1932: Playing with the Japanese Communist Party with a doll

"Besides, we have a meeting tonight to collectively criticize, rectify, and purge counter-revolutionaries! We have to get the plan out as soon as possible today..." "Criticize... Criticize? Rectify? Purge??"

These few words made Cheng Xunxuan's scalp tingle, and he asked nervously: "Could it be that Chairman Li also wants to..."

“No, no…”

Compared to the past when Zhang Guotao mentioned "criticism" or "rectification" and so on, everyone would immediately tense up and their muscles would stiffen. This time, Shen Zemin and Gao Jingting seemed very relaxed:

"It's just criticism and self-reflection. It doesn't involve the things you think. What did the Chairman say? Criticism is for uniting comrades, recognizing mistakes, punishing past mistakes and encouraging future ones, and curing illnesses and saving lives, not for killing people."

"From the perspective of uniting comrades, criticizing their problems will further unite them. I see that this is Chairman Li's purpose."

"yes..."

Gao and Shen smiled at each other, and a harmonious atmosphere came over them. It didn't look like they were going to be criticized that night at all.

Cheng Xunxuan was a little dazed.

You know, the relationship between these two people in the past can’t be said to be very good;

Because Shen Zemin was much more radical than Gao Jingting in the "anti-counterrevolutionary" movement and the "attack on big cities" movement, and the two sides had very different views on some issues;

did not expect...

Go forward, come back soon!

Chairman Li may really be able to bring a new trend to Hubei, Henan and Anhui!

The 143rd Osaka Division is no wimp

April 1932, 4, Osaka, Japan.

A middle-aged man with a typical Japanese appearance, a heavy head and thick neck, and a short stature, led a group of officers to the gate of the camp, waiting respectfully. Half an hour later, the leading lieutenant general turned his head to a colonel beside him and asked:

"How long will it take for His Majesty Fujiwara to arrive?"

"According to the public schedule, His Highness should have completed the palace ceremony by now and is on his way. He'll arrive in five minutes at most." "Yes, all right. Pass the order down. All officers and soldiers must straighten their uniforms and present their best to greet His Highness!"

"ocean!"

Soon, everyone began to check themselves and each other, fearing that there would be even the slightest problem with their appearance, even the lieutenant general was no exception.

Although the person they were about to greet was only a major in terms of rank and position, he had a name before the rank and position of "major", which was "Fujiwara no Kanezane"! Or, now you should respectfully address him as "Hachimangu Kanezane-sama!"

Such a noble person is definitely one of the top figures in Japanese society. Except for a very few "nobles" such as His Majesty the Emperor, everyone else has to show respect to him.

Five minutes later, a black luxury car arrived in front of the officers. Everyone stood up solemnly to greet Fujiwara no Kanezane, who had just visited the Ishiyama Hachiman Shrine. The commander of the 5th Division, Terauchi Hisaichi, hurried over and opened the door for him, covering the bumper on the roof. He shouted:

“Your Highness!”

A tall, handsome young man jumped out of the car and enthusiastically shook the hand of his future boss. "Mr. Terauchi, I'm truly overwhelmed that you've bothered to greet me in person."

"...No, no, no, this is as it should be, Your Highness..."

Terauchi Juichi smiled with satisfaction and relief, thinking that this Fujiwara no Satoshi was indeed as respectful and humble as the legend said...

He was a lieutenant general after all, and treating his subordinates like this was indeed considered "flattering," so Fujiwara no Kanezane's "humble" response saved him some "face." But honestly, even without this "face," it wouldn't have mattered, because after all, the other person was called "Fujiwara no Kanezane."

Let's put it this way, the surname "Terauchi" in Terauchi Juichi was given to him because his ancestors had served the Fujiwara clan and the imperial family (especially the Fujiwara clan). (Although his father, Terauchi Masaki, was actually an adopted son of the Terauchi family, this is the inheritance system of adopted sons and sons-in-law in Japan.)

If a descendant of the Fujiwara clan was granted the title of "XX Temple XX", then they would be "Terauchi XX".

It goes without saying what the status of both parties is.

Putting aside this historical factor, just for what Fujiwara no Kaneshige had done in Manchuria some time ago, the entire Japanese nation was indebted to him, especially the Army, which benefited the most. Moreover, as the commander of the Osaka Division, Terauchi Hisaichi had to consider the opinions of his officers and soldiers at all costs.

In the Osaka Division, among all non-aristocratic officers and soldiers, over 60% were from farming families who rented land from the Fujiwara clan or were even "subjects" of the Fujiwara clan, and over 90% were from merchant families with business connections to the Fujiwara clan. If you were the commander of such a unit, how would you treat the Fujiwara clan, and the only future head of the Fujiwara clan?

Just look at the excited expressions on some of the young officers' faces.

Lieutenant General Terauchi is not stupid at all.

What happened next made Terauchi Hisaichi extremely grateful that he did not act like a superior.

As in previous instances, Fujiwara no Kanezane personally recognized all the officers who came to greet him, and accurately reported many of their "glorious deeds." The details of this process will be omitted to avoid criticism from critics that this is "padding information," "filling the word count," or "irrelevant to the main plot."

In short, with just this one move, Fujiwara Kanezane easily won the favor of most officers half an hour later. Quite a few of them had the same thought as the officers of the Second Division: Why isn't this our commander?

Oh, it's almost there now.

Terauchi Hisaichi was slightly aware of the thoughts and attitude changes of his officers, but he did not take it seriously.

Anyone could see that the Emperor had appointed Fujiwara no Kanezane as king in order to train him in the army, seek opportunities for promotion, and then gradually allow the royal family to gain real power in the army.

For Terauchi Juichi, who was already a lieutenant general, the 4th Division was just a small transition in his long career;

In this case, why should he offend a member of the royal family who will inevitably become an important official of the court and a pillar of the empire in the future for a little insignificant prestige and power? As for the newly appointed Chief of Staff of the 4th Division, Iseki Takamasa, he didn't care even more.

Although Fujiwara no Kanezane was nominally his direct subordinate, could he really treat him as a subordinate? Don't think that colonel is higher than major.

That evening, Terauchi Juichi hosted a grand welcome banquet for Fujiwara no Kanezane at the 4th Division headquarters. All officers of the rank of major and above were in attendance. Thus, Fujiwara no Kanezane officially joined the 4th Division as a major staff officer.

What kind of work do you usually do?

No.

He didn't even have to report for duty.

However, in order to truly observe this "loser division" that later became famous on the Japanese and Chinese internets, Ma still arrived at the training ground early every day to watch them train. Upon seeing them, he immediately realized that the so-called "loser division" circulating on the Internet was a complete lie.

The soldiers are strong and powerful, with bright eyes and nimble movements;

The troops were well-equipped, with complete chariots and horses, and a full range of guns and artillery;

The officers are well-trained, the command is proper, and the communication between the upper and lower levels is smooth.

You must know that this is not the fully equipped and staffed 4th Division that has been in operation for a long time since 1937, but an "unfinished unit"!

Of the four infantry regiments under the 4th Division, the new commander of the 8th Regiment (Osaka) has not yet arrived, and the commander of the 37th Regiment (Osaka) has just been transferred, so there is not even a new commander. The commanders of the 61st Infantry Regiment (Wakayama) and the 70th Infantry Regiment (Sasayama) were only transferred in August last year and February this year!

Oh, including the division commander Terauchi Hisaichi and chief of staff Iseki Takamasa and many other senior military officers, they also took office in January or February this year; it is no exaggeration to say that the current 4th Division is basically a "half-crippled division" and can be easily defeated by their own side five years later.

Even so, the current 4th Division was far superior to the Chinese forces Fujiwara Kanemitsu had witnessed in Shanghai, not to mention the footage of the Red Army soldiers transmitted back by the UMP45. Honestly, no one would have believed that either the Nationalist or the Red Army could defeat the Japanese. Without the memory of later generations, it would have been easy to assume that failure was inevitable.

In terms of physical fitness alone, they are far behind, not to mention military literacy and weapons and equipment.

...In fact, based on the information I've collected and compared to the information you've read online about the 4th Division during your time, it's almost certainly false. "Oh? Tell me about it?"

"The 8th Regiment, fearless of defeat, is a rumor created by the Japanese themselves. In fact, although the 8th Regiment did a lot of business in the Russo-Japanese War, its performance was also extremely outstanding, and it captured important cities..." "Try to escape the Battle of Nomonhan... In fact, the 2nd Division, especially the 4th Division, was stationed too far away and did not have time to rush to the battlefield, and the battle was already over.

There is no delay..."

"The 4th Division encountered Li Zongren's troops outside Xuzhou but did not attack them... The 4th Division was in the Northeast at the time and did not participate in the Battle of Xuzhou at all..."

"The Third Battle of Changsha was a crushing defeat for the Nationalist Army... During the Battle of Hengyang, soldiers feigned illness... It was the same problem. The 4th Division did not participate in this battle..."

"In other words, it's all just rumors?"

"Yes, rather than saying the Fourth Division is a coward, it's better to say they're more intelligent in fighting. Judging from the final results, they're actually no worse than any of the Type A divisions." After a pause, the agent continued:

"The various online rumors about the 4th Division are basically based on the article "Japan's Most Incompetent Division" by Japanese researcher Sassu. It's full of errors and omissions, and there's nothing new." "Yes, but those things deceived many people back then..."

Mark sighed deeply.

Even when he was young, he believed that there really was such a "good division" in Japan that "did not like fighting", "did not like invading", and "did not like killing".

But after recognizing the true nature of Japanese militarism, he realized with a little thought: if the Osaka Division was truly such a "coward," how could it have remained a Type A Division (a standing division)? After learning more about history, he realized that the Japanese Fourth Division had also committed countless atrocities in Northeast China, even more so than the Second Division.

Even if we take a step back and say that such a "coward" could defeat the Chinese army at that time, then who is the real coward?

It is really stupid and shameless to satisfy one's own pitiful sense of superiority by falsifying history and belittling the enemy's combat effectiveness.

The Osaka Division was not a coward. On the contrary, in Mark's eyes, it was precisely the rare "rationalists" in the Japanese army and the elites who truly knew how to fight.

Such elite forces are the ones that will make China and the Chinese military sleepless. Such elite forces must be completely under our control to be at ease...

144 Reduce rent and interest rates, you want to be the emperor!

Since he had decided to find a way to take the 5th Division into his possession, Fujiwara Kanezane basically never left the military base until May, and always mingled with officers and soldiers.

With his "noble status" and this respectful attitude, he naturally won everyone's love and respect easily.

I won't go into the specific details, but in short, what happened in the Second Division was basically repeated in the Fourth Division.

However, compared to the officers in Northeast China who were eager to kneel down and commit seppuku before Fujiwara no Kanezane (such as Shikano Shinichirō, who was in charge of security at the meeting), the officers and soldiers of the 4th Division gave him a completely different feeling. I respect you, I fear you, I love you, I obey you, I am willing to be friends with you... but I will never be so foolish as to die for you.

It seems that there are only three ways to truly and thoroughly control such an army:

One is absolute faith;

One is absolute violence;

One is absolute benefit.

Coincidentally, except for the first one, I have both. But the first one...

It can't be said that there is absolutely no such thing. "Dongmei..."

"Commander, if you call me Dongmei again, I will really beat you up."

"Okay, Dongmei, I got it. Anyway, ask Xiaohao about the situation. If possible, move the focus of the gangs and religions to Osaka and Kyoto..."

Putting aside the fact that the Yakuza, already a leading gang in Tokyo, has been growing rapidly recently (omitting the word "people"), and as expected, it has not attracted the attention of Japanese officials at all. This is partly because the sect is relatively small and has not caused any major incidents like the Japanese Communist Party, so it does not seem like a strange "conspicuous bag".

On the other hand, when people hear the name, they instinctively think it's a boring religious organization. If it's a religious organization, what's the point of caring about it?

Eight million gods in Japan, are you kidding me?

Let alone Kanto and Kansai, even in different blocks and houses in the same city, people worship different gods. How can the Japanese government have the energy to manage them one by one?

So, with no one to monitor or suppress it, and the Japanese Communist Party frantically attracting the attention of the government, military, and police, the "Almighty Church" expanded to nearly 1 followers in just one month. A mix of good and bad was inevitable, but that didn't matter. First, they needed to expand their scale and gain a certain amount of power to stir up trouble.

If this effect is seen in Tokyo, which is not the Fujiwara clan's headquarters, what about Osaka, where the Fujiwara clan holds great influence, or even Kyoto, where the Fujiwara clan originated?

The “revolutionary situation” is very good! “...Yes.”

The agent quickly gave G11 an order in the cloud map, consulted the situation, and received a reply:

...嵯娥浩, G11, and HK416 said they were leaving immediately, and would bring along some of the newly recruited investigators. "Oh... so soon?"

"It's just an inspection. Whether he can join or not, we need to observe for a while." "Hmm..."

Fujiwara no Kanezane nodded slightly.

Well, I'll leave the religious issues to be resolved later when I go to Northeast China. Now it's time to consider the issues of violence and interests. As for violence...

Fujiwara Kanezane glanced at the agent standing with her arms folded, her delicate arms, beautiful yet capable of killing an elephant with a single punch. Well, that was definitely not a problem.

Then all that's left is "interest".

"Agent, you hold the family's financial power. How many tens of thousands of dollars in land and business income does the Fujiwara clan earn annually in Kyoto and Osaka?"

"Yes, in the Kyoto area, land income is approximately 3800 million yen per year, commercial income is approximately 4900 million yen, of which rental income is approximately 1500 million yen;" "In the Osaka area, land income is approximately 1200 million yen per year, commercial income is approximately 8600 million yen, of which rental income is approximately 2100 million yen; and "other income totals approximately 1100 million yen..."

"The above data does not include basic expenses..."

".…."

To be honest, even though he was the heir to this huge fortune and a representative of the evil "landlord class" and "capitalists", Fujiwara no Kanezane still felt a little embarrassed. What is the gap between the rich and the poor?

This is called the gap between the rich and the poor.

Let’s not talk about the Japanese rickshaw pullers who earn 30-50 yen a month;

Not to mention the Japanese farmers who couldn't even get enough to eat wild vegetables and had to sell their children at the slightest disaster; just take the Japanese government at that time (historically), what was its total annual fiscal revenue?

About 19.5 billion yen for the whole year of 1932.

Therefore, the annual income of the Fujiwara clan alone exceeded 10% of the national fiscal revenue.

Although the Fujiwara clan was the largest noble family under the Japanese emperor, they had already distanced themselves from politics and were not able to enjoy many benefits. So, what about the other noble families who were active in politics?

Well, the royal family is actually the biggest landowner and richest person.

When Japan surrendered in 1945, the five-star emperor ordered people to count the assets of the imperial family and obtained a shocking figure:

Land accounted for 8% of the country's total area, forest land accounted for 8%, and total assets, including foreign stocks, were equivalent to approximately 160 billion yen, or approximately $10.6 billion. Even in the era of the yen's significant devaluation after the war, this was a huge amount of assets that would have tempted even General Mai.

也不怪麦大帅在1946年11月逼着日本第90次帝国会议通过了《财产税法》，要求“资产1000万日元以上收税90%"了。说白了，“合法抢钱"。

Fujiwara no Kanezane muttered inwardly for a moment, then asked:

".....Let's not talk about how we collect rent from merchants, but how do we collect rent from farmers?" "Uh...compared to other aristocratic landlords in Japan, it's relatively low, between 45-60%..."

Relatively...low...

Damn it, how can we run a good country with such insects?

Fujiwara no Kanezane now understood better why the teacher said, "The Japanese people have also been oppressed by Japanese militarism for a long time."