The spy career of a surgeon

Chapter 333 Cabinet
This style of behavior is hard to guess.
Zhou Qinghe followed.

"You drive later." Tojo kicked the driver away and instructed Zhou Qinghe.

"what?"

"What, is there a problem?"

"No."

Zhou Qinghe and himself haven't driven for a long time. What kind of status do you have to drive yourself?
"We're going to the Prime Minister's Office for a meeting. You can take notes later." Tojo opened the car door and got in.

Zhou Qinghe first sat in the driver's seat and started the car before speaking.

"I don't think I need to do this job, right? You have a full-time driver to drive and a secretary to record. I'm not saying I can't do this job, but the General Office has a lot of documents that need you to handle. As the assistant to the Minister of Land, I need to sort these documents for you in advance."

It is true that Zhou Qinghe is an assistant, but he is not an assistant who carries bags for Tojo. How come he can be used so easily?
"Akira told me you're very smart."

"That's what he told you?"

"Yes, Mingfu praised you to me several times in the telegram. He has always praised you, and I want to see your level.

There are two of us present, and some of the driver's words are not suitable for listening. He can do the paperwork, but he doesn't have a smart brain to do the analysis for me. Analysis, isn't that what you, as an assistant, should do?"

The arguments were convincing, so Zhou Qinghe pursed his lips and said nothing, stepped on the accelerator, and drove away.

Prime Minister's Office.

They both arrived a little early.

When they arrived, the rest of the people hadn't arrived yet.

The receptionist knew that this was the new Prime Minister and immediately came forward to serve tea.

Tojo Hideki got angry as soon as he heard a disagreement: "What's going on? It's already so late, why haven't they arrived yet? They came directly from home to the military headquarters, and from the military headquarters to here. Is the distance even farther than mine?"

"This" office staff smiled along, but the smile was a little awkward. Isn't it normal for leaders to be late?
There is no excuse like traffic jam. After all, the Prime Minister sleeps next to the Prime Minister's Office. The office building and the accommodation building are separated by one floor.
So he said, "Prime Minister, you were busy late last night, so you may be a little tired. You may be up now. I will go and ask for you."

A normal person would express understanding when hearing someone say this. After all, he is the prime minister, so he should just back down if he can.

But Tojo Chicken is completely different.

He snorted coldly, "He should be at work when it's time to go to work. Don't even mention that he slept last night, even if he didn't sleep! He has to go to work when it's time to go to work. Now it's already half an hour past the stipulated working time. How many military and national affairs will he delay in this half an hour?"

The Prime Minister was scolded like a grandson. The staff couldn't stand it anymore, but they didn't dare to leave. They could only lower their heads and smile awkwardly.

Zhou Qinghe waved at him to save him.

He received a grateful look, and then asked Tojo Hideki, "Are you here to quarrel on purpose?"

"What do you mean? Am I wrong?" Tojo Hideki said with a stern face, "Isn't it their fault that they didn't show up during working hours?"

Hiss. This.
There will definitely be an argument in the meeting later. It is indeed a common little trick to take the initiative, seize the opponent's loopholes, scold the other party, occupy the moral high ground, and be invincible first.

However, when Zhou Qinghe observed Tojo Hideki's expression, it seemed that this was not the case.

Why do I feel like Tojo really just wants to curse Konoe to vent his anger?

No, on the first day of the cabinet, he came over early in the morning to scold the Prime Minister?
Zhou Qinghe finally understood why Tojo had no friends.

Forget it, let’s not talk any more. If I continue, he will be scolded too. Zhou Qinghe decided to keep quiet and drink tea.

After waiting for a while, the Navy Minister and the Finance Minister arrived first. The Navy and the Army were not on good terms, so don't expect the Navy Minister to be kind to Tojo. The Finance Minister just greeted him with a formal smile.

Tojo Hideki opened his mouth and said, "You guys got up early enough."

The Tibetan Minister was bewildered, and the Hai Minister's face turned black.

At this time, Konoe Fumimaro arrived.

No need to explain why I was late, "Since I'm already here, let's start the meeting. Tojo has been scolding me for waiting."

He glanced at Tojo Hideki and sneered, and when he saw Zhou Qinghe, Konoe Fumima was stunned. Why would Tojo bring Fujita Kazuki with him?

After sending away other assistants waiting outside the door, Zhou Qinghe and Konoha's secretary entered the meeting room.

meeting room.

Konoe Fumima said: "There are several urgent matters that we need to deal with at the moment. One is the alliance with Germany and Italy. The previous president has almost done it. Now we are short of signing a contract. Whether to sign or not, we need to come up with a decision today.

The second thing is the direction of the future war: will it continue to drag on in China, or will it invade East Asia and prepare to attack the United States.

The third thing is that the cabinet has just been formed and it needs to announce new and proactive strategies to the people. As we all know, the current domestic economic environment requires some changes and the people still have some expectations. So how do we decide?

Today, please feel free to speak on these three issues.

Tojo, these three things are actually related to the army. Please express your opinion first."

Tojo Hideki did not give in and said directly: "We must resolutely advance the German-Italian alliance, the sooner the better.

The second thing is, I have said it long ago that sooner or later our Great Japanese Empire will take action against Britain and the United States. Not only Britain and the United States, but sooner or later the whole world should be under the rule of our Great Japanese Empire. The emperor's power will dominate the world. This is what our soldiers should do.

So regarding what you said about dragging it out in China or invading East Asia, I think this statement is incorrect.

We want to attack China, attack East Asia, and prepare for war with the United States."

"Tojo, did you get up too early and still sleepy? Do you want to attack East Asia and China at the same time?" The Navy Minister was so excited that he shouted loudly.

Not only him, but everyone else present was shocked. This was too crazy.

Tojo Hideki looked at their startled expressions and felt very surprised: "What's the problem?"

Konoe Fumima looked unhappy, feeling cheated: "You promised me that you would support the cabinet's shift to a U.S. strategy."

"I support you. When have I not supported you?" Tojo Hideki said calmly, "I will have the army allocate troops as soon as possible to support you in fighting in East Asia."

"What about the money?" The Tibetan minister said, "Supporting one battlefield in China would bring down the entire country's economy. Where would we get the money to open two battlefields for you?"

Tojo Hideki said as a matter of course: "That's your business. The army is responsible for fighting, and you come to pay the money. Otherwise, what are you doing?"

The Minister of Finance slammed the table angrily and said, "Tojo! The current situation in the country is all caused by your army! By not telling anyone about this, we have saved enough face for your army. We are the ones who should bear the blame! The Ministry of Finance cannot possibly have the money to support you in opening up two battlefields!"

"If you don't have money, why don't you just go and find some? Otherwise, why would the Konoe Guards need you as the Minister of Finance? Why are you always complaining?"

"Tojo." The Minister of Finance was so angry that he was about to have a heart attack early in the morning. He gritted his teeth and said, "Hasn't all the money been spent on your army? We have been fighting for several years. Don't you know what the country is like? You still want us to find money to support two battlefields. If you can do it, come and I will do my job. Or you can tell me how to get the money. You give the orders and I will find the money. I am in charge of the economy and I will listen to your command, Lord Army Minister, okay?"

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, it's true!" The Minister of Finance nodded loudly without thinking.

Tojo looked at Konoe and said, "Then I will be in charge of the Ministry of Finance?"

This question confused the Konoe and also stunned the Minister of Finance. No, you really want to take it?
Any normal person would know that this was just a question spoken in anger, but Tojo really asked it.

Konoe hesitated and said, "Tojo, if you have any ideas, just say them directly. Isn't the purpose of a meeting to discuss things?"

Tojo, "I haven't even answered the call yet, where would the idea come from? If you give it to me, I'll come up with an idea."

"."

The meeting room was eerily quiet.

A moment later, the Finance Minister sneered, "Tojo, I thought you had an idea. You are kidding us by saying this so early in the morning! It seems that all the economists in our Ministry of Finance are not as good as you, a poor student who has to take the university entrance exam three times!"

"Give it to me and I can come up with ideas. Isn't it just money? How can I not have any ideas?"

"." The Minister of Finance did not expect Tojo to be so stubborn. Okay, okay, okay, he looked around, his face turned cold and he said, "Okay, since you said that, I will give you the Ministry of Finance, and you come to find the money. If you find the money, I have nothing to say, but what if you can't find it?"

"I'm sure I can find it." Tojo Hideki said calmly and confidently, "This is a problem of ability. If you can't find it, it's your problem."

Snapped!
The Minister of Finance slapped the table and stood up: "Prime Minister, you heard what I said today. I will no longer be in charge of the Ministry of Finance. I just want to see how such a smart Minister Tojo can make money."

The pressure suddenly came to Konoe. How could he agree to give the Ministry of Finance to Tojo? That would be like talking to a cow.
"Calm down!"

"You can't calm down!" The Minister of Finance pointed at Tojo Hideki and glared, "I'll wait for you to find the money!"

After saying that, he slammed the stool and left.

Seeing this, Konoe also became furious, "Tojo, what on earth can you do?!"

"I'll think about it."

"."

Konoe suddenly felt a pain in his heart.

The meeting ended in a bad mood. This has become a common occurrence, so when everyone came out of the meeting room with unhappy faces, the subordinates and office clerks were not surprised.

But when they heard the content of today's meeting, they still found it exciting.

Tojo is in charge of the Ministry of Finance?

Zhou Qinghe hurriedly left with Tojo Hideki, as he was out and about and could be easily ambushed.

With this mouth and this personality, he is always offending people.

On the road and in the car, Zhou Qinghe remained silent.

Tojo Hideki said, "Fujita, you should go to the Ministry of Finance later, investigate and record the information, study the data, and then come up with some solutions."

Several ways???

Zhou Qinghe couldn't help but step on the brakes after hearing this. After thinking for a while, he asked doubtfully: "You want me to think of a solution for you?"

"Yes, you are my assistant, shouldn't you provide solutions for me to choose from? Or do you think you can't do it?"

"."

Oh my god, what does this have to do with me?
Zhou Qinghe had never expected that the person who was fleeced had fallen on his head. He felt inexplicable. This person had fleeced the sheep to a different level, which was indeed a skill.

"Okay, I'll go look for information and think of a solution later."

Next, Zhou Qinghe went to the Ministry of Finance after seeing the people off.

When the Minister of Kamikaze heard that Tojo actually dared to send someone to get the information, he was really angry.

"Take it all, take it all! Don't let anyone stop me! Let me see where this poor student can find the money! Damn it, Tojo doesn't look down on me! He looks down on the entire Ministry of Finance, and he looks down on you all!"

The group of talented people in the Ministry of Finance were all angry.

There was a hint of mockery in the looks they gave Zhou Qinghe.

Zhou Qinghe couldn't let the Tibetan minister bear a grudge against him, so he explained briefly that it was none of his business, and also mentioned that Tojo was going to let him think of a solution to the matter.

The Minister of Finance was somewhat surprised when he heard this: "I was wondering how that poor student could be so confident to take on the Ministry of Finance's affairs. It turns out that he was targeting you. Fujita, don't help him. Let him figure it out on his own. I wonder what ideas he can come up with. How will he save face when the time comes?"

"I also need an idea." Zhou Qinghe joked with a smile to ease the atmosphere, and then left with a friendly farewell.

All summary data on economic data for Japan were moved back to Kazukiyo Fujita's office.

Zhou Qinghe began to retreat.

Logically, there is no need for him to help Tojo come up with ideas. If he can't come up with any solutions, what can Tojo do to him?
But Zhou Qinghe changed his mind and thought that if there was a method that could reduce the combat effectiveness of the Japanese soldiers currently on the battlefield in China, then this suggestion could be made.

Whether to help or not depends on whether it is worth it.

Zhou Qinghe was reading the information, the real data from the Ministry of Finance. It was so rare to see it. Japan's current economic situation was indeed not good.

The most important thing is the depletion of foreign exchange. Japan is not self-sufficient in food, and this alone is a huge expense.

Now, most of the factories in Japan produce things related to the war. There are very few things that can be exported to other countries, and the income generated is low, so there are fewer things that can be bought from other countries.

Other countries knew that Japan was going through a war, so the prices of the essential materials they sold to Japan, such as oil and food, were higher. They said that Japan was under sanctions, so they were lucky enough to be able to sell to it. As a result, the money was wasted.

The military has reached the point where beef is exchanged for offal, and the situation for ordinary people in Japan is even worse.

At that time, the Japanese army won victory after victory, and the economic situation was visibly improving, so the people naturally supported it enthusiastically.

Until now the war has been bogged down in a quagmire, the Chinese battlefield is unprofitable, the economy is not growing but actually decreasing, the pain is coming back little by little, like a blunt knife cutting flesh, and life is getting worse and worse.

Up to now, the policies introduced by the cabinet have become more oppressive and the probability of male death in the family has increased.

All this has led to the current low morale in Japan.

The situation is definitely not good.

But now the army still has beef offal to eat, which shows that they are indeed well-off.

Therefore, Zhou Qinghe decided to add more to the deal. Eating beef offal was too luxurious. Having cow blood to eat, they should be grateful for the emperor's grace.

The next morning, Tojo Yingji came to Zhou Qinghe to inquire about the situation.

"Have you figured out a solution?"

Zhou Qinghe sighed: "The domestic economy is really not good at the moment, so this is a difficult matter."

"You can't think of it, or you don't want to think of it because of your relationship with Mitsui." Tojo Hideki was very straightforward and said seriously: "Fujita, no matter what you think, you are a soldier first! Everything must be considered for the Great Japanese Empire!
Mingfu praised you as a smart person, I hope you are really smart, and not like those mediocre people who only care about their own interests! "

Zhou Qinghe didn't know why Tojo Hideki said this.

However, Zhou Qinghe was very frank: "Land Prime Minister Tojo, I will tell you everything I know. I do have a solution, but it is a very cruel one."

"You said."

"Before I say anything, please take a look at this first so that you can be mentally prepared." Zhou Qinghe handed over a copied report.

Tojo Hideji took it and took a look. On it were the import and export data and circulation data of rice.

"So much?" Tojo Hideki was shocked. "One cup of rice takes up one tenth of the import quota of the Great Japanese Empire? Are our people so greedy? Do we grow rice?"

"This is not enough to eat." Zhou Qinghe handed over another document: "Half of the rice went to North Korea."

"What? Who did this? Why did we spend so much foreign exchange to buy rice, but why do we have to give it to the North Koreans?" Tojo Hideji was angry and snatched it away to have a look.

There is a reason why there is a reason for eating and being eaten. Tojo Yingji was reading documents while Zhou Qinghe was having fun.

Japan wanted to import a large amount of coal from North Korea for production, but as it was a vassal state, there was no question of importing, so it could just be dealt with by paying some free yen.

In fact, paying the yen is a small problem. The most critical thing is that coal mining requires a large number of young and middle-aged laborers, and coal mining consumes a lot of physical energy, so it requires a physically strong labor force.

North Korea's national strength was weak and there were no human rights in its vassal states. When Japan did not need coal, North Koreans dug wild vegetables, ate porridge and miscellaneous grains.

Now we have to mine coal, and large amounts of coal are needed for the war, and if we mine coal we have to have enough food to eat.

What’s the use of the yen if it can’t buy food?

Without food, you have no strength, without physical strength you have no efficiency, and failure to mine coal will affect production. It’s useless for the Japanese to play tricks on this matter, they must give us food.

In the end, Japan got a lot of coal and minerals from North Korea, and then paid a lot of rice.

There is not enough rice in the country to begin with, and now they have to give it to the North Koreans, which means they will have even less for themselves.

The key question is where these coal and minerals go.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

Tojo Hideki's face became darker and darker as he saw this. He also discovered the contradiction in it. "Fujita, what do you mean by showing this to me?"

Zhou Qinghe asked innocently, "Of course I'm helping you find a solution. Since ancient times, there are only two ways to make money: increasing revenue or reducing expenditure.

There are two conventional ways to open source: trade and victory in war. We have been sanctioned for the former, and you know what happened to the latter.

Then the third, unconventional method is to kill the big players.

Coal has always been a source of huge profits. If you say that Mitsubishi is clean, even children won’t believe it. Find a legitimate reason to investigate.”

"Fujita, don't cause trouble!"

Tojo Hideki's son works as an engineer at Mitsubishi.

"Mitsubishi is our military factory. The war is urgent and production cannot be stopped. Even if there is a problem, do you think now is the right time to investigate?"

"You have the final say."

Of course Zhou Qinghe knew that he was just throwing out some ideas.

"Then we can only cut back on spending, and cut back on spending.

All factories operate 24 hours a day, and all men except necessary ones are fired to replenish the military and prepare for war in East Asia.

The missing workers were replaced by women. All women, regardless of their occupations, were required to work in factories. Their wages were reduced to two-thirds of those of men, and all factories were levied an additional tax equivalent to 30% of their wages.

At least half of all troops in China should be withdrawn and used as reserve forces in East Asia.

Since there will be no fighting, the allowances of all troops on standby will be reduced to 0, the daily ration will be reduced to 350 grams, which is enough to fill the stomach, and all non-essential supplies such as cigarettes and coffee will be stopped during this period.

Inform the factory to replace canned beef with canned ox blood, eat pork twice a week, and use the remaining beef as a reward for the victorious troops. Only the winners can eat it to boost morale. Expensive materials and materials that need to be imported should all be put under control to save all foreign exchange. "

"Okay, let's do it."

Tojo Hideki agreed so quickly that Zhou Qinghe doubted whether he had heard it clearly.

No, if we really do this, will the army mutiny?

Tojo Hideki smiled and said, "As expected of the much-praised Fujita Kazukiyo, he is indeed smart."

".!" Zhou Qinghe took a deep breath, and it turned out that he didn't need to cut himself, so he reminded: "Prime Minister Tojo, I want to make one thing clear. This method is very cruel and unfriendly to the people. I just put forward an idea, but I don't want this suggestion to be implemented."

Dongjo Yingji frowned after hearing this, "What's wrong with that? I think this is a very good idea. Why do they eat so much?"

"."

"Let's go to the Cabinet and tell them that we solved the Ministry of Finance's problem in just one day!"

!

(End of this chapter)