Iron Cross

At nightfall, Cole, who refused to be escorted by the guards sent by Ishihara Wanji, walked staggeringly from the other party's residence back to the Akasaka Imperial Palace, smelling of alcohol. This evening, he drank wine from 6 to 10 o'clock, during which time he had to Chatting, inquiring for information, and half-truths and half-truths with Ishihara Wan'er, it really killed countless brain cells. He didn't even know how much sake he drank. He would have lost count by the cup. 500 grams? 600 grams? Or more? I felt really numb after drinking it. Fortunately, the alcohol content was not high. If it had been replaced by Russian vodka, I might not be able to walk at this moment.

There are gendarmes and policemen on the streets of Tokyo at night to maintain curfew order. They would have been furious when they saw a drunkard, but once they saw that it was Cole's German face, they immediately changed to a look of attentiveness. He came up to help him, and asked with concern if he wanted to take him back on a motorcycle (a three-wheeler). Cole, who was stumbling, was also afraid that he would make a fool of himself too much, so he agreed with a wave of his hand. Anyone who can serve in the Tokyo Military Police or the police station is a visionary. The German envoy could not be offended in the first place, and now his old friend Deputy Minister Ishihara is blocking the sky. He did not see the former Prime Minister Tojo being driven away in despair. Have you become the commander of the military police? The original confidant of the Prime Minister, the always high-minded, arrogant and domineering captain of the Tokyo Military Police, Major General Shifang Ryoji, was also transferred to the battlefield in Myanmar. Although it may not be too dangerous for a general-level figure to go to the front line, compared to the comfortable and comfortable Tokyo The treatment is completely different. If they were told that the drunken German envoy was behind the collapse of the Tojo cabinet, they would not know how shocked they would be.

"Sir, are you finally back?" The secretary who came after hearing the news stepped forward to catch Cole, who was helped out of the car by the military police, and quietly handed over a pack of cigarettes to express his gratitude. The two military policemen bowed repeatedly and continued. After watching the German figure disappear into the lobby, he turned back with satisfaction - this pack of cigarettes was enough for them to smoke for half a month.

"In the evening, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs called and explained that you have two plans on your schedule tomorrow. In the morning, you will go to the Navy's secret test site to watch the rocket launch test, and in the afternoon, you will communicate about the Indian independence movement... Considering that you have no other plans, I will He took it upon himself to agree." The secretary looked at the drunken Cole and said sheepishly, "Are you feeling well? Do you want me to cancel your morning trip? The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the test site is far away and they will go there early in the morning. A car will be sent to pick you up.”

Cole was sitting on the sofa, half asleep. When he heard the words "Indian Independence Movement", his mind immediately reacted and his eyes shone: "Don't push it away, I can do it. Hey, I won’t drink so much with Deputy Commander Ishihara next time. I’m still dizzy now, but the wine is worth it – I saw him signing the order to retreat from the Guadalcanal front line, and half of it was still there. He told me, half truthfully, that the Army was preparing to shrink its forces from the Nanyang Islands."

"Hey, isn't this decision decided a long time ago? Why do you still need to prepare?" The secretary looked surprised, "Aren't you afraid of delaying the military situation?"

"Your understanding of Japan is not deep enough. It is not possible for Japanese people to make up their minds so easily and thoroughly. Most of the time, the bosses use 'ventriloquism' when speaking. You need to figure out the true meaning by yourself."

"If there is a misunderstanding, it will be troublesome. Why not just give the order directly."

"Of course there are misunderstandings, but they won't be serious. Who can be a general who is a fool? If you have to pretend to be confused, the higher ups won't accuse you of anything, but the reserve force is not far away. As for us ..." Cole rolled his eyes, "We don't necessarily have to impose orders and prohibitions. Before the Typhoon Battle last year, the head of state wanted to attack Kiev, and Halder and the others wanted to attack Moscow. Everyone was pushing back and forth, and General Guderian was caught in the middle. The best six weeks passed like this in the middle of wrangling - otherwise, why would the Russians give us a head-on blow in Moscow? "

The secretary was also shocked. This was the first time he had heard of this inside story. He said in disbelief: "Is it Halder?..."

Cole nodded: "Politics is a very complicated thing, far from as simple as you see. Let's not worry about it for now. Let's study the trends of the Japanese - Indian independence? It can be seen that Japan's position has become semi-clear... "

"But is the order reversed?" the secretary asked in confusion. "Shouldn't we first determine the strategy for the Indian Ocean and the Middle East, then open up the connection between the two countries, then attack India and establish military superiority, and finally It’s to promote India’s independence—this military strategy hasn’t changed at all yet, but is it already considering post-war political arrangements?”

"This is a Japanese characteristic. You should learn from it." Cole waved his hand and said, "First get me some water to sober up, and also bring me the information you have recently collected and report it to me..."

When Cole returned to China last time, his secretary did not go back with him. Instead, he was ordered to stay there to collect information - spying on intelligence was of course impossible, and Cole did not want to do so. The method he taught his secretary was very simple, buy magazines and Newspapers use public information to analyze the situation in Japan and obtain first-hand information. Originally, these matters could be left to the ambassador in Japan, but the ambassador has been suspended from domestic service because he trusted and recommended Sorge as a spy. The new ambassador has not yet arrived, and everyone in the embassy is panicked. Cole himself is also from the diplomatic system. Knowing that the Japanese Embassy has not conveyed any valuable information, it is definitely unreliable to rely on them now, so I might as well do it myself.

The secretary brought a large pile of information, and it seemed that the results were quite fruitful: "...This is the news published in the February issue of "Women's Club" this year. The government encourages 'the use of open space and cultivation of medicinal herbs' - full article They all write about methods of making opium, and also tell people that they can get free seeds from the health department of Fuhe County. This news is not isolated. I saw the Ministry of Health and Welfare and Hua Hua in the "Photo Weekly" No. 243 published in October. A photo of Tai Ting's instructions for harvesting opium. It says: '... Use a knife to make a slit in the peel when the fruit is still immature, scrape the juice that flows out into a bowl with a spatula, and then dry it in the sun. Then crush it and store it in a jar, so that the opium is formed. One mu step (Japanese area unit) can produce about 200-250 grams of opium. Then I also saw the purchase information and price guidance in other newspapers... In summary As mentioned, opium cultivation is an important economic source for Japan.”

"In addition, the "Housewife's Friend" magazine series publishes a large amount of information on military sideline processing, such as "Sewing straps on helmet hoods," "Sewing navy uniforms," ​​"Weaving Xingya shopping bags," and "Processing and manufacturing aircraft parts." 60 qian a day" and other reports, it is clear that Japan has not systematically organized women to enter factories or other economic organizations, but they have become active in family handicraft workshops..."

"This is the "Guide to Let Everyone Understand the National Mobilization Law" prepared by the Ministry of Finance and the Institute of Legal Affairs. In addition to the "China Incident Special Tax", the Japanese government has also added a "Greater East Asia Jihad Special Tax", mainly in the form of indirect taxes. Taxes have been increased on daily necessities. For example, the tax on matches was increased last month. Every 1,000 matches will be taxed at an additional 5 cents. I looked at the "Tax Collection Guide" and found that there are so many other taxable objects. At the end, there is a sentence: "I don't know about the tax increase." How long will it take to implement the plan? The people must be fully prepared to deal with the protracted war'..."

"This is the magazine "Student" and "Study and Examination", which is mainly distributed to middle school and high school students. In addition to encouraging students to report to the Army and Navy Military Academy as always, it also reported the news of the expansion of aviation recruitment in a particularly exaggerated tone: '... … With this God-given opportunity, it is no longer unattainable for you to realize your dream of flying in the sky and fighting in the sea and the air.’ It is obvious that Japan has increased its pilot training after the Battle of Midway.”

"The Japanese authorities have obviously strengthened their control over publishing and news..." the secretary pointed to the headshot of the magazine "Light of the House" with a typical Japanese appearance and a nendanhu. "Sir, this person is from the Intelligence Bureau. Suzuki Kuzo, the official responsible for censoring and controlling newspaper paper, recently wrote an article "Building a New Life: Waste is the Enemy of Mankind". It was reprinted by almost every major magazine and newspaper, and many magazines even used him as their editor-in-chief. The flattery of the man on the cover is disgusting - if he hadn't held the power of life and death over newspapers and magazines, these newspapers and publishing houses would never be so flattering. What's even more curious is that I heard some people saying that this guy was just for filming. This article was written by a flatterer of Prime Minister Tojo, because that Prime Minister hates waste the most and would dig through the trash can in the middle of the night..."

Cole nodded solemnly: "What you heard is true. Prime Minister Tojo does have this habit - I have heard people talk about it more than once."

"This is really... really..." The secretary tried hard not to laugh. "In addition, I also went to markets, markets, and shopping malls to conduct shopping surveys, and found that the prices of ordinary supplies have increased significantly and they can only be supplied with vouchers. Everyone They all complained, but as long as I had money, I could still buy things from other places. I also tried to buy some, but when I finally settled, I found that I didn’t have enough money. The boss saw that I was German and said that I could pay next time. I thought of your instructions, and I had the idea to take out half a pack of cigarettes to pay for the price. As a result, his eyes lit up, and in addition to paying off the debt, he also gave me a box of seaweed sushi."

"The Japanese people are relatively familiar with the Three Kingdoms Alliance and are friendly to me. I never queue up when I go shopping. Everyone politely lets me buy first. On the way back, some policemen volunteered to ask if they would like to help me carry it. Bags - this is much better than ours. I thought the Japanese couldn't tell the difference between Germans and Italians..."

"You are very careful in your observations. Based on this information, you will write a complete summary report on the situation in Japan. After you finish writing it, give it to me to review before sending it back to China. Whether you can be promoted smoothly depends on him..."