Chapter 17 Chapter Sixteen

"December 28" Songhu battle broke out.The Japanese navy and army competed to fight, but both suffered serious setbacks. At the diplomatic conference on this battle, Yan Huiqing, a Chinese diplomatic prodigy, encountered the shocking rules of the League of Nations. Cai Tingkai was visiting a friend's house when the gunshot was fired. After receiving the call from Zhang Ruosong, he was not surprised, but replied calmly: follow the plan. Then he put down the phone, followed his friend upstairs, and saw through the window that there were indeed dense gunfire across the sky in the direction of Zhabei.

go downstairs. Commander-in-Chief Jiang Guangnai and Garrison Commander Dai Ji were already waiting downstairs. The three walked hand in hand to the temporary headquarters at Zhenru Station. It's like taking a leisurely walk after a meal. More than a thousand years ago, adjacent places. Xie An, who is in charge of Nanjing (Jiankang), is playing chess with guests at home.His nephew, Xie Xuan, the commander in chief of the Battle of Feishui, sent someone to send a letter. Xie An read it, kept silent, put it aside casually, and continued playing chess. All the guests, those who played chess and those who watched the game, couldn't sit still.Everyone was puzzled at first, seeing the ex-Qin soldiers pressing down on the situation, it was already imminent, why did Mr. Xie still have the leisure to let someone play chess with him.You know, the heads of the brothers can all be tied together and put here.

Many people murmured in their hearts that this letter might not be a good letter, maybe it was a defeat ahead, otherwise the news would not have been announced early. Someone couldn't help it, and finally asked carefully about the content of the letter. It's okay, let's talk, we can still hold on. Without raising his head, Xie An replied casually: "The letter said that the children won the battle at the front." After confirming this news, everyone went crazy - except Xie An himself. The first person in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, a fairy-like figure, still looks the same, playing chess and drinking tea (the dance was danced later when celebrating the victory), and there is only the calm and calm look in his eyes as always.

The so-called "memory, color and behavior are not different from normal". People at that time said: An Shi (Xie An's word An Shi) does not come out, just like the common people! Believe me. The words in the quotation can be commented as follows: an army also has temperament and character, and this temperament and character are related to the first military director. With a soul. Now this force is called the 19th Route Army. Because everything is already clear in the chest. Because everything has already been prepared. Because everything has long been neglected. From the moment when the head coach of the 19th Route Army walked to the temporary headquarters, the momentum of this battle was determined.

At the headquarters, Cai Tingkai sent a secret message to Nanjing: Zhabei has opened fire, and our army is determined to resist. Yanze's attack was sudden to a certain extent. After occupying Tiantong'an Station, the next target was Shanghai North Railway Station. I have been to Shanghai many times, but I have never seen Tiantongan Station.Later, after checking the information, I found out that it had been demolished long ago, leaving only the place name Tiantong'an Road. That section of the inner-city railway is the part of the Songhu Railway extending into the city. It used to be called the "Longtang Railway", but now it has been replaced by the No. 3 subway station below.

The easy success of Tiantong'an Station made Yanze very proud.If he wins Shanghai North Railway Station again, he will be able to control the Songhu traffic in the city. In the first attack, the Japanese navy invested a total of 2,000 marines. Zhang Ruosong regiment has 3 battalions with 1000 people.But when the battle started, they unexpectedly got a support army. This support army is a company of the Gendarmerie Regiment.Because the 19th Route Army was always procrastinating and refusing to give up the defense area, the Gendarmerie was very dissatisfied, but they had no choice but to find a rental house first.There is a place where they live very close to here. After a look, what's the matter, the devils really came over, so what are you waiting for, let's fight with the 19th Route Army.

In addition, there are 2 squadrons of the police brigade.The police are in charge of city order, while the gendarmerie is in charge of military order. Naturally, they are not as good at fighting as field troops, but as long as they have guns in their hands, they can be used to some extent.With this addition, there are 1,700 people. There are 1,700 military police and 2,000 marines fighting against others. If they are placed on a serious battlefield, they will definitely suffer losses.Fortunately, the fight here is street fighting. No matter how many people you have, how many people can you squeeze in an alley?What's more, in order to facilitate the attack, Yanze had already divided his people into three groups, each with 500 people.Therefore, we should not look at the total amount, but at the local level.1,700 of us is enough.

There is even a surplus.After Zhang Ruosong deployed the troops, he left 3 additional companies as reserve teams. But it was not until the official exchange of fire that it was found that it was more difficult to fight. The Japanese Marine Corps is not a weak brigade. Generally speaking, the military quality of the Marine Corps is even better than that of ordinary field infantry. They are accurate with marksmanship and fierce in battle. More importantly, there is another powerful equipment for leading cover, that is, tanks. This tank vehicle was imported from Britain by Japan, and the model is Vickers M-25 wheeled tank.It looks like a big beetle in appearance, with a circular turret on the top, and two heavy machine guns that can swing and shoot.

Sophisticated weapons are coming. Previously, the 19th Route Army mainly experienced civil wars such as the Northern Expedition and the Central Plains War.Many people have never seen such things as tanks (called "iron bulls"), let alone know how to defend them. The Japanese army of the three routes had 2 to 3 tanks to open the way ahead. The fortifications built by the 19th route army at the intersection were washed away, and Zhang Ruosong's regiment soon suffered one-third of the casualties. The Japanese army once rushed into the defense line, and the situation was very critical.

Zhang Ruosong hurriedly called up the reserve team, and after a while of beating and charging, he regained his position and repelled the Japanese attack. Shiozawa believed that the failure of the first attack might be due to the insufficient number of people, so when organizing the second attack, 1,700 people were added. The tank was still driving ahead, terribly arrogant. A man came to the front line and stepped forward to command. Weng Zhaoyuan, the most famous general in the "January 28th" battle and the commander of the 156th brigade, came. In terms of personality, Weng Zhaoyuan is a very adventurous person.This graduate of the Japanese Academy of Non-commissioned Officers suddenly thought of going to France to learn how to fly.

However, an airplane is not a car after all, and a pilot's license is also different from a car license, so the difficulty can be imagined.What's more, the aircraft at that time was still a new thing, neither the driving technology nor the performance of the aircraft itself was considered mature, and there were often news reports in the newspapers that it caught fire and even crashed while driving.Not to mention the Chinese, even the native French, few dare to get involved in such a difficult technology. The "flying enthusiast" Weng Zhaoyuan not only had the courage, but also did a very good job. Later, he was even able to fly the plane by himself. If you ask pilots what they are most afraid of, nine out of ten they will say that while flying, the fuselage has a mechanical failure. Because it was in the air, not on the ground, it could not be repaired immediately.In this case, no seniority or technology is useless. If you want to save your life, the only option is to parachute immediately. As for the plane, there is no way to control it anymore, just do what you like. Unfortunately, brother Weng also encountered such bad luck. He also wanted to skydive, but found that he couldn't.Because there are residential houses under the plane, it doesn't matter if he jumps like this, the plane that lost control can only go into the houses of the French people. Of course, if a parachutist really jumped, no one would be able to stand up and criticize-the plane is about to die, and of course the pilot cannot go to the funeral with him. This is common sense and routine, and anyone will do it. At the critical moment, Weng Zhaoyuan made a choice that was different from "anyone": a risky forced landing. Fortunately, God takes care of the brave and the righteous.The plane crash landed successfully. Upon hearing the news, the French burst into tears.Touched. They called Weng Zhaoyuan "a brave Chinese". Now, like learning to fly an airplane, this "brave Chinese" began to figure out how to break through the "iron bull" in front of him. After the first round of competition, everyone has woken up from the initial surprise.Many people have seen the problem of "Iron Bull": this is a wheeled tank vehicle, the bottom is not tracks, but wheels. The wheels are its weak point. Although the Chinese army saw tanks for the first time, some people have seen cars.The method of hitting a tank with wheels should be similar to that of hitting a car. Weng Zhaoyuan picked out some agile Guangzai and formed a death squad, ambush in shops on both sides of the road. The Japanese tanks drove vigorously, not aware of these changes at all, but continued to rumble forward. store, over.Here comes the bullet. As soon as the tank drove past, the death squad hiding in the shop suddenly rushed out, cutting off the connection between the infantry and the tank. To be honest, it is not a good feeling to stay in a tank.It is safe to have a steel plate cover outside, but the field of view is too small, and it is difficult to see the surrounding situation clearly. The tank was driving, and suddenly felt something was wrong, why only the front shot and threw grenades, but no movement was heard behind? Looking back, it's terrible, the followers have been separated by bullets, and they can't keep up even if they want to. That's not bad.Turn back quickly and go to help the brothers. But the roads in Shanghai are too narrow (and many streets seem to be the same now), so it collided with the tank next to it with a "bang". This is good, everyone is stuck in a pile and can't leave. The traffic accident happened at the wrong time.Because the Chinese police will not only help direct traffic, but also beat the dog in the water. The way to fight a tank is very simple, that is, to blow up its wheels hard. A bundle of seven or eight grenades was tied into a cluster and thrown under the tank. There was only a bang, and it was done. The tank vehicle that was flaunting its power just now was paralyzed there motionless. Although the machine gun on the turret could still fire, the body could no longer move, and it was actually a disabled person. The 19th Route Army no longer fears tanks. Say hello to the car if you have anything in hand. When encountering a hail of bullets, the Japanese soldiers outside the vehicles could still lie down to avoid them, while the immobilized tanks had to stand and endure. Gradually, the Chinese soldiers discovered that not only the wheels can be blown up, but even the body of the tank is not indestructible.If you are lucky and the location is right, you can still drill a hole in the car with a Czech machine gun. It stands to reason that if the skin of the tank is thicker, unless it is a professional armor-piercing bullet, it is more difficult for the bullet to penetrate. The problem is that the skin of this British tank is not only not thick, but also very thin. How thin is it? Armor thickness does not exceed 6 mm. You can't blame the Brit for cutting corners.This kind of tank was originally used to patrol the city and prevent riots. It is just right for the police. If it is used on a regular battlefield, it will be strange. It may be that the big-nosed foreigners arbitrarily expanded the scope of effectiveness when they advertised, which made Little Japan spend a lot of money and suffered a big loss. In this way, illegal advertising is really a nuisance. Even the most inferior rifle is not completely useless. Tanks can't go in, but the bullets hitting them can rebound. Some Japanese marines followed up, squeezing beside or behind the tank, thinking it was safe, but never thought that the bullets bouncing off the tank would hurt themselves. Two hours later, Shiozawa found something was wrong.The tanks were gone, and the offensive lost momentum.However, he no longer had any extra troops to use for reinforcements, so he had to change the course and change the three-way attack into a two-way attack. He transferred troops from the withdrawn way to the other two ways. This time the Japanese army found a new method. They climbed to the nearby buildings, set up machine guns and swept at the positions of the Chinese defenders. Under this conspiracy, the 19th Route Army suffered heavy losses, and some positions began to fall. At this time, it depends on their wit.The Japanese army would condescend to take advantage of it, and the 19th Route Army also learned this trick.They also climbed to the top of the building, treated the other person in the same way, and greeted each other with machine guns and grenades. Shiozawa's second attack failed again. Before entering Zhabei, Yanze had boasted about Lao Niu, and he also "predicted" that once war broke out, "it will be over in four hours."But after two rounds, four hours had passed, and it was still nothing. In desperation, Yanze had no choice but to call the plane to help out. Just before launching the attack last night, the pilots on the aircraft carrier had asked him to fight, but he thought it was very ridiculous at that time. What the Marine Corps can solve in four hours, do you still need your Air Force to help?Go back to sleep, and when you wake up, just listen to the good news. Now that the good news is gone, it is more realistic to pray for a miracle from the naval aviation. At this time, the "Notoro" aircraft carrier was moored on the Huangpu River, with a total of 6 seaplanes (some say 8) on board. Yanze gave an order, and the bomber roared out, flying directly over Zhabei. However, the Japanese aircraft found that it was unable to cause fatal damage to the fortifications of the 19th Route Army. The main reason is that the targets of these fortifications are not large, and most of them are not far from the Japanese positions. If you are not careful, you may accidentally bomb your own people. There was nothing the pilot could do, but he bragged to the commander again that he couldn't take the bomb back intact, so he closed his eyes and went to the Zhabei residential area to throw the matter away. Although there was no major damage to the military facilities, the houses of the common people were unlucky because of this. It also caused the largest publishing house in China at that time, the Commercial Press, to be bombed, and its affiliated Oriental Library was destroyed. More than 100,000 volumes of Yuan edition books were burned, which can be regarded as one of the great catastrophes of the motherland's culture. After this round of bombing, Cai Tingkai and others who commanded in the rear believed that the Japanese army would definitely launch another attack, so they informed Weng Zhaoheng on the front line to prepare for the enemy. Weng Zhaoheng had excellent grades in the Japanese Non-commissioned Officer Academy (I saw some information that said he was the first in the art department, but I have not checked it specifically), and learned to fly in France. no stranger.He immediately called up the 5th Regiment (Ding Rongguang Regiment), and at the same time deployed mortars at the main intersection. Sure enough, after the plane dropped the bomb, Yanze quickly deployed a third attack. This time Yanze adopted the method of leading the front with tanks and outflanking them with trains from behind, and once captured Shanghai North Railway Station. But lost again. After the first two confrontations, the 19th Route Army already had enough experience in dealing with tanks and the Japanese army. No matter how aggressive you are, you just need to hold the bull by the nose: bomb the tank with grenades. As soon as the tank leading the way collapsed, the devil soldiers following behind didn't know which way to run, and ended up in a mess. The 19th Route Army took advantage of the momentum to launch a counterattack, forcing the Japanese army back to the northern section of Sichuan North Road. The Shanghai people who had been shouting and cheering behind the 19th Route Army and serving tea and water were so excited that they immediately donated collectively and presented a set of yellow woolen uniforms to each of the officers and soldiers of Zhang Ruosong's regiment who fought the most bravely. The calendar turns to January 29, the 21st year of the Republic of China (1932). As soon as he got up in the morning, Lao Jiang got a report that the Chinese and Japanese troops had begun to exchange fire.This made him a little dumbfounded. Didn't the conditions be agreed to? How could he still refuse to let him go ("Why did he even have a conflict at midnight"). These Japanese people are really disgusting, I have to accommodate in every possible way, how can I go further ("Unexpectedly, the more I tolerate, the more arrogant they are"). From this, he concluded that it seemed that the Japanese had big ideas this time. I am afraid that after invading the three provinces in the east, they were going to move their minds in the southeast ("The Japanese pirates must want to invade the southeast of me again"). How to do it? So far, I have no choice but to fight ("the only thing I can do is fight to the death with him"). He hurriedly found someone to hold a meeting to study the defense issues in Shanghai and along the Yangtze River. At the KMT Central Political Conference that afternoon, the foreign policy of "resistance while negotiating" was proposed to replace the original "non-resistance". The proposal of this diplomatic strategy was not Chiang's whim.He used a lot of brains and spent a lot of time thinking about it. When Lao Jiang clamored to "go north to resist the Japanese", the people around him appeared to dissuade him, but few of them sincerely wanted to help him protect his "emperor", which made him frustrated and sad. Later, he went to Zhu Peide, whom he regarded as a confidant, and poured out his heart. Zhu Peide said to him very "considerately" that outsiders don't know your difficulties. If we want to resist Japan now, we have two options, either prepare to lose the war, or negotiate peace first, and "revenge Xu Tu" later. This remark made Lao Jiang, who has been criticized as "non-resistance" by the outside world, very useful: You are absolutely right. But why do I keep going north even though I know I will be defeated? Lao Jiang confessed his true thoughts: If he went north and was defeated, the country would be unlucky, but I would be honored; The history of one person, Xianhe sacrifices the history of the other person for the whole country"). In addition to stepping down, reputation is also the most important thing for Lao Jiang. In fact, these two things complement each other. To consolidate the "emperor's throne", it is impossible to do without the reputation of the government and the public.Lao Jiang understands this truth better than anyone else. Therefore, if it is possible to prevent me from going to the field, I would rather go to the north to "resist" for a while. After returning to power, Lao Jiang had his finger on the pulse of most of the civil and military officials in the court. Don't look at how enthusiastic they are about "anti-Japanese war", in fact, as long as the anti-Japanese war is not used as tiger skin, they are afraid of war in their bones. Otherwise, they would not be so anxious when I proposed to go north to fight against Japan up. For the "non-resistance" policy, these people are actually acceptable.But public opinion can't handle it, and political enemies inside and outside the party will become entangled, and they will definitely use it to punish themselves at that time. What to do, the only way is to use a person to block the bullet hole. This person is Wang Jingwei. Wang Jingwei didn't have a gun, so he had to rely on Lao Jiang's support to be the "President of the Executive Committee", and this dean was not for nothing. "One side resists, one side negotiates", I resist, you negotiate, I will do what is praised, and you will do what is criticized. The abacus was so good that even Yan Laoxi in the past was ashamed of himself. The foreign policy of "resisting while negotiating" continued until the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War. During the "January 28th" battle, this policy was specifically defined as "preparing for negotiation while actively resisting". Lao Jiang, who was in charge of "active resistance", came up with a preliminary plan: the 19th Route Army defended Shanghai, and the 87th and 88th Divisions guarded Nanjing. Transferred to Shanghai to participate in combat. Lao Wang, who was in charge of "preparatory negotiations", decided to move the national government to Luoyang to work, and at the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent notes to other countries, hoping to help with the work and let the Japanese stop. The exchange of fire between China and Japan made it difficult for the British and American consulates in the public concession area. Shanghai is not the three eastern provinces.The latter is as high as the sky and the emperor is far away, and foreigners in Britain and the United States have no plans to start companies and invest there, so they can be left alone.But Shanghai is different, all the pots and pans are here.Fighting back and forth on both sides, the bullets don't have eyes, and if you are not careful, they may fly on you. This is no joke.So this time they didn't need anyone to invite, they went to Yanze impatiently. In front of the Japanese, Britain and the United States expressed their views. Britain: I don't allow you to use the public concession as a base for fighting in the future. If the Chinese guns chase after you, everyone will suffer. United States: It’s too much, too much, hasn’t the Chinese government already agreed to those conditions, even if he offends you, you have to forgive and forgive others, just accept it when you see it. Yanze attacked three times in a row, but failed to take Zhabei down until dawn, and was in a dilemma for a while.Britain and the United States happened to come to mediate, so they quickly made a favor and agreed to a three-day truce starting from the evening of the 29th. Talking about how to stop the war, Britain suggested that the Chinese and Japanese troops withdraw from the warring area at the same time, and then the neutral country troops would be stationed to prevent the two sides from contacting each other. Yanze didn't take advantage of it on the field, but off the field he still wanted to save face. He insisted on putting on a haughty demeanor, ignoring the enthusiasm of the British. As soon as you say quit, I will quit, so what am I? The first mediation failed. The navy is an adventurer in Shanghai, what is the Japanese government doing at this time? First of all, we have to admit that the Quanyang cabinet itself does not want to play with fire in Shanghai, where European and American bigwigs gather.When China and Japan were at odds, Prime Minister Inukai Takeshi specially asked the Minister to China, Mamoru Shigemitsu, to go to Shanghai for mediation. It's a pity that the old dog is going to be unable to do what he wants this time. The navy is competing with the army to be jealous, wishing they could also come up with a "September 18" to show the emperor.How old is the cabinet and the prime minister?Don't listen to you at all. Inuyang Takeshi had no choice but to report to the Emperor, hoping that this all-Japanese idol could exert influence on the navy. In essence, Emperor Hirohito was also a standard militant with great ambitions.Back then, his teacher was the "Military God" Nogi Noki, who retired from the army. The disciples taught by this old man naturally have a soft spot for "expanding the territory" and "stretching overseas". It's just that Hirohito is a very slippery guy.Under normal circumstances, he does not easily express his true attitude, but like playing with a puppet, he alternately lifts the military department and the cabinet to ensure his personal influence, and finally he is the only one. The army wanted to use him, so he tried his best to promote the power of command. He also took advantage of the opportunity to use the army, and stuffed all the royal brothers, seven aunts and eight aunts, into the top ranks of the army. After the "September 18th", Hirohito no longer worried that his "imperial army" would surely defeat the Chinese army, so he was not very interested in the opinions of Inu Lao, and he didn't pay much attention to them. In addition, it is said that the emperor's mind was not on national affairs at the time, but he was worried that no one would inherit his huge family business. Hirohito dreamed of bringing a son back.But his wife was very disappointing, and gave birth to four children in a row, all of whom were recruiting younger brothers. As an emperor, Hirohito never imagined that his next generation would be a queen, so he was very anxious, thinking about how to give birth to a son all day long. Shanghai?Just let the army figure it out on its own. With such a toss, things got bigger. As usual, it is the cabinet that wipes the ass. On the 29th, the Inuyang Cabinet issued a statement on the "Shanghai Incident". In this statement, the Japanese government, in addition to repeating old tunes, raised the question of the Chinese media's "disrespect" to the emperor again in order to justify itself. Because at the beginning of this year, Emperor Hirohito was assassinated by Koreans during a military parade (that is, the Tokyo Sakurada Gate incident). Speaking of which, the North Koreans were really talented and good at assassinating, and even the famous Ito Hirobumi died in their hands. This time it was a bomb, although it didn't hit Hirohito, but it also surprised him a lot (I don't know if it affected the birth of his son). Because the news was so eye-catching, almost all Chinese and foreign newspapers reprinted it, and the "Republic of China Daily" in Shanghai was no exception. Just post it, no one stipulates that only good news can be published and bad news cannot be published.The problem is that this newspaper added a sentence after publishing the news. It was this sentence that made the Japanese so angry—— Although he missed (Hirohito), it was almost too late ("Although he missed, it was not far away!"). Isn't this clearly cursing our Emperor? ! From a fair point of view, strictly speaking, this sentence is a little bit unkind, which has caused international disputes. However, this matter has actually been resolved long ago. Before answering the "four conditions", the Shanghai Municipal Government has temporarily closed the "Republic of China Daily" office. Now to use it as an example, I really have nothing to say. The Northeast has not been resolved yet, and another accident happened in Shanghai. I have to remind the League of Nations: Can you be more efficient in handling affairs? In this regard, it is not only the Chinese who are anxious, but also the British and American countries who are always worried that the artillery fire will hit the entrance of the concession. At the council meeting held by the League of Nations specially for the "January 28th" incident, the British representative slammed the table and shouted, saying that if the situation in the Far East continues to develop like this, the League of Nations should stop doing it at all. Just deal with it. That's right, what is the League of Nations up to? Shi Zhaoji, the Chinese representative, has been resigning for two months. Shi Zhaoji's resignation caused the Nanjing National Government to suddenly fall into a talent panic. Wang Zhengting and Shi Zhaoji are both diplomatic talents trained by the southern government. Once they leave, there will be no one in this area. But the work still needs someone to do it, and the people who do it can't be worse than the above two.This is more difficult.People like Wang Zhengting and Shi Zhaoji are first-class experts in the diplomatic field. Where will they find someone who is better than them? There are still people, just change your thinking. If there is no one in the south, then go to the north to find them. The Nanjing government, which was forced to go to the house to expose the tiles, suddenly realized that there were still some capable people who were useless in the Beiyang government that had already collapsed. The first thing that comes to mind is naturally Gu Weijun who stole the limelight at the Paris Peace Conference. Hurry up and use it, first as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and then in the League of Nations investigation team as a Chinese adviser. Surprisingly, the most important League of Nations representative position was not reserved for him. Because another person may be more suitable than him. Yan Huiqing, born in a missionary family in Hongkou, Shanghai, graduated from the University of Virginia in the United States and was the first foreign student to receive a bachelor's degree in the history of the school. He started out as a diplomat, and finally became the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Beiyang government for a time. In his personal resume, he can be said to keep pace with the diplomatic wizard Gu Weijun. In my opinion, Shi Zhaoji's withdrawal is a major loss for China in the field of international diplomacy (including Wang Zhengting).But it was a blessing in disguise, and the northern diplomatic wizards who were ordered in the face of danger not only quickly filled the vacuum, but also with the arrival of Yan Huiqing, they were destined to create another immortal legend in the history of Chinese diplomacy. Because this is indeed an extraordinary person. First of all, of course, it is impeccable in business ability. Compared with Fang Ze, who is extremely bad at foreign languages, Yan Huiqing can speak both English and French very fluently, and all speeches are conceived by himself, and he typed them out with a typewriter himself (blessed is his assistant). Of course, these Gu Weijun and Shi Zhaoji can also do it.If he only had this ability, then he wouldn't be called Yan Huiqing. Don't forget, he has been in the government and even served as the top leader. Although the time is short, you have to know that the Beiyang government is ruled by warriors, and it was not easy to make a living in the cabinet at that time. The people inside can be said to be more cunning and smarter than the other. To have such an achievement can be regarded as attaining the Dao in cultivation. After becoming the representative of the League of Nations, the former Prime Minister of the Taoist government quickly showed that he was different from his predecessor. In dealing with the League of Nations, in addition to being eloquent in public, it is also important to build relationships in private.Ordinary people just set up a box and invite members of the delegation from the Great Empire or important officials from the League of Nations. This is called a key breakthrough.There are also rich and powerful people who simply book out the entire restaurant and invite everyone they can. This is called spreading the net in an all-round way. The former puts all eggs in one basket, and those small and medium-sized countries may dismantle your platform if they find out. The latter spends a lot of money, and the effect may be to collect business cards. The name still doesn't match. Yan Huiqing's approach is different. He did more than cast a net across the board. Treat your guests, and all of them. People generally only invite the chief representative of the delegation, and at most one deputy representative. He even sent invitations to the secretary's assistant and the staff, and he didn't pull any of them. Although the League of Nations at that time was not as large as the current United Nations, it still had 44 member states (later increased to 63).I did the math, and after deducting China and Japan (Japan is a hostile country, it is automatically excluded), there are at least 6 people in each delegation, and there are 264 people.In addition, there are still a group of people in the Yamen of the League of Nations that must not be missed. Inviting so many people to a restaurant for a meal, I don't think the Chinese delegation will be able to pay for the travel expenses back to China. But this is just your idea, because Yan Huiqing didn't intend to invite the brothers to the restaurant at all.Not to mention restaurants, he doesn't even bother with food stalls on the street. The Chinese delegation has their own chef brought from China, and they cook a table of working meals for lunch and dinner.Yan Huiqing thought about it, anyway, the table is big (foreign tables are relatively large), six people can eat, and a dozen people can also eat, so just don't waste it, call all foreign friends. In fact, let's not think too vulgarly of the comrades in the delegations of various countries. They have also lived in all corners of the country, have seen the world, and have never eaten any good things.No matter how good a restaurant is, for them, it is no different from going to a wedding banquet. The food is tasteless. It's too oily in your mouth, you need to change the taste. Then try authentic Chinese home cooking. When it comes to the quintessence of the motherland, I dare not brag about anything else, but the level of cooking is indeed unmatched by anyone.Cantonese, Hunan, Huaiyang, which country's chefs have you seen can distinguish so many genres? Compared with us, what is made by foreigners is also called food? The guests came to taste it, and it really tasted good and chewy. After eating it this time, I want to eat it next time. Chinese food, very good. For these people in the delegations of various countries and the League of Nations, it was the first time that the Chinese invited them to their homes for dinner. It was an expression of treating them as friends, which was both cordial and classy. This trick is called getting closer. Later, Lao Mei also learned it, and the most frequent and effective one was former President Bush Jr., who often took people to his farm for dinner.Although the food was not very good, none of the people who went there was proud and complacent - I have been in the president's house, and I have a lot of face! During the meal, Yan Huiqing was not idle either.He asked this and that, understood the attitude of the delegation and the League of Nations, and obtained a lot of information that was difficult to obtain in formal occasions or through normal channels. I made friends again, and inquired about news again, so this meal was not in vain. After more than a month in Geneva, Yan Huiqing invited all the people who should be hired at the rate of one group every day, and got to know all the people who should be familiar with. Now he was the new "old friend" of the League of Nations and of all delegations (except Japan). Yan Huiqing did not let go of the reporters who were not taken seriously by the general delegation.This time, he didn't even invite a working meal, but just selected two people from the delegation (he can handle the writing and reading by himself, and the staff is rich), set up a news office in the resident, and actively broke the news to the reporters through the news office. Yan Huiqing was the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and he knows what journalists need most. They have to write manuscripts, so they need materials.Giving materials is better than inviting them to dinner.Of course, these materials are beneficial to China and speak for the Chinese. This year, Yan Huiqing was 55 years old. For a mature diplomat, it is a golden age in which he can make great achievements. As soon as he heard the news of the "January 28th" Incident, he immediately asked the Council of the League of Nations to submit the Sino-Japanese dispute to the General Assembly for discussion. The reason why the League of Nations Congress was asked to discuss it was because Yan Huiqing discovered that his predecessor had walked into a dead end that he seemed to never be able to get out of. This is the "unanimous approval" principle of the League of Nations. No matter which article of the international covenant is invoked, and no matter how beneficial this article is to China, as long as Japan votes against it, the resolution will be invalid! If the dispute in Shanghai were referred to the Council of the League of Nations for discussion, the result might be exactly the same: all other countries demanded that Japan withdraw its troops, only Japan would not agree. Almost like nothing. A new way must be found to bypass this maze. In the dark, Yan Huiqing fell into hard thinking, hoping to see the light. After repeated thinking and weighing the pros and cons, he finally stood up, picked up a pen, and lightly drew a line under a clause of the "International Covenant". He firmly believes that this provision will be the golden key to help China get out of the dead end. Article 15 of the "International Covenant" stipulates: "After any case is transferred to the General Assembly, the report of the General Assembly and the report of the Executive Yuan have the same effect except for the countries in dispute." The key lies in the seven words "except the countries that are in conflict". In this dispute, no matter who is right or wrong, China and Japan are "competing countries" and should avoid suspicion.China will lose its voting rights for this, but so will Japan. The latter is exactly what Yan Huiqing wants. This means that Japan can no longer prevent the adoption of the "Report" of the League of Nations Assembly.According to Yan Huiqing's estimation, if nothing else happens, this "report" will continue the attitude of the council, calling for a truce between the two sides.In other words, even if Japan had a clear advantage on the Shanghai battlefield, it had to stop under the interference of the League of Nations Congress. Chinese representative Yan Huiqing's proposal was valued by the Council of the League of Nations and entered into a formal discussion and deliberation process. At the same time, the League of Nations investigation team, which has been in preparation for a long time, has also been established. Since this League of Nations investigation team was headed by British commissioner Sir Victor Lytton, it was also called the Lytton investigation team in history. The Litton investigation team originally planned to go directly to the Northeast, but the outbreak of the "January 28th" incident made them temporarily divert their itinerary to Shanghai. In Shanghai, Japan, which had used the armistice as a smoke screen, was brewing an even bigger storm. After receiving the report that the attack on Zhabei failed, the military command was surprised and hit hard at the same time. The Minister of Military Order at that time was King Bo Gong. 必须注释如下：“博恭”是名字，“王”跟“亲王”类似，但是比亲王要差，说明他是裕仁天皇的远亲，不是近亲。 如果闸北拿下了，博恭就有资本在天皇面前显摆一下了—— 就算是远亲，咱也是实在亲戚，同样能像陆军那样，帮陛下您撑起一片天。 可是偏偏僵在那里了，你说有多晦气。 都是这个盐泽无能，撤了他，换一个更好的。 在陆相荒木贞夫召集海陆军头领开会时，博恭表示他将派野村吉三郎中将任上海方面最高指挥官，并由野村率领由三艘巡洋舰组成的第3舰队赴沪增援。 荒木满意地点点头，又转过头看着参谋总长，问他那里可以出多少人。 这时候的参谋本部的头头已经换了，不再是那个金谷范三大将。 因为金谷参谋长被认为在对华作战上瞻前顾后，畏首畏尾，特别是在关东军进攻东北的整个过程中没有“雄图大略”，不仅帮不上忙，还拖了后腿，所以早已于去年年底被撤换了。 现在的参谋总长是载仁亲王。与博恭比起来，载仁的身份和地位就要显赫多了，不仅是亲王，还是裕仁天皇一族的——你没见名字后面也拖着一个“仁”吗。 见陆相问起，载仁倒也落落大方，没再翻先前海军在东北不搭理陆军的陈年旧帐，一口答应可以派兵，而且派好兵——第9师团（金泽师团）和混成第24旅团（久留米混成旅团）。 荒木一一记录下来，随后经内阁会议研究（其实就是过一过程序），上奏裕仁天皇待批。 事后，军令部长博恭却左想右想不对头。 洪洞县里无好人。陆军那帮粗鲁的家伙会对海军这么好吗？不可能，一定是包藏着什么不可告人的祸心。 想了好久，他忽然恍然大悟，如梦初醒。 敢情这帮小子是要到我们海军的地盘上来分一杯羹！ It was too much.让你派兵是给你面子，还想喧宾得主，做你的春梦去吧。 他马上去找载仁亲王。 咱们先得把话说清楚再出兵。 第9师团就不用派了。上海巴掌块地方，派这么多部队去，还嫌剌激英美“鬼畜”（日本人背地里对西洋老外的叫法，相当于我们称日本人为“鬼子”）不够是不是。 你只要把那个混成第24旅团派给我就行。 对了，还忘了提醒一句：来了以后得由我们海军指挥，怎么用，如何打，要听我们的。 载仁一听，脸马上仰了起来，只给博恭看下巴。 调一个旅团给海军指挥？你把陆军都当傻瓜了吧。 我们陆军作战，从来都是根据战场形势和需要来派兵的，用不着别人来指手划脚，而且增兵方案，天皇都快批下来了，你这时候还要改来改去，究竟是何居心？ 话不投机，博恭气呼呼地拂袖而去。 博恭一走，载仁就传下命令：原拟增援的混成第24旅团就地待命。 你不是想把我的旅团拿去免费用吗，就不给你！ 博恭梗着脖子回到军令部，脸色铁青。 还不信了，没了你张屠户，我就只能吃带毛猪？非得做点样子让你们看看海军的素质和能力有多高。 说好是停战3天，实际上到30日，日本海军陆战队还在进攻。 民国二十一年（1932年）1月31日，上海再开停战会议。 上次英国人出面，被日本驳了面子，心里很不好受。这次它和美国又拉来了法国、意大利，凑成四个国家，人多力量大，想造出一些声势来。 四国分别照会中日谈判代表，提出调停建议。 引人注目的是，这次调停增加了两个新的内容。 中国外交部表示可以接受，但代表日本一方的盐泽却心情复杂。 这两天的遭遇已经让这个原来不知天高地厚的海军少将悔不当初。他心里很清楚，如果还是靠他自己，在上海无论如何是没法“了事”的。可是他也不敢贸然接受调解，因为当初祸是他闯的，这么灰头土脸的收场，回国后不光是掉乌纱帽的问题，那是要一辈子抬不起头来的。 他表示，调停建议的内容已经超出了他的权限范围，必须请示后方能定夺。 球踢到了东京。 日本外务省立即注意到了调停建议上的那两条新内容。 一条是设立中立区，由中立国军警驻防。这实际上是对第一次英国调停建议中“中日军队从交战地区撤退”的补充。 可以同意。 让他们受不了的是另外一条—— “根据12月9日国联议决案之精神”，由中立国协助，（对上海事件）进行商议解决。 国联12月9日议决，是在日军攻下锦州前做出的。其内容跟东北息息相关，又是要日军尽快从东北撤兵，又是要向当地派调查团。 一提这个东西，日本人就像屁股被针扎到了一样，马上跳了起来。 在他们看来，这是含沙射影，夹枪带棒地在骂人呢。 这帮“鬼畜”，还跟我们谈什么满洲，满洲的事是你们能插得了嘴的吗？想把上海和满洲放一起，免谈！ 外务省复电上海，拒绝了英美的调停建议。第二次调停遂告失败。 在新的指挥官没有到任之前，败军之将盐泽自然还得继续站好最后一班岗。 除闸北外，他开始把进攻重点集中于吴淞要塞。 吴淞口是长江和黄浦江交汇的地方。守住这里，就等于扼住了敌方登陆作战的一个重要咽喉，所以从鸦片战争开始，这里就成了兵家必争之地。 当年水师提督陈化成就是在吴淞口古炮台跟英国舰队死拼的。那一战也是打得惊心动魄，最后连同陈老爷子在内，整座炮台都给牺牲掉了。 现在的炮台是清末重建的，然而相同的历史是否还将在这里重新演绎？ 吴淞口要塞司令邓振铨怕了。 他怕死。 查一查履历档案，这个邓振铨和军政部长何应钦竟然还是同事，在黄埔军校训练部担任过中校副官。想来那时候这兄弟也许还算是有理想有抱负，可惜后来进了大上海，就成了老蒋常说的“黄埔革命意志颓丧”的典型代表，热衷于去城里泡吧，连炮台都很少去光顾一下。 民国二十一年（1932年）1月28日当晚，淞沪警备司令戴戟就向吴淞要塞下达了如遇进攻坚决抵抗的命令。 邓司令一看脸就白了。作为一个曾经的黄埔教官，他很清楚这份命令的含义。 完了，以后别说泡吧，连性命都可能保不住了。 他赶紧跑到警备司令部，跟戴戟念苦经，言下之意，吴淞口炮台还是上个朝代留辫子的那帮人留下来的小娘货，那质量不是一般的差劲，怎么能挡得住日本人。 为了让戴戟相信自己不是信口胡说，他还当着面卖弄了一通“技术术语”，说炮台上缺这个那个配件，根本没法用。 戴戟可没这么好糊弄，告诉他，缺少配件不要紧，不管是现买还是再造，他可以负责联系提供。 碰上这样揣着明白装糊涂的领导，邓振铨也真是没脾气了，只好索性坦白，当面请求辞职。 大敌当前说要辞职，等于是临阵脱逃。戴戟心里自然是又鄙夷又气愤，但却不便立即发作，于是表示邓的辞职申请可以考虑，但在没批准之前，在职一日就必须尽到军人的天职。 那就是说你暂时还得在炮台那里给我呆着。 第二天，闸北就打了起来。 邓振铨急疯了，他知道吴淞炮台迟早也会成为战场，再不跑就真的要把小命扔在这里了。 正常渠道行不通，那就托关系走后门。 他托的是军政部长何应钦，果然就走后门溜掉了，不能不让人感叹国民党的关系网真是什么都罩得住。 78师副师长谭启秀继任要塞司令。在他没到任之前，要塞司令部参谋长滕久寿暂时负责要塞防务。 滕久寿是贵州人，云贵一体，和邓振铨也算是老乡，而且邓振铨对他还有知遇之恩，当初来到上海并到要塞当差，就出自于后者的鼎力相助。 作为参谋长，滕久寿当然知道炮台的家底，但他更明白作为军人的责任和归宿。 也罢，倘若这里需要牺牲，就让我来吧。 在闸北战斗打得难分难解时，吴淞要塞却一直是这里的黎明静悄悄。但滕久寿和他那个脚底抹油的上级一样，都知道这只是大战前的暂时宁静。 在闸北指挥的翁照垣旅长曾打来电话，希望炮台能使用火炮进行支援。滕参谋长命令炮台向虹口方向发炮，但试射了几炮之后，发现射程无法够着，只得作罢。 邓振铨的怕死还是基于一定物质基础的，那就是：这个老掉牙的炮台确实是小娘货。 最后的时刻终于来了。 民国二十一年（1932年）2月3日。 日军集中火力，对炮台进行不间断轰击。 依炮兵的角度来看，吴淞要塞的防守近乎于被屠杀。 这座可怜的露天老炮台既无法防空，又不能远射，大部分时间只能被动地承受日机和日舰的狂轰滥炸。 第二天，滕久寿参谋长在身受重创的情况下仍不肯轻下火线，最后在指挥岗位上以身殉国。 终于无愧于军人这一特定称谓。 他的命运和很多年前的那位陈姓老前辈一模一样——与炮台共存亡。 即使明知大难无法避免，凭一己之力根本无法挽狂澜于既倒，真正的船长也不会下船，他只会选择和自己的航船一同沉没。 因为这就是他的责任。 当新任吴淞要塞司令谭启秀登上炮台时，他面对的是这样一番景象：整座炮台一片狼籍，几无法立足。炮台上的火炮大部受损，整体已陷于瘫痪。 指挥官都战死当场，损失之惨重可想而知。 谭副师长虽然一直指挥步兵，但在军校里学的却是炮科，所以对炮并不陌生，也不算外行。 他立即让人清理炮台，发现尚有一些劫后余生的火炮可用。让他感兴趣的是，其中竟然有几门是大口径海岸炮。 最大口径305毫米。 德国克虏伯公司产品，1880年制。 这在当年可是标标准准的高精尖武器，威力大得很。 如今五十多年过去了，看上去还是威风不减，老而弥坚。 毕竟是德国货啊，质量那是真没得说。 力道是有，就是射程不够远，不过这还得看你怎么用。 谭启秀把炮台上剩下来的炮兵集中起来，不是号召他们和自己一起拼命，而是让他们就地隐蔽，同时交代一个任务：不管用什么办法，都得把硕果仅存的几门炮伪装好、保护好。 咱们现在手上就这几个宝贝了，以后还得派大用场。 谭启秀坚守要塞，依靠的是清一色步兵——翁照垣带来的丁荣光团。 一直以来，天空都是日机的天下。 它们横冲直撞，肆无忌惮，想炸谁就炸谁，想轰谁就轰谁。 不要说军用目标，无数民宅、百姓、价值连城的珍贵图书…… 跟丫拼了。 中国空军马上就要上场了。 地点：上海真如机场。 这里停靠着南京中央航空队的20多架飞机。 当时南京政府航空署的草头班子没搭多长时间，所谓中央空军才刚刚从空架子里面走出来。 飞机有一些，都是从早先的北洋军阀那里接收过来的。种类型号五花八门，德国的、英国的、美国的，一应俱全，称得上是中国式的“八国联军”。不过它们都有一个共同特点，那就是性能很差，跟日本战斗机没法比。 人呢，比飞机还难找。 那会像翁照垣这样的猛男实在是凤毛麟角，一般人看都没看到过飞机，就更别说敢开不敢开了，而且飞行员的要求也高，不是说是个人都能上去凑个数的。 为了解决人才问题，跟黄埔军校一样，广州革命政府在北伐前后也在苏联人的帮助下开办了航校，但飞行毕竟是个复杂的技术活，不能像黄埔生那样，上了一半课，提了支枪就去打仗。那得慢慢来。 可飞机总得有人开啊。这任务就落到了归国华侨身上。在航校学生没毕业之前，这些人就暂时挑起了担子。 按照军政部长何应钦当时的想法，他们都是中国空军仅有的一点种子，非到万不得已，是不能轻易牺牲掉的。 也正因为如此，尽管飞行员们报国心切，但却一直未被允许轻易与日机作战。 不需要你允许，日机们主动来了。 沪宁线上的真如车站是19路军临时指挥部所在地，又是中方输送兵员和给养的重要枢纽，日军不在这里多炸两把自然很不过瘾。 民国二十一年（1932年）2月5日，终于爆发了中日历史上的第一次空战。 当天上午，日本轰炸机群飞临真如上空，同时有从“凤翔”号航空母舰上飞起的舰载攻击机5架（有说3架）左右护航。 空防警报长鸣。attack. 中央航空队9架“八国联军”腾空而起，如鹰之展翼，向日机俯冲杀来。 双方的战斗机立刻缠斗在了一起。 早期中国飞行员们的空战技术谈不上有多么高超，经验更等同于零（打内战就他们自己在天上飞，只要记得往下面扔个炸弹就可以了），但战斗热情都很高涨。 比如这位——印度华侨朱达先。 他原先据说是在印度闹过革命的（不知道与甘地熟不熟），后来英国人要抓他，风声紧，就跑到革命的老根据地广州来了。 他先在广东航校过渡了一下（资格证总是要的），然后便分到了中央航空队。 空战开始后，这位兄弟开着自己的英制林柯克单座战斗机就上去了（别的机一般都是双座的），表现还很是兴奋，左砍右劈，浑然忘我。 打着打着，机身上中了好些弹，腿也被打折了，只好开着战斗机又返回机场。 英制林柯克战斗机是中央航空队中唯一能跟日式战斗机的性能靠近一些的机型，所以一下来就被另一个飞行员“抢”过去了。 这个飞行员叫黄毓沛，美国华侨，飞行分队队长。 飞行队的好飞机不多，大家都想用，是只能用一个“抢”字。 但也许是战况过于紧急，他忽略了一个重要的细节。 那就是：这是一台中了弹的战机。 按照飞行规定，所有中弹战机在返航后都不能立即升空，必须首先进行检查。 由于操纵系统骤然失灵，该机未能投入战斗就不幸坠毁。 这次空战时间很短，日机1架受伤，中方飞行员1死2伤，损失飞机1架，中方看起来还更吃亏一点，所以表现只能说是差强人意，勉强合格。 当时的中国空军，无论是装备还是技术，都显得过于稚嫩，而航空署的头头脑脑们对打空战也没多少信心，因此真如空战结束后，空军基本上处于防御状态，只求自保，没有多少制空权可言。 但他们在关键时候亮的这把剑，事后还是得到了国内舆论的高度评价。 这与海军的遭遇形成了鲜明对比。 淞沪之战打到中间阶段的时候，19路军已经面临着弹药馈乏的难题，他们了解到海军在上海的仓库里储存着一批大炮、弹药和钢板，就提出来能不能借用一下。 可是海军不给。 第一舰队司令陈季良说他没接到上峰指示，因此不能动。 那么他的上峰是什么意思呢。 海军部长陈绍宽说，我们海军买的军火都是有案可查的，有没有你们说的那些大炮啊，弹药啊，我得去查一下。不过话要讲在前头，就算是有，我也不能私下借出去（“即使有之，亦不得私相授受”）。 听到这话，不仅19路军气得要命，上海各界也口诛笔伐，都说海军既怯懦又吝啬，自己不抗日，还舍不得把武器借给别人抗日。 因为整个“一二八”会战，海军就没现过身。 让海军情绪如此消极的一个重要原因就在于政府不给钱添军备。 其实也怪不得政府，因为民国时代，大部分时间都是在打内战，海军并非主要作战兵种，偏偏这个兵种又特别耗钱，你那里搞一个巡洋舰，我这里就至少可以维持一个陆军师了。 人都是站在哪个山头唱哪个山头的话，站在海军的立场上，他们决不会说海军见效慢，而且费钱——不就那么一点小钱吗，你们眼睛