1932: Playing with the Japanese Communist Party with a doll

From this perspective, Fujiwara no Kanezane must die!

At this time, Sorge was not very clear about what kind of idiots the Japanese army was. He only knew that the Soviet Far East was in danger. He didn't even care about the woman in the bed. He put on his clothes and left in a hurry, and then sent the information back to the Far East.

The Far Eastern Military Region, which received the intelligence, exploded directly. Some people couldn't help but feel fear in their hearts. The shadow of being beaten by the Japanese to Vladivostok and Chita and almost having East and West Siberia occupied came to their minds.

Even though the Japanese suffered heavy losses that time, some people on the internet later exaggerated the story that the Japanese army raped women everywhere and infected them with venereal diseases and made them unable to fight as "the Soviet army of beautiful women wiped out 7 Japanese." However, the Soviet Union's losses were actually not much less than Japan's.

(There are a lot of idiots like this on the Chinese internet. Some are just there to attract traffic, while others are so obsessed with Soviet Russia that even if the Soviet Union farts, they will study whether the fart smells like communism.)

Especially Vytautas Putner, commander of the Primorsky Group of the Far Eastern Special Army, who was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Ever since Fujiwara Kanezane threatened him with the fact that he was a "Trotskyist", he felt guilty no matter how the Japanese looked at him.

Because he not only concealed a lot of key information about the Jewish incident, but also reported to his superiors how Fujiwara no Kanezane advocated peace with the Soviet Union...

If this gets out, digging potatoes in Siberia will be a piece of cake! No, we have to find a way to cover this up!

Soon, a reply came from Moscow:

Immediately intensify efforts to thoroughly investigate the full movements of the Japanese and Manchukuo forces;

At the same time, contact Fujiwara Kanezane... and negotiate!

415 The Soviet Union betrayed China, and China took back the railway

"...Mr. Fujiwara, would you please condescend to speak with me?"

The Soviet "Foreign Minister" who stayed in the United States to handle Soviet-American diplomatic affairs hurriedly found Fujiwara Kanezane who was planning to leave the United States.

"oh?"

Fujiwara Kanezane vaguely guessed what was going on, but pretended to be clueless.

"Mr. Litvinov, what is your business?"

I expected the other party to speak in official language, but unexpectedly, Litvinov was surprisingly direct:

"Mr. Fujiwara, you are an honest and respectable man. I would like to ask you whether the friendship between the Soviet Union and Japan can continue to be maintained?"

Good man, are you so anxious?

There is no doubt that the Soviets have confirmed the Japanese Army's intention to attack the Soviet Union and are coming to "take revenge."

However, the attitude towards questioning the crime seems rather "weak". Well, weak must be put in quotation marks.

To be more precise, the Soviet Union at that time seriously lacked the determination to engage in a full-scale confrontation with Japan.

Stalin, in particular, had a stance toward Japan that could even be described as compromising. However, due to a lack of reliable intelligence sources and the misjudgments of Stalin and the CPSU Central Committee before and after the September 918th Incident, the Soviet Union lost its strategic initiative against Japan in the Far East.

Since the Tsarist era, Northeast China has always been the "main battlefield" for the struggle between Japan and Russia. After the October Revolution, the Soviet Union inherited a large number of Tsarist Russian interests in "North Manchuria" and was extremely sensitive to this area.

Therefore, when Zhang Xueliang dared to provoke the Soviet Union, it did not hesitate to break his hands and feet, and also warned the Nationalist government.

It was precisely because of this brutal attitude that during the "September 918th Incident" the Japanese army was very concerned about the Soviet Union's reaction and prohibited any troops from using the Chinese Eastern Railway to avoid provoking the Soviet army to intervene.

After the incident, international and domestic media such as the "Republic Daily", "Shen Bao", "Central Daily News" and "New York Times" claimed that the Soviet army would soon enter the Northeast.

However, this is not the case at all.

After the Japanese captured Shenyang, Litvinov did indeed loudly declare: "This Sino-Japanese conflict is inevitable... The Soviet Union has been conducting military preparations in the Far East for three years and is fully capable of dealing with any border incident."

However, this is just diplomatic rhetoric.

In fact, because the Far East intelligence agencies were basically paralyzed after 1928, the entire Soviet Politburo was completely confused about the actual situation in Northeast China:

Did the Japanese, by making such a big fuss, intend to completely overthrow Zhang Xueliang, or was it just a short-term local conflict?

When the intelligence arrived, the Central Special Committee composed of Molotov, Kaganovich, Litvinov and Gallagher could only rely on reading news from major newspapers and periodicals around the world to speculate on the development of the situation.

Then, Stalin, who was recuperating in the resort town of Sochi, quickly made his judgment:

1. Japan had no plan to completely occupy the entire Northeast China region by force. It was likely that it was simply "conducted on the basis of expanding or strengthening its sphere of influence in China in accordance with agreements with all or some of the major powers";

2. In addition, Japan may have "obtained the consent of certain influential warlord groups in China, such as Feng Yuxiang or Yan Xishan's group or Zhang Zuolin's old Fengtian elements... to carry out armed intervention."

Based on the judgment that "Japan was merely engaging in another routine provocation," Stalin believed that "the Soviet Union must not intervene militarily, and diplomatic intervention was not appropriate at this time."

"The Soviet Union's fierce reaction to the Northeast China issue can only unite the imperialists, while the way to our advantage is to make them quarrel."

If the Soviet Union retaliated, it would likely give imperialism an excuse to "turn the war in China into a war with the Soviet Union through military provocation."

Because the Soviet Union as a whole had always been unable to get rid of national security concerns, others strongly agreed with Stalin's judgment and habitually regarded Japan's behavior in Northeast China as a prelude to another imperialist alliance to threaten the Soviet Union;

Therefore, the Central Committee of the CPSU made the decision "not to carry out any intervention, especially armed intervention, and not to increase the number of troops so as not to provoke Japan."

On November 14, Litvinov even personally summoned the Japanese ambassador to the Soviet Union, Hirota Koki, and repeatedly assured him:

"The Soviet Union pursues a strict policy of non-interference and will not assist the Chinese army or intervene in the situation in Manchuria."

Everyone knows what happened next:

Japan completely controlled the three northeastern provinces and massively increased its troops, while the Soviet Union did not respond. The military balance between Japan and the Soviet Union in the Far East was completely broken.

The Kwantung Army easily destroyed Zhang Xueliang's Northeast Army, and the unscrupulous aggression did not expand into an international war on a global scale. There was no military encirclement directly targeting the Soviet Union and communism among the great powers.

Only then did the Soviet Communist Party Central Committee realize that it had made a mistake in its judgment. But the situation was already a fait accompli, so what else could it do?

The Soviet Union’s current “weakness” is the price it must pay for its “weakness” back then.

Fujiwara Kanezane's face darkened, and he opened his eyes and bit Litvinov back:

"Mr. Litvinov, what do you mean by that? Peace has long been maintained between Japan and the Soviet Union. Does that mean the Soviet Union intends to destroy that peace?"

"Mr. Fujiwara! I said that you are an honest and respectable person, so I am willing to show my honesty in front of you. In fact, we already know about your quarrel with the Japanese army at a certain meeting!"

"Oh? What were you arguing about?"

"You tried to stop the Japanese Army from attacking our country!"

"???"

How did it get spread like this? Damn it, it was me who started the fire, okay?

I was the one who asked the army to formulate the plan to attack the Soviet Union, okay? Damn it!

That's my credit! My credit!

Although he didn't know what kind of strange chemical reaction had occurred during the information circulation process, Fujiwara Kanezane was naturally not stupid enough to deny it. Instead, he followed the other party's words and said:

"The efficiency of the Soviet intelligence agencies is truly amazing..." "So you admit it?"

"You all already know it so clearly. Denying it blindly will only make me look hypocritical and pretentious."

"You are indeed different from ordinary Japanese people."

Litvinov took a deep breath and asked seriously:

"Then may I ask you, what exactly are your opinions, those of the Emperor of Japan, and the Japanese government?"

Through the efforts of Sorge and others, the Soviet side has come to understand the concept that "the Japanese Army is a relatively independent political force in Japanese politics", so they know that the only person who can stop the army is the person in front of them.

That’s right, the attitude of the Central Committee of the CPSU was still “to stop the Japanese through the Japanese”, rather than “to beat the Japanese back if they dare to start a war”.

This is not entirely because the strategic initiative in the Far East is no longer in the hands of the Soviet Union, nor is it simply due to the "Japanophobia" of some people in the Soviet Far East. It is also due to the same political considerations as before:

Why did the Japanese go so crazy when they had easily taken Rehe and were on the verge of the Great Wall?!

What on earth are they going to do?!

Could this be another "prelude to an imperialist attack"?

Although President Field showed so much goodwill to the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union had long been frightened and was still wary of the "capitalist world".

What if it's acting?

What if the US was responsible for paralyzing the Soviet Union's nerves, while Japan was responsible for the attack? Moreover, this "Prince Hachimangu Kanezane" and "President Field" had such a close relationship! Who could guarantee that everything they knew wasn't just a double act between these two people, these two countries?

There has always been both struggle and cooperation between countries, and both cooperation and struggle. Complete confrontation and complete cooperation almost do not exist.

The Soviet Union believed that the United States really wanted to join them in dismembering the British and French colonies, but it also believed that the United States would instruct the Japanese to take advantage of the Soviet Union in the Far East while doing this.

Japan alone was already a formidable opponent (from the Soviet perspective), but what about the Manchukuo army, which had won the "Chengde Victory" that even Soviet intelligence agencies couldn't figure out the reason for?

What if the United States is supporting us with its life and blood? What if the United States also drags other countries into this?

The interests of the Far East must not be lost, but war in the Far East must not be started! Because the core interests of the Soviet Union are not here, a hasty war is likely to involve too much Soviet power, causing the Soviet Union to lose greater interests in Europe!

If it were not for these considerations, Moscow would never have issued such an order, and Litvinov would never have run to Fujiwara Kanezane in such a disrespectful manner.

The most terrible thing is that judging from intelligence from all sides, the Japanese attack on the Soviet Union is very likely imminent!

Otherwise, why would they send so many more troops to the North Korean region?! If it weren't for the attack on Vladivostok, my last name wouldn't be Li!

"...You are well aware of our army's views, and I believe you are also well aware of my views."

Fujiwara Kanezane said calmly:

"My strategy and my goal have always been public—to build Manchukuo into a model nation for the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Therefore, going to war with the Soviet Union is absolutely not what I want..."

This was consistent with Soviet intelligence, and Litvinov remained silent. There was no need to describe him as a dangerous yet respectable opponent.

"However, I cannot control what His Majesty the Emperor and the Japanese government think. If I want them to change their minds, I'm afraid I need something else to attract them."

Now Litvinov understood.

Negotiate terms.

In other words, if the Soviet Union wants the Japanese Army to change its mind and wants other forces in Japan to suppress the Army, it has to do something.

But Litvinov did not want to be manipulated like this:

"Mr. Fujiwara, going to war with the Soviet Union will harm your interests and plans." "I know, but I am just a small member of the royal family. What can I do? I can't afford to offend the thugs in the army."

The mastermind behind the scenes spread his hands:

"I can only do my best to prevent the Manchukuo army from getting involved and maintain peace in this area."

Litvinov clenched his fists slightly. He understood again.

This is a threat—hehehe, do you think I'll suddenly send the Manchukuo army into the fray while the main Japanese forces are engaged in a fierce battle with you Soviets?

For example, Rehe, right?

The Soviets still don't know the exact number of troops and equipment of the "386th Brigade", which was frequently mobilized and well-kept secret.

It seemed like they were out in full force during the Battle of Rehe, but in reality, according to intelligence, there were still troops under the banner of the 386th Brigade stationed, patrolling, and working in various parts of Northeast China. Who knew how much the Japanese... no, how much this prince in front of me was hiding?

Not to mention the distant past, if what Sorge said is true, the car he saw at least demonstrated the extremely impressive military strength of Manchukuo!

How many cards does this Japanese prince, who was so dangerous that Stalin personally ordered him to be "killed at any opportunity", have in his hand?

Litvinov even suspected that perhaps, this scene before his eyes was what Fujiwara Kanezane wanted, or even that he was the one who orchestrated it!

But even so, who can guarantee that the Japanese army will not attack the Soviet Union? Intelligence, and more intelligence.

It is difficult to judge what is true and what is false.

The Soviet Union did not dare to gamble, nor was it willing to gamble.

Remembering the instructions from the Central Committee, Litvinov took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, please state your conditions!"

The Communist International had a lot of shitty issues at home that had not been sorted out, such as lip service, deceiving superiors and concealing the truth from subordinates. It was also in a critical period of negotiations to establish diplomatic relations with the United States. The Soviet Union really did not want to go to war with Japan.

Fujiwara Kanemi laughed:

"Haha, wouldn't it have been better if Mr. Litvinov had said so earlier? Okay, our first condition is that the Soviet Union must recognize Manchukuo and establish diplomatic relations with it..."

"This is impossible!"

Litvinov flatly refused, paused, and felt that his tone was too harsh, so he changed his words slightly:

"The League of Nations Assembly has not yet concluded, and the commission's report has not yet been adopted. The Soviet Union cannot bypass the League of Nations and arbitrarily recognize this country."

"Oh, Your Excellency means that if Manchukuo is recognized by the League of Nations Assembly, then the Soviet Union will follow suit?"

"Well... let's talk about it after the meeting!" "Okay."

Fujiwara no Kanezane didn't seem to want to argue any further. This unusual attitude made Litvinov slightly uneasy, so he added:

"But our country can sign some constructive cooperation treaties with Japan... It's Japan, not Manchukuo."

"Oh, a non-aggression pact or something?" "Huh? Ah... uh... yes!"

"That's fine. I don't need to discuss this trivial matter. Let the Ministry of Foreign Affairs handle it!"

Hey wait?

Who was sandwiched between Japan and the Soviet Union? Manchukuo?

I fuck myself?