Originally, according to Yamamoto Isoroku's prestige, it would not be difficult for this matter to be passed if he insisted on it. However, because yesterday a Japanese transport fleet was attacked by a submarine in the waters between the Philippines and Taiwan, and the loss was Two vital oil tankers. This incident attracted a reprimand from Emperor Hirohito. Some royalists raised objections by using chicken feathers as arrows, believing that when the imperial oil reserves had dropped below the warning line, the combined fleet should give priority to ensuring this line. To ensure the safety of life transportation lines, we should first find and destroy this submarine force lurking in the South China Sea.
After disguising themselves as British ships and sinking the USS Kaga aircraft carrier during the rescue operation in Singapore, the submarine force of the Xuebing Army took action again. Japan was eager to launch the Philippines campaign and actively prepared to recover Taiwan. The fundamental reason was to ensure the security of Sumatra. Oil and the strategic resources of Southeast Asian countries can be safely transported back to Japan. The occurrence of this attack further confirmed the importance of this strategy. Of course, because the war in the Philippines has been taken over by the army, the navy has been reduced to It's a supporting role. Yamamoto was very angry because of this incident, so the kid who raised different opinions was sensible enough and didn't mention anything about the Philippines.
Yamamoto's supporters naturally strongly supported Yamamoto's decision to head to the Indian Ocean. They believed that facts had proven that the Xuebing Army had become the empire's biggest obstacle to resolving the China incident and even dominating Asia. They must not be allowed to develop an ocean-going fleet and affect the empire's plans in Southeast Asia. layout, believing that long-term pain is better than short-term pain. As long as this infant ocean-going fleet can be annihilated in the Arabian Sea, then whether it is the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean, or the Pacific Ocean, from now on it will be the world of the Imperial Navy...
The two parties were having a heated argument when a staff officer knocked on the door and asked Yamamoto to answer the phone. He said it was the Emperor who was calling.
Yamamoto calmed down his irritability and went to answer the phone. He came back about ten minutes later. The old Japanese kicked them away and walked in. The Japanese turned to look at the door and saw his face and eyes that were so gloomy that they could almost squeeze out water. He was so filled with murderous intent that he couldn't help but swallow all the words that came to his mouth.
"Just now, another of our transport fleets was attacked by a submarine in the same sea area." Yamamoto looked around at everyone and said gloomily. It could be heard from his voice that he was suppressing the anger in his heart, thinking about what happened just now After being scolded by Emperor Hirohito, all the Japanese soldiers sat respectfully. No one dared to stroke his beard at this time, "Another oil tanker has been lost. If this continues, no matter how much oil Koizumi-kun develops in Sumatra, , Because it cannot be transported back to the mainland, our troops fighting on the front line in China and our local aviation forces will have to face the dilemma of lack of oil. It seems that defeating the US Pacific Fleet alone is not enough."
Inoue Narumi licked her lips and asked in a low voice: "Are you sure it was an American who did it?"
Yamamoto glanced at him with sharp eyes and shouted: "Who else besides the Americans? Don't forget that just last year, the Americans established a submarine base on Midway Island. The Americans formed an alliance with the Cadet Army, which allowed them to Obtain supplies in Taiwan, damn Americans, this time, I will make them unable to set foot in the Pacific Ocean, and temporarily put the expedition to the Indian Ocean on hold. First, we will solve the serious problem of Midway Island. Nagumo-kun, I order you to lead the way. The Yamato aircraft carrier fleet will attack Midway Island, even if it is sunk. Takagi-kun, I order you to lead the Musashi aircraft carrier fleet to attack the South China Sea. You must find the American submarines operating there and tear them apart. If people want to learn the Germans’ wolf-tooth tactics, we will find them one by one and kill them..."
Takagi-kun is Takagi Yutake. This naval admiral who once proposed the "theory of futility of battleships" and the "air-based navy" new armament plan should have been appreciated by Yamamoto, who advocated the theory of aircraft carrier supremacy. However, because he was closer to Inoue Narumi, When Yamamoto and Inoue had a conflict, they suffered a disaster and was pushed into the cold palace by Yamamoto. As the relationship between Inoue and Yamamoto warmed up, the "Navy Iron Triangle" became the backbone of the Navy Ministry, and he began to gain budding positions. Chance gradually became one of Yamamoto's most trusted subordinates.
Nagumo Chuichi and Takagi Yuwu looked at each other, stood up, lowered their heads and shouted in unison: "Hai."
Yamamoto nodded to them, motioned for them to sit down, and then glanced at the others and said: "We will not march into the Indian Ocean for the time being, but we need to keep track of the construction progress of the academy's ocean-going fleet, so I want to send someone to Karachi, gentlemen. , this task is quite arduous, is there anyone willing to take the initiative to share the worries of the empire?"
No one answered. This task was not only difficult, but also too dangerous. After the student army rose in Guangdong, due to the difficulty in infiltrating the special higher education courses, Major General Kimura Yuto of the Ministry of War volunteered to infiltrate to investigate. As a result, he was the only one who infiltrated. He disappeared from the world in less than a week. According to the information later provided by Nakajima Nariko, the head of the Mei Agency, during that time, the Xuebing Army beheaded a Japanese spy in Guangzhou. The bloody example is there, Karachi As a military base, security is definitely more stringent than in Guangzhou. The lowest rank here is a major general. They don't want to make the same mistake as Kimura.
No one volunteered to stand up for a long time, and Yamamoto's face couldn't help but get darker and darker. Seeing this, General Shiro Kawako coughed twice and suggested to Yamamoto: "Minister Yamamoto, I think so, you can choose one person to go." New Delhi is responsible for remote control, and then mobilizes manpower from other departments to form a front-line espionage team. Well, let's call it the Indian Ocean Agency."
Yamamoto nodded with a dark face and asked, "Does Jigu-kun have a good candidate?"
Jigu looked at the Japanese. Lieutenant General Koga Mineichi next to him glanced at the others. Seeing that everyone was looking at the others, he sighed in his heart and stood up and said to Yamamoto: "Your Excellency, let me take responsibility. Let’s do this.”
As the commander of the second fleet under the combined fleet, Koga Mineichi is a powerful figure. Yamamoto actually did not want him to take risks, but since no one else took the initiative to come forward and the matter was of great concern, he gave it some thought. Xiang's face softened slightly, and he nodded and said, "Please, Koga-kun. I know this trip is very dangerous. You can choose two people from Yamato Soul to be your personal guards."
"Hai."
Yamamoto looked around at everyone, especially looking at the faces of several major generals, and said solemnly: "Koga-kun dares to implicate himself for the cause of the empire, and everyone should encourage him." Then he looked at Prince Fushimi Miyahiro Kyou and asked. Said: "Your Excellency, let's go to the staff room."
Prince Gong Hiro Gong Fushimi nodded, then got up and walked towards the door first.
Yamamoto called the names of other officers who were qualified to participate in the advanced military meeting, and then walked towards the door.
After Pearl Harbor, the Battle of Midway is about to begin early.