In 1923, Kita Kazuki, the leader of the folk fascist movement of Konoe Fumima and Tokufu Sufeng, who shared the ideological system of Konoe Fumima and Tokufu Sufeng, published the "Outline of the National Transformation Act" that systematically expounded his fascist theory, and made the most explicit description of this dark tide surging under the mainstream of Yumoto's politics: "The empire is facing an unprecedented national disaster in history caused by internal and external troubles at the same time", and to get rid of this "national disaster" is to launch a war of aggression against the outside world. There is no other way to stand on your own feet than to support and maintain it. I say that the population will double in 50 years, and I cannot help but seek a vast territory that will support a population of 245 million in a hundred years. In order to "protect other countries and nations," he said, "has the right to go to war on his own initiative, and also has the right to wage war against other unscrupulous people who illegally occupy vast territories and ignore the coexistence of mankind...... The war that is actively developing outward is not just for the sake of selfish interests, but a kind of righteous action, and it is aimed at prompting other nations to actively awaken themselves...... Britain is the world's richest, and Russia is the big landlord in the northern half of the earth...... Cannot Ben, which is in the position of a proletarian in the world, have the right to wage war in the name of justice? …… It is a contradiction in the fundamental ideology of European and American socialism to allow the struggle of the proletariat at home and to regard the struggle of the proletarians with international surnames as aggression and militarism! ”

The fascism of the military department, its holding of power, and the war of aggression against China and the Pacific War launched by it all put into practice Kita Ikki's theory of lumpen proletarians. Of course, in the 20 s, when the elders were still alive, the powerful ministers were in control, and the political parties and the Diet were still able to play an effective role, the politicians of the company were still able to restrain these crazy demands of Kita Kazuki and his ilk and adopt the "coordination" line of coordination with Britain and the United States, but the suppression of the Washington Conference made the military and expansionists soberly realize that it was impossible not to rule out the obstacle of the United States on the road of expansion to the Asian continent.

Less than one month after the conclusion of the Washington Conference, the Ministry of Military Affairs revised the "Imperial National Defense Guidelines," formally listing the United States as the first imaginary enemy, and at the same time stipulating that the army should maintain 40 divisions, and that the navy should abandon the "88th Fleet," which it had pursued for many years, and retreat to building the "64th Fleet" in order to strengthen its naval strength by strengthening auxiliary ships. In its war plan, the military department put forward the idea of starting wars with the United States, China, and the Soviet Union respectively. Just 10 days after Kishigero Bihara took office as foreign minister, Minister of War Kazunari Ugaki wrote: "The consequences of describing humiliating diplomacy of concessions and concessions such as the Paris Peace Conference and the Washington Conference as successful or appropriate, and using such boastful propaganda to cover up the eyes and ears of the people and deceive oneself will soon be exposed." The time is coming to reckoning with failed diplomacy. ”

In the new war plan, the military headquarters began to draw up a strategic plan for the total annexation of China, and Yoshiichi Tanaka, who later became prime minister, wrote in his infamous "Tanaka Twists": "Thanks to the multinational treaty established by the Washington Conference, the privileges and interests of our mainland are restricted and we cannot act freely; The survival of our country is shaken. If all these difficulties are not vigorously addressed, China's existence will not be strengthened immediately, and there will be no way for the national strength to develop...... In the future, if we want to control China, we must take the overthrow of American power as the prerequisite, which is much the same as the righteousness of the war. ”

Correspondingly, the U.S. side also felt the threat of the U.S. aggressiveness in Asia, and they were very soberly aware that the U.S. Far East policy was hindering and harming the interests of the U.S. side, so that if "the obstacles erected by our policy forces cannot stop it, war will definitely come." The United States has also begun to study the "Joint Army and Navy Basic War Plan," that is, a new version of the "Orange Plan," to establish naval superiority and combat success in the western Pacific. Subsequently, the U.S. Department of the Navy and the Department of the Army successively approved the plan. The plan called on the U.S. Navy to establish military superiority over the U.S. Navy in the western Pacific, to achieve the goal of isolating and encircling the U.S. Navy by controlling the maritime lifeline and attacking its maritime forces, and finally to land on the mainland of the U.S. Navy and win the final victory in the war. The United States later supplemented and refined this plan several times.

The existence of contradictions between the United States, the hostility of the militarists to the United States' attempt to intervene in their monopoly in the Far East, and the pacifism and "long live disarmament" trend of thought before and after the Washington Conference caused some army generals and colonels who had graduated from the army university to have a premonition of the crisis in the army itself, and began to become active with the goal of striking at the old Choshu feudal lords, restoring and strengthening the political literacy of the army, and modernizing the army in line with the era of general warfare. This action coincided with the request of Crown Prince Hirohito, who had just assumed the regent's position at the time, to overthrow the monopoly of power in Yamaguchi.

Hirohito began to secretly build up a clique of his cronies and officers, wrestling control of the army from Yama Prefecture and his protégés. As Hirohito and his cronies moved to the forefront of politics, the short-lived period of Taisho Mingzhuo in political history came to an end.

Yanjing, Ministry of Finance, Republic of China, Office of the Attorney-General.

"Shaochuan's trip to Washington is not in vain, and the first step of this plan has now been reached." Yang Shuoming put down the document transferred by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the details of the Washington meeting, and said to Secretary of the Navy Tang Qianming, "This is a good start. ”

"Our Chinese Navy has achieved the same tonnage as the Navy's this time, which can be said to be somewhat unexpected by those 'clear streams'." Tang Qianming smiled bitterly and said, "They should have nothing to say this time, but they didn't expect it, you didn't want to fight with Yu himself here." ”

"Even if you can compete for as much tonnage as Britain and the United States, you can't build it yourself, what use can it be?" Yang Shuoming smiled and said, "Xiang said that I have come this time to get what I wanted, but I'm afraid that their future life will not be much better than now." ”

"Yes, although the industry of this book is very developed, it is still too far behind Britain and the United States." Tang Qianming sighed, "Although our Chinese industry has made great progress, it is still a lot worse than the book!" ”

"Don't forget, our goal is to make China a second United States within 10 years." Yang Shuoming looked at Tang Qianming and said, "We will surpass Yu myself, because we will not waste a little energy and time in a useless place." ”

Yang Shuoming said, opened the drawer, took out a document printed with the word "top secret", and handed it to Tang Qianming.

Tang Qianming opened the document and only looked at it for a while, and cold sweat oozed from his forehead.

"How did Hanzhi get this?" Tang Qianming asked in a hoarse voice.

"The specific process of getting it, I don't need to know the new one, the role of this thing is to let us know it in our hearts." Yang Shuoming smiled slightly and said, "Zhuxin just needs to remember that the content in this should not be passed on." ”

"Of course." Tang Qianming replied with a straight face, and looked at it carefully.

At this time, the document that Tang Qianming was reading was the main content of the "National Defense Policy of the Empire."

“…… In view of the emergence of new situations such as the collapse of Russia after the European War, the abolition of the Anglo-British alliance, and the formation of the Washington Treaty system led by the United States and Britain, the Imperial Army General Staff Headquarters and the Navy Military Command Department made the second major revision of the "Imperial Defense Policy" in the same year......"

"The new imperial defense policy has reduced the former number one hypothetical enemy, Russia, to number two, and has made the United States the main enemy of the future. …… All in all, in the near future, the defense of the empire will be aimed at the United States and focused on defense. It has the greatest potential for conflict with our country and has great national strength and armaments. With regard to China and Russia, which border our country, we should strive to be of good will and strive to be of our own use, and at the same time, we must always maintain the strength to deter them. ”

“…… Another characteristic of the new "Imperial Defense Guidelines" is that, while strongly advocating that the Imperial Army and Navy continue to adopt the traditional policy of 'preemptive' offensive operations and quick decisive battles in the future, it also takes into account the tendency of the war to develop into a protracted war. …… Future wars will be long-term wars, general wars and economic wars, so it is specifically emphasized that the empire should have the determination and preparation to withstand a long war, ensure the import of materials from overseas, and be prepared to persist in the war for a long time. ”

“…… In order to maintain the strength of the army and navy necessary for national defense, the navy will strengthen its naval strength by strengthening auxiliary ships. As for the army, in the "Program for the Use of Imperial Troops," the army advocated that if it did not make various plans and preparations on the premise of a war against several countries at the same time, it would not be able to adapt to the actual situation. However, it is impossible to build national defense on the premise of fighting against several countries at the same time, but it is impossible from the perspective of national strength. In addition, since the number one hypothetical country is no longer Russia, it is not necessary to maintain a large garrison against Russia on land, and in order to improve the outdated establishment and equipment that has been used for many years, it is said that the focus of the construction of this army is to improve the quality rather than increase the quantity......"

“…… In the future, the empire will use force to reform the shortcomings of China's political hub, give economic life to 400 million people, and then use this as the object to revitalize the empire's industry and commerce, with a view to quickly establishing an industrial and commercial system that is capable of confronting the European and American powers. ”

"In the event that the empire is faced with an economic blockade by the United States as a result of the occupation of China, the method of appropriation that should be taken when it occupies Manchuria, Mongolia and China proper...... We should focus on the basic principle of nurturing war by war. The War Department of the Army first worked out its own basic plan, because part or most of the war expenses required by the Imperial Navy were also borne by the continents occupied by the Army......"

"It's a pity that these things can't be made public yet." After reading the document, Tang Qianming's face became more and more solemn, "Otherwise, for those 'clear streams', it will not be a good medicine to wake up the brain." ”

"yes!" Tang Qianming's words seemed to touch Yang Shuoming's heart, and he couldn't help but let out a sigh of emotion, "I love the people in this land infinitely, but all of you, you must be vigilant!" ”

"Hanzhi's next step is to disarm, right?" Tang Qianming asked.

"Now that the treaty has been signed, we have to do what we say." Yang Shuoming nodded and said, "I can think of 'removing the essence and saving the essence' and put it into action, there is no reason why we can't do it." ”

Seeing Tang Qianming's worried face, Yang Shuoming certainly understood what he was worried about, "Zhuxin rest assured, I know what I'm doing." ”

"I'm trying to remind you that there are some things that you can't do quickly." Tang Qianming hesitated for a while, but still said what he wanted to say, "Here in the navy, Lao Li and I will help you carry it, and the army will also know that you have prepared a lot of silver for this, but you should know that Cao Zhongshan and Wu Ziyu are not so easy to settle." There are also Zhang Yuting and his son, who are sincere to you on the surface, but they are only afraid of ......"

"I understand that the 'Overseer becomes Governor' alone, they are obedient on the surface, but they must be dissatisfied in their hearts." Yang Shuoming said calmly, "This needs to be timed to let them change their brains." ”

"What if they just don't want to change their minds?" Tang Qianming lifted his glasses and asked.

"Then we have to change people." Yang Shuoming said, and a cold light flashed in his eyes in an instant.

Baoding, Army Military Academy.

In a large classroom, rows of young officers sat full, all dressed in neat and straight military uniforms, all of them with military caps placed on the table, looking solemn and solemn, and their eyes were invariably focused on the young lecturer in black suits on the podium.

“…… In today's world, soldiers, especially officers, live a privileged life that transcends ordinary people. Those young officers on active duty were specially educated and instilled with pride in being emperors, but after the Washington Conference, the 'glorious army; Hit by the wave of disarmament, people have begun to look at them with cold eyes. ”

"A large number of lower-ranking officers who have been shaken and frustrated in their convictions have been drawn into the so-called 'national transformation movement' in the process of meeting with their colleagues and visiting their seniors. What is this 'national transformation movement', which is the response of the ultra-nationalists to the East Asian nationalist movement, and the representative figure is the self-proclaimed 'proletarian revolutionary' Kita Ikki. He wrote an "Outline of the Reform Act". This outline was written by him in Shanghai, and I would like to add one more thing here: this person was enthusiastic about the cause of the Chinese revolution and made a lot of contributions to it. ”

"What is this Outline of the Reform Act? Let me give you a brief explanation. ”

The first part of the program, entitled The Emperor of the People, proposes that as a first step in reforming the text, a coup d'état should be staged to give the emperor power, martial law should be imposed throughout the country, the constitution should be suspended for three years, and the Diet should be dissolved. After the coup d'état, the Privy Council and other officials should be dismissed, the Chinese system and the House of Nobles should be abolished, and during the martial law period, the original warlords, bureaucrats, chaebols, and party lords should be excluded, and the Cabinet should be formed to form a reform cabinet by selecting talents from among the entire people, and the Diet should be convened by universal suffrage. At the Third Diet of the Reform, the Emperor proposed an amendment to the Constitution and promulgated a new Constitution. ”

Hearing this, there seemed to be a slight twitching sound from the officers under the lecture hall.

"The second, third and fourth parts of this outline are about ownership. That is, on the basis of the actual administrative change, the state will carry out a comprehensive transformation of society. He believed that the unity of the country was only a political unity. Economically, it was the Warring States period, it was feudalism, which destroyed the economic unity of the country, so it had to be abolished. Moreover, the wealth of the big capitalists and big landlords, created by social progress and common production, is concentrated in the hands of a few because of the poor system, and must be restricted, and the state should establish the departments of banking, navigation, mining, agriculture, industry, and commerce to run the state-owned enterprises. ”

"Parts 5 and 6 deal with the rights of workers and the people's right to life, and propose that the state establish a ministry of labor to protect the rights of all workers and arbitrate labor disputes. In private enterprises, workers participate in the management and distribution, and half of the net profit is distributed to the workers, and an eight-hour work day is implemented. Abolish child labour. Strikes are absolutely forbidden in the state. Kita believes that strikes are a phenomenon in the transition period to economic boiling, not the prerogative of workers, and should certainly be banned after the state has been reformed. On the political front, universal male suffrage was introduced, repressive laws such as the Public Security Police Law were abolished, and national freedoms were restored. In the social sphere, the State protects and supports orphans, the elderly and the disabled, the citizens have the right to education, school-age children under the age of 15 are provided with free textbooks and lunches, the State protects the human rights of the people and protects private property. ”

"Part VII is a policy for the 'new territories' of the future. Kita Ikki believed that Korea and Novosibirsk were neither subject countries nor colonies, and that the same laws and principles should be adopted as those of the native country, and that the local people should be gradually given political power and various rights to participate in the country, and that the transformation of the country should be extended to these places. The new territories acquired in the future were also governed by these principles. ”

The most crucial part of this outline is the eighth part, which deals with the rights of the state. In addition to defense, the state has the right to wage war against other nations and nations that have been oppressed by the 'unjust force'. The state also has the right to wage war against other large territories that have monopolized lawlessness and ignore the heavenly way of human coexistence, as a result of the development of the state itself, just as it is the right of the state to wage war against its owners in order to gain Manchuria and Eastern Siberia. Kita Ikki claimed that he was the proletariat in the world, that Russia was the big landlord in the world, and that Britain was the world's richest man, so it was just to wage war against them. Through war, we will establish an Asian empire centered on the Japanese Empire, and then abolish national borders and achieve world peace. ”

(To be continued)