Not long ago, in order to show the world its determination for peaceful development and to abide by the "Washington Treaty," China's political axe ordered the decommissioning and dismantling of six "Republican" class battleships and six "Glorious" class battlecruisers that had made great achievements in World War I. As soon as the news broke, there was a great uproar in the Chinese government and the opposition, and many naval officers and men and non-governmental personages believed that this was a move to "self-destruct the Great Wall." Some scholars compared this move with the secret plan of the Qing Ministry Shangshu Weng Tong Tong to avenge his personal revenge against the Beiyang Navy, and expressed their resolute opposition to the political axe's resolution, and at the same time demanded that the political axe "reopen negotiations and revise the Warsaw Pact." Despite the constant opposition from the Chinese side and the people, perhaps because of excessive financial pressure, China's political axe still adhered to the original decision to "forge the sword into a plowshare", and the bill to reduce the navy was passed by a narrow majority in the National Assembly.

The Chinese navy and the fanatical militarist groups were naturally ecstatic about the Chinese navy's "self-abolition of martial arts," but Yamamoto 56 at that time was very calm after learning the news, and he was initially worried that this was a smoke bomb set by the Chinese in order to deceive the world, because if the same thing happened to the Chinese people, the navy would have risen up to kill the minister of the political axe, and the Chinese naval officers and men did not act excessively except for protesting on the streets with the people. But it was only when he went to China as an observer from Europe and saw the battlecruiser "Glorious" at the Shanghai shipyard that had already removed its main turret, that he really believed in this fact.

But even so, Yamamoto 56 also knows that this does not mean that the Chinese navy will stand still and succumb to the navy, and that China's political axe has made such a decision more out of financial difficulties, and with the current speed of China's industrial development and the abundant resources that China has, it will not be a few years before China will have a little more abundant financial resources, and it is not impossible to build warships that are more powerful than the "Republic" and "Glorious" classes.

What's more, behind China, there is also the United States.

Even if, as Kenji Ide said, the Chinese Navy went to war with China when the Chinese Navy was relatively weak, how much strength would the Saymoto Navy have to fight against the powerful U.S. Navy after defeating the Chinese Navy?

Kenji Iide saw the strangeness of Yamamoto's fifty-six expression, and he asked a little unwillingly: "Does Yamamoto-kun think that Samoto is now unable to defeat Shina?" ”

"The final result of the war with China is to start a war with the United States." Yamamoto Fifty-six said, "I don't think it's a wise choice for Saymoto to go to war with the rice country, but I don't think that the rice country can't be defeated. ”

Listening to Yamamoto Fifty-six's answer, Kenji Iide looked a little excited.

"What do you think Ben can do to defeat the United States?"

"The Imperial Navy, which was forced to accept the inferior proportions, wanted to fight against the superior US Navy, and could only give the enemy a blow in the form of air strikes at the beginning." Yamamoto said.

"By air strikes?" Kenji Iide was taken aback.

"Yes, there's no better way than that." Yamamoto Fifty-six looked at Kenji Iide and said, "There is a book written by a man from the United States called "Theory of Air National Defense", have you heard of it?" ”

"I've read the contents of this book." Kenji Iide nodded and said, "The content in it is very innovative. ”

"Not only is it new, but this book suggests a new way of warfare in future naval warfare." Yamamoto said.

In 1924, there was a book called "On Air National Defense" that shook the [***] world, the author was Major General William of the United States Army? Mitchell. The book lists a series of U.S. military test figures to prove the conclusion that "all warships can be sunk by air strikes."

In 1922, after World War I, the United States conducted aircraft bombing tests using the German trophy submarine "U117", the destroyer "U102", the cruiser "Frankfurt", and the United States' own decommissioned old battleships "Alabama", "New Jersey" and "Virginia". Experiments have shown that all warships, including battleships, can be sunk with bombs alone without the need for torpedoes.

This book rightfully caught the attention of Isoroku Yamamoto, who was in the United States at the time. Although Yamamoto Isoroku used to be like many officers of the Yamamoto Navy, he was still a "big ship and big gun" in his bones. But the content of the book made Yamamoto realize the huge role of aircraft in future naval warfare. At this time, Yamamoto Fifty-six was already a real "aviation master" theorist.

"Yamamoto-kun's meaning is to use air strikes to destroy the capital ships of the enemy's navy to the greatest extent and change the balance of forces between the enemy and us." Kenji Ide's voice was full of excitement, "I see! ”

"I'm just a soldier, and I can't understand the advanced ideas of war. I never thought it was a smart choice to go to war with the United States, but I also don't think it was a taboo to go to war with the United States. When I consider the strategy against the United States, I have never proceeded from the perspective of a simple war, but from the perspective of specific combat methods or strategies. Yamamoto Isoroku was glad that Kenji Inide understood what he meant, and nodded with a smile.

"But what should we do now?" Kenji Iide asked anxiously.

"It will not be too early for Ben and the United States to go to war, but it will not be too late, and before the war, how to make a leap forward in aviation is the most important priority." Yamamoto looked up at the blue sky, where several biplanes were speeding overhead.

At present, Yamamoto 56 has developed from the idea of "winning by aviation" to the height of "aviation first". But whenever he thinks of the indifference to aviation in his country, he feels very lonely and miserable.

"I really don't know what these guys are thinking, do they have to suffer other people's losses in the war to wake up? If we take a wait-and-see attitude, we will be far behind the Chinese and the United States in the field of aviation! Yamamoto said with a sigh. Alas, when I think about this situation, I don't even know what to say! ”

Listening to Yamamoto's words, Kenji Iide also sighed helplessly.

Kenji Iide himself is well aware of this, and with his current position and that of Yamamoto Isoroku, it is simply impossible to carry out the plan to develop naval aviation in the navy.

"For the Navy, the most important thing is to be cautious and self-respecting, to work hard, and the top priority at the moment is to rapidly develop the maritime aviation force no matter what." Yamamoto continued, "We can imagine that Germany before the Great War, if it had endured for another 50 years, would have been able to match the European powers now, but unfortunately, it has not been able to endure it. The car in front is overturned, and the car behind is a lesson. Today, we say that the empire must be calm and self-respecting, accumulate strength, and strengthen the country and strengthen the army. Although the future negotiations in London are likely to be no victory for the Hon, as long as we are soberly aware of the power of aircraft warfare and put it into practice, we will not be worried about defeating China and Britain. ”

"Yes, the national strength of this empire is indeed very different from that of the rice country, and it is time for this empire to be cautious and self-respecting, and work hard." Kenji Inide said approvingly.

Many years later, Captain Zozo and Yoshiyo, who were also on the cruiser "Isuzu", recorded this seemingly inconspicuous scene in front of him, and he did not know at that time that the aviation era of the Saimoto Navy had begun.

Later, in his book "Memories of Marshal Yamamoto," Miwa Yoshiyoshi talked about the development of Yamamoto's idea of "winning by aviation" during his second trip to the United States. In his book, Miwa says, "Military Attache Yamamoto has been watching the development of American aviation with a keen eye. At that time, the American aviation community was trying to fly across the Atlantic. It wasn't long before Lindbergh finally achieved this goal, and was called a feat in the aviation industry, thus shaking the world. Bird then flew over again, and although he failed to land at the scheduled time and place, he was in fact largely successful. Regrettably, however, the technological level of the aviation industry in Japan is obviously backward behind that of the United States, and it cannot be compared with it at all. Therefore, Yamamoto told me to fully understand and study this new trend in the American aviation industry, and asked for a viewpoint and opinion that was relatively close to reality. After in-depth investigation and research, I realized that it was essential to fly by instrument and to conduct celestial navigation for such long-distance flights across the oceans. The United States has long been aware of this and has carried out fruitful research and development work. Bird used this advanced aircraft navigation equipment during his flight across the Atlantic. However, in this case, the naval aviation community still adheres to the old rules of the British 'St. Bell' flying regiment and relies entirely on the intuitive feeling of the pilots...... I didn't care about that, but I drafted a report and presented it to Military Attache Yamamoto. I deliberately emphasize in my report that if the naval aviation does not get rid of the old frame of relying entirely on the pilot's intuitive feeling in flight and instead focuses on the study and use of navigation instruments, it will inevitably find itself in a desperate situation. To this end, I have also proposed the measures that should be taken to carry out this new reform of aviation technology. Yamamoto read the report and said, "It makes sense, I totally agree. The report is sitting with me for the time being, and I intend to make some changes. He focused on revising the concluding section to make the rhetoric more convincing and well-reasoned. After reading the content of his revisions, I deeply felt that Yamamoto had a very deep understanding of this kind of navigation equipment, and the significance of learning this advanced technology was more far-reaching than I did. Military Attache Yamamoto then ordered me to send the report to Japan, and it was later published in the Navy's monthly newsletter. ”

Just as Sanwa Yoshiyoshi said, at this time, Yamamoto 56 was already more convinced of the role of aviation in the future battlefield. Yamamoto worked very hard in the United States, often working until one or two o'clock in the evening, and sometimes even all-nighters studying aviation. He consulted a large amount of information, and his idea of "winning by aviation" became more mature at this stage. In 1927, Yamamoto read the book "On Air Defense" by the American Mitchell, which gave a specific account of the development of aviation forces in the United States in the mid-twenties, and the fact that the idea that aviation forces would dominate naval warfare had begun to attract sufficient attention in the US Navy. The publication of the book caused great repercussions in the US military criticism circles. At the same time, it also touched the nerves of Yamamoto Isoroku, who deeply felt that the development of the Yamamoto naval aviation unit was already a matter of great urgency, and if the Yamamoto Navy could not realize its important surname, then the gap in strength between the Yamamoto Navy and the United States in future wars would be further widened. Since the Washington Treaty mainly stipulates the standards for the construction of capital ships, there are no restrictions on non-capital ships. The Washington Conference was followed by a conference on naval disarmament reduction in Neiva, which focused on the issue of limiting non-capital ships. However, due to the evil intentions of all parties, the Neiva meeting was inconclusive. In order to determine the proportion of auxiliary ships below each cruiser and to strike at competitors, British Prime Minister John McDonald went to the United States to consult with US President Herbert Hoover and decided to hold a naval disarmament conference in London in the future. When Yamamoto fifty-six fifty-six learned the news, he fell into deep thought. The issue of naval disarmament is a very complicated political issue in the first place. Many of them do not approve of the shipbuilding ratio set by the Washington Conference, because this ratio legally recognizes the inferior position of the United States and Britain in the navy and is a disgrace to the United States, so they insist that this ratio be revised, and in the case of auxiliary ships, they resolutely demand a superior position over Britain and the United States. However, as a thoughtful officer, Yamamoto was well aware that it was this ratio that saved him money on building capital ships, allowing him to carry out a secret naval development program and build the latest aircraft carriers. Yamamoto believes that future naval warfare will depend on such warships, rather than on the large battleships that countries are rushing to build. It was said that it should have avoided a costly competition with the economically powerful United States for the construction of battleships, and that it should have continued to develop unorthodox weapons, especially aircraft, which would have ensured that the United States would fight an offensive war if necessary.

In March 1928, Isoroku Yamamoto ended his career as a naval attaché in the United States and returned to Yamamoto, where he served first as captain of the cruiser Isuzu and then as captain of the aircraft carrier Soryu. Yamamoto was thus able to begin to build the Yamamoto Naval Aviation in accordance with his own plan.

The establishment of naval aviation could not have been achieved without the help of the Germans.

The Navy received tremendous help from the British when it realized the localization of ships other than submarines, but it received strong support from the Germans in the development of aviation weapons. The deterioration of relations between the United States and the United States made it impossible for the university to continue to receive military and technical support from the British, and even the University of Greenwich, which had been accepting students from the United Kingdom, stopped accepting students from 1923 onwards, but this did not make it difficult for him.

After the First World War, Kato Kanji sent a delegation to Germany led by Kanji Kato to investigate in Germany, and after returning to Japan, Kanji Kato came to the conclusion that "Germany has surpassed Britain in the level of military industrial technology", and after the end of World War I, due to the League of Nations' arms restrictions on Germany, the Germans adopted the method of transferring military technology to the Soviet Union and the Soviet Union for technical reserves, and the result of this was that Germany did not encounter any major difficulties when rearmament. On the contrary, the Soviet Union and the Germans were given a light and each had a powerful air force.

A very important figure in the cooperation of the German aviation industry was Friedrich? Huck. Haque was originally imprisoned as a prisoner of war in a prisoner of war camp in Fukuoka during the occupation of Qingdao during World War I, but was later released and granted residency in Haque after it was found that he had worked as an advisor to the Manchuria Railway Company before the war. After the war, Huck founded a "Schutzin? The Hack Chamber of Commerce", which was responsible for the transfer of German technology to the Navy, was also assisted in the establishment of the Berlin Naval Office.

However, the first person Haque came into contact with in the whole process of cooperation between Germany and Germany was Yamamoto Isoroku. Although Yamamoto was sometimes mistaken for a "pro-American" faction because of his Harvard education, his experience as a military attaché in the United States, and his opposition to war with the United States, Yamamoto was in fact first and foremost a member of the Yamamoto Navy, and some favorable feelings toward American society did not affect his efforts to develop the entire Yamamoto Navy and to seek forces to support this development strategy.

From the very beginning, there was a pro-German faction in the Yamamoto Navy, but in the era of Yamamoto Gonbei and Fushimi Miyahiro Kyo, this pro-German force was only a trend of thought, and the success of this trend of thought depended on the increasingly close technical exchanges between the Saymoto Navy and the German Navy, and the biggest promoter of this technological exchange was Yamamoto Isoroku.

The cooperation between Ben and Germany in the aviation industry was first carried out through private trading companies. At that time, the major aircraft manufacturers recruited technicians from a specific German manufacturer, such as "Aichi Aircraft" (later "Aichi Machinery Industry Co., Ltd.") from the "Henkel" company, "Mitsubishi" from "Junker", and "Kawasaki" from "Dornier". For example, it was later said that the famous "Zero" fighter in the history of aviation had left the "Mitsubishi" company, and the Dura aluminum imported from the "Junkers" was impossible to talk about.

Haque later visited Isoroku Yamamoto, who was preparing to return home after the breakdown of the talks, and it was with the direct participation of Isoroku Yamamoto that the German company "Hinkel" transferred the technology of dive bombers to Isorochi, and the "Type 99" shipboard critter that played a major role in a series of surprise attacks by the Saymoto naval aviation in World War II was developed on the basis of the technology provided by "Hinkel."

(To be continued)