I am Jiang Weiguo in World War II

Colonel He Bian said in horror, "Your Excellency, is it really impossible to stop the war?"

Major General Shi Yuan neither shook his head nor nodded, but said with a bitter expression: "It's God's will, so what can we do?"

After the July [-]th Incident broke out, the high-level Japanese army was divided into two distinct factions on how to deal with it. Ishihara Kanji, Kawabe Torashiro, Shibayama Kenshiro and others strongly advocated that the incident should not be expanded, and the incident should be resolved through peaceful talks. Prince Gong Zaijin was also more inclined not to expand, but a large number of military officers represented by Akira Muto, Shinichi Tanaka, and acting chief of the Second Department of the General Staff Headquarters Kasahara Yukio Dasa strongly advocated expansion and a full-scale war, and was supported by the Minister of War General Sugiyama Moto's full support.

At first, the two factions were evenly matched, and they were in dispute. However, the new development of the situation in North China caused the "Zhuhe faction" to suffer a major setback, because the Chinese army, which won the battle of Wanping City, made persistent efforts and launched a full-scale counterattack against the Japanese army in Pingjin, attacking Fengtai District overnight. The Japanese army, the Li Mingzhuang Japanese army, and the Haiguangsi Japanese army had the momentum to wipe out the Japanese troops stationed in North China. The supporters of the "Harmony faction" decreased rapidly, while the supporters of the "Major War faction" increased rapidly. Even Prince Zairen of Xianyuan Palace, the highest-ranking member of the "Harmony faction", changed his position.

"The Chinese army is too arrogant! They actually eat their marrow and know their tastes and look forward to Shu. Do they really think that our Great Japanese Empire is weak and can be bullied? If the empire compromises and retreats, let alone the loss of interests, wouldn't it be a shame for the empire and the imperial army? Sweeping the floor? Isn’t His Majesty’s supreme majesty completely gone? How can the empire not avenge such a shameful humiliation and bloody enmity?" After saying these words angrily, Prince Xianyuan Gong Zairen changed his mind and changed into " Diehard supporters of the main battle faction.

The bad news that the garrison troops were wiped out by the Chinese army shocked and angered all the high-level Japanese troops.

The army of our country was annihilated by the enemy country and suffered unprecedented heavy losses in the process of picking quarrels and provoking troubles. Two completely different situations will arise. Arrogant, the second is that the country's government and the country's military feel enraged and decide to intensify their efforts to retaliate comprehensively.

Obviously, Japan will be the latter.

It was precisely because Major General Ishihara realized this that he was disheartened. He knew that the strategic plan he worked so hard on would be in vain.

The trend of the times, and the powerlessness to recover, made Major General Ishihara feel deeply physically and mentally exhausted.

At this time, the Japanese army had four major military groups outside the mainland, namely: the North China Garrison Army, the Korean Army, the Taiwan Army, and the Kwantung Army.

After learning of the "accident" of the North China Garrison, the Taiwan Army had just been established and had no time to take care of others, so it did not express its position. The North Korean Army and the Kwantung Army responded quickly, and the statements of the two armies were surprisingly consistent.

General Kenkichi Ueda, Commander-in-Chief of the Kwantung Army, and Lieutenant General Hideki Tojo, Chief of Staff, immediately submitted a report to the Tokyo Headquarters. The troops are ready to attack at any time," and the Kwantung Army General Command publicly stated that "because of the provocation of the violent Chinese army, a major incident occurred in North China. The Kwantung Army is paying close attention to this incident with great concern and determination. Development", this statement is full of strong intimidation and war-seeking meaning. At the same time, General Ueda also sent Major Masanobu Tsuji, a combat staff officer, to the headquarters of the Garrison Army to convey to Lieutenant General Tashiro that "the Kwantung Army is the strong backing of the Garrison Army" attitude of support But because the Garrison Army was quickly defeated and wiped out, Masanobu Tsuji did not have time to go. As for the Garrison Army in Korea, its attitude was completely the same as that of the Kwantung Army. General Namjiro, Governor of North Korea, and Lieutenant General Koiso Kunizaki, Commander-in-Chief of the Garrison Army in North Korea expressed their support for the Garrison Army , wrote a letter to the Tokyo headquarters, requesting the emperor to issue a "sacred judgment", and the commander of the 19th Mountain Artillery Regiment of the 25th Division of the Korean Army Garrison Takashi Tanaka couldn't wait.

The attitudes of the Kwantung Army and the Army Garrisoned in North Korea strongly support a full-scale war against China.

Going to war is the attitude of the Japanese military.

When Major General Ishihara, Osamu Kawabe, and Osamu Shibayama, among the few "peacemakers" who looked at each other silently and silently amidst the clamor of the "battle faction", the current Japanese Prime Minister Konoe Fumimaro He was anxiously receiving Lieutenant Ikeda Junjiu, Chief of Staff of the Temporary Operations Section of the North China Garrison, who had just rushed back from China.

The reason why Fumimaro Konoe attaches so much importance to Ikeda Junhisa, a lieutenant officer, is because he is very eager to know the truth of the "North China Incident".

Konoe Fumimaro is the prime minister and the head of the government, so he is naturally not informed about what the army is doing. What's more, both the Kwantung Army and the Garrison Army have a "fine tradition" of deceiving others, making their own decisions, and acting without authorization. , What happened to these front-line troops, let alone government officials like Konoe Fumimaro, even the high-level military officials who directly manage those troops will be at a loss, and the most troublesome thing is that if the soldiers do something, it will inevitably lead to If it becomes a major political and diplomatic trouble, it must be government officials like Konoe Fumimaro who deal with these troubles.

To put it bluntly, the frontline troops of the army caused troubles far away from Tokyo and the Emperor Tiangao, and government officials like Fumimaro Konoe had to clean up their asses and clean up the mess. Telling the truth to government officials made Konoe Fumimaro and other government officials very passive in politics and diplomacy.

On the night of the July [-]th Incident, Konoe Fumimaro wrote very simply in his diary, "Our side is a little suspicious."

Although the news media wantonly swayed their lips and tongues, turned black and white, and pushed the responsibility for provoking troubles and even wars to the Chinese army, describing the Chinese army as "sores on the top of the head and pus on the soles of the feet-it's really bad." , describing the Japanese army as pure and innocent as a little girl who was forced into an alley by bullies. This trick of pointing a deer into a horse and confusing right and wrong can only deceive ordinary people and the mindless middle-level officers and soldiers in the army. The high-level government officials in China definitely don't like this.

After the July [-]th Incident, Konoe Fumimaro and many other high-level Japanese government officials suspected that "the garrison troops wanted to follow the example of the Kwantung Army and create a second 'September [-]th Incident' in North China."

Konoe Fummaro really wants to know what the intensified "North China Incident" is like. Ikeda Junhisa is a middle-level and senior officer in the garrison army, and he has a very good personal relationship with Konoe Fummaro, so his statement is to let Konoe Fummaro most believable.

Ikeda Junhisa belonged to the "Ishihara Waner School". He was on the front line in North China and had a deep understanding of the situation in North China and China. Therefore, he strongly advocated not to expand. After the incident, Masanobu Tsuji called Ikeda Junhisa, Claiming that the Kwantung Army could dispatch bombers to assist the Garrison Army, Ikeda Junjiu replied: "If your Kwantung Army dares to dispatch bombers, our Garrison Army will dare to dispatch fighter jets to shoot down your bombers!" The long-term efforts were in vain.

"Ikeda-kun, are you still fighting?" After the meeting, Konoe Fumimaro looked nervous and blamed, "You soldiers are too troublesome for the government! That's how it was in Manchuria back then, and it was safe and sound. Now you are doing this again in North China!"

Ikeda Junhisa sighed with a wry smile: "Your Excellency, our soldiers are indeed to blame, but don't you, Prime Minister, also be responsible?"

"Me?" Konoe Fumimaro was very surprised, "What responsibility do I have?"

Ikeda Junhisa took out a stack of newspapers from his briefcase: "Your Excellency, you see, although the government keeps talking about peace talks to resolve the incident, it tacitly allows domestic newspapers to fan the flames and agitate the people. "

Konoe Fumimaro was speechless for a moment, and he began to regret his indirect connivance of military radicals.

When the July 46th Incident broke out, Konoe Fumimaro became the Prime Minister of Japan for only one month and three days. At this time, he was at the pinnacle of his happy life. Enji Gongwang, and he is only [-] years old this year, known as the "Youth Prime Minister", the political circles, the military, and the public are very optimistic about him, and at the same time, he also has a noble blood, even Emperor Hirohito is very satisfied with him, However, just because he is too complacent, he is too rejoicing, and only cares about doing things that are applauded by all walks of life. Therefore, in a delicate state, he is led by the nose by the military, and he creates a kind of gentleness to the outside world. , The impression of "enlightened and weak" who is indifferent to fame and fortune.

Because of his weakness, or his ability to protect himself wisely, Fumimaro Konoe did not dare to disobey the military's will, and thus became a puppet tool controlled by the military intentionally or unintentionally.

Konoe Fumimaro only thought about not offending the military and winning the favor and support of the military, but in essence he became an accomplice of the military.

"Ikeda-kun..." After hesitating for a while, Konoe Fumimaro asked Ikeda Junhisa in a begging tone, "Now...is there any room for easing or maneuvering?"

Ikeda Junhisa sighed sadly: "The garrison army was almost wiped out, and more than 1 imperial soldiers were wiped out by the Chinese army. Under such circumstances, Prime Minister, do you think the military and the general public who are already jealous are still willing Do you accept peace talks? At this moment, if you insist on a peaceful settlement despite the displeasure of the world, then...you will be no different from a traitor in the eyes of the general public, and...the military will not continue to support you, even the military Those radicals in Fangli will still... Prime Minister, have you forgotten what happened to Prime Minister Hamaguchi, Prime Minister Inuyang, Prime Minister Takahashi, Prime Minister Saito, and Prime Minister Okada?"

Konoe Fumimaro suddenly had goose bumps all over his body, and cold sweat flowed from the back of his spine into his buttocks.

The people Ikeda Junhisa mentioned are the predecessors of Konoe Fumimaro, namely the 27th Prime Minister Yuyuki Hamaguchi, the 29th Prime Minister Inukai Takeshi, the 29th Acting Prime Minister Takahashi Kokyoshi, and the 30th Prime Minister Saito In fact, the 31st Prime Minister Okada Keisuke (Kone Fumimaro was the 34th Prime Minister), these five people were assassinated because they were considered by the military to be "weak factions or traitors", except for Okada Keisuke who survived the disaster and escaped. , and the remaining four died in the assassination of military radicals.

After Ikeda Junhisa left, Konoe Fumimaro thought about which side he should stand in the "North China Incident" in horror. The more he thought about it, the more he shuddered. He understood one thing: the military basically advocated Those who start the war, especially those fanatics and radicals, whoever opposes the start of the war will become a thorn in their side, a thorn in the flesh, and even a target to get rid of. He did not dare to say "no" to the military that advocated war. In that case, he would not only stand in front of the general trend of war, but he himself might lose his life.

"Let's fight! There's nothing to fear in China anyway, the military is the real fear! If I disobey their wishes, it will be hard to say what will happen to me. However, if I support them vigorously, not only can I avoid death, but also get their continued support.

With the support of the military, my position will definitely be more stable!" In the end, Konoe Fumimaro came to this conclusion.

Because of selfishness and the power of the military, Japanese Prime Minister Konoe Fumimaro became a "firm" main fighter.

Chapter 143 Mishima Earthquake (3)

When the July [-]th Incident broke out, the high-level Japanese military and political circles were still in the midst of war and uncertainty. However, with the news of the annihilation of the entire garrison army and the triumphant advance of the Chinese army and a full-scale counterattack, a large number of peacemakers transformed into the main force. War faction.

The Army Chief of Staff Prince Xianyuan Gong Zairen originally signed the Army Instruction No. 400, requesting the garrison troops to "avoid further use of force in order to prevent the incident from being expanded." Clean and tidy, Prince Zairen tore up the document in shame, anger and anger, and at the same time shouted angrily: "Since the Chinese army is so vicious and vicious, it would be unreasonable for the imperial army not to fight back in full?" Minister of the Army Sugiyama Gen. Ordering all soldiers who are about to be discharged in the western part of Japan to postpone their discharge for two years, this move has left about [-] well-trained and elite veterans in the army's regular army.

On the afternoon of July 7, the Japanese government cabinet held a temporary emergency meeting. The theme of the meeting was what measures Japan should take after the "North China Incident".

At the beginning of the meeting, General Sugiyama Moto said sternly: "The imperial army was attacked and killed by the Chinese army for no reason, and countless people died! No matter what international agreement it is based on, the imperial army has the right to counterattack in an all-round way! Could it be that the cabinet hopes that the military will swallow their anger like a tortoise? No way! Soldiers can be killed, not humiliated! The Imperial Army has suffered such a great humiliation, if China is not allowed to pay a sufficient price, what face will the Imperial Army have!" As he spoke, he threw out a stack of documents, and it was he who ordered the Army Ministry and the General Staff Headquarters to jointly The "Agreement on Operations in Northern China" was formulated.

Seeing General Sugiyama Moto's murderous look, full of ferocious expressions on his face, all the cabinet officials were silent and did not dare to object, and then all turned their attention to Prime Minister Konoe Fumimaro.

Under the eyes of everyone, Fumimaro Konoe looked at General Sugiyama Moto in fear, and seeing General Sugiyama Moto staring at him almost fiercely, he shivered, and then said bravely: "The Chinese army Unprovoked provocations and long-planned wars have caused heavy casualties to the Chinese garrison troops of the Imperial Army. The Chinese government must take full responsibility, apologize, compensate, and punish the perpetrators. However, the current attitude of the Chinese government is still stubborn and arrogant. Under the last resort, it is very necessary to exert military pressure or even military strikes on China.

In order to obtain an apology from China and a long-term guarantee for the interests of the empire and peace in East Asia, the military's proposal of 'increasing troops in North China and taking decisive and necessary measures', of course the cabinet is..." He swallowed, "Of course I fully support it!"

Immediately, there was an uproar at the scene, cabinet officials whispered and discussed, and General Sugiyama Moto was overjoyed.

Fumimaro Konoe knew that as soon as his words came out, he was tantamount to standing with the military completely, so he simply broke the jar, raised his tone sharply, and said with a generous and indignant look: "If the Chinese government is still stubborn and stubborn The only way for the empire to launch an all-out war is to deal a heavy blow to the Chinese army and completely destroy the Chinese military power..."

"Okay!" General Sugiyama Moto-chan couldn't help but blurt out his cheers with elation. What he dislikes the most is "the cabinet gang of sour talents doing stupid things that are short-sighted and a frog in a well." Fang, then the Japanese army's plan to attack China on a large scale will lose one of the biggest and most important obstacles.

Seeing that the prime minister expressed his support for the military, all the cabinet officials at the scene followed the wind and expressed their support for the military over and over again.

At the end of the meeting, Gendai Sugiyama returned with satisfaction and a full reward.

Only one hour after the temporary emergency meeting of the cabinet ended, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Land (Minister of War), the Minister of the Sea (Minister of the Navy), the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Minister of Foreign Affairs/Minister of Foreign Affairs), and the Minister of Tibet (Minister of Finance/Minister of Finance) held non-stop meetings The "Five-Phase Conference" was held, and the "final countermeasures" for the "Northern China Incident" were re-determined.

Among the five prime ministers, Marine Minister Mitsumasa Yonei is noncommittal (Mitsumasa Yonei is a moderate and anti-war faction). Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe, Prime Minister Lu Prime Minister Gen Sugiyama, Foreign Minister Koki Hirota, and Prime Minister Kaya Konobu reached a consensus: Immediately increase the number of troops on the Pingjin front, forcing the Chinese government to accept "the complete withdrawal of troops from the Pingjin area, the defense of Hebei Province, Chahar Province, and Suiyuan Province will be jointly borne by the Japanese and Chinese militaries, compensate the Japanese side for all losses, publicly apologize, and punish the Chinese side. The main commanders of the troops participating in the war formally recognize the six conditions of "Manchukuo". If the Chinese government refuses to accept these six conditions, then Japan will use military force to force the Chinese government to accept them all.

The result of this "five-phase meeting" is equivalent to the strategy toward China formulated jointly by the Japanese military and the Japanese government.

According to this strategy, China must "cede" to Japan the three provinces and two cities of Hebei, Chahar, Suiyuan, Beiping, and Tianjin, and at the same time recognize the puppet Manchukuo. The appetite of Japan has two points, one is to thoroughly consolidate Japan's legal control over the puppet Manchukuo, and the other is to substantively control North China.

Objectively speaking, the top military and political leaders of Japan did not fully intend to invade China in an all-round way, but the five ministers participating in the meeting knew very well that once the war broke out, the situation would be out of control and out of control. Almost 100% of the wide-open Japanese frontline troops will continue to attack Central China and East China.

So far, the anti-war voices in the Japanese military and the Japanese government are almost inaudible. Even the appeals of a few calm people are completely submerged in the boiling cries of killing from the Japanese military and political circles and even the whole of Japan.

On the morning of July 7, the Japanese government held an emergency cabinet meeting again. At the meeting, the army’s proposal to increase troops was unanimously approved, thus formally deciding on a plan to mobilize for war in the country and send troops to North China. The proposal of the "Statement" was also approved.

Two hours later, the No. 56 and No. 57 orders of the Japanese Army Staff Headquarters flew to the Kwantung Army General Command and the Korean Army General Command through radio waves at the same time. The core of the content is two words: prepare for war.

The Japanese Army Garrison in North China was dead in name only at this time. Since the Garrison Army was almost completely annihilated, the General Staff Headquarters, fearing that the bad news would cause too much negative impact, deliberately blocked the news from the public, falsely claiming that "although the Garrison Army was attacked by the despicable and shameless Chinese Army, However, in order to peacefully resolve this incident, they made the maximum concessions, and after inflicting heavy damage on the Chinese army, they voluntarily withdrew from Pingjin and retreated to northern Hebei. Therefore, the General Staff Headquarters did not dare to cancel the designation of the Garrison Army, but announced the formation of the "Northern China Dispatch Army" based on the "China Garrison Army", and appointed the Director of Education, General Toshiichi Terauchi, as the first commander of the "Northern China Dispatch Army". And troops were drawn from the Kwantung Army and the Korean Army to be incorporated into this "North China Dispatch Army" (North China Dispatch Army/North China Front Army).

Due to the "one heart and one mind" of high-level military and political circles, the Japanese government is extremely efficient in handling affairs.

On the night of July 7, the Japanese government officially issued a statement on the July 11th Incident. The statement confused right and wrong, shifted all responsibility to the Chinese army, and then pretended to claim that "the imperial army defended the dignity of the empire, the imperial interests, and the safety of the lives of the imperial nationals in China, they had to be forced to take legal and legitimate self-defense measures, urging the Chinese government to return from the wrong way, so as to restore the goodwill between Japan and China and peace in East Asia.”

"Within one month, flatten North China! Within three months, wipe out China!"

There were bursts of wild words and clamor in the Japanese military circles, immersed in an extremely fanatical and exciting atmosphere.

A large number of mid- and low-level military officers went to the Ministry of Army, the General Staff Headquarters, and even the Emperor's Palace to kneel down and petition to "join the imperial army on the expedition to China."

"All-out war on China!"

"Punish Violent China!"

"Break through Nanjing!"

"Fat horses and swords have not yet been paid, how long has the emperor's grace been bathed in emptiness? The buckets have been drunk and dreamed, and they have broken through the four hundred states of China!" All over Tokyo, the middle and low-level officers and soldiers of the Japanese army held swearing-in rallies time and time again. , The responders gathered, shouting for war.

Jiang Zuobin, the ambassador of the Nationalist Government to Japan, expressed his views in a telegram to Nanjing: "...a full-scale war between China and Japan is inevitable. Although the Japanese high-level leaders are still indecisive or pretending to be indecisive, the Japanese military and civilians strongly support it. To start a war against China, the whole of Japan is immersed in an extremely fanatical and irrational atmosphere. It can be said that the war against China is completely what the people in Japan want. Mutiny' and the like are above events!"

Objectively speaking, even if the high-level Japanese military and government "sincerely love peace", they must go to war, otherwise, they will be assassinated by a large number of fanatical and mindless radicals. Japan has been shrouded in extremely violent social emotions.

"Spending troops to China on a large scale is definitely not what the empire likes. The empire of Japan has always been committed to maintaining the goodwill between Japan and China and peace in East Asia. However, the Chinese Nationalist government and the North China local army ignored the sincerity of the empire and repeatedly provoked and provoked incidents for no reason. To fall into the interests of the empire and the empire's nationals in China is in an unprecedented predicament and danger, and to deliberately undermine the goodwill between Japan and China and the overall situation of peace in East Asia, which is really an insult to the Empire of Japan.

The empire's forbearance has reached its limit, and it has no choice but to take decisive measures.

The empire had no choice but to take decisive measures to clean up the chaotic situation in North China, punish the violent Chinese army, and prompt the national government to reflect..." When Konoe Fumimaro issued this high-sounding statement, Chief of Staff Kanin Miyazai Prince Ren and the Minister of War, Gen. Sugiyama, are meeting with a man of extraordinary status. In the hearts of 7000 million Japanese, he is by no means an ordinary person, but a descendant of God, the incarnation of God's blood left in the world.

In the minds of the Japanese, this person is supreme, sacred and infinite, and the only one who respects me.

In a dark inner hall of the Imperial Palace in Chiyoda District, Tokyo, Prince Zaijin and General Sugiyama Moto are bowing respectfully and tremblingly towards a 35-year-old man wearing glasses and a tall figure sitting on a high seat opposite them. A thin, weak-tempered young man with peaceful facial features and a nondescript expression salutes.

This man is the supreme ruler of the Japanese Empire - the 124th emperor, Hirohito.

Prince Zain and General Sugiyama Genda, who are ready for everything, are now taking the final steps to obtain the "sacred will" of the Emperor.

After listening to the military reports of Prince Zaihito and General Sugiyama Gen with a calm expression, Emperor Hirohito closed his eyes slightly and fell silent.

After a long time, he spoke calmly and slowly: "Since the imperial army must be dispatched on a large scale to resolve the 'Northern China Incident', can the military be sure to fully control the development of the situation within a controllable range? "

General Sugiyama Moto said with a radiant expression: "Your Majesty can rest assured on this point! I dare to guarantee His Majesty with the head of the project. As long as His Majesty's holy will makes a ruling, the Imperial Army is [-]% sure to completely solve the 'Northern China' within a month." incident'!"

Emperor Hirohito remained calm and noncommittal: "What if the incident expands to the whole of China?"

General Gen. Sugiyama's tone was almost decisive: "Even if the incident spreads to the whole of China, the Imperial Army is fully confident that the 'China Incident' will be completely resolved within three months!"

Emperor Hirohito turned his head to look at Prince Zaihito: "What if the Soviet Union, the United States and other international powers intervene in this matter?"

Prince Zairen replied: "Your Majesty, please rest assured on this! The empire did not officially declare war on China, but just took the opportunity to resolve the incident and sent troops decisively. The war is not completely war. The imperial government and the China government will fight together. While talking, on the one hand, it can paralyze and deceive the Chinese government, and on the other hand, it can also confuse and disrupt the international powers!"

General Gen. Sugiyama immediately added: "What's more, the imperial army is making rapid progress. If it is fast, it will take one month or three months to settle the situation. Even if the Soviet Union and the United States intend to intervene, the situation will be done by then. It should also be helpless!"