Tower of Babel

Sol has been here several times, and has already used drones to locate Prime Minister Duan at a high altitude. The Prime Minister's Office has strong security forces, with pistols, rifles, light and heavy machine guns, but so what, the roar of engines in the sky, the fame of armed helicopters is not only established on the battlefield in the Middle East, but also in the acceptance of the Middle East Railway. The newspapers have long articles that have callused my ears, and armed helicopters are hovering overhead, which can turn the Prime Minister's Office upside down in an extremely short time.

It was because the foot basin chicken angered the Russians that the Russians launched a cross-sea bombing, Tokyo was burned, and more than one million people were homeless. The manager hurriedly persuaded him kindly, Mr. Sol, please calm down, please calm down, I will report it now. The fly-catcher nodded and bowed like a slave. If a person's waist is bent for a long time, he can't stand up straight. When the foreign master gets angry, the manager immediately loses his way.

However, at this moment, a voice neither humble nor arrogant said: "No need to inform, Prime Minister Mr. Saul wants to see you." Xu Shuzheng came down from upstairs. With things getting to this point, it is impossible for Duan Zhigui to be unaware of the outside world. Through the window, he had already seen many people from the other side staring at his room without any mistakes. It was obvious that the other side was fully prepared. With the intuition of a soldier, he knew that he could not hide. If he did not meet him, he was afraid that the bullet would be shot into the house.

Xu Shuzheng had to be called to greet him. Soon, the two sides met in the reception room. Duan Zhigui did not shake hands, but greeted him with his wrists folded: "Hello, Mr. Saul. I have been very busy recently. I hope you will forgive me for my delay."

Saul did not use the common handshake etiquette of Westerners. He also folded his wrists to greet him. Then, he said in poor Chinese: "Premier Duan, are you really busy? Let's not beat around the bush. In fact, you just don't want to see me. We did not pursue the matter of China's interference in the Soviet-Russian civil war. The 14 countries' interference in China was just echoing the voice, and we did not take it to heart."

Just tried it, but I didn't expect that even Westerners learned the ancient Chinese etiquette. This is very rare in the exchanges between the East and the West. Duan Zhigui felt relieved. Changing the subject, he said, "Mr. Saul, your name doesn't sound like a Russian, so why would you work for the Russians?"

Saul said, "Yes, I am an American, but communism has no borders. I think Mr. Xu Shuzheng has already told the Prime Minister that I am here for the normalization of Sino-Russian relations and the reopening of embassies and consulates. Why does Premier Duan have to hide from me?"

Premier Duan closed his eyes and thought for a while, then frowned and said, "Mr. Saul, it's not that I don't want to see you, but the British have announced sanctions and blockades against your country, and issued a note that no country can establish diplomatic relations with Russia. During the Boxer Rebellion, China mortgaged its customs to the British, and all government expenses depend on their tariff surplus. I am relying on their rice bowl, and I am in a dilemma! I won't see you? You are unhappy, and the British are unhappy to see you!"

Saul said, "Then according to Mr. Duan, how can we establish diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union?"

Premier Duan pondered for a long time and said, "I know thatBoth Ladimir and Joseph showed great goodwill to China, but the conditions they proposed were too harsh. China is now poor and weak and has no strength to fight against imperialism, let alone cancel all unequal treaties. To put it another way, even if China and the Soviet Union establish diplomatic relations, we will have to face the difficulties of the British. It is hard to say whether my government can exist. The Soviet Union must give us some confidence or tangible benefits to prevent my government from suffering irreparable losses. If your government can support us militarily and provide us with comprehensive economic assistance, so that we can stand up straight and have no worries, we will naturally follow the lead of the Tsarist government. " Thor smiled and said, "Do you mean that we should unite and propose an alliance against imperialism? Excuse me for being blunt. Although your government represents China in name, in reality your country is divided by warlords. Your government is incapable of concluding such a treaty. Once you arbitrarily conclude such a treaty, you will probably fall into a warlord melee. The Soviet Union does not want to interfere too much in China's internal affairs. A simple establishment of diplomatic relations cannot be exchanged for so much aid. This is unrealistic." Prime Minister Duan said, nodded and said: This is unrealistic, but in 1908, the Americans also showed goodwill to us and returned the Boxer Indemnity. I wonder if your country can return it and how much? Thor said: "Money is not a problem. Our government is willing to return the principal and interest of the Boxer Indemnity, totaling 280 million taels of silver. Pay it off in ten years."

Zhang Cheng doesn't need this little money. In the interstellar era, even gold is nothing, let alone silver. But this is very tempting for the Beiyang government. This is more than ten years of fiscal revenue. It is unclear whether the current government can exist after ten years. Everyone in the office was excited when they heard this.

Premier Duan said again: Can you add a little more and return Outer Mongolia? Every time I Beiyang sends troops, I must give an explanation to the people.

Sol said: Outer Mongolia is an important strategic buffer for Russia. It would not be a big deal to give it to you, but there is a covetous Japan next to it. If you give it to you, you can't keep it, and it will threaten us. So this is impossible.

"What about the Middle East Railway?" Since it is impossible in terms of territory, Duan Qirui retreated to the second best, anyway, he just wanted to get more back.

Sol said: "The Middle East Railway is within the territory of the Fengtian Army. If you give it to you, you will be making wedding clothes for others, and the Zhang family will not be able to keep it either. At that time, the Japanese will still benefit. Money is still the most realistic. How about this? After returning the Boxer Indemnity, we will further pressure the international community, urge and promote other countries to further return the Boxer Indemnity, and help China regain its tariff rights. How about that? "

The Soviet Union won the anti-intervention war quickly, but the Soviet Union's withdrawal from World War I was actually signing a defeat treaty. In Duan Qirui's view, the anti-intervention war failed because the main forces of the United States, Britain and France were still pinned down in Europe by Germany. The so-called 14-nation intervention was nothing more than a gathering of feathers to make a duster, and it was all a mob. As for Xu Shuzheng's encounter with the armored forces,In Duan Qirui's opinion, the Soviet Union is still strong on the outside but weak on the inside. Otherwise, how could the Russians be so greedy for land? If they really had a strong army, they would have marched to the Northeast long ago. Why would they look like they need help now? In Duan Qirui's opinion, Sol's promises are just empty promises, and he is not interested in them. However, there is no true love in the world, and every penny is a penny. 280 million taels will do!

Duan Qirui said with a gloomy face: Okay! The day when the first batch of 28 million taels of silver arrives is the day when the consulate reopens, and we will pay the money and deliver the goods. I wonder if Mr. Sol...

Just at this moment, Duan Qirui hadn't finished speaking when the phone on the table suddenly rang. Seeing that hundreds of millions of taels of silver were about to be received, Duan Qirui was suddenly interrupted. He was very angry. If this was ruined, he would have the heart to kill people. So I grabbed the phone and didn't answer it in a good tone, and shouted impatiently, "Who is it?"

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