"Yo Xi, it's really a famous teacher and a high apprentice! Speaking of which, I have been friends with Tu Feiyuan for many years, and we have a common understanding of many strategic principles. Ishihara smiled and nodded, in fact, he still heard about the things between Kenji Dohihara and Yoshiko Kawashima.

At this time, after listening to Kawashima Yoshiko's memories and explanations, Ishihara's mind had already become clear, and at the same time, he was more aware of Kawashima Yoshiko's intention to deliberately leak this information. Yoshiko Kawashima hurriedly nodded and smiled: "The teacher often mentions His Excellency the Commander to me, saying that you are a rare strategic genius in the Japanese Empire, let me learn from you and ask for advice!" ”

"Where, Dohihara is too polite, he is the pillar of the Great Japanese Empire. It's a pity that he died young, "I don't wear a lot of sycophants, although I know that most of it is just one side of Kawashima Yoshiko's words, but Ishihara Waner still can't help but smile. "Your Excellency, Commander, you are prone to thirst after drinking, I'll peel an apple to moisten your throat!"

After a few words, Yoshiko Kawashima reached out and picked up the apple and fruit knife from the fruit bowl on the coffee table and began to peel them. Soon, Yoshiko Kawashima peeled the apple, stood up with a smile and walked towards Ishihara Waner. "Oops!" However, just as she was about to walk to the front, Yoshiko Kawashima suddenly snorted, her body staggered forward, and she threw herself into Ishihara's arms. "Miss Yoshiko, are you alright?"

Ishihara stretched forward subconsciously, and he magically grabbed Kawashima Yoshiko's **, and suddenly the full high-elastic touch came, and the old devil's body suddenly tightened as if he had been electrocuted. "I'm sorry, I've also drunk a lot of alcohol today, and my legs and feet are a little disadvantaged!" The key point was attacked, but Kawashima Yoshiko was not displeased at all, but looked at Ishihara Waner with a spring in his eyes and said: "Thank you, Your Excellency Commander, for supporting me in time, otherwise I would have to fall into a big fight!" ”

After speaking, Kawashima Yoshiko not only did not take the initiative to get out of the clutches, but sat into Ishihara's arms with a soft body. "Where! Where! "Looking at Yoshiko Kawashima's appearance, Ishihara is still unclear, this is completely Chiguoguo's embrace, wanting to exchange beauty for benefits." Miss Yoshiko, you're so pretty! For this woman with a noble status and royal blood, Ishihara Waner actually had an idea, but at this time, he was not polite, and his hands began to become dishonest.

Yoshiko Kawashima hugged Ishihara tightly and muttered, "It is my greatest honor to be appreciated by His Excellency the Commander!" Please also have mercy on Your Excellency, Commander! After years of ups and downs, honors and disgraces, Yoshiko Kawashima knows very well that if a woman wants to conquer the world, she must first conquer powerful men.

And the Japanese in front of him not only controlled the entire Manchukuo, but also could further become a giant of the Japanese Empire in the future, so Yoshiko Kawashima had already made up her mind to take Ishihara Waner at all costs. "Yo Si! I've admired Miss Yoshiko for a long time! "Ishihara was in a good mood and drank a little too much, Ishihara was originally very excited, but now in the face of such a lively scene, how can he withstand it?

A few days later, Yoshiko Kawashima was appointed commander of the puppet Manchukuo Praetorian Guard, which was a big step forward and had a considerable armed force. In fact, Yoshiko Kawashima was appointed commander-in-chief of the Manchukuo National Army in 1933, and the Anguo Army was advertised as "the Manchukuo Volunteer Army led by the Manchurian princess."

But in 1934, Yoshiko Kawashima was disappointed that Manchukuo was not a Qing restoration with the help of Japan, but only a puppet regime of Japan, and from time to time openly criticized the "mainland policy" of the Japanese army, and used her personal power to release some of the arrested Chinese.

The Japanese were quickly alerted and sent her back to Japan for surveillance. It was not until 1936 that Yoshiko Kawashima made a comeback with the help of Hideki Tojo's Sino-Japanese peace negotiation strategy, returned to Tianjin to run Dongxinglou Restaurant, secretly continued espionage activities, and had frequent contacts with high-ranking Japanese officials and traitors.

And now, with Ishihara Wan'er coming to power and adopting a series of strategies of "using China to contain China", the Manchu imperial family has gained an unprecedented sense of "dignity" and existence, and Kawashima Yoshiko's desire to restore the Qing Dynasty has been revived again.

In order to realize the great dream in her heart, Yoshiko Kawashima continued to serve the Japanese invaders, and did not hesitate to fall into a catastrophe in the evil act of serving the tiger.

On April 9, 1940, Nazi Germany carried out a military plan codenamed "Operation Wesselberg" and launched a full-scale invasion of Denmark and Norway. But Denmark and Norway are both neutral countries, and their relations with Germany are not bad, they have never provoked Germany, and the main ethnic group of Denmark is still the same Germanic people as Germany.

Hitler had never said anything before that he was going to invade Denmark and Norway, not even verbally hinted, so what was the casus belli to Denmark and Norway? The reason for the declaration of bellus was as follows: Britain and France were informed of the imminent invasion of Denmark and Norway, and in order to ensure the neutrality and sovereign integrity of Denmark and Norway, they should immediately surrender their countries to the protection of Nazi Germany.

In fact, the real reason was that after Nazi Germany blitzked Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany. Compared with Britain, an old maritime empire, Germany's maritime power was at a disadvantage, especially after the pocket battleship "Spee" was sunk by the British, the German Navy's "let it out" tactics completely failed.

In order to ensure sea supremacy in the North Atlantic and the safety of iron ore import routes from Sweden, the senior generals of the German Navy suggested several times that Hitler invade Denmark and Norway, and finally Hitler agreed. Four hours after Operation Witherberg began, Denmark had completely fallen and the king had surrendered.

Norway, on the other hand, relied on the terrain, the support of Britain and France, and the valiant fighting of Nazi Germany! As Nazi Germany further expanded the scale of the war, the security situation in Europe became extremely serious, and Britain and France faced unprecedented war pressures.

Seeing the successive victories of the German allies and the fact that Britain and France could only parry and could not fight back, the Japanese military government was greatly encouraged, and the call for an attack from the south became louder and louder. However, there are still great obstacles and difficult problems facing Japan, that is, the government of the Republic of China still insists on not giving in to the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and the Red Party's base areas behind enemy lines have the tendency to burn the prairie fire.

In particular, the strong Shandong Group Army was stuck in the throat and embedded in the hinterland of the Japanese-ruled area, not only cutting off the railway transportation network, but also threatening the security of the whole of North China at all times. Therefore, before going south, it is necessary to eradicate the henchmen of the Shandong Group Army!

After a long period of planning and brewing, the Japanese army base camp formulated an unprecedented military battle, formed two huge combat clusters against the Shandong Group Army and Qin Siyu's troops in Yunwu Mountain, and prepared to encircle and annihilate the Shandong Group Army and Qin Siyu's military group in Yunwu Mountain with a north-south attack.

On May 10, 1940, Nazi Germany decided to adopt the Manstein Plan and began to attack France, Belgium, the Netherlands and other low-lying countries, thus ending the stalemate for more than half a year.

In the evening of the same day, Churchill was elected Prime Minister of Britain for the first time, and he inherited from his predecessor Neville Chamberlain a mess facing collapse, from the air, land to sea, the British Empire was suffering an unprecedented succession of defeats.

Just a week after Churchill took office, the Germans had breached France's war totem Maginot Line, and the risk of French defeat was very real. Soon after taking office, Churchill delivered his famous speech in the House of Commons, which greatly encouraged the old parliamentarians who were immersed in the mood of defeat, and the development of the war soon proved that Churchill had many words.

France claims to have the "strongest army in the world", and is at the world's first-class level in terms of weaponry, and the Maginot Line set up in the east of France is considered by the French to be an impregnable defensive facility. But what everyone never expected was that the Germans bypassed the Maginot Line and entered French territory from the Ardennes.

Just two weeks later, at the end of May, France was defeated by Nazi Germany, and the Anglo-French forces were completely routed and surrounded by German troops in Dunkirk. On May 25, 1940, after the collapse of the Anglo-French lines under the rapid offensive of German mechanized troops, the British army carried out the largest military retreat in the history of Dunkirk, a port town in northeastern France near the Belgian border.

Although this large-scale retreat, code-named "Project Dynamo", allowed the British and French to use various ships to withdraw a large number of troops, successfully salvage a large number of manpower, and preserve the vitality of the future counteroffensive.

But all the heavy equipment of the British expeditionary force in France was abandoned on the European continent, causing serious problems for the ground defense of the British mainland. The Dunkirk retreat marked the withdrawal of British power from the European continent, and the main areas of Western Europe except for Britain, Switzerland, and Spain were occupied by Germany.

On June 10, 1940, Germany's victory in France was a foregone conclusion, and Mussolini hastily announced from the balcony of the Palazzo Venezia that Italy had declared war on France. On 11 June, Italy concentrated Army Group "Western" under the command of Crown Prince Umberto to fight against France.

When the Germans entered Paris, the French government collapsed and was divided, mainly the pacifist government of Marshal Philippe Petain, which remained on the French mainland, and the government-in-exile of Charles de Gaulle in England. On 21 June, the Vichy French government of Pétain proposed a truce to Germany, and France surrendered the following day.

The governments of France, Germany, and Italy signed an armistice agreement, according to which the German and Italian troops occupied most of France, and the French government paid for their food and wages, and France ceased fire completely. The Allies suffered 350,000 casualties and 190,000 were captured; The German-Italian allies suffered 155,000 casualties, of which 45,000 were killed and 110,000 were wounded.

July 25, Tokyo Imperial Palace, Japan. Encouraged by the brilliant results of the German and Italian allies in the European theater, the Japanese government was like a chicken from top to bottom, and the call for a larger-scale offensive against China was getting louder and louder, whether it was going north or south, or launching a larger-scale attack on China. Emperor Hirohito convened a high-level cabinet meeting and summoned all the ministers' confidants to the Imperial Palace for strategic discussions.

Prime Minister Fumihiro Konoe, Chief of Staff of the Headquarters of the Base Camp Miyajihito, Director of Education Yamada Otsuzo, Minister of War Hideki Tojo, Minister of Naval Command Hiroshi Fushimiya, Minister of the Navy Yoshida Zengo, Foreign Minister Yoshioka Yoyo and other old devils were all present.

Because today's meeting is very important, and it has a direct bearing on the next strategic policy of the Japanese military government, which will greatly affect Japan's national fortunes, the atmosphere at the meeting venue was particularly solemn and solemn. On September 1, 1939, Hitler blitzed Poland and launched World War II, which engulfed Western Europe in less than a year.

The brilliant results of the German army greatly stimulated the aggressive ambitions of the Japanese fascists. The Japanese imperialists were extremely dissatisfied with the stalemate in the war of aggression against China and were anxious to expand the scale of the war.

In this way, he did not hesitate to bring down the Mine cabinet, which opposed the alliance with Germany and Italy, and in this way, the originally disheartened Konoe Fumiro once again received widespread support, and as if in a dream, the second Konoe cabinet was established on July 22, 1940.

The former Minister of War Kojima Nojiro of the Cabinet has been ousted from the highest decision-making level and appointed as the first chief of staff of the Huaxia Dispatch Army, assisting General Nishio Toshizo.

Kojima Nojiro made a last effort to end the war he had started, and carried out the work of luring the chairman of the committee, and asked to fly to Changsha, which was controlled by the Chinese army, to meet the chairman in person, and only to protect the commercial interests of the puppet Manchukuo and Japan within the Great Wall, and Japan withdrew its troops. However, the chairman of the committee was unmoved, and Kojima became more and more marginalized by the Japanese army.

When the opening remarks were over, Admiral Minister Yoshida Zengo took the lead in speaking: "Now the European battlefield is under the control of Germany, Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France have surrendered one after another, and the British have also been defeated and withdrawn from the European continent!" The international situation is very good, except for the Soviet Union and the United States, the Great Japanese Empire has no external threats, and now is a good time for the Imperial Japanese Navy to attack South Asia and Southeast Asia to absorb more strategic resources.

Your Majesty the Emperor, don't miss the opportunity and don't come again, and I strongly recommend that you approve the southward attack strategy as soon as possible! "Southeast Asia is rich in resources, and the Japanese army is actively "moving south", and the competition for resources is one of the primary reasons. Among the many resources, the Palembang oil field on the Indonesian island of Sumatra has the most desirable strategic resource for Japan. The Palembang oil field is the largest oil field in Asia, with an annual oil output of 4.7 million tons, which is about the annual oil consumption in Japan.

As long as the Palembang oil fields are controlled, Japan will no longer be afraid of the US oil embargo, and the war potential will expand rapidly. There is a navy that claims to be the second in the world, but it has been able to only swim on the sea and do nothing, and after so many years of forbearance, the Japanese navy has naturally been suffocated and is about to go crazy. Now that the European battlefield has been full of successes, Britain and France will not surrender or are too busy to take care of themselves, and there is no need to worry about the retaliation of Britain and France at all, and the Japanese navy's mood of going south to expand its territory has become more urgent.

From August 1939, Yoshida was re-elected as Minister of the Navy in the Abe Nobuyuki Cabinet, the Yonechi Mitsumasa Cabinet, and the Second Konoe Fumiro Cabinet. "Your Majesty the Emperor, I don't think the time is ripe to go south at present, and the most important thing for us at present is to form an alliance with Germany and Italy, and establish a Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere integrating Japan, Manchuria, and China, rather than rushing south to start a war with Britain!"

As soon as Yoshida Zengo's high-pitched words fell, Foreign Minister Matsuoka Hiroyoshi shook his head and objected: "That's right, France has surrendered now, and Britain has been beaten by Germany to the point where it can only parry." However, we must not forget that in front of the Great Japanese Empire, not only was the powerful United States eyeing the Great Japanese Empire, but our China had not yet been completely conquered, and millions of Imperial Japanese troops were pinned down in the Chinese battlefield.

Therefore, the minister believed that the top priority of the Great Japanese Empire was not to attack southward, but to conquer China first, so as to further accumulate strength and make the Great Japanese Empire invincible. After taking office, Matsuoka could not wait to seek an alliance with Germany and Italy, and at a press conference after taking office, he first proposed the establishment of a "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" integrating Japan, Manchuria, and China.

and made it clear that the Co-Prosperity Sphere included French India** and the Dutch East Indies. According to his explanation, the so-called "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" is to establish an economic bloc with Japan as the leader of the alliance based on the "fundamental spirit of the imperial road" as the guiding principle.

Matsuoka also declared: "Japan is expanding, imagine what country in the process of expansion has not taken a knife at its neighbors?" Ask the Amerindians and Mexicans how the young United States of America brutally tortured them years ago. ”

Matsuoka's wishful thinking was that the formation of a Triple Alliance would not only resist the strong pressure of the United States in East Asia, but also promote the establishment of a "new order" at the eastern and western ends of Eurasia. On this basis, the Soviet Union was invited to join the joint system of Japan, Germany, and Italy, and a powerful power bloc with a new system in Eurasia would emerge and be able to maintain a confrontation with the Western Hemisphere, centered on Britain and the United States.

Yoshida Zengo was suddenly unhappy, and objected again: "An alliance with Germany and Italy basically means going to war with the United States, and the fighters in the hands of the Japanese are far inferior to the Americans in terms of quality and quantity, and their production capacity is far behind.

Without the support of fighters, how can the navy, which is already in a weak position, fight? Isn't this self-defeating? The power of the Great Japanese Empire is still not strong enough, and we still need to absorb more strategic resources, and we must not tear our faces with the Americans at this time, so we cannot ally with Germany and Italy under any circumstances. "To be honest, Yoshida Zengo is a capable person in the Japanese naval circles, and it was Yamamoto Isoroku who took over his class when he became the commander of the Combined Fleet.

Yoshida served as Minister of the Navy in three cabinets, starting with the Abe Cabinet in 1939, and it was he who led the Japanese Navy's offensive as commander of the Second Fleet at the beginning of the full-scale war of aggression against China. Therefore, whether it is ability or prestige, Yoshida Zengo has a certain status in the Japanese naval circles.

Yoshida was a bit out of place in the cabinet, and with the support of Vice Ministers Tokutaro Sumiyama and Narumi Inoue, he consistently opposed a military alliance with Germany and Italy. However, what caused Yoshida Zengo was that he was still the Minister of the Navy in the Konoe Cabinet at the time, and if the cabinet couldn't even agree on internal opinions, it would basically be over.

In order to persuade Yoshida Zengo, Foreign Minister Matsuoka Yoyo, Military Affairs Bureau Director Oka Keijun and others ran to Yoshida Zengo's house every day, took turns to persuade him, and pestered endlessly. As a result, Zengo Yoshida took office for less than half a year, and he was physically and mentally emaciated, suffered from depression, and even tried to commit suicide at one point.

In the end, Yoshida had to agree to an alliance with Germany and Italy, but only if he himself resigned. Since you have to do it, then I can resign, right? Don't get in the way of your work! Interestingly, on the day when the Triple Alliance Treaty was officially signed, Japan also wanted to send Yoshida Zengo as a representative to sign, but this old man directly scolded: Whoever likes to go, Lao Tzu will not go!

Later, facts also proved that Yoshida Zengo, Yamamoto Isoroku and others were still very accurate, and successfully foresaw the war situation after the establishment of the Triple Alliance. But on the other hand, in fact, we should also be grateful to those who supported the alliance of the three countries, and it was their great ambition that pulled the Americans into the Pacific theater, greatly relieved the pressure on the Chinese battlefield, and accelerated the demise of Japanese militarism.

However, at this time, Yoshida Zengo seemed to be a different person, his expression was extremely excited, as a senior admiral, he always fantasized in his heart to lead the Japanese naval fleet to the south to expand the territory. After a pause, Yoshida emphasized again emotionally: "Our strategic goals should be more realistic, instead of fantasizing about an alliance with Germany and Italy in a vain attempt to carve up the whole world."

The Americans have always put their interests first, and as long as we do not have a direct military conflict with them, they will not easily get involved in the war!

Therefore, I firmly believe that as long as the Empire of Japan does not form an alliance with Germany and Italy, even if we attack South and Southeast Asia, the Americans will still stand on the sidelines, and the Empire of Japan will be able to absorb the greatest military benefits. Hideki Tojo said at this time: "I think it is feasible to attack south to absorb more strategic resources, and it is also necessary to form a military alliance with Germany and Italy."

The next strategic goal of the Great Japanese Empire was to extend the "New East Asian Order" to the colonies of Britain, France, Portugal, and the Netherlands in Southeast Asia, and at the same time, the Great Japanese Empire should do its utmost to eliminate the interference of the United States. "How can you have both? Are you a fool to be an American? Yoshida Zengo glared at Hideki Tojo, and sneered at each other in an extremely excited tone:

"Once we form a military alliance with Germany and Italy, it means that the Japanese Empire will participate in the partition of the whole world, and how can the Americans sit idly by and watch the unlimited expansion of this military alliance?" Hideki Tojo is not a good temper either, and when he saw Yoshida Zengo kicking his nose in the face, he immediately retorted loudly: "You are the only smart person in the world?

If they attack Southeast Asia in the south, they will certainly create a conflict of interest with Britain and the United States and undermine their vested interests in Southeast Asia. So instead of being so passive, we should strike first, further strengthen the military alliance, and gain more powerful power!

Also, as you said before, as long as we do not directly engage in military conflict with the United States, even if the United States is extremely dissatisfied with the Japanese Empire, the Americans will never intervene militarily in the short term. "Yaga! Stupidity! Sooner or later, the Great Japanese Empire will be destroyed at the hands of you fools! Yoshida Zengo was so angry that he couldn't help but burst into foul mouth for a while, staring at Hideki Tojo with red eyes, his eyes as if he was going to kill!