Nagano Xiu knew what these ministers were thinking, but he knew that when he finished speaking, the minds of these people would change, so he smiled and continued: "Gentlemen, please be calm, I know your thoughts very well, but please rest assured, although this is a gamble of national fortune, but we have won the trump card, and the result is already doomed - the empire will win!" ”

"The Empire's decision to go south was based on the basic concept that Germany was undefeated, and only with Germany's continuous victories in Europe could the United States and Britain and other countries not concentrate their efforts on dealing with the Empire, and similarly, the polar bear in the north would not jump out to sabotage the Empire's strategic plans. Therefore, if Germany defeats the empire, then the fate of the empire will not be easy to grasp, and it will be besieged by the major powers of the world. ”

However, under the current situation, the possibility of peace between Germany and Britain and Germany and the Soviet Union is very small, and the possibility of a protracted war is relatively high. First of all, Britain has a traditional national character and the pride of a great power, and is using the German-Soviet war to restore its own power, because of the outbreak of the Soviet-German war, Britain has the confidence to carry on the war and cannot easily submit to Germany. Therefore, the base camp had reason to believe that the German-British war was bound to become prolonged. ”

"Secondly, the Germans had approached the city of Moscow, and the Soviet field armies in Europe had suffered a heavy blow. The German-Soviet war ended with a successful German operation, but for the Stalin regime, capitulation to Germany risked the collapse of its own regime. As a result, it will now have to rely on its relatively solid political base and its modest resources east of the Volga, as well as assistance from the United States and Britain. Passive resistance. On the other hand, in view of the fact that the German-Soviet War was in fact presenting a situation of national war, the Soviet nation's will to resist the war will not soon wane. ”

On the German side, according to the German leaders, Germany wants to completely defeat communism, and if it does not fight the Soviet Union to the point where it can no longer fight back, it will lose the significance of this war against the Soviet Union. It may therefore be said that the possibility of Germany making peace on lenient terms is very small. Therefore, the empire will surely achieve the ultimate victory! ”

Sure enough, after Nagano Xiu's words were finished. The confidence of a large part of the population was shaken. As Nagano Shusei said. In fact, both the base camp and the government were convinced that Germany would not fail in Europe. In other words, Germany will not necessarily win, but it will definitely not lose.

It turns out that Britain and France, these former powers, are paper tigers. And the outbreak of the Soviet-German war proved that the Soviet Union was not as strong as the empire imagined. Look at the current trend. Even the Empire of Japan wanted the United States, Britain, the Netherlands and other countries to declare war. The likelihood of positive action by the USSR against Japan was also minimal. After all, the Soviet Union at this time could barely protect itself, and if the empire launched an attack on the Soviet army from the Far East, it would be a disaster for the Soviet Union.

Other than that. With the successive victories of the German army, the Soviet Union lost the area west of the Volga, and only a quarter of its munitions industry remained. The Soviet Red Army stationed in Europe has been completely dealt a blow due to the German-Soviet war, and now the Red Army stationed in the Far East has been transferred in large numbers, with at least five divisions, 1,000 tanks, and more than 1,200 planes sent to Europe for reinforcements, and its combat effectiveness is weakening in terms of material and spirit.

Based on the above intelligence information, the entire Japanese court also has its own judgment on the victory of the war, in general, the vast majority of ministers believe that although the empire may not necessarily win, but as long as Germany does not die, Japan will not lose, it is a big deal for everyone to draw, that's all!

After Nagano finished speaking, the chief of staff, Senior General Seishiro Itagaki got up and added: "The victory or defeat of the war also has a great deal to do with the military strength of the enemy and us, and our army has made an all-round comparison of the military strength of the enemy and us in the South Pacific region, and by the end of May of Showa 16, the base camp has learned about the strength and deployment of the army and air force of the United States, Britain and the Netherlands in various parts of the south according to the various information collected. ”

"Britain has an army of about 60,000 or 70,000 troops and about 320 aircraft on the Malay Peninsula, and about 35,000 troops and about 60 aircraft in Burma; The United States has about 42,000 troops and about 170 aircraft in the Philippines; The Dutch army in the Dutch East Indies had about 85,000 troops and about 300 aircraft. The total army strength is about 200,000 and about 850 aircraft. ”

"However, it is judged that the strength of these armies is composed of local troops composed of white soldiers of the country, and that the education and training are insufficient, and that there is a lack of spiritual unity between the whites and the natives, and their combat effectiveness is generally very low; It is also difficult for the United States, Britain, the Netherlands, and China to bring into play their ability to coordinate operations. All that needs to be considered is their adaptation to the tropical climate and local terroir. However, the combat effectiveness of the enemy air force on the Malay side cannot be ignored compared with its ground forces because of the superior performance of the aircraft and the relatively good quality of the pilots. ”

"In addition, according to the judgment of the base camp, after deducting the old ships and ships with unfinished combat equipment on both sides of the enemy and us, the comparison of the strength of ships that can fight at sea is 1.43 times that of the United States, Britain and the Netherlands combined, but in view of the fact that the empire adopts the tactics of taking the initiative to attack, and the enemy does not have much contact with each other, no single country is the opponent of the empire, so the empire has the certainty of breaking each one!"

"In view of the above-mentioned situation of the enemy's land, sea, and air forces, our side has planned to transfer 11 ground divisions and about 700 first-line aircraft from the army's 51 ground divisions and about 1,500 first-line aircraft, while the navy will use most of its combined fleet to take up offensive combat missions. The air offensive force assigned to the Combined Fleet is 1,619 out of about 3,300 naval aircraft, and it is sure that it will be able to achieve overwhelming superiority in the early stage of the war! ”

Seishiro Itagaki and all the senior officers of the Navy knew that the southern offensive would be an unprecedented, large-scale operation to destroy the enemy's armed resistance by sea and air over a vast area of 2,000 miles from the east, west, south, and south. Although there are certain risks, they have a greater certainty, and there are four main reasons for the strength of the enemy and our own: First, before the United States, the Netherlands, and China strengthen joint operations. Able to break through each with a surprise attack.

Second, Japan is prepared for war and can simultaneously launch a preemptive surprise attack on the four strategic points of Hawaii, the Philippines, Malay, and Hong Kong, and can expand the effect of the preemptive strike to the entire depth of the operation.

Third, as far as the operational surface of the western Pacific is concerned, our side has an absolute superiority in naval forces. At the same time, in terms of ground and air forces, each local area can often maintain a local superiority of two to three times. In particular, it is certain that air and sea supremacy will be obtained from this. The most important point is that most of the enemy's ground forces are mostly low-quality colonial troops.

Nagano said: "Based on the conclusions of several exercises on the map, the Army and Navy Command has made the following estimate of the operational process of attacking the south. After the start of the operation, it took about 20 days for Hong Kong. Manila takes about 50 days. It takes about 100 days for Singapore and 150 days for Java. Therefore, it was judged that it would take about five months to complete the occupation of most of the important areas in the south as planned, and the operation would come to an end. ”

"The only thing that worries is the sortie of the US Pacific Fleet from the Pacific side. If this happens. The Navy planned to move most of the southern forces to the Pacific side. in order to engage in a decisive naval battle with the American fleet. The Army's plan is. Even in this case, the offensive operation will be completed with great effort; But at the same time, it was judged that some of the offensive plans were changed. It is inevitable that the speed of the overall operation will be delayed. ”

Konoe Fumima is now also moved by what Nagano Shusei and others said, but he is the prime minister of Japan, and he knows that the biggest crisis that Japan is facing now is not these, but in terms of national materials, so Konoe Funma opened his mouth and asked: "Gentlemen, you should be clear about the current situation of the empire, have you compared the national materials of the empire with the enemy countries?" ”

Nagano Xiushen got up again and said: "The base camp judges that it will achieve a comprehensive advantage in the early stage of the war, and it will definitely be able to occupy the resource producing areas in the south before the empire's materials are exhausted to ensure the supply of military and civilian materials for the empire, so the war materials only need to be prepared for about a year." ”

Konoe Fumima said: "In that case, then please report your battle plan to Your Majesty's Imperial Review!" ”

"Hay!"

Soon, a thick battle plan drawn up by the commander of the navy and army at the base camp was brought up and handed over to Konoe Fumima, who presented it to Emperor Hirohito.

The meeting is basically coming to an end now, and everyone already knows that the war between the Empire and the United States, Britain, the Netherlands, and other countries has entered the countdown, and maybe tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, the news of the declaration of war by the two sides will be broadcast on the Empire's broadcast.

Just when everyone thought that the meeting was about to end, Yamamoto Fifty-six, commander of the Navy's Combined Fleet, suddenly stood up and said: "As the commander of the Navy's Combined Fleet, I have one more addition to the Admiralty's consideration of fighting southward, that is, we must not underestimate the family in China, especially that Chen Feng!" ”

Although some people will say that Chen Feng's main strength in China is really in the interior of China, his so-called Nanyang Territory in the South Pacific is just a joke. However, as a naval commander who has fought for a Chinese navy, I must remind the Admiralty that the Chinese navy is not as weak as you think, and not long ago the combined fleet ambushed the Chinese navy in the Hawaiian waters, although it is said that because of the poor performance of the army, it eventually led to a failure and failed to destroy the Chinese and Heilongjiang fleets, but it tested the actual combat effectiveness of this Chinese navy, although it was not very strong, but it had already posed a threat to the imperial navy. ”

"In addition, according to the information obtained by our intelligence personnel, there are three branches of the Zhina family in a naval fleet as large as the Heilongjiang Fleet, so the Zhina family and their territory must be taken into account when fighting south!"

Speaking of this, Nagano Xiushen also got up and said: "Regarding the issue of New Guinea and Rabaul, the Admiralty already has a secret plan, just wait for the approval of His Majesty the Emperor, Commander Yamamoto will be able to see it, there will be no strategic loopholes!" ”

Konoe Fumima saw that the time was almost up, so he announced the adjournment of the meeting. Although the meeting was dispersed, everyone walked out of the palace with a heavy pace, this is the last imperial meeting of the Great Japanese Empire before the war with the United States and Britain and other countries, it can be said that this meeting has decided the fate of the Great Japanese Empire, but also decided the fate of each of them, victory is the same glory, defeat is the same decline. (To be continued......)