Chapter 81: Unifying the Nation in Action 2

In the telegraph office of the Xu Prefecture Field Headquarters, the ticking of the telegraph machine was as urgent as a death‑summoning talisman. The Radio Operator, sweating profusely, adjusted the frequency, his fingertips fluttering over the keys, yet he could not receive any reply from the Jinan direction. He ripped off his headset and scrambled, crawling, toward President Jiang's office: "Chairman, it's bad! Chairman Li's troops… seem to have not received our telegram!"

President Jiang was pacing by the window; hearing this, he spun around, and the color drained from his face in an instant: "What? What did you say?"

"Chairman Li's troops didn't reply," the Radio Operator's voice trembled, "We sent twelve telegrams in a row, from 'Suspend Operations' to 'Cease Fire Immediately', all vanished like stones sinking in the sea, as if… as if their station had been shut down."

"Damned it!" President Jiang slammed a fist onto the windowsill, making the glass hum, "I should have thought of this earlier! Once that kid gets stubborn, even eight oxen can't pull him back!" He turned and rushed to the door, "Quick, dispatch a plane to Jinan, have the pilot broadcast directly, tell Jingxing not to fire on the Japanese, cease fire at once!"

"Chairman, it's too late," the Secretary burst in clutching a stack of dispatches, his face as pale as paper, "We just received urgent messages from all sides— the Japanese Legation, the Anglo‑American News Agency— that Jinan has already opened fire, saying… saying the Huaxia Army initiated the incident, battling the Japanese at Shangbu."

President Jiang's whole body stiffened, and he glared at him: "Why didn't you come earlier to tell me?!"

"Mainly because we didn't expect…" the Secretary's voice sounded hollow, "Chairman Li's troops advanced so rapidly. We originally sent one urging‑to‑stop telegram per hour, then realized the situation was off and switched to three per hour, yet still… still couldn't keep up."

President Jiang leaned weakly against the wall, closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. He had long foreseen Li Yuxuan's temperament—no sand could be tolerated in his eyes; after the Japanese committed such atrocities in Jinan, how could he possibly endure it? Yet this battle, once fought, would bring unimaginable trouble later.

"You go out first, give me some peace." He waved his hand, his voice full of fatigue.

"Yes, Chairman." The Secretary slipped out quietly, closing the door behind him.

The office was left with only President Jiang. The sunlight outside the window was blinding, yet he felt a chill run through his body. The telegraph machine's ticking still whispered faintly, like fine needles stabbing his heart. He knew that from this moment, the progress of the Northern Expedition, even the whole nation's diplomatic pattern, could be utterly altered by the uncontrolled battle inside Jinan City.

At the same time, in the Prime Minister's Residence in Tokyo, the atmosphere was tense. Prime Minister Tanaka Yiyi slapped a telegram from Jinan onto the conference table; the ashtray was knocked over, ash scattering across the floor.

"Everyone, look at this!" His voice crackled with suppressed anger, "The Army's 'masterpiece'! To make such a huge hole in Jinan, and now the whole Division is about to be wiped out!"

Chief of the Naval General Staff Kato Kanji adjusted his glasses, a mocking smile curling at the corner of his mouth: "I told you the Army was unreliable, didn't I?" He picked up the telegram and swayed it slowly, "They already got news of the Northern Expedition forces moving north, yet still dare to run amok in Jinan, slaughtering diplomatic personnel—that's forcing people to act, isn't it?"

"Baka!" Chief of the Army General Staff Suzuki Shōroku slammed the table, his army boots thudding heavily on the floor, "What do you Navy idiots understand? This is to test the Chinese Army's combat power! Now we know their capabilities, isn't that a good thing?"

"A good thing?" Kato Kanji sneered, "Sending an elite Division in as bait, only a few hundred break out in the end—call that a good thing? Chief Suzuki, your brain must have been kicked by a horse!"

"Say that again?!" Suzuki Shōroku clenched his fists, his knuckles whitening.

"I said you're a fool!" Kato Kanji retorted without backing down, standing up.

"Enough!" Tanaka Yiyi pounded the table, roaring, and the conference room fell silent at once, "I called you here to discuss how to solve the problem, not to argue like street thugs!"

He inhaled deeply, his gaze sweeping over the military and political officials present: "Speak up, what shall we do about this? Jinan's forces have already collapsed; should we send reinforcements for retaliation, or…"

"Prime Minister, I suggest we condemn the Huaxia Army internationally." The Minister of Foreign Affairs spoke first, pushing up his glasses on his nose, "The Jinan Incident was originally a ploy by the Army to probe Huaxia's strengths and weaknesses locally; now that we have gauged the Fifth Army's combat power, we should not enlarge the incident."

He paused, his tone growing more cautious: "Countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States have been watching Huaxia's situation. If we rashly send more troops, we will only draw the International Community's attention, which is detrimental to our long‑term plans. Better to seize the diplomatic initiative, condemn them for 'disrupting peace', and meanwhile hurry to complete the Manzhou layout."

"Nonsense!" the Minister of War retorted immediately, "The blood of the Imperial Army must not be wasted! We must reinforce Qilu, make the Chinese pay, otherwise they will think we are soft and easy to bully!"

"Reinforce how many?" the Minister of the Navy sneered, "The Combined Fleet is preparing operations on the Manchurian front; there's no spare manpower to shift to Shandong. The Army dug its own hole; it must clean it up itself!"

The conference room erupted into chaos again, the Army advocating hard retaliation, the Navy insisting on prioritizing the Manchurian plan, the Foreign Ministry pushing diplomatic maneuvering; all sides clashed, some even slapping the table and accusing each other, like a noisy market of vendors.

Tanaka Yiyi stared at the turmoil, feeling his temples throb. He slammed a hand on the table, stood up, and shouted, "All of you, shut up!"

Everyone fell silent instantly, turning to the iron‑blue‑faced Prime Minister.

"As for the Jinan affair, we'll follow the Foreign Ministry's proposal." Tanaka Yiyi's voice carried undeniable authority, "Internationally we'll condemn them, shift the responsibility to the Chinese Army's 'active provocation'. This tone, we'll tolerate for now."

"Prime Minister!" the Minister of War still wanted to argue.

"I haven't finished." Tanaka Yiyi cut him off coldly, "But that doesn't mean we're done. The Army must immediately reorganize its troops, intensify infiltration of Manchuria, accelerate the 'Manzhou Separation' plan. The Jinan bill, we'll settle it sooner or later, but not now— we cannot let a local clash ruin our whole invasion plan."

He scanned the room, his gaze sharp as a blade: "Remember, our target is all of China, not just Jinan. Small intolerance leads to chaos of great schemes; I don't wish to repeat this lesson a second time."

The conference room fell deathly quiet; everyone understood the Prime Minister had made the final decision. Though the Army generals still wore resentment on their faces, under Tanaka Yiyi's pressure no one dared to object.

"Understood, Prime Minister!" the assembled voices replied in unison, their tones tinged with a hint of bitterness, yet they ultimately accepted the decision.

Tanaka Yiyi looked at them, knowing in his heart that this dispute was only temporarily settled. The Army's warmongers would never be satisfied; Jinan's disastrous defeat was a thorn lodged in their hearts, bound to erupt later with greater ferocity.

Outside, cherry blossoms drifted down, pink petals like a gentle snow, yet they could not conceal the city's underlying war‑like greed. Tanaka Yiyi walked to the window, gazed at the distant Yasukuni Shrine, his eyes deep— the Jinan account must indeed be settled, but not today. When the empire's iron hooves tread Manchuria's soil, when all of Huabei falls under control, then he will turn back to deal with that Chinese commander Li Yuxuan, and it won't be too late.

At this moment, the smoke over Jinan City had not yet cleared.