Chapter 102 The Battle of the Japanese Army and Navy
Just when Nagasaki was being bombarded by the flying fortress cluster of the Guangzhou Air Corps, in the "Matsu no Kaku" of the Chowa-den in the Tokyo Imperial Palace (i.e., the Emperor's Palace), Emperor Hirohito was dressed in a gorgeous generalissimo military uniform and wearing a pair of small glasses.
He was scolding Mitsumasa Yoneuchi in a deep voice: "...After the air attack on Nagoya, I asked you to strengthen local air defense, but how did you do it? Such an important place as the Sasebo Military Port is not equipped with sufficient aviation troops.
Minaiqing, you disappoint me so much. Fei"
Hirohito learned so quickly that the Sasebo naval port was under air attack from Hideki Tojo's report.
The dispute between the Japanese Army and Navy has been going on for a long time. Although the naval force headed by Marine Minister Isoroku Yamamoto currently controls the military, the Army led by Prime Minister Hideki Tojo has not given up the fight. The combined fleet successfully attacked Pearl Harbor and won.
, the entire U.S. Pacific Fleet was destroyed, which is naturally good news for Japan. However, in Tojo Hideki's view, this is quite detrimental to the Army regaining control of the military headquarters. Since the Osaka Fourth Division was defeated by Koizumi Toshiichiro
After being incorporated into the Western Expedition Fleet in the name of lacking sufficient land combat strength, Tojo panicked. He had a premonition that the navy wanted to take advantage of the victory at Pearl Harbor to further gain control of the military. He was known as the "Razor General" and was known for his ability to kill first and then report later.
His style changed, and he reported everything to Hirohito, no matter how big or small, and he began to become a "leg-holding general".
When Hirohito was admonishing Minai, Tojo stood aside respectfully and listened, his eyes rolling behind his glasses, thinking about how to word the words to fully capture the local air defense power.
After Yonei entered the "Matsu no Pavilion" and saw Tojo, he realized that it must be him who made the complaint. He was quite dissatisfied with Tojo's behavior, but it didn't show on his face at all. He lowered his head and said respectfully: "Your Majesty taught you a lesson.
, This is indeed a dereliction of duty by Wei Chen. Regarding the domestic air defense matter, Wei Chen actually had a comprehensive plan for a long time, but he was busy preparing for the attack on Pearl Harbor some time ago, so the action was delayed. Your Majesty, Sasebo was attacked by the Chinese
For the sneak attack, I think the Army Ministry should bear the greatest responsibility."
Tojo lowered his head and was thinking about something, but he almost jumped up when he heard Minai's last words. The old devil looked up and stared at him and said sternly: "What? We are the most responsible? Prime Minister, what do you mean, Sasebo belongs to
Is it under the jurisdiction of our Army?"
Facing Tojo's cold and stern gaze, Yoneuchi Mitsumasa looked at him quarrelsomely and said coldly: "Doesn't the Army have any responsibility? If southeastern Zhejiang had not been prematurely captured by the Xuebing Army, how could the Xuebing Army carry out air strikes on the mainland?
Tojo-kun, how did the Xuebing Army become a serious problem for the empire? It’s all because of the incompetence of your army..."
"Mitsumasa Yoneuchi, please don't shirk your responsibility. If the empire's domestic air defense is left to the control of our army, I can guarantee that the Sasebo incident will never happen again."
"Tojo-kun, please don't change the subject. Let me ask you, if there is no forward platform in southeast Zhejiang, would the Xuebing Army have the ability to launch an air attack of this scale on Sasebo?"
Mitsumasa Yoneuchi and Hideki Tojo had a heated argument, and the smell of gunpowder was everywhere in the "Matsu no Pavilion". Finally, Hirohito couldn't hold back his anger. He shouted with a straight face: "That's enough, both of them are important ministers of the empire."
, but making a lot of noise like a market woman, how unbecoming it is!"
Hirohito was angry, Yonei and Tojo immediately lowered their heads and listened, and the quarrel finally stopped.
As the war in Japan continued, Hirohito had long been dissatisfied with the Army. As early as 20 days after the "Marco Bridge Incident" in 1937, he issued a national order to put pressure on the military, asking the military to conduct a decisive battle in order to achieve the "
Like the "September 18th Incident", the incident in the country was completely resolved within three months. But now five years have passed, and the Japanese army has not only failed to completely annex the country, but has also repeatedly lost territory in the south, and even the southeastern Zhejiang area can directly threaten the empire.
All the strategic points in the homeland were lost, which made him unable to endure it any longer.
He looked at Minei, soothed his tone, and said as calmly as possible: "Minai-san, Yamamoto-san once told me that in order to solve the Xuebing Army, the empire still needs a certain amount of time to accumulate. Now I want to know that you have completed the accumulation.
Is it done?"
"Your Majesty, Mr. Yamamoto and I have had in-depth discussions on how to eliminate the student army. Our idea is to first capture the Philippines, then use Manila as a springboard to fully recover Taiwan, and then capture Hainan Island in order to achieve the goal of
A comprehensive encirclement of the Xuebing Army. Of course, to completely achieve this, the Army must cooperate and block the Xuebing Army's escape north and west from land——"
After listening to Minai's statement, Hirohito pondered for a while and asked: "I heard that Mr. Yamamoto intends to expand the size of the Marine Corps in order to allow the Navy to independently complete some major battles. Is that true?"
Tojo Hideki's heart trembled, and he felt something was wrong.
Mine replied respectfully: "Yes."
"Be specific! The China incident has not been resolved for a long time and has now become a drag on the empire. As long as it can be resolved as soon as possible, I will support it."
"Hai!" Minai responded loudly, and then told all about Yamamoto's idea of absorbing the Army's standing divisions. Before he finished speaking, Tojo Hideki almost jumped up and shouted: "No, absolutely not, Your Majesty,
There is no such precedent in the empire! In this case, we might as well abolish our Army Ministry. However, if this happens, I'm afraid those young officers will do something drastic again. Your Majesty, please think again.
ah!"
Hirohito's original thought was that since the army was not effective in combat, it was a legitimate move to give the navy greater authority and resources. It could take advantage of the victory at Pearl Harbor to solve the serious problem of the Gakuin Army in one fell swoop. However, when Tojo said this
After those words, he thought of the "December 118 Incident" (the February 26 Incident), and his expression became solemn. At this moment, an official from the Ministry of Internal Affairs appeared with white powder on his face and stained teeth.
At the door of "Matsu no Pavilion", he bent down and reported to Hirohito: "Your Majesty, the military headquarters called, saying that the Nagasaki military port was also attacked by the air force of the Academy Army's aviation unit. They asked the Prime Minister to come over immediately."
"Nagasaki was also attacked by air raids?" Hirohito was startled.
"Yes."
Two major military ports were hit by air attacks in a row. Tojo, who was still a little gloating about the misfortune, couldn't help but look sad: "Ba Ge, what do the Xuebing Army want to do? Do they want us to turn Guangzhou into ruins?"
Minai bowed towards Hirohito and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, let me go over and take a look first!"
Hirohito took a deep breath, nodded and said: "Report the battle damage as soon as possible, and come up with an emergency plan as soon as possible. This matter should not be expanded!"
"Wei Chen understands!"
(Old Poison: Suddenly there are 5 million words, brothers, can you give me a few words of encouragement?)