The book is nearing its end, and the update will be accelerated in the last week or two, and I would like to thank my friends who have been supporting and encouraging me. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info's new book "Thunder of the War of Resistance" has been uploaded, I hope you can continue to support, and I would like to express my sincerest thanks.

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Now, the revelations have put the Japanese government on the back foot, and it has also affected Japan's scheduled plans.

First of all, Britain was still hesitant to invite Japan into the war. On 1 August, Britain informed Japan in alliance that it might declare war on Germany. However, Foreign Secretary Gray said in the notice that he himself "did not foresee the possibility of Britain turning to Japan for help because of its alliance."

On the 2nd, Germany issued an ultimatum to neutral Belgium demanding a false attack. On the 3rd, Britain hurriedly telegraphed to Tokyo that if the war extended to the Far East, and if Weihaiwei or Hong Kong were attacked, they hoped to receive Japanese support. On the 4th, Gray, who had read the newspapers, deeply regretted his rash appeal to Japan, and he immediately summoned the Japanese ambassador and said that Britain would "avoid involvement in Japan as far as possible," as Japan had exercised during the Russo-Japanese War.

The United States is most disgusted by the new proposal, and has instructed its ambassador to Japan to constantly ask questions about the Japanese Foreign Ministry and urge the Japanese Government to publicly guarantee that it will never have any unreasonable demands and ambitions in the new proposal. Naturally, the Japanese government was very embarrassed, and it could neither admit it nor block the door to future aggression against China.

The Chinese government has shown reason and restraint at this time, calling on the public not to act rashly and not to use violence until the truth is confirmed. However, the deployment of troops was in full swing, with the focus on the northeast and Shandong, and the coastal garrisons were also put on alert.

"Hehe, little Japan, Lao Tzuyin is you." Chen Wenqiang sneered and threw the newspaper on the table.

That's right, he was the one who started it. Putting a stumbling block on Japan and delaying Britain's invitation to Japan to enter the war bought precious time for China to recover Qingdao. In addition, the great powers were suspicious and distrustful of Japan, and if Japan wanted to make unreasonable demands on China in the future, it would have to be careful of the constraints of other countries.

For other imperialists, the biggest and most concerning issue in the Far East after the outbreak of the war was Japan's entry into the war and its position in China.

The Great Powers, in accordance with their respective interests, developed a new Far Eastern policy. Britain, in particular, agreed only half of China's proposals for the neutrality of the Far East and the Pacific, that is, he was in favor of the neutrality of the Far East, so as not to overexpand Japan's influence in China; But he opposed the neutrality of the Pacific, because he and his dominions, Australia and New Zealand, coveted German possessions in the Pacific and wanted to claim them for themselves.

Britain did not want Japan to enter the war, but it had to rely on the help of the Japanese navy to destroy the German Far East Fleet and protect trade with China. This ambivalence caused Britain to hesitate and repeat on the issue of Japan's entry into the war.

Chen Wenqiang did not expect Britain to give up on inviting Japan to join the war, he only needed to buy some time to eliminate the pretext of Japan's invasion of Qingdao and Jiaozhou Bay.

The so-called Sino-Japanese New Testament did cause great problems for Japanese diplomacy, and the European powers foresaw that the war would turn their attention to Europe and that the balance of power in the Far East, which had been maintained by imperialist rivalry and secret agreements, would be broken. For some time, Japan will become the only great power in Asia, and China faces a serious danger of being monopolized by Japan.

No matter how much Japan denies it, Chen Wenqiang believes that the goal has been achieved.

First of all, this incident aroused the suspicion of the great powers against Japan, and the fear that the expansion of Japan's power would lead them to adopt some policies to restrain Japan, at least in terms of diplomatic pressure, and to isolate Japan.

The second is to make Japan's attempt to dominate China known to the world, and every action of Japan in the future will be regarded as the implementation of the "Sino-Japanese New Testament", and many grandiose excuses will be lost; In addition, it instigated the resentment of the Chinese people against Japan and laid a good foundation for resisting Japan.

The outbreak of war in Europe, which happened according to the assumptions of the Chinese government, came as a surprise and suddenness to Germany. The time has come for the secret agreement that has been signed to be fulfilled, and it must be fulfilled as soon as possible.

At the same time, Japan had already shown a strong intention to enter the war, and the spearhead was directed at Germany. Moreover, the war needed penicillin too much, but Britain maintained supremacy at sea, and the supply of finished penicillin products could be interrupted, which would be a terrible thing for the thousands of wounded and sick that were about to be produced.

Of course, Germany did not want to give up Qingdao easily, so it ordered the Qingdao garrison to pack up and prepare to evacuate. On the one hand, it was through diplomatic efforts to prevent Japan from entering the war. Ambassador to Japan Rex visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs twice to lobby, but without success. Later, in exchange for supporting Japan's freedom of action in the Far East, Germany did not want to fight against Japan; If Japan, because of its treaty relations with Great Britain, asked Germany to take no action against British colonies, fleets, and trade in the East, Germany could agree, but Britain would have to give the same assurances.

Germany's intentions were clear: it would not give Japan any pretext to attack Germany, and at the same time give Britain hope that the status quo might be maintained in the East, in order to widen the Anglo-Japanese contradictions, prevent Japan from entering the war, and preserve German colonies in the Far East and the Pacific.

Suspicion and wariness of Japan led Britain to postpone its request to invite Japan into the war and to intend to negotiate with Germany in order to maintain peace in the East. This made Japan extremely nervous, so it put forward an ultimatum to Germany on 10 August, which contained two contents: 1. The German warships should immediately withdraw from the Japanese and Chinese seas, and disarm those who could not retreat; 2. Before 10 September of this year, Germany will hand over all the leased land in Jiaozhou Bay to the Imperial Constitution of Japan free of charge and unconditionally, so that it can be returned to China in the future.

Japan informed Britain only the day after the ultimatum was issued, indicating that its entry into the war was an independent operation and was not subject to any restrictions imposed by Britain. This made Britain very dissatisfied, because when Japan had previously sought Britain's invitation to enter the war, it had sweetly promised: "The British government can trust Japan, and if it is called, it will come to the aid of the allies with all its might; The reason for and the nature of the aid is entirely up to the British Government. ”

But now, Japan declared war on Germany without authorization, and immediately changed its attitude, did not agree to Britain's request not to enter the war in the name of the Anglo-Japanese alliance, did not agree that war activities were limited to cruising in the Chinese Sea and destroying German armed merchant ships (Britain limited the theater of war meant that Japan was not allowed to touch Chinese mainland and German territories in the Pacific), insisted on writing in the declaration of war that it was at the request of British allies, and resolutely opposed the limitation of the scope of the theater.

However, on the third day of Japan's ultimatum, the Chinese government declared its neutrality and publicly issued 24 rules of neutrality, demanding that the warring countries refrain from conducting hostile military activities in Chinese territory, including the lend-leased territories, and in nearby waters.

Only two days later, as if the discussion had been made, the German Jiaozhou Bay Fleet suddenly set out, and two armored cruisers, three light cruisers, and several transport ships left Qingdao with 3,500 German troops on board and headed for its colony in the Pacific.

Immediately afterwards, the Chinese army marched into Qingdao and began to maintain law and order, stationed in the fortress, and took over various important departments. On the same day, the German government issued a proclamation announcing that in the spirit of friendship between China and Germany and respect for China's external neutrality, Qingdao would be returned to China unconditionally.

The fact that things had changed so quickly was a blow to the Japanese that all their painstaking planning came to naught. Britain no longer feared that Weihaiwei or Hong Kong would be attacked by the German Far East Fleet and would need Japanese support. France would not move closer to Japan for the sake of the security of its colonies in Indochina, but kept urging Japan to fulfill its obligations as a participating country and asking Japan to send its army to Europe to help in the war.

Now that the United States, as the only country that can contend with Japan in the Far East, it is naturally more reluctant for Japan to take the opportunity to expand its power after entering the war, and it is pleased that the situation in the Far East has changed dramatically.

The capture of Shandong was not the ultimate goal of Japan's entry into the war, and for Japan, the Jiaozhou Bay issue was just an opportunity to fundamentally solve the Chinese problem. Realizing the ambition of dominating China is the main purpose of the Okuma cabinet's plan to invade China. Therefore, the emergence of such a situation is absolutely unacceptable to the Japanese, and they must make up an excuse to invade Qingdao.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigenobu Okuma received the Chinese envoy and asked whether the Beijing government had secretly reached a secret treaty with Germany to the detriment of Japan's interests, and had sent the Second Fleet to the waters near Shandong. On two occasions, the acting minister to China, Yukichi Kohata, went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to question him in an imposing manner, and unreasonably demanded that he be allowed to see the correspondence and telegrams between the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Chinese minister in Germany. He also fabricated that Japan had "the most accurate information" that China was secretly helping Germany, and allowed German soldiers to change into civilian clothes to continue to stay in Qingdao, and demanded that the Chinese government allow Japan to send troops into Qingdao for verification.

Not only that, but he also said, "If there is a misunderstanding in my life, the [Japanese] government is forced to do so, and it is difficult to ensure that it will not take necessary measures." At the same time, the Japanese Government also instigated overseas Japanese in Northeast China to stir up trouble in order to create a pretext for Japan to expand the incident. Japan has resorted to unscrupulous tactics to coerce the government in Beijing not to hinder its impending war operations in Shandong.

At this time, the Chinese government showed a calm and tough posture, sternly rejected all unreasonable demands of Japan, and communicated with the foreign powers in order to isolate Japan. However, the mountains and rains are about to come and the wind is full of buildings, and the Japanese are no longer reasonable, and they want to take advantage of the so-called "God-blessed opportunity" and use unreasonable excuses to invade China.

…………

In Beijing's Zhongnanhai, a plenary meeting of the National Defense and Military Commission, which was personally chaired by President Soong Jiaoren, was being held intensely, and all the people present were pillars of the Chinese Government, and the atmosphere was extremely solemn and solemn.

In these days, both China and Japan have engaged in their own frantic diplomatic efforts. The Japanese were trying to justify their actions and to gain the support of the Entente powers to make their annexation of Jiaozhou Bay and Qingdao appear justified.

However, Britain, the most important of the Entente powers, did not explicitly express its position on Japan's military action, but only called on both sides to exercise restraint and resolve the issue by peaceful means. The United States, on the other hand, has made it clear that it is a mistake for Japan to undermine China's neutrality and plunge the Far East into war, and that the United States will remain seriously concerned.

But none of this could easily stop the Japanese army, which was already a working war machine. The Japanese have been burned red with huge interests in front of them, and have spent a huge amount of money to mobilize the ground army, and there is no need to stop because of the change in the attitude of the great powers! How could such an opportunity in the Taisho era be so easily given up?

Chen Wenqiang, executive vice chairman of the National Defense Commission, is calmly making a report: "China has stopped all penicillin exports under the pretext of war, and this will pose a certain pressure on Britain, France, Russia and other countries. But we should not overestimate the binding power of Britain and France on Japan, and it is not necessarily that Britain and France are not hoping that Japan will win easily, so that they can act as mediators and acquire some of the new technologies at our disposal. Russia is most afraid that Japan will take the opportunity to reach out to Siberia, and it will not oppose Japan's move. The United States did not want Japan to take the opportunity to expand its power after entering the war, but when the situation was uncertain, it was unwilling to devote more forces to China. Germany wanted us to fight Japan to the death, and not only left a lot of baggage and supplies, but also gave us all the fort defense maps. ”

"So, I think we need to continue to show the strength and new look that China now has in order to win more respect and the possibility of peace." Chen Wenqiang paused for a moment, and said in an aggravated tone: "If we can thwart Japan's aggression, even if the war is prolonged, the international situation will change favorably. First of all, Britain and France will be angry with Japan because of the shortage of penicillin, and they will resent Japan for entering the war in the name of wasting troops in the Far East for its own interests, and will not help the war situation in Europe in the slightest. Second, the United States will see China's power and usefulness, and they will feel that they do not need to dwell on international difficulties, but only need to provide China with help within its ability to achieve the goal of containing Japan and thus ensuring the security of the Philippines and other Pacific territories. ”

"In other words, everything can only be achieved by military victory, even if it is a losing all-out battle." Chen Wenqiang put down the document and said solemnly: "If China behaves vulnerable, it will be disqualified to help." In addition, the Japanese worship the strong and despise the weak. Only by adopting a hard-line policy can the Japanese Government be cautious, any appeasement can only nurture treachery, any goodwill may be understood as a concession, and any concession will only encourage the other side to take further risks. ”

The expression on President Song Jiaoren's face was extremely serious, he nodded at Chen Wenqiang, looked around, and said in a low voice: "War is no longer avoidable, and this war is completely launched by Japan for their ambition to annex China in the future. After our army took over Qingdao, the Japanese army had no excuse to send troops at all, and now Qingdao was already a territory under the legal power of the government, not a German military base. However, in this case, the Japanese Okuma cabinet still brazenly insisted that they would put Jiaozhou Bay under their control and monitor the Chinese government that had restored the motherland's territory, and this was their bandit logic! ”

Oh, Song Jiaoren was rarely angry, he slapped the table heavily, and said passionately: "At this time, we can only resolutely safeguard the fundamental interests of our country and nation and resist to the end!" They started this war, and we will accompany us until our opponents admit defeat! The Chinese nation is a great nation, and the government that has finally been established since the liberation will no longer be weak to the outside world, we have a strong army, patriotic people, and the ancestors inherited from the ancestors to maintain the blood of our Chinese nation for thousands of years! ”

Defense Minister Wu Luzhen stood up and said angrily: "At this critical juncture of the life and death of the country and the nation, if we soldiers have any strength, we should make a sacrifice for the country. Even if the last drop of blood is shed and the last bullet is shot, it is necessary to obtain the final victory, and only then can it be regarded as fulfilling the responsibility of the country's soldiers! In Shandong, we have gathered an army of 100,000; More than 200,000 troops in Northeast China and North China have completed their preparations, monitoring the movements of the Japanese Kwantung Army and the Korean Army. In addition, there are hundreds of thousands of reserve troops in other theaters of the country, ready to support at any time. I have no doubt that in this critical juncture for the nation, our army will fight to the end and win the final victory. ”

Seeing Song Jiaoren's gaze projected, Cai Yi smiled faintly and said: "Based on the information obtained from the current reconnaissance, Japan has dispatched more than 50,000 army and the main force of the Second Fleet, mainly the 18th Division, and will start military operations in the near future, and the Japanese Kwantung Army is also ready to move. The General Staff, after a war game, concluded that our preparations were adequate, that the army had superiority in numbers and equipment, and that there was a chance of victory in a battle on land. It's just that if the war expands and the Japanese Navy chooses to land in other coastal areas of our country—"

"Japan is not prepared for a full-scale war, nor does it have the strength." Chen Wenqiang said: "Just by analyzing the financial situation, it can be deduced that Japan does not have the funds for long-term warfare. If Japan expands the war, we will not be without the means to counteract. Chief of Staff, I still don't have enough confidence in the power of submarines! ”

"It's not that there's a lack of confidence." Cai explained: "I just want to estimate the difficulties enough and prepare more fully. ”

"Minister Huang, the navy has high hopes in this operation!" Song Jiaoren eagerly turned to Huang Zongying.

Huang Zongying opened his folder and calmly reported: "Thirty-six coastal defense submarines have all been dispatched, ready to carry out a sudden and ferocious attack on the Japanese Navy; 300 mines have been laid in Jiaozhou Bay; Six ocean-going attack submarines have secretly sailed to Chongming Island and are ready to attack Japan at any time; A total of 50 large, medium, and small torpedo boats have been deployed, and the lightning strike fleet is ready to attack immediately. Please rest assured that although our navy does not yet have the naval equipment of the great powers, it has the naval spirit that is not inferior to those of the great powers. For this war, the Navy has been prepared as much as possible. ”

Song Jiaoren nodded slightly, and a terrifying light shot out of his eyes. Now there is no choice, no matter how much sacrifice is made, no matter what difficulties are suffered, now there is only one word "war"!

……………… (To be continued.) )