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Chapter 1759: Prelude to Pearl Harbor

, Tokyo, base camp meeting is underway. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

In addition to the five cabinet ministers attending the meeting, there were also Chief of Staff Ishihara Waner and Minister of Military Orders Nagano Shuse, which can be said to represent the highest level of the meeting of the military and political circles.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the war is now in its third year, and our army has already possessed northern China, Manchuria, Korea, the Far East, Lanyin, Borneo, Malaya, Burma, the East Indies, Madagascar, and the west coast of the Persian Gulf.

"His Majesty the Emperor does not want to intervene too much in this dispute over the policy and route of the army, but hopes that the princes of the military department can set a bottom line for the advancement of troops, that is, we can shrink the defense line whatever we achieve, otherwise if we continue to expand so aimlessly, the national strength of the empire will sooner or later be dragged down by an unrestrained war!"

Prime Minister Fumihiro Konoe sat on the chair, his expression full of relaxation.

As the head of government, he was able to lead the country to the glorious achievement of breaking new ground, and with the successive victories of the navy and army, Konoe Fumiro had reached the pinnacle of prestige that he could achieve personally.

It was during his tenure as Chief of the General Staff that the army broke free from the quagmire of defeat and went from victory to victory, and the other highly regarded was Prime Minister Fumiro Konoe with noble blood.

Regarding the next step of politics and diplomacy, in fact, Konoe Fumiro wants to reach a rapprochement with Britain and the United States, although Konoe Fumiro has always rebelled against the Anglo-Saxon national excellence theory worldview, and "excluding Anglo-American pacifism" is the core of his political theory, but now the territory obtained by Konoe is enough for a hundred years of development, and there is no need to have a bayonet with the United States and take the risk of defeat.

However, with the successive victories on the battlefield, the people of *** have reached the peak of fanaticism, and whoever lightly says a truce will be regarded as *** and must be punished by heaven, and many politicians who have written articles in the newspapers calling for a sober view of the current war have been looted by the mob, and many people have been killed.

In this case, Konoe Fumiro could only retreat to the next best, seeking to increase cooperation with Germany and Italy, completely defeat the Allies, step on the heads of Britain and France, and lay the foundation of a strong country.

However, there is only one consequence of this, and that is to confront the United States.

With the state visits of US Secretary of State Hull to Xinjing and Nanjing, as well as the threat of war issued by the US government, both the government and the opposition have felt great pressure and urgently need to consolidate coastal defenses, and this is an important reason for the transfer back of the task force led by Nagumo Tadaichi.

Another reason is that Ishihara planned to use the aircraft carrier formation to carry out a lightning-fast raid on Pearl Harbor, solve the problem once and for all, and truly establish the hegemony of the Pacific.

However, at this juncture, two very different voices were once again coming out of the army, the mainland and the maritime faction were seriously opposed, and the contradictions were becoming more and more acute, so Hirohito had to ask Konoe Fumiro to hold a headquarters meeting to determine the next move of the government and the army.

Ishihara Wan'er, who was sitting first on the right hand side of Konoe Fumiro, nodded to Seishiro Itagaki, the sea minister, and Shiro Kawako, who were on the opposite side, and a solemn look appeared on his overly wine-colored face, and he said loudly:

"Feeling the increasingly direct threat from South China, most of the generals in the army, including the admirals who had actively advocated southward expansion, advocated that this strong enemy should be dealt with first, and then the United States would have a showdown! However, I believe that what has been achieved is worthless without consolidating a few strategic points in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...... There is only one thing that can wake everyone up - what should we do if the huge American fleet suddenly invades our homeland and threatens the safety of His Majesty the Emperor in the midst of a fierce battle with South China?

"Although we have defeated the Royal Fleet of the British Navy twice, the total tonnage of our ships is still lower than that of the Royal Navy, and even less than that of the American Navy. At present, the ratio of ships between the United States and ours is maintained at about 10:7, and last year we once narrowed the ratio to 8:10, but with the war in Europe, the strong recovery of the American economy, the rapid expansion of the shipbuilding industry, and the second batch of ships in the shipbuilding program have been commissioned one after another, the US Navy has once again increased the ratio of ships to the Imperial Navy.

"According to forecasts, by next year, the ratio of ships between the United States and ours will widen to 10:6, and after that, the gap will become wider and wider, and the Pacific natural dangers that the empire relies on will be wiped out in an instant under the threat of aircraft carriers and carrier-based aircraft superior by the United States Navy. Therefore, it is better to fight the United States sooner rather than later!

In Ishihara's view, the Indian Ocean should be the absolute defense circle of the future empire, with Madagascar and Ceylon as barriers, and the defense of the Pacific region should be based on the two major support points of Hawaii and Australia. With the cooperation of the Navy, as long as the Army sticks to these two major fronts, it can firmly attract the attention of the Americans like a magnet.

"There are so many islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans that if we divide our forces and defend them, we won't be able to fill them in as many troops as we do. However, as long as we have these strategic points in possession and do not worry that the Americans and the British do not take the initiative to attack, then we will achieve the goal of mobilizing the enemy, and the progress of the war will be firmly in our hands. After that, we can easily mobilize our troops, and after occupying the Philippines and Australia, we will raise the troops of the country to completely solve our opponent, the Anjia Army, and then take the entire territory of China, and truly achieve the foundation of the ages! ”

Konoe Fumiro listened to the blood boiling, and was excited for a while, before he asked puzzledly: "Ishihara-kun, you have a lot of ideas about this strategy, why do people oppose it?" ”

Ishihara shook his head and smiled bitterly: "The main thing is that the United States is too frightening, they don't see that since the United States has imposed comprehensive *** and sanctions on us, in fact, the two countries have been in a state of hostility!" For example, in the Navy, the commander of the Combined Fleet, Yamamoto Go**, would have been a staunch maritime faction, but even he believed that the United States was far from being able to challenge the empire. Many generals have visited the United States, and they all believe that the United States, with its many factories, prosperous economy, huge territory, and endless resources, is incomparable to the empire, and if they can avoid war with it, they should do everything they can to avoid it;

"Moreover, the generals of the army generally believe that the land and resources that the empire has now obtained are far greater than expected, and that the greatest threat to us now is not the Americans, but the Chinese people! In Nanjing, Chiang Kai-shek's regime and local armies, together with nearly 7 million troops, were put into battle once they were all put into battle, and the northern part of China, the Shandong Peninsula and even Manchuria, which the Imperial Army occupied, were in danger!

"The most terrifying thing is our old adversary, An Jiajun, a poisonous snake hidden in the shadows, which can show its fangs at any time. In Siam, the West Indies, and Persia, we are entangled with each other, and if we fight the United States, they can take advantage of the situation to declare war on us, and then the various ministries will work together to cut off our armies and territories, and the Empire's rule in the subcontinent, Persia, and Burma will be in danger!

"Especially the Malay Peninsula, once its army moves south, it can go all the way to Singapore in the south, choke the Strait of Malacca, and directly threaten the safety of our army's sea supply lines! Instead of risking war with the United States, it is better to deal with the threat of the Chinese people once and for all, so that the imperial army will be invincible!

"Also, if we said that we gave up attacking China before, mainly because it was an agricultural country, and it was unprofitable for our army to occupy it, but now South China has shown a vigorous momentum of development. As the Chinese in Nanyang and Indo-Burma moved their industries to Nanhua, and because of the industries that spawned from the southwestern part of China, Nanhua has actually become an international munitions production plant. According to our intelligence, the Taiyuan region of South China has become the Ruhr region of Asia, and its coal and steel production is amazing! If the empire can control the rich South China, not only can the food supply be fully guaranteed, but more importantly, the industrial base of South China can be obtained, and the national strength of our country can be rapidly improved!

"Finally, South China is closely related to the United States and Great Britain, and now South China supplies both British and German arms and strategic materials, but relatively speaking, it supports Britain even more! If South China can be eliminated, it will not only shake Britain's will to resist, but also accelerate the compromises of the United States! After all, if South China is defeated, the empire will be greatly closer to the United States, and we are in harmony with Germany, coupled with the Soviet Union, which is inclined to us, and the Eurasian continent is under control, with the shrewdness of the Americans, it is not difficult to judge what is beneficial to them, so that we can achieve the purpose of surrendering without a fight! ”

Kazunari Ugaki, who replaced Hiroki Hirota, who advocated being tough on China, as foreign minister, asked: "The generals have thought it very carefully, why did Ishihara-kun think it wouldn't work?" ”

"It's very simple, because I always think that the current United States is actually in a state of war with the empire, and only those who hide their ears and steal the bell will still think that if we don't take the initiative to provoke the United States, the United States will give up being our enemy!"

Ishihara stood up and came to the world map: "Now, the U.S. transport fleet, which travels between the oceans, skillfully connects the forces of the allies. Pig iron from Australia, oil from Sumatra, and blister copper from South America were continuously imported into South China, and South China's planes, tanks, weapons and ammunition were sent to Britain by sea, and at the same time, the United States also provided Britain with strategic materials that could be resisted for a long time through the Atlantic Ocean like its own yard, while we and Germany were tied up because of the 'neutrality' of the United States.

"We can imagine what will happen if we choose to go to war with Nanhua in an outright way. As for the idea of launching a large-scale offensive in India and Persia, it is simply impossible, because once the troops are used in India, it will inevitably lead to the emptiness of the defense of the Malay Peninsula, and as long as the enemy moves south along the Malay Peninsula and jams the Strait of Malacca, then India and the Persian Gulf will be cut off from the mainland.

"On the other hand, it is to fight snakes and fight seven inches, and choose to land anywhere along the long coastline of Annam and Siam. The advantage of this is that the industrial cities of Nanhua are directly occupied, and the plain areas are mostly agricultural areas, so all the materials can be supplied nearby, and because there are many coastal ports in Nanhua, which are very close to our Lanyin, the mobilization of troops is very convenient, and once a breakthrough is made, it can quickly expand its advantages from point to area.

"Relatively speaking, a land attack is more difficult than a landing operation, because in front of us, there are not flat plains, but continuous mountains and hills, and the other side can take advantage of the terrain to block the advance of our army and buy time for the assembly of its main forces. We had made the most optimistic estimates before, but in either case, in a one-on-one situation, our army would not have an advantage, so we would have to mobilize several times the enemy's forces and fight for mountain peaks and hills, which would be extremely detrimental to the Empire!

"It seems to me that all these thoughts, only think about how we are, and not how our opponents will be. At present, the troops stationed in Nanhua include the most elite Gu Changfeng Corps, Xia Jian Corps, Yang Guan Corps and Mountain Cluster in South China, and in Syria, there is also a reserve corps trained by Ding Zhicheng, and there are three group armies in Yunnan, southern Yunnan and Xiangxi as reserves. In addition, Nanhua also implemented a reserve military service system, which only took a short time to raise more than five million troops.

"Nanhua has built a coastal railway, and the time for the ports to receive reinforcements will not exceed 24 hours. What can you do 24 hours a day? How many troops can our troops rush ashore by ships? If you exceed this time, you will face a siege of troops several times or even ten times your own, who is confident that you can support under the stormy attack of the An Jia army? As long as any division dares to issue a military order, I will dare to launch a landing battle, but unfortunately, not a single division or regiment dares to make such a guarantee!

"Also, through the actual study of the German bombing of the British Isles, our military observers in Europe found that the Germans possessed an advanced electronic instrument called radar that could predict the take-off and landing of British fighters in advance. The radar technology of the Germans comes from South China, and since Germany has signed a confidentiality agreement with South China, the German side regretfully tells us that it is not possible to provide us with this electronic technology. According to the Germans, this kind of radar was introduced to Germany as early as five years ago, and we can fully imagine that in five years, Nanhua's radar technology does not know how far it has developed!

"Imagine what would happen if our ships appeared off the coast of South China and were suddenly besieged by an overwhelming array of dive bombers and torpedo planes. The Navy, in the naval battles of the Maldives and the Western Indian Ocean, has fully demonstrated the threat to the fleet from the bombing of warplanes, and I do not think that we have a chance to get close to the waters off the coast of South China! Thus, this creates a paradox diametrically opposed to the previous conclusion, landing operations will not work, and only land attacks can be relied upon!

"When we are entangled with South China in the land offensive, it is very likely that we will lose the Persian Gulf, the East Indies and Burma under the attack of the main force of the Anjia Army in Central Asia, and the United States can also develop its own navy, land and air force with complete freedom, just wait for the empire to fall into the quagmire of war with South China, that is, join the war group and launch a fatal blow to the empire! In the last European war, the United States did just that, and this time it is clear that it will not be an exception. Once the United States sends troops from the Philippines and cuts off the mainland from the Lanyin Islands, the defeat of the empire is only a matter of time!

"On the other hand, if we concentrate all our efforts on the United States, destroy the US Pacific Fleet in one fell swoop, completely establish the hegemony of the Pacific region, block the transcendent transportation network that the United States has acquired because of its neutral status, threaten the security of the United States and Canada from the Hawaiian Islands and the landing in Alaska, and when the United States is exhausted by the imperial attack on its homeland, we will take the Philippines, Australia, and New Zealand in one fell swoop. In this way, no matter how the war develops, even if the land is lost under the attack of the An Army, the empire will still be invincible due to the existence of sea supremacy. ”

Whispers rang out in the conference room, and after Ishihara returned to his seat and sat down, the Minister of Military Orders, Nagano Shuse, stood up:

"I support Ishihara-kun's opinion, and in private discussions, I even suggested that after taking Australia, the empire chose to move its capital, with Australia ten times the size of the empire's territory, coupled with its stable geological structure, it can completely become a habitat and breeding place for the Yamato people. However, since there are a large number of different opinions in the army and navy, we dare not go beyond them, so we can only leave them to the lords of the base camp and His Majesty the Emperor! Ishihara-kun and I have already made up our minds that if Your Majesty decides to settle the war in Shina first, Ishihara-kun and I will have to resign from our current positions, because we can no longer control the army! ”

Konoe Fumiro asked in surprise, "Nagano-kun, why is this so?" ”

Nagano Xiushen shook his head and said: "Previously, Ishihara-kun and I insisted on initiating the war in India and the Persian Gulf, who would have thought that there would be a large-scale plague in India, and the 40,000 imperial troops did not die in the battle against the enemy, but were killed by the epidemic!" At present, the future of the Imperial Fleet in the Persian Gulf is worrisome, and Madagascar is on the front line of confrontation with the British. ”

Fumiro Konoe smiled slightly after hearing this, and motioned for Nagano to sit down.

The war in India and the war in the Persian Gulf, in fact, are still a profitable deal for *** so far. After the occupation of the East Indies, not only did it own half of India's factories and enterprises, but also because Bengal, Bihar and Orissa were all famous agricultural areas and rich in products, in fact, the production of the East Indies alone could basically meet the needs of the wars in Burma, India, Persia and Madagascar.

The Indians are cowardly in temperament, the British like gentlemanly manners, and promise to give all kinds of power, but in the hands of ***, there is no such cheap thing, almost strict control over all walks of life, the excuse given by the army is very simple, now it is in the war stage, it can only concentrate all resources, win the war, and when the war is over, give India sufficient independent power. A large number of Indian orphans cultivated by *** were sent to India as early as three or seven years, and at this time they finally showed their great power. Previously, they had mixed into a higher position in the rebel army, and now after cooperating with the Japanese army, they quickly purged the opposition forces, grasped the real power of the Indian puppet army, and with the support of ***, nearly three million Indian puppet troops were formed, on the one hand, to suppress the internal rebellion, on the other hand, it can be used on all fronts of the battlefield at any time.

India's military skills and tactics are in a mess, and the battle may not be brave, but the victory is obedient, and the number of people is heavy, and the black pressure rushes towards the enemy, and the momentum is enough to make the enemy crush in fear. Against the elite An Jia Army, these Indian soldiers may not be of much use, but they have always been enough to deal with the Yankees, who are also composed of rookies!

Moreover, this time the troops to the Middle East are not for nothing.

The 2nd and 45th Divisions were in the Middle East and had so far repatriated nearly a billion dollars worth of gold and silver.

In late August, the 45th Division captured Riyadh, burned and looted, burned the city in a desert oasis, and together with the wealth looted in Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Iran and Iraq, half of the stolen goods worth $300 million were brought back. From that time on, Emperor Hirohito had already decided that Ishihara's decision was correct.

By mid-September, taking advantage of the urgency of the Balkan war, the Second Division first captured Damascus, the capital of the French colony of Syria, and then took Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, in the second half of the year, sweeping away thousands of tons of gold stored by the French here. After the defeat of the Greek army from the Balkans, it retreated to the Middle East and North Africa, and immediately fought under the leadership of the British with the Second Division, which retreated from the Mediterranean coast all the way to southern Syria and northern Iraq, and later gained a foothold with the support of reinforced Lanina troops.

When the task force returned to Lanyin, the second batch of gold and treasures worth 600 million US dollars was sent back again, causing a shock to the government and the opposition.

It can be said that exchanging the lives of the Ten Thousand Emperors for so much wealth is undoubtedly worthy of affirmation from the perspective of the overall strategic situation. Of course, the French Vichy government also sent a special telegram to the government to protest against this kind of banditry, but the Grandet, who was ridiculed as a money-keeper, and the gold fell into the hands of the government, which was the best use of things.

Konoe Fumiro is not afraid that the generals are capable, but he is afraid that the army will not be able to come up with a solution when encountering problems, and in the end, the government will take responsibility. Therefore, in a sense, the interests of Konoe Fumiji and Ishihara Wanji and Nagano Shusei are actually the same.

At this time, Seishiro Itagaki of the land ministers, the sea ministers and Shiro Kawako also stood up and expressed the same opinion as Nagano Shufu, and now Konoe Fumiro had a good excuse, and immediately said:

"Now that the four highest-ranking generals of the army have reached an agreement, there is no need to ignore the opinions of the others, and let's follow the established plan! The cabinet will support all the plans of Ishihara-kun and Nagano-kun, and I will make peace with His Majesty the Emperor, and if anyone is not satisfied, you will let them explain it to His Majesty the Emperor himself! Who dares to guarantee that we can do better than Ishihara-kun, we can also abdicate and let those virtuous people try! ”

Konoe's words were full of mockery.

When Ishihara took charge of the army, he achieved great military success, and the empire's power reached its highest level since the Meiji Restoration, and Ishihara also gained widespread support from the private sector to the chaebol. Moreover, in the face of the current complex international situation, no one dares to guarantee that their strategy is correct, and how many people can take the initiative to stand up and take responsibility?

Therefore, in a sense, today's meeting officially determined the next move of the Japanese army. Because Ishihara was always right, he finally dragged *** into the quagmire of war with the United States - of course, for a long time, it was one brilliant victory after another.

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: Seeing this, it is estimated that many book friends will have many questions, please rest assured, in the end, the Son of Heaven will definitely fill the hole, and the mystery will be gradually revealed!