"Ishihara-kun is too naïve...... Sugiyama Mototo began to fight back, Emperor Yushi's interrogation just now embarrassed him, but Shigemitsu Aoi interrupted to gain time and adjust his thinking: "In the Showa year, ** did not sue for peace, I don't believe that there will be peace now?" ”

This problem is very fatal, Showa has a year, that is, in 1940, the Japanese army conquered Wuhan, which is Japan's offensive in China, but ** gritted his teeth and endured it, according to Ishihara's plan, abandon Jiangnan, give up Shandong, give up Shanxi, in such a continuous victory, ** will be made because of a failure, or will agree to the sum of Japan?

Let the war stop has become the consensus of the political circles of Japan, and there is no shortage of people with outstanding intelligence in Japan, who have already seen that Japan has been defeated on the battlefield, and the only way to make peace with the allies is to seize the present battlefield or overseas. /。 Distressingly, the Cairo Declaration closed the door to peace talks, and the allies announced that they would accept only unconditional surrender, which allowed the hard-line military to do so. True.

But the war continued, and there was no hope of victory, no one in the cabinet and the base camp stood up to support Sugiyama Moto, Sugiyama Moto glared at Yamada Otozo, the Imperial Council was not a base camp meeting, and his supporters were not eligible to participate, only the director of education, Yamada Otozo, could participate.

"Your Majesty, the allies demand unconditional surrender, which is absolutely unacceptable to the Empire, surrender is a shame for the soldiers, I, as an old soldier, would rather die in battle than surrender!" Sugiyama Mototo's voice was loud and tears flowed down his face.

There was a surge of tragedy at the imperial meeting, and Hirohito's eyes behind the lenses flickered, wandering "Obviously, I was moved by Sugiyama Moto" Koiso Kuniaki spoke at this time: "General Sugiyama, we will not surrender, Your Majesty will entrust us with state affairs" But state affairs are erosive, and we are deeply disappointed by Your Majesty's expectations. At this, he bowed deeply to Hirohito.

"The prime minister doesn't have to blame himself," Hirohito comforted, "What I want to know now is, what measures will the cabinet take to save the current war?" ”

Koiso Kuniaki didn't know how to answer, and now the only one who put forward a detailed and clear plan was Ishihara Waner, but the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs resolutely objected: "In the face of the fact that the Ministry of War itself could not come up with a plan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs tried to extend an olive branch to Soviet Russia, but there was no progress."

"Your Majesty" Ishihara Wan'er spoke again: "The minister thinks that it is still necessary to shrink the front. The empire was currently doing its best to keep the economy and production at home, but it was still unable to meet the needs of the front, and General Umezu Yoshijiro reported that the Kwantung Army's logistical reserves had reached a dangerous point, and "the newly formed divisions could not even do it with a single gun." ”

Hirohito finally began to be moved, but this situation was something he didn't understand, the Kwantung Army was known as the elite of the world, but it had reached such a dangerous situation.

"Can industrial output be increased?" Hirohito's gaze turned to Kuniaki Koiso, his gaze full of expectation.

But Koiso Kuniaki did not appreciate it at all: "Your Majesty, the domestic industry has reached a very high level, and steel production has reached the highest level in history, but due to the more frequent attacks by US submarines, the loss of ships is getting bigger and bigger, and the losses have exceeded our shipbuilding capacity" The rubber, oil, and copper mines transported from the South Seas are on a downward trend, so even if the output is likely to rise, the magnitude will not be too large. ”

Hirohito didn't speak" There was a lot of worry in his expression, and Ishihara interjected appropriately: "Your Majesty" It is for these reasons that the minister thinks that it is necessary to shrink the front. ”

"Your Majesty, the minister believes that even if the defense line is reduced, it cannot be abandoned in Jiangnan" Shigetaro, Minister of the Navy, said first: "The absolute national defense circle formulated by the base camp must be guaranteed, and if Jiangnan and Shandong are abandoned, the US Air Force can directly land on the mainland, which is absolutely possible." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty, the minister suggested, although the advice of the chief of the general staff of Ishihara was good, but the concession was too great, if we did not seek peace, our concessions would be too great, and the minister suggested that we give up Shanxi, shrink the Soviet Russian battlefield, and transfer ten divisions from the Kwantung Army to North China." The chief of military orders, Shuseki Nagano, stood up in support of Shimada.

"And what about the battlefield of Soviet Russia?" Hirohito asked, "If Russia seized the Far East, wouldn't it be possible to bomb the mainland?" ”

"Not for the time being," Shimada replied: "It's already the end of August, and in one more month, it will snow in the Far East, and it is unthinkable to fight in the Far East in winter, and besides, the center of gravity of Soviet Russia is in Europe, and before the end of the Soviet-German war, Soviet Russia will not launch an offensive in the Far East, so we still have time." ”

"Chief of Staff Ishihara, what's this plan?" Hirohito asked again.

"The minister thinks that this is to cut the flesh and mend the sores and put Manchuria in danger." Ishihara Waner did not have the slightest politeness, Shimada mentioned this plan at the joint meeting of the base camp, but Ishihara Waner rejected it, Ishihara thought that such a plan is small and simply wishful thinking, if Soviet Russia attacks, the defense of the Far East is all in the Great Khing'an Mountains, and now one-third of the troops of the Great Khing'an Mountains defense line are Manchurian Defense Forces, these troops themselves are not credible, and their combat effectiveness is low.

Hirohito frowned deeply, this is indeed not an easy choice, in his heart, he believes in Ishihara Waner, he still remembers that at the beginning of the Yangou Bridge Incident, Ishihara Waner was at the joint meeting of the cabinet headquarters, resolutely opposed the expansion of military operations in China, and the course of the war over the years was as he predicted. But emotionally speaking, he was unwilling to give up the richest region of the country just like that, let alone the fact that this area was so close to the mainland.

Sugiyama Yuan saw Hirohito's hesitation, so he spoke: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that General Nagano's plan is feasible, we don't have to give up Jiangnan, and we can continue to maintain cooperation with Wang Jingwei's government, which is especially important for future negotiations with the ** government." ”

"What is the Prime Minister's opinion?"

"Your Majesty, taking into account all aspects, the minister thinks that it is okay to stay in Jiangnan, but it is equally dangerous to evacuate the Kwantung Army, so the minister thinks that at least five divisions should be transferred from Jiangnan and four divisions from the Kwantung Army, so that Jiangnan and the Kwantung Army will not be too weak."

Hirohito thought for a while and asked, "Can we still form some new divisions?" ”

"It should be possible, but I'm afraid the conscription conditions will be relaxed." Koiso Kuniaki felt a little more relaxed in his heart, and he saw that his suggestion should be appreciated by the emperor, "This is not a pre-conceived idea, but an inspiration." But the more I think about it now, the more I feel that this idea is really good, and I will transfer troops from Jiangnan and the Kwantung Army.

"Prime Minister, Jiangnan has transferred five divisions too much" Sugiyama reminded him: "Drawing troops from the Southern Army, the Chinese and British are at a stalemate over Burma, and they will not attack the Indochina Peninsula again." Jiangnan transferred five divisions too much, and they faced the threat of 800,000 well-equipped Chinese Army, and the transfer of three divisions could draw two divisions from the Southern Army. ”

Koiso Kuniaki did not * Sugiyama Moto, nodded in agreement, the Imperial Council had a good result at this point, Hirohito sighed softly, stood up and said to his ministers, "I know that the state affairs are difficult, and I hope that the secretaries can work together to assist the Prime Minister and tide over the crisis together." ”

"The ministers will obey Your Majesty's will and will never disappoint Your Majesty's expectations." The ministers stood up and replied in unison.

After leaving the conference room, Hirohito and Kinoshita still walked slowly on the corridor in the palace, and the wind blowing from the Pacific Ocean flew into the palace with ** air, and the elegant corridor became hot.

"What's going on with the War Department lately?" Hirohito abruptly threw out a question.

Hearing Hirohito speak, Kinoshita finally breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and from leaving the hall, "he knew that Hirohito had something to say."

"The War Ministry is in chaos right now, and there are constant quarrels between the various classes, Your Majesty, the Army Ministry needs a strong person to lead." Kido had long known that Hirohito was dissatisfied with Sugiyama Moto, and it was expedient to make Sugi a and Moto Minister of War at the beginning, but now it seems that it is time to adjust.

Hirohito did not open. Kinoshita knew what he was waiting for, and today, the emperor had broken through the habit of rule since the constitutionalism of the Japanese constitution several times.

"Tsukuda Shunroku and Nishio Shouzo are both loyal and brave men" and are familiar with the Shina ............. Kinoshita carefully proposed two candidates.

After a while, Hirohito nodded: "You can discuss it with them." ”

Kinoshita respectfully agreed, "Although Hirohito didn't say who they were, he knew that he should ask for the opinions of those people on how to get Sugiyama to resign himself."

From the moment he left the hall, Ishihara's face was stretched, and Koiso Kuniaki pulled him to his car, Ishihara was very dissatisfied with Koiso Kuniaki's two ends, Yīn kept a calm face and refused to say anything.

"Ishihara-kun, everything has to be done step by step, isn't it that three divisions have been transferred from Jiangnan, besides, the opinions of the navy must also be considered, their opinions are not unreasonable, as long as China occupies Shandong, the China Air Force will fly to us, look at this beautiful street, I'm afraid I won't see it again next year." Kuniaki Koiso sighed.

Ishihara turned his head to look at the shops on both sides, the towering buildings, the neat and clean ground, and the well-greened lawn, all of which could disappear in the future bombardment.

In the South Pacific, the US military has already begun a counteroffensive, and after the death of Admiral Yamamoto 56, the Combined Fleet is also declining day by day, although it still has a slight advantage, but this advantage is no longer as great as at the beginning of the war, and it is believed that in another year, with the launch of the new US warships, the Combined Fleet will completely turn into a disadvantage.

"Prime Minister, the most fundamental part of my plan is to save troops, we don't have much time, the absolute defense circle is not absolutely safe, once the Mariana Islands are lost, the mainland is also under the bombing of American planes."

"We must make peace with ** at any cost, and then make peace with Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union, if they really conquer the Mariana Islands, Prime Minister, I'm afraid we can really only surrender unconditionally."

Ishihara's heart was very heavy, the battle line was too long, his opponent made full use of his inherent weaknesses, and this war was not over in the eyes of others, but it was already over in his eyes.

"Do you think we can't hold Shandong?" Koiso Kuniaki heard the reason Ishihara didn't say, and turned his head to look at him in some surprise.

"Prime Minister, although a plan has been made, how much time will it take to transport troops and technical equipment from Jiangnan, Nanyang, and Soviet Russia to the battlefield in North China? At the beginning of the war, we transported troops from North China to Shanghai for a week, but then we mobilized all the fleets of the Combined Fleet, even a few aircraft carriers, but now? Can the Combined Fleet commit such a large amount of force? ”

"General Shina stopped the offensive after capturing Xuzhou, which was very stupid in the eyes of Matsui Ishone, thinking that he was given time, but in reality? General China took the most correct method, let the tired army repair first, let the almost empty ammunition depot be refilled, and then resume the offensive, I estimate that his repair time is at most two weeks, and now eight days have passed, we still have six days, Prime Minister, in six days, how many troops can we send to North China? Up to one division. ”

"Also, ** in Sichuan, the mechanized troops are being reorganized again, and the intelligence says that the mechanized troops of the reorganized troops have two divisions, all of which use the Nai-4 tanks produced by the people themselves, which has proved on the battlefield that this tank is better than the American Sherman tank."

In addition, after the Yunnan-Burma Highway was reopened, the materials sent by the United States to China reached 80,000 tons per month, and Chen Cheng reorganized his troops in the Jiangnan Theater, and the Jiangbei Theater will also join the ranks of the reorganized troops after this war. Prime Minister, if we remain like this, I dare say, next year, the Chinese army will reach Manchuria. ”

Koiso Kuniaki's mood is even worse, for decades, "Japan" has been on the road to victory, defeating the Qing State, defeating Russia, defeating Germany, but now ,......

Are we really going to fail?

"In this case, it is all the more important that we mobilize all our abilities to save the empire and repay Your Majesty's high expectations."

"If I hadn't thought about it, I wouldn't have been the chief of the general staff." There was a sneer on the corner of Ishihara's mouth: "Once Shandong is lost, it will become meaningless to continue to hold Jiangnan, and in the end we still have to retreat from Jiangnan, rather than act hastily then, it is better to retreat calmly now." ”

"What if we defend Shandong?" Koiso Kuniaki suddenly felt a wave of irritability and got into the tip of the bull's horns.

"It's okay if you can't hold Shandong, but it's bad if you hold it." Ishihara's voice was a little ethereal: "If I were a general of China, I would send a force to contain the Taishan defense line, and in addition, cross the Yellow River all the way and attack on the north bank of the Yellow River; The other road is along Linyi, Juxian, Zhucheng, and detours to the Jiaodong Peninsula: the defenders of the Taishan defense line all fell into the encirclement. ”

Koiso Kuniaki was drenched in a cold sweat when he heard this, but Ishihara was not finished, he continued: "Gu Shoufu set up a hedgehog formation, thinking that this would make the Chinese army helpless, it's really a joke, if he doesn't correct the deployment as soon as possible, but what can he do?" There are so many troops on hand, but there are so many areas to defend, he can only do this. I estimate that in less than two months, this force will cease to exist. ”

Koiso Kuniaki understands that although Ishihara Waner is criticizing Tani Shofu and Matsui Ishone, he is actually persuading him again to withdraw his troops from Jiangnan, but can he withdraw his troops? At the Imperial Council just now, this plan was already vetoed.

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