The Iron and Steel Frenzy of the Republic of China

"This is the most critical moment for the empire in decades! As the irreplaceable backbone of the Yamato nation, we naturally have the important mission of protecting His Majesty the Emperor and the long-term military fortune of the empire. We must defend this hard-won at all costs. The result!"

In the middle of the night on March 3th, the Kwantung Army headquarters was brightly lit, and countless adjutant officers and staff officers came in and out. A sonorous and forceful voice came through the thick door of the conference room, making the people outside tense up involuntarily. .

In the conference room, almost the core strength of the entire Kwantung Army was gathered. As the chief of staff, Ishihara Waner put his hands on the table, his gloomy eyes shot out through his lowered eyelids, and he swept his sides sharply and straightened up The generals, who listened solemnly, spat out fine particles from their white mouths after talking too much.

The hostility emanating from his body made him look like a wolf in a hurry, and his sharp eyes made a group of murderous generals unable to help their pupils constrict, their necks felt cold, and even some The newly promoted major generals did not dare to look at him.

Including Commander Umezu Yoshijiro and veteran Itagaki Seishiro, I have worked with Ishihara Wanji for so long, and I have never seen him so active and irritable, especially his resolute attitude towards foreign wars. I have never seen the great plan of the three northeastern provinces.

The current Ishihara Waner seems to be the arrogant and crazy majors and captains who started wars several times in a row. Their minds are only full of immortal achievements, and they completely ignore the grand plans of the empire and the Ministry of War.This madness that desperately dragged the entire empire into the water.Appearing on Shi Yuan, who has always been praised for his calmness and wisdom, is unbelievable. Could it be that this guy is possessed by an evil spirit?

All kinds of strange gazes came back, and Ishihara Waner didn't notice it. The one-and-a-half-inch-thick solid wood tabletop trembled violently with his right fist and a "bang", and the white porcelain cup on one side bounced with a "dingling jingling".He shouted violently: "We must launch a powerful and comprehensive attack on Russia, and establish the eternal foundation of the empire in one fell swoop!"

"All-out war on Russia!"

Umezu Yoshijirou's swollen and drooping eyelids suddenly flattened the wrinkles, and he looked over in surprise.I found that the key calmness was not lacking in the shining light in Shi Yuan's eyes, even when he uttered this earth-shattering word.There was also a faint smile on the corner of his mouth, as if he was holding a winning ticket!

This guy, isn't his head sober after being stimulated? !

Seishiro Itagaki, Kenji Doihara and the others couldn't help but look at Wanji Ishihara again with scrutiny eyes, but a smile of surprise and surprise appeared on their faces involuntarily, and they thought to themselves: "This guy has finally opened his mind!"

Ishihara Wanji has always been a headache. \\..\\On the one hand, this man's wisdom is second to none in the army, his strategy is profound, and he is admired by a group of young and strong factions. The "September [-]th Incident" that easily captured the Northeast is his pioneering work, which has influenced How big it is can't be overstated.

But on the other hand, Ishihara Wanji has always been an unswerving so-called "sane faction".I have always disagreed with an all-out war against China, whether it was ten years ago or two years ago, and whether it was the navy's southward policy or the army's northward plan, it was proposed every time.He was ridiculed and criticized mercilessly, which annoyed too many enthusiastic generals.Even some lower-ranking officers would regard him as a stumbling block to the development and achievement of the empire, and wanted to stab the bastard to death.

Therefore, including a group of people from the Kwantung Army who knew him best, it is not expected that this guy will actively seek to provoke a hugely influential war.It also hinders this guy's chances of rising rapidly.

But why did he suddenly make such an exaggerated change today?

In a sense, Ishihara is the only powerful figure in the entire empire who has the ability to turn the tide when the navy suffers successive defeats and the army suffers repeated losses.Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to take over the position of the deputy chief of staff of the base camp as expected, and become the most important figure in the army, only under Prince Xianyuan Gong Zairen and Lu Xiang Sugiyama!

Even in the entire Kwantung Army, his status and right to speak surpassed that of Commander Umezu Yoshijiro, there is no doubt about it!

In the past few years since Ishihara came to power, he has remained calm and restrained in the face of Russia's continuous armed provocations.Even last year when Zhang Gufeng, Prince Xianyuan Gong and General Sugiyama Yuan all supported the full-scale battle, they still resisted, which is very incomprehensible.

Now, just as the Chinese Army has just integrated hundreds of thousands of elites to make a gesture of going northward to recover the country, Russia continues to increase the intensity and scale of friction, and the Kwantung Army is likely to face the dangerous situation of two-sided attack, this guy actually wants to start a full-scale war !

Itagaki Seishiro is very happy about this situation, this is a good sign!The power accumulated in the Kwantung Army is already too much, almost to the point where chaos may be caused if it is not vented. As the blocker, Ishihara let go, it will mean that the army, the strongest force in the world, finally has It comes in handy!

He leaned his upper body slightly forward, and asked in a deep voice: "Chief of Staff Shi Yuan, do you mean that we are going to start the 'Northern Advance Plan'? At such a tense time?!"

Ishihara Waner nodded resolutely as expected: "That's right! That's it! Now is the time to change our passive situation! And Russia, which has repeatedly provoked us, will become the foundation for the empire to completely establish a solid foundation on the mainland." An important stepping stone! We must completely wipe out the power of the entire Russian army in the Far East with one blow, and bring the vast land of millions of square kilometers into the embrace of the empire!"

Go north!Beat Russia!Expand the territory!

Ishihara's decision made a group of middle-aged and elderly people in their 60s and [-]s on both sides of the table excited again, while the major generals and officers on the side simply cheered regardless of dignity!

"Hey! Chief Ishihara's decision is really wise!"

The army's northward advance plan was formulated for more than a few decades. The defeat of Russia in 1905 was the beginning, and the foundation laid after paying huge sacrifices allowed the Kwantung Army to easily win the huge victory in 1932. {.The next two advances in 1933 and 1935 were not particularly smooth.Although the strategic goals have been achieved, it is just that the Battle of Pingjin in 1937 suffered heavy losses, and that was caused by Ishihara's reckless behavior under the circumstances of Ishihara's opposition.Later, cleaning up the mess and re-stabilizing the situation, and even the training and deployment of the entire Kwantung Army, and the construction and purge of the entire Manchuria, all have the wisdom of Ishihara Kaner.

He has always firmly adhered to the principle of "let it go as soon as it is good", and will not go to war with China in an all-out way, and will not be caught in the vast Chinese battlefield.Instead, we should concentrate our efforts to develop the concept of further capturing the living space of the empire to the north. Today, can it be regarded as the peak of implementation?

But is it really okay to do this?

Kenji Doihara coughed lightly.He asked slowly: "Could it be that Chief of Staff Ishihara has determined that the Chinese troops will not launch a strong attack? You know, they have millions of armed forces gathered in North China. Moreover, the armored forces, artillery and air force are all very powerful. We are still facing the threat of its powerful navy! These situations must be paid attention to!"

Umezu Yoshijiro nodded approvingly.He is not opposed to expanding the war and marching northward, but that must be done when all conditions are met. From his heart, he wants to continue to maintain the military compromise with Russia. Small-scale conflicts do not matter, and they can be dealt with easily, but Will a full-scale battle get into big trouble out of hand?Be aware of the power that mighty fellow to the north has.Don't underestimate it!

It was as if a pot of cold water was poured down, and the head that had just been feverish immediately cooled down.Under the gaze of all kinds of eyes, Ishihara Waner smiled confidently: "The Chinese army will not attack with all its strength. As long as the warlords in the north are not unified, they will waste precious time and strength by arguing with each other. The armaments we have deployed are sufficient to stop their seemingly powerful attack. But Russia behind us is different!"

Ishihara leaned back, staring at the map on the opposite wall, and said sonorously: "Everything shows that after the Great Cleansing, Russia is going all out to reorganize its militia and defense forces and is preparing to strengthen its armed forces in the Far East. Population! They sent the 36th Division to Ulaanbaatar. The reorganization of the Outer Mongolia Army is a strong signal to go south! And once they are allowed to complete their deployment, the conspiracy against Manchuria will begin immediately! At that time, if the military and political forces of China are unified, launch An all-out attack is the most dangerous!"

"As long as we use all our strength to completely kill the Russian forces in the Far East, and bring the entire Outer Mongolia and the vast land to the east of Lake Baikal, as well as the population of more than 200 million in the district, into control, countless resources and unlimited land will become The unbreakable eternal foundation of the empire! After our billions of citizens have completed the migration, the whole of Asia will prostrate under the sunshine of the sun flag!"

As Ishihara said with a smile, he seemed to stand up obsessively, and swiped his short arms in front of him vigorously, as if this one stroke covered a million square kilometers of land. The temperature that shocks the tense atmosphere soars!

"It should have been done a long time ago! When Zhang Gufeng clashed last year, we should forcefully request His Majesty the Emperor to approve our attack plan! There is no need to wait until now!"

"That's right. At that time, the trash of the navy had just lost the last piece of loincloth. If our army turned the situation around all of a sudden, the subjects of the entire empire would be moved to tears!"

All kinds of approval and doubts poured in. Ishihara smiled and snorted coldly: "Last year, who could determine the direction of China's military strengthening? If it hadn't been determined that they would concentrate their strength to build naval warships, and the army's armaments and various departments The power is not integrated, do you think I will set such a strategy?"

No one dared to say that they all saw the results at that time, including Doihara, who is known as the most knowledgeable about China, dared not make such a judgment.Who would have known that Zhu Bin, who possessed a powerful navy, army and air force, would continue to increase the strength of the navy after a big victory, but the reorganized central army did not launch a new war to unify the country?

Even the current North China military exercise is a coping action that cannot be carried out under the coercion of public opinion. Facts have also proved that none of those guys really want to start a full-scale war against Japan at all, and they are ready to make countless comebacks Paid a heavy price to recover the country.They dare not!

It is easy to be Zhuge Liang after the event, but it is difficult to predict the enemy's plane to take the overall situation first.This is the case even for someone as wise as Ishihara Waner.But at least Ishihara knows better than anyone else when to take the most appropriate military action.Obviously, he thinks it is most appropriate to start implementing the northward plan now!

Umezu Yoshijiro nodded slowly: "China's warlords are all selfish. They say it nicely, but none of them really want to make sacrifices for the country, including Mr. Chairman. As long as the empire doesn't make too much After a serious push, they will gather on their own territory like a group of shrinking tortoises, without considering the great cause of the entire country and nation! This is the shape of the so-called inferior nation. Ishihara-kun's judgment is indeed very clear! "

Itagaki Seishiro couldn't suppress the excitement in his heart, and raised his tone: "Then, we will take advantage of the opportunity of the Outer Mongolia Army entering the Nomenkan area to launch a battle! The Russians must have never imagined that we would have such a fierce reaction. It is indeed an excellent time!"

Lieutenant General Neji Okamura, who had been silent all this time, frowned and asked, "The General Staff Headquarters and the prince should support us, but His Majesty's attitude must be considered. According to previous judgments, he would not agree to a full-scale war. In addition, the military expenditure required for combat is not a small amount!"

Umezu Yoshijiro waved his hand: "I will solve those things myself. The important thing is to get things done first. As long as the defense of China is safe, the rest will be carried out according to the plan of Chief of Staff Ishihara! The Russians who have fallen into trouble know clearly that the majesty of our Great Japanese Imperial Army does not allow them to offend repeatedly!"

"Kill the Russians!"

The commander's decision made everyone in the room shout powerfully, and the dark clouds of war quickly spread to the entire Far East with the fists that Ishihara Waner had accumulated for half a lifetime!

On that night, the Kwantung Army requested that the Outer Mongolian Army, which "crossed the border and provoked war" without authorization, send a request and a combat plan to the headquarters of the general staff of the base camp for a strong attack. Approved without hesitation, and joined hands in the palace to persuade Emperor Hirohito.

The specific process is unknown, but the Japanese Army, which is accustomed to walking alone, was mobilized overnight. In the early morning of March 3, with the most powerful First Armored Brigade in the Empire as the vanguard, two full-scale infantry divisions Under the cover of 19 fighter planes from the Kwantung Army Aviation Regiment, they swarmed towards the foreign allied forces who didn't understand the situation!