The third part of the Bloody War of Resistance, Chapter 9, Rushing, Section 1, Bow Pull

Two light coughs came from the side, and everyone turned their heads to see that it was Kido of the Imperial Palace, Koiso Kuniaki was shocked, and his face changed instantly, you must know that Kido is the representative of the emperor, and he opened his mouth If the emperor speaks, once the emperor expresses his opinion,. Ｑb⑸、COM\

"Gentlemen, the war is unexpectedly arduous, from the eleventh year of Showa to the present, it has lasted for six years, the people have borne great suffering, countless lives have been lost in the war, Your Majesty is worried about this, Your Majesty has chosen the monarchs, and handed over the responsibility of governing the country to the monarchs, and if the fate of the empire is handed over to the monarchs, I hope that the monarchs will make a careful decision."

Koiso Kuniaki breathed a light breath, it seemed that Kido was impartial and did not blame anyone, but in fact he was secretly criticizing Sugiyama Moto, who promised in front of the emperor that the Shina incident would be resolved in three months, and now six years have passed, and the war has not stopped, but on the contrary, it has become bigger and bigger, and the whole country is in danger.

Sugiyama Moto, who didn't notice the sarcasm and criticism in Kido's words at all, immediately took Kido's words and continued: "That's right, Your Majesty has chosen us people to take on state affairs, and we must be responsible for the people and your Majesty. The people gave everything to the state, to the army, and now they have given it up like this, how can they give an account to the people? secondly, such a retreat without a fight will seriously damage the morale of the front-line soldiers; In the end, I think this strategy is based on the realization that the empire can no longer be fought, and that the empire is going to fail. This kind of thinking is defeatism, and the strategy formulated in this mood is necessarily a failure strategy. ”

Obviously, Sugiyama was also prepared, at least he said that Japan could not fight any longer, could not achieve the final victory, and this was the basic idea of Ishihara's strategy.

"The war is fought under strategic guidance, and in the past six years, the empire has not had a clear strategy, and has always been passive in dealing with the situation that has arisen, and now we cannot go on like this." Ishihara said lightly: "The strategy is drawn up based on a correct estimate of the strength of oneself and the enemy. The figures I showed just now show that the empire's manpower and material resources are almost at the limit, our opponents have abundant manpower and material resources, and the empire cannot fall into a protracted war, China, the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union, the four enemies, the China battlefield has dragged 60% of our troops and consumed a lot of resources in the empire, so I think we should first solve the China incident and get out of the China battlefield. In order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to carry out both strategic and policy aspects, strategically we must deal a heavy blow to the Chinese army, and politically we must reach a peace agreement with China as soon as possible, for which we can give up all the territories within the Shanhai Pass, including Rehe, as long as we can keep Manchukuo, it will be a victory. ”

"Chiang Kai-shek has rejected the Empire's demands several times," Sugiyama Yuan sneered: "Ishihara-kun, you can't help but be wishful thinking." ”

"On this point, General Sugiyama is right," said Foreign Minister Shigemitsu Aoi, in support: "Abandoning Jiangnan will have extremely serious consequences for imperial diplomacy, not to mention the alliance agreement we have just reached with the Nanking government, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines, these newly established governments will be suspicious of us and will no longer support us." ”

Diplomatic losses were the greatest weakness of Ishihara's strategy, and abandoning the whole of Jiangnan would also be the abandonment of the Wang Ching-wei government, which would inevitably have a serious impact on Japanese diplomacy, and the governments they supported in Nanyang and Southeast Asia would therefore have doubts about victory and victory.

"Our aim is to withdraw from the battlefield of China and face the British and Americans with all our might," Ishihara explained: "The main reason why Chiang Kai-shek is still holding on is mainly the support of his Central Army, and in the decisive battle in North China, the Imperial Army can destroy the Central Army of China in large numbers and weaken the foundation of Chiang Kai-shek's regime, so that we can force Chiang Kai-shek to sit down and negotiate, and as long as he agrees to negotiate, we will be half the battle." ”

"Chiang Kai-shek didn't accept our terms when he conquered Nanjing, and now he will?" The Minister of Finance and Sichuan seemed to have no confidence, when Nanjing was in danger, Chiang Kai-shek did not choose peace talks but chose to fight, and now that the squadron has begun to gain the upper hand, will he choose peace talks? And Chuan didn't believe it.

"That's because our conditions are too high." Ishihara's tone was heavy, and it was clear to all the cabinet members present that Japan would have to pay a huge price if Chiang Kai-shek wanted to accept the peace talks: "As long as we can keep Manchuria, everything else can be abandoned, all the kings, strong men have broken their wrists, for the sake of the empire, for the sake of Your Majesty, we must make a choice." ”

"But what if Chiang Kai-shek doesn't accept it? What about his goal in Manchuria? Navy Minister Shigetaro Shimada asked coldly.

Ishihara, who had always been confident, appeared in a brief silence, which was the most uncertain part of him, although he was willing to pay a huge price, but if Chiang Kai-shek did not accept it, everything was empty talk.

"Retreating without a fight is tantamount to fleeing in front of the enemy, and such a thing has never happened in the history of the Imperial Army," Kimura Hyotaro stood up and said, at this kind of joint meeting, as the vice minister of the Ministry of the Army, although he is not qualified to sit in the front row of the conference table, he has the right to speak: "According to intelligence, China is training mechanized troops, and the Fifth Army of China that appeared on the battlefield in northern Hubei is the first mechanized unit in China. In the decisive battle with China here, the imperial army was at a disadvantage. On the contrary, Jiangnan is different, the water network in Jiangnan is dense, which is not conducive to the operation of mechanized troops, rather than placing the decisive battle in North China, it is better to put it in Jiangnan, and on the Yangtze River, you can also get naval support. ”

After Kimura Hyotaro finished speaking, Sugiyama Mototo sneered and said to Koiso Kuniaki: "Prime Minister, since this meeting is a meeting to decide the fate of the empire, I hope to listen to the voices from the grassroots and let everyone speak fully so that the cabinet can learn more about the situation." ”

"I think so." Without waiting for Koiso Kuniaki to speak, Education Director Yamada Otozo spoke, Koiso Kuniaki is not Hideki Tojo, he is a retired general as prime minister, and he can be said to be the weakest prime minister in the last decade.

The two main generals of the military spoke, and Koiso Kuniaki nodded with a sigh of relief: "Okay, speak freely, today, we will explain all the issues clearly." ”

The bureau chiefs in the back row were silent for a moment, and then they became lively like boiling water.

"According to this strategy, we gave up Shanxi, abandoned Jiangnan, and concentrated our forces in North China to fight a decisive battle with China, but should China not attack? With the sailing radius of the B17 bomber, taking off from the Shandong Peninsula can cover most of Japan, and once the Chinese people gain a foothold on the Shandong Peninsula, the planes taking off from here can control most of the Yellow Sea and all of the Bohai Sea; in addition, with the air cover of China, the China Army can set up a submarine base in Qingdao, and the US submarine sortie distance can be shortened by several thousand kilometers. ”

To Ishihara's surprise, the first person to stand up was actually a lieutenant from the navy, and his opinion was very pertinent and very deadly.

Tokyo has been bombed only once so far, in the spring of 1942 by Doolittle, but the damage caused by this bombing was very small and largely a declaration, a declaration of attitude.

However, once Shandong is lost, the Jiaodong Peninsula is only more than 400 kilometers away from Tokyo, and it is completely within the B17 bombing radius, and the danger of establishing a submarine base in Qingdao is still secondary.

"That's right, the same is true of Jiangnan," Rear Admiral Keisan Oka stood up and said, "The main reason why the Empire's defense strategy lists the Mariana Islands as an absolute defense circle is that the bombers taking off from Saipan can reach the empire itself. If Jiangnan is abandoned, the distance between Jiangnan and the mainland of the empire is much shorter than that of the Mariana Islands. ”

The Absolute Defense Circle was proposed after the Battle of Midway, which devastated the Japanese Navy, and the Japanese Navy switched from offensive to defensive, proposing to establish a line of defense along the western part of the Kuril Islands, Ogasawara Islands, the Mariana Islands, the Caroline Islands, and the New Guinea Islands—the Absolute Defense Circle Plan, which was based on the bombing radius of the current Allied bombers.

Oka Keijun's words once again hit the soft underbelly of Ishihara's strategy, but what made Sugiyama a little embarrassed was that these factors were all found by the navy.

When Ishihara first proposed this strategy, the navy was still very welcome, the reason is actually very simple, if according to this strategy, the navy can get more material rations, from the beginning of the war to the present, the army has always occupied the majority of the materials, the original war, Sugiyama Mototo agreed to make concessions on the steel quota, but in fact, with the establishment of the army's mechanized troops, especially tank troops, these shares were taken back.

However, after returning yesterday, Shimada was also besieged by junior officers of the Ministry of the Navy, but these naval officers found a weakness in Ishihara's strategy, so they were more resolute in their opposition.

Ishihara felt a little desperate, but it also aroused his fighting spirit. He stood up and walked over to the projector, put one of the maps on the screen, pointed to the semicircle drawn on the map, and said, "This absolute defense circle is a pie." The absolute security of the country is based on the strength of the country, and it is a pipe dream to pin hopes on absolute national defense, believing that national security can be guaranteed by holding this line of defense. The war has been fought to this day, the strength of the country has been seriously weakened, and the productive forces have to be evenly distributed between the army and the navy, and as a result, that part is not enough. Gentlemen, the current situation is that we must withdraw from one battlefield and concentrate our national forces on one battlefield, and negotiating peace with China is only the first step, and the second step is to negotiate with Soviet Russia, to free the imperial power from Soviet Russia and to deal with Britain and the United States with all our might. We must also move quickly, before the defeat of Germany. ”

"I support General Ishihara's strategy, the national strategy is based on not the establishment of a national defense circle, but on the strength of the country," feeling that Ishihara's situation was not good, Koiso Kuniaki decided to clarify his views, but this was a very risky decision, if it failed, he no longer had the authority to lead this cabinet: "The scattered use of troops is a taboo in warfare, and at present, in all the battlefields of China, the people of China can concentrate five or six times the number of troops to attack the imperial army, on the contrary, the imperial army can only passively meet the battle, and it is acceptable to make a limited retreat." ”

"Limited retreat?" Sugiyama Mototo, without giving Koiso Kuniaki any face, asked directly: "Give up the entire Jiangnan, or retreat to a limited extent?" American planes taking off from Gangnam can bomb Tokyo directly, Prime Minister, this is not a limit. ”

"But the problem now is that the country's resources are limited, but they are still being used in a decentralized manner, and if this continues, Japan will be defeated in less than three years" Ishihara Waner was a little anxious, and couldn't help but roar at Sugiyama Moto.

"People are worried," Sugiyama Moto said with contempt: "The empire will not be defeated, the Americans cannot afford the loss of human lives, as long as they defeat them once, they will sit down and negotiate, as for China, the battle of northern Hubei is nothing more than a lack of intelligence, and they fell into the trap of the Chinans, and on the actual battlefield, the China army is not yet the opponent of the imperial army." ”

"Major General Tateka," Ishihara ignored Sugiyama Moto, and suddenly called out to Tatetakanosuke in the back row: "You can tell me about the situation in North China." ”

Tatsutakanosuke was stunned, he was originally going to speak at this meeting, but when he entered the venue, he knew that he had no right to speak, he had been listening, analyzing, it turned out that he was ready to support Ishihara, let China take back Jiangnan without a fight, and recover all the areas south of the Yellow River, but now he found that opposing Ishihara might be a better strategy for China. So when he stood up, he already had a countermeasure in his heart.

"The situation in North China is very serious, and Commander Okamura sent me back to Japan to report to the base camp the predicament faced by the North China Dispatch Army." Ligao said: "Since the beginning of the previous year, the North China Dispatch Army has successively carried out encirclement and suppression of the local GC Army in Shandong, Hebei and Chahar, and won victories in Shandong and Hebei, but the GC Army has greatly improved its combat effectiveness with the support of the Chinese government, and the Imperial Army has suffered heavy casualties, and the casualties of the Imperial Army have reached more than 30,000 in the public security operation in Jizhong, and with the transfer of the main force of the Imperial Army to Hebei, the New Fourth Army of the GC Army has entered Shandong, and the public security in Shandong has begun to deteriorate, and General Matsui believes that it must be cleared again, but the entire North China lacks combat materials. In order to support the operation in northern Hubei, the North China Dispatch Army transferred two divisions and four brigades, which led to the cessation of security operations in Chahar and Suiyuan. ”

Listening to Tatetakanosuke's words, Ishihara nodded frequently, Sugiyama Moto's face was gloomy, but Tatsunosuke continued: "General Sugiyama, Chief Ishihara, North China is the rear of the Mongolian front, and the deterioration of the public security situation in North China will seriously threaten the Mongolian front, General Okabe reacted, the Soviet and Mongolian troops are abnormally mobilized, and it is possible to launch an attack at the turn of spring and summer this year." ”

"In order to stabilize the situation in North China, Commander Okamura believes that it is necessary to increase the number of troops to North China by at least two divisions and three brigades, and in addition, in terms of materials, it is necessary to provide 20,000 tons to North China every month."

Ishihara was a little disappointed, Sugiyama Moto's eyes lit up, and he immediately took over and asked: "With two divisions and three brigades, you can restore law and order in North China, is that so?" ”

Ligao nosuke thought about it and nodded: "Yes, but the materials, there must be 50,000 tons in the first replenishment, and there must be no less than 20,000 tons per month in the future, which is the minimum requirement, and now all the warehouses in North China are empty, once the Soviet and Mongolian troops launch an attack, North China will not be able to support it." ”

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