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Text Chapter 157 Ishihara Wanji came to inspect

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    Chapter 157 Ishihara Wanji came to inspect

    In March in Hubei, the green grass showed its buds.  As the ice and snow in the upper reaches melted, the difficult four-month dry season finally ended, and the golden waterway of the Yangtze River returned to full vitality. One river ship after another came and went and crowded the waterway. However, this year is a little different from previous years, except that  In addition to the Union Jack, which is still the most popular, there are also many German flags, and even the Stars and Stripes, which rarely went upstream in the past, is gradually increasing.

    Mixed in among them is the Flying Tiger War Flag, which is now so powerful in southern China. Although most of them are small and broken river ships, or even sailing boats, who dares to underestimate this flag and dare to scold others on the territory of the Nanjing government?  His head was so bloody that even the Beiyang Army had no choice but to hand over the flag of Wusheng Pass?

    The more ships, the more prosperous the trade. According to incomplete statistics, in January and February, the busiest months for exchanging materials in Germany, Hankou and Hanyang received an average of 16 river ships every day, with a peak of 21 ships per day, and the total unloading tonnage reached 8,000 tons per day.  .  In addition, they would not leave empty-handed. A large amount of tea, tung oil and raw silk were taken to Shanghai to be loaded on sea ships carrying equipment to Europe.  Therefore, in these two months alone, the total trade volume at the dock reached more than 40 million yuan, which really made Shen Shukai and Zhang Wenjing, who took advantage of the war to hoard goods for sale at low prices in advance, make a fortune.

    As more and more people know what these steamers are transporting, the Japanese flag, which was previously generally recognized by everyone, has become unpopular. The Nanjing incident has long been known to everyone due to the publicity of thoughtful people, and Han Yeping almost  Being swallowed up by Japan was also exposed. When they thought that the largest and best iron smelting plant in China and the largest iron ore in Asia in their own province were cheaper than Japan, everyone looked at the Japanese flag with a bit of resentment in their eyes.

    The Japanese flag rarely goes to areas above Hankou, because this is not the time in history when Britain and France were fully contracted in the late World War I. Now the Yangtze River still belongs to the United Kingdom. Germany and the United States can enter with trade orders and the hard power behind it, although Japan and the United Kingdom are  Allies, but Britain will not make concessions on its interests in the Yangtze River. In fact, after the Japanese-Japanese War, Britain was unwilling to reduce the burden on its allies. Its insistence on paying high interest rates was a warning to Japan, and Whitehall began to worry about the situation in the Asia-Pacific.  Therefore, the Japanese ships coming to the middle and upper reaches are basically for Han Yeping, especially those transporting iron ore.

    In previous years, March was the season when the largest amount of ore was produced from the Daye County (Huangshi) dock. Because it was inconvenient for large ships to enter and exit during the dry season in winter, most of the refined iron ore mined and roughly processed in the four months of winter was stored here.  There are about hundreds of thousands of tons.  So every time at this moment, Japan's few large ore transport ships would swarm in, and there would be a constant flow of people on the dock, but today there is silence here.

    Simple deer firewood blocked all the roads leading to the dock. Thick sandbag bunkers covered the entire dock and Daye mining area overnight like mushrooms after the rain. Cold machine gun muzzles poked out from the center of the sandbags, and even the cannons also  Pulled in quite a few.  Red warning signs were erected on tree trunks, on the walls of houses, wherever they could be seen.

    "Military exercise area, avoid."

    Young Ishihara Wanji, wearing an old cotton-padded jacket, dressed like a coolie looking for a job on the dock, stood in front of the notice with two of his fellow inspection partners, looking at the scarlet Chinese and Japanese characters and frowning secretly.

    After receiving the news of the success of the Wuchang Shouyi, he, who was serving in Chunshan, North Korea, could not contain his excitement. He took leave overnight and rushed here, disguised as an ordinary person, hoping to witness the changes in China with his own eyes.  However, he was disappointed when he arrived in Shanghai. The police and army were in chaos, and the evil forces used the name of revolution to openly exploit, rob, and rape. It is said that the amount of opium smuggling has exceeded any year during the Qing government.

    At first, he thought this was just a short-term chaos after the uprising. Japan was also filled with such chaos from the shogunate era to the Meiji period, so it was not too difficult to accept, but when he arrived in Nanjing, he was completely disappointed.  As the seat of the central government, the area that should be the most disciplined is even more chaotic than Shanghai. A large number of idle troops without pay are scattered around Nanjing. They not only set up private checkpoints to blatantly raid the people, but also constantly harassed businessmen and even smashed them.  There are also a lot of people grabbing and burning.  Politicians turned a blind eye to these behaviors, as if everything would be fine as long as the military stopped bothering them. This connivance made the exploitation in the Lianghuai region more severe than during the Qing government, and many people were displaced and became revolutionary refugees.

    The companions who came with him were all discouraged and returned home after seeing this situation. Only he and the remaining two continued their trip to China. But judging from the disdain and ridicule on the journey, this trip to China may only be left to  alone.

    Going all the way north from Jiangxi, the situation was similar to that in Nanjing. He had lost confidence in Hubei at first, but when he stepped into Wuxue, he suddenly felt that the air was much fresher.  Young government officials, highly disciplined police and military, and common private institutions downstream were all banned and replaced by the Unified Government Taxation Department.?After entering the country, I did not see any picture of setting up a card and collecting cash. It was much more convenient for vendors to come and go. Even though it was time to prepare for spring plowing, the government still used a lot of people to build public facilities, water conservancy, waterways and  The roads, as well as the constant flow of shipping, are refreshing.

    Is it because the quality of the people is different?  Certainly not!  They are still the kind of people who are content with being wealthy. The vast majority of people still only care about food and clothing. But why do such huge changes occur in the same country?  And it only happened in just half a year?

    The answer lies in this eye-catching notice at the pier!

    Power!

    The young man who has been recognized by countries around the world as China's largest warlord cleverly used war to forge an army that absolutely obeys his will, and then uses this army to eliminate all opposition on the road, such as those still in the three provinces.  ,No!  It is said that a counter-revolutionary campaign has been launched in the Guibei controlled area, and all the uncooperative landowners, gentry and politicians have been ruthlessly eradicated!

    He is very smart. He knows that since the current China can only speak with the barrel of a gun, then simply use the barrel of the gun to the extreme. As for the oppositionthe Beiyang they are attached to is blocked from Wusheng Pass.  , the South is even more filled with a group of compromising party members. Without any support, they can only accept changes or be expelled and massacred.

    It can be seen that this plan has been carefully conceived, because currently most of the soldiers in the National Defense Forces come from the children of poor farmers. Behind them are countless families who are eager for land and wealth. Judging from the troops they met along the way, these  He is so simple-minded that he can¡¯t even figure out how many soldiers from European countries have obviously received severe brainwashing education. This has allowed him to win over more than 90% of the poor people who occupy the control area, making this kind of wanton massacre and cleansing not only useless.  Instead of being criticized, it won support for the establishment of one national farm after another that incorporated the landless into farming.

    This political executioner and military strongman knew how to use the method of coercing the majority. From the speeches of the soldiers and officers during the Nanjing Incident, we can know that the path he took was actually the same as Japan, by arousing strong political sentiments.  Nationalism is used to achieve control, and this has achieved some results.

    He definitely knew that Japan at this time was not something he could defeat, but he still put up this sign!  Taking advantage of the gap after the Nanjing Incident, when the Hui Party had fallen apart and was too far north to reach, they prepared to forcibly take back control of Han Yeping.

    How far can he go in the future?  Can the public sentiment inspired by him lead this country out of the mudflat?  Can he accept the idea of ??building prosperity in Asia with Japan and expelling European and American powers?

    Ishihara Wanji was suddenly very curious, but his two remaining friends didn¡¯t think so.  Akeno Shinji is an officer from a Kyoto samurai aristocratic family. His little eyes have never been seen since he entered this country. Rather than inspecting China's future, he came here to travel and ridicule. When he saw that the notices were actually in Japanese  , shouted angrily: "Baga! Mr. Ishihara, they are deliberately provocative! It's so abominable to act across the year It's only March! No army in the world will accept it for at least nine months.  After months of training missions, he is deliberately humiliating our Empire of Japan!"

    "Yes! Look over there, our ore transport ships have all been driven away from the dock. They should have loaded tens of thousands of tons of iron ore back to the Yawat Iron Works, and then smelted steel to supply the navy to build new battleships. Damn it.  Navy, why haven't they launched an artillery operation? Japan will be strangled by the leech god!" Shintaro Imada, a young man who has just graduated, comes from Osaka, which used to be called Settsu Province, so he believes in the leech god.  But even though he comes from rural Osaka, he obviously hasn't learned to see problems with his mind instead of his eyes.

    Ishihara Wanji frowned quietly. The analysis of the two was too idiotic. As long as the people who control Hubei do not want to take back Han Yeping, it will be like Japan without Yawata Steel.  Thinking of this, he simply took the lead and walked towards the mining area: "Go to the garrison and have a look. There may be new news there."

    The three of them were very careful along the way. Although Ishihara Wanji personally believed that the probability of the National Defense Forces taking action first was low, they still increased their vigilance.

    In addition to the Kwantung Army stationed in southern Manchuria and Korea, the Japanese troops stationed in China are all called garrison troops. The number of these garrison troops varies, and many are even not satisfied with the number of people. For example, the garrison army stationed in Daye is called a brigade, but in fact  There are only more than 400 people, which is the size of a battalion at best.

    Although the Daye Tun Army is insufficient in number, its main arms are fully equipped. Four Japanese 75mm field guns have been pulled out, and three Hotchkiss machine guns have been loaded. This kind of machine gun helped the Japanese Army recover during the Japanese Dew War.  To save some dignity, the entrance to the military camp was piled with sandbags, and the long bayonet muzzles protruded from behind the sandbags. The air was filled with tension and the frenzy of a battle about to break out

    The guards quickly blocked the three coolies with "unknown origins." After Ishihara Wanji revealed his identity and took out his ID, they were allowed to enter the barracks.  Compared with the outside, the inside of the barracks was even more tense. Many soldiers were tying headbands with various morale-boosting words written on them on their foreheads, then pulled out their bayonets, stuck their guns on them and ran outside.

    The barracks command post was set up in a wooden house separated by a wall from the ore processing plant. After walking to the door, Ishihara Wanji discovered that there were not only army officers but also naval officers in the narrow room. One of them even carried the rank of major general. If you hadn't guessed,  The fault should be Reijiro Kawashima, commander of the Third Fleet.

    "Reporting to Major, these three are second lieutenants from the 63rd Spring Mountain Regiment. They are here for inspection." The guard's report interrupted the discussion in the room. Takagawa Kenjiro turned his head and was dissatisfied.

    He is a bearded major from Kobe. He participated in the Japanese-Japanese War and personally captured a Russian colonel. He looked at Ishihara Wanji and the other three and waved his hands impatiently: "Since you are all emperors  Man, go get the gun, now I need all my strength."

    Without saying a word, Akira Ye and Kaneda followed the soldiers to get their guns and prepared to defend Han Yeping, but Ishihara Wan'er stayed at the command post: "Your Excellency, Major, please allow me to observe the current situation first." Gao Chuan was worried about the situation,  In addition, I was afraid that he would not know the situation when he first arrived, so I nodded and agreed.

    Ishihara Wanji's guess was good. Standing next to him was Rejiro Kawashima, the commander of the Japanese Third Fleet. He seemed not to see Ishihara and said arrogantly: "Major Commander, I just want to know how long you can hold out once the war starts?  It will take five days for the Marines to arrive, and I don't want to see major changes in Han Yeping until then."

    The arrogant tone made Ishihara frown, and he could even see Gao Chuan clenching his fists carefully.  In Japan, everyone is aware of the struggle between land and sea. The navy has always disliked the army, so even its peers are very arrogant when talking, let alone facing a major.

    "General, please rest assured that Gaochuan will not disgrace the Japanese Army. I will keep them out of the mining area."

    "Very good." Reijiro Kawashima nodded and was about to leave, but he suddenly stopped at the door and said deliberately: "Major Gaokawa, I think it is necessary to remind you again that the Daye Mining Area is related to our navy's shipbuilding plan. I hope that  Your Excellency, remember your words."

    "idiot."

    Looking at the back of Reijiro Kawashima, Ishihara Wanji, who heard Takagawa's low curse, could only choose to shake his head. He was only a second lieutenant and could not intervene in the battle between sea and land. He asked: "Major, can you tell me the current situation?"

    "It's not very good." Gao Chuan paid more attention to the training of young officers. Although he was full of anger, he patiently introduced the current situation.

    Outside, the staff and guards followed Kawashima closely and asked, "Your Excellency, Commander, why didn't you tell him that the Marines won't be coming for the time being?"

    "Takahashi, do you really think the Empire can fight a war now? The Navy Ministry has informed me that direct conflicts should be avoided unless necessary. Although the Imperial Navy is powerful, our allies will never want us to develop here." Kawashima  He glanced helplessly at the Tieshan mining area in the distance: "We are not ready yet."

    "Then why do you say that Han Yeping will affect the construction of battleships? Even with this iron sand, the quality of Yawata Steel's steel cannot satisfy us, so this time we must all use British steel. And after you emphasized your tone,  With the character of that major, he will definitely"

    "Is it right to shoot?" Kawashima smiled slightly: "First, the Army's troops don't know that we never use Yawata Steel's steel. I just deliberately provoked him. Second The Army has always  Regardless of our own affordability, maybe after they stumble, our budget for the remaining two battleships can be approved as soon as possible."

    The staff officer rolled his eyes, somewhat understanding.  If the Army is weakened, the status of the Navy will naturally improve, and it will have the opportunity to lobby the cabinet to increase naval funding and block China forever in the offshore As for the Army, will the Army fall into a trough?

    This has nothing to do with the Navy

    *

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