Wang Zhenyu almost didn't sleep all night, and he knew very well that the two countries that made China unable to achieve reunification and development before the founding of New China were none other than Japan and the Soviet Union. Especially in the Soviet Union, when it came to that situation in 1949, it was still planning to divide China into two and divide the river to rule, but fortunately the great leader was still a nationalist in essence, so the Soviet Union's attempt did not succeed, otherwise the compatriots south of the Yangtze River would not have died happily. However, in this life, because of Wang Zhenyu, the pace of reunification of the motherland was significantly accelerated, and it was almost so fast that the Soviets basically completed the reunification before they had time to export the revolution. Therefore, in this era when Britain and France are also weak and powerless, and American isolationism is still rampant, Japan has unfortunately become the only stumbling block on the road to unity, prosperity and reunification of the Chinese nation.

Just when Wang Zhenyu thought that as long as he defeated Japan and kicked away the stumbling blocks, everything that followed would become logical and smooth, something unexpected happened, there was a sudden change on the side of the Feng department, and Zhang Zuolin died.

Wang Zhenyu thought about it for most of the night, and then ordered someone to invite Xiong Xiling, Tang Shaoyi, and Gu Weijun, who lived in Wuhan and never returned to Nanjing after Sun Wen issued an order to remove Xiong Xiling from the post of premier of the Government Council. And Wang Zhenyu is obviously not incapable of cleaning up Sun Wen, but he doesn't have time.

In fact, after the Japanese army was heavily damaged in the Battle of Jinan and trapped in the city of Jinan, the Japanese side of Toyama and others rushed to Nanjing and Wuhan in a hurry, using the Japanese navy's retaliatory strike against Shanghai and Nanjing as a threat to intimidate Wang Zhenyu to give up the encirclement of the Japanese army in Jinan. Wang Zhenyu was not afraid of the Japanese launching a navy to attack him, and the Jiangfang fortress designed by the Germans alone was enough for the Japanese to drink a pot. What he was really worried about was whether he would be able to bear it if he completely annihilated the Japanese army in Jinan, causing Japan to fully mobilize and fight against China. You must know that at this time in history, Japan was still in the Taisho era, militarism was not very strong, and successive Japanese governments also advocated a policy of step-by-step and slow encroachment on the issue of China. According to Wang Zhenyu's memory, before 1922, Japan's main direction of expansion was not China, but in Siberia, Russia, but due to many reasons that cannot be clearly recorded in historical materials, the Japanese army was finally driven out of the Far East by the Soviet Red Army, which looked very weak. Therefore, if conditions permit, Wang Zhenyu still hopes that Japan will not use the strength of the country to play with his own life, after all, the current industrial production capacity in his hands is only barely equal to Japan, and he is really playing with his life, in view of the real situation within himself, Wang Zhenyu's confidence is really a little insufficient. Who dares to guarantee that the generals under his command will not make mistakes in command, who dares to guarantee that there will be no abnormalities in their industrial production, and who dares to guarantee that no one under his command has any objections. In this war with Japan, the Kuomintang showed a full backlash. was so angry that Wang Zhenyu scolded Sun Wen for being a big traitor, so he saved the idea of accepting it when he saw it.

"Elder Xiong, Elder Tang, and Brother Shaochuan, I invite you to come today with only one purpose, to end the war in Shandong, and to reconcile with damn little Japan for the time being. Wang Zhenyu is as polite as ever, which is also the reason why the next person is willing to do things for him desperately, with good treatment and politeness, such a boss will be a standard model in the future.

"Wen Zheng, what's wrong? Didn't we have the upper hand in Shandong? Why make peace? "The most nervous is Xiong Xiling, after he fell out with Sun Wen, he must have been tied to Wang Zhenyu in the same boat.

Wang Zhenyu waved his hand and said: "Don't worry, old Xiong, our army will win this battle, and little Japan will shed its skin if it doesn't die, when has the youth army disappointed everyone!" But Zhang Zuolin is dead, and now the situation in Northeast China and North China is naturally chaotic. I thought about it for a long time, it is unrealistic to eat fat in one go, and my idea is to settle the war against Japan by peaceful means and devote my energy to completing domestic reunification......"

It was another morning meeting, and everyone took the secret letter sent by Kato, the secret envoy of Prime Minister Hara Kei of Japan, and studied it for most of the day, and finally Gu Weijun analyzed a conclusion that was not very good.

"According to Yuan Jing's plan, the current situation remains unchanged, Japan's interests in China remain unchanged, and then the siege of Jinan is lifted, so that the Japanese army can withdraw from Jinan to Qingdao with dignity."

Wang Zhenyu thought for a long time: "Shaochuan, you go to talk to the Japanese, you can be stronger, don't be afraid, it's a big deal to turn your face and fight." Now that they want to fight, they really can't take advantage, and I don't believe they can still fight on two fronts. In fact, it is not easy to talk about peace talks, and there are not many things that we can make concessions to, because I have a few principles here that you must adhere to. ”

Saying that, Wang Zhenyu stood up and paced with his hands behind his back:

"First, don't talk about the issue of sovereignty, every inch of land must be fought for, whether it is Qingdao or Lushun, that is, the Kwantung Prefecture as the Japanese say, I want to take it back. The Japanese should not dwell on this issue, economically we can make compensation, and the Japanese army will absolutely not be allowed to exist on the territory of China.

Second, don't talk about the core issues of the economy, transportation and mineral resources, which are related to the international people's livelihood, and other projects that have a bearing on the people's livelihood will definitely not be in the hands of the Japanese, so I will definitely take back the Manchurian Railway Company.

Third, the economic investment of the Japanese in the Northeast region can be transferred, and they can continue to operate, but they must abide by the law, and if they can't do it, they can be purchased by our China Development Corporation at a unified premium.

Fourth, Japanese residents of Northeast China can continue to live and cultivate, but they must operate in accordance with China's laws and regulations. At the same time, the Japanese no longer enjoyed diplomatic immunity.

Fifth, abolish all unequal treaties, and leave the issue of Gengzi indemnity to be discussed with Britain, France, and other countries. ”

Wang Zhenyu thought about it and said without waiting for Gu Weijun to speak: "The ideal is very plump, and the reality is very skinny. Brother Shaochuan, you must know that it is not easy for us to talk about the rise on the premise of being surrounded by great powers, so a lot of efforts are necessary, and we must have a long-term vision and direction. As for the money paid to the Japanese, the total amount can be set first, preferably in installments, and I don't want the Japanese to arm their army with a huge sum of money and then come and beat me! ”

Gu Weijun carefully finished the record, read it, and said: "Dashuai, I guess the Japanese will definitely not agree, because once they agree, it means that the Russo-Japanese War for which they paid a huge price will be in vain." Perhaps they would rather sacrifice 50,000 troops than agree to such conditions. ”

Wang Zhenyu also felt that he was a little too idealistic, he sat down and then looked at Gu Weijun, an excellent diplomat, with interest: "Then tell me, what should we do?" ”

Gu Weijun thought for a while and said: "I think that since I want the Japanese to give up such huge interests, there is only one way to find new profit points for them. Only then will it be possible for the Japanese to give up their vested interests in the Northeast. As far as the lowly knows, the Japanese have always had a huge plan, which is the continental plan. They have always been eager to get a piece of land on the Asian continent, and North Korea is just a springboard for them, but North Korea is really not a good place for development, so they will continue to take land and resources from China. It's just that we China are too sensitive, and the greater the pace of expansion of the Japanese, the greater the degree of antipathy of Britain and the United States. He has been studying the foreign policy of Japan's new Prime Minister Hara Kei in the diplomatic archives of the National Security Bureau for half a month, and found that this person is a friendly existence for us, although he supported the battle of Shandong. But from the point of view of his governing ideology, he is not very harmful to us. Hara believes that cooperation between Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom will be extremely beneficial to the future of the country. On the other hand, it would be very dangerous for Japan to distance itself from the United States. Hara Kei believes that Japan has so far pursued an expansionist policy toward China by force, which has caused friction between Japan and Europe and the United States, and has led to Japan's isolation in the international community. His opposition to the Okuma cabinet's proposal of the 21 Articles on China was also based on the belief that this would stimulate nationalist sentiment in China and not only damage the friendly relations between Japan and China, but also that the Western powers would suspect that Japan had ambitions against China and would isolate Japan in the international community. Under the principle of non-interference in internal affairs, Hara regarded Japan-China friendship as his basic policy toward China. The latest intelligence shows that with the situation in Shandong and the Japanese army in an unfavorable or even overturned situation, Yuan Kei has considered removing the land minister, the main planner of the Shandong battle, Tanaka Yoshiichi, from his post. ”

Wang Zhenyu touched his chin and thought about it, Yuan Jing in history is indeed known as the civilian prime minister and the peaceful prime minister, but his luck is not too good. At that time, the Beiyang warlord government in northern China and the southern government led by Sun Yat-sen were in opposition, and Hara Kei established the basic policy of establishing a unified government through a compromise between the northern and southern governments of China, and Japan would establish friendly relations with this unified government. Immediately after the formation of the Yuan Kei cabinet, it banned borrowing and arms exports to the government of northern China. Based on this vision, the Hara Cabinet decided to provide loans to China through a new loan syndicate proposed by the United States. The basic China policy of the Hara Kei Cabinet was established on the premise of coordination with the United States and Britain and in the spirit of non-interference in internal affairs, which meant that Japan's mainland policy of placing China in the sphere of influence by military force and using it as a supplier of iron, coal, and other resources and an export market for Japanese products had undergone a tremendous change. Although Hara insisted on securing Japanese interests in Manchuria, Northeast China and Inner Mongolia, he nevertheless wanted to strengthen Japan's influence in China through economic activity.

Reality didn't develop as Hara imagined. At the Paris Peace Conference, the focus was on how to deal with Germany's rights and interests on China's Shandong Peninsula. Japan asserted the right to inherit these rights, while China demanded the return of Shandong, and the two sides were at odds. Japan threatened not to join the League of Nations and forced the European and American powers to recognize Japan's privileges over Shandong. China expressed strong protest, and in May 1919, a mass movement broke out throughout China demanding the return of Shandong's sovereignty and the overthrow of Japanese imperialism (i.e., the "Five?"). IV. "Movement". Anti-Japanese movements such as boycotting Japanese loans were on the rise, and Sino-Japanese relations deteriorated. At the same time, nationalist movements calling for national self-determination erupted on the Korean Peninsula. In March of the same year, there was an outbreak in Korea demanding the liberation of the Japanese colonies. One movement. In order to improve relations with China, the Yuan Kei cabinet began to move to return Shandong's rights and interests. (The final return was achieved at the 1923 Washington Disarmament Conference by Takahashi Kiyoshi, Hara's successor.)