Chapter 4 03. The Minister in Japan is very optimistic

Japan's policy toward Northeast China has been decided.Now, it's the national government's turn to play the cards. When it comes to Sino-Japanese diplomacy in the first half of the 1930s, the name Jiang Zuobin cannot be ignored. Judging from the photos, Jiang Zuobin has a very blessed face.He was not only a political figure in the period of the Republic of China, but also a famous layman.Jiang graduated from the Infantry Department of the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer Academy and joined the Tongmenghui in 1905. He is a veteran national revolutionist.After the Revolution of 1911, he served as the Deputy Minister of the Army Department of the Provisional Government of the Republic of China, and the Minister of the Army Department at that time was Huang Xing. In 1929, when he was the Chinese Minister to Germany, he attended the League of Nations Disarmament Conference in Geneva on behalf of the Chinese government. At the meeting, he changed the practice of speaking only in English and French in the League of Nations for many years, and solemnly spoke with a Hubei accent. His Mandarin speech on the podium aroused praise from foreign public opinion, and Chinese was designated as one of the languages ​​officially used by the League of Nations.

Jiang Zuobin's performance in Europe is enough to prove that he is a diplomatic talent worthy of a heavy responsibility. In August 1931, Chiang was appointed Minister to Japan, where he remained until the end of 1935.During this period, the Chinese and Japanese envoys were upgraded to the ambassadorial level, and Jiang Zuobin became the first ambassador to Japan. Jiang Zuobin's four years in Japan were exactly the four years of turbulent Sino-Japanese relations.In the past four years, all the peace efforts of the Chinese and Japanese governments, including the Japanese government, have gone bankrupt, and China and Japan have finally embarked on the road to war.The national government always wanted to avoid war with Japan, because it had neither the strength nor the courage and courage to fight against Japan.Therefore, fighting for the last hope to avoid war is the difficult mission entrusted to Jiang Zuobin by the national government.

On September 9, Jiang Zuobin, the newly appointed Minister to Japan, left Shanghai for Tokyo to take up his post.At that time, Chinese people usually went to Japan by boat from Shanghai, passing through Seoul to Japan, and it took half a month to 20 days.However, Jiang Zuobin, who had an important mission, did not go straight eastward from land and sea, but went all the way north. After landing in Tianjin Port, he came to Peiping to meet Zhang Xueliang, then deputy commander-in-chief of the National Revolutionary Army.This was not an ordinary meeting, but because "Japan is aggressively advancing on the issue of Manchuria and Mongolia," Jiang, as a representative of the central government, wanted to ask for advice from the young marshal who had the most say on the situation in Northeast China.

Previously, Zhang Xueliang had repeatedly expressed his attitude towards the current situation in Northeast China and Sino-Japanese relations.As early as July 6, Zhang Xueliang said in a telegram to the Northeast Political Affairs Committee: "If we start a war with Japan at this time, we will lose. If we lose, Japan will ask me to cede land and pay compensation, and the Northeast will be lost. It is urgent to avoid conflicts. Adhere to justice." This telegram expresses three meanings: first, the situation in Northeast China is critical, and war is imminent; second, we cannot defeat Japan, and the outcome of the war can only be more unfavorable to me; third, it is a plan for the present Therefore, we can only avoid conflicts and solve problems within the framework of public international law.Obviously, Zhang Xueliang believes that although the situation is serious, there is still room to turn around and maneuver through diplomatic means.

Zhang Xueliang's attitude is representative. On July 12, Chiang Kai-shek sent a telegram to Zhang Xueliang, expressing that "this is not the time to fight against Japan." On July 13, Yu Youren, then president of the Overwatch Council, also sent a telegram to Zhang Xueliang, saying as an old Kuomintang: " The central government now puts down the civil strife as the top priority, comrades in the Northeast should experience it." Apparently, the key members of the national government were not at least alert to the Japanese cabinet's resolution the day before. Optimism brings relief.After hearing Zhang Xueliang's opinion, Jiang Zuobin seemed to feel a little more relaxed.

Three days later, when meeting with the reporters in Peking, Jiang Zuobin said to the anxious reporters with a smile on his face: In our south, it seems that the Nakamura incident is not as evil as that in your north. You should pay attention to the direction of public opinion!He also stated that the Nakamura incident can be resolved through diplomatic channels, and the central government does not need to issue any special instructions on this matter. After I arrive in Japan, it can be resolved quickly, and the situation will never expand. After that, Jiang Zuobin meandered north again, going to Japan via the Northeast and North Korea.Along the way, he kept talking with Japanese diplomats, politicians and businessmen stationed there, and made research and research along the way.The information he got was that everyone thought the current situation was worrisome and hoped to resolve the outstanding cases as soon as possible, so as not to make excuses for the fierce faction of the Japanese military.Unexpectedly, as soon as Jiang arrived in Seoul, news of the incident came.

Pinning hope on diplomatic efforts to avoid conflicts was the trump card of the Nationalist government's policy toward Japan at that time.But before this hole card is played, it is already doomed to lose the game. At the end of 1931, Ruo Prime Minister resigned sadly because of the crisis caused by the September 18th Incident.In his later memoirs, titled "The Army That Doesn't Follow Orders", he complained that the Japanese army ignored the cabinet's decision after the incident: "The ministers of the cabinet formulated a policy on not expanding the situation, and handed over the policy to the Minister of War. to the Manchurian Army, but the Manchurian Army still did not stop advancing.” However, complaining is nothing but complaints. Later, the Japanese cabinet not only “ratified” the Japanese army’s unapproved military operations, but also approved the military expenditures required for the “illegal” military operations. up.The army kills first and plays later, and the cabinet "fills the official seal" after creating a fait accompli. The lack of necessary understanding of this actual operating mode of Japan's foreign policy is the fatal wound of the national government's policy towards Japan.

In the minds of ordinary people, since the Meiji Restoration, Japan has implemented the so-called constitutional monarchy system. The emperor has become the nominal head of state, and the responsible cabinet led by the prime minister is the center for determining Japan's major policies.But this is not the case.The Japanese cabinet actually has no control over the Japanese army. As early as 1872, Japan implemented reforms to the highest leadership of the military, abolishing the original Ministry of War and establishing the Ministry of Army and the Ministry of Navy.Soon after, the General Staff Bureau was established in the Army Ministry, which was the predecessor of the Japanese Army General Staff Headquarters. In 1878, after only four short years, the Army General Staff Headquarters became independent from the Ministry of the Army, directly subordinate to the Emperor, and not subject to the government's control. It became the highest military order department in charge of military operations.All matters related to military orders are planned by the chief of staff, the chief of staff, and finally approved by the emperor.The chief of staff can even direct the military actions approved by the emperor to the highest representative of the army in the government-Lu Xiang, also known as the Minister of Army, to carry out, without going through the prime minister at all.The Ministry of the Army in the government has become a so-called military and political agency, which performs the function of logistics support.Later, the same institutional reforms took place in the Navy. The Military Command was also independent from the government and became the highest combat command and decision-making department under Emperor Zhili; while the Naval Ministry in the government became a military and administrative department with a logistical nature.

In this way, the highest command and decision-making power of the Japanese army and navy were dissociated from the government, forming the so-called "Military Department" with more say in foreign affairs. The Nationalist government pinned all their hopes of avoiding a war with Japan on the diplomatic channels for dealing with the Japanese government, but the Japanese cabinet originally said nothing about its foreign military operations—this heavy historical satire, The national government was doomed to lose. It not only lost the great white mountains and black waters, but also almost lost North China.

At that time, the inevitability of Japan launching the September 18th Incident was far more than that. The 1920s was the heyday of the Japanese political party cabinet.With the support of political parties and groups, politicians with civil service backgrounds are obviously more active on the political stage, and their words have more weight.They are generally well-educated and are particularly influenced by Western thought.In terms of domestic affairs, most of them advocate the protection of civil liberties and the realization of a wider range of democracy; in terms of international affairs, they oppose the easy resort to force, and prefer "coordinated diplomacy" on the premise of seeking consistency of interests.

In contrast, those former "Pride of the Empire"-professional military officers, feel a little lost.The "elites" in the Japanese military cannot ignore the decline of the military's status. In 1929, the "One Night Club" with the so-called "Three Heroes of the Army"-Ningji Okamura, Shiro Komino, and Tieshan Nagata as the backbone, was strengthened. Zheng Shiro, these "masters" who will turn upside down in Northeast China in the future, all appeared on the list. In 1930, Lieutenant Colonel Hashimoto Kingoro of the General Staff Headquarters established a secret organization of fascist soldiers - "Sakurakai". More than 150 people. Both "One Night Club" and "Sakura Club" accused the government of being weak externally, advocated reforming the country, and establishing a tough regime centered on the emperor in order to "stretch the country's power."But they also have differences: the former advocates "the outside first before the inside", and advocates solving the "Manchurian and Mongolian issues" first, and then taking advantage of the situation to reform the country; It needs to be dealt with, but a weak party-based government like this is not capable of dealing with external issues, so without internal reforms to build a strong government and rushing to external affairs, reformation is impossible." "Sakura Club" is in action. In October 1930, the military department attacked the party cabinet under the pretext that the Hamaguchi cabinet approved the "London Naval Treaty" as an "infringement of the right to command". On November 4th, Prime Minister Hamaguchi was stabbed by a Japanese right-wing youth. The post of Prime Minister was temporarily represented by Foreign Minister Kijuro Koshihara. The political situation in Japan was turbulent.With the support of a group of Army Central Department officers, Hashimoto Kingoro and other backbones of the "Sakurakai" planned to launch a coup on March 20, 1931: First, mobilize civil right-wing forces to create chaos, and then send troops to surround the parliament in the name of protecting the parliament , forcing the Prime Minister to resign and establish a new cabinet headed by General Lu Xiang Ugaki Kazunari.This is the so-called "March coup".However, this plan was opposed by Okamura Neiji, Nagata Tieshan and other leaders of the "One Night Club". Later, General Ugaki Kazunari, who originally supported the government, also flinched, and the "March coup" was aborted. The miscarriage of the "March coup" prompted the Japanese military to focus first on solving the "Manchurian and Mongolian issues."China's northeast has hit the gunpoint of the new Japanese warlord's foreign expansion.