[Anti-Japanese Iron Blood King] Chapter 974: Inflated Ambition (Ask for Subscription!) , ask for a monthly pass, ask for everything! ）

When the Soviets and Germany went to war, there was no one happier than the Japanese. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Why? The main reason is that Japan has decided to take action against Southeast Asia, but it did not dare to act rashly because of the existence of the Soviet Union, and was worried that the Soviet Red Army would suddenly send troops to the northeast.

Although the Soviet Union and Japan signed a neutrality treaty, the bloody facts of many wars in history prove an eternal truth, and almost all treaties are used to tear up. Just as the Soviets did not trust the Japanese, the Japanese did not believe in the Soviets.

Moreover, it has been proven that the Soviet Union has not really abided by the agreement between the two countries, and is still secretly transporting all kinds of materials to the Suicha Military Region, even including oil and all kinds of weapons and equipment.

Now that Germany had suddenly launched an attack on the Soviet Union, the Japanese suddenly felt a light burden on their shoulders, and at the same time felt that the opportunity for the Great Japanese Empire had come.

In fact, the Japanese base camp and the government have been discussing for a long time when to start a war with the United States and Britain in writing, but there has been no result, but with the successive victories of Germany in the Soviet Union, the Japanese could not sit still, and their inflated ambitions finally could not be endured, and they decided to act at the same time.

The war has been discussed for two months, and during these two months, many agreements have been reached between the Japanese base camp and the government. Most importantly, Japan has decided to go to war against the United States and Britain, and the time is set for some time to come.

However, the exact day to launch the attack is still being discussed, and the way in which to attack is also a matter worth discussing, which is also the most important thing to discuss in the base camp during this time.

At the Imperial Council on 5 June, Japan adopted its national defense policy and military program after the war against the United States and Britain, which was the first major revision of the Japanese government's national defense policy and military program since 1907.

The fundamental significance of Japan's national defense in the current national defense policy is that the emperor's grand plan is based on the general cause, carries forward the national prestige, and ensures the promotion of the interests of the country and the happiness of the people. At the same time, Japan's national defense policy is to build up its national strength, especially its armaments, so that it can truly become a power for stability in East Asia, and at the same time, it will engage in corresponding diplomatic activities to ensure the development of the country and to take the lead in suppressing the enemy in the event of an incident.

In view of its original meaning, Imperial Japan's national defense should be aimed at the United States and the Soviet Union, which had a high probability of conflict with the Great Japanese Empire and possessed great national strength, especially armaments. Guard against China and Britain at the same time. To this end, the forces required for the Reich's national defense must be sufficient to control the East Asian continent and the western Pacific Ocean to meet the requirements of the Reich's national defense policy.

In addition, according to the program for the use of troops in Japan's imperial army, the basic operational principle of the Japanese army is: "According to the national defense policy. The army and navy acted in concert to take a preemptive offensive. Seek a quick fix. To this end, the army and navy should quickly destroy the enemy's field forces and the enemy's main fleet, and at the same time occupy the required territory. In addition, as the war progresses or in view of diplomatic needs, the necessary forces may be used to occupy strategic positions. The Army and Navy shall jointly assume the responsibility for domestic defense, and shall do so to the extent that they do not contradict the basic principles of the above-mentioned operations. ”

Such a revision has already made it very clear that the Japanese have really decided to do it, otherwise they would not have been in such a hurry to revise the national defense policy.

But there is a very serious matter that must be resolved as soon as possible before we do it, and that is about the screening of war opponents, that is, the United States, Britain and the Netherlands can be separated and cannot be separated.

Japan. Tokyo. Royal Palace.

The debate over the inseparability of the United States, Britain and the Netherlands continued, and the discussion lasted for a long time without any results. However, it was some less important ministers who were speaking before, and none of the people who could really influence the Japanese court spoke.

Seeing that the time was almost up, Prime Minister Fumima Konoe got up and said: "Having said all this, you still don't have a definite conclusion about the separability and inseparability of the United States, Britain and the Netherlands, but the main force of the southward operation is the navy, let's listen to the opinion of the navy, right?" ”

Hearing Konoe Fumima's name, the Minister of the Navy and Admiral Kawakoshiro stood up and said, "Your Majesty and ladies and gentlemen, the main target of the empire's southward movement is the Dutch East Indies, because only there is the oil and rubber that the empire needs, especially oil. If the Empire wants to achieve its goals by force, the obstacles in its path are Manila and Singapore. ”

"Manila and Singapore were the strategic and strategic bases of the United States and Britain in the Far East, respectively, and if the empire were to expand into the Dutch East Indies, it would be better to break through the weak links of American and British influence strategically and limit the opponent to the Netherlands. But now that the Dutch government has gone into exile in London, Britain and the Netherlands have in fact formed an inseparable relationship, so it is absolutely impossible to use a strategy to drive a wedge, so the relationship between Britain and the Netherlands is inseparable, and the problem is the relationship between the United States and Britain. ”

"The political unity between the United States and Britain is a traditional fact, and it is an extravagant hope to separate the United States and Britain. In addition, the Army and the Admiralty, the headquarters of the Army, had repeatedly discussed the idea of resolving the southern issue, and concluded that Britain and the United States were absolutely inseparable, and stressed that the use of force to expand into the south must be premised on the use of force against Africa. If our side takes the initiative to use force against the Philippines and turns the United States into the main enemy, the United States, Britain and the Netherlands will inevitably all declare war on the empire, so the empire will take the United States, Britain and the Netherlands into account when starting a war. ”

Kagawa Koshiro analyzed the political relationship between the United States, Britain and the Netherlands, which was more convincing, so as soon as he finished speaking, all the ministers in the entire imperial palace bowed their heads and communicated.

However, it was not without objections, and soon the former Minister of the Navy, Mitsumasa Minei, stood up and said: "Your Majesty, Your Excellency Konoe, and Your Excellency Kazukawa's judgment is too absolute, and politics is rarely absolute, and there must be room for measures. Even if it is extremely difficult to separate the United States and Britain strategically, as long as strategic separation is possible, it is necessary to avoid the use of force against the Philippines and try to separate the United States and Britain from the overall viewpoint of guiding the war, and this is not necessarily impossible. ”

Senior Admiral Sadajiro Toyoda, chief of the Naval Operations Department, stood up and retorted: "I believe that it is impossible to strategically separate the United States and Britain, and first of all, if we leave the Philippines to conduct a southern operation, we will inevitably be attacked by the US forces based in the Philippines, and the tough attitude of the United States has shown that it will not watch the colonies of Britain and the Netherlands be taken away by the Empire. In order to carry out operations against the south, the US military should not be allowed to use the Philippines as a forward base under any circumstances. ”

"Secondly, it was absolutely necessary to ensure maritime communication between the southern resource zones of Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and the mainland of the empire on the one hand. And the Philippines is a huge threat to this sea line of communication. Further, in order to facilitate the completion of the southern operation, it is advantageous to use the Philippines as an intermediate base and supply base for the operation. ”

Admiral Yamamoto, commander of the Combined Naval Fleet, also said: "Judging from the current international situation, the United States, Britain and the Netherlands are indeed inseparable. There is no doubt that Britain, the United States, and the Netherlands had reached an understanding on the issue of mutual defense when the empire expanded into the southern part of French Indochina, and that the joint freezing of the assets of the imperial subjects in the United States, Britain, and the Netherlands was the best evidence. ”

"Although the attitude which these countries will actually adopt will vary somewhat according to the timing and method of the imperial advance of force southward, the present international situation, and the domestic situation of the United States and Great Britain, in the final analysis it is impossible to confine the war opponents to the Netherlands or Britain and the Netherlands."

Kagawa Koshiro also stood up and said: "Based on the current situation, in view of the words and deeds of the British side, we can be sure that when the British Empire enters the Dutch East Indies, Britain will be determined to immediately engage in armed confrontation against the Empire in order to defend itself. In this case, Britain would immediately ask the United States for help. ”

"Even if the United States does not enter the war immediately, it will quickly strengthen military measures on the one hand, and take various measures such as containment and demonstration on the other. Moreover, judging from the relations between the United States and the Empire, it must be expected that its attitude towards the war will be much quicker than its attitude toward Germany, and that the United States will have a reason to enter the war. ”