Prime Minister's Residence, Kasumigaseki, Tokyo, Japan

In the conference room, a full house of Japanese civil and military officials sat solemnly, each holding a copy of the narrative in their hands, and looking at it carefully over and over again. Prime Minister Yuyuki Hamaguchi turned his back to them, staring at the huge map of East Asia that hung motionless.

The room was silent, except for the chatter of the papers.

That statement was the "Forecast for the Growth of the Naval Forces of Shina and the Countermeasures of the Empire" jointly submitted by the Japanese Ministry of the Navy, the Naval Command Department, and the Combined Fleet. And this account has been led by the Japanese Navy veteran Admiral Yamamoto Gonbei and Marshal Togo Heihachiro, and played to the Japanese Emperor Hirohito. Not only that, but Emperor Hirohito also issued a directive in his own hand: "I instruct the cabinet to carefully study countermeasures to ensure the hegemony of the empire in the East." ”

"Shushu" made an extremely bold prediction about the growth of the Chinese Navy's military strength, and the Japanese Navy believed: "...... China is a vast land with abundant resources, and labor is cheap and almost indefinitely available. And at present, China has been freed from the situation of fragmentation and inexhaustible internal strife, and the whole country has been unified under the banner of Sun Yat-sen. In particular, the 14 southern provinces directly under the jurisdiction of the Kuomintang have achieved complete reunification and have been freed from the shackles of disobedience and other treaties. Since the secret treaty between the four countries in Guangzhou in the 14th year of Taisho, the Kuomintang territories began to implement a series of anti-Japanese and pro-European and American trade policies, using the 'economic treasure trove' as a bait to attract a large amount of investment from European and American powers and wealthy overseas businessmen in China, with a view to establishing a complete and advanced heavy industrial system in the shortest possible time. ”

“…… At the end of the second year of the Showa era, the Kuomintang put forward the so-called general war system and the plan to promote the national spirit, and began to build a navy under the support of the European and American powers, with the aim of directly targeting the empire's hegemony in the East and the special interests of Manchuria...... According to the information currently available, the Ministry of Armaments of the National Government of China has sent a request to the 'Canton Germania', the 'Canton Blom. European and American shipbuilding giants that have opened branches in China, such as 'Foss' and 'British Shanghai Yeson', have ordered a large number of warships. It contains the 'Karl. There are two Marx-class battleships; one 'Guangdong'-class aircraft carrier with a standard displacement of 20,000 tons (another one will be built by the US Bethlehem Company, and construction has already begun); two 'Polish Legion'-class armored ships with a standard displacement of 14,000 tons; four 'Guangzhou'-class cruisers with a standard displacement of 8,000 tons; and eight 'Königsberg' light cruisers with a standard displacement of 6,000 tons. An unknown number of combat or auxiliary vessels, such as destroyers, submarines, gunboats, torpedo boats, and shallow water heavy gunboats, are also in the procurement plan. In addition, since the 14th year of Taisho, the Nationalist Government has built coastal defense fortresses in Shanghai, Ningbo, Zhoushan, Jinshan, Chongming, Humen and other places in the southern branch. At present, the construction of coastal defense fortresses and large seaports in Maoming, Zhanjiang and Hainan Island in Guangdong has begun, which is expected to become the home port of the future Nationalist Government Navy in a few years. ”

“…… The biggest disagreement between the Nationalist Government's 'large-scale running of the navy' and the Manchu Qing government is that it pays attention to the training of naval officers. At present, a large-scale naval officer school and a naval university with complete facilities have been completed on Changzhou Island in Guangzhou. Its rules and regulations are completely modeled after the Flensburg-Morwick Naval School of the German Empire, and the instructors are all hired from the German Imperial Navy and adopt the German style of teaching. For the foreseeable future, the naval officers of the Nationalist Army in China will be composed entirely of soldiers with the most rigorous German naval education, even if they are not as good as those trained by the Imperial Naval Academy. Therefore, in the future battle of Japan, it is likely that the Imperial Navy will not be able to win with inferior equipment by virtue of the superiority of the quality of officers......"

“…… It is likely that the naval tactical thinking of the future China predicted by the Naval Command Department and the Combined Fleet will follow the naval thinking of the German Empire. coastal fortifications and shallow-water heavy gunboats to defend coastal outlets; Named after 'Carl. The main fleet with Marx-class battleships as the core will carry out a decisive battle at sea, and the sabotage fleet composed of the 'Polish Legion' class armored ships and the so-called 'aircraft carriers' will disrupt the Empire's maritime communications, and it is also possible that the submarine army will be deployed to carry out the task of breaking the diplomatic relations. ”

“…… The Imperial Navy believed that in the future Sino-Japanese War, the greatest threat to the Reich should be the sabotage fleet composed of the 'Polish Legion' class armored ships and the 'Broken Friendship Aircraft Carriers', and the most dangerous of them was the 'Polish Legion'-class armored ships. The design idea of this armored ship is to break diplomatic relations at sea. According to Blom. According to the technical data released by the Foss shipyard, the maximum speed of this class of armored ships will be as high as 32 knots, and the main armament is six 280mm naval guns, and its armor thickness inherits the advantages of German ships that focus on protection...... In a future war, it can defeat almost all the heavy cruisers that the Empire currently has, and the speed of the four Kongo-class battlecruisers cannot keep up with this armored ship. If the Nationalist Navy of China had six 'Polish Legion'-class armored ships for the South Seas and the Pacific Ocean to break diplomatic relations, the Empire's overseas trade would suffer a fatal impact, and if the Empire used battleships or battle cruisers for escort, it would probably encounter the 'Karl Navy' possessed by China. Marx's class battleships"

“…… With a standard displacement of 38,000 tons and a speed of up to 27 knots, the 'Karl. Marx's class battleships boast protection and speed over the Nagato-class, as well as firepower second only to the Nagato-class. After careful assessment, the Naval Command Department and the Combined Fleet believed that, in addition to the Nagato and Mutsu battleships, which the Imperial Navy currently possessed, if they encountered a 'Karl. The Marx' class will not have any chance of surviving, and the Nagato and Mutsu ships will encounter a 'Karl. Marx's class also won and lost between five and five. Therefore, the Ministry of the Navy, the Naval Command Department, the Combined Fleet, and the Imperial Navy jointly appealed to His Majesty the Emperor and implored His Majesty to agree to the Empire's withdrawal from the Washington Naval Treaty, the establishment of a large navy, and the purchase of new warships, so as to ensure the Empire's hegemony in the East and the special interests of Manchuria. ”

"Carl. The "Marx" class battleship had already shocked the Japanese inexplicably, but a few days later, another "Polish Legion" class armored ship appeared, and this armored ship with a standard displacement of 14,000 tons seemed to the layman to be simply non-existent. Marx-class battleships pierced the eye. However, when the Japanese Navy insiders saw it, they immediately jumped to their feet, and after making ineffective representations to Prime Minister Yuyuki Hamaguchi, they went directly past Prime Minister Kamiko Kamiko...... I don't think I heard much about this since the Meiji Restoration

And what makes Hamaguchi Yuyuki even more difficult to accept is that even the Minister of the Navy of the current Cabinet, Finance Biao, is also in the list of joint performances, this kind of thing is really shameless, you are a cabinet member, if you are dissatisfied with the prime minister's policy, you can retire, and then go to the emperor, where is there a minister's seat, and the prime minister is not the prime minister? Hmph, sure enough, she climbed up by relying on the nepotism of the eldest sister of the Yamamoto family...... The spineless man turned his back to everyone at this time, mainly because he didn't want to see the face of the Ministry of Finance.

The cheeky Minister of Finance, who was in the position of Minister of the Navy, was sitting in the corner with his head bowed and a calm face, motionless. It seems to be a tool like some kind of furniture...... Anyway, everyone just thinks he doesn't exist. However, at this time, there was no trace of remorse in his heart, because he was also a naval professional, and naturally knew the troubles of the "Polish Legion"-class armored ships. Marx", or only the "Polish Legion" class, the Japanese Navy was not afraid. However, China will have both types of warships in the future, and the Chinese will definitely use them together. As for the form used, any navy person can figure it out with his toes.

Sending several "Polish Legion" class ships to the sea to "break relations", the efficiency of this armored ship to break relations is not as "low" as that of submarines. This armored ship, which has a maximum speed of 32 knots, still carries seaplanes, and the fleet within two or three hundred kilometers cannot avoid their reconnaissance at all. And catching up with merchant ships at its speed is also a dish, its 280mm naval guns are also used to fight merchant ships, and the efficiency of submarines is not at all comparable to the more troublesome thing is that the escort cruisers and even heavy cruisers are not its opponents, unless the battle cruisers are dispatched to escort the ...... But the two ships of the Chinese "Karl. Could it be that the "Marx" class was lying in ambush somewhere in the depths of the ocean, waiting to hunt down the lone battleship or battlecruiser of the Japanese Navy? I'm afraid that in actual combat, as long as the two battleships of the Chinese disappear in the sight of the Japanese, the Japanese battleships and battlecruisers will not dare to sail in pieces, right? Therefore, the Japanese Navy must have cutting-edge battleships and battlecruisers, and it must have battlecruisers that can catch up with the "Polish Legion" class and surpass the "Karl Battalion" in terms of firepower, speed, and defense. Marx-class battleships, only in this way can Japan's maritime superiority be guaranteed.

But...... Why doesn't Prime Minister Yuyuki Hamaguchi understand? How is it that he only has "weak diplomacy" and Britain and the United States in his eyes? Isn't the Soviet Union already extending an olive branch to Japan at the moment?

……

I don't know how long it took to hear the sound of tables and chairs colliding, and it was Kantaro Suzuki, the Minister of Military Command of the Navy, who stood up, and saw him with a solemn face: "I have issued an edict, and the Imperial Navy is Your Majesty's Holy Judgment." According to the Imperial Constitution, His Majesty the Emperor has the right to command the army and navy, and the army and navy and the quota of standing army members are also determined by His Majesty. ”

"Enough"

As soon as he heard the words "the emperor's command", Hamaguchi Yuyuki turned around abruptly and let out a loud shout, and his eyes suddenly sharpened. This so-called "Emperor's Commanding Power" was an important tool on which the Japanese military relied to rival the control of the civilian government. Japanese politicians, represented by Yuyuki Hamaguchi, who have not completely lost their rationality, are resolutely resisting this. And this time, behind the so-called Emperor Kamiga's request to "run a navy in a big way," I am afraid that there is also an attempt by the Japanese military to achieve the intention of "self-reliance in the commander-in-chief."

Suzuki Kantaro, the head of the Navy Command, just bent down slightly, saluted Prime Minister Hamaguchi, and continued: "Even if we don't consider His Majesty's command, this time we can't help but spend a lot of effort to build a navy, and now the revival of Shina is unstoppable, and the empire does not have a leader as eloquent as Duke Ito Hirobumi, so he does not dare to make a decisive attack to break the rise of China, and it is extremely important to maintain Japan's naval superiority and ensure the hegemony of the East."

These words are almost murderous, you must know that Suzuki Kantaro is not the kind of Japanese army that does not know the height of the sky. Since the navy is shouting and shouting to kill, the army will naturally not be able to fall behind.

"Suzuki-kun's is also the opinion of our army."

The person who said this is also a "Suzuki-kun", the current Japanese Army adviser to the sixth general Suzuki Zhuang. Suzuki Shoroku stood up and looked at Hamaguchi coldly: "Your Excellency Prime Minister, the current China is reviving rapidly, I am afraid that it will not take ten years, no, it will be less than five years, and their industry will cross the empire The market, resources, and labor force in China are not comparable to such a narrow island country as the empire." In particular, they adopted a policy of complete openness to Western capital and complete exclusion of imperial industrial products. As a result, there will be a large influx of Western capital and technology into China, which will lead to an extraordinary rate of growth in heavy industry, while the empire's current heavy industry investment continues to be sluggish...... If the empire does not want to speed up the construction of domestic heavy industry and save combat power now, when China and Japan fight again in the future, the empire is afraid that it will become a loser."

Hamaguchi Yuyuki looked at the two "chief advisers" of the army and navy for a while, and finally shook his head: "It's not unclear about the resources and markets in the empire...... Moreover, the empire is not a centralized state like the Soviet Union, and the growth of heavy industry cannot be done by the government's dictatorship, and the plutocrats must be willing to invest. But what chaebol is willing to invest money in heavy industry, which is doomed to lose money? ”

Hearing the Prime Minister's tone, Suzuki Soroku smiled and said, "As long as the chaebol is profitable, they will naturally increase investment, and we just need to let the chaebol make a profit, can't we?" Isn't there no way to make money right now? Didn't the Soviets, through the Reich's embassy in the USSR, have already proposed that they want to exchange oil, rare metals and other resources for the Reich's warships and technology? Now that both Germany and China were able to profit from exporting battleships to the Soviet Union, why didn't the Reich refrain from doing it? ”

Hamaguchi nodded his head and replied, "Why can't I sell warships to the Soviet Union?" It's just that they are just asking for the purchase of two aircraft carriers plus aircraft, and this deal is only more than 20 million dollars at most, how much profit can we make? ”

Kantaro Suzuki hurriedly took Hamaguchi's words: "The Navy has already discussed with the shipyard side, two aircraft carriers plus 200 carrier-based aircraft, and we are planning to offer 24 million US dollars. The shipyard only needs $10 million, and the plane needs $3 million. So the deal has a profit of more than one million dollars on the naval side, and the USSR will use oil and rare as a means of payment for metals, and we still have some profit margins in this regard...... In total, the transaction would result in a huge profit of nearly $12 million, which is equivalent to almost 30 million yen. In addition, the government has approved a budget of 240 million yen for the refital of battleships, and the two sums of money together will amount to 270 million yen, which can be ...... if all of them are used to build new ships."

"No" Hamaguchi Yuyuki hurriedly interrupted Suzuki Kantaro's words, and his head shook like a merchant's drum: "The empire is a signatory to the Washington Naval Treaty, and the tonnage of the capital ship has been stipulated to be 300,000 tons, and it is not enough to increase it. If we violate the Treaty of Sannuton, Britain and the United States will follow suit in building warships, and with the financial resources of the Empire, can they engage in an arms race with Britain and the United States? ”

Kantaro Suzuki laughed hajkily and waved his hand: "The naval side has already thought of a case, we can make peace with the Soviet side, let them pretend to order two more battleships from us, one of which is a battlecruiser, and the other is a battleship." Wouldn't it be possible to start construction of two warships without violating the naval treaty? ”

Hamaguchi was stunned, took a deep breath, and paced square steps in the conference room with his hands behind his back. Although he is a "moderate," in his heart he also hopes that Japan will dominate the world. I just feel that Japan is not strong enough, and it must save its national strength at present, so it is better not to conflict with Britain and the United States...... It's just that China's sudden emergence has also made him feel a little tricky.

Seeing that the prime minister was silent, Suzuki Kantaro knew that he was moved, and hurriedly persuaded: "At present, China and Germany have tacitly approved the export of 38,000 tons of battleships by Britain and the United States, so there should be no problem with us exporting 30,000 tons of battleships and battlecruisers, right?" The Command Department of the Navy planned to start construction of two battleships with a standard displacement of 38,000 tons in the name of exporting 30,000 tons of battleships and battle cruisers, one of which was a battle cruiser with a design speed of up to 32 knots. And the other battleship was based on the 'Karl. Marx's class battleships to build. It's just that the main gun takes nine triple-mounted sixteen-inch calibers. In the event of a war between Japan and China in the future, the battlecruiser could hunt down the armored ships of China at a high speed, and the battleship would be responsible for entangling the two 'Karl Browns' in China in a naval battle. Marx' class. ”

Hamaguchi hesitated for a moment and asked, "Then we have built these two battleships...... And if you don't give it to the Soviet Union, wouldn't it be a violation of the treaty right away? Can Britain and the United States promise? ”

Kantaro Suzuki chuckled: "Your Excellency is really a sincere gentleman, let's take the order from the Soviet Union, and we can start building battleships...... Does it mean that it has to be built in a few years? It is not provided for in the treaty. We can 'build' for ten years, this Britain and the United States can't manage it, right? And we can build two more, and the Soviets did not sign the Washington Naval Treaty