Königsberg, Germany.

"Are you sure it's true?" Chen Tian threw a document on the table, leaned his upper body against the back of the chair, and put his ten fingers crossed on his lower lip, his deep eyes full of thoughts.

"Yes, Your Majesty! The intelligence services have already verified! "Max. Hoffman replied in the affirmative.

"Disappointing! What a disappointment! Although the situation in Northeast China has been "temporarily eased" under the mediation of Germany, the Japanese government is still increasing its troops in Northeast China, and the strength of the Kwantung Army can be said to be increasing day by day, with the total strength of nearly 300,000 troops increasing from more than 100,000 in early June to nearly 300,000 in 11 infantry divisions, 3 tank brigades, and 1 air corps in early August!

At the same time that the Kwantung Army was actively preparing for war, the Japanese government and the opposition were also singing the argument of "destroying China in three months"; the Japanese Government was aggressive in military diplomacy, but the current warlords of various factions in China had no intention of unanimously resisting Japan. The warlords of the Chiang, Feng, Yan, and Gui factions, who had previously carried out the Northern Expedition together, turned a blind eye to the actions of the Japanese army outside the pass, and instead sent troops to prepare for a decisive battle.

Under Zhang Zuolin's painstaking management for many years, Fengjun's family background is still quite rich compared with the domestic warlords, and when the Northeast changed banners, there were 25 infantry brigades, 6 cavalry brigades, 10 artillery regiments, numerous garrison units, and ironclad convoys, aviation corps, and coastal defense fleets, with a total strength of about 300,000 people, and the aviation corps was equipped with more than 100 aircraft of various types, and the ironclad convoy had more than 50 German-made tanks and armored vehicles bought through various channels, and the fleet had 4 cruisers, 6 gunboats, and 1 seaplane carrier converted from merchant ships. And it is equipped with a special naval aviation team with more than 10 aircraft.

However, these forces could not even guarantee numerical superiority in the face of the increasingly powerful Japanese Kwantung Army, whose divisions were mostly old first-class divisions. Needless to say, the 3rd Air Force is equipped with new fighters produced by Japan in recent years, and several main fighters also participated in the previous German-Russian war as "volunteers", although there is still some gap between their performance and the main German fighters, but it is more than enough to deal with any kind of fighter in the squadron. Stimulated by the glorious achievements of the German Army, the Japanese Army has also successively set up independent tank brigades and armored units, and its main "86" tank has basically reached the level of the German No. 3 tank, and the quality and quantity of various armored vehicles have far surpassed that of the Northeast Feng Army.

"Your Majesty. Is it through diplomatic channels to remind the Nanjing government...... "Hoffman prudently put forward his own opinion.

Chen Tian sighed, "If you go outside, you must first settle inside, this may be the reason for death that some people think!" Let the blood and fire awaken the blood of that nation, and they will not be able to rely on external forces alone to obtain a new life! ”

Hoffmann was very strange about Chentian's words, from Germany's point of view, China should not be annexed by Japan, but the real starting point was not to awaken the country's ambitions, but to prevent Japan from continuing to expand and increase its strength.

"Your Majesty means ......"

Chen Tian still maintained that thinking posture. "The Japanese have always been politically juggled. This time, let's use their best tricks to deal with them! General, arrange for me to have those Japanese envoys come to Königsberg tomorrow. I'm going to meet them personally! ”

"Meeting with the Japanese envoy?" Hoffman was somewhat surprised.

"Yes, and then start formal diplomatic negotiations!" Maybe it was the relationship between the previous information, and when Chen Tian said this, he couldn't see the confidence and sophistication on his face, but instead had a grim expression.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I see!" Hoffman stepped back, saluted, and left.

Chen Tian silently closed his eyes, if it was the Confucian culture that made that nation become civilized and polite, then why are the big people keen on fighting with infighting, and most of them are "insiders in civil wars, outsiders in foreign wars"? These strange questions have plagued countless people for a long time. Including Chentian himself.

Three days later, on August 25, the temperature in Tokyo rose to an unprecedented 341 degrees Celsius, and the entire city was silently enduring the scorching sun.

Even so, when the emperor is met, cabinet ministers and generals must be dressed neatly, otherwise it will be disrespectful. Fortunately, there are nearly 300,000 trees from all over Japan in the castle walls, and the buildings of the Imperial Palace are scattered among the trees, which makes the temperature in the Imperial Palace much lower than in the busy streets. To escape the heat. The Imperial Chamberlain also placed entire boxes of ice in the four corners of the council hall, so that the ministers and generals avoided the embarrassment of sweating in front of the emperor.

After the cabinet ministers and senior generals of the military department arrived, Emperor Showa, dressed in military uniform, calmly came out of the inner room and accepted the bows of the people, and then knelt on the silk cushion on the upper seat, and the imperial meeting was announced.

"I am deeply gratified to learn that Germany has given up Sakhalin, Vladivostok, and Qingdao under the original conditions, and that the withdrawal of the German army, navy, and air force from these areas means that Germany will give up its military forces in the Far East, and this move will undoubtedly hand over all control of the Far East to our country and make the friendship between Japan and Germany forever!"

Emperor Showa spoke unhurriedly in his characteristic tone of tone of tone and frustration, and then he pointed out the theme of the meeting with a question: "What do you think you will do for half of Southeast Asia in exchange for these three military locations?" ”

The kneeling crowd did not answer immediately, but exchanged glances with each other, and in this council hall, the most vocal under the emperor was the political patriarch Saionji Kotoshi, the last remaining of the three dynasty patriarchs, but this heavyweight obviously did not express his opinion at the beginning. As for the cabinet ministers and the army and navy generals, at this time they did not follow the usual separate camps of culture and military and army and navy, but were divided into the main peace faction and the main battle faction according to their attitude towards Germany, and just before Togo Shigeru was received by the Kaiser, the two factions were still fighting over whether to use force to prevent Germany from receiving Vladivostok and Sakhalin, and most of the army generals were radical main battle factions, as well as Navy Minister Keisuke Okada and Combined Fleet Commander Taniguchi Naoma, who believed that Vladivostok and Sakhalin were too close to the Japanese archipelago. From the point of view of domestic and peripheral security, the Japanese military should use force to give a "serious warning" to the arrogant Germans. They felt that although Germany was strong, the main fleet, like Russia in 1904, could only reach the Far East after a long voyage, so that the Japanese army was still 100% sure that the German power would be expelled from the Far East in World War I, and that if the dispute was ended with a peace treaty, Japan would be able to seize the whole of China without any scruples.

The main peace faction was composed of pro-German naval generals such as Prince Fushiminomiya and a small number of army generals who advocated the full occupation of China first, and they believed that the "homeland security crisis" should be resolved through peace talks, and then the army and navy should launch a full-scale war of aggression against China in an effort to occupy China in the shortest possible time. Then it will be divided into Asia-Pacific and Europe and the United States with Germany.

When the envoys sent to Berlin were unable to hold talks with the German government, and when the German Pacific Fleet occupied Vladivostok and Sakhalin and quickly established military bases in both places, the main battle faction of the Japanese government and the top echelons of the army had the upper hand for a time.

After Togo Shitoku and his entourage were received by the Kaiser and Germany and Japan officially began peace talks on Germany's military strength in the Far East, the Lordship faction headed by the Emperor himself finally breathed a sigh of relief, and when Germany offered to give up Jiaozhou Bay and Qingdao conditionally, they saw the hope of dominating the Far East alone.

The first to speak was Yoshinori Shirakawa, Minister of War in Tanaka's cabinet.

"Your Majesty. Vladivostok, Kuye, and Jiaozhou Bay had an irreplaceable strategy for the Empire's Far East strategy. If it's just India and Malaysia in exchange, I think it's worth the money! Although India's labor and Malaysia's oil and rubber are precious, labor can be obtained from China. Oil and rubber were obtained from the Philippines to meet the industrial and military needs of the empire! ”

After speaking, Shirakawa Yoshinori quietly glanced at Emperor Showa sitting in front of him, although the supreme monarch was expressionless, but he could still see some praise in his eyes, not to mention that he explained his optimism about this deal at the beginning, and now the question is whether he can accept the "price" offered by the German side.

"What Lord Lu Xiang said is extremely true!" Prince Fushiminomiya immediately responded, "As long as Germany abandons the Far East, why can't the empire abandon barbaric India and Malays?" ”

Although Prime Minister Yoshiichi Tanaka was a so-called "wait-and-see" faction between the main war faction and the main peace faction, he also spoke actively at this time, but he was quite different from the German side's "offer." So he said very tactfully:

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, the strategic value of Vladivostok, Kuye and Jiaozhou Bay is indeed incomparable, but India and Malaysia are also rare strategic locations, especially as a buffer for Japanese and German forces! Under the suggestion, it is better to exchange part of the land of New Zealand or Australia with the German side! ”

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister's words are wrong!" Army General, former commander of the Japanese Korean Army, and current commander of the Japanese army in Oceania, Suzuki Shoroku first owed his life to Atamanaka, and then said: "When the imperial army occupied India and Malaysia, it did not cost much effort and price, but it took 16 months to capture Australia and New Zealand and suffered heavy casualties. The fear of the army is not convinced! ”

Vice Admiral Nagano Shusei, who led the fleet to participate in the operations against Australia and New Zealand, held the same opinion as the army this time: "The navy also has thousands of officers and men who shed their blood in Australia and New Zealand, compared with only 100 imperial naval officers and men in Southeast Asia. Moreover, the German side may not be willing to accept Australian and New Zealand land! ”

Tanaka Yoshiichi unhurriedly defended: "Although Australia and New Zealand are extremely rich in resources, the residents are extremely stubborn, and the governments of Australia and New Zealand in exile abroad continue to call on the people to resist the unification and rule of the Japanese Empire, and I am afraid that a large number of troops will still need to be stationed in the next ten years. ”

Before the two groups of people who had disputed the terms of the negotiations had yet to agree on the "price", the Minister of the Navy, Keisuke Okada, suddenly refuted in a low voice with indignation: "After defeating France, Britain, the United States, and Russia, do you think that the Germans will sincerely give up the interests of the Far East?" ”

This remark made the whole room suddenly silent, and even Emperor Showa looked at this naval veteran who had participated in the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War in surprise.

"Your Majesty forgives your subordinates for their unreasonableness!" Keisuke Okada turned to his knees and said in a sad and indignant tone: "Your Majesty, don't be fooled by the hypocrisy of the German people, Kaiser Wilhelm III has the ambition of the world, how can he sincerely make concessions to our Great Japanese Empire?" This move by the Germans is nothing more than buying time for their own deployment! ”

"Presumptuous!" The prince of Xiyuan Temple suddenly shouted, "How dare you call Your Majesty's discernment confusing others?" ”

Keisuke Okada's forehead was pressed against the ground, and he did not move or make a sound.

At this time, the current commander of the Combined Fleet, Taniguchi Naoma, also bent down and said euphemistically:

"Your Majesty, I beg your Majesty to forgive the Haixiang-sama's blunt words! He also dared to think that the Germans had no intention of withdrawing from the Far East, otherwise they would not have actively intervened in the war between the Japanese Empire and the government of China, and gave China a large amount of money and weapons aid free of charge! ”

"Presumptuous!" Nishiharaji Gongwang shouted again, but he did not say any more, because the emperor stretched out his right hand and signaled him to "cease fire".

"Okada-kun and Taniguchi-kun are commendable in their patriotism, and their frank words are understandable, so please get up!"

Keisuke Okada and Naoma Taniguchi straightened up, but their eyes were still lowered and they didn't dare to look at the emperor.

"If this peace talks fail, the empire will inevitably be forced to compete with Germany because of the situation, and the monarchs can defeat Germany and the Far East with the strength of the emperor's ** team?" Emperor Showa spoke slowly, in a low voice, and then looked around at the audience, but no one spoke.

"Zangxiang!" Showa asked his chancellor of the exchequer, "With the financial resources of the empire, how much money can be allocated for additional military spending?" ”

The current Minister of Finance, Takahashi, replied on his knees: "Unless the special bonds are issued again, the treasury will have no money to allocate it!" ”

"Why?" Showa asked in a calm tone.

"The Admiralty has been building capital ships year after year, which has long accounted for more than 40% of the national budget, and the two expenditures on the development of new ironclad combat vehicles and aviation fighters have increased year by year, 27 million yen in the first year of Showa, and 40 million yen in the first year of Showa, and 11.5 million yen in special appropriations for aid to Russia, and this year's budget is as high as 67 million yen, plus military salaries, equipment and other expenses, the annual military expenditure is close to 1 billion yen, and the national budget of the previous year was only 2.37 billion yen!" Takahashi reported these figures almost without thinking, and it seems that the huge financial pressure did not bother the finance minister, who is also the finance minister.

It is no wonder that the Japanese state and people cannot afford to compete with Germany, which has a per capita income of 8 times and a total income of 15 times its own, in an all-round competition with its military strength. Showa may have realized this mistake at this time, but there is no regret medicine in the world, except for the crazy plundering of wealth and resources from other countries, Japan has no other way, and even if it wins in a head-on confrontation with Germany, it will not help to improve its finances, but it is different to invade a weak country.

At this time, Nishihara Temple Gongwang said in a low tone:

"Your Majesty's intention is to divert the attention of the Germans from peace talks, and then defeat the Chinese army with a blitzkrieg! Success or failure depends on the performance of the Imperial Army on the battlefield! ”