After eating and drinking, the negotiation begins.
Ten representatives from China and the United States took their seats on both sides of the long table. On the American side, of course, Johnson was in charge of the negotiations. On the Chinese side, it was not Chairman Chiang who presided over the overall situation, but Foreign Minister Wang Chonghui.
But the first words of Wang Chonghui, the Chinese representative, startled Johnson.
"Oh?!" Jason stared at Wang Chonghui with wide eyes and said in shock, "Ceding the entire concession to the Gujun Camp as a military base? In addition, all the weapons and equipment of the armies and navies of Western countries stationed in Shanghai, including those parked in Huangpu
All Western naval vessels on the river will be transferred to Gujunying unconditionally?"
Chairman Chiang, who was sitting next to him, immediately looked gloomy. The American reaction was very intense.
Chen Cheng even leaned over and whispered to Chairman Chiang: "It seems that there is no need to discuss the appointment."
Bai Chongxi, who was standing next to him, said coldly: "It's too early to draw a conclusion at this time. The negotiations have just begun."
"Stop talking." Chairman Chiang's heart was actually filled with 15 buckets, up and down, but on the surface, he still looked calm, waved his hands and said, "Listen attentively."
Compared with Chairman Chiang and others, Foreign Minister Wang Chonghui seemed calm and relaxed.
Wang Chonghui has been working on the diplomatic front for decades and can be considered an old diplomat. He has seen too many diplomatic conspiracies and crimes, so he has developed a pair of sharp eyes. His intuition told Wang Chonghui that the British government was really cowardly this time.
Otherwise, the US government will not be allowed to mediate.
Of course, the price offered by Gujunying this time is a bit excessive, but that is not a problem.
After having such a basic judgment in his heart, Wang Chonghui seemed confident.
"Yes, Ambassador Johnson." Wang Chonghui said sternly, "Shanghai was originally our territory of China. Back then, with your strong ships and cannons, you forced the Manchu Qing government to sign an unequal treaty with you, including the Shanghai Concession.
Many territories were forcibly occupied, which was an act against humanity that seriously violated and trampled on international law. After the Manchu Qing government was overthrown, the National Government had the opportunity to abrogate these unequal treaties. However, China is a country of etiquette. Considering the concession,
There are a large number of Western expatriates living there, so they were not forcibly taken back."
After a pause, Wang Chonghui continued: "But now, our lone army camp lacks a solid military base in Shanghai. We have no choice but to take back the public concession and the French Concession. Of course, we will give you a time buffer to give you Western countries
Ambassador Johnson, is half a month enough for the evacuation of the nationals?”
Jason opened his mouth but didn't say a word.
After a long time, Johnson stood up and roared loudly: "In this case, I'm afraid we will have nothing to talk about. Not only the British government will not agree to such conditions, even our American government will not agree to it."
, Minister Wang seems to have forgotten that there are two warships of our US Navy on the Huangpu River!"
Faced with Johnson's roar, Wang Chonghui just flicked the dust on his sleeves and said calmly: "Ambassador Johnson seems to be a little too excited. It seems that today is no longer suitable for further negotiations, so let's do this for now.
Well, but the door to negotiations is always open to you. When did Ambassador Johnson calm down, he can restart negotiations at any time."
After saying that, Wang Chonghui stood up and left. Chairman Jiang and other four people also stood up and left. In the blink of an eye, all five Chinese representatives in the conference room had left. Jason looked at this scene in shock.
, he couldn't believe his eyes. When did the Chinese become so tough?
"Mr. Ambassador, what should we do now?" the female secretary asked softly.
Jason's face darkened and he shouted suppressed: "Let's go back to the embassy!"
Johnson could actually ask for an immediate restart of negotiations, but doing so would make them appear too weak, and the Chinese might become tougher, which would be extremely detrimental to the subsequent negotiations. Therefore, they must make a gesture.
At least the Chinese people must understand that there will be no good results if the lion opens its mouth.
The first round of negotiations between China and the United States ended unhappy like this.
(Dividing line)
The intelligence that Britain came forward to negotiate directly with the Chinese through the United States was quickly placed on the desk of Italian Prime Minister Mussolini. Mussolini immediately put aside several urgent official matters at hand and convened several major staff to discuss countermeasures.
In any case, this involves the lives of more than a hundred Italian soldiers.
Mussolini originally waited for the British to send troops, and then took advantage of the troubled waters.
Unexpectedly, the British endured this bad breath and chose to negotiate with the Chinese.
Now Italy was very embarrassed. Originally, if the British sent troops, no matter whether they won or lost, Italy would definitely make a profit and only have to pay a negligible price.
If Britain wins, Italy can pretend to be a tiger and take the opportunity to bite off a piece of meat from the Chinese. If Britain loses, then all the hostages detained in the lone camp will definitely be destroyed, and Italy can put the responsibility on the British and say that they
They are demanding financial compensation from Italy at the expense of human life.
But now that Britain has to negotiate with the Chinese, this benefit will no longer be available.
However, Mussolini was hesitant whether to directly send troops to teach China a lesson.
"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, it is probably not feasible for us to directly send troops to punish China, because if we deploy fewer troops, it will not have a deterrent effect at all. But if we mobilize more troops, transportation will be a big trouble, and the Japanese will
What will happen? Therefore, it is not feasible for our Kingdom of Italy to directly send troops to Shanghai."
As soon as he spoke, the Navy Minister directly rejected the idea of directly sending troops to China.
Mussolini nodded in approval. Although this dictator was arrogant, he also knew that the Italian navy was insignificant compared to the British, and it could not support an expedition against China thousands of miles away. Moreover, Italy's strategic focus was in Europe and
Africa and the Far East do not have their core interests.
Mussolini said: "It is definitely not feasible to send troops directly, but we cannot ignore the more than one hundred officers and soldiers of the Kingdom of Italy who were captured by the Chinese. Do you have any good suggestions?"
The Foreign Minister said: "Your Excellency Prime Minister, I have a suggestion."
After a pause, the foreign minister continued: "Why don't we ask the Japanese to come forward to rescue?"
"Ask the Japanese to come out to rescue?" Mussolini frowned and said, "Is it feasible? You must know that the relationship between the British and the Japanese is very delicate now. If Japan sends troops into the public concession at this time, will it trigger the British government?
A full-scale confrontation with the Japanese government? Will we in Italy be involved?"
The fear is mutual. Just as the British are afraid of Italy's involvement in Africa, the Italians are actually worried about an all-out war with Britain. After all, at this time, the German-Italian-Japanese Axis Alliance has not officially signed a contract, and Italy is not fully prepared, so it is still
Don't dare to go to war with Britain.
The Foreign Minister shook his head and said: "Your Excellency Prime Minister, you have misunderstood me. When I asked the Japanese to come forward to rescue, I did not ask the Japanese government to send troops into the public concession, because in addition to the Japanese garrison in Shanghai, there is also a seventy-year-old
On the 6th, they can completely rescue the hostages through the 76th."
After a pause, the Foreign Minister continued: "The Japanese can even send some troops to pretend to be Chinese on the 76th and enter the Western District of the Concession to rescue the hostages. As long as the Japanese themselves don't tell the truth, the British must not be too worried.
You may break up with them, then there will be no problem."
"Okay, let's do it." Mussolini nodded and said, "Immediately send a note to the Japanese government, requesting their Shanghai garrison to come forward to rescue people, and tell the Japanese that they only need to rescue our officers and soldiers from the Kingdom of Italy. As for
The British, the French and the Luxembourgers, screw them."
"Okay, Your Excellency Prime Minister, I will take care of my humble duties right away."
(Dividing line)
In Shanghai, Zhongcun Agency.
Kage Sasaki knocked on the door and walked into Shun Nakamura's office and reported: "Your Excellency, General, I have just received news that the British government has decided to give up the use of force and instead asked the U.S. government to come forward to negotiate with the Chinese. However, according to our lurking
News just came from the inside of Chongqing’s top management that the first round of negotiations seems to have collapsed.”
"Nani?" Nakamura Jun said in surprise, "The British actually swallowed this breath?"
"Hai, this is indeed surprising." Yingzuo Zhenzhao paused and said, "However, this is also expected, because the UK is still in a severe economic recession and the financial situation is extremely bad.
It cannot support a large-scale expedition thousands of miles away, so compromise can be said to be inevitable."
Nakamura Shun nodded and said: "This is a pity."
"It is indeed a pity that Britain and China failed to fight." Yingzuo Zhenzhao nodded and said, "However, the matter is not irreversible. After all, the negotiations between China and Britain have just begun. Their mutual trust
The level is still very low, and we still have a lot of room for maneuver."
Nakamura Shun's eyes narrowed and he asked: "Kagezu-san, what do you mean?"
Yingzuo Zhenzhao said: "We can send troops to save people for them, and then muddy the water!"
"Are we sending troops to rescue people? Are we going to muddy the waters again?" Shun Nakamura frowned and said, "The Lone Army Battalion did not capture the imperial aliens. I'm afraid we are just out of nowhere, right?"
Yingzuo Zhenzhao said: "If there is a request from the Italian government, then it will be famous."
After finishing speaking, Kage Sasaki presented the official letter just sent to Japan from the Kingdom of Italy.
After reading the official letter, Nakamura Jun still shook his head and said: "It's not appropriate, it's still inappropriate. If the imperial army openly enters the concession, it will inevitably trigger a strong backlash from the British. What will be done then?"