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Chapter 271 The Contest between China and Japan regarding World War I (Part 1)

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    Although the restoration lasted only twelve days, it was an extremely important turning point in the history of the Republic of China.  This restoration directly led to Duan Qirui's comeback and the rise of the two major warlords of Zhizhi and Fengzhi, and completely overturned the two major legal systems since the Republic of China (Sun Yixian and Yuan Shikai).  After the restoration, the differentiation of interests of the Beiyang Group became more obvious. After the restoration, the military confrontation between Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang finally turned the dispute between the "Presidential Office" and the "State Council" since the founding of the Republic of China into force.  Taking Zhang Xun's restoration as the boundary, since the founding of the Republic of China, the institutional disputes and political disputes between the "cabinet system" and the "presidential system", the Beiyang Group and the Panzi Party (revolutionaries) have evolved into a naked power game and  Military contest.

    What is beneficial to Zhang Hanqing is that with his series of actions, the political situation in Northeast China turned towards Zhang Zuolin faster than in official history.  Zhang Zuolin now seems to be the representative of the entire Northeast, and a faction independent from other political groups is ready to emerge.

    Because of the restoration of Zhang Xun and the call for Dharma protectors, Guangdong Governor Zhu Qinglan invited Sun Yixian to go to Guangdong. Cheng Biguang became independent in the navy and took Sun, Tang Shaoyi, Wang Zhaoming, Wu Tingfang and others south to Guangzhou.  When he arrived in Guangzhou, Duan Qirui was "rebuilding the republic" and refused to restore the 1913 elected Congress that was abolished by Zhang Xun.  As a result, the Congress, which has a majority of KMT members, is completely at a loss.  Therefore, Sun Yat-sen called on members of Congress to go to Guangzhou, convene an extraordinary session of Congress, launch a law-protection movement (also known as the three revolutions), organize a law-protection government and take office as generalissimo, and vow to fight for the Northern Expedition.

    Duan Qirui wants to unify by force, and a military expedition to the south will cost a lot of money. Where will the money come from?  There is only one way to borrow money.  At that time, due to the fierce war in Europe, Britain and France were unable to borrow money, so Japan took the opportunity to move in.  At this time, Duan Qirui also wanted to use Japan's support to achieve his dream of conquering the South and unifying the country, so he re-appointed Cao Rulin and asked him to also serve as the chief financial officer.  Because Cao Cao was a well-known pro-Japanese faction, Duan Qirui later attacked and betrayed the country for the people during this period.

    At this time, the Chinese people's fear and hostility towards Japan were parallel, as can be seen from the reaction to the 21st Anniversary.  Premier Duan is well aware that his reputation is still somewhat different from that of President Yuan - at least in the hands of President Yuan, the Beiyang faction has not been broken down into Zhizhi, Feng, Anhui, etc.  What even President Yuan Da dared not do, if he openly borrowed money from Japan and agreed to some shady conditions, he would be directly accused of treason.

    Since we need the cover of righteousness, regaining the righteousness that led us to join the First World War is a good cover.

    A few years ago, in July 1914, the international situation suddenly changed and the First World War broke out.  To go to war or not to go to war?  If you participate in a war, which side will you fight on?  These issues are a major test for China.

    China initially chose to stay out of the matter.

    Judging from the international and domestic situation at that time, China's neutrality was a natural choice and was in line with China's national conditions.  First, the war has no direct relationship with China.  No matter Germany, Austria, Britain or France, there is no such thing as humanity or justice. They are all robbers who invaded China. There is no need for China to serve the great powers. Moreover, participating in the war has no direct benefit to China.  Second, China is weak and does not have the power to join any party in fighting, nor does it have the power to stop any party's misbehavior in China.  The third is the fear of war with Western powers.  In modern times, China has suffered repeated defeats, setbacks, and humiliations in its wars against the invasion of foreign powers. This has given the Chinese people a latent fear of Western powers and they avoid them.

    However, whether you participate in the war or remain neutral, you still need abilities.  Since China has no power to participate in the war, how about safeguarding its own interests through neutrality?  In an era where the jungle prevails, China's desire to stay out is just wishful thinking.

    Although both sides of the European War had a small number of troops in China, since China was far away from the European battlefield, it would not have a significant impact on the outcome of the war. Therefore, China's restriction of theaters was approved by both warring parties.  It stands to reason that since both sides in the European war have this intention, the war in the Far East seems to be able to be eliminated.  However, China's hope of limiting the theater of war met with resistance from Japan.  At this time, the great powers were involved in the war in Europe and had no time to look eastward. Japan was eager for the war to spread to Asia as soon as possible and take the opportunity to expand its aggression against China.

    On the pretext of declaring war on Germany, the Japanese cabinet passed the decision to join the war.  The day after China declared neutrality, the Japanese fleet appeared in great force off the coast of Jiaozhou Bay, the German leased territory, ready to take advantage of the situation.  On September 2 of that year, Japanese troops landed at Longkou on the north coast of the Shandong Peninsula, far away from Jiaozhou Bay.  This is the second time that Japan has chosen to fight another war on Chinese soil after the Russo-Japanese War.

    In order to prevent the great powers from fighting over each other in China, the Beijing government has long promulgated Article 24 of the "Regulations on Outsider Neutrality of the Republic of China": "The belligerents shall not occupy or engage in belligerent behavior within China's territorial waters; anywhere on China's sea and land,  They are not allowed to rely on it as a base to attack.??people.  The troops, ordnance, and baggage of the belligerent countries are not allowed to pass through China's territory and territorial waters.  Anyone who violates the provisions of the preceding paragraph should listen to Chinese officials to disarm.  ", "When any belligerent country violates China's neutrality regulations, if China uses various methods to prevent it, it shall not be regarded as an act of provocation.  "Obviously, the Chinese government's regulations are fully in line with the principles of international law regarding the rights of neutral countries. If all parties respect the principles of international law, China's sovereignty should be protected.

    But in the jungle era where the jungle prevails, these words are like children playing house, and no adults will take them seriously.  In order to limit the spread of the war in China, the weak Chinese government once again made concessions and was forced to delineate war zones on its own territory to limit the scope of Japanese troops' activities.  On September 3, the Beijing government issued a note to the ministers of various countries and designated Longkou, Laizhou and the surrounding areas connecting Jiaozhou Bay as "war zones."

    However, Japan turned a deaf ear to this.  The Japanese troops who landed first marched westward along the railway, occupied Jinan, controlled the Jiaoji Railway, and finally captured Qingdao on November 7.  In the face of China's protests, Japan actually warned the Chinese government: "Any resistance from China will be considered as aiding Japan's enemies, and China must bear responsibility for all serious consequences arising therefrom." So far, the Chinese government |  All the efforts of the government were in vain, and the desire to avoid the war was finally in vain, and it fell into a situation of "being in the middle but unable to stand".

    This result was actually expected by everyone.  The Chinese government has judged that the showdown between Britain, France, and Russia against Germany, Austria, and Italy will have the greatest impact on China's interests and be full of variables: Shandong's sovereignty.  At that time, Japan's coveting of Shandong was already obvious.

    According to the British "Times" reporter in Beijing, Morrison, Yuan Shikai had expected that Japan might take the opportunity of the war to seize Jiaozhou Bay and the Jiaoji Railway.  In order to avoid this outcome, Yuan Shikai once expressed to the British Minister to China Zhu Erdian that he hoped to join the war and was willing to provide 50,000 troops to besiege Qingdao with the Allied Powers, thereby recovering Jiaozhou Bay and the Jiaoji Railway.  However, Zhu Erdian believed that cooperation with China was unnecessary and rejected China's request to participate in the war.

    Of course, cunning Japan is well aware of China¡¯s intentions and is firmly opposed to this plan.  Japanese Foreign Minister Takaaki Kato issued a warning to the Chinese Minister in Japan, Lu Zongyu: The area is limited and China maintains neutrality, so there is no reason for pre-war.  Kato Takaaki also deceived Lu Zongyu (the then Minister to Japan): "This is for the sake of maintaining peace in East Asia forever. He has no ambition to occupy land, and he sincerely expresses friendship to China. He expresses his sincere friendship to China. He deeply hopes that the Chinese government will trust Japan with sincerity."  It is a good thing for the government to talk honestly with each other when it comes to problems." Blinded by the opposition of Britain and the coercion of Japan, and the outbreak of the national defense movement in Yunnan, Yuan Shikai was anxious to keep peace and no longer considered participating in the war.

    In this way, Japan not only fought a war, but also occupied Qingdao, controlled Jiaodong Bay, and monopolized its interests in Shandong.  The idea of ??China participating in the war for the first time was stillborn.

    As the war in Europe continues, major members of the Allied Powers such as Britain, France, and Russia, after experiencing huge losses, realized that the war would not end in the short term, and they faced many difficulties in winning the war.  Therefore, in order to gather more countries to fight against Germany and to expel German interests in China, the Allies wanted to urge China to participate in the war against Germany.

    In fact, as early as November 7, 1915, the British Minister Juldian and the Russian Minister Kupenschi proposed to the Chinese side that they hoped that China would provide arms exports to the Allied Powers on the condition that they provide loans to China and help China expand its arsenal.  This is a rare opportunity for China - there is no need to attract investment, others provide money and technology, and you can not only train people, but also increase export earnings!

    " Japan was very panicked after receiving the news, and used almost all means and power to prevent China from participating in the war.  Japan's Minister to China, Masashi Hiki, was immediately ordered to go to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to question the matter.  The Beijing government was timid and did not dare to answer truthfully and directly. It even replied to Japan that "after investigation, this matter is untrue, and Britain and Russia have not made any suggestions."  Later, although it was admitted that Russia did hope that China could provide arms to it, it refused because it would hinder neutrality.

    Faced with Japan¡¯s inquiries, the United Kingdom also said that it had not negotiated with China about participating in the war in order to avoid losing Japan¡¯s support at a critical moment.  Subsequently, Japan declared to the governments of Britain, Russia, and France that Japan occupies a special position in China. Regarding China issues, the three Western countries must obtain Japan's consent before they can take action.  Finally, the Allies not only refused China to directly participate in the war, but also allowed Japan to dominate the Allied Far East policy.

    China¡¯s second attempt to join the war also ended in failure.

    Time turns to early 1917, when Germany announced that ¡°vessels from belligerent or neutral countries will be attacked by German submarines,¡± which was known as unrestricted submarine war in history.  Germany's policy of expanding the war has harmed U.S. interests overseas.  On February 3, 1917, the United States announced the cessation of diplomatic relations with Germany and informed China of the situation, hoping to take concerted action.  This move by the United States has put the topic of China's participation in the war on the table.  (Remember the website address: www.hlnovel.com
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