When night falls in Berlin, Fuso, far away on the other side of the world, is full of sunrise. In the prime minister's official residence in the center of Tokyo, a large number of military and political dignitaries have gathered at this moment: they are all in high spirits, their faces are full of red light, as if they have not won the victory in Europe, but have become the emperor of the world.

"The news that has just come back from Berlin is that Germany has begun to make contact with Britain and France, and it is expected that within ten days they will reach a consensus on an armistice. After all, Britain suffered a total defeat on land and at sea, and now they are left with only two choices: either humiliating submission to reality, or gloriously crushing en masse; And for those Europeans who have no bushido qualities, they are cowardly and may only choose the former! ”

In the wide and bright wooden attic, Japanese Prime Minister Fumihiro Konoe was standing in front of a huge map of East Asia, and said to the dignitaries in the room with great satisfaction: "And with the rapid defeat of Britain, a great opportunity has been placed in front of our great Japanese Empire." Now that the British are no longer able to mobilize any forces to defend their domination in Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore, if we attack, we will be able to take these areas without any suspense! And after the occupation of Malaysia, we can even use Siam as a springboard to march into Burma and then into India. In this way, the empire will only need to pay thousands of lives to extend its power into the South China Sea and sit at the negotiating table as one of the victors! ”

Hearing Konoe Fumi's words, the already excited atmosphere in the room became a little warmer. For the bustling city of Hong Kong and the strategically important location of Singapore, the Japanese base camp has long been coveted; And the reason why they didn't attack it at the beginning of the war. In addition to the fact that Japan's own combat readiness is far from ideal. Another reason was that Japan was still suspicious of the situation in Europe. Don't dare to rashly bet on the side of the Allies. Now, however, the Japanese base camp no longer has any concerns. In addition, Japan's economic situation also drove them to act immediately: under the impact of the 1927 financial crisis, Japan, which was severely dependent on the world market due to its lack of resources, also suffered a heavy setback, and has not yet emerged from the trough of depression. In the face of the severe economic situation in the country, the Japanese decision-makers also urgently need to use a war to convey the dissatisfaction of the people. No matter how you look at it, they are now taking advantage of the fire to rob a business that will not lose money.

"The Germans will not refuse our demands on the British colonies in the Far East. They also need the Empire to contain the United States in the Far East, so they will never take all the spoils of war to themselves; Not to mention that they already have rich Indochina and the Northern Philippines. Malaysia can only be taken over by our Japanese Empire. Even if we hand over Singapore, we will gain more than 300,000 square kilometers of territory. Konoe Fumi's eyes were shining, and his next words pushed the atmosphere in the room to an unprecedented level, "And in addition to drawing the sword against the British, His Majesty the Emperor also instructed us to prepare to declare war on the United States and make a complete break with this long-cherished enemy!" For the past thirty years, the United States has been brutally interfering in the Westward expansion of the Empire, and its despicable methods have reached the point of heinousness, and now we have no need to put up with it! ”

Hearing Konoe Fumiro's decree from the Emperor, the expressions of everyone present turned to reverence and fanaticism. A deafening banzai mountain cry was issued to the supreme ruling god representing the country. Although it has been more than half a century since the establishment of Japan's constitution, the military and political power is firmly in the hands of ministers headed by the prime minister. However, as the supreme symbol of the gods, Hirohito, who ruled the East under the name of the Showa era, still has an irreplaceable role in calling and making decisions. When he issued an edict to prepare for war against the United States, it meant that this matter was already a national policy that could not be easily changed. As a matter of fact, Japan's top leaders have been planning for a war against Japan and the United States for a long time, and the contradictions between the two sides in China affairs have directly made them more and more hostile to each other over the past 20 years. As the most direct stumbling block preventing Japan from becoming the hegemon of East Asia, Japan's attitude toward the United States is undoubtedly to get rid of it as soon as possible. Now, with Germany, a super-strong reinforcement that unifies the European continent, fighting side by side, if Japan does not take advantage of the situation, how long will it take?

In order to test the German government's attitude towards the current war, the Japanese government quickly contacted their ambassador in Berlin and expressed to him the German government's willingness to enter the war. And this move is also in Qingying's arms. In his plan, forcing Britain and France to surrender was only the first step in the plan, and what the German army's dragon lance really needed to be aimed at was the United States, a geographically advantageous country. It is obvious that if the United States is allowed to remain transcendent on the North American continent, it will undoubtedly become a pole in the world with great armament in a few years, with its abundant resources, powerful industry, high-quality people, and advanced technology, far from Germany. If they had waited until they had mastered nuclear bombs and ICBMs, the threat to Germany would have been even greater. Therefore, before the fall of the United States, Qingying will never stop the pace of war, and this threat to itself must be strangled in the cradle.

(At the end of World War II in 1945, the United States was more than capable of bulldozing the Soviet Union.) The latter's industry is simply not comparable to that of the United States, which is at its peak, and its proud human resources are on the verge of depletion due to the bitter four-year Soviet-German war. However, the United States, as a democratic country, did not disobey the will of the people after all, and stopped in central Germany. Facts have proved that this is obviously a move to let the tiger return to the mountains and the dragon into the sea. After nearly a decade of recuperation, the Soviet Union, which had healed the wounds of the war, became a terrifying existence for the entire Western world with its nuclear missiles; When the Americans faced the imminent threat of nuclear war in Cuba, they probably regretted even the move they saw 17 years ago, the author notes. ）

Under Qingying's proposal, the German military and political leaders also agreed with his will. Japan has always wanted to get rid of the United States, which is a stumbling block to its expansion ambitions, and why has Germany not regarded the United States as its number one enemy for more than 20 years? Compared with the weakness of the war, Germany's industrial and economic power is now on the same level as that of the United States, through the development of colony and the financial crisis. With the assistance of Japan, Austria-Hungary, Italy, and other countries, Qing Ying was already 80% sure of the future victory in the war. The United States must be dismembered in this war, restored to the divided situation on the eve of the Revolutionary War. As for Japan, which dominates Asia because of this, its stamina and development potential are at least an order of magnitude worse than those of the United States, and as long as Germany is willing, it can wipe off the map at any time this second-rate industrial country that has relied on zero wars.

As Germany would continue to fight against the United States, its attitude towards Britain and France would change accordingly. On June 9, the armistice negotiations were held in a suburban forest in the French city of Compiègne, and Qingying also flew here to attend with Ludendorff, Raeder and others. In the face of the British and French representatives who adhered to etiquette and strengthened their dignity, Qingying did not communicate too much, but directly threw out the pre-drawn armistice clauses to them.

As a preliminary clause for a cease-fire, Qingying did not put forward the harsh conditions for land cession and indemnity as in the "Brest Treaty", but the representatives of the two countries on the other side of the negotiating table still looked gloomy and pale. In addition to demobilizing the existing army in large numbers and handing over a considerable amount of arms, ammunition, trucks and other supplies as a guarantee of the armistice, Germany also added several additional clauses to it.

The whole of France was to be divided in two, and the part north of the demarcation line was to be occupied by the Germans, which amounted to three-fifths of the total area of the whole of France, so that the German navy would have access to all the ports in the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay. According to the Secretary of State of the Navy Raeder, these ports will play an irreplaceable role in the future war against the United States. In fact, in addition to this ostensible reason, Qing Ying proposed this article in order to lay the foundation for the future division of France in half. During the Cold War on another level, Germany, Korea, and Vietnam were not typical examples of their respective states under divided military occupation, and the Qing and British could follow suit. France had been united for far too long since the end of the Hundred Years' War, and it was time for it to be separated: a divided France would be able to solve Germany's western frontier once and for all, and that was exactly the strategy that Napoleon had imposed on the German Confederations.

For Britain, the "hatred sower" on the European continent, Qingying's condition is to directly choke its survival lifeline. All ships in service and under construction with a displacement of more than 10,000 tons had to be surrendered as a guarantee of armistice, along with 50 of the most advanced destroyers and all submarines to German ports. Britain was to clear the mines laid in the English Channel and Gibraltar and restore its normal passage.

Faced with the disarming armistice clause, the British representatives protested on the spot, but Raeder warned them that the only choice they had was to accept or reject. If the war continues, then the German Navy will gladly turn the North Atlantic into a "pure land" with no merchant ships, and even send land forces to launch a cross-sea landing. At that time, the United Kingdom of Great Britain would become a historical term, a province of the vast German Empire. For the German people, who have been poisoned by Britain's continental policy, they are completely eager to see this day and are willing to pay any price for it! (To be continued......)

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