Expedition to Europe

The effects of what happened in Borneo may not be visible until a year from now, but there is a problem that is looming.

Shandong problem.

The Shandong issue has a long history. After the outbreak of World War I, on August 15, 1914, Japan automatically joined the Allied Powers and declared war on Germany in accordance with the "Anglo-Japanese Alliance".

On September 18, 1914, the Japanese and British forces began to attack Qingdao. At the same time, the Japanese army ignored China's neutral status at the time and occupied not only Jiaozhou Bay but also the entire Jiaoji Railway.

At that time, Yuan Shikai's Beiyang government protested to Japan and demanded that the Japanese troops withdraw. But Japan ignored it.

Just last year, the Beiyang government declared war on Germany and joined the Allied Powers.

After that, the Beiyang government once again asked the Japanese to withdraw their troops, but the Japanese still refused to leave.

This matter can be regarded as a mistake.

In order to attack the Germans, the British and French signed secret treaties with Japan, ignoring the Beiyang government that had not yet participated in the war. According to the secret treaty, the Japanese will obtain the rights of the Germans in Shandong after the war.

This move by the British and the French was to give the Japanese a taste of the sweetness first, and then to support Britain and France in their war against Germany in Europe.

But they did not expect that the Japanese would not be fooled. They took Shandong and made no further moves. Not only did they not send a single soldier to Europe, but they took advantage of the British and French being unable to escape from the whirlpool of the European War. They sold things to Europe at high prices while making money. Vigorously seizing the market of the Beiyang government.

You must know that the Beiyang government has one-fifth of the world's population. Such a giant market can consume industrial products that even the entire Africa cannot keep up with. Only when there is a market can there be vitality. Otherwise, even if Europe has Africa's resources, what you produce will not be sold at all, and it will be the same as nothing.

The "honest and reliable" Beiyang government, which corresponds to the despicable and shameless Japanese, has tens of thousands of troops in Europe since it declared war on Germany last year and has made great contributions.

This puts the British and French in an extremely awkward position.

If you have merit, you should be rewarded. If you have faults, even if you cannot punish them, you cannot help the evildoer. But the secret treaty signed by the British and French with the Japanese was written in black and white. How to choose became a problem that Clemenceau had to face.

"Qin, I understand your anger, but I need time." Facing Qin Zhiyuan, Clemenceau spread his hands and responded helplessly.

The location where Clemenceau and Qin Zhiyuan are located is the Bordeaux Municipal Government, because the French government has moved to Bordeaux, and Clemenceau, as Prime Minister, also has to work here.

Just half an hour ago, Qin Zhiyuan had just accepted the rank of Army Lieutenant General from Clemenceau, and reached a consensus on the expansion of the First Division of the Foreign Legion into four divisions.

From the time of this meeting, we can see the benefits of having people in the DPRK. We must know that Qin Zhiyuan’s two visits to President Raymond Poincaré did not last more than half an hour together. As for the three prime ministers after Qin Zhiyuan arrived in France, Aristide Briand, Alexandre Ribot, and Paul Panlewe, Qin Zhiyuan did not get the chance to meet him at all.

Well, three prime ministers, it sounds like Qin Zhiyuan has been in France for more than ten years, but in fact it is only more than half a year...

This is really messy!

"George, I'm very angry. I can't understand why children who are opportunistic, sneaky and sneaky will be rewarded? Why should children who are honest, hard-working and uncomplaining suffer humiliation?" Qin Zhiyuan was righteous.

Clemenceau was worried, rubbing his temples, pinching his eyebrows, and occasionally slapping his forehead. He is not actually to blame for this kind of putting the cart before the horse. He is now being blamed for the mistakes his predecessor made.

But this cannot be blamed on others. Since Clemenceau holds the position of prime minister, he means that he will recognize all agreements signed by his predecessor, otherwise France's national credibility will be lost.

"Qin, believe me, I will find a way, maybe in half a year, maybe in nine months, Shandong will definitely return it to the Beiyang government." Clemenceau said sincerely.

This is not Clemenceau using his delaying method. When facing Qin Zhiyuan, Clemenceau will not shirk. Qin Zhiyuan is a general fighting on the front line, and his troops are now almost the most combat-effective troops in France. If Clemenceau uses the trick of dragging Qin Zhiyuan, what if Qin Zhiyuan is better than the gourd?

France could not afford that, Clemenceau knew.

"Of course I believe you, Prime Minister..." Qin Zhiyuan wanted to add fuel to the fire.

"Call me George, Qin, I will never forget those nights at Da Fuwei." Clemenceau said seriously.

At night, it sounded dirty, but Qin Zhiyuan understood what Clemenceau meant.

"Okay, George, I believe you." Qin Zhiyuan understood Clemenceau's difficulties.

The democratically elected government has never been decided by one person. Even if Clemenceau wanted to help Qin Zhiyuan, Clemenceau could not do anything without the approval of the parliament.

As Clemenceau said, he needed time to convince Parliament, time to coordinate the interests of all parties, and time to reunite France.

In fact, the above is the job of the French Prime Minister. As for governing the local area, that is not within the scope of the Prime Minister's authority.

As Prime Minister, Clemenceau has no right to interfere with the operation of the Paris city government. The city of Paris decides how to build a Paris government elected by Paris citizens. As for remote areas like Corsica, there is no need to think about it. There is not even a parliament to control there, because there is no representative from Corsica in the French Parliament.

The Prime Minister actually did a very frustrating job.

This work is compiled and uploaded by Liujiu Book Bar~~

It was precisely because of his frustration that Clemenceau gradually became tougher and was eventually ostracized by mainstream French society.

That's a story later. Now Clemenceau is France's much-anticipated savior.

Qin Zhiyuan is also looking forward to it.

"There is good news that I must inform you personally." Clemenceau stood up solemnly, walked around the desk and stood opposite Qin Zhiyuan: "In order to express gratitude to the Chinese for their contribution to France, the Parliament collectively passed a resolution yesterday, deciding to start from today "We will give up the remainder of the Boxer Indemnity owed by the Beiyang Government to France."

"Gengzi compensation" is an eternal pain in the hearts of the Chinese people.

In 1900, due to the Boxer Rebellion incident that led to the Eight-Nation Allied Forces' invasion of China, the Qing government at that time was forced to sign the "Xin Chou Treaty". The treaty stipulated that the Qing Empire should compensate various countries with 450 million taels of silver, which should be repaid in thirty-nine years, with principal and interest. A total of 980 million taels of silver.

Why 450 million?

Because there were 450 million people in the Qing Empire at that time, and each person had one tael...

Starting from 1900, the Gengzi compensation was paid year by year. Among them, the Americans began to return part of the principal and profit of the surplus as a study fund in the United States starting in 1909.

After the founding of the Republic of China, in order to gain recognition from Western countries, the Republic of China government announced that it would inherit all treaties signed by the Qing Empire, and the Gengzi Indemnity continued to be paid.

The emergence of Qin Zhiyuan finally changed this situation. Clemenceau may not be able to force Japan to return Shandong to the Republic of China, but he also expressed his gratitude to the Republic of China in his own way.

You know, half of France has been reduced to ruins, and they are in need of money now.

So Qin Zhiyuan's thanks seemed sincere: "Thank you, George, thank you..."

Qin Zhiyuan gave George Clemenceau a big hug.