On the first day of August 1929, the German-Japanese War, which lasted for more than 10 months, finally came to a watershed.

Two days later, the Japanese Navy Headquarters rebuilt the Combined Fleet with the former 3rd Fleet as the team, but this weak fleet could not be compared with the Combined Fleet, which frightened the Russians and impressed the whole world.

Behind this important battle, there were those who rejoiced and those who did not want to see Germany dominate the world undoubtedly lost to the extreme, and in the eyes of Germany and its allies, it was a decisive victory of historic significance.

However, nearly 400,000 Kwantung troops still occupied a large area of Chinese territory north of Pingjin, and the entire Korean Peninsula was still full of dazzling plaster flags.

The outbreak of the German-Japanese War seriously interfered with the Japanese army's plan to invade China, the front of the Kwantung Army only crossed the Great Wall, the rich Central China and East China were safe and sound, and the southwest became a land passage connecting German India and China, and valuable strategic materials were continuously transported into China through this, and the strength gap between the Chinese and Japanese armies was constantly narrowing.

"Great, as long as your country can provide this batch of funds and weapons to our government free of charge, the strength of our ** team will be substantially improved, and it will not be far off to go north to regain the lost territory!"

Holding the list of diplomatic aid provided by the German ambassador, Wang Zhengting, the foreign minister of the Nanjing government (1882-1961, 1928-1931 served as the foreign minister of the Nanjing Nationalist Government), immediately smiled, it was a huge amount of aid worth 45 million European marks, you must know that the total output value of China's military industry in a year was only a fraction of this figure when converted into European marks!

"No, no, no, Mr. Ambassador. What our government is asking for is not too soon, but as soon as possible!

As soon as possible! Balk Hollon, then the German ambassador to China, had been in China for almost a decade and could be said to be an out-and-out China expert, as evidenced by his knowledge of the two synonyms.

At this time, Wang Zhengting had no choice but to shrug his shoulders and make an embarrassed expression, "But Mr. Ambassador, our government army has suffered a lot of losses in the battle on the front line of Pingjin, and you are very clear about this!"

Although your navy has managed to defeat the Japanese navy. However, there was no substantial loss in the strength of the Japanese Kwantung Army! With the current situation, it is really difficult for our army to get out of the customs in a short period of time, unless it ......"

"Unless our navy and air force fully cooperate?" Balk Horon unhurriedly picked up the delicate celadon teacup next to him, lifted the lid, and his lips symbolically touched the tea in the cup, and his eyes were fixed on the teacup lid decorated with natural patterns.

Wang Zhengting did not answer directly, but asked rhetorically: "What do you think, Mr. Ambassador?" ”

"Your Excellency, please rest assured, our country has no intention of occupying an inch of China's land, so we will not directly send troops to interfere with your country's operation to recover the northeast!" With that, Balk Holon looked up at the expression on the other man's face. It was a calm face that had long since recovered from the joy it had just had.

"Mr. Ambassador, I'm afraid there is a misunderstanding. Unless I say it below, I want to ask your country to help our army build a tank force! ”

Having said that, Wang Zhengting was obviously very satisfied with what the German ambassador had just said. As a very experienced diplomat, he knew very well what could and could not be done while receiving German aid, and with the character of Chairman Chiang, he would never want to bring in any foreign team to directly assist in the war unless he was forced to do so, but the assistance in terms of funds, materials, and instructors was as much as possible, and direct fire support from the sea and air was also acceptable.

"Hasn't our country already trained a large armored unit for your country?" Balk Holon pretended to be surprised and asked that the armored units he was referring to were the 8th Light Armored Division and the 11th Mechanized Cavalry Division of the National Revolutionary Army, both of which had been prepared in early 1929 and had achieved a certain combat effectiveness so far.

"Nope. Mr. Ambassador, I just said tank units, not mixed armored units! Wang Zhengting very seriously corrected the other party's misunderstanding of these two seemingly similar words but far from each other in terms of "content". As the name suggests, the light armoured division is mainly equipped with light armoured weapons, while the mechanized cavalry division emphasizes mechanization and mobility, and these two units are heavily equipped with tracked armored vehicles and trucks, but tanks account for only a small proportion, and they are all Stone I and II tanks that have been eliminated by the German Army, and there is not even a tank III. Not to mention the Type IV tanks that dominate North America and Eastern Europe!

"Your Excellency, please rest assured that before the war between your ** Brigade and the Kwantung Army, our air force units stationed in Qingdao and the aircraft carrier forces at sea will make every effort to understand the obstacles set up by the Japanese army, including the Kwantung Army ground tank forces! In addition, I heard from the instructors that your country's special anti-tank units have been trained and can go to the battlefield at any time to fight the enemy, so even if a small number of Japanese tanks can evade our air raids, it is not a problem! ”

Although Balkholon's words were very tactful, he was still reluctant to provide the two active tanks of the German army to each other, which was not only a military technical consideration, but also a part of the political reasons, which is why in the list just now, the army weapons range from pistols, rifles to cannons, and armored vehicles, but the tank is missing, the king of land warfare, and in the naval weapons, important battleships, battle cruisers, submarines and aircraft carriers are not provided.

"If our army has tank troops to help, the military preparation time will be greatly reduced, if there is no our army, we should go all out to recover the lost territory, just ......" Wang Zhengting smiled slyly, "The preparation time will naturally be longer!" ”

Balk Holon shook his head, "Your Excellency is really a master of diplomatic negotiations, I really admire it!"

It is not possible to build a tank unit in one or two months, and as far as the German Army's training experience is concerned, it will take at least half a year for a regiment-sized tank unit to form combat effectiveness, so that the Japanese army entrenched in the northeast will have enough time to consolidate its defenses, loot resources, and oppress the people, which is very unfavorable to the war situation in the Far East! ”

As a shrewd diplomat, Wang Zhengting certainly did not fail to understand the part of the other party's implicit words, "Mr. Ambassador." Is it my ** team that attacked first, and your country trained tank troops for our country at the same time? This time it was Balkhoron's turn to make a very embarrassed expression, "Yes, Your Excellency the Foreign Minister, I have been completely defeated by you!" Well, I'm going to convey your country's intentions to Berlin, and I'll do my best, although it's a little difficult! ”

"Then thank you, brother!" Wang Zhengting smiled and glanced at the deputy on the side. The dimly studded hand comprehended, and after a while, he took out a workmanship and scenery place-shaped box from the back room.

After the box was opened, Balk Hollon's eyes lit up, "Yes...... Song official kiln vase! ”

Wang Zhengting patted the other party's arm proudly: "Absolutely genuine, priceless!" ”

For such a "treasure", Balk Holon of course chose to laugh.

Just three days later, this national treasure-level porcelain came to Chentian's hands.

"Not bad! Not bad! This is indeed the best in the official kiln of the Song Dynasty! Need! ”

After nearly half an hour of scrutinizing and tasting the vase, the German royal family's treasure expert von . Sir Eberstein finally spoke, and it was a continuous stream of praise.

For those technical terms, Chen Tian does not have much interest. And. Instead of the joy on his face after receiving the treasure, he felt sad for the "generosity" of the Chinese government in his heart.

"Donate to the National Museum!"

Chentian's words were flat, but they almost made Eberstein jump.

"Huh? Your Majesty. This ......"

"This is a 'kickback' given by the Chinese to Balk Holon, although Balk Holong gave it to me because of his selflessness, but I don't think it is a glorious trophy of the royal family, so it is better to put it in the National Museum for the world to see!"

Chen Tian turned his back, and the German War Minister Oli. Karn was standing there, staring intently at the vase on the table.

"Ollie?"

"Huh? Oh, Your Majesty! ”

"What are you thinking? Vase? ”

Ollie took a step forward, "Well, this vase is beautiful.

As you can imagine, the country that made it must be great! It's a pity that what we see today is a declining aristocrat with no fighting spirit! ”

"Ollie......" Chen Tian was very surprised by Ollie's words, but after thinking about it, what he said was not unreasonable.

"Your Majesty, although it is reasonable to let the squadron attack the Japanese Kwantung Army entrenched in the northeast and reduce the casualties of the emperor as much as possible, I am really worried about the combat effectiveness of the squadron, once the situation in the northeast cannot be improved, then our army's strategy plan on the Korean Peninsula will also be very adversely affected!"

If it comes out of the mouth of another man. Chen Tian may only laugh at it, because in the case of equal or even superior weapons levels, the combat effectiveness of the squadron will not be worse than that of the Kwantung Army. Today, however, it was Ollie Murray, Germany's recognized commander of the First Army and who had always treated allied armies equally. Karn is also his most loyal and sincere partner, and the importance of Chen Tiandi has immediately increased by several levels.

In the von. After Sir Ebstein and his attendants had departed with the vase, Chentian spoke:

"Entering the Northeast to fight, the squadron occupies the advantages of time, location, people and numbers, 30 million residents of the Northeast will be the solid backing of the squadron, tens of thousands of volunteers will make all the actions of the Japanese army have nothing to hide, thousands of guerrillas will make the rear of the Japanese army unstable, our navy and air force will also provide strong fire cover for the squadron; On the other hand, on the side of the Japanese Kwantung Army, the sea supply line from the mainland was jammed, and the morale was affected by the defeat in the naval battle. ”

Ollie said disapprerovingly: "Although what Your Majesty said is true, the Japanese army's style has always been stubborn, and it is difficult to guarantee that the Kwantung Army will not fight the trapped beast in this situation!" Once the Kwantung Army gathers elite 1 in one battle and severely damages the squadron, the situation of the battle is very likely to take a sharp turn! ”

A word suddenly popped into Chen Tian's mind, "Rout!" As Ollie said, these people whose souls have been eroded by the spirit of bushido are far more stubborn on the battlefield than any country in the world, and there are very few Japanese soldiers who surrender and are captured, and although the army of the national government has been in battle for a long time, there are many loyal and brave soldiers, but there are not a few people who are greedy for life and afraid of death on the battlefield, especially some officers who have been promoted through extraordinary channels, once there is a tough battle, it will be the glory of Taierzhuang, or the sorrow of Yuxiangju, Chen Tian does not dare to assert.

"Even so, it is impossible for us to replace the squadron to send troops to the northeast, and if we can't take the northeast, our plan to launch a landing operation on the Korean Peninsula will be met with tremendous resistance, and may even fail!"

Ollie nodded, "I've been thinking about this question for a long time, it would be best if we could attack the northeast in the form of a coalition force, our armored division can serve as the core and main force of the coalition army, so that the odds of victory can at least double!" ”

"Coalition ......" Chen Tian sighed heavily, "That person would rather guard half of his country than lure the wolf into the house, Ollie, you don't understand this truth!" ”

Indeed, even the militarily gifted Ollie has not been able to shake off the weakness of the Germans' lack of political vision.

"You're talking about Chiang ...... in China"

"Yes!" Chen Tian did not let Ollie continue to say the full name of the man, in his mind, this man was a troubled man at best, but not a real hero.

"That's why I agreed to provide the Chinese government with a huge amount of aid, ten tank battalions of equipment, and the most professional instructors, rather than directly sending the army to the war, but at the beginning of the Northeast War, it must have been an opportunity for him Jiang to eliminate dissidents and suppress the non-descendant army, and ask us for more assistance by the way!"

After pondering for a while, Ollie had an epiphany, "Your Majesty's mind is truly admirable!" ”

Chentian's answer was a slogan often shouted by German soldiers: "All for Germany!" ”

Only a month later, the first batch of No. III tanks arrived in Shanghai by land to sea, and the Nanjing government also opened five airfields on the Pingjin front for the use of the Luftwaffe, and at the same time, the German main fleet, which had won the naval battle of southern Kyushu, was divided into three, one went to the east coast of Japan to harass, and some went north through the Tsushima Strait and the Sea of Japan to Kuye Island, and the third fleet consisting of 1 battleship, 3 heavy cruisers and 2 aircraft carriers entered the waters of the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea to prepare to support the squadron in the operation.