C5 (2/2)
Those people from the other countries understood their intentions, and felt that this made sense. As a result, every country was unwilling to fall behind, and some people went to their own minister to suggest drinking to Yuan Shikai. Westerners may have been lacking in etiquette at the time, unprepared, and the results pushed back and forth. This disrupted the venue.
As for the sponsor, although he didn't speak Chinese well, he was extremely fluent in English and was very intelligent in his words. He did not say that he was not speaking well, but he was struck by inspiration. ”You are our head of state, Your Eminence, and you have the dignity of the British Empire in you. What reason is there here for us to go beyond that?” After a few words, the talking Juhle stopped, and he had to lower his head and think about what he was going to say.
This Mr. Juhle, tall and thin, with curly hair, eyes, and moustache curled upwards for a week. He had been in China for many years and had the ability to summon the wind and rain in Beijing. He and Yuan Shikai had a close relationship. Yuan Shikai's greatness today was all thanks to his support and help. The man also had many tricks up his sleeve among the empires that divided and monopolized China.
He was afraid that people from other countries would take the lead, so he quickly thought about it and stood up. He said in fluent Chinese, ”Ladies and gentlemen, our British Empire would like to express its support and assistance to President Yuan. We are willing to become friends with China and become permanent trading partners. In retrospect, our British Empire has had decades of dealings with China and forged a deep friendship with it. We are willing to continue to deal with China for a long time. We believe that our relationship with Britain and China will get better and better; our friendship will get deeper and deeper. If you have any difficulties and need our help, we will do our best to help and support you with the warmth and responsibility of old friends. We are willing to provide loans, arms, railways and various kinds of trade to China. We also firmly believe that President Yuan will become an outstanding Head of State in the history of China. His words are absolute and will not disappoint us. All our interests in China can be well protected. The promise that President Yuan once made to us, will definitely be fulfilled. For this reason, I am here to offer a glass of wine to President Yuan. I wish President Yuan an eternal life! I wish you all a healthy and long life! ”
With that, he raised his glass high, greeted Yuan Shikai first, then turned around, greeted everyone, raised his head, and toasted first. After that, he tilted the cup down to indicate that it was empty before sitting down.
Everyone had a toast and just sat still. A short, thin Japanese man with a proud look also stood up. He looked around, worried that he was too small to be seen, and went forward again. Many people did not know him and were whispering to each other. In fact, this person was the Japanese Minister, Mr. Yee. He was a short, stocky man, so thin from the fire.
He then bowed to Yuan Shikai and said in fluent Chinese, ”My friends and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, we, the Great Japan Empire, are also absolutely willing to help China. Whether China needs a loan, arms, or an army, we can promise that. Our Great Japanese Imperial Army is now the most powerful army in the world, invincible. If President Yuan wants, he can drive into China at any time. For the sake of the daily peace, let me toast President Yuan! Wishing President Yuan a better life than Nanshan! I wish everyone a healthy longevity! ”
With that, he also raised his glass to pay his respects to Yuan Shikai, turned around, and paid his respects to everyone. Then he toasted with all of them, and then raised his glass to empty it. He bowed to Yuan Shikai, bowed to everyone, and stood straight before returning to his seat with vigorous steps.
As Yuan Shikai and the others sat down, the Russian minister stood up again. When he had finished, the Minister of France and the Minister of Italy made speeches offering toasts to Yuan Shikai.
In the end, two ministers stood up at the same time to toast Yuan Shikai. But later on, the best of these speakers were not as good as Zhu Er Dian and Yi Di. Most of them spoke haltingly, some of them using translations. Upon seeing this scene, both Juhle and Joy happily sat there, showing a proud expression.
Then Vice President Li Yuanhong spoke and toasted the guests. In accordance with Yuan Shikai's prior instructions, he raised the issue of borrowing money from countries, buying arms, etc., and proposed a number of items that could be used as collateral for delegates to consider. Secretary Lang, Liang Shiyi, and others hurriedly prepared to record the questions and conditions that would be put forward by the envoys of various countries.
It turned out that Li Yuanhong had a lot of eloquence. After he finished speaking, he said a few words of toast, causing the people present to burst into cheers. Everyone was so excited that they even started drinking again. Finally, Li Yuanhong said, ”Consular ministers, guests and friends of all countries, let us drink a toast to our friendlier, more friendly atmosphere!” His speech was always filled with joy. From the looks of it, the atmosphere of the banquet was still very warm.
However, what the foreigners drank was good wine, which quickly turned into bad water as soon as it reached their stomachs. All of them harbored evil intentions, and all of them were thinking about how to take advantage of this opportunity to monopolise China even further. They all knew that what Yuan Shikai said was false, the title of emperor was true. What he lacked the most was money and firearms. Therefore, they all expressed their active support and assistance to Yuan Shikai. Their supportive language was also eloquent.
When the terms of the loan were considered, the Minister of Japan spoke first. He said: ”Just now your country proposed a huge amount of loans, is amazing, other countries cannot afford to pay. Only our Great Japan Empire, strong, gold full of surplus, can afford to pay. Therefore, we have agreed to accept the entire loan. ”As collateral, we can sign and pay the tax on the southwestern Chinese railway, the tax on the road from Yangzi River to Huaihe, the tax on the sea from Shanghai to Guangzhou, and the tax on the whole of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Huguang provinces.” When the British minister heard this, he was very angry and was about to get up and refute it.
Originally Japan proposed mortgage conditions, most of the British sphere of influence, seriously infringe on the interests of the United Kingdom.