At noon on May 23, several important ministers of the Ming Cabinet in Nanjing gathered together, watching the radio and listening blankly. At the same time, the officers in the headquarters also listened to the sounds echoing above the central command hall.
After a majestic "Internationale", a rich and impassioned voice said in Russian:
"Moscow is broadcasting, Moscow is broadcasting... This is Moscow Radio. Citizens, comrades, brothers and sisters of the Soviet Union, brother workers oppressed by the bourgeoisie all over the world, people invaded by imperialism all over the world!...
Early this morning, the brave and fearless International Volunteer Brigade has crossed the Tianshan Mountains and devoted itself to supporting the people of Ili in their struggle to resist imperialist aggression!
"The Ming imperialist aggressor bandits were defeated in just a few hours under the ruthless attack of the heroic International Volunteer Brigade. As of now, the volunteer brigade has killed more than 10,000 bandits and captured more than 2,000 bandits alive, destroying the bandits.
215 tanks, shot down 386 bandit aircraft
, more than 400 vehicles of various types, more than 500 artillery pieces of various types, and countless guns and ammunition were seized... The First Armored Division of the Ming Bandit Army, which invaded and occupied the Ili Kingdom for half a month, has been captured by the International Volunteer Brigade.
Completely eliminated. The division commander Gao Dayi was killed, and the life and death of the bandit leader Xiang Xiaoqiang is unknown.
"During the past half month, the Ming bandits committed heinous crimes locally and brought severe suffering to the people of Ili. The land of the Ili Kingdom is filled with the blood and tears of the people of Ili. The Soviet people and the people of Ili
Same, love peace, love justice. The Soviet people also suffered
The Soviet people share the suffering of the Ili people due to the barbaric aggression of imperialism. As a member of the League of Nations and a responsible big country, the Soviet Union maintains regional peace and stability, stops aggression, and protects the independence and freedom of small and weak countries.
, is our responsibility.
"But at present, the Soviet Union is in the stage of building the second five-year plan of socialism and is fully supporting the Spanish people in resisting fascism. It is really unable to interfere too much in the affairs of other countries. Therefore, 'International
The Volunteer Brigade, another international justice organization after the International Brigade, was born. It is mainly composed of left-wingers, proletarians, anti-fascist fighters, and progressive youth from all over the world. Of course, it also includes volunteers from the Soviet Union.
Soldiers... they are inspired by the same flag and fight together..."
…
In the living room of the official residence of the Chief Minister, several important ministers listened to the Russian broadcast and the translation of the Jinling Radio Station. They all looked at each other, their faces were pale, and they were sweating like rain.
The headquarters of the 1st Division of the People's Guard could not be contacted as early as two hours ago. Dihua Airport also sent a final telegram, saying that the airport was about to be lost and that reinforcements should not land here again...
In other words, at least half of the First Division of the People's Guard was wiped out!
There were about 18,000 men in that division, and half of them were not in Dihua. The numbers reported by the Soviet Union were almost the same! Even the division commander Gao Dayi was martyred, so the division headquarters must have failed to break out... Xiang Xiaoqiang and Princess Liaoyang,
It's probably more bad than good...
"Alas..." Shen Rongxuan's face was livid, he was silent for a while, and then he sighed, "I wonder how the safety of Princess Liaoyang and Xiang Xiaoqiang is."
Army Minister Li Gaoting glanced at him and said:
"I'm afraid it's... a bad thing."
Several other ministers also nodded. For a moment, no one was speechless.
For the cabinet, it is definitely a good thing that Xiang Xiaoqiang died. However, they are not happy anyway. Xiang Xiaoqiang was "removed" in this way, which they really can't afford. What's more, he also caught up with A princess.
When the Imperial Council decided on national policies, ministers like myself strongly agreed with the Alliance, Japan, and the Soviet Union. The only person who opposed this matter was Xiang Xiaoqiang. Although Xiang Xiaoqiang later participated in the negotiations with Japan and the Soviet Union. , but that was only after the imperial meeting made the decision, and Xiang Xiaoqiang had to implement it. At the imperial meeting, Xiang Xiaoqiang had put down all the words in advance.
The Foreign Secretary held back a sentence:
"Your Majesty...does your Majesty know?"
Shen Rongxuan said coldly:
"Your Majesty will know in the morning."
"Oh..." He hesitated and asked tentatively, "How is your Majesty... feeling?"
Shen Rongxuan glanced at him and seemed to guess his thoughts.
When the Northern Qing Dynasty attacked Nanjing, no minister asked "How is His Majesty's mood?" After King Yanping was killed by a bomb, no minister asked "How is His Majesty's mood?" During the Unification War, the Ming army suffered greater losses, then At that time, no minister ever asked "How is His Majesty's mood?" However, this time only half the division was lost in northern Xinjiang, so the Foreign Secretary mysteriously inquired about His Majesty's mood...
It seems that the relationship between His Majesty and Xiang Xiaoqiang is no longer a small-scale secret. At least one minister from the outer court is guessing...
Shen Rongxuan sighed and said lightly:
"Your Majesty is naturally very angry. He didn't expect the Soviet Union to be so perfidious..."
The Minister of the Navy said coldly:
"It's not just treachery, it's downright shameless! Hum, he obviously named himself 'Ili Empire', but he changed it to 'Ili Kingdom'. Why? Isn't it just 'imperialism' that has been called 'Ili Empire' for twenty years?" , isn’t it time to support another ‘empire’ here? I think the Soviet Union is too cowardly, and can’t be sustained even if it can be provoked. It is clearly the Soviet Red Army’s own regular troops who are launching a large-scale attack, so they have to use the fig leaf of an ‘International Volunteer Brigade’ to wear it. , making it seem like the Soviet Union is an innocent bystander. It’s clear that several armies are attacking, not just one brigade, it seems like a border friction... Are you afraid that we will directly declare war on the Soviet Union?"
Shen Rongxuan said thoughtfully:
"I'm afraid the Soviet Union really has this consideration. You are right. The Soviet Union did this. First, it had an extra fig leaf, making it look like an 'international intervention' instead of a naked invasion. Secondly, Stalin may also be using this to convey his attitude to us, that is, he hopes to control the war to a local area, and hopes that we will retreat in spite of difficulties and not cause an all-out war between the Ming and the Soviet Union, which would be detrimental to both parties..."
The four people sneered. Even the mildest ministers were gearing up at this moment, wishing to declare war on Su... But, they are ministers after all, not those passionate young people in the army or universities. They just "can't wait". As for whether Declaring war still needs to be discussed and combined with the opinions of the royal family and the army. Of course, there is also public opinion.
Shen Rongxuan said:
"The reaction of the royal family and the people in this matter must be the same. It must be dominated by grief and indignation, and the voices advocating a declaration of war against the Soviet Union must be overwhelming. As for the army, it is difficult to say. The main person responsible for this sneak attack is It’s the senior leadership of the headquarters. I don’t know if there will be any personnel changes. I’m going to meet with Your Majesty in the afternoon to make suggestions for the cabinet. Before that, I want to hear your opinions.”
The Secretary of War demanded a declaration of war on the Soviet Union. In his opinion, there was no doubt about this matter.
"Not declaring war on the Soviet Union immediately," Army Minister Li Gaoting said, "In addition to swallowing the national humiliation, it would also be tantamount to acknowledging the legitimacy of the 'International Volunteer Brigade' concocted by the Soviet Union. That would also be tantamount to admitting that this was not a 'Soviet invasion of the Ming Dynasty' ', but 'international interference in the Ming Dynasty's invasion of the Ili Kingdom'..."
Shen Rongxuan nodded, then turned around and asked:
"What's the Admiralty's opinion?"
The Lord Admiralty muttered:
"In the battle against the Soviet Union, the Navy was only a secondary force, or even just a bystander. Originally I was not in a position to say anything more. But... maybe we should learn from the experience and seriously consider Xiang Xiaoqiang's point of view."
"What point of view?"
"Pay attention to Japan." The Minister of the Navy said, "This is a lesson for the Soviet Union. We should not think that after signing an agreement with the other party and giving the other party a large area of land, the other party will no longer have our ideas... The Soviet Union has a vast territory, and its center of gravity is This is still the case in Europe, so Japan's territory is small and its center is in East Asia. Wouldn't it want to take advantage of the situation? Therefore, I think it is natural to fight back with all its strength against the Soviet Union, but it is best not to declare war if possible. We would rather acquiesce and follow The 'International Volunteer Brigade' is fighting in order to control the extent of the war. If something happens in the East, we will not be trapped in it and unable to get out..."
When he said this, several ministers present also thought about it and nodded slightly.
The Foreign Secretary also nodded and said:
"Some international issues should also be taken into consideration... For example, the western end of our railway only reaches Lanzhou and Xining, and the remaining more than 1,000 kilometers are all by road. That means that if we want to win this war, we need a lot of Cars. Many more cars than even the Unification War... There was only one way to get such a large number of cars in a short time: buy them from the United States. If we had not declared war, then under the US Neutrality Act we could buy them unimpeded All war materials, including cars and various weapons. But if we declare war, then we will be a belligerent and we will encounter the same problems as last time."