The news of the large-scale massacre of Qing prisoners of war reached the Tokyo Military Command the next day. The Army Command did not do anything, just let the front people cover it up, and did not treat it as a big deal. The Navy Command soon also knew
The navy is different from the army. The navy is a high-tech branch. The people at the top have drank foreign ink after all. Their thinking is relatively close to Europe and the United States, and they look at problems more rationally. They are not like the army who are "Yamato souls" all day long.
When the Navy heard this, they were shocked and immediately realized that the problem was serious. Navy Minister Nagano Shushen and Vice-Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku went to find Hirota Koki. After hearing this, Hirota Koki also felt that it was a serious problem and called him again.
The commander-in-chief of the military, Prince Xuanren, made a phone call. Prince Xuanren verbally promised to investigate. However, he did not take it seriously and just asked the commanders of the divisions ahead to report the situation.
Xuanren himself believed that the imperial army was advancing at a rapid pace and did not have much energy to take care of the prisoners of war. The weather was now severely cold and the prisoners of war lacked food and clothing, so it was normal for some of them to die. Moreover, the commanders of each division quickly reported the situation
The report came up. Xuanren read it
Finally, it was just what he wanted. He replied to Hirota Koki and said that according to the news from the front, there was no deliberate or large-scale massacre of prisoners of war. Some of them were sporadic incidents, and most of them were prisoners of war.
He was coaxed to flee, and the imperial army shot him as a last resort.
After hearing this, Hirota Koki felt that something was wrong, and he probably downplayed it. But now that the army at the front is winning steadily, it is still important to focus on the great cause of the empire. It is really not good to be too harsh on the army because of the treatment of prisoners of war. But the navy can be sober-minded.
very.
Especially Vice Admiral of the Navy Yamamoto Isoroku, he can be said to be one of the clearest people in the Japanese army. He has lived in the United States for a long time, and his ideas and vision are unmatched by many high-level people in the Japanese army. In his opinion, this is absolutely
It is not a trivial matter, especially it may anger the Ming Dynasty again and affect the current cooperation between the two countries. If this matter is not handled well, at least it will affect Japan's international image, at worst it will lose the right of passage of the Malacca Strait. In that case, it will not be close to war.
Far away.
Yamamoto Isoroku was relatively stern and a person who only accepted death. Although he was only a junior minister in the cabinet and could be considered a low-key person, he didn't care about it and went to the Prime Minister again to argue. It happened that the Minister of War, Touichi Terauchi
There, the two people fought on the spot.
…
After such a commotion, the matter leaked to Japanese high-level officials, and the insiders were no longer those few. On the evening of the 27th, the information was transmitted to the Nanjing People's Guard Headquarters. Xiang Xiaoqiang received the information from Shi Shigege
As soon as I saw it, my head suddenly became bigger.
"Crack!"
He threw the information on the table and cursed:
"As expected! I've long expected that these idiots would do something like this! We can't have any illusions about these idiots!"
He raised his head and glanced at Shi Shigege. Seeing that she was also gloomy and serious, he said nothing more. He just said:
"Have someone prepare a car and let's go to the headquarters!"
…
In the headquarters, the hall was very busy. The army was busy again. It was busy negotiating with the headquarters of the Central Plains Corps, busy stepping up the attack, busy preparing to receive a large number of prisoners, taking over the Xuzhou area, and busy preparing to continue northward.
Offensive. The navy is also busy assembling a fleet to prepare for an amphibious landing in Shandong.
The Japanese army had been on the offensive for more than a day, and the Ming army also launched a powerful attack on the Xuzhou theater. The tanks were squeezing inward, and the loudspeakers were broadcasting the latest battle situation in the Northeast. The Qing army in Xuzhou was under a double blow. The Ming Dynasty
The army here is attacking in reality, and the Japanese army is attacking in everyone's heart.
Most of the officers and soldiers of the Qing Dynasty tended to believe the broadcasts and leaflets of the Ming army. Because for a long time, the Northern Qing court had completely lost faith. Whenever the court propagated something, the officers and soldiers below would not believe it first, regardless of anything else. However, the propaganda of the Southern Ming Dynasty always
It is much more objective. The officers and soldiers on the Beiqing side always listen to it as authoritative news.
Now, even the most confused soldiers of the Qing army are vaguely aware that the Qing Dynasty cannot hold out for a few more days. If it continues to fight, it will be a backstop for the imperial court. As for whether the imperial court will execute their family members after surrender, Nanming Radio
Didn’t I say that now the Qing government has sent all the forces at its disposal?
When we go out to fight, we don't have that many manpower to search door to door. Besides, the Qing Dynasty costs ten thousand, and now I can see it, but the military and police officers behind the scenes can't see it? Who doesn't want to leave a way out for themselves?
It is estimated that the emperor's "implicate order" has not left Beijing...
…
While several old men in the headquarters were busy with their affairs, Xiang Xiaoqiang came. No matter what happened, he insisted on dragging Zhang Zhao to the conference room to say a few words. When he arrived in the conference room, Xiang Xiaoqiang explained the matter again.
Zhang Zhaoxian's first reaction was to be suspicious. He knew that Xiang Xiaoqiang was a die-hard Japan hawk, and he did not hesitate to fabricate a fictitious "big oil field" for this purpose last time. Who knew if this time he would not be able to make any false claims?
Just exaggerate things without limit and want to make things bigger?
...Besides, the Japanese army has always been known for its strict military discipline, and during the Russo-Japanese War and the World War, it treated prisoners of war in a very civilized manner, which is very consistent with its always advertised "leaving Asia and joining Europe"...
Captives? Or large-scale? Not very reliable.
Zhang Zhao pondered for a moment, then looked at Xiang Xiaoqiang and nodded:
"Well, I understand. But if this matter is true, it will be more difficult to deal with. This is more sensitive. Even if we express something, we must have real evidence. Your security team will inquire more, but...
That’s right, for now, we still have to focus more on fighting against the Qing. The Japanese army is making rapid progress now, and our army’s motorization level is so high, so we won’t fall behind the Japanese army.”
Xiang Xiaoqiang was stunned and couldn't say anything for a moment. He knew it must be the sequelae of the last "oil field incident". Now he was a bit like the child who cried "Wolf".
He licked his lips, thought for a moment, and said:
"Ming Gong, if it is confirmed that this information is accurate, how will we react?"
Zhang Zhao hesitated for a moment and said:
"This should be a matter for the cabinet. This is a political issue. Our military will not be affected at all. We still fight how we should fight."
Xiang Xiaoqiang suppressed his temper and said:
"Ming Gong, since we are now cooperating with Japan, can we send military observers to the Northeast battlefield? Human lives are at stake, and we should actually see what is going on. If this intelligence is accurate, the Japanese army is going on a rampage every day
Massacre prisoners of war, and we are indifferent here, then this eloquent
We also have a share in the blood debt, and we will not be able to escape the blame. We secretly ceded Northeast China to Japan first, and then sat back and watched the Japanese army massacre prisoners of war... Ming Gong, even after the war, in the history books of later generations, we
These people will carry a heavy moral baggage. Our previous achievements will most likely be wiped out."
Zhang Zhaoxian didn't take this matter seriously at first, but now that he heard him say such a long paragraph, he couldn't help but frown and began to think deeply again.
After a while, he said:
"Okay, I'll go talk to Mr. Shen Ge about this matter. But first, Japan may not let us send observers. Second, even if it does let us send observers, it must be heavily guarded. The battlefield is so big, if you really don't want to hide it, If there is anything about observers, it is very easy. Third, since observers are sent, it must be sent to each other by both sides. The Japanese army will also ask to send observers to our troops."
Xiang Xiaoqiang said:
"Ming Gong, these are not big problems. First, the main battlefield of the Japanese army is in Fengtian. Fengtian is within the scope of our Ming Dynasty. Now the Japanese army is fighting within the scope of our country, and we are the masters. We It would be good if they are not allowed to withdraw from Fengtian. We have to send them even if they are not allowed to do so. This is not their decision. Secondly, military observers have full freedom of movement and can go wherever they want. The other party can only provide protection. , cannot restrict his freedom of movement. There must be two to three hundred thousand surrendered Qing troops now. With so many prisoners, in such a short period of time, the Japanese army is busy attacking again, and it is impossible to hide it. Third, the Japanese army must If we send observers to our army, there is nothing we can do, just let them come."
Zhang Zhao nodded first and said:
"Okay. Then let someone make arrangements. If observers are sent, they will basically be sent from the People's Guard. I will tell Mr. Shen Ge about this."
Xiang Xiaoqiang came out of the conference room, looked at the still busy scene in front of him, breathed out gently, and said to himself:
"Shen Rongxuan should not be in trouble with Ni Ni. If he is in trouble with Ni Ni, hum, I will resort to the ultimate move - go tell Rongrong. The Japanese oil tanker will not be able to cross the Strait of Malacca the next day if it is kept."