時報
- Sun Chuanfang decides to lead a large army to aid Wu
- Negotiations to open Wuchang’s gates break down
- Commercial Press sells original European and American books and magazines
The military section reports plans for Sun Chuanfang’s Jiangxi campaign and failed Wuchang negotiations, with claimed artillery and aircraft action. Above it, Commercial Press markets imported books through a branch network and anniversary discount. The expanded reading preserves the difference between wartime claims, projected action and advertising.
Three selected passages. The first dispatch retains its printed sequence of dates. Gaps in the second mark a damaged sentence about damage to the forces.
Translation
Sun Chuanfang decides to lead a large army to aid Wu
Former premier Jin Yunpeng, the key to cooperation between Sun and Zhang, left Tianjin for the south on the 11th and arrived in Nanjing on the night of the 12th. His talks with Sun Chuanfang produced a full understanding, and he headed north back to Tianjin on the 12th. Since Jin’s arrival in Nanjing, fears of Shandong troops entering Jiangsu territory have been swept away.
Sun has resolved to cooperate with Wu Peifu and Zhou Yinren in a thorough campaign against the Reds. He will leave Chen Yi’s First Division and Li Junyi’s 24th Mixed Brigade to garrison Xuzhou, and Meng Zhaoyue’s Tenth Mixed Brigade and Zhang Guowei’s mixed artillery brigade to garrison Nanjing. He will personally lead seven divisions and ten mixed brigades, about 130,000 troops, into Jiangxi to settle the contest with the Northern Expedition army.
(Nanjing, the 14th, 2 p.m., Dentsū dispatch.)
Negotiations to open Wuchang’s gates break down
Liu Yuchun firmly rejected the demand to open Wuchang’s gates, and the southern army began shelling yesterday. The artillery battle was fiercest from last night through this morning. Both armies […] damage […]. A southern aircraft attempting to drop bombs inside Wuchang flew near the southern outskirts, where fire from the northern troops inside the city destroyed it completely.
(Hankou, the 14th, Dentsū dispatch.)
Commercial Press sells original European and American books and magazines
30th-anniversary bargain sale
A further five per cent off our marked prices
We sell publications from major European and American publishers and have ample stocks of school textbooks, reference works, books in every subject, novels and magazines. We also obtain the latest publications promptly to meet our readers’ needs. Our prices are already very low; for our 30th anniversary, we now offer a further five per cent discount, making this an especially rare opportunity. We would be pleased to welcome your enquiries at our distribution office on Qipan Street, Shanghai, our Hongkou branch on North Sichuan Road, or your nearest provincial branch.
Context
Why Sun needed an understanding before marching south
The Northern Expedition challenged a fragmented field of regional military rulers. Sun’s proposed campaign therefore required security behind his own forces as well as strength at the front. In this dispatch, Jin’s mediation removes the fear of a Shandong incursion into Jiangsu, making it possible to concentrate troops against the expedition in Jiangxi. The garrisons left at Xuzhou and Nanjing show the continuing need to protect the home base while joining a larger coalition.
Why Wuchang could remain under siege after nearby cities changed hands
The Wuhan urban area contained separate centres on different banks of the rivers. An American diplomatic telegram of September 8 described the southern forces’ control of Hanyang and its arsenal while a northern garrison still held Wuchang. Control of one centre therefore did not automatically open the other. The failed negotiations and bombardment in this article belong to the struggle to turn regional advances into possession of the defended city itself.
Why imported books belonged in a Chinese publisher’s advertisement
Commercial Press developed from its Shanghai founding in 1897 into a publisher closely involved with modern education. This advertisement also presents it as a distributor linking readers to overseas publishing. The range from textbooks to novels and magazines serves both formal study and private reading, while provincial branches extend access beyond Shanghai. The promise of rapid arrival is part of the product: readers are buying connection to current knowledge as well as individual volumes.
Original
孫傳芳决率大軍援吳
據孫張提携之鍵、於十一日由天津南下之前國務總理靳雲鵬、於十二日夜抵南京、與孫傳芳會議之結果、得充分之了解、於十二日北上回津、自靳氏來寧後、魯軍之侵入江蘇地盤懸念、爲之一掃、孫氏决與吳佩孚周蔭人協同徹底討赤、以陳儀之第一師、李俊義之第二十四混成旅、留守徐州、以孟昭月之第十混成旅、及張國威之砲兵混成旅、留守南京、自率七師十混成旅約十三萬軍隊、進駐江西、與北伐軍一决雌雄、（南京十四日下午二時電通信）
武昌開城談判决裂
武昌之開城問題、因劉玉春嚴詞拒絕、南軍從昨日起、開始砲擊、從昨晚至今晨、砲戰最烈、兩軍均未能與劉方以損害之影響、南軍之飛機一架、欲投炸彈於武昌城內、飛至南郊附近、被城內北軍砲擊、全體破壞、（漢口十四日電通電）
商務印書館發售歐美原版圖書雜誌
三十年紀念大廉價
照實價再打九五折
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