"A billion Chinese dollars? That's already the equivalent of two and a half billion francs. This is blackmail, this is blackmail, this is naked robbery. The French Republic will never accept such conditions. Aristide Briand cried out loudly, it was hard to imagine that he was so good at his age.

In the face of the conditions put forward by the leaders of the French Resistance Army, the cadres of the French delegation were completely shocked. Such conditions, they simply did not think of and could not have thought of them. This can no longer be described as a lion's big mouth, he just wants to eat it into a big fat man! The French, in absolute terms, will never accept such conditions.

Although, France is one of the world powers with a developed economy. However, now in the cold winter of economic crisis, even the landlord's family has no surplus food! Not to mention that the Indochinese Resistance Army is still asking for such a fierce price. If the Indochinese resistance had only asked for one or two hundred million francs, they might have been able to accept it. However, the demand of a billion Chinese dollars, two and a half billion francs, is really amazing.

"One billion Chinese dollars, not much. France has colonized Indochina for more than 60 years, and the wealth it receives from Indochina every year is probably more than one billion Chinese dollars. We're just asking you to pay back a little bit. Pan Zhouzhen said.

"Humph! Whatever you say, if you want to get a billion Chinese dollars from France, it is impossible. The French government would never be willing to accept such conditions. Aristide Briand said coldly. He knew that if such conditions were sent back to France, the French government would definitely reject them, and there would be no doubt about it.

The difference between the 10 million francs offered by the French and the 1 billion Chinese dollars offered by the Indochinese resistance was 250 times. Such a large gap makes it impossible for the two countries to reach an agreement in a short period of time.

Seeing such a situation, Tang Shaoyi had no choice but to announce a temporary suspension of negotiations. Let's go and take a break, then have lunch, and then negotiate in the afternoon. In this way, it can be regarded as calming down both sides.

The French delegation came out in droves, and they were going to the French Embassy in the Reich for dinner. Although, the Reich Foreign Office had already prepared lunch for them before. However, these French people do not seem to appreciate it.

So, Tang Shaoyi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Empire, and Gu Shaochuan, the Vice Minister of the Empire, dined with these leaders of the Indochina Resistance Army. During the banquet, Pan Peizhu cautiously said to Tang Shaoyi: "Lord Tang, did the French be frightened by such harsh conditions we proposed. What if they insist on not accepting our terms? When the time comes, there will be no chickens and eggs. ”

If this negotiation does not succeed, then the French will certainly not take the initiative to abandon Indochina. When the time comes, it will not be so easy for them to really build their own country.

"Don't worry, the French will compromise. After all, the prisoners of war and expatriates in your hands are unlikely to be given up by the French. With these hole cards, what are you worried about? Tang Shaoyi said with a smile. He knows very well that the French are so resolute now. But in reality, the French are nothing more than a foreign power. Those French prisoners of war and expatriates were hurdles that they could not overcome. It is precisely because of this that as long as the Indochinese resistance does not make too harsh demands, the French will agree. Is it more than a billion dollars? That's for sure. For the average person, this is undoubtedly an astronomical amount. However, for a country, especially a powerful country like France, although one billion Chinese dollars is not small, it will definitely not be to the point of breaking the bones.

With Tang Shaoyi's assurance, Pan Peizhu and the other leaders of the Indochinese Resistance Army put their hearts back into their stomachs.

"Xiao Gu, you can participate in the negotiations that started in the afternoon, and I won't participate. There's a lot of work to take care of in the ministry. Tang Shaoyi said. As the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Empire, Tang Shaoyi was already very busy. He can't worry about everything, right? In addition, it is also an intention to develop successors. Tang Shaoyi is now 70 years old. After another two or three years, you can retire, and it's time for young people to take charge of themselves. And Gu Shaochuan is undoubtedly the best candidate to succeed Tang Shaoyi as the Imperial Foreign Minister.

"Lord Tang, you always have a lot of things, but I'm the same!" Gu Shaochuan said with a smile.

"You're so much younger than me, young man, it's good to do a little more." Tang Shaoyi said earnestly. Gu Shaochuan is twenty-six years younger than Tang Shaoyi, and he can still fight for the empire for decades.

Gu Shaochuan nodded, he was smart, he had long known that it would not be long before he would become the Foreign Minister of the Empire. Therefore, for these jobs, no matter how hard and tiring they are, he gritted his teeth and persevered.

At the same time, Aristide Briand, who was dining at the French Embassy in China, was talking with the French ambassador to China, Paul Claudel.

"Damn the Chinese, if it weren't for their support, those natives would definitely not have the guts to put forward such harsh conditions." Aristide Briand gritted his teeth. He was very angry at the Chinese Empire's misdeeds.

"Your Excellency, there is no doubt about it. The Chinese have long had ambitions for Indochina. Their support for the Indochinese Resistance Army is beyond doubt. However, we have no evidence in our hands. Even if there is evidence, the Chinese will never admit it easily. Ambassador Paul Claudel said.

Aristide Briand nodded, and since the Indochinese Resistance dared to propose a billion yuan in compensation, he knew that this negotiation might not be so easy. In other words, the price paid by France will be much higher than they expected.

"Your Excellency, the Indochinese Resistance Army's offer of a billion Chinese dollars in compensation is nothing more than a deliberately inflated asking price. If I could, I would be able to talk about a lot. Paul Claudel said he knew that the French government had no choice but to accept the blackmail of the Indochinese resistance. Having been in China for a long time, he knew that this was simply a bargain. Now that the Indochinese Resistance Army has made its bid, it is up to the French government to choose.

"I know that I will try my best to negotiate in the afternoon." Aristide Briand said.

In the afternoon, negotiations continued. Aristide Briand did not say much about the absence of Imperial Foreign Minister Tang Shaoyi. In any case, the attitude of the Chinese Empire has been very clear, and it is impossible to side with France. Therefore, all they can count on is themselves.

"The asking price of one billion Chinese dollars is outrageous, and the French government will not accept such a large amount of compensation. For the sake of the French colonization of Indochina for several decades, we can make a slight concession and raise the price to 100 million francs. Aristide Briand said.

Although, the French raised the price tenfold at one time. However, the gap is still too big for the Indochinese resistance.

"Your Excellency, 100 million francs is simply too little, and we will never accept it. The Resistance Army of Indochina is also willing to show our sincerity. Therefore, we can adjust the price from one billion Chinese dollars to nine billion Chinese dollars. Pan Peizhu said.

So Aristide Briand and the leaders of the Indochinese Resistance Army, like market vendors, began to bargain. Except that the amount of money in their mouths is much larger than that of buying vegetables in the vegetable market, the rest are really no different from those vendors.

After the leaders of the Indochinese Resistance Army lowered the price to 500 million Chinese dollars, they refused to back down a single step.

The French also realized that this was the bottom line of the Indochinese resistance. It's just that, for the French, 500 million Chinese dollars is still a small amount, equivalent to 1.25 billion francs.

Even if the leaders of the Indochinese Resistance Army no longer relented. However, the French are still fighting for it. Even a drop of another one or two hundred million francs would be a huge gain for the French government.

In the afternoon's negotiations, no agreement could be reached. The gap between the two sides in terms of compensation price is still too large.

The French were reluctant to give in, which made the leaders of the Indochinese resistance somewhat panicked. However, the Imperial* Military Intelligence Agency immediately supported them. This move was enough to make the French compromise.

On the morning of June 3, negotiations continued. It's just that, from the very beginning of the negotiations, the leaders of the Indochinese Resistance Army had excited smiles on their faces, which surprised the French a little, not knowing what was happening.

"Your Excellency, I have here a letter written by a captured French* officer. Originally, I wanted to send this letter to the major newspapers in France. However, in the end, I didn't want to do it. I'll show you the letter before I plan for the next step. Pan Peizhu smiled.

"Letter?" Aristide Briand accepted the letter with a suspicious expression. However, he had a bad feeling in his heart. It seemed that the letter would make them have to compromise.

When Aristide Briand read the letter, his face became very ugly. Although, his eyes were already filled with anger. At that time, he did not dare to show anything. He knew that this time the French government had no other way but to compromise.

"Well, you guys won. On behalf of the French Government, I agree to your conditions. Aristide Briand said. (To be continued.) )