Small dry. Every time the carriage arrived, the British consul Ze Gongxiong got off the car, and only the staff of the Zhidao Pavilion greeted him.

"Mr. Consul, the consuls of all countries have arrived. It's time for you to arrive

The secretary of the British consulate who greeted him seemed to be complaining that he had not arrived at the venue on time. Nishizawa was also somewhat impatient, ignored the other party, and walked straight into the British Consulate. Rush to the conference room.

Entering the conference room, Kimio Nishizawa stood at the door and bowed to the consuls of various countries who stood up to greet him. He said, "I'm late," and sat down with a staff member.

It was a round table, and the presiding officer, of course, was the Dutch governor, who had already arrived. First of all, he praised "international cooperation." After introducing the current situation on the island, he asked the consuls of various countries to come forward to "uphold justice" and express a joint statement to exert diplomatic pressure on the central government of China to force the Sumatra Chinese Autonomous Bureau to abandon its seizure of power, return jurisdiction to the Dutch colonial authorities, and disarm the militias. Restore social order.

When the Dutch Governor finished speaking, it was the British consul who spoke.

"Gentlemen, you have seen the events in Sumatra, according to the reliable information obtained by the British Consulate, since the incident happened the night before, the Chinese and the natives on the island have broken out into fierce armed conflicts, in the conflict, both sides of the conflict have used all light and heavy weapons, even artillery, the battle itself is very fierce, and the war crimes behind the battle are also very common, many villages have been razed to the ground, and the unarmed villagers have been brutally slaughtered. As far as the eye can see. Everywhere is filled with the stench of barbaric and ignorant medieval decay, contrary to the course of world civilization. Although the Chinese insist that the Turks provoked the conflict, judging from the current war situation, it is clear that the Chinese have been prepared for a long time, and may even have premeditated.

As a civilized country, the British government has always opposed barbarism and uncivilized, and in order to oppose barbarism and uncivilized, the British government did not hesitate to go to war with the Allied bloc and defended modern civilization and modern order with blood. So, let's show the civilized and civilized side of a civilized country.

Here, I suggest that consuls should immediately report to their Governments what has taken place here, and urge them to send armed forces to the Sumatra region. Use force to maintain modern civilization and modern order. It also helped the Dutch government to restore effective management of Sumatra. ”

The British consul took the moral high ground as soon as he came up, but when he finished this speech full of enthusiasm and justice, there was silence, only the French consul nodded, as if agreeing with the opinion of the British consul, as for the consuls of other countries, they were silent.

After a minute, the U.S. consul finally broke his silence. began to paraphrase the views of the US government.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the U.S. government deeply regrets the current situation in Sumatra and hopes that the situation in Sumatra will stabilize as soon as possible to avoid further turmoil in Southeast Asia. It is now up to the party to be held more responsible. It doesn't seem quite appropriate, because the situation has not stabilized before. No one can go deep into the war zone to gather evidence, but the U.S. government also believes that whoever provoked the conflict must be held responsible for the chaos on the island and accept the condemnation of the international community.

On the other hand, however, the United States Government does not intend to interfere in the affairs of the Sumatra region at present, because in the view of the United States Government, the Sumatra region has always been under the jurisdiction of the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the jurisdiction of the region is under the jurisdiction of the Dutch Government. Moreover, considering that Japan and the United States have officially declared war on Germany, it is impossible for the United States to send enough armed forces to Sumatra, and given the complexity and brutality of the situation in Sumatra, American citizens will not agree to throw American soldiers into an inexplicable ethnic conflict, which is incomprehensible to American citizens compared to the war in Europe, so the U.S. government insists that the situation here should be controlled by the government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. ”

The U.S. consul rammed for a long time, but the idea was that the U.S. government could not send troops to Sumatra now. There is no intention of sending troops to Sumatra in the near or long term, and this mess should be resolved by the Dutch government, which is also opposed to any other country taking this opportunity to meddle in Sumatra's affairs.

Seeing that the U.S. consul did not intend to meddle in Sumatra's affairs, Kimio Nishizawa was somewhat surprised, although he also knew that the United States was currently preparing for war against Germany, but considering the U.S. colonial interests in the Philippines, it was indeed surprising that the U.S. government was now taking such a bystander stance.

In fact, the position of the US government is also very well understood, now the United States has officially declared war on Germany, and sent several generals to the European theater of on-the-spot investigation, in order to assist the United States government in determining the total number of troops that need to be sent to the European theater, but to the great surprise of the US government, after the American generals who were sent to the European theater to investigate arrived at the French front, within a few days of panic sent a telegram to the US government, telling the US government that the politicians in the US government wanted to defeat Germany on land, The U.S. Army must have at least two million troops, and the U.S. must have enough reserve corps in the country.

Two million troops, this. The numbers really surprised the US government, you must know that at the moment when the United States declared war on Germany, the total strength of the US ** team was only more than 100,000 people, and the vast majority of the army were light infantry, not to mention tank troops, even armored vehicles.

The U.S. government originally intended to send the bare-handed army to France first, and then the Entente countries would provide weapons and equipment, but France and Britain were busy making tanks, and now they simply can't get enough weapons and equipment for the American allies to use, so. The U.S. government must find another way to expand its domestic military production. Another way to replenish armaments quickly is to place orders from third countries.

Looking at the world, the countries that are now making arms to supply the world are in addition to China. There is no country with more industrial potential, and in fact, since a year ago, the US government has been ordering arms and war materials from China, from bullets to rifles, from cotton to steel. The United States purchased almost all the industrial products and industrial raw materials that could be used in the European battlefield, but instead of equipping them themselves, they sold them to the Entente countries and became a second-hand dealer.

In the procurement of those arms, the Americans were surprised to find that the industrial products manufactured by the Chinese factories not only have obvious price advantages, but also are of very good quality, and they are no worse than the American industrial products, especially electronic products and light industrial products, which are simply the best footnotes of "cheap and high-quality". Obviously, thanks to those professional functional departments under the management of China's central government, from product quality management to comprehensive calculation of product prices, from the procurement of raw materials to the training of technical personnel, the Chinese have taken into account, and even the trademark, which was previously very far away from Chinese businessmen, has been put into the entire industrial exhibition plan by the Chinese. Now, the streets and alleys of Europe can be seen everywhere with those industrial products with a distinctly Chinese color.

Intuitively, coupled with the friendly relations with China, the US government immediately focused its arms procurement on the Chinese military factories that were billowing black smoke. The generals of the US Army believe that the tanks purchased from the hometown of the tank can really reassure the soldiers, as for the combat effectiveness, it is secondary.

So. The US Government has no intention of having any friction with China on the Sumatra issue at this time, because the US Government believes that with China's current naval strength, it is absolutely impossible to threaten the Philippines, and the reason why the situation in Sumatra has developed to this point is completely the result of the incompetence of the Dutch colonial authorities. Policy, Chinese can do business and travel in the Philippines, but if you want to live in the Philippines for a long time, it is very difficult, with this blockade line of the new immigration policy, the US government believes that what happened in Sumatra will never be born in the Philippines, because the local Chinese power is very weak, and the laws there are more perfect, natives and Chinese enjoy exactly the same treatment, are ruled under the colonial authorities.

Knowing this, I understand the meaning of the words of the American consul, but so far. Nishizawa is not very aware of the entanglement of interests, so he is a little surprised.

It was not only the Japanese consul who was surprised by the American position, but also the British consul and the French consul, and the Dutch governor was even more angry, and he stood up with a sad and indignant expression.

"Mr. Consul, is the U.S. government going to see the Southeast Asian region become turbulent again? Now it's Sumatra, maybe Borneo later, and then it's going to spread to the Philippines, and even to Indochina, and now the war in Europe shows no sign of ending, now at this time. The Chinese are making trouble in Southeast Asia, this is clearly an international conspiracy! ”

The American consul understood the anger of the Dutch governor, so he just shrugged his shoulders. There was no rebuttal, which made the Dutch governor even more agitated.

"Do you know how many Chinese are in Southeast Asia? If you add in the traditional Chinese who have lived here for hundreds of years, this is a very staggering number! Compared with European civilization, the Chinese are backward and conservative, and like all Asians, the Chinese simply do not deserve to enjoy the progress brought about by modern civilization! ”

The Dutch governor was so agitated that he forgot that there were several Japanese diplomats sitting across from him, and his phrase "like all Asians." When the description was translated into Japanese, it immediately aroused protests from the Japanese consul.

"Your Excellency the Governor! Rude words to you. I deeply regret it! As an Asian, I don't agree with you! From an anthropological point of view. There is no essential difference between Asians and Europeans, only the color of the skin and facial contours are different, however, you can't say that Europeans are more progressive than Asians because of this! However, in view of the fact that His Excellency the Governor is now in a state of unstable mood, no written protest will be lodged with you.

Kimio Nishizawa stood up and gave a generous sigh. Perhaps in order not to embarrass the Dutch governor even more, the British consul interjected in time to take advantage of the Japanese consul's ventilation.

"Your Excellency Nishizawa, as the Japanese Consul, I wonder what your assessment of the current situation in Sumatra? And what is the Japanese government's response to this issue? The consuls of various countries have just said it. Only Your Excellency has remained silent, I wonder if Mr. Consul would like to express his views on this issue? ”

Kimio Nishizawa sat back and made clear the Japanese government's position on the Sumatra issue with a blank expression.

"For the current chaotic situation in Sumatra. The Imperial Government of Japan deeply regrets and regrets all those who died in the conflict, and the Government of Japan has officially authorized me to contact the local Chinese self-government authorities on this issue to make clear Japan's position, and the reason why I was a few minutes late just now. I'm busy with this negotiation.

The Japanese Government believes that the situation in Sumatra has reached an unmanageable point because of the disregard of the local colonial institutions for the interests of the population. Even in Japan, we have long heard of the chaos in Sumatra, and this is obviously not caused by either the Chinese or the natives, but by the inaction of the colonial establishment. Therefore, the Japanese Government is firmly opposed to the return of the administration of Sumatra to the colonial institutions before the situation becomes clear, and only when the situation is clear and social order is restored can the international community re-examine the causes of the conflict in the region. and decide on the final ownership of the island. ”

The British and French consuls were very shocked by the Japanese consul's words, and they really did not expect that the Japanese government would so blatantly side the Chinese on the Sumatra issue, which was in contrast to the scene when the Northeast Asian war broke out.

However, considering that shortly after the end of the Russo-Japanese War, Japan led Russia to form an alliance, then. It is understandable that Japan is now in the middle of the twilight in international politics.

So, which side does the Japanese government think is more appropriate to administer Sumatra?

After a moment's hesitation, the American consul cautiously inquired about the Japanese consul. "The Japanese government believes that since the Chinese self-government organs are able to calm down the situation in a very short time. This is a testament to the competence of this self-governing body, and the Government of Japan considers it more appropriate for this body to administer Sumatra on a temporary basis. However, as a balance, it seems that the Far East Peace Commission should intervene in the administration of Sumatra, and just now at the meeting with the brains of the Chinese self-government organs, they also accepted this suggestion, and if the Chinese government did not object, then the Far East Peace Council could send commissioners to assist the Chinese self-government bodies

Seeing that the Japanese government suddenly put the "Far East Peace Commission" that was actually dying. The consuls in the audience were silent, and only the Dutch governor was firmly opposed to this, but no one echoed his opinion.

"If the Far East Peace Commission is to intervene, it must be agreed by the Chinese government. But there isn't a single Chinese diplomat here right now, and I think that's very inappropriate

The American consul broke the silence and offered his opinion. This was a timely suggestion that eased the tension in the room.

"Then, let's send someone to invite Mr. Chinese Consul over." Kimio Nishizawa suggested.

The British consul exchanged glances with the French consul. Both of them knew in their hearts that this time, the Japanese had made up their minds to fish in troubled waters. And what the Japanese government is thinking about, they seem to be able to guess, is the New Guinea problem.

Obviously, this time, the Dutch met not only a tiger, but also a wolf, and it was impossible to get out of the way, and something had to be abandoned, and as for what the Dutch would give up, no one could say. Because tigers can cooperate with wolves or fight each other, it depends on the Dutch government's choice. If it is handled well, it may be possible to preserve the current interests, but if it is not handled well, I am afraid that the current interests will not be preserved.

The key is still that "Pan-Asianism". If this problem is not handled well, I am afraid that the entire colonial system of the European powers in Asia will be gradually weakened, and in a sense, the Sumatra problem is not only the problem of the Netherlands, but also the problem of all European colonial powers.