Victory and peace talks

Sinking a cruiser, a destroyer was hit by a shell and lost its power. He was drifting on the sea, waiting for him to receive it. The smile on the face of the commander Li Guosheng can only be described as excitement at this moment.

Looking at everyone's eyes looking at them, he directly ordered: "Adminton, immediately notify the Navy Captain Sun Hai, to draw two gunboats and training ships to the combat waters, receive the Japanese destroyer that has lost power, and drag it back to the military port. Of course, if the Japanese on the destroyer does not surrender, then I will destroy him. At the same time, draw another gunboat and rush to the silent waters of the Japanese cruiser to see if they can seize some useful things on the sea..."

"Yes, the military squad..."

The Yufeng destroyer, which had lost power, was directly surrendered in the face of two gunboats and training ships under the Ninth Army because of an order from Yin Tengzhongzuo before his death, and became a prisoner of the Ninth Army. As for the gunboats that went to the sunken waters of the Tenlong cruiser, they also successfully brought back more than 40 Japanese Navy prisoners of war who surrendered.

The capture lost power, but after large-scale renovation, the Japanese Navy Usaki destroyer was definitely able to continue to be used. It captured 216 Japanese Navy officers and soldiers, sunk the Japanese Navy Tianlong cruiser, and injured the Japanese Navy Akifeng destroyer. For Li Guosheng's Ninth Army, it was definitely a huge victory that had never been seen before.

After all, in response to this naval battle, I only dispatched a shore defense artillery regiment that had just been formed for less than two months. At the same time, during the battle, the entire shore defense artillery regiment only paid a small price for four guns being destroyed, 128 officers and soldiers were killed, and eight German instructors were killed.

After resolving the Qingdao crisis, Li Guosheng returned directly to the military headquarters in Weixian and began to discuss the relationship between himself and Japan's conquest after the end of this naval war.

Faced with such huge results, and it was China's first battle to defeat the Japanese Navy since the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. Whether it was Chief of Staff Jiang Baili or Deputy Commander Li Guanghua, after receiving this news from Li Guosheng, the first thought that arose in his heart was to immediately spread the victory through telegrams, to boost the morale of the Chinese people and the morale of the Ninth Army.

However, on the way back to Weixian, Li Guosheng, who had been thinking and thinking for several hours, did not think so.

As of the current situation, the army's equipment is completely relied on purchases, and the ammunition has just become self-produced, and there is no naval force that can be taken, or even an air force fighter. The high price paid by the Japanese army is definitely not something that the current Ninth Army can bear.

Not to mention anything else. Just looking at the geographical location of the Eastern Shandong Special Zone from the map is enough to force Li Guosheng to treat it with caution. The Eastern Shandong Special Zone he occupied is located near the sea and connected to the mainland. Both from land and from the sea, it has a huge transportation advantage. However, this advantage can only be placed in normal times, not in wartime.

It is certain that once a war occurs with the outside world, or if his own strength is constrained by other military forces outside the world, the National Government commanded by Chiang Kai-shek will again impose an economic blockade on the Eastern Shandong Special Zone under its control. At that time, all land routes to the Eastern Shandong Special Zone will be cut off at the first time without exception. This means that all land routes to the Eastern Shandong Special Zone will be lost.

Let’s look at the sea and land. If you rely on this battle, you will now turn against the Japanese government and become the opponent’s mortal enemy. It can be said that under the blockade of the Japanese government’s strong naval power, all sea routes from eastern Shandong to the outside world will be severely blocked. At that time, the entire Shandong Special Zone will be completely isolated by various forces and become an isolated island...

Therefore, with his economic strength and military strength... just in the rising stage, Li Guosheng definitely does not want to be isolated. Because, once he is isolated, the Ninth Army, in such a terrible situation, could not stop the Japanese government from invading the entire country by relying so much on the small land of the Eastern Shandong Special Administrative Region. At that time, there will be no other way out except for destruction.

Thinking of this, Li Guosheng refused with a firm look on his face and said, "Chief of Staff, Lao Li, now is definitely not the time for us and the Japanese army to turn against each other. Therefore, we not only cannot promote this battle, but also must conceal it as much as possible. And on this condition, we force a settlement with the Japanese government and resolve the dispute between the two armies..."

"Why..." Chief of Staff Jiang Baili and Deputy Commander Li Guanghua asked almost subconsciously.

In the eyes of the two, Li Guosheng's behavior at this moment was no different from the Qing government decades ago. Even though he clearly defeated the other party, he had to compromise and negotiate with the other party, begging the other party to let him go.

Seeing the changing faces of the two, Li Guosheng certainly knew what they thought. After all, this decision was made after he thought carefully along the way. Although it seemed a bit contributing to the current Ninth Army, it definitely has great benefits.

So, under the shocked and puzzled eyes of the two, Li Guosheng told the bad situation facing the Ninth Army bit by bit.

Without analysis, I don’t know that after Li Guosheng’s analysis, even Jiang Baili, who is known as the “Three Heroes”, had sweat beads as big as beans on his forehead because of his nervousness.

After breathing a long sigh, Chief of Staff Jiang Baili said with a look of gratitude: "You are still considerate in the military. Now we do need to continue to forbear and develop. Otherwise, once our true strength attracts the attention and concern of all forces, we who are in a corner will be completely isolated. At that time, even if our Ninth Army has a strong army, we will only have the ability to protect ourselves, no, or even have the ability to protect ourselves..."

"I also agree with the military captain's opinion. Now our best way to develop is to endure. Until one day we don't need to rely on the outside world. We can develop on our own. It is the best time for our Ninth Army to show our strong force to the outside world and carry out military revenge on the Japanese..." Deputy Commander Li Guanghua said immediately afterwards.

The two partners agreed, and Li Guosheng immediately expressed his thoughts and arrangements: "Since both the Chief of Staff and Lao Li agreed, then our main policy direction has been decided..."

"Next, we will start our first step, first showing our kindness to the Japanese government. Of course, this kindness must also be of a degree. We cannot make the other party feel that we are begging them. After all, we have won this battle. Let the Japanese government know a fact that even if the Japanese government sends another fleet, we can still win..."

"I mean, like the last negotiation with the Japanese army, I took advantage of the defeat of the Japanese Navy and threatened the Japanese government. As the strongest naval force in Asia, I am sure that they must not want the news of their failure on the Chinese battlefield to spread."

"In addition, the new cabinet of the Japanese government has just been established, and the newly appointed Prime Minister Yuyuki Hamaguchi must not want the country that has just stabilized to fall into turmoil again due to this failure. Therefore, as long as our demands are not excessive, we will give enough face and certain benefits to the Japanese government. This naval battle that has lost face to Japan will definitely be exposed by the Japanese government as a military conflict." Li Guosheng said confidently.

Chief of Staff Jiang Baili nodded in agreement and said, "I agree with the idea of ​​the military captain."

"I have studied in Japan. I have a very good understanding of the atmosphere and government atmosphere in Japan. Such a defeat happened to the navy that Japan is proud of. Once it is made public, it can be imagined that it will not only cause a sensation in the entire Japan, but also a huge blow to the Japanese government. Therefore, for the sake of one's own face and for the morale of one's own troops, the Japanese government, which has experienced two consecutive defeats in the army, will definitely save the last fig leaf of the navy at all costs..."

"But, military captain. How should we inform the Japanese government of our kindness and ideas?" Jiang Baili's face was once again covered by a puzzled look.

"The telegram is definitely not good... Let's not say that we don't know the password of the Japanese army. Even if we know the password, there is no high-power radio station in our hands that can contact Japan's local area..." Li Guanghua said immediately afterwards.

Chief of Staff Jiang Baili and Deputy Commander Li Guanghua, the two of them looked at Li Guosheng again. A smile slowly appeared on Li Guosheng's face. He spoke to the two of them with a firm look on their faces: "Telecom, let's use telegram to conduct peace talks with the Japanese government..."

"Chief of Staff, Lao Li, we don't have high-power radio stations in our hands. However, there are high-power radio stations in the Japanese consulate located in Jinan City that can directly contact their domestic high-power radio stations. I mean, by seizing Qingdao's radio stations and password books, we will immediately send our ideas to the Japanese government's consulate located in Qingdao City, and the other consulate forward our ideas to their country."

When Li Guosheng, the Ninth Army, began to express his intention to negotiate with the Japanese government through radio waves, the Japanese cabinet, which received the farewell telegram from the Tenlong cruiser, was already in chaos...

The stability maintenance faction headed by Prime Minister Yuyu Hamaguchi, for the stability of the new cabinet and the stability of the entire country, firmly demanded that the navy quell the matter as soon as possible, and make the big things small, so that the failure could not be spread. However, the hardliners led by General Kato, the Prime Minister, firmly demanded that the empire draw heavy troops again and return to Qingdao Military Port, and the shame of the First Blood Tianlong cruiser being sunk. The two factions directly held their own words in Emperor Hirohito's imperial hall, and refused to give in to each other, and soon became a stalemate.

Faced with the two stalemates, Emperor Hirohito also hesitated. Although he had received militarism education since childhood, he agreed with the idea of ​​the Prime Minister from the bottom of his heart, and wanted to draw warships again, take down Qingdao in one fell swoop, and eliminate the Ninth Army, which had been against the Japanese government and had repeatedly caused shame to the Japanese government. However, as the emperor, he was also aware of the current situation in the country and the concerns of Prime Minister Yuyuki Hamaguchi and others.

As Prime Minister Yuyuki Hamaguchi said, the current Japanese government needs peace and development... If the entire country cannot develop effectively, and face the increasingly harsh economic situation in the country, it can be imagined that the military strength of the entire country will be weakened due to the sharp reduction in military spending.

And at this moment, a servant walked into the hall panting, breaking the stalemate in the hall.

"Report to Your Majesty, the Chinese Consulate Jinan has sent an urgent call..."

At the warning of Emperor Hirohito, Prime Minister Yuki Hamaguchi quickly took the message and began to browse...

Suddenly, Prime Minister Yuyuki Hamaguchi, who had just blushed due to the dispute, was immediately covered with a relaxed expression. He spoke directly at Emperor Hirohito in front of him: "Your Majesty. The caller ID of the Jinan Consul: The Ninth Army of China wants to negotiate with our government, and talk to you as a blessing to resolve the dispute at Qingdao Military Port as soon as possible..."

"No... You must not have peace talks with the Ninth Army... The Ninth Army of China sunk a cruiser from our Great Japanese Empire in Qingdao. Capture a destroyer, we must make them pay the price..." Admiral Kato, the Prime Minister, shouted directly with a red face because of his anger.

"Peace talk..." Hearing General Kato's angry words, a contemptuous sneer flashed across Prime Minister Yuyuki Hamaguchi's face. He spoke and retorted to the sea prime minister who had been threatening to return blood to blood.

"Kato, haven't you heard it clearly... The Ninth Army of China is talking about negotiations, not peace talks... The other party said that if we negotiate differently, the news that our Imperial Japanese Navy was defeated in Qingdao, China and was defeated by the Chinese Army will definitely spread all over the world at the first time..."

"A few months ago, the army's two consecutive failures had already made the Great Japanese Empire lose face in front of the world. Do you still want to let the Great Japanese Empire's Navy be in the face? Do you want all the people of the Empire to know that the naval forces formed by the Empire spent a lot of military expenses were unbeaten even the cowardly Chinese team?"

After asking repeatedly, General Kato, who was still determined just now, finally began to move. However, for his own face and for the sake of the Navy, he still asked stubbornly.

"Even so, Prime Minister. Could it be that we can let the Ninth Army go so easily and let the Navy lose a cruiser and a destroyer in vain..." As he said this, the sea prime minister turned directly to Emperor Hirohito in the hall and spoke.

"Your Majesty, please make the decision for the navy. Our Japanese Imperial Navy forces must not lose two ships in vain..."

"Please make the decision for the navy..." The hardliner led by the Prime Minister Kato stood up at the same time and shouted in unison to Emperor Hirohito in front of him.

"Hanguchi, what do you think?" Emperor Hirohito, who was also embarrassed, directly looked at the Prime Minister and asked.

"Your Majesty, since the Ninth Army of China sent an invitation to negotiate, it means that the other party still has very strong concerns about our country. Because we can obtain conditions that are beneficial to our government in the negotiations. In order to make up for the losses of the Imperial Navy in this naval battle..." Prime Minister Yuyuki Hamaguchi said confidently.

"Yoxi, you have a very good analysis. Since that's the case, then negotiate with the Ninth Army of China to achieve a result that satisfies the navy. However, the negotiations are negotiations. The Imperial ** team, which has suffered many great losses in front of the Ninth Army, must not give up the infiltration of the Ninth Army. Tell the intelligence department that I will give them half a year to understand all the situation of the Ninth Army without any leakage and report to the military headquarters for research..." Emperor Hirohito said with a firm command.

"Hayi, Your Majesty is wise..." Prime Minister Oyuki Hamaguchi breathed a sigh of relief and spoke.

Li Guosheng of the Ninth Army estimated that the Japanese government launched an attack on Shandong East at all costs, and the Japanese government estimated that Li Guosheng announced the news of the defeat of the Japanese Navy...

In this way, with the two sides having concerns and Li Guosheng's repeated tolerance, the entire negotiation went very smoothly.

The Ninth Army commanded by Li Guosheng directly returned all the results of this naval battle (hundreds of Japanese naval prisoners of war, the Yufeng destroyer, which had completely lost power) to the Japanese Navy.

In order to make up for the Japanese government on the surface, Li Guosheng directly agreed to reopen Qingdao to the Japanese government. At the same time, he used his domestic influence to export his very urgently needed coal mine resources to the Japanese government. Of course, Li Guosheng is not a person who only suffers losses but does not take advantage of them.

Taking advantage of the factor of Japan's scarcity of resources, a series of commercial and resource cooperation was directly signed with the Japanese government... In other words, while the Shandong Special Administrative Region, led by Li Guosheng, exported coal resources to the Japanese government, the Japanese government must also export China's scarce copper mine resources to Li Guosheng. Both sides benefited and used each other...

In this way, the entire negotiation, when both sides were eager to eliminate the matter invisibly, ended successfully after less than one day of discussion.

As a victorious side, Li Guosheng has paid all the results of this naval battle, and even some resources. However, such efforts are definitely worth it for the current Ninth Army. Because this negotiation provides Li Guosheng's Ninth Army with a golden development period of at least half a year or two or three years. Li Guosheng believes that with the large amount of advanced technology in his mind, this golden development period will definitely be a period of the rise of his Ninth Army.
Chapter completed!