Japan, Tokyo City Valley, underground command center where the Japanese military headquarters is located.
At ten o'clock in the evening, the city under air-raid control was completely silent and pitch black. Only the cars passing by on the street from time to time brought some light and noise.
The Chief of Staff of the Japanese Army, General Shun Tada, still had not returned home from get off work. At this time, he was holding an urgent telegram from Kanji Ishihara from Sao Paulo, Brazil. He was pacing back and forth in his office on the second floor of the underground command center, frowning. Frowning slightly, a cautious look appeared on his face.
There was a knock on the door. Jun Tada rubbed his tired and bloodshot eyes, sat back behind his desk, cheered up a little, and said loudly: "The door is unlocked, come in!"
Daisaku Kawamoto opened the door and walked into the room. Seeing Tada Shunhou's face full of joy, he smiled and said: "I knew you hadn't gone home yet... I just saw off the last 40,000 of the 16th batch of immigrants at the dock.
Including production materials and carry-on items, they occupied 28 transport ships. It took four days to export a total of 150,000 immigrants. In this way, since December last year, we have
South America has exported two million people. It seems that it is not very difficult to achieve Ishihara-kun’s goal of immigrating four million people by July!"
Daisaku Kawamoto is the brother of Shun Tada's wife. He is already sixty years old this year and has a very unfortunate fate. As early as 1926, Kawamoto had already reached the rank of Army Colonel. According to the normal promotion process, he stayed there before the July 7th Incident.
The lieutenant general's division commander and corps commander had no problems at all, and there was no doubt that he would get involved with the chief of staff and the prime minister after the war broke out.
It's a pity that this man was hot-headed. After presiding over the killing of the disobedient Zhang Zuolin in 1928, he had to be dismissed from the military as a scapegoat for the Kwantung Army and the then commander of the Kwantung Army, Chotaro Muraoka. However, he left Kanto in Kawamoto
Before the army, he also secured enough benefits for his brother-in-law Tada Shun, friends Itagaki Seishiro and Ishihara Kanji. This allowed him to still have huge appeal in the army, especially the Kwantung Army, after leaving the army.
Before the July 7th Incident broke out, Kawamoto Daisaku's fate had not changed at all. He first served as a consultant to the Sino-Japanese Industrial Company, and then as a representative of Colonel Chiaki Shigeto, the head of the China Section of the General Staff Headquarters, he rushed to Shenyang urgently and sent 50,000 yuan in secret funds to
Supported the Kwantung Army in launching the Wicker Lake Incident.
After September 18th, Daisaku Kawamoto served as the entrusted officer of the Kwantung Army, the general office of Xi'an Coal Mine, the director of Manchurian Railway, and the chairman of Mantan. He made money crazily, and finally in the second half of 1937, he was attacked by Tojo, the then chief of staff of the Kwantung Army.
Hideki, Hoshino Naoki, the General Secretary of the Puppet Manchukuo, and Nobusuke Kishi, the deputy director of the Puppet Manchukuo Ministry of Industry, lost his position as Chairman of Manchuria and had to sadly return to his home in the Japanese Concession of Dalian to work.
Kanji Ishihara became Army Chief of Staff at the end of 1937, thus changing the fate of Daisaku Kawamoto.
Ishihara Kanji urgently needed his trusted associates to take care of his economic affairs, regulate the material rationing of the colonies, and integrate the entire huge country into a high-speed whole, making Japan's national power truly experience an explosive increase. And the trustworthy people around him
There are only so many people to count against. Therefore, in the first week after taking office, Ishihara Kanji personally flew to Kawamoto Daisaku's home in Dalian for a secret meeting. Later, he invited Kawamoto Daisaku's brother-in-law Tada Shun. After two days and nights of continuous discussions, Kawamoto Daisaku became stronger.
After his comeback, under the background of the Japanese army's invasion of the Lanyin Islands and Southeast Asia, he successively served as director of the Java Colonization Company, the director of the Lanyin Colonization Company, the director of the Lanyin Petroleum Company, the chairman of the Malay Minerals Company, the chairman of the Japanese Trading and Colonization Company and other important positions.
.
In just over six years, Kawamoto Daisaku not only successfully completed the tasks assigned by Ishihara Wanji, but also secretly made money in private. Japanese senior officials rumored that the wealth of more than 300 tons of gold had been misappropriated by Kawamoto through various means. But it was painful.
There is no evidence, it can be said that Kawamoto Daisaku only exists as Ishihara Kanji's money bag.
After Tojo Hideki came to power, before he could suppress Kawamoto Daisaku, he was dismissed because of his consecutive defeats against the An family army. The appointment of his brother-in-law Tada Shun further increased Kawamoto Daisaku's power. He not only continued to serve as the director of the Japan Trade and Colonization Company
Commander, he also resumed active service in the Army and served as Lieutenant General and Director of General Affairs of the General Staff Headquarters, leaving the hostile Tojo Hideki, Sugiyama Gen and others helpless.
Hearing what Daisaku Kawamoto said, Shun Tada nodded slightly: "Ishihara-kun does need a very large imperial population to fill... Compared to Australia, which has huge mineral resource reserves, South America is not inferior at all, with oil, coal, iron, etc.
The reserves of copper, bismuth, antimony, silver, saltpeter, beryllium and sulfur are among the highest in the world. Tin, manganese, mercury, platinum, lithium, vanadium, zirconium, thorium, diamond and other minerals are also abundant, as well as natural rubber.
, this is also an important reason why the United States, which was founded on a first-come-first-served basis, has become the top of the Western world in just over a hundred years.
"It is a pity that all minerals require population to develop. Compared with the lazy white people and indigenous people of South America, only the hard-working He tribe and the Koreans who have been transformed by the He tribe can make better use of the resources there. Mr. Ishihara said,
The land and climate in South America are very suitable for growing food. Most areas can achieve two crops a year, and some areas can achieve three crops a year. As long as there are enough manpower, he is fully confident that he can bear the entire America's food production alone in two to three years.
Supply, if the empire loses Lanyin, the Philippine Islands and even New Guinea in the future, South America's strategic position will become even more important!"
Daisaku Kawamoto frowned: "Is there any bad news coming from Southeast Asia?"
Shun Tada took out some telegrams from the drawer and handed them to Daisaku Kawamoto. After Daisaku Kawamoto finished reading them, he said: "The situation is dangerous! From early morning to night today, the Army's 3rd and 5th Air Forces, a total of four flying divisions, as well as the Navy
The 12th and 14th land-based air fleets launched continuous attacks on the South China Army in the Andaman-Nicobar Islands area in the northern waters of Sumatra, causing heavy losses!
"When General Juichi Terauchi, the commander of the Southern Army, briefed me on the battle situation in the morning, I had not yet figured out the conflict of interests. I acquiesced in allowing the Southern Army to organize sea, land and air forces to launch attacks, and called Ishihara-kun in the afternoon to explain. Now I have received a reply from Ishihara-kun.
, then I realized that I had stung a hornet’s nest this time!”
Daisaku Kawamoto asked puzzledly: "Based on my understanding of the Eastern Indian Ocean, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands guard the northern gateway to Sumatra, affecting the security of several key sea routes. The Southern Army organized air strike forces to attack,
Is there no big problem?"
Tada Shun smiled bitterly and said: "I thought so before... Kawamoto-kun, you have been in Southeast Asia for more than three years. In your opinion, who is further away from Sumatra than the Malay Peninsula and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands?"
The island is closer?”
"What's there to be confused about?" Kawamoto replied carelessly: "Even a fool knows that there is only the Strait of Malacca between Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, but there are several kilometers from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Hundreds of nautical miles. Of course the Malay Peninsula is closer!”
Tada Shun looked annoyed: "Yes, but it is such a simple truth, but I did not expect that not only did it cost two to three hundred precious pilots and the fighter planes they flew, but it was also more likely to be burned, and the loss was even more critical.
and importantly Sumatra.”
Seeing that Daisaku Kawamoto still couldn't figure it out, Shun Tada directly explained: "According to Ishihara-kun's judgment, the previous attack by the An family army should have been limited to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Their goal should be to control the Indian Ocean region as soon as possible.
Especially to capture the island of Madagascar. But this time our aircraft fleet relying on Sumatra Island as a flight base for frequent attacks will inevitably make the other party realize the special strategic location of Sumatra Island, and may launch an attack on our Sumatra Island at all costs, and then
Endangering the security of the entire Sumatra and Philippine Islands!"
Daisaku Kawamoto's expression also became solemn.
As the money bag of Kanji Ishihara and Shun Tada, he clearly knows what the Lanyin Islands and the Philippine Islands mean to his small group and even Japan as a whole.
After losing the colonies of East India, Malaya, Burma and Ceylon, Lanyin and the Philippine Islands shouldered the important task of transporting oil, rubber, oil palm, pepper, tobacco, coffee, grain and other supplies to Japan and Australia. Japan
The coal, iron ore and gold, silver, copper, chromium, manganese, tin, bauxite, etc. that are urgently needed by military industrial enterprises also occupy an important proportion in the entire supply and demand system. Once lost, not only will huge trade profits be lost,
, and many factories will lose their sources of raw materials, and national strength will be greatly weakened.
What is particularly important is that the island of Ceylon and the Andaman Islands have already been lost to Shun Tada. If Sumatra is lost again, what will the emperor and the meeting of ministers think? A chief of staff who has lost successive battles will not get the emperor.
Favored by the cabinet and important ministers, the dormant Tojo Hideki and others may make a comeback again, and the interests of the group will be severely hit. This is something no one wants to see.
Daisaku Kawamoto asked nervously: "Then what should we do now?"
On the contrary, Shun Tada calmed down and said in an orderly manner: "The top priority is to increase immigration again... Taking advantage of the fact that neither the Americans nor the Chinese are able to get involved in the Eastern Pacific, we will strive to immigrate 8 million people to the South American continent before the end of the year."
Mr. Ishihara said that with this population of eight million, even if the war situation in North America recurs, he is confident that he can use the vast land of South America to launch guerrilla operations with the Americans and completely tie the US military to the American battlefield. In this way, we only need to deal with attacks from
Just the threat from the Chinese!
"In addition, Mr. Ishihara asked me to explain the current dangerous situation to His Majesty the Emperor as soon as possible, especially to draw a line with the Southern Army who took the initiative without authorization. General Terauchi did not follow the arrangements of the General Staff Headquarters and replaced the generals Ceylon and Andaman issued by the headquarters.
——The troops on the Nicobar Islands ignored the order to withdraw completely and lost troops in vain... This time, the two flying armies of the Army and the two land-based flying fleets of the Navy suffered heavy losses. Admiral Terauchi and the Southern Army led by him
The army is destined to bear most of the responsibilities!
"If Sumatra Island is not well defended in the future, we can blame it on the Southern Army. After all, it was their wanton behavior that caused the death of so many pilots and fighter planes in the empire, which in turn caused fundamental damage to our air defense force.
weakened! With this layer of foreshadowing, even losing Sumatra Island is not unacceptable! This move is called preparing for a rainy day.
"Finally, Mr. Ishihara suggested that I once again send a secret envoy to the South China government, especially An Yi himself, to clarify our position that we have no intention of interfering with the Asian continent. In this way, even if An's army occupied Sumatra in the future, for the sake of the balance of the world structure and for the sake of peace here,
To obtain more benefits from the Second World War, the Chinese will definitely choose to temporarily cease their activities and watch the tigers fight, so that we will have a good opportunity to breathe and seize the time to build our bases in South America and Australia.
"As long as South America truly develops, the oil, rubber, food and other materials urgently needed by the empire in the future can be solved through the routes connecting the central and eastern Pacific. In this way, in addition to the strategic depth of the empire being greatly enhanced, the entire resources
The layout is more reasonable, just like the four legs of a stool. Even if one is broken, the empire can still maintain the war until the world situation changes!"
Daisaku Kawamoto knows what Tada Shun hopes for the change in the world situation. Currently, Japan is working hard to absorb the secret information transferred from Germany, combined with the technology obtained from the United States, and seize the time to study atomic weapons. It is said that this atomic weapon has the ability to destroy the sky.
With the ability to destroy the land, it can completely destroy the resistance of the United States, and then turn around to deal with the rapid expansion of the Anjia Army, completely laying the foundation for the existence of the Japanese Empire for thousands of years.
Daisaku Kawamoto turned to ask a question that puzzled him: "These points do not involve specific combat arrangements... Didn't Tada-kun give orders to stop the Southern Army's crazy actions?"
"Why do you want to take something out of someone else's fire?"
Tada Jun smiled and shook his head: "Terauchi Juichi is a veteran general and has a deep relationship with His Majesty the Emperor. Even if he makes a mistake, it will not affect his continued control of the Southern Army. The current Southern Army is just like the previous Kwantung Army.
The generals in the temple are running the business so well that I, the chief of staff, am helpless to do anything about it!
"This time, the more serious the losses of the air force belonging to the Southern Army are, the smaller the hope of holding Sumatra Island will be in the future, and the smaller my joint responsibility will be. If Terauchi loses consecutive battles, I can even directly intervene in the affairs of the Southern Army in the future.
Transfer the troops stationed on Sumatra to Java and Borneo, and with the help of the Imperial Navy, there shouldn't be much problem in defending the above islands!"
Daisaku Kawamoto suddenly said: "If we only lose Sumatra, the empire can barely bear it. After all, it was developed relatively late there. Although there are large oil fields and coal fields, we can completely rely on Barrow Island, Mooney Oilfield and Dalby on the Australian mainland."
, Mullah, Blackwater and other coal fields to supplement.
"And compared with the defensive pressure brought by the long coastline of Sumatra, which is only across the strait from the Malay Peninsula, it is easier to deploy defense lines on both Java and Borneo! I believe Itagaki-kun will definitely tell His Majesty,
The cabinet and ministerial meetings explained the secret behind this, and no one dared to make the decision to replace the chief minister easily!"
Tada Shun sighed: "If it weren't for lack of strength, who would be willing to bear the responsibility of losing territory? It's a pity that even though I am the commander-in-chief, there are some things that I cannot do as I please. After all, currently the Southern Army, the Australian Army, the North American Army, and the South American Army are all fronts.
They are all small kingdoms, and all I can play is to coordinate the overall situation...
"Now I am somewhat envious of Ishihara-kun. He has expanded tens of millions of square kilometers for the empire in South America. Not only has he continued to carry forward his name as the 'God of War', he also has unparalleled influence in the minds of the emperor and his subjects. Now he
I have ten armies and one million troops in my hand, just like a prince, when will I reach that height?"
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