Chapter 44 Everyone has his own mind

103, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Street, is a large yard with a large number of evergreen shrubs planted next to the courtyard. At this time, most of these evergreen shrubs have been covered by snow. In the courtyard, there is a colorful brick and wood structure, a two-story transparent colonnade with a wide sun table. The whole building is full of French architectural style, which It is the French Embassy in China.

"Listen to me, Ambassador Kant,"

Fermir began to say firmly.

"You must understand that in this incident, the British have betrayed the interests of France, and after receiving the support of the United Kingdom, the Chinese are bound to increase the pressure on the issue of Guangzhou Bay. I don't think we have the ability to resist the pressure in this special period, although we can ignore him. However, Mr. Ambassador, it is France that needs help now, not China. Perhaps, in the end, the Chinese people are still likely to achieve their goals. After all, for France, the cabinet prefers to exchange Guangzhou Bay for ten Chinese divisions, rather than a lease in China. That's all I want to say."

When Fermir's voice fell, Kant, the French ambassador to China, stood up at this time, but he did not go out. He just stood there, his lips trembled with anger and glared at the British Embassy in China, which could be seen through the window.

These damn Britons, in the past few hundred years, they have always sacrificed for their own interests and the interests of other countries. Now, what do they say that Britain is fighting for France, but in fact? In fact, Britain is fighting for its own interests. Germany may be invading France, but one of the most direct causes of this war is the maritime arms race between Germany and Britain. Neither Germany nor Britain is willing to continue the arms race. For them, the deadlock is broken. It's a war. Now the war broke out as expected. The Germans said they were for Austria-Hungarian, and the British said they were for France, but in fact? Only France really fought for Russia because of the alliance treaty, but damn it, in this war, the most upright and also the most innocent France was shamefully betrayed!

Looking at Ambassador Kant, who stood still by the window and glared at the British Embassy, Fermir could certainly feel the anger emanating from him. Everyone would be angry in the face of this kind of thing. At that time, he even had an impulse that if he was the Prime Minister of France, perhaps, he would make peace with Germany, of course, such as If the German army is willing to retreat and return France's Alsace and Lorraine, he must not mind that it is now peace, and then tell the despicable British that France will never be fooled by the British!

But now, France has no choice but to continue the war. He said in a tone of forced restraint:

"Mr. Ambassador, what do you think is the possible surname for the cabinet to reveto this proposal? France does not have the Gulf of Guangzhou, but it still has the whole Indochina. The role of the Gulf of Guangzhou to France is just the existence of France's power in China. In the past, the significance of trade was greater than the military and political significance. Now, China has already opened up their national trade. They also support free trade, so In my opinion, compared with the help brought by hundreds of thousands of [[***] teams, the cabinet will definitely pass this proposal made by the British.

Fermir said in a very affirmative tone. At the end, he deliberately emphasized the "British", but Kant, who stood by the window, frowned. He knew that Fermir was telling the truth. It was impossible for him not to be indifferent to Yuan. After taking a few deep breaths, he said calmly. As if talking about an irrelevant third preparation, "Now, we can't and we don't have time to stop the British conspiracy. They always dream of selling British interests. We have a verbal agreement with Britain to lease land in China, whether it is France or Britain, if we need to return Guangzhou Bay. Then, the British must return the Kowloon, if possible..."

After a little silence, a persistent look flashed in his eyes, but then disappeared. He gently inserted his arm, as if he had been meditating for a moment.

"We also want the British to return Kowloon and Hong Kong to China. Even if France sacrifices some more benefits, we have to dig out their meat from the British. Britain is different from France. France loses Guangzhou Bay, and we still have Indochina, but if Britain loses Hong Kong, then they will lose. With a foothold in East Asia, Britain's nearest port to China will suddenly retreat from Hong Kong to Singapore, which is thousands of kilometers, while France has only retreated a few hundred kilometers.

When he said his appearance, there was no joy or pride on Kant's face.

"So, Mr. Ambassador, is it possible for the British to accept this condition?"

"No, they won't accept it, but they can't negotiate with us, and..."

With a sneer, Kant raised his eyebrows slightly.

"While negotiating, of course, we will have to negotiate with China. These two negotiations will delay China's sending of troops. At that time, Britain will need to send more troops to France!"

"In that case, Chinese people..."

"Chinese people are the only winners!"

Kant's words are more or less helpless. If he can choose, he also doesn't want China to benefit from it, but now, he has no other better choice. Britain betrayed France first, so France must "repay" Britain's concern.

"I hope the Chinese will be equally grateful to France!"

When he prayed in his heart, Kant only felt in his heart that all this was really a little tragic. Europe, which once could dominate the whole world, now has to rely on the help of a group of people of color, not economic, but military, and military help still came from a once Countries that have been defeated countless times by European countries.

But no one can deny that China now has a strong army, and even Britain is eager for China to send their navy, which has shown its combat effectiveness many times.

Navy!

Suddenly Kant realized that France needs the Chinese army to enter the battlefield to relieve the pressure faced by France. Similarly, Britain does not need a Chinese navy. Now the British have no confidence to win the naval battle against Germany, but if the Chinese fleet also participates in it, then everything It will change. Maybe the Chinese navy is far less powerful than Germany or even France, but if their fleet arrives in Britain, the British navy can form an overwhelming advantage over the German navy.

Win the naval battle!

Not only for the benefit of Britain, but also for France, and may even reverse the overall situation of the war!

However, let the British spit out Hong Kong, and Kant naturally understood the difficulties. He clearly knew that for Britain, Hong Kong's important surname, especially Hong Kong, is also an important bargaining chip for the United Kingdom to control China. The weakness and defeat of Japan have long broken the balance in Asia, and Britain's far Eastern foreign policy is the art of balance. Now he has to rely on Britain itself for this balance. Therefore, Hong Kong is directly related to the core of British Far East diplomacy.

You must find a way!

In addition, the most worrying part of this troublesome thing is whether there will be an extra episode. The key to the problem is how to make the British not hate France. After all, for France, France needs a British expeditionary force.

After the somewhat annoying Ambassador Kant hurriedly signed a commodity loan contract with China's foreign trade company, he fell into thought again.

In a world without conspiracy and tricks, this contract is really perfect. But after reading the contract in person, he immediately found that there was a "break". Unless the other party who signed the contract was extraordinary kind and reasonable, there would be trouble in the future.

In fact, the "break" in this contract is very simple, which is nothing more than agreeing on the repayment method. Although Kant is not a businessman, as a diplomat, after signing countless contracts, he can say that he knows the contract very well, and the "break" of this contract is obviously the Chinese to protect themselves. The interests are left behind.

"Estakes!"

Suddenly, Kant's eyes lit up. He realized that Chinese people are undoubtedly easier to deal with than the British. For China, what they value more is substantial interests. Although sometimes they have the wonderfulness of inadvertence, they are not as important to the invisible interests they see as the British. It's what they can get directly. As for other nihilistic and strategic ones, how much they value them, just like they allied with Germany.

For this reason, it offended Britain and even the United States, but the Chinese have gained a lot. Why did China declare war on Germany? In the final analysis, it is not for the real real interests. In the negotiations between China, Britain, Britain, France and Russia, France and Russia agreed to their demands - after the end of the war, all countries agreed Recognize China's confiscation of German capital on Chinese territory.

The purpose of their participation in this war is to refuse to repay the direct interests of loans, which means that they only need enough interests to buy China and buy Chinese people. As a backward country, they must want more!

More!

Suddenly, Kant's eyes lit up. He realized that perhaps in this negotiation, the Chinese people's thirst for interests could be fully utilized. As for France, um, friendly neutrality, France's requirements do not need to be put forward through France, but can be put forward with the help of Chinese officials, which means that it must be First, start negotiations, and then disclose the content of the negotiations at the appropriate time, so that China can be used to serve the interests of France.

If Britain changes its attitude at that time, it may be possible for France to keep Guangzhou Bay. In this negotiation, France needs to play the role of an innocent person. As for China, it is a greedy role. The British... Naturally, they play the role of self-respecting. For the role!

British self-improvement!

In the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lu Zhengxiang smiled and looked at the documents transferred by the British Embassy. The content of the documents was very simple. Through official channels, it was hoped that China would send troops to Europe, including the army and the main fleet.

The British's request, in Lu Zhengxiang's view, is British self-righteous. Do the British think that if they support China's demand for Guangzhou Bay, can China agree to send the army and navy to fight for them?

"Sir, how do you think we should respond to the British?"

Cao Weiran looked at the new foreign minister and asked that although he had the full support of the former foreign minister, he did not become the foreign minister after Guan Mingtang formed a cabinet. Although he was a emperor and a courtier, his position was not affected in any way. He was still the undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the new foreign minister Minister Lu Zhengxiang also appreciated him.

However, for Cao Weiran, he did not have any hatred for Lu Zhengxiang because he failed to become a foreign minister. In fact, for him, in his opinion, instead of serving as a foreign minister, it is better to serve as a deputy foreign minister who can affect most diplomatic decisions. The foreign minister is a prominent position, and The Deputy Minister of Communications is a real position. During his years as Minister of Foreign Affairs, it can be said that China's embassies abroad have been branded everywhere. At this point, even the Minister of Foreign Affairs is nothing more than that.

Although he studied in the United Kingdom, he did not have any good impression on Britain. For this country, the political axe of this country, especially the Far East policy of this country, it can be said that if according to his opinion, he would rather support Germany to attack Britain than beat Britain. This country is different from any other country. Western powers, he enjoys too many interests in Asia, which is why. In his opinion, even if the Sino-British conflict has been avoided in this war, the contradictions between the two countries will only become more and more intense. He even affirmed in the private salon of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials that one of the triggers of the next war is the Sino-British conflict. To the Sino-British War.

The reason is very simple. Britain's Far East strategy is to safeguard its vested interests. The British Empire is an infallable empire and the world's largest colonizer. It has always claimed that it was established for the benefit of the suzerain state, not for the benefit of the colonies. Safeguarding vested interests is the main goal of its global strategy. At this point, China and Britain have irreconcilable contradictions. In the Southern Ocean, India, and throughout Asia, China and Britain have all kinds of direct and inevitable causes of war. Therefore, he prefers that Britain will exhaust its vitality in this war, only In this way, in the face of China's challenges in the future, Britain will choose to avoid it rationally. Of course, more importantly, if Britain runs out of energy in this war, then at least China will win easily in the next war.

However, he also knew that it was his hostility to Britain that made him miss the position of Foreign Secretary. Now China, as an ally of the United Kingdom, must make some symbolic gestures and appoint an official who is hostile to Britain as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, which is obviously charged. Full of hostility, he understands this very well.

"What the British want now is that we take the initiative to put forward our request for Guangzhou Bay to France as a basic premise for sending troops to Europe, but..."

For a moment of meditation, Lu Zhengxiang seemed to be a little helpless.

"In this diplomatic battlefield, Britain's role is extremely disgraceful. The British attempt to take advantage of the Guangzhou Bay issue to seek the hostility between China and France in the next decade or more, at least the potential distrust between the two sides, which is sometimes fatal in diplomacy..."

"Sir, this is inevitable!"

Cao Weiran stressed that compared with the older generation of diplomatic officials, as the new generation of imperial diplomats, his diplomatic style is a little less tactful and a little more tough. In fact, this kind of toughness is initially due to the need of diplomatic negotiations, but now, it is more out of self-confidence in national strength.

"There is a potential conflict between China and France on the issue of the ownership of the French Central South Peninsula, so I don't think there will be a potential interaction with France in the future. With the strength of China, we and France, Britain, the Netherlands, the United States, and any country that enjoys colonies in Asia. There is no trust to speak of. They also understand this, and our country is bound to seek suzerainty over Asia in the future, at least leadership. At this point, our diplomatic confrontation with Western countries, and even military confrontation, is inevitable!"

Looking at Cao Weiran, although he agrees with him to a certain extent, Lu Zhengxiang still has to admire these young people. These young people who entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after the empire have a tougher attitude towards the outside world, but in toughness, they are also tactful, but they are still a little too young. Radical and future conflicts do not mean that we can't cooperate now.

"The British want to sacrifice the interests of France, and France prays that the British will get what they want?"

Thinking of British self-righteousness, Lu Zhengxiang smiled and then said thoughtfully.

"If you guess correctly, now that France has obtained a secret agreement between us and the United Kingdom, they will definitely make an appropriate response. If expected, the French will not try their best to prevent us from getting Guangzhou Bay, but they will drag down the British in the interests of various countries in China. At one point, the interests of the French and us are the same. Similarly, on Guangzhou Bay, Britain and our interests are the same!"

"It's not easy to get chestnuts from the fire in two countries. It's likely to delay negotiations?"

Cao Wei suddenly looked up at Lu Zhengxiang sitting there and seemed to understand something.

"Your Majesty means to delay this negotiation, right?"

"It is not in our interest to send troops to Europe at least next year, so it is undoubtedly appropriate to involve both Britain and France in it! Moreover, it is also beneficial to our future military operations!"

"Military operations? Could it be..."

(to be continued)