Masahiro Suzuki and Sukeyuki Yamamoto sat there respectfully, not daring to make a sound.

It stands to reason that he is also an old subordinate of the president, although his identity is relatively special, he is himself. However, since he was accepted by the president, he has always shown his loyalty, and he has always been loyal to the president.

In the two presidential confrontation incidents, Mitsumasa Suzuki and Sukeyuki Yamamoto firmly stood on the side of the president.

When the Northern Expedition began, Mitsumasa Suzuki and Sukeyuki Yamamoto thought that they could also participate in it, so that they could witness this perhaps great moment in Chinese history.

But unexpectedly, the president did not let them participate.

Is it because the president still doesn't trust himself? Or is it for some other reason?

Glancing at the two nervous people, Wang Hengyue smiled: "Don't be nervous, I know that this Northern Expedition didn't let you go, and you are a little unwilling in your hearts, but I have another task for you." ”

Masahiro Suzuki and Sukeyuki Yamamoto were relieved.

Wang Hengyue suddenly asked: "Do you know about the 'rice scratching' that happened last year?" ”

The two of them were stunned for a moment, and then nodded.

On August 2, 1918, the "Great Imperial Political Axe Notice" was issued, that is, the "Declaration" of sending troops to Siberia, and at the same time issued a mobilization order to the 12th Division of the Army.

When the news of the dispatch of troops to Siberia came out, the price of rice rose wildly. At the end of 1917, the price of a liter of rice was 1 jiao and 2 cents; By August 1918, 3 was 3 jiao 8 points, 5 was 4 jiao 1 point, 7 was 4 jiao 7 points, and 9 was 5 jiao 3 points.

It's going up every day.

The sharp rise in rice prices seriously threatens the livelihood of working people in urban and rural areas. In August 1918, the newspaper published a letter from a female worker who said that her family of three earned only about 21 to 22 yuan a month. Because the price of rice is high, after paying the rice money and rent, the family's vegetable money is gone. The letter concludes with a call for a speedy reduction in the price of rice.

Even prison guards and city police have complained about the high prices of goods, especially rice, and making it impossible to live. In short, the soaring price of rice has added new hardships to himself. He himself has raised his voice and demanded that the hoarding of landlords and capitalists be stopped immediately, that foreign rice be quickly imported, and that the price of rice be lowered. However, it is said that the first duty of the political axe is to protect the interests of the landlords and capitalists, and where will it take the demands of the common people to heart; On the contrary, it is said that the national ideology has deteriorated, and it is necessary to popularize religious concepts and develop a sense of morality. This made me even more indignant.

The contradiction has developed dramatically to a very acute level. It was in this situation of struggle that the "rice scratching" broke out.

On August 3, several people were injured when the wife of a fisherman in Toyama Prefecture clashed with police officers who had gone to crack down on rice when she forced a rice merchant to sell rice cheaply.

More than 300 wives and daughters of fishermen in Nishimizubashicho, a fishing village in Toyama Prefecture, took to the streets from all directions and surrounded the rice shop. The nationwide "rice scratching" lit the first fire from here.

On August 4, the day after the Nishisuibashi incident, more than 800 women from the fishing village of Higashimizubashi across the river surrounded the rice shop of rice merchant Takamatsu Chotaro.

The rice shop stockpiled more than a thousand bags of rice, ready to be shipped outside the town to be sold at a high price. At first, the women calmly demanded: "Now that there is a shortage of rice in the country, don't sell it elsewhere." ”

Who knew that Takamatsu Chotaro said rudely: "The rice is mine, and I can sell it to whoever I want." ”

His wife said even more fiercely: "If you don't think rice is expensive and can't live, you'll die!" ”

When the women were insulted, they gritted their teeth in anger: "The annihilation of the merchant is too hateful, he should be taught a lesson." Sisters, we can't wait to die of hunger, let's divide his rice! ”

The women screamed, smashed the gate, and looted the rice. When Takamatsu Chotaro saw this situation, he was so anxious that he waved his hands and stomped his feet straight, crying bitterly.

On the evening of August 5, the movement extended to the nearby town of Kashikawa.

Hundreds of women rallied and demanded that the rice be sold cheaply. They sat down on the ground at the rice merchant's place, and begged again and again: "Sell the rice cheaper, we are dying of hunger!" ”

When the police heard the news, they intervened, and the women scolded and said, "You are full, go back to sleep with you!" ”

The next day, men also joined the fight, and the number of participants reached two or three thousand, and they took action to stop the export of local rice and force rice merchants to sell it at a lower price.

When news of the riots spread, women from neighboring fishing villages and villages also started to stir up. Thousands of hungry fishermen and farmers shouted, "Rice!" "Lower the price of rice!" The riot immediately spread to the entire prefecture of Toyama.

During this period from August 3rd to 9th, attacks on rice shops to punish the exterminators, as the masses in Nishisuizubashi and Higashimashi towns did, took place every day in various villages in Toyama Prefecture, and in each place a large number of people looted rice and grain at night. The whole of Toyama Prefecture is boiling.

The beacon fire ignited by the "Vietnamese-Chinese women's uprising" became a signal for the whole country.

On August 12, General Ohtani, commander of the Siberian Dispatch Force personally appointed by the Emperor, set out from Tokyo Station with the dream of "victory" amid the shouts of "Long live His Majesty the Emperor" by a group of generals and high-ranking officials.

However, in all the places that the general passed along the way, he was greeted not by the "loyal subjects" waving the sun flag, but by the hungry masses who "asked for rice!" Lower the price of rice! The cry of the voice.

On the evening of August 11, more than 3,000 citizens of Osaka gathered in Tennoji Park to hold a demonstration, chanting "Down with the municipal axe!" "Punish Zhong Xiaolu Lian! "Lower the price of rice! and other slogans. The political axe authorities sent armed police to suppress and arrest more than 200 citizens.

The next day, the masses staged even larger demonstrations to show their resistance. More than 30,000 people participated in the demonstration. At night, the masses began to riot, and the city and suburbs were full of rioting masses, more in groups of several thousand, less than a hundred; They broke into rice shops and smashed police stations, or seized rice merchants and forced them to sell rice at half price. Inside the railway station, more than a thousand workers and police fought to seize the grain wagons and distribute the rice to the poor. On that night, more than 250 rice shops were destroyed, and the police were completely helpless.

On the 13th and 14th, more and more people participated in the riots, and the struggle became more and more intense. According to eyewitnesses at the time, fireworks enveloped the entire city of Osaka at that time.

On the afternoon of the 14th, a cavalry wing, an engineer battalion, and a field artillery division were transferred to arrest and massacre the masses everywhere, and more than 2,000 people were arrested. Although the large-scale riots subsided on the night of the 14th, the skirmishes did not stop until the 19th.

The Kobe Riot has begun!

The riots in Kobe began like a storm. Kobe is the center of the maritime industry, and many of the nouveau riche who made the most of their fortunes during the war are concentrated here. In Kobe, rice speculation was more rampant than elsewhere, and the Suzuki main store of Suzuki, a major merchant of Suzuki, accepted contracts from the British [***] Supplies Purchasing Committee, and monopolized a large amount of grain through branches in various places. As a result, the riots broke out most violently here, and on the afternoon of the 12th, more than 50,000 citizens of Kobe gathered in Minatogawa Park. Fujita, a worker-turned-socialist, spoke warmly at the meeting. At that time, some people complained at the meeting that the high price of rice was the result of the frenzied rush of bad capitalists like Suzuki. The crowd chanted "Down with Suzuki!" "It is unanimously demanded that the merchants who hoard rice be punished.

Under the leadership of the Fujita faction, the participants of the meeting rushed to the Suzuki main store in Higashikawasakicho and confronted the police team who had been defending the place beforehand.

In the evening, the crowd in front of the Suzuki main store gathered more and more, and more than 20,000 people gathered at one time.

At this time, several police cars suddenly drove and rushed straight towards the crowd in a frenzy. Under this sudden attack, the ranks of the masses were immediately confused. Police and gangsters wearing steel helmets on their heads took advantage of the situation to rush into the crowd, brandishing batons to beat the crowd and stepping over the fallen people. At that time, there were 20 or 30 people killed and injured in front of the Suzuki main store, and the streets were stained red with blood.

While caring for the wounded and comforting their comrades, the demonstrators quickly armed themselves with stones and sticks and fought back against the brutal police and hooligans.

The streets of Higashikawasaki Town suddenly became a battlefield of fighting, with shouts of killing and alarm bells in all directions. Just as the two sides were inseparable, thick black smoke suddenly rose from the three-story building of the Suzuki main store. This is the result of another team throwing burning firewood inside. The fire burned more and more, and the three-story shop was destroyed in an instant!

This victory was an encouragement to the masses. The police team and the hooligan regiment finally lost their support and retreated. The demonstrators took advantage of the victory and burned Suzuki's own house to ashes.

In the first days of the uprising in Kobe, the actions of the masses were mainly concentrated attacks on the shops and residences of the big capitalists. In the past few days, the Suzumoto Main Shoen, Yuasa Shoten, Shinki Smelting Works, the Camphor Company, the Kobe Shimbun and the usurers' houses run by the Matsukata Zaibatsu have been destroyed or burned down, and most of the city's police posts and many police stations have suffered the same fate.

The day after the riots, many factories went on strike. Among them, the struggle at the Mitsubishi shipyard was the most intense. More than 800 workers at the factory destroyed the machines, erected a fort out of logs, and fought with the armed military and police with iron rods and stones. Many workers wore white clothes to show their determination to fight to the death.

The battle between the workers and the military police lasted for two days and nights.

Nagoya began to tickle at dusk on August 9. The demonstrations here were also attacked by the army, and turned into riots on the night of the 12th. Until the 17th, it was eight consecutive days, setting a record for the longest period of urban riots in the country.

The riot that swept through the whole book began!

(To be continued)