Going to the Inspectorate for questioning is something that all government officials, including the Prime Minister, hate. After all, no one wants hundreds of grandfathers to beg for shelter and blame themselves, and many times they have to see the newspaper or simply broadcast live on radio and television. However, it is a pity that the system is the system, and questioning is something that has existed since the founding of the country, and after the political reform, the Inspectorate was even bolder, and since then, there have been 19 officials who have lost their positions because of questioning, 37 people have taken the initiative to resign without accepting questions, three have committed suicide, and one of them has failed.

On the twenty-fourth day of the first month of the twenty-sixth year of Shenwu, he was stunned. In the lounge outside the conference hall of the Inspectorate of Doubts, General Zhou Sixu held a cup of tea, or laughed at himself, or bored and told Xu Jingxi about the ability of the old men of the Inspectorate Academy, he accepted many questions as the head of the General Headquarters, compared to Xu Jingxi, a rookie, he still has a lot of 'experience' to teach.

"What's there to nag about," Xu Jingxi held a cigarette in his hand, not caring indifferently, he only asked, "Is Mr. back?" ”

"Looks like it's back." Zhou Sixu said, "But Mr. doesn't come to the capital, for so many years, except for this visit, he has been in Tonghua at other times, and at most he will go to Xinbin." ”

Xinbin is also Yang Rui's fief, but Yang Rui handed it over to Guangxu's brother to take care of. Thinking that Yang Rui would go to Xinbin, Xu Jingxi asked strangely: "What is Mr. going to Xinbin for?" ”

"You don't know yet. Mr. is friends with Guangxu's younger brother, Zaifeng, who is guarding the spirit in Yongling, and he will go to him from time to time to play chess and drink tea. Zhou Sixu whispered, and there was even more implication in his expression.

The revolutionary leader actually became friends with the Tartar emperor's brother, and General Xu Jingxi was stunned for a moment, and he was stunned: "For... Why? ”

"Because Mr. said...... "Zhou Sixu's voice was quieter," ...... Mr. said that the older he gets, the more he admires the Manchurian way of governing the country. Especially Cixi. After saying the sensitive thing, Zhou Sixiang's voice was a little louder, and he said: "Most of the Manchurians who moved out of the capital are farming, except for the few yellow ribbons that are left as archways. Mr. is probably usually depressed, and can only talk to the dead tiger. ”

The metaphor of Zhou Si's dead tiger made Xu Jingxi want to laugh, but thinking about Manchu is indeed an outsider to the current situation. I want to stop here. He asked: "Sir is far-sighted, and said that the Russians will sign a treaty, which can be regarded as saving us the suffering of fighting on two fronts, but I have heard that some people in the Inspector's Court are clamoring for the approval of this treaty, and you are well-informed, how much do you know about this matter?" ”

"I don't have any well-informed information, it's just because I ask for money, and I often go to Bada Hutong to get close to those old men." After the political reform, most of the representatives of the Inspectorate did not live on salaries. There is enough money to visit the kiln. They often visited, and domestic and foreign lobbyists and speculators flocked to it, and in recent years, Bada Hutong has almost become an underground investigation institute, and all kinds of tricks are full of it.

"Tell me, how much do you know?" Xu Jingxi understood Zhou Si's ability and asked again.

"There are indeed some delegates who are afraid that this move will be mistaken by the Americans as part of our preparations for war. After so many years of propaganda, Soviet Russia was not welcomed at home, and what kind of mutual assistance did it make with such a country. It also made many deputies despised. Zhou thought about it. But this was all last year, and now it's the fifth session of the Inspectorate. I don't know what the deputies will think, but everyone is concerned about next month's election as prime minister. ”

Due to the economic crisis and the reduction of government expenditures, in order to save the cost of round-trip travel and meals for the new deputies to enter Beijing and return to their hometowns at the end of the year, the election of the prime minister was changed to February of the following year from the previous term of the Inspector's Yuan, and the replacement of the old and new cabinets was postponed from after the Qingming Dynasty to after the beginning of the summer period. Therefore, the election of the prime minister will not start until next month. But this is nothing to worry about in Xu Jingxi's opinion, Mu Rongchu did a good job in the last term, and there is no problem with him being the prime minister for three terms. He also wanted to ask who was afraid of beauty like a tiger, and the adjutant knocked on the door and came in to report: The time is up.

Tens of thousands of tons of bronze and steel were cast into the main hall of the Mystery Temple, a warm and bright venue. Crowds and loud voices. Hundreds of delegates kept talking about the upcoming questioning, while the reporters in the press box checked their cameras, pen and paper, and the questions they had prepared, intending to make big news. In the chaos, Admiral Xu Jingxi, who was dressed in a military uniform and had a badge on his chest, walked into the venue accompanied by the adjutant and the police of the Inspector's Court.

To use a misguided analogy, the whole chamber of the Academy of Suspicions resembles a casserole, or the Colosseum, with speakers at the lowest point in the middle, and the delegates at the top of the room, except for the forty-five degrees facing the Forbidden City due south. In this way, every word and action of the speaker will be scrutinized 315 degrees, and if it is questioned, the questioner will think that he is surrounded and surrounded by enemies, but Admiral Xu Jingxi will stand firmly in his position under the eyes of everyone and wait for the opening. Not surprisingly, the latest question was asked by Li Hong, a representative of overseas Chinese in the United States and president of the New York Chinese Entrepreneurs Association.

"May I ask General Xu: Is there a possibility of war between China and the United States of America?"

"Honorable Deputy: Judging from the latest Army Act passed by the U.S. Congress, there is a possibility of war between the two countries."

"How does the general make such a judgment?"

"The new Army bill calls for the rearmament of the U.S. Army of 280,000 and the National Guard of 250,000; In addition, $100 million a year is allocated to help the Philippine government build an army of more than 500,000 people......"

"The general thinks that these armies will attack our country?"

"The pattern of war has changed. After the start of the war, the U.S. Army did not need to land in our country, and relied on naval blockade and air force bombing to win. The B-17 heavy bombers equipped by the US Army Air Corps with a bomb load of more than three tons are likely to have a range of more than 3,000 kilometers and a combat radius of 1,500 to 1,800 kilometers, that is, they are covered by this type of bomber in the east to Shanghai, Bengbu and Xiangyang in the north, and Changde, Huaihua, and Nanning in the west. The role of the US Army and the Philippine Army will be to prevent our troops from capturing the Philippines in wartime, seizing bomber airfields. ”

East to Shanghai, north to Bengbu, Xiangyang, west to Changde, Huaihua, this has included the two Guangzhou, Lianghu, Fujian, Taiwan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Anhui Guannei 10 of the 10 provinces. The venue roared loudly, and most of the delegates who had wanted to watch the play were in a panic, and the reporters were like bloodthirsty sharks. This explosive news was vigorously written in the interview book.

Li Hong, who was in his fifties, asked: "Is the general alarmist?" Can this type of bomber have a combat radius of 1,500 to 1,800? And is the U.S. Army massively equipped with this type of bomber? Even with equipment, can these bombers pose a real threat to our country? Why can't our Air Force prevent enemy aircraft from entering the country? ”

Li Hong's nervous questions were one after another, completely out of the scope of questions he had originally submitted to the speaker, but the bombing of half of China was too important for the speaker of the parliament, Wu Jinglian, did not interfere, and these were also what he wanted to know.

Li Hong has a lot of questions. Fortunately, the adjutant next to Xu Jingxi has recorded all these problems. Holding the questions given by the adjutant, Xu Jingxi answered them one by one: "Distinguished representative: This type of bomber has four high-power engines, and according to the calculations of the aircraft design engineers, four 1,000-horsepower engines can reach this combat radius. We don't have any information on whether the U.S. Army is equipped with these bombers on a large scale, but on the New York stock market, the share price of Boeing Aircraft Manufacturing, the maker of the bomber, rose sharply on the day the Army bill was passed, and has now quadrupled to outperform other military industrial stocks.

The U.S. industry is dominated by automobile production, with a total of 4.1 million automobiles produced in the United States last year. The experience of the last great war. Automobile factories and aircraft factories can be converted in wartime, and in the event of war, automobile factories all over the United States can produce bombers to carry out large-scale bombing of our country based in the Philippines, so the threat is deadly, and we must not hide our ears and steal the bell.

In addition to dropping bombs, heavy bombers also have intensive self-defense firepower, and the aircraft is large and strong. With the experience of the war in East Africa, it is difficult to shoot it down with the machine guns equipped with our air force. Unless replaced with larger aircraft and more powerful firepower. But even then, the staff could not guarantee that bombs would not fall over the city. In wartime, bombers bombing enemy territory must be escorted by fighter planes, and if our air force is intercepted by enemy fighters, the bombers will be like no one. ”

"The general thinks the newly passed Army Act is an illustration that the United States is going to war?" When it comes to specific tactics, Li Hong is powerless, and he can only pull the problem back to the international level.

"The Army bill is not, but the soaring share price of Boeing Aircraft Manufacturing Co. is. The Navy Act concerns only the seas, except for access to the territorial waters of our country. It does not exactly mean an offense, which may also be a defense, but a massive deployment of heavy bombers is a complete offense, and the bombs cannot be dropped into the sea, only in the cities. ”

"But the General Staff has no direct evidence that the U.S. Army will procure heavy bombers on a large scale?" Li Hong said.

"Your Excellency. The war was not a Dali Temple trial and did not require any direct evidence. The old farmer knows the rain when he sees the sky, and the fisherman knows the wind and waves when he smells the sea. ”

Xu Jingxi refuted Li Hong's doubts and emphasized that the United States was preparing for war, and Li Hong had to ask the next question. "May I ask the general, is a war between China and the United States avoidable?"

"Your Excellency, this is a matter for politicians, and I am only responsible for defense and offense." Xu Jingxi replied.

Li Hong, who fired the first shot, went down after asking, and the next person to come up was Chen Bolian, a representative from Guangzhou, who was a member of the Furen Literary Society.

"May I ask the general, how can we resist the bombing of enemy bombers? Does the General Staff have a specific strategy, and if it is not confidential, please specify it. Chen Bolian asked the representatives of the ten provinces who were bombed, and the whole audience looked at Xu Jingxi.

"Honorable deputy: The General Staff does have a countermeasure for this, and there are five policies in total, and because military secrets are involved, only four strategies can be mentioned here." Xu Jingxi replied: "First, lookout and warning. In order to bomb cities, enemy planes should attack during the day, so it is necessary to set up lookout stations or lookout boats in Tainan, Dongsha, and various coastal areas to act as a vigilance, and to quickly report enemy planes to various places when they are discovered. Second, expand the size of the air force, replace existing fighters, and develop fighters with better performance to intercept enemy bombers; Third, large and medium-sized cities deployed anti-aircraft artillery and built air-raid shelters to reduce bombing damage. Fourth, land in the Philippines and occupy bomber airfields. ”

There are four strategies in a row, but what really works is the fourth strategy, which is to land in the Philippines. Chen Bolian, whose family property was all in Guangzhou and suffered heavy losses as soon as he was bombed, immediately asked the fourth strategy, "Can the army land in the Philippines?" ”

"The Army cannot land in the Philippines without naval assistance." Xu Jingxi said.

The Air Force involves the Army, and the Army then involves the Navy, Chen Bolian had to follow Xu Jingxi's train of thought and ask, "Then how can I land in the Philippines?" Can we do it? ”

"It can be done by uniting with the Japanese Navy." Xu Jingxi once again skillfully pulled out Japan, "At the same time, the northwest is worry-free." Gather resources from all over the country. ”

Xu Jingxi turned around and pulled everything that should be involved, and Chen Bolian and some quick-thinking people immediately understood what he meant, that is, to sign an anti-aggression and mutual assistance treaty with Soviet Russia, maintain the East Asian alliance, and let the military spending soar.

Shaking his head, Chen Bolian said, "What would happen if there was no Japanese naval war?" ”

"Honorable Representative: I don't have Japan as you spoke. Does it mean that Japan has been occupied by the United States, or that Japan is not involved in the war? ”

"Is there any difference between the two?" Chen Bolian asked.

"There is a difference. If Japan is occupied by the United States, there is no substantive difference between seeking peace and not seeking peace; If Japan is only neutral and does not participate in the war, then in addition to the areas closer to the Kannai, more than half of the country's territory is not within the scope of bombing, the northwest and northeast oil fields can remain, the military factories outside the Kansai can produce ammunition and ordnance, and our army can still fight a war. After Xu Jingxi answered Chen Bolian's question, he said to the audience: "Ladies and gentlemen, the B-17 only bombed the south of the Huai River. However, it is certain that its improved version will be able to bomb the north of the Great Wall, and our country's industry will be light in the south and heavy in the north, and once the enemy army occupies large islands and builds airfields off the coast of Japan or Japan, the war will be over under the continuous bombardment......"

Xu Jingxi turned the questioning into a military lecture, but Chen Bolian did not stop it, and only after Xu Jingxi finished speaking, did he ask: "This is the reason why the General Staff Department must not give up on Japan?" ”

"Yes!" Xu Jingxi nodded, "China and Japan are dependent on each other, and their lips are cold and their teeth are cold." ”

"But at present, it is precisely because China and Japan refuse to abandon the alliance that the possibility of war is greater. The U.S. government believes that the China-Japan-DPRK Triple Alliance will provoke a war and threaten U.S. security. Chen Bolian said.

"After three Navy bills. The U.S. Navy had an overwhelming advantage, and three years later, the number of battleships between China and Japan was 36 to 14, and the tonnage ratio was 1.35 million tons to 560,000 tons. With these two figures alone, anyone with a modicum of common sense should know who will provoke the war! Xu Jingxi said. Our country has only two battleships under construction. The United States has 36 battleships, and after the dissolution of the Treaty, in the event of war, I suggest that the government should immediately consider peace talks. ”

'Hum... ...... 'The chief of the General Staff actually suggested that the government start a war and negotiate peace, and the deputies exchanged words. Journalists are writing wildly. At this moment, a man suddenly stood up from his seat, but no one in the noisy venue heard what he was saying.

"General Xu, as you said, there is a huge disparity in naval strength between China and Japan and the United States, and we can win by uniting with Japan?" Chen Bolian asked again, and he suddenly regretted that at the suggestion of the British consul, he persuaded the representatives of Liangguang to abandon the construction of Tianjin-class battleships.

"It won't win, but it won't be defeated." Xu Jingxi said. "The formation of a joint fleet by the Chinese and Japanese navies made it possible for the Army to land in the Philippines and occupy the airfield of US Army bombers; Because we will not be bombed, our factories will be able to produce ammunition and guns, our docks will be able to build warships and submarines, and our aircraft factories will be able to produce aircraft, all of which will be used in warfare. ”

"What is the explanation that General Xu will not be defeated? Can the Chinese and Japanese navies occupy Hawaii or the West Coast? Chen Bolian asked.

"The General Staff has no operational plan for landing in the United States, nor does it have an operational plan for the occupation of Hawaii. Considering all the military forces of China, Japan and North Korea, it is impossible to achieve these two points, and even if they occupy it for a short time, they can only retreat in the end. Xu Jingxi said. The so-called "no defeat" means that the United States has a population of 130 million, and if 1 out of 10 conscripts are recruited, there will be 13 million troops; Judging by the situation of the last war and the distance between the Philippines and the United States, there are about 6 million people fighting on the front line in the navy, land and air force. If these five million people were killed and wounded two million, the war could only end.

If there is only one air battle, one enemy plane is shot down and only a few people are killed, and 10,000 enemy planes are shot down, and the casualties are only 100,000. If we can shoot down 10,000 enemy planes, the total number of enemy planes will certainly exceed 100,000, and with more than 100,000 bombers bombing day and night, it will not take a year for the whole country to produce a single plane, not a single artillery piece, or a warship. However, if we can land in the Philippines and engage in a fierce battle with the enemy, not only will the army inflict fatal casualties on the enemy, but a steady stream of warships, submarines, and planes will also be able to severely attack the enemy and increase its losses.

This war is an anti-aggression and anti-bombing war for us, and a war for sea power in the western Pacific region for the United States. The Philippines is not a vital interest of the United States, and we cannot occupy Hawaii or the West Coast. ”

Xu Jingxi described the Pacific War to everyone according to the pre-plan, although there was not half a drop of blood in his words, but the murderous atmosphere still made people look sideways. Chen Bolian said after he answered for a while: "Then how many casualties will our army have?" ”

"It is impossible to calculate for the time being, but to achieve the goal of the armistice, the casualties will not be lower than those of the American army." Xu Jingxi said.

More than 2 million casualties on both sides. As a result, he could only negotiate peacefully, and Chen Bolian kept shaking his head even after the end. Like him, Jiang Baili, a new representative from Zhejiang, also shook his head.

"The general believed that the loss of Japan would lead to peace talks, and the contemptible people did not dare to agree. This argument will give the delegates an illusion that Japan is our last line of defense, and if we give up the war, we can still hold on to a draw, but the contemptible people believe that even if China has no navy, the final winner of the war still belongs to our country! Jiang Baili's voice was high. And its military background convinced the deputies. "The United States is indeed a great power, but it is separated by two oceans, and as mentioned earlier, its soldiers who go to the front line to fight are only 6 million, while our population is 60,000,000, and the minimum estimate of the number of troops is 20 million. If the enemy lands, it can also kill and wound the enemy, so why land in the Philippines? I would like to ask here: Does the General Staff have a plan to resist the enemy's landing? ”

Jiang Baili was previously a faculty member at the Army University. After the rebellion, Cai Yi resigned and went to Europe to follow his mentor Liang Qichao, and this time the Inspectorate was elected. Under the operation of the National Party, he was newly elected as a representative of the Inspectorate of Doubts, so he was qualified to speak here.

"If it were another country, it would have a plan to resist the enemy's landing, but for the United States, the anti-landing plan would have been in vain." Xu Jingxi said. "Why?" Jiang Baili asked.

Listening to Jiang Baili's question, Xu Jingxi, who knew what he was going to say, smiled before saying: "Soldiers should be outside the country to defend themselves against the enemy." If ninety percent of the countrymen are bombed by enemy planes day and night, the country's industry will be destroyed in one fell swoop, and the billions of national wealth will be wiped out, all the officers of the General Staff Headquarters should cut off their own troops. A soldier is a soldier, not an amateur military enthusiast. ”

Xu Jingxi's words were not polite. Jiang Baili didn't take it seriously, he asked again: "If you give up the alliance, there is a great possibility that the war will be avoided, and if a war really happens, our army and people can also repel the enemy army and win the final victory." Why not? ”

"Dare to ask what is the property of the representative adult? What is the family? Xu Jingxi asked rarely.

Jiang Baili, who did not marry a Japanese nurse and gave birth to five daughters because of suicide in his life, smiled, and replied quite highly: "My contemptible parents died early, and the only wife and two daughters in the family; In addition to the ancestral land of the old house, the family property only lives on the manuscript fee and salary on weekdays, and there is no surplus wealth. ”

"It means that adults have no property and no job, and they only live on salary, and of course they can retreat to the rear when they start a war, but what should they do if they have property and employment? Can a person return his family property or a property? Can the whole family of more than ten people just leave? Xu Jingxi said. Rather than having a broken family and dying in a foreign country, it is better to send your son to join the army and keep the enemy out of your home. ”

'Wow... Since the uproar ......' questioning, Xu Jingxi finally won the applause of the Inspector's Court, although the applause was scarce, but after all, he persuaded many people with this point of view on behalf of him. Zhang Junli, Xu Xinliu and the others in the seats were a little anxious, and when Xu Jingxi asked Jiang Baili's family property, they knew that things were not good.

In fact, their strategy was to use Jiang Baili's new work "On National Defense" to show that it was not necessarily impossible to dissolve the alliance, so that war might not happen, and second, even if the war started, space could be exchanged for time, and a long delay would be won. The only difference between this and what Xu Jingxi said just now is that Xu Jingxi wants to borrow the Japanese Navy to land in the Philippines and use the Philippines as the main battlefield; Jiang Baili did not need a navy and used Chinese mainland as a battlefield.

The applause quickly stopped, and Jiang Baili asked again: "General Xu Shicai once said: There is a huge disparity between the strength of the Chinese and Japanese navies and the U.S. navy, so how should we land with such a huge disparity?" And how to ensure the supply of ammunition for millions of troops after the landing? ”

"I'm sorry, Your Excellency, but this matter involves military secrets, and I can't comment on it." Xu Jingxi said.

"Tainan is 500 kilometers from Luzon in the Philippines and even farther from Manila, nearly 1,000 kilometers; Guangzhou and other places are 1,100 kilometers away. The US Navy has an absolute superiority in strength, and even if our side lands by chance, the supplies will not be able to be replenished, how can we cause the enemy to suffer two million casualties?! Jiang Baili said, his voice high, "Can our fleet fight a decisive battle with the US Navy, which is three times its size, and win a big victory?" ”

"I'm sorry, Your Excellency, but this matter involves military secrets, and I can't comment on it." Xu Jingxi said again, with a serious expression.

"I think it's very difficult for the General Staff to have any way to ensure that the army can land in the Philippines smoothly and resupply smoothly." Jiang Baili said categorically, "In the end, the war will still fall on the mainland, and in this case, an alliance with Japan will not only be useless but will cause trouble." The best strategy for today's plan is to break the alliance with Japan and hold peace talks with the United States to eliminate the scourge of war. ”

After Jiang Baili finished speaking, the applause in the auditorium rose again, and it was even more enthusiastic than before-he was so frightened by Xu Jingxi's use of the US Army's heavy bomber just now, and the representatives who originally wanted to fight did not want to fight.

"Dare to ask your Excellency: What if the United States is unwilling to sign a treaty with me after the dissolution of the alliance, and still goes to war?" Xu Jingxi asked rhetorically.

"Then defend the country and fight to the death with the enemy." Jiang Baili waved his fist and said, "Ten thousand words, I just want to tell you one thing: China has a way!" (To be continued.) )