The battleship had no intention of anchoring, and slowly and slowly moved forward in the river. Although the speed was very slow, it was unstoppable.
Ferdinand, who was so anxious that his forehead was sweating, rode forward with the Zhiyuan, protected by military attachés and soldiers who had been shouting for almost twenty minutes with their hands clasped over their mouths.
Humiliation! This was the most humiliating day in Ferdinand's diplomatic career. He had experienced countless diplomatic negotiations and had never been so despised.
Just when his patience was about to collapse, suddenly the deck lights above his head brightened, and then a group of figures appeared at the railing. Since the lights were behind these people, Ferdinand could not see their faces clearly, and all the facial features were blurred. It was pitch black.
But through the style of the military uniforms on these people and the faintly exposed Venus, he could tell that the person in the middle must be Xiao Letian, the head of state of the Chinese ethnic group.
This was the moment to test the qualities of a diplomat. Ferdinand urged his horse forward, nodded slightly and smiled at the person above him, "I am Viscount Ferdinand, the French Consul of Egypt. Is the person opposite me Xiao Letian, the head of state of the Chinese ethnic group?"
There was a moment of silence above the head and a steady voice sounded, "Hello, Mr. Consul, I am Xiao Letian. Why did you come to see me on such a dangerous night? You know it is not safe outside..."
Listening to Xiao Letian's teasing, Ferdinand was furious but could not get angry yet. He had to follow the diplomatic etiquette step by step. "Your Majesty the Head of State, this is the canal zone, which is under the actual control of France. I am still safe here." , please don’t worry... On the contrary, I am deeply worried about the safety of Your Excellency and His Majesty the Emperor!"
"The sudden attack has caused you losses, and it also proves that there are dangerous elements trying to target you, so please temporarily anchor down and wait for the protection of the French army?"
"I believe that with the protection of our French military along the way, your journey across the canal will be safer..."
Xiao Letian and the others were stunned for a moment, saying to themselves that we have never seen such a shameless person. He can lick his face and say this truth. He is truly a diplomat. His face is stronger than the steel armor of the Zhiyuan.
After a moment of silence, Xiao Letian sneered and said, "Are you kidding? The French army is protecting me? You can hide so many artillery pieces under your noses, and you still say you want to protect us? I'm sorry, I don't believe in your strength, and I even more doubt your motives!"
Even when faced with such an unfriendly answer, Ferdinand did not feel embarrassed at all but persisted and said, "Your Majesty the Head of State! You should know that a war just broke out between the Chinese and Tsarist Russia, and there is no armistice agreement yet... There has always been a war here in the Middle East. They are places where many forces have penetrated, so maybe this attack was organized by Tsarist Russia!"
"The canal needs order, you need security, and even the British side needs to complete the escort mission... Such a conflict has already occurred, and we must resolve it! Don't you want an answer?"
Xiao Letian and everyone on the deck whispered to each other for a while, and then Xiao Letian said, "What do you want?"
"Please drop anchor and stop the ship, and ask the head of state to disembark and negotiate with us... I have sent someone to inform the British side that General Jason has agreed to disembark for negotiations. Doesn't the head of state even have the sincerity to meet and negotiate?"
"Negotiation? I'm afraid I will be in danger after disembarking... You French soldiers are besieging my army. At this time, you tell me to negotiate amicably? Do you think I will believe your sincerity?"
"Withdraw your soldiers immediately, maybe I will consider it... Needless to say, withdraw your troops first, and then you will be qualified to negotiate!" Xiao Letian raised his hand to stop Ferdinand's words, turning this veteran diplomat The family's mouths were tightly shut.
"You..." Ferdinand was speechless. The toughness in Xiao Letian's tone made him feel tremendous pressure. More importantly, the battleship so close at hand gave him invisible pressure.
Negotiation is like this. It is not only a confrontation of words, but also a collision of momentum. Why do some diplomats put forward sharp opinions on the location of the negotiation venue or even the placement of a pot of flowers on the table?
It's not because he has many things to do, but because he wants to show a strong momentum through this kind of behavior, which is a momentum that dominates everything.
But not today. The place and time were not chosen by Ferdinand. He couldn't even see Xiao Letian's expression on the Zhiyuan, and the other party was overlooking him, so Ferdinand had to raise his head and pull his neck to shout.
This was an unequal status. His momentum was completely suppressed. In order to reverse the situation, he had to demand equal negotiations. He invited Xiao Letian and General Jason to disembark and conduct equal tripartite negotiations. This was the only way out.
Ferdinand had no choice. He looked at his pocket watch and saw that it was already ten o'clock in the evening. The longer he delayed, the worse it would be for him, because the Zhiyuan had no intention of stopping the ship. Even the British warships had already entered the waterway. .
"Send the order for our people to retreat... blow the retreat bugle, don't worry about the evidence or not!"
"So what if you, Xiao Letian, get the evidence? As long as we in France can organize an anti-Chinese alliance, we can completely ignore your evidence... In the final analysis, this world still depends on who has the biggest fist!"
The military attache rode towards the sand dunes on horseback. Before he reached the scene of the fight, he had already started to sound the bugle call for retreat. The bruised and swollen French army had lost their temper at this moment. After hearing the order to retreat, the two sides finally distanced themselves.
Immediately afterwards, Hyoutaro and Noheita also received the order to retreat. Now that the evidence had almost been transported, the young men who had a fierce fight wiped the blood from the corners of their mouths and began to retreat towards the fleet with a smile.
"Nohira...Is Commander Nohira here..."
"Hyoutaro... Are you here, Commander Hyoutaro..."
Someone was calling in the darkness, and then the person was brought to the two of them. "The head of state issued a secret order, asking the two officers to quickly mobilize elites to search for the telegraph wires beside the canal... destroy them, destroy them all!"
"Understood...resolutely complete the mission!"
"Hyotaro, you lead the troops to retreat. I will take a platoon of brothers to find the telegraph room in the town. Once you find the melon, you will naturally touch the vines. The telegraph wire is still easy to find..."
In the dark night, there was chaos everywhere. A platoon of soldiers disappeared into the night without anyone noticing.
Time was running out, and none of the three parties was delaying. General Jason saw that the conflict was over. At this time, there was no chance for military intervention, so it would be a good choice to personally come forward and intervene at the negotiation table, so Jason soon The general disembarked and went ashore, escorted by soldiers, and headed straight for the Zhiyuan.
When he saw the negotiation place surrounded by the light of torches, he found that Xiao Letian had already come ashore and was already quarreling with Consul Ferdinand. The smell of gunpowder from both sides was extremely strong.
