"Ishihara kun is too naive... Sugiyama Moto started to fight back. Emperor Yushi's question just now embarrassed him, but Shigekami's interruption won time and adjusted his thinking: "In Showa, there was a year, Chiang Kai-shek did not ask for peace. I don't believe he would ask for peace now?"

This problem is very fatal. One year of Showa, that is, in 1940, the Japanese army conquered Wuhan. This was the Japanese offensive in China that reached the highest level, but Chiang Kai-shek gritted his teeth and endured it. According to Ishihara's plan, he gave up Jiangnan, Shandong, and Shanxi. In such a continuous victory, would Chiang Kai-shek seek peace because of one failure, or would he agree to the Japanese seek peace?

Let the war stop, this has become a consensus among the political circles of Japan. Japan is not short of people with outstanding talents. They have seen that Japan has shown its defeat on the battlefield, and they can only seize the current battlefield or overseas and negotiate peace with the allies. But what is distressing is that the Cairo Declaration locked down the door to peace talks, and the Allies announced that they would only accept unconditional surrender, which gave the tough military a strong man. Really.

But as the war continues, there is no hope of victory. No one in the cabinet or base camp stands up to support Sugiyama. Sugiyama glars at Yamada Yisan. The Imperial Conference is not the base camp conference, and his supporters are not qualified to participate. Only the education director Yisan Yamada Yisan.

"Your Majesty, the Allies' request for unconditional surrender is something that the empire cannot accept. Surrender is a shame for soldiers. As an old soldier, I would rather die in battle than surrender!" Sugiyama Yuan burst into tears.

A tragic gust surged at the imperial meeting, and the eyes flashed behind Hirohito's glasses, and he was wandering. Obviously, he was moved by Sugiyama at this moment. Koiki Akira spoke at this time: "General Sugiyama, we will not surrender. Your Majesty will entrust us to deal with the state affairs." But the state affairs are corrupt, and we are deeply disappointing His Majesty's expectations." He bowed deeply to Hirohito here.

"The Prime Minister does not have to blame himself," Hirohito comforted: "What I want to know now is what measures should the cabinet take to save the current situation of the war?"

Koiki Akira didn't know how to answer. Now the only one who proposed a detailed and clear plan was Ishihara Kanir, but the Ministry of Army and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs firmly opposed it. In the face of the Ministry of Army, it could not make plans. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs tried to extend an olive branch to the Soviet Union, but there was no progress.

"Your Majesty" Ishihara Kanir spoke again: "I believe that the front line should be reduced. The empire is doing its best to have both domestic economy and production, but it still cannot meet the needs of the front line. General Mijiro Umezu reported that the logistics reserves of the Kanto Army had reached a dangerous level. The newly established division could not even have a gun on his own."

Hirohito finally began to move, but he didn't understand this situation. The Kanto Army was known as the elite in the world, but it was in such a dangerous situation.

"Can industrial output still increase?" Hirohito's eyes turned to Koi Iso Kan Aki, with expectations in his eyes.

But Kojiki Kyuki was not grateful at all: "Your Majesty, the domestic industry has reached a very high level, and steel production has reached a historical high level. However, due to the increasing frequent attacks of US submarines, the losses of ships have become increasingly large, and the losses have exceeded our shipbuilding capabilities. "The rubber, oil and copper ore transported from Nanyang are on a downward trend, so even if the output may increase, the amplitude will not be too large."

Hirohito stopped speaking. "The expression was covered with a lot of worries. Ishihara Kanir interrupted just right: "Your Majesty" is the reason. I think it is necessary to shrink the front line."

"Your Majesty, I believe that even if the defense line is shrinking, I cannot give up Jiangnan," Navy Minister Shimada Shintaro said first: "The absolute defense circle formulated by the base camp must be guaranteed. If you give up Jiangnan and Shandong, the US Air Force can directly localize, which is absolutely possible."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I suggest that although the advice of the Chief of Staff of Ishihara is good, the amount of concessions is too large. If Chiang Kai-shek does not seek peace, our concessions will be too large. I suggest that we give up Shanxi, shrink the Soviet-Russian battlefield, and draw ten divisions from the Kwantung Army to North China." The military commander Nagano, Cultivation, stood up to support Shimada.

"So what about the Soviet-Russian battlefield?" Hirohito asked: "If the Soviet Union seized the Far East, wouldn't it still be able to bomb the local area?"

"Not for the time being," Shimada replied: "It is already the end of August. According to time, if there is another month, it will snow in the Far East. It is unimaginable to fight in the Far East in winter. Moreover, the focus of the Soviet Union is in Europe. Before the end of the Soviet-German War, the Soviet Union will not launch an attack in the Far East, so we still have time."

"Chief of Staff Ishihara, what's the plan?" Hirohito asked again.

"I think this is to cut off flesh and replenish the sores and place Manchuria in a dangerous place." Ishihara Kanir was not polite at all. Shimada mentioned this plan at the joint meeting of the base camp, but Ishihara Kanir refused. Ishihara believed that such a plan was small and wishful thinking. If the Soviet Union attacked, the defense of the Far East was all in the Daxinganling Mountains. Now one-third of the troops on the Daxinganling Mountains are the Manchurian National Defense Forces. These troops themselves are unreliable and have low combat power.

Hirohito frowned deeply. This was indeed not an easy choice. In his heart, he believed in Ishihara Kanir. He still remembered that at the beginning of the Yangou Bridge Incident, Ishihara Kanir strongly opposed the expansion of military operations in China at the joint meeting of the cabinet base. The course of the war in recent years was as predicted. But emotionally speaking, he was unwilling to give up the richest area of ​​China, not to mention that this area is so close to the local area.

Sugiyama Moto saw Hirohito's hesitation and said, "Your Majesty, I think that General Nagano's plan is feasible. We don't have to give up Jiangnan. Moreover, we can continue to maintain cooperation with the Wang Jingwei government, which is especially important for future negotiations with the Chiang Kai-shek government."

"What is the Prime Minister's opinion?"

"Your Majesty, in all aspects, I believe that it is okay to stay in Jiangnan, but it is also dangerous to take time out of the Kwantung Army. Therefore, I believe that at least five divisions should be drawn from Jiangnan and four divisions from the Kwantung Army, so that Jiangnan and the Kwantung Army will not be too weak."

Hirohito thought about it and asked again: "Can you still form some new divisions?"

"It should be possible, but the conditions for recruitment must be relaxed." Koi Iso Kyosaki felt a little relaxed. He saw that his suggestion should be appreciated by the Emperor. This was not thought out in advance, but a sudden idea. But now the more I think about it, the more I feel that this idea is really good, and I have transferred troops from Jiangnan and Kanto Army.

"Prime Minister, Jiangnan has drawn too many five divisions," Sugiyama Moto reminded: "The troops were drawn from the Southern Army, and the Chinese and British have had a stalemate on the Myanmar issue. They will not launch an attack on the Indochina Peninsula again. Jiangnan has drawn too many five divisions, and they are facing the threat of 800,000 well-equipped Chinese Army. Three divisions can be drawn to two divisions from the Southern Army."

Koi Iso Kyoto Aki did not argue with Sugiyama, nodded in agreement, and the Imperial Conference had a good result. Hirohito sighed softly and stood up and said to his ministers: "I know that the country is getting more and more difficult. I hope that all the ministers can work together to assist the Prime Minister and overcome the danger together."

"I will obey Your Majesty's will and will never let Your Majesty down." The ministers stood up and answered in unison.

After leaving the conference room, Hirohito and Kinoshita were still walking slowly on the corridor in the palace like that. The wind from the Pacific Ocean flew into the palace with the highest air, and the elegant corridor also became hot.

"What's the recent situation in the Army Province?" Hirohito suddenly raised a question.

Hearing Hirohito speak, Kinoshita finally felt relieved. From leaving the hall, he knew that Hirohito had nothing to say.

"The Army Ministry is now in a mess, and there are constant quarrels between classes. Your Majesty, the Army Ministry needs a strong figure to lead." Kido had long known that Hirohito was dissatisfied with Sugiyama Moto. It was a temporary solution to let Sugi A and Yuan serve as the Minister of the Army. Now it seems that it is time to adjust.

Hirohito didn't open." Kinoshita knew what he was waiting for. Today, the emperor had broken through the ruling habits since the Japanese constitutional system several times.

"Ten Toshiro and Nishio Suzusaku are both loyal and brave men" and are familiar with China..." Kinoshita carefully proposed two candidates.

After a while, Hirohito nodded: "You can discuss it with them."

Kinoshita agreed respectfully. Although Hirohito did not say that they were those people, he knew that he should ask those people for their opinions and how to make Sugiyama Tsuki resign himself.

From the time I left the hall, Ishihara Kanir's face stretched out. Koikikuaki pulled him to his car. Ishihara Kanirir was very dissatisfied with Koikikuaki's head rat, with a gloomy face and refused to say anything.

"Kun Ishihara, everything has to be done step by step. Didn't three divisions be transferred from Jiangnan? Besides, the opinions of the navy must also be considered. Their opinions are not unreasonable. As long as China occupy Shandong, the Chinese Air Force will fly over us and look at this beautiful street. I'm afraid it will never be seen again next year.

"Koisaki sighed.

Ishihara Kanir turned his head to look at the shops on both sides, towering buildings, clean and clean ground, and well-green lawns. All of this could disappear in the bombing of the future.

In the South Pacific, the US military has begun a counterattack, and the joint fleet has gradually declined after the death of the Isori Navy General Yamamoto Isori. Although it still has some advantages, this advantage is no longer as great as the beginning of the war. I believe that in another year, with the United States' new warships entering the sea, the joint fleet will completely become at a disadvantage.

"Prime Minister, the most fundamental thing about my plan is to save troops. We don't have much time, and the absolute defense circle is not absolutely safe. Once the Mariana Islands are lost, the local area will also be under bombing of American aircraft."

"We must make peace with Chiang Kai-shek at all costs, and then make peace with Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union. If we wait until they really conquer the Mariana Islands, the Prime Minister, we may have to surrender unconditionally."

Ishihara Kanir was in a very heavy mood. The Japanese front line was too long, and his opponent made full use of his inherent weaknesses. This war was not over in the eyes of others, but it was over in his eyes.

"Do you think we can't defend Shandong?" Koiki Aki heard the reason why Ishihara Kanir had no say, and turned his head to look at him in surprise.

"Prime Minister, although he has made a plan, how long does it take to transport troops and technical equipment from Jiangnan, Nanyang, and Soviet Russia to the battlefield in North China? At the beginning of the war, we transported troops from North China to Shanghai for a week, but we moved all the fleets of the Joint Fleet, even several aircraft carriers. But now? Can the Joint Fleet invest such a great amount of strength?"

"The Chinese general stopped the attack after capturing Xuzhou. In Matsui Ishigen, this was very stupid. He thought he was given time, but in fact? The Chinese general took the most correct method to make the tired army repair first, fill the almost empty ammunition depot, and then resume the attack. I estimate that his repair time was at most two weeks. Now eight days have passed, and we still have six days. Prime Minister, how many troops can we send to North China in six days? At most one division."

"Also, Chiang Kai-shek is reorganizing mechanized troops in Sichuan. Intelligence says that the mechanized troops of the reorganized this time have two divisions, all of which use the Nai4 tanks produced by the Chinese themselves. It is proved on the battlefield that this tank is more than the American Sherman tank."

"Also, after the Yunnan-Burma Highway is reopened, the United States' materials transported to China reach 80,000 tons per month. Chen Cheng reorganized his troops again in the Jiangnan War Zone. Jiangbei War Zone will also join the ranks of reorganized troops after this war. Prime Minister, if we still do this, I dare say that next year, the Chinese army will attack Manchuria."

Koi Iso Kyosaki's mood was even worse. For decades, Japan has been on the road to victory, defeating the Qing Dynasty, defeating Russia, and defeating Germany, but now...

Are we really going to fail?

"Since this is the case, we should mobilize all our abilities to save the empire and repay His Majesty's high hopes."

"If I hadn't had such some thoughts, I wouldn't have been the Chief of Staff." Ishihara Kaner sneered at the corner of his mouth: "Once Shandong is lost, it will become meaningless to continue to defend Jiangnan. In the end, we still have to retreat from Jiangnan. Instead of acting hastily at that time, it is better to retreat calmly now."

"What if we defend Shandong?" Koiki Aki suddenly felt annoyed and got into the horns.

"It's okay if you can't defend Shandong, but it's bad if you keep it." Ishihara's voice was a little misty: "If I were the general of China, I would send a force to restrain the Taishan defense line. In addition, I crossed the Yellow River and launched an attack on the north bank of the Yellow River. On the other hand, along Linyi, Ju County, Zhucheng, and detoured to the Jiaodong Peninsula: All the defenders on the Taishan defense line fell into the encirclement."

Koi Iso Kan Aki was sweating coldly when he heard it, but Ishihara Kanir was not finished yet. He continued: "Dani Shouo set up a hedgehog array, thinking that this would make the Chinese army helpless. It's a joke. If he doesn't correct the deployment as soon as possible, what can he do? There are only so many troops in his hands and so many areas for defense, so he can only do this. I guess this army will no longer exist in less than two months."

Koiki Akira understood that although Ishihara Kanir was criticizing Tani Shouo and Matsui Ishien, he was actually persuading him again to withdraw his troops from Jiangnan. Can it be possible to withdraw his troops? This plan was rejected at the imperial meeting just now.
Chapter completed!