February 9, 1931

Eisuke Yamamoto looked through the car window and looked at the streets on both sides. There is little festive atmosphere in Tokyo near the New Year, and due to the Great Depression and international sanctions and war, the country's internal shortages are already very serious. There were no young men on the street, old men and women dressed in old kimonos, and there was a long line in front of the supply shop.

Emperor Hirohito was finally sent by the imperial government to approve a new round of national mobilization, and almost all young men were conscripted into the army, and it was supposed to expand the imperial army of 30,000 and train 80,000 reservists to fight a decisive battle with Tongchina to determine the hegemony of Asia.

Eisuke Yamamoto closed the curtains with some irritation, and he, like most admirals, thought that such crazy behavior was stupidity and stupidity. 30,000 imperial troops, 80,000 reserve soldiers, almost 110,000 young and middle-aged people were dragged to participate in military training...... What is this? Do you want to have more people than China? How could the people in the Army be so stupid? It's good that I chose the navy back then, otherwise I would be as stupid as them.

"Yamamoto-kun, there are some things that there is no way to do." Sitting next to Eisuke Yamamoto was an old man wearing a navy general's uniform, and at this time he smiled and explained: "Those people in the army don't want to send everyone to China, but because the current economic depression and unemployment rate are too high, that's why they do this." This is also the reason for the Manchurian Incident? If there was no Manchuria, the empire would not have been able to solve the domestic surplus population, but Britain and the United States did not understand the difficulties of the empire, and it was really a dilemma. ”

The old man's name is Taniguchi Naoma, the predecessor of Eisuke Yamamoto, the current head of the Japanese Navy's Command Department, because he opposes the excessive expansion of naval strength in order to oppose Britain and the United States, and is considered to be the brain of the "wise faction" and belongs to the minority in the navy.

However, this "sensible" is quite enthusiastic about invading Manchuria, after all, it seems that China's naval strength is far inferior to that of Britain and the United States, and no matter what the final outcome of the Manchurian War is, there is always no risk to the navy.

Yamamoto Eisuke's previous views were similar to Taniguchi's, believing that China's navy was always easy to bully. But after returning from a trip to Lushun, this view could not help but be a little shaken.

"Your Excellency, please look at this." Eisuke Yamamoto took out an enlarged black-and-white photo from the briefcase he was carrying with him and handed it to Taniguchi, which showed a bomber diving: "This is taken by the crew of the destroyer, this should be the latest dive bomber of the Shina people, and only the Shina naval aviation has it at present." They used this aircraft to blow up and sink several transport ships, and even the Furutaka was hit by a 200-kilogram bomb that pierced the deck, but fortunately the bomb did not explode, which was really lucky. ”

"What?" Taniguchi Shangzhen exclaimed in surprise when he heard this, hurriedly took out his reading glasses and put them on, took the photo and began to study it carefully: "When did this happen?" ”

"It was yesterday." U1 Eisuke sighed, and a sense of powerlessness suddenly flooded from the bottom of his heart. Although Japan's aviation industry accelerated its pace after the Battle of Shandong in the third year of the Showa era, the gap was still very obvious compared to Shina, which had hitched a ride on the Germans.

"Yamamoto-kun, don't be discouraged, the people of China only have planes, submarines, and mines, and if you want to seize sea supremacy, you have to rely on battleships. There is no shortcut to the exhibition of giant ship cannons, and only decades of rigorous training and cultivation can accumulate sufficient combat power. Otherwise, even if there were first-class battleships in the world, they would not be of any use, as evidenced by the Sino-Japanese War of that year. Taniguchi Naoma arrived at the "Nisshin War", and his eyes flashed with a bit of confidence.

Eisuke Yamamoto sighed softly, and the melancholy on his face did not decrease at all, but became a little heavier. A bomb pierced the deck of the Furutaka and burrowed into the interior of the heavy cruiser, and although it didn't explode, it didn't stop us from ignoring the tremendous power of the aircraft in naval warfare! A heavy cruiser of nearly 8,000 tons was almost sunk by a biplane. This "miracle", which was unimaginable a few years ago, has now been born, and God knows if in two years, more advanced aircraft will be able to carry bigger bombs and sink battleships very easily.

"Your Excellency, I am very worried that the Combined Fleet will suffer heavy losses under the attack of the Chinese aircraft."

Yamamoto's tone was very stiff, and he had said it many times on the way from the airport, and it had been mentioned in the previous telegram back to Tokyo.

Taniguchi Naoma didn't seem to care, and after returning the photo to Yamamoto, he asked, "What do you think of Shiozawa-kun's battle plan?" ”

"Shiozawa." Eisuke Yamamoto was stunned for a moment, and then disdainfully: "He's a fool who only takes exams, and he still thinks that the war is doing the exam papers of the Etajima Sea School?" ”

In Yamamoto's opinion, Shiozawa's plan is that the standard answer to the naval school exam can definitely get a point...... However, there are no unimaginable accidents in the examination room, but any strange events can occur on the battlefield, and there are too many uncertainties! Four battleships sailed into a bay full of enemy mines, submarines and aircraft, and who knows if they will all be wiped out?

Taniguchi shook his head slightly: "Shiozawa-kun is not the kind of nerdy character. Yamamoto-kun, think about it, if this Manchurian incident fails, the empire will never have a chance again, and what awaits us will be a tragic fate. Yamamoto snorted softly, in fact, he had already thought about the direction of the Japanese Empire after the failure of the Manchurian Incident, and Japan had only one way to go south!

"I didn't think about it, but, Your Excellency, this is the loss of a valuable battleship." Eisuke Yamamoto's tone was filled with indignation: "The empire can still look for opportunities to move south, and there will definitely be opportunities, but the empire needs a stronger navy to carry out new expansion plans." ”

Taniguchi Naoma shook his head slightly, the Japanese Navy began to regard the United States as an imaginary enemy after the First Russo-Japanese War, and regarded the sea as the direction of Japan's future exhibition. In fact, this view is that the southward march to seize the British and American colonies is the mainstream of such people in the navy. If the Manchurian Incident fails, this view may also be accepted by the Army. Recently, there was often a rumor that "World War II would inevitably explode" at the party's gatherings, believing that this was the opportunity for the real rise of the Japanese Empire, and also advocating that "Japan and Japan would join hands" to carve up the world.

"Decisive Battle of Manchuria." Yamamoto Eisuke is still venting his dissatisfaction: "The army and Shiozawa are all wishful thinking, since the Kuomintang army can seize Shanhaiguan and Qinhuangdao, they can also seize Beijing and Tianjin, and they can seize Zhili, and then they will open up the road communication line." And our battleships will be lost in vain. It's ridiculous to exchange two battleships for the barren barren mountains of Liaoxi, and I still have to grit my teeth to approve such a bastard plan. ”

"It is Your Majesty's will that Yamamoto-kun will fight Manchuria." Taniguchi Shangzhen ignored Yamamoto's complaint and turned his head to look at him: "This time, I said that I would not go out in person, and let Shiozawa Koichi take responsibility for his plan." ”

Eisuke Yamamoto was silent for a moment, then nodded in agreement. He knew that Taniguchi was really well-intentioned,

Sail the fleet into the Bohai Bay to fight, and no matter what the outcome of the battle of Liaoxi is, the fleet will definitely suffer heavy losses. The result of the battle was the army's siege of the city...... Therefore, the fleet commander will definitely be squeezed out by the naval side in the end and lose the opportunity for promotion.

While the two spiritual figures of the Navy were discussing in the car, there were also people in the War Ministry of Miyake Saka discussing the outcome of the Manchurian Incident and the way out for the Japanese Empire. The Kwantung Army's latest battle plan has also been put on the desk of War Minister Kazutomi Ugaki, and Ugaki is very uneasy about this plan. The plans of the Kwantung Army ... It was to once again start the operation in western Liaoning, concentrate the main force on sea and land to fight together, and aim to completely annihilate the 300,000 Kuomintang troops in western Liaoning. Strive to complete the battle, defeat the main force of the Kuomintang army, force the Kuomintang to withdraw from the war, and then turn back to clean up the North Manchurian Anti-Japanese League.

"What do you think about the prospects for the decisive battle in western Liaoning? Is there any hope that it will be able to annihilate the main force of the Kuomintang army in China in one battle? Ugaki asked.

Nagata Tetsuyama had discussed the prospect of the Manchurian Incident with Ugaki Issei many times, but the result of the discussion was becoming more and more hopeless, and when he heard Ugaki ask this question again, he replied with a wry smile: "Your Excellency, I have also studied the plan of the Kwantung Army. There should be no problem with victory, after all, the logistics line of the Kuomintang in China is not reliable, and their army in western Liaoning does not have the materials necessary for long-term operations. However, if you want to annihilate them, I'm afraid it's just wishful thinking on the part of Ryokaraka. Those Kuomintang are not fools, won't they run away if they can't win? And now they have captured Shanhaiguan and opened the gateway to escape to Guannai. ”

Nagata's reply did not give Ugaki the slightest relief, and it made no sense to drive the Kuomintang troops into Shanhaiguan, and the Manchurian Incident would not end there. And in order to achieve such a victory, it is possible for the naval side to pay the price of sinking the battleship! This issue has already been discussed with him.

Ugaki Kazunari sighed lowly: "What do you think of the Shanhaiguan incident?" Is it possible that the civil war in China will break out? Is it possible for the empire to join forces with the Chinese GCD to annihilate the Chinese Kuomintang army in western Liaoning? ”

Nagata Tieshan frowned slightly, lowered his head and pondered for a moment, and finally shook his head with difficulty: "Your Excellency, it is indeed possible that the civil war in China will break out because of this. However, it was not possible for the Chinese GCD to join forces with the imperial army to annihilate the Kuomintang army.

It is most likely that they will give up the Zhili Plain and let the Kuomintang and the empire fight a decisive battle in eastern Hebei and western Liaoxi, but they themselves will switch to Shanxi. At this point, he suddenly looked around and lowered his voice again: "Your Excellency, is it time to consider the retreat of the empire?" ”

"A way out?" Ugaki Kazunari frowned, and subconsciously opened his mouth to object. Nagata didn't give him a chance to speak, and went on next: "While most of Manchuria's territory is still in the hands of the empire, hurry up and negotiate peace with the Shina people, if we propose to extend the lease period of Kanto Prefecture and the conditions for the joint opening of Manchurian coal mines and iron mines, the Shina people should accept it." It's better than giving away the battleships for nothing, and the empire will need them in the future. ”

Ugaki Kazunari understood Nagata Tetsuyama's thoughts, the Japanese army suffered a lot of losses from the Kuomintang army in the first Liaoxi Battle before, and compared with the Kuomintang army in the Shandong Battle in the third year of Showa, the current Kuomintang army is stronger, and the Japanese army is almost standing still. According to the internal assessment of the Japanese army, an ordinary Kuomintang infantry division can defeat one Japanese division without air superiority, and if it is replaced by an "armored division", it can defeat two Japanese divisions without air superiority.

"Now is not the time!" Ugaki Kazunari pondered for a long time, and shook his head helplessly: "If peace is negotiated now, the cabinet will not pass it, and His Majesty the Emperor will definitely not agree, even the people will not agree." ”

"Then what if it is after the defeat of the second Liaoxi Battle?" Nagata Tieshan gritted his teeth, almost spitting out word by word: "Could it be that the imperial army will start the third and fourth battles of Liaoxi again, and send the precious battleships one by one into the icy seabed of Bohai Bay?" Will the entire empire be sent to hell in the end? ”

Ugaki was stunned when he heard this, and a look of horror slipped across his face, as if he really saw that the Japanese archipelago was sliding step by step into the abyss of hell. After a while, he muttered: "If you ............... and lose the battle, you will negotiate peace...... It's just that...... Will the Kuomintang agree to the conditions proposed? ”

"No!" Nagata Tieshan shook his head without hesitation, and then smiled coldly: "But someone will agree." ”

"Who?" Yu Yicheng asked: "Is it Beijing's GCD?" To negotiate peace with them, and then hand over Manchuria to the USSR! So many imperial warriors shed blood and sacrificed in exchange for such an ending? ”

Nagata Tieshan did not answer Ugaki's question, but said lightly: "The Soviet Union will not let go of such a God-given opportunity, neither will the Chinese G, and the Kuomintang will not give up, so China, the Soviet Union, the Kuomintang, and the GCD will start a bloody battle for Manchuria, but the empire can win a good opportunity to breathe and expand." ”

"And then? South or north? Nagata snorted coldly: "Whether it is going south or north, the empire cannot make China unified and strong, only China is trapped on the mainland, and the ocean is the battlefield where the empire gallops!" ”！