But for Gonbei Yamamoto, continuing to expand the navy has become a real nightmare for Japan.

During the period from 1919 to 1922, Japan's annual naval military expenditure accounted for more than 25% of the national budget, and together with the army's military expenditure, the military budget accounted for nearly half of the national budget, which was completely the financial budget during the war. The expansion of naval armaments is due to the factors of national strength, shipbuilding capacity and technology, and finally the overall factor of the heavy industrial system. Among these factors, Japan is unable to match other countries except for the fact that shipbuilding technology mainly depends on the skill of skilled workers. In the long run, the national economy simply cannot afford it, and the people will also find it difficult to afford it.

In the face of the "88th Fleet," which had begun to take shape, the current Yamamoto Gonbei was not actually satisfied, but began to worry about it, because the "88th Fleet," the dream of the Japanese, was too extravagant to be afforded by Japan's fragile economy, which lacked resources. Admiral Yuzaburo Kato, who retired ahead of schedule, once asked the First Section of the Military Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of the Navy to calculate the cost of maintaining the combat effectiveness of the "88th Fleet" of the Navy, and the calculated figures made Yuzaburo Kato gasp: It takes 600 million yen a year to maintain the level of the "88th Fleet," and this is because the age of the "88th Fleet" is only eight years, and a new battleship and a cruiser have to be built every year to replace them, which adds up to about 80,000 tons, and the unit price per ton of ships built at this time has exceeded 1,000 yenThis alone removed more than 100 million yen, and Japan's national budget for the whole year from 1920 to 1922 was only about 1.5 billion yen, and it was physically impossible to maintain this fleet. The result of this calculation is obvious, the "88th Fleet" can no longer be carried out, and if it continues to be carried out, Japan will have to be dragged down, and Kato Yuzaburo has come to a conclusion on this. He once privately said to Kishigero Bihara, who was then ambassador to the United States: "This '88th Fleet' can't go any further, and if I have the opportunity, I really want to give it up." In this regard, Yamamoto Gonbei actually feels the same way.

Although the current Japanese Navy has lost two main battleships, "Fuso" and "Yamashiro", as well as a number of cruisers, destroyers, and auxiliary ships, there are still 10 capital ships that Japan can use for combat ("Ise", "Hyuga", "Kongo", "Hiei", "Haruna", "Kirishima", "Nagato", "Mutsu", "Kaga", and "Tosa"), plus the two ships "Amagi" and "Kii" that Japan has already begun to build. security", but it is a real disaster for the Japanese economy.

In his heart, Yamamoto Gonbei has been secretly longing for the opportunity to end this nightmare.

With Yamamoto's knowledge of China, he knew that although China's economy was no longer what it used to be, it was also difficult to afford the maintenance of 12 50,000-ton ships. And it would be even more perfect if China could be drawn into the ranks of "abandoning" the naval arms race.

And now such an opportunity has finally come, not only the poor Japanese can no longer afford a large navy, but the economic recession in Europe after the First World War has left even the rich people's families without surplus food, and even Britain can no longer stand it. You must know that the British Empire, the number one superpower and the number one maritime supremacy, has always pursued a policy of "two great navies" until that time, that is, the fleet size of the Royal Navy of the British Empire, the first in the world, must be greater than or equal to the size of the second and third places. But now the size of the "two fleets" is now in question, first of all, the British Empire is already in economic decline, and it is no longer as rich as it used to be, because all the money has gone to the Americans on the other side of the ocean; Second, the British Empire's once-glorious Grand Fleet had been wiped out in the naval battles of World War I, and finally had to rely on the lease of the Chinese and American fleets to maintain superiority at sea. And the Americans and Chinese also like to play the navy, to build battleships not one by one, but one fleet by one fleet, of course, the United States and China are not enemies of the British Empire This is believable, but the problem is that now the British Empire is physically unable to achieve the standard of "two strong navies", and the navy of the United States, China and Japan has surpassed Britain. So the British came up with the trick of "limiting naval armaments", that is, they did not increase armaments, but relied on the other side to reduce armaments to maintain armament superiority. ,

But Britain after the First World War was no longer the superpower it was before the Great War, and its words did not count. From this point on, it was the Americans who spoke. The circumnavigation of the world by the American "Great White Fleet" at the end of 1907 was already a sign that the United States was beginning to become a superpower to replace the British Empire. While the First World War was still going on, the United States had already begun to speak on behalf of the Anglo-Saxon nation in Asia, especially in East Asia. This time, the British were willing to convene a "Washington Conference" at the suggestion of the United States to discuss the issue of limiting naval armaments, and this issue of naval armaments mainly involved the Far East issue, which was actually aimed at China and Japan.

For Western countries, China and Japan, the two Asian powers, which one has the upper hand, will cause trouble.

The top brass of the Japanese Navy knew this very well, and it should be said that the Americans proposed to limit naval armaments at this time, so the top brass of the Japanese Navy decided to respond. The Japanese government has no problem because the Ministry of Finance is always worried about how to raise money for the military department, and now the navy itself is willing to negotiate with Britain and the United States to limit naval armaments. A plenipotentiary delegation represented by Tokugawa Ietatsu, Speaker of the House of Nobles, and Kishigero Bihara, Ambassador to the United States, was to be sent to the United States to attend the Washington Conference from October 1923 to February 1924.

"If China can be forced to give up maintaining its current naval size, it is also possible for Japan to make appropriate concessions to show its sincerity in maintaining world peace." Yamamoto knew that what Caibu Biao had just said was a gesture in front of the army, so he ignored the army's cynicism about the navy, and went along with his words.

"The question is, will the belligerent Shina agree to give up the new warship that they have worked so hard to get?" War Minister Yoshiichi Tanaka looked at Gonbei Yamamoto and said, "Are the Shina people willing to voluntarily give up their current naval superiority over Japan?" ”

"The economy of China cannot afford such a large fleet." "It's obvious. ”

"You know, the United States is fighting Japan by supporting China," Tanaka Yoshiichi said again, "The United States has always supported China on the naval issue, will it be a bowl of water this time?" ”。

"I don't think the Mi Congress would be happy to see the naval power of China swelling too much." Yamamoto Gonbei said, "The United States supports China for the sake of the United States' own interests, and now the purpose of the United States has been basically achieved, so I don't think the United States will support the development of the Navy in China." ”

"Yes." Japanese Foreign Minister Yasuya Uchida, who has not spoken, said, "The United States has always advocated that China 'open the door and interests are equalized', and its main purpose is to maintain the balance of power among the great powers in Asia, and any country that wants to break the balance of power is the enemy of the United States." Therefore, this conference on arms limitation is on the one hand to show the world that it is a supernatural emerging power, and on the other hand, it is aimed at limiting the strength of our country and China and forming a balance of power in Asia and the Pacific. ”

"Understood." Yoshishi Tanaka nodded and stopped talking.

Gonbei Yamamoto discussed with the group for a while and after ascertaining some details of his participation in the arms limitation meeting, he concluded the meeting.

After seeing off several ministers, Yamamoto called the servant and ordered, "Prepare the car, I will go to see His Royal Highness the Prince of the Regent Palace." ”

The servant went away, and Yamamoto seemed to feel a little depressed, he pulled his collar, went to the window, pushed it open, and looked out at the blue sky.

Between the blue sky and white clouds, a round of sunny days just appeared, and the hot light pierced people's eyes, Yamamoto Gonbei closed his eyes, took a deep breath of air, and let the sun warm his somewhat cold body.

September 1, 1923, Beijing, Juren Hall, Conference Room, Grand Presidential Office of the Republic of China.

"The main content of this meeting in Washington is the issue of limiting armaments, especially the navy." President Xu Shichang looked at the people present and said, "If you have any other ideas, you can speak freely." ”

"The navy has not been rebuilt for a long time, and if it is suddenly dismantled, I am afraid that the officers and men of the navy and the people will not accept it." War Minister Cai Yi looked at Navy Minister Tang Qianming and Navy Commander-in-Chief Li Dingxin and said, "Even if it is a retrenchment, this magnitude cannot be too large." ”,

"However, maintaining such a large fleet in peacetime is indeed extremely financially stressful," Xu Shichang looked at Yang Shuoming and said, "and there is no need, just maintain an appropriate size." ”

Listening to Xu Shichang's words, Yang Shuoming just smiled slightly and did not speak.

"What does Commander Li think?" Xu Shichang's gaze turned to Li Dingxin and asked.

"If you ask me what I think, I don't want to cut a ship." Li Dingxin smiled bitterly and replied, "Of course, this navy has to be fed with gold, and it is indeed too expensive to maintain such a scale. However, this meeting is for the sake of seeking a balance of military power, and it seems that it is necessary to make cuts, but no matter how they are cut, we must maintain a scale comparable to that of Japan. ”

"Not bad." Tang Qianming nodded in agreement with Li Dingxin's view, "Japan is a problem for our country's henchmen, and the total tonnage of our navy must not be lower than that of Japan, at least it must be equal. ”

"In that case, if the Japanese are ruthless and not a single capital ship is left, will we also scrap these twelve giant ships?" Chief of Staff Zhang Xiaozhun said with a smile, "Let the Americans and the British be the same as us, and want to lay off everyone together, is that what it means?" Quite a few words"

"He Japanese can go out and die, and we can also bury him." Li Dingxin knew that Zhang Xiaozhun was joking, but he still said with a straight face, "I'm afraid that the Japanese and European and American powers don't have the courage to do so,"

"Then the world will be truly safe." Yang Shuoming smiled and said, "Let's set a precedent for them to see if they have the guts." ”

"Hanzhi's words, I listen to it but I feel chills all over" Tang Qianming looked at Yang Shuoming, his eyes widened, "You're not joking, are you?" Quite a few words"

"No, I'm serious." Yang Shuoming smiled and nodded, "And I've been thinking about it for a long time." ”

"I know it's not easy for you, the god of wealth, to be a passing god, in fact, you helped buy all the navy's belongings." Li Dingxin said, "You are under a lot of pressure now, but although the navy costs money, you can't waste food because of choking, right?" Such a big navy that was built with a lot of words is so unwanted? ”

Xu Shichang and Foreign Minister Gu Weijun glanced at each other, and seemed to hear what Yang Shuoming said, so they didn't say anything, just stared at his face tightly, waiting for his explanation.

"The financial pressure is only one aspect, in fact, I am not to the point where I can't afford to maintain the navy." Yang Shuoming looked around at everyone and said, "I'm thinking about something else. ”

"Do you know now, the actual size of our Chinese Navy is now the largest in the world?" Yang Shuoming asked.

"It should be the second." Tang Qianming and Li Dingxin glanced at each other, and Tang Qianming was the first to answer.

"Before the European War, what was the size of our Chinese Navy in the world?" Yang Shuoming asked again.

Listening to Yang Shuoming's question, Tang Qianming and Li Dingxin invariably showed a wry smile on their faces, and the two of them shook their heads and did not answer.

"It should be 'uninformed'." Zhang Xiaozhun smiled and replied for the two of them.

"From the unentered to the world's second largest navy, do you think it is a good thing or a bad thing for the great powers?" Yang Shuoming asked.

"People are afraid of being famous, pigs are afraid of being strong, and guns shoot birds." Xu Shichang seemed to understand what Yang Shuoming meant, and nodded, "It has been the same since ancient times, yes, no great power would like to see that our China has a big navy that surpasses them." ”

"I think that among the great powers, the one who dislikes to see China have a big navy the most is Japan, followed by Soviet Russia." Yang Shuoming said, "Britain and France again, and finally the United States." ”

"Japan is our old enemy, and it has always been a navy, and it goes without saying that it is afraid of our navy, and Soviet Russia hates our country to regain its homeland, and its thoughts are the same as Japan's." Yang Shuoming continued, "The British and French navies suffered heavy losses in the war, and it was difficult to recover for a while, they both had large colonies in Asia, and our navy became the second in the world and the first in Asia, which has posed a serious threat to the polar colonies, although our navy was established with the help of Britain and the United States, but it was originally established to confront the German navy, and now the German navy no longer exists. The cunning rabbit is dead, and the lackeys are cooking', I think, and now it's time for them to 'cook the rabbit and the dog'. ”,

"That's what Hanzhi said." Li Dingxin's face showed a hint of loneliness, as if he had aged ten years all of a sudden, "The real purpose of this Washington meeting is indeed so. ”

"I understand what Hanzhi means, he wants to reassure the hearts of the great powers by dismantling the navy, and win a peaceful environment for the rapid development of our country." Tang Qianming said, "But in any case, it is never a wise move to remove the barrier. ”

"You may have misunderstood Hanzhi." Cai Yi looked at Yang Shuoming's eyes and seemed to have guessed something, "What Hanzhi said just now only pointed out the crisis that my country is currently facing, and it is definitely not to persuade everyone to withdraw the barrier. He turned his gaze to Yang Shuoming, "You Yang Han is full of wisdom, I don't believe that you are willing to cut down all these giant ships, do you already have any plans?" Don't hide it, take it out quickly, don't let everyone be in a hurry. ”

"Those who know me, Matsuha." Yang Shuoming nodded, he saw Tang Qianming and Li Dingxin breathe a sigh of relief, and couldn't help but laugh again. He casually took his briefcase and opened it, took out one of the documents inside, and handed it directly to Xu Shichang, "Please take a look at it first, and then show it to everyone." ”

"This is a plan I have set for the navy to 'hide from the sky and cross the sea', and it will only be realized with everyone's close cooperation," Yang Shuoming said, "The stakes are very high, and we must not leak the slightest information, and I hope that everyone can keep it a secret." ”

Seeing what Yang Shuoming said solemnly, although he had not seen the content of the document, all the people in the conference room still felt that things were extraordinary, the expressions on their faces changed, and the atmosphere in the conference room suddenly became tense.

"Sure enough, it is worthy of being a 'hidden from the world' plan." Xu Shichang quickly finished reading the contents of the document, gasped involuntarily, and handed the document to Tang Qianming, "Let's take a look at it." ”

Tang Qianming took the document and couldn't wait to read it, after he read it, his brows furrowed slightly, and he handed the document to Li Dingxin without saying a word.

"It's up to you, Yang Hanzhi can figure it out." After Li Dingxin read the document, he pouted ugly and handed the document to Cai Yi.

The people in the conference room looked at the document in turn, and when the document was transferred to the hands of Foreign Minister Gu Weijun, Gu Weijun just glanced at it, and suddenly felt that the chair under his buttocks seemed to fall backwards, and he stumbled and couldn't help but scream.

Gu Weijun finally stabilized his body and did not fall, he looked up at the golden chandelier above his head, and found that the chandelier was shaking there, and immediately understood what was happening.

"Is it an earthquake?". Cai Ye held his saber on the ground with one hand, supported his body, and asked loudly......

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