"Kita Ikki seems to have found out." Okamura Ninji said to Nagata Tetsuyama.

There is no need to mention anything specifically, Nagata Tetsuyama knows what Okamura Ninji is referring to. He smiled coldly: "Since Bei Yihui must restrain the Imperial Dao Sect, then let's see if the Imperial Dao Sect is willing to listen to him." ”

Having an alliance plan is not the same thing as being able to reach an alliance in the end, not to mention that Nagata Tetsuyama is only a major general after being promoted to major general, and there are many senior generals and lieutenant generals in the military department, and Nagata Tetsuyama can't talk about being able to decide everything.

"It's just that with Kita Yihui to restrain the Imperial Dao Sect, we can't temporarily use the Imperial Dao Sect to deal with those big guys." Ninji Okamura is not so optimistic. The core of the control faction is Nagata Tetsuyama, and if Nagata Tetsuyama wants to ascend to the position of the military department, he must solve those bigwigs. The people of the Imperial Daoist faction are the most impulsive, and they are prone to wanton nonsense when they think that their ideals are correct. They are the best candidates to get rid of the big guys in the army. In addition to the bigwigs in the army, there are also a group of important ministers now, all of whom are the big enemies of the ruling faction who want to take power.

The bigwigs in the army can be regarded as advocating the military to take power, and Takahashi is one of the biggest pillars of party politics in the Qing Dynasty, which has the title of "god of constitutionalism". In the eyes of the unification faction, Takahashi is the pillar behind the Qing and chaebol, and he is also a political enemy that must be killed. The best way to eliminate Takahashi is Kiyoshi is physical destruction.

Who will be sent to accomplish this heavenly work?

When Nagata Tetsuyama discussed sending someone to assassinate Takahashi Shikiyo, there was always a feeling of uneasiness in his heart. He has also tested Hirohito's attitude towards Takahashi Shikiyo many times. The Japanese emperor, who was in his early 30s, trusted Takahashi Shikiyo very much, although he had a dislike for the old guys.

This is not Hirohito's feeling alone, any faction in Japan, whether they like it or not, Takahashi is Kiyoshi, they all trust this old man's economic ability. For more than 20 years, the prime minister of the cabinet has been changing, and the cabinet ministers have been cutting leeks one after another, and Takahashi has always stood tall in the cabinet. No matter who sent someone to kill Takahashi Isakiyo, no matter whether the faction to which the main envoy belonged could take over the authority of Japan, the main envoy would definitely not be unharmed. Nagata Tetsuyama and Okamura Ninji have no intention of being the precursor to others as kings.

"Then let's start with ammonia. Let the newspaper publish an article saying that once synthetic ammonia is controlled by the private sector, the price will definitely not be lower. Okamura Ninji suggested.

After Bei Yihui mobilized retired soldiers to return to their hometowns, he publicized the "fifty percent tax", and by the way, he was also promoting the popularization of synthetic ammonia. Nagata Iron Mountain naturally did not let Kita Yihui get his wish.

After the People's Party and the United States jointly developed synthetic ammonia, the synthetic ammonia industry became the money printing machine of the People's Party, and it made countless money in 20 years. After Japan finally mastered the relevant technology of this industry, they understood how profitable this industry can be and how much it means to the country.

At present, the state is investing in the construction of fertilizer plants, and the army is in control of the reactor steel, and this very important industry for Japan must not fall into the hands of the zaibatsu, and certainly cannot be controlled by bureaucrats such as the Ministry of Commerce. The ammonia industry must be firmly controlled by the War Department!

"I've got a solution." Nagata Tetsuyama said.

"Oh?" Okamura Ninji was a little surprised by Nagata Tetsuyama's statement, and without being 100% sure, Nagata Tetsuyama would not say so.

"According to the U.S. side, the People's Party already has a 70,000-ton synthetic ammonia production line, and we might as well import such a production line from the People's Party." Nagata Tetsuyama replied.

"Where does the money come from?" It cost a lot of money to import core technology from the United States and the United Kingdom, and Okamura couldn't think of how to get such a large sum of money.

"This money can be raised from military personnel." Nagata Tetsuyama replied.

Okamura Ninji roughly understood what Nagata Tetsuyama meant with a roll of his eyes, and most of the Japanese soldiers were from farmers, and their desire for fertilizer that could increase production by 20% was the strongest. Once the project can be introduced, not only will the War Department have a monopoly on state-of-the-art ammonia production, but it will also be able to control farmers through the distribution of fertilizers. At the same time, it can also express a friendly attitude to China.

Even if the project is discarded, the military department can put the blame on the "sinners", and then those sinners will have to face the anger of all the soldiers who invested in the project.

"But will China agree?" Okamura Ninji was very worried about this.

"Then we have to have Laogang Village-kun go to China in person." Nagata Tetsuyama said.

Okamura Ninji didn't really want to come up with this, but Nagata Tetsuyama's words made Okamura Ninji dispel the idea of retreating, "I have already mentioned this matter to Your Majesty, and Your Majesty is very interested. ”

So in January 1934, Okamura Ninji once again set foot on Chinese soil.

Okamura's last visit to China coincided with the People's Party's execution of Cai Yuanpei, just as the People's Party had just seized national power. In Okamura's impression, some of China's big cities are not necessarily more prosperous than Tokyo, but ordinary countryside is more advanced than Japan's rural areas.

This time to China, Okamura Ninji specially chose to enter the country from Shanghai. Shanghai had been the largest city in the Far East since the end of the 19th century, and Okamura was horrified when he visited the city again. The port of Shanghai has undergone a massive expansion and is very different from what it used to be.

For a big city like Shanghai, expanding the port is nothing. After passing through the customs and entering Shanghai, Okamura Ninji found that the Shanghai of more than ten years ago had disappeared. Shanghai, which is full of alleys and alleys, has completely disappeared, and Okamura Ninji is in front of him a huge modern city. Ordinary roads are basically six lanes, and wide roads are ten or even twelve lanes. The road is lined with beautiful green belts of cars, trucks, motorbikes and bicycles.

Looking at those wide, straight roads, Okamura felt that the Chinese had simply built the roads into runways for airports. The instincts of a soldier like him were not wrong, and he did have this intention when the main roads were being built. In the event of a sudden state of war, the main road can be converted into a temporary airport immediately. Of course, Okamura Ninji didn't know these things.

The space framed by winding or straight lanes is a series of buildings with six or seven floors. None of these buildings are distinctive, but there are endless buildings nestled in plants. In contrast to the low-rise wooden houses of Tokyo, the buildings in Shanghai show that China far exceeds Japan's industrial capacity.

"Is this the gap between China and Japan?" Okamura Ninji said silently in his heart. Facts always speak louder than a thousand words, regardless of Okamura's advocacy of war with China. After seeing the changes in Shanghai, he had already dispelled this idea.

"Such a city is not inferior to the United States." Yamamoto Isoroku, who was standing next to Ninji Okamura, said. Naturally, the Admiralty will not sit idly by and watch the War Department monopolize such a big pie as synthetic ammonia. Since Okamura Ninji led the team, the Admiralty sent Yamamoto Isoroku, who had gone to Harvard University to study, as Okamura Ninji's "assistant".

"If you want to attack such a city, what do you think is the best way to do it?" Okamura Ninji asked Yamamoto.

Yamamoto Fifty-six thought carefully for a while and shook his head, "There is no way for the navy, what will the army do?" ”

Okamura Ninji didn't actually come up with any solution, the city in front of him is huge, and according to Japanese intelligence, Shanghai already has a population of more than 5 million. If an army is sent to attack such a city, it is afraid that at least half a million troops will have to be invested. At the moment, the total number of Japanese army and navy is not so large. Okamura discussed it with Yamamoto, and the two decided to change the schedule at the last minute. Take a tour of Shanghai and nearby cities to see how powerful China really is.

The cities of Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing, Zhenjiang and other cities in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River are not far away, and these large and small cities form an urban agglomeration, and it can be said that almost the essence of China's Yangtze River basin is gathered here. If you go down the river and the mountain, after Nanjing, it is Wuhu, Anqing, and Wuhan. That's where the People's Party started, Okamura Ninji once went, and the industrial level there was quite strong more than ten years ago, and looking at the changes in Shanghai, I think the situation there should be stronger now.

Another reason for deciding to change the itinerary was that both Okamura Ninji and Yamamoto didn't believe that what they saw was true. They all suspect that this is a face-saving project by the Chinese government, which has made important Shanghai magnificent, and used it to decorate the façade.

So the head of the Japanese delegation and his assistant took his subordinates to start a trip to Jiangnan. Railways have been built between the cities, and transportation is very convenient. Okamura Ninji knows intelligence work very well, and Yamamoto Isoroku has a very broad vision. Moreover, the work of introducing technology itself was not particularly urgent, and the Japanese delegation spent 15 days in Jiangnan to visit the urban agglomeration between Shanghai and Nanjing.

The silk embroidery of Suzhou and Hangzhou, the food of Zhenjiang, and the places of interest in Nanjing, these are all pleasing things to the eye, not to mention that the scenery of the south of the Yangtze River is good, even in the cold of January, it does not seem dead and silent. But the two of them, who are also in the Japanese army, feel as cold as the air close to freezing.

The results of the Japanese gang's encounters along the way and their investigations proved that this was definitely not a façade-dressing prosperity. There are no rich and noble people in China now, but there are also no people who lack food and clothing. The latter is too rare in this world. Of course, the Japanese have also seen some Chinese dressed in tatters and dirty. But at first glance, it is a personal reason, because these people do not have the complexion problem caused by starvation. There are some guys who look like technicians, with dark circles under their eyes and not very good complexions. It was obviously a problem caused by working too hard, and it had nothing to do with starvation.

There are not many people on the streets during the day, and the whole city comes alive at night after work. The Spring Festival is approaching, and the street is prosperous in buying and selling, all of which are buying New Year's goods. These cities are lit up at night, and at least every street is lit up.

The area visited by the Japanese gangs was at least half the size of Japan, and the stability and affluence here proved that China was much stronger than Japan. The strength of industrial agriculture in this land alone surpasses that of the whole of Japan.

Yamamoto Fifty-six is more free and easy, Yamamoto has a gambling addiction, and he knows that there were casinos in Shanghai and other places. He also wanted to gamble a few times to have a good time, but the local Japanese consulate told Yamamoto Isoroku that gambling was banned in China and the casino had long been eradicated. In the end, after Yamamoto and the others arrived in Nanjing, they finally found a professional casino, and Yamamoto Fifty-six went in and had a great time. For Yamamoto Fifty-six, whose gambling skills have reached the level of professional gamblers, the level of gamblers in China is really bad enough. Let him win more than 20,000 yuan in the casino, and finally the person in charge of the casino "sends" him out.

With extra money in his hand, Yamamoto first set aside a part of it to return it to his good friend, he used to bet with a good friend for a trivial matter and lost 3,000 yuan, although Yamamoto's good friend didn't take it seriously, but Yamamoto was willing to gamble and lose, he had a little money to pay back, and it has been paid back for several years. Winning so much in a Chinese casino is enough to pay off the rest of the money. Then Yamamoto chartered a cruise ship for Qin Huai and called some girls to drink together.

Okamura Ninji doesn't like to talk much, but seeing Yamamoto's style, he couldn't help but laugh in Japanese: "If only the level of the Chinese army could be the same as the gambling machines of Chinese gamblers." ”

Yamamoto shook his head, "The stronger a country is, the worse the gambling skills will be." They're all busy with business, where do you have time to do this? ”

Okamura Ninji didn't expect Yamamoto Fifty-six to have such a clear mind, he couldn't help but look at Yamamoto carefully, and then continued to ask: "Does Yamamoto-kun think Japan still has the strength to fight against China?" ”

Yamamoto Fifty-six sighed slightly, "The power of the First World War is still there, but the war will inevitably fail." ”

"Is it bound to fail?" Okamura Ninji repeated, as if he was asking, and as if he was asking himself.

"Bound to be defeated!" Yamamoto Fifty-six did not have any taboos, "China and Japan are too close to each other, so close that they can't completely defend themselves." The navy could land directly in Kyushu and southern Honshu from Korea, and the air force could bomb Japan directly. I originally thought that the Chinese newspapers were boasting that the steel output exceeded 20 million tons, but now I see that they do have this strength. ”

Okamura also acknowledges Yamamoto's point of view, seeing too many Chinese urban construction sites along the way. The buildings in those cities are all reinforced concrete frame structures, and the scaffolding is made of steel pipes. Not to mention the cars on the street and the bicycles that every household has. These require a large amount of steel, as well as sufficient steel processing capacity.

Needless to say, Okamura and Yamamoto are both smart people. They will not intend to invade just because they see China's wealth. These steels can be used for civilian use, but they can also be easily used in the military field. The battle in Taiwan proved how far China can be armed. Neither of them spoke again about the issue of a war between China and Japan, because it was clear to both men that Japan would no longer have the strength to challenge China unless there was any special turmoil in China itself and it was dealt a fatal blow by other powerful powers.

After confirming this, the Japanese delegation moved from Nanjing to Xuzhou, and then took a train from Xuzhou all the way to Zhengzhou. After all, their official task is to negotiate with China about the purchase of Chinese ammonia production lines.