After Cole was gone, and at last there were only Japanese left, and everyone relaxed and prepared to speak freely - it was always strange to have a foreigner, even if it was an Allied envoy. But in stark contrast to the usual chatter and bustle as soon as the meeting began, this time the venue was quieter, and many people were pondered about the Germans' latest ideas.

Hirohito asked Ishihara to speak first: "Vice Minister Ishihara and the German envoy had a lot of communication in the early stage, so you can listen to his opinion first." ”

"Your Majesty, Gentlemen." Ishihara stood up, cleared his throat, and said in a calmer tone, "First of all, it should be noted that the general policy proposed by the Germans this time is different from the time of the signing of the Triple Alliance Treaty, and it is also very different from the situation last year when the Soviet-German and Japan-United States went to war. In general, the Germans and we were caught in the same problem: that is, to fight with a great power, to have a clear advantage, but the enemy would not surrender, and the war would inevitably go into a protracted period. Now that the enemy country has become more stubborn with the addition of the United States, a new strong reinforcement, and its will to fight and resist has become stronger, forcing us to urgently seek a breakthrough. The Germans had pinned their hopes on us to flank the Soviet Union, but the German Führer seems to have given up on this attempt, or rather, they believe that even if we advance northward, we will at most contain a part of the Soviet forces and will not be able to change the balance of the entire Soviet-German battlefield. Thus the German strategy began to shift from a quick decisive battle to a whole, a long-term war, and on September 1 Germany launched a general ******, all factories were in three shifts, and the economic system was completely militarized, which was unthinkable before - at that time everyone thought that the German strategy was a blitzkrieg. At the same time, politically, Germany has put forward the idea of a 'European Union'. Prepare to unite the forces of all of Europe, especially Western Europe, to contend with Britain and the United States.

To sum up, Germany's hopes for us are:

First, withdraw troops from the Chinese battlefield. at least a partial withdrawal of troops;

Second, reduce the defense system of the Nanyang battlefield and focus on the core national defense circle to resist and consume the sharp spirit of the US military one by one;

Third, the main force of the army and navy will advance westward, cooperate with Germany to occupy the Middle East, and open up the Indian Ocean communication routes;

Fourth. We will continue to maintain the war against the United States, and exhaust and slack the will of the United States to fight through long-term operations and the killing and wounding of personnel.

Those of you who are familiar with my past remarks will surely understand that the first, second, and fourth points are roughly in line with my usual views. I didn't think about the third point at the time. But the westward expansion plan has always been a strategic choice for the Army Department, and we have a clear operational strategy.

After nearly a year of fighting, there are several aspects that should admit that our original judgment was wrong:

First, the American counteroffensive was not in the second half of 1943. Instead, it was brought forward to September of this year. Marked by the unfolding of the Battle of Kuah Island, it has been accelerated for nearly 1 year;

Second, the direction of the US counteroffensive is not from the east to the west, but from the south to the north, with Australia as the base, advancing layer by layer, and the two sides are fighting for areas close to Australia and far away from Japan, and the United States has the advantage in equipment and supplies. The current situation is not in my favor;

Third, in view of the changes in the form of operations. The 'nine-stage operation' is no longer feasible, and the decisive opportunity for war against the United States no longer exists; even if we seize the opportunity tomorrow to destroy the only three aircraft carriers that the Americans currently have, the war situation will inevitably enter a long-term and protracted situation.

Fourth, if the time enters 1943, especially in the second half of the year, the balance of power between Japan and the United States will be greatly unbalanced, and the war situation will further deteriorate. ”

Everyone knows the fourth point mentioned by Ishihara: The United States has started large-scale shipbuilding stimulated by the Pearl Harbor incident, and the production and construction cycle of general aircraft carriers is about two years, and the newly built ships will form combat effectiveness at the end of 1943, and although Japan launched the "Maruko Plan" before the war between Japan and the United States, the core of the original shipbuilding plan was still battleships, and only after the setback in the Battle of Midway launched the "Five Plan" to shift the core of shipbuilding to aircraft carriers. It is planned to build five large aircraft carriers and 15 Yunlong (medium aircraft carriers), but it is expected that they will not be completed until 1950, and the United States will be able to have 30 aircraft carriers by the end of next year and the beginning of 1944, which Japan is simply unable to compete.

Ishihara continued: "Even after the setbacks in the battles of Midway and Kuah, the strength of our navy is still roughly slightly superior to that of the US Pacific Fleet, but this superiority can be maintained for a year at most from now on, and even if the Maru Five and the Five Plan are smoothly advanced, by the end of next year, our naval strength will be only half or even less than that of the United States." We know this situation all too well, and the United States knows better that time is on their side. There are few solutions to the above dilemma, and unless we are willing to accept humiliating contracts, we can only continue to fight, and my own national policy proposal is:

First, on the basis of strengthening and optimizing the details, we will roughly accept the four guidelines put forward by Germany, and Germany should mediate on the China issue to ensure China's interests;

Second, it is suggested that the Soviet-German peace should be mediated, so that the German Army can free up its hands to attack India from the direction of the Middle East;

Third, the two sides should establish a joint conference system and send high-level generals to each other for operational coordination.

Fourth, Germany should provide our steel, ships and other equipment support, both sides have their own technical and intelligence aspects, and ensure the supply of oil to our country after Germany occupies the Middle East;

Fifth, if an offensive against the Indian Ocean is launched, the island of Madagascar should be seized as soon as possible and used as a military base for our country in the Indian Ocean, and if necessary, it must be defended by Germany and Italy. ”

Ishihara summed up the more feasible goals of the Triple Alliance in one sentence: neutralize the Soviet Union, overthrow Britain first, and finally concentrate on the United States!

If Kohl's speech was only the initial shock, Ishihara's speech caused an uproar, and the only thing that was more harmonious was that many of the generals of the army did not stand up so vehemently against the words of withdrawal from China this time, because Germany and Ishihara pointed out to them a target that seemed to be more valuable and easier to conquer - India, and they did not have to go north to fight the Soviets, which was in line with their appetite.

In the face of the heated meeting venue, the host Ugaki Kazunari asked Yamamoto Fifty-six in a deep voice: "Your Excellency, is there any difficulty for the Navy in the Indian Ocean operation?" ”

"From the operational point of view alone, the naval difficulties are not great, and it is a big deal to regard it as an attack similar to Pearl Harbor, but ......," Yamamoto added, "the Indian Ocean operation will not be able to go from assembly, departure, operation to final return, and then the South Ocean direction will face big problems, many islands will not be able to be saved, and the Americans will not only attack the absolute defense circle, but may even attack the mainland." ”

King Fushimi Miyahiro added: "At present, the Imperial Navy still has an advantage, and in the Indian Ocean field, whether Britain and the United States alone or jointly with Britain and the United States, our Navy has the certainty of victory, but this advantage period is probably not as good as the one year mentioned by Vice Minister Ishihara, and it is estimated that there will be 6-8 months left." Moreover, as Admiral Yamamoto said, once the main forces advance westward, the Nanyang problem will deteriorate sharply. ”

"If we don't go west, will we be able to hold the islands in the South Seas?"

"I'm afraid it's hard to ......"

Army Vice Admiral Inoue Narumi stood up and interjected: "Since you all agree to withdraw troops from China and reduce the occupied area in the South Seas, why can't you make peace with the Americans on this basis?" ”

"Peace?" "What kind of conditions are the conditions for peace?" There was a lot of discussion at the meeting.

Inoue Narumi and Yamamoto Isoroku looked at each other, and after receiving approval, they spoke: "Chief Yamamoto and I think that negotiations can be made on the basis of the following conditions:

First, in China's battlefield, except for the special situation in North China and the lease of Qiongzhou Island and some key port cities to China, the rest of the troops of the Chinese Dispatch Army will retreat in batches and complete the retreat within three years.

Second, the Wang Chingwei regime in Nanjing should be maintained, and if necessary, the two sides should be reunited in a strategy similar to the 1927 'Ninghan confluence and joint defense against communism', and China should recognize the special interests of Manchukuo and Manchukuo;

Third, the control range of our Nanyang direction retreats to the absolute national defense circle;

Fourth, the independence of the colonies of the former European and American countries in the South Seas, that is, the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies, and the French Indochina Peninsula all became independent on their own and ensured Japan's special interests;

Fifth, if the United States is willing to recognize the special status of the empire on the East Asian continent on this basis, China can withdraw from the Axis Treaty and join the Anglo-American alliance and send its navy to fight in Europe. ”

Lieutenant General Toshishi Maeda, who has been at odds with Hideki Tojo and plans to be the new director of army education (the 16th generation head of the Maeda family of the Kaga Domain, whose ancestors are the famous military generals of Japan's Warring States period and one of the five elders of Toyotomi Hideyoshi) immediately stood up and objected: "This condition concession is too large, especially some conditions on the Chinese battlefield must be revised, otherwise after five years of fighting and returning to the starting point, how can you be worthy of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who sacrificed their lives?" ”

"Then how do you say to change it?"

"On the Chinese side, on the basis of the current Line of Actual Control, the Manchurian-Mongolian region is under the unified administration of Manchukuo; The territory of the Wang Ching-wei regime was limited to parts of North and East China, and it was demanded that a coalition regime be formed with the Chongqing regime in the form of a confederation, and as a concession, the remaining territory occupied by our army could be returned to the Chiang regime in Chongqing. ”

"Your Excellency's amendment, the Americans will not approve of it!"

"Your Excellency's conditions, the front-line soldiers will not approve!"

"You!"

Seeing that the two were about to quarrel while talking, Ugaki Issei hurriedly came out to play a round: "Okay, okay, let's discuss and make decisions, if there are different opinions to argue, there is no need to quarrel in front of His Majesty." ”

Many people are thinking about why Emperor Hirohito's cabinet re-election renominated the two corners of the navy's anti-war triangle to important positions in the Ministry of the Navy, and at the same time put King Fushimi Miyahiro, who is obviously the main war, into the position of the head of the military command department, which seems to be a contradictory signal, but the Minister of the Interior, Kido Koichi, knows that this is Hirohito's left and right divided hands - he can't let all the voices be too consistent, like the last time in the Tojo cabinet, the sea minister Shimada became Tojo's follower, and the head of the military command department, Nagano Shushi, dared to hide from the army and the cabinet, This situation is just too dangerous. (To be continued.) )