In the western suburbs of Beiping, Yenching University is jointly established by the Christian churches of the United States and the United Kingdom.

In this beautiful palace-like campus, which was aided by the United States and Britain and built with huge sums of money, it was a snow-covered winter scene. And a few delicate plums blooming in the cold winter add a bit of vitality to the campus.

But among the Chinese students attending this college, there is an air of despair and decadence...... As for the reason, as long as you look at the rising sun flags fluttering everywhere on the streets of Beiping outside, and the cheers of "Long live the Great Japanese Empire", you can basically understand it.

Not long ago, the student leaders who were still making impassioned patriotic speeches and advocating the anti-Japanese salvation movement all hung their heads weakly and walked around the campus, tearing down the anti-Japanese slogans posted a few days ago one by one, and then piling them together and burning them so as not to cause trouble to their classmates.

Moreover, compared with the previous days, the eyes of the foreign teachers in the school have also changed subtly.

-- Because the diplomatic line of the US and British governments changed drastically after the Manila Conference, and their attitude toward Japan's large-scale invasion of China changed from opposition and resistance to support and connivance, many foreign teachers at Yenching University had no choice but to change their previous support for anti-Japanese aggression and instead propagated the necessity of "Sino-Japanese cooperation to eradicate the red scourge." This made the Chinese students, who were already suffocated by the fall of Pingjin, feel as disgusted as if they had eaten flies, and muttered one after another in private. The imperialism of the whole shijie is all the way! "The Japanese and Europeans and Americans are singing red faces and white faces, and they are slaughtering us Chinese as fat pigs!" "The affairs of the Chinese really can't count on foreign saviors!" ……

And in the lounge of the expatriate instructors. Professors, lecturers, and teaching assistants in the United Kingdom and the United States are also talking about the current upheaval in China.

“…… It only lasted less than a month before he surrendered with a white flag! What a cowardly people! ”

Looking at a magazine cover. In the photo of the Japanese cavalry and armored vehicle units proudly marching into the Zhonghua Gate in Nanjing, some people could not help but comment with disdain, "...... Not daring to resist at all in front of the enemy, he obediently handed over his capital...... The country is really hopeless! ”

“…… Oh, yes! Although the United States was forced by the situation to allow Japan to move freely in China, it did not really allow them to annex the whole of China! According to the original assumption of the United States, it was only modeled after the precedent of the Russo-Japanese War. The Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions were designated as war zones, allowing the Japanese army to move and temporarily occupy them, and then the countries would provide security. The Japanese were forbidden to extend their hands outside the zone of engagement...... Who knows that the Chinese collapsed too quickly this time! Hand over your capital without firing a shot! What do we do to save it? Is it still possible to send troops to fight the Japanese? ”

Another American professor who has some connections in the consulate in Dongjiaomin Lane is selling the information he has collected while making a big fallacy, "...... Those Chinese outside complain about our country. It makes no sense! It's obviously their own country. Even Chinese himself refuses to think about how to defend it, but he wants to count on our country to be the savior...... That's ridiculous! Why should American soldiers shed blood for China? ”

“…… Yes, if you don't fight like this, how can you save others? In such a situation, even God can only persuade them to endure. ”

“…… Hehe, with the ridiculous combat effectiveness of the Chinese, what can they do even if they resist? A certain Englishman shrugged," ...... Didn't Song Zheyuan on Beijing's side fight a battle? But the result? It took less than a week to resist. The whole line collapsed and fled...... If it weren't for the Japanese army's strict order for a truce in North China, God knows where Song Zheyuan would have to flee...... That's right. Do you think the Japanese army will withdraw this time? ”

“…… I'm afraid it's difficult, this time the situation is completely different from the period of the Russo-Japanese War, according to the analysis of diplomatic circles, since the Japanese have achieved such amazing success in China, I am afraid that they will never leave! ”

The American professor who had some connections with the consulate in Dongjiaomin Lane immediately replied, "...... Nanjing, the two ancient capitals of China, once changed hands, was the equivalent of the British conquering Delhi and Bengal in India! Alas, at this point, unless something unexpected happens, the country should be considered finished...... If the Chinese are lucky, they may be able to live a so-so life under the control of the Japanese like the Koreans, and perhaps become more civilized and orderly. But if they are unlucky, the everyday language of the city of Beijing will probably be changed to Japanese, just as we have done with the Indians in the last century......

Overall, seeing that Nanjing and Beijing have fallen one after another in less than a month, and that the European and American powers that now dominate the earth are also conniving at and acquiescing in Japan's large-scale invasion of China, the teachers from all over the world in the lounge are not optimistic about China's future and fate. Only Yenching University's president, Stuart Leiden, an American missionary who was born in Hangzhou, grew up in China, and worked in Beijing, had a different view.

“…… Gentlemen, are you a little too pessimistic about this country? Situ Leiden retorted to the crowd as he drank his coffee, "...... Although the situation in China today is indeed very bad, in my opinion, nothing and no disaster can destroy the Chinese, and they are the most resilient people who are good at surviving from suffering.

Let's not forget that they are one of the oldest civilizations on this shijie, and their civilization has gone through many very different periods, but its essence is the same, not almost cut off like Greece and Rome. Chinese are not stupid, they know to bow their heads when necessary, they will bow down when the wind comes, they will accept all kinds of haode or not haode changes, but they will never be completely destroyed, but will always continue to exist as an entity, will not be broken, and will last longer than any race in history......"

“…… We really don't think that the Chinese will be as extinct as the Maya, Mr. Principal. Someone replied disapprovingly, "...... Today's Indians and Indians are not extinct. No one even wants to exterminate them completely...... But they're not doing well......"

In this regard, Situ Leiden had no choice but to sigh deeply and stop defending China -- seriously. Seeing the old empire crumbling so quickly, he didn't know how to open his mouth to defend a country that was rapidly declining.

Moreover, he was more worried about Hangzhou, the hometown of the Chinese Bolsheviks in the south, where Stuart Leiden was born, than the Japanese army, which was more or less concerned about international influence and did not dare to offend the interests of white Westerners, although he was now waving his army to occupy Beiping. Not long ago, it was also conquered by the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army.

Hey, the beautiful city of Hangzhou in my memory is ravaged by those lawless red elements. I really don't know what kind of miserable appearance it will become...... What the hell is wrong with this country? It must be a problem with the system! Thinking so, he couldn't help but fall into deep contemplation......

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On the outskirts of Hangzhou, the Gongchen Bridge Japanese Concession, the temporary headquarters of the Southern Expeditionary Detachment of the Red Tenth Army

At this moment. The sky is full of sickles, hammers, red flags. is swaying on the shore of the West Lake in a beautiful wind; The "Kirov airship" painted with a shark's sharp mouth also flew over the Liuhe Pagoda proudly; The Red Army guerrillas, who had been active in various parts of northern Zhejiang, rushed here one after another to gather and accept the reorganization of the higher-level leaders, and to receive numbers, uniforms, firearms, ammunition, provisions, and pocket money -- plastic salt stamps commonly known as "red tickets" and "red horns."

Since Wang Yaowu's old unit, Li Tianxia, took the remaining regiment of the 1st Brigade to cover the hasty escape of the military and political officials in the provincial capital of Hangzhou, the city of Hangzhou, which has been harassed by the guerrillas for a long time. Immediately unable to put up any resistance, it was quickly taken over peacefully by the Red Tenth Legion.

And the southern expeditionary detachment of the Red Tenth Army. The reason why the headquarters was set up in the Japanese concession of Hangzhou was completely an accident -- at that time, the enemy in Hangzhou was still stubbornly resisting, so Wang Qiu, Yang Wenli, and other traversers discussed a little with Xun Huaizhou, the commander of the Southern Expedition Detachment who was in charge of the Hangzhou raid this time, and found a barren place adjacent to the canal in the north of the city to set up camp, so as not to disturb the people of Hangzhou......

As a result, it wasn't until a few Japanese ronins with sabers came out of a nearby dilapidated house, screaming and brandishing katana to fight the Red Army, that the Red Army soldiers were surprised to find that this wasteland, which had nothing but weeds, was actually the Japanese concession in Hangzhou!

-- After the First Sino-Japanese War, according to the provisions of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, Hangzhou was opened up as a treaty port with Japan, and then the north of Gongchen Bridge outside Wulin Gate in Hangzhou, the east bank of the canal, starting from Changgong Bridge to Gongchen Bridge, was used as a concession under the exclusive administration of Japan, with a total area of 718 mu.

However, after 40 years of operation, the vast majority of the Japanese concession in Hangzhou is still farmland, barren grassland and mass graves.

“…… It's unbelievable to think about it, this place is actually a concession?! How do the Japanese run their business? ”

Standing outside the door of the large field tent that served as the headquarters and looking at the barren grass and rocky beaches around him, Wang Qiu couldn't help but be deeply surprised -- in his impression, the foreign concessions in the Republic of China era should have been very lively and prosperous commercial ports. But Hangzhou's Gongchenqiao Japanese Concession is so different...... No wonder later generations lived in Hangzhou for so many years when they were young, and they never heard of any Japanese concessions there.

“…… It seems that when the concession was opened, the Japanese chose the wrong location factor. ”

Professor Yang looked at the awning boats, small rafts and assault boats that were constantly coming and going on the Grand Canal, and said lightly, "...... At the time of the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, Hangzhou had not yet been connected to the railway, and its external traffic mainly relied on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. Hangzhou's main trade bazaars are naturally located in the northern part of the city, close to the Grand Canal. Therefore, when the Japanese came to Hangzhou to enclose the territory, they enclosed a large area along the Grand Canal in the north of Hangzhou, and deliberately distanced it from the bustling city to prevent the trouble of demolishing houses in the future - it can be said that they thought quite carefully.

If it is developed according to the situation at that time, although the Gongchenqiao Japanese Concession, which is located on the main traffic artery, is relatively desolate, it belongs to the "undeveloped area", as long as the city of Hangzhou continues to develop, it will definitely extend along the canal to the area of Gongchenqiao, and the Japanese will naturally be able to sit on the ground and raise the price.

But the problem was that at that time, Japan's foundation was still very weak, and it was not comparable to those old capitalist powers, and its domestic financial resources were limited. You can't invest too much in a single project. The big chaebols are not enough to do their best to develop Taiwan and Korea, and the country's manpower and material resources are still to cope with the huge threat from Russia, and they can't take care of such an unimportant situation as the Japanese concession in Hangzhou...... Thereupon. After it became the Japanese Concession, it was abandoned for 20 years, not to mention the merchant houses and markets, not even roads and houses - because this land no longer belonged to China, the local government and the gentry naturally did not dare to invest here, let alone build roads and other public facilities in the Japanese Concession, so as not to cause trouble for themselves.

It was hard to wait until the Russo-Japanese War was over. After a few more years of respite, Japan, which had spare strength, looked at the Japanese concession in Hangzhou again, only to find that the situation had changed drastically and things were wrong -- the Shanghai-Nanjing Railway in 1908 and the Tianjin-Pudong Railway in 1912 had been completed. The historical mission of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal has been completely ended. The Grand Canal itself is also seriously silted, its navigable capacity has plummeted, and no one has dredged it. In this way, Hangzhou is the main commercial center. It was transferred from the Grand Canal in the north of the city to the railway line in the east of the city. Large blocks in the north of Hangzhou are rapidly declining, and the Gongchenqiao Japanese Concession, which is further north and more remote from the city center, is not to mention of it...... It's like the Japanese relied on their well-informed vision and long-term vision, preemptively bought the planned land to be developed, and were ready to sit on the land and start the price, but who knew that the development Jihua had changed, so all these rotten lands were smashed in their hands......"

“…… Belch. This is really a classic case of investment failure......" Wang Qiu couldn't help but touch his nose, "...... So what about after that? Even if you choose the wrong location. Didn't the Japanese try to make up for it? Anyway, this land is already in hand! ”

“…… Of course, the Japanese tried a lot to develop jihua, but they all failed. Because there were no roads, no railways, and no seaports, the Grand Canal was silted up day by day, and even the small steamers gradually became unable to run -- the transportation was inconvenient, and all industry and commerce could not develop. And the cost of investing in infrastructure and transportation for the Chinese is really unbearable for the Japanese. If we are engaged in agriculture, there are only 700 acres of land in total, and there is still a lot of rotten land that cannot be farmed. How many families can be housed? ”

Professor Yang shrugged his shoulders and pouted, "...... Zuihou, the Japanese gangsters finally came up with an idea, in order to bypass the poor transportation and infrastructure, they can develop special industries such as pornography, gambling and drugs in Gongchenqiao, so they opened a bunch of casinos, brothels and big smoke houses, and finally developed a little.

However, after all, this place is still inconvenient and lacks scenery, even the development of 'tertiary industry' and 'smoke-free industry', and it can't compete with those old Qinglou Chu Pavilions on the shore of the West Lake, which reflect the lake and mountains. As for the casinos and big smoke houses, they were gradually relocated to the scenic West Lake and along the railway with developed transportation. The interior of the Japanese concession of Gongchen Bridge is still desolate, and there is not even a decent road, which is no different from the countryside in the past......"

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All in all, when the Red Tenth Army arrived at the Gongchenqiao Japanese Concession, it was still a desolate and desolate place. In addition to a police station and three shops in charge of policing the concession, there were also several families of cheap prostitutes who opened "half-closed" doors. It's really no different from any rural village in the south of the Yangtze River...... As a result, when two Japanese ronin with katana swords rushed out of the police station, the Red Army soldiers were stunned.

However, in spite of the weakness of the Japanese presence in the region, they refused any surrender in the face of the mighty Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, and put up an astonishingly stubborn resistance, relying on the houses and the terrain, and repelling several attacks with sabers, rifles, and grenades. Zuihou even forced the Red Army soldiers to use their guns to shoot cloud bursts, and only then did Zuihou and the two Japanese bomb the police station into the sky......

Looking at these Japanese warriors who were still shouting "Long live the emperor" at the moment of Zuihou, Wang Qiu suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

――Who would have thought that such a small projectile island country would once plunder and enslave its neighbors through war, and almost dominate the entire Pacific Ocean, but Zuihou would have reduced himself to a semi-colony because of the war, and he could never extricate himself from it again.

In the past, there was a "yellow savior" who was noisy in the "Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Circle", but Zuihou can only be famous for his abundant AV and actresses. In the sound of silk and bamboo, under the loose and gorgeous kimono, how can it hide the charm and charm that makes people's hearts ripple and ecstasy?

Look at the boundless cherry blossoms flying in the sky under Mount Fuji, listen to the breathtaking shallow whispering of the gentle township, and the most important thing is to look back at the gentleness of the bowed head, just like the shyness of the begonia is not better than the pear blossom! It's all exciting. As far as the eye can see, the gorgeous clothes scattered on the ground, the clogs scattered by the window, who will remember the long-vanished battle flag of the rising sun, and the broken saber full of rusty marks?

Well, Wang Qiu admitted that he was indeed a little sick in the arts.

However, the longer he stayed in this era, the more deeply he could feel the huge difference between the present Japan and the future Japan, and between the present China and the future China -- not only materially, but also mentally...... (To be continued......)