Master Yuan, start!

Are you trying to give me a killing blow?

Although he started out as a militiaman, he also served as a county magistrate for several years and was very familiar with this kind of "using voice to intimidate people" behavior.

The reason why the magistrate slammed the gavel before trying a case was to intimidate the people in the hall and make them feel awe of the court officials, so that it would be easier to ask questions and handle the case.

He didn't expect that the tricks he used to deal with the people in the past would be used by Yuan Shikai on himself.

Humph, if you want to kill my prestige, you’re 30 years too early!

Liu Kunyi was not angry in his heart, he just felt that he had met his worthy opponent. After being in charge for several years, he had not experienced this kind of tit-for-tat feeling for a long time.

"Hahaha, it's true that heroes emerge from youth. After parting in the capital, Lord Yuan is still as charming and elegant as ever." Although he was unhappy, he still had to maintain his outward demeanor. Liu Kunyi could only speak out to ease the embarrassment.

Seeing Liu Kunyi's pace slowing down and his face twitching, Yuan Xiangcheng realized that the time was almost right.

With this thought in mind, he took a step forward, his stride sweeping forward, creating a breeze. Just when Liu Kunyi thought he would do something out of the ordinary, Yuan Xiangcheng unexpectedly took the initiative to bow slightly to Liu Kunyi and said:

"The safety of China depends on the thoughts of Lord Liu."

One said the other was a heroic young man, and the other said the other was related to the safety of the world.

A few polite words from each of them instantly brought the originally confrontational situation back to normal.

"please!"

Yuan Xiangcheng stretched out his left hand, signaling Liu Kunyi to go first.

When Liu Kun saw this, he lifted up his robe in front of his legs and extended his right hand to signal Yuan Xiangcheng to go first.

Finally, the two smiled at each other and walked into the lobby side by side.

At this time, no camera captured this precious moment, but a young man named Qi Baishi among the people outside the hall had this scene engraved in his mind.

Three years ago, Qi Baishi, 30 years old, gave up the carving he had learned since childhood and planned to give up carving to study painting.

Now, he is facing the difficult decision of whether to delve into traditional fine brushwork or devote himself to Western oil painting.

After arriving in Shanghai, he dabbled in both, but did not delve into them in depth, which was a time of distress for him.

No other technique in the world can match the exquisite depiction of human figures in oil painting; but the vivid depiction of natural scenery such as flowers, birds, fish and insects in meticulous painting is also beyond the reach of rigid oil painting.

Although Qi Baishi in this time and space still chose traditional fine brushwork represented by flowers, seedlings, fish and insects in the future, and was hailed as the number one fine brushwork painter in China for his unique skill in painting shrimps.

But today, after returning home, he decided to use the oil painting techniques he had learned for two and a half years to bring to life the scene in his mind of "Yuan and Liu smiling at each other."

This painting also became the only surviving oil painting by Qi Baishi, and was sold at a sky-high price of 1 million yuan in an auction!

Of course, Qi Baishi, who was in the crowd at that moment, did not realize that he would become a "master of Chinese painting" in the future. Now he was looking at the backs of Yuan and Liu, silently applauding them.

Except for Qi Baishi, the rest of the people had different reactions.

British Minister Eugene nodded with a smile, thinking to himself that it was absolutely right. These were the two good partners of the British Empire in China.

French Governor Pierre showed a barely perceptible smile on his face and watched Yuan Xiangcheng's performance quietly.

Yu Lianyuan, Tao Senjia and Kang Youwei who were following behind were secretly surprised. They thought a quarrel would break out first, but they didn't expect it to disappear without a trace.

Tang Shaoyi and Ming Ye looked at Yuan Xiangcheng confidently, as if they knew the whole situation.

The most excited people were the merchants, scholars and students present. Seeing Yuan and Liu smiling at each other and seeming to be planning to unite, they felt relieved as they had been worried about a war.

They handed their invitations to the guards one after another and entered the adjacent banquet hall after being searched.

Rather than a negotiation, it is more like a "banquet"

In order to tear off Liu Kunyi's mask as much as possible, Yuan Xiangcheng proposed to Ou Gen to hold a semi-public banquet in the consulate in the concession.

The purpose of inviting famous Chinese and foreign merchants and some students and scholars in Shanghai to participate was to resolve the disputes between the North and the South and unite against France.

Of course, the French were also invited.

Inside the banquet hall, tables had already been set up and plates of dishes were placed on them.

In addition, there are even foreign bands performing here.

Foreigners and Chinese businessmen who have participated in such activities are naturally accustomed to this kind of scene.

The students, who had never seen a Western-style cocktail party, were shocked. They looked left and right, just like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden.

Amidst the elegant sound of the violin, Pierre, the French Governor of Taiwan, approached Yuan Xiangcheng and spoke in Mandarin with a classic Minnan accent, without distinguishing between h and f:

"Master Yuan, I'm really surprised. You seem a little too young."

"Sir Pierre, Napoleon was already the Emperor of France when he was my age, and I am only a governor now, I am still far from that."

Yuan Shikai did not expect the French to be so "polite". He thought they would use the assassination of their own consul as an excuse to put pressure on him, but they did not. Instead, they took the initiative to say hello.

Maybe the French thought I was already a "dead man", so they were unwilling to lose their temper in front of me.

But no matter what, one should not hit a smiling person. Yuan Xiangcheng responded with a smile and chose to use Napoleon, the person the French are most proud of and familiar with, to humble himself.

"Thank you for the compliment. Napoleon is the supreme glory of France and the pride of all of Europe. I hope that one day you will stand shoulder to shoulder with him."

Pierre raised his glass and slowly touched the brandy in Yuan Xiangcheng's hand, making a crisp sound of glass collision.

"Sir Yuan, the French consul died tragically in a foreign country. Paris will definitely ask your government to give an explanation for this matter." Pierre took a sip of wine, as if observing Yuan Xiangcheng's reaction.

"Sir Pierre, I express my deepest sympathy for the death of Consul Luban, and would like to personally send condolences to his widow," Yuan Xiangcheng replied, holding his glass. "However, until the murderer is identified, I cannot apologize on behalf of the 4 million Chinese people."

"Actually," Pierre took a half step closer and whispered, "I think there is room for us to cooperate. You are in the north. If we can cooperate, we only need to exclude the British. Then France is willing to hand over the interests of the entire northern China to you.

All we French want is a little bit of interest on the southern coast."

After saying this, Pierre looked around and found that the British Minister Eugen was communicating with the organist, and he felt relieved.

Do you want me to give up the British and embrace yours? Yuan Xiangcheng couldn't help laughing when he heard Pierre's somewhat whimsical suggestion.

If I didn't know that you and Liu Kunyi had reached a secret agreement, I might have been a little moved.

But it's just a little bit. What a blank check. You want to give me all the interests in the North, but these interests are not in your hands, France. If I want to take them, I have to snatch them from the British.

If you French are truly sincere, you should take the initiative to reduce or waive the compensation, instead of always thinking about getting something for nothing.

"I will consider this matter." Yuan Xiangcheng responded calmly, then strode towards Liu Kunyi in the center of the conference hall.

Liu Kunyi was holding a glass of ice wine and chatting happily with Ougen. A group of Chinese and foreign businessmen also gathered around the two of them. Just when everyone thought that today's banquet would end successfully.

"Everyone!"

Yuan Xiangcheng tapped the glass with a silver spoon, using the most Western way to draw everyone's attention to himself.

"What is this, Lord Yuan?" The people present were a little confused.

Chapter 218: All Living Things

In the eyes of the people, the fact that the French came to the banquet meant that the adults had already discussed it privately and the assassination had been resolved.

Now, what happened again?

The banquet started at noon. At this time, the sun was shining directly on the earth. There was no air conditioning in the room, and the outer walls of the conference hall were embedded with glass. Everyone in the room felt a little stuffy.

They gathered in the center of the hall and drank the wine in their cups.

"Please look, everyone. This is a document I just received today. It appears to be a secret treaty between France and the Jiangnan Governor-General's Office."

Facing the sunlight coming through the glass window, Yuan Xiangcheng loudly spoke about the secret agreement while taking out several sheets of yellow paper from his bosom.

　When Liu Kunyi heard the words "France, Governor-General of Jiangnan", his face changed drastically. He had planned to announce to the French that the assassination had been resolved peacefully, but he didn't expect Yuan Shikai to be one step ahead!

Moreover, how did Yuan Xiangcheng know about the secret agreement? Thinking of this, Liu Kunyi couldn't help but look at Yu Lianyuan, Tao Senjia, and Kang Youwei.

Unexpectedly, these three people also had expressions of shock on their faces.

How did Yuan Xiangcheng know about the secret agreement? Yu Lianyuan and Tao Senjia stared at Yuan Xiangcheng, their hearts filled with panic.

Swamp! Book. 86073-804

I haven't stolen the documents yet, so where did Yuan Xiangcheng get the paper? Kang Youwei stared at the paper in Yuan Xiangcheng's hand, also shocked.

Even the French Governor Pierre stopped trying to get close to Yuan Shikai and looked at Yuan Shikai standing in the center of the crowd with a serious expression.

The merchants, students and common people present were a little confused. They didn't know what was going on, nor did they know what the "France" and "Governor-General of Jiangnan" mentioned by Yuan Shikai had in mind.

But they saw Liu Kun holding the corner of the table after hearing this; Yu, Tao, and Kang, the three capable officials of the Jiangnan Governor's Office, also put down their wine glasses and stared at Yuan Shikai.

Even the most slow-witted person would realize that something seemed to be wrong.

"click"

At this time, the Wehrmacht guards standing at the four corners of the banquet hall and on the second floor also cooperated very well in pulling the bolts, and the crisp sound of metal hitting the barrel was heard.

When the bullet was loaded, even the piano playing in the hall stopped abruptly, and it started again after more than ten seconds.

"Master Yuan, what happened?"

Upon seeing this, the British Minister to the host country, Eugene, immediately stepped forward and asked Yuan Xiangcheng questions, while at the same time ordering the lobster soldiers on guard to load their guns and be on alert.

"Don't worry, Your Excellency Eugen, there won't be any bloodshed today."

Yuan Xiang swollen Z: 1 crying million Sancheng stretched out his hand to let the national defense army guards put down their guns. At the same time, he looked at the guard captain Ming Ye in the corner and couldn't help but give him a thumbs up in his heart.

He is worthy of being my old comrade who has followed me for 10 years. He is so cooperative.

Ougen took the paper in Yuan Xiangcheng's hand and looked at it. After just a quick glance, he had a general idea of ​​it.

Afterwards, the five pages of paper were distributed to the people present for review.

Even though each person could only look at one card at a time, the clauses written on it, such as "borrowing 5000 million francs but not seeing a penny in cash", "right of way owned by France", "no boycott of French goods", "recruiting civilians to cross the ocean", etc., still made everyone present think that Liu Kunyi was crazy.

Chinese businessmen feel that French goods should not be boycotted, and providing convenience for the French to set up factories is simply aiding the enemy!

French goods have already been crowding out the market, and Chinese goods are just struggling to hold on. Now they are demanding that we should not be boycotted. They don’t treat us as human beings.

For a moment, the businessmen from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, who had been influenced by the relaxed business atmosphere in recent years, suddenly woke up, and the "blood feud" hidden in their minds surged into their hearts again.

The people of Hunan are indeed evil by nature. They once shaved their heads and called themselves the masters of Confucianism, but they massacred tens of millions of people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, which is even worse than the Taiping Army!

Liu Kunyi has been cheating for several years and now he no longer pretends. He even wants to uproot us businessmen from Jiangsu and Zhejiang and sell our wealth and lives to the French!

Birds of a feather, all the same stuff!

Not only were Chinese businesspeople outraged, but students were also outraged. They had all been exposed to Western common sense and knew that if the right of way was foreign, wouldn't that mean the area along the railway line was a country within a country? This was tantamount to selling out one's country!

In addition, when the people saw the message "Recruiting laborers to Panama", they couldn't help but feel indignant. They didn't expect that the issue of selling piglets would happen again!

"Selling piglets" originated in Fujian and Guangdong, but Jiangsu and Zhejiang were also deeply affected. Many relatives of the common people boarded the ship more than ten years ago and have not been heard from since then. Those who survived the disaster and escaped back even called the other side of the ocean a purgatory on earth.

How is such an evil act different from human trafficking?