In the mirror, the heroic face has long since climbed the traces of time, the faint corner lines of the eyes, the thick beard, and the eyes that exude the sharp eyes of an eagle, according to most of the opposite sex, these are the embodiment of maturity.

After combing his hair, Chen Tian straightened his collar, for him, for Germany, for the whole world, today will be an extraordinary day, therefore, it is very important to maintain a neat and majestic appearance.

With the help of his attendants, Chen Tian changed into shiny leather boots, put on a three-color ribbon and a long sword, held the hilt of the sword in his left hand, and held a hat and helmet with white feathers in his right hand, straightened his chest, and walked to the gate step by step.

On December 19, 1928, light snow fell in the sky over Berlin.

Four hours ago, in the printing workshops of several major newspapers and magazines such as the Berlin Zeitung in Germany, the workers were busy decorating the remaining newspapers according to the distribution location, and they were always able to get the big news earlier than ordinary people, and today, the content of the front page of the headline filled their hearts with shock, in fact, it was enough to shock the whole country and the world - ironclad evidence that the Japanese government has an unshirkable responsibility for the assassination of Wilhelm II, The German Government has decided to terminate all diplomatic relations with the Japanese Government as of today.

At that time, it was 12 noon in Tokyo, thousands of miles away, and at the German Embassy in Tokyo, the German ambassador von Ferdin. With a serious expression, Lord Dax took out a prepared diplomatic document from the safe, and in two hours, this document would become the official announcement of the severance of diplomatic relations between Germany and Japan.

Two hours ago, the sky in Berlin had brightened, and the newsboys' backpacks were stuffed with freshly baked newspapers, and they did not know that they were holding weapons more terrible than bombs in their hands, and their young cheeks were red from the bitter cold, and they shouted the first sound of the day with all their strength in their soft voices. A few minutes later. Germany was filled with terrible anger in its surprise.

Almost at the same time, von. Lord Dax's car stopped in front of the Japanese diplomatic office, and the grim-looking Lord stepped up the marble steps with a calm step, step by step, and the Japanese diplomats who came to greet him still had a smile on their faces, but this smile soon became a historical memory.

An hour ago, Tatsuten got up, and everything was going according to plan.

On this cold and windy morning. Members of the Reichstag gathered at the Reichstag to hear the Kaiser's edict at the Imperial Palace. In August 1914, July 1924 and June 1928, it had become routine for members of Congress before the start of the war. In the halls of the Reichstag, many of you had the privilege of living through the three wars as members of the Reichstag, and witnessing the Empire's glorious and great victories one after another, filled with confidence and pride.

Around the hall, the frescoes have been more than that. After 1915, the scene of William II and William III raising their swords to overthrow the King of England, the President of France and the Emperor of Russia was painted as a second large fresco; 1925 year. The German team is painted in the third picture of the victory under the Statue of Liberty; Not so long ago. The entry of the German army into St. Petersburg was the fourth mural in the hall, and now it seems that it is time to prepare for the fifth.

9 a.m. sharp. Members of parliament lined up into the Kaiser's Olaf Palace and sat down in the hall one by one. Ten minutes later, Kaiser Wilhelm III, dressed in military uniform, accompanied by the ministers of the army, navy and air force, walked in, wearing a helmet and holding the hilt of his sword in his left hand, steadily ascended to the throne, and then began to read the speech.

"We draw our swords out of their sheaths, with a clear conscience and clean hands!"

This is the same phrase that successive Kaisers said before the war.

"This will be a battle of revenge, and the will of the Germans is on full display here!" Chen Tian pointed out the window, "The people are shouting. We will punish the murderers and their accomplices with our swords! ”

The parliamentarians all held their heads high, their eyes full of anger.

Chen Tian paused for a few seconds, and then changed his words, "It is an evil, barbaric and cold-blooded people, their atrocities in Asia and Oceania are heinous, and many innocent civilians are slaughtered by them every month!" Australians and New Zealanders, who have inherited the civilization of Europe, have not escaped the shroud of darkness either! If we don't go on offense instead of defense, sooner or later darkness will come upon Europe! ”

"Righteous Crusader Knights!" Tatsu raised his voice. "This is a new crusade, we are going to smash the lair of evil forces!"

The parliamentarians expressed their approval with applause.

"At this time, I do not recognize partisanship, only Germans, only Germans!" Chen Tian stretched out his right hand with white gloves, "Leaders of all parties, if you agree with me, please come and shake hands with me!" ”

In the frenzied excitement, the leaders of the various parties obeyed, and the other parliamentarians in the room erupted in ecstatic cheers.

At 11 a.m. Berlin time, the German prime minister announced the official findings of the assassination of Wilhelm II to the German people via radio and told the Nationalist government that it had severed diplomatic relations with Japan a few hours earlier.

Within an hour of the end of the broadcast, thousands of Japanese shops and Japanese-owned factories in Germany were attacked by angry German citizens, and Japanese diplomats in Germany, who had already suffered a lot, slipped away early.

Beginning in the afternoon, hundreds of thousands of people across the country took to the streets to march to demand that the German government declare war on Japan.

At 8 p.m. Tokyo time, or 12 noon Berlin time, Emperor Showa urgently summoned cabinet ministers and senior generals of the army and navy at the Imperial Palace.

"The Germans are going to do it after all!"

As he spoke, there was no expression on the emperor's face, no surprise, no anger, and no sorrow, as if everything had been expected by him.

"Fight to the death!" The generals clenched their fists one by one.

"Please, gentlemen!" The Emperor said in a rare tone.

"Swear to serve His Majesty the Emperor to the death!"

At 10 p.m. Tokyo time, that is, at 2 p.m. Berlin time, the Japanese government replied to Germany's severance of diplomatic relations: severing all diplomatic relations with Germany, nullifying all diplomatic agreements signed between the Japanese government and the German government, expelling all German personnel in Japan and its colonies, and carrying out a nationwide general mobilization in Japan.

At 5 p.m. Berlin time, Germany officially declared war on Japan, and the Kaiser read the edict of declaration of war against Japan to all citizens through the radio.

At 1:10 a.m. Tokyo time, under the surface of the water south of Tokyo Bay.

The black submarines were in place, and the mine hatches on their hulls had been opened one by one. The officer in charge of the mine cast looked back at his captain, who nodded firmly, and a few seconds later, the first mine broke away from the submarine and entered the latent position. The submarine slowly moved south, and rows of drainage mines were laid, and Tokyo Bay was still the pride of the Japanese Empire, but its gate was already written with the words "no traffic" written in German.

On Vladivostok, Sakhalin and the military airfields of Qingdao. The night woke up to the roar of countless engines. Bomber after bomber, with their massive bodies and incredible power, began to slide, accelerate, and fly off the ground, and they would undoubtedly become the first foreign planes to drop bombs on the Japanese archipelago and the vanguard of the German offensive.

In the port of Vladivostok, there was no whistle to set sail, no flowers and handkerchiefs to see off, and under the watchful eyes of the officers and men, one after another heavy armored sea cavalry rushed out of the harbor, and after leaving the port, 15 warships, including the "Seydlitz," "Scharnhorst," "Gneisenau," and "Kleist," quickly sailed southwest, and a guard fleet of the Japanese Navy was stationed in the port of Chongjin in Korea, not far from here. According to previous aerial reconnaissance. There were only one Japanese battleship, one light cruiser, four destroyers, and more than a dozen gunboats and torpedo boats.

In Jiaozhou Bay, the battle fleet consisting of the battleships "Bavaria", the battlecruisers "Prince Frederick" and "Wissenberg", the medium aircraft carriers "Zeppelin" and "Alexander", as well as five light cruisers, 12 destroyers, and 10 submarine hunters, also left port at the same time.

The other side of the belligerent. Japan, on this night, was not idle. On the artillery positions around Tokyo, the gunners quickly assembled around the anti-aircraft guns with their heads pointed at the sky, and the large wooden boxes were opened, and the inside were full of genuine shells, and before the development of high-altitude fighters, the large anti-aircraft guns would be the only effective weapon to stop the German bombers.

In a secret military port in the western part of the Japanese archipelago, submarines flying sixteen flags of the rising sun set sail, their pitch-black hulls quickly disappearing into the night. By the end of 1928, the Japanese army had less than 80 submarines in service. But they were also a force to be reckoned with, and if used properly, they were capable of posing a considerable threat to the German navy in the Far East.

In the Governor's House of the Russian Far Eastern Autonomous Government in Khabarovsk, a Russian marshal nodded expressionlessly, and then picked up the phone on the table. In front of him, the two Japanese envoys showed a smug smile. Seizing the opportunity has always been a high-level move of the German high command, and German mine-laying submarines are indeed familiar with deploying a large number of mines on the communication arteries along the coast of Japan. This time, however, they were facing a country that was much more keen on war and intrigue.

After nightfall, on the Sino-Russian border. The Russian soldiers "generously" opened the border gate, and on the Russian-controlled Ussuriysk railway line, a column of military columns with plaster flags quickly advanced towards the Moraviyev Amur Peninsula where Vladivostok is located.

The darkness weakened the reconnaissance force of the Germans, and it was not until the Japanese advanced to Ussuriysk, which was more than 60 kilometers away, that the German spies lurking there discovered the sudden attack of the Japanese army, and the news was quickly transmitted to Vladivostok at the first time.

According to the German-Russian peace treaty, Germany actually controlled more than 5,500 square kilometers of Vladivostok, of which about 1,200 square kilometers were land, that is, more than 50 kilometers inland from the port. At this time, the main troops stationed in Vladivostok were the 1st Detachment of the German Pacific Fleet, the Independent Marine Brigade, the 3rd Division of the German Far East Task Force, and the Air Force, with a total of more than 17,000 combatants, including naval officers and men, 420 warplanes, and more than 2,800 pilots and crew members.

Vladivostok's maritime defenses consisted of mines, repaired fortresses and land-class aircraft, surface ships, and submarines, all of which were a headache for the Japanese Navy, which had never thought of attacking Vladivostok from the sea even during the Russo-German War.

Vladivostok's land defense was less formidable by comparison, and the German coastal defense system consisted of two lines of defense in the field and on the edge of the city, and one line of defense in the city. The outermost one is built in the hilly area of the central and southern part of the peninsula, mostly semi-permanent fortifications, with the warning points established by the Russian army on various commanding heights as defensive strongholds, and between the strongholds and strongholds, relying on the terrain to build a large number of trenches, barbed wire and gun fortresses, this kind of defense line can resist the enemy's infantry attack, but it is more frightened by a large number of heavy artillery and air attacks; The second line of defense, which was originally a land fortification of the Russian army, became the main line of defense of the German army to defend the city of Vladivostok after repairs, and the defense line was built roughly along the northern edge of the city, mainly with a cordon blockade, trenches and reinforced concrete fortresses, which was much stronger than the previous line; The third line of defense is the urban defense line, that is, the barricades, which are mainly in the northern and northeastern urban areas of Vladivostok, about 10 kilometers from the port and several military airfields, and are the last line of defense of Vladivostok land defense. After receiving the news of the Japanese invasion, the officers and men of the German Army and the Marine Corps quickly entered the front two land defense lines, and after 204 months of preparation, the construction of these defense lines has been completed as planned, but on the one hand, time and materials are limited, and on the other hand, they are far away from the German mainland, these fortifications are far inferior to the Arthur fortress that the Russian army has operated for many years, and it is difficult for the German army to send a large number of reinforcements in wartime.

After receiving the news of the Japanese invasion by land, the Luftwaffe stationed in Vladivostok launched an overnight bombing campaign along the Ussuriysk railway, but the effect of the bombing was very limited due to the poor lighting that night. At 2 a.m., the vanguard of the Japanese army still arrived in front of the German Vladivostok land line, and judging by the numbers of the Japanese units, they belonged to the 3rd and 5th divisions of the Kwantung Army and the 23rd Dank Brigade.

"We have to be prepared for both!"

When he learned that the Japanese army had arrived north of Vladivostok very quickly, Chen Tian said unusually calmly.