It turned out that after the incident of attacking the camp was over, the relevant reports and the prisoners were escorted to Qingdao via Shanghai, and after deliberation and review by the Ministry of Security, it was determined that they were basically true, so it aroused the anger of the people in East China.

Speaking of which, after the terrorist attack in Shanghai, the Qing court and Japan joined forces again to attack East China**. Of course, the Shanghai terrorist attack did cause a certain amount of damage to East China, but this time, because it was discovered at the highest level, it actually did not cause any losses to East China. But at this time, East China ** is also very different from the Shanghai terrorist attack.

At the time of the terrorist attack in Shanghai, East China had not yet participated in the war, and it only had a territory of Shandong Province and part of Henan Province, with a total area of only more than 20 million square kilometers and a population of about 35 million. And now East China has won the Far East War, defeated Britain, France, Japan and Russia, with a territory of more than 3 million square kilometers and a population of more than 85 million.

At this time, the Qing court and Japan joined forces to attack East China in the form of a terrorist attack, and the disaster relief operation that hit East China naturally aroused the anger of the masses, and the patriarchs behaved radically at this time, because now is the time when the patriarchs are confident and violent, and they all regard themselves as dragons and arrogant people, and they will never tolerate any compassion, and the patriarchs have no scruples when they speak, so public opinion is a shouting and shouting to kill, demanding East China ** Immediately send troops, attack Beijing, overthrow the Qing court, attack Japan, occupy Tokyo, and so on.

Of course, the Executive Yuan did not dare to take this lightly, and the actions of Bi Jing Japan and the Qing court did threaten the security of East China, and East China must also respond, and even retaliate reciprocatably, and at the same time, in the face of fierce internal reactions, there must also be an explanation.

Moreover, at this time, Qin Zheng also returned to Qingdao from the northeast, and all the personnel of the Executive Yuan were also gathered, just in time to start a discussion.

After three days of study, the Executive Yuan also determined the measures to be taken, in terms of targeting the Qing court, first of all, it is obviously unrealistic to send troops to attack Beijing now, which is based on four considerations:

First, the Far East War has just ended, although East China won and received a huge amount of reparations, but the huge manpower and material resources consumed still need time to recover, and the fruits of victory in the Far East War also need time to digest, so in a short period of time, East China is not suitable to launch a large-scale military operation.

Second, although East China has now gained a firm foothold in the Northeast and established a sound administrative system, after all, the time to rule the Northeast is too short, the foundation is not deep, and it still needs time to deepen the cultivation.

Third, before Qin Zheng returned to Qingdao, the plan to encroach on eastern Mongolia has also begun to be implemented, which has played a major role in protecting the security of the Northeast region, expanding the influence of East China in Mongolia, and curbing the **** forces, so the plan to encroach on eastern Mongolia should be a priority, so at this time, there is naturally no need to make extraneous branches.

Fourth, the floods in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River have not subsided, which has involved most of the energy in East China. Moreover, this is related to the image and governance and organizational ability of East China, and it is impossible to interrupt.

So for the Qing court, there are two countermeasures in East China, one is to further expand public opinion propaganda, create a great image of East China, and try to degrade the Qing Dynasty; of course, just to expand public opinion propaganda, it is obviously impossible to explain within East China, and it is impossible to satisfy the patriarchs, so the second is to occupy Anhui Province by force, and Anhui Province will be included in the territory of East China.

Since the interception fleet and the attack on the camp took place in Anhui Province, it is also reasonable for East China to take action against Anhui Province, and even if it cannot completely satisfy the veterans, it can also accept it. Moreover, Anhui Province is one of the most serious areas of this flood, and it is also the place where East China focuses on seeking disasters, and now it has established three resettlement camps for disaster victims in Anhui Province, and at the same time, the People's Army's war to conquer the Red Lotus Sect is also carried out in Anhui Province.

In addition, it is also a stern warning to the governors of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and East China **, this is the end, and Anhui Province is the territory of the Qing court after all, East China ** occupied Anhui Province by force, which is also a heavy blow to the Qing court, and the Qing court has no way to fight back, to rescue Anhui Province, too far away, the whip is beyond reach, and to declare war on East China, it is estimated that the Qing court does not have the guts, and can only swallow this consequence in the end.

In response to Japan, it is certainly impossible to declare war, and it has not yet settled down internally, let alone waged war externally. East China's response is to first protest to Japan through diplomacy, asking Japan to explain, apologize and compensate for losses, which is a must, regardless of whether the protest is useful or not, at least to achieve the attitude of East China.

Of course, it is useless to just protest, because it is a country like Japan that is afraid of strength and morality, so it is necessary to take action, that is, to send a fleet to conduct exercises around Japan, which is actually to demonstrate and exert pressure on Japan. Although East China does not have the ability to launch a foreign war, Japan's situation is actually worse than that of East China, and it is more worried about triggering a war between the two countries, so Japan is more likely to compromise.

However, there are also people who command the judgment of Japan's behavior, and it cannot be completely inferred from normal logic, after all, there is a crazy side to the Japanese character, so Japan refuses to compromise, stubbornly to the end, and even takes the initiative to launch an attack on East China, because at this time, before the war in the Far East, Japan ordered from Britain two battleships with a displacement of up to 17,000 tons, Kashima, The Katori has returned to China and incorporated into the Combined Fleet, the addition of these two battleships can greatly increase the confidence of the Combined Fleet, which was hit hard in the Far East War, at least in World War I, maybe Japan will take a risk, so if this happens, East China must have its own plan.

This suggestion has also been supported by many people, after all, this is indeed the characteristics of the Japanese, so after discussion, the decision is settled, if Japan refuses to compromise, East China ** will adopt the strategy of blocking Japan's sea transportation lines, intercepting and detaining Japanese merchants, so as to further pressure Japan, and Japan really wants to take risks, take risks, and East China ** war, it is just the opportunity to hit the Japanese Navy hard again in the naval battle, with a naval victory, to explain to the elders.

Of course, in this way, the arrangement of sending a fleet to put pressure on Japan must be seriously considered, and there must be absolute certainty that the Japanese Combined Fleet will be defeated, but this is a matter for the Military Commission to consider, and there is no need to discuss it at the executive meeting.

After the response to the resolution was determined, it was implemented, just at this time Luo Yue had led the army in Anhui to exterminate the Red Lotus Sect, so the Military Commission also decided to lead the army by Luo Yue and capture Anhui Province, because for more than a month, Luo Yue has been active in Anhui Province and is familiar with the situation here, and at the same time, Anhui Province of the Qing court is across both sides of the Yangtze River, so the capture of Anhui requires both land and water, and now Luo Yue is still holding the post of deputy commander-in-chief of disaster relief, and he can mobilize the river fleet in Shanghai, so it is naturally more appropriate for him to command this battle.

And on the next day, Foreign Affairs Commissioner Li Sanjie summoned the Japanese consul in East China, Abe Shotaro, who came to Qingdao after the Far East War, born in 1872, a native of Oita Prefecture, graduated from the Law Department of Tokyo Imperial University, has a very in-depth study of China, is familiar with Chinese history and culture, folk customs, and can speak fluent Chinese. Japan appointed him as the first consul in East China, but also hoped that he could use his understanding of China to handle the relationship between Japan and East China.

Abe Shoutaro also knows that he has a heavy responsibility, and he also has to endure humiliation, so after taking office in Qingdao, on the one hand, he frequently visited the officials of East China, and his attitude was very apologetic, and he was respectful to everyone; on the other hand, he also often attended social activities, and he said that the two countries were peaceful and strengthened, and he also won a lot of favor.

After receiving Li Sanjie's invitation to meet, Abe Shoutaro also knew what was going on, because the relevant reports were already in the newspaper, Abe Shoutaro saw the relevant news, and immediately asked the domestic power generation what was going on, and the words were quite complaining, after all, such a major matter, he didn't hear the wind at all, and he didn't ask his opinion, and to be honest, the significance of this matter is really not much, even if it is successful, to East China** It has no real impact, and it has no interest in Japan, and it will even anger East China and cause trouble for Japan. When I came to Qingdao, the country had already set the tone for dealing with East China, that is, to ease relations and not to intensify contradictions, so why did this change.

However, soon Abe Shoutaro received a reply from home, and it turned out that this was a private operation of the Intelligence Department of the War Department, and even the War Department was kept in the dark, let alone the Cabinet. Therefore, Abe Shoutaro can only smile bitterly, these soldiers are too lawless, but in the end, they have to wipe their butts and deal with the aftermath, which is really a disaster.

Now that the Foreign Affairs Committee has summoned him, it is obvious that the other party has reacted, so Abe Shotaro can only bite the bullet and come to the office building of the Foreign Affairs Committee as promised to meet Li Sanjie.