1932: Playing with the Japanese Communist Party with a doll

These people all came to Nanjing, where the Chinese were more powerful, rather than Shanghai, where the Japanese had deeper penetration, to discuss a very important matter:

Diplomatic strategies toward China and Japan.

Of course, due to Mr. Peck's stupid behavior, he had been kicked out by Stimson and was not even allowed to attend this meeting.

"Well, gentlemen, my time is limited."

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Stimson clapped his hands grimly.

"A year has passed since the Willow Lake incident. We should integrate all intelligence and conduct a comprehensive review of this incident to prepare for a shift in our country's diplomatic strategy and provide strong support for President Field's decision-making!"

The last sentence made everyone stand in awe, and they listened attentively to Deputy Secretary of State Castle's report:

"...Now, I will read the entire report on the Liutiaohu Incident. If you have any objections, please feel free to raise them and we will make revisions immediately..."

Hot knowledge: Historical events are never what some people imagine. Once they happen, everyone in the world will be connected to their brains and will immediately know the whole story.

Even for the US decision-makers, it took a whole year before they finally figured out the full picture of the "September 918th Incident" with the help of dozens of intelligence officials and more intelligence personnel.

The report is too long to read here, but in short, the US State Department concluded that:

"This was an act of armed aggression, instigated by the 'Sino-Soviet Middle East Railway Incident,' a long-planned plot by the Japanese top brass, and launched by the Japanese military taking advantage of the Northeast Army's weakened manpower. It served as a preview of even greater aggression in the future."

When Deputy Secretary of State Castle was making his report, he couldn't help but glance at everyone present, including himself.

Because this final report completely overturned everyone's views on the "918 Incident" before January of this year:

"...the incident was a premeditated action by the Japanese Army, carried out on the initiative of some junior officers. The Japanese high-ranking officials and the civilian government were completely unaware of it. The situation will not be serious."

That’s right, before Japan launched the “128 Songhu Incident” and completely tore off its disguise, many American diplomats present, including the Secretary of State and the Deputy Secretary of State, believed that:

This was another "lone move" by the Japanese army, which had nothing to do with the Japanese top leaders. At least they did not support it at all and even strongly opposed it.

Oh, the sentence "the situation will not be too serious" was deleted after Jinzhou was attacked by the Japanese army.

(In the real world, this is how the US judges things. So don't keep complaining, "XXX happened in XX year, so XXXXX." How many years has it been since you learned about the Lolita Island incident?)

"...Do you agree with this conclusion?" "Yes."

"No problem." "Okay."

Everyone nodded, some with grim expressions, cursing the Japanese in their hearts.

Because all the Japanese they came into contact with, from Japanese Foreign Minister Kijuro Shidehara to Japanese Embassy Counselor Makoto Yano, told them before and after the event:

"Japan will never invade China";

"Japan's economic and political situation is too dire to allow military adventures to occur";

"This was an independent act of rebellion by the military, and our Japanese government will not tolerate such behavior";

"We have issued an order to the Japanese Army Headquarters in Manchuria to cease aggressive military actions";

"Things have come to this point. We will definitely punish severely those officers who have arbitrarily caused conflicts in the Far East";

"The army is too powerful for us to resist..."

Now it seems that it was all lies, a double act between the Japanese government and the Japanese military!

The scumbag who said, "I just can't get in!"

This is undoubtedly a disgrace to all American diplomats.

Because it was their erroneous intelligence that gave the State Department a wrong impression, causing Secretary of State Stimson to make a "wait-and-see" decision at the beginning of the incident and miss the best opportunity to intervene in the Northeast Incident.

There was only one person at the scene who looked calm, and that was Ferguson, an adviser to the Executive Yuan of the Chinese Nationalist Government.

He had made a judgment as early as July last year - "Japan will occupy Manchuria in the next three months" and issued a warning again during a meeting with the Chinese Minister to China, Johnson, on September 11, but was ignored by everyone.

There's no way he could be sent to the Executive Yuan of China as a so-called "advisor". This guy obviously has no background at all. His words carry little weight, so it's normal for him to be ignored.

However, unexpectedly, the powerful Stimson took the initiative to apologize to him: "Mr. Ferguson, I am very sorry that I did not listen to your correct advice at the beginning, which led to the current situation."

Ferguson was immediately flattered:

"No, no, no, it's not your fault that you have too many things to do..."

Stimson's words not only won Ferguson's favor, but also won the gratitude of other diplomats who made big mistakes in this matter.

Which subordinate doesn't like a leader who takes the blame?

But they didn't know that Stimson's behavior was also for someone else to see.

After talking with the knowledgeable Ms. Field, who shared many of his ideas, Stimson naturally became her supporter. At the same time, he keenly discovered that she seemed to dislike hypocrisy and people who refused to admit their mistakes.

In this case, taking the responsibility for a matter that has already been finalized and is not a big deal can not only win Ms. Field's favor, but also make the subordinates grateful. Why not do it?

After clarifying the responsibilities of Japan and the rest of the world in this incident, Deputy Secretary of State Castle continued to report on the details of the incident:

"...When the Liutiaohu Incident was launched, the total strength of the Japanese army did not exceed 2.5, while the total strength of the Northeastern Army, including the navy and air force, was at least 30..."

"puff..."

Some people at the scene couldn't help but sneer.

With a massive one-to-one military advantage, they were able to lose the three northeastern provinces at a speed that even a 100-meter dasher couldn't catch up to. The Chinese are truly...

However, the diplomats from Northeast China, including Consul General Myers in Shenyang, did not laugh, because they knew that the military strength on paper and the actual situation in Northeast China were two different things.

"...The majority of the Northeast Army was stationed in North Manchuria and the Sino-Soviet border. The main force of the Northeast Army stationed in South Manchuria was deployed in the Jinzhou Corridor... In core areas such as Shenyang, there were only three infantry brigades, one cavalry brigade, and some police forces..."

"...but the best Japanese forces are concentrated along the Changchun-Dalian and Shenyang-Dandong railway lines...the Korean garrisons can provide support at any time...the Japanese forces in Tianjin and Qinhuangdao can also attack Jinzhou...the Japanese Navy..."

"In addition, judging from the aftermath, a considerable portion of the Northeastern Army, including the Yuzhishan Provincial Defense Brigade, the 27th Brigade, and the 23rd Brigade, had been completely infiltrated by the Japanese... The Changchun defenders also largely defected..."

After the basic situation and troop deployment of the Chinese and Japanese armies were introduced, everyone fell silent.

Putting aside the military's combat quality and officers' command capabilities, in the battles that took place on Chinese soil, the Chinese actually did not have an advantage in terms of manpower and interior combat advantages!

What is going on?

Did the Chinese have no idea that the Japanese were about to invade Northeast China?

That’s not right either!

"I suggest that Mr. Ferguson speak next."

At Stimson's instruction, Deputy Secretary of State Castle handed the report to Ferguson and asked him to make the appearance.

"yes! "

Ferguson took it gratefully and said solemnly:

"To analyze why this situation occurred, we must clarify the origins and development of the Nanjing regime led by Chiang Kai-shek..."

As an advisor to the Executive Yuan who had access to a large number of internal documents of the Nationalist government, Ferguson knew the Nationalist government, nominally the only legitimate government in China, far better than any other American diplomat.

One sentence to describe it is:

This is not a normal democratically elected government at all, nor is it even the central government of China. It is just the external representative of the most powerful local warlords, nothing more.

"...Whoever has more troops and more power will become the supreme leader of the Republic of China. Elections are just a formality. This was the case with Chiang Kai-shek. The survival of his regime was highly dependent on the loyalty of his personal subordinates and the support of local forces..."

"...In the past two years, Zhang from the Northeast has mobilized at least 10 elite Northeastern troops into the Central Plains, strongly supporting Chiang's actions and ensuring his position. These troops have remained in North China..."

"...it was thanks to the joint efforts of Chiang's Central Army and Zhang's Northeast Army to suppress other warlords that the Nationalist government began to show signs of stability..."

If that is the case, then why were all the remaining elite troops in Northeast China later transferred to the mainland?

As if he had guessed what everyone was thinking, Ferguson revealed a helpless expression: "But, on February 26th of last year, Chiang Kai-shek, under the guise of inviting him to dinner, used methods no different from kidnapping to detain Hu Hanmin, a veteran of the Nationalist government and Speaker of the Legislative Yuan. Ah, Hu Hanmin is Sun Yat-sen's..."

Fuck!

This his mother is human can do the thing? A group of American diplomats cursed in their hearts.

They had heard about this incident before, but generally didn't take it seriously. Only after sorting out the whole story of the Northeast Incident did they fully understand the terrible consequences of Chiang Kai-shek's move!

Without the Korean War, everything that happened in China over the past century would have been seen as a "chicken fight" or "children's play" in the eyes of traditional powers like the United States and Britain.

It's easy to imagine what the other bigwigs in the Nationalist government would think - "You can use such gangster tactics to detain Hu Hanmin today, will you send someone to throw a grenade under my car tomorrow?"

So that's how it is. The war last June (the Ning-Yue split) was not just an ordinary struggle for interests and power, but a desperate counterattack by the anti-Chiang alliance!

In this case, Chiang Kai-shek will definitely need more troops to stabilize China!

"...Because Yan (Xishan) was sent back to Shanxi by the Japanese, and Shi (Yousan) was also gathering his old troops in North China, Chiang Kai-shek sent a telegram to Zhang, asking him to mobilize more Northeast Army troops to enter North China..."

As he spoke, Ferguson pulled out a document from his pocket:

"This is a copy of a telegram from July of last year. Chiang told Zhang that now was not the time to fight Japan. The Nationalist government must fully focus on dealing with Shi. Shi's army reached 130,000 men. Zhang had no choice but to withdraw more troops..."

"Finally, before the incident, the number of Northeastern troops remaining in North China was estimated to be as high as 12 to 18, and all of them were Zhang's elite field troops. Therefore, the Japanese..."

If the elite troops of the Northeast Army were all in the Northeast, would the Japanese still dare to attack? Even if they did, could they still win so easily?

It's hard to say.

At least, the rebels should not dare to act rashly.

Speaking of which, Zhang, who had a vengeance against the Japanese for killing his father, is fine, perhaps he just isn't very smart.

But this Jiang, could he be a Japanese spy?

This absurd idea suddenly popped up in the minds of the diplomats. Then, Ferguson actually said it:

"Gentlemen, I have an incredible guess in my mind. Would you like to listen to it?"

"Please say."

"A year has passed since the incident. I have re-analyzed all the intelligence and I am convinced that every decision made by the Nanjing government regarding Japan was almost perfectly coordinated with the political and military actions of the Japanese government or the Japanese army. Therefore..."

Ferguson had a troubled expression on his face:

"Either Chiang was a high-level spy trained by the Japanese to destroy China, or Japan was already able to control all intelligence dynamics of Chiang's government and military, or both..."

"For example, after the September 18th outbreak of hostilities, the Japanese army intended to invade Yantai. On September 25th, Chiang Kai-shek actually ordered the Nationalist army and navy to retreat, leaving Qingdao and Yantai entirely to the Japanese army, claiming they would serve as 'defensive positions.'"

"My God, if Chiang was not a Japanese spy, I really can't explain his motive for such behavior..."

Whether Chiang Kai-shek was a Japanese spy or how difficult it was for the Americans to understand this counterintuitive behavior is beyond the scope of this discussion, but Ferguson at least guessed correctly:

The Japanese were indeed able to obtain most of the Nationalist government's intelligence because they had long ago cracked the Nationalist government's telegraph codes, and the Nationalist government knew nothing about it;

After Zhang Xueliang deployed his troops to enter the Great Wall, he sent a telegram to various parts of Northeast China at Chiang's request, asking them to "be calm and not act rashly." However, the telegram was successfully intercepted by the Japanese.

Therefore, the Japanese immediately concluded that not only was the Northeast indeed undermanned, but the superiors were not brave enough or willing to resist, so they could start a war!

Everyone was shocked.

If Ferguson's speculation is true, then neither the former nor the latter is good news for the United States' Far East interests;

Because, once Japan truly conquers China, it will undoubtedly grow into a superpower in the Far East, stronger than the Chinese, and will seek more;

When that day comes, will the United States still be able to comfortably continue to reap its interests in the Far East?

Obviously not! No way!

We must not allow this situation to continue!

Stimson was also surprised, but not mainly because of Ferguson's speculation, but because of the assertion of the lady behind him.

Indeed, as President Field said, Chiang Kai-shek and his government were simply unable to protect China, nor could they protect the United States' long-term interests in China!

We must cultivate new representatives and a China that can compete with "a powerful and agile Japan" (in Stimson's words)!

No wonder Ms. Field said, "We need a strong China where the people have sufficient spending power, not a poor and destitute wilderness!"

At this point, Stimson completely accepted Springfield's ideas and also accepted the other party's idea of ​​asking for assistance to the Chinese Communist Party or other left-wing forces in China.

As for aiding the enemies of capitalism...

Haha, the man who came up with the "Simson Doctrine" and was re-elected as Secretary of War in the Roosevelt and Truman administrations, would he care about such an illusory thing?

Like almost all high-ranking American officials these days, Stimson was extremely proud. He thought, "As long as the CCP gets stronger, it gets stronger. If they don't obey, we can just beat them back to their original form!"

How could a majestic lion like the one on the grassland be afraid of an ant?

Oh, let Jiang hold on a little longer. Once our new spokesperson grows up, his death will come!

378 Report to President Haruta, Fujiwara Kanezane must be killed!

It seemed a foregone conclusion that Chiang Kai-shek's government would be abandoned by the United States.

At least, before Chiang's people paid a new price and tried to gain support from the United States, the US State Department represented by Stimson had decided to get rid of this "negative asset."

Stimson didn't have to spend much time convincing these diplomats who were experienced in China.

Moreover, even if they did not say it explicitly, they knew that Chiang had become a discarded pawn. The only reason they did not abandon him at the moment was because he still had his "historical mission" to complete.