French Foreign Minister Briand raised the Gongfu tea in front of him and drank it in one gulp. While Yan Huiqing's secretary refilled the tea, he asked, "Minister Yan, after Excellency He Rui made such a proposal, how long did the Chinese government discuss it?"

Yan Huiqing thought for a moment and answered truthfully, "After Chairman He presented his views at the central meeting, it was passed in less than half a day."

After speaking, Yan Huiqing picked up the Gongfu tea and looked at French Foreign Minister Briand while drinking. Yan Huiqing was very clear about the instability of the French Third Republic, the chaos of party struggles, and the government lifespan that was treated as a laughingstock. Therefore, Yan Huiqing did not think Briand would take so-called 'democracy' as capital to boast about.

Yan Huiqing did not think the political system of the French Third Republic was really useless. From its establishment in 1870 to the present, the French Third Republic has passed 57 years. Since the French Revolution, whether it was a monarchy or a republican regime, their lifespan was far less than that of the French Third Republic. Moreover, such a republic also led France to victory in the Great War in Europe and recovered Alsace and Lorraine. A chaotic regime could never do this.

Briand seemed thoughtful, picking up the small teacup to drink tea again. When he put down the teacup, he said with some emotion, "It seems we can trust the continuity of Excellency He Rui's government."

These words reminded Yan Huiqing of what He Rui said at the meeting: one of the reasons why the French government would accept cooperation is that they believe in the reliability of the Chinese government. And Briand obviously cared about this matter very much.

Yan Huiqing wanted to say that with He Rui's civil and military achievements, he would definitely govern for a long time. But then he thought of Napoleon I, the most famous hero in France in the past 100 years. Napoleon was considered a European military genius and laid the foundation of France as a modern country with the "Napoleonic Code". But Napoleon's regime was a short-lived regime. For the French, there is no necessary connection between civil and military achievements and long-term continuity.

The history of France flowed quickly through Yan Huiqing's mind, and Yan Huiqing spoke, "Mr. Briand, Chairman He is viewed in our country as a scholar, a strategist. Although I am not sure about Europe's evaluation of Chairman He, based on my understanding of Europe, Europe will have more trust in such a leader. Because a strategist who is a scholar has more trustworthy value."

Briand nodded slightly. Based on his understanding of the French upper class who could decide this matter, when He Rui analyzed this cooperation proposal from a strategic height, quite a few French upper-class people were somewhat persuaded. There are many political opinions within France now, but the will to make France truly strong is a consensus, or at least a golden rule that no one dares to challenge.

The French upper class are all astute people; it is impossible for them not to figure out the true value of a proposal. At least He Rui's proposal has real value for France. Therefore, even those who want to oppose this proposal must come up with reasons that can convince everyone. These reasons include: Can China keep such a huge loan safe? Once China gets such a huge loan, will it be unable to implement industrial development policies due to wars with foreign countries? Will the Chinese regime and the He Rui government fall? If it falls, will its successor overthrow this cooperation?

It is inappropriate to ask these questions directly, so one can only ask indirectly. Just like the question just now, Yan Huiqing's answer made Briand feel that He Rui possesses huge political prestige in China, and his decisions can become the policy of the Chinese central government and be implemented.

As the French Foreign Minister, Briand obtained a large amount of internal intelligence on Britain during the Sino-British War. The million-strong British army in India was by no means a decoration; the British army did fight hard. The reason the war could end so smoothly was entirely because He Rui was very clear about the purpose of the war. After showing China's strength, he began to force Britain back to the negotiating table.

In the negotiations, He Rui decisively ended the Sino-British War with superb diplomatic judgment. This made Briand appreciate him very much, and at the same time very certain that defeating China by pure military force was basically no longer possible. Then, the possibilities threatening the potential cooperation between China and France were the stability of the He Rui regime, and whether the He Rui regime would give up under British diplomatic pressure.

Briand laughed, "Now that the Chinese Exclusion Act has ended, why doesn't China seek financial support from the United States?"

Yan Huiqing smiled slightly and stated He Rui's view in a relaxed tone, "Now the Anglo-Saxon capital in the United States is fighting fiercely with Jewish capital. Which side do you think is more trustworthy?"

Hahaha! Yan Huiqing's humor made Briand laugh out loud. Originally, he only intended to laugh a few times, but these words were really sharp, so Briand laughed for at least five more seconds. Suppressing his smile, Briand wiped the corners of his eyes and felt some moisture on his fingers. Indeed, tears of laughter came out.

Soon, Briand thought of the Jews in the country, and couldn't laugh anymore. But the Jews in France had nothing to do with China. Briand continued to laugh, "Hehe, the Jewish consortiums in Britain are not confronting Anglo-Saxon capital."

Yan Huiqing did not joke this time but answered seriously, "France is the country with the most experience in centralized power in the whole of Europe, and our China understands centralized power very well. So we are willing to trust France."

Even knowing that the Foreign Minister could absolutely not act on emotion, Briand was still somewhat moved because Yan Huiqing's words were sincere and clearly expressed that China indeed seriously considered who to choose. At this time, Briand remembered Yan Huiqing's words before: this idea of cooperation was proposed by He Rui. That is to say, He Rui believed France was more trustworthy than Britain. If He Rui could govern for a long time, Sino-French cooperation could also be carried out for a long time.

After chatting for a while longer, Briand stood up and said, "Thank you for your tea; I will take my leave today. Minister Yan, I have already informed the manager of the Paris Opera House; the Minister's box at the Paris Opera House is available for your use at any time."

Yan Huiqing saw Briand off. He didn't want to go to the opera, but on second thought, he felt he would definitely come to France many times in the future, so appearing more in some public places would be helpful for future diplomacy. So he asked his entourage to prepare, planning to go to the opera house in the evening.

Approaching evening, Yan Huiqing walked out of the hotel where he stayed. He changed his mind again and wanted to walk on the streets of Paris. Not far after walking out, he heard music. It turned out that a middle-aged man by the street was playing the accordion. After approaching, he saw a boy and a girl standing beside the middle-aged man; they looked only 4 or 5 years old. The middle-aged man looked very worried between his brows, and the music he played was also a not-so-happy tune.

These three should be a family of three. A tin box was placed in front of the middle-aged man, containing a few coins and a 1-franc note. Yan Huiqing didn't know if this man was a street performer or a beggar. If in China, he would probably be playing a Huqin to beg. Although the accordion is not a common musical instrument in China, it is popular in Europe.

The cold wind of December blew. The two children leaned together, their not-so-clean little faces full of numbness. Yan Huiqing paid great attention to his own children and was very strict with their studies. Seeing this pair of little children standing in the cold wind, he felt pity in his heart. He took out his wallet, pulled out a 1-franc note, bent down, and put it into the tin box.

Yan Huiqing didn't notice that across the street, someone took a picture with a camera.