"Hit Nanjing! Matsui-kun, it seems that your ambition is not xiǎo! Hearing Matsui Ishone's bold words, Prince Zaihito's face in the palace of the temple became a little better.

"No, in fact, in the past two years in China, I have a very detailed understanding of the combat effectiveness of the China Army. They were more than twenty years behind the Emperor ** team in terms of fighting will and weapons, and the empire would not have to make much effort to deal with them at all. Matsui was full of confidence when he said this.

"What if it's against Chahar's army?" Umezu Mijiro asked coldly, "Matsui-kun won't forget the empire's fiasco at Rehe." ”

After hearing Umezu Mijiro's question, Matsui Ishine smiled with confidence: "I have to admit that Chahar's army is indeed very good, and they can even compete with the army of the Empire." But they have one of the biggest weaknesses, that is, they don't have a navy, let alone warships, they don't even have a sampan. What did we rely on to occupy Shanghai with two divisions? Relying on the support of naval guns at all times, if the Chahar army dares to come, I am sure that they will also be defeated by the onslaught of naval guns. ”

"Papapapa" Prince Zairen of Xianyuan Palace took the lead and clapped his hands.

"Yes, yes, Matsui-kun, it seems that you have put in a lot of effort."

"Hey, thank you for the compliment!" Matsui Ishine bowed his head and said.

Prince Zairen of the Xianyuan Palace nodded with a smile at Matsui Shigen: "I still say the same thing, as long as you can defeat the Shina Zheng, the base camp's support for you will not change." ”

"Hey! Thank you, Your Excellency, for your support. Matsui Ishine knew that as long as there was this sentence from Prince Zaihito of the Kanin Palace, it would be equivalent to having half of the strength of the base camp.

"Well, Matsui-kun, with our old bones still supporting you, even if you are bold, as long as you serve the empire and the emperor, you don't have any scruples." After speaking, Prince Zaihito of the Idle Yuan Palace turned to face Umezu Mijiro and said, "Umezu-kun, I originally wanted you to bring it to the base camp for a while longer, but this guy Ueda Kenkichi is too inactive, and I am going to recall him back to China tomorrow." You get ready, and in two days you will go to Manchuria to take office! ”

Umezu Mijiro was stunned, but still bowed violently.

"Hey! I am willing to serve His Majesty the Emperor! ”

In the evening of the palace, Emperor Hirohito was walking in the palace garden with Empress Ryoko after dinner, and Hirohito and Ryoko had been married for more than ten years and had always been in love. Whenever he was upset, Hirohito always found peace and comfort in the harem. For this reason, his affection for the long-term NV of King Kunihiko, the lowest ranking in the imperial family, is getting deeper and stronger.

Just as Emperor Hirohito and Ryoko were whispering in the Huā Garden, the NV official came to report, and Prince Zaihito of the Idle Yuan Palace asked to see him. Hirohito was stunned, what is the imperial uncle doing at this time, is there anything urgent?

Hirohito, who was disturbed by Yaxing, had to hurry to the living room, and saw Prince Zairen of the Xianyuan Palace kneeling respectfully beside the low table. After seeing Hirohito coming, he hurriedly handed over the conclusions and decisions reached after today's meeting of the military headquarters.

Hirohito, however, put these documents aside and asked bluntly: "Is the military department sure that the issue of Shina will be completely resolved within three months?" ”

Prince Zaihito of the Imperial Palace had already guessed the emperor's worries, and he felt that Hirohito lacked the courage to pierce this last layer of paper. It seems that if he doesn't pierce this layer of paper, he, the imperial nephew who is worried about things, will not make this final decision. After thinking about it, he said bluntly: "Your Majesty, things have developed to this day, and there is no way back for the empire except to send troops to conquer by force. Since the empire entered China, nearly 100,000 officers and soldiers have left their lives in China for the great cause of the empire, and a few days ago Rehe was taken away by Chahar. Retreating at this time may cause húnluàn in the military, and the situation is not controlled-"

"According to you, we must fight in China, whether this battle can be fought or not?" Yu interrupted Xianyuan Palace's words, and there was a hint of displeasure in his tone.

"Now it seems that it is. Now everyone from top to bottom believes that capturing Shanghai and Nanjing, and then defeating the Chinese army, is the fundamental policy to solve the China incident. Admittedly, nothing in the world is 100% sure, but! "But war is an adventure and a gamble. Bet on both strength and luck. Huaxia is worth a gamble. ”

Hirohito was deeply moved, and he really couldn't resist the yòuhuò of more than twenty Huaxia with a large land area against him.

"Your Majesty!" Prince Zaihito saw that Hirohito was still hesitating, so he decided to add another fire. "Your Majesty, the current internal and external situation has contributed to the fact that the empire has no way out unless it conquers Shanghai and Nanjing. We waited again and again for the Nanjing regime, but Jiang Jun did not repent, regardless of the loss of life, but he was clamoring to resist the Japanese. A political solution looks bleak at the moment. And the dictatorship that is about to collapse and destroy its combat power, like the chōu salary at the bottom of the kettle, can hopefully end the war. Your Majesty, please. ”

Hirohito let out a long sigh, took the document, and after signing his name, Jiāo gave it to Prince Zaihito, and advised: "You should be cautious when attacking Shanghai and Nanjing. Because China was engaged in a kind of colonial liberation war. The whole country is united in hatred of the enemy. Japan, on the other hand, lacks the strength to arouse the common hatred of the people. Moreover, China is a semi-feudal, semi-colonial country. The deeper Japan fought on the mainland, the deeper it went into the interior, the longer its supply lines became, and the greater the danger of falling into the guerrilla warfare attrition tactics advocated by the enemy. ”

As the supreme commander of the three armed forces in Japan's base camp, Emperor Hirohito knew best that Japan could only make a quick decision and must not fight for a long time. He also knew that when he signed the paperwork, he had released a giant monster from its cage.

But Japan, an island nation with poor resources and frequent earthquakes, has reached a perverted level of land longing. Hirohito knew very well that the militaristic monster he had unleashed had now grown into a behemoth, and no one in Japan could stop it, not even its original owner, Emperor Hirohito.

After seeing off Prince Zaihito of the Imperial Palace, Emperor Hirohito slowly stepped down from the throne and pondered with his hands behind his back. He looked at the vivid map of China on the wall in a daze, and a wave of greed, longing, resentment, and jī movement, which even he couldn't explain, came to his heart, and suddenly, a shout floated from the corridor of the palace, "Martial luck is long!" ”

The next day, when Prince Zaihito of the Imperial Palace presented Emperor Hirohito's edict to the staff officers in the base camp, the young officers of the Army, the Navy and the General Staff Headquarters were already busy nervously in a cheer. From top to bottom, they were full of confidence in the conquest of China.

Military intelligence reports, troop statistics, coordination plans, and material deployment orders flew to the war room like snowflakes. The officers who hurried through the corridor greeted each other happily and said auspicious words such as wishing the Japanese army a great victory. The war made them become the heroes of the nation and the hearts of all the people overnight. This vanity, which was built on the blood of countless Chinese and Japanese soldiers, had caused them to lose their minds and abandon their human morality. They have only one thought on their minds, and that is war - victory. No orders, no instructions, but crazy faith. They have rumbled like tireless machines.

Both on land and at sea. With the arrival of the military order, hundreds of thousands of officers and soldiers in Manchuria and North China cheered. Patches of yellow cháo fell to their knees, looking at the eastern sky. "Long live the Emperor!" The shouts of "conquer China" came and went.

Thick clouds of war smoke drifted out of Japan and toward Shanghai, thousands of miles away.

In China, the Military Committee of the Nationalist Government successively increased troops near Shanghai, and Chairman Chiang ordered in a loud voice at the Supreme Military Conference in Nanking that Shanghai must not give up and that it must defend Shanghai at all costs!

On 9 August, Yuo Oyama, a lieutenant of the Japanese Marine Corps stationed in Shanghai, and Saito Yoshizo, a soldier, drove into the Hongqiao military airfield to provoke and were shot dead by Chinese soldiers. The Japanese troops stationed in Shanghai used this as an excuse to blackmail the Huaxia government into withdrawing the Shanghai security forces and removing all fortifications. After Japan's unreasonable demands were rejected by China, it immediately mobilized 4,000 marines stationed in Shanghai, ship-landing personnel, and more than 10,000 members of the "Overseas Japanese Volunteer Corps" to urgently prepare for war.

On 13 August, the Japanese marines first opened fire from Hongkou to the section from Tiantongan Station to Hengbang, and then attacked Baoshan Road, Bazi Bridge, and Tiantongan Road with one section, but were repulsed by the 88th Division.

On the 13th, the Military Committee of the Nationalist Government ordered the reorganization of the central part of Zhang Zhi into the Ninth Army, and launched a counterattack from dawn on the 14th, and at the same time ordered the air force to coordinate ground operations. On the same day, the Air Force bombed the headquarters of the Japanese Marine Corps and the Third Fleet, damaging the flagship Izumo. The Fourth Destroyer Group shot down three Japanese planes that attacked Hangzhou's Jianqiao Airport and damaged one. On the 15th, the Japanese high command ordered the formation of the Shanghai Dispatch Army, appointed Matsui Ishine as its commander, and immediately sent additional 3rd and 11th Divisions from China to Shanghai. On 15 and 16 July, the Chinese and Japanese air forces fought a battle, and the Chinese air force shot down more than 40 Japanese planes over Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou. On 17 July, the Chinese Navy's torpedo boat again damaged the "Izumo" on the Bund in Shanghai.

At this point, the Battle of Lilu has finally begun!

The mountains are shaken, and the rivers are groaning.

Two loud roars collided in the Chinese sky, bursting out of ten thousand fires and turning into a thunderclap. It shocked China, Japan, and the world. People held their breath. Watching this unprecedented battle that decided the fate of the two peoples in the East. In August, the summer in the land of China is scorching, and the strong smell of fire is also permeating everywhere. Huaxia, who was covered in trauma and exhaustion, began to be restless.

To be continued)