"I'm here to report you a big piece of good news." Miwa Yoshiyoshi said, opened the briefcase, took out a thin piece of stationery, and handed it to Yamamoto Isoroku.

What was written on the letter paper was the news about the "Sino-Chinese Treaty of Friendship and Non-Aggression."

Yamamoto Fifty-six took the letter, and after carefully reading the contents of it, he did not show excitement and excitement, but handed the letter to Admiral Nagumo Tadaichi beside him.

"What Kuroshima Turtle Osa said is indeed right, and the people of China really chose neutrality." Yamamoto said calmly.

"In this way, all the forces that were originally used to defend against the Chinese navy can be used for the Hawaiian war!" Nagumo Zhongyi said in surprise.

"Yes! This time, let's give it a go! Yamamoto Fifty-six nodded and said in a deep voice.

There was a roar in the sky, and the people on the bridge looked up in unison, only to see that the attack aircraft group that had completed the attack drill was returning in a neat formation.

This was the first flight of a naval air force fighter from the Kisarazu base in Chiba Prefecture to visit the capital in the face of a cold wind. Flying in front of the group was the commander of the air force, the Navy Osakure, and King Asahei, who was in charge of command, and behind him were 36 new "Comet" ship-based critique planes.

Looking at the "Type 99" ship-based critique and the "Comet" ship-based crit in the sky, Yamamoto's eyes suddenly showed an unprecedented frenzy.

After reviewing the air force, Isoroku Yamamoto returned to the commander's office of the battleship Nagato, the flagship of the fleet, and began to concentrate on writing a book.

At this time, Yamamoto Fifty-six, with his unique sharp pen, wrote a letter of historical significance. What he wrote on these nine pieces of naval paper was a letter to the Minister of the Navy and Admiral Shiro Kawakoshiro on "Advice on War Readiness." These opinions are the conclusions reached by Yamamoto after a long period of careful research and careful consideration. In this letter, Yamamoto made his entire vision of the Hawaiian war known to him for the first time.

"As early as April 1907, our country formulated a policy of defensive warfare. This policy was originally determined by the Imperial Navy in accordance with the political axe's 'national defense policy' and 'military program' (referring to the army and navy's military deployment program in accordance with the national defense policy), which regarded the United States as an imaginary enemy country, and used the United States Navy as the main goal to adjust its armament to meet the United States fleet in the coastal waters of the country. In spite of this, it is self-evident that the Imperial Navy's operational essentials against Mi have changed due to the rapid progress and development of weapons and technology, especially the rapid development of aircraft and submarines. This is also clearly reflected in the waters where the two fleets are expected to fight a decisive battle. ”

"At first, the policy adopted was to deploy alert troops on the front line of the Ogasawara Islands to search for the attacking fleet, while our main forces, which were on standby near Amami Oshima, were to attack in the direction of the enemy's main forces and go all out for a decisive battle. Later, the cordon gradually moved forward, and the waters where the decisive battle had been expected moved eastward. Around 1934, the area had moved to Ogasawara and the area to the west, including the Mariana Islands; Last year, it moved forward to waters north of the Marshall Islands and east of the Mariana Islands west of longitude 160 degrees east. ”

In this way, although the essentials of the war against the United States have changed with the changes of the times, the basic strategy of active defense against the United States fleet, which is to conduct an 'invitation attack,' which is advancing westward across the Pacific, has not changed at all since the national defense policy was established in 1907. It was developed as the orthodox strategic thinking of the Navy, and as a result, the armament of the Imperial Navy, the establishment of the fleet, the education and training, and so on were all carried out on this basis. ”

"However, even though this idea of 'inviting an attack' has been unified in the Navy, due to the rapid development of aviation, there are still people who have expressed different opinions on this traditional strategy of dealing with the United States. Especially among aviation personnel, there are many people who hold such different opinions. Around 1934, it was widely accepted that it was possible to sink warships by air raids, and some people began to advocate "developing airplanes and stopping the construction of warships." Around 1935, part of the aviation crew had already begun to envisage an air raid on Pearl Harbor. ”

"When the enemy's capital ships, especially aircraft carriers, are anchored in Pearl Harbor, it is necessary to have the idea of starting a war, that is, to take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness and use aircraft to attack."

"As far as the national strength and military strength are far inferior to the United States, except for actively fighting at the beginning of the war, striking first, and forcing the enemy to always be on the defensive, I am afraid that there will be no other way to defeat the United States."

"Previously, the country had fallen into unprecedented chaos around the issue of the four-nation alliance between Germany, Italy and the Soviet Union. At that time, I proposed that our country should not take advantage of Germany and the Soviet Union, not besiege Britain and Syria, and push them to the opposite side, that is to say, not to form an alliance that would inevitably lead to war in the Pacific. This is an objective judgment I made on the international situation with a sincere intention of worrying about the country and with a far-sighted vision, and it is on the basis of this judgment that I am worried about the future of my country. But now that the international situation has changed dramatically, and a war has broken out in Europe, I have realized that the war situation is expanding like this, and if unexpected events happen again, the main enemy of the country will probably be the United States. ”

"In this way, it seems that it will be quite difficult for the Imperial Navy to rely on the traditional approach of confrontation warfare in the past. So what is the method used to shoulder the heavy responsibility of commanding a large fleet to defend the sea frontier? Since I assumed the post of commander of the Combined Fleet, I have been silently meditating all night and night in order to devise a plan for fighting against the United States that would have a secure chance of victory. I was very happy to see a squadron of planes under unified command in excellent daytime torpedo attack training through the target ship, and it was then that for the first time I said that I would attack Hawaii by air force. I believe that in the event of a surprise attack on Hawaii, the strike force of our naval aviation forces would be able to achieve the desired major results. ”

But attacking Hawaii was still quite difficult for him. After all, Hawaii is too far away, and it is an important base of the United States Navy, so it must be heavily guarded. To get close to Hawaii, you have to attack from 3,000 nautical miles, and such an attack is difficult to disguise our intentions. It is therefore conceivable that it would be quite difficult to conduct such operations. ”

"Now, after conducting large-scale military exercises in the eastern Pacific, the Pacific Fleet of the United States did not sail back to the west coast of the United States, but was ordered to anchor in Pearl Harbor. The United States should have wanted to stop the operation of the South Seas by letting this fleet sail into Hawaii, so as to force the political axe of the country to abandon the idea of expanding to the south by taking advantage of the great opportunity of the war in Europe, when the Netherlands was defeated and Britain and France were in a difficult situation. However, the operation of the Pacific Fleet into Pearl Harbor was an excellent opportunity for Yu Ben. ”

"Previously, I had been considering a question from the Tushang combat exercises for the attack on Dutch Indonesia: If we occupy Dutch Indonesia, we must see that sooner or later it will develop into a state of war with the four countries of Mimi, Britain, the Netherlands, and China. And from the beginning, he had to prepare to fight against the British and Dutch countries. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to draw up a battle plan with a certain certainty of victory, not to mention that launching an offensive war against the southern resource areas will require the investment of most of the strength of our navy. If in this operation, the main force of the Mi fleet comes to attack, then the decisive forces fighting in the south must be transferred to meet the Mi flotilla. In this way, the southern war will come to a halt. In addition, it can be estimated that a large number of troops will be consumed in the southern operation, and after the battle, it will take a considerable amount of time to recover those consumed forces in order to prepare for the deployment of the United States fleet. This made me feel bitterly that I had to block the attack of the mighty US fleet no matter what. Moreover, he also felt that in the event of an attack by the Chinese navy during this period, there would be a danger of an air attack on the mainland of the aircraft carrier by the aircraft carrier of China (a danger that had now been temporarily eliminated by the success of secret diplomacy). Therefore, after much deliberation, I finally came to the conclusion that, as I had considered before, at the beginning of the war, I would seize the best fighter planes and make a desperate bet to attack the American fleet in Hawaii and deal a heavy blow, and there was no other way to win. ”

"In the past, the study of operational policies has been aimed at large-scale counter-attack operations in an open and upright manner. However, judging from the results of several combat exercises on the map, the Imperial Navy did not achieve a single major victory. Once a decision is made to go to war, it is extremely difficult to avoid such a situation. ”

"In short, since last year, we have repeatedly conducted combat exercises on maps and sand table combat exercises, and we can see from this that no matter how smoothly the operation in the south is, when the war is coming to an end, the small ships below the A-class cruiser level have already suffered considerable losses, especially two-thirds of the aircraft, and the remaining one-third are almost damaged, and none of them are intact. Therefore, it has to be admitted that it is difficult to adapt to the ensuing regular warfare at sea under such circumstances. ”

"As long as we look at the surname of the enemy general Kimmel and the recent state of mind of the US navy, I do not necessarily think that the US is only relying on the tactics of gradually adopting a frontal offensive, but when I think that when our army is fighting in the south, if the enemy planes suddenly attack Tokyo and Osaka, what kind of reproach will domestic public opinion (a group of fools) raise against the navy? One only has to look back at the Russo-Russian War, and it can be imagined. ”

"Just as the unconventional idea of bombing Hawaii with planes at the beginning of the war, which I had conceived after a long period of deliberation, was taking shape, Britain engaged in a campaign similar to my vision in the Mediterranean, which, of course, differed greatly in scale and distance."

"Although Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini boasted long ago that 'the Mediterranean Sea is the inner lake of my Italy,' the Italian navy, which he was proud of, was no match for the British fleet. On the contrary, the Mediterranean seems to have become the inner lake of Britain. As a result, the Italian fleet was huddled in the military port of Taranto, its home base, and it was at this time that the famous Taranto incident occurred. ”

"After the outbreak of the war in Europe, the naval commanders of the belligerents had a vision of attacking the opposing fleets, and in particular some of the Italian naval commanders and the commander of the British Mediterranean fleet, Admiral Cunningham, had carefully studied this method of attack. Italy was the first to implement this idea, which launched a torpedo attack on the British cruiser Grosda anchored in Alexandria, Egypt, but was unsuccessful because two torpedoes were sunk to the bottom of the sea. ”

"In September last year, the British aircraft carrier 'Brilliant' was incorporated into the Mediterranean Fleet, and British Rear Admiral Leicester was appointed commander of the aircraft carrier fleet. He suggested to Cunningham that the main forces of the Italian fleet, which were often anchored in the military port of Taranto on the Ionian Sea, attack them with torpedoes from aircraft. As a result, the British Navy took air raid operations on the night of November 11. The British flew a group of planes every hour, two sorties of 20 torpedo bombers and 8 bombers, which fired torpedoes and bombed under the illumination and navigation of 4 aircraft. ”

Newspapers around the world devoted a great deal of space to this epoch-making combat operation - the use of aircraft to launch torpedoes against capital ships anchored in military ports. Our newspapers were no exception, publishing in full the war reports published by the British Admiralty. As a result of the Taranto incident, the lead ships of the Italian Navy were paralyzed by all but three that remained. Therefore, in the contrast of British and Italian naval forces in the Mediterranean, the British side has completely dominated the absolute advantage. The Mediterranean, known as the 'Inner Lake of Italy', has truly become the Inner Lake of the United Kingdom. In addition to the above-mentioned strategic significance, the fact that this action caused huge losses by attacking the capital ship anchored in the harbor by launching torpedoes from aircraft should not be overlooked. For the first time in the history of world naval warfare, aircraft launched torpedoes to attack ships anchored in harbors. ”

"Therefore, with regard to the 'operational policy,' we should abandon the traditional orthodox strategy of the Chinese navy, that is, we should wait for the US fleet to attack and then meet the US fleet in the western Pacific and annihilate it through a decisive battle of the fleet, but should attack and destroy the enemy's main fleet at the beginning of the war, so that the morale of the US navy and the people of the US country will be irreparably depressed."

"We must be mentally prepared to decide whether we will win or lose at the beginning of the war. The first scenario is that if most of the enemy's main fleet is anchored in Pearl Harbor, it should be completely sunk by an aircraft formation and the harbor should be sealed; The second scenario: If the enemy's main fleet is anchored outside Pearl Harbor, it will be handled according to the first situation, and the third situation: if the enemy's main fleet departs from Hawaii ahead of schedule to attack, a decisive battle force will be dispatched to meet it and annihilate it in one fell swoop. ”

"With regard to the use of force and its tasks in the first and second cases, it is resolved in the following main points:

1. The 1st Air Force (the air carriers 'Pancheng' and 'Tianlong'), the 2nd Air Force (the aircraft carriers 'Soryu' and 'Feilong'), the 3rd Air Force (the aircraft carriers 'Zuihe' and 'Xianghe'), and the 4th Air Force (the aircraft carriers 'Yunlong' and 'Amagi') should dispatch all their air forces to carry out a strong attack (surprise attack) on enemy ships on a moonlit night or at dawn, with a view to completely annihilating them.

2. A squadron of mine ships is responsible for rescuing the personnel of an aircraft carrier when it inevitably sinks when it is counterattacked by enemy aircraft.

3. Close the harbor by approaching Pearl Harbor and other anchored ships by a submarine squadron to meet the enemy ships in haste, and, if possible, to sink them at Pearl Harbor.

Fourth, the transport force is filled by several refueling ships in order to supply fuel. ”

"Therefore, after careful consideration, I believe that in the final analysis there is only one way, that is, to destroy the enemy's nest with a powerful air force at the beginning of the war, and to deal a heavy blow to the enemy, both materially and spiritually, so that he cannot recover for a period of time. However, the Hawaiian War was fraught with great danger. Although it will not be easy to win this battle, as long as the officers and men concerned are united from top to bottom and have a strong determination to sacrifice their lives for the country, they should look up to heaven and bless them and achieve success. ”

"I wish to personally serve as the Commander of the First Air Fleet to take direct command of this incomparably difficult battle in order to fulfill my final allegiance. The operation was extremely difficult, and the officers and men of the navy had to fight against Britain, Mia, and the Netherlands at the same time, and they also had to consider dealing with China. Therefore, the true meaning of my operational plan is: At the beginning of the war, we should first use all our naval and air forces to carry out a strategic surprise attack on the enemy, so as to destroy the offensive capability of the US fleet in one fell swoop; At the same time, we will boldly occupy the southern resource zone, and then do everything possible not to restore the strength of the US navy, so that our side will always be invincible, and we will have great hopes for the fact that the US side will lose its fighting spirit by striking a heavy blow in the event of a war......"

When Yamamoto finished writing this long letter, the whole person seemed to collapse, and he lay down in his chair, staring blankly at the ceiling, and let out a long breath.

At about the same time, U.S. Secretary of the Navy Knox wrote a letter to Secretary of the War Stimson about strengthening Hawaii's defenses.

"Over the past few weeks, the Admiralty and Fleet have revisited the issue of security for the U.S. Pacific Fleet and Pearl Harbor Naval Base at Pearl Harbor," Knox wrote at the beginning of the letter. One of the reasons for this study was the seriousness of the situation in the United States and the reports of successful attacks by bombers and torpedo bombers on ships anchored at the bases. This makes it easy to think that if a war breaks out, it may start with a surprise attack on the fleet or naval base in Pearl Harbor. ”

(To be continued)