Gu Weijun stood in front of the three large blackboards filled with content, speaking with fervor and assurance. This young diplomat had taken off his crisp suit jacket; his shirt was neat, his tie meticulously knotted and secured with a tie clip. He was truly a dashing diplomat.

He Rui looked at the content on the blackboard again; it was all prepared diplomatic offensive and defensive strategies. How the Japanese would question, and how China would answer according to international law.

One point made He Rui smile uncontrollably. Gu Weijun predicted that Japan would propose, 'Germany first hands over Shandong privileges to Japan, and then Japan hands them over to China'.

This involved issues of 'ownership' in international law. He Rui's understanding of international law was more about its connotation, which is the principle of strength. The answer written by Gu Weijun was an effective elaboration of international law provisions. Except for lacking the support of strength, Gu Weijun had done everything possible to explain with copious references.

Even He Rui had to admire Gu Weijun's strength in law.

Seeing this, He Rui prepared to leave the venue.

Regarding Gu Weijun's performance at the Paris Peace Conference, He Rui had seen two versions. One was that Gu Weijun made a speech with a literati's style: 'China losing Shandong is equivalent to the West losing Jerusalem'.

Another version was that Gu Weijun refuted the Japanese representative's demands point by point in accordance with international law.

He Rui had always believed the second version, and now he was even more certain that Gu Weijun did not make a reaction like an incompetent literati.

Someone from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs walked in from outside the conference room and handed a document to Foreign Minister of the Republic Lu Zhengxiang. Lu Zhengxiang, also in a crisp suit, glanced at it and stood up to leave. He Rui followed him out.

Lu Zhengxiang was speaking in a low voice with the person from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Seeing He Rui come out, he thought He Rui wanted to say something, so he quickly ended the conversation and came forward to greet him.

He Rui said in passing, "Minister Lu, there must be a war between China and Japan. I hope that when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs dispatches military attachés abroad, you can consider the candidates we recommend."

Lu Zhengxiang was stunned, and a troubled look appeared on his face. He Rui smiled. "Why so troubled?"

Lu Zhengxiang could only reply, "Personnel of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are arranged by the central government; General He must be very clear about this."

"Hehe, it's interesting you say that. I think the brothers in the central government probably have some misunderstandings about me, but I don't want to explain. For the country, I no longer care about being blamed. I originally thought Minister Lu would be willing to take the blame for the country, allowing the brothers in Beijing some room to smooth things over. But if Minister Lu says this, doesn't it confirm that those brothers are unhappy?"

Hearing He Rui speak like this, the staff member from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs opened his mouth unconsciously in shock, his face full of astonishment.

Lu Zhengxiang had been a diplomat for more than twenty years and had seen much turbulence. Although surprised by He Rui's frankness and arrogance, he didn't think He Rui said anything wrong. Because Lu Zhengxiang was called out at this time precisely because Duan Qirui had sent a telegram asking Lu Zhengxiang to return to Beijing as soon as possible.

The telegram naturally wouldn't state the reason. Lu Zhengxiang was very clear that Duan Qirui probably felt He Rui wanted to use this meeting to play tricks again. In Beiyang and indeed the whole of China, it was He Rui who possessed the largest territory and controlled the greatest strength. Moreover, He Rui himself was a Beiyang new-style figure with proper roots. He was fully qualified to compete for the presidency. Before Lu Zhengxiang came this time, Duan Qirui was very unhappy.

After all, the current President was Xu Shichang. Although Xu Shichang himself had no army, he had high prestige. Moreover, the matter concerned the Shandong issue and was in the diplomatic field, so he had to reluctantly not oppose it.

Duan Qirui urging Lu Zhengxiang to return at this time was largely because Duan Qirui thought He Rui wanted to take the opportunity to do something. Now He Rui's words also proved how contemptuous this Fengtian clique leader's attitude toward the central government was.

Lu Zhengxiang originally thought He Rui would use threats and inducements like other warlords. Unexpectedly, seeing Lu Zhengxiang remain silent, He Rui just smiled and strode away. This reaction indeed gave Lu Zhengxiang temporary freedom, but at the same time made Lu Zhengxiang feel stronger unease. Originally, Lu Zhengxiang wasn't sure whether to leave immediately, but now he felt leaving was the best policy.

Without hesitation, Lu Zhengxiang ordered the staff member of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "Wire back to Director-General Duan; we will depart immediately."

After sending the person out, Lu Zhengxiang turned back to the conference room and saw that the speaker had changed to Zhao Tianlin, the Harvard Law Doctor from He Rui's side. Dr. Zhao wore the uniform of a Northeast civil official and was adjusting the response plan proposed by Gu Weijun.

Even though he had decided to leave as soon as possible, Lu Zhengxiang still listened seriously to Dr. Zhao Tianlin's speech. Unlike Gu Weijun, who didn't touch upon the 'principle of strength' in international law, Zhao Tianlin agreed with most of Gu Weijun's views but explicitly put forward his own view: "Regarding Japan's actions, we cannot adopt an attitude of recognition. Instead, the direction should be to expose Japan's intention to provoke a military conflict!"

Just this sentence made Lu Zhengxiang feel a bit terrified. There were still some talents in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic; someone had proposed what Zhao said, but it was rejected by Lu Zhengxiang.

Denying that 'Japan attempts to provoke a military conflict' was not because this view was wrong; precisely because this view was correct, it was denied. Lu Zhengxiang would absolutely not accept the continued expansion of Japan's military actions. If diplomatic actions led Japan to declare war on China, it would only plunge the people into misery and bring catastrophe to the country!

Zhao Tianlin was not from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, nor was he even under the jurisdiction of the Beiyang central government. It wasn't because Zhao Tianlin himself was so capable, but because He Rui, whom he followed, was essentially a semi-independent regime. So Zhao Tianlin continued to speak according to his own line of thought. "If you gentlemen want to use the contradictions between the great powers to obtain benefits for China when attending the Paris Peace Conference, I do not recommend using ambiguous rhetoric. Have you considered who will lead the future international order?"

Hearing this, the diplomats of the Republic were either astonished or spirited. Gu Weijun asked, "Does Brother Zhao think it won't be the three countries of Britain, France, and America?"

Zhao Tianlin answered frankly, "Britain and France naturally will be, but as for whether there will be the United States, my view is probably different from Brother Gu's."

Hearing this, Lu Zhengxiang had already thrown the thought of deciding to go back to the winds, waiting with full concentration for Zhao Tianlin to continue.

Zhao Tianlin didn't hesitate either. "Britain and France lost millions of troops and paid such a huge price. They will absolutely refuse to give up the dominance of the future world. Brother Gu, what does the United States mean to Britain and France?"

Gu Weijun's brows furrowed slightly. After pondering for a moment, he replied, "Isn't it an ally of the Entente Powers?"

"The war is over; where are there allies! The current United States is a challenger to the Anglo-French international order, a potential enemy of Britain and France." After speaking, Zhao started writing several country names on the blackboard, then connected them with lines, writing down the mutual relationships on both sides of the lines.

"Britain and France originally had intense contradictions, only having to cooperate when facing Germany. Now that Germany is powerless to challenge Britain and France, the contradictions between them return to the main position. But both Britain and France know they cannot fight each other and can only cooperate on the global order. What result will appear? What does Brother Gu think?"

Hearing Zhao Tianlin's question, Gu Weijun frowned. After thinking for a while, he could only shake his head.

Zhao Tianlin frankly gave his answer. "The world order constructed by Britain and France will suppress all challengers. I wonder if Brother Gu agrees?"

Gu Weijun quickly nodded in agreement. Zhao Tianlin then continued along this logic. "Since Britain and France want to maintain their own world order, can they accept Japan monopolizing Northeast Asia? Japan defeating China again means Japan will monopolize Northeast Asia. Gentlemen, if we want to stir up contradictions between the great powers, we precisely need to tell the truth. Only if Britain thinks Japan will defeat China, occupy Shandong, and monopolize Northeast Asia... will Britain choose to reject such a possibility!"

As soon as these words came out, the people from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were all dumbfounded. They couldn't understand why Zhao Tianlin would so frankly admit that in a Sino-Japanese war, China was bound to lose. They were even less able to understand that Zhao Tianlin actually frankly used this matter as a diplomatic means.