Episode 29 Neutrality Bill

In the past few days, in addition to being concerned about the main offensive trend of the Ming army, Guangwu was like a thorn in his back, which made Guangwu unable to live in peace, and he could not eat well and sleep.

On the 15th, 16th, and 17th, the Ming Dynasty sent more and more ships to the Changshan Islands in the north. The first fleet of the 11th consisted of only 7 ships, and on the 15th the second fleet reached 10 ships, on the 16th 18 ships, and on the 17th 22 ships. Now the Yellow Sea is full of cargo ships going north and returning south. It turned out that Nanming was still secretive, afraid that people would find out, and now every time he goes to sea, there are Japanese reconnaissance planes flying around his head, and it seems that Nanming also knows that he can't keep it secret, so he simply goes out and lets go of his arms and works openly.

In the absence of sea supremacy, submarines, and only a few offshore torpedo boats, the Northern Qing Dynasty did not have much ability to break diplomatic relations at sea. Therefore, according to common sense, Nanming's normal cargo ships do not need to be escorted by warships at all. And now that Nanming has organized all the "cargo ships" going north into a fleet, and then arranged for warships to escort the whole process, there is no doubt that the ships carrying very important "goods" will suffer great losses once they are sunk.

What kind of "goods" Nanming will now continue to transport to the Changshan Islands, and it is extremely important, and once it is sunk, it will cause great losses?

That's – people. It's a soldier.

Nanming now, like Europe and the United States, has the concept that human life is above all else. Moreover, the population base of Nanming is less than 100 million, and only a small number of them are men, so they cherish the soldiers even more. Each troop carrier carried thousands of soldiers, and if it was attacked and sunk by a torpedo boat, thousands of lives would be lost at sea. This is unbearable for Nanming. In other words, Nanming can accept the normal death of a few thousand people on the battlefield, but he cannot accept the drowning of thousands of people because the escort is not in place.

Therefore, even if it was possible to expose the secret of the troop carrier, Nanming was willing to send a warship to escort it.

Guangwu was collecting intelligence from the rear of Nanming every day, and he was also trying his best to send spies to those ports of Nanming. There is no doubt that now Nanming is not just sailing from one port in Ningbo, but is scattered to multiple ports. But often the troop carriers depart from Ningbo. According to the analysis, it is supposed that the troop carrier arrived at sea, and then rendezvoused with the cargo ships from other ports, formed a fleet, and then sailed north into the open sea, probably in the eastern sea of the Zhoushan Islands, to meet the escort warships. The whole fleet began to move north.

A group of intelligence officers and staff officers counted the number of troops every day, calculating how many troops Nanming had transported to the Changshan Islands. Because there were hidden spies of the Northern Qing Dynasty in Ningbo Port, and every time the army boarded the ship, they could see it clearly, so Guangwu still had a general understanding of the strength of each fleet. By the 17th, the Northern Qing Command calculated that the Southern Ming had successively transported 100,000-120,000 troops to the Changshan Islands.

100,000-120,000 troops, this is nothing for the Northern Qing, but it is by no means a decimal for the Southern Ming. At this point, Guangwu believes that if Nanming just wants to deceive and take out more than 100,000 troops to idle it, the price is too great. If Nanming directly threw these hundreds of thousands of troops into the battlefield and into the direction of the main attack, it would achieve greater results. In a certain direction of Nanming's attack, if there are more than 100,000 people and 100,000 people less, the offensive effect may be very different.

Moreover, it's not just a human problem. Nanming is still sending freighters to the north, real freighters. The waterlines of these freighters were all pressed low, and the decks were tightly covered with canvas, so that the reconnaissance planes could barely tell that they were some kind of equipment, vehicles, and the like. Nanming has sent more cargo ships than troop carriers in the past few days. If you think about it, you also know that hundreds of thousands of troops are stationed on those islands, eating, drinking, and living, and they need to consume a lot of supplies every day.

Guangwu once doubted that the Changshan Islands could be stationed with so many people. The Changshan Islands off the coast of Liaodong cannot be seen on the national map, and they can only be seen on a high-powered map. If you want to see something detailed, you must use a special detailed map of the Liaodong Peninsula. Is there such a big place for these hundreds of thousands of troops on it?

But the staff officer below explained it to him. The Changshan Islands are small in appearance, but they are composed of more than 50 islands of various sizes, with a total land area of 170 square kilometers. There are more than 20 islands with permanent inhabitants. According to intelligence, there are more than 30,000 inhabitants of the Changshan Islands, and there are more than 50,000 sailors, logistics units, aviation units, marines, shore artillery units, and antiaircraft artillery units of the Dongjiang Fleet of the Nanming Dynasty.

The island, which can accommodate more than 30,000 inhabitants and more than 50,000 troops, has two or three times more troops in wartime, and there is no problem at all in theory.

"Two or three times ......" Guangwu stared at the map on his desk with a magnifying glass and said in a deep voice, "You mean that there is at least 200,000 to 300,000 garrison potential on the Changshan Islands?" ”

The left deputy chief of the sticky rod, Wuya Chongshan, replied carefully:

"The Emperor Shengming...... In theory, it should be. ”

Guangwu threw the magnifying glass on the table, leaned back in his chair, and said irritably:

"300,000! …… Now there are 100,000, and if there are 300,000, that's 400,000. 400,000 people, judging from the current combat effectiveness of the Illumination Army, 400,000 not to mention the defeat of Shandong, after the defeat of Shandong, it can also attack the Xuzhou Corps from behind and defeat Henan. …… On the line from Xuzhou to Shangqiu, there are now less than 600,000 troops...... And the Shandong Peninsula ...... Now there are only a few divisions. If we really let the family fight like this, we will lose half of it. ”

Chongshan carefully lowered his head and did not interject.

Guangwu suddenly asked:

"Chongshan, do you think Nanming's transfer of troops is likely to be a scam?"

Chongshan raised his head, rolled his eyes twice, and weighed what to say.

"Your Majesty...... What do you mean ......"

"I mean, is it possible that Nanming didn't transport troops to the Changshan Islands at all, and that fleet was simply empty, making a show? So that we can transfer troops from the west into Shandong, so that they can cross the river from Zhengzhou to the north? ”

Chongshan was sweating a little. He was sweating not because he was stunned by Guangwu's idea, but because he didn't know how to say anything. As an old spy, Guangwu has already thought of the possibility that he has thought of now. It's just that I haven't said it all the time. Because he analyzes it himself, it's unlikely.

However, I feel that it is impossible for me to belong to myself, but once I say this to the emperor as my opinion, it is equivalent to being responsible, which really requires some courage. He himself thinks that it is not a scam, but if it turns out to be a scam in the future, he will have absolutely no good fruit to eat.

Chongshan originally wanted to habitually be a turtle with a shrunken head, ambiguous and vague in the past, but then he thought that if he was the only chief, then he would shrink his head, nothing. But now there is a competitor. Now the emperor has set up two deputy chiefs to be in charge of the sticky pole, and they sit on an equal footing, which means that two people will fight with each other. Fight for what? We have to compete for performance to see who understands the holy will better and who can be stronger.

If the emperor doesn't get a satisfactory answer from himself, and he asks the kid again, and the kid gives the emperor a satisfactory answer, isn't he inferior to the kid in the emperor's heart. It seems that it's not enough to just think about how to be safe, sometimes you have to take some risks.

Thinking of this, Chongshan boldly said:

"Your Majesty, the minion thinks it's unlikely to be a scam."

"Why?"

"Your Majesty, we have an intelligence officer in Ningbo Port, and he watched tens of thousands of Ming troops get off the train and get on the ship every night...... As far as he could see, it was almost 100,000 troops. It is also in line with our estimates. ”

Guangwu says:

"What if Nanming deliberately let our people see it? What if they let tens of thousands of soldiers get on board and drive away every night, then make a circle on the sea, drop off all the soldiers at another port, and sail to the Changshan Islands empty? ”

"This ......," Chongshan said with a deep groan, "this, the minion also thought of it." But...... The emperor, if he wants to transport more than 100,000 soldiers out of the sea and back again immediately, then these hundreds of thousands of soldiers are all insiders. No matter how strict the more than 100,000 people in the know are to keep secrets, it is impossible to keep them secret. So what to do with these hundreds of thousands of soldiers? Sent back to the original unit? That spread right away. Centrally closed? Then the price is too high. In order to make a deception, we have to self-freeze more than 100,000 troops, and these hundreds of thousands of people cannot participate in the war, cannot be stationed in the rear, and can only be closed and raised ......"

Guangwu nodded slowly:

"Well, that makes sense."

"Your Majesty, more importantly, if such a large force is closed, then there must be a considerable number of venues, quite a lot of living facilities, a large number of materials must be transported in and out every day, and groups of cars must enter every day...... That is equivalent to a small city out of thin air, and it is impossible for us in our intelligence network in Nanming to be unaware. ”

"Well, that makes sense," Guangwu nodded frequently, "Good analysis." ”

Chongshan is very happy. I feel that I have finally won the right second.

……

At this time, there was another official from the sticky pole outside, who asked to see Guangwu. After Xuan came in, he was an adjutant under Chongshan.

After seeing Guangwu and Chongshan, the adjutant presented two pieces of information he had just received.

One is the intelligence of the Japanese side: This morning (18th), the reconnaissance plane discovered a huge Nanming fleet in the Yellow Sea! The core of the fleet were: the battleship Changping, the battleship Yanping, the aircraft carrier Tianji, the aircraft carrier Tianquan, the heavy cruiser Han Signal, the heavy cruiser Yue Fei, the light cruiser Xuda, and the light cruiser Yuchun. Escorting these 8 large ships were 20 destroyers.

Now this terrible fleet is heading north at a speed of 22 knots!

Guangwu's head "buzzed" and grew bigger.

He didn't react much, handed the information to Chongshan, and then picked up the second piece of information to read.

This was a secret telegram sent back by the Qing Empire's ambassador to the United States. This was when the ambassador was buying a newspaper in Washington and accidentally discovered this incident.

A week ago, a trading company in Nanming purchased 100,000 camping tents and 300,000 moisture-proof sleeping bags in the United States. This large order was placed separately with six camping supply companies. In one of the companies' states, a Jewish group sued the camping supply company for violating the Neutrality Act by selling military equipment to warring countries.

For the Neutrality Act, which was extended in February 1936, provides that: "In the event of war between two or more foreign States, or in the course of the war, the President declares that it shall be unlawful thereafter to import weapons, ammunition, and military equipment from any point in the United States or its possessions into the ports of a belligerent country, or to a neutral country for trans-shipment to a belligerent." ”

Of course, this camping supplies company was unwilling to give up such a large order, so it defended, saying that I was selling camping supplies, not military equipment. But the lawyer for the Jewish group bluntly said that this was a pretense of confusion. Now that the Ming Empire and the Qing Empire are at war, who of them will buy hundreds of thousands of tents and sleeping bags to play with. This was clearly intended for the army to camp in the field. This does not belong to what does "military equipment" belong to?

As a result, the state court ruled that the company had violated the Neutrality Act and was not allowed to make the sale.

And then it went to the newspapers. But at that time, the incident was not very big, it had not received national attention, and the ambassador of the Northern Qing Dynasty in Washington did not know about it. But then, as soon as this precedent came out, similar Jewish groups came out in three states where the other five camping supply companies were located, suing the companies for violating the neutrality law by selling military equipment to belligerents.

Because Nanming was friendly with Nazi Germany, the Jews hated Nanming together.

The common law system attaches great importance to previous precedents, and as long as you don't pretend to be stupid in this matter, no one will think that Nanming really bought it as "camping supplies". As a result, three state courts ruled against the camping company.

The six camping companies, of course, were reluctant to give up such a large order, so they banded together and appealed to the federal court. So in this way, this matter has become a national hot topic. Major newspapers have also reported on it. So Washington's ambassador to the Northern Qing also knew.

……

Envoys stationed abroad in various countries generally have two identities, one is a diplomat, and the other is an intelligence officer, and both have quite strong intelligence qualities.

According to the analysis of the ambassador of the Northern Qing Dynasty to the United States, this incident should be a signal that the Southern Ming intends to start large-scale arms purchases in the United States. Because Nanming's textile production capacity is in the forefront of the world. 100,000 tents and 300,000 sleeping bags are not enough to be imported into the United States. This should be a stone-throwing attempt by Nan Ming, who wants to test this kind of thing between "military equipment" and "camping supplies" to see how well the United States implements the "Neutrality Act." If this time it is successful, then the next time it may be to purchase something other bigger and more sensitive. This step-by-step "boiling frog in warm water" has allowed the United States to gradually tolerate it, and finally it will be able to purchase large quantities of armaments with impunity.

According to the ambassador's analysis, this means that it is likely that Nanming's ambition for the Qing Dynasty is not the slightest bit, but really intends to fight a full-scale and long-term war, and really wants to completely destroy the Qing Dynasty. Compared with the Qing Dynasty, the biggest disadvantage of the Southern Ming Dynasty was the relative lack of war potential. But Nanming is very rich. If Nanming can purchase from the United States unimpeded, it will be tantamount to using the almost unlimited industrial capacity of the United States for its own use, and the United States will become an arsenal to support the Nanming War.

Fortunately, Nanming's first temptation did not succeed. However, because the federal court has not yet handed down the verdict, the ambassador said that it should not be taken lightly.

Why? Although the state courts of several states now uphold the "Neutrality Act", the current "Neutrality Act" only stipulates that it cannot be sold to belligerents, but does not prohibit civil war. Moreover, the Neutrality Act delegated to the President of the United States the power to determine whether or not a belligerent country was a belligerent. That is to say, in the case of the Qing Dynasty and Nanming now, although the state courts in the United States have determined that two ** countries are at war, whether they are two ** countries or not, in this controversial situation, the president has the final say.

Roosevelt had just become president in 1933, and this year was his last year, and he would definitely want to be re-elected in the early next year. Most of the American people are on Nanming's side, and if Nanming can really buy in the United States, it will definitely stimulate the recovery of the American economy after the Great Depression and create a lot of jobs. If Roosevelt wanted to win votes, there was no better chance than that.

But on the other hand, the Qing Dynasty is not without a chance. The United States is the biggest law, and as long as the law is dead, the president can only stare dryly. And both the Qing Dynasty and the Southern Ming Dynasty had seats in the League of Nations, which was the most powerful basis in legal theory. If the federal court can uphold this article and rule that the Ming and Qing dynasties are two belligerent countries, then the president has no choice.

But Nan Ming will also definitely say: this is our civil war, we do not belong to the belligerents. Beiqing also admits this, don't believe you to ask Beiqing.

……

The ambassador vaguely reminded that if such a situation arises, the emperor should consider how to respond.

……

Guangwu took these two pieces of information and fell into a deep melancholy.

Needless to say, the Grand Fleet is heading north, and the landing should be imminent. When Nanming landed, it would definitely rely heavily on sea and air superiority. Nanming was on the Yellow Sea, and there were already two aircraft carriers cruising along the Jinpu Railway. Now the other two have also gone north, and all four aircraft carriers of Nanming have gone to the north. The planes of these four aircraft carriers, together with the original planes of the Dongjiang Fleet, will be a very formidable air force.

There were also two battleships, two heavy cruisers, and two light cruisers, and the combined firepower of these fires would far exceed the shore defense guns of any port on the Shandong Peninsula. Including Weihai and Qingdao, two military ports.

But in any case, the first question is always expected. The way to deal with it is also very simple: transfer troops into Shandong.

The real melancholy is the second question. Nanming went to the US military armaments procurement.

…… This is not only a question of whether the United States will sell to Nanming, but also involves a very sensitive issue of "reputation." Traditionally, neither the Qing nor the Southern Ming recognized the other as the legitimate government, and both insisted that they were the only legitimate government. No matter how the two sides fight, they both insist that it is a civil war.

But now that the Qing Dynasty admits that it is a civil war, Nanming will be able to smoothly purchase in the United States. Not only can you buy so-called "military equipment", but you can also buy weapons and ammunition directly. It is equivalent to the entire United States ** fire depot has opened its doors to Nanming, and people have bought whatever they want.

On the other hand, if the Qing Dynasty did not admit that it was a civil war, it would be tantamount to recognizing that the Southern Ming Dynasty was the legitimate government, and it would be tantamount to slapping its own mouth.

At this time, Guangwu was really melancholy.