"That's very good." Liu Guanxiong smiled, his expression was very relieved, "In this case, I have nothing to worry about." ”

Yang Shuoming heard what Liu Guanxiong meant, he was a little unexpected, and couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

"Ziying, do you want to ......?" Feng Guozhang understood a little and couldn't help asking.

"There will inevitably be a big war in our country this time, I am weak and sick, and it is difficult for me to be competent for ministerial affairs. Liu Guanxiong looked at Feng Guozhang and said, "Please also ask the president to be considerate." ”

Hearing Liu Guanxiong's answer, Feng Guozhang just wanted to say something to keep him, but when he saw that Liu Guanxiong's forehead was in a cold sweat due to pain, he couldn't help but sigh, and the words of retention were not said after all.

At this moment, a secretary of the presidential palace walked in quickly and said to Wang Zhengting: "Vice Minister, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called you and said that Minister Kohata urgently wants to see you. ”

Listening to the secretary's words, Feng Guozhang and the others were all stunned.

"I'll come when I go." Wang Zhengting got up as he spoke, followed the secretary into another hall, and answered the phone.

After a while, Wang Zhengting returned to the conference hall, he looked at everyone, and his eyes finally stayed on Yang Shuoming.

"As Han expected, Minister Ben is even more anxious than us."

"They didn't send an ultimatum or a declaration of war this time?" Feng Guozhang asked.

"There are no documents, he came to show us that this is a 'misunderstanding', and I hope we will exercise restraint." Wang Zhengting said, "It seems that the political axe is indeed as Han Zhi said, and it can't control the military." ”

"It's all like this, but it's not a 'restraint' that can be done." Cai Ye said with a sneer.

"Rutang, go over now, and listen to what Minister Ben has to say." Feng Guozhang said, "When you come back, we'll discuss it again." ”

Wang Zhengting nodded, took the coat and hat from the secretary, turned around and walked away quickly.

"Since the military has put aside the political axe and acted alone, we don't need to go to the political axe in everything, and take action directly against the military." Cai Ye looked at everyone, and finally his eyes fell on President Feng Guozhang, "Without further ado, if the president agrees, our army will take action immediately." ”

Feng Guozhang pondered for a while, his eyes swept over everyone present one by one, and he waved his fist as if he had made up his mind.

"Let's fight! Last time, we fought for five years of peace, and this time we will strive to fight him for twenty years of peace! ”

Hearing Feng Guozhang's words, the people in the conference hall seemed very excited, and Cai Yi's eyes involuntarily turned to Yang Shuoming, but suddenly found that Yang Shuoming's eyes were glancing at the clock intentionally or unintentionally.

Tokyo, Prime Minister's Office.

"Minister Yanjing Kohata called, saying that China's political axe was peaceful, but the people's anti-sentiment was strong." Prime Minister Hara Kei showed a copy of the telegram to Minister of Finance Takahashi to read, "If we stop the reckless movement of the Siberian army now, it will be too late." ”

"I'm afraid it's not that easy." Takahashi shook his head and said, "The General Staff Headquarters always emphasizes the inviolability of the Emperor's commanding power, and this time the incident in Vladivostok is only afraid that Yusaku Uehara (Chief of the General Staff Headquarters) knows it clearly. ”

"I can't figure it out that Ugaki knows, but he doesn't say it!" Yuan Jing said angrily, "If you always let Uehara and them come around, it will be ruined in their hands sooner or later!" ”

Hearing Yuan Jing's words, Takahashi Shiqing couldn't help but look up to the sky and sigh.

"The biggest mistake we made was underestimating the strength of the military department."

"It is said that Ben is now in the most dangerous moment, that is, sacrificing his surname, and I also want to stop the military department's misdeeds." Yuan Jing looked at the telegram on the table like snowflakes and said with a gloomy face.

Known as the "Prime Minister of the Commoners", Hara Kei is a symbol of the "Taisho Myori Era" and a realist politician. Hara Kei, who was born as a commoner, has always strived to replace the traditional feudal politics of Komoto with party politics, and he has achieved the first true "party cabinet" in the history of Komoto's politics. But now, the Hara cabinet is facing an unprecedented crisis.

Soon after Hara formed his cabinet, World War I, which lasted for more than six years, ended. Hara Kei personally persuaded the elder Saionji Gongwang to serve as the plenipotentiary representative of the political axe to attend the post-war peace conference. The reason why pro-British and American factions such as Nishiharaji Nobuki and Makino Nobuaki were sent to the Paris Peace Conference was because Hara believed that establishing good relations with Britain and the United States, especially the United States, was more important to Samoto than anything else in the postwar international community. Yuan Jing said more than once: "The cooperation between the United States and Britain is extremely beneficial to the future of the country. On the other hand, if Ben is distancing itself from the United States, it will be very dangerous. Prior to the establishment of the Hara Kei Cabinet, the "October Revolution" broke out in Russia, which fundamentally shattered the diplomatic strategy planned by Aritomo Yamaguchi and the military department to confront Britain and the United States through cooperation with Russia and then expand their influence on the mainland. After Yuan Kei came to power, in order to avoid being isolated in the international community and to cope with the new changes in the international environment that Yuan Ben was facing, Yuan Kei adopted a diplomatic line of coordination with Britain and the United States.

Hara's coordinated foreign policy toward Britain and the United States was first manifested in the adjustment of China policy. Yuan Jing believes that the expansionist policy of using force against China so far has caused severe friction between China and the European and American countries, and is the main reason for the international isolation of the company. Prior to this, Hara had vehemently opposed the "21 Articles" proposed by the Okuma Shigenobu cabinet, believing that such a move would stimulate nationalist sentiment in China and not only damage the friendly relations between Takuma and China, but also that the Western powers would suspect Takumato's ambitions for China and make Yamamoto suffer from international isolation. Yuan Jing held that under the principle of non-interference in China's internal affairs, "friendship between China and China" should be regarded as the basic policy toward China. Immediately after the formation of the Yuan Kei cabinet, it was forbidden to provide loans and export weapons to the Chinese political axe. The Hara cabinet also tried to provide loans to China through the "new loan proposal to China" proposed by the United States. The basic China policy of the Hara Kei cabinet was established on the premise of coordination with the United States and Britain and in the spirit of non-interference in internal affairs, which meant that there was a tremendous change in the mainland policy of using military force to place China in the sphere of influence and to use it as a supplier of iron, coal, and other resources and an export market for domestic products. Although Yuan Jing also insisted on ensuring his interests in Manchuria, he wanted to strengthen his influence in China through peaceful means.

Reality did not develop as Hara envisioned. At the Paris Peace Conference, the issue of how to deal with China's rights and interests arising from unequal treaties became one of the key issues. Fearing that the abolition of the unequal treaties with China would touch on the interests of the people in China, he expressed resolute opposition, while China resolutely demanded the abolition of the unequal treaties and the re-signing of treaties of equality and friendship with other countries, and serious confrontation arose between the two sides. China expressed strong protests, and anti-Japanese movements such as boycotting loans in China also intensified, and Sino-Japanese relations deteriorated sharply. At the same time, nationalist movements calling for "national self-determination" erupted on the Korean Peninsula. In March 1920, a mass movement broke out in Korea demanding liberation from colonial rule. In order to improve relations with China, the Hara cabinet began to loosen its stance on abolishing the unequal treaties with China.

Hara's diplomatic line of coordination with Britain and the United States was also manifested in his intention to resolve the issue of sending troops to Siberia, the negative legacy of the Terauchi cabinet, by withdrawing troops. Hara Kei has always opposed the Terauchi cabinet sending troops to Siberia. Hara Kei once refuted Foreign Minister Ichiro Motono's remarks about sending troops to Terauchi Cabinet, saying, "It is unworkable to say that sending troops to other countries is not for the purpose of war." He also advised the temple to "end the game as soon as possible". The reason why Yuan Jing opposed the dispatch of troops to Siberia was out of fear of incurring the distrust of the United States and isolating him. At a diplomatic investigation meeting against the Terauchi Cabinet, Hara pointed out: "[On the issue of sending troops to Siberia], we should pay special attention to the relationship between the United States and the United States, which have a direct impact on the future destiny of our country, and if we say that the relationship between the United States and the United States is estranged, the reason is that the United States suspects that Japan harbors aggressive ambitions in Siberia and China, so we should try to avoid deepening their suspicions, so that it is in our interests." At that time, it was said that there were many people who advocated sending troops under the pretext of suppressing the revolution in Soviet Russia because they were afraid of the revolution exported by Soviet Russia. Hara Jing believes that "although I do not agree with the actions of the radicals in Russia, as a country, we should not regard them as enemies," and that "the forces of the radicals spread throughout Russia, and the trend of the moderate faction that opposed them has in fact disappeared." Under these circumstances, it would not be a good strategy if the policy of the present provokes resentment from the radicals." As a realist politician, Hara always considers issues based on reality, rather than judging from ideology. Since then, the question of sending troops to Siberia has changed when the United States has requested the Czechoslovak army to send troops jointly under the premise of limited personnel and geography. The head of the Terauchi Cabinet and the General Staff Headquarters saw this as a good opportunity and advocated sending a large number of troops to Siberia under the pretext of self-defense. Hara advocated sending troops only within the limits proposed by the United States, but under the leadership of the General Staff Headquarters, he still increased the number of troops sent to Siberia, and by the time Hara Kei became prime minister, the total number of troops had reached 172,000, which caused a strong protest from the United States. Immediately after forming the cabinet, Hara decided to withdraw his troops from Siberia and announced that he would reduce the number of troops remaining in Siberia to 36,000. But then the "Temple Street Incident" occurred, and the Russian Red Army began to launch a counterattack against the attack of the Yue army, and a large number of soldiers of the Yue army and a large number of left-behind overseas Chinese were killed. He then sent troops to occupy the entire island of Sakhalin and demanded an apology and compensation from Russia, which caused a huge setback to the original Siberian withdrawal plan.

On the issue of sending troops to Siberia, there was a fierce conflict between the Hara cabinet and the military department, and the contradictions between the two sides were also extremely acute over the policy of national defense construction.

In accordance with the policy of "strengthening national defense" promised to the public, Hara strengthened the army by building armored mechanized units and a complete naval and army aviation unit. However, the huge financial burden prompted Hara to resolutely reform the income tax and corporate tax systems. In order to prevent the economy from falling into recession, the government had no choice but to make fundamental changes to the original plan for arms expansion. On the one hand, this is due to his consideration of adhering to the diplomatic line of coordination between the United States and the United States, and on the other hand, it is also due to the financial situation of the United States. Hara Kei believes that armaments are relative after all, and if they can be controlled at a low level, they should not be surpassed, and a large-scale military expansion will be useless. Regarding the role of military power, Hara Kei always believed that "politics should be higher than military affairs." In order to curb the growing power of the military department, Hara Kei tried to abolish the full-time military attache system of the General Staff Headquarters and the Colonial Governor, and allow civilian officials to serve as military officials. As a matter of course, these measures were opposed and hated by the military department.

With regard to the arbitrariness of the military department, Yuan Jing has always had a strong sense of crisis and a high degree of vigilance. He was very angry that the military department always used the name of "commander-in-chief" to do whatever he wanted, and this time the "Vladivostok Incident" made Yuan Jing feel unbearable.

"The General Staff Headquarters always emphasizes the inviolability of the command, and those soldiers often bring out the royal family to put pressure on the political circles, if it is allowed to develop, the future of the army will be extremely dangerous!" Yuan Jing clenched his fists, looked at the statue of Emperor Taisho hanging on the wall, and said loudly.

"It may be too early to draw conclusions, let's think about how to deal with the aftermath!" Takahashi said.

"Isn't it worrying enough that the General Staff Headquarters is directly under the Emperor, and that he has read beyond the political axe, and that he has repeatedly emphasized the issue of commander-in-chief in everything? At this critical time of survival, we should take this opportunity to sweep away this drawback, which is the best policy for the sake of the country's royal family. Yuan Jing said resolutely.

"What about the total ideal?" Takahashi asked worriedly.

"We must not admit the unauthorized actions of the military department and start a war with China! In that case, Ben will become the enemy of the whole world! Yuan Jing said categorically.

Hara Kei said, picking up the clothes on the hanger, "I want to meet His Majesty the Emperor." ”

March 22, 1921, Tsushima Strait.

"Speed up to 20 knots, turn right 15 degrees!"

As soon as Halsey, the deputy captain standing on the battlecruiser "Minsheng", spoke, his jaw involuntarily began to shake rhythmically, and after giving the order, he used to lift the telescope and look at the angle to which the battleship was about to turn, and there, except for the waves, there was nothing new.

Whenever he is like this, Chen Shiying, the Chinese first mate next to him, will always convey his order to the corresponding department at the first time: "Turn right 15, speed 20!" ”

After more than ten seconds, the "Minsheng" began to turn her bow. At this time, Tang Qianming, who was also standing on the bridge, had praised her excellence countless times in his heart.

It was the most powerful and elegant warship ever built in China, with no frills on its hull or deck, and at low speeds it was much quieter than the large freighters and warships built in China. At this time, the six mighty cannons in the bow of her ship were pointing majestically ahead, and when they rotated with the large, thick, neatly shaped turret, it made people feel a different kind of blood boiling, as if the whole body was about to burn.

At this time, Tang Qianming was wearing a dark blue navy uniform, a white shirt with a black bow tie, looking majestic and elegant. It may be that life on the ship is a personal relationship with relatively little leisure time, and the former Chinese vice captain of the navy has only military uniforms in his closet.

Looking at the "Minsheng" battlecruiser that broke the waves and the two "Republican" class battleships that followed closely behind, Tang Qianming's thoughts fluctuated, and he unconsciously returned to the memory of the past.

Tang Qianming is a native of Xishui, Hubei, the word casting new, Qing Guangxu 11 years (1885) was born in Nanliang Township Niu Huangdang, when he was a child, because of the family was burned, his father Tang Pingxin relied on debt to cross the said, fortunately great-grandfather Tang Yingxin revitalized the family business, Tang Qianming was able to complete his studies. In the 29th year of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1903), Tang Qianming graduated from Wuchang Wen Ordinary School; In the same year, Tang Qianming vowed to revitalize China by force, so he gave up the Beijing entrance examination and was admitted to the Fujian Shipbuilding School.

In the 30th year of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1904), the imperial examination was abolished, and Tang Qianming was sent to study in France because of his excellent academic performance, but he was opposed by the whole family, but fortunately he was supported by his eldest brother Tang Hualong to make it happen. After Tang Qianming finished his studies in France, he went to England to study the navy. In the first year of Xuantong of the Qing Dynasty (1909), Tang Qianming returned to the motherland after finishing his study abroad career, and successively served as the chief engineer of the cruiser "Jingqing" and the captain of the cruiser "Nanchen", and in the second year of Xuantong of the Qing Dynasty (1910), Tang Qianming was promoted to the chief of staff of the naval commander Sa Zhenbing.

After the Wuchang Uprising, Tang Qianming was ordered to lead a fleet to Hubei with Sa Zhenbing to assist the Qing War Minister Yin Chang in counterattacking Wuhan; Later, he was ordered to change to Jiujiang to participate in the war. Tang Qianming received a secret letter from his eldest brother Tang Hualong in Jiujiang that he would "say that he would do it anyway and make a special meritorious service", and immediately responded to Tang Hualong's call to convene the officers of all ships on the "Hairong" ship to plot an uprising, and was promoted by the representatives of each ship to be the temporary commander of the uprising fleet; Seeing that the army's heart had been shaken, Sa Zhenbing quietly left the fleet and went to Shanghai. Tang Qianming took over the command of the fleet, and immediately ordered the rebel fleet to return to Wuhan, cruising on the river outside Hankou to shell the Qing army, preventing the Qing army from crossing the river, because the uprising fleet repeatedly repelled the Qing army in the battle, firmly contained the Qing army's crossing of the river, and effectively supported the Wuchang rebel army. The success of the Wuchang Uprising can be said to be due to the fact that the navy contributed a lot.

At that time, Tang Qianming commanded the operation of the German-made protective cruiser "Hairong" with a displacement of less than 3,000 tons.

In those battles, although the "Hairong" made many achievements, it was also seriously damaged under the artillery fire of the Qing army, and finally had to go to Shanghai for overhaul.

Today's Tang Qianming, standing on the "Minsheng" battle cruiser with a displacement of more than 50,000 tons, the feeling in his heart is difficult to describe in words.

(To be continued)