African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1460 Navy Thoughts
Guided by news reports in newspapers such as the Toyo Evening News, many places that were previously ignored or unfamiliar in Japan have attracted the attention of the Japanese people.

Especially in Edo, the capital of Japan, the spread of information was accelerated and easily attracted the attention of relevant personnel.

Edo, Japan Naval University.

Chuichi Nagumo, an instructor who had just joined the company, was very interested in the Toyo Evening News.

He sat upright in his office chair, holding a pair of scissors and cutting out the national history content of the new issue of "Dongyang Evening News".

There was a bowl of paste and a thick yellowed booklet on the table. On the cover of the booklet was written in pen "Pictures and Texts of South Sea Countries". He had more than one similar picture books in his hands, such as those of the Far East, the Eastern Pacific, and even the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.

"Nanyun-kun, you are fiddling with your treasure again!" asked the colleague across the desk.

While trimming the map of the Philippines, Chuichi Nanyun replied, "Yes, Mr. Oda, yesterday's Toyo Evening News printed some content about Luzon Island. I think it is very valuable and of reference significance, so I included it. This will also play a significant role in my subsequent teaching."

"Excellent geographical knowledge should be the most basic quality for our naval soldiers. It can broaden their horizons, help them in their military careers, and facilitate decisions that benefit the empire during war."

"Of course, the quality of the Dongyang Evening News on the geography and national conditions of various countries is quite excellent, especially its geographical graphics, which are not only well-made, but also have many unique contents."

"Just like this map of Luzon's resources and military distribution in my hand, it is almost impossible to see it in ordinary newspapers. Dongyang Evening News is indeed more attentive in this regard."

This is also an inevitable result. In order to attract Japan's attention, East Africa has put a lot of effort into the content of "Toyo Evening News".

As for the source of these contents, they are compiled from East African intelligence agencies.

In recent years, East Africa has invested more and more in various regions of the world, and along with it, the East African intelligence system has expanded in various fields around the world. For example, the intelligence on Luzon Island has the help of many East African companies and professionals.

Otherwise, it would not have been possible for East Africa to understand its resources, population, economy, industry, military, etc. so smoothly.

Oda said, "Nanyun-kun, you are very spirited. The Empire needs outstanding young people like you. If you continue to maintain this attitude, there will definitely be a place for you in the future Imperial Navy. Don't be like the army's idiot who is ignorant and arrogant."

When educating his younger generations, Oda did not forget to criticize the Japanese Army and pass on this excellent tradition of the Navy to his younger generations.

He went on to say, "At the last London Naval Conference, the army's idiots tricked us. They were a bunch of idiots who had no idea of ​​the importance of the navy to the empire. They actually assisted the enemy and openly supported the disarmament of the imperial navy."

"They are simply running dogs of the European and American African powers, bringing shame to the imperial soldiers."

"Japan itself is an island country, and the navy should become the leading force in the country's military power and become a maritime power like the United Kingdom."

As an island country, Japan's overall national conditions are more similar to those of the United Kingdom, but the Japanese army is very strong and can compete with the navy, while the British army has almost no presence.

This made the navy, which already disliked the Japanese army, even more hostile towards it.

Especially at the last London Naval Conference, the Japanese Navy suffered a major setback. Under international pressure, the Japanese military leaders had no choice but to reduce the scale of warship construction and allocate all the excess military funds and resources to the army.

Not only did the army take advantage, but they also mocked the navy, which made the navy faction very angry and the conflict between the two sides was further intensified.

In response, Oda said grimly: "The military will pay the price for this sooner or later. Japan itself should not focus on the army. When the warships of other powers arrive at their doorsteps in the future and the Black Ship Incident is repeated, it will be too late for them to cry."

"Especially at the London Conference, we, as the strongest country in Asia, could only rank behind Britain, East Africa and the United States. This is simply a disaster. You know, these three countries are Japan's biggest external threats."

"Besides, our national strength is far inferior to those of these three superpowers, so this is extremely unfair. Theoretically, Japan's share should at least be second only to that of Britain, so that it can better protect the security of the empire."

In the eyes of the Japanese Navy, or the entire Japanese people, as long as they are not fools, they should understand a basic truth, that is, the threat to Japan can only come from the sea, and the Black Ship Incident was the US Navy that opened Japan's door.

Therefore, only those countries with stronger naval power than Japan can truly threaten the Japanese mainland.

Not to mention, Britain, East Africa and the United States all have their own military bases in the Pacific region and have the ability to wage long-range warfare in the Pacific region.

Without interference from other countries, Japan basically cannot defeat any of them.

Therefore, in Oda's view, signing the London Naval Treaty was extremely harmful to Japan, and the Japanese army, which was jumping up and down at the time, should be treated as traitors.

Therefore, he stressed: "Without the instigation of the Army, we might be able to gain a position equal to that of the United States and East Africa, and at least ensure that at the beginning of the war, we have the ability to fight a decisive battle with the navies of the two countries."

"However, it is because of these criminals that we are not as strong as the United States and East Africa on the surface, not to mention that the industrial strength of these two countries far exceeds that of the Empire. If the war drags on, we won't even be able to gamble."

The reason why Oda singled out East Africa and the United States instead of discussing Britain is that anyone with a discerning eye knows that Britain is now on the decline, and given Britain's current situation, it is impossible for it to go to war with those powerful powers.

As for what are the powerful powers, Japan happens to be one of them. At least from a military perspective, Japan has the ability to inflict heavy losses on those powerful countries that are not much different from it in size.

That is, countries like Britain, France, Germany and Austria-Hungary. As for East Africa, the Soviet Union and the United States, because of their large size, the failure of a war will not cause too much problem for these countries.

Not to mention the great powers, even a large country like the Far Eastern Empire, which seems to be not very powerful, its war resilience should not be underestimated.

We can have a deeper understanding of this by looking at the Ottoman Empire and India. The Ottoman Empire once had a large area, but much of its territory was desert and far away from the core area, making it difficult to control. Once problems arose, it was easily divided.

Even without the need for the great powers to take action themselves, some regions were able to break free from the control of the Ottoman central government through their own efforts.

As for India, besides the strange character and culture of Indians, its disadvantages in land are also obvious, such as lack of depth and complex land terrain, which makes it easy to be conquered. Of course, more importantly, India itself lacks resistance awareness under the domestication of its religious culture. Otherwise, with India's population size and relatively large land, I am afraid that the kangaroos in Australia are not as easy to conquer and rule as the Indians.

Therefore, super-large countries like East Africa, the Soviet Union, and the United States, which have strong hard conditions such as population, geography, land area, etc., have strong war potential and the ability to resist large-scale wars.

Even if Japan could destroy the navies of these three countries through sneak attacks, they would not be at risk of national destruction, and would be able to recover and counterattack in a short period of time.

On the other hand, Japan, as an island country, has a small area and no strategic depth on land. Once its coast is attacked by the navies of other countries, it will basically suffer heavy damage.

For example, Edo, the capital of Japan, is located in the coastal area. Even if warships of other countries fire a few shots at Edo, they will definitely not miss.

Given this geopolitical disadvantage, how could Japan have the confidence to go to war with the East African and US navies? Unless Japan's own navy is stronger than those of the two countries and has the strength to defend its homeland.

But the reality is just the opposite. The basic geographical conditions are poor, the navy is restricted in development, and it has to suffer from the bullying of the army. How could Oda and other Japanese naval personnel be satisfied?

Nanyun Chuichi also agreed with Mr. Oda's views. He said: "If the empire wants to dominate Asia in the future, it must vigorously develop the navy. If the navy wants to develop, it must withdraw from the London Naval Treaty and get rid of its restrictions."

"Of course, if we do this, it will inevitably cause dissatisfaction among other powers, and Japan itself is a country that relies heavily on imports for resources."

"So if we want to be truly independent and not be controlled by others, we must get rid of the constraints on resources. Although the Far Eastern Empire is a big country, its resources are not actually abundant, especially in materials such as rubber, oil, and copper."

The oil resources currently discovered by the Far Eastern Empire cannot be said to be completely nonexistent, but they can be said to be better than nothing. As for rubber, it is a product of tropical countries only. There is no need to say much about copper mines. Since ancient times, the Far Eastern Empire itself has not been rich.

The same applies to Japan. After all, Japan's current population is as high as over 60 million. This population size is considered a large number even in the ancient Far Eastern empire, when there were few dynasties.

Take the Han Dynasty for example, its population was probably only over 60 million at most, not to mention that now is the industrial age, and human demand for various resources is even higher.

From this perspective, whether it is the tiny Japan or the vast Far East Empire, their current resources are actually not ideal.

To this end, Nagumo Chuichi said: "If we want to solve the problem of resource independence for the empire, we must conquer the entire South Seas, including Australia, in the future, in order to achieve true independence and self-reliance for the empire."

"Australia's coal and iron are so abundant that even if the Empire has billions of people in the future, it will still be enough for the Empire to use endlessly."

"The oil in places like northern Kalimantan and Myanmar can solve the lack of oil in the empire."

"The other countries in Southeast Asia have countless resources, such as rubber, coal, iron ore, copper ore, aluminum ore..."

"There are also strategic locations such as the Strait of Malacca. If we control Malacca and other strategic locations, all the countries in Southeast Asia will be in the hands of the empire."

"At the same time, this can also expand the navy's advantage in the empire and let the army idiots see who contributes more to the country."

Chuichi Nagumo was one of the representatives of Japan's future southward expansion, or it could be said that the entire Japanese navy was more supportive of southward expansion.

In addition to being able to obtain amazing benefits and geopolitical security, the South Seas itself is conducive to the development of the Japanese Navy.

But unfortunately, in Japan's current domestic politics, the army also has its own ideas, that is, to expand eastward and northward, and they have the upper hand over the navy.

There is no need to say much about the eastward expansion. Since ancient times, Japan has harbored wolfish ambitions for East Asia. This has almost become a gene engraved in the bones of the Japanese. Moreover, the Far Eastern Empire's national strength is now seriously declining, and it has become a soft persimmon in Japan's eyes.

As for going north, it is to deal with the Soviet Union. This can be regarded as a package plan for eastward expansion. After all, based on the Japanese understanding of the Russians, even if the Soviet Union is the Tsarist Russia in a different skin, they will inevitably become Japan's enemy in the future.

Not to mention that the feud between the two regimes had already begun during the Russian Civil War, when Japan was an important source of funding for the White Bandits in the Far East.

In addition to these practical factors, there are also ideological differences and so on, which make it impossible for the Soviet Union and Japan to become friends at this stage.

But whether Japan is willing or not, they have made up their minds to be on guard against the Soviet Union, and even to take the initiative to attack. After all, the Soviet Union can radiate to Asia, especially East Asia, and if Japan wants to be the overlord of East Asia, it will inevitably confront the Soviet Union.

Japan is greedy, and so are the Russians. The Russians just have more choices than Japan, namely Europe. However, this does not affect the Russians' underlying idea of ​​wanting it all.

Of course, Nan Yun Zhongyi did not pay much attention to the Soviet Union, at least compared with the Nanyang region. The harsh environment of the Soviet Far East was far less valuable than Nanyang.

Of course, in the entire South Seas region, the three places he coveted the most were Australia, Kalimantan Island, and the Strait of Malacca.

Moreover, these three places are the easiest to acquire. Although Kalimantan belongs to two top powers, Britain and East Africa, it is enough to remove East Africa and occupy only Britain's colonies on Kalimantan. After all, the most important resource on Kalimantan is oil, and northern Kalimantan happens to be the area with the richest oil.

In the past, Malaysia and Brunei became important oil exporting countries because of this.

In this way, Chuichi Nagumo's intention is very clear. Whether it is Australia, which has a wide range of rich resources, or North Kalimantan with abundant oil resources, or the strategic Strait of Malacca, these are all British colonies.

This means that in the future, as long as Japan can defeat Britain and drive them out of the western part of the Strait of Malacca, Japan can easily take over these British legacies.

At least in Chuichi Nanyun's opinion, compared with the suffocatingly powerful East Africa and the United States, there is no doubt that Britain, the "world hegemon", looks easier to bully.

Countries like East Africa, the United States, and the Soviet Union, although they pose a greater threat, are not countries Japan can afford to provoke at this stage, especially East Africa and the United States, two countries with strong naval power.

However, Chuichi Nagumo believed that if Japan wanted to compete with them, it had only one choice, which was to digest the South Pacific region and Australia and completely get rid of Japan's heavy dependence on foreign resources.

(End of this chapter)