Bu is Japan's new ambassador to China, and the focus of Japan's current work is very clear, that is, to provoke war between China and the Netherlands, and then to negotiate with the Chinese side on the way to distribute post-war interests, and if the former task cannot be completed, then there is no need to carry out the latter task.

Therefore, for Nippon Zhiyi, the top priority is to provoke a war in Southeast Asia, and China must first shoot first, and then the time for Takumoto to enter the war, the outcome of this war will directly have a far-reaching impact on the entire strategic pattern of Southeast Asia in the next few years, and its influence may be no less than that of the Russo-Japanese War. Before coming to China, Nichiki had carefully studied the style of China's "mad president", and he firmly believed that such a military and political strongman. There has never been an unprepared battle, and now, this president has begun to take advantage of "Java." The ship arrest and shipwreck incident made a fuss. Then, this must show that the "mad president" is fully prepared for this Sino-Dutch battle. Referring to the situation of the Sino-Japanese Northeast Asian War that year, Nippon Zhiyi also believed that once the Chinese side moved to attack the Netherlands, it would definitely be a ferocious offensive. And it will definitely defeat the Netherlands.

Relying on the current strength of China's South China Fleet, Ri Zhiyi believes that the strength of that fleet alone is enough to deal with the Dutch East India Squadron, and the only thing that needs to be worried now may be the attitude of Britain and France, but considering the stalemate situation in the European war, Nippon Zhiyi also believes that Britain and France will not take direct military intervention actions, especially when they see that Japan also participated in the war against the Netherlands, Britain and France must also take into account the unity of the Entente bloc, and Japan is now also a participating country in the Entente bloc after all, As long as Germany does not fall for a day, Japan will be an Eastern naval power worthy of the co-optation of Britain and France.

Rizhiyi also believes that as long as the Chinese president is determined to go to war, even if Britain and France strongly oppose it, it will not affect the Chinese president's determination to go to war.

As soon as the war began. Perhaps the situation in Asia as a whole will change abruptly, and even affect the global strategy of Bubai

This is a war that the Japanese government dreams of, and the orders received by the Japanese government must be completed, otherwise, in the words of the prime minister, "you can only thank the people by seppuku." "Therefore, Nippon must in any case prevent China from declaring war on the Netherlands.

Instigating other countries to go to war with a third country is not easy to say, but even more difficult to do, and the concubine knows that this task is not easy to complete, because the initiative is not in his hands, but in the "madman president." In his hands, no one knows what the "mad president" is thinking, or whether he is just making a false shot and making concessions when he gets the benefits, or whether he has really strengthened his determination to start a war against the Netherlands, and is waiting to create public opinion.

That's why. Rizhiyi decided to start with this, "Public opinion." At the beginning, he also knew that just this morning, China's major newspapers reported at great length the details of the "Java Incident" and the cause of the shipwreck, which may be regarded as the public opinion preparations for the "mad president" to start a war against the Netherlands, and the Japanese could not help in the preparation of public opinion at home; since the concession was recovered by China, the newspapers run by various governments in China have closed their doors one after another, or they have been transferred to Hong Kong and Macao. The Suncheon Shimbun Shimo, run by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also officially ended publication at the beginning of the year, and now if the Gomoto government wants to stir up public opinion about a war against the Netherlands. Perhaps he could only incite in Japan, and Nippon Zhiyi planned to do the same, so after taking over the work, his first order was to ask the telegraph officer to send a telegram to Japan, suggesting that the Japanese government manipulate public opinion in the press and use inflammatory language to set off a "wave of aid to China." "And the waste will be" Java incident. From the Sino-Dutch conflict to the Eurasian conflict, once again inciting "pan-Asianism." of fanaticism.

Since its defeat in the last Northeast Asian War, nationalist sentiment has risen in Japan, and some Japanese have set up many military and political organizations that hate China with the goal of excluding China, most of which are secret organizations, and the members of these organizations are also the main forces that hinder Japan's move closer to China, and it is precisely the existence of this force that has made it impossible for the Japanese government to directly show a pro-China posture. Cooperation with China can only be sought through small actions behind the scenes. Therefore, Nichiki insisted that in order to embody "Asian unity" in this war against the Netherlands, it is necessary to first suppress the anti-Chinese sentiment in Japan and support the pro-China forces. At least a superficial pro-China posture should be achieved, so that the Chinese can dispel their concerns, and also let the "madman president." Dispel concerns and lay the foundation for Sino-Japanese cooperation.

Under the current situation, it is necessary for the Japanese embassy to become a base for goodwill toward China, so those Japanese diplomats who did not have a good reputation in China in the past must get out, and not only the embassy in Beijing must rotate personnel, but also the consulates in various localities must rotate personnel.

Without waiting for the Japanese government to take this report back to Japan, the British ambassador to China, Zhu Erdian, visited the Japanese embassy in China, and the Japanese did not show much surprise, under the current situation, the British government could not be in a hurry, and in order to avoid the outbreak of the Sino-Dutch war, the British government could only turn to the Far ASEAN countries for help. The ally can only be Japan. As for the United States, it has surprisingly shown "calmness" in the current crisis in the South Seas, and the British government cannot figure out what the US government is calculating.

"I heard that your embassy has been officially upgraded to an embassy, and one of the purposes of this visit is to congratulate the Japanese side. It is indeed gratifying that China and Japan have finally resumed normal diplomacy, and the British Government sincerely hopes that from now on, the Far East and Asia will be able to maintain lasting peace and work with European countries to safeguard world security and interests, modern civilization and international norms

Seeing Ri Zhiyi's face, Zhu Erdian first took out some diplomatic rhetoric, but when he said this, he really lacked confidence, because he couldn't make up his mind. I don't know what kind of position the Japanese government holds on the current situation in the South Seas, but judging from the recent series of actions of the Japanese army and navy in New Guinea, the Japanese government's ambitions in Southeast Asia are no less than China's.

Before coming to the Japanese Embassy, Zhu Erdiangang concluded his meeting with the Dutch Ambassador to China, and according to the information revealed by the Dutch Ambassador, the current position of the Dutch Government has not softened. The Dutch Government did not accept the British Government's proposal that the Netherlands immediately join the Entente in the war against Germany, and then, as soon as Japan joins the ranks of the Dutch pretenders, the Netherlands will face a very serious military situation, and this is by no means an unfounded worry of the British Government, as a matter of fact, according to the report of the British Government's ambassador to Japan, from yesterday evening. The Japanese Navy has canceled the leave of all officers. Obviously, the Japanese government has also begun to make intense preparations for war, and the hypothetical enemy will obviously not be China, but only some ignorant and broken settlement in the Nanyang region.

The British government ordered Jurdian, no matter what. A final effort must be made to keep the situation in Southeast Asia calm, and if the Chinese are willing to negotiate a settlement of the dispute, the British government may consider putting more pressure on the Dutch government, including using paramilitary means, such as strengthening the blockade of the Dutch coast and stepping up operations against the smuggling of Dutch smuggling ships to Germany. This demonstrated the British government's impartial position in the South Seas crisis and forced the Netherlands to accept the solution proposed by the Chinese side.

The reason why Zhu Erdian came to the Japanese embassy was not on the orders of the British government, and the ambassadors of the two countries were responsible for the negotiations between Britain and Japan. It was not Zhu Erdian's turn to intervene directly, and the main reason why he came to talk to Japan was to test the Japanese side's position, if the Japanese government was happy to see a war between China and the Netherlands. So. If the Japanese government does not want a war between China and the Netherlands, then Zhu Erdian will bring the Japanese ambassador to China to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the two ambassadors will work together to persuade the inscrutable President to dispel the idea of war, otherwise Britain and Japan may adopt economic sanctions.

However, Zhu Erdian made a trip in vain, and Nichiki slyly avoided the war between China and the Netherlands, and turned the topic to the situation in New Guinea, complaining that the British government was too partial to Australia on this issue, so that the Japanese army could not effectively control the German expatriates there. This has led directly to the continued instability of the situation in New Guinea and, more recently, the German expatriates seem to have colluded with the local Dutch diaspora in smuggling to the detriment of Japan.

"Mr. Ambassador, it seems to me that if the situation in New Guinea is not stabilized for a long time, then the situation in the whole of Southeast Asia will not remain stable, and the refusal of the Dutch East India authorities to allow Japanese troops to search for German saboteurs who had fled to the western part of New Guinea not only fueled the arrogance of the Germans, but also hampered the actions of the Japanese troops and prevented them from effectively controlling the situation there. Therefore, in the current policy of the Japanese Government, only by first resolving the New Guinea issue can we talk about other issues, including the Sumatra issue. ”

Rizhiyi's words made Zhu Erdian a little helpless, he understood that the other party was doing it on purpose, and the purpose was to tear away the topic. you

"So, isn't Mr. Ambassador going with me to the presidential palace to persuade the president, sir?" Zhu Erdian was a little first, willing.

"It's getting late now, and the presidential palace may not accept Mr. Ambassador's request to visit, as for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I think Mr. Tang may have already left work now, so go and disturb Mr. Tang now. It's a bit inconvenient. After leaving the Japanese Embassy, he got into a car, hesitated, and decided not to go to the US Embassy first, but to go to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs first.

When Zhu Erdian arrived at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Foreign Minister Tang Shaoyi had just gotten off work and was about to take the car home, when he saw Zhu Erdian visiting and understood what the other party was going to do, he politely invited Zhu Erdian to get into his car and told the driver to rush to Tang's mansion.

Sitting in the car, Zhu Erdian asked Tang Shaoyi about the inside information he had, and he was eager to find out whether the "mad president" had made up his mind to start a war against the Netherlands.

"Mr. Ambassador, to tell you the truth, I really don't know what the president is going to do now, I only know that since last night, the presidential palace has begun to implement first-level security measures, and even I have to call to inform me before going to the presidential palace.

Tang Shaoyi sighed, he knew it very well. The last time the presidential office announced the implementation of first-level alert measures was on the eve of the start of the Sino-Japanese war in Northeast Asia, and so on.