The second volume is full of glory and splendor in the capital, and the spirit is full of vitality in the foggy city. Chapter 326 Major Events (VIII)
This chapter's subtitle: This is just a prelude
"Damn CHINK!"
Sir Beilby Francis Alston (1868-1929), the British Empire's Minister Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to China, muttered resentfully in his heart.
His predecessor was the famous John Newell Jordan (1852-1925), but he resigned last year to become the general manager of Standard Chartered Bank.
Sir Eston was at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China at that time, in Dongtangzi Hutong, Yanmen, where the Prime Minister of the Qing Dynasty was located, preparing to meet with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yan Huiqing.
The old man is feeling extremely unhappy now. It is obvious that the capital of his country has been attacked shamelessly, but those Chinese people all have expressions of gloating on their faces.
In fact, the "723 Incident" and the "911 Incident" have similarities in meaning. That is, the world's largest country suffered a major setback and lost face.
Not to mention that the vast majority of Serbs gloated over the 9/11 incident, people in other countries were not much better .
Time magazine once used a famous photo as its cover, showing two Latin American girls from South American countries wearing paper hats that simulated an airplane crashing into a building, with joyful expressions on their faces.
The headline of this issue is “WHY DO THEY HATE US?”.
Yankees are just too confident and lack any self-awareness. They don't even know why people hate them.
"Damn Whitehall!"
Niu Niu is very self-aware and fully understands why the Chinese hate them.
At this time, the British Minister to China also received an instruction from the British Foreign Office, an instruction that was contradictory.
On the one hand, he was asked to "urge" the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to issue an official statement, and on the other hand, he was asked to conduct "friendly consultations" with the Chinese and ensure that this incident did not affect the "harmonious" situation in the Far East.
When the senior diplomat saw the word "harmony", he cursed in his heart. Where the hell is harmony in the Far East?
Without the British Empire's huge battleships and great guns, would there be harmony in the Far East?
But after all, he was only the British Minister to China, not the commander of the British Pacific Fleet.
However, at that time, Britain was still the world's number one empire, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China did not dare to neglect it and came to the reception room in person to greet him.
"Your Excellency, I am deeply sorry for this incident."
"Mr. General, thank you. However, I believe our government can properly resolve this issue."
"That is certain, Your Excellency. Please remember that we stand with you."
"That's good, Mr. General. When will you issue a statement?"
"This..."
Just then, they heard a commotion outside.
Yan Huiqing turned around and ordered, "Go and see what happened?"
Soon, the staff came back and reported: "Director Yan, there are students petitioning outside."
"Students petitioning?" Yan Huiqing asked knowingly, "What are they petitioning for?"
The staff member glanced at Sir Eston and said loudly in English, "They want our Foreign Office to issue a statement supporting London's just actions."
"Ridiculous! What kind of righteous action?" Yan Huiqing immediately showed his anger and shouted, "Besides, this is a matter of state, how can a child interfere?"
He pondered for a moment, then turned to Sir Easton and said, "Your Excellency, as you can see, the students are making trouble again. If things go wrong, we could end up with a repeat of 1919."
Yan Huiqing said sincerely, "That's what I think. A statement must be issued. But it's not too late to issue it after we calm the public down."
In fact, as a senior diplomat, he understood the British situation, and as a senior bureaucrat in the Beiyang government, he also understood the friction between the two countries.
Although later history books all say that the Zhili clique's backers are Britain and the United States, the relationship between the Zhili clique and the British is not as harmonious as the outside world imagines.
The customs and banking groups controlled by the British have been strangling the Zhili clique.
On the contrary, the US government was quite supportive of Oscar von Roatar Tsao. In June 1923, two months before his death, President Harding issued a statement supporting the unification of China. This encouragement led the Zhili clique leader Tsao to engage in the "vote-buying" scandal.
Therefore, causing some trouble for the British is not only what the people want, but also in line with the wishes of the direct lineage leaders.
Furthermore, President Xu Shichang did say he would issue a statement, but he didn't say it would be issued immediately. It would still be in time to issue one after the incident had passed.
This is the Eastern way of "thinking in your heart", which cannot be understood by those who are not familiar with it.
Upon hearing this, Sir Eston's face immediately turned livid, and he said sternly, "Mr. Minister, you must understand that your government will be responsible for all the consequences!"
Yan Huiqing smiled slightly and said politely, "Your Excellency, of course."
"Mr. General, I will take my leave now!"
After saying this, the British Minister to China turned away.
After he left… of course, through the back door, the Foreign Ministry attachés couldn't help but ask, "Director Yan, what should we do now?"
"Hmm..." Yan Huiqing paused for a moment before saying, "Let's tell the students this first. We don't know the exact situation right now, so it's not appropriate for the government to make a premature statement. Once we get further information, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will naturally handle it."
Well, the old man also used the tactic of "dragging".
Unfortunately, some things in the world will disappear if they are delayed, while some things will become bigger and bigger if they are delayed.
Greenwich Mean Time, 1 a.m. on July 24th.
" Not inferior to Zhuge Liang, but even better than Liu Bowen." Master Yuan was comforting the newly awakened Japanese Crown Prince: "Your Highness, don't be afraid. Come, come, eat an apple to moisten your throat first."
He organized his words and said, "Your Highnesses, this is what happened. When you got in the car, I realized something was wrong. So I confronted these gentlemen..."
"I have a gun, but they have you. The situation was very urgent. If I don't let them go, I can't guarantee the safety of the two princes..."
"So, I reached a gentleman's agreement with them..."
"I'll let them go, but I'll follow them myself."
"Mr. Cannon, isn't that right? Oh, by the way, Cannon is this gentleman's code name."
Gannon ("G"annon) Townsend nodded grimly.
After hearing these words, the two crown princes were really moved. What a brave, wise and considerate knight/warrior.
From their perspective, Master Yuan was truly thinking about them. Otherwise, if a gunfight broke out, they would likely be shot or even lose their lives.
They said sincerely, "Thank you, Dr. Yuan."
"You're welcome. This is what I should do." Yuan Yan waved her hand and changed the subject: "Your Highnesses, listen to me..."
