Pan Weibin's wife was not like other women who cried bitterly and asked Pan Weibin to give up immediately after learning about this incident.
Mrs. Wang sat next to Pan Weibin, held his hand, and pondered hard for a long time, then a forced smile appeared on her face: "Although my husband is talented, he is dull by nature. I am afraid he will not be able to compete with those in the shogunate."
Several people. Now that my husband has shown his face in front of Mr. Liu, Mr. Liu can see that my husband is a practical person. If he can be arranged somewhere, it can be considered a way out. "
After hearing this, Pan Weibin nodded repeatedly. This lady is really his confidant. This is exactly what he thinks.
He didn't come up with this idea by himself, but he carefully observed Liu Hai during this period and found that Liu Hai's former staff member Wang Jun was ostracized by Zeng Guoquan's staff and took refuge with Liu Hai because he was not good at talking.
But now Wang Jun controls all Liu Hai's factories in Shanghai. It can be said that Liu Hai's industry is almost under his control. It can be seen that in their hearts, being eloquent is naturally good, but being brave enough to do practical things will also bring rewards.
promoted.
Mrs. Wang prepared a sumptuous banquet for Pan Weibin that night and drank a few more drinks with him.
On the second day, the lady packed Pan Weibin's luggage and personally sent him to the dock.
As for Pan Weibin, this time he was riding the armored cruiser Hefei, accompanied by three light cruisers.
Their fleet is to replace the Jiangsu armored cruiser led by Liu Da.
As the captain of the Hefei armored cruiser, this was the first time that Xu Chuanlong led a fleet to stand alone, so he was very high-spirited along the way.
Xu Chuanlong knew that Pan Weibin was one of Liu Hai's confidants, so he pulled Pan Weibin along and chatted all the time, telling him his ambitions and some words of admiration for Liu Hai.
Pan Weibin understood the captain's meaning very well. He wanted to convey the message to Liu Hai through himself, and wanted to use himself as a ladder to climb up.
Although Pan Weibin had already seen Xu Chuanlong's thoughts, he did not reveal it. Although he was not good at talking, he still had some understanding of these human relationships.
So along the way, Pan Weibin also dealt with Xu Chuanlong with a smile on his face. This made Xu Chuanlong feel that although this gentleman was not talkative, he was still very harmonious. It seemed that he had made the right move.
Wait until the Hefei armored cruiser arrives at its destination and joins the fleet led by Liu Da's new Jiangsu armored cruiser.
Xu Chuanlong handed over Liu Hai's order to Liu Da, and then officially took over the blockade task.
And Liu Da did not leave immediately. He wanted to wait until Pan Weibin concluded the negotiations before following him back to Shanghai.
So on the morning of the second day, a light cruiser carried Pan Weibin and slowly entered the bay.
Pan Weibin was on the cruiser. He looked around and saw ruins everywhere.
All the forts are now in ruins? And there are no signs of repairs yet? It seems that the other party knows that even repairs will have no effect, so they have given up.
However, when Pan Weibin's cruiser approached the pier of his country's capital, a piercing siren immediately sounded on the pier.
It turned out that the lookouts on the dock had spotted the cruiser approaching them quickly. Thinking that the Nanyang Fleet was attacking again? So they sounded the alarm and ordered the workers on the dock to evacuate immediately.
When the light cruiser arrived 2 kilometers away from the dock, it stopped moving, and then sent a small boat from above to go to the shore to deliver the message, informing them that the Nanyang Navy had sent people to come, and asked them to follow the etiquette.
Come and greet.
After the person in charge at the pier learned of the situation, he immediately notified the city.
The news that the Nanyang Navy had sent people quickly reached the temporary office location.
At this time, the Prime Minister Yi Teng Bowen was overjoyed after receiving the news. What the Prime Minister now hopes is to end this damn war as soon as possible so that the country can regain its strength.
Because due to the Nanyang Navy's blockade of the coast during this period, domestic food prices have skyrocketed, the currency has devalued, and the economy can be said to have collapsed.
If this continues, without Liu Hai sending troops to fight, he will become chaotic and re-enter the Warring States Period.
Next, Hirofumi Itto immediately ordered Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu to go to the dock to greet the envoy of the other party in person, without any rudeness.
Mutsu Munemitsu also knew that this meeting was related to how to end the war at the minimum cost, so he did not dare to be negligent and hurried to the dock with the personnel of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
When Mutsu Munemitsu arrived at the pier, Pan Weibin was already waiting there with several clerks.
Mutsu Munemitsu looked forward and looked at the people in front of him. He noticed that the middle-aged scholar in front of him had an elegant face and a straight waist. He was completely different from the timid figures behind him. He knew this.
He is the rightful owner.
So the foreign minister stepped forward and bowed deeply to Pan Weibin.
"Your Excellency, Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu, do you know who the Qing Dynasty figure is at stake?"
Seeing such courtesy, Pan Weibin quickly returned the favor and said, "No, Pan Weibin, a staff member of Mr. Liu, the governor of Liangjiang, Liu Hai, has come to meet with you on the order of Mr. Liu."
Mutsu Munemitsu did not show any slightness because the other party was just a staff member. He came forward and said with a smile on his face: "It turns out to be Mr. Pan. Please follow me to the government office. Prime Minister Itto is waiting for you sir."
Pan Weibin nodded and followed the foreign minister into the carriage next to him. Then, guided by the soldiers along the way, he arrived at the temporary government office, where Hirobumi Itto was already waiting at the door.
When Prime Minister Itto saw Mutsu Munemitsu getting off the carriage with a middle-aged man, he hurried up and asked, "Sir, are you a representative from the Qing Dynasty?"
Mutsu Munemitsu was nearby and quickly introduced the two people to each other.
After that, Yiteng personally accompanied Pan Weibin into the conference room in a temporary artificial location.
The two parties did not make any other maneuvers and prepared to start the talks directly. After both parties sat down, their respective secretarial staff were also preparing to record minutes.
After everything was ready, Itō spoke first, "On behalf of the government, I would like to express my regret for the losses this war has caused to both parties."
Pan Weibin also sat opposite and said politely, "This war has indeed brought huge losses to both sides, so we, the Governor, hope that the war can be ended as soon as possible and peace can be restored between the two countries."
After hearing this, Prime Minister Itō showed a smile on his face. If the war could be ended, even the loss of some compensation would be acceptable.
Unexpectedly, he was happy too early. After Pan Weibin finished speaking, he took a paper bag from the attendant next to him and sent it to Itto.
"Your Excellency Prime Minister, these are the conditions drawn up by our Lords. You can take a look at it and sign it if you have no objections."
After hearing what the other party said, Yiteng felt depressed for a while. This reminded him of his success a few months ago, and what he said to Li Hongzhang who came here.
But Ito was still very self-restrained. Although he was unhappy, he still took the paper bag with a smile. When he opened it, his face immediately turned pale.
It turns out that almost all of the content that has been prepared is unacceptable.
The Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu who was standing next to him saw that the Prime Minister's face had become so ugly. He hurriedly tilted his body and took a look at the Prime Minister's hand.
This sight made his face livid. It turned out that the main content of this document was that from now on the king would retreat to the palace and not interfere in political affairs. Furthermore, from now on, the army would be controlled by Liu Hai, and military expenses would be 20% of the annual fiscal revenue.
, this money must also be given to Liu Hai. Also, the appointment of the prime minister must go through Liu Hai, and Liu Hai must have the right to dissolve the cabinet and re-elect at any time.
Not counting other conditions, if these three are really signed, this country will completely become Liu Hai's lackey.
Itto said to Pan Weibin with a serious face: "I hope that you can follow the will of peace between the two parties and hand over a condition that satisfies both parties."
After Yiteng finished speaking, he threw the document in his hand directly to Pan Weibin.
Pan Weibin sneered and took the documents that were thrown on the table, and then said: "It is precisely because we want peace between the two countries that my family proposed such a condition. If the other party is not satisfied, then I can make concessions elsewhere.
"
After hearing this, a glimmer of light flashed in Yiteng's eyes, and then he stared at Pan Weibin with eagle-like eyes and asked: "Then where is your concession?"
Pan Weibin heard this and said slowly: "We can reduce the silver compensation from 100 million taels to 80 million taels. What do you think, Mr. Prime Minister?"
After hearing this, Yito remained calm on the surface, but his hands under the table had already been clenched into fists. He now wished he could just order someone to pull Pan Weibin out and cut him into pieces.
Just when he was about to get angry, the foreign minister next to him patted him gently on the leg.
This made him wake up, and he knew that being impatient would ruin his plans, so he took a deep breath, calmed his breath, and said calmly: "We are completely unable to agree to the conditions you proposed. If the other party has
If I am sincere, I hope that the other party can eliminate these in the subsequent talks."
After hearing this, Pan Weibin immediately said tit for tat: "Other conditions can be discussed, but these three can never be changed. Our meeting is based on this. If your country cannot agree, then there is no need to proceed.