Chapter 19 Chapter 19 Ideal and Reality (2)

On October 12, the Japanese 21st Army landed in Daya Bay. The 21st Army includes three divisions, two of which are new divisions, and only one Hiroshima Fifth Division is considered an old standing division. Tanks of the Japanese invading army being landed The Hiroshima Division is also the Itagaki Division that used to be famous in North China. This division once also carried the aura of "the strongest division in Japan", but it must be traced back to the Battle of Nankou or the Battle of Taiyuan. Before and after the Taierzhuang victory , it can at best sit on the same bench as the Isoya Division, or even worse.In this way, its main force was too late to participate in the battle, so it could only send an alliance over first.

There is no way, there are only so many soldiers, and there are not enough in Wuhan. It is not easy to make up a combination in Guangzhou.This is the time to test Yu Han's strategy.Helplessly, "Old Mouzi" has long been reduced to an old cat with a group of sick cats behind him. His ability and courage are not as good as Xue Yue, and even Li Hanhun can't match. Chiang Kai-shek was far away in Wuhan, and he had to ask Lao Jiang for instructions on how to fight in Guangzhou every step of the way.In this way, the responsibility on the body is small, but all the fighters are missed.

The Japanese invaded and occupied Guangzhou from Huiyang, so the Battle of Guangzhou was also called the Battle of Huiguang. For Yu Hanmou, at that moment, the most important thing was to concentrate as many troops as possible in Huiyang.But the "Old Mouzi" hesitated. Although there were two brigades of seven or eight thousand reserve troops at his disposal, he did not move. When Huiyang fell, Yu Hanmou became really anxious. At this time, the battle of Huiguang was coming to an end, and the 21st Army was not far from Guangzhou. A meeting was held to discuss quickly. Yu Hanmou's chief of staff offered advice at the meeting and proposed a "ball tactic".

The so-called ball tactics are actually pocket formations: Isn't the Japanese army coming?Just into my mouth. The chief of staff said clearly: This is not an ordinary bag, but a leather bag. When the devil comes in, you kick, I kick, he kicks, and kicks in all directions. As a result, the bag breaks, and the little devil is naturally finished. When he finished speaking happily, he almost laughed. Also "you kick, I kick, he kicks", the troops used to tie the pockets don't know where they are.The number of units mentioned by the chief of staff are all retreating. In this state, if you still kick others, it is not bad if you don't get kicked.

No matter how confused Yu Hanmou was, he knew that this was just talking on paper. After discussing and discussing, it is better to fight and retreat, because the Japanese army was more than 200 miles away from Guangzhou at that time, and it is estimated that there will be no problem in defending for three days. It was said that there would be three more days of guarding, but Yu Hanmou ran away by himself in the early morning of the next day without even notifying the logistics department.As soon as the military general disappeared, the remaining civil servants panicked even more. Wu Tiecheng, then chairman of Guangdong Province, and Zeng Yangfu, mayor of Guangzhou City, all followed and left.

From the landing of the 21st Army in Daya Bay to entering the urban area of ​​Guangzhou, it took only nine days.The people of Guangdong and the relatives of overseas Chinese were very dissatisfied with this, so they collectively made up a jingle for the three big officials in the frontier, saying, "Yu Han has no plan, Wu Tie lost the city, and Zeng Yang didn't have Fu (common spectrum, meaning unreliable)", It is also catchy to read. In the entire Guangzhou campaign, there was only one brigade commander named Zhong Fangjun who committed suicide after being defeated. A sad page.

The fall of Guangzhou happened on October 21. At that time, Deng Longguang's 64th Army and Ye Zhao's 66th Army were ordered to call back, but it was too late. Once Guangzhou was lost, the Guangdong-Han Railway was cut off.Chiang Kai-shek believed that after more than four months of continuous hard fighting, the goal of fully consuming the vital forces of the Japanese army had been achieved, and it was no longer necessary to keep the city alone, so he decided to abandon Wuhan. Drawing on the lessons of the Nanjing Defense War, the Chinese High Command had already fully mobilized for the retreat of Wuhan.Those who can leave have left, and all military and political institutions have also been relocated.

Later, when Okamura entered Wuhan, what he saw was that even the doors and windows of the shops on the street were blocked by bricks, and he couldn't find any valuable things.His Eleventh Army headquarters was located in the Hubei Provincial Government Hall, and it was empty when he went there. It seemed that no moving company had moved so thoroughly. This is called "Scorched Earth War".This thing looks exciting, but it is actually very dangerous, and it is easy to burn yourself if you are not careful. On the evening of October 24, as the last batch of military and political officials to evacuate, the Jiang couple left Wuchang by plane, but unexpectedly, the equipment malfunctioned midway, and the plane lost its direction.

The pilots who flew the planes for the head of state were all experts in selecting the best from the best. With the help of the terrain marks along the way, he found it again.Arriving at the sky above Wuchang Airport, I looked down, good guy, the "scorched earth operation" is being carried out below, destroying the airport runway.After a while, the landline will not be able to land if it wants to land, so it is dangerous. At this time, the sound of the rumbling guns of the Japanese army could be heard in the ears, and the landline was in this atmosphere. After refueling, inspection and repair, it was able to take off again.

Due to the different geographical locations, the evacuation of the Chinese army was much easier and calmer than during the defense of Nanjing. Bai Chongxi was evacuated with the Ninth War Zone. He was sitting in a German-made jeep. Unexpectedly, the car broke down halfway.While in a hurry, Zhou Enlai, Vice Minister of the Political Department, arrived in a car.Zhou Gong raised his hand, come to my side. At that time, the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party was the most harmonious, and the two really boasted for a while in the car.Bai Chongxi joked that during the civil war, it was a good thing that your Communist Party didn't come to Guangxi, so you let us go, and I don't know how to thank you.

Duke Zhou was also a very funny person, and immediately answered: We are in favor of mobilizing the people in Guangxi, so there is no need to go. On October 26, the Kumamoto Division took the lead in occupying Wuhan. Finally, he won the first place by himself, and a stone in Okamura's heart fell to the ground. Occupying Wuhan means that the Kumamoto Division has secured its position as "the most powerful division in Japan", and Okamura is naturally the "No. 1 General in Japan" after Itagaki. Congratulatory telegrams and congratulatory messages from all parties flew in like snowflakes.Hata Junroku boasted that he had the power and prestige of "sweeping fallen leaves with a strong wind", and Prince Zairen, the chief of staff in the country, also praised him, repeatedly praising him as "commander well". Since Okamura is "commander well", there is nothing wrong with Ren Yan.When the latter returned to the country, the headquarters of the Second Army was also revoked, and all the divisions under its command were incorporated into the Eleventh Army. On the surface, Okamura looks complacent, but in fact he is not only unhappy, but also depressed. In order to capture Wuhan, the Japanese army went on an expedition and suffered many casualties, but they were not able to wipe out any of the main force of the Chinese army. In the end, all those who should and could run away ran away, which was tantamount to a military failure. diplomatic star Regarding the occupation of Wuhan, if you say you are unhappy, the "first general" Okamura is a little unhappy, but most Japanese are still very happy. On October 28, Emperor Hirohito summoned the chief of staff, Prince Zaihito, and the deputy chief of the naval command department in the palace, saying, "I am very pleased with this." In fact, since the fall of Nanjing, Hirohito has summoned his princes and ministers more than once, and "rejoiced" more than once. However, he has reason to think that this time should be the end. It was discussed at the imperial meeting more than four months ago that if both Wuhan and Guangzhou were captured, the Chinese government would have nowhere to go.Now that both goals have been achieved, it is time for the opponent to wave the white flag. But that government has been downgraded from the "Nanjing government" to the "Wuhan government", and then from the "Wuhan government" to the "Chongqing government". The one who can't explain it the most is the Prime Minister Konoe. Of course, it's not a day or two that he can't explain his errands. Just after the statement of "not taking the national government as an opponent", there was a great victory in Taierzhuang immediately, which shows that the struggle between the two sides has just begun.Okay now, you can't even wipe this face off if you want to talk about it. Jin Wei complained about everything, and hated both Foreign Minister and Lu Xiang. Why didn't this unreasonable Hirota Hongyi give me a hand, making me overwhelmed and in such an embarrassing situation. That Sugiyama Moto who was stabbed, you were the loudest at the time of the war, saying that you wanted to "solve the China incident in a month". It has been more than a year, and nothing has been resolved. So long before the Battle of Wuhan, Konoe became ruthless and carried out a cabinet reform, replacing four cabinet members.Among them, Ugaki Kazunari was the successor foreign minister, and Seishiro Itagaki was the successor land minister. Ugaki is the first non-diplomat foreign minister in Japanese history.The guards appointed such an old senior in the army, and it was nothing more than to suppress those young and strong factions in the army who did not know the heights of the sky and the earth. When Konoe talked to Ugaki and asked him to be foreign minister, Ugaki insisted: I can join the team, but you have to promise me that you can't use your "opponent statement" to trap me, otherwise the foreign minister will not be able to do it. Regarding the "opponent's statement", Jin Wei himself regretted it a bit, so of course he kept nodding. However, the "opponent" Yu Yuan referred to was by no means Chiang Kai-shek, he was referring to Kong Xiangxi and other important officials. Konoe called Ugaki and Itagaki into the cabinet at the same time. His intention was to use two prongs, that is, Ugaki was in charge of inducing surrender through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Itagaki was in charge of inducing surrender through the military department. Everyone went hand in hand, but the final result was like the Sea of ​​Japan and the Army, complementary to each other. Not to mention, tearing down the stage every day is more than enough. Yu Yuan's focus was to keep an eye on Kong Xiangxi, but before he could figure it out, Ban Yuan had already set up the table. The military department plans to set up a "counter branch" to "carry out work" on China.This organization clearly wanted to grab the job of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Yu Yuan naturally objected, which caused the relationship between the two departments to be very tense. Konoe changed back and forth and caught himself in the middle.What is the strength of the military department? When Itagaki and Tada Hayao combined forces, he had no choice but to agree to set up a "counter branch", and Ugaki also ended up resigning sadly. Yu Yuan stepped down from the stage, and the military department had to set up a stage to sing the big show alone, and the military department's inducement to surrender was no different from that of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.They don't really want to have any formal negotiations with you, but to complement the military offensive and sow dissension and division from within. The Japanese love to play tricks, but Chiang Kai-shek also wanted to take the opportunity to find out the truth.Because the battle in Wuhan had just begun at that time, and the doors and windows for direct negotiations were closed. At this time, it is naturally very important to understand what the other party is thinking and doing behind the scenes. Chiang Kai-shek decided to send a "diplomatic new star" to play, this person was named Gao Zongwu. Gao Zongwu graduated from the Department of Political Science and Law of Kyushu Imperial University in Japan. Although he studied politics and diplomacy, he couldn't get into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at first ("politics studies the West, military studies the East", he got the order wrong). Teaching and writing articles in the university. In his later years, Gao Zongwu (left) lived in the United States and said to himself that "seven years in politics is like hemoptysis" At this time, Gao Zongwu is equivalent to a college graduate who has not suffered any setbacks. He has just entered the runway of life. He is young, strong and full of energy. confidence. Gao Zongwu has very solid Japanese skills. It is said that he has studied in Japan for eight years, and even the Japanese think he is an authentic native.On this basis, he began to further study the trend of Japanese politics. He published 14 papers in a row in the "Diplomatic Review", each of which was concerned with Japanese issues. People began to quietly discuss, who is that young expert on Japan? Only by struggling can we reap good results, Xiao Gao, you are about to have a show. In 1933, because Japan withdrew from the League of Nations, China generally felt great disappointment with the League of Nations and the diplomacy of Britain and the United States. "Japanese knowledge" was increasingly valued. interview.Chiang Kai-shek even personally invited Teacher Xiao Gao to his home to listen to his opinions. In 1934, Gao Zongwu was transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Not long after that, he was promoted from an ordinary staff member to chief and deputy director of the Asian Department.In the second year, he became the director of the Asia Department and participated in major negotiations with Japan. Remarkably, he was only thirty years old this year.Gao Zongwu once said that he was never short of money when he was young, and if he wanted to spend it, he would spend a lot of it. Spending money is like flowing water. Thirty years old, we may not even have the qualifications to be house slaves or car slaves. We may be small employees in a company, small workers in a factory, small shop assistants in a store... Anyway, most of us cannot escape the word "small" , but he is already a dignified director. Although Gao Jun is talented, fate has really treated him well enough. Gao Zongwu's proudest work in the diplomatic circle was his 1934 visit to Beiping as a special representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to participate in the postal negotiations.At that time, the Japanese side wanted to force the Nanjing government to actually recognize the puppet Manchukuo by realizing the postal service inside and outside the customs.With the help and guidance of Huang Yu, Gao Zongwu on the one hand delayed the time, and on the other hand, while solving the postal problem, Gao Zongwu skillfully bypassed political obstacles and traps. In that negotiation, the young Gao Zongwu showed a certain amount of courage and diplomatic wisdom, but his flaws were slowly revealed at this time. During the negotiation process, Gao Zongwu once directly said "no" to the Japanese representative, which resulted in the breakdown of the negotiation on the spot.After walking out of the negotiation venue, he still thought that his performance that day was successful, and Huang Yu would praise him for it, but he didn't expect the latter to shake his head in disapproval. From the perspective of veteran diplomats like Huang Yu, in the negotiating field, as a representative of a weak country, one cannot just seek one's own pleasure for a while, and it is very risky to directly talk about collapse. Therefore, Gao Zongwu's move is really the impulse of a "children". . Gao Zongwu was young and vigorous, and immediately lost his temper. He immediately told Huang Yu that if there were any consequences, he would bear all the responsibility. Huang Yu looked at the stunned young man in front of him and didn't know what to say for a while.It was Yin Tong who was next to him who muttered: This kind of negotiation can't produce a hero. We cannot completely deny Yin Tong's efforts to represent China's position and fight for national rights just because Yin Tong really became a traitor later.In fact, judging from the negotiations he was in charge of, this person can be regarded as extremely shrewd, and his negotiation skills alone are far beyond the reach of the fledgling Gaozong Wu. In Huang Yu's words, when you come to these negotiations, you are "singing opera" for the country. It is just a question of whether the opera singing is good or not. But Gao Zongwu was unwilling to understand it this way. He bravely said "no" to the Japanese. Not only was he not affirmed by his superiors and colleagues, but he was also criticized. He felt really wronged and angry.Huang Yu's seniority and identity are there, he can't be clear, and he is rude to Yin Tong: Aren't you laughing at me for wanting to be a hero?Let me tell you, before I left Nanjing, I never thought of being a hero, let alone relying on a Japanese to be the director of the Railway Administration. Yin Tong was the director of the Beiping Railway Administration at that time. This sentence was obviously a satire of him, which also shows that Gao Zongwu was young and arrogant regardless of the occasion.In fact, without Huang Yu's timely remedy, it would have been difficult to continue the postal negotiations, and Gao Zongwu would not have achieved success and fame based on this. We may hope that at every stage of our life journey, there is such a kind and wise elder to help us, or we have the opportunity to allow you to make corrections, that would be great, but unfortunately not. Go to Maicheng In 1936, China and Japan launched a marathon political negotiation.In this negotiation, Gao Zongwu, who has been promoted to the director of the Asian Department, was only a supporting role in the preparatory meeting, but because the leading role was played by Foreign Minister Zhang Qun, the Japanese in turn praised and raised this young man vigorously, saying In the future, when encountering things, I will only talk to Gao Zongwu. It seems to be like this at any time, when a foreigner says he can do it, everyone will look sideways, thinking that this person may really be able to do it, let alone a negotiating opponent that everyone will be terrified of. Gao Zongwu's self-confidence reached a level of explosion. He even felt that being the director of the Asia Department was considered inferior: I am not interested in transactional work. My wish is to make Sino-Japanese relations a hundred and eighty degrees A big turn in order to realize the historic changes in East Asia! That's how people are. When you get crazy, you really have no boundaries. Do you think you are the Secretary-General of the United Nations? After the "July 7th Incident", Gao Zongwu joined the "low-key club", but Chiang Kai-shek resolutely resisted, and the Japanese were determined to invade. It was all guns and knives, and knives and knives.Since the Konoe Cabinet issued the "opponent statement", the two sides have recalled their ambassadors, and those who engage in diplomacy can only be spectators. The feeling of emptiness in the heart from a successful person to an unemployed person is really uncomfortable. No, you can't do nothing like this. Therefore, Gao Zongwu spoke to Chiang Kai-shek through Zhou Fohai, who was also a member of the "low-key club", expressing his willingness to invite Ying to go to Hong Kong to spy on Japanese intelligence. During this process, Chiang Kai-shek once changed his mind and wanted not to let Gao Zongwu go to Hong Kong again, mainly because he was too young and prone to mistakes, but after Zhou Fohai's efforts, Gao Zongwu finally made the trip. Gao Zongwu was so ambitious at a young age, he boasted many times in front of Chiang Kai-shek, as if negotiating between China and Japan, no one could sacrifice himself.However, the diplomatic field is a bottomless arena, and the intestines of those who hang out in it have to go around countless circles. Gao Zongwu made several trips to and from Hong Kong, all in vain, and the people he found were in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the military You can't even talk, and it's even more impossible for you to get any confidential information. Chiang Kai-shek was very cautious in the secret negotiations with Japan According to Chiang Kai-shek's arrangement, secret spying and negotiation matters are of great importance, and there is no room for any mistakes. Every step needs to be instructed by him personally. However, after several encounters, this "diplomatic star" became impetuous, and when his brain became hot, he lost his work. side. Without Chiang Kai-shek's knowledge, he went to Dongying alone under the instigation of the Japanese, and then proposed a dangerous idea to break the deadlock: support Wang Jingwei, replace Chiang Kai-shek, and seek peace with Japan. Diplomacy is actually a very rigorous and meticulous job, but Gao Zongwu, as a diplomat, is full of too much freedom.Between Chiang Kai-shek and Wang Jingwei, he always believed that "Mr. Jiang is cold, and Mr. Wang is warm", so he has long had the heart to rely on Wang to seek peace.Just at this time, Wang Jingwei was also preparing to launch a "peace movement" through Gao Zongwu because his ideas were rejected within the government. From this, the Japanese military discovered that besides Kong Xiangxi, Wang Jingwei could also open a gap. Chiang Kai-shek was furious after getting the report. Going to Japan without permission, and offering such a terrible "strategy" to the other party, is tantamount to begging for a surrender. Gao Zongwu was originally sent to find out the reality, but in the end he was taken advantage of. A rising diplomatic star turned into a diplomatic idiot in an instant, and became a toy puppet played by the Japanese. Gao Zongwu is a jerk, who told him to go to Japan? Chiang Kai-shek ordered the suspension of all funding for Gao Zongwu's activities, and since then he has never wanted to see this self-righteous nerd again. Gao Zongwu was very self-confident. He thought that even Huang Yu was not considered by him back then. After being stimulated by this, he immediately coughed up blood, which led to the relapse of tuberculosis, and he could not see anyone for several months. Overnight, all the things he had in the past will go away from him. For Gao Zongwu, this is even more terrifying than death.So, he put all his eggs in one basket and went farther and farther until he followed Wang Jingwei on the road of treason and defection to the enemy. The drama of the story lies in the fact that on the eve of the opening of the Wang Puppet regime, Gao Zongwu suddenly woke up and realized that he had been fooled by the Japanese, so he fled Shanghai and published the "Wang Ri Secret Agreement" in the newspapers, and in turn attacked Wang Puppet The regime has dealt a heavy blow. Although it is a remedy after the disaster, the life of a diplomat is over.This young man once climbed very high, but also fell very fast. old rivers and lakes The intelligence still needs to be spied on, but it is no longer possible to find young people like Gao Zongwu who are hairless and insecure. This time, it was the eloquent Xiao Zhenying who was entrusted with a secret mission by Chiang Kai-shek. Xiao Zhenying is a civil servant. When Chiang Kai-shek appointed him as the Chief Counselor of the First War Zone, he didn't want him to go directly to the battlefield to fight. Everything in the world must be used to its full potential.It would be a pity if Xiao Zhenying was able to fight all over North China and defeat Feiyuan and Itagaki with one mouth. Chiang Kai-shek asked Xiao Zhenying to have secret talks with the Japanese side in Hong Kong in the name of taking care of his family members. After receiving the order, Xiao Zhenying also left for Hong Kong.He is different from Gao Zongwu, although he is not a "Japanese expert" in bright clothes, but he is a veteran of the world, and he can smell the other party's scent with a light sniff.After chatting a few gossips, I found out that a Japanese named Hezhitakaji was very particular, and his status was very unusual, and he might have direct access to the Japanese military headquarters. He guessed right, He Zhi was the secret representative of the military stationed in the South. Hezhi used to hang out in North China, and Xiao Zhenying was also a familiar face in North China back then. He had friends all over the world, so of course he knew Hezhi.He immediately reported this clue to Chiang Kai-shek who was in Wuhan. At this time, the Battle of Wuhan had entered the middle stage, and Chiang Kai-shek immediately summoned Xiao Zhenying to Hankou to teach him the opportunity in person. It is said that after seeing Xiao Zhenying, Hezhi also thought that he had found a stepping stone. When reporting to the military department, the latter also solemnly named it "Xiao Zhenying's work". The two sat down face to face, and Hezhi released the biggest bait, which was the promise to "restore the state before the 'July 7th Incident'". When the news reached Wuhan, not only Kong Xiangxi and the few other "peacemakers" who knew the inside story were excited, but even Chiang Kai-shek became interested. Before that, he had no hope for the "peace talks", and he sent Xiao Zhenying there mainly to spy on the inside story of the Japanese. At that time, Zhang Jiluan was called the chief editor of "Ta Kung Pao", but he was actually an important think tank under Chiang Kai-shek's account.Chiang Kai-shek stated to Zhang Jiluan in private that based on his understanding of the Japanese, if there were no "major changes and blows", the other party would never spit out the meat that was on the lips easily, so he was right about Hezhi's so-called " "peace talks" should not be optimistic. Having said that, when Chiang Kai-shek heard that He Zhi agreed to "restore the state before the July 7th Incident", he couldn't help but be moved. In the current predicament, if the Japanese side can do this, the Chinese side will gain an advantage. In this way, the two sides can reach a truce, and at least the Chinese government and the army can breathe a sigh of relief. Originally, Chiang Kai-shek had repeatedly insisted that a third country must be used as a guarantee for negotiations between China and Japan, otherwise he would not be able to trust the words of the Japanese. However, an unexpected international incident made him speechless. After selling the other party, the Czech Republic was forced to cede the Sudetenland to Germany. This is the "Munich Agreement." Not only was British Prime Minister Chamberlain not ashamed of this, but when he returned home, he waved the agreement and told his voters: I have brought peace for a whole generation! There was thunderous applause from the audience. Under the shadow of the First World War, Europe became a paradise of "general appeasement", and all Europeans became cowards.They are afraid of fighting, and they have completely forgotten what it means to be "inhumane and unrighteous" in order not to go to the battlefield. Let such a "third country" act as a "guarantor" for you, can you rest assured? Since the all-out war of resistance, Chiang Kai-shek has always insisted on linking the Sino-Japanese war with the European situation, reading and analyzing intelligence about Europe every day. According to Germany's arrogant posture, sooner or later the European War will break out.If it is not possible to fight immediately, as long as the negotiation process between China and Japan is satisfactory, there will be peace, but if the European war breaks out in an instant, then you will not be polite to Little Japan. Otherwise, we will not be able to obtain satisfactory negotiation conditions. Now the matter is here. Seeing that the Europeans are extremely afraid of death, the British and French governments are very dishonest, and the European War will not start for a while. Now that the Japanese have some interest, they can directly conduct secret negotiations without the guarantee of a third country. Negotiations started, but at this time Chiang Kai-shek tightened the rope. With the lessons learned by Gao Zongwu, we have to be extra cautious about negotiating these things secretly.Chiang Kai-shek reminded himself again and again in his diary: the enemy country is ruthless, and the crisis will increase when peace talks are made. In terms of personality, Xiao Zhenying is also a very proactive person. He is afraid that if he is impulsive, he will cause trouble by talking nonsense. Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek pondered over and over again. He Yingqin guided the whole process. Chiang Kai-shek asked Xiao Zhenying to contact He Yingqin by long-distance telephone once a day as much as possible, so as to decide a strategy based on the actual trend of the Wuhan battle, and at the same time not to accommodate the Japanese side during negotiations. The reason for not accommodating is that Chiang Kai-shek knows what kind of position he is in now.In a completely passive situation, accommodating is not only useless, but also bound to suffer great harm.