Kido's question made Toyota unable to answer at all, but he couldn't help but answer, Kido represented the emperor, and his question was likely to be the emperor's question, and Mitsumasa Yonechi had to stand up and explain it for him. \.qβV. Com

"Due to the need to carry out Operation A and to defend the Philippines, the main force has been transferred to the South Seas, and at present there are only more than 300 aircraft in the country, of which no more than 120 combat planes are used. The most important thing is that the planes put into China fly at an altitude of more than 10,000 meters, and the Zero fighters fly at an altitude of less than 8 kilometers.

Kido understood now, and he nodded silently, this problem is not something that can be solved in a while. The Minister of Agriculture and Commerce, Tadashi Ishiguro, spoke at this time.

"Prime Minister, since last year, domestic grain production has been insufficient, last year's total grain output fell by 20 percent compared with the previous year, and it was all supported by the grain brought back from Manchuria and Nanyang, and the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Health and Welfare estimated that this year's grain output will decline further, and this year's grain ration for each citizen is 800 milliliters per day, and one liter per day for heavy manual laborers.

Kantaro Suzuki's head is buzzing, this is another problem that cannot be solved, a large number of young and middle-aged people have been conscripted into the army, fertilizer and pesticide factories have switched to the production of ammunition, rural grain production has been greatly reduced, and the national rations have been reduced again and again, and now the people are still enduring it, but if it continues to decrease, can the people still endure it?

"Ishiguro-kun, please organize an investigation, if Manchuria is lost, the Nanyang transportation will be interrupted"

Suzuki Shen Ning Hui pondered and said, "How much impact will it have on the production of grain, steel, pots, and copper in the empire, and what is estimated next year's output." Speaking of this, he suddenly thought that this was actually an assessment of Ben's war capability, and he was afraid that he would not be able to do it without the army, so he said to Toyota: "Please send someone to make a detailed and comprehensive estimate." ”

Kido was actually very disappointed, Kantaro Suzuki was really weak, the cabinet and the army and navy of the base camp had no way to face the bombing of Shina, and everyone pinned their hopes on the Combined Fleet, as if the Combined Fleet would be able to solve all the problems when it returned.

The base camp has submitted a Manchurian battle plan to the emperor, and the abandonment of Manchuria is already a foregone conclusion, and all the new battalions in the country are busy training new recruits, and the age of enlistment has dropped to 16 years old, and secondary education has been shortened by one year.

Hirohito was silent after listening to Kido's report, Kido had been observing Hirohito's face during the report, and was guessing Hirohito's thoughts, legally the emperor could not interfere with the decisions of the cabinet, but due to the emperor's huge influence, as long as he did not agree, the cabinet would revise the decision.

"Discuss with the important ministers and see if there is a way to change the current situation."

Kido was shocked, and glanced at Hirohito suspiciously, according to reason, convening important ministers to discuss is a precursor to the replacement of the prime minister, Hirohito is dissatisfied with Suzuki? Want to change the prime minister? But who will replace Suzuki as prime minister? The reason why Suzuki was chosen was because no one wanted to be the prime minister, and Suzuki himself was unwilling to come forward or the queen came forward, so he reluctantly agreed, and now he will be replaced?

Kido expected Hirohito to speak more clearly, but Hirohito didn't explain, got up and walked towards the harem, and Kido could only watch Hirohito leave.

That night, Kido summoned several important ministers to his home, and the group of important ministers was composed of high-ranking figures from the military and political circles who had served as prime minister, army general, admiral, and president of the Privy Council, including Hideki Tojo, Kuniaki Koiso, Fumiki Konoe, Keisuke Okada, Hirota Hiroki, and Privy Council Speaker Yoshimichi Hara.

The living room of the Kido family was stuffed to the full, and to Kido's disappointment, there was no way to do anything about the current situation of the Shigetomi group, and Kido carefully asked if he made adjustments to the cabinet, and the Shigeto's ministers immediately understood what Kido meant, and the living room fell into a brief silence.

"Suzuki-kun is a good person" Tojo slowed his tone, trying to make himself look less aggressive: "However, Suzuki-kun's xing style is too weak, I'm afraid I can't grasp the current situation, it would be better if I could change to a strong prime minister." ”

Apparently Tojo was still haunted by his forced resignation, believing that he was the only one who could lead Ben to victory in the war. However, Tojo's comments did not elicit a response from the ministers.

"Suzuki-kun has just taken office as prime minister, so it is too rash to change the prime minister so frequently." Konoe Fumisuki looked displeased, but what he said was indeed the truth, Suzuki had only been prime minister for two months, not to mention the bombing of Tokyo, even if the A-ship operation failed, it would not be his turn to take responsibility.

"I agree." Okada also supported Konoe's opinion: "Suzuki-kun's work is still very effective, and he cannot be held responsible for the unfavorable situation of the war, and the situation in the country is unfavorable, so we must work together to tide over the difficulties." ”

There was a hint of warning in Okada's tone, Kido knew that Okada was worried that although Tojo stepped down, he still had some influence in the military department, and his people were not all purged, and if he wanted to pick something up, he could do it.

All the important ministers were alert to Tojo, and then Koiso Kuniaki, Hirota Hiroki, and Hara Yoshido defended Suzuki Kantaro, and Kido listened and guessed what Hirohito meant. Seeing this scene, I suddenly understood what Hirohito didn't say, he didn't want to replace Suzuki, and there is no one in China who can replace Suzuki at present.

Hirohito's real purpose was that the current situation was very dangerous, and the pursuit of peace should be stronger, and the Shigetomi clique should support Suzuki and make the military have some scruples.

After thinking about it, Kido began to deliberately lead the topic to this: "Ladies and gentlemen, the war situation is very unfavorable, I participated in today's joint meeting, neither the Ministry of the Army, the Ministry of the Navy, nor the General Staff can come up with an effective plan to reverse the situation, what are your opinions on this aspect?" The meeting suddenly fell silent again, the situation was so eroded that no one was helpless, Kido frequently handed his eyes to Konoe Fumitake when he saw this, and Konoe didn't understand at first, and he was guessing what Kido meant.

Koiso Kuniaki had just left the post of prime minister, and his understanding of the situation was even more worried: "If peace can be achieved, then it is the best, if not" Koiso Kuniaki suddenly remembered Ishihara's roar, he smiled bitterly and shook his head.

Konoe saw Kido's light light light up and understood what he meant, he thought for a moment and said, "Ben's way out is not war, but peace, the cabinet should strengthen efforts to achieve peace, China, the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union are not monolithic, maybe we can use it." ”

The allies were not monolithic, and there were frequent conflicts between China and the Soviet Union, but with the Chongqing consensus issued between China and the Soviet Union, the contradictions between the two countries were temporarily eased, and more importantly, both China and the Soviet Union believed that Ben was the main enemy, and even if there were contradictions between the two countries, they would have to be resolved after defeating Ben.

"Diplomacy should be strengthened," said Okada, his expression suggesting that he was a little dissatisfied: "Don't rest on your laurels, be flexible." ”

"Flexible?" Tojo looked at Okada vigilantly and asked sharply, "How flexible?" Be specific, don't be vague! "I think that as long as the emperor system can be preserved, it is acceptable." Okada replied unequivocally.

&nb turned red and asked angrily: "Is it okay to pay compensation?" The Imperial Army has not yet been defeated! The battle line is still on the enemy's soil! It is precisely because of such defeatist ideas as yours that the empire will fail! Tojo was furious, but Okada was not afraid at all, glaring at him, now Tojo was no longer the prime minister, nor was he the Minister of War. When Tojo was prime minister, in the name of opposing defeatism, he implemented a strict gendarmerie rule, and anyone who opposed him was imprisoned or conscripted into the army under various names, the most famous of which was to enlist Matsumae Shigeyoshi, director of the Provincial Public Works Bureau, as a private in the army, which caused a great shock in the political and military terms, although Matsumae Shigeyoshi was immediately protected by the navy, but Tojo Hideki's iron fist was shocking, and it was from this time that the military and political governments began to brew Tojo to step down.

"Don't move like this" Koiso Kuniaki hurriedly opened his mouth to ease the atmosphere: "We are in a meeting, and we can talk about any opinion." ”

"No, you can't!" Tojo resolutely refused to budge, he glared at Koiso Kuniaki, and his tone was still stern: "This kind of defeatist sentiment must be strictly stopped, otherwise it will flood and affect the morale of the people!" "Now the others are not able to speak, everyone present knows that Ben's defeat is inevitable, but no one can say it openly now.

Kido saw this scene and was about to open his mouth to resolve it, when the door was pushed open, and Matsudaira, the secretary general of the Imperial Household Province, came in and reported: "Your Excellency, I just received news that Yokohama has been bombed. ”

Kido looked at Tojo and Okada, both of them stopped talking now, Kido sighed, turned his head and asked, "Is the loss lost?" ”

"It's not clear, but," Matsudaira said hesitantly, "the Eastern Military District reports that Yokohama's fire is higher than yesterday's. "Everyone gasped, everyone saw the fire in Nose yesterday, and the damage was clear, and the fire in Yokohama was bigger, so it was clear what it meant.

Yokohama can be said to be the second largest city in Ben, and it is also another industrial center of Ben, with a population of more than two million: TokyoYokohama is the most important industrial circle in Ben, where the main steel mills, shipyards, copper smelters, and military factories are concentrated, and Ben's industrial capacity will be reduced by half.

The meeting ended in a hurry without any results, but Kido still got what he wanted, and most of the ministers agreed to take greater measures to seek a truce, but of course the danger remained, and there were still many hardliners like Hideki Tojo in the army, and if something went wrong, a rebellion like 226 would still occur.

The next day, the damage of Yokohama was reported, more than 70,000 people died in Yokohama, an area of 16 square kilometers was burned to the ground, and 200,000 people were left homeless.

On the third day, Daling, 110,000 people died and 300,000 were left homeless.

On the fourth day, Nagoya, 60,000 people died, 170,000 were left homeless On the fifth day, the bombers returned to Tokyo, and all the business districts of Tokyo were burned down, 80,000 people died, twenty square kilometers of land were burned to the ground, and the perimeter of the Imperial Palace was burned down.

…！

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