The preparations for the press conference were very thorough. In the spacious conference hall on the first floor of the hotel, reporters from various countries have spacious and comfortable seats, and the sound transmission effect is also very good. Director Mai of the Political Department of the Seventh Army did not need a microphone when presiding over the meeting.
Speech clearly.
To An Yi's surprise, General Li Zongren, with the humility of Director Mai, delivered a speech that lasted for more than half an hour, covering the current war situation facing the Northern Expedition, the relationship between Ninghan and Ningxia, and the role that Guangxi's military and civilians played in the Northern Expedition.
The outstanding contribution he made, the whole speech was clear-cut and the tone was gentle, and he especially highly praised General Feng Yuxiang, who had occupied Luoyang and directed his troops towards Zhengzhou.
There was no extravagant praise in Li Zongren's words. He expressed his sincere admiration for General Feng Yuxiang and the 250,000 soldiers of the Northwest Army, who still achieved such brilliant results and had such firm revolutionary confidence despite the lack of supplies and extremely tight military expenditures.
The entire speech was interrupted three times by reporters' enthusiastic applause. The only unsatisfactory thing was that Li Zongren did not express his opinions on the current hostility between Ninghan and Han and the secret troop mobilization between the two sides, nor did he touch on what had just happened.
Japanese warships bombarded the Jingjiang Northern Expeditionary Army, and British warships rammed and sank the First Army troop transport ship and two civilian ships on the East Road at the Pukou section of the Yangtze River. There was not a single word of praise for Commander-in-Chief Chiang and the Nanjing headquarters in the entire speech.
An Yi sat in the middle right position of the rostrum, with Bai Chongxi separated from Li Zongren. Due to An Yi's increasing popularity and the fact that he had just completed the five-game plan that was called "a miraculous victory with a small number of enemies".
He has been taken for granted by the outside world and the military and civilians across the country as a representative and role model for young soldiers. Coupled with his handsome appearance and "prominent" seat today, he had to endure everything from the beginning of the press conference to the end of General Li Zongren's speech.
The flashlights in the hands of Chinese and foreign reporters.
An Yi, who had gradually adapted to the situation, was very calm about this place, but he was thinking about General Li Zongren's speech in detail, and gradually heard some secrets, that is, General Li Zongren treated almost every warlord who participated in the Northern Expedition.
All the forces praised him and introduced each battle he commanded in detail, but none of his achievements were related to Commander-in-Chief Chiang Kai-shek who was in Nanjing.
After General Li Zongren finished his long speech, which he did without opening his mouth, Director Mai looked around and saw that no one wanted to speak, so he announced with a smile that he would start answering reporters' questions. The time limit was one hour, and reporters with permission could feel free to answer questions.
When the five generals on the rostrum raise questions, the generals will tell you everything and try their best to meet everyone's requests.
The first person to be asked questions turned out to be a reporter from the Japanese News Agency. This short man, who was only about 1.58 meters tall and still wore suits and ties on a hot day, asked Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi questions respectively. One asked when Bai Chongxi could win Xuzhou? The other asked what Li Zongren would do.
Look at the current Sino-Japanese relations.
Bai Chongxi answered very indirectly with the words "just around the corner." However, Li Zongren found this seemingly simple question very difficult. The reason was that after the "Nanjing Incident" occurred, the Japanese army sent four troops under the pretext of "protecting the safety and interests of its own citizens."
A warship sailed up the river to Hankou, pointed its black guns at the Wuhan government troops, and sent an additional Marine Corps to forcibly enter the Japanese Concession in Hankou, beating and imprisoning innocent Chinese merchants and poor people at every turn as retaliation.
However, the governments of Wang Jingwei and Tang Shengzhi in Wuhan tried their best to make conciliation in a low voice, loudly claiming that "the traditional friendship between the two peoples is the most important thing for all friendly countries separated by a strip of water", but secretly strictly restricted their troops from approaching the Japanese concession to avoid so-called "misunderstandings and conflicts".
"Friendly" understanding and troop withdrawal.
Under the impact of the Nanjing government's long-term economic blockade and the endless social conflicts, the Wuhan government's finances are unable to make ends meet, and the fiscal deficit is getting larger and larger. The estrangement and suspicion among the military forces in the same camp are getting deeper and deeper. In addition, Japanese warships
The blockade of the Yangtze River wharf and the embargo policy imposed by the great powers on the Wuhan government's commodities made the emboldened Japanese become more and more unscrupulous and rampant, but they increasingly aroused strong resentment and hostility from all walks of life in China, especially young students.
Therefore, this seemingly simple question gave Li Zongren quite a headache. He couldn't say yes, because as long as he said that Sino-Japanese relations were good, he would probably be criticized by all walks of life, but he couldn't say no.
, otherwise it will affect your image in the minds of your "friendly countries" and will be of no benefit to your future development.
After a brief thought, the experienced Li Zongren began to talk about the deep friendship between China and Japan over the years, and enumerated the fact that many generals in his army and the Northern Expeditionary Army had received higher military education in Japan.
He skillfully brought out the "Japanese complex" of Sun Yat-sen, Chiang Kai-shek and even He Yingqin, advocating for a deeper understanding and cooperation between the two sides.
Li Zongren's words were sincere and moving, which not only avoided the sharp reality, but also showed his moderate side to the whole country and the world. It reminds us of Li Zongren's mediating efforts to eliminate the war between Ninghan and Han, as well as his
There has never been a clear choice between Ninghan and Ninghan. Many reporters in the audience showed knowing smiles. The Japanese reporter also got the information he wanted from Li Zongren's words and stood up very politely and bowed to Li Zongren.
Bowing ten degrees, he sat down with a proud smile on his face.
An Yi saw all this. For some reason, he felt that the smile of the Japanese dwarf in the audience was so disgusting. The anger in his heart was secretly burning. He really wanted to go down and give him two slaps to relieve his hatred, so he didn't do it at all.
Listen carefully to the following questions from several Chinese and foreign reporters to Li Zongren, Bai Chongxi, Wang Tianpei, Bai Wenwei, Wang Yingyu and Zhang Dingfan. I thought that I would not have anything to do next. If I had any questions, I would just answer them in a few words and turn around.
I will then have a private conversation with a few of my journalist friends and try to get them to report more on the frontline officers and soldiers and the "wise and powerful" at the highest level. This is my main task during this trip.
An Yi finally adjusted his mood, picked up the tea cup and was about to take a sip when David, a middle-aged reporter from AFP, finally directed his question at him.
Dawit, who has a gray beard, first introduced himself, and then turned his attention to the expressionless An Yi on the rostrum: "Dear General An, first of all, allow me to express my heartfelt congratulations and admiration for the glorious victory achieved by the general! The general is so young.
But he has such superb military commanding talents, which is very surprising. Moreover, according to the book "Model Camp" which has been popular in China for several months and has been translated into English, French, German and other languages, the general's troops have unique characteristics.
The advanced training methods and political education methods, general, are the descriptions in the "Model Camp" true? What do you think of the rationality and fairness of the Northern Expedition you are engaged in?"
The audience immediately fell silent, and all the reporters' eyes were focused on An Yi, who was holding the tea cup. Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi on the stage also looked at An Yi with a smile, thinking about how An Yi would answer the French reporter's key question.
An Yi was not mentally prepared for such a sharp question, so he acted very surprised. After a while, he slowly put down the tea cup, thought for a while and said loudly:
"I'm honored to be favored by Mr. Davitt. There will be so many stars tonight. I thought I had nothing to do tonight, so I didn't make any preparations..."
The reporters heard this interestingly and laughed softly. Ye Qing, He Jing and Zhou Chongan, who were sitting in the first row of the press box, did not expect An Yi to be so honest. They all smiled happily at An Yi and only listened to An Yi.
Then he said:
"To tell you the truth, I have never had the opportunity to read the book "Model Camp" because the continuous battles and the northward advance occupied almost all the time of the soldiers of the Independent Division of our First Army. However, the author of this book did do some work in our army.
After a long interview, they mastered relatively comprehensive information. Thanks to them for introducing the style of Chinese revolutionary soldiers to everyone. Judging from the situation of thousands of progressive young people joining our revolutionary army, this book is very
Successful, thank the author for his contribution to the cause of the Northern Expedition."
An Yi paused and directly skipped the first question to answer the second question: "Mr. Davit's second question, I think it was already clear in the opening speech of Chief Li Zongren, just like me, Commander-in-Chief Chiang Kai-shek of the Northern Expeditionary Army
As said, the Northern Expedition was a revolutionary undertaking and an arduous undertaking that benefited the Chinese people.
Mr. Davit raised the question of the rationality and fairness of the Northern Expedition, which made me feel that this question had ulterior motives. It seems that many so-called foreign friends do not want to see China end the chaos of warlord rule and wars. They do not want China to be unified.
, because a unified China will gradually form a unified national will, arms dealers will lose a large market for their weapons and ammunition, and multinational companies will need to pay corresponding tariffs in accordance with unified Chinese national laws, and will gradually lose their trust in China.
With the privilege of frantically plundering various resources, power politics will lose the opportunity to continue to enslave the Chinese people.
Therefore, these people with ulterior motives do not want to see the Northern Expedition that hundreds of thousands of our soldiers and millions of people are undertaking. They will use all kinds of despicable means to support the agents they have supported for a long time in China and those who have long-term support.
The northern warlords who worship foreigners will use various seemingly reasonable democratic excuses to question the awakening of the Chinese nation, just like Mr. Davitt's question just now.
I'm sorry, Mr. Davitt, my words may not be very friendly to some people, but I have never questioned the French Revolution that led the French people to democracy and progress, and I have no time to even comment on the various changes that the French are undergoing.
Question the fairness and rationality of the plunder of colonies around the world, so please do not question the ideals and beliefs that tens of thousands of revolutionary martyrs of our Northern Expedition defended with their blood and lives. Thank you for your question, thank you!”
The whole place was silent, and all eyes were focused on Davit, who stood up to express his thanks, and An Yi, who picked up his cup and drank tea. As soon as An Yi put down his cup, he heard warm applause and praise. Even Davit shrugged.
Shrugging his shoulders, he sat down and looked at An Yi with admiration. He raised his hand and gently applauded along with everyone else. The eyes of the Chinese reporters were full of surprise and pride. An Yi's neither humble nor overbearing attitude and firm stance really made the Chinese people feel more comfortable and inspired.
Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi looked at each other, smiled, and clapped softly, but they were deeply impressed by An Yi's thoughts and wit, which strengthened their thoughts and determinations in each other's hearts - it is easy to get a thousand armies, but it is hard to find a general! Not to mention An Yi, a civil and military man.
A wise and brave general.
Bai Chongxi turned to An Yi and praised in a low voice: "If you don't sing, it will be a blockbuster!"
"I'm ashamed. I just told the truth. I don't want to damage the reputation of our Northern Expeditionary Army and boost the enemy's morale." An Yi replied in a low voice.
Bai Chongxi smiled slightly: "Cheer up, I guess there are many questions waiting for you to answer."
An Yi smiled bitterly. As soon as he raised his head, he saw another short Japanese getting the right to ask questions. An Yi turned his head unhappily and glanced at the host Director Mai at the other end, thinking that he couldn't take such good care of little Japan, right? Who?
A short Japanese man who was about thirty years old and looked quite elegant turned his attention to An Yi.
"General An Yi, I am Miura Kuji, from the Asahi Shimbun. Can you ask the general two questions? First, what is the general's personal opinion on the prospects of Japan-China relations? Second, since the Northern Expedition, the troops commanded by the general seem to have
I have never lost a battle, is there any secret here? Thank you, General, and I beg you to enlighten me."
Miura finished speaking in proficient Mandarin with a slight Northeastern accent. Before An Yi could answer, he immediately raised his buttocks respectfully and bowed at 90 degrees, appearing very humble and sincere.
An Yi has long been aware of the hypocrisy of the Japanese. He originally didn't want to answer his question, but when he saw all the reporters in the audience staring at him expectantly, and some even showing gloating in their eyes, this made An Yi very unhappy.
He frowned slightly, moved his body slightly forward, and answered in a nonchalant tone:
"Mr. Miura was very polite. He first asked me if I could answer two questions. But he immediately raised the question without waiting for me to express my position. This made me feel very embarrassed. I won't answer you. You have already asked the question. We Chinese people have always been very particular about answering the question.
If you don’t answer, I will be too stingy, and the reporters seem to be very interested in your two questions, so I have no choice but to answer your questions myself, but if I have such an opportunity next time, I will
Please ask Mr. Miura to ask for my consent before asking, otherwise everyone will feel uncomfortable." The reporters in the audience laughed again. Miura was so angry that he was ridiculed by An Yi, but in full view of everyone,
Now he can only endure it but cannot vent it.
An Yi, who had made up his mind, put away his smile and loudly said something that shocked everyone: "There will definitely be a battle between China and Japan, and this battle will be a long-lasting and cruel life-or-death battle!"
Everyone exclaimed, and the host, Director Mai, stood up in fright. However, Li Zongren waved his hand very calmly and motioned Director Mai to sit down. Although he was shocked by An Yi's boldness, he wanted to hear what An Yi had to say.
His true thoughts, but at this moment Li Zongren did not expect that what An Yi was going to say would make him very passive after that, and force him to make a clear statement on Sino-Japanese relations.
Bai Chongxi and others didn't react much, but Xiao looked at An Yi with interest. Seeing the determined look on An Yi's face and slightly red eyes, Bai Chongxi immediately stretched out his foot and lightly stepped on An Yi's feet.
one time.
An Yi turned to Bai Chongxi, who looked calm, and immediately realized the possible passive consequences of his words. He realized that it would probably make the Japanese angry and cause great trouble to the Nanjing government, which was seeking recognition of its legal status by other countries. But his words
Having already spoken out, he has reached the point where he is riding a tiger and is unable to get off, so An Yi cannot help but stop talking.
An Yi looked at the excited Miura Kuji in the audience and said loudly: "Yes, this is my view on the prospects of Sino-Japanese relations. What I need to emphasize here is that this is only my personal view and does not represent my independence.
The positions of the division officers, the First Army and the Northern Expeditionary Army Headquarters, but I can tell you clearly that my view will not change, and never will!"
In the midst of exclamations, An Yi explained in detail: "You may wonder why I have such a view? First of all, please review the history between China and Japan. Starting from the Ming Dynasty, the Japanese government allowed their so-called samurai and ronin to attack China.
Burning, killing, and looting were carried out in coastal areas. At that time, we called Japan the Japanese state, and the Japanese bandits who continued to rush into the coastal areas of China to burn, kill, and loot were called Japanese bandits. These Japanese bandits carried out uninterrupted aggression against China, and then the Opium War, and later the Sino-Japanese
From the naval war to the present, Japan has been encroaching on China's land, plundering China's resources, and enslaving the Chinese people all the time, and it has become more and more cruel and blatant.
You may ask what is the root cause of this? I can also tell you clearly today that Japan, a small island country, cannot support more and more Japanese people at all. It can only choose to expand to the mainland and choose
They rely on plunder to support themselves. Just like the Japanese now support the Northeast warlord Zhang Zuolin and his son to fight against the revolutionary army who strives to unify China and realize national rejuvenation, they will never be satisfied with the status quo. Not only do they gradually expand in the three northeastern provinces, they also use the traitor Zhang Zuolin and his son.
They frantically plundered Northeastern's coal, iron ore, gold mines, timber, food and other resources to support Japan's insatiable needs and desires. They also controlled traitorous warlords and dumped large quantities of industrial products into China, using all despicable means.
These methods attack China's national industry and challenge the endurance of the Chinese people.
Therefore, Japan will do everything possible to obstruct the reunification of China and the progress of the nation. Their various aggressions will never be satisfied. Their insatiable nature determines that they will go further and intensify their occupation and aggression against China. Once they have accumulated enough
They will find various excuses to launch a comprehensive war of aggression against my poor motherland. They will even burn the war to Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Myanmar, the Philippines and other places in Southeast Asia. They will even fight against European and American powers in the near future.
Be an enemy.
There is only one exception, and that is that Japan has only one country in Asia that does not dare to invade, and that is the Soviet Union. Although the Far East of the Soviet Union is rich in oil, gold mines, coal and countless metal minerals, they do not dare to invade the Soviet Union.
The reason is that the Soviet Union is getting stronger and stronger, and the Japanese are too small, and three people cannot defeat one Soviet person..."
"I protest! I strongly protest against such remarks with ulterior motives!"
Alexander Novitch, a Soviet man who claimed to be a freelance journalist, suddenly stood up and protested loudly. The reporters immediately understood the more obscure intentions of An Yi's words and cheered happily when they saw reporters from Bolshevik countries.
An Yi smiled slightly: "Please forgive me, sir! I don't accept your protest. Your protest has no effect on me, but I can give you a suggestion. Go back and convince the Soviet government, which claims to be the savior of the proletarians around the world, to convert the China Eastern Railway
Return it completely to the Chinese government and people, earnestly fulfill its commitments to the proletariat of the world, show the demeanor of a great country, and then lodge a protest with the Chinese government, this may be effective."
The venue burst into laughter, and Chinese reporters even booed the Soviet reporters. Everyone knew that the Beijing government controlled by Zhang Zuolin had expelled Soviet diplomats, and the Nanjing government was also in the process of expelling them. The Middle East Railway was expanded and expanded through force during the Tsarist Russia era.
The Soviet government today insists that the benefits gained from the brutal aggression in Northeast China are still legitimate, which is tantamount to slapping itself in the mouth.
Watching Alexandernovitch walk away angrily, the venue gradually became quiet. An Yi, who had received Bai Chongxi's advice, nodded and continued:
"Everyone, please rest assured. I am not paranoid, nor do I like to scaremonger. What I say comes from the bottom of my heart. I only represent my own opinions and positions, and has nothing to do with our government or military. Please pay attention to this special statement of mine."
.”
"No no! General An, you are called by Chinese public opinion an outstanding representative of the younger generation of the revolutionary army and a role model for countless Chinese young people to learn from. Can such a light statement reverse the bad impact caused? You have to stand up for your words.
Apologize to the people of China and Japan!”
Miura Kuji saw An Yi's tone softening and became more energetic, so he stood up and scolded An Yi plausibly.
An Yi was furious when he heard this. He could no longer remember Bai Chongxi's sincere advice. Under everyone's gaze, he stared coldly at Miura Kuji in the audience and said word by word:
"I have never apologized to the Japanese, and I will never accept an apology from the Japanese, let alone an apology. The most guilty ones are the Japanese who shout about Sino-Japanese friendship but do despicable things! You are now
The place where I stand is the land of China. On the land of China, I cannot yet express my thoughts. To apologize to the bandits who have ulterior motives in encroaching and plundering my motherland at all times is tantamount to wishful thinking.
Here, I also give a piece of advice to the Japanese militarists: you can use warships to surround Wuhan, you can send troops to humiliate those boneless slaves who have subjugated the country, you can set up the traitors Zhang Zuolin and his son in the Northeast to realize your plan to gradually invade China, and you can use China's mother to
There are warships on the Yangtze River running amok and bombarding our soldiers and civilians along the coast, but don’t mess with my troops. Unless I am no longer a general, I will order my troops to use any conceivable method to double my revenge!”
Miura Jiuji was so angry that he burst into laughter: "Arrogant man, let me give you a Chinese idiom: The mantis blocking the car does not overestimate its own capabilities!"
An Yi was not angry, but said with a smile: "Really? I am very happy to be this overestimating mantis. Even if I am really crushed to death by a wheel, it will be thousands of times better than staying alive, let alone Helian
I died fighting the Japanese bandits who stole culture from China. As long as I can wake up one kind-hearted Chinese, I feel like I deserved my death, haha!"
"you……"
"The press conference has concluded successfully..."
Director Mai, who was sweating profusely, announced loudly, and other staff members hurriedly walked into the venue to prevent the three Japanese reporters who were shouting in anger from causing an accident.
The reporters in the audience immediately started shouting and hooting, obviously very dissatisfied with the Japanese reporters' lack of grace. He Jing and Zhou Chongan loudly accused the Japanese of being domineering and lacking in the spirit of democracy. A group of European and American reporters also echoed, warning the Japanese that no one could publish anything.
A group of reporters immediately fought over the right to their own opinions, and more reporters took pictures of the chaotic scenes and An Yi's extremely confident image.
Li Zongren and others looked helplessly at the chaos of more than a hundred reporters in the audience, quickly thinking about how to end it. The eyes of the generals and colonels on both sides changed when they looked at An Yi. There seemed to be a trace of admiration in their panic. Only Bai Chongxi stood up.
Patting An Yi's arm, he shook his head and sighed softly: