The situation in Temple Street is getting more and more serious, but Wang Hengyue, the general manager, is not very worried, because he knows very well that as long as he continues to maintain such a tough attitude, the Japanese government, which is worried about internal and external troubles, will soon bow to him!

The situation in Japan has not subsided for a single day since the outbreak of the "Misao Rebellion."

The rice riots in Toyama Prefecture attracted many reporters. On August 7, the "Takaoka Shimbun" exclaimed: "The commotion of the poor people in Toshisuibashi and Kawaikawa Town has ignited a terrifying social wolf!" On the same day, the Toyama Daily newspaper wrote: "The commotion is reminiscent of the grain rush that took place in the Russian capital in March last year. The Asahi Shimbun and Tokyo Nikichi Shimbun reported on the rice riots in Toyama Prefecture under the headline "The Violent Movement of the Housewives of Vietnam".

The news spread, and the whole country was excited. August 1. On Sunday, rice riots broke out in Kyoto and Nagoya at the same time. A large number of hungry citizens rushed to the rice shop in groups, smashed houses and grabbed rice, and scuffled with the police who rushed to the town to chalk down. In Nagoya, more than 20,000 workers, students, citizens, and shop assistants rallied at Tsurumai Park to denounce the rising price of rice. In Kyoto, the tribesmen of Yanagihara took the lead in attacking rice shops, which were most resented by the residents. A large number of citizens rushed to join the commotion, and the streets and alleys of the city were plastered with slogans such as "30 yuan ......for white rice", forcing rice shops to sell rice at a lower price. From then on, the rice riot spread in large and medium-sized cities.

On August 11, the opposition Kuomintang held an Osaka City Hall meeting at the Osaka Club to elect representatives to negotiate with the governor to lower the price of rice. Regardless of the outcome of the negotiations, many listeners took to the streets and attacked rice shops along the way. The shopkeeper was so scared that he was going to die, so he hurriedly agreed to sell rice for 25 yuan for 1 liter of rice. Sumitomo, Fujita, Kuhara and other chaebols were also afraid that their stores would be smashed and robbed, so they urgently negotiated and contributed 2 each. 10,000 yuan, as a fund for the sale of reduced rice prices.

Once the public anger is ignited, some concessions can no longer stop the people from resisting. On the night of the 13th, hundreds of thousands of Osaka citizens poured into the streets, and many women who shouted loudly rushed to the forefront, and rice shops, police offices, and guard boxes became the targets of attacks. In the middle of Osaka Castle, the voices of people are boiling, and black smoke rises from the flames. The municipality panicked and mobilized 2. Soldiers of a squadron came to suppress the chalk.

The city of Kobe, which is adjacent to Osaka, was also involved in the rice riot vortex on the 11th. On the night of the 12th, workers at the Mitsubishi Shipyard rioted in the factory. At the same time, there was chaos in Kobe City, and a group of people on Sakaemachi Street shouted and rushed to the main store of Suzumoto Shoten in 4-chome. Someone shouted, "Burn the vampire!" ”

"Burn down the profiteers' den!"

Someone found a firelighter, lit it and threw it at the store. After a while, the fire broke out and the Suzuki main store was reduced to rubble.

In Ichikawa Lingchuan Park, a large group of black crows held a meeting, one by one tied a white cloth belt, danced a Japanese sword, and shouted in unison: "Down with the cabinet of the temple!" "Kill the rich man with a bad conscience!" "Conquer the evil spirits of society!"

On the night of the 13th, the residents of Tokyo also took action, gathering at Hibiya Park to hold a citizens' meeting to denounce the Terauchi Cabinet for disregarding the lives of the people. After the meeting, people rushed onto Husband Street and took violent action. By the 16th, large, medium and small cities across the country had set off rice riots, and the whole country of Japan was shaken.

After the 17th, the frenzy of unrest swept through local towns and remote villages. The anger of poor peasants, tenant farmers, craftsmen, and day laborers erupted at the same time. The landlords, usurers, and pawnshop owners, who were in a position of power on weekdays, were panicked like ants on a hot pot, or they took a chance or hid, and they were terrified. In his heart, he secretly scolded the incompetence of the temple, hoping that the government would send troops to suppress the crusty suppression, and settle accounts after the autumn.

On the 17th, miners from the Okiyama Coal Mine in Yamaguchi Prefecture and the Minechi Coal Mine in Fukuoka Prefecture across the sea came forward, holding spades and waving flags, and surrounded the mine owner's house. The miners roared in unison: "Lower the price of rice!" "Increase wages!" "Improve working conditions!" The mine owners are required to accede to these demands immediately. The mine owner adopted the Laipi tactic of "dead pigs are not afraid of boiling water", closed the door, and at the same time ordered the garrison to load guns and prepare to shoot: "Whoever dares to break into the courtyard gate will be killed!" ”

Which of the miners took this kind of formation into account? Working in the mine every day, risking death to mine coal, not only tempered his muscles and bones, but also developed a violent character that is not afraid of death, and the guy in his hand is not a vegetarian. With an earth-shattering roar, he picked up a shovel and struck it in, dividing five by two, and the mine owner's house was smashed to pieces. The coal mine garrison was busy protecting the mine owner's family and fled to the desert, panting to report the case to the county. …,

When the county officials heard the news, they were also anxious, and immediately contacted the garrison: "Dispatch men and horses to resolutely suppress chalk!" ”

On the 18th, a large number of troops broke into the mining area. As soon as the officer gave the order, the soldiers set up their guns indiscriminately. The miners hid in the shed, found the explosives for the mine, tied them into small explosive medicine bags, lit the shengxin, and threw them out "oh"!

The explosion exploded with a "boom", causing the frightened officers and men to quickly lie down, no longer as rampant as when they first arrived. When the officers saw that the miners had used "home-made grenades," it was difficult to subdue the riots for a while, so they ordered to set up their guns and sweep wildly.

The "Da Da" chalk bombs rained down on the walls of the N-board houses of the shed, which could not withstand the strafing of the machine guns, and many miners were shot and fell in pools of blood. In the Chongshan Mine Branch alone, 13 miners were killed and 16 were seriously injured.

"Brothers, stay the course!"

"Fight with them!"

The mournful shouts of the miners were finally drowned out by the frantic roar of the machine guns.

Other coal miners in Yamaguchi Prefecture and Kitakyushu also rioted despite the army's gunfire and chalky suppression.

Smoke billowed everywhere, gunfire rang out, and fighting was like a civil war. Reach. On the 12th of the month, the riot of the coal miners in Miike was suppressed by the chalk, and the rice riots that lasted for more than 50 days came to an end. The unrest spread to 37 counties in 1 province, 3 prefectures, and millions of people participated. The army dispatched more than 57,000 troops to the bloody town of 3 prefectures and 23 counties. 25,000 people were arrested, of whom 71 were sentenced to more than 10 years in prison and 2 to death.

Due to the lack of a unified collar and chalk guidance, the rice riot was carried out spontaneously and inevitably failed.

However, this commotion showed the great power of the Japanese people's resistance. Catalyzed by this large-scale mass movement, the pro-democracy groups and progressive forces of all strata have become increasingly active. 1。 In December 18, students at the University of Tokyo founded the Newcomer Association. In February of the following year, Waseda University students formed the People's League; 1。 1。 Year. In January, the teachers and students of the school formed a builders' alliance to seek truth and demand the establishment of a reasonable new society. At the same time, workers' groups such as the General Confederation of Labour, the women's group New Women's Association and the Buraku group Horizontal Society have also launched new struggles.

1。 1。 In October of that year, Katayama Qian, Masahiro Suzuki, and Sukeyuki Yamamoto founded the "Japan Progressive Group Party" in Japan!

On the one hand, the Japanese ruling circles stepped up their repression, and on the other hand, they began to change their generals. 1。 On August 31, 18, Yen Laoshan Prefecture summoned Prime Minister Masayi Terauchi and reprimanded: "The cabinet is incompetent, you can't escape the blame, what are you going to do?" ”

The temple looked panicked: "The press is urging me to go into the wilderness, for the sake of the peace of the imperial country, I can only apologize and resign." ”

"Hmm," Shan Shan nodded, "Why is the bureaucratic cabinet so incompetent?" Who will be prime minister in the next cabinet? ”

Shan Shan couldn't help frowning and fell into deep thought.

"Shan County Gong, I will take a leave of absence from you, go first." After all, the temple was born in the army, and he was impatient, and when he saw that Shan County didn't squeak for a long time, he couldn't help but interrupt Shan County's contemplation.

"Huh?" Shan County suddenly woke up and said, "You haven't left yet?" Well, it's time to go, it's long overdue. The old man's legs and feet are inconvenient, so he will not be sent far. ”

The temple looked depressed and retreated.

Although Terauchi Masatsuki suppressed the rice riots, he failed to retain the position of prime minister. 4 days after the Meiji Coal Mine Riot in Kaho-gun, Fukuoka Prefecture was quelled, that is, 1. 18 years. On the 21st of the month, Terauchi was forced to step down, and the president of the Seiyukai, Takashi Hara, formed a new cabinet with a majority of political party members.

At the cabinet handover ceremony, the tall, bald-headed, military-uniformed temple hall stared at Yuan Jing, who looked suave and elegant and dressed in a big dress, both with some contempt and deep helplessness.

Hara Kei was born into a high-ranking samurai family in the Southern Domain, and his father was Naoji Hara who was the elder of the clan. When Kei Hara came of age, his family's fortunes fell due to the Meiji Restoration. He gradually became apparent through personal struggle. After dropping out of the Law School of the Ministry of Justice in 1878, he became a journalist. In 1882, he was promoted by Foreign Minister Inoue Shin to serve as consul in Tianjin and acting minister to France. 1。 He joined Hirobumi Ito's political friends association and became a rising star in the political world. 1。 In 14 years, he was elected president of the Political Friendship Association. Succeeded the temple as prime minister, because there was no Chinese title, won the title of "civilian prime minister".

But the fate of the new prime minister was not good, and as soon as the First World War ended, an economic crisis broke out in Japan. 1。 18 to the end of 1. 1。 At the beginning of the year, prices and stock prices plummeted, and foreign trade reversed.

1。 1。 Between April and May of this year, the adjusted economy was just picking up: on March 15 of the following year, another major economic crisis erupted. The workers' and peasants' movement developed enormously, and the youth student movement, the women's demand for political participation, and the Buraku liberation movement were all very active!

Abroad, 1. 1。 On March 1, the March 1 Movement for independence broke out in North Korea: in Beijing, China, Beijing students took to the streets to protest against Japan's annexation of Shandong; During the war, the great powers that had no time to look east demanded a return to China, which was almost monopolized by Japan, and the contradictions between Japan and the United States and between Japan and Britain became acute, and Japan fell into an unprecedented situation of isolation in the international community.

In the face of this grim situation, the Hara Kei Cabinet pursued the "Four Major Programs," namely, "Improving Education," "Straightening Out Communications," "Enriching National Defense," and "Rewarding Industry," in an effort to extricate itself from its predicament. There were also tinkering reforms, such as expanding the right to vote and changing arbitrary colonial rule.

This can infuriate those vicious right-wing forces, who are ready to pull out the "thorn in the side" of Yuan Jing!

And this actually gave the Chinese side the opportunity to smoothly resolve the Temple Street incident! ）1