Lu Ming and Kang Ze first went to the club to ask the staff on duty about today's situation. Apart from the statement issued by the Japanese Navy, there were no other important matters to deal with.
The major newspapers basically urged Mayor Wu to quickly respond to Japan's request. It is too difficult to be the mayor of Shanghai. The closed-door meeting should be completed by now. It must be miserable.
"Let's go, Brother Kang, how about Chinachem Hotel?" Lu Ming said with a smile.
"Isn't that place too high-end? Besides, I don't know if there is a night market there." Kang Ze hesitated.
"Brother, of course I know if there is a night market in Chinachem. Besides, revolutionary soldiers are the masters of the country. For the masters, there is no distinction between high-end and low-end." Lu Ming snapped his fingers.
Kang Ze smiled bitterly. He didn't dare to think of himself as a master, but since Lu Ming was treating guests, let the guests do as they pleased. Of course he preferred high-end places.
The two came to the Chinachem Hotel. For Lu Ming, it was almost like being at home.
After ordering the food and drinks, Kang Ze asked: "Brother Lu, why did you leave Nanjing like you were running for your life? What's so scary about it?"
"Am I running away for my life? I can guarantee that if I stay in Nanjing, Mr. Wang will summon me tonight. Can I not go? Then, I will become Mr. Wang's person tomorrow morning." Lu Ming smiled secretly.
road.
"Why do you say that? Could Mr. Wang kidnap you?" Kang Ze was shocked.
"Don't you know Mr. Wang's method of persuading and winning over people? I heard that as long as Mr. Wang is targeted, and as long as he is determined to persuade and win over, no one can escape his grasp. Mr. Wang's speech ability is too strong.
I can brainwash you, you know, brainwashing." Lu Ming said, rubbing his head a few times with his hands.
"It's not as serious as you said. I also had contact with Mr. Wang when I was in Nanjing. One of his adjutants is a good friend of mine. I didn't feel any pressure." Kang Ze didn't believe it.
"Haven't you heard that Commander Li of the Guangxi Clique listened to Mr. Wang's speech? He sat quietly for three days before he could recover after returning home. He did not dare to listen to Mr. Wang's speech casually in the future. This is because Mr. Wang knew Commander Li
He's not an ordinary person, he can't pull her over at all, and he doesn't make great efforts to pull her over." Lu Ming said, and couldn't help but shudder.
Lu Ming didn't know Mr. Wang very well, but Sheng Youde knew Mr. Wang very well. He warned Lu Ming to run away as soon as he saw Mr. Wang. As long as he stayed with him for more than half a day, he would be in danger of being brainwashed by him.
.
Mr. Wang has a personality charm that is difficult for ordinary people to understand, and he is very good at persuading people's speeches.
Looking at all the countries in the world, only Hitler can match this point. Think of Goering, Goebbels and other generals, who was not conquered by Hitler's devilish personality charm?
Goebbels talked with Hitler all night, and the next day he declared that he had found the savior of Germany. He also became a loyal believer in the Nazis and would not repent until his death. It was so miraculous.
Although Mr. Wang is not as good as Hitler, he still has a very unique personality charm.
Otherwise, he has no military power and controls only half of the people in the government, but he has been able to fight against Mr. Chiang for many years. The mystery of this is obvious.
After listening to Lu Ming's evaluation of Mr. Wang, Kang Ze thought for a moment and still couldn't believe it. He smiled bitterly and said, "I have known Mr. Wang for many years. How come he has never tried to win over me?"
Lu Ming curled his lips and said, "You are Mr. Jiang's confidant. If Mr. Wang wins over you, isn't he deliberately creating internal chaos?"
Although Lu Ming said this, what he was thinking in his heart was: You are really not qualified for Mr. Wang to win over you, and you can't win over just anyone.
After returning to Shanghai, he felt at ease. If there was any danger, he could ask Sheng Youde for help.
Although Mr. Wenbai took care of him in Nanjing, he was still far behind, and he knew this.
Kang Ze felt relieved after hearing this. In fact, he stayed in Nanjing just to have a drink with his old friends and reminisce about the past.
The closed-door meeting of the Military Committee in the evening involved high-level military secrets, and the two juniors were not qualified to participate.
"Brother Lu, do you think the Japanese will really start a war with us this time?" Kang Ze asked, feeling uneasy all the time.
"Absolutely not, don't worry." Lu Ming was completely convinced by his theory.
"Can we really have ten years of peaceful development? I doubt it," Kang Ze sighed.
"If the current economic and political situation develops normally, there should be ten years of peace." Lu Ming thought for a moment.
Unfortunately, the subsequent development of the situation was beyond his expectation. Originally, according to the assumptions of the Japanese government and military ministry, it would take ten years of preparation before starting a full-scale war.
The matter was ruined by a superior soldier of the Kwantung Army named Tojo (Ishida Kanji jokingly said that Tojo Hideki was only qualified to be a superior soldier), and the July 7th Incident was launched in advance.
However, whether it was the September 18th Incident or the July 7th Incident, although Japan seemed to be victorious and occupied most of China's territory, it actually dragged itself into the abyss of destruction.
Shortly after Lu Ming returned to Shanghai, something he expected happened.
On January 24, 1932, Manchurian Railway agents, under the planning and command of Yoshiko Kawashima, burned the residence of Japanese Minister Aoi Shigemitsu in Shanghai, and then framed the crime on the Chinese.
The Japanese Consul General issued an ultimatum, requiring the Shanghai Municipal Government to respond before January 28, otherwise Japan will take self-defensive actions.
After the incident, Lu Ming understood that the porcelain war had come to an end and the Japanese army was about to be dispatched.
As for the government's response, he believed that a clear decision should have been made at the enlarged meeting of the Nanjing Military Commission.
Since Japan is going to go to war regardless of whether it accepts the so-called four conditions or not, why should it accept these four decisions that will humiliate the country?
The Chinese government is not as weak as Serbia in the last European War, not to mention that the great powers will also restrain Japan.
The Shanghai Municipal Government continued to remain silent and did not provide a clear reply.
"Lao Jing, we cannot agree to the four conditions of the Japanese."
In Liuyuan Sheng Youde's office, Sheng Youde was receiving Zhang Jingjiang, a veteran of the Kuomintang.
"My thoughts and yours are similar, but also different. Agreeing is indeed suspected of humiliating the country and dampening the enthusiasm of the people to resist Japanese aggression. But on the other hand, we will get more support internationally.
Sympathy and support.”
Zhang Jingjiang's wrinkled face was actually very calm.
"Mr. Jing, no matter what, you can't come forward to express this idea. This will damage your reputation." Sheng Youde advised.
Zhang Jingjiang believes that accepting Japan's unreasonable demands will gain more support in the international community. Sheng Youde does not believe it. Weakness will not receive pity and sympathy. On the contrary, it will be regarded as mud by more countries and cannot be used to support the wall.
However, Sheng Youde did not say this in front of Zhang Jingjiang.
"Once a war breaks out, it is very likely that the country will be destroyed. Why do I want this false reputation? It is virtuous. Even if the Japanese side wants to fight, we still have to take a step back. There is a saying in Taoism: Take a step back and the sea and the sky will be brighter. "Zhang Jingjiang said.
"Jinglao, Japan's plan is very clear. If we take this step back, we will not get a brighter future. It will only allow the Japanese to succeed." Sheng Youde insisted on his point of view.
"Is the attitude of Britain and the United States clear?" Zhang Jingjiang asked.
"Their attitude is very clear and they will never allow Japan to use the incident to expand their interests in Shanghai. I understand that it means to control Japan's desires." Sheng Youde said frankly.
"In other words, once a war breaks out, they will step in to mediate and put pressure?" Zhang Jingjiang continued to ask.
"Yes, this point has been made clear." Sheng Youde nodded.
"It's really a hard job for me to come here this time, but I still have to make a trip. I was entrusted by the whole party to discuss with Xiao Wu." Zhang Jingjiang said with a bitter smile.
"What is discussed is just pressure. Now Mayor Wu's attitude is very clear, that is, he will not accept the Japanese conditions and will start a war if he wants. The 19th Route Army held a swearing-in meeting yesterday and is ready to fight the Japanese army. ." Sheng is virtuous.
"The problem now is not in Shanghai, nor is it what Japan does. The key to the problem is on our own side. Brother Jiang, are you asking for money?" Zhang Jingjiang said with a bitter smile.
"Well, let me raise 10 million military expenditures immediately." Sheng Youde said.
"Actually, the shortfall is 20 million. Brother Jiang has been begging Xiao Song to solve it, but Xiao Song deliberately made things difficult and withheld the money in his hands without paying it. The main 87th Division and 88th Division have been almost without pay for two or three months. , this is our main trump card, and this is the situation, so the government still wants to make a last-ditch effort to see if it can stop fighting this battle." Zhang Jingjiang's expression showed helplessness.