"I don't dare to ask for ears!" "Commander Jiang sincerely invites us, how can we wait for unreasonable!" Li Zongren and Sun Zhen just glanced at each other, and then happily agreed. The current state is actually "one army together, one will fight one", but it is not completely clear.

Therefore, Li Zongren and Sun Zhen not only tasted great sweetness, but they also knew very well that in the eyes of the chairman of the committee, they had long been "in collusion" with Jiang Qiang, and they had long been tied to Jiang Qiang's chariot.

At this time, Jiang Qiang opened the skylight and said something bright, piercing the layer of window paper, and the two agreed without hesitation without thinking. "Good! That's great! From now on, we will be our true brothers! Jiang Qiang was very happy to hug the two!

Jiang Qiang's plan is very big, such a big piece of cake, he can't eat it alone, he must continue to unite all the forces that can be united! After the meeting was dismissed, Sun Zhen and Li Zongren were sent away, and Yang Fan then left Meng Wuan, Liu Qiang, Li Jinglin, Chen Zhengnian and others for a small meeting.

Jiang Qiang opened his mouth and said: "I plan to let Shao Wenren, the commander of the 1st Division, be the commander of the 4th Army of the Expeditionary Force, what do you think?" Chen Zhengnian immediately nodded and said: "I think it's okay, Shao Wenren grew up step by step." Shao Wenren, this kid is loyal and brave, and he is a rare general! This time in the Nanyang operation, the first division performed extremely outstandingly, and it can be said that it has made great contributions! ”

"Well, that's it!" Jiang Qiang nodded, then turned his head to look at Meng Wu'an and said, "Didn't you still complain to me some time ago that you didn't want to be the principal of the Raushzi Military Academy?" Are you interested in forming the 5th Army now? "What? Boss, do you want me to be the commander of the 5th Army of the Burmese Army? ”

Hearing this, Meng Wu suddenly burst into peace of mind, staring at Jiang Qiang in disbelief, he really couldn't believe that what he had just heard was true! In the final analysis, Meng Wuan's military qualifications are still too shallow, and he only achieved the level of major battalion commander before he went to the United States, and he was not a civilian principal with the false title of major general until some time ago, which can be regarded as barely entering the general level.

And now Jiang Qiang has made a big move, and he has directly promoted him to lead an army alone, and he has been promoted to the commander of the 5th Army, and the rank of the commander must at least be a lieutenant general, and a little further up he will have to be a second-class general! After three years in the army, Meng Wuan was able to be promoted from a businessman's son to the commander of an army, and such a speed of adding officials to knighthood can only be described as riding a rocket.

At the same time, it can also reflect from the side how fast Yang Fan's development has been in recent years, in just four or five years, he has changed from a small police station director to a powerful warlord who can compete with the government of the Republic of China! Looking at Meng Wu'an's stunned appearance, Jiang Qiang couldn't help laughing: "What, are you unwilling, or are you stupid?" ”

Meng Wu'an Huo Ran stood up and saluted Yang Fan heavily: "Thank you for the cultivation of the head seat, and you should do your best to repay the kindness of the head seat, but you will die after the liver and brain!" "Good! Just have this spirit! Jiang Qiang nodded slightly, monks are all learned, although Meng Wuan lacks experience in leading troops to fight, but it doesn't matter if you can match him with a few experienced staff officers!

Moreover, Meng Wu'an's modern military theory foundation is very solid, and with a little polishing, he can grow up quickly! "Please rest assured, the humble position will definitely not disappoint your cultivation and high hopes!" Meng Wuan raised his head and pouted his buttocks, and then rubbed his hands and said, "The general seat, there is a reluctant request for the humble position, and please let the general seat be fulfilled!" ”

Jiang Qiang asked with a smile: "I want to transfer my brothers from the United States and work with you?" Meng Wuan immediately praised loudly with great excitement: "The parents of those who gave birth to me are also, and those who know me are always seated!" Jiang Qiang nodded and said, "Yes!" Just let it go! I have only one request, which is to assemble an iron army that can fight well as quickly as possible! Time waits for no one! ”

"Thank you for making it happen!" Meng Wu'an was so excited, one person has ascended to heaven, and he can take his old subordinates who have followed him for many years, which is naturally an extremely pleasant thing! Jiang Qiang instructed: "They can come if they want, but to do a good job in the handover, the foundation of the United States is also very important!" "Understood! Please rest assured that you will never make a mistake! ”

Meng Wuan patted his chest and assured that all aspects of work in the United States have long been on the right track, and there is an extremely complete and strict work system and process, and the transfer of a few responsible persons will not affect normal operation at all. And Huzi protested with a sour taste at this time:

"Boss, you can't always be so favoritistic, right, what about our navy? It's been two or three years, and we're still just a little fight, and we haven't even fought a decent naval battle! Jiang Qiang said with a smile: "Don't worry, as the saying goes, five years for the army, ten years for the air force, and a hundred years for the navy, how easy it is to build a strong navy from scratch!"

Aren't Shandong and Myanmar building shipyards now? In half a year at most, you can build a steady stream of all kinds of ships, including aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, and submarines, and you will be able to show your strength at that time! ”

In the current era, battleships have begun to become obsolete, and the aircraft carrier carrier aircraft group is the strongest trump card and the absolute core of the fleet, so Yang Fan did not think of spending huge sums of money to buy or build battleships at the beginning. Now that Myanmar has poured in a large number of engineers and skilled workers supported by the US government, Jiang Qiang is frantically absorbing and digging corners, and has continuously pulled hundreds of technicians from Shandong to study and exchange!

"Okay!" Huzi could only nod, he didn't expect an immediate effect, he just thought that "the crying child has milk", so he screamed hypocritically. After concentrating on the construction of the navy for more than three years, Huzi can be regarded as a veteran after all, so why doesn't he know the difficulty of building a navy from scratch?

He understood even more that even if he started to build naval ships in full force now, if he wanted to have the strength to compete with the Japanese naval fleet, it would be a few years later! It's just that whenever Huzi thinks that Japan's powerful navy is showing off its might at his own doorstep, his own pitiful fleet can only huddle in the inland sea and tremble, or hide far away, not daring to get close at all.

Huzi is crazy, I can't wait for the general seat to scatter beans into soldiers, and instantly burst out of a powerful and boundless naval fleet, and then he Huzi can gallop across the battlefield like his army brothers, and kill happily! Your army can thrive in Burma, and as long as you can pull up your ranks, I can guarantee that you will be well equipped and supplied!"

Even if you can pull up the strength of an army, I can satisfy you and ensure your supplies! "Jiang Qiang still has to go it alone and unfold the grand blueprint according to his own ideas, but he still has to do the homework that needs to be done, and supporting Wang Zhijun and others is tantamount to making good connections!" Thank you, Commander Jiang! "We will definitely form a combat force as soon as possible to cooperate with Burma's war of resistance in Southeast Asia!"

Wang Zhijun and Ma Xiaoyun thanked again and again excitedly, although Myanmar is not as good as the country, but it will develop without pressure at all, and the speed will not be too slow! ……

The headquarters of the Kwantung Army, Ishihara Waner ushered in Okamura Ninji and his party for many years. After a period of pleasantries, Okamura Ninji changed his words and said, "Ishihara-kun, have you heard of the successful raid on the west coast of the United States by the Imperial Navy and Air Force?" Ishihara said with a smile: "Such a major matter is now known to the world, how can I not know it?" Okamura-kun, you didn't come to me specifically for this matter! ”

Okamura Ninji smiled noncommittally: "Ishihara-kun, you have always been wise and far-sighted, I would like to know your views and inferences on this matter?" What will happen to the contest between Japan and the United States? Ishihara said with a smile: "I have already made a judgment about the contest between Japan and the United States several years ago, so why should Okamura-kun knowingly ask?" ”

"Why, do you still stick to that?" Okamura Ninji was silent when he heard this. As early as when he was the chief of staff of the Kwantung Army, Ishihara made a clear statement on Japan's future: At that time, Ishihara was resolutely opposed to Japan's all-out war against China.

Ishihara insisted that Japan's small size and insufficient population made it absolutely impossible to annex China in a short period of time, so the most appropriate course of action should be to digest Korea. In 10 to 20 years, Korea will become an integral part of Japan. At that time, Japan will become one of the most powerful countries in the Far East, both in terms of land size and population.

There may still be a gap between the size and population of China, but at least it is not that disparity. At this time, Japan will have an overwhelming advantage on the industrial basis, and if Japan declares war on China again, the result will be devastating, and it will not even take a year to occupy the entire territory of China! After the complete annexation of China, after another 30 to 50 years of digestion, the nascent Japanese Empire will become the world's leading power.

Then whether it is going north to compete with the Red Soviet Union for hegemony, or to the south with the United States and Britain and other Western powers for dominance in Southeast Asia islands and the Pacific Ocean, Japan will have an absolute advantage! This is the grand strategy for the future of Japan proposed by Ishihara! However, this strategy was firmly opposed by the warlords led by Hideki Tojo.

As a result, Ishihara was transferred back to the Japanese mainland as the commander of the Tsurumai Fortress, while Hideki Tojo was full of ambition to take the high position of deputy minister of the army. As Tojo's senior and close friend, Okamura Ninji did not praise his character, but from the bottom of his heart, Okamura Ninji still very much agreed with Ishihara's grand strategy.

But his arms can't twist his thighs, and many things are not what he wants! Especially after learning about the Imperial air raid on the west coast of the United States the night before, Okamura Ninji has been restless, always feeling that something big is about to happen. Retracting his thoughts, Okamura Ninji asked depressedly, "So, does the empire still have a chance to win now?" ”

Ishihara smiled and asked, "Does Okamura-kun want to hear the truth, or is it a lie?" "Forget it, if you don't want to say it, forget it. I've got the answer. Okamura Ningji's face changed slightly, this guy is still as cheap as ever, and he dares to come for nothing!

"Really? Okamura-kun, do you really have the answer? Ishihara didn't realize that it made Okamura Ningji feel unhappy, and immediately began to pretend again, "No, you're wrong!" In fact, what I want to say is that the empire has a great opportunity, and the opportunity is right in front of me, as long as the empire dares to gamble again, I am eighty percent sure that the empire will win the final victory!

On the other hand, if this last chance is not firmly grasped, the chances of the empire winning will become extremely slim, and if you take a wrong step in the next few years, what awaits the empire will be doomed. ”

"Really? Then I guessed wrong. Hearing this, Okamura Ninji was in high spirits, sat up straight and asked, "Ishihara-kun, please tell me in detail, I would like to hear the details." Ishihara nodded and said, "Originally, if you follow the first Joseon, the empire can be said to be as stable as a rock, and you don't have to take any risks!"

But when things get to this point, then you can only hold on! Don't think about it on the mainland side of the United States, the empire can cause some skin trauma at most, and it is absolutely impossible to cause substantial damage to it! On the contrary, it will continue to provoke the Americans, so that they can release greater power in the shortest possible time and become the most terrifying enemy! So, we have to find another way before the American war machine is running at full speed and before it inflicts fatal damage on the Empire! ”

"Going off the beaten track?" Looking at Ishihara's smiling and silent appearance, Okamura Ninji suddenly understood the meaning of Ishihara's words, and couldn't help but tighten his body, and his face changed greatly: "Ishihara-kun, do you mean to send troops to the Far East to attack the Soviet Union?" "Okamura-kun, isn't that so?"

Ishihara did not shy away from it in the slightest, and replied categorically: "That's right! This is the wisest and best option for the Great Japanese Empire at the moment. The Soviet Union is now in a dying throes, and as long as the Great Japanese Empire adds a fire, the demise of the Soviet Union is just around the corner! "As long as the Kwantung Army of the Japanese Empire sent troops to the Far East, the Soviet Union would immediately fall into a desperate situation of fighting on two fronts, and at that time, the Soviet Union would not only not be replenished with personnel and materials from the Far East!"

Even the Soviet Union had to reinforce the Far East with personnel and materials from the already tense European theater, so the final result of the Soviet Union can be imagined! "If this were the case, the Soviet Union would never last more than a year. And once the Soviet Union is destroyed, Germany's allies will be free to solve the Allied forces on the Western Front and the African theater in one fell swoop, and then obtain the massive oil and gas resources in the Middle East!

And the empire can also transfer nearly one million Kwantung troops from the northeast to Guannai, and it is really difficult to say whether the Nationalist government can continue to persist in the war of resistance at that time. Even the empire could free up its hands and directly land and attack the west coast of Canada, so that the war could really spread to North America and eventually to the United States itself. "When the time comes, I believe that the German allies will also be happy to cross the Bering Strait, land in Alaska, and launch a direct attack on the American mainland via Canada."

When the time comes, the Empire's ultimate formidable enemy will no longer be terrifying! "I'm afraid it's hard to do, right? Although the Soviet Union was in an extremely difficult situation, and it seemed that it was in danger of being wiped out by its German allies at any moment, in fact, even at the height of the Battle of Moscow, the Soviet Union always maintained 1.5 million troops in the Far East, which was more than twice as superior to the imperial Kwantung Army.

Moreover, the Soviet Union had a complete industrial system in the Far East, and if the imperial army could not invest a sufficient number of troops and weapons, there was no hope of defeating the Soviet Red Army! Even if the center of gravity of the Soviet army was in Europe, the Soviet Union left in the Far East only the troops that had been replaced to recuperate, and their combat effectiveness was not weaker than that of the Japanese army. ”

Okamura Ninji frowned, and it was not that he hadn't considered the "trick" that Ishihara Waner said, but he didn't think that this plan would work. At this time, the Kwantung Army had been upgraded from the previous group army to the Kwantung Army to the general army, and became the strategic reserve of the Japanese Army at that time, with jurisdiction over the Third Army and the Fourth Army.

The two armies have four divisions under their respective jurisdictions, and with the addition of divisions and regiments directly under the jurisdiction of the front army, the main force has increased to 12, and with the addition of auxiliary units such as mixed brigades, garrison brigades, cavalry brigades, and chariot brigades, the total strength has exceeded 300,000, which can be called the largest front army in the Japanese army.

In fact, when the Kwantung Army was first formed, there was only one main division. Even by the time of the 77 Lu Gongqiao Incident, the Kwantung Army only had four main divisions and a few independent mixed brigades, with a total strength of about 100,000 people. However, after the Xifengkou incident and the battle of Nomenkan, the Japanese base camp began to frantically increase troops to the northeast, and in less than a year, it increased to 12 main divisions and regiments, with more than 700,000 people! As a result, Wang Yizhe was dealt a one-time blow, and he all went to North Korea.

After a pause, Okamura Ninji said in a reminding tone: "Ishihara-kun, the most important point is that His Majesty the Emperor will not agree to the plan of sending troops to the Far East at all!" "None of this is a problem, as long as we can fight a few beautiful victories in the Far East, His Majesty the Emperor will agree!" Although the Soviet army had 1.5 million troops in the Far East, the imperial army had a first-mover advantage, and the Soviet Red Army's defense line in the Far East was too long and vulnerable to attack, so the Japanese army had a clear advantage at the tactical level.

It's just that the number of troops is indeed a bit small now, if there were 700,000 more, I would have done it to the Soviet Union a long time ago! Okamura-kun, you're just in time, why don't we do it together? The more Ishihara Waner talked, the more excited he became, and he wished that His Majesty the Emperor could now send another 30 divisions and regiments into the Kwantung Army, and then he could enjoy the territory, lead the Kwantung Army Heavy Army Group to send troops to the Far East to attack the Soviet Union, and create his own Ishihara Waner's thousand-year-old achievements!

"Ahem, ahem!" Okamura Ningji was choked and speechless, but he felt that Ishihara Wan'er was so crazy that he had been thinking about "cutting first and then playing", and even thought about pulling himself into the water. Okamura Ninji knew very well that the Japanese Emperor and Hideki Tojo would not change their course at this stage, and agreed to the battle plan of sending troops to the Far East, because they were waiting for the German allies and the Soviet Union to lose both, waiting to reap the benefits of the fishermen!

On the contrary, Okamura Ninji also heard the rumors that the base camp was preparing to transfer at least 10 divisions from the Kwantung Army to fight in Burma! Therefore, Okamura Ninji is really not optimistic about Ishihara's "clever plan". However, Ishihara didn't notice Okamura Ninji's constipated expression at all, and still said in an excited tone:

"As long as I can have 1.5 million Kwantung Army, I can inflict heavy damage on the heavy army group of the Soviet Red Army in the Far East! If I can have 3 million Kwantung Army, I will be able to completely annihilate 1.5 million Soviet troops in the Far East! "No, in fact, I don't need as much as 3 million, only 1.5 million, I can inflict heavy damage on the Soviet army in the Far East, according to the current situation of the Soviet Union, the effect of heavy damage to the Soviet army in the Far East is equivalent to total annihilation." The Soviet Union must have only a dead end......"

Ishihara has always been a man of ideas and courage, if it weren't for the Japanese emperor's repeated orders that he should not act without authorization, if he had suffered a big loss and was ousted from power, or if he had not wanted to turn Manchukuo into the engine of the Japanese Empire through his own efforts,......

According to Ishihara's temper in his early years, he had already taken a series of military adventures, using one or several victories to stimulate the Japanese base camp and induce the Japanese base camp to expand the size of the Far Eastern Army. "Ahem, ahem!" Okamura Ninji kept rolling his eyes, staring at Ishihara Waner with caring eyes: This thing is quite beautiful, and I want to command the Kwantung Army of 1.5 million or even 3 million, and now it is very good that the main elite of the Kwantung Army has not been transferred south, okay?

"Well, since Okamura-kun doesn't want to discuss this topic, let's change the subject!" The words were not speculative for more than half a sentence, and seeing that Okamura Ningji never answered, Ishihara Waner talked to himself for a while, and finally calmed down. He did not know that the idea of sending troops to the Far East to flank the Soviet Union was very anachronistic, and it was almost impossible to turn it into reality.

Hirohito groaned: "The scale of the increase in troops has been decided like this!" If the number of troops in the Nanyang Theater is increased to 500,000, then the specifications of the Nanyang side should be upgraded to the general army, so now I would like to ask you to discuss which troops to send to Nanyang, and who should be sent to the Nanyang General Army to preside over the overall situation? ”

"Your Majesty, the minister thinks that it is necessary to transfer elite soldiers and strong generals!" Hideki Tojo immediately answered: "At present, the Soviet Union has been beaten by the German allies and has no power to fight back, so the empire can take this opportunity to transfer the veteran divisions of the Kwantung Army with the number of less than 20 to the Nanyang battlefield." Not to mention whether the Soviet Red Army would take the opportunity to attack Korea, even if it could, the Kwantung Army would be able to cope with it completely.

Although the war potential of the empire may not be as good as that of the Soviet Union at present, but limited by the capacity of the Trans-Siberian Railway, the Soviet Union can mobilize only a limited number of troops and materials in the Far East, so if the two sides really want to fight, the Kwantung Army will definitely have an advantage. Therefore, the minister believes that the continued stationing of such a large heavy military group in Korea is not only unnecessary, but also a great waste of strategic resources. ”

"I'm afraid that's too risky, isn't it?" Xianyuan Gong Jae-in objected: "Although the Soviet Union has now fallen into a bitter battle in the European theater, the Korean State is now the most important industrial production base of the empire!" Once the Kwantung Army is massively withdrawn, will it lead to a crisis in the Korean situation? ”

"yes!" Shunroku Hata nodded and continued: "Although the anti-Japanese elements in Korea are no longer to be worried, once the strength of the Kwantung Army drops to a critical point, what if the Nationalist Government or the Red Regime sends troops into Korea?" This possibility is absolutely existing, and if it does, the consequences will be too much for the Empire to bear. ”

Hideki Tojo frowned and said: "Although the base camp said that it would draw troops from the Kwantung Army, it was not just withdrawn and not replenished, and there would definitely be corresponding divisions and regiments to supplement it." After a pause, Hideki Tojo said confidently:

"The three-unit division regiment after the number 100 that has just been formed does have a big gap in combat effectiveness compared with the veteran division regiment within the number 20! However, it was more than enough to deal with the anti-Japanese elements in Korea or the Chinese army sent by the Nationalist Government to Korea to wreak havoc. "Therefore, there is really no problem in transferring veteran divisions with a number of less than 20 from the Kwantung Army to the Nanyang battlefield." “……”

Xianyuan Gong Zairen and the others glanced at each other, and didn't continue to say more, muttering in their hearts: Sister Ni, this is too ruthless, this is simply a salary draw from the bottom of the kettle, Ishihara Waner offended Tojo Hideki It really took eight lifetimes of mold! "Yo Xi!"

Hirohito nodded, and then asked, "Tojo-kun, what about the candidate for commander-in-chief of the Nanyang General Army?" Do you have a suitable person to recommend? Hideki Tojo replied without the slightest hesitation: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that General Umezu Mijiro is competent enough!" "Due to the butterfly effect, Umezu Mijiro was squeezed out of the throne of the commander of the Kwantung Army by Ishihara Waner, and he is now the chief of the general staff of the Kwantung Army!

Tojo Hideki said again: "And Umezu-kun did a good job in the Kwantung Army, although he bears a certain amount of joint and several responsibility for the defeat in the battle of the three eastern provinces, the main responsibility is not him, this is conclusive!" So, why can't you let Umezu Mijiro go to Myanmar to try? Who dares to say that Umezu Mijiro will definitely not be able to beat Jiang Qiang? ”

Indeed, of course, no one dares to give this guarantee, and even if the Nanyang Front increases its troops to 500,000 people in 20 divisions and regiments, it does not dare to assert that it will definitely be able to win the war. Because the Japanese army can increase its troops, China can also increase its troops, and the population of China far exceeds that of Japan, as long as the war situation is unfavorable, in order to keep the last international lifeline, the Burmese government will definitely increase its troops in Nanyang at any cost, and its number of troops will only be more than that of Japan.

After a pause, Hideki Tojo continued: "But one thing is certain, the veteran division of the Kwantung Army, which is commanded by Umezu Mijiro with a number of less than 20, will definitely be able to play the greatest role!" "This ......," Shunroku Hata, Miyajihito and others finally had nothing to say. Yo West. Then the next step is to choose the commanders of the various armies! Hirohito nodded happily.