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Text Chapter 481 Greedy Japan

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    Northwest Canada, Cumberland Bay.

    In an inaccessible bay, several Arctic striped seals were lazily hiding on the offshore ice sheet to bask in the sun. From time to time, they raised their heads and glanced at the gray turtles that had been stationed in the distance for five or six days. They were very curious about what these big guys were.

    Haitian is the third ship in the original Caroline-class light cruiser of the British Royal Navy. It was handed over in early 2017. It is a ship with two 152mm main guns, eight 100mm rapid-fire guns and four 533mm torpedo tubes.  A cutting-edge battleship, this name was used to commemorate the ship of the same name that accidentally sank that year.  Together with three other cruisers and 26 destroyers, it forms the Chinese Navy's escort fleet.

    Although everyone's attention to the war was almost all attracted by the land battle, the escort fleet actually performed very well. At the cost of sinking 3 ships and damaging 2 destroyers due to malfunctions, it sank a total of 11 German submarines and 2 Austro-Hungarian submarines.  Destroyers and 2 submarines completed 1,330 escort and rescue missions, including escorting the US Army to Europe. 67 officers and 277 sailors were awarded the Oak Medal by the Royal Navy.  more importantly!  The escort fleet has become the cornerstone of the Chinese navy's restart.  Not only are most of the officers in the fleet are cutting-edge young people like Chen Shaokuan and Shen Honglie, but the sailors are also outstanding people with a high level of knowledge who were trained domestically or selected from overseas Chinese after the year of 1911, and there are a total of 5,000  The rest, including (counting rotations), have been tested in the Atlantic and even dangerous North Sea waves over the past two years.  What a valuable experience this is!  It cannot be compared with the Battle of Tsushima, but it still narrowed the distance between the Chinese and Japanese navies.

    But the supreme commander of this fleet, Vice Admiral Qiu Baoren of the Chinese Navy, looked anxious during this time, pacing back and forth on the deck with a straight face all day long.  Or climb up to the mast and raise the Zeiss telescope to look into the distance, even if the wind is biting your bones and you won¡¯t put it down.  In fact, everyone knows what he is waiting for. Four destroyers, three naval coal ships and two large naval surveying ships ordered from the United States in 1916, delivered only two months ago and have been tested in the escort fleet are all waiting.  , waiting for the fleet that was supposed to meet five days ago.

    Seeing that he was restless, the officers were worried about his health, so they invited Chen Entao, who had been locked up on the surveying and mapping ship all day, to come out and make up his mind together.  Chen Entao was also an old Beiyang native. After the Republic of China, he was persuaded by Sa Zhenbing to re-emerge as director of the Naval Survey and Mapping Bureau.  Although the navy of the Republic of China was established only a short time ago.  However, under Yang Qiu's supervision, it gradually became formalized. At the beginning of its establishment, a second-hand surveying and mapping ship was purchased from the United Kingdom. At the end of 1916, when Yang Qiu visited the United States, he also ordered two large-scale maritime surveying and mapping ships.  Seeing that the navy has finally integrated into the developed countries in Europe and the United States and begun to follow the path of formalized military building, these old Beiyang people with experience studying abroad are very happy.  In fact, Chen Entao was also very anxious, so he locked himself in the cabin and kept out of sight. At this moment, when he saw the old man blowing the cold wind on the deck again, he took a piece of clothing and put it on for him, and said with concern: "Brother Qiu. This is it.  Waiting is not an option, why not try sending a telegram."

    "You think I can't do anything." Qiu Baoren stretched his neck and his mouth was cracked by the cold. He rubbed his hands and said, "I send a telegram every morning, but there is no news back yet. I think it's either the one from a few days ago.  A big storm broke the antenna, or ugh."

    Chen Entao is also worried.  In fact, he was shocked when he saw this route.  Who among these officers who studied in England and interned in the Royal Navy didn't know that the North Atlantic environment is dangerous?  Even if you have never been there, you will know just by looking at the moody Beihai.  What's more, in order to avoid the UK this time, we need to choose the coldest season of the year to break through the blockade and come back through the Greenland Ice Mountains. What a dangerous road this is!  Even many people in the British Navy changed their expressions when they heard about the Arctic Ocean route. Now a group of young people want to challenge such a route, which is the most difficult in the world.  There is really no bottom line.

    "Otherwise" Chen Entao didn't want to wait any longer and said: "Both these two surveying and mapping ships are the most advanced in the United States. They have complete icebreaking, endurance, and radio capabilities. Why don't I take one away to welcome you?"  , it¡¯s better than staying here and waiting around.¡±

    Qiu Baoren opened his mouth and then endured it, because these two naval surveying and mapping ships were not only the most advanced models in the world, but it took a lot of effort to persuade the United States to build them by joining some treaties.  All the great naval powers in the world are equipped with a large number of such auxiliary ships, so there is no place to cry if they are damaged due to the search mission.  But if they don't go, they can only let the Haitian ship search.  As for a destroyer of several hundred tons, it is usually dangerous in the North Sea when the waves are strong, let alone the dangerous iceberg storm area.

    Just when he was undecided whether to set off to search or continue to wait, excited shouts suddenly broke out outside. This sound made the two old Beiyang men stand up suddenly, looked at each other and ran madly towards the deck.  After boarding the deck, I saw a faint trace of smoke appearing on the sea in the distance.  Without even needing to give an order, a destroyer rushed forward quickly.  The waiting is hard.  Especially when you can already feel the loveThe moment was about to appear, so when a dozen black spots slowly jumped out of the waterline, the two of them couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

    "1 ship, 2 ships, 3 ships"

    "Report. Only 16 ships were seen"

    The telegram before departure stated that there were 19 ships, but now there were only 16 ships This price made the two of them feel distressed for a long time.

    As Bingwen led the remaining 16 large ships to the bay, cheers suddenly resounded through the sky!  This fleet, which carried the hope of a strong nation, finally reunited safely.  Although there is still an arduous voyage equivalent to circling the earth waiting for everyone, when the attention of Britain, France and the United States is focused on the Paris Peace Conference, no one will pay attention to these "neutral" ships as long as they make no mistakes.

    *******

    The small conference room in the Palace of Versailles fell silent instantly, and even Yang Qiu couldn't find the words to describe the expressions of Tanaka Yiichi and the Japanese delegation at this moment.  Except for Yang Qiu, no one knows why the US Secretary of State Lansing suddenly said this. Although the sentence was very ordinary, like accusing Fumimaro Konoe of interfering at will to disrupt the order of the talks, and the voice was not loud, but now this  Speak up for the occasion.  Everyone knows what it means.  Nagata Tetsuyama's heart suddenly sankThe situation was obviously worse than he expected!  First, China suddenly proposed to purchase 5 battleships, then asked all countries to completely abolish unequal treaties, and finally directly targeted Taiwan and Sakhalin, which were controlled by Japan!  They also used Kaiser Wilhelm II's "famous words" for launching the war to stimulate Britain and France, trying to make them think that Japan was the same as Germany.  What a sinister intention!  He clearly wants to take this opportunity to continue to suppress Japan's living space!

    This kind of provocation and naked hostility made him very uncomfortable. Originally, he could tolerate it. After all, Japan and China had already turned against each other. However, the sudden ambiguous attitude shown by the United States made the situation delicate.  Lansing's words were merely an accusation against Fumimaro Konoe.  Or does it mean something else?  If it is the latter, how much benefit did Yang Qiu give to the United States to gain their support?  More importantly, why is Yang Qiu so inexplicably hostile to Japan, and why does he not hesitate to make it a long-term national policy?  This was what Tanaka Giichi couldn't figure out the most. He had read Yang Qiu's personal resume countless times. Even General Fukushima Yasumasa, known as the father of Japanese intelligence, had done research, but he could not find the reason why he was hostile to Japan.

    Now is not the time to think about these things, although Tanaka Yiichi secretly scolded Konoe Fumimaro for being stupid.  However, as the Prime Minister of Japan, he still stood up and bowed to Yang Qiu, and then bowed to Lansing, Lloyd George and others present, and then said: "His Excellency Fumimaro Konoe is too young. I hope you will forgive him for his recklessness. But I don't understand what he said.  We think it makes sense. Our Japanese territory is so small that we cannot even secure food, so we urge you to think about our country. We, the Yamato nation, are peace-loving. We will not imitate Germany in launching a war. We only hope to calmly solve the problems of the people.  food and basic needs, so to show our sincerity, we in Japan are willing to return jurisdiction over the island of Taiwan on time in accordance with the Eight-Article Agreement"

    "What!"

    "No. This won't work!"

    "Taiwan Island was bought with the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers. If the Chinese want to take it back, they must first defeat the imperial navy warriors!" As soon as he finished speaking, the Japanese delegation behind him suddenly exploded.  Even Yang Qiu and Song Ziqing suddenly shrank their pupils, staring at the short and thin new Japanese Prime Minister with two cold stars.  Lloyd George was also surprised. He thought Japan would struggle, but he did not expect it to agree to return Taiwan so simply.  But no one said anything, because they knew he would definitely have something to say, so they all pricked up their ears and waited quietly.  Tanaka cleared his throat, blinked a few times, lowered his eyebrows and looked like a good baby: "We in Japan have expressed enough goodwill and desire for peace, but Huatai Island used to belong to Russia. Its future status needs to wait.  The decision can only be made after the new Russian government is established! Of course, our country also hopes to receive some compensation and hopes to hand over German New Guinea to our jurisdiction"

    Before he finished speaking, Yang Qiu sighed deeply in his heart Japan was still reluctant to give up its colonies after all.  The problem is that German New Guinea is located at the throat of the Southwest Pacific, and Britain has been eager to get the German half for an unknown amount of time.  Now that we have finally killed William II and the Ocean Fleet, how can we be willing to take them out?  Although it is hampered by the Anglo-Japanese Alliance Agreement and the need for Japan to contain the power of China and the United States in the Pacific, it will not directly refuse.  But there is an Australian shield in front of me.

    As expected, Lloyd George's face suddenly became gloomy, and he did not answer Tanaka Yiichi's request and said to Yang Qiu: "Your Excellency, since the Japanese government has promised to abide by the agreement you reached last time, Your Excellency Monceau and Lansing  and Prime Minister Orlando have agreed to suspend the previous treaty, then our British government will also seriously consider this issue. But on the northern issue, we need to wait for the birth of the new Russian government and let your country, Japan and Russia decide together."

    "I believe that all 40 million of my compatriots??Cheers for your decision.  "

    Yang Qiu bowed to several people and slowly sat down. His basic goal of the Paris Peace Conference has been achieved. As long as the announcement of the complete abolition of the unequal treaties of the Qing Dynasty is issued, even if it takes several years or even ten or twenty years  Only then can we finally evacuate, but the semi-colonial hat that has shrouded China for half a century can finally be taken off!  As for the remaining signing of the Treaty of Versailles and Operation Rainbow, it was completely a formality for him.

    When the announcement is spread back to the country, the morale of the people will be greatly shaken. If the fleet can return smoothly the fate of the country will be truly in the hands of the Chinese for the first time in a century!.

    (To be continued)

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