Chapter 67 Conspiracy (Part 2)

  "Never relax the ideological education of soldiers at any time!" This was the first sentence Wang Hongbiao said to him when he had just entered the then temporary 23rd Division of the Field One Army as a probationary platoon leader.

  "Did you see that? Did you see the atrocities committed by those Japanese?! Think about it, if this group of beasts is not thoroughly eliminated, they will invade China! Think about how many Chinese people will be slaughtered by them!

  Wang Hongbiao was giving his final speech before departure: "Don't feel guilty for what you did last night or just now! You are heroes! Today, the more white people you kill, the more white people you trample, tomorrow Japan will have one less chance to invade China! What you did last night, just now and what you're about to do is all under my orders because you are soldiers! If you think this is an inhumane thing that will bring retribution, then I say it out loud now, the retribution will fall on me! Go ahead boldly!"

  Wang Hongbiao's troops felt a clear emotional instability in last night's action against the two Soviet banks; by today, just now, when they were disguised as Japanese soldiers blocking those white refugees at various intersections on Minguo Road, he even saw someone secretly wiping away tears and chanting Buddhist scriptures!

  They finally made it through! When they, this group of "Japanese devils", sneaked back into the concession, after seeing the atrocities committed by the Japanese everywhere, the soldiers' resistance had already weakened - what the Japanese did was even more heinous than what they had done! In light of this, Wang Hongbiao chose a warehouse to tell them this.

  Yes, if these beasts were to invade China, wouldn't that be even more unbearable? Yes, the task they are carrying out now is precisely to prevent their compatriots from being trampled by these beasts! So, no matter how heinous their actions may be, they have a reason with a halo: everything for the nation!

  First, they were stimulated by their own cruelty, and then by the Japanese. Now these soldiers have also become abnormal. They are just like Tan Xiao after he broke free from his psychological shackles! Now Wang Hongbiao's troops have unconsciously evolved into the kind of army that Tan Xiao needs, one that can survive by eating human flesh and drinking human blood in critical moments; an army that can engage in endless warfare without any scruples!

  In the concessions of Shanghai, Wang Hongbiao's troops were a lone army, and they were also divided into more than twenty detachments. Each detachment had only one objective for action, and after completing their mission, they would also leave this "ghost domain" according to plan. Their targets were the twenty consulates of various countries in Shanghai, as well as the buildings of the Municipal Council and the Board of Works!

  The consulate can be said to be the "territory" of various countries in a certain sense. If the consulate is occupied, the national flag is trampled, and diplomatic personnel are killed and humiliated, will there still be room for maneuver between various countries and Japan? Japan is very powerful, much more powerful than China, but can it be more powerful than the whole world combined?! If it wages war against the whole world, it is obvious that a city like the current concession in China, where massacres and humiliation occur, will not appear again!

  Now, warriors are executing these originally disgusting tasks with a sense of mission!

  Shouldn't the massacre have started in the concession area by now? Tan Xiao had a hint of cruel satisfaction in his heart as he looked at the two old friends in front of him, De Gaulle and "M": "I hate the Japanese, but I won't support my country going to war with Japan immediately, because I don't know when the British, French, and American warships will set sail... China is right here, it won't run to Europe, we still have to face the Japanese revenge afterwards... unless you give me a reason to believe that after all of you withdraw your hands, China will still be fearless in the face of Japan's military actions."

  Tan Xiao hated the Japanese, hated them to the bone. Those who wore high collars and "M" all knew that Tan's bamboo stick had started to strike again. But now, is there a way to find a way not to be struck by the bamboo stick? "M" looked at the high collar, he couldn't find it. Before coming, they all knew that Japan had reassembled its combined fleet after completing two naval battles; this time including Japan's latest aircraft carriers Kaga, Akagi, and Ryūjō, as well as their four Myoko-class heavy cruisers. As a result, the US Pacific Fleet has not dared to take another step forward after gathering with the British and French fleets in the Philippines. Compared to the Japanese fleet, American warships all seem too old, they will surely lose this great naval battle! Of course, Americans themselves don't think so, but "M" is convinced!

  Army? Can Britain and the United States send an army? They can, but how many? How long will it take? What situation would their dispatched army face if they haven't even won a naval battle or have lost one?

  If China were an ally, it would be a different story. Even if the Chinese army was weak, British and American troops could still deploy their aircraft on Chinese soil and station their armies there... But Nanjing has already declared neutrality. Tan Xiao is someone who might be able to persuade Nanjing to change its stance, this person loves playing the bamboo clappers!

  "The Chinese army is not so weak, at least in terms of equipment, I mean light equipment, you are even stronger than the Japanese army!" De Gaulle was unhappy with Tan's evasive attitude towards forming an alliance, and he didn't want to be cheated.

  "Yes, if the war only lasted a month!" Tan Xiao shrugged: "China's military industry is not good, and most of the current weapons are... you know what I mean. So China does not have the ability to confront Japan alone after the war; unless Japan is really defeated unconditionally."

  "You think we can't do it!?" De Gaulle was getting a bit impatient.

  "No, you certainly can do it, but you won't! Tan Xiao glared at the other side without backing down: "You won't watch China overpower Japan! So you will let go when you think it's appropriate, and even condone Japan's revenge against China!"

  De Gaulle and "M" did not expect Tan Xiao to speak so bluntly, now the only reason that can convince Tan Xiao is a condition that makes China strong enough to confront Japan alone. A strong Japan is already annoying, plus a strong China, is the Far East still theirs?!

  The conversation has reached an impasse, but it must go on: now is the time for Anglo-American-French demands on China!

  "We can satisfy your conditions and arm China's troops even better." "M" said: "We can give more assistance to China! Unconditionally! For example, rearm thirty divisions!"

  "No, no, no!" Tan Xiao raised his index finger and shook it: "Thirty divisions are not enough, and even if they were all defeated, he would never be reborn. Let me state my conditions, you remember them and go back to consider!" Tan Xiao stood up without any politeness and paced back and forth in the hall.

  "First, I demand that Britain and France utilize their powerful naval capabilities to transport all the various supplies we have 'purchased' from Germany to China within a month! Second, I know that your last batch of P-14 rifles came from America, and I also know that there are over one million such rifles in America, and more than 700,000 in Britain; although many of these British rifles are 7.7mm caliber, I can accept them. I want one million rifles!..."

  "What!" "M" jumped up! One million rifles!? How many more troops does China want to arm!?

  "This is just a rifle!" Tan Xiao continued: "There are also light machine guns, we need 400,000 of them! Then there are mortars..."

  "No! This can't be!" De Gaulle and "M" jumped up together!

  Looking at them, Tan Xiao was surprised and widened his eyes: "I haven't finished yet... I mean the Air Force and Navy..."

  The British and French almost fainted together...

  Under the stimulation of a possible outbreak of war, the training of various troops in Hunan has become more vigorous. In the original time and space, under the pressure of resisting Japan, an ordinary farmer became a soldier after three months of training; even such soldiers could basically hold half of the country. Now, these trained soldiers were originally seasoned veterans who had experienced many battles, and under the influence of the anti-Japanese thought of the First Route Army, their military camps were now filled with anti-Japanese slogans and materials about the atrocities committed by the Northeastern Japanese army; their training enthusiasm was also much higher than before. Although they had only undergone a month of intensive training, the effect was surprisingly good, and the current Central Instruction Corps, 25th Division, and the Zhong Song Independent Brigade under the Instruction Corps, as well as Huang Wei's 11th Division, which followed Peng Hanbo and Sun Liren every day to learn from them, had made rapid progress and already had a strong military quality. Now, the division commanders of various troops stationed for training were talking most about the situation in Shanghai, and many people believed that this was a great opportunity to recover the mountains and rivers; if Chiang Kai-shek had not returned to Nanjing, it is estimated that there would be more than a dozen division commanders who would ask to go to war!

  "This matter, I think we need to discuss with Feng Sheng, he was secretly meeting with the principal every day before, he must have a plan, let's go ask him tonight!" Guan Linzheng said.

  "I think, as long as we train our troops well, that's all that matters, no need to think about anything else. After all, with so many brains put together, it's unlikely we can surpass Tan Fengyi...". Gui Yongqing said: "I heard today that two mysterious figures from England and France have arrived, probably discussing the Shanghai situation..."

  "Did you little rascal get some news from the Military Affairs Department?" Wang Jingji suddenly had an idea: "You little rascal, don't keep the news to yourself, spit it out and let everyone know..."

  "Right, right! This kid must have inside information......" Suddenly, everyone's target was shifted to Gui Yongqing......

  The whole army and the entire nation are now focusing on Shanghai, with various editorials carrying different political purposes occupying the headlines of major newspapers every day. A large stack of newspapers from all over the country was placed on the desk, but Li Zongren was looking at a telegram.

  Today, almost all warlords across the country received a telegram from Chiang Kai-shek, requesting that all military leaders above the rank of army commander attend a national emergency military conference in Nanjing three days later. There were two agenda items: one was the situation in Shanghai and the other was the approval of Tan Xiaojie's nomination to the National Military Commission proposed by Chiang Kai-shek.

  "This Tan Xiaotang is really rising fast, he's going to enter the Military Commission!" Bai Chongxi sighed.

  "Jian Sheng, do you think it's better for us to attend this meeting or not?" Li Zongren asked. For some time now, the large army of the Central Army on the Xiang-Gui Road had been making him uneasy and losing sleep.

  Bai Chongxi had been unusually cautious of Tan Xiao since their last meeting in Lingling, and he himself was also less arrogant. He had been busy reorganizing the army during this period and had become indifferent to many things unrelated to the reorganization: "I think it's necessary to go, after all, the Shanghai matter is not a small thing...... However, this Wild First Army has always been pressing on the Xianggui Road, I still don't feel at ease! Besides, Ren Chao's brother's lesson from the past...... I think so, we two will go together, in any case, we can't be caught off guard."

  "Jian Sheng is worried... Tan Xiao should also go, right? I think Chiang Kai-shek wouldn't stoop to inviting us into a trap at this critical moment?" Li Zongren said.

  "It's hard to say, now everyone is focusing on Shanghai, and the Japanese have no time to spy, I think it's a good opportunity to fight an internal war!" Bai Chongxi saw that Li Zongren still had some doubts, and continued: "Old Chiang is treacherous, Tan Shaoxuan is poisonous, these two masters and apprentices are not good things. In my opinion, we should not only keep one of them, but also advise Bo Nan not to go! As for the military commander, I think it's okay if he doesn't go either!"

  "You're being too cautious, I think even Old Chiang wouldn't act rashly at this time. If we just send one person to deal with him, it would be too humiliating for him. How about this, Yan Nong and I will go instead..."

  Bai Chongxi felt that Li Zongren's decision was not a problem, but he always felt somewhat worried, thinking about it for half a day without getting to the bottom of it, and in the end didn't express any opinion.

  Tan Xiu would be overjoyed if he knew that Li Zongren had also brought Liao Yue to Nanjing! Liao Yue and Xia Wei both have connections with the former 23rd Division, and it wouldn't be hard to persuade them to surrender. In Tan Xiu's mind, the troops he most wanted to capture were the Guangxi Army!

  According to intelligence, the combat effectiveness of this Gui army, especially the 7th Army, is not to be underestimated. The platoon leaders and above of the 7th Army are all composed of military academy students, with a very high basic quality, plus Li Zongren's extremely strict requirements for this force, which is basically the same as Tan Xiao's requirement that the Wild One Army not enter the city for garrison. Except for the large gap in equipment and consciousness with the Wild One Army, if we talk about the quality of grassroots officers and soldiers, the 7th Army is far superior to the temporary 23rd Division back then! Such a force, Tan Xiao believes that if it can fall into his own hands, it will be absolutely possible to build a super-strong army in just a few months.

  When Li Bai was still exploring how to go to Nanjing, Tan Xiao was thinking about the strategy to deal with Gui Jun. He wanted to swallow them whole without hurting their hearts or strength!

  In today's talks with "M" and de Gaulle, the final result was still not satisfactory to the British and French representatives - Tan Pingshan consistently disagreed with the suggestion that the Nanjing government should declare war immediately after Britain and France declared war on Japan. He demanded a delay of three months, with sufficient reason: the troops were insufficiently trained, and the equipment was not familiar enough! Unless the equipped troops had undergone three months of training, he would never send them to the battlefield; unless China had more than fifty well-trained divisions, China would never declare war on Japan!

  The last two could only bring back the requirements of the Chinese side, a total of ten items put forward by Tang Xiao as the representative of the Chinese side. The first item is about the infantry assistance to the Chinese army from Britain, the United States and France, including one million P-14 rifles, 240,000 Browning light machine guns, 60,000 Vickers heavy machine guns, 1,000 new-style 37mm anti-aircraft guns and 1,000 37mm high-altitude guns, 100 Schneider 105mm field artillery and 75mm field artillery, 200 75mm mountain guns, 500 French-made 81mm mortars, 200 light tanks, 1,000 military trucks, 100,000 tons of various ammunition, 500,000 Tony steel helmets and a large number of communication, medical, observation, measurement, oil and other military supplies. The second item is that Britain and France assist China in transporting all the machinery and equipment and strategic materials still in Germany to Qingzhou Bay within one month. Third, six ordnance factories currently in India will be cloned in China within a month, with the same scale and specifications as the original factory. Fourth, during the war against Japan, the military expenses of all Chinese troops, including non-combat units, will be borne by the powers. Fifth, China must have more than 200 fighter planes and the same number of bombers and be able to solve its own aviation logistics before declaring war on Japan. Sixth, Britain must immediately start building an oil refinery in Qingzhou Bay to assist China. Seventh, after the war, China's border with Japan will be restored to at least the mainland boundary line before the Qing Dynasty and Taiwan and Ryukyu will be returned. Eighth, after defeating Japan, China will receive one-quarter of Japan's unsunk warships and submarines. Ninth, after the war, all countries must support China in resisting the Soviet Union in the north, including interest-free and low-interest loans and a large number of weapons and equipment. Tenth, also the most meaningful item is that all countries will use all their current concessions, leased territories and Boxer Indemnity as collateral for the performance of the previous nine items.

  As for this pile of conditions, the two guests accepted and went back to ask the National Assembly, but they thought in their hearts that it was simply a fantasy!

  And what about Tang Xiao? He actually sees it this way too, he never planned on reaching an agreement with the Western countries!

  This whole set of conditions is Tan Xiao's plan to delay the troops, and here he has a major conspiracy - a conspiracy to plot against Europe and other countries!

  Because in Tan Xiao's estimation, it would be extremely difficult for the Western powers to defeat Japan, at least within a year! According to his knowledge of later events, the Japanese military was completely dominant over the Allies at the beginning of the Pacific War, meaning that Japan's military strength was superior to that of the United States. Following this line of reasoning, although Japan is not yet fully prepared, it will have no problem defending itself as long as it does not become deeply embroiled in China. At least for the next two years, it still has a strong ability to defend itself. Of course, this is only self-defense, because due to differences in circumstances, it has also lost its oil base in Southeast Asia, which will lead to a crisis in just two or three months.

  In order to keep their homeland, the Japanese could only withdraw a large number of troops, but in order to keep Manchuria, they would again deploy a large number of troops in the north to confront the Soviet Union. Therefore, it is highly likely that China will be able to recover the vast territories lost since the September 18 Incident and before the Great Wall War without bloodshed!

  The major powers, having suffered an unexpected blow, will inevitably try to win China over even more and can only relax their grip on materials. Those lists of materials were not conjured up by Tang Xiaotang out of thin air; they were formulated based on the inventory provided by Germany! As long as these materials flow into China in large quantities, once war breaks out in Spain, Britain and France will be caught off guard! Especially after Germany's high seas fleet arrives in China, Britain will relax its vigilance towards Europe, and when it feels compelled to win over China with all its might, it will definitely make a big move; by the time the European situation erupts, it will be extremely passive. This is the plan that Tang Xiaotang came up with after consulting with the Germans!

  The last bet of the Western powers is the tenth item, after tonight's massacre, they will have to abandon their original idea and give Japan a heavy blow. Under this thinking and underestimating the Japanese, they probably thought that they could definitely defeat Japan unconditionally, so they might agree to the last tenth item. Once they signed, after being beaten by Japan and the European war started again, could they still do the previous nine items? If not, then they would have to wipe out the occupied land, including concessions, Hong Kong, and the Boxer indemnity that took up half of China's annual fiscal expenditure. One step back, even if they didn't return the land, China was powerless to take it back, but the Boxer indemnity could be stopped at any rate! In a way, it would be equivalent to doubling China's fiscal revenue!

  As for the entire negotiation process, China's small gains can still be greatly occupied: For example, the second item is actually what Tan Xiao is looking forward to. Britain and France use their powerful shipping to help China transport German aid, which may become a gift from Britain and France to show their sincerity to China! As for the physical list of things, it will definitely flow in large quantities, because one of Tan Xiao's conditions is that the Chinese army must undergo three months of reorganization and training, which means that military aid must arrive three months in advance. So the powers will definitely give China more "earnest money" when they appear excited during each negotiation! The other terms are actually just a cover for the true purpose, but they may also bring rich returns, such as Britain fully supporting Rolls-Royce to develop new engines to meet China's air force conditions and so on.

  This is a design that can make China and Germany both benefit greatly while making Britain and other major powers anxious. It depends on whether the major powers will fall for it or not. If they do, Tan Xiang has great confidence in using this battle to completely resolve all international crises caused by China's invasion!

  Tan Xiao now most eagerly awaits tonight's action to go smoothly, the "Japanese" will "invade" the special "territory" of the Consulate General of the powers in Shanghai tonight. At the same time, set up traps for Japan, the powers, the Soviet Union, and the two Guangs, Tan Xiao has become sinister!

  I finally started writing again last night. Due to some communication being blocked, I registered a QQ account for contact and exchange purposes only. The number is 1729211619, please note "book friend" when adding friends... This should be unblocked now...... I won't be online often because of work and writing books, but this is still much more convenient...... Just remembered that I haven't activated my email yet, will go do it now...... These two days the clicks and recommendation rankings have dropped drastically! Book friends please give me some support and click away!!! Thanks in advance!