In the room, Chinese and Japanese representatives sat on opposite sides of the table, while British and German ministers to China sat at the other end. Although, everyone behaved lightly, as if they were not in a hurry at all. However, deep down, Gongwang and Lin Dong of Xiyuan Temple must be very anxious. For every day that the war dragged on, the losses inflicted on Japan would be a little greater.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we don't want the war to continue, and it will be a great disaster for the people of both China and Japan. Therefore, it is hoped that in today's talks, both sides will show sincerity and ensure that the talks can achieve a breakthrough. Sir Jurden said. The more negotiations dragged on, the more detrimental it would be to Japan. In this case, Britain's interests will also be affected.

"The Empire of Japan is very sincere, and we have always wanted peace." Xiyuan Temple Gongwang hurriedly said.

"Humph! The words sound good, but who started this war? Yang Du said with a disdainful expression. By doing so, he almost didn't give the Japanese face at all. He didn't care, though. Who in the top echelons of the empire does not know that China and Japan are mortal enemies and cannot live in peace. Even if the Japanese were not wiped out in one fell swoop in this war, in the future, there will definitely be a larger-scale life-and-death war between the two countries. Therefore, to weaken Japan's strength in this war as much as possible is undoubtedly to prepare for a complete victory in the future.

"This war is a misunderstanding." Xiyuan Temple Gongwang had no choice but to say so.

"Alright, you two, let's get down to business. In previous negotiations, the Japanese side had no objection to the first and last of several conditions put forward by the Chinese Empire. It is the middle few that are disputed. Therefore, this time, let's talk about these conditions. Sir Jurden said. If the representatives of China and Japan quarrel again. I am afraid that today's negotiations will not be able to continue.

Representatives of both sides had no objection to this, so the negotiations went straight to the main topic.

"Regarding Article 2, the Japanese side agreed to return the treasure island to China as a sign of our sincerity. But. The country of Ryukyu no longer exists, and it has long since become Okinawa Prefecture under Japanese rule. A large number of Japanese people have moved there, and we must not let them leave their homeland again. As for Korea, the King of Korea signed the Japan-Korea Merger Treaty, and de jure speaking, South Korea and Japan have become one. Therefore, it seems too far-fetched to let South Korea stand on its own again. Xiyuan Temple Gongwang said.

"This one, the Chinese Empire is not ready to back down. Ryukyu. It has been a vassal state of the Chinese Empire since ancient times. It was only during the reign of the Manchu Qing Dynasty that the rulers were deaf, which gave Japan an opportunity to annex the Ryukyus. As for North Korea, it is also a subject of China. After the defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War, Japanese cuisine was able to dominate Korea. The so-called "Japan-ROK Merger Treaty" is nothing more than a trick by Japan to deceive itself and others. So, if Japan wants to stop the war. The Ryukyus and Korea had to break away from Japan and regain their independence. Yang Du didn't give an inch.

If the empire succeeds in recovering the two vassal states of Korea and the Ryukyus. Then Japan's threat to China will be minimized. After losing its foothold on the mainland, Japan must first defeat the Chinese navy in terms of navy before it has the opportunity to launch a landing operation on the mainland. At the current rate of development of the Imperial Navy, it is estimated that the Japanese Navy will never have this opportunity. In addition, the Chinese Empire could also rely on two vassals. A direct threat to Japan's homeland. It will even serve as a springboard for landing on the Japanese mainland in the future.

Both China and Japan are aware of this, so they will not budge an inch in the regard of the two subject countries. After a fierce exchange of words, it was found that it was still impossible to reach an agreement on this condition.

"To show the sincerity of the Great Japanese Empire. Japan can concede half of Korea. North Korea, which can break away from Japan. Xiyuan Temple Gongwang said.

Yang Du shook his head: "Whether it is Korea or Ryukyu, they are all subject countries of the empire, and the empire must treat everyone equally. As suzerains, it is the responsibility of the Empire to help them regain their independence. ”

Xiyuan Temple Gongwang and Lin Dong had very ugly faces. They believe that if they have already made concessions, then the Chinese Empire should also make certain concessions. In this way, the two sides will easily be able to reach an agreement. However, the Chinese Empire was unwilling to give in at all as if it had settled on Japan, which made it almost impossible for Japan to end the war soon.

"Your Excellency Yang Du, it is normal to have differences in negotiations. Both sides should show some sincerity, so that the negotiations can continue. Sir Jurden said.

"No, Sir Sir. On this issue, we should treat it differently. The issue of the two vassal states of Korea and the Ryukyus is non-negotiable. On this issue, the Empire is not going to back down. Yang Du is very resolute.

Seeing this, Sir Jurdian, although very dissatisfied, had no choice but to propose that the controversy be put aside for the first time and the next condition discussed.

"The war reparations of 300 million pounds are simply blackmail, and Japan cannot afford so many war reparations." Saionji Gongwang continued. For Japan, the war reparations of 300 million pounds were simply astronomical. Even if they had won the Sino-Japanese War, they had only extorted 230 million taels of silver from China, which was only 60 million when converted into pounds.

"Yes, Britain also thinks that the demand for war reparations of 300 million pounds is too exaggerated, and no country in history has ever made such a demand for war reparations." Sir Jurdian was also on the side to help.

"Is it more than 300 million pounds? Not at all. After the Franco-Prussian War was accepted, the Kingdom of Prussia demanded war reparations worth five billion francs, which would be two hundred million pounds in pounds. However, that was 200 million pounds 40 years ago, and when converted into today's currency, I am afraid that it is more than 400 million pounds. Tang Shaoyi said.

"That's right, the war reparations paid by the French during the Franco-Prussian War were the largest among them." German Minister Hahausen was smiling. The Kingdom of Prussia defeated France before the German Empire could be unified, making the German Empire the most powerful land on the continent. For every German, this is something they are proud of.

"That's in Europe, and France's economic power is far stronger than Japan's. France repaid five billion francs in war reparations in two years, and in the case of Japan, three hundred million pounds would be enough for them to repay for decades. Sir Jurdian said in a deep voice.

"No, no. Your Excellency, last year Japan's fiscal revenues amounted to 1.3 billion yen, or 65 million pounds. The reason why Japan's finances cannot make ends meet is that they are reckless in their military and have invested too much in the military. If Japan is able to reduce its military strength, it will undoubtedly be able to save a lot of fiscal revenue. In that case, they would have no problem squeezing out £30 million a year to pay war reparations. In this way, if the interest is included, it will take a maximum of 15 years for Japan to pay off all the war reparations. Yang Du said.

Xiyuan Temple Gongwang and Lin Dong looked at Yang Du with an angry face. Yang Du wants Japan to take out half of its financial revenue every year to repay its debts, 30 million pounds a year, and 15 years with interest, which is 450 million pounds! This is undoubtedly an attempt to plunder the wealth of Japan, which is naturally unacceptable to the two of them.

"Japan could not accept this condition, 300 million pounds of war reparations, that was impossible." Xiyuan Temple Gongwang said very resolutely.

"Since Japan can't agree to this condition, then we can't do anything about it." Yang Du spread his hands, looking helpless. It is also to show that the Japanese do not want to negotiate.

"On the Japanese side, we can accept up to 30 million pounds in war reparations, which is already the limit of what we can accept." Xiyuan Temple Gongwang said. 30 million pounds is already equivalent to half of Japan's annual fiscal revenue.

"Impossible! The war indemnity of 230 million taels of silver you proposed back then was already equivalent to the financial revenue of the Manchu Qing government for three years. Now you are only going to fool us with half of the annual revenue, which is obviously impossible. Yang Du sternly refused.

In terms of war reparations, the Empire's bottom line was £200 million. In this way, the empire will be able to save a lot of money after deducting the war expenses. At a time when large-scale industrial construction was being carried out in China, the funds invested in military construction were relatively scarce. Therefore, if a large amount of war reparations can be obtained from the Japanese, it will also be conducive to the improvement of the military power of the empire. In the next war, the empire will be able to occupy more and greater advantages.

On the issue of war reparations, the Japanese wanted to pay less, while the Chinese Empire wanted to extort as much wealth as possible from Japan. Therefore, the differences between the two sides are so great that it is impossible to reach an agreement. So much so that after the negotiations reached this point, they once again reached an impasse.

Even so, the British continued to put pressure on the Chinese Empire. But China knows that Britain is now nothing more than a paper tiger. Therefore, turning a blind eye to their pressure, turning a deaf ear and ignoring it at all. This made the British furious, but there was no other way. (To be continued.) )