Chapter 41 Four "Report of the League of Nations Investigation Team"

In May 1932, the League of Nations investigation team came to the Northeast.In October, an investigation report on the so-called "Manchurian Problem" was published.Zheng and his son had great illusions about this investigation team. When the report was released, they simply thought that the realization of the ideal of international co-management was just around the corner.His father and son later fell out of favor with the Japanese and were finally abandoned, which had a lot to do with this enthusiasm for co-management.I didn't think as much as they thought at the time, and I wasn't as excited as they were, but I learned a lot about international affairs from their discussions.I also feel differently from them.They had the illusion of condominium because of the attitude of the investigation team, but I had a strong feeling about Japan from this.Because of this feeling, I feel more and more that my destiny cannot be separated from it.

Regarding the attitude of the Western powers on the "Manchurian Incident", I have long heard Zheng and his sons say such things repeatedly: "Don't look at the lively meetings in Geneva and Paris (League of Nations), in fact, no country intends to touch In Japan, after the European War, it is the United States that has the strength, but even the United States does not want to fight against Japan.” Zheng Chui, who is proficient in English and Japanese, told me the public opinion in foreign newspapers from time to time, saying that many American newspapers’ opinions are worried about Japan. of.He once said some non-public information based on evidence, such as the United States and Japan had a secret agreement, the United States has understanding of Japan's actions in the Northeast, and so on.He also told me in detail that before the incident, important figures in the United States had persuaded Chiang Kai-shek to sell Manchuria to Japan and let Japan touch the Soviet Union in order to reap its benefits.

"The investigative team is coming," Zheng Xiaoxu told me. "The Kuomintang invited them to investigate and wanted to ask them to help deal with Japan. In fact, they are not dealing with Japan. First, they care about open doors and equal opportunities. Dealing with Chirus. This is what they talked about with Uchida Yasuya (now the Japanese foreign minister) in Tokyo. Don’t worry, just deal with it with a few words at that time. According to Yichen, the Kuomintang also knows that the investigation team can’t do much. , maybe the Kuomintang sees the benefits of international condominium management of Manchuria."

It turned out later that most of what Zheng and his son said was correct. After the Shenyang Incident, Chiang Kai-shek repeatedly telegraphed Zhang Xueliang to transfer troops to the Northeast: "In order to prevent the incident from expanding, we will absolutely not resist." Great powers should confront barbarism with peace, endure humiliation and hold anger, and temporarily accept the attitude of resignation, waiting for the judgment of international justice." At the same time, there is no peace and justice at home, and the most brutal methods are used to intensify civil war.On September 30, the Kuomintang asked the League of Nations to send a neutral committee to Manchuria to investigate.After several discussions, it was not until December 10 that Japan agreed to make a decision to organize an investigation team.The investigation team is composed of members from five countries, namely, Sir Lytton of the United Kingdom, Major General Franklos McCoy of the United States, Lieutenant General Henri Claude of France, Count Gedi of Italy and Dr. Enriquesini of Germany .The leader is Li Tun.The investigation team set off on February 3, 1932, and first visited Japan, Shanghai, Nanjing, Hankou, Jiujiang, Yichang, Chongqing and other places, and then stayed in Peiping for ten days. It's month.During this period, the Nanjing government advocated "waiting for the judgment of justice", while the Japanese army captured Jinzhou, launched the Songhu War, and established "Manchuria".In addition to these "waited" results, there is also a "Songhu Armistice Agreement" that was produced under the intervention of various countries.According to this agreement, the troops of the Nanjing government were no longer allowed to enter the Songhu area.

On May 3rd, my meeting with the investigation team took about a quarter of an hour.They asked me two questions: How did I get to the Northeast? How was "Manchukuo" established?Before answering their question, a thought flashed through my mind that they probably never dreamed of.I remembered that Johnston once said to me that the gate of London is open for me. If I tell Lytton now that I was tricked by Doihara and threatened by Itagaki to become the "Head of Manchukuo", I would Ask them to take me to London, will they agree?As soon as this thought crossed my mind, I remembered that there were Kwantung Army Chief of Staff Hashimoto Toranosuke and Kosan Itagaki Seishiro sitting beside me.I couldn't help but glanced at that pale face, and then honestly followed his pre-ordered instructions: "I came to Manchuria because of the support of the people in Manchuria. My country is completely voluntary..."

The members of the investigation team smiled and nodded together, and did not ask any more questions.Then we took pictures together, drank champagne, and congratulated each other on health.After the investigation team left, Itagaki's pale face was full of smiles, and he said full of praise: "Your Excellency in power has a great demeanor, and your speech is very loud!" Zheng Xiaoxu shook his bald head afterwards and said: "These Westerners and ministers We have also met, and what we talked about was equal opportunities and foreign rights, which was not at all what I expected."

In October of this year, an article by Komai was published in the Japanese "Chuo Koron". Not long after Zheng Chui sent the translation, the "Report of the Investigation Team" also arrived in my hands. These two things gave me a unified view. According to the impression of Zheng and his son, the investigation team is concerned with the issues of "opportunities" and "portals". Komai's article is entitled "Manchukuo is Claiming to the World", and the content is about his meeting with Lytton and others.Now Zheng Chui's translation is no longer available, and we can only rely on an unsophisticated translation from "Manchurian Puppet Kingdom" compiled and printed by Chen Binhe.According to the article, Li Tun was the first to ask him a question: "Isn't the construction of Manchukuo too early?"

Question: "Manchukuo preached the open-door policy, did it really work?" I immediately replied: "Open-door policy and equal opportunities are the iron rules of Manchuria's founding. The open-door policy, among the countries surrounding China in the past, the United States It is the spirit of what I first said. But the policy of communism is advocated by other countries, and China itself embraces closed-door doctrine. Where can we see the fact that the door is open in China? Now we have used a very strong key to make Manchuria If the door of the country is open, we can only be thanked by the lords, and there is no reason to be protested.... But I must add a statement, that is, the door must not be opened when it comes to national defense, and there is absolutely no such case in all countries in the world.”

This conversation made Zheng Xiaoxu and his son feel very excited. Zheng Chui even estimated that the League of Nations might make a resolution on the international co-management of Manchuria.Later, the report of the investigation team was released, which made Zheng and his son more confident.The League of Nations represented in the report of the investigative team appeared exactly in the attitude of a Chinese administrator that the Chengs hoped for.The report clearly stated: "The current extreme international conflicts have already caused China to ask the League of Nations to intervene again. ... China follows the path of international cooperation, and should be able to achieve the most certain and rapid progress in order to achieve its national ideals. "The manager made it clear: Japan "in order to seek the economic development of Manchuria, requires the establishment of a consolidated regime that can maintain order, and we do not consider this request unreasonable."However, the administrator believes that the most important thing is that "only in an atmosphere where there is faith on the outside and peace on the inside, which is completely different from the current situation in the Far East, can the investment necessary for the rapid economic development of Manchuria come in a steady stream." ".That is to say, there must be the kind of "belief" recognized by the great powers and countries. This is the situation that Zheng and his sons yearn for to be jointly operated by all countries and benefit equally.

The Zheng father and son's estimation on the anti-Soviet issue has also been confirmed.The mission stated that it understood the meaning of Japan's claim of Manchuria as its lifeline, and sympathized with Japan's "concerns about its own security." Therefore, "Japan's desire to prevent Manchuria from being used as a base to attack Japan, and to We can all admit that Japan has the ability to take appropriate military action when the border of Lower Manchuria is crossed by foreign troops."However, the investigation team also believes that Japan’s financial burden will be heavy if this method is adopted. Moreover, the Japanese army was surrounded by people who were hostile at the time, and then there was a hostile China. .Therefore, another method can be considered, and "it is even better for Japan to obtain security at no cost due to the sympathy and goodwill of the world than to obtain it at a huge price at present."The investigation team then put forward the opinion that neither the restoration of the original state nor the maintenance of the status quo was a satisfactory solution to the problem, and that as long as "a satisfactory organization can be produced from the current (Manchukuo) organization without extreme changes", this It is to implement "Manchurian autonomy" that "obtains a high degree of autonomy", and foreigners from various countries act as advisors to this autonomous government; since the Japanese have greater rights and interests in the Northeast, the proportion of Japanese is also larger, but other foreign countries must also have a certain proportion.In order to realize this new political system, "discuss and propose a detailed proposal for the establishment of a special system to govern the three eastern provinces", it is necessary to first establish a "neutral observer" with the highest decision-making power in the Executive Yuan of the League of Nations. Formed Advisory Board.The investigation team also believes that the method of "international cooperation" is suitable not only for "Manchuria", but also for the whole of China.The reason for this is also what Zheng and his sons have stated repeatedly, because China only has labor force, but capital and technology.The talent depends entirely on foreigners, otherwise it cannot be built.

In the few days when I first saw the report, Zheng Xiaoxu told me with great interest that "things are very promising", saying that Hu Shi also published a paper in Guanzhong, and praised the report as "the public theory of the world".But then the reaction from the Japanese side arrived, and his father and son were greatly downcast.Although the investigation team repeatedly talked about respecting Japan's rights and interests in Manchuria, and even described the "September 18th" incident as an act of self-defense by Japan, the spokesperson of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs only agreed with one point, that is: "The investigation team's concerns about Manchuria Suggestions can be applied to the relationship between China and the big powers to gain research benefits, such as formulating an international co-management plan, yes!" As for the co-management plan of "Manchuria" itself, it was completely ignored.Zheng Xiaoxu's subsequent fall from favor and abandonment was due to his enthusiasm for "open doors and equal opportunities". Before the report of the League of Nations investigation team was published, I had imagined that if Northeast China was really brought under the international condominium as Zheng and his son hoped, my situation might be much better than that under the Japanese monopoly situation.However, I still have two different considerations. One is that I am afraid that the Nanjing government will also have a share in the "co-management". Ask me to be the emperor, if an "autonomous government" is created, what kind of monarchy is there?More importantly, I am extremely impressed by the fact that Japan's brutality is not subject to any restraint in the international arena.Therefore, afterwards, when I remembered the thought that flashed through my mind during the meeting with the investigation team, I couldn't help thinking to myself: "It's fortunate that I didn't do something stupid, otherwise my life would have ended long ago.... The most important thing now is not to mess with me. The Japanese, if you want to regain the Great Treasure, you have to rely on the Japanese!"

---

Notes: