Chapter 199 No way to choose

Life is like a wave. No one knows when the next wave will rise. For Liang Dunyan, who is the temporary political axe foreign minister, although he has been in office for five days, he still doesn't know why he is inexplicably "rebellious".

Originally, whether it was influenced by his family or his nostalgia for the Qing Dynasty, he did not think that he would rebel. However, when he was about to leave from Hanyang to Tianjin as Tianjin Customs Road and was blocked by the Yangtze River, he was stranded in Hanyang. After that of the governor's mansion for one night, he was dizzy and even dizzy. Shunjiang's "thief ship", and then met the commander-in-chief, but he was entrusted with an important task as the foreign minister.

At this time, although it is a little inexplicable, for Liang Dunyan, no matter how the political and social environment around him changes, he always wants to do something practical for the country, and this pragmatic and low-key surname is exactly the temporary political axe appreciated by Chen Moran. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs seems to be huge, but in fact, even the concierge is included. There are only a dozen people, so that the office is just a few houses of the ruling axe.

In this not spacious office, facing the help of Odagiri Wanshou sitting in front of him, Liang Atsuhiko just pretended to be quite helpless.

"Consulor Xiaotian, it's not that I don't want to help your country. I also know that whether Dalian Commercial Port can be used by your army is directly related to whether the Asian nation can prove the advantages and disadvantages of not inferior to white people, whether the Russians can cut off the claws of Asia, and also that although the war in your country is related to the interests of your country, it is also related to the interests of our country, but ......"

Everyone will say that Liang Dunyan said a bunch of beautiful words according to his own purpose, but in the end, the word "but" made Xiaoda cut, who was raised some hope by Liang Dunyan's beautiful words.

"We have talked about it before. It is definitely impossible to cede or lease in Dalian. How can my ruling axe risk such a big deal!"

"Of course!"

Otaki's longevity nodded and responded. In fact, the result of the discussion in Tokyo also gave up the extravagant hope of plotting Dalian. With the strength of Japan, it could completely capture Dalian, which was guarded by only a few thousand armed people in the first battle, but no one was willing to face the risk of the destruction of the port and the bombing of the station. A destroyed Dalian and Liao There is no difference between the other bays in the east.

"Mr. Minister, what China's political axe means is that we can publicly promise to the world that we will never occupy Dalian, and we only need to get the wartime use right of Dalian Commercial Port."

"It's not suitable!"

With a helpless sigh, Liang Dunyan took Xiaotian's words and then said down again.

"Your country's promise? How to promise, hmm! Promise that Dalian is the territory of the Qing Dynasty and will never plot against Dalian. The Qing Dynasty has agreed that your country will take over Dalian. When you control the port, what else will Dalian have to support at that time?

Before Odakiri's help to refute, Liang Dunyan continued to speak.

"I know that with your country's international reputation, it is definitely impossible to do such a treacherous thing. However, Consul Xiaotian, if your country intends to use Dalian Port in wartime, at least you should at least give the ruling axe a suitable promise, so that the ruling party can tell the people, and the Dalian officials can say no!"

Liang Atsuhiko's words only made Odagiri Wan Shouzhisuke see a glimmer of hope, and he hurriedly added a sentence.

" OK, no problem, we can make a promise to the temporary political axe!"

"It's still not suitable!"

Liang Dunyan shook his head and sighed again. He was secretly happy in his heart. The general was an important surname for the victory or defeat of the Russian war in Dalian's commercial and port relations. Here, he threatened himself with a fuse in order to get what he wanted.

"Hmm! Consul Liang, now I very much doubt the diplomatic sincerity of your country!"

Sometimes I see hope, and the hope has just been raised and suppressed. Xiaoda Kiri Wanshou said coldly that it is the first time since he became the consul in Shanghai.

The change of Consul Xiaotian's tone and expression was also exchanged for the change of Liang Dunyan's expression. He answered coldly.

"Consul, you are a professional diplomat. I would like to ask Mr. Consul, is it possible for your country to make any diplomatic commitments in accordance with international public law to me?"

A rhetorical question made Xiao Tianji Wanshou Zhizhu, who had been angry in his heart, was stunned for a long time and speechless. He looked at Liang Dunyan with a cold expression. The official who was a young child in the United States was obviously very familiar with international law. Even if the political axe makes a commitment to the temporary political axe, compliance and non-compliance are all up to the government. Even if it is violated, it does not violate the public international law. The temporary political axe is not a recognized regime. Naturally, there is no need to abide by the credibility of public international law.

"I need to remind Consul Xiaotian that China will never accept any use of Dalian Commercial Port until China and the two countries can't determine diplomatic relations!"

It's Liang Dunyan's turn to set up the line. Since the establishment of the temporary political axe, the commander-in-chief has been trying to break the current diplomatic dilemma. Although he has tried to break the current diplomatic dilemma by taking advantage of the personal relationship with the Rockefeller family of the United States and the British Secretary of the Navy, Admiral Fisher, the political axes of various countries are still ordered. Consuls in South China are not allowed to have formal contact with the temporary political axe.

Now the attitude of various countries towards this battle of restoration is to rely on the fleet to protect the lives and property of the people of the countries in the Yangtze River Basin, and to relocate missionaries and merchants from remote places to the concession; to maintain the so-called "strict neutrality" between the two factions fighting in China, which is a ban on weapons in the south. Transport, provide loans to the north to buy weapons. Another is to oppose the unilateral interference of a foreign country; this is beneficial to the temporary political axe. However, countries follow the consensus-up common policy of "no recognition and no contact", which has kept the temporary political axe in a diplomatic dilemma that is not conducive to themselves.

The only way to break the diplomatic dilemma is to break through the so-called "common policy of all countries". Although the attitude of the American political axe towards the temporary political axe is changing through the mediation of the Rockefeller family in the United States, it is not a good thing to break the diplomatic dilemma, and now the temporary political axe is urgently needed. It is necessary to break the diplomatic dilemma, recognize the sensational effect of the temporary political axe by the great powers, and strive for the defect of those local dignitaries while boosting morale.

"Yes, money is a weapon!"

Chen Moran's voice was not loud, but he got Liang Dunyan's approval.

"I can use the withdrawal of deposits in the United Kingdom to threaten the British banking industry to withdraw from the Qing country's loans, and remind Bank of America through the Rockefeller family to give up the Qing country's loans, but this is already the biggest use of those two payments!"

After a while of meditation, Chen Moran added another sentence.

"At least for the time being, that's it!"

At this time, Chen Moran did not show the pride of meeting with Xiaotian. He was just talking about a very ordinary thing. In fact, only a few people know about this matter until now.

Fifteen days ago, after receiving information that Manqing seemed to lend 13 million pounds to various countries and countries seemed to form a group of banks of China, I sent a telegram to Ji Li for the first time. I withdrew 10 million pounds from the Bank of London in one day, which was just a huge payment when the British financial community bought shares in the Mexican oil field. A small part of the payment, although only a small part, made the representative of HSBC take the initiative to find Jiang Ning and promise to withdraw from the banking group. The British banking community is simply unable to pay nearly 80 million pounds of principal and interest deposits.

But the role of that money is limited to this. It is impossible to threaten Britain to admit the temporary political axe with empty deposits. If so, the UK only needs a freeze, and the money will be flooded.

Even in the end, in order to avoid trouble in return, I temporarily loaned 10 million pounds from HSBC and Citibanks as a personal guarantee, which was a high interest rate of .

"We want from all countries, but it is from us. As long as we hold Dalian, they will ask us. As long as they want to win, they must get the right to use Dalian Port! Whether you can break the current dilemma depends on this move,"

"Marshal, are you really going to give them the right to use Dalian Port?"

When asking this question, Liang Dunyan was even a little worried about what he didn't want to face.

"Are you kidding!"

Chen Moran sneered.

"If an inch of land is not allowed, the national power will be contested. They can use it at most! What's more, it's just to transport supplies, as for people!"

Chen Moran sneered and did not continue to speak.

"I guess they will definitely give a reply in the next few days. You remember the following principles. First, the commercial port can only be used to download materials, not for the transportation of soldiers. Second, the 50 former Russian merchant ships that recognize Dalian's transship must be 30% of Chinese merchant ships. In addition, in terms of diplomacy, it must first be cut off diplomatic relations, withdraw from Yanjing, and open in Jiangning, Dalian Port can only allow the ship to enter, "

After a while, Chen Moran added another sentence.

"What's more, the minister is promoted to ambassador! Didn't they talk about equality with me? Since they say they are all Asian brothers, they should always be treated equally!"

The recent attention to diplomacy has made Chen Moran understand for the first time that diplomacy in this era. The title of "ambassador" in this era was not easily awarded. By 1860, Britain had only sent three ambassadors - three ambassadors to Paris, St. Petersburg and Constantinople. France sent more ambassadors, while the United States had not sent an ambassador until 1893.

At this time, China does not have embassies of various countries, only first-class envoys, second-class envoys, etc., and even has no first-class envoys stationed abroad. Foreign countries think that China is not qualified to set up an embassy or even a first-class minister. Similarly, they will not send ambassadors to China, because China does not admire it!

"Marshal! With so many requirements, do you think I will agree?

Compared with the confident commander-in-chief, Liang Dunyan did not have much confidence, not to mention anything else. Even if the minister was promoted to the ambassador, he was afraid that there were many difficulties. After all, even if it was only the second year after winning the First Sino-Japanese War, he began to apply for promotion with various countries.

"Do they have a choice?"

"... Their request is to discuss the Dalian issue, and it must be premised on the recognition of the temporary political axe!"

Sitting in front of Hirofumi Ito, Shoutaro Komura, regarded by Europeans as "the first genius diplomat in Asia in a hundred years", concluded the Anglo-Japanese alliance and promoted the Japanese-Russian war. In various countries, "the Japanese-Russian war happened because of small villages. If there were no small village, the Russian War would not have broken out. The commentator was the foreign minister, but his eyebrows frowned.

In his diplomatic career, it can be said that he tried his best to seek the maximum amount of benefits, but this time, in the face of Dalian and Jiang Ning, he felt that he had no way to start for the first time. Ten years ago, when he fought against the Qing Dynasty, he was so powerless. He found that the diplomatic means he was used to was basically There is no way to do it.

That's why President Ito invited him to his house today. He was talking about this issue, and on the issue of Jiang Ningzheng Axe, he had a serious disagreement with Prime Minister Gui.

"Mr. President, according to international law or diplomatic norms, if there is a political change in the Qing Dynasty in the future, the new regime has not abolished the "treaty rights" of the countries. What we want to recognize is only such a new regime with a continuous surname policy, not a new country. Under such circumstances, there is generally no problem of non-recognition, which is also the reason why countries maintain neutral and unofficial contact, but..."

"But now, the Chinese are pushing us into a dilemma, right?"

I asked Hirofumi Ito to take a sip of tea first. This is Qingguo. No, it should be the new tea shipped from China now. The fragrance of the new tea is very attractive, but he couldn't taste the tea at this time.

"Yes, Mr. President, if our country takes the lead in recognizing the temporary political axe, it will undoubtedly break the principle of republicanism of all countries. At the same time, it is bound to cut off diplomatic relations with the Qing Dynasty. In this way, it may make our country fall into the target of public criticism in China's diplomacy!"

"I have sent 16 telegrams from South Korea, and there is only one telegram, Dalian!"

Hirofumi Ito said another thing calmly.

"It's now June. At this time, the waves on the sea are very strong. Our First Army of General Nogi can only rely on slamboard to land. It's nothing, but what about the supplies? A report by Eryu mentioned that the soldiers and crew desperately loaded sarm weapons and ammunition. One of the ten ships often capsized and sank into the sea before arriving at the shore, which made the ammunition in front of him more tense. Food can be bought at money or raised on the spot, but it can't win the war without bullets and shells. The Ministry believes that if there is no commercial port in Dalian, we are likely to fail.

At this time, Ito was no longer as worried as before the war. The performance of the army and navy made him full of confidence in winning the early stage of the war, but now the Dalian issue has become the key to affecting the direction of the whole war.

"But I think..."

"I don't think we should admit it first, right?"

"Yes, Mr. Dean, I'm afraid that it will cause speculation from other countries. After all, it is the purpose of the countries' current policy towards China to take advantage of the internal situation of the Qing Dynasty to obtain more benefits. As soon as we admit the temporary political axe, it may cause a series of diplomatic troubles!"

The attitude of the countries towards the Qing Dynasty has always been an interest, and the same is true. First of all, it is admitted that the temporary political axe may not only lead to a series of diplomatic troubles, but also lead to the loss of interests.

"But the port of Dalian has affected this war! At that time, I'm afraid it's not as simple as diplomatic troubles. Diplomatic troubles are just verbal troubles, but if we lose the hard-won battlefield advantage at present, I'm afraid the troubles of Japan at that time are..."

Hirofumi Ito said lightly, "Many of the requirements put forward by the Chinese are also unacceptable!"

The village expressed its concerns.

"Mr. Dean, China seems to have given Dalian to us, but what we get is to sail the merchant ship into the commercial port, and Dalian Port only provides materials to disembark the ship, of which 30% need to be Chinese ships, break off diplomatic relations with the Qing Dynasty, establish diplomatic relations with Jiang Ning, and the embassy was upgraded to an embassy and sent ambassadors to each other. The Chinese gave too little, and I We have paid too much!"

After hearing this, Hirofumi Ito's heart was suddenly covered with a shadow, so he was silent. He knew his compatriots very well that his compatriots put too much emphasis on the gains and losses in front of him. Even when Dalian Port was related to the survival of Japan, it was the same.

"Do they want money?"

"No!"

"Are they going to recover their rights?"

"No!"

"So what do they want?"

The language is Ito Hirofumi, who is a rhetorical question. At this point, the tone seems to be very low.

"The skin does not exist, and the hair is withers?"

After Dean Ito recited this sentence, he looked up at the rain curtain outside the window.

"If this war is going to gain an advantage now, but it will be defeated because the ammunition supply cannot be guaranteed due to the port. What will all of us face at that time?

If Japan fails... Shoutaro Komura is calm. He understands that at that time, he may have fallen into a more tragic situation than the visit of the black ship. It is said that it is not the Qing Dynasty, and there is no accumulation and potential strength of the Qing Dynasty, and he can't afford to lose at all! At that time, Lucia, who is greedy to become a surname, will not only annex Manchuria and South Korea, but also be involved in Japan. At that time... it will be complete.

"Speaking of merchant ships, our merchant ships can't meet the needs of mainland war at all. We hire British and German merchant ships to transport materials for us. Why can't we hire Chinese ships? Even if Dalian can't get it, why do you still think about those Russian ships? As for the severance of diplomatic relations, the small village, you know the Qing Dynasty!"

Hirofumi Ito seemed to fall into memories of the past. He stepped down as Prime Minister six years ago and almost became a consultant to the Qing Dynasty. At that time, he held the intention of renovating the Qing Dynasty after the Qing Dynasty War. Even now he also believes that the Qing Dynasty relationship should be repaired.

"As early as the period of the Qing Dynasty, the Han students of Tianjin Shuishi School had no confidence or interest in resisting the Japanese, and even had an expectation that they could overthrow the Qing court. Ten years ago, what about now? China's restoration is irreversible!"

Hirobumi Ito's expression became serious. He looked at Komura and sighed in his heart. Komura might be a competent diplomat, but he didn't have the vision of a politician.

"The first to recognize China can not only make Dalian use for me and avoid the defeat of the war, but also show goodwill to the new regime! This is the best time to revise the relationship between China!"

(To be honest, a few shots of An Chonggen killed Ito and the death of Katsura Taro eight years later, which changed the history of Asia and the world. These two people said that there are few people with strategic visions among themselves. It's a pity and sad. But when I think about it, even if they are alive, can they affect the current situation? Who knows? If the most successful place of the two is, it may be the end of the feud between Germany and France after the oppression of the First Sino-Japanese War on China, and the relationship between Germany and France after the Franco-Prussian War. The Meiji political axe is full of talents, and Taisho is barely embarrassed. In addition to blind action and arrogance in Yuhito, he has long forgotten what diplomacy is and what is politics...)

(to be continued)