Wang Zhengting continued to report: "Kishigero Bihara understood our concern about the Northeast very well, and he told Jiang Zuobin that he himself had received a telegram from Minister Hayashi Kujiro about the situation in the Northeast, and had learned of some inappropriate acts of the Kwantung Army, and had reported it to Prime Minister Reijiro Wakatsuki. ”

According to Kishigero Bihara, Prime Minister Reijiro Wakatsuki also attached great importance to this and instructed Minister Minamijiro to inquire about the actions of the Kwantung Army. As far as he knew, Minamijiro had ordered Miji Kenkawa, the first chief of the General Staff Headquarters, to inspect the situation in the northeast and admonish and advise the militants in the Kwantung Army. In addition, Kishigero Bihara also hinted that he hoped that our side would also adopt a positive attitude to restrain the Northeast Army, prevent large-scale friction, and avoid giving truth to the Kwantung Army and the military headquarters. ”

"Jiang Zuobin also reported that, as far as he knows, the cabinet is generally opposed to the military headquarters and the Kwantung Army provoking a war in the northeast."

After listening to the news reported by Wang Zhengting, everyone could feel it, and Chiang Kai-shek was obviously relieved.

Chiang Kai-shek nodded and praised: "The cabinet is still very sober, Britain and the United States have many interests in the northeast, and they have long been dissatisfied with the unreasonable occupation of the South Manchurian Railway and Lushun, and if they provoke a war in the northeast again and seize greater interests, they will absolutely not ignore it." The intervention of the three countries in that year was a lesson from the past. ”

"What is the attitude of the military department?" Chiang Kai-shek asked with some unease.

Chiang Kai-shek, who had spent a long time in the country, knew very well that his so-called Mingzhuo constitutionalism was somewhat right and wrong compared with that of the West, that the military department had very great privileges in the country, and that the cabinet did not have absolute authority over the military department.

Wang Zhengting's face looked a little worried and said: "According to the report of the legation, on the issue of the northeast, although the military department superficially obeys the opinion of the cabinet, many people in the military department have an extremely unfriendly attitude towards China, especially Lu Xiangnan Jiro. ”

According to the information collected by the legation, on 4 August, Minamijiro convened a meeting of the commanders of the three armies stationed abroad and the divisions in Japan attended by the new commander of the Kwantung Army, Shigeru Honjo, commander of the Taiwan Army, Shizaburo Mazaki, and the commander of the Korean Army, Hayashi Mijuro. In his speech, Minamijiro said: Manchuria, Mongolia has an extremely close relationship with the survival and development of the national defense politics and economy. In these troubled times, soldiers should be more and more dedicated to their duties, so that they can be prepared to fulfill their duties at all times. Not only that, Minamijiro also said at the meeting that it is natural for the military to interfere in politics, and that the Manchurian and Mongolian issues can only be resolved by force. ”

For some reason, Nanjiro's above-mentioned speech was openly published in the media and aroused strong repercussions, and now many generals of the Japanese army are clamoring everywhere in their own country that they should solve the Manchurian and Mongolian problems by force, and even the legend that the army will send troops to northeast China has begun to circulate in this country. Also, Nakamura Zhentaro in the Nakamura Zhentaro incident was said by the military to be Dr. Nonglin who was killed by the Northeast Army. ”

Seeing Chiang Kai-shek's solemn expression, Wang Zhengting hurriedly said: "However, Nanjiro's words have also caused a lot of accusations. For example, the Asahi Shimbun commented on Nanjiro's move, saying: Can the Minister of War not disrupt the political program by discussing the Manchurian and Mongolian issues at a meeting of division commanders and regiments where military affairs are simply discussed by the military without discussion by the Cabinet? Can politics be discussed at military meetings? It was clearly pointed out that Minamijiro wanted to put Manchurian-Mongolian diplomacy on the track envisioned by the soldiers. In addition, the Civilian League also issued an open letter accusing Minamijiro of violating the army's criminal law by conducting propaganda in the army. ”

"It is also reported that Foreign Minister Kishigero Bihara also asked Minamijiro to pay attention to his words and deeds at a cabinet meeting."

He Yingqin nodded and said: "Now that the government is in an era of economic crisis, the cabinet, especially the people, is very opposed to waging war, and without the support of the political axe, it is impossible to decide whether to start a war or not. This time, under the pressure of the cabinet, Minamijiro had to send Miji Kenkawa to the northeast to stop the provocative behavior of the Kwantung Army, which proved that Minamijiro had succumbed under the pressure of the cabinet. ”

Yang Yongtai shook his head and said, "Chief He's words are wrong. ”

Yang Yongtai looked at Chiang Kai-shek in contemplation and said: "It is said that Ben is now a constitutional form of government, and as long as public opinion turns, the current cabinet will soon collapse." And public opinion can be turned in the extensive and long-term propaganda, and the reason why Minamijiro dared to make his war remarks at internal meetings public is probably because he saw this. Even Minister Wang said that the generals of the Yue army are propagating the use of force to solve the problem of Manchu and Mongolia in China, and it is very likely that the soldiers are doing public opinion propaganda to provoke a war in the northeast. Therefore, on the issue of the northeast, we must not be left unguarded. ”

"Jiang Yuyan is not only an old comrade in the party, but also very capable of doing things."

Chiang Kai-shek said with some regret: "In the 18th year of the Republic of China, when he was serving as minister to Germany, the representative of Soviet Russia once approached him and asked China and the Soviet Union to sign a non-aggression pact. If this treaty had been signed at that time, the Russian invasion of Northern Mongolia might not have happened. ”

Chiang Kai-shek shook his head and then said: "This time, he has only been in Yuben for more than a month, and he has made such achievements, which is very good!" The Ministry of Foreign Affairs should give commendations. In contrast, the previous minister did nothing, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not need such a person. ”

Chiang Kai-shek looked at the crowd and continued: "Now the situation in this area is basically clear, and the political axe is unwilling to risk the world's greatness and fight against China, but some people in their military department advocate provoking a war in the northeast. What Jing Zhi and Chang Qing said is reasonable, saying that this cabinet has a friendly attitude toward China, and our side must also actively cooperate. ”

"At present, the most important thing is that there should be no large-scale armed conflict with the Kwantung Army in the northeast, and any disputes that occur in the northeast, including small-scale armed conflicts, must be handled as local problems and resolved through diplomatic channels, so as not to give the military an excuse to provoke a war."

Chiang Kai-shek went on to say with some apprehension: "I, Jing Zhi, and Yue Jun have all studied military affairs in Yueben, and we are well aware of the shortcomings of this army. In the army, generals at all levels are eager to go to war in order to gain merit in the war. Especially for junior officers, if there is no war, if they want to be promoted to general, they will have to boil their hair white. Therefore, these people are also the craziest. ”

"Therefore, although it is said that the political axe is very friendly, we must not prevent the Kwantung Army from causing trouble, and we must be prepared. Yunong told me that Zhang Hanqing had a plan to relocate the Northeast Arsenal to Guannei, which was very good, and he should urge Zhang Hanqing to implement it as soon as possible. ”

Chiang Kai-shek turned his gaze to Lin Wei and said, "Weiwen, you call Zhang Hanqing and tell him what I mean." In the northeast, it is necessary to be well prepared for contingencies without provoking the Kwantung Army, and all disputes must be handled by the central authorities, and the lessons of the Middle East Road incident must be remembered. ”

After thinking for a while, Chiang Kai-shek was still a little uneasy, and continued: "I am telling Zhang Hanqing, don't say that the war in Northern Mongolia is in full swing now, and there are communists and local forces in the south, and the central government is tired of dealing with it and is unable to look eastward. ”

Also, tell Zhang Hanqing that in order not to give the Kwantung Army any excuse to provoke disputes, the Nakamura incident should be resolved as soon as possible. When necessary, there must be the determination of a strong man to break his wrist. ”

Everyone is very clear about the "Nakamura Incident", and they all understand the meaning of Chiang Kai-shek's intention to break the wrist of Zhang Xueliang, that is, to sacrifice Guan Yuheng if necessary, so as to eliminate the pretext for the Kwantung Army to start a war.

Everyone knows that the responsibility for the "Nakamura Shintaro incident" is not on the Chinese side, and they are all sympathetic to Guan Yuheng, but in weighing the weight of the individual and the country, it is Guan Yuheng who can only make sacrifices.

Despite this, everyone still felt a little guilty in their hearts, and they all wanted to find some suitable reasons to comfort themselves.

He Yingqin coughed lightly and said: "The war situation in Northern Mongolia is already very difficult, and there must be no more war in the northeast. The combat effectiveness of the army was stronger than that of the Soviet army, and in the Russo-Russian War of that year, the army defeated Tsarist Russia with inferior forces. Moreover, the distance between the mainland and China is much closer than that of Soviet Russia, and it takes about six weeks to mobilize troops from the European part of the economic and political center of Soviet Russia through the Trans-Siberian Railway, and only one or two days from Korea to the northeast. ”

"Once a war breaks out in the Northeast, the Northeast Army is definitely not the opponent of the Kwantung Army, and the war will soon spread to the Central Plains. Not to mention that there is an even more powerful navy in Benben, which can not only blockade all large and medium-sized cities along our coast, but can even cover the landing operations of the army. ”

"Even if we are stable at home, with our current industrial capacity, we will not be able to compare with this in 30 years, and if there is a large-scale war in China, we will only suffer. Unless all parts of our country develop steadily for ten or twenty years, as Wen Ge did in Shanxi, then we will have the ability to fight a war. ”

Chiang Kai-shek nodded, did not continue the topic, looked at Chen Guofu and Wang Zhengting and said: "About the League of Nations......

Seeing that Chiang Kai-shek had changed the topic back to the topic, knowing that Chiang Kai-shek had already made a decision, everyone sat up straight and listened carefully to the decision that Chiang Kai-shek was about to make.

"Regarding the matter of the League of Nations, do not spread the word, let alone see the newspapers, and the external propaganda still says that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is actively mediating with the League of Nations. Rutang also wanted to say hello to Bi Guangheng. ”

Chiang Kai-shek turned his gaze to Lin Wei.

"Weiwen, you call Wen Ge again in my name and tell Wen Ge that now there is a lot of chaos in the country, not only is there an invasion of Soviet Russia in the north, but there is also a saying that I am eyeing him in the northeast, and the central government really can't take a move to send troops north on a large scale for the time being. Without the support of the League of Nations......"

Chiang Kai-shek stood up and paced slowly on the ground as he said: "I am well aware of the difficulties of the war of resistance in the north, and I hope that he will put the overall situation first and block this news for the time being, so as not to affect the morale of the people." ”

Chiang Kai-shek continued in a heavy tone: "In addition, tell Wenge that Soviet Russia is powerful, and it is really difficult for him to let the Fourth Route Army read the strength to resist Russia." I don't blame him if he loses Kulun, but I ask him to hold on to the mountains of northern Mongolia and southwest. ”

"Even if he loses the whole of Northern Mongolia, as long as he holds on there, it will be a great achievement, which will be of great benefit both politically and militarily. Even from the point of view of the restoration of Northern Mongolia in the future, it is very important to be able to occupy the land of Northern Mongolia. ”

Chiang Kai-shek paused for a while, and then said: "Also, tell Wenge again, let him rest assured, the several armies he commanded, and I will add one more to him." ”

(To be continued)