Glorious Mission 1937

Konoe Fumma knew that letting Oikawa Koshiro continue to play would only make all the high-level officials of the empire feel a deep sense of crisis, and would then vigorously support the battle plan of the base camp. At that time, his plan would be completely over, and he had to go out. Trick, disrupt Ji Chuan Koshiro's speech.

"Your Excellency Oikawa, as the Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet, I would like to ask you a question on behalf of all the imperial elites present, and I hope that you can answer it truthfully. This is related to the fate of the empire and all of us here!" Fumma Konoe asked in a deep voice .

"Duke Konoe, if you have any questions, Oikawa will definitely tell you the truth!"

"Well, I would like to know if a war is launched against the United States, Britain and other countries, especially when the China Incident has not been fully resolved, what are the chances of the empire winning, that is to say, what is the prospect of this war?" Konoe Wen Mo knows that if he wants to influence the ministers here, he must let them realize a problem, that is, although the empire is in the most dangerous moment, going to war is not the best way to solve the problem, because once the United States, Britain and China go to war at the same time , which is no different from suicide.

Sure enough, Konoe Fumma's words cheered up everyone present, and the original fanatic expression quickly returned to rationality. Yes, starting a war can certainly reflect the blood and courage of the Great Japanese Empire, but war is the most important thing for the country , It’s not that you can fight if you want to, but that wars will have winners and losers. It’s good to win, but there are no generals who are always victorious in the world, and there are no wars that are guaranteed not to lose.

With the current situation of the Japanese Empire, it is barely okay to deal with a China.However, if we declare war with the United States, Britain, the Netherlands, and China at the same time, I am afraid that we will not be able to do enough. If we fail to do so, all the achievements of the Meiji Restoration over the past century will be destroyed.The most important thing is that there will be no eggs under the overturned nest. If the empire is defeated, will they have a good end?

Think about Germany after World War I. Even Emperor William had to abdicate and go into exile in the Netherlands. If the Empire of Japan is defeated in the war, the fate can be imagined. Therefore, whether to go to war with the United States and Britain must be carefully considered, just as Duke Konoe Fumma said as said.At stake is the fate of the Empire and all of them.I have to be cautious.

Oikawa Koshiro looked at all the senior Japanese officials present, and then said in a deep voice: "As for the prospects of the war, it is estimated that the United States and Britain are very likely to be based on long-term wars from the very beginning, so for the empire, it must have the ability to deal with long-term wars." Know and prepare. If they want a quick fight. Come with the force of the navy. Beg me for a quick fight, that's what we want."

Then Oikawa Koshiro said: "Now, the war in Europe is continuing. The British naval forces that can be sent to the Far East are bound to be quite limited. Therefore, if I intercept the British-American combined navy on the sea surface that I have scheduled for a decisive battle, then consider the effective use of aircraft, etc. Factors, I am convinced that our victory is very sure. However, even if the Empire wins this decisive battle, it will not lead to the end of the war. It is estimated that they will definitely rely on their untouched geographical location, industrial strength and material strength. advantage into a long-term war."

The Minister of Internal Affairs, Tanabe Haramichi, said displeasedly: "According to Your Excellency Oikawa, even if the empire wipes out all the American and British troops in the South Pacific, it is impossible to win the final victory of the war. That is to say, if the United States, Britain and other countries persist , then the war in the Empire cannot be stopped, right?"

It was not Oikawa Koshiro who answered Tanabe's words, but the head of the Naval Operations Department, Nagano Shoshin, who saw Nagano Shoshin stood up and said: "In principle, this is the case, but please remember that the empire is now in a state of continuous decline in national strength. It is a dangerous juncture, especially when supplies are decreasing, which means that the empire is weakening. According to the estimates of the headquarters, all the resources of the empire can only last for about a year. On the contrary, our enemy is gradually becoming stronger. With the As time goes by, this gap will continue to grow until the empire is dragged to death."

"Resolving this problem through diplomacy is only a temporary compromise. In principle, you can endure it as long as you can, and it is not the fundamental solution to the problem. The longer the matter is delayed, the more unfavorable it is for the empire. If we fight now, we are sure there is still victory. The current world situation is very favorable for us to declare war with Britain and the United States. If it drags on, I worry that this opportunity will disappear with time. "

Oikawa Koshiro also assisted from the side: "For the empire, and because of the lack of domestic resources, it is extremely undesirable to have a long-term war. But once it turns into a long-term war, in order for the long-term war to last, the first condition is to start the war at the beginning of the war. Quickly occupy the enemy's important military sites and resource-rich areas, properly adjust the combat deployment, and at the same time, obtain the necessary materials from within its sphere of influence."

"If the first phase of the operation can be successfully completed, even if the U.S. military equipment is strengthened as planned, since the empire has secured the strategic location in the Southwest Pacific region and maintained an inviolable posture, the foundation for long-term operations can be established. Thereafter. The situation will depend to a large extent on the overall national power and the evolution of the world situation, including various tangible and intangible factors."

Yong Ye Xiushen also echoed: "As Your Excellency Oikawa said, as long as the empire wins the first stage of victory, it will be invincible. It can be seen that the success or failure of the first stage of the battle has a great impact on the success of the long-term battle." Success or failure has a great bearing on it. In order to ensure greater success in the first phase of operations, the Ministry of the Navy believes that it is very important to pass the "Essentials for the Implementation of Imperial State Policies."

"In addition, the Ministry of the Navy would like to explain three points of view to His Majesty and colleagues. This is the unanimous understanding of all naval officers. First, the actual situation of the combat power of the enemy and ourselves should be decided quickly; second, do not let the other party preemptively attack Thirdly, in order to carry out the operation smoothly, we must consider the climate conditions in the area of ​​operation. Based on the above considerations, this proposal has selected the time to make a major decision. Of course, the preparation for the operation must fully consider the diplomatic Please proceed with caution as the work progresses.”

"I would like to add one more point, that is, we must always persist in firm confidence to break through the current difficult situation, so as to obtain a way for the development and stability of the empire. It is by no means that wars that could have been avoided have to be fought. However, for the sake of the imperial kingdom's century-old plan, we will never It should be like the story of the Osaka Winter Battle. In this way, although peace was temporarily achieved, but in the summer of the following year, they were forced to fight under the unfavorable situation of being at a loss."

The so-called Osaka winter battle story refers to the fact that in the winter of 1614, Tokugawa Kayasu led an army of 20 to attack Toyotomi Hideyori and surrounded Osaka Castle. A fake sum was made, which is the so-called Osaka Winter Battle.In the summer of the following year, the Tokugawa clan tore up the agreement and launched an offensive suddenly, capturing Osaka Castle in one fell swoop, and Toyotomi Hideyori perished as a result.

This story is very famous in Japan. Nagano Shoushen said this to remind Emperor Hirohito and all ministers that since they have decided to fight, they should persist in fighting. The same happened to Omito Hideyori.

Yong Ye's words of self-cultivation greatly shocked everyone present at the meeting, and even some ministers who did not support the war with the United States and Britain were moved.

Seeing that the ministers advocating war seemed to have gained the upper hand again, Fumma Konoe hurriedly stood up and said, "Since the speech of the Ministry of the Navy is over, let the Chief of Staff make a statement!"

At this time, the chief of staff of the Japanese army was Prince Zairen of Xianyuan Gong. It is clear that the old prince is one of the real talkers of the Imperial Army.

According to the 1889 Constitution of Japan, the Emperor of Japan is the supreme head of state, the supreme commander of the Japanese army and navy, and can command all the troops in the country.But in fact, due to the strong power of Japanese warlords after the 20th century, a situation in which soldiers control the direction of national policy has formed. Among the military figures, the most powerful military figures are the Minister of Army, the Chief of Staff and the Chief of Staff, who were called the "Three Chiefs" of the Japanese Army at that time. Director.

The Minister of Army is the head of the Japanese Ministry of Army. He is in charge of the government's national defense policy, troop mobilization, national defense budget, and weapons development. He can file with the Prime Minister or the Chief of Staff on military and political issues. The head of the headquarters, whose main duty is to assist the emperor in commanding the army, and issue combat orders on behalf of the emperor; the training director controls all the junior and intermediate military schools of all arms of the Japanese army.

Therefore, the tendency of the Japanese Army's "three chiefs" often determines the direction of the Japanese military's decision-making.If the Japanese military is dissatisfied with the policy of a certain Japanese cabinet, it can not send an active army lieutenant general or general to the government to serve as the Minister of Army, so that the cabinet cannot be formed or collapsed.In this way, the Japanese warlords were able to manipulate the policy direction of the country.Therefore, the opinion of Prince Zairen of Xianyuan Palace is very important, and everyone was quiet for a while, waiting for the old general and old prince to speak.

Prince Xianyuan Gong Zairen cleared his throat and said: "The Ministry of the Army fully agrees with the explanations made by the two commanders of the Navy just now. The Army will mainly state some opinions on the relationship between war preparations and diplomatic negotiations. In view of the current urgent situation, the Empire Especially in view of the fact that the mobility of the empire's national power is weakening day by day, the time has come to decide on a peace war. Regarding this point, the explanation given by Prime Minister Konoe just now is very clear. The high command must now quickly carry out the necessary operations Prepare to deal with both situations of peace and war.” (To be continued..)