Chapter 10 10. The humiliating diplomacy behind the "21"

On September 2, 1914, when the European battlefield was full of swords, swords, and war, the Japanese army suddenly declared war on Germany, landed at Longkou on the Shandong Peninsula, and launched an attack on the German leased land of Qingdao.The German garrison surrendered after symbolic resistance, but Japan did not stop there. It claimed that the Jiaoji Railway was a German industry, and then occupied the entire Jiaoji Railway and drove out all German and Chinese employees.Not only that, after Japan occupied Qingdao, it then fully occupied the mines, enterprises and customs along the Jiaoji Railway. In fact, it inherited all the aggressive rights and interests of Germany.

After learning that the Japanese army had invaded the Shandong Peninsula, Yuan Shikai convened a meeting of the chief ministers of the cabinet at the Presidential Palace that night. According to Gu Weijun, a counselor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who participated in the meeting, Yuan Shikai asked Duan Qirui, the chief of the army, how long he could last if he resisted. Said to resist 48 hours.Yuan Shikai asked what to do after 48 hours, and Duan Qirui said that he would wait for the president's instructions.Yuan Shikai sighed, and decided to imitate the old method during the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, delimiting the corridors and combat areas for Japanese troops to pass through, so as to prevent the war from spreading to other areas as much as possible.

Japan's declaration of war against Germany this time was apparently to avenge the "Three Kingdoms Intervention and Return to Liao Dynasty" during the Sino-Japanese War, but in essence it was the result of the long-coveted Shandong Peninsula.China had declared its neutrality after the outbreak of World War I. The Japanese invasion of China not only violated international law, but was also logically absurd.However, a country's international status is often determined by its national strength. Yuan Shikai could only accept the humiliation of "neutrality" during the Russo-Japanese War when he was unable to stop the Japanese army's actions.

As we all know, Japan's aggression against China was planned and step-by-step. Although the notorious "Tanaka Memorial" may be forged, its general strategy is that "to conquer China, you must first conquer Manchuria and Mongolia; if you want to conquer the world, you must first conquer the world." China must first be conquered", but it was carried out without compromise.Japan seized North Korea and my country's Taiwan in the Sino-Japanese War, and gained aggressive rights and interests in the Northeast (South Manchuria) in the Russo-Japanese War. This time, it will not only be limited to a corner of Qingdao.

On January 18, 1915, on a cold winter day, when the Japanese Minister to China, Hikimashi, who had just returned from Tokyo, met with Yuan Shikai, he suddenly threw out the Japanese government’s demands on China, a total of 21 on the 5th. It is the appalling "21" in history. The main contents of the "Twenty-One" are as follows: There are four articles in the first issue, requiring China to recognize Japan’s inheritance of all rights and interests of Germany in Shandong; Shandong Province shall not be transferred or leased to other countries; Japan is allowed to build a railway from Yantai (or Longkou) to Jiaoji Road; major cities in Shandong are opened for commercial port.In fact, it is necessary to turn Shandong into Japan's sphere of influence and prepare for the partition of China.

The second issue consists of seven articles, requiring China to recognize Japan's special rights in southern Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia. The Japanese have the privileges of living and traveling (actually unlimited immigration), operating roads and mines, and not allowing other powers to intervene; Lushun, Dalian The lease period of the Nanman Railway and the Anfeng Railway were both extended to 99 years.Japan's conspiracy to turn the Northeast and Inner Mongolia into its own colonies can be described as deliberate. There are two articles in the third issue, requesting that the Hanyeping Company be changed into a Sino-Japanese joint venture, that China should not handle it by itself, and that people other than the company are not allowed to mine the nearby mines.

Article No. 4 requires that all Chinese coastal harbors and islands shall not be leased or ceded to other countries.In other words, China became a protectorate of Japan. No. 5 is the most ruthless, with seven items in total, including: requiring the Chinese government to hire Japanese as political, military, and financial advisers; The construction rights of the railways between Hangzhou, Nanchang and Chaozhou were transferred to Japan; Japan had the priority to mine, build seaports, shipyards, and build roads in Fujian Province; the Japanese had the right to preach in China, and the hospitals and temples run by the Japanese And schools, land ownership in the Mainland, etc.This is almost to turn China into a vassal state of Japan, which is the same as that of North Korea at that time.

It is not accidental that Japan throws out the "21" at this time. As early as 1900, Japanese ronin Uchida Ryohei initiated an organization called "Black Dragon Association". This organization is named after Heilongjiang in China, and its intentions are obvious.Although the Black Dragon Society is a non-governmental organization in name, it has a major impact on the Japanese military's decision-making. Since its establishment, they have gone deep into North Korea, Northeast China, Mongolia, Siberia and other places. Scum, instigating civil strife, etc., such as the merger of North Korea, wooing religious communists, instigating the independence of Manchuria and Mongolia, etc., there is no lack of the shadow of the Black Dragon Society behind it.

The Black Dragon Society claimed to be the representative of the yellow race ideologically, and proposed that Japan should be the leader of the Far East, and Asian countries would fight against the white race under the leadership of Japan.This so-called "Asian Doctrine" is actually the Asian version of the "Monroe Doctrine", and it is also the ideological root of the later "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere". After the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, Uchida Ryohei felt that Japan’s time had come, and then he personally drafted a document called “Suggestions on Solving the Problem with China” (the “Memorandum of the Black Dragon Society”) in the name of the Black Dragon Society. document and forwarded it to Prime Minister Shigenobu Okuma.Uchida Ryohei proposed in this opinion that, taking advantage of the opportunity that China is not yet strong and isolated and helpless, coerce China to accept the secret treaty, create the established fact of "protecting the country", damage Yuan Shikai's prestige, and support all anti-Yuan forces to promote China's support the restoration of the imperial system except for Yuan Shikai, so that China can be consistent with Japan in terms of political system, and create conditions for the future merger of China and Japan.

The logic of the Black Dragon Society at that time was this. They believed that after the outbreak of the First World War, Japan should take advantage of the precious opportunity when the Western powers had no time to look east, because when the European War eventually ended, the powers would still return to Japan. In the Far East, if Japan preemptively attacked China during the war, monopolized it and created established facts, then the great powers would have nothing to do. In this way, Japan would establish the hegemony in the Far East and use this as a basis to further compete for world hegemony.

The plans of the Black Dragon Society mainly include the following: one is to establish the ruling power in South Manchuria and Eastern Mongolia, and then to immigrate to these areas in large numbers (as it did twenty years later), laying a solid foundation for Japan's expansion; Build and control the railway network in the mainland of China, develop those inexhaustible resources and minerals, and exclude foreign powers from competing; the third is to obtain the guardianship of China's politics, military, police, and finance, and turn China into Japan's protection China, laying the groundwork for a neutral merger (the so-called "North Korean road"). At that time, the senior Japanese ministers and the cabinet military department not only coincided with the Black Dragon Society in terms of thinking and logic of invading China, but also highly consistent in their steps and blueprints for invading China.In fact, the later "Twenty-One" was based on Uchida Ryohei's opinion, and the so-called "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" and so on were similar to the "Black Dragon Society Memorandum" in terms of thought and theory. They are all the same thing, and their wolf ambitions are clearly revealed. Japan proposed the "Twenty-One" at this time because it had already predicted that China would not be able to resist, and warned Yuan Shikai from the very beginning that this was a secret treaty that must be negotiated quickly and not leaked.If China did not agree, Japan would attack both land and sea, and the big powers at that time were unable to intervene. Although the United States had not yet intervened in the European War, it was unwilling to stop Japan's aggression plan on its own.In this regard, Japan has long had a strategic estimate, so it is unscrupulous. "Twenty-One" is the most serious diplomatic crisis since Yuan Shikai entered politics.The first measure Yuan Shikai took was to use various channels to find out the Japanese side's trump card. He first sent Japanese consultant Nagao Nagao back to Japan to visit the Japanese political veteran Masayoshi Matsukata and Arima Yamagata to investigate the inside story. Spend a lot of money to buy Japanese spies and investigate the relevant situation of the Japanese side in order to gain the initiative in the negotiations. In order to cooperate with the investigation activities, Yuan Shikai deliberately adopted delaying tactics in the negotiations. He first replaced Sun Baoqi, who was not very good at diplomatic negotiations, and then re-appointed Lu Zhengxiang, the former foreign minister who was good at negotiating in difficult situations, and instructed Lu Zhengxiang Negotiate with Cao Rulin one by one in the negotiation, be sure to delay the time, and not be led by the nose by the Japanese. In order to implement Yuan Shikai's instructions, Lu Zhengxiang also thought of many ways. For example, Japan proposed to hold meetings every day, while Lu Zhengxiang proposed that he was very busy with affairs and could only hold meetings once a week. In the end, the Japanese side compromised and held talks three times a week. .During each negotiation, Lu Zhengxiang always deliberately shortened the meeting time. For example, every time a meeting was held, Lu Zhengxiang ordered to offer tea after finishing his opening remarks, and tried to prolong the tea drinking time. This formed a sharp contrast with the anxious Japanese representatives. Compared.But the Japanese representative was helpless, because after all, this is the etiquette of the East. The information Yuan Shikai learned through various channels shows that the "Twenty-One" did not go through the imperial meeting (if force is to be used, it must go through the imperial meeting), but a secret action taken by the Okuma Shigenobu cabinet without authorization.As a result, Yuan Shikai gradually disclosed the contents of the "Twenty-One" through newspapers and diplomatic channels, which caused an uproar. The "Twenty-one" immediately became the headlines of the New York and London media. It has made it impossible for Japan to try to end the secret negotiations with China as soon as possible. After the US Secretary of State learned of the contents of the "Twenty-One", he immediately sent a note to China and Japan, stating that the United States would not recognize any treaties concluded by China and Japan that violated the open-door policy.In fact, the reason why Japan proposed the "Twenty-One" when the First World War was in full swing was to force the forces of Britain, France, the United States and other countries to withdraw from China and implement Japan's "Monroe Doctrine" in East Asia. It is about to turn China into the exclusive area of ​​interest of Japan.At that time, the only important country that could intervene and prevent Japan's expansion in East Asia was the United States. The "open door" policy pursued by the United States at that time was incompatible with Japan's plans. The people in China were even more indignant after learning the news of the "Twenty-One" news. Telegrams from all walks of life at home and abroad demanding the government's war against Japan came like snowflakes. Under the pressure of all parties, the negotiations reached a deadlock. It is four months.Seeing that no progress could be made at the negotiating table, the Japanese increased their troops in Northeast China, Shandong, and along the coast of Fujian. Give Japan a "satisfactory answer" to No. 1 to No. 4 and the Fujian issue within hours, otherwise "necessary means" will be sued. On May 9, 1915, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lu Zhengxiang, Deputy Minister Cao Rulin, and Chinese negotiator Shi Luben handed over the final revised version of the "Twenty-One" to Japanese Minister Hiichi Yi, and the crisis was temporarily resolved.According to the later recollection of the person involved, Cao Rulin said: "At that time, I felt desolate, and I felt like I had handed down the watch personally." Although it is an alliance under the pressure of soldiers, if you compare the original "21 Demands" put forward by Japan with the new treaty after signing, there is still a world of difference between the two.Under the pressure of all parties, Japan canceled the most brutal requirement No. 5 on its own; No. 4, which required that "all China's coastal harbors and islands will not be leased or transferred to other countries", was deleted and China declared itself instead; No. 3 One of the two items in the article is deleted, and the eleventh article in the first and second articles requires the consent of the Japanese consul for the unlimited immigration and taxation of Japanese businessmen. Negotiations", that is, restrictive conditions were added, and in the end, only the "Twelve Articles" were actually signed. Here is a person who needs to be highlighted, and this is Zhang Zuolin, the later king of the Northeast.Zhang Zuolin was born as a horse bandit, and later joined the army. In the early years of the Republic of China, he was only the commander of a certain road in the patrol battalion. However, after the signing of the "Twenty-One" and Yuan Shikai secretly sent Duan Zhigui to the Northeast several times, Zhang Zuolin's power suddenly increased greatly. German foreign firms bought a large amount of armaments and claimed: "As long as I am here, the Japanese dare not leave their territories!" The Japanese wanted to develop industries in South Manchuria and Eastern Mongolia, but most of them were obstructed by Zhang Zuolin and rarely implemented. . Zhang Zuolin and Yuan Shikai have similarities in the way they do things. Both of them are tyrannical heroes who value power and despise rules. Yuan Shikai also has a feeling of sympathy for Zhang Zuolin.According to Yuan Shikai's daughter Yuan Jingxue, Yuan Shikai was very fond of Zhang Zuolin at that time. Every time Zhang Zuolin came, Yuan Shikai would meet him in his office. Zhang Zuolin was only the commander of the 27th Division at that time, so he could only be received downstairs in Ju Ren Tang.Yuan Shikai used Zhang Zuolin to secretly resist the Japanese, and it also became the beginning of Zhang Zuolin becoming the king of the Northeast. Japan's violent and evil actions aroused the great anger of the Chinese people. At that time, the governors of 19 provinces across the country expressed their determination to support the central government. They kept calling on the central government to never yield to the pressure of Japan. The influx of letters and telegrams aroused the enthusiasm of the people for a while, some boycotted Japanese goods, some destroyed their homes to relieve difficulties, and the patriotic sentiment of the people became increasingly passionate.Even overseas students and overseas Chinese have appealed and resolutely opposed the signing of the "21". During the wave of protests that lasted for more than eight months, Japan became a street rat. Not only did it suffer heavy losses economically, but it also came under international pressure from the United States, Britain, Russia and other countries, just as Tang Degang, a historian in the United States, commented: " Although Japan tried its best to put forward the "21 requirements" for the destruction of China, which made it notorious, it only ended up with a lot of thunder and little rain, making the world laugh." Not only that, Okuma Shigenobu also resigned because he rashly proposed the "Twenty-One" without the imperial meeting, which resulted in diplomatic failure (in Japan's view).Terauchi Masaki, who took over as prime minister, later had to admit: "The Okuma cabinet demanded '21' from China, which aroused the resentment of all Chinese people, but Japan has no real interests." Although Japan's conspiracy to turn China into a protectorate finally went bankrupt, the extent of China's damage in this crisis is astonishing. For example, the extension of the lease of Luda to 99 years, etc., is inconceivable, humiliating and humiliating. .