There was silence in the chamber. No one said that there was a lock light for a camera to mesh the door. In front of the reporters' cameras, two diplomats sat at the slightly round conference table, one was China's foreign minister Tang Shaoyi, and the other was the British minister to China, Zhu Erdian.

The exchange of signatures was quickly completed, Tang Shaoyi first raised his head, closed the cap of the pen in his hand, and then raised the pen and asked the reporters to give the pen a close-up.

At this time, Zhu Erdian also smiled and held up his signature pen, and then proposed to exchange pens with Tang Shaoyi and keep them as souvenirs, Tang Shaoyi happily accepted Zhu Erdian's proposal. He solemnly announced the end of the signing ceremony to reporters.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please remember this day. Remember everyone in this room, because every one of them here. People, regardless of status. Regardless of their profession, they are witnesses to history, and today, in the conference room of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China has finally regained sovereignty over its first concession from foreign countries through diplomatic efforts, which is not only the result of China's legal progress, but also the result of the country's strength. As Minister of Foreign Affairs, I am deeply honored to be able to participate in this sovereignty recovery ceremony, which is an honor for Chinese diplomats and even more so for the people. Although the British Concession in Tianjin, which has been recovered today, is only the first concession recovered by China, I believe that with the friendly consultations between the central government and the governments of various countries, the interests that China has lost in history will be gradually recovered, and then afterward. Only then can China's diplomatic relations with other countries in the world, especially the great powers, truly move toward normalization

China's foreign minister was full of confidence, and the British minister to China had no choice but to make clear the British Government's position.

"Gentlemen, I very much agree with Mr. Tang's words, the return of the British Concession in Tianjin is only the first step of the British Government's friendly action towards China, and next, the British Government will further enhance the friendship between China and Britain, and as one of the symbols of friendship, the British Government has now launched relevant negotiations with the Chinese Central Government on upgrading diplomatic relations between the two countries to the level of ambassadors, although Britain lagged behind the United States in the negotiation of diplomatic relations, but please believe that the British Government's friendship with China is sincere, Once the friendly relations between the two countries are strengthened, Britain will make more commercial and industrial investment in China.

As a British diplomat, I am also very pleased to see that China's central government is very rational and reasonable, and on the relevant issues of Hong Kong, the Chinese central government has been able to adopt a flexible policy and put this issue aside, which is enough to prove that China has learned the norms for handling international affairs, although Hong Kong will still be under the trusteeship of the United Kingdom, please believe that with the strengthening of friendly relations between China and Britain, the entry and exit of citizens of your country will become more and more convenient, and the British side will not deliberately set up obstacles to this

Seeing that there was something in Zhu Erdian's words, Tang Shaoyi just smiled faintly and did not interject, he knew very well what the British minister meant, and the British government's attitude was very tough on the issue of Hong Kong's return, but the British government obviously did not know. The president has never had any hard and fast demands on this issue, and the president attaches more importance to the issue of concessions and the issue of land leases from various countries in China.

We must thank those Chinese people who fought bloodily for the country, without them fighting the battlefield. There will be no such diplomatic victories now, weak countries have no diplomacy, this sentence is the reality of international politics, not subject to the will of people as a transfer, although the current China can not be regarded as a strong country, but at least it can already raise its head high in front of the great powers, and the great powers look at Japan that has fallen beside China, and they must also give China some face.

Of course, in addition to the reason why China defeated Japan in the Northeast Asian War, there was another important reason why Britain was willing to return the Chinese concession, that is, the current situation in the Far East; just yesterday, Japan formally declared war on Germany on the grounds that Germany had not withdrawn its troops from France and Belgium in accordance with the ultimatum, and the Japanese Combined Fleet immediately left the port and sailed towards the equatorial seas. Prepare to join forces with the British Far East Fleet to attack German colonies and naval bases in the Pacific Ocean. Under such circumstances, not only Japan had to take into account China's position, but even Britain had to encircle China on the condition that the concession be returned to China. In exchange for China's neutrality in the Sino-Japanese war.

This is Britain's strategic choice, and it is also Britain's last resort, of course, this kind of forced exchange of interests cannot be put on paper to tell the public, so in the final joint communiqué between the two countries, the main reason why Britain is willing to return to the Chinese ancestral realm and abolish extraterritoriality is that China "has made great progress in the cause of the legal system." "It's true, but it's just a high-sounding excuse, the real reason. Both sides know it. The return of the British concession in Tianjin was only the first step in the British government's "friendly action toward China", and in the next year, Britain would hand over all sovereignty over the concession in China to the Chinese side, and would also return the Weihaiwei leased land to the Chinese side.

Under the leadership of Britain, France also had to follow suit, not only returning all the concessions in China. In addition, it will also return the French leased land in China to the Chinese side, and provide China with a considerable amount of government-guaranteed loans through the French bank in China, so as to enhance the friendly relations between the two countries and take precautions to prevent the chaotic situation in the Nanyang region from spreading from the British colonies to the French colonies.

At the same time, the governments of Belgium, Italy, Germany, Austria-Hungary and other countries have also expressed their opinions. We are willing to hold friendly consultations with the Chinese side on the issue of the return of the concession and the issue of extraterritoriality in order to resolve these outstanding issues as soon as possible; in addition, Japan, which has already returned all the concessions in China, is among the great powers in the world, and at present only the Russian Empire has not yet made any clear statement, and the Russian Imperial Minister to China, Kosowitz, has postponed the settlement of these issues until after the end of the European war.

As for the US Government, it has taken a position of full cooperation with the Chinese side on the issue of exchanging concessions and abolishing extraterritoriality, and has not only echoed the British Government's proposition, but has also actively lobbied various governments. It will enable governments to adopt a more flexible stance on China policy, so as to avoid "plunging the situation in Asia and the Far East back into chaos."

As a matter of fact. Among the guests attending the handover ceremony of the Sino-British Concession was the US Minister to China, John Stade, and because the British handed over to China in Tianjin, there was a so-called "Southeast Extension Zone" in Tianjin, which was formerly the US concession in Tianjin, but it was incorporated into the British Concession in the first year, but the United States still retained various privileges in the area. Therefore, the Tianjin British Concession is not only a "different body clam day of the national Yi Xun Shu and concave Shan". And in the middle of the country! There is a special area in the national league. Just a little bit of it." It is the United Kingdom that administers the region.

Although the U.S. minister did not have to sign the concession transfer agreement, his presence at the ceremony itself represented the U.S. side's position, so after the signing ceremony, Stadder also quickly congratulated the Chinese side.

"It is a great pleasure to see that Mr. Tang was able to personally preside over the exchange of notes on the concession transfer agreement, and it would be even better if Mr. President of your country could also attend the exchange of notes in person

Stade revealed his idea to Tang Shaoyi, but Tang Shaoyi did not fully agree with the American minister's idea.

"Thank you, Mr. Minister, for your support. However, Mr. President will attend another ceremony today. The ceremony there is more important than the ceremony here, so today the president cannot attend the ceremony of the transfer of documents in the concession. ”

Of course, Stade knew what kind of ceremony Tang Shaoyi was referring to, and he also knew that the Chief Tang in front of him would rush to the Capitol immediately after finishing the concession transfer and exchange ceremony here, and if he moved fast enough, he might be able to catch up with the ceremony attended by Mr. President.

"Do you mean the ceremonial ceremony that took place in the Capitol? I wonder if Chief Tang will also rush to attend the ceremony? In your opinion. Mr. President chose to end constitutionalism at this time. Is the change of administration going against the trend of history? ”

Stade asked knowingly, in fact, he was tempting, because he knew that this Chief Tang had always held a vague position on presidential politics, and no one knew what he was thinking? Is it the same as Li Yuanhong and Tang Hualong? Or is it the same as Xiong Chengji and Zhang Binglin who oppose the presidential government?

To this tricky question raised by the American minister. Tang Shaoyi felt a little difficult to answer, so he hesitated for a few seconds.

If you ask what you think in your heart, Tang Shaoyi is against the real administrative system, after all, he is one of the famous figures of the constitutionalism faction, and the reason why he joined the League back then was because he agreed with the idea of Song Jiaoren, one of the main leaders of the League, that is, to implement constitutional government.

At the beginning of the establishment of the republican system, Tang Shaoyi did intend to fight for constitutionalism with confidence, but soon after, the outbreak of the Great War between the North and the South shattered Tang Shaoyi's dream of constitutionalism. He realized a serious problem, that is, with the current level of social development in China, it is difficult to realize Song Jiaoren's ideals, and the facts have also proved the hardships of this constitutional road. No matter which side of the north and the south, they attach more importance to the armed forces than to the spirit of contract, and what caught the constitutionalists even more off guard was that their spiritual leader Song Jiaoren was suddenly assassinated, which directly hit the will of the constitutionalists to fight, and it was a heavy blow, which made Tang Shaoyi and others not slow down for a long time, so when the National League was established, Tang Shaoyi chose to be a carefree person, he did not give up the idea of constitutionalism, but felt that the time was not yet ripe.

Later, Zhao Bei became stronger and stronger. Firmly grasping the central power, and further enhancing his prestige in the eyes of the people with the help of several internal and external troubles, Tang Shaoyi felt that he was getting farther and farther away from the goal of constitutional government. During his tenure as minister in the Russian Empire, he conscientiously summed up this, but the final conclusion made him feel very helpless.

Tang Shaoyi finally had to admit that it was not up to the people or the Congress to decide which way the country would go, but the president.

In Tang Shaoyi's view, since the presidential policy is like an arrow on a string and cannot be turned back, then why bother to be bored? Losing an official position is a trivial matter, and missing this big era is a big deal, after all, now is not compared to the past, and now China is increasingly showing the momentum and bearing that a big country should have, as a diplomat, it is indeed a fortunate thing to be able to catch up with such an era. Why should Tang Shaoyi have trouble with herself? Even according to traditional Chinese culture, self-cultivation, family harmony, governing the country, and leveling the world are the ideals of all scholars, Tang Shaoyi, as a person with knowledge and extensive knowledge, will he take the initiative to turn his back on this era?

What's more, in the absence of a cabinet premier, the Minister of Foreign Affairs is the de facto head of Ran Ge's family, as long as Tang Shaoyi can stay in the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs for a few more years, then he firmly believes that he will be able to use his actions to add some nutrients to the tree of constitutionalism that has not yet sprouted. So why go against the president?

For politicians, there are two ways to achieve the goal, one is to charge head-on, and the other is to take a side detour, and now, Tang Shaoyi chooses to take a side detour, so he will adopt a cooperative attitude on the topic of presidential administration.

"Mr. Minister, it seems too reckless for us to evaluate the matter of the president's discipline and administration, so let history judge it. However, I must tell you, Mr. Minister, that at today's presidential ceremony, Mr. President, in the presence of all members of Congress, will sign a contract under which the President will be elected for a period of 20 years, after which Congress will resume its functions, and that is when the constitutional path will be truly established.

Tang Shaoyi's words made Stade a little surprised, it was the first time he had heard of this kind of insider, before he, like ministers from various countries, had thought that today's presidential ceremony was just a formality, but he didn't expect it to be so formal.

"You're saying that Mr. President will sign a deed? A letter of guarantee? Stade's eyes widened in surprise, and the British minister on the side had the same expression.

"Yes. And, like your precious draft constitution, the deed will be carefully kept by Congress, and will be displayed in a glass case in the public space of the Capitol for citizens to see and oversee. Perhaps, this will really open up the spirit of the social contract in this ancient country

Speaking of this, Tang Shaoyi suddenly became a little dazed, human nature is so complicated, can the establishment of the spirit of contract really be guaranteed through such a black and white letter? He couldn't answer, and he believed that neither anyone standing here, including the foreign ministers, could answer. Human nature is complex, society is also complex, and history is zigzag forward in such a complex environment. It is said that the book is full of umbrellas