In Tokyo, the cold winter and distant wars have not weakened the festive atmosphere here. The streets still maintain the festive decorations that were hung during the New Year. Many women carried donation boxes to raise funds from passers-by. The streets were full of people standing on the side of the road to read newspapers. The pedestrians who came and went always turned their attention to the row of gray buildings, which was the location of the Army Province and the General Staff Headquarters.

A black car was parked quickly in front of the Army Building. Itagaki Seishiro's short body came out of the car. The officers who were leaving the door stood up to salute him. Itagaki went straight into the combat hall of the General Staff Headquarters without replying.

The battle hall was filled with people, and the stars were gathered. Prince Zairen of the Chief of Staff Ichien sat in the first place, with Shinichi Tanaka, Yasuji Okamura, Jung Tada, Atsushi Muto, and Anan Weiji all at the ends. They all looked at the huge sand table in the middle of the room, and Itagaki recognized that this was the terrain of the Xuzhou area at a glance.

"Your Mightiness."

After seeing Itagaki come in, everyone, including Zai Ren, stood up and saluted Itagaki. Itagaki saluted with a straightforward greeting, then walked to Zai Ren, bowed slightly, and did not dare to slacke in the emperor's uncle.

"What do you mean by Your Majesty?" Zai Ren sat upright and asked calmly. Zai Ren's actions seemed to be nothing wrong with the officers present. Itagaki's etiquette was civilian etiquette, and Zai Ren was a royal family and aristocrat among the nobles. There was no problem in accepting such etiquette in this way.

"Your Majesty is very worried about the development of the war," Itagaki replied, he was urgently summoned by the Emperor today, and everyone was concerned about the purpose of this summoning: "Your Majesty is very worried about the current war in Xuzhou, and hopes to defeat it as soon as possible. In addition, Your Majesty also asked about the possibility of peace talks." Speaking of this, Itagaki sighed deeply and turned to face the generals present: "Your Majesty, your Majesty is very worried. People claim to drag the empire into the quagmire of long-term wars, long-term wars, although we are not afraid of long-term wars, long-term wars, although we are not afraid of long-term wars. War, but the damage to the empire is serious, especially if it is dragged on, it will give the United States and Britain a chance. Your Majesty’s worries are precisely because of this. I replied that the empire has the ability to resolve the incident. What we need to do is to eliminate the interference of the United States and Britain, completely destroy the army’s resistance, eliminate their determination to fight, and at the same time actively contact with knowledgeable people in the government to restore peace between China and Japan. General Dohihara and Colonel Kageo have already begun to implement this strategy. Your Majesty was very comforted after hearing this."

Hearing this, the generals showed comforting expressions on their faces. To be honest, the war was in its current state, which was beyond their expectations. The Japanese military government's strategy toward China had quietly changed from simply conquering China to two military and political preparations, preparing to make partial concessions, such as the Japanese army surrendering Nanjing, expanding the area of ​​Shanghai's non-station, and negotiating with Chiang Kai-shek. But at this time they found that the Guards' statement had become the biggest obstacle, which had to make them find their target again.

However, the Army itself had differences. Dohihara believed that Wu Peifu had a strong appeal and should have Wu Peifu come out to organize the government, but Ao Shin Ao was optimistic about Wang Jingwei. The two sides were quarreled and took action at the same time. Ao Shin-san resigned as the head of the strategy department and went to Shanghai to establish the Mei agency, and launched the "shadow work" aimed at Wang Jingwei. Dohihara went to Beijing to persuade Wu Peifu.

"Your Majesty, there is another concern, that is, Britain and the United States," Itagaki did not wait for everyone to ask, and added: "I told Your Majesty that we can take diplomatic measures against Britain and the United States, on the one hand, we can unite Germany and Italy to restrain Britain and the United States, and on the other hand, we actively take action in Britain and the United States to persuade their governments to remain neutral. Your Majesty did not express this proposal, and I failed to bring good news to Your Majesty."

After saying that, Itagaki sat down with a heavy expression, Zai Ren looked at the sand table, as a royal family, he could not express his opinions easily, otherwise this would be regarded as the emperor's opinion. He served as the chief of staff only the emperor to strengthen his influence on the army and balance the forces of various factions in the army.

"I think the Three Kingdoms alliance should be reached as soon as possible to disperse the pressure between the United States and Britain." After a brief silence, Akira Muto stood up and shouted loudly.

The Three Kingdoms Alliance is, the most recent proposal made by the Army. The head of the Army Military Division, Tomoe Iwama, and the head of the Strategy Division of the General Staff, Shigeki Usui, proposed to further develop the defense agreement signed in 36 years into the Three-Nation Alliance. This proposal was strongly opposed by the Navy, believing that this would lead to the deterioration of relations with Britain and the United States, and Britain and the United States would further support the War of Resistance, which would be unfavorable to the Empire.

"It's right, the Navy doesn't know what to do!" Anan Weiji also stood up and shouted loudly: "With Germany and Italy's support, Britain and the United States will take care of it, and it is also a powerful deterrent to the Soviet Union and Russia. What's wrong with such a thing?"

"Yes," Tada Jun then stood up as soon as possible and said to Itagaki: "Your Excellency, our position should be more firm. If we cannot reach an alliance, we should withdraw from the government!"

Itagaki glanced at Qi Ren from the corner of his eyes. There was no expression on Zai Ren's face. In fact, Tada Jun's words represented the hidden views of some people in the army. Kobe Fumi, especially his statement, has become an obstacle. This obstacle should be removed as soon as possible and a prime minister is selected again. Itagaki is not sure whether there is the support of the emperor behind this, and there is still no expression on Zai Ren's face.

The successive statements of Tada Jung and Anan resonated with the generals present. Tanaka Shinichi, Iwabata Yooxiong and others all expressed that the Three Kingdoms Alliance should be signed in the first half of this year, otherwise the Army Minister should resign immediately and force the government to dissolve.

Okamura Yanji silently looked at his colleague who was passionate, but he did not speak, but from the bottom of his heart, he did not agree to a head-on conflict with the United States and Britain, especially when the incident was not resolved. As a military general, he had been silently observing the war away from the war. The Chinese were following what the man said, and the empire was dragging into a long-term war. Although he had only seen that man once, his performance in the war was really outstanding. In the case of Nanjing, at least he could not achieve such a result. Perhaps only Ishihara could match him.

"Okamura, what do you think?"

One sentence awakened Okamura Yanji from his meditation. He looked up and everyone looked at him with a strange look. He grinned slightly: "I think that whether it is the Three Kingdoms Alliance or the peace work, we must first defeat the general Zhuang Wenjie, and the faster the better, the earlier the better. Only in this way can we deter young and strong generals in the government army, prompt Chiang Kai-shek to awaken and strengthen the peace power within the government."

Okamura's words made the lively atmosphere in the room disappear. There were too many famous imperial generals defeated by Zhuang Jihua. There were Itagaki, Okamura, Isotani Ryosuke, Nishio Shozuo, Matsui Ishione, and Soichi Desou. Those who were not famous and famous before this were the elites who were not looked at by the Imperial Army?

Itagaki felt a haze falling into the room, and the air in the room became even colder. Perhaps because of feeling the coldness, Jae-in spoke.

"Okamura is right. Only by winning the battlefield can we talk about other things. The Xuzhou battle has developed into a decisive battle between the main forces. This is a battle where we must win and must not fail. Everyone, work hard!" Zai Ren's tone was unprecedentedly harsh.

"Hayi." Everyone stood up and replied in unison.

"Tada, what is the view of the General Staff Headquarters." Zai Ren said again.

Tada Jun stood up and rushed to Zai Ren and Itagaki bowed their heads and then picked up the command stick. The surrounding generals: "Based on all aspects of information, we can confirm that the army invested about one million troops in Xuzhou and Henan, of which about 650,000 Xuzhou and about 400,000 Henan; the Imperial Army mobilized a total of 21 divisions with a total force of 600,000; At present, the four divisions commanded by General Masaharu Honma have been inserted into the side of the Fifth War Zone of the Army in accordance with the combat plan formulated by the General Staff, but they were stubbornly blocked by the army. Except for this progress, the rest of the other lines have not made much progress. The 7th Division sent by the six generals of Tian Yu was blocked by the army in the mountainous areas southeast of Linyi. You guys, the General Staff believe that the battle situation is changing to a situation that is unfavorable to our army."

Tada Jun pointed to the sign on the sand table: "On the south, the army launched an attack on Shou Prefecture. The 21st Army and the 2nd Army attacked our Third Division from north to south. General Fujita Jun fell into a hard battle; General Tani Shouo, who was responsible for important tasks, was blocked by two elite legions from the southwest; General Nishio Shouzaki was fighting hard among the mountains on the east front, and General Haneda was trapped in the rivers and lakes of Huainan. The General Staff believed that the most dangerous thing was General Honma. His troops were divided into two divisions by the Yellow River. He himself commanded two and a half divisions in Henan, and the other half divisions were in Hebei, and was being attacked by the army. Fortunately, General Sugiyama added the 41st Division to move south, otherwise they might have been surrounded by the detoured army... In short, our army is gradually sliding towards passive."

Speaking of this, Tada Jun put away his baton and bowed his head to Itagaki and Zairen, and then sat down. The generals were speechless. The 600,000 imperial troops were forced to do this by one million troops. The gap with the calculation before the war was too big, and even the calculation a few days ago was not very big.

The silent generals, Itagaki gently pursed his dry lips and said slowly: "Today is a joint meeting between the Ministry of Army and the General Staff. Please speak freely. First, do you agree with the judgment of the General Staff?"

He looked up and said, although he was a little dissatisfied in his eyes, he still nodded in the end: "Agree."

"Since that's the case, Tada Jun, what suggestions do the General Staff have?" Itagaki asked Tada Jun again.

"The General Staff recommends that the troops be increased." Tada Jun replied without hesitation: "The southern line should have three divisions, at least not less than two divisions. The breakthrough point is chosen at the Sei River, and then cross the river and go west to encircle the main force of Tanishou Tanishu. The northern line should have at least three divisions, all of which are added to Henan. First, defeat Xue Yue's counterattack, and then encircle the main force of the Xuzhou army with General Honma."

"That means adding six divisions?" Itagaki frowned. He had just added twenty divisions, and now he had to add six divisions. Will the Prime Minister agree? Can the imperial finance bear it?
Chapter completed!