The 52nd and 53rd Divisions stationed in Jinan were two typical infantry divisions of the Eastern Route Army, and the commanders of these two units were all older graduates of the Xiguan Military Academy. When they heard that their troops had been attacked, the artillery temper of the two division commanders came up, and they immediately ordered their troops to return fire.

Prior to this, Huang Ke had always believed that the Japanese army in Jinan could be resolved through negotiations, and for this reason, he also issued extremely strong orders.

However, the officers and men of the Northern Expeditionary Army, who were full of imperialist aggression, did not have a good impression of the Japanese, and after entering the city of Jinan, the troops under the 52nd and 53rd Divisions not only seized some of the residential sites of the Japanese expatriates but also arrested some Japanese expatriates carrying opium, and all this intensified the development of the situation.

Obviously, the Japanese deliberately came to Jinan to stir up trouble, but some excesses in the Northern Expeditionary Army also led to the conflict between the two sides.

However, the Northern Expeditionary Army was not so easy to mess with, and in the afternoon of the same day after being attacked by the Japanese, the 52nd and 53rd Divisions sent a large number of troops to encircle the Japanese garrison.

In the afternoon of the same day, there was a small fire contact between the two sides, and the casualties on both sides were not serious, but it was obvious that the Northern Expeditionary Army took advantage, and soon, the troops stationed outside Jinan City also began to mobilize into the city, surrounding the Japanese army and the expatriate gathering place.

The combat effectiveness of the Northern Expeditionary Army taught the Japanese, who knew that this army was different from the previous Chinese army, but they still did not take the Northern Expeditionary Army seriously.

When he first garrisoned Jinan, Fukuda Hikosuke originally intended to expand his influence in Jinan, he knew that the anti-imperialist sentiment in the Northern Expeditionary Army was serious, and if they made radical acts, they could use this as an excuse to increase troops in Jinan, and if the Northern Expeditionary Army did not conflict, they would firmly station this army in Jinan to consolidate their power here.

Fukuda Hikosuke's calculations were good, and it is not surprising that after the Northern Expeditionary Army entered the city, their army promulgated a martial law ban, but this still could not stop the excited officers and soldiers below, and on the day the Northern Expeditionary Army entered the city, some officers and soldiers posted anti-Japanese slogans and slogans.

Immediately afterward, the Northern Expeditionary Army seized Japanese expatriates who were selling opium, and the matter further intensified.

"Everything is as planned, the Shina higher-ups are unwilling and afraid to clash with us, but their soldiers are very irrational, which can be our reason," Fukuda Hikosuke said with a smile to Saito beside him.

"Not long ago, we explained this plan to Prime Minister Tanaka, and Tanaka will soon enter the palace to meet His Majesty the Emperor, and His Majesty the Emperor is very satisfied with our plan, and now it is being implemented step by step according to the plan."

When he said these words, Hikosuke Fukuda looked extremely excited.

"What Fukuda-kun said is extremely true, but Huang Ke, the real power figure of the Northern Expeditionary Army, had an anti-Japanese tendency, and I have checked the information of this person, in the southern part of China in the 8th year of Taisho, he once led a civilian merchant group armed organization to kill a number of Chinese nationals, which shows this person's anti-Japanese sentiment."

"Can this kind of person give in when it matters and will not? It seems that it is still a debatable question" Saito's worries are not unreasonable, he is a typical China expert, he can memorize the resume of every general-level officer in the Chinese army, but he knows nothing about Huang Ke.

This had to make him always maintain a vigilance against Huang Ke in his heart.

Although a large number of intelligence and reconnaissance systems were used to investigate this person, they could not find any records about this person before Taisho 7 years, and even the Japanese military intelligence chief Fujita Tsuyoshi and the ace spy Miss Keiko who were far away in Shanghai could not take anything out of Huang Ke's mouth.

It seems that this person is really not that simple, Saito couldn't help but put a big question mark in his heart.

"Saito-kun, you're too worried. At present, Prime Minister Tanaka is strongly advocating foreign expansion to achieve Japan's development, so the top level is still unanimously tough on the issue of dealing with China. If Huang Ke dares to use force against the Imperial Army, then we will make him pay several times the price."

After saying that, Fukuda showed a weird smile.

At this time, Huang Ke was in the command room of the Jinan Military Management Commission, and on both sides of the long table covered with flannel were Jiang Xianyun and Bai Chongxi, all of whom were wearing khaki military uniforms, and their large-brimmed hats were neatly placed in front of the table; On the other side sat some representatives of the Jinan Municipal Government and the Provincial Government, some of them wore national uniforms with stand-up collars, and some also wore silk horse coats from the former Qing Dynasty.

"Let's talk about it, let's talk about your opinions" After a moment of silence, Huang Ke took a sip of the ceramic white teacup in front of him, and then took the lead in opening his mouth.

"Commander, our attitude has always been very resolute, and we cannot make concessions to the Japanese at all, that will only fuel their arrogance, and our team is ready for battle." As soon as Huang Ke's voice fell, Jiang Xianyun took the lead in speaking.

Huang Ke gently blew open the tea leaves in the teacup with his mouth, and the tea leaves were floating and heavi, and his life at this time was not similar to China.

Although there was no expression on the surface, Huang Ke's mind was already full of thoughts: how to mobilize the enthusiasm of the whole people to build a steel defense line? How can we keep our enemies out of the country?

Huang Ke knew very well in his heart that with China's current industrial base and economic level, relying only on the army to resist was undoubtedly a repetition of the mistakes of the Nationalist Army's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.

An extremely important mistake made by the bald head at that time was that before the Japanese attacked, he did not establish a complete wartime industrial system, which of course had many reasons for China's special national conditions at that time, but it also had a certain relationship with the basic policies at that time.

Misleading the country and the people! But how can we not mislead the country and the people? Even he, a person who already knows the development of history, no longer knows what to do, and when the country is in great trouble, there will be righteous people.

"Commander, Commander" Bai Chongxi, who was sitting next to him, leaned over to Huang Ke's side and shouted softly to him. Huang Ke came over in a trance, he subconsciously rubbed his eyes and said, "I'm sorry everyone, I was a little distracted just now, who should express my opinion next?" ”

"Commander Huang, it's time for someone from the diplomatic department to speak," the meeting was presided over, and Lin Xianzu, a representative of the provincial government, approached Huang Ke's side and said.

Huang Ke looked at the representative of the diplomatic department, and the young diplomat in a tweed suit and tie stroked his glasses, and then spoke about his overall view of the matter.

"The opinion of our Ministry of Foreign Affairs is that we should salute first and then send troops to the Japanese, and if the Japanese refuse to withdraw our troops, you can still think of more ways at that time. It's just that the situation can't be escalated any longer," the official of the diplomatic department also handed Huang Ke a copy of the "Letter of Withdrawal from Troops" that he had drafted and submitted to Japan.

"In spite of the war in the province of Riku, with the best efforts of our authorities to protect them, all Japanese nationals were safe and did not suffer any losses during the war, and we will deal with individual incidents of friction appropriately. At present, the situation in Lu Province has gradually eased, and there is no need to garrison troops to protect it, so he immediately protested to the Japanese and urged the troops to withdraw. ”

After reading it, Huang Ke put the "Retirement Book" on the table, and the expression on his face still did not change. After a while, he turned his head to Jiang Xianyun beside him and asked, "What are the places where the Japanese army is stationed along the line?" Are you all clear? ”

Jiang Xianyun nodded: "Commander, I have already sent people to reconnoiter this before the arrival of the Japanese army." Before attacking Jinan, the commander of the 6th Division of the Japanese army began to land in Qingdao, and after three days of repair, this division began to march to Jinan, and the important cities along the line, Qingdao, Jinan, Longkou, and Yantai were all stationed by Japanese troops. ”

The Sixth Division, also known as the Kumamoto Division, is one of the 17 standing divisions of the Japanese Army, codenamed "Ming". The division participated in the First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War during the Manchu Dynasty, and in the First Sino-Japanese War, the vanguard of the division captured Weihaiwei for the first time, prompting the total annihilation of the Beiyang Fleet. Now, the commander of the division is Hikosuke Fukuda, who is extremely arrogant and has a certain political acumen, and here are some of his resumes. ”

Jiang Xianyun said that he was about to face the opponent, for such a Japanese army unit with outstanding military achievements, not only did he not have any fear, but he had a trace of excitement, a kind of excitement to be able to fight with enemies and masters.

Huang Ke sat there, the name of the Sixth Division was too memorable for him, and the massacre that took place in the ancient capital of Nanjing more than ten years later was the work of this division.

In the past ten years, the soldiers who are now showing off their might in Jinan are exactly that batch of officers, and for such a butcher-like miscellaneous army, Huang Ke can't wait to give the order now, and several field troops of the East Route Army will all rush up to wipe out this division and regiment, so that none of these old mongrels will run away.

It's just that he can't give such an order now, and now is not the time to be impressed.

He held his chin with one hand and frowned, and after a while, he knocked on the "Retirement Letter" that had just been handed over by the diplomatic department and said, "First send someone to send this to Futian and tell them to withdraw now." They said that if we retire now, we will release the Japanese nationals who have been imprisoned and promise that we will not be held accountable for the deaths. ”

"In addition, Jiang Xianyun personally deployed, pushed the field troops of the Eastern Route Army to the north, stationed in the Japanese army's eyeline station, made all combat preparations, remember, to do it in secret, not to make a noise."

"Yes!" A smile appeared on Jiang Xianyun's face.