On the morning of the next day, Feng Chen, as an interpreter, accompanied Kenkichi Yoshizawa and Ryuichi Hiraoka to the British Consulate in Shanghai, located on the southwest side of the confluence of the Suzhou Creek and the Huangpu River, to attend an informal meeting of armistice negotiations. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Kenkichi Yoshizawa and his entourage had just gotten off the bus in the courtyard of the British Consulate, and the car of the Japanese minister to China, Shigemitsu Aoi, also arrived in the courtyard, followed by the car of Vice Admiral Kenkichi Ueda, commander of the Ninth Division of the Japanese military, Rear Admiral Wanichiro Tashiro, chief of staff of the Dispatch Army, and Rear Admiral Shigetaro, chief of staff of the Third Fleet of the Navy.

A group of Japanese stood in the courtyard and exchanged a few words, and the Minister to China, Shigemitsu Aoi, led the group to the conference room on the second floor of the British Consulate.

In the large conference room, Guo Taiqi, vice minister of foreign affairs of the Chinese side, Dai Ji, commander of the Songhu garrison, and Huang Qiang, chief of staff of the 19th Route Army, were already sitting at the conference table.

In addition, British Minister Lampson, American Minister Jensen, French Minister Milide, and Italian Chargé d'Affaires Ziano were also sitting at the conference table, and everyone was waiting for the Japanese representatives.

When Shigemitsu Aoi stepped into the conference room with the Japanese representatives, everyone turned their eyes to this group of arrogant Japanese, the host British Minister Lampson and deliberately said in half-baked Chinese and British humor: "Mr. Shigemitsu Aoi, is your car out of gas?" ”

Chongguang Aoi smiled awkwardly and said, "I'm sorry to keep you waiting." ”

As they spoke, the Japanese representatives sat down opposite the Chinese representatives.

Feng Chen, as a translator, stood behind Fang Ze Qianji in an orderly manner, and when Dai Ji and Huang Qiang on the opposite side saw Feng Chen standing there, they all looked at Feng Chen in surprise, not understanding why this Feng Chen appeared here, Feng Chen only communicated with these two lieutenant generals of the Nineteenth Route Army with his eyes.

At the beginning of the consultations, the representative of the Japanese side, Shigemitsu Aoi, could not wait to propose: "China and Japan should maintain the current military status as the basis for the negotiations between the two sides." ”

The representative of the Chinese side, Vice Foreign Minister Guo Taiqi, responded with righteous words: "The Japanese army must be fully withdrawn, the pre-war posture must be restored, and negotiations must be conducted on the basis of the pre-war situation." ”

British Minister Lampson, American Minister Jensen, French Minister Millid, and others spoke one after another, agreeing with the proposal of the Chinese representatives, demanding that the Japanese troops withdraw to their pre-war garrisons, maintain the state of their pre-war garrisons, and withdraw the rest of the troops from China, withdraw from the areas, and be taken over by the Chinese police.

In the face of the intransigence of the Chinese delegates and the pressure of the representatives of the Western countries, the Japanese delegates asked for an adjournment of the meeting and held urgent consultations in a room next to the conference room.

Half an hour later, the Japanese representatives returned to the conference room again and agreed that the Japanese troops should withdraw to their pre-war garrisons and maintain the status of their pre-war garrisons, while the rest of the troops would withdraw from China, withdraw from the areas, and be taken over by the Chinese police.

Next, the Chinese and Japanese representatives had a heated argument over the stationing of Chinese troops in Shanghai.

Lieutenant General Kenkichi Ueda, the chief representative of the Japanese side, has repeatedly and unreasonably coerced the Chinese side, and it is necessary to explain the situation of the garrisons south of the Suzhou Creek and in Pudong and Nanshi,......。

Several representatives of the Chinese side have tried their utmost to safeguard national sovereignty and have made tough arguments against the various arbitrary demands of the Japanese representatives.

Japanese Foreign Minister Kenkichi Yoshizawa sat there just listening, barely saying a word.

The representatives of the two sides argued for a while, and the representative of the Japanese side, Major General Shigetaro Shimada, suddenly became obsessed and went so far as to propose: "In the agreement, the scope of the armistice should include the area south of Suzhou Creek and the Pudong area, and the Chinese army should be prohibited from entering these areas." ”

After hearing this, Dai Ji, the representative of the Chinese side, was furious at the moment, slapped the table and said: "The area south of Suzhou Creek and Pudong is not a combat area at all, so why are the Chinese troops not allowed to enter?!" It must not be included in the scope of the armistice! ”

Shigetaro Shimada also slapped the table arrogantly and shouted: "The area south of Suzhou Creek and Pudong must be included in the armistice range!" Otherwise, there will be no truce! ”

Major General Tashiro Wanichiro, chief of staff of the Japanese Dispatch Army, followed closely and slapped the table, arrogantly shouting: "If the above-mentioned areas are not included in the scope of the armistice, then we will fight them!" ”

"Arrogant, then see you on the battlefield!"

Dai Ji slapped the conference table with a "snap", roared, and then closed the folder in front of him, got up and left the venue.

That was the end of the first informal consultation......

In fact, from a political point of view, according to the international and domestic situation, the Japanese side was also anxious to cease the war, but Shigetaro Shimada, a military representative who did not understand politics, was involved in the troubles, and the first consultation was aborted.

When the Japanese side sent representatives, it believed that the armistice was a matter for the military commander-in-chief, so the military had Kenkichi Ueda as the chief representative, and these soldiers who did not understand politics greatly annoyed Minister Shigemitsu Aoi and Foreign Minister Yoshizawa Kenkichi.

After returning to the Japanese Consulate, Kenkichi Yoshizawa immediately reported the situation of the informal meeting to the cabinet, and in the afternoon the Japanese cabinet sent a telegram ordering that the future armistice talks should be mainly represented by Minister Shigemitsu Aoi in China.

After receiving a telegram from the cabinet, Shigemitsu Aoi informed Shigetaro's boss, Lieutenant General Nomura Kichizaburo, to restrain Shigetaro's behavior.

On the other hand, through the agreement of the British and American ministers, the Chinese side will be represented by Huang Qiang and the Japanese side will be represented by Tashiro and the military attachés of the four countries will discuss various relevant military issues, so as to exclude Shimada and Tashiro from the armistice conference and then hold the meeting.

Over the past few days, after many consultations and discussions, China and Japan have basically reached an agreement on the areas to be withdrawn and on points other than the time of withdrawal, but the subcommittee has not yet achieved any substantive results.

In the end, the Japanese cabinet softened its attitude a little, and the Japanese side began to agree to withdraw its unreasonable demands on the area south of the Suzhou Creek and the Pudong area, and agreed to abandon the original demand for the withdrawal of troops within six months, and instead began the withdrawal within one week after the agreement was signed, and completed within four weeks.

In the subsequent negotiations on the draft agreement, the Japanese side was mainly led by Minister Shigemitsu Aoi in China, and Japanese Foreign Minister Kenkichi Yoshizawa and Consul General Hiraoka Ryuichi in Shanghai hardly participated in the consultations.

On this day, Feng Chen and Fang Ze Qianji had just finished playing a game of Go.

Ryuichi Hiraoka walked in from outside the door and said, "Your Excellency, the Cabinet and the General Staff Headquarters have just sent a telegram and have agreed to the proposal of Senior General Yoshinori Shirakawa to hold a celebration of the Emperor's birthday in Hongkou on April 29. ”

"Nonsense!"

"Didn't I report to the cabinet before, given that China and Japan are negotiating, it is better not to hold a large celebration here in Shanghai, so as not to irritate the Chinese people."

Kenkichi Yoshizawa got down from the tatami mat and said with square steps.

"I'm afraid the cabinet was forced to agree to it by pressure from the military." Hiraoka Ryu together.

"The Sakurada Gate incident isn't a lesson?! That's on the soil of our Great Japanese Empire! Was Yoshinori Shirakawa carried away by a small victory?! Fang Ze Kenji asked rhetorically with a frown.

"Your Excellency, I suggest that no Chinese enter the venue on the day of the Zhujie meeting." Hiraoka Ryuyi glanced at Feng Chen, who was embarrassed, and said.

"It seems that Mr. Feng will not be able to participate in the Zhujie Conference either." Fang Ze Qianji looked at Feng Chen and said with a smile.

"Except for Feng Sang, his current identity is Ishikawa Ichiro, and this identity has been filed with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs." Hiraoka Ryuichi looked at Feng Chen again and said.

"Haha! Yes, yes, yes! Ishikawa Ichiro, of course, was a subject of the Great Japanese Empire, and he should have participated in the celebration. Fang Ze Kenji laughed twice.

"Teacher, I'd better not break your rules." Feng Chen said on the side.

"Nope! You must participate, and you must also assist Matsuo Taro and Yoshio Yoshida to do a good job of protecting the Foreign Minister and me, so how can you not participate? You have to remember that you are not Feng Chen now, you are Ichiro Ishikawa, an employee of the Japanese Consulate in Shanghai. Ryuichi Hiraoka said unquestioningly.

"Teacher, it's better if I don't participate, I'm just a scholar, what can I do?" Feng Chen excused himself.

"There are some things that no one else can do except scholars." Hiraoka Ryu together.

"Mr. Feng, where do you think the biggest danger will come from when we Japanese hold a celebration in Shanghai?" Fang Ze Qianji stared at Feng Chen and asked.

"It's really hard to say, Shanghai is too complicated, and there are all kinds of forces." Feng Chen replied.

"Therefore, obtaining information on the activities of various forces is a prerequisite for doing a good job in the security work of this Zhujie Conference." Kenkichi Yoshizawa said.

"Feng Sang, from today onwards, you will assist Matsuo Taro and Yoshio Yoshida to collect intelligence on all forces in Shanghai, focusing on the movements of the 19th Route Army." Ryuichi Hiraoka commanded.