PS: I was pointed out by a book friend that there was a bug, the Kuomintang government in the thirties of the twentieth century only had the Ministry of Military Affairs, and it would not be changed to the Ministry of Defense until 1946.

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On 9 February 1935, the "Manila Conference" convened urgently by Britain, France, the United States, and Japan in the Philippines was finally successfully concluded.

The next day, at a press conference in Manila, the diplomatic representatives of the four countries jointly issued a document entitled "Joint Anti-Opposition to the Far East." The Communist Convention, which claims: "...... It is well known that the purpose of the Comintern's activities is to use all means to undermine and threaten the existing civilized countries, and to ignore the Comintern's interference in the interests of all countries will not only endanger its national tranquility and social welfare, but will also threaten the peace and stability of the whole country.

In order to stem the growing tide of reddening on the East Asian continent and to ensure international peace and security, it is necessary for all peace-loving, justice-loving, and right-loving nations to join hands and work closely together in the struggle to curb redness, and to take more drastic and tough action......"

Specifically, Britain, France, the United States, and Japan jointly dispatched troops, with the Japanese army as the main attacker, following the precedent of the First World War, when the Japanese army and the British army joined forces to send troops to the German leased land in Jiaozhou Bay, and launched a clean-up operation against the Red Army in Shanghai, which seriously threatened the interests of the Far East of various countries...... In order to enable the Japanese army to better exterminate the Chinese Red elements, Britain, France, and the United States expressed their "complete understanding" of the Japanese army's actions against China during this period.

In the following days, a number of second-rate European countries, including the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, and Belgium, also joined the convention one after another.

-- If you say. The victory of the October Revolution and the birth of Soviet Russia had opened a big gap in the of the capitalist camp and greatly shocked the ruling circles of the imperialist powers. So now the Shanghai Commune has sprung up. It also made them see the danger of the entire levee collapsing...... Let's not forget, this is not the end of the twentieth century, when the "liberal shijie" reigned supreme, but the eve of World War II when the Great Depression and unemployment swept across the world, left-wing ideas and labor movements surged, and the contradictions between the colonies and the suzerains intensified!

I remember that during the October Revolution, Lenin, in the face of internal and external troubles in which the edifice was about to collapse and the people were struggling to make a living, once put forward the fierce slogan of "turning the imperialist war into a civil war." So. The imperialist powers, now mired in the quagmire of the Great Depression, are faced with a similar dilemma - either they choose to fight a life-and-death imperialist war and survive a few survivors; Or just wait for a civil war to break out to overthrow imperialist rule! (The liberation movement of the colonies was, strictly speaking, a civil war.) ）

The financiers who maintain the old shijie feel that they can grudgingly accept the former. The revolutionaries who fought against the old shijie preferred the latter.

The most fatal thing is that the red elements in Shanghai actually dared to defy the condemnation of the whole world and put forward the slogan of "hanging the bankers" in a clear-cut manner, and unceremoniously put it into action...... What a shame for the tycoons of New York, Wall Street and London financiers!

To know. In the United States and Britain at the moment. I don't know how many laborers who have no food and clothing are looking forward to hanging the tycoons on the street lamps!

Therefore, in order to repair the breach of the capitalist dam burst, to strangle this dangerous sign in the cradle, and to avoid the miserable scene of bankers hanging street lamps in their own country, the European and American imperialist powers, based on their common hatred and fear of the Red Revolution, decided to use all means to eliminate the Soviet power in Shanghai and to intervene in the Red Revolution in China by armed force. Avoid the collapse of the old order in the Far East......

However, in view of the distance between Shanghai and European and American countries, there is also the strong combat effectiveness shown by the Shanghai red elements. The American and British powers, who were worried about breaking their front teeth, were naturally reluctant to go into battle in person, but once again hired the Japanese Empire, a capable thug, as they did during the Russo-Japanese War. And as the price of winning over the Japanese Imperial Army, Chiang Kai-shek, a stupid dog who could not bite the red elements, was kicked away by the masters of American and British imperialism.

Obviously, this is a long-awaited and unprecedented piece of good news for Japan, which is full of contradictions in society as a whole.

Since the beginning of the Great Depression, the Japanese Empire's main source of foreign exchange, raw silk exports, has been severely hit by the shrinking consumer market in the West. On the other hand, the September 18 Incident led to the awakening of Chinese nationalism, and the spearhead was directed at Japan, and the boycott of Japanese goods was surging, and Japan's predatory trade with China was also dealt a heavy blow, and the proceeds of plundering in Manchukuo were obviously far from enough to make up for the huge losses of these two main sources of finance, not to mention that the military expenditure on the elimination of the Manchurian resistance organizations was also not a small amount.

Because of the local war between China and Japan, Sino-Japanese relations have not been able to be truly relaxed, and Japan's relations with Britain and the United States have become worse and worse since then -- although they will not tear their faces, they will not give any good looks...... In addition, Japan is recklessly expanding its armaments -- weapons and equipment cannot be eaten, used, or sold, and can only be burned -- at least 30 percent of its annual budget is thrown into the arms race!

Under such multiple blows, the financial and economic situation of the Japanese Empire has deteriorated to the point that it needs to launch a new round of war and plunder as soon as possible in order to survive -- not because there is really no money at home at all, but because of the huge disparity between the rich and the poor, class antagonism, and great internal contradictions. Since the chaebol military leaders are unwilling to pay even a single word to buy the hearts and minds of the people, they can only use foreign wars to divert contradictions, send those restless young soldiers to the battlefield and kill them, and at the same time strictly control the local territory in the name of war to ensure the interests of the chaebol and domestic stability.

To put it simply, Japan's chaebols are willing to invest in war to make money, but they are not willing to spend money to provide benefits to the common people. And the Manila Conference's "Far Eastern United Anti-Anti. The Communist Pact was a major loosening of the chains that had been placed on Japan, allowing it to embark on the road of war in a big way.

But for China, or rather, for the Kuomintang reactionaries, who had been abandoned by American and British imperialism, this was unprecedented bad news.

Same. Some patriotic officers and men of the 87th Division of the Kuomintang Central Army gathered their own boats without the approval of their superiors and prepared to cross the river to attack the Japanese troops on the north bank. But it has not yet departed. He Yingqin, who hurried to get the news, not only poured cold water on their anti-Japanese enthusiasm, disarmed and confined all the participants, but also sternly warned: "...... Those who act freely without the orders of the Ministry of Military Affairs must be punished for disobedience, even if they are patriotic! After that, a strict order was added: "...... All officers and men in the army invite themselves to resist the enemy and dare to speak out against the Japanese: there is no forgiveness for killing! ”

Meanwhile. In the face of his subordinates who were beaten back by the Red Army from the battlefield of Guangchang, Chiang Kai-shek, who was exhausted, barely cheered up and comforted them at the Nanchang camp meeting and said: "...... What are we afraid of? We have assistance from our friends in the United States and the United Kingdom. There are also German friends who help us to direct the war, and as long as we are willing to exert ourselves to eliminate the Red bandits, everything will not be a problem. Don't look at the Japanese dancing so hard now, American and British friends quickly restrain the Japanese. We will also be provided with military expenses. All we need to do is exterminate the Red Bandits! Let's keep up the good work! ”

Next, Chiang Kai-shek, who did not know much about the inside story of the "Manila Conference," was still urging his wife Soong Meiling to continue to work hard to develop relations with the United States and win more US aid for him as soon as possible -- the current Nanchang camp was about to be uncovered.

Then, with his own experience, he learned the most profound truth -- that no imperialism can be trusted!

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On 10 February, the Far Eastern United Anti-Counter. When the Communist Pact was announced, Chiang Kai-shek immediately felt the humiliation of being betrayed. and the helplessness of being abandoned.

-- The money bags of the Jiangsu-Zhejiang consortium are gone, and the old men of American and British imperialism are no longer reliable. It's really going to fall!

Then, before Chiang Kai-shek came to his senses, the new banknotes he had just issued last month, with the Hong Kong dollar and other foreign exchange as reserves, were once again turned into a pile of waste paper: although with the knowledge level of ordinary Chinese people at that time, most of them could not understand the "Far Eastern United Anti-Anti-Counter". What the "Communist Pact" means to China, but no matter how the people's wisdom is not opened, there will always be some people who understand. In addition, the "Shanghai People's Radio" launched a lecture on current affairs -- the Kuomintang authorities have not yet mastered the "advanced" radio jamming jishu...... As a result, the new banknotes that had just been issued were suddenly reduced to waste paper again, and the miscellaneous armies of all walks of life had no intention of making trouble with the government, so they simply began to rob homes everywhere.

In the afternoon of the same day, civil and military officials absconded from their posts in the Nanchang camp one after another, and seeing such a tragic scene of falling trees and scattering, Chiang Kai-shek had no choice but to find a way to contact the Japanese side and inquire about the price of selling his body...... Why is it too late......

On 11 February, He Yingqin infiltrated the Japanese Legation in Nanjing, disguised himself, and had a long secret talk with Wang Jingwei and the Japanese Minister, and reached a preliminary consensus. In addition, he also used telegraph secretaries to frequently contact Bai Chongxi of the Gui family, Chen Jitang of the Guangdong Army, Yan Xishan of Shanxi, Han Fuqu of Shandong, Liu Xiang of Sichuan, and other powerful local factions, and secretly drew up a number of plans for "consolidating the party-state and reforming politics," and also made arrangements for the party and government personnel of the central authorities.

On the same day, the Shanghai Red Army conquered Jiaxing and advanced to Hangzhou, and the entire northern Zhejiang region basically changed color. Chen Yi and Xiang Ying led some of the remaining troops in the Central Soviet Region to move towards Zhejiang, and Jihua cooperated with Shanghai to redden the whole province of Zhejiang as soon as possible in response to the imminent imperialist intervention.

On 12 February, the 5th Division of the Japanese Army arrived in Yangzhou and the 3rd Division arrived in Pukou, and the part north of the Yangtze River in Jiangsu Province was basically reduced to a Japanese-occupied area. To the east of Taihu Lake was the "Chihua District" under the jurisdiction of the Shanghai Soviet Government, and the Nationalist Government was left with Nanjing as the center of the Nationalist Government in Jiangsu Province.

After receiving the approval of the United States and British imperialism, the Tokyo General Staff, which had been freed, immediately formulated a new mobilization order, and Jihua once again mobilized two divisions to the South China battlefield, and at the same time reaffirmed the "principle of non-expansion of the situation in North China" and warned the Tianjin Army and the Kwantung Army not to act rashly.

In order to embody the "Far Eastern United Anti-Anti. In the spirit of solidarity of the "Communist Convention," the US financial community provided the Japanese side with a special interest-free military loan of $10 million. The French government was embroiled in a dispute over military loans, and had to delay financing Japan to help the war. At the same time, the United States, Britain, and France began to gather army and marines from all over Shijie and assembled in Manila.

On 13 February, Hunan warlord He Jian delivered an important speech in Changsha. He declared "Hunan autonomy" and "Hunan people governing Hunan Province" in an attempt to "send Xue Yue's two columns" of the Central Army out of Xiangxi. The angry Chiang Kai-shek strictly ordered Xue Yue to "solve Hunan by force", but was told by Xue Yue. The troops of the Central Army in Xiangxi have long been "without food, salary, and morale," and they are simply unable to fight the Hunan army fighting on the mainland.

The Shanghai People's Radio of the Shanghai Soviet Government launched a special program, claiming that "British, French, American, and Japanese imperialism is really a raccoon dog!" He exhorted all patriotic Chinese people in the world to give up any illusions about imperialism and plunge into the patriotic salvation movement.

February 14th. The fatal blow to the Chiang dynasty finally came -- He Yingqin, the founder of Whampoa and Minister of Military Affairs, openly defected in Nanjing, announcing that he would "accept the proposal of Shijie friends" and instead favor the "United Japanese Anti-Japanese Initiative." altogether". Joined the camp of the fallen Chiang!

After making this earth-shattering decision, He Yingqin and Wang Jingwei jointly held a press conference, and in front of a group of Chinese and foreign reporters, Wang Jingwei explained "infinitely affectionately": "...... Since the end of last year and the beginning of this year. The bandits received assistance from Soviet Russia. The southeast red flames are monstrous, the government has no way to save it, the people's hearts are confused, and they can not be extreme, and even the enemy has not arrived, and the guards have fled at night, and the formation of its collapse is not only the fall of Shanghai. Unable to recover, that is, the capital of Jinling. It will also be on the verge of falling and will not be able to live all day...... At this time, in order to endure the crisis and protect the legal system of the national government, the important members of the party and the state of our generation can only endure humiliation, inherit the will of the prime minister, form an alliance with Japan's friends to make peace, and jointly resist the monstrous calamity of anti-civilization......"

And He Yingqin's words are very straightforward, "...... The chairman of the committee has already told you that we in China have no preparations for anything, and once we resist the war, we will lose the country in three days! In this case, how can our army rashly provoke the Japanese army? What's more, the crisis in China today is not in Japan, but in the Red Bandits! If you die in Japan, you can still be a slave of the country, and if you die in the red bandits, you can't survive and die! Therefore, it is a matter of course to join forces with Japan to suppress bandits at the moment......"

On 15 February, the 5th Division preemptively crossed the Yangtze River from Yangzhou and moved south to take control of the Jiangyin fortress. The Kuomintang navy on the Yangtze River fled upstream.

In addition, due to He Yingqin's defection to the enemy and his attempt to betray the capital and the country to the Japanese invaders, a large-scale riot broke out in the Kuomintang troops and government offices stationed in Nanjing. After He Yingqin's vigorous suppression, the situation was finally barely suppressed, but the Kuomintang's Whampoa Shili also fell apart and never returned to its former glory.

On the same day, Lin Sen, the nominal supreme head of the Nanjing Nationalist Government and chairman of the Nationalist Government, resigned in anger. Subsequently, many well-known anti-Japanese figures and leftist social activists -- anti-Japanese are not necessarily leftists, and leftists are not necessarily anti-Japanese -- fearing that the Japanese army will retaliate after entering the city, fled one after another.

On 16 February, after holding final consultations with the Japanese front-line generals, accompanied by the sound of the orchestra, "Nanjing opens the city without blood" -- the Japanese Nagoya Third Division marched into the Nanjing gate with great pride under the welcome of He Yingqin, Wang Jingwei, and other surrender factions.

At the same time, a good news from the front reached Tokyo, and the whole country of Japan was immediately jubilant.

In order to celebrate the great victory of the conquest of China, the Japanese government ordered the distribution of beer and snacks to every Tokyo citizen, Hibiya Park held a grand celebration of victory, and the jubilant Tokyo citizens also held a parade of colored flags and lanterns, loudly praising the invincible Japanese Imperial Army: "Once the long-cherished wish of Toyotomi Hideyoshi Taiko in the past was realized, it only took more than 20 days to surrender the 400 states of China!" There is no one before and no one after us! ”

On the same day, Hangzhou was peacefully liberated. At that time, in the face of the huge offensive of the Red Tenth Army in Shanghai, as well as the sudden change in the domestic and international situation, Hangzhou City was already in internal and external difficulties, the military spirit collapsed, and there was no longer the strength to fight. In the end, under the escort of the head of Li Tianxia, Yu Jishi and other important officials of the Zhejiang Provincial Government fled without a fight, abandoned the city and retreated to Ningbo by sea, "to defend the Fenghua hometown of the chairman of the committee" (Fenghua belongs to the jurisdiction of Ningbo City).

Immediately after the capture of Hangzhou, the Red Tenth Army launched anti-imperialist patriotic propaganda and at the same time prepared for the establishment of the Zhejiang Provincial Soviet Government.

On 17 February, in order to express "Sino-Japanese goodwill," Lieutenant General Zentaro Wakayama, commander of the Japanese Third Division, paid homage to the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing.

At the same time, Wang Jingwei, who was complacent, convened a meeting in Nanjing to reorganize the Nationalist Government, wantonly promoted cronies, excluded dissidents, and formed a pro-Japanese government.

February 18, the 1935 Lunar Lantern Festival.

Following the previous miserable Spring Festival, Chiang Kai-shek ushered in an even more miserable Lantern Festival -- the Nanjing Nationalist Government under the leadership of Wang Jingwei actually sent him a dismissal order in an impatient manner, first severely enumerating Chiang Kai-shek's mistakes in "laboring hard and curbing bandits in vain" over the years, and then announced: "In order to wake up the people of the world and restore the communist industry. The order of Shijie is red, and it is planned to dismiss Jiang's original and various positions as a punishment! ”

Then, He Yingqin also came to the well: "...... In order to unite the party and take into account the overall situation, it is better for the chairman to leave for a while. ”

At this point, no matter how violently Chiang Kai-shek thundered and refused to admit himself, his status as the "first person in China" was irretrievable.

The Nationalist Government in Nanjing, which nominally unified China, has since slipped into the abyss of disintegration. (To be continued......)