I am Jiang Weiguo in World War II

Only in this way, these two countries will not become a potential threat to the Soviet Union!"

"Comrade Stalin, what you said is true!" Beria continued, "Germany is eagerly hoping that China and Japan will cease the war and shake hands to make peace. Some high-level Japanese are tempted by this. After all, Japan has also spent a lot on the Chinese battlefield. National strength and military strength are increasingly strained, and as for China, most of the top national government leaders are tempted, because China has endured much more pressure than Japan in this war!"

"What is the bottom line of the truce in Tokyo and Wuhan?" Stalin asked keenly.

"It's almost clear!" Beria knew that Stalin didn't like to hear vague answers such as "not yet clear" and "under investigation", so he was prepared. "The bottom line for China is to restore the situation between China and Japan to seven Before the Seventh Incident, China could acquiesce in Japan's substantive control over Manchuria, but it would not recognize 'Manchukuo'; the bottom line for Japan was to bring North China and Shanghai into Japan's substantive control.

Generally speaking, China knew that it could not defeat Japan alone, so it was content to return to before the July [-]th Incident. Japan also knew that it would be difficult to destroy China, and was unwilling to continue to consume its national strength and military power, so it was eager to get out of the war. However, it is to get out decently while obtaining enough benefits!"

"The difference is huge!" Stalin had an imperceptible smile on his face, "There is no agreement at all.

It appears that Hitler is doomed to waste his efforts!"

"Excuse me, Comrade Stalin!" Beria changed the subject, "Although both China and Japan are caught in a war and cannot extricate themselves, but because of this, the high-level leaders of both countries understand that continuing the war is not good for them, so they hope Able to decently truce.

It is possible that the negotiating bottom line proposed by both parties is just a deliberate gesture, and both sides are likely to be forced to lower the bottom line because of the war, and retreat together under the pressure and temptation of Germany!"

"Well, Comrade Beria, what you said is very reasonable!" Stalin frowned again, "The relationship between countries will not remain the same. As long as greater benefits can be obtained, the former sworn enemy may suddenly become Allies, yesterday's allies may suddenly turn against each other!" As a politician, Stalin knew very well that the leaders of every country only care about interests, and politicians can turn their faces faster than prostitutes.

For example, China and Japan, although the two countries are deeply enmity, but as long as they have common interests, the two countries will still collude.

What "common interests" can China and Japan have?Stalin could not do anything to deceive himself and others. He knew very well that Japan and the Soviet Union were sworn enemies, and China and the Soviet Union were also blood enemies.

Although China and Japan are also old enemies, who can guarantee that they will not join forces to fight the Soviet Union, which they both hate?What's more, there is still a Germany that is vigorously threading needles and fishing in troubled waters.

"Hitler is really cunning and cunning..." Stalin thought to himself, "He is trying to take advantage of the contradictions between the Soviet Union and China and the Soviet Union and Japan to turn China and Japan into Germany's helpers against the Soviet Union! Although it may not be true, but We must not take it lightly, we must take precautions before they happen!"

After pondering for a while, Stalin asked Beria: "Comrade Beria, if we don't take action, Germany's aid to China will not be able to do what it wants, the United States, Britain and France are watching from the other side, and China and Japan continue to fight, what will happen?"

Beria thought for a while and replied: "If China and Japan continue to fight like this, first of all, China must be on the verge of collapse, and at the same time, Japan must also be overwhelmed. Then, China was unable to fight back, unable to regain lost ground, and Japan was also unable to pursue and win completely. Therefore, the next situation was that Japan occupied large areas of North China and East China, including the already occupied Northeast China. , the two sides fell into a strategic stalemate, and then both seized the time to cultivate their health and recover their vitality. However, Japan occupied a large area of ​​China and all of them were resource-rich or economically developed areas, and China's coastline was blocked by the Japanese navy. If it continues, Japan will recover first, and then continue to launch large-scale strategic attacks, and China will inevitably find it difficult to parry.

Although it is indeed difficult for Japan to destroy China, the possibility of Japan's victory is still very high.

As for the international powers, we stay out of it. Germany wants to help China but can’t. Although the United States, Britain and France are watching the fire from the other side, they take advantage of the war to make a fortune. On the one hand, they have no channels to trade with China, and on the other hand, they are unwilling to offend Japan. Japan sells steel, oil, rubber and other industrial resources and military supplies that Japan urgently needs.

Originally, the United States, Britain, and France were neutral in the Sino-Japanese War. Although they did not support China and trade with Japan, they were more inclined to sympathize with China. The top leaders of the United States, Britain and France have become less and less sympathetic to China, so, in my opinion, the United States, Britain and France will increase trade with Japan!"

"Overall, the war is good for Japan, isn't it?" Stalin looked at Beria.

"Yes, Comrade Stalin!" Beria was very sure.

Stalin slowly puffed out a puff of smoke: "As I said just now, 'For the Soviet Union, the best situation in the Far East is that Japan is deeply mired in China, China is beaten to death by Japan, and Japan is dragged to exhaustion by China.

Only in this way, the two countries will not become a potential threat to the Soviet Union'.

Germany has unruly intentions towards the Soviet Union, and it is likely that China and Japan will serve this goal. If we can smash Hitler's wishful thinking, the external security of the Soviet Union can be greatly stabilized.

China was conquered by Japan, China and Japan had a truce and surrendered to Germany together, and China begged for peace or surrendered to Japan. These three results are extremely unfavorable to the Soviet Union. If the war continues, both China and Japan will be hurt, and both China and Japan will be red-eyed. In this way, Hitler's plan will be completely destroyed. Become an ally of Germany. Second, China and Japan have lost both sides, and the national strength and military strength of the two countries have collapsed. Naturally, China and Japan are of no use to Germany. Is Hitler willing to wait patiently for ten years, waiting for China and Japan to restore their national strength? Military power?Even so, the Soviet Union has gained a precious ten years; third, China and Japan are getting deeper and deeper in the quagmire of war. Hitler saw that the so-called "Germany, China and Japan Triple Alliance" was completely hopeless, and he would very likely think that Germany If he is alone, he will give up his misbehavior towards the Soviet Union, after all, he still has to deal with the United States, Britain and France!"

"Comrade Stalin, what do you mean..." Beria's heart skipped a beat.

"Strongly reinforce China!" Stalin said in an unquestionable tone, "Let China continue to fight Japan! It is best to fight Japan inextricably! In this way, the Soviet Union will be completely safe! Since China cannot defeat Japan, we must Support China, make full use of this chess piece, and keep Japan in check! Let China and Japan completely fight to the death! Let Hitler's illusions be shattered!"

Chapter 350 Liecheng (10)

Beginning in mid-to-early June, the Japanese troops on the Nanjing battlefield began to gradually withdraw their troops.

On the surface, the Japanese army had to retreat temporarily because of "a sudden large-scale infectious disease broke out in the Nanjing area, and the imperial army had to retreat temporarily in order to avoid the spread of the disease in the army." .

The Japanese army was completely frightened by the Nanjing Army.

The heavy cost of 17 deaths and 12 injuries made the Japanese military completely terrified, and basically dispelled the intention to capture Nanjing.

After receiving the report, Emperor Hirohito was also shocked, angry and lamented: "In the 50 years since the founding of the Meiji Emperor's army, the imperial army has been invincible in attacking and fighting. I did not expect that it will be passed down to my hands, and it will suffer such a shameful defeat! I am ashamed of the late emperor! How can I have the face to meet the late emperor's spirit!"

Regarding the withdrawal of troops, the high-level Japanese army declared in a veiled manner: "...the Imperial Army is invincible on the Nanjing battlefield, wiped out countless enemies, and has successfully invaded the city of Nanjing. After the remnants of the tens of thousands of Chinese troops in the city are wiped out, Nanjing can be completely occupied. , However, the sky did not come true. Due to the huge number of corpses of the Chinese soldiers wiped out by the imperial army in the Nanjing area, they were piled up like mountains inside and outside the city. In addition, the weather became warmer and the spring and summer were hot and humid, which led to the outbreak of epidemic diseases in the Nanjing area. Thousands of soldiers of the imperial army were unfortunate. Infected with the epidemic bacteria, in order to avoid accidental losses and ensure peace in China, the imperial army temporarily retreated to avoid the epidemic in Nanjing. The situation in Nanjing is still under the full control of the imperial army. When the epidemic dissipates and the time is right, the imperial army will definitely fight again Nanjing, take down the capital of China in one fell swoop, so as to achieve the goal of punishing the National Government of China set before the war!"

In addition, the high-level Japanese army announced solemnly: "A total of 520 people were killed or died of serious injuries in the Imperial Army on the Nanjing battlefield, and a total of 590 people were martyred by the epidemic. A total of more than 12 people were wounded and infected in the war; more than 5000 Chinese soldiers were killed, more than 17 Chinese soldiers were injured, 8000 Chinese soldiers were captured, and 440 and eight Chinese military aircraft were shot down , Destroyed 630 five Chinese army tanks, destroyed two Chinese army artillery 520, and the rest of the battle results and the spoils of war seized are countless.

Wait!" The Japanese army also publicized that "in order to protect its capital, the Chinese government mobilized all the elite Chinese troops to Nanjing. At the same time, they basically used purchased aircraft, tanks, artillery and other ordnance on the Nanjing battlefield. The arduous battle, coupled with the interference of the sudden epidemic, led to the temporary defeat of the imperial army's strategy, but the imperial army continued to plow the ground and sweep holes in other battlefields in China, which can prove the above point of view!"

According to the "statistics" of the Japanese, the Japanese army suffered a total of about 9 casualties on the Nanjing battlefield, and a large part of them were caused by the epidemic. The Chinese army suffered more than 30 casualties on the Nanjing battlefield.

Obviously, apart from deceiving the grassroots people in Japan, the international parties including the Japanese high-level officials must not have taken it seriously.

In fact, the Japanese army had a total of about 29 casualties and 17 deaths on the Nanjing battlefield, but this figure was greatly reduced by the Japanese. As for the Nanjing Army, the cumulative casualties of the Nanjing Army were about 10 , about 6 people died. At this time, the Nanjing Army still has more than 2 elite veterans and more than 3 militiamen who can continue to fight. Such as the extended battlefield of Nanjing; the casualties of the Nanjing Army also do not include the extended battlefields of Nanjing such as northern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang, and do not include the casualties of civilians on the Nanjing battlefield.

).

The Japanese army paid a heavy price of 29 casualties and 17 deaths, but only captured the positions outside Nanjing City and entered some areas in Nanjing City. Obviously, this is by no means a victory, but the Japanese who have always wanted to save face It is impossible to publicly admit defeat.

Lieutenant General Toshiro Hata, the commander-in-chief of the Central China Front Army, repeatedly asked the military headquarters and Emperor Hirohito to "be willing to accept dismissal, investigation and military trial, so as to punish the subordinates for their ineffective command." The commander-in-chief of the Central China Front Army was even promoted to a general of the army in recognition of his "excellent contribution in commanding painstakingly and turning the tide in the Battle of Nanjing" (Hata Shunroku was promoted to general in November 1937 in the original history, and now It's been delayed a bit, and the background of the promotion is very different).

Objectively speaking, Lieutenant General Hata Shun-six’s performance in the Battle of Nanjing was quite remarkable. Although he failed to prevent the Japanese army from continuing to lose troops and generals, there were indeed no major mistakes.

Undoubtedly, the fact that Lieutenant General Hata Jun-[-] was allowed to continue serving as the commander of the Central China Front Army and promoted to a general at the Tokyo Base Camp, even though he clearly failed to win the battle, was just a fig leaf. Having achieved an almost total victory, Nanjing would have been occupied if it hadn't been for the sudden outbreak of the epidemic. Naturally, Jun Hata, who has "greatly made great contributions", will be promoted to the No. [-] High School.

After learning that he was promoted to general of the army, Lieutenant General Hata Toshiroku/General said bitterly: "This promotion makes me feel more ashamed and ashamed than being demoted to major general!"

Afterwards, the Six Generals of Toshiro Hata completely transformed Japan’s strategy toward China into the “Hehua faction” (a new faction that emerged in Japan’s top management, advocating a truce with China and an alliance with China under the mediation of Germany).

In the original history, although the six generals Hatatoshi did not oppose the invasion of China (in the high-level Japanese army, the navy advocated that the order of Japan's imaginary enemies was the United States, the Soviet Union, and China, although the army reluctantly agreed, but the army still listed China as the first imaginary enemy or is the first target of annexation), but he opposed to fighting China to the end. He believed that the Japanese army should just let it go before the battle in Wuhan or even before the battle in Xuzhou. Continuing to go deeper and continue to fight would put Japan in great danger.

Right now, because of the influence of the new situation of the Sino-Japanese war, Hata Toshi's six generals do not support the invasion of China, and instead support Japan's alliance with China.

It is worth mentioning that General Matsui Iwane, the former commander-in-chief of the Central China Front Army, was also a staunch member of the "Hehua School" at this time.

General Matsui has always been a "Greater Asiaist" and strongly advocated that "the East should unite against the West, and the yellow people should unite against the whites." "The Great East Asian Alliance with Japan as the core and leader." Naturally, the current General Matsui is very interested in the "Sino-Japanese Alliance." Just take the second step and use Germany as a matchmaking bridge to build a Greater East Asian Alliance of "equal status" between China and Japan, and then deal with the white European, American and Western world.

Although Japan is still deceiving itself by claiming that "the situation in Nanjing is still under the full control of the imperial army. When the epidemic dissipates and the time is ripe, the imperial army will fight again in Nanjing and take the capital of China in one fell swoop", but it has already begun to retreat and put in effort. acted.

According to the latest order from the Japanese Army Staff Headquarters, the Japanese army on the Chinese battlefield has made comprehensive adjustments to eliminate the confusion and overlap in the previous designation.

The Central China Front Army of the Japanese Army originally had 6 armies under its jurisdiction, 3 of which were abolished, and the establishment of the 6th, 7th, and 8th armies was cancelled. Only the 3rd, 4th, and 5th armies were retained. The front army originally had 25 divisions (most of them were was transferred away, the less one strengthened the regiment, the more one brigade), 2 mixed brigades (Taiwan Army), and 2 heavy artillery brigades. According to the order, the front army will only retain 11 divisions and 2 brigades Mixed brigade (Taiwan army), 2 heavy artillery brigades, most of the rest of the troops returned home to rest (in fact, they were abolished, because Japan really couldn't maintain so many troops for war), and some were transferred to the North China battlefield.

After rectification, the battle sequence of the Japanese Central China Front Army is as follows:

Commander-in-Chief Hatatoshi Six Generals, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Ishihara Kanji, Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Tsukada Tsukasa;

The 3rd Army, Commander Lieutenant General Yanagawa Hirasuke, under the jurisdiction of the 11th and 12th Divisions;

The 4th Army, Commander Lieutenant General Ningji Okamura, under the jurisdiction of the 3rd and 13th Divisions;

The 5th Army, Commander Lieutenant General Chao Xianggong Jiuyan Wang, under the jurisdiction of the 2nd and 6th Divisions;

方面军直属部队：第2、第6野战重炮兵旅团，第27、第28、第29师团（这三个师团都是韩籍日军），第1、第2混成旅团（这两个旅团都是台籍日军），第9、第18师团等部。

As for the North China Front Army of the Japanese Army, certain rectifications have also been carried out. The new battle order is as follows:

Commander-in-Chief Toshiichi Terauchi, Chief of Staff Masazo Kawabe, Deputy Chief of Staff Akira Muto;

The 1st Army, Commander Lieutenant General Xiangyueqing Division, under the jurisdiction of the 7th and 17th Divisions;

The 2nd Army, Commander Lieutenant General Nishio Hisao, under the jurisdiction of the 10th and 14th Divisions;

The 9th Army (New), Commander Lieutenant General Otaka Kamezo, under the jurisdiction of the 5th and 15th Divisions

The troops directly under the front army: the 20th Division, the 5th Field Heavy Artillery Brigade and other departments.

In general, among the original 21 veteran divisions of the Japanese army (except for the 16th Division that has been wiped out), the Guards Division and the 1st Division are in the country, the 19th Division is in the Korean Peninsula, and the 4th Division is in the country. , The 8th Division is in Northeast China, and the remaining 15 are participating in the war against China.

Wartime disarmament, seemingly unreasonable, is actually a countermeasure of the Japanese army’s helplessness, because the Japanese army spent a huge amount of money in the war of aggression against China in the past eleven months. The consumption in combat far exceeds that in peacetime), so the Japanese army had to follow the "wartime route of elite soldiers", and adopted a new war strategy against China that was "tactically offensive and strategically defensive."

At this time, basically no one in the high-level Japanese army would advocate or believe that "China can be conquered quickly." The current strategic thinking of the high-level Japanese military is roughly divided into three types:

First, consolidate the existing occupied areas, gradually realize "war support war", consume with China, and consume China to death;

Second, consolidate the existing occupied areas, gradually realize "supporting war with war", slowly recover vitality and accumulate strength in one to two or three years, and then launch a large-scale, comprehensive, and strategic offensive against China ;

Third, consolidate the occupied areas, and gradually realize "supporting war with war". If it continues, the Chinese government will either be politically induced to surrender, or the Chinese government will be forced to surrender militarily, or it will be followed by Germany's diplomatic mediation and sufficient benefits for Japan. China truces.

The purpose of the first thought is "consumption", the purpose of the second thought is "war", and the purpose of the third thought is "talk".

But no matter which one it is, the premise is to "consolidate the existing occupied areas and gradually realize 'supporting war with war'". No matter which path it takes, Japan must have an absolute upper hand in the Sino-Japanese War.

Based on this kind of war thinking, the Japanese army gradually gave up attacking Nanjing, and adopted the strategy of "surrounding Nanjing without fighting, and turning offense to defense" to save precious troops and open up the Jinpu line, that is, to capture the important town of Xuzhou, launch the Battle of Xuzhou, and win Jiangsu The entire province (except Nanjing), if things go well, the Japanese army also plans to take over Anhui Province, Henan Province and other places that are relatively easy to win, so as to strengthen the Japanese army’s financial resources and capital consumed with China, or the military base for continued fighting with China , or a political bargaining chip to start negotiations with China.

In a nutshell, the Japanese army's next military plan is: give up fighting Nanjing, and use the few remaining national and military forces to fight Xuzhou.

In fact, the Japanese army was at the end of its battle at this time. The launch of the Xuzhou Battle was a flashback of the Japanese army at this time. The Japanese army still had its last breath left to fight Xuzhou. Let's start another big battle.

On June 6th, a transport plane flew to Nanjing under the protection of four fighter jets without showing any mountains or dews. A "Party and State Minister" got off the plane and came to look for Jiang Weiguo.

"Mr. Chen, please sit down!" Jiang Weiguo greeted Chen Bulei, the director of the Second Division of the Attendant Office and the deputy secretary-general of the Supreme National Defense Committee, who came from Wuhan alone in the office.

"Second son, I haven't seen you for more than half a year, and you are becoming more and more imposing! It is the waves of the Yangtze River that drive the waves ahead, and heroes have been born since ancient times! The chairman has such an amazing son like you, I am so happy for the chairman!" Chen Bulei smiled. cute.

"Mr. Chen is too much!" Jiang Weiguo smiled. He realized that Chen Bulei's visit to Nanjing was definitely not to visit him.

Chen Bulei is known as "the first pen of the Kuomintang", "the courage of the leader, and the brains of the president". He is one of the most trusted civilian officials in the National Government and the Kuomintang.

There is no doubt that Chen Bulei's coming to Nanjing was Chiang Kai-shek's intention, and it is very intriguing.

Jiang Weiguo didn't like to talk nonsense, and Chen Bulei didn't want to talk nonsense either. After the brief polite remarks, Chen Bulei went straight to the subject with a serious expression: "Second son, to tell you the truth, the chairman sent me to Nanjing, and the chairman asked me to come to Nanjing. .." He hesitated for a moment, "Let me ask for your opinion!"

"Ask for my opinion? Or do my ideological work?" Jiang Weiguo smiled. He knew that Chiang Kai-shek could contact him by telegram in Wuhan, but this time he specially sent a first-rank official over here. Obviously, the latter is more likely.

Chen Bulei smiled. He knew that although Jiang Weiguo was only 22 years old (one year old), he was mature enough to be a veteran.

After regaining his composure, Chen Bulei said in a low voice: "The Japanese special envoy Suzuki Kantaro is in Wuhan, and Germany has also sent many special envoys. Minister Wang (Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Nationalist Government Wang Chonghui) and Mr. Wang are negotiating with Suzuki and the others! "

"Wang Jingwei?" Jiang Weiguo's heart skipped a beat.

"Yeah!" Chen Bulei nodded, "Mr. Wang strongly supports the Sino-Japanese armistice, so he has great enthusiasm for it!"

"What's my father's attitude?" Jiang Weiguo asked calmly.

Chen Bulei looked at Jiang Weiguo and said slowly, "Support!"

Jiang Weiguo lit a cigarette: "Let's talk about the conditions of both sides!" In peace talks with Japan, Chiang Kai-shek's bottom line is to "temporarily" restore to before the July [-]th Incident, and Jiang Weiguo's bottom line is almost to restore to before the Sino-Japanese War, that is, The Japanese must completely withdraw from China. In addition to North China and East China, there are also Northeast China, Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula, the Ryukyu Islands, and southern Sakhalin Island.

Obviously, Jiang Weiguo's bottom line can be described as idiot's dream, but he really can't accept the return to before the July [-]th Incident.

Chen Bulei said earnestly and sincerely: "Second son, first of all, you have to understand that this Suzuki Kantaro is not an ordinary person. He used to be a member of the Japanese Navy and holds the rank of admiral of the Japanese Navy. , At the same time, he also won the trust and respect of Emperor Hirohito, and he is a senior elder in the Japanese military and political circles.

Suzuki hinted to us that he not only represents the Japanese government, but also represents the Japanese emperor, and at the same time represents the Japanese navy!" Suzuki Kantaro is indeed a veteran of the Japanese military and political circles. He was shot in the head, but miraculously survived. Because of that serious injury, he has been recuperating for the past few years. Although his body has recovered now, he has no official position yet, so he acts as the senior special envoy.