The Rise of the Third Reich

"Baga! How rude, you actually treat the empire as a vassal!"

"The Pacific is Japan's Pacific, it is not the Germans' turn to dictate!"

"Ignore Germany, the empire can win on its own!"

"Yes, the lifeline of Manchuria must never be given up, and the empire's armaments do not require German intervention..."

After receiving the telegram from Berlin from Japan's "Special Envoy for Assistance", a group of army red deer gathered in the Prime Minister's residence immediately jumped to their feet.

The Germans did not want to aid Japan. They simply treated Japan as a subordinate and commanded them. They did not even have the status of Italy and were reduced to a status similar to that of the United Kingdom (mainland) and France.

What is even more hateful is that Germany did not support Japan in seeking trouble with the Soviet Union, but instead asked Japan to go all out to defend the Pacific. In this case, where will Japan's mainland army be placed? Is there a continental army in the world that guards hundreds of broken islands? This is simply a naval battle!

Therefore, the Omakas of the Army Control Faction together with Tojo Omaka were all summoned to the Prime Minister's residence in Nagata Town to discuss how to fight the Germans.

Seeing a room full of people shouting fiercely, but there was definitely no way to do anything about it, Tojo was a little upset. He was about to announce that the meeting was adjourned, but suddenly he saw a person in the room who didn't jump or scold, but just squinted his eyes as if there was something wrong. Thinking guy.

Of course, this person is Lieutenant General Ishihara Kanji, the deputy chief of the General Staff Headquarters who thinks that his strategy is unique in the world.

"Ishihara-kun," As soon as Tojo opened his mouth, the other big deer in the room immediately shut up and became quiet. "What do you recommend?"

"Yes!" Ishihara Wanji nodded and said, "Your Excellency Prime Minister, in fact, the strategy proposed by the Germans is unpleasant, but it is one of the two major ways out for our empire. Concentrate on defense with all your strength and risk your life... If The American monsters must be a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood. In the end, they were afraid of casualties and negotiated peace with me. "

"Baga!"

"Ishihara-kun, what are you talking about?"

"My empire's invincible army and navy..."

Halfway through Ishihara's words, someone in the room was already yelling. Tojo coughed, and the big red deer all shut up, and then looked at Ishihara smiling angrily.

Ishihara ignored everyone and just said to himself: "Although the empire may lose the interests of Manchuria, millions of square kilometers of fertile land in Southeast Asia can be preserved, and we can be regarded as national heroes."

"What about the second way out?" Tojo asked.

Ishihara smiled and said with squinted eyes: "It means making a separate peace with the United States and abandoning the Axis countries!"

As soon as these words came out, there was a dead silence in the room, and everyone looked at Shi Yuan blankly. After a while, Chief of Staff "Fool Yuan" reacted first and asked: "Ishihara-kun, do you mean that we will stop fighting with Germany and switch to the side of the United States? Is this possible?"

"Yes!" Ishihara Wanji said thoughtfully, "If the empire directly intervenes, it may be difficult to succeed. But with the Soviet Union's mediation, there is still a guarantee of success. Now that the Soviet Union's western front is tight, it must hope to concentrate the full strength of the United States and the Soviet Union to attack Germany. Therefore, we must do our best to promote peace negotiations. Even if we propose to solve the Manchuria issue, Stalin will definitely agree.

And we are not asking for peace in vain. We can also offer the Hawaiian Islands and the Aleutian Islands in exchange... Now we have 200,000 troops stationed in the Hawaiian Islands. If the United States wants to take it by force, it will have to kill millions of people!

I think President Roosevelt cannot but consider the domestic dissatisfaction caused by excessive casualties, right? "

This statement sounds quite reasonable! Even Tojo Hideki, who was not very fond of Ishihara, nodded frequently.

"Ishihara-kun," Tojo Hideki finally asked, "if you were given the choice, which path should the empire take?"

Ishihara Wanji sighed softly and said: "Of course it is the first way out."

Tojo was stunned, "Why?"

When Ishihara heard this, he smiled bitterly and said, "Because although the first way out is costly, it can bring long-term peace to the empire.

First of all, the Empire fights together with Germany and the Axis countries, and they will definitely become staunch allies after the war; secondly, the warriors of the Empire are fearless in death, fight against the United States, and kill millions of enemies, which will definitely make the United States fearful; thirdly, the withdrawal of the Empire Manchuria is actually benefiting China, and may become an ally. From now on, the two yellow powers will be close friends with each other, and they can resist the Soviet Union and Germany in the west and the United States in the east. Therefore, in my opinion, this is the best policy! "

"What if we choose the second way out?" Tojo asked again.

Ishihara replied: "Although the war against the United States can be ended in the short term, in the long run the Empire will face four major crises. First, if the Empire abandons Germany and the Axis countries, they will be regarded as enemy invaders after the war; Secondly, the imperial country is afraid of the strength of the United States and violates morality and beauty. The United States will definitely despise the imperial country. Once virtue and virtue are harmonious, it will definitely wait for an opportunity to retaliate against our imperial country; thirdly, the Soviet Union is ambitious and wants to conquer the world. This westward expansion has been thwarted. Japan will definitely try to invade the east, and our imperial country will be the first to bear the brunt. Fourthly, if the imperial country wants to solve the Manchuria issue, it will have to fight with China. Although China is large and not strong, it has a large population and political unity. If it gets the secret support of the United States, Russia and Germany, We will definitely be able to fight against the Imperial Kingdom for a long time. If this is the case, the Imperial Kingdom will have no friends in the four seas, and all the countries in the world will be our enemies. This is really a bad idea."

After finishing speaking, Ishihara Wan'er and all the red deer in the room all looked at Tojo Big Red Deer, as if waiting for him to come up with an idea. Tojo Hideki frowned, as if he was thinking hard. After an unknown amount of time, the leader of the Japanese Army suddenly laughed.

"Haha, Ishihara-kun still has some ideas." Tojo said, "But in my opinion, the Imperial Kingdom may not have only two ways out, and the Imperial Kingdom currently has the upper hand in the Pacific. There is no need to rush to seek peace, let alone Think about it."

This time it was Ishihara Wanji's turn to be stunned. In his opinion, there were only two ways out for Japan, either to listen to Germany and go to war with the United States, or to make peace with the United States while it still had the strength and chips in hand. Where is the third way out?

Tojo Hideki glanced at a room full of Army giants, rubbed his bare head and said, "That's the end of today's meeting. Let's adjourn."

…

After finishing the meeting at the Prime Minister's residence, Hideki Tojo went straight to the residence of Prince Zaihito at Kanin Palace.

Prince Kanin Miyazaihito is an elder of the Japanese royal family and the army. When he was young, he studied at the Saint-Cyr Military Academy in France, the Black Knights Cavalry School in Saumur, and the French Army University. After returning to China, he participated in the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War. In 1919, he was promoted to the Marshal's Office. In March 1921, he accompanied the then regent Crown Prince Hirohito on a trip to Europe, and arranged for Hirohito to meet with Nagata Tetsuzan, Okamura Neiji and others. Tojo Hideki was also present at the time, but he was not qualified to meet Hirohito. Watch the door.

It can be said that the ruling faction that is now prosperous in Japan's political and military circles was single-handedly supported by Prince Kanin Miya Zaihito. At the same time, he was also a "pro-German" who fully supported the Japan-Germany alliance.

Originally, Gen Sugiyama's position as commander-in-chief was his, but on the eve of the war with the United States, Emperor Hirohito was afraid that the imperial family would be held accountable if the war was defeated, so he and the other naval officer, Prince Fushimi Miyahiro, resigned and retreated behind the scenes. . And pushed the ruling military leaders like Tojo and naval elites like Yamamoto to the front.

Although big red deer like Tojo Hideki cannot be said to be puppets in the hands of the "Ryonomiya", they still have to listen to their opinions on major matters involving national policy - in fact, Kanin Palace and Fushimi Palace They are the two mouthpieces of Emperor Hirohito, and their meaning is the meaning of the living god.

"Tojo-kun," Prince Kanin Miyazahito heard Tojo Hideki's explanation of the "Ishihara Two Strategies". He did not express his position immediately, but asked calmly, "Have you discussed it with the navy?"

"No." Tojo replied, "This matter is of great importance, and the Army should first unify its opinions."

"Oh." Prince Xianyuan Palace Zairen nodded, noncommittal. "Then the Army's opinion is that Ishihara Wanji has two strategies?"

"No," Tojo said. "The Germans' conditions are too harsh, and they almost treat the Empire as a vassal. And the issue of a separate peace with the United States needs to be considered in the long term. We might as well test it through the Soviet Union, but we don't need to reach an agreement quickly. The Hawaiian Islands and the Aleutian Islands cannot be given away easily. However, the operation south to New Zealand may be postponed.”

"Delay?" Kanin Palace squinted his old eyes and looked at Tojo Hideki, "Then let's postpone it."

Going south to Australia was the intention of the living god Hirohito, and the army and navy were very enthusiastic for a time. But now the situation in the Pacific battlefield has changed. Japan wants to fully defend the Central Pacific. Coupled with Germany's clear opposition to Japan's continued southward march, it is obvious that it can only be postponed.

"Then Manchuria..." Prince Xianyuan Palace Zairen said again.

"That is the lifeline of the empire, and it must not be given away!" Tojo Hideki knew what to say when he saw Kanin Palace's face.

Prince Kanin Palace Zaijin nodded and said: "Fushimi Palace visited just now and was quite dissatisfied with the conditions for German aid. The Navy will not give up on developing advanced aircraft and building Unryu-class aircraft carriers under any circumstances, let alone the Germans. Teach them what to do and what not to do.”

Hirschman is indeed grossly interfering in Japan's internal affairs! However, even if he is not so rude, when it comes to the fundamental interests of the Japanese army and navy, they will not give in easily.

"In addition," Kanin Palace added, "Fushimi Palace believes that it is not appropriate to antagonize Germany at the moment. They can continue to lobby for the Lend-Lease Act. At the same time, they can also use barter trade to purchase urgently needed weapons, equipment and technology from European countries. "

"I understand." Tojo replied.

Xianyuan Palace nodded, "In the end, the navy and the army need to work together. Since German aid is not enough, the war must be fought through the cooperation of the navy and the army."

"Hai."

"By the way," Xianyuan Palace thought of something again, "The desperate method mentioned by the Germans in the aid conditions seems feasible and should be studied carefully. If you can kill millions of enemies in the Hawaiian Islands, what else can you do? Can’t win peace?”