bronze statue by future generations and kneel in the Yuewang Temple? A weak country has no diplomacy, and we act according to our will, and the infamy of this traitor can only be borne by diplomats. ”

After being silent for a long time, Gu Weijun slapped the table and got up: "On June 28, the Paris Peace Conference will close, and the Treaty of Versailles will be signed. There are only two days left, and I will continue to negotiate with the Big Three to find a compromise. Until the last moment, Shaochuan will not give up his efforts, and maybe there will be a miracle. ”

Paris, the Latin Quarter, the Jardin du Luxembourg are green and grassy, children are playing on the lawn and kites are flying in the blue sky. Is this a lasting peace after a brutal world war? Or is it a brief moment of calm before the next big war?

Cest la vie。

Qin Beiyang stood at the window, he had just slept all day, had eaten three different pills, and had become a canned medicine at a young age. Xiao Junwang and his little nurse girlfriend are taking care of him, making him sick meals and all kinds of nutritious food supplements. His spirit has improved, and he is no longer the same as he was dying a few days ago. The little prince strictly obeyed Anna's instructions and forbade Qin Beiyang to go out, for fear that he would catch a cold or even commit suicide when he went out. At noon, Timur and his French girlfriend went to the Ritz Hotel for cocktails, and Qin Beiyang was bored and bored alone in the room, thinking only about how many days he could live......

There was a knock on the door.

Qin Beiyang opened the door, and before he could see the appearance of the person who came, he was hugged tightly. It wasn't Anna, it was a man, with a hard chest, broad shoulders, and heavy breathing. Qin Beiyang wanted to resist desperately, but his physical strength was not good, and he had lost more than a dozen pounds these days, so he could only be picked up obediently, and even face to face like intimacy.

He smelled a familiar smell, and countless faces flashed in an instant, and finally fixed on a name: "Qi Yuanshan?" ”

"Hey, hey! It's me. ”

Sure enough, it was Qi Yuanshan, he was wearing a white shirt, suspenders, and a peaked cap, and he was also a boy who stood out in Paris.

Hugging each other again, the weak Qin Beiyang's center of gravity was unstable, and the two fell together, gasping and laughing in front of the ceiling.

A few months ago, Qi Yuanshan bid farewell to Qin Beiyang at Kobe Pier. He returned to Tokyo Zhenwu School, won the first place again, refreshed the best results since Cai Ye and Jiang Baili, and received the admission notice of the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School. Qi Yuanshan returned to China by boat during the summer vacation, and when he arrived at the War Department in Beijing, he was first promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and then received an order to go to Paris by surprise - to cooperate with Ye Kenan of the Beijing Police Department to hunt down the Assassins from China.

Before leaving, he visited Wang Shizhen, the "Dragon of Beiyang" in Shimono, and the former prime minister and chief commander of the army made a deep calculation: "The Beiyang government sent a high-achieving student to study in Japan, which is a gesture of goodwill to the Japanese military department. Nephew, you need to seize the opportunity for the future! ”

Qi Yuanshan boarded the ship in high spirits. The third group of delegations traveled via the Indian Ocean and the Suez Canal to the port of Marseille as fast as possible, and then to Paris by train.

In the high-end apartment in the Latin Quarter in June, Qi Yuanshan hugged Qin Beiyang and said, "I thought that I would never see you again in this life." ”

"I thought so too." Qin Beiyang got up, coughed, and said resentfully, "But I'm about to die." ”

"Anna told me that we swore on Taihang Mountain - I don't want to be born on the same day and month of the same year, but I want to die on the same day and month of the same year! Beiyang, if you die, I will die too. ”

The two of them sat at the window, basking in the warm sun. Seeing that the little county king had not returned for a long time, Qi Yuanshan said that he would accompany him out for a walk. After being bored for two days, Qin Beiyang was also itchy, went out to the street, and hooked up with his brother.

Under the bright sun in Paris, I was in a good mood all the way, strolling to the left bank of the Seine, opposite Notre Dame Cathedral, and saw the newly opened Shakespeare bookstore, which mainly sells English books. There was a hotel opposite the bookstore, and the German flag was flying, which turned out to be the residence of the German delegation. Most of the delegations were stationed in Versailles, but Germany was the defeated country, so it was a blessing in disguise that it was driven to the Latin Quarter.