Lu Ming was furious: This son of a bitch was putting on airs. He must be a propaganda officer of the Japanese Marine Corps. He was full of hypocritical diplomatic rhetoric.
"Mr. Commander, do you mean there is going to be a war in Shanghai?" Lu Ming asked.
"You misunderstood. That's not what I meant. What I meant was that if the solution cannot be solved through diplomatic means, then the only option is to resort to force." This guy was still playing word games.
"Isn't resorting to force just to fight? Where did I understand it wrong?" Lu Ming sneered.
"No, these are two different things. I don't want to fight, I just want to exercise the right of self-defense under unavoidable circumstances." The commander's two small eyes flashed cunningly.
"Self-defense? There was no public attack on Japanese nationals in Shanghai. The accident that occurred at Sanyou Industrial Headquarters the day before yesterday was just an accidental conflict between people. It can happen in any country and can be resolved through legal and diplomatic channels."
Lu Ming faced everyone and said loudly.
Perhaps because his reputation as a special correspondent for the Washington Post in the United States exerted a deterrent effect, the Japanese expatriates who were demonstrating and causing trouble became more honest after seeing the reporter's license plate on his chest.
"I only expressed my support for the legitimate rights of the people. Please do not misinterpret my meaning or escalate the situation." The commander was a little anxious, and his face turned white and blue.
When he saw another reporter raising his hand to ask a question, he quickly pointed to someone and said, "Please ask a question."
Lu Ming knew that arguing with this guy was a waste of time. This guy was also ordered to express his position, so naturally he was rambling and unable to make any decision.
However, he believed that the questions and answers he had with the commander would definitely appear in tomorrow's newspapers, which would have some effect on stabilizing the situation.
But in the final analysis, the Japanese government and the military jointly planned the operation to launch a fake war in Shanghai for blackmail. There will never be any change. The difference is that the time is one day later or one day earlier.
Whether it is the naval force stationed in Shanghai or the fleet anchored at Wusongkou, they are all soldiers. As long as the military headquarters issues an attack order, they will open fire.
The commander briefly answered several reporters' questions, but he continued to talk in the same old way. Several reporters pressed him hard. Seeing that the situation was not going well, he quickly slipped back into the Marine Corps building.
The parade finally completed its mission and began to walk back. It disbanded after returning to the headquarters of the Resettlement League.
Lu Ming drove back to the Blue Clothes Club and handed the two boxes of film he had taken to a photography officer in the publicity department and asked him to develop them immediately.
"Brother Lu, you are back to your old profession again." Kang Ze said with some envy.
The special correspondent of the Washington Post in Shanghai is the real uncrowned king. Lu Ming also has a US passport and is an American citizen. This is what makes him feel very close to his heart.
Lu Ming talked about the parade. He praised the police for their professionalism and clever handling methods, which prevented the parade from turning into a riot. This would make the Japanese feel like they were punched on a cotton bag and had nowhere to go.
"Then do you think the intensity of the conflict is enough now? Will the Japanese take any action?" Kangze asked.
"Well, it's not enough. We still need some fire." Lu Ming thought for a while and said.
In the evening, before the next day, several evening newspapers in Shanghai had already reported the afternoon parade, and the questions and answers between Lu Ming and the commander of the Japanese Marine Corps were also published verbatim in the newspapers.
All newspapers carried our own commentary, calling for disputes to be resolved through legal and diplomatic channels rather than resorting to force.
If the Japanese provoked a war under such circumstances, it would be truly unreasonable and extremely vicious.
"Damn it, this Lu Ming has exposed us to the spotlight of the whole world."
In the conference room of the Mantetsu Building, Kawashima Yoshiko hit the table with the riding crop in her hand and cursed bitterly.
"Yeah, now it's the evening paper, tomorrow it's the major newspapers, and then all the major overseas newspapers will report on this incident." Tanaka also felt that he had been beaten.
The most important part of the plan they planned was to send agents disguised as Chinese to assassinate Eikichi Kenta. This was the best plan to kill two birds with one stone.
Unexpectedly, this trick was discovered by Lu Ming, and now Kenta Eikichi is criticizing Huai in the consulate every day, making Kawashima Yoshiko unable to stay there any longer.
Immediately afterwards, they planned this big march. They wanted to stage a riot of beating, smashing, looting and burning on the streets of Shanghai, but unfortunately they were stopped by the Shanghai police again.
The intensity of the current conflict is obviously not enough. The consulate has already drafted a diplomatic statement of protest, and is just waiting for them to get the fire going so that the protest letter can be released steaming hot.
"Both things have been disturbed by Lu Ming, what should we do next?" Yu Ying'er asked.
She is now the leader of the Manchuria Railway secret operations team and is qualified to participate in discussing plans.
"Since the fire is not burning brightly enough, let's set a bigger fire." Kawashima Yoshiko gritted her teeth.
"If we don't kill Lu Ming, he will continue to cause trouble. I think he should be killed," Yu Ying'er said.
She hated Lu Ming deeply and would not miss any opportunity to kill him. She encouraged Yoshiko Kawashima and Tanaka to take action at the right time.
"It's useless for him to cause trouble alone. Our plan is established. If we attack him, the forces behind him will not give up. Instead, they may disrupt our plan." Tanaka shook his head repeatedly.
Yoshiko Kawashima agreed with Tanaka's opinion and believed that now was not the time to kill Lu Ming. She would wait for the military plan to attack Shanghai before looking for an opportunity to take action.
Although Yu Ying'er felt unhappy, she had no choice but to give up.
In the evening, Lu Ming went to the Lingering Garden and discussed with Sheng Youde and his daughter how to deal with the changes in the situation in the future.
Sheng Youde and Sheng Muyi re-analyzed Japan's current domestic economic situation. No matter how they analyzed it, they felt that Japan was simply unable to fight a full-scale war, even against a backward agricultural country like China.
Japan's economy is already in a deep crisis and cannot extricate itself. If it forces another all-out war, it will be like drinking poison to quench thirst and may lead to a total collapse.
After hearing these analyses, Lu Ming once again firmly believed that this time Japan was going to fight a fake war, which was just to cover up their actions to establish Manchukuo in the Northeast, and to further blackmail the Chinese government.
The next morning (January 21, 1932), Lu Ming had just stepped through the gate of Lanyi Club when he heard the statement from the Japanese Consulate General being broadcast on the radio.
The Consulate General of Japan in Shanghai issued a solemn protest on behalf of the Japanese government and proposed four conditions to the Shanghai Municipal Government:
1. The mayor of Shanghai issued a public apology for the Japanese monk incident.
2. Arrest and punish the perpetrators.
Third, provide financial compensation to the victims.
Fourth, ban and disband all anti-Japanese organizations and groups in Shanghai headed by the Anti-Japanese Salvation Association.
After hearing these four unreasonable conditions, Lu Mingfei was so angry that he immediately called a cadre meeting.
In the conference room, Lu Ming changed his previous gentlemanly demeanor and shouted loudly:
"Are the Japanese comparing themselves to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and treating us as Serbia? These four unreasonable demands are almost the original ultimatum issued by the Austro-Hungarian Empire to Serbia."
Kang Ze's face turned pale, whether he was angry or frightened, and he kept tapping his fingers on the table.
When a Serbian assassin assassinated the prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, one of the ultimatums given by the Austro-Hungarian Empire to the Serbian government was to completely ban anti-Austro-Hungarian propaganda, organizations and mass groups.
The whole world believes that it is impossible for Serbia to agree to such a humiliating and humiliating request, which is an interference in a country's sovereignty.
What the people of a country do and say should only be restricted by the laws of that country. Other countries have no right to restrict it, not to mention that it is a patriotic act of the people.
However, Serbia was under pressure and fully accepted the unreasonable demands of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The concession did not bring peace, and the war inevitably broke out.
Even if Lu Ming is not a history student, he still knows about this kind of thing, and it hasn't been long.
"Grandma, doesn't little Japan just want to fight? Then let's start a fight. I'm not an official anymore. Tomorrow I will go to the 19th Route Army as a soldier, go to the battlefield with a gun, and fight with the Japanese devils."
Chang also exploded.
"That's right, I also take a gun to the battlefield. I don't want the official. Kill one to earn enough money. Kill two to earn one."
The bloody spirit of the soldiers present was suddenly aroused, and they all shouted to join the 19th Route Army and join the 19th Route Army as soldiers to fight on the battlefield.