At night, the lights were bright in the conference room of the Japanese base camp, but everyone inside at this time was filled with the haze of defeat.

Although there is still a mixed brigade of Japanese troops in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, it will not help the current rotten war situation at all. Kaohsiung's detachment could also be wiped out at any time, and the defeat in Taipei caught everyone off guard. They didn't even have time to reflect that in just two days, the Imperial Japanese Army, which had always been extremely strong in their hearts, had been defeated, and the opponent was still the Chinese army that they had always looked down on. The strength of the special high school has also been completely lost in China, and now they are smearing the intelligence investigation on the Chinese side, and the hardships of several decades have been in vain for the Japanese side.

Qingdao, the fruit of the First World War, was taken back by China, and the results of the First Sino-Japanese War were about to be lost in Taiwan, and Lushun also returned to China. Japan suffered heavy commercial losses in the three places it complained of, and China took advantage of the war between the two countries to wantonly seize Japan's assets in China. At this time, the base camp had to face not only the military pressure of China, but also the pressure of domestic merchants.

When the news of the defeat in the Battle of Taipei reached the base camp, an emergency meeting was held at the base camp. However, at this time, none of the people who came to the conference room of the base camp spoke, and everyone was suppressing the sound of their breathing, for fear that it would make too much noise and attract the attention of the emperor.

Maybe the atmosphere was too dull, or maybe it was dissatisfaction with the silence of these people, Hirohito said with a gloomy face: "Everyone, I summoned you here, not to sit here and watch your silent silence, now Taiwan is about to be captured by China, and our strength in Taiwan at this time is only a mixed brigade (Shigeto detachment) in Kaohsiung, tell me what to do!" ”

"Your Majesty the Emperor, I still propose to form a combined fleet and start a decisive battle with the Chinese navy, as long as the navy of China is destroyed, then all losses will be reversed." Navy Minister Keisuke Okada still insists on his own point of view, but now he can't say how confident he is in defeating the Chinese Navy. But as the Minister of the Navy, he was not allowed to back down at all.

The shock that China has given to the world is too great, including Japan.

"Humph! Your Excellency Okada, you must be aware of the impact that a defeat will have on the Empire, and that we will lose not only Taiwan, but may even face the danger of being invaded for the second time. When the time comes, you will be the biggest sinner in Japan. The new Minister of War Ugaki Kazunari said coldly. After the death of Yoshinori Shirakawa, Kazunari Ugaki took over as Minister of War at the suggestion of Yuyuki Hamaguchi.

"You are alarmist, the Great Japanese Navy is invincible in Asia." Keisuke Okada retorted.

"Yes! The Third Fleet has become a fish's nest, but it is a pity that your navy has occupied most of its military spending over the years, and in the end it has not been completely annihilated by a fleet. "Kazunari Ugaki doesn't intend to let Keisuke Okada go, and sprinkle another handful of salt on the wounds of the already injured Admiralty.

"I admit the defeat of the Third Fleet, but as for your army, hundreds of thousands of people will be wiped out in this way, and the Shanghai Concession, Qingdao, Lushun, and Taiwan will not be guaranteed, and what qualifications does your army have to talk about the navy." Keisuke Okada did not show weakness either.

"If our army has so much military spending on the navy every year, then how can our army fail, China is just relying on advanced weapons, if the army has so much money to research new equipment, will there be today's failure?" Regarding Keisuke Okada's words, Ugaki Issei accepted it very calmly. It's all because he is the new Minister of War, and the defeat above has nothing to do with him, it is the responsibility of Shirakawa Yoshinori, and now Shirakawa Yoshinori is also dead, and it has nothing to do with him at all.

"Good! In the future, all the funds will be given to your army, and in the future, your army will swim and go to war! ”

Just when Ugaki Issei was about to say something, Hirohito was already about to burst beans sitting on it. At this time, the army and navy were still arguing meaninglessly, which made him very angry.

"Ladies and gentlemen, now is not the time to think about responsibility, but to think about our next course of action. Is it war or peace? Hirohito suppressed the anger in his heart and said slowly.

"Your Majesty the Emperor, I still made the proposal just now, and this is also the opinion of all the Imperial Navy officers. The Great Japanese Empire could not afford to fail. Keisuke Okada was the first to speak.

"The Navy has a good chance of winning." The navy was going to fight, and Hirohito asked the question he cared about, he was not a military strategist, just a decision-maker.

"This, this..." Keisuke Okada couldn't answer a single reason.

Yuyuki Hamaguchi, who had been sitting in silence all this time, said, "Your Majesty, I support making peace with the Chinese side. The dispute between the two ministers just now is the issue of funding, and the problem revealed is funding, which is also the biggest problem facing the empire at present. The defeat of the war caused the empire to lose a large number of colonies at the same time, but also to lose a lot of property, and now the empire's finances have fallen into a great crisis, and the empire can no longer fight. I just said that if we have the funds to defeat the Chinese army, why can't we wait a little longer, wait for the empire to recover its economy, and then vigorously develop it for a few more years, when the empire has more funds, it will be able to develop all kinds of weapons and equipment. When our navy builds more powerful warships, when our army has combat vehicles on land that can compete with Chinese tanks, and when our air force is not afraid of China's air force, then we will vigorously train our army, and then it will be time for us to wash away today's shame. ”

Hamaguchi Yuyuki glanced at the people who were all in deep thought, took a sip of tea, moistened his throat, straightened his thoughts, and continued: "At this time, we still have an advantage over China, but that is also the weakness of the empire. That is, the population base of the Chinese side is too large, according to Chen Shao's consistent practice, that is, the development of people's livelihood construction, the southwest region is the best proof, now Chen Shao's territory is not only in the southwest, according to the news in the newspaper, at this time Mongolia was also included in the Chinese territory by Chen Shao, these will cause serious drag on the development of China, according to Chen Shao's policy, these problems are to be solved as soon as possible. This is our chance, the only chance for our military power to surpass China's. Now we should no longer touch the nerves of China, if the Chinese side is allowed to go to war with the empire at all costs, then we will be even more passive. ”

Yuyuki Hamaguchi finished speaking, and at this time, there was a new round of silence in the conference room. They were all thinking about Hamaguchi Yuyuki's words, and it was obvious that Hamaguchi Yuyuki's words were very reasonable, otherwise Keisuke Okada would have refuted them as soon as possible.

Hamaguchi Yuyuki said again: "There is a Chinese saying that 'failure is the mother of success', it doesn't matter if we fail once, we will definitely get back what we lost today." At that time, Japan was still the number one in Asia. ”

Hirohito thought for a while and said, "Let me think about it for one night, and everyone go back and rest!" ”

Yuyuki Hamaguchi got up and left thoughtfully, he understood Hirohito's thoughts at this time, in the past few decades, Japan has been in a winning position in all wars. Whether it was the First Sino-Japanese War or the Russo-Japanese War. However, these were the achievements of the previous emperor, and it is understandable that Hirohito had to bear the consequences of defeat shortly after he took the throne.

July 9, 1928.

Today is another sunny day.

At this time, Hirohito's mood was in the opposite direction of the weather, and dark clouds were thick.

Hirohito, who had just finished breakfast, had not yet gotten up from the tatami mat, and Ugaki Kazunari hurried to Hirohito's dormitory.

"Your Majesty the Emperor, I have just received a telegram from the Korean garrison that early this morning at the junction of Dandong and Korea, at least 20,000 Chinese troops have been assembled, and there are still a large number of tanks and planes in the sky to reconnoitre. The DPRK garrison sent a telegram asking for instructions on whether it would take the initiative to attack. Ugaki Kazunari walked up to Hirohito's side and said.

Hirohito's head shook that Taiwan could be lost, but North Korea must not lose. Now that the Chinese side is putting on a posture of attacking North Korea, the house leak happened to rain overnight, and Hirohito's heart was unprecedentedly anxious.

"Someone is coming, and Prime Minister Yuyuki Hamaguchi will be summoned immediately." After Hirohito finished speaking to a guard at the door, he asked Ugaki Kazunari, who was standing aside, "Do you think that our Korean garrison can block the attack of the Chinese army?" ”

"Your Majesty the Emperor, according to the situation of the previous battles, although we have several divisions of the Kwantung Army in Korea, we will not be able to hold back for long." Ugaki Kazunari didn't hide anything, and answered Hirohito's words truthfully based on his own opinion.

"Ahem! Let's hope it's in time!" Hirohito sighed and said helplessly.

At this time, Yuyuki Hamaguchi was on his way to the palace, and he also received news about the actions of the Chinese side.

When Hirohito met Yuyuki Hamaguchi, the first thing he said was to agree to yesterday's proposal, and asked Yuyuki Hamaguchi to contact Anglo-American reconciliation as soon as possible.

Hamaguchi left in a hurry, and immediately met with the British and American ambassadors to Japan at the Prime Minister's Office, and put forward to them a request for reconciliation between the two countries. We hope that all military actions will be stopped with the Chinese side as soon as possible and peace talks will be launched.

Britain and the United States also contacted each other on this matter, and agreed to Japan's request. They also need a peaceful Far East, and the most important thing is that the Soviet Union's purchase of battleships from China this time made Britain and the United States begin to be vigilant. Battleships are a weapon of war, and although they are very uncomfortable with the rise of China, they prefer a powerful army power to contain it compared to the Soviet Union, a country in red camouflage. In terms of population base and the combat effectiveness exposed by this war against Japan, China is a very good choice. And they also know that the Chinese side and the Soviet Union are not on the right path, which is what they want to see.

At noon, Chen Shao received a letter of state for British and American mediation and Japan's peace talks. Chen Shao was not too surprised by this, and last night he specially issued an order to the troops in the northeast, and the active and reserve units of a certain army assembled on the Sino-DPRK border and put on a posture of attacking, and planes flew to the heads of the Japanese troops stationed in the DPRK from time to time. This was all done by Chen Shao on purpose, and the purpose was to force Japan to come to the negotiating table. Of course, if Japan didn't know each other, Chen Shao wouldn't mind directly attacking Korea.

Chen Shao then said that for the sake of the face of Britain and the United States and other countries, he promised to hold peace talks with Japan, but Chen Shao also said that once the peace talks failed. The Chinese side will expand the war, and when the time comes, the Chinese side will take the complete defeat of Japan as its first goal.

The Japanese side said that it would take the peace talks very seriously and strive for the two sides to reach an agreement so that the two countries would not fall into war again.

From the moment Japan agreed to the peace talks, the land of China fell into a huge cheer, and everyone understood that this was a great victory, and at least the Japanese side could not continue to fight, otherwise it would not have asked for peace talks. How many years have passed, from the first Opium War to the present, nearly a hundred years, and the humiliation of several generations, from today, is gone forever. China uses its own strength to tell the world that China is no longer free to be bullied by others.

With the signing of the Treaty of Nanjing, the first unequal treaty, China ceded land, paid compensation, and negotiated tariffs to a foreign country for the first time, seriously jeopardizing China's sovereignty. As a result, China began to degenerate into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society, and the people's lives fell into misery, they were forever inferior in front of foreigners, the self-esteem of the nation was ruthlessly trampled on, and the glory of 5,000 years was completely buried. From 1940 to the present in 1928, 88 years have passed, and now China has the strength to say no to all countries in the world. Don't you see, do Western countries still want to buy weapons from China, this alone is enough to prove that the current China and the current Chinese nation have stood up.

The venue for the peace talks was selected in Shanghai, and the main representative of the Chinese side in the negotiations was Zong Li of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Zong Li has always had a feeling of death for Chen Shao, and his current status can be said to have been given by Chen Shao. If it weren't for Chen Shao's support, he and Weiren would not have the status they have today. If they hadn't met Chen Shao in the teahouse, they wouldn't know where they were now, and they might be the same as those Nanjing officials who were under investigation.

Japan's representative in the peace talks was Yoshiichi Tanaka, because when he was prime minister, he also concurrently served as foreign minister, and this battle was advocated by Tanaka Yoshiichi's cabinet. Yes, for Yuyuki Hamaguchi, this peace talks meant that Japan would admit defeat, and as a defeated country, it would always have to agree to some conditions, and it would be its own cabinet that would be embarrassed at that time. So Yoshiichi Tanaka was pushed out.

The date of the first peace talks was chosen on July 11, and Chen Shao did not want to delay any longer, but only wanted to end the war as soon as possible. If it weren't for Tanaka's inability to reach Shanghai on the 10th, Chen Shao would have planned to start peace talks on the 10th.

On the morning of the 11th, Yoshiichi Tanaka, who had just arrived in Shanghai, was sent directly to the Longteng Hotel, the venue of the meeting, as soon as he got off the ship. At this time, the top floor of the Dragon Hotel has been isolated as the location of this negotiation.

As soon as he entered the negotiation site, he did not wait for Yoshiichi Tanaka to recover from the fatigue of the journey. As witnesses to the talks, the ambassadors of Britain, the United States, Germany, France, and other countries announced the official start of the peace talks.

As the main person in charge of the Chinese side of this peace talks, Zong Li said: "China has always been a peace-loving country, and we have never taken the initiative to wage war against foreign countries. The war between the two countries was provoked by the Japanese side, and our supreme leader declared war on Japan only in desperation. Now that Japan is asking for peace talks, in line with the idea of loving peace, and does not want to increase unnecessary casualties, Chen Shao, the supreme leader of China, has agreed to this peace talks, and our Chinese side will show the greatest sincerity, and at the same time, we hope that the Japanese side will also show the greatest sincerity. Otherwise, the war will continue, and the scale will be further expanded, and then either you will die or I will die, and China will also take the complete defeat of Japan as the first goal. ”

Zong Li's opening remarks made the ambassadors of all countries frightened, and it was the first time they had heard such words from the mouth of a Chinese person. Especially the latter sentence made everyone feel a chill, and they could hear that this young diplomat was not talking empty words. Because now China has the confidence to say such things.

Tanaka Yoshiichi naturally heard it, although Zongli spoke Chinese, but for Tanaka Yoshiichi, there was no language barrier. Although he was forcibly sent to this peace talks, he was very reluctant, but he had no choice at all. After reasoning and reasoning, he said in Chinese: "On behalf of the Japanese Empire, the contemptible people have come here to negotiate peace with the Chinese side, and since they have proposed peace talks, they will naturally show 12 points of sincerity, and the Chinese side does not need to worry about this." ”

"That's fine, I'm not going around in circles, now I'll talk about our conditions. First, Japan admitted defeat and abrogated all previous unequal treaties. Second, Japan must compensate China for all kinds of losses, and the amount of compensation is two billion dollars. Fourth, the Ryukyu Islands must be returned unconditionally. Fifth, the islands of Jeju and Sakhalin were ceded. Sixth, China will open its treaty ports to China and abolish tariffs on various commodities in China. Seventh, the Japanese side must publicly apologize to the Chinese side and to those Chinese who died under your butcher's knife. Zong Li calmly said the conditions in his heart, which was much higher than the bottom line given by Chen Shao. Chen Shao's bottom line is 500 million US dollars and the Ryukyu Islands, and Jeju Island and Sakhalin Island are all added by Zongli himself.

Tanaka Yoshiichi's face became darker and darker with Zongli's words, if it weren't for his good cultivation, he would want to leave now. Holding back the anger in his heart, after Zong Li finished speaking, he said: "We have no problem with the first and seventh points, and we can discuss the second and sixth points. But we will never agree to cede land. At the same time, we also demand that the Chinese side must return the prisoners and withdraw all Chinese troops from Taiwan. ”

"In this way, it seems that there is no need to talk about it anymore, Taiwan is originally our inherent territory, and now that our army is about to occupy Taiwan, it is ridiculous that you are still here to speak out and call our troops to withdraw from Taiwan. Now let me tell you our attitude, except for the second and fifth can be discussed, the other conditions are our bottom line, and the bottom line is absolutely unchangeable. If the Japanese side finds it unacceptable, then we will have to take it ourselves, and as for what will develop in the future, I dare not guarantee it, and perhaps Japan's losses will be several times greater than those of the present conditions. I feel like I'm being merciful when I say this. Zong Li said calmly, he was very happy when he saw Tanaka Yoshiichi with a gloomy face now.

"You are making it difficult for you to be strong, we can still mobilize tens of millions of troops in Japan, and when the time comes, it will be a big deal to break the net."

"Tens of millions, a lot? You Japan only has a population of tens of millions, and you are still young compared to our numbers. But having said that, there is no need to continue talking, it is purely a waste of time, we will meet on the battlefield. Zong Li said with a smile on his face. When he had finished speaking, he stood up, pretended to be leaving, and walked towards the gate.

Seeing that the negotiations were about to break down and Britain and the United States had quit, the British ambassador hurriedly got up and said, "Mr. Zhongli, don't leave in a hurry yet, Mr. Tanaka, please exercise restraint on both sides and find a mutually acceptable result." ”

The U.S. ambassador also continued: "There is really no need for the two countries to fight any more now, there will always be a mutually acceptable outcome to the matter, and now the peace talks have just begun, and many issues can be brought up for discussion." ”

The ambassadors of the two countries play the role of a merchant.

"Mr. Zongli, I was too anxious just now, and I apologize to you. As for those conditions, we can talk about them again. Tanaka Yoshiichi was relieved when he saw Zong Li stop, he was a little caught off guard when he saw Zong Li leaving. He knew that the current Japan really couldn't fight anymore, and he was also afraid of his irrationality just now. If there is really another war, it is because of his own words, then Tanaka Yoshiichi will not even be able to go back to Japan, and there is only the road of self-determination.

"Good! I wonder what Mr. Tanaka is going to talk about? Zong Li also got off the donkey down the slope and returned to the negotiation table.

"The first point is not a problem with us, we can start with the second point. Two billion dollars is too much, and we in Japan can only come up with 100 million at most, and this is our limit. "Two billion dollars is not a small amount, and Japan still wants to develop its domestic economy, so it can't come up with anything.

"Although the price is all over the place, there is no such bargaining as you. $1.9 billion. ”

"The price is still too high, we can't accept it, 500 million is our limit."

"Okay, I won't say much, don't cry poor, a billion, less than this number, we won't agree." Zong Li said here with a serious face, and before Tanaka Yoshii spoke, he continued: "You must know how much money you collect in Taiwan every year, and how much money you have taken from China over the years, the Treaty of Shimonoseki alone has made you a lot of profits, and you have committed all kinds of crimes in the land of China, I still think that this money is far from enough, this is only a small compensation." Just two months ago in Jinan, how many people did you kill, don't you need to touch the blood? ”

"Up to 600 million"

"You are 600 million, I am 1 billion, so that one of us will take a step back, and we will not be close to people, 800 million dollars." Zong Li stared at Tanaka Yoshiichi and said seriously.

Yoshiichi Tanaka thought for a long time and nodded with difficulty.

(To be continued)