Chapter 163 Japanese Gambling
At the beginning of February, Tokyo is already as warm as ever, and the gentle sea breeze is refreshing. The early spring season of the pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info originally brought vitality and hope to people, but the Japanese government is once again facing a crisis. The outbreak of the European war originally brought huge dividends to Japan, and many European industrialists came to invest in Japan, which in turn led to the sustained development of the Japanese economy. I thought that I would take advantage of the opportunity of the European war to seize Qingdao and make huge profits, but I thought that there was an "outlier" in Shandong, China.
Mitsutomi Kamio, the commander of the 18th Division of the Japanese Army, who fought in Shandong, China, lost his troops and was dismissed from his military post after returning to China. Chief of Staff Yoshimichi Hasegawa was removed from his post due to a major mistake in decision-making, and Yusaku Uehara succeeded him as Chief of Staff. At present, the Japanese political arena is not dominated by military personnel, and former Prime Minister Katsura Taro stepped down as a result of the unauthorized expansion of two Japanese divisions.
The great development of the Meiji era brought vitality to Japan. Whether to continue to use force or economic expansion has always been the focus of confrontation in Japan's political circles. Military power is naturally dominated by military expansion, and most of the civilian people in power are in favor of economic expansion and the use of force. Shigenobu Okuma, who has recently come to power, is a representative of economic expansion. In the past N years, Japan has been maximizing benefits at a small price, and has repeatedly succeeded in China's fat.
I thought that I would use the declaration of war on Germany to seize Qingdao at a small price, control the Jiaoji Railway, and then obtain the coveted interests of the Shandong Peninsula. Na Cheng wanted to kill a god halfway, and as soon as he made a move, he caused the Japanese army to lose more than half of its divisions and regiments, and the shock of the Japanese government and opposition was like a tsunami. Japan won the bet in the First Sino-Japanese War, Japan won the bet in the Russo-Japanese War, this time the Japanese once again stood in front of the table, how to choose?
Perhaps it is the current world situation that has made the Japanese once again see the opportunity to seek huge benefits, or perhaps it is the cowardice of the Republic of China government that makes the Japanese unbearable. Perhaps it was the support of the great powers that gave the Japanese confidence.
The Japanese army suffered heavy losses, humiliation and interests were intertwined, and a rare unity appeared in the Japanese political arena. Civilian politicians and iron-blooded soldiers unanimously agreed that the Japanese Empire, for the sake of the empire, must make every effort to quell the civil strife in Shandong and ensure peace in East Asia. As a powerful empire rising in East Asia, Japan has an unshirkable responsibility.
At this time, in the Japanese Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Emperor Taisho was at the head, and on both sides stood respectively: Prime Minister Shigenobu Okuma, Minister of the Navy Heihachiro Togo, the respected veteran Saionji Konobo, and the new Chief of Staff of the Army Headquarters Yusaku Uehara. Emperor Taisho has a great contrast in physiognomy with the important ministers around him, and it is obvious that Emperor Taisho has an absolute advantage in age and stands out in front of all the old ministers.
Emperor Taisho, who was 35 years old, succeeded to the throne on October 21, 1912, and changed his era name to Taisho. Emperor Taisho's succession to the throne was a helpless move, and it can be said that Taisho did not have the ability to inherit the throne regardless of morality, mentality, and ability. He has been sick since childhood, suffered from meningitis and left sequelae, in today's words, he is half crazy and half stupid. It is said that when he spoke to foreign envoys in public, he rolled his speeches into cylinders and took pictures of them indiscriminately, thus losing the face of Japan's national image.
How can such a mentally handicapped person succeed to the unification is the sorrow of the Japanese imperial family. Since Empress Meiji has not been able to have children, Emperor Meiji's concubines gave birth to 5 boys and 10 girls. However, only the third prince Jiaren survived among the five males, and all the other sons died. It was really helpless, and he could only be succeeded by the third prince Yoshihito, who was Emperor Taisho. Emperor Taisho succeeded to the throne, just in time for Japan's "prosperous era", and the seeds sown by his father, Emperor Meiji, blossomed and bore fruit in him.
At this time, Emperor Taisho was sitting precariously, his expression was blank, and his eye-catching horned mustache was a little funny, and he didn't know what he was thinking when he reported to the chief of staff headquarters, Isamu Uehara. In fact, the report made by the chief of the Commander-in-Chief, Isamu Uehara, and said that the Emperor Taisho was just an ornament.
"Your Majesty the Emperor, the Governor of the Kanto region, Yoshimasa Oshima, has reported that the enemy has launched a large-scale attack on the Liaodong Peninsula, and it is becoming more and more intense."
Emperor Taisho was expressionless, and Yusaku Uehara continued: "Not long ago, the enemy attacked the Port of Arthur, bloodbathed the Navy Club, blew up the ammunition depot in Arthur, grabbed a gunboat and blew it up. The General Staff Headquarters believes that in order to contain the attack on the Liaodong Peninsula, it is necessary to continue to increase the number of troops. "I'm tired, you guys can talk about it!" Emperor Taisho left with a word, and the ministers seemed to be calm, as it seems to happen often.
"Uehara-kun, could you please tell me about the situation in North Korea?" The patriarch Xiyuan Temple Gongwang asked. "Your Excellency Marshal, according to the report of the Governor-General of Korea, the infiltration of the enemy in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula has provoked a massive revolt by the Korean resisters, and the Korean riots are frequent, which are currently being suppressed. However, the Chinese who infiltrated in were difficult to deal with, and they withdrew to China after the battle, and at some point they infiltrated again, and the General Staff Headquarters believed that it was necessary to continue to increase the number of troops in Korea. β
Prime Minister Shigenobu Okuma said, "The Cabinet, in the name of the Emperor, has issued a general mobilization order to the whole country, rapidly expanding the army by 500,000 troops to ease the pressure of sending troops. Xiyuan Temple Gongwang pondered for a moment and said: "The top priority is to quickly quell the rebellion on the Shandong Peninsula, as long as the warlord Ge Yunfei is defeated, all problems will be solved." We must launch an offensive in eastern Shandong as soon as possible. As far as I know, the reason for the upsurge of anti-Japanese people in China is Ge Yunfei's actions. β
"Your Excellency Marshal is reasonable, at present, the commander of the Shandong Theater of Operations, General Hehecao, has taken up his post in Weihai, and the 17th, 3rd, 8th, and 13th Divisions of the empire have landed on the Shandong Peninsula. At the beginning of March, the 2nd Division, the 11th Division, the 14th Division, and heavy artillery units completed the landing, with a total of 220,000 troops. The attack was originally planned for mid-February, but was postponed by a month due to resistance and frequent attacks in the eastern part of the Shandong Peninsula. β
While the Japanese high-level was deliberating, the Japanese military headquarters in Weihai was holding a military meeting. Commander Kawai Cao said majestically to the generals: "The General Staff Headquarters originally planned to attack the operational plan in mid-February, but due to frequent raids, it had to be postponed to mid-March. At present, the area east of Yantai has been completely controlled by us, and after a large-scale clearance, these areas are now stable. In order to ensure the smooth launch of the offensive, it is necessary to quickly control the Penglai and Zhaoyuan areas. β
Kawai continued: "In particular, the Zhaoyuan gold mine must be quickly occupied and restored to the production of gold mines to serve the Japanese Empire." In addition, in the southeast of the Zhaoyuan gold mine, there is a village called Qiujiazhuang, and the villagers have used the tunnels to attack our light and heavy troops, and we must pull out this village and completely eliminate the threat. "Report to the general, the reconnaissance unit found that the enemy army has dug a large number of trenches and fortifications on the line from Pingdu to Jimo."
Kawai Cao said contemptuously: "Don't worry too much, the enemy army has purchased civil fortifications. At that time, the strong fortress fortifications of the Russian army could not stop the footsteps of the imperial warriors, and Ge Yunfei used civil fortifications to fight, which was to hit stones with eggs. On the same day, Commander He Hecao ordered the 10th Wing of the 3rd Division to advance from Yantai to Zhaoyuan. The large-scale deployment of troops by the Japanese army did not affect the intensity of the European war, but on the contrary, it had a chain reaction in China.
The people's anti-Japanese enthusiasm was high, but the Nationalist Government headed by Yuan Shikai was not optimistic about Ge Yunfei. With the continuous deployment of troops by the Japanese army, Yuan Shikai ordered the news control in the capital, and news about the Shandong Peninsula was not allowed to be published. On this day, Yuan Shikai was in the presidential palace and was in a state of low spirits after reading the news provided by the Japanese minister that the Imperial Japanese Army would continue to increase its troops in Shandong. He hesitated for a long time to pick up the phone, and at this moment, he wanted to relieve his depressed mood.
Recently, Yuan Shikai suddenly felt unwell, often thirsty, hungry, and weak. Several well-known Langzhong consultations in the capital did not see what the cause was, but said that he was in a hurry and needed to recuperate. In this era, diabetes cannot be diagnosed at all, does not develop to a certain extent, and there is no violent reaction. Yuan Shikai's body has the above symptoms, indicating that the blood sugar is already very high. And Lang Zhong let him recuperate, which is nothing more than eating better, which invisibly plays the opposite role.
As soon as he was summoned, Yang Du hurried to the presidential palace. Yang Du knew that the president had nothing important, he was just depressed. Yuan Shikai's depression does not only come from external pressure, but also from internal pressure. The people's anti-Japanese cries are getting louder and louder, the accusations against him are becoming more and more intense, and the mood is naturally bad when the people are in a difficult situation at home and abroad. "My lord, your face is not good, didn't Lang Zhong let you have a good rest?" Seeing Yang Du's concern, he asked.
"The war in Shandong is about to break out, and I can't sleep well. The Japanese government is aggressive, and the people in China know my good intentions. The Japanese minister threatened to increase the number of troops on the Shandong Peninsula by 500,000, do you think it is possible? "It's hard to judge, but it makes sense for me to listen to Ge Yunfei's analysis in Jinan!" "What did Ge Yunfei say?" Ge Yunfei judged that Japan could only land more than 200,000 troops on the Shandong Peninsula at present, otherwise its logistical supply would not be able to meet it at all. β
Ge Yunfei said that war is about logistics, and Japan is not ready for a war of millions of people. He said that the initial stage of defensive operations would be difficult, and that as long as he withstood the frenzied attack of the Japanese army for three months, the Japanese offensive would be exhausted. "Why is Ge Yunfei so confident?" "He said that he used the people's war to defeat the Japanese army!" "What is the people's war?" Yang Du parroted Ge Yunfei's Russian meaning of the people's war, but in fact, he didn't understand it very well.
"The People's War, Ge Yunfei is too naΓ―ve, since ancient times, it is too late for the common people to avoid the war, and the common people are used to resist the Japanese army, isn't it a joke?" Yang Du was speechless and didn't know how to explain. "I conclude that Ge Yunfei will definitely be defeated, we must prepare early!"