Give me a few monthly passes, Da Luo Byeong.

"In the summer of the fourth year of Hong'an, Yuan Kou came one after another. 400 states worked together, 100,000 horses crossed the sea, and the national disaster was at the head. Fight for the ...... of justice and justice"

On July 12, 1923, the surging tune of "Yuan Ko" sounded on the dock of Yokohama Port in Japan, accompanied by music, a large group of Japanese soldiers lined up in a neat line, singing the lyrics of "Yuan Ko", and were boarding the transport ship docked at the pier. Countless citizens of Yokohama also spontaneously came to the edge of the pier, waving small flags and shouting hoarsely.

It's the rainy season in Japan, the weather is bad, and the sea breeze in Tokyo Bay is not small, pushing the transport ships up and down. On the sea outside the harbor, more than 100 combat ships, including six battleships and the Fengxiang aircraft carrier, formed an antisubmarine formation, slowly cruising at a speed of less than five knots, hundreds of columns of smoke went straight into the sky, and a loud whistle sounded one after another. This is the main force of the Japanese Combined Fleet, waiting for the transport fleet to be loaded, and then going to China together!

This military operation, which was almost the last stand of the Japanese Empire, was actually carried out in such an almost open way!

On the pier, Yoshiichi Tanaka, dressed in the uniform of a Japanese army general, and Lieutenant General Suzuki Soroku, commander of the Japanese Third Army, were strolling. Looking at this spectacular scene of the army fighting, the brows of the two were still tightly wrinkled.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, this 'Decisive Battle' is a sure defeat......

"I know! Operations in the Far East and Manchuria did not meet expectations at all...... Ha Hecao had already sent a telegram from Shuangchengzi that the Chinese army was bombarding the core fortifications of the Shuangchengzi fortress with 240mm train guns. This was something that the fortress could not afford, and the fall was only a matter of 48 hours. At that time, the main force of the Manchurian Army will be liberated! And the 2nd Army in Shin-Azuchi also reported that the shells were running out. There are not many bullets left, and it is no longer possible to maintain the offensive against the Tiger Head Fortress...... The Far Eastern Army is almost finished, and even if the North Korean army breaks through Phoenix Mountain and Xinkailing, Chang Ruiqing will not need to mobilize reinforcements from Shanghai and Nanjing to defend Shenyang. ”

"And the strength of the Third Army is only three divisions left! The Chinese Army had at least three armies on the front line in Shanghai and Nanjing, and one army each in Zhejiang and Northern Jiangsu, which could reinforce the Shanghai battlefield at any time...... Even if the Third Army fights to the death, the final result is probably still defeated! Your Excellency Prime Minister, why is the Empire engaged in such a defeating battle? ”

Yoshiichi Tanaka smiled faintly: "In order to force the dictator of Shina to agree to the empire's request for peace...... The peace proposal proposed by the Imperialist to China was rejected again! The other side did not even put forward conditions. They directly refused, it seems that they want to make peace with the empire after the Far Eastern Army and the Korean army are completely destroyed, and then the empire will not even have the slightest room for bargaining. ”

"But that's not a reason for the Third Army to send them to death! Is Your Excellency the Prime Minister trying to intimidate the dictator of China with this grand expedition? Suzuki Shoroku's face was pale, and it seemed that he was angry with Tanaka Yoshiichi's blind command. In his opinion, it was time to integrate the Third Army into the Korean Army or the Far Eastern Army, either to attack Liaoshen in a big way, or to merge the two divisions that had just arrived in Yanpu to join the main force of the Manchurian Army.

Yoshiichi Tanaka knew what he was thinking. He smiled bitterly, looked at the Grand Fleet in Tokyo Bay, and said, "It is useless to increase the Korean Army or the Far Eastern Army. We can send three divisions to the Far East and the Manchurian theater, and China can send ten corps there! When the time comes, we will still have a fiasco, we will lose the Far Eastern Primorsky and the North Korean ...... Suzuki-kun, are you still dreaming of seizing Manchuria and luring Red Russia into the war? ”

"Your Excellency Prime Minister does not believe that Red Russia will enter the war? It seems that they have already mobilized heavy forces near Lake Baikal. It will soon be possible to extinguish the rebels in Chita. ”

Yoshiichi Tanaka stopped and looked at Soroku Suzuki with blazing eyes. Said coldly: "I don't know what promise the Red Russia gave to the palace, I only know that the empire can only find a way to save itself now, and can't count on the ill-intentioned Bolsheviks to be kind!" If we have the ability to defeat the Chinese army. Of course, Red Russia will come to get a piece of the pie, but if we can't beat China. They will only find all sorts of excuses to shirk their responsibility for going to war. ”

"But such a defeated attack ......"

"Shanghai is surrounded by the most economically prosperous areas in China! It is the financial foundation of the government of China, and the top of the government and the consortium behind them have huge investments there! Suzuki-kun, do you understand what I mean? ”

Suzuki Shoroku was silent for a moment, nodded and said, "The prime minister wants to scare not Chang Ruiqing, but the big consortium of Shina?" ”

Yoshiichi Tanaka pointed to the Great Fleet on the sea with a sneer and said, "The navy's 14-inch and 15-inch cannons are no joke!" If they could get close to Shanghai, they could raze the most prosperous city in the Far East overnight! I don't believe that Chang Ruiqing can bear such a loss...... What he needs is a perfect victory to pave the way to the presidency, not a pyrrhic victory! ”

……

"It seems that the Japanese are really facing a great crisis in the Far East and Manchuria!" Several leftists of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party and some democrats gathered in a quiet small bungalow on Shanghai's Ma Sinan Road, and were sitting in the living room and discussing.

Among these people, there are Chairman Mao of the Central G and his political ally Vice Chairman Chiang, as well as Li Dzhao, a member of the Political Affairs Bureau of the GCD, Soong Meiling, deputy minister of the Overseas Department of the Kuomintang, Shi Liangcai, the boss of the "Declaration" who has joined the Kuomintang, Hu Shi, the head of the Shanghai Public School, the standard-bearer of the Chinese New Culture Movement, Mr. Zhou Shuren, a famous novelist, and Liang Qichao, a popular figure who has gradually faded out of the political arena. Most of them are members of the China Association for the Promotion of Democracy, and because they believe in freedom and democracy, they speak relatively freely and have no scruples.

At the beginning of this gathering, the topic was complaining about the wartime press control, and as we chatted, we turned to the hottest Sino-Japanese war.

Mao ZD said loudly in Chinese with a Hunan accent: "The Japanese Navy and Army went out with great fanfare, and also casually visited and took pictures with reporters from Western countries. At the same time, their government proposed peace through Britain and the United States. It is clear that we suffered heavy losses in Manchuria and the Far East, and the winner of this war seems to be our China Luo. ”

GC International

Miv and Leshinskaya had been in secret contact with him some time ago. Both inside and outside the words hinted that the Soviet Union and Japan were preparing to unite to find trouble with Chang Ruiqing, and they were also preparing to support Chang Ruiqing to be the number one in China in the future after he was hung up. However, Chairman Mao didn't pay attention to the other party - if Chang Ruiqing really died, he would still need the Soviet Union and Japan to support him? After the "King Kong Incident", he also reported the incident at an emergency meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and also presided over a resolution opposing the interference of the Soviet Union and GC International in China's internal affairs. It is a rare time to support Chang Ruiqing, and now he is very happy to see that the victory of the war is in sight.

Jiang Jishi looked a little depressed today, and when he heard Mao Zd's words, he couldn't help but sneer. Mao ZD was stunned for a moment, squinted at him and said, "J handsome." What are your opinions? ”

Jiang Jishi shook his head and said lightly: "I just feel that a few years ago it was a dilapidated and weak country, but under the leadership of Chang Yaoru, it has become a world power!" With such great men there, do you still need us? Do you still need democracy? ”

Liang Qichao, who is also a veteran of China's constitutional movement, only shook his head when he heard Jiang Jishi's words: "The dictatorship of great men is sometimes a strong medicine. But it is by no means a long-term plan, Chang Yaoru's talent is obvious to all, but it cannot be caused by him becoming more and more dictatorial. Now such signs have come out, such as this war, and he did not go to the Guò Parliament and the National Government, but brought the whole country into the war with a few telegrams! Such authority is not what an elected political leader should have. ”

listened to Liang Qichao's words. Everyone here feels the same way. Before this war, none of them expected that Chang Ruiqing's control of the army would reach such a level! Such a strongman who controls the army is not a good thing for the constitutional period that will come in a few years! Moreover, after this war, Chang Ruiqing's reputation in the army and the people will undoubtedly be greatly improved.

Zhou Shuren shook his head and said: "Our people just want a Ming Jun and a strong man. And the Standing Chairman is precisely a Ming Jun. A strongman. If you let the people vote, don't say a president. That is, the Standing Chairman is the emperor, and they also support it. In my opinion, China's democratic constitutionalism still needs to be promoted from the perspective of culture and ideology, and if a group of citizens who only know that there is a Ming monarch and do not know that there is democracy are allowed to vote, I am afraid that a Napoleonic emperor will be elected in the end. ”

His words are not unfounded. Not long ago, several Chinese universities conducted a poll on the form of government, and the results showed that there were more people who supported the imperial system than those who supported the republic! Especially in the countryside, most peasants called Chang Ruiqing "Emperor Chang". Even in big cities, there are now many young people who call Chang Ruiqing the Napoleon of China, isn't this Napoleon the emperor of France?

"Chairman Chang will not be the emperor, because his current power is not less than that of the emperor." Hu Shi smiled and brought the conversation back to the ongoing Sino-Japanese war. "The question now is what can we do for the end of this war?" He looked at Jiang J Shi and Mao Zd. "J Shuai, Runshuai, in the past, when the Japanese were dealing with us, some people sang red faces and some white faces. Now that it's our turn to have the upper hand, shouldn't someone come out and play the pacifist? Also, what exactly is the price of the Standing Chairman? You can't really make Japan an island nation, right? ”

Jiang Jshi and Mao Zd glanced at each other. They all knew that Hu Shih was in the United States, was pro-American, and had close contacts with US diplomats in China. I'm afraid this question is asking for Lao Mei, right? Lao Jiang glanced at Song Meiling again, now that the relationship between the two of them is urgent, and the number of times they meet is getting less and less......

"Mr. Schulman has also asked me about it." Song Meiling generously admitted it. "I asked the second sister, but she didn't know Chang Yaoru's hole cards, only that Chang Yaoru planned to carry out the war until September."

"What's going on?" Shi Liangcai, the boss of "Declaration", took a sip of the teacup, shook his head and said: "The time for the truce has been set, but the conditions have not been set...... What kind of doctrine is Emperor Chang fighting? "He looked at Song Meiling." Third Miss, your second sister and Emperor Chang are allies in politics, do you want to ask her to come forward and inquire? Or can you directly ask if we 'opposition factions' need to get in touch with each other? If the other party's conditions are okay, it is best to accept it if you can see it. ”

"Brother Liangcai," Jiang Jishi seemed to remember something. "What are the opinions of friends in Shanghai's business circles? The Japanese Grand Fleet is said to have come to Shanghai! ”

……

Chang Ruiqing walked quickly into a naval war room in the building of the Military Commission. The five-storey building, a mix of East and West, is now the hub of the entire Wehrmacht, with war rooms for the Army, Navy and Air Force, as well as the Military Intelligence Bureau.

Navy Minister Cheng Biguang, Navy Commander Yang Shuzhuang, Navy Commander Colonel Cunningham, the Navy's British Affairs Adviser, and Yang Xianyi, Director of the Air Force General Bureau, have all been waiting here for a long time. Of course, they already knew the news that the main forces of the Japanese Combined Fleet were coming to the coast of China. So while waiting for Chang Ruiqing to arrive, they were already discussing countermeasures in a low voice. There wasn't a good solution, but I finally came up with a solution. Without waiting for Chang Ruiqing to ask questions, the Minister of the Navy Cheng Biguang proposed the method.

"Chairman of the Committee, now that the matter is urgent, our navy and air force have come up with several emergency methods. The first is to dispatch two submarines to the East China Sea to ambush, but it is of little use, and the two E-class submarines have a total of 16 torpedoes, and it is a fluke to be able to sink a Japanese battleship. The second is to lay mines at the mouth of the Yangtze River and Hangzhou Bay, and it is good to say that with the cooperation of coastal batteries, the Japanese minesweepers cannot enter, but the mines in Hangzhou Bay are of little use. The third is to dispatch air force and naval aviation to bomb. Fourth...... Could the chairman of the National Committee consider starting peace talks with Japan? Shanghai is the economic center of the country, and if it is destroyed by Japanese naval artillery, it will be ......"

Chang Ruiqing smiled slightly and interrupted: "The first and second articles will be followed. Even if you bomb with airplanes, now the Air Force and Navy do not have dive bombers, and I am afraid that they will not be able to bomb the Japanese. As for the peace talks, there is no need for the navy and air force to worry about it, and it has its own diplomatic department to deal with it. He paused and said, "Minister Cheng just proposed that the Japanese army might bombard the downtown area of Shanghai with naval artillery, is this possibility really existing?" Shanghai can be more than 30 kilometers away from the mouth of the Yangtze River, and the Japanese naval guns don't have such a long range, right? ”