C5

After the cheers had subsided, Yuan Shikai continued to speak happily, "I, Yuan, have invited everyone here today to attend the banquet, and to have a talk about the country's affairs. As we all know, since I became the President of the country, I have been trying to reverse the poverty and backwardness of my country and to build good relations with other countries. Today, our country is gradually flourishing in all walks of life. The scene of today's peaceful and flourishing had appeared in his mind. But this was not enough, it was just the beginning! In this moment of unprecedented prosperity, I would like to invite everyone to toast! "

He raised his glass and drank with the others. Putting down the cup, he was very excited and said, "I, Yuan, have been preparing for a long time and would like to meet with everyone. Why was he so innocent? He never had a chance. Because of the rioting of the disorderly party. All right now, the government army has come to the disorderly party group. Some of the leaders have also been duly sanctioned. The country was more stable than ever, and could be said to be as peaceful as Mt. Tai. In the future, it would be a responsibility of someone like Yuan to lead the nation's people to change the poor and backward situation. I hope to have the support and support of the people. It also depends on the help and support of the brotherly countries. I will spare no effort to lead my people, to build a prosperous country, and to make it a good place for them to eat and live in peace. For this, I would like to offer you another toast. "

After he finished speaking, the hall burst into applause. Then, everyone raised their cups and emptied them.

Yuan Shikai took another sip of his wine. Yuan put down his glass, cleared his throat and said, "For various reasons, I have a request today to help friendly countries. Friends from all over the world, please do not sit back and let us have your hand. I, Yuan, am here on behalf of the nation to thank you. "

He looked at the cup full of wine in front of him, held it high in his hand, and said to the crowd, "Today's banquet will be a success, I'll have another toast!"

All of a sudden, everyone stood up, each cup in hand. For a moment, the hall was filled with sounds of modesty, clinking of cups, and joyful voices.

Yuan Shikai took another sip of his wine. He put down his cup, feeling satisfied with the scene, and thought to himself, "Now it's time to get down to business." He saw that someone was still standing and gestured for everyone to sit down with both hands. Then, just as he was about to speak, he saw an Englishman flush and sit up again. Yuan Shikai thought he was going to say something, but stopped and stared at the man. The Englishman stood awkwardly, shook his head, and said nothing. He turned and spoke English in a low voice to another Englishman.

Then, the two of them pushed each other back and forth. Those people from other countries also gathered together when they saw this and whispered to each other in groups of twos and threes.

English, French, Russian, Japanese, German... As they flipped, the sound gradually grew louder, affecting the order of the venue. Yuan Shikai, who had been dispersed to the point where he could no longer speak, coldly sat on the main platform.

Feng Guozhang was a hot-tempered and rough man, so he was a bit embarrassed to see the president. He thought the foreigners were making small gestures in defiance of the dignity of the place. He couldn't hold it in any longer, so he stood up and glared at the foreigners. He angrily walked to Yuan Shikai's side, and the two of them whispered in each other's ears.

I don't know what he was talking about, but Bibi was drawing and pointing, and it looked like his temper was about to flare up.

Yuan Shikai was so frightened that he waved his hand to stop him. Feng Guozhang angrily returned to his seat. It was precisely because of the different civilizations that a fit of anger arose.

It turned out that the foreigners hadn't meant to disturb the meeting. They saw that Yuan Shikai was in high spirits, and that he was very respectful to them; the whole scene was also very cheerful and harmonious, which touched their interest.

The Englishman who first stood up wanted to make a few compliments and express his feelings in order to toast Yuan Shikai. This was supposed to be an impromptu victory and reward. When he got up and calmed down, he realized that his Chinese was not that good. For a moment he worried that even if he forced himself to say it, he would not be able to keep up with his words.

This is the result of people in the West who tend to be neurotic and love fanaticism. He saw that Yuan Shikai was hesitating to speak and was looking at him with concern. He turned back to the minister who had gone to look for them, wanting him to stand up and toast to Yuan Shikai first. Juhle had been unprepared in advance, and was momentarily flustered by his words. In the end, the two of them began to give in.

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.