C5 Dinner

After the cheers had died down, Yuan Shikai was elated and continued to speak, "I, Yuan, have invited everyone here today to attend the banquet, and to discuss national affairs freely. 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 drank another mouthful of wine. Yuan Shikai put down his cup, cleared his throat and said: "Due to various reasons, I have something that I need to ask for your assistance in helping the friendly countries today. 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 drank another mouthful of wine, then put down his cup. He was satisfied with the situation, and said in his heart: "Now, let's get to the point." 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 that he wanted to say something, but stopped himself as he stared at that person. 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 was so scattered that he could not speak, and so, he stood on the stage coldly.

Feng Guozhang, who was hot-tempered and rough, felt a little awkward when he saw the President. He thought the foreigners were making small gestures in defiance of the dignity of the place. He could no longer hold it in, he stood up and glowered at the foreigners, he angrily walked to Yuan Shikai's side and the two whispered to each other.

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 scared that she stopped him with a wave of her hand. 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. When they saw that Yuan Shikai was in high spirits and looked peaceful, they respected them greatly. The whole scene was lively and harmonious, which touched their interest.

The Englishman who stood up first wanted to praise Yuan Shikai while he was still in the mood to drink, so he wanted to express his feelings and 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 had stopped talking and was looking at him with deep concern. He turned around to look for their Minister Zhu Erdian to discuss with him, wanting him to stand up and speak first to toast to Yuan Shikai. Zhu Erdian was not prepared in advance, and upon hearing his words, he panicked. In the end, the two of them started to give in.

Those people from the other countries understood their intentions, and felt that this made sense. Hence, countries didn't want to fall behind, there were people who went to their own envoys to make suggestions, and to toast 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 noticed that Zhu Erdian was pushing him to speak, but he did not say that his lecture was not good, and with a flash of brilliance he said: "You are our leader, esteemed minister. You have the dignity of the British Empire on your body, in this place, how can we surpass you?" With just a few words, Zhu Erdian stopped pushing them away, and could only lower his head and ponder.

This Mr. Zhu Erdian, tall and thin, with a full head of curly hair, eyes, and moustache curling upwards by 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 long ago gotten used to each other. Yuan Shikai was only able to become as majestic as he was today thanks to his guidance and help. The man also had many tricks up his sleeve among the empires that divided and monopolized China.

Zhu Erdian was afraid that other nations would take the lead, and very quickly, he thought about it and stood up. He spoke in fluent Chinese, "Everyone, we the British Empire would like to express our support and help to President General Yuan first. 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 General 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. President General Yuan's promise to us would definitely be fulfilled. For this reason, I am here to offer a cup of wine to President General Yuan. I wish President General Yuan an eternal life! I wish you all a healthy and long life! "

After he finished speaking, he raised his glass high and paid his respects to Yuan Shikai, then turned around and bowed to everyone again. He raised his head and toasted first, and then placed the cup down, indicating 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. Actually, this person was the Japanese Minister, Mr. Hioki. He was a short, stocky man, so thin from the fire.

After standing properly, Hioki bowed towards Yuan Shikai before speaking in fluent Chinese, "My friends, gentlemen, ladies, we, the Great Japan, are also definitely 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 General Yuan needs it, he can enter China anytime. I toast to the President General Yuan for the sake of the daily peace! I wish President General Yuan a life longer than Nanshan! I wish everyone a healthy longevity! "

Finished, he also raised his cup to pay his respects to Yuan Shikai, and after walking around for a week, he paid his respects to everyone. Then he toasted with all of them, and then raised his glass to empty it. He bowed towards Yuan Shikai, bowed towards everyone, and then stood up straight before returning back to his seat with vigorous steps.

Just as Yuan Shikai and the others sat down, the Russian minister stood up again. When he finished speaking, the Minister of France and the Minister of Italy also gave a toast to Yuan Shikai.

Later on, two ministers stood up at the same time and toasted to Yuan Shikai. But later on, amongst all the spokesmen, the best Chinese would not be as good as Zhu Erdian and Hioki. Most of them spoke haltingly, some of them using translations. Seeing this scene, Zhu Erdian and Hioki both happily sat there, showing a prideful expression.

Then, it was up to Vice-President Li Yuanhong to toast the guests. Following Yuan Shikai's prior instructions, he raised the issues of borrowing from other countries, buying arms, and suggested a few items that could be used as collateral. He also requested the various countries' representatives to consider those items. 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 was very eloquent. After he finished speaking, he said a few words of toast, causing the people present to burst into cheers. Li Yuanhong then said, "Honorable ministers and consuls of the various countries, and distinguished guests and friends, in this warm and friendly atmosphere, let us toast once more for our friendship!" 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 Yuan Shikai was lying when he said that he was claiming the title of emperor. What he lacked were money and weapons. So they all expressed their active help and support 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.