Years of the Republic of China 1913

The sudden statement of the diplomats of the mediation team caught the negotiating parties a little unprepared. After a short period of silence in the venue, the Japanese side first proposed a temporary adjournment. This proposal was also agreed by the Chinese side. Everyone tidied up and left in a hurry. . .

Not to mention how the Japanese communicated with Tokyo on this matter, the members of the Chinese negotiating team rushed back to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after leaving the Liuguo Hotel.

"What are these old men planning?" Sitting in the car, Cao Rulin asked to himself, but Fang Zida, who was sitting beside him, just smiled lightly and didn't answer the question.Although he roughly guessed the true intentions of Tsarist Russia, there are some things that cannot be explained on the table. Could it be that Fang Zida patted his chest and told Cao Rulin that Tsarist Russia would soon cease to exist, and that Lao Maozi was making the last effort to save the empire? what?

When he arrived at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cao Rulin immediately summoned the members of the negotiating team and the think tank of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for consultations. Fang Zida attended and listened for a while, and left early because he had something to do with the Ministry of Finance.Anyway, the situation is changing for the better, and no matter what countermeasures the Ministry of Foreign Affairs takes, it will not affect the overall situation.

It was originally a one-day adjournment. It may be that the Japanese cabinet did not complete the unification of opinions on the unexpected situation. The Japanese side continued to propose an adjournment the next day, and the peace talks could not continue until the third day.

Reopening the peace talks, the Japanese side finally came up with new demands for peace talks under the pressure of other countries. Although this treaty is much better than the original lion's mouth, there are still several aspects that the Chinese side cannot accept, and they continue to argue immediately up.

"Everyone, the mediation team has a proposal." Looking at the quarreling parties, the British ambassador Zhu Erdian stood up and cleared his throat and said, "The key now is to stop the war. How about forming a temporary agreement for the purpose of armistice? After all, this boring war not only caused huge losses to both parties involved in the war, but also consumed the power of our Allies in vain."

"Temporary truce?" The word flashed in the minds of both China and Japan, but after thinking about it, it would also be beneficial to each other.In the case where a peace agreement cannot be reached, it is also feasible to conduct negotiations for the purpose of an armistice first.

"These british guys are worthy of playing tricks on the European continent for hundreds of years. They are really old masters!" Fang Zida was also taken aback by Zhu Erdian's proposal, and then smiled wryly.Compared with the smooth methods of the British, the greedy Ri himself is simply a primary school student, and the Chinese diplomats are also no match.

A truce seems to be the best way to solve the current problem as soon as possible.But it is also equivalent to planting a fuse that can be detonated at any time between the warring parties of China and Japan.After the armistice.China and Japan did not end the war, but were still in a state of war, but the two sides stopped fighting temporarily.Once the international situation or the domestic situation of Japan and China changes, this war may break out again at any time.But what of them, the British?With the European war in full swing, it is the real purpose of the British to temporarily stabilize the situation in the Far East to ensure that the internal power of the Allied Powers will not be wasted in vain, and to put all their energy on the European battlefield first to defeat their opponents.And who can say clearly what will happen in the future, even if there is another big fight between Japan and Japan in a few years, the war in Europe will be over long ago, so what does it matter to Westerners if these yellow-skinned monkeys are killed or killed?It is more in line with the interests of Britain in the Far East to consume each other's strength and fight corpses everywhere.

The British's abacus has been endorsed by France, Tsarist Russia, the United States and other countries. How can the diplomats of these countries be so kind to help China or Japan?Diplomacy is not Lei Feng, diplomacy is the embodiment of national interests, and a temporary truce can solve the current problem.It will also allow China and Japan to consume each other's strength in the future and prevent rapid development. This is the result that Western countries are willing to see.

The Japanese side thought about the pros and cons of the temporary truce in their minds, and they were secretly delighted.To be honest, this war is not because Japan does not want to fight, but mainly because it does not have the strength to win for the time being.Otherwise, Ri himself would not sit at the negotiating table.And what made Ri himself vigilant was the secret weapon that the squadron suddenly took out-the rocket launcher. Without knowing the real situation of this powerful weapon, it is impossible to capture Fengtian with the current strength of the Northeast.If it is a truce, although it is temporarily impossible to obtain the territory and indemnity that the Japanese government dreamed of from the negotiating table.But it also gave Japan time to prepare for another war at any time, which is a good opportunity for the greedy Japan side.

As for the Chinese side, it is also somewhat moved by the temporary truce proposal.President Yuan Shikai's time is running out, and I'm afraid it will only be a few days before he lets go. Although the Sino-Japanese war did not last long, the losses to the central government's finances were extremely serious. According to Song Jiaoren's instructions, The war between China and Japan must be ended as soon as possible to ensure the smooth transition of domestic politics. When a peace agreement cannot be reached in a short period of time, a temporary truce is also a solution.

Negotiators from both sides divided into two camps and exchanged views with each other. In the end, most of them agreed to accept the proposal of a temporary truce.Seeing that the negotiating members of China and Japan had achieved results, the British ambassador Zhu Erdian smiled slightly, and in the capacity of presiding over the meeting, he changed the topic of the peace talks to a temporary truce, and offered a suggestion from the mediation team.

The mediation team's truce proposal mainly has three main items.

One: Since the signing of the armistice agreement, China and Japan will unconditionally stop the exchange of fire. The military demarcation line will be drawn around the area where the Japanese Army and Squadron in Fengtian are currently stationed, and they will retreat five kilometers from each other. This ten-kilometer area will be used as a demilitarized zone as a buffer zone.

Two: The Chinese government released the [-]th and [-]th Divisions of the Japanese Army that were besieged in Jiaodong, and they were taken back to the mainland by the Second Fleet of the Japanese Navy. The two sides completed the handover in a limited area and within a limited time.

Three: The two parties to the truce shall form a military armistice committee composed of member countries of the mediation group and members of the parties to the truce. The committee shall supervise the steps of the truce between the two parties. hostile behavior.

In addition, there are some supplementary clauses. When Fang Zida heard these contents, he was in a daze. It seemed that he was not sitting in the negotiating venue of the Liuguo Hotel in Beijing, but came to Panmunjom in North Korea.The negotiating opponent sitting opposite is not the short Ri himself, but a coalition led by the United States.

It's really the same ancestor!Fang Zida looked at Zhu Erdian, who was talking eloquently, and sighed in his heart, the British guy and the Yankee are indeed relatives, and the tricks they came up with are similar, except for some slight differences, these contents are simply the terms of the Korean armistice agreement.

After the negotiating parties digested the content of the mediation team's armistice agreement, Zhu Erdian began to ask the representatives of both parties if they had any objections to it.

These contents seem reasonable on the surface, but in fact Ri himself took advantage.Especially on the division of the military demarcation line south of Fengtian, Ri himself has extended the sphere of influence of the Kanto Prefecture to the north by nearly a hundred kilometers in disguise, and can take back the [-]th and [-]th divisions without any cost. Of course, the Japanese side was eager for this suggestion, and immediately agreed.

As for China's immediate objection, it clearly pointed out that the demarcation of the military demarcation line was inappropriate. In addition, it also objected to the unconditional release of the [-]th and [-]th divisions, and demanded that the terms be revised.

For a while, the two sides quarreled again over this difference.At this time, the members of the mediation team who have been on the sidelines have not been idle. It seems that some of them have made a good deal. .

"A weak country has no diplomacy." Fang Zida really understood this sentence. Although there was no winner in this war, in the end the western countries still favored Japan for their own interests.Although they had their reasons for doing so, these clauses were still a shame to the undefeated China. Looking at the noisy venue, Fang Zida frowned deeply.

The negotiating parties and the mediation team conducted many consultations on the content of the armistice agreement, and it was not until New Year's Day in 1917 that an agreement was reached.

With the efforts of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the military demarcation line was confirmed around the [-]-kilometer retreat of the Fengtian Japanese Army. In this regard, China offered to unconditionally release the [-]th and [-]th Divisions trapped in Jiaodong in exchange.This result is already the maximum that China can achieve. In the later period, due to the confirmation of the military demarcation line, the Japanese side even clamored to hold back an inch. It was not until the mediation team repeatedly exerted pressure that they relaxed, and China demanded that the Japanese side completely retreat to Kanto Prefecture. The request was also subject to diplomatic pressure. In this case, the two sides took a step back and barely reached an agreement.

After the negotiation was completed, the official armistice agreement drafted by the mediation team was signed at the scene. As the main negotiating representative, Chinese Foreign Minister Cao Rulin had an unusually dignified expression when he received the agreement from Zhu Erdian.

"Brother Zhang Ming, Brother Wei seems to be Li Hongzhang's second. Once I sign this letter, I will be a traitor!"

Cao Rulin said with embarrassment, to be honest, in terms of the content of the armistice agreement, the Chinese side only suffered a little loss. It is very difficult to get back some of the lost areas through negotiation if the war is not won. The squadron has the upper hand, but once the state of war expands, the Japanese navy and army, which is a head above the middle force, will bring heavy losses to the young and fragile Republic of China.Especially in the face of Yuan Shikai's serious illness, turbulent undercurrents in the political arena, and turmoil in the country, the situation should be stabilized as soon as possible to ensure a smooth transition. China's doing so is also taking the overall situation into consideration.

In addition, this is just a truce agreement, not an agreement to end the war. Both sides of the bet have not yet left the poker table. No one can guarantee who the final winner will be.