“…… Commission! Suppress bandits and bandits, now that they have lost Nanjing, they can't even stay in Nanchang, you still want to continue to clean up the red bandits?! ”

Seeing that Chairman Jiang is now a great enemy and his fate is on the verge of death, and he has not forgotten to exterminate the red bandits, Chen Cheng obviously feels very unbelievable about this mad spirit of "life is endless, and the suppression of bandits is not stopped," ...... The most important thing for you now is to unite all parties shili, strengthen our camp, and even the red bandits can be contacted and used, for example, to make a cooperation covenant, so that you can have the Nanjing puppet government backed by foreigners behind you to confront it! ”

Regarding Chen Cheng's "proposal to communicate with the Communist Party" put forward by him when he was in a hurry to go to the doctor, Chiang Kai-shek only smiled contemptuously: "...... How can the poor red guy be reliable? How can foreigners fight? The Shanghai Red Bandits have fallen to death, and the period of their demise is just around the corner, if they really want to be mixed with them, that is to find death!

Alas, many things in this world are so helpless! At present, 'Granny He' (one of He Yingqin's nicknames, named because he has some mother-in-law and mother-in-law. With the support of the whole shijie imperialism, it is the time of arrogance, and I can only retreat for the time being, let him and Wang someone run rampant for a while. But it won't be long before they will find out that if China's affairs are without me, Jiang and someone, they will definitely not be able to play it! ”

“…… This...... Even if we have to tolerate and entrust Nanjing for the time being, why do we still spend the little military salary we have to go deep into a poor place like Dabie Mountain to eliminate the red bandits? In view of the current difficult situation, isn't it enough to hold on to the rich land of the three towns of Wuhan and the Jianghan Plain? ”

Chen Cheng still seems to have some difficulty understanding Chiang Kai-shek's "foresight...... After losing the financial support of Shanghai Tang. At present, our military and financial resources are extremely scarce, and the banknotes issued are equivalent to waste paper, and there is not much oil and water scraped for a while. Not to mention the gold-devouring beasts that still have to feed the navy...... Where did the military spending for the eradication of the Red Bandits come from? Soldiers and officials must not be allowed to cut back on food and clothing, donate their salaries to serve the country! ”

“…… Alas, it is precisely because I have no money in my hand, but the expenses are so large, that I have to work hard to suppress bandits at all costs! ”

Chiang Kai-shek's answer seems a little illogical, but then he explains the mystery, "...... I have already contacted the intermediary from Hong Kong and will wait until the camp is relocated to Wuhan. The British and American banks in Hankow will lend us money and even take on a certain amount of public debt, but only on the premise that I will not be discouraged by the moment. And hook up with the red bandits, otherwise you will die without a place to be buried! ”

Only then did Chen Cheng suddenly realize that the three towns of Wuhan in the Republic of China era were the hub of the Yangtze River route and an important industrial and commercial town in the Chinese mainland in southern China. and an important distribution center for Sino-foreign trade. It is also a civilized and civilized place, with many concessions, and is known as "Little Shanghai". Therefore, like the Shili Ocean Field in Shanghai, Wuhan also has a number of Chinese-funded and foreign-funded financial institutions, which can provide channels for politicians and leaders from all walks of life to raise money.

Of course, at present, since the head office in Shanghai has been finished, the branch of the Chinese-funded bank in Wuhan is naturally closed. But the Wuhan branches of those foreign banks and Hong Kong banks can still operate, as long as they can connect with the big bosses behind them. Even after losing Shanghai's big wallet, Chairman Jiang was still able to survive on this small money bag in Wuhan. But. The money of American and British imperialism was not so easy to obtain, and the first prerequisite for granting loans was to draw a line with the Red elements - and this was Chiang Kai-shek's natural strength.

In addition, through this belated goodwill of American and British imperialism, Chiang Kai-shek also saw a glimmer of hope for a comeback from a desperate situation.

-- Although the Red Army was forced to capture Shanghai, which might have set off a great threat of the Red Revolution in the Far East, in order to borrow the sharp knife of the Imperial Japanese Army to wipe out the red Liliang in Shanghai, the US and British imperialism had to temporarily condone the rapid expansion of Japan in China, and even allowed Japan to overthrow its own agent Chiang Kai-shek in China, and instead supported a pro-Japanese Chinese government headed by Wang Ching-wei.

However, the cunning US and British imperialism did not sit idly by and watch Japan expand its territory in China, but prepared a follow-up move from the very beginning -- the "killing people with a knife" by using the Japanese army to eliminate the red elements had not yet begun to be put into action, and the next "unloading the mill and killing the donkey" Jihua was already brewing. Specifically, it was to provide financial assistance to Chiang Kai-shek, so that he could temporarily lie dormant upstream and prepare for war. Once the time is ripe in the future, the United States, Britain and other countries will force the Japanese army to retreat while releasing this tiger to once again overthrow the pro-Japanese regime in Nanjing, so as to regain all interests in China.

For Chiang Kai-shek, who was sitting in the city of Nanchang at this time, this plan of the United States and British imperialism was naturally tantamount to saving him from a desperate situation.

“…… Don't worry too much about He Yingqin's attack, he can take advantage of the east wind of the Japanese, at most, to hit Jiangxi, and then he will be stopped by our American and British friends. After we have gained a firm foothold in Wuhan, we will prepare for the establishment of the Wuhan National Government, so as to make it easier to compete with the Nanjing side and reproduce the situation of Ninghan antagonism! Well, at first, of course, it will be dormant for a while, recuperating. After the relationship between Japan and the United States and Britain breaks down, we will be able to rely on the help of our friends in the United States and Britain to go down the river and go straight to Nanjing to rebuild the great cause of the party-state! ”

While trying to encourage Chen Cheng, a favorite general who still did not abandon him at this time, Chiang Kai-shek also talked about his personnel arrangements after the "establishment of a separate central committee" in Wuhan -- of course, he continued to serve as chairman of the Military Commission, Lin Sen, former chairman of the Nanjing Nationalist Government, served as the president of the state and premier of the executive yuan, so as to win over the hearts of celebrities, and Chen Cheng became the minister of military affairs, which was originally a position that originally belonged to He Yingqin...... It is a pity that Chiang Kai-shek, who thought he had a foolproof plan, did not expect at this time that he was not the only "player" who wanted to start a new business in the three towns of Wuhan......

“…… According to the information sent by the Sichuan side, Liu Xiang held a pledge meeting in Wanxian County yesterday and gathered tens of thousands of Sichuan troops, claiming that he would go east by land and water to aid Hubei, and that the forward troops were about to get out of the Three Gorges! A confidential secretary hurried into the office and reported the bad news.

“…… Niang Xipi! These Sichuan rats also dare to rob Wuhan with me? Hurry up and clean up! Depart for the airport in an hour! ”

Furthermore. At a time when the United States and British imperialism were plotting to "unload the mill and kill the donkey," the Japanese were also making calculations of "holding the bandits hostage and respecting themselves......

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Tianjin Japanese Concession, a certain office of the North China Garrison Army or the "Tianjin Army" Headquarters

It is a room with tatami mats. A traditional Japanese-style room with a paper sliding door. In the corner of the Japanese-style room, there is a small shrine and ancient Japanese armor, a saber and a sun flag on the wall of the Japanese-style room, and a militaristic ukiyo-e theme of Mt. Fuji suppressing the Great Wall, as well as four antique hanging scroll banners with four famous poems written in regular letters by Nogi Noshinori, the Japanese "god of war" during the Russo-Japanese War: "...... The fat horse and the big knife have not yet been paid, and the emperor has been bathing for a few springs and autumns. Dou Scoop poured out his drunken dreams and broke through the four hundred states of China! ”

Wearing a military uniform, Major General Ishihara Wanji, chief of operations of the Army General Staff Headquarters. At this time, he was kneeling at a low wooden table in the center of the tatami mat, frowning and flipping through a thick stack of documents and reports, and from time to time he would pick up a pen and make a few marks on the battle map next to the table.

Outside the window of the office. From time to time, the drunken "Hurray!" of the Japanese officers was heard. And "Prosperity of the Martial Arts!" The cheers and the giggles of the prostitutes of the "condolence group" -- these were the Japanese officers of all levels of the Tianjin Army, after learning the unprecedented good news of the "bloodless opening of Nanjing," and happily holding a banquet to congratulate the victory. Celebrate the invincible greatness of the Imperial Japanese Army in only one month to celebrate the invincible prostitution of prostitutes!

And Major General Ishihara Wan'er, who formulated the "Nanjing Raid Operation Jihua". Not only did he receive a medal, but he was also promoted to the post of director of the Operations Department of the Army General Staff Headquarters -- a core and important post that concentrates 90 percent of the authority of the General Staff Headquarters, and is only one step away from the deputy chief of staff.

However, as a first-rate strategist in the current Japanese Army, Ishihara did not get carried away by promotions and awards, but calmly saw the gloom of the crisis behind the brilliant victory, and began to prepare countermeasures to solve it.

In fact. If it weren't for the sudden emergence of such a God-given opportunity, Ishihara would not have been in favor of expanding his aggression against China at all.

-- Ishihara Waner. After graduating from the 30th class of the Japanese Army University, he studied in Germany after graduation, and is said to be one of the few Japanese who can read Clausewitz's "On War." Not only that, but this genius also developed the "Theory of War" and came up with a "Theory of Final War". Specifically, it is believed that the future conflict between Eastern civilization and Western civilization will inevitably lead to a so-called "final war" between Japan, as the representative of Eastern civilization, and the United States, as the representative of Western civilization, in order to determine the direction of human society.

Ishihara also believes that in the contest of this "final war," Japan is in an extremely disadvantageous position in terms of grand strategy: its territory is small, it has no depth, and it lacks a variety of strategic resources. In the course of this protracted war, Japan must have a rear base, and this base is Manchurian and Mongolian -- this is the origin of the "Manchurian and Mongolian lifeline theory...... It was also under the guidance of this theory that Ishihara single-handedly planned and provoked the September 18 Incident, and relied on his accurate judgment of the current situation, and easily seized the three northeastern provinces at a small price, and his military talent can be called demonic.

However, according to Ishihara's strategic thinking, he had precise step-by-step design and strict scale control over the course of the war against China, the Soviet Union, and the United States. After successfully seizing Manchuria, it should not compete with the Chinese Nationalist Government for at least ten years, but expand into the Inner Mongolia region, which the Chinese Nationalist Government was unable to protect at that time, and at the same time provoke unrest in the Guannei, so that China will be mired in internal strife and bloodshed for a long time; At the same time, it vigorously managed Manchuria and Inner Mongolia, established a large rear that could carry out a protracted war, and a strong, self-sufficient military liliang, and finally achieved the destruction of China, and through the final war with the United States, to achieve the goal of hegemony.

But the problem is that a lot of things in this world are a paradox. By initiating the "September 18 Incident", Ishihara did allow Japan to seize the vast and fertile three northeastern provinces and have the material basis for launching a Shijie war. However, it also set a precedent for low-ranking officers to violate military law and engage in "subordination" and forcibly coerce the government and the army into going to war -- the "September 18 Incident" easily took over Northeast China, which gave the Japanese military a taste of the sweetness. Including the mastermind Ishihara Wan'er, all of them were promoted to the rank of official and prosperous, which created a great evil result. It was that later Japanese officers became less and less concerned with the instructions of the government and the military department, and felt that as long as they could win the battle, it was nothing to disobey orders or even forge military orders!

It's just that those juniors of Ishihara only have the ambition to be promoted and make a fortune, and they don't have Ishihara's talent -- didn't you Ishihara just engage in a "Manchurian Incident" and become famous in one fell swoop? You will and I will too, so the big guys swarmed up, and all kinds of "incidents" were like dog pee moss after the rain. It's going to make a fool of the Japanese Army General Staff Headquarters! And all the long-term strategies of the Japanese army have become waste paper, because the front-line army is completely out of control and cannot pull it...... This time, Ishihara went to North China to stop the "rampage of the Tianjin Army". When the staff officers who ignored military discipline were questioned, they were unceremoniously ridiculed: "We are merely imitating what His Excellency Ishihara did during the Manchurian Incident."

-- The so-called upper beam is not correct and the lower beam is crooked, you Ishihara Waner can fabricate a military order to do the first year of junior high school, why can't we, the younger generations, be the fifteenth?

These are young staff officers in the late stage of the second disease in the brain. He even came up with such a set of theories -- to defend Japan. to occupy the Korean Peninsula; To defend the Korean Peninsula, it is necessary to occupy Northeast China; To defend the Northeast, it is necessary to occupy North China; To defend North China, it is necessary to occupy all of China; to occupy the South Seas; to occupy Australia; Is...... This slogan of aggression and expansion is really crazy and breathtaking.

However, even if the ambitious Imperial Japanese Army had such a good appetite, could the Great Japanese Empire behind the Imperial Army have such a strong national strength?

In Ishihara's view, Japan's current national strength is still very weak. Industry and the economy were at the bottom of the list of great powers, and the main commodities that earned foreign exchange through exports were raw silk and flower girls, which could also be said to be "sex. slaves" - to maintain the army and build huge ships for the navy. The taxation was so heavy and the class contradictions were unprecedented, that after the investigation, American and British economists wondered why the Japanese had not rebelled even if they had been oppressed like this.

To make matters worse, Japan has fallen into an economic crisis in recent years, especially in the northeastern countryside, which has suffered the most severe reduction in grain production since the Meiji Restoration. The peasants had to feed on the grassroots, their daughters were bought to work as courtesans, and their sons were conscripted to Manchuria to "defend national interests". Even if the son sent back the military salary, under the persecution of the landlord, the money could not be used to redeem the daughter's money, but had to pay the rent and taxes first......

Another tragedy that Ishihara knew about happened to a peasant father whose son was conscripted into the army in Manchuria - before the son was conscripted to Manchuria, he wrote a letter to his father in the countryside, but forgot to put a postage stamp, and the father could not receive the letter because he could not afford to pay the postage of four cents...... A month later, the father received official notification of his son's death in Manchuria......

Therefore, in Ishihara's view, the practice of these front-line staff officers constantly violating military orders, provoking all kinds of incidents, and expanding the war without authorization is completely the mood of gamblers who go to the casino. In fact, they don't have the confidence to win, but they just cover up the panic in their hearts with bold words, trying to rely on a gamble to make themselves soar and become officials...... These people may think that even if they lose, they will only be seppuku at most, and which soldier is afraid of death? But before they made a decision, they never seemed to think that the bet they had made was not only their own future and official position, but also the life and death of thousands of soldiers and the fate of the entire Japanese Empire! Isn't this a public weapon for private use?

More importantly, they simply do not understand the principle of "thinking about how to end a war before starting a war", and the only goal of provocative war is only their own fame and promotion...... Ignoring Japan's strength and long-term strategy at all in this way, and casually provoking war again and again, will only end up plunging the Japanese Empire into the quagmire of a long-term all-out war! However, in his capacity as the mastermind of the "Manchurian Incident," he has no position at all to teach these younger generations a lesson -- because he himself won glory and wealth by relying on the "Manchurian Incident"!

-- If it were only the staff officers of the young Zhuang faction at the front who went violent, as long as the military headquarters made up its mind, it would barely be able to control it. After the entire military department goes berserk, I am afraid that no strategist will be able to control the situation -- people in the middle and lower ranks want to emulate the "September 18 Incident" and engage in military adventures to get promoted, and the bigwigs at the top take advantage of the demands of the officers at the lower levels and use them as gunmen to attack dissidents...... Like Japanese politics in later generations, it was all for the sake of its own powerful position and disregarding the long-term interests of the country, and it was nothing more than the use of votes by later generations, with bullets and cannon fodder at that time......

So, Ishihara wrote worriedly in his diary, "...... If it enters a state of war, it must be a long-term and protracted war, and it is a great mistake to 'punish China and the Chiang regime will collapse within a few months, so only a short-term decisive battle' is a huge mistake. Until the Meiji Restoration, China was the hegemon of Asia, and the Japanese looked down on China as an aging country after their victory over China in the First Sino-Japanese War...... However, China has a high degree of civilization since ancient times, and its material life is extremely primitive, and there is a high degree of self-sufficiency in various places, all of which have become extremely favorable conditions for protracted warfare. If a war breaks out, China may force China to fight a decisive battle, but whether it will turn into a protracted war depends mainly on China's determination and intentions...... And our country will never be able to afford to fight a protracted war......"

Fortunately, just when the imperial army was about to slide into the abyss, a "Shanghai Red Army Mutiny" suddenly fell from the sky, so that Ishihara finally found a glimmer of hope to break through the stalemate, and successfully won the first stage of victory! (To be continued......)