Cicada Moving

Chapter 981 The heroes of the world join me

 Japan, Tokyo, Kojimachi District.

This place is the core of Tokyo. The Japanese Parliament, the Prime Minister's residence, the court, most of the central administrative agencies and the residence of the Locust are located here.

 In this land where every inch of land is at a premium, a Japanese-style manor covering an area of ​​several thousand acres is heavily guarded, with heavily armed soldiers passing 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 took small steps into a Japanese room.

At this time, there were four men sitting on the floor at the low table in the room, discussing something in a low voice. When they saw the maid entering the room, they immediately stopped talking, straightened their backs, picked up the teacup and took a few sips.

Platefuls of yokan, wagashi and sakura cakes were placed on the table. The maids placed the trays in front of their bellies, bent over and exited the Japanese room. One of them gently closed the camphor door.

 When the room became quiet again, a middle-aged man sitting at the top raised his sleeves and extended his hand towards the pastry, politely signaling to the other three people.

“Tazao, Saionji-kun, Ozaki-kun, Mr. Sorge, try the skills of our chef. He has worked in Bunmingdo for thirty years, and the pastries he makes are very good.”

 “Thank you, Mr. Speaker.”

 “Okay, Mr. Konoe.”

Saionji-kun, as the middle-aged people call him, is about thirty years old. He said nothing after hearing what the other party said. He just lowered his head slightly, picked up the cake and put it into his mouth.

When the other two heard the words, they bowed respectfully and bowed. They each replied in Japanese. Then they picked up the cake closest to them with both hands and ate it carefully.

If Zuo Shige was here, you would find that there is an old acquaintance among the two people—Ozaki, a reporter from the Asahi Shimbun who had dealt with the 226 mission a few years ago.

The other person has a European face and is wearing a suit, but his speech and behavior are the same as those of an ordinary Japanese, and even his kneeling and sitting movements are extremely standard.

Soon, the three of them cleared away the pastries on the plate. The middle-aged man, who was respectfully called Mr. Konoe, showed a pleased smile. This person was none other than Fumiya Konoe, who had served as the Prime Minister of Japan.

Fumiya Konoe, a duke, was born in 1891. He is the 30th head of the Konoe family, one of the five regent families. His great-grandfather, grandfather, and father all held important positions in the Japanese government and the Imperial Household.

After entering the political arena, the other party initiated the establishment of a Dazhengyi Zanhui that was fully loyal to Tianlu, 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 his term of office.

In January this year, Konoe Fumiya, who received the Order of the Rising Sun, First Class, said he was tired of continuing to be 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 simply that the war against China has fallen into a protracted tug-of-war. So many people have died and so much money has been spent, but the government is still insisting. Japan's top leaders naturally 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 occurred at home and abroad, he would hold a tea party at home and convene old subordinates who were close or who held important positions to discuss the current situation.

Today is no exception. The only people he invited were Ozaki, a famous and well-informed journalist who is well-known in Japanese public opinion circles.

There are also good friends, the heir to the Duke Saionji Koji, and the writer Sorge, a reporter from the German "Frankfurter Zeitung" who has a wide network of contacts throughout Tokyo.

 Saionji Kōji.

The eldest son of the Saionji family, one of the seven Fujiwara families. His grandfather and maternal grandfather are Moori Gentoku and Saionji Konobo respectively. They belong to the standard old Japanese Shosenri flag.

Due to his out-of-touch personality, he has never held a particularly important position and has always been a marginalized figure in Japanese politics. However, he has a noble status, which has caused headaches for many people.

This person had a close friendship with Fumiya Konoe, and he also served as an advisor during Konoe's tenure. The two and their families were considered political allies at a certain period of time.

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

Even though it was his first time attending Konoe's tea party, Sorge was not polite. After eating the pastries, he wiped his hands and immediately asked two pointed questions.

“Mr. Konoe, what is your opinion on the recent conflict between your country and the Red Russians? How will your government respond to this crisis in the Far East?”

 Konoe Fumiya laughed and did not answer the question directly. Instead, he looked at Saionji Koji who looked helpless next to him and made a joke in a relaxed tone.

"Saionji-kun, if you hadn't brought Mr. Sorge here, I would have informed the Metropolitan Police Department's extracurricular affairs team to arrest him. These two matters are related to imperial secrets." He said and squeezed away. He raised his eyebrows and made a face. He didn't look like a powerful Japanese Duke at all, nor did he look like something a former prime minister could do.

 Simply because in the Meiji era when Konoe Fumiya grew up, people's thoughts were generally aligned with Europe and the United States. In addition, he had traveled to Europe and was not as rigid as ordinary Japanese aristocrats.

At that time, Konoe, who was only 46 years old, was responsible for forming the cabinet. Japanese people called him the "Youth Prime Minister", and newspapers called his cabinet the "Youth Cabinet" and "Minglang Cabinet."

Most citizens also expected him to become the prime minister who would break the dull state of Japanese society. However, the results were not satisfactory, but Konoe's humorous personality still made him unfavorable in interpersonal interactions.

As expected, everyone present was amused by his words. Sorge, the other party involved, shrugged his shoulders and pretended 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 spies almost stayed in my bed.”

 “Hahaha~”

Konoe Fumiya laughed so hard that he turned to Saionji Kojiraku and said, "I like this guy very much. Please ask Saionji-kun to bring him here more times in the future. We will definitely become good friends."

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

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

 After finishing the two meaningless official words, Fumiya Konoe began to drink tea. The obvious meaning was that he did not want to discuss this topic anymore.

“Hai, I understand. Thank you Mr. Speaker for your candidness. This matter ends here.”

Sorge also looked solemn and said that he would not ask about Nomenkan again. After staying in Asia for so long, he also learned the tact or language art of the Orientals.

Saionji and Ozaki next to them quietly breathed a sigh of relief and relieved their worries. It would be terrible if Sorge really had a conflict with Fumiya Konoe.

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

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

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

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

He excluded Saionji Kōji, who was of equal status, and wanted to hear what Ozaki and Sorge had to say about the war in Camenom. If the two were really talented, they would win over each other. If not, that would be the end of it.

Ozaki and Sorge looked at each other with a smile and gave in to each other. In the end, Sorge was the first to answer Konoe Fumiya's question.

“Mr. Speaker, as a true German, I certainly hope that Japan and Russia will have a big war in Cammenno, which will help improve Germany’s living environment.

But as a reporter, I hope that the war can be further expanded, so that the editor-in-chief of the "Frankfurter Zeitung" does not have to worry about me not being able to make big news in Tokyo. "

Sorge was very direct and honest. He bluntly stated what he was thinking, and then speculated on the Japanese-Russian Nomenkan War amid the half-smiling expressions of the other three.

“I personally think that a full-scale conflict will not break out between your country and Red Russia. The best parts of Red Russia’s industry and agriculture are located on the European continent, and the Xiberia region is like what people in the Republic of China said was “tasteless.”

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

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　ttle

Fumiya Konoe and the other three clapped their hands gently and applauded Sorge's speculation. As expected of a famous writer who has traveled around the world, they could see the core of the Japan-Russia conflict at a glance.

Sorge quickly waved his hand, showing Eastern modesty that this was just a family opinion, and how things would develop would depend on the outcome of the next battle in the Nomenka area.

Everyone nodded in agreement, and then Ozaki also expressed his own views. Based on Sorge's opinions, 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 remarks are somewhat left-leaning.

Fumiya Konoe doesn't care at all about this. As a superior, what he needs is to listen to opinions from all sides. Whether to use them or not is another matter.

Moreover, the Republic of China has been at war for a long time, and people have long discussed it. Having such a public opinion channel from the bottom to the top is a good thing for the Locust and the Empire of Japan.

Looking at Ozaki and Sorge who were kneeling there respectfully, Konoe Fumiya felt like a hero in the world was among us. With the help of such talents, there was no need to worry about accomplishing great things!

 (End of this chapter)