Tokyo, Akasaka Imperial Palace

The palace, which belonged to Crown Prince Hirohito, has now replaced the residence of the Prime Minister in Kasumigaseki and has become the meeting place of the wartime headquarters of the Japanese Empire

I don't know what the content of today's meeting is, but the Japanese civil and military forces in the room were all stunned, looking at a copy of the text in everyone's hand in a daze, and Crown Prince Hirohito turned his back to them, staring at the huge map hanging on the wall, motionless

This is a military map that includes the Japanese Far East, Manchuria in China and Japanese Korea, and it occupies an area of half a wall

In the Primorsky area of the Japanese Far East, the main force of the Japanese Far East Army was separated at the north and south ends, and there were two divisions at Yanpo (Vladivostok) at the southern end, which were still strong and strong, and there was no danger for the time being, but the situation of several divisions in Boli at the northern end was very unoptimistic, although there were seven divisions and regiments, including the 1st Division, the 2nd Division, the 3rd Division, the 16th Division and the 18th Division, the 19th Division, and the 20th Division, but the total strength of the 19th Division and the 20th Division was less than 1,000 people. There was no spare strength to fight again, and the first, second, third, and sixteenth divisions also suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Hutou Xin'antu, and later encountered fierce pursuit by the Chinese army in the process of retreating to Boli, losing all their heavy weapons and baggage, and the total strength of these four divisions together was less than 30,000, and this number also included a large number of wounded and temporarily conscripted recruits! Therefore, the only one around Boli that can fight, and only the 18th Division that originally stayed in Boli is left, relying on this division, of course, it can't resist the main force of the two or three hundred thousand Chinese troops that has approached Boli, and the Japanese base camp originally hoped that the first army that took advantage of the Soviet Union to carry out the surprise attack mission could come back in time, but now the Soviet Union refuses to borrow again, these four divisions can only march along the Heilongjiang River on foot, and they will definitely not be able to rush back to Boli in time, so that Boli, which is empty of troops, has no possibility to defend, Only Boli's defenders retreated to the lower reaches of the Amur River, and it was not good to retreat all the way to Huatai Island Fortunately, the Chinese did not have a fleet in the Tatar Strait, otherwise let them attack Huatai Island and occupy the oil fields and coal mines above, Japan really did not know how to fight it" "See the latest chapter

The situation on the Korean Peninsula is not much better than that of the Japanese Far East Prefecture, originally the Japanese Korean Army had seven divisions, after the start of the war, three divisions were transferred to the Far East, and later two divisions were annihilated by the Chinese army north of the Yalu River, and after the complete victory, the Chinese army took the opportunity to attack the Korean Peninsula, which was empty of troops, and set up a provisional government of the Republic of Korea in Sinuiju, and played the banner of North Korea, which provoked anti-Japanese uprisings broke out in various parts of Korea, and the Korean army, which had only two divisions left, of course, had no way to resist, In less than 10 days of retreating to the south of Korea, a large area of land north of Pyongyang was lost, and now the commander of the Korean army, Shirakawa Yoshinori, flew to the base camp in Tokyo like an ant on a hot pot with a telegram asking for help, and flew to the base camp in Tokyo like snowflakes, but what could the base camp do? Twenty standing divisions of the Japanese Army, including the Guards Division to guard the gates of the Imperial Palace, have been sent to the front! The five newly mobilized divisions and regiments are still training and replenishing equipment, and there is no way to form combat effectiveness for the time being, and even if they are reluctantly sent to the front, they will certainly not be able to turn things around

What made this group of Japanese civilians and military even more depressed was that their navy also suffered a crushing defeat, losing two battle cruisers, an armored cruiser and a dozen transport ships in just two or three days! Even the Third Army, which led it to attack Shanghai, was also unlucky, with thousands of officers and soldiers drowned, and it is said that the commander of the Third Army, Shoroku Suzuki, also fell into the water and shouted for help......

This is really a bit of a defeat, even the British friends can't stand it anymore and openly jump out to make fuss! When their ambassador to Japan met with Japanese Foreign Minister Kita Ichiki, he simply said openly that it was time for the Japanese Empire to admit defeat...... Compared with the current war situation, China's proposed conditions are quite favorable, and if Japan does not accept them, the British government will have to consider suspending the "Anglo-Japanese Alliance" ahead of schedule!

The problem is that China's offer is not very favorable to Crown Prince Hirohito, the current de facto ruler of Japan, and Chinese dictator Chang Ruiqing has recently threatened Crown Prince Hirohito's life in a speech......

Crown Prince Hirohito has been holding his hands behind his back and not speaking, and in the conference room, the air pressure is getting lower and lower, Prime Minister Tanaka Yoshiichi sat there, his eyebrows were tightly twisted, and he also didn't say a word, I don't know what he was thinking, I don't know how long it took, only to see Tanaka slowly stand up and cough lightly

"The matter of peace talks with China must not be considered! Now the empire is at the head of the national crisis, and the only way out is to unite from top to bottom and fight to the end! ”

He bowed stiffly to Crown Prince Hirohito: "Your Highness! The cabinet and the headquarters dared to ask His Highness to agree to a general mobilization of the whole people, to transfer the production of the entire empire to wartime, and to organize more divisions and regiments to fight to the death in the defense of Korea and the Far East! ”

There was a sound of inhaling in the room, everyone knew that His Excellency the Prime Minister had been hesitating between the war and the peace, but he didn't expect that in such an unfavorable situation of the war, he would actually turn into a staunch main battle faction! I just don't know what happened behind Tanaka's change of stance?

Crown Prince Hirohito turned around slowly, his emaciated face was full of pale and tired, his eyebrows were tightly twisted, and he barely showed a little smile, "Tanaka Qing's construction is really solid for the country, and His Majesty the Emperor will definitely be able to do it."

Foreign Minister Kita Ichiki also stood up, glanced at Tanaka, who had a numb expression, and Hirohito, who was not smiling, and said tentatively: "Your Highness, Your Excellency the Prime Minister, is it okay for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs...... It is possible to pass through the Guò side of the United Kingdom...... Touch it? Maybe ......"

"No!"

Before he finished speaking, he was categorically interrupted by Tanaka Yoshiichi, Tanaka's expression was still numb, and he said coldly: "The peace talks proposed by Shina are just a trap, and the empire doesn't have to pay attention to them."

"But Britain ......"

"There is no need to consider the attitude of Britain, the main task of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs now is to win over the Soviet Union into the war at any cost!"

Bei Yihui was stunned and said: "I'm afraid the Soviet Union will not be willing to participate in the war......"

"Then we must also fight for it with all our might," said Tanaka Yoshiichi, "I don't believe that the Soviet Union really wants to see the empire driven out of the mainland by China!" They don't go to war, they just wait for the right time, wait for the opportunity for both the empire and China to lose, as long as the empire can really rise up, the Soviet Union will join in sooner or later."

Kita Ikki hilarious, bowed to Tanaka and Hirohito, and then sat down, without saying anything more, he knew that Tanaka's decision was not made casually, but after the news of the naval defeat came on the 21st, he quietly thought about the decision after a day and a night

Crown Prince Hirohito looked at Tanaka quietly, and after a long while, he said in a low voice: "Is there really room for redemption in Tanakaqing's war this time?" ”

"Your Highness, there is room for redemption"

"How can I get it back?"

"Protracted war!" Tanaka Yoshiichi gritted his teeth and said word by word: "With the blood of the Yamato men and the tenacious will of 60 million people, we will drag down the national strength of China and exhaust their will to fight to force them to withdraw from Far East Korea!" ”

A look of hesitation appeared on Hirohito's face: Japan's leadership has always had such a concept: Japan has poor resources, narrow land, and no ability to fight for a long time, so it should pursue a quick victory and a quick victory, and must invest the greatest strength in the early stage of the war to deal a fatal blow to the opponent! The problem of protracted warfare must be avoided

Thinking of this, Hirohito frowned and said, "China is a big country, I'm afraid it can handle a protracted war better than the empire, right?" ”

Tanaka Yoshiichi laughed, full of mockery: "The land of China is vast and has a large population, of course, it is true, but he

Our industrial base is weak, especially heavy industry, which is just in its infancy, and it is simply not comparable to the empire...... If you let the Zhi Na Shun lì complete two or three five-year plans, then of course the empire will not be able to last with them, but now, what is the empire to fear? The empire has already lost the Far Eastern Primorye, and North Korea will not be able to protect it...... What can the empire lose next? Birch Island? Taiwan? Ryukyu? Hehe, is there a navy in China? Since there is no hope of a quick victory now, let's drag it out, otherwise what else can we do? Do you throw in the towel? The army continues to hold out in Far East Korea, don't think about turning the tide, the Imperial Army does not have such strength, but we can hold out there, even if there are only a few coastal fortresses left! As for the navy, it should constantly harass the coastal areas of China, I wonder if Your Highness has ever heard of the word 'Wako'? ”

Hirohito nodded, "That's a term used by the people of Shina to insult the Imperial Kingdom"

Tanaka smiled and said, "At the same time, it also shows that the people of China hundreds of years ago were helpless against the tactics of those ronin pirates at that time...... Your Highness, you must know that the Ming Empire at that time was the most powerful empire in the world! ”

A long-lost smile finally appeared on Hirohito's face: "Okay, Tanaka Qing is really resourceful, according to Tanaka Qing, the Japanese Empire wants to use a protracted war to drag down China!" ”

……

In the war room of the Beijing-Shanghai-Hangzhou Garrison Headquarters in Shanghou Shupu, the relaxed and happy atmosphere has disappeared, and the Japanese Navy and Army, which suffered heavy losses outside the mouth of the Yangtze River, did not retreat in spite of difficulties, but refused to get out of the way at the gate of Shanghai, and the attack of the 20th Army of the Wehrmacht Army on Chongming Dongtan was blocked by a stranded Japanese Izumo-class armored cruiser, with hundreds of casualties, and the Japanese who were dying on Chongming Dongtan were not driven to the night of the 22nd, and even more surprising news came from the military headquarters of the 20th Army. Another larger Japanese ship has run aground in the waters near Hengsha Island!

It is estimated that this Japanese ship is very likely to be the Kurama-class battle cruiser that was very created in Zhenheng a few days agoAccording to the information available to the Wehrmacht Navy, the battle cruiser of this class has 4 305mm caliber main guns, 8 203mm secondary guns and 12 120mm secondary guns, as well as 4 76mm anti-aircraft guns, and also has 178mm thick side armor, 76mm deck armor and 178mm turret armor Such a monster like a steel battery, is now squatting on the mudflats at the mouth of the Yangtze River. Together with another slightly smaller steel monster, it has become the biggest weapon for the Japanese army to continue the war! If you don't find a way to blow up these two warships, I really don't know when this Shanghai Voyage will last? But the question is, what can the current Chinese defense forces use against them?

All sorts of constructions were raised, and someone immediately procured or leased a battleship from France and Italy, and used the battleship's giant cannons to blast the two stranded Japanese warships to pieces! But is the main force of the Japanese Combined Fleet at the mouth of the Yangtze River a piece of paper?

Some people also proposed that all imported large-caliber artillery should be at least 356mm caliber cannons, and then this kind of cannon should be placed on the fortresses of Wusongkou and Gaoqiao in Shanghai, not to mention whether the Japanese who have the right to control the sea will allow this kind of cannon to enter China, even if it can be transported in, and then get it in Shanghai and put it in place, I am afraid that I don't even think about it in five or six months! Does it take that long to fight on the flight? Now the Military Council can plan to end the war in September

Some people even put forward a plan to use human lives to consume the ammunition of the Japanese ships, and then seize the two ships when their ammunition is exhausted! This method seems to be quite feasible, anyway, China's human life is not too valuable now, but it was resolutely vetoed by Chang Ruiqing, who had just returned from Zhenhai

"Since little Japan wants to continue to stay on the mudflats at the mouth of the Yangtze River and be bombed, then let's fulfill them, and there is no need to rush to coax them to go" In the entire headquarters, only Chang Ruiqing had a nonchalant expression

Lu Yixuan spoke a little heavily, and his voice was a little low: "Chairman of the Committee, in the past two days, the Japanese Grand Fleet has been hiding in the open sea during the day, and then approaching the mouth of the Yangtze River at night to cover the landing of troops...... On the 22nd, at least more than 5,000 Japanese troops landed on the two islands of Hengsha and Chongming, and now their beachhead positions have expanded a lot compared with those on the 21st, and they have not given up their plans to shell Shanghai."

"Rely on them to sneak around at night to resupply the beach?" Chang Ruiqing sneered, "Let's deploy the strength of an army on the two islands of Chongming and Changxing, and there are so many heavy artillery to support it, even if the Japanese invest tens of thousands of troops, they can't rely on two mudflats, but they can't be replenished."

Lu Yixuan shook his head and said, "What if they go out and run a Fusang-class battleship aground on the beach southwest of Hengsha Island, or even on the beach of Chuansha?" ”

"Fuso-level? Is it possible? Chang Ruiqing thought for a moment, "I'm afraid little Japan is not so generous, right?" ”

"It's hard to say," Lu Yixuan said, "Now they have reached the point of life and death, and they can do anything."

Listening to Lu Yixuan's solemn tone, Chang Ruiqing also felt that things were a little strict, now it is completely impossible for the Japanese devils to reverse the decline in Far East Korea, and the only way is to make a desperate attempt to attack the upper nuclear, in this case, a Fuso-class battleship has nothing to be reluctant to talk about, it is stranded and not sunk, and it can still be dragged out of the mudflats after it is over

Chang Ruiqing circled around the war room with his hands behind his back, and after a while, he suddenly stood still, turned around and asked Chen Ce, the naval representative in the war room: "Chips, we can't let the Japanese battleships and battlecruisers all concentrate at the mouth of the Yangtze River, we must let them move, otherwise they will want to open sooner or later."

Chen Ce was stunned for a moment, and looked at Chang Ruiqing with some confusion, "What does the commission mean......"

"Where's the Haitian?"

"Haitian?" Chen Ce said: "It broke diplomatic relations in the South China Sea and used French Indochina and Hainan Island as supply bases, but now Japan's trade with the South China Sea has almost come to a standstill, and they are only concentrating all their efforts to ensure that the trade in the Americas is being confirmed, and now Japan's steel and non-ferrous metals are imported from the Americas." He paused and said: "Chairman of the Committee, do you want the Haitian to sabotage Japan's Pacific trade routes?" ”

"No, let the Haitian go to the Sea of Japan!" Chang Ruiqing said coldly

"Sea of Japan!" Chen Ce and Lu Yixuan exclaimed at the same time, Chen Ce said: "Chairman of the Committee, the Sea of Japan is Japan's territory, and if the Haitian goes in, I'm afraid it will never be able to get out again."

"It's just a heavy cruiser!" Chang Ruiqing snorted lightly, "As long as we can win this battle, we can still bear this loss."

Chen Ce was stunned and stunned: "What does it have to do with letting the Haitian enter the Sea of Japan and winning this war?" ”

Chang Ruiqing walked up to a map of East Asia, stretched out his hand and tapped on the location of Sakhalin Island on the map, and said: "If I remember correctly, the width of the Nevelskoy Strait is only 7.3 kilometers!" And the oil fields on Sakhalin Island supply more than 90% of Japan's oil, and if Sakhalin Island is occupied by us, the Japanese Combined Fleet will soon be in a nest because there is no oil! Therefore, once the Japanese discover that the heavy cruiser Haitian has broken through into the Sea of Japan, they will definitely think that I am going to attack Sakhalin, then they may use a few battleships and battle cruisers to go to the Sea of Japan and the Tatar Strait. ”

Chen Ce and Lu Yixuan glanced at each other, and both nodded at the same time, Lu Yixuan said: "This method is feasible, but the heavy cruiser Haitian may be difficult to escape the pursuit of the Japanese fleet, in case the Haitian is sunk, we will lose the bargaining chip to contain the combined forces of Japan."

Chang Ruiqing smiled and said: "Let's do it, I don't estimate that the Haitian will be captured by the Japanese, and this war will be over" (To be continued.)