The Yomiuri Shimbun expressed its dissatisfaction with the sudden signing of such a treaty between Germany and Soviet Russia, believing that it was a betrayal of Germany by the Japanese and calling on the political axe to reconsider relations with Germany; However, the news of the DPRK said that with the current situation of the empire, it should resolutely adopt an attitude of rapprochement with Soviet Russia and make every effort to resolve the incident in China.

From time to time, the women of the women's support association pull donation boxes to collect donations from passers-by on the streets on both sides of the car, and there are fixed donation boxes at important intersections, but the atmosphere on the street is not as optimistic as before, and the joy of Obon is lost in a short period of time.

The car drove slowly into the War Department guest house, and the receiving officer was a young second lieutenant, who politely told him that Minister Itagaki and Vice Minister Tojo were attending the Imperial Council at the Imperial Palace, and that they would hold a liaison meeting with the War Department at the base camp in the evening, listen to his report, ask him to rest for a while, and come to pick him up after dinner.

Along the way, he wondered why the military department suddenly issued such an inconsistent order, and after arriving in Tokyo, he realized a little that this order was likely to be related to the recent Soviet-German treaty, and in this case, it was very interesting to say that the attitude of the country towards the Soviet-German treaty, or after the outbreak of the war in Europe, what kind of strategy the military department would adopt, and he very much wanted to know what decision the imperial council would make.

The Imperial Council was held in the Emperor's Imperial Palace, and Kiichiro Hiranuma led the Cabinet and the main chiefs of the General Staff of the base camp to participate, and the Soviet-German Treaty shocked the Soviet Union as much as Europe, and before this treaty, the Army had always regarded Soviet Russia as an imaginary enemy, and the signing of the "International Agreement on Industrial Development" with Germany was also intended to use Germany to contain Soviet Russia, but now Germany signed a non-aggression pact with Soviet Russia without revealing a single situation, which made the entire political circle of the Soviet Union feel betrayed.

Prior to this, there was a strong call within the army for the speedy signing of the Triple Axis, but the Soviet-German treaty suppressed this call at once, and after a short silence, the call was renewed, but the political and military elites who held the core of the power were seriously reflecting on the need to continue to strengthen cooperation with Germany.

Foreign Minister Hachiro Arita became the target of everyone's accusations, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had an unshirkable responsibility for this incident, but Oshima, the ambassador to Germany, quickly took remedial measures and visited German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop, who assured him that although the Soviet-German non-aggression pact was signed, the German-Italian treaty was primary, and the Soviet-German treaty was only to relieve the pressure that Germany was currently facing from Britain and France. Oshima was very pessimistic about the development of the situation in Europe, believing that Britain and France would not make concessions to Germany on the Polish question, and that Hitler had no way out on the Polish question, and that war was on the verge of breaking out, and that the war in Europe had a very great impact on the ongoing holy war in the Reich.

Oshima's report was the immediate trigger for the Imperial Council, which lasted more than two hours and was exhausting, but the views of the army and navy remained diametrically opposed, with the navy opposing an Axis alliance with Germany and Italy; The Army, however, was adamant in its advocacy of an Axis alliance with Germany.

"It is with the support of Britain and the United States that the political axe of China can oppose the imperial army for so long, and once Germany is victorious, Nanyang will become a power vacuum, we can take the opportunity to go south, on the one hand, we can cut off the way for Britain and France to support China, on the other hand, we can also seize the British and French colonies in Nanyang, seize the rubber and oil there, so as to relieve the economic pressure that the empire is currently facing." Hideki Tojo's voice is still so thick even at the Imperial Council, Tojo, who was born in the lower samurai class, although his father was a lieutenant general, has never been able to step into the aristocratic class.

However, Tojo's impassioned impassioned attitude did not impress Mitsumasa Yonechi, the prime minister of the sea, and Minai said unhurriedly: "Establish an Axis alliance with Germany, and if the troops go south, there will be a conflict with the United States." It is very unwise for the Reich to be mired in the Sino-Chinese War, and given the obvious disparity in power between the Reich and the United States, I think we should hold off on cooperating more closely with Germany. ”

"Ridiculous," Itagaki Seishiro couldn't help but stand up and scolded loudly, and then found out that this was a meeting in front of the emperor, and immediately bowed slightly from Hirohito: "The minister lost his honor, please forgive your majesty." ”

Hirohito nodded slightly in acceptance, and Itagaki continued: "The empire should now seize this favorable opportunity to expand the holy war, establish a new order in East Asia, rescue Nanyang from the British and French forces, and return Asia to the hands of the Asians. The main obstacle to the southward movement is Britain and the United States, and only by strengthening ties with Germany can Britain and the United States be restrained, so that they will not dare to act rashly when we move south. ”

"Over the years, the navy has occupied a lot of material resources and consumed a lot of national wealth, but it does not dare to fight at a critical moment, what is the reason?" Hideki Tojo asked sharply.

The navy needs a lot of steel and crude oil to build ships, and at the same time aircraft carriers also occupy a lot of aluminum, and the army has long been dissatisfied with this, especially on the planes, in the China operation, the China Air Force has always pressed the army to the end, and the army will attribute the reason to the lack of aircraft resources occupied by the army, and ask the navy to allocate aircraft to the army, this request was resolutely rejected by the navy, and only promised to send some planes to participate in the war, and the establishment still belongs to the navy.

"We are not afraid of war, but once the war begins, there must be a unified plan and purpose for the war, the army said at the beginning of the China incident that it would solve the problem in three months, and now it has been fought for two years, and your strategic rashness and mistakes have led to the current predicament of the empire." Mitsumasa Yonechi harshly and ruthlessly poked at Itagaki and Tojo's pain, and at the time of the Lugou Bridge Incident, although Itagaki and Tojo were not the core decision-makers, they were both representatives of the expansion faction, and it was they who contributed to the flames, and even acted on their own, and finally pushed the incident into an all-out war.

Tojo's face turned red, at the time of the Lugou Bridge Incident, he was the chief of staff of the Kwantung Army, and without a clear order from Tokyo, he personally led the Kwantung Army Mongolian Xinjiang Corps into the customs to fight, and the Kwantung Army at that time was very fanatical, thinking that the opportunity had finally come and could suppress China in one fell swoop.

"Don't dwell on the past, the ministers should think more about the impact of the situation in Europe on the empire." Hirohito's soft voice floated around the room like a ghost, and Hirohito rarely expressed his views directly at the Imperial Council, but his attitude was always appropriately expressed, and this interjection was a subtle hint of dissatisfaction with the Army.

Everyone saluted Hirohito, and then Prime Minister Hiranuma spoke: "Your Majesty is right, the Soviet-German treaty was an accident for the empire, and if it were to turn around, the mood of the people would have an impact, and such a major policy change would require a transition period of time, and it must be cautious." ”

Foreign Minister Arita also said: "Whether there will be a war in Europe, and what the outcome of the war will be, it is uncertain, the Soviet-German treaty actually relieves us of our obligations to Germany, and we can sit back and watch the tiger fight, and see how the situation changes to determine our actions, but I think all decisions depend on when the Sino incident can be resolved, and with the strength of the empire, it is impossible to fight two wars at the same time." ”

Everyone present understood who the emperor was supporting, and the army's repeated mistakes in the Shina incident had greatly questioned their prestige, and Itagaki and Tojo had no choice but to remain silent and let Hiranuma and others make decisions, and Hiranuma and Arita did not dare to criticize the army in transition, otherwise Itagaki decided to resign, and the army deliberately did not send someone to replace the Minister of War, so the cabinet would only resign, so after a few hours of empty talk, the imperial council decided to wait for the development of the situation in Europe, and did not actually make any decisions.

Leaving the conference room, everyone found that the palace was brightly lit, and it was already dark, and Itagaki and Tojo had gloomy faces, and they overtook Prime Minister Hiranuma without regard for etiquette, and walked quickly, Itagaki suddenly stopped and turned to Hiranuma and said, "If the Prime Minister insists on rejecting the Three Kingdoms Axis, I feel that it is inappropriate to serve as Minister of War again." ”

In the face of the naked threat, Hiranuma's face turned red with anger, and Mitsumasa Mitsumasa couldn't help but be furious: "What are these words!" If you don't agree to quit the cabinet, does the Army want to use this tactic to bring down the cabinet? ”

Tojo also turned around and replied unequivocally to Mitsumasa Yonechi, "We believe that we can continue to cooperate only if we have the same opinion, and if we continue to disagree, it is pointless to continue to stay in the cabinet." ”

Arita Hachiro shook his head slightly: "Itagaki-kun, Tojo-kun, I hope you are cautious, the empire is in a critical period, the development of the situation in Europe is obscure, and it is irresponsible for the country to make a decision now." ”

"You've missed the incident once, do you want to make a mistake again?" Mitsumasa Minai resolutely did not accept their threats, and he also unequivocally issued his own threats: "If that, I can also resign!" ”

"You are all important ministers of the state, what kind of child's play," Kido, the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Imperial Household Province, repriled with some unhappiness: "When the country is facing a life-and-death decision, you are threatening each other like children, what do you say, share your Majesty's worries, do your duty for the empire, it is irresponsible to resign, don't mention this kind of thing in the future." ”

Kido's status is very peculiar, the Minister of the Interior is actually the emperor's chief of staff, saying that he has power, but he does not have much actual power, and is only responsible for the connection between the imperial family and the cabinet, but it would be wrong to think that he can be despised in this way. Kido was actually the convener of the Shigetomi clique, which was composed of successive cabinet premiers and military veterans, who had the power to recommend the prime minister and ministers to the emperor, and they had extensive influence in the military, political, and economic circles, and decided on many issues.

Recently, my health has not been very good, and the update is not timely, so I apologize, this is to make up for yesterday.

(To be continued)