Iron Cross

While Kanji Ishihara and Cole were bragging and chatting about a funny combination of whiskey and dried fish, Hideki Tojo was thinking about the direction of the cabinet like an ant on a hot pot. It was troublesome, he had to settle everything quickly. According to his original idea, the problem lay with the Navy. He felt that he had little responsibility and would never resign. However, the navy hated Tojo deeply, especially since Shimada had always followed Tojo's lead during his tenure and allowed them to do more. Annoyed, Tojo tentatively called the Navy Ministry to propose a new candidate for the Maritime Minister, but was rudely rejected by the Navy. Of course, the wording was very official - the naval center was in turmoil and it was temporarily difficult to make decisions. This is not a lie. The Navy does not have a leader now. After the Navy Minister committed suicide and the Chief of Military Command resigned, it stands to reason that the Navy Undersecretary should be responsible for the center, but everyone knows that there is no Combined Fleet Commander who is far away in Truk. When Yamamoto Isoroku spoke, it was impossible for the navy to form a unified opinion. After much deliberation, Tojo had no choice but to send a telegram directly to Yamamoto.

While Tojo Hideki was running up and down, a meeting of ministers to discuss cabinet reorganization was held in a heated atmosphere the next afternoon. The people who participated in this emergency ministerial meeting mainly included Wakatsuki Reijiro, Okada Keisuke, Hirota Koki, Konoe Fumimaro, Abe Nobuyuki, Yoneuchi Mitsumasa, Hara Kado, Hyakutake Saburo (chief of chamberlain) and others, because Kido Koichi represented the emperor. came to ask for advice, so the meeting was also chaired by him. Most of the people on the list have served as prime ministers in the past 10 years, and they are considered very important in Japanese politics. Originally, the name of Kiyoura Keigo was included in the list of ministers, but he gave up due to poor health. After counting, Kido Koichi found that he added exactly 9 votes, so he decided that if there were 5 votes (excluding himself) to reach a consensus, Report clearly to Emperor Hirohito.

The atmosphere of this meeting was completely different from the one a year ago when the Konoe Fumimaro cabinet resigned and a new prime minister was elected. At the last meeting, everyone suppressed their emotions - because no one knew the ultimate impact of the war between Japan and the United States on Japan. A student who usually doesn't study very well is about to undergo a big exam. Even though he is anxious, he feels like he has finally arrived and is relieved. At that time, faced with Konoe Fumimaro's choice, everyone believed that regardless of whether Tojo Hideki was good or bad, the meeting finally chose a prime minister who was capable and willing to take responsibility.

However, after one year of operation, it was discovered that there were many cabinet problems: First, the Army was getting deeper and deeper into the Chinese battlefield. Five years had passed since the "China Incident". At first, it was optimistic that the problem would be solved in three months, then it was said that it would be six months, and then it was said After cutting off all foreign aid, it ended in another year. Unexpectedly, the Burma and Indochina campaigns were all over. Wang Jingwei's regime also operated for a long time. However, China's will to resist the war became stronger. On the surface, the army occupied a large area, but in fact the battle line It was too long, had logistical difficulties, and had a serious shortage of troops. According to the report of the China Dispatch Force, there were only two Japanese soldiers per three square kilometers in North China, which was simply unable to maintain order and stable public security.

Secondly, the situation in the Pacific battlefield became increasingly unfavorable. After a fantastic start with the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor and heavy damage to the U.S. Pacific Fleet, the navy quickly swept across Southeast Asia. I thought that the other side would sit down and negotiate with Japan on the basis of acknowledging the status quo. As a result, It was discovered that the Americans not only had no intention of peace talks, but instead shifted more than 70% of their naval strength to the Pacific region. After a series of battles in the Coral Sea, Midway Island, and Guadalcanal, the situation of the Imperial Navy took a turn for the worse and was in danger, especially the loss of the Midway Island battle. The four large aircraft carriers, more than 300 aircraft, and more than 100 elite pilots accumulated before the war have almost broken the backbone of the mobile fleet. If there is still luck at Midway or occasional factors such as the enemy deciphering our secret messages, melon The battle on the island was completely suppressed, the navy could not enter, the army was retreating steadily, and now it is almost impossible to even guarantee the transportation of materials to the front line.

Finally, there is the employment issue of Prime Minister Tojo. He once served as land minister and foreign minister, combining various powers into one body, which seriously destroyed the balance of the cabinet. He also used personal likes and dislikes as the principle in appointing people, only promoting people from his own faction, and may have negative effects on other factions. They vigorously suppressed dissidents, and even abused public power by sending military police to monitor retired lieutenant generals—who were not guilty of treason. On weekdays, he is self-willed and suppresses other colleagues. At this time, a scandal suddenly broke out in which the cabinet deceived the superiors and deceived the emperor. In the words of the important ministers, this was an unprecedented incident since the Meiji Restoration. In a serious way, he could be called a treacherous minister.

Although Marine Prime Minister Shitaro Shimada committed seppuku, everyone believed that Tojo's responsibility could not be escaped. Therefore, when Kido Koichi tentatively raised the issue of cabinet reorganization, everyone insisted that the prime minister must be replaced, and Tojo should be responsible for the entire incident and resign the cabinet. Moreover, they also made it clear that even the position of Prime Minister cannot be left to Tojo. At most, he should be a commander of the military police - doesn't he like to go through residents' trash cans in the middle of the night to see if there is any waste? Then become a military policeman!

The unanimous opinion to expel Tojo was reached in less than 5 minutes, but the decision to select the successor as prime minister was difficult to implement. There was a heated debate all afternoon, and one person after another was proposed and criticized by everyone until the sun went down. There was still no unified opinion, and in the end, only at the urging of Kido Koichi, certain principles for cabinet reorganization were reached:

Article 1: This is a time of war, and the prime minister must be a soldier, whether active or retired, or an army general - not only because there have been too many scandals in the navy recently, he cannot choose to be the prime minister, but also because the prime minister has to find ways to solve the China issue. I am not familiar with it. The Army cannot;

The second point is that a shrewd and capable Prime Minister must be chosen, and the Prime Minister must not be allowed to serve concurrently. The consequences of Tojo serving as Prime Minister concurrently are already obvious. Many combat policies are completely slapped on the head, which is equivalent to asking for instructions on his own. Giving orders to oneself, the decision-making system is in chaos;

Article 3: With the exception of the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister, and the Prime Minister, all other cabinet members except those who clearly belong to the Tojo faction can remain in office.

All the important ministers agree on one thing: Foreign Minister Gu Zhengzhi performed outstandingly in this incident, and has good relations with Germany without being too pro-German. No matter who forms the cabinet, they recommend him to stay as foreign minister and play a greater role.

When Kido Koichi was dragging his tired body and preparing to report back to the palace after the ministers had been arguing for a whole afternoon, he suddenly found that the commander-in-chief of the Home Defense Force, Army General Higashikaru Miyazaki, was meeting with the emperor. He instinctively wanted to avoid it. , Unexpectedly, Hirohito asked him to directly report the progress of the meeting. Kido Koichi, while guessing the purpose of King Higashikaru's visit, briefly reported the situation and listed several possible candidates proposed at the important ministers' meeting:

As for the Prime Minister, the one with the highest voice is Uheng Kazunari. He was elected as the Prime Minister when Hirota Koki and Konoe Fumimaro resigned from the previous cabinet. He also has the highest voice this time; followed by General Kuniaki Oiso, the Governor-General of North Korea, and finally the Kwantung Army. The commander, General Yoshijiro Umezu; for the land minister, Yoshijiro Umezu has the highest voice, followed by the commander of China Expeditionary Forces, General Enjunroku, and only one person mentioned General Shun Tada, who is currently in the reserve; there are no good candidates in the navy, and there are originally some within the navy. The famous Iron Triangle of Isoroku Yamamoto, Mitsumasa Yoneuchi, and Narumi Inoue. These three people are just right for the three positions of Commander of the Combined Fleet, Minister of the Navy, and Chief of Military Command. However, the Iron Triangle has always opposed the Three Kingdoms Alliance, the war between Japan and the United States, and even It is absolutely unacceptable to the Army to still insist on this point of view during the war, so the meeting of ministers is prepared to listen to the Navy's own opinions first.

"What's your opinion?" Hirohito turned his inquiring gaze to King Minuhiko Higashikata.

"Kuniaki Oiso, the governor of North Korea, is not good. First of all, in terms of qualifications, he is a junior of Ugaki Issei's faction. Secondly, since the cabinet wants to solve the China problem, it must have experience in the Chinese battlefield. And Commander Umezu Yoshijiro is probably not good either."

"Why?" Kido Koichi asked strangely.

"His Majesty discussed with me just now and planned to appoint me as the chief of staff. I will have a detached status to ensure the emperor's power to command and avoid similar incidents of bullying the emperor from happening again."

"Ah?" Kido Takaichi was shocked. In fact, when the new prime minister was elected last year, someone recommended Prince Higashomiya Minuhiko to be the new prime minister. However, Kido Takaichi objected because he considered that in the event of a war with Britain and the United States, the royal family might be blamed if the situation was unfavorable. , and finally recommended Hideki Tojo as prime minister. The same is true for the Navy. Originally, Prince Fushimi Miyahiro Kyōō was the chief of the military command department before the formation of the Tojo cabinet. Because Hirohito was unsure about the outcome of the war against Japan and the United States, he appointed Shimada Shitaro, Fushimi Miyahiro Prince's agent, to take office. But no one expected that Shimada would become Tojo's answering machine after he came to power.

Now hearing the news that King Higashino Miyazaki Minuhiko will serve as the chief of staff, Kido Koichi's heart skipped a beat. His Majesty finally became suspicious: It doesn't really matter if the army loses the battle. Don't look at the fact that middle and lower-level officers are often ordered to commit seppuku. Senior officers It's rare to be held accountable. Didn't you see Lieutenant General Nagumo Chuichi still alive and kicking after suffering such a huge defeat at Midway? But the emperor cannot tolerate his subordinates concealing and deceiving him. If this trend is allowed to develop, if they lose in the future, they will drag the royal family out to take the blame - this is what the emperor fears most.

Kido Koichi asked tentatively: "If Prince Higashikaru Miyazaki Minuhiko serves as the chief of staff, should we ask Prince Fushimi Miyahiro Kyoto to return as the chief of the military command department?"

"This is a consideration, but I haven't asked for his personal opinion."

At this point, Kido Koichi has made it all clear: the emperor is dissatisfied with the role of the army and navy in this incident, and is determined to completely seize the command. Others cannot believe it, so he can only use the royal family to block two military orders. The core position of the mouth. However, he still doesn't understand why King Higashikata Minuhiko can't let Umezu Yoshijiro serve as land minister or prime minister when he is the chief of staff. Didn't he hear that there is a major conflict between the two?