/.0M\\ Everyone was sitting in a precarious position, the atmosphere was a little dull, this was the first time in the Imperial Council, Kido was a little uneasy in his heart, he glanced at Suzuki, Suzuki sighed in his heart, and felt a faint pain in the bullet in his head

"Your Majesty, the cabinet has huge differences on the war and issues, and several meetings have failed to reach an agreement, so that it is annoying Your Majesty, and the ministers are ashamed of Your Majesty's trust" Suzuki's voice sobbed a little, his feelings were slightly excited, and his pale hair was quietly shaking

"Aiqing doesn't have to be like this," Hirohito calmly comforted, "I am well aware of the difficulties faced by the cabinet, and I hope that the cabinet will not take me seriously in deciding on the issue of war and peace, and I will accept all the decisions of the cabinet."

In the last paragraph, Hirohito specially accentuated the tone, the meaning was very obvious, the cabinet members and the representatives of the base camp were all shocked, but everyone's performance was different, Togo and other lords and factions were happy, Nishio Shouzo and other military generals looked gloomy, and Umezu Mijiro showed excitement

"Your Majesty, I am very grateful, the situation in the country is very serious," Suzuki continued, "Today's Imperial Council will give a comprehensive speech to Your Majesty on the current situation in the country, Ishiguro-kun, please talk about the food situation first"

Ishiguro opened the document in front of him, stood up and gave a speech to Hirohito: "According to the statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, this year's grain output is seventy percent of last year's, and the national ration will drop to a three-in-one Japanese unit of measurement per person per day, 2 taels per contract; As a result of transport disruptions, fertilizer production has fallen to 40 percent of last year's level, and is expected to fall further, meaning that there will be widespread famine next year and food production will fall further

In August, the national steel output was 60,000 tons, and it is estimated that the annual output will be around 800,000 tons

Coal production at the beginning of the first half of the year, up to 300,000 tons per month, is now 60,000 tons per month due to the fall of Manchuria, and these coals mainly come from Korea and Jiangnan in China

The production of gasoline and diesel is also very serious, with a total of about 700,000 litres of gasoline and diesel produced in the past few years, which is 30% of last year's total, mainly due to the lack of enough crude oil, as well as the widespread bombing of refineries, which has greatly damaged production capacity, and the concern is that these productions mainly come from reserve crude oil, and the crude oil shipped back from the South Seas has been very small, only 13,000 tons of crude oil were shipped back to China last month, and only 5,000 tons of crude oil so far this month

Last month, aluminium production was 6,000 tons, and the bauxite ore shipped back from Nanyang is getting smaller and smaller, and 2,000 tons are shipped back this month,......

In short, in all respects, the production of various materials has declined severely, and the main factors affecting production are the bombing of the Chinese Air Force and the disruption of sea transportation lines"

Ishiguro closed the document in his hand, and only sat down after quietly saluting Hirohito, and Suzuki asked Quartermaster Toyota by name to report on the production of munitions

When Toyota got up, he glanced at Nishio Shouzo next to him with the corner of his eye, and the two of them did not say anything, this is the Imperial Council, and if they lie at this meeting, they will be severely punished

"Your Majesty, as Minister Ishiguro said, due to the severe decline in the production of steel, aluminum, copper and other materials, the production of munitions has been severely affected

As of last month, this year, the country has produced 160,000 rifles, 5,000 light and heavy machine guns, 170 tanks, 130 armored vehicles, 680 aircraft, and surface ships," Toyota looked at the expressionless Hirohito, swallowed his saliva and said hard: "Surface ships, zero, from the beginning of the war to the present, we have lost about 100,000 tons of ships every month, which has already exceeded our shipbuilding capacity, and the decline in steel production will make it impossible to build ships."

As a string of numbers popped out of Toyota's mouth, Toyota slowly calmed down, and his voice became more and more stable, which was also worrying

Whether it is warships, aircraft, tanks, armored vehicles, light and heavy machine guns, and even military uniforms and military shoes, the output of all weapons and equipment has declined in an all-round way

Some of the divisions and regiments formed still held single-shot guns that were morale of the Russo-Japanese War, and some extreme brigades had no weapons at all, and swords were tied to wooden sticks as weapons

After Toyota finished speaking, the conference room fell into a deathly silence, only the sound of Nishio Shouzo's heavy breathing, and Umezu Mijiro's face turned red, staring at the table viciously

Kido sighed and said, "It seems that the situation is very difficult, Your Excellency Prime Minister, what are the measures proposed by the Cabinet?" ”

Suzuki felt bitter in his mouth, and he tried to swallow his saliva, with the current Japan simply not being able to deal with these problems, it was only the Chinese air force to bomb now, and in a few months, when the American air bases in Saipan and Guam were completed, they would also join in

Last month, in Manila, a U.S. aircraft carrier raided the port of Manila, sinking seven freighters docked in the port, losing a total of 70,000 tons

Another convoy passing through the Taiwan Strait was attacked by the Chinese Air Force, two freighters were sunk, and the rest passed through the Taiwan Strait and were attacked by American submarines in the East China Sea, and in the end, only one of the eight freighters successfully sailed back to Japan

These two fleets have lost 120,000 tons of capacity, and once these precious capacities are lost, they cannot be replaced, and the captains now talk about going to or returning home from the South Seas, and this sea lane is about to become synonymous with death

"The minister believes that in order to deal with these difficulties, it is necessary to stop the war," Suzuki finally put the topic at the center of today's meeting, and he looked at Hirohito calmly: "The empire is powerless to resist the bombing of the U.S. Air Force, and the Combined Fleet is powerless to keep the sea lines open; Your Majesty, the ministers have the trust of Your Majesty,......"

Suzuki sobbed and lowered his head, although the tears poured out in large gullies, although they were not explicitly stated, the meaning was already clearly expressed, Japan was powerless to turn the tide of the war, and could only accept the conditions of the allies and surrender unconditionally

With the unconditional surrender, the future of Japan cannot be determined, the future will be an international trusteeship, and it is impossible to know whether there will be an emperor, or even whether there will be a central government

The Suzuki Cabinet may have gone down in history as the last cabinet of Japan, or the last cabinet under the emperor system

"For peace, I think that we cannot surrender unconditionally, it will be a heavy blow to the confidence of the people, and the soldiers on the front line will not agree, if you want peace, you can, but you must guarantee the national system, you must consider the difficulties of the country in the future, and the war reparations cannot be too much."

Without waiting for Hirohito to comfort Suzuki, Umezu Mijiro took a tough attitude, and Yamada Otozo also opened his mouth in support: "The imperial army still has millions of people, and there is still the strength to fight, so we can't just give up."

Nishio Shouzo said coldly: "Everything else can be discussed, but the state system cannot be changed, and His Majesty cannot be held responsible."

Nishio Toshizo mentioned an issue that everyone deliberately avoided, Emperor Hirohito's responsibility for the war, whether the allies would hold Hirohito accountable for the war, and whether Hirohito would be sent to the war criminals tribunal

The allies openly declared that they would pursue war criminals, so-called war criminals, not only military personnel who violated the Hague International Convention, but also those political and economic figures who planned the war

Japan launched a war of aggression against China, a war of aggression against the Soviet Union, a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, and a war in the Pacific; As the apparent supreme ruler of Japan, how would Hirohito's allies treat him in the vicinity? Everyone, including Suzuki, Kido, including Hirohito himself, didn't know

Suzuki was speechless, his wife was Hirohito's enlightenment teacher, he had served as Hirohito's chief of staff, and he was the emperor's most trusted person, and there were some words that he could not say

"But can the army still fight?" Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, Foreign Minister Togo immediately set up another battlefield: "If the army can fight and win a final victory, there is no problem."

Yamada Otozo was furious and stood up: "How can you say that, any soldier knows that there can be no victory without faith"

"As an ordinary soldier, I can think so," Togo said unceremoniously, "but as the leader of the country, this is not enough, you have to foresee what will happen in a year or two, can the army still fight for a year?" The combined fleet is now running out of fuel to even go to sea, how can it continue to fight? ”

Togo was furious, believing that Japan should have negotiated peace long ago, and that Japan would not have suffered so much damage as soon as it announced that he would accept the Tehran Declaration immediately after the Battle of North China

Seeing that the meeting might get out of control, Kido immediately stood up and made a gesture calmly: "Don't get excited, ministers, it's the Imperial Council."

Kido bit the word "Gozen" to death, and Yamada and Togo glared at each other fiercely before turning to apologize to Hirohito: "The minister has lost his honor, please forgive your majesty"

At this time, Hirohito spoke: "All the secretaries are dedicated to state affairs, what is the crime?"

Just when everyone thought that after this sentence, the meeting would return to the existing track, with the military fighting and the civil servants making peace, and the two sides arguing endlessly, and finally it was over

But Hirohito continued: "The country has reached a critical juncture, please don't think about it, the empire has been inherited for thousands of years, and the people's identification with the national system is highly consistent, and even the enemy country cannot ignore the important thing now to avoid the people being harmed again, rather than considering my safety, if necessary, I can die like an ordinary soldier."

Everyone was stunned, and after a short period of surprise, Kantaro Suzuki took the lead in standing up, and all the ministers also stood up, and Suzuki sobbed again: "The ministers are grateful for Your Majesty's holy virtues, and all the Japanese people will be brave for Your Majesty, even if the enemy is strong, the ministers will never let Your Majesty be harmed."

Kido also looked excited, but he knew very well in his heart that Hirohito's words would be recorded, and this passage would become an important evidence of his support for peace after the war, which was the main reason why Hirohito said this, and this was also the fundamental reason why Hirohito allowed the military generals to dominate the war and did not express his position for a long time

Everyone thought that Hirohito's control over the army was not strong, but Kido knew that the real situation was the opposite, without Hirohito's consent, no officer in the military department, not even a division commander or brigade commander, could not take office, and his control over the army was far greater than that of his grandfather, Emperor Meiji and his father, Emperor Taisho

"I hope that the secretaries of state will think of the people and assist the prime minister in handling national affairs, especially the army, Aiqing Nishio, Aiqing Umezu, you must control the army well, the army cannot do its own thing, and you must obey the decisions of the cabinet."

Hirohito said this last sentence very harshly, and his eyes moved back and forth between Nishio Shouzo and Umezu Mijiro, and the two of them were so shocked that they didn't even dare to say it

Dongxiang seized the opportunity and immediately pressed forward: "Your Majesty's heart has been understood, and the minister has suggested that you accept the Tehran Declaration of the allies."

Suzuki didn't speak at this time, Ishiguro looked at Hirohito, Hirohito was expressionless, Kido sat down quietly, and Yamada Otozo immediately protested: "Although Your Majesty has such a benevolent heart, the national system is not just Your Majesty, but the entire Japanese people, Your Excellency, if the people realize that the Yamato nation has fallen to the point of being slaughtered by others, the national spirit will inevitably collapse, and its impact will be dozens of times greater than the defeat itself, and it will affect several generations."

After Hirohito's interjection, Yamada Otozo's momentum was no longer as good as just now, but his words were soft and hard, and the situation was reversed a lot, and the somewhat frustrated Nishio Shouzo and Umezu Mijiro were much more excited

"Do I want to" Togo was a little excited again, and he shouted sharply, "It is you who cannot stop the indiscriminate bombing of the Shina planes over Tokyo, you cannot defeat the Pacific Fleet, you cannot defeat the onslaught of the Shina army, if you are ...... Whenever...... There's a way to get it... Raise...... Suggest...... Accept this... Such a disgraceful condition? ”

Dongxiang said with tears streaming down his face, unable to speak, seeing that the meeting was about to get out of control again, Suzuki had to open his mouth to stop: "Minister Dongxiang, this is the Imperial Meeting, Your Majesty is generous, as a courtier, you must pay attention, don't lose your manners"

Togo had to apologize to Hirohito again, but Hirohito didn't say anything this time, Suzuki stood up and said: "The cabinet has no opinion on peace, but there are differences on the way of peace, and we can make some more diplomatic efforts.

Togo's expression was a little resentful, but Ishiguro quietly pulled his sleeve next to him to calm him down, after Hirohito said this, today's meeting was destined to be inconclusive, otherwise it would be considered that Hirohito was fighting for his throne, so that the people paid such a huge sacrifice

This result is something that Hirohito can't accept under any circumstances, and the ministers here don't dare to accept it

Suzuki has obviously understood, so he mentioned that after the No. 1 operation, how will the No. 1 operation be carried out? This is something that Hirohito cares about very much

"Minister Minai, can the Combined Fleet go to sea to fight?" Hirohito asked

Mitsumasa Yonechi stood up and replied solemnly: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, the Combined Fleet will definitely be able to go to sea to fight."

"I just heard that the combined fleet is short of fuel and aircraft, how can they go to sea to fight?" Hirohito, of course, didn't ask this purposelessly, his eyes fell on Nishio Shouzo and Umezu Mijiro

Nishio Shouzo immediately stood up and said, "The army can transfer the fuel allocated to the army to the navy."

Umezu Yoshijiro also immediately said: "We can transfer the planes of the army to the combined fleet, and there are still 200 combat planes at Sasaki Air Base that can be transferred to the navy."

Hirohito finally showed a slight smile: "It is a blessing for the country and the people for the army and navy to be so sincerely united; However, Hirohito's tone changed at this point, and he said to Suzuki: "Peace work cannot wait for the end of Operation No. 1 to begin, it can start now, strictly speaking, it should not be stopped, it should be continued, and whether peace can be implemented in the end depends on diplomatic efforts"

All the ministers, including Suzuki, knew that this meeting was over, and everyone stood up and replied respectfully, "The ministers respectfully receive the oracle."

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