The Iron and Steel Frenzy of the Republic of China

A group of shining imperial elites lowered their heads one after another. They could all see that Hirohito's face was distorted with anger. If he hadn't been educated as an emperor since he was a child, he was born deep, restrained and courageous. Got up and yelled.

The emperor is the emperor, even if he has never had the vigor and power of a Chinese emperor, even if he is placed on the stage as a mascot, he must be honestly offered according to etiquette, right?Besides, Hirohito is not an ordinary emperor, he is by no means inferior to Emperor Meiji's mind and courage. On the surface, he retreats behind the scenes, but in fact, the influence on the subjects of the country is very great!

Fushimi Palace belongs to the imperial family and personally controls the center of the Admiralty. Naturally, there is nothing to shirk responsibility, and you have to listen when you are scolded.In fact, Minei Guangzheng was wronged, and he had to take the blame, and he had to solve the matter.

At any rate, Hiroren didn't get angry and reprimanded him. Thinking back when Zhu Bin dropped a bunch of bombs from above his head and almost wet the bed in fright, didn't he continue to preside over the overall situation in a gentle and gentle manner?Calm down, you still need it.

Fushimi Palace sank, and reported respectfully: "We are already trying to solve the related problems. I believe that the situation will be completely under control soon."

Passing up some plans that have been discussed in a hurry, Hirohito glanced roughly, put them aside casually, stood up with his hands behind his back, circled around the room, and sighed faintly: "The empire can come to this day, after all the experience The hard work of several generations is not easy. The world is in turmoil today, and the empire is facing a crisis that has not been seen in thousands of years. All actions must be well planned, and a little carelessness may destroy a hundred years. Gong turned into running water. You are all ministers I trust, you should understand."

A few people "hi hi" more than one.

Hirohito turned around a few times, but in the end he didn't say too much. He is not as famous as the emperor of China, so he can just put on a show.He waved his hand and said, "Just deal with it according to the plan you have drawn up. I only have one request. Before the empire completes the key immigration plan, the navy should not move lightly. This is the foundation of the country."

Minai Mitsumasa was more happy this time, and agreed without hesitation.The others didn't dare to have any opinions. Now it's the basket they poked out, and it's useless to say anything before it's cleaned up.

Since Japan launched the immigration plan, more than 300 million people have immigrated to South Manchuria, and the speed is slower than expected.But at any rate, the foundation has been established. It is estimated that by the year after next, and the number of immigrants to North Korea will reach at least 800 million to 1000 million, it will be considered safe. Then the rebels will basically not be afraid of troubles, and the population density will take advantage.Everything can go on in a virtuous cycle.

In addition, the immigration work to Taiwan has also started. In the final analysis, to complete the occupation and engulfment, someone must go there.That's right.

Ri himself is so contradictory.On the one hand, they are clamoring from top to bottom to go to the mainland and expand the country.But the conditions are really met, such big Taiwan, Ryukyu, North Korea and the three northeastern provinces, the land is much bigger than Japan, when they immigrate.But they don't want to leave!

Except for those who do business, those who run factories, a large number of fishermen and farmers, and even citizens, they would rather suffocate on a small island full of dangers than go to the vast white mountains and black waters to own a large piece of fertile land, open mines, build factories or work.Here, there is a stubborn rural complex influence.There are also major financial groups and capitalists who falsely respond to the immigration care for their own interests. The story also has a lot to do with it.

Whether Hirohito or their group of officials took a lot of effort to deal with it, but the results were far from the intended goal!

It's a pity that in today's Japan, people with a clear mind don't have the final say at all. The military's interference in politics has reached an unreasonable level, and the atmosphere of military struggle has dominated the mainstream. Smart people who really think about long-term plans can't rely on them at all. Or be hacked to death….

After leaving the palace, the Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe cast a cold glance at the group of people, thinking that his position might not last long.The navy has caused such a big defeat, and when it comes to pursuing responsibility, none of them will be able to escape. If he doesn't take the initiative to resign at that time, I'm afraid he won't be able to do it.

But he wanted to leave, but the others didn't want to let it go. Fushimi Miya took the lead, Mitsumasa Yone, Shoshin Nagano, Muneshige Ueda and others dragged them back to a meeting to discuss further disposal plans. Some had to be rushed before the fleet returned and the news was revealed It is impossible not to do the things that have been determined before.

The main cabinet members including Konobu Ozura Sikaya were summoned, together with a group of old men from the House of Nobles, they nervously talked about several important issues, and then Mitsumasa Yonechi said calmly: "In any case, it is a top priority to approve the new shipbuilding plan as soon as possible to supplement the number of capital ships of the combined fleet and ensure the superiority of the Imperial Navy. If it can be confirmed in the next few days, it will be of great help."

The supplementary plan drawn out by the Naval Administration Headquarters turned around, and all of them frowned. He Wu Xingxuan simply spread his hands: "Your request is too much! It is impossible for the Ministry of Finance to provide such financial allocations. In order to satisfy the army We have already spent all the loans from various countries last time!"

Minai Mitsumasa himself knew it was a bit too much.In addition to the two warships rushing to launch, and the two [-]-ton super battleships that are about to be completed, there are also two models, two for each, and a total of four ships. It was originally planned to start construction next year, but it seems impossible now. Yes, work will start immediately, and it may not be in time... There are only three intact battleships left in the entire joint fleet, and there is not much to add!

But the budget for these four capital ships alone will be as high as 3.5 million yuan, and at least 4 new aircraft carriers will be built, which is another 1 million yuan; four heavy cruisers, eight light cruisers, and destroyers are a large number , Another 1.5 million or so, 1 additional fighter planes, 2000 pilot training, another 1 million... Plus, at least 7 million ri as a base.If you add the necessary expansion of shipbuilding, steelmaking, heavy machinery plants, and electrical and boiler manufacturing equipment, all kinds of labor expenses, inflation, and replacement of old ships, you can't get it done if you don't have 10 billion.

The problem is, there's more to the budget than that.According to estimates, the war losses caused this time need to be dealt with. After the shipbuilding is completed, China will inevitably have a similar number of capital ships, so it will need to be further increased on this basis, and the budget will have to be increased.The army will be jealous, and it will inevitably demand the same treatment, and it will also increase military expenditures. The financial situation is simply difficult to support.

King Fushimi Gong Hiroshi had no expression on his face, but he said unquestionably: "This is a decision that cannot be discussed. The safety of the empire is at stake. In any case, the cabinet must try to resolve it."

Minai Mitsumasa said slowly: "If you don't have money, you can continue to borrow! Germany and the United States can all be considered. If it doesn't work, issuing national debt is also possible."

Kaya Xingxuan's head was dizzy, and a bad feeling suddenly rose in his heart. Even Mitsumasa Minai started talking nonsense, which shows how dangerous the situation is.Hasn't the navy always been very powerful?To be forced into such a position, what kind of troubles did they face!

Konoe Fumimaro was a bit of a broken pot, and he didn't even have to argue. He said frankly: "There is no other way. Even if the gold is used as collateral, the hole must be blocked. The Navy's supplementary plan must be introduced smoothly. How about the empire?" It’s easy to have today, and you can’t spoil the good prospects for a little money. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs can contact the Americans and Germans more. If they want to continue to gain long-term trade growth opportunities between the Japanese branches, they must support us.”

"Use gold...?" He Wu Xingxuan repeated in a daze, his eyes drooped and his head drooped, lamenting in his heart that there was no hope.

Japan's gold reserves are very precious and scarce. Because the economic crisis led to a large outflow, the gold standard had to be linked to additional issuance and depreciation. It was finally stabilized. The mining of Mount Fuji gold mines and the exploration of gold mines after the occupation of the Northeast were very difficult. Save up some money.In addition, in order to mine the rhenium ore in the volcano in the north of the island, the Germans exchanged it with gold at a ratio of one to two, adding up to 300 tons more, so it’s a little easier. If you want to build a ship, you have to smash it all out .

His appearance was too obvious, and other people could see it clearly. Fushimi Palace was immediately upset, and sternly shouted: "The Minister of Finance must understand that the empire has a navy, and only then can it be safe, have status and everything! The navy has been severely weakened. With China's strong provocation, the status of the empire will be lost, and at that time, it will be useless to say anything! If you spend gold, you can always get it back!"

In front of the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty, it is hard to talk about robbing.

But He Ya Xingxuan understood. How did Japan become strong? Isn't it through war expansion, military plunder, and extortion?If you have no money, grab the territory, if you win the war, you need to pay compensation, if there is no market, grab the market, force China to open up, or simply occupy it with arms...For them, whether it is building warships or armed forces, they are robbery gangs secretly supported by major financial groups. As long as they can continue to open up new regional markets, all investments can be made back.

This is the case in theory, but He Ya Xingxuan can't figure out how much he can actually do. Because from the seizure of Taiwan in the last century, the capture of North Korea around the Sino-Japanese War, including the three eastern provinces that were recently occupied, the empire's financial revenue seems to be insignificant. It is constantly increasing, and the national strength is constantly growing, but the vast majority of the poor are still too poor to afford food!

Especially in the last few wars, they were all pure input and had no output. On the contrary, because of the boycott of Japanese goods, the original market was lost, and the light industry was hit hard. If it hadn't been for the desperate increase in heavy industry input and production in recent years, the situation How miserable it may be!Did they really figure out the cause and effect relationship?

It's not something he can decide on his own.Konoe Fumimaro couldn't control it either, seeing how tough the navy was, he sighed secretly, nodded and agreed: "That's it!" (to be continued) rq