Age of Rebirth

Fengtian, the largest city in Northeast China, has always been the headquarters of the Japanese Kwantung Army. In terms of importance, it even surpasses the capital of Manchuria - Xinjing. Today, as usual, the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army comes and goes. The Japanese officers in the Ministry did not feel anything strange at all.

And on the top floor of the magnificent ten-story building of the general headquarters, in a large living room full of Japanese style, the senior officers of the Kwantung Army, except for the leaders, and almost the senior generals in Fengtian gathered here. It can be said that the stars are shining, dozens of people filled the huge living room, which is a bit crowded.

It's just that these high-ranking officers, who usually look down and don't look up, are not as casual as they used to be, and seem a little cautious. General Nanjiro, the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army, sat in the first place with a calm face, and beside him was a strange man. The face is also the rank of general.

This one just flew in from Tokyo last night. The new commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army, General Umezu Yoshijiro, is here to replace General Nanjiro, who is about to step down and return to China. The new and old commander-in-chief are changing, and the generals of the Kwantung Army inevitably feel a little bit Feeling, in the living room, there is a faint sadness of parting.

In all fairness, General Nanjiro won a lot of benefits for the Kwantung Army during his years as the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army, especially taking the privilege of managing Manchukuo from the Kwantung Office and turning it into a A department under the Kwantung Army, which gave the generals of the Kwantung Army a lot of practical benefits, although the generals were quite critical of General Nanjiro's military command ability.

However, the generals admired General Nanjiro's political talents.Simply incorporating the Kwantung Hall under the banner of the Kwantung Army is an exquisite work of political struggle.The Kwantung Hall of the Empire in Manchuria has a strong background and is directly under the Privy Council of the Empire. It turns out that it is an independent yamen on an equal footing with the Kwantung Army Command.I don't usually buy the Kwantung Army's account.

The Kwantung Army supervised the military affairs of Manchukuo, the Imperial Army stationed in Manchukuo, and the Kwantung Office controlled the civil affairs of Manchukuo, and performed their duties. In comparison, the civil affairs are naturally much more lucrative than the military, and, most of the time.The Kwantung Army still has to look at the faces of the officials of the Kwantung Office. After all, your army’s food and drink expenses have to be settled by the Kwantung Office.

Although the generals of the Kwantung Army are holding guns, they can't use weapons against the Yamen of another system.If they were rough, those local bigwigs would still eat themselves alive.Therefore, the previous generals of the Kwantung Army, in front of the officials of the Kwantung Hall, felt that they were younger and talked with smiling faces.

Since General Nanjiro became the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army, the situation has been completely reversed.Your Excellency the Commander-in-Chief has successfully annexed the Kanto Office through a series of bloodless political battles using superb political means. In addition to military positions, all of you here have also served as civilian officials in different places. Being on the horse to manage the army and dismounting to manage the people means that the power has increased greatly, the left and the right have been shouted, the wealth is rolling in, the gold ticket is huge, everyone is very happy!

As for the new commander-in-chief, General Umezu Yoshijiro, what kind of temper and disposition it is, everyone does not know whether he has a deep foundation in the local high-level military and political circles. Can you hold on?This is what the generals of the Kwantung Army are most concerned about and worried about. For this reason, many generals jointly signed a letter of volunteering to the headquarters, requesting General Nanjiro to continue to serve as the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army.

This kind of reluctance to General Minamijiro and doubts about the new General Umezu Yoshijiro filled every inch of the living room. The two sitting at the top were Generals Minamijiro and Umezu Mijiro, both of whom had been in the Japanese military and political circles for many years. Veterans will naturally smell this kind of breath, but the two people's personalities are completely different, and their paths are also different, so their ideas are naturally very different.

However, the methods adopted were surprisingly consistent. The two generals of the Japanese army, one was the outgoing commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army, and the other was the new commander who was about to take over the million-strong Kwantung Army. It was complicated for other senior generals. Turning a blind eye, turning a blind eye, pushing a cup to change a cup, speaking earnestly, seemingly very harmonious, all of which suppressed the disgust of the other party in the mellow sake.

To be honest, the headquarters appointed Meizu Meijiro to succeed him as the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army. The position of commander-in-chief is not suitable for General Meizu. In Manchuria, the Kwantung Army decides everything, but it does not rely solely on force. The so-called "[-]% military, [-]% political!" is the only way to solve the Manchurian problem.

Moreover, it has already received miraculous effects. Since the army of the Chinese demon Tang Qiuli left Manchuria and entered the pass, the only enemy and opponent of the Kwantung Army in Manchuria is the Northeast Anti-Japanese Allied Forces. General Nanjiro relied on his own unique means. The main leaders of the Anti-Japanese Alliance were eradicated one by one, and the remnants were also hiding in the deep mountains and old forests of Manchuria. Today, the Anti-Japanese Alliance in Manchuria is already in a dying state, and can no longer challenge the empire’s rule in Manchuria. .

If it weren't for Tang Qiuli's sudden military action against Manchuria, General Nanjiro believed that within two years, in Manchuria, the Anti-Japanese Alliance would be a historical term. However, Tang Qiuli suddenly used troops against Manchuria, and the independent division An army of more than one million invaded the border, which disrupted General Nanjiro's plan, and he had to think of a way out.

Moreover, General Nanjiro, relying on the sensitivity of a politician rather than a soldier, had a premonition that the prospect of the empire in Manchuria was not too good, which prompted him to be more eager to get out of Manchuria. Sincere resignation letter, the situation in Manchuria is like a powder keg, and General Nanjiro thinks he cannot extinguish the powder keg that is about to explode.

General Nanjiro is well aware of the intentions of the senior generals of the Kwantung Army to stay, and even the joint petition at the headquarters. Because of this, he cannot continue to stay in Manchuria and sit in the position of the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army. Now, this position It's already in danger.

However, General Nanjiro has a clear conscience. He has operated in Manchuria for many years, won a high position for the Kwantung Army, extinguished the anti-Japanese flames that burned all over Manchuria, and implemented the strategy of "five military and five political" for the anti-union troops led by the CCP. At the same time as military strikes, political division and bribery have forced the red places in Manchuria to be removed from the map of Manchuria one by one. How much merit is this?

The predecessors Muto Nobuyoshi and Ueda Kenkichi did not do this. They left Manchuria sadly, but I am different. I retired at the most glorious and happiest time. If it wasn’t for the Chinese devil Tang Qiuli , this unusual appearance, General Nanjiro will not leave the throne of the Supreme Emperor of Manchuria, but now, he has to go, and what's more, he is just right, and he is going to gain both fame and fortune!

Although General Nanjiro has no nostalgia for the throne of the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army, he does not think that it is a wise choice for the headquarters to send Umezu Yoshijiro as the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army. The reason is simple. He knows Umezu Yoshijiro This person.

This guy Meijin is a typical Japanese militarist. He has a strong smell of old professional soldiers. He is a fanatical supporter of the Great East Asian Jihad.

He admires the military spirit of soldiers very much, and believes that soldiers cannot be influenced by politics, let alone participate in politics. The greatest wish of soldiers is to be a general, not a prime minister. Politics, I have never participated in any factional organization.

This is why General Nanjiro is not optimistic about Umezu Yoshijiro presiding over the overall military and political situation in Manchuria. In the position of commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army, if he does not understand politics and does not know how to play political tricks, he will not be able to sit on the throne at all. For example, any How to deal with the Manchurian Emperor Kant, how to deal with the Manchurians, how to know what those Manchurians need most, and what to give them, so that they will wholeheartedly work for the Great Japanese Empire?

For example, how to control the relationship between the Kwantung Army and the chief of staff of the headquarters, Prince Zairen, how to strike a balance between the founder of the Kwantung Army, the Mi Nei Cabinet, and Prince Zainen, and how to establish a relationship between the local military and political circles. , Improve your own foundation, all this, Umezu this guy doesn't understand, maybe, he doesn't bother to understand these, it is precisely because General Minamijiro is a master of this, that he can see the fatal shortcoming of General Umezu Yoshijiro, will not Optimistic about him taking over the position of commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army.

Of course, General Minamijiro would not discuss these heart-to-heart words with General Yoshijiro Umezu. On the one hand, the two of them did not have such a friendship. Umezu does not belong to any political faction. The people in the relationship didn't mention the obligations of the juniors, and what's more, if you talk too deeply, revealing your true intention to leave the post, it would not be beautiful!

On the other hand, the main thing is that Meijin hates politics extremely. If I use this set of experience as a politician, although I have good intentions, but with Meijin's bad temper, I might embarrass myself on the spot. A farewell reception will soon be a scene of unhappily breaking up. I am a person who is going to leave, so why bother to make an unpleasant scene? General Nanjiro, who has become a master, will not make such a low-level mistake.

Therefore, the Kwantung Army's old and new bigwigs chatted happily over wine. It seemed speculative and friendly, but the substantive content was not involved at all. Both of them deliberately avoided the very sensitive issue now, which is how to deal with it. China Devil Tang Qiuli's army is under pressure, the Manchurian War is about to break out, and the Kwantung Army is facing great pressure.

(To be continued)