Age of Conquest Reborn

Japan's high-ranking military and political officials were once again summoned to the palace overnight to attend the imperial military meeting. Since the situation in Manchuria worsened, the imperial military meetings convened by His Majesty the Emperor have become as frequent as a daily occurrence, and the ministers of civil and military affairs are not surprised.

Yes, only

However, I have lost a lot of the sacred feeling in my heart. In the past, whoever was specially ordered by His Majesty the Emperor to attend the imperial meeting would be as lucky as the smoke coming out of the ancestral grave, worthy of a big celebration by the family and recorded in the genealogy.

Show off to future generations!

This time, Emperor Hirohito's imperial military meeting was not held as long and noisy as before, with noisy arguments. In fact, there was nothing to argue about. All kinds of strange tricks and ingenuity were used around the crisis in Manchuria.

They were used repeatedly, even at the expense of cutting off flesh and blood, and the Germans were asked to mediate. In the end, Guizhou was exhausted and all hopes were dashed. The German mediation failed. In Manchuria, the Kwantung Army had no choice but to fight.

Now that their respective efforts have failed, Emperor Hirohito has become more desperate. He did not give the ministers any time to speak. After reporting the failure of German mediation, he directly addressed the Minister of War and the Acting Chief of Staff of the headquarters.

General Koichi Yoneuchi said: "General Yoneuchi, in the name of the general staff of the base camp, immediately order the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army, General Nanjiro, to be mentally prepared for a life-and-death battle!"

"In the order, Nanjiro must be clearly told that it is better to be broken than to live in ruins. The more than one million Kwantung Army officers and soldiers on the battlefield in Manchuria must be determined to devote themselves to the Empire of Japan, even at the moment when all of them are broken.

, it will also cause heavy casualties to the troops of the Chinese demon Tang Qiuli. The warriors of the Yamato nation are not afraid of death, even when facing enemies several times their own!"

Even though Emperor Hirohito was the supreme commander of the Japanese army, he was definitely an amateur in fighting. This order was given in a confusing manner, causing the Kwantung Army to have more than one million people fighting for their lives. This is true, but there must be a direction and goal. How to fight?

Should we break out of the encirclement or hold on and fight to the last man?

Mineuchi Koichi naturally knew that His Majesty the Emperor was not good at this, playing tricks, plotting, and so on. He was definitely a super expert, but he couldn't talk about commanding wars. He said very humbly: "Your Majesty

,your decree

Once issued, it will surely inspire all officers and soldiers of the Kwantung Army. The courage to fight bloody battles with the enemy will also play an immeasurable role in boosting the morale of our Imperial Japanese soldiers. Your Majesty, please make it clear whether the Kwantung Army will break through the encirclement or fight decisively on the spot?

"

What Koichi Mineuchi said was spot on. It was to remind Hirohito that there are two ways to fight the Kwantung Army. One is to break out of the encirclement, and the other is to fight to the death on the spot. Emperor Hirohito was secretly grateful in his heart, and it was because of Mineuchi's understanding.

I mean. The heat is just right, but I really don’t know how to decide it specifically. It’s impossible for Koichi Yoneuchi to give a more explicit reminder. How incompetent does that look like?

"Well...this..." Emperor Hirohito pondered, and he was secretly anxious. A large group of ministers below were eagerly waiting for his holy will. Suddenly, a light flashed in his mind,

Reminds me of that guy Umezu Yoshijiro. In the memorial, there will be one soon.

Having made up his mind, he seemed to be confident and said: "I have made up my mind to break out! The Kwantung Army's troops in Western Manchuria immediately broke out toward Liaoxi. The assembly point was in the Huludao area of ​​​​Liaoxi and rendezvoused with the Kwantung Army's troops in western Liaoning.

, then, evacuate to the Korean Peninsula together!"

The foreign ministers below have all seen the memorial of Umezu Yoshijiro. After listening to His Majesty the Emperor's words, a strange feeling arose in their hearts. On the one hand, Umezu Yoshijiro was convicted and sent to the eighteenth level of hell.

On the one hand, I still adopted the suggestions in his memorial. So, is this unlucky guy Umezu a sinner or a hero? He is so confused that it can only be explained by the unfathomable nature of the Sacred Heart!

Koichi Mineuchi was afraid that His Majesty the Emperor would expose his military command, so he hurriedly bowed and loudly agreed: "Yes, Your Majesty, I will immediately convey His Majesty's orders to the Commander-in-Chief of the Kwantung Army, General Nanjiro!"

Of course, this is not the end. If the Kwantung Army in Western Manchuria succeeds in breaking through, rendezvous with the Kwantung Army in western Liaoning, and then withdraws to the Korean Peninsula, how will the sea route be taken? What flashes in Emperor Hirohito's mind is that of that unlucky guy Umezu.

memorial,

"Navy Minister Nagano Aiki, your navy immediately formed a fleet and recruited a large number of merchant ships to rush to Huludao Port in Liaodong Bay to cover the Kwantung Army troops that successfully broke through and cross the sea to gather on the Korean Peninsula!"

Navy Minister Nagano Osamu couldn't help grinning. It was easy to recruit merchant ships, but it would take a lot of effort to build a fleet. The main fleet of the navy was in the Eastern Pacific and Southwest Pacific, fighting against the U.S. Navy. What can be mobilized now is

There are only about 60 small-tonnage warships and gunboats. They were originally used for patrolling the mainland's offshore waters. They had no choice but to move to the front line!

From the bottom of his heart, Nagano Shuzan was not optimistic about forming a fleet and going deep into the Liaodong Bay of the Bohai Sea to meet and cover the retreat of the Kwantung Army troops. A patchwork fleet would not even have an aircraft carrier.

No, but it has to start from the mainland, pass through the Korean Strait, and go to the Liaodong Bay of the Bohai Sea in China. It is almost like a sheep entering a tiger's mouth. Can the independent division fleet and land-based aircraft fleet let go of this fleet that does not even have basic air defense capabilities?

However, Nagano Shuzan understood that His Majesty the Emperor was now desperate. If he brought these practical difficulties to the fore, he would openly oppose His Majesty the Emperor's strategy and sing the opposite tune. I am afraid that the Navy Minister would have to be replaced soon, but he was unwilling to do so.

, just order a fleet to die. Without fighter jets and anti-aircraft firepower, these small-tonnage warships are almost like living targets!

Nagano Osamu pondered for a while and said: "Your Majesty, the Navy very much supports your Majesty's wise decision. However, there is a practical difficulty. When the escort fleet and troop transport fleet evacuate Manchuria, they will inevitably be encountered in the waters around Liaodong Bay.

The interception by the Independent Division fleet and land-based aircraft fleet, if this is the case, wouldn’t the Kwantung Army troops already on board the ships suffer losses again after the bloody battle?”

What about escort air supremacy, the land-based aircraft fleet of the independent division? Emperor Hirohito didn’t quite understand the meaning of it, but as Nagano Shuzan, as the Minister of the Navy, his words must have some truth. Moreover, in this case, Nagano Shuzan

He didn't dare to be alarmist, so he looked at Koichi Mineuchi.

As soon as Miuchi Kou knew what Nagano Osamu meant and knew that he was telling the truth, he also did not want the Kwantung Army to suffer any losses at sea, so he said: "Your Majesty, Nagano-kun's words are absolutely reasonable. Your Majesty,

It means that the land-based air force and naval air force that can be mobilized in the mainland should be mobilized to form an escort group to escort the Kwantung Army's troops to successfully withdraw to the Korean Peninsula. Only in this way can the Kwantung Army's retreat be guaranteed to be foolproof!"

The Ministers of the Navy and the Army, who had never peed in the same pot and pinched each other when they met, rarely reached an unprecedented consensus on one thing. Emperor Hirohito was surprised and greatly gratified, "My two beloved ministers, can At this critical moment, I am very relieved to work together to share my worries. Well, I will authorize Yonei Aiki and Nagano Aiki to jointly be responsible for the retreat of the Kwantung Army. Do you have a plan? You two can decide on your own. , there is no need to report it to me!”

"I very much hope that my two dear friends will work together and come up with their own ingenuity to preserve a trace of the blood of the Kwantung Army for the Empire of Japan and me. Then my two dear ladies will contribute to the empire and to the present generation. Please!"

Emperor Hirohito also lowered his figure, stepped down from the Dragon Seat, and bowed deeply towards Koichi Yoneuchi and Shuzan Nagano. This frightened the two highly respected officials, who kept bowing and said in fear of choking. : "Your Majesty, it's time to kill me. It's your duty to serve His Majesty the Emperor and the Empire of Japan!"

After the meeting, Koichi Yoneuchi and Osamu Nagano, two political enemies, sat in the same car for the rare occasion. This made the civil and military officials who attended the meeting stunned. Weird things happen every year, but this year there were especially many. Two donkeys who had never been tied to the same trough actually sat in the same car and were very polite to each other. They were used to pinching each other when they met. The actions of Koichi Minai and Osamu Nagano made these officials think. Lian Lian!

In the car, looking out of the car window at the dimly lit streets of Tokyo, Miuchi took a deep breath and said straight to the point: "Nagano-kun, the naval escort fleet, from its formation to its arrival at Huludao in the Liaodong Bay, how long does it take in the shortest time?" How long?"

Nagano Shuzan was silent for a while, and answered affirmatively: "Munei-kun, the army and navy now share weal and woe and are one body. I will tell the truth. To form a fleet, we need to mobilize warships from all over the country, plus sailing time at sea. , at the earliest, it will take ten days before the fleet can reach Huludao in Liaodong Bay!"

"Okay!" Koichi Minai knew that Nagano Shuzan did not dare to play tricks at this time, "Nagano-kun, I will order the Kwantung Army troops to stay in the western Liaoning area for at least two weeks to give the navy sufficient preparation time!"

Koichi Yoneuchi's statement surprised Nagano Shuzan. He knew the weight of this promise. With enemies on all sides, the Kwantung Army would suffer more than tens of thousands of casualties every day it persisted. Koichi Mineuchi is using the lives of Kwantung Army soldiers to buy time for the navy!

For the first time, a hint of emotion surged in Nagano Shuzan's cold heart, "Munei-kun, I will order the fleet to arrive at Huludao in Liaodong Bay as quickly as possible, within ten days, and strive to arrive within a week. , The Kwantung Army is also the army of the empire, and the navy has no reason to make these brave imperial soldiers pay a higher price for its own reasons!"

"Work hard!" The hands of Koichi Minai and Shuzan Nagano were tightly held together. It's been years since the two ministers in charge of the empire's army and navy had shaken hands!

(To be continued)