cicada

Chapter 981 The heroes of the world enter my heart

Japan, Tokyo, Kojicho District.

This place is the core of Tokyo, where the Japanese National Assembly, the prime minister's residence, the court, most of the central bank's administrative organs, and the locust's residence are located.

In this area where every inch of land is expensive, a Japanese-style manor covering an area of ​​several thousand square meters is heavily guarded, and heavily armed soldiers pass by the courtyard walls from time to time.

In the largest building in the manor, several maids in kimonos carried trays, walked through the long corridor, lowered their heads and walked into a Japanese room with small steps.

At this time, there were four men┴ sitting on the floor beside the low table in the room, discussing something in a low voice, and immediately stopped talking when they saw the maid entering the room, straightened their backs and took a few sips of teacups.

Plates of yokan, wagashi, and sakura cakes were placed on the table, and the maids put the trays in front of their stomachs, bent over and exited the Japanese room, and one of them gently closed the shoko door.

When the room became quiet again, a middle-aged man sitting at the top raised his sleeve and stretched his hand towards the pastry, politely beckoning to the other three.

"Dorzo, Mr. Xiyuanji, Mr. Ozaki, Mr. Sorge, try the craftsmanship of my Fuchu chef. He has worked in Wenmingtang for 30 years, and the pastry tastes very good."

"Thank you, Your Excellency Speaker."

"Okay, Mr. Konoe."

The middle-aged Mr. Xiyuanji, about thirty years old, didn't say anything after hearing what the other person said, just lowered his head slightly, and picked up the pastry and put it in his mouth.

The other two bowed respectfully when they heard the words, and each replied in Japanese, then picked up the nearest pastry with both hands, and ate it carefully.

If Zuo Zhong was here, he would have found an old acquaintance among the two—the Asahi Shimbun reporter Ozaki who had dealt with during the [-] mission a few years ago.

But the other person has a Europa face and is wearing a suit, but he speaks and behaves like an ordinary Japanese, and even his kneeling and sitting movements are very standard.

Soon, the three of them cleared all the cakes on the plate, and the middle-aged man who was honored as Mr. Konoe showed a gratified smile. This person was the former Prime Minister of Japan, Fumiya Konoe.

Fumiya Konoe, duke title, born in 18┴91, the 30th generation head of the Konoe family, one of the Five Photographers, and his great-grandfather, grandfather, and father all held important positions in the Japanese government and locust chamber.

After entering the political arena, the other party initiated the establishment of a large political wing support association that is fully loyal to the locust, implemented high-pressure rule internally, launched aggression externally, and actively expanded the war of aggression against China.

In 1937, just one month after he took office as prime minister, the Marco Polo Bridge incident broke out. The Battle of Shanghai and the Jinling incident also occurred during the other party's term of office.

In January of this year, Fumiya Konoe, who won the Order of the Rising Sun First Class, said he was tired of being a "puppet" of the military and resigned as prime minister and became the speaker of the Privy Council.

As for the real reason, it is nothing more than that the war against China has fallen into a protracted tug-of-war. So many people died and so much money was spent, but the government is still insisting on it. Naturally, the Japanese high-level leaders need to find a scapegoat.

Although he lost the throne of prime minister, the power of the Konoe family is deeply rooted, and Konoe Fumiya still affects the operation of the country to some extent.

Whenever major events happened at home and abroad, he would hold a tea party at home and call together old subordinates who were close or held important positions to discuss the current situation.

Today was no exception, except for Ozaki, a well-known and well-informed reporter who was well-known in the Japanese public opinion circle, he invited him here.

There are also good friends, the Duke's heir Kouji Saizono, and the German "Frankfurt Zeitung" reporter who has a wide range of friends, and the writer Sorge who has contacts throughout Tokyo.

The second son of Xiyuan Temple.

The eldest son of the Saienji family, one of the Fujiwara Seven Qinghua families, his grandfather and maternal grandfather are Mori Motoku and Saienji Gongwang respectively, belonging to the standard old Japanese Masakiri Banner.

Because of his out-of-the-ordinary personality, he has never held a particularly important position, and has always been a fringe figure in the Japanese political arena. However, he has a noble status, which has caused many people headaches.

This person and Konoe Fumiya have a close relationship, and he also served as a consultant during Konoe's tenure. The two and their families were regarded as political alliances for a certain period of time.

As for the German Sorge, he was a close friend of Kouji Xiyuanji. If not, a foreigner might not be qualified to join such a private secret meeting.

Even though it was his first time to attend Jinwei's tea party, Sorge was not polite. After eating the pastry, he wiped his hands and immediately asked two sharp questions.

"Mr. Konoe, what is your opinion on the recent conflicts between your country and the Red Russians? How will your government┴ deal with this crisis in the Far East?"

Konoe Fumi laughed, and didn't answer the question directly, but looked at Kouji Saizonoji who had a helpless expression next to him, and made a joke in a relaxed tone.

"Mr. Xiyuanji, if Mr. Sorge hadn't been brought by you, I would have informed the Special High School Extracurricular Affairs Team of the Metropolitan Police Department to arrest him. These two matters are related to imperial secrets."

As he spoke, he frowned and made a grimace. He didn't look like a high-ranking Japanese Duke at all, and he didn't look like something a former prime minister could do at all.

Because of the Meiji era when Konoe Fumiya grew up, folk ideas were generally in line with Europe and the United States, and he had traveled to Europe to study, so he was not as rigid as ordinary Japanese nobles.

At that time, Konoe, who was only 46 years old, was in charge of forming the cabinet. The Japanese people called him the "Youth Prime Minister", and newspapers called his cabinet the "Youth Cabinet" and "Clarity Cabinet".

Most citizens also expect him to become the prime minister who breaks the dull state of Japanese society, but the result is not satisfactory, but Konoe's humorous personality still makes him invincible in interpersonal communication.

Sure enough, all the people present were amused by his words. The other party involved, Sorge, shrugged his shoulders and said pretending to be innocent.

"Your Excellency Speaker, don't worry, when I just arrived in Tokyo, I already felt the "enthusiasm" of the foreign affairs team, and the secret agents almost lived in my bed."

"Hahaha~"

Konoe Fumi leaned forward and backward with a smile, and said to Xiyuanji Gong Erle: "I like this guy very much. I will ask Xiyuanji Lord to bring him here a few more times in the future. We will definitely become good friends."

After finishing speaking, his expression slowly returned to seriousness, and he turned to look at Sorge: "Mr. Sorge, please understand that it is about imperial secrets, and I cannot answer these two questions of yours.

But I can tell you clearly that the Great Japanese Empire will never allow Red Russia to destroy the peace in the Far East. Our army is also ready for everything, do you understand? "

After the two unnutritious mandarins ended, Fumiya Konoe began to drink tea, which meant clearly that he did not want to discuss this topic any more.

"Hayi, I understand. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for your frankness. This matter is over."

Sorge also looked serious, saying that he would not ask about Nuomenkan again. After staying in Asia for so long, he also learned the art of euphemism or language from the East.

Xiyuan Temple and Ozaki who were next to him breathed a sigh of relief, and let go of their hanging hearts. If Sorge really had a conflict with Konoe Fumiya, it would be terrible.

They knew very well that losing his father at a young age and starting a family prematurely made Konoe a conceited and stubborn character, with a tyrannical personality hidden under his humorous appearance.

But Sorge didn't speak, Konoe Fumiya took the initiative to speak after drinking tea. He put down the beautifully made teacup and glanced at the other three people.

"I don't know what Mr. Sorge thinks about the Nomenkan War. Do you think there is a possibility of a large-scale war between Japan and Russia? Ozaki-kun, you can also talk about it."

The meaning of comparison in this sentence is very obvious. As a former prime minister and current speaker, Konoe Fumiya has no shortage of friends, but what he lacks is a think tank who can provide opinions.

He excluded Saiyuanji Kouji, who was of equal status, and wanted to hear what Ozaki and Sorge had to say about the Kanmeno war. If the two were really talented, then he would win them over. If not, he would stop here.

Ozaki and Sorge looked at each other with a smile, and made room for each other. In the end, Sorge took the lead in answering Konoe Fumiya's question.

"Mr. Speaker, as a true German, I certainly hope that Japan and Russia will fight a big war in Kanmeno, which will help improve the living environment of Germany.

But as a reporter, I hope that the war can be further expanded, so that the editor-in-chief of the "Frankfurter Zeitung" doesn't have to worry that I won't be able to make big news in Tokyo. "

Sorge was very direct and honest. He said what he thought in his heart, and then speculated on the Sino-Russian war in the half-smile expressions of the other three.

"I personally think that there will be no full-scale conflict between your country and Red Russia. The essence of Red Russia's industry and agriculture is located in the European continent.

For this kind of tasteless and wasteful land, what Red Russia has to do is to maintain the status quo, occupy at most disputed areas, maintain its strategic advantage over your country, and wait for the development of the situation. "

clap ~ clap ~ clap ~
Konoe Fumiya and the others clapped their hands lightly and applauded Sorge's speculation. As expected of a famous writer who traveled around the world, he could see the core of the Japan-Russia conflict at a glance┴.

Sorge quickly waved his hand, and the modesty of Edong showed that this was just a family opinion. How things will develop depends on the outcome of the next battle in the Nomenka area.

Everyone nodded in agreement, and then Ozaki also expressed his own opinion. Based on Sorge's opinion, he added some inferences from the perspective of Japanese high-level officials and citizens.

For example, the War of the Republic of China has not yet ended, the soldiers are exhausted, and the Japanese people at the bottom have not gained actual benefits from the war, etc. Generally speaking, the speech is a bit left-wing.

Konoe Fumiya didn't care about this at all. As a superior, what he needed was to listen to opinions from all sides. As for whether to use it or not, that was another matter.

Moreover, the Republic of China has been fighting for a long time, and the people have long discussed it. It is a good thing for the locust and the Japanese Empire to have such a public opinion channel from the bottom to the top.

Looking at Ozaki and Sorge kneeling there respectfully, Fumiya Konoe felt like a hero of the world had entered my trap. With the help of such talents, why not worry about nothing happening!
(End of this chapter)