According to Article 5 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, "Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Covenant or in this Treaty, all resolutions of the Assembly or the Council shall be agreed by all the Members of the League present at the meeting."

In many cases, the League of Nations General Assembly is required to follow this seemingly "respect and equality" rule – it must be unanimously agreed by all member states before it can take effect, and if any member state vetoes it, the resolution is null and void.

In this way, the efficiency can be imagined.

Naturally, the resolution on Ethiopia was not adopted, and once again it was not adopted.

Next, the second important agenda item is about the border war between the Ming and the British.

Following the reading by the Chairman-in-Office of the Council, the representative of the United Kingdom, Lane, stood up to make a statement.

Perhaps because of his self-pride as a representative of the empire on which the sun never sets, he looked extraordinarily confident, and then reiterated his demand, "The shameful aggression and ambition of the Chinese side to provoke conflict must be curbed, and the British Empire cannot tolerate such behavior...... I call for this conflict to be characterized as an act of aggression. ”

That's gone?

It's like when two people are finally asked to say their demands after a fight, they don't ask for money or apologize, they only let the other party admit that he deliberately provoked him first.

The young diplomat whispered with a little joy: "Senior, sure enough, the British don't say a word about the actual measures except for playing tricks." ”

Wei Jingyun smiled and didn't reply.

He knocked lightly on the table, then slowly stood up, looked around at the delegates of various countries, and then spoke:

"If the disputed border is disputed, the two countries should negotiate the demarcation, but the British and Indian sides are openly building pillboxes and fortifications on it, and deliberately entrenched there, what is the intention of this?"

"The same is true for Myanmar, which has a lot of bad deeds. It must be known that the boundaries of the Celestial Empire cannot be lost in the slightest, and our country will notify and warn in advance, and benevolence and righteousness will be fulfilled. ”

"In the end, it was the last resort, and the emperor and all his subjects regretted it. Your country's so-called aggressive rhetoric is really nonsense. ”

After briefly stating his attitude, Wei Jingyun, who was calm and calm, sat down. In this case, the first to rush and jump first is either unconfident or weak.

The voting session later on, as always, went through the motions, with some opposing, some in favor and some abstentions.

However, unexpectedly, the representative of France actually voted against it unequivocally?

The two British delegates present looked sideways at the three French delegates next to them - are you trying to sell your teammates? Don't breathe beforehand?

The arrogant French delegate said nonchalantly: "I'm sorry, the French Republic respects the facts, at least in this matter, the Chinese basically follow international principles. ”

There was a little chaos at the scene, but soon order was restored.

In the final analysis, Britain, France, China, and Italy actually did not take the League of Nations Congress too seriously, so they were somewhat contemptuous.

Of course, on the surface, it is still very serious, and this is why people often refer to the League of Nations as a bitch institution.

So, after a dry and unnutritious speech, the argument between you and me was stopped.

The resolution proposed by the British delegation to characterize aggression was also ultimately inconclusive.

Subsequently, the resolution was put on hold and the General Assembly moved on to the next agenda.

Britain and France signed a non-intervention pact in the Spanish Civil War last month, and they are trying to lead the League of Nations members to follow suit.

“…… In order to preserve peace and guarantee the political independence of nations, there is no reason for us to intervene in the conflict in Spain, and the British Empire expects all Member States to follow this principle as well. ”

These hundreds of words of statement and appeal are still Lane speaking.

After the representative of France followed suit, opposition soon followed.

"In some cases, however, it is still necessary to give the necessary support to one of the parties, and that the dangers of industrial war are very great, and in order to reduce civilian casualties and collateral damage, Italy believes that calm on the Iberian Peninsula should be restored as soon as possible, by any means." ”

The young official beside Wei Jingyun muttered in a low voice: "Shameless and shameless. ”

"Let's talk about it later." Wei Jingyun's face did not change, and he found a copy from the stack of manuscripts on the table in front of him.

Scripts for possible situations are prepared in advance, and speakers only need to follow these drafts with a small amount of impromptu performance.

"Senior, isn't that good?" The young diplomat, surnamed Jiang Mingchen, hesitated.

"What's wrong? There should always be a first time, be confident. ”

"Yes."

Although the great powers don't take the League of Nations seriously, this is an international occasion after all, and they are speaking on behalf of the Ming Dynasty.

Jiang Chen, who was apprehensive, took several deep breaths, tried to calm his mood, and quickly skimmed through the manuscript.

Suddenly, he stood up.

"We firmly oppose the attitude of the Italian side." His gaze fell on the Italian commissioner, "What do you mean by 'unscrupulous means'?" According to public information, for example, just nine days ago, the planes of the intervention forces sent by Italy bombed the civilian area of Madrid, resulting in more than 70 casualties. ”

"Because there was an air attack by hostile personnel, the pilot's approach was reasonable. Our intervention and efforts are aimed at ending the war as soon as possible so that collateral losses can be reduced. The Italian commissioner replied unimpressed.

"Your country's despicable deeds are innumerable, and we are sure that the purpose of your country's actions is malicious." Jiang Chen said coldly: "In the aggression against Egypt, your country blatantly violated the Geneva Conventions and used poison gas. ”

The rotating president of the council calmly asked: "Representative Daming, may I ask China's attitude that it should not interfere with Spain?" ”

Jiang Chen immediately replied: "No, we think that appropriate help should be given so that the Spanish authorities can end the rebellion as soon as possible." ”

"This is diametrically opposed to the British and French proposals."

"Why can't it be the other way around?"

Ryan got up and said lightly: "But this is interference in Spain's internal affairs, and such an act is unreasonable." ”

"There are many similar acts of interference in your country." Jiang Chen, who was expressionless, met his gaze and said-for-tat: "Whether it is reasonable or not does not depend on your country's words, the purpose of the League of Nations is to resolve international disputes and maintain peace, and the brutal acts of the Spanish rebels must be sanctioned." ”

This war of words lasted for a long time, and there was still no result in the subsequent voting session, because neither Italy nor the Ming side agreed not to interfere.

Although Jiang Chen's justice is awe-inspiring, and his performance also makes Wei Jingyun very satisfied, is it really that righteous?

Wei Jingyun knew very well that what the imperial court wanted was just to take the opportunity to make a sum of money, inspect the form of war, test some domestic weapons, and by the way, improve the actual influence of the Ming Dynasty in Europe.

Stripped of the high-sounding rhetoric, all that remains is profit.

(End of chapter)