Airplanes on Beijing streets

  "Now I bear the weight of 400 million people's trust, I will not be a citizen of a lost country!" Yuan Shikai wiped away his tears and stood up abruptly, saying loudly.

  Yuan Shikai expressed his attitude, and the Chief of the Army, Duan Qirui, was so excited that he was the first to applaud, followed by the participants around him, who also applauded one after another. For a time, the room was filled with thunderous applause.

  Yuan Shikai stabilized his emotions, waved his hands, and when the applause gradually subsided, he immediately shifted the topic to specific operational details.

  "This time Japan has coerced our country again, and sent this final ultimatum, which can be described as extremely rude and unreasonable." Yuan Shikai's gaze swept across the crowd, "The envoy demands that our government respond before 6 o'clock tomorrow afternoon. How should we reply?"

  "When the time comes, return the ultimatum on the last day of the deadline and say that it is not accepted. Lu Zengxiang thought for a moment before responding first, "No need to respond with a written document, let them hit a soft nail instead. If they declare war, then let them do so, our country only needs not to declare war on them, and they will have no choice but to do nothing."

  "Yes, thus who is true peace and who is false peace will be clear at a glance, so that all countries can know. If this negotiation fails, it is not my fault." Cao Rulin also said, "If they take the initiative to fight me first, they are in the wrong. Internationally, they will fall into isolation and passivity, then the right to counterattack will be in my hands."

  Yuan Shikai nodded and his eyes immediately fell on the Chief of the General Staff, Duan Qirui, and the silent Naval Minister, Liu Guanzhong.

  "Now that Shandong and Fengtian are already occupied by Japanese troops, if I refuse to sign the agreement and return the ultimatum, what will happen? How will I respond?" Yuan Shikai asked again.

  "Several months ago, the Ministry of War had made advance deployments. Currently, more than 100,000 troops from various provinces have arrived and are stationed in key locations to defend against the Japanese army's invasion." Duan Qirui said, "The provincial generals have received orders from the ministry, all are preparing for battle, and are now basically ready."

  "The navy has already made preparations. The enemy's fleet is powerful, and our navy cannot confront them head-on, so we will mainly use mine-laying ships with new torpedoes to block their way." Liu Guanxiong glanced at Yang Shouming unintentionally and said to Yuan Shikai.

  After hearing the words of Hai Lujun Zhang, Yuan Shikai's heart was slightly calmer, he took a deep breath and sat back down in his chair.

  "This time, after repeated weighing of the pros and cons, I have reluctantly made up my mind to refuse Japan's final ultimatum. How painful! How difficult! This is the greatest crisis our Republic has faced since its founding. As the saying goes, 'A country without external threats will always perish.' After this great calamity, everyone must recognize that Japan's 'Twenty-One Demands' are a national humiliation. We must adopt the spirit of 'lying on thorns and tasting gall,' and strive to achieve great things. In all aspects - military, politics, diplomacy, finance - we must seek renewal. Let us set plans, deadlines, and make up our minds. With collective efforts, we can achieve our goals. Then, as Sir John Jordan (the British Minister) said, 'If we bury our heads in the sand for ten years, we may still have hope to stand up to Japan.' But if we let things drift and forget our shame, not only will we fail to avenge yesterday's great humiliation, but also China's danger will be even greater than it is today. The pain of national subjugation is already before us.

  I now take on this enormous responsibility alone, and even if I am torn limb from limb, as long as the country can safely pass through this crisis, I am willing to do so. But the prosperity of the nation depends on all of you, and its downfall also depends on all of you."

  After listening to Yuan Shikai's speech with tears and sufficient momentum, Yang Shaoming couldn't help but nod his head.

  "From today on, everyone must keep the four words 'national subjugation and racial extinction' in mind! Inspire conscience! Eliminate private views! Each do their duty! Jointly respond to national difficulties!" Yuan Shikai said in a deep voice, which was soon drowned out by another thunderous applause in the room.

  Although all the participants were excited, Yang Shuoming still looked calm, his eyes turned to the window, at this time the clear sky had become dark, a huge cloud covered the sun, as if it was foretelling the coming storm.

  Almost at the same time, in a Western restaurant opened by foreigners in Beijing, a veteran foreign journalist who had been in Beijing for many years saw this huge dark cloud and smiled ironically to the US Ambassador to China, Reinsch, who was sitting at the table: "When we are having fun here, China's sovereignty is drifting away like this cloud towards the East. The drama of Korea is being replayed."

  "Yes! Now this cloud will soon drift to Tokyo." Gu Weijun, sitting next to Rains, turned his head to look at the increasingly dark black cloud, revealing an extremely bitter smile.

  After hearing Gu Weijun's words, Ruan Yisheng couldn't help but let out a deep sigh.

  During the several months of negotiations, Reinsch, who had always been sympathetic to China, did his utmost, but the results of his efforts were so disappointing that even he himself was extremely disappointed.

  Although the Japanese strictly forbade the Chinese side from leaking negotiation information, Reinsch and British Minister Jordan still learned of the details of the negotiations in the shortest time. Under Lu Tseng-tsiang's secret arrangement, after each round of negotiations, the main members of China's Foreign Ministry would hold a secret emergency meeting in a small conference room, where Lu Tseng-tsiang and Cao Rulin would inform Kung Hsiang-hsi of all the details. Kung Hsiang-hsi would then inform Reinsch and Jordan of the progress and details of the negotiations by the next morning at the latest. Through Kung Hsiang-hsi's efforts, not only did the American and British ministers know the contents of the "Twenty-One Demands", but also the French and Russian ministers.

  To get rid of the noose imposed by the Japanese, Chinese diplomats used their inability to keep secrets as a weapon for the first time, and it was played to perfection.

  Although the Western powers were aware of the news, what disappointed China was that although the Western powers were very dissatisfied with Japan's behind-the-scenes black-hand behavior, they apparently did not intend to take any action. Like Russia, only concerned about whether their interests in North Manchuria had been damaged, France stopped talking after Japan hinted that it would not invade France's sphere of influence in southern China. Compared to France and Russia, the British intention to appease was even more obvious. Throughout the negotiations, the British simply pretended to let the ambassador to Japan "persuade" the Japanese government, and when the Japanese said they would not monopolize China, British public opinion immediately turned towards Japan. In comparison, the American attitude seemed more positive, but far from turning against Japan for China's sake. During the negotiations, Reinsch repeatedly telegraphed the US government to take action to stop Japan's coercion of China, and the US government subsequently made a stern inquiry to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, forcing Japan to publicly disclose the main content of the "Twenty-One Demands" and argue that Article 5 was a "hope" rather than a "request". Under American pressure, Japan was forced to cancel Article 5 at a cabinet meeting on May 4. But what the Americans did was only this much. At the last moment when Japan was about to present China with an ultimatum, the US side ultimately only notified the Chinese and Japanese governments that "any agreement reached between China and Japan which affects American interests in China or the policy of the open door or the territorial integrity of China would not be recognized by the Government of the United States."

  At this time, Gu Weijun looked at the gradually darkening sky, and his mood became more and more sorrowful.

  Foreign aid is hopeless, fighting can't win, and peace talks can't be negotiated. Where is China's way out?

  Just as Gu Weijun was worried and anxious, a strange rumbling sound suddenly came from the sky.

  Gu Weijun came to the window with some surprise, and at this time, he saw a small black dot moving quickly in the midst of the vast dark clouds.

  Rainsford and the foreign journalists also noticed the abnormality in the sky, and they all gathered at the window, looking up at the sky together.

  The black dot in the sky was rapidly growing larger, and soon a biplane appeared in the air.

  Gu Weijun looked at the increasingly clear silhouette of the twin-seat aircraft, and he noticed that the wings and fuselage of this plane were all painted with a large black and red "human" logo, while the front of the plane was prominently depicted with a ferocious dragon head!

  The dragon head pattern and the human word logo seemed to remind Gu Weijun of something, he was a little unbelievable in his heart suddenly surged thought, at this time, he couldn't help but rushed out of the door, came to the street, looked up at the sky.

  The plane swooped down again in the sky, as if searching for something. Before long, the plane began to descend and dived straight into the heart of the street.

  Seeing an airplane as if it was going to land on the main street, people on the street cried out in surprise.

  Gu Weijun stared blankly at the plane as it whizzed by, his eyes fixed on the aircraft as it landed steadily on the street, emitting a loud roar, and charged straight towards him. For a moment, he was frozen in place, at a loss for what to do with his hands and feet, and had even forgotten to dodge.

  The pilot driving the plane also found Gu Weijun standing still in front of him, he anxiously waved his hand to signal Gu to hurry up and dodge, but when he found that Gu didn't move at all, he desperately controlled the plane, trying to avoid the people on the street.

  The plane continued to taxi forward, heading straight for Gu Weijun, and just as it seemed about to collide with him, the pilot suddenly turned the plane around, making a wide circle on the broad street before coming to a smooth stop in front of Gu.

  The pilot in the front seat looked at Gu Weijun, who was still standing there stupidly, and rushed out of the cockpit with a look of exasperation, removing his flying cap with goggles, and shouted loudly at the Foreign Ministry counselor.

  "Damn it! Are you looking for death?"

  Hearing the pilot's shouting, Gu Weijun finally reacted to what had happened. He didn't get angry, but instead smiled slightly.