Iron Cross

Although the appointment of the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet was finally made, Cole also sensed the undercurrent and depressive atmosphere of Japan's political situation from the widely different reactions of people around him. After describing the technical situation of this transfer (mainly including the Me-163 rocket interceptor aircraft and new submarine blueprints) and equipment supply, indicating that Germany implemented the Indian Ocean strategy and sent liaison officers and naval observers. Then it expressed the desire of Japan and Germany to further strengthen cooperation in a clichéd tone, and then hurriedly ended the interview. .

According to his original idea, he hoped to communicate with Yamamoto Kaixiang and Deputy Minister Ishihara again, but after waiting for a long time, Yamamoto Isoroku and Ishihara smiled, he could only give up and return to Akasaka Palace. He tossed and turned in bed in the hotel, unable to fall asleep. The image of Yamamoto Isoroku and Ishihara Kanji kept showing up in his mind, how they were not happy at all but worried instead after learning that Horikichi's appointment was approved. He said to himself: "This must be There are other reasons.”

In the evening of the same day, Cole, who could not sit still, went to visit Ishihara Wanji again on the pretext of giving gifts. When the two drank together, he clearly felt that the other party was full of melancholy.

"Today's interview surprised me. I never thought I would have such an experience..." With a hint of pretending to be drunk, Cole took the lead in starting the conversation, "You know, when the head of state makes personnel adjustments, he usually They won’t ask for advice from our adjutants and staff, let alone from a foreigner.”

"That's not your energy. Your Majesty actually has a calculation in his mind. He just used your mouth to say it." Ishihara smiled and sighed, "This kind of thing has a negative impact on General Yamamoto, Commander Horikichi, and the political situation of our country." Neither is necessarily a good thing.”

"Then...did I make a mistake?"

"Of course not." Ishihara Wanji smiled bitterly, "No matter what you say, His Majesty has a way to intercept the content he needs. Do you think he made the final decision because of your speech? Wrong! He is Yamamoto I had no choice but to agree because the chief had to resign.”

"In this way, General Yamamoto will become the target of public criticism?"

"He has used similar methods twice. If he persists, I don't know how he will end up in the future." Ishihara Wanji raised the bottle to Cole Man and said in a disinterested voice, "Forget it, I think so What to do more? Drink...drink..."

"Looking at how worried you are, you seem to have a lot of unpleasant things going on?"

"There are quite a few. To put it simply, there are strong objections within the army to withdrawing troops from China, especially the middle and lower-level officers who are fighting on the front line." Ishihara Wanji was obviously a little drunk, "You know that Japan has The so-called behavior of subordinates overcoming superiors... To be honest, I was the one who set the bad example in Manchuria. But the problem is that the following batch of red deer and tigers are not anti-dogs - when I carried out my actions in Manchuria, I had carefully calculated and planned them in advance. Yes, the Chiang Kai-shek regime on the other side did not dare to raise the table with us even if they knew the whole situation. They just accepted it with humility. Even after the establishment of Manchukuo, they did not dare to make big moves. The most they could do was go to the League of Nations to make a fuss. Britain and the United States only gave verbal support. I will not endorse the Chiang regime. The subsequent evolution of events has also verified my point of view. From 1932 to 1937, Sino-Japanese relations went from deterioration to stability, maintaining a situation of struggle without breaking up. Among other things, China successively placed orders in Japan. Didn’t we also let the Ninghai and Pinghai cruisers go without any hindrance? The bad thing is that the incident in China expanded.”

Of course, Cole didn't know the reason for Yamamoto Isoroku and Ishihara Kanji's frustration, nor did he understand that the most critical meeting was the secret meeting in front of the imperial court after the candidate for the commander of the combined fleet was determined - that is, he could not wait for two days. During the time when people came out, top-secret diplomatic news came from the direction of Moscow and the results were not ideal. The reason why Ishihara Wanji said that Horikichi's appointment had already been decided in his drunken state was because of this - the diplomatic news came first, then the appointment was discussed, and finally the countermeasures were discussed. As for the reason for Cole's appearance in front of the emperor, Ishihara Wanji guessed that Miyagi intended to hint to his ministers that there was a way out in Germany. Therefore, Cole's strange interview actually acted as a prop.

The Moscow ambassador conveyed through top-secret telegrams six counter-arguments raised by the Americans against Japan's peace proposal:

First, the situation in Southeast Asia is restored to the state before December 7, 1941. The Pacific Islands originally occupied by Japan (obtained from Germany after World War I) will be demilitarized, and French Indochina and Dutch Indonesia will be demilitarized by the United Kingdom and the United States. During the wartime occupation, the Siamese regime was resolved through coordination between Britain and the United States, and Japan would not interfere;

Second, the situation in China will return to the state before July 1937, and the puppet regime of Wang Jingwei supported by Japan will be resolved through internal consultations within China;

Third, Japan symbolically punishes those who wage war without authorization (mainly referring to the China Incident and the Pearl Harbor attack, but does not involve high-level officials), and is responsible for compensating the civilian losses of its allies (Britain, the United States, the Netherlands, and China give up national claims);

Fourth, Japan announced its withdrawal from the Three-Nation Alliance, and the United States lifted trade and related economic sanctions;

Fifth, Japan provides Russia with the combat supplies it needs, and all costs are paid by the allies;

Sixth, after the war was completely over, Japan participated in the peace system. The United States regarded Japan as a quasi-ally, promised to grant it the status of a major power, and recognized Japan's leading significance in Asia.

In addition to Article 6, the Americans raised an additional opinion: if Japan is willing to send its army and navy to North Africa and Europe to participate in the war (the army will send more than 500,000 troops and the navy will undertake the Atlantic escort mission), the United States is willing to give Japan additional compensation. In addition to bearing all the combat expenses and materials, it can also give Japan an interest-free loan of 5 billion US dollars to restore the economy, and at the same time require China to give Japan special economic benefits in North China (sovereignty still belongs to China).

The telegram specifically stated that based on mutual contacts and communication between diplomats, it was privately judged that the United States still had some room for concession: that is, if Japan agreed to join the Allies in the war, the northern part of French Indochina (bounded by the 17th parallel north latitude) and Qiongzhou (Hainan Island) in China could be occupied by Japan.

If Hoffman saw this reply or if a Japanese senior official had traveled through time since 1945, he would definitely think that this was a very ideal price for Japan. At least Japan got a considerable benefit and could make a fortune by providing combat materials to Russia. Unfortunately, Japan did not have such a person.

The above news shocked the government and the opposition. The important officials thought that they had fought with the Americans for a year and occupied a large amount of territory, and at least they could have a slightly decent status and conditions. However, they found that the other side still did not take them seriously. This situation even stunned the Navy Vice Admiral Inoue Shigemi, who advocated peace. The worst result in the Navy's mind was that China would withdraw completely from the mainland and partially withdraw from Southeast Asia (returning all American territories), but at least Qiongzhou, China, and the Southeast Asian colonies of Britain, France, and the Netherlands before the war should be firmly in hand (even if they were not directly occupied, they should declare independence with the support of Japan). In addition, there would be a proper solution to the lifeline of Manchuria and Mongolia, the demilitarization and special rights of North China, and the Nanjing Wang Jingwei regime. The result was so bad that, to quote the original words of Army Minister Tada Shun, "the enemy offered a condition that even those of us who wanted to surrender the most could not accept."

In the negotiations and secret clauses, Britain and the United States had no idea about the Japanese Navy. Instead, they thought that their navy was enough to control the situation. The Japanese Navy could only escort. The army was the most important. Britain and the United States were afraid that they would suffer too many casualties in the North African or European battlefields, so they asked for 500,000 army troops in one go, which made the navy feel deeply insulted.

Just when Ishihara Kanji and Cole were drinking together, several important officials from the Army Ministry and the Navy Ministry also gathered together to drink. The atmosphere of this new cabinet was very strange. Because of the prime minister and the royal military order, the army and navy, who originally disliked each other, suddenly came together, and there was a trend that the army and navy would control the government and undermine the prime minister.

"Mr. Yamamoto, everything cannot be done for..." Army Minister Tada Shun took a sip of sake and sighed.

"I don't know what to say now..." Navy Minister Isoroku Yamamoto said bitterly, "Is it really like what the German envoy said, relying on the remaining capital to gamble again?"

Inoue Narumi said angrily: "What is the attitude of Britain and the United States? Do they think they have won? Baka!"

"What do Commander Yamamoto's old classmates think?" asked the new Vice Minister of the Army and former President of the Army University, Sada Shimomura (he got a bargain and was originally going to be the commander of the 13th Army).

"After the appointment was announced today, he went to Truk to take up his post urgently. I saw him off before he left. Guess what he said?" Yamamoto Isoroku did not drink, but used tea. "He said, 'I will never do anything beyond my ability, but if you want me to sign a treaty of surrender without a fight, please step over my dead body first - there are commanders-in-chief of the Combined Fleet who died in battle, and there are commanders-in-chief of the Combined Fleet who did not kneel down and surrender!'"

Inoue Narumi frowned and asked back: "What does the army think? Can it support the Indian Ocean operation?"

"In view of the reality that a large number of Soviet troops in the Far East have been transferred to the west, the army now has two propositions. First, go north to attack the Soviet Union; second, To carry out the Indian Ocean operation; Regarding the manpower…” Tada Shun thought for a moment, “The Kwantung Army can probably draw 5 divisions, including 3 tank divisions; 5 divisions can also be drawn from the Chinese battlefield, and 2 divisions can be drawn from the mainland, a total of 12 divisions, about 250,000 people, which should be able to support an Indian attack. Of course, it is not enough to attack the Soviet Union. If it goes north, the Kwantung Army must mobilize all its forces. ”

Shimomura added: “The Army requires giving up some of the South Pacific islands to save manpower. In addition, it is unrealistic to withdraw all troops from China. The resistance is too great, but it can withdraw part of the troops to shorten the front line—if it is really necessary to prepare to attack from another direction. ”