Chapter 63 "January 28" Songhu Anti-Japanese War: A "Fake War" Launched by Japan

Inuyang Takeshi is a veteran of the three dynasties since the Meiji era, and has a very deep relationship with the leaders of the Kuomintang.He was a close friend of Sun Yat-sen's revolution and always supported Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary activities.When Chiang Kai-shek was in trouble in Japan, Inuyang Takeshi took him in and helped him. Only when someone like Inuyang Takeshi told Chiang Kai-shek that the planned war in Shanghai was a play for the League of Nations, would Chiang Kai-shek believe it and even be willing to cooperate with the show to perform well! On December 13, 1931, the Inuyang Takeshi cabinet officially came to power, and his special envoy had been in secret talks with Chiang Kai-shek in Nanjing for some time.The two parties agreed that Chiang Kai-shek would acquiesce in the "legality" of Japan's occupation of Manchuria, and in exchange, Japan would help Chiang Kai-shek eliminate the Nineteenth Route Army stationed in Shanghai.The Nineteenth Route Army belonged to the Cantonese faction opposing Chiang Kai-shek's dictatorship.Once the "independent" "Manchukuo" was recognized by Chiang Kai-shek, the League of Nations had no reason to condemn the Japanese government, let alone economic sanctions.

On December 15th, Chiang Kai-shek resigned as the chairman of the National Government, the head of the Executive Yuan, and the commander-in-chief of the army for the second time, and Song Ziwen, the Minister of Finance, and the entire cabinet resigned collectively, and took away all the books.When Chiang Kai-shek left, he also placed his cronies in four provincial governments as chairmen, laying the groundwork for regaining power.In this way, he can sit back and watch the "fake war" happen, not only to avoid taking responsibility for the war, but also to wait for the opportunity to come back and become a hero to end the war.

In order to ensure that the war is carried out according to the established plan, Hirohito sent his grandfather Xianyuan Gong as the chief of staff of the army. The Kwantung Army general Itagaki Osaku who planned the "September 18th" Incident was transferred back to Tokyo to assist in the formulation of the "fake war" combat plan. In January 1932, before the League of Nations set off to Manchuria, the Kwantung Army launched a comprehensive and rapid attack on all parts of the Northeast, which made the Western powers lose face.The US Secretary of State proposed the recall of the ambassador and economic sanctions, but there were few supporters in Congress and the government, so they had to send a strong note to Japan not to recognize Manchuria.This allowed Japan to figure out the cards of Britain and the United States, and to implement the scheduled plan with more confidence.

The United States, Chiang Kai-shek, and the country have all been settled. It is really "everything is ready, and the only thing we need is the east wind." Now we are waiting to create a reason to launch a war. On Jan. 8, Emperor Hirohito went to watch military exercises outside Tokyo, an itinerary that had been uncharacteristically published in newspapers five days earlier.The security work was very thorough that day. The Kwantung Army's secret police unit was airlifted from Manchuria to assist in security. Public places in Tokyo and hotels where Koreans frequented were raided, but for some reason "missed" a North Korean from Shanghai. Member of the independence movement.He set off from Shanghai in December, and when he entered Japan, he mysteriously "evaded" the shrewd immigration officer, and then took the train to Tokyo under the nose of plainclothes railway personnel.At this time, with a grenade in each pocket on his body, he was quietly waiting for the emperor's convoy.

When he saw the emperor's carriage with the chrysanthemum logo passing by, he pulled out a grenade and threw it out. Unfortunately, the grenade fell under the carriage of a minister of the interior, only a small explosion occurred, and the minister was not injured.The assassin was immediately arrested, put on death row in complete isolation from the outside world, and executed by the secret police nine months later. Afterwards, the internal minister who was attacked calmly informed that there was no need to report to Xiyuanji Gongwang; the emperor jokingly said that he must be a member of the Korean Independence Party after knowing the identity of the assassin; a close friend of the emperor wrote in his diary beforehand, He had a premonition that something would happen that day.

The assassination incident aroused strong sympathy for the subjects who had become more and more disappointed with the emperor, and they all demanded that the Minister of Internal Affairs in charge of police affairs cut open his stomach and apologize.The Minister of Internal Affairs had to submit the letter of resignation together with other cabinet members, and the emperor returned it without looking at it and let the entire cabinet stay in office. After Xiyuanji Gongwang heard this, he was silent for a while, and said something outrageous: "It is often said that the emperor is above the constitution, but apart from the constitution, where else can the emperor find a reason for existence?" [10] 1 On September 9, the first day after the assassination, in Shanghai, a reporter with ties to the Japanese intelligence agency reported the news and wrote: "It's just a pity that the accompanying vehicle was blown up." The newspaper "Republic of China Daily" and other newspapers reprinted this report, which caused riots among Japanese expatriates.The Japanese Consulate in Shanghai protested immediately, demanding that the newspaper apologize and suspend publication.Seizing this incident, Japanese secret agents began to create an excuse for war.

The day after the assassination, the Japanese intelligence agency in Shanghai received a telegram from Tokyo: "The Manchurian incident" developed as expected, but some people in the cabinet are still skeptical due to the opposition of the foreign powers. The planned incident made the great powers turn their attention to Shanghai. On January 18, five Japanese monks went to the entrance of Sanyou Industrial Towel Factory to spy around. Suddenly some unidentified thugs disguised as workers rushed out from the side and beat the Japanese monk to one death and four injuries.The next morning, Japanese overseas Chinese in Shanghai held a meeting to request the protection of the Japanese government.Japanese intelligence personnel broke into Mitsui's office in Shanghai and forced Mitsui employees with pistols to send telegrams to the Tokyo headquarters, demanding government protection.

Members of the emperor's inner circle used this telegram to ask Mitsui to bear the cost of launching a "fake war" because it was to "protect Mitsui's interests in Shanghai."Inuyang Takeshi asked Mitsui to donate 8 million US dollars as the cost for the government to mobilize troops to Shanghai to protect Mitsui.Mitsui's president group thought that the government's request was simply blackmail from the underworld, so they replied that Mitsui didn't need this kind of protection and couldn't afford the huge sum of money.Inuyang Takeshi reminded Tuan Takuma that Mitsui had just earned at least 20 million dollars from dollar arbitrage. People should repay their kindness without the help of the government. How could Mitsui make this money?If Mitsui agrees to provide funds, the government can negotiate with Chiang Kai-shek to make Manchuria "independent", thereby avoiding international economic sanctions and ensuring Mitsui's interests.

Tuan Takuma is a smart man, and finally figured out that this is part of the emperor's plan to build an empire by force, and it will not change because of the opposition of politicians such as Saiyuanji Gongwang or the Mitsui Zaibatsu.The emperor will use various means to force them to compromise, dollar arbitrage is a trap of the emperor, a big contest is coming.He agreed to consider the prime minister's proposal, but there was no guarantee that Mitsui and other chaebol would support the plan. On January 21, the emperor ordered parliament to adjourn in preparation for a general election a month later.In this way, during the transition period, Hirohito can exercise one of the constitutional prerogatives of the emperor-approving additional expenditures that are not included in the budget.At the same time, Hirohito's cronies warned Xiyuanji Gongwang that if the chaebol fails to make up their minds to provide funds for the "fake war" before February 10, there will be bloodshed that shocked the whole country.

Since January 23, the Japanese naval fleet has broken down in Shanghai one after another. The citizens of Shanghai have asked the Nanjing government to send troops to reinforce the 19th Route Army in Shanghai. The Nanjing government continued to stand still. On January 26, the Chief of Staff, Hirohito's grandfather Xianyuan Palace held the Supreme Military Council and ordered the navy in Shanghai to exercise the power of self-defense. On the night of January 27, in accordance with Chiang Kai-shek's behind-the-scenes instructions, Defense Minister He Yingqin sent three urgent telegrams to the 19th Route Army, asking them to endure humiliation, avoid conflicts, and never act rashly, so as not to hinder national defense.

At 8 a.m. on January 28, according to Japanese official reports, a Chinese who seemed to belong to the anti-Japanese "Salvation Council" threw what looked like a bomb into the Japanese consulate.This gave the Japanese navy the final excuse to go to war. At 5 o'clock in the afternoon, when a reporter from the "New York Times" went to the port to interview the commander of the Japanese navy, he was told that at 11 o'clock in the evening, the Japanese marines would enter Zhabei to protect the Japanese nationals. Withdrew days ago. At 8:30 in the evening, the Japanese army issued a so-called "announcement", demanding that "the Chinese side immediately evacuate all Chinese troops and hostile facilities in Zhabei".In order to ensure that they have an excuse to send troops to attack, the Japanese army deliberately delayed until 11 o'clock before notifying the mayor of Shanghai in the form of a letter.After only a few minutes of the briefing, before it was even confirmed that the ultimatum had been delivered, the Japanese marines entered Zhabei.In other words, Japan will not give China any chance at all. The Songhu Anti-Japanese War broke out.The Japanese army was stubbornly resisted by the Nineteenth Route Army. The army commander Cai Tingkai stated that he would fight the Japanese army to the last man.Chiang Kai-shek saw that the Nineteenth Route Army had not been wiped out by the Japanese, but had become a hero. He couldn't sit still anymore, and immediately ran back to Nanjing, announcing that he would stand up and lead the government and the army when the country was in crisis. Chiang Kai-shek had to perform two plays at the same time, a dark play for the Japanese to continue to communicate with the Japanese envoy;He ordered his direct guard division to prepare for battle, but it took three weeks for the troops to reach the front line; the Kuomintang navy declared its neutrality and hid far away in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River; The first warship was launched, and the Chinese ambassador attended the celebration ceremony and toasted with officers of the Imperial Japanese Navy to wish the friendship between China and Japan last forever.How does this look like two warring countries?They are simply two brothers in the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere". The Nineteenth Route Army rejoiced after hearing Chiang Kai-shek's promise, thinking that Chiang Kai-shek had finally found his conscience, no longer be fooled by the bankers and capitalists around him, and began to think about national interests.They fought bravely to hold the line of defense, embarrassing the Imperial Japanese Army. The Marine Corps, known as the elite Japanese army, was still unable to break through the defense line of the 19th Route Army under the bombardment of planes and gunboats, and with the help of Japanese expatriates and sailors. , They are really red-eyed! But more anxious than them is His Excellency Emperor Hirohito.In order to prevent the Japanese navy from making a fake show and expanding the war in order to restore honor, he ordered the reinforcements to advance slowly and not be impatient, and personally checked every detail about combat deployment and logistics every day.He knew in his heart that the game was too big this time, not only to deceive the international community, but also to deceive his subjects and the officers and soldiers who fought bloody battles for him.In the end, I was really worried and transferred the queen's cousin to be the chief of the navy.Now the top commanders of the navy and army are all relatives of the emperor. Anyone with a discerning eye can see how important this war is to Hirohito! On the one hand, Hirohito is in a hurry, and on the other, the chaebols such as Mitsui are dawdling and unable to spend money.According to Japanese practice, the country's financial plans must be approved by the big chaebols.Now that the money is not available, it is obvious that they have a problem with imperial policy.This is a blatant challenge to the emperor!This time they are going to suffer a bit.