Chapter 6: Iron Ambition: The Empire of the Rising Sun (Part II)

Although he said that he wanted to "share weal and woe with the officers and men of the Australian Army", as a "base camp staff officer" who basically stayed in the imperial capital Tokyo for the entire war, Takushiro Hattori barely ate a few mouthfuls of urea-rich and smelly kangaroo meat, and he really couldn't continue to swallow, but kept drinking. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 Tsuji Masanobu didn't bother with himself, pushed the canned kangaroo meat aside, and asked about the current situation on the battlefield in Chinese mainland.

“…… The battlefield of China? What else? It has always been shrinking its forces to the coastal areas, disengaged, and letting Wang Jingwei's people go up! Since the year before last, they completely abandoned Shanxi and Mengjiang, and last year they gave up Wuhan, and this spring they gave up Nanchang again, and Shandong Province was completely lost to the Communist Army of China, and the defense of Anhui was handed over to the friendly forces of China. The railway lines connecting the occupied territories were completely cut off and could only communicate with each other by sea.

His Excellency Okamura Ninji of Peiping had a great opinion on this, and he had taken advantage of the fact that the communist army of China had made enemies with the Chongqing army, as well as the great riots of the hungry people in Henan last year, to organize a large-scale offensive against the Tang Enbo Corps of the Chongqing Army entrenched in Henan! As a result, instead of providing support, the base camp also transferred two of his divisions to Australia, and another division to Zhejiang to blockade the coastline. Now Henan has become the base of the Communist Army of China, in Hebei, the imperial army was also forced to give up all the territory south of Shimen (Shijiazhuang), and the plainclothes team of the Eighth Route Army has touched the edge of the Forbidden City! ”

“…… Joke! Also attack! According to me, Okamura Ninji's North China dispatch army simply abandoned Pingjin and withdrew to Manchukuo! This also saves a lot of human resources! I doubt General Okamura knows what his troops look like now! Or simply pretend to be confused! I heard in the spring of this year that this guy had not received the minimum amount of food for most of the year in the security forces set up in the rural guard towers in the eastern Hebei region, and in order to fill his stomach, he secretly sold out his military uniforms, quilts, and ammunition, and in the end he was so destitute that he was working as a tenant farmer for the local Chinese landlords, and he was also poked out as a joke by the Chinese radio station...... But the base camp still refuses to transfer these idle troops to Australia! Does the base camp want to win the war? Or are they simply ready to surrender to the United States and Britain? ”

Masanobu Tsuji said with a big grin, but Hattori Takushiro was so frightened that his face changed suddenly, "...... Tsuji-kun! Be careful! ”

“…… It's okay, wars always have to end! Since those big people dare to do it, why don't we say a few words to the little people? ”

Masanobu Tsuji waved his hand disapprovingly, but he didn't continue, but talked about the military supply that made the front-line soldiers the most criticized.

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

- Although Japan had a very abundant labor force before the war, and the Japanese workers also had a fine tradition of diligence and hard work, and were loyal to the factories and their own work, after the start of the war, Japan's domestic industrial production was very bad in the process of transferring to the wartime system, which was largely due to the government's lack of rational overall economic planning, and the ultimate goal was simply output, which led to conflicting policies and orders in various departments, and also led to a mismatch between resources and factory production capacity. It not only discourages the workers' enthusiasm for labor, but also reduces the output.

The most fundamental problem was the lack of cooperation and even the most basic communication between the departments responsible for the domestic economy and the conscription agencies – the staff officers of the base camp, who were heavily influenced by the Bushido faith, took it for granted that every Japanese was a warrior of His Majesty the Emperor and could go to war, and as a result, the engineers, technicians, leaders, mechanics, and skilled workers in the factories were captured and conscripted. Leaving factories without skilled workers to use has led to a significant decline in the production and quality of all types of munitions. For example, a supervisor working at Hitachi Electronics said, "We were called up with 1,000 skilled workers, and in order to ensure production, we had to find 4,000 novices to replace them, and the quality could not be guaranteed." ”

What's worse is that many large companies or factories rely on hundreds of small companies to provide raw materials and spare parts for production, while in Japan, many small companies only have two or three technicians. If the technicians in these small companies who are in charge of key processes are suddenly arrested, the entire production of the company will be ruined, and there will be a chain reaction that will eventually lead to the entire production of the large assembly plant coming to a halt because a part is not in place......

In addition to the unscientific and indiscriminate conscription and the waste of a large number of technical personnel, another problem in Japan's domestic munitions production is the military's indiscriminate intervention in factories. Today, the Japanese Empire has been effectively taken over by the base camps, and most of the senior officers of the army and navy have no common sense of business or production technology, and under the supervision of these officers, various factories have been forcibly transferred to munitions production, regardless of the technical capabilities of these factories. As a result, there were a lot of strange and embarrassing things that allowed the spinning factory to produce bullets and the pottery workshop to fire the telescope...... The result is an unprecedentedly bizarre and tear-inducing pile of defective waste, which wastes valuable raw materials, a lot of manpower and electricity, and delays time.

The most insane case was the Mitsubishi Aircraft Factory near Nagoya, which was originally just a factory for the production of canned beef, but was thrown down by the base camp and ordered to be temporarily converted into an aircraft factory, God knows how those officers associated canned food with fighter jets.

And at the same time, skilled mechanical engineers were arrested and conscripted, and in their place were children who had not yet graduated from school...... The result is predictable, probably more than half of the Zero fighters and bombers produced by this canneyard could not take off at all. Even if he was barely able to fly, he had fatal flaws, and soon after being sent to the front, he received the notoriety of "pilot killer" from the mouths of officers and soldiers.

The resulting inferior aircraft and tanks were soon unusable – the former were prone to flame-off and disintegration in mid-air, and the latter had a random self-detonation function. Later, even rifles and machine guns exploded at an intolerably high rate.

Seeing that there was really no hope for munitions in the rear, the Imperial Japanese Navy and Army on the southern front had to find their own way to collect technicians from the army and laborers, and use Australia's rich iron ore resources to organize local production, miraculously quickly and quickly set up many production lines for bullets, rifles, machine guns, grenadiers, and mortars. However, if you can't produce large-scale mechanical parts or precision and cutting-edge products, you can only rely on "foreign orders".

- Although the oil fields of the Dutch East India Colony (Indonesia) were seized, due to the limitation of oil refining capacity, there was still a shortage of fuel supply for the Japanese army during the Pacific War. Therefore, before the outbreak of the Pacific War, Japan signed a secret agreement with the Soviet Union, under which during the peacetime between the two countries, Japan could import tens of thousands of tons of fuel oil from the Soviet Union every year, mainly heavy oil for naval warships. Later, due to some secret contacts and private communication, the scope of this import was expanded to include aluminum ingots for the production of aircraft, as well as second-hand Soviet second-hand merchant ships, and so on. Next, in view of the desperate state of military production in the country, the base camp, especially the navy, actually began to order various parts from the Soviet side. Later, some weapons were also entrusted to the Soviet Union for processing and manufacturing, I really wonder how the Russians could squeeze out so much production capacity while crushing the German Nazis on the Western Front?

This year, in view of the food crisis at home, Japan has even begun to try to import food from Russia - although the taste of Russian black bread is really too sour to taste, but the only ration that Japanese civilians can get during the war is two in three spoons (330 grams) of rice a day, or the kind of brown rice that has not even shed its shell, which is half a catty and eight taels in comparison. It's good to have something to eat in wartime, but I don't dare to be too picky.

The massive blood transfusion from the Soviet Union made the already crumbling war machine of the Japanese Empire barely work for a while longer, but none of these foreign goods were free, and credit was not allowed. In order to pay the bills, the Japanese side initially relied on public donations to collect hard currency such as precious metals. Later, when the country ran out of gold and silver, and the oil and water in the Korean and Chinese occupation areas had long been drained, the Japanese army went on a rampage in the South Seas, digging three feet into the ground, collecting all kinds of tropical specialties, and even looting Buddhist temples in Burma, scraping gold leaf from Buddha statues...... Burdened with a demonic infamy, but the benefits were given to the Russian hair.

If it's just a war to feed the war, then it's okay, the Japanese army has been doing this before. The problem, however, was that the Soviet side, under the pretext of taking into account the sentiments of the Chinese party and maintaining the internal unity of the Comintern, did not want to see the steel it produced smashed on the heads of its little Chinese brothers. Therefore, it was required that the materials imported by the Japanese side from the USSR should be used only for the navy. And the Soviet machine factories also accepted only orders from the Japanese Navy.

It just so happened that Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, who was originally from the army, had fallen at this time and was sent to be the commander of the gendarmerie. The new Prime Minister, His Excellency Mitsumasa Yonechi, was born in the Navy, and naturally gladly agreed to such a proposal that would benefit his own people. As a result, the channels for importing strategic materials and industrial products from the Soviet Union were completely monopolized by the Japanese Navy, and they were basically used only for the war against the United States. The army in Nanyang can still be stained with light, but the army in the Chinese battlefield cannot even distinguish a single hair, so angry that the army staff headquarters scolded the navy for "colluding with Soviet Russia and being polluted by red thoughts"......

Moreover, according to the opinion of Takushiro Hattori, chief of the Operations Division of the General Staff Headquarters, this kind of attack on the navy does not seem to be entirely groundless.

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

“…… According to reliable information, Isoroku Yamamoto has run a huge smuggling network within the navy, wantonly reselling all kinds of materials in the empire itself and the entire Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, and undermining the country's wartime economic system, even Prime Minister Mitsumasa Yonechi is involved......"

Takushiro Hattori said sullenly, "...... Moreover, the Navy did more than smuggle Soviet supplies and South Sea goods. All sorts of red ideas also spread within the front-line navy. Many of Marshal Yamamoto's actions in the Nanyang-controlled areas, such as enterprises directly under the army, Juntun farms, and so on, have obvious socialist overtones. The special high school has given warnings many times, but instead has been ordered to force ......"

However, the Australian army in which Masanobu Tsuji is located, because of the long-term combat side by side with the Combined Fleet, can somehow share some of the things that the Navy gets privately. Although the taste of eating navy leftovers is not comfortable, it is good to eat people with soft mouths and short hands, so I am very unimpressed with this," ...... Undermining wartime economic control? If it weren't for the mess made by the domestic control system, and the supply of even qualified military products could not be guaranteed, would the front-line officers and men need to engage in all kinds of crooked and evil ways? Now that I am talking about this, do you want to overthrow the cabinet? Or is it just another Nomenkan incident? A fight with the Red Army? ”

“…… One more Nomenkan incident...... It's not impossible. Takushiro Hattori suddenly whispered in an eerie voice, "...... Some people in the Kwantung Army suggested that they could engage in a friction with the Soviet Union in the Far East, and that they would be able to show goodwill to the United States regardless of victory or defeat, which would be conducive to opening up a situation of peace talks with the United States......

“…… Ridiculous! This is simply irresponsible! It's suicide! The few elite divisions and brigades that the Kwantung Army was able to fight are now either all wiped out, or in Nanyang and Australia! The current Kwantung Army is just an empty shelf, what are they going to fight the Red Army? The old and weak women and children of the Manchurian Pioneer Regiment with bamboo guns? Besides, this kind of thinking itself is whimsical, and I take it for granted that I talk in my dreams! Who stipulated that the United States could be pleased simply by provoking the USSR? ”

Masanobu Tsuji immediately became angry, "...... If this is really done, the US military will only be overjoyed, quickly strengthen the offensive, and then unite with the Soviet Union to carve up the empire, and then even the homeland will not be able to be saved, maybe Tokyo will have to be bombed! Whoever messes around at this time is the sinner of the Empire! ”

“…… The Soviet Atomic Bomb ...... Well, that's a real problem, a big problem! It seems that the General Staff Headquarters must quickly send people to Manchuria to rectify military discipline, and we must not let those guys who are accustomed to walking alone and getting down to the bottom of the river poke out any more catastrophes......" Hattori Takushiro was shocked at first, but then continued to ask unwillingly, "...... But is it true that the Empire can't get a decent peace from the United States now? ”

“…… Hattori-kun, let's die! The empire is now absolutely unable to compromise with the United States. ”

Masanobu Tsuji shook his head and said categorically, "...... In the first two years of the war, there was still a slight possibility. At that time, the United States, in order to concentrate its efforts on Europe, may be a little more lenient towards Japan. But now that the dust has settled on the battlefield in Europe, the United States has only grabbed half of Italy in the south, which is not even a chicken rib, only enough to stuff the teeth. If the Yankees want to fill their stomachs, they can only defeat the imperial army on this side of the Pacific!

So, unless Japan surrenders unconditionally, or the United States and the Soviet Union immediately tear their faces apart and fight in Europe – but with the Soviet Union unveiling its atomic bomb and the latter seems to have little hope, the United States would rather unite with the Soviet Union to carve up the empire than make peace with us! ”

“…… This...... Is the Americans' will to war really so strong? They have all died so many people and shed so much blood! ”

“…… It is precisely because they have died so many people and shed so much blood that they must persist in fighting to the end! ”

Masanobu Tsuji smiled bitterly, "...... We fought too well in Nanyang and Australia before, and beat the US army too hard, so now we can't be soft anymore! Hattori-kun, you have also read the history of ancient warfare in the West, and you should know how the Roman Empire treated the Carthaginians: slaughtering the tribes, cutting down the grass and eradicating the roots, and even sprinkling salt on the ruins of the city of Carthage, so that no grass grows in this place! Why? It's not because the previous Carthaginian general Hannibal beat them the Romans too hard and accumulated too much hatred and fear, so once there is an opportunity, they must be put to death before they give up!

If the United States chooses to give up instead of persevering to the end after a bloody encounter on Japan's side, then not to mention succeeding Britain as the world hegemon, I am afraid that even South America, which was originally regarded as its own backyard, will be unstable. So let's not be under the illusion that American politicians basically have no tradition of compromising with their enemies. Especially if we provoked this war in the first place......"

At this point, both officers sighed gloomily. The prospect of this war against the United States is clear: no matter how much it wins, it will only last, and if it loses once, it will never recover. It seems that the Japanese Empire, which is rising and shining brightly, is actually already at the end of the twilight and the sun is about to set.

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

Such a bleak outlook for the future is too heavy. So after talking about state affairs for a while, they consciously shifted the topic to all kinds of ups and downs, and then noticed an unusually pretty and lively petite figure beside Marshal Yamamoto Fifty-six in the distance.

It was a girl who looked about the age of an elementary school student, with hair that reached almost to the shoulders, and the hair behind the ears was pulled into two small buns that were not very traditional, leaving only the sideburns next to the ears hanging down the side of the face. He wears a light blue silk kimono with delicate patterns, white socks and clogs, and a string of colorful jewelry in his hair.

Looking at the clothes that are worth a lot of money in terms of workmanship alone, and the delicate face like a doll, if you stand there obediently, it really looks like a well-educated lady who grew up in a family of the "evil exploiting class".

But now she was laughing unceremoniously and running around with her little feet in wooden shoes, holding a box of Western pastries made with cream from Kobe's Mt. Rokko Naval Farm, and amusing the drooling refugee children......

After noticing the little girl's madness without a ladylike demeanor, Marshal Yamamoto Fifty-six walked over and scolded her with a straight face, but looking at her disapproving appearance, he had to sigh helplessly, reached out and rubbed her hair, making her squint her eyes comfortably.

Looking at Marshal Yamamoto's acquaintance with the kimono Lori, Hattori Takushiro couldn't help but be curious, "...... This little girl...... It doesn't look like the daughter of Marshal Yamamoto's family! Could it be the child of one of his relatives and friends? ”

“…… Maybe it's Marshal Yamamoto's illegitimate daughter? When I was in Nanyang, I once heard by chance that Marshal Yamamoto seemed to have raised an illegitimate daughter in Truk, and not only pampered her very much, but even took her to the flagship Yamato to play. ”

Masanobu Tsuji casually guessed, "...... Maybe when I came to Tokyo on the destroyer Yukikaze this time, I took her for a walk. ”

“…… Really? Hey, remember that Admiral Nelson also had a similar affair, and the famous admirals in the world are all so romantic? ……”

However, what Masanobu Tsuji didn't know was that Marshal Yamamoto's "illegitimate daughter" was not just one. And the reason why they appeared on the warship in disregard of naval discipline was not only the "spoiling" of Marshal Yamamoto......

The hair on the shoulders and behind the ears was pulled into two small buns that were not very traditional, leaving only the sideburns next to the ears hanging down to the side of the face. He wears a light blue silk kimono with delicate patterns, white socks and clogs, and a string of colorful jewelry in his hair.

Looking at the clothes that are worth a lot of money in terms of workmanship alone, and the delicate face like a doll, if you stand there obediently, it really looks like a well-educated lady who grew up in a family of the "evil exploiting class".

But now she was laughing unceremoniously and running around with her little feet in wooden shoes, holding a box of Western pastries made with cream from Kobe's Mt. Rokko Naval Farm, and amusing the drooling refugee children......

After noticing the little girl's madness without a ladylike demeanor, Marshal Yamamoto Fifty-six walked over and scolded her with a straight face, but looking at her disapproving appearance, he had to sigh helplessly, reached out and rubbed her hair, making her squint her eyes comfortably.

Looking at Marshal Yamamoto's acquaintance with the kimono Lori, Hattori Takushiro couldn't help but be curious, "...... This little girl...... It doesn't look like the daughter of Marshal Yamamoto's family! Could it be the child of one of his relatives and friends? ”

“…… Maybe it's Marshal Yamamoto's illegitimate daughter? When I was in Nanyang, I once heard by chance that Marshal Yamamoto seemed to have raised an illegitimate daughter in Truk, and not only pampered her very much, but even took her to the flagship Yamato to play. ”

Masanobu Tsuji casually guessed, "...... Maybe when I came to Tokyo on the destroyer Yukikaze this time, I took her for a walk. ”

“…… Really? Hey, remember that Admiral Nelson also had a similar affair, and the famous admirals in the world are all so romantic? ……”

However, what Masanobu Tsuji didn't know was that Marshal Yamamoto's "illegitimate daughter" was not just one. And the reason why they appeared on the warship in disregard of naval discipline was not only the "spoiling" of Marshal Yamamoto......