The Anti-Japanese War Begins with the Northeast Army

Jiang Cheng continued, "Although the war in Siberia was not as effective as imagined, it was with the support of the United States and Jilin that we gained benefits in Vladivostok and other places."

"As the driving force behind this northern expedition, Commander Tanaka is bound to join the cabinet, right?"

"But at this stage, if Shandong does something weird, regardless of whether Japan allows it or not, Commander Tanaka should be very upset, right?"

Machino Takema knew that he had seen through everything, so he just told him everything: "Yes! That's the situation."

"But when it comes to the forces in various aspects of Shandong, it is still a bit complicated—"

At this point, Machino Takema rubbed his hands in an awkward manner, "You know in your heart that the troops sent to Shandong are from our General Staff Headquarters, so those stationed in cities like Qingdao are basically our people."

"But as a coastal city, and across the sea from the Empire, we need the support of the Navy... You know, although Commander Tanaka is in a high position of power in the military, he also has some persuasiveness in the Navy."

Jiang Cheng nodded silently: he finally understood it completely - even though it was the General Staff that took the initiative along the coast, the actual supply, transportation, and even the resources plundered in Shandong, all depended on Tanaka Yoshiichi's mood.

Relatively speaking, if something happened in Shandong, Tanaka Yoshiichi would also lose face.

No wonder that on the interests of Shandong, the whole of Japan was able to reach a rare collective consensus under the "leadership" of this emperor with a history of mental illness.

In addition to coveting the vast land of Shandong, there are so many other complicated things involved.

"I will now analyze the entire situation with you, General Jiang. So, if you really want to infringe on the interests of the empire in Shandong, I am afraid,"

At this point, he actually looked embarrassed and said, "I'm afraid there will be big trouble."

trouble?

Even if I had made repeated concessions to you little devils, would the September 18th Incident not have happened, or would you have stopped invading China?

This kind of thing is a false proposition in itself.

Jiang Cheng glanced at Zhang Tinglan casually, handed the conversation over to him, and then took out a cigarette.

Zhang Tinglan quickly responded to his gaze, and immediately said, "Mr. Machino, you and I have dealt with each other in Changchun a lot—"

"You should know the character of the commander-in-chief and me, Zhang Tinglan... We sent troops to Shandong out of sheer helplessness."

"The Beijing side used the excuse that China was a victorious country in the European war and should definitely gain relevant benefits."

Machino Takema was shocked.

His words instantly directed the conflict from the Fengtian Army in Jinan Prefecture to the Beiyang Army.

It's not a big deal. As the victor of World War I, China argued for the return of Shandong's rights at the Paris Peace Conference. This actually happened in history.

Jiang Cheng is in favor of this kind of thinking and action from the bottom of his heart:

However, after witnessing the modern era for more than a hundred years, he was also very clear about one thing: a weak country has no diplomacy.

Even if he mobilized all the troops of the Jilin Army to take Shandong back from the Japanese invaders...

But in reality, this seemingly heroic behavior will not only be counterproductive, but will also allow other Beiyang warlords to take advantage of it, and may even provoke a full-scale counterattack from the great powers that have their eyes on China.

By that time, let alone the issue of embargo or not, they might face the collective division of the world by these great powers after World War I.

Not to mention a pack of wolves surrounding one another, even a large number of ants can move a mountain.

Thinking of this, Jiang Cheng smiled faintly and said, "I know this very well, so I invited Mr. Machino to come from Changchun."

Machino Takema became interested: "Oh?"

Zhang Tinglan nodded and said, "That's right! What the Governor-General means is... Beiyang is now eyeing Shandong's rights and interests, so it is taking a secondary stance, hoping to gain the initiative at the Paris Peace Conference;" "But the Governor-General, including our Yu Marshal, have no similar thoughts - we just want to maintain the status quo, or even continue to cooperate with your country like Siberia did."

This time Machino Takema laughed out loud.

He was waiting for these words:
Regardless of who wants to fight or not, Machino is the one who least wants to fight.

Jiang Cheng is now his major financial sponsor, and the annual "consultancy fee" is as high as 50,000 cash, plus the cold and charitable gifts during festivals... Now even if the country offers him the position of "Prime Minister", he doesn't want to do it.

If Jiang Cheng was willing to maintain Japan's interests in Shandong, he and Okawa Masao could report to the General Staff and continue to cooperate with Jiang Cheng.

Apart from continuing to make money, he no longer faces any pressure from the country.

“So, next, I need Mr. Machino to continue to work with Mr. Okawa—to give him my ideas.”

Jiang Cheng took out another banknote from his pocket and said, "I want you to do one more thing."

…………

In addition to giving him the money to make him understand his "attitude" of cooperation, Jiang Cheng also wanted to get the ranks and names of the officers of the Japanese garrison in Shandong.

Under the pretext of understanding the preferences of allies so as to better strengthen cooperation——

In fact, to put it bluntly, they just wanted to explore the Japanese troops stationed on the entire Jiaozhou Peninsula.

Know yourself and know the enemy.

"Sent that old bastard away?"

Feeling someone coming back at the door, Jiang Cheng, who was working on documents at the desk, thought it was Zhang Tinglan and said something in a muffled voice.

Unexpectedly, the response was Feng Qing's slightly awkward cough. Jiang Cheng immediately raised his head in dissatisfaction, only to see Duan Xinyu standing beside him.

Holding a wooden tray in his hand, he could see from a distance a white porcelain cup, two other dishes and some steamed buns.

She bent her knees expressionlessly and did not let Feng Qing take the tray from her. Instead, she walked forward and carefully placed the things one by one on the round table.

"Master, eat something."

Duan Xinyu didn't turn around, but her voice seemed to have a little more warmth, "You got up so early in the morning and have been busy, and you haven't eaten or drunk anything yet."

Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes, stood up and said softly, "You're exaggerating. I've eaten here before."

But although he said this, his stomach just didn't obey and actually made a gurgling sound.

Feng Qing almost couldn't hold it, but after all, he was a close friend of the commander-in-chief and had received rigorous training.

"Go, go, go,"

Feeling a little embarrassed, Jiang Cheng waved his hand and chased him out.

While rolling up his sleeves he walked forward——

This girl's cooking skills are impeccable. In fact, when she walked in, Jiang Cheng could already smell the rich aroma of the dishes.

"This... I'm a little afraid to eat it, just in case..."

Seeing Duan Xinyu open the white porcelain cup and reveal a bowl of braised duck soup, Jiang Cheng swallowed the rest of his sentence. (End of this chapter)