The Rise of the Writers of the Republic of China

As we have said before, pacifism was politically correct in Britain in the 1930s, and no one was allowed to stand up against it.

Therefore, Churchill, including the iron-blooded advocate of war, must also be a "pacifist", or at least advertise himself as a "pacifist".

How to achieve world peace?

The British were divided into two groups.

One faction is called the "combatable faction". Represented by Churchill and Attlee (leader of the Labor Party), they believed that opposition to war must use material force, including the final use of military force. The relevant group was the "League of Nations" (LNU).

One faction is called the "abandonment of war faction". Represented by Lansbury and Dawson (editor-in-chief of The Times), they condemned and opposed all wars. When faced with crises and conflicts, they advocated resolution through consultation and cooperation. The relevant group was the "Peace Pledge Union" (PPU).

By the mid-1930s, the differences between the two groups became increasingly fierce, and they continued to compete with each other for members, funds, and supporters.

What’s funny is that the methods they used are very similar, that is, using war to scare the people through the media, causing the British people to become more and more afraid of war. Later, when Chamberlain ran for prime minister, the slogan he put forward was simply "Vote for Chamberlain and you will have more peace."

The content of Zhou Hexuan's lecture at the University of London seems to have provided ammunition to the British "pacifists", and they have fresh material for war threats.

Among them, The Times and The Observer were the most active. These two newspapers selected the most tragic photos of the massacre and used one-third of their page to publish the pictures. They constantly emphasized that war can only bring death, called on Japan to stop its aggression against China, and at the same time called on the British people to support the "peace movement."

At the same time, the Conservative Party, which was defeated in the local elections, also used Japan's massacre in China to attack the Labor Party, accusing Japan of accelerating its foreign expansion because of the Labor Party's connivance during its time in power. The Labor Party also used this matter to fight back, saying that the Conservative Party's compromising foreign policy was the main culprit of Japan's military expansion.

Zhou Hexuan's trip to London was obviously involved in the political struggle between the "war-ready" and "war-abandoning" factions in the UK, as well as the Conservative Party and the Labor Party.

The largest anti-war group in the UK, the "League of Nations" (the war-ready faction), and the newly established "Peace Pledge Alliance" (the war-abandonment faction), both of which were very popular, sent invitations to Zhou Hexuan, hoping that Zhou Hexuan could participate in the public gathering organized by them. speech.

There is no doubt that Zhou Hexuan's anti-war lecture has touched the most sensitive G-spot of British people.

Zhou Hexuan spent the entire month of October giving speeches and lecturing. He learned to be smart this time. He just kept repeating anti-war and peace without revealing which side he was on, let alone being stupid enough to say "war for peace." As for the "anti-fascist" argument, Zhou Hexuan even dared not mention it, otherwise he would definitely anger the "abandonment of war" faction.

As a result, the "war-ready faction" and the "war-abandoning faction" respected Zhou Hexuan even more and tried every possible means to bring him to their side.

The British Conservative Party also frequently invites Zhou Hexuan to cocktail parties, hoping that Zhou Hexuan can help win local votes and try to use hot topics to increase public favorability.

According to statistics from later historians, in October 1935 alone, Mr. Zhou Hexuan gave 8 academic lectures, 16 public speeches across the UK, and attended 13 private receptions upon invitation.

Coupled with the crazy publicity in newspapers and media, Zhou Hexuan was almost considered a god in the UK and was hailed as the "Peace Fighter from the East".

Zhou Hexuan's "The Chrysanthemum and the Knife" and "Under the Dragon Flag", which introduced the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1898, suddenly became bestsellers in the UK. Under the publicity of these two books, the British had an extremely bad impression of Japan. They generally believed that it was a barbaric country cloaked in civilization.

The Times brought up China's silver crisis at the right time and analyzed the benefits of Britain's intervention, which immediately gained widespread recognition from the British people.

…

In late October, Zhou Hexuan traveled around the UK and returned to London again.

weekend.

Ten o'clock in the morning.

Trafalgar Square.

Thousands of British people gathered here, waiting to hear Zhou Hexuan's speech. This time no one paid anyone to support the scene. As soon as the news of the speech was published in the newspaper, countless citizens came spontaneously.

"Didi!"

The car horn sounded, and the crowd spontaneously moved out of the way.

Four mounted policemen with guns opened the way in front. They were riding tall snow-white horses, and one of them blew his whistle fiercely. Behind is a stretched Bentley bulletproof car, sitting Zhou Hexuan, Zhang Leyi, Yu Peichen and Sun Yongzhen. Behind them were more than a dozen street policemen, wielding wooden batons and tasked with maintaining order at the scene.

Arriving at Nelson's Column in the southern section of the square, four mounted policemen suddenly dismounted, while street police escorted Zhou Hexuan and others to the center of the square.

Zhou Hexuan walked under the 53-meter-high memorial column. He suddenly turned around and took off his hat to salute the column. Zhang Leyi and others also bowed and saluted.

"Bah bang bang!"

Warm applause suddenly broke out inside and outside the square. It was obvious that Zhou Hexuan's move had won the favor and respect of the British.

Stepping onto the makeshift podium, Zhou Hexuan raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, and said loudly with a tin speaker: "I am honored to be able to give a speech in Trafalgar Square. 'Trafalgar' is a place worth remembering." name. More than 100 years ago, Napoleon ignored the European people's desire for peace and launched aggressive wars in successive years and conquered most of Europe. He conscripted all the ships in France and Spain to form a joint Franco-Spanish fleet, hoping to annihilate the British maritime power in one fell swoop . It was in the waters of Trafalgar that the British fleet defeated the French and Spanish fleets, shattering Napoleon's aggressive ambitions!"

Zhou Hexuan pointed to the Nelson Column in front of him: "In that naval battle, the one-armed general Lord Nelson fought bloody battles and unfortunately died. He is the pride of Britain and the pride of the people of the world, because he successfully stopped Napoleon's shameless aggression! "

Zhou Hexuan suddenly raised his arms and shouted: "Long live Lord Nelson!"

The London citizens were stunned, and Zhou Hexuan shouted again: "Long live world peace!"

When Zhou Hexuan once again shouted Long Live, more and more citizens followed suit——

"Long live Lord Nelson!"

"Long live world peace!"

The atmosphere at the speech venue instantly became heated.

Zhou Hexuan's use of great British figures as introductions to his speeches was undoubtedly a very clever strategy, and he was easily regarded as one of his own by London citizens.

Ma Jue squeezed into the crowd, looked at the man on the stage with ardent eyes, and said excitedly: "Mr. Zhou said so well, he is so good at giving speeches!"

"Of course, who in the UK doesn't know Mr. Zhou now?"

"One Mr. Zhou is worth an army. He made the British know the ugly face of Japan."

"Long live Mr. Zhou!"

"..."

While the other male students were talking, they protected Ma Jue to prevent their goddess from being squeezed by the dense crowd.

On the podium, Zhou Hexuan continued: "Peace is sacred and has been the ultimate dream of mankind for thousands of years. When I came to the UK this time, I was very shocked. I deeply admire the British people's pacifism. . Like the United Kingdom, China is also a peace-loving country. We never take the initiative to invade other countries..."

"But it is a pity that China has encountered a bad neighbor - that is Japan. I think there is no need to repeat Japan's many misdeeds. The newspapers during this period have detailed reports. What I want to say is that last year, the United States The silver policy triggered an economic crisis in China. This crisis not only caused serious losses to China, but also caused losses to the interests of the British people..."

While Zhou Hexuan was giving a speech with great enthusiasm, three Asian faces kept pushing forward and gradually came to the bottom of the podium. They whispered in Japanese:

"We can't let him continue. This guy is the most dangerous enemy of the Japanese Empire."

"If we do this, it won't cause any trouble. It may cause diplomatic disputes."

"Don't be afraid. The British people are all against the war. They are all cowards who dare not fight."

"But Zhou Hexuan is an international celebrity."

"Now that you've reached this point, don't hesitate any longer. Although I'm only a student, I'm always ready to dedicate my life to the Empire of Japan. Keep a bullet in your head. If you can't escape, then commit suicide to repay the emperor!"

"Hai!"

"Ozawa-kun, Maekawa-kun, follow my orders and we will act together."

"good!"

"One, two...three! Do it!"