When the news of the Chinese army's preparations to seize Qingdao by force reached Japan, it immediately aroused tremendous repercussions from the Japanese Government and the military department, and all disputes ceased at once, and the operational plan of the Army General Staff Headquarters to capture Qingdao was quickly approved by the cabinet and submitted to Emperor Taisho.

On August 23, Japan officially declared war on Germany. That night, the Japanese Minister to China, Hayashi Quansuke, received a secret telegram from Foreign Minister Kato, ordering Hayashi Quansuke to submit an official diplomatic note to the Chinese government in view of the possibility that Germany would return Qingdao to China: China is not allowed to receive Qingdao! The Great Japanese Empire will disarm the German army in Qingdao by force! The consequences of this will be borne by China!

The outrageous diplomatic note caused an uproar in Beijing. Foreign Minister Tang Shaoyi immediately rejected Lin Quanzhu's "request": "There is no need to ask for instructions, the Chinese government will disarm the German army, Qingdao is Chinese, and the Chinese government has absolute autonomy in action!" ”

Lin knew that the Chinese government was not afraid of the Japanese threat. He no longer "idle" with Tang Shaoyi, rushed back to the embassy as quickly as possible, and reported China's attitude to China.

During this period, information on the military movements of the Chinese army in Shandong and outside the customs continued to come from various channels, and of course all of them were transmitted back to China. Lin Quansuke's worries had become a fact, and the cunning Chinese had already prepared for a qiē, they had anticipated the Empire's plan, preemptively attacked the German army, and blocked the Empire's excuse to send troops. Moreover, they apparently anticipated another scenario and were ready for imperial military operations in Manchuria. Not only that, but they also strengthened the military strength of Gyeonggi and transferred the 2nd Division, which was subordinate to the Southwest Military Region, to Zhili under the pretext of exercises. It has been confirmed that a brigade of the division has been stationed in Shimen, and the follow-up troops are still moving north. The 2nd Division is one of the first divisions of the Chinese Army, and its long history even exceeds that of the 6th and 9th Divisions. What is this large-scale A division going to do when he enters Gyeonggi? Do they want to deal with the Chinese garrison by force?

Does China really dare to go to all-out war with the Empire? After sending the telegram, Lin Quanzhu pondered alone, China is indeed not five years ago, although the country still has countless internal problems, but at least there is a national defense force serving the central government. According to the calculations of the institutions stationed in China, the total strength of the Chinese army has exceeded 900,000, which is much more than the number of the imperial army in active service. Of course, it is impossible for the Chinese army to devote all its forces to fighting against the Empire, but at least half of its forces can be assembled and invested. Count the troops that the Chinese army has assembled. Not counting the southeast and south. Shandong, Manchuria and Gyeonggi alone have as many as 9 divisions! These units are fully manned, some of them are well-equipped and trained, such as the 1st, 6th and 9th Divisions. In terms of equipment, it has already surpassed the Imperial Army.

Including Lin Quanzhu, who has been following the changes in China. When calmly calculating the forces of the "enemy country", there is always a feeling of thrill and even frustration. Every six months. This feeling is deepened. But then it was diluted by other feelings. Worry and even fear disappear. Since the First Sino-Japanese War, Japan no longer regarded China as an adversary, but regarded it as an object of exploitation and aggression. Lin Quanzhu admitted. Without the Treaty of Shimonoseki and the later Treaty of Shincho, Japan would not have developed to the point it is today. It is China's huge war reparations that "fattened" Japan, think about it, a war that costs the lives of hundreds of soldiers can get reparations equivalent to the national income of the empire for several years, and what is cheaper in the world? In the eyes of the empire's decision-makers, China is the base of the empire's provisions, and the empire is thinking about how to extract more rights from China, rather than how to guard against this weak and rich country.

As far as the Chinese people are concerned, the country is poor. But in the eyes of the imperial decision-makers, China is full of gold. If it weren't for the fact that Britain, France, Russia, Germany, the United States and other powers had their own interests in China, the imperial approach would have been much simpler.

Of course, China is not Russia, a Russo-Japanese War made the empire pay hundreds of thousands of loyal and brave soldiers casualties, in addition to getting the rights and interests of South Manchuria, which originally belonged to Tsarist Russia, it did not get a single indemnity from Imperial Russia! This one is so frustrating! In Lin Quanzhu's view, the Russo-Japanese War was a loss-making deal compared to the two wars against China in the First Sino-Japanese War and Gengzi, and if there was no Russo-Japanese War, the imperial finances would not be stretched to such a point!

Of course, you have to get it back in China. But the layout of the empire in South Manchuria was not yet completed, and a great change took place in China, and the Manchu government was overthrown by an armed force born in Xiangma! Due to the emergence of a strong Chinese army in Manchuria supported by Tsarist Russia, the empire's penetration into North Manchuria was terminated, and military containment brought economic losses, such as the utility of the South Manchurian Railway with the opening of China's new Beijing-Shenyang line into embarrassment, the flow of materials and even military mobilization between North Manchuria and the interior can completely avoid the old Beijing-Shenyang line and the South Manchurian Railway, the decay of Niuzhuang (Yingkou) does not help to limit China, such as the soybeans of North Manchuria, can be transported through the Guò Beijing-Shenyang line, and the increase in cost is within an acceptable range. What annoyed the empire the most was that although the armed forces of the Chinese army in South Manchuria had not been strengthened according to the agreement between the empire and the new government of China (it was still Zhang Zuolin's 21st division), the equipment of the division had been strengthened, and what was even more annoying was that most of the generals of Zhang Zuolin's subordinates who had been in close contact with the empire had severed ties with the empire, not to mention those civilian officials sent by the new government. Some generals who had secret dealings with the empire were purged, such as Tang Yulin, the commander of the 61st Brigade of the 21st Division, who was tried by military court in 1912 for embezzlement and sentenced to 12 years in prison. The Tang case brought about a change of blood for the 21st Division, and a group of middle- and low-level officers from the Northern Army system entered Zhang Zuolin's system, making the troops outside the Mengshan Army system more centralized. In order to show his loyalty to the central government, Zhang Zuolin simply sent his two sons to Beijing to study, which was regarded as giving Long Qian two hostages, so as to eliminate Long Qian's worries about the ministry.

The empire's wooing of Zhang Zuolin was a complete failure. According to a report by the Manchurian Investigation Department (Japan's only formed intelligence agency in China), it was becoming increasingly difficult for the Empire to infiltrate the 21st Division system. In 1913 alone, 11 Japanese nationals convicted of "espionage" were repatriated, and the imperial government was helpless in the face of conclusive evidence. General Rihachiro Sakanishi, who is in charge of China's intelligence work, once said to himself that the current state of the intelligence community. The empire has lagged behind China, and the empire urgently needs to establish an institution similar to the General Administration of National Security, and General Sakanishi even suspects that China has infiltrated intelligence agents into Japan! The General Administration of National Security is directly under the leadership of the president, is not restricted by the government, has great power, sufficient funds, and handles Chinese involved in espionage cases extremely strictly; since the establishment of New China, the number of spies publicly executed has exceeded double digits, and for foreigners involved in cases. The Chinese government generally resorts to expulsion. But for the Chinese, it is much harsher, except for the spies who are publicly executed, who knows how many are secretly arrested and executed? This tactic greatly frightened the Chinese, making them suspicious of the empire's co-optation. There is no Chinese defection. Intelligence gathering for the Empire is even more difficult.

And the Chinese government's heavy investment in Shenyang limited the empire's influence in South Manchuria. Even if the empire strengthened the military presence of South Manchuria, it would be difficult to counteract. What is the use of a disqualified division (5th Division)? In Lin Quanzhu's opinion, in order to defeat the 21st Division and capture South Manchuria, at least two full-strength divisions need to be added, because the Chinese army has heavy troops in both North Manchuria and Jinzhou! The 10th Division was stationed in Jinzhou for a long time. With this land passage in and out of the Kanto region, the 9th Changchun Division can go south to Shenyang for reinforcements at any time, and the three divisions may not be enough!

However, the General Staff Headquarters and the Ministry of War have always despised the Chinese army, they do not believe the reports of intelligence and diplomatic agencies, many of them cannot accept the changes that have taken place and are taking place in China, and they always think about the pre-1909 period. Only those who have witnessed the changes in China can have a clear understanding, those army attachés who come to the embassy for the first time are always arrogant, but except for a few people whose brains are burned out, they have become worried after gaining a deeper understanding of China!

The Empire is too slow to react! If you do it, you should do it early! In 1909, it should have intervened in China's civil war, even if it was to support Yuan Shikai, it was much better than now, but the empire missed the opportunity, the navy and the army were fighting, and the cabinet was also fighting, and there was no national policy to deal with the new China in an all-round way. Now that the European war has broken out, the empire is aiming at Shandong! This is unwise, although the importance of Shandong is very high, but it is still not as good as Manchuria! In Lin Quanzhu's view, instead of gambling with Qingdao, it is better to do it directly in Manchuria. Manchuria was connected by Korea, had a reliable rear, and poured the military power of the empire, and it was not impossible to take Manchuria in World War I. Externally, except for Russia, Britain, France, the United States and Germany have no entangled interests in Manchuria, Russia has been at odds with China after the Tangnu Ulianghai incident, and will no longer support China, in terms of transportation and economic strength, China's power in Manchuria is far inferior to Shandong, why should it focus on Shandong? Just for oil? Hayashi Kwonsuke, who has a deep understanding of China's current situation, was puzzled, and he told Foreign Minister Kato to explain his reasons, but Kato did not reply.

Will the empire go to war with China because of Qingdao? Lin Quanzhu's thoughts turned back to reality. But there was no answer.

Lin Quanzhu has developed a deep fear of China's supreme ruler. It's hard to believe that a guy who was born as a bandit has such a keen eye and such a masterful approach. Even if he has lived in the United States, it is difficult to explain the past ten years. It is unreasonable to start with 1909 alone, and the layout of that man should be traced back even earlier. For example, the layout of Manchuria. Without the rise of the Mengshan Army and the Northern Army, not only would it be difficult to achieve the devastating victory of 1909, but it would not have led the Zhì Empire to the difficult situation it is now in Manchuria. There is also the layout in the United States, without that mysterious Huamei machinery, there would be no rise of Shandong industry, let alone military cooperation with Germany. There would be no huge loans from Shandong Petroleum or even the United States to China to rectify the financial situation and launch the Chinese dollar. Pushing forward even earlier, who could have imagined that an armed force of only a thousand people would dare to take advantage of the Eight-Nation Alliance's attack on Beijing? It is no secret that the Mengshan army robbed the palace and the ticket number in Beijing, and it was because of that bold action that the Mengshan army obtained the financial start-up capital......

Lin Quanzhu thought in frustration that the man seemed to have insight into the direction of history and could seize a chance without giving his opponent a chance. He knew that person, behind his politeness was ruthlessness, and the purging of opposition forces was always just right, eliminating hidden dangers and not leading to chaos in the domestic situation. Moreover, he is also very good at identifying talents, not to mention anything else, let's just say that the young people of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Gu Weijun, Wang Zhengting, Shi Zhaoji and Lu Zhengxiang, are all shrewd and capable. Although he was not from the Mengshan Army, he was highly used......

To solve the Chinese problem, that person must be solved! Lin Quanzhu believes that as long as that person remains on the presidential throne, China will completely overwhelm Japan! This is a big country, the blockade will not help, no matter how strong the navy is, it will not solve the fundamental problem, you can't drive the battleship to Beijing. Moreover, this person does not pay attention to sea power, he vigorously trains naval officers, builds more and more shipyards, what is the purpose of it?

Thinking of this, Lin Quanzhu was glad that the empire had finally acted, it was better to act early now, but it was better to act now in the future.

On 24 August, major newspapers in Beijing, including the National Defense Daily, an organ of the National Defense Forces, exposed Japan's unreasonable demands on China's Qingdao issue. Is it a war against Germany or against China? Why did Japan limit the Wehrmacht's demand to take over Qingdao? Is there a more plausible explanation other than the preparation for aggression against China? Is there justice and justice in this world?

The report sparked a huge response. People from all walks of life in Beijing held a large march on August 25 to protest against the unreasonable demands of the Japanese government. Some of the students ran to the Japanese embassy in Dongjiaomin Lane, shouting slogans to bring down Japan, throwing rotten eggs and tomatoes at the embassy, but were dissuaded by the police and dispersed. While reporting urgently on the latest situation in the country, Lin Quansuke submitted a written protest to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, claiming that the lives of diplomats of the Great Japanese Empire had been threatened.

There was no domestic response to this, and the battle in Qingdao officially broke out at 11 a.m. on August 25. (To be continued......)