Beiyang reactionaries

Hideki Tojo is someone who dares to use gas bombs, so killing a few people is nothing.Of the [-] American soldiers captured by Japan in the Philippines, only [-] remain.Those people died because they didn't have enough to eat, were abused in prison, and were forced to work by the Japanese army.

By this time, Hideki Tojo didn't care about anything.

Killing a lot of people is a trivial matter.It is also a waste for those European and American businessmen to stay in prison for nothing.

"But this is still too slow."

Gu Zhengzhi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs who had been standing beside him, spoke.

Some worried: "Stilwell came to China again, I think it is definitely with a major mission. I think the most likely is that he came for our arms trade with China. Once the United States gives China enough benefits, China will definitely stop the arms trade with us. China cannot be trusted, as long as there are enough benefits, China will dare to do anything.”

"This judgment makes sense."

Handsome Nakajo nodded.

When Stilwell came to China, he must negotiate with China on behalf of the United States.The content of the negotiations was too confidential, and Japan was not able to get it.But many things can be judged by relying on some clues.

What is the most feared thing in the United States right now?

It is the arms trade between China and Japan.The United States will inevitably do everything possible to destroy this cooperation.If Japan does not have China's arms support, it will definitely be very passive on the Pacific battlefield.For this, the United States will definitely give up a lot of benefits.Hideki Tojo couldn't judge how much benefit he gave up.

"It seems that we can't wait."

Hideki Tojo thought for a while and said, "Master Zang, can we get a direct loan from China. Using this loan to buy Chinese arms will save a lot of time. It can also alleviate the current lack of foreign exchange in the empire."

"Loan? How much does the Prime Minister want to borrow?"

"10 billion RMB."

"But we are short of collateral. China does not see rabbits or hawks. Without sufficient collateral, they will not lend casually. Not to mention such a large loan of 10 billion yuan, they will be more cautious."

"Collateral, collateral."

It's so easy to get a loan with empty teeth.

International loans require a collateral that is recognized by the other party.After all, 10 billion yuan, according to the current exchange rate, is nearly [-] million U.S. dollars.How could such a large amount of money be borrowed without sufficient collateral?

"How about mortgaging some of the assets of the Mitsubishi Zaibatsu?"

"But the Mitsubishi family (Iwasaki family)?"

"I'll talk to them."

Japan's political structure is very complex.

The Japanese royal family, the Japanese bureaucracy, the Japanese feudal aristocracy, the Japanese military, the Japanese political parties, and the Japanese chaebols all ruled the Japanese political arena together.After the Meiji Restoration, the strength of the Japanese bureaucracy and the military expanded rapidly, and began to suppress the Japanese feudal aristocracy.Although the status of the Japanese feudal aristocratic group is very high, their strength has been plummeting.

Around the time of World War I, Japanese political parties developed rapidly, and party politics began to become the mainstream.Japanese chaebols and Japanese political parties began to combine, and Japanese chaebols influenced Japanese politics in this way. As a result, the influence of Japanese chaebols in Japanese politics gradually expanded within a period of time.However, after Tanaka Yoshiichi became the Prime Minister of Japan, although Tanaka Yoshiichi was a representative of a political party, many of the policies he adopted during his tenure completely suppressed the development of Japanese political parties.It can even be said that Yoshiichi Tanaka is the person most responsible for undermining the political development of Japanese parties.

Yoshiichi Tanaka suppressed Japanese political parties, and by the way, also suppressed Japanese chaebols politically.However, economically, Yoshiichi Tanaka also supported the Japanese chaebol, allowing the Japanese chaebol to develop rapidly in economic strength.

After Tanaka Yoshiichi was assassinated, fascism in Japan became more and more serious.Soon the power of Japanese soldiers expanded and they began to control Japanese political power.Including the Japanese bureaucracy has also begun to cooperate with the Japanese soldiers, militarism is becoming more and more obvious.

In particular, Japanese bureaucrats who advocate economic control, such as Kaya Konobu, are the most typical representatives of bureaucrats who control the economy.After they became allies of Japanese militaristic soldiers, they suppressed Japanese political parties and Japanese chaebols.

The Japanese chaebols are indeed very powerful.

But in the current situation, it is the target of suppression by the bureaucracy and the military.Those bureaucrats who advocate controlling the economy have even proposed to let the state take over the enterprises of those plutocrats.In history, the Japanese Kwantung Army even directly rejected the development of Japanese chaebols in Northeast China, because they wanted to support their own chaebols.

Hideki Tojo thought for a long time to see what he could mortgage.

There seems to be nothing.

Hideki Tojo then thought of those companies in Japan, and thought of the Mitsubishi Zaibatsu, the largest chaebol in Japan.When the country is in crisis, these chaebols should do more.

"Okay. I'll go to Beijing myself."

Kaguya Xingxuan nodded.

Hideki Tojo shook his head and said, "No, let the foreign minister come forward on this matter. Foreign minister, we are now competing with the United States for time. Stilwell is only a special envoy, and it is impossible to sign some important agreements. But once the high-level officials of China and the United States meet, Then I don’t know what kind of agreement the two sides will sign. So I need to complete this loan within a few days. If the Chinese side hesitates, tell them that we are willing to let the Vietnamese government give up the sovereignty of the North Vietnam area, and we are willing to follow the Tang Dynasty Annan I want to confirm the Sino-Vietnamese border with the border line of the Duhufu. All I want is money, and I need to reach an arms deal directly. I not only need warships, but also need fighter planes from China. We lost too many fighter planes during this period, and it’s too late to replenish them.”

"Yes."

732

"Cordell Hull coming?"

Duan Xun looked at the telegram from the United States.

Wang Jingwei and Stilwell have been negotiating during this time.From the beginning, it was nonsense, and now the two sides have really entered the real core content, and it is no longer a false move.Neither side concealed their intentions and began to express their demands.The United States started by asking China to sever all relations with the Axis powers, and gradually lowered the conditions. The final request became that China end the arms trade with the Axis powers.It mainly refers to China's abandonment of arms trade with Japan.

And the same is true here in China.

At the beginning, it was required to take the longitude of Pearl Harbor as the line, the east belonged to the United States, and the west belonged to Asia, which is controlled by China.It later took a step back and demanded that Wake and Johnston Islands be placed under Asian administration.But the attitude of the United States is very clear. Wake Island and Johnston Island are important parts of the Pearl Harbor Naval Base, and it is absolutely impossible to give up.These two islands belong to the core interests of the United States in the Pacific Ocean, and it is impossible to make concessions.Therefore, Wang Jingwei took a step back and took the Marshall Islands, Gilbert Islands, Tuvalu Islands, and Samoa Islands as the front line, the east was handled by the United States, and the west was handled by Asia.

At this time, the negotiations between the two parties have really reached the point where the bayonet is hot, and they have already involved the most important core interests.By this time, Stilwell, the special envoy of the President, had basically completed his work.His main job in China is to kick the door and bring China into the scope of negotiations set by the United States.Stilwell did it very well.Further negotiations involved the real division of interests, which could not be resolved with Stilwell's power.

Therefore, the United States sent a telegram to China, hoping to negotiate with high-level Chinese officials, mainly with Duan Xun.Because the United States knows that China's major policies cannot be passed without Duan Xun's decision.Similarly, as long as Duan Xun is persuaded, the problem will be almost solved.Therefore, in order to negotiate with Duan Xun in person, the US Secretary of State Cordell Hull is going to come to Beijing in person.Stilwell's rank was too low, and Duan Xun didn't see him.Cordell Hull is the Secretary of State of the United States, and it is impossible for Duan Xun to miss him.

Once Duan Xun and Cordell Hull meet, then this will be the highest-level meeting between China and the United States so far after Duan Xun became the leader of China.After Duan Xun came to Beijing, he never met with the highest level of the United States.Being able to talk with the US Secretary of State in person is of great benefit to promoting the relationship between China and the United States.

Duan Xun actually looked forward to this day for a long time.

Although Duan Xun has been the leader of China for more than 20 years, he has never had real contact with world powers.That is to say, I have met the two Japanese Prime Ministers Yoshiichi Tanaka and Hideki Tojo, but I have not met the leaders of other European and American powers.Most of the negotiations with the big powers are conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Duan Xun really wants to increase China's voice in the world.

Meeting with the Secretary of State of the United States is the first step in fighting for this right to speak.Therefore, Duan Xun said: "Once the Secretary of State of the United States comes, there is no reason to delay the negotiations between us and the United States. On the contrary, we must enter the substantive content. At that time, we must make a choice, whether to really cut off the arms trade with Japan. What do you think?"

"I think it should be delayed."

Wang Jingwei was the first to speak.

"Drag for a while?"

"Yes."

Wang Jingwei nodded.

Dao: "There are two reasons. The first reason is Japan. Gu Zhengzhi has come to Beijing, and Japan wants to borrow 10 billion from our country. And it wants to use this loan to directly buy our arms. If we do it now In direct negotiations with the United States, how should Japan handle matters? Should we agree or not? If we made such a big deal with Japan in the middle of the negotiations between the Chairman and the US Secretary of State, wouldn’t the negotiations become a mess? Is it embarrassing? It's not good for the chairman's reputation. But if we don't complete this deal, we won't be reconciled. After all, it's too wasteful not to do such a big business."

Because Japan is close to China and has cooperated a lot in recent years, it is much easier to meet people than the United States.Japanese Foreign Minister Masaoyuki Tani visits China many times a year, not once or twice.So after Hideki Tojo's decision, Gu Zhengzhi quickly got a reply from China, and then came to China.

What Wang Jingwei means is that it is not a good thing for China to negotiate with the United States and Japan.

It should be negotiating with Japan first to resolve the business on the Japanese side.In any case, this is a very big business, and it would be too wasteful not to do it.After all, once you negotiate with the United States, you may lose such a good opportunity to make money.In this case, pushing and negotiating with the United States is the best way.

Wang Jingwei continued: "The second aspect is that Cordell Hull decided to come here in person, indicating that the United States is imperative for this negotiation. With Cordell Hull coming, we must discuss a result. If Cordell Hull comes, we still can't come to a conclusion. At that time, the relationship between China and the United States may reach a freezing point, which is not good for our country's post-war deployment. But we are negotiating now, and I don't think there are enough bargaining chips. After all, these Pacific islands are now under the control of Japan. If the United States wins the Pacific War in the future, these Pacific islands will become controlled by the United States. What ability do we have to allow the United States to transfer the Pacific islands to us? I think we should have More bargaining chips, bargaining with the United States."