1932: Playing with the Japanese Communist Party with a doll

Keep the peace? Don't cause you any trouble?

Haha, after you deal with that side, you should be able to free up your hands to deal with us, right? "...So, I hope the general can help me maintain this peace." "If you don't invade..."

"Don't play dumb, General Song."

Fujiwara no Kanemichi pointed at Zhang Zongsun next to him with his whip:

"I believe you've heard about what my 358th Brigade is primarily doing in Rehe. For at least the next three years, I have no interest in continuing south."

Even though he knew it might be a lie, Song Zheyuan couldn't help but feel relieved because Fujiwara Kanezane's credibility was too strong.

"Then what does Your Highness want to do?"

"It's not about what I do, but what you do. Think carefully about who is the biggest source of unrest and instability in the entire North China region right now, and you should understand."

e33

Song Zheyuan's face suddenly turned ugly. Who else could it be?

He's still his good brother!

Could it be that Fujiwara no Kanezane wanted to help get rid of Feng Yuxiang?

541 Resolving Feng Yuxiang

Get rid of Big Brother Feng Yuxiang?

No matter when, no matter what the reason, this option was never within Song Zheyuan's consideration.

Putting aside the emotional issues, he would never do this from the perspective of interests alone;

Because, if Feng Yuxiang was killed, Song Zheyuan would be completely finished. The old group of people in the Northwest Army would probably be very happy to end his political and physical life, and then naturally inherit Feng Yuxiang and his legacy.

Therefore, in order to prevent Feng Yuxiang from being harmed, at least in his territory and while he was with him, Song Zheyuan directly raised the security arrangements for Feng Yuxiang to a level higher than his own.

However, Fujiwara no Kanezane was also right—for the current North China region, the biggest and most destabilizing factor affecting peace was indeed Feng Yuxiang and his "Chahar Anti-Japanese Allied Army";

for example.

After Feng Yuxiang formally established the "Chahar People's Anti-Japanese Allied Army", he directly appointed himself commander-in-chief, began recruiting troops, winning over subordinates, and organizing manpower;

He actually appointed Tong Linge as acting chairman of Chahar Province, Ji Hongchang as commander of the Zhangjiakou garrison, and Zhang Yunrong as provincial finance minister, even though Song Zheyuan was still the chairman of Chahar Province appointed by the Nanjing regime (his resignation was not approved).

damn it!

Let's not talk about whether you take Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek of the Central Committee seriously. But do you take Song Zheyuan seriously? Have you ever considered his feelings?

I was indeed your subordinate back then, you ordered me around and took care of me, but now you're relying on me to take you in to make a living!

To be honest, if Chairman Chahar was not Song Zheyuan, Feng Yuxiang would have died countless times.

In addition, Song Zheyuan believed Fujiwara no Kanezane's words that "he has no interest in going south within three years."

It wasn't that Song Zheyuan was naive, but rather that he had carefully studied Fujiwara no Kanezane's personality and policies and found that he seemed to favor a "develop strength first, then - level it" approach, completely different from those brainless Japanese.

Considering the facts, Fujiwara no Kanezane had only been in charge of the Northeast for a short time, and Rehe for only half a year. This was indeed not enough to integrate resources for further invasions to the south, so recuperation was inevitable.

However, if Feng Yuxiang continued to act like this, what if one day he really stepped on Fujiwara no Kanezane's bottom line and the Northeastern side desperately marched south in advance and took the initiative to attack Chahar and even North China?

Yes, that's right. Three years later, Fujiwara no Kanezane will definitely attack Chahar again. This battle cannot be escaped after all, but it is better to die later than sooner!

Three full years is enough time for a lot of things to change!

At the very least, Song Zheyuan could take advantage of this three-year hiatus to work hard to accumulate strength, seek foreign aid, and then fight the Japanese in Northeast China!

After thinking about it, Song Zheyuan could only say depressedly:

"Your Highness, Mr. Feng is my old superior. There is no way I could hurt him, let alone kill him."

"Who told you to kill him?" Fujiwara Kanezane rolled his eyes.

"I have no interest in killing people, so why should I force you to do it?"

I really want the landlords in Northeast China and Rehe to hear what you have to say... "Then what exactly does Your Highness mean?"

"I've said before, while I'm doing other things, I hope North China remains peaceful. As long as the factors that undermine peace are eliminated and Feng Yuxiang stops his so-called Allied Forces, I'll be satisfied. Whether or not there's killing is not important."

"...Do you have a solution?"

"Of course there are, and there are three options: best, middle, and worst." "May I ask which is the best option..."

"The best strategy is..."

Fujiwara Kanezane looked at Song Zheyuan's expectant expression and smiled: "General Song, this is not how you talk business, is it?"

Song Zheyuan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized, and said with a hint of caution: "Your Highness, please state your conditions."

Fujiwara no Kanezane might have a solution; but, obviously, the sutra cannot be passed on lightly...

"If I ask the Chahar region to secede from the Nanjing government and implement autonomy..." Fujiwara Kanezane glanced at Song Zheyuan and the people behind him:

"I believe the general will definitely not agree."

"Yes, Your Highness, there is no need to test it. Chahar is China's Chahar. Your Highness can kill me, Song Zheyuan, and take it away, but I can't hand it over to Your Highness, not even in name."

In fact, despite this, Song Zheyuan's psychology at this time was very contradictory:

He was unwilling to harm Feng Yuxiang, nor did he want Feng Yuxiang to continue to occupy Chahar.

He was unwilling to become a traitor and a lackey, nor did he want to become enemies with Fujiwara no Kanezane and trigger a new round of conflict;

He was unwilling to obey Chiang Kai-shek, nor was he willing to sever ties with the Nanjing Central Committee and resume his warlord status...

In short, we have to have it both ways. The patriotism is real, but the desire to preserve one's own strength is also real.

"Yes, I'm very clear about this, so I want to discuss with the general a new model of cooperation on this ship. It won't involve politics, just economic issues."

Song Zheyuan's eyes lit up and his tone became more urgent:

"Your Highness, please tell me in detail!"

Unlike what many people who don't know much about history imagine, Song Zheyuan was not actually a "very firm" anti-Japanese general in the traditional sense;

On the contrary, Song Zheyuan and even the group of national army generals in the Chahar region, especially the unwelcome Northeast Army and Northwest Army generals, generally believed in the principle of Japan:

"Don't say hard words, don't do soft things", "give up small profits, protect big power", "respect politics, rely on economy", "don't be cannon fodder, dance on eggs".

Therefore, in this world line, Song Zheyuan's side had already imagined that Fujiwara Kanezane might propose "economic cooperation" with the Chahar region.

In the past one or two years, the country with a slightly strange name, "Five-Star Eastern Republic", has indeed made remarkable achievements in military affairs, but its achievements in economic construction and people's livelihood construction are equally remarkable.

Apart from anything else, the Queen Company's series of products were not only popular in major cities like Shanghai and Nanjing, but even in Zhangjiakou, they were also in high demand, with everyone in the upper class vying for them!

Why were so many people willing to bring their own food to debate with Fujiwara no Kanezane and even the Japanese?

The reason is simple - Zhang Xueliang ruled Northeast China for so long and was still like that, but how come they made the people live a good life and made the army so powerful after only one or two years?

Judging from Fujiwara no Kanezane's series of actions, he was a person who was willing to do business with any force. Otherwise, he would not have publicly shouted slogans like "Good quality and low price are what the people need, and worrying about nationality is what really harms the people."

Yes, this might have been an element of dumping Japanese goods, but for Song Zheyuan, as long as Fujiwara no Kanezane didn't engage in direct military aggression, everything else was easily acceptable and they could sit down and talk.

It’s about making money, not about cultivation.

Therefore, Song Zheyuan and his staff had been secretly thinking about what to do if the Northeast came to them and asked for economic cooperation one day, but they did not expect that this day would come so early.

As expected, the terms that Fujiwara no Kanezane proposed next were basically about cooperation in economic and livelihood issues:

...Currently, transportation from Chahar to Rehe is extremely backward, relying mainly on mule and horse transport. Therefore, the first thing to do is for both sides to cooperate in building railways and roads to connect Northeast China with North China..."

Song Zheyuan agreed to this without even thinking about it.

Although repairing the road would benefit the Northeastern army's southward invasion, it would also benefit the economic development of Chahar.

The truth that “if you want to get rich, build roads first” is not something that people realized later.

On July 16, 1936, when the situation in North China was becoming increasingly tense and Japanese invasion was imminent, Song Zheyuan publicly told reporters:

"I hope for strong Japanese assistance in revitalizing North China's economy. The most promising area for developing North China is the mining industry... Transportation construction is the foundation of economic development, so railway construction is urgent. Therefore, we must realize the construction of the Cangshi Railway, the economic backbone of North China..."

Road construction is what everyone in Chahar is looking forward to!

The only two issues are where the money for road construction comes from and the control and profit rights after the road is built.

"...We'll provide the money, but you'll provide the people, and the profits will be shared equally..."

Equal?!

Originally, he thought that a 70% profit split would be the best outcome, but he didn't expect Fujiwara Kanezane to offer such a generous discount. The terms were so generous that Song Zheyuan couldn't believe it.

"Your Highness, are you serious?"

"I never lie. We can discuss the specific details later, but the control of railways and roads must be in our hands. This is the bottom line. If you don't agree, there is no room for negotiation."

"this..."

"Don't worry. If I really want to fight you, it doesn't really matter whether there are roads or railways."

Fujiwara Kanezane chuckled and said:

"I'm sure you've heard about Shanhaiguan a long time ago. If I want to go south, I can just ask Shanhaiguan to open the gate and push through. Why bother coming all the way to Zhangjiakou?"

No...cannot refute it.

Song Zheyuan smiled bitterly in his heart.

In fact, the entire North China was already wide open, but His Highness was able to hold back from starting a fight. This shows the confidence, vision and control that not everyone can have.

However, Fujiwara no Kanezane was right. Given the current situation in North China, the 129th Division really didn't need to play any tricks. If they really wanted to fight, they should just fight directly.

How was Rehe lost inexplicably? Zhangjiakou could have been lost in the same way.

"...Okay, I can agree to this..."

"Okay, let's talk about the details later. Let's talk about the second thing. Japanese companies and the Queen Company are planning to open factories in Zhangjiakou and other places..."

This was also something that the Chahar side agreed to without even thinking about it.

Forget about "industrial dumping" and "economic colonization." In the impoverished Chahar, the most important things are products, taxation, and employment. Everything else can be put aside.

Moreover, even if we disagree, it is useless. In North China today, Japanese, Northeastern, and especially Queen's Company products are very popular, and all kinds of smuggling are rampant, which is impossible to control.

Therefore, it would be better to let them come in openly, produce and sell in an honest way, pay taxes, and employ local people, so that the local Chahar people can get some benefits.

"Okay, but I hope... Never mind, that's it!"

Song Zheyuan originally wanted to say, "The factory must send his supervisor," but then he thought it was unnecessary. What if he was worried about whether they were producing weapons or illegally hiding them?

joke!

"Third, my country and you will establish the 'Chahar United Bank' in Chahar and issue a new currency that will be highly tied to our currency... We will control it, but you can take 30% of the profits..."

This one still "must" be agreed to.

Even though Song Zheyuan knew that the financial system was the lifeblood of the country and the government, and that handing it over to others was tantamount to having the lifeblood of the economy controlled, he still had no choice.

On the one hand, the monetary and financial systems of the entire Chahar region were in a state of chaos. Ordinary people did not trust anyone's banknotes, and transactions were still mainly conducted in silver dollars and physical goods, which greatly affected economic development.

However, the so-called "Republican Renminbi" issued after the establishment of the "Five-Star Oriental Republic" has an extremely strong value. After its introduction, as long as the people are willing to accept it, it will definitely help Chahar quickly stabilize the market and restore the economy.

On the other hand, since the beginning of the year, the Nanjing Central Government has been increasingly perfunctory in distributing military pay to Song Zheyuan's troops in Chahar, with the shortage of weight becoming increasingly serious. Last month's pay has even been delayed until now!

Without military pay, how could he support his 20,000 to 30,000 troops (including the defeated soldiers from Rehe), how could he resist invasions from all sides (not just Fujiwara no Kanezane), and how could he maintain his position?

Since we are in a difficult situation, we might as well cooperate with Fujiwara no Kanezane, a Japanese who is a good person and trustworthy, to earn money and raise troops, and then make plans later!

"The fourth thing..."

As Fujiwara no Kanezane presented his conditions one by one, Song Zheyuan was secretly shocked and wary, but also felt more and more impressed:

The Republic will adhere to the principle of "coexistence and common prosperity, mutual benefit and equality" and help Chahar improve the welfare of the people in aviation, railways, coal mining, iron ore mining, port construction, electricity, rural fishery revitalization, communications, etc.

Listen!

Listen!

What is a broad mind?

What is the "Three Represents"?

Every single clause and every single item perfectly hit the needs of Song Zheyuan and Chahar, making them unable to refuse. Many clauses did not even require further in-depth negotiation of details and could be used directly!

How in-depth an investigation did this person conduct on Song Zheyuan and Chahar...Zhang Xueliang and Chairman Chiang's defeat was truly deserved.

"...That's basically it. We just need to agree on the general framework, and we'll let the subsequent negotiators work out the specific details!"

"...Thank you, Your Highness, for your support and kindness to Chahar. I, Song Zheyuan, represent the people of Chahar..."