Hitler was lying on the sofa, with his black hair covering half of his forehead, his hands crossed and tapping, but his eyes were still looking at him very intently. He did not express his position, but only motioned to Xiang Xiaoqiang to continue.
Xiang Xiaoqiang was watched by Hitler and he mustered up the courage to say:
"Mr. Prime Minister, you must first express your position on this item. For us, this item is the general basis for cooperation between the two countries. If this item cannot be negotiated, there is no need to discuss other matters... This is also the intention of our Majesty and the cabinet.
.”
"Sir," Hitler suddenly stood up, took two steps, and then leaned on the back of the sofa and said to Xiaoqiang, "This is very difficult for Germany to accept. I can tell you, not only for Germany, but for any country.
To us, it is too harsh to accept the friendship of one country and then break off diplomatic relations with another country."
"Mr. Prime Minister..."
"Mr. General! You have to know that the most important thing I did after taking over this country was to abolish the Treaty of Versailles. I have smashed the existing unequal treaties and am determined to prevent all new unequal treaties. This is
My unshakable determination! Sir, you must understand that a person who values the independence and dignity of the German people above all else will not accept..."
At this time, Xiang Xiaoqiang heard the interpreter mention "unequal treaties" and couldn't help but interrupt:
"Mr. Prime Minister, do you think the article I just mentioned is an unequal treaty? I have only mentioned one item now, and you just say it is..."
"Sir, let me tell you what a normal treaty is." Hitler grabbed the back of the sofa with his left hand, shook the palm of his right hand in front of his chest, and held his chest high. "A normal treaty should be that you sit here and I sit here.
Here, you put forward all your conditions, and then I put forward all mine. We discussed, we discussed, we compromised, we made concessions to each other, and finally we reached an agreement. Sir, this is called a normal treaty... But never
It’s not like this now: you make a harsh request and then force the other party to accept it. If they don’t accept it, they won’t continue the negotiation. Sir, do you think this is how a normal treaty comes out?… If you don’t know, sir, I can tell you.
You, this is how the Versailles Contract of 1918 came about!"
After Xiang Xiaoqiang listened to the translation, he was speechless for a moment. He just stared blankly at Hitler who was getting more and more excited. He suddenly had a feeling that this madman was about to go crazy. If he said a few more words, he might take action.
Hit yourself.
Hitler walked around for a few steps and suddenly put on a friendly smile. He even patted Xiaoqiang on the shoulder and said with a smile:
"Mr. General, I'm sorry, please forget the harsh words I said, but please understand the meaning of my words. Two upright countries are like two upright people. The communication between upright people
They are equal, whether giving or taking, it should be two-way. Even if you are a friend, when you ask for something from him, you must let him know what he can get."
Xiang Xiaoqiang licked his lips gently, thinking fiercely in his mind.
He suddenly felt that it was a mistake for him to accept Hitler's separate summons today. Originally, they all thought that Hitler's summons was a courtesy, just to show his respect for the Ming Dynasty. It was just a face-saving meeting for the top leader.
.But I never expected that Hitler would be so cunning and suddenly enter the talks directly. If this was the case, he should have brought two experienced diplomats with him.
The current situation is that the young and inexperienced Xiang Xiaoqiang is facing alone the old and cunning Hitler, who has been playing politics for half his life. This is obviously not in the same weight class.
Xiang Xiaoqiang originally felt that his understanding of Hitler was far better than Hitler's understanding of himself. Although he could not say that he had the upper hand over Hitler, he could at least "even" a little bit. But now it seems that is not enough. It is still far away.
.
But it's too late now. We've already started talking. We can't say now: Mr. Prime Minister, I can't do it alone. I have to go back and call my assistant, so let's stop here today...
…
Xiang Xiaoqiang weighed it repeatedly for a long time and proposed a condition:
"Mr. Prime Minister, as long as Germany breaks off diplomatic relations with the Manchu and Qing Dynasties and recognizes that the north of the Yangtze River is part of the Ming Dynasty, we will recognize the Danzig Corridor as part of Germany."
Hitler supported the sofa, put one hand on his waist, tilted his head, listened to the translation, and then said immediately:
"This is ridiculous. Sir, you want to exchange hundreds of square kilometers of land with me for millions of square kilometers. You see, you hesitated for a long time before saying this. I dare say that you think so too.
It's unfair."
Xiang Xiaoqiang secretly gnashed his teeth in hatred. He licked his lips again and avoided Hitler's threatening gaze. Lao Xi's rebuttal was indeed too powerful. The Danzig Corridor ceded to Poland in the "Versailles Treaty" was only a few hundred square kilometers, but beyond the Yangtze River
In the north of North China, the Manchu and Qing dynasties occupied millions of square kilometers. The area of the two was indeed disproportionate. Xiang Xiaoqiang just wanted to transfer the benefits bit by bit based on the principle of negotiation, like squeezing out toothpaste, but Hitler just said
Throw it aside.
He thought hard, if Song Ruhai or Sun Jiye were here, how would they answer now?...Maybe they would not offer the "Danzig Corridor" condition at all.
Xiang Xiaoqiang suddenly had an idea and said:
"Mr. Prime Minister, it is indeed very unfair if we only look at the area of these two places. But this is not an actual exchange of land, but only an 'exchange of recognition'. What we exchange is only the recognition of both parties. Since it is only recognition,
, then we should not just look at who admits more land, but also whose recognition is more useful."
Hitler seemed to have predicted something. He held the back of the sofa, listened to the interpreter, and then asked:
"What's the meaning?"
Xiang Xiaoqiang also stood up and said:
"Mr. Prime Minister, the Danzig Corridor directly bisects East Prussia and West Prussia, causing Germany to be mutilated. Therefore, the Danzig Corridor is too important to Germany."
Hitler seemed surprised and said exaggeratedly:
"What, sir, do you think that the whole of North China is not important to your country? Or do you think that the importance of North China to your country is not as important as the Danzig Corridor to our country?"
"Of course it's comparable," Xiang Xiaoqiang stared at Hitler and said word by word, "Not only is it comparable, but I think it's ten thousand times more important."
Hitler was obviously stimulated and raised his voice: "Sir!"
"Mr. Prime Minister!" Xiang Xiaoqiang said calmly, "Precisely because the Danzig Corridor is 10,000 times smaller than North China, only a few hundred square kilometers, so whether it is drawn from Germany to Poland or from Poland to Germany, neither side will
No one will regard it as something more important than life, and no one will fight another world war for it. Since it can be eliminated through one diplomatic activity, it is entirely possible that it can be eliminated through another diplomatic activity.
The activities will be brought back. Mr. Prime Minister, do you admit this?"
Hitler pondered and said nothing. It was obviously his acquiescence.
Seeing that he had completely listened, Xiang Xiaoqiang continued without waiting for him:
"This determines that you can return the Danzig Corridor to the embrace of Germany through bloodless diplomatic means in your lifetime, or within ten years, no, it can be shorter, maybe within five years. In this case
Under such circumstances, as a major country in the world, once our country takes the lead in recognizing Germany's legitimate claim to it, the impact will be huge. Mr. Prime Minister, do you agree with this?"
Hitler was still pondering, glanced at him, and said nothing.
"On the contrary," Xiang Xiaoqiang said, "even if Germany recognizes that North China belongs to the Ming Dynasty, what practical effect will it have? Can we rely on this 'recognition' to get it back without bloodshed? Can we rely on negotiation to get it back?"
Can it be negotiated back? No. Mr. Prime Minister, we have an idiom in China called "asking the tiger for its skin", which means that if a person wants tiger skin, he should discuss it with the tiger and let the tiger peel off his skin and give it to him. Do you want tiger skin?
Is it possible to agree?... Now even if all the countries in the world recognize that North China belongs to the Ming Dynasty, it is impossible for the Ming Dynasty to take back North China without a war. Mr. Prime Minister, so our situation is different. You have our recognition, maybe
A negotiation can solve the problem. But for us to gain your recognition, it still requires a large-scale, tragic, and bloody war."
After Xiang Xiaoqiang finished speaking, he licked his lips, blood surged all over his body, and he almost collapsed, but he shouted excitedly in his heart: I finally got my feelings back! I finally dared to speak generously in front of Hitler, the genius of speech!
Hitler stared at him, a little surprised. Then he immediately pointed to the sofa:
"Please sit down! Sir, please sit down!"
The two sat on the sofa again. Hitler lowered his head, still thinking deeply, and the mustache on his lips moved with his lips.
After a while, Hitler said:
"Mr. General, this is different, this is different in nature. You recognized Germany's ownership of Danzig and only arbitrated a small piece of disputed territory. And if we meet your request, it will not only be..."
"No, Mr. Prime Minister," Xiang Xiaoqiang heard what the translator said and immediately interrupted him, "The Danzig Corridor is not a disputed territory, but completely the legal territory of Poland. This is clearly stated in the Treaty of Versailles, and all countries in the world
Everyone recognized it, including your country, which also signed the contract."
When Hitler heard this, he immediately stood up again, supported the sofa, waved his right hand and said:
"Sir, I want to tell you that the Treaty of Versailles is nothing. It is a collection of human ugliness in the twentieth century. It is a monument to the victory of might over justice. It is a piece of shit."
When Xiang Xiaoqiang heard the translator awkwardly translate the last word, he was quite surprised even though he had already known Hitler's temper. It was incredible for a dignified prime minister of a country to speak like this in front of foreign representatives.
Hitler continued:
"Sir, listen, let me say it again: you recognized Germany's ownership of Danzig, and you only arbitrated a small piece of disputed territory. And when we recognize your ownership of North China, we have to break off diplomatic relations with a country. Sir,
It is a world power of the same size as yours. In some respects, it is much bigger than yours... The price Germany has paid is too great."