In Tokyo in June, the sky is always gloomy and I haven't seen the sun for several days.

The people on the street were dejected and listless. Even the wild dogs on the roadside were infected. They lay lazily on the ground, and they didn't want to raise their eyelids. The wild cat who didn't know where they cried from time to time and heard the sharp sound.

The female cat in love and the listless male dog may be the best view you can see on Tokyo Street now.

In view of some setbacks on the Chinese battlefield, Japanese Emperor Hirohito decided to hold an imperial meeting, which was the first time he presided over an imperial meeting.

Before, the cabinet ministers had agreed to submit a memorial to him or call one or several people to report.

This was the first imperial meeting he presided over since he ascended the throne.

Since the palace coup "Redou of the King" launched by Okupo and Takamori Saigo, the emperor has ended the seven or eight actual cuckold era. The first imperial meeting chaired by Emperor Meiji ignited artillery fire from the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 and defeated thousands of years of pressure. In the Celestial Kingdom above Japan, Japan and Japan have since embarked on the road of strengthening troops and enriching the country.

Every imperial meeting will make major decisions, affecting the future and destiny of the country in the next few years, or even decades.

The conference room in the East Hall of the Palace is next to the Emperor's study.

The imperial meeting of the base camp was summoned by Emperor Hirohito himself, and the important civil and military ministers of the army and the navy were arranged in two rows, sitting straight at the conference table covered with red brocade, holding their knees with their hands, without looking sideways, like puppet clay sculptures.

They occasionally look at Hirohito, which is also a kind of respectful devotion as if listening to the Buddha's words and sounds, and the sacred ones are like performing.

Politicians are generally excellent actors, and their acting skills are all god-like.

Who knew that under their serious face, they would have such thoughts about Emperor Hirohito, the man closest to God?

The closest people to Emperor Hirohito were Prime Minister Fumima Kotomi and Shin-ho, president of the Military Protection Institute, who were both civil and military, and were completely in opposition.

The former is young and elegant, with a graceful demeanor of a scholar.

The latter showed a bloated and old look, full of fierce murderous intent as a warrior.

The Japanese army encountered unexpected troubles on the Chinese battlefield, and international public opinion was also quite unfavorable to Japan. The Nanjing Massacre was made public, and the whole world was in an uproar. Ugaki Ichichen, the foreign minister who was sitting in the third place in the left, had a groove on his forehead for three days, and his eyes were covered with blood.

Lu Xiang Seishiro Hiragaki's straight military uniform, his eyes flashed with a sinister light.

China's problems do not seem to be as simple as those arrogant soldiers said. Except for the troops stationed in the Northeast and North Korea, all the field divisions of the Japanese and Chinese Army have been used almost all on the Chinese battlefield.

The original plan was to open up the Jinpu route and then implement the combat plan to attack Wuhan, but now the consumption and losses on the Chinese battlefield are too great, and the replenishment of troops, material collection, etc. are facing relatively large difficulties.

Within the base camp, Prime Minister Wei Wenmo was opposed to the plan to attack Wuhan at this time. After careful analysis by his think tank and research team, he felt that the future of attacking Wuhan was not optimistic at this time. If he encountered losses in the Battle of Xuzhou again, the Japanese army would be unable to fight again, and the possibility of force occupation or force oppression of the Chiang government to surrender would not exist at all.

Also, summer is coming and rain increases. Wuhan is located in the heart of the Central Plains. Even if it is attacked along the Yangtze River, the river defense fortifications on both sides of the Yangtze River will be the biggest obstacle to the Japanese army's advance.

Kome Fumimo's opinion is that he tends to fight late, and he will fight after he is ready, at least he should be dragged until after the autumn cools down.

The meeting was first read out a document "Guidelines for Handling the China Incident" drafted by the Army Province. The document was not long, just like seven or eight pages.

The core idea of ​​the Army Province is to focus on conquest by force, to solve the Chinese problem once and for all, and it is also recommended to strengthen the combat power of the Central China Front Army and redeploy the combat plan to attack Hankou.

It is not difficult to see that in terms of military terms, the army has already tended to capture Wuhan from the South Yangtze River Line, and has almost given up the original plan to move south from the Pinghan Line.

If you want to go south from the Pinghan Line, it will be too expensive for the current Japanese army and may be dragged into a protracted war, which is not in line with the current interests of the Japanese army.

Japan and Ben's biggest enemy was not China, but the Soviet Union in the north.

The purpose of invading and occupying China is to seize China's resources and population and prepare for the future war with the Soviet Union.

From beginning to end, Japan and Ben did not regard China as his opponent.

"Your Majesty!" Honjo Man stood up for the first time. He had a short hair that looked old, but he was full of energy. "The determination to capture Wuhan cannot be shaken. Only by taking Hankou and taking the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and Huguang areas, China's most economically developed area is in our hands. Chiang's government can only live in a poor mountain valley, and will no longer have the strength to fight against the empire and completely disappear from the political stage."

As he spoke, Honjo Shin-chan was shaking with two fat faces hanging on his face and his old eyes were staring at Emperor Hirohito with provocative gaze.

Kome Fumima was so excited that he couldn't sit still by Honjo's aggressive gaze that he stood up and said in a row: "Your Majesty, I also feel that it is necessary to capture Hankou, because only by capturing Wuhan can we destroy the forces of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party's cooperation in anti-Japanese war. However, we must consider that our target of combat is a semi-feudal peasant country in the colony, and cities seized by Western capitalist countries can solve the problem. However, it is not possible in China. They have not yet formed a city economy centered on the city. Therefore, we should be very cautious about our jihad to liberate the Chinese people from the British and American imperialist colonial rule..."

After hearing the words of Kome Fumima, Emperor Hirohito, who had no expression, actually nodded slowly to him.

Kome Fumima was a little excited, and a lot of flush flashed on his pale face. When he was young, he had tuberculosis, his body was always weak, and he was suffering from hemorrhoids and could not sit for a long time.

"Your Majesty, I believe that to attack Wuhan and force the Chiang government to step down and surrender, one must first solve a person. This person has become increasingly threatened by the empire's holy war, and his threat is even greater than that of the anti-Japanese armed forces!" Seishiro Itagaki stood up and stood up and said.

Emperor Hirohito frowned slightly, as if he didn't understand who the person Seishiro Itagaki was?

"Is the Sakagaki Army talking about the Chinese general Leng Feng who has caused huge damage to me in the past six months?" asked Prime Minister Kobaya.

"Yes, Prime Minister, it is this Leng Feng. He and his troops are currently stationed in northern Henan, which were once occupied by our army. This man is young, but he is extremely sinister and cunning, does not obey Chen's law, and takes a detour. Sometimes he has no rules at all. Although he and his troops do not play the main role in the Xuzhou battlefield, every attack is at an extremely critical point. The early attack of the North China Front Army was mostly due to this person. He cooperated with Li Delin, the commander of the Fifth War Zone of the Chinese Army in Xuzhou. This is a very different thing we have encountered in the past. What is even more terrifying is his grasp and foresight of the situation..."

Seishiro Itagaki talked a lot. Obviously, he had just returned from China and had done quite some research on the situation in China, especially Leng Feng and the New Army, which exceeded many people's understanding.

The central idea of ​​Sakagaki Seishiro's argument is to first solve the problem of Leng Feng's obstacle in capturing Wuhan.

Even if it cannot be completely resolved, he must be held back and he cannot be allowed to intervene in the Battle of Wuhan.

Otherwise, you will repeat the mistakes in Xuzhou and lose so much troops to occupy Xuzhou. Such a victory will be too expensive.

"Sakagaki Jun's words are serious. A mere Chinese army can have no more than 30,000 people at most. How powerful can it be? I think the front-line generals are incompetent, so they exaggerate the opponent." Honjo Shizuka said.

"Honjo, every sentence I say is true. Nakajima, Isotani, and even Doihara, are all defeated by Leng Feng. If one of them fails, it would be incompetent, but these three are all elites of the empire. They are all defeated by them. Can't it be explained?" Seishiro Itagaki retorted.

"Shoujikun's meaning, if the Leng Feng and the New First Army are not resolved, the plan to attack Wuhan will not be carried out?"

"I mean, Leng Feng and his new army must be held back and cannot give him the opportunity to rush to the Wuhan battlefield, so that our chances of occupying Wuhan will increase a lot."

"Did Sakagaki-kun agree to launch an attack on Wuhan and plan?"

"Yes, I think it is better to attack Wuhan than to be late. If it is delayed for a long time, it will give the Chiang government a chance to restore its vitality, and the empire will fall into the quagmire of holy war." Seishiro Itagaki bowed solemnly to Hirohito, "Your Majesty, I think now is the best time to quickly fight and resolve the China Incident."

"Your Majesty, I think occupying Wuhan will not solve the China problem immediately. Before I make full preparations, and based on the current situation sent back by China, the Chinese people's anti-Japanese sentiment is high. Even if we occupy Wuhan, it may be difficult to force the Chiang government to step down and compromise. The empire needs to change its strategy. The army we have sent to China now has thirty divisions, and we are still mobilizing and conscription. If we want to maintain such a huge army's food, ammunition and other materials, we need to pursue at least 3 billion yen of military expenditure. The empire's tax revenue can only be maintained until around October. I think that instead of consuming manpower and force to occupy Wuhan, it is better to adopt a defensive force and bomb the economic and military important areas within it, and establish a new regime controlled by me. This is a wise strategy. I hope Your Majesty will observe it clearly." Omen Morima stood up and said.

Emperor Hirohito was beaten by Koemi Fumi, and his head was swollen, but he also understood that the cabinet did not advocate continuing to solve China's problems by force, at least not agreeing now.

The army naturally tried its best to expand the war and occupy China by force, and regarded it as the best strategic opportunity, which is almost in line with the original Lu prime minister Sugiyama Moto.

"His Majesty!"

Ugaki, who was over 70 years old and had a white hair, took up the old voice, and his old voice rang in the huge conference hall: "I think the Prime Minister's opinion is reasonable..."

"His Majesty!"

With another loud shout, Hirohito's thin body trembled slightly, and the glasses on the bridge of his nose almost fell off. He felt a little unhappy. He was not dizzy and tinnitus, so why did he speak so loudly?

The spoken general was rumored: "I think that solving the Chinese problem cannot be defended, but can only attack. A few years are a year of decisive victory. Honjo Jun's opinion is completely correct. For a hundred years of peace, we must immediately take over Wuhan, expand the suppression circle, and force Chiang to surrender!"

As soon as the general finished speaking, the Araki government sitting opposite him nodded, stood up, and opened his slight trembling beard: "Your Majesty, I have also agreed with Sakagaki Jun's opinion. However, given that I am close to my subordinates, the high temperature and heat in Wuhan in the Yangtze River may be unfavorable to the battle. Therefore, I think it is not too late to capture Wuhan after the autumn cools down!"

"No!" The internal affairs general Mi Guang, who was next to the guards, suddenly stood up and retorted loudly: "Your Majesty, after being blocked from advancing west along Longhai Road, this strategic plan to go south along the Pinghan Line is meaningless. Then the route to attack Wuhan can only be to take the Yangtze River waterway. The river is wide in summer, which is conducive to our ship's operations. If it is the dry season after autumn, it will be extremely unfavorable to our army's combat! Therefore, if you decide to capture Wuhan, I think you must not delay the fighter jets because of the heat!"

Mi Guang's internal affairs words hit the hearts of many civil and military ministers.

"If we only capture Wuhan, now is the best time. However, in addition to taking a foothold in the attack, we also need to be admitted to the guard. It is rainy in summer, and the complex terrain in Jiangxi, Anhui and other places is extremely unfavorable to our army's marching, and there are also supply problems."

"The bad weather conditions are the same for both sides of the enemy and us, and this is completely unnecessary to consider!"

"Your Majesty, I feel that the conditions are not yet ripe for capturing Wuhan, and the reasons are as follows..."

"His Majesty……"

In front of Emperor Hirohito, these civil and military officials of the empire would not bargain like peasants and vendors in the vegetable market to buy vegetables or sell vegetables, but they argued one by one, but they were just a little more civilized.

The army, navy, cabinet, each represents their own interests, and each person strongly expresses his own interests and demands.

Of course, after the argument, the final decision was left to Emperor Hirohito.

Suddenly, it became quiet. When everyone looked at Hirohito with a gaze, he coughed gently. After dozens of seconds, he spoke, "Let's go and have a break."

From beginning to end, at the first imperial meeting of the headquarters, Hirohito's only time opened his golden mouth was such a "decree of imperial edict".
Chapter completed!