blood feud

The book explains that on October 1937, 10, Konoe Fumimaro resigned from the position of Prime Minister of the Cabinet because of successive "tragedies" in places such as the Sixth Division, the Fourth Division, Jinzhou, Dalian, and Andong, and recommended a Kiichiro Hiranuma, a 20-year-old bachelor, makes a temporary transition to calm doubts on the island.

Unexpectedly, this Kiichiro Hiranuma was also unlucky, as soon as he took the stage, accidents happened one after another!

First of all, the vast area in the south of Tokyo was suddenly bombed by unknown forces, causing tens of thousands of people to be burned to death and more than [-] people homeless.

Yamamoto 56 later insisted on going his own way, and as a result, the aircraft carrier Akagi, which had just completed modernization, suffered a catastrophe and lost an aircraft carrier and dozens of aircraft.What's more terrible is that Zhongyi Nanyun's lieutenant general Yu Sui!

What's more serious is that the imperial cruise ship "Hikawa Maru" led a fleet of ships that left Taiwan's Keelung Port and disappeared. No one knows where such a huge fleet has gone.

Also, the 56 submarines sent by the Navy Department of Yamamoto 3, said to be going to Jinzhou to carry fuel oil, disappeared inexplicably, and no trace has been found until now.

According to reliable sources, the empire's freighters in the North Pacific, the Taiwan Strait, and the South China Sea have recently had accidents one after another.The Maritime Safety Administration has sent reports three times: this year, three batches, 39 cargo ships and cruise ships have left the place of departure and have not returned to the island.So far, the empire has lost 100 million tons of freighters and cruise ships.

Now it has been confirmed that the person who stole Pyongyang was the "China Devil" Bai Shujie, because he released two power calls in a row, and the communication department has already identified the source of the signal, which is in North Korea.

It can be seen that Hiranuma Kiichiro's ability is not enough to control the overall situation.As a result, the new cabinet ended its short life after only one year in power, and Konoe Fumimaro came forward again to organize the cabinet.

The first thing Konoe Fumimaro did after he came back to power was to put forward the so-called three principles of "good neighborliness and friendship", "joint defense against communism", and "economic cooperation" between Japan and China, known in history as the "Three Principles of Konoe".Including: implement the policy of politically inducing surrender to the Kuomintang, supplemented by military strikes.

As soon as these three principles came out, I received immediate results!

Hu Zongnan, the commander-in-chief of the Eighth War Zone of the Kuomintang, set up a defense zone in the east of Longdong and Guanzhong. Among them, 13 armies and 8 artillery regiments were deployed along the west and south of Longdong, with about 20 horses.

The main purpose is to block and destroy the construction of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region.Provoking incidents one after another in Longdong, spreading rumors, harassing and sabotaging, besieging cities and looting land, massacring soldiers and civilians, and creating more than 70 friction incidents.

The Kuomintang government army turned their guns to attack their own people, and the little devil who was trapped in the quagmire finally recovered, and Konoe Fumimaro succeeded in his first fire when he came to power.

However, the improvement of the situation does not mean that the fundamental problem has been solved.

First of all, not only did the island's economy show no signs of recovery, but because Tokyo was bombed and the Yokohama reserve oil depot was destroyed, there was a bigger gap in energy supply.

Therefore, the next biggest task for the empire is to immediately obtain huge resources to stimulate economic growth on the island.Therefore, how to determine the future development strategy has become a core issue.

The development to the north has already encountered great resistance.The Nomenkan military confrontation has lasted for more than four months, and the Soviet Red Army has no intention of retreating at all.It seems that without some real effort, the problem cannot be solved.

Second, the issue on the Korean peninsula has become more prominent now.

After more than a year of construction in Jinzhou, Yingkou, Dalian, and Andong, production has begun to resume slowly, and fuel refining has gradually returned to normal.

However, because North Korea was in the hands of the "China Devil" Bai Shujie, the Andong Yamato Bridge was bombed.Now it has to detour to Ji'an, and then transport it back by tanker from Luojin Pier.This cost is too high, and the fuel shipped back barely pays for the freight!

The empire is short of oil, but Manchuria is not short of coal.If you use coal-fired train wagons to load fuel oil, transport it to Busan through Andong and Pyongyang, and cross Tsushima Island to Fukuoka, that is the most economical railway transportation line!

The damned "China Devil" Bai Shujie has strangled Pyongyang, that is to say, the lifeblood of the imperial economy.If it is stuck in the throat, it will not get rid of unhappiness.

All these issues must come up with an overall plan, so Fumimaro Konoe convened a cabinet meeting to conduct a comprehensive study of future major policy issues.

"Gentlemen! According to reliable information, Bai Shujie's armament construction in Pyongyang has advanced by leaps and bounds." Minister of the Army Itagaki Seishiro took the lead in speaking: "If the combat effectiveness of his army is so strong that it can almost be compared with the Imperial Army, then he is now vigorously developing the navy and the army. The air force has directly posed a threat to the security of the empire."

"Information shows that Bai Shujie was able to build a battleship by himself. The last time he swaggered out for sea trials, the displacement was estimated to exceed 2 tons. Moreover, he was escorted by 6 cruisers and [-] destroyers at once. This is enough to form a squadron to fight independently. "

"Under the extremely severe economic conditions, the empire has manufactured hundreds of warships. It is really a waste of time and money, but no effect can be seen. Now a small flea is jumping around. I don't know that our Admiralty What the hell are you doing!"

"Sakagaki-kun's words are wrong!" Navy Minister Yong Ye Xiushen saw that the Ministry of the Navy was targeting him, and was immediately dissatisfied: "Bai Shujie has always been an army force, from a few people to 20 people, all by the side of the Imperial Army After growing up, they swept across southern Liaoning and southern Manchuria, and finally stole Pyongyang."

"Then I would like to ask Sakagaki-kun, what have you done with the more than one million troops of the Ministry of the Army in the past ten years besides the loss of the Sixth Division and the Fourth Division?"

"I think the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should take the blame and resign!" Yamamoto 56 said in a deep voice, "Bai Shujie is just a small rebel, not even a local warlord. Do business."

"What's even more outrageous is that our ally, the German Empire, even does business with Bai Shujie. Why did Bai Shujie develop, huh? Is it possible without the strong support of the Americans and Germans? Our allies and our enemies What is the Foreign Secretary doing so close?"

"What can the Ministry of the Navy do? The Third Fleet of Wusongkou and the Fourth Fleet of Qingdao all saw Bai Shujie's fleet come out, and they were either flying the American flag or the German flag. Did you authorize the troops under the Ministry of the Navy, Are they sunk regardless of nationality?"

"Don't get excited, gentlemen, we are not going to quarrel, nor are we going to pursue responsibility." Konoe Fumimaro saw that this was not like a meeting, but like a shrew in a vegetable market, and immediately performed his duties as a host: "The key lies in the Soviet Union in the north. , the issue of China in the west, the issue of resources in the South China Sea, and finally the issue of Baek Shujie in North Korea.”

"We need to come up with an overall policy, otherwise we will not be able to deal with the current situation at all. There are priorities, and I hope you will express your opinions."

Itagaki Seishiro said: "The Chiang Kai-shek government should have been inspired by the three principles of your Excellency Prime Minister. The current counterattack on our front has completely disappeared. Now we are entangled with the Communist Party, and the scale of the conflict is getting bigger and bigger."

"My humble opinion is that it should be a better opportunity to take some troops to go north and teach the Soviets a good lesson. As for the North Korean Baek Shujie, only one No. 20 division will definitely not work. The No. 19 division in the north must keep an eye on Vladivostok. , and can’t move.”

"If we can increase the establishment of two more divisions and land in Wonsan in the east and Incheon in the west, and add the No. 20 Division in the south to attack from three sides, Bai Shujie will definitely be able to wipe them out in one fell swoop."

"Eliminate internal troubles, contain the Soviet Union, and develop southward. This is my consistent point of view." Yamamoto 56 saw his boss and friend Nagano Xiushen bowed his head and said nothing, so he had to say with a gloomy face: "As for the addition of two divisions I think some of them have other plans, and they have ulterior motives."

"The [-]th fleet plan has not been carried out smoothly. The navy is full of old-fashioned warships and aircraft. If two more divisions are added, the cannons of the two artillery regiments, the tanks of the two tank brigades, and the two search tanks will be needed. The battle horse of the alliance. In this way, the battleship update plan is even more distant."

"Are our enemies the Soviets, Chinese and Bai Shujie? Big mistake! Our real enemies should be the Americans in the east and the British on the other side."

"The oil, rubber, and iron ore we need are all in Manila, Malaysia, Vietnam, Burma, and Indochina. Those places are colonies of the Americans and the British."

"If you want to achieve the three goals of your Excellency Prime Minister, the freedom to obtain resources, the freedom to develop resources, and the freedom to labor for the development of resources, you must be prepared to go to war with the Americans and the British."

"The United States and the United Kingdom are both maritime powers, and their navy is much stronger than their army. If we cannot complete the naval equipment update plan as soon as possible, once the international situation changes, we will be caught off guard and regret forever. I am sorry for His Majesty's cultivation, but also I'm sorry for the support of the people."

"When it comes to dealing with Bai Shujie, my point of view is to attack with a thunderous force and completely destroy his development potential. Instead of increasing the establishment of two infantry divisions, and then launching the attack step by step."

"I have studied every battle of Bai Shujie, and this enemy is not as idiotic as everyone thinks. In fact, the tactical policy he has always followed is to stay still and be surprised; he is flexible and has a well-founded advance and retreat."

"Look at Bai Shujie's formation, it looks like a long snake formation. In fact, each of his troops is placed in a very flexible position, and the hierarchy is very clear. Advance can be attacked, retreat can be defended, I can still go!"

"Wait until you make it clear, and then pull out the battle, he has already run away! Then, while you are not paying attention, he will hit your back all of a sudden, and all your previous efforts will be in vain!"

"For such an opponent, let alone adding two divisions, even adding four divisions, you may not be able to catch him. Therefore, we don't fight Bai Shujie. Once we want to fight, we must be able to catch him. Pushed to the corner, there is no room for maneuver, and then we can compete with him for strength and consumption."

After all, what happens next, let's see the breakdown in the next chapter.