The Japanese army has never admitted defeat, and in the Battle of Taierzhuang, Japan has repeatedly stated that it was the Japanese army's initiative to advance, and has repeatedly emphasized that the transfer was carried out without effort. In the Battle of Taierzhuang, the Seya detachment of more than 10,000 people fled more than 3,000 times after all, and the brigade commander Seya Kai was only seriously wounded and died.

However, there was no room for quibbling in the Battle of Anqing, and the day after the Japanese troops of the two brigades were annihilated, the news reached Japan, and the whole of Tokyo was mourned.

"Your Excellency General Itagaki, what did Your Majesty say?"

"Itagaki-kun, what is Your Majesty's attitude?"

…

In the Ministry of the Army, a group of personnel saw Itagaki Seishiro coming back, and hugged him and asked.

Seishiro Itagaki didn't answer a word, with a black face, he squeezed out of the crowd and walked towards his office.

He had no way to answer, the emperor summoned him, he thought he was asking about the situation at the front, he had already thought of a few excuses, but he didn't expect to arrive at the palace, Hirohito didn't say a word, for half an hour, kept a straight face, and hung him aside.

Itagaki was sweating profusely at that time, and the emperor did not speak, indicating that Hirohito was greatly dissatisfied with the performance of the army, and that he, as minister of the army, was uneasy about his position without the support of the emperor.

There were only him and Vice Minister Hideki Tojo in the room.

"Itagaki-kun, what does Your Majesty mean?" Tojo was also concerned about Hirohito's attitude.

"Your Majesty is not satisfied with the progress of the battlefield in China." Itagaki said in distress.

"The troops are still insufficient, and the battlefield in China is too vast." A year ago, he led the Tojo Corps across North China and was an active advocate of a three-month settlement of the "Shina Incident." At that time, he thought that three or five divisions would solve the problem!

"Transfer the 2nd Manchurian Division to Central China."

"Can the General Staff Headquarters agree?" Hideki Tojo said suspiciously.

"I'll go to His Royal Highness the Prince of Xianyuan Palace and try to convince him."

When I went to the General Staff Headquarters, sure enough, neither the Chief of Staff, Kanin Miyazaihito, nor the Deputy Chief, Nakajima Tetsuzo, agreed.

"Itagaki Jun, the second division is the core of the Kwantung Army, it can't be easily transferred, now there are only 9 divisions in Manchuria, while Russia on the opposite side has 25 divisions, the defense is already very weak, can't the fifth division near Xuzhou be put in?" Nakajima offered his opinion.

"The Battle of Xuzhou of the Fifth Division is in urgent need of rest, and the 33rd Brigade has suffered heavy casualties and has not yet been replenished, so it cannot shoulder the heavy task of attacking Hankou."

"What about the 18th Division?"

"It needs to be put into operations near Guangzhou."

"Is it okay for the Guards Division?"

"Then who will protect Your Majesty's safety?"

……

In the war plan for China formulated by Japan in 1936, Japan was ready to conquer China in one fell swoop with 9 divisions, 5 in North China, 3 in South China, and 1 in South China. But now, excluding the 9 divisions in Northeast China, 23 divisions have been invested in China's Guannai, but I still feel that the troops are insufficient!

At the beginning of 1938, the Japanese General Staff Headquarters organized 6 new divisions, namely the 151721222327 Division, and the last division was completed on June 21.

After a long discussion, Kanyuan Palace and Nakajima finally agreed to transfer the 2nd Division to the Chinese battlefield and the 11th Division to "Manchuria".

Seishiro Itagaki felt very tired, not because he had been pulling his skin all afternoon in the afternoon, but because of a kind of inner powerlessness. The war has been completely out of the control of the Japanese, as the Minister of War, he understands his duties, if he can't solve the "Shina Incident" as soon as possible and end this war, his fate will not be much better than Shanshan Yuan.

He walked aimlessly around Ginza, the most prosperous business district in Japan, with all kinds of buildings lined up one after another, colorful neon lights shining with dazzling brilliance, and when it was time to get off work, there was a constant stream of people, merchants greeted them attentively, and some elementary school students, who had just finished school, were playing and playing, and lived happily on a peaceful day.

"Itagaki," he suddenly felt that someone was calling him, and when he looked back, it was actually the public of Xiyuan Temple.

Saionji was the last surviving patriarch of Japan's Meiji period, and although he did not agree with today's military and political leaders, opposing militarism and the expansion of the war against China, he had great influence in Japan.

"Your Excellency," Itagaki bowed respectfully.

Located near Ginza, Saionji's residence is a typical Japanese garden with a deep garden, a twisting pond bank, a unique bridge rockery, and lush greenery during the season.

The servant respectfully served tea to Saionji Temple and Itagaki before leaving softly.

"Itagaki, is Your Majesty dissatisfied with the war situation?" As a veteran of Japanese politics for decades, Saionji has a clearer understanding of the political situation and Hirohito.

"Yes, Your Majesty is very anxious about the battle situation in China, and this is all our sin."

"Then it is now intended to continue to increase the number of troops and force China to submit." Xiyuan Temple Gongwang asked.

"The empire has no choice, no matter what, it must win this war, otherwise, how to explain to Your Majesty and the people."

Itagaki Seishiro knew that Saionji did not approve of the war against China, and as early as last year's incident, he suggested that the national power should be concentrated on the Soviet Union. However, at that time, how could the Japanese militarist strata listen to it, and one by one they counted on China to make meritorious contributions, and Itagaki was also one of them, and his position as Minister of War was, in a sense, also obtained from China.

"Even if you occupy Hankou and Canton, will it be able to bring China to its knees?"

"The study found that as long as you occupy Beiping, Tianjin, Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan and Guangzhou in China, you can dominate China."

Xiyuan Temple didn't know that there was such a "research result", he glanced at Itagaki casually, and spoke with a hint of sarcasm, "After occupying Hankou and Guangzhou, if China does not give in, will it still occupy Chongqing?" ”

The Battle of Wuhan has surpassed Japan's national strength, and then go to the mountains and dense forests of southwest China to fight the Battle of Chongqing? Obviously impossible, then at least 30 divisions need to be invested! There is clearly irony in Saionji's words.

Itagaki said stubbornly: "I personally think that attacking Wuhan will speed up the resolution of the incident." ”

Xiyuan Temple disagreed, "It's wrong, it's all wrong, the capture of Wuhan will never solve the China incident." ”

"Your Excellency, please instruct," Seishiro Itagaki said, with a deferential expression, but his words were also challenging.

The Gongwang of Xiyuan Temple did not directly explain the reason, but asked: "Itagaki, do you know what the alliance under the city is?" ”

"This...", Itagaki was puzzled, could it be that considering my language ability, Xiyuan Temple is not so boring.

"The sword is the most terrible when it doesn't fall, and the most worried when the capital is about to be occupied, this is the reason for the alliance under the city, which is why there is no "alliance behind the city". ”

Xiyuan Temple said for a while, after all, it was an 89-year-old man, drank a cup of tea, and said slowly: "You have been working hard to forge ahead, hoping to force China to submit by force, but have you ever thought about what is the reason why China does not give in, and what is the reason why Chiang Kai-shek does not accept the conditions." ”

"In connection with his character, Chiang Kai-shek was extremely stubborn and bewitched by G-ism and Russia." Itagaki's answer was the standard answer of the Japanese military department.

Xiyuan Temple shook his head, with a hint of disappointment in his eyes, "How can we start from the perspective of personal character in analyzing international affairs and strategies, besides, Chiang Kai-shek will not be able to maintain long-term consistency with Soviet Russia at all, and the real reason why Chiang Kai-shek's regime does not give in is you!" ”

Seishiro Itagaki was quite unconvinced, and said, "We have been working hard to subdue the Chiang regime, and I cannot understand your Excellency's words. ”

"Okay, then let me ask you, what is the basis of the Chiang regime?"

"Well, Huangpu Shengjiang-Zhejiang Consortium."

"Yes, the Jiangsu-Zhejiang consortium is the economic foundation of the Chinese regime, but where are they now?" Saionji seems to be inducing a middle school student.

"It's... It has been captured by the Empire. Itagaki replied like a middle school student.

"After the occupation of Shanghai, it was the last time to talk to China, because the Jiangsu-Zhejiang consortium that supported Chiang's regime was afraid of war, afraid of their own losses, which had nothing to do with Chiang Kai-shek's character, he was a political figure, and he had to accept this. But now, his economic base has been destroyed by us, and if Chiang Kai-shek wants to maintain his rule, he must resist Japan, and he must resist Japan to the end, even if we occupy Wuhan and Chongqing, he will continue to resist, and this has nothing to do with his character! ”

The weather in Tokyo in mid-July wasn't hot, and the courtyard of Saionji Temple was breezy and breezy, but beads of sweat were pouring out of Seishiro Itagaki's head.

When Japan's Saionji Gongwang and Itagaki Seishiro were talking in a beautiful garden, in China, Xu Ming also met a person who talked to him in detail.

On July 15th, the battle of the Trailer River had just ended, and Xu Ming welcomed a special guest.

U.S. Military Attache in China, Joseph Stilwell