Beiyang reactionaries

"But I am very happy to be able to come to Beijing and meet Chairman Duan. Chairman Duan, it is the responsibility of world powers to restore world order and formulate new rules. I think this is also the responsibility of China. Our country hopes Your country can take more responsibility, and your country should take more responsibility.”

Duan Xun nodded slightly.

To make China shoulder more responsibilities, of course, we must give China more benefits.

So Duan Xun said: "Mr. Hull, I agree with what you said. The old colonial system is collapsing because of this war, and the new world order has not yet been established. As for how to establish a new world order, all countries are groping Among them, everyone does not have a complete plan. But for China, for me, one thing is very clear. That is the old colonial system, which I firmly oppose and must be resolutely smashed. Because our country, including All Asian countries have been harmed by the colonial system and have been colonized by great powers. Therefore, our country, including Asian countries, does not welcome colonists and the colonial system. If any power wants to come to Asia again, it wants to be in Asia Continuing to carry out colonization is against one billion Chinese people, against one hundred million East Asian people, against two hundred million Southeast Asian people, and against four hundred million South Asian people. Our country is willing to lead the people of these Asian countries to resolutely fight colonialism We will fight to the last drop of our blood to smash the colonial system.”

Cordell Hull nodded.

On this point, the United States already has a consensus.Duan Xun's words seem to be accusing the colonists, but in fact he is dividing his own sphere of influence.It stated that East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia should all be China's sphere of influence, and European and American countries are not allowed to intervene.

In addition to the complex South Asian issue, East Asia and Southeast Asia have become China's sphere of influence, which the United States agrees with.What will happen in the future, the United States dare not say.But now the Roosevelt administration recognizes this.

So after Duan Xun finished speaking, Cordell Hull said: "Chairman Duan's ideas coincide with the spirit of our country. Our country is also strongly opposed to the colonial system, and believes that the old colonial system should be completely destroyed. Asian countries should not There are colonies. Our country believes that under the leadership of your country, Asian countries will definitely be able to completely break the shackles of the colonial system in Asia, and Asian countries and nations will definitely be able to gain independence."

"Thank you Mr Hull for your understanding and your country for your support."

"Should be."

In a few words, the two people have reached an agreement on the general direction.

Cordell Hull expressed support for China's position in Asia on behalf of the United States.After supporting China's statement, Cordell Hull said: "The colonial system was formulated by the old colonial countries to safeguard their own interests. Some people are not satisfied with such a colonial system, so they started the war. But the purpose of these people's war is, It is not to break the colonial system, but to build a new colonial system to replace the old colonial system. In fact, what they pursue is the same, and they are all to colonize others. Therefore, I think it is the case to want to completely end the colonial system. We should all oppose it. What we should support is true national liberation and national independence."

"The new colonial system?"

"Yes. The purpose of this war started by the Axis powers of Germany, Italy and Japan was to establish a new colonial system. I think that in order to formulate a new world order and support the world national liberation movement, we must not only break the old colonial system, but also solve the These countries are preparing to create a new colonial system. In order to create a new colonial system, they launched a world war, which caused bloodshed in many countries."

"But there is no war between our country and the Axis powers."

"Even if there is no military conflict, they should not be supported. Especially arms support."

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"Especially the arms trade."

"Arms trade?"

"Yes."

Cordell Hull nodded and said: "We all have the responsibility to quell this war that has brought great disasters to mankind as soon as possible. If this war continues, it is unknown how many military and civilian casualties there will be, so we must defeat the axis as soon as possible." Heart country. In order to defeat the Axis powers, we believe that your country should end the arms trade with the Axis powers, which is also your responsibility as a world power.”

"Um…………"

Duan Xun pondered for a moment, but did not speak immediately.

Cordell Hull was also silent, staring at Duan Xun.Although Roosevelt and Cordell Hull had already judged that China was ready to accept the US proposal to terminate the arms trade with Japan before coming.But this is just their judgment. Before hearing Duan Xun's answer, Cordell Hull really couldn't guarantee it.

After all, China is different from America.

Many policies in China are directly related to Duan Xun's attitude.Roosevelt and Cordell Hull judged China's policy according to their thinking, but Duan Xun was a man after all.Judging a person's thoughts is completely different from judging the thoughts of an elite class.The idea of ​​a class is completely traceable.Even if some of them have different ideas, the ideas of a class will not change too much.But a person is different.

A person's choice will be different according to different situations and moods.So Cordell Hull is still very cautious.After all, Duan Xun's ideas directly affect China's policies.

To be honest, Cordell Hull doesn't like negotiating with such a country because there are too many variables.

Duan Xun paused for a long time before saying: "Even if we can't stop this war, we shouldn't add fire to this war. Avoiding more casualties in this war is also our duty in China. obligation."

"What Chairman Duan said is really good."

As soon as Duan Xun finished speaking, Cordell Hull was overjoyed immediately.

The previous judgment is completely different from what Duan Xun said personally.Cordell Hull was very relieved, because Duan Xun's words showed that China would accept the proposal of the United States and was willing to stop the arms trade with Germany, Italy and Japan.

Although it is only the arms trade, it is already a very big victory for the United States.Without China's support for the Japanese navy, Japan itself would have no time to replenish the lost warships.

"The most important thing now is to stop the current war as soon as possible. Chairman Duan's consideration in this way is really a great merit. Because of Chairman Duan's decision, the world will reduce many unnecessary casualties and restore stability faster."

"maybe."

Duan Xun replied calmly.

The same thing, at different times, will have different answers.When Stilwell came to China for the first time a year and a half ago, he had already proposed such an idea.But at that time, the most important thing for the United States was to make China give up the idea of ​​joining the Axis powers.And at that time, China was making money and enjoying itself, so how could it stop the arms trade.Therefore, everyone has only scratched the surface of this aspect, and has not conducted in-depth negotiations.Even if it is discussed, China will not agree.

But a year and a half later, the world situation has changed a lot.That's why Duan Xun made a statement and agreed to stop the arms trade with the Axis powers.

But this is not because Duan Xun wants to catch up, so Duan Xun will not show too much enthusiasm.On the contrary, Duan Xun accepted the proposal of the United States very calmly, and was willing to stop the arms trade with the Axis countries, mainly with Japan.

"By the way, Chairman Duan. In this Asian Joint Conference, a large number of Pacific islands have become members of the Asian Joint Organization."

"Yes."

"Chairman Duan, doesn't your country feel that there are some problems here?"

"what is the problem?"

Duan Xun looked at Cordell Hull in surprise.

The reason why Duan Xun did not talk about the Pacific Islands, but nodded to Cordell Hull, willing to terminate the arms trade with Japan, is because Duan Xun knew that if Duan Xun did not mention the Pacific Islands, the United States would bring it up.Because of the Asia United Conference, these islands were incorporated into the Asia United Organization.This is something the United States cannot accept.

The reason why Duan Xun postponed the meeting with Cordell Hull was to complete this matter.It's just casual chess, but for the United States, it must be taken seriously.

"Chairman Duan, take a look. You said that the Mariana Islands, Yap Islands, and Illian Island (New Guinea) belong to Asia. There is nothing wrong with that. After all, geographically speaking, they are indeed very close to Asia. There’s nothing wrong with saying they’re Pacific islands that belong to Asia. But if you say those other islands are also part of Asia, then there are too many problems.”

"Like the Solomon Islands, if you carefully analyze whether it is closer to Australia? Even if it is affiliation, it should belong to Oceania instead of entering the Asian Federation."

"There are also Rollin Islands, Marshall Islands, Gilbert Islands, Tuvalu Islands, and Samoa Islands. They are farther away from Asia, and they have nothing to do with Asia from a geographical analysis. If they are forced to enter the Asian Federation , is really too reluctant."

"As for Wake Island, Johnston Island, and Christmas Island, they have nothing to do with Asia. I really can't understand how they entered the Asian Joint Organization."

These Pacific islands are so important that if they really want to enter the Asia United Organization, then this is a shackle.

Because of the shackles of the members of the Asian United Organization, whether these islands belong to the United States or are independent in the future, China can use this excuse to intervene here.There is always an excuse to interfere in the internal affairs of the Pacific islands.If China is just a small country, the United States will not care.Because a small country is weak, don't say it's just an excuse, even if those islands belong to their country, it's useless if they don't have strength.

But China is not.

China is a big country, and it is a powerful country, a powerful country that can affect the world situation.Not to mention other things, China's annual shipbuilding scale can reach 300 million tons, and the shipbuilding capacity has been improving.The size of China's navy has been increasing in recent years.

The stronger China is, the greater its influence on the Pacific islands.The United States does not want to leave such a time bomb in the Pacific, and does not want to give China an excuse to intervene in the Pacific islands.

"Mr. Hull, we established the Asia United Organization at the beginning to break the colonization of Asia by the great powers. Our purpose is to better unite Asian countries and nations and resist the invasion of colonists together. Those islands in the Pacific are also deeply Being invaded and oppressed by the colonists, they have the same needs as us. And from another perspective, the Pacific islands are also protecting the security of Asia. With these Pacific islands, the security of Asia can be raised to a higher level. Therefore, I do not Do you think there is any problem with them joining the Asia Federation?"

"I understand your country's thinking very well, but to maintain the security of Asia, I don't think it is necessary to incorporate Wake Island, Johnston Island, and Christmas Island into the Asia Joint Organization."

"Something makes sense."

Duan Xun nodded.

On this issue, Wang Jingwei and Stilwell had already talked about it.Therefore, Duan Xun immediately said: "These islands are in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, so they are indeed not suitable for joining the Asia United Organization. However, your country must also understand that the Asia United Conference is hosted by China and Japan, and there are many regional organizations from Asian countries participating." Yes. At present, there are more countries and regions supporting Japan and Japan, and I cannot prevent such a thing from happening. But when my country hosts the conference in the future, Wake Island, Johnston Island, and Christmas Island will all be removed from the Asian Union Meeting."