Er Yang was both a talented man and a strategist. He lived in Japan in his early years and knew the temperament of the Japanese better than ordinary people. As Fang Zida thought, they judged that once Japan was forced too hard, they would inevitably use war means to divert domestic conflicts. Whether from Japan's geographical location or consistent style, the probability of starting from China is extremely high.

"What the two think is just like Zida. If things really come to this point, there is a great possibility that Japan will start a war." Fang Zida sighed and frowned: "Once the war begins, the central government may face tremendous pressure."

"This is inevitable!" Yang Yongtai nodded in agreement and said with a serious expression: "I have not been established for a long time in the Republic of China, and the national vitality has not yet recovered. Although the National Defense Forces have begun to take shape, they are still far from the Japanese army after all, especially the navy, which is incomparable. Once this battle is really fought..."

Yang Yongtai is right, China is big and weak, Japan is small and strong, especially in the war in the 1895 year of 1894, China's Beiyang Fleet was wiped out, and now the Japanese navy ranks among the top in the world's naval scale, and its tonnage can even rank in the top five, second only to Britain, Germany, France, and Italy, and is the strongest in Asia. Although the Japanese army is slightly worse than the navy, it is also considered a second-rate strong army in the world. No one is sure whether China's new national defense army can block such a powerful Japanese navy and army.

Just as Fang Zida and Yang Yongtai were worried, Yang Du suddenly laughed.

"In the future, the troops will be blocked, and the water will be covered by the soil. Even if the Japanese really take action, I am worried about it here, it will be useless to the overall situation. Instead of doing this, it is better to prepare as soon as possible so as not to be caught off guard at that time."

"Brother Xizi reminded me." Fang Zida was stunned at first, then stood up and bowed to Yang Du to express his gratitude. Yang Yongtai also nodded in the next year. This matter is useless to be urgent, and the key is to be prepared.

"Brother Xizi, you know the best among the three Japanese state affairs. Can you tell which side the Japanese will send troops from?" It is said that it is preparation, but it also requires a target. China has a vast territory and a long coastline. Although Japan is an island country, its navy is strong and it can land on combat at any place. Although Yang Yongtai has been in Japan, he is not familiar with military affairs. He frowned and thought about it and asked.

Although Fang Zida had considered this issue in his mind, he also wanted to hear what Yang Du's judgment was. He turned his attention to Yang Du together with Yang Yongtai.

Yang Du didn't refuse, sat there for a while, thought for a while, picked up the teacup and poured some water on the table, stretched out his fingers to dip the tea and drew a rough figure of China and Japan.

"Yang is not talented and has studied the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. Later, he traveled to Japan to carefully investigate. In addition, he has made a judgment on the situation in Japan in recent years. If Japan takes action against the Republic of China, its strategic goals are nothing more than three."

"Those three places?" Fang Zida asked.

Yang Du's fingers were pointed at the northeast, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and said confidently: "Japan sent troops. The targets were nothing more than these three."

"Why are there only these three places?" Yang Yongtai looked at the table. In his opinion, the sea was vast and there were many places where Japan could land. Does Yang Du have the ability to predict the future? Is it so sure that the Japanese would start with these three places? For a moment, Yang Yongtai was a little dissatisfied and turned his head to ask.

Yang Du smiled faintly and pointed to Jiangsu, Zhejiang, especially Shanghai: "Jiangxi and Zhejiang are the place of wealth, Shangxi is the largest city in the Far East, with developed finance and prosperous business. If you are the Japanese, will you let go of such an important place? Take over Shanghai, occupy the estuary of the Yangtze River, and warships can cut off the north and south along the Yangtze River, and at the same time use Shanghai as the basis. At the same time, we march towards Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and we will gather the richest areas of our country in one fell swoop. By then, the central government will not be able to bear the economic and military losses."

"It makes sense!" Fang Zida agreed. Although Yang Yongtai and Yang Du had the desire to win as a literati, they had to admit that what Yang Du said was reasonable.

"What about Shandong? Why is it not Guangdong or Fujian?" Although Yang Yongtai felt that Yang Du's goal of going to the sea in Jiangsu and Zhejiang was reasonable, he had some objections to Shandong. In his opinion, the possibility of Japan sending troops in Guangdong, especially Fujian and other places was also very high. After the Sino-Japanese War of 1898, Taiwan was in the hands of Japan, and Taiwan and Fujian were opposite to each other across the sea. Geographically speaking, the possibility of sending troops from Taiwan as a base in Fujian or Guangdong was very high. Yang Du's three places proposed did not have these two places, which made Yang Yongtai disapprove.

"Fujian is mountainous, and the army's forces are inconvenient after landing. Moreover, Fujian has always been poor, and it is not very beneficial to Japan to take Fujian. As for Guangdong, although it is not far from Taiwan, it is necessary to go from Japan to Guangdong through Taiwan and then to Guangdong. The logistics line is too long. I think those people from the Japanese military headquarters will not consider these things, right?" Yang Du smiled and pointed to Shandong and said, "The Japanese have been eyeing each other in Shandong. If Jun Ming had not taken the initiative quickly and took Qing* Island back from the Germans, it would have been a long time ago. I suffered a loss at the beginning and almost flew the fat meat on his lips. With the Japanese personality, how could they give up? Furthermore, the distance between Shandong and Japan is not far. From this, it can be seen that Shandong or Qingdao is extremely likely to send troops."

After Yang Du said this, Fang Zida nodded secretly, and Yang Yongtai nodded again, and agreed with Yang Du's view in his heart.

The last place, the Northeast, does not require Yang Du to explain it again. The three of them present knew very well that the Northeast was the most likely place for Japan to send troops.

In the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, China was defeated and Korea fell into the hands of Japan. Today, North Korea is already a Japanese colony, and North Korea borders Northeast China. It is easy for Japan to enter Northeast China. Moreover, after the Russo-Japanese War, Japan obtained the military power of "Kanto Prefecture" and established the Kanto Governor's Office in Liaoyang. Since 1907, the Kanto Governor's Office in Japan has a division and six railway garrison brigades, and has a military headquarters in the Governor's Office. It is the most important colonial military institution overseas in Japan.

In China, the land outside the pass has always been vast and sparsely populated. The government began to gradually immigrate outside the pass at the end of the Qing Dynasty. Although the Northeast is vast, its number of people and military strength are not as good as the provinces within the pass. Due to the reasons of North Korea and Kanto Prefecture, once Japan launches a large-scale attack on the Northeast, the Chinese government will inevitably be caught off guard.

He secretly praised in his heart, Fang Zida couldn't help but look up to Yang Du again. Although Yang Du was not military, his vision was indeed vicious. The three key points he judged were the focus of Japanese offensive in the future Sino-Japanese War in history. Now, no matter from which aspect, it is also suitable for the current situation.

"The Northeast is the most dangerous." Yang Yongtai stretched out his finger and drank some tea, and drew a circle on the northeast position on the map. Fang Zida and Yang Du nodded at the same time, agreeing with his opinion.

"This matter must be prepared early. What are your plans?" Yang Yongtai turned around and looked at Fang Zida, with anxiety and urgency in his expression.

"I'm going to find two of you, one is to discuss it, and the other is to listen to your suggestions."

"What else should I discuss? This matter must be reported to the President and the Prime Minister as soon as possible, and also informed to the Ministry of National Defense and General Staff, so that we can make preparations early." Yang Yongtai said without hesitation.

"Is it not right." Yang Du shook his head and said, "Although you and I all judged this way, what about the evidence? Just guessing it is too much to let the Presidential Office and the Prime Minister's Office order the Ministry of National Defense and General Staff. Besides, this matter is of great importance. If it causes a stir for a while, it will make the case for Japan, which will lead to a wrong judgment."

"This..." Yang Yongtai was stunned for a moment, which was something he had not expected. Yang Du said it well. This matter could not stand the debate at all. Now everything is based on speculation. If the Ministry of National Defense and the General Staff are prepared by speculation, God knows how Duan Qirui and others will react. Even with the support of Yuan Shikai and Song Jiaoren, it is not a small matter to mobilize troops. When the news reaches Japan, the Japanese will react. Although the Japanese are stubborn, they are not fools. How could they follow the other party's wishes?

With a bitter smile, Yang Yongtai looked at Fang Zida. At this moment, he was thinking in his heart that this Fang Zida would be a president. If he had just said that, there would be so much trouble. So, even though he knew that Japan would take action, he could not make preparations in advance. Not to mention how much depression there was in his heart.

"Can you just let it go? Until Japan takes action, it will not work?" Yang Yongtai felt a little unwilling. He said that he should act first and then suffer. Since the Opium War in the Qing Dynasty, China was not passively beaten? He was led by the other party and lost in the end. Could it be that this time? The more Yang Yongtai thought about it, the more angry he became in his heart, and his brows were frowning tightly.

"Xizi, based on your judgment, how long will it take for Japan to take action?" Countless thoughts were turning in my heart, and Yang Yongtai suddenly asked Yang Du.

"This..." Yang Du couldn't answer at once. He thought about it carefully and said cautiously: "At least a few months, at most half a year. The key is to look at the attitudes of Britain, France and the United States."

Yang Yongtai nodded slightly. He understood that if the trade punishments from Britain, France, the United States and other countries came later, the Japanese would not start the war too quickly. Moreover, wars are not just about fighting. From planning to preparation and war, it takes a certain amount of time. The mobilization of the army and logistics work alone will take a lot of time.

Yang Du's judgment of time was roughly similar to what Yang Yongtai judged, and since this was the case, he was confident in his heart.

"Zhengming, I have a way to solve the problem!"

Fang Zida was immediately overjoyed and asked urgently what to do.

"Get war now!" Yang Yongtai said confidently.

"What!" Fang Zida and Yang Du were stunned at the same time. The two looked at each other and wondered whether Yang Yongtai was stimulated? What is the solution?

"Hahaha!" Seeing the two of them, Yang Yongtai couldn't help but laugh and waved his hand: "What Yang said about starting a war is not to start a war with Japan, but to let the central government immediately join the Allies and the allies to start a war."

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Toothache is not a disease, it is really fatal when it hurts!!! To be continued...
Chapter completed!