Chapter 5 04. Zhong Yu feels that the rain is coming

The sensitivity of the news media to the current situation is sometimes even stronger than that of the state apparatus. On the same day that Jiang Zuobin, the new Chinese ambassador to Japan, comforted the journalists in Peiping with a smile on his face, another conversation of another Chinese diplomat, Zhong Yu, the special commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Nationalist Government in Jilin, was also keenly captured by the reporters.Zhong Yu believes that the disappearance of Nakamura is a serious incident, even surpassing the Wanbaoshan Incident.And these two incidents are by no means accidental, showing Japan's deliberate provocation and pressing step by step.

In 1906, the first year after Japan defeated Russia in Northeast China, Japan established the Consulate General in Fengtian in today's Shenyang.After the Northeast changed its flag, the Northeast local authorities could no longer deal with Japan. Therefore, soon after, the Nationalist Government started diplomatic affairs with the Japanese government in the Northeast in the form of special commissioners stationed in Jilin. In 1931, Zhong Yu had served as a special commissioner for more than three years.He is on the front line of dealing with the Japanese, and he will not be as bureaucratic as those high-ranking government officials.What he felt was the suffocating depression before the mountain rain was about to come.

If the Nakamura incident itself is a "small probability event", then the occurrence of the Wanbaoshan incident is more inevitable. In order to ensure the special interests of the empire in Northeast China, Japan constructed a strategic layout in the shape of "pin".The first is to guarantee Japan's military presence in the Northeast.Through the provisions of the Xin Chou Treaty, Japan obtained the right to garrison troops in China. This kind of garrison is called "Chinese Garrison Army"; in addition, it is the famous Kwantung Army.The second is economic control.Northeast China has the densest railway network in China. At that time, the railways connecting strategically important places such as Lushun and Dalian were operated by the South Manchuria Co., Ltd., which not only stole a lot of resources from the Northeast, but also controlled the Northeast. The main artery of economy and military.The third is strategic immigration.As early as 1905, then Japanese Foreign Minister Komura Toshitaro put forward the so-called "concentration theory of Manchu-Korean immigration", planning to immigrate 500,000 people to Northeast China and North Korea.He believes that after the realization of this plan, "Even though Russia is stubborn, it will not dare to go to war with me, let alone China. If it is so urgent, it will fall into my hands."

Government-driven immigration has always been difficult.No matter the advocacy of "patriotism" or the wonderful blueprint, it is obviously not convincing for immigrants who have left their homes.So later, Japan changed its strategy. They used local materials to lure a large number of North Koreans into Northeast China.At this time, North Korea has been reduced to a Japanese colony, so in Japan's view, Koreans can also become the vanguard of its immigration.At that time, in order to prevent the land from being invaded by foreigners such as Japan, the Chinese authorities issued a decree prohibiting the Chinese from selling or leasing land to foreigners.

In April 1931, Changnong Rice Company, a company established by Chinese Hao Yongde, leased more than 500 farmlands of more than ten households in Wanbaoshan Village, Changchun County in the name of the company. The lease term was 10 years, claiming that it would employ Korean grow rice.It is clearly written in the land lease agreement that the agreement must be approved by the county government, otherwise it cannot take effect.When the Changchun county government approved the agreement, it discovered that North Koreans were involved, and immediately became vigilant.Later, in more detailed materials, it was learned that 188 North Koreans were to be recruited to farm. This was obviously inconsistent with the policy of the Chinese authorities, so they did not approve it, and ordered the local public security bureau to repatriate the North Koreans who had entered the Chinese border.However, Hao Yongde is not an honest businessman. He not only ignored the ruling of the county government, but also sublet all the leased land to Li Shengxun, a stateless Korean, a Korean immigrant who entered Northeast China.

On the 18th, Lee Seung-hoon lured more than 100 North Koreans into Northeast China in the name of opening canals to grow rice.This activity harmed the interests of local Chinese villagers.After several unsuccessful negotiations, the villagers complained to the Changchun County Government, and the county government reported to the Jilin Provincial Government.The Jilin Provincial authorities believed that the land lease agreement was not approved first, and the illegal subletting of the land was later. The Changchun County Government sent police to the scene to enforce the law and ordered the North Koreans to leave the country. On May 31, Changchun County Public Security Bureau Chief Lu Qi led mounted police to Wanbaoshan Village to enforce the law.Li Shengxun relented and expressed his willingness to stop the construction and leave the country in two days.But the next day, Li became tough, claiming that "you can't stop working and leave the country until you die."

It wasn't that Li Shengxun suddenly became tough overnight, but that the Japanese came to support him. On June 3, the Japanese Consulate in Changchun sent Yoshiharu Nakagawa, a police officer, and several others to the scene with guns to force the North Koreans to continue digging ditches in the name of protecting the Koreans.When the Chinese police officers went to enforce the law again, Zhong Chuan and others actually obstructed them, claiming: "Consular orders are required to suspend work." After that, China and Japan started a series of diplomatic negotiations.Although China is reasonable and disciplined, it has never been "beneficial".While negotiating with Japan, under the "protection" of the Japanese police, the trench digging and water diversion project is proceeding as usual.

Villagers whose local interests have been damaged cannot wait any longer. On July 1, four or five hundred farmers each held a pickaxe and held up a large banner with the words "As a last resort, a legitimate defense" and other words, and dug a section of the dike and filled a section of the ditch.The Japanese police came forward to stop them, but were repelled by the villagers.Seeing that their side was alone and alone, the Japanese police had no choice but to give up, but they said that when the reinforcements came tomorrow, one thousand Chinese peasants would come and one thousand would die.On the second day, there was indeed a conflict between the Japanese police and the Chinese villagers. Later, with the persuasion of the Chinese local authorities, the Chinese villagers dispersed and returned home.During the conflict, several people from the Chinese side were beaten and injured by the Japanese police.

Japan did not give up, but took advantage of the Wanbaoshan incident to launch even greater anti-China actions.Under the instigation of Japan, some North Koreans who did not know the truth broke out their anti-China sentiments, and incidents of harming overseas Chinese occurred in many cities in North Korea, especially on July 5th, when riots broke out in Pyongyang, thousands of angry North Koreans were connived by Japanese officials Rushed into Pyongyang's Chinatown, burned, killed, and robbed Chinese nationals, causing hundreds of Chinese nationals to be killed and injured.China demanded that the Japanese government be responsible for the compensation, but the Japanese side only agreed to give a pension and expressed regret, but refused to take legal responsibility.The differences between the two sides were not resolved until September 18.

During the Wanbaoshan Incident, on June 17, the Japanese Consul General in Jilin Inotaro Ishisa gave the following passage in a report to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs: As for Wanbaoshan,...the place has a lot to do with the prosperity, military affairs, politics, and economy of Changchun City.Looking at its wide fields and thousands of miles, soybeans, sorghum, potato, etc. are luxuriant, you can know it as a fertile area at first sight. ... This is enough to prove that it has great value for national defense.And check its fertile wild thousands of miles, it is one of the good bases for immigrants from our country. ...The place is vast, but if I can support its forces, the Wanbaoshan area and the Yitong River valley will become a new world for our Japanese forces, and those who want to control the prosperity of the Chinese side in Changchun City, we I am convinced that there is nothing difficult... However, looking at the psychology of the Chinese government, it seems that the truth of Wanbaoshan is not yet known, and the Han people in this place are only driven out of emotion.If I use protecting the Korean people as the theme, and want to create a new force in the Yitong River area, I am sure it will be no problem, just like this incident of the Wanbaoshan Korean people digging the river to build the canyon, the Chinese government constitution is very weak... If we can take this opportunity to dig rivers and build fortifications, in the end, we can use this water conservancy rights to reward me for emigrating there, so as to develop its fertile wilderness and become a good farmland. Such forces can expand naturally, and can also create a new force in Changchun that cannot be supported by thousands of troops, and it will be full of the stability of Mongolian power.

Although this passage is a bit long and half-literal, it must not be boring to read, because it vividly expounds Japan's painstaking efforts to create the Wanbaoshan incident. On the other hand, looking at the national government, how many people can see through Japan's plot?Therefore, Zhong Yu was able to connect the Nakamura incident with the Wanbaoshan incident that happened before that, and saw Japan's intention to "deliberately provoke and press on every step", which is very insightful.