On October 30, Zhu Erdian united France and Russia to make a request to China to mediate the war in Shandong.

Naturally, the Chinese Foreign Ministry was jubilant. Japan's initiative to sue for peace after being beaten even brought to tears the humiliated Foreign Minister Tang. Only those who have experienced humiliation know what it feels like.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported to the Prime Minister and the President as soon as possible to request a decision. Fang Shengyuan, who was anxious about the war expenses, was naturally overjoyed, and personally went to Haiyan Hall to meet Long Qian, and bluntly said that it was the best policy to end the war with peace talks.

Japan's request for peace was what Long Qian expected, so he did not show the joy that Fang Shengyuan expected. Long Qian's indifference made Fang Shengyuan feel ashamed, and he consciously cultivated his qi far worse than the president who was born in a martial arts. But he didn't know that Long Qian knew much more about Japan than he had lived in Japan. At this time, Japan had not yet formed a situation in which the military department was dominant, and the political parties that constrained the military were still very strong.

"Peace talks are okay. When Xiyuan Temple came to power, he always had to give him face. I think it is more important to listen to the views of the military and summon a few regional commanders to Beijing. ”

Fang Shengyuan is opposed to military interference in politics. In his view, the mission of the soldiers is to fight, and after the war is over, it will not be their turn to speak, "President, the military is definitely not willing to negotiate peace." Especially the Central Military District. Is it appropriate to invite them to come? ”

Long Qian understood that Fang Shengyuan was a little unfriendly with the military, "It doesn't matter. The decision-making power does not lie in the Ministry of National Defense, let alone in the General Staff Headquarters. Nothing to worry about. Since ancient times, only those who can fight can make peace. Today's situation is the result of the lives of thousands of martyrs, and of course we must listen to the opinion of the military. It is also necessary to look at the attitude of the Japanese. Hehe, if you can't win, you want to make peace? ”

The attitude of the Japanese has indeed changed. The Central Military District reported to the General Staff that the 11th Division, which had already landed, had not launched an offensive, and that they had taken over the defense of the 9th Division, and the posture was completely defensive. The Japanese troops in the two encirclements in the north and south did not make any major moves except for sporadic firefights. In accordance with Long Qian's instructions, the General Staff Department issued the latest instructions to the Central Military Region to closely monitor the Japanese army, and if the Japanese army does not move, our army will not move either.

Completely different from Japan, time is on the Chinese side.

November 2nd. In the rain and clouds. Long Qian presided over a special meeting at the Qinzheng Hall in Xiyuan to study the aftermath of the Shandong Campaign.

Present at the meeting were officials at and above the ministerial level of various government departments in Beijing, heads of powerful departments subordinate to the president, speakers of the Senate and House of Representatives, vice chairmen, and major military generals.

In addition to the heads of major units stationed in Beijing, such as the Ministry of National Defense, the General Staff Department, and the Joint Logistics Headquarters, the military system is in addition to the heads of major units stationed in Beijing. Commanders of all major military districts (including garrisons) participated. Among them, the general of the feudal pillar, who presided over the war, failed to attend the meeting. Only the deputy chief of staff was sent to Beijing. General Ye Yanbing of the Southeast Military Region. General Shi Dashou of the Northern Military Region, Lieutenant General Hu Zongyu of the Southern Military Region, and Lieutenant General Lan Xinzhi of the Southwest Military Region. Lieutenant General Wu Nian of the Northwest Military Region arrived in Beijing after receiving a telegram from the Ministry of National Defense. Among them, Hu Zongyu, Lan Xinzhi and Wu Nian all came to Beijing by plane. The Air Force had a two-seater fighter jet, which the commanders used as their special plane. Therefore, it was severely criticized by Defense Minister Wang Mingyuan. Because Wang Mingyuan thinks that the plane is very unsafe.

Long Qian set the tone for the meeting, "We are not warmongers, and we are willing to end the war by means of peace talks, but not unconditionally. I know that the comrades in the army system are ready to fight, but the war is a continuation of the government, and it must be subordinated to the needs of the government. There is no mystery in politics, and the interests of the country prevail. Peace talks are in the national interest, so let's talk about it. ”

Previously, Feng Guozhu and Long Qian made full communication on the outcome of the war in the encrypted telegram, Feng Guozhu, who was on the front line, knew the trend of the war situation best, according to the estimation of his war department, the complete annihilation of the Japanese army in the two encirclements of Changyi and Gaomi needed to be prepared to pay 15,000 casualties and prepare 3~40,000 rounds of various types of shells. This is the most conservative estimate. Feng Guozhu is not ignorant of the supply of ammunition, the ammunition in Jinan's inventory has been eaten up, and the current situation is that the Jinan Military Factory has been fully produced, and the shells will be directly transported to the front line as soon as the production line is launched.

Another strategy was to besiege the Japanese army for a long time, and completely trap and starve to death the two divisions of the Japanese army. The Wehrmacht was completely sure that the Japanese would not break through, and that the casualties and ammunition consumption would be less than the offensive solution. But another problem is the huge consumption of other materials, and the organized front team alone is as high as 400,000 people, who eat and chew, and the pressure on logistics is extremely high.

Therefore, on behalf of the Central Military Region, Feng Guozhu agreed to settle the matter through peace talks, but Feng Guozhu put forward a demand, that is, the besieged Japanese army must surrender unconditionally and ensure the integrity of its weapons, otherwise the battle will be fought in vain.

After Long Qian made an opening remark, the venue was silent, and Long Qian turned his face to look at Fang Shengyuan, "Premier Fang, what is the charter of the government system?" ”

"This, of course, has to be conditional. Thanks to the impressive results of the Wehrmacht, the Ministry of Finance has estimated the war expenditure so far, which adds up to nearly 100 million Chinese dollars. This money, of course, has to be tried to get back from Japan. ”

Long Qian was a little unhappy, "That's all? What are Japan's foreign exchange reserves? What if they can't afford to pay? ”

"The reparations can be deducted from our reparations to Japan." Fang Shengyuan whispered. He was indeed derelict in his duties, and in the midst of great excitement, he did not organize a study to come up with a package of opinions on behalf of the government.

"Ladies and gentlemen, what do you think of the Prime Minister's opinion?" Long Qian asked the civil servants sitting on the left side of the conference room.

None of the civilian officials' speeches satisfied Long Qian, except for Yu Youren's speech on the recovery of Japan's rights and interests in China, and most of the rest focused on the issue of reparations.

Long Qian was displeased, "Gentlemen, I am disappointed by your statement. The Wehrmacht won this crucial battle with great sacrifices, but the government was not ready to turn the victory into tangible results! What kind of system is this?! Could it be that the soldiers are desperate at the front, and the government is just watching the war? Moreover, it is necessary to consider the problem on the basis of reality as well as to look forward to the long term. What is the reality? The European war is raging, with the exception of the United States and Italy. All the great powers of the world are involved in this great war! Why are the British so zealous? Repeatedly urging the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to make a statement? When we liquidate Japan, we must take into account the situation in the world. This is one of them. Second, what is the current situation in Japan? What is his bottom line in negotiations? What they can and can't give up must be carefully considered. Third, is there any other way for us to go other than war reparations? The South Manchurian Railway was controlled by the Japanese, Lushun Dalian was occupied by the Japanese, not to mention Penghu in Taiwan, there were also Japanese garrisons in Guannai, and there were Japanese concessions in Tianjin, Hankou, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Shashi, and Xiamen. Wouldn't it be better to reclaim these concessions? We need to consider these factors as a whole. And take into account the attitude of the great powers! As I said just now, war is a continuation of politics, so let's not get carried away by victory, right? You must know that the war is not over, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers are still fighting bloody battles on the front line. We must be worthy of their sacrifice! I'll adjourn the meeting. Led by Premier Fang. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will study a charter for the main purpose and discuss it later. ”

Long Qian left behind the generals and the heads of the powerful forces and waved off the officials of the government system. But in the end, he left behind Deng Qinghua, the governor of Zhili and the mayor of Beijing.

"I'll just say he can't." Shi Dashou looked at Fang Shengyuan's back and said loudly. Since Fang Shengyuan lost his words on the Lushan issue on the National Day, some generals have opinions on Fang Shengyuan.

"Shut up! Prime Minister is something you can evaluate? Long Qian glared at Shi Dashou fiercely. Now I listen to the preparations of your military districts! Peace talks are the government's business, and war is yours. Starting from the Northern Military Region, in the order of the garrison, southeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest military regions, come one by one! ”

Shi Dashou, who had been trained, cleared up his thoughts and began to report on the preparations of the Northern Military Region starting from the situation in Liaoning.

The reports of the commanders of the military regions basically satisfied Long Qian, and in particular, the several military regions that were likely to have a war against Japan were fully prepared for war, and their troops were ready to move at any time.

Then the General Staff made a general analysis, and Situ agreed to move to peace talks, but the rights and interests of the state should be fully guaranteed. Situ Junjian expelled the so-called garrison troops stationed in Zhili and solved the problem first. According to the Gengzi Treaty, the great powers that participated in the war against the Qing Dynasty had different numbers of garrisons on the line from Beijing, Tianjin to Shanhaiguan, and after the founding of New China, the garrisons of Germany, Austria, Britain, France, and Russia gradually retreated, leaving only symbolic troops, but Japan and the United States also stationed formed troops, of which the United States had a strengthened marine battalion, stationed in Tianjin, and Japan set up a Chinese garrison army, with a total strength of about 7,000 people, distributed along the railway from Tianjin to Shanhaiguan. During the Shandong Campaign, this part of the Japanese army was closely monitored by the 4th and 10th Divisions of the Wehrmacht, and there was no stupidity. There was no actual conflict between the two sides.

"I agree with Situ." Wang Mingyuan said, "It is impossible to make the Japanese spit out Liaoning, so that they will spit out all the fruits of the Russo-Japanese War." But Tianjin may be recovered. It is much more advantageous to take back Tianjin than to ask for more money. The expulsion of the Japanese garrison was of great significance for improving the defense of Gyeonggi. Moreover, such a force is stationed in front of the capital, and it cannot afford to lose face regardless of national defense and security. ”

"Yes, what Minister Mingyuan said is." Chen Chao, the Minister of Police, added, "Since the Qing Dynasty moved to Chengde, more and more royal families and former nobles have fled to Tianjin. For example, Prince Su Shanqi lived in the Japanese Concession in Tianjin and moved very closely with the Japanese. It is good to completely reclaim Tianjin. ”

"Other concessions should also be recovered." Lieutenant General Hu Zongyu replied, "The violent incident against Japanese nationals in Hankou is an explosion of popular resentment. If it weren't for Brother Guozhu's beautiful fight in Shandong, the Japanese would have seized on this matter a long time ago. In addition to recovering Tianjin, I also took back all the Japanese concessions such as Hankou and Hangzhou. ”

Lan Xinzhi, commander of the Southwest Military Region, said, "The news of Shandong's victory has greatly excited the people of the southwestern provinces, and the number of people who have asked to join the army has increased several times compared with previous years!" At the same time, it provoked hatred against other countries, especially France. Zhang Lan and other celebrities entrusted me with the advice to the commander that we should completely recover the rights and interests that our country has lost. However, I consider that the policies of the great powers toward China for many years have been linked, and our actions against Japan will cause uneasiness in Britain, France, and other countries. The commander has just talked about the bottom line, and we should have the worst estimate for this. ”

"Commander Lan is right." Situ Jun affirmed.

Long Qian smiled and said to Lan Xinzhi, "Xinzhi has grown a lot." It's nice to see this question. The key is the army, if we can still fight a few big victories in Shandong, I don't have so many worries. But no, the first battle in Shandong wiped out our family! I pressed down the report given to me by Lao Song (Song Jinguo) and did not forward it. To be honest, we can't afford to fight this battle. He turned to the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Fang Shijun, "Shijun, how many submarines do you have left?" ”

Fang Shijun shook his head and did not speak. While reaping the results that attracted the attention of the world, the submarine units that formed the army before the war also paid heavy casualties; seven of them were sunk and two of them were silent due to malfunctions, and because their bases were blockaded by the Third Fleet of the Japanese Navy, the submarine units that could not be repaired and replenished had actually lost their combat effectiveness.

"The Navy is fighting well! Shi Jun is also good at commanding! The other is aviation, and the Shandong campaign demonstrated the tremendous power of aircraft, and there should be no more opposition to the development of aviation. But the Air Force is also exhausted, and I basically know the situation that it is correct for the main forces of the Air Force to be transferred out of the battlefield to rest and recuperate. Long Qian turned his gaze to Lieutenant General Shang Fengchun, "After the war, we must vigorously develop the Air Force, which is the first priority, and the Army will give way." He paused for a moment, "I have summoned you this time to discuss the end of the war, and I also want to have a discussion on the national defense strategy. The general idea is to seize the opportunity of the European war and accelerate the development of our armaments on the premise of developing the economy and enhancing the overall strength of the country. How many divisions do we really need? What if we join the European competition? Is the current way of organizing troops suitable for modern warfare? Is the ratio of the arms appropriate? are to be discussed. Before that, I also want to let a few of you commanders go to Shandong to inspect the battlefield on the spot, which will be beneficial to your management of the army. Oh, by the way, this time the 2nd Division transferred from the southwest, the 18th Division transferred from the southeast, and the 1st Division transferred from the garrison all fought well. However, it has also exposed some problems, reflecting our inadequacies in training and the use of equipment. After you go to Shandong, you should pay attention to collecting more examples of failure, most of the time, defeat is the real wealth. Remind you that in terms of the density of firepower, the Shandong campaign was the strongest since the formation of the Wehrmacht, but it was nothing compared to the European battlefield. Don't be complacent! Well, just now you mentioned a lot of good ideas, and I'm very satisfied. The Mengshan Army was, is, and will be the most trusted ultimate force in the country. It's rare for us old comrades-in-arms to get together, I have already arranged for Ouyang to prepare a dinner, and we old brothers have a good drink, and we don't get drunk and don't go home! ”

The commanders, who rarely got together with their old bosses, got excited. (To be continued......)