The third part of the Bloody War of Resistance, Chapter 9, Rushing, Section 1, Bow Pull

The cherry blossoms in Kamibayashi quickly withered after a brief period of brilliance, turning into spring mud and blending in with the earth. The whole spring slowly walked into the imperial field with small steps, the dry branches spitting out new green, and the delicate green leaves trembled slightly in the cold spring breeze. The women on the street are dressed in beautiful kimonos and busy in the spring sun, but if you look closely, you will see that these kimonos are rarely new.

"Is the empire really like this cherry blossom, destined to only shine for a moment." Koiso Kuniaki looked at the emerald green of the field and sighed, "When will the Imperial Holy War end?" His Majesty was very worried. ”

This spring was destined to be painful for the empire, as the defeat in northern Hubei was tightly sealed, and after the loss of Wuhan, the official media shamefully admitted that the imperial army had abandoned Wuhan after eliminating a large number of Chinese troops.

Two figures walked slowly on the mountain road, and more than ten steps behind them were three or four men in suits silently following.

"Prime Minister, didn't you notice that all the people who plough the fields are women." Ishihara's hands were shrunk in his wide kimono, and he reminded in a cold tone.

In fact, Koiso Kuniaki had already noticed that the mountains were filled with the shouts of women, and because there were too many men on the expedition and there was a serious shortage of labor in the countryside, the Women's Salvation Association organized these women who remained at home to work together.

Koiso Kuniaki didn't answer this, he stopped, exhaled deeply, and inhaled a wisp of cold air into his lungs before turning to look at Ishihara. Soon after Hideki Tojo came to power, Ishihara was put in reserve duty and returned to his hometown of Tsurugao, Yamagata Prefecture, while also being placed under residential surveillance by the gendarmerie.

After Koiso Kuniaki became prime minister, Japan made a major adjustment to the army's command system, Sugiyama was reappointed as Minister of War, and the only position left by Hideki Tojo that no one had yet replaced was Chief of Staff. In fact, he wanted Ishihara to be the Minister of War, but unfortunately, Ishihara's military rank was only lieutenant general, and according to convention, only a general could be the Minister of War.

However, to Koiso's surprise, Ishihara refused his invitation, and Ishihara explicitly told him that in order for him to become chief of staff, one condition must be met - to withdraw troops from China.

"Ishihara-kun, although the battle line is still far from the mainland, but in fact, the situation of the empire is in danger, after the defeat of the Northern Hubei Campaign, the imperial army suffered an unprecedented defeat, the cabinet decided to increase troops to China, but the domestic manpower is close to exhaustion, and now the conscription period has been extended to fifteen to forty-five years old, the economy and finance are very bad, Ishihara-kun, don't be entangled in the past, let's work together to save the empire."

Koiso Kuniaki's tone was extremely sincere, indeed, the situation in Japan had reached a very dangerous point, and the navy had lost its offensive capability after the defeat at Midway; After two defeats in northern Burma and northern Hubei, the army has gone on the defensive in an all-round way. In China, many small factories have gone bankrupt, the fiscal deficit has risen again and again due to the heavy pressure of military spending, prices have soared, and the people have suffered unspeakably.

"Mr. Prime Minister, although Ishihara disdain, I will never count the actions of a superior soldier." Ishihara's expression was very contemptuous, but these few words revealed his true thoughts. Ishihara was arrogant, and he advocated not to expand, and even did not hesitate to confront the important ministers of the Manchu Dynasty, which was later belittled. But now the development of the war proves his original judgment, but the gang of silverfish thieves who misled the country and the people are still on the stage, and if these people do not go, even if they become chief of staff, they will not be able to do anything.

Two women came up the trail with a basket on their backs, and when they saw Koiso and Ishihara, they saluted them from afar, and in Japan, a country where men are inferior and women are strictly hierarchical, such rural women have the lowest status.

With their heads down and broken steps, the two women quickly left from their side, Koiso Kuniaki looked at their faces, sighed again, and Ishihara's shrill voice sounded behind him again: "Your Minister of War, didn't you say that you will perish in three months?" Now he plans to spend a few more months destroying China? ”

Kuniaki Koiso sighed bitterly, Sugiyama Mototo has actually become a joke in Tokyo politics, a bitter, inconsolable joke. The main reason why Sugiyama Gen can still be the Minister of War is that the generals who are qualified to become the Minister of War are all on the front line, and some hard-line officers in the army are worried about the foreign policy strategy of the government after Tojo is ousted, and some of the important ministers in the Heavy Ministers group also hope to use Sugiyama Gen to suppress these tough young officers. Therefore, although they all think that Sugiyama Yuan's ability is insufficient, he can still barely use it.

Looking at the green woods on the mountain, the footsteps of the two were unusually heavy, and several children ran past them with schoolbags and waving national flags.

"Ishihara-kun, don't talk about it anymore," Koiso Kuniaki's eyes chased the children's backs: "Now that the country is in crisis, it is the time for you to use your talents to save the crisis, and you should not stand by because of small grievances." Ishihara-kun, think about it, if the empire is defeated and the country is destroyed, where will your talent be displayed at that time? ”

Ishihara's eyes were also chasing the children's backs, his face expressionless, but Koiso Kuniaki's words were like a sharp knife into his heart.

The two silently continued to walk forward, Koiso Kuniaki hoped that Ishihara Izuyama was in a very urgent mood, in his opinion, if there was someone who could solve Japan's predicament now, this person must be Ishihara Waner, and nothing else, so he left the matter of Tokyo and ran to Yamagata Prefecture in person.

"It's good that the prime minister can see Japan's plight." Ishihara Wan'er restrained his grievances and said solemnly, but his tone was still full of arrogance, and he didn't take the prime minister's identity in his eyes at all, Koiso Kuniaki couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart: "I said in the 11th year of Showa that the empire's national strength is limited and must be used carefully, but no one listens." The current predicament of the empire is that the national power is used too much, and the first manifestation is that the battle line is too long, and the front must be contracted.

Looking at the distribution of the emperor's ** team, the battlefield of China has occupied most of the empire's forces, so to solve the current predicament, it is first necessary to reach a peace agreement with China and withdraw troops from China. ”

Ishihara finally threw out his conditions for becoming chief of staff, and Koiso Kuniaki breathed a sigh of relief and reached a peace agreement with Shina, and the withdrawal of troops from the Shina battlefield was originally in favor of him, which was hinted at in his policy program, but it was really implemented, but there were many obstacles.

"The withdrawal of troops from China ......," Koiso Kuniaki said after deliberation: "Your Majesty also has this meaning, but, Ishihara-kun, there is a lot of opposition in the army sent by China, and I don't know what the attitude of the Chiang Kai-shek government is, Ishihara-kun, if Chiang Kai-shek insists on including Manchuria, can we agree?" ”

Ishihara didn't answer immediately, and Koiso Kuniaki's concerns were not unreasonable. After the Pacific War, in the secret negotiations with Chiang Kai-shek, Chiang Kai-shek's representatives raised the asking price, the original condition was to restore the status quo before the Lugou Bridge Incident, and later the demand was within Shanhaiguan, what about the current demand? It is not impossible for the entire three eastern provinces.

"Except for Manchuria, you can return all of the Shanhaiguan Pass, including Rehe and Mengjiang, to them." Ishihara replied after a long silence.

"If Chiang Kai-shek can agree, I am willing to negotiate with him in person." Kuniaaki Koiso said bitterly that the current Japanese top brass is completely clear that it is impossible for Japan to defeat China, and that the Northern Hubei Campaign has brought out all Japan's weaknesses.

Through this battle, the morale of the Chinese was greatly boosted, and they no longer had doubts about victory; On the contrary, after this battle, the morale of the Japanese military dropped significantly, and they began to doubt the prospects of the war.

"If you have this belief, then things can be done." Ishihara nodded, agreeing with Koiso Kuniaki's answer, and then his tone changed: "But, Your Excellency, what if the army is opposed?" ”

Koiso Kuniaki pursed his lips and was silent for a while before sighing: "You're talking about Minister Sugiyama, I don't think he will object." ”

This answer was weak, Sugiyama was a stubborn veteran, and it would be very difficult for him to accept the fact of the withdrawal of troops from China. Koiso Kuniaki seemed to be aware of this, and he hinted, "The issue of the cabinet can be adjusted slowly, and besides, Your Majesty also supports peace talks with China, and Minister Sugiyama will not oppose Your Majesty." Besides, the negotiations with China have not yet begun, and the attitude of China is not clear, and the cabinet has just been formed, so is it appropriate to let the Minister of War resign now? ”

Ishihara walked forward silently, this word made him more acceptable, in his opinion, Sugiyama was an incompetent general, and it was his stubbornness that brought Japan to the edge of the current dangerous cliff.

"Ishihara-kun," feeling that Ishihara's attitude beside him eased, Koiso Kuniaki asked further: "After the Battle of Northern Hubei, Wuhan was lost, and the situation of the dispatched army in China was dangerous, what do you think of the battlefield in China?" ”

Ishihara Waner stopped, and Koiso Kuniaki immediately stood beside him, and Ishihara Waner looked at the paddy field opposite, where more than a dozen women were shouting trumpets and pulling wooden plows.

"It's too heavy," Ishihara sighed, "and now Japan is on the shoulders of these women." ”

"The country is struggling now, and the young and middle-aged people in the country are now only left in the arsenal and steel factory, and these farm jobs can only be done by women." Koiso Kuniaki's eyes were full of pity: "Ishihara-kun, the country needs you, they also need you, they need you to let their husbands and sons come back from the front line." ”

"Your Excellency, our front is too long, our troops cannot make ends meet, just as far as the battlefield of China is concerned, the battlefield is also too big, and the Northern Hubei Campaign has proved that the equipment and tactical capabilities of the China Army have increased significantly. And their generals have also become smarter, so it is absolutely impossible to use the tactics of Showa 11 again, so for the Shina battlefield, we must first increase our troops, and then withdraw our troops.

This withdrawal was not a withdrawal after peace talks with the government of China, but a voluntary withdrawal of troops, with the purpose of concentrating troops, abandoning the entire south of Jiangnan, and transporting all troops to North China; In North China, abandon Shanxi and retreat to Suiyuan Chahar, so that we have concentrated more than one million troops in the North China Plain, and the people of China will no longer have the same opportunity as in northern Hubei. ”

Koiso Kuniaki hesitated, this adjustment was too big. Ishihara saw his hesitation and asked with a sneer, "What?" Your Excellency just said that you are willing to go to China to negotiate face-to-face with Chiang Kai-shek, but now you are reluctant? ”

"It is most dangerous to stop the war, Ishihara-kun," Koiso Kuniaki pondered, "in addition to the military problems, there is also the problem of the Wang Jingwei government in Nanjing, they are our friends after all, and if we abandon them, it will have an impact on the Nanyang government, which is very dangerous politically." ”

Ishihara Wan'er smiled dumbly: "Wang Jingwei has never played much of a role, Tojo's hopes for him are too high, during the Northern Hubei Campaign, the frequent rebellions of the peace of China and the rescue of ** are proof that he is just a puppet." ”

"Having said that, the Yangtze River Delta region is the core area of China, Nanjing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou, which are the industrial and financial centers of China, and are the richest regions in China, and if we give up unconditionally like this, it will inevitably arouse the ambitions of Chiang Kai-shek's government and add obstacles to the peace treaty, so it is better to use this area to attract Chiang Kai-shek and induce him to agree to the peace talks and keep Manchuria."

Ishihara hesitated, nodded and admitted that Koiso Kuniaki's concerns were reasonable, if the Yangtze River Delta was abandoned like this, Chiang Kai-shek would inevitably propose all Chinese territories, including Manchuria, in the peace talks, which was absolutely unacceptable to Japan, including Ishihara Waner.

"In Southeast Asia, I propose to abandon Burma, withdraw troops to the Thai-Burmese border and the Ma-Myanmar border, and use the terrain here to hold off the allied forces." Regarding the situation in Southeast Asia, Ishihara Waner has long thought deeply: "Abandoning Burma, in addition to concentrating troops, there is also a political consideration, which can divide the allied forces, and the purpose of sending an expeditionary force in China is actually to maintain the Yunnan-Burma road, if the Chinese get Rangoon, the attack will drop significantly, and the main strength of the British is in Europe, and our pressure in Southeast Asia will be reduced." ”

"But if you give up Yangon, you won't be able to blockade China." Koiso Kuniaki said suspiciously.

Ishihara Wan'er shook his head slightly, and sighed softly: "Your Excellency, don't you understand, the situation of the war has changed, and now it is not for us to consider blockading China, but to end the war with dignity." ”

Koiso Kuniaki was silent, and after a long time, he protested: "But..." ”

"No," Ishihara showed some patience at this point, explaining: "China had built the Sichuan-Tibet Highway long before the war, and if we want to blockade China, we must enter India, can we?" Are there still troops to enter India? Don't forget, Sir, that now we want to end the war. ”

"Okay, you draw up a comprehensive adjustment plan and submit it to the cabinet for discussion." Kuniaki Koiso nodded in acceptance.

Ishihara did not refute or postpone it, apparently he had already decided to accept the post of chief of staff, and Koiso Kuniaki said: "Ishihara-kun, in view of your contribution to the empire, I will apply to Your Majesty to promote your military rank from lieutenant general to general general. ”

Ishihara didn't show much excitement, just politely thanked him, which was also a proper move, the Minister of War needed a general, and the position of chief of staff also needed the rank of general.

Ishihara's appointment as chief of staff also caused a stir in Tokyo's political circles, and Ishihara's resolute opposition to the expansion of the Lugou Bridge Incident left a deep impression on the military bigwigs, but what prevented them from raising objections was that the development of the war proved that Ishihara was the only one who was correct at that time.

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