Consulate General of Japan in Shanghai.

Shanghai, the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Today is the day when the consulate invites the personnel of foreign consulates and heads of foreign institutions to hold a New Year's reception.

It will be carried out simultaneously with the Nanjing Embassy.

This is a very important day.

This is Japan's best chance to reassert itself to the international community.

On February 24, 1933, the General Assembly of the League of Nations voted 42-1 to adopt a statement denying the legitimacy of the puppet "Manchukuo" and demanding that Japan return Northeast China to China.

Japan, the only country to vote for itself, looked extremely aggrieved.

At the meeting, Japan's special and plenipotentiary ambassador Matsuoka Yoyo made a big statement:

In order to hold back the nascent communist Soviet Union and resist the expansion of the Bolsheviks in the Far East, Japan established Manchukuo and took the lead despite bloodshed and sacrifice, but it was not understood by Europe and the United States!

He announced Japan's withdrawal from the League of Nations on the spot, and immediately led his subordinates to leave the field angrily.

When Matsuoka returned to Tokyo, a large number of people gathered at the train station to greet him, and Matsuoka, who had left the League of Nations meeting in a dashing manner, walked through the crowd like a triumphant general.

On March 27, the Japanese government issued a notice officially announcing Japan's withdrawal from the League of Nations.

After the outbreak of the Songhu War of Resistance, Japan continued to suffer strong political and public opinion pressure in the international community, forcing them to put out fires everywhere.

Recently, there has been some news that the Japanese army occupying Nanjing has committed "very unbearable and terrible" evil deeds in this historic city of China.

Of course, the Japanese side has tried its best to deny it, and all of them have defended it as a rumor.

To this end, they specially instructed the officers on the front line to take a large number of photos and forge a large amount of evidence in an attempt to prove that the "Imperial Army" of the Japanese Empire was a "friendly army" that was used by the local Chinese people!

Shanghai and Nanjing made full preparations to ensure the success of this reception.

Consul of the Consulate General of Japan in Shanghai, Kimasa Okamoto, personally took charge of the reception.

Early this morning, he received a call from the embassy in Nanjing, the German named Johann Rabe, on the first day of the new year, all the servants and employees solemnly greeted him, and the refugees lined up in the courtyard to bow to him three times. Many of the young girls thanked Rabe for protecting them and saving them.

The Chinese offered him a piece of red silk cloth 3 meters long and 2 meters wide, with the words "You are a living bodhisattva of hundreds of thousands of people".

That's a bad sign.

And this also confirms how important today's reception is and how heavy the pressure is on yourself from another side.

Inside and outside the consulate, the Japanese became more and more nervous.

Soon, the reception will begin.

At noon, foreigners came to the consulate one after another......

……

Great Bright Cinema.

Meng Shaoyuan walked into this movie theater.

In the past, almost all of the films shown here were American films, and it was also a favorite place for Shanghai residents.

Wu Jingyi had already arrived.

The projectionist was brought in.

He looked a little scared.

Inexplicably, since yesterday, he has been controlled.

Yesterday was Chinese New Year's Eve, and he actually spent a night in the cinema.

A few men with special weapons kept an eye on him.

Of course, the attitude is still good.

His wife and children were specially taken to the cinema, and they were given food and drinks, and told them that as long as they did what they told him on the first day of the new year, he would be free.

But what are these people going to do?

"Name?"

Meng Shaoyuan looked at him and asked.

"Ma Guisheng."

"Shanghainese? How many years have you been in this business? ”

"Yes, I'm from Shanghai, and I've been doing this for three years."

"That's an old projectionist." Meng Shaoyuan said lightly: "Today, I want you to screen a few rolls of film, and it will start on time at two o'clock in the afternoon." You can go debug it. ”

Along with the film, there was a check for three thousand oceans.

Ma Gui has never seen such a large amount of money when he has grown so big.

"This ...... This is for me? Ma Guisheng didn't seem to believe it.

……

"Your Excellency Consul, it seems that there are not many reporters coming today, most of them are Japanese reporters."

"Let's take a look, what's going on?"

"Also, Yoshio Manta from the War Department came and said that there might be a terrorist activity against the reception today."

"Don't panic, go, call the Ministry of Industry Bureau, continue to put pressure on them, let them send more patrols, and let our people take strict precautions."

"Yes."

……

"Sir."

Ma Guisheng, who had finished debugging, walked out, his eyes were red, and his voice was choked up when he spoke: "After preliminary debugging, the film can be projected normally...... I saw it, it was miserable, it was miserable...... So many compatriots......"

He suddenly squatted on the ground and let out a howl of "wow".

"Get up and wipe away your tears."

Meng Shaoyuan's voice was extremely firm: "Therefore, we must tell everyone what happened in Nanjing clearly and show the truth in front of the world." Brother, you're an expert, please. ”

Ma Guisheng stood up, wiped his tears a few times, and took out the check: "Sir, I can't accept this money." Today I'm going to give it to you for free. ”

"This is the ...... you deserve"

"No, sir." Ma Guisheng laughed miserably: "So many compatriots have died, if I receive this money, will I still be considered a person?" ”

"Thank you." Meng Shaoyuan tried his best to control his emotions: "We asked someone from Kodak Shanghai to edit these films for us, and added additional explanatory texts. Your responsibility is to show it in its entirety. ”

"Don't worry, sir."

At this moment, Ma Guisheng felt that he had no hesitation!

……

"John Sheaway, Vice Consul of the U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai!"

John S. S. Tsewell, whose real name was Sevis, was born into a family of American missionaries in Chengdu, China, and is an authentic Chinese expert.

At the same time, he is also one of the foreigners who have a strong sympathetic attitude towards China.

"Welcome, Mr. Vice Consul."

Kimasa Okamoto greeted him with a smile on his face: "It is our honor to have you here, and it will also greatly promote Japan-US relations. ”

"Maybe." Xie Weisi shrugged his shoulders noncommittally.

He knew that what the Japanese were going to do today was nothing more than glorify their war crimes.

What made him very helpless was that the U.S. government was too accommodating and soft in dealing with Japan, which also contributed to Japan's careless attitude.

In any case, it is this land that suffers!

……

Meng Shaoyuan lit a cigarette.

People have already come to the cinema one after another.

Journalists from the media, staff from various institutions in Shanghai, and even a few officials from the Ministry of Industry and Bureau.

Among them were Joy Fremont and Hawes, members of the Shanghai Public Mutual Aid Association.

Cai Xuefei also came accompanied by Steward Qiu.

This was something Meng Shaoyuan didn't expect: "Madam, you are not suitable to come here. ”

"Why?" Cai Xuefei asked rhetorically.

"Because ......" Meng Shaoyuan hesitated for a moment and said, "Because the film that will be shown for a while will cause you extreme discomfort." ”

"I volunteered." Cai Xuefei said very calmly: "I, and all the others, want to know the truth and what happened in Nanjing!" ”

……

"Distinguished gentlemen."

Almost all the invited guests arrived, and Kimasa Okamoto, who was full of spring breeze, welcomed him as usual, and then quickly turned the conversation to the real purpose of the day.

He showed the guests a lot of photos.

In the photo, there are Chinese civilians waving to welcome the Japanese army into the city. Some Chinese people took "intimate" photos with the Japanese army there.

There is even a photo of a Japanese soldier carrying an old Chinese lady on his back.

What a great "goodwill"......

……

Daguang Cinema, 2 p.m.

The vast majority of people arrived.

In the loudspeaker, a voice sounded slowly: "Today is the traditional Chinese New Year, I should have said some words of congratulations, but I really can't say it." Let the film tell you. I must remind you that there are only three 37-minute reels of 37 minutes that were screened today, and they were shot with a 16mm camera. There are many volumes in total, but we have only selected three volumes for screening, because the content in them may cause extreme discomfort......"

After Meng Shaoyuan finished speaking, he looked at Ma Guisheng beside him, and then nodded slowly.

……

"Distinguished gentlemen and ladies."

Okamoto Jimasa's voice was impassioned: "What I have just shown you is the strict military discipline displayed by the soldiers of the Great Japanese Empire in the city of Nanjing, and the Nationalist Government is extremely corrupt and brazenly provoked this war. Everywhere the Japanese Imperial Army went, it was generally welcomed by the Chinese people, which also proves ......"

Sinclair, the police director of the Shanghai Public Concession Bureau, and Xie Weisi's assistant quietly walked in, and the two of them whispered something in the ears of Moyes and Xie Weisi, the general directors of the Ministry of Industry Bureau.

Moyes and Xie Weiss both changed their faces.

The two of them deliberated in a low voice for a while, and it seemed difficult to make a decision.

In the end, Xie Weisi made up his mind: "Mr. Moyes, there must be something to do, since that person has already done this, he will not stop." If we don't act, we will fall into a great deal of passivity. ”

"Okay."

Moyes sighed, "What a madman. ”

Then, he raised his voice sharply: "Dear Mr. Consul, please forgive me for rudely interrupting your speech, but something is happening in the Great Light Cinema. I recommend anyone who is interested to go there and have a look. ”

Okamoto Ji was stunned: "Mr. Dong, what do you mean by these words?" ”

"The truth, don't we always tell the truth?" Moyes said in a solemn tone: "You have the truth, but the Chinese also have their own truth, but what the truth is, I think we can only tell it with our own eyes!" ”