"Not enough troops?" Xianyuan Gong Zairen frowned and asked, "Itagaki-kun, can you be specific?" ”

"Hello. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info" Itagaki Seishiro first paused, and then replied, "Nakamura-kun telegraphed that Xu Rui's troops were only more than 10,000 people, and after the total annihilation of the 20th Division, the strength was sharply reduced to less than 5,000 people, I think it is credible, if it weren't for this, Xu Rui would definitely take advantage of the victory to pursue and attack Taicang, Kunshan and even Suzhou!" ”

"Nakamura Jun can't be trusted." Xianyuan Gong Zairen waved his hand and said, "He is the most suspicious of the sneak attack on the Third Fleet of the Navy!" After finishing speaking, the idle courtyard palace Zairen said to Tojo Hideki again, "Tojo-kun, I don't think this person should let him stay in the Chinese battlefield anymore, and transfer him back to the country to settle at will." ”

"Hello." Hideki Tojo paused, "Then transfer him back to Japan and then transfer him to the reserves." ”

Miyajihito nodded in approval, then turned his gaze to Seishiro Itagaki and motioned to continue.

Seishiro Itagaki said: "His Royal Highness, and the gentlemen, regarding the case of the Navy's Third Fleet, Nakamura Jun's suspicion is indeed very big, but I think his information about the Songhu Military Division is still credible, because the analysis of the Nakamura organ can be said to be impeccable logically. ”

Xianyuan Gong Zairen nodded and said, "So, what is your conclusion?" ”

"My conclusion is, there's no need to panic!" Itagaki Seishiro said in a deep voice, "Although the 20th Division was completely annihilated, the situation on the Songhu battlefield has not completely collapsed, and at least within three months, there will be no major reversal, that is, it is absolutely impossible for the Songhu Military Division to launch a large-scale counteroffensive within three months." ”

After listening to Seishiro Itagaki's judgment, not only Zaihito of Kanin Palace, but also Hideki Tojo breathed a sigh of relief!

Yes, after the 20th Division was completely annihilated, what Tojo Hideki was most worried about was that the Songhu Military Division led by Xu Rui would take the opportunity to launch a full-scale counteroffensive against the counties and cities around Shanghai, and at present, the defense of the counties and cities around Shanghai can be said to be very empty, and the 104th Division is already the only formed garrison division in the entire Songhu area!

However, the combat effectiveness of the 104th Division is really not flattering.

However, Xianyuan Gong Zairen was still not at ease, and asked, "Itagaki-kun, do you dare to guarantee it?" ”

Itagaki Seishiro said without hesitation: "Your Royal Highness, I dare to vouch for the honor of a samurai!" ”

Xianyuan Gong Zairen was slightly moved, and vouched for the honor of the samurai, which showed that Itagaki Seishiro was very confident in this, and Xianyuan Zairen was completely relieved, and said: "In this way, we can breathe a sigh of relief first, otherwise, I am really worried that Xu Rui's troops will take advantage of the victory to pursue, attack Taicang, Kunshan and even Suzhou, and even directly cut off the Yangtze River waterway, in this case, the 500,000 Japanese troops stationed in Wuhan and Central China will be in danger." ”

Seishiro Itagaki said, "Your Royal Highness, rest assured, this situation will not happen. ”

"Yo Si." Xianyuan Gong Zairen nodded, and said, "But we can't wait three months. ”

"Sodax." "If you wait for three months, Xu Rui will have every chance to recruit a sufficient number of recruits from among the refugees in Shanghai and train them into an army, and then Xu Rui's Songhu Military Division will really have enough troops to launch a large-scale counteroffensive around Shanghai." ”

Xianyuan Gong Zairen turned his gaze to Tojo Hideki again and asked, "Tojo-kun, if you start preparing for the Third Battle of Songhu from now on, how long will it take to prepare?" ”

A summary meeting of the defeated war, which was opened and opened, was crooked, and it became a war preparatory meeting.

Hideki Tojo thought for a moment and said, "Half a month! It can be completed in half a month, but ......"

Xianyuan Gong Zairen snorted, and said a little unhappily: "But what, if you have something to say, don't swallow and spit out." ”

"Hello!" Hideki Tojo paused, and said in a deep voice, "However, it is not recommended to carry out a new mobilization, although the financial situation of the empire has improved in the past six months, and the price of rice in Tokyo has also fallen, it still has not completely improved, so if this mobilization is carried out, once there is an accident in the Far East battlefield next time, the empire will not be able to afford it!" ”

The implication of Hideki Tojo's words is that the Japanese government can only undertake one mobilization with manpower, material resources, and financial resources, and if this time it mobilizes the 10 B divisions that were originally prepared for the Far East Battle in order to deal with the Songhu Military Division, then the Kwantung Army will not receive any support when there is an accident in the Far East battlefield next time!

After a pause at this, Hideki Tojo said: "Moreover, I think that in the third Battle of Songhu, there is no need to mobilize ten divisions at all!" ”

Xianyuan Gong Zairen asked again: "So, can you mobilize three or four divisions first?" ”

"Your Royal Highness, no." Hideki Tojo shook his head and said, "Carrying out nationwide war mobilization is a systematic project, and the work in all aspects is very complicated, which is like a machine, once it is started, it will be all started, and it is difficult to start only half of it, because it will cause great losses in human, financial, and material resources." ”

Xianyuan Gong Zairen asked again: "But if there is no mobilization, where will the army launch the Third Battle of Songhu?" ”

After speaking, Xianyuan Gong Zairen looked around at Itagaki Seishiro and Terauchi Shouichi and others, spread his hands and said, "Could it be that it is drawn from the North China Battlefield or the Central China Battlefield?" At present, the strength of the North China Front has been reduced to 300,000 troops, and the communist guerrillas in the battlefield behind enemy lines are already very difficult. ”

After a pause, Xianyuan Gong Zairen said again: "The Central China Dispatch Army has 500,000 troops, but the situation faced by the Central China Dispatch Army is even worse than that of the North China Front, not to mention, the current fierce battle of Suizao Battle is in full swing, and the Central China Dispatch Army is not able to transfer troops from the front line to Songhu at all. ”

As for the Kwantung Army, Xianyuan Gong Zairen didn't mention it directly.

Although the size of the Kwantung Army's strength was even larger than that of the Central China Army, as many as 700,000 troops, the Kwantung Army had to face the Soviet Union's Far Eastern Front, and the Soviet Union's Far Eastern Front had more than 1 million people.

Terauchi Shouichi said in a deep voice: "If it really can't work, let's mobilize first, put out the fire in Shanghai first, and then talk about it, as for the Far Eastern battlefield, in my estimation, there will be no major changes at least until October, maybe at that time, the empire's finances can allow a new round of mobilization?" Your Royal Highness, what do you say? ”

"No way!" Hideki Tojo said toughly, "War mobilization is not about cutting leeks, and if you cut a stubble, you can grow a stubble quickly, what if the imperial talent and government do not improve, but worsen?" When the time comes, there will be another change in the Far Eastern battlefield, and it will shake the country's foundation, and we cannot take risks! ”

Terauchi Shouichi was used to being bumped into by Tojo Hideki, so he didn't get angry because of it, and asked with a wry smile: "Tojo-kun, then you say, where did the army that launched the Third Battle of Songhu come from?" You can't rely on just one Seventh Division, right? The strength of the 7th Division is not necessarily much stronger than that of the 20th Division, can the people do it? ”

Hideki Tojo shook his head and said, "It is definitely not possible to rely on only one seventh division. ”

"But now there is no army." Shouichi Terauchi clapped his hands one by one and said with a wry smile, "Where else can you transfer troops from?" ”

"No, there are still soldiers." After Tojo Hideki finished speaking, he turned his gaze to the Kanin Palace Zaihito, and said in a deep voice, "His Royal Highness has forgotten that in fact, in Tokyo, there is a most elite division stationed there!" ”

"Guards Division?!"

"You mean the Guards Division!"

As soon as Hideki Tojo's words came out, Seishiro Itagaki and Shouichi Terauchi both changed their faces.

The Guards Division, one of the first seven permanent divisions formed during the Meiji Restoration, was a senior general and a junior officer, all of whom were selected from the Army Academy and the Army Non-commissioned Officer School, and the soldiers were also selected from the children of good families near Gyeonggi, so it had an incomparable transcendent status in the Japanese Army.

Not to mention Tokyo, the youth of the whole of Japan regard joining the Guards Division as the highest honor.

Xianyuan Gong Zairen even changed his color and said: "No, this is the armed force to protect the emperor, who dares to move?!" ”

"Only His Majesty the Emperor dare!" After Tojo Hideki finished speaking, he bowed deeply to the Xianyuan Palace, and said solemnly, "I humbly ask His Royal Highness the Prince to go to Tianjiu Mountain to meet His Majesty the Emperor immediately, and summarize the defeat of the Second Battle of Songhu and the plan of the Third Battle of Songhu to His Majesty the Emperor, and respectfully ask the Holy Judge!" ”

Hideki Tojo was completely sure that Hirohito would approve his plan.

Xianyuan Gong Zairen also guessed this, but he still had concerns.

Xianyuan Gong Zairen said in a deep voice: "The Guards Division is the cornerstone of the Imperial Army, and it cannot be moved lightly. ”

"Just because you can't move doesn't mean you can't move!" Tokyo Hideki said in a deep voice, "In the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, the Guards Division has participated in battles, and they have performed well!" ”

Xianyuan Gong Zairen shook his head and said: "But after all, the Guards Division has not participated in the battle for a long time, and it can be said that it has been absent from the battle formation for a long time. No, this is too risky, and I will never agree to transfer the Guards Division to the Songhu battlefield. ”

"Your Royal Highness!" Hideki Tojo said faintly, "You have to have confidence in the Guards Division!" ”

After a pause, Hideki Tojo said: "The Guards Division not only has the best quality of its generals, officers, and soldiers, but also has the most sophisticated weapons and equipment among the seventeen permanent divisions of the Imperial Army, and even the First Division is slightly inferior, and the officers and men of the Guards Division feel deeply as a member of the Guards Division. ”