Chapter 170: Covering Your Ears and Stealing the Bell

Chapter 170

In 1914, Japan was not at peace, and a number of high-ranking officers of the Japanese Navy were arrested in the "Siemens Incident" at the beginning of the year. Against this backdrop, Shigenobu Okuma formed a government, and the ruling parties, including the Constitutional Comrades Association, the Constitutional Party of Korea and the Chung Kai of the Constitution, which were not factions of the Constitution of Friends, held a total of 165 seats in the Diet. This is a cabinet that admires the snort, that is, the cabinet supported by the Meiji elder forces with Aritomo Yama as the core.

On the 25th, students in Tianjin, Shanghai, Wuhan and Anqing marched to protest against the Japanese government's violation of China's sovereignty, and then schools in various provinces responded. On the 25th, Yu Qiaqing, president of the China Chamber of Commerce and Industry, launched an initiative in Shanghai to systematize Japanese goods! Nationwide response.

On the 26th, Shigenobu Okuma issued a statement saying that the naval and land forces of the Japanese Empire would march to Qingdao in accordance with the established plan. The elimination of German military power in Tsingtao was a matter for the members of the Entente.

On the same day, British Minister Zhu Erdian urgently asked to see Sun Baoqi, the president of the Republic of China. After some meetings, Zhu Erdian claimed that the British Empire remained neutral in the contradictions between China and Japan. So, what happened to make Britain take a stand? Quite simply, on the night of the 24th, the German Far East Fleet, under the leadership of Spee, quietly sailed out of the port of Qingdao, broke through the blockade of the Japanese Navy and disappeared into the sea. The main force of the German Far Eastern Fleet was six cruisers, not to mention that this fleet was not large, but for the British sea lines of communication, it was really terrible. This detachment must be destroyed as much as possible.

As for the dispute between China and Japan, Whitehall's attitude is very clear: not to cause extraneous complications, not to force China into the German ship. Under such a premise, the British army, which was supposed to attack Qingdao together with Japan, abandoned this operation. Zhu Erdian urgently met with Sun Baoqi and got a promise that China would never join the allies. Sun Baoqi in turn asked Britain to mediate the Sino-Japanese dispute this time, but Zhu Erdian did not agree.

After meeting with Zhu Erdian, Sun Baoqi immediately went to see Fang Jianxiong, and after reporting the results, he said angrily: "I have promised never to join the allies, but Zhu Erdian still refuses to mediate." ”

"The truth is within the range of the cannon, and it is self-destructive to count on other countries in the struggle between countries. What kind of character is Li Wenzhong Gong (Li Hongzhang), who maneuvered among foreigners, and didn't he get a good death? Yang Yongtai interjected beside Fang Jianxiong. The people around Fang Jianxiong are all fat and dare to speak. This is related to Fang Dashuai's personality, and he can listen to it.

"Okuma Shigenobu's statement, let Brother Jiwu reply. The Japanese government threatened to continue to attack Qingdao and eliminate the German government. Since Japan has not declared war on China, can it be more flexible? Sun Baoqi still can't make up his mind to declare war.

Fang Jianxiong said to Sun Baoqi after a little muttering: "At this time, we can't be soft, let Brother Jiwu reply a statement, China and Germany have completed the handover of Qingdao's defense, and now Qingdao is under the actual control of our army." If the Japanese army continued to attack Qingdao, the government of the Republic of China would regard it as an act of war against China. ”

"Fu Shuai, since the Japanese are pretending to be confused, we might as well pretend to be too." Yang Yongtai must play the role of a strategist at this time, Huang Xing recommended him to Fang Jianxiong's side, whether he can be reused depends on his own efforts.

"Changqing, I know what you mean. The Japanese did not think of fighting a full-scale war against China because they were not prepared. At the beginning of the establishment of the Republic of China, it was indeed necessary to stabilize the external environment to develop the economy and straighten out the internal environment. However, I would like to say that if we do not let the Japanese know our attitude this time, this kind of thing will continue to happen in the future. That's it, no need to persuade. By the way, I have to meet with the American minister. Fang Jianxiong made a decision, and everyone was silent. This group, in essence, is still engaged in **, but the face project is doing a good job.

Fang Jianxiong's determination seems to be difficult to make, but it is not. Over the years, it has been silently preparing, and Japan has never regarded China as an adversary. In addition, Japan's economy is difficult and it does not have the strength to fight a full-scale war. Unless Japan prefers to fight to the death with China, Japan will only be able to fight a losing local war. Therefore, Fang Jianxiong must put on a posture of dragging Japan into the quagmire of a long-term war, and Japan will not dare to launch a full-scale war. Originally, Qingdao was attacked with the intention of picking up a wallet, and what Japan wanted was Qingdao's interests. Yuan Shikai, who led a time and space, came to power, and the Japanese intimidation took effect, and Yuan Shikai also proposed to let the United States take over Qingdao returned by Germany, hoping for a conflict with Japan. As a result, the Americans did not take this hot potato, and Qingdao was occupied by Japan. In the face of such evil neighbors as Japan and Russia, they do not have the courage to fight a decisive battle, so they can only be bullied and retreat step by step. I don't know if Yuan Shikai has the courage, but other time and space are busy cleaning up the ** party. Later, he was worried about Japan's support for him to become emperor, no matter from which point of view, Yuan Shikai made a naïve mistake on the issue of Qingdao.

Raines received the notification and immediately went to the Liwang Mansion. When they were in the car, they communicated with Stilwell, the military attache stationed in China, and the thing that the two of them have paid the most attention to recently is the contradiction between China and Japan. The U.S. government is happy about the contradictions between China and Japan, and for the U.S., Japan, with its powerful navy, is the biggest threat, while China has no worries about this. Moreover, according to the observations of Rains and Stilwell, the center of the work of the Republic of China government has always revolved around education and the economy, and the so-called reorganization of the army is actually a "way of dealing with local armed forces" in the past.

Crucially, China does not have a strong navy, nor does it have the industrial capacity to build a strong navy. According to the judgment of the United States, China will not be able to build battleships in less than 50 years. Can a navy without battleships be called a navy? At most, a coastal garrison. Of course, China can purchase from abroad, but the nature of that is completely different, and no country has become a naval power entirely by buying battleships. (Except for Ah Sanguo's love of self-yy!) ）

"Stilwell, guess what's going to happen if Fang invites me there?" After thinking about it for a long time, Ryans had no clue, Stilwell shook his head and said, "I can't guess that it should be related to the contradiction with Japan." I am worried that the Chinese side will force the United States to take a position on this issue, and then the effect of our investment in China will be greatly reduced. ”

Ryans understands what this means, and the relationship between China and the United States is very delicate now, not that it is not about who is afraid of whom, but about interests between countries. It is impossible for the United States to stand on Fang Jianxiong's side with a clear-cut stand, this is certain. Hopefully, this young man is a rational person.

The car arrived at the Liwang Mansion, the two were taken in by the adjutant who was waiting at the door, and saw that Fang Jianxiong and Sun Baoqi were there, and after greeting each other, Sun Baoqi said: "Please Mr. Minister to come, it is a report, in view of the great possibility of the Japanese government's obsession, the Republic of China government decided that once the Jiaodong Peninsula is attacked, it will declare war on Japan." ”

Raines froze directly in place, and subconsciously said, "So strict? Fang Jianxiong took over and said, "That's right, it's so strict." The handover of defense of Qingdao between China and Germany has been completed, and German personnel are evacuating Qingdao under the escort of our troops. Your Excellency, Minister Minister, is to make an announcement. ”

"That's it?" Raines waited for a moment, didn't wait for the next step, and asked. Of course, Fang Jianxiong knew his thoughts, and said with a smile: "There is nothing else, just this matter." Raines quickly remedied: "Do you need our government to mediate?" ”

"The Japanese Government has covered its ears and ignored the solemn statements of our Government, and since this is the case, it can only be resolved by extreme means. Japan, which started the war, wanted to end the war and it was not a matter of lightness. "Fang Jianxiong said very confidently, Raines really can't understand, where is this young man's confidence? The difference in strength between China and Japan is too big, right? Especially the navy, the Japanese navy casually hit the door, and China was helpless.

"Your Excellency Chief of Staff, please be cautious, there is a huge disparity in strength between China and Japan, especially the navy." Stilwell whispered to Jiang Fangzhen in a kind voice. "We are ready to abandon part of the southeast and fight a protracted war with Japan." Jiang Fangzhen came to a sentence, which can be regarded as a note on this matter.

The news of the Chinese government's official announcement of this decision quickly appeared in the newspapers of the country. The statement said: The Japanese Government's insistence on going its own way, ignoring the Chinese Government's repeated solemn representations, and continuing to launch an attack on Qingdao will be a serious violation of the sovereignty of the Republic of China. Is it tolerable or unbearable! The officers and men of the National Defense Forces will not hesitate to defend national sovereignty and national dignity with their lives. The Chinese people love peace, but they are also afraid of any invader. We will fight on the sea, on the beach, on land, in the city. All the way to driving the invaders out of China.

As soon as this article came out, the whole country was shocked. The ships of the Japanese Third Fleet converged on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, but because war had not yet been officially declared, the fortresses along the way were not intercepted.

Thick smoke billowed from the sea, and a large fleet was approaching Qingdao. In order to take Qingdao, Japan took the initiative to build a huge fleet of 72 large and small warships, and thick smoke billowed from the sky.

The wind whistled in my ears, and two Thunder Dragon 1 fighters flew in formation on the sea. Feng Hua personally went out on the horse, the wingman was piloted by an American cowboy Fuller, and after discovering the movement on the sea, Feng Hua stretched out his hand and made a gesture.

The technology of radio miniaturization has not yet appeared, and for the time being, communication with each other can only be done by gestures. The two planes flew in the direction of the Japanese fleet, and slipped over the Japanese fleet unscrupulously, Feng Hua actually wanted to shoot with a machine gun, and there was an order from above not to fire the first shot, so he had to give up! After seeing how many Japanese ships there were, I found a seaplane when I decided to return home.

Well! The deal is coming! (To be continued.)