After entering the presidential palace, the Japanese Minister Iji Hikoyoshi did not maintain his usual diplomatic politeness, but came to Yuan Shikai with a very ugly face, bowed habitually, and said loudly: "Your Excellency, it is said that the German Minister Hahausen has officially proposed to your country to return the leased land in Jiaozhou Bay, is this true?" ”

Iji Yanji's almost questioning tone made Yuan Shikai very annoyed, if it weren't for his identity as the president of the Republic of China, he would have had a big attack on the spot.

"Yes, what does Your Excellency the Minister have to say?" Yuan Shikai said firmly.

"Since this is true, I am compelled to remind Your Excellency the President that Germany is a core member of the Central Powers. If your country accepts Germany's proposal to return the leased land in Jiaozhou Bay, it will be regarded as an alliance of the Allied powers by our allies, and I ask Your Excellency the President to consider it carefully! Ijihikichi said menacingly.

What does this mean, is this a prohibition for China to accept Germany's proposal to return the leased land in Jiaozhou Bay?

Yuan Shikai, the president of the Republic of China, could stand up on the spot and shouted angrily: "Your Excellency, what do you Japan want to do, is this to interfere in China's internal affairs and teach me how to be the president of the Republic of China?" ”

At this time, Lu Zhengxiang also stood up with anger on his face and said: "The leased land of Jiaozhou Bay was originally Chinese territory, and now Germany has taken the initiative to return it because of the pressure of the European war. Your Excellency, I solemnly remind you that China is now a neutral country! ”

"I am compelled to inform Your Excellency the President that I, the Imperial Japanese Empire, are currently in urgent consultation with our British allies and will soon declare war on Germany and form a coalition to attack the leased land of Jiaozhou Bay, which is under German control. If your country accepts Germany's proposal to return the leased land in Jiaozhou Bay at this time, it will be tantamount to declaring war on our Entente! Ijihikichi threatened loudly, as if he was not facing the president of the Republic of China, but just a cat and dog that he trampled on at will.

"You ......" Yuan Shikai's lungs were about to explode, but after all, he forced himself down, and the words "Entente" were too great a deterrent to him.

"Your Excellency, Minister. Even if the Entente wanted to declare war on Germany, the leased land of Jiaozhou Bay was our territory, and China had the right to take it back. In accordance with international law, our country, as a neutral country, does not intervene in wars between you. But our country also has the right to reclaim territorial sovereignty at any time and in any way! Lu Zhengxiang reprimanded reasonably.

Ijihikichi smiled disdainfully and said, "This is the end of my kind reminder, if your country insists on accepting Germany's proposal and forming an alliance with it, then I, the Empire of Japan, as a member of the Entente, has the right to take all actions to safeguard the interests of the Entente. Your country will be responsible for all the consequences arising from this! ”

After saying that, Iji Yanji shook his hand and turned around and left the presidential palace, leaving Yuan Shikai and Lu Zhengxiang with iron faces.

As soon as Iji Yanji walked out of the presidential palace, Yuan Shikai immediately scolded: "Bastard, this damn wolf, greedy and shameless wolf!" ”

"President, the matter of recovering Jiaozhou Bay ......" Lu Zhengxiang asked Yuan Shikai, he no longer had the joy of coming to the presidential palace at the moment. Because he also knew very well in his heart that the Japanese were intervening under the banner of the Entente. I'm afraid this matter is going to hang.

Sure enough, Yuan Shikai thought about it again and again, and finally sighed helplessly, waved his hand weakly, and said to Lu Zhengxiang: "Zixin, reject the German minister's proposal to return the leased land in Jiaozhou Bay." ”

"Yes!" Lu Zhengxiang replied with a gloomy expression, a weak country has no diplomacy, and he, the foreign minister who knows this well, should have realized it a long time ago, but he still couldn't help but work hard again and again, and finally got disappointed and sad again and again.

Not sure why. The news of Japan's brutal ban on China accepting Germany's return of Qingdao spread throughout China almost overnight, and public opinion throughout the country was in an uproar.

The people of the whole country were indignant, hating both Japan's arrogance and unreasonableness, and also the weakness of the Beiyang government.

The next morning. The nation's major newspapers carried the news on their front pages.

Shanghai declaration: such a friend! So government! Japan's purpose of arbitrarily forbidding China to accept Germany's return of Qingdao is well known to passers-by. What is the "Sino-Japanese friendship" that has been advocated by such forcible interference in China's internal affairs and such wanton occupation of China's territory? Compatriots, wake up! Japan is by no means a friendly friend, but a hungry wolf who covets the land of China all the time!

In the face of such a greedy and shameless hungry wolf. The Beiyang government chose to go against the grain and dare to ask the princes of Beiyang, where is your backbone and where is your backbone?

Forty thousand compatriots, is this really the government we want?

China Revival News: Weak countries have no diplomacy! Weak countries have no status! The incident in Qingdao once again tells us with facts that a weak country has no diplomacy! Today's world is a world of great contention, and if the Republic of China wants to avoid the fate of being bullied, carved up and even annexed, we must strengthen the country and the army!

Tianjin Daily: When is it not a compromise and a concession? Since the Opium and Chip Wars, whether it is the former Qing court, the provisional government of the Southern Kuomintang, or the current Beiyang government, in the face of the arrogant and unreasonable demands of the foreign powers, it has always compromised and compromised, and retreated and retreated. With such a government, it is better to dare to say no to local warlords to foreigners!

……

As the news spread, a surging anti-Japanese wave once again set off across the country. In particular, young students from various localities organized demonstrations and petitioned the government to take Qingdao back.

"Take back Qingdao and oppose Japan's interference in China's internal affairs!"

"Take back Qingdao and send Japan to interfere in China's internal affairs!"

……

On the streets of Nanjing, hundreds of young students held banners with large black characters reading "Take back Qingdao and oppose Japan's interference in China's internal affairs." They shouted slogans and distributed leaflets to the surrounding passers-by.

The final destination of the student procession was the office building of the Autonomous Government of the Southern United Provinces, where the student representatives submitted a petition to the government.

Looking at the young students demonstrating down the government building, the KMT public reacted differently. However, one thing is quite the same. That is, most of these KMT members have studied in Japan, and they are basically afraid of Japan's strength.

If the backbone of the Manchu court and the Beiyang government was broken by the Westerners and the Japanese, then the knees of the Kuomintang princes were bent by the appearance of Japan's strength.

"Sir, on the matter of Qingdao, should our Southern United Provincial Autonomous Government have a formal public statement?" Li Liejun couldn't help but ask Sun Yat-sen.

Before Sun Yat-sen could say anything, Chen Qimei said with some sneer: "Statement? What is the attitude, is it a protest condemnation of Japan, or a declaration of war on Japan? ”

The rest of the Kuomintang also looked at Li Liejun with a "you are very naïve and naïve" gaze, which made Li Liejun both disappointed and annoyed.

"Well, the Qingdao matter is related to international disputes, and we had better not get involved." Sun Yat-sen said lightly, not looking to care about what the final outcome of the Qingdao affair would be, and then turned to Hubei, "It's that Hubei has to spend a lot of time, how long has it been, but there has not been much effect." ”

There was a hint of blame in these words, and I didn't dare that Sun Yat-sen would be like this, but the progress of Hubei was slow. After being connected in tandem for so long, there is still no way to gather enough strength to cause trouble.

Mentioning this, Chen Qimei said hatefully: "It's all to blame for Zhang Yunnong's ungrateful guy, if it weren't for his willingness to be an eagle dog and lackey of the independent warlord, and unwilling to help us plot against the Hubei army, how could our progress in Hubei be so slow?" ”

Xu Chongzhi also said with a sad face: "Yes, sir, without Zhang Yunong's assistance, we are struggling in Hubei. Moreover, in order not to attract the attention of the Sichuan army, we can only act cautiously, and the officers of the Hubei army must only start to rebel after repeated contacts and temptations, so it takes a little more time. ”

The Kuomintang princes did not know that every move of the people they sent to Hubei was under the close supervision of the Sichuan army, so they were still dodging and dodging, and did not dare to move too big or too fast, for fear that they would attract the attention of the Sichuan army. They didn't know that their twisting and pinching behavior was very ridiculous in the eyes of Lu Dayong, who was in charge of Hubei affairs.

Sun Yat-sen thought for a while and said: "In this way, if you gather more party manpower, even if you are allowed to take out some important positions in the Hubei military government, it will not hurt." As long as we gather enough manpower, control and coerce the Hubei Provincial Government to declare that we will join our Provincial Autonomous Government, and invite the Jiangxi army to enter Hubei to assist in the defense against the Beiyang Army. ”

In the final analysis, the Kuomintang just needs a high-sounding excuse to let Li Liejun logically lead the Jiangxi army into Hubei, and then it can achieve the goal of seizing Hubei by force.

As soon as Sun Yat-sen said this, the eyes of the rest of the Kuomintang lit up, and they all expressed their approval of this idea.

The Kuomintang is in full swing to seize Hubei, and Japan's action of sending troops to Qingdao has not stopped.

On August 15, 1914, Japan issued an ultimatum to Germany, demanding that Germany unconditionally hand over the leased land of Jiaozhou Bay to Japan for future return to China. Moreover, Germany must immediately withdraw its warships in the Japanese and Chinese seas, and disarm those that cannot retreat.

On August 23, Japan officially declared war on Germany. On the same day, the Second Fleet of the Japanese Navy blockaded the mouth of Jiaozhou Bay.

After the start of the war, the Japanese army mobilized 45,000 troops with the 18th Division as the main force, and formed the so-called Anglo-Japanese coalition with the British army with a total strength of about 2,000 troops, and launched an attack ten times that of the German army in Qingdao.

After the Japanese 18th Independent Division landed at Longkou, it burned, killed and looted all the way, and even created the appalling "Maojialing Massacre" in the history of Qingdao.

Due to the disparity in the strength of the two warring sides, and the isolation of the German army in Qingdao, it was defeated after the war, and was soon cleared by the Anglo-Japanese coalition forces and forced to retreat back to Qingdao.

On September 23, 400 Japanese troops suddenly occupied the Weixian station and began to march along the Jiaoji Line to Jinan.

Woo-woo-woo

The whistle of the train echoed in the empty wilderness, and from time to time the Japanese soldiers on the train leaned out of the window, shouting excitedly and in a frenzied manner.

What the Japanese soldiers did not notice was that in the mountains and forests on both sides of the railway, huge troops that had been lying in ambush for a long time gradually emerged from the lurking location.

If you look down from the sky at this time, you can see at a glance that the train is surrounded by a sea of green that is constantly surging and awakening. (To be continued.) )

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