In January 1941, the cold north wind blew into Guangzhou. Although it did not snow, the frost and dew in the morning still covered the earth, bringing a cold winter feeling.

At this time, the armed conflict between China and Russia in the Daxinganling region of Heilongjiang Province, located on the Sino-Russian border was intensified. Finally, on January 7, it turned into a war between the two countries, like a ignited fuse, detonating the hatred accumulated by the two countries for hundreds of years.

As the head of state, Chen Jiongming had to appear in the public's sight and give an explanation to the country and the people.

The Empire Square, located in Guangzhou, is a large fountain square that started construction in 1932 and was not completed until 1935. It is used to hold various official activities of Hualian and is also used for large-scale announcement and publicity activities by government departments.

Today, more than 300,000 citizens from Hualian gathered here to listen to the speech of the head of state. Because the collision in the north is becoming increasingly intensified, this newly established country will face new challenges.

"We have won the war against Japan's Restoration War. The three northeastern provinces are liberated and Taiwan will surely be taken back. But we have paid a heavy price for this! The national strength is almost exhausted and the army is exhausted. This should be the time to cultivate and rest!" Speaking of this, Chen Jiongming swept the people in the square with his majestic eyes.

He saw a pair of passionate and exciting eyes. This ancient empire has finally re-chosen to find the soul of the past. The future is full of hope, and China no longer needs painful patience. It must use bloody battles to vent its revenge!

The sound of iron bones covered the entire Empire Square with the assistance of the loudspeaker. The cold and solemn voice of the head of state of the Federation was howling over the earth with the cold wind: "But! Our country is being provoked. The red empire located in the north, it is still swaying in its teeth and claws, and still wants to tear off fresh meat with blood from us as it has done for hundreds of years!"

"Since 1689, the Soviet Union has continuously embezzled our land. The Qing Dynasty was incompetent and abandoned the foundation accumulated by the ancestors of China. This was a great humiliation for the country! Until 1925, including Outer Mongolia, which had been actually divided, our country lost 5883,800 square kilometers of land, accounting for 60% of our land area!"

After a pause, he continued to use a brief silence to condense the atmosphere at the scene. Chen Jiongming continued: "And just a week ago, our army discovered that the Soviet Union had discovered the enemy's large military airport north of the Greater Khingan Mountains. This is a provocation to the empire! Blood feud must be repaid with blood!"

"I would like to call on our nation and people to declare war! Revenge!"

This sentence aroused the excitement of the people at the scene, and the voices of 350,000 people gathered together. They shouted "Declare war! Revenge!", and their voices were like sharp swords, breaking through the clouds and soaring into the sky.

After delivering his speech, Chen Jiongming left the scene with the guards. Although the country's political system was in a federal form, officials at all levels liked to call their country "imperial".

The imperial system of monarchy was abolished, but the country was indeed a new imperialist whole, because the word "emperor" represents majesty and domineering, and also implies the foreign policy of the Hualian.

Peace is the need of weak countries. Strong countries always choose war, which is the development strategy of the human world.

"Jingcun is indeed full of energy and his passion remains the same as before." In the extended Tianbu brand sedan, there was an elder with fairy-like appearance. His hair was gray, but he did not look old at all. Instead, it made people feel gentle and sincere, and at first sight, he felt close.

"Mr. Zhixiang, you have something in your words, I don't know what this means?" Chen Jiongming has always disliked Zhou Shanpei, a political speculator who is similar to a strategist. The reason why he is so polite is because of the face of his friend Deng Keng, who was once a teacher of Deng Keng.

"You are the king of a country now. With such a broad mind, can't you not hold a grudge against the past trivial matters?" Zhou Shanpei may not be famous, but this person is not a small person in the literati and aide group of literati and aides of this era. His background and political qualifications are hard to be underestimated.

"Are you referring to Zhongyuan's death or the remnants of the pseudo-Manchukuo?" After hearing Zhou Shanpei's words, Chen Jiongming obviously looked unhappy.

When Deng Keng was assassinated at the railway station, Zhou Shanpei was present. It was because of his summoning that Deng Keng did not bring the guard to show his respect for his teacher. Unexpectedly, he was assassinated on the spot in the end. It was impossible for Zhou Shanpei to say that this matter was done by him, but at least it was implicated with him.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Shanpei sighed regretfully: "I've mentioned what he has done for the past. I'm here today to ask Jingcun to do a little favor."

After the end of the War to Protect Yuan and protect the country, Zhou Shanpei served as the advisor to President Li Yuanhong, and in November 1916, he launched the "Political Society" with Li Genyuan, Gu Zhongxiu, Zhang Yaozeng, Yang Yongtai and others in Beijing, which is the origin of the so-called "Old Political Science Department". This shows that this person has a far-reaching influence on China's political situation.

In fact, it doesn’t take him to say anything. Zhou Shanpei, who had always regarded himself as a disciple of the Qing Dynasty, still wanted to plead for the former master Puyi. He also quoted two of these things.

First, from 1930 to 1931, Puyi donated money to support Zhu Qinglan's righteous act of raising funds for Shaanxi and the Yangtze River disaster areas; second, when he went to Lushun to celebrate Puyi's birthday on February 18, 1932, Puyi pointed to him and said, "My superiors dare not offend his ancestors, and my subordinates dare not offend the people of the country."

The implication is to excuse Puyi, believing that his appointment as the "regent" of Manchukuo Manchukuo is by no means his original wish.

Chen Jiongming remained silent and waited quietly for Zhou Shanpei to finish the matter. The other party was indeed a clever and fickle man. With a sharp mouth, he dressed up history beautifully.

It was not until Zhou Shanpei finished speaking that Chen Jiongming stared into the other party's eyes and said coldly: "First, we do not recognize the orthodox status of the Qing Dynasty, so we do not judge whether Puyi fulfilled the obligations of the monarch; second, we also treat those who established pseudo-government in the Japanese war zone, and do not all treat treason."

Seeing that things were turning around, Zhou Shanpei's face also slowed down, but not long after, Chen Jiongming's tone changed and his heart tensed up again.

"We are not going to be fully charged, nor do we plan to completely liquidate the old accounts of Jiannu for hundreds of years, but Puyi must die. The surname Aisin Gioro must disappear from the earth!" Chen Jiongming said this firmly and there is no objection.

Just looking at this attitude, Zhou Shanpei knew that things could not be done well. He did not dare to contradict him, but instead advised him softly: "The republic of the five tribes has the hegemony of China for thousands of years. Are you not afraid that this incident aroused hatred from the Manchus and caused the newly unified country to be divided again?"

This is both a reminder and a threat. Now that the Hualian League has officially broken up with the Soviet Union, domestic stability is crucial. The Soviet Union is not Japan. Its industrial strength and a large base of military resources are all enough to be called a real big country.

Because of the tough attitude of the Hualian government, Puyi and a large number of senior officials of the puppet Manchukuo fled to Japan with the Kwantung Army, seeking political asylum. China and Japan have only signed an agreement of understanding and have not conducted formal peace talks and diplomacy. At the same time, Emperor Hirohito was unwilling to extradite Puyi and others back to the country for trial in order to have more chips in his hands.

But in everyone's eyes, this is just a matter of time.

Japan is even ready to return Taiwan. Is it really loyal to you if I am just a chess piece?

As long as the price offered by Hualian is appropriate, betrayal is only a very simple thing, not to mention that there can be a high-sounding reason. No country will forgive the betrayer. If Japan does not want to start another war with China, it must make this choice.

As a political speculator who was good at dancing during the Republic of China period, Zhou Shanpei was a typical all-rounder and had a bargaining bet on any aspect.

In fact, it was not only Zheng Xiaoxu and Luo Zhenyu who "professed themselves as ministers" and pushed the former master to recognize the thief as fathers, but also Zhou Shanpei, who were among them. They were just thinking about each other and striving to be heroes who supported him. In the end, Zheng Xiaoxu grabbed Puyi with the Japanese. Luo, the "impatient person" Luo, was excluded and did not regard him as a "founding hero", and was lucky to be eliminated.

Since the Republic of China, Zhou Shanpei, who regarded himself as his old man, has been linked with Li Yuanhong, Duan Qirui, Sun Yixian, Puyi, and Liu Xiang. He has also contacted the Department of Political Science, Anhui, Fengtian, Sun, Zongshe Party, Belarus, Kwantung Army, and Sichuan warlords. Of course, he will not ignore the growing Chinese Red Gate.

Zhou Shanpei was famous for his long-term vision. With Zhou's status, he protected Zhang Lan and Luo Longji, the most important allies of the Red Gate of China, and also had contacts with Ji Shaoshan. As the power continued to expand, the Red Gate of China, which gradually had a political system, would indeed need a prestigious politician like Zhou Shanpei.

The conversation ended up in a bad mood. Zhou Shanpei, as a pawn, came to test the political attitude of the Hualian. From Chen Jiongming, he had already felt this hatred of the Qing Dynasty, and had been in major cities such as Guangzhou for a long time. He also felt this hostility from the main citizens of the Hualian.

The Manchus may be accepted into the new national system, but the original royal family and nobles even lived a luxury. If they could not find a sense of security here, Zhou Shanpei turned his attention to the northwest direction. Perhaps the red political force that urgently needed allies would be willing to accept the remnants of the Qing Dynasty.

The right to ownership of the island Taiwan is now being transferred, and the negotiations between China and Japan have basically ended. The Kwantung Army and the remaining troops of the North China Expeditionary Force have withdrawn from Japan. Such an announcement is not without cost. Japan must return Taiwan to China unconditionally, and the soldiers of the China Alliance Marine Corps will be responsible for accepting it.

The Southern Army is cooperating with a large number of surface ships and is gathering in Fujian.

The Northern Army has also built a large number of military airports in Shandong, with ferocious strategic bombers staring at the island country east of the coastline.

Even if you want to make a debt, the Japanese government must consider the consequences of doing so: the continuous bombing will add insult to the already devastated domestic economy and industrial production.

In Tokyo Bay, the huge harbor is docked with majestic battleships, as if declaring Japan's maritime hegemony to the world. With the world's second-largest naval fleet, these people are indeed proud and proud enough.

But just today, most of the soldiers were in a low mood. With the last batch of army soldiers being repatriated, the tragic atmosphere in Japan was particularly obvious.

This is the shame of the losers. Even the Navy had to let go of its prejudice and face the blame and criticism from all over the country with the Army.

"The army lost its division and humiliated the country! The navy has never won many battles! The cabinet must step down! The army is incompetent!"

Masato Tsuji walked on the noisy streets, like many army generals, and had to lower his hat brim to cover his face. It was indeed as the crazy people accused, the loser had no say. With his soldiers' arrogance, he really had no face to face the insults of the people.

"Tsujikun!"

Hearing someone calling him, Masato Tsuji quickly turned his head and turned out to be his good friend Masao Murata. The two got together, but fortunately they were wearing casual clothes. Now in Japanese streets, wearing military uniforms is no longer a glorious origin.

The two went to a pub. They said it was a pub, but in fact there was not much wine to sell.

Because of the defeat, although China did not ask for compensation under the insistence of Japan, it is an indisputable fact that the extreme lack of food and other materials. Without Manchuria, the supply of living in the empire's residents became a big problem.

Even using grain to make wine has become a serious crime. Now it is sold in the previous stock. Even so, it will not last long.

Sitting at the table, the two ordered a little beer mixed with water, but that was not cheap.

Masato Tsuji was depressed, obviously still resentful of the defeat of the war: "The Empire used the best treatment to support our soldiers, which was to sacrifice and contribute to the survival and development of the country. But today, the Empire used Manchuria and Taiwan to exchange for us useless people."

He brought in the beer that was so faint in the glass, and his sadness made him yell out through the alcohol. In fact, he was not drunk at all, but his inner anger really needed to be vented.

"Tsuji. Don't give up on yourself like this. Have you forgotten your former ideal? The country is in danger. That's why we loyal and brave soldiers are needed!" Murata persuaded him bitterly. In recent days, several familiar lieutenant generals and assistant officials committed suicide by being unable to withstand the pressure of public opinion. He did not want his friend Masatoshi Tsuji to choose this dead end.

"Loyalty and brave? The soldiers should have sacrificed themselves to defend the country, but now they have let the country die to defend the soldiers! This is a shame! It is a shame that cannot be washed away until death! I only hate that the Soviet Union and China shells did not blow me to death in a foreign country, but let me come back and live in humiliation."

The emotional Masato Tsuji had already red eyes, his messy signs withered like weeds. Even if they were far away, they could see the listless aura on his body.

Masao Murata sighed, his friend failed in Nomenkan, and failed to defend Manchuria again, and finally returned to the country as a loser. Now Masato Tsuji, there is no courage and courage that day, but just a self-pity beggar.

This is also a microcosm of the Japanese Empire's army and navy. After a series of failures, the military's actions were publicly questioned by all citizens: "The people are sluggish in their ranks and even sell their children to support the army to participate in the world hegemony. Now it has only been in exchange for failure and loss of national rights and interests. What is the army doing!"

The crazy people have no idea how far Japan is from the growing Soviet Union and China. The military information cannot flow into the people because of the constant blockade of news.

But failure is always equal to incompetence. In Japan, losers cannot be forgiven.

Masao Tsujimasato patted Tsuji on the shoulder, Murata Masao could only kindly comfort him. Once the country's losses were enough, it was time to rest and recuperate. Moreover, it reached an agreement of understanding with the Chinese authorities, which was also a blessing in disgrace. At least the empire would not need to call on the entire country to launch the "Yaosha".

In January, the cold wind whistled and the sky was dark, just like the situation Japan is facing now, making everyone breathless.

In the imperial study room, there are also many big figures who are worried about the peace agreement with China.

Binshanyuan, who had just taken over as the position of Army Minister, had a strong face. He strongly opposed the transfer of Taiwan: "Your Majesty, Taiwan is our strategic location to restrain China, how can we easily abandon it?"

He was a Japanese general and the first in the Army Aviation Army. He was an active planner and participant in launching the full-scale war of aggression against China and the Pacific War. When he was studying in the military academy in his early years, he was nicknamed Foo Yuan because of his honest face. In fact, his personality was extremely stoic and stubborn, and he was the mainstay of the Army.

Nagano, who had just taken over as the post of the Navy Minister from the royal family, also opposed the ceasing of Taiwan. But he knew that the Navy had now become the last trump card of the empire and could not be used easily.

If there is another failure, the country's fortune will be overturned and it will be irreversible.

He was also a war madman who actively advocated expanding the strength of the Japanese navy and carrying out foreign aggression. From 1930 to 1935, he led a delegation to attend the London Naval Disarmament Conference twice, running to break through the restrictions on the development of the Japanese naval by Western powers. Because it could not meet Japan's requirements for expanding the navy, Nagano issued a statement to withdraw from the London Disarmament Conference on January 15, 1936 and led the Japanese delegation back to China.

But now, he has always advocated that Japan would unscrupulously expand its naval strength, and he no longer dared to put the slogan of foreign aggression and expansion.

But in the Imperial Study room, the real decision-maker was Emperor Hirohito who did not speak out in his seat. The rest of the people could only make suggestions, but not orders beyond their authority.

Looking at the Showa era kings whose eyes were slightly closed, the two ministers were tactful and kept silent. They were waiting for His Majesty to issue an order, and they had no choice but to bow their heads to fulfill their duties.

Three days later, Hualian received a letter of intent for peace talks from Japan, willing to return to Taiwan and withdraw from Manchuria, but also put forward a series of conditions.

Among them, there are requirements for not admitting defeat in the war and not paying compensation.

What puzzled later historians most was that Japan's obvious lack of confidence was easily approved by the senior executives of the China Union Government.

Moreover, in the subsequent military operations, China and Japan maintained a very high tacit understanding, as if they had already made an agreement. But everything was buried in the corner of time with the trend of being a good historical trend and was no longer known.

.

.
Chapter completed!