After accompanying Cole to complete the audience, Gu Zhengzhi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said to him with palpitations: "Cole-kun, your words today are really too shocking, Your Majesty has actually been holding back and not getting angry, I believe he must investigate." If it's not true, it's fine, but if it's true, a large number of people will be unlucky. ”

Cole said coldly: "How can it not be true? If it's not true, wouldn't I have become a villain who obstructs the diplomatic relations between the two countries? ”

Gu Zhengzhi smiled: "That's not true, you are the most honored guest of our country." The two sighed as they walked, and before they got into the car, news had come out of the palace: tomorrow will be held a meeting of the five prime ministers of the imperial palace, and His Majesty will personally attend to listen to and inquire about the recent battles and the situation at home and abroad.

"Look......" Gu Zhengzhi smiled bitterly, "Your Majesty can't wait. ”

"You've got to take your chance." Cole smiled meaningfully, "There are many places where I will ask your Excellency to take care of me in the future." ”

"Well said, well said." Gu Zheng was playing haha, but his heart was also enthusiastic about the follow-up development of the situation.

After returning to the accommodation of the Akasaka Imperial Palace, Cole, who was still giggling just now, changed his serious expression in a blink of an eye, calmly thinking about what to do next after the first shot, thinking about it, and couldn't help but think of Hoffman's explanation to him before leaving:

"Cole, you are my most trusted personal staff, and now I have one thing to tell you to do, which is related to the fundamental interests of the empire." If Chief Adjutant Dalges had been present, he would have remembered Ranke's explanation to him before his departure, and how similar the words he had told Cole now were to him before.

Hofman's request to Cole of course chose to comply unconditionally. Ever since the Führer had promoted him from his humble position in the Foreign Office to the position of sought-after and admired second lieutenant, he had been determined to make a difference. Yu Gong must make achievements in his new position in order to convince the public, and he is expected to gain the foundation for further climbing; In private, he wanted to repay the Führer's trust and reuse. It is necessary to prove with practical actions that the Führer is indeed not looking at the wrong person.

"Your mission is to go to Japan, tell them important information about Japan, and use all means to get Japan to cooperate with our global strategy in the Pacific theater, considering the short-sightedness and stupidity of the existing Japanese leadership, if possible, you need to ......" Hoffman pondered for a long time, squeezing two words out of his teeth. Downfall! ”

"Downfall?" Cole thought he had misheard, that the head of state, who was more than 10,000 kilometers away in Japan, wanted to interfere in Japan's political situation -- not ordinary interference but to bring down the cabinet, although the Japanese cabinet had been unstable. With his understanding of Japan's political situation, even in the 20s, when the most unstable and the prime minister changed the fastest, he had never heard of a foreigner who could talk about such a goal as "toppling the cabinet." He stammered, "My Führer." Is it? ……”

"It's even more difficult than Rank's task, but ......," Hoffman patted him on the shoulder, "it's not too difficult to attain, and even if you fail, there's not much risk, at least the Japanese won't do anything to you." ”

Cole thought about it: the task was a little more difficult, but the absence of danger to his life was the greatest guarantee. He nodded, and said with firm confidence: "I understand, I will use all my strength and wisdom to complete your request." ”

"The Japanese regime has nothing in common with Germany. It's also different from Italy, which seems to have a constitutional monarchy, regardless of whether they are a constitutional state or not. Their government leadership is not strictly a political leader – there is only one such leader in Japan, and he is usually hidden behind the scenes. ”

"You mean...... Emperor? ”

"After the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Midway, the Japanese cabinet was actually in a precarious position, and the reason why it seems to be stable now is because the leader has not yet spoken, he is either unaware or for other reasons and is not prepared, and the various factions in Japan believe that there is no consensus, and this is our chance." Hoffman said solemnly, "We are not reaching out to the Pacific for fun or to show our presence, but to get Japan to deal with the Americans with greater force, with effective policies, and with wiser strategies." ”

"What do you think of Prime Minister Tojo?" Hoffman paused and changed the subject.

Cole thought for a moment and replied hesitantly: "I have a more paranoid and aggressive personality, strong execution, and I do things vigorously...... It is also barely adapted to the requirements of efficient decision-making in wartime. ”

"What about former Prime Minister Fumihiro Konoe?"

"This is a veteran politician, more mature and skillful than Prime Minister Tojo, and his problem is that he comes from a civilian background and may not be able to control the Japanese army." Cole's train of thought opened, "In Japan, if a prime minister can't control the army, sooner or later he will lose his position because of the vacillation of the military." ”

Hoffman shook his head: "What you said is not comprehensive. I don't deny the merits of Prime Minister Tojo, but if he was a colonel-level officer, he should be a good officer because of his strong executive ability. But the question is where is he? He is the prime minister of Japan, and it is said that he is also the minister of war, and his position in Japan is the same as mine, but what do you think he is in charge of besides taking power? Besides, Konoe Fumi, do you really think he can't control the army? Why did he choose to resign last year before the start of the war against the United States? - It was not that he was against the war, but that he had no confidence in the war and was afraid of taking responsibility in the future, so he gave up, and in the unanimous call of the government and the opposition to start a war against the United States, everyone chose Tojo, a stupid boy, to take responsibility......

At this time, Cole suddenly remembered that he occasionally mentioned his evaluation of foreign leaders when chatting with the chief adjutant, Lieutenant Colonel Dalger, and he thought that the Führer's evaluation of the Italian leader was very low, but he did not expect the chief adjutant to tell him mysteriously: "Although the Italian leader is unreliable in one way or another, and most of them are usually treated as jokes by us, but the Führer recognizes his political ability, and the Führer's evaluation of Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo is low- He believed that the Japanese prime minister, who held the rank of lieutenant general, could at best act as a major in charge of the warehouse, and that he would take care of all the materials in good order, but he did not understand what politics and strategy were. ”

"However, if it weren't for the Japanese prime minister, who was born as an army general, he wouldn't be particularly close to my country, would he?" In Cole's thinking, the Japanese Army is pro-German, and the Japanese Navy is pro-British and American. Isn't that all the pressure on the Americans pouring out on Europe?

"It doesn't matter whether the position of Japanese prime minister is particularly close to our country, Japan and the United States are fighting for this part, unless one side will fall, otherwise it will not be easy to make peace. Therefore, the first priority of the Japanese prime minister is to have strategic thinking and be able to clearly understand Japan's strengths and weaknesses; second, to be able to control the subordinates who are ready to move, especially the generals of the army who have no brains and only know about suicide attacks; Third...... "Hoffman said with a headache," said Hoffman, "to bring the Japanese Navy to its senses, they are still dreaming of a decisive battle against the United States—a common problem of soldiers, just as my generals always thought that taking Moscow would force Stalin to surrender, that was impossible." Japan's best strategy should be to steadily counterattack, use the small islands in the Pacific Ocean to resist and retreat the front, and then concentrate all its mobile forces to bite the bite after the US forces are dispersed, rather than taking all the capital and gambling it now, and let the Americans take what they want after losing it. ”

Cole nodded his head in understanding, and asked the Führer's preferred prime minister.

Hoffman shook his head: "No, don't say I don't have a particular favorite, even if I do?" In the final analysis, I can only influence, not control, the political situation in Japan, but there are two people you should pay attention to. One was Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Japanese Navy; The second is retired Army Lieutenant General Ishihara Wanji - if Japan still has a strategist, he can be counted as one. ”

The prestige of General Yamamoto's fifty-sixth general Kohl was known, but Ishihara Waner's name, he thought for a long time before he recalled this Japanese general who had been in Germany for a long time to inspect and exchange. He said tentatively: "I have heard the name of this character before, and it seems to be a little famous, but the relationship with his colleagues seems to be very bad, and it is said that he was ordered to retire and placed under residential surveillance because he opposed the war between Japan and the United States." ”

"Do you know what the two of you have in common?"

Cole thought about it for a while, he actually wanted to show his analytical ability in front of the Führer, and the target was the Japanese political situation that he was familiar with, but after thinking about it for a long time, he couldn't think of the intersection between the two army and navy generals.

"Their common characteristic is that they have studied and exchanged with foreign countries for a long time, Senior General Yamamoto is a military attaché in the United States, and Lieutenant General Ishihara has visited our country, and this experience has given them an in-depth understanding of global strategy and the situation of various countries, unlike those officers who have grown up in military camps and military academies - they have never had in-depth contact with the international community, and they are a group of arrogant and paranoid people." Hoffman explained, "Do you think Ishihara is anti-war against the war between Japan and the United States? Senior General Yamamoto also opposes a war between Japan and the United States, and if I were the prime minister of Japan, I would also oppose a war between Japan and the United States -- they all know that the gap in military strength between Japan and the United States is too large to see any hope of victory, but now that the direction of the war against the United States is certain, they will put their wisdom and wisdom on how to win this war. If we come forward to remind them that the war will be protracted and that it will not be a one-time battle, they will be more sympathetic to our global strategy. ”

Cole knew that the Führer was talking about himself so much, he took a deep breath and replied: "I understand, I will do my best to carry out your instructions. (To be continued.) )