Just as Xiang Xiaoqiang finished persuading Zhu Yourong that we should not add such a clause, Shen Rongxuan expressed his opinion again.
Shen Rongxuan thought for a moment and said slowly:
"Actually... it's not that we can't add this kind of clause to the negotiation conditions. Whether we can add it depends on how we look at it."
Everyone was startled and looked at him. Zhu Yourong's eyes lit up and she also looked at Shen Rongxuan. She really wanted to add these clauses.
Shen Rongxuan said:
"Although we do not expect the Qing court to truly accept and implement clauses such as 'open media' and 'freedom of movement', it does not prevent us from proposing them as clauses. Under the premise that the Qing court does not accept it, although we This cannot shake the foundation of the Qing government's rule, but it has several immediate effects. The first is that we immediately stand on the moral high ground. Although there are no military results, it scores points politically.
"Everyone has seen that Beiqing has been 'accusing' us in the League of Nations, saying that we actively provoked war and violated many international conventions. For example, undeclared war, the use of incendiary weapons, and the use of aircraft to drop explosions The method of combat is actually bombing, such as our "Civilian Rescue Order", etc. Seriously speaking, we have really violated the relevant provisions of the Geneva International Convention with these articles. Now Beiqing is in the League of Nations Li called for Ming to be expelled from the League of Nations, requested the League of Nations to impose sanctions on Ming, take collective military action against Ming, etc.
"Of course, the vast majority of countries voted against the Beiqing's request and sided with the Ming Dynasty. Among the six permanent members of the Executive Yuan of the League of Nations, only the Soviet Union and Japan abstained from voting, which is a sign of not breaking up with the Ming Dynasty. Even though they were embarrassed, they said they were on the side of the Northern Qing Dynasty. Among the 11 non-permanent members, except for the two 'participating countries' of the Ming and Qing Dynasties who did not participate in the vote, the other 9 all voted against and stood on the side of the Ming Dynasty. The remaining Among the dozens of ordinary member states under the Ming Dynasty, only a few small dictatorships in Latin America, such as Paraguay, openly sided with the Beiqing. Other countries also sided with the Ming Dynasty. Including the Netherlands, which had just finished the war with us. , this time I also voted against Beiqing.”
Foreign Minister He Ziguang smiled and said:
"Haha, if it doesn't vote, it will be despised by the whole of Europe... I just read the newspaper yesterday. After the Soviet representative came out, he told reporters that they had always been blocked by the imperialists. This time there was such a voting result. This was the result of the whole world uniting to isolate the Soviet Union. He himself was not surprised... Haha, the Peking representative's words were much more beautiful than those of the Soviets. He said that he believed that the League of Nations was a noble institution, and that he also believed in the great power of the Communist Party of China. Most member states and representatives are also noble. But the more noble they are, the easier they are to be deceived by despicability.
"The representative of the Northern Qing Dynasty reminded the world that the Ming Dynasty's attack on the Northern Qing Dynasty was not to liberate the people at all, but to plunder land resources and improve its own strategic situation. He said that to judge a person, you cannot listen to what he says , it still depends on how he does it. The same is true for judging a country and an army. He said, wherever the Ming army went, there were still flames, burning, killing and looting? This is clear evidence."
Shen Rongxuan nodded and said:
"He is probably referring to the local people's actions to liquidate the government."
Hearing what Shen Rongxuan said, Xiang Xiaoqiang felt that he couldn't sit still anymore. He could no longer pretend to be stupid and had to take the initiative to express his feelings.
He nodded to Xiaoqiang and said sincerely:
"Well, what Mr. Shen Ge said is right. Many attacks turned into indiscriminate robbery at the opportunity. We used to place too much emphasis on the speed of the advance. After annihilating the Qing army, we would move on without paying much attention to many local things. .Now that the offensive has stopped, we really need to take the management of the occupied areas seriously."
When Shen Rongxuan heard that he had expressed something, he glanced at him, nodded, and signaled He Ziguang to continue.
He Ziguang nodded and said:
"That's what he was referring to. But he didn't even mention that this was a spontaneous act of liquidation by the people. He only said that 'everywhere the Ming army passed was filled with fire, burning, killing and looting.' He was completely leading the audience to think that 'this is all Ming Dynasty' The army is obsessed with burning, killing and looting. Fortunately, there is more than one newspaper in the world, Da Qing Daily. Da Qing Daily is full of lies and is maintained by the imperial court. However, other newspapers are private and their bosses If you want to make money to support your family and it is full of lies, who will be willing to spend money to read it? How can you compete with other newspapers?
"So the Manchu and Qing representatives spoke like this to mislead and mislead the people in the country... However, from another perspective, although few people in the world believe that the Ming army burned, killed and looted, there are also few people who believe that the Ming Dynasty was purely for The war was launched only to liberate the people in the north. They believe that the Ming Dynasty fought for land, resources and strategic situation. Of course, it also included the liberation of the people in the north.
"So, Your Majesty, everyone's concerns are justified. Of course, we all understand your true thoughts and know that you are purely for the liberation of the people in the north, not for land resources... Of course, the Ming army is also for liberation The people in the north are not doing it for land resources... But now, not only the Northern Qing Dynasty does not believe it, but also few countries in the world believe it... Therefore, Mr. Shen Ge said that no matter whether the Qing government accepts it or not, we must publicly raise it. Come out. I think this approach is very feasible. Now we need such a moral card."
The more Zhu Yourong listened, the more disappointed he became. He put the coffee in his hand on the table and said sadly:
"Morality is morality, and you are playing it as a card. Since others don't believe it, why are we playing this card?"
Then, she picked up the napkin, wiped it, threw it back on the plate, stood up and said calmly:
"You decide. I believe you and respect you. Okay, I won't get involved."
Then he turned around and walked away.
When Zhu Yourong stood up, a circle of courtiers hurriedly stood up... When everyone saw His Majesty walking to the door, he raised his sleeves and wiped his cheeks quickly.
...maybe he was crying.
Seeing that His Majesty was angry and probably even cried, everyone looked at each other. It was very rare for His Majesty to lose his temper in a royal meeting.
Several people looked at each other and slowly sat down. For a moment, no one knew what to say.
Xiang Xiaoqiang knew Zhu Yourong best, and he understood that this girl was stubborn again.
He knew that although Zhu Yourong was a bit idealistic, he still looked at international issues at a certain level, and his mind was not that simple. The main reason was that Zhu Yourong was too serious on this issue, especially what he saw in the riverside observation fort last time. This kind-hearted girl was so stimulated that she became more determined in her belief in "liberating the people of the North" above all else. Now she sees several ministers "shamelessly" exposing the people of the North that she cares about most in front of her. Playing as a card, playing with their future like a card, this kind girl's bottom line was exceeded.
Shen Rongxuan looked around the crowd and sighed:
"Everyone, we are really lucky to have such a majesty. This is a majesty who truly has the happiness of the people at heart."
Xiang Xiaoqiang immediately nodded in agreement and said:
"Yes, yes. Your Majesty is not easy to find."
Army Minister Li Gaoting glanced at Xiang Xiaoqiang and said:
"My lord, we cannot rely on a country's destiny and the happiness of hundreds of millions of people on the virtue of one monarch."
Xiang Xiaoqiang glanced at him, smiled and said nothing, picked up the coffee and drank it. Shen Rongxuan didn't say anything, also smiled, picked up the coffee and drank it.
Zhang Zhaoxian said slowly:
"Master Li, what you mean is, what should I do if one day His Majesty is no longer so virtuous? Is that what you mean?"
Li Gaoting said calmly:
"This minister didn't say that. What I mean is, what should I do if His Majesty lives forever...or what if one day, His Majesty cannot make his own decision..."
Xiang Xiaoqiang's heart trembled, and he immediately understood that Li Gaoting was alluding to him. The phrase "Long Live Your Majesty" was just talk. Zhu Yourong is now a girl in her twenties, with a great body, and it is still early for her to live forever. Here. What this guy wants to say is that if one day he "seduces" His Majesty to Xiaoqiang, whether it's an open matchmaker or a secret lover, and confuses Zhu Yourong to the point where he can't distinguish between four and six, then At that time, he had military power in his hands and controlled the Queen. Then wouldn't the entire Ming Dynasty belong to Xiang Xiaoqiang?
Xiang Xiaoqiang also knew that this concern had existed among the ministers for a long time, not just a day or two. But now there is a war, both the civil and military sides have been quiet for a long time, and they are in the period of unanimous foreign relations. Why did Li Gaoting suddenly appear like this? One sentence? Did he say it himself or was it instructed by Shen Rongxuan? If it was instructed by Shen Rongxuan, then the choice at this time is not very smart.
At this time, the Ming Dynasty had a very good tradition, that is, when faced with foreign enemies, it generally did not engage in internal strife. This was also the result of being under the severe threat of the Manchu Qing Dynasty for more than two hundred years and being forced to "evolve". In other words, , was "forced" out. Otherwise, the Southern Ming Dynasty would have been wiped out like the Southern Song Dynasty. Chinese people like internal strife, which can be said to be a "side effect" of long-term unification. Westerners are not big on internal strife, or they don't like it as much as the Chinese. Internal strife is because Europe has been in a multinational state for a long time, and the danger of a multinational state mainly comes from the outside. Ethnic groups and countries that like internal strife are quickly eliminated.
As for China's long-term unification, the unification lacks external enemies, and the danger mainly comes from within. In this way, you must be able to play Machiavellian, and those who are not able to play Machiavellian will soon be eliminated. The so-called "likes internal strife" means that they like to play Machiavellian. With Fighting against foreign enemies is not called "strategy", but at best "strategy" or "strategy". Only fighting against one's own people is called "power", with the added word "power". Everything has advantages and disadvantages, and the state of unification is no exception. Its The advantage is that more citizens can live in stability, prosperity, and abundance, and more wealth and energy can be used for non-war purposes. In this way, a great classical civilization can be accumulated. To form a great classical civilization, long-term unification is Necessary conditions. But the disadvantage is that over time, people will become servile, cynical, cowardly, lack of blood, and like to fight within themselves. There is no way to do this, and it doesn't matter who is good or bad. They are all different results in the process of social evolution.
But Xiang Xiaoqiang, who has been in the Ming Dynasty for so long, feels that the nearly three hundred years of confrontation is not without its benefits. At least from his point of view, in the Ming Dynasty society now, the tradition of "internal strife" is not as strong as that of later generations. This is also the result of more than two hundred years of competition. As a result, the Southern Ming Dynasty survived and did not turn into the Southern Song Dynasty. Since it could survive, its people must have evolved some excellent things and eliminated some harmful things.
Now the Minister of War suddenly launched an attack - yes, in Xiang Xiaoqiang's view, this was an attack - he launched an attack at this time. If it was Shen Rongxuan who instigated it, then the timing was really bad. In both civil and military dynasties, There won't be much support.
Sure enough, after hearing Li Gaoting's last words, Shen Rongxuan seemed a little annoyed. He glanced at Li Gaoting and frowned:
"Master Li, your words are too much. Your Majesty is still young, so how can you talk about 'Long Live the Age of Eternity'? What do you mean by 'not being able to make your own decisions'? Master Li, what are you thinking about? His Majesty has his own personal affairs to decide, and we are not ministers. As a tabloid reporter, what kind of decency does it have to talk like this?"
Li Gaoting probably didn't expect Shen Rongxuan to be so shameless. His face was ugly, and he nodded with a stern face:
"What Mr. Ge said is that the subordinate is also worried about the country, so his speech was a bit abrupt."
Shen Rongxuan nodded, looked around at the crowd, and said:
"That's it. Since Your Majesty respects our decision, we have decided to include relevant clauses in the subsequent negotiations. Do you have any opinions, sir?...Do you have any opinions, generals?...No? Okay, then It’s settled.”
He stood up, and then everyone stood up too. Everyone laughed at each other and followed Shen Rongxuan out of the breakfast room one after another.