Chapter 80: Reactions From Various Countries
Today, British Ambassador to China Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen got up very early and arrived at his office at seven o’clock.
At this moment, he was hunched over his oak desk reviewing documents, the tip of his gold-nibbed fountain pen scratching across the parchment, while the artillery fire from the direction of Purple Mountain outside the window flickered his profile in alternating light and shadow.
But he had just sat down not long ago when the carved door was suddenly pushed open, and a slim man with blond hair and blue eyes hurriedly burst in—the newcomer was none other than the embassy’s military attaché, Colonel Quill Patterson.
Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen’s neatly trimmed silver-white eyebrows had just raised, and before he could scold, he heard Colonel Quill anxiously say: “Your Excellency, something huge has happened.”
Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen raised an eyebrow. “Dear Colonel Quill, with China’s current situation already so dire, I really can’t imagine anything that could be worse.”
Quill’s voice carried an uncontrollable tremor: “Your Excellency, something huge has indeed happened.
Just last night, a Chinese army unit released poison gas on the Japanese troops in the city, causing heavy casualties to the Japanese forces.
According to our intelligence officers’ reports, two regiments of the Japanese Sixth Division were almost completely wiped out, and the Japanese losses in Nanjing city alone reached up to ten thousand men. Today, the Japanese field hospitals are all packed with wounded.”
“Click.”
The fountain pen slipped from Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen’s fingers, leaving an ink mark on the documents on the desk.
He abruptly stood up, the legs of the sandalwood chair scraping harshly against the marble floor.
“God…” This whisper was almost squeezed out through clenched teeth. He turned to look toward the Yangtze River, his left hand gripping the chair tightly.
After a moment, he suddenly turned around, his sharp gaze piercing toward his military attaché: “Colonel Quill, you are the British Empire’s military attaché in China. Tell me, how did the Chinese obtain chemical weapons?”
“I… I don’t know either.” Colonel Quill also wore a face of bitterness and disbelief, spreading his hands in that American gesture he usually despised.
“As you know, with China’s current industrial level, the possibility of them manufacturing chemical weapons is as laughable as them dominating all of Asia.”
“Yes!” Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen let out a long sigh and sat back down in his chair.
Chemical weapons may seem simple, but without a strong industrial foundation and in-depth research in chemistry and biology, it is fundamentally impossible to develop them.
He pondered for a good while, murmuring: “Since the Chinese can’t develop them themselves, then there’s only one possibility…”
He suddenly looked at Colonel Quill, and the two said in unison: “They received aid from another country!”
“Yes, only this possibility.” Colonel Quill slapped his right hand against his left palm, producing a crisp snap.
“Now, the countries in the world capable of developing and producing chemical weapons, besides our British Empire and Japan, are only Germany, the United States, the Soviet Union, and Italy.
But Germany is Japan’s ally, and although Italy has the capability to develop them, its industrial foundation is just so-so, making it too laborious to produce.
This being the case, the only ones with both motive and capability are the United States and the Soviet Union.”
“It can’t be the Americans.” Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen had now recovered from his shock. He leaned back in his chair, picked up the now-cold coffee on the desk and took a sip, saying slowly.
“The Americans are just a bunch of money-grubbing barbarians. They’re currently sucking the Japanese dry with scrap steel, oil, and machine tools nonstop. How could they possibly give chemical weapons to the Chinese?
As for the Soviets…”
At this point, he fell silent. “The possibility exists, but I don’t understand why Stalin would do this. It doesn’t align with Soviet interests in the Far East.”
At this point, he removed his gold-rimmed glasses and wiped the lenses heavily with a silk handkerchief.
After wiping them clean, he suddenly smiled. “But no matter what, seeing the Japanese in such a miserable state is good news. Perhaps I should find time to visit the Japanese embassy and offer condolences to Ambassador Kawanami Shigeru for his wounded heart.”
“Pfft!”
Colonel Quill at the side couldn’t help it and chuckled softly.
He of course understood why his ambassador harbored such great hostility toward the Japanese—because just a few months ago, on August 26, while Ambassador Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen was en route from Nanjing to Shanghai, his car was strafed at low altitude by two Japanese aircraft.
This also resulted in Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen being seriously wounded in the back, with his secretary and driver also injured.
Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen was rushed to Shanghai Church Hospital for treatment and was once in critical condition, later pulled through after surgery.
He recuperated for several months and only returned to work this month after being discharged.
During Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen’s hospitalization, the Japanese government hypocritically apologized to him, claiming it was all due to the pilot being overly nervous and attacking ground targets, and that the offending pilot had been punished.
But the subsequent British government investigation found that the Japanese aircraft strafed Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen’s car because he had invited Chairman Chiang to ride with him to Shanghai at the time.
After Japanese spies learned of this and reported it to the Japanese government, the Japanese Army immediately dispatched two aircraft to ambush midway and strafe his car, nearly costing him his life.
What the Japanese didn’t know was that as his car neared departure time, Chairman Chiang had something come up at the last minute and didn’t leave with him, making Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen a scapegoat.
Facing the Japanese who had nearly taken his life, Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen naturally had no goodwill toward them.
But after the fleeting pleasure, Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen seemed to think of something again and suddenly said to Colonel Quill: “Prepare the car.”
“I want to visit the US and Soviet embassies in China.”
“Your Excellency, you…” Colonel Quill said in surprise.
“This matter is no small thing. I must personally ask Nelson, the US Ambassador to China, and Dmitri, the Soviet Ambassador to China. Otherwise, I won’t feel at ease.”
One hour later, in the reception room of the Soviet Embassy in China
“Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen, I repeat again: our government has never sold or prepared to sell any chemical weapons to the Chinese government. This would violate international conventions and be immoral. Our government would not engage in such behavior contrary to international conventions.”
Soviet Ambassador to China Dmitri Bogomolov solemnly said to Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen.
Looking at Dmitri’s serious and earnest expression, Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen couldn’t quite tell if the other was acting or telling the truth—after all, anyone who could serve as a country’s ambassador was an accomplished performer.
“Alright, I will report this matter to my government.” Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen nodded.
“But I still hope that our two countries and the US government can jointly issue a statement condemning the Chongqing government and urge them to stop using such inhumane chemical weapons.”
