Years of the Republic of China 1913

Volume 210 The Unsettled Times Chapter [-] Three Changing Situations

Fang Zida didn't stay in Shandong for a long time. China and Japan were at war, and he was required to handle many tasks of the Ministry of Finance and Zhongyang Bank, so he couldn't leave the capital for long.In Jidao, first, he wanted to discuss with Wu Peifu the direction of the war and listen to the advice of his general. Second, Fang Zida was also curious about the Japanese army in this era, and planned to take advantage of the opportunity to go to the front to condolences to the troops. Look at these "Japanese devils".

What made Fang Zida a little "disappointed" was that the "Japanese devil" today is not what he saw in the movie, not to mention a helmet on his head, and he doesn't even have a "fat curtain" hat. Wearing a uniform similar to that of the Chinese Army except for the different colors, and wearing a military cap with a large brim on his head, he hid behind the trench in disgrace and confronted the Chinese soldiers back and forth.Most of them still hold the primary version of the [-] rifle - the [-] rifle, also known as the "golden hook rifle". Mortars, grenades and other weapons used in large quantities, even the grenades that the squadron has distributed to soldiers in large quantities are only used in small quantities in the Japanese army.

Compared with the powers of Western countries, the current Japanese army can be called "shabby" in terms of equipment, and because it is a landing operation, the heavy weapons such as heavy artillery that Japan is used to are not brought up, facing more personnel and equipment Even better, for the Chinese squadron that still has complete artillery suppression, the poor Japanese can only be pressed to the ground in despair and let others beat him hard.

Seeing that the situation on the front line was completely controlled by Wu Peifu, Fang Zida was completely relieved.In Qingnan, I took the next day's special train and rushed back to the capital.

Half a month since the start of the Sino-Japanese war, apart from the fierce fighting on the northeast and Jiaodong fronts, various international forces have different views on this war.Although the Allied Powers are extremely dissatisfied with Japan's sudden war against China, especially the United Kingdom has warned the Japanese government several times since the start of the war through diplomatic channels, demanding that the Japanese government immediately stop this "war that should not have happened" , in order to maintain the internal stability of the Allies.Tsarist Russia followed closely behind the governments of Britain, France and other countries. In a sense, the war between China and Japan had the greatest impact on Tsarist Russia. You must know that since the war, Tsarist Russia had not been supported by a large amount of material from China. The Tsarist Russian army, which suffered heavy casualties, may not be able to withstand it long ago.But now that China and Japan are at war, the sources of materials for Tsarist Russia will inevitably decrease sharply. Tsar Nicholas II, who has already noticed some instability in the country, immediately became anxious. Japan itself didn't like it very much. Following the British and French governments, they repeatedly warned the Japanese government, strongly demanding that the Japanese government immediately stop the war and restore the previous state of China and Japan, and be the first to be among the Allied Powers It is proposed that if the Japanese government still insists on going its own way, it should cancel Japan's membership of the Allied Powers, and agree to be regarded as one of the Allied Powers, and all members of the Allied Powers will jointly fight against Japan in accordance with the agreement.

Of course, this proposal of Tsarist Russia was not recognized by Britain and France.At the current level of the world war, although Britain and France are extremely dissatisfied with Japan, they will not be so stupid as to push Japan to the side of the Allies.If there had been no war in Europe, major powers such as Britain, France, and Russia might have been able to resolve the Far East issue directly by force, but now that they are held back by the European battlefield and unable to look eastward, they can only deal with China diplomatically, sending I hope that Yu China can stop Ri himself in his footsteps, or that Ri himself reined in the precipice and turned around.

Having said that, this is also the current consideration. If there is no war in Europe, members of the Allied Powers such as Britain, France, and Russia will really control China's life or death?It’s not bad if you don’t wear a pair of trousers with the Japanese, and you can collude with each other to pretend to be red and white. Since the Opium War, hasn’t the big powers dealt with China like this?In their eyes, whether it is China or Japan, these yellow-skinned orientals are far inferior to their whites. The rich land in the Far East is their pasture, and it is their greedy face to try their best to occupy profits.

Compared with the Allies, the news of the war between China and Japan made the Allies elated.The stalemate in the European battlefield has caused the members of the Allied Powers to consume a lot of national strength, but they still have not achieved the goal of defeating their opponents.But now, there is internal strife within the Allied Powers, and their own people are inexplicably fighting with their own people. When the news reaches Europe, the most happy person is the German emperor, Wilhelm II.When I learned that the main area of ​​the Far East battlefield is the Northeast, and the second is the former German colony——Qingdao was handed over to China, making it a "war fuse" in the East just like Sarajevo.

The Chinese and the Japanese went to war. How many people died on both sides, or who the final winner was, were all "little things" that didn't matter to William II. The Far East was so far away from Europe, and Germany after handing over Qingdao There is no interest in the Far East, so let the fight between them be more lively, the more dead people the better, anyway, it will not affect Germany.

What's more, the outbreak of the war between China and Japan made William II see the possibility of winning the European battlefield.Can Tsarist Russia, which lacks Chinese sources of supplies, continue to block the advance of the German army?As long as the bumpkins-Russians are defeated on the Eastern Front, the great German will be able to concentrate its forces and turn to the Western Front, attacking the British and French troops in one fell swoop. When the French surrender, the helpless British can only seek peace even with the protection of the Strait the point.In this way, there will be no power to stop the rise of Germany in the world, and his German emperor will become the greatest emperor in history.

When the member states of the Allied Powers were dealing with Japan's attack on China and trying to solve the problem internally, William II first issued a statement in Europe. He first criticized Japan's "ugly act" of shameless invasion of China in the newspaper, and cursed Knowing that Japan is the scum of civilized society, it is such shameless countries in the world that lead to continuous wars. Shameless Japan is just like Britain and France. Their evil existence is the biggest enemy that threatens world civilization. As a great German nation, this kind of thing is absolutely not allowed to happen.Then he played Germany as a pure and innocent peace angel, and made a lot of publicity about the traditional friendship between China and Germany. Smile and extend a tempting olive branch to the Chinese government.

Kaiser Wilhelm's style is almost equivalent to saying: "Chinese, look, what's the benefit of joining the Allied Powers? These idiots in the Allied Powers can't even control their own people, why are you still following them? Come, come! Put into our Hug, join hands to kill these idiots and shameless people, this is your wisest choice."

Contrary to Kaiser Wilhelm's approach is his iron buddy - the Austro-Hungarian Empire.Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire did not yell like Germany in the international arena, directly wooing the Chinese with a thick skin, but in private, the Austro-Hungarian Empire sent a special envoy to the Far East, preparing to contact Japan's political power, trying to make Japan under the current situation I was drawn to the Confederate States.

In the open and in the dark, the Allies have tried their best to disintegrate the power of the Allied Powers from within. No matter what the final result is, it will be beneficial to the Allies.Who would not do such a business that is sure not to lose money?The actions of the Allies caused great fear to the Allied Powers, especially from the perspective of Britain, France, and Russia, no matter whether China and Japan were drawn over by the Allied Powers, or if the two countries lost both sides, it would be extremely bad for the Allied Powers event.Right now, the most important thing is to stop this war as soon as possible, stabilize the internal situation of the Allies, and defeat the powerful European opponents.

Since the start of the war, the Chinese government has summoned the Japanese ambassador many times, demanding that the Japanese government stop the war immediately.But for the protest of the Chinese government, the Japanese arrogantly rejected it. Not only that, but also turned the blame on the Chinese, claiming that the Japanese military was completely forced by the Chinese government, and they were only to maintain the safety of the overseas Chinese. And guarantee Japan's interests in the Far East.As long as the Chinese government agrees to cede Fengtian Province and Qingdao to Japan and make appropriate compensation, the Japanese army will consider a truce.

Of course, Song Jiaoren would not agree to Ri's conditions, which he opened his mouth like a lion.After several negotiations to no avail, Song Jiaoren instructed Cao Rulin not to engage in diplomatic contact with Japan again. With the improvement of the situation in Jiaodong and the stalemate in the Northeast, the Chinese side gradually calmed down from the initial hesitancy. The military plan has been basically completed, and the reinforcements will be transferred to Fengtian in a few days. With a strong backing, Fengtian is enough to stop Japan's advance, plus the good news that Fang Zida brought back from Jiaodong, the Chinese government's The confidence is that one day is higher than one day.

After Fang Zida returned to Beijing, Song Jiaoren called him over immediately, and after carefully inquiring about the situation on the Jiaodong front line, Song Jiaoren, who had always looked dignified, smiled.

"Wu Ziyu is really a great talent!" Liao Zhongkai praised from the side, he never thought that Qingdao would become like this, and Duan Qirui's plan to kill people with a knife turned out to be a big training exercise under Wu Peifu's ingenious use. Wu Peifu is probably the only general in China who can fight a battle like this.

"Shang Ming, you have worked hard on this road. You sent a telegram from Jinan saying that you are going to discuss with Ziyu. How are you talking?" Nodding in agreement with Liao Zhongkai's words, Song Jiaoren asked instead.

"It was a good conversation. Brother Ziyu asked me to ask you a question before we left, and this question is exactly what I want to ask." Fang Zida put down the tea in his hand, and looked up at Song Jiaoren with piercing eyes.

"What?"

"Brother Ziyu wants to ask, how does Zhong Yang want to end this war?"

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