Chapter 14 Chapter 3 The country is broken (3)

But all these efforts came to naught with the fall of Nanjing. In fact, Chiang Kai-shek’s betrayal of the Germans may not have been psychologically prepared. Secret information shows that before the July 7th Incident, Germany and Japan secretly signed the "Berlin Agreement" against the Communist Party and anti-Communism. With Italy's entry into the Triple Alliance, it gradually took shape. It came from behind and squeezed out China in Germany's balance of global interests, making the Nationalist government the first victim of the Axis alliance treaty.The humiliation and grief caused the Chinese chairman to lose control of his emotions for a moment. He wanted to throw the water glass in his hand at the German ambassador, but at the last moment the object changed direction and fell on the floor. The loud cracking sound of the glass fully conveyed the unstoppable anger and protest of the Chinese leader.Of course, this kind of gaffe is not a symbol of strength in diplomatic occasions, because any words and deeds that do not conform to diplomatic etiquette will be regarded as an offense and desecration of civilization.In fact, Chiang Kai-shek is very clear that the departure of the Germans is just a signal that China's situation in the future international community will become more and more difficult.The international community's response to the Germans breaking the contract and breaking their promises was really flat. A British diplomat who was drinking afternoon tea commented in a lazy tone: Is it?Why did Hitler help the Chinese...they should have left long ago.

A weak country has no diplomacy, and if it lags behind, it will be beaten. The international community has no justice at all. The aggressive Japanese have not been sanctioned. On the contrary, they are still respected everywhere, and they have successfully purchased urgently needed war materials and raw materials from Britain, the United States and Western countries. .At the same time, Western countries refused to sell arms to China. Their only reason was that they were worried that the failed national government would not be able to repay the huge debts. According to documents released after the war, in 1937 before the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, the Chinese government’s financial budget (gross national product) was only 400 million U.S. dollars, which was less than 1 U.S. dollar per capita in terms of a population of 450 million (see Huang Renyu, Sanlian Bookstore 1997 edition).The GDP of Japan with a population of less than 100 million is 6.66 billion US dollars, which is more than 15 times that of China, and the average per capita is 70 times that of China!Among them, the military expenditure alone amounted to 920 million US dollars, more than twice the total government budget of China!However, Japan’s steel output is 200 times that of China, its oil refining is 150 times that of China, and its annual production of nearly 2,000 aircraft is zero in China; 744 large-caliber artillery pieces are zero in China; three tanks 130 vehicles, 9,500 automobiles (30,000 equipment capacity), 470,000 tons of shipbuilding capacity, 50,000 tons of warships, and more than 200 warships, including 6 large aircraft carriers, ranking among the world's largest Third, and so on. (See "Annual Records of the Anti-Japanese War in China·A Collection of Statistics", Naval Press, 1988 edition)

The comparison of the national power of China and Japan can be seen from this. In 1938, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Chonghui visited President Roosevelt at the White House.At that time, the United States had just emerged from the shadow of the Great Depression in the 1930s. In a sense, the war of aggression against China launched by Japan happened to be a powerful lever to accelerate the recovery of the American economy.The Chinese foreign minister expressed strong dissatisfaction with the long-term sale of arms by the U.S. government to the Japanese, as well as a huge amount of scrap steel, oil and strategic materials. President Roosevelt replied to the Chinese guests with his usual wise and peaceful expression: Welcome to your country. Participate in the purchase, we Americans have always treated people equally in business.The Chinese foreign minister said: But we don’t have US dollars. May I ask Mr. President, can we lend money to the national government, or agree to use agricultural products to offset it?Roosevelt laughed and said: It doesn't matter if there are no US dollars, silver dollars are also hard currency.

History has punished selfish Westerners. World War II broke out just one year later, and the Pacific War broke out three years later. The "appeasement" policy of the Western powers at the expense of others and their own interests finally forced them to swallow the bitter fruit they had planted. The diplomatic meeting ended in embarrassment and the German ambassador was humiliated, for which he made a corresponding verbal protest.But then an even more embarrassing thing happened. Chiang Kai-shek spat on the spot, swearing the famous foul language, then left the guests and walked away.The meeting almost turned into a diplomatic incident.Fortunately, the Germans were the first to break their promises, to tear up the contract, and to be mean and shameless. Since the two countries can no longer be friends, even Chiang Kai-shek's uncivilized and rude behavior does not matter.

On the night of the German ambassador’s departure, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs urgently met with Western diplomats from seven countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, France and Italy, and reiterated to the international community the Chinese government’s three principles of the War of Resistance: never accept any foreign mediation; never stop fighting; never conclude any armistice agreement, Unless the Japanese army withdraws from the ceasefire line before the "July 7th Incident". 4 Completed in 1905, the Longhai Railway runs from Lanzhou, Gansu in the west to Lianyungang, Jiangsu in the east, with a total length of 1,214 kilometers. This formed a large pattern of criss-crossing railways in modern China with Zhengzhou as the hub.Zhengzhou in the Central Plains, which has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times, has added pivotal strategic significance due to its position as a railway hub.

When the Anti-Japanese War broke out, the Japanese attacked fiercely, occupying the entire territory of Hebei and Shanxi one after another, and then threatened Zhengzhou. The Yellow River Railway Bridge located at Huayuankou in the north of Zhengzhou became the only throat to guard the Beijing-Han Railway.The Yellow River Railway Bridge has a total length of nearly 5,000 meters, as many as 100 piers, and an all-steel frame structure. It was designed and built by a Belgian company and is known as "the first bridge in the world".If the bridge is captured by the enemy, not only will the gate of Zhengzhou be open without danger, but the enemy will also go straight to Wuhan, the heart of China's war of resistance along the Beijing-Hanzhou Railway. Therefore, the base camp ordered a Guizhou army named the New Eighth Division to rush to Zhengzhou to serve as the bridge. Garrison mission.

Jiang Zaizhen, commander of the lieutenant general, No. Pixu, was born in Tongzi, Guizhou, and graduated from the Guizhou Lecture Hall.Jiang Zaizhen followed the Guizhou warlord Wang Jialie in his early years, and later joined the Sichuan warlord Liu Xiang, and later accepted the reorganization of the Nanjing government and led the new Eighth Division to the north to fight against Japan.It is said that at that time, many war zones refused to accept this miscellaneous team from the southwestern border, which caused the division to go to Guangxi, Hunan and other places. Later, the situation in the north was tight, and this neglected Guizhou team found a place to defend the Yellow River Bridge. .

At that time, the war situation in northern Henan was intensified, and the winds of the Japanese approaching came one after another. The train going north only went as far as Xinxiang, and there were rumors that Xinxiang would also be abandoned in the near future.Japanese planes frequently flew over the Yellow River for reconnaissance, neither dropping bombs nor strafing. There are indications that the Japanese are likely to launch a surprise attack on the bridge.The New Eighth Division raised its vigilance against this. In addition to advancing the main force to the north bank of the Yellow River to build fortifications, it also strictly checked pedestrians crossing the bridge to prevent enemy plainclothes troops from crossing the bridge.