"How sure will this kind of good offices be?" Yang Rui delved into it unceremoniously, "If Britain declares war on our country, then the entire foreign trade will be interrupted, you must know that more than 80% of China's foreign trade merchant ships are British ships." Although I am not worried about importing goods, as far as China is concerned, the less imports the better, so that the trade deficit will be reduced, but I am worried about exports, once Britain declares war, even if our country has merchant ships, they will block the trade routes, so ......"

Glancing at Wilson, Brian, and Edward, who had not spoken. Colonel M. House, a close friend and confidant of Wilson, who was active in Europe as Wilson's personal representative during the First World War, added: "I hope that during the war and the blockade, your country will give our cargo ships the convenience of flying your flag under the legal procedure, and that if these ships enter the coast of the Philippines, I hope that your Asian fleet will protect them." Of course, this is only to ensure the safety of shipping, and in the event of war with Britain, I also request that in the trade with Europe, your country will allow your country to carry out entrepot trade through your country, and your customs will facilitate the sale of these re-exported goods, and do not charge import and export duties. ”

Yang Rui's request was not excessive, but Secretary of State Bryan said: "But how can you guarantee that these goods are only in transit and not sold in the United States?" Also, How do they ship to the United States? ”

"They don't go to the U.S., they re-export in the Philippines and then they get to Europe or whatever." Yang Rui explained that this is how the artificial oil exported to Europe is operated, but it is illegal, and it costs nearly one million dollars a year.

Considering that the Philippine market does not digest much Chinese raw materials. Brian glanced at Wilson, who in turn looked at Edward. M. House at a glance. Colonel House asked, "How long will it take for this entrepot trade?" If only in the war, it would not be a big problem. ”

"Not only in war, but also in entrepot trade before an agreement is signed." "Considering the volatile nature of the war and the protracted nature of the blockade, I don't think this time will be less than four years, so I hope that Chinese goods can be re-exported to the Philippines within five years, and in order not to cause turmoil in the Philippine market, those goods can leave the port immediately without getting off the ship as long as the documents are replaced," Yang Rui emphasized. ”

"This is the only help our troops need to enter North Korea?" Colonel House said.

"It's just one of them." Yang Rui said with a smile. He knew that he did not ask much, "In addition, if the Japanese army enters Tianjin, I also hope that your country can support our army to enter Tianjin to garrison, and after the final victory of our country, those unequal treaties signed during the previous Qing Dynasty, I also hope that your country will support us to abolish them." In today's China, every country has one or another sphere of influence, which not only affects China's national politics. It also hinders the implementation of the open door policy.

British goods and his allies Japanese goods flooded the Yangtze River valley, German goods occupied Shandong, French goods were sold all over Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi, and the Russians occupied Xinjiang, Mongolia, and North and Northeast China. Merchants in these countries do not pay taxes at all and at the same time do not comply with local laws, even if the merchants do not buy their goods. In many cases, they also coerce the timid and poor shopkeepers to buy goods that are not affordable. It's sales, and so are acquisitions. The compradors ran rampant in the countryside and were always able to keep the prices down to the point where the peasants were not profitable. Until the brink of bankruptcy.

Underpinning this is the tariff system, the concession system, and the extraterritoriality system, which are iron chains for China, which divide the country, the country's market, and make it impossible to implement the open-door policy. If China wants to open up, then these chains need to be removed, after all, China is an independent country, and every people pursues freedom and democracy, just like the great people of your country who pursued independence and freedom more than 100 years ago. It seems to me that even if these provisions cannot be repealed immediately after the war, in ten years, twenty years, one day they will be abolished. ”

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, I also deeply agree that your country has become an independent country and that the people enjoy freedom and democracy, but as Your Excellency said, it will take ten or twenty years for these things to be abolished, which is a long time. The United States will continue to support your country in achieving this goal and will do what it can to help you when appropriate. Yang Rui's lyricism made Wilson a little excited, he is actually an ideal democrat, in his opinion, it is the proudest thing for the United States to be able to promote the American concept of democracy to China and even the whole world, but fortunately he died early, not understanding that his approval today will make the United States suffer more than 20 years later.

Yang Rui and Wilson sit on the sofa in the center of the new oval office in a classical baroque style, looking past the old presidential desk, and the light-filled floor-to-ceiling windows can see the American Garden of the White House. Many of the televised speeches of later US presidents were based on this. Yang Rui didn't have too much respect for this office, he only felt that this office was much more modern than his own office, especially the light, the light in the Yin'an Hall was insufficient, and it was better to have a few pieces of glass.

In view of the fact that Yang Rui has very few requirements for the United States, only the need to ensure the smooth foreign trade of merchant ships flying the American flag and registered with American companies, and as for the abolition of the unequal treaties, it is just a hope, and it is only necessary to make a statement without pain, so the whole morning of talks was very smooth. However, near the end of the day, Colonel House introduced Yang Rui to a Korean revolutionary: "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, the secret envoy of the Emperor of Joseon, Syngman Rhee, is a true patriot who has been campaigning for the freedom and independence of the Korean people for many years, and I hope you will meet him at the right time." ”

The Americans finally began their own conditions, that is, the recovered half of Korea should have Syngman Rhee as president. Yang Ruiqiang smiled: "I met Mr. Li in the United States several years ago, and I am honored to meet him again. ”

Wilson is the president of Princeton University, and Syngman Rhee is a Ph.D. from Princeton University, and both are political science majors and Presbyterians. As a naturalized citizen, Syngman Rhee became acquainted with Wilson several years ago. I heard that Yang Rui and Syngman Rhee have met. Wilson said happily: "Then there will be no disagreement between the two of us!" The Korean people have the right to pursue independence and freedom, and I would like to see that under Lee's leadership. They can enjoy modern civilization and happiness......"

The two-hour meeting ended quickly, and in the pleasant conversation, the framework of the first secret treaty between China and the United States was finally born, and the obligations of the Chinese and American sides in the secret agreement were mainly three points: because considering that Britain would declare war, the United States would guarantee the safety of Chinese merchant ships in the United States and the smooth flow of entrepot trade with Europe within five years; Responsible for negotiating with Britain to keep it out of war as much as possible, and mediating in post-war negotiations to get the best interests for China; If the Japanese army landed from Tianjin and launched an attack, support the Chinese army to enter Tianjin. and pledged to issue a post-war statement in support of China's abrogation of all unequal treaties.

As for China, it is required that, after defeating Japan in the northeast, at least attack the 38th parallel area of Korea and consolidate it; After the liberation, North Korea agreed to be led by Syngman Rhee as the government, but it must also follow the will of the local people; After supporting China's abrogation of unequal treaties, China should implement an open-door policy, which should not discriminate against foreign goods, but in order to protect local industry and commerce. During the opening of the door, there can be a reprieve, five to ten years, during which the average tariff must not exceed 30 percent, after the easing period. The average tariff must not be higher than 18 per cent, and the existing domestic system of centiko must be abolished.

After the White House talks, Yang Rui, accompanied by Minister Lu Zhengxiang to the United States, went to the Legation in the United States. And several people in the office were still discussing the Far East.

"It seems that the Chinese don't want much." Wilson was satisfied, "I thought he was going to send us into battle. Or ask for a large loan. ”

"He was a man of strength, and he was convinced that his army would be able to defeat the Japanese as well as the British." Brian laughed. "I appreciate that confidence, which saves us a lot of trouble."

"That's where he is dangerous, and although China claims to be democratic, rejuvenation will control the whole country." Colonel House, who was also a democrat like Wilson, had some concerns about the Far East: "Maybe in a few years, he will become a dictator." ”

"Edward, as a country that has practiced imperial power for thousands of years, it is good that they can do this. Not every country is like the United States, and Asian countries are like European countries, where there are emperors and autocracy, and the autocracy there is deeper than in Europe, and they have a British-style constitutional monarchy that is much better than our presidential system. Brian said good things about China, "Also, don't forget that China doesn't have a strong navy even if it has submarines, and its largest warship is only two thousand tons...... It's a pity that they can only deal with the Japanese Army, not the Japanese Navy. ”

"No, they also built a strange ship of more than 10,000 tons in New York." Colonel House corrected Brian's mistake, but added: "But the ship is not equipped with large-caliber naval guns, I really don't know what those Chinese think." ”

The strange ship Americans are concerned, and Yang Rui is also concerned, but although he is not free now, Lu Zhengxiang is talking to him in detail about the shape of the United States, "Mr. Bryan is a pure Democrat, he hates trusts and big business, and as President Wilson's partner, he is vigorously pursuing the New Freedom Plan......"

"Or Edward. M. House, who is he? It seems like it's important. Yang Rui asked absentmindedly.

"He was a close friend and supporter of the president, and they had a very close relationship since Wilson ran for president in the first year of Shenmu, and after Wilson became president, his trust in him grew day by day, and it can be said that the entire foreign policy of the United States was influenced by him, and he was a very influential person."

Along the way, Lu Zhengxiang was thinking about Yang Rui's introduction to the political situation in the United States, although he didn't listen too carefully, but he found that Wilson and Colonel House had a common characteristic, that is, the two were complete democrats, especially as a political scholar and a political scholar, Wilson, he had always admired the British democratic system, believing that it was a model of democratic government, and did not like the German imperial dictatorship. This was something that Yang Rui did not know before, but it was clear that a pro-British American president, plus a large number of capitalists who had profited from trade with the Entente, would be impossible to prevent the United States from participating in World War I, especially when Britain and France were weak and on the verge of defeat. Historically, after the Lusitania incident, Secretary of State Brian, who adhered to absolute neutrality, resigned because Wilson was completely biased towards the United Kingdom.

If the United States could not be prevented from entering the war, then Germany would surely lose. And how can China get the most out of its failure? Yang Rui was thinking about this question in his mind. When he talked to Wilson at the White House just now, he didn't mention anything about Europe at all, and he couldn't mention it, it was a war between Caucasians, and the yellow race was not qualified to participate. In addition, mentioning this issue too early will not lead to any results, he believes that as soon as the war breaks out in Europe, the Americans will take the initiative to talk to him, and the most likely demand is that before the United States enters the war, Wilson will demand that China maintain strict neutrality. And when the United States entered the war, he would ask China to join the United States in declaring war on Germany.

Excluding Syngman Rhee's policy toward North Korea, if China and the United States are consistent in European affairs, there will be two problems: first, if China declares war on Germany, how will it win Germany's favor after the war, after all, the next industrial focus will be the large-scale introduction of German technology; The other is the recovery of the Outer Northeast, if the army is sent to Europe, after signing the Treaty with the Bolsheviks to recover the Outer Northeast, at the instigation of White Russia. Britain, France, and even the United States will certainly prevent China from reclaiming the Outer Northeast, and if hundreds of thousands of people are sent to Europe to participate in the war, will they not become hostages?

With a growing understanding of the international situation. Yang Rui admired Lenin more and more, and as soon as he came to power, he signed an armistice agreement with Germany, and paid reparations for delivery and land. Do everything you can to give Germany a new life, at the national level. This is a traitor, but at the level of the ruling party. This country is selling so well! Soviet power can be established only if the capitalist countries are pinned down by war and weakened by war; In Asia, Lenin's calculations were also good, promising to give up the territories occupied by Imperial Russia so that these nationalists, who were not outside Bolshevik control, could engage the White Russian army. If we want to take back the Outer Northeast, the premise must be to recognize the Soviet Union, and to recognize the Soviet Union is to stand on the opposite side of Europe, because the Outer Northeast cannot be handed over after the Soviet Union clears the White Russia, and the White Russian army in this region must be eliminated at the same time as the Far East is recovered.

Generally speaking, there are two ways to recover the Outer Northeast: one is to recognize the Soviet Union and sign a treaty, and then destroy the White Russian army in the area to be recovered, at the cost of being hostile to the West; The second is to take advantage of the Russian civil war to take the initiative to send troops to the Northeast, and then sign an armistice treaty with the Soviet Red Army after the death battle, and take advantage of the German invasion to sign a recovery treaty in World War II, at the cost of another national war, the Far East may be able to win, but what about Central Asia?

If it weren't for the fact that the Outer Northeast originally belonged to China, Yang Rui had no interest in it at all, and strategically, the ten Outer Northeast were not as important as Central Asia, even if they kept the three small khanates, but they could push the border to the Black Sea and border Persia, which would be something that would have been laughed at in a dream in later generations. In addition, contrary to assumptions, even if China abrogated the unequal treaties and did not make enemies with the West, would Chinese industrial products be sold abroad? In this era, there was no GATT, some were only colonies, and if Japan had not allied with Britain, would its goods have entered the Yangtze River basin?

After the end of World War I, who else could the inferior manufactured products of Chinese industry be sold to after satisfying the domestic market? European countries and their colonies should not think about it, even if China and the United States reciprocally open the market and fair competition, when the scale, technology, and capital have not accumulated to a certain extent, the competitiveness of Chinese commodities will be extremely weak, but the Soviet Union is more suitable to be a test field for Chinese industry, of course, this test field is also temporary, once the industrialization of the Soviet Union is completed, then its self-contained economic system will expel a large number of foreign goods, and then a war will be launched to compete for European colonies.

On the car back to the legation, Yang Rui repeatedly thought about these two ways out, this way is to learn from Japan, recognize the United States as the boss, work hard to gradually abolish the unequal treaties, develop in the cracks of foreigners' charity, become a regional hegemon after World War II, and become a tool for the United States to restrain the Soviet Union, but it is impossible to think of China's size, and one day in the future, there will definitely be a Plaza Agreement; The second way is to deny the master, directly turn against Britain and France and other countries, and force the abolition of unequal treaties, which is equivalent to blocking the bullets of the Soviet Union and sharing the firepower of Britain and France, but if it can use German technology and the Soviet market, China's industry will develop rapidly, dominate the Asian order after the war, and be on an equal footing with the United States. Of course, there was a premise for this: Britain and France were to carry out strategic bombing of Germany during World War I, causing serious losses to German industry, and at the same time, China's education had to keep up and train enough skilled personnel after the end of World War I.

The embassy district of the Legation in the United States in Washington, D.C., is different from the surrounding European-style buildings, and the Legation that took two years to rebuild is completely Chinese-style, and after the completion of this building with oriental charm, the Japanese also wanted to renovate their embassy, but because of the Westernization, this is said to be only a mention of yì, and has not been implemented.

After entering the office that had been prepared long ago, Yang Rui put down his mind and asked Li Zilong, "Are there any details about Russia's increase in troops in the Far East?" Did Chen report on his illness? ”

"The telegram was sent by Master Chen, and it is said that it was because a person friendly to China carefully reminded him that he only learned today that Russia wanted to start a war in the Far East." Li Zilong said, "Mr. Chen thinks that these people who are friendly to China should be pro-French officials. ”

"Pro-French officials?" Yang Rui was a little different, "Why did France come out, why did they sue us?" ”

"Prime Minister, Master Chen telegraphed that since the Franco-Russian alliance, Russian democrats have been active, and they hope that Russia will practice democracy like France, so that it can share power from the Tsar, and many of the officials are pro-French. Before the last Russo-Japanese War, France tried to prevent Russia from fighting against Japan, but the war still fought. After the war, the French believed that the weakness of the Russian army and navy had made the Germans even more rampant, which was why the Germans dared to take a hard line on the Moroccan incident. The French believed that if Russia re-entered the Far East, the Germans would most likely attack France. ”

Li Zilong said the meaning of the telegram, and then handed the telegram to Yang Rui, and after he read it hastily, he suddenly said angrily: "The last time Japan and Russia went to war, Germany supported Russia's eastward expansion, this time it won't be Germany who is always playing tricks, right?" Are they so good that we can fight with Russia in order to relieve their pressure in Europe? ”

Yang Rui's question Li Zilong was speechless, but since Russia will increase its troops in the Far East, it must be inseparable from Germany, and the British-stirring stick is also estimated to have a share, no wonder Britain is so old-fashioned to give the railway to its own military management, it turns out that the latter is here!

With a "bang", Yang Rui slapped the table. His mother was betrayed by the Germans twice in a row, so what kind of face did he have to meet those traversers who took a lot of Deutsche marks and used Germany as a monkey? Could it be that when a German meets another traverser, his IQ is negative, and when he meets his own, his IQ instantly exceeds 15? This is too much to think of yourself as a pig's foot!

After walking around the room a few times, Yang Rui said: "Send a telegram to the Intelligence Bureau and the General Staff Headquarters, let them judge the intention of the Russian army to increase troops, prepare for the 1st Armored Division, and send a tank battalion to Mongolia by air, as well as the Air Force, and all the dive bombers will be transferred to the Northeast and Mongolian airfields, as long as Germany ...... No, as long as Mao Zi dares to go to war, then kill the tanks to the Russian side! ”

"Yes! Premier. Li Zilong was shocked when he heard this, and the prime minister must have been confused. Just as he was grinding and chirping out, Yang Rui stopped him.

"The previous ones are canceled." Yang Rui said, smoking a cigarette, his heart had settled down, "First send a telegram to Chong'an, let him try his best to mediate between Russia and France, and use French influence in Russia to dispel Russia's idea of going to war in the Far East again." On the side of the General Staff and the Intelligence Bureau, let them analyze Russia's strategic intentions, if Russia dares to attack, then the first battle must be concentrated with superior forces and fought steadily! Win! Hit hard! To let Russia know that there is really going to be a war, even if they can win, they will have to pay no less price than the Russo-Japanese War. ”

After he finished explaining the two telegrams, he continued: "Let everyone prepare a plan, and think about what should be said tomorrow when Wilson and I are playing golf, and what should be said about the fact that Russia is increasing its troops in the Far East and wants to take advantage of the fire to rob and occupy Chinese territory, so as to arouse his righteous indignation." (To be continued......)