General Kanji Ishihara, the Chief of Staff of the Japanese Army, walked out of the gate surrounded by a group of warblers. Before getting in the car, he kissed every shy and timid girl on the lips, and then lowered his head and got into a luxurious car.
The black car, surrounded by four cars in front and behind, drove towards the General Staff Headquarters.
Ishihara leaned his head on the backrest, closed his eyes to calm down, and quickly entered the real world from the boundless tenderness. Then he opened his eyes, turned his head and asked: "Imada-kun, is there any new news from the staff department?
?”
"Yes, at 11 o'clock last night, Commander Yamashita of the 25th Army of Xingzhou sent an urgent war situation report to the General Staff Headquarters, and later sent you a private confidential message! In addition, the Commander of the Combined Fleet of the Navy
General Yamamoto sent you a telegram at five o'clock this morning."
Major General Shintaro Imada, Chief of the Operations Department of the General Staff Headquarters, said respectfully as he opened his briefcase and took out a few messages. As a die-hard supporter of Kanji Ishihara, he was a small staff officer in the Operations Headquarters, and now he has become
As Kanji Ishihara's status improved, the tide rose, and he assumed the position of head of the operations department, the most important position in the General Staff Headquarters. This rapid promotion speed was difficult for ordinary people to achieve.
Ishihara Wanji received the telegram and did not pick it up to read immediately. Instead, he asked doubtfully: "Yamashita Fengwen!? Didn't the Malayan war just end? Is there any urgent war report...
.”
"Commander, won't you know if you open it and take a look?" Major General Imada Shintaro asked with a smile.
Ishihara smiled and shook his head: "No, let me guess first! Sugiyama Gen, Nishio Juzo, Umezu Yoshijiro, Muto Akira, Tanaka Shinichi and others have been jumping up and down recently, plus the person who was supposed to be punished but was promoted to aviation director
Tojo Hideki, I argue with these people every day, which has caused my IQ to drop a lot. If I don't use it anymore, I will become a big fool!
"I have to admit that the greedy and lustful Yamashita Fengfumi is very good at fighting... Last year in the battle of Langfang in North China, the 20th Division was almost completely wiped out. The division commander Lieutenant General Kawagishi Bunzaburo and the chief of staff Major General Kimura Kuzo died.
, among the generals of the entire 20th Division, he, the brigade commander, was the only one who managed to survive. The Imperial Sect was afraid of taking joint responsibility, so they pushed him out as a scapegoat and incorporated him into the reserve force.
"After this guy returned to Tokyo, he was unwilling to fade out of the military and was active up and down. His father-in-law, Motohiko Nagayu, also recognized the interest and took the initiative to send his charming little daughter Masako to my warm bed. After I became the chief of staff at the end of last year, this
This guy became more active in my house and expressed his loyalty to me many times! I saw that he was a talented person with extraordinary conversational skills, so through operation, I appointed him as the commander of the Fourth Division, taking over the position of the incompetent Lieutenant General Matsui, and then appointed him as the commander of the Fourth Division.
The reorganized Fourth Division was transferred to Manchuria to garrison.
"The commander of the Kwantung Army, Juichi Terauchi, was originally an old friend of my cheap father-in-law, and he also took special care of Yamashita Fengfumi during the February 26th Incident, which gave Yamashita Fengfumi room to display his talents. When a new army was formed this year,
Only then was he able to stand out from so many division commanders and become the commander of the army.
"He commanded this Malay battle very well. It stands to reason that the British have been defeated. Where are the new battle reports? Could it be related to the Anjia army in the north?"
Imada Shintaro looked impressed: "The wise commander-in-chief is indeed related to the Anjia Army... A group of staff killed first and then reported, and took the initiative to attack the Anjia Army. However, they were beaten into disgrace and lost troops and generals, so they put all the blame on
General Yamashita’s heart was like a clear mirror for the commander who died in battle, but the matter was so important that he had to adopt the reports of his staff.”
Ishihara smiled and waved his hand: "It's not me who foresaw. The China Expeditionary Force's intelligence agency has already sent the news from Xifu and Nanhua Radio to the base camp. However, there is no specific battle report of the 25th Army, including His Majesty the Emperor.
They are half-believed and half-suspicious, and our opponents insist that this is an act of fabricating rumors out of thin air by An Jiajun in order to undermine the empire’s mainland strategy!”
After that, Ishihara Wanji picked up the telegram, found the telegram belonging to Yamashita Tombumi and read it carefully. After reading it, he thought about it, then picked up Yamamoto Isoroku's telegram, his face was surprised and happy, and finally he laughed: "Okay, okay, okay."
, With these, I have the confidence to persuade His Majesty the Emperor to stand firmly on my side again... Come on, go to the palace now, I want to see His Majesty in person!"
The convoy soon arrived at the Imperial Palace in the city center. After Ishihara Wanji got off the car, he found that the military commander, General Nagano Shushen, was already waiting for Hirohito to receive him. He quickly walked over and greeted Nagano with a smile: "Your Excellency Nagano, are you also for this?
Conflict in Malaya?”
Nagano Shushen is a staunch southward faction and has always advocated Japan's active expansion southward, marching into Southeast Asia, Australia and India. When he saw Ishihara Wanji, the top leader of the army who had the same opinion as him, he also smiled and asked: "Ishihara
Jun, aren't you?"
"Of course I am!"
Ishihara Wanji nodded: "There are a lot of mosquitoes in the Army now. From the General Staff Headquarters to the Army Ministry, from the Military Senate to the Directorate of Education, as well as in various front armies, dispatched armies, legions, divisions and colonial garrison troops, the requirements are
There are so many generals who are re-adjusting the strategy of the base camp, and their chirping is annoying. Now it is time for His Majesty the Emperor to come out and give the final word! If those short-sighted generals are allowed to do whatever they want and drag the limited resources of the empire into China.
In the quagmire of war, a terrible disaster awaits the empire!"
"I'm sorry, Ishihara-kun!"
Nagano Shushen was greatly moved and bowed deeply to Ishihara Wanji: "Before this, I suffered from not having a good reason and at the same time, I was wary of people saying that our navy only cares about itself, so the Military Command and the Navy Ministry could not give more to Ishihara-kun.
With the support of Ishihara-kun, Nagano has been fighting alone. Nagano admires Ishihara-kun for his noble character! Now, our navy has sufficient reasons to prove that going south is the only way out. I believe that His Majesty the Emperor will make the final decision.
The Holy Judge!"
"That's good!"
Ishihara Wanji said happily: "Nagano-dono, I know your difficulties. Hyakutake Gengo, Yoneuchi Mitsumasa and others in the navy are also looking for your flaws behind the scenes. You should be more cautious! Now we work together, there is still time.
It’s not too late!”
At this time, the emperor's attendant summoned Nagano Shushen to come to the court, and then called Ishihara Wanji in as well.
At ten o'clock in the morning, Emperor Hirohito, who was worried about being hit by a mysterious weapon, was angry and frightened, convened an "imperial meeting", and first threw several messages heavily to the military counselor Moto Sugiyama, the director of education Yoshijiro Umezu, and the director of the Army Ministry's military affairs Muto
In front of Zhang and others, he immediately roared loudly:
"You just know how to fight, fight, fight! Is China so easy to conquer? China has boundless strategic depth. Including Annam, Siam has a population of more than 600 million, while the empire is less than 100 million. In addition,
The other side has a strong industrial base in the southwest, with sufficient guns and ammunition, and can replenish the needs of frontline operations at any time. If all our troops are used to attack China, do you tell me clearly when the war will end? Do we have to sacrifice the lives of the imperial warriors and their limited resources?
Will you be willing to throw all the resources into the battlefield in China?
"From the beginning of the war last year to now, the Army has repeatedly let me down. It has lost troops and generals in successive battles, which is a disgrace to the country. Although it finally occupied northern China, how should we calculate those confused accounts in Songhu, eastern Zhejiang and Shanxi? A large number of
The planes, cannons, guns and ammunition were consumed, but the results were very few. The plan to "annihilate China in three months" formulated before the war became the laughing stock of gossips in various countries! What is especially disgusting are those prisoners. Why didn't they choose "Jade Broken"?
', he was loyal to the empire with practical actions, but instead he was paraded around the streets like a monkey, and later he even built bridges and paved roads for the enemy. How disgusting and annoying!
"The only good thing is that under the leadership of Chief of Staff Ishihara-kun, the empire quickly reversed its passive situation and successively occupied the Lanyin Islands and the Far East, and now it has also acquired Malaya, eastern and southern Burma, extending the empire's influence
It expanded to the Indian Ocean in one fell swoop, and its national power expanded exponentially. Now I am very confused: Since the southward strategy has been proven to be correct, why do some generals still strive to gain control of the China mainland? Do you think that is fun?
That is a reckless move that will cost countless lives and drag the empire into the abyss!
"I saw you arguing fiercely some time ago, and I thought maybe you could achieve unity of opinion among yourselves, but judging from the current situation, I don't have any good expectations for you. Please read the telegram first..."
Under Hirohito's majestic gaze, Sugiyama Gen, Umezu Yoshijiro, Muto Akira and others cautiously picked up the telegrams and passed them to each other, complaining in their hearts.
"Did you see it? The opponent's fighter planes are overwhelming. The empire's air force is no match at all. The opponent has hundreds of tanks. There are four to five hundred tanks that penetrate deep into the Malay border alone, plus its huge armored vehicles, motorcycles and
Transport truck fleet, the number of vehicles deployed in a large-scale battle was around 3,000!
"What is particularly shocking is that the opponent actually possesses an unprecedented missile. It comes and goes without a trace, with extremely high accuracy. A light cruiser was hit directly and was blown to pieces! In the target of the opponent's missile
Under the attack, the two large ports with large amounts of anti-aircraft artillery fire were unable to make any response and fell into a sea of fire... It is difficult to imagine that such powerful missiles hit our heavy cruisers, battleships, aircraft carriers, and even
It is my palace, what a disastrous consequence!
"Imagine, if the army was suddenly attacked by such missiles while conducting a landing operation at a port in China, the soldiers and their equipment of the empire would sink into the sea with almost no power to fight back, while the soldiers on the front line would not be able to fight back.
With replenishment at sea and supplies cut off, how can we still fight this war? Do you want me to experience the shameful defeat in Western Siberia again? Also, we still don’t know how far the range of this missile is and what means it is launched by.
Yes, you have to anger your opponents and target the Tokyo Imperial Palace in order for you to feel happy, right? Hmm!?"
The generals in uniform were all mourning, and the cabinet ministers all bowed their heads and stood in awe. However, several generals who were directly reprimanded hurriedly kowtowed to apologize without even shouting!
Hirohito vented his feelings and felt much better. He said sincerely: "The war in the Malay Peninsula fully demonstrates that you must not expand on your own without knowing how many secret weapons the opponent has hidden and without being sure to restrain the opponent's aircraft and tanks."
Otherwise, the war in China will only plunge the empire’s limited troops into the quagmire of the Chinese battlefield, and ultimately be difficult to extricate themselves from! Think about it for yourselves!”
Hirohito stood up and walked away, clearly conveying his attitude to the ministers and navy and army generals.
As he had been instructed in advance, the chamberlain did not make any notes on Hirohito's "tamaune" and withdrew together with the minister of seal, leaving the meeting site to the cabinet and the military.
Prime Minister Konoe Fumimaro presided over the meeting. He said loudly: "Your Majesty was proud of the glorious victory achieved by the Army in the past two months, but recently he has fallen into some kind of worry and has been unable to sleep at night. The cabinet fully supports your Majesty's decree.
Judging from the current situation, the key to solving the problem of China is not to occupy it, but to gradually divide it. China has too many people, its territory is too big, and all the people are soldiers. If the empire wants to annex it, it is tantamount to a snake swallowing an elephant. Therefore, there is a home in Anjia.
Under the premise that we have a strong enemy, our military attacks and occupations are destined to be in vain.
"What we need is to take advantage of each other's internal contradictions to repeatedly dismember China into a number of small forces that are independent and controlled by the empire in order to achieve the long-term goal of 'co-prosperity in Greater East Asia.' Therefore, the cabinet is inclined to send representatives to Nanjing.
The government made secret negotiations to force the other party to recognize 'North China Autonomy' and many other harsh conditions!"
Chief of Naval Command Nagano Shushen nodded in greeting: "Our navy fully supports His Majesty's decree! From the current point of view, going south is indeed the best way out for the empire! Now, the United States has not yet armed itself, the French have become frightened, and the British
There was a need to deal with both German and Soviet expansion in Europe.
"On the 30th of last month, the Soviet Union mobilized 23 divisions with a total of 450,000 troops to invade the Finnish border and quickly reached the Mannoheim Line of Defense. On the 1st of this month, it supported and established a puppet government in the hope of inciting
The socialists in the Finnish army rebelled. On the 14th, at the request of the Finnish government, the League of Nations, controlled by Britain and France, officially expelled the Soviet Union from this international organization!
"In Asia, the Chinese army invaded Afghanistan, the Soviet army attacked Persia, and the national liberation movement in India reached a climax. The British were exhausted on all fronts. It can be said that this is the best opportunity for the empire to capture India. If
If you miss this opportunity, it will be extremely difficult to get involved again!"
Ishihara Wanji stood up with a victor's attitude, and his arrogant eyes passed over the faces of Sugiyama Gen, Umezu Yoshijiro, Muto Akira and others:
"Our army also fully supports His Majesty's decision! As an imperialist, I know deeply that the stage for soldiers can only be on the battlefield. Our generals here cannot wait for decades, or even years.
If not, the glory and achievements of tomorrow will not belong to all of you here. Therefore, our army will never stop the pace of expansion. However, we must first make things easier and then make things more difficult to gain enough living space and then run the war in China. There is a sequence in this process.
question!
"Now let me talk about the benefits of going south! First, as we all know, the oil in Malaya, Lanyin and Borneo is the lifeline of the empire. Only if we capture the British Ceylon Naval Base and invade India can we
Ensure our core interests! Otherwise, the enemy's fleet may come from the western sea at any time, harass our oil fields and refineries, and destroy our fuel supply. This is not allowed under any circumstances!
"Secondly, although I don't want to admit it, An Jiajun is indeed brave and good at fighting. Since the beginning of the war, our imperial army has achieved almost zero victories. This is a terrible psychological baggage. Often when the troops face An Jiajun
, We are timid before fighting, and cannot even exert half of our usual combat effectiveness. When the weapons and equipment are not as good as those of our opponents, what can we do to win victory? Is it to build up the lives of precious soldiers? The population of the empire is far away
Less than the opponent, have you considered whether this kind of loss can be borne? What are the consequences of long-term persistence? On the contrary, the British army is vulnerable, and as we enter India as a national liberator, we will definitely gain support.
, this is clear from our experiences in Malaya and Burma!
"Third, the intelligence work in South Asia has always been the focus of our attention. It has relatively great control and influence on the various rebel armies in India. Once we launch an attack, we can cooperate internally and externally, which can greatly reduce the casualties of our troops! India is a country with a large population.
You might as well imagine, once 200 million Indians side with us, how big a boost it will be to the empire? We can use this to narrow the population gap with China and form a steady stream of Indian troops. After rigorous training by our army
By opening up all fronts, the empire's combat power will more than double?
"Fourth, India's industrial base is far beyond that of China. As early as the last European War, the troops that set off from India to participate in the war in Europe went with their own weapons and did not need to supply supplies in the UK. Now
After more than 20 years of development, you can imagine how big a boost it will be to our industrial development? India is rich in iron ore and coal mines, and these resources are on the southern coast, making them easy to transport.
If India, Southeast Asia and the mainland of the empire are organically integrated to form complementary resources, how much will it improve the overall national strength of the empire? Although I also think that China is very close to us and has many grain producing areas, but it has industries that we urgently need.
Facilities? If the empire wants to draw closer to the United States, will occupying India help us more, or the coastal areas of China? I think everyone should know this without me saying it, right?
"Fifth, in terms of national relations, our army's occupation of India will be a great stimulus to Germany and the Soviet Union. They will definitely launch crazy attacks on neighboring countries in order to obtain as much land as possible to expand their national power.
This, in turn, can cover our occupation of India. On the contrary, if we start a war in China, the Germans and the Soviets will ignore their own affairs and fail to achieve the purpose of cooperating with each other in fighting;
"Sixth, our army has concentrated heavy troops on the Lanyin Islands. Food, fuel and ammunition supplies can be replenished through the newly occupied Malaya, Burma, British Borneo and our Lanyin Islands. If the fleet is used to mobilize troops
Going north, in addition to transporting soldiers, we also need to transport supplies from the south. This will increase the difficulty of our supply and seriously consume the limited transportation capacity of the Imperial Navy!
"Last point, once we occupy India, our materials and resources will be greatly supplemented, and the newly formed divisions will also receive actual combat training. Coupled with the newly established army in India, we already have the capital to compete with the United States.
.When the time comes, whether it is the navy's attack on Pearl Harbor or the army's attack on Australia, the initiative will be in my hands. The opportunity for the empire to dominate the Pacific is right in front of us!"
Kanji Ishihara's analysis demonstrated the necessity of going south from all aspects and won rounds of applause from cabinet ministers and military officials.
~~~~~~~~~~~
***: Sorry, the treatment of colds and fevers these days has been complicated with infusions and medicines, which resulted in complications. Last night, my heartbeat jumped to 180 beats, and my whole body was convulsing. My wife rushed me to the hospital. After treatment, it slowed down to 180 beats.
Around 120 beats... Myocarditis is the emperor's disease. No one expected it to relapse at this time. The doctor told me to have a good rest. The updates in the next few days may slow down!
Sorry, I originally wanted to compete for ***, but it's a pity...