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British Foreign Secretary, Earl Granville, and U.S. Secretary of State James Brown. Buchanan and the two left the embassy of the Kingdom of Spain in Britain in a rage. The faces of the two of them were very ugly. Originally, they thought that they could persuade the Kingdom of Spain to give up certain interests in exchange for an early end to the war. But I didn't expect the Spanish side to be so tough.

"Your Excellency, what shall we do now? If they still refuse to budge in tomorrow's negotiations, then the negotiations may break down! U.S. Secretary of State James Murphy. Buchanan was worried.

The Earl of Granville also had a headache, the reason why Britain jumped up and down to hold this London Peace Conference was to curb the expansion of the Chinese Empire, further enhance Britain's influence in the world, and maintain Britain's world hegemony. In addition, it is to undermine the alliance between China, France and Spain. The latter goal, they have already achieved. However, the hard-line attitude of the Chinese Empire and the support of the Chinese Empire for the Kingdom of Spain made the attitude of the Kingdom of Spain extremely tough, which undoubtedly added a lot of variables to this negotiation.

"Those damn Chinese, is it possible, do they really think that they are the number one power in the world?" Count Glanville said with some annoyance. Britain has personally intervened to mediate such a problem, and it is conceivable that the Chinese Empire simply does not take the British Empire into account!

James. Buchanan didn't say much, but. In his opinion, the Chinese Empire, if not the world's largest power, was its military strength. It's definitely one of the best. The Russians, having lost millions of troops in just a few months, are now mired in internal and external troubles. Later, the Chinese* army expanded across the Pacific Ocean to expedition to North America, and also beat hundreds of thousands of American* troops to the ground. There is indeed no country that can compare with this kind of combat power.

"Your Excellency, Secretary of State, if the war continues. Is there any hope for the United States to win? The Earl of Granville asked. This would have been much easier if the United States had been able to gain an advantage in the war.

James. Buchanan shook his head, even if France had withdrawn from the war. The United States only had to deal with the Chinese Empire and the Kingdom of Spain. However, that's not so easy to beat the other side either. The strength of the Chinese Empire is beyond doubt. Even the Chinese Empire, which landed in North America, had less than 200,000 troops. The U.S. military still has millions of troops, but. The previous battles on the west coast seem to have proved the terrible armies of the Chinese Empire*. Even the U.S. military has an absolute superiority in numbers. It doesn't always come to pass. What's more, there are millions of elite army forces in the Chinese Empire, which can be transported to North America at any time under the transportation of powerful maritime forces. In that case, the United States will have even less chance of winning. Although the strength of the Spanish army was not comparable to that of the Chinese Empire, it was also not to be underestimated.

Besides, after a year of war, the United States has already consumed most of its national strength. If the war continues, the United States simply cannot afford it. The war was fought on American soil. In the end, it can only be the United States that will be injured!

"In that case. With both the Chinese Empire and the Kingdom of Spain resolute, the only way to end the war was for the United States to make concessions. Said the Earl of Granville.

Although he was unwilling to accept this result, James. Buchanan knew there was no way around it. Who called the United States inferior in strength? If you don't want to pay a greater price, or even destroy the country, you can only accept the other party's conditions.

"Your Excellency, the other party's conditions are too harsh. Especially the Chinese, they demand 100 million pounds of war reparations, which is simply impossible, and the US government will definitely not accept such conditions! "James. Buchanan said angrily.

"Regarding the conditions put forward by the Chinese Empire, Britain will find a way to contact the Chinese and ask them to change the conditions. We will do our best to help the United States through this difficult time. However, the Chinese Empire is accustomed to arrogance, and I do not know how effective our persuasion will be. Said the Earl of Granville. With the victory of the Chinese Empire in one foreign war after another, the country's attitude has become more and more tough. Even if the British Empire remained the world hegemon, it could not bring the Chinese Empire to its knees. The influence of the British Empire was in the West, in Europe. But the East of the world, and indeed the entire Pacific Ocean, was shrouded in the shadow of the Chinese Empire.

"Your Excellency, thank you very much for your help to the United States and the British Empire, I will wait for your good news!" James. Buchanan said.

The next day's negotiations did not go ahead as usual. The British side mentioned that the meeting was temporarily adjourned because of the great differences between everyone. Wait until everyone's attitude changes, and then start a new round of negotiations.

On the morning of September 12, the Earl of Granville went to the British Prime Minister's Office to report to Prime Minister Earl Stanley on the progress of the London Peace Conference. The Earl of Stanley is also very concerned about this negotiation, which is directly related to the next deployment of the United Kingdom. When the Earl of Granville mentioned that the negotiations had reached an impasse and were almost broken because of the intransigence of the Chinese Empire and the Kingdom of Spain, the Earl of Stanley also had a headache.

From the British standpoint, they hoped that this negotiation would be successful, and that this was the best way to restore the influence of the British Empire. In addition, if they can win over France and the United States through this negotiation and form an alliance between Britain, France, and the United States, then they will be more certain when dealing with the Chinese Empire. However, it now seems that this negotiation is a bit difficult.

The Earl of Stanley instructed the Earl of Granville to find a way to facilitate this negotiation. As much as possible to make some concessions to both the Chinese Empire and the Kingdom of Spain, the United States cannot fully expect to pay less. In this case, the negotiations may be successful if both sides make some concessions.

In the afternoon of the same day, the Earl of Granville rode in a carriage to the Imperial Chinese Legation in Britain. Because he had been notified in advance, Imperial Foreign Minister Lin Zihao did not go out, but waited for the arrival of the Earl of Granville in the legation. He knew that the British would definitely come. Unless, they are willing to watch this time the negotiations fall apart.

"Good afternoon, Your Excellency Earl, and welcome!" Lin Zihao and Guo Songtao, the Imperial Minister to the United Kingdom, greeted the Earl of Granville at the door of the Legation.

"Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary, good afternoon! Hello, Your Excellency! The Earl of Granville had a smile on his face, as if the previous unhappiness had not happened at all.

"Your Excellency, please come in! This time, I specially brought authentic black tea from China, and it tasted very good. Lin Zihao said with a smile. Tea has always been the largest type of goods exported by the Chinese Empire. However, the British also began to grow tea plants in India. The British offered to import some tea plants from China, but the imperial government rejected them.

"Thank you, Your Excellency!" The Earl of Granville was smiling, like a kind old man.

After some greetings, in the office of the Imperial Minister to the United Kingdom, Guo Songtao, the Imperial Foreign Secretary, Lin Zihao, and the British Foreign Secretary, the Earl of Granville, began formal talks.

"Thank you, Your Excellency Foreign Secretary, for being able to come to London this time for this peace conference. Although there are still some big differences at the peace conference, I believe that in the end we will be able to reach an agreement and successfully conclude this peace meeting! Said the Earl of Granville.

"Yes, Your Excellency, I think so too. In negotiations, there are disagreements, and this is normal. However, what you can't get on the battlefield, don't want to get it from the negotiating table. The Empire has the determination and strength to defend its interests! Although Lin Zihao was smiling, his tone was very resolute.

Earl Glanville frowned, and then said, "Your Excellency Foreign Secretary, don't you think that the conditions proposed by the Chinese Empire this time are a bit too harsh for the United States?" ”

"I admit it, Your Excellency. But since the Americans dared to invade the territory of the empire and start this war, they would have to pay a heavy price in order to make them remember it for a long time! Lin Zihao said directly.

The Earl of Granville was a little speechless, everyone knew very well what had happened in this war, although the Chinese Empire was legally on the side of justice. However, the behavior of the Chinese empire at that time was simply to take advantage of the fire to rob and rob the United States of the fruits of victory. It is estimated that it will not be accepted by any other country. It's just that the United States is too weak and is not an opponent of the Chinese Empire, so it has to suffer this dumb loss.

"Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary, the British Empire hopes that this peace conference will be brought to a successful conclusion. However, it now seems that this time the peace talks are in danger of breaking down. The British Empire did not want to see such a thing happen! "The Earl of Granville's attitude has also begun to harden.

"Even if the negotiations break down, it can't harm the interests of the empire!" Lin Zihao's attitude is even tougher.

"Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary, if the negotiations break down, will the war resume?" Earl Glanville asked.

"If the Americans want war, then we will give them war until the United States perishes!" Lin Zihao said murderously.

"But, Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary. The British Empire also needs to consider its own interests, and we do not want the war to continue, let alone the demise of the United States! The Earl of Granville said sharply. (To be continued......)