Chapter four hundred and seventy first compensation issue
After just a few words of conversation, Liu Xiang developed a strong interest in Guo Guoji. This young man, less than thirty years old, had a unique mind and a different kind of insight. What satisfied Liu Xiang the most was that kind of person.
The attitude towards the motherland, the pacification of Taiwan, and the restoration of people's hearts are the most needed talents of this kind.
"Mr. Guo, what do you think of Lian Yatang and others?"
Guo Guoji curled his lips slightly and said contemptuously: "Commander Liu, Lian Yatang is just a villain who wants to step into two different boats and is greedy for profit. He traveled in China for a while in the first few years, and was with Beiyang
He had contacts with some people in the government, and after returning to Taiwan, he wrote the so-called "General History of Taiwan". These were just opportunistic moves by him to enhance his reputation. On the surface, he was close to the motherland, but he secretly colluded with Japan. I even suspect that
He was bribed by Japan!"
"Mr. Guo, it's not good to speak ill of others behind their backs!"
"Hmph, I would say this even in front of him. Not long ago, Lian Yatang wrote an article on the benefits of opium, advocating that Taiwanese people's use of opium is a sign of hard work and is worth promoting!"
Liu Xiang and Deng Xihou both stared wide-eyed and couldn't believe their ears. Ever since Lin Zexu banned cigarettes in Humen, the Chinese people had realized the huge harm of opium. It took several decades to count.
No matter how shameless a person is, they would not dare to openly say that opium is beneficial. Even the stores that sell opium in the Beiyang government have to pretend that they only sell ointment. Is this Lian Yatang's brain burned out? He actually praises opium!
"Commander Liu, Chief of Staff Deng, Japan has been financially strapped in recent years and is in urgent need of exploiting the colonies to gain profits. Opium in Taiwan was originally controlled by the Mitsui Zaibatsu. Since President Joe came to power, the motherland has vigorously banned opium, and this trend has also spread to Taiwan.
, people all over the country consciously boycotted opium, causing the sales of opium to shrink year after year. The Japanese government and chaebols could not sit still, and tried every means to expand sales. It was only normal that Lian Yatang came out at this time to solve the problems of the master.
In the past, I used to think that Lian Yatang was just a little more tactful and still understood the national justice in his heart. Now I see that everything is just his face. In essence, he is still a slave of today's people, but his acting skills are just a little better!"
After hearing Guo Guoji's explanation, Liu Xiang combined the information he had obtained and found that what he said was probably correct. Now it seems that Lian Yatang is indeed a speculator, and he is also the kind of shameless type. There has never been a shortage of this type in Chinese history.
Such ugliness is their best fig leaf. People like Lian Yatang first do everything possible to increase their reputation in the country, and then in turn attract the favor of the Japanese.
After he was able to talk to the senior officials on both sides, he would try to get the best of both sides, and work for the stronger one. At the same time, he would try not to offend either side. In the past, the Japanese had the upper hand. He could even write articles about the benefits of opium, which shows that
How shameless, now that China is powerful, he came over early to express his allegiance, but at this time, he did not forget to help the Japanese Governor Shangshan Mitsujin to deliver a message, so that in the future, the situation would be reversed, and he could still have both sides.
After seeing through such ugly faces, Liu Xiang felt even more disgusted with people like Lian Yatang. Today's China is completely different from the past. There is increasingly no market for the old bureaucracy's tricks of playing both sides. The whole country pays attention to
When selecting talents, you must rely on true talent and practical learning in everything. What matters is true ability. It is already very difficult to rely on political speculation to get a position, and it is also looked down upon by others!
"Mr. Fu, I plan to hire me to be in charge of propaganda work. I will be responsible for making the people of Taiwan accept the motherland as soon as possible. At the same time, I will dig out the pro-Japanese elements hidden in all strata of society. For this kind of national garbage and the scum of the country,
The motherland will never show mercy!"
Guo Guoji happily accepted the order. Liu Xiang had stationed troops in Keelung for about ten days. The follow-up troops had already arrived one after another. The number of Chinese troops on the island exceeded 50,000. Liu Xiang immediately took command of two divisions, with a total of 30,000 troops.
As the troops marched towards Taipei, the Air Force still opened the way as before. Wherever the army passed, the Air Force dropped a large number of leaflets in advance.
Just as Taiwan was advancing rapidly, the peace talks in Beijing also reached the most critical point. After several rounds of contests, China and Japan finally reached a consensus on some major aspects. Foreign Minister Gu Weijun was addressing Qiao in the Miyun Villa.
Yu report situation 0
"The president agreed to return Taiwan Island and Sakhalin Island in terms of territory, but also asked us to give up Ryukyu. At the same time, in the direction of North Korea, Japan agreed to recognize the ruling power of the Republic of Korea in northern Korea, but asked China not to annex North Korea!"
"The Ryukyu issue is non-negotiable. Japan will never want to get involved in this land, so they have given up. As for the North Korean issue, it is a matter between North Korea and China, and has nothing to do with Japan. If Japan still wants to
China will never agree to intervene. In addition, you can tell Japan that the areas requested by China are within China's actual control line. If Japan persists in its obsession, China will take back South Korea and the Far East, and even Japan's mainland.
Tanegashima is also in danger of being lost!”
Regarding territorial issues, China is quite relaxed and does not open its mouth like a lion. In fact, this is not because Qiao Yu is merciful, but because you have to eat one bite at a time and cannot be busy. Moreover, although China's domestic economy is developing well, its foundation is still too weak.
, it is not enough to absorb too many collars, so it does not make too many demands. However, if Japan persists, China will not mind opening up its territory!
Gu Weijun also has the same view on the territorial issue. He can only take tough measures against Japan. The territory that has been acquired can never be returned. China is not the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and it will never win a battle without defeat.
"The biggest disagreement is about compensation. We are asking for compensation of 2.3 billion yuan, but Japan firmly disagrees. They don't want any compensation!"
China paid 230 million taels of silver as compensation during the Sino-Japanese War of 1888-1894. This time, China raised the price to 2.3 billion taels, in order to avenge its shame. Of course, the units of the two are different, and currency must also be considered.
Regarding the issue of inflation, the gap is actually not as big as ten times, but the amount of compensation far exceeds Japan's bottom line.
In modern times, Japan has never been a wealthy country. There is a huge gap compared with European and American powers. It finally accumulated some wealth during World War I. It fought with Soviet Russia in the Far East and suffered a lot of losses. Then it encountered another
The losses caused by the Great Kanto Earthquake were even more staggering. Now the government is still burdened with a huge deficit. It is indeed difficult for them to spend so much money.
, ‘Minister Gu’, how do you consider the issue of compensation?”
"President, I think Japan's ability to compensate is indeed limited. It cannot provide cash. I think it is better to compensate in kind. For example, we can confiscate a part of Japanese warships or take some Japanese factory equipment. In total,
It can also compensate us for our losses!”
A new idea suddenly came to Qiao Yu's mind, but he did not tell Gu Weijun, he just said: "Minister Gu, please invite Japanese Prime Minister Reijiro Wakata and Saionji Konobo for me. I want to talk to them about compensation alone.
question!”
"It would be best for the president to come forward in person. Now there is another problem: the division of naval strength. This issue has already involved the United States and Britain. Due to Japan's defeat, he did not have the strength to maintain what he obtained at the Warwickton Conference.
Regarding naval shares, each country’s naval power needs a new balance. There is a fierce debate among countries on how to allocate tonnage, especially the United States and Britain are preparing to build a large number of aircraft carriers, and France and Italy will also participate!”
Naval armaments have always been the core concern of this era. For this era of sea power, a powerful navy means huge overseas interests. This is also the core lifeblood of all countries. The war between China and Japan has undoubtedly shown
With the unique combat power of aircraft carriers, the main force of the navies of all countries except China are still battleships. It can be said that they have lagged behind the times and must be upgraded.
It is precisely for this reason that the United States and Britain strongly advocate peace talks. Their main purpose is to take this opportunity to redetermine the distribution of naval tonnage and avoid a new round of naval competition!
The arms race is a nightmare for all countries. Each cold warship is piled up with countless amounts of money. It cannot be ambiguous at all. It is a huge test for national strength. Both the United States and Britain now have their own difficulties.
The isolationism of the United States is so powerful that Congress will not easily agree to the large-scale construction of aircraft carriers. The situation in the United Kingdom is even worse. They have a large number of battleships, and most of them are old goods from the First World War. Britain's declining national strength determines
They have almost no strength to cope with the new round of naval transformation.
You must know that building an aircraft carrier can be a systematic project. In addition to aircraft carriers, it is also necessary to train a large number of pilots and build a large number of auxiliary ships. Each of these requires huge investments. Britain's industry is currently declining, its finances are empty, and the burden on its overseas colonies is increasing.
The heavier it becomes, it can be said that this empire that never sets today has entered the afterglow of the setting sun.
If we frantically engage in a new arms race at this time, I am afraid that this country will collapse without fighting. Therefore, what Chamberlain and all parties talk about most these days is the naval issue. Chamberlain strongly requires that the aircraft carriers of all countries should be controlled in one
Within the acceptable range, we must not easily start an arms race.
Compared with the naval issue related to the fate of Britain, how Japan negotiates peace with China has become a trivial matter and has been placed in a secondary position.
"Minister Gu, regarding the naval issue, we agree to control it, but the specific allocation must be carefully weighed. We might as well reconvene an international conference. This time, the Beijing peace talks are mainly about issues between China and Japan. When the two countries restore peace,
Let’s discuss it later!”
After the explanation was completed, Qiao Yu met with the Japanese Prime Minister Reijiro Wakata and the patriarch Saionji Konobo that night. Qiao Yu went straight to the point.
"Both of you, China and Japan used to be friendly neighbors, but your country insisted on going your own way, resulting in today's situation of fighting each other, which is a harm to the people of both countries. I hope that the two countries can quickly restore peace. Regarding the issue of reparations, we are the best
What a quick solution!”
"Your Majesty the President, the imperial government is willing to bear the liability for compensation, but the economic situation of the empire does not allow it to spend so much money. There is really no way to meet the amount required by China!"
"Well, in that case, I will provide you two with a new plan. What do you think?"