If we look back at the Japanese with a rational eye, we will find that the people trapped on the islands are a complex of contradictions. The cultural heritage of "A Bowl of Yangchun Noodles" is deeply integrated into the life of this island nation. Just like the chrysanthemum in the katana, the chrysanthemum represents femininity, just like the women in Yasunari Kawabata's pen, elegant and mournful; The katana, which originated in the Tang Dynasty, represents violence and killing. Japanese people who worship cherry blossoms and respect death (even today in the 21st century, Japan's suicide rate is still the highest in the world.) In Japan, whenever there is a predicament that cannot be solved such as bankruptcy, the person concerned will generally choose to commit suicide, so that both Japanese public opinion and the majority of the people will sympathize) The attitude towards life is very different from that of the Western shijie, from the samurai who committed suicide by shaving his belly, to the "jade shattering" when the army was defeated, this nation puts its own life aside at the same time, and also wantonly preys on the lives of others.

Gentle and aggressive by nature, weak and fickle, tame but unwilling to be a puppet, brave and cowardly, loyal and good at betrayal...... From the time of the First Sino-Japanese War, from the emperor who cut down on food and clothing, donated his private property, and ate only two meals a day, to the Japanese civilians who did not hesitate to destroy their families to help each other and build a navy, this island nation was in a thirst for resources and land, and almost prepared for war against the Qing Dynasty. It was a big gamble that would have crushed Japan's fragile domestic economy if it was defeated, with bonds issued and foreign loans owed. But in the end, the Japanese won the bet......

Outside the Port of Arthur, the Beiyang Fleet, which was the largest in Asia in the past, was wiped out. The Treaty of Shimonoseki brought huge indemnities to Taiwan and two pieces of silver, and the entire Japanese archipelago was immersed in the dividends of foreign aggression. Since then, this island nation has tied itself to the train of militaristic expansion and is speeding towards a point of no return.

After the Russo-Japanese War, the huge and invincible Slavic bear was knocked out of its front teeth. Completely kicked out of the Great Power Club. The Baltic Fleet and the Pacific Fleet were almost completely annihilated, and all the privileges and territories previously acquired by Tsarist Russia in Northeast China were ceded. The pride of the Japanese began to swell to the extreme, and the Slavic defeat seemed to prove the decline of the white race in the West. Even the entire Japanese archipelago was heavily indebted because of this gamble (in fact, until the outbreak of World War I, in order to repay the war loans, Japan even had to export a large number of women to engage in the leather and meat business in Southeast Asia and other places, and use these skin and meat money to repay the interest on the war loans).

After the victory of the Russo-Japanese War, forced by the domestic economic situation, the "Continental Army" Jihua had to be temporarily put on hold. The entire Japanese archipelago has made full use of the Chinese market to absorb fresh blood. Recuperate while actively planning and preparing for the next big gamble. The Japanese military's shili, which had swelled to the extreme, was extremely unstable even during the dormant period, and the life of Ijiin undoubtedly made the entire Western Shijie see Japan's ambitions for the Yangtze River valley in China. The arrogant and invincible Japanese army is less and less concerned about the weak China. The exchange of fire on Japanese Lend-Lease in Hankow. It is against this background that it happens.

The Wehrmacht reorganized the 1st Infantry Regiment of the Fourth Division, Zhou Weixin, as the vanguard of the entire Wehrmacht. At the same time as the Beiyang Army retreated to Hankow, it was the first to arrive in Hankow. When passing through the concession area. An ensign of the Japanese Marine Corps, who was in charge of the defense of the Japanese Lend-Lease, felt that the Chinese troops were too close to the concession and had passed through with weapons, and his attitude was "arrogant." After the First Sino-Japanese War, little Japan has never taken the Chinese army seriously. You can win any fight. The domineering second lieutenant then defined the passing Wehrmacht as "intent to attack the concession" without authorization, and then prepared to teach the Chinese a lesson.

Then, there was such a sudden firefight.

"Drive! Drive! ”

Ford withdrew its first car from the civilian public in 1908, but was constrained by the design/manufacturing era. Even the best-performing Ford Model T is still immature, with high failure rates, short trips, and high fuel consumption. In addition, the incident happened suddenly, and before the attendant room had time to prepare the car, Hu Rui led the adjutant and the guards to gallop away. The three towns of Wuchang were divided by the river, and in order to ensure the smooth progress of the battle to accept Hankou, the engineers set up pontoon bridges early.

"When did it happen, and who started it first?"

Riding on the back of Black Wind, Hu Rui frowned and asked the attaché beside him.

With the goal of splitting China, the Japanese government is very concerned about provoking Chinese nationalism. The League confiscated the Japanese sponsorship from top to bottom, and in any case, at least the Japanese were indeed "the most concerned" about the Xinhai Revolution in China. Taking other people's hands short and eating other people's soft mouths, Sino-Japanese relations in these years are still very "harmonious", and there is absolutely no market for the argument of resisting Japan and saving the country. So at this time, there was a conflict with the Japanese, which gave Hu Rui a headache.

"Report to the commander, it was about a quarter of an hour from the time the telegram was received in the telecommunications room. The specific cause of the conflict is not clear, but the vanguard of the 4th Division said that it was the Japanese who fired first! ”

The accompanying telegraph operator 1510 reported.

"What the hell are these Japanese people trying to do......

While Hu Rui was frowning and thinking about it, the black wind under his crotch was also full of humanity, and he followed the horse team smoothly. These purebred Altejin horses from Turkey are very considerate to their owners on their backs.

The cold frightened wind beside him silently opened the safety of the two Mauser pistols on his waist, and waited by Hu Rui's side with a tense face across half a horse's head.

"Phew~"

"Hurry up and lead the horse, it's the handsome man who is here in person!"

Zhou Weixin, the head of the regiment, put down the Zeiss six-fold telescope in his hand and ran over in small steps.

"What about the casualties, and what is the reaction of the other side?"

Handing over the reins to the orderly who came to lead the horse, Hu Rui followed Zhou Weixin towards the place of the incident and asked. The Wehrmacht has strict battlefield discipline, and it is strictly forbidden to salute the commander in the field environment to prevent being targeted by snipers, unless it is in a fortified area.

"Marshal, when our regiment was marching, it may have been a little closer to the concession, and the dwarf on the opposite side shot indiscriminately. Damn. The marksmanship of this group of Oriental dwarfs is indeed not bad, a volley, the head of the top squad of fourteen people, two dead and twelve wounded, two of them are still seriously injured, the lower leg was amputated by the bullet of the 38 big cover, and it is also a waste to be rescued. However, the squirrels did not please either, and you had previously telegraphed the whole army and instructed you to be careful of the Japanese intervention in the concession. We directly pulled out the artillery company directly under the regiment, and then transferred three battalions of 82-mm mortars. A temporary position was set up on the commanding heights opposite the lease, and the gang of people was monitored. As soon as the guns rang out, hey, six 57-mm guns, four 82-mm mortars, all of them were greeted! Makqin, grenadiers, light machine guns and so on will not be mentioned. Anyway, there are twenty or so dwarves on the opposite side, and each one is standing! ”

Zhou Weixin led the way and reported through gritted teeth.

An officer from the training battalion. There is a deep hatred for the Russian big nose and the Japanese dwarf. Both countries are in recent history. Since the establishment of the training camp, Hu Rui has been labeling these two potential enemies for the most evil in China.

“…… It is good that there is no loss, and the bereavement work should be done well, and the disabled brothers should also be properly resettled. We, the Wehrmacht, have never treated our brothers badly, shedding blood and then shedding tears. Let's not do this! ”

As he spoke, Hu Dashuai couldn't help twitching the corners of his mouth. Looking at the Japanese concession area opposite, there was a pool of blood and fire on the ground, and I silently felt sad for Japan on the other side.

Nima. If you provoke, you must choose the right time and the right person! In the entire Fourth Division, this Zhou Weixin is definitely the craziest of the three regiment commanders, his hometown is from Liaodong, and he was plagued by small books from the First Sino-Japanese War to the later Russo-Japanese War. This product is against little Japan, can you not be ruthless? The Japanese troops on the opposite side fired a total of more than a dozen shots, and it is estimated that before they could confirm the results of the battle, they were completely covered. 60, 82 mortars, 57 mountain guns, Makqin, grenadiers, Stern submachine guns, ZB30 light machine guns, and the heavy firepower of the equipment of the first level of the National Defense Corps were all put into battle.

"This is a grave dereliction of duty and a crime! It is necessary for me to remind Your Excellency that this is a sensitive time, and there are at least 30,000 Chinese troops and a large number of warships gathered outside! Any active provocation may bring great disaster to the entire concession! ”

Outside of Lend-Lease, the Wehrmacht Commander-in-Chief was in a state of headache over this sudden exchange of fire. In the concession, the consul of the British Consulate in Wuchang, Graham was angrily waving his fists and spitting at the Japanese minister Uemura.

"Hay, I'm sorry for the trouble."

Uemura, who was congenitally short in height, as a Japanese consul, stood in front of the British like Xiao Luotou, and his head was about to bow to his belly.

This war has not yet started, and Britain is still firmly in the position of Shijie boss. No matter how arrogant Japan is, it will depend on the face of the British. In fact, Uemura, who was standing there with his head bowed, was also full of grievances and unwillingness, what happened to him?! Who knows what kind of medicine the army horse manure that defended the concession took wrong, so Haode took the initiative to shoot at the Wehrmacht passing by. A second lieutenant with two soldiers and twenty soldiers was beaten to pieces by dense bullets and artillery fire, and he had to come to the British to make amends for his crimes, what is this called?!

Before Huang Xing's military adviser, the Japanese army Dazuo Dayuan, was driven out of Wuchang, he once took a report written by his own beast to the Hankou Japanese Concession. He borrowed the consulate's radio station to report in detail to the Consulate General in Beijing on Dayuan's assessment of the equipment, tactics, and combat effectiveness of the Wehrmacht. Dayuan secretly hired Japanese expatriates and local hooligan ruffians to talk about Wehrmacht artillery positions at night, and he was also aware of his subsequent disappearance.

The fact that Yishui's new German-made light machine guns and rapid-fire guns can defeat Beiyang, which is regarded as "second-rate in Europe", with a newly formed division, is in itself very revealing. The spies you sent to talk about the artillery positions at night are all the more telling that no one is alive or dead! People have been on guard for a long time! At this time, he took the initiative to shoot and provoke, didn't TM hit the iron plate by himself?!

When Uemura was full of grievances, Ge Fu on the other side also had a headache. This is really unexpected and tricky.

In Graham Serious, this Wehrmacht commander is an out-and-out madman, a militant! At the beginning, in the face of the British government's hard-worded telegram, this product did not take into account the strength and prestige of the British government, and directly shouted and killed. At that time, he rushed to the headquarters of the Wehrmacht in Wuchang, on the orders of Consul General Zhu Erdian, and stressed the need to respect British interests in China. On the map, a blockade line representing the mine positions is clearly visible. This cargo actually gathered more than 200 mines and prepared to block the Yangtze River first!

Those who have money are afraid of those who have no money, and those who have no money are afraid of dying. When encountering such a stunned person who doesn't care about it and wants to play with his life, the British can't help it. The situation in Europe is now intensifying, Germany is on the verge of action, and the strength of the High Seas Fleet is close to that of the Royal Navy's home fleet. The situation in Europe forced the British to focus their efforts on the continent, and the possibility of a large-scale opening of the army in the Far East simply did not exist. Even if there is a powerful Far East Fleet, but the warship is after all Boone's one sailed ashore to fight. This. Although Jurdian and the entire British government are reluctant to admit it, this is true after all.

From another point of view, whether it is the background of Hurui as the commander of the Wehrmacht, or the equipment and training of the Wehrmacht, there is more or less the shadow of the Germans behind it. This thing is hooking up with Germans and Americans. It is already open in the circles of the great powers. After the Germans received a huge order for five new 7,500-ton cruisers, ten 1,500-ton ocean-going destroyers, and a large number of submarines, they were close to cutting off the head of this warlord. Both of these haodes are almost wearing a pair of pants. The British Far East Fleet blocked the Yangtze River port. No Chinese merchant ships are allowed to enter or leave the country. However, the purchase agreement signed between the Germans and this warlord was not affected in any way, and not long ago, the navy sent a secret telegram that in order to complete the refit of two old dome cruisers in the Yangtze River Fleet on schedule, the Germans did not hesitate to transfer steam turbines and considerable Jishu personnel from the Far East Fleet stationed in Qingdao, and they still received the cost price!

Now. Not only Zhu Erdian, but also Whitehall in England needs to think about the use of force. This product was originally pro-German, and it was also eye-to-eye with the Americans. The Germans, the Americans, were on the opposite side of the British Empire. A prick that almost breaks the old order of shijie. One is a rapidly expanding military power, and the other is Shijie's No. 1 economic power, holding a lot of dollars in his hands. If the warlords in this place are really moved, Germany and the United States, without customers and spokespersons, will definitely join hands and wrestle with England.

The tofu fell into the ashes, it didn't blow it, it didn't hit it, it was a headache!

Graham himself took the attitude of ensuring the interests and face of Britain, and hastened to understand the matter. As for whether or not the interests of the Japanese will be harmed, this is completely outside the scope of Ge Fu's thinking. One is a master, the other is a minion, this status is different!

"Urgently call the Beijing Embassy to ask Mr. Zhu Erdian's handling opinion. In addition, send someone out to contact and call on both sides to calm down and exercise restraint! May God bless us ......"

Sent to the village, Ge Fu groaned, and ordered the secretary word by word.

The madman on the opposite side was a genuine militant, with a combat force in the three towns of Wuchang, including a river flotilla and two divisions, and most likely a heavy artillery unit of more than 100 millimeters. If you really kill the red eyes and launch a demon wind, you will definitely send troops to attack the concession area! Counting the troubled Japanese marines, plus the British troops in the Lend-Lease area and a small number of expatriate forces, there were not even 2,500 men in a full fight, that is to say, not even a regiment of the Wehrmacht on the opposite side, and there were no heavy weapons. If you really want to fight, it is estimated that it will last less than a morning, and everyone will go to see God and his old man collectively. Of course, that would have to be done by God in China.

The concession side became a swarm of bees, jumping up and down to condemn the irresponsible behavior of the Japanese concession defenders, and on the other hand, strongly demanding that the British minister in Wuhan, Graham intervene. When Ge Fu was anxiously waiting for Zhu Erdian's call, the Wehrmacht, which had always refused to suffer, was not idle.

The reorganized Fourth Division is a unit that has experienced the Hanyang Resistance Battle, and it can be regarded as having seen blood. Division commander Wang Dabiao was furious when he heard that one of his regiments had been suddenly attacked by the Japanese army while passing through the Japanese concession area. He immediately ordered an artillery battalion and 18 Skoda 75mm mountain artillery regiments directly under the division to go to the Hankou Japanese Concession and obey the commander-in-chief's dispatch. Cannon blast!

On Guishan, the battery, under the control of the navy, also sent a signal to prepare for war, and together with the warships on the river, aimed the muzzles of the black hole directly at the three Japanese warships stationed in Hankou.

The atmosphere is becoming more and more tense, and there is a situation where it is very imminent.

(To be continued......)