"Let's go back home." When Shang Yuan said this to Zhang Yu, it was on April 1, 1919.

For Shang Yuan, the biggest feeling is no longer anger, but exhaustion. If he is in China, Shang Yuan will still feel that no matter how tired he is, he will have to make some achievements. Being suppressed by the representatives of Britain, France and Japan all day long, Shang Yuan felt that this was simply murdering his own life.

"Why don't you go to Italy for a visit, Prime Minister Shangyuan?" Zhang Yu was also tired enough, he really admired Chen Ke's foresight in his heart, at least Chen Ke didn't want to come over to participate in this peace meeting at all, and the other comrades without exception all had the desire to write.

Italian Prime Minister Orlando left the conference on March 27 to return to Italy, leaving the work at the Paris Peace Conference to the foreign minister. China was under siege, Italy was ignored. In view of the poor performance of the Italian army in World War I, and the fact that Italy had no profit at all, Britain and France had no interest in Italy at all, and regarded Italy as a small henchman playing soy sauce.

The Italians, on the other hand, still hope to make a good fortune at the Paris Peace Conference, and it has been seen more than once that when the Italians tried to compete for their interests, the British said "No!" in a contemptuous tone. No！ No！ "The French "Tiger Prime Minister" even dared to loudly rebuke the Italian Prime Minister. In the end, the Italian prime minister simply returned home first to express his dissatisfaction with the treatment.

After listening to Zhang Yu's suggestion, Shang Yuan also felt good. After sending a telegram to the Italian side, the Chinese delegation quickly received a response. The Italian side welcomes the Chinese premier's visit to Italy.

The People's Party had already booked a cruise ship in the United States, and this time the Paris Peace Conference came in handy. Shang Yuan handed over the work of the delegation to Zhang Yu, and he and some members of the delegation boarded a ship in Marseille and headed straight for Rome.

The Italians were not warm at all, they were just regular. The day after the Chinese delegation disembarked, they met with the King of Italy and said a bunch of meaningless nonsense, and Shang Yuan only started negotiations with Italian Prime Minister Orlando on the third day.

Mr. Prime Minister's face was sad and unenthusiastic. Shang Yuan could fully understand the attitude of Mr. Prime Minister, and the road to Rome was full of homeless beggars and veterans. Near the hotel where Shang Yuan was staying, people were marching and demonstrating. The theme of the march was probably anti-hunger and anti-unemployment. In this case, it is strange that Mr. Prime Minister can be proud.

Under such circumstances, Shang Yuan felt that it was really inappropriate to say some New Year's greetings, and he said: "Mr. Prime Minister, if we scold Britain and France together here, I personally think that we should have enough common ground." ”

After listening to the interpreter's words, the prime minister smiled genuinely at first, but soon the smile turned into a look of alarm.

The BJP had actually reaped huge benefits in World War I, whether it was the actual control of state sovereignty, economic interests, or even looted cultural relics. China has gained a lot. At the moment, they are being pressed, but Britain, France and other countries feel that they have lost too much and want to threaten China. Italy suffered heavy losses in the First World War, and now there is no place to make money. Colonies where birds don't lay eggs produce nothing, and domestic unemployment is outrageous.

After listening to Shang Yuan's speech establishing a common position, the prime minister intuitively believed that China was trying to draw Italy together against Britain and France. Of course, he could not accept such an attitude. Britain and France are hateful, but an alliance with a powerless China is an even worse idea.

Of course, Shang Yuan would not make a foolish suggestion such as an alliance with Italy, "I came this time to cooperate with your country. We have developed a merchant ship building programme and are seeking collaborators. The level of shipbuilding in your country is not weaker than that of Britain and France, and I wonder if your country has any intentions in this regard. ”

"You want to buy a boat?" The Italian Prime Minister's face immediately turned cloudy, the best news the Italian Prime Minister had heard financially in several years, and he eagerly asked, "How much do you want to buy?" ”

Shang Yuan said with a smile: "We want to build a large number of cargo ships, not only to buy, but also to acquire manufacturing technology. I don't know if you would like to cooperate. ”

Seeing that Shang Yuan put forward his ideas very seriously, Italian Prime Minister Orlando immediately began to brag about how Italy's own shipbuilding industry is so good, if it weren't for one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and so on, Italy's shipbuilding industry would have made Britain, France, and Americans kneel.

Shang Yuan didn't know how to build a ship, and secondly, he was not responsible for the details of his talks at this level. After the two sides have reached an agreement of intent, the specific discussion will be entrusted to the special personnel. After discussing the possibility of commercial cooperation between China and Italy, Shang Yuan was ready to leave.

The Italian prime minister originally thought that Shang Yuan was here to pull allies, but seeing that Shang Yuan had not done so from the beginning to the end, he tentatively asked about China's plans for the future.

"I'm going to go to Persia again." Shang Yuan gave the Italian prime minister an answer.

"To Persia?" The Italian prime minister didn't understand what Shang Yuan wanted to do at all.

"I want to go to Persia and talk about the oil business." The BJP had been importing a lot of oil, and Chen Ke was ready to negotiate with Persia about the sale of oil, so Shang Yuan simply went to Persia, which was not too far from the Mediterranean.

"Has China given up on this peace conference?" The Prime Minister of Orlando was even more surprised.

"You can also see that the attitude of England and France towards us is like that of a defeated country. Rather than being angry there, I might as well spend my time talking about business. At least when it comes to business, no one will laugh at us. Shang Yuan replied.

The Italian Prime Minister deeply agrees with this, and even if Italy has been defeated repeatedly, it has been defeated again and again. In Italy's view, the Entente's approach of unloading and killing the donkey was too much. When parting with the Chinese delegation, the Italian prime minister did not say anything, but he had a good impression of China.

In fact, the delegation did not go to Persia entirely, and some of the delegates went to the Czech Republic. The Czech Republic was a region where Austria-Hungary had a strong industrial power, and after World War I, it was seen that Austria-Hungary was about to lose the Czech region. The People's Party thought it would be a good option to contact the Czechs at this time.

At a time when Britain, France, and the United States were pointing out the future division of the world, the Chinese delegation was struggling to visit, liaise, and negotiate with various industrial countries in Europe, especially those with uncertain futures. There were many negotiations on the purchase of machinery and equipment, the purchase of industrial technology, and even possible industrial cooperation in the future.

On May 4, Shang Yuan and the Persian king finally rushed back to Paris after completing the initial intention plan for oil exploration and investment in the Persian region.

The Paris Peace Conference was still a mess, and in order to share the spoils, various countries used their mouths. The biggest change for the Chinese delegation was not what agreements were reached, but a better understanding of the world situation. Even Tang Shaoyi, who is afraid of the great powers in his heart, has made great progress, at least he is no longer afraid of the Japanese.

The Japanese had been trying to suppress China's concessions, and when they were still far away, the Japanese delegates finally mustered up the courage to have a one-on-one meeting with the Chinese representatives, and Tang Shaoyi attended the meeting.

Of course, the atmosphere of the meeting was extremely unfriendly, and after the Japanese side talked nonsense, Zhang Yu fortunately tore his face, and he said to Makino Shinaki with an arrogant attitude: "If you think we will give in, then you might as well take all the means you have the courage to take." If you really can't, you can declare war? ”

The Japanese side did not expect Zhang Yu's attitude to be so arrogant, but in view of the current balance of forces between the two sides, Japan did not dare to declare war no matter what.

Looking at Makino Shin's angry and aggrieved look, Zhang Yu sneered: "You're not convinced, are you?" Or think we've insulted you? Then you can find your British father, hold your British father's thigh and cry and say, Dad, you have to call the shots for me! Dad, you can't leave me alone! Speaking of this, Zhang Yu waved his hand to Makino Shinxian with contempt, "Go!" Go ahead! Hurry up and go to your dad and cry! ”

Tang Shaoyi, who attended the meeting as an observer, was frightened by Zhang Yu's actions, but he saw that the two young comrades, Li Runshi and Wu Xiangyu, who were also attending the meeting, had already laughed. Looking at the distorted face of the Japanese and the trembling lips of anger, Tang Shaoyi was really frightened, for fear that the Japanese who had been so insulted would really declare war.

The Japanese representative left his seat in anger and later did not speak to the Chinese representative at any meeting. However, half a month has passed, and the Japanese representatives have not made any remarks or gestures to declare war.

Having been so insulted in a diplomatic setting, Japan did not dare to declare war at all. Even Tang Shaoyi saw Japan's weakness, he still asked his son-in-law Gu Weijun to discuss the matter.

Gu Weijun said in a clear tone: "Father-in-law, a weak country has no diplomacy. If Japan declares war on us, will Japan be able to resist it if we enter Korea? ”

"This ......" Tang Shaoyi already understood that Japan could not win the Sino-Japanese war at all. Still, he felt uneasy, "How will the British react?" ”

Gu Weijun replied: "Father-in-law, Minister Zhang's words are not rough, Britain is Japan's father, and Japan is not Britain's father." Britain has a lot of trade with us, and if Britain and China go to war because of Japan, this trade will be interrupted. There will be a lot of economic damage to the UK. Britain is still waiting for Japan to pay tribute to Britain, how can it pay any price for Japan? ”

"But ......" Tang Shaoyi still felt very unaccustomed to this way of thinking.

After all, he is a young man, Gu Weijun was used to the latest situation earlier, and he proudly explained: "We have always said accept the status quo and what the status quo is. The status quo is that China has effectively reclaimed most of its sovereignty and interests, and all we need is a public recognition of the status quo by foreign countries. If we want to change this situation, the Japanese will have to fight us. Since neither Japan nor Britain was certain of defeating us, they had to accept the status quo. Britain is willing to let Japan change the current status quo, but that is to call Japan like a dog. Japan is not stupid, so they will not fight a war that has no chance of winning at all. ”

After hearing this, he contacted the reality again, and Tang Shaoyi could be regarded as determining the current situation. He almost struggled and asked, "What if the Japanese come over?" Won't the central government hold Minister Zhang accountable? ”

Gu Weijun said with a smile: "When the Japanese call, we will fight him." What does this have to do with Minister Zhang? Could it be that Minister Zhang is still the emperor of Japan, and what Minister Zhang asks the Japanese to do, will the Japanese do? Besides, the Japanese don't want to fight us, we still want to fight the Japanese! ”

Looking at his son-in-law's confident demeanor, Tang Shaoyi finally found out where her biggest discomfort came from. Whether it was the Manchu era or the Beiyang era. If a hard-line Chinese official provokes a strong foreign posture, the domestic government will talk about the Chinese official. However, when the BJP was in power, hard-line officials were supported by the state. This kind of world-wide difference is the change that Tang Shaoyi can't adapt to the most.

Shang Yuan's actions after his return convinced Tang Shaoyi of his son-in-law Gu Weijun's judgment, Shang Yuan only asked if there was any content against China in the recently reached agreement on world norms, and if there was any content aimed at China, the Chinese side must fight for it on the basis of reason. If not, the Chinese side can accept it.

Tang Shaoyi was mainly engaged in this aspect, and he reported on the fact that a considerable number of international organizations established under the new norms actually had to pay membership dues.

"We'll give them a reasonable fee, what we have to do is to integrate into this world, not to shut ourselves up. The key is the implementation of this agreement, and we must find out whether there are explicit and implicit clauses against China in the agreement. We can't be calculated. Shang Yuan replied.

Shang Yuan's calm attitude made Tang Shaoyi even more unaccustomed to it, in the Manchu era, as long as the matter of money was paid, the imperial court would not consider it at all. The attitude of the People's Party in trying to integrate into the world was diametrically opposed to that of the Manchus.

In the negotiations concerning a single country, the Chinese delegation upheld the position of defending national sovereignty and did not give in at all. China's position on the entire international framework is also clear-cut, and the Chinese government firmly supports normal economic activities. And repeatedly reiterated that even if China lacks funds at this stage, trade will in principle be in the form of equal trade amounts. However, China will not take such an unwavering stance, so it welcomes the establishment of normal banking exchanges with other countries in order to make the renminbi a world currency as soon as possible.

This kind of statement, especially China's view of the globalization of the renminbi, has made many countries laugh at it. Chinese banks do not have branches overseas, and the renminbi, as "legal tender", has no precious metals as collateral at all. Isn't it an international joke that the Chinese actually want their "paper money" to become a world currency?

China has taken a series of targeted actions to protect its own interests, and China has not participated in the various ambitious actions of other countries. In addition, China does not sing high-profile songs, but confidently announces to the rest of the world that China is very confident in its own development and welcomes full cooperation between countries and China in trade and science and technology.

At the Paris Peace Conference, which was full of greed and ambition, China had a "small fresh" taste of peace.

According to the tacit understanding between the two sides, the United States has the open support of China. However, President Wilson began to wonder whether the small partner of Latin America was the right choice. The reason why the United States is interested in China is not only its size, but also China's combat effectiveness. As a result, China was like a harmless white rabbit at the Paris Peace Conference, pulling relations and discussing business everywhere. In the face of blackmail by Britain, France and other countries, China can also make no concessions in person, but it does not mention the matter at all in other places.

This mature diplomatic style is certainly commendable, but it inevitably makes China's image too weak. It was so weak that Japan dared to openly put forward a motion to "demand that China fulfill international treaties" at a congress attended by representatives from all countries.

Although the Chinese side used this as a "Sino-Japanese issue" to raise objections, Britain and France took the lead, and many countries temporarily expressed their stance by betraying China's interests.

Of course, this was originally an issue between China and Japan, and all countries abstained from voting in the actual vote. The Polish delegate was the only one who took a tough stance in support of Japan on a matter that had nothing to do with him. The representative of the United States was stunned. Poland has not yet become truly independent, and it is trying to assert its existence. What exactly is this trying to do?

In short, most of the delegates knew how not to get involved in unprofitable matters, and China took an extremely strong stance against it, suggesting that the matter could be negotiated separately after the Paris Peace Conference. The Chinese delegates' motion was supported by the delegates of various countries, and the matter was excluded from discussion at the Paris Peace Conference at the international conference.

This was originally a matter of two countries, but in the end it returned to its original colors. It will be up to the two countries concerned, China and Japan, to discuss separately. Anyway, after the Paris Peace Conference, this matter will be forgotten by all countries.

However, the Chinese delegation was greatly relieved that the matter was not so simple in its view. Because of the loss of the "principle of unanimity of the great powers". The representative of China was very sensitive to such concessions by China. The threat of the "principle of unanimity of the great powers" was finally eliminated, and this was a great breakthrough.

The Chinese side has managed to get rid of the blow of the "principle of unanimity among the great powers," but this does not mean that the "principle of unanimity among the great powers" has gone bankrupt. In the fight against Russia, China has finally been notified of a joint meeting of the six major powers.

In fact, countries have long had their own ideas and actions. After the Russian Revolution, the Russian Communist Party led by Lenin resolutely withdrew from the war, first negotiating with the Entente, which did not discuss the matter with Russia at all. So Lenin simply reached an agreement with the Allies and withdrew from the war after making major concessions. The Entente was extremely dissatisfied with the perfidious actions of the Russian Communist Party. Moreover, the world war did not bring any war benefits to the countries at all, and if Russia could be carved up, it would be regarded as some territorial benefits for the countries to make up for it.

So the Entente has decided to fight Russia together.

The representative of Japan is truly impatient, and Japan is adjacent to Russia. Since it has suffered a great defeat in China, it will be a great good thing for Japan to be able to take a few bites of meat from Russia and occupy a large territory.

The United States has the mentality of beating rabbits with grass, and it is naturally the best to take advantage of it, and it is nothing if it can't take advantage of it.

The Chinese delegate put forward the condition that it would not recognize the old territorial agreement with Russia, which was a formal indication that China wanted to take action against Russia. However, the representative of China said that China could only echo the actions of other countries of the Entente countries on the Sino-Russian border, and was not ready to send troops to participate in the war in the European part.

Britain and France were a little puzzled about China's attitude, and the Japanese side was very uneasy about China's statement of sending troops, but Japan could not oppose China's sending troops.

The United States is supportive of China's attitude, so this matter is so certain.