Iron Cross

"Sir, did I hear you correctly? Selling battleships?" Kuo Luren was shocked, "This is absolutely impossible..."

"Ozawa-kun, tell me why selling warships is a good way?"

"First of all, Ise and Hyuga are obsolete and have little actual combat value. The shipping headquarters had the desire to convert them into aviation battleships, but they just felt that it was uneconomical. Germany lacks warships and is currently plundering them everywhere. It is so hungry that they can't choose what to eat. The situation is that it will be slower to build, so Germany will need it; secondly, we have captured so many transport ships, and there are more things to transport back to the mainland - who will sail the ships? How many ships will be freed up by selling the battleships? Thousands of people operate the transport ship, which solves the manpower problem at once; in the end, after selling the battleship, we can get back what we urgently need, and everyone is happy," Ozawa explained, "I originally hoped to sell the battleship in exchange for the ship that was about to become an army. The Skyhawk aircraft carrier, but the German side clearly rejected it. They only agreed to replace it with carrier-based aircraft, communication equipment or other army equipment. I think it is still a good deal, especially the three types of carrier-based aircraft, which are particularly urgent.”

Horikichi nodded. He was the president of an aircraft manufacturing company. The technical data and drawings of the three aircrafts have been sent to the country one after another. However, it took less than 6 months for the country to fully understand the drawings, master the production essentials, produce relevant molds, and obtain qualified products. The above time is impossible. What should we do if aircraft are lost in fleet operations during this period? Once you get used to the new aircraft, you will never go back to the old aircraft. Therefore, the number of 600 new carrier-based aircraft is not too many but too few.

Hearing Ozawa actually say such reasonable words, Kusaka Renyi was dumbfounded. Thinking about it carefully, he felt that it had profound meaning, especially the fact that the transport ship was short of sailors, which directly hit the joint fleet's Achilles' heel.

"Send a report to the country and say that we are considering selling the two ships and replacing them with other urgently needed supplies. If the army has special requirements, they can also be included. Please ask Yamamoto-kun to coordinate the cost settlement between the army and the navy."

After reading the telegram sent by Horikichi, Yamamoto Isoroku thought it was very reasonable, and proposed convening an army-navy coordination meeting overnight. Now the four giants of the army and navy in the base camp have openly "unanimous", and major strategic decisions can only be made if the army and navy reach a consensus. If he can pass, Prime Minister Ugaki will be directly squeezed out to be responsible only for purely domestic affairs. Even the Foreign Minister and Tibetan Prime Minister must obey the arrangements of the headquarters. Compared with Tojo's monopoly of power when he was Prime Minister, Ugaki has become the general manager of logistics. However, due to Having fulfilled his dream of being prime minister for many years, he is still content with this position.

After the Combined Fleet fought consecutively in the Indian Ocean and cooperated with the German and Italian strategic offensives in North Africa and the Middle East, Horikichi's opinions became particularly important. The "Combined Fleet Commander's Statement on Blockade of the Northern Indian Ocean" was published in the Asahi Shimbun "After the headlines appeared on the front page, the whole country rejoiced. Even Emperor Hirohito commented that it "has greatly increased the prestige of the empire" and was already planning to confer him the rank of marshal when the fleet returns home (marshal is an honorary rank in Japan).

"Ishihara-kun, the combined fleet will return late."

"How late?"

"One and a half months." Originally, the navy's internal return time was January 20, a total of 35 days. This was based on the failure of Germany and Italy's Middle East strategy and the limit for the combined fleet to return on its own relying on remaining supplies and fuel. However, it was informed to the army that It was February 1st, and now it is postponed for 45 days, and it will be directly to mid-March.

Ishihara smiled and frowned: "It's not good to come back late. The situation in Southeast Asia is very dangerous, and India's offensive will also be forced to be postponed."

"There is a compelling reason to come home late." Yamamoto Isoroku sighed and handed the other party a copy of the telegram in which Horikichi stated his reasons.

At first, after Tsukahara reported that Zuikaku had been injured, everyone at the Tokyo base camp was worried. Later, it was understood that only one of the tail elevators was damaged. Recovery and takeoff could barely be carried out, but the speed and efficiency were greatly reduced. In addition, Germany and Italy expressed their willingness to repair. , even for the sake of Zuihe's full recovery, the Navy agreed to return late.

"You still want to sell warships?"

"Crazy..."

This was the first feeling that came to everyone's mind, but after reading several of Ozawa's explanations, they felt that it was completely normal. Yamamoto Isoroku pondered for a moment and then said: "I think it's acceptable, and it will be a good business." ”

After reading the weapons list sent to him, Tada Shun breathed a long sigh of relief and joked: "It seems that in the future, the commander-in-chief of the combined fleet will be selected with a business background."

"Not counting what Germany promised us, what they seized alone is worth 1 billion yen?" Chief of the Military Command Department, Prince Fushimi Miyahiro Kyoto took a breath and showed an expression of disbelief, "Showa 17 (1942) Navy The total annual budget is just this amount.”

"The actual value is far more than that." Navy Deputy Chief Narumi Inoue explained, "For example, the official cost of a Liberty Ship in the United States is US$2 million, which is 5 million yen based on the exchange rate. But the problem is that 5 million yen is difficult to obtain now. A 10,000-ton transport ship has been built - more than 80 transport ships alone were captured, as well as two 25,000-ton fast oil tankers, which are worth 500 million yen here; for example, they captured the equipment of 2 divisions , one is an American armored division, and the other is a British infantry division. How much are they worth? The total must exceed the equipment budget of 10 army divisions... Because of their outstanding performance, the German head of state also sent 200 additional aircraft. We put it at 25 Calculated at 10,000 yen a piece, this amount is 50 million, and..."

Inoue Narumi has been dealing with budgets for a long time, and her arithmetic skills are extraordinary. Her calculations are quite methodical, which makes everyone stunned.

"So it's enough to buy 9 Yamatos? I remember that the Yamatos were only 104 million yen each?" Koga Mineichi, deputy director of the Military Command Department, interjected.

"Prices have increased. Let's count 7 pieces. Now they cost 140 million pieces."

"Yo Xi..." Everyone was overjoyed. The battle of the United Fleet was a great success: so far, not a single ship had been sunk, only Ruihe was injured and dozens of aircraft were lost. If you include the materials and equipment Germany promised before the war, all the naval military expenditures invested in recent years have been recovered.

"We need to pick people who are good at doing business: fighting against Britain and the United States will make us rich, but the battlefield in China is still a bottomless pit. We keep losing money, so we have to get out quickly." Prince Fushimi Miyahiro Kyoto said to Ishihara Wanji unhappily, "The Army keeps saying to withdraw its troops, and I There hasn’t been much action so far.”

"The action is not small. We have drawn 2 divisions from North China and 2 divisions from South China. More than 30 of them have been sent out from the county." Ishihara Wan'er sighed helplessly, "Hey, these horses below The deer is so brainless that Tada-kun and I are exhausted.”

"The army is in such a difficult situation, why don't we just let the navy do it?" Isoroku Yamamoto said with a half-smile, "Horitsu Yoshi-kun is planning to form a brigade of marines to cooperate with the fleet. If the army really can't spare the manpower, why don't we just let the navy do it?" The Marine Corps will expand by two divisions - since the equipment is already available, it will not occupy the Army's quota."

Shun Tada jumped up immediately: "Don't even think about it. Do you want us to help the navy guard those islands in the South China Sea?"

"Can the Army accept the late return of the combined fleet?"

"So what if you don't accept it?" Ishihara Wanji rolled his eyes, "For the sake of equipment, we don't care about the fleet. We can only blame the army for being unlucky! But if Rabaul is lost, don't blame the army for being irresponsible - -This debt must be settled on the United Fleet."

Rabaul's position is not trivial, and several giants discussed it for a long time before making up their minds - no matter what, they must hold on until the combined fleet returns.

"How to respond to the sale of a battleship?"

Yamamoto has expressed his agreement, and Inoue Narumi also agrees. He believes that Ise and Hyuga originally planned to change to aviation battleships. Now that Shinano has resumed battleship construction, there is no shortage of battleships, and resources can be concentrated on the Unryu class. The construction of follow-up ships; besides, the shortage of sailors for transport ship operations mentioned by the Combined Fleet is indeed true. In addition, Japan is also in urgent need of aircraft, especially high-performance aircraft.

Prince Fushimi Miyahiro was a little hesitant at first, but considering that Horikichi earned 7 Yamato for the navy, this request should be agreed to. Besides, it is just for sale now, even if these two old ships were sunk in this battle. He couldn't fault the combined fleet.

Jun Tada spread his hands and said: "Whether or not to sell warships is a matter for the navy, and the army will not interfere. However, with so much army equipment seized, the navy only needs one brigade, and the rest should be given to the army."

"Of course, but the Navy also has conditions."

"Please tell me." Tada Shun thought to himself: It would be good if you are willing to provide conditions.

"First, all workers in the Navy's manufacturing plants will not be drafted, and those who have been drafted will be discharged immediately to ensure production; second, the Army's mecha production will be completely stopped, and special steel will be saved to meet the needs of the Navy."

Tada Shun frowned and said: "The first one is no problem, I can agree to it now; the second one is difficult. If we don't build it now, what will happen later? One less tank will come to our aid."

"Ask Germany! Ask Germany to buy! Except for a small part of the tanks that came this time, they are all stronger than domestic tanks. The troops have used new tanks, who will use outdated goods? Besides, they just stopped production, not research and development. . The Army can develop it properly first, catch up with the world level, and then mass-produce it. Besides, the Army currently produces more than 1,000 tanks a year, which is not as much as Germany’s production in half a month. The Navy will help you make a few trips to transport them. ”

Several high-level army officials looked at each other. They didn't expect Isoroku Yamamoto to say this. After thinking about it, they found it quite reasonable. It is better to buy tanks from Germany than to buy them from Germany. It is not expensive and has good performance. It is time-consuming and laborious to build tanks.

Ishihara Wanji rolled his eyes: "Tada-kun, I think we can agree to the Navy's request, but we need 12 additional Tigers - the Navy has to help pay for it."

Tada Shun was stunned for a moment, then he realized what he was doing and asked repeatedly: "How about it? The deal will be done for 12 Tigers."

"Okay, deal."

Army Deputy Secretary Shimomura Sada, who didn't say a word, had a wry smile on his face: In the past, the army and navy would fight each other as soon as they met, calling each other red deer, but now it's even worse. They stop arguing and start bargaining with each other to do business. This doesn't have any business experience. Can't even get a few words in.