"Yoshida-kun, how can you scold people? Especially in front of His Majesty, what a system! Seeing Yoshida Zengo's ruined appearance, Hideki Tojo was not in a hurry, and continued to mend the knife with a wicked smile on his face: "What's more, the Great Japanese Empire has the second largest navy in the world, and the Yankees have been peaceful for a long time, both the navy and the army are far inferior to the Great Japanese Empire. ”

"Yaga!" Where can Yoshida Zengo, who is still angry, withstand such a teasing, when even if the red buff is added, his face is red and his neck is thick and he said loudly: "You are a blind eye, the United States economy is more than 10 times that of the Japanese Empire, and a strong economic strength can be converted into military strength in a short period of time."

The Japanese Empire has not even been able to completely conquer the poor and backward China, where do you have the confidence to face the challenge of the United States, which is ten times more powerful? "Yaga! What about a strong economy? Without a well-trained and powerful army, at best it is a big fat sheep with no appearance, what is there worth it for you to be timid before you fight, and you don't even have the courage to shine your sword? ”

was repeatedly slapped in the face in person, and Tojo Hideki also became angry, and shouted unceremoniously: "Before the Great Japanese Empire started the war against China, didn't you also think that they were extremely powerful and difficult to defeat? But as a result, it was just a foreign power and a middle cadre, and in a short period of time, the Japanese Empire occupied nearly half of the territory of China......"

At the beginning of the game, the sea and land phases quarreled, and the two of them faced Mai Mang, the smell of gunpowder became stronger and stronger, and Prime Minister Konoe Fumiji frowned when he saw it. The army and navy have always been full of contradictions, and it is harmless to make noise at cabinet meetings, but now that Emperor Hirohito is present, such a discordant quarrel has made Prime Minister Fumiro Konoe feel extremely embarrassed.

Unable to bear it anymore, Konoe Fumiji opened his mouth and said loudly: "Yoshida-kun and Konoe-kun, please be calm and don't be impatient, we are now in the pre-imperial meeting, and the matter discussed is very important." You can speak your mind, but please stay calm and don't be rash in any situation. ”

Fumiro Konoe was born into a wealthy family in Japan, one of the five families, and was given the title of duke after the death of his father Atsuki Konoe in 1904. This is the second time he has come to power to form a cabinet and become the prime minister, and his words at this time are naturally quite weighty, which immediately silenced Hideki Tojo and Zengo Yoshida, but the eyes of the two were flashing with anger.

The originally hot quarrel stopped instantly, and the atmosphere of the venue instantly froze, so it was not embarrassing. Seeing that everyone stopped talking, Emperor Hirohito could only frown and say: "Ladies and gentlemen, I know that you are all fiercely loyal to the Great Japanese Empire, and everything you think and worry about is for the foundation of the Great Japanese Empire and the Yamato nation for thousands of years.

It's just that noisy alone can't solve the problem, we also need to think calmly and work together to figure out the best strategy. Since the outbreak of the all-out war with China, the Empire of Japan has not only ushered in the best opportunity in thousands of years, but at the same time, the Empire of Japan has also faced unprecedented challenges.

The Great Japanese Empire has long had no way out, and at this critical historical moment, only by sincerely uniting with one heart and one mind can we create a glorious foundation for the Yamato nation for thousands of years. "Hello!" "His Majesty the Emperor is wise!" "We will work together to create the foundation of the Yamato nation!" Fumiki Konoe, Hideki Tojo and others hurriedly shouted respectfully, and the scene suddenly became extremely harmonious.

Emperor Hirohito's face softened slightly, and then said: "You can't have both fish and bear's paws, things in the world are originally gains and losses, the key is to see which one is lighter and which one is heavier!" "Hello!" Fumiko Konoe, Hideki Tojo and others once again humbly learned their heads.

Hirohito added: "After years of painstaking management and accumulation, the economic strength of the Great Japanese Empire has become very strong, among which Manchukuo is the most prominent.

Not only has the coal liquefaction industry with an annual output of 3 million tons been built, and the output of steel has also increased several times, but with the research cooperation of the Germans, the Empire of Japan has initially mastered radar technology, anti-tank rocket launchers, and new combat vehicles and new aircraft have also made breakthroughs. The Ryogari gold mine in Kagoshima, Kyushu, was successfully mined, and the gold production of the Empire of Japan increased significantly, and the financial situation improved greatly.

Everything is going in a good direction, so we don't have to be too arrogant, although the United States is strong, as long as we adopt the appropriate strategy, I believe that the Americans will not enter the war easily. "I know that if Tojo Hideki and others are allowed to discuss, most of them will still be the same quarrel.

Coupled with the vigorous development of Manchukuo and the substantial increase in gold production, Japan's strategic reserves, military strength and foreign exchange have been greatly strengthened, and Hirohito's confidence has begun to gradually swell. After a pause, Hirohito simply set the tone for a big package:

"I believe that going south can be put on the agenda, but it needs to be carried out carefully and must not be rushed. As for the specific implementation strategy, we will not discuss it at the meeting today, and you will hold a special meeting to discuss it later. Once you have a complete implementation plan, you can present it to me! "Hello!" "His Majesty the Emperor is wise!"

Konoe Wenlu and the others hurriedly shouted at a moment's notice, the limited southward attack was the consensus of everyone, and there was nothing to dispute about this. As for whether or not to form a military alliance with Germany and Italy, that is a matter after the conclusion of the Imperial Council. "Yo Xi!"

Hirohito nodded with satisfaction, and then changed his words and said, "The main purpose of convening everyone to come to the Imperial Palace for a meeting today is not to discuss whether to go south, but to solve a serious problem. Presumably, everyone should know who I am referring to when I am talking about the big trouble, yes, it is the Shandong Group Army entrenched in Shandong.

Whether the Japanese Empire wants to conquer China or expand its territory in the south, it cannot avoid this great trouble, and it must not be allowed to continue to grow! This hateful Chinese army was stained with the blood of the warriors of the Great Japanese Empire, which caused the Great Japanese Empire to suffer heavy losses and humiliation many times!

Now that I think the time is ripe for the encirclement and annihilation of the General Assembly, what do you think about this, please feel free to speak! "Jiang Qiang's hatred value is so deep that the Japanese devils lose their armor and lose all their face, so Japan has always been haunted from top to bottom, and the resentment is very deep.

After a year or two of hard work and accumulating what he thought was a good foundation, Hirohito couldn't wait to wash away his shame and get rid of Jiang Qiang and the Shandong Group Army.

"His Majesty the Emperor is wise!" Hideki Tojo immediately said with excitement on his face: "The Imperial Army has assembled more than 300,000 combat troops from three armies, which are not only equipped with a large number of artillery and new combat vehicles, but also a large number of aviation regiments!"

The Imperial Japanese Army had already made up its mind, as long as His Majesty the Emperor gave an order, the Imperial Army of the Great Japanese Empire would definitely kill the enemy heroically, and it would be decided in a battle! "Hideki Tojo had been in the Kwantung Army as a military police commander before, and returned to China the year before last to serve as vice minister of the army, until a few days ago when he became the land minister, although he has never fought with Yang Fan, but he has a lot of information.

Knowing that this was an extremely difficult and powerful opponent, Hideki Tojo was still full of confidence, without the slightest fear and worry, but he couldn't wait, dreaming of burying this biggest opponent of the Imperial Army in his own hands. Seeing Hideki Tojo so excited, Hirohito was a little worried, and hurriedly reminded in a friendly manner:

According to relevant intelligence, Jiang Qiang has been sparing no effort to build fortifications these times, and has already built an extremely strong defense system, and even many indestructible steel fortresses.

Moreover, the Shandong Group Army also has extremely powerful tank units and air force units, so we must attach the highest importance to it and must not make the stupid mistake of underestimating the enemy and carelessness! "At the beginning, Jiang Qiang was killed by surprise many times and lost his armor and suffered heavy casualties, so he can comfort himself with carelessness and the opponent's cunning.

But later, several times the upright frontal toughness, especially the gathering of heavy troops to carry out encirclement and annihilation, bent on tearing Jiang Qiang to pieces, but the final result was that even the outer defense line did not break through, and the Japanese army suffered heavy casualties and killed tens of thousands of people!

There are lessons from the past, even now that the Japanese army has been greatly strengthened, especially the heavy troops deployed around the Shandong Peninsula, it can be said that they are armed to the teeth.

However, when he was about to defend the Shandong Group Army, which was known for its toughness and good defense at all costs, Hirohito was still a little frightened in his heart, for fear that he would be forced to be grass if he could not be forced again. Hideki Tojo said with great confidence: "Please rest assured that His Majesty the Emperor is equipped with a large number of anti-aircraft guns, anti-aircraft machine guns, and artillery of various calibers, and even the Type 90 240mm train gun, 280mm heavy howitzer and other attacking giant guns have been mobilized to the front line.

Even if they had built a fortification comparable to that of the Russian fortress of Arthur, they would have been reduced to piles of lifeless ruins within the range of the cannons. The 280mm heavy howitzer that Hideki Tojo said was a 280mm howitzer imported and produced from Italy in 1884.

However, this gun is not original to the Italians, but was originally a large-caliber howitzer developed by the British company Armstrong Whitworth. This type of howitzer has a 10-fold caliber short and thick barrel, which makes it have similar characteristics to the mortars commonly equipped at that time, that is, the angle of fire is large and the ballistic arc is large. And its huge caliber of 280 mm and 2***g heavy shells were enough to make the iron armor of any warship at that time daunting.

After the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, the Japanese army truly appreciated the horror of modern fortifications. From the Battle of the Yalu River, the Battle of Nanshan, and then the Battle of Liaoyang, and even the offensive and defensive battles of Lushun at the beginning of the war. Relying on the favorable terrain to build solid reinforced concrete fortifications, the Russian army relied on various types of light and heavy artillery and a large number of new Maxim M1910 machine guns to inflict great casualties on the attacking Japanese troops.

In particular, when the Japanese army besieged the Arthur fortress, the Japanese Third Army led by Nogi Noshinori was helpless in the face of the rock-solid fortresses and trenches when launching the first round of general attacks, and the 150 mm and 90 mm siege mortars on hand could not destroy the strong fortifications of the Russian army.

At the end of the day, the Japanese army only captured a small position on Panlong Mountain, but left 50,000 corpses in front of the position. Such casualty figures were transmitted back home, and there was a great uproar. At one point, the base camp wondered if the translator had mistakenly added a zero when translating the casualty figures. It was not until later that the Japanese took great pains to transfer 18 280mm heavy howitzers from the base camp to the front line in Arthur to relieve their urgent needs. By the time the Third Army launched its second general offensive at Arthur, 18 howitzers were in position and immediately launched an artillery bombardment on the Arthur fortress.

When the shells hit the Russian positions heavily, the huge explosion made the entire fortress tremble, and after several rounds of shelling, the positions on the periphery of the Russian fortress were almost wiped out, and the solid concrete fortifications were also damaged to varying degrees.

Therefore, this time it was determined to eradicate the Huaxia Tiger Army, and the Japanese Army would naturally sacrifice this fortified artifact to deal with the fortresses and fortresses that Yang Fan had painstakingly built. Hearing this, Hirohito nodded slightly reassuringly: "Even so, the Imperial Army must be cautious, do a good job in the overall military chess deduction and strategic deployment, and must not rush forward!" ”

"Hello!" Hideki Tojo paused, as long as he was allowed to fight, everything else was trivial.

At this time, Foreign Minister Yoyo Matsuoka said: "Your Majesty the Emperor, Jiang Qiang not only maintains passenger routes with the United States and Britain in the name of joint ventures and trade, but also builds so-called industrial parks in Qingdao and other places, which is a hidden danger and trouble for us.

Is it necessary to send diplomatic notes to the United States and Britain in advance to evacuate them early so as not to cause a diplomatic conflict? Tojo Hideki disdainfully said: "It's just selling dog meat on the head of a sheep, there are not many Americans and British people on the Shandong Peninsula at all, and the minister thinks that there is no need to note in advance, this will only leak the imperial encirclement plan in advance!" ”

Yoshida Zengo said with some unhappiness: "Hundreds of thousands of troops are being mobilized under your nose, and you still want to keep it secret?" If everyone else is blind, it can't be done! "That's it!" Hirohito waved his hand, pondered for a moment and then nodded: "You can send a note to Meiying first, this time it is a positional battle, and it is indeed impossible to achieve the effect of a surprise attack, so it is also a gesture for us to sell personal favors in advance!" ”

"His Majesty the Emperor is wise!" Yoshida Zengo immediately seconded the proposal, his eyes flashing with a bit of happiness, as if he had won back a city. "Hello!" Matsuoka Yoshi is the leader of the Don command. "That's all for today, after you go down, you can agree on a specific implementation plan as soon as possible. The stakes are high, and I need to review them personally! ”

Then they discussed for nearly an hour, and then Hirohito waved his hand and disbanded the meeting. After everyone else left, Xianyuan Gong Zairen, who had not spoken, suddenly spoke: "Your Majesty, have you really made up your mind to encircle and annihilate the Shandong Group Army at all costs?" ”

Hirohito was slightly stunned, turned his head to look at Xianyuan Gong Zairen and said, "Uncle Huang, do you think there is anything wrong?" Shouldn't this serious problem be eradicated as soon as possible? ”

"Your Majesty! This henchman should indeed be eradicated as soon as possible, perhaps because he is old, he always feels very uneasy about this matter! ”

Xianyuan Gong Zairen sighed lightly, and said in an extremely heavy tone: "The tragic scene when the Great Japanese Empire attacked the Lushun Fortress is still vivid, and in the face of strong and complete fortifications, the Great Japanese Empire will definitely pay an unbearable price of casualties. ”

Hirohito frowned lightly and said: "Today's Great Japanese Empire is no longer what it used to be, even if the Shandong Group Army has tried its best to build a complete defensive fortress, it will be difficult to resist the empire's attacking artillery!"

The Shandong Group Army not only humiliated the Japanese Empire many times, but also occupied an extremely crucial geographical location, and it was like a sharp knife plunged into the belly of the Great Japanese Empire, which was an extremely dangerous henchman.

Therefore, as long as the Shandong Group Army can be completely annihilated, even if it costs the lives of 100,000 imperial warriors, it will not hesitate! ”

"If it can be completely annihilated, even if it is 200,000 jade pieces, it will be worth it!"

Xianyuan Gong Zairen nodded and said, "It's just that I'm afraid things are not that simple. The Empire's enemies are a powerful army that is well-armed, well-trained, and stubborn in battle.

Even if the Imperial Army fought head-on with it, I am afraid that it would have to pay at least 200,000 casualties, not to mention that they occupied a strong defensive position, and their combat effectiveness would be more than twice as strong! ”

"Uncle Huang's worries, I can completely understand them, because I also have such worries! However, this enemy is not in harmony with the Japanese Empire, and it must be eradicated as soon as possible.

Now that the Great Japanese Empire has been preparing for more than two years, if it is still too late to launch an all-out attack on them, how can I explain to the army and my subjects?

What's more, if we don't hit it with all our might, how can we know if this is a real tiger or a paper tiger? ”

Hirohito is not a fool, and the worst outcome has been thought of a long time ago, but luck and resentment are not so easy to overcome, especially when his own strength has been greatly strengthened.

Xianyuan Gong Zairen shook his head lightly and said: "The king can't be angry and raise a division, and he can't be angry and cause war, this enemy is certainly hateful and killable, and it can be called a big trouble for the empire."

Although Jiang Qiang was extremely hostile to the Great Japanese Empire and had many bloody battles with the Great Japanese Empire, in fact he was more like a warlord who supported his own troops and respected himself, and did not show a strong desire to attack except for a few territorial expansions.

Therefore, the minister believed that the Great Japanese Empire could take advantage of this point and continue to encircle it instead of fighting a long-term siege, and wait for the Great Japanese Empire to clean up the Nationalist Government and the Eighth Route Army, and then turn back and annihilate it with the overwhelming force of Mount Tai. ”

Hirohito's eyes closed slightly, and after a long silence, he spoke: "Uncle Huang's suggestion is very safe, but the arrow has to be sent on the string, I will let the imperial army fight steadily step by step!" "Since Your Majesty has made up your mind, the minister won't say much! I only hope that the minister is old and worried! Retire! ”

Xianyuan Gong Zairen is now a 75-year-old old man, and his energy and physical strength have long been much worse than before, after a meeting of one or two hours, and he has been nagging with Hirohito for so long, his mental state has become very poor. "Uncle Huang, please take care of your health, the Great Japanese Empire still needs your advice!" Hirohito stood up and sent Kanin Miyaehito out of the palace all the way.

After the Imperial Council, Konoe Fumiro, Tojo Hideki, Matsuoka Yoyo and others took action one after another, and a military operation against the unprecedented scale of the Huaxia Tiger Army was quickly put into operation. Soon, Roosevelt received a diplomatic note from the Japanese Embassy in the United States, claiming that the Shandong Group Army had been militarily provoking and slandering the Japanese Government for a long time, and that the Japanese army would launch a large-scale military operation against the Shandong Group Army in the near future.

Beginning on 1 August, the Japanese Navy will prohibit any ships from entering the Shandong Peninsula and require all US personnel and offices on the Shandong Peninsula to evacuate by 1 August, otherwise the personal safety of US personnel will not be guaranteed. After receiving the note, Roosevelt urgently summoned Secretary of State Cordell Hull for discussion.

"After more than a year of stalemate, the Japanese finally couldn't bear it anymore, and what they are most anxious about now is to solve the Chinese battlefield, and then attack south to absorb more war resources." Hull frowned lightly: "The Germans in the European battlefield completely put aside their scruples and swept almost the whole of Europe in a short period of time, except for the British who can continue to resist stubbornly with its powerful navy and the English Channel, the whole of Europe is already in the pocket of the Germans."

Next, the Germans will certainly continue to attack the British, forcing them to give in to the sneak attack. If Britain did surrender and submit, it would be a world disaster, the ambitions of the Germans would swell rapidly, and their appetites would grow! Japan, which shares the same ambitions, was greatly encouraged, and this note was the first step in expanding the scale of the war, with the aim of testing our reaction and bottom line! ”

Roosevelt nodded approvingly: "That's right, although this note seems polite and friendly, it is actually a dangerous signal!" The whole of Japan has been shrouded in a strong militarism, and as the scale of the war of outward aggression continues to expand, sooner or later they will get rid of all scruples and shackles! ”

Hull continued: "In particular, Japan's newly formed cabinet, whether it is the prime minister, the land minister, or the foreign minister, they are all fanatical and warmongering, and they have always advocated a military alliance with Germany and Italy. If that were the case, a world war would be inevitable, and even the United States of America would not be able to stay out of it, because if they formed a military alliance, their ambitions would not be confined to Europe and Asia, but the whole world! ”

"That's what worries me the most. But what can we do? Economic sanctions, embargoes, or a change of neutrality against Japan? Roosevelt frowned, knowing the gravity of the problem, but the point was that he had too few cards to play.

Until the Japanese have fully demonstrated their ambitions and a formal military conflict, the Diet and the American people will never support him in making dangerous moves that "hinder peace." "That's right, this is indeed our biggest dilemma at the moment!"

Hull shook his head helplessly, sighed, and said: "Greed and luck are the basic nature of human beings, and no one will actively deal with the potential danger of war until they are really attacked. Therefore, at present, we must do our best to strengthen our preparedness for war, and do our best to convince the Congress, and adjust our foreign policy as much as possible, so as to prevent the situation of future wars from getting completely out of control! "Well, that's all there is to it!" Roosevelt nodded his head, then pointed to the diplomatic note on the table and said, "How do you think we should respond to this note from the Japanese?" ”