Chapter Ninety-Six

In the final analysis, the Japanese Army in this time and space is even weaker against the Navy. The Navy has not suffered any dignified defeat, and being attacked by a submarine is not a failure in the eyes of the Japanese.

Today's incident is a bit of a coincidence, and yesterday's bombing series of bombings attracted a lot of attention, so Nagata Tetsuyama called Kawada to inquire early in the morning. I didn't want to find it in Shizhong, and I found it in, and the identities of the few people who were together back then have changed, but their moods are different. Originally, Nagata Tetsuyama had a good relationship with Ishinaka, but because Kenji Dohihara fell to the Imperial Road faction, the two were also estranged.

Coincidentally, Nagata just shouted when another person appeared at the door, and he didn't knock. When Ishihara saw this man, he crooked his mouth and looked away. Hideki Tojo, who was standing at the door, was very calm, bowed slightly, and said, "I'm sorry, I'm here to find Kawada-kun, and I have something to communicate." ”

Nagata Tetsuyama has a high opinion of Hideki Tojo, believing that he is "the most important person in charge of Japan's future". This evaluation is the opposite of Ishihara's, but the two of them are not wrong, but they look at people from different angles. Tojo's military prowess may indeed only be able to manage ten machine guns, but his political skill and ruthlessness are far stronger than that of a military genius with character like Ishihara.

Kawada can only be regarded as a middle-level officer, and his status in the War Department is not very high. But because of his excellent appearance, in the minds of the respective bosses of the ruling faction and the imperial faction, Kawada is a rare genius. Due to various reasons, Kawada's level has not been raised, but everyone is optimistic about his military talents.

"Tojo-kun, what's the matter with Kawada-kun? If it's convenient, let's just say it here, everyone is here, on the occasion of an eventful time in the empire. You are all elites of the Imperial Army, so you might as well sit down and have a good talk. Nagata Tetsuyama still seems to be very generous, but there is something else in his words.

Hideki Tojo did not change his strict nature, nodded slightly, and said: "It's official business, there is no inconvenience." Since Nagata-kun said so, let's talk about it directly here. I approached Kawada-kun to discuss an article he had published in the Army University's journal "Samurai Soul". ”

"Tojo-kun is talking about a mimeographed tabloid, right? Why haven't I heard of it? Ishihara interjected, in fact, he knew very well that this newspaper was distributed by the students of the Imperial Sect in the Army University and the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School, and the influence in the two schools was actually not small. And Ishihara also guessed which article Hideki Tojo mentioned.

The initiator of this tabloid was Kawada, and the main direction of propaganda was loyalty to the monarch and patriotism, advocating the settlement of the dispute between Japan and China by force, and advocating the return of all efforts to the emperor. In a word, it is the propaganda of militarism. Advocate the invincibility of the imperial army.

Ishihara has always felt that Kawada is afraid of depravity, so he is very disdainful of it. But he had to admit that Kawada's analysis of the fighting methods of the Shina army was very insightful. In particular, Ishihara's experience in visiting Germany has given him a very profound study of the new tactics adopted by the German army in World War I, and he can better appreciate the value of the article. Because of personal preference, Ishihara deliberately belittled.

"Yes. It is a mimeographed tabloid founded by the enthusiastic young people in the army. Shimowa Kawada-kun occasionally publishes some articles on it. This is the latest issue, and Ishihara-kun is also invited to axe. Although Hideki Tojo was very annoyed in his heart, he was able to suppress it on his face, and handed a tabloid to Ishihara in his upper hand.

After Ishihara took it. Pretending not to have seen it, Nagata Tetsuyama took the opportunity to invite everyone to sit down and talk, and held a small temporary symposium in the office. I don't know if it was discussed, but Seishiro Itagaki, another major figure in the ruling faction, also appeared. After coming in, he came in front of Kawada Fear.

Kawada stood up and bowed very respectfully, "Your Excellency Sakagaki! "Sakagaki is the commander of the Fifth Division, who just took office this year. In recent years, he has been partnering with Ishihara, the chief of staff, in the Far East. The fate of the characters in this time and space has changed more or less. For example, Ishihara Wan'er, without the 918 incident, is now just a division chief of staff. Although it is said that the staff officers of the Japanese Army are more than one another, their ranks have never been raised.

"Congratulations to Kawada-kun, I always thought that the position you should appear in the most should be as the chief of staff of a certain division, and the rank of Nakasa is condescending to Kawada-kun!" Itagaki Seishiro did not hesitate to praise words, and the corners of Nagata's mouth on the side twitched, as the most influential director of the War Department, Nagata was Kawada's top boss.

Nagata motioned for the guards to close the door, and after a few words, he returned to his position and sat down, and the scene fell silent. Nagata Tetsuyama pondered for a while and said, "The article "Analysis of the Combat Power of the Japanese Army" published by Kawada-kun has also been read below, and I am deeply touched and deeply inspired. As the director of the Military Affairs Bureau, it is an honor for my subordinates to have such a talent as Kawada-kun. ”

Kawada immediately stood up, and Nagata made a gesture and said, "Kawada-kun is not polite, I didn't exaggerate below." Kawada had no choice but to sit down and no longer be polite. Nagata Tetsuyama continued: "According to the latest information, the China Army plans to equip seven mechanized corps, and according to the establishment of the China Army, it is twenty-one mechanized armies. The active army mechanized units of the empire are no more than a division. There is a big gap in the balance of forces, and there is also a certain gap in equipment. ”

Ishihara raised his hand and said, "Nagata-kun, I think it's better to listen to Shi Zhongjun's information." ”

Shizhong is neither polite nor polite, and there is nothing polite at this time. After bowing slightly, he said in a low voice: "The activities of the intelligence department in China have not stopped, according to the latest intelligence, the mechanized troops in China are equipped with a state-of-the-art tank, weighing about forty tons, and the frontal armor can withstand the blow of a 75 mm cannon. As far as is known, the largest unit of the mechanized units of the Chinese army is the corps, each of which has three divisions, each of which has a tank brigade, a mechanized infantry brigade, a self-propelled artillery regiment, and a logistics support regiment. The tank brigade has two regiments, each of which has 10 tank companies, each equipped with 12 tanks. The infantry brigade has two infantry regiments, each of which consists of 10 infantry companies equipped with infantry fighting vehicles. ”

In fact, all these materials are being done, but Shi Zhong still re-emphasized it, just to let the elites of the Japanese Army deeply realize that the gap between the Chinese and Japanese armies has been widened. This is still the premise that the Japanese intelligence services do not know that the Wehrmacht has begun to replace the copycat five or six half rifles on a large scale. It is said that the large-scale replacement of the Miner rifle has to be thanks to the economic crisis, otherwise even if the copper ore in Chita provides enough raw materials, the production of bullets will still not be able to keep up with the consumption. Even so, there are still very few units equipped with five or six and a half halves, and only the mechanized infantry brigades of twenty-one armored divisions are equipped.

"In my opinion, the equipment upgrade of the Japanese army has reached the point where it cannot be delayed." Ishihara's tone was rarely solemn, because he knew very well that he didn't say it. Japan is really short of resources, during World War II in history, Japan has resources in the northeast, and has to import a large amount of scrap steel to the United States every year. At this time, Japan cannot obtain resources from the Northeast, so it can only vigorously develop the resources of North Korea, and at present, it is still unable to make ends meet in terms of steel. Look at China, iron ore resources are abundant, although the quality is average, but it will never be said that it is not enough.

Everyone was silent, and finally unexpectedly turned their attention to Kawada Wei, because Kawada Wei's article made a very detailed analysis of the combat effectiveness of the Chinese and Japanese armies, and clearly pointed out that aside from mechanized troops, the combat effectiveness of the Chinese army is not inferior to that of Japan, and even a little stronger in air power. This is a statement that paints the face of the Japanese, and everyone knows it. Since the question is raised, you should think about how to deal with it, right?

"Kawada-kun, tell me what you think." Hideki Tojo also came for this problem, and what Ishinaka and Ishihara said before seemed to him to be nonsense. If you can't solve a problem, why do you say it?

"Seniors, I will briefly talk about some personal experiences below. In terms of equipment, it is already difficult for us to compare with the Chinese Army. What I'm trying to say is whether it's time for the empire to make some adjustments to its strategy. Assuming that the empire adheres to the northward continental strategy, it should have good relations with the Soviet Union, and even consider an alliance between Japan and the Soviet Union. ”

Ishihara raised his hand and said: "Kawada-kun, the Soviet Union is a European country, and its strategic focus has always been in Europe. In the current international situation, the rearmament of German leaders has always been hostile to the Soviet Union, and there is an even more Soviet-hate-like Poland. ”

Kawada thought for a while and said, "I don't think this question is contradictory. Germany's hatred of the Soviet Union may have been done for Britain and France. Judging by the psychology of the Germans, they wanted to avenge the Treaty of Versailles. Taking a step back, why didn't Germany worry about fighting on two fronts? ”

"This hypothesis is very plausible, but we can't rest our hopes on it." Hideki Tojo spoke up, attracting a disdainful look from Ishihara, which means that you also understand strategy? Tojo Castle is very deep, so I didn't see it in front of me.

"Hey, you guy, don't talk nonsense if you don't understand." Ishihara Wan'er roared very unceremoniously, and Nagata Tetsuyama immediately spoke up: "Ishihara-kun, Tojo-kun, please be a little patient." "Nagata's prestige is high enough to shock the scene. Tojo closed his mouth, secretly resentful in his heart. In fact, he didn't mean to deny Kawada, but just wanted him to continue to say a more feasible strategy.

"If you can't solve the problem of resources on land, there's only one way left." After Kawada said this, he took out a cigarette and lit it silently, lowering his head and not speaking. There was a dead silence at the scene, and everyone knew Kawada's subtext very well in their hearts!