"Oh, tell me, how many Japanese strategists do your heads of state have in mind? Who is it? ”

"Two and a half, one is you, one is Vice Minister Ishihara, and the other half is General Okamura Ninji, who is currently serving in North China."

Hearing this, Yamamoto suddenly restrained his face, which had been giggling, and said in a serious tone: "Although it is difficult to completely agree, I didn't expect that the head of your country actually has such a deep understanding of our country, the military, and it is really taught." ”

"Don't you think this kid is playing tricks on our ass?" Ishihara joked, "Don't be deceived by his kind words, I heard him say that the Führer still has a few words that are not very good, do you want him to talk about it?" ”

Yamamoto Fifty-six showed a very interested look: "Very interesting, very interesting, please tell me about it, Mr. Special Envoy." ”

"This ......," said Cole embarrassed, "is that the Führer's words are indeed not very good, and I am very sorry." ”

"It doesn't hurt to ask the envoy to speak out."

"The Führer said that Admiral Yamamoto loved to gamble, and that he had won the Pearl Harbor bet and had lost the Battle of Midway bet - whatever the reason, a loss would have been a loss. However, Japan still has the capital to gamble again, if you don't want to gamble, you will miss the opportunity, you can only wait for the Americans to slowly eat away the few advantages at present, and General Yamamoto will also completely withdraw from the stage of history, and this window period is very short, as long as one year, as short as only 4-6 months. ”

As soon as these words came out, even the always bold Ishihara Waner's face changed, he looked at Cole, and then at Yamamoto Fifty-six, very worried that the latter would suddenly go berserk.

After an embarrassing silence. Yamamoto Fifty-six suddenly laughed: "Mr. Special Envoy is really dedicated, and he has been lobbying for the promotion of the Indian Ocean strategy before the dust has been washed...... Come on, come on, drink tea. Drink tea. ”

After receiving your reply, the head of state not only meticulously studied the battle plan with the principal generals and staff officers of the high command, but also dispatched naval liaison officers and competent staff officers, and also brought cipher machines that could be used by the Japanese side, and they will be fully responsible for liaison and communication matters." Cole said, "We also have a positive attitude towards the relevant resource and equipment support and technical exchanges proposed by your country. We are indeed sincere about this strategic and joint operation. ”

"It's a pity, even if I want to gamble, I'm afraid I may not have a chance."

"Why do you say that?"

"First. The choice of commander of the combined fleet has not been settled for a long time, and without him, there is no one to lead the fleet to carry out the strategy; Second, whether I can continue to serve as Lord of the Navy is also ......."

"What?" Now it was Cole's turn to be surprised.

After Ishihara explained in a whisper, he understood the reason, and the original consensus of all parties was that after Yamamoto Isoroku became the Minister of the Navy, he would recommend a successor to the commander of the Combined Fleet. But wait until he really recommends a candidate. All sides have quarreled again, and it is difficult to make a decision, and now the Combined Fleet is entangled in the maintenance of the daily situation by Chief of Staff Ugaki.

"Yamamoto-kun doesn't have to be discouraged, in fact, there is still room for things to turn around, isn't the appointment of General Tsukahara's 243rd General approved?" Ishihara persuaded, "The position of the commander of the Combined Fleet is so important, it is normal for all sides to think about it more. ”

After Nagumo Tadaichi resigned, the position of commander in charge of commanding the mobile fleet also became vacant. All sides are also paying attention to this position, and Lieutenant General Jizaburo Ozawa was originally the most vocal to take over. Since Isoroku Yamamoto was the Minister of the Navy, he had the right to decide on this personnel change. As a result, his decision was unexpected, he did not choose Ozawa, but nominated Vice Admiral Tsukahara 243, who had broken an arm and had been judged to be unsuitable for command of the ship, as commander of the mobile fleet - Tsukahara was the 36th term of the navy, and Ozawa was only 37th, and there was no hope of surpassing him in terms of seniority, but Tsukahara's disability was a hard injury, and in the face of criticism from all sides, Yamamoto 561 vigorously promoted Tsukahara's appointment, insisting that it was okay.

"We can hear from Mr. Special Envoy, who has amazing insight and impetus for the political situation in his country." Yamamoto Fifty-six said to Ishihara with a smile. Obviously, the Japanese Navy also has capable people and special channels, and Cole's shells that disintegrated the political situation finally became the inducing factors for Tojo's downfall, and now after so many days, if you can't see clearly, it will be too numb.

"I'm curious about why the candidate you recommended has caused so much controversy, and with your experience and insight, the person you can solemnly elect must be extraordinary."

Yamamoto didn't seem to hear what Cole said, so he only said to himself: "This man is my classmate, with the rank of vice admiral, and when he graduated, he was the chief of the same period, and later served as vice admiral and commander of the 1st Sentai Squadron, and he became vice admiral of the navy before me—you must know that my ranking is only 12th." ”

Cole now had a clear understanding of the system within the Japanese Navy that ranked seniority according to the number of hammocks and the number of periods at the time of graduation from the Marine Academy, and he was shocked and said, "You mean that he is the first installment of the 32nd term of the Navy?" Also served as Vice Admiral of the Navy?

Yamamoto nodded: "That's right. ”

"In this case, in terms of seniority, he is almost the same level as you, and he has no problem serving as the commander of the Combined Fleet." Cole suddenly thought of something, "Did he make any major mistakes?" ”

Ishihara shook his head with a wry smile.

Yamamoto Isoroku said in all seriousness: "He openly opposed the mass construction of battleships, considered them useless things, and demanded only the construction of aircraft carriers and light warships, and then was criticized by the mainstream for this idea - he was already a lieutenant general at that time." ”

"But isn't that what time has proven to be true?" Cole was confused, "Even if the Navy's top brass didn't see it at the beginning, they should have understood it now, right?" To put it another ugly, after three typical battles at Taranto, Pearl Harbor and Midway, the admirals who still do not understand the dominant role of aircraft carriers in modern naval warfare are all idiots......"

Ishihara rolled his eyes again and again, looking embarrassed, but Yamamoto Fifty-six clapped his hands and shouted, "Well said, well said......

"Then this general should be assigned another position for him instead of being the commander of the Combined Fleet, right? For example, the commander of the aircraft carrier fleet - although it is a bit condescending. ”

The scene was even more embarrassing, and Ishihara couldn't say a word.

Yamamoto fifty-six replied after a while: "He has been transferred to the reserve for eight years, and now he is the director of a military industrial enterprise, that is, the chairman of the board of directors of your country." ”

"What?" Cole was shocked again, almost jumped up from the ground, and stammered, "Your country...... Your...... How can you use people like this? ”

"That's how capricious our country is."

"He's okay physically and otherwise, right?"

"It's all good, I'm not yet 60 years old, and it's time to be strong......"

"Before I came, the head of state specially explained that due to our country's lack of experience in aircraft carrier command operations, it is urgent to introduce relevant talents from your country, including ship captains, aircraft carrier formation commanders and even aviation commanders...... What about the General Counsel of the German Navy? On behalf of the Führer, I promised to give him the treatment of no less than that of an admiral. ”

"I understand when the envoy says that." Yamamoto said slowly, "His name is Horikichi. ”

After coming out of Yamamoto's house, Ishihara asked, "What you said just now was made up by the general counsel on an improvised basis, right?" ”

"I don't want to use the radical method, but I really want to introduce this talent to our country, because Chief Yamamoto's favorite character must have something special." Cole said with a smile, "And the situation of this General Horikichi leaving the front line before the war should be separated: the shortcomings are of course obvious, but the advantages are also obvious, no enemy knows his specific situation, let alone his combat style, and it will not be bound by the outdated ideas of the past few years, as for the aircraft carrier formation, do you think it is really good to let a general with a traditional mine warfare background to command an aircraft carrier?" -- Just like General Nagumo. ”

The scar hurt a little, and Ishihara didn't know what to say, so he had to pretend not to hear it.

The next day, Cole was ordered to meet Hirohito, he thought there was something big, but he didn't expect that it was actually several important ministers discussing the appointment of the commander of the Combined Fleet, and his mind was confused - the Japanese had to ask for the opinion of a foreigner when choosing the commander of the navy?

The opposing and disagreeing factions had apparently finished their arguments, and finally turned their eyes on Hirohito and Cole, who were whispered to Cole that Admiral Yamamoto had threatened to demand that Horikichi be appointed commander of the Combined Fleet or he would resign.

"I wonder what Your Excellency the Special Envoy thinks?"

"From the current point of view, General Horikichi has sufficient qualifications and sufficient experience in military and aviation operations, and I guess the main reason for opposition is that he has been running a business in recent years and has been out of the front line." Cole considered the words and said slowly, "I don't dare to evaluate the specific level of ability of the characters, I will only say one point: in Western countries, it seems that doing business and war are actually similar many times, and it is necessary to accurately calculate one's own capital, market conditions and the strength of competitors, and exchange the minimum investment for the maximum benefit -- a good businessman's sensitivity to the overall situation will not decrease, on the contrary, his judgment will be more accurate." As for the day-to-day command and management, I believe that the position of the chief of the 32nd phase of your country's naval academy is by no means in vain! ”

After a long time, the Minister of the Interior, Koichi Kido, announced in a long voice: "Your Majesty has an order to approve the performance of the Admiralty Yamamoto Fifty-six (the right to play on the curtain) in accordance with the principle of independence of the commander-in-chief. ”

Thus, the appointment of Vice Admiral Tsukahara 243 as commander of the mobile fleet and Vice Admiral Horikichi as commander of the combined fleet was thus completely determined. (To be continued.) )