If the goal is raised to intimidate the American people, it is obviously more in line with the definition of "strategic", but San Diego is less than ideal, mainly because the population is too small.

Objectively, the captain was also concerned about not being able to penetrate Santiago's 650-meter-wide harbor with unknown depths. Japan has limited (basically none) hydrographic data on the US mainland, and it is believed that the Germans will be more accurate, but out of secrecy, they do not dare to ask the German side on this issue, so as not to expose their intentions in advance. This is the bottom line set by Kagesa Zhenzhao, because Asano said that the German intelligence agencies have long been seriously infiltrated by the allies.

San Francisco, as a second target, has various other benefits beyond striking the U.S. Navy. According to the reconnaissance aircraft report, a large number of small warships and aircraft carriers were also stationed there, and the harbor was wide and the protection was simple, although the seaplanes found it was likely to be an escort aircraft carrier preparing to set sail with the cargo fleet, but it was also an important military target. In addition, since the large population on both sides of the Golden Gate Bridge obviously has extremely high intimidation value, and San Diego has a population of less than one million and no major media presence, it must be considered that if a nuclear bomb were to be exploded in San Diego, the truth might be suppressed by the Roosevelt Organization using wartime control. Perhaps the American public can only see from the newspapers in the end: there was an explosion of an ammunition depot there.

Onishi's plan was almost the same as that of Fumiro Konoe in the fourth cabinet, and they both gained one-sided historical experience from Asano, that is, two nuclear bombs could bring "the most tenacious empire in human history" (Asano) to its knees. ”

So it is not difficult to conclude that taking this shortcut is enough to force the Americans, who are much weaker in will to fight, to withdraw from the fighting.

The approximate date of the U.S. nuclear armament (by July 1945) is being tightened like a noose (and the Japanese side must also admit that Japan is not as well prepared for nuclear war as the United States in terms of its home size). So the Japanese decision-makers began to gravitate towards throwing aside Makino's roadmap and detonating the nuclear bomb first.

The new situation is beyond what Makino designed a year ago, because now he needs to face a new variable, that is, Chu Tingchang, who is cutting the empire in two. The immediate priority is to scare off the United States (withdraw from the war) and then concentrate on eliminating Chu Tingchang (including three or four*) while waiting for newer guided weapons to mature. With these weapons, it is possible to expect to completely wipe out the US nuclear potential with a sneak attack and the simultaneous destruction of the Los Alamos laboratory in New Mexico, as well as the uranium enrichment plant in the Tennessee Oak Grove, forcing the US to back down again (signing some kind of treaty close to surrender)

If Germany can be bought off through technology transfer, then German submarines are needed to go to the west coast of Africa and block the uranium mine route between the west coast of the United States and the Congo.

These plans, which remain on paper, are compact and rigorous, and the reaction of the United States, the progress of the plan, and the technological breakthroughs, all of which must be developed according to the plan. Of course, compared to Makino's conventional-weapon-based roadmap, the time is slightly more lenient, and the cost is, of course, a huge risk of nuclear retaliation. According to Makino's thinking, the empire is already facing collapse at this moment, and it is actually time to start thinking about surrendering.

When Makino arrived in Tokyo, he immediately fell into a coma due to a spinal injury, so there was no way for these decision-makers to go against his ideas and convince them from his point of view. Of course, even when he was awake, he had lost the ability to shake his decisions, and even the emperor himself tended to make desperate bets.

The I-12 submarine, which had just lost its seaplane, tried to sneak into the port of San Diego by keeping up with the U.S. fleet for several days, but all attempts ended in failure. The port has strict anti-submarine measures, including an anti-submarine net towed by tugboats.

On the second attempt to enter, the I-12 also made a huge mistake, and the submarine hit the bottom of the sea at a speed of 6 knots, and then the keel sat on the bottom. The huge impact also caused the main motor to stop, and the submarine was trapped on the bottom of the sea and could not move for a while. Kanda was forced to drain the water, partially surfaced the sail cover, and restarted the submarine using diesel power to get the submarine out of trouble. When the submarine was clumsily reversing, it was scratched by the US military searchlight several times, but fortunately, the US troops guarding it may have dozed off, so the alarm was not sounded. From this, Kanda concluded that the idea of sneaking into the port of Santiago at night was unrealistic, and the water here was too shallow

His submarine then left the area and sailed north along the coast to San Francisco. San Francisco was originally of great Japanese descent, but after Roosevelt imprisoned native Japanese in concentration camps, the city became a symbol of racial oppression in Japanese propaganda. The Japanese people are expecting the Combined Fleet to appear here and deliver the first strike on the US mainland.

At the same time, Chu Tingchang reworked the offensive plan in Cambodia. The enemy's * forced his offensive to be conservative, and the plan to attack Saigon, Zhou Youfu had already completed it, and could only be shelved for the time being. The troops moved to the more mountainous but inland town of Dalat, which was the northern headquarters of the Japanese Southern Army (Singapore in the south) and a railway hub.

Although it became impossible to cut off the Japanese Empire from land for the time being, it was also of great strategic significance for Bingfeng to touch Dalat and cut off the railway. He can free up his hands to sweep through Laos and northern Cambodia, connect his territory across Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos, and perhaps open up with Guangxi. In the end, Japan was left with only a narrow strip of land connecting Haiphong, Da Nang, Nha Trang, and Saigon.

Lin Xiuxuan did not go to Vietnam with the rest of the troops, but personally sent Lu Qingshan to the coast of Kampong Flood Bay, where there were still some Japanese troops, who were entrenched using the bunkers built by the French army 50 years earlier, but the guns of the fortress were facing the sea, which was easy to break through from the rear, and the battle itself was not worth mentioning. What really matters is to send Lu Qingshan to 419. Lu Qingshan is the only person on 419 who has the ability to dive deeply.

The battle on the coast continued, and Cheng Dayang couldn't wait to send a boatswain to drive a rubber boat to the coast to pick up people. Japanese destroyers attacked the bunkers not far away, trying to destroy the forts that had just been captured by the Chinese army. Chu Tingchang's British train cannon smuggled by the railway was already in place.

After the two sides fired at each other, the boatswain's boat arrived, and he picked up people on the beach where the shells shuttled, and then returned, this time only Lu Qingshan returned to the submarine alone, and Lin Xiuxuan and the rest of the people would continue to stay with Chu Tingchang to help collect intelligence.

Leaving 419's reconnaissance will reduce their ability to gather intelligence by about 9% (Shu Ping's estimate), but they will have to face such a grim situation. The enemy has taken precautions in many ways, and effective information intercepted by radio is becoming less and less. Now that the advantages of drones have been lost, everything has become very tricky. However, when 419 leaves, it will conduct one last detailed reconnaissance along the coast of Vietnam, and may find some clues.

After being silent for several days, the headquarters of Chief Chu Ting, near Phnom Penh, sent out a telegram: Support the leader and carry the war to the end.

The message was encrypted and sent directly to Chongqing. At the same time, however, the foreign news agencies stationed in Thailand, Burma, and Cambodia also received a consistent communication from the Fifth Army of Chu Tingchang. The content was to support the Cairo Declaration, which was bound to end the war in Asia first and punish Japan for war crimes.

After the Cairo Conference, Britain and the United States and Chongqing issued the Cairo Declaration almost simultaneously, and the Xinhua News Agency later published an article in support of the Cairo Declaration. Chu Tingchang is the fifth. He held a meeting with Tao Mingzhang and Xiong Xianghui behind closed doors for several days, and after several revisions to the wording, he finally completed the manuscript. It is hoped that through this, the superficial relationship with Jiang will be repaired. Due to Dai Li's failed assassination operation, which alarmed Britain and the United States, making rumors of Jiang Chu's breakthrough flying, Chu Tingchang hoped to save the situation a little, after all, his supply line is still in Liao Yaoxiang's hands. The plan to counterattack Malay and seize a port with Tao Mingzhang's army was also made difficult by the enemy's use of *.

However, after the telegram was sent, Chongqing has not responded, just like Chu Tingchang's hot face sticking a cold ass.

On the bright side, the chairman did not declare a rebellion or cut off the supply lines across Burma. Of course, according to the information intercepted by Qin Xiaosu, Liao Yaoxiang's ministry has received several instructions to reassess the railway capacity and be ready to transport the hoarded materials to Lashio by rail; And worked out a plan for friction with Chu Ting's chief in northern Myanmar. Of course, Stilwell, sensing that the situation was not good, had flown to Chongqing, and would obviously warn Lao Jiang not to cut off Chu Tingchang's supply lines.

On the third day after 419 left Kampong Flood Bay, that is, on the fourth day of Stilwell's arrival in Chongqing, the Military Council finally replied to Chu Tingchang and sent a commendation order for the 5th Army by telegram. Commendation for the meritorious service of the troops in killing the enemy. The second telegram was a directive from the Commission, urging the troops to continue their eastward offensive in order to carry forward the spirit of the Cairo Conference and annihilate the stubborn enemy entrenched in Asia.

It seems that Chu Tingchang and Lao Jiang have maintained a detached relationship. The interaction between the two bridges the surface of division. But Xiong Xianghui judged that the matter would not end so quickly, and with his understanding of Chiang Kai-shek's character of being wide on the outside and taboo on the inside, his concession was often part of the strategy, and there would definitely be follow-ups.

In the process of bypassing the Jinou Peninsula and sailing to the East China Sea, the 419 used drones to conduct reconnaissance along the coast of Vietnam, and soon screened out a suspicious flotilla consisting of 4 merchant ships and as many as 4 escort patrol ships, which obviously did not meet the protection specifications of Japan's traditional transport fleets (there would usually be no escort fleet).

Drones filmed troop training on the decks of all four transport ships, and Japanese soldiers on each ship were rapidly assembling large hot air balloons. Later, training soldiers were filmed, all wearing gas masks. These strange circumstances immediately heightened 419's vigilance. It's a pity that the enemy is well protected and can't let Lu Qingshan board the cargo ship to investigate.

Gas masks do not shield against radiation, but they do protect against radioactive dust, which may be related to the imminent nuclear bomb attack by the Japanese army. The balloon is not large enough to carry a few heavy bombs, but it may carry some measuring equipment to collect first-hand data on the explosion.