1

Weak countries have no diplomacy. I am afraid that there are few more profound understandings of this sentence than those of the Chinese in the early years of the Republic of China.

Since the end of the Qing Dynasty, when China was reduced to a semi-feudal and semi-colony, foreign powers have been bullying and plundering China day by day. They forcibly occupied the concessions, stationed troops in China, occupied communications, occupied ports, seized minerals, imposed consular adjudication, forced the signing of unequal treaties, demanded reparations, and turned China from a beautiful homeland with self-sufficiency and vast land resources into a poor and backward country with a collapsed economy, poverty, backward technology, poor livelihood, and frequent wars.

May of the eighth year of the Republic of China has arrived.

This is a month that is destined to be eventful, it will make a heavy mark in history, Chinese after several years of oppression and plunder, countless Chinese people have gradually awakened, under the organization and guidance of people of insight, have seen that it is completely hopeless to rely on the current warlords of various factions to safeguard national interests, so they spontaneously organized themselves to form various groups to call for national and civil rights, resist foreign aggression and oppression, and at the same time confront those warlords who are vying for fame and fortune, regardless of the danger of the nation and the life and death of the people.

The people's organizations in Beijing set up the "National Diplomatic Association" very early on, and elected Xiong Xiling, Wang Daxie, Liang Qichao, Lin Changmin, Fan Yuanlian, Cai Yuanpei, Wang Chonghui, Yan Xiu, Zhang Jian, and Zhuang Yunkuan as directors. The main purpose was to abolish the unequal treaties imposed on China by the great powers, to strive for freedom of tariffs, to recover the concessions, and to abolish the payment of indemnities. At the same time, Li Dazhao and others initiated the "Juvenile China Society", Luo Jialun and others initiated the "Xinchao Society", Deng Zhongxia and others initiated the "Civilian Education Lecture Group", and other people's organizations such as the "Practice Society", the "Xingzhong Society", and the "National Conference Promotion Association" were established like mushrooms after a rain.

At this time, when all countries were participating in the Paris Peace Conference to discuss the aftermath of World War I, although China was the "victorious power," how could the great powers allow China to take advantage? What they were always thinking about was how to extract benefits from China, so they agreed to cede Germany's rights and interests in China to Japan. He also threatened the Chinese delegation that if it did not sign the peace treaty, it would sanction China and strike at China in terms of tie jurisdiction, treaty compensation, and tariff autonomy.

This is the most obvious act of "bullying", because the Chinese government is weak and incompetent, and the great powers have used China as a piece of fat and gnawed at will.

On 1 May, Lu Zhengxiang, head of the Chinese delegation, sent a telegram to the Beijing Government to report on the details of the meeting, and at that time, there was an uproar in China, and people of insight from all strata of the country were all filled with righteous indignation, and the major newspapers published news overnight, saying that "the government received a call from the Chinese delegation in Paris saying that the diplomatic war against Japan regarding the return of the lease of Jiaozhou had been lost." ”

On 2 May, the Beijing government secretly telegraphed the Chinese delegation that it could sign a contract. It was an infuriating act of treason, which immediately provoked national outrage, and from then on, a wave of protests against the country that swept across the country soon began.

At that time, the people who participated in this rebellion were led by progressives from all walks of life, including people from all walks of life such as workers, peasants, merchants, scholars, and soldiers, and when the nation was in danger and the government was incompetent, they spontaneously organized themselves, took to the streets, and ran to appeal. It has become a milestone and the most significant symbol of national awakening and historical progress.

Upon learning of the news that the government was about to sign the Paris Peace Treaty, Lin Changmin, director of the National Association of Foreign Affairs, wrote in the "Morning Post" and "National Gazette": "Shandong is dead, and the country will not be a country, and I am willing to join 40,000 people to die for it." ”

The Beijing National Diplomatic Association, headed by Lin Changmin, held a meeting and decided to take all measures to prevent the government from signing the agreement. Cai Yuanpei, director of the Association of National Foreign Relations and president of Peking University, relayed the news of the diplomatic failure to the students. The student representatives immediately held an emergency meeting in the dining hall of Peking University and decided to hold an extraordinary general meeting of all students in the auditorium of Peking University Law University on May 3.

On the evening of the 3rd, students from Peking University held a meeting, which was also attended by representatives of Beijing Higher Normal School (now Beijing Normal University), Law and Political Science College, and Higher Industrial School. The student representatives spoke with great emotion and called on everyone to rise up to save the country. In the end, several measures were decided, and it was decided to unite all walks of life in a united struggle, and the envoy in Paris was telegraphed, insisting that he not sign the contract, and the provinces were electrified to hold demonstrations.

Changsha also got the news.

That night, in the empty field of the brick and tile factory outside the city, a black crowd stood in the air. Professor Wan, Qian Zhihou, Zhuang Xianming and other representatives in the city, young students such as Xiaobai and Xiaoyue, workers such as Dajiang and A Bing, as well as Hu Xuan, A Ning, Jiang Sheng, Duan Laosan and others, all stood in the crowd, and everyone's faces showed sad and indignant looks.

Jiang Yuniang stood in front and said with a solemn face: "Brothers and sisters, a few days ago, we had a conference here, and at that time we said that after the end of the European war, the Western powers redivided their spheres of influence, and they are likely to transfer the interests of the defeated Germany in China to Japan, and Shandong Province will be assigned to Japan's territory of influence. ”

She briefly said a few words about the situation of the Paris Peace Conference, raised her voice and said: "What makes us feel sad and shameful is that our Beiyang government actually wants to agree to foreign conditions and sign at the Paris Peace Conference. Today, the electrification of the people's organizations in Beijing has reached all parts of the country, and the people of all walks of life in Beijing have united and organized themselves to prepare for a large-scale struggle. What shall we do? ”

"What else can I do?" Professor Wan walked to the front, turned to the crowd, and said in a high tone: "Let's fight to the end, and together with the people of all parts of the country, we will resolutely oppose the signing of government representatives." Ladies and gentlemen, our country, the days of oppression have been too long and too long, and if this goes on like this, will it be far from the extinction of the country and the extinction of the species? The Beiyang government is mediocre and unreasonable, and relying on them to fight for national rights and interests can only be a fool's dream. As long as they have wealth and status, where will they care about the future and rights of the country and the people? Only we can unite to save the country and save the country. ”

"Unite to save the country and save the country." The crowd below couldn't help but shout after Professor Wan. (To be continued.) )