When the anger from Beijing was transmitted to Berlin through the telegram, although Rutte was less sharp, the Chinese could not hide the 72-hour ultimatum. At the Charlottemberg Palace, the German Emperor touched his beard and looked very unhappy. He had high hopes for China, but he did not expect that the Chinese were so rude. ▲∴

"So, what should I do about this?" the emperor looked at Prime Minister Bateman and said. He himself didn't know how to face the Chinese's "rude" demands. If the two countries really wanted to turn against each other, the only restraining force on the Eastern Front would be gone. The General Staff marshals would definitely be extremely dissatisfied, but if they wanted to give up Qingdao, the only stronghold in the Far East, it would be difficult for him to accept that he was about to win.

"Your Majesty, although our army won the battle of Tannenburg, Russia's power cannot be underestimated. Now the Tsar has sent a new corps to the Far East, which is extremely beneficial to us. If the Chinese take Harbin, they will not only restrain the Russian team, but also cut off Russia's only foreign aid channel. Russian workers are insufficient in production and they will not have enough rifles to fight us. It is wise to trade a Qingdao for the entire Eastern Front." Bateman said.

"But what if the Chinese people negotiate with Russia after returning Qingdao like they did with the Japanese?" The emperor was still a little uneasy. He actually couldn't bear to part with Qingdao.

"No, Your Majesty. If the Chinese really only have Qingdao, then why not declare war on our country after peace talks with Russia and finally take it back to Qingdao?" Bateman asked back.

"But there are thousands of Chinese technicians in Germany, so the Chinese will not declare war on us." The emperor smiled. Things that he didn't want to do before have now become his greatest control.

"Your Majesty, why do the Chinese only send technicians to our country instead of the United States or France?" the prime minister asked again. "The fundamental reason is that the Chinese want to follow our country from military to education to industry. This is the reason why Your Excellency Yang Rui sent people to Germany instead of France. Your Majesty, what you learned recently. Your Excellency Yang Rui was once saved by a French doctor, and his wife, the second wife, who once studied in Paris and could speak fluent French."

"The second wife? Oh, what a barbaric yellow man." The emperor seemed to be convinced by the prime minister. China really admired Germany very much. The friendly return of Qingdao will give Germany a better impression among the Chinese people. "What about his first wife?" The emperor couldn't help asking. He understood that unlike his successful inheritance of the throne, the one in the East was only able to be with a rifle and cannon, which made him more curious and respectful.

"His second wife was just a dancer. Because he saved his life, he married her; and the first wife was his comrade-in-arms, an excellent sniper, who assassinated Empress Dowager Cixi. She was born in Honolulu, the United States, and she could be said to be an American and spoke very fluent English." Good news came from both the east and west lines. This gave the prime minister a kung fu gossip and some boring things.

"Why is there no wife who can speak fluent German?" The emperor couldn't help but forget his restraint on the polygamy system and began to worry about the two wives of Your Excellency Yang Rui.

"Your Majesty, Chinese people can marry many wives. Maybe it won't take long for him to have a third German-speaking wife." Beckman said. He didn't want to gossip any more and said, "Your Majesty, I suggest you summon the Chinese ambassador in person and inform him of the news of the return to Qingdao."

"Okay. Just do it." His Majesty the Emperor came back to his senses from his meditation about Yang Rui's wife and agreed to the prime minister's request. But three hours later, the situation made him and the prime minister stare at him.

"Your Majesty, this is the real purpose of the Prime Minister of my country. So thank you for your kindness and generosity, please reject the ultimatum of my country." Shi Zhaoji, the Minister to Germany, bowed and said. Although the orders sent from the country were unacceptable to him, the orders were orders.

"Is your prime minister crazy?" The emperor opened his mouth for a while before he spoke this sentence, which made the prime minister beside him jump. This is not the first time that the emperor caused diplomatic disputes because of his unscrupulous words.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty Yang Rui should have another strategy we don't know. Orientals are always extremely smart." The Prime Minister quickly interrupted the emperor's speech and added some nice words.

"Your Majesty, my country does not think that your country can win in the short term, especially when the shipping is still blocked by the UK. The Prime Minister has always hoped that your country's navy can go out to sea to fight the British fleet, or use submarines to block the UK completely. This is a reliable way for your country to win and win." Shi Zhaoji repeated some topics that the Emperor did not like to hear, and finally explained: "Your Majesty, my team will occupy the Russian Far East in three days..."

"What!?" Emperor William II of Germany jumped up from the chair and asked quickly: "Is this true?! Is this true?!" The Prime Minister Beckman next to him was also extremely shocked. This was something they wanted to do but could not do.

"Yes, your majesty!" Shi Zhaoji said. "The pressure on the despised government is now in great importance. Britain, France and the United States have joined forces to suppress our country's development in East Asia. Even if our country and Russia are in a state of war, once we attack and occupy the Russian Far East and control Vladivostok, the three countries will take risks in anger. In order to reduce diplomatic pressure, please order your Majesty to order the Qingdao defenders to resolutely resist our ** team, so that our country can do so in diplomacy..."

"So smart! So smart!!" The German Emperor walked down from the throne and grabbed Shi Zhaoji with his right hand and shook it hard. "Your Excellency the Prime Minister of your country is the smartest Chinese! God testified that everything he did for Germany will definitely get the greatest reward for our country!"

Shi Zhao was basically a literati. His face turned pale when he was caught by Emperor William II, and his head was sweating anxiously. After he stammered and expressed his gratitude, the awakened Emperor of Germany put down his hand. "Okay, I will immediately order the Governor of Qingdao not to hand over the fortress, and then fight to the last person. Is this OK, dear Mr. Minister?"

"Your Majesty, this is absolutely OK." Shi Zhaoji felt that his hand had broken and he held back the severe pain.

"But, dear Mr. Minister, what should I do if my loyal soldiers? They all have wives and children?" The emperor sat back on the throne and suddenly felt inappropriate. There were more than 4,500 soldiers in Qingdao Fortress, which was equivalent to more than 4,500 families.

"Your Majesty. If you occupy Vladivostok, the Siberian Railway in Russia will be completely cut off. The Tsar and his ministers will absolutely not tolerate this. Our country's intelligence department believes that this is likely to contain at least one million Russian troops. Your Majesty, even if all the more than 4,000 soldiers stationed in Qingdao are killed in battle, they will be glorious. Moreover, as long as our army occupy the outer fortress near Qingdao, the Governor, who has no danger, can order the soldiers to give up their unnecessary resistance. This will bring at most one thousand casualties, or less." Shi Zhaoji said.

"Very good! Germany can accept such losses." The German emperor praised, "If the war is over, Germany will support China's rise in the Far East and occupy French Annan."

"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister of my country believes that if Germany wants to win, it must break the blockade of the North Sea through a fleet decisive battle, especially now that His Excellency Spey's Far East Fleet is restraining the British navy. This is the weakest moment when the British navy is the smallest gap with your country's navy; and if you want to end the war in a tie, you can only block the Atlantic Ocean through unlimited submarine warfare. The Prime Minister also said that Britain will not surrender until the last Indian died." Shi Zhaoji said.

It was another decisive battle in the fleet. Marshal Tirpiz in the navy often mentioned this, but they didn't understand the German emperor's thoughts. Britain was a relative. In the end, Germany's allies, if the fleet and Britain were both defeated, they would be able to get the Americans and Japanese. The emperor moved his butt and said immediately: "I will consider the advice of your Prime Minister. As long as the opportunity is right, the Imperial Navy will fight the Royal Fleet in the North Sea. In addition, thanks to your country for the information provided this time. I hope that your country can continue to provide information to our country in the future. I will pay enough compensation for the time being, such as this time..."

The emperor said more and more, the trend of seeing off guests. After he finished speaking, Shi Zhaoji got up and said goodbye. However, when he walked out of the palace, he looked at him from an unknown corner carefully. Seeing his pale face, he hurriedly retracted his eyes. That night, in the office of MI6, London by the Thames, Shi Zhaoji's expression was the focus of the judgment of the spy gate.

Like the East Factory, which is responsible for domestic security in China and the West Factory, which is responsible for foreign countries, since the establishment of the MI6 five years ago, the overseas intelligence network under the jurisdiction of the MI6 has gradually been absorbed by the MI6. The MI6 is specifically responsible for the security of the empire and colonies, while the MI6 is responsible for spying on overseas intelligence.

The newly established China after the revolution was not only an uncontrollable country, but also a country bordering the Far East colony and the British crown pearl India, but also a very pro-Germany country. This is the focus of MI6. Unlike the judges of the men in Whitehall, Colonel Mansfield Cumming, the leader of the Sixth Division, did not believe that the Sino-Japanese War could consume China's strength and make it settled in the Far East. This would instead allow China to regain East hegemony and ultimately threaten Britain's interests in the area and colonies everywhere.

However, people from the Imperial National Defense Committee believed that even if Japan could not defeat China, the Empire could join forces with France and Russia to conduct diplomatic mediation and interference, which turned the Chinese people's victory into vain and fell into a financial crisis. But no one expected that before the East Asian War was decided, Europe would fight on its own. When Europe fought, the battlefields of East Asia began to undergo tremendous changes, the Russian ** regiment was wiped out, Taiwan was landed, Japan's main force was besieged, and North Korea was occupied...

All of this made Colonel Cumming regret obeying the opinions of Colonel James Edmunds, a group under the Imperial Defense Commission, and did not completely complete the inside story of Sino-German submarine transactions, and formally warned the Japanese. Of course, this also caused everyone to insufficient estimates of the range of German submarines. No one knew that German diesel submarines could sail so far.

"The ministers want to know William's final reply to the Chinese. You won't let us down, right?" Captain Edmunds of the Imperial Defense Commission and Captain Vernon Kyle, the head of the MI5 department, rushed to MI6. They were ordered by several nobles to find out the direction of Sino-German diplomatic relations.

"We are still analyzing and monitoring the radio, but just judging the look of the Chinese minister walking out of the palace, William should not be too friendly to China." Colonel Cumming looked at them with his pipe in his mouth, "Gentlemen, is this important? Maybe in a few hours, the Chinese or the Germans themselves will announce the results of the ultimatum negotiation."

"Can you confirm? Is there any news in China?" Colonel Edmunds asked. "A few gentlemen want to know Germany's reply in advance."

"It is impossible to determine from the Chinese for the time being, you know. Their confidentiality measures are very strict and the password is very strange. I said it very early. We need sinologists, we need sinologists. But who did the committee find us? Those ** elements are simply those who fail the exam, and they can't decipher the Chinese password at all." Colonel Cumming was very angry when he talked about the Chinese password. And now it is an extraordinary time. The committee prohibited MI6 from taking action to steal Chinese passwords, believing that this would anger the Chinese.

"Col. Don't worry, real sinologists will arrive in London next month. They are juren and jinshi who support the Qing emperor, not scholars of the revolutionary party. Maybe they will have a way to the Chinese code..." Captain Vernon Kyle, the director of the MI5, said that he had been to China for a long time and understood Chinese and knew more about the situation in China than at the six departments. "Now gentlemen are concerned about the final direction of Sino-German diplomacy. If we can distract China and Germany through this matter, we would think what we did in New York last month, that would be the best."

"China and Germany have a very close connection, but Yang Jingcheng is very smart and is best at taking advantage of the international situation. So this time I think his ultimatum to the Germans has another purpose. Of course, it may be just uneven distribution of spoils. According to the information, they have an agreement with the Germans, and although we cannot know the exact content. But it can be guessed that China helped Germany drag the Russians in the Far East, and Germany handed over the remaining torpedo boats of Qingdao, the Concession, and the Far East Fleet to the Chinese. Now the Chinese have done what the Germans want them to do. The Germans have been delaying and not returning them to Qingdao. This is the origin of their dispute."

Colonel Cumming's inference is basically the true situation of the Sino-German transaction. When Colonel Edmunds and Captain Kyle nodded, he said again: "What the Germans can hand over to China is the Qingdao and Jiaoji Railways. In addition to this..." Colonel Cumming guessed: "There is another possibility... Just like the Goben, I am worried that the Spee fleet, which has no way out, will break through our blockade and suddenly return to Qingdao one day, and then, Little William will announce that these warships will be sold to the Chinese as last month."

"Is this possible?" Edmons, shocked by Colonel Cumming's analysis, looked at Captain Kyle and asked. "Is it possible for the Chinese to join the Allies?"

"The situation is possible," Captain Kyle said, "but it's just a fleet, not a Chinese will join the Allies. Yang Jingcheng's judgment of the international situation is very accurate, and that's why he can dominate China and defeat Japan. Gentlemen, do you think Britain is going to lose the war?"

"But the Germans think they want to win the war." Colonel Cumming did not interfere with his question, but said another question, "I think the Germans should agree to the Chinese's request and return it to Qingdao so that the Chinese can be used again; but the reality is confusing. The expression of the Chinese minister leaving the palace is obviously not pleasant. If William agreed to their request, he should walk out of the palace with a smile. Gentlemen, why did the Germans disagree?"

"Little William was originally a moody person. Maybe the Chinese offended him in this way. Maybe he felt that he was in the hands of victory and was about to occupy Paris. No matter what the reason, the Germans and the Chinese had problems, and it might even trigger wars. This is our greatest gospel." Colonel Edmunds smiled. He felt that he was right today.

"So gentlemen, can we discuss how to expand this kind of disagreement? Can we create some public opinion in China and arouse the anger of the Chinese? I remember that during the Beijing Incident, William's speech could completely trigger the anger of the Chinese. Seventy-two hours later, our reporters should pay full attention to the battle in Qingdao and show the cruelest side of the war. If it is possible, join forces with the Americans, they control many church schools. Can they launch a lively parade? China has defeated Japan now, and Yang Jingcheng should be very proud..."

Colonel Edmunds said the more he found that he could not get the support of the two intelligence directors. He was excited and his voice became less and less. Colonel Cumming said, "Sir, although the East Factory in China does not control the concession, he has controlled the postal service across the country. Newspapers that do not conform to the government's speech cannot be mailed everywhere. Moreover, everyone there is a spy, and it is a trend that tells the news, and no one believes in anyone. I really doubt whether our news can be transmitted to ten miles away from the concession."

After Colonel Cumming finished speaking, Captain Kyle said again: "Sir, the Chinese are still barbaric peoples. They never celebrate to kill the enemy, nor are they proud to kill the enemy. At least there is no such celebration in the official government. This is the case when the revolution was successful, and this time the victory over Japan is probably the same."

"Why? Why is this happening?" Colonel Edmunds was not surprised by what Cumming said, but he didn't quite understand what Kyle said, and how could he defeat the uncelebration.

"They think that the enemy is also human beings. As long as it is human death, it is a sad thing, not something worth celebrating. Beijing has no celebration of victory, only a grand funeral." Kyle replied leisurely, and his mind had already rushed to the east.

Beijing time is eight hours earlier than London, and this day is the Zhongyuan Festival. From the morning, Beijing is full of plain colors, teahouses, brothels, and wine shops, etc., all the way is closed all day. Every household is preparing paper money, river lanterns, Nanyuan, and other temples have begun to do rituals. Captain Kyle is right, this is a funeral.

Major General Anzhi, deputy chief of staff of the Zhili Expeditionary Army, took the train to Beijing with his adjutant very early. They were dressed in a yellow Japanese military uniform and were very eye-catching as soon as they got off the train. Many Chinese people looked at them with surprise, disdain, resentment, and curiosity in their eyes... But this was just a look, different from what they had imagined before, and no one came to find fault.

"May I ask..." As soon as the ticket gate came out, Adjutant Oda went to the bunch of rickshaws to call a taxi, but no one paid attention to them, and a few people were cursing from afar.

"Let's go over." Major General Matsushi Yanji knew that he could not call a rickshaw in his outfit, so he stopped Oda at the moment. He pointed to the huge map in front of the railway station square and the road signs on the side of the road, "We can walk."

"Your Excellency, this..." Oda was very uneasy at Matsushi. He could walk, but the commander was not easy to walk.

"It's nothing, just march in front of you." Matsushi Yasuhi smiled.

Two hours later, Lieutenant General Lei Yi Town, who was bored in the headquarters, received a call from the Imperial Guard Command, saying that a Japanese army officer asked for a meeting and had now escorted the commander's office. When he was confused, the guards below had brought the Japanese.

"I am the Japanese Army, Songshi Anji, and I have seen General Lei Yizhen." Songshi, who had been searching for a long time but had not found a place, was sent over by the Imperial Guards. He was a little surprised when he saw Lei Yizhen's young face, but when he thought that the Fuxing Army was originally a newly formed army, he felt silent while amazed.

"No need to be polite!" Lei Yizhen looked at the bowing Japanese and just saluted. He was a little confused about what he was doing.

"Your Excellency, before the death of our country's Marshal Oyama Iwa, he instructed the Chief of Staff Uehara Yuzuo to present his sword to you. Before the death of General Uehara, he left a letter to ask me to complete this mission." Matsushi Yasuhi took the long package from his adjutant, untied the rope and exposed a black sword. He held it in both hands and raised it.

The Chinese people were very happy when the Sino-Japanese peace agreement was concluded, but the officers complained a lot about this. Without saying anything else, the military achievements were much less. Fortunately, there were fewer military achievements, and everyone was very young, and the prestige of the gentleman was suppressed. This was what everyone muttered privately. Lei Yizhen, as the commander of the war zone, could understand the gentleman's painstaking efforts more than the generals below. Although he felt regretful, he did not complain.

At this time, when he saw Japan coming to Beijing to offer his sword, he felt satisfied and felt that he wanted to do something. He immediately took over his sword and said: "Your Masahira is a veteran among the nobles. It is the glory of our soldiers who can die in the army instead of lying on a bed. He is ashamed of receiving his sword, so he gave this sword to your army."
Chapter completed!