1905: Beer Hall Speaker

Page 73

Japanese Foreign Minister Jutaro Komura angrily denounced Gao Dewu, strongly protesting the Chinese army's surprise attack on the Korean front during the peace talks.

This is even more extreme than the great powers, using negotiations as a pretext to launch surprise attacks on the front lines. Where did they learn this from? At least no country today would play like this. If they're going to talk, they're aiming for peace.

If you have any disagreements about installment payments, just say them at the negotiating table. Why resort to violence over a single disagreement? Nobody can stand that.

Gao Dewu remained calm as he sat across the negotiating table, leisurely sipping his tea before speaking: "Mr. Komura's accusations are completely unreasonable. I must reiterate that negotiations do not mean a ceasefire. The Chinese army has never had the habit of ceasing fire before negotiating."

Until a concrete peace agreement is reached, we remain in a state of war. During wartime, attacking the enemy is normal; it would be abnormal not to fight.

The other representatives nodded in agreement. Theoretically, that made sense. Although launching a surprise attack during peace talks was impolite, it was reasonable.

The British representative could barely contain his smile, but he still reluctantly stepped forward and offered a few perfunctory words of advice.

Japanese representative Komura Jutaro refused to accept the British's feigned peace-making efforts and threatened to bombard Shanghai, stating that the Combined Fleet would deploy all its capital ships to bombard all the cities along the Chinese coast.

Gao Dewu said he didn't care, and that if they wanted to shell, they should. Although the Chinese navy was weak, it was still determined to sacrifice everything to defend its territorial security.

Representatives from other countries all said they heard a very funny joke and no one took it seriously.

The Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet is now a large fleet, but in reality, it's just a fleet in existence because Japan has run out of coal!

These days, the vast majority of naval vessels burn coal! Japan, on the other hand, produces almost no coal, especially high-quality anthracite for ships, and relies entirely on imports.

Last winter, all the coal stored in Japan was transported to North Korea to provide heating for the navy, leaving the navy with only a small amount of fuel reserves.

The combined fleet's remaining fuel was reserved for life-or-death situations. It would only be used when enemy fleets attacked or when a decisive naval battle was necessary.

As for Komura Jutaro's claim of deploying all his warships to bombard all of China's coastal cities, let alone Japan, even the British couldn't do that.

How many cities are there along China's coast? How many shells do you have to bomb them? At most, you can only bomb cities like Guangzhou and Shanghai, but if you use your last fuel reserves for this...

The Japanese troops on the Korean Peninsula would immediately starve or be trapped to death. All the transport ships and supply ships shuttling back and forth across the Korean Strait would need to burn coal. Japan has even started building sailing transport ships in order to save coal.

Some might ask, since Japan doesn't produce coal domestically, can't it import it from elsewhere? Well, previously, Japan's largest source of imported coal was China.

After the war began, China stopped exporting even a single gram of coal to Japan.

Of course, Japan could also choose to import coal from Europe and North America, but with current maritime technology and transportation capabilities, the cost of importing coal from such a long distance would be unacceptable to Japan.

Despite Komura Jutaro's loud pronouncements, everyone knows that Japan's war resources are currently being poured into the Korean War, leaving no resources for naval development. Even Japan's ambitious Eight-Eight Fleet plan has been indefinitely postponed.

With unrest raging across Japan, even shipyards were affected, and the riots caused problems with the maintenance and upkeep of Japanese naval vessels. How dare you talk about launching a full-scale attack on China? That's a joke.

The National Defense Force has almost exhausted its logistics for a single raid involving tens of thousands of troops. If Japan still had the resources to send a large number of naval forces thousands of miles to bomb the Chinese coastline, Zhao Yan would immediately admit defeat. Unfortunately, the Japanese cannot do that.

The resources required to deploy a large naval fleet, from preparation to departure and the start of combat, are terrifying.

Komura Jutaro was out of ideas, but Gao Dewu still had some tricks up his sleeve. Gao Dewu openly announced to the representatives of various countries that he would launch the "Korean Great Wall Project." As the name suggests, the project was to build a Great Wall defense line in Korea.

The plan is expected to begin in April or May after the spring planting season, mobilizing a million workers and investing massive resources to build a Great Wall defense line across the entire Korean Peninsula along the existing control line.

The representatives from various countries fell silent after hearing this. If others said such things, everyone would think it was just bragging, but when the Chinese said such things, everyone would think about it seriously.

The Chinese are known for their love of building cities. They have been infrastructure powerhouses for more than two thousand years. Even today, no country would dare to build a project like the Great Wall.

Moreover, which Chinese city wasn't enormous, with city walls often stretching for tens of kilometers?

The Chinese people's ability to build city walls is universally recognized. When the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded China, what shocked them the most was seeing the city walls of Beijing, which were so long and high!

After entering the city, they discovered that there was an inner city wall, the Forbidden City, which was still ridiculously long and high. Then, after conquering Beijing, the foreigners discovered the Great Wall, and the Badaling section of the Great Wall was built on cliffs.

Now that the Chinese are saying they want to build a Great Wall in North Korea, no one doubts their capabilities.

Japan has even less reason to doubt. Compared to the Great Wall of Korea, the Japanese are more afraid of China's emphasis on the Korean Peninsula. They're even building a Great Wall; it's clearly an attempt to annex Korea, something Japan cannot accept.

Attacking China's vassal states and attacking China's mainland are two different concepts. If China built the Great Wall around Korea and annexed it, turning it into its own mainland, Japan would no longer have the idea of ​​using the mainland as a springboard.

The peace talks adjourned after Ko Deok-moo announced the North Korean Great Wall plan. The news was so shocking that everyone needed time to process it.

In reality, Gao Dewu was just engaging in diplomatic fraud. The central government had no plans to build a Great Wall in North Korea, nor did it have the capacity or resources to build a Great Wall spanning hundreds of kilometers across the peninsula.

With that effort and energy, it would be better to build another highway on our own soil.

Zhao Yan's three-pronged approach was unveiled one after another. The first was the surprise attack on Wochuan, and the second was propaganda fraud.

The raid on Okchon was still ongoing when the propaganda and deception in Shanghai began; the North Korean Great Wall Project was just the beginning.

On March 28, news suddenly broke from Beijing that President Zhao Yan was about to leave the capital to inspect land reclamation work in Northeast China.

The news came from unofficial channels; officially, it was simply that Zhao Yan, in his capacity as head of state, inspected agricultural development in Northeast China.

But no one who heard this, especially the Japanese, believed it. Zhao Yan went to the Northeast simply to inspect agriculture? What a load of rubbish!

At the end of January, after Zhao Yan finished fighting Russia and withdrew his troops back to China, his whereabouts became unknown. The Japanese and British were terrified, fearing that Zhao Yan would suddenly appear before them like a divine being.

Then in February, Zhao Yan appeared in Beijing, which relieved everyone.

But now Zhao Yan is leaving Beijing again. Who knows if he's going to inspect agriculture or sneak into North Korea to recruit people?

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China quickly issued a statement denying the rumors, stating that Head of State Zhao Yan was unwell and had no plans to travel or inspect the country in the near future. He was recuperating in the Forbidden City and asked all countries not to speculate excessively or to develop any negative thoughts as a result.

It would have been fine if they hadn't denied it, but the denial only made everyone think that Zhao Yan was about to cause trouble again and personally lead the troops to the front lines.

At the same time, the Ministry of Industry of the Republic began to urge the development of the construction industry in various regions, and built many large-scale cement, brick and stone and other building material factories in various places.

Hanyang Steel Plant, currently China's largest steel company, has also announced that it has successfully overcome technical difficulties and can now mass-produce various types of high-strength steel bars and other materials.

These are not some deceptive tricks, but the result of real money and manpower being invested.

Various countries began to discuss these matters. First, they discussed building the Great Wall in Korea. Then, Zhao Yan was about to inspect the Northeast. Everyone began to believe that Zhao Yan was going to personally lead the army to the front lines, completely drive the Japanese out of the Korean Peninsula, and then build a "Pacific Wall" on the peninsula to completely expel the Japanese from the East Asian mainland.

After this series of deceptions, the Japanese felt like the sky was falling. They couldn't understand why the Chinese could withstand the pressure and continue to exhaust themselves; it just didn't make sense.

Logically speaking, China should also be on the verge of bankruptcy, with war raging on its own soil. So why is Zhao Yan still able to maintain his base?

The Chinese people's patience and amazing perseverance are truly beyond our reach. Even in this situation, no ordinary people have jumped out to rebel. On the contrary, on their own side, the four islands of Japan, revolutionaries are everywhere clamoring to overthrow the emperor and realize communism.

Zhao Yan's final move: exporting revolution! This tactic was extremely painful for the Japanese. What Zhao Yan did was disgusting. He promoted nationalist revolution domestically and then exported communist revolution abroad—a classic case of false advertising! Even the Russians couldn't withstand this tactic, and the Japanese were even less able to resist it.

Even the British, who are known for stirring up trouble, found Zhao Yan's attempt to export revolution disgusting. Luckily, China is so far from Europe, otherwise Europe would not have been able to withstand this kind of revolutionary export!

As April approached, news came from the Korean front: the Japanese army had suffered an unsurprising defeat in the Battle of Okchon, with two Japanese divisions suffering heavy losses and the Okchon salient being completely wiped out by the National Defense Army.

There was no news from Beijing, especially not about Zhao Yan. There was absolutely no information. When asked, people said that the head of state was recuperating in the Forbidden City. But when you asked to visit him in person, people said that the head of state had contracted an infectious disease and could not receive guests.

Everyone who heard this had their doubts, constantly wondering if Zhao Yan had secretly come to the front line to prepare a new offensive.

In reality, Zhao Yan was obediently staying in the Imperial Study, grinding tofu with a millstone. After risking his life in a battle last year, he almost lost his life and barely escaped with his life. He was unwilling to take the risk again.

Even if Zhao Yan himself was willing, the other high-ranking officials would never agree; it was too risky.

Moreover, the country's strength no longer supports continuing the war. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' denial and the official statement about recuperating are true, but foreigners just don't believe it.

Zhao Yan also remained mysterious, refusing to appear in public and staying in the Imperial Study like a recluse. Apart from a very few people who could see Zhao Yan in person, everyone else could only hear about him through rumors.

On April 1st, April Fool's Day, Zhao Yan even sent out banquet invitations to many foreign representatives in Beijing in a mischievous way. However, when the people rushed over to see Zhao Yan in person, the authorities said it was an April Fool's Day prank, leaving a large group of diplomats speechless.

On April 4th, facing the dual pressures of the battlefield and the negotiating table, coupled with the continuous turmoil in the domestic situation, the Japanese finally could not withstand it and chose to bow their heads and compromise.

The Japanese suspected the possibility of Chinese fraud, but they couldn't afford to gamble any longer. If they did, Japan would be the first to collapse.

Especially after the British began to neglect Japan, Japan's external support became increasingly close to zero. The British are now Japan's only ally, but their strategic focus has shifted entirely to Europe, and they no longer care about the Far East.

As long as China and Japan do not form an alliance and remain hostile, the British are quite at ease about the situation in the Far East.

Unable to endure any longer, Japan has finally begun to abandon its illusions and choose to engage in pragmatic negotiations.

Japan abandoned unrealistic ideas such as paying reparations and ceding territory, and pragmatically proposed a compromise and exchange, indicating that it was willing to discuss how to completely eliminate the conflicts in East Asia.

Gao Dewu was very satisfied with the Japanese for taking the initiative to back down and compromise, and naturally abandoned their previous exorbitant demands.

None of Zhao Yan's underhanded tactics were intended to make the Japanese completely back down. Even if Su Qin were alive today, he couldn't make Japan back down just by deception and trickery.

At most, they'll just have to face reality and give up those fantasies.

The representatives of China and Japan finally began serious negotiations, which relieved other countries, especially Britain. They were being dragged along by Japan, and since the Japanese were not taking the talks seriously, Britain could not remain uninvolved and could only continue to drag things out.

Chapter 130 Treaty of Shanghai

On April 17, 1908, the Far East War disputes and negotiations in Shanghai had been going on for almost two months. Representatives from various parties had successively reached peace agreements with China, and the most important countries, Britain and Japan, had also begun pragmatic consultations with China on core issues.

The British simply didn't have the energy to get involved in Far Eastern affairs. The arms race initiated by Germany in Europe was becoming increasingly outrageous, so the British chose to make concessions in the negotiations.

If the Chinese army withdraws from Burma and returns to China, and the Republican government protects the legal property rights of Hong Kong, other British concessions, and all British expatriates in China, Britain agrees to return all Chinese concessions and renounce all previous unequal treaties and indemnities.

At the same time, the British government also demanded that China abolish all previous discriminatory policies against British businesses, allow British merchants and capital to invest and profit in China, and release all British prisoners of war.

These conditions are not excessive and are reasonable, even generous. After all, Britain is a world superpower, and to have pushed the other side to this point can be considered a victory.

Gao Dewu expressed satisfaction and readily agreed, but on conditions: market opening must be reciprocal; whatever level China reaches, the UK, the Commonwealth, and British colonies must also reach the same level. If the UK engages in trade discrimination or barriers against China, China will take reciprocal measures in return.

British nationals' assets in China are protected, but China reserves the right to prosecute any assets illegally acquired or crimes committed in the past.

There weren't too many problems with the release of prisoners of war, but the Chinese side had to confirm that its prisoners of war had not been mistreated by the British and that the British prisoners of war had not committed war crimes on Chinese soil!

At the same time, China demanded that Britain dissolve the Anglo-Japanese Alliance Treaty with Japan after the war, as such a treaty posed a huge strategic threat to China.

The British accepted all other conditions, but rejected the proposal to dissolve the Anglo-Japanese Alliance outright. The British were simply shifting their main focus back to Europe, rather than completely ignoring the Far East.

However, Britain also stated that it would amend its alliance agreement with Japan and would not support Japan's invasion of other countries. The alliance agreement would only be activated if Japan itself were invaded.

Seeing that the British were not fooled, Gao Dewu did not pursue the matter further and quickly drafted a peace treaty with the British, which was then submitted to the capital for approval.

Finally, there were the negotiations with the Japanese. The negotiations between China and Japan were the most important part of the Shanghai talks, and the contradictions and differences between the two sides were also enormous.

Japan could no longer hold on. War broke out on the four main islands, with various revolutionary uprisings erupting one after another. Although they were small in scale and were all forcefully suppressed, the turmoil in the domestic situation was still unavoidable.

Japan has completely abandoned its ambitions toward mainland China. No matter how hardline the pro-China faction is, they no longer dare to talk about conquering China. The current mainstream attitude in Japan is to end the state of war with China as soon as possible and sort things out domestically first. If the basic foundation cannot be stabilized, everything else is just wishful thinking.

Japan has brought up the Kwantung Leased Territory and Taiwan as bargaining chips, indicating that these are open to discussion, but only in exchange for benefits.

Gao Dewu also wanted to take a hard line and see if he could get the two territories back without losing money, but the central government urgently ordered him to speed up the negotiations, as the domestic situation had changed.

After the beginning of spring this year, famine and drought broke out in the Central Plains, large-scale ice jams occurred in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, and grain prices began to rise in the southern regions. The national strength was nearing its limit and was being drained dry. The national finances were practically bankrupt, and the national treasury could no longer produce silver.

Fortunately, a series of great victories brought immense national prestige, which prevented domestic unrest. The current situation in China is not much better than in Japan. It's just that the Chinese are too good at enduring hardship. The starvation of tens of thousands of people is nothing more than a trivial matter that is not worth recording in official records, and the people have become accustomed to such things.

However, Zhao Yan, as the leader of the country, could not ignore the fact that the government was able to withstand the financial bankruptcy, the Yellow River and the floods in the Northeast, the soaring grain prices in various places, and the famine spreading in the Central Plains. The fact that the government could still withstand these things was because the people had high tolerance, not because the government was so powerful.

The public's patience has its limits. You might think there's nothing wrong and then ignore it, but when something actually happens, it's like the sky is falling and the earth is collapsing.

The country could no longer withstand the enormous costs of war; otherwise, Zhao Yan would not have bothered with any peace talks and would have simply taken advantage of Japan's collapse to destroy them!

The secret instructions from the central government made Gao Dewu abandon his petty schemes and seriously discuss the conflicts between the two sides with Japan.

First and foremost is the core issue of the Korean Peninsula. Japan proposed withdrawing from the Kwantung Leased Territory and returning Taiwan Island in exchange for the complete withdrawal of Chinese troops from the Korean Peninsula. However, Gao Dewu resolutely refused, saying that such an exchange would be too unfair.

What is the Korean Peninsula? It's right on the doorstep of Northeast China. The three northeastern provinces were occupied by Japan right on our doorstep. How could we dare to develop Northeast China after the war?

Gao Dewu proposed that the National Defense Army could withdraw to the north of the Han River, with Seoul to be jointly governed by both sides, in exchange for the return of Lushun and Taiwan.

The Japanese immediately became furious upon hearing this. They thought, "How can you be so greedy? How can you exchange benefits like this?"

The two sides still have significant differences. The Japanese want to acquire the Korean Peninsula to achieve Japan-Korea integration and become a half-continental country. This has been Japan's long-cherished wish for thousands of years. Every island nation has a continental dream in its heart.

Japan has now basically given up its ambitions for mainland China. With a formidable figure like Zhao Yan around, its dream of conquering Manchuria and unifying East Asia is now just a pipe dream.

Japan's core demand now is to preserve the Korean Peninsula, the greatest achievement since the Meiji Restoration. Some members of the upper echelons in Japan have even changed their views and proposed a policy of good neighborliness and friendship with China. Since they can no longer fight, they want to find ways to live together peacefully.

But Zhao Yan had no intention of maintaining friendly relations with Japan; who the hell would want to hide such a huge landmine by their pillow?

However, Zhao Yan simply doesn't have the strength to defeat Japan right now, so he can only compromise and try to get through the most difficult period first.

Even when negotiations between China and Japan reached the practical consultation stage, it was still difficult to reach a consensus.

Finally, Britain and France intervened simultaneously, pressuring both China and Japan to back down. The French proposed dividing the Korean Peninsula along the 38th parallel north, advising China not to be too greedy, and suggesting that the two major cities on the Korean Peninsula be Pyongyang and Seoul, one on each side.

Using the Han River as the boundary is too greedy. It's really going too far. Even the French think it's outrageous. They've already given up a fortress like Port Arthur in exchange. The Chinese have no choice but to back down.

Zhao Yan's secret instructions to Gao Dewu were simple: Lushun and Taiwan must be taken back, and a sufficient price must be paid for this. If necessary, Sakhalin Island and the northern peninsula, which could be taken back from the Russians, could also be used as bargaining chips.

The bottom line on the Korean Peninsula is the 39th parallel north; everything else can be abandoned. The purpose of taking over the Korean Peninsula is to open up a sea outlet for Northeast China.

The French proposed dividing the Korean Peninsula along the 38th parallel, which was very much in the style of European mapmaking, but it still just happened to be within the acceptable range for both China and Japan.

After all, France is a mediator, the leading power in Europe, and the world's second-largest economy; everyone has to give it face.

Both China and Japan readily agreed to the proposal, but Japan demanded that China also include the northern peninsula of Sakhalin Island, which it had just reclaimed from Russia. Gao Dewu rejected this demand without hesitation.

Having been rebuffed, Japan had no choice but to abandon this demand and began negotiations with China on the details.

As for Taiwan, which was included as a bonus, both sides at the meeting treated it as a mere gift and did not pay much attention to it. Japan had only had Taiwan for about ten years and had not invested much in it. Moreover, there was constant resistance on Taiwan, and the output was far lower than the investment. It was just a useless piece of junk.

The Japanese even considered selling Taiwan to the French, but the French felt it wasn't worthwhile and didn't agree.

But in Zhao Yan's eyes, this island was comparable to Lushun, and in some ways even more important, because Taiwan Island and the Taiwan Strait controlled the entire north-south sea trade route of China, and even in the future, China's international shipping routes would have to pass through here in large numbers.

From now on, China's external development and domestic investment attraction will all be inseparable from the Taiwan Strait route.