The Japanese state banquet usually includes tuna sashimi, Hokkaido hairy crab, sea urchin sashimi and Kobe steak. This is undoubtedly a challenge for Pavlov, who tried "eating raw meat and drinking blood" for the first time, but the moment he put it in his mouth, he fell in love with these raw and delicious Japanese dishes. Moreover, the chefs with superb cooking skills arranged these dishes in a beautiful and delicious way, which made people reluctant to put down their chopsticks.
The Soviet delegation, accustomed to knives and forks, may not be used to Eastern chopsticks, but this did not prevent this carefully arranged banquet from receiving high praise from Soviet government officials. During the banquet, Kaifu Toshiki even raised his glass to toast the friendship between the Soviet Union and Japan, and Pavlov also hypocritically touched his glass, wishing long live Soviet-Japanese friendship.
As for how much water there is in "Long Live Friendship", Pavlov's heart is as clear as a mirror.
Normally, the state banquet would start at eight o'clock and end at ten o'clock, but Kaifu Toshiki specially held it an hour earlier in order to strike while the iron is hot. After the banquet, he would talk to Pavlov about the loan issue and finalize the territorial issue between the two countries as soon as possible. Whether it will be called the Southern Kuril Islands or the Northern Four Islands, Kaifu Toshiki hoped to have a reliable answer tonight.
"Prime Minister Pavlov, are you satisfied with this banquet?" Kaifu Junshu asked with a smile, as if he was the one who needed help from the Soviet Union, not the Soviet Union. The humble look reminded Pavlov of the flattering images of those despicable traitors who surrendered to the enemy on the screen.
"Very good, Prime Minister Kaifu Toshiki." Pavlov wiped his lips with a tissue, leaned close to Kaifu Toshiki, and whispered, "Regarding our disputed island issue, I believe we can also give a clear answer tonight. So should we put the dispute aside and discuss it in detail tomorrow, or can we reach a consensus tonight and sign an agreement tomorrow?"
The translator beside Kaifu Toshiki translated Pavlov's words into Japanese word for word. Hearing Pavlov's suggestive answer, Kaifu Toshiki was delighted. He quickly stood up, made a gesture of invitation, and said to Pavlov, "Shall we go to the conference room to talk now?"
"Of course, why not." Pavlov said with a smile. After enduring for so long and licking his palm for a long time, the polar bear can finally show his ferocious claws.
Kaifu Junshu took Pavlov to a small room with extremely high-end furnishings. This kind of room was probably used to receive the top leaders of other countries. Pavlov sat on the leather sofa in the VIP seat and asked Kaifu Junshu, "Hmm? Can I smoke here?"
It is impolite to smoke in front of the top leader of another country, but for the sake of the overall situation, Kaifu Junshu still smiled and replied, "Of course, you are a distinguished guest after all."
Pavlov lit a cigarette, took a deep puff and asked, "I want to know what conditions the Japanese side will offer so that we can bargain, right? After all, if the cession of sovereignty is not handled properly, it will cause political turmoil. The Soviet government may be able to withstand the turmoil, but your cabinet may not be able to."
When talking about political issues, Kaifu Toshihide immediately transformed into an excellent politician and spoke out what he had prepared in his mind. "The conditions we offer are very simple. As long as your country gives up the sovereignty of the four northern islands, we are willing to provide the financial assistance you want."
Kaifu Junshu did not tell the exact amount, but relied on the other party to guess, which was also his brilliance. If the Soviets only wanted 5 billion US dollars and he provided 10 billion, it would be obvious that Japan would lose money.
However, Pavlov had no interest in discussing the sovereignty issue of the Southern Kuril Islands with Kaifu Toshiki. He was just sitting here to delay time, waiting for the Japanese Prime Minister to receive the unfortunate bad news.
"Before the negotiations officially begin, I would like to ask you: Japan's economy is booming and it is beginning to seek the position of a political power, but do you have the strength to manufacture heavy industrial products? Of course, I know you have Mitsubishi Arms Export Company, and your cars are also good, but compared to large aircraft, I wonder if your country is interested in basic industrial equipment for ballistic missile technology?"
As the translator translated the Russian into Japanese, Kaifu Toshiki's expression showed obvious hesitation before he asked, "Huh? What does Prime Minister Pavlov mean by this?"
Kaifu Junki did have his own thoughts. With the rapid economic growth in the past 20 years, the goal of becoming a political power has long been the dream of successive prime ministers. However, due to the existence of the US-Japan Security Treaty, all of these efforts ended in failure. But Kaifu Junki did not give up his goal and began to seek to get rid of the shackles of the chains by improving his own comprehensive national strength.
"Does the Soviet Union intend to sell its heavy industry to Japan?" Kaifu Junshu was secretly delighted. Not only could he recover the four northern islands, but he could also obtain industrial facilities from the Soviet Union. This was definitely a win-win situation. If this was the case, he would not mind increasing the loan by a few hundred million. After all, the money would eventually return to the Japanese government.
"No, no, no, I think Prime Minister Kaifu Junki, you may be overthinking it." Pavlov rolled up his sleeves and glanced at his watch, then slowly said, "As long as you have money, the Soviet Union's heavy industrial facilities can certainly be sold to you. In fact, as long as you have money, we can even sign an order for ballistic missiles. But there is one thing I hope you don't misunderstand."
"What's the matter?" Kaibu Toshiki asked in confusion.
Pavlov threw the cigarette butt into the ashtray. The moment he looked up, his eyes became sharp. He looked at Kaifu Toshiki and said word by word, "The Soviet Union will not back down on the Kuril Islands issue. You can't pay it back with a loan of hundreds of millions. If you want to take it, just go ahead, as long as your navy and air force can walk over the corpses of the Far East Air Force and the Pacific Fleet."
Pavlov's words were so domineering that the translator beside Kaifu Toshiki thought for a moment before telling the prime minister in another euphemistic way. However, when Kaifu Toshiki heard that there was no room for negotiation on the sovereignty issue, his face suddenly darkened and his voice became a little cold. "I guess the sincerity you showed before was all a disguise. Or you didn't intend to have a sincere negotiation at all."
"You don't have it either." Pavlov retorted, "You are a tiny country, and you just want to take advantage of the Soviet Union's critical situation to get a piece of meat from it? Now I can tell you that you will never win the Soviet Union by luck. We love peace, but when it comes to issues of vital interests, we only speak with fists."
Kaifu Junshu clenched his fists. If the other party was not a national leader, he really wanted to punch Pavlov in the face. He was actually being played like a monkey by these communists. Anyone would be angry.
"Very good, very good, Prime Minister Pavlov." Kaifu Toshiki pretended to clap his hands and said sarcastically, "A country whose economy is facing collapse actually has the audacity to say such things. I am waiting to see your economy collapse, your regime overthrown, and the glory of democracy piercing the clouds of communism. Maybe then you will come to us Japan to beg us, and we will just watch you die."
"Before you mock us, you should worry about your own situation first." Pavlov sat on the sofa, holding his chin with his left hand, and said slowly, "I guess someone will bring you bad news soon, right?"
As soon as Pavlov finished speaking, an unfamiliar Japanese official rushed in anxiously and whispered a few words into Kaifu Toshiki's ear. The other person's face suddenly turned paler.
Pavlov knew what the guy said without even looking at it. It was probably that when the state banquet was just being held, an unidentified bomber from the north approached the airspace of Hokkaido, Japan, and the Air Self-Defense Force took off urgently to intercept the bomber flight group with fighter escorts. The bomber first circled around the four northern islands before approaching the airspace of Japan.
Kaifu Junshu turned around and looked at Pavlov with a somewhat shocked look in his eyes. He bit his lip and said, "Are you doing this to declare war on us?"
"Declaring war on you?" Pavlov, who was watching the fun, said something extremely heartbreaking, "Do you think you are worthy of it?"